Zuma due in Zimbabwe next week to resolve political rift

SOUTH African President Jacob Zuma is expected in Zimbabwe next week amid reports that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC has written to his office saying they want a deadlock to be declared.

The MDC is also dispatching an envoy to meet Zuma following his meetings in the United Kingdom last week with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and others.

In a joint communique at the end of his tour, the UK and South Africa called on Zimbabwe's inclusive government to "complete as soon as possible the implementation of the Global Political Agreement".

They also noted the importance of further economic progress and normalisation.

Both countries called for an immediate end to the harassment of ordinary people, political activists, lawyers and others. they also called for the repeal of repressive laws and the establishment of free speech and free association.

"The inclusive government must also put in place the conditions for free and fair elections, which are essential if Zimbabwe is to have the future its people deserve."

In this regard, read the communique, our countries will support the recently established State commissions. These include the media and electoral commissions.

The UK said it will continue to explore with South Africa possibilities to encourage positive change and benefit ordinary Zimbabweans.

So the MDC is trying to take advantage of the impetus from Zuma's UK visit to ratchet up the pressure on Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party. Political tension has escalated considerably during the past week, putting pressure on Sadc to step in to avert a collapse of the fragile Harare administration.

Tsvangirai plans to appeal to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) to intervene in the country’s power-sharing dispute. Political talks have stalled in the country as the MDC blames President Mugabe's Zanu PF for refusing to implement the Global Political Agreement in full.

Although officials from Zimbabwe’s three main parties refused to comment on Zuma’s pending visit, sources said the South African leader was expected to press Zimbabwe’s squabbling political parties to end a power-sharing dispute holding back their coalition government.

Sadc is the main guarantor of the global political agreement (GPA) signed by Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe in 2008 and which led to the formation of Zimbabwe’s coalition government.

Relations between Mugabe and Tsvangirai worsened last week after the former unilaterally reassigned ministerial functions without consulting his coalition partners as stipulated in the GPA.

Tensions have also risen since the end of February, with dozens of supporters of Mugabe’s Zanu PF party marching in the capital Harare to demand an end to the so-called targeted sanctions.