For months, President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
and deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara have been at each other’s
throats over outstanding issues to the unity pact.
The disagreements have been widened by President Mugabe’s unilateral
decisions to appoint the Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, Attorney
General Johannes Tomana, 10 provincial governors and permanent
secretaries.
This has not gone down well with PM Tsvangirai and DPM Mutambara who
are now under pressure from their constituencies to put and end to
stalling the implementation of the GPA and get the Zimbabwean economy
back on track.
"The environment is indeed the theme of the day with the following
ideas centred around it: 1) Zimbabwe’s heritage is invaluable 2) but it
is under profound real threat 3) Zimbabwe’s environment belongs to all
Zimbaweans and under the new dispensation there is unique possibility
for all political forces to unite to protect and develop it in a
sustainable and honourable manner," Marchal said. "What a wonderful
springboard this could become to cement a government of national unity
because it is also a world heritage the international community can
play a role."
He continued: "Zimbabwe has entered a new phase in her history and it
is my deep wish that it will lead to full recovery and that all
Zimbabweans can now look forward together towards a bright future."
Marchal was referring to the envisaged advantages to the flaky unity
pact signed by the three principals of September 15 2008, which
document is widely regarded as defective, porous and highly political
because it does not give timeframes for any of the principals to
resolve contentious issues and neither does it state what happens in
the event of a stalemate.
Although a body to monitor the implementation of the GPA was put in
place, the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC), its
hands are tied as most of the outstanding issues can only be resolved
by the three rival principals who are at the moment at pains to
convince an unsuspecting public that they are working well together.
The three masqueteers as they are now being referred to were meant to
meet on Monday (today) ahead of the premier’s public announcement on
outstanding issues Tuesday.
The other outstanding issue that cropped up was the chopping of
Minister Nelson Chamisa’s ministry by President Mugabe making the
youthful MDC spokesperson basically redundant in Cabinet and government.
President Mugabe last month transfered the running of key portfolios in
the telecommunications industry to that of his erstwhile bossom buddies
and negotiators Nicholas Goche under the renamed Ministry of Transport,
Communication and Infrastructure Development.
Before Goche’s ministry did no carry the communications portfolio.
This was after a bruising erupted between Information, Media and
Publicity Minister Webster Shamu and Chamisa (Information,
Communications and Technolgy ministry).
Yesterday Chamisa said he hoped that matter would be resolved amiccably
otherwise he will be left with no choice but to re-thing his continued
stay in the unity government.