Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairman, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, told the press after the summit held in Pretoria that leaders had unanimously agreed that a power-sharing government was the best way to end Zimbabwe's multi-faceted crisis.
Motlanthe's director general, Frank Chikane, repeated the claim telling journalists on Wednesday that SADC countries unanimously backed a unity government between President Robert Mugabe and his rival Morgan Tsvangirai despite the two having failed to work together since agreeing to share power four months ago.
Chikane said while Zimbabwe's rival political parties may have had to make compromises on their demands, all had agreed on the outcome of the SADC summit.
"SADC did their best to produce a compromise position that took into consideration all the issues raised by the parties (in Zimbabwe)," he told journalists in Pretoria.
But our sources said there was heated debate during a closed session of the leaders, with Botswana President Ian Khama pushing for a process that would lead to fresh free and fair elections to allow Zimbabweans to choose who between Mugabe and Tsvangirai they wanted as their leader.
Khama spoke strongly against the unity government deal, said a source, who spoke on condition he was not named. He said there was no point in forcing a deal that does not work and would collapse in a matter of months.
The Botswana President has emerged as the most outspoken among the region's leaders against Mugabe's controversial rule. He had long before Monday's summit called for new elections as the only way to resolve Zimbabwe's crisis.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete – who is also chairman of the African Union – and Zambia's President Rupiah Banda all spoke in favour of new elections in Zimbabwe instead of foisting a dysfunctional unity government on the country, according to sources.
SADC mediator on Zimbabwe former South African President Thabo Mbeki spoke in favour of the power-sharing agreement he brokered last September. He was strongly backed by Motlanthe and Nambian President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
The South Africans worked hard to ensure they pushed the unity government deal, said our source.
When it came to the vote, the South African position carried the day leaving Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania isolated in one camp.
Mugabe sat through the closed session but was apparently quiet for most of the time. Tsvangirai did not attend the session and when he was eventually summoned and presented the majority vote, he was unaware of the sharp divisions during debate.
The opposition leader, who reluctantly accepted the majority position that a unity government be formed by next month, appeared to have believed the majority position was unanimously backed by all 15 member states and therefore had no leeway to manouvre, according to our sources.
Sharp division has since emerged in Tsvangirai's MDC party over whether it should join the unity government as directed by SADC.
In a statement after the SADC extraordinary summit communiqué was released in Pretoria, the MDC said the decision of the regional body fell "far short of our expectations". But the party did not reject the summit resolution outright, leaving the matter to be finalised at a meeting of its national council tomorrow.
But insiders said the opposition party was split right through the middle with one faction allegedly led by Tsvangirai amenable to joining the unity government as directed by regional leaders.
The other faction, allegedly led by party secretary general Tendai Biti, is said to be bitterly opposed to going to bed with Mugabe before a list of demands submitted by the MDC has been met.
Tsvangirai, who told a South African newspaper that he had agreed in principle to join the unity government pending resolution of grievances submitted by his party, said on arrival in Harare yesterday that he hoped the national council would take a united position on the way forward.
We have our position regarding certain decisions in that (SADC) communiqué, said Tsvangirai.
He added: We have a national council meeting where we will give a direction as to how we hope to deal with problems people are facing . . . I hope the party will be united in ensuring that we respond to the need on the ground and people's expectations.
MDC sources said Tsvangirai would have to work hard to persuade party hardliners led by Biti to agree to join the unity government or he would be forced to go back on his word to SADC leaders.
Once a model African economy Zimbabwe is in the grip of an unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis marked by hyperinflation, acute shortages of food and basic commodities amid a cholera outbreak that has killed close to 3 000 people since August. – ZimOnline
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