Nelson Banya, Njabulo Ncube
and Felix Njini 11/25/2004 7:10:03 AM (GMT +2)
A SERIOUS
rift has emerged in ZANU PF following the nomination of Joyce Mujuru as the
party's vice-president and second secretary at the weekend ahead of Emmerson
Mnangagwa, who has long been touted as President Robert Mugabe's heir
apparent.
Impeccable party sources said following this development,
which touched off internal political battling, a section of the ruling party
which backed the ZANU PF secretary for administration is agitating for a
splinter political group, citing a largely expected purge hinted at by
President Mugabe in the aftermath of the controversy-ridden nomination
process. They said only the spurned Mnangagwa himself, who has refused
to actively support the idea to break off from ZANU PF like former secretary
general Edgar Tekere sensationally did with his Zimbabwe Unity Movement in
1989, stood in the way of the plans mooted by his disgruntled lieutenants
that include Cabinet ministers who are also non-constituency Members of
Parliament. President Mugabe, who under the current Constitution can choose
up to 30 non-constituency members, appointed them to Parliament.
Prior to the current discord that has accentuated the internal disputes in
the ruling party, President Mugabe had diligently kept the ZANU PF pieces
together since the 1987 unity accord with PF ZAPU, but his outburst on
Monday and his support for a woman candidate has agitated Mnangagwa's
camp. President Mugabe, apparently miffed at reports that John
Bredenkamp, a controversial international investor rated the United
Kingdom's 33rd richest citizen last year, had thrown his weight behind
Mnangagwa's campaign in the run-up to Sunday's nominations, was this week in
a fighting mood, accusing unnamed party leaders of being divisive. This
sources indicated that matters were going to get even dirtier before the
ZANU PF congress, which starts next week in the capital.
Bredenkamp, who reportedly holds Zimbabwean and Dutch passports, has in the
past been linked with the ZANU PF government and was implicated in a United
Nations report on the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The sources said President
Mugabe was told of what has come to be known in intelligence circles as the
Tsholotsho Declaration - Mnangagwa's endorsement by the key Matabeleland
provinces- as well as an alleged $7 billion Bredenkamp largesse to the
Mnangagwa campaign. The super-rich tycoon is also reported to have laid
out his private jet to Mnangagwa's cause, charges which have been vehemently
refuted by ZANU PF insiders aligned to the embattled Speaker of Parliament.
While they admitted having used Bredenkamp's private jet, they instead
claimed that they had hired the plane for a mid-week rally in
Tsholotsho. President Mugabe said over the weekend that some ruling
party supremos eyeing top posts at the December congress were supping with
"white capitalists", in apparent veiled reference to party officials who
flew to the rally held in Tsholotsho last Thursday aboard the Bredenkamp
jet. The rally, attended by ministers Jonathan Moyo and Patrick
Chinamasa, among others, was also supposed to be attended by Mnangagwa as
guest of honour. The two ministers are said to belong to the Speaker's
faction. Mnangagwa however failed to attend the rally because of an
emergency ZANU PF politburo meeting convened that day. "Apparently,
the President received intelligence to the effect that a jet belonging to
John Bredenkamp was used to go to Tsholotsho, and that a ridiculous figure
of $7 billion was received from him to buy support from provincial
executives ahead of the nominations on Sunday. "That, of course, is
flawed intelligence driven by people with ulterior motives," he said, adding
that the jet had been hired from Bredenkamp. As tempers continue to
run high in the ruling party, it has emerged that, starting tomorrow when
President Mugabe descends on Bulawayo, whose ZANU PF provincial leadership
defied a politburo directive to nominate a female vice-president, a
full-scale purge - which could also claim the scalp of Mnangagwa, among
others - would be executed. Results in the Bulawayo and Matabeleland
South nominations have been nullified on the grounds that the former
province did not heed a politburo directive to nominate a female candidate
for the vice-presidency and that a suspended provincial chairman, Lloyd
Siyoka, had presided over proceedings at the latter. Both provinces
nominated Mnangagwa for the vice-presidency and, in Bulawayo, stalwarts
Dumiso Dabengwa and Sikhanyiso Ndlovu failed to secure central committee
nominations, to President Mugabe's further angst. Matabeleland North
governor Obert Mpofu failed in his bid for a central committee
seat. Sources said President Mugabe, who brewed a shocker by openly
casting his lot with Mujuru at the expense of Mnangagwa - a trusted
lieutenant for decades - has a task on his hands to manage the intricate
tribal balance that has always been central to ZANU PF politics, at a time
when the emergence of a Zezuru triumvirate in the party's presidium has
triggered deep disenchantment. Like President Mugabe and Mujuru,
the other vice-president, Joseph Msika, is a Zezuru who rose to the position
by virtue of being the most senior ex-ZAPU official after the death of
former vice-president Joshua Nkomo. Party sources said President
Mugabe, who promised to "expose" some ZANU PF leaders bent on dividing the
party, was enraged by voting patterns in provinces such as Bulawayo that
showed support for Mnangagwa, in open defiance of not only the politburo
edict, but also the President's wish as announced in one of his familiar
impromptu addresses at Harare International Airport on Saturday after a trip
to Tanzania. The sources said Rugare Gumbo, who lost the Midlands
central committee nomination to Joram Gumbo, was being positioned to
ultimately become the ruling party's most senior politician in the
province.
AN eleventh-hour
dramatic and intriguing battle of wits by rival ZANU PF factions tilted the
scales in favour of Water Resources and Infrastructure Development Minister
Joyce Mujuru, who against all odds landed the vice-presidency ahead of
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the party's secretary for administration.
