Africa, Economy & Trade, Headlines

ZIMBABWE: No Joy As Talks Drag On

Ignatius Banda

BULAWAYO, Aug 15 2008 (IPS) - As Zimbabwe’s tripartite talks dragged on this week, the public remained in the dark about progres. Frustration is running high on the streets as protracted talks could mean further tough times ahead as the economy continues its free fall.

For ordinary Zimbabweans, the talks between the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) factions and Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU PF are the only hope for a fresh beginning after two disputed polls in March and June this year.

Weeks after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding establishing conditions for talks, a power-sharing deal remains elusive. Talks were adjourned on August 12 after three days of direct talks between the leaders of the three parties failed to reach any substantive agreement, the sticking point believed to be who between ZANU PF’s Mugabe and long-time rival from the MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai, will hold the most power in the new transitional government.

Tsvangirai, Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, who leads a smaller section of the MDC are all present at the SADC summit in Johannesburg, where South African president Thabo Mbeki will present a report on his mediation efforts to regional heads of state.

Zimbabwe’s economy has seen rapid decline, with prices of basic commodities increasing more than five-fold in just the past few days.

Forty-two-year old teacher Timothy Xaba has helplessly watched the country hit economic rock bottom. With the recession eroding his meagre earnings, he feels the protracted negotiations augur ill for the nation.


“We have waited long enough for us to pass this economic wilderness. But as long as these talks drag on, it can only mean worse things to come,” Xaba said, echoing the sentiments of many here who survive on less than one U.S. dollar per day.

“Going to work has become a waste of time, as we still don’t know anything about what the politicians are talking about or whether these talks will better our lives,” said Xaba who has been a teacher for more than 20 years.

He is one of many professionals who have been impoverished by years of economic mismanagement after controversial government policies stripped the country of most of its wealth in the past decade. The authorities however blame the country’s world-record recession on what Mugabe says are illegal U.S. and European Union sanctions.

Gugulethu Ndiweni, a 37-year old housewife, told IPS that while she has failed to understand the power games involved in the talks that have seen Zimbabwe go for months without parliament, she believes the fact that no deal has been reached could only mean further hardships.

“Ever since we voted in March, life has become increasingly difficult. And if these men (the political leaders) do not reach any agreement soon, life for us will only get worse,” Ndiweni told IPS. “I cannot afford basics like bread or meat for my children and cannot afford to send them to school. We only hope the quick resolution of the crisis will mean a better life for our children.”

In the past week, prices of basic commodities in the illegal parallel market shot up as the local currency also made heavy losses against major currencies. This week, American greenback could buy up to 500 billion Zimbabwe dollars, up from ZWD 300 billion last week, further highlighting the rapid decline of the economy as the country’s political leaders attempt to reach a settlement.

Hayes Mabweazara, a Zimbabwean academic at the National University of Science and Technology’s Journalism School said the issues that have led to the deadlock in the talks are running parallel to the economic crisis, adding that this is likely to see the economic crisis further imploding.

“The political crisis has always been intertwined with the economy, therefore if there is no immediate agreement on the salient issues that all negotiating parties have tabled, then Zimbabweans can only watch and pray as things get worse,” Mabweazara told IPS.

“It is true that in any negotiations one must be prepared to bend backwards a bit, but Zimbabwe’s crisis appears to be very intricate as there is still strong belief among the country’s founding fathers that the opposition MDC wants to return the country to whites,” he added.

“What has worsened the situation for Zimbabweans is that they do not know what the parties involved are talking about because of the media blackout imposed on the negotiating teams. But it is the people’s fate being discussed so people should really have a right to know.”

But patience is running thin for many here as seen by the high number of people in the streets of Bulawayo seeking to leave the country as economic refugees in neighbouring countries.

“No one wants to stay here. People are leaving in their numbers because they have lost faith in the talks,” Mabweazara told IPS.

According to government officials in neighbouring Botswana – whose president, Ian Khama is boycotting the SADC summit in protest at Mugabe’s inclusion – hundreds of Zimbabwean illegal border jumpers continue crossing into that country each day looking for menial jobs.

The situation is no different at the Beit Bridge border post with South Africa, where immigration officials report that thousands of young people continue to brave the crocodile-infested Limpopo River – a natural frontier dividing Zimbabwe and South Africa – fleeing poverty back home.

For teacher Xaba, he could find himself making the same trip if the deadlock continues. “I have had enough. I am a married man with a family to feed, but I have been tempted long enough to leave,” he told IPS.

 
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