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April 9, 2008
MDC faction leader Morgan Tsvangirai asked
Zanu-PF to accommodate him as one of the Vice Presidents in a
government of national unity after being told by his advisors
that a possible run-off with President Mugabe for the top job
was not in his best interests, The Herald can reveal.
This comes in the wake of indications that
former United Nations secretary-general Mr Kofi Annan has been
trying to contact Zimbabwean authorities over a power-sharing
deal after being prompted to do so by "external forces keen to
see Tsvangirai rule the country".
Sources said yesterday that the opposition
leader last week sent Mr Ian Makone, Mr Elton Mangoma and Mr Joe
Mtizwa to negotiate with Zanu-PF officials -- Cdes Nicholas
Goche and Patrick Chinamasa -- over the possibility of averting
a run-off and make Tsvangirai one of the country's two Vice
Presidents.
According to the sources, Mr Mtizwa -- the
chief executive of Delta Beverages which is partly owned by
SABMiller which was implicated in Simba Makoni's international
fund-raising campaign -- initially approached Cde Goche by
himself but the Zanu-PF Politburo member refused to entertain
him.
"He (Cde Goche) told Mtizwa, 'I don't know
you as an MDC person, I know you as an ordinary businessperson.
So unless you have an official post in the MDC, I cannot talk to
you about this. If the MDC wants anything from us they should
approach us officially.'
"Mtizwa then went and came back with
Makone and Mangoma and they met Cdes Goche and Chinamasa
mid-last week. Their proposal was that Tsvangirai be installed
as one of the two Vice Presidents and they also wanted a number
of ministerial posts reserved for them and Zanu-PF's Politburo
meeting on Friday was held against this background.
"The three emissaries were told that this
was a non-starter and Zanu-PF would not stomach the idea of
Tsvangirai in the Presidium.
"They were told that Zanu-PF was ready for
a run-off and this is what has got Tsvangirai worried," a source
said.
They added that the pro-opposition
Zimbabwe Election Support Network has since advised Tsvangirai
that he had failed to avoid a run-off and this had prompted his
advisors to come up with a strategy to "subvert democratic,
legal and electoral processes as a matter of urgency".
The sources said Tsvangirai's strategy to
avert a run-off was based on three pillars -- enticing President
Mugabe into retirement through the efforts of people like Mr
Annan; engineering a government of national unity; and the
threat of extended sanctions and even a military invasion led by
the United States.
"Tsvangirai made an appeal over the
weekend for the UN to apply pressure on President Mugabe when it
became clear that Zanu-PF was not amenable to making him a Vice
President. The UN secretariat has refused to be drawn into
Zimbabwe's politics on Tsvangirai's terms, but Annan has already
taken a position supportive of the MDC's demands.
"Since then, he has been trying to contact
President Mugabe to engineer a coalition government like he did
in Kenya. But it seems people have overlooked the fact that
Zimbabwe is nothing like Kenya. As we speak, it is highly
unlikely that President Mugabe has entertained Annan's
approaches," a source explained.
President Mugabe's spokesman, Cde George
Charamba, yesterday refused to be drawn into making a comment.
"I am not given to discussing with the
media confidential contacts involving the President," he said.
The MDC-Tsvangirai strategy suggests that
the opposition is aware that it has not won the presidential
polls and would like to find a way of avoiding a run-off.
Over the weekend, Tsvangirai released a
statement in which he tacitly called on the US to invade
Zimbabwe in the same way it led military assaults on Afghanistan
and Iraq, knowing that such an occurrence would result in him
becoming head of state without going through a democratic
process.
He said: "How can global leaders espouse
the values of democracy yet when they are being challenged fail
to open their mouths? Why is it that a supposed 'war on terror'
ignores the very real terror of broken minds and mangled bodies
that lie along the trail left by (President) Mugabe?"
Tsvangirai also revealed that he supported
sanctions against Zimbabwe and sought an extension of the
current economic embargo on the country as a means of installing
him in State House.
"This is a time for strong action. We urge
the International Monetary Fund at its meeting this week, to
withhold the £1 billion of aid to Zimbabwe unless the defeated
ex-President accepts the election results in full and hands over
the reins of power," he said.
The opposition leader also tried to entice
President Mugabe to hand over power to him outside of a run-off
by saying an MDC government would grant him security.
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai was in South Africa
at the weekend where he met African National Congress president
Mr Jacob Zuma and government officials in that country.
Tsvangirai, who returned home yesterday
after a two-day visit, held private talks with Mr Zuma and
Minister of Local Government Mr Sydney Mufamadi on the situation
in the country.
Mr Mufamadi was one of the South African
officials in President Thabo Mbeki's team that facilitated the
Sadc-initiated talks between Zanu-PF and the MDC.
Addressing journalists at Harvest House in
Harare yesterday, MDC Tsvangirai secretary-general Tendai Biti
confirmed the meetings but declined to give details on the
nature of the discussions Tsvangirai had with ANC officials.
"Yes, our president was in South Africa.
He met Mr Zuma and also held meetings with government officials
like Mr Mufamadi. These are the only two officials that I am
authorised to comment on. He has also been in constant touch
with President Thabo Mbeki," said Biti.
He expressed his party's concern at the
delay by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission in announcing the
presidential election results.
Biti claimed that ZEC had disbanded the
National Command Centre, saying chief election agents had since
been withdrawn from the centre.
But ZEC deputy chief elections officer Mr
Utoile Silaigwana dismissed the claims.
"I am hearing that for the first time. Our
National Command Centre is still in operation," said Mr
Silaigwana last night. |