Tuesday, August 04, 2009

South African and Zimbabwean Leaders to Meet

JOHANNESBURG August 3 Sapa-AFP

ZUMA TO RAISE ZIMBABWE ISSUES WITH MUGABE

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said Monday he would raise
"very weighty issues" with his veteran Zimbabwean counterpart
Robert Mugabe over why Harare's power-sharing deal isn't working.

Zuma was speaking after an hour-long meeting with Zimbabwe's
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, amid fresh claims that members of the former opposition leader's party are being harassed by the
country's state security apparatus under Mugabe's control.

Neither leader revealed the content of their one-hour discussion
in Johannesburg, but Zuma told reporters: "There are a few issues
that are sort of difficult issues. Few, but very weighty issues."

"I will be contacting his excellency President Mugabe on the
matters as well as the leader of another party (deputy prime
minister Arthur Mutambara), on the issues that the prime minister
has raised," Zuma told a joint news conference.

"But even those issues, they don't seem to be the issues that
cannot be resolved," Zuma added.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has claimed it
is being subjected to a "systematic crackdown" by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party as their uneasy power-sharing coalition stumbles on.

Several of the party's lawmakers have been arrested in a move,
the MDC claims, that is aimed at restoring ZANU-PF's paliamentary
majority which it lost in elections in March last year.

Five lawmakers have been convicted over the last month alone of
various charges including forging signatures, theft of a mobile
phone, kidnapping, abusing farm inputs and even for playing a song
that denigrated Mugabe.

While three have either been bailed or released, two remain in
jail. Parliamentary seats of convicted lawmakers automatically
become subject to a by-election.

Zuma, who currently chairs the regional Southern African
Development Community (SADC) which brokered the power-sharing pact after months of deadlock, said he will update regional leaders on his meeting with Tsvangirai.

"I will contact our colleagues in the region to sensitise them
on what the prime minister has briefed me on with the sole aim of
saying how we could continue working together to make quick
progress in Zimbabwe."

Zimbabwe's new government has halted the country's devastating
economic freefall after record-breaking hyperinflation, but the
former rivals have failed to agree on several outstanding issues.

Key appointments such as that of the central bank chief and the
attorney general have been referred to SADC for mediation.

Tsvangirai said that Zuma was "much more appraised" of the
situation in Zimbabwe than before their meeting.

"It's five months since the formation of the inclusive
government so I was giving on update on areas of progress and areas of slow progress," he said.

"I'm very grateful that comrade-president understands our
situation and he will like to do everything in his power to make
sure that we move forward in a positive way."

Tsvangirai is looking to Zuma to provide new momentum in the
region even though South Africa has long resisted international
entreaties to pressurise Mugabe, even as Zimbabwe's economy
spiralled into ruin.

Zimbabwe last month began the process of drafting a new
constitution meant to pave the way to fresh elections. The first
meeting broke up after pro-Mugabe militants stormed in, but efforts
have since begun to canvas public opinion about a new charter.

After lengthy delays, the inaugural session of the National
Security Council which was created to oversee the security forces
took place last week.

The MDC joined Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF in a fragile coalition
government set up on February 13, after the MDC won parliamentary
elections the previous year but failed to win presidential polls
outright.

The MDC won 99 seats against Mugabe's ZANU-PF 98, with 10 going to a breakaway faction of the MDC led by Mutambara.
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