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France snubs Mugabe

FinGaz

Njabulo Ncube Chief Political Reporter
Zimbabwe rejects strict conditions
FRANCE has not invited President Robert Mugabe to the high profile
Franco-Africa summit which begins in Cannes today after the Zimbabwean
government rejected the strict conditions attached to his attendance.

The snub represents a hardening of France's stance on Zimbabwe, which had
seemed softer than the resolute position adopted by the rest of the EU
members when French President Jacques Chirac flouted the EU ban to invite
the Zimbabwean leader to the last Franco-Africa summit in Paris in 2003.
That invitation provoked a torrent of criticism for Chirac but Zimbabwean
government officials touted it as evidence that there was no consensus in
Europe over the imposition of targeted sanctions, repeatedly claiming that
some EU nations were being bullied by Britain into ostracising Zimbabwe.
However, by giving Zimbabwe the cold shoulder this time, Chirac has avoided
the controversy that surrounded President Mugabe's last visit. The French
president's spokesman, Jerome Bonnafont, confirmed this week that President
Mugabe had been omitted from the list of leaders invited to attend the
Cannes summit.
"We tried to find a way so that Zimbabwe, which is an important country in
the region and on the continent, would be present in accordance with
European Union rules but the discussions were inconclusive," Bonnafont said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that France had tied
President Mugabe's invitation to "certain conditions".
A spokesperson for the Ministry said: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
wishes to state that Zimbabwe was not invited to the summit. However,
enquiries were made as to whether the government would accept an invitation
with certain conditions attached to it. Government indicated that it would
not accept such an invitation."
The ministry did not say what these conditions were. However, a senior
government official said these related to longstanding European demands for
Zimbabwe to commit itself to key democratic reforms, including internal
dialogue, free elections and the repeal of repressive legislation.
The EU imposed personal financial and travel sanctions on 120 ZANU PF and
government officials in 2002 after it was barred from observing a
presidential election held that year, which the opposition claimed was
rigged.
According to media reports, the decision by the French government not to
invite President Mugabe to the summit has set a precedent that heralds a
change in France's approach on Zimbabwe. At the time of President Mugabe's
last visit to France, analysts said Chirac appeared to have believed that a
solution to the Zimbabwean crisis could be found through engagement rather
than continued isolation of the country.
Zimbabwean officials have also previously suggested that France and Portugal
will not back an extension of the targeted sanctions when the EU meets on
Monday. However, the French snub suggests there may not be any opposition to
the extension of the targeted measures.
There was scant African support earlier in the week for President Mugabe's
attendance. Only Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires was quoted yesterday as
saying he was against the continued isolation of Zimbabwe.
"I am convinced that we will find a way to make Zimbabwe present at the
EU-Africa summit," Pires told reporters.
Portugal, which is poised to take over the chairmanship of the EU for six
months from July, was considering inviting President Mugabe, the Guardian
newspaper reported. But this would involve the entire 27-member EU bloc as
Lisbon plans to organise a major EU-Africa summit as a key event during its
presidency, the paper said.
Leaders from more than 40 African countries will attend the two-day summit,
which will focus on the theme: "Africa and the world balance."
South African President Thabo Mbeki will not be among them as he will be
attending a crucial meeting of his party, the ANC. Media reports say Rwandan
President Paul Kagame, whose relations with France have soured recently,
will also not attend the summit, as will the leaders of Libya and the Ivory
Coast.


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Ignore Charamba, ZBH told

FinGaz

Clemence Manyukwe

THE parliamentary portfolio committee on Transport and Communications has
advised the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) to ignore directives from
Information and Publicity Ministry Permanent Secretary George Charamba,
after hearing complaints about the ministry's interference in the operations
of the national broadcaster.

The committee also ordered the reversal of the latest radio and television
licence fees, saying ZBH had no legal standing to gazette a statutory
instrument, required for any such increases.
Members of Parliament told ZBC chief executive Henry Muradzikwa to ignore
Charamba after the ZBC head told the MPs during a hearing that when he
assumed the post last year he was instructed by the ministry not to involve
himself in the contracts of senior employees.
However, the Principal Press Secretary in the Information Ministry, Ivanhoe
Gurira, denied interfering in the operations of ZBH.
After the hearing, Gurira told journalists from the state media not to write
about the nullification of the new licence fees. However, both The Herald
and ZBC reported on the matter.
Committee chairperson Leo Mugabe, who is also the MP for Makonde and
Tsholotsho legislator, Jonathan Moyo, a former minister of information and
publicity, told Muradzikwa to disregard any orders from Charamba, saying ZBH
management was only answerable to the board.
Muradzikwa told the committee that Charamba's meddling had resulted in his
failure to resolve contractual disputes arising from the dismissal last year
of Chris Chivinge as Newsnet editor-in-chief and Susan Makore, the former
head of Television Services. The MPs said they were aware of complaints that
the sacked executives had been "unfairly" treated.
"We want you to have an active interest and solve these issues. It is you
who should be assisting. Look for a solution," said Mugabe.
Charamba barred Muradzikwa late last year from announcing new appointments
to key posts at the struggling broadcaster.


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Election plans come under fire

FinGaz

Nkululeko Sibanda Staff Reporter

REGIONAL elections monitoring body, the Electoral Institute of Southern
Africa (EISA), has criticised ZANU PF's plans to postpone presidential
elections to 2010, saying such a move would be seen as a further deviation
by Zimbabwe from regional democratic norms.

While saying it agreed with the principle of harmonising elections, EISA
said it deplored the motives for the proposal.
Speaking at a signing ceremony of an EISA/Sweden multi-million US dollar
grant, EISA's Senior Adviser in charge of research, Kabele Matlosa, said the
proposal would only be accepted regionally if all political movements
endorsed it.
"Given that holding elections throughout the African region has become
costly, there has been an urgent need to come up with ways in which costs of
holding the elections can be reduced.
"Harmonisation of the elections has emerged as one of the means that could
be exploited by countries, but the way Zimbabwe has done it is in stark
contrast to the principles of democracy that Southern Africa has agreed to
stick to," said Matlosa.
He warned that the move would be viewed in the region as evidence of the
repression that President Robert Mugabe's government has been accused of by
its domestic and foreign critics.
"Furthermore, the other issue is that despite the proposal being a measure
to cut down costs, its background is checkered. We believe that it comes as
a move to maintain the continued hold onto power of President Robert Mugabe.
This kind of move is detrimental to the development of democracy in the
region," said Matlosa.
EISA executive director, Denis Kadima, said the group had been barred from
observing Zimbabwe's 2005 general election after it had issued an adverse
report on the country's electoral reforms.


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Court throws out ZCTU application

FinGaz

Njabulo Ncube Chief Political Reporter

A CHEGUTU magistrate has refused to drop charges against eleven Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) members accused of engaging in illegal
protests in the town last year.

Edward Dzeka and 10 others appeared before Chegutu magistrate Tinashe
Ndokera this week, facing charges relating to the September 13, 2006 mass
protests during which ZCTU members and officials are accused of violating a
section of the Criminal Law (Codification Reform) Act, which makes it an
offence for people to act in a manner likely to cause public disorder.
Ndokera refused to accede to an application by the defence lawyers for the
dismissal of charges against their clients, saying there was a reasonable
probability that the group committed the offence. The accused were remanded
out of custody to May 8.
"When the state prosecutors indicated they were not in a position to start
the case, I then immediately applied for a refusal of further remand because
of lack of sufficient evidence," said Andrew Makoni, of Muchadehama and
Associates, who represented the ZCTU members. "But when we came back in the
afternoon for judgment on our morning application, the magistrate declined
to accede to it saying there were reasonable suspicions that an offence was
committed. We expect no further remand when we come back to court on 8 May,
2007."
Armed police scuttled the ZCTU's planned mass action last Semptember,
arresting dozens of trade unionists as they prepared to lead the workers in
street protests in Harare and other urban centres.
The arrested ZCTU leaders, including secretary general Wellington Chibebe,
president Lovemore Matombo and first Vice President Lucia Matibenga, later
reported being tortured in police custody.
Chibebe and 14 others have filed a suit against Home Affairs Minister Kembo
Mohadi, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri and police officers implicated
in their torture for $2.2 billion in damages.


