Moyo bowled out Dumisani Muleya IN a major
climbdown yesterday government lifted its ban on 13 British journalists
covering England's five-match one-day international cricket series against
Zimbabwe now due to start in Harare tomorrow.
The dramatic retreat by
Information minister Jonathan Moyo, whose department initially tried to bar
the 13 journalists representing Britain's main media houses, came against a
background of yet another clash between the state and the ruling Zanu PF's
warring information departments.
The two departments engaged in a
major public spat in May over a Sky News television interview with President
Robert Mugabe.
Moyo battled in vain to stop the interview as Nathan
Shamuyarira, who heads the ruling party's information machinery, worked to
bring the crew in.
Sources said while Moyo's department tried to bar the
journalists this time, claiming it was still checking their credentials,
Shamuyarira was prepared once again to overrule it.
After intense
negotiations between Zimbabwe Cricket (formerly the Zimbabwe Cricket Union)
and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) yesterday morning, Moyo
finally made a volte-face to allow Sky News, the BBC, the Daily Telegraph
and Sun journalists to enter the country. His antics, seen as part of an
ongoing campaign against the international media, delayed the first match
from today to tomorrow. England are due to arrive this
morning.
Moyo's department retreated after England threatened to
boycott the series. Last year England boycotted its one-day cricket World
Cup fixture against Zimbabwe due to security concerns after a political row
between Harare and London over repression and human rights
abuses.
Observers believe Moyo calculated his department would get
away with banning the journalists on Tuesday because England would find it
difficult to withdraw so close to their arrival scheduled for Wednesday
evening.
"Moyo unwittingly provided the ECB with a pretext for
withdrawal just as they thought they were finally locked into the series," a
cricket source said yesterday. A number of key personalities were pressed
into securing a government retreat, it transpires.
"Zimbabwe
needed the series to communicate an impression of normalcy," the source
said.
As a result the journalists were given conditional access into
the country after the Information department backed off claiming it had been
unable to find their names on their organisation's
websites.
"Inquiries have now been completed and the outstanding 13
journalists have been cleared on the understanding that they will be coming
to exclusively cover the cricket matches, not to meddle in the politics of
Zimbabwe," the department said in what was widely seen as a face-saving
formula.
The statement reflected the state's concern that the
journalists might write about the situation in Zimbabwe.
The
banned journalists were part of 55 reporters who had applied
for
permission to cover the matches. Only 42 had been
accredited.
However, Shamuyarira's department thought nothing would
be achieved by banning the journalists, except feeding negative publicity
about government.
He yesterday wrote to Sky News inviting it to the
country. While Moyo was anxious to restrict journalists' coverage,
Shamuyarira gave them freedom to also cover politics.
"I am
faxing to let you know that Sky News Broadcasting has been granted
permission to cover the Zimbabwe/UK (England) cricket matches and the 4th
Zanu PF National People's Congress to be held from 1-5 December 2004,"
Shamuyarira said.
"You will be accredited for 14 days. It is
however unfortunate that it will not be possible for you to interview Simon
Mann as he is a prisoner."
Mann is a jailed former British Special
Air Services commander who was arrested in March in Harare together with 69
other alleged mercenaries
Mugabe to crack whip Staff Writers PRESIDENT Robert
Mugabe is today expected to read the riot act to Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial
leaders over simmering dissent within his party following divisive elections
last weekend.
Mugabe is due to meet senior Zanu PF Bulawayo politicians
to tackle the infighting which intensified after Sunday's controversial
nomination of new party leaders ahead of a potentially explosive congress
which starts on Wednesday.
Zanu PF deputy national commissar
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu yesterday confirmed Mugabe would be in Bulawayo to deal
with the widening divisions in the party.
Sources said Mugabe is
expected to deal with the problem of war veterans chairman Jabulani Sibanda
who was suspended by the politburo for attacking senior party leaders but
remains active.
Mugabe is also expected to resolve the exclusion of
politburo heavyweights Dumiso Dabengwa and Ndlovu from the central
committee.
A group of ex-combatants led by former war veterans
secretary-general Andrew Ndlovu yesterday met in Bulawayo to prepare a
dossier of complaints to be submitted to Mugabe.
Ex-war veterans'
leaders want the current command structure changed while Bulawayo bigwigs
want the party's provincial executive council chaired by Themba Ncube
dissolved.
Mugabe is expected to grill the Bulawayo Zanu PF
provincial leaders on why they ignored a politburo circular despatched after
last Thursday's emergency meeting to nominate a woman among the two
vice-presidents.
Bulawayo was the only province which defied the
circular. The crisis meeting to contain the power struggle follows an
unprecedented 16-hour Zanu PF politburo session on Wednesday. Sources said
the meeting was characterised by open hostility.
Losers claimed
rules were subverted during the nominations. Winners rejected the
allegations.
The meeting agreed to look into the complaints case by
case without changing the nomination results. Debate centred on last
Thursday's politburo resolution, the manner of nominations, vote-buying and
congress. -
Reserve Bank gave Zanu PF $800m Vincent
Kahiya RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono is probing the
disbursement of $800 million to a Zanu PF shelf company by the RBZ last
year.
In an interview this week, Gono said he was not aware of the
transaction until the Zimbabwe Independent brought it to his attention. The
transaction did not take place during his tenure as governor. He however
said the central bank was not washing its hands of the matter as he takes
responsibility for "all transactions" done by his
predecessors.
The Independent has it on good authority that Gono on
Tuesday summoned prominent lawyer Edwin Manikai as part of the probe into
the disbursement of the loan. Manikai's legal firm, Dube, Manikai &
Hwacha, has been fingered in the report as being instrumental in the
formation of the briefcase company, Smoothnest, which allegedly received the
$800 million from the RBZ.
The RBZ has been disbursing loans under
the productive sector facility (PSF) to distressed companies to boost
productivity. A Zanu PF politburo report on the party's enterprises cites
Smoothnest as the recipient of a loan from the Reserve Bank. There is no RBZ
facility catering for such a disbursement.
It is not clear whether
the party, through Smoothnest, has repaid the RBZ loan.
The
report, compiled by a team probing the party's decaying business empire,
says Smoothnest, described in the document as a "shelf company", applied for
and got the money when Zanu PF was preparing to raise funds for its
conference held in Masvingo in December last year.
The
four-member team which prepared the report interviewed the party's secretary
for administration Emmerson Mnangagwa who made the startling revelation
about the loan from the central bank
"Zanu PF wanted to raise $2,1
billion for the Masvingo conference and requested the money from the party
company (M&S Syndicate Pvt Ltd)," the report says.
"There
were 38% shares in Southern Africa Reinsurance Company and the party decided
to offer the shares for sale. (The shares were however not sold.) A shelf
company (Smoothnest) was then formed by Dube, Manikayi (sic) & Hwacha.
Smoothnest applied to the Reserve Bank and they were given $800 million,"
the report said.
Gono this week said under normal circumstances
the RBZ "does not advance loans to individuals but transactions were made
through financial institutions".
"The central bank also advances
loans to (the) government of Zimbabwe. Based on this observation, a
transaction such as this one would be an anomaly," he said.
The
curious loan from the central bank is one of numerous murky deals
highlighted in the report, which has caused serious ructions in the ruling
party.
Party sources this week said there were also concerns that
the money raised from the RBZ might not have been used to finance the
staging of the conference. The report, in a rather intricate way, explains
how the party also raised money from other sources over and above the $800
million.
"$1 billion was also paid to Smoothnest by First Bank as a
loan and the money was deposited into the NDH Special Investment Account
where it raised $811 million which was withdrawn by Mr D Pandya (a director
of several Zanu PF-linked companies)," it said.
"Cde (David)
Karimanzira (secretary for finance) managed to raise $1,2 billion from
donations, so the $811 million which was withdrawn was re-invested (in) NDH
and raised $38 million."
This arrangement is also curious as
Smoothnest also warehouses Zanu PF shares in both First Bank and NDH. This
means a bank in which Zanu PF has major influence extended a loan to a Zanu
PF company, Smoothnest. The money was deposited into NDH where Zanu PF also
holds sway and yielded $811 million. The interest was reinvested to produce
an additional $38 million interest. Thus the party raised $849 million in
interest from a loan provided by First Bank in which Zanu PF held a 27%
stake.
Meanwhile, the RBZ is expected to name and shame companies
which accessed PSF funds and converted part of the loans into dividends to
shareholders. Gono this week confirmed a number of companies cutting across
all sectors of the economy had diverted RBZ loans to pay
dividends.
"An example of this development is the payment of dividends
where PSF loans have been called back in full and are due for payment by 30
November 2004," said Gono.
"Both the Reserve Bank and issuing
commercial banks have the joint responsibility of ensuring that borrowed
funds are used for their intended purposes."
Diplomats petition govt on property seizures Augustine
Mukaro EUROPEAN Union diplomats whose nationals have lost properties due to
the land reform programme have petitioned President Robert Mugabe and
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono to urgently resolve the
problem.
Highly-placed sources in the agricultural sector said diplomats
had forwarded a list of properties they want delisted and to have invaders
evicted.
"Diplomats in conjunction with the Commercial Farmers
Union have written to government to urgently delist some properties,
especially those protected under Bilateral Investment Promotion and
Protection Agreements (Bippa)," one farmer said.
This development
comes at a time when one of the country's biggest mixed cropping ventures,
Highbury Estate in Mashonaland West, is reportedly under siege from ruling
Zanu PF chefs.
Highbury Estate is protected under a Zimbabwe/Belgian
Bippa and has been producing wheat, tobacco, maize, citrus and cattle. The
estate is owned by Zimcor Ltd, a subsidiary of Conafex SA. Conafex is listed
on the London, Luxemburg and South African stock exchanges. It is one of the
largest mixed crops/cattle estates still left in private
hands.
Zimbabwe has Bippas with several European Union countries,
four of them ratified by President Robert Mugabe. The agreements bind
Zimbabwe to protect the investments and properties of other countries from
arbitrary expropriation. Government has generally reneged on these
agreements resulting in strained relations with a number of important
states.
The worst affected country is South Africa which had over 200
farmers across the country. Most of them have lost their properties since
the government embarked on the controversial land reform programme in 2000.
The farmers have made numerous representations to their government without
success.
In June South African Foreign minister Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma was quoted in the media as saying farms owned by South Africans
were secure.
Expropriation of properties owned by South Africans has
however continued in the south-eastern Lowveld where sugar estates are under
threat.
Government has also ignored a report by Special Affairs
minister for Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement John Nkomo, urging the
state to avoid seizing land protected by international
accords.
Five plantations owned by Border Timbers, the country's
largest timber producer, have been acquired. Borders Timbers' land seized by
the state includes Tilbury, Cambridge, Imbeza, Mahugara and Walmer
estates.
The company's sawmills process more than 35 million logs
each year, and it also runs a veneer factory.
The seizure of the
land is in violation of an agreement between Zimbabwe and Germany. The
German-Zimbabwe Bippa was signed in 1995 by representatives of both
governments to protect Border Timbers' properties and assets from
expropriation.
Zimbabwe gave assurances to Germany that Border
Timbers' land would not be targeted for seizure.
