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Zuma takes GPA dispute to AU
Vusumuzi Sifile, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
January 30, 2010

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/local/23131-zuma-takes-gpa-dispute-to-au.html

South African President Jacob Zuma will this week take the disputes threatening Zimbabwe's year-old unity government to the African Union - the guarantors of the power-sharing agreement. Senior South African government officials yesterday said Zuma had prepared a report on Zimbabwe, which will be presented to the summit already underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Zuma is reportedly getting impatient with the continued bickering and delays in resolving issues around appointments, and has suggested that the parties should "park" some of the contentious issues and work towards fresh elections next year.

Saul Kgomotso Molobi, a senior official in South Africa's Department of International Relations and Co-operation confirmed that Zuma would put Zimbabwe on the agenda.

"The President as the mediator will give a report on the facilitation in Zimbabwe," Molobi told The Standard yesterday.

"I cannot get into the details, as he has not made the presentation yet."

Zuma's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya said the report will appraise the heads of state and government on South Africa's mediation.

The report comes at a time when the talks are currently deadlocked and hopes for a resolution of outstanding issues are disappearing.

Negotiations were supposed to resume 10 days ago, but they were deferred until February 8 after the parties failed to find common ground.

Zanu PF and the MDC-T have been trading accusations over who is responsible for the collapse of the talks, now threatening the inclusive government.

On Wednesday, the Zanu PF politburo met in Harare and resolved not to "make any further concessions" to the two MDC formations until sanctions imposed by Western countries on its leaders are removed.

This position was adopted at the party's congress in December last year, and appeared to have been bolstered by recent statements by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on sanctions. But the MDC-T also blames Zanu PF because of its intransigence on fully implementing the GPA.

Meanwhile, MDC-T secretary general, Tendai Biti says Zuma holds the key to the resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis.

"What is therefore required right now is for Sadc and President Zuma to take leadership of the issue in Zimbabwe because the leadership in Zimbabwe has failed to provide leadership on the issue," said Biti, one of two MDC-T's negotiators.

"If a Sadc summit is to be convened, it must be convened so that people of Zimbabwe can be liberated from the burden of endless negotiations. We have been negotiating since the 14th of May 2007. A Sadc summit should be convened to put a full stop to these issues."

Biti said the "transition is no longer dealing with certain fundamental things that gave rise to it".

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