Tsvangirai: I won't be bulldozed by Mugabe

Published on Saturday 17 January 2009 18:32

ZIMBABWE'S main opposition leader returned home yesterday, vowing that he would not be "bulldozed" into joining a lopsided government of national unity.

His arrival coincided with new alarm over the humanitarian crisis, with the head of the UN Children's Fund saying cholera was only part of the problem.

Morgan Tsvangirai flew into Harare after two months abroad and is due to hold talks with his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on whether it should pull out of the power-sharing agreement, which was reached last September but never implemented.

Despite the accord, President Robert Mugabe's party has grabbed nearly all the key ministries, appointed provincial leaders and reappointed the central bank governor blamed for the country's dizzying inflation, put at 231 million per cent.

"I will not be bulldozed into joining this government, which does not reflect the interests of the people," Tsvangirai said. "I'm not going to betray them."

But he stressed he was still committed to power sharing. "I hope that we find a political solution to save this country from total collapse."

Under the accord, Tsvangirai would be prime minister and Mugabe president. If the MDC pulls out, Mugabe is likely to regain sole control; if it takes part, it will be a very junior partner.

The presidents of South Africa and Mozambique, and Thabo Mbeki, the former South African leader, are due to arrive in Harare tomorrow to try to resolve the impasse amid concerns about the regional impact of Zimbabwe's meltdown.

Meanwhile, UN children's agency head Ann Veneman met Mugabe on Friday to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis. More than five million people are likely to be dependent on food aid and the cholera epidemic has so far killed more than 2,225, sickened 42,675 others and spread into South Africa.

"The cholera outbreak is the tip of the iceberg," said Veneman, the first head of a UN agency to visit the country in three years. "Over half the population is receiving food aid, health centres have closed and when the school term starts there is no guarantee that there will be enough teachers."

She said the UN would donate 3.4m to help pay health workers' wages.