In addition to
the timber plantations, the government has also taken over Aberfoyle
Estates, a major tea exporter, and Eastern Highlands Plantations, one of
Zimbabwe's few producers of washed Arabic coffee.
RBZ secures US$50m fuel lifeline Godfrey
Marawanyika THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has secured a US$50 million
line of credit to import fuel, central bank governor Gideon Gono said this
week.
This comes at a time when a number of fuel importers have been
accused of misappropriating foreign currency allocated to them to import
fuel by the RBZ. This has led to erratic fuel supplies that have caused
major disruptions to the transport sector and industry.
Gono said the
RBZ was now dealing with 67 firms out of the registered 103.
"The
central bank has in recent weeks secured lines of credit for fuel from both
regional and international financial institutions to amounts in excess of
US$50 million," Gono said.
"However, the problem of fuel in Zimbabwe
is not that of financial resources but of logistical
constraints."
He did not disclose the names of the
financiers.
The country has been experiencing fuel problems with
importing firms blaming the crisis on a shortage of foreign currency and
transport constraints.
The situation was worsened by a decision by
Sasol of South Africa to stop fuel exports two months ago. Although Sasol
has now reversed its decision, the suspension of supplies greatly affected
parts of the Midlands, and Matabeleland North and South.
Gono
would not be drawn into saying whether the country needed so many fuel
importers in the face of forex constraints and referred all enquiries to the
Ministry of Energy and Power Development. Energy permanent secretary Justin
Mupamhanga declined to comment.
"However, there are reforms
taking place in the sector that should iron out logistical constraints,"
Gono said without elaborating.
This week a number of fuel merchants
were up in arms against the Petroleum Marketers Association of Zimbabwe
(PMAZ) for allegedly diverting $1 billion for fuel imports into bank
accounts.
Feuding between indigenous and established fuel merchants
has also worsened problems in the sector and affected the operations of the
PMAZ.
Problems in the sector have been exacerbated by the shortage of
foreign currency which has to be accessed through the auction
system.
Gono said investigations of the fuel sector for abuse of
foreign currency were still on-going.
Zim in platinum promo Chris Goko ZIMBABWE'S central
bank is next week expected to hold roadshows in South Africa to explain to
platinum miners the essence of its enhanced platinum sector regime (EPSR)
which comes into effect in February.
The campaign, which involves Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono, will also see Zimbabwe trying
to sell the idea of joint-venture projects between existing platinum group
metals (PGM) processors and yet-to-be identified local
part-ners.
It has been learnt that the team will try to market the
idea of 50:50 joint ventures in which the country's three platinum miners -
Anglo American Corporation, Mimosa and Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Zimplats) -
will take on board emerging local consortiums in new
projects.
Anglo, owners of the US$90 million Unki, and Impala
Platinum Mine, which controls Zimplats, are the world's leading platinum
producers.
The expected roadshows in Johannesburg and Cape Town come
at a time when Zimbabwean monetary authorities have announced that they want
full beneficiation of the country's US$300 billion PGM treasure - the second
largest deposits in the world after South Africa.
Analysts said
government's anticipated explanation on EPSR and its implications for
existing and future investment in PGM would greatly help allay fears of
security of foreign investments in the country.
Under Gono's new
platinum measures, marketing of PGMs has been ceded to the state while
miners' offshore accounts have been abolished in return for "special local
foreign currency accounts".
The shock October announcement prompted
platinum players to urgently tackle the government for further clarification
on the issue.
Apart form that, PGM companies were also unnerved by
the demand voiced by President Robert Mugabe and others that mining
multinationals should give 49% of their investments to local empowerment
groups.
Sixth land audit committee appointed Augustine
Mukaro INTRACTABLE problems associated with the controversial land reform
programme have forced government to appoint a sixth land audit committee to
recommend the way forward.
The new committee will be led by the
Department of Policy Implementation in the Office of the President and
Cabinet. It will work with the Ministry of Special Affairs responsible for
Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement to assess productivity on allocated
farms, availability of critical farm equipment and maximum farm
sizes.
Policy Implementation minister Webster Shamu said his
committee would not necessarily be auditing the land reform but assessing
whether cabinet instructions had been implemented.
"We accept
that there were problems in the implementation of the land reform," Shamu
said. "Our duty now is to identify those problems and facilitate their
corrections. It is the duty of the government to ensure that whatever was
wrongly done is corrected. We will not hesitate to take action in
consultation with the Lands and Agriculture ministries."
Sources said
the new committee's probe was equivalent to an audit because it would seek
to resolve issues such as occupation of peri-urban farms.
Farmers who
spoke to the Zimbabwe Independent described the exercise as another waste of
resources considering the confusion on farm allocations.
A succession
of audit committees, inquiries and taskforces have revealed serious
irregularities in the land reform exercise but little has been done to
address these problems.
First to be appointed was a parliamentary
audit. After the MPs' team, another committee led by former Land Reform
minister Flora Bhuka was appointed. It revealed gross irregularities in the
programme, especially the violation of the one man, one farm
principle.
Prominent politicians were allegedly implicated in the
grabbing of farms for themselves. Results of the Bhuka report were never
made public by government.
Another audit committee led by former
cabinet secretary Charles Utete uncovered similar problems. The Utete
committee shot down government claims that it had resettled 300 000 and 54
000 farmers under models A1 and A2 respectively.
Only 27 000
farmers had been settled under the A1 scheme and 7 000 under A2, it
said.
NGOs get 6-month reprieve Godfrey Marawanyika THE
government has given Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) a six-month grace
period to regularise their operations once the controversial NGOs Bill is
passed by parliament.
The latest development comes amid claims in the NGO
sector that government has targeted 15 organisations for
closure.
The NGOs reportedly on government's hit list include the
Zimbabwe Civil Education Trust, Zimbabwe Election Support Network, Combined
Harare Residents Association, Crisis in Zimbabwe, Humanistic Institute of
Development Co-operation with Developing Countries, National Constitutional
Assembly, Media Institute of Southern Africa, Zimbabwe Liberators Platform,
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Amani Trust, Zimbabwe NGO Human Rights
Forum, Bulawayo Agenda and Women of Zimbabwe Arise.
Government
has however dismissed the allegations that its Bill on the registration,
regulation and funding of NGOs is target-specific.
Public Service and
Social Welfare minister Paul Mangwana said although the Bill was silent on
the period NGOs should take to align their operations with the law, those
that were operating legally would be given time to adjust to the new
legislation.
"Organisations that were already legally operating under
the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Act or as registered trusts have
got six months to regularise their operations. That list (of 15 NGOs
targeted) is not true because that is just speculation," he
said.
"We are not targeting anybody. If those organisations by their
virtue deal with human rights organisations, they fall under this category
but they are not targeted at all," Mangwana said.
The proposed
legislation will repeal the PVO Act and seeks to make it illegal for NGOs
involved in issues of governance, such as voter education, to receive
foreign funding.
The Bill will also outlaw the registration of
foreign NGOs whose "sole or principal objects involve or include issues of
governance".
The proposed law will have a huge bearing on the ability
of affected NGOs to operate since most of them are foreign-funded, analysts
complain. This includes the critical area of food
distribution.
Director of the National Association of
Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) Jonah Mudehwe said he was aware the
government was targeting particular institutions but would not name
them.
"The minister has been very open that there are some NGOs which
are targeted, particularly those involved in issues of governance and human
rights. Unfortunately I cannot say anything on that particular list,"
Mudehwe said.
On Wednesday, legislators referred the NGOs Bill to
the Parliamentary Legal Committee for assessment after MDC MPs objected to
some of its causes.
Zim Independent CHRA calls for rates boycott Augustine Mukaro THE
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has urged its members to
boycott paying rates and other council obligations to protest government's
arbitrary appointment of a commission to run the city's affairs, the
Zimbabwe Independent has gathered.
CHRA said it would also seek an
urgent High Court injunction to stop Local Government minister Ignatious
Chombo from appointing the commission.
Chombo's commission will be
made up of members from the Johannes Tomana and James Kurasha committees
which will be bolstered by acting mayor Sekesai
Makwavarara.
Tomana's committee, which comprised four members,
investigated and recommended the firing of Harare's opposition MDC executive
mayor Elias Mudzuri for alleged misconduct. Mudzuri was popularly elected
Harare mayor in 2002.
The Kurasha committee had five members who
included ruling Zanu PF top functionaries Tony Gara, Tendai Savanhu and
Harare Province's acting administrator Bernard Chahuruva.
Chombo
plans to appoint a commission because the committee which currently exists
alongside a handful of Zanu PF councillors cannot pass a budget since it has
not been officially installed as the authority in charge of
Harare.
CHRA chairman Mike Davies confirmed the call for a boycott
saying it was the only weapon residents could use to force government to
call for elections in Harare.
"We called for the boycott since
Mudzuri's dismissal," Davies said.
"We repeat that age- old principle: no
taxation without representation."
In a statement to the Independent, CHRA
saidgovernment could not afford to have democratically-elected
representatives at Town House because they would open a can of
worms.
"Chombo once more displays his disrespect for the laws passed
by his own party," CHRA said.
"The city belongs to the residents
of Harare who fund its operations through their rates and other financial
contributions," it said.
"As such it is up to all residents to reject
the imposition of another Zanu PF commission by withdrawing all support for
the municipality until we regain the power that is ours. The law is very
clear on our rights to elect an executive mayor and
council."
CHRA said if a commission was to be appointed its terms of
reference should be to facilitate mayoral elections and not to assume the
duties of an elected council.
The association also said when a
democratically-elected council was restored at Town House, it would press
for the creation of an investigation committee to expose nepotism,
corruption and mismanagement and examine the collusion of senior municipal
officials in the theft of residents' democratic rights.
Zanu PF is
expected to appoint party apparatchiks to the commission to run the affairs
of Harare City Council within 21 days. The commission would be a direct
U-turn by Chombo, who in April ruled out such a set-up claiming that he had
"seconded competent and experienced personnel to help the city improve
service delivery".
Legal committee blocks Bill on president Gift
Phiri THE ruling Zanu PF party's bid to push through parliament harsh new
legislation that makes it an offence for anyone to make an abusive statement
about President Robert Mugabe or an acting president has been blocked by the
Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC).
Zanu PF wanted to criminalise
the utterance of an "abusive, indecent, or obscene statement" through the
Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Bill.
The proposed law, part of a
slew of Bills that government wants passed into law before December 1 when
Zanu PF begins its National People's Congress, was described as
unconstitutional by the PLC.
The PLC, chaired by the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC)'s Professor Welshman Ncube, said the Bill was in
contravention of the Declaration of Rights.
But with its
overwhelming parliamentary majority, Zanu PF attempted to suspend
parliament's standing orders, which requires a three-week delay to redraft
the laws and bring them in line with the constitution.
It was
resolved that a decision on the Bill be deferred to give members more time
to properly consider its provisions. The PLC said provisions of clauses 22,
33, 37, 46 and 182 (2) of the Bill were ultra vires the Bill of
Rights.
Clause 33(2) (b) of the Bill sought to make it illegal for
anyone to make abusive, indecent or obscene statements about or concerning
the president or an acting president or the president's
office.
