http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Politics
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe is reportedly ready to relinquish power to Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai should the premier win critical elections
expected around
June this year, the Zimbabwe Independent has learnt.
Report by Owen
Gagare
Sources close to the two erstwhile bitter rivals revealed that
Mugabe
and Tsvangirai held a series of meetings in December over the
make-or-break
elections and agreed to ensure they would be held in a
peaceful environment
to guarantee a free and fair outcome thus allowing the
country to move
forward. They both agreed that whoever loses should accept
defeat for the
sake of political stability.
The unity government
partners agreed to safeguard the smooth running of the
electoral process by
meeting the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and Human
Rights Commission, both
essential in the electoral process, to assess their
preparedness for the
vote.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai, once sworn enemies who now seem to have
found each
other courtesy of the almost four-year-old Government of National
Unity,
agreed that the Zimbabwean crisis had dragged on for far too long
with
devastating socio-economic consequences, and credible elections were
crucial
to resolving the current political gridlock.
Presidential
spokesperson George Charamba confirmed that the principals met
several times
to discuss the constitution-making process and timing of
elections although
“no meeting had been convened to discuss the etiquette of
winning or losing
elections”.
Charamba also confirmed there was an “understanding” that
victors should win
with grace and losers should accept defeat, although he
said this was not
agreed at a specific meeting, but was reached as a result
of constant
interaction between the inclusive government and political
principals.
“That understanding is not a result of a specific meeting,”
said Charamba.
“It’s the inevitable outcome of the daily interactions across
parties in
cabinet, in the context of principals’ meetings and private
meetings between
them. I don’t think the president sees Tsvangirai as a
rival. They see each
other as contestants who can still meet a day after the
elections,” Charamba
said.
However, Charamba said Mugabe was
confident of winning the polls.
“We are working flat out for a win and we
are looking forward to receiving a
congratulatory message from the prime
minister when we win.”
Charamba said Mugabe’s relationship with Tsvangirai
had evolved with time
and the country was now moving away from the politics
of rancour, bitterness
and boycotts.
Constant interactions had
resulted in people finding each other and
realising they all have a duty to
build Zimbabwe, he said. “My personal view
is that we have discovered in our
politics that even saints have faults
while demons have friendly
attributes.”
Charamba said Mugabe wanted a government in place before the
country
celebrates its Independence on April 18, and by the time the country
hosts
the United Nations World Tourism Organisation general assembly in
August,
and was therefore pushing for early polls.
Mugabe and
Tsvangirai met after sustained pressure from Sadc, which
continues to insist
on free and fair elections. Sadc is the guarantor of the
Global Political
Agreement (GPA) which gave birth to the present inclusive
government. This
was after the disputed June 2008 presidential poll run-off
in which the
military launched a brutal and bloody campaign to retain Mugabe
in power.
Tsvangirai had earlier defeated Mugabe but fell short of the
required
majority to assume office.
South African President Jacob Zuma, the
Sadc-appointed facilitator to the
Zimbabwean political crisis and his
Tanzanian counterpart, Jakaya Kikwete
who chairs the Sadc Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security Co-operation,
have been pushing hard for credible polls
to end the political
logjam.Zimbabwe was represented at the meeting by
Foreign Affairs minister
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi as Mugabe was attending his
Zanu PF party conference
in Gweru.
Sources said Mugabe wanted to
salvage his soiled legacy by delivering a
peaceful, free, fair and credible
election, hence his decision to task
Tsvangirai with ensuring the proper
groundwork is laid for polls. Tsvangirai
has been meeting Zec officials as
part of this mandate.
Tsvangirai informed the MDC-T national executive
and national council on
December 18 and 19 that he had held useful meetings
with Mugabe and urged
his party to be ready for polls, which he said could
be held in June.
Tsvangirai’s chief of staff Alex Magaisa said he was
unaware of any deal or
an agreement on the election date, although he
confirmed there seemed to be
a consensus to deliver free and fair
polls.
“What I can confirm is that the prime minister and the president,
although I
cannot speak on his (Mugabe) behalf, are united on the point that
the next
elections should be credible and legitimate,” said Magaisa.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in
Politics
RECENT meetings the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has been
holding
with individual political parties have raised concerns the body is
not yet
independent enough to preside over a free and fair
poll.
Report by Elias Mambo/Herbert Moyo
Although Zec is mandated
to provide electoral information to all parties, it
is its meeting with Zanu
PF that has raised suspicions after it emerged the
body prepared a report
advising the party to devise strategies to prevent
voter apathy in national
elections expected in June.
Zanu PF politburo sources told the Zimbabwe
Independent the party is taking
Zec’s recommendations seriously and included
them in a report tabled at its
conference in Gweru last month.
“They
(Zec) gave us advice on dealing with voter apathy as a way of ensuring
our
success in the forthcoming elections,” said one source.
“We tabled those
recommendations at the conference because we take them
seriously.”
Zanu PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa said
there is nothing
wrong in getting reports from Zec.
“If you ask for
anything from Zec they must give you their response and that
will be a
report,” said Mutasa. “Any party can contact Zec and ask them what
they want
to know concerning electoral issues.”
The Welshman Ncube-led MDC said Zec’s
role should be limited to creating a
conducive atmosphere for
elections.
The MDC-T met Zec in November over the voters’ roll. The party
has been
calling for a complete overhaul of the Zec secretariat saying it is
staffed
with former soldiers and security officials.
In its Minimum
Conditions for Sustainable Elections report, the MDC-T says
“the new Zec
must have the opportunity of recruiting staff afresh and not be
saddled with
legacy issues of the past”.
In the 2008 elections Zec withheld presidential
poll results for five weeks
after Zanu PF had lost its parliamentary
majority for the first time since
Independence.
Political observers
said Zec should not hold separate meetings with
political parties since it
has always been suspected of having Zanu PF
links.
“If Zec meets
political parties separately it exposes its duplicity and
partisan nature
making it unfit to administer the next polls,” said Zimbabwe
Democracy
Institute director Pedzisai Ruhanya.
However, Zec deputy chairperson
Joyce Kazembe refuted allegations of
partisanship saying her organisation
has an open-door policy.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Politics
ZIMBABWE
is bracing itself for crucial elections this year and once again
the battle
for supremacy is likely to be between President Robert Mugabe’s
Zanu PF and
the MDC-T, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s, although Welshman
Ncube’s MDC
may snatch enough seats to have a say on how the country is
governed for the
next five years.
Report by Owen Gagare
The polls, which President
Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party insist will
be in March although the MDC
formations and other political players believe
the deadline is unrealistic,
would bring to an end the inclusive government’s
acrimony-riddled
tenure.
The inclusive government has been dominated by endless squabbles
which
resulted in the MDC-T threatening to pull out in October 2009 over the
non-implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
Some of
the provisions of the GPA are still to be implemented while constant
bickering over the constitution-making process, one of the key signposts for
elections, has resulted in a three-year delay.
According to the GPA
the constitution-making process should have been
completed in 18 months, but
has limped on with little hope of completion
since 2009.
There seems
to be a realisation or a reluctant acceptance by the MDC
formations that
Zanu PF would not fully honour the GPA, and some issues
would have to be
addressed by the next government.
In any case, elections are also
constitutionally due this year, leaving the
parties with little choice but
to go for polls.
The political parties are increasingly in election mode
as evidenced by the
intensifying campaigns going on countrywide despite the
fact that the
parties are still to hold their primary elections.
Zanu
PF has been campaigning through Mugabe’s presidential inputs scheme and
the
economic empowerment and indigenisation programme, while a host of party
supporters who wish to stand on the party’s ticket are going around
campaigning and donating all sorts of goodies amid charges of brazen
vote-buying.
The MDC-T is preparing for its primaries and
candidate-confirmation process.
Potential candidates from the party have
also been campaigning.
Ncube has been holding rallies almost every
weekend while his team has been
very active on the social media scene,
canvasing for support.
For the first time since Independence, Zanu PF
lost its parliamentary
majority in the 2008 harmonised polls while Mugabe
lost the first round of
the presidential polls to Tsvangirai.
He was
rescued by the military, which embarked on a brutal and bloody
campaign to
intimidate the electorate ahead of the June 27 presidential
election
runoff.
The battle for the presidency is expected to be between Mugabe
and
Tsvangirai once again.
Mugabe is still riding on his and Zanu
PF’s liberation war credentials which
he has always bragged about in the
run-up to previous elections, but which,
alone, can no longer assure him of
sufficient votes from a hard-pressed
electorate which wants bread-and-butter
issues addressed.
The role the veteran ruler and his Zanu PF peers played
during the war is
however widely respected and revered in some quarters to
the extent some
voters would sympathise or identify with him regardless of
circumstances. He
is widely seen as a symbol of the fight against
imperialism, but it remains
to be seen if his controversial empowerment
programme will sway the vote in
his favour.
Mugabe and Zanu PF’s
biggest problem is the veteran leader’s age. He is
turning 89 next month and
has clearly been slowed down by old age and
ill-health.
Even high
ranking Zanu PF officials are not sure he would be able to
withstand the
rigours of a presidential campaign, but have not been bold
enough to ask him
to step aside.
At 89, Mugabe surely does not represent the future and
Zanu PF may pay
dearly for its failure to choose someone to succeed
him.
The party has also been in power for too long, analysts say, and is
blamed
for running down a once thriving economy, although Zanu PF insists
sanctions
are the major cause.
Zanu PF would be going into the
elections divided by its failure to solve
the succession issue, which has
resulted in extensive factionalism.
The party has been divided into two
large camps, one allegedly led by
Vice -President Joice Mujuru and the other
by Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
The entry of the MDC
formations into the coalition government is viewed as
one of the reasons why
the economy has somewhat stabilised and that could be
a plus for them going
into the elections.
