Messages From Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai was quoted on Wednesday as saying some senior members of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party could face trial over political violence, but not the veteran leader himself. “I don’t think Mugabe himself as a person can be held accountable. But there are various levels of institutional violence that has taken place and I’m sure we’ll be able to look at that,” Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper.

“Let the rule of law apply… We all cry for the rule of law, and if somebody’s committed an offence he should be prosecuted.” In an interview with The Times newspaper, also published on Wednesday, Tsvangirai said the new government was committed to ensuring there would be no repeat of the violence, which he described as “the darkest period in our history”.”It can never be allowed to happen again,” he said.

Tsvangirai will become prime minister under a power-sharing deal signed on Monday with Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe for nearly three decades, and Arthur Mutambara, who leads a small breakaway faction of the MDC. The agreement followed weeks of tense talks to end a deep political and economic crisis compounded by Mugabe’s unopposed re-election in a widely condemned vote in June. Tsvangirai pulled out of the poll citing violence against his supporters. Zimbabweans hope the deal will be a first step in helping to rescue the once prosperous nation from economic collapse. Inflation has rocketed to over 11 million percent and millions have fled to neighbouring southern African countries.

(Source)

For a moment it felt like a new beginning in Zimbabwe, as the country’s bitter political rivals shared a handshake and agreed to share power.

But then Robert Mugabe opened his mouth. Out poured the same old rhetoric, a tirade against all of his old enemies – chief among them the former colonial power.

“Why oh why, the British?” he wailed, as his new partner in government, Morgan Tsvangirai, lowered his head into his hands.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader must have suspected he was dealing with the same old Mugabe and as the 84-year-old ranted on and on – with barely a mention of national unity or reconciliation – those fears must have been confirmed.

The Zimbabwean president has not changed and Mr Tsvangirai will have to find a way of outmanoeuvring him in the coming weeks and months.

Even on paper the power-sharing deal is confusing and, in practice, the ageing president may be able to mess it up in no time at all.

Mr Mugabe is still the head of state and he will still chair the Cabinet, even though the combined MDC will have 16 of the 31 posts.

In theory, Mr Tsvangirai, who will be in charge of the new Council of Ministers, should be given control over the day-to-day running of the Government of National Unity – but it is far from clear which of the two men will have the final say.

The ministries are still being carved up between Mr Mugabe’s ZANU PF party and the two MDC factions, with the opposition pushing for home affairs, foreign affairs and the crucial finance ministry.

They are also likely to take control of the highly politicised police force, while Mr Mugabe seems set to retain control over the army.

It all amounts to a huge compromise in which power is so finely balanced that it could be tilted either way.

The big hope for the deal is that Mr Mugabe has finally woken up to the scale of the crisis in his country, where the economy is the fastest shrinking in the world.

He might perhaps have grasped that without Mr Tsvangirai there will be no international rescue packages, which could amount to £1bn.

But it was not a pragmatic Mr Mugabe who took to the stage in Harare.

He was bristling with defiance and sending a warning: the battle for Zimbabwe is not over yet.

(Source)

Police have fired warning shots at an unruly crowd of thousands that was trying to break into the convention centre where Zimbabwe‘s rival political parties signed a power-sharing deal.

Supporters of both sides threw stones at each other Monday and several hundred people broke through the gates into the grounds of the convention centre where several African leaders were witnessing the signing ceremony. They did not reach the hall.

An Associated Press reporter watched police fire warning shots and use riot dogs but fail to contain the crowd.

Police speedily closed the gates and were trying to contain several thousand people pressing against the gate and fence as the ceremony ended.

(Source)

Details have started to emerge of a power sharing deal in Zimbabwe.

Leaks suggest President Robert Mugabe will still remain head of state and head of government with curtailed powers, but he escapes being consigned to the role of ceremonial president.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition MDC, gains substantial influence, but not “absolute control”.

So Zimbabweans are holding their breath. The country is in a state of suspended animation as the world looks on.

Until they have see the small print of what the African Union has hailed a turning point for Zimbabwe, many of its people are saying nothing. Waiting and watching.

For many, the daily chore of trying to find affordable food is a more pressing concern.

Zimbabweans who have bank accounts are now only permitted to withdraw $1 a day. Inflation is running at more than 11,000,000%.

