A CABINET meeting to assess the progress of Zimbabwe’s transitional government was thrown into disarray at the weekend when ministers from Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s Zanu- PF party walked out on proceedings.
According to Zimbabwean justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, Zanu-PF ministers decided to abandon the retreat in the holiday town of Nyanga on Sunday after becoming angered by comments made by Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faction leader Arthur Mutambara.
Mr Mutambara, who is also a deputy prime minister, allegedly said last year’s presidential run-off between Mr Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai – which was won by the former after the latter pulled out over widespread state-sponsored violence – was a fraud.
“We walked out of the meeting in protest to register our anger against reckless statement by one of the principals of the Global Political Agreement [powersharing deal],” Mr Chinamasa told journalists after the meeting abruptly ended.
Mr Chinamasa said Zanu-PF ministers would only return to the process if Mr Mutambara did not have a role in the proceedings.
“This is a government faction and there was no reason to undermine the other partner in the government,” he said. “Besides, this is not the first time he has done it and we felt that this was unacceptable.”
The increase in tensions between the rival parties, who signed a powersharing deal last February, comes just days ahead of a scheduled visit by South African president Jacob Zuma.
He arrives in Zimbabwe on Thursday, when he is expected to meet Mr Mugabe.
The MDC has repeatedly accused Zanu-PF of dragging its heels over the implementation of crucial elements of the powersharing deal as a means of retaining the upper hand during the transitional period.
At a meeting with Mr Zuma three weeks ago, Mr Tsvangirai outlined the stumbling blocks, and Mr Zuma said he would discuss the “very weighty issues” with Mr Mugabe.
South Africa is currently chairing the Southern African Development Community, the regional body that helped to draft and oversaw the signing of the powersharing agreement.
The issues brought to Mr Zuma’s attention are believed to include press freedoms, human rights and Mr Mugabe’s unilateral reappointment of his supporters – Gideon Gono as central bank governor and Johannes Tomana as attorney general.