MAPUTO Zimbabwes opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) last night ended its boycott of the new unity government but will give President Robert Mugabe a month to fully implement a power- sharing deal, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said.We have suspended our disengagement from the GPA (Global Political Agreement) with immediate effect and we will give President Robert Mugabe 30 days to implement the agreement on the pertinent issues we are concerned about, Tsvangirai said after a regional summit in Mozambique.
His climbdown follows Southern African Development Community (Sadc) leaders urging rival parties within the inclusive government to urgently resume working together, possibly by next week, to salvage the shaky coalition arrangement which had stemmed the countrys disastrous 10-year cumulative decline.
Tsvangirai and his MDC began their boycott last month in protest against Mugabes refusal to fully implement the GPA which led to the formation of the coalition arrangement in February.
The Sadc troika, chaired by Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, was last night still locked in critical meetings with Zimbabwes political leaders and South African President Jacob Zuma in a bid to finalise a solution.
Guebuza said Zimbabwes parties could not allow the inclusive government to collapse for the good of the country and the region.
In relation to the issue of Zimbabwe, we want this troika meeting to reach an agreement on the promises made by the parties in order to iron out the present challenges and to prioritise issues of national interest, Guebuza said.
Along this line, all has to be done to maintain political stability in order for the continued influx of foreign investment which will help in the re- launch of the countrys economic activities. We also appeal to the parties to capitalise on the meeting in order to have a lasting solution which will be good for Zimbabwe and the whole region.
Regional leaders are anxious to prevent the dispute in the inclusive government from deteriorating into a full-blown crisis which could collapse the Harare coalition, renewing political instability within the country and the region.
Diplomatic sources said Sadc leaders would in their communique urge the GPA parties to fully implement their agreement.
They would also recommend that negotiators of the parties should engage each other on the outstanding issues and make recommendations to their principals within 30 days.
Sources said Sadc leaders also wanted the facilitator former South African president Thabo Mbeki to continue dealing with the matter to ensure implementation of the GPA.
The meetings started late with the troika leaders calling in Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara for a briefing and the adoption of the agenda for the summit.
The agenda included Madagascar, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
After that, Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara went out and the troika leaders, supported by Zuma, discussed the situation before calling the three back for further talks.
The second session took long as leaders haggled over issues.
Business Day with Reuters
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