Zimbabwe political parties, Zanu PF, led by Robert Mugabe and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai and a breakaway MDC formation under Professor Arthur Mutambara finally reached a political settlement deal last night
The power sharing deal to be officially signed next Monday at 10.00a.m at a ceremony in Harare will be attended by regional and continental leaders.
Speaking at a press conference last night, the mediator to the negotiations, South African President, Thabo Mbeki, said the all the political leaders endorsed the deal and urged the international community to respect the agreement saying it represented the “wishes of the people of Zimbabwe.”
“An agreement has been reached on all the matters on the agenda…. There will be a formal signing ceremony on Monday at 10.00 (a.m) a which point the document will be signed by the political leaders of Zimbabwe and full details released.”
“All the parties have taken these negotiations seriously because of the need to find a lasting solution to the challenges being faced by the country.
‘We hope that everybody in the international community will respect this agreement and lend their support and extend the necessary hand of support for the country to recover from its socio-economic challenges,” said Mbeki.
In a brief statement to the media outside Rainbow Towers Hotel, Tsvangirai said, “all that I can tell is that we have a deal.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday congratulated the political parties in Zimbabwe for reaching a political agreement and said he hoped the settlement will revive the country’s economy and improve the welfare of Zimbabweans.
“He hopes that this agreement will pave way for a durable peace and recovery in the country and contribute to the country’s rapid improvement in the welfare and human rights of the people of Zimbabwe, who have suffered for long.
‘He congratulates the parties for reaching an agreement and commends the mediator, South African President Thabo Mbeki for his tireless efforts to help them reach it, “ said a statement issued by Ban Ki-Moon’s press office.
The power sharing talks reached stalemate in mid-August after differences between Mugabe and Tsvangirai on how to share executive powers.
Although details of the deal are still to be announced it is widely believed that Mugabe will remain as President but with diluted executive powers, with two deputies from his party, Tsvangirai as Prime Minister also with two deputies one from his party and the other form the other MDC formation.