The Bill said any person in contravention of this provision
"shall be guilty of undermining the authority of or insulting the president
and (is) liable to a fine not exceeding level six ($400 000 fine) or
imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or
both".
However, the committee raised objections saying this provision
was unconstitutional.
"It is your committee's finding that, given
the nature of the Presidency in Zimbabwe, which is a public elected
political office, to ring-fence that office against criticism amounts to
derogation from fundamental freedoms protected by the Constitution,
particularly with respect to the freedom of expression," Ncube
said.
The PLC, which also comprises Zanu PF MP Kumbirai Kangai and
the MDC's Innocent Gonese, said an abusive statement could not be
criminalised in a political context.
It said although indecent
and obscene statements could be properly criminalised, clause 33 (b) which
criminalises "abusive" statements was unconstitutional. Clause 22 attempts
to further restrict citizens' right to freedom of expression, assembly and
association by outlawing boycotts, civil disobedience or resistance to any
law.
"A provision that seeks to derogate from these fundamental
freedoms cannot be constitutional unless it is one of the exceptions
provided for in the constitution," Ncube said.
"In consequence
your committee finds clause 22(1)(b) unconstitutional to the extent that it
can be read to mean threats of civil disobedience if unaccompanied by
threats of force are criminal."
Clause 37 unduly restricts the right
of persons to participate in public gatherings, meetings and demonstrations,
which are legitimate means of exercising their freedoms protected by
sections 20, 21 and 22 of the constitution.
Clause 46 gives a
list of acts that are prohibited. These include making noise, playing a
musical instrument or a wireless in a public place, shouting or screaming in
a public place or interfering with the peace and quiet of the
public.
Ncube said the specific limitations to human conduct were
"unconstitutional, extreme and unjustifiable".
"The provisions of
clause 46 are also in violation of Section 20(1) of the constitution which
protects freedom of expression in that they criminalise the possible use of
this freedom to express legitimate criticism of the police force," Ncube
said.
Clause 182(2) of the Bill criminalises refusal to testify in a
court proceeding for whatever reason.
Zanu PF 'abusing' parliamentary majority Staff
Writer ZANU PF is using its parliamentary majority to bulldoze through the
House of Assembly patently unconstitutional Bills against the advice of the
Parliamentary Legal Committee, it has emerged.
Parliament has of late
been disregarding adverse reports prepared by its own legal committee which
is chaired by Professor Welshman Ncube of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change !MDC). The MDC has two MPs while Zanu PF has one on the
committee which advises parliament on the constitutionality of
Bills.
Despite the committee's numerous adverse reports, Zanu PF has
used its parliamentary majority to pass a number of controversial
laws.
Recently the ruling party suspended parliament's standing
orders, which require a three-week delay to redraft Bills that have
attracted adverse reports to bring them in line with the constitution.
Lately Zanu PF has resorted to dividing the House and voting to get around
such adverse reports.
The committee, which includes the MDC's
Innocent Gonese and a Zanu PF backbencher Kumbirai Kangai, seems to have
created political difficulties for the ruling party.
According to
parliamentary procedure, the legal committee is required to examine every
Bill and statutory instrument (SI) to ascertain whether they are
constitutional or not and report to the House.
In the absence of a
negative report from the committee within a specified period, parliament can
proceed on the assumption that the Bill or SI in question does not
contravene the constitution.
If the legal committee considers that a
Bill or SI contravenes the constitution, and parliament accepts this
recommendation, the House "shall not pass" the proposed legislation or its
offending sections. If the offending provision is redrafted, it must be
resubmitted to the legal committee and the process
repeated.
Constitutional law expert Dr Lovemore Madhuku said the
disregard for parliamentary procedure on adverse reports demonstrated the
ruling party's contempt for democratic norms.
"It shows Zanu PF's
disrespect for the constitution," Madhuku said.
"The ruling party would
never respect constitutional provisions that stand in the way of their
political plans."
The legal committee last week produced adverse
reports on a number of measures, including the Non-Governmental
Organisations Bill, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Bill and the Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform) Bill. In all three cases, the legal committee
found clauses that contravened freedoms and rights enshrined in the
constitution.
Heated debate between the ruling Zanu PF and the MDC
last week saw an adverse report on electoral reforms prepared by the
Parliamentary Legal Committee being thrown out by 75 votes to 37. The
committee said clauses in new electoral reforms dealing with voter education
and the banning of foreign funding were unconstitutional.
The
NGOs Bill was on Wednesday pushed through parliament against the
recommendations of the legal committee amid tough opposition to 12 clauses
of the Bill which were found to be unconstitutional. -
War camps and the battle plans Dumisani Muleya THE
ruling Zanu PF's leadership nomination process ahead of next week's congress
has run its dramatic course and produced an outcome which has changed the
plot of President Robert Mugabe's heated succession race.
The selection
of Mugabe, Joseph Msika, Joyce Mujuru and John Nkomo to occupy the party's
top four elected positions came against a background of vicious wrangling
among the party's political gladiators grouped in two camps.
Zanu PF
insiders say the groups, one led by the party secretary for administration
Emmerson Mnangagwa and the other by politburo big shot, Retired General
Solomon Mujuru, were locked in a power struggle to secure nomination of
their candidates.
The political combat was characterised by
behind-the-scenes manoeuvres, backbiting and sometimes open bickering. The
sources say the infighting manifested itself in the form of tussles over
land, clashes in the media, at meetings and in parliament.
The
squabbling left Zanu PF deeply divided into warring political factions.
Although membership of the camps overlapped, there were movers and shakers
on both sides.
Mnangagwa's group - coalesced around the so-called
South-South Coalition which encompassed Midlands, Matabeleland, Masvingo and
Manicaland - included Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs Patrick Chinamasa,
information and publicity deputy secretary Jonathan Moyo, and senior party
members such as July Moyo and Shuvai Mahofa.
Insiders say the
camp's masterplan had an ethnic arrangement from the current Zanu PF Unity
Accord structure. It placed Mugabe on top to represent Zezurus, Women's
League chairperson Thenjiwe Lesabe to represent Ndebeles, Mnangagwa Karangas
and Chinamasa Manyikas. Lesabe was understood to have been dragged
in.
Masvingo governor Josiah Hungwe, Agriculture minister Joseph
Made, Transport minister Chris Mushowe and his deputy Andrew Langa, Foreign
Affairs deputy minister Abednico Ncube and Minister of State in the
Vice-President's Office Flora Bhuka were part of this camp.
Zanu
PF MPs Jorum Gumbo, Pearson Mbalekwa and Kindness Paradza, among many
others, were also in the group. War veterans chairman Jabulani Sibanda, his
deputy Joseph Chinotimba, and Bulawayo war veterans chairman Themba Ncube
were included.
Former Matabeleland North provincial medical
director Dr Ruth Labode, who is close to Jonathan Moyo, was also linked to
the group. The camp managed to draw into its fold six Zanu PF provincial
executive council chairmen: Themba Ncube (Bulawayo), Jacob Mudenda
(Matabeleland North), Mike Madiro (Manicaland), Lloyd Siyoka (Matabeleland
South) and Daniel Shumba (Masvingo).
However, Mudenda's and
Madiro's provinces defected to the Mujuru camp at the eleventh hour to
deliver the final blow against Mnangagwa who eventually lost to Joyce Mujuru
in the race for the vice-president's post left vacant after the death of
Simon Muzenda last year.
General Mujuru's grouping comprised a number
of political heavyweights such as Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi,
politburo bigwigs Dumiso Dabengwa and Josiah Tungamirai, State Security
minister Nicholas Goche, party commissar Elliot Manyika and nearly all other
provincial governors.
It also had sympathisers in the form of Msika,
Nkomo, Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi, Zanu PF deputy national commissar
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu and virtually all other former PF Zapu stalwarts. Zanu PF
spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira was also seen as generally associated with
it.
The group commanded the support of Zanu PF chairmen in
Mashonaland East (Ray Kaukonde), Mashonaland Central (Chen Chimutengwende),
Mashonaland West (Philip Chiyangwa) and Harare (Amos Midzi) although
Chiyangwa was seen as a Mnangagwa backer.
Mugabe remained neutral
and above the fray as the cliques wrestled for power. His intervention only
came after the politburo decided last Thursday at an emergency meeting that
one of the two vice-presidents would have to be a woman.
He only
intervened decisively on the side of women who supported Joyce Mujuru a day
before the nominations. Mugabe took a firm stand this week in a bid to
suppress rising dissent and factionalism stemming from the process.
In a
thinly-veiled attack on senior party officials, Mugabe threatened to deal
with sulking top members involved in acts of destabilisation.
He said
he would deal with "divisive elements" in the upper ranks of his deeply
split party. He also said he would crackdown on "greedy" officials, "crooks"
and "cunning knaves" bribing voters and those who wanted to "grab bread from
other people's mouths".
Both camps used a variety of means, including
"donations" and alignment with the media, to win votes.
Donations
in cash and kind seem to have angered Mugabe this week who accused his
officials of using money, including some sourced from "white imperialists"
with British connections, to bribe voters.
Mnangagwa's camp last
Thursday descended on Dinyane Secondary School in Tsholotsho, Matabeleland
North, for a prize-giving ceremony, which sources said was a strategic
meeting. Mnangagwa was supposed to be the guest of honour. Moyo was also
supposed to attend.
However, Mnangagwa and Moyo failed to attend due
to the emergency politburo meeting in Harare. Chinamasa was despatched to
officiate. He urged people in Tsholotsho to vote for Moyo in the forthcoming
Zanu PF primary elections.
Six Zanu PF chairmen, ministers, deputy
ministers, MPs, a governor, war veterans and party functionaries attended
the ceremony where there was a cascade of donations.
Mnangagwa
led by example when he donated, in absentia, $10 million to buy computers
for the computer laboratory, Langa donated $5 million, Shumba gave two
computers to the school, while Abedinigo Ncube and Hungwe donated 100 bags
of cement each for the construction of a classroom block.
Labode
donated shelving material and Bulawayo businessman Delma Lupepe donated $5
million. Mudenda donated a water pump and Bhuka a television set. Some made
pledges.
Mnangagwa's camp two weeks ago organised a similar
prize-giving ceremony at Ntalale Secondary School in Gwanda where Siyoka
declared his executive would not support Mujuru. He got suspended for it
after members of the Mujuru camp in the province reacted
angrily.
That reaction, coupled with a botched interview with a local
weekly which angered a lot of people, apparently triggered a chain of events
which led to Mnangagwa's downfall.
Sorry plight of rural schools ignored Own
Correspondent A CHARM offensive apparently targeted at luring support among
high school students who will come of suffrage age by the March general
election has obliged President Mugabe to travel to some remote parts of the
country in the past few months donating computer equipment.
Each
hand-over ceremony provides an opportunity for Mugabe to capture the
attention of rural voters among both the students and villagers who throng
these events.
Ironically too, the in vogue donations seem to
counterweigh Information minister Jonathan Moyo's bid to thwart information
dissemination through the Internet.
