THE decision to appoint provincial governors simultaneously with the lifting of the illegal economic sanctions was reached by all three principals to the Global Political Agreement; Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara said yesterday.

The DPM was addressing journalists at his Munhumutapa offices. He said he had authored a report to the Sadc-appointed facilitator, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, on behalf of the three principals "after thorough consultations" before they appended their signatures. It was in that report where it was indicated that the GPA parties had agreed that the appointment of provincial governors would be done "simultaneously and concurrently with lifting of sanctions".

DPM Mutambara slammed MDC-T for claiming there was no link between appointment of provincial governors and the call to lift the economic sanctions. "What I wrote to President Zuma, I did so on behalf of the three principals after consultations, if you have checked, none of them have challenged the letter," he said.

"I would be very interested if the two deny that. I was tasked to write two letters, one on June 10 and another one on August 5 and Zuma’s report was based on my letter."

The DPM’s remarks follow claims by MDC-T that there was no link between removal of sanctions and appointment of provincial governors.

DPM Mutambara said it had been noted that some ministers and ambassadors were not making sufficient efforts to call for the removal of sanctions. He said it was agreed that as members of the GPA, they ought to be "sincere and bona-fide" in opposing sanctions. The DPM said this would "shame those countries into compliance" if they had their own agendas when they imposed the embargo.

"It was agreed after the Maputo (Sadc) Troika meeting, that that effort has to be linked to the appointment of provincial governors because some of us have not been calling for their removal. Some ministers, even in their documents, would not talk of sanctions and if you don’t talk of sanctions you are violating the GPA," said the DPM.

"Some of the ministers and ambassadors — what they say in public was different from what they say in private. We, therefore, said it should be done simultaneously and concurrently, but the MDC-T say there is no link. That is a lie, that’s a spin by the MDC-T," he said.

"The MDC-T should prove that they are sincere. Whether they are removed or not it’s another issue but our messages are very important. Let’s shame them by speaking against sanctions. There is no investor who can put his money when the Head of State for that country is under travel ban."

The DPM said what was critical was to be united as parties to the GPA in calling for the sanctions to be lifted and this should be done concurrently with the appointment of provincial governors.

He said the MDC-T was not being called upon to remove sanctions but to make noise about their removal.

Yesterday the MDC-T dissociated itself from the simultaneous lifting of sanctions and appointment of governors.

Party spokesperson Mr Nelson Chamisa said the MDC-T was not aware of such a position.

"We are not aware of such a position as a party. No such bizarre agreement was made according to a brief we got from the (MDC-T) president (Mr Morgan Tsvangirai)," he said.

But a senior party official confirmed Mr Tsvangirai briefed the party on the agreement on his return from Namibia.

Also in his report to the summit, Zuma acknowledged that the three principals resolved that the sanctions be addressed simultaneously and concurrently with the appointment of governors.