http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
17:39
THE Information Communications Technology (ICT) ministry headed by
Nelson
Chamisa has been a driving force behind Zimbabwe’s move towards
e-government
and e-education as part of an ongoing thrust to steer the
country towards
the technology highway. Zimbabwe Independent reporter Elias
Mambo (EM) spoke
to Chamisa (NC) about his department’s drive to wire the
country.
EM: Analysts say your ministry tops all in terms of performance,
what makes
you tick?
NC: Not so sure about that but thank you for
being kind and generous.
Proverbs 3v5 says, in everything you do, put God
first, and he will direct
you and crown your efforts with success.
Excellence is second nature to us.
We are enemies to mediocrity. The
government works as a team. In the
ministry, excellence is standard
conversation and common practice.
Excellence, like attitude is a
language. We are a ministry that believes in
performance-based legitimacy
and servant-leadership. We have a dedicated and
able team from the permanent
secretary right to the people who take care of
the hygiene factor at the
offices. We have a results-based management
approach system, hence positive
results in increasing the use and awareness
of ICTs to enable families to
stay in touch with each other, government to
deliver services more
effectively, and businesses to operate efficiently.
We also owe our strength
to the support we get from other offices and
ministries of government, in
particular the office of the President and
Cabinet, the office of the Prime
Minister and the Finance ministry.
EM: And in terms of the future,
where are you going?
NC: Where there is no vision, people perish. We
have a vision that by 2015,
we want Zimbabwe to be a digital country — an
information society and a
knowledge economy. ICT is the economy and the
economy is ICT.
We are promoting ICTs from the grassroots level up to
the highest office in
government, in schools and in communities (both urban
and rural). We are
promoting the internet and a new connected life.
Communication, like oxygen
is a basic human right. We want ubiquitous and
affordable connectivity by
2015. Zimbabweans should be connected to the
whole world hence our thrust on
infrastructure development, ICT governance
and ICT industry investment and
partnership.
Our focus is to
increase the availability and affordability of broadband
and internet
sevices in the whole country. We aim to ensure the
establishment of an
additional 80 ICT kiosks and centers in the rural
areas, the establishment
of digital cities and towns and internet
connections to libraries in the
country. We need to promote the
infrastructure sharing policy, the
establishment broadband connectivity at
national level to enhance the
setting up of ICT techno-parks as well as
establishing strategic
partnerships with ICT research institutions.
We aim to set up the
state of the art government ICT training centres and
ultimately computerise
government systems and Commissioning of e-government
(The ZimConnect
framework and Implementation strategy).
We also want to promote local
solutions. We have fantastic local pool of
ICT experts, software developers
and engineers, so we want to be number one
in utilising our local
intellectual expertise.We want to have an
e-government so that we migrate to
a paperless society, digitalise our
national archives and have all documents
online so we promote government to
citizen as well as government to business
interacrion. Look at the modern
e-commerce, we can even have e-lobola where
people pay lobola (dowry) online
and e-education where people graduate
through online tutorials. With ICT, we
are revolutionarising all aspects of
government.
EM: What are the impediments affecting your
progress?
NC: Inadequate resources in government affect our projects
and aspirations.
The ministry often suffers from the ailment of unprofitable
conflict,
attacks and undermining. There is mistrust and in some cases
failure to
appreciate the positive role ICTs can play in national
development and the
buiding of a world-class economy.
In a
coalition government, where one is a stakeholder one is often mistaken
for a
snake-holder. New ideas are taken as dangerous bullets that have to be
deflected and shielded. There is need for a shared vision and understanding
of the locomotive role ICTs can play to transform lifestyles and
workstyles.
You know, in the cockpit, co-pilots can easily crash the
plane if they don’t
cooperate because there will be a clash of destination,
direction, and
speed.
EM: Why do you think there is this
antagonism in the inclusive government?
NC: It is because of lack of
appreciation of ICT. There is a disease of
securo-phobia mutating into
technophobia. Some think that ICTs can expose
their corruption and their
lack of professionalism. True to their fears,
ICTs is the best police. It
reports exactly what it records, which is good
for fighting corruption.
Those who have a disposition of corrupt tendencies
are least interested in
embracing ICTs. Surely, you can not ask the bacteria
to switch on the
light.
The bacteria thrives under conditions of darkness. We have
such bacteria in
government. We need e-tender systems, online national
registration for
passports and birth certificates. Can somebody justify why
people should
come all the way from Tsholotsho just to queue for a mere
birth certificate
in Harare? We need people to be online not in the line.It
saves time and
cost!
EM: Tell me about missed opportunities in
your ministry.
NC: Well, the disputes around the telecommunications
portfolio and attempts
to migrate it from my ministry in 2009. It could have
been a different
scenario. I think we could have done better; we could have
improved a lot of
things but those who appoint may elect to disappoint.
Net-one and Tel-one
would be the best perfoming companies. These two
companies would by now be
the elephants that they should be instead of
having the rat- status that
they have assumed. We are yet to introduce the
ICT Bill in parliament
because it was arrested by issues of mandates. This
Bill was supposed to
have gone before parliament in 2011.The Bill has to
deal with issues of
convergence, infrastructure sharing, cyber-security,
digital signatures,
e-commerce and e- government among others.This is a
matter of urgent
national importance.
EM: And on issues of
elections?
NC: That’s for the principals to decide. I, however, think
the timing of
elections depends on the completion of outstanding issues in
the GPA. If we
introduce ICTs in the running of our elections then it would
engender
efficiency and transparency in the adminstration and management of
our
elections.We need a biometric or digital voter registration and roll.
That
is the trend across Africa and indeed the whole world. That way, we
will be
the happiest and a leadership people that we should be and created
for as a
country.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
17:46
Gamma Mudarikiri
BENEFICIARIES of the Local Authorities
Pension Fund (LAPF) face another
harsh year following revelations that their
already paltry payouts would not
be reviewed because of continued failure by
local authorities to remit
contributions. The fund is a self-administered
benefit scheme in terms of
the Pension and Provident Fund
Act.
Members of the LAPF have been struggling for the last decade as
cash
strapped local councils have not been remitting monthly contributions
to the
fund. The lowest paid beneficiaries have been getting a meagre US$25
monthly
payout from 2010.
LAPF chief executive officer Charles
Mandizvidza said pension payouts were
erratic and presently running two
months behind. Mandizvidza said the fund’s
financial position had not
improved since 2010 and attributed its failure to
inconsistent and
insufficient cash flows from property and equity
investments.
This dire situation, Mandizvidza said, had
overlapped to 2012 because local
authorities were in a financial crunch and
not in a capacity to remit
contributions to the fund spelling another bleak
year for beneficiaries.
“The fund’s health continues to be in
distress and as a result it is
constrained from awarding any pension
increases anytime soon. We only hope
for improvements this year if local
authorities relentlessly remit
contributions to the fund,” said
Mandizvidza.
However, Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo
blamed ratepayers for the
fund’s distress saying local authorities faltered
in remitting contributions
to the fund because of the huge debt ratepayers
owed municipalities.
“Local authorities are finding it easier said
than done to contribute to the
fund because of staggering balances they are
owed by ratepayers,” said
Chombo. “Harare City Council, for example, is owed
over US$80 million by
residents.”
LAPF has over 11000
beneficiaries who contributed 6% tothe fund during their
tenure as permanent
employees of local authorities.
Local authorities contribute 17,3%
while the remainder comes from property
and equity investments. LAPF has
investments in a variety of commercial,
retail and industrial properties.
These include Edgars Bulawayo and Gweru,
Comoil, Innscor, Zimra, Barbours,
Art Corporation and AMTEC, as well as the
failed Jaggers wholesalers, among
others.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012 17:48
Brian
Chitemba
THE US$40 million Distressed and Marginalised Areas Fund (Dimaf)
will not
benefit all closed firms in Bulawayo but only priority companies
determined
by the Industry and Commerce ministry and CABS. CABS is
responsible for
disbursing the fund and is also working with the Industry
and Commerce
ministry to craft a list of companies in urgent need of a
bailout.
About 87 firms closed shop in Bulawayo leaving 20 000
jobless but the Dimaf
is expected to bring relief to some of these
entities.
The fund was launched by Finance minister Tendai Biti in
October last year
but its disbursement has been delayed by bureaucratic
bungling.
Industry and Commerce minister Welshman Ncube defended the
delay saying it
was not deliberate but meant to give authorities time to
perform a
meticulous vetting process and ensure that only deserving
companies
benefited.
Ncube said there were critical firms that
employed a large number of workers
which should benefit first before others
were considered. However, he was
quick to point out that the selection
process was still underway and a
detailed update was due for release in
about a fortnight.
“The priority companies are those which we visited
and received their
submissions during the cabinet taskforce findings in
Bulawayo last year,”
said Ncube.
Bulawayo was historically known
as Zimbabwe’s industrial hub with all big
firms, such as the Zimbabwe
Engineering Company (Zeco), Hubert Davies, Radar
Metal Industries, National
Blankets, G&D Shoes, Merlin, Tregers Group,
Stewarts & Lloyds,
Hunyani Holdings and the Cold Storage Company, among
others, employing the
bulk of the city’s working class.
But the rampant closures and huge
scale-downs have rendered the city’s
former industrial bastion of Belmont a
mere ghost neighbourhood.
According to CABS, Dimaf would allow companies to
purchase equipment and raw
materials to enhance output and quality of goods
being produced, and to
assist them in covering their operating
costs.