The black economy is thriving. A woman I spoke to who bought a modest clutch of vegetables, found she had shelled out $50 by the end of the transaction, for a lemon, some potatoes and a pack of French beans.

And for the poorest Zimbabweans, for whom the staple maize meal is now a luxury, they are finding themselves going without.

It comes as little surprise then that there has been an absence of jubilation on the streets and in the rural areas where the MDC has won over support from former loyalists of Mr Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF.

But many Zimbabweans are quietly optimistic.

Those looking for change have said that they would rather no deal than a bad deal. So the fact that Morgan Tsvangirai has declared himself “satisfied” gives them some hope.

Many Zimbabweans expect a coalition deal to mark the first step towards salvaging a shattered economy.

“I think the future of the economy is going to be better and I think this deal is going to shed new light on the economy,” said one young woman, hours after South African President Thabo Mbeki announced a settlement had been signed.

A deal “made in Zimbabwe, owned by Zimbawean people” – but under wraps until Monday.

Certainly the hope is that the compact between Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai will be endorsed by the international community, which has promised billions of dollars in aid to revive an economy on the brink of collapse.

But so far, the diplomatic community has given a lukewarm response to the settlement, making it clear the devil will be in the detail.

“A good positive first step,” as one man described it, is perhaps how many pragmatists will respond to this deal.

One MDC supporter described it like plucking the feathers off a cockerel (the cockerel is the symbol of ZANU PF).

And optimists say the MDC may be able to gain influence by stealth – by operating inside a coalition government – and exerting influence from within.

But there are other voices who feel the MDC has “sold out”, leaving too much control in the hands of one of Africa’s last surviving liberation leaders, who has clearly demonstrated an unwillingness to go.

A reading of an opinion column in the state-owned Herald Newspaper on Saturday helps to illustrate why sceptics still have fears about what could emerge in the coming days.

Some are anxious that powerful allies of Mr Mugabe, threatened by the deal, may revive their campaign of violence against opposition supporters.

It suggests the settlement was reached under duress by an MDC clearly frightened about the alternatives.

It describes how the opposition had “overplayed its hand” during the negotiations. ZANU PF felt they were asking for too much. Three days into negotiations they became deadlocked, drifting back to what the paper describes as “hard knuckles”.

But the MDC “backed down” and in a matter of minutes a deal was done.

It is not the kind of language that suggests compromise.

Although control of the police and military is expected to be shared between the two leaders, the fate of the much-feared intelligence services remains far from clear.

Drive through the areas where farms lie derelict after their occupants were evicted, and the deafening silence is a symbol of the damage which could still be done.

(Source)

Robert Mugabe and his arch-foe, Morgan Tsvangirai, are attempting to hammer out the shape of a new power-sharing government ahead of a formal signing ceremony on Monday that is expected to end the Zimbabwean president’s 28 years of political domination.

The two leaders, and the head of a smaller opposition faction, are wrangling over the division of 31 cabinet seats, with Mugabe seeking to retain control over much of the security apparatus used to terrorise voters in the recent election.

But sources in Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said that the party expected to secure control over the police and intelligence agency – a move crucial to holding free elections – while Mugabe’s ZANU PF will oversee the military through the defence ministry.

The allocation of portfolios will help determine how much power Mugabe continues to wield as president. But his grip has been greatly weakened with Tsvangirai destined to take over the daily running of government as prime minister and the combined opposition holding a majority in cabinet, albeit it by only one seat.

Perhaps crucially, the MDC also apparently won its demand for the swift introduction of a new constitution, which will lay the ground for fresh elections in two years or so. That process would appear to lay the path for Mugabe’s final political demise as it is unlikely he could ever again win a legitimate election in Zimbabwe.

Full details of the power-sharing agreement will be revealed at the signing on Monday, after which parliament is to pass a constitutional amendment enabling the formation of the new government.

Mugabe, who remains president but with greatly reduced powers, will chair the cabinet. Tsvangirai, as prime minister, will head a new council of ministers that will undertake the daily administration of the country.

The combined opposition’s majority in both bodies means that Mugabe and his party can be outvoted in government and parliament, further whittling down the president’s political control – provided that the two MDC factions work together.