MDC-T could cash-in and get a majority. The party has
come up with an
ambitious economic policy, Jobs Upliftment Investment
Capital and the
Environment (Juice) and it remains to be seen how the
electorate will warm
to it.
Corruption allegations and Tsvangirai’s
personal indiscretions may, however,
sway some voters against the
party.
The MDC-T is also sharply divided over the selection criteria of
candidates
with the leadership insisting on the confirmation of sitting MPs
while the
grassroots are demanding open primaries.
The confirmation
criteria is seen as a ploy by the party’s leadership to
ring-fence their
seats but this has created discontent which may work
against the performance
of the party in the polls.
It would be a miracle if Ncube’s MDC wins the
presidential election or
secures a parliamentary majority, but the party’s
best bet would be to
secure as many seats as possible in
Matabeleland.
The party’s biggest drawback is the belief in some circles
that it is
pushing a tribal agenda, an allegation vehemently denied by Ncube
and his
backers.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Politics
THE MDC formation
led by Professor Welshman Ncube, Zapu and the Patriotic
Union of
Matabeleland (Puma) have signed an agreement to unite during
elections
expected later this year to fight MDC-T and Zanu PF in
Matabeleland and the
Midlands.
Brian Chitemba
Top level sources told the Zimbabwe
Independent on Wednesday that
representatives of the political parties
recently met in South Africa where
they signed documents to seal the
deal.
Zapu secretary-general Ralph Mguni and MDC treasurer Paul Themba
Nyathi
reached an agreement on behalf of their parties after several months
of
engagement, according to a senior MDC official.
Zapu president
Dumiso Dabengwa and MDC spokesman Nhlanhla Dube denied that
an agreement to
unite during the elections had been sealed, but sources
insisted Dabengwa
agreed to endorse Ncube as the presidential candidate
while the parties will
work on a formula to share constituencies in
Bulawayo, and Matabeleland
North and South.
“I am not aware of the agreement; there is nothing like
that,” said
Dabengwa.
But sources said the parties agreed to keep the
deal under wraps “until an
appropriate time”.
“There is also going to
be a working formula of how Puma will be supported
in some constituencies by
the MDC and Zapu. It’s a coalition of parties that
share a common vision and
goals,” said a source.
The political parties, which are largely popular
in Matabeleland and
Midlands regions, are vocal on calling for devolution of
power to be
provided for in the new governance charter despite spirited
resistance from
Zanu PF.
Apart from the Midlands and Matabeleland
regions, the parties are also
eyeing some constituencies in
Manicaland.
“The whole idea is to make sure the parties unite and win
constituencies to
create a hung parliament so that Zanu PF and the MDC-T
won’t have free
reign,” said the source. “This will enable Matabeleland MPs
to push for
issues that are sensitive to the region like devolution of power
and
Gukurahundi compensation.”
The political parties have repeatedly
said the only way to topple President
Robert Mugabe from his 32-year
iron-fist rule was a strong coalition to
avoid splitting votes to the
advantage of Zanu PF.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in News
IN the latest
sign that President Robert Mugabe’s demands for elections in
March would be
impossible to fulfil, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)’s
voter
registration exercise scheduled to have commenced yesterday suffered a
still-birth due to cash constraints.
Report by Herbert
Moyo
Zec deputy chairperson Joyce Kazembe confirmed the delay in
disbursing funds
from treasury had resulted in the postponement of the
exercise which her
organisation was supposed to conduct together with the
office of the
Registrar-General.
“We were supposed to have started
(voter registration) yesterday but the
money for the exercise still hasn’t
come. We were told the money is coming
but as you are aware the year is only
starting so we will just wait,”
Kazembe told the Zimbabwe Independent in an
interview on Wednesday.
Kazembe said the exercise, which would see
outreach teams being deployed to
all parts of the country, is intended to
“upgrade and clean up the voters’
roll”.
“We intend to remove all
deceased persons and add new voters onto the roll,”
she said.
Zec
deputy public relations officer Tendayi Pamire recently told the state
media
that their records indicate there are currently 5,5 million people
registered to vote, and urged more to come forward and
register.
Kazembe also stated they expected the exercise to last at least
two months,
a scenario which would see the exercise spilling into March, and
therefore
making it impossible for elections to be held that month as
demanded by
Mugabe. The registration exercise is just one of many
impediments standing
in the way of early elections, with the completion of
the
constitution-making exercise being the main stumbling block.
Zec
and the Registrar-General’s office have in the past been accused of
partisanship in the running of elections, particularly from the MDC
formations who allege that the voters’ roll is full of ghost voters and
prone to manipulation.
A top research institute, the Zimbabwe
Democracy Institute, recently alleged
the Zec secretariat remains wholly
unreformed and full of intelligence
agents and cannot deliver free and fair
elections, allegations which have
also been made by the MDC-T.
Zec
has previously said it requires US$220 million for both the referendum
and
elections.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in News
THE
Chisumbanje Ethanol Project is set to resume production on Monday after
the
adoption of recommendations of the inter-ministerial committee chaired
by
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.
Report by Brian
Chitemba
After a series of visits and meetings, the cabinet committee
finally agreed
on an adoption of mandatory blending starting with 5% and
gradually moving
to 10% and 20%, paving way for the resumption of operations
at the massive
project.
Sources said stocks of ethanol have been
moved from Feruka in Mutare to
Msasa in Harare in preparation for mandatory
blending.
The inter-ministerial committee recommended that only E5 be
mandatory while
that of E10, E20, E85 and E100 blends continue as optional
products on the
market for vehicles compatible with them.
The
committee stated that logistics and infrastructure for all blending
levels
must be developed quickly and should be done from Msasa and at oil
companies’ outlets until alternative sites are in place; in particular
modifications at Feruka.
Sources said all the necessary
infrastructure and logistics were in place
for operations to resume at
Chisumbanje after production stopped in February
when Green Fuel failed to
get government support for the 10% mandatory
blending.
The company
pinned its hopes on mandatory blending to help sell 10 million
litres of
ethanol it had produced.
Repeated efforts to get a comment from Green
Fuel spokesperson Lilian
Muungani were fruitless as she had not responded to
questions sent to her
yesterday.
Energy minister Elton Mangoma
vehemently resisted Green Fuel’s proposal for
mandatory E10 saying there was
no justification in enacting a law to benefit
one private
company.
The Chisumbanje project is a joint venture between private
companies Macdom
Investments, Rating and the state-run Arda. It employs
about 4 500 workers
who were being paid just 55% of their salaries since
operations stopped last
year.
Green Fuel suspended production at
Chisumbanje after finding itself stuck
with ethanol due to a low market
uptake. The problem was further compounded
by the lack of additional storage
for a third product in the form of E10 by
most fuel retail
outlets.
Green Fuel believes the introduction of mandatory blending of
ethanol and
petrol would make the project viable and help Zimbabwe cut its
massive fuel
import bill. There are also concerns that the company is still
to compensate
villagers who were displaced to make way for the project. Over
287 villagers
were forced to relocate to Mozambique.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in News
AFTER many
years of persistently crying foul for being ripped off by Zesa’s
estimation-based billing system, many residents countrywide have finally
heaved a sigh of relief after the power utility’s on-going installation of
pre-paid meters.
Report by Wongai Zhangazha
Zesa had for years
been short-changing hard-pressed consumers by sending
them estimated bills
resulting in residents paying inflated bills despite
intermittent power cuts
that occasionally stretched for days or weeks in
some
areas.
Consumers also complained Zesa bills were frequently late, making
it
difficult to budget for power consumption.
Last year the Zimbabwe
Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company
(ZETDC), a subsidiary of
Zesa Holdings, embarked on wholesale replacement of
all conventional
post-paid meters with pre-paid meters.
The project involves the migration
of about 600 000 domestic and small
business customers from credit metering
to pre-paid or “smart metering” over
a 10- month period.
As of
December 2012, about 23 000 meters had been installed in Harare and
Bulawayo.
The new meters have been installed in the Avenues area,
Mabelreign, the new
Willowvale Flats in Highfield and Belvedere, while in
Bulawayo they have
been installed in Emganwini, Paddonhurst and
Mahatshula.
Other areas earmarked for deployment of pre-paid meters are
Chitungwiza,
Gweru, Kwekwe, Mutare, Masvingo, Chinhoyi, Bindura, Kadoma and
Marondera.
Residents have widely applauded the project, saying they are
relieved to
have the freedom to manage their electricity bills by paying for
actual
consumption.
ZETDC commercial director Enock Ncube said the
initiative has given the
utility the capacity to deliver on its main role of
facilitating the
improvement of availability of electricity to the populace,
as well as the
attainment of self-sufficiency in electricity
generation.
Ncube said: “The utility is a key enabler of the country’s
economic recovery
under the new Medium Term Policy, and as such introduction
of pre-payment
meters to customers is one of the key pillars to achieve
business excellence
and turn around service delivery in the short and
long-term.”
According to Zesa officials, the pre-paid tariff is lower
than the metered
tariff as it eliminates meter reading, billing and postage
costs.
The officials added that electricity debt on the post-paid account
would be
transferred to the new pre-paid account, meaning 20% of pre-paid
electricity
purchase would go towards clearing the consumer’s
debt.
Although the pre-paid meters have proved popular with residents who
can now
budget how much they want to spend on electricity, there are fears
installation of the meters does not address the problem of cost since Zesa
still owes millions of US dollars in power imports, or the availability of
power in the country. Zesa produces about 1 200MW of electricity against a
national demand of 2 200MW.
Installation of pre-paid meters may also
result in poor households and
essential service providers such as clinics
and hospitals finding themselves
without power after failing to buy
electricity since the meters have turned
power into a cash
commodity.
