Back to Index

This article participates on the following special index pages:

Zim talks on knife edge over constitution
Basildon Peta, Independent Online (IOL)
July 22, 2007

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=vn20070722082600209C241761&set_id=1

President Thabo Mbeki's effort to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe is hanging by a thread because President Robert Mugabe is refusing to negotiate a new constitution with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)

The new constitution is a key item on the MDC's negotiations agenda.

Mugabe and the ruling Zanu-PF party are represented at the talks by Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche, the respective justice and labour ministers.

The MDC is represented by Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube, the respective general secretaries of its two factions.

Chinamasa and Goche had failed to arrive in Pretoria almost two weeks ago for the start of the substantive negotiations about how to resolve the current crisis.

However, the two did arrive this week and met Sydney Mufamadi, the local government minister, who Mbeki has charged with running the day-to-day negotiations, and Frank Chikane, the director-general in the presidency.

Chinamasa and Goche told Mufamadi and Chikane that they were under strict instructions from Zanu-PF not to discuss a new constitution and wanted that item deleted from the agenda.

They said that the present Zimbabwe constitution, which has been amended 18 times, was serving the country well. Zanu-PF would be prepared to amend it, but not adopt a new one.

They said the MDC was free to suggest any amendments it wished and parliament would consider them. Chinamasa and Goche have since have since returned to Harare.

Sources said Mbeki was now desperate to salvage the talks and had summoned Biti and Ncube to Pretoria to hear their views on the tough Zanu-PF stance.

Biti and Ncube were due to begin meetings with Mufamadi and Chikane on Friday before meeting Mbeki this weekend.

The MDC factions seemed unlikely to budge on the need for a drafting a completely new constitution, which they regard as central to resolving the Zimbabwe crisis, sources said.

If Mbeki fails to persuade the parties to break the impasse, he will have no progress to report to his regional peers at the annual summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Zambia next month.

SADC leaders mandated Mbeki to conduct the Zimbabwe mediation effort at a special summit in Dar es Salaam in March.

Mbeki gave his first progress report to the SADC at the African Union summit in Accra, Ghana, last month. At that time he said that progress had been made because the parties had agreed on an agenda.

But on Friday the Zimbabwe Independent reported, once again, that the talks were dead because of the impasse over a new constitution.

Sources close to the negotiations said that although imperilled, the talks were not dead in the water.

It is unclear, however, how Mbeki might salvage them.

Mugabe reportedly suspects that Mbeki is sympathetic to the MDC demand for a new constitution.

But sources believe Mbeki might try to persuade the MDC to shelve its demand for a new constitution if Zanu-PF creates conditions for free and fair elections next year.

Although the MDC has argued that free and fair elections and a new constitution for Zimbabwe are inseparable, that is not necessarily so, sources said. Many of the conditions for an internationally acceptable plebiscite could be met without wholesale constitutional review.

They included the restoration of banned newspapers, international supervision of the elections by the United Nations, ending political violence and amendments to draconian laws that inhibit opposition political activity.

Even opposition demands for an overhaul of constitutional bodies could be met through amendments, rather than by writing a completely new constitution.

"Let's not say collapse yet, but I agree the talks are hanging by a thin wire," said one highly placed source.

The talks are being held behind a veil of secrecy and so no official confirmation of the state of play is possible. - Foreign Service

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP