Messages From Zimbabwe

Robert Mugabe’s Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, has blasted the EU delegation which was on a two day visit to the country to assess progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement.

The delegation, comprising Sweden’s International Development Minister, Ms Gunilla Carlson, the European Commissioner for Aid and Development, Mr Karel De Gutch and the Director-General for Africa in the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms Maria Del Carmen, held a closed door meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and minister Chinamasa.

A representative from the incoming EU presidency, Spain, was also part of the delegation.

Emerging from the meeting, Chinamasa said it is unfortunate that the EU Troika is coming with pre-conceived ideas, as evidenced by the fact that all the concerns they raised are a mirror image of those being raised by MDC-T.

“At best they are sitting on the fence and at worst they seem to want to continue undermining the inclusive government. In terms of content they speak very much like MDC-T, the same things that MDC raises ,these people just swallow hook sink and bait,” said Chinamasa.

Ms Carlson said Zimbabwe is not under sanctions, preferring to call them restrictive measures.

She said her delegation’s meetings with President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai and members of the civic society have indicated that there has been progress in the implementation of the GPA although there are a few grey areas which need to be ironed out.

“The spirit of the GPA is there and there is improvement in education, health and finance sectors, but there is need to work very hard,” said Ms Carlson.

The delegation later addressed journalists at the Swedish Ambassador’s residence, Mr. Stan Rylander, where the European Commissioner for Aid and Development, Mr. De Gutch said the EU and the European Commission never stopped aid to Zimbabwe.

Mr. Gutch added that the two bodies are aware of the importance of the GPA and are willing to support it.

He said the two day visit also accorded the delegation a chance to discuss the way forward regarding the normalisation of EU-Zimbabwe relations among other issues.

“We would be very happy to go for full cooperation and this is also in the hands of the Zimbabwean government to create a conducive environment and work together,” noted Mr. Gutch.

Aid Karel de Gucht also said Sunday the EU won’t resume development aid until more is done to implement the nation’s power-sharing agreement and to restore human rights.

Winding up the first visit by a high-level EU delegation since 2002, de Gucht says that sharp differences remain between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai over their coalition agreement.

De Gucht says Mugabe and Tsvangirai “do not have the same reading of the same document.”

The first high-level European Union delegation to visit Zimbabwe in seven years said on Sunday relations with the country were entering a “new phase” but full cooperation hinged on the implementation of a power-sharing deal.

Swedish International Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson also said targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe would not be lifted until human rights abuses ended.

“Now we’re entering a new phase. The political agreement was an important step forward, but much needs to be done. The key to re-engagement is the full implementation of the political agreement,” the minister said.

On Saturday, President Robert Mugabe welcomed the delegation with “open arms”, a change in tone which may suggest he is more willing to cooperate with Western countries as Zimbabwe seeks billions of dollars in aid to rebuild its ruined economy.

The agreement between Mugabe and his long-time foe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been beset with problems as their parties accuse each other of stalling the process by not fully implementing the deal, which Zimbabweans hoped would end hardships.

Tsvangirai accuses Mugabe of maintaining a crackdown on his supporters through arrests of some lawmakers and refusing to reverse senior state appointments, including that of the central bank governor and attorney-general.

Mugabe says Tsvangirai’s MDC party has reneged on an agreement to call for an end to sanctions.

The visit by EU Aid and Development Commissioner Karel De Gucht and the Swedish EU presidency is the first since the EU began targeted sanctions in 2002 against members of Mugabe’s government for alleged human rights violations. 

HUMAN RIGHTS

Zimbabwe says it needs $10 billion in foreign reconstruction aid. Western nations are reluctant to release cash without further political and economic reform promised as part of the power-sharing pact, called the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

“The restrictive measures were there because of (human rights) violations. We cannot fully re-engage until we see the global political agreement is being implemented fully. There’s more that needs to be done here,” Carlsson told a news conference when asked about the possibility of lifting sanctions.

“We had reasons to raise very serious concerns, for example on media freedom and constitutional reforms. We still have a lot of reports of human rights violations, which are unacceptable.”

The EU remains the main overall donor to Zimbabwe, having provided 572 million euros in humanitarian aid to the country since 2002, despite the targeted sanctions.