The bank stated that minimum requirements for companies to
qualify to access
the funds included a “minimum of two years accounts
(management accounts or
financial accounts) audited if possible, acceptable
collateral, projections
for Capex (capital expenditure) loans covering the
tenor of loan (12
months), budgets and cash flows and turnaround strategies
as well as a
business plan”.
Companies also have to provide
acceptable collateral or be professionally
registered with a recognised
professional association which should have been
in practice for at least
five years.
Ncube said other firms not listed as a priority would
also benefit once
government was done with assisting ailing companies.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
17:38
Paidamoyo Muzulu
THE year 2011 marked a turning point in
Zimbabwe’s parliamentary history
when Zanu PF for the first time in 31 years
was almost reduced to the rank
of an official opposition had the three
parties to the GPA not agreed to
govern by consensus by forming a coalition
government. Zanu PF lost all
motions that were put to a vote and resorted
to walking out of the chamber
towards year-end to avoid further
humiliation.
The parliamentary calendar year was full of drama, but
very little on the
legislative agenda, as ministers were reluctant to bring
bills required by
the GPA for debate. With limited bills for debate,
legislators concentrated
on bringing motions for scoring political
points.
The year started on a high in March with the Supreme Court
upholding
Jonathan Moyo’s challenge to Lovemore Moyo’s election as Speaker
in 2008.
Zanu PF sensed a chance to regain its mantle, but lost dismally
prompting a
witch-hunt among its members. Moyo was re-elected despite Zanu
PF
marshalling all its resources and putting forward its national chairman
Simon Khaya-Moyo as a candidate.
The victory buoyed MDC-T and
energised it to go for the kill with its
backbenchers moving motions which
caused Zanu PF to squirm.
Mbizo lawmaker Settlement Chikwinya was first off
the blocks moving a motion
to censure service chiefs who openly supported
Zanu PF or force their
resignation from national and constitutional
offices.
Zanu PF was stung into defensive mode causing one of the
most heated debates
witnessed in the House. Unfortunately, retired former
army commander General
Solomon Mujuru died in a mysterious fire incident at
his Beatrice farmhouse
opening another flank for the MDC to fight Zanu
PF.
The MDC hailed Mujuru as the epitome of a professional soldier
who the
serving chiefs should have looked to for good conduct. Despite
entering
parliament on a Zanu PF ticket, Mujuru never used derogatory
language to
describe the MDC. This, the MDC reckoned, should be the basis
for building a
peaceful coexistence in a country which has witnessed a
decade of political
strife detrimental to economic growth.
The
MDC awakened to the realisation that it had more numbers in the House
and
could score political points against its nemesis.
Eddie Cross,
Bulawayo South MP, moved a motion to nationalise the Marange
diamond fields
and called for an international tender to choose the mining
company to run
the lucrative mines on government’s behalf. Zanu PF MPs were
forced to
defend the government and its Chinese contracts.
Zengeza East
legislator Alex Musundire moved a motion seeking to amend the
contentious
Indigenisation Act Regulations which were affecting the inflow
of foreign
direct investment.
Despite spirited opposition from Zanu PF, the
motion was passed bruising
Zanu PF’s ego.
Chikwinya and Hwange
Central MP Brian Tshuma reserved the best for last when
they moved motions
calling for the revoking of radio licences and
reconstitution of the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe board and firing of
long serving clerk of
parliament Austin Zvoma.
The motions were passed despite opposition
by Zanu PF’s MPs. With debates
reaching fever pitch, Zanu PF MPs resorted to
walkouts reminiscent of MDC
walkouts during its first stint in
parliament.
Whatever happens in 2012, MDC is sweating out every ounce
of its numerical
advantage and Zanu PF has to learn to co-exist in the House
or risk further
embarrassment on the floor of the chamber.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
17:34
Wongai Zhangazha
THICK dark clouds threaten the blazing sun
in the teeming village of
Chiweshe as villagers scurry across the valley
with their livestock for
shelter from the imminent thunderstorm. The
potential violent storm reflects
the seething anger bottled up by the
villagers, who have been long under the
yoke of Luscious Chitsinde — the
acting Chief Negomo — whose court has
become the villagers’ biggest
threat.
Behind the villagers’ beguiling smiles lie resentment for the
young acting
chief’s heavy-handed sentences and politicised trials.
In
hushed tones, the villagers speak of bafflement at Negomo’s verdicts,
which
more often than not are heavy-handed and disproportionate to the
crimes
committed.
The village is now pregnant with talk for the government
to intervene and
install a substantive chief to return the respect and aura
to the
bastardised traditional court.
Negomo burst into the
limelight last month when he became the first acting
chief to summon a
senior ranking government official to his court.
The summons was personally
served by Negomo and with the media in tow.
The accused in this case
was Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his
“in-laws” for conducting a
marriage ritual in the sacred month of November.
Tsvangirai had reportedly
paid lobola for Harare businesswoman and socialite
Lorcadia Karimatsenga
Tembo of Christon Bank, Mazowe. Ironically, Tsvangirai
epitomisedNegomo’s
unbridled haste in dealing with MDC politicians and
perceived
supporters.
Rarely has he summoned Zanu PF officials to his court
despite the
significant number of politically-related deaths in the run-up
to the June
2008 elections.
Mupandanyama village Ward 13
councillor Vincent Murambwa of the MDC-T had no
kind words for Negomo, whom
he accused of acting like a Zanu PF henchman.
Murambwa recounted his
own trial, conviction and sentencing in absentia by
Negomo for a crime he
said he never committed.
Murambwa said: “It was on July 17 (2011)
that the chief’s messenger Chari
came to my home and demanded from my
58-year old mother cattle and some
property saying I had committed a crime.
She was given papers to sign which
she refused arguing that she didn’t know
what case I was being accused of
and that if there was ever a case why was I
not summoned to his cour?”
However, Murambwa said his mother was
overpowered and the messenger went
away with two cows, two goats and a
wheelbarrow valued at US$800.
“I really felt that I was being punished for
being MDC. Until now I don’t
know what crime I was alleged to have
committed. No summons was sent to me
and neither was I on trial. Whatever it
was, I was tried and convicted in my
absence,” said
Murambwa.
Murambwa said he tried to seek audience with the chief but
was told that it
was a case that had been concluded. He reported the matter
to police at
Gweshe Township but to no avail. He then reported the matter at
the Bindura
Magistrates’ court, but he was told it was too late as the case
should have
been reported within 14 days.
Some villagers who
spoke on condition of anonymity said the chief was biased
and claimed that
if one was known to be an MDC supporter, Negomo would
accuse the defendant
of being a sellout.
One villager from Muchemwa accused Negomo of
robbing people everytime he
convened a hearing. For example, he said, Negomo
fined a certain villager
six beasts for impregnating a local woman and kept
most of them for himself.
Dennis Tom of Mapfumo village expressed
anger at losing a cow which was
“forcibly” donated for Independence
celebrations at Nzvimbo Growth Point in
2011.
Tom said: “I lost
three cattle. I assumed they strayed away. But they were
later found at the
headman’s house. He said he had found them and kept them,
but I wonder why
he didn’t report that he had found some lost cattle as per
the procedure. I
only managed to recover one. The headman took one as
“compensation” for
herding them and the chief took the other saying it was a
donation to the
spirits at Independence.”
Tom said he was angry at the way the chief
conducted trials.
“Witnesses are asked to identify themselves by
raising a clenched fist as an
open palm is widely regarded as depicting the
MDC symbol. It’s high time the
chief is replaced. He has overstayed his term
as an acting chief,” said Tom.
According to the law, an acting chief can
only hold that position for two
years before a substantive chief is
installed.
Another villager Mike Gweshe said there were two cases
that Negomo was
accused by Chief Chiweshe of presiding over when they didn’t
fall under his
jurisdiction.
“There is always conflict between
Chief Chiweshe and Chief Negomo over two
cases that involved incest in
Gweshe village’s Ward 12 and Godzi village.
The cases happened in Chief
Chiweshe’s area, but surprisingly Chief Negomo
ruled over the matter and
took the cattle required for the cleansing
ceremony,” said
Gweshe.
However, Negomo dismissed all allegations against him as
“total lies” saying
it was the work of the MDC-T to discredit him because he
had summoned its
leader.
Negomo said: “I don’t know anything
about such silly allegations. I am a
traditional leader and not a
politician. That’s what they say that I am an
acting chief but I am not an
acting chief. If people from my family still
want me to represent them as
chief why is it a problem to them? You can’t
force my family to change their
views if it is me that they want.”
He accused MDC-T councilor
Murambwa of trying to hide from crimes he
committed in his
area.
“Murambwa is a liar by claiming not to know his crime when he
goes around
impregnating women. I cannot tolerate that in my area. I set a
default
judgment because he didn’t want to come to my court. So he shouldn’t
claim
that he doesn’t know his crime. I do not set ridiculous fines and what
people are saying are lies. I am a very fair chief and our trials are not
political but traditional. We accept anyone from any party. Our courts are
there to build and unite people. They are for the people,” Negomo said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012 16:03
Reginald
Sherekete
MINES and Mining Development minister Obert Mpofu this week
dismissed RapNet’s
plan to stop its members from trading in Marange
diamonds, saying the
diamond trading network did not control diamond trading
globally. In an
audio recording of a RapNet conference call meeting held in
New York last
week over a ban on Marange diamonds, the chairman of the
Rapaport Group,
Martin Rapaport said the network would delist its members
who traded in
Marange gems, adding the stones could easily be identified due
to their
green tincture.