The Financial Gazette can reveal that it was the political gamesmanship by
the Mujuru camp which claimed the Manicaland and Mashonaland West provinces
from going the other way that made the difference to a fierce tussle for the
vice-president's post, which has now left Mnangagwa, previously believed to
be President Robert Mugabe's heir apparent, clutching at straws to save his
political life. Mujuru's nomination, which to the delight of
Mnangagwa's vocal internal foes completes the critical encirclement around
the Speaker of Parliament, came as pressure rose inexorably for the
male-dominated ZANU PF high echelon to elevate women through affirmative
action and prove that the party's earlier decision to have a woman
vice-president following the death of Joshua Nkomo was not just "paper
reforms". As of Friday last week, Mnangagwa, whose political future now
increasingly appears perilous, literally had six provinces in his bag -
Mashonaland West chaired by flamboyant ZANU PF legislator Philip Chiyangwa
and Manicaland chaired by Mike Madiro included. He looked set to romp to
victory. But this was not to be as the two provinces later defected at the
eleventh hour. Added to the Midlands, Masvingo, Bulawayo and
Matabeleland South, the two provinces could have swung the vote in favour of
the ruling party's secretary for administration, who might as well kiss
goodbye his chances of landing a post in the presidium. Sources
said Mujuru's camp was led by her husband, retired army general Solomon
Mujuru. It has been suggested but not denied that there is no love lost
between the retired army chief and Mnangagwa. The bad blood between the
two came to the attention of the public after Mujuru's failed attempt to
acquire a strategic stake in the Kwe-kwe-based ZIMASCO, amid allegations
that Mnangagwa threw spanners into the stillborn deal. The other
members in Mujuru's camp are former intelligence officers, Mashonaland East
provincial chairman Ray Kaukonde and ZANU PF youth league chairman Savious
Kasukuwere. The camp pulled a winner by roping in Madiro and Chiyangwa to
their side.As the battle of wits reached a crescendo, the Mujuru camp had
to
draw on its wealth of experience in the military by setting up a
command centre and sub-command centres in each of the country's 10 political
provinces to rally the campaign machinery in favour of Mujuru, who becomes
Zimbabwe's first woman vice-president. "We deliberately started our
campaign late so that we could read the other side's foot prints and when we
got their strategy, which was basically to catapult Mnangagwa and Lesabe
(Tenjiwe) to the vice-presidents though the six provinces - Mashonaland
West, Manicaland, Midlands, Masvingo, Bulawayo, Matabeleland South - we had
to go on an overdrive. "Our strategy was simple; we had to go back to
our traditional voting patterns. Traditionally, Mashonaland West and the
other Mashonaland Provinces - Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central and
Harare - stand together when it comes to voting and we had to fight to get
the lost vote," said a source within the Mujuru camp. The source
said they had to bring in Manicaland as well, which traditionally votes
together with Mashonaland Provinces and because of the Unity Accord signed
between ZANU PF and ZAPU, then led by the late vice-president Joshua Nkomo,
there were rest assured of a vote from the Matabeleland provinces.
And through the Unity Accord, the Mujuru camp rallied senior former ZAPU
chiefs to swing on province in Mujuru's favour, added the source.
Mnangagwa's camp, according to sources, comprised of July Moyo, Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Information Minister Jonathan Moyo and retired
colonel Daniel Shumba of the TeleAccess fame. Contacted this week for
comment, Kaukonde said there was no need to dwell in the past.
"What is important now is for those who have lost and the winners to close
ranks for the betterment of ZANU PF and the country. We are the future
leaders and there is no need for us to rush and fight for the position since
our time will come. "Look at President Mugabe, he went to school,
taught, detained for 15 years because of the struggle, led the struggle and
now Zimbabwe. We also have to be patient. We will get there as long as we
are guided by the principles of the party," said Kaukonde.
Govt crafts bill to legalise Mawere empire
takeover
Felix Njini 11/25/2004 7:12:09 AM (GMT
+2)
THE government, drooling over Mutumwa Mawere's collapsing
business empire, has crafted a Bill which seeks to legalise the takeover of
the fugitive business tycoon's empire.
The government, which is
seeking the extradition of the embattled mogul over alleged exchange control
violations, had tried to inherit Mawere's mining giant (SMM Holdings),
saying it wanted to prevent its collapse and save jobs. Analysts
said the planned takeover, which is also targeting other businesses owned by
SMM, had run into legal complexities, hence the current move to fine-tune
the plan. Named the Reconstruction of State Indebted Insolvent
Companies the Bill, which passed the second reading stage last week, will
give administrators of state-indebted companies excessive powers to enable
them to forfeit to the state shares or securities in a reconstructed
company. Under the state-indebted companies, relevant ministries can
issue a reconstruction order encompassing associate companies and
non-associate companies which benefited from the public loan or
guarantee. The Bill will also give government powers to issue
reconstruction orders in "respect of any bank and other financial
institutions that are under curatorship". But this could only come
after the relevant ministry is satisfied that management running the
financial institution was doing so "fraudulently, recklessly or with gross
negligence and that public funds have been or will need to be expended to
minimise risk to the financial sector in Zimbabwe". About seven
financial institutions have been placed under curatorship by the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe following a crackdown on imprudent banking practices, which
consigned most indigenous banks to the burial grounds of corporate
failures. The Bill, if approved, could also give administrators powers
to cancel shares held by any investors in a company under
reconstruction. Critics, however, questioned government's ability to
turn around the fortunes of former privately-owned companies when it has
over the years failed to efficiently run more than 11
pathetically-performing parastatals. Apart from merging any company
under reconstruction with some of its associate companies, the government,
according to the bill, can dissolve a company under reconstruction or any of
its associate companies and form one or more companies limited by
shares. The Bill will also give administrators powers to dissolve the
board of directors of the company under reconstruction and can also appoint
and vest management of any reconstructed company in an interim board of
directors, which can assume immediate responsibility of running the
company. According to the Bill, one can be jailed for three years, if
he "conceals, destroys, mutilates or falsifies or is privy to the
concealment, destruction, mutilation or falsification of any book or
document relating to the affairs of the company." Directors,
managers and secretaries could face a six-month imprisonment term if they
fail to account for or disclose the whereabouts of investments "proved to
have been in his or her possession".
THE Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) National Council, the main opposition party's
supreme decision-making body, will meet in Harare next month to review an
August decision to boycott all elections in Zimbabwe.
MDC insiders
said leaders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), African
Union and European Union had been informed that the party needed to consult
widely before arriving at a final decision on whether or not to participate
in the crucial 2005 parliamentary polls.
SADC leaders including
President Mbeki of South Africa, who is at the centre of the delicate
arbitration in Zimbabwe's political impasse, have told the opposition party
that it should not have boycotted the elections.
The MDC, which
gave the ruling ZANU PF a run for its money in the historic 2000
parliamentary polls and the 2002 presidential polls, resolved on August 25
this year to boycott all elections in Zimbabwe until President Robert Mugabe
implements election reforms agreed in Mauritius by SADC heads of
state.
