http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in News
THE
appointment of retired Major-General Mike Nyambuya to head the National
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board last week underlined
government’s continued deliberate militarisation of key institutions despite
concerns from various stakeholders.
Former senior security personnel
have been deployed to parastatals and key
state institutions in a move
largely seen as an attempt by President Robert
Mugabe and Zanu PF to
entrench patronage and loyalty, given the military’s
often crucial
interventions in propping him and his party up during
elections.
The
security sector is credited with masterminding the June 2008 bloody
presidential run-off in which Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out citing Zanu PF’s
terror campaign in which 200 MDC supporters were allegedly
killed.
Key parastatals and strategic public institutions in which
ex-military
personnel hold sway include the National Railways of Zimbabwe,
Grain
Marketing Board (GMB), Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe
(MMCZ),
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH), Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe and
Zimpapers.
Other money-spinning companies in which the
government has a stake such as
Mbada Diamonds and Anjin, exploiting diamonds
at Chiadzwa under shady
circumstances, are also under the firm grip of
ex-military chiefs.
The secretariat of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(Zec), which plays
arguably the most crucial role in the country’s electoral
process, has been
dominated by military officials since 2000 with the likes
of army
chief-of-staff (quartermaster) Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba
and
Justice George Chiweshe once heading the organisation.
In a
suspicious move, Nyikayaramba was reported to have retired from the
army to
become chief elections officer at the then Electoral Supervisory
Commission in 2002 and 2005 polls, only to return as commander of 3 Brigade
in Mutare after his “mission” at the elections body had been accomplished.
Zec’s current deputy chief elections officer is Utoile Silaigwana, a retired
soldier.
Zanu PF rivals say Zec secretariat is staffed by state
security agents
deployed to manipulate election results.
Even on the
diplomatic front, former security personnel have been deployed
to head
foreign missions.
Among ex-military commanders deployed at Zimbabwe’s
diplomatic missions are
ambassador to Cuba retired major-general Jevan
Maseko, ambassador to Kenya
and former Central Intelligence Organisation
(CIO) director-general retired
Brigadier-General Elisha Muzonzini, and the
ambassador to Tanzania retired
Major-General Edzai Chimonyo. The CIO itself
is headed by retired
Brigadier-General Happyton Bonyongwe, while Zimbabwe
Prison Services is
under retired Major-General Paradzai
Zimondi.
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa Phelekezela Mphoko is also
an
ex-military man. The ambassador to Mozambique is retired
Brigadier-General
Agrippa Mutambara.
Retired soldiers like Colonel
Christian Katsande, now the deputy chief
secretary to the president and
cabinet, and retired Colonel Joseph
Mhakayakora, a director in the ministry
of construction, have also been in
public administration for years. The
ministry of health’s permanent
secretary is retired Brigadier-General Gerald
Gwinji.
Pedzisai Ruhanya, director of the newly formed Zimbabwe Democracy
Institute,
says militarisation of the state is “a well-defined strategy to
reward Zanu
PF-aligned former security personnel who assist their
oligarchical party to
maintain its hegemonic hold on power”.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Politics
THE military is
intensifying its subtle campaign for Zanu PF and its leader,
President
Robert Mugabe ahead of elections next year particularly in
Masvingo and
Manicaland provinces — which are emerging as battlegrounds —
where the polls
could be won or lost.
Report by Owen Gagare
Zanu PF insiders say a
study of the situation by the party strategists and
their security
establishment backers shows Mugabe and his loyalists are
confident of
maintaining their grip on Mashonaland and Midlands provinces,
while
targeting the populous Masvingo and Manicaland — areas won by the
MDC-T
during the last elections.
The MDC-T also controls urban areas and
Matabeleland provinces.
Informed officials say after studying the last
elections’ voting patterns
and current trends Zanu PF, buoyed by recent
opinion polls which say the
party is recovering while its rival the MDC-T is
declining, believes it
needs to launch a serious and sustained assault on
Masvingo and Manicaland
to stand a real chance of winning.
Recent
weeks have seen a surge in military deployments in those regions
which hold
the balance.
Although Matabeleland remains an MDC-T powerbase, Zanu PF
has not been
trying to seize the region back as it faces massive rejection
there.
Instead, the MDC led by Welshman Ncube has gained momentum, setting
the
stage for one of the most dramatic elections in Zimbabwe’s
history.
Latest information shows Zanu PF is escalating its campaign in
Masvingo and
Manicaland using state security forces, para-military groups
and chiefs. The
party’s mobilisation committee last week decided that
various campaign
methods have to be adopted to change the situation on the
ground before
elections.
In a desperate bid to reverse the tide in
Masvingo and Manicaland, the
military is organising clandestine meetings
with chiefs and other
traditional leaders to mobilise their subjects to
support Zanu PF ahead of
elections.
Over a period of months now the
army has been gradually deployed into rural
areas, Zanu PF’s strongholds, to
lay the ground for Mugabe and his party’s
national campaigns. The military
is currently active in Masvingo and
Manicaland provinces.
Traditional
leaders in Bikita, Masvingo province, have reportedly been
ordered to attend
meetings at the army headquarters in Masvingo in the
latest move by security
forces to step up their mobilisation manoeuvres.
Masvingo, the biggest
province in Zimbabwe by population and constituences,
was for months under
siege from security forces and war veterans led by
Jabulani
Sibanda.
MDC-T provincial information director for Masvingo Honest
Makanyire last
week told civic society leaders in Bikita, local chiefs and
headmen received
a circular from local district administrator Edgar Seenza
advising them to
attend the meeting on October 12 at 4 Brigade army
headquarters in Masvingo.
A section of the letter from the district
administrator’s office, dated
September 30, reads: “To all chiefs and
headmen — Invitation to attend
traditional leaders’ day at the Officers’
Mess at HQ 4 Brigade. You are
expected to attend the
meeting.”
Traditional leaders in the area told civic leaders the move was
part of the
military’s broad agenda to mobilise support for Mugabe and Zanu
PF ahead of
the referendum on the constitution and
elections.
Well-placed sources told the Zimbabwe Independent this week
security chiefs
were planning to meet chiefs from Manicaland at Chief
Murahwa’s homestead on
October 27, while a similar meeting would be held at
Chief Mugabe’s
residence in Masvingo.
The military is already on the
ground in Manicaland doing community work
which sources say was part and
parcel of a strategy to show a more human
face of the security forces while
simultaneously infiltrating the villages
to get votes.
Securocrats,
under the banner of the Joint Operations Command (JOC), are
Mugabe and Zanu
PF’s pillar of support. They have, however, shifted from the
bloody open
terror campaign they embarked on in the 2008 presidential
election run-off
to rescue Mugabe, who had lost the first round of polls to
MDC-T leader
Morgan Tsvangirai in the harmonised elections three months
earlier, to
subtle methods.
Instead, the military has now resorted to subtle
intimidation by sternly
warning chiefs of the possibility of war if Zanu PF
lost.
They have also been warning party heavyweights of the dangers of
imposing
candidates and fuelling factionalism ahead of the make-or-break
polls. JOC
was behind the recent dissolution of Zanu PF’s district
co-ordinating
committees after disputed and bitter internal
elections.
Top army officers who have been campaigning for Zanu PF in
Manicaland
include army chief-of-staff Major-General Martin Chedondo, Air
Vice-Marshal
Shebba Brighton Shumbayaonda, Brigadier-General Herbert
Chingono,
Brigadier-General Mike Sango, 3 Brigade commander
Brigadier-General Eliah
Bandama and members of the provincial
JOC.
Police Deputy Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga heads the
team.
The Zanu PF commissariat department has already been militarised
with Air
Vice-Marshal Henry Muchena retiring from the Air Force to head the
division
alongside former CIO director internal Sydney Nyanhongo.
The
military has proved loyal to Mugabe and was pivotal in keeping him in
power
in the 2002 and 2008 elections, although its role in politics and
elections
has been significant since 1980.
Zimbabwe Defence Forces spokesman
Colonel Overson Mugwisi and Zimbabwe
Chiefs’ Council president Chief Fortune
Charumbira could also not be reached
for comment.
Mugwisi was said to
be attending a funeral while Charumbira did not answer
his phone.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Politics
THE
decision-making Zanu PF politburo has rejected an ambush proposal by the
party’s commissariat department to hold potentially-explosive primary polls
next month to clear the path for crucial general elections next
year.
Report by Faith Zaba
Senior Zanu PF officials told the
Zimbabwe Independent last night the
politburo, at a meeting yesterday,
rejected secretary for commissariat
Webster Shamu’s proposal for primaries
next month after the Second
All-Stakeholders’ Conference on the contentious
new constitution.
“The issue was tabled from the blue, but it had no
takers because of the
short notice, lack of rules, regulations and
acceptable timeframes. Most
members felt it was like putting the cart before
the horse,” a senior
politburo member said.
“It was like an ambush
and such things invite suspicions. It’s as if there
are people with hidden
agendas. The prematurity of the proposal was
palpable.”
Politburo
officials said primaries could not be announced as if they were a
“football
tournament” when they are a political process.
“Some people were
wondering whether that is why some of our colleagues were
already running
around when official campaigns for primaries have not yet
started and when
it’s clearly not allowed,” the official said.
Another official said the
proposal smacked of a “veiled factional agenda”
because it was mainly known
by leaders of the camp led by Vice-President
Joice Mujuru and not those
aligned to Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The two factions are
battling to outmanoeuvre each other and gain ground in
a bid to produce a
successor to President Robert Mugabe. As reported in the
Independent two
weeks ago, Mnangagwa’s faction received a boost after
Zimbabwe Defence
Forces commander General Constantine Chiwenga insinuated at
the minister’s
birthday
party on September 15, at Sherwood farm on the outskirts of
Kwekwe, he
backed Mujuru’s rival.
