Zimbabwe PM withdraws boycott on unity government
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Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai announced on Thursday evening that he and his party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have withdrawn their boycott on the unity government in the country.
The announcement came after the Southern African Development Community (SADC) troika, which comprises Mozambique, Zambia and Switzerland, held talks here with Zimbabwe parties.
Speaking to reporters, Tsvangirai said he and his party would give President Robert Mugabe of the ZANU-PF party a period of one month to fully implement the power-sharing deal signed by the major political parties of Zimbabwe in September 2008.
The SADC troika on politics, defense and security cooperation, called the meeting to discuss the latest political crisis in Zimbabwe.
The unity government in Zimbabwe involving President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara (MDC-M) is currently charting rocky seas following Tsvangirai's partial disengagement from the government on October 16.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai are literally in a war of words, heightening tension in a country that had hitherto been brimming with the hope that its economic woes are about to end.
While not totally disengaging from the government, Tsvangirai and his ministers had said that while they would continue to operate from their government offices, they would, however, not attend Cabinet and Council of Ministers meetings until all outstanding issues to the power-sharing deal are solved.
Since then, the government has not been operating at full throttle, with inter-ministerial business being hampered by the non-availability of Tsvangirai's ministers.
The outstanding issues include the future of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and Attorney-General Johannes Tomana, the appointment of provincial governors and the activation of the National Security Council.
Chairman of the SADC troika and President of Mozambique Armando Guebuza said at the opening of the meeting that Zimbabweans can overcome their challenges,
Guebuza urged the leaders of Zimbabwe's three main political parties to capitalize on the points that unite them for the good of the people of the country and of the entire region.
"We would like to stress that the challenges are enormous, but they can be overcome," Guebuza said, expressing his hope that the summit could obtain from Zimbabwean leaders the undertakings to continue working together to overcome the present challenges for the national interest of the country in first place.
Guebuza said that everything should be done to maintain political stability for the continued inflow of foreign investment needed to continue the relaunching of economic activity.
He said he was optimistic because the SADC mission to Zimbabwe has found that there are more points of convergence than disagreement.
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