Most essential service providers depend on government and
donor funding,
meaning they can only settle their bills after funding has
been secured. The
pre-paid meter system does not make an allowance for most
essential services
being plunged into darkness for far longer periods
compared to the power
cuts era as electricity would only be restored after
topping up.
Electricity tariffs are likely to go up due to the wholesale
installation of
pre-paid meters given that power has to be purchased from
the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Mozambique, analysts said.
“It
appears as though government has decided to pass on the cost (of power
imports) to the user without democratically explaining affordability of the
important energy source for many urban households and industries,” said an
analyst who requested anonymity.
“It’s a decision to privatise
electricity to allow Zesa to pass on the cost
to the consumer at
unreasonable rates, while at the same time claiming to be
efficient.”
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association co-ordinator
Rodrick Fayayo
applauded the pre-paid system for doing away with the
discredited estimate
billing system.
“The relief that came with that
project is that it has dealt with the
problem of estimate billing,” said
Fayayo. “However, electricity will now be
turned into a commercial service
rather than a basic right. If you don’t
have money then you don’t have
electricity. In Bulawayo, there are many
residents who are elderly and
child-headed households which cannot afford to
buy electricity. What happens
to them? What is Zesa’s plan for them? I think
Zesa did not fully prepare
for this initiative and had selfish reasons.”
Consumer Council of
Zimbabwe executive director Rosemary Siyachitema said
although her
organisation was at the forefront of pushing for pre-paid
meters, it was yet
to do a proper assessment of Zesa’s initiatives from a
consumer
perspective.
“We have not done an assessment yet of the progress so far
over the pre-paid
meters from a consumer point of view,” Siyachitema said.
“This is something
we plan to do mid-year.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in News
AS thousands of
Zimbabweans are deported from South Africa, hundreds of
migrant children
awaiting deportation are being held in appalling conditions
in detention
facilities near Johannesburg and Musina, despite calls from
legal and
medical human rights groups to improve conditions.
Report by Tendai
Marima
Immigration authorities say about 43 000 Zimbabweans were deported
from
South Africa in 2012.
Among the deportees were accompanied and
unaccompanied minors. Up to 600
unaccompanied minors were sent back to
Zimbabwe by South African authorities
in 2012.
Lawyers for Human
Rights (LHR) of South Africa reported that between October
and December
2011, 86 children aged between two and 17 were deported by the
authorities.
LHR is presently representing five Zimbabwean boys
detained at Musina Police
Station and a Congolese teenager being held at the
Lindela detention
facility just outside Johannesburg.
The minors have
been detained longer than the stipulated maximum 120 days
prescribed by
South Africa’s Immigration Act and Immigration Regulations.
According to
LHR executive director Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, the South
African Children’s
Act prevents the detention of children for immigration
purposes and states
that they cannot be removed without a court order.
“Section 138 of the
Children’s Act prohibits the unlawful detention of
children as well as their
removal without a court order,” said
Ramjathan-Keogh. “The Children’s Act is
applicable to all children living
within South African borders. It does not
exclude children who have entered
the country through irregular channels,”
Ramjathan-Keogh said.
LHR says in a report, Monitoring Detention and
Immigration in South Africa,
children are often held together with adults in
overcrowded cells in
contravention of immigration laws, further raising
concerns about the safety
and general well-being of
children.
“Conditions at detention facilities, including at the Lindela
Repatriation
Centre, which shelters detained women and children, and
especially detention
facilities in the Musina area near the Zimbabwean
border, also remain well
below minimum standards,” reads the
report.
“Regarding detention facilities in the Musina area, children are
often
detained and deported with adults, even though this is against the
law,” the
report says.
The report further claims detention cells at
Lindela and Musina are in bad
condition as some detainees interviewed by LHR
complained of inadequate
meals and sleeping in dirty cells with
lice-infested blankets.
“These cells do not have the requisite capacity
to hold the numbers of
Zimbabweans who are arrested and the overcrowding in
the cells is a serious
concern.
“LHR continues to monitor these
detentions in Musina and lobbies for
improved conditions there,” states the
report.
However, the decrepit conditions of detention and the threat of
deportation
have not deterred Zimbabwean minors from illegally crossing the
Limpopo
River into South Africa without any form of
documentation.
According to Professor Lesiba Matsaung of the United Dutch
Reformed Church
who runs two shelters for boys and girls and founder of
Nancefield in
Musina, up to 30 women and girls come to the shelter every
week, while the
boys’ shelter has up to 50 males seeking refuge every
week.
“All of them jumped the border illegally,” said Matsaung. “Some of
the
females are as young as 13. When they arrive here, some tell us they
were
gang-raped at the border. Some are also raped here in Musina by people
who
lure them to secluded areas after promising to help them with shelter,
jobs
and food,” Matsaung said.
Matsaung said the shelters provided by
his church also offered counselling
to rape victims, but added that older
rape victims were reluctant to report
violations partly because of fear that
the perpetrators may seek revenge as
well as the stigma associated with
it.
“Most of them do not want us to open criminal cases with the police
because
of fear of victimisation by the perpetrators. But elderly women also
avoid
opening criminal cases to avoid going to court, which means exposing
them to
their families and partners,” Matsaung said.
Although South
Africa is a signatory to the Convention of the Rights of the
Child, which
states that unaccompanied or accompanied migrant children must
receive the
necessary humanitarian assistance, Zimbabwe’s undocumented
minors hoping for
a better life across the Limpopo risk being detained in
inhospitable
conditions and in some cases, enduring physical and verbal
abuse from South
African immigration authorities.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in News
TOURISM
minister Walter Mzembi has dismissed concerns that slow progress in
rehabilitating infrastructure in Victoria Falls would result in Zimbabwe
failing to meet requisite international standards for the successful hosting
of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly
set for August this year.
Herbert Moyo
Observers have
castigated the slow progress in upgrading the Victoria Falls
International
Airport and the construction of a conference centre to house
the more than 3
000 delegates expected for the gathering, but Mzembi is
adamant all would be
in place for the conference.
A visit this week by the Zimbabwe
Independent to both Victoria Falls and
Livingstone, Zambia, the co-hosts of
the UNWTO, revealed that both towns
have still not completed infrastructural
development crucial to the success
of the event.
Mzembi conceded that
the upgrading of the airport was long overdue because
“each time you land
two or three planes, you have people flowing on the
tarmac and we must fix
that, not just for the UNWTO but for people who will
be coming at other
times”.
He, however, said there was still enough time to meet deadlines
for the
construction of major facilities, especially after government
started to
release funds.
Mzembi said his ministry would be receiving
US$6 million from Finance
minister Tendai Biti this week as part of
government funding for the airport
and conference centre which would
immediately start.
He also disclosed Biti availed US$350 000 last week to
enable his ministry
to participate in fairs in Germany and Spain as part of
efforts to market
the UNWTO and Zimbabwe as a viable tourist
destination.
Mzembi said he had secured a buy-in from the corporate
sector as he seeks to
deliver a memorable world class event. The biggest
single investment is US$5
million expected from diamond mining firm Mbada
Diamonds.
“Mbada will inject funds towards conferencing and hosting of
delegates,”
said Mzembi. “They will also sponsor the official UNWTO dinner
at the
Victoria Falls Hotel where there will be 200 branded tables
representing all
the nations held in the open air overlooking the Victoria
Falls Bridge.”
Mzembi added that the deal was the culmination of a week
of meetings held in
the resort town with top level Mbada
executives.
“We also expect to conclude deals with Africa Sun and Innscor
this week
which will see them coming in as strategic partners and even
taking over the
ownership of the conference facility. In fact, the private
sector is coming
in even more. They were waiting to test government
commitment which has been
demonstrated through the release of seed
funding.”
Zambia is yet to complete its infrastructural developments,
which include a
new terminal at the Harry Nkumbula Airport and
computerisation of the
Victoria Falls/Kazungula and Katima Mulilo border
posts.
Other developments include the upgrading of ablution facilities,
an
inter-city bus terminus and street lighting along Livingstone’s roads.
Zambian government officials in Livingstone confirmed that construction
would start this month and they expect to have finished everything by
June.
Zambia also remains on the yellow fever alert which may scare away
visitors
but Tourism minister Sylvia Masebo said they were working with the
World
Health Organisation “with a view to getting the status down-listed
from low
to zero risk”.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in
News
ZIMBABWE’S political battlegrounds are likely to remain the same in
2013
despite significant demographic changes in the country as announced in
the
preliminary census results released by Zimstat in
December.
Report by Paidamoyo Muzulu
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(Zec) deputy chairperson Joyce Kazembe
announced that there would be no
delimitation exercise ahead of elections
expected this year despite a 1,1%
increase in the population figures
released by Zimstat.
“There is no
delimitation this time around,” said Kazembe. “The 210
constituencies will
remain like what they are now. Even in wards, we will
use what is there
now.”
It marks the first time since Independence that Zimbabwe has failed
to
undertake a delimitation exercise, especially with new population figures
available.
The decision to skip delimitation smacks of political
compromise and
expediency among the political elite. Zanu PF has been
calling for elections
since the conception of the coalition government in
2009.
This is despite outstanding reforms that include a new
constitution, Public
Order and Security Act amendments, security sector and
media reforms as well
as liberalisation of the broadcasting
sector.
MDC-T Harare spokesperson and Justice deputy minister Obert Gutu
last week
said his party was readying itself for the worst case scenario of
participating in elections without full reforms.
“It’s apparent that
the fascist faction in Zanu PF is determined to
completely collapse the
process,” said Gutu. “I don’t want to sound like the
devil’s advocate but I
sincerely urge all democrats to start preparing for
the worst case scenario
where the make-or-break elections in 2013 might be
held under the Lancaster
House constitution,” Gutu wrote on his Facebook
profile.
