Zim Online
Friday 03 August 2007
By Regerai
Marwezu
MASVINGO - At least six women collapsed due to hunger as
President Robert
Mugabe addressed thousands of his party's supporters on the
outskirts of the
southern town of Masvingo on Thursday.
In a vivid
illustration of the hunger stalking Zimbabwe, the six women
collapsed as
Mugabe addressed party supporters after he had been installed
chancellor of
the Great Zimbabwe University about 30km south of Masvingo
town.
Masvingo province is experiencing severe food shortages after
poor harvests
last farming season.
Hordes of ruling ZANU PF party
supporters who had gathered at the university
hours before Mugabe's address,
complained bitterly to the university
authorities that they were
hungry.
Officials from the university had to interrupt proceedings to
urge those who
were hungry to go home as they had run out of
food.
"We have run out of food and we urge those who are hungry to go
home," said
the official.
But the villagers complained bitterly that
they had not been fed as they had
been promised some free food at the
ceremony.
"We were told that we were going to be given some food but
surprisingly
nothing has been offered," said 75-year old Mawanza Zikomo of
Chief Nemamwa.
Zimbabwe has battled severe food shortages over the past
seven years after
Mugabe disrupted the key agriculture sector through his
land reforms.
The land reforms that saw thousands of white farmers kicked
off their
properties slashing food production by 60 percent resulting in
most
Zimbabweans depending on food aid from international food relief
agencies
for survival.
There have been some reports that some
villagers were surviving on wild
fruits because of the food shortages in
Masvingo province.
During his address, Mugabe did not make any reference
to the food shortages
in Masvingo.
The Zimbabwe government last week
said it was importing 400 000 tonnes of
maize from Tanzania to cover
national needs following reports that at least
3.3 millions would need food
aid this year.
Mugabe, who later capped 1 003 graduates at the ceremony,
said the Great
Zimbabwe University should focus on culture and history of
Zimbabwe.
"The curriculum of this institution should focus on culture and
history. It
should reflect the Africanness of our people," said said Mugabe.
- ZimOnline
SW Radio
Africa (London)
2 August 2007
Posted to the web 2 August
2007
Reporter
Eight opposition activists were arrested in
Mutare on Thursday for allegedly
singing political songs that denounced and
denigrated Robert Mugabe. Pishai
Muchauraya, the MDC spokesperson for the
Tsvangirai MDC, said one of the
activists, Llyod Mahute the provincial youth
secretary, was severely beaten
by a Chief Inspector Innocent Rigomeka of
Chisamba Police Station. He is
being held at an unknown police station and
the other seven activists are
being held at Mutare Central police station.
We could not get a comment from
the police.
The detainees were part
of a group of MDC members who had attended a remand
hearing at the Mutare
magistrate's court. The hearing was about 65 people
arrested on 12 March
during demonstrations demanding the release of
opposition and civic leaders
who had been arrested the day before.
Muchauraya said: "After the
court people were going home, to their
respective homes using trucks, and
eight people who were in our treasurers
vehicle were arrested in Sakubva for
allegedly singing songs that denounced
the ageing President of our country,
that is Robert Mugabe."
Grassroots opposition supporters tend to sing
songs mocking Mugabe to show
their frustrations. Muchauraya said: "You see
sometimes these days there are
songs like 'Mugabe vachembera, Mugabe ingomwa
haana Mwana (Mugabe is barren
he has no children), all such songs." Poking
fun at Mugabe has become a
popular way of expressing the frustration of
daily life under Mugabe's rule.
Muchauraya also repeated a story that is
quite often told in Zimbabwe. He
said: "The fact of the matter is that man
has no children of his own. He is
renting Peter Pamire's kids."
Peter
Pamire was the black empowerment advocate who was killed in a freak
car
accident in 1996.The website NewZimbabwe.com claimed in 2005 that a
'hit-man' alleged that Pamire "was killed by the Central Intelligence
Organisation over an affair with President Robert Mugabe's wife, Grace."
SW Radio
Africa (London)
2 August 2007
Posted to the web 2 August
2007
Tichaona Sibanda
MDC legislator Editor Matamisa claimed
on Thursday the government crackdown
on businesses was possibly revenge for
their perceived links with the
opposition.
The Kadoma central MP said
the Zanu (PF) regime has in the last 7 years
accused business leaders of
funding the MDC. Lately the government was
accusing the entire business
community of colluding with the MDC to sabotage
the country's
economy.
Amid this claim the regime has continued with its crackdown
as more business
managers were arrested countrywide in the last two days, on
charges of
overpricing, repackaging goods, operating without licences and
failing to
display prices.
'These are all lies. What are these
business people overpricing or
repackaging when there is nothing in the
stores or supermarkets. There is no
production of any kind in the country
today, so there are no goods from
manufacturers to retailers as purported by
the government,' Matamisa said.
The legislator pointed out that no
businesses or businessmen with links to
Zanu (PF) have been targeted so
far.
'The plot behind this exercise is to target business leaders who
sympathise
or whose companies are believed to be funding the MDC in most
urban areas.
What is the rationale of sentencing the chief executive of OK
to do some
community work. It's a message to all OK managers countrywide to
stop
helping the MDC in your areas,' said Matamisa.
Among those
arrested in the capital Wednesday were BAT sales and marketing
manager
Innocent Mtize and Fairways Old People's Home owner Futter
Marrison.
Police allege that Marrison was not only overcharging but was
also quoting
rents in foreign currency. So far over 6500 business people
have been
arrested countrywide for the alleged price control
offences.
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
02
August 2007
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network issued a report
Thursday saying the
mobile voter registration exercise now in progress must
to be extended and
more effectively publicized if all eligible voters are to
have enough time
to register.
ZESN's preliminary report on the
ongoing voter registration exercise
documented the challenges many citizens
face as they try to register or
obtain identity cards and other documents.
The organization, which mobilized
thousands of election monitors in the 2005
general election, said there has
been some interference in the registration
process by traditional rural
leaders. But it could not confirm reports that
the government has deployed
police and troops in the voter registration
drive.
Internet news service ZimOnline reported that the Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission, which runs elections in Zimbabwe, has engaged "hordes
of army
and police officers" for the registration exercise which is
scheduled to end
on August 17.
VOA was unable to reach ZEC Chairman
George Chiweshe or his spokesman, Sly
Gwana, for comment on the findings
released by the monitoring group.
ZESN National Director Rindai
Chipfunde-Vava told reporter Carole Gombakomba
that the findings show the
timing and logistics of the registration drive
raise many questions as the
country prepares for local, general and
presidential elections in 2008.
IOL
August 02 2007 at 09:39PM
By
Tonderai Kwidini
Taps in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, are
running dry even though
the city's main supply dams are more than 60 percent
full, according to
figures from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority
(ZINWA).
With more than half of Harare's three million inhabitants
now
experiencing water shortages, residents are resorting to desperate
measures
to find supplies.
Carrying a large bucket to work has
become a daily task for Tedious
Marembo, employed as a cleaner at a block of
government offices in the city.
This building is never without
water because it houses three
government ministries. So Marembo fills his
bucket at work to provide water
for his wife and two children who live in
Kuwadzana, a poor Harare suburb.
"My wife has to
walk a long distance to get water at a church in my
neighbourhood where a
borehole was sunk, (and) she has to pay Z$50 000
(about R1 418,78) for a
bucket. The only way I can help her cope with
household chores is to carry a
20-litre bucket to bring water from my
workplace," he said.
Harare has experienced intermittent water shortages for about two
years, due
mainly to poor management and ageing infrastructure. Water
experts from a
Scandinavian development agency, who preferred to remain
anonymous, said
ZINWA management was inadequate because the water authority
was not run by
professionals, but rather by political appointees.
Sanitation has
gone the way of water provision, as members of the
Mashapa household - also
in Kuwadzana - can attest. A blocked pipe caused a
fetid pool of sewage to
build up around their house, and this outflow now
slowly winds its way
through the suburb to a nearby stream.
"We are locking children in
the house. They can no longer play outside
because of the danger of
contracting diseases. Cholera is right in our
midst," said mother Olivia
Mashapa.
Primary school children who use a path alongside the
Mashapa home are
obliged to pick their way through waste matter, while other
children play in
the effluent - and are exposed to water borne diseases. At
the far end of
the suburb, still more residents are at risk, as they buy
vegetables from
vendors who sell their wares right next to open sewage. Many
toilets in this
area are blocked and can no longer be used.
For
the fortunate few who can afford membership at the city centre
gym, visits
there have become a necessity - not only for exercise, but also
for a
shower. - Sapa-IPS
This article was originally published on
page 11 of Cape Argus on
August 02, 2007
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
02 August
2007
The European Commission delegation to Zimbabwe and the
Australian government
are considering a request by the Combined Harare
Residents Association to
add the names of members of the state-appointed
Harare Commission to their
lists of officials banned from traveling within
the EU and Australia,
officials of the civic group said.
European
Commission Chief Delegate Xavier Marchal could not be reached to
confirm
that his delegation had accepted the petition. But the association
said
Marchal sent a letter saying the request was under consideration by the
European Union's rotating presidency which is currently occupied by
Portugal.
Those targeted by the association's proposal include Harare
Commission
Chairwoman Sekesai Makwavarara, University of Zimbabwe lecturer
Jameson
Kurasha, Harare Provincial Administrator Musavaya Reza, Ministry of
Local
Government Deputy Secretary Killian Mupingo, and Harare architect
Richard
Mahachi.
Combined Harare Residents Association spokesman
Precious Shumba told
reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that the Australian
embassy took the petition and promised to forward it to
the Canberra
Department of Foreign Affairs.
Zim Independent
Constantine Chimakure
A ZANU PF politburo meeting last week
nearly degenerated into a fracas
after minister without portfolio Elliot
Manyika accused former Finance
minister Simba Makoni of working with
companies allegedly pursuing a regime
change agenda.
Highly
placed sources said a livid Makoni threatened Manyika after the
ruling
party's national commissair claimed he was one of some politburo
members
working in cahoots with business to undermine government.
Manyika
made the allegations while presenting a report on government's
price blitz
targeting manufactures, wholesalers and retailers.
Last month,
government ordered manufacturers, wholesalers and
retailers to reduce prices
of goods and services by 50%, saying skyrocketing
prices were meant to
trigger an uprising by Zimbabweans against the state.
"Manyika said
a number of senior party officials were board members in
companies which
were at the forefront of increasing prices of commodities
beyond the reach
of many," the source said. "To the surprise of fellow
politburo members,
Manyika singled out Makoni as one of senior party
officials bent on regime
change."
The source said an angry Makoni demanded that Manyika
produce evidence
before the politburo that he was against
Mugabe.
"President Mugabe walked out of the meeting. Makoni was
furious. He
reminded Manyika that he had been in Zanu PF long before him,"
the source
said. "He challenged Manyika to provide evidence of his
allegations."
Makoni, deputy secretary of finance in the ruling
party's supreme
decision making body outside congress, yesterday could
neither confirm nor
deny his clash with Manyika.
"I am busy at
the moment. Call me later," Makoni said curtly.
Repeated efforts
thereafter to get a comment from him were in vain as
he was unreachable on
his mobile phone. Manyika was also not reachable.
Makoni - a
presidential hopeful - was recently labelled a sellout by
Information
minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu when he told a World Economic Forum
in South
Africa that political change was close in Zimbabwe.
Zim Independent
Shakeman
Mugari
DIVISIONS in government over a directive on companies to
slash prices
have widened after it emerged that Vice-President Joice Mujuru
has joined
central bank governor, Gideon Gono, in condemning the
blitz.
This emerged during last week's meeting between President
Robert
Mugabe and business leaders.
Sources who attended the
meeting said Gono and Mujuru displayed a rare
alliance as they defended
business leaders who have come under attack from
the chairman of the Cabinet
Taskforce on Price Monitoring and Stabilisation,
Obert Mpofu, and his deputy
Elliot Manyika.
In the past Gono was accused of working against
business. Mujuru has
always sided with business for political
reasons.
The sources said during the meeting Mpofu and Manyika
presented a
report blasting businesses for working with the opposition to
push a regime
change agenda.
Zanu PF has maintained that there
are plans at both international and
national levels to topple the
government.
Mpofu, who is the chief architect of the current
crackdown, accused
businesses of sabotaging government initiatives. He told
the meeting that
companies were hiking prices to instigate civic
disobedience to oust the
Zanu PF government.
The sources said
it was at this point that Gono intervened, saying the
purpose of the meeting
was not to abuse people.
Gono, who has in the past invited the ire
of Zanu PF stalwarts who
want him fired for daring to oppose government's
clampdown on business, got
rare support from Mujuru who said it was
unhelpful to attack business
instead of finding solutions.
She
said there was need for government to work with companies to
insure that
basic commodities are available at affordable prices. Mujuru
said the
business leaders were at the meeting to give advice on how prices
could be
stabilised.
Gono and Mujuru have been at loggerheads for the past
four years.
Mujuru is understood to have bitterly opposed Gono's policy to
close
troubled banks. She also fought Gono's money seizures during the
currency
change-over under Sunrise Project 1 last year.
Four
months ago, the two clashed after the central bank opened an
investigation
into Dande Holdings, a company with ties to Mujuru.
Gono was
investigating an alleged misappropriation of a $121 billion
loan which the
company got from the Reserve Bank under the Agriculture
Sector Productivity
Enhancement Facility.
Dande borrowed the money to clear land for
agricultural purposes in
the Dande area. The central bank however believes
that the money was used to
buy foreign currency on the black market, a
charge which Dande denies.
