Business Day
6 February 2009
By Tony Heard

A CACOPHONY of sceptics. That collective noun aptly describes the underlying disbelief over the South African-led peace effort in Zimbabwe. And it will persist.

This correspondent has some personal experience of it, because last year in Business Day he ventured a test swim against this particular tide. (Swimming without a wet suit in frozen Lake Zurich may be preferable.) He wrote that, after the elections for Zimbabwe’s parliament, won by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), it was time to “doff our hats to the person who helped lead an undramatic initiative with such a dramatic outcome” (Thabo Mbeki).

The floodgates of criticism opened on his head with a vengeance. But this cold spa bath was bracing and diverting.

A relaunched Tony Leon — years ago picturesquely described by Kader Asmal as a “new leader in short pants” — led the charge, followed by the usual jaundiced journalists, even an inconsequential wag once in a racism row, some of the inveterate (I almost said invertebrate) letter writers, many close friends and left-liberal associates, indeed Uncle Tom Cobbly and all. They just climbed in, the attacks overflowing into other newspapers’ columns. There was imperious reference to “Heard’s premature announcement of vindication for Mbeki”; and, below the belt, a suggestion of “premature ejaculation”; on another plane, the discovery of a new phenomenon in the heavens: Planet Tony.

Well: En kyk hoe lyk hulle nou! (“See how they look now!”, the phrase, incidentally, from an expressive language without peer, which can conjure words such as eina-rok for miniskirt and brom-brom for reluctance.)

The fact is that the painstaking diplomacy led by Mbeki, in the tradition of the gruelling years of talks that finally wrapped up a defeated South Vietnam (and which honourable diplomatic tradition of dogged “jaw not war” may one day yet help the Middle East to follow Ulster and SA to relative sanity), has pulled off all-party agreement in Zimbabwe. The MDC-Tsvangirai has, yes, rather brom-brom, finally clicked in, as all-round pressure has mounted.

The MDC-T’s belated recruitment happened on that awkward media day, Friday, when the weekend newspaper brains trusts had already delivered their profound thoughts for print. That meant that the inconvenient, ineluctable task of giving Mbeki his due could be largely ducked over the weekend — while we all admittedly wait with bated breath to see if the old fox will try to play silly-buggers , like last time. There are already suggestions of Zanu (PF) “backtracking” and “spoiling”. We’ll see.
The difference now is the real prospect not only of an MDC-majority parliament but of a constitutionally appointed Prime Minister Tsvangirai on February 11. Next week, in the flesh! So the fox has limited options but to go along with it. And the looming United Nations (UN) Chapter Seven rottang (whip) or the International Criminal Court, plus no more spousal shopping, are hardly palatable alternatives.

Zimbabwe has always been a good example of limitations on power. It has seen the once-colonial force studiously averting the eyes while expecting, at times, a trifle too much of us South Africans, to pull chestnuts from the fire. The Zimbabwe hell has, till now, seen much talk but little progress from regional and continental bodies, and the UN (where it could rightly be said ultimately to belong). It has seen crushing challenges facing our own leaders as they just plod on. But we now see that their efforts have finally helped, together with Zimbabweans, to forge peace.

We can now, surely, change the tone of debate on Zimbabwe. Even if one is tempted to say “I told you so”, it is simply not helpful in public life, and can boomerang dangerously. Other empty phrases to avoid are “Something must be done!” (Yes, but what?) and the supremely sterile: “You too!” which once led an apartheid foreign minister, Eric Louw, to allege you-too-like that other countries indulged in discrimination; even announcing that obscure Laplanders suffered this fate. Really?

No, the important thing is to get on with the reconstruction and development of that land benighted for too long, and to generate the widest consensus within SA and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) — all led to greater heights by world exemplars such as Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter — to ensure that the valuable ground won does not just fritter away again.

As this correspondent wrote last year ( it still applies): “The path ahead for Zimbabwe is horrendously complicated.” Please take note! It qualifies one’s optimism. But the formal breakthrough, denied so long to southern Africa, is now surely confirmed.

