Friday, January 30, 2009

Statement by President Tsvangirai on the Resolutions made by the National Council

30 January 2009

Statement by the Leader of The Movement for Democratic Change,
President Morgan Tsvangirai, on the Resolutions of the Party's
National Council Meeting at Harvest House, Harare

Today, the MDC's National Council met as we once again find ourselves
at an historic crossroads in our decade-long struggle for democracy.
Throughout this struggle, the MDC has been guided by the principles of
democracy and by the will of the people. This campaign is neither easy
nor straightforward and often we have had to change the fronts on
which we wage the struggle in response to changing circumstances and
conditions.

The MDC was established to bring about change through the ballot box.
This we achieved despite overwhelming odds, culminating in our
historic victories in the March 29th Parliamentary, Presidential and
local government elections.

Then, the brutal campaign of violence unleashed against our supporters
by Zanu PF, forced us to withdraw from the June 27th event. Thus it
became obvious that we could no longer wage our struggle via the
polling booth.

We looked to the region to support our position and the will of the
people by acknowledging the results of March 29th as the basis on
which a new government should be formed. Subsequently, we succeeded in
forcing Zanu PF to the negotiating table which became the new
frontline in our quest for a democratic Zimbabwe. It was for this
reason that we signed the Global Political Agreement on September
15th, 2008.

I know that you are very familiar with the events from that date. We
in the MDC have abided by the letter and spirit of both the Memorandum
of Understanding and the GPA. Sadly, Zanu PF was not the type of
constructive and positive partner that we envisaged when we signed the
GPA and therefore, the consummation of the agreement has been subject
to unnecessary delays.

Nonetheless, we have consistently tabled our outstanding issues to
SADC and we have remained committed to finding a negotiated settlement
to the political crisis in Zimbabwe.
This process culminated in the SADC summit on Monday 26th January,
where the Southern African leaders made the following resolutions:

I. The parties shall endeavour to cause Parliament to pass the
Constitutional Amendment 19 by 5 February 2009.
II. The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers shall be sworn
in by 11 February 2009:
III. The Ministers and Deputy Ministers shall be sworn in on 13
February 2009, which will conclude the process of the formation of the
inclusive government.
IV. The Joint-Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC),
provided for in the Global Political Agreement, shall be activated
immediately. The first meeting of JOMIC shall be convened by the
facilitator on 30 January 2009 and shall, among other things, elect
the chairpersons;
V. The allocation of ministerial portfolios endorsed by the SADC
Extraordinary Summit held on 9 November 2008 shall be reviewed six (6)
months after the inauguration of the inclusive government.
VI. The appointments of the Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney
General will be dealt with by the inclusive government after its
formation
VII. The negotiators of the parties shall meet immediately to consider
the National Security Bill submitted by the MDC-T as well as the
formula for the distribution of governors:
While we felt that these resolutions do not represent an
acknowledgement of all our issues, they do represent significant
concessions on the part of Zanu PF and a recognition by SADC that our
demands are justified as a first step towards a sustainable solution
to the Zimbabwe crisis.

Our National Council's meeting today was therefore convened to
evaluate the party's position in relation to the inclusive government.
The concessions made by Zanu PF incorporate four out of the five
outstanding issues. These four issues are the allocation of Provincial
Governors, the National Security Legislation, Constitutional Amendment
19 and the breaches to the Global Political Agreement.

Thus, the parties have agreed on the sharing of Provincial Governors
portfolios and have already met to begin negotiations on the
allocation formula.
Similarly, with regard to the National Security Legislation, the
negotiators have met to discuss the draft bill submitted by the MDC.

It is clear therefore that these two issues are subject to negotiation
and therefore constitute work in progress. It is hoped that the work
in progress will be concluded to the satisfaction of all the parties
as soon as possible.

The third issue relates to Constitutional Amendment 19. The MDC has
insisted that Constitutional Amendment 19 is enacted by parliament and
signed into law prior to the swearing in of the Prime Minister and
this has been agreed to by the parties as reflected in the SADC
communiqué.
On the issue of the equitable allocation of ministerial portfolios,
SADC reiterated its position from November 9th, 2008 and expanded its
commitment to review the allocation of all ministries, not only Home
Affairs, within six months of an inclusive government being formed.

On the breaches to the GPA and the MOU, SADC resolved that the
Joint-Monitoring Implementation Committee (JOMIC), is established to
review and reverse these breaches. This committee comprises four
members from MDC-T, four members from MDC-M and four members from Zanu
PF.