Zim Independent
Shakeman Mugari
CABINET is divided over a controversial
proposal to seize businesses
which fail to comply with a directive to slash
prices.
Sources said the divisions, which reflect a lack of
consensus in
government institutions over the proposed takeover, emerged
during last week's
meeting of the cabinet committee on
legislation.
The chairman of the committee, Patrick Chinamasa, who
is also Justice
minister, convened the meeting last Thursday to debate the
idea of
government taking over "delinquent" businesses. Chinamasa wanted to
know
whether there was a way to legalise the proposed nationalisation of
companies.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of State
for Indigenisation
and Empowerment, Paul Mangwana, Walter Mzembi (deputy
Minister of Water
Resources and Infrastructural Development) and the deputy
Minister for
Economic Development, Pheneas Chiota. Chiota and Mzembi run big
business
establishments.
The sources said during the meeting
Mangwana said government should
take over the companies because they were
failing to follow the price
reduction order.
However, Chiota
and Mzembi told Chinamasa that it was impossible to
seize the companies in
the absence of an enabling law. They also said even
if a law was there, that
was not a good idea.
Mzembi and Chihota said the move would destroy
whatever remains of the
ailing economy. The sources said this view was
shared by a lot of senior
cabinet ministers who have business interests.
Cabinet and government in
general are divided over the issue.
The sources said Mangwana however maintained a radical stance and
argued
that it was possible to take over the businesses because government
had
successfully seized white-owned land. Mangwana said a law could be
crafted
to legalise the nationalisation of companies in the same way that
government
had come up with Amendment No17 which effectively nationalised
land.
"Mzembi told the meeting this would be very difficult,"
said a source
who attended the meeting. Mzembi said there was a marked
difference between
land and companies.
The source said Mzembi
and Chiota were of the view that the
nationalisation of land was possible
because of historical imbalances,
something which does not apply to
companies.
The sources said Chiota told the meeting that taking
over companies
would send the wrong signals to the investing world which was
already
shunning Zimbabwe.
"He said such a policy was not in
the interest of the economy. He said
it was impossible to take over
companies especially listed ones," the source
said.
Some
members of Zanu PF feel that the decision would affect their
interests in
listed firms which are the main target of government's
proposal. Government
wants to take over companies which manufacture or sell
basic
commodities.
Mangwana, the source said, remained adamant that
government could
still take over the firms in line with the proposed
indigenisation Bill
which his ministry was drafting together with the
Attorney-General's Office.
Chinamasa is said to have told Mangwana that he
was not convinced about his
argument. This left Mangwana isolated because
Mzembi and Chiota did not
endorse the proposal.
"He said
Mangwana should have more consultation if he wanted to
convince the
committee," a source said.
Mugabe recently threatened that his
government would seize and
nationalise companies that he accused of being
part of a regime change
agenda meant to overthrow his government.
Zim Independent
Constatine Chimakure
GOVERNMENT recently spent trillions of
dollars buying a
state-of-the-art limousine for President Robert Mugabe and
Mercedes-Benz S
class vehicles for ministers.
This emerged on
the back of acute foreign currency reserves, food and
fuel shortages in the
country. Key ministries are reeling under budgetary
deficits after they
exhausted their allocations in the first quarter of the
year.
Before the latest acquisition, Mugabe used a Mercedes-Benz S600
limousine as
his official car. The new limousine is believed to be a
modified version of
the S600 class.
The new vehicle is said to have additional security
features installed
by a private tuning company in Europe. A new
Mercedes-Benz S600L produced by
Daimler-Chrysler in Germany costs about
US$210 000 before modifications
(about $29,8 billion at the Old Mutual
implied rate of US$1: $142 000). The
same vehicle with extras such as a
video system with monitors and security
features, comes close to US$250 000
or $35,5 billion.
The Zimbabwe Independent understands the new
acquisition's chassis and
other features were modified.
"They
call this version Executive," a source said this week. "The cost
of the
vehicle depends on the number of modifications and especially whether
the
vehicle has been armoured.
"Just to give you an idea, Mugabe's old
S-model as an armoured
security vehicle was in the region of US$1 million,
meaning his new
Mercedes-Benz cost a fortune. Prices for special versions of
the standard
S600 Pullman are treated confidentially and not available on
simple request.
A full-house armoured version of the S600 Pullman 'stretch'
would be over
US$1,4 million or $198,8 billion."
The source
said apart from Mugabe's vehicle, government also bought
Mercedes-Benz S350
models for ministers, who were given the option to buy
the E230 class
vehicles they were using at a give away price of $5 million
each.
Zimbabwe has over 30 ministers.
This means
government recoups a miniscule $150 million from selling
the old vehicles to
the ministers, which cannot buy an old Peugeot 504 car.
A local Mercedes
Benz supplier indicated that an S350 Benz cost about US$100
000.
Contacted for comment, Deputy Information minister Bright
Matonga said
the vehicle acquisitions were justified and a "security
issue".
"We're talking about the president here," said Matonga.
"Urikuda kuti
wafambe nepick-up truck here? (Do you want the president to
move around in a
pick-up truck?)
"This is a security issue and
we don't discuss security issues with
anybody. If government decides to buy
vehicles for the president or cabinet
ministers it is justified because
we're a very responsible government." -
Staff Writer.
Zim Independent
Lucia
Makamure
THE Movement of Democratic Change (MDC)'s
constitutional challenge
will be heard before the Supreme Court on September
20, the Zimbabwe
Independent has learnt.
The MDC in May filed
papers with the Supreme Court challenging the
constitutionality of sections
of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act and
the Zimbabwe Electoral Act. In
the challenge, Minister of Justice Patrick
Chinamasa was cited as first
respondent, with Justice George Chiweshe,
chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission, as the second respondent and
Attorney-General Sobusa
Gula-Ndebele is the Intervener.
The MDC will be presented by
Advocate Happius Zhou and Obert Gutu of
Gutu and Chikowero.
Gutu confirmed to the Independent that the Supreme Court has set a
date for
the case.
"After successfully filing our heads of argument the
Supreme Gourt has
advised us that the case will be heard on September
20,"said Gutu.
Last week the lawyers representing the MDC filed
answering affidavits
with the Supreme Court challenging the opposing notice
that had been filed
by all the respondents in the case.
Chinamasa in June filed opposing papers saying the MDC had taken too
long to
file its challenge.
"In bringing this application nearly two years
after the enactment of
Constitutional Amendment No17 Act, applicant and
deponent are clearly acting
mala fides and are being motivated by other
considerations that have nothing
to do with a level playing field," said
Chinamasa.
Gula-Ndebele argued that the MDC did not have the locus
standi to make
the application in terms of section 24(1) of the
Constitution.
"I do not believe that the applicant (MDC) has a
grievance which fails
to be redressed in terms of section 24(1) of the
Constitution of Zimbabwe,"
said Gula-Ndebele in his notice of opposition to
the constitutional
challenge.
However, the MDC in its answering
affidavit, defended its locus standi
on the basis that as a political party
they are entitled to.
"The impugned provisions of the constitution
affect the conduct of the
elections in which the applicant intends to
participate, and in material
respect affects the fundamental rights of the
applicant. Accordingly, it is
respectfully submitted that the applicant has
the locus standi to bring the
application," said Morgan Tsvangirai in the
answering affidavit.
Meanwhile, former Masvingo Central legislator,
Silas Mangono, and
Misheck Matake, the provincial chairman of Masvingo in
the Mutambara-led MDC
faction, have defected to the Tsvangirai
camp.
The two announced their defection yesterday at a press
conference held
at the party's headquarters at Harvest House in
Harare.
Mangono and Matake cited lack of direction and unity of
purpose in the
Mutambara faction as some of the reasons why they had decided
to rejoin the
Tsvangirai faction.
"All along, I had hoped that
the process of negotiations for the
reunification by the two sides was going
to bring about a desired unity. Now
that this is no longer the case as
announced by Professor Mutambara, I have
no choice but to go along with my
conscience, and that of the majority of
Zimbabwe," said Mangono in a press
statement.
Zanu Ndonga also announced this week that it will be
backing
Tsvangirai as presidential candidate.
"Zanu Ndonga
makes it official to support the MDC of president Morgan
Tsvangirai faction
for the presidential elections in 2008,"said Zanu Ndonga
in a
statement.
"Zanu Ndonga will field parliamentary, senatorial and
council election
members in some constituencies henceforth seeks to work in
partnership with
the MDC so that we won't unnecessarily divide opposition
votes," said the
statement.
Zim Independent
Loughty Dube
SECOND-HAND plastic container business in Zimbabwe
has over the years
been boosted by a recurrent shortage of fuel. Every
motorist keeps these in
case of a chance encounter with black market
merchants, or to simply store
the commodity at home.
In
Bulawayo the containers have found a new use. They now rank among
the most
sought-after goods and it's reflecting in the prices the vessels
are
fetching. Bulawayo residents, facing one of the worst water crises in
living
memory, have taken to accumulating as many plastic containers as they
possibly can during the few hours the commodity is available every three
days.
Entrepreneurs, especially those from Harare, are making a
killing out
of the crisis by selling water containers at exorbitant prices.
The
entrepreneurs sell a 20-litre container for prices ranging from $800 000
to
$1 million while elevated tanks holding up to 200 litres of water are
fetching as high as $25 million each. Water containers have suddenly become
popular as residents fill up anything that can carry water in anticipation
of long hours without water.
"There is a high demand for the
containers and we are now buying the
containers in rural areas and
re-selling them in Bulawayo. They are selling
fast, demand is high," said
one trader selling metal drums at the Renkini
bus terminus, who only
identified himself as Tapfuma.
The city of Bulawayo is facing a
critical water shortage that has seen
residents getting water supplies once
every three days, a situation that the
city says will worsen when it
decommissions another dam soon.
The serious water crisis is a
result of poor rains and lack of
adequate dams blamed largely on government
and the city council itself.
Five dams - Umzingwane, Inyankuni,
Insiza, Lower and Upper Ncema -
supply the city with water in normal
circumstances.
However, the city has so far decommissioned three
supply dams,
Umzingwane, Lower and Upper Ncema, leaving two dams to supply
water to the
more than one million Bulawayo residents.
The
situation has seen people in the city's high density areas resort
to queuing
for water from boreholes sunk by international aid agencies
before the water
crisis started.
But as the water crisis unfolds, it has emerged
that once the council
decommissions one of the two remaining dams,
industries and manufacturing
firms will face closure.
Bulawayo
Council has indicated that Inyankuni Dam is likely to run out
of water at
the beginning of October and that will leave the city with only
one supply
dam, Insiza.
Bulawayo city council spokesperson, Phathisa Nyathi,
this week said
industry has not been affected by water rationing as an
arrangement was made
for it to get constant supplies to save jobs. But he
said if Inyankuni Dam
dries up the city will be forced to include industry
in the water rationing
schedule.
"The situation will
deteriorate further when Inyankuni Dam is
decommissioned in October. At that
point the city will get a paltry 46 000
cubic metres a day. Average daily
consumption for the city is around 120 000
cubic metres," Nyathi
said.
"With Insiza Dam as the only source of water, there will be a
huge
deficit. Water may be supplied after long periods and industry will
also be
affected," Nyathi said.
Matabeleland Chamber of
Commerce president, Dumisani Sibanda, said
industry leaders had met with
council officials to discuss the water
situation.
"Industry and
manufacturers have set up a committee that meets council
regularly to
discuss the water crisis," Sibanda said. "We have big
industries that use
large volumes of water such as Delta and Merlin but for
the time being
industry has been spared from water cuts," Sibanda said.
Bulawayo
used to be the country's industrial hub but most companies
relocated from
the region in the 1990s due to perennial water problems.
Last month
the city council issued a health warning about a possible
outbreak of
disease as a result of water shortages.
The water shortage has been
ascribed to drought, a burgeoning
population and lack of cooperation between
the City Council and the Zimbabwe
National Water Authority
(Zinwa).
Government's reluctance to implement the Matabeleland
Zambezi Water
Project (MZWT) and the Mtshabezi pipeline has worsened the
city's water
crisis.
The Resident Minister of Bulawayo
Metropolitan Province, Cain Mathema,
has in the past blamed the city council
for arrogance in failing to involve
government in water planning
activities.
Last week Mathema said the only solution to Bulawayo's
water crisis
was for Zinwa to take over the water supply
system.
He said it was unfortunate that the city council was not
being
cooperative.
"The Ministry of Water Resources and
Infrastructural Development has
written to me informing us of the need to
set up a committee of five that
has got to look into the issue. I relayed
the information to the executive
mayor, Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube," he said. "But
the mayor responded by advising
me to turn down the directive."
Mathema also said council did not have a long-term strategy for water
supply.
Nyathi however refuted the claims and said council's
role was to
reticulate water as the Water Act stipulates while government's
role was to
supply bulk water.
"There has been a lot of
politics on the Bulawayo water crisis but the
truth is that Bulawayo has no
water because there is no water in the dams.
But we have other scenarios
where some cities have water but they are
failing to supply it to
residents," Nyathi said.
The last supply dam for Bulawayo was built
in 1976 by the council
before the Water Act was amended to give all powers
to build dams to the
government.
When the last of its five dams
was completed in 1976, Bulawayo had a
population of around 250 000 and it
met the needs of residents and industry.
Zim Independent
THE Arthur Mutambara-led formation of the MDC's national council met
last
Saturday and reportedly resolved to pull out of coalition talks with
the
Morgan Tsvangirai camp ahead of next year's harmonised presidential and
parliamentary polls. On Tuesday, our senior political reporter CONSTANTINE
CHIMAKURE caught up with Mutambara at his Harare home to find out what
transpired during the council meeting and the implications of the camp's
move. Below are excerpts of the interview.
