ZIMBABWE — When the ANC recalled (not fired, to suit quiet diplomacy) Mbeki from his rocky presidency, it did not take a week to replace him.

 

Some of the ministers that resigned in solidarity with the outgoing troubled president were replaced within hours of their departure. Mugabe, in June, was sworn in at the speed of lighting after his one-man contest.

 

 

What we have been subjected to are perpetual talks with some people having the luxury of taking a 10-day expensive and fully paid for shopping holiday in America while the nation is literally gasping for breath.

 

This is the time for the MDC to start weighing its options seriously. These prolonged talks, if not managed properly, could ultimately taint the movement. ZANU PF will use every opportunity to drag MDC into the mud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There has to be a deadline to these talks after which the MDC should simply pull out if no equitable powering-sharing agreement is reached.

 

As a nation, our interest does not lie in Tsvangirai getting a new office at Munhumutapa or Makombe buildings as recently reported.

 

This struggle is not about offices, it is about the welfare of Zimbabweans and a new start. The formation of a genuinely inclusive government and the swearing-in of the Prime Minister will be key indicators of any positive movement, not office renovation.

 

If indeed the deadlock has been caused by the ministries of Finance and Home Affairs as Nathaniel Manheru aka George Charamba would want us to believe, then to us as a nation, this is a flimsy and laughable excuse as it is clear that we can only start to have a solution to our problems if these ministries are controlled by the MDC.

 

As much as ZANU PF declared that Defence was non-negotiable, progressive Zimbabweans also declare that Home Affairs and Finance are non-negotiable.

 

The MDC has already conceded more than it should have. Any more concessions at this point will take us back to 1987 and this will be unfortunate and disastrous to both the movement and the nation.

 

It would appear that ZANU PF is willing to drag these talks for another five years by which time they would have clandestinely completed a full term.

 

MDC must not be used to provide Mugabe with a semblance of legitimacy which he badly needs. As long as Tsvangirai is not sworn in, the reality is that Mugabe remains illegitimate. However, the longer MDC stays in these talks, the greater the risk of having its reputation compromised.

 

It won't be surprising that the ZANU PF strategy to buy time is meant to give corrupt officials within its circles the last chance to line up their pockets and cover their tracks.

 

By the time we realise it, it will be too late. My plea to all professional civil servants (some of them are) is that they should keep a very close eye on what is happening in their offices. That evidence will be useful one day.

 

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