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NewsDay

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Biti burnt out by coalition

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Tendai Biti says he will reject any future government position should the forthcoming general election outcome result in the formation of another coalition government.

FINANCE minister Tendai Biti says he will reject any future government position should the forthcoming general election outcome result in the formation of another coalition government in which Zanu PF will be party to. Report by Bernard Mpofu

Biti told NewsDay in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that increasing discord within the shaky inclusive government and intransigence by Zanu PF had worn him out.

Zimbabwe has been under a coalition government following the disputed results of the 2008 presidential run-off. Zanu PF and the two MDC parties came together under the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which gave birth to the shaky inclusive government.

Biti, who also doubles as MDC-T secretary-general said: “I have been burnt by this coalition. The last thing that I would ever want to see is a coalition as long as Zanu PF is still what it is and the chaos faction is alive and kicking. For instance right now (Tuesday), I’m being told that (Patrick) Chinamasa has filed an application. But for Christ’s sake all of us had an input in that court application.

“So it’s crazy and as a lawyer, I can tell you he would have filed a court application which any reasonable court is going to dismiss. I haven’t seen the application, but I can tell you. When we go to the principals meeting we are going to say Mr. President, this just had to be inclusive. So if we are going to have the Chinamasa’s of this world in a coalition government, count me out, I cannot go through the pain of trying to convince people that this is good for the country.”

Chinamasa on Tuesday made an ordinary court application to the Constitutional Court seeking a two-week extension of the election date from July 31 following a Sadc resolution at an explosive regional summit in Maputo, Mozambique last Saturday.

In recent weeks, there have been growing talk of a formation of a coalition between the two MDC formations, Zapu, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn and Zanu Ndonga to dislodge President Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since independence in 1980.