INSTANT VIEW - Reaction to Zimbabwe power-sharing deal

(Reuters) - Below is reaction to Zimbabwe's power-sharing agreement reached between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday.

MARIAN TUPY, POLICY ANALYST, CATO INSTITUTE'S CENTER FOR

GLOBAL LIBERTY AND PROSPERITY

"Today's power-sharing agreement in Zimbabwe will likely see the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Morgan Tsvangirai appointed as Zimbabwe's executive prime minister as early as next week".

"The new prime minister will face a monumental task of reviving the world's most rapidly shrinking economy, and healing the wounds of decades of state-sponsored political violence. He should recognize that Zimbabwe's major problems are rooted in the lack of political and economic freedom".

"The new government should stop political violence, free up the media and reinstate the freedom of assembly. To restore confidence both at home and overseas, the government should quickly end Zimbabwe's hyperinflation through dollarisation or the implementation of a currency board. It should move to, among other measures, restore property rights, free up prices and trade, and streamline business regulation".

LOVEMORE MADHUKU, HEAD OF NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY

PRESSURE GROUP

"The deal is more of a capitulation by the MDC than by ZANU-PF because I believe Mugabe gets to keep most of his powers while Tsvangirai will have some cosmetic executive authority".

"The fact that Mugabe remains in power as head of state and head of government means the MDC is the one coming into this deal as a junior partner.

"I believe that under this arrangement the MDC will now be neutralised as a political force. But we will have to wait to see how the union will work but generally the people of Zimbabwe were also looking for some kind of settlement.

"I think this (power-sharing deal) is something all the parties will be able to explain to their local constituencies as necessary".

JOHN MAKUMBE, POLITICAL ANALYST AND MUGABE CRITIC.

"It (the agreement) was overdue for the sake of the nation. We don't know the details yet but this is a move in the right direction. There is only one person who can bring something to the table, that is Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC, but it is crucial to see what powers will be invested in the prime minister.

"The prime minister must have powers which facilitates the implementation of change so that we democratise Zimbabwe's political system and revamping the national economy. Tsvangirai needs meaningful executive powers and to have his hands on the critical state machinery such as the security structures in the country.

"The deal will hold depending on who will have control of the cohesive machinery of the state. If these are still in Mugabe's hands the deal will unravel and we will soon be back to the negotiating table".