Yet Zimbabwe's rural primary
school infrastructure is crumbling, gnawed to a point of dereliction by
decades of neglect. The schools are stretched to breaking point by increased
enrolment without financial resources to match.
A visit to most rural
primary schools reveals cracked walls and floors, peeling paint, sagging
rafters, unglazed windows and dilapidated structures.
The rot has
been accelerated by an education policy that reposed responsibility for the
upkeep of buildings in community self-help projects run by poor rural
peasants.
In instances where donors have lent a hand by providing
building material, the schools have fared better.
More
importantly, policies tilted heavily in favour of upgrading and expanding
secondary schools to bridge gaps in national human resources shortfalls as a
result of the brain drain in commerce and industry has come back to haunt
education administrators and policy makers.
One of the resolutions
the ruling Zanu PF party in Matabeleland North made this week ahead of the
party's National People's Congress could throw the decrepit educational
facilities in the province a lifeline.
"We want the congress to pass
a resolution compelling government to improve the education facilities in
the province," said party provincial chairman Jacob
Mudenda.
"Most buildings at primary schools in rural areas have
become a hazard to work in and pose a threat to both pupils and teachers,"
says retired educationist, Polife Simelani.
"It is a miracle that
some of the classroom blocks have not yet collapsed on
pupils."
Except for a few modern houses built from donor funds,
teachers at rural primary schools have learnt to live with sharing
ramshackle accommodation.
Simelani blames former students associations
for some of the woes faced by rural primary schools. He says these
associations have tended to identify themselves with the secondary or high
schools they attended whenever they raise funds for improvement of
infrastructure.
"There are numerous students associations. Most of
them want to improve conditions at the last secondary schools they attended.
None seem to want to identify themselves with the needy primary schools
which are in various states of dereliction," says
Simelani.
Besides, the nominal per capita grant that the Education
ministry disburses to schools annually for each child falls woefully short
of the education requirements for a primary school child.
The
grant disbursed by the ministry based on each school enrolment is meant to
cover books and stationery as well as maintain school
infrastructure.
Because the grant is too small, serious shortages of
textbooks and other reading materials have become a common feature at rural
schools.
Primary school textbooks now cost between $50 000 and $100
000 each, while exercise books range from $3 500 to $7
500.
Although Education minister Aeneas Chigwedere has acknowledged
the per capita grant disbursed to each school for acquiring textbooks is
insufficient he has blamed schools for not maximising grant
disbursements.
"The money may not be adequate but the major problem
is that schools do not take care of the books," Chigwedere said. "Most of
the books are stolen and resold on the black market."
Poor
peasants are expected under the Education Act to form school development
committees and associations empowered to raise funds through levies for the
maintenance of school buildings. But problems arise when other parents opt
to enrol their children at more distant schools, which charge less, to avoid
paying increased levies.
"Every morning I see children run past my
school to the next one that is eight
kilometres away because it
levies a lesser development fee than we do," says Titus Gwelutshena, a
teacher at a primary school in Nkayi.
In a worse position are farming
communities, particularly those displaced by the land reform programme
together with newly resettled farmers. Parents have watched helplessly as
their primary school children cram into former tobacco barns where lessons
are conducted under stifling conditions.
In Chigwedere's Wedza
constituency tobacco barns at Chad, Chirume and
Bolton farms have been
converted into makeshift classrooms.
Yet the Education ministry has
always received a lion's share of allocation in the national budget. In fact
the ministry has only expended 21% of its 2003-2004 budgetary
allocation.
Officials in the ministry say 94% of its national budget
appropriation goes towards teachers' and administrators' wage
bill.
Hundreds of rural schools built decades ago by missionaries
scrambling to evangelise rural communities claim a membership stake and a
sphere of influence within the communities they operated in. Most of these
have retained their vintage without additional buildings since then, making
them susceptible to damage by strong winds and prone to collapsing.
THE momentum
from Grande Baie, Mauritius, has been lost after Sadc chair Paul Berenger
this week adopted the line of least resistance on Zimbabwe.
Having laid
down the regional bloc's benchmarks on the holding of free and fair
elections at the summit in August, Sadc heads appeared set to usher in a new
era of electoral accountability of their members to each other.
"As
this new charter itself reminds us, really free and fair elections mean not
only an independent electoral commission but also include freedom of
assembly and absence of physical harassment by the police or another entity,
freedom of the press and access to national radio and television, and
external and credible observation of the whole electoral process," Berenger
said then.
"And with free and fair elections due in Zimbabwe at
the beginning of next year, we can already start preparing for the
normalisation of relations between Sadc, the European Union and the United
States of America," he said.
But Berenger made a volte-face this week
on Sadc's role. He is now singing from the same hymn sheet as South African
president Thabo Mbeki. The hymn "Quiet Diplomacy" has found a new
chorister.
In an interview with SABC this week, Berenger lashed out
at interventionists, whom he accused of arrogance. He said there should be a
mission to assess the situation on the ground.
Sadc has in the
past demonstrated a marked reluctance to undertake such a
mission.
"I am hopeful ... we must succeed together. The purpose
as I said is not to be disrespectful, to bully people around, to interfere
in an unacceptable way - the idea is to amongst us as brothers and sisters
in the Sadc region help each other to move together to implement this
charter."
Berenger's assertion is affirmation that Sadc leaders will
not raise loud complaints about the NGOs Bill and contentious electoral
legislation because the leaders should "not interfere in an unacceptable
way".
That hopeless posturing has been glorified under the
high-sounding policy called quiet diplomacy. We said in August that the
electoral charter would be a major test of Sadc's commitment to its own peer
review mechanism.
They have failed, which was only to be
expected.
But more saddening, the effect of that hands-off posture is to
block the proactive among Western democracies from voicing their objections
to human rights violations and electoral fraud.
But Sadc, as the
custodians of the electoral charter - hailed as an African innovation in the
holding of free and fair elections - has a role to play in ensuring that
Zimbabwe adheres to the precepts of the election document.
MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai who is on an international drive to advertise the Sadc
norms and President Mugabe's non-compliance with them, has remained hopeful
- albeit incongruously - that Mugabe is in a fix. Tsvangirai's Tuesday
message this week begs a number of questions on his reading of the
Zimbabwean situation less than four months before the general election in
March.
"The Robert Mugabe regime is feeling the heat," Tsvangirai
says. "The regime has run out of options. The ruse they sold to the world
and the relentless propaganda they poured onto the people can no longer
hold."
The heat has been there on Mugabe since the disputed polls in 2000
and 2002. The international community has screamed itself hoarse about poor
governance, the absence of the rule of law and repression. Like a camel in a
desert, Mugabe appears to be coping well with the heat.
The heat
Tsvangirai alludes to does not appear hot enough to burn the skin on the
octogenarian leader's back. It is business as usual. Zanu PF will push
through parliament the NGOs and Electoral Bills. It will continue to punish
people uttering even mildly critical things about the president. It will
crush all demonstrations by civil society. It will not open the airwaves to
the opposition, neither will it repeal Posa or Aippa. This status quo will
not evaporate before March next year.
Mugabe has already started
campaigning for the party with computers. His party, he told us this week,
has been infiltrated by "crooks" (what a confession!) and there is
"beginning to be conflict" among its leaders.
Will the MDC take
advantage of this seemingly fractious scenario to gain
ground?
The political situation is very fluid. Tsvangirai - on
his round-the-world tour - could be missing an opportunity to mobilise
before the election.
Tsvangirai still has to convince his supporters
who cannot demonstrate or wear party T-shirts that "the regime is severely
under pressure at home".
"Pressure from the people is creating political
victories for a free and fair election; every week these incremental
victories are serving to strengthen our optimism that a free and fair
election may indeed be possible next year."
Hope you are right about
this Morgan!
His optimism will be put to the test next month when the
party is expected to meet to assess the political climate before deciding on
whether to participate in the election or not. That is three months before
polling. A decision has to be made and fast too. People need to know where
the party stands. The long suspense is slowly turning into confusion about
what the MDC is planning.
"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," Tsvangirai says. It would be surprising if voters
share his confidence that Mugabe will bow to pressure.
THE ruling Zanu PF's convoluted succession struggle has
dramatically shifted to another level of intensity after the nomination of a
new set of leaders to a somewhat repackaged pecking order, analysts
say.
This has set the stage for a fierce showdown for President
Robert Mugabe's plum position, which could be sooner rather than later if
this week's events are anything to go by.
Political analysts
think the bruising succession battle showed, more than anything else so far,
that the contours of Mugabe's regime, its substance of power and authority,
as well as leadership continuity, are difficult to define or take for
granted.
Mugabe got a clean sweep by securing 100% of the provincial
executive councils' votes without any challenge, his first vice-president
Joseph Msika 70%, second vice-president Joyce Mujuru 60% and chairman John
Nkomo 60%.
Mujuru - who had the backing of the powerful Women's
League and her influential husband, retired General Solomon Mujuru - shocked
Zanu PF secretary for administration Emmerson Mnangagwa, until now widely
regarded as Mugabe's heir apparent, when she came out on
top.
Analysts say the outcome of last weekend's Zanu PF selection
process - which changed the direction of the succession plot but not the
matrix of power - proved that ruling party politics are currently in a
dangerous state of flux and thus unpredictable.
They say the
succession issue is still yet to be resolved as the current fight was
largely over crumbs from Mugabe's table and not the real substance of
power.
University of Zimbabwe political analyst Eldred Masunungure
said the power struggle in Zanu PF was far from over. He said it would
continue until outstanding political, ethnic and regional issues were
adequately resolved.
"Definitely the political complexion of the Zanu
PF succession struggle has changed but the issue still remains unfinished
business. Notwithstanding Mujuru's nomination, the succession issue still
has to be resolved," he said.
"We may well be seeing the
beginning and not the end of the issue."
Another analyst, Professor
Brian Raftopoulos, said although Mujuru's nomination was a "masterstroke" by
those who wanted to shut out Mnangagwa, the succession crisis would for
sometime remain simmering.
"For now Mugabe's position still remains
unassailable because he is not under open challenge and no one has the
capacity to do so, but the question of who will take over from him still
lingers," he said.
"The nomination of Mujuru was a masterstroke for
Mnangagwa's rivals but those who lost, including the Young Turks such as
Patrick Chinamasa and Jonathan Moyo, might still want to fight back to
recover lost ground."
Zanu PF, which its critics say presides over an
authoritarian political system, has been grappling with the succession
problem for a long time now.
Mugabe seems unable or simply unwilling
to disentangle the issue. His critics say he is using it as part of his
flimsy explanations to cling onto power.
Authoritarian regimes
have generally been considered to be fragile in that they are unable to cope
with adversity, resolve internal conflicts, respond to shifting interests
and demands, and to ensure a smooth succession in
leadership.
Zanu PF fits this description except that it has
always worn a democratic mask, which has however now fallen
irretrievably.
Masunungure said although Mnangagwa, who is also
Speaker of parliament, was outmanoeuvred by his rivals, the succession fight
would still rumble on.
"Mnangagwa was outmanoeuvred but he might
still attempt to regain lost ground maybe through irregular political
machinations. So Mugabe now has to manoeuvre fast, carefully and craftily to
ensure cracks in his party which were widened due to the nominations do not
continue widening," he said.
