Mutambara speaks out on new political crisis

If working together in the inclusive government could save a single life, then it was worth pursuing as an initiative.

As you are aware, our colleagues in the coalition government, MDC (Tsvangirai), have called for a boycott of Cabinet and Council of Ministers with the incarceration of Roy Bennett as a specific concern, and the outstanding global political agreement matters as general grievances. Let me start by saying that after the establishment of the Inclusive Government on February 11, 2009, we have made tremendous progress in the country. We have established political stability in the country by having the three major political parties represented in parliament working together. We have economic stability in the country after dollarising, and pursuing an economic recovery plan.

Our current efforts are now targeting economic development and growth. Yes, we are still grappling with industrial capacity utilisation, and disposable incomes, but availability of basic goods and services has dramatically improved. We have to understand that this progress has only been possible because the three major political parties have been working together. These strides will not be possible without any one of the three. It is important that we maintain that framework. In the absence of that arrangement, there will be no progress. In fact there will be a total collapse. There are unresolved and unimplemented matters in the GPA. Media reforms have been slow; there is selective application of the law in our courts; there is chaos on our farms; there are invasions taking place on conservancies. These are problems we are facing.

On the GPA itself, there are unresolved matters, issues that have not been implemented. These matters include the appointment of the Reserve Bank governor, the attorney-general, and the provincial governors. Zanu (PF) argues that these issues are not included in the GPA. This is indeed a fiction and it must not go unchallenged. Agreement was achieved through a document that Zanu (PF) is choosing not to talk so much about the SADC communiqu of January 27, 2009. That document was effectively an addendum, a variation, and thus an addition to the GPA. That communiqu was the one that enabled us to form the inclusive government. It contains some of the issues that are outstanding in the GPA implementation, such as the appointments mentioned.

Election fraud

The SADC and the AU, as the custodians of our GPA, must make sure that the SADC communiqu is implemented without variation or equivocation. Another subtle point that needs to be flagged is that no-one won their leadership position or role in this government during the elections of 2008. The President, the prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Ministers, and the ministers owe their positions to the GPA. We are all creatures of negotiations. Without the GPA, and without the Inclusive Government, Robert Mugabe is not the president of Zimbabwe. Without the GPA and without the inclusive government, Zanu (PF) cannot run this country on its own.

I stand by my position that the June 2008 elections were a nullity and a farce, and those of March 2008 were fraudulent. We need to fix the electoral playing field so we can have free and fair elections that will be conclusive and winners will be able to form a legitimate government. The starting point is to ensure that the outstanding GPA issues and the political hygiene matters are addressed, in the interest of the Zimbabwean citizenry. The spirit and letter of the GPA must be followed. Thereafter we must effectively work on national healing, media reforms, political and electoral reforms, a new people driven democratic constitution, and economic recovery. What has exacerbated and ignited the differences in our country is what happened last week with the Roy Bennett situation. It was not necessary to incarcerate Roy Bennett last week on Wednesday. It was nothing to do with the law. It was about vindictiveness. It was pure and sheer malice.

Practical solution

Why risk the collapse of the entire nation over such a frivolous matter. What we saw last week was the absence of both political sensitivity and political will. The whole case against Roy Bennett is politically motivated and not based on law. We are very aware that there are hardliners in Zanu (PF) who do not want to see this inclusive government succeed. They are keen on offending all of us so that we can give up and the inclusive government will fail. We have to be clever and out-think these misguided hardliners. That is our charge as leaders because the GPA is the only practical solution for Zimbabwe and its people. As we play our national role as a political party in Zimbabwe, we are neither an appendage of Zanu (PF) nor a surrogate of MDC (T). We are a separate political entity with its own organisational structure and institutional decision-making processes.

However, we completely understand the position taken by our colleagues from MDC (T). We understand why they are angry and upset, because we are also disenchanted. We also hold the balance of power in parliament and government and we intend to use this power and influence judiciously. We will use this position to make sure that we encourage dialogue between these two major political parties in the country. We will use this position to push for the national interest and for mitigating differences. I am appealing to the Zimbabwean in Mugabe. I am appealing to the Zimbabwean in Tsvangirai. And I am appealing to the Zimbabwean in all of us so that we can find and stick to that which is in the best interest of Zimbabwe. These are times for us to think about the national interest. These are times for us to think about how we can work together. Let us amplify our agreements and attenuate our differences. We are going to sink or swim together. The choice is ours.