Let us all appropriate it, and seek to make it work. Let us argue for lifting of sanctions as soon as possible. Let us reward those who really seek peace there. Let us help the currency to recover, and the economy to restart. Let us help the starving, the grievously ill and the pathetic victims of turpitude and abuse to rediscover their life, health and dignity.

Let us buy Zimbabwean goods, such as those snow-white, painstakingly made tablecloths brought to suburban doors by bowed old women, who stand to eat for a month if we purchase just one. Let us appeal to the international community, despite the economic meltdown created by the rich nations, to dig into their pockets and grab the chance to rebuild a broken land. It will be good for all our souls.
And let us not indulge in recriminations, but rather doff the hat to all who have pushed and shoved in the cause of getting a settlement; yes, even the critics of our own government’s efforts. Let us praise those ministers, and others, who have of late put more lead in the pencil in the push for peace. Let us help that potentially lovely land discover the lyrical “spirit of 1994” that made us a generous giant of Africa almost overnight under Nelson Mandela and Mbeki — though that status could, ironically, fade here just as the spirit takes root across the Limpopo.

Finally, let us give the new South African president and also the bloodied but unbowed SADC facilitator his due. Kgalema Motlanthe has proved to be a deft new thrust on this diplomatic quest for peace, speaking not only for us but for SADC and the African Union; and common sense.

Mbeki will pre-eminently be remembered as a negotiator and a problem-solver, whatever mistakes he may have made and enemies incurred. He and his team, most notably the moral and modest public servant, Frank Chikane, and low-profile adviser and successful peacemaker Mojanku Gumbi at his side, seem to have finally pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat, we all hope.

May we all be blessed, here in southern Africa, with success, for a change, in this most wretched matter. And if it goes the other way, we shall simply have, as US President Barack Obama said recently in a different context, to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and begin picking up the pieces again; and plod on, and on, and on. There is no other way. As Zimbabwean senator David Coltart said in September: “But work this must.” Period.

• Heard, an adviser to the government since 1994, is a former editor of the Cape Times.

Zimbabwe Times
6th February 2009
By Raymond Maingire

HARARE –David Coltart, the Senator for Khumalo representing the Mutambara-led MDC, has called for the liberalization of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and the Attorney General’s (AG) office, saying they have been used as partisan institutions to entrench President Robert Mugabe’s rule.
As parliamentarians across the political divide celebrated and spoke in praise of the unanimous passing of Constitutional Amendment. No 19 Bill on Thursday, Coltart dared to talk tough on the new developments.

“There are institutions such as the CIO and the AG that have to be liberalized if we are sincere about forming a unity government,” Coltart told fellow senators shortly before the Upper House voted on the Bill on Thursday.

“In the new government, people who have committed crimes must be prosecuted and face due process of the law.

“Zimbabweans should once again be allowed to claim their rights. That right involves the right to seek legal representation, the right to be arrested and not abducted.”

Coltart said in the all inclusive government the courts should be allowed their independence to determine criminal matters without undue political interference.

The outspoken legislator said it took more than tolerance for all the parties to agree to what he described as a flawed deal.

“This agreement is flawed, it is imperfect,” he said.

“There are aspects that I do not like about the Bill. In fact, there is no party represented here today that is fully satisfied with it.

“The law is flawed because there are fearsome protagonists who shall now have to work together. We have to face the challenges that lie ahead in the context of the mistrust and disagreements that we have had.”

Coltart said the Bill was so flawed that it had attracted fierce protests from civic society.
“But we have to take it because there is no other non-violent option that was still available,” he said. “Our people are weary, our country is broke.”

Coltart said President Mugabe’s government was playing in the hands of its detractors by continuing to engage in violence against its opponents.

“We should now start using non violent means to resolve our differences,” he said. “Unless we all renounce violence, our nation shall remain a second class nation.”

