Statements by South African President Thabo Mbeki that ZANU-PF and the MDC are talking are all lies.
Mbeki is biased.
He does not want the MDC to take over because he is afraid this could spur the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) to quit the African National Congress coalition to form a political party just like the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions to form the MDC.
Mbeki's quiet diplomacy has not paid off. It is a way of entrenching ZANU-PF rule.
Anyone, including fellow journalists, who sees things differently is a Mugabe apologist.
But while denouncing Mbeki the same journalists claim to have inside sources in Mbeki's camp who tell them that Mugabe will be gone before the end of the year or at the latest by June next year.
One media observer said it was not clear who their sources of information were, but it appeared they were committing "incest" half of the time, that is, feeding on information from like-minded journalists and recycling that information until they finally use it as background for their stories.
In some cases they are deliberately being fed information by groups with similar interests, groups that only see the solution to Zimbabwe's crisis as the replacement of Mugabe by someone from the opposition.
Ironically, most of these journalists are reported to have links to the gay community, a community that has an axe to grind with Mugabe for calling them worse than "dogs and pigs".
Though some of them are married, whispers say these are marriages of convenience.
Several satirical columns have alluded to these allegations which have never been seriously refuted.
Another group that might not like Mugabe's departure are the asylum seekers.
One of the easiest ways to get asylum, especially because of the hefty visa application fees now being charged by the main destinations Zimbabweans flock to, such as South Africa and Britain, is to claim that one is fleeing harassment by the Mugabe administration.
Though the South African and British governments do not readily accept these excuses, opposition parties in those countries are capitalising on such cases to score points against the ruling parties.
There might be no reason to seek asylum once Mugabe has gone. But, as some analysts, who have been accused of being Mugabe apologists have said, Zimbabweans will be in for a big surprise when Mugabe goes.
It will take years to get the country back on track.
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