BELOW are reactions to Zimbabwe’s power-sharing agreement reached between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai last night. Â
Alvise Marino, emerging markets economist, Ideal Global:
“First of all it’s great news, or at least I hope so. In terms of investment, the very short-term will not have much of an impact on Zimbabwe right now. In terms of immediate market reaction we’ll see it … in South Africa on the rand most probably”.
“In terms of the medium and long-term outlook, the main problem I think will be liquidity, the complete unreliability of the currency and the problem of inflation there. Assuming that the opening on the political front will bring also an opening through the economic front, I would assume that over the next year or two we will see a strong influx of foreign currency”.
“It’s really hard to tell at the moment, it’s really an open canvas at this point. In terms of natural resources, Zimbabwe is an extremely rich country and I think it will attract a lot in terms of mining, especially with the industry declining in other parts.”
“In South Africa right now, the mining industry is not exactly doing very well, so I think that will open a lot of opportunities especially for South African firms which are probably going to have a somewhat easier time entering the market compared to say American or in general, Western firms.”
European Union diplomat:
“We will see, the devil is in the details, it is a bit too early to react. We will see at the council (of EU foreign ministers who will meet on Monday in Brussels).”
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The Brussels-based diplomat, who asked not to be named, pointed out that ministers had planned to discuss Zimbabwe anyhow. “We will see on Monday how the power is shared and if the opposition has more than a symbolic role.”
Martin Rupiya, director of Africa Research, Cranfield University:
“There appears now to be a reluctance to come out from Zanu PF, which means there have been major concessions from the government side in my view – not only agreeing an executive prime minister’s role for Morgan Tsvangirai but maybe a sharing of security posts.”
“I don’t think we are out of the woods yet in terms of the Zimbabwe crisis. There are a number of pieces that still have to fall into place. One is the role of the military. That still has to be addressed directly. Also in the recent weeks or days there has been an upsurge in violence. The infrastructure for state-sponsored violence is still in place. I still have my doubts as to how this deal will impact the structures on the ground.”–Reuters.