"The resolution of the issue of one of
the vice-president's positions has created others problems around the
succession struggle which is a continuation of past power struggles dating
back to the liberation war."
Masunungure said the Zanu PF nominations
created other problems with an "ethnic character".
"Problems with
an ethnic character have emerged due to changes in Zanu PF's arithmetic. The
ascendancy of Mujuru who hails from the same Mashonaland region as Mugabe
sharpens ethnic contradictions in the party," he said.
"The
implications and repercussions of this might create a resurgence of other
problems. A Pandora's box has been opened and a fluid situation created. So
before Mugabe quits he has a lot of homework to do if he wants to leave Zanu
PF at peace with itself."
Masunugure said the exclusion of the
Karanga and Manyika people from the Zanu PF presidium might create a
groundswell of tribal and regional discontent.
"In terms of
ethnic representation at the top the Karangas might feel injured about what
appears to be marginalisation of a large ethnic bloc," he said. "The
Manyikas who have been longing for recognition and the need to rise to the
apex of power for a long time might think they have again been left on the
periphery of the political kingdom. They might feel
aggrieved."
Ethnic friction has been existing for sometime before and
after Independence in 1980 but suppressed through various methods, including
violent ones.
But now times have changed and sophisticated ways have
to be found to deal with the problem before it becomes
unmanageable.
Mnangagwa's group was said to have factored in this
ethnic consideration in its masterplan which accommodated four major groups,
Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika and Ndebele.
Insiders claim that the
camp wanted Mugabe to represent Zezurus, Women's League chairperson Thenjiwe
Lesabe to stand for Ndebeles, Mnangagwa to represent the Karangas and
Chinamasa, Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs who lost to Nkomo, to stand
for the Manyikas.
Moyo, who is Zanu PF deputy secretary for
information, who was reportedly aligned to the Mnangagwa camp, was earmarked
to become secretary for administration, July Moyo secretary for security and
Shuvai Mahofa secretary for commissariat in the
politburo.
However, Mugabe appears to still value the Unity Accord as
opposed to the delicate ethnic balancing arrangement. He said in August that
he still wanted two vice-presidents to honour the
agreement.
Analysts say the crash by pretenders to the throne and
opportunists riding on Mnangagwa's bandwagon showed that Zanu PF was still
firmly in the grip of the old guard.
The nominations also showed,
they say, no one in Zanu PF is guaranteed of a position, except Mugabe
himself, at least in the meantime. They further indicated that seniority and
experience in the hierarchy might in the future not be the only decisive
factors in the contest for power.
Credibility and leadership
qualities, which are terribly lacking in most Zanu PF politicians, may
become the crucial prerequisites.
The cliché that there are no
permanent friends and enemies but only permanent interests in politics was
also proven true by the outcome of the Zanu PF polls as some officials
joined hands with their hitherto adversaries - for instance Mnangagwa and
Moyo - to achieve a common objective, which was to win power.
Mujuru wins despite media
blackout WHILE official spokesmen had been claiming on Saturday that reports
of Joyce Mujuru assuming the vice-presidency were a "media construct",
reality appears to have intruded with her official nomination for the post
on Sunday.
President Mugabe's confirmation that the politburo
would back a woman candidate came on the same day as his media spokesmen
were claiming Mujuru's "robes" had been "stolen" by newspapers such as the
Zimbabwe Independent which had reported on her likely elevation once a woman
candidate had been given the nod by the
ruling party's
decision-making body.
Mujuru had not even been consulted, it was
haughtily suggested, as the names of rival candidates were
aired.
ZTV interviewers had on Friday been clumsily rubbishing the
Independent's story. But by Sunday it had been confirmed and Mujuru emerged
from the provincial executive councils as the preferred choice of party
barons.
This of course, as we reported, has serious implications for
Emmerson Mnangagwa's ambitions. Only Joseph Msika's premature retirement
will now open a door to the once powerful secretary for administration and
Speaker of parliament who appears to have been ambushed by a faction centred
in Mashonaland provinces but with powerful connections elsewhere. Indeed, he
may have been the victim of an ABM movement - anybody but Mnangagwa - which
explains the dramatic rise of a candidate not known for her political clout
in a party where gender sensitivity does not usually extend much further
than women bearing an impression of President Mugabe on their
skirts.
If Msika were to step down, his most likely successor would
not be Mnangagwa but John Nkomo who defeated the Midlands heavyweight and
former security supremo in the battle for the national chairmanship in 1999.
He is likely to attract many of the votes which Mnangagwa has been courting
in the western provinces. Nkomo is also ultimately the candidate of the ABM
crowd when the presidential chips are down.
Patrick Chinamasa's
candidacy for the chairmanship - his first election for anything - was
clearly inspired by the opportunists around Information minister Jonathan
Moyo who have been trying to block Mujuru. They saw Mnangagwa as their best
chance of preferment with Thenjiwe Lesabe as the other vice-president and
Chinamasa in the national chairman's seat. Under this cosy arrangement, that
fell apart in Sunday's deliberations, Moyo would have assumed the
influential post of secretary for administration left vacant by
Mnangagwa.
Once again in this struggle we see the public media
prostituted by one faction to head off a challenge from another. The
complete absence of a report in the government press on last Thursday's
emergency politburo meeting which effectively paved the way for Mujuru tells
us all we need to know about media manipulation. The Herald's explanation
yesterday that it was holding onto the story until it could be verified will
be believed only by the very gullible.
How then does the Herald
explain its failure to report on Sunday's nomination results, which saw
setbacks for Mnangagwa's backers, in Monday's edition? Only when party
luminaries began to comment on the outcome did the Herald feel compelled to
publish the results.
This comes at a time when the screws are being
tightened on the independent media ostensibly to ensure balanced reporting.
The public are evidently being denied their right to information when that
information proves inconvenient to those controlling media levers. Exactly
how Zimbabwe's sovereignty is protected by partial and unprofessional
reporting on matters which have
a direct bearing on the country's
future is difficult to under-stand.
The South African Communist Party
recently pointed out, in response to claims by the leader of the ANC Youth
League that Zimbabwe had many independent publications, there was on the
contrary "an abundance of information indicating a growing and targeted
intimidation of independent journalists and non-governmental media". The
trend was "towards greater repression and less democratic tolerance", the
SACP said.
When the public media is so compromised it is unable to
inform its readers of events taking place in the centres of political power,
it leaves the independent press with a particularly onerous
responsibility.
That we got it right on Mujuru's promotion while
interested parties in the state machinery were insisting we had got it wrong
rests the case for a media free of official shackles. Meanwhile, Zanu PF MPs
who voted for Aippa have been richly rewarded by those who have used it and
abused it for their own ends.
Democracy key to economic
revival RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono recently said at
the launch of the African Policy Institutes' Forum (APIF) that the year
ahead would be of mobilising foreign direct investment (FDI). With his
virtually unlimited optimism and positiveness, he proclaimed that "2005 will
mark the beginning of the seven years of plenty".
However, with
considerable realism, he qualified his forecast by correctly saying that we
give foreign investors the highest assurance that their investments will be
fully protected from any "obstructive practices by any untoward elements of
society, individuals or groups". He also
acknowledged that Zimbabwe has
been hampered by lack of implementation capacity in both the private sector
and in government to fully drive various economic policies and also that
"the confidence of the international community" must be
regained.
The governor is very correct that Zimbabwe has great
potential to attract investment, both FDI and domestic. After all, it has
long been proven that it can have an immensely virile agricultural
sector.
Before government virtually destroyed Zimbabwe's agricultural
sector, that sector was the foundation of the entire economy. It provided
employment and a livelihood for many hundreds of thousands of people. It
generated vast amounts of foreign currency needed for a highly
import-dependent country, providing more than two million kg of top quality
tobacco, exporting beef, pork, sugar, citrus, tea, coffee, cotton of
world-renowned quality and much else.
It was the source of the
resources of much of the consumer spending that assured continuing demand
for manufactured products flowing out of diverse Zimbabwean industries. And
despite the catastrophic state to which government has reduced agriculture,
with overall output at best equaling about 30% of former levels, the sector
can recover, if government belatedly acquires the maturity to admit errors
and transform.
But Zimbabwe's economic potential does not stem from
agriculture alone. Below its fertile soils, Zimbabwe has a vast, as yet only
very minimally tapped, mineral wealth. That wealth includes the 360 million
ounces of platinum reserves to which the governor referred when addressing
APIF, having a present day potential value of more than US$290
billion.
The same is true of the tourism industry. With the splendour
of Victoria Falls, the grandeur of the Matopos, and abundance of wildlife
(although now being critically eroded by almost wholly uncontrolled poaching
and irresponsibly great numbers of killings by trophy-hungry
international
hunters), the beauty of Nyanga, Bvumba and the Save
conservancies, the magnificence of Lake Kariba, and great opportunities of
ethnic and eco-tourism, the potential of Zimbabwean tourism is almost
without bounds.
And, despite the ravages of government's
ill-conceived acts, Zimbabwe's manufacturing sector is still the second
greatest industrial infrastructure within the region, capable of being
restored to former glory, and more, and being a key supplier to the
population of more than 320 million people within the region. Moreover,
despite the many disasters within the financial sector during the last year,
Zimbabwe nevertheless has a large and viable financial sector, reinforced by
many high-calibre service sector enterprises.
Notwithstanding, unless
there is a dramatic metamorphosis within the arena of political perceptions,
and in the acts and deeds of government, in contrast to its declarations of
intent, the concept that 2005 will herald marked investment into Zimbabwe's
near derelict economy will be nothing but a concept and unfilled wishful
thinking.
Although the tangible components of an investment stimulatory
environment exist, nevertheless an investment conducive and welcoming
environment has yet to be created, for there is much that ails the economy
to an extent as deters investors from even contemplating investment. The
missing elements include that referred to by the governor, that there must
be full protection of investment from "obstructive" practices of society,
individuals and groups.
Government's track record of providing
that protection is abysmal. It seized more than 11 million hectares of
agricultural lands, disregarding international bilateral agreements,
contemptuously dismissing that most of those lands had been lawfully
purchased, as distinct from government's spurious justifications of alleged
theft of the land by colonialists. And it paid no compensation. Instead, it
turned vast private sector investment into zero value, impoverished great
numbers, and brought agriculture to its knees.
Now it is creating
widespread fears that it is about to do likewise to the mining sector. A few
months ago the president threatened forced disinvestments, in favour of the
"indigenous" population, of 50% of the mines. Since then the level of that
disinvestment has been reduced to 20%, but the mining sector is still left
in a state of suspension as to its future.
In turn, this is
fuelling investor fears as to government's future intentions in respect of
the manufacturing, distributive, tourism, and financial sectors. Such an
environment does not promote investment. Who will invest with an expectation
that a portion, if not all, of that investment will be
expropriated?
An investor also wishes to know that he will be "the
master of his own destiny". He wants to know that if the investment is
fruitful, it is primarily due to him and his actions, and that if it fails,
its failure is in consequence of circumstances other than as created by
government. To that
end, the intending investor seeks economies where
there will be a minimum of state interference into the private
sector.