Chimakure: Your
national council met at the weekend and reportedly
resolved, among other
things, to pull out of coalition talks with Tsvangirai's
formation of the
MDC. Will your move not weaken the objective to dislodge
Zanu PF and
President Robert Mugabe from power next year through vote
splitting - the
Kenyan syndrome?
Mutambara: Let's get the facts right. As a party
we have always
believed in a united front inspired by a single candidate
principle. In the
past 10 months we have been engaged in negotiations with
the MDC formation
led by Morgan Tsvangirai and two products came out of
those efforts: the
code of conduct and the coalition agreement. The code of
conduct was
eventually signed by the two secretary-generals, Tendai Biti and
Welshman
Ncube, and the two presidents.
Tsvangirai initially
refused to sign the document for almost six weeks
and he eventually signed
after pressure from certain quarters. One further
key requirement was that
there was to be a press conference by the two
presidents to launch this code
of conduct. Although he has signed the code,
Tsvangirai has up to now
refused to attend a press conference as agreed by
his team of negotiators.
Consequently, that code of conduct is currently an
unimplemented
agreement.
The second result from our efforts for a united front
was a coalition
agreement between the MDC formations. In this agreement
Tsvangirai was
proposed as the sole presidential candidate. This framework
was crafted and
agreed upon by the two teams led by Welshman Ncube and
Tendai Biti. So,what
we did on Saturday July 28 was to formally adopt that
agreement. This means
that our party has adopted a coalition agreement that
makes Tsvangirai the
only opposition candidate for the presidency of our
nation. Those are the
facts.
After that formal adoption, our
national council also formally
acknowledged that the MDC formation led by
Tsvangirai has actually rejected
that coalition agreement. I am sure they
will confirm that they have
rejected the agreement. They will also confirm
to you that both Biti and
Tsvangirai signed the code of conduct and
thereafter Tsvangirai refused to
launch the code through a press conference.
They will also provide you with
his reasons.
Our national
council has resolved to continue providing leadership to
the people of
Zimbabwe. We will provide decisive, capable and strong
leadership in
Zimbabwe by presenting a presidential candidate and
contestants in every
constituency for all elections . . . senate, parliament
or council. Why and
how did it come to this, people might ask? Our
colleagues led by Tsvangirai
have rejected a coalition agreement that would
have made every vote count
against Mugabe. Ordinary people are demanding
unity of purpose. We agree
with the national sentiment that is why we were
prepared to have a coalition
headed by Tsvangirai.
Unity of purpose is essential, moreso when it
is clear that conditions
for our next elections will be neither free nor
fair. If Tsvangirai is such
an insecure, weak and indecisive leader who
cannot embrace what ordinary
Zimbabweans are demanding; unity of action and
purpose in the opposition, is
he worthy of the presidency of this
country?
We are going to continue with the efforts of talking to
all
stakeholders in Zimbabwe about building a united front inspired by a
single
candidate principle and philosophy. We hope common sense and sanity
will
prevail.
Chimakure: Given the current position, if both
formations of the MDC
field candidates in next year's polls, will this not
work in favour of
Mugabe and Zanu PF?
Mutambara: These are the
questions you should ask Tsvangirai. Don't
ask Mutambara. Mutambara has
already answered them. That is why we were
prepared to campaign for
Tsvangirai in spite of our grave reservations about
his ability and values.
But Tsvangirai is not prepared to be supported by
Mutambara. He feels he can
go it alone. Not a single ordinary Zimbabwean
shares his delusions. This is
a manifestation of leadership failure, poor
judgement, strategic incoherence
and organisational incompetence.
We totally agree that a divided
opposition will hand over victory to
Mugabe. That is why we have adopted the
coalition agreement. In pursuit of
unity and a united front my party and I
specifically have taken so much
abuse from the media and detractors.
Screaming headlines and statements such
as "Mutambara gives way to
Tsvangirai", "The Mutambara faction is desperate
for unity", and "The
Mutambara faction cannot mount a political challenge on
its own" have been
thrown at us.
We never corrected these lies because of our desire
to pursue the
national interest. Yes, we were prepared to back Tsvangirai
lock, stock and
barrel. We said "it doesn't matter, let's take the abuse in
the national
interest because there is a bigger objective; the liberation of
our country
from the tyranny of Robert Mugabe".
Chimakure: Do
you have the support to unseat Mugabe alone?
Mutambara: No, we do
not. This is why we are saying that Zimbabweans
must all work together to
increase the opportunity for change. However, as a
party we do have numbers
and support in spite of what our detractors would
want you to believe. We
have 20 MPs, seven senators and in the last rural
district council elections
we won in 41 wards, while our colleagues won in
40 wards. Of course we
recognise that it will be much easier if we all work
together to maximise
the probability of unseating Mugabe. We wish our
colleagues would see the
wisdom of doing the same.
Chimakure: So if the Tsvangirai faction
refuses to adopt the
agreement, are we going to see Mutambara squaring up
against Tsvangirai and
Mugabe in next year's presidential
polls?
Mutambara: Our party is more democratic than the Tsvangirai
MDC
formation and Zanu PF. The leader of our party is not automatically the
presidential candidate. We believe in a democratic nomination and election
process to determine all candidates participating in national elections.
This means that all the leaders and ordinary members of our party are
eligible to become the presidential candidate.
So, Mutambara is
not yet the presidential candidate of our party. He
is one of the many
Zimbabweans who will be available for the supporters of
the party to select
from.
Having laid out the technical framework, I must make an
unequivocal
declaration: if the Tsvangirai grouping does not see the wisdom
of working
with others, they should have no illusions about our preparedness
to
confront and decimate them.
Arthur Mutambara will be
prepared to stand against both Tsvangirai and
Mugabe. It is our duty and
obligation to present viable and inspired options
to Zimbabweans. I stand
good and ready to take on Tsvangirai and Mugabe.
Zimbabwe demands
leaders who can understand and leverage
globalisation, science and
technology. We are living in a very competitive
world where successful
countries are allowing their best minds to run their
nations. We cannot
afford to have mediocrity running our country.
Chimakure: Your
national council also deliberated on the current Sadc
initiative to resolve
Zimbabwe's crisis and seem to have insinuated that it
had lost confidence in
South African President Thabo Mbeki's mediation
efforts. Was it out of a
realisation that talks between the MDC and Zanu PF
were collapsing? Why did
the council resolve to intensify a campaign of
defiance?
Mutambara: It has always been our position in the party that
Zimbabweans
cannot outsource their liberation to foreigners. We must take
responsibility
for our own circumstances. Hence, much as we appreciate the
mediation
through Sadc and Mbeki, we are saying the buck stops with us
Zimbabweans.
This means in addition to embracing the Sadc
initiative we must
develop an independent programme of action that we
control as Zimbabweans.
We must create conditions for free and fair
elections. All the political
parties, civic society organisations, the
labour movement and the churches
must work together in the streets in
pursuit of liberation and emancipation.
We must be demanding that
the Zanu PF government stops the torture,
murder and the incarceration of
members of the opposition and civic society.
We cannot have free and fair
elections when members of the civic society are
being
brutalised.
We also need a new constitution and we must fight for
it in the
streets. There must be new electoral laws that will allow free and
fair
management of our elections. Posa and Aippa must be removed from our
statutes.
We want to allow every Zimbabwean the opportunity to
vote, including
those in the diaspora. Lastly, we want international
supervision of our
first election under the new constitution.
These are the demands we should be fighting for in the streets through
an
alternative programme of action. Yes, we should also pursue the same
matters
through the Sadc mediation. What is criminal is for Zimbabweans to
sit
passively while waiting for President Mbeki to rescue them. Our council
resolutions are not a reflection of lack of confidence or worry about the
mediation efforts but rather a statement of principle, which principle we
have always believed in.
Chimakure: Give us an update on the
Mbeki mediation given that the
Zanu PF negotiating team comprising Justice
minister Patrick Chinamasa and
Labour minister Nicholas Goche has on several
occasions failed to travel to
South Africa.
Mutambara: One of
the ground rules defining the terms of reference for
the mediation was that
there will be no negotiations through the media. We
must allow all the
deliberations, the processes and the activities of the
mediation to remain
confidential in order to protect the integrity and
effectiveness of the
whole exercise. Hence, we are not going to discuss the
details of the
mediation except to say we are committed to give the Sadc
initiative a
chance to run its course and deliver results.
Chimakure: President
Mugabe recently said that Zimbabwe does not need
a new constitution as the
one in place was serving the country well. What do
you say to that? Do you
also think Zimbabwe still has time to craft a new
constitution when
elections should be held next March?
Mutambara: The issue is not
about the time required to produce a new
constitution. It's about the
political will and the principled basis to have
one. Do we agree that
Zimbabwe deserves well crafted institutions that
enable good country
governance and economic prosperity; and that one of such
institutions is a
people-driven democratic constitution? Do all the
Zimbabwean stakeholders
agree as a matter of principle and values that we
need such a constitution?
Those are the questions to ask.
Once we establish a common
understanding then the issue of the time
required to do a good job of
developing a new constitution can then be
resolved. The problem in this
country is that Mugabe does not believe that
Zimbabweans deserve a
people-driven democratic constitution.
He doesn't have the
political will to embrace the agenda of a new
constitution. He doesn't
believe as a matter of values that we need good
governance enshrined in a
new democratic constitution, manifested by
functional separation of powers,
an independent judiciary, an empowered
legislature, a servant government as
opposed to a master government, and a
solid bill of rights.
In
addition Mugabe does not believe in the requisite value system and
democratic culture that buttresses good governance and constitutionalism.
That is the crux of the matter.
Beyond politics and governance,
a major challenge that Zimbabweans are
grappling with is the lack of both
economic vision and strategy. We are
being led by a visionless regime, a
content free dictatorship that has no
capacity to make Zimbabwe a globally
competitive country.
We in the opposition seek change that has both
form and substance. Our
vision is that of a Zimbabwe characterised by
people-centred social
development and economic growth. We want a nation of
prosperity, economic
opportunities, affordable high quality public services,
social justice,
equity, and gender justice. We want a country of business
growth, productive
commercial agriculture and innovative
entrepreneurship
Yes we have a stabilisation plan, yes we will
deploy an economic
recovery plan, but more importantly, we have an economic
transformation
programme that will make Zimbabwe the Singapore of Africa,
the Malaysia of
Africa. Zimbabwe has so much potential in terms of human
capital, natural
resources and infrastructure. What is missing is strategic
leadership rooted
in an imaginative economic vision and backed by
technocratic capacity.
Zim Independent
Itai
Mushekwe
IN a contingency measure to avoid a depleted force,
the army has
reportedly banned resignations amid reports of growing
disenchantment by
soldiers over paltry salaries and appalling working
conditions, the Zimbabwe
Independent heard this week.
Military
sources said Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) commander,
Constantine Chiwenga,
on Tuesday held a lecture with army officers at 2
Brigade in Harare where he
announced that "there will be no more
resignations" but gave no
reasons.
Chiwenga is currently on a routine tour of battalions and
brigades
across the country and is largely expected to reiterate the ban on
resignations.
"Chiwenga was here on Tuesday addressing officers
on various issues,"
the sources said.
"He spoke about the
liberation struggle and the need for soldiers to
remain committed to their
country despite the current economic hardships.
"The commander then
announced that he was not going to accept
resignations, without giving
reasons."
The sources said officers of 50 years and above were
exempted from the
ban. They said the new rules are targeted at mostly junior
officers who are
said to be resigning in droves due to low wages, poor
working conditions,
lack of decent uniforms and boots and poor meals. Junior
officers earn about
$2,5million.
A significant number of
soldiers are said to be either deserting or
going AWOL. Civilian clothed
members of the military intelligence unit have
been deployed to locate
deserters who, upon being captured, are
court-martialled and jailed if found
guilty.
The latest development makes it difficult for officers to
resign
formerly. An army officer when first recruited signs a three-year
contract
and can tender his resignation six months before his contract
expires. He
can also extend his contact to seven years and sign a permanent
contract
thereafter. He then becomes eligible to resign after serving for 20
years or
upon reaching 50 years of age.
Zimbabwe National Army
spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Simon Tsatsi
yesterday confirmed Chiwenga had
held the meeting but could not disclose
details, referring all questions to
ZDF.
Zim Independent
Augustine Mukaro
DIALOGUE between government and
business has started, with both
parties agreeing to set up a five-member
think-tank to represent the private
sector to discuss a 13-point plan of
action proposed by business last week.
Sources privy to the
proposals said government was beginning to buy
into the business sector's
proposal to revive the economy after realising
the price blitz was a wrong
approach to the crisis.
The price blitz appears to be falling apart
as government begins to
backtrack on its decision to ban fuel coupons and
the importation of bulk
basic goods by cross-border traders.
Fuel coupons have since been extended for a year and government is in
the
process of purchasing large quantities of coupons from Caltex.
Last
month government gazetted regulations saying people importing
scarce staples
like maize meal, flour, sugar and cooking oil for resale need
a government
permit. The regulations, which were due to come into force on
August 1, have
since been repealed without explanation.
"The Control of Goods
Order, 2007 is hereby repealed," Industry and
International Trade minister
Obert Mpofu said in Statutory Instrument 153
gazetted as a special notice
this week.
Business leaders last week presented a 13-point plan to
President
Robert Mugabe, emphasising the need to create a conducive business
environment, the mobilisation of foreign currency to stabilise the exchange
rate and the removal of all price misalignments.
