The three main figures in Zimbabwe's power-sharing government of national unity met on Monday and agreed on the final composition of commissions on the media, human rights and elections, government sources said.
President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara were to meet again Wednesday in a bid to resolve other more contentious outstanding issues, in particular who should head the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Office of the Attorney General.
Mr. Mugabe re-appointed Gideon Gono central bank governor and named another political ally, Johannes Tomana, attorney general in late 2008 without consulting Mr. Tsvangirai or Mutambara, heads of the two formations of the Movement for Democratic Change, though the three men in September 2008 had signed the Global Political Agreement for power sharing.
Control of the two institutions has been a highly divisive issue since then - Mr. Mugabe has adamantly refused to consider compromise appointments.
Mr. Tsvangirai’s MDC formation has called for all of the "outstanding issues" troubling the unity government to be settled by January 15, failing which it says it will ask the Southern African Development Community, guarantor of the power-sharing agreement, to again intervene in the matter.
The ongoing round of negotiations on the outstanding issues was urged by the SADC troika on politics, defense and security following complaints by the Tsvangirai MDC that Mr. Mugabe's former ruling ZANU-PF party was flouting the terms of the power-sharing deal in numerous respects.
Tsvangirai spokesman James Maridadi told VOA Studio 7 reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that the principals have named a representative who will announce the details of their agreement on the commissions later this week.
Commenting on the development, Johannesburg-based political analyst Zenzo Nkomo told VOA Studio 7 reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that any deal between ZANU-PF and the MDC which does not deal with the leadership of the central bank and Office of the Attorney General will be hollow.
