South Africa supports Mbeki role in Zimbabwe talks

HARARE – South Africa’s new government called on former President Thabo Mbeki yesterday to continue mediating in Zimbabwe’s political crisis.

Mbeki, a trouble-shooter in a series of African crises during nine years as president, brokered a power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe last month, but his role was thrown into doubt after South Africa’s ruling ANC forced him to resign days later. Pressure for the former South African leader to become involved again has grown as Mugabe’s party and the opposition have reached deadlock over the allocation of posts in a unity government to be set up under the Sept.15 deal.The impasse threatens to delay efforts to revive Zimbabwe’s shattered economy, suffering inflation of about 11 million per cent and widespread shortages of food and fuel.”Mr.Mbeki’s facilitation efforts in Zimbabwe have proven his dispassionate vision for a lasting political solution to the challenges facing Zimbabwe,” new South African President Kgalema Motlanthe said in a statement.”Accordingly, our government has full confidence in Mr Mbeki’s ability to build on the historic successes already made in the power sharing negotiations under his mediation.”Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change initially criticised Mbeki as being too soft on Mugabe, but it now supports him continuing his 18-month mediation under a mandate from the 15-nation Southern African Development Community.Mugabe’s Zanu-PF, which lost control of parliament in a March election, said it did not see any immediate need for mediation over the dispute on cabinet posts.”I don’t think that the issue of allocation of ministries is a matter that can be referred to the facilitator (Mbeki),” Patrick Chinamasa, chief Zanu-PF negotiator at the talks, was quoted as saying in the state-run Chronicle newspaper.”We cannot, at the slightest difference in opinion, call outsiders to mediate.If there is thinking on such kind of an approach, it has to stop in the interest of harmonisation of relations,” Chinamasa said.Nampa-ReutersPressure for the former South African leader to become involved again has grown as Mugabe’s party and the opposition have reached deadlock over the allocation of posts in a unity government to be set up under the Sept.15 deal.The impasse threatens to delay efforts to revive Zimbabwe’s shattered economy, suffering inflation of about 11 million per cent and widespread shortages of food and fuel.”Mr.Mbeki’s facilitation efforts in Zimbabwe have proven his dispassionate vision for a lasting political solution to the challenges facing Zimbabwe,” new South African President Kgalema Motlanthe said in a statement.”Accordingly, our government has full confidence in Mr Mbeki’s ability to build on the historic successes already made in the power sharing negotiations under his mediation.”Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change initially criticised Mbeki as being too soft on Mugabe, but it now supports him continuing his 18-month mediation under a mandate from the 15-nation Southern African Development Community.Mugabe’s Zanu-PF, which lost control of parliament in a March election, said it did not see any immediate need for mediation over the dispute on cabinet posts.”I don’t think that the issue of allocation of ministries is a matter that can be referred to the facilitator (Mbeki),” Patrick Chinamasa, chief Zanu-PF negotiator at the talks, was quoted as saying in the state-run Chronicle newspaper.”We cannot, at the slightest difference in opinion, call outsiders to mediate.If there is thinking on such kind of an approach, it has to stop in the interest of harmonisation of relations,” Chinamasa said.Nampa-Reuters