That may prove difficult given the animosity between Tsvangirai and the leader of the rival MDC grouping, Arthur Mutambara, who is to serve as one of two deputy prime ministers.

But the power-sharing deal is a complex one, and although the opposition appears to have the upper hand and to have greatly diminished Mugabe’s control, there remains the challenge of making the government function.

Desperate Zimbabweans are looking for relief from hyperinflation that is running above 20 million percent, widespread food and fuel shortages, and mass unemployment.

David Coltart, legal affairs secretary for the smaller MDC faction, said the additional challenge for the new government would be for former enemies to work together. “The grave humanitarian and economic crises are enough to test any government. The new cabinet that will have to address these challenges is composed of protagonists – virtually all of the cabinet ministers to be appointed by the MDC [factions] have at some stage in the last nine years been brutalised on the instructions of those they will now have to work with.

“Zimbabwe remains highly polarised and it will take statesmanship on all sides to make this work,” he said.

Mugabe’s commitment to the deal was swiftly called in to question when it was revealed that hours before agreeing to the power-sharing deal he told a meeting of traditional chiefs that the MDC and ZANU PF “will never mix”.

“Putting ZANU PF and the MDC together to work together is like mixing water and fire,” he said. “It is quite difficult for these parties to be friends especially if one party is being supported and sponsored by the outside countries that are pushing for a regime change agenda. They want Mugabe to go.”

Many in the MDC also remain deeply hostile to Mugabe, reflected in the jeering by its MPs as the president opened parliament last month.

The agreement has met with scepticism from some of Mugabe’s opponents, who have accused Tsvangirai of making too many concessions. Lovemore Madhuku, head of the National Constitutional Assembly, which has been at the forefront of pressing for political reform, said he feared that Mugabe would outmanoeuvre his opponents and retain control.

“I believe that under this arrangement the MDC will now be neutralised as a political force… We will have to wait to see how the union will work but generally the people of Zimbabwe were also looking for some kind of settlement,” he said.

The European Union said yesterday it would consider whether to extend sanctions against Mugabe and other ZANU PF leaders following the agreement.

(Source)

In March 2006 the MDC held its Congress in Harare and 22 500 delegates and guests spent two days working out what to do to get the process of change back on track in Zimbabwe. Six months previously the MDC had experienced a split in its leadership that had weakened its structures and undermined it’s standing in the whole process.

In addition to electing leadership and resolving to rebuild and fight on, the MDC adopted a “road map” back to democracy. This involved getting the planned elections scheduled for June 2010 back to the date originally set of March 2008, negotiating conditions for a free and fair election and then fighting that election and setting the course to a new dispensation in the aftermath.

Harare, we can say that nearly all of those goals were achieved. We got the elections rescheduled to March, we negotiated critical reforms, won the subsequent election and then had to deal with a fight back by ZANU PF, now desperate to hold onto power at all costs.

In the context of an escalating economic and political crisis and faced with growing hostility in the region and Africa as a whole, ZANU PF simply could not hold its position. They were forced into talks with the MDC and after six months of tortuous negotiations under the guidance of President Mbeki, adeal was eventually crafted that all parties were able to endorse – albeit reluctantly.

Harare. However I think we can claim that while we did not get everything we wanted, the final arrangement is workable and should be good enough to see us through the process that lies ahead.

Under the agreement both the major parties have no choice but to work together and on a consensual basis to resolve the economic and political crisis that faces the country. The MDC on balance holds a fine majority in the new administration but not enough to allow it to bulldoze its way through the issues that confront us. This will not be easy. MDC has seen many hundreds of its leadership and ordinary members murdered, tortured, beaten, raped and their personal assets destroyed. Now we are required by this agreement to work with our tormentors!

Our first task is to put together a new Cabinet to run the country. With 31 Ministers and 15 Deputies plus a Prime Minister and two Deputies this is going to be cumbersome. We had wanted 15 Ministers and no Deputies. The present ZANU Cabinet has 58 Ministers and Deputies. We have 18 months to put together a new Constitution and to start the process of stabilisation and recovery.

My own calculations put inflation right now at 334 million percent – it was 3,2 million in June 32 million in July and now 334 million in August; and still climbing. On top of this our Cities have restricted water and little electricity, fuel is expensive and scarce, food is almost unobtainable.

