MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa has told Newsreel that Mugabe’s defiant statement that he would ‘never’ remove Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana ‘was nothing new’ and represented the usual intransigence. Responding to questions on Mugabe’s interviews with the Reuters and CNN news agencies Chamisa accused the ZANU PF leader of sounding like a ‘broken record.’ He told us Mugabe’s message against targeted sanctions imposed by the west has been the same message over the last decade and the 85-year old had nothing new to offer the country.

Chamisa dismissed as ‘absolute rubbish’ claims by Mugabe that he appointed Gono and Tomana before the power sharing agreement came into being. He said Mugabe only became President as a result of the power sharing agreement and so was bound by its provisions. ‘Nothing that was done before the power sharing deal stands. The fact that he was a president before the power sharing deal doesn’t make him one,’ he said.

The Kuwadzana legislator said attempts to keep Gono and Tomana were consistent with ZANU PF’s desire ‘to protect their deadwood’. He said ZANU PF has to realize that the power sharing deal means the parties to the agreement have to consult each other on all senior appointments. The dispute over Gono and Tomana and other outstanding issues are due to be tackled by the SADC troika.

Reacting to Mugabe’s claims that Roy Bennett could only be sworn in once he has been cleared of the ‘criminal charges’ he is facing, Chamisa called this ‘absolute hot air’. He said Mugabe’s argument ‘had no legs to stand on’ as he knew deep down the charges were false and simply meant to frustrate the MDC.

Commenting on Mugabe’s call for targeted sanctions to be removed Chamisa said the ZANU PF leader was ‘clutching at straws, shadow chasing and shadow boxing’. He said the MDC has always argued that ZANU PF’s ‘mantra on sanctions’ will never hold and be accepted by the people of Zimbabwe. ‘This message has been played over and over it now attracts scorn in Zimbabwe,’ he said. He added ‘if you find yourself complaining about the same problem for over a decade without any solutions then you have no business being in government.’

Additional reporting: SW Radio Africa