MDC-T policy
adviser Eddie Cross shared the same sentiments, in an opinion
piece
published online saying since Zanu PF has taken a position on
elections, the
MDC-T too has to take one.
“It seems to me that they have heard the
beaters start their slow drive
towards their position and are now determined
to go for a confrontation with
the MDC,” Cross wrote. “On our part, we have
also decided to go for it and
have agreed to go for a referendum in March
and the election in June.”
According to Zimstat chairman Douglas Hoto,
the country’s population as at
18 August 2012 was 12 973 808, up from the
last recorded figure of 11,6
million in the 2002 census. The preliminary
results show that there are
about 6 738 877 females and 6 234 931 males in
Zimbabwe.
The decision to skip the delimitation exercise, Zec said, is
due to the
government’s precarious financial position.
Zec says the
decision to omit the delimitation exercise would reduce the
state’s poll
budget from an estimated US$220 million to US$192 million. The
country
changed from 120 constituencies to 210 in the 2008 harmonised
elections.
Each constituency had an average population of 46 000 voters.
The massive
increase in the number of constituencies meant the average voter
population
per constituency was reduced to between 23 000 and 26 000. In
the past,
constituency boundaries have always shifted depending on the
demographics
immediately before an election.
Zimstat’s figures show that the northern
half of Zimbabwe has more people
compared to the southern
half.
Population distribution on a province by province basis shows
Harare as the
most populous with 2 098 199 people, representing 16% of the
total
population. Manicaland has 1 755 000 (14%), Midlands 1 622 476 (13%),
Masvingo 1 486 604 (11%), Mashonaland West 1 449 938 (11%), Mashonaland
Central 1 139 940 (9%), Matabeleland North 743 871 (6%), Bulawayo 655 675
(5%) and Matabeleland South 685 046 (5%).
Bulawayo is the only
province to record a decrease in population with a
negative growth of
-0,3%.
The political scene is now set for elections and the gladiators
are staring
into each other’s eyes, with reforms taking a back seat.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in News
ALL over the
world nations that endure violent struggles of liberation
remember their
heroes with songs, folklore and writings that constitute
collective
memory.
Report by Herbert Moyo
George Washington is revered as a
hero of the 1776 war that resulted in
American independence from Britain, as
is Napoleon Bonaparte whose military
conquests of other European states
spanning a 20-year period from 1795 to
1815 brought glory to
France.
In Zimbabwe, the exploits of the likes of Mbuya Nehanda and
Mzilikazi are
recounted orally and in print and electronic media, as are
those of heroes
from the 1970s liberation war who include Herbert Chitepo,
Josiah Tongogara,
Joshua Nkomo and President Robert Mugabe.
According
to Wilfred Mhanda, who commanded the Zimbabwe People’s Army
(Zipa) — an
abortive attempt to unite the military wings of Zapu and Zanu
during the
liberation struggle — a country can express its appreciation of
its war
veterans “in material and other forms of genuine
appreciation”.
Zimbabwe’s war veterans have been getting just that. Last
month Zimbabwe
Defence Forces chief General Constantine Chiwenga is reported
to have told
war veterans that Mugabe had promised them US$2 000 each in
monthly payments
for nine months for their role in the liberation
war.
While they helped liberate the country — as did many other ordinary
people
who remain unsung and deserve a form of assistance from the state —
war
vets, who arm-twisted Mugabe into paying them unbudgeted for gratuities
in
1997 precipitating an economic decline which Zimbabwe is still to recover
from, are unlikely to win many sympathisers with their insatiable
demands.
If anything, Chiwenga’s alleged utterances will aggravate the
widespread
contempt for the ex-combatants whose association with Zanu PF’s
brutal and
violent attempts to cling to power since 2000 have turned the
once thriving
economy into a basket case while consigning the country to
international
pariah status.
For a long time after Independence in
1980, the Zanu PF government paid lip
service to war vets’ needs, paying
them pittances.
“The sums (Z$185 per month over 24 months soon after
Independence) were far
short of what was required to adequately assist
former combatants to ease
themselves back into the capitalist economy
inherited from Rhodesia,” wrote
Zimbabwean scholars Gerald Mazarire and
Martin Rupiya, in their assessment
of the demobilisation packages given to
war vets soon after Independence.
Remembering the extreme hardships they
had endured during the liberation
war, the former fighters were driven to
form the Zimbabwe National
Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWA) in
1990 with Justice Charles
Hungwe as the founding chairperson.
In
1997, the leadership passed on to the late Chenjerai Hunzvi, a process
that
also marked its transformation into a militant outfit.
Riding on a wave
of popular sympathy, Hunzvi and his troops danced and
marched to State
House, eventually arm-twisting Mugabe into paying them a
once-off Z$50 000
per person in 1997, education and medical benefits in
addition to a monthly
government pension.
From that point on, Mugabe, now battling an
increasingly restless civil
society, cunningly turned this humiliation to
his party’s benefit. With the
ZNLWA torn apart by infighting, Mugabe took
full advantage by persuading the
embattled Hunzvi faction to go to bed with
Zanu PF.
Little did the nation know that Zanu PF had created Zimbabwe’s
own version
of Frankenstein’s monster and that “trade off” between an
embattled
government facing civil unrest due to economic hardships and a war
vets
faction facing allegations of corruption, created the unholy alliance
that
set Zimbabwe firmly down the road of political and social
confrontation.
Human rights abuses on perceived Zanu PF opponents became
rampant during
election campaigns from 2000, including murder, rape, torture
and internal
displacement as the war vets ran the show.
Matters
worsened after the defeat of Zanu PF’s constitutional review
proposals in
February 2000 and the MDC gained 57 seats out of a possible 120
in the June
2000 elections.
Already involved in violent farm invasions, the
ubiquitous ex-fighters
extended their reach to the resolution of labour
disputes after forming the
Joseph Chinotimba-led Zimbabwe Federation of
Trade Unions in an attempt to
counter the influence of the Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions, which had
broken ranks with Zanu PF and spearheaded the
formation of the MDC.
Chinotimba even appeared as a guest on state radio
offering his mobile phone
number to anyone who had a labour grievance and
reached his zenith when
Mugabe introduced him to the then visiting Nigerian
president Olusegun
Obasanjo at Harare airport.
In 2007, war vets’
leader Jabulani Sibanda organised the so-called “Million
Men March” aimed at
mobilising support for Mugabe in the 2008 elections. He
followed this up
with his infamous visits to the country’s provinces which
continue to this
day, leaving a trail of destruction and fear.
In 2010, war vets disrupted
Copac’s first all-stakeholders’ conference held
in Harare as part of the
constitution-making exercise, sending MPs and
officials from other political
parties scurrying for cover in the ensuing
violence, while police officers
stood akimbo.
Finance minister Tendai Biti has received numerous
unwelcome visits by the
rowdy war vets demanding hefty pay-outs from
government and accusing him of
all sorts of economic and social
crimes.
“These attacks are political,” said Biti as he castigated the
police for
failing to provide security for hundreds of civil servants who
were locked
inside their offices by war vets last year.
Political
analyst Godwin Phiri said Zimbabweans should be worried about the
manner in
which the war vets have shown they are mercenaries who can easily
be
bought.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in News
THE
principals’ annual leave is dragging out the on-going delicate draft
constitution negotiations as the negotiators have to constantly consult
their parties and principals on every contentious issue before making any
commitments to the draft.
Staff Writer
Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs minister Eric Matinenga confirmed
negotiations, which
missed the Christmas deadline, were still a further two
weeks from
completion.
The committee worked right through the festive season, but
failed to break
the current impasse.
Matinenga chairs the
seven-member committee that is trying to reconcile the
three parties’
positions after an inconclusive Second All-Stakeholders’
Conference held in
October last year.
Other members of the committee are Global Political
Agreement (GPA)
negotiators Patrick Chinamasa (Zanu PF), Tendai Biti (MDC-T)
and Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga (MDC), Copac co-chairpersons Munyaradzi
Paul Mangwana
(Zanu PF) Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T) and Edward Mkhosi
(MDC).
“There won’t be any significant developments to report in the next
two weeks
as we are giving the parties sufficient time to consult on the
sticky
issues,” Matinenga said.However, he was quick to underplay the
absence of
the principals who are on a month-long vacation saying there is a
way to get
to them.
“Mechanisms have been put in place to reach them
even if they are on
vacation,” he said.
President Robert Mugabe is in
the Far East and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai is holidaying in
Europe.
The draft constitution negotiations have been bogged down by four
main
issues raised by Zanu PF, mainly the presidential powers, splitting of
the
Attorney-General’s Office into two — legal advisor role and establishing
a
National Prosecuting Authority — decentralisation as opposed to devolution
and opposition to dual citizenship as currently contained in the
draft.
Mangwana refused to divulge the extent of progress on the
negotiations when
contacted for comment on Wednesday.
“We are still
working on it, but for more information get in touch with
minister
Matinenga,” Mangwana said.
Mwonzora was not available for
comment.
Failure to agree on the draft constitution remains one of the
major
impediments to an early election as Sadc has insisted the country
should
only hold elections after a constitutional referendum and under a new
governing charter as agreed in the 2008 GPA.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in News
JOSTLING
to contest in Zanu PF’s primary elections has reached fever pitch
with the
politburo set to finalise the selection criteria for candidates to
stand on
the party’s ticket in the make-or-break elections expected later
this
year.
Report by Brian Chitemba
The Zanu PF commissariat department
has directed provinces to restructure
cells and any other structures that
play a role in the party’s primaries.
Primary elections guidelines were
drawn up last year by the Zanu PF
mobilisation committee chaired by
secretary for administration Didymus
Mutasa.
A major criterion is
that only card-carrying members who have served the
party for five years or
more consecutively would be eligible to participate.
