via Chinamasa faces axe March 15, 2014 in NewsDay
FINANCE minister Patrick Chinamasa’s political life is reportedly on the line following allegations that some Zanu PF hawks have launched a campaign to have him stripped of his Cabinet post, citing his “clueless” economic turnaround strategies and failure to mobilise local resources to improve the welfare of the country’s restive civil servants,among other issues.
Zanu PF insiders told NewsDay this week that Chinamasa was likely to be axed in a mini-Cabinet reshuffle set to be announced by President Robert Mugabe soon.
Since his appointment as Finance minister last September, Chinamasa has come under a barrage of criticism from in and outside government circles because of his alleged unsound economic policies.
The critics, who were advocating the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar, are reportedly pushing for former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono to take over the Finance portfolio.
Gono was last year catapulted to fill the late Kumbirai Kangai’s Senate post in Manicaland province ahead of heir apparent Shadreck Chipanga — ostensibly to prepare him for appointment into the Cabinet.
A personal banker to Mugabe for many years, Gono is believed to be the President’s favourite.
A few weeks ago, Mugabe told Chinamasa to find cash for improved salaries for civil servants or quit.
“At first, he (Chinamasa) said we could not do it and I said: ‘Well, if you can’t do it, tell me (and) I will get someone to do it.’ That is why he announced that salaries will be above . . . the poverty datum line,” Mugabe said.
Government has pledged to review civil servants’ salaries before mid-year.
In an unprecedented development, The Herald on Monday published a scathing article by a columnist who writes under the pen name Amai Jukwa which also strongly hinted on Chinamasa’s looming fall.
Part of the article read: “Our policymakers are displaying a desperate lack of imagination and have, in cowardly fashion, discounted viable possibilities in appeasement to a noisy, but largely ignorant media.
“The problem is both Chinamasa and the central bank have taken the unhelpfully orthodox view that the solution to our problems can only come from an external injection of funding.
“This is quite simply not true. Government has the capacity to inject billions of dollars of liquidity into the economy within a matter of months using nothing more than the resources we have in the country. There is precedence to this effect. The fact that they are not exploiting these avenues does not speak to impossibility, but incompetence.”
Zimbabwe recently extended its multi-currency regime to include the Australian dollar, Chinese yuan, Indian rupee and Japanese yen.
However, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services deputy minister Supa Mandiwanzira dismissed Amai Jukwa’s claims, saying government policies were spelt out by ministers and not newspaper columnists.
According to Zanu PF sources, the Cabinet purge is also likely to affect Energy minister Dzikamai Mavhaire, Public Service minister Nicholas Goche and several ministers believed to be linked to the “Salarygate” scandal.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Chinamasa said he was in a meeting and promised to call back later.
The matter has received mixed views among political parties and analysts.
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said: “That is not true. I do not know anything about that as matters of the Cabinet are handled at the President’s Office. We have results-based performance schedules for Cabinet ministers and these reside in the President’s Office. So, it is not for us as a party to discuss.
“But if there is information like that, I suspect there is an element of divide and rule by our enemies who want to destroy the party.”
But his MDC-T counterpart Douglas Mwonzora said: “Blaming Chinamasa only is unfair. Zanu PF has failed and should resign as a bloc. The reason why the economy is not performing is because of bad Zanu PF policies, massive corruption by Zanu PF officials and opaqueness surrounding the diamond industry.”
Analyst Alexander Rusero said axing Chinamasa would be like shooting the messenger.
“Zanu PF should put mechanisms that lure investment, not when everyone is a vendor. It is a shame to Zanu PF’s electoral victory. Firing him will be face powder window-dressing. It will not change anything. Zanu PF is clueless,” Rusero said.
He accused Zanu PF of hypocrisy as the things that they were accusing former MDC-T Finance minister Tendai Biti of were the same issues that were manifesting.
He said Biti at least managed to review civil servants’ salaries from $100 at the inception of the unity government in 2009 to about $400 a month in 2013, when the coalition government’s term ended.
COMMENTS
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This will be a great loss to Zimbabwe. Chinamasa is a genius.
Gideon Gono would be another disaster. Those guys just juggling the books to keep Mugabe happy so they don’t lose their own share of the loot, rather than instituting sound fiscal and economic policies, and doing more about the systemic corruption than just talking about it. But, that’s just not in ZANUPF’s play book, because it would end their stealing.
It is the President who is incompetent…CHINAmasa is simply a scapegoat! If anyone should go it is the whole Zanu Pf Administration and not CHINamasa alone.
You can axe as many Finance Ministers as you like, the country will still be broke and on the slippery slide to hell. The gravy train is coming to the end of the line! Let them bring back the Zim Dollar and see what happens. Thieving trash
Chinamasa can not be axed.he knows too much about the rigging. Unless they use the usual zanupf way, an accident or heart attack. And why him. He has a boss to guide him. The boss too must go.
Panicking@@!!
He deserves the ax. The real ax, you know, like King James.
Chinamasa is naturally very dull although a substitute will not perform any miracles. Bringing Gono is not a solution given Kereke’s attempt to show his degree of criminality. His zeal and energy will burn the mother country to ashes.
Poor Chinamasa ,the sacrificial lamp. he was not in the trenches in Moz, easy meat.Zanu is just buying time, they know they don’t have solutions. They are now on their prayer mats ,calling for miracles.
Ingozi yevakauraiwa.
You might have the stolen loot but if your conscience is not cleans,you will suffer to your Grave.
Election 2015!!! Here we go again!
Under the current political conditions and ridiculous economic policies, no finance minister can do a decent job. The real problem is Zanu cares only about power and looting, not about the people. So their policies are designed only that.
Gadzirisai chaita musoro ubande,period. Zanu is lost.
if he had two brains he would still be a half wit, but a rich one unlike his people
Let it be the real axe.
These Manyikas in ZanuPf have alwys been sacrificed by the Zezurus and Karangas ,they are stupid
We all know that Zim is what it is becoz of zanu pf decay and decadence – and that is zanu pf as a whole. No rocket science necessary – hazvidi n’anga izvo. And zanu pf includes Chinamasa and cohorts – we all know that.
My problem, is with those people who are whining becoz one of the country’s key destroyers by the name Chinamasa is about to be sent to the cleaners by his boss, if the hullabaloo is properly informed. My advise is you can not send all thieves or killers to jail at no go – its simply impossible on earth may in heaven. But surely, the earth is much safer with one criminal less than before. I can only cry becoz Chinamasa will not be sent to jail which is where he really belongs – not about why he is being crucified, scapegoat, blaa, blaaa…. That’s nonsense – he deserves much more the golden handshake which his is going to get from RGM & zanu pf. Remember, each dog has its day – so the issue of why so & so is being crucified while so & so is being protected is neither here nor there.
Any honest approach is if a deserving criminal is punished lets applause it; then lets push for that precedence to be applied more & more. That is very different from saying becoz Chombo is protected by the most high, then every other transgressor must be protected. That’s hog-wash.