What Zim's new govt will look like

I am yet to see what is in this deal for long suffering ordinary Zimbabweans. So far, it has been Mugabe that Tshangarai this as ordinary zimbabweans watch from the sidelines,licking their wounds.

We shoulld welcome this deal with cautious optimism rather cautious cynicism.
Although I believe mugabe should take some responsibilty for the situation in Zimbabwe but we always have remember that the west and the so called international community do not like any regimes, that don't dance to their tunes, be it democracy or otherwise . This deal, i believe, is for the pple of zim, its for them to start economic recovery and to gradually put them back on their feet.

This agreement keeps Mugabe is in charge of the military and police force. He has used these to intimidate in the past. It is a mistake to allow him the power to continue this again in the future.

Jobs for the boys, whilst the people starve?

Just like in Kenya?

The early acid tests for the agreement will include:

1. Will they agree on a new economic policy that rolls back the disastrous policies of the past including getting agriculture going again?

2. Will press freedom return?

Yeah that is a brilliant and fair solution.... Winning the majority vote to be president then made prime minister with no control of the fundamental concern in Zim, the military. I Wonder how long this warped setup will hold out. What a joke. For some comic relief, subscribe to madbob hitler mugabe's antics.

My main concerns about this deal are as follows:

1. What is the purpose of the so called cabinet when dead-wood like Munangagwa are going to be advisors and what purpose will the two Deputy Presidents serve?
2. Who controls the CIO, Mugabe will utilise them to spy on what MDC will be doing?
3. The control of the army by Mugabe will result in the abuse of power. This happened when Joshua Nkomo was Minister of Home Affairs the army was used to accuse him of arms caches that were spread all over the country. Come election they shall be used to intimidate the nation. Secondly, those army Generals are greedy, they will never relinquish the looting. Mugabe will use the army with his Generals to loot and bleed the country.

Finally, Zimbabwe is desperate for a solution, but I believe this deal will not solve our problems, we now have three bodies governing the country: Zanu-PF, MDC - T and MDC- M. Zanu-PF is made up of criminals; a Morris-Minor Car will never be a Mercedes-Benz, those people belong in prison. Mutambara is another opportunist who believes his education is wisdom; look how over excited he was when delivering his speech. He is so immature. Mugabe even had lots of praise for him during the ceremony, thus is an indication that he has long sold out. Within the CIO circles Mutambara and Moyo are known as TS or Top Secret.

The best solution for Zimbabwe is the speedy implementation of the new constitution and general election. The West should not lift sanctions against Mugabe and his henchman until a new constitution is in place and general elections are held. What the West should do is provide humanitarian aid in the form of food, medicine, retraining of the police force, judiciary to the country.

Mugabe’s defiant speech is an indication that the man is not genuine, he messed the economy, but blames it on the West.

To the above comment, optimism yes. In the meantime five million people will require food aid, the skilled will likely stay out of the country, the farms are unlikely to become productive, and this very delicate balance of power will have a hard time overcoming disharmony any time soon, nor is it likely that Zimbabwe will transform from essentially a military dictatorship terrorizing its citizenry and ruling through false propaganda to a prosperous, gentle, - whatever the form of government- country. It is hard to see that Britain is responsible for the economy-less country by not paying for seized lands, much less the west being responsible. Certainly the west is going to look out for its interests and has a history of significant abuse, but to blame it for what the Zimbabwe has become sounds like communist propaganda and seems paranoid. It may be important to be an important time to be optimistic for Zimbabwe, but perhaps cynical for SA's future, as one hears this kind of talk of land redistribution, wealth redistribution, regulation of the media, a "permanent" one party state etc.- just as the beginning. Anyway, we will see.

Zimbabwe-poor Zim!!!Cry the beloved country...well if it will help the people maybe it's worth it, but I still cannot get over the view that Mugabe wants to hold onto power and the leaders ENDORSE such? What are we showing as NATIONS in the South?? You endorse a man who was not elected by the PEOPLE....makes me cry,,,,even writing this......What is this PEOPLE....SOUTH AFRICA lets not allow such principles endorsed in ZIMBABWE to be part of our way FORWARD. This is not how you GOVERN.......personally My President-Baba Mbeki you have failed us as a leader....I am sorry to say.

As much as i wish the people of Zim well, I am still not sure that the signed deal is victory for democracy. Fact - Mugabe lost the elections and he's now rewarded through this deal? The man's speech was the same old drivel of blaming the West for the troubles faced by Zimbabwe." I think he has lost his marbles. I sincerely hope that this time around, he exercises respect for the people of that country.

I agree with Alisdair Budd, this is merely lucrative jobs for the politicians. It was just typical of Mbeki, as the facillitator, not to include a cross section of the people. Where were the business people, trade unions, clerics, womens organisations, etc. No mention of an amnesty for the tyrant Mugabe. These people act as if the tyrant never did anything wrong. Like Kenya, this is another precedent for Africa, where another despicable leader of a country beaten at the polls, merely refuses to give up power and everyone jumps around to accommodate him in a new dispensation, by making the excuse that there is no other way. As with Kenya and now Zimbabwe, we have not seen the last of this type of skullduggery in Africa. Never mind the will of the people.