To date, 203 people and 40 companies linked to the Mugabe government face travel and some financial restrictions within the 27-nation bloc.

Mugabe has long held his Western foes responsible for Zimbabwe‘s steep economic decline, saying sanctions were imposed as retaliation for the seizure of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to blacks.

“He (Mugabe) mentioned the restrictive measures, which he calls economic sanctions but we don’t agree on that characterisation forward in the implementation of the global political agreement,” De Gucht told the press conference.

“We are not going to do that unless there is a process going forward in the implementation of the global political agreement.” 

The delegation was expected to later on meet Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Arthur Mutambara.

The visit by the Troika is the first at such a level since the EU imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002.

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Hours before the first European Union visit to Zimbabwe in eight years, President Robert Mugabe accused the West yesterday of wanting to recolonize his impoverished African nation.

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain nearly three decades ago, called Western nations “neocolonialists” who can “never be our friends.”

The 85-year-old leader said his people were being punished and forced to live in poverty because of Western sanctions, which were largely targeted against Mubage and his allies.

This week, African leaders called for the sanctions to be lifted, following Mugabe’s February agreement to share power with long time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

EU officials were arriving late yesterday on the bloc’s first official visit to Zimbabwe since 2002.

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Two large explosions were heard on Mount Carmel farm in the Chegutu district of Zimbabwe on Tuesday, less than a week after Mike Campbell’s homestead was burnt to the ground.

Farm workers who heard the explosions saw dust billowing into the air above the trees shrouding the ruined house and observed army personnel in the vicinity.

Earlier in the week, a reporter was told by a group of the thugs who had previously forced Mike Campbell (74) and his wife Angela (67) from their home that an arms cache had been discovered and that Campbell would be arrested.

“The situation is absurd,” said Ben Freeth, Campbell’s son-in-law, who also farms on Mount Carmel.

“The injuries Mike sustained following our abduction in June last year were so severe that he has become quite frail.  His only objective is to return to the farm and help restore the country to food security.”

Claims by Zanu PF that arms caches have been discovered are not new.  In 2006 for example, three Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) officials were arrested after police said they had found an arms cache in the eastern city of Mutare.

Zanu PF’s modus operandi has been to arrange for caches to be planted on targeted properties and then to arrest those they wish to silence, claiming they are planning to overthrow the government.

Two police guards are currently stationed at the remains of Mike Campbell’s house, precluding access to the area.

Freeth’s own home, a few hundred metres away, was destroyed in a raging inferno on Sunday September 6.

Since the tractors and fire-fighting equipment had been commandeered by the invaders, there was no way of stopping the blaze.

Three workers’ cottages and Laura Freeth’s linen factory, which employed 60 women from the farm, were also destroyed.

“It’s impossible for us to get anywhere close to Mike’s house to establish the current situation,” said Freeth.  “When there were similar circumstances on the Etheredges’ farm and they tried to investigate, they were shot at by the police.”

Freeth said the Chegutu police continued to thwart investigations of arson and the theft of property from Campbell’s home.

“Lorry loads of fertilizer were also stolen from our sheds but there has been no move by the police to follow up with these reports,” he said.

Suggestions by the invaders that the Campbell homestead fire was caused by an electrical fault as opposed to arson are premature.

“We went to ZESA (the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority) to report the fire but to date there has been no investigation into its cause,” said Freeth.

“However, Chief Inspector Manika from Chegutu Police Station has also claimed prematurely that it was an electrical fault.”

Police at Chegutu have also failed to follow up a litany of previous reports submitted by Freeth and other beleaguered farmers in the district.

These include reports of farm workers being beaten up, resulting in such serious injuries as fractured skulls, house breaking, looting and the theft of tractors and equipment as well as all of Mount Carmel’s crops for the 2009 season.

Current rumours in the district suggest that Nathan Shamuyarira, Zanu PF’ elderly secretary for information, who claims to have been allocated the previously prosperous farm, has offered one of the stolen tractors to his lawyer for outstanding legal fees.

Shamuyarira, who is well into his eighties, has no previous farming experience.  Most of the commercial farms taken over by senior Zanu PF officials and cronies have been asset stripped and their crops stolen.

In Campbell’s case, the Chegutu police have consistently failed to assist the deputy sheriff to evict the invaders who have reaped or destroyed his mango, orange, sunflower and maize crops.