Because of the flaws that we have experienced in the past, he said, it was easy to understand the skepticism that was emanating from countries such as America, the European Union and other Western countries about prospects of success in the unity government.

“There are many pitfalls that lie ahead. If this is to work, we have to demonstrate utmost good faith,” he said.

Coltart said Zimbabweans needed to work out modalities on how to bring back millions of what he said were brilliant Zimbabweans who have fled this country over the past few years.

He said the scenario of a unity government was not new in Zimbabwe and should not be viewed naively by both politicians and ordinary Zimbabweans.

He said Zimbabwe had been at the stage of a negotiated settlement to her political disputes before and failed to embrace the spirit of change despite the euphoria that characterized the then new dispensation.

“We saw this in the new administration that was formed as a result of the Lancaster House Agreement,” Coltart said.

“The same repressive laws that were used before 1980 to suppress the majority were never removed. The new government never made any effort to repeal those laws.

“The Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation that was broadcasting partisan information was replaced by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation that is doing the same.

“The process of forming a functioning government will not be finished today. A lot of challenges lie ahead. Our vision is to have a tolerant, free, vibrant, multi racial and democratic society in Zimbabwe which will become the jewel of Africa.

“The passing of this Bill makes a significant step towards attaining that dream.”

The Bill, which was voted for by all the 184 lower house parliamentarians and all the 72 senators who attended the two sessions, now awaits assent by Mugabe.

The passing of the Bill seeks to create an executive post for Prime Minister-Designate, Morgan Tsvangirai who shall be the deputy chairperson of cabinet.

The MDC leader shall be deputized by his second in charge, Thokozani Khuphe and Mutambara, leader of the smaller faction of the MDC.

Mugabe, who remains in control of government, will chair the National Security Council and Cabinet, proclaim and terminate martial law and formally appoint his deputies.

The Herald
6 February 2009
By Zvamaida Murwira

CONSTITUTION of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) Bill that seeks to give legal effect to the framework of the inclusive Government was unanimously passed by both the House of Assembly and Senate yesterday.

The Assembly passed the Bill with a margin of 184-0 with the Senate giving it the thumbs up 72-0, effectively sealing the second step towards the formation of the inclusive Government following the setting up of the tri-partisan Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee last week.

The Bill now awaits presidential assent to become law to pave way for the swearing in of the Prime Minister and his deputies, and the appointment of Cabinet next week.

Among the senators who lent their support to the Bill were Vice President Cde Joseph Msika and Zanu-PF national chairman Cde John Nkomo.

Speaking during its second reading stage in both Houses, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Senator Patrick Chinamasa, said the presentation of the Bill marked a historic occasion as it sought to usher in an inclusive Government in which all political parties represented in Parlia-ment would participate.

The minister chronicled to both Houses the background to the Bill, which he described as “long and bumpy”.

“It has been a long, frustrating, erratic, bumpy and quarrelsome journey characterised by animosities, disagreements, mutual dislikes, name-calling, demonisations, vilification of each other’s policies and leaderships,” said Sen Chinamasa.

“But notwithstanding these negatives, what is important and significant is that we have managed to reach this far and for that, we forever remain eternally grateful to our people for their resilience, understanding and support.”

He told legislators how engagement of the political parties began after the 2002 presidential elections when Zimbabwe was advised by Sadc and the Commonwealth to begin a process of dialogue to resolve a dispute raised by the MDC against the outcome of the elections.

Negotiations then began under the facilitation of Professor Adebayo Adedeji of Nigeria and Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, current President of South Africa, then secretary-general of the ruling ANC.

During those negotiations, Sen Chinamasa led the Zanu-PF team to the talks while Professor Welshman Ncube was at the helm of the MDC negotiating team before the opposition party split.

Sen Chinamasa said after the passage of the Bill, there would be no governing or opposition party.

The minister outlined the challenges faced during early days and how the present talks got underway in March 2007 after a Sadc Extraordinary Summit in Tanzania mandated the hen South African president Cde Thabo Mbeki to mediate between the Zimbabwean parties.