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Open Letter to President Mugabe

FinGaz

National Agenda with Bornwell Chakaodza
You espoused reconciliation here and helped bring peace to Mozambique and
DRC, why can't you do the same now?
WITH inflation spiralling out of control and soaring to unimaginable levels
in the way it is doing, it is not again too late for President Robert Mugabe
and his lieutenants to pause and take stock of the havoc that this monster
is wreaking on the ordinary people of this country.

This week, the government through the Central Statistical Office announced
that Zimbabwe's annual rate of inflation leapt to 1 593.6 percent at the end
of January 2007 - the highest in the world. The costs of such high inflation
are huge for the Zimbabwean population. People are living the costs of this
chronically high inflation every day and we are at a loss as to why the
suffering of Zimbabweans appears not to move the President and his
colleagues.
A crucial caveat on this reportedly record figure is in order here. There is
always a substantial difference between the inflation percentages released
by the Central Statistical Office and the reality on the ground. Sources
independent of the government put the inflation rate at levels much higher
than the 1 593.6 percent.
In any event, the above figure is now history given the fact that we are
dealing with a dragon that is spiralling everyday and that we are now in the
middle of February. On top of that, the point has to be made that high
inflation today is generated by high inflation yesterday.
We seem to be coming to the point where Zimbabwe is beyond saving. That
clearly should not be the case. There is a way out of this. We all think
that Zimbabwe is a country which is rescueable. The answer lies of course in
the hands of the political leaders, particularly but not exclusively,
President Mugabe.
We must not forget that President Mugabe was once an admired and respected
public figure both at home and abroad. No one can take that away from him.
Even now, many Zimbabweans salute him for empowering them though in a manner
that has resulted in the economy experiencing chaos and an unending list of
hardships and difficulties.
Zimbabweans can be a kind and forgiving people. That is why I believe that
it is not too late for President Mugabe to pull Zimbabwe back from the
brink. In these dying days of his Presidency, I think it is most important
for him to reflect on his legacy and how he wants to be remembered by
Zimbabweans when the moment to pass on comes.
For when that moment comes, it comes. Nobody can stop it. I recall former
President Bill Clinton of the United States saying in his first inaugural
address in January 1993: "The urgent question of our time is whether we can
make change our friend and not our enemy".
How appropriate and correct this statement is at this very moment in this
part of the world. There was indeed a time when goodwill was the greatest
force in this country and President Mugabe himself led Zimbabwe and the
whole of the African continent in espousing this value of goodwill - which I
might add is something which is deeply embedded in our African culture.
Why President Mugabe can not do the same now for this troubled country, the
mind boggles. Here is a man who enunciated the policy of reconciliation at
independence in 1980. Here is a man who was instrumental in bringing about
the 1987 Unity Accord between ZANU and ZAPU signalling an end to that dark
chapter in Zimbabwe's history.
On the continental front, here is a man who helped bring peace to
Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a number of
troublespots in Africa. My one and most important question to President
Mugabe is this: If you did all these good things yesteryear, why are you
unable and unwilling to help the people of your own troubled country with
one more and final important action i.e. political settlement to end our
problems?
Do you still have the appetite for the job that you are doing? If so, why
are you setting yourself up as the fundamental bar to progress in the
resolution of our crisis? There are people both here at home and in the
international community (and there are in the majority) who are saying that
in order to see the solution to the Zimbabwean crisis, President Mugabe has
to be completely out of the picture. Why can you not shame them?
Surely, as the number one man in this country, you do not want a Zimbabwe
which is facing constant hardships and problems. I am sure you are aware
that the whole world has given up on us. Ask any South African, British or
Chinese political leaders, they will tell you that they do not know what
next to do about Zimbabwe. In other words, there is total paralysis all
round.
Even the African leaders that you hobnob and mingle with at various African
fora and conferences, I do not think that they like to see you there.
Perhaps they merely tolerate your presence. We know for sure that Africans
on this continent are renowned for their politeness - that is all there is
at these conferences, I think. My heart bleeds to see my once upon a time
great hero and international statesman reduced to this.
In order to rekindle expectations of efficient measures to contain the
acceleration in inflation, there has to be a political solution to our
crisis - pure and simple. A cabinet reshuffle for the sake of it will not do
the trick. Neither will the freezing of prices and salaries provide a
panacea in the absence of a genuine social contract that is unconditionally
backed up and supported by both the generality of Zimbabweans and the
international community.
Certainly, state-owned companies need to be privatised in the true sense of
the word. The economy has to be broadly opened up to foreign trade across
the board. Government spending has to be reined in. The across-the-board
process of persistent price increases that is corroding wages has to be
tackled with all the vigour that the responsible people can master.
A significant decline in inflation is naturally followed by an enormous
expansion in productive activity. But in a very high inflation environment
like we have here in Zimbabwe, speculation and corruption become the main
activities, resulting in very poor income distribution i.e. the rich getting
richer and the poor sinking deeper into poverty. This is what is currently
taking place in this country.
Ensuring a long-lasting victory over inflation requires political will. We
will not tire of saying this obvious fact until a new approach is adopted by
the powers-that-be to break the vicious circle. Only then can we cease
saying it. The bravado and the confrontational approach that the political
leadership of this country is displaying is simply counter-productive. It is
having harmful effects on the economy.
I am the last person to want to throw doom and gloom scenarios about our
country. I do think that President Mugabe needs to open his doors to all
Zimbabweans including the opposition political parties and appreciate once
more that there is no harm in talking. For a nation that needed healing in
1980 and a few years later to end the Matabeleland troubles, President
Mugabe came when he was needed most.
As the occupier of the highest office in the land, we need him again like we
did in the past - only that now it is extremely urgent.
E-mail:borncha@mweb.co.zw


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Of hyperinflation, social contract, and the new mafia

FinGaz

Rangarirai Mberi News Editor

HERE'S some scary maths. If monthly inflation stays at the 45.4 percent
reported this week, annual inflation would rise to 8 842 percent by
December.

