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Unity government in Zimbabwe

— Photo: AFP

Joining hands: Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe (left), opposition’s leader Morgan Tsvangirai and South African President Thabo Mbeki (right) at signing of the power-sharing accord in Harare on Monday.

HARARE: President Robert Mugabe and his rivals signed a power-sharing agreement on Monday, ending nearly three decades of one-man rule that saw the country descend into economic chaos.

The signers pledged to make the deal work even as violence among rival supporters outside demonstrated the continuing bitterness and monumental challenges ahead. As the signing ceremony ended, stone-throwing broke out outside among supporters of the rival parties. The police fired warning shots and set dogs on the crowd. Several hundred people broke through the gates into the convention centre’s sprawling grounds.

The deal is the result of more than two months of difficult negotiations mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki among Mr. Mugabe, main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a faction that broke away from Mr. Tsvangirai’s party. Mr. Mbeki said Mr. Mugabe would remain President, Mr. Tsvangirai would be Prime Minister and Mr. Mutambara Deputy Prime Minister.

While details of the deal were not immediately made public, officials from the rival camps have said in recent days that it laid out a complicated arrangement with Mr. Mugabe chairing the Cabinet and Mr. Tsvangirai heading a new Council of Ministers, which would supervise the work of the Cabinet.

In a nationally-televised speech after signing the agreement at a Harare convention centre before diplomats, Zimbabwean officials and other African leaders, Mr. Tsvangirai said the government’s first priority should be addressing hunger.

The world’s highest inflation has made it difficult for many Zimbabweans to feed themselves in what was once the region’s breadbasket. A poor recent harvest has increased the desperation.

In addition, Mr. Mugabe’s government in June restricted the work of aid agencies, accusing them of siding with the opposition before a presidential run-off. The ban was lifted last month, but aid agencies say it takes time to gear up. Before the ban was lifted, U.N. humanitarian agencies had predicted the number of Zimbabweans who would need help to stave off hunger would rise to more than 5 million by next year.

Mr. Tsvangirai, blaming the “the policies of the past” for problems, said: “Under my leadership, this unity government will let businesses flourish so our people can work and provide for their families with pride.” He saluted MPs for their willingness to work across parties lines. “If you were my enemy yesterday, today we are bound by the same patriotic duty and destiny,” he said. He called for legislators to be “driven by the hope of a new, better, brighter country” and the “hope of a new beginning.” — AP

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