How i hate politicians. As far as i am concerned they are the scum of the earth who are merely out to enrich themselves. Yes, that includes South Africa. Show me one politician in South Africa that is poor? Even Mandela lives in luxury. In recent years, i only had respect for one politician and that was the late Walter Sisulu. When the ANC returned from exile and came out of prison in 1990-91, only Walter went back to his house in SOWETO and remained there until he died. The rest, including Mandela, Mbeki, Zuma, Tambo etc, purchased luxury houses well away from the people who supported them. A politician in South Africa thinks of one thing, albet two things;- [1] how to enrich him/herself, and [2] how to achieve this by stealing as much of taxpayers money as possible and in the shortest possible time.

Personally I am wary of the sincerity and commitment of Zanu/Mugabe to the deal, particularly given Mugabe's speech. It is the spirit of his speech which leaves one with unease. It took him too long to come to the part of committing to making the settlement work and even then this part was devoind of any real content. He went on and on about the liberation struggle and the demonic West. It is obvious that he is largely living in the past. He holds on to and seems to feed on those memories of the liberation struggle and the hatred against the then colonizers. He clearly needs help as he is stuck in a vicious cycle of vindictiveness and has a war mentality or spirit that needs exorcism. He seems to thrive or feed on violence or war like tendencies - check his record from Gukurahundi, land reposessions, electoral violence, murambatswina, recent violence leading to the run off. Even in times of peace or where peace is needed he seems unable to see beyond the need for struggle or violence. I wonder if that bodes well for this deal given that he is still at the helm of government and commands the security forces. His disdain for "democracy" was clear through his comments.There was no reference on his part on the need to address the socio-economic and humanitarian crisis in Zim, no reference to the lives of the people of Zim who have had to endure such hardships. There was only blame on the West for causing the decline in Zim. WHen does Zanu start to take some if not most of the responsibility for what has gone wrong in Zim, because as we may all know, you only work on addressing the things that you take personal responsibility for.It is often said "if you don't like the way the world is treating you, it means it's you that has to change". We can only watch and see, and hope for the best for the Zimbabweans. At least this first step does provide some glimpse of hope for the future but it promises to be a difficult and painful road given the uncomfortable nature of change, the seemingly unrepentent characters of some of those concerned. God help Zimbabwe....

A Deal with Mugabe as head of the army which is controlled by a mob of ruthless killers is no deal at all. Why is Mbeki receiving such praise when the deal he has connived is nothing more than a legal document to assist Mugabe and hopefully appease all others including the west. How DUMB can you be? c

I wonder, who will mediate on our behalf, when South Africa hits the same rock bottom brought on by a one party, greedy, unethical,manipulating government?

Yes, we have to be cautious and hope for the best. Mugabe's old drivel may have more to do with playing to his hangers-on than a genuine belief in its content. Or it could be that he is still stuck in the past, he is senile.

Matu

What a pathetic effort! Give Mugabe his due; he's an astute politician but then what do many people think of politicians these days! They are not the most admired! Morgan Tsvangirai seems to be pretty naive if he really believes this is a way forward to better pastures for Zimbabwe. International lenders need to exercise restraint before they start splashing our money around; yes, the source of their funds is the pockets of taxpayers worldwide.

I said this before, and i will say it again. some of you are so negative about Zim. you said thre will never be a deal, and now that there is a deal you somehow find faults with it. you talk of Mugabe walking free. was PW Botha jailed. was FW jailed for being involved in the decision to atack Mr Mpendulo's house in Mthatha that resultewd in 5 teenagers being killed? are the police Generals in jail? you are quick to forget when things are close to home, and point fingers at others. Yoy have personal issues with African solutions, and that is your problem. this is landmark deal, and all those involved have made it clear that it's just the begining. they all acknowledge that the path going forward will involve the masses of Zim. Holomisa once asked "is your hearing impared"? you are quick to jump in the band wagon of those criticising African leaders, yet you say nothing about western leaders who kill thousands in the middle east. Franky you are one of the people who were so sure that there would be no agreement. i would like to see you say you were wrong. Mandela made a deal with the Np government, and DeKlerk was even apointed 2nd vice president, and there was no criticism.

