SW Radioafrica
By Tichaona Sibanda
6 February 2009
New governors for the country’s ten political provinces are set to be sworn in, on the same day as ministers and their deputies.
This follows an agreement in South Africa between ZANU PF and MDC negotiators that Robert Mugabe must reverse the appointment of all current ten governors from his party. The appointments made late last year were in contravention of the Global Political Agreement, signed on 15th September by all the parties.
Party negotiators who met in South Africa on Wednesday have now agreed to use the results of the 29th March harmonised elections to allocate the governors’ posts. This formula now needs to be ratified by the party principals.
Under this formula, according to the Zimbabwe Independent, the MDC-T would get five posts, ZANU PF four and MDC-M one. The paper added MDC-T would appoint governors in Harare, Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, Masvingo and Manicaland. ZANU PF will have the three Mashonaland provinces and Midlands, the MDC-M would appoint a governor in Matabeleland South.
Morgan Tsvangirai is due to be sworn in as Prime Minister on Wednesday together with his two deputies, Thokozani Khupe and Arthur Mutambara. Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us all political appointees who will serve the new government will be sworn in next week Friday.
‘When the government is in place, all ministers will be given the task of restructuring the government, starting with permanent secretaries and ambassadors. This is a big task because it also involves the restructuring of all government controlled parastatals,’ Muchemwa said.
A source also told us that the National Security Council Bill, which was also agreed to by the parties, will be tabled in parliament on Tuesday and is expected to sail through without a glitch. We understand from our sources that all state security organs, such as the army, police and the Central Intelligence Organisation, will fall under the NSC and will be chaired by Mugabe, with Tsvangirai deputizing him.
David Coltart, the Senator for Khumalo and a representative of the MDC-M, said in the senate on Thursday that institutions like the CIO have been used as partisan institutions to entrench Mugabe’s rule, and that should change. ‘There are institutions such as the CIO and the AG that have to be liberalized if we are sincere about forming a unity government.’
‘In the new government, people who have committed crimes must be prosecuted and face due process of the law,’ Coltart added.