Almost two months after signing the power sharing agreement there is no power sharing and still no government. The main things that have taken place that are causing dispute include Mugabe taking control of ministries that Tsvangirai feels he should be in control of. SADC has once again been called upon to reach some kind of resolve but no nothing comes of the hours and hours of discussion. If anything, SADC seems to be leaning more towards being in favour of what Mugabe decides upon. How they show any sort of support for Mugabe is a mystery. What is it that he has that SADC cannot confront him with the honest truth about his actions and what he really needs to do?
This is all that SADC had to say about Zimbabwe at the Extra-Ordinary Summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government in South Africa on November 9, 2008 (extract from the summit text):
10. The Extra Ordinary Summit considered the political and security situation in Zimbabwe and observed that no government has been formed subsequent to the holding of the elections and the signing of the Global Political Agreement. As a result, the country is unable to effectively address the challenges facing the people of Zimbabwe .
11. In view of the above, Summit decided that:
(i) the Inclusive Government be formed forthwith in Zimbabwe ;
(ii) the Ministry of Home Affairs be co-managed between the ZANU-PF and MDC-T;
(iii) the efficacy of the arrangement referred to in paragraph 2 above, be reviewed after six (6) months by the Parties with the assistance of the guarantors, SADC, AU and the Facilitator.
(iv) to give effect to these decisions and the provisions of the Global Political Agreement, the Parties must, without any further delay, introduce the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 19.
12. The Extra-Ordinary Summit appreciated the efforts of His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, Former President of the Republic of South Africa and the Facilitator of the Political Dialogue on Zimbabwe in finding an amicable solution to challenges facing the Republic of Zimbabwe and encouraged him to continue with his mediation efforts.
13. The Extra-Ordinary Summit will continuously remain seized with the ongoing political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Zimbabwe.
What they proposed is basically the same thing that they have been asking Mugabe and Tsvangirai to do over and over again over the months. The same things keep getting repeated and all parties are caught in a vicious cycle that they clearly cannot get out of.
Zimbabwe is hanging on a thread and sees a unity government as the one thing that will bring it out of its crisis. Foreign donor agencies have clearly stated that Aid will not be delivered to Zimbabwe until a new Government is formed. As Mugabe, Tsvangirai, Mbeki and SADC leaders continue to go back and forth and hold talks for hours and hours the people of Zimbabwe who have run out of options and don’t know what to do to survive wait to die. It is estimated that at the beginning of next year, 5.1 million Zimbabweans (45% of the population) will need food assistance. In October Solidarity Peace Trust put out a Hunger Alert report that follows the plight of two children; one with kwashiorkor and the other marasmus (click on the photo of the child with kwashiorkor to read the report). With all of that being the case, a World Food Programme appeal for funds to feed Zimbabweans just went completely unfunded. As a leader, just seeing a picture of a child like that should be more than enough to prompt you to do something about it.
Zimbabwe wants a change, Zimbabwe needs a change. Where is our Obama?
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