Situation getting out of hand
2009-11-10 22:51
Special Report
Most of Zimbabwe’s 230 000 civil servants have heeded a strike call, their union says, vowing to intensify the protest if the government fails to meet their demand for a five-fold pay hike.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says he doesn't expect the US sanctions on his country to be lifted soon.
Pretoria - A political impasse in Zimbabwe has raised concerns from regional leadership that the situation "could get out of hand", department of international relations director general Ayanda Ntsaluba said on Tuesday.
"The worst fear of all of us is the petty squabbling and politicking among the leaders will lead to the squandering of resources," Ntsaluba told reporters in Pretoria.
He said the tight time frame of 30 days to settle the disagreement over key posts in implementing the unity government was indicative of the impatience felt by regional leaders.
"The fact that there are clear time frames, as tight as they are, it's a significance of some degree of impatience that the political leaders must not squander what appears to be the opportunity, the only opportunity, to pull it [Zimbabwe] out of the abyss."
Last week at a Southern African Development Community summit it was agreed that Zimbabwe's leaders would commit to the implementation of the unity government within 30 days.
- SAPA