Zim parties fail to meet

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s opposition renewed a call yesterday for regional mediators to help break an impasse over a fragile power-sharing deal, denying it planned new talks later in the day with President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party.

The state-run Herald newspaper reported that new talks would be held yesterday on how to allocate contentious cabinet posts under the deal, which would keep Mugabe as president while naming opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister. But the spokesman for Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said that no new talks were scheduled for yesterday, and again called for regional mediators to step in to break the impasse with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF.”As far as we are concerned, there are no talks lined up today,” spokesman Nelson Chamisa told AFP.”Nothing has been concluded.Zanu-PF and Mugabe are trying to mislead the world and the nation,” Chamisa said.”It is now time SADC and the AU come and assist in this matter,” he added.The MDC had called last week for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or the African Union to help break the impasse, but Mugabe’s party insisted that no outside mediation was needed.The Herald said the parties still disagreed on who should control the finance and home affairs ministries, but Chamisa said the entire cabinet remained unsettled and accused Mugabe of seeking to control all important posts.The failure to reach an accord on the cabinet has delayed the formation of a unity government since a historic power-sharing deal was signed in Harare on September 15.Under the agreement, Zanu-PF takes 15 cabinet posts, Tsvangirai’s MDC 13 and a splinter MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara gets three.- Nampa-AFPBut the spokesman for Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said that no new talks were scheduled for yesterday, and again called for regional mediators to step in to break the impasse with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF.”As far as we are concerned, there are no talks lined up today,” spokesman Nelson Chamisa told AFP.”Nothing has been concluded.Zanu-PF and Mugabe are trying to mislead the world and the nation,” Chamisa said.”It is now time SADC and the AU come and assist in this matter,” he added.The MDC had called last week for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or the African Union to help break the impasse, but Mugabe’s party insisted that no outside mediation was needed.The Herald said the parties still disagreed on who should control the finance and home affairs ministries, but Chamisa said the entire cabinet remained unsettled and accused Mugabe of seeking to control all important posts.The failure to reach an accord on the cabinet has delayed the formation of a unity government since a historic power-sharing deal was signed in Harare on September 15.Under the agreement, Zanu-PF takes 15 cabinet posts, Tsvangirai’s MDC 13 and a splinter MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara gets three.- Nampa-AFP