The five-year rule has
created a storm as it is suspiciously viewed as a
ploy to bar young
politicians from contesting against the party’s ageing
bigwigs.
Senior army officers, diplomats and Tsholotsho North MP
Jonathan Moyo and
maverick businessman Philip Chiyangwa have been exempted
from the five-year
rule. Chiyangwa and Moyo were once expelled from Zanu PF
but have been
exempted because the party believes they have the capacity to
win crucial
seats for it.
The provincial chairpersons who were
involved in the 2004 Tsholotsho debacle
would not be affected by the
five-year rule because they were only suspended
from the party. This leaves
former Manicaland and Midlands chairpersons Mike
Madiro and July Moyo free
to contest.
However, their former Masvingo counterpart Daniel Shumba is
barred from
contesting because he was expelled after forming his own party
following his
suspension.
With primary elections expected between
February and March, political
temperatures have been soaring in various
constituencies as aspiring
candidates fiercely jostle to represent the party
in the parliamentary
elections.
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo
told the Zimbabwe Independent a raft of
primary elections guidelines would
be scrutinised by the politburo’s first
meeting expected end of this
month.
“We are restructuring in preparation for the primary elections
expected
between February and March but the date can only be set after the
finalisation of primary polls guidelines,” said Gumbo.
“A politburo
committee has finished everything around the criteria to choose
election
candidates, (and) the politburo will hopefully meet by end of
January to
chart the way forward for primary elections.”
Gumbo said primary election
guidelines would be made public early next month
after the politburo
meeting.
Politburo members, sources said, were tasked with ensuring
structures were
intact by the end of January to pave way for the
primaries.
“We were told to make sure we have cell structures with 50
members each, and
to co-opt members into any other vacant posts in districts
and provinces,”
said a politburo official.
But party bigwigs are
already endorsing themselves in some constituencies
ahead of the primaries
and blatant vote-buying is also escalating as the
country tilts towards the
critical plebiscite.
Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo has managed
to muscle politburo
member Eunice Sandi-Moyo out of the race for the
Bulilima senatorial seat.
Khaya Moyo has publicly declared his interest
in becoming a senator and
chiefs in the area have already endorsed him as
their preferred candidate.
He has been donating maize meal with packaging
emblazoned with his name and
image as he strives to ensure he wins the seat
to remain politically
relevant in local politics after 10 years of serving
as a diplomat in South
Africa.
Mines minister Obert Mpofu is plotting
to wrestle the Bubi-Umguza senatorial
seat from Lot Mbambo for his wife
Sikhanyisiwe, while his brother Bekithemba
Mpofu is vigorously campaigning
for the Hwange West House of Assembly
constituency.
Mbambo has vowed
to campaign to keep his seat despite a spirited effort by
Mpofu to create a
political office for his wife, currently the Umguza Rural
District Council
chairperson.
Public Service deputy minister Andrew Langa is battling to
protect his
Insiza North seat from Patrick Hove’s
challenge.
Politburo member Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, who has lost the previous
three
parliamentary polls from 2000, is campaigning in Mpopoma where he has
been
regularly donating an assortment of goodies since the beginning of
2012.
Home Affairs co-minister Kembo Mohadi and his wife Tambudzani are
also
campaigning to keep their Beitbridge seats. Kembo is the Beitbridge MP
while
Tambudzani holds the senate seat.
Tourism minister Walter
Mzembi is likely to battle it out with retired
Colonel Philip Toperesu for
the Masvingo South constituency, while Copac
co-chairman Munyaradzi Paul
Mangwana is set to fight it out with Ephraim
Gwanongodza for Chivi Central
in the party’s primaries.
Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo would
be challenged by businessman
Edwin Matibiri in Zvimba
North.
Elsewhere President Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwawo is facing a
stiff
challenge from Central Intelligence Organisation operative Francis
Mukwangwariwa in Zvimba East.
Affirmative Action Group’s Chamu
Chiwanza is eyeing the Mabvuku
constituency, which is also being targeted by
Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation chairman Godwills
Masimirembwa.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in
Business
INDUSTRY minister Welshman Ncube says Zimbabwe should go for
devolution of
power and economic activity in order to save industry in areas
outside
Harare from imminent collapse.
Report by Staff
Writer
Ncube told businessdigest in an interview this week devolution,
which would
decentralise decision-making and economic activity, allows for
better
distribution of buying power and other resources across the country
to
support industry.
“The bulk of businesses find most of their
customers are in Harare and lines
of credit are mostly available in Harare,”
he said.
“Decision-making is also done in Harare.”
“Apart from
devolution, most importantly you need foreign direct investment
to boost
liquidity and confidence among investors,” Ncube added. “For the
past two
years, we have been talking about elections and people, even local
investors, say let’s wait and see what will come out of the elections first.
The moment we talk of elections investors become jittery, but if we were a
normal country elections would not be a peculiar risk.”
His remarks
come after regional bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB),
said
Zimbabwe’s economy was on a de-industrialisation path for cities
outside
Harare as companies succumb to huge operational costs due to huge
distances
from the capital.
The regional bank said in its December Zimbabwe Monthly
Economic Review,
shops were also relocating from other towns to Harare, a
clear signal that
distance from the capital city was proving to be a
significant determinant
of production costs.
Companies in Bulawayo
continue closing shop, while recently companies have
also been shutting down
in Mutare.
Mutare-based Karina Textiles (Karina), which is the sole
manufacturer of
carpets and hand-knitting yarn in Zimbabwe, recently shut
down to join other
Mutare-based companies like PG Plate Glass, Zimboard,
Mutare Board & Paper
Mills (MBPM), Hunyani Papers and Cairns Food that
succumbed to a myriad of
operational challenges.
AfDB said companies
with production systems requiring constant updating in
line with
technological developments are failing to limit production costs
to levels
below imports due to run-down infrastructure and under-investment
during the
hyperinflation era.
The bank said the closure of the monopolies like
Karina and MBPM has left a
void that any serious investor can easily fill
after investing in
cost-cutting technology.
The bank said: “There has
been an increase in the number of licensed
newspapers since dollarisation,
yet the sole producer of newsprint in the
country had to close shop in the
face of increased demand for newsprint.
Mutare Board & Paper Mills was
also strategically located in the part of the
country where access to pulp
and paper was guaranteed from forestry and
plantations.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Business
Banks have
requested a six-month relief to implement government’s proposed
reforms,
which among other measures seek to lower fees and compel banks to
pay an
interest on deposits.
Report by Staff Writer
In his national
budget statement last year, Finance minister Tendai Biti
said banks should,
starting this month, not levy fees on deposits of less
than US$800, pay
interest on deposits of at least US$1 000 held over 30 days
at 4%per
annum.
But the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (Baz) argues its members,
whose
income ratio is 40%, will incur huge financial losses.
Analysts
say Biti’s proposals are a form of price control and history shows
that
market forces cannot be controlled without dire consequences. If
anything,
margins have been trimmed and this will work against efforts being
made by
players to mobilise resources to meet the new capital requirements
set by
the Reserve Bank.
In a position paper, Baz says it needs a temporary
suspension in order to
allow banks to change their models to the new
requirements.
The association notes the solution lies in changing the
banking model to one
which promotes and encourages card usage and
e-banking.
“Naturally, this will need time and resources to allow banks to
change to
this model, which will phase out most of the bank’s brick and
mortar
operations,” Baz said.
However in the interim, the association
is proposing a special low-cost
account to be called Zim Transact, which
will be for maximum deposits of
US$300.
Banks are proposing the
creation of a spread fixed deposit account for 30,
60, 90 and 120 days to
attract a higher rate of interest depending on the
quantum. They also want a
higher spread to clients with a high-risk profile
or those who borrow to
purchase luxury items on the spread of loans;
capitalisation of the RBZ to
perform lender-of-last-resort function; that
the Finance ministry continues
issuing Treasury bills but at market rates;
EcoCash and other similar mobile
banking providers be included to ensure a
level playing field.
The
association said 70% of individual banking customers earn less than
US$800
per month which would imply free banking for a majority of
Zimbabweans and
banks currently generate 60% of their income from loans and
advances, and
40% from non-interest income.
“As at September 30, 2012 banks’ overall
profits were in the region of US$90
million and therefore a reduction of
US$72 milion revenue annually will
create severe viability and
sustainability challenges for the banking
sector,” Baz said.
Concerns
were raised that because of the low level and transitory nature of
deposits,
banks would not be able to generate sufficient income to meet
operational
costs and absorb the level of non-performing loans, which
currently stand at
13% if the spread on loans has a ceiling.
In his budget statement, Biti
noted 40% of internally-generated money comes
from Old Mutual and Nssa and
should not exceed 10% per annum when being
on-lent.
However, Baz
argues many banks do not access funding from Nssa and Old
Mutual and
therefore it is not correct to use their rates as the benchmark
for the
likely movement of rates.
Baz said the 4% interest on term deposits of
US$1 000 is a positive
development, which will improve banking habits and
instil a savings culture.
Baz members are currently paying 2-10% interest on
term deposits.
Baz says it will implement a self-regulating framework to
be reviewed in
conjunction with the RBZ and the Finance ministry on a
quarterly basis to
ensure bank charges and interest rates are at acceptable
levels.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Politics
THE
year 2013 is undoubtedly a crucial year for Zimbabwe with so many
developments expected on the political front, the major highlights being the
conclusion of the constitution-making exercise, holding of a referendum and
ultimately the make-or-break elections.
Report by Herbert
Moyo
Zimbabwe has been kept in election mode by President Robert Mugabe
since the
inclusive government was formed in 2009 but elections seem
inevitable this
year as the legislature’s term reaches its constitutional
limit.
Should elections be held, Mugabe would be one of the oldest
presidential
candidates ever at the ripe old age of 89, which he turns next
month.
