Zimbabwe: One Year of Unity Government

A year has already passed since a national unity government was established in Zimbabwe. After sustained pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) led by South African presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and the leader of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to share power in January 2009. The Global Political Agreement, as it was christened, not only invented the post of Prime Minister for Tsvangirai, but also stipulated that stabilizing the economy, lifting Western sanctions, reinvigorating of the rule of law, resolving land issues and drafting a new constitution be the first issues addressed by the government. Joint committees set up by the inclusive government would see that the provisions of the agreement were carried out.

Forming this unity government was not an easy process. It came at the end of a long, arduous labor, with the SADC serving as midwife. The negotiations broke down many times with both parties storming out of the talks but thanks to the intense pressure of the SADC and, in particular, the personal involvement of both South African presidents throughout the entire process, an accord was reached.

By all accounts this agreement has spared Zimbabwe from further plunging down into an intractable political abyss and, God forbid, a civil war. Except for isolated instances, the violence that followed the general elections has all but abated. It will take time for the economy to recover fully, but relief has otherwise been palpable with food shelves filling up again and market activities resuming vitality. As a result, daily hardships for most Zimbabweans have diminished. Yet as the government works to issue salaries on time in US dollar, and as this is contributing to the general easing of burden and distress for people, Western governments embargo remains in place. Having failed to derail the reconciliation effort of SADC, these governments seem as ever committed to overthrowing President Mugabe. Brussels welcomed Prime Minister Tsvangirai, but only as a means of empowering him and further isolating him from his partner, President Mugabe. Despite the red carpet treatment he has received, no indication has come from the European Union capital that it intends to ease the economic stranglehold it is has on Zimbabwe.

This is not to say that the unity government has otherwise been on schedule in fulfilling the other provisions of the unity accord. On the contrary, Mugabe and Tsvangirai have simply shifted their power struggle from the streets of Harare to the executive corridors of the government. The two gentlemen have worked diligently to agree on nothing. As the president, however, and the one in actual control, Mugabe assumes the lion’s share of any failure. He has been unwilling to allow his prime minister some authority as per the accord. Despite the GPA arrangement, Mugabe still holds enormous influence in his lap. As a result, efforts towards the reestablishment of the rule of law have gone nowhere. Corruption continues to gnaw the state organs and public service. Prime Minister Tsvangirai, on the other hand, has not done enough to distance himself from Western attempts to impose colonial terms on Zimbabwe. Under Tony Blair the British government had even contemplated a military invasion of the country. During the SADC mediation, the said government actively frustrated reconciliation efforts, inciting opposition parties to abandon talks. Its preferred solution for the crisis is to exacerbate the situation in order to induce general disorder or a military coup. For the GPA to succeed, Prime Minister Tsvangirai must make it clear that he rejects such harmful and undesired foreign meddling. He must also allay the suspicion of President Mugabe. It is of paramount importance that confidence in the unity government is restored as its potential cannot to be taken for granted. If not cultivated and built upon, it could easily evaporate and leave Zimbabweans in a precarious political situation once again.