Just five more percentage points on the month-on-month figure, and Zimbabwe
officially becomes a hyperinflationary economy - at least according to the
"bookish" definition of hyperinflation, which is inflation that rises
50 percent every month.
Latest Central Statistical Office (CSO) data out this week showed annual
inflation in January up a record 1593.6 percent.
This was just two percentage points below the most pessimistic forecast
gathered in The Financial Gazette's analysts' poll published last week. The
poll had shown a top end forecast of 1595 percent, given by ZB Financial
Holdings economist Best Doroh.
January's 312.5 percentage point rise was the biggest ever jump in
inflation, but a more important number is the monthly figure. Since a
slowdown in monthly prices in September, when there was a surprise drop from
29.2 percent to 14.8 percent, month-on-month inflation has raced sharply
higher.
It rose 27.5 percent in October, 36.3 percent in December and 45.4 percent
in January.
An RBZ survey found prices on selected consumer products rose 200 percent in
the week to January 31. The steep rise in the prices of basic goods since
the middle of January up to this week - the period that CSO will use to
measure February inflation - suggests monthly inflation will breach its
record 47.0 percent set in July last year.
The International Accounting Standard (IAS) 29 notes the signs to look for
in hyperinflation.
First, IAS says hyperinflation is when "the general population prefers to
keep its wealth in non-monetary assets or in a relatively stable foreign
currency." Check.
Next sign is when "the general population regards monetary amounts not in
terms of the local currency but in terms of a relatively stable foreign
currency. Prices may be quoted in that currency." Check.
Thirdly, IAS 29 says hyperinflation is when "sales and purchases on credit
take place
at prices that compensate for the expected loss of purchasing power during
the credit period, even if the period is short." Check again.
Ask the big credit stores.
So what's to be done? RBZ boss Gideon Gono wants to get business, labour and
government talking on a social contract.
The big item on the agenda would be a wage and price freeze.
But this is unlikely to work, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, because of the massive chasm between wages and prices which is, as
shown by the new data, widening faster with each month. So, labour would
point out that prices have moved so far ahead of static wages that a price
freeze at current levels would not help workers, but only deepen their
dispair. Even a puppy should be allowed the satisfaction of having chased a
truck down the road, they would suggest.
And, on their own part, producers are most unlikely to support a social
contract, also for a variety of reasons. One is that industry - whisper it -
gets most of its forex on the black market to fund inputs and other costs.
One economics characterisation of hyperinflation is that it "feeds on
 itself". Zimbabwe is now a classic case, where people trying to beat
inflation are in fact feeding it.
These people are the struggling, ordinary street corner vendor who has
recently awoken to the wonders of "replacement cost pricing"-the loudmouths
milling around Ximex Mall in their white sneakers and jeans trading anything
from forex to hip-enhancing tablets and local variations of viagra.
And, of course, the heavies trying to cream off as much dirty wealth as they
can "before it all comes down", as it surely must at some point.
This is where the fiercest battles against inflation will be fought.
Years of decline have nurtured a generation of wheeler-dealers that cannot
remember how to hold down a "legitimate" job. They do not pine for a return
to a stable economy, as most do, in which workers make honest money out of
8-to-5 jobs.
Instead, they long for a continuation of the crisis that has so richly
rewarded them.
There is no possibility that a spot is reserved on the
social contract table for a representative of the "Black Market Barons",
perhaps now the biggest players in the economy. These are the chaps that
really determine where the cost of production goes, and hence where shop
shelf prices end up.
So production costs will continue rising, as long as arbitrage opportunities
abound for members of the Bambazonke Mafia.
In fact, some of them are the same chaps that would take up seats on the
social contract talks, without any shame. They do that in cabinet every
Tuesday already anyway.


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Rude awakening for ministers

FinGaz

Clemence Manyukwe Staff Reporter
. . . As MPs resist moves to sweep corruption under the carpet Rude
awakening for ministers

THE censure by cabinet ministers of parliamentary portfolio committee
chairpersons last week is a move designed to sweep corruption within
government under the carpet and exposes the executive branch's loathing for
the principle of the separation of powers, analysts said this week.
The Financial Gazette reported last week that ruling party portfolio
committee chairpersons, including Enoch Porusingazi, whose committee has
been instrumental in exposing graft at Zisco, were hauled over the coals by
ministers who accused them of being overzealous in the way they carried out
their work.
The ministers are said to have criticised the MPs "harshly and rudely"
during an acrimonious meeting, warning that they risked losing any positions
they held in the party.
Eldred Masunungure said the conduct of the ministers was irregular.
"That is clearly irregular. It runs foul of the doctrine and practice of the
separation of powers. Parliament has its standing rules and orders that
govern their operations as a law-making institution," Masunungure said. A
basic definition of separation of powers is that a government functions best
when its powers are not concentrated in a single authority but are instead
divided among different branches.
French philosopher Baron De Montesquire, who coined the term separation of
powers, said a nation's liberty depended on the separation of the powers of
the legislature, executive and judiciary.
In his 1748 political science work, The spirit of the Laws, Montesquire
said: "There can be no liberty where the legislative and executive powers
are united in the same person, or body of magistrates."
Proponents of the doctrine of separation of powers believe that the concept
protects democracy and forestalls tyranny.
Commenting on Montesquier's views one of the proponents of this doctrine,
James Madison, said: "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive
and judiciary in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many and whether
hereditary, self appointed or elective, may justly be pronounced the very
definition of tyranny."
Masunungure said the importance of this separation of powers was underlined
by the fact that committee members who have been appointed deputy ministers
in the recent cabinet reshuffle have ceased to be members of the committees.
These are Masvingo South MP Walter Mzembi, and non-constituency senators
Aguy Georgias and Tracy Mutinhiri.
Mzembi, who was the chairman of the parliamentary portfolio committee on
Lands and Agriculture, is now the deputy minister of Water Resources and
Infrastructural Development.
Georgias is the deputy minister of Economic Development and Mutinhiri is the
deputy minister for Indigenisation and Empowerment.
Masunungure said the main reason for summoning the committee chairpersons
was that the ministers were bent on covering up government corruption.
"The committees were doing a good job, illuminating the problem of
corruption, directing the searchlight to the dark corners where corruption
is hiding. The executive is saying stop your
investigations, that will unravel corruption," Masunungure said.
"The MPs are supposed to be a watchdog of the executive. The actions and
inactions of the executive. That is their legally defined role. The
ministers are saying don't exercise your function. We don't want to be
watched."
When he appeared before Porusingazi's committee on Tuesday this week,
Foreign Affairs Ministry permanent secretary Joey Bimha initially thought
Parliament wanted to subject him to unnecessary interrogation, but had since
realised that he was mistaken.
Bimha said the committee in fact proved helpful to the foreign affairs
ministry.
"I was afraid of this committee thinking it is a committee of interrogators.
I have since found you to be useful. That you want to help us."
Committees which have taken a leading role in exposing corruption and
incompetence are Porusingazi's committee, the Mines, Environment and Tourism
Committee that has exposed illegal dealings in the mining sector by
government officials, the Public Accounts Committee that is investigating
the looting of government funds, the Lands and Agriculture committee that
expressed reservations about the way former agriculture minister Joseph Made
was handling the sector and the Budget and Finance committee.
Masunungure said even the party caucus must not be used as a forum to
intimidate participants but for reaching consensus on how to handle
parliamentary issues and positions to take.
He said one consequence of the ministers' meddling in the work of portfolio
committees was to render Parliament "redundant" by barring MPs from
scrutinising the actions and decisions of government.
According to The Parliament of Zimbabwe's website, the goal of the
restructuring of committees through the Parliamentary Reform Programme which
began in 1997 was to make "Parliament more responsive to the public, more
effective in calling the government to account and more efficient in the way
it does its business."
"It is in this context that Parliament resorts to the formation of
committees which play a vital role in the monitoring of public policy
programmes and expenditure and by advocating for transparency and
accountability . . . the new system will allow a closer scrutiny of each
ministry."
As a result of the restructuring programme, Parliament set up 13 portfolio
committees that shadow all government ministries, departments and
parastatals.
Previously there were only four select committees. The committees follow up
on all assurances, promises and undertakings relating to their portfolios
given by the government and report to the House at least twice every
session.
The Parliament of Zimbabwe website adds: "Parliamentary committees,
therefore, play a vital role in the functioning of Parliament. They are the
eyes and ears of Parliament through which government ministries and
departments can be called to account. Without committees it would be
difficult for important aspects of parliamentary work to be carried out."
Prominent Harare lawyer Simplisius Chihambakwe who represented Parliament in
two separate lawsuits instituted by former Chimanimani MDC MP Roy Bennett
and the opposition party's Gweru MP, Timothy Mukahlera said there must be a
distinction between ministers giving MPs orders, which is unacceptable and
consulting, which is in order.
Both Bennett, who was challenging his jailing for contempt of Parliament,
and Mukahlera who alleged that there was favouritism in the way Parliament's
Vehicle Loan Scheme was administered lost their court cases.
"If they called them to order, that would be contrary to the separation of
powers. If it is to consult, there is no problem because separation of
powers does not prohibit consultation," said Chihambakwe.
"Consultation clears misunderstandings and reinforces the separation of
powers, but ordering committees is wrong. Ministers cannot order
Parliament."
The lawyer said that even the Chief Justice can consult the executive if
he/she sees that ministers are violating court orders.
"The Chief Justice can say 'we make orders but you don't obey them. What
messages are you trying to send'."
Despite these principles however, former Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay was
rebuked a few years ago when he sought to be re-assured that the executive
still subscribed to the rule of law.
A subsequent purge of the judiciary resulted in the MDC alleging that the
system had been stuffed with ruling party sympathisers.