Insiders at the party, which is accused by the government of
working with external forces to destabilise the country, said they were yet
to decide on the tentative dates for the National Council meeting but
indicated the indaba would most likely be held the same week ZANU PF stages
its own equally important national congress, also in Harare.
The MDC's National Council, the higher authority of the opposition party,
comprises the national executive, shadow ministers, executive mayors,
provincial committees and constitutional committees.
MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai, in his Tuesday message to party supporters, confirmed
that the National Council arrives at a final decision in
December.
'We shall meet in early December to review our decision
to suspend participating in all elections," said Tsvangirai who is presently
in Europe on the final leg of his diplomatic offensive.
"We
shall be guided by the people, using raw facts on the ground on how far the
regime has sought to implement the spirit of Mauritius. As I said before, we
desire an entire package, with measurable outcome to regenerate confidence
in the electoral process," he said.
Paul Themba Nyathi, the party's
spokesman, also confirmed that such a meeting would take place in early
December.
"The National Council also works with civil society
partners. So whatever decision is taken will cover everyone aligned with the
MDC. It is a very important meeting that will make or break Zimbabwe," said
a source close to the MDC top brass.
"ZANU PF cannot afford to
go it alone in the 2005 parliamentary polls with the SADC watching on the
sidelines. Who will recognise the outcome of the polls? It's also too late
for ZANU PF to sponsor a party to avoid a one-horse race," he
said.
The ruling party, which is confident of overwhelmingly
winning next year's parliamentary elections, has indicated it would go to
the polls with or without the MDC.
The government accuses local
civic organisations of working in cahoots with the MDC and some Western
countries, especially Britain, to effect a regime change in
Zimbabwe.
AT least 90
families in Mashonaland East province face eviction after being issued with
orders to vacate land they had settled on under the controversial land
reform.
A1 model farmers at Oribi, Fairview, Kilmur and Melrose
farms, who claim to have been given offer letters by the Agriculture
Ministry, would be pushed out of the farms they invaded three years
ago.
Harare lawyer Obert Gutu of Gutu and Associates confirmed that
the Goromonzi magistrates' courts issued the summons at the request of
Petronella Kagonye, a lands officer in the province.
"We have
entered an appearance to defend the case with the Goromonzi magistrates'
court because these farmers were properly resettled and are holders of offer
letters. The farmers have not been shown the farms where the government
intends to resettle them and there is no proof that the said farms are
vacant. The victims are engaged in viable projects and they have a High
Court decree that they should remain on the farms," said Gutu.
John
Nkomo, the Minister of Special Affairs responsible for Lands and Police
Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, were cited as the respondents in the
matter.
Justice Ben Hlatshwayo had given farmers facing
eviction a reprieve after he ordered that they should stay put on the
farms.
Sources from the province said they are political bigwigs
jostling to occupy the four farms, which are productive and strategically
located. - Staff Reporter
THE ruling ZANU PF,
battling to raise $20 billion to bankroll its national congress next week
and the 2005 parliamentary polls, is contemplating reducing the number of
delegates from 9 000 to about 5000 amid revelations only $5 billion is in
the kitty, The Financial Gazette established this week.
Nathan
Shamuyarira, the party's chief spokesman, said all the party's 10 political
provinces had been given a target of raising $500 million, but none had
reached the figure by Monday this week.
Shamuyarira dismissed as
unfounded speculation that some of the party's funds earmarked for the
congress had been locked up in banks presently under
curatorship.
"We don't have monies in those closed banks. We
have money in our own banks that are open. What people are saying is
mischievous," he said.
Shamuyarira said the total figure of $20
billion sought by the party would meet the financial costs of the congress
as well as funding campaigns for the 2005 parliamentary polls.
"We might be forced to cut the number of delegates from 9 000 to say 5 000
if funds do not permit. The treasurer needs more money, so there are a
number of fund-raising activities going on such as raffles and dinner
dancers," he added.
"It does not mean that we will fail to hold
the congress. The money to fund the event and the 2005 elections is not
coming in the manner we expected."
The highlight of the
congress is the confirmation of the four names for the
presidium.
Apart from President Robert Mugabe, his first vice
president Joseph Msika and national chairman John Nkomo, the party's
provinces elected Joyce Mujuru to be the first female vice president in ZANU
PF's history.
The decision by the
ZANU PF politburo to have a woman fill one of the two posts of second
secretary of the ruling party marks a pivotal moment in the history of
Zimbabwe's efforts to achieve gender balance in national
affairs.
Veteran Cabinet minister and former freedom fighter
Joyce Mujuru is poised to make history at the ZANU PF congress next month
when she is expected to be nominated to join the presidency of the party. If
this happens, she will automatically also become a co-vice president of the
country. Mujuru's imminent ascendancy to the top echelons of
political and governmental power comes after unprecedented jockeying and
verbal tumult within the ruling party. While it may be extreme to
describe the ZANU PF politburo's decision as offering the party's women's
league "too little too late", it is nevertheless important to put things
into perspective. The possibility of a woman getting an opportunity to
serve as one of the country's two co-vice presidents is only likely to
become a reality after almost 25 years of independence. Any
euphoria the women of Zimbabwe may be feeling over this prospect can
therefore not obscure the fact that the ruling party has been tardy and
grudging in acknowledging the contributions of women to the liberation
struggle and national affairs. Observers who have followed the
unfolding events since September's ZANU PF Women's League congress will have
sensed a palpable lack of enthusiasm for the idea of a woman
vice-president. Men within the ruling party did not exactly fall all
over each other to congratulate and encourage Mujuru when it emerged that
she was the most likely candidate to fill the late Simon Muzenda's shoes as
a vice-president. In fact, despite her impeccable liberation war
credentials, there was undisguised grumbling in some quarters about her
suitability for the position. One ZANU PF official from
Matabeleland South was quoted as opposing the candidature of a woman for the
top post because of the nature of the problems bedeviling Zimbabwe at this
stage. He did not think a woman could be up to the task of confronting such
challenges. He did not, however, say why someone like Mujuru, who was
resilient enough to survive the rigours of guerrilla warfare, could not cope
with governing a country she fought to liberate. As a young girl of
about 19 in 1974, Mujuru singlehandedly downed an enemy plane full of
Rhodesian forces. Two years later, at the age of about 21, she was appointed
to the ZANU PF national executive, the equivalent of the politburo and
central committee in today's nomenclature. Her record more than speaks for
itself. Another irrelevant excuse that was given by those anxious to
hold on to cherished prejudices was that ZANU PF had more pressing problems
to deal with and the issue of a woman vice-president could be deferred. It
was argued that the ruling party needed to "bury" the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) in elections next year first before it could
consider the question of a woman serving as a member of the presidency of
the nation. If that argument were to be taken to its natural
conclusion, it would mean that all ZANU PF elections should be cancelled so
that the party can focus on defeating the MDC. Moreover, Zimbabwe
is a signatory to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Protocol
on Gender. This stipulates that at least 33 percent of all seats or
positions in legislative assemblies or local government councils should be
reserved for women. In view of the fact that women constitute the
majority in most SADC countries, the quota is itself not even fair. In this
country, women constitute 52 percent of the population, but this is not
reflected in the composition of Cabinet, parliament, the judiciary and other
national organs. The same inequalities exist in the private sector.