In October 2007, following attempts by the Mugabe regime to acquire Mount Carmel farm, Campbell took the unprecedented step of challenging the government in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s human rights court.
Seventy-seven other commercial farmers joined the case.

On June 29, 2008, the day Robert Mugabe was sworn in as president following the fraudulent, violence-ridden elections, Mike and Angela Campbell and Ben Freeth were abducted.

They were viciously beaten for hours and then forced at gunpoint to sign a piece of paper stating they would withdraw their case from the SADC Tribunal.

In a landmark judgement on November 28, the Tribunal ruled that the farmers had a legal right to remain on their land.

The Government of Zimbabwe was ordered to protect the farmers against future invasions and to allow them to continue farming operations.

However, despite the SADC ruling, Campbell, Freeth and their 500 workers have suffered continuous victimisation and violence.

Campbell also has two Zimbabwean High Court orders against the invaders.  On April 20, 2009 the High Court gave a provisional order evicting the invaders.  This was served on them the next day but the situation became very hostile as most were armed with guns.

A week later, a second provisional order was gained in the High Court, reinforcing the first, but still nothing was done by the police.

During May, “Landmine”, the leader of the invaders, arrived at the Freeths’ house and threatened “blood shed” while waving a gun at the back door.

On June 5, the SADC Tribunal ruled that the Government of Zimbabwe was in contempt of court and referred the government to the SADC Summit (September 2-8) for appropriate action.

This latest outrage on Mount Carmel farm comes just two days after the SADC Summit in Kinshasa, which failed to address the ongoing Zimbabwean crisis.

“In this situation, where the rule of law has totally broken down, we cannot understand the wall of silence from SADC, who set up the region’s internationally respected Tribunal,” concluded Freeth.

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A losing presidential candidate in Zimbabwe’s 2008 presidential elections and now a leading opposition figure Dr Simba Makoni will on Tuesday stand trial on allegations of addressing an illegal meeting during his campaigns.

Dr Makoni, a close associate of President Robert Mugabe until he broke away from ZANU PF to challenge the veteran leader on the eve of the historic polls, is being charged under the controversial Public Order and Security Act (POSA).

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and human rights activists say Mr Mugabe is using the piece of legislation to persecute his perceived opponents.

The charges against Dr Makoni who came a distant third in the first round of the presidential vote won by Mr Tsvangirai stemmed from an alleged meeting attended by about 400 people.

The meeting was addressed by the former Finance Minister.

According to the State, Dr Makoni organised a public gathering without approval from the police as required under POSA.

Two ZANU PF officials and four police officers have been lined up to testify against the former long serving member of the communist style politburo of Mr Mugabe’s party.

Police re-opened the case in June this year, according to court documents.

Dr Makoni who formed a loose coalition of independent candidates who all lost to ZANU PF and MDC in parliamentary elections garnered eight percent of the presidential vote.

President Mugabe picked 43 percent of the vote while Mr Tsvangirai received 48 percent of the total votes cast.

The former Southern African Development Community executive secretary has since formed his own Mavambo-Kusile–Dawn party which he says will give Zimbabweans an alternative to the MDC and ZANU PF.

The two main parties formed a coalition government in February.

Mr Tsvangirai has said the coalition is in danger of collapsing if draconian legislation such as POSA that has also resulted in the prosecution of a number of MPs from his party are not repealed immediately.

(Source)

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has scored a diplomatic triumph after regional leaders called for sanctions against him to be lifted, a move likely to strengthen his hand in a fragile unity government.

The call by the Southern African Development Community comes amid deadlocked negotiations between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on key political appointments and ongoing concerns over human rights abuses.

“Obviously they are going to present it as a diplomatic triumph,” said political analyst Takura Zhangazha, adding that Mugabe and his allies had been “desperate not to have Zimbabwe discussed on the agenda” at the two-day summit in Kinsahsa which ended with the call on Tuesday.

Mugabe has blamed sanctions imposed by the European Union and other western countries for his country’s woes, using the issue to deflect attention from the slow pace of reform. The sanctions, targeting Mugabe and his inner circle, involve an extensive travel ban and a freeze on bank accounts.