Mugabe will square up against leaders of the MDC formations,
Morgan
Tsvangirai (MDC-T), Welshman Ncube (MDC) and Job Sikhala (MDC 99),
among
other presidential aspirants.
Sikhala, a former student leader
and MP for St Marys, would be writing his
own piece of history as the
youngest presidential candidate at 41.
But doubts persist as to whether
the elections would be held, as they are
predicated on the completion of
political reforms agreed to by the main
political parties under the auspices
of Sadc and outlined in the Global
political Agreement (GPA).
Of
these, the adoption of a new constitution is a major milestone but
currently
the process is deadlocked and it is unlikely there would be a
breakthrough
before February given that Mugabe is on holiday the whole of
January.
Analysts believe even if a deal on the draft constitution
was to be reached
in February, it would only mean a referendum in March
after which time would
be required for parliament to pass the constitutional
Bill.
That would begin a process where all other laws would have to be
re-aligned
to conform to the new constitution, and as the Kenyan experience
demonstrated, it is a lengthy process that might even take more than a
year.
“The process is likely to be as long-drawn out as was the case in
Kenya
where it has taken almost two years to synchronise the old laws with
the new
constitution,” wrote Ibbo Mandaza of the Sapes Trust’s Policy
Dialogue
Forum.
Institute for a Democratic Alternative for Zimbabwe
public policy and
governance manager, Jabusile Shumba, concurred with
Mandaza saying state
institutions like the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(Zec), the military and
state media would have to be reformed so elections
do not produce a disputed
outcome like those of 2008.
“Zec still has
the same officials accused of partisanship and the military
remains a major
player in the electoral process instilling fear in voters
and issuing
reckless statements,” said Shumba. “In essence, the
infrastructure of
coercion remains in place so there is no way an election
outcome that is
universally acceptable can be realised under such
conditions,” Shumba
said.
Given the need for reforms which Sadc has consistently set as a
pre-condition for elections, Mandaza and Shumba agreed elections might not
even be held this year.
“Instead, a transitional government, or GNU
(government of national unity)
II, under the leadership of Mugabe and his
principals (including Ncube) will
steer the country until the date of the
election in 2015,” said Mandaza.
Shumba said: “The parties will extend
the life of the GNU to 2014 through
transitional clauses in the new
constitution or further amendments to the
old constitution.”
Apart
from election time-frames, it would be interesting to see how the
political
parties shape up for the electoral contest.
In a move likely to rile its
so-called “young turks”, Zanu PF would be
fielding old horses in various
constituencies.
As a party with an aging leadership, it is unlikely
rejuvenation would come
from recycling old horses like Philip Chiyangwa and
Jonathan Moyo.
Having languished in the political wilderness ever since
the 2004 abortive
palace coup in Tsholotsho where they allegedly sought to
replace Mugabe with
Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, these politicians
have come back into
the party chastised and ready to accept the continued
leadership of Mugabe.
It remains to be seen whether Tsvangirai, Ncube and
other leaders would
forge a common front and field one presidential
candidate to defeat Mugabe.
Education minister David Coltart (MDC) last
week added his voice to calls
for an electoral pact to field one
presidential candidate “to fight a common
enemy”, adding the 2008 election
was lost because of split votes.
The MDC-T has to resolve the issue of
who will contest legislative elections
as tension mounts over the party’s
plans to protect incumbents from
challenges by confirming sitting MPs
instead of subjecting them to primary
elections.
Added to this are
demands by its youth wing for 25% of all constituencies to
be reserved for
its members (the youths).
The pending Supreme Court decision on the Welshman
Ncube-Arthur Mutambara
leadership wrangle may see further twists in the
political soap opera,
especially should the outcome favour
Mutambara.
Sadc has already endorsed Ncube’s leadership, a position which
appears to be
at variance with Mugabe who has refused to elevate Ncube to
deputy prime
minister in place of Mutambara under the convenient pretext of
the latter’s
pending court challenge.
Zimbabwe’s legislators also
have to do more to deliver on their legislative
mandate after a woeful
performance in 2012 where they only sat for 54 days
and passed five bills
out of a possible 23.
Their reputation took a heavy battering following
reports of corruption,
selfish demands for money, cars and other luxuries,
and with their term
drawing to a close, this would be their last chance to
rescue their legacy
and enhance their quest for re-election.
All in
all, Zimbabwe is poised for significant political developments that
may see
a democratic dispensation or further descent into chaos that has
engulfed
the country’s political climate since 2000.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Opinion
RETURNING
from the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, particularly for those
that make
the journey from the urban to the rural sectors, a question that
generally
lingers is whether or not there are two Zimbabwes.
Opinion by Takura
Zhangazha
And it has been a historical question due to the fact that we
have had to
live with what academics refer to as “circular migration” since
the days of
domestic and cross-border migrant labour before and after
Independence.
Consequently, it is quite indisputable that our major
national holidays
illustrate the legacies of such migration, where a
majority of Zimbabweans
leave their urban abodes to visit their rural or
peri-urban “areas of
origin”.
This trend is as noble as it is
indicative of our diverse but largely
migratory backgrounds as citizens.
This includes our ever expanding
diasporans which continue to view the
entirety of Zimbabwe as
“ekhaya/kumusha”.
However, the reason why
this is an important national issue is not so much
to prevent migration or
the linking of the perceived and preferred urban
with the assumedly backward
rural. Instead, it is more about how there
remains a distinction between the
two livelihood spheres both at law and in
relation to the political economy
of Zimbabwe.
It is well documented through a seminal study by renowned
Ugandan academic
Mahmood Mamdani that historically, the “urban” has always
been treated as
the abode of true citizens while the rural has been treated
as that of
lesser subjects. This is primarily a direct result of the former
colonial
state’s distinction between customary and civil law, and the
British policy
of indirect rule.
The Zimbabwean government, 32 years
after Independence, has been complicit
in perpetuating this bifurcated legal
regime, and as a result failed to
adequately eradicate the challenge of
separate development for the country’s
citizens.
Such an inability on
the part of government is what has in part led to the
primacy of political
violence in rural and somewhat remote areas from the
urban centres since
Independence.
This is also because of the continuation of the patriarchal
role of chiefs
and other forms of ‘traditional’ authority which would
otherwise not be
applicable in urban or ‘centre’ society.
It is
therefore important to observe that given the fact that the majority
of the
country’s citizens live in the rural areas, there should be a more
integrated approach in ensuring that the law applies equally to everyone,
and that the urban ceases to have preferential treatment over and above the
rest of the country.
It is this dual legal and political economic
system that has unfortunately
informed most government policies concerning
rural development, which has
tended to be more top down and undemocratic in
approach.
From the initial post-Independence policies of attempting to
urbanise the
rural areas by establishing growth points, through to the
setting up of
largely ineffective Rural District Councils, there has been no
coherent
intention to ensure frameworks that urgently deal with rural
poverty and
disempowerment.
This is also the attitude that has
informed our mineral wealth and
extraction policies in areas such as
Chiadzwa where diamonds have been more
of a curse than a blessing for the
rural residents of that particular area.
The nature of their displacement
and inadequate compensation is more
reflective of colonial era policies
where rural folk are treated more as
subjects than citizens.
The same
remains true for the national indigenisation policy and what have
been
referred to as Community Share Development Trusts, where there is the
integration of traditional leaders with assumedly eminent personalities from
the urban areas to distribute whatever wealth accrues from mines on behalf
of the rural folk. The system is not only impositional but generally
undemocratic as it perpetuates an elitist (and borderline colonial)
understanding of rural development.
Even in relation to matters
concerning the provision of basic services to
rural areas such as water and
electricity, the government rarely acts with
urgency. Projects for water
retention such as dams are geared largely for
the urban or large-scale
farming projects at the expense of the rural (such
as the Tokwe Mukosi
project where people are still living in the middle of
excavation sites with
limited talk of compensation). When one looks at
health service provision,
the major referral hospitals are primarily in
urban areas (even if they are
poorly equipped), a reality that has obtained
since the country became
Independent.
It is these challenges that must inform us on our next visit
back
“ekhaya/kumusha”. Not least because we may feel privileged to be part
of the
urban, but more because wherever one resides, we should all have
access to
the same basic rights and services in the country.
It is
also imperative that the current and any future government of Zimbabwe
be
pressured into ensuring an integrated framework for the enjoyment of
rights
and development by all citizens in the country.
This would include a thorough
and democratic review of our dual legal system
(customary and civil) in
order to make it much fairer and to rid it of the
legacy of “late
colonialism” as described by Mamdani.
Furthermore, it is important
government integrates fundamental tenets of its
development policy by making
the entire country a priority, not just the
urban. Where access to water is
a challenge for Bulawayo, it must also be
equally urgent for rural Gwanda or
Mwenezi.
Preferential treatment of the urban must not merely be based on
proximity to
“civility” as though we are still in the colonial era. Where we
begin to do
this, many of us that visit our rural homes may become less
messianic (in
person and in politics) and simply be a part of an equal and
general
citizenship, without others being treated as though they were
subjects.
Takura Zhangazha is a media activist and writes here in
his personal
capacity.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Opinion
AT the
beginning of the festive season, the police promised the nation to be
out in
full force on the country’s major highways with a zero tolerance
approach
towards all traffic offences.
Candid Comment by Dingilizwe
Ntuli
However, each time the force issues such warnings, more Zimbabweans
needlessly perish on our treacherous roads.
More than 180 people were
killed in road accidents since December 15, with
Sunday, December 23 making
headlines for the deaths of 18 people after a
container truck with 63
passengers overturned several times in the Honde
Valley.
Where were
Zimbabwe’s finest and their so-called zero tolerance approach in
this melee?
How a truck could carry 63 passengers from Harare until it
killed them in
Manicaland boggles the mind.