At their congress in September, members of the ZANU PF Women's League also
called for greater representation of women in parliament in line with SADC
and African Union guidelines but were advised to "start slowly". It has
been reported that a delegation from the women's league headed by the
chairperson, Tenjiwe Lesabe, met President Robert Mugabe prior to the
emergency politburo meeting a week ago to press their case for Mujuru's
candidacy. Other reports suggest that the ruling party only
capitulated to the women's demands for self-preservation reasons, mainly to
avert divisions ahead of next year's parliamentary polls. Whatever
the behind-the-scenes manoeuvrings, the appointment of a woman
vice-president was long overdue. The six ZANU PF provinces that have
nominated Mujuru for the post of second vice-president are not doing her a
favour. She has proved herself and deserves the recognition.
Zimbabweans deserve to enjoy the benefits of being served by a leader who
brings different sensibilities and perspectives on national issues and
interests. Born in 1955, Mujuru, who abandoned her schooling in
1974 to join the liberation war, is the only woman to have served as a
government minister without interruption since 1980. Fresh from the
liberation war, she was appointed Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture in
1980. She subsequently served in several ministerial capacities, including
Information, Posts and Telecommunications. In 1992 she was
appointed governor of Mashonaland Central Province. She was appointed to her
current portfolio as Minister of Water Resources and Infrastructural
Development in 2002. A wife and mother, Mujuru has literally bloomed
from a young ex-combatant to a mature politician before the nation's eyes. A
measure of her maturity was demonstrated through her ability to hold her
tongue over the last few months when debate raged about the possibility of
her becoming the most powerful woman in Zimbabwe.
THE Grain Marketing
Board (GMB)'s monopoly, in place since 2001 when the government abolished
the Zimbabwe Agricultural Commodities Exchange, has become an unmitigated
policy disaster, judging by the string of losses the parastatal continues to
record, along with its failure to secure the country's strategic grain
reserves.
Through Statutory Instrument 235 A of 2001, at the height
of a drought and upheavals on the farms, the government declared maize and
wheat "strategic grains", with the GMB holding the sole mandate to trade in
the staple commodities. For instance, the GMB Act proscribes the
transportation of maize or wheat in quantities exceeding 250 kilogrammes
without a GMB permit. Three years after the decision, meant to secure
the country's food situation, the GMB has not only recorded a massive $300
billion loss but has failed to mobilise grain stocks consistent with its
monopolistic position. Official statistics, which indicate an
optimistic and hotly contested yield of 2.4 million tonnes of maize in the
2003/2004 season, also show that only about 400 000 tonnes have been
delivered to the GMB. The same officials also recently admitted that
about 500 000 tonnes, barely enough to cover the country's consumption for
two months, will be in stock by year-end. At the same time, the
current season's productivity continues to be bogged down by inadequate
preparation and insufficient inputs. Independent assessments point to a
maize yield of less than the 980 000 tonnes produced in the previous season,
giving a deficit of about one million tonnes. Earlier this year,
the government moved to bar non-governmental organisations and aid agencies
from carrying out assessments of the food situation. A Food and
Agricultural Organisation/World Food Programme crop and food supply
assessment mission failed to complete its task following government
intervention. The root of the GMB's problems lies in an unrealistic
pricing system which results in the parastatal paying more for grain it
sells for significantly lower prices. It also lies in the endemic parastatal
problem of guaranteed government financial support. For instance,
the heavily indebted GMB this year alone not only had its debt taken over by
the government, but also received $550 billion from the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe's productive sector facility to finance the purchase of
grain. The long and short of it all is that the GMB is a monopoly
dealing in commodities Zimbabweans consume in massive quantities, but cannot
stand alone. Nothing could be more absurd. Often in the
ongoing debate over the veracity of official crop projections, government
ministers have been quoted saying it was unrealistic to expect all of the
supposed 2.4 million-tonne bumper harvest to be delivered to GMB
silos. However, a parliamentary portfolio committee which probed the
country's food situation in light of contestable official claims warned of
another impending food crisis as the GMB's current stocks were tenuous,
measured against the country's requirements. The government, which
has in the past year strenuously denied that there would be need for grain
imports, has been buying grain from Zambia and South Africa, according to
official data recently released by the two countries. GMB officials
told the parliamentary committee that the parastatal, which also made a $28
billion loss in the financial year to March 2003, would need billions of
dollars to import wheat and maize, billions which could have been saved by
proper forward planning and a realistic pricing system which would have
triggered more meaningful deliveries to the silos. Analysts,
considering the country's sudden inability to sustain itself following the
government's land redistribution have, at every turn, called for the
disbanding of the GMB monopoly, calls which have met with strident
resistance from the authorities. Be that as it may, the GMB's stark
inability to meet grain demand is further exposed by the existence of a
thriving parallel market for grain. The Famine Early Warning Systems
Network (FEWSNET), which in April this year raised the ire of the government
by reporting that up to 2.2 million Zimbabweans - mainly in the rural areas
- would require food assistance, contends that figure could have risen along
with ballooning grain prices. "This estimate was made on the
assumption that grain would be available from the Grain Marketing Board
(GMB) at Z$471/kg. However, GMB maize grain is now selling for at least
Z$720/kg, and it is in short supply. Where GMB maize is not available, many
households are forced to turn to the parallel market to buy maize, where it
sells for more than Z$1 000. "Given much higher maize prices and no
evidence of commensurate increases in rural incomes, the rural population in
need of food assistance must now be higher than that originally estimated by
the Zimbabwean Vulnerability Assessment Committee," Fewsnet noted in its
latest report on the country's food situation.
