Today (11 August) marks Heroes’ Day in Zimbabwe. A day where the whole country holds in memory for those who died in the country’s liberation war. One has to ask if this is what they fought for? A country crippled by a political crisis, a country with the worlds highest inflation, a country with very little food and power. I certainly do not think this is what the heroe’s had envisioned for the future of the country when they gained Independence. But all may not be doom and gloom as there seems to be a potential agreement between the political parties in Zimbabwe on the horizon. Read the rest of this entry »
It looks like it is half-time in the talks between the MDC and ZANU PF. The negotiations on Zimbabwe’s political crisis will be adjourned for a few days to allow Zanu-PF and MDC leaders to return to Harare and consult with their parties. It is also believed that President Thabo Mbeki will travel to Zimbabwe this afternoon to meet with President Robert Mugabe. He is also expected to meet the leader of the second MDC faction Arthur Mutambara in Harare. Mbeki met with MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai and his team of negotiators in Pretoria yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »
Reports this evening suggest that talks between the two Zimbabwe political parties have reached a ‘deadlock’. ZANU PF and the MDC have been in talks since last week Thursday with the aim of trying to reach an agreement about the governance of Zimbabwe. The two parties were meeting in Pretoria and the talks were meant to go on for two weeks. But now after only 5 days, the two parties have stopped talking. These are still unconfirmed reports as there has been a media blackout with regards to what is actually going on with these talks. But it does not surprise me if indeed it is true that talks have broken down.
It was always going to be a difficult task to get these two parties to agree to anything. Just the sheer fact that they agreed to meet was a surprise in itself. According to a report on BBC, the reseason the talks seem to have reached a deadlock is because ZANU PF have proposed to appoint MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai as a ‘third vice-president’ of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe currently has two vice-presidents who are both strong ZANU PF figures but hardly have a say in what happens in the country. Having Tsvangirai as a third vice-president would be “insulting” according to the MDC. The MDC had thought that as part of the negotiations, Tsvangirai would get a more prominent role such as being Prime minister whilst Mugabe would be a ‘figure head’ President.
For the first time in over a decade, Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai have met face-to-face. Today, the two political leaders in Zimbabwe signed a memorandum of understanding. The signing commits them to fully-fledged talks to end the crisis in that country. The agreement was signed by President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in Harare. Chief facilitator President Thabo Mbeki witnessed the signing. Many had thought they would never see the day these two leaders would shake each others hand. If only if it were a shaking to end the crisis in Zimbabwe. But this is a start and hopefully something positive will come out of it.
Could there finally be some hope for Zimbabwe? I hope so. It seems like the two political parties in Zimbabwe have decided to sit down and talk. Mugabe’s, Zanu-PF and both factions of the Movement for Democratic Change are set to sign a memorandum of understanding outlining the framework for talks in Harare tomorrow (20 July). This comes off the back of Friday’s news that South Africa’s president, Thabo Mbeki, called upon ‘help’ to help him as the mediator to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis. Mbeki was appointed mediator for the Zimbabwe crisis by SADC and he has now called upon the United Nations, the African Union and SADC to help with negotiations. It was starting to prove rather difficult for Mbeki to do the job alone and in him inviting others to help in the process, this goes to show that there may now be some progress in resolving the crisis. Read the rest of this entry »
According to reports in The Guardian this morning, Robert Mugabe is going to remain as the president of Zimbabwe and Morgan Tsvangirai will be the prime minister. Apparently, South Africa’s President, Thabo Mbeki, was in Zimbabwe this past weekend and talked to Mugabe but he did not talk to Tsvangirai as Tsvangirai was not willing to have a meeting at the State House as that would just show that he is accepting Mugabe as the president of the country. Mbeki proposed that Mugabe remain as president whilst Tsvangirai would be prime minister. Read the rest of this entry »
“Should we emerge victorious, which I believe we will, sure we won’t be arrogant, we will be magnanimous and say ‘let’s sit down and talk,’ and talk we shall.” These were the words of Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Mugabe at his last election rally held today in Harare. The presidential runoff election is set to go ahead tomorrow and it looks set to be a one man battle as opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai will not be taken part in the vote. Read the rest of this entry »
“MDC leader (opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai) saw this wave of political hurricane coming his way. He is frightened, frightened of the people.” These were the words of Robert Mugabe at a rally this week. This statement comes after Tsvangirai decided to pull out of the runoff vote which is meant to take place tomorrow (27 June). The ruling ZANU PF party is adamant that the vote will go on regardless. What is interesting to note is that, this runoff vote may be outside the law. Read the rest of this entry »
Today the opposition party in Zimbabwe, the MDC officially pulled out the presidential runoff vote which was set to take place on Friday 27 June. The leader of the MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai had said on Sunday that he was going to pull out of the vote but the ruling government had said they will only accept his pulling out if he makes it official in writing. So today, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said,”They are now happy recipients of that letter from the MDC. In the letter we are stating clearly that we are not participating in this election.” Read the rest of this entry »
Following on from yesterdays decision by Morgan Tsvangirai to pull out of the presidential election runoff, he has today taken up refuge at the Dutch embassy in Harare due to fears for his safety. “Tsvangirai has indeed asked through the MDC, his party, if the Netherlands would be able to provide him with security in the coming days,” Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said. As expected, many have wondered why Tsvangirai has done this; is it genuinely a fear about his safety or is it an attention seeking stunt for the international community? Read the rest of this entry »
