Zimbabwe has sent a draft copy of a constitutional amendment empowering President Robert Mugabe unilaterally to form a government to mediator Thabo Mbeki for review, the state-run Heraldnewspaper said today.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has refused to enter the government, accusing Mugabe's Zanu-PF party of trying to take the most powerful ministries and freeze out the MDC - violating a September 15th power-sharing deal - leading to a two-month deadlock in talks over the formation of a cabinet.
The deal, signed after intense mediation by former South African President Mbeki, may unravel if the veteran Zimbabwean leader pushes ahead with the plan to name a cabinet without opposition agreement.
"Draft Constitutional Amendment Number 19 Bill has been completed and sent to the mediator in South Africa (Mbeki) after scrutiny by the parties concerned," the Heraldquoted Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu as saying.
Mr Ndlovu said Mugabe was still in the process of assembling a new cabinet but gave no timetable on when it would be announced. The key contention is the home affairs ministry, which controls the police.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said yesterday the amendment had no chance of being passed in parliament, now controlled by the opposition after the MDC won a parliamentary election in March.
Mr Tsvangirai also won a joint presidential election but without the required majority to avoid a run-off with Mugabe. The MDC leader boycotted the second round because of violent attacks on his supporters and Mugabe breezed to an easy victory.
Many critics accuse Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, of ruining the country with controversial policies, but the 84-year-old leader says the economy has been sabotaged by forces opposed to his nationalist stance.
Inflation officially is running at 231 million per cent, and food and fuel shortages are widespread in a country that was once one of the most prosperous in Africa.
Reuters