ACTING Finance
Minister Herbert Murerwa faces a crisis of sorts today as he tables the 2005
national budget.
A crisis of no expectations. Thrust back
into the hot seat in May following the arrest of his latest successor at
treasury, Chris Kuruneri, Murerwa makes an all too familiar trip to
Parliament building today facing probably the least expectations from a
budget statement in years. With a major part of economic policy now
being driven by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) - a fact evident in
Murerwa's own budget statement last year which left several material issues
to be dealt with in the central bank's monetary policy - the budget has
since been pre-empted by the RBZ's quarterly reviews as well as the
government's own latest blueprint launched last week. The market
has been getting regular direction on interest rates and the exchange rate
from the central bank, while the Macro-Economic Policy framework for
2005-2006 unveiled by Murerwa last week lays down the government's broad
fiscal policy objectives. "Fiscal, monetary and sectoral measures,
including national budgets, will be rooted in this framework," Murerwa said
last week. However, analysts expect the budget to provide a cue on the
reform of state enterprises, whose inefficiency continues to dog the
economy, which is in its fifth year of recession. Although Murerwa
last year announced that state enterprises would be allowed to charge
economic prices, most parastatals continue to be in the red and have
remained on a life support system, getting regular financial support from
the government. "Parastatal reform is central because the economy
hinges on the efficiency of parastatals. We should see more being done in
that regard if real recovery is to come into reality," David Mupamhadzi,
Trust Holdings Limited group economist, said. Best Doroh, principal
economist at Finhold concurred, adding that the persistent loss-making trail
behind virtually every state enterprise required urgent attention if
inflation was to be reined in in line with RBZ targets. "As long as
parastatals remain a drain on the fiscus, we are going to be saddled with
budget deficits. "Overruns on expenditure emanating from the financing
of parastatals continue to exert pressure on the fiscus," Doroh
said. The government, which last year committed itself to eliminating
quasi-fiscal operations, such as the myriad support prices put in place to
rescue key industries like the tobacco and gold sectors, is yet to make good
on that promise. Analysts said the emphasis on parastatals,
capacity building and infrastructure development would be in line with a
government that is reorganising itself as a means to extricate the economy
from the rut, although some concessions in areas such as personal tax were
also expected. "Of course there has been talk about the need to further
widen the income tax bands. We are likely to see some action on that front
as well," Mupamhadzi said.
THE Harare City Council is planning to dump more than 7 000
street kids at the controversial national youth training centres in a sweep
likely to be replicated in other towns and cities.
Plans are
already at an advanced stage to forcibly round up beggars and a hardened
army of street children, starting in the capital Harare, as the government
battles to stem the spiralling population of street people, sources
said. The plans, according to the same sources, are also meant to give
impetus to the government's controversial national youth training programme,
widely seen as a ruse to establish ZANU PF's hold on young people.
It has been established that the government, which held a meeting recently
with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on the rights of children
in Zimbabwe, has given the same NGOs three months to conceive a workable
plan to deal with the street kids menace. "If the NGOs fail, then
government will proceed with its initial plan of sending these street
dwellers to the training camps. This is seen as the only solution to
restoring normalcy to the streets of Harare and other towns," the sources
said. The move to dump street kids in the "propaganda" camps comes at a
time the government is making serious plans to expand the existing training
centres to all of the country's provinces. The youth training camps
have come under attack for brainwashing unemployed youths who are allegedly
used by the ruling ZANU PF to terrorise citizens during election periods.
The government denies the charge, saying students at the camps get lessons
on patriotism. Graduands from the camps, derisively referred to by some
Zimbabweans as "Green Bombers", have been accused of a string of human
rights violations, including beatings, torture and rape, charges denied by
the government and ruling party. Harare City Council spokesperson
Leslie Gwindi professed ignorance on the intended move to dump street kids
from Harare in training camps. At the meeting held two weeks ago
between government officials and representatives from the Zimbabwe National
Council for the Welfare of Children, the government made it clear that it
was now taking steps to "round up street kids and place them in places of
safety". The government's suspicious proposal, which was immediately
rejected by representatives from NGOs at the meeting, is that street
dwellers be placed in "residential care institutions". Matters came
to a head when the NGO representatives demanded to know "whether they (the
government) have the capacity to house more than 12 000 people.
"Our bone of contention was also on the fact that institutionalisation is
not the best way forward in dealing with the problem. After they are
institutionalised, they are likely to return to the streets," said Trynos
Masengwe, a representative of the National Council for the Welfare of
Children.
THE meeting last week between President Robert
Mugabe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) director for the African
Department, Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane, could not have come at a more appropriate
time.
It is a confidence-bolstering move which is the clearest sign
yet that although it abandoned Zimbabwe midstream in the late 1990s, the
IMF's hope in the local economy had not completely desiccated. Although no
deal has been sealed yet and might not be for some time, that the two
parties are talking provides the much-needed fillip to circumspect foreign
investors, financiers and donors after their stampede for the exits over the
past few years.
Zimbabwe, the increasingly ostracised erstwhile
regional breadbasket, is experiencing swingeing balance of payments
difficulties. It is facing payment problems because it is not earning enough
foreign currency to pay for what it buys from other countries. Hence its
failure to stabilise its exchange rate. Resultantly, the once resilient
economy refuses to shift out of the low gear.
It is against
this background that we feel it is imperative for Zimbabwe, whose central
bank has since underlined the need to seek a deeper rapprochement with the
international community, to re-engage the IMF, which lends money to
countries with balance of payments problems.
Of course it goes
without saying that borrowing from the IMF, while it can help stabilise the
country's finances and strengthen its trade, brings with it what might be
politically unpalatable obligations. It means that the country, which was
abandoned by the Bretton Woods twin in the late 1990s for a lapse in
fulfilling its self-imposed obligations, would have to initiate a series of
reforms to eradicate the source of the payments difficulties. This entails
treading a new path of economic austerity, which of course might not be
politically expedient.
But national interests should take
precedence above parochial political interests. We hope that our
politicians, some of whom even President Mugabe has admitted have bloated
self-interest, recognise this. We say so because we are aware that our call
for the country to seek recourse to the IMF which recently gave Zimbabwe a
six-month reprieve and decided against slamming the door on the country,
could stir some controversy or, worse still, political ridicule especially
by those Cabinet ministers and self-serving politicians who find the magic
influence of populist phraseology too strong to resist.