The 13-point
plan document, a copy of which is in the hands of the
Zimbabwe Independent,
seeks to provide solutions to what business has
described as areas of
priority.
"We do not want to prescribe any solutions to you
(President Mugabe)
but we do have some suggestions on areas of priority,"
says the document.
Below is a summary of the 13-point
plan:
* Mobilise a specific amount of foreign currency to stabilise
the
exchange rate and ensure sufficient importation of food, fuel and inputs
to
agriculture and industry;
*Create a primary budget surplus
(ie surplus before interest
payments.);
* Put in place a
credible, transparent pricing mechanism that ensures
both business viability
and affordability for consumers for controlled and
monitored products
through the framework from the social
contract;
* Remove
all pricing misalignments including that for foreign
currency;
* Put in place safety nets for vulnerable groups;
* Finalise the
land issue and investment laws so as to create a
climate conducive for
investment;
* Finalise the issue of security of tenure in
agriculture so as to
increase agricultural output thereby stimulating
production and economic
revival;
* Rehabilitate key
infrastructure such as water, roads, power and
coal;
*
Mobilise/launch national housing initiative to clear backlog in
housing and
create employment;
* Revive urban and rural
transportation;
* Stem exodus of skills by putting in place
appropriate legislative
and other measures;
* Reform and
restructure public enterprises; and
* Finally, once the internal
package of measures achieves traction,
leverage this to seek external
balance of payment support on favourable
terms.
The five-member
team was this week expected to meet Mugabe to present
details of how
business intends to put into action the proposed action plan.
The
price blitz launched last month directed businesses to slash
prices of their
goods and services by 50%, a development that has caused
acute shortages of
many basic goods.
Most supermarkets and shops are now virtually
empty.
About 6 000 business executives and managers have been
arrested and
fined in the clampdown for flouting price control regulations.
Most of those
arrested were briefly detained in police cells.
Government this week extended the price control enforcements until
December.
Mugabe justified the controversial operation as a
response to attempts
by business to topple his government through economic
sabotage and
profiteering.
"The inexplicable price and rent
hikes which were apparently welcomed
and encouraged by our regime-change
proponents compounded the situation
further and thus invited government
intervention," Mugabe told MPs when he
opened parliament last
week.
He said the government was committed to its programme to
restore price
stability.
Under the blitz, Mugabe threatened to
shut down, seize or nationalise
companies that fail to comply with the order
to slash prices.
Zim Independent
Kuda Chikwanda/Pindai
Dube
GOVERNMENT'S directive that the Cold Storage Company (CSC)
be granted
monopoly to supply beef in the country has exposed the collapsed
state of
the parastatal. CSC has been failing to supply beef for the past
three
weeks.
The situation worsened this week with
revelations that farmers were
refusing to sell their stock to government in
protest at the low prices.
Government, through the Cabinet Taskforce on
Price Monitoring and
Stabilisation, this week pegged the producer price of
beef at between $65
000 and $90 000 a kg.
Livestock farmers say
the new price is not viable. The cash-strapped
CSC, which is heavily
indebted, has failed to supply butcheries across the
country with meat for
the past six days.
CSC was awarded the sole responsibility of
buying and slaughtering
meat after government withdrew the operating
licences of private abattoirs.
The monopoly had been revoked in 1996 making
way for private players.
Businessdigest established that CSC had
not slaughtered any cattle
since Thursday last week. A visit to CSC
headquarters along Gleneagles Road
in Harare revealed that the company does
not have any beef in stock.
The dispatch area was this week selling
sawdust. Employees at the
company said they were surprised to see government
advertising on ZBC TV
that beef was available at CSC.
"We are
also shocked when we see those adverts on television. We last
slaughtered
cattle last Thursday. There has been no beef since then and I
don't think
there will be any time soon," said one supervisor at the
company.
The employees said they did not know when CSC would
next have beef and
said most farmers who had wanted to sell their cattle had
vowed to hold onto
them until the price was right.
"Some are
selling to individuals who manage to beat the system and
slaughter cattle.
In fact cattle farmers and clients are meeting here and
doing good
business," said another CSC employee.
Butcheries in Harare and
Bulawayo have not taken supply of beef for
the past two weeks.
CSC chief executive officer Ngoni Chinogaramombe could not be reached
for
comment at the time of going to print. He however told Vice-President
Joice
Mujuru during a tour of CSC's abattoir in Bulawayo on Saturday the
company
needed an urgent rescue package of $700 billion.
Chinogaramombe
told Mujuru that government had to come up with a price
that appealed to
rural cattle farmers who supply 80% of CSC's cattle
requirements.
In response Mujuru said government had already
disbursed the first
tranche of $80 billion.
"What we are
expecting the CSC to do is to utilise this institution to
the fullest and we
still want to go back to the original position where
every Zimbabwean who
ate meat then used to know that it was meat that was
processed by the CSC,"
she said.
The retail price of beef was reduced from between $320
000 and $520
000 a kg of economy and top grade beef respectively to below
$100 000 a kg.
The crisis at CSC is in stark contrast to brisk
business at Colcom,
the country's biggest pork procession company. Colcom
has taken advantage of
the crisis to push volumes through its retail
division.
Zim Independent
Kuda
Chikwanda
GOVERNMENT plans to axe directors and top management who
do not
support the ruling party from the civil service, parastatals and
local
authorities, businessdigest can reveal.
There are also
plans to force private companies to award directorships
to Zanu PF
politicians who will "influence decision making and profit
making" of the
concerned companies.
Minutes of the 69th ordinary session of the
ruling party's central
committee meeting have laid bare the intricate
details of plans to
restructure the civil service and parastatals along
party lines.
Top civil servants, parastatal and local authority
heads will be
required to be "patriotic Zimbabweans to avoid sabotage of
government
programmes and initiatives", central committee minutes
say.
The Zanu PF security department is also supposed to be
involved in the
selection of critical government and parastatal
management.
"People appointed to boards of parastatals should be
party cadres.
Party security should be involved in the vetting of members to
be appointed
to boards and to head government departments."
Government has also been instructed in the minutes to set up
committees to
investigate the political allegiance of parastatal management.
Zanu PF
secretary for Production and Labour, Naison Ndlovu, whose committee
drafted
most of the recommendations, could not be reached for comment. Party
information secretary Nathan Shamuyarira refused to elaborate on the
matter.
"We have no comment to make," Shamuyarira said.
Parliamentary Public
Accounts portfolio committee chairperson Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga
said her committee condemned the decision by the
ruling party to appoint key
personnel on party lines.
"Our
position as a committee is that when you are going to have boards
of
directors, they should be people who do not have vested interests. You
cannot play an oversight role over yourself. At a principal level that is
wrong," she said.
Misihairabwi-Mushonga said Zanu PF was trying
to protect its
interests.
"They are placing gatekeepers of
their own personal interests in state
owned bodies. If we do an audit of who
is supplying parastatals with what,
it is not surprising to find out that it
is the major people in Zanu PF,"
she said.
The minutes also
show that the party recommended all companies be
forced to pay annual
bonuses to employees. This means that companies will be
required to pay
annual bonuses whether they made profits or not.
Already the purges
have begun at the Ministry of Agriculture where
Minister Rugare Gumbo is
understood to have told senior officers that there
will be far-reaching
restructuring in the next three months.
Parastatals account for
over 40% of Zimbabwe's gross domestic product
while the civil service is the
country's largest employer. A source said
government had already started
implementing new interviewing formats for
recruitment. Job seekers in
government are going through security vetting by
state security
officers.
Part of the vetting process involves checking
job-seekers' political
background and allegiances. Interviewees have been
asked to bring with them
exercise books in which they are asked to write
Zanu PF's manifesto, the
national anthem and names of Zanu PF leaders in
their provinces and
districts.
Zim Independent
Martin Tarusenga
ACCORDING to the government,
indigenisation means to "to give or
increase economic ownership to locals,
directly by allowing black ownership
and control of enterprises and assets;
...increasing or giving senior
management positions to blacks; increasing
black human resource development
and ensuring employment equity; indirect
empowerment through preferential
procurement, enterprise development, and
corporate social investmen".
The indigenisation strategies thus
explained are typically premised
first within the injustices suffered by
blacks in colonial economic
management and secondly, on the perceived causes
of the persistent dualism
that continued after independence between the
successful white economic
framework/environment and the subsistence almost
non-existent black economic
framework/environment, in the same
country.
In the absence of any other effective economic strategies,
as is the
case in Zimbabwe, the insinuation of the indigenisation
explanations and
especially the premise, are that the objectives for the
long painful
struggle to independence to avail economic benefits to the
black majority in
Zimbabwe would be achieved through the indigenisation
processes.
In Zimbabwe this process was initiated more than 10
years after
independence, suggesting that it was not an urgent or priority
issue
according to the government.
This deducted suggestion
therefore contradicts the claim that it would
avail economic benefits to the
wider beneficiary base of a black majority.
The initiation of this
process at a time when memories of the popular
political victory were
waning, when the black majority had come to realise
that independence was
not bringing any meaningful economic gains to them,
suggests that the
indigenisation strategy is and was a quick fix solution
with political
appeal to silence a restless economically deprived majority
electorate.
Indeed the cosy complicit relationship that had
developed between the
political establishment and the white community
suggests an economic
management that had no intention, agenda and strategy
of opening up the
economy to the black majority.
The question
that remains is whether the indigenisation process will
work or
not?
In Zimbabwe the indigenisation process, as a takeover of white
colonially-created economic value by blacks, has taken three main forms. One
process that is easily recognised and understood as indigenisation is the
politically facilitated intervention in white controlled
businesses.
So far, this process has been witnessed in programmes
such as the
Indigenous Business Development Centre, the Affirmative Action
Group and of
course the dramatic land reform programme. These processes have
however been
a complete failure because they did not have systems to ensure
continuity of
operation by the beneficiaries. It was indigenisation for its
own sake.
Having gained control of assets and enterprises, the
tendency was to
strip the assets and divert the proceeds to personal wealth
- which wealth
would be used to build the largest fleet of the largest
luxurious cars. In
the process any productive capacity of the asset that
benefits the black
majority via employment for instance, would be
annihilated.
The other indigenisation strategy came in the form of
new black
start-ups financed either by market based financing or (sometimes)
concessionary funds often facilitated politically.
These quite
often made "business sense". Most of those that have
thrived within this
"business sense" framework have had problems with
political
interference.
The other main indigenisation strategy was the more
subtle gradual
endogenous black exposure to control of white owned
enterprises reciprocated
by willing and gradual relinquishing of white
control.
This strategy had its own deficiencies. In order to ward
off political
interference, the white owners hand-picked or co-opted the
blacks that were
either favourable to the political establishment or those
blacks that played
ball to white management to window-dress as blacks
participating in the
control of the enterprise. On relinquishing control to
these in-house pliant
blacks, when it became increasingly clear that the
macroeconomic framework
would not be sustainable, the assets or enterprises
were not always run
innovatively and efficiently.
In its full
breadth indigenisation by the first form, extends to the
public
sector.
The impact of indigenisation as implemented to date has
been to run
down the economic infrastructure inherited at
independence.
Public sector services are in a poor state compared
to the state at
independence. The road networks, railway networks are
examples of services
run down.
The productivity in the
agricultural, mining, manufacturing and other
similar sectors has fallen
below pre-indigenisation levels - needless to
mention the catastrophic drama
that saw the agricultural sector come to its
knees almost immediately when
the indigenisation process was imposed on it.
The banking sector
however has become the exception having been set in
a competitive framework
back in the nineties and expanded for the benefit of
the wider beneficiary
base.
It however suffered crises and setbacks arising from poor
governance
and indiscipline at some of the indigenous banks, and of course
political
interference at others.
Indigenous corporate
management has constantly come into question
regarding its capacity to
innovate and expand the economy for the black
majority.
The
routine excuse for the decline in productivity has been the
foreign currency
shortage and the poor macroeconomic framework.
Indeed some have
concluded that the indigenisation strategies have
succeeded to groom a
pliant industry captainship that covertly identifies
with the strategy to
redistribute the colonially created economic value for
their benefit and via
the "get-rich-quick" schemes.
In consequence, the former colonial
polarisation between the rich
white community and poor black majority has
turned into very few rich blacks
and poor black majority.
What
we are seeing is a total disregard for the needs of fellow black
men by
those who have benefited from the indigenisation process.
In
Zimbabwe, public perceptions of an indigenous business person have
derogatory connotations after this show of incompetence.
Clearly this decline is evidence of the deficient competitive spirit
that
has been brought about by the indigenisation process.
Indigenisation as synonymous to "the takeover of colonially-created
economic
value by a few blacks" is associated with idleness, incompetence,
poor
production quality and a total lack of appreciation of quality
standards,
rapacity, disrespect for fellowmen and so on.
In some cases it
begets connotations of a business person who might
have otherwise remained
'a no-body' had it not been for government's
intervention.
There is clearly something amiss with the indigenisation strategy
enshrined
in "giving" control of existing economic value to apparently a few
blacks.
Laws have been made to legalise this transfer of wealth
but the
results have been disastrous. We are still reeling from the effects
Land
Reform Act.
Because the law was meant to "give" land to
the people and not improve
production we now have some people owning three
or four farms.
The reform, according to the people in government,
was the time to not
only redress the colonial imbalances but also a chance
to get rich.
Given the chaos that characterised the land reform we
have every
reason to worry about the proposed Indigenisation and Empowerment
Bill. Does
the Bill tackle the real issues of stimulating and motivating
economic
agents to innovatively widen the economic base for the wider
beneficiary
base in order to close the gap between rural and urban
infrastructures, the
gap between the few rich Zimbabweans and the
poor?
