Latest on the talks

Mugabe to chair JOC, PM cabinet

Sources say a new draft deal will have Tsvangirai as prime minister, with full authority over all the ministers, while President Mugabe will chair a new National Security Council formerly the Joint Operations Command.

David Coltart hints at possible GNU cabinet structure

According to Senator David Coltart,MDC-Khumalo., and legal secretary of the Arthur Mutambara MDC faction there are two possible structures of the cabinet that have already been agreed upon by the negotiators and principals.

Structure one
It was agreed that they would be a Cabinet made up of 38 ministers; comprising 17 ministers from ZANU PF, 16 ministers from MDC T and five ministers from MDC M. This breakdown of ministers largely reflected the percentage of votes received by the three political parties in the March Parliamentary elections.

Structure two
A proposal was tabled that there be a 31 member Cabinet, reducing the respective ministers to 15 ZANU PF, 14 MDC T and 2 MDC M.

In addition it was agreed that the three Deputy Presidents be cut down to two, both of whom were to be nominated by ZANU PF and that the three Deputy Prime Ministers be cut down to two, one from MDC T and one from MDC M.

David Coltart was not in Parliament when they voted for Speaker

Senator David Coltart a member of the Mutambara-MDC faction ’s charge that the recent election of Lovemore Moyo as the new Speaker of Parliament was illegal has been dismissed as “hogwash,” and “total rubbish” by Tsvangirai MDC Spokesperson Nelson Chamisa.

Coltart claimed on Tuesday that the vote was illegal on the basis that some Tsvangirai-MDC MPs showed their ballot to their Vice President Thokozani Khupe, and this according to him broke section 6 of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Zimbabwe that says the vote should be secret.

The Senator alleged: “On the evening of Sunday the 24th August a meeting of the MDC T Parliamentary caucus was held and its members were threatened with expulsion and the loss of their Parliamentary seats if they voted for Paul (Temba Nyathi).” Coltart believes if the Tsvangirai MDC hadn’t broken the rules some of the MPs would have voted for Nyathi.

This is an allegation that has been roundly denied by the Tsvangirai MDC. The party said they had agreed that Moyo was their candidate and it is not feasible to say that some of their MPs would have voted for another candidate. Chamisa told SW Radio Africa that Coltart was not in parliament when the election was held. He accused the Senator of ‘working with ZANU PF to reverse their victory.’

Chamisa said: “I can tell you that all the MPs, including Mr Mnangagwa who is usually very difficult to accept and understand processes, was very happy with the voting process to the extent that he congratulated our Speaker.”

In a widely circulated article titled “A perspective on the Zimbabwean talks and the election of the Speaker” Coltart tried to distance his faction from ZANU PF but the charge serves to perpetuate the perception that his faction has roped into bed with ZANU PF despite all the denials.

Sources say last week Coltart and Welshman Ncube are reported to have joined forces with independent parliamentarian Jonathan Moyo to petition the high court to set aside the election of Tsvangirai MDC Chairman Lovemore Moyo as house speaker, saying the August 25 ballot was not carried out in secret as required by the law.

Sources said the petition to the high court was made in Moyo’s name, but David Coltart and Welshman Ncube collaborated in its preparation and are paying all expenses,the two met with Moyo for two days in a Kadoma hotel. Moyo is close to JOC Chairman and ZANU PF MP Emmerson Mnagangwa.

Its a surprising development bearing in mind that Coltart was long perceived as a moderate in the faction and some MDC officials have in private said they could work with him.