Zimbabwe's parliament will on Thursday debate a law to form a unity government, after an initial delay raised fears that a political and damaging economic crisis would be prolonged. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai last week agreed to join a unity government with President Robert Mugabe after months of wrangling over cabinet posts had stalled a power-sharing deal signed last year.
Parliament was expected to start debating constitutional changes to create a prime ministerial post for Tsvangirai on Wednesday, but a fresh dispute erupted this week, with the MDC accusing Mugabe's ZANU-PF of backtracking on the unity deal. MDC chief whip Innocent Gonese earlier told Reuters the rival parties' negotiators would meet in South Africa on Wednesday to try to settle outstanding matters.
The Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Lovemore Moyo, told all legislators to attend Thursday's session. He did not give details. But lawmakers from MDC and ZANU-PF told Reuters the bill to amend the constitution to form the unity government would now be debated on Thursday. "That would be tomorrow's business ... essentially," said an opposition lawmaker, who declined to be named.
State radio quoted ZANU-PF chief whip Joram Gumbo urging law makers from all the political parties to attend parliament to debate the law on the coalition government. Regional Southern Africa Development Community leaders met last week to persuade Zimbabwe's rival parties to break the deadlock. They called for a unity government to be in place by February 13. The new government is seen as crucial to rescue Zimbabwe's shattered economy.
The once-prosperous southern African country's economy is in ruins, with half the population needing food aid. Official inflation, last recorded in mid-2008, had soared to 231 million percent and the United Nations says unemployment is 94 percent. The continent's deadliest cholera epidemic in 15 years has infected 65,739 people, killing 3,323.