Rapnet, is part of the the Rapaport
Group, an international network of
companies that sets out to provide added
value services that support the
development of free, fair, efficient and
competitive diamond and jewellery
markets.
However, Mpofu
ridiculed RapNet’s claims that the network was a leading
diamond trading
network, saying the country would continue shipments of
Marange diamonds
into international markets.
“Who is RapNet?” Mpofu lashed out in a
telephone interview this week. “They
are not even a leading diamond trading
network as they purport to be and
they don’t even control diamond trading
globally. We will continue to export
our diamonds since we have approval
from the Kimberly Process,” said Mpofu.
There has been renewed
pressure in the past couple of weeks to block the
flow of Marange diamonds
onto the international market after RapNet imposed
tighter measures on its
members found trading in diamonds from the Marange
fields.
“We
have measures to ensure that all diamonds that have a green tint are not
sold. I do not have to prove that someone just put a Marange diamond, it’s
enough when I have enough reasonable doubt that a person is abusing the
system and putting a Marange diamond, and then off you go,” said Martin
Rapaport during the call conference.
“Buyers should investigate
their supply chains and get to know their
suppliers before they buy. There
is also a risk of people mixing the Marange
diamonds with non-Marange
diamonds, so if you don’t know and you are not
sure just don’t buy,”
cemented Rapaport.
The move by Rapnet comes after the Kimberly
Process Certification scheme,
which regulates the marketing of world
diamonds with a view to reducing
trade in conflict diamonds, allowed
Zimbabwe’s Mbada Diamonds and Marange
Resources to sell their gems on the
international market. The same companies
were placed on the the European
Union and the United States of America
sanctions list.
“These
diamonds are sanctioned by US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
and EU
regulations and cannot be legally purchased by US or EU entities.
Diamonds
from these sources have been involved in human rights abuses,” said
Rapnet
in a trade alert posted on their website.
“RapNet members are warned
not to offer these diamonds for sale on RapNet.
Ethical buyers should verify
their diamond sources,” said the trade alert.
But questions remain over what
authority RapNet has in the trading of
diamonds globally and also what
control they have on diamond-producing
countries?
The Rapaport
Group describes itself as a provider of first class,
authoritative services
that support the development of free, fair,
efficient, competitive, and
profitable diamond and jewellery markets.
Group activities include
publishing, electronic information services and
trading networks, diamond
grading and certification, global trading and
auction services, consolidated
international shipping, international
sourcing, quality-control and
compliance services, financial, research and
marketing
services.
The group was stablished in 1976, and says it has more
11,000 clients in
75 countries. The group’s activities include published
materials namely the
Rapaport Price List and Rapaport Magazine and
electronic information
services and trading networks through the RapNet
Diamond Trading Network
which harbours a daily diamond listing of over
525,000 diamonds valued at
over US$4,12 billion.
Finance minister
Tendai Biti last year took Mpofu to task, alleging that
diamond proceeds
were not fully accounted for and adequately channelled into
the Consolidated
Revenue Fund.
Biti said diamond proceeds totalling US$600 million
were expected in the
fiscal year.
But analysts said the fight
over Marange diamonds had more to do with
control of the supply of diamonds
on the international market.
“If RapNet has listings on its website
of diamonds worth above US$4 billion
and has indicated that Marange diamonds
have potential to cover over 70% of
the world’s supply, then RapNet has a
cause for their efforts,”said a
commodities analyst with a leading financial
institution.
“It’s all to do with control of the supply and demand of
diamonds and
keeping their prices at high levels. As you may know diamonds
are very
expensive since they are rare and if Marange diamonds flood the
market it
will definitely have an impact on the long-term pricing,”
commented the
analyst.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012 16:02
Chris
Muronzi
The mining index fell a massive 49,75% last year, weighed down by
heightened
indigenisation worries, global economic uncertainty and tight
liquidity
conditions on the market. The key industrial index was also 3,58%
down.
Total market turnover for the year was just under US$480
million, buoyed by
a number of corporate restructurings, a development
analysts see continuing
this year as listed companies realign their
businesses post dollarisation.
Despite a flight from perceived
riskier frontier markets, foreign
participation on the bourse remained
significant.
Negative investor sentiment stemming from uncertainty
surrounding the
country’s indigenisation laws forcing foreign investors to
dispose of
controlling stakes in mines with a net asset value of US$1 to
indigenous
Zimbabweans saw appetite for resources stocks dwindle this
year.
Debt problems at RioZim and the continued placement of Bindura
Nickel
Corporation under care and maintenance also worsened mining
woes.
The mining index fell 12,79% in December.
The resources
index plummeted another 12% in November to close at 115,47
points in
November.
Mining shares have been hit hard by worries over
empowerment laws.
The key industrial index gained a marginal 0,69% in
December to end the year
at 145,85 points from 144,98 points while the
mining index tumbled to close
the year at 100,70 points from 115,47
points.
Turnover marginally improved from November.
In
December, the market saw trades valued at US$45,205 million with
foreigners
accounting for more that 50% of the trades compared to US$41,320
million in
November.
Foreign investors bought shares amounting to US$11,581
million and sold
shares worth US$18,246 million, a sign that investors are
wary of the
country risk and could not hold on to shares given the unclear
investing
environment.
Market capitalisation fell 5,01% from
December last year to end the year
valued at US$3,689
billion.
The market opened the year valued at US$4,131
million.
In the quarter to September, the key industrial index shed
6,80% to close at
155,82 with the mining index plummeting 11,03% to close
the quarter to
September at 152,42 points.
Market capitalisation
fell by 14,12% after foreign buyers partly deserted
the
market.
Analysts say given the current tight liquidity challenges in
the economy,
government needs to institute reforms that attract foreign
direct investment
and ease strenuous indigenisation
requirements.
But other analysts see government pushing through its
empowerment agenda
ahead of possible elections next year.
Foreign
investors accounted for the bulk of the deals on the ZSE while local
investors, mainly institutional investors, played a limited
role.
Government set the deadline for submission of indigenisation
proposals to
September 25, 2011, a development that saw Indegenisation
minister Saviour
Kasukuwere tightening screws on mining companies such as
Zimplats and
foreign-owned institutions such as Old Mutual, Standard
Chartered Bank and
Stanbic in the quarter to September.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012 15:53
Happiness
Zengeni
Mining
FINANCE minister Tendai Biti had to downgrade the forecast
growth for the
mining sector for 2011 to 25,8% from 33%, on account of the
revisions in
production levels for platinum, nickel and palladium. However,
in 2012,
mining is set to remain the major driving force behind overall
economic
growth. Gold production is forecast to increase to 50 000 kg by
2016,
platinum 21 000kgs, nickel 25 000 tonnes, coal 7 million
tonnes
The sector, however, requires close to US$6 billion to fund its
operations.
According to analysts, the mining sector’s contribution
to the economy is
much higher than it is purported to be; 65% of national
exports in 2010 and
is projected to contribute at least 50% of the US$4,2
bilion projected for
2011. The Chamber of Mines projects a contribution of
22% by 2014. The
contribution of the mining industry should be looked at in
totality —
corporate taxes, royalties, duties, levies.
The
contribution of the mining industry should also be looked at in terms of
downstream industries. The contribution of the sector also extends to PAYE
and other related fees such EMA and RDC taxes. The sector employs more than
45,000 people.
Retail
Resources are not the only
drivers of growth. Underlying projected economic
growth is increased
disposable income in the hands of the Zimbabwean
consumer, as many of them
have moved from near-destitute levels of income in
the Zimbabwean dollar era
to the basic needs income levels. This movement
has led to improved business
for those companies which have capitalised on
the fast-moving consumer goods
sector, to banks and to the ICT sector.
Zimbabwe is currently a trading
economy. Economics says that when there is a
basic level of income, growth
rates accelerate. Fast moving consumer goods
companies, if they are fully
capitalised, are able to maintain their margins
in spite of increasing
costs.
Tourism
Tourism appears to be the most promising
sector, with the drive coming from
major hotel chains and airlines that are
planning to expand their presence
on the continent. Lonrho took over the
hotels that African Sun exited. The
ministry of Tourism and Hospitality is
forecasting a US$5 billion
contribution to the economy by
2015.
Tourism minister Walter Mzembi said tourism was at the heart of
economic
re-launch and the type of sustainable development that can create
permanent
jobs.
Central to both quantitative and qualitative
growth in tourism will be
marketing initiatives to penetrate new markets and
develop new tourism
products, against the background of increased
competition, given challenges
related to overall global economic slow-down.
Room occupancy is expected to
improve to 60% this year, translating into an
annual growth of 13,7%. Over
the festive period more than 15 000 visitors,
the equivalent of a quarter of
the population of Victoria Falls, were in the
area in a space of 10 days,
while occupancies in all the resort towns were
at 76%.
Banking and Financial Services
While Zimbabwe
generally is under-banked, banks are undercapitalised. The
liquidity crunch
is expected to remain, as the banking sector is weighed
down by
non-performing loans. At the moment most banks have loan-to-deposit
ratios
of above 50% and are at high risk if the loans are not paid back.
CBZ
Bank currently has a loan-to-deposit ratio of above 70% and sits on a
loan
book of above US$600 million, with a loan impairment provision of only
US$4,2 million as at June 30. Analysts say CBZ Bank could be sitting on
huge non-performing loan book despite a low provision for bad
loans.
Attractive opportunities, however, still remain in the sector.
TN has
leveraged on a deposit- driven retail model attractive to formerly
unbanked
customers.
Banks will also need to expand along the
value chain and channel innovation.