He favours the economies which are heavily deregulated, and
driven by market forces rather than by oppressive and excessive governmental
dictates. Such an economic environment is that which will be necessary if
the confidence of the international community is to be regained, correctly
identified by the governor as an essential.
And international
confidence centres upon a combination of the economy driven by good and
sound economic fundamentals and by positive and constructive monetary and
fiscal policies together with an expectation of continuing political
stability, good governance and investment security.
With much
foundation, the perspective of most of the international community, and most
of those Zimbabweans endowed with investment wherewithal, is that whilst the
last year has witnessed very pronounced and - in the main - highly
constructive monetary policies, and some tentative but meaningful moves to
towards a substantive fiscal policies, the other essential ingredients do
not exist. Few internationally, and equally few in the domestic economy,
perceive there to be prospects of economically supportive political
stability and good governance.
The overriding view is that for that
to exist, and therefore for the economy to develop and grow and to be
attractive to investors, government will have to demonstrate a genuine
adherence to the basic and essential principles of democracy. To that end,
it will have to prove to a sceptical world, that the forthcoming
parliamentary election will be genuinely free and fair.
Exporters pocket higher rates Chris Goko THE
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says exporters, mainly horticultural players,
who have been quick to liquidate their export proceeds have been getting
rates way higher than both the official $5 650:US$1 and implied $6 200 rate,
it was learnt this week.
Information at hand shows that exporters,
managing to repatriate their foreign currency within the 30-day threshold,
have been getting a rate of $7 130 to one greenback.
This is more
than $1 000 above the central bank's bi-weekly auctions and diaspora
rate.
In a November 23 paper, Impact Of The Current Exchange Rate
System On Exporters, the bank's economic research division said nearly 70%
of exporters - managing to deliver scarce foreign currency in the shortest
possible time - have been getting rates on their 100% proceeds at above the
$6 200 peg.
Whereas exporters were getting a paltry $824 to the
United States dollar before January 12 this year, they now enjoy a
depreciated rate and value of more than 80%, the paper
said.
"Compared to the levels that prevailed at the beginning of
2004, the surrender requirement at Z$824/US$ has fallen from 25% to 10% for
all export proceeds repatriated within 31-90 days from date of
shipment.
"At least 90% of exporters access 90 to 100% of their
export proceeds at the ruling auction or Diaspora rate whichever is higher,"
it said, adding the export incentive scheme was markedly enhanced in April,
July and November.
A number of exporters have negotiated their
payment terms from 90 days to receiving advance payments - from mainly
international debtors - within the 30-day period, meaning those who have
been promptly ceding their money in Zimbabwe are not subject to the measly
$824 rate, but higher blended rates.
"Where an exporter accesses the
15% FOB (free on board) export incentive scheme for every US$1 of exports,
the exporter is entitled to a rebate, which effectively increases the US
dollar value of his exports at a higher blended exchange rate of Z$7
130/US$1 if the proceeds are received within 30 days," said the
RBZ.
It said that the proportion of exporters benefiting from this
arrangement rose from 26% in January to nearly 80% by last
month.
The analysis also shows that those managing to bring in money
within the 31 to 90 day period - through the acquittal of CD1 forms - have
been earning $6 511,76 for their dollar and a 90% auction-sale
allocation.
While those in the 91 to 100-day bracket receive $2 more
than the implied rate, they cede 85% to the mandatory
auctions.
Exporters liquidating their money after 100-plus days, but
below 120, are
compelled to surrender 80% of their proceeds at an
effective rate of $5 893,52 to the greenback - still markedly higher than
the auction rate.
The exporters, who include gold producers, in
January retained 50% of their foreign exchange earnings in foreign currency
accounts (FCAs), while 25% was availed on the auction mechanism at the
ruling rate of $3 500 to the US dollar then.
Observers this week
said the central bank's "carrot and stick" measures, which it says have
greatly discouraged illegal dealing in foreign currency, improved foreign
exchange inflows and formalised the key exchange market, are tantamount to
devaluation.
The bank prefers to call the blended rate arrangement a
"fair value" incentive for exporters' survival and competitiveness
internationally.
Ambitious industrial revival plan on cards Godfrey
Marawanyika THE government has come up with yet another ambitious six-year
industrialisation plan whose success is hinged on support from broader
business sectors and labour, businessdigest learnt this week.
The
2004-2010 Industrial Development Policy (IDP), spearheaded by Samuel
Mumbengegwi's Industry and International Trade ministry, is founded on the
principle of tripartite participation in decision-making and
goal-setting.
Zimbabwe, hit by the sterility of a number of policy
blueprints unveiled in recent years, hopes the IDP would ignite meaningful
commercial activity, arrest massive de-industrialisation and 70% job losses
in the economy.
Its strengths, the promoters say, lie in the
transformation of primary goods into processed goods.
The policy
also insists on high-growth sectoral development approaches that the
government has singled out the agro chemicals, arts and culture, cement,
clothing and textiles sectors as some of those priority-development
sectors.
Also included are the construction, electronics, fertiliser,
food, furniture, jewellery, metals and steel, motor industry,
pharmaceuticals, wood and tobacco manufacturing sectors.
Harare's
recognition of labour, largely represented by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU), as a key component of the economic thought-process marks a
departure from its tough stance not to involve labour in many policy issues
because of labour-support for political opposition groups.
Reads part
of the policy document: "In order to fulfil our vision of the
industrialisation, close co-operation between, business and labour is
imperative.
"Industrialpolicy is found-ed on the principal
participation in decision-making, goal-setting and correspon-ding tripartite
acceptance of responsibility for the successful implementation of the
strategy," it said.
While relations have soured to an extent that
mainstream labour, led by the ZCTU, has pulled out of the existent
tripartite negotiating forum, the government has pledged to make appropriate
policy interventions.Under the plan, the government hopes that the private
sector will identify, recommend and implement strategic action plans on a
subsector basis.
On the other hand, government also expects labour to
mutually support the industrialisation process through commitment to
enhanced productivity and international competitiveness, which is a veiled
plea that labour moves away from previous calls for damaging countrywide
strikes.
"Wage rate increase, which are tied to the corresponding
increase in productivity will duly ensure price stabilisation," the document
says.
On its part, government has provided softer productive sector
funds (PSF) to the tune of $2 trillion.
It also says it will
continue to explore ways of enhancing tax incentives in respect of value
addition in priority areas.
"...Concessional funds will be provided
in the focussed sub-sectors. Policies that encourage investment in new
technologies that modernise operations and enhance capacity utilisation will
be pursued."
Last month, the government also launched the country's
fifth economic recovery paper, which will run for two
years.
Government, however, concedes that the existence of
bottlenecks of financing has really affected the productive sectors and the
PSF assistance is not enough.
Zimbabwe set to survive IMF chop Godfrey
Marawanyika ZIMBABWE is likely to escape being axed from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), as it continues to give positive economic recovery
signals by significantly moving to reduce arrears with the global lender,
analysts said this week.
Harare, which managed to pay US$115,16
million of its IMF debt over the past year, received a huge boost when
African department director Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane, who visited the country
early November - depicted a scenario of thawing relations between the two
parties and tacitly indicated that Zimbabwe's compulsory expulsion was
nearly off.
And at a time Zimbabwe has been actively engaging the
IMF, Bio-Tchane said, after meeting President Robert Mugabe, that the Fund
was satisfied with the country's debt settlement method.
Mugabe,
himself a fierce critic of IMF-driven reforms, placed a positive gloss on
Harare's no-choice embrace of its help and this was after years of strong
admonishment of the World Bank partner's principles. He feels its 90s
economic structural adjustment experiment in Zimbabwe is largely responsible
for the near-collapse of the economy - six years in recession and rapidly
contracting.
The anticipated escape also comes at a time Harare
was given a six-month grace period to work and refine its repayment plan to
the Fund around June this year.
Best Doroh, a senior analyst with
banking group Zimbabwe Financial Holdings Ltd (Finhold), said the current
move to pay up the IMF debts was welcome, but more could be done to improve
working relations with the key multilateral funder.
"This is
certainly a positive development. If we continue making those payments it
shows that we are serious on mending our relationship with them.
"But
we should first pay up our dues and then we would be able to start talking
in terms of accessing funds again," he said.
The Harare-based
economic commentator said the existent cordial relations could only be
enhanced or strengthened by more diplomatic work, which Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono has sharpened.
With the IMF having
already expelled fellow African countries such as the Democratic Republic of
Congo, the former Zaire and strife-torn Sudan, the Fund's executive board
was to consider Zimbabwe's expulsion next month.
While local authorities
and the IMF representative discussed macrostabilisation, substantive
structural reform and governance issues, among other cooperation steps,
Bio-Tchane's statements that Harare had to grab "this window of opportunity"
proved to be an olive branch.
"I explained (to the president) that
the Fund wanted to work with the authorities to help Zimbabwe achieve its
full potential and to integrate the country more closely with the
international community," he said.
"In order for the IMF to help
Zimbabwe, the authorities need to seize this window of opportunity to
demonstrate strengthened cooperation with the Fund before its executive
board next considers the issue of Zimbabwe compulsory
withdrawal."
Since 1999, Zimbabwe has attained a bad boy tag from
the international lending community for failing to settle outstanding dues
amounting to US$1,2 billion.
Analysts say by failing to service
the IMF debt, Zimbabwe was accruing interest charges to the magnitude of
US$16,36 million per quarter.
Bio-Tchane's further comments that
"concerted efforts to rebuild relations with other official creditors" such
as the African Development Bank and the main World Bank will over time lead
to greater external financial support - to sustain Zimbabwean efforts and
policies - also give rise to the hope that the country will escape
pariah-status exclusion.
Although the country may escape total
economic sanctions, funding will not resume immediately, the African IMF
boss also said.
CFX Merchant Bank business analyst Blessing
Sakupwanya said Bio-Tchane's fact-finding mission was more than an important
milestone and, therefore, Harare's delicate handling of the discussions was
likely to hand it an escape from the chop.
"The visit by the
director for Africa department last week was meant to familirise the
institution with what is happening on the ground. The IMF was mostly
concerned with what was happening within the financial sector," he
said.
"Judging by what the director said on Zimbabwe, although he
could not pre-empt (the IMF's December agenda), it is almost certain that
Zimbabwe will not be kicked out.
"From what he (Bio-Tchane) said,
they are going to support us with advice, but in stages, especially in the
financial sector," Sakupwanya said.
His views corroborated what Gono
said after their meetings: that they had discussed broad-ranging issues,
including financial sector reforms that also include the formation of the
Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group project.
The central bank governor
confirmed that they were receiving "informal advice" from the Fund on a
number of issues.
Another central bank official said although they
had made headways in mending relations with the IMF, the country still
needed to work on its creditworthiness.
"A number of investors
and financiers always take a cue from the IMF to
either finance or get
credit. A number of institutions rely on the IMF," he said.
As at the
end of October this year Zimbabwe's debt to the fund had declined to
US$185,84 million, from a peak of US$301 million at the end of last
year.
However, the global financier is still concerned with the
problems affecting the country's financial sector which has led to it
revising its intial growth projection for Zimbabwe.
