HARARE - President Robert Mugabe on Monday said he would rather speak to British Prime Minister Tony Blair to resolve the country's economic crisis, dampening South Africa's push for the veteran Zimbabwean leader to negotiate with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
South Africa has provisionally agreed to loan troubled Zimbabwe US$500 million to offset arrears with the International Monetary Fund and for fuel and food. But Africa's economic powerhouse is said to have imposed conditions that Mugabe meet the opposition to resolve a deepening political and economic crisis.
Mugabe told a gathering of mainly party supporters and members of the army at the Heroes Acre to commemorate the lives of Zimbabwe's liberation war heroes that he would rather speak to Blair whom he said was the principal behind the MDC.
"I am aware that there are shrill calls from many quarters, including those which we expect to know better, for the so-called talks with the MDC," Mugabe said in an apparent reference to South Africa's call for dialogue.
"They know who must be spoken to. The man who needs to be spoken to in order to see reason resides at No. 10 Downing Street in London," he said.
Media reports quoting unnamed senior officials in Pretoria and Harare have indicated that South Africa was demanding wide-ranging political and economic reforms before it could lend money to Zimbabwe.
On the economic front, Pretoria is demanding a revival of Zimbabwe's mainstay agricultural sector, after it was destabilised by Mugabe's chaotic seizure of land from white farmers. Pretoria also wants Harare to review its monetary policies especially its dual exchange rate policy.
South Africa wants efforts to resuscitate Zimbabwe's economy boosted by reforms on the political front, key of which is resumption of talks between Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party and the MDC to find a democratic solution to the country's political impasse.
But on Monday, Mugabe seemed to pour scorn on the South African initiative and said his recent visit to long-time ally China would "transform our economy in a fundamental way."
"Such talk is a slap in the face for Thabo Mbeki's efforts but then I think Mbeki is caught in between helping to avert total collapse of a neighbour and being seen as propping up Mugabe," Harare economist John Robertson told ZimOnline.
He said Mugabe had effectively told Mbeki "to go to hell", banking on Chinese support.
The veteran Zimbabwe leader said ZANU PF could however engage the MDC if the opposition called-off sanctions imposed on his leadership by the West, a demand dismissed by MDC spokesman Paul Themba-Nyathi as cheap politicking.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai last week said he was ready to meet Mugabe in talks to end Zimbabwe's crisis, an offer contemptuously rebuffed by Mugabe who said: "No sir (Tsvangirai), I don't want to meet you."
Zimbabwe is grappling its worst economic crisis blamed by critics on mismanagement and repressive rule by Mugabe. Food, fuel, essential medical drugs, electricity, hard cash and almost every other basic commodity is in short supply.
But the ageing Zimbabwean leader denies ruining Zimbabwe and says his country's problems are because of economic sabotage by Britain and its Western allies to punish Harare for seizing land from white farmers and giving it to landless blacks. - ZimOnline