Tsvangirai Party To Attend Cabinet Meeting

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to lead ministers from his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) into attending their first cabinet meeting since calling off their recent boycott of the country’s unity government.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa confirmed their plan to attend a cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday, saying his party wanted to give dialogue a chance and restore the Zimbabwean people’s hope in the unity government.

Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe signed a power-sharing agreement in talks mediated by the regional bloc SADC in Mozambique that ended a three-week boycott by the MDC over division of power and intimidation of its members by President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.

The SADC heads of states summit gave the two sides 30 days to implement the Global Political Agreement fully and enact reforms in major government institutions.

Days into the signing of the pact, politician Roy Bennett, a top ally of Prime Minister Tsvangirai, was rearrested and arraigned for alleged intention to commit terrorism.

The charges brought against Bennett carry the death penalty under Zimbabwean law.
Tsvangirai told a weekend rally that it was ZANU-PF’s responsibility to display its commitment to move the country from its current state and resolve the outstanding issues.

Zimbabwe suffered its worst political and humanitarian crisis following disputed presidential elections pitting Mugabe against Tsvangirai in September 2008. [ER].