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Byo heavies to be tested on water

FinGaz

Charles Rukuni Bulawayo Bureau Chief

THE contentious issue of who, between the government and the city council,
should supply Bulawayo with water will test the political clout of senior
ZANU PF officials from Zimbabwe's second largest city.

The government demonstrated at a heated meeting on Monday that it was
determined to take over the supply of water to the city. But the councillors
vowed this would only happen "over our dead bodies".
Councillors and residents have resolved to approach influential former ZAPU
members and political leaders from the province for support.
These include Vice-President Joseph Msika, Speaker of Parliament John Nkomo
who is also the ruling party's chairman, politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa,
Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, as well as senators.
The Bulawayo United Residents Association (BURA) has pushed the political
leaders into a tight corner, insisting that if they are genuine
representatives of the people of Bulawayo, they will have to confront the
government to reverse its decision.
Water Resources Minister, Munacho Mutezo, who visited Bulawayo to explain
the imminent takeover, said the issue had been compounded by misconceptions
on the part of the council, the media and BURA, which he accused of
conducting a campaign of misinformation.
But he did not say anything to convince anybody that a government takeover
would improve Bulawayo's water supply situation in any way.
Strict water rationing is in force in the city. But this is because the
supply dams, which are the responsibility of the government, are dry. The
distribution system remains intact.
Councillor Albert Mhlanga stressed that Bulawayo's problem was not failure
to distribute water. There was simply no water to distribute. "How can you
bring a bucket and expect to fill it with
milk when there is no cow?" he asked Mutezo.
The government has never explained why it wants to take over the task of
supplying water nationwide except to say that local authorities would
benefit from Zinwa's expertise and that the government has more resources at
its disposal.
But the councillors wanted to know where the government would get the money
to improve the situation when it had failed to build a single dam for
Bulawayo since independence. The construction of dams nationwide became the
responsibility of the national government in 1976 under the Smith regime
"You cannot afford to pay striking doctors and nurses and now you want to
take on added responsibilities and you expect us to believe that you can
deliver, is that possible?" asked Clr Phil Lamola. "You could not even be
here on time. We have been waiting for you from 11am. How can you be
expected to deliver?"
Mutezo had a ZANU PF engagement prior to the council meeting for which he
was late by two hours.
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, who was expected to accompany
Mutezo, did not turn up. The Bulawayo City Council has only four ZANU PF
councillors out of a total of 29. One councillor, Alderman Charles Mpofu, is
an independent and the remaining 24 are from the MDC.
Alderman Mpofu said if the government wanted to take over the council's
water supply because this was in the people's interests, it should be
prepared to listen to the councillors' concerns because they represented the
people.
"We were elected by the people in the same way that those in government
were. So we stand by our decision: No to Zinwa. I am appealing to you that
for the first time in the history of this country can we be respected as the
representatives of the people."
Bulawayo Mayor Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, who tried to cool tempers, appealed to
the government to reverse its decision because the council would lose
considerable revenue once its water supply role was taken over.
"I have always said I work for the government. The council and Zinwa are
like twins, so why rob one twin to pay the other? We have invested in this
city and in this year's budget we were expecting a surplus from the water
account of $30 billion. We need that revenue," Ncube said.
"Government, through its policy of decentralisation promotes the division of
functions. Let Zinwa continue to source water and the Bulawayo City Council
to distribute it. Please, don't misunderstand us. We are not quarrelling
with anybody, but we are rightly asking for what is ours."
Mutezo said it would be naïve to promise anyone that he could alter the
cabinet's decision, but pledged to present the views and concerns of the
city council council to cabinet.
"To me, it seems the crux of the matter is the issue of revenue. Everything
else is just a smokescreen. So we can look into revenue sharing. This is a
win-win situation. So let's work together. A lot of the opposition to this
move is because people don't understand what is on offer," the minister
said.
BURA, widely viewed as being a
supporter of ZANU PF, is spearheading the campaign to force
government to reverse the Zinwa takeover. ZANU PF provincial spokesman
Effort Nkomo is the vice-chairman of BURA.


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Pazvakavambwa in fresh trouble

FinGaz

Kumbirai Mafunda Senior Business Reporter

SIMON Pazvakavambwa, the former Agriculture Permanent Secretary who was
ejected from the ministry last year is embroiled in a fresh controversy over
a $600 000 bill incurred in an attempt to recruit a new Grain Marketing
Board (GMB) general manager to replace Samuel Muvuti. Pazvakavambwa, who was
relieved of his post because of his role in the importation of sub-standard
fertilizer from South Africa last year, had contracted Lorimark Executive
Recruitment Consultants to recruit a general manager to replace Muvuti.

Muvuti, who had been suspended for allegedly defrauding the grain monopoly
of close to $1 million was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing.
After Lorimark advertised the position in the Sunday Mail, Pazvakavambwa
wrote to the GMB ordering it to pay the $595 700 bill.
But Muvuti, whose suspension was revoked by then Agriculture Minister Joseph
Made and was back in charge at the GMB, defied Pazvakavambwa's directive,
insisting the Agriculture Ministry, which had sanctioned the bid to recruit
a new general manager, should settle the bill.
"We inform you that there is no board resolution instructing us to carry out
the recruitment of a general manager. As such, there are no proper
supporting documents to enable our procurement department to initiate a
purchase order. In our view, payment of the outstanding invoice remains the
responsibility of the ministry, which initiated the recruitment through
you," Muvuti said in a letter seen by The Financial Gazette.
Officials at Lorimark this week confirmed that the bill was still
outstanding, months after the consultancy was contracted to recruit a new
GMB boss. The company said the bill has since ballooned to $4 277 294
because of interest charges.
Speaking from his new posting, Pazvakavambwa, who still works for the
government, was adamant yesterday that the GMB should meet the recruitment
costs.
"Why should the bill be settled by the ministry," he asked. "The GMB should
bear the costs. We (ministry) were just following a cabinet directive."
Muvuti, who has acted as head of GMB for five years, refused to comment.
Last year, Made vetoed Pazvakavambwa's bid to suspend Muvuti, saying the
move was "unprocedural". Made said only he, upon the recommendation of the
GMB board, could take such action. However, the GMB has not had a board of
directors since 2004, when the last outfit, led by Enock Kamushinda, was
dismissed.


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Mkapa initiative revived

FinGaz

Njabulo Ncube Chief Political Reporter

A TOP security aide of Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has held secret
meetings with top Zimbabwean officials, raising hopes that President Robert
Mugabe is now ready to revive an initiative led by Kikwete's predecessor,
Benjamin Mkapa to resolve Zimbabwe's worsening political and economic
crisis.