Getting consensus on the many issues that confront the new government will not be easy, implementation will also be difficult. The one great advantage that we do have is that everyone is now desperate to change things and get us back on our feet. In fact I think we will be surprised when we do start work at just how relieved our ZANU PF colleagues will be, to be able to start to do the right things.

We have not been idle, a detailed and comprehensive stabilisation and recovery plan is in existence and we have plans on how to deal with the humanitarian crisis. The international community has likewise not been idle – they have structures in place and have made arrangements to respond to our needs in a significant way.

But in the end this is our task – this was a solution negotiated and mandated by African leadership, not the United Nations or any international group. This was an agreement worked out by Zimbabweans with the minimal of outside help or pressure. It is up to us to deliver a better life to the Zimbabweans people.

At our 2006 Congress we adopted the slogan “A New Beginning, a NEW Zimbabwe“. We are there. Rather than celebrating, we should all be pondering what could I do, to make that dream a reality? It’s our task to do so.

Eddie Cross
September 12th 2008

(Source: via email)

President Thabo Mbeki has come up with a unique compromise proposal in which Zimbabwe would adopt a “twin cabinet” arrangement. This as he desperately tries to get that country’s negotiating parties to conclude a much-awaited power sharing deal. Morgan Tsvangirai has accepted Mr Mbeki’s proposal and for the first time in the latter’s mediation initiative, the ball is now effectively in Robert Mugabe’s court to end the deadlock in the long-stalled talks. A final deal was not signed yesterday, despite the optimism raised by all the three leaders of the negotiating parties when they left the Rainbow Towers Hotel on Tuesday. Authoritative sources said this was because much of the day was spent debating on the configuration of powers between the offices of president and prime minister as they continued exploring the most appropriate method to adopt. Mr Tsvangirai had gone back to insisting on being designated head of government with power to chair the cabinet while Mr Mugabe would be head of state. Mr Mugabe was, on the other hand, not willing to relinquish chairing of cabinet to Mr Tsvangirai.

Mr Mbeki then suggested a compromise proposal in which a “council of ministers” chaired by Mr Tsvangirai as prime minister would be created. The “council of ministers” would be charged with debating and formulating government policy and overseeing its implementation, among other things. Mr Mugabe would then remain as chairman of cabinet, which would review the work of the “council of ministers”. While Mr Tsvangirai accepted the proposal, sources claimed that Mr Mugabe had rejected it, saying it would render him largely ceremonial. Mr Mugabe preferred to just have one cabinet which he would lead, with Mr Tsvangirai as his deputy, though as a compromise Mr Mugabe would also cede more supervisory power to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader. Before accepting Mr Mbeki’s compromise proposal, Mr Tsvangirai had insisted that it would be a major anomaly to have a prime minister who did not chair cabinet. If Mr Mugabe changes his mind and accepts Mr Mbeki’s proposal, the parties would finally seek agreement on the allocation of the 31 cabinet portfolios and on a demand by Arthur Mutambara, a leader of a smaller splinter faction of the MDC, to be appointed deputy prime minister, before they sign a deal today.

The allocation of cabinet portfolios should not present a major challenge as Mr Mugabe had earlier accepted that the prime minister could play a more supervisory role over all ministries, dropping his earlier demand that all security ministries be his sole prerogative. “The problem has been the changing and shifting of positions in these talks and if everything holds and Mugabe concedes on Mbeki’s proposal, then perhaps all will be finished today,” said a senior source. Mr Tsvangirai is opposed to Mr Mutambara’s elevation to deputy prime minister because he does not think that the robotics professor deserves it. Mr Mutambara did not contest the presidential elections on 29 March, preferring to back Mr Mugabe’s former finance minister Simba Makoni, who fared dismally. In parliamentary elections, Mr Tsvangirai won 100 seats against 99 for ZANU PF and 10 for Mutambara. Mr Tsvangirai believes there is no basis for Mr Mutambara’s demand since the numbers don’t support it and he would prefer any deputy slots to be filled by his own nominees. An agreement has already been reached that Mr Mugabe retains his two vice-presidents.