Even though the Mnangagwa faction
seems to be on the ascendancy, it was
recently stopped in its tracks after
walloping the Mujuru camp in the
chaotic and acrimonious internal district
co-ordinating committee elections
(DCCs).
The DCC polls were marred
by infighting linked to succession power
struggles, intimidation and
vote-rigging. This led to disbanding of the
critical structures, a move
which has left those affected consumed with
bitterness.
“The
primaries proposal was not going to fly because it was driven by a
factional
agenda. The Mujuru faction wanted to ambush the Mnangagwa group so
that it
can win the primaries and produce most of the candidates for
parliamentary
polls,” an official said.
“Their manoeuvre was however blocked because
primaries have to be done
properly, not as a strategy of waylaying rivals to
fulfil some succession
calculus.”
Besides primaries, the politburo
also discussed the second all-stakeholders’
conference on the new
constitution and using 99-year leases on land as
collateral, among other
issues.
Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo confirmed the issues were discussed,
but
could not give details.
“Shamu presented a commissariat report
and it was agreed that there was need
to intensify mobilisation ahead of
elections and the referendum,” Gumbo
said.
Gumbo said the party would
soon decide dates for the party’s primary
elections, but was reluctant to
explain further.
“All I can say is that there are indications or
suggestions that we hold the
primaries in November,” he said before the
politburo meeting. After the
meeting he was reluctant to comment on the
issue.
The central committee meets today, but the issue of primaries is
unlikely to
be adopted.
Politburo insiders said the Mujuru faction
wanted primaries next month to
wrong-foot the Mnangagwa camp.
“We are
already preparing for primary elections ahead of elections next
year,” one
official said. “But Mnangagwa, who is legal affairs secretary, is
yet to
come up with the rules and guidelines for primaries.”
Sources said
Mnangagwa was however not in the politburo when primaries were
discussed,
almost confirming the ambush plot.
Gumbo said the politburo also tackled the
second all-stakeholders’
conference.
“We discussed the way forward on
the all-stakeholders’ meeting and agreed
that we will push for our
amendments to be included in the draft. This we
will do in the thematic
committee meetings and I believe we will get our way
because it will be very
difficult for them to ignore our amendments because
they are in line with
the national statistical report.”
Dr Hope Sadza and Professor Phinias
Makhurane, the two civil society
representatives in the Copac steering
committee, will chair the plenary
session at the conference.
Gumbo
said the Zanu PF central committee would discuss issues related to the
all-stakeholders’ conference, referendum and elections.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in News
LOCAL academics have
launched a new public policy think-tank, the Zimbabwe
Democracy Institute
(ZDI), in a move they say is aimed at filling a critical
policy research gap
that has emerged in the country over the last decade.
Report by Paidamoyo
Muzulu
Kent University law lecturer Dr Alex Magaisa chairs the new
institute’s
board, which includes emerging academics Sibongile Mpofu of the
National
University of Science and Technology, journalist and communications
advocacy
specialist Rashweat Mkundu, development specialist Dr Phillan
Zamchiya and
Phillip Pasirayi who is based in the United Kingdom.Former
Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition officials Pedzisai Ruhanya, a media studies PhD
candidate, and Dewa Mavhinga head the secretariat.
Magaisa confirmed
the formation of the new think-tank saying “there is
something in the
pipeline and I was approached to assist with intellectual
leadership”.
Mavhinga said the institute is an independent and
neutral public policy
think-tank based in Zimbabwe to generate, produce and
disseminate innovative
ideas and cutting-edge policy analysis on good
governance and respect for
human rights in the country. He said ZDI would
fill a gap left by existing
institutes which have failed to provide policy
alternatives.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in News
THERE was drama in Masvingo last
week when Zanu PF heavyweights were locked
in a bitter war of words while
deliberating on the hero status of the late
Higher Education minister Stan
Mudenge.
Report by Brian Chitemba
Mudenge collapsed and died in
his hotel room in Masvingo last week Thursday.
Sources said the meeting held
on his hero status was divided along factional
lines with officials aligned
to Mudenge, who was loyal to Defence minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction,
pushing the Zanu PF Masvingo provincial
executive to automatically recommend
that he be declared a national hero.
As a result officials aligned to
Mnangagwa’s faction led by former governor
Josaya Hungwe and Chivi North MP
Titus Huruva, clashed with those linked to
Vice-President Joice Mujuru, who
included politburo member Dzikamai
Mavhaire, Tourism minister Walter Mzembi
and Masvingo governor Titus
Maluleke.
The sources said Mavhaire
declared that Mudenge did not deserve national
hero status for unspecified
reasons, but his group was blocked by Hungwe who
said conferment should be
automatic.
A furious Mavhaire then reportedly stormed out of the
meeting.
Mavhaire is famous for his “Mugabe must go” call in parliament
in 1997 which
led to him being expelled from Zanu PF.
Contacted for
comment on Wednesday, Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo
confirmed the
Masvingo row but declined to divulge details.