Mkapa's proposed mission seemed doomed last year due to a lack of clarity on
his terms of reference. However, The Financial Gazette understands that the
Tanzanian government, acting on behalf of Mkapa, recently sent its head of
intelligence, Rashid Othman to meet senior Zimbabwean security officials
ahead of a possible visit to Harare by Mkapa.
Othman, the sources say, arrived in Harare on Monday last week, and held
discussions the following morning with Zimbabwe's intelligence chiefs, led
by Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) head Happyton Bonyongwe.
The Financial Gazette could not immediately ascertain details of the
meetings, but the sources suggested that one of Othman's aims was to seek
assurances on Mkapa's personal security and to explore common ground on the
terms of reference for the talks.
Kikwete, who is thought to be close to President Mugabe, is under pressure
to coax the head of state to allow Mkapa to proceed with the initiative the
Zimbabwean leader unveiled in July last year. President Mugabe and Kikwete
discussed the Mkapa initiative on the sidelines of the African Union (AU)
Summit held in Addis Abba, Ethiopia, last month.
Presidential spokesman, George Charamba, was not immediately available to
comment on the latest developments.
A major sticking point of the Mkapa initiative is funding.
"The international community is saying SADC should drive the effort to
rescue Zimbabwe," said a diplomatic source accredited to Harare. However,
SADC has shown no real interest in sponsoring the initiative.
Diplomats say Britain is "eager to fund the deal", but only on condition
that the terms of reference for the initiative revolve around the
restoration of democracy through free elections and the repeal of repressive
laws.
A spokesman at the British embassy yesterday flatly denied claims by the
Zimbabwean government that Britain had refused to come to the negotiating
table to repair relations which became strained after President Mugabe's
controversial land reforms.
Joey Bimha, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, told a Parliamentary portfolio
committee this week that Britain had refused to enter into dialogue with
Zimbabwe to heal the rift.
"If the other party is not willing to come to the negotiating table, what do
you do?" Bimha told MPs.
But Gillian Dare, spokesperson for the British Embassy in Harare said
Zimbabwe had never invited Britain to any talks to improve relations.
"We have not been invited by the Zimbabwean government to talk," said Dare
in a statement to this paper.
Bimha told Parliament that several European countries, which he did not
name, had begun to appreciate that the fallout between Harare and London
stemmed from a bilateral dispute over land.
However, Dare said: "We maintain diplomatic relations and embassies in each
other's capitals so we can talk to each other whenever needed. There is no
bilateral UK/Zimbabwe dispute to be addressed. Our concerns about Zimbabwe
are shared by many in the international community."
The Zimbabwean government should heed the growing demands of its own people
for internal reconciliation and adopt policies that would facilitate the
restoration of democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, so as
to end the country's self-inflicted economic decline, Dare said.
"The UK remains a strong advocate of effective, well-managed and pro-poor
land reform. The 'fast track' land reform has not been implemented in line
with these principles and has resulted in the abuse of the rule of law. The
UK's development assistance, through the Department for International
Development, is targeted at reducing poverty. In the current climate in
Zimbabwe we have focused on humanitarian assistance and worked to tackle HIV
/AIDS," said Dare.


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Obert Mpofu's date with fate

FinGaz

Clemence Manyukwe Staff Reporter

INDUSTRY and International Trade Minister Obert Mpofu faces his moment of
truth today when he appears before the parliamentary privileges committee to
answer allegations that he lied under oath.

Mpofu was granted a temporary reprieve last week when the six-member
privileges committee chaired by Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi postponed
the hearing.
Mpofu is accused of telling members of the portfolio committee on Foreign
Affairs, Industry and International Trade last year that there was a
"shocking" report on high level graft at Zisco and then backtracking while
testifying in a later hearing
Mpofu allegedly initially said he and Paul Mangwana, who was then State
Enterprises, Anti-Corruption and Anti-Monopolies Minister, had agreed "to
bury" the report, detailing the looting of Zisco, on the grounds that its
release would scare away potential investors.
After Mpofu's u-turn, the committee, headed by ZANU PF Chipinge South Member
of Parliament Enock Porusingazi, resolved to move a motion for the minister's
impeachment, which was granted by Speaker of Parliament John Nkomo.
Sources told The Financial Gazette that, depending on Mpofu's testimony,
more ministers could be required to appear before the committee.
Mpofu is being charged under the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of
Parliament Act. If convicted, he could be fined or jailed for two years.
Porusingazi has appeared before the Privileges committee to swear on the
authenticity of tapes and transcripts containing Mpofu's testimony before
the committee.
Recently, the Privileges committee adopted a proposal by Sekeramayi to bar
committee members from commenting publicly on proceedings until the matter
was finalised.
In an attempt to whip portfolio committees into line, some cabinet ministers
last week summoned all ruling party parliamentary committee chairpersons to
a meeting during which the MPs were rebuked for being "overzealous" in the
way they conducted hearings, which have frequently exposed incompetence
within Cabinet.
In addition to Sekeramayi, other members of the Privileges committee are
ZANU PF MPs Jason Machaya (Gokwe-Kana), Webster Shamu (Chegutu) and Mabel
Mawere (Zaka West) and MDC MPs Welshman Ncube (Bulawayo North east) and
Paurina Mpariwa (Mufakose).


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Aussie bank shuts out Zim

FinGaz

Chris Muronzi Staff Reporter

A MAJOR Australian bank has severed all business ties with Zimbabwean
financial institutions, citing increased credit and country risk and Western
sanctions.

Westpac Bank of Australia, the fourth largest bank in Australasia and one of
the South Pacific's biggest banks, has written to Zimbabwean banks with
which it has business links, announcing it was closing all their accounts.
A confidential letter written by Susan Pascoe, a representative of Westpac
in Sydney, says the bank will no longer "process transactions into or from
Zimbabwe."
"We are writing to advise that as part of our regular country risk review,
we have reassessed our position relating to our dealings with Zimbabwe.
These reviews take into consideration issues like United Nations and United
States sanctions, trade sanctions, credit and country risk.
"As a consequence of this review, we have taken a decision not to process
transactions into or from Zimbabwe and we will have no alternative but to
close your vostro account and swift key arrangements on the 21st February
2007. Please be aware drafts presented after the 21st February will not be
paid. In addition, any foreign currency payments received from your swift
code will not be paid. We apologise for any inconvenience our actions may
cause," said Pascoe.
A nostro or vostro account is a deposit account that a bank holds at a
foreign or correspondent bank for the purpose of international payments.
Australia is one of several countries that have imposed a travel ban on
senior ZANU PF figures.
Zimbabwe's relations with the West have deteriorated since the country
embarked on the land reform exercise that government says is meant to
benefit previously marginalised blacks.
The country's widening international isolation has left Zimbabwe's banks
struggling to secure lines of credit, with local businesses increasingly
being compelled to pay foreign suppliers upfront for imports.


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'Partying while the country burns'

FinGaz

Njabulo Ncube Chief Political Reporter

AS state-owned companies and individuals make a last-minute stampede to
donate towards President Robert Mugabe's 83rd birthday bash to be held in
Gweru next Friday, primary school teacher Beatrice Zwana wonders how the
authorities can lavishly spend more than $300 million on food and drink
while civil servants like her are battling to convince their employer to
grant them a living wage.

And, to add insult to injury, ZANU PF activists have been on the rampage in
the Midlands province, coercing civil servants to contribute financially
towards the bash.
"This is a clear sign of insensitivity," says a headmistress who claims she
and other teachers in the province were asked to donate up to $4 000 each
towards the 21st February Movement Fund, a communist-style organisation
established as a welfare organisation in 1986 to spearhead the celebration
of President Mugabe's birthday every year.
For this year's festivities, headmasters are required to donate $4 000,
while teachers must cough up $2 500 each towards the bash, a must-attend
function for the who's-who in ZANU PF and business people with links to the
ruling party.
"We are made to fund a private function when we are clamouring for better
salaries and working conditions. Why don't they plough the money into
generating employment?" the headmistress asked.
Impoverished resettled farmers, beneficiaries of President Mugabe's
controversial land reforms, have been asked to donate livestock, grain and
cash towards the bash.
The business community has
not been spared the
appeals for financial support,
which many claim come with tacit threats.
"We received letters soliciting donations. We chipped in with whatever we
had because we
want the celebrations to succeed without our businesses being affected",
said a Harare-based business executive.
The President's birthday bash provides a stark reminder of the widening gap
between the ruling elites and the rest of the people, who are struggling to
survive under world record inflation of 1 593.6 percent.
The celebrations next Saturday come hard on the heels of data released by
the Central Statistical Office (CSO) this week showing that a family of five
now needs $566 400 to buy a basket of basic commodities such as bread, milk,
vegetables and meat.
"This is what the government should be addressing, awarding us poverty datum
line pegged salaries instead of partying when the country is burning," said
Zwana.


