MDC cabinet boycott continues

The talks, brokered by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, ended with MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa saying that his party and Mugabes Zanu (PF) were worlds apart.

“If they (Mugabe and his Zanu (PF)) are facing west we are facing east,” said Chamisa.

The outstanding issues causing the stalemate between the two principals involved Mugabes refusal to share provincial governors, claiming they were an extension of his office. He was adamant that Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and the Attorney General Johannes Tomana would not lose their jobs.

This position flies in the face of an addendum to the global political agreement that prescribed equitable distribution of all key posts among the three parties.

The four-hour meeting between Mugabe and Tsvangirai on Monday was the first meeting of the principals since Tsvangirai’s October 16 disengagement from Zanu (PF).

A well-placed government source said Mugabe was not committed to reform and was refusing to give the necessary consensus to ensure the country got a new constitution, something for which ordinary Zimbabweans have lobbied for years.

Mugabe was reportedly insisting that he would not concede any more ground until the MDC ensured targeted sanctions on him and his allies were removed. The MDC has expressed hope that a meeting in Harare today of a special troika of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) would force Mugabe to share power.

“If that fails… a free and fair election under the supervision of the international community, SADC and the African Union will be the only option,” said Chamisa.

Zanu (PF), which is currently struggling to deal with internal power-struggles and a succession crisis, is not too keen on elections, and is attempting to force the MDC to surrender.

Chamisa said that any purported Cabinet decision made by the “Zanu (PF) caucus” on Tuesday in the absence of all the three political parties was “null and void”. The MDC spokesperson added that his party, as the trustees of the peoples mandate, would continue to work towards bringing real change to the people of Zimbabwe.

According to Mutambara, there were die hard party members seeking to torpedo the troubled coalition for good.

“There are hardliners in Zanu (PF) who are taking the opportunity to offend all of us in government – offend our colleagues led by Morgan Tsvangirai,” said Mutambara. What they want is the collapse of the government. What we need to do is make sure we don’t fall into that trap. We have to be clever, we have to be strategic, we have to out-think them.”

There is escalating worry that friction between the rival parties in Zimbabwe’s coalition government could lead to violence similar to that which nearly tore the country apart last year.

On Tuesday, four armed men driving a grey Isuzu twin cab KB300 registration number ABA 8742 tried to kidnap the MDCs security administrator, Edith Mashayire, in central Harare at the corner of Inez Terrace and George Silundika.

She only escaped after screaming, forcing the hit-squads to beat a hasty retreat. The foiled abduction came just days after a raid on a leased MDC house, with dozens of officers ransacking the property, stealing papers and beating up employees.

Zimbabwe’s police spokesperson, Wayne Bvindzijena, said they would investigate the raiding of the house.

Zanu (PF) is also moving to consolidate its stranglehold by targeting perceived opponents. The Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity has reportedly ordered the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and other state-controlled newspapers to stop covering MDC ministers until the party reverses its decision to suspend contact with Zanu (PF).

There is also a streak of emerging hostility and harassment against civil society.

A visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, which was supposed to start on Monday, was allegedly being blocked by the government. At the time of going to print, Manfred Nowak was sitting in Johannesburg Airport.

Chairman of the SADC troika Mozambican President, Armando Guebuza, was expected to lead a delegation of foreign ministers to Harare today to resolve the crisis. However, there are concerns that he is too close to Mugabe and would be ineffective as a mediator.