Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Agreement Stirs Doubt

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Harare, Zimbabwe — Doubts began to emerge about Zimbabwe’s power-sharing agreement yesterday as President Mugabe again postponed talks over dividing cabinet jobs between his allies and the Movement for Democratic Change.

Mr. Mugabe chose to attend the central committee of his Zanu-PF Party instead of meeting Morgan Tsvangirai, the new prime minister. Zimbabwe has been without a cabinet since the presidential election’s second round in June — and the president seems in no hurry to choose one.

At the same time, the authorities said the constitutional changes needed to enact the deal would not be passed for several weeks.

“These amendments would be tabled before parliament when it opens next month,” said Patrick Chinamasa, formerly Mr. Mugabe’s justice minister, in The Herald, a state daily. Parliament has been adjourned to October14.

The moves, or lack of them, since the agreement was signed on Monday have seen the euphoria generated by the ceremony begin to dissipate. Mr. Mugabe is a past master at manipulation and it appears he may be returning to form. A senior Western diplomat described the delays over the cabinet negotiations as “powerplays by Mugabe.”

He pointed out that in Kenya, where a similar power-sharing agreement was signed earlier this year, talks on forming the new cabinet took almost two months. Mr. Mugabe’s party is insisting on holding all the security ministries. Crucially, Zanu-PF may also be demanding control of the home affairs ministry, which includes the police. Mr. Tsvangirai had believed this vital post would be filled by the MDC — and any backsliding could be a “deal breaker.”

“Zanu-PF is playing hardball,” said the diplomat, adding that it also wanted the finance ministry. He added: “No one is going to lend a bean to a government where the finance ministry is headed by a Zanu-PF goon.”


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use