He said although Zanu-PF unilaterally introduced electoral reforms in Parliament after earlier negotiations failed to secure agreements, it was critical that they were premised on what had been agreed upon by Zanu-PF and the MDC negotiators.

Contributing to the same debate, Harare East Member of the House of Assembly (MDC-T) Mr Tendai Biti said respect, trust, equality and comradeship were the fundamental principles critical for the success of the inclusive Government.

“Each one of us in his conscience and dreams is fully aware of the weight of this occasion. We have travelled this far guided by one thing — faith — and we will have to place faith alone for this experience to succeed.

“Many of us are not sure whether this is right or wrong.

“The question is not whether we are doing the right thing or the wrong thing because that is for history to judge. In my view, the question is do we have any choice, in my respectful view, we do not have,” said Mr Biti.

He said the agreement entered by the three political parties should give people hope.

Khumalo Senator David Coltart (MDC) said the passage of the Bill marked the resolution of the country’s challenges using non-violent means.

www.chinaview.cn
2009-02-06

HARARE, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) — Zimbabwe’s senate on Thursday passed Constitutional Amendment Number 19, paving the way for the establishment of an inclusive government.

The bill now awaits the signature of President Robert Mugabe to enact it into law after 72 senators who are in the House voted for its passage with no votes cast against it.

The Lower House earlier on Thursday endorsed the deal which will see the country’s three main political parties form a coalition government, expected to be in place by the end of next week.

President Robert Mugabe will retain the presidency under the power-sharing deal, while Morgan Tsvangirai of the larger formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will be appointed Prime Minister, and Arthur Mutambara of the breakaway MDC will be named deputy prime minister.

The parties will, among other things, also share cabinet posts.

Presenting the Bill in the Senate, Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the passage of the deal would be historic as it will usher in a new era in the way Zimbabwe is governed.

A lot of hurdles had been faced and compromises made for the bill to be acceptable to all parties, he said.

“It has been a long, frustrating, erratic, bumpy and quarrelsome journey characterized by animosities, disagreements, mutual dislikes, name calling, mutual demonisations, vilifications of each other’s policies and leadership,” Chinamasa told the Senate.

“But notwithstanding the negatives, what is important and significant is that we have managed to reach this far and for that we remain fore ever grateful to our people and for their resilience, understanding and support,” he said.

Chinamasa gave a brief account of how the negotiations between ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC began as way back as2002 but had met various setbacks until finally an agreement was signed last year.

Following the passage of the Bill, “it was now time for the inclusive government train to leave the station,” he said to applause from senators.

A representative of the Tsvangirai led formation of the MDC, Sekai Holland, chief’s representative Chief Fortune Charumbira as well as David Coltart of the smaller MDC faction told Senate it was vital for all parties to the deal to support it, as it was one instrument which would take the country forward.

Admitting that the bill is imperfect, they all agreed that it is the only viable solution to addressing the seemingly insurmountable challenges Zimbabwe is facing.

“The bill is flawed and has many potential pitfalls but that is inevitable because what we are debating is a product of compromise,” said Coltart. “This process will not work unless we listen to each other.”

The bill has both permanent and temporary amendments of the Zimbabwe Constitution. The temporary amendments will only be in effect for as long as the inclusive government is in place.

Formation of the inclusive government has taken over five months after the initial signing of the agreements as a result of hard-line stances taken by both ruling Zanu PF and the opposition MDC over issues that the latter wanted addressed before joining the envisaged government.

The Tsvangirai-led MDC finally agreed to participate in the government last Friday.