Morgan Tsvangirai, Robert Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara are the three people in this Government. So it is very strange to be asking who is the boss, the silent one, that every one seems to be not mentioning. If Mugabe was able to work with Smith, Mandela was able to work with De Klerk. Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara all speak the same language and that speaks volumes. Ask the whites who came out of MDC T to join the other function, why they left Tsvangirai, he is not democratic himself. Whether Tsvangirai controls all levers of Government would not change anything as the check and balances which are in place are very tight, even worse than the American system. Zimbabwe for 28 years were operating under the Lancanster House Constitution of 1979. Zimbabwe once had this system, therefore, these are not new systems or new posts, Mugabe was the first black Prime Minister in 1980, listen to Tsvangirai's quotes in his speech. The speech Mugabe made was very mature, that most of the people will only understand it 20 years from yesterday. Democracy is not a word, but a system, and that system should be determined by the locals, not from US or UK. When Mugabe and them tried to liberate the countries, the western world called them terrorists, as the white governments were the democratic ones, how true is that? Now we still have wars going on around Africa, under the disguise of democracy, what really is democracy, and who determines what it is? Those are the questions Mugabe raised in his speech. As if we fail to understand how SADC came to be, one would be saying kick Zimbabwe out of Africa and SADC, and how was it formed and who formed it, and what are its core values and purpose to justify its exsistence. Those are question which can not be ignored, for the sake of the word democratic change. Those are questions only raised by Mature, Elderly, Statesmen. One might disagree with them, but those are true facts. One might dislike Mugabe, but it wont diminish his contributions to freedom in Africa. Stability which is enjoyed in Mozambique, Angola, South Africa, Botswana and DRC was brought about by sacrifices by Mugabe and the Zimbabweans, to maintain Democracy for the Africans. Check your History who was destabilizing all the mentioned countries, you will come back to US and UK, WHY?

Morgan Tsvangirai, Robert Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara are the three people in this Government. So it is very strange to be asking who is the boss, the silent one, that every one seems to be not mentioning. If Mugabe was able to work with Smith, Mandela was able to work with De Klerk. Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara all speak the same language and that speaks volumes. Ask the whites who came out of MDC T to join the other function, why they left Tsvangirai, he is not democratic himself. Whether Tsvangirai controls all levers of Government would not change anything as the check and balances which are in place are very tight, even worse than the American system. Zimbabwe for 28 years were operating under the Lancanster House Constitution of 1979. Zimbabwe once had this system, therefore, these are not new systems or new posts, Mugabe was the first black Prime Minister in 1980, listen to Tsvangirai's quotes in his speech. The speech Mugabe made was very mature, that most of the people will only understand it 20 years from yesterday. Democracy is not a word, but a system, and that system should be determined by the locals, not from US or UK. When Mugabe and them tried to liberate the countries, the western world called them terrorists, as the white governments were the democratic ones, how true is that? Now we still have wars going on around Africa, under the disguise of democracy, what really is democracy, and who determines what it is? Those are the questions Mugabe raised in his speech. As if we fail to understand how SADC came to be, one would be saying kick Zimbabwe out of Africa and SADC, and how was it formed and who formed it, and what are its core values and purpose to justify its exsistence. Those are question which can not be ignored, for the sake of the word democratic change. Those are questions only raised by Mature, Elderly, Statesmen. One might disagree with them, but those are true facts. One might dislike Mugabe, but it wont diminish his contributions to freedom in Africa. Stability which is enjoyed in Mozambique, Angola, South Africa, Botswana and DRC was brought about by sacrifices by Mugabe and the Zimbabweans, to maintain Democracy for the Africans. Check your History who was destabilizing all the mentioned countries, you will come back to US and UK, WHY?

Somehow I thought that what happened yesterday was a great moment for the people of Zimbabwe. A people who suffered so long finally have something to celebrate, so lets not intellectualise and over analyse yesterday's events because all parties (including President Mbeki) noted that there were still outstanding issues and they all accepted that yesterday's signing was only the beginning. Lets all celebrate another great African milestone in our continent's great history. Personally, I think that in order to move forward we need to be positive and for the sake of the Zimbabwean on the street believe that yesterday's event was for their benefit ALSO not only for the leaders. How many of you noted how happy and celebratory the crowd was? I can assure you that this wasnt one of those 'rent-a-crowds', They were genuine so much so that their applause brought goosebumps and a lump in my throat.

To the point about Tsvangirai not having control over the security forces, granted he may not be in charge but he is still part of the Joint Operations Committee (notoriously known as the JOC) and from that point he can influence policy. The speaker of parliament is from amongst the ranks of MDC-T and was elected not only by MDC-T members but also by Mutamabara and Mugabe's people. Lets face it many of us didnt think that a deal was possible, many of us expected a civil war to erupt and the Zimbabwean economy to slide even further but non of that happened did it? They signed and that for the sake of peace is all that was needed.


As South Africans we now have an opportunity to help our brothers and sisters and stick to the notion of "African solutions to African people." Lets not take the easy route and down their moment in history, surely they deserve more than that dont they? Lets applaud their moment like they did ours. Lets give them the respect that they give us (even if we cant respect our own). Until we've lived in their shoes we'll never understand how much a deal like this means to them and to us too.

HALALA AFRIKA! HALALA!