Microfinance has also emerged as
one of the best performers in the financial
services sector. Fidelity Life,
through Fidelity Financial Services, has
been able to carry out consumer
lending activities which give access to
higher rates as compared to normal
money market investment returns.
Microfinance has been able to boost
consumer spending to individuals with
modest incomes. However, as
microfinance grows, so does the need to regulate
this sub sector by way of a
credit bureau.
Agriculture
Zimbabwe’s agro-ecological
potential is massively larger than its current
output and so are its food
requirements. There is huge potential for growth
in the sector. However, the
successes of agriculture will hinge on access to
funding as well as
high-quality seeds, fertilizer, and water. Other
essentials include access
to a market that absorbs the higher level of
agricultural output and a solid
post-harvest value chain for the output of
farmers.
On a broader
scale, in this dollarised environment, any shock from the
global
macro-economic instability can result in stagnancy in earnings,
particularly
for the exporting companies. Analysts say that greater
risk-taking is most
likely to happen when there is macro visibility,
earnings improve and the
valuations are attractive.
Risk factors to watch out for in
2012
Liquidity crunch
The indigenisation of the manufacturing and
banking sectors
Political uncertainty
Economic fundamentals
Market
confidence in heavily indebted counters
ZSE reforms
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
16:57
By Columbus Mavhunga and Shabtai Gold
ZIMBABWE has started
2012 with a standoff, as President Robert Mugabe
insists elections be held
during the next year, while the party of Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
continues to demand a new, more democratic
constitution be drawn up first.
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) is worried that the
current constitution, which has been amended 19
times since independence in
1980, grants the president too much power.
Mugabe, aged 87, promises to run
again and keep his job.
Political analysts speculate that Mugabe’s
Zanu PF party fears holding
elections during 2013, as scheduled, because the
long-serving president may
by then be too frail to campaign.
“We
just have to have elections next year (2012),” Mugabe told a party
conference last month.
According to a diplomatic cable from 2008
released by Wikileaks, the
president is believed to have cancer. Reports say
he regularly visits
Singapore for ‘rejuvenation treatments.’ Mugabe and his
aides dismiss the
accounts and insist he is fit.
The process of
writing a new constitution, which the MDC hopes will be more
liberal and
democratic, has been started often and stopped regularly, owing
to various
feuds.
A referendum on the new constitution that was supposed to have
been held
during November 2010 has been postponed several
times.
The latest such delay followed a demand to end the process by
Munyaradzi-Paul Mangwana, who represents Zanu PF in the Constitutional
Parliamentary Select Committee (Copac), which is drafting the fundamental
document.
“The Zanu PF position (is) that the constitution we
come up (with) should
reflect the views of the people,” said Mangwana in an
interview with dpa,
adding that 75% of the contents in the draft
constitution were foreign.
“The people said they do not want
homosexuality but the drafters have
included that. They said they want the
death penalty to remain but the
drafters were not including that,” Mangwana
charged.
While Mugabe has said gays are “worse than pigs and dogs”,
Tsvangarai last
year broke ranks with the president on this issue and
announced he wanted
rights for homosexuals enshrined in the
constitution.
When the MDC joined Zanu PF in a fragile coalition in
2008, after elections
Tsvangirai said included violence against his
supporters and rigging in
favour of Mugabe, part of the deal was that
Zimbabwe would have a new
constitution before general elections are
held.
“From the onset, we rightly pointed that this process will
either be flawed
or would take forever if left in the hands of politicians,”
said Madock
Chivasa, a spokesman for the National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA), a
coalition of civic organisations.
Chivasa would rather
see civil society groups compose a text, using input
from
communities.
The last effort to hold a referendum on a constitution
ended surprisingly in
2000, when a draft was rejected by voters, in what was
seen as a blow to
Mugabe. The NCA played a key role in garnering support for
the ‘no’ vote.
Despite losing that vote, Mugabe went ahead with
controversial land reforms,
which saw white farmers’ agriculture plots
seized without compensation. The
move was widely viewed as one of the causes
of the country’s stunning
economic decline in recent
years.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai will likely meet to talk about the
latest impasse, but
given the animosity between the two, no one is sure they
can find a
solution.
Meanwhile, Minister of Constitutional Affairs Eric
Matinenga says he is at a
loss to give a date for another
referendum.
“When you have these impingements, it becomes anyone’s
guess,” Matinenga
said, referring to the stoppage of the
process.
Commenting on the latest halting, Charles Mangongera, a
political analyst,
said Zanu PF had no genuine reason to push ahead with the
constitution-making process.
“This is just part of Zanu PF’s
desperate attempt to derail the process in
order to force an early election
under the (current) constitution,” said
Mangongera.
Despite the
flawed process and ongoing repression against MDC activists, the
party says
it will not pull out of the ruling coalition. The MDC sees itself
as the
rightful winner of the 2008 elections and, therefore, belonging in
government.
“We know the aim is for us to pull out of the
government. We will not. We
would have betrayed our people, (since) we are
the ones that won the last
credible election,” said Douglas Mwonzora, an MDC
spokesman on
constitutional issues.
“So, Zanu PF must try other
tactics if it wants to frustrate us. We will
fight through until we have
what we want: A constitution that levels the
electoral playing field and
upholds people’s rights,” Mwonzora said in an
interview.
But,
with Mugabe’s health failing, and infighting in his Zanu PF becoming
more
public and obvious, time may not be on the side of patient waiting. —
www.monstersandcritics.com
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
16:51
The Herald on Tuesday quoted Zanu PF provincial administrator
Passmore
Washaya as saying the attack on the Zanu PF offices in Gweru “could
have
been an act of aggression by MDC-T activists”.
The Herald
added its own spin.
“MDC-T was implicated in various politically
motivated bombings that
targeted police stations ahead of the March 2008
harmonised elections,” it
said. “Among the targets that were petrol-bombed
were police stations in
Unit N Chitungwiza, Nehanda in Gweru, Marimba in
Harare and Sakubva in
Mutare.
And what evidence does the Herald have for
this claim? Zilch, zero, nothing.
Nobody was convicted of those attacks. The
Herald just sucked them out of
its copious thumb. It used the loaded word
“implicated”.
This is unprofessional journalism at its worst. It is
the function of a
newspaper to report the facts, not publish claims designed
for partisan
purposes. Does the Herald not have a mind of its
own?
Also in the Herald on Tuesday we had “war veteran”
Jabulani Sibanda giving
us the benefit of his advice on what should go into
the draft constitution.
He is a supporter of capital punishment we should
not be surprised to
discover. And no doubt a lot of other nasty
things!
But why didn’t the Herald writer tell us how old Sibanda was when the
liberation war ended in 1980? The public would be surprised to hear.
Like
other loud-mouthed nationalist zealots, this “veteran” played no role
at all
in the war, but now
insists we should take his
views
seriously.
Why?
Dr Jonathan Kadzura claimed the draft
constitution was flawed as chapters
one to four did not include anything the
people of Zimbabwe had said during
the outreach programme.
“The drafters
picked up things from foreign constitutions which makes us
wonder how it can
be people-driven,” he said.
It is called best practice, something Dr Kadzura
clearly does not know a lot
about. People who frame constitutions sometimes
seek to be guided by other
examples which have been successful. South Africa
is a case in point. But
Zanu PF adherents think we should confine ourselves
to a narrow little
partisan world of their
making.
What does the chairman of Air Zimbabwe think he
is doing laying down the law
when he is unable to run the airline he is
appointed to preside over? What
does Jabulani Sibanda know about
constitutional drafting? Let’s go for best
practice where we don’t have to
reinvent the wheel!
We had news this week that the three
principals plan to hold joint meetings
to preach peace. Let’s hope Nathan
Shamuyarira is not present. “The area of
violence is an area where Zanu PF
has a very strong, long and successful
history,” he said in 2000.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
16:48
A WORD, and concept, virtually unknown to government in Zimbabwe,
and to
most of the country’s financial sector and major national companies,
is
“devolution”. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines devolution as
“delegation of work or power … by central government to local or regional
administration”, which has been blatantly anathema to government and its
underlying authorities, and also to certain major private sector
enterprises.
That this is so is by no means a recent development,
but has prevailed, with
progressive intensification, for 58 years since the
establishment in 1953 of
the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
However, since Zimbabwean
Independence in 1980, the concentration of policy
determination,
decision-making and administration has constantly been more
and more focused
upon the capital city Harare, with ever-increasing
isolation of all other
urban areas in the country and, to a major extent,
also all
population-concentrated rural areas.
When the Federation
came into being, Harare (then known as Salisbury) was
selected to be the
Federal capital, being the largest city in the
three-member countries
(Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, Northern Rhodesia,
now Zambia, and
Nyasaland, now Malawi), with the most developed
infrastructure. A Federal
government was brought into being, with its
Parliament and all federal
governmental departments being concentrated in
the federal capital.
Concurrently, each of three member states continued to
have a national
government, that of Southern Rhodesia also being sited in
the capital city.
Concomitantly, the head offices of all parastatals were
based in the capital
city, as was the Supreme Court, the central bank, and
all other major
federal and national governmental, or quasi-governmental,
entities.
Delegation of authority, and of substantive
administration, to provinces,
local authorities, rural district councils and
tribal authorities was
minuscule. Any issues of substance, even if only of
regional import, had to
be referred to, and processed by the central
administrations and authorities
in the capital city. In consequence, all
banks and other financial
institutions, and almost all companies and other
enterprises engaged in
business and other activities in diverse areas of the
country or the
Federation deemed it necessary to locate their head offices
in the capital
city, primarily so motivated in order to facilitate their
interactions with
government and its underlying authorities. Tragically, in
so doing, they
vigorously emulated the governmental approach by almost
wholly depriving
their regional branch managements of any significant
decision-making
authority, almost anything and everything having to be
referred to the head
offices for determination.
