Pretoria talks resume as Mugabe goes for broke
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/world.aspx?ID=BD4A832605
29 August 2008
Harare Correspondent
TALKS between Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu (PF) and opposition
Movement for Democratic (MDC) resume today in Pretoria amid
threats by President Robert Mugabe to proceed unilaterally to
appoint a cabinet.
Zanu (PF) negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche flew
to SA last night. Three MDC negotiators, Tendai Biti, Elton
Mangoma and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, were already in
Pretoria yesterday. The last negotiator, Welshman Ncube, is due
to fly in this morning.
Although talks are resuming, no agreement is likely to be signed
because Mugabe is said to be determined to resist pressure for
him to surrender more power to main MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai, while the opposition chief is also not willing to
budge.
Tsvangirai has refused to sign a power-sharing deal with Mugabe
that regional leaders and his opposition rivals led by Arthur
Mutambara think is "fair and realistic in the cir***stances",
saying it would leave him as a weaker junior partner.
Sources said President Thabo Mbeki, the mediator, who has called
for today's reconvening of talks, would not reopen negotiations
but ask the parties what should to be done to break the
deadlock.
If the talks collapse, Mugabe would inevitably proceed
unilaterally but his new government could be paralysed by his
party's loss of control of parliament.
Mugabe said on Tuesday he was in the process of forming a new
government. Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said
yesterday his boss was going ahead with his arbitrary plans to
appoint a cabinet despite continuing talks.
"Nothing is going to stop us from forming a new government,"
Matonga said in an interview with public broadcaster SAfm. "We
need to move forward, we need to make sure that Zimbabwe regains
its status, we need to work on the economy."
Matonga suggested that the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) had given Mugabe the authority to convene
parliament and appoint a cabinet.
However, SADC, which authorised Mugabe to reconvene parliament
during its recent summit in Johannesburg, said yesterday it had
not given him the go-ahead to appoint a cabinet while talks were
still under way.
SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salomao said the regional body
gave Mugabe the powers only to convene parliament, as reflected
in SADC's communiqué issued after the summit.
A memorandum of understanding for talks, signed by Mugabe,
Tsvangirai, Mutambara and Mbeki on July 21, prohibits such
actions as the opening of parliament and appointing a new
cabinet.
Biti said the MDC would today lodge a formal complaint with
Mbeki on these issues, including the arrest of five of the
party's MPs and a senior party official this week.
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