Washington Post
By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, January 31, 2009

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 30 — Zimbabwe’s main opposition party announced Friday that it would enter a unity government with autocratic President Robert Mugabe, bending to pressure to end a nearly five-month impasse that had paralyzed the government as a humanitarian and economic crisis grew more dire by the day.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said his party determined that working within the government offered the best route to democracy and to ending Zimbabweans’ suffering. But he expressed skepticism about sharing power with Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s iron-fisted ruler for nearly 29 years.
“We are not saying that this is a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis. Instead, our participation signifies that we have chosen to continue the struggle for a democratic Zimbabwe in a new arena,” Tsvangirai told reporters in Harare, the capital. He added, “Now is the time for us to put aside our political differences, to prioritize the welfare of the people.”

Tsvangirai is to be sworn in as prime minister on Feb. 11 as part of a power-sharing pact, reached in September, that could provide an opening for the revival of Zimbabwe, a once-flourishing nation that is buckling under hyperinflation, hunger and a cholera epidemic.

But questions remain, key among them whether Mugabe — whom the opposition says has betrayed the deal by claiming key ministries and imprisoning and torturing opposition activists — will cooperate with or undermine the man who has been his political foe for a decade. Over the years, Tsvangirai has been beaten, imprisoned, charged with treason and denied travel documents by Mugabe’s enforcers.
“Whether this government will become functional, given the distrust between the two parties, you can say the jury is still out,” said Sydney Masamvu, a South Africa-based analyst for the International Crisis Group. “I do not think this inclusive government, with two centers of power, will do much in the short term.”

Under the terms of the deal, which require the ruling party and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change to share control of the ministry that oversees police, Mugabe will retain his grip on most of the security forces he has long deployed to quell dissent. But one opposition official said the party believes its control of the finance, health and education ministries will allow it to quickly channel resources to the public.

That is an argument that the smaller faction of the MDC, which will also take part in the unity government, has been making for months. David Coltart, an MDC Senator, said Friday that he had “no doubt” Mugabe’s party would try to sabotage the deal and corrupt opposition ministers. But the deal gives the opposition the best chance to help Zimbabweans, he said.

“People know what ZANU-PF delivered in the last 28 years,” Coltart said of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. “If we work hard and we’re competent, then I have no doubt that we will get credit for what we do.”

Tsvangirai’s party had refused to implement the pact unless Mugabe agreed to conditions including the unconditional release of activists and the relinquishment of the Home Affairs Ministry. But the opposition’s options narrowed as regional leaders mediating the standoff pushed for power-sharing and declined to condemn Mugabe, who refused to step down after losing to Tsvangirai in the first round of the presidential election last year.

After a summit Monday, the 15-nation Southern African Development Community set a timeline for the unity government that Tsvangirai said offered the opposition some concessions. But by crafting a timeline, opposition insiders said, the regional bloc eliminated the party’s hopes of appealing for support from the African Union at its semiannual meeting this weekend.

“The A.U. would have been within its right to say the process is ongoing,” one opposition official said. “If we stand on principle now, we might be unable to address the situation in the country for another six months.”

The opposition won a parliamentary majority in last year’s polls, but Tsvangirai pulled out of a runoff after state security forces launched a bloody crackdown on opposition supporters. Mugabe claimed the presidency after an election that was internationally condemned.

In the months since Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed the deal, a cholera epidemic has killed more than 3,100 people and inflation has rendered the Zimbabwean dollar so worthless that the finance minister on Thursday approved the use of foreign currency — something that had been happening for months. Schools and hospitals have closed, and sanitation systems have collapsed.

Many Western governments, meanwhile, have called on Mugabe to resign and refused to lift sanctions or offer aid for reconstruction unless Tsvangirai gains true power, an incentive analysts say forced Mugabe to hold off on threats to form a government on his own. But when — or whether — Zimbabwe could expect an influx of aid remained unclear.

“We are a bit skeptical. These types of things have been announced before,” U.S. State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood told reporters in Washington. He added: “If and when there is a government in place in Zimbabwe that reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people, the United States will then look to see what we can do to continue to help.”

