Navigation

Primary Navigation

Secondary Navigation

Search

South Africans bid to kickstart Zimbabwe talks

AFP - Saturday, August 30

PRETORIA (AFP) - - South African officials were locked in separate negotiations with Zimbabwe's political rivals on Friday in a bid to kickstart stalled power-sharing talks to resolve a ruinous political crisis.

"They (the talks) started this morning," the spokesman for South African mediator, President Thabo Mbeki, told AFP.

The deputy leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Tendai Biti, flew to Pretoria for a meeting with Mbeki's officials but would not hold direct discussions with representatives of President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, the MDC said.

South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said earlier Friday that talks would resume on Friday "to finalise all outstanding matters".

But MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa, reached by phone by AFP, made it clear that a resumption of full power-sharing negotiations was still some way off.

"Our good understanding is that there are no talks," said Chamisa.

"There is some kind of engagement to have some understanding ... of where we are, because it's not clear whether the talks have collapsed or are still on.

"The mediator has to help us appreciate where we are in terms of locating a way forward," he explained.

"We are trying with Mbeki to get ZANU-PF to be flexible, because there has not been any indication of movement, of flexibility on the part of ZANU-PF," he added.

He said the MDC delegation were negotiating "just with the South African mediators, there is no ZANU-PF."

South Africa's Mbeki is mediating the negotiations, under the auspices of the regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Pahad told journalists in Pretoria: "We hope the talks can lead to the finalisation of the political and outstanding matters so that we can start with a normalisation of the political, economic and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe."

Harare later announced it was lifting a ban it imposed in early June on foreign aid and humanitarian organisations, after it accused some of them of siding with the opposition ahead of a run-off presidential election.

Relations have soured between Zimbabwe's political rivals since the talks stalled on August 17 at the end of a SADC summit in South Africa that sought to wrap them up.

Mugabe, whose ruling ZANU-PF party lost its majority in March elections, was jeered and heckled during his speech to the opening of parliament on Monday. And the veteran leader has insisted on forming a government without the opposition, because of a lack of progress in the talks.

Divisions remain over how Mugabe, 84, and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, would share power in a national unity government, including what authority they would have as president and prime minister.

Analysts believe Mugabe is reluctant to yield responsibility for sensitive security ministries like the army, police and intelligence, given that Zimbabwe's military are strong backers of the veteran president.

The parties are also divided over how long a transitional government would remain in place, according to a South African official.

The MDC wants a clause in the agreement stating that elections be held within 90 days of either of the parties pulling out of the unity government, the official said, speaking before the talks stalled.

"Unless there is a political solution we don't have the necessary framework to deal with the economic recovery package for Zimbabwe and the humanitarian crisis," Pahad told journalists on Friday.

He said that no deadline has been set for the completion of the talks.

"It will be determined by the progress made. They will continue until all parties feel they have covered sufficient ground," he added.

The talks began after both sides signed a memorandum of understanding on July 21.

Mugabe won the June 27 run-off election after the first-round winner Tsvangirai withdrew from the vote in protest at widespread election violence.