Exodus Of South African Ministers Adds To Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Concerns
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the new government cannot be formed until an amendment to the constitution has been enacted, so
The resignation on Tuesday of 11 South African ministers following that of President Thabo Mbeki increased concern the shuffle in Pretoria could have anegative impact on the delicate power-sharing transition already running into difficulty in Zimbabwe. The resigning ministers included Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi, a key member of the outgoing president’s Zimbabwe mediation team. TopZANU-PF and MDC officials said the Pretoria crisis could lead to the collapseof the Zimbabwe power-sharing process if it is not properly managed. However, they were all quick to add that Zimbabwe is in charge of its own destiny. Meanwhile, inter-party discussions onforming a unity cabinet seemed unlikely to resume until Oct. 5, when president Robert Mugabe will be back in the country. Mr. Mugabe has traveled to New Yorkto attend the United Nations General Assembly and was expected to address thegeneral assembly on Thursday afternoon. Developmentsin Harare, meanwhile, indicated the gap between the parties to the Sept. 15 power-sharing agreement iswidening. An opinion piece in the state-controlled Herald newspaper signed by Nathaniel Manheru, believedto be a pen-name for Mugabe spokesman George Charamba, has caused consternationamong MDC officials. The columnist warned against conducting an audit of landin the hands of ministers and top officials of Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, branding the MDC leadership “traitors.” the writer asserted that it is Mugabe’s sole prerogative to name ministers. The New York Times quoted MDC founder MorganTsvangirai as saying that “if that isthe spirit in which we go into the marriage, it has finished before it hasstarted.” Elsewhere, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the new governmentcannot be formed until an amendment to the constitution has been enacted, so theunity government might not be put in place until November.