Links ~ 20 September 2008

Mbeki accepts ANC call to stand down (AFP)
South African President Thabo Mbeki accepts a call from the governing African National Congress (ANC) to stand down, his spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said Saturday. “The president has accepted the decision of the ANC’s national executive council,” he said on 702 Talk Radio in Johannesburg, which reported that Mbeki is convening a special government meeting for Sunday to decide the way forward. Mbeki, 66, who succeeded Nelson Mandela as president in June 1999, has been under fire over allegations that he was influential in pressing corruption charges against ANC leader and political rival Jacob Zuma.

Zimbabwe in limbo over agreement (The Press Association)
President Robert Mugabe headed for the UN General Assembly, leaving his nation in limbo over a new power-sharing agreement with his political rivals. Mr Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change are deadlocked over sharing key Cabinet posts, a sign that deep and bitter divisions are threatening a watershed unity government deal signed last Monday. Talks between Mr Mugabe and opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara on the appointment of ministers stalled on Thursday, and the appointments were referred back to party negotiators who drafted the power- sharing deal along with President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

Announcement of Zimbabwe’s new cabinet to be delayed till early October (APA)
Zimbabwe’s new cabinet will not be announced for another two weeks after President Robert Mugabe left the country Friday for the UN General Assembly meeting and will not return until the first week of October, APA learns here Saturday. Mugabe’s absence means that the appointment of new ministers would be put on hold until he returns – even if negotiators from his ZANU PF party and the main opposition party finally agree on the allocation of ministries that had previously stalled progress towards forming a unity government. “The president is only expected back in the country around 3 October and we don’t expect any announcement (on the new cabinet) until that time,” said a senior Zimbabwe foreign ministry official.

Britain ready to help Zimbabwe (The Times, SA)
British Ambassador to the UN John Sawers said yesterday that London was ready to support Zimbabwe’s recovery but only if “genuine” power-sharing is fully implemented. “We are ready to support Zimbabwe’s recovery … but we clearly have to see a commitment that the tragic policies pursued in Zimbabwe in recent years have come to an end and that there is a genuine effort to share power with those who were elected in the March election,” he told reporters. He spoke after attending a UN Security Council briefing by UN troubleshooter Haile Menkerios, who monitored the South African-mediated talks in Harare that produced the power-sharing accord.

Assessment of the food situation in Zimbabwe (Kubatana.net/FOSENET)
Summary
Community reports indicate no improvement in rural and urban food security in August 2008 In urban and rural areas the situation is reported to have worsened, with increased food needs and reduced supplies due to the ban on NGO operations The parallel market has been the only source of scarce commodities available in both foreign currency or local currency Some families have resorted to eating roots and wild fruits as coping strategies Difficulties accessing cash and food have worsened the situation for all households

The beaten dare to hope for change as cautious optimism returns to Zimbabwe (Guardian UK)
It will take some time yet to address past wrongs, but a mix of relief and hope – along with a little wishful thinking – swept Zimbabwe this week as millions of people desperate for respite from hunger, an ever more difficult struggle to find the money to survive and the state’s terror machine watched Mugabe “humiliated”, in his own words, into signing a power-sharing deal with his arch foe, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Zimbabwe face trial on issues of safety (Telegraph UK)
Zimbabwe’s role as co-hosts of next year’s World Cup is in the hands of an International Cricket Council security delegation who begin a three-day visit on Tuesday. ICC president Malcolm Gray says the decision to allow six first-round group games to go ahead in Zimbabwe will be based on “cricket not political matters”, and the hosts will be desperate to show Harare and Bulawayo are safe venues, despite reports of violence and electoral irregularities. But even if the ICC give Zimbabwe the all clear, England could still refuse to play their first match of the tournament in Harare on Feb 13. Tim Lamb, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, is on the trip and he will face political – and perhaps player – pressure to push for England’s game to be relocated to South Africa, where the majority of the tournament’s games are being staged.

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