South African summit opens on Zimbabwe power-sharing deal
November 9th, 2008 - 6:11 pm ICT by IANS!– No Image –Johannesburg, Nov 9 (Xinhua) A summit meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders to resolve the Zimbabwe power-sharing issue opened here Sunday.The summit seeks to break the deadlock in talks on a unity government between the ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) over allocation of cabinet posts.
Zimbabwe’s rival leaders, under building domestic and international pressure, hammered out a power-sharing deal in mid-September, which is widely seen here as the only cure of the country’s long running economic and political crisis.
But they have since then sharply differed over which ministries each side will control.
The bickering, mainly centred on control of the powerful ministries of defence, home affairs, finance, information, local government and justice, now threatens the Sep 15 power-sharing agreement.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai accuses President Robert Mugabe of attempting to take all the key ministries, leaving his partners in the proposed coalition government with inconsequential cabinet portfolios.
Tsvangirai said he would not accept skewed sharing of power, threatening to pull out of the proposed government of national unity in which Tsvangirai has been designated prime minister.
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Tags: african summit, cabinet portfolios, key ministries, morgan tsvangirai, opposition leader morgan tsvangirai, opposition movement, president robert mugabe, rival leaders, robert mugabe, unity government