The South African government says it first has to engage the three principals to the Global Political Agreement before it can comment on the issue of Zimbabwes new ambassador to that country.The new envoy to Pretoria, Phelekezela Mphoko, is one of six ambassadors Mugabe appointed without consulting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, which is in clear violation of the GPA. The MDC leader on Monday sent a letter to South African President Jacob Zuma requesting him not to recognize Mphoko as the new ambassador to that country.
Mphoko is taking over from long serving Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo, who is now the national chairman of the former ruling party in Harare.Tsvangirais request seems to have put Zuma in a difficult position as he is the SADC mediator to the Zimbabwe crisis. Zumas three member facilitating team has been involved in ongoing efforts to try and bridge the gap between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
The team, which comprises Charles Nqakula, Mac Maharaj and Lindiwe Zulu, has so far failed to unlock the log-jam in which the ZANU PF party and the two MDC formations are deadlocked over a number of contentious issues. Zulu, the international relations advisor for Zuma, told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that they will only comment on Ambassador Mphokos position once they meet the three principals to the GPA. In his letter to Zuma, Tsvangirai said Mphokos appointment was illegal and goes against the GPA.
Its unfortunate that we cannot comment on that issue until we engage the principals. Only when we speak to them can we have a clearer picture to work on, otherwise we are not saying anything at the moment, Zulu said. The MDC also wants ambassadors sent to Brussels, Geneva, New York, Rome and Stockholm not to be recognized by the host countries.
This latest crisis over power-sharing saw Tsvangirai strongly condemn Mugabe over the appointments of ambassadors, judges and provincial governors without consulting him, as he is supposed to under the power-sharing deal. Global Zimbabwe Forum spokesman Luke Zunga said Mugabe is violating the GPA deliberately, saying that he will not implement it until western nations lift the travel ban and asset freeze imposed on his inner circle.
For what ever reasons, Mugabe has violated the GPA because he knows SADC will back him to the hilt if he brings up the subject of sanctions. Unfortunately for South Africa, they go along with this and now its impossible see how they will be able to deal with this latest crisis because they support Mugabes call to remove sanctions, Zunga said. Political analyst Dr John Makumbe said the MDC-Ts decision not to recognize officials unilaterally appointed by Mugabe is bound to cause all sorts of problems for all the three political parties that constitute the inclusive government.
We wait to see how the Finance Minister will relate to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. There is likely to be what Americans call gridlock in government. But the action is likely to send a powerful message to Mugabe, that the time for kid gloves is over. The same message is also sent to all Mugabes cronies in the GNU, Makumbe said.
Post published in: News