How was it allowed to go through the many
roadblocks strewn along the
highway? Just exactly what do the police check
for at roadblocks if the
truck was allowed to transport hapless travellers
to their deaths?
Why are road fatalities increasing despite the heavy
presence of law
enforcement agencies? Could it be that our traffic officers
are playing
Russian roulette with innocent motorists and
passengers?
Although most accidents can be attributed to excessive speed,
dangerous
overtaking, unroadworthy vehicles, and drink-driving, increasing
roadblocks
alone cannot be the solution to curbing the increasing blood flow
on our
roads.
After all, these roadblocks have been used to swindle
motorists of money
instead of enforcing traffic rules and
regulations.
Fire extinguishers, reflective jackets and triangles have
never prevented
accidents, but these are surprisingly the only things our
overzealous cops
check for whenever they stop motorists.
Most
unroadworthy vehicles pass this favourite police checklist and as long
as
the cops continue to elevate accessories over the actual state of the
vehicles, more carnage can be expected come Easter. Worse still, roadblocks
and speed cameras are situated at known spots on all highways.
It’s
high time traffic authorities take additional measures to prevent road
accidents, not only during the holiday period, but all year
round.
Measures should include increased mobile patrols on our highways
to regulate
and control the movement of traffic, with particular emphasis on
violations
related to excessive speed, dangerous overtaking, not wearing
safety belts
and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Police
commanders must re-organise the highway patrol unit by acquiring more
patrol
vehicles for effective policing. More resources should be deployed to
this
unit if road accidents are to be reduced. And the motoring public
should be
discouraged from driving at night. It’s known that whenever there
is a
police car on the road, motorists drive more carefully.
The lack of
police patrol presence on the highways is one of the chief
causes of most
road accidents. It’s very rare to see police cars just
patrolling and making
a presence on the road whenever one is driving.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Opinion
In his state of the
economy address last month, Finance minister Tendai Biti
continued to croon
the upbeat refrain of better economic prospects this
year, lauding
government for living within its means.
Zimbabwe Independent
Editorial
“By the end of the year we would have reduced our primary
balance to zero,
in other words, our books will balance and we are not going
to carry a
deficit in 2013,” Biti said. “For a Finance minister, this is
pleasing
because we are eating what we are killing.”
While sheer
fiscal discipline is commendable, it belies a huge crisis that
is unfolding
in the country because of crop failure in last year’s harvest
and poor rains
this current farming season. There are already reports of
serious food
shortages in rural households in Masvingo, the two Matabeleland
provinces,
parts of Manicaland and the Midlands.
As hunger stalks the country,
Biti’s zero primary balance posturing is set
to evaporate in the heat of
need. Government will have to find money to put
food on the table in
thousands of homes. Of major worry to Biti is the fact
that drought
mitigation by the state is required in a fiscal environment of
projected
reduced revenues this year.
He has a big fight on his hands to bring in
the US$3,2 billion required to
finance the cash budget in the wake of slower
economic growth. The subdued
growth reflects the challenges facing the
economy including limited
resources and the high cost of capital and labour;
policy inconsistencies
with respect to empowerment and indigenisation
regulations; failing
infrastructure; outdated technologies in the
manufacturing sector; and
frequent breakdown of machinery.
Biti last
year appeared nervy about declining revenue inflows relative to
demand and
had to revise growth targets twice in less than one year. In his
2013 budget
statement presented last November, Biti scaled back his 2012
growth forecast
from 9,4% a year ago and 5,6% in July to 4,4%.
This is the least growth
since dollarisation of the economy in 2009. In the
next three years he says
growth should slow down to 5% a year, but other
official and private sector
forecasters warn that even this may be too high.
The International Monetary
Fund has projected a 4% annual output growth.
What should be more
unnerving for Biti is that there is no provision in the
current budget to
cater for food shortages. Aid agencies are forecasting the
number of
food-insecure people in the country is 1,7 million in the period
January to
March, an increase of about a million people compared to the same
period
last year
A projected food deficit is not the only cooler.
A
referendum and harmonised elections in the first half of the year should
see
a further decline in economic activity as investors take up positions in
the
wings while assessing risk. Economists and investment analysts have
already
started talking about more corporate failures this year due to the
poor
operating environment.
Biti was right last November when he said: “The
2013 outlook also looks
bleak — blighted by a miscellany of factors that
include a deeper global
outturn, the continued capital deficit, financial
sector instability and a
poor business climate, amid other challenges.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in
Opinion
TRADITIONALLY, New Year is the time for making resolutions, with
a real
intent to achieve their fulfilment.
Column by Eric
Bloch
Undoubtedly the key resolution of most of Zimbabwe’s politicians is
to do
everything they can to be re-elected when Zimbabwe goes to the polls
this
year, including resorting to unlawful or immoral means to conjure up
the
votes they need.
However, if they really love Zimbabwe, have
genuine caring and concern for
its people, and wish to serve those people
positively and constructively,
their re-election is of less importance to
taking the necessary steps that
will assure substantive and rapid economic
recovery and meaningful growth,
assuring the well-being of the majority of
the presently
economically-oppressed population.
Admittedly, since
2009, Zimbabwe has enjoyed some economic recovery, but the
extent thereof
has in real terms been marginal.
The necessary actions required for a
comprehensive economic recovery and,
thereafter, continuance of a thriving
economy, are many.
However, first and foremost is to motivate and
facilitate substantial
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); for that assures
creation of employment
opportunities, and addresses the negative Balance of
Trade that is one of
Zimbabwe’s economic afflictions, where monetary
outflows greatly exceed
inflows.
FDI also accords Zimbabwe access to
international markets and
state-of-the-art technologies. In addition, it
will be a motivator for many
in the diaspora to return to their homeland and
families, hence rebuild and
strengthen the national pool of
skills.
After struggling over the years, government’s task of attaining
significant
FDI, to revitalise the economy is not an easy one.
For so
many years Government has pursued policies and measures which were
major
deterrents to FDI such that a reversal of those policies and measures
with
new and constructive ones will undoubtedly be initially perceived by
potential investors as a façade and a scam to attract and then expropriate
investors’ resources.
Government will not only have to strive to
convince such investors of its
genuiness and credibility, as well as its
intention to continue with the
FDI-related policies, but will also have to
be seen to honour those
policies. This should be backed by international
protective measures for
the investors, including unreserved honouring of
Bilateral Investment
Promotion and Protection Agreements
(Bippas).
Among key requirements for achieving substantial and ongoing
economic
recovery is restoration of assured investment security by numerous
measures
and actions, including:
Evidence of genuine and real
political stability, which has been almost
absent throughout Zimbabwe’s 32
years of Independence, save for the first
four years, and again briefly
after the 1987 Unity Accord. The first step
towards meaningfully
demonstrating such political stability to the outside
world must be that
this year’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections be
conducted in a
transparent manner which is incontrovertibly free and fair,
devoid of
harassment, intimidation, and vote-rigging, and of any
militaristic
interventions.
Restoration of a pronounced regime of unequivocal
adherence to
internationally-recognised principles of law and order,
including of the
absolute containment of unauthorised land and other
property acquisitions,
and of any violence associated therewith.
A
very substantive, realistic, and constructive modification of Zimbabwe’s
indigenisation and economic empowerement legislation, and a total cessation
of confrontational, provocative public statements relating to that
legislation and to policies of Indigenisation and Economic empowerment.
Concurrently, positive and economically non-destructive measures must be
introduced which will progressively assure real, widespread, economic
empowerment of Zimbabwe’s indigenous population, operating side-by-side and
co-operatively with non-indigenous and foreign investment economic
entities.
According collateral value to rural lands, either by
reinstatement of title
deeds, or enabling transferability of leases, thereby
enabling “new farmers”
access to the working capital resources critically
necessary to achieve
reinstatement of viability and productivity of the
agricultural sector
(which, until the millennium was the foundation and
mainstay of the economy,
comprising more than 300 000 farm workers, their
families and other
dependants).
Modification of import duties to
eliminate unfair competition of imported
products against those manufactured
in Zimbabwe, and eliminating inflation
costs of essential imported inputs
for Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector.
Although Zimbabwe’s industries should
not be overly-protected against import
competition, they should be enabled
to compete on a “level playing field”,
instead of being confronted with
immense competition of imported products
which have been heavily subsidised
by the governments of the countries of
origin.
Reintroduction of
export incentives, although such incentives should be
wholly within the
parameters presecribed by the World Trade Organisation
(WTO), thus enabling
Zimbabwean products to be fairly competitive in export
markets, and evenly
balanced against products of other countries in
competing for
custom.
A meaningful and rapid privatisation and recapitalisation of
major
parastatals, including the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority
(Zesa),
National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), Air Zimbabwe and TelOne, among
others,
in a manner which will accord those parastatals access to
technological
skills, enabling them to provide consistent, reliable and
regular supplies
and services to the economy.
Very determined
containment of unproductive governmental expenditure, which
has been the
primary contributor to Government’s recurrent, massive
deficits.
These have led to the State’s virtual bankruptcy, and its
inability to fund
essential services, infrastructural maintenance and
development, and other
essential expenditures. It is incomprehensible that a
country with a
resident population of only 11,6 million (per the 2012
Census) should have a
Parliament and Senate of mote than 200 politicians,
and in excess of 40
ministers and deputy ministers.
This has resulted
in a grossly excessive number of employees in the Public
Service, endless
and excessive travel expenses, innumerable houses, motor
vehicles and other
resources, all far beyond Zimbabwe’s financial means.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Opinion
‘Monday declared
holiday as travellers flood Beitbridge,” the Herald stated
last
Friday.
Column by The Muckraker
This followed a pronouncement from
President Mugabe declaring Monday,
December 24 a public
holiday.
