THE OPPOSITION Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) put aside its reservations yesterday regarding Zimbabwe’s stalled powersharing deal and agreed to enter into government with President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the MDC’s senior executive committee in Harare, which was convened to discuss a recommendation earlier this week from regional leaders that the powersharing deal signed last September be implemented by February 13th next.
“We met and we have decided to abide by the regional leaders’ resolution,” Mr Tsvangirai said.
“We are committed to joining the government of national unity and hope that Mugabe party officials are going to treat us as equal partners.” Mr Tsvangirai added that the MDC would put its remaining grievances with the powersharing deal to the South African Development Community (SADC) before the February deadline. Fears had been expressed earlier that the MDC’s senior leaders were split over whether or not to accept the SADC proposal, with Mr Tsvangirai saying on Thursday that whatever decision was taken by the party yesterday, he hoped it would be unanimous one.
Until yesterday the opposition movement had steadfastly refused to join the unity government because it said Mr Mugabe wanted to keep key government ministries and positions for members of his own party, effectively making the MDC a junior partner in government.
Mr Mugabe’s party and leaders of neighbouring countries have said the MDC should first enter government, and then resolve their outstanding issues.
Following the MDC’s decision, a spokesperson for Mr Mugabe said the 84-year-old and his party welcomed their former rivals to the joint government. “We welcome it, we expected them to do that,” information minister Paul Mangwana said.
It appears the opposition party’s decision to put aside its reservations has come as a result of the worsening humanitarian crisis in its country – which has left up to 75 per cent of the population in need of food aid and more than 3,000 people dead from cholera – and Mr Mugabe’s recent threat to form a government without them.
Dominique Legros, a cholera expert with the World Health Organisation, said the health system in Zimbabwe was unable to cope with the crisis because staff could not afford to go to work. The organisation said last November that a worse case scenario for the cholera epidemic was 60,000 infections, a figure that was passed earlier this week.
To monitor the implementation of the unity government a joint body was established yesterday, which will be made up of 12 members, six from each party.
Sydney Mufamadi of the South African mediation team said: “It is the first structure to be formed . . . and demonstrates the commitment of the parties to ensure that what they agreed to does come to pass.”