Reaction to the unity government was also reserved in Harare. While some opposition supporters cheered the decision, others grumbled that their leaders had surrendered to the enemy, observers said.
“The MDC’s followers sort of feel that it’s not going to work,” said Iden Wetherell, a top editor at the Zimbabwe Independent and Standard newspapers. “The very people who are responsible for going around abducting them and torturing are exactly the same people upon whom success of this project depends.”

The Washington Post
By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, January 31, 2009

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 30 — Zimbabwe’s main opposition party announced Friday that it would enter a unity government with autocratic President Robert Mugabe, bending to pressure to end a nearly five-month impasse that had paralyzed the government as a humanitarian and economic crisis grew more dire by the day.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said his party determined that working within the government offered the best route to democracy and to ending Zimbabweans’ suffering. But he expressed skepticism about sharing power with Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s iron-fisted ruler for nearly 29 years.

“We are not saying that this is a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis. Instead, our participation signifies that we have chosen to continue the struggle for a democratic Zimbabwe in a new arena,” Tsvangirai told reporters in Harare, the capital. He added, “Now is the time for us to put aside our political differences, to prioritize the welfare of the people.”

Tsvangirai is to be sworn in as prime minister on Feb. 11 as part of a power-sharing pact, reached in September, that could provide an opening for the revival of Zimbabwe, a once-flourishing nation that is buckling under hyperinflation, hunger and a cholera epidemic.

But questions remain, key among them whether Mugabe — whom the opposition says has betrayed the deal by claiming key ministries and imprisoning and torturing opposition activists — will cooperate with or undermine the man who has been his political foe for a decade. Over the years, Tsvangirai has been beaten, imprisoned, charged with treason and denied travel documents by Mugabe’s enforcers.
“Whether this government will become functional, given the distrust between the two parties, you can say the jury is still out,” said Sydney Masamvu, a South Africa-based analyst for the International Crisis Group. “I do not think this inclusive government, with two centers of power, will do much in the short term.”

Under the terms of the deal, which require the ruling party and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change to share control of the ministry that oversees police, Mugabe will retain his grip on most of the security forces he has long deployed to quell dissent. But one opposition official said the party believes its control of the finance, health and education ministries will allow it to quickly channel resources to the public.

That is an argument that a splinter group of the main opposition party, which will also take part in the unity government, has been making for months. David Coltart, a senator with that group, said Friday that he had “no doubt” Mugabe’s party would try to sabotage the deal and corrupt opposition ministers. But the deal gives the opposition the best chance to help Zimbabweans, he said.

“People know what ZANU-PF delivered in the last 28 years,” Coltart said of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. “If we work hard and we’re competent, then I have no doubt that we will get credit for what we do.”

Tsvangirai’s party had refused to implement the pact unless Mugabe agreed to conditions including the unconditional release of activists and the relinquishment of the Home Affairs Ministry. But the opposition’s options narrowed as regional leaders mediating the standoff pushed for power-sharing and declined to condemn Mugabe, who refused to step down after losing to Tsvangirai in the first round of the presidential election last year.

After a summit Monday, the 15-nation Southern African Development Community set a timeline for the unity government that Tsvangirai said offered the opposition some concessions. But by crafting a timeline, opposition insiders said, the regional bloc eliminated the party’s hopes of appealing for support from the African Union at its semiannual meeting this weekend.

“The A.U. would have been within its right to say the process is ongoing,” one opposition official said. “If we stand on principle now, we might be unable to address the situation in the country for another six months.”

The opposition won a parliamentary majority in last year’s polls, but Tsvangirai pulled out of a runoff after state security forces launched a bloody crackdown on opposition supporters. Mugabe claimed the presidency after an election that was internationally condemned.

In the months since Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed the deal, a cholera epidemic has killed more than 3,100 people and inflation has rendered the Zimbabwean dollar so worthless that the finance minister on Thursday approved the use of foreign currency — something that had been happening for months. Schools and hospitals have closed, and sanitation systems have collapsed.

