Links ~ 26 - 27 August 2008
Mugabe to name new cabinet, says last was ‘worst in history’ (NewZimbabwe.com)
Robert Mugabe will form a new government soon but he says the main opposition MDC does not want to join the new administration, state media reported on Wednesday.
“We shall soon be setting up a government. The MDC does not want to come in apparently,” the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as telling government officials on Tuesday after opening Parliament. [...]
Mugabe said: “The MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) does not want to come in apparently. This time they have been promised by the British that sanctions would be more devastating, that in six months’ time the government will collapse.
“I do not know when that day will come. I wish (MDC leader Morgan) Tsvangirai well on that day.”
Mugabe ‘to form government alone’ (BBC)
Our correspondent says Mr Mugabe was speaking in bullish mood about forming a government after being booed an jeered by at the opening of parliament by opposition MPs. He looked annoyed and raced through the final lines of his speech and it must have been humiliating for him, as the speech was broadcast live on national television, she says.
Not yet time for MDC to celebrate: analyst (SABC)
A member of the Lawyers for Human Rights in Zimbabwe and political analyst, Brian Kagoro says Mugabe is an old horse and won’t give up as easily. He says Mugabe is unlikely to fall or roll back to give up power just like that. “I think that the opposition will be best advised not to start celebrating yet, there is a battle to fulfill and there is also a need to ensure that the critical committees of parliament that will enable them to hold government to account are in control,” Kagoro said. Kagoro is of the opinion that the Zimbabwean parliament is the weakest organ of state.
Questions loom over the new role of parliament (SWRA)
In a functioning democracy the role of the Speaker is fairly critical as he leads the business of parliament, regulates debate in the House and holds the government to account. In theory, parliament can also pass laws and issue directives for Cabinet Ministers to appear before it, and if they fail to comply they may be held in contempt. However, Zimbabwe is not yet a functioning democracy. Analysts say winning the Speakership is a victory for the MDC but seems rather insufficient given the extent and repressive nature of the prevailing political context.
MDC calls for urgent resumption of talks (ZimOnline)
Opposition MDC party secretary general Tendai Biti said the unprecedented jeering and heckling of Mugabe by opposition legislators as he opened Parliament earlier in the day was evidence of a divided nation, and urged neighbouring South African President Thabo Mbeki to recall Zimbabwe’s rival political parties back to the negotiating table. [...] “What happened today shows the obligations on both sides that negotiations should continue until we reach a negotiated settlement. I hope the facilitator (Mbeki), as a matter of urgency, will re-convene the talks so that dialogue will resume,” said Biti, speaking after the opening of Parliament five months after last March’s elections.
