Mugabe says his partner in power-sharing deal is "dishonest"

Oct 31, 2009, 11:50 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Saturday accused Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of being 'dishonest', in what is seen as a sign of a deepening political crisis nine months after the two signed a power-sharing deal.

'We must no longer trust those who pretend to be in the inclusive government and have jumped in and out of it,' Mugabe was quoted by the state-run Herald newspaper as saying.

'They can never be true and genuine partners and they have proved to be dishonest. We, however, want to assure you that we will not allow the situation to continue like that,' he added.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai formed a unity government in February but the coalition has been marred by disagreements.

Two weeks ago, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) partially withdrew from the deal, citing Mugabe's failure to carry out terms in the agreement relating to proper power-sharing and full democracy. Tsvangirai called Mugabe's Zanu-PF partner a 'dishonest and unreliable' partner.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa on Saturday described Mugabe's statements as 'worrisome.'

'They (Mugabe's statements) are going to worsen the tension and deadlock. We should be saying Zanu-PF is dishonest. But we now hear the lion calling a cat a carnivore,' said Chamisa. 'It is that kind of dishonesty we are saying the guarantors of the deal must look at.'

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), who brokered the power-sharing deal, sent a team to Harare last Wednesday but failed to make a breakthrough.

Three SADC foreign ministers on Friday recommended the convening of an extraordinary summit of SADC leaders to try to rescue Zimbabwe's troubled power-sharing government.