In
Zimbabwe, the IMF, which has an equally mysterious presence on the
international scene, has been painted black. It is seen as the evil face of
imperialism. One Zimbabwean Cabinet minister who is so pleased and
overwhelmed by being in government that he behaves more like a town tart who
has finally married the mayor continues to propagate this myth
further!
The incredibly foul-mouthed, narrow-minded, prejudiced and
obstinate minister, who passes for a graphic example of articulate
ignorance, is on record as having said that Zimbabwe's political and
socio-economic life would remain unshaken with or without the IMF. Of course
nothing could be further from the truth. Zimbabweans need no reminding that
the country's once impressive credit rating has been reduced to junk status
partly because of the suspension of the IMF support. The hands of leading
international financiers have been stiffening and they no longer want to
touch Zimbabwe even with a barge pole precisely for the same
reason.
We are not here extolling the virtues of the IMF. We have
said it before and we will say it again - we do not accept the mystique of
the IMF nor do we hold any brief for its outworn shibboleths. In any case we
are quite aware that there can be no greater error than to expect or
calculate upon real favours from nation to nation or international
organisations to nation. Be that as it may, the IMF is nonetheless a key
international institution whose significance and influence cannot be
overemphasised.
While what the IMF can give us as balance of
payments support could be a proverbial drop in the ocean, it is much more
important in that key international financiers take their cue from the
institution. Its presence is seen as a seal of approval. This is why for now
Zimbabwe is feeling the financial pinch of the IMF's continued absence.
Those institutions that take their cue from the IMF remain seated on the
fence maintaining a wait-and-see attitude.
The IMF itself
admits that it is widely seen as a self-appointed international central bank
or a powerful and disapproving political institution imbued with a
missionary zeal for fiscal rectitude. Yet, it is not like the IMF, for all
its sins, has an effective authority over the domestic policies of its
members. As it says in one of its external relations pamphlets: "It (IMF) is
in no position for example to force a member to spend more on schools or
hospitals and less on buying military aircraft or constructing grandiose
presidential palaces . . ."
Although scapegoating politicians do
not say it for reasons best known to themselves, the truth is that the
specifics of any economic reform programme adopted by any member are to all
intents and purposes the respective member's. The bottom line is that there
is no question of the fund forcing a member to adopt any policy, so to
speak. This provides room for negotiations and consultations with a view to
finding a common ground in the best interest of the concerned economy. In
Zimbabwe's case the fences have not irretrievably broken down. They can be
mended. And we have to take advantage of this because it is no longer time
to play hard ball.
True, the IMF is hated for considering Zimbabwe
a pariah and rogue state with a serious democratic deficit by the government
which has protested this as unjustified hostility, contempt and ostracism.
And the rift between the two has widened over the years as the haggling
continued.
We feel therefore that a little ray of sunshine broke
through the dark cloud last week following the high-profile meeting between
President Mugabe and Bio-Tchane. From a Zimbabwean point of view, this was
nothing short of a victory for pragmatism. Most encouraging was that there
were conciliatory sentiments from both sides. The country's leadership seems
to be coming around - thus it is now listening to the voice of reason and
the influence of realities. As a nation we have been living a big lie that
we could go it alone. Metaphorically speaking, no country is an island. This
is why the meeting between the two provoked the rarest of emotions in
Zimbabwe today - hope. This is the way to go in the concerted national
efforts to re-integrate the country into the community of nations.
Air-Zimbo The government has again
assumed the huge debt accumulated by our struggling national airline, Air
Zimbo - $117 billion and about US$14 million - in order to give the new
management a chance to create its own crushing debt in a record
time.
Yes, according to Transport and Communications Minister Chris
Mushowe, the government is taking over all the foreign and domestic debts
accumulated by this ever-bleeding airline. What it means is simply
that the overtaxed Zimbabwean citizen will pay for all the mismanagement
that has been taking place at the airline for years. From suspended managers
who remained on full pay for years, to privileged families occupying half
the seats for free between Harare-London-Harare flights, to costly
management-induced industrial actions, to needless court actions - all will
be paid for by the impoverished taxpayer toiling day and night!
Remember what happened recently with similar mismanagement-related debts at
ZBC? Anyway, can anyone show good cause why CZ should not congratulate
the airline on its maiden flight to China? We hope the airline's ambitious
turnaround initiatives - which have seen the introduction of this
Harare-Singapore-China flight as well as the borrowing of new aircraft for
domestic and regional routes - will bear fruit. We hope that proper
market research was done before the introduction of this long-haul flight
and we just pray the research (if ever it was done) was not based on those
dubious figures about Chinese tourists dying to see our own Victoria Falls!
We hope the flight is based purely on business decisions, not how frequently
our ministers are in Beijing to beg . . . The airline might soon find
itself in fresh and much bigger debts and that will be the end. But
for the airline to be viable, it will have to endear itself to the
travelling public by sprucing up its service. No more unexplained delays, no
more flights cancelled at the eleventh hour without alternatives for
passengers, no more serving beers in bottles during flights, no more endless
strikes by starving pilots and engineers. This way, our so-called national
airline may cease to be a big joke. There is one thing CZ would
want to know from Minister Mushowe. Do plans to introduce cargo flights by
our Air-Zimbo have anything at all to do with the recent seizure of an
ageing Boeing 727 cargo aircraft from those mercenaries who were on their
way to stage a coup in Equatorial Guinea? Hopefully the answer is a
patriotic NO. Mjibha? Some years ago, CZ was just a small
village boy. He woke up one morning and went behind the hut, hoping to help
himself, and he got the shock of his life. Guess what? He was
confronted by this lone and bare-footed ZIPRA fighter who was carrying a gun
and a heavy satchel. When CZ got out, the man was just about to knock at the
hut. He asked where the elders were, and CZ could only point at the other
hut where his grandmother slept. The fighter went there, knocked, got in and
asked (in execrable Shona) if he could rest in the hut. Who could
dare say no? So he put his gun on the pillow of the makeshift bed and
removed his boots from his satchel and put them on before falling fast
asleep. (The boots had been removed to wrong-step any possible
trackers). The whole of that day, the Rhodesian forces combed the
bushes around the village and the nearby Zowa Farming Purchase Area looking
for "terrorists" who had infiltrated the area, but they got no one.
