HARARE (AFP) — President Robert Mugabe said Zimbabwe could hold fresh elections in two years, and refused to back down on his choices for central bank chief and other top posts in an interview published Thursday.
Mugabe, 85, said in the Herald newspaper that the new unity government with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, formed only two weeks ago, was a temporary solution until the parties could agree on a new constitution and fresh polls.
"We are an interim arrangement. We are not a permanent inclusive government," Mugabe said.
He said the parties in the unity government has agreed to draft a new constitution that would be brought to a referendum within two years.
"We will then have an election thereafter, perhaps in about two years' time," Mugabe said.
Zimbabwe's crisis deepened after disputed elections last year, sending the country into a tailspin that saw politics deadlocked while a humanitarian crisis spiralled out of the control.
Tsvangirai, a longtime rival of Mugabe, agreed to form a unity government under intense regional pressure to end the crisis, which has left most of the population without food while a cholera epidemic has killed more than 3,800 people.
The new government is faced with the task of reining in world-record inflation estimated in multiples of billions and reviving an economy with 94 percent unemployment.
A United Nations delegation which visited Zimbabwe this week says there were few positive signs that the new government was beginning to acknowledge the scope of the country's humanitarian crisis.
"The prime minister's office is establishing a humanitarian desk to be headed by one of his deputies to coordinate humanitarian aid. We welcome that effort," said Cathrine Bragg, UN assistant general for humanitarian affairs.
"We trust that the the inclusive government will quickly take necessary steps to addresss the fundamentals of governance that would allow stability and economic recovery," said Bragg.
Tsvangirai has already disputed Mugabe's unilateral decision to re-appoint central bank governor Gideon Gono for another five years, after his first term saw the local currency left worthless.
Mugabe has also appointed a slate of other officials since Tsvangirai's inauguration, which the prime minister has slammed as a breach of their power-sharing pact.
But Mugabe said that his appointees would not change.
"I don't see any reason why those people should go and they will not go," he told the paper.
Mugabe also dismissed speculation that Zimbabwe could adopt the South African rand to replace its local dollar, which many vendors refuse to accept, insisting on payment in foreign currency.
"I do not see us adopting the rand as our main currency," he said, adding that he was also against the idea of paying salaries in foreign currency.
Immediately after taking office, Tsvangirai moved to give all civil servants foreign currency allowances, in a move that saw teachers who were on strike for nearly a year agreeing to return to work.
Tsvangirai has requested five billion dollars (3.9 billion euros) in aid to revive the economy and rebuild the health and school systems.
Ministers from across southern Africa were meeting in Cape Town to consider the request -- which amounts to more than double Zimbabwe's estimated gross domestic product last year.
Western donors, which fund much of the humanitarian work in Zimbabwe, have indicated that they are not willing to invest major reconstruction aid until Mugabe proves that he is willing to share power.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged Mugabe to heed the concerns of the international community, and called for him to release political prisoners as a sign of his commitment to the unity government.
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