“We may not know what happened
behind the scenes but my intervention was to
urge them to work in harmony
and reach an understanding,” said Gumbo. “I
told them to write to the
secretary of administration (Didymus Mutasa) and
request (that) Mudenge be
declared a national hero.”
Mudenge was no longer that active in Masvingo
politics due to ill-health. He
joins the list of Zanu PF gurus who died in
office despite years of visible
illness.
These include
vice-presidents Joshua Nkomo, Simon Muzenda and Joseph Msika,
as well as
then Harare governor David Karimanzira, among others.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in News
THE Zanu PF
politburo’s resolution to disband District Coordinating
Committees (DCCs)
has returned to haunt the party as members of the
dissolved structures have
threatened to disrupt primary elections by
refusing to cooperate with
sitting MPs.
Report by Elias Mambo
Tensions are rising in
Masvingo, the Midlands and Manicaland as the party
continues to leave former
DCC members in the political wilderness. Some
former DCC members told the
Zimbabwe Independent in an interview this week
that they feel betrayed by
their party which has failed to co-opt them into
existing structures as
promised.
“We have been the glue that sticks people to the party but now
we have been
discarded,” said one disgruntled former DCC member.“Zanu PF may
rubbish our
disgruntlement but the effect will be felt in the forthcoming
elections.”
The former DCC members complained the politburo rushed to
disband them
without a solution on how to integrate them into other party
structures
since they were elected and not appointed. Zanu PF spokesperson
Rugare Gumbo
acknowledged the disgruntlement of the dissolved DCC members
but warned the
party would discipline errant members.
“We are very
much aware of such indiscipline but the party is clear on the
fact that
former DCC members cannot be automatically co-opted into party
structures
unless vacancies arise,” said Gumbo.
The Zanu PF politburo hastily
disbanded its DCCs structure accusing them of
fanning factionalism, as main
faction leaders Vice- President Joice Mujuru
and Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa jostled to wrest control of the
structures viewed as crucial in
the raging succession battle.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in News
IN a bid to
ring-fence their current seats being eyed by internal rivals,
senior MDC-T
leaders have come up with a controversial confirmation method
to circumvent
open primaries ahead of general elections.
Report by Paidamoyo
Muzulu
The party, which claims to value democracy as one of its founding
principles, would resort to a mixture of a method of confirmation for
sitting MPs, and primary elections – the standard practice – for
constituencies in which it does not hold seats.
Under the
confirmation process, the party’s constituency structures would be
asked to
affirm the incumbent to be the party nominee by a majority vote,
while
primary elections would pit all aspiring candidates against each
other.
Over the last few months MDC-T bigwigs have been mulling
various options to
ring-fence their positions, including changing
constituencies to safer ones.
The party has lately been struggling to
contain deepening factionalism
within its ranks and has been accused by
“Young Turks” of shielding senior
officials from potentially stiff contests
through suspensions and other
measures.
MDC-T recently expelled 12
councilors on corruption charges but they
maintain they were fired for their
ambitions of challenging senior officials
for the right to represent the
party in the national elections expected next
year.
Disgruntled party
members said the two methods seek to protect senior
officials including
secretary-general Tendai Biti, national organiser Nelson
Chamisa, national
executive committee member Elias Mudzuri, women’s assembly
chairperson
Theresa Makone and Local Government deputy minister Sesel
Zvidzai.
“The party wants to protect some senior members and the plan
is to initially
forego party primaries in constituencies where there are
sitting MPs,” said
a senior party official. “This prompted the recent firing
of some of the
ambitious councillors, who want to become MPs, on charges of
corruption.”
MDC-T national spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora confirmed the
dual selection
process, but denied it was designed to protect senior party
officials from
competition.
“The party has deliberately put in place
a dual process of selecting party
representatives,” said Mwonzora. “Sitting
MPs would be subjected to a
confirmation process initially and if they fail
to get a certain threshold
they would be subjected to primary
elections”
However, Mwonzora could not elaborate on how the confirmation
process would
be held or how many members in a constituency would attend
meetings for a
decision to be binding.
Some sitting MPs, including
Chamisa and Mudzuri, are said to be considering
leaving Harare
constituencies in favour of their rural home constituencies
to avoid
problems.
A recent MDC-T internal report titled “Corporate Governance and
Service
Delivery Audit of 10 Selected MDC-run Local authority Councils”
which was
used to fire the 12 councilors confirms some were fired for being
ambitious.
The report reads in part: “Some became ambitious and
sought to topple
sitting members of parliament at the very earliest
opportunity. This bred
conflict in the party structures eg Harare East,
Warren Park and Hatfield.”
The report cites expelled Harare Ward 28
councilor Xavier Vengesai as an
example of an “ambitious and undisciplined”
member who was employing youths
in his ward using his position , thus
creating a base to topple Biti as
Harare East MP.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Politics
WITH the clock ticking
inexorably towards make-or-break elections slated for
the first half of next
year, Manicaland, Masvingo and the three Matabeleland
provinces – which
traditionally harbour deep-seated hostility towards Zanu
PF over centralised
authority in Harare and marginalisation – are emerging
as key battlegrounds
likely to decide the outcome.
