Mbeki holds power sharing talks with Zimbabwean leaders


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Former South African President Thabo Mbeki holds talks in Harare Monday morning on a salvage mission of a shaky power-sharing agreement.

Mbeki, accompanied by former provincial and local government minister Sydney Mufamadi, Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane and advocate Mojanku Gumbi, returns to South Africa on Tuesday.

Mbeki’s new mission, came as opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai threatened to pull out of the power-sharing deal after Mugabe handed key ministries to his own party.

The government announced on Friday night that Mugabe had given his Zanu PF party 14 ministries, including defence, home and foreign affairs, justice, local government and information.

The shock move – which also meant Mugabe would effectively retain control of the army, police and the rest of the state security apparatus — caught the opposition off-guard, with both factions of the MDC insisting he had jumped the gun.

During his two day stay Mbeki is expected to raise the allocation of the ministries.

On Sunday, addressing supporters at a rally in Harare on Sunday, Tsvangirai said he was ready to walk away from the deal if the situation required. “If they (Zanu PF) do it that way, we have no right to be part of such an arrangement,” Tsvangirai told a rally of 8,000 supporters.

“The people have suffered. But if it means suffering the more in order for them to get what is at stake, then so be it,” he said.

Added Tsvangirai, “An idiot wouldn’t accept that. That is not power sharing, it is power grabbing.”

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