Tsvangirai sworn in as Zimbabwe PM
Bathandwa Mbola
11 February 2009
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as Zimbabwe's new prime minister at a ceremony at President Robert Mugabe's residence in Harare on Wednesday.
Tsvangirai's inauguration brings renewed hope for the people of Zimbabwe, who have been awaiting a peaceful agreement between the rival politicians so that the country's economic crisis and collapse of infrastructure can be reversed.
MDC deputy leader Thokozani Khupe, and MDC breakaway faction leader Arthur Mutambara were also sworn in as deputy prime ministers, while the MDC's Tendai Biti was appointed finance minister.
The rest of the cabinet in the new coalition government will be sworn in on Friday.
Unity government
The three political parties signed a power-sharing deal at the end of last year, but failed to agree on the allocation of key cabinet posts. Their continued disagreements held up the implementation of the unity government and raised concerns over whether they would ever be able to work together.
This came after Tsvangirai won a first-round presidential vote last March, but pulled out of a June run-off citing violence against his supporters, leaving Mugabe to declare a one-sided victory.
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, as the chairman of the Southern African Development Community, played a pivotal role in reviving the power-sharing deal, calling for a SADC summit In January to discuss the failed agreement.
Focus on reconstruction
Motlanthe earlier this week told Parliament that the focus should now turn towards the work of dealing with Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis and the reconstruction of its economy.
Zimbabwe is struggling to fend off a deepening humanitarian crisis amid a cholera epidemic blamed on collapsed infrastructure and a desperate need for food aid, according to international agencies.
Inflation in Zimbabwe rose by 231 million percent in July - the last time official inflation figures were made public. However, analysts have put the real figure at several billion percent.
Source: BuaNews