This overly great
concentration upon not only policy determinations, but
also ongoing
operational decision-making has had very major prejudices to
the country’s
economies outside of the capital city. On the one hand, many
matters
requiring urgent decisions have not, and do not, receive the
necessary
urgent decision-making attention. In part this is due to the
administrative
delays of documenting and transmitting the issues from the
regional centres
to the central administrations, and subsequently to the
communication of the
determinations, once made, back to the regional
operations.
The delays are also often occasioned by
inadequate appreciation, by the more
distant authorities, of the
time-critical urgency needs. Concurrently, all
too often the centralised
bodies have perceptions that circumstances in the
regional centres are
identical to those in the capital city, and hence
decisions are founded upon
evaluations of those perceptions, whereas very
often the localised
circumstances in a particular region or centre can be
markedly at variance
with those prevailing in the capital city.
Effectively, the decisions are
often based upon capital city parochialism,
instead of upon recognition of
conditions applicable to the centre seeking
the decisions.
Yet
another one of the economic prejudices is that, because of the
concentration
of authority in Harare, very great numbers of skilled persons
essential for
sound business operations perceive their medium and long-term
personal
advancement opportunities to be very limited if they pursue
employment
elsewhere than in the capital city. Hence, usually soon after
having
attained their specialised knowledge and skills, they relocate to the
capital city. As a result, most of the centres of economic activity
experience a recurrent loss of skilled personnel and face near
insurmountable difficulties in finding replacements for them. This applies
to senior management, production and works managers, engineers, pharmacists,
skilled technicians, accountants, economists, and many, many
others.
Amongst the many prime examples of Zimbabwe’s
over-centralisation and almost
total absence of constructive devolution, is
that almost all governmental
ministries have provincial offices, or other
offices in centres outside of
Harare, accord their personnel in those
offices with exceptionally limited
decision-making
authority.
Thus, by way of example, the offices in Bulawayo,
Gweru, Mutare, and
elsewhere, of the Ministry of Industry and International
Trade, the Ministry
of Education, Sport and Culture, the Ministry of Local
Government, Public
Works and National Housing, and the Ministry of Lands
& Rural Resettlement
are, to a very great extent, naught but, in effect,
post offices,
transmitting all decision-required issues to Harare and when,
very
eventually, receiving the decisions, communicating such decisions to
the
original sources of the issues. The same circumstance applies, to a
considerable degree, to parastatals such as Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority (Zesa), TelOne, Air Zimbabwe, Nssa, and many
others.
Almost exactly the same conditions apply to almost every one
of the country’s
banks, and other financial institutions (including the
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe). Regional and branch managers have extremely
limited, if any
authority to make determinations on loan and other financial
facility
applications. Exchange Control and other Reserve Bank applications
are
centralised and administered through head office in the capital, and
similarly, most national business chains concentrate decision-making at
their head offices in the capital city.
The delays in obtaining
decisions, often very urgently required, the
frequency that persons have to
travel from their home centres to Harare (at
great cost and loss of
productive time) in attempts to facilitate and
accelerate urgently required
decisions, and the frequent lack of in-depth
knowledge of environmental
economic and other circumstances, greatly
constrains economic operations,
activity, and growth throughout Zimbabwe
beyond the bounds of the capital
city. Those regional losses of economic
benefits thereby also constrict the
growth of the national economy, and
fiscal revenues to government, very
greatly needed.
After almost 60 years of governmental abhorrence for
devolution, it is more
than time (nay, it is long overdue) that government
now vigorously, and with
urgency, addresses and effects meaningful
devolution, beneficiating
government, the economy, and Zimbabwe as a
whole.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
16:26
Herbert Moyo
TRADITIONAL chiefs have become the latest
weapon to embarrass opponents of
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF after
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
and MDC legislator Jeffryson Chitando were
recently summoned to appear
before chiefs’ courts. The jurisdiction and
powers of headman and chiefs
under the Community and Local Courts Act is
well pronounced in so far as a
chief can summon any individual, if the cause
of action arose within the
area of his jurisdiction. If there are grounds to
believe local customs have
been violated, chiefs can summon anyone before
their traditional courts to
answer preferred charges.
But what is
increasingly becoming a source of discord is the manner in which
opponents
of Mugabe are being summoned. Analysts have compared this to the
historical
role of chiefs as pliable instruments of coercing their subjects
in pursuit
of state interests.
Tsvangirai was fined two beasts by Chief Negomo
of northern Mazowe for
violating a cultural custom which forbids the paying
of lobola in the sacred
month of November. Another traditional leader, Chief
Murinye, of Masvingo
summoned Masvingo Central MP Jeffreyson Chitando to
appear before his
traditional court to answer charges of failing to account
for the
Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The chief also accused Chitando
of
undermining his authority and insulting him.
Chitando is
expected to appear before the traditional court next week.
“They
(chiefs) are in a fix as they cannot say no to Zanu PF,” said John
Makumbe,
a political science lecturer and aspiring legislator. “l am
reliably
informed that both chiefs Negomo and Murinye were ordered by the
CIO to do
what they did. It is part and parcel of the CIO-Zanu strategy of
harassing
the MDC, particularly Tsvangirai,” said Makumbe.
At the chiefs’
annual conference held in Kariba in 2010, army generals
whipped them into
line and advised them of the dire consequences of not
supporting Zanu
PF.
Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, while acknowledging the role
of chiefs
in a communal set up, inculcated into them Zanu PF political
manifestos,
underlining the active role chiefs played in maintaining Zanu PF
hegemony.
Chiefs are normally placated with constituency vehicles and
increased
salaries in the name of constituency development just ahead of
elections.
Local Government minister Ignatious Chombo said Zanu PF had no
role in
dictating terms to chiefs.
“Chiefs have their own courts
to exercise their powers. If you violate their
customs, it doesn’t matter
whether you are the prime minister you are
obliged to appear and answer for
yourself,” Chombo said.
The perceived “persecution of opponents by
chiefs is wrong, unfortunate and
unfounded” because according to Chombo, his
ministry or party “cannot tell
them what to or what not to
do”.
“There are 265 chiefs in the country. They all have different
customs. If
you go there and break the rules, they will discipline you,”
said Chombo,
adding that even he was not above jurisdiction of their
courts.
But the Zanu PF central committee report seems to shed light
on the active
role of chiefs in party politics
The report
presented at the Zanu PF conference in Bulawayo last month
indicated that
Mugabe met with chiefs from Manicaland to give them an
opportunity to raise
directly with him key issues which “affect the party
(Zanu PF) and
government as well as their welfare”. Zanu PF intends holding
similar
meetings in other provinces.
The report said war veterans chief
Jabulani Sibanda had also embarked on a
countrywide mobilisation campaign,
which it indicated was “in line with the
symbiotic relationship that existed
during the liberation struggle between
freedom fighters, traditional leaders
and the masses who fought the enemy as
one united people”.
“There
is nothing new in the government strategy of aligning with chiefs,”
said
Mazarire, History department chairman at the University of Zimbabwe.
“Colonial governments were forced by financial and manpower costs to employ
chiefs in the administration of Africans.”
Mazarire said the
chiefs’ structures in their present state were created by
the colonial
government and were a far cry from the pre-colonial position
where chiefly
attributes were not only secular but religious and
extraterritorial in
nature.
In co-opting chiefs into its often violent campaigns, Zanu PF
seems to have
learnt nothing and forgotten nothing from the colonial
government.
The Rhodesian government staged an indaba of chiefs at
Domboshava in 1964
with the aim of producing pro-government resolutions that
would be used to
demonstrate to the British government that the Rhodesian
Front (RF) policies
had African support.
The indaba was attended
by over 600 chiefs and headmen who gave the RF
government its desired
unanimous verdict in favour of Rhodesian
independence.
Former
Rhodesian CIO boss Ken Flower wrote that the then Prime Minister Ian
Smith
had tried the old French assimilationist tactic of bringing “moderate”
blacks into government, such as Chief Jeremiah Chirau, representing the
Shona, and Chief Khayisa Ndiweni, representing the Ndebele.
Another
analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya condemned chiefs for continuing with what
he
described as their “colonial behaviour of fighting against the majority
and
the oppressed”.
Ruhanya said Zanu PF was using chiefs in a way
similar to the colonialists
to protect and entrench its power. He said this
was the main reason why many
chieftainships were contested in Zimbabwe
because for one to be installed,
“one has to be a staunch and faithful
supporter of Zanu PF generally and
Mugabe
specifically”.
Chitando, who is expected to appear before a
traditional court, said in
other Sadc countries, chiefs were apolitical and
widely respected as
custodians of culture.
“Here in Zimbabwe they
(chiefs) were turned into political commissars for
Zanu PF. It was the
formation of the MDC which galvanised Zanu PF into
action giving them cars
and other material benefits so that they remain
loyal to Zanu,” Chitando
said.
It would seem that chiefs’ association with unpopular
governments has always
been their undoing. Anton Weinrich, who studied the
colonial Zimbabwean
situation, concluded that chiefs who were well respected
suddenly lost their
prestige between 1963 and 1969 when the government roped
them into a
programme of pacifying the restive African
population.
