Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has said the talks between the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are still underway and there is no deal yet, state media the Herald reported on Friday.
Mugabe made the remarks on Thursday as he dismissed reports that there had been a draft agreement between the two parties.
Cde George Chara-mba, the spokesman for President Mugabe, was quoted as saying on Thursday by the Herald the president scoffed at media reports claiming that an agreement has been reached which will see him become a ceremonial head of state while opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai becomes prime minister with executive powers to run the government.
"All that is being reported is utter nonsense. The talks are going on very well and the people of Zimbabwe shall be informed indue course once agreement is reached," Mugabe said.
"I am told I am meeting Tsvangirai today (Thursday), but just this morning I was asking my staff where is he, where is Tsvangirai that I am supposed to meeting this morning?" the president said.
"Just tell whoever is saying so that I am going out just now to feed my pigs and chickens," the president was quoted as saying.
Also on Thursday the opposition denied that Morgan Tsvangirai was scheduled to meet Mugabe on Thursday.
MDC deputy spokesperson Thabitha Khumalo said her party had no knowledge of the purported meeting and would not divulge proceeding of the talks in the letter and spirit of the Memorandumof Understanding signed on July 21.
Negotiators were busy with their work and they had not made any indication that there would be such a meeting, Khumalo was quoted as saying by the Herald.
"Nothing has been communicated to our office regarding that meeting. We have not received that information and we do not know where that is emanating from," the spokesperson said.
"What we might, however, need to emphasize is that there has been an agreement among negotiators to have a blackout on the proceedings of the talks in the spirit of the upholding the MoU signed by the principles of all the parties involved," Khumalo said.
The talks between Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF and opposition MDC to end Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis resumed Sunday in South Africa.
The dialogue, which started July 24, was deadlocked and adjourned last week over who will lead a possible unity government.
MDC insists that Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition, lead any unity government because he won a leading number of votes in Zimbabwe's first round of presidential vote, though failing to obtain an absolute majority.
However, the ZANU-PF is firm in rejecting any deal that fails to recognize President Robert Mugabe's victory in the run-off, which was boycotted by Tsvangirai, who cited various reasons, mainly political violence against his supporters.
The opposition won a majority of seats in parliament in the legislative elections held simultaneously with the presidential polls on March 29, the first time that the ZANU-PF lost its majority in the parliament since the country's independence.
Mugabe has not appointed a new cabinet or sworn in a new parliament.
The rival parties signed on July 21 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the framework for discussions.
The MoU envisaged that "the dialogue will be completed within a period of two weeks from the date of signing of this MoU." As the deadline for the talks has already passed, the two sides have agreed to extend the talks.
Source:Xinhua
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