In May the
IMF had anticipated that Zimbabwe's gross domestic product would grow by 5%
next year but because of the problems which rocked the financial sector
during the third quarter it is now projecting that next year's GDP would
only grow by 1%.
Desperate Zim mortgages critical assets Chris
Goko/Ndamu Sandu CHINA last month closed in on investment-starved Zimbabwe,
wrenching key business agreements, including coal mining concessions and
platinum refining deals, businessdigest has learnt.
As well as equity
participation, several Beijing investment fronts - mainly state-linked
corporations - are taking positions in greenfield projects such as tolling
of platinum group metals (PGMs).
PGM beneficiation is currently
dominated by Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and its Zimbabwean peer,
Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Ltd (Zimplats) and another Great Dyke miner
Mimosa.
Most of lead producer Zimplats' matte is refined at Implats'
Rustenburg works in South Africa. The Chinese arrangement would be totally
new.
Comprehensive investigations by this paper showed that
individual Sino-Zimbabwe contracts had an average lifespan of up to eight
years.
While the oriental merchants wrestled a 70% stake in the Chaba
coal mining concession, to be jointly developed with Zimbabwe's power
utility Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) which bodes well with
China's coal specialty, authoritative government sources this week said they
were also interested in platinum beneficiation.
Expanding on
stand-in Finance minister Herbert Murerwa's pronouncements on Wednesday that
the Chinese were certainly interested in the platinum sector, the source
said: "They may not be coming to dig platinum, but are more concerned with
the refining process."
The Asian economic powerhouse had been driven
by vast uses of PGMs in the Far East region and native
China.
China, the sixth largest economy in the world and managing
annual growth rates of nine percent over the last quarter century, has an
overheating economy busting with technical manufacturers.
Despite
the fact that no corporeal platinum deal has been signed, the timing of the
Chinese's announced PGM interest coincides with measures - disclosed by
Harare - to further open up the platinum sector, with 50:50 ventures lined
up between existent partners and any interested investors.
To this
end, high-level meetings are scheduled for SA next week to expand on the
chosen path.
With the Chinese advances secured by way of barter
deals, where Zimbabwe will export commodities, the China National
Aero-Technology Corporation (Catic) is set to develop Chaba - formerly given
to competing Malaysia's YTL - to provide coal fodder for Zesa's steam
generating Hwange plants.
Sydney Gata, the Zesa executive chairman,
argues that the independent development of coal resources not only
guarantees a steady supply of product for electricity generation, but also
lower power tariffs in the long-run because per tonne costs (of coal) would
have fallen from US$31.
Gata, who bagged US$143 million of the US$293
million hunt when Wu Bangguo's men touched down in Harare, will plough the
money into rural electrification and urban distribution networks
rehabilitation.
China, whose Huawei Technologies netted an
accumulative US$322 million worth of telecommunications deals, is to
immediately invest US$28 million in state-run Tel*One's expansion, managing
director Wellington Makamure said.
Makamure would not say whether the
telecomms giant was aiming at taking stakes, but emphasised that the phased
investment would take Zimbabwe's land-based lines to 1,2 million by
2009.
With a national subscriber base of just 350 000 and the
country's tele-density falling way below United Nations expectations, the
wireless loop investment would see over 150 base stations being installed
between now and 2006.
Unlike Gata, who will repay through
commodity exports and part shareholding, Makamure said his Huawei
arrangement was self-financing and that the five-year Tel *One growth plan
would require US$400 million equally shared in foreign cash and local
resources.
Much as he is required to pay a 15% deposit for the first
phase expansion, Makamure would not say whether he would raise local money
instruments like Gata, who has launched electricity bills.
The
Chinese, immediately availing US$350 million, are also angling for
investments in agriculture, aviation and railways.
Inflation decline - no need for scepticism By Epifania
Gorowa INFLATION has continued to tumble, with the year-on-year figure for
October registering 209%, some 42,5 percentage points down from September's
251,5%.
As the figure decelerates, it appears there is hope that the
central bank's adjusted forecasts of between 150 and 160% from the
previously announced 200% may be attained in December.
However,
month-on-month inflation has climbed 10,1% owing to increases in meat,
vegetables and posts and telecommunications prices.
It is clear that
there are misconceptions by the general public who remain baffled as to why
inflation is said to be declining when consumer goods are escalating. The
misconceptions have led to the Central Statistical Office being accused of
conjuring up inflation figures.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is
used in calculating y-o-y and m-o-m inflation figures, which entails
reviewing the percentage change in the average price of a basket of goods
within that current month or year as compared to the previous
year.
The rate of increase in last month's index (10,1%) is lower
than the rate that was witnessed at the comparable period last year (25,3%).
Debate has arisen as to whether the "basket of goods" is sufficient to come
up with accurate information, or some items should not even be
included.
To a large extent the country does not possess all the
intricate information requirements that would aid in forecasting inflation,
for example the application of advanced statistical and mathematical methods
in search of economic solutions (econometrics). There is need, therefore,
for the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe to fully educate the public on such
issues.
Paraphrasing from the Third Quarter Monetary Review Statement
regarding the war against the "venomous viper" - inflation, progress can be
attributed to increased capacity utilisation, tight money-market conditions
and fiscal discipline.
There certainly has been decreases in the
money-supply growth as portrayed by the figures released (January - 490,9%
and August -320,6%) working hand-in-hand with a tight monetary
policy.
However, it's generally believed that the effects of the
policy on inflation can be felt more within the long-run rather than in the
short-term.
As for fiscal discipline, this has come in the form of
increased efforts in streamlining expenditure in productive rather than
wasteful activities and raising capacity utilisation.
On the
other hand, this week has been the lull before the announcement of the 2004
Budget which takes the role of a compass in giving direction.
Obviously,
there are various expectations from the sectors within the economy as to
whether their pleas have been heard. No doubt large allocations will go to
capital developments seeing that our present infrastructure still leaves
room for great improvements and to the agricultural
sector.
Widening of the tax-band will be applauded by many as it will
ease (to a certain extent) the marauding effects of economic hardships.
Recalling the last budget, the upper limit of the non-taxable band was $2,4
million per annum whilst currently it's pegged at $9 million per
annum.
Approximately $990 billion was allocated to capital
developments amid complaints that it was not enough to carry out all the
upgrading and expansion activities like construction of the Harare-Bulawayo
dual carriageway which to date has only been completed up to
Norton.
The question is, do the allocated amounts ever satisfy any
sector?
The last budget summed up to roughly $8,74 trillion, and many are
wondering what it will sum up to this time.
I agree totally with
those who proclaim that extra attention should be paid to transport,
especially within the urban areas.
Any opinions expressed reflect
the judgement of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of
Sagit Financial Holdings or any of its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Zanu PF's month of the long
knives HAS Nathaniel Manheru been reading the papers lately? On Saturday he
tried to dismiss Joyce Mujuru's nomination for the post of vice-president.
This was a "media construct", he declared.
The Saturday Herald
was made to lead with a little story about a missing baby being reunited
with its family to avoid the seismic movements going on in Zanu PF that left
Manheru, Lowani Ndlovu and Jonathan Moyo with egg all over their
face.
As it turned out, Mujuru didn't need Moyo's newspapers to get
the endorsement she needed. It was left to the Zimbabwe Independent and the
Daily Mirror to scoop Pikirayi Deketeke who thought burying his head in the
sand would prevent the unfolding reality before him.
By Sunday
the "media construct" had metamorphosed into the woman candidate called Mrs
Joyce Mujuru. Six provinces had nominated her. The selection of a woman had
the support of the president.
How could Manheru be so far off the
mark about "a vigorous debate" going on under his nose? A case of the wish
being father to the thought! With or without any media coverage, Mujuru
still managed to knock out a number of competitors who thought they had it
in the bag.
Then there was what looked like an attempt to push
Jonathan Moyo's candidacy amidst strident complaints that the criterion of
seniority is being used selectively. Why was Moyo being dismissed as a
mafikizolo, complained Manheru bitterly on his master's
behalf.
The simple reason Moyo does not feature in the succession
debate is that he doesn't qualify. His overweening control of the state
media hasn't managed to ingratiate him with the top echelons of the party.
Instead he has managed to alienate many of them.
Nobody likes
naked ambition, especially when combined with the abuse of
power.
We are also not aware of Moyo's secret admirers who
Manheru conjures up. Nor those who hate him. But we certainly are aware of
those who hate his plan to shut down all private newspapers because he wants
only his own voice to be heard. While he claims to be in favour of "vigorous
debate and ideas", he is in fact a political coward suing papers that expose
his hyprocrisy and closing down those which he can't
bully.
Meanwhile, one of Moyo's many surrogates, Cde Under the
Surface continues to sink into irrelevance. He appears to see enemies of
Gideon Gono everywhere.
This week he accused the Independent of
sabotaging the Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group initiative. The ZABG is a
result of at least seven banks that have closed down. Some of those banks
will also lose their licences whether Cde Under wants to hear this truth or
not. This is just as true whether Lowani Ndlovu believes his semantics about
banks being liquidated or placed under curatorship. The ZABG is a monument
to bad corporate governance and that has nothing to do with Gono as an
individual.
Efforts to paint a rosy picture of the tourism sector
don't seem to be working. If anything, there has been a significant decline
since the launch of the land reform programme. The Sunday Mail's Business
section reports the movement of passengers and cargo airlines in and out of
the country "has declined by 58% and 55% respectively since
1999".
As usual, all is blamed on the "negative perceptions" of the
country portrayed by the local and international media.
What
became of the "Come to Victoria Falls, Down in Zimbabwe" video that was
launched with so much fanfare in Victoria Falls and Johannesburg? The
Ruvhuvhuto Sisters were roped in to give the video the illusion of a country
at peace with itself. Nobody believes the propaganda and tourists have
evidently decided to keep their distance until the situation is really back
to normal.
Incidents like the harassment of the Congress of South
African Trade Unions delegation at the beginning of the month can only make
a bad situation worse.
Is December going to be the month of
the long knives - or the tall "knaves" - for Zanu PF? That is if President
Mugabe's fire and brimstone speech in Matabeleland North this week was
anything to go by. Leaving aside for a while his traditional enemies, the
MDC and Tony Blair, Mugabe focused on his own Zanu PF party which he said
was riven by infighting for top positions. He talked of "divisive elements"
trying to sway voters using money and other cunning
strategies.
"We are going to congress in the next week and we want
delegates to be aware of these clandestine and cunning knaves," he
said.
"There are crooks in the party who want to get posts at
whatever cost. The names will be revealed because they have been using money
from white capitalists, some of them who even have links to
Britain."
We hope these are not going to be the same idle threats as
we heard last year about recalcitrant multiple farm-owners. Are we really
going to see action this time round?
Talking about
multiple-farm ownership, has there been progress on that front? Are we to
believe that there are untouchables in Zanu PF who can defy party policy and
still call themselves loyal party cadres?
We ask this after
government last week announced yet another land audit, a clear sign that all
is not well with the land reform programme. Land preparations still lag far
behind, inputs are reportedly in short supply while senior party officials
are said to be fighting over the occupation of farmhouses instead of getting
on with the business of farming.
