Tsvangirai promises a better future for Zimbabwe

New Zimbabwe prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai promised urgent change for his beleaguered country after being sworn into office by bitter rival Robert Mugabe today.

Mr Tsvangirai, who agreed to the power-sharing deal under which Mugabe remains president, said he knew many were “sceptical of this arrangement. But this is the only viable arrangement that we have.

“I ask for Zimbabweans to be patient and give us time.”

He said the new government would work to get children in school, hospitals open “and food back on the tables for everybody, regardless of his political affiliation.”

At a celebration rally after his swearing-in, he drew the biggest cheer from the crowd of 15,000 when he pledged that starting next month, all government workers – from teachers to soldiers – would be paid in hard currency to shield them from the world’s highest inflation rate.

There had been pressure for Mugabe to step down altogether, and questions remain about whether a partnership can work after a long history of state-sponsored violence against Mr Tsvangirai and his supporters.

Mugabe, who recently declared “Zimbabwe is mine,” went further today than many would have expected. He stood to face Mr Tsvangirai as an equal in a white tent on the grounds of the presidential palace.

Regional leaders watched from the tent and Zimbabweans across the country watched on state TV as Mr Tsvangirai raised his right hand and was sworn in.

Both Mr Tsvangirai and Mugabe were relaxed and smiling during the brief ceremony, which also included the swearing-in of Mr Tsvangirai’s deputies, Arthur Mutambara of a breakaway opposition party and Thokozani Khupe of Mr Tsvangirai’s party.

Mugabe also gave a speech after the ceremony and lunch with Mr Tsvangirai, saying he had offered “my hand of friendship and solidarity” to work with Mr Tsvangirai’s party for Zimbabwe.

Ian Stephens, a Harare businessman, said it was too early to celebrate.

“It depends on how co-operative Mugabe is and whether he can be trusted,” Stephens said. But “Mugabe no longer has absolute power and that could be the turning point.”

The country’s economic collapse – for which Mr Tsvangirai holds Mugabe responsible – has left millions dependent on international food aid, and caused a cholera outbreak that has killed some 3,400 people since August.

Neighbouring leaders who pushed for the coalition said that once the two men had joined in the unity government, Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai would overcome mutual mistrust and work together for the good of their country.

Mr Tsvangirai has been beaten and jailed by Mugabe’s security forces. In 2007, police attacked him after he held an opposition meeting the government had banned. Images shown on news broadcasts around the world of his bruised and bloodied face came to symbolise the challenges his movement faced.

Mugabe, who turns 85 on February 21 and has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980, has in the recent past treated the 56-year-old Mr Tsvangirai as a junior partner at best, often not bothering to hide his contempt.

Mr Tsvangirai won the most votes in the first round of presidential election held almost a year ago, and withdrew from a June runoff only because of attacks on his supporters.

Mr Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change, also broke ZANU-PF’s hold on parliament in March 2008 elections for the first time since independence.

A power-sharing deal was reached in September but remained deadlocked for months over how to divide cabinet posts. Mr Tsvangirai last month agreed to join the government now and resolve outstanding issues later.

The coalition agreement calls for the government to make its priority reviving the economy. Even if the factions can put aside their differences, they cannot do much without foreign help. The world’s main donor, the United States, has made clear the money will not flow if Mugabe tries to sideline Mr Tsvangirai.

The unity government’s agenda includes preparing for new elections, expected in a year or two. Media restrictions will have to be lifted and other steps taken to ensure the elections are free and fair, after several ballots marred by violence, intimidation and manipulation blamed on Mugabe’s party.

Mr Tsvangirai called for political detainees to be released . Human rights groups say tortured detainees are on the verge of dying in jail.

Some Tsvangirai allies say he never should have agreed to serve as prime minister in a government that left Mugabe president. Mugabe, meanwhile, has been under pressure from aides in the military and government who do not want to give up power and prestige to the opposition.

Unusually for a state occasion, no military chiefs were at today’s ceremony. Generals in the past have said they would not salute Mr Tsvangirai, a former union leader who did not take part in the independence war that swept Mugabe to power in 1980.