Revealed: Mugabe's Excuses To Tsvangirai For Not Swearing-In Governors

OATH OF OFFICE: Despite promises and announcements from the MDC-T that their Governors and Resident Ministers would be sworn in by the end of August, the Zimbawean dictator, Robert "The Solution" Mugabe has now run away to Libya, where he is today, the last day of August. MDC Governors and Resident Ministers are still to be sworn in, as is Roy Bennett. MDC Ambassadors are still twiddling their thumbs here in Harare, waiting for the Almight Robert to make his mind up about posting them to their stations. Now we have impeccable information on what Mugabe is giving as the excuse for his failure to do any of the things agreed to with Tsvangirai. And the Prime Minister is swallowing it hook, line and sinker, as are his supporters. Like I have said before, the "Outstanding Issues" will remain outstanding for some time to come.

Harare, Zimbabwe 31 August 2009

Only moments ago, I got information about why exactly Robert "The Solution" Mugabe refuses to swear-in MDC Governors and Resident Ministers.

Impeccable sources confirm that Mugabe is pleading poverty and that there is nothing much Tsvangirai can do about this, since even he himself has said publicly that the government is broke.

Mugabe says the ZANU PF governors currently in their posts will not leave until their "packages" are paid as agreed between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

At the time of their agreement, soon after the MDC issued an ultimatum for the resolution of outstanding issues, the actual figures were not mentioned and Tsvangirai simply announced that the exit packages were to be "decided at a later stage".

It now turns out that the six ZANU PF Governors and Resident Ministers to be "retrenched" will be paid around US$120 000 each, in addition to walking away with their official Mercedes Benz vehicles and pick-up trucks.

It is the actual money that is now proving a sticking point.

Mugabe's staff appear to be ecstatic about this turn of events. ZANU PF functionaries and officials are openly admitting that the excuse advanced by Mugabe is simply a ploy designed to bring pressure on Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC-T.

Essentially, by taking this line, Mugabe is hoping to squeeze Tsvangirai to go back to the West and ask for budgetary support funds, to be given directly to the Zimbabwe government. As I told you in the article: What Mugabe Told Zuma - the Zimbabwe dictator is now using the issue of "sanctions" to his advantage in this Inclusive Government.

Everything that needs to be implemented, he says, needs money and the government does not have any. This explains why Zuma specifically said during his speech that the removal of sanctions will aid the speedy implementation of the Global Political Agreement's unresolved issues.

So far, donors and especially Western governments, have insisted that they will only support humanitarian causes in Zimbabwe, paying the money to Non-Governmental organisations.

Today, Mugabe is in Libya and even though MDC-T apologists and the party itself announced long ago that their Governors, Resident Ministers and Roy Bennett would be sworn in at the end of August, this has not happened and is unlikely to happen any time soon.

They made a song and dance about it, despite our warnings that Mugabe's word should not be taken at face value. With the dictator, you only believe it when you see it.

But MDC-T supporters are now imitating their president's new-found faith in the integrity of Mugabe and praising his "commitment" to the GPA while blaming unnamed "hardliners" for the setbacks they encounter.

Perhaps the hardliners are forcing Mugabe not to honour his word on the Governors, resident ministers and Roy Bennett?

Of course, you will not hear a single squeak coming from MDC-T supporters now on this issue, having been so humiliated by Mugabe.

They must be feeling like fools.

Mugabe wants money and will not do anything Tsvangirai and the MDC-T want until he gets that money from the West. Even the Constitution-making process is in limbo because Mugabe refuses to let donors fund the process, claiming that doing so compromises the end-result in favour of "imperialists and their agents."

On the Constitution, he wants the money given to government, which will then disburse it to parliament for use in the process.

Of course, we all know why Mugabe is so insistent on this:

He wants his coffers filled up so that he can continue the politics of patronage, paying off his lackeys to keep them on side, punishing those who are out of favour by denying them access to those funds and so on.....

The West sees through this and are baffled why Tsvangirai and his apologists think they can make a difference by playing Mugabe's game, and on the dictator's terms as well.