'We must pray', Biti says as deal nears in Harare

'We must pray', Biti says as deal nears in Harare

DEAL: President Mugabe and President Mbeki met in a Harare hotel. Mbeki also held meetings with opposition leaders

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Last updated August 10, 2008
SOUTH African President Thabo Mbeki held talks with Zimbabwe’s political rivals on Sunday as they edged closer to a power-sharing deal following President Robert Mugabe's widely condemned re-election on June 27.

Mbeki, who arrived in Zimbabwe late Saturday, first held a meeting with opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai before holding discussions with Mugabe. He was set to meet with Arthur Mutambara, leader of a faction of the MDC just after noon at a Harare hotel, sources said.

A source close to the discussions said: “President Mbeki wants to assess the positions of the respective parties on outstanding issues during these meetings. When he has met all the leaders, he will call them back for a joint meeting where he hopes everything will be ironed out and a deal signed.”

Mugabe arrived at the Rainbow Towers hotel in central Harare where he held his meeting with Mbeki, making no comment as he followed a red carpet that led to an elevator inside.

Government ministers greeted the smiling 84-year-old leader as his motorcade pulled up.

Tsvangirai had earlier arrived at the hotel, but left shortly afterward without commenting. Negotiators for his party exited after he did.

Asked whether there was any progress, MDC secretary general Tendai Biti, the party's chief negotiator, nodded yes and told reporters: "I think we all need to pray."

Mbeki’s trip to Zimbabwe follows more than two weeks of intense negotiations in South Africa in a bid to reach a power-sharing deal to resolve Zimbabwe’s decade-long political crisis.

His trip comes amid signs the rivals were nearing a deal in the negotiations, with both Mbeki's government and Mugabe reporting progress in recent days.

It is also ahead of Zimbabwe's Heroes' Day on Monday in honour of those who died in the guerrilla war that led to the country's independence and a summit of southern African heads of state next weekend in Johannesburg.

Zimbabwe's state media reported Sunday that negotiators had reached agreement on key issues and Mbeki's meetings on Sunday would focus on hammering out details of a new government.

"Issues with the structure and scope of the new government are likely to take centre stage," The Sunday Mail newspaper said.

Quoting unnamed sources close to the talks, the government mouthpiece said negotiators for the ruling and opposition parties had already resolved issues related to land and other matters.

Land distribution has long been a major issue in Zimbabwe following independence from Britain in 1980. Mugabe embarked on a chaotic land reform programme at the turn of the decade which saw some 4,000 white-owned farms expropriated by the state.

Critics say the land programme led to Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, with the country facing the world's highest inflation rate and major food shortages.

Mugabe blames the country's woes on sanctions imposed by the EU and the United States following presidential elections in 2002 which the MDC and Western observers charged were rigged to hand the Zimbabwe president victory.

Power-sharing talks began after the political rivals signed a deal on July 21 laying the framework for negotiations following Mugabe's re-election in a one-candidate poll in June widely condemned as a farce.

Tsvangirai boycotted the June 27 presidential run-off despite finishing ahead of Mugabe in the March first round, citing rising violence against his supporters that had killed dozens and injured thousands.

The opposition leader believes his first-round total gives him the right to the lion's share of power, but sources say it is likely he will become Prime Minister in a power-sharing deal although his powers remain unclear.

Zanu PF has insisted Mugabe must be recognised as president as part of any deal, since he won the June 27 vote. - Staff Reporter/AFP
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