DA: Solve Zim crisis or go

2008-10-13 22:15

Michael Hamlyn

Cape Town - If former South African president Thabo Mbeki cannot solve the Zimbabwe impasse, he should resign right now, Democratic Alliance said on Monday.

Sandra Botha, the parliamentary leader of the party, said that Mbeki must demand unequivocally that the provisions of the power-sharing deal be applied to the allocation of key ministries in Zimbabwe's transitional government when he meets the leaders of Zanu-PF and the MDC.

"If he cannot do this then Mr Mbeki needs to recuse himself from the mediation process, and allow SADC and other key role players to review the current process and its results thus far," Botha said.

"If Mbeki does not succeed in finalising the deal which SADC has authorised him to negotiate, then he must make way for another mediator who will be able to compel Robert Mugabe to adhere to his commitments in the power-sharing deal."

Botha said that Mugabe's decision to publicise a list of key ministries allocated to Zanu-PF while both parties remain deadlocked over the allocation of these posts, illustrates his utter disregard for the principles of the power-sharing deal.

"He has back-tracked on almost all his prior commitments to find a lasting solution to the country's political and economic crisis, and all the while, Mbeki has supported, and even defended, his manoeuvring to cling to power," Botha said.

- I-Net Bridge (News24)