The negotiating parties had resolved another sticking point about the constitution. They had agreed on embarking on a new constitution-making process as soon as the power-sharing deal becomes operational and to complete the entire exercise with a national referendum on any draft supreme law within two years. Although the idea of a “twin cabinet” was a potential recipe for disaster, the MDC thought it would have given it a base for outwitting Mr Mugabe, who would not sit in the “council of ministers”. Even though most of the participants in the council and the cabinet would be the same, the latter would effectively have been reduced to an appendage of the “council of ministers”. Mr Mugabe, who believes this would strip him of real power, had asked for the council idea to be reconsidered and to have just one cabinet. For the first time in the talks, it is Mr Mugabe who is stalling progress. Previously, it was Mr Tsvangirai, who had refused to sign a proposed deal, which he argued would have left him in a ceremonial role. A meeting of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community on politics, defence and security that had been scheduled in Swaziland yesterday, in anticipation that a Zimbabwe power sharing deal would have been signed, had to be postponed.

(Source)

Zimbabwean political leaders have begun a third day of power-sharing talks in Harare, with both sides expressing hope a deal can be reached this week.

President Robert Mugabe told reporters he was “optimistic” as he arrived at a Harare hotel for more talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the heads of the two MDC factions, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, both said progress had been made and that they hoped to finalize an agreement soon.

The state-run Herald newspaper said Wednesday that the “outstanding issue” in the talks is who should be head of government, President Mugabe or main MDC leader Tsvangirai.

The paper also said Mr. Mugabe has warned the opposition that he will form a new government by the end of the week regardless of what the talks accomplish today.

Tsvangirai earlier rejected a proposal that would leave Mr. Mugabe as president, with control over Zimbabwe‘s security forces, and give Tsvangirai a largely ceremonial post as prime minister.

The power-sharing talks are being meditated by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Tsvangirai’s party gained control of parliament in the March legislative elections, and he won more votes than Mr. Mugabe in the presidential poll.

Official results showed Tsvangirai fell short of a majority, however, and he boycotted a runoff presidential election because of state-sponsored attacks on his supporters.  

Mr. Mugabe won the uncontested runoff, extending his nearly 30-year rule.

The parties are under international pressure to reach a power-sharing deal so Zimbabwe can begin recovering from its deep economic crisis. The country is suffering food and fuel shortages that have helped drive up inflation to an estimated 11 million percent.

(Source)

An outspoken councillor could face disciplinary action for accusing colleagues of behaving like Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe over plans for a travellers’ site.

Labour councillor Craig Turton will today be reported to Brighton and Hove City Council’s standards committee watchdog by Conservative councillor Brian Oxley.

The East Brighton councillor made the controversial comments to The Argus in July after the Tories refused to allow members of the public to ask questions at or hand over petitions during a special cabinet meeting.

At the meeting, councillors approved plans to build a permanent travellers’ site with up to 14 pitches at Sheepcote Valley in Whitehawk, Brighton.

Coun Turton said: “Such dodgy anti-democratic practices have more in common with Zimbabwe than Brighton and Hove.” In a letter addressed to Alan McCarthy, council chief executive, Mr Oxley said Mr Turton had breached the code of conduct by bringing the authority into disrepute.

He said: “It is ludicrous to compare the actions of Brighton and Hove City Council to ‘the antidemocratic practices of Zimbabwe’.

“Clearly nothing could be further from the truth and I think the use of such language is both deeply objectionable and a deliberate attempt to smear the name of the council.

“The truth is that the arrangements for special cabinet meetings are set out by the council’s constitution, which was approved by all the political groups that make up the council.”

But Coun Turton believes the Tories reported him in revenge after their decision to build the site was called in for review by the environment and community safety overview and scrutiny committee in August. He said: “I’m not alone in thinking that Oxley’s decision to make a formal complaint has been influenced by the embarrassment caused to the Conservatives by my call-in request.

“Complaints to the Standards Board should relate to substantial issues and not to attempts at political mischief-making.

“Given the credit crunch, I’m sure taxpayers would prefer to see the valuable time of the chief executive and other officers being spent more productively than on disagreements of political opinion.”

Coun Oxley said he would post the official complaint today. A date for the standards committee hearing has not been set.

