In a statement, the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai rejected claims by state-owned media that new talks to try to form the unity government were planned for later on Monday and accused ZANU PF of negotiating in bad faith and seeking to mislead the public about the talks.
Considering the fact that it is now exactly 21 days after the signing of the global agreement, the cabinet deadlock calls for the urgent help and assistance from SADC (Southern African Development Community) and AU (African Union) as guarantors of the deal to unfreeze the impasse, the MDC said.
The party said there was deadlock on the allocation of all key Cabinet posts in the new government and on the issue of the 10 provincial governors contrary to claims by ZANU PF that only two posts remained to be shared.
Following another round of inconclusive discussions between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and MDC breakaway faction leader Arthur Mutambara on Saturday, Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba told reporters that the three principals had failed to reach agreement on only the two posts of finance and home affairs.
Charamba said the two posts had been referred back to party negotiators, while the government-owned Herald newspaper reported on Monday that party negotiators would meet later in the day to discuss how to allocate the remaining posts.
The MDC said there had been no contact or communication over the holding of new talks as reported by the Herald, while warning political parties could not negotiate forever and that Zimbabweans – who are looking to the unity government to end a decade-long recession – were fast losing patience.
The country is at a standstill and the people’s patience is running out, hence the resolution of the impasse is more urgent than ever before, the MDC said.
Charamba was not immediately available for comment on the matter while ZANU PF chief negotiator Patrick Chinamasa declined to respond to the MDC statement.
Neighbouring South Africa’s government said on Friday that former president Thabo Mbeki – who brokered the power-sharing deal on behalf of SADC – had agreed to resume his mediation to resolve Zimbabwe’s political crisis.
Mbeki’s spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga confirmed on Saturday that his boss was set to resume mediation but did not say when this would be. “We will issue a statement when he does go (to Zimbabwe),” Ratshitanga said.
The creation of a power-sharing government in Zimbabwe is seen as the first step in ending an acute recession that is seen in the world’s highest inflation of 11 million percent, deepening poverty amid shortages of food and every basic survival commodity.
The international community, in particular Western donor nations whose financial support is vital to any effort to resuscitate Zimbabwe’s comatose economy, has to help rebuild the country but only after assessing implementation of the power-sharing deal. – ZimOnline