Report by Faith Zaba
A close
examination of the forthcoming elections and attendant dynamics show
the
polls would be won or lost mainly in the three provinces.
For the two
main political parties, Zanu PF and MDC-T, and their respective
leaders to
win, they would need to put their ducks in a row there.
Given Zanu PF and
President Robert Mugabe thrive on the rural vote and are
almost guaranteed
to hang onto their Mashonaland strongholds, the MDC-T and
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai would have to hold fast in their urban
fiefdoms and
regions like Masvingo, Manicaland and Matabeleland to stand a
chance of
winning.
If Zanu PF regains Masvingo and Manicaland, while maintaining
other areas it
would win. If MDC-T loses these two and Matabeland it would
be gone. The
Midlands remains under Zanu PF although it is potentially up
for grabs.
If the MDC-T and Tsvangirai retain the Matabeleland – no go
area for Mugabe
and Zanu PF – that enhances their chances of winning. But if
they lose there
and the MDC and its leader Welshman Ncube wins, a new
situation, which
favours Mugabe and Zanu PF by default as it helps them
contain the MDC-T and
Tsvangirai, arises.
Prospects for another
coalition government will loom large.
Senior Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC
officials say Masvingo, Manicaland and
Matabeleland would be the
battlegrounds.
“These three regions or five provinces, if you like, will
largely determine
the outcome of the elections. As Zanu PF we are
comfortable in the three
Mashonaland provinces and to some extent Midlands,
but we need to retain
Masvingo and Manicaland to win,” a senior Zanu PF
official said.
“Matabeleland is not important to us as we can’t win there
but what happens
in those areas affects us a lot. If the MDC-T and
Tsvangirai have a free
run, that keeps them strong, which really makes
Masvingo and Manicaland
critical.”
Zanu PF has for months now been
working on the ground in Masvingo and
Manicaland. The deployment of the
military there shows how seriously the
party wants to seize the decisive
regions.
An MDC-T official said: “We will fight to keep Masvingo,
Manicaland and
Matabeleland as they are key to the equation.”
Loss of
support in populous Masvingo and Manicaland provinces with 26 seats
each in
the House of Assembly was central to Zanu PF and Mugabe’s defeat in
the 2008
March elections.
In Manicaland, Zanu PF won a mere six of the 26 seats,
while in Masvingo it
only did marginally better with 11 seats to MDC-T’s
15.
Mugabe lost to Tsvangirai in the first round of the 2008 presidential
election after getting 43,2% of the total vote to Tsvangirai’s 47,9%, while
Mavambo/ Kusile/Dawn leader Simba Makoni polled 8,3%.
Close to 1,196
million voted for Tsvangirai, with Mugabe getting 1,08
million – a gap which
makes Masvingo and Manicaland critical to the outcome
even though changes in
other provinces could also affect the results.
Matabeleland, which holds
the balance of power, will be a battlefield. Ncube
and the MDC are preparing
for what one of their officials described as
“Battle of Stalingrad” around
Bulawayo and other Matabeleland provinces.
Tsvangirai and the MDC-T would
also naturally fight to keep their decisive
territories.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in News,
Politics
ZIMBABWE’S two newly-registered commercial radio stations,
StarFM and ZiFM,
yesterday staged a spirited defence of their controversial
licencing, saying
they were committed to offering a platform for citizens in
their cultural
and political diversity to express themselves
freely.
Independent Dialogue: Brian Chitemba
StarFM is owned by
state-controlled Zimpapers, while ZiFM is run by
journalist-cum-businessman
Supa Mandiwanzira who is linked to Zanu PF.
Contributing to the
Independent Dialogue Series on the topic Deregulation of
the Airwaves in
Zimbabwe: Reality or Fiction organised by the Zimbabwe
Independent in
Harare yesterday, the two station bosses defended the
licences they were
controversially awarded saying they got them purely on
merit.
The
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe’s awarding of licences to the
stations
sparked widespread criticism with losing bidders, among others,
questioning
the government’s sincerity in opening up media space to genuine
private
players.
Mandiwanzira passionately defended his station arguing he
secured the
licence on merit and not political considerations, adding ZiFM
was a
commercial radio station wholly owned by his family trust. He said it
was
not aligned to any political party.
He also said ZiFM focused
more on “infotainment” and meeting the demands of
advertisers and its
listeners instead of propping up any political party.
Mandiwanzira argued
democratic space in Zimbabwe had increased with the
licensing of his station
and Star FM because people now had other platforms
to air their
views.
“We applied for a radio licence as AB Communications and we got
the licence
after going through the processes,” said Mandiwanzira. “We
didn’t get the
licence because we belong to any political party.”
He
said the country’s democracy was flourishing although it could not be
compared to that of the United States and Britain given varying historical
circumstances.
StarFM general manager Admire Taderera said the
electronic media has
experienced far-reaching changes in 2012 with the
coming in of two radio
stations, showing significant strides were being made
towards deregulating
the airwaves.
