This is Zimbabwe two weeks after the formation of a national unity
government in which the leader of the opposition, Movement for
Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, is Prime Minister. But far from
presiding over a government which is bringing new hope to a desperate
people, Mr Tsvangirai and his bitter rival, Mr Mugabe, are pursuing
their struggle for the soul of Zimbabwe and so far the 85-year-old
president is winning.
It has been a week of birthday celebrations for Mr Mugabe, who turned
85 on 21 February. He plans to hold a lavish celebration rally today
while his people starve or die from cholera. In interviews this week he
pledged to keep Mr Gono, who clearly sees himself as a future prime
minister and was reappointed to a new five-year term, despite printing
the Zimbabwean dollar to death in his first term.
"They will not go," Mr Mugabe told the state-run Herald newspaper,
referring to his unilateral appointment of several officials, which,
according to Mr Tsvangirai, is in breach of their power-sharing
agreement.
Speaking to Zimbabwe television on Thursday evening, Mr Mugabe also
rejected Western demands for the removal of media restrictions as
"nonsense".
Why did Mr Tsvangirai accept the poisoned chalice of serving as Mr
Mugabe’s prime minister? Internationally, he was under intense pressure
from South Africa, Zimbabwe’s neighbour which has been on the receiving
end of a wave of refugees and disease from across the border. At home
his inner circle wrestled with the choice of whether to try to achieve
change from inside a unity government, or whether to keep fighting from
outside. Mr Tsvangirai surprised friends and foes by choosing the first
option, which carries the risk of failure or of being corrupted by the
Mugabe system.
His most pressing challenge is to refloat the collapsed economy and he
has gone cap in hand to South Africa and its neighbours seeking an
initial $2bn (£1.4bn) for a recovery package. But Britain, the former
colonial power, and the EU are restricting their help to humanitarian
assistance until the International Monetary Fund can audit the books,
and are sticking to conditions linked to human rights and political
freedoms. An early test will be whether Mr Tsvangirai’s Finance
Minister, Tendai Biti, can remove Mr Gono. "It’s hard to see any trend
that suggests they will [win] after two weeks", said a senior diplomat.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister has made another surprise
announcement: he has decided to attend President Mugabe’s birthday
party today.
The Independent (UK)
Post published in: News