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MDC-T deny Mugabe offered Tsvangirai vice presidency
Tererai Karimakwenda, SW Radio Africa
August 29, 2013

View this article on the SW Radio Africa website

Media reports that Robert Mugabe had offered a vice presidency position and cabinet posts to Morgan Tsvangirai have been dispelled by the MDC-T, who on Thursday repeated their resolution not to participate in government.

The 89-year-old Mugabe has delayed announcing his new cabinet after claiming a 61% landslide victory over Tsvagirai in the July 31st elections, and his Zanu-PF party claiming a two-thirds majority win in parliament.

The delay has led to speculation that Mugabe may be considering Tsvangirai for the vice presidency. The independent NewsDay newspaper contacted presidential spokesperson George Charamba about this issue and he said: “I don’t know. We will come back to you when ready. Don’t force us.”

NewsDay also published statements allegedly made Monday by the MDC-T National Youth leader, Solomon Madzore, claiming such an offer had been made.

“Our President Morgan Tsvangirai has been approached by Zanu-PF offering him the post of First Vice-President” and “some of our think-tanks have been approached with a view to offering them ministerial posts,” Newsday quoted Madzore as saying.

But the MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that no such offer had been made by Mugabe. He said “some overtures” had been made by “people purporting to represent Zanu-PF” but nothing official had been received from Mugabe.

“We certainly know nothing about that and I doubt whether it is true. I don’t think Mugabe is that benevolent at all, but we have not received anything formal from Zanu-PF at all,” Mwonzora explained.

Regarding the NewsDay report quoting Solomon Madzore, the MDC-T spokesman said he had contacted the youth leader who denied ever making such a claim, only saying that he “was quoted out of context”.

Mwonzora went further to confirm that their National Council had resolved on August 3rd that they would not be part of government at the cabinet level, and would not accept such “benevolence” from Zanu-PF.

Mwonzora also confirmed that the MDC-T would participate in parliament and local councils, because he said those party officials had won the positions under difficult conditions and deserved to be there.

SW Radio Africa is Zimbabwe's Independent Voice and broadcasts on Short Wave 4880 KHz in the 60m band.

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