Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have resolved several of the disputes that have paralysed their unity government since its formation three months ago, dpa cited Tsvangirai as announcing today. But the two have failed to break the deadlock between their parties over Mugabe's appointment of his cronies to the posts of central bank governor and attorney general and escalating the matter to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), he added. Addressing a press conference in Harare, former opposition and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party leader Tsvangirai said Mugabe had bowed to the MDC's demand for an equitable distribution of the posts of provincial governors. Five of the 10 governors will be named by Tsvangirai's MDC faction, four by Mugabe's Zanu-PF and one by a breakaway faction of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara. Previously, Mugabe's Zanu-PF party held all 10, despite the unity accord formed by the three parties calling for a fair sharing of posts of power. Mugabe has also agreed to the swearing-in of popular MDC treasurer, Roy Bennett, as deputy agriculture minister. Bennett was arrested on charges of plotting against the previous government under Mugabe just before he was due to take up the post in February but has since been released on bail. In an apparent concession from the MDC side, the party has agreed to allow Mugabe's choices of permanent secretaries, top civil servants, to remain. Unable to agree on the fate of Central Bank governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana, the parties are asking the 15- nation SADC to come up with a solution. "It is important that we recognize that progress has been made and continues to be made with respect to rebuilding Zimbabwe and having a positive impact on the life of our people," Tsvangirai said, while admitting the negotiations were "slow and frustrating." The new government's attempts to revive the country's stricken economy and infrastructure have been stalled by disputes.