Mugabe’s ZANU-PF joined a unity government in February with Movement for Democratic Change leader Tsvangirai, a long time political rival.

The parties remain deadlocked over the appointment of the Central Bank chief, blamed for presiding over the collapse of the local currency, and the attorney general who continues to prosecute MDC supporters despite guarantees of political freedoms in the unity accord.

“However, more worryingly the MDC and their allies they are now going to be faced with tough and difficult negotiations ahead given that SADC has focused more on the issue of sanctions,” said Zhangazha.

“Any future negotiations between ZANU-PF and the MDC will be difficult for the prime minister’s party and his men.

Sydney Masanvu, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said he doubted whether the call would have an influence on Western countries.

“Unless the voice is coming from within Zimbabwean political actors, the call to end sanctions is not going to be heard by Western countries.

“This means unless Morgan Tsvangarai himself is sastified with the developments of the inclusive government he is not going to make that call,” he said.

Mugabe’s biographer Heidi Holland agreed it was unlikely the international community would heed the call.

“It is a moral problem for the West as they don’t want to support a government lead by Mugabe’s regime.”

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Mugabe’s lead negotiator in the unity talks said that his party had met its obligations under the unity accord and dismissed concerns raised by MDC.

The 15-nation SADC summit was held in the Democratic Republic of Congo which took over the presidency from South Africa, whose former president Thabo Mbeki had mediated an end to a drawn-out political crisis after failed elections last year.

South African President Jacob Zuma on Monday told the summit that Zimbabwe has made significant progress towards resolving the crisis as its once feuding leaders learned to bury their differences.

He stressed the need to continue SADC’s support for the country’s economic reconstruction and also the lifting of sanctions.

“On Zimbabwe, summit noted the progress made in the implementation of the global political agreement and called on the international community to remove all forms of sanctions against Zimbabwe,” SADC said in its final communique on Tuesday.

Tsvangirai on Tuesday urged the southern Africa‘s political bloc to monitor closely the progress of his power-sharing deal with Mugabe.

He told journalists he hoped all outstanding issues would be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

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More than 3 000 ZANU PF youths will this week starting on Thursday converge at the City Sports Centre in Harare for the National Youth League Conference that is set to see a new leadership emerge to lead the wing.

President Mugabe, who is the ZANU PF First Secretary, will officially open the conference on Friday. In an interview yesterday, the party’s national secretary for youth affairs, Cde Absolom Sikhosana, called on all youths in the country to come together and map the way forward for the revolutionary party.

“This is an important meeting where all youths will be able to come together and plot a way for the future of the party and the country at large. “The party leadership will also take this opportunity to introduce them to the realities of the world we are living in,” he said.

Cde Sikhosana said youths in Zimbabwe had been cheated into believing that they “lived in a village that had no leadership”.

“The youths should be on guard and look out for those who want them to pursue hollow illusions, by using carefully crafted phrases like human rights, rule of law and good governance.”

Youths, Cde Sikhosana said, should be wary of the issue of globalisation as it was part of the imperialist agenda, which started with slavery. “The youths should wise up, avoid gullibility that has been used as a tool to brainwash them,” he said.

Cde Sikhosana said the West should not pretend to be champions of human rights, which they continued to trample with impunity in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said the West, especially Britain, the United States and their Western allies, have used Zimbabweans to turn against Government taking advantage of poverty.

The conference, Cde Sikhosana said, should give the youths an opportunity to think outside the box. “Zimbabwean youths should avoid being used to push agendas that do not benefit them in any way, that work against national interest,” he said.

The conference, to be held under the theme: “Youth in Defence of National Sovereignty and Promotion of Economic Empowerment for a Bright Future”, will see the presentation of the national chairman’s report and is also expected to come up with resolutions to guide party youths in the next four years.

There would also be elections for a new executive, which according to the party constitution, would be headed by youths aged below 30 years.

(Source)

ZANU PF is still to submit a list of chairpersons for the constitutional thematic committees, a move which is seen as a deliberate effort to further delay the constitution-making process.

The parliamentary select committee on the constitution has had to postpone seven times the announcement of 17 chairpersons for the thematic committees because ZANU PF factions are fighting over control of the process.

MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday bemoaned deliberate moves to delay the constitution-making process, which was supposed to be completed in 18 months from April this year.

