A short and interesting video with a brief history about how it all went wrong:
Could we really have been better off if Joshua Nkomo had gotten his way?
Tag: Unity
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The Mugabe, Tsvangirai and SADC Circus
The cartoon (courtesy of newzimbabwe.com) describes the one word that comes to mind when I think of Mugabe, Tsvangirai, Mbeki and SADC, ‘CIRCUS!’ The only difference with my mental image is that I see Mugabe as the ringmaster. The ringmaster is the most visible performer in a circus and guides everyone through the show in a dramatic manner. Mugabe seems to be the one calling all the shots and laying out how the sharing of power will be played out. SADC are bunch of clowns who are just there to do their job and Tsvangirai is there as a performer who wants to be the ringmaster. With that being the case he rebels against how Mugabe wants the show to be played out with the end result being the show not being played out at all.Almost two months after signing the power sharing agreement there is no power sharing and still no government. The main things that have taken place that are causing dispute include Mugabe taking control of ministries that Tsvangirai feels he should be in control of. SADC has once again been called upon to reach some kind of resolve but no nothing comes of the hours and hours of discussion. If anything, SADC seems to be leaning more towards being in favour of what Mugabe decides upon. How they show any sort of support for Mugabe is a mystery. What is it that he has that SADC cannot confront him with the honest truth about his actions and what he really needs to do?
This is all that SADC had to say about Zimbabwe at the Extra-Ordinary Summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government in South Africa on November 9, 2008 (extract from the summit text):
10. The Extra Ordinary Summit considered the political and security situation in Zimbabwe and observed that no government has been formed subsequent to the holding of the elections and the signing of the Global Political Agreement. As a result, the country is unable to effectively address the challenges facing the people of Zimbabwe .
11. In view of the above, Summit decided that:
(i) the Inclusive Government be formed forthwith in Zimbabwe ;
(ii) the Ministry of Home Affairs be co-managed between the ZANU-PF and MDC-T;
(iii) the efficacy of the arrangement referred to in paragraph 2 above, be reviewed after six (6) months by the Parties with the assistance of the guarantors, SADC, AU and the Facilitator.
(iv) to give effect to these decisions and the provisions of the Global Political Agreement, the Parties must, without any further delay, introduce the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 19.
12. The Extra-Ordinary Summit appreciated the efforts of His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, Former President of the Republic of South Africa and the Facilitator of the Political Dialogue on Zimbabwe in finding an amicable solution to challenges facing the Republic of Zimbabwe and encouraged him to continue with his mediation efforts.
13. The Extra-Ordinary Summit will continuously remain seized with the ongoing political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Zimbabwe.
What they proposed is basically the same thing that they have been asking Mugabe and Tsvangirai to do over and over again over the months. The same things keep getting repeated and all parties are caught in a vicious cycle that they clearly cannot get out of.
Zimbabwe is hanging on a thread and sees a unity government as the one thing that will bring it out of its crisis. Foreign donor agencies have clearly stated that Aid will not be delivered to Zimbabwe until a new Government is formed. As Mugabe, Tsvangirai, Mbeki and SADC leaders continue to go back and forth and hold talks for hours and hours the people of Zimbabwe who have run out of options and don’t know what to do to survive wait to die. It is estimated that at the beginning of next year, 5.1 million Zimbabweans (45% of the population) will need food assistance. In October Solidarity Peace Trust put out a Hunger Alert report that follows the plight of two children; one with kwashiorkor and the other marasmus (click on the photo of the child with kwashiorkor to read the report). With all of that being the case, a World Food Programme appeal for funds to feed Zimbabweans just went completely unfunded. As a leader, just seeing a picture of a child like that should be more than enough to prompt you to do something about it.Zimbabwe wants a change, Zimbabwe needs a change. Where is our Obama?
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ZANU-PF & MDC Power Sharing Deal: Thoughts, Video, Text
15 September 2008 was the day that President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara signed the historic power sharing agreement that leaves Mugabe as President, Tsvangirai as Prime Minister and Mutambara as Deputy Prime Minister. This was something that I did not think would happen because of what Mugabe has had to say about MDC and the number of times an agreement has tried to be reached but failed. For the first time in 28 years Mugabe will not have a complete hold on power. Amongst other things, the agreement leaves President Mugabe in charge of the armed forces and he will continue to chair cabinet. Prime Minister Tsvangirai will be in charge of the police and will lead the new council of ministers.In a way the signing of the agreement was history repeating itself as Mugabe went through the same thing on April 18 1980 when he became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. During his speech, Tsvangirai quoted Mugabe’s speech from 1980 and said, “Let us turn our swords into ploughshares. If you were my enemy yesterday, today we are bound by the same patriotic duty and destiny.” Quoting that up left me feeling more unsure about having Tsvangirai in the position he now sits in. His speech may have gotten louder cheers than Mugabe’s but what he had to say did not seem like something that was from within and something that he meant. It seemed like something that was put together to please whoever was willing to pay serious attention to it or that person who has lost all hope and needed to hear someone say “I will make things better.” Is he going to be the person to rebuild the infrastructure and bring in international support?