Does it make economic sense to focus on existing assets and
enterprises as opposed to creating more? If such questions are not addressed
properly, there is a danger that the nation could be confined to a
"rat-race" judging by the impact of indigenisation so far.
We
must take time to learn from other competitive nations before we
rush with
these policies.
Zim Independent
Paul
Nyakazeya
MONEY supply (M3) growth continued on an upward trend
increasing to a
new record of 4 211% in April from 3 255,9% the previous
month latest
officials figures from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said this
week.
Analysts said the figure would be over 10 000% by December
due to
expansionary fiscal and monetary policies pursued by government and
the
Reserve Bank.
Money supply is the total supply of money in
circulation in a given
country's economy at a given time. It is considered
an important instrument
for controlling inflation.
This week
the Reserve Bank introduced a new $200 000 dollar bearers'
cheque in a move
which analysts say clearly shows that government has lost
the battle against
inflation.
Government and the central bank have continued to print
money despite
advice by the International Monetary Fund that this policy
will further
stoke inflation. The IMF this week said inflation could reach
100 000% by
the end of this year.
It said the Zimbabwe's
economic prospects were bleak. Central bank
governor, Gideon Gono and
President Robert Mugabe last week said government
would not hesitate to
print money to fund various projects.
Government is also said to be
considering introducing a new $500 000
bearer cheque as the country's
currency continues on its free-fall.
In his monetary policy in
January, Gono said the bank would reduce
annual broad money supply growth
from over 1 000% to between 415% and 500%
by December 2007.
He
forecast money supply will come down to under 65% by December 2008.
However figures show that money supply growth rose by 955,8% points to
4
211,7% in April from March's figure of 3 255,9%.
This represents an
increase in broad money of $4,679 trillion from
$111 billion in April last
year to $4,790 trillion in April this year.
On a month-on-month
basis, broad money supply increased by $1,684
trillion in April compared to
$1331,4 billion in March.
The Reserve Bank attributed the increase
to a massive surge in
domestic credit and lending to private
sector.
"Domestic credit growth rose from 501,9% in April 2006 to 5
648,9% in
April.
On a month-on-month basis, domestic credit
increased by $1,5 trillion
in April," said the bank.
The bank
said annual growth in domestic credit was underpinned by
expansions in
lending to private sector, by 8 231,7%, government 2 876,8%
and credit to
public enterprises 1 822,9%.
"On a month-on-month basis, credit to
the private sector spiraled to
$3,2 trillion, representing an increase of
45,6% from $2,2 trillion in
March," the bank added.
Credit to
government registered a month-on-month growth of 92,7% to
$955,8 billion.
Monthly credit to public enterprises increased by 102,5% to
$579,9
billion.
"In April 2007, annual quasi-money growth increased to 3
120%,
compared to 2 685% in March 2007. This amounted to a monthly increase
of
41%," the bank said.
Zim Independent
Constantine
Chimakure
WHILE it appears a fait accompli that President
Robert Mugabe will be
endorsed as Zanu PF's 2008 presidential candidate,
political analysts this
week said the ruling party's first secretary faces a
bumpy road ahead.
The analysts said that factions in the party -
one backing Mugabe, the
other rooting for Vice-President Joice Mujuru and
another one supporting
Rural Housing minister Emmerson Mnangagwa - would
slug it out before and
during either an annual national people's conference
or an extraordinary
congress, pushing for their preferred candidates for the
presidency.
Mugabe, the analysts said, would emerge the victor as
he enjoys
support from at least six of the 10 Zanu PF provinces - enough for
him to
secure endorsement at a congress.
Provinces reportedly
backing the 83-year-old leader are Mashonaland
West, Mashonaland Central,
Harare, Manicaland, Masvingo and one of the three
Matabeleland
provinces.
The analysts said Mugabe still wields enough power to
sway support his
way despite having run down the country through bad
political and economic
policies.
But others argued that Mugabe
was now a spent force and would be
challenged by the Mujuru faction at
either the conference or congress. They
argued the president had lost the
power he used to enjoy in the high
echelons of Zanu PF.
The
analysts cited how Mugabe lost to the Mujuru faction during last
December's
people's conference when he wanted to push for harmonised
presidential and
parliamentary polls in 2010. The Mujuru faction opposed him
until Mugabe,
backed by Mnangagwa and Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa,
three months
later decided that the polls be held next year.
Political scientist
Michael Mhike said while Mugabe used to have his
way in Zanu PF before,
politics in the ruling party had changed and rivals
were prepared to
challenge him.
"Those opposed to Mugabe's continued stay in power,
especially the
Mujuru faction, are going to fight tooth and nail to oust
him," Mhike said.
"There is a lot happening behind the scenes in
the party. You should
realise that Mugabe no longer wields as much power as
in the 1980s and 90s.
Those in the Mujuru camp will fight him to the bitter
end either at an
extraordinary congress or a people's
conference."
But National Constitutional Assembly chairman Lovemore
Madhuku was of
the view that with or without the conference/congress, Mugabe
is Zanu PF's
2008 presidential candidate.
"It is very naļve for
anyone to think that there is still a race for
the presidency in Zanu PF.
Mugabe is the candidate. It is an open secret
that Mugabe has no respect for
rules and why should he respect the party's
constitution regarding the
endorsement or election of the party's
presidium?" Madhuku
questioned.
He said recent pronouncements on Mugabe's endorsement
by Zanu PF's
parliamentary caucus, traditional chiefs and mayors were meant
for the media
to think that the race was still on.
"Mugabe's
loyalists are simply reacting to media reports questioning
Mugabe's
endorsement. They want to give an impression that the race is still
on,"
Madhuku added. "Whether there is an all-people's conference or an
extraordinary congress, Mugabe is the presidential candidate."
Another political scientist who asked for anonymity said there was
"absolutely no doubt" that Mugabe would emerge the victor at either
conference or congress because he had put in place machinery to secure
victory at all costs.
"The Mugabe juggernaut is on the roll.
(Zanu PF national political
commissar Elliot) Manyika has been mandated to
restructure the party from
grassroots to make sure Mugabe wins," the analyst
said.
"It is these people who will nominate him in the event of an
election
vote. Who is Manyika backing? Mugabe is Zanu PF's candidate.
Obviously, I
expect the Mujuru faction to fight hard for their intended
goals."
Zanu PF politburo member and Minister of State for Policy
Implementation Webster Shamu at the weekend reiterated the ruling party
propaganda that Mugabe was endorsed as the sole candidate.
Unlike secretary for information in the politburo Nathan Shamuyarira
who
claimed that Mugabe was endorsed on March 30 by the central committee,
Shamu
said Mugabe was endorsed at last December's national people's
conference in
Goromonzi.
The conference did not come up with any resolution and
its major
debate focused on holding harmonised presidential and
parliamentary polls in
2010 - a move that was successfully blocked by the
Mujuru camp.
This week, Shamu was quoted as saying: "These are
plain, but vain lies
because as a party we chose Mugabe to be our candidate
at the Goromonzi
people's conference last year. His candidacy was endorsed
by everyone and we
need a leadership that has vision and foresight -
qualities which find
expression in the president."
But facts on
the ground speak otherwise.
The pro-Mugabe faction, which includes
Youth Development minister
Saviour Kasukuwere and minister without portfolio
Manyika, is pushing for an
extraordinary congress to endorse Mugabe as the
party's candidate and at the
same time restructure the Zanu PF
presidium.
In May, Manyika, who is also Zanu PF's national
political commissar,
said the party would hold a congress to endorse
Mugabe.
The sources said Manyika and his group want a special
congress to
endorse Mugabe and also make changes in the Zanu PF leadership.
Only
congresses in Zanu PF can make changes to the party
leadership.
Manyika and his allies now want Women's League boss
Oppah Muchinguri
to take over from Vice-President Mujuru who is claimed to
have fallen out
with Mugabe. To achieve this, congress is needed because a
conference has no
mandate to change leaders.
The Mujuru camp,
the sources said, was pushing for congress to be
convened with the sole aim
of electing a successor to Mugabe. The faction
wants Mujuru elevated to the
position of party president and first secretary
and thus presidential
candidate.
The Mnangagwa camp reportedly wants Mugabe to stay for
the purpose of
blocking the ascendancy of Mujuru, and hopes to eventually
wrest control of
the Zanu PF leadership when Mugabe leaves office by choice
or in whatever
circumstances.
Zim Independent
By Charles
Bongani Siziba
SO load-shedding is here to stay after
all!
A lot has been said on this subject and yet none of the
contributions
has touched on the very core of the crisis.
I
will attempt to delicately go through the veil and walk the reader
across
what I think are issues of fundamental importance that have hitherto
been
deliberately skirted by those wanting to look good at the expense of
the
nation.
There are basically three players in this whole mess of
load-shedding.
The government, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and
Zesa.
Issues of electricity have remained very dear to everyone
more so now
when the future for Zimbabwe electricity looks
bleak.
Poor management at Zesa has often been blamed as the root
cause of the
poor state of the electricity supply situation that the country
finds itself
in.
The world over, electricity generation,
distribution and transmission
infrastructure is very costly to put together
and yet when generation
commences and people start to receive the product,
the business is both
self-sustaining and highly lucrative because the
commodity on sale is at the
core of everyone's very existence.
Zimbabwe has five electricity generation plants (a hydro plant at
Kariba and
four thermals at Hwange, Harare, Munyati and Bulawayo) with a
total capacity
of about 1 700 megawatts.
During the winter peak, the period that
we are in now, the country
needs up to 2 000 megawatts.
This
means that if we utilised all the capacity available at the
plants, Zimbabwe
would still need to import just above 300 megawatts to
augment local
generation and this would only be done in the most extreme
times of need
which are early morning hours and late afternoon.
During the day
the country would have excess power to export to other
regional power
utilities that are also facing problems like Nampower of
Namibia and Eskom
of South Africa. In summer the power utility would rake in
million of
dollars in foreign currency via electricity exports.
Unfortunately
as we speak, Zimbabwe is the biggest net importer of
power in the region. We
import from SNEL in DRC, HCB in Mozambique and Eskom
of South
Africa.
Sadly, the arrangements we have with these power utilities
are that
they only give us power when they have excess and that the power
should be
paid for in hard currency upfront before delivery.
But how feasible is this pre-payment arrangement in a country whose
chief
foreign currency provider, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, has no dime
in its
reserve coffers?
Because of this shortage of foreign currency, we
are not current in
all our accounts and other countries, like in any
business engagement, feel
that Zimbabwe is a bad debtor who should not be
assisted on credit terms.
Zesa officials have now mastered the art
of ducking their regional
counterparts when they call in for outstanding
payments. The guys are now
more of professional liars and unfortunately this
is now known in the
region.
They have a bad reputation and it's
a shame and yet they are doing it
for the country. In mid June, Zesa
received a final demand of US$5 million
from SNEL. Failure to pay this money
in 15 days, would result in a cut of
power supplies from SNEL.
Here is an example of the extent of the paralysis; on June 9 2007,
Zimbabwe
experienced one of its worst blackouts. Harare and Chitungwiza need
up to
240 megawatts and yet only 30 megawatts were available.
This was
because Eskom was not giving us anything because of high
demand for power in
South Africa.
HCB of Mozambique were giving us 150 megawatts
against a demand of
about 300 and SNEL could only afford us 60 against a
demand of about 200
megawatts. This was obviously due to
non-payment.
And now here is the mother of all killers. Kariba was
doing 615
against an installed capacity of 740 while poor Hwange was
struggling to
generate a meager 163 megawatts against a capacity of 840 and
coal reserves
were only for three days and yet in the 90s coal reserves at
any given time
were up to a total of three months supply.
The
above shows, that on the day in question Zimbabwe had 988
megawatts against
a demand of about 2 000. If you think the events of June 9
were a record,
then wait for 2008.
Harare, Munyati ad Bulawayo thermal power
stations with a total
capacity of close to 150 megawatts are not generating
a single volt because
of lack of coal supplies and yet Hwange Colliery has
some of the largest
coal reserves in the world.
The three power
stations have on their payrolls engineers,
technicians, and human resources
personnel and even finance managers who go
to man dead power stations
everyday of their lives and draw salaries at the
end of the
month.
Some have company cars and yet they spend days on end
twitching their
fingers staring at non-spinning turbines. This is
criminal.
The situation is bad and there is no amount of wishful
talking that
can change it.
Hwange Colliery needs major
capitalisation. Their equipment is
obsolete and staff morale is low. The
National Railways of Zimbabwe also
needs to be capitalised to acquire new
wagons, locomotives and signals
equipment to enable coal deliveries to the
small thermal power stations.
Without this type of capitalisation we can
kiss goodbye to electricity. The
situation at Hwange Power Station is that
the six generating units have gone
way past their running time and they now
need major overhauls.
Let me bring the Hwange situation closer to
home by throwing in an
analogy of a truck. A Scania truck, no matter what
you do to it, has to go
for minor service after every 15 000km. At 45 000km
it undergoes an
intermediate service and on the third intermediate at 135
000km it should
undergo a total refurbishment.
If this service
cycle leading to the complete refurbishment is adhered
to, you get better
and longer life out of the truck and it will be efficient
hence cheaper in
the long-run.
Hwange Power Station has not had these regular
services done and what
is required now is a complete overhaul of the six
generating units which
will cost no less than US$40 million. Even if this
money were to be made
available today, the state of the plant is such that
benefits will only be
realised after 18 months of very hard
work.
We know that the government signed the over publicised
protocol with
Namibia where the latter will provide funding for the
refurbishment of
Hwange Power Station in return for a firm commitment of 150
megawatts to
Nampower until the debt has been fully retired.
