BULAWAYO — The lid is expected to come off in the ongoing inter-party talks tomorrow when the three principals to the global political agreement (GPA) make the long-awaited announcement on deals Zanu PF and the two MDC formations made during their month-long negotiations.

President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara are also likely to refer a number of sticking issues back to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).

The talks resumed on Friday evening, and the negotiators will today meet for the last time this year.
This will be followed by the principals’ announcement tomorrow, after which they will break for two weeks.

Sources confirmed that a number of issues had already been deferred to next year.

In the meantime, the negotiators will be studying what is understood to be volumes of proposals on just a few issues.

“We will take a break for two weeks, during which we will study some proposals that have been presented on the remaining issues,” said a source.

“All we are doing with these proposals is to suggest possible compromises on the outstanding issues.
“The three teams will look at what is being suggested and look at that within the context of the recommendations of our principals and Sadc.”

The sources said there would be no further delays in the announcement as this would worsen matters among Zimbabweans and the international community who have grown tired of the unending disputes in the coalition.

But sources have confirmed that although there had been progress on 15 of the 21 items now on the agenda, there had been no movement on the contentious issues that led to this new round of talks.

They include Mugabe’s unilateral appointments of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono, Attorney-General Johannes Tomana and his refusal to swear-in MDC-T treasurer-general Roy Bennett as deputy Agriculture minister.

When the talks resumed last month, there were only five outstanding issues, but the list ballooned every week, and by the time the talks adjourned over a week ago, there were 21 items on the agenda.

It is understood the on-and-off meetings between the negotiators had seen “remarkable” progress on mostly peripheral issues, while the contentious ones remain.

But on Friday Tsvangirai said the principals were expecting to report progress on the talks after their traditional Monday meeting.

“On Monday next week (tomorrow), we will be in a position to announce to the nation what has been agreed on and what has not been agreed on,” Tsvangirai said at a New Zimbabwe lecture series reviewing the progress of the unity government.

Without elaborating on the nature of the problems, Tsvangirai said they would then approach Sadc on the issues they failed to agree on.

“By the end of this year, we can see the involvement of Sadc, the going back of our negotiators to now set the timelines and framework on the implementation of those issues we have agreed on,” Tsvangirai said.

He said while there had been positive developments brought about by the formation of the unity government, there were still teething problems.

The inclusive government is supposed to drive the drafting of a new constitution that will eventually lead to fresh elections.

But Tsvangirai said there were still challenges in creating a conducive environment for free and fair elections.

“We have more challenges. These are mainly what I would call transitional challenges. Remember that we are in a transition.

“And everyone knows that at some stage we have to go for an election, even Zanu PF knows it, Mugabe has stated it clearly that we have to go for an election so that we can come up with a democratically elected government,” he said.

President Robert Mugabe has on a number of occasions suggested that elections are around the corner.
This is despite the current fissures in his party, which saw him fail to name his politburo during the Zanu PF congress that ended last weekend.

“For the last two years and most possibly for the next two years, we have all accepted there are certain reforms that have to take place before an election can take place.

“We need a new constitution before we can go for an election.

“We need national healing. And we also need to ensure that commissions running the elections would be independent so that they can deal with the problem of laying the foundation for a normal society,” the Prime Minister said.

Tsvangirai said Zimbabweans deserved a violence-free election and a peaceful transition.

“We want things to be done in a peaceful way and have a peaceful transfer of power to the one who would have won that election,” he said.

Despite the suffering of his supporters at the hands of Zanu PF militia and state security agents, Tsvangirai said MDC –T would never seek revenge.

By The Standard