President Thabo MbekiÂ’s bid to broker a political settlement in ZimbabÂwe could be an uphill battle, given this weekÂ’s insistence by President Robert MugabeÂ’s Zanu-PF that there can be no talks before the opposition changes its ways.An official in the Zanu-PF's information department, privy to the partyÂ’s deliberations on MbekiÂ’s initiative, said the thinking in the party is that “elections are around the corner, and people will do their talking through the ballot, not over a table with the opposition”. In the partyÂ’s official mouthpiece, the PeopleÂ’s Voice, Zanu-PF spokesperson Nathan Shamuyarira said this week that the opposition should change “its stance on national issues” and plead with the Western countries to lift international sanctions before any dialogue could take place.
Lovemore Madhuku, whose pressure group National Constitutional Assembly is agitating for a new Constitution, reinforced the scepticism. “We knew these talks were never going to succeed, it is Mugabe’s technique of buying time. “Mbeki will never be allowed to play his expected role by Zanu-PF. The tone of Mugabe’s speech during independence celebrations said it all. They don’t want to negotiate with the opposition.”
Madhuku added that Mugabe had agreed to negotiate with the opposition at the SADC summit only because he waited to avoid further alienating the groupingÂ’s presidents.
Marking independence celebrations on Wednesday, Mugabe returned to his vitriolic style, accusing the opposition of being “shameless local puppets” used by Western powers to “effect a regime change” and “criminal elements” spreading anarchy. “Clearly that’s not the language of someone interested in dialogue,” said Madhuku.