Mugabe’s speech was entertaining and I enjoyed it more than Tsvangirai’s even though he is a man gone mad. He went up to the podium with no notes and spoke his mind. He stated that there were parts of the agreement that he does not like and that the formation of a unity government would not be smooth sailing. Staying true to form, Mugabe took the opportunity to attack the British and American’s and blamed the problems of today on our former colonial power.
During Mugabe’s speech the camera focused on Tsvangirai now and then and it looked as if he deliberately had his hand over his face with closed eyes as if to show that he could care less about what his new political partner had to say. The other leaders on stage such as Thabo Mbeki and King Mswati looked like they were paying attention to what Mugabe had to say. Tsvangirai’s posture and mannerisms showed a lack of etiquette, the kind of behaviour I would expect from a rebellious boy.
One thing that Mugabe brought up that caught my attention was ‘democracy’ where he said: “Democracy in Africa. Its a difficult proposition, because always the opposition will want much more than what it deserves. The opposition will want to be ruling party and it will devise ways and means of getting there. Including violence. I’m not just refering to the system as we see it in Africa.” He later said that he was committed to the agreement but I find that hard to believe because of his stance on democracy. With that frame of mind how can someone be confident that the union will be fruitful?
As far as Mutamabara goes, I was not too impressed by his speech. He sounded unsure of himself and what he had to say. I will leave it at that.
Power is addictive and once someone gets a taste of it they want more and more. For most if not all this leads to a shift in their purpose and the reason why they wanted to be in the position they are in. All politicians are liars and they will say what they need to in order to be elected. It is up to us to choose whoever we think will work towards our best interests. Mugabe has failed the nation and needs to go but I do not see Tsvangirai as the one will bring the nation back to its former glory and I am not at all optimistic about this agreement. Tsvangirai mentioned that he was praying to God for wisdom, I am praying to God and continue to have faith that Zimbabwe will be delivered from the abyss soon.
I am lost for words………………….
Here are some documents that may be of interest:
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Will There Ever Be An Agreement Between Mugabe and Tsvangirai?
It has been over a month since ZANU-PF and MDC signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) where the parties agreed to talks to reach a solution on the Zimbabwe situation. As of yet no resolution has been reached and the parties are very much at logger heads. As the cartoon depicts (courtesy of newzimbabwe.com) you have two people wanting to be in control and steering in opposite directions with the only outcome in such a situation being a stall. A stall is exactly what has come of the talks as both parties try to figure out how much power Mugabe or Tsvangirai will have in a unity government. On one hand you have got Mugabe who does not want to and will not let go power and on the other you have Tsvangirai who wants complete power and Mugabe out of the picture.Tsvangirai was reportedly offered a Prime ministerial role with Mugabe remaining as President. He refused to sign the document stating that it left him “without adequate authority to engineer economic recovery and overcome repression”. One of his main concerns with the Role of Prime Minister document was paragraph two which states that he would be a Member of Cabinet and its Deputy Chairperson (Click here to read the Role of Prime Minister Document) which leaves Mugabe as the head of cabinet (Click here to read an extract from the Constitution of Zimbabwe outlining the role of the President) and basically an overall say in matters of the state.
The impasse between the ZANU-PF and MDC has not stopped the political process in Zimbabwe as Parliament is set to open on August 26 even though under the MoU was not meant to happen until an agreement had been reached. Mugabe was reportedly also given the green light to convene parliament by SADC. This move raises a few eyebrows because it seems as if SADC is leaning more towards a government that is headed by Mugabe.
Whilst Tsvangirai is protesting this move he is slowly getting sidelined once again as parliament opens and on top of that Mugabe has appointed ministers and governors, some of whom lost their seats during the March elections. Many in the West are crying foul over the decision to convene parliament before an agreement has been reached but this will do nothing to stop Mugabe going ahead with his plans. Mugabe is not a stupid man and is doing what it takes to keep in power and it was only earlier in the year that he said MDC would never rule Zimbabwe.
Chances are Tsvangirai will not get anything better than what he is being offered at the moment, not as long as Mugabe is at the helm. If he does not wake up soon he will be sidelined as has been the case since he started trying to remove Mugabe from office. ZANU-PF and possibly other MDC members will move on and continue to rule the country however they see fit and continue to ignore Tsvangirai’s cries for freedom. In this case is it better to have a deal or no deal at all?