ZIMBABWE:IF ZIMBABWEAN president Robert Mugabe appoints a new cabinet before powersharing talks have concluded, it would be viewed by the opposition party as "a declaration of war" against the people, opposition spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said yesterday.
The warning from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was issued in response to a report in Zimbabwe's state-controlled Herald newspaper yesterday that quoted Mr Mugabe as saying "we shall soon be setting up a government . . . The MDC does not want to come in apparently".
Until now Mr Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party have remained committed to the powersharing talks with the MDC, even though the process has stalled since MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai refused to sign an agreement two weeks ago during a regional summit in Johannesburg. Mr Tsvangirai is understood to have felt the proposed agreement allowed the president to retain too much power.
No official word has been released by the ruling regime in relation to the appointment of a new cabinet. This would leave talks in tatters, as according to rules, a consensus is needed among the participants before a government can be formed.
Following the publication of the report, Mr Chamisa accused Mr Mugabe of trying to "hijack the leadership" of Zimbabwe by riding roughshod over his political opponents. "It's very clear that if he announces the new cabinet it's a declaration of war against the people. You can't just have a cabinet without a mandate," he said.
Mr Chamisa called on South African president Thabo Mbeki, the main mediator in the crisis, to intervene because Zimbabwe was "sliding and gliding into anarchy".
The talks, which are a response to the country's disputed presidential elections that took place in March, began on July 21st.
Initially, all sides seemed to believe a deal to end the country's decade-long economic and political crisis could be achieved.
However, hopes of a breakthrough have slowly begun to fade since Mr Mugabe left the Johannesburg summit and indicated he was about to reconvene parliament, which he did on Tuesday.