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Chinamasa off the hook

FinGaz

Clemence Manyukwe Staff Reporter
. . . Top CIO operative not so lucky
THE Attorney-General's office has quietly withdrawn an appeal it had filed
in the High Court against the acquittal of Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa on charges of obstructing the course of justice, effectively
ruling out any chances of the Minister standing trial.

The Attorney-General's office served notice to appeal after a Rusape
magistrate had acquitted Chinamasa on charges that he coerced a key state
witness to drop charges against supporters of ZANU PF secretary for
administration, Didymus Mutasa, who were accused of perpetrating political
violence. When it lodged the appeal, the Attorney-General's office insisted
Chinamasa would not escape conviction if evidence were led in a higher
court.
"It is humbly submitted that the respondent (Chinamasa) cannot escape
conviction if a complete and meaningful judgment touching on all the
material evidence led during the trial is passed."
Chinamasa's lawyer James Mutizwa yesterday confirmed that the A-G's office
had wihdrawn its appeal.
"The appeal was withdrawn quietly," Mutizwa said, adding that neither he nor
his client had been served with papers pertaining to the appeal.
Mutizwa said the case had caused Chinamasa "a lot of anxiety."
Despite letting Chinamasa off the hook, the A-G's office is forging ahead
with the prosecution of the head of the Central Intelligence Organisation
(CIO) in Manicaland, Innocent Chibaya. Chinamasa, Chibaya and four others
were originally jointly charged with trying to defeat the course of justice
before an order was issued to try them separately.
They were said to have pressurised war veteran James Kaunye to withdraw
charges against ZANU- PF Makoni North chairman Albert Nyakuedzwa and 31
others. Nyakuedzwa and his 31 co-accused were alleged to have violently
attacked Kaunye for challenging Mutasa during ZANU PF primary elections in
2004.
Nyakuedzwa and 15 of his co-accused were subsequently convicted and jailed
for three years.
Chibaya is a member of a commission of inquiry appointed by President Robert
Mugabe to look into intra-party violence in Makoni North
The commission's findings were not made public, but after it had concluded
its probe, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri was quoted as saying Mutasa
had a case to answer.
Charles Warara, who represents Chibaya and his four co- accused, told The
Financial Gazette yesterday that his clients' trial would begin in the High
Court in May this year.
On Tuesday, the Attorney-General, Sobusa Gula-Ndebele declined to elaborate
on why his office had dropped charges against Chinamasa while pressing ahead
with the prosecution of the rest.
The acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Florence Ziyambi, also declined
comment on the matter.
A magistrate who presided over the proceedings at the beginning of Chinamasa's
trial was reported to have stepped down under pressure from ZANU PF
politicians.


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Arrests threaten social contract: business

FinGaz

Kumbirai Mafunda Senior Business Reporter

GOVERNMENT could have shot itself in the foot in its latest efforts to
arrest the country's economic crisis after it ordered the arrest last week
of two industry executives over prices, the country's main business groups
say.

A week after central bank governor Gideon Gono proposed a new reform
"transitional package", which entails the signing of a social contract by
March, police arrested Blue Ribbon Industries MD and chairman of the Millers
Association of Zimbabwe, Mike Manga, and Ian Kind, head of National Foods,
after millers had sought government approval to increase the retail price of
bakers' flour to $900 000 per tonne, up from $610 000/tonne, citing
increasing production costs.
Gono believes the coming together of the three main economic actors, namely
business, labour and government, could be the launchpad for a desperately
awaited economic take-off, which has been elusive for years.
Under the ambitious reform plan, the social contract would agree on a Prices
and Incomes Stabilisation Protocol - freezing wages and prices for three
months to June, restricting state spending, finalising laws on mining
indigenisation and approaching foreign institutions for new aid.
But business groups and economic observers were unanimous this week that the
government was putting spanners in the works of the envisaged social
contract that Gono says could help put the brakes on the decline.
"It (arrests) is a very clear statement of intimidating the private sector
so that the whole discussion collapses. We can see it," said Callisto
Jokonya, president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), which
represents the bulk of the country's largest manufacturers.
Daniel Ndlela, economic consultant at Zimconsult, says the arrests exposed a
lack of sincerity on the part of the government to the ambitious social
contract proposal.
"The main party (government) is not serious about a social contract. It
(social contract) doesn't work," observed Ndlela.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Marah Hativagone says the
arrests do not bode well for a country that needs healing.


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Can 'praying mantis' give Air Zimbabwe new wings?

FinGaz

Stanley Kwenda Staff Reporter

"I URGE all of you to commit yourself to turning the company around and to
restore the pride lost because the board has no magic solutions to offer,
for we believe that the solution lies with you," said Air Namibia board
chairman, Vekuii Rukoro, when Peter Chikumba was appointed the airline's
acting chief executive officer in 2001.

Chikumba must have heard similar pleas from Air Zimbabwe bosses after
assuming a similar position at the embattled national airline last week. But
with a tainted history of alleged fraud and a string of losses behind him,
Chikumba's appointment leaves Air Zimbabwe now leaning only on a prayer.
Chikumba takes over from Oscar Madombwe, acting CEO since November 2005. Air
Zimbabwe acting board chairman Jonathan Kadzura presented Chikumba as
possessing "unique skills" that could at last give proper business
leadership at the airline. But his record at Air Namibia will haunt Chikumba
and those that appointed him.
Chikumba will be on a three-month contract and assumes duties amid a chaotic
and long drawn out turnaround programme at Air Zimbabwe.
Air Zimbabwe is hoping Chikumba will use his experience at the struggling
Air Namibia to help reverse the local airline's plummeting fortunes.
The Namibian national carrier for the past six years that Chikumba was in
charge operated only on fumes, running a string of negative balance sheets.
Net losses for the past five years were N$860 million, on income of N$2.3
billion against expenditure of N$3.2 billion.
So, turbulence should be rather familiar for Chikumba, who already has
experience at Air Zimbabwe as engineer, aircraft manager and director of
technical operations.
But things have changed for the worst since he was last here.
Chikumba faces the Herculean task of trying to salvage the lost pride of Air
Zimbabwe. He joins a long line of CEOs at Air Zimbabwe, and he will discover
soon that he needs much more than his prayer sessions to survive at the
company, let alone turn it around.
In 2002, while he was acting CEO of Air Namibia, he called for a special
prayer session to save the airline just as the national budget speech was
delivered in the Namibian parliament.
He also repeated the same act when he was suspended on charges of fraud and
gross financial mismanagement, giving a prayer, asking God to help him. It
must have helped, for he was not charged, but allowed to leave Air Namibia
quietly.
The Namibian media branded him the "circling circus" because of his
sensational prayer sessions.
Chikumba has a wealth of experience in the African aviation industry and had
a stint as IATA regional director for Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya.
He has also worked for Ethiopian Airways, one of Africa's best airlines, and
holds a degree in Business Administration, an MBA in Business Administration
and a doctorate in Business Administration in addition to diplomas in
aeronautical engineering and aircraft.
But could his appointment be signalling the coming to an end of the "flying
circus" at Air Zimbabwe or the coming of the "circling circus?"


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He who calls the tune pays the piper

FinGaz

Personal Glimpses with Mavis Makuni

ZIMBABWE Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) board chairman Justin Mutasa made an
interesting statement while giving oral evidence to the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communications.

