August 18, 2008

Zimbabwe Crisis Persists; Summit Fails to End Impasse

By Mike Cohen and Brian Latham, Bloomberg.net

Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and rival Morgan Tsvangirai remained divided over a proposed power-sharing accord after three days of talks with regional leaders failed to overcome the impasse.

``We have agreed that Mr. Mugabe will remain president while I become prime minister,'' Tsvangirai said by telephone from Johannesburg today. ``Where we haven't reached agreement is on the division of powers. Fundamental to any agreement is to whom ministers report and who has the power to dismiss ministers.''

Zimbabwe has been in political limbo since Mugabe claimed victory in a one-man runoff presidential election that Tsvangirai boycotted in protest of violence targeting his supporters. Tsvangirai won the most votes in the initial poll on March 29, and his Movement for Democratic Change won the most seats in the lower house of parliament.

The Southern African Development Community appointed South African President Thabo Mbeki to mediate, and he had aimed to conclude his work by the time the 15-nation bloc ended its annual summit in Johannesburg today. Mugabe joined other heads of state at the summit's opening ceremony in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, while Tsvangirai was seated among the observers.

``The negotiations will continue,'' Mbeki told reporters after the closing ceremony. In the interim ``it may be necessary to convene parliament to give effect to the will of the people as expressed on March 29. It's not possible to say when the negotiations will be concluded.''

No Deal?

Mugabe, 84, and Tsvangirai, 54, met face to face for the first time in 10 years on July 21 to sign an accord outlining the objectives for negotiations. These included a framework for a new government, the restoration of economic stability and an end to political violence. The agreement also says parliament should only be convened by consensus.

MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti declined to comment on whether his party opposed the convening of parliament, saying only that nothing should be done to breach the accord.

``As MDC, we welcome the fact that the dialogue will continue,'' he told reporters. ``There is no negotiation that is a walk in the park. You don't negotiate with your wife or your best friend. The minute you begin negotiations you must budget for difficulty. Failure is not an option.''

The MDC, formed in 1999, brought together labor-union and civil-society organizations opposed to Mugabe's government.

Political Parties

``No deal in the short-term is better than a bad deal,'' said Tsvangirai, who was arrested five times between the March 29 and June 27 votes. ``We envisage that the prime minister must chair cabinet and be responsible for the formulation, execution and administration of government business, including appointing and dismissing ministers.''

Mbeki said Zimbabwe's political parties should decide how the country should be governed, and he as a mediator could not impose any solution on them.

``Of all of us they know what's best for Zimbabwe,'' he said. ``Any solution imposed from outside won't last.''

Zimbabwe is in its 10th year of economic recession and has the world's highest inflation rate, 2.2 million percent, following a land-redistribution campaign begun by Mugabe in 2000. The program, in which white-owned commercial farms were seized for redistribution to black farmers deprived of land during colonial rule, slashed agricultural output and led to shortages of basic commodities. An estimated third of the population of 12 million has fled -- the bulk of them to South Africa.

Zimbabwe's economy is likely to contract 6.6 percent this year and 6.8 percent next year, after shrinking 6.1 percent in 2007, the International Monetary Fund said in an April 9 report.

Mugabe blames the crisis on former colonial power Britain and its failure to live up to its commitments to fund land reform. Tsvangirai said today that Mugabe ``is out of touch.''

SADC's members are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.net; Brian Latham in Durban via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 17, 2008 15:51 EDT