He also defended his station
arguing it had interviewed over 60 politicians
of different political
persuasions who freely aired their views.
“The launch of StarFM on June
25 2012 is a step towards plurality because we
are engaging every Zimbabwean
regardless of political affiliation,” said
Taderera.
“Over the past
32 years if one was passionate about broadcasting it was all
about ZBC,
StarFM has changed the terrain of media plurality.”
In contrast,
Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe executive director Takura
Zhangazha said
the licensing of ZiFM and StarFM was a tentative beginning
towards the
liberalisation of the airwaves because expectations were that
more
commercial and community stations would be licensed.
“It’s progressive
that the two radio stations exist, but are they a genuine
departure from ZBC
or are they following the same line?” he asked.
Zhangazha said the radio
stations should focus more on balanced and ethical
reporting of news stories
rather than playing more music.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in News
LEGISLATORS this week
endured the embarrassment of being barred from
checking in at Crowne Plaza
Hotel and Holiday Inn in Harare over non-payment
of their accommodation
bills by parliament.
Report by Herbert Moyo
The MPs were left
fuming after being told on arrival from their bases
outside Harare that they
could not be checked in despite their bookings as
the hotels try to recover
outstanding food and accommodation expenses from
the
legislature.
Although hotel officials refused to comment, sources told
the Zimbabwe
Independent Holiday Inn is owed more than US$90 000 while
Crowne Plaza is
owed US$8 000.
Accommodation rates for Crowne Plaza
and Holiday Inn in Harare range from
US$160 to US$185 for a standard room
per night. However, MPs sometimes get
special rates.
Bulawayo East
MP Tabitha Khumalo said 56 of the 58 legislators booked at
Holiday Inn were
turned away over outstanding bills and only she and Chivi
North MP Tranos
Huruba checked in after paying for their own
accommodation.Khumalo accused
parliament’s authorities and the executive of
demeaning legislators in the
eyes of hotel staff “who are after all part of
the
electorate”.
“These people who evict us are part of the electorate who
vote us in and
look up to us for leadership,” said Khumalo. “How are they
supposed to
respect us and trust us to carry out our mandate if they are
going to be
witnesses in such activities that embarrass and demean us,” she
asked.
Magwegwe MP Felix Sibanda said he was forced to secure his own
accommodation
“somewhere at a US$50 (a day) lodge where there was no water”
after being
barred from checking in via a phone call while on his way to
Harare.
Sibanda took a swipe at the executive accusing it of deliberately
undermining MPs and their functions by perpetually underfunding the
legislature.
“They are neglecting our welfare while the executive and
judiciary are
well-catered for with cars and allowances,” said Sibanda.
Mbizo MP
Settlement Chikwinya also confirmed the problem.However, Clerk of
Parliament
Austin Zvoma professed ignorance over the crisis when contacted
for comment.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” said Zvoma. “The
service
providers communicate directly with us not through the
press.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in
Business
ZIMBABWE’S decision to lift the ban on raw chrome ore exports
will not be
enough to save the country’s chrome miners, as the industry
teeters on the
brink of collapse due to deepening viability challenges,
experts have said.
Report by Taurai Mangudhla
Recently, Mines
deputy minister Gift Chimanikire announced government’s
plans to lift the
ban on chrome ore exports for another 24 months to allow
companies to clear
stockpiles they had accumulated since the policy had been
reinstated in
April 2011.
The lifting of the ban, also meant to protect small-scale
chrome miners,
most of whom are indigenous, comes with a tax on sales to
facilitate local
beneficiation, which is currently too low to warrant the
embargo.
The nature of the tax is yet to be specified and analysts say it
will be a
further barrier to viability of the battered industry, especially
given the
low prices of raw chromium, which have averaged between US$165 and
US$185
per tonne since August, from a peak of US$230 per tonnne in
May.
Local mining expert and immediate past president of the Chamber of
Mines of
Zimbabwe (CMZ), Victor Gapare, said the idea of charging a levy on
chrome
ore exports to be channelled towards building smelters in future
needs to be
interrogated in relation to the prevailing low market
prices.
He said any additional levies would make chrome mining unviable
and
ultimately defeat the purpose of its miners to export raw
ore.
“At the moment, chrome ore and ferrochrome prices are at relatively
low
levels and it’s difficult to see how chrome ore producers can be viable
if
an additional levy is imposed on them. A levy on the chrome ore will have
the same effect as the banning of chrome ore exports due to economics,”
Gapare argued.
While he agreed there was need to develop adequate
smelting capacity, he
maintained there was also need to provide adequate
utilities to support the
beneficiation projects. The country’s biggest
chrome smelter at Zimasco,
together with other smaller smelters, did not
have the capacity to process
all the chrome ore produced in the
country.
Gapare said smelters required an incredible amount of
uninterrupted and
affordable power supply, hence the need for government to
come up with a
long-term solution to its power deficit of around 800
MW.
