AFRICA/ZIMBABWE - Former South African President Mbeki in Zimbabwe to solve political crisis; however Mugabe proceeds unilaterally with the appointment of key Ministers

Harare (Agenzia Fides) – Former South African President Thabo Mbeki will arrive today, October 13, in Zimbabwe to try and overcome the crisis occurring in the formation of the government of national unity, called for by the accord signed between the majority party and the opposition, and settled by Mbeki himself this summer, signed September 15.
Mbeki went to recover his role as mediator among the three parties: President Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai (leader of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and the leader of the MDC faction party, Arthur Mutambara.
The accord for sharing powers, signed by the three largest political parties of Zimbabwe, establishes the fact that Mugabe will continue being President, while Tsvangirai will be Prime Minister, and Mutambara, Vice-Prime Minister.
The accord calls for 15 cabinet members of the ZANU-PF (Mugabe’s party), 13 of the MDC, and 3 from Mutambara’s faction, without specifying the assignment of Departments. This is how the controversies over the assignment of the most important ministers has arisen. As a result, the accord on sharing powers has not been able to be applied.
President Mugabe named several key ministers (Defense, Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Finance) without the opposition’s participation. The very day that Mbeki arrived, Mugabe made two Vice-Presidents (handpicked by himself) take oath. Tsvangirai has threatened to back out of the accord for sharing power. “If the mediation effort falters,” he said, “this marriage will not be consumed; we cannot force the events: there is no other way to go, than the one where each one goes on his own.” The mediation margins for Mbeki are thus very limited.
While the political leaders debate, the economic situation continues to go downhill. Last week, the government statistics center issued a statement saying that the inflation rate had reached 231 million per cent, the highest in the world.
Hyperinflation is the most evident sign of the deep recession in Zimbabwe, which has left over 80% of the work force unemployed and has led to a great shortage in food, fuel, and foreign money. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 13/10/2008)