We can have as many land audits as
there are ministers to undertake them, but so long as their findings are not
implemented simply because they do not endorse the view of a successful
programme, then we are wasting everybody's time.
Economic
commentators can be forgiven for getting their recovery programmes mixed up.
There have been so many of them that it is difficult to know which one is
currently operational.
First we had Esap in 1991, then Zimprest
(Zimbabwe Programme for Economic and Social Transformation) in 1996, Merp
(the Millennium Economic Recovery Programme) in 2000, and Nerp (the National
Economic Revival Programme) in 2003.
None of them worked because
government allowed populist posturing to take precedence over fiscal
prudence.
Now we have "Towards Sustained Economic Growth" which forms
part of the Macro-Economic Policy Framework for 2005-6.
The
Sunday Mail's business reporters think there was something called a National
Economic Recovery Programme in the middle of all this whose "gains" the
current thrust is meant to "consolidate".
Dr Herbert Murerwa, who was
the Minister of Finance in 2000 and who dismally failed to achieve
macro-economic stability under Merp, is back in charge on account of the
real Finance minister being unavoidably detained for having a macro-economic
plan of his own.
The main thrust of fiscal policy, Murerwa says, will
be focused on sustaining the current "turnaround".
Will that be
the same turnaround he achieved when he was previously Finance minister, we
should ask? Government borrowing will be maintained at levels consistent
with the monetary targets necessary for further reduction in inflation, he
says. Requests for unbudgeted amounts by ministries will not be supported,
he warns.
So who approved the proposed handouts to liberation war
detainees and collaborators? How does that fit into his scheme of
things?
Gideon Gono said in his third-quarter statement that such
unbudgeted items would not be countenanced. But then it would appear he was
sat on by the usual suspects because within a week he was saying such
expenditures were OK with him. They wouldn't rock the fiscal boat, he
assured the country. And what else will he be pressed to OK as the election
looms?
There is something delusional in the current talk of a
turnaround. Companies are going under every week. And no investor will put
his money in a country where ruling-party supporters can invade his property
and seize control, or where policy, as in the mining sector, is subject to
capricious political intervention.
Zimbabwe has signed a number
of bilateral investment agreements with various countries and scrupulously
ignored them all.
Then there is the "master plan for tourism" which
Murerwa thinks will do the trick for a once thriving sector. Aggressive
marketing of tourist destinations and strategic alliances with operators are
his answer to "challenges associated with the perceived country
risk".
He would be better advised tackling selective application of
the law and racist rhetoric by the country's leaders. As we said earlier,
nobody wants to visit a rogue state where they could be targeted by
government supporters because of their presumed country of origin. The
Bennett case and a new raft of repressive laws have done more for "negative
perceptions" than any "hostile media" could have done.
What
we have now is a chain of self-deception about the economy. One tour
operator, for instance, told the Sunday Mail that the tourism master plan
would give the country an advantage over others in the region. Perceptions
would "certainly change", she ventured. Other players should put in place
plans "to enable them to cope with the huge tourist arrivals" that will be
"triggered by the new recovery plan" and Zimbabwe's designation as an
approved destination by the Chinese government.
All completely
delusional of course, but grown-up people are actually repeating these
official mantras as gospel truths.
Thank goodness for Zimsun CEO
Shingi Munyeza who had to spell things out for Pollyanna tour
operators.
"Nothing significant has been realised from the Chinese,"
he reported last week. "The Chinese travel in volumes but they are not the
best of spenders."
Occupancy levels at Zimsun hotels, Munyeza
reported, were at 36% compared to 39% in 2003. Meanwhile, Zimsun had to cope
with a 700% hike in electricity bills courtesy of the state-owned power
provider, Zesa, which hasn't been told about the
turnaround!
Compare this dose of cold realism to the National
Economic Consultative Forum whose leaders appear ready to swallow anything.
An NECF-sponsored research team headed by Prof Chris Chetsanga, it was
reported, recommended that there was an urgent need to create a sense of
patriotism among Zimbabweans.
This could be achieved, the team
said, by "making national and strategic studies compulsory at all levels to
change people's mindsets."
This would include carrying out
"ethno-based learning", "citizen orientation programmes" and making national
youth service compulsory.
All this, it was fondly thought, would
reduce the brain drain.
Some brains, it would seem, are already
drained!
Talking of which, Professor Claude Mararike, despite his
elevated title, is sometimes induced to say some very silly things in the
state media. Last weekend, commenting on President Mugabe's congratulatory
message to President Bush, he pontificated as follows: "Behind the
congratulatory message, the president is saying if the people chose their
leader, anyone with other views has no business to challenge that
decision."
What about the thousands of people who were stripped of
their right to vote by manipulation of the voters roll? Don't they have the
right to challenge that decision? What about those candidates who the courts
have found were deprived of their victory by violence or fraud? Did they not
have the right to challenge the outcome?
What does Mararike think
he is doing telling us that the only people who opposed the poll outcome
were those "instigated by their financiers and Western
sympathisers"?
Those who lost loved ones or who were the victims of
torture and coercion do not need "foreign instigators" to tell them what to
think of Mugabe's "victory"!
The government media is replete
every day with talking heads prepared to endorse a stolen poll and blame the
West for sanctions. But they educate their kids in Britain and the US and
send their families to work there when life becomes impossible at home.
Somebody should ask them to comment on that little double
standard!
We liked the bit in the Sunday News' story about
African countries having to spend a lot of money meant for development in
hiring international public relations consultants to counter negative
publicity caused by "meddling" Western countries.
Firstly, it
would seem, these PR firms have difficulty countering the evidence of a
police state coming from Zimbabwe on a daily basis. Ask Woods & Cohen.
Then you have Ari Ben-Menashe causing untold damage to the state's case by
his poor performance in court, not to mention his dubious record. And the
public are asked to foot the bill because the government is delusional and
can't understand where the problem lies!
Meanwhile, the relentless
propaganda goes on. This was the heading in the Southern Times business
supplement last weekend: "Botswana's inflation soars". And what was the
appalling figure: 600%, 200%, 50%?
No. It was 7,7%.
This
was alongside an article saying Zimbabwe had unveiled a new policy framework
"to buttress its largely successful new monetary policy to further
accelerate the country's economic turnaround and bring down inflation to
under 10% by the end of two years".
Notable "gains" so far
included the increased availability of goods and services and "the virtual
disappearance of the parallel market".
"THE
(International) Bar Council noted that after the imposition of the sentence,
Bennett's place of imprisonment was not revealed to his legal
representatives. When they did locate him, they found that Bennett, a family
man, had been stripped and clothed in a soiled prison garment that exposed
his genitalia and buttocks", the statement said.
"The Bar Council and
the committee (the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, the
international lawyers' organisation) deplore such flagrant and degrading
treatment of a prisoner..." (Zimbabwe Independent, November
12).
"The last time he was detained in Zimbabwe (Gabriel Shumba,
human rights lawyer) he was with a client... when security officers with
snarling dogs burst into the room. During his three days in detention he was
hung upside down and beaten with cables, bound in the fetal position, left
to suffocate in a nylon bag, and subjected to electric shocks for nine
hours. He was photographed naked and writhing in pain", (Globe and Mail,
November 4).
"In a statement... South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond
Tutu said: It is a situation where we cannot stand by watching a tragedy
unfold without becoming complicit through our apathy", Reuter, (Zimbabwe
Independent, April 23).
Come on, Koffi Annan, Paul Berenger, the
United Nations, Sadc, the United States, Britain. Forget the Pope, we know
he's not interested.
Forget Thabo Mbeki, we know which side he
supports. When will you cowards of the Western World and Africa have the
guts to do more than just say "tut-tut" and "Deary, deary me?" Free and
fair elections in March? Fat chance.
THE
front page story "IMF willing to help Zim", (Herald, November 19) on the
International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s willingness to help Zimbabwe is a
campaign strategy meant to make Zimbabweans believe that there are prospects
for a better life for all Zimbabweans under Zanu PF rule and helps expose
Mugabe's hypocrisy.
Interestingly, the same article makes it clear
that the IMF itself cannot lend any more money, but that the statement by
the IMF does help open the door for Zimbabwe to interested members of the
donor community.
The article goes further to say that Zimbabwe needs
to rebuild relations with donors, and that Mugabe stressed the need to lure
more investment.
But why did we as a country first strain our
relations with the donor community? Who is the donor community in the first
place? Does the donor community not include countries like the United
Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands and others? Is this the same
message that Mugabe and his cronies are telling the people? Have we not been
told that the 2005 parliamentary elections are anti-Tony
Blair?
On an inside page of the same edition was a cartoon of MDC
president Morgan Tsvangirai in bed with a white woman supposedly in Brussels
where he is said to have held meetings.
What is wrong with
Tsvangirai going to Brussels if Mugabe himself is considering restoring
relations with the donor community to bring back investment? This is sheer
hypocrisy on the part of Mugabe, (Information minister) Jonathan Moyo and
their mouthpiece, the Herald.
Mugabe and his cronies have told the
gullible rural populace that Zimbabwe can do without the assistance of the
IMF.
I saw Emmerson Mnangagwa telling a crowd of Zanu PF supporters
that Zimbabwe has managed the past six years, so it can go it
alone.
These are the lies that Zanu PF officials tell ordinary
Zimbabweans to justify
their anti-Blair election when they meet in
their central committee and politburo meetings, yet when they meet with the
IMF they tell a different story.
The latest development seems to
suggest that central bank governor Gideon Gono and Mugabe know very well
that relations they are developing with China and some Asian countries are
not good enough to end the country's economic woes.
The challenge
is for the media, civic society, opposition political parties and all
Zimbabweans who want the suffering that we are going through to end, to tell
the true story of what is obtaining on the ground to institutions such as
the IMF and the international donor community.
There is ample
evidence to convince the international community of the Mugabe regime's
dictatorial tendencies.
Just a few weeks ago (Local Government
minister) Ignatious Chombo was
shown on television saying that chiefs
should not sanction rallies by political parties other than Zanu PF in the
rural areas, and that chiefs should take persons organising such rallies to
task.
This is the reason why Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa,
Mugabe, the Herald and all the retrogressive and repressive elements of the
Mugabe regime have had sleepless nights over Tsvangirai's visits to other
countries. They are afraid Tsvangirai will tell Sadc, Africa and the rest of
the world the truth about political developments and the state of human
rights abuse by the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe, Chinamasa
and the Herald must know that in the same way as there was need for every
positive-minded Zimbabwean to support the liberation struggle one way or the
other, it is also the responsibility of every Zimbabwean, political
affiliation aside, to support efforts to end the Zimbabwe crisis which is a
direct result of bad governance. That is why on some past visits by IMF
officials, they have also met with officials from the MDC.
The IMF
and the rest of the international community should never be misled by
Mugabe. His record for human rights abuses is well-known and unless tangible
progress is made in redressing the human rights abuses in the country, the
donor community should continue to press him to stop as a condition before
they can open their doors to him.
To Tsvangirai and the entire MDC
leadership, I say never tire. You are the last hope for the suffering
Zimbabweans. God will soon answer the people's prayers.