(Source)

President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is expected in Harare as early as tomorrow to conclude the stalled power-sharing deal, which sources said was “as good as signed” after Zanu PF backed down on key parts of the agreement. Well-placed sources confirmed to The Standard yesterday that negotiators between ZANU PF and the two MDC formations had reached “sort of a consensus” and an agreement was imminent. Independent sources told The Standard that ZANU PF leader, President Robert Mugabe had agreed to the demands by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai that they share power equally. The development will see Mugabe becoming the Head of State, while Tsvangirai becomes the Head of Government. Tsvangirai is expected to explain his position to supporters today at the party’s ninth anniversary celebrations in the Midlands provincial capital, Gweru. Last month, Tsvangirai refused to sign a power-sharing agreement that would have retained Mugabe as both head of state and government. But the latest arrangement, which could come into effect after Mbeki’s arrival this week would see Tsvangirai becoming the Prime Minister, in charge of the Cabinet – including the appointment and firing of ministers – and government’s business in Parliament, while Mugabe remains the President, in charge of state security and related portfolios.

In the initial agreement, Tsvangirai would have been a member of cabinet and its deputy chairperson. He rejected this arrangement saying it made him junior to Mugabe. “All SADC heads of state appear to agree to the deal. The AU is saying the same thing, but the only problem is the wording of the agreement,” said one of our sources. “There have been consultations between the negotiators and their parties and those issues appear to have been addressed.” A major area of focus, said our sources, was ZANU PF’s instruments of violence which remain intact. MDC spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa yesterday said Tsvangirai’s “signature is ready” once the outstanding issues have been resolved. “Once those things are resolved, the signature is ready. The biggest task is what is ahead, that is, resolving the current economic crisis, creating jobs and ensuring the cultivation of trust among Zimbabweans,” Chamisa said, adding they were pushing for an equal power sharing deal. “It is not about the outsmarting of one party by the other, but a genuine partnership rooted and anchored on trust. We hope ZANU PF will not be unnecessarily rigid and inflexible to delay a settlement.” The concessions by Mugabe came in the face of renewed opposition from Canada, Australia and the US to ZANU PF’s intention to scuttle the idea of a transitional government/government of national unity and go ahead with formation of a Cabinet. There was a swift and decisive response from America, Australia and Canada.

US Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer told reporters in Swaziland on Friday that if Mugabe followed through on his threat such a cabinet would be “a sham”. Members of such a Cabinet, Frazer said, could be subject to US sanctions. Washington has been among Mugabe’s sharpest critics, accusing him of trampling on democracy and ruining his country’s economy. “We believe that instead of trying to appoint a Cabinet, they should negotiate on the basis of the will of the people that was expressed in the March elections,” Frazer said. Canada stepped up pressure on Mugabe on Friday when it joined the US and European Union in imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe’s “authoritarian regime” headed by Mugabe. Canada said the measures announced Friday “go further toward isolating and maintaining pressure on key members of the Zimbabwe regime”. Canada is banning arms exports, freezing the assets of top Zimbabwean officials and banning Zimbabwean aircraft from flying over or landing in Canada. On Friday British Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Dr Andrew Pocock, told the annual awards dinner for The Standard’s Cover to Cover Short Story Writing Competition in Harare that the international community was on standby to provide assistance to Zimbabwe. But he said there was no way recovery could take place without a political context. “We remain committed to putting in whatever we need to power that recovery, provided we get the political context in which we can do that,” he said. “Zimbabwe needs billions of dollars for the recovery of education, health, power and water… we can help.”

The US, along with Britain and France, spearheaded a UN Security Council drive in July for sanctions, but the initiative was vetoed by Russia and China. The African Union considers a government of national unity the best possible way of averting total economic collapse in Zimbabwe. But the pressure is not just on Mugabe. FIFA secretary general, Jerome Valcke has in past weeks expressed deep concern over the situation in Zimbabwe to the SA organising committee. “There is concern over the security situation in the SADC region because of the political situation in Zimbabwe and questions are being asked on whether this presents a conducive environment for hosting the tournament (2010 World Cup),” Valcke said. Mbeki’s last hope, it would appear, lies in resolving the Zimbabwean crisis before Fifa announces an alternative host – a move that would have potentially career-ending consequences for Mbeki in SA, especially after so much has been invested in preparing the venues for the world cup. But Mugabe has his own pressures to contend with. After China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution, an unresolved political crisis in Zimbabwe would make it difficult for him to travel to the UN General Assembly next month.

(Source)