Many Western governments, meanwhile, have called on Mugabe to resign and refused to lift sanctions or offer aid for reconstruction unless Tsvangirai gains true power, an incentive analysts say forced Mugabe to hold off on threats to form a government on his own. But when — or whether — Zimbabwe could expect an influx of aid remained unclear.

“We are a bit skeptical. These types of things have been announced before,” U.S. State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood told reporters in Washington. He added: “If and when there is a government in place in Zimbabwe that reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people, the United States will then look to see what we can do to continue to help.”

Reaction to the unity government was also reserved in Harare. While some opposition supporters cheered the decision, others grumbled that their leaders had surrendered to the enemy, observers said.
“The MDC’s followers sort of feel that it’s not going to work,” said Iden Wetherell, a top editor at the Zimbabwe Independent and Standard newspapers. “The very people who are responsible for going around abducting them and torturing are exactly the same people upon whom success of this project depends.”

Zimdaily
12 January 2009

ZIMBABWE – HARARE – Senator David Coltart of the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC says the main MDC must join government saying there is no other viable non-violent option open to Zimbabweans.

“The combined MDC should join the transitional government under protest and reserve its right to withdraw from the government if need be,” Coltart said.

It is exactly four months since the September 15 Global Political Agreement to set up an all-inclusive Government was signed by the principals of Zimbabwe’s three main political parties, President Mugabe’s Zanu-PF, the main MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai and the Mutambara faction.

The agreement was hailed by the SADC summit a few days later, but most analysts agreed that it lacked a time-frame and was riddled with contradictory statements.

There were far too many issues left undecided, and a whole series of subsequent negotiations have still not settled them.

Coltart said: “In short, there is no alternative but to press for the September agreement to be implemented, warts and all.”

Coltart said as bad as the agreement is, there was no other viable, non-violent option open to Zimbabweans.

He said an appeal to the African Union or the UN against what the SADC has arranged and endorsed, will be fruitless.

Critics say the Mutambara faction is desperate to get into government because its leader
had no claim whatsoever to be deputy Prime Minister given that he did not contest the presidential election and also lost parliamentary elections in Zengeza, where he was thoroughly drubbed by the main MDC’s Collin Gwiyo.

The MDC has refused to join the government as a junior partner and efforts to get SADC to resolve the outstanding issues have been futile.

At its October 27 extra-ordinary summit, SADC sidestepped issues raised by the main MDC and narrowed the dispute to the Home Affairs ministry, which the regional bloc recommended should be jointly run by Zanu-PF and the MDC, while Mugabe retained exclusive control of the army and the intelligence despite losing elections.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai described that resolution as a “nullity” and branded SADC leaders “cowards.”

Coltart however insisted that there was no other way to go around the problem saying the issue has failed to be tackled even at the highest level of international diplomacy. He said the US and Britain’s attempts to raise Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis in the UN Security Council flopped. Russia and South Africa vetoed action on Zimbabwe.

“While strong statements made by (British Premier) Gordon Brown, (US President) George W Bush, (German chancellor) Angela Merkel and (South African Nobel Peace Laureate) Desmond Tutu have called for the removal of Robert Mugabe, there is little prospect that their rhetoric will translate into action,” Coltart said.

“There is no stomach in the West for military intervention and many of us opposed to Mugabe would not support such a policy.”

Coltart said a spontaneous uprising was also unlikely.

“Zimbabwe does not have a pressure-cooker environment such as existed in East Germany where young people, usually the vanguard of any uprising, are forced to remain in the country,” he said.

“Zimbabwe has two safety valves – Botswana and South Africa – to which most of the young opponents have escaped. Most people left in the country are physically weakened by the collapse of the economy and the humanitarian crisis.”

Coltart noted that the newly-created office of Prime Minister, to be given to Tsvangirai, will have huge de facto power.

He said the success of the transitional government will depend on the amount of international assistance that can be raised, noting however that there was so much disdain for Mugabe that there is no prospect of any assistance coming through his door.

