Charamba Dismisses Unity Boycott
A spokesman for Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has called Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s boycott of ties within the fragile unity government “needless excitement,” state media said Sunday.
“The MDC-T has disengaged from nothing,” George Charamba told the Sunday Mail, referring to Tsvangirai’s party.
“It’s sound and fury signifying nothing. The MDC-T president knows that. It’s a poor protest.”
He said Mugabe would react to the move in due time.
“As for this needless excitement from the MDC-T, I suppose the president will find time when the right time comes,” Charamba said.
Charamba said government will continue with or without Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Tsvangirai shelved cooperation with Mugabe’s camp Friday, accusing his partner of being “dishonest and unreliable”, eight months after the unity government formed to pull Zimbabwe out of crisis.
A weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Mugabe will go ahead this week despite Tsvangirai’s pulling back, said Charamba.
“As you will certainly see on Tuesday, cabinet will be held. The agenda for the meeting has been circulated and decisions that are binding will be taken. Remember, cabinet does not function through a quorum,” he said.
Tsvangirai’s snub was sparked by the renewed detention of one of his top aides, Roy Bennett, on terrorism charges. Bennett was later released on bail.
The prime minister said he will only resume cooperation when outstanding issues are resolved that include disputes over key posts and a crackdown against his supporters.
An MDC spokesman has said the party was disengaging only from cooperation with Mugabe’s party and not government in general — though it was unclear how since the two parties share power.
The MDC leader and his long-time rival agreed to the unity government nearly a year after disputed polls which saw Mugabe handed the presidency in a one-man run-off and plunged the country into deeper economic and political crisis.
Posted by Sakhile Malaba
on October 18, 2009. Filed under Politics.
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