AU: Share power equally in Zimbabwe

  1. Posted on Thursday 4 September 2008 - 08:33
    Mugadza
    Mugadza Munyarardzi, AfricaNews reporter in Harare, Zimbabwe
    African Union has pressed for an equal power sharing deal in Zimbabwe to save the country from plunging further into serious political and economic turmoil. The continental body wants the two largest political formations - Zanu PF and Movement for Democratic Change to break the stalemate now.
    mugabe_tsvangirai_send_by_mugadza
    Tanzania which currently holds chairmanship of the AU, said a rapid resolution of the power sharing deal should be agreed to bring normalcy to a country once a basket of Southern Africa.

    Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe said AU wants to see a 50-50
    power-sharing deal aimed at giving powers to the incumbent Robert Mugabe and MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai.

    "There is a problem and we still hope the mediation will continue and we
    still hope wisdom will prevail. We would prefer a solution be arrived at
    immediately because of the escalating economic crisis," Mr. Membe said.

    SADC mediator and South African President Thabo Mbeki have been widely criticized for failure to break the Zimbabwean deadlock and his sympathy for President Mugabe.

    The talks hit a snag after the SADC summit in South Africa because of differences on how to share executive power between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who refused to sign an agreement two weeks ago that would have made him prime minister because it did not give him enough executive powers.

    Tsvangirai also revealed that MDC does not want positions only but power. He said he is going to be held accountable to the people if something happens in the future adding that he will not endorse something that does not reflect the will of the people.

    Meanwhile South African President Thabo Mbeki is expected in Harare on Thursday in his endeavors to break the deadlock on the power sharing talks.

    The negotiators from all the parties returned home after a short sojourn in South Africa where they had gone for the continuation of the power sharing talks. They returned home with nothing, a sign which political analysts say reflect that the talks have failed to resolve the crisis.

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