Zimbabwe Unity Government Divided Over 2 Key Posts

Attorney General, Bank Chief positions cause deadlock; mediators called in
By Clay Dillow,  Newser Staff
Posted May 21, 2009 9:54 AM CDT
Zimbabwe Unity Government Divided Over 2 Key Posts
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, foreground, addresses a press conference, in Harare today.   (AP Photo)

The appointment of two key officials has become a sticking point in the tenuous power-sharing agreement between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Reuters reports. The rivals can’t agree on an attorney general or central bank chief, and Tsvangirai has called upon the Southern African Development Community to mediate the dispute.

Mugabe’s central bank chief is accused of printing vast amounts of money, ruining the currency, and sending inflation skyrocketing in Zimbabwe’s economic crisis. Meanwhile, rights groups have accused his attorney general of using the position to prosecute and silence political opposition. International donors remain skeptical, continuing to withhold aid until political reforms show real progress. (More Zimbabwe stories.)

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