Ruhanya agreed saying Zanu PF’s behaviour was not
surprising because this
happened in many African societies where incumbent
political regimes had
lost or are losing legitimacy.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012 16:21
Dumisani
Nkomo
The 1980 Zimbabwean cabinet was reputed to have been the most
academically
gifted in the whole continent of Africa with dozens of PhD
holders and
almost every cabinet member appearing on the 1981 edition of
Africa Who’s
who? Yet it was the same cabinet that presided over the
massacre of over 20
000 civilians in Matabeleland and over 20 years presided
over the collapse
of the economy. Another incredibly talented cabinet which
failed to deliver
was President Mugabe’s “cabinet of technocrats which
included the likes of
Professor Jonathan Moyo, Dr Simba Makoni, Dr Ignatius
Chombo, Dr Made,
Nkosana Moyo, Patrick Chinamasa and Francis Nhema amongst
others. In fact
the biggest mistake that progressive political parties and
civil society
have made is the assumption that Zanu PF is made of tired,
uneducated old
men with little or no intellectual acumen.
This,
however, is not the premise of my argument which is founded on the
fact that
Africa in general and Zimbabwe specifically may have a problem of
leaders
who Ayitey describes as functionally illiterate. Functionally
illiterate
leaders may have strings of degrees and doctorates but may not
have the
requisite skills to solve the problems that the country faces.
Barack
Obama, in his book The Audacity of Hope, noted that most often
professionals and intellectuals seek to win arguments without necessarily
solving problems. Conventional education may equip us to win arguments,
conduct experiments and manage institutions but nothing beyond that. It is
therefore possible to have a government or institution with all sorts of
experts, academics and technocrats who, however, do not have the requisite
skills and competencies beyond textbook knowledge to solve pertinent and
emerging problems.
Globally, growing institutions are
increasingly resorting to other forms of
intelligence beyond “I.Q or
Intelligence Quotient which focuses a lot on
mathematical, scientific and
linguistic ability. Other forms of intelligence
such as emotional
intelligence, spiritual intelligence, social intelligence
and artistic
intelligence are other forms of intelligence which are being
cultivated and
developed to provide dynamic, problem solving leadership.
What we need are
leaders essentially who can solve the problems that we face
as a
nation.
It is therefore important to start cultivating holistic
leaders who are not
only academically competent but who have the required
and necessary social,
emotional, political and business skills to navigate
the country to new
levels. The solution may not necessarily be in replacing
the galaxy of PhD
holders in Zanu PF with a galaxy of PhD holders from the
MDCs or indeed
any other party. They may not have the other skills and
competencies
required in running a country. Each country has unique
experiences,
conditions and challenges which demands people with the
requisite problem
solving, change management, vision casting skills which
may be necessary
at that particular time.
Winston Churchill was
the best wartime leader that Britain has ever had
whilst Neville Chamberlain
was possibly the worst candidate for wartime
periods. However, Winston
Churchill was irrelevant to peace time conditions
and the electorate
realised this. It is important for us as Africans to
learn from this lesson.
Nelson Mandela might have made a good leader at
liberation struggle,
rallying point and founding father of the rainbow
nation but if he had
tried to extend his mandate he would have become
unpopular and possibly
irrelevant.
New competencies and skills were required for the
post Mandela period which
required a Thabo Mbeki or a Jacob Zuma. Zuma in
the absence of basic and
political education has arguably shown better
understanding of issues such
as crime and poverty although he may be a
disaster in other areas. Greece
and Italy had to opt for leaders with
specific technical skills to deal with
the unique economic problems that
need to be dealt with in the next 12
months given the challenges of the
euro-zone economic crisis and the
conditions that those countries have to
attend to in the shortest possible
time. Importantly, these leaders were put
in place on a temporary basis to
deal with critical economic processes that
required leaders with a strong
economic, administrative and technical
background. Such leaders whilst
desirable in the short term would not
necessarily be relevant over longer
periods of time.
It is
important for Zimbabweans to shop for leaders who have a broad set of
skills
and who can solve the complex problems that the country faces. Some
of
these skills may not be necessarily attainable at any university and some
may require university training or simple commonsense. We may require
leaders who know how to consult, who respect other people’s view and at the
end these leaders may be better than a leader with a string of degrees who
has no regard for the opinions of other people.
At the same
time we may get a leader with string of degrees with these
attributes. It
is not all strait-jacketed. It is up to us to choose.
Malawian President
Bingu WaMutharika is a well trained economist but his
recent policy blunders
are incredible and already the country’s economy is
heading for troubled
waters. Some argue that this is symptomatic of “over
educated leaders” who
believe that they are right at all times and are
always out to prove their
theories or thesis right. Once again this is
subjective and it depends on
other attributes, characteristics and
qualities which should be considered
when electing or selecting national
leaders .
Idi Amin an
illiterate ignoramus whose only claim to power was being a seven
time Uganda
national boxing heavyweight champion has been used as an example
of how
uneducated and egotist leaders can bring grief to their countries.
Others
argue that maybe we need leaders of integrity and high moral
standing. Such
leaders would be ideal in the fight against corruption and
evil but
integrity alone is not enough .
Maybe the time for Messianic
leadership is over and Africa needs leaders who
understand the importance of
collective effort, collective responsibility
and collective decision making
within the framework of supportive laws and
policies. The leaders we need
now are leaders who recognize the abilities,
capacities and skills of those
around them. Such leaders will realise that
modern leadership and statecraft
is not about self seeking ego trips or
‘messianic ruler-ship but working
with and within a broader public
administrative and visionary framework
guided by relevant laws and policies
as well as appropriate processes.
Vision, values, integrity, humility,
servant hood and wisdom are
attributes which are essential for national
leadership. I
t
is these attributes that we should look for when we have elections in the
next twenty four months .We should also realize that a good leader may not
necessarily have all the desired characteristics but may be able to work
with or weld together a team which collectively has these attributes
.
Dumisani O Nkomo is an opinion leader and he can be contacted
on
dumisani.nkomo@gmail.com
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012 16:18
By Qhubani
Moyo
THE constitution-making process which ended 2011 in limbo reflects
the lack
of leadership and maturity in the leadership of the
process.Constitution
making requires sober minds and all will agree with me
that the leadership
of Hon Paul Mangwana and Hon Douglas Mwonzora is not a
sober approach (no
pun intended). The process has been a contestation of
egos between the two
and has left Hon Edward Mkhosi lost in the sea of
confusion and deceit.
Mkhosi who represents sobriety and maturity and
attempts to stand for the
truth has like all Zimbabweans become a victim of
personalities who fail to
understand that the constitution-making process is
not child’s play and
requires high levels of seriousness, maturity and
soberness.
The pair of Mangwana and Mwonzora which has personalised
the constitution
making process has become so in charge and so relaxed and
they approach it
with not so sober minds. Day in, day out the people of
Zimbabwe wake up to
the stunts of the two individuals who clearly, without
doubt, are
comfortable in the leadership of the process and have no interest
in seeing
it come to an end.
The duo have created another centre
of power in which they run the show and
have become a power unto themselves.
Both Mangwana and Mwonzora are very
clever and are aware that a new
constitution is the key deliverable of the
inclusive government and the
lifespan of the government depends entirely on
the outcome of the
constitution making process. This makes their positions
very important ones
and they are aware that they have become power itself
.And because they
realise that they have become a new centre of power they
will continue to
hold on to it until the very end.
The two are aware that in all
discussions whether in government or in Sadc
about the future of the
inclusive government the common denominator is that
elections should be tied
to a new constitution.But then how long will the
country continue to be held
to ransom by people who are self-centred and are
focusing on their personal
egos and grandstanding at the expense of the
lives of all
Zimbabweans.
Constitution making should not be used as a process of
building profiles or
political grandstanding because it is about creating a
framework for the
future and lives of people present today and in future. It
is thus
disheartening that the pair of Mwonzora and Mangwana seem not to
think with
the people in mind.In fact with their demonstration of lack of
sincerity,
commitment and sobriety to the process questions are raised as to
their
continued suitability to lead such an important national process
.
The mudslinging, politicking and insincerity displayed by the two
calls for
urgent review of the leadership of the process. I am at sea as to
what the
management committee as the supreme management body of the process
is doing.
The management committee which should supervise the operations of
the select
committee also have to come out of its slumber and provide
strategic
direction and supervision so that there is restoration of
confidence in the
constitution making process. This is particularly urgent
given that the
select committee is with a few exceptions comprises of men
and women of
limited capacity who have no understanding or clue of what
direction the
process should take. Some of them only celebrate the number of
meetings they
sit in and how these are converted to sitting allowances, and
nothing else.
The situation is compounded by the weak secretariat
which seem to be doing
an apprenticeship on how to run an administration
using an important
national process like the crafting of the supreme law of
the land.
Compounded with all this is the failure by the Speaker of the
House of
Assembly Hon Lovemore Moyo who seems to be at sea on the ownership
of the
process. Moyo should remember that Copac is a parliamentary committee
and
when individual parliamentarians begin to keep the process in their
pockets
it is necessary for him to shoe muscle, if he has any clue as to
what he
should be doing then by now he should have provided some direction.
But
alas, the Speaker lack initiative in that regard and some of us are not
surprised given the dearth of capacity and talent in the MDC T ranks
.
Coming back to the select committee and the current dispute that
has seen
publication of what is said to be the national report and the
outcome and
some draft chapters allegedly done by the drafting trinity of
Justice Moses
Chinengo, Priscilla Chidzonga and Brian Crozier. The
publication of these
reports have sent both Mwonzora and Mangwana into a
frenzy with each party
accusing the other of all sorts of things but if the
truth be said without
fear or favour the situation that Copac finds itself
in is a result of lack
of sincerity and refusal to listen to genuine advise
from those who are not
politicking about the constitution making
process.
The MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube has long called
for the publication
of the national and provincial report. In fact this
writer wrote in this
paper towards the end of last year and provided free
professional advice to
Copac to ensure publication of the reports in order
to restore confidence in
the process.
If Copac has nothing
to hide and is not planning on anything sinister on
the people’s view, why
does it want to hide what the people said. It is
strange that Copac will
commission a process of such, magnitude and then
conveniently hides the
outcomes of that outreach process. If the reports
were made public then
there would be no dispute as to what the drafters are
using in drafting the
constitution.
But because the duo of Mwonzora and Mangwana have
chosen to interpret the
constitution outreach views for their own personal
ends it has created this
situation where in some instances the drafters have
to resort to
international best practise. In all honest if Copac is genuine
to its
mandate, why does it not want to publish the people’s views, what is
there
to hide?
I remember the amount of fight when the whole
constitution making process
was initiated with MDC T fighting to teeth
against proposals that we work on
the Kariba draft and improve it for
better. Their war cry was around the
need have the people speaking and the
people spoke. So why then are the
people’s view being kept in a vault? What
did the people say?
I wish one of these days someone approaches
the courts to compel Copac to
publish the reports of the outreach because it
was a public exercise in
which the public should know the outcome. If the
views of the people were
formally made public then there would be no dispute
as whether the draft is
based on what the people said or not.Right now
Mwonzora has been on public
record claiming that the views allegedly leaked
to the Herald are not what
people said at the same time Mangwana claims the
chapters produced by the
drafters do not reflect the views of the people. So
what did the people say
because it looks like it is only Mangwana and
Mwonzora who seem to know what
people said. Can that be made public
please!.
It is my conclusion that the unless and until sobriety
prevails at Copac and
the confused duo of Mwonzora and Mangwana is put under
leash, then the
constitution-making process will continue to suffer at the
hands of people
that want to politic, grand standing and make money out of
prolongation of
the process. It is thus important for those who seconded the
clowning duo to
such an important national process to consider deploying
sober (pun
intended) people to bring the process to the
rail.
Constitution making is serious business that requires sober
and mature minds
and if we are not careful this important national exercise
will suffer as
still birth. Can somebody please save the country from
Mangwana and
Mwonzora.
Qhubani Moyo is the National
Organising Secretary of the MDC led by
Professor Welshman Ncube. He is
contactable on qmoyo2000@yahoo.co.uk
.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
17:05
DESPITE Zimbabwe’s comparative advantage in mineral resource
endowment and
more than a century of mining, the levels of mineral
beneficiation have been
low as the country has largely remained a net
exporter of raw materials.
The ongoing indigenisation debate has given
impetus to the discourse around
how communities can benefit from the
abundant mineral wealth. Communities do
not see the benefits of having mines
in the localities and on a broader
scale, fiscal authorities are unhappy
with the paucity of revenue coming
from mineral
resources.
This has created state-industry friction in which
the government has
successfully recruited communities to bolster its ranks
in the quest to
squeeze more revenues from the miners.
The
state’s response has taken a punitive dimension; forcing miners to fund
community trusts. The latest intervention — which has been endorsed by
cabinet — is a proposal to ban exports of unprocessed platinum. Recent
reports quoted Mines Deputy minister Gift Chimanikire threatening platinum
miners to “gear themselves for the banning of raw platinum
exports”.
If they don’t do it on their own then I will be formulating
laws that will
stop the export of concentrates to SA . . . That should
stop.”
With this intervention the government hopes to compel platinum
miners to set
up beneficiation facilities in the country.
While
it is banal fact that beneficiation of platinum and other minerals
will
unlock the value of the country’s commodities and boost economic
growth, a
mere ministerial pronouncement — couched in threats — is not the
way to do
it. It needs a good plan from level-headed leaders.
Our rulers must
understand that having natural resource endowment does not
automatically
translate to downstream beneficiation. It requires well
thought out policy
intervention to address a raft of pitfalls and
constraints which work
against attempts to derive greater value from mineral
resources.
At the moment that critical plan is not apparent and
what is required is a
paradigm shift in the country’s industrial policy
which should place
minerals beneficiation at the core of economic
development.
The government should pluck a leaf from the South
African Department of
Minerals Resources Beneficiation Strategy which
provides a framework that
“seeks to translate the country’s sheer
comparative advantage inherited from
mineral resources endowment to a
national competitive advantage”.
A national competitive advantage can
be created if the country’s industrial
policy places emphasis on strategic
investment in assets to maximise
long-term growth beneficiation projects,
enhance value of exports, increase
sources for consumption of local content,
and create opportunities for
sustainable jobs.
To private sector
investors, downstream value addition involves a range of
activities which
include capital-intensive activities such as smelting and
refining as well
as labour-intensive activities such as craft jewellery and
metal fabrication
such as manufacture of machinery and equipment. At the end
of the day, the
huge capital outlay of capital-intensive projects should
make sense to all
parties concerned. Industry’s confidence to invest in
value addition is
influenced by economic considerations and not necessarily
knee-jerk
pronouncements by politicians.
Platinum miner Zimplats’ reaction to
the government’s agitation for a
refinery encapsulates this. The company
would require upwards of US$2
billion to set up a refinery. The mining firm
can only raise this huge
amount if it can convince financiers that the
volumes of ore being mined are
adequate to keep the processing plant busy.
At the moment the volumes are
not enough because government is not mining
reserves ceded to it by the
private sector. Added to this, investment in
mining new ore reserves is
being stymied by state indigenisation
policies.
That is not all. There are still infrastructure
shortcomings especially in
the rail sector and electricity generation. These
two areas have a huge
bearing on any current beneficiation initiatives.
Mistakes can be avoided if
a clear plan is proffered. Mpofu and Chimanikire
must spell out the
beneficiation strategy with clear benchmarks and expected
outcomes.
Enactment of punitive laws to enforce compliance is not synonymous
with
prudent strategy for improving the mining sector. The business sector
cannot
thrive in an environment where there are more threats than
predictable
economic policies. Let’s get it right for a change.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
17:02
Constantine Chimakure
ON Tuesday Zimbabweans woke to news
that leaders of the three parties in the
wobbly inclusive government will
next month hold nation-wide rallies to
preach political tolerance and peace
ahead of elections either this year or
2013, as a follow up to an
anti-violence conference held in Harare in
November last year. This was too
good a story to believe!
While on the surface the idea seems sagacious,
the $64 thousand dollar
question is whether we need rallies to end political
intolerance and
violence in this country. Why is it that several calls for
peace by the same
leaders — President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangarai, the
fighting Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara and Industry
minister
Welshman Ncube — have been largely ignored? What have the leaders
done on
the ground to end violence and intolerance in our society since the
consummation of their marriage of convenience in February 2009?
I
s it not in their remit to save this country from sliding back
to the
anarchy of June 2008 where political madness reigned supreme
resulting in
the death of at least 200 people, thousands injured and
displaced, with
state security agents accused of culpability?
The
bottom line is that the leaders, especially Mugabe and Zanu PF who have
structural power in the inclusive government, are not sincere about ending
violence; and have peace and political co-existence. Mugabe controls the
security arms of the state and instead of embarking on nation-wide rallies,
he simply has to publicly instruct Police Commissioner-General Augustine
Chihuri to arrest all perpetrators of political violence regardless of their
political affiliation. Mugabe’s public order would assure and guarantee
junior officers that they would not be victimised for enforcing the law
impartially. I
t has been alleged and never disputed that
hundreds, if not thousands, of
junior officers were expelled from the force
in 2008 after being accused of
being MDC sympathisers after they merely
arrested Zanu PF perpetrators of
violence.
If our leaders are
sincere to end violence, why have the police not probed
and arrested those
responsible for the bloody June 2008 presidential
election run-off campaign?
The nation still awaits the arrest and trial of
known figures who allegedly
petrol-bombed the MDC-T’s Talent Mabika and
Tichaona Chiminya in 2000. One
of the alleged killers, Joseph Mwale, roams
the streets
freely.
Can Zanu PF survive without violence? We doubt it. Violence
has been in the
party’s DNA since its formation in August 1963. Many people
still remember
Zanu PF campaign advertisements in the countdown to the 1990
general
elections.
One television advertisement featured the
screech of tyres and the crushing
of glass and metal in a car accident,
followed by a voice warning: “This is
one way to die. Another is to vote Zum
(led by Edgar Tekere). Don’t commit
suicide, vote Zanu PF and
live.”
Another showed a coffin being lowered into a grave followed by
the warning:
“Aids kills. So does Zum. Vote Zanu PF.”
Then former
cabinet minister Nathan Shamuyarira’s classic in 2000: “The area
of violence
is an area where Zanu PF has a very strong, long and successful
history.”
Didn’t you hear this being repeated by Mugabe and Zanu PF zealots
before the
June 2008 presidential election run-off? Has Zanu turned a leaf
now to
preach peace ahead of a watershed election that is highly-likely to
end its
reign if held under a free and fair political environment?
We don’t
need rallies to end political violence, we simply require a
competent and
professional police force that upholds the rule of law without
fear or
favour. We need a police force guided by the country’s constitution,
not a
political party manifesto. We need genuine law enforcement agents, not
politicians in police uniforms. We are simply calling for an urgent
transformation of our police force to a professional outfit whose leaders
should be subservient to the Police Act and the country’s
constitution.
