Negotiators to resume talks on outstanding issues

By Tichaona Sibanda
18 December 2009

Negotiators from the three political parties in the Global Political Agreement are set to resume talks Saturday in an attempt to break the deadlock over contentious issues still holding back the inclusive government.

Talks broke off last week Monday following two weeks of negotiations between ZANU PF and the MDC. It’s been reported that during those talks the parties agreed on most of the nominees proposed by Parliament’s Standing Rules and Orders Committee, for appointment to the electoral, media and human rights commissions.

But negotiations could not restart in earnest this week as Welshman Ncube and Priscillah Misihairambwi-Mushonga from the MDC-M were said to be out of the country, on government business. It has not been possible to find out where they are or what they are doing. ZANU PF negotiators had also last week called for time-out, to attend their party congress which ended in Harare last Saturday.

SW Radio Africa tried to contact various negotiators from the two MDC formations, but their mobile phones went unanswered.. Attempts to reach a deal in the talks have repeatedly snagged over whether Robert Mugabe will agree to rescind the unilateral appointments of Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana as Reserve Bank Governor and Attorney General.

Mugabe appointed the two without consultation with the other two principals in the inclusive government, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.

When the leaders met this past Monday for their routine meeting, they apparently ordered the negotiators to move with speed to deal with the remaining issues and submit their report ahead of their next meeting set for Monday.

Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us there was now growing anxiety and frustration in the country at the slow pace to finalize the talks.

‘You sense people are getting fed up at the slow pace of the talks because at any gathering that you go to these days, its likely the discussion would be centred on the never-ending talks,’ Muchemwa said.
Reports from Pretoria in South African said on Friday that President Jacob Zuma, the SADC mediator for Zimbabwe, has sent a preliminary report on the negotiations to President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique, chairman of the SADC troika on politics, defense and security, which helped break the October-November deadlock in the government.