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Cabinet appointments delayed
The Zimbabwe Times
September 16, 2008

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4312

Zimbabwe's political rivals failed to meet Tuesday to share cabinet ministries as scheduled, a day after a long-awaited power sharing government designed to end the nation's economic crisis was officially announced.

President Robert Mugabe and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who will become the Prime Minister under a power-sharing deal brokered by South Africa President Thabo Mbeki, inked a historic power-sharing deal Monday.

The negotiators were scheduled to meet Tuesday to make appointments of line ministries and then name a new Cabinet on Thursday.

Zanu-PF legal affairs secretary Patrick Chinamasa dismissed a list of cabinet designations that was widely circulated Tuesday, calling it "a wish list".

And the MDC also confirmed it may no longer be possible to name the 31-member cabinet on Thursday as scheduled, because a meeting between the two sides to iron out final issues had not happened.

"It's a hoax, a totally malicious list meant to assassinate certain characters," said main MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa, named in the list as Media, Information and Publicity minister. "It's irresponsibility of the highest order. How do you appoint an Internet cabinet?

"It's very dangerous. Zimbabweans are not interested in these phantom lists. They want the real thing, Zimbabweans want real issues."

Investors are watching developments in Zimbabwe. The appointment of the power-sharing cabinet would be seen a sign the southern African nation was ready to save an economy in freefall and leave behind the post-election violence that killed at least 131 people and displaced 200,000 more.

The fury over Mugabe and his Zanu-PF's loss in a March 29 general election prompted a massive crackdown on the MDC and its supporters which saw the Zimbabwean dollar take a massive knock, accelerating an economic implosion that dented the country's standing as one of Africa's promising states.

"The government wishes to reiterate and insist that the list of cabinet portfolio balance that is being circulated is speculative and a wish list of some people," Chinamasa said. "The president requests Zimbabweans to remain patient until he announces the real structure. The list that is circulating is a wish list."

Speculation remained rife of an MDC cabinet list, which if true, would shift the Finance Ministry to MDC hands - which is reportedly planning "central bank reforms to curb quasi fiscal activities and seignorage."

The MDC was also said to be eager to take over the key Home Affairs ministry, and other numerous big-budget ministries including Education, Sports and Culture; Higher and Tertiary Education; Lands, Agriculture and Resettlement, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, and Justice and Legal Affairs.

The MDC was reported to be also eyeing the new Prisons and Correctional Services.

Full details of the power-sharing deal have now been officially announced. Under the accord, Mugabe will chair the Cabinet and the National Security Council, which includes the army, police and secret services, while Tsvangirai will chair a separate Council of Ministers and act as deputy chairperson of Cabinet.

Tsvangirai will also be a member of the National Security Council, oversee the formulation of government policies by the Cabinet and report regularly to the president and Parliament.

Executive authority will be shared among the president, the prime minister and the Cabinet as laid down in an amended constitution.

The two sides say they have divided up the ministries separately, but have some technicalities to sort out. Aand they also face a scramble from inside their own parties for the plum and lucrative ministerial jobs.

The previous cabinet had 32 members. Civil society groups and ordinary Zimbabweans have complained about the size of the new cabinet, which will have a total of 46 ministries, including deputy ministerial posts.

It will be one of the biggest since independence from Britain in 1980 and by some estimates will cost about US$300 000 a month to maintain.

"Its wasteful government and this has long term implications because it's an enormous expense on the economy," said Tabani Moyo, information officer for pro-democracy group, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition. "We need to ask, 'what does it mean to sustain 31 ministries?'"

The announcement that the power-sharing government will be formed after more than a month of political wrangling prompted a rebound in the South African Rand and a scramble on the Zimbabwe stock market where there is jostling to snap up shares in food counters such as OK Zimbabwe.

Diplomatic sources said there were plans for a donors' conference to raise funds to help resuscitate Zimbabwe's ailing economy.

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