“Workers no longer have to worry about returning to work before
going back
on holiday for Christmas Day and Boxing Day,” the Herald
helpfully added.
This was clearly a populist move. If the government was
really so concerned
about the welfare of workers, why did it take a whole
year to express that
concern? It seems logical that Monday, December 24
should be a holiday given
the need of many people to travel to their rural
homes and then back to
urban centres. But why wait all that time before
making the announcement and
causing havoc in the banking and commercial
sectors? People couldn’t access
their bank accounts on Monday except via
ATMs and many stores and food
outlets were closed.
This is no way to
run a country. Business people need to plan ahead and help
their employees
do the same. Only in Zimbabwe does the government wait all
year and then
suddenly decide an extra holiday would be a useful gift to a
hard-pressed
population. This was just one of several yuletide inducements.
On the
hoof decision
We had the same fiasco in education where the authorities
appeared unable to
make up their minds as to which day the new term would
start. Education
minister David Coltart was sure of his dates. But the
authors of the
Government Gazette weren’t. They had pupils starting lessons
a week later!
Was there no liaison between the arms of government?
Couldn’t somebody pick
up a phone and decide on the date?
As for
travellers “flooding” Beitbridge, they have been flooding Beitbridge
for 30
years but nothing has been done to ease the congestion. Beitbridge is
a case
study in incompetence and confusion.
An assortment of government departments
and agencies headed by Zimra compete
to see who can cause the most
inconvenience to travellers. Nothing appears
to be done to assist the
hard-pressed travellers.
And then, with many people having waited up to
two days in the torrid
conditions of the lowveld, Zimra pounces on
unsuspecting travellers as they
approach Masvingo. Double
jeopardy!
If it’s any consolation, visitors to Zambia are fleeced of
US$300 when
crossing at Chirundu. If governments in the region insist upon
inconveniencing visitors and returning residents they will get the
reputations they deserve.
And Karikoga Kaseke will have to continue
insulting our intelligence with
claims of poor “perceptions” about Zimbabwe
as if this is an invention of
the Western press.
All talk scant
action
Government is “concerned” with the increased number of deaths
compared to
2011, Transport minister Nicholas Goche declared this week, as
if they had
just realised it. It seems government never gets tired of
singing from the
same hymn sheet at just about this time every
year.
Goche’s “solution” to the carnage on our roads lay in the
deployment of more
vehicle inspectors.
“In this respect, I want to
point out that we have since increased the
presence of traffic safety
council personnel to remind the public on the dos
and don’ts of driving,”
Goche said.
Police Assistant Commissioner Kenny Mthombeni chipped in
saying they would
continue to heavily deploy officers on the roads until
“sanity prevailed”.
Clearly we are in for a long wait!
Goche
attributed most road accidents during the festive season to
un-roadworthy
vehicles, reckless driving and fatigue. Curiously the
appalling state of the
roads seems to have escaped his notice while he was
busy apportioning blame
to motorists alone.
It is no wonder accidents are increasing given the
snail’s pace with which
the roads are being repaired.
Road repair
crews along the Harare-Masvingo road abandoned their
workstations during the
holidays, the most inopportune time, forcing
motorists to take detours along
hazardous side roads.
Considering the revenue Zinara is accruing at
tollgates, the horrendous
state of our highways is totally
unacceptable.
We demand less “concern” and more action Cde Goche!
Zanu
PF concedes
It seems Zanu PF is now resigned to the fact that the
European Union (EU)
sanctions imposed on President Mugabe and his coterie
over human rights
abuses are not going anywhere.
The “illegal”
sanctions would not be removed as long as Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai
was not in power, squeaked Zanu PF secretary for
administration Didymus
Mutasa.
“The sanctions were imposed to install the MDC and Tsvangirai
into power. I
know the sanctions are going to be extended until after
elections (this
year). We are not going to have elections before February
and this means the
sanctions are going to remain in place until 2014,”
Mutasa said.
This is despite spirited attempts by Zanu PF to arm-twist
the EU into
revoking the embargo. Remember the National Anti-Sanctions
Petition Campaign
which was formed after “ordinary people expressed outrage
at the continued
imposition of the sanctions”, at least according to the
Herald.
Sanctions brick wall
Despite the campaign gathering “over
two million signatures”, it hit a brick
wall with the EU saying the issue
was “simply not up for discussion”.
When persuasion failed, Zanu PF tried
to sue the bloc with Attorney-General
Johannes Tomana promising to “throw
these illegal sanctions right into the
face of the EU”.
Tomana’s
claims ultimately boomeranged on him as he was forced to wait to be
summoned
by the EU on the issue conceding that “there have not been any
developments
on the case since we filed the lawsuit”.
Mutasa this week acknowledged
the anti-sanctions drive is a lost cause: “It
is naïve to think that the
sanctions will be removed this February. The EU
might, just as a face saver,
remove the sanctions after February 2014, not
because the MDC–T will have
won — of course Zanu PF will win — but will be
ashamed to continue having
them in place.”
It is quite clear who should be ashamed
here!
Ncube offside … again
As far as daft comments go, Welshman
Ncube took the cake last month with his
declaration his party is ready to
participate in elections even without a
new constitution.
While the
Sadc-appointed facilitators were urging the inclusive government
to ensure
Zimbabwe becomes “a normal society again”, Ncube said his party
was ready
for polls even if they were to be called this month.
“So our position is
that if it is not possible to have a democratic
constitution, then let’s
have elections without a new constitution. We can
always fight for one after
that exercise,” said Ncube.
Not for the first time, Ncube has lost the
plot.
The fact that the current constitution makes the playing field
uneven in
favour of Zanu PF is but one of the reasons we need a new
one.
Bippa about-turn
Finally we have notification in the Herald
that the government will no
longer tolerate Bippa violations.
For 10
years President Mugabe’s supporters have been waxing defiant on this
issue
saying there will be no going back.
Now we are told there must be no further
seizures. So what occasioned this
turnabout?
Zimbabwe is due to
resume negotiations with the EU in Brussels soon.
Top of the agenda will be
the Bippa properties which have been arbitrarily
taken.
The EU has
said it will not proceed without resolution of this matter.
Property rights
are fundamental to the reform process.
So let’s not hear any more of this “no
going back” claptrap from Zanu PF.
Reform is coming whether it likes it
or not.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 4, 2013 in Opinion
IN keeping with
global tradition, Zimbabweans certainly have New Year
wish-lists reflecting
their hopes and aspirations over the next 12 months,
lists no doubt also
informed by the plethora of obstinate challenges that
continue to dog the
nation.
Editor’s Memo with Stewart Chabwinja
The international
community in general, and the Southern African region in
particular which
has partly borne the brunt of “regional hotspot” Zimbabwe’s
destabilising
socio-economic morass, also have New Year wishes for Zimbabwe.
The
regional hope was this week articulated by the facilitation team of
Sadc-appointed facilitator to the country’s crisis, President Jacob Zuma,
which challenged principals to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) to
ensure a free political environment that ensures Zimbabwe becomes “a normal
society again”.
In an interview with our sister paper, NewsDay,
straight-talking
facilitation team spokesperson Lindiwe Zulu — whose
forthright approach has
earned her a few brickbats from a prickly Zanu PF —
said Zuma remained
committed to resolving the Zimbabwean political
impasse.
“We are taking a short break, but the (Zimbabwean political)
issues are
never out of sight and we hope this year will be better and all
the parties
(Zanu PF and the two MDC formations) will have a new resolve on
implementing
the Global Political Agreement, and bring Zimbabwe back to
normality so
people can go about their day-to-day lives in a normal way,”
Zulu said.
Indeed, life in Zimbabwe is far from normal as the country
still fails to
tick a sufficiency of the right boxes in diverse
international economic and
social surveys despite the formation of the unity
government. Nor has it
been “normal” for more than a decade, and
counting.
The country continues to grapple with decaying infrastructure,
falling
capacity utilisation, failure to adequately supply basic services
like
potable water and power, while ancient diseases like cholera continue
to
wreak havoc.
Fundamental rights like freedom of assembly and
speech are still trampled
upon, with the military occasionally issuing
incendiary statements in
support of the former ruling party Zanu PF, in
flagrant disregard of the
constitution.
The return to normality is
predicated on full consummation of the GPA, a
precursor to the unity
government, which among other deliverables seeks to
stabilise the economy
while levelling the political playing field through a
mélange of
far-reaching reforms.
It is thus most perplexing that the opposition has
effectively yielded to
Zanu PF intransigence over outstanding reforms rather
meekly, instead
allowing itself to be stampeded over polls despite the
benefits it and the
entire nation stand to accrue from change.
MDC leader
Welshman Ncube was quoted as saying his party is ready for
elections even
under the current constitution that skews the political field
largely in
Zanu PF’s favour.
“… Our position is that if it is not possible to have a
democratic
constitution, then let’s have elections without a new
constitution,” said
Ncube.
The MDC-T formation is in sync with Ncube,
as Justice deputy minister Obert
Gutu last week said his party was readying
itself for the “worst case
scenario” of participating in elections minus
full reforms.
To disconcertingly cap it all was Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s
965-word Christmas and New Year message to the nation. While
Tsvangirai made
pertinent references to key 2013 issues such as peace, the
new constitution
and polls, he glaringly omitted to mention the outstanding
GPA reform
agenda. Not a word on that!
It may well be that after so
many years of the abnormal, even politicians
from the MDC formations are so
inured that the abnormal now appears normal.
Normal life has become a
distant memory, as the daily grind to eke out a
living takes its toll on
Zimbabweans.
Yet reforms are a must for present and future generations.
To that end, the
GPA remains a crucial prescription. Pity, though, the MDC —
apparently
putting all its eggs in the new constitution basket — is now
complicit in
Zanu PF’s refusal to swallow bitter but efficacious reform
medication.