Without the reforms, calls to end political violence at
rallies or national
gatherings will remain that — calls!
cchimakure@zimind.co.zw
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 05 January 2012
17:01
Itai Masuku
NOT that one believes in this, but it would take
a very talented crystal
ball-gazer to predict what’s in store for the
economic year ahead of us. We
have heard it all before, the economy is to
grow by in excess of 9%, mining
is to lead the recovery, tourism is likely
to grow phenomenally, agriculture
is set to recover, etc.
On the global
economic outlook, America continues to send shockwaves
throughout the world
with the possibility of yet another world financial
crisis, the latest scare
being the downgrading of the country’s leading
banks credit by rating agency
Fitch. In Europe, the Euro zone debt crisis
might result in the gradual
disintegration of the Euro ,after being in
circulation for barely a decade.
Others may see this as leading to the
disintegration of the EU itself, known
in some Christian denominations as
the divided nations of Europe, symbolised
by the iron and clay feet of the
statue dreamt of by Nebuchadnezer in the
book of Daniel.
Well, the Middle East itself, where
Nebuchadnezer reigned is one of the most
unpredictable regions, what with
the Arab Spring threatening to disrupt oil
prices further. The region seems
to be living up to what a former US
congress employee told me is the
unofficial US line when it comes to the
region, and that is: “There’ll never
be peace in the Middle East.” Well, so
far so correct.
As for the
Far East, in spite of it having many robust economies, its heavy
integration
with the US and Europe, though beneficial in times of plenty is
but a
millstone around the neck in times of trouble. Already, currencies
such as
the Yen are taking a knock from data emanating from the West. So
where does
this leave little Zimbabwe? In a fix!
The net result of these world
financial crises is likely to exacerbate
Zimbabwe’s own financial crisis,
consisting mainly of absence of liquidity
on the market. While cash in
circulation increased to more than US$3 billion
by the end of June last
year, it is improbable there have been any further
increases. In fact, had
this been the case, the RBZ would have been blowing
its trumpet loud by
now.
We fear the silence may mean that there may even have been a
reversal, given
that on the equities market foreign investors exited the
local bourse in
their droves. Talk that big companies are now defaulting on
their loans,
with many continuously rolling them over, do not augur well for
the overall
health of the economy.
However, the biggest
threat to the Zimbabwean economy still remains the
political decisions that
threaten to derail progress made so far. We have
seen that in the past and
wait in fear and anticipation of what will be
sprung upon us next.Political
uncertainty is the only thing one can safely
predict.
FROM
THE ZIMBABWE VIGIL
New
Year message from ROHR Zimbabwe founder Ephraim Tapa
The year
2012 is now here and on behalf of the Board of Trustees, our Patron and
leadership, I wish all our valued members, stakeholders and sympathisers a happy
and productive 12 months ahead and the years to come.
For
ROHR Zimbabwe, 2011 was a very difficult year that threatened to destroy the
organisation but for the resilience of its leadership and indefatigable passion
and commitment of its membership. The story of ROHR’s survival would not be
complete without mention of our sister organisation, the Zimbabwe Vigil, which
ensured ROHR was able to meet its obligations all the way through.
That
said, on behalf of the Board of Trustees and all leadership, I wish to register
our profound regret at the inconvenience our members, supporters and sponsors
went through during this troubled period. This was about power and control
where former members sought to either gain control over the organisation or
destroy it following their suspension for various constitutional breaches.
As for
me personally, it was the most humbling and traumatic experience in my life as
an activist. I am happy that, as 2011 closed, we managed to get the organisation
re-registered with the office of the Registrar of Deeds in Harare and with it,
the resolution of all ROHR Zimbabwe governance issues.
Thus we
enter 2012 with confidence and focussed on the cause of human rights. I
therefore want to thank you all for the patience, trust and commitment you
showed during the difficult and sad episode in the history of ROHR Zimbabwe.
Allow me to assure all and sundry that ROHR Zimbabwe remains focussed on and
committed to the cause of human rights and democracy in
Zimbabwe.
ROHR
Governance Concerns
Following
reports that ROHR Zimbabwe’s registered Deeds had gone missing at the
Registrar’s office in Harare, I am pleased to advise that the registration has
now been re-instated under Notarial Deed No MA1385/2011 with Ephraim Tapa as
Founder and Board Chair, Mr Tichanzii Gandanga, Mr Ray Muzenda and Ms Brilliant
Dube as Trustees. In addition to the Notarial Deed, ROHR has a constitution
signed by all its trustees and which governs its operations at the membership
level. This puts paid to all concerns around governance.
In the
UK, ROHR is registered as a non-profit making organisation (limited by
guarantee) and this means the name ROHR Zimbabwe is not available for whatever
use by anyone without the approval of directors. It is therefore illegal for
anyone (individual or institutional) to purport to operate under the ROHR
Zimbabwe label, for there can only be one ROHR Zimbabwe from an organisation
point of view.
ROHR
Zimbabwe goes International
In
2010, the original Board of Trustees took a position to internationalise ROHR
Zimbabwe with a view to accommodate other nationalities into our membership and
widen the scope of our mandate and appeal. I am pleased to advise that that
resolution has been given effect. According to our registration the organisation
is, from now on, to be known as ROHR Zimbabwe International or ROHR
International or simply ROHR. All other appropriate changes will be made in due
course.
Head
Office New Address
Due to
prohibitive costs, ROHR head office has moved from 5 Normandy Drive, Alexandra
Park, Harare to 13 Series Road, Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe.
New
Membership Cards
In
order to reflect the changes, a new membership card will be issued to replace
those currently in circulation. This will also help us in conducting our
membership audit. As you will be aware, the membership of many of us has either
lapsed or become dormant. All relevant stakeholders will be advised of this
update. Members are expected to keep their subscription fees up-to –date, all of
which should be paid into the organisation’s bank account.
Membership
Activism
Many of
our members have neglected the cause of human rights because of the challenges
to do with life in the UK on successful regularisation of stay. I however would
like to take the opportunity to salute those who have remained active and
focussed on the Zimbabwe problem. Branches that easily come to mind include
Manchester, Woking, Wolverhampton, Bournemouth and revived Leicester. I now call
upon all branches to resume ROHR activities in this struggle for human rights.
In the next few days, I expect branches to email their proposed meeting dates
(calendar of events) to Rose Benton (co-ordinator@zimvigil.co.uk) for
publication on the ROHR website. Please do not forget to copy those emails to
ephtapa@yahoo.co.uk.
UK
Executive
When
the UK executive was re-constituted, it was agreed that its mandate would
include the revival of structures in the UK, bringing stability and growth to
ROHR, fundraising for human rights programmes in Zimbabwe and awareness raising
on the human rights crisis in Zimbabwe. These fundamentals have suffered while
we have been dealing with the malicious slander by some former board members and
their efforts to fraudulently takeover the organisation. This resulted in a lot
of energy being directed towards rebutting allegations about irregularities in
the handling of ROHR finances. These allegations were totally rejected at a
verification exercise by the ROHR UK Executive which established there was NO
abuse of funds whatsoever. Instead, it is an established fact that I, as founder
of the organisation, have subsidised ROHR operations from its inception to this
day and all for the cause of human rights. I salute those who have continued to
commit their resources and time for the cause of human rights. I also salute the
Zimbabwe Vigil management for their sterling efforts in keeping the project
afloat.
Sadly,
it was at the height of this confusion and time of heated feelings, that the UK
Chairperson, Mr Anywhere Mungoyo, tendered his resignation citing personal
commitments. Ms Valerie Chengaose also asked to be excused from her national
fundraising responsibilities citing immigration rules. Without an effective head
to captain the ship, the ROHR UK Executive has become non-functioning. It has
therefore been necessary to dissolve the ROHR UK Executive with immediate
effect.
Efforts
are now underway to get the Executive up and running again. To bring back a
semblance of organisation and order in our operations, all ROHR branch chairs
and the co-ordination team, are to report directly to me with immediate effect
until a new Executive is in place.
Upcoming
Meetings
To help
reconstitute a new UK executive, all those who held positions in the now
disbanded executive and members interested in serving at the national level are
invited to a meeting on 4th February 2012 to be held probably in
London (details to be confirmed) to chart the way forward.
This
meeting will be followed by a leadership forum comprising all ROHR branch
executives on 3rd March 2011 (details to be confirmed) that will aim
to strengthen the UK Executive and consolidate the 2012 programme of action.
That programme will include branch audits and renewal of committees, among other
things.
Press
Releases
In the
meantime, no press releases shall be made without the sanction of the President,
who remains the chief spokesperson of ROHR according to the Constitution and the
Deed.
Co-ordination
Team
In
effort to bring more effectiveness, accountability and stability to the
organisation, the co-ordinating team and their roles will be re-arranged.
Members will be advised in due course.
Support
for Immigration Matters
ROHR
still operate a centralised system where letters of support for activist asylum
seekers can only be originated from the President’s office. To maintain the
integrity of the system and / or forestall any possible abuse, all letters
bearing my name shall be personally signed by me. Appropriate stakeholders,
including the Home Office, will be duly advised. Please note that only deserving
cases (genuine and consistent activists) will be supported by ROHR.
Please
feel free to contact me either by email or on my mobile as given on the official
ROHR website, to further discuss or clarify any of the contents of this
communique.
Wishing
you all the very best. Thank you
Ephraim
Tapa
Founder
and Board Chairperson
ROHR
Zimbabwe International
PS:
Please forward to other members!
Zimbabwe Vigil
Co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside
the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00
to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk
