Muzorewa to stay with interim govt

Press, 16 May 1978, Page 8

Muzorewa to stay with interim govt

NZPA-Reuter

Salisbury

Rhodesia’s multi-racial interim Government has narrowly survived its first big crisis on the path towards black rule. The black-nationalist leadier, Bishop Abel Muzorewa, land his United African Nat-, ional Council have decided not to carry out their threat! to leave th- i rim Government. formed only 10 weeks ago. , The decision came after, eight hours of argument in the 70-member party hierarchy. Nationalist sources said a fairly large section of' the party, including a num- ' ber of young radicals,j I wanted to leave the Govern-! Iment.

But the day was won by the bishop and the U.A.N.C. “old guard”, two of whom are co-Ministers in the interim Government, sharing their portfolios with whites, according to the sources. It was the sacking of a third nationalist co-Minister, Mr Byron Hove, on April 28 that sparked the crisis Which almost toppled the interim Government. ) The U.A.N.C. statement [said Mr Hove’s dismissal as

co-Minister for Justice by the four-man Executive Council “left a nasty political smell iff our country.”

Mr Hove, a London-based barrister, was dismissed for refusing to withdraw remarks calling for more Africanisation within the 'civil service and the police.

The U.A.N.C. statement i charged that there had been la deliberate delay in the re•moval of racial dis- ; crimination since the March |3 Salisbury agreement. ■ Nevertheless, it said, it i would be “inconsistent with jU.A.N.C. integrity” for the I party to fail to honour the lagremeent it had signed. | But it demanded that [preparation for elections to I precede black-rule ndependence — set for December |3l — be speeded up. j The statement said that i Bishop Muzorewa would not join his Executive Council colleagues, Mr lan Smith, the Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole, and Chief Jeremiah Chirau, on their “meet the people" trips to explain the internal settlement. ) It said this was because I the U.A.N.C, was angry o r • the way it had been treated lin the interim Government.