Mugabe set to announce 'all-inclusive' cabinet

Mugabe set to announce 'all-inclusive' cabinet

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ZIMBABWE'S foreign minister said Tuesday that President Robert Mugabe is ready to form a unity government with opposition party members.

But Simbarashe Mumbengegwi remained vague on the role that the country's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai might play.

Mumbengegwi said the way forward is for Mugabe to form "an all-inclusive government where all the political parties take part."

Mumbengegwi spoke in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, for a meeting Tuesday with Burkina's president — a member of the U.N. Security Council.

In New York, the 15-nation council met Tuesday to discuss Zimbabwe, and French and U.S. officials said a majority of Security Council member countries support a proposal to sanction Zimbabwe and freeze Mugabe's assets. But they also said Russia warned it might veto the plan.

A vote on a U.S. draft resolution calling for sanctions over state-sanctioned election violence in Zimbabwe is expected later this week.

Tsvangirai has said he would not participate in talks about forming a governing accord with Mugabe's government unless an additional mediator was appointed besides South African President Thabo Mbeki. Tsvangirai has called on Mbeki to step down from his mediation role, saying his refusal to publicly criticise Mugabe amounts to appeasement.

The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper reported last Friday that Mugabe was ready to announce his cabinet after his controversial reelection for a sixth term on June 27.

The paper said the cabinet will have "surprise inclusions" and will "lay a firm basis for a government of national unity between Zanu PF and MDC".

The paper said there could be a role for Tsholotsho North MP Jonathan Moyo as Information Minister -- after he served in the same role from 2000-2005 before he quit having defied Zanu PF by standing as an independent.

The paper speculated that Mugabe could leave gaps in certain ministries if the MDC does not immediately take them up.

Parliamentarians and Senators elected in general elections on March 29 are also expected to be sworn-in shortly after Mugabe announces his cabinet.
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