Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders at an emergency summit in Johannesburg ruled that Zimbabwe’s rival political leaders form a unity government forthwith and end a political stalemate gripping the country’s Mugabe’s controversial re-election last June.
The SADC, which brokered Zimbabwe’s September 15 power-sharing agreement, ruled that Tsvangirai’s MDC party and Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF co-manage the ministry of home affairs in charge of the police and whose control had been a stumbling block to the formation of a unity government.
(The) summit decided that inclusive government be formed forthwith in Zimbabwe (and that) the ministry of home affairs be co-managed between the ZANU PF and MDC-Tsvangirai, SADC leaders said in a communiqué at the end of the summit late on Sunday night.
But Tsvangirai — who said he was shocked and saddened by the outcome of the summit — said the MDC did not agree with the call to co-manage the home affairs portfolio with ZANU PF and would therefore not be part to the unity government.
The opposition leader, who insisted he was still committed to the power-sharing deal, told reporters: The issue of co-chairing does not work, we have rejected it and that’s the position.
Tsvangirai said his dispute with Mugabe was more about equitable sharing of power rather than just about who controls the home affairs portfolio.
He said: Home affairs is not the only issue …. the issue is about equitable power-sharing, it is about giving the responsibility to the party that won an election and has compromised its position to share a government with a party that lost.”
The smaller formation of the MDC led by academic Arthur Mutambara said while it respected the SADC resolution to form a unity government such an administration was impossible without the participation of the Tsvangirai-led MDC.
It is not feasible, it is not logical to think of a (unity) government without our brother Tsvangirai, Mutambara told reporters.
However Mutambara said none of the Zimbabwean parties could afford to disregard SADC and called for further dialogue over the outstanding and contentious issues.
It was not possible to get an immediate reaction to the outcome of the summit from Mugabe or ZANU PF who immediately left the meeting venue without addressing the media.
But sources who attended the leaders meeting said Mugabe accepted the SADC ruling and said that they expected the Zimbabwean leader to now move to form a government in line with the summit resolution – with or without Tsvangirai.
Such a step by Mugabe would effectively kill what had appeared an historic power-sharing deal and which analysts had said was the best opportunity for Zimbabwe to begin on new chapter of national healing and economic recovery.
The power-sharing deal that was brokered by former South African President Thabo Mbeki on behalf of SADC retains Mugabe as president while making Tsvangirai prime minister and Mutambara deputy prime minister.
Analysts say only a government of national unity could be able to tackle Zimbabwe’s long-running crisis marked by political violence and a bitter recession seen in the world’s highest inflation of 231 million percent, 80 percent unemployment, shortages of food and basic commodities.
Western donor nations whose financial support is vital to any effort to revive Zimbabwe’s crumbled economy have said they would back a unity government only if its executive head is Tsvangirai.
Meanwhile the SADC summit called for an immediate ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo where hundreds have been killed and thousands displaced by war.
The SADC said it was sending military experts to advise the Congolese army and also said it could send a peacekeeping force if fighting continued.
The SADC would not standby and witness incessant and destructive acts of violence by any armed groups against innocent people of DRC, if and when necessary SADC will send peacekeeping force into Kivu province of DRC, the group said.Â
ZimOnline.
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