Is Mutambara making a fatal move?

How an MDC splinter group decision could betray the opposition

As the talks between Zimbabwe's rival parties teeter on the brink of total collapse, Mugabe's Zanu-PF is hatching a plan which, with the aid of the tiny MDC splinter group, could leave Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC opposition in disarray. It involves the convening of Parliament on Tuesday next week.

With the MDC split widening by the day, the faction leader Arthur Mutambara is said to be backing the move to convene the new Parliament. Tendai Biti, Secretary-General of the main MDC,  has declared that any such decision would break the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed to such acclaim before the talks began.

"The MDC has not consented to the convening of Parliament," Biti is quoted as saying, adding that the move would ruin the talks, which have already missed two deadlines, and would widen the gap even further between Zanu-PF and the MDC

After the March 29 elections, which saw the combined factions of the MDC gaining a majority of seats over the Mugabe party, Tsvangirai and Mutambara agreed that they would continue the coalition in any new parliament. But the alliance between the two men has fallen apart during the current talks.

A top MDC official told me: "With the way things stand now, there is no way Mutambara and Tsvangirai can agree on anything. But if Zanu-PF and the splinter group agree to go ahead and convene Parliament, Mugabe's people will proceed to elect the Speaker and the President of the Senate. They will take control."

Tsvangirai now has to decide whether to take part in the new Parliament, and the MDC National Council will meet in Harare on Friday or Saturday this week, to make that decision.

Tsvangirai, with no prospect of a transitional power-sharing government on the horizon, will clearly be reluctant to say yes. But he has a problem. The Members of Parliament have now been without pay for five months. Some may defy any ban by Tsvangirai, and attend the new parliament, simply in order to feed their families.

This will leave Robert Mugabe and his henchmen in charge of the country, and we will all be back where we started.

Comments

[DC]

Does anyone know how much money has changed hands for Mutambara to sell out the people who voted for him and his splinter party?

[chimurenga]

mutambara is a lost soul.bloody fool.

[Cliff]

All of the negotiators are a bunch of sellouts trying to benefit from the suffering masses. I doubt if anything sensible will come out of this

[RMacleod]

Due to the fact he was Oxford educated, Mutambara considers him self superior to Tsvangirai, but like Mbeki and Mugabe he is just another con-artist who as Heidi Holland puts it, all three have modelled themselves on western values, not African values.

Despite his humble origins, Tsvangirai has the support of at least 47% of the Zimbabwe electorate which is an inescapable
fact no matter what the other three bullying thugs attempt or try to do.

As mentioned before, as long as Tsvangirai holds out until he receives full executive
powers, there will be no international recognition, aid or cash until Mugabe is gone.

[Joyce]

History will judge the people like Mutambara.
Mutamabra was voted by only 74 people in chitungwiza; the oxford guru has got no support in Zimbabwe.
Mutambara is known by urinating in fridges at the uni of Zimbabwe. Well if the people are on the Mdc led by Tsvangirai's side let Mugabe and Mutambara merge and do whatever they want.
Pakistan is a good lesson for Mutambara and Mugabe. A coalition forced Musharafu out of office but it seems like they have got no replacement.
The oxford man is being used by Welsh Ncube?. Lets hope Mutamabara's education will reduce inflation.

[Andrew Bond]

Let's not forget, Mutumbara can sell out if he wishes, his MPs might not follow him. I can't see Coulthard siding with Mugabe and I don't think any of the others will stomach a sell-out, so let Mutambara go ahead, it will backfire and he'll be sidelined. The MDC is where it is today (ie spilt) because of a sustained divide and rule tactic from Mugabe and it's finally bearing the ultimate (though poisoned) fruit.

Anyway, we're back where we started, an insincere Mugabe trying every trick in the book to strike a deal which suits him but doesn't solve the problem. It doesn't hide the fact that the govt, whoever is in charge of it, is going to have a collapsed country within months unless an internationally accepted power shift takes place, and a rescue package given.

Let parliament sit without a cabinet, then nothing will get done and the collapse will be hastened. If Mugabe rams a cabinet through then the talks can be considered dead and buried which Mbeki won't accept. As long as the MoU is on the table Tsvangarai can refuse any 'cabinet' deal and let the issue fester to his advantage.

[DC]

It looks like Mbeki and Mugabe have scored again: they have convinced SADC and Africa that the political stalemate is the fault of the MDC.
See http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=19381.

Inexplicably the pressure is now on Tsvangirai. Once again lootocracy reigns supreme.

[RMacleod]

A previously reported explosion at the Harare police station, now one hour ago at the time of writing, two further explosions on the road and rail Hunyani river bridges!

Has something started?

[thomas sabo]

Inexplicably the pressure is now on Tsvangirai. Once again lootocracy reigns supreme.

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