Targeted Measures hurt Zuma plan for Zim

The European Union (EU) last week extended the visa and financial sanctions on Mugabe and his inner circle by a further 11 months citing lack of progress in democratic reforms in Zimbabwe. The United States has also imposed similar sanctions on the Zimbabwean leader and top allies in his ZANU PF party and the military. But Zuma, the Southern African Development Community (SADC)s mediator in Zimbabwe, said the targeted measures, which he refered to as sanctions, were undermining his efforts to push his northern neighbours to agree an electoral framework that could guarantee a free and fair vote.

We want to create a conducive environment so that they can have elections to choose their own government but the continuation of sanctions is undermining the agreement, Zuma told South African media. Zuma, who has toned down his criticism of Mugabes controversial rule since his election as South Africas President, said the Zimbabwean crisis was a complex issue that was negatively impacting on South Africa. However, he said the only solution lay in free and fair elections to choose a new government in Harare.

The South African leaders comments come less than a week after the MDC party of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said talks to resolve a power-sharing dispute with Mugabes ZANU PF have reached deadlock and that it was time for SADC and its chief mediator to intervene.However Zuma can only intervene if Tsvangirais MDC, ZANU PF and the smaller MDC party of Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara together formally declare a deadlock in talks and request outside help. Zumas team of facilitators who have frequently visited Harare to try and push talks forward say the negotiations are still on and it is not yet time for their boss to get involved.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai are engaged in a bitter dispute over how to share executive power, the appointment of senior government officials and the removal of Western targeted measures. Tsvangirai accuses Mugabe of refusing to swear-in MDC treasurer Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister, appoint five provincial governors from the party and end the tenure of the attorney general and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor. Mugabe in turn says Bennett will be sworn in only if he is acquitted of terrorism and banditry charges he is facing and that the MDC should lobby its allies in the West for the removal of targeted measures imposed on the veteran leader and his inner circle.

He also says Tsvangirai should convince what he says are pirate radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe from outside the country to stop disseminating “propaganda” messages into Zimbabwe. While analysts are confident the unity government will not collapse, they say unending bickering among coalition partners could cripple the administration and render it ineffective.