The man remained in the hut the whole day. In the afternoon, he was served
sadza and chicken - which he demanded that the little CZ also eat a morsel
or two (just in case it was laced with some deadly stuff). And he got
another meal before he left just after sunset when it was safe to continue
with his lone journey to only-God-knew-where, be it the fabled
Muchembereweshumba Hill or the legendary Muchekawakasungabeta mountain
ranges. Throughout the period from 1977 until the end of the war,
CZ's grandmother and several other villagers lost their chickens to "vana
Mukoma", spent sleepless nights attending nocturnal meetings and/or running
errands. So CZ, his grandmother and all the other villagers contributed
in their small or big way towards the war effort. Ergo, they all duly
qualify for membership into the collaborators, mjibhas and chimbwidos body
just like any other villagers anywhere in the then Rhodesia who knew exactly
where the freedom fighters were but decided not to "sell out". So
CZ, like any other Zimbo, wonders how those thugs who gathered for a meeting
in Harare this week to decide on the way forward on vetting the people who
are going to benefit from the latest financial windfall from the government
will decide who is a genuine war collaborator and who is not. As shown
by CZ's example, Zimboz contributed in the overall war effort in different
ways and capacities. Just the mere fact of knowing where the "terrorists"
were and not reporting them to the Rhodesian forces (for a handsome reward)
was a contribution to the war effort, so how will some thugs come up with
some cut and dried criteria on this war collaboration issue? Moreso after
more than 25 years and when most of the "terrorists" who were assisted have
died or can simply not be located to testify? Or what if one was a war
collaborator then, but is now a local district chairman of the MDC. Would
they still qualify? If ZANU PF had committed this money it is planning
to dole out to the long-stalled Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project or any
such project, would it not get the votes it is looking for as well as making
a difference to the lives of some people? Journoz Last
week some enterprising businessman took a motley of local journalists on one
of those "familiarisation" tours to his lodges somewhere around Mt Darwin.
There were five males and four females and they were to be out from Thursday
last week to Sunday this week - a good four days and three nights in the
wilderness! Among the males was CZ's brother, this one from our one and
only electronic medium. Yes, this randy brother who thought it was his right
to help himself to all these ladies . . . four of them. No, five, including
the driver, who was also female! So on the first night Cde AN allocated
himself this journo sister, who we now think was his first choice. He tried
his best, but no luck. Fine and dandy. He thought since he had made
his advances at night, the rest of the group would not know. So the
following day, he moved to the next prey. This intern from this university!
The response was negative. By sunset, he had set his sights on this other
student, now getting desperate for a blissful night. Nothing
worked. The fourth journo sister he skipped. Rumour has it that the
fellow once tried his luck on a similar trip in Nyanga but failed. So it was
not worth trying again. So the newsy reporter had no choice but to
approach the motherly lady driver, literally begging . . . but he was told
in no uncertain terms to behave like a civilised African! He got so
angry . . . so angry that the first thing he wanted to do when he got onto
the bus back to Harare was to beat up one of the "stingy" ladies! Were it
not for colleagues who restrained him, today it would be another
story! Indeed when it happens, they will be there! This was
not the end. On the way back, the team was treated to what some members are
calling "The Gidza-gate", one scandal in which this colleague from one of
our few vernacular papers who had been drinking like nobody's business
decided to wind up the four-day binge by soaking himself. CZ is told
that throughout the expedition, the fellow was just too busy working hard on
the free beer. He was sloshing at a rate that even the host ended up
regretting . . . imagine someone so greedy that he grabs a whole big bottle
of whisky which everyone else is expected to share and starts pushing it
straight into his smelly mouth! So on the way back, the brother got so
zonked that he became senseless. All the way colleagues had to stop the
driver, carry him out and unzip him . . . zip him up and carry him back. As
they got tired, they failed to stop the car on time and - guess what? -
Kariba's floodgates burst open . . . and CZ leaves everything to the
reader's fertile imagination!
Zimbabwe's
sole coal producer, Wankie Colli-ery Company, has discovered huge methane
gas deposits at its exploration sites in Matabeleland North, The Financial
Gazette has been infor-med.
The deposits are likely to add to a
growing list of natural resources, including platinum, that have given the
country hope amid a gloomy outlook created by a five-year economic
crisis. Sources said this week that huge deposits of the methane gas
had been discovered on Wankie's exploration site in the Lubimbi area in
Binga, close to its coal mining operations in Hwange. Although the
group released its interim financial statement for the half year to June 30
2004 two months ago, its management did not make an announcement of the
discovery, which sources said was already part of an agenda to broaden
operations. Technical staff at Wankie are already exploring ways of
developing the deposits and management has already briefed the company's
board and the government, which holds a significant stake in
Wankie. Wankie's marketing and public relations manager John Nkala
confirmed the discoveries. "Yes, preliminary exploration has
confirmed an abundance of it (methane gas). As Wankie, we are interested in
any energy venture," Nkala said. He added: "We don't want to go
into this on our own. Our expertise is in coal mining." Wankie's
managing director, Godfrey Dzinomwa, said: "We have a general interest (in
methane gas mining) but at the moment we are concentrating on the turnaround
of our coal mining business". The new methane gas findings by Wankie
follow similar discoveries by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC),
which holds exclusive rights to a concession holding 665 000 cubic metres of
coal bed methane gas reserves stretching to Gwayi and Hwange. The
IDC has put in place measures to develop the Lupane Gas Project. A
board to spearhead construction of the US$6 million Lupane Gas Project was
endorsed in August this year, paving way for the drafting of a strategic
plan for the project, believed to be the biggest in southern Africa with an
export potential of 80 percent of total gas production. Chinese
investors are reportedly negotiating for a stake in the Lupane Gas
Project. Wankie, which had become a perennial loss-maker, appears to be
turning around the corner to profitability. Earlier this year,
management took a decision to sack excess staff, resulting in about 200
workers, including senior employees, losing their jobs. The
company, with a multiple listing on the Zimbabwe, Johannes-burg and London
stock markets, posted improved interim results for the half-year to
June. Efforts are currently underway to restructure Wankie Colliery
Comp-any's foreign debt, and several multi-million-dollar projects are being
undertaken. These include the Chaba open cast mine, and the
development of an underground mine to replace the current one whose life
ends in less than a year.