I
am not privy to either the structure of the repayment plan or the
finer
details of the agreement but suffice to say that there has been a lot
of
bickering by officials from ether side at the implementation stage to the
extent that the terms of the agreement are different on the ground from what
they are in black and white.
So when you hear the
powers-that-be talking as if the problem of
electricity is a stroll in the
park, let me assure you that they will be
grandstanding, and very soon the
chickens will come home to roost and the
charade will be fully
exposed.
About the tariff issue, Zesa needs a cost reflective
tariff for it to
operate viably. The tariff will enable the utility to
procure spares for
their distribution arm and to cover general operational
costs like any other
business.
It is one parastatal that I know
does not need the support of those
funny facilities put together by the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Actually, Zesa should be able to lend
cheap money to government. The
notion that an increase in tariffs will only
enable the power utility to buy
expensive cars for management is not
true.
If the sector is viable it attracts investors who will inject
foreign
currency for such capital projects as Batoka, Sinamatela, Sanyati,
overhaul
of Hwange and refubishment of Kariba.
An unviable
business does not attract investors and this is the
situation that Zesa
finds itself in today. Not even the Chinese or our very
own ministers will
invest in Zesa if it does not operate viably because one
invests in order to
realise a return. It is that simple.
What role has management
played in all this rot? Dr Sydney Gata was
appointed the general manager
(effectively he was the CEO) of Zesa in the
80s. Zesa then was operating as
efficiently as was possible. New connections
were done within a day or two
and faults were attended to within three
hours.
No fault was
allowed to go to the next day regardless of its size.
Load-shedding then was
a mere dictionary term and statements were delivered
monthly without
fail.
Zesa inspectors were well paid: they never demanded bribes to
certify
as fit for connection, properly installed domestic
properties.
The Justice Smith report on the operations of Zesa was
so damning on
Gata's person and style of management. The government had no
choice but to
remove him and in came new chief executive officer, Gata's
business planning
manager, Simbarashe Mangwengwende, an astute engineer who
received
engineering accolades from across the continent.
Five
years later Gata bounced back at Zesa as executive chairman and
Engineer
Mangwengwende was one of his major casualties.
Mangwengwende was to
engage Zesa in a record protracted legal battle
for wrongful dismissal.
Ironically the Mangwengwende case was only resolved
at a time when Gata was
on the verge of his second forced exit.
During his split tenure
Gata survived 11 ministers of Energy among
them Dennis Norman, Hebert
Ushewokunze, Kumbirai Kangai, Sydney Sekeramayi,
Simon Khaya Moyo, Edward
Chindori Chininga, Amos Midzi and July Moyo.
Information has it
that a good number of these ministers were removed
because they had problems
with the Zesa boss. During his second tenure Gata
never worked with a board
and the one set up by Minister July Moyo and made
up of permanent
secretaries never set.
However, Gata himself believes that the best
and by far the most
intelligent minister of energy Zimbabwe has ever had was
Moyo, all their
bitter differences notwithstanding. This view is held by
many in the
industry up to this day.
Gata's dismissal in 2007
was always coming. He did not see eye to eye
with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
governor Gideon Gono and he was hardly on
talking terms with Justin
Mupamhanga, the permanent secretary in the
Ministry of Energy.
From 2002 till Gata's exit, Gono vetoed at every turn the increase of
electricity tariffs to cost reflective levels arguing that the increase
would be inflationary.
This however was viewed by neutrals as a
ploy by the RBZ to collapse
the industry whose sum effect would be an
indictment on Gata and hopefully
his dismissal.
In short this
is exactly what happened. It was most saddening to hear
Gono posturing and
saying electricity tariffs were so low making a
comparison with the price of
a candle and yet it was him who refused
electricity tariff increases even
after the recommendation of independent
regional consultants
Sadelec.
The process of removing Gata would always be a difficult
one and
everyone in the scheme of things knew. Apart from his links to the
first
family by marriage, Gata is a smart thinker and thrives on decision
making,
hard work and research. He is a slave driver.
His
knowledge of the electricity supply industry is second to none.
I
dare say very few on the continent can match him. Those that have
had a
chance to either be his students at the UZ Faculty of Engineering or
work
with him at Zesa at senior management level will testify to this.
His biggest shortcoming though is his demeanor. He lacks warmth and is
a bit
impersonal in his dealings with others. He is highly temperamental and
leaves very little room for those he works with to thrive. He either likes
you or he does not and you are either on his side or you are on the other
side.
Because of their fear of confronting Gata in his
individual capacity
which would always be a blood bath, the ministry put
together an inoperable
structure that would render dozens of professionals
redundant.
This to me is Zesa's Achilles heels and will haunt the
country for a
very long time to come.
I will elaborate. The
world over, generation, transmission and
distribution work independent of
each other either as divisions within a
company or as registered
subsidiaries in terms of the Companies Act and
operating under the ambit of
a holding company.
The Ministry of Energy re-bundled transmission
and distribution
companies streamlined the holding company and scrapped the
executive
chairmanship splitting it into non-executive chairman and chief
executive
officer.
Those that were not on the new structure
were given an option to be
packaged. The response to voluntary retrenchment
by Zesa professionals was
overwhelming. More than 15 chartered electrical
engineers have left the
power utility in a few weeks.
Gata
himself was given a choice to make his pick between chairman and
CEO.
Naturally he refused to be CEO and again never bothered to
chair the
board instead opting for a package.
Zesa now has no
option but to fast track inexperienced staff to senior
managerial posts and
this is nothing short of a disaster.
Clearly, when the ministry
decided to get rid of Gata they did not
have a post-Gata plan in place that
is why it took them more than one year
to find a suitable chief executive
who they only appointed more than six
months after he had been
interviewed.
In the meantime, engineers who were spearheading
regional trade are
all gone. Some of them taken by those utilities that Zesa
traded with and
they know the level of Zesa paralysis in terms of cash flows
and strategy.
Engineers who were on the forefront of the
distribution company are
now all gone and interfacing with customers will
only get worse.
There are things that Zimbabwe as a country fails
to do because of
souring relations with the West but there are those that we
fail to do
because we are not able to do simple things right.
Not because we do not know but because we choose not to know. As long
as
political patronage remains the order of the day, there will not be light
at
the end of the tunnel. The problems of electricity are a creation of the
Ministry of Energy and Power Development officials who sacrificed the
country because of their personal differences with Gata.
People
do not have to like each other in order to be able to work
together
especially if it is for the good of the country and ministers and
permanent
secretaries ought to know this better.
Just recently we saw
Mupamhanga walking on a wheat field in
Mashonaland Central Province assuring
winter wheat farmers that there would
be electricity available to
them.
On the same day the country had a mere 900 megawatts out of a
total
demand of 2 000 megawatts.
He was more interested in
being seen on television performing a
Hollywood stunt than strategising for
the country to have power. The country
has not a drop of fuel. The problems
are endless.
* Charles Bongani Siziba is an engineer .
Zim Independent
Editor's Memo
By Dumisani Muleya
IT should now be
self-evident to all that the political endgame for
President Robert Mugabe
and his regime is looming. There is no way out for
the dinosaur political
generation in charge, particularly given the array of
adversities facing the
nation. It's a slippery slope test for them.
The only question at
this point in our politics is when will the
moment of truth for Mugabe come?
Will Mugabe take the first step and quit as
soon as possible of his own
volition? Will his party force him out or will
there be unforeseen events
that lead to his departure from the political
scene?
The
situation Mugabe has put himself in is untenable and
unsustainable. He has
dug a hole for himself and cannot climb out. The
trouble is he continues to
dig in and thus burying himself in the process
instead of trying to scale
out.
The current political and socio-economic conditions will
compel Mugabe
to go. First, the economy is crumbling all-round.
We have no forex to talk about, erratic supplies of fuel, water,
electricity, basic commodities and food, transport, and businesses are
closing down, unemployment is fast rising, inflation (government has now
virtually banned the release of inflation statistics) now at stratospheric
levels, and grinding poverty is rampant.
Infrastructure --
roads, schools, hospitals, clinics and bridges - is
dilapidated. It's the
sort of thing we have seen elsewhere in post-colonial
Africa from Ghana to
Zambia and we know how it all ends.
As we speak, foreign currency
reserves are precariously low and
Treasury Department and Reserve Bank
officials are wondering how we will
survive this month as a
country.
Former US ambassador Christopher Dell said he doubted that
Mugabe
would last six months, but government officials are actually worried
about
how we will pull through this month.
Mugabe is under
extreme pressure from his party to leave now and the
political mass building
around him is increasingly becoming irresistible.
Senior Zanu PF
officials, especially those aligned to the faction led
by retired army
commander General Solomon Mujuru, are campaigning for him to
go. They want
him to leave now if he can.
But realistically they think he must
quit at the party's extraordinary
congress or conference in
December.
A number of top officials in the camp led by Emmerson
Mnangagwa also
want him to go. It's just Mnangagwa and a few other loyalists
who want
Mugabe to hang on because that serves his political interests of
blocking
the Mujuru camp and probably re-opening the window of opportunity
for his
ascendancy. Former Zanla high command and general staff want him to
retire.
They made this known to him in March.
Within the top
party ranks, Mugabe is only supported by a weak coterie
of opportunists who
believe their careers can be saved and enhanced via
political ingratiation
rather than confrontation. This is the Elliot Manyika
group, the so-called
Zanu PF Third Way, even though it has zero Third Way
content in its
political thought.
At the critical state level, it's only the top
echelons of the divided
state security bureaucracy which still supports him.
Lower ranking officers
are against his regime because they are not
benefiting anything from his
rule. The widening divisions among the
securocrats are now threatening the
current structure-induced stability and
as a result Mugabe's grip on power.
The unravelling process within
Zanu PF putting Mugabe under pressure
has various descriptions:
fragmentation, disunification or disintegration.
Thoughtful men and
women in Zanu PF look at the self-destructive power
struggle in the party
from different angles. They offer their own analyses
of the causes and the
remedies to the situation characterised by the endgame
psychology of
permanent division and confrontation. And most of them agree
on one thing:
that Mugabe is on his way out sooner rather than later.
Mugabe has
stumbled politically twice inside four months.
First, he failed in
December last year to push his controversial 2010
proposal for him to extend
his tenure by two years under the guise of
synchronising
elections.
Secondly, Mugabe failed to secure endorsement of his
candidacy in next
year's elections at his party's politburo and central
committee meetings in
March, hence the ongoing desperate campaign for
support by his loyalists.
Manyika and his group are pulling out all
the stops to secure the
approval of his candidacy.
The
unprocedural Mugabe endorsement campaign is being conducted in the
state
media instead of party structures. Now we are told by the
hard-to-believe
state propaganda outlets even chiefs, mayors and councillors
have endorsed
Mugabe. Are they part of Zanu PF structures? Why this extreme
anxiety?
If Mugabe was endorsed at the Goromonzi conference in
December last
year, as Webster Shamu incredibly claimed this week, or by the
central
committee on March 30, as Nathan Shamuyarira, the party spokesman,
claimed
at the time, why this desperate campaign for his endorsement now?
How many
times does he need to be endorsed?
Mugabe's loyalists
and propagandists may wax lyrical about his alleged
endorsement but if the
truth be told, Mugabe has not been endorsed by party
structures and faces a
torrid time at the meeting in December.
Many think he will not be
able to pull rank and stand in next year's
polls. In fact, insiders say we
are in the dying minutes and it's now game
over for Mugabe.
Zim Independent
MuckRaker
WE still do not have an appropriate description of the
front page
headline in the Herald on Monday claiming "Tsvangirai blasts
Mutambara".
The story opened with a claim that MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai had
"made a scathing attack" on his rival faction leader Arthur
Mutambara. This
was after Mutambara described Tsvangirai as a "weak and
indecisive leader".
Tsvangirai told supporters by way of a response
that what was needed
was "unity of all progressive forces in this country.
The enemy is not
Tsvangirai. The enemy is President Mugabe," he
said.
Muckraker fails to see how that can be classified as a
"blast" or a
"scathing attack".
Is this a case of wish being
father to the thought? One can only
conclude that the reporter was
disappointed that Tsvangirai did not throw a
tantrum in the face of
unprovoked, opportunistic attacks by erstwhile
colleagues in the opposition.
This is playing into Zanu PF's hands and they
are enjoying every bit of the
game.
The only question we have for Tsvangirai is where he has
found another
reserve of "progressive forces" and how these are defined, by
whom?
There was a more significant story in the same issue of
the Herald. It
reported that the Cold Storage Company had increased the
money it was paying
for slaughter cattle from $3 million to $12 million and
that it was paying
farmers on the spot.
The CSC said the new
price would ensure "adequate supplies of beef on
the market".
Those who have been out on the market know that there hasn't been any
beef
to talk about. In Harare all we have seen are long queues of vehicles
parked
outside the CSC complex along Willowvale Road in the industrial
sites.
Those queuing say there is nothing in stock. Strangely,
the CSC keeps
flighting misleading adverts on radio telling us every day to
phone 621500/6
if we want beef.
Is there a way the public can
sue for remedy, given that our
expectations are raised falsely when there is
nothing in stock?
CSC chief executive officer Ngoni Chinogaramombe
said they were
focusing on small-scale cattle farmers in communal lands to
boost slaughter
stock.
"We need to buy cattle from farmers
largely for local consumption and
this is why we are now moving to lure
communal and resettled farmers," he
said.