“Equally problematic is the deliberately slow pace of progress on the implementation of key issues connected to human rights and the rule of law.

This includes the self-evidently deliberate stalement on the constitutional reform process, as well as the slow pace of media reform,” said Tsvangirai at a press conference marking the first anniversary of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed last September.

Impeccable sources in ZANU PF have revealed that the selection of chairpersons has been hampered by factionalism in the party, with all the factions trying to make sure that they have more people chairing the committees. There are three camps in ZANU PF — one with President Robert Mugabe’s loyalists and the other two battling for succession led by retired army general Solomon Mujuru and Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“People were chosen at a caucus meeting democratically, but that process has been spurned by some senior officials. The factions are fighting over control of the process, so we just have to wait and see who wins in the end,” said the official.

MDC-T co-chairperson of the select committee Douglas Mwonzora confirmed to the Zimbabwe Independent that the names that had initially been submitted were withdrawn by the ZANU PF politburo.

He said ZANU PF has had its deadline extended three times now — first to August 21 and then to Wednesday and now to today.

Mwonzora said ZANU PF’s co-chairperson Paul Mangwana has promised to submit the list next week.

The chairmanships of the 17 thematic committees have been shared between the three political parties represented in parliament, ZANU PF and the two MDC formations as well as traditional leaders.

ZANU PF and MDC-T would each chair seven committees, while the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC will chair two and one traditional leader will chair the remaining committee.

“It is now the seventh time that we have had to postpone the announcement of the chairpersons because names from ZANU PF have not come. They have been giving a number of explanations for the delay,” Mwonzora said. “Political parties must realise that they are not alone in the project and they must be seen to be taking their colleagues seriously. It is important that we move together in this project as Zimbabweans,” he said.

Mwonzora said even though they had completed their work plan, they were unable to proceed because of lack of funds.

They need US$4,2 million for the outreach programmes and this includes funds to hire 165 cars for select committee members and 860 teams across the country.

Government has only disbursed US$350 000, which was used for the stakeholders’ conference in July.

“Regarding the support of government in the provision of resources, the select committee is extremely unhappy. Firstly, there is no clear provision in the budget for the select committee to work and secondly, we have not received any material support from central government,” Mwonzora said. “It is important to note that the select committee regards government as its principal funder and provider of material resources. Where the government finds money is entirely up to it, but it should not ask the select committee to indirectly fund the project.”

Through the provision of funds, Mwonzora said the government would allow the committee to meet the timelines outlined in the GPA.

Citing budgetary constraints and disagreements among the parties, Mangwana has said the process might end in 2013, in time for the general elections.

Turning to the sticky Kariba draft as a basis for the constitution-making process, Mwonzora said they have devised a way around it.

“Kariba draft is not an issue in the outreach programme. We are agreed that the outreach programme must not be converted into a referendum over the Kariba draft. We are working on a questionnaire or talking points to get objective responses. It is undesirable for us to reveal the source of these questions,” he said.

Mwonzora pointed out that they would not be discussing the reasons they chose that particular source to come up with the questions.

He, however, said the three principals were free to interrogate the select committee on the route they have chosen.

Mwonzora said there was need for a clear reporting structure for the select committee because the GPA is silent on who they should report to.

“Granted that the select committee is coming from parliament, it is answerable to the parliament administration headed by the Speaker. But given its creation, the select committee must be treated as a committee sui generis, which must inevitably interface with the principals,” he said.

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President Mugabe returned home on Tuesday night from Tripoli, Libya, where he attended a special African Union summit on conflict resolution and the 40th anniversary of the Libyan Revolution.

Cde Mugabe, who is the Head of State and Government as well as Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, and his delegation which included Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and senior Government officials, were met at Harare International Airport by Vice President Joice Mujuru, Cabinet ministers and service chiefs.

On Monday night, President Mugabe attended the launch of the festivities to mark the 40th Libyan Revolution, which drew leaders from Africa, Europe and South America.

On Tuesday, a two-hour military parade in Tripoli kicked off six days of festivities across the North African desert country.

The AU summit, which was attended by several African Heads of State and Government, demonstrated the importance the continent’s leaders attached to issues of peace and security. Speaking to Zimbabwean journalists in Tripoli on Tuesday, Minister Mumbengegwi said the summit focused on three trouble spots — Somalia, Sudan and the Great Lakes region – while Madagascar also came up for discussion.

