Party negotiators set to meet to resolve outstanding issues

By Tichaona Sibanda
9 November 2009

Negotiators from the three parties in the Global Political Agreement will meet soon to try to resolve the issues threatening to derail the inclusive government.
A meeting of the SADC Troika on Defence, Security and Politics last week gave the principals to the GPA 15 days to engage in dialogue that should include all the outstanding issues in the implementation of the GPA and SADC communiqué of 27 January 2009.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told his party supporters in Chitungwiza on Sunday that South African President Jacob Zuma is to visit the country in two weeks’ time to review progress.

A senior official from the MDC-M told SW Radio Africa that if the leaders had the political will, all the issues could be resolved amicably.

‘The negotiators will be meeting soon to see if they can tackle the issues because there is a time line that was set by SADC,’ the official said.

A communiqué issued by the SADC at the end of the summit urged the leaders to engage in dialogue with immediate effect, within 15 days but ot exceeding 30 days. Veteran South African journalist Allister Sparks said ultimately it is South Africa that has the clout in the region to force Mugabe to fully implement the GPA.

‘It is up to Zuma to prove Mugabe wrong and show that he is prepared to honour his obligations as guarantor and deal firmly with the errant president,’ Sparks said in newspaper article.

He wrote in the Business Day newspaper; ‘Doing that is not as difficult as Mbeki’s apologists used to imply. No need for threats of force or sanctions or other such unrealistic posturing. Just a simple warning that if Mugabe doesn’t implement the GPA fully and tries to rule alone, South Africa will not recognize his government. It will regard him as the head of an illegitimate regime.’

Mugabe’s ZANU PF party and Tsvangirai’s MDC remain deadlocked over a number of issues and Mugabe has not stopped the harassment of the MDC. At least 17 MDC legislators have been arrested since the beginning of the year, on charges ranging from theft and public violence, to rape and playing music that denigrates Mugabe.

ZANU PF accuses the MDC of reneging on a promise to push for the removal of travel bans and an asset freeze slapped by the West on its senior officials. It also says they have not called for the closure of the external radio stations, that ZANU PF regard as ‘pirates’.

It is believed Tsvangirai only agreed to restore normal relations with ZANU-PF after Mugabe gave his word to SADC leaders that all parties must commit themselves to resolve their differences.

While some analysts believe the parties may have committed themselves to reach agreement on outstanding issues in the 30-day period, many others remain highly skeptical about Mugabe having any intention at all to really share power.