Told point blank by a member of the committee that it was immoral for the
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation to charge the exorbitant fees it is
proposing to levy for radio and television licences, Mutasa retorted: "We
are running a business, we cannot go back to government to ask for money".
His argument, which was supported by the new chief executive officer of ZBH,
Henry Muradzikwa, was that hapless radio listeners and television viewers
were the only source from whom the astronomical amounts of money needed to
rebuild the national broadcasting service could be extricated.
The CEO said ZBC had been hit with such a constant exodus of "experienced"
staff that it would no longer retrench any employees. Plans to reduce the
number of employees at ZBH have been on the cards since the departure of
Jonathan Moyo as Information and Publicity Minister in 2005. Moyo will be
remembered as the man responsible for dismantling the once viable
broadcasting service to replace it with the perennial loss-making government
propaganda outlet in place today. Moyo's successor, Tichaona Jokonya, was on
the verge of rationalising and restructuring the system when he died
suddenly in July last year. Paul Munyaradzi Mangwana, who headed the
information ministry until last week's cabinet reshuffle, in which he was
replaced by Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, initially pledged to implement Jokonya's
blueprint but the story somehow changed along the way.
Now, the nation is being told that the number of employees, which reached
record levels during Moyo's endless restructuring exercises during which
seasoned broadcasters were systematically ejected to make way for greenhorns
who could be easily manipulated and controlled, is to be left intact. It
will be remembered that the practice of hiring staff on the basis of pliancy
and political correctness and connections rather than merit and suitability
was adopted after the powers-that-be had decreed the national broadcaster
should be turned into an exclusive government propaganda machine. It has
been downhill since then in terms of viability and profitability, the bulk
of which should come from advertising.
Mutasa seems to have conveniently forgotten this background when he insists
that the only way for ZBH to regain lost ground is to charge the
extortionate sums it has proposed as licence fees. Why should listeners and
viewers be expected to cough up $50 000 for household radios, $200 000 for
car radios and $150 000 for television when all they get in return is
unrelenting bombardment with ennui-inducing government propaganda? In all
fairness, the government, which has hijacked the national broadcaster to
peddle partisan political propaganda, should put its money where its mouth
is. After, all, he who calls the tune pays the piper.
Officials in the Ministry of Information and Publicity have quite overtly
directed and controlled operations at ZBH, down to the hiring of even the
most junior staff member. This meddling has contributed in no small measure
to the crumbling of a once viable concern. The government cannot have it
both ways. It cannot maintain its iron grip on the national broadcaster and
then expect the public to pay for the consequences. If the national
broadcasting service must be restored, the government must provide funding
during the lean period of trying to win back audiences lost over the years
when aggressive and hate-filled propaganda has become the mainstay of radio
and television programming.
Before they can be expected to pay the exorbitant amounts being proposed by
ZBH, listeners and viewers need to feel that the various radio stations and
ZTV are working in their best interests to provide varied and interesting
programmes to replace the juvenilia that it currently churns out. ZBH is now
so unviable because advertisers, listeners and viewers have deserted it in
droves to escape having their senses assaulted with the drab and dull
programming that manifests itself in off-putting monotony and parochial
bias. ZBC is unlikely to regain the confidence of listeners and viewers
unless it genuinely strives to give an honest service that fulfills a need
and then goes out and sells it.
If the national broadcaster develops a distinct, strong and independent
approach and serves the public interest faithfully, it will attract an
audience and regain the confidence of advertisers. The fact that ZBH
inspectors have to go door to door to force the public to pay licence fees
should send a clear message about the quality of service it provides.
The suggestion that consumers will be allowed to pay for their licences in
instalments is more absurd. It means that the national broadcaster is
forcing listeners and viewers to go into debt simply because they own radios
and television sets. Most people bought these gadgets when ZBC was still a
respectable broadcaster. Most people now use the gadgets to tune in to
foreign radio and television stations.
ZBH is trying to do things in a lopsided way because it does not have an
audience to deliver to advertisers. The national broadcaster is trying to
force audiences to take the place of advertisers by making them pay for a
level and quality of service that does not exist. Mutasa needs to be
reminded that if the national broadcaster were indeed operating as a
commercial concern as he was so anxious to impress upon the portfolio
committee on transport and communications, it should be generating enough
revenue from advertising to make it unnecessary to ambush listeners and
viewers with ransom-like charges for radio and licence fees. The broadcaster
should go back to basics and recruit the right people for the job. It should
train more people like Vardis Banga who has the right voice and on-air
presence to hold the attention of an audience.
The notion that anyone from the "kindergarten brigade" that populates radio
and television can be a newsreader or presenter is an insult to the
intelligence of audiences. Viewers and listeners are tired of the antics of
some of these youthful amateurs such as the exaggerated sighing of Butler
Nhepure and the halting monotones of a number of others who are touted as
newsreaders and presenters. ZBH needs to address some of these basics before
it can dream of establishing a service that takes into account the needs and
interests of all stakeholders and the total market in which it operates.


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What is Cabinet hiding?

FinGaz

Comment

"IT has been the political career of this man to begin with hypocrisy,
proceed with arrogance and finish with contempt." Words to that effect were
said of John Adams by Thomas Paine some years ago.

But he could equally have been speaking of some Zimbabwean government
ministers who continue to show contempt for Parliament and disdain for the
people. The Financial Gazette reported last week that some ministers had
summoned ruling ZANU PF MPs serving as chairpersons of various committees
whom they perceived to be vociferous and casting doubt on the Cabinet's
competence.
This is not the first time government ministers have kicked up a stink over
no-holds-barred hearings conducted by the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committees. Five months ago, a terrible political row erupted between
Cabinet and the heads of Parliamentary Portfolio Committees following an
attempt by some Cabinet ministers to suppress evidence from hearings that
they considered embarrassing to government.
The irresponsible and under-performing cabal has not given up yet. It still
wants the committees to back off as can be seen through its latest
threatening behaviour meant to frighten the portfolio committees. It does
not take rocket science to see that the move is well calculated to remind
the ruling ZANU PF MPs who brought them to the dance and that they should
therefore know better than seeing, hearing and speaking evil. This, in our
own estimation, is unacceptable political intimidation, bribery and
blackmail - a thin end of the wedge that should be nipped in the bud
particularly for a country that claims to be committed to building a more
democratic and open society.
But how can government ministers, who no longer enjoy public confidence and
are justifiably blamed for plunging the economy into a deep crisis, have the
effrontery to accuse the portfolio committees of casting them in bad light?
As pointed out by the MPs, who to their credit seem determined not to debase
themselves in the way demanded by the ministers, if this is not Cabinet
interference in Parliamentary work, then we don't know what is. Why are the
ministers who couldn't lie straight in bed, so jittery? What do they have to
hide?
To the best of our knowledge, these Portfolio Committees have, during their
deliberations or in their reports thereafter, said nothing that isn't true.
They have always made statements of facts. So what is the hullabaloo all
about? Were the portfolio committees formed to rubber-stamp government
mistakes whereby their members would just grit their teeth and put up with
it lest they provoke the ire of incompetent ministers?
Yes, there are too many questions. But it is not difficult to see why the
ministers, incorrigibly appointed on the basis of political party
affiliation and allegiance, are desperate to stop the committees from
piercing self-serving veils of government secrecy by guiding them as they
search for the truth.
Turkeys are not known to vote for an early Christmas! Thus the ministers are
stonewalling investigations into problem areas because it will expose their
failures, incompetence, shocking and confounding corruption in high places,
the role played by the government's misguided and irrational policies in
weighing down the economy and the resultant misery and extreme poverty it
has visited upon Zimbabweans.
In the ministers' warped sense of reasoning, the slightest hint of scandal
and failure will be used by critics as yet another stick to beat government
with. Thus, instead of respecting the truth, public trust and interest they
are pushing for a chokehold on embarrassing information through fear and
intimidation.
Indeed, the ministers' arrogance, contempt for Parliament and disdain for
the people can only lead to one conclusion. If nothing else, the ministers'
political behaviour, which is beyond the pale, underlines an ever present
need for a root and branch reform of Zimbabwe's political system to create a
new dispensation that upholds certain key values to society as a whole. This
entails the formulation of a new constitution that limits the abuse of
political power and ensures the accountability of the executive power to
legislative power.


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Over tenth of Zim on brink of starvation

FinGaz

Zhean Gwaze Staff Reporter

THE estimated number of vulnerable Zimbabweans in immediate need of food aid
has risen sharply from the previously projected 1.4 million, a new food
assessment report shows..