LEADING hotel group,
Zimbabwe Sun Limited (Zimsun), rattled by the downslide in the tourism and
hospitality industry, is battling to reclaim Hwange Safari Lodge's land
invaded by marauding land-grabbers two years ago.
Parts of Hwange
Safari Lodge were invaded by a group of government supporters strongly
linked to Obert Mpofu, Matabeleland North governor. Hwange Safari Lodge
is situated in the heart of Hwange National Park, one of the region's
largest wildlife sanctuaries which has, however, been reduced to an illegal
hunting ground. Once a cash-cow for the hotel group, Hwange Safari
Lodge, which is also reeling from the effects of lack of airline
connectivity to the area, reported a $700 million loss in the half-year to
September 30, 2004. Sources said initial representations made by Zimsun
management to relevant government authorities had "failed to yield any
meaningful results." The invasion, sources said, has curtailed
Zimsun's growth plans, marketing strategies and has also seen piecemeal
investment plans on the investment, once a major value driver for the
group. Zimsun chief executive Shingi Munyeza remained mum on the future
of Hwange Safari Lodge, only diplomatically saying the property was reeling
from the "effects of processes of land redistribution". Lack of
airline connectivity with Victoria Falls and the rest of the country has
seen Hwange Safari Lodge bearing the brunt of the economic situation,
Munyeza said at a Zimsun media and analysts' briefing last week.
Sources said Munyeza would soon be making representations to President
Robert Mugabe on the effects of the invasions on wildlife
sanctuaries. "This is like pronouncing a death sentence on the future
heritage of the country and the financial benefits conservation would have
for Zimbabwe,' said the sources. Despite a reported surge in hotel
bookings during the coming festive season, Munyeza said there was very
little business at Hwange Safari Lodge. Unconfirmed reports say more
than US$400 million has been lost due to illegal hunting in the southern
parts of the country. Munyeza also warned that business conditions were
likely to worsen for industry players in the first four months of 2005 due
to the forthcoming parliamentary polls. Viability in the sector was
also being choked by rising overheads, Munyeza said. During the
past six months, operational costs for Zimsun shot up by 482 percent with
electricity tariffs going up by nearly 700 percent. "ZESA charges have
gone up 13 times compared to the same period last year," Munyeza
said. During the past six months, room occupancy dropped from 39
percent to 36 percent, Munyeza said. Attributable profit during the period
under review was at $4.9 billion with foreign operations contributing $2.4
billion. Munyeza explained that there were now marginal signs of
recovery in traditional markets, adding that the local market was likely to
continue in a depressed mood. Zimbabwe witnessed a 12 percent
growth in tourist arrivals from America, 14 percent from the Asian and
Pacific region and another 14 percent from Europe. Arrivals from the Middle
East were around five percent. The country also suffered a five percent
drop from arrivals from the region, mainly South Africa, amid concern over
the economic and political situation in the country. "The United
Kingdom market continues to be depressed. The British have taken a moral
position on what is happening in Zimbabwe," Munyeza said. "It is the
first quarter of 2005 which is going to be pretty tough for the industry,
the fires are already brewing and the negative publicity which characterised
the past elections will lead to a lot of people adopting a wait-and-see
attitude," Munyeza warned.
THE shortage of
agricultural inputs continues to stalk Zimbabwe's 2004/05 farming season,
further dampening hopes of a return to food self-sufficiency. It
has been established that Zimbabwe still has inadequate tillage equipment,
seed maize and fertiliser despite the advent of the rain season this week,
which marked the dawn of the farming season.
A parliamentary
committee on agriculture this month gave a clear indication that the
country's targeted bumper harvest of 2.4 million tonnes was unrealistic,
despite official protestations supporting the optimistic
projection. Zimbabwe has a hybrid seed maize deficit of more than
40 000 tonnes from its normal requirement of more than 100 000 tonnes of
seed to produce the 2.4 million tonnes of maize it needs to meet its annual
requirements. Major seed producers in the country, Seed Co and Pannar
Seed, told the parliamentary committee on agriculture this month that
resettled new farmers lacked the requisite skills to produce hybrid seed
maize. Seed Co says it has 24 000 tonnes of hybrid seed maize in stock
in its Zimbabwean depots and will import a further 19 000 tonnes from the
region, with huge supplies expected to come from Zambia. "We have a
serious shortage of seed and currently it is not readily available on the
market. Time is no longer on our side," Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU)
official Phil Chingwaru told The Financial Gazette this week. Zimbabwe,
a former regional breadbasket now reduced to a basket case, needs to import
more than 70 000 tonnes of seed to augment existing stocks and avert another
food shortage. The ZFU has called on farmers to use open pollinated
varieties because of the shortages. The natural breeds, however,
have a disadvantage of producing low yields despite their requirement of
less fertiliser compared to the popular and preferred hybrids. The
union is also contemplating importing seed for its 2.5 million members in
future in a bid to overcome the perennial seed shortage, although details of
the project are still sketchy. The agro-chemical manufacturing industry
requires up to US$20 million (about $112 billion) for critical raw material
imports to beef up existing stocks. Fertiliser firms have revealed
that although compound D is readily available on the market, there was a
persistent shortage of ammonium nitrate (AN), which is required prior to the
maize crop's germination. Sable Chemicals, which produces the ammonium
nitrate fertiliser, is managing 18 000 tonnes a month, instead of the
expected 20 000 tonnes of AN. To complement AN fertiliser, the industry
needs to import 30 000 tonnes of urea. An industry expert said
there was no way the country could reap a bumper harvest under the
prevailing conditions. "Although tractors are coming in small batches
from the East, that is only a drop in the ocean for the new commercial
farmers, who have no equipment. Some have not even started ploughing despite
having access to cheap fuel sponsored by the government," the expert
said. The government's controversial land reform programme, which began
in 2000, gave way to a host of new farmers, many of whom, up to now, do not
have equipment. In its periodic reports, the Famine Early Warning
Systems has warned of possibilities of food shortages because of the
persistent shortages of inputs. The government's sole trader of
grain, the Grain Marketing Board, is virtually empty, with only 500 000
tonnes of grain expected before the next harvest in April next year, raising
fears of another impending man-made disaster. "What we need is an
overhaul of the industry before we face another famine," said an industry
official.