Mugabe to keep major powers under deal

HARARE (Reuters) - President Robert Mugabe will keep hisjob and head the cabinet under a power-sharing deal inZimbabwe, but the opposition outnumbers his ZANU-PF party amongsenior ministers, an opposition senator said on Friday.

Giving first details of the deal reached on Thursday,Senator David Coltart said Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of themain opposition MDC group, would be prime minister and chair acouncil of ministers that supervised the cabinet.

The power-sharing deal was reached under the mediation ofSouth African President Thabo Mbeki, who said details would notbe announced until a ceremony on Monday.

Coltart, a senior member of a breakaway faction of the MDC(Movement for Democratic Change), said Tsvangirai's party wouldhave 13 cabinet seats, ZANU-PF 15 and his group three seats.

This was based on votes cast for the parties rather thanseats won in a March 29 election in which ZANU-PF lost controlof parliament for the first time since independence in 1980.

Tsvangirai won a parallel presidential vote but pulled outof a run-off in June citing systematic violence against hissupporters. This allowed Mugabe's unopposed but widelycondemned re-election, extending his unbroken rule sinceindependence.

Zimbabweans are desperate for an end to a crisis that hasdestroyed the economy, hitting the once-prosperous country withthe world's highest rate of hyper-inflation and sendingmillions of refugees into neighbouring countries.

But there was widespread caution among commentators overhow quickly the deal could end the crisis or persuade Westernpowers -- deeply opposed to Mugabe -- to step in with massivefinancial support to aid recovery.

The European Commission welcomed the agreement, but said itwas too early to say whether it would release frozen aid.

"At this stage, we are cautiously optimistic," spokesmanJohn Clancy said.

Coltart said Mugabe's iron grip would be greatly reducedunder the deal and Tsvangirai, in the new role of primeminister, would have substantial but not absolute power.

But some commentators were sceptical, saying Tsvangirai hadlost out by compromising on his earlier demand for fullexecutive power. They said the deal was fragile.

"The fact that Mugabe remains in power as head of state andhead of government means the MDC is the one coming into thisdeal as a junior partner," said Lovemore Madhuku, head of thepressure group National Constitutional Assembly.

ZIMBABWE-LINKED SHARES UP

Investors are licking their lips at the prospects inZimbabwe if the economy improves.

Shares in Zimbabwe-focused investment group LonZim were upmore than 5 percent early on Friday from an all-time low onThursday at a time when a deal had looked difficult.

London-listed shares in Mwana Africa which operates nickelmines in the country, also rose 9.8 pct in the morning.

Coltart, Secretary for Legal Affairs in the MDC faction ofArthur Mutambara, said the deal would allow the creation of aninclusive government which would initiate a process ofconstitutional reform lasting 18 months.

This process would end with the creation of a newdemocratic constitution, including setting of a date for newelections.

Coltart said Tsvangirai would be vice chairman of thecabinet. There would be two largely ceremonial state vicepresidents from ZANU-PF.

In addition, Mugabe's party would have eight deputyministers, Tsvangirai's MDC six and Mutambara's faction one.

"If the two MDC factions work together, which they must inthe national interest, they will enjoy a majority in cabinet,"Coltart said.

There was relief among many Zimbabweans hoping for an endto their economic suffering but caution over how quickly thedeal would bring relief.

"For us the details really don't matter. It's the principleof working together which is important because the problems weare facing as a country require that our leaders worktogether," said Harare security guard Lloyd Ncube.

"Life has become unbearable, and I am happy that there issome movement of sorts," he added.

Coltart said most new opposition cabinet members would atone stage have been "brutalised on the instructions of thosethey will now have to work with".

Roelof Horne, an asset manager at Investec said the dealwas a cause for only whispered celebration. "The Zimbabweaneconomy needs more than peace....the architects of the economicimplosion are still partly in the driving seat."

South Africa's ruling ANC, also buoyed on Friday by thedismissal of corruption charges against its leader Jacob Zuma,welcomed the deal and congratulated Mbeki.

"Not only is the agreement important for Zimbabwe, but hasfar-reaching political and economic implications for SouthernAfrica and the entire African continent," it said.

(Additional reporting by Jeremy Lovell in London, DavidBrunnstrom in Brussels, Serena Chaudhry in Johannesburg;Writing by Barry Moody; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say onthe top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )

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