Mixed reaction as MDC backs Tsvangirai joining unity government

By Alex Bell
30 January 2009

The MDC national executive on Friday backed party leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s decision to join a unity government with Robert Mugabe, in a move that has already prompted a flurry of opposing responses.

The power sharing agreement that was signed last year between the MDC and ZANU PF has been argued by some as the best possible solution to the devastating crises ravaging the country. The economy has completely collapsed under the weight of hyperinflation and the local dollar has been dropped in favour of foreign currency. At the same time, critical infrastructure has collapsed and basic services have disappeared, leaving diseases such as the cholera epidemic to rampage across the country unchecked. Officially more than 3000 people have died from the disease alone, but with the collapse of the health system, tens of thousands more people have died from other ailments, usually treatable in a functioning society.

More than half of the country’s remaining population are in desperate need of food aid and the country is literally starving to death. The majority of the country’s remaining workforce, believed to be only 6% of the population, are still being paid in the worthless local dollar, meaning basic living expenses are unattainable, and even school has become an unaffordable luxury for most students.

The combined crises have sparked outrage from many observers that Mugabe has been allowed to cling to power in this unity government, despite being at the centre of the country’s collapse. Many also believe that the MDC has effectively ‘sold-out’ by joining a government which has the blood of so many Zimbabweans on its hands, and there have been renewed cries from civil society for SADC leaders to respect the outcome of last year’s March presidential elections, which the MDC won.

Analysts have argued that allowing the losing party, namely ZANU PF, to cling to power despite the ongoing human rights atrocities still being committed in the country, is setting a bad and worrying precedent for the rest of Africa. For this reason, the decision by the MDC to join Mugabe’s government, has left many with a bitter taste in their mouths.

SW Radio Africa’s Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa explained on Friday that the MDC’s decision to join the ZANU PF government has been met with mixed feeling on the ground, saying that many Zimbabweans “are questioning what will happen next now that the MDC has joined hands with the devil.” Muchemwa said that in some cases, hopes have been raised that an end to the crisis is in sight, but he also argued that faith in the MDC has been shaken.

“Many people believed the MDC was going to hold out until their demands were met, but they didn’t and have proven to be inconsistent,” Muchemwa said.

Friday’s decision by the MDC national executive was taken in ‘full unanimity’, according to party spokesman Nelson Chamisa. The party has however cited three conditions to be met by the time Tsvangirai is sworn in as Prime Minister on February 11th. These include the release of all political detainees, a review of the distribution of posts of provincial governors and the drafting of legislation to revamp national security. As it stands, ZANU PF will control 13 ministries and share the Home Affairs ministry with the MDC-T, who will control 14 ministries. The remaining three ministries will go to the splinter MDC formation, led by Arthur Mutambara,

How Home Affairs will be shared has yet to be decided, although South Africa’s Director General in the country’s Presidency this week shed some light on how the decision will be made. Rev Frank Chikane, while lauding the ‘success’ of the SADC summit on Monday, rather worryingly said Zimbabwe’s leaders should ‘toss a coin’.

Meanwhile, leaders in Kenya and Senegal on Friday expressed doubt over whether a unity government will work in Zimbabwe, saying Mugabe must step down from power. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, said it is time for ‘Mugabe to be shown the door’, explaining that if the dictator “needs a golden handshake, let’s assure him of a golden handshake.” At the same time, Odinga’s sentiments were echoed by Senegal’s President, Abdoulaye Wade, who said an impasse had been reached in Zimbabwe. He said: “If Mugabe does leave power... he could come to Senegal. We need to provide a smooth exit for him.”