The Famine Early Warning System Network (Fewsnet) says that the number of
vulnerable people has risen from the 1.4 million estimated to need food aid
last March, when rural assessment data was last collected.
The increase in the projected number of people facing starvation follows the
peak of the hunger season, which falls between December and January and the
deepening economic crisis.
Inflation, which soared to 1 593.6 in January, has resulted in most poor
households being unable to secure basic foodstuffs, Fewsnet says.
"As the peak hunger period approaches many farming household's maize,
sorghum and millets stocks have run out, and they have turned to the market
for their supplies of food," the report reads.
"Many rural and urban households are struggling to earn enough income to
purchase adequate food given the ever-rising cost of living and the economic
decline."
In November last year, more than 3 000 metric tonnes were distributed to at
least 500 000 people through food assistance programmes of the World Food
Programme (WFP) and its partners.
The number of people accessing aid will increase if the group's feeding
programme is authorised by the government, and begins on time, aid agencies
say.
The Fewsnet report, however, paints a gloomy picture of the food situation
this year, saying erratic rain this season presented a serious challenge to
farmers.
"The forecast for the remaining second half of the rainfall season is not
very positive; it points towards increased chances of below normal rainfall
for almost the whole country. An El Nino was detected in September 2006 and
is likely to continue until at least early 2007," the report says.
Outgoing United Nations special envoy James Morris last year urged President
Robert Mugabe to lift all restrictions on aid agencies and grant them access
to starving people across Zimbabwe.


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FinGaz Letters



  Corruption has taken root at the Poly

EDITOR - When government officials talk about corruption, they pretend to be
clean. The Ministry of Higher Education released the November 2006 results
very early this year but the results have shown that corruption has taken
root at Harare Polytechnic. We sat for Electrical Engineering examinations
and in this exam there is a subject which was dreaded by most candidates -
Analog Electronics.
What we witnessed during the exam was shocking. Almost 10 candidates were
caught red-handed cheating in the examination room by one alert invigilator.
The candidates had pieces of paper on which they had written notes and taken
into the examination room.
At the end of the examination the concerned candidates were asked to write
reports. But when we were outside the candidates were bragging that the
overzealous invigilator was going to be surprised to see them pass come
February. We initially dismissed this as cheap talk from disgraced people.
But when the results were released, true to their word, the cheating
candidates got their results and they passed. If this is not corruption we
wonder what is. How individuals who were caught cheating in full view of all
candidates get positive results and are not disqualified defies logic and
only serves to confirm that the HEXCO examination system has gone to the
dogs.
If HEXCO can not disqualify candidates where there is overwhelming evidence
of cheating, then we can not even talk of quality education. What pains us
most is the fact that many of us honest candidates failed that subject.
This can only mean that either the invigilators were paid to withhold the
evidence or the college decided to ignore the evidence in order to give the
impression of a high pass rate.
Our problem is that undeserving people passed the examination while
innocent, hardworking candidates were sacrificed. How can we trust the
examination system anymore?
The responsible ministry must thoroughly investigate how Harare Polytechnic
handled the 2006 examinations. This is only the tip of an iceberg.

Sacrificed for being honest
Harare
------------
 We are our own liberators

EDITOR - The sit-in organised by the Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ) is not based on ingratitude towards the employer. It is intended to
consientise each other of our responsibility towards liberating ourselves by
participating in the demand for the restoration of our dignity through
sustainable living wages.
Unfortunately some quarters of civil society and teaching fraternity have
misconstrued this to be a sit-in only by PTUZ members and those teachers in
defiance of the employer. On the contrary, PTUZ made it clear in its strike
notices that this action is for all teachers inclusive of ZIMTA, PTUZ, TUZ
and those non-affiliated teachers irrespective of social, economic,
political, religious or racial inclinations.
We are facing the same challenges across the divide in this economic turmoil
so there is no need for anyone to step on anyone's toes since we are
fighting for the same cause. It is of utmost importance for all of us to be
responsible to ourselves, colleagues and families by demanding a sustainable
wage.
Presently none of us can afford bread and butter daily till the next month
end. Credit lines in shops have been cut due to hyperinflation. It is now a
pipe-dream for us to afford a television set, which is priced at an average
of $1.2 million and the trader requires 50 percent down-payment before we
get a credit facility. These and more problems have seen us struggling to
survive till the next pay day on our meagre salaries.
In a recent salary proposal for February 2007 by ZIMTA, on top of the basic
salary, housing and transport allowances the union also added a dressing
allowance although it was turned down. Prices of clothes have gone through
the roof, making it a daunting task to afford decent clothes. Some have
resorted to buying home-made clothes. This has seen a lot of teachers
absconding from duty and resorting to supplementary projects to cushion
their income.
These problems have brought about this collective job action spearheaded by
PTUZ in an effort to bring to the employer's attention that our incomes are
not sufficient.
A lot of backbiting has been taking place in schools among teachers in an
effort by some individuals to impress the administrators. Unfortunately
ladies and gentlemen, no administrator will encourage workers to go on
strike. No employer will offer a sustainable income without employees
pressing for it. A case in point is the nurses who got a small top-up to
their January income, which is better than nothing.
The unity of purpose displayed by the nurses should be nurtured among us.
Demanding a living wage does not mean that we don't want to work. We were
trained for this job by the government for which we are grateful. But we can
not continue to pretend to be patriotic by merely availing ourselves at
workplaces while we are not delivering to the best of our abilities

TJM
Seke, Chitungwiza
----------
 Who do we nail to the cross?

EDITOR - We'll get our new constitution, and it will be the very same
document proposed and rejected by a referendum before the nightmare began.
He will get his way, or we will all die. Or we will all get our way and
others will die. Which way democracy? Do we democratically elect the
undemocratic? Or Do we use undemocratic measures to bring about democracy?
Whose undemocratic measure is best? Whose democratic measure is best?
We have our cross. Who do we nail to it?

Criss Cross
Harare
-------------
 Silence is betrayal

EDITOR - In the life of every normal individual there comes a time when one
realises that silence is betrayal and that something has to be done to
quickly do away with the abnormal situation that one finds himself/herself
in.
It is for this sole reason that I am reliably convinced that the time has
indeed come for serious human rights defenders to speak out against the
suffering (in every sense of the word) that we have experienced under the
ZANU PF regime. Required in Zimbabwe today are people who speak up for
people who cannot speak for themselves. Of worth to note also is that there
is need for human rights activists to protect the rights of the poor and
needy (Proverbs 31:8ff)
Some may ask, where does this self-acclaimed human rights defender stand? I
am very clear on where I stand when it comes to issues that are of national
importance. I am against poverty, tyranny and war - the three enemies of
humanity. My submission is that these three enemies of humanity are among us
and a lot has to be done to do away with them. This means that I have, just
like any concerned citizen, no other choice but to clearly register my
displeasure with the regime that no longer has anything to offer to the
suffering masses.
I am however optimistic that there is, as it were, no night so long that it
does not end with dawn. I believe everything has a beginning and an end. In
our vernacular, "chinobhururuka chinomhara". How important can people be? We
are all equal and therefore we should act towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood and not a situation where some comrades are more equal than
others.
Noteworthy is the fact that we all have to play our part to make sure that
things start working for us. Remember, a hard-working farmer has plenty to
eat while those who waste time will always be poor. In like manner, there's
an incumbent need for all Zimbabweans to start acting since this is good for
the country.
I have painfully come face to face with how ZANU PF has decimated our
livelihood and to be frank with you it pains me to learn that Zimbabweans
have nothing to show for the 27 years that they have been independent. How
then can one justify being a leader of a country with a bad human rights
record, with the highest inflation in the world, where citizens experience
hell on earth due to sheer misrule? The list could go on and on.

Mutsa Murenje
Harare

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