Zimbabwe’s power costs, which are arguably the highest in the region
after
government increased tariffs by 37% in September last year, are
prohibitive
to new and viable beneficiation projects, the former Chamber of
Mines
president pointed out.
“It follows then, that any intention to
build more smelting capacity must
take into consideration availability of
power (and) the cost of the power is
also a critical factor in the economics
of smelting,” he said.
At an international level, chrome ores tend to
move from countries with
higher electricity costs to countries with lower or
subsidised electricity
costs as in the case with China, which has become a
major producer of
ferrochrome despite it not being a major producer of
chrome ore.
As a result of China’s competitive advantage in terms of
electricity costs,
South Africa for instance, recently increased its chrome
ore exports to the
Asian country significantly.
On the other hand,
Zimbabwe’s largest ferrochrome producer, Zimasco, says
its mining fee
expenses have gone up more than 10-fold after government
increased mining
fees, ground rentals and levies by up to 5 000 % effective
January this
year.
Zimasco group mining executive Reason Mandimika said the
ferrochrome
producer, which used to pay US$96 000 a year before the new fee
structure,
was now required to pay US$11 million.
Mandimika said the
increase had an impact on pricing models and viability of
the
business.
Last month, Zimasco abandoned its tributor system and stopped
buying ore
from the small-scale miners working its claims, saying operations
had become
too costly.
The company also slashed wages for its staff,
citing high utility costs and
mining fees and taxes.
In July,
Zimbabwe Alloys Limited (Zim Alloys) said it had about 60 000
tonnes of ore
when the embargo was introduced last year and was now selling
its ore at a
loss to avoid losing more value.
“We lost about 35% of the stock due to
weather conditions. Because of the
heat and rain, some blocks disintegrate
to fines and they are unusable,” Zim
Alloys finance manager Kudakwashe
Mahobele said.
ZimAlloys has not been spared by the mining fee review as it
is now required
to pay US$1,5 million annually in mining fees and ground
rentals for its 1
200 claims.
Other small to medium-scale chrome
miners as Dakota Mining Company (Private)
Limited have also succumbed to
challenges bedevilling the sector.
Dakota, which was liquidated, put up
its US$1 million worth of chrome ore
deposits in the Mazowe area for
sale.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Business
ANOTHER year is
about to pass and we now eagerly await the presentation of
the 2013 national
budget by the Finance minister Tendai Biti on November 15.
Report by
Peter Gambara
The Ministry of Finance recently rolled out a programme of
consulting the
public on crafting the budget.
Over the past year we
have seen many people including fellow ministers
accusing Biti of failing to
provide enough resources for a host of demands.
However, it must be
understood that what Biti tries to do at national level
is like what most
low and medium income households go through every month.
Such households,
faced with inadequate funds, have to prioritise.
After paying rent, most
households are very careful about what food items to
buy; sometimes they
chose to delay payment of electricity bills so that they
can raise enough
school fees that month.
There have been situations with such families
where a younger sibling is
asked to postpone starting tertiary education so
that the parents can first
finish paying fees for the elder brother or
sister.
This juggling by households is the same balancing act Biti has to
perform at
a national level.
Biti has always stuck to his philosophy
of “we eat what we kill” and now
that his ministry is consulting on the
budget, let us make our input before
the budget is presented. In doing so
let us suggest how he can improve the
“kill” from US$3,4 billion that he
worked with in 2012. Surely he cannot
increase Pay As You Earn as the
incomes for most workers are just too low.
Civil servants have actually
indicated that their salaries are below the
poverty datum line and need a
review. Most workers in the private sector
have to go without salaries or
wages for many months as their companies are
struggling.
A drive
through most companies in the industrial areas today will reveal a
subdued
situation. Most industries are a pale shadow of what they used to be
in the
1980s and 1990s.
Looking into the horizon, this situation might actually
be with us for a
long time to come. The market’s illiquid state makes the
recovery of these
industries very difficult. It therefore goes without
saying Biti cannot
increase company tax, for doing so would simply drive
them over the edge.
An increase in Value Added Tax would simply increase
the prices of most
basic commodities when the average earnings of our
workers are still meagre.
Biti can however play around with increasing
customs and exercise duty on
some goods, but generally it just means the
consumer will end up paying
more. The increase in exercise duty on fuel
during the mid-term fiscal
policy review statement led to an upward trend in
the fuel prices and the
trend seems to be persisting. The minister must
ensure that if any lobby
group approaches him on that he consults all other
stakeholders.
This leaves Biti having to look at the minerals like
diamonds and platinum
as an option. So far the contribution of these
minerals has not been
significant. Whilst a few of the diamond companies
like Mbada Diamonds have
been visible in making remittances and social
responsibility programmes,
including supporting local soccer, the same
cannot be said of the rest of
the mining companies. The performance of the
economy though seems to move in
tandem with how the agriculture sector
performs.
During consultations Biti will get all sorts of grievances
including the
water crises in Harare and Bulawayo which has gone out of
control. Some
households now have to go for over two weeks continuously
without water.
