Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai welcomed on Friday the appointment of former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano to mediate in the southern African country's worst crisis since independence, Reuters reported. The African Union this week appointed Chissano to mediate between President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). "President Chissano is somebody who has left a very good legacy in Mozambique. After 16 years of war he managed to resolve (issues with) the opposition and left power without any controversy," said Tsvangirai, who is on holiday in the Seychelles. "I think that gives him much more integrity and greater credentials to intervene in a country which has also been instrumental in keeping the conflict in Mozambique under control," he told reporters. Zimbabwe's economy is in its worst plight since independence from Britain 25 years ago. Critics say the crisis has been triggered in part by government seizures of white-owned farms for resettlement of landless blacks. --more 2339 Local Time 2039 GMT
