THE MDC-T national executive on Friday took Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to task for failing to stand up to President Robert Mugabe whom they accused of violating the Global Political Agreement (GPA), sources said yesterday.

The sources said Tsvangirai was also accused of remaining “aloof” as the 85-year-old leader in power since 1980 continued to flout provisions of the agreement that led to the formation of the unity government in February.

Another bone of contention, the sources said, was Tsvangirai’s continued silence as Mugabe increasingly claims that he is both head of state and government despite the power-sharing arrangement.

The state media, which has not changed its pro-Mugabe stance, also refers to Mugabe as head of both state and government.

Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, James Maridadi confirmed Friday’s meeting saying the concerns raised were “healthy” for the party which stands for democracy.

“They have a right to express their views and this shows deep-rooted levels of democracy in the party,” Maridadi said.   “It (national executive) shows that it does not tell the Prime Minister what he wants to hear but the situation on the ground.

“This is what the Prime Minister has been fighting for — democracy.”

On Mugabe’s claim to be both head of state and government, Maridadi said the President’s role was clearly spelt out in the GPA.

He said Tsvangirai is head of government while Mugabe is head of state.

“If you look at the functions, he (Tsvangirai) becomes head of government. He formulates and implements government policy and this makes him the head of government,” Maridadi said.

Turning to accusations that Tsvangirai glossed over Zimbabwe’s problems on his recent trip abroad, Maridadi said Tsvangirai was quoted out of context on the issue of farm invasions and the breakdown in the rule of law.

“The Prime Minister is very clear on the issue of rule of law and farm invasions,” he said.

“He does not tolerate all these. He is concerned about the on-going selective application of the law, farm disruptions and continued harassment of MPs from his party,”  Maridadi said.

Maridadi seems to ignore the fact that Mr Tsvangirayi vehemently defended Mugabe during interviews with CNN and BBC and at times was not only defensive but also insisted that Zimbabweans in diaspora SHOULD come back home. At one stge during an interview with BBC he expressed his displeasure at the fact that some Zimbabweans were still applying for asylum in the  UK.

BNP a white supremacist and openly racist political party often insist that asylum seekers and non- white British people must leave the UK and return to their countries of origin. The British government has well defined policy of accepting immigrants and giving them a route to Brisish citizenship.

 
Tsvangirai, said the sources, also angered his party members after he failed to categorically deny that he apologised to Mugabe after his ministers boycotted a cabinet meeting recently.

“The issue of an apology cannot be substantiated. It cannot be verified whether he did so or not,” said Maridadi, who was unable to say whether or not Tsvangirai apologised. 

The Standard contributed to this report

By Staff reporter and agencies