He will soon
discoverer, if he doesn't already know, that it is easier
to close down
private abattoirs and butcheries than it is to get beef into
the
supermarkets. Cattle farmers are most likely interested in a fair return
for
their beast than what the CSC unilaterally declares it is prepared to
offer.
It's as simple as that.
Inside was another delusional piece saying
the CSC should take
advantage of its monopoly in the beef market to "regain
its former glory".
"This is a golden opportunity for the group to
tap in on lost markets
and establish new ones and build on existing ones,"
an economist was quoted
as saying. "It is critical for the parastatal to
improve efficiency that
must help in the provision of cheap and affordable
beef," he said.
Evidently at the Herald they don't understand that
you only "improve"
on what you already have. The CSC has neither cattle nor
efficiency. What
should they improve on?
It appears there
is a stampede to be seen to toe the party line.
Everyone must be seen to be
endorsing President Robert Mugabe as Zanu PF's
sole candidate in the
presidential election next year.
First it was the youths and the
Women's League. The line is getting
longer. Now it is chiefs and mayors,
despite the fact that Zanu PF doesn't
have lots of these elected
mayors.
One of the few Zanu PF mayors, Bindura's Martin Dinha,
gushed about
the president's virtues at the weekend: "Cognisant of our
president's
principled stand against imperialist machinations, his exemplary
leadership
and his embodiment of our unity and aspirations and our benefits
as local
authority in the land reform programme, we demand and asset that
our
president Cde RG Mugabe stand as our candidate in the forthcoming
harmonised
general elections."
It's called singing for your
supper!
Meanwhile there are reports that there is a Zanu PF
conference or
congress in the offing to decide whether Mugabe should be the
sole
candidate. Could this noise about Mugabe being endorsed have anything
to do
with trying to influence public opinion before the congress or
conference?
As for the land reform, we all know what it has
done for Zimbabwe.
Just as people are scattering all over the world in
search of the proverbial
green pastures, the government is extending its
begging bowl every where to
avert mass starvation.
Those it
thought needed the land to feed the nation have proved
completely
untrustworthy over the past seven years where they have diverted
cheap fuel,
fertiliser and seed onto the black market to make a quick buck.
Agriculture minister Rugare Gumbo confirmed this week that the country
was
importing maize from as far as Tanzania. He also confirmed media reports
that the country had been importing maize from Malawi and
Zambia.
"We are determined to feed the nation and we will do our
best to
achieve that," said Gumbo, as if he expected to get a trophy for
it.
The real shame is not that we are having to import maize. It is
that
we needn't if only we put the interests of the nation ahead of the
politics
of power. We needn't if only we prudently executed the so-called
land reform
without racial vindictiveness and spite.
In terms
of resources and natural endowment, we should in fact be
feeding all the
three countries and still maintain our strategic grain
reserves. Instead of
which we have been stripped of our pride as a nation
and must survive on
donations!
Tourism minister Francis Nhema was in typical
denial. He told regional
tourism ministers in Victoria Falls that they had
been badly misinformed by
the media on the situation in
Zimbabwe.
"Before they came," said Nhema, "the ministers had been
told that
there was no one visiting Zimbabwe and yet the planes they came in
were all
full. They had also been told that there is no food but found it in
abundance."
So Nhema has everything in abundance for visitors
while the rest of
the people fight for scarce commodities in almost empty
shelves? It's
classical tale of two worlds.
Perhaps the
minister can tell us where to get meat, sugar, salt,
margarine and bread.
Muckraker would like to advise the minister to attend
to rampant poaching
obtaining in game parks where people have now turned for
meat.
But the Zanu PF governing circus is not short on the
tragicomic. On
Monday three whole ministers were quoted speaking highly of
small-scale
enterprises in the development of Zimbabwe's
economy.
Policy Implementation minister Webster Shamu and Small and
Medium
Enterprises minister Sithembiso Nyoni spoke at the Chegutu Expo while
Labour
minister Nicholas Goche spoke at the official opening of a regional
workshop
on labour administration systems and the informal
economy.
Shamu said small enterprises were a key vehicle for the
empowerment of
Zimbabweans while Nyoni said SMEs were "a strong foundation
for the
consolidation and indigenisation of the country".
Enter
Goche: "The highest priority must be given to policies that meet
the central
aspiration of women and men for decent work, to raise the
productivity of
the informal economy and to integrate it into the mainstream
economy and to
enhance the competitiveness of enterprise and economies."
To think
that this is the same government which in 2005 launched and
presided over
the diabolical Operation Murambatsvina which destroyed the
informal sector
and left nearly 700 000 people without the means to survive!
To
think that this is the same government which believes the best way
to run an
economy is through price strangulation!
How do you achieve
competitiveness under such conditions? Let's hope
they learn something
useful from the workshop, or is it about playing to the
gallery?
Still on the subject of incoherence, ZBC this week
reported that Water
minister Munacho Mutezo visited "Kunzvi Dam" to inspect
progress on the
project. The reporter told us all was progressing well at
the "dam" and
there was all the gobbledygook about work at an advanced
stage.
But television footage showed us a "dam" with no water.
There is no
dam wall or evidence of construction work to talk
about.
When Mutezo was wheeled in to talk about the "dam", he at
least told
us the real story. There is no money; nothing has been done to
date other
than putting up beacons and Zinwa should raise water rates in
order to raise
funds for the construction of the dam.
But the
poor reporter was unmoved by this explanation from the
minister. She signed
off as reporting from "Kunzvi Dam". This is ZBC's type
of developmental
journalism. Report that the project is there, even when you
can't see
it.
Zim Independent
Eric Bloch Column
IN an interview with the Southern Times,
the Minister of State for
National Security and Lands Land Reform and
Resettlement, Didymus Mutasa,
stated: "I am taking land from white people
only, and giving it to the
blacks." He emphatically added: "The land I have
is for black Zimbabweans."
Amplifying thereon, in response to a
question as to whether government
would consider applications from
productive white farmers who made
significant contributions to the country's
economy before land reforms, the
minister is reported as stating
categorically that none of them would get
any land.
He sought
to explain and justify this stance by saying: "It is not a
question of
production, it is a question of empowering black people, and
they will
become productive with time. When the whites came here, they were
not
productive at all, they got productive with time. Our people need to do
the
same, it is what the white man was in 1930, he was poor, and he had
nothing."
The minister's reported stance is not only
contemptible, but requires
unmitigated condemnation for, over and above
fundamental principles of good
and sound economic management in the best
interests of the populace being
arrogantly ignored or flouted, and concepts
of good and just governance
being cast to the wind, that stance is in
blatant conflict with the
Zimbabwean constitution, and at absolute variance
with policy enunciations
by President Mugabe.
In the first
instance, the constitution specifically bars any
discrimination on the
grounds of race, and very rightly so. For decades the
majority of
Zimbabweans were the victims of abhorrent, inexcusably unjust
discrimination, in agriculture, in commerce and industry, in education, and
in innumerable other respects.
Upon Zimbabwe attaining its
independence, its leader, Robert Mugabe,
was very emphatic that
discrimination would wholly cease forthwith, that all
reasonably possible
would be done to ameliorate the consequences of that
discrimination, but
that concurrently there would be no reverse,
revenge-driven discrimination.
Instead there would be reconciliation,
unification, and a drive to achieve
improvement and advancement for all.
Admittedly, Minister Mutasa is
not the only one in the hierarchy of
government to disavow those intents
and, instead, to demonstrate pronounced
racial discrimination.
Whilst none can credibly deny that the Zimbabwean black population
should be
very significantly empowered agriculturally, that does not
authorise the
minister to override the constitution and cavalierly engage in
diabolical
discrimination.
Compounding the minister's self-anointed
superiority over the
constitution is the fact that he is concurrently in
blatant conflict with
the stated policy of the president who appointed him
to office.
About a year ago, speaking in Beitbridge, the president
said that he
wished to resolve a longstanding misunderstanding. He said
that: "Zimbabwe
wants white farmers, Zimbabwe welcomes white farmers,
provided those white
farmers accept black farmers as their
equals."
However, Minister Mutasa evidently does not agree. He
continues with
his endless drive to oust the few remaining white farmers
from their farms,
appears to do his best to frustrate the endeavours of some
provincial
governors to attract white farmers back into their areas, and is
obdurately
determined not to entertain any return to the lands by former
white farmers
(as is transparently evident from his responses to the
Southern Times).
Concurrently, the minister's attitude and policy
is not only hindering
Zimbabwe's desperate attempts to achieve economic
recovery, but complacently
acknowledges that a return to agricultural
productivity will be delayed if
agriculture is made the exclusive preserve
of black farmers.
Such acknowledgement is undeniably his when he
notes that it took
white farmers some time until they attained maximised
productivity, and that
blacks "need to do the same".
It does
not, it appears, disturb him that the black farmers are, and
for a time,
will continue to be poor and have nothing, the acceptability
thereof being
that that had been the original circumstance of the white
farmers!
Why must some be poor now, because others were before,
if that can be
avoided?
If, instead, as had been proposed by
the Commercial Farmers' Union in
the 1980s and 1990s, white farmers and
black farmers would operate side by
side, with the white farmers availing to
the black farmers, their acquired
agricultural knowledge and expertise, then
the period of black farmer
poverty referred to by the minister could be very
markedly curtailed.
Concurrently, the combination of production by
the white farmers and
the black farmers would be of inestimably great value
to the Zimbabwean
economy and to the wellbeing of the populace.
Government has, heretofore, alleged that the low levels of
agricultural
production that have prevailed since 2001, and especially those
of the last
seasons, were primarily attributable to adverse climatic
conditions,
exacerbated by inadequate agricultural inputs.
Whilst it is
incontrovertible that climatic conditions have not been
wholly favourable,
nevertheless the negative consequences thereof would have
been very
considerably minimised if past experiences in containing those
consequences
thereof had been applied, and if the minister's abysmally
handled land
programmes had not resulted in pronounced cannibalisation and
destruction of
irrigation systems, and in immense loss of water resources
through
horrendously abusive riverbank cultivation and intense dam
siltation, which
could have been greatly contained and controlled.
Moreover, if
agricultural production had not been allowed to become a
mere fraction of
previously achieved volumes, and qualities, the resources
would have been
available for all the required agricultural inputs to be
timeously accessed
and properly used.
But, although government has spuriously
attributed the massive
decimation of agriculture to climatic conditions, to
non-availability of a
sufficiency of inputs, (and to non-existent, allegedly
illegal,
international sanctions), now the Minister of State for National
Security
and Resettlement implies that it was an inevitable, transitional,
consequence of his programmes of total transferal of the agricultural sector
from whites to blacks.
That implication is indisputable, in
view of his justification of the
current dearth of production being wrought
by a repetition of the historical
lack of productivity of white farmers when
they commenced farming 80 to 100
years ago.
Thus, on his own
admission, the minister is contributing to the nation's
economic
destruction, whilst at the same time he disregards the stated
policy of his
president, and he unlawfully operates in breach of the
constitution.
Past discrimination requires condemnation and
remedial action, but not
by recourse to new forms of discrimination, and by
employing economically
disastrous, highly destructive, actions.
Zim Independent
Comment
ON the eve of a crucial Sadc Summit this month in Zambia at
which
South Africa's Thabo Mbeki is expected to report on progress in his
mediation efforts in Zimbabwe, the opposition MDC has pressed the
self-destruct button to publicly expose personality differences within its
ranks and that unity between its two formations is impossible.
This is a bad development for Mbeki who had hoped to entertain a
united MDC
in the talks with Zanu PF.
But a statement by the Mutambara faction
last weekend all but
confirmed that the two factions of the MDC have failed
to see the value of
unity, which is good news for Mugabe ahead of the Sadc
summit.
This is the evidence he requires to present to his Sadc
counterparts
that the MDC is not a serious party. Mugabe has always wanted
out of the
talks and the MDC has just presented him with the opportunity for
a quick
exit.
At this juncture we refrain from apportioning
blame for the failure of
unity in the MDC because both factions contributed
to the disgraceful
scenario obtaining in opposition ranks.
In
fact, if the party leaders want to be honest with their followers,
they have
been responsible for reducing the party from one which held so
much promise
to one which would rather strike its own instead of the enemy.
The
party has become one of the most disappointing phenomena in
Zimbabwean
politics in the last 10 years.
What is most puzzling about the two
formations is that since the
October 2005 split, the MDC leaders have been
fascinated more with their
differences than the need to unite and focus on
pertinent national issues.
The party missed the opportunity in the
last year-and-a-half to forge
unity before launching an electoral challenge.
The word on unity from both
factions has been incoherent.
Personalities in the MDC leadership do not like each other even if
their
thinking is virtually the same.
The two formations believe that
President Mugabe and his Zanu PF
government are the enemies. They both have
corresponding views on the rule
of law, press freedom, independence of the
judiciary, the need for a new
constitution and so on.
Despite
these common political aspirations, at recent rallies, the
factions have
taken to denouncing each other with the same venom that is
usually reserved
for Zanu PF officials.
The issue at stake here has nothing to do
with safeguarding political
principles and the dogma that goes with it. It
has all to do with
personality differences which the leaders believe are
more important than
the electorate.
That explains why the
formations saw it fit to differ on the modus
operandi of appointing a
"cabinet". That, for a party that is not in office,
is shocking and
inexcusable.
President Mbeki was at the weekend quoted as saying
combined
parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for next year
should be
free and fair, which is a big ask in a country with a notorious
record of
electoral manipulation.
The division in the MDC can
only help to further sway the vote in
favour of the ruling
party.
For a long time, the MDC has taken its supporters for
granted. It will
be asking too much from the electorate to give them a vote
and unseat Zanu
PF and President Mugabe next year if the party goes into the
polls as a
divided entity.
