ZIMBABWE’S former main opposition, the Movement for Democrat­ic Change (MDC-T), an­nounced on October 15 that it had severed ties with Zanu PF within the government, which it ac­cused of breaching the power sharing pact called the Global Political Agree­ment (GPA).

At this writing, Zim­babweans, their SADC neighbours and the rest of the world are asking themselves, what’s next should the unity govern­ment collapse.?

We therefore call upon the three political party formations that are party to the government of na­tional unity to put Zim­babwe first. Especially should the MDC-T subor­dinate whatever partisan interests might have in­formed its actions when its leader, Morgan Tsvan­girai, decided to travel to neighbouring Mozambique, his first stop in a SADC-wide tour as he seeks the support of Zimbabwe’s neighbours to put pressure on President Robert Mugabe and Zanu- PF to resolve what the MDC says are “outstanding issues” from a September 15, 2008, power sharing agreement.

Even SADC personnel such as Tomaz Salomao, the organisation’s executive secretary, have expressed measured alarm at Tsvan­girai’s alarmist approach of hurrying to call on the inter­national community, when the formation of the inclu­sive government was based on the understanding that Zimbabwe’s problems would be solved by Zimbabweans themselves. We certainly share the view of Salomao, who was quoted as saying Tsvangirai is aware that the solution to overcoming the problems was for Zimba­bweans themselves not to create a perception of a country in permanent crisis whose solution depends on others.

The MDC has also raised the dubious concern that it wants the appointment of the attorney general and reserve bank gover­nor by President Mugabe reversed, and a speedy resolution of other appoint­ments – including gover­nors and ambassadors.

Yet this is widely seen as amounting to the pursuit of a vendetta against the two occupants of the said offices, especially Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe gover­nor Gideon Gono.

That the MDC-T has stumbled after Tsvangirai’s pick for deputy agriculture minister Roy Bennett – who is yet to be sworn in – was indicted on terrorism charges is also pregnant with meaning. If Bennett is innocent of the charges against him, surely a court of law will clear him.

Mr Tsvangirai’s reac­tion seems calculated to obstruct the course of the law by getting the charges against the ex-commercial farmer dropped without trial. We deplore Tsvan­girai’s announcement that his party was “dis­engaging” all contact with Zanu PF, and the fact that his party’s 13 ministers skipped a Cabinet meet­ing chaired by President Mugabe.

In whose interests is the MDC-T acting because we feel that as a state ac­tor, the party ought to be acting in the national in­terests of all Zimbabweans and it is not yet clear how political party affiliation becomes relevant in the matters of state. As one columnist would say, for example, Zimbabwe has one minister of finance and he is in that position as a custodian of public resources and not parti­san resources. Needless to mention, these are dis­turbing political develop­ments especially in view of the dire situation which prevailed before the for­mation of the inclusive government.

The greatest fear is that gains registered in the economy since the signing of the GPA will be reversed. Since coming to office, the MDC-T has relied on its perceived economic trump card to show its worth in the GNU. The arrest­ing of run-away inflation, reopening of schools and hospitals, and revival of the civil service are among the notable gains that have obtained as a result of the GPA. We just shudder to envisage these being reversed, which is why Zimbabwe must come first as the leaders deliberate on their differences.

SADC’s intervention to end the impasse must also be lauded, especially South African President Jacob Zu­ma’s remarks that Zimba­bwe will not be allowed to “slide back into instability.”

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, the cur­rent chairman of the rotat­ing organ on Security and Defence, assured Tsvangirai after a meeting in Chimoio, in the central province of Manica, that an emergency taskforce would be sent to talk to the three main par­ties before reporting to a SADC troika meeting sched­uled for Harare which both Mugabe and Tsvangirai will attend on October 30.

But we submit it is the three principals – and only those three- who hold the key to the success or failure of the GNU.