“The International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Union and other governments and institutions will want to channel all their aid through the office of Prime Minister,” Coltart added.

“MDC also will hold the Finance ministry, giving Tsvangirai enormous power and an effective veto. If he decides to withdraw from the transitional government, aid will dry up at the same time.”
But the US government and its key allies has stated that it will not provide any financial support to a government with Mugabe at the helm.

Coltart said Zanu PF’s fixation with controlling the coercive ministries has resulted in it ceding control to the combined MDC of nearly all the service ministries, such as health and education, likely to have the biggest impact on the lives of Zimbabweans.

“If the MDC improves services, which should not be too difficult given that most government departments have all but collapsed, it will increase its support,” Coltart said.

He said the agreement obliges the transitional government to liberalise the political environment and to start, immediately, a process of constitutional reform that must culminate in a new democratic constitution being enacted within 18 months.

Both Sadc and the AU have guaranteed the agreement including these provisions, he said.

“In addition, for all the criticisms levelled against SADC governments in the past few months, they have demonstrated a commitment to enforce all the terms of the agreement and it will be in regional governments’ self-interest to ensure reform continues,” he said.

Coltart said Zanu PF was now a shadow of its former self. Mugabe turns 85 in February and is increasingly out of touch with reality.

“He has retained some of his patronage system, ironically, because the transitional government has not been set up, but once it is he will be even weaker,” he said.

Constitution Amendment No. 19 Bill, which gives legal teeth to the September agreement, has just been gazette and Coltart claims by mid-January it should be passed into law, making the process of transition almost irreversible.

But the main MDC has threatened to block it unless other key issues are also settled, namely, the continuing violence, the fair allocation of ministries, key government appointments and the functions and composition of the National Security Council.

Mugabe on the other hand is refusing to budge.

Infact, the prospects for an inclusive government being set up look less and less promising after Mugabe’s rhetoric at the end of last year, with Tsvangirai holding out for a genuine share of authority, citing the recent evidence of the torture of MDC cadres and civil society activists accused of supporting the MDC.

“The wider international community including the IMF, World Bank, UN, EU and the US, is going to have to give the agreement a chance by helping to stabilise Zimbabwe’s economy and address the humanitarian crisis,” Coltart said.

“While there is understandable scepticism about the agreement, it is important that these concerns do not become a self-fulfilling prophecy. One thing is certain. If the MDC is unable to improve the lives of Zimbabweans, the agreement will fail and the region will be further destabilised.”

He continued: “Some argue that if the MDC waits a while the Mugabe regime will collapse. This is a possibility but a huge gamble. There is every chance that in the event of Mugabe losing power some of the more radical elements within the military may seize power, which in turn could see Zimbabwe degenerate into even worse forms of anarchy than exist at present.

“Furthermore, a wait-and-see policy will not address the extreme humanitarian crisis that needs to be resolved immediately if the lives of potentially hundreds of thousands are to be saved.”

Zimbabwe is in the vortex of a perfect humanitarian storm; an unprecedented convergence of AIDS, poverty, hyperinflation, malnutrition, a regime that does not care and, now, cholera. And the humanitarian crisis has its roots in the political crisis, Coltart said.

“There is no doubt that the agreement is seriously flawed,” Coltart said. “The powers of the Prime Minister are weak and the prospects of securing consensus in a Cabinet in which the combined MDC factions have a narrow majority are limited. Scepticism in the West may also result in limited support for the transitional government.”

Coltart acknowledged that Zanu-PF has demonstrated extreme bad faith since the signing of the agreement and is unlikely to change even once the transitional government has been established.

There has been a surge in abductions of human rights and political activists. Zanu PF also retains all the coercive ministries, including defence, the secret police and the police.

“Zimbabweans suffer from such a victim mentality that there is a danger that in focusing so much on the negative aspects of the agreement we will ignore the real opportunities that the agreement provides to transform Zimbabwe from an autocracy to a democracy,” he said, adding joining government was the only option available to the main MDC.