As the situation stands, it would be
naļve to believe that Arthur
Mutambara can between now and March next year
launch a formidable electoral
campaign and beat both Mugabe and Tsvangirai
in the presidential poll.
Equally, Tsvangirai's chances of beating
Mugabe will be hugely
compromised if Mutambara or any member of his faction
stands for the
presidential post.
Mutambara has called
Tsvangirai a "weak leader" but he still has to
prove that he can win a
national election next year. If not, he would be
relegated to a spoiler who
took part in the election with no hope of winning
but managed to split the
opposition vote.
Now that the two formations have spurned unity,
they have to prove to
the electorate that they are not only very different
but also that their
differences are healthy for this country. They have to
start telling us
their programmes on important issues such as land reform,
health, housing,
education, unemployment and so on.
This is
what will attract the rural electorate in
Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe, Dotito and
Hurungwe. We wait to see the MDC factions'
manifestos.
Zim Independent
Candid Comment
By Joram Nyathi
THE government is
never short of tricks when it comes to matters of
its survival. But the one
major trick it has used over the years to deal
with its enemies - raising
charges against them and getting them detained
for indefinite periods - is
now so threadbare only an amoral regime can
continue to deploy it. The
recent acquittal of former Finance minister Chris
Kuruneri who was arrested
for a new crime called "externalisation" was the
final nail. There were many
victims before him.
Those who fell foul of Zanu PF were always
accused of a regime change
agenda. It didn't have this fancy name when
people like the late
Vice-President Joshua Nkomo narrowly escaped
assassination in the early
years of Independence. They were cobras whose
heads had to be crushed to
protect Prime Minister Robert Mugabe's
government. Politburo member Dumiso
Dabengwa has not written his memoirs on
this dark period of our young
nation. He survived a terrible prison term,
but his colleague Lookout Masuku
was not so lucky.
The late
Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole for some time lived under threat
of the
hangman's noose after it was claimed that he plotted to effect regime
change
by getting rid of President Mugabe. The major treason charge failed
to
stick.
In recent years, the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change has
bred the largest number of potential terrorists and regime change
agents.
They are led by Mugabe's nemesis, one Morgan Tsvangirai who was in
2001
accused of plotting to "eliminate" President Mugabe to fast-track his
way to
State House. Evidence came in the form of a measly video clip in
which a
crook named Ari Ben-Menashe was trying to pin down Tsvangirai to say
"eliminate" meant a coup.
Again Zanu PF lost in the
courts.
Since Mugabe's defeat in the 2000 constitutional
referendum, hundreds
of MDC activists have been arrested, detained and
tortured on specious
charges related to the party's struggle for power
against Zanu PF.
In recent weeks, many have been arrested and
tortured for allegedly
engaging in acts of banditry in pursuit of regime
change. After lengthy
detention periods in which they have been deprived
their constitutional
liberties through denial of bail, they have been
acquitted by the courts.
There is no denying that there will be
more incidents of gratuitous
torture of opponents as we move closer to the
joint parliamentary and
presidential elections. That is, unless Zanu PF is
convinced that the MDC
has been fatally wounded by internal divisions that
it must be left to die a
natural death.
The latest victims of
this regime change agenda are businesses. Not
that they have been accused of
treason. They are accused of complicit in the
agenda by increasing prices of
basic commodities to profiteer and to stir up
public unrest.
Hundreds of managers and business executives have been arrested,
detained,
tried and convicted of the lesser political charge of refusing to
comply
with a decree to reduce prices of their products and services to
pre-June 18
levels. More are still being arrested, and the crackdown may
likely continue
until there is nothing in the shops to sell at a loss.
Business must decide
between pragmatism and economic sense. It is a terrible
dilemma.
Against all this, Kuruneri's case is the most
debilitating. He was
appointed Finance minister, and then arrested and
detained soon after on
charges of externalising foreign currency in breach
of Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe regulations, and of dual citizenship for
possessing a Canadian
passport.
He was to spend the next 15
months fighting for his freedom, during
which period he lost almost
everything on legal fees. After that he spent
more than two years under
house arrest under immense mental anguish. Then
suddenly you are found not
guilty. And you can't do anything.
It is one of the most
reprehensible violations of human rights
imaginable, whatever your political
persuasion, for it presents us all with
a state in which the individual is
not only vulnerable but counts for
nothing in Zanu PF's moral
universe.
Kuruneri's case is worse than that of a political
detainee whose
greatest protection against insanity is his conscience and
the cause he
stands for. Up to now, it is not clear whose toes Kuruneri
stepped on, and
there has been no indication that his troubles had anything
to do with
regime change, a charge which has gained the status of
treason.
Yet I must confess that I am embarrassed by the silence of
civic
society, the human rights movement and the opposition in this sordid
Kuruneri affair. Is this because the regime is seen to be eating its own
children or a simple lack of moral clarity? It makes their solidarity with
Archbishop Pius Ncube a monument to religious hypocrisy, for there can't be
moral ambiguity about government's naked abuse of power against individual
citizens whatever their political leanings.
Kuruneri's case is
a form of moral and ethical blind-spot which those
who claim to be different
from Zanu PF should guard against. You can't be a
democrat and then use
ethnic or political coding to define human rights
violations.
*
Well, George, the intellectual. What to say, how to say it? He
excoriates me
for the same things I am criticising, that because of the
polarisation
caused by Zanu PF's misrule, we find ourselves fighting over
who said what,
and not the substance of what is said. And then fills half a
page
expatiating on the negativism I am criticising in our society! My point
is
simple: Zimbabweans have been so brutalised by Zanu PF their anger is
often
externalised as a form of self-hatred. Many are unable to distinguish
purpose from method.
Lastly, George has earned himself a
distinction. He has so
immortalised the human spit that those who can endure
his obscurantist prose
advise that it should never be read close to meal
times. So as you aim your
spit for the pit, pity George.
It's the bootlickers!
THE two MDC factions' failure to unite at
this crucial time in
Zimbabwe's history is indeed sad and
disappointing.
Many activists have sacrificed life and limb for
their beloved
country, the common man is experiencing unprecedented
suffering while the
Zanu PF fat cats continue to benefit from this
quandary.
Our only hope lies in the two men who are at the helm of
the main
opposition in Zimbabwe, Arthur Mutambara and Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Unfortunately, the duo have been besieged by a very
dangerous yet
influential coterie of bootlickers who thrive on the politics
of patronage
which is synonymous with the Zanu PF way of attaining
recognition from the
party leader.
This group of people from
both camps is only self-serving and thrives
on posturing. These are
individuals who lack the gravitas that Mutambara
often refers to when it
comes to moving the country forward.
They are a liability to the
democratic struggle and should be dealt
with if the opposition is to move
towards the right direction. These
political sycophants are not capable
leaders but pretenders who were caught
up in the moment.
The
crisis created overnight politicians without the pedigree to lead.
They are
opportunists manipulating the leaders of the opposition because of
kinship
ties or a false sense of political achievements and experience
gained before
and after 1999 when the MDC was formed.
We, the people of Zimbabwe,
should expeditiously liberate these two
men first from this band of
pretenders before we focus our attention on
Robert Mugabe.
It
is a fact that Mutambara and Tsvangirai need each other right now
and they
know that.
Parallels can be drawn with the situation existing in
Zanu PF
currently. An equally influential group has contributed to Mugabe's
paranoia.
It is therefore a culture now characterising
Zimbabwean politics and
if we are to achieve a new dispensation, this should
be nipped in the bud as
a precondition for success.
Charles
M Mutama,
Washington DC, USA.
-----------
MDC
split gives voters wider choice
THERE is a common belief among
Zimbabweans that unity among the two
MDC factions is necessary to unseat the
Mugabe regime.
This is baseless because even with the current state
of the MDC, Zanu
PF cannot win a free and fair election.
Secondly, the MDC should formally split into two powerful multi-tribal
parties that currently prevail.
An MDC split will lead to
multi-partism and this has numerous
benefits. This will help provide
dynamism in parliament and avoid a
situation where one party has absolute
control and power and can thus
willy-nilly change the laws of the country or
wreck the country like our old
citizens in Zanu PF have done.
As a country, should there be change in government, we need to make a
vow
that "never again" should we allow another Mugabe debacle. Multipartism
is a
sure way of guaranteeing this, especially if the opposition is
powerful.
With two powerful opposition parties, the system
works even far much
better to the advantage of the ordinary
Zimbabwean.
It will be easy for a parliament not dominated by one
party to act as
a check on the executive, for example.
It is
high time as Zimbabweans we think of our kids.
Mutambara and others
should stand proud and never bother to negotiate
unity with the
Tsvangirai-led MDC. It is for the good of the country.
Imagine a
future Zimbabwe with two opposition parties and no one party
absolutely
dominating parliament. Please give voters more choice by formally
splitting
the MDC or even Zanu PF.
If Mugabe clings to power, the Mujuru
faction should just form a rival
faction. With the knowledge of the Zanu PF
rigging machinery, this will sure
benefit the entire country.
It is common knowledge that if the Mujuru faction were to have Simba
Makoni
standing against Mugabe or Tsvangirai, Makoni would win the election
by a
wide margin. It is another story if you introduce Mutambara in the
picture.
My point to all Zimbabweans is that we don't stand to
benefit from one
or two strong parties. We need multi-parties so that there
are checks and
balances in as far as power is concerned.
Tiny Murefu,
Harare.
---------------
Mbeki,
remember also disenfranchised voters
THE Zimbabwe Exiles Forum
(ZEF) applauds President Thabo Mbeki for his
statement that the March 2008
elections in Zimbabwe should be free and fair.
Furthermore, his
comment that any government that comes into office
after the process should
be legitimate and acceptable to all Zimbabweans is
a step in the right
direction, echoing what most Zimbabweans have been
calling for all
along.
However, ZEF notes with concern that Mbeki has not touched
on one of
the fundamental issues surrounding the plebiscite - that is the
inclusion in
the process of about five million Zimbabweans who have been
driven into
exile, and have been subsequently disenfranchised.
This inclusion is critical if the result of the coming election is to
be
acceptable to all Zimbabweans.
Further to the above, ZEF invites
Mbeki to reiterate the importance of
the Sadc guidelines in the upcoming
election in Zimbabwe.
Without minimal standards for free and fair
elections being observed
in the country, any outcome is bound to be disputed
and may lead to further
bitterness and polarisation in the
country.
Gabriel Shumba,
ZEF executive
director.
----------
Hand me my cutlass
JUST
when you thought you have seen them all, out pops this supreme
hypocrite:
Rolls Royce Marxist/Leninist.
Lord save us.
The
socialists of Ghana in the 1960s had a fondness for the
Mercedes-Benz 220.
Kwame Nkrumah's preference was a red Mercedes-Benz
convertible for his
girlfriend, Genevieve. Thus the term "Mercedes Benz
socialists".
John Jerry Rawlings, the Marxist revolutionary
whose idols included
Fidel Castro and Muammar Gadaffi, preferred Jaguars.
Hence the "Jaguar
Marxist".
Now comes Robert Mugabe, who vowed
to establish a Marxist/Leninist
state in Zimbabwe in 1980, riding about in a
Rolls Royce convertible while
railing against British colonialists and while
his people starve.
And he has the impudence to accuse Archbishop
Pius Ncube of being a
hypocrite.
Hand me my
cutlass.
George Ayittey,
Washington,
DC.
--------
Get real Joram!
JORAM Nyathi's
thesis "National vision: a personal credo" (Zimbabwe
Independent, August 27)
is shockingly shallow in its analysis and
conclusions.
It is
not just the lack of a common vision which has divided the
nation.
Zimbabwe has been divided by the manner in which
opposing or different
visions about the nation are treated by the ruling
party and government.
Any one with a different vision for Zimbabwe
is instantly treated as a
traitor, and threatened with physical
harm.
How can you honestly expect the generality of Zimbabwean
people to
share a common vision under the circumstances?
The
opposition is constantly harassed and beaten up for proposing a
different
vision for Zimbabwe. And then you wonder why the negative
disposition has
become a permanent feature of the Zimbabwean mindset?
Get real
Joram!
Farai Mtshaka,
Brussels.
---------
Zanu PF can learn from African
history
By Kagubo Ka Kasya
I FIRMLY believe that the
Zanu PF Women's League has historians in its
midst.
They should
read the histories of countries like Tanzania, Zambia,
Ethiopia etc where
the political parties were supreme and the governments
were either the arms
or legs or shoulders etc of the parties while the
parliaments were
rubberstamps.
The resultant arrangement inflicted untold economic
disaster and
suffering upon the countries and peoples.
In
Tanzania, former president Julius Nyerere (a staunch Catholic)
realised that
the interests of the country and its citizens were more
important than one
politician's interests and self-preservation.
He worked out his
lucrative exit and stepped down. And he was hailed
for his courage. He
became an ordinary citizen, with no position in the
party he founded and/or
the government he had run for 24 years.
When Nyerere stepped down
in 1985, Tanzania was flat broke because of
the destructive economic
policies he had advocated but people forgave him as
well as accepted him as
a kingmaker.
When 80% of Tanzanians voted against multiparty
politics he was able
to campaign for and educate his people on the
importance of multipartism.
Tanzanians listened and embraced his new ideas
and the country has more than
15 political parties for its 35 million
citizens (120 tribes and 130
languages).
The country's
political change of the guards and the economic
turnaround are all well
known. And when he died 15 years after stepping down
as president,
Tanzanians openly wept for him.
Africans are very forgiving but one
should not overstay one's
hospitality.
* Kagubo Ka Kasya writes
from California, US.