However, the MDC is concerned that the issue of the unwarranted and
illegal abductions and detentions of MDC members and other democratic
activists needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency and to this
effect, the MDC will ensure an end to the persecution of all
Zimbabweans.

In light of these resolutions, todays's debate centred around two issues:
Firstly, what will allow us the best opportunity to continue to pursue
our goal of achieving a free, democratic Zimbabwe in line with the
roadmap from our Congress of March 2006?
and;
Secondly, what is the best way of alleviating the suffering of the
Zimbabwean people, stabilising the economy and restoring and retaining
some semblance of a normal society?
Let us make no mistake, by joining an inclusive government, we are not
saying that this is a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis, instead our
participation signifies that we have chosen to continue the struggle
for a democratic Zimbabwe in a new arena. This agreement is a
significant milestone on our journey to democracy but it does not
signify that we have arrived at our destination – we are committed to
establishing a democratic Zimbabwe regardless of how long that
struggle takes us.
We have the majority in parliament, we control all the main urban
councils and many rural councils, we will have control of 13
ministries and a presence in the key decision-making bodies of the
executive.

Throughout the course of our deliberations today we referred to, and
were guided by, the road map that we established for ourselves in
March 2006, namely - negotiations, a transitional authority, a people
driven constitution and fresh, free and fair elections.

In this respect, the National Council resolved that through joining an
inclusive government in line with the GPA and the SADC resolutions the
party will be able to achieve the following:
• To move towards a new, democratic Zimbabwe by ensuring that a
people-driven constitution is crafted and adopted.
• That this inclusive government will serve as a transitional
authority leading to free and fair elections.
• The restoration of the people's freedoms through creating democratic
space, restoring the rule of law and basic human rights.
• The stabilisation and rebuilding of the economy and the provision of
all essential services, in particular health care and education.
• To maintain the principles of the working people's convention
established in 1999.
• To ensure that we begin a process of national healing and integration.
Therefore, in accordance with the party's constitution, the political
agreement we signed on September 15th 2008, and in the best interests
of the welfare of all Zimbabweans the MDC has resolved to form an
inclusive government with Zanu PF and MDC-M.
The success of this inclusive government is dependent on many factors
including the goodwill of the parties involved, the support of the
people of Zimbabwe and the continued engagement and vigilance of SADC,
AU and the broader international community in ensurinhg that all
parties are bound by the letter and spirit of the GPA and the
commitments made at the last SADC summit. In this respect, the party
shall continue to monitor the implementation of the agreement, in
particular in shall assess and review its position in the inclusive
government after 6 months in line with the SADC resolutions.

Now is the time for us to put aside our political differences , to
prioritise the welfare of the people in both our policies and our
actions and to focus on stabilisation, development, progress and
democratization. In this I know that we have the support of the vast
majority of Zimbabweans, both in Zanu PF and the MDC, in the civil
service,the workers and the business community and we look forward to
working with you to rebuild our great nation.

In conclusion, I would like to note that in this struggle we have not
been alone. I wish to acknowledge the commitment and perseverance of
SADC to finding a negotiated solution to the political crisis. In
particular, we have had the unwavering support of our regional allies
who have stood by us and our democratic ideals throughout this process
and we are grateful for their solidarity.

We would like to acknowledge the support and solidarity that we have
had from trade unions, civil society and democratic peoples' and
governments all over the world. We appreciate this support and know
that we could not have come this far without them.

Most importantly of all, we have had the support of the people. A
people who have stood by their right to live in freedom, with access
to jobs, health care, education and prosperity in such a principled
and peaceful manner.

I would like to appeal to all these forces to continue to support us
in whatever decision we take because the struggle is not over, our
commitment is not lessened, our vision is not dulled and our resolve
has not been weakened.

We will deliver a New Zimbabwe to the people.
The struggle continues.

For more information please call MDC (Zimbabwe) Hon. Mr. Nelson
Chamisa 0912940489 National Spokesperson or Mr. Luke Tamborinyoka
0912850556 or mhoful@yahoo.co.uk or (South Africa) Nqobizitha Mlilo
0835274650 or 0789484602 or nmlilo@gmail.com or
mlilo@mdcregional.co.za or President Morgan Tsvangirai Spokesperson
Mr. George Sibotshiwe 0766330314

"The mistake that Zanu-PF is making is to imagine that we are
desperate to be in the government. We are not in a hurry to be
chauffeur-driven. We are a people-driven party." ~ Hon Mr. Nelson
Chamisa National Spokesperson

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