He said the overriding factor that came out of the deliberations was the need for reconciliation among the warring and conflicting parties in the concerned countries.

The parties to the disputes were encouraged to pursue reconciliation and where peace agreements have previously been signed, these should be implemented to the letter without further delay. Minister Mumbengegwi said the Tripoli Plan of Action adopted by the summit outlined a roadmap on how to achieve peace and security in the affected regions.

The summit agreed that the peacekeeping force in Somalia should be urgently increased to 8 000 from 5 000.

“The question of the mandate of the peacekeepers was also discussed .this is going to be reviewed to make AMISOM (the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia) effective,” said Minister Mumbengegwi. He said the meeting also called for reconciliation in the Darfur region of Sudan where some rebels were refusing to co-operate.

“In the same vein, the summit repeated the position it took (at the July summit) for the (UN) Security Council to defer the bringing before the International Court of Justice of (Sudanese) President Omar al- Bashir. The AU will not co-operate in the implementation of the arrest (of President al-Bashir). The AU strongly feels this (the arrest) is interference in the peace process in Sudan,” said Minister Mumbengegwi.

Neighbours Sudan and Chad which accuse each other of sponsoring rebel were encouraged to amicably resolve their differences.

On the Great Lakes region, the summit noted the progress made in the DRC although there is still conflict in the eastern part of the vast count- ry.The summit said countries in the Great Lakes were co-operating to ensure peace in their region.

It, however, observed with concern the continued looting of natural resources by some multinational companies, which were perpetuating war in the DRC by embarking on arms for minerals programmmes.

The meeting resolved that a system similar to the Kimberely Process which monitors the mining and trade of diamonds should be put in place for other minerals to curb illegal exploitation and fuelling of wars.

The parties to the conflict in Madagascar were urged to implement a power sharing agreement and return the country to normalcy before the holding of elections.

(Source)

The UK Treasury has written a letter to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) reminding the industry body and its UK banking industry members of their duties in compliance to financial sanctions in the UK.

The letter reminds banks of the 15 sanctions regimes in place in the UK, including those against Iran, Burma (Myanmar), Zimbabwe, as well as against Al-Qaida and other terrorist financing threats.

The UK sanctions regime has become progressively more active in response to increasing US pressure in the anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing struggle.

The Treasury also reminds firms of Financial Services Authority requirements, as the UK regulator has tightened its enforcement of sanctions as part of its responsibilities to curb financial crime, as well as systems and controls failings at banks and other financial firms.

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Zimbabwe‘s power-sharing government and instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo will top the agenda at a regional summit next week, South Africa‘s foreign ministry said on Monday.

The 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) holds its annual summit on September 7 and 8 in Kinshasa, where South Africa will hand over the chairmanship to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“This will be a very important summit,” South African foreign ministry’s director general Ayanda Ntsaluba told reporters.

South Africa‘s President Jacob Zuma will brief the leaders about his visit to Zimbabwe last week, where he pressured the leaders of the power-sharing government to overcome their differences, Ntsaluba said.

Zimbabwe‘s long-ruling President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition leader, formed a unity government six months ago but remain deadlocked over a raft of issues, including the naming of the central bank chief.

Instability in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo will also be discussed, after Kinshasa launched a new push against rebels six weeks ago, Ntsaluba said.

Mozambique‘s former president Joaquim Chissano will update the summit on his efforts to mediate among Madagascar‘s main political rivals to form a transitional government to lead the island nation toward new elections.

Madagascar‘s government collapsed in March, after the capital’s mayor Andry Rajoelina took power with the army’s backing following weeks of street protests. SADC suspended Madagascar over the takeover.

Talks on naming the new government ended without an agreement last week in Maputo, but Madagascar‘s power-brokers say they will make a decision on the island’s leadership by Friday, before the summit begins.

The leaders will also hear a report on Lesotho from former Botswana president Ketumile Masire, who in July broke off his mediation in disputed 2007 elections, saying the government was unwilling to compromise, Ntsaluba added.

“Also on the agenda are issues of food security, health, climate change and the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa,” he said.

(Source)