Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Harare (Agenzia Fides) – In South Africa, talks between representatives of the government, led by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, and the opposition continue, in an effort to help the country overcome its most serious political, social, and economic crisis in its history (see Fides 22/7/2008).
At the focus of the talks, mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki, is the formation of a government of National Unity and the carrying out of an agricultural reform project fashioned by Mugabe. The government of National Unity will be modeled after that of Kenya: Mugabe will be confirmed Head of State, and the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC, the main opposition party), Morgan Tsvangirai, will be Prime Minister. Mugabe wants to govern all 5 years of the presidential term, while Tsvangirai has expressed his wish that the term last only the minimum amount of time needed in preparing for a new round of elections.
The leader of the MDC affirms that he, in fact, already won the first round of presidential elections (in his opinion, having one the absolute majority of the votes), and says that he did not enter the second round (June 27) for reasons of violence committed against supporters of his party. According to the opposition, at least 120 people have been killed by security forces and Mugabe supporters since March (when the first round of elections took place).
Another topic in discussion in the agricultural reform, which calls for the transfer of control of lands from farmers of European origin to African citizens. It is a reform that has been underway for some time, and has been carried forward by way of political favoritism, critics of the President say, and has led to the destruction of the country’s economy. Zimbabwe has, in fact, gone from being the southern African breadbasket to a country dependent on international aid just to feed its own population. Inflation has reached historical records: the official statistic says it is at 2.2 million%, however independent analysts say it is closer to 12.5 million%. Since the 1 billion-dollar bill was issued, the Central Bank has been researching measures to be taken in reducing inflation, such as removing “several zeros” from the bills. These measures seem palliative as, due to international sanctions, there is now a lack of paper money. The bills were printed in Germany, but the German government has pressured the company that provided them to break their contract with the African nation. The Mugabe regime is now finding a growing number of difficulties in paying the salary of its military, as well as that of its government workers and its major supporters. It is understandable, analysts say, that Mugabe has decided to draw up to the negotiation table to find a solution to a situation that was headed for the point of no return. Others fear, however, that the President is only trying to buy time to prepare a war against the opposition. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 28/7/2008)
