Zanu PF will not have their way - MDC says as talks deadlocked

Zanu PF will not have their way - MDC says as talks deadlocked

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By Staff Reporter
Posted to the web 19/09/2008 01:07:32
A RECENTLY signed power-sharing deal between Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu PF party and two rival opposition factions came under threat on Thursday over differences in the allocation of ministries.

President Robert Mugabe met with his opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) rivals but they failed to reach agreement over the allocation of key ministries.

Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for Tsvangirai’s MDC faction told the private SW Radio Africa Mugabe and Zanu PF wanted to take “all the key ministries, literally rendering the government exclusive… and we are not going to countenance that approach.”

Tsvangirai, set to become Prime Minister under a new power sharing deal signed on Monday, is said to have been ready to concede the Defence and State Security Ministries while bargaining for Home Affairs and Finance. That was rejected by Mugabe.

According to Chamisa, Zanu PF – with an allocation of 15 portfolios in an inflated 31-ministry cabinet to the MDC factions’ 16 – would not budge on a wish list of 15 key ministries including Defence, Information, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Agriculture, Justice, Mines, Higher Education, Youth Development and Women’s Affairs portfolios.

Chamisa said the impasse over the ministries was “really becoming quite problematic.”

"The meeting was unfortunately inconclusive because the issues that were supposed to be dealt with have since been referred to the negotiating teams,” the MDC spokesman said.

Zanu PF’s chief negotiator Patrick Chinamasa said the portfolio allocation task proved to be "too laborious" for the party leaders and they passed it over to the negotiators – a six member task force from the three main parties composed of Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche (Zanu PF); Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi (MDC-Mutambara) and Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma (MDC-Tsvangirai).

Said Chinamasa: "The meeting took place, but the principals found the task too laborious and referred it to their negotiators. The task is to allocate ministries to the parties and not assign individuals to particular ministries.

"I don’t know when we are going to meet as we are still trying to find each other and arrange the meeting.”

Mutambara, however, told a radio station: "We have agreed on most allocation of ministries, only a few are remaining. Consultations are continuing."

For much of the meeting, Mutambara – with an allocation of three ministries and one deputy minister’s post – is said to have watched Tsvangirai and Mugabe slug it out.

While Mugabe was ready to discuss the Local Government, National Housing, Mines, and Agriculture, Tourism, Higher Education, Justice, Small to Medium Scale Enterprises, Women’s Affairs and Youth Development, he was particularly rigid on Defence, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Lands and Information.
It was not clear which ministries Mutambara preferred but it has been widely reported that his chief negotiator Welshman Ncube would prefer Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs.

The MDC appeared not ready to compromise late Thursday, with Chamisa insisting his party had gone into the deal with equal powers since they control the local government and legislature, and Zanu PF will not have their way.

He said: “The devil is always in the detail, and the detail comes in the allocation of ministries.”

At least 13 new ministries were created while some existing ones were integrated. The previous cabinet had 32 ministers, including eight ministers of state.

BELOW IS THE FULL LIST OF MINISTRIES THE PARTIES HAVE TO SHARE (** newly created ministry):

Defence

Home Affairs

Finance

Foreign Affairs

Education, Sports, Arts and Culture

Health and Child Welfare

Higher and Tertiary Education

Local Government, Urban and Rural Development

Mines and Mining Development

Industry and Commerce

**Lands, Agriculture and Resettlement

Energy and Power Development

**Public Service

Science and Technology Development

Water Resources and Management

**Regional Integration and International Trade

**Labour and Social Services

**Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs

Environment, Natural Resources and Tourism

Justice and Legal Affairs

**Prisons and Correctional Services

Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development

**Economic Planning and Investment Promotion

**Information Communication Technology

**Media, Information and Publicity

**State Enterprises and Parastatals

**National Housing and Social Amenities

**Public Works

Transport

Small, Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development

**Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment
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