PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA . . . his facilitation team due in Harare today

BULAWAYO -- South African mediators are expected to meet negotiators from Zimbabwe’s squabbling coalition partners on Monday ahead of resumption of talks to resolve a raft of differences and outstanding issues threatening the stability of the Harare unity government.

The mediators appointed by President Jacob Zuma to facilitate in the Zimbabwe dialogue are understood to have requested to meet negotiators from President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) party, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T and Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara’s MDC-M party, who resume talks that insiders had said were likely to end in deadlock once more.

Zuma is the Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s mediator in Zimbabwe. It was not immediately clear whether the expected arrival of his representatives in Harare enhances chances of negotiators making an unlikely breakthrough when they meet later today. 

Confirming the visit by Zuma’s team, Welshman Ncube, lead negotiator for MDC-M said: “The South African embassy phoned Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Friday informing him that the facilitation team will be coming to have a meeting with the negotiators.

“The facilitation team proposed a meeting on Monday afternoon on condition that negotiators from the three parties are available. The meeting will go ahead because all the negotiators have confirmed their availability.”

Chinamasa leading the Zanu (PF) negotiating team said: “The South African facilitation team requested for a meeting with us before we resume our negotiations. We will be meeting them at 3pm, then our negotiations will resume around 5pm.”

The talks to resolve outstanding issues between ZANU PF and the MDC formations have dragged on since the former foes agreed to join hands last February in a coalition government that has been credited with stabilising the country’s economy to improve the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans.

While analysts are confident the unity government will not collapse, they say unending bickering among coalition partners could cripple the administration and render it ineffective.

The MDC-T accuses Mugabe of flouting the global political agreement that gave birth to the unity government after the veteran leader refused to rescind his unilateral appointment of two of his allies to the key posts of central bank governor and attorney general.

Mugabe has also refused to swear in MDC-T treasurer Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister and to appoint members of both MDC formations as provincial governors.

On its part ZANU PF insists it has done the most to uphold the power-sharing deal and instead accuses the MDC of reneging on promises to campaign for lifting of Western sanctions on Mugabe and his top allies. – ZimOnline.