Can Biti please provide some resources in the 2013 budget
for these
municipalities or Zinwa to fix the problem. We hear Morton Jaffrey
waterworks in Harare were designed for just a million households, but with
the expansion of Harare, Chitungwiza and surrounding areas, surely the
infrastructure can no longer cope.
The suggestion by Water minister
Sam Sipepa Nkomo that municipalities
provide the first 6 000 litres to
households free of charge elicited some
startling disclosures from the
Harare municipality officials who claimed
this would deprive them of at
least US$750 000.
That means the municipality is making over a $1 million
dollars from selling
water to residents. The question that arises is: where
is that money going
to and why can’t we use it to fix the recurrent water
works problems?
The second issue concerns water charges to farmers. A lot
of farmers have
abandoned growing wheat due to a host of problems including
unreasonable
water charges. Can the Minister consider scrapping charges for
irrigation
water that is drawn from farm dams and boreholes for 2013 as a
way to
encourage farmers to use the water?
Zinwa can still make its
money from selling treated water to urban dwellers.
While most low and
medium income families have just one breadwinner and have
to balance their
needs against their incomes.
The same should apply to our
government.
While we appreciate they do not have enough resources to meet
the country’s
needs, people do not expect the same cash-strapped government
to be
extravagantly buying expensive cars for ministers and MPs every now
and then
when taxpayers are suffering. Biti’s budgetary balancing act must
address
key national issues to maintain and sustain economic and social
recovery.
Gambara is an agricultural economist and consultant with
AgriExpert. He
writes in his personal capacity.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Business
Cotton
farming has been a vital cog in Zimbabwean agriculture. It has
dominated the
local agricultural industry for almost a century.
Report by Peter
Makwanya
Any talk of farming at any level, by any one, evokes images of
cotton and
the successes it brought about. There has been quite a number of
players who
came into the Zimbabwean cotton industry, trashed the
environment and
disappeared.
Cotton-growing companies in Zimbabwe and
the world over have serious
shortcomings on issues of environmental and
business ethics.
Concerns such as land use, exploitation of workers and
the use of
pesticides, environmental and health implications cannot continue
to be
mystified. Conventional cotton farming is adversely destroying the
environment and affecting the health and well-being of thousands of farmers
in Zimbabwe.
Ethics in general refer to personal code of conduct
based on respect for
oneself, others and the surroundings. From the
environmental point of view,
ethics can be defined as a discipline that
analyses issues regarding people’s
moral obligations to future generations
with respect to the environment.
A deeper analysis on the conduct of
cotton companies in Zimbabwe reveals
that they pay lip service or have a
palliative approach to the fundamentals
of ethical considerations. By
failing to adhere to environmental ethical
obligations, they have also
failed not only themselves but their ethical
business
practices.
Cotton companies cannot claim to be ethical if they violate
the basic rights
of farmers, ignore health, safety and environmental
standards.
These are the issues that have a heavy bearing on the
sustainable
livelihoods of the farmers they claim to have at
heart.
For centuries, cotton companies have been quietly pocketing
enormous profits
from exploiting the unsuspecting rural farmers. The
question is: For how
long are they going to play tomfoolery with farmers?
For how long are they
going to continue deceiving farmers with their
glib?
Research by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United
Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Health Programme (WHO),
provides a
shocking account that between 1% and 3% of agricultural workers
around the
world suffer from acute pesticide poisoning, with at least one
million
requiring hospitalisation each year. These figures equate to between
25
million and 77 million cotton farmers around the world.
Why
cotton? The reason is that cotton amounts to 16% of global pesticide
release; more than any other crop in the world. Cotton farming is also
considered the “dirtiest” due to the heavy use of insecticides, the most
hazardous type of pesticides to human and animal health.
To cotton
companies (this is not assumed knowledge) already have
comprehensive
information regarding this. As such, what are they doing about
it? Do they
have insurance cover for their beloved farmers or is there any
cotton
company-owned hospital that treats people suffering from suspected
poisoning
from cotton cultivation related diseases?
Zimbabwe is one of the 16
African countries that use not “extremely
hazardous” but “highly hazardous”
cotton chemicals. It is therefore clear
that in Zimbabwe there are people
suffering from chronic effects of
long-term pesticide exposure, which
include impaired memory and
concentration, severe depression and confusion.
This is long-term in the
sense that, toxic agro-chemicals first applied 50
years ago now pollute the
country’s land, air, food and drinking
water.
This means that cotton chemicals that were applied in 1962 are
beginning to
have their effects felt now. These chemicals are causing
substantial damage
to humans and the environment.
Women and children,
who mostly participate in cotton cultivation, are prone
to dangers of
pesticides because of their vulnerability. Hazardous cotton
pesticides are
known to contaminate rivers and are a threat to fresh water
resources. About
99% of the world’s cotton farmers live and work in
developing countries,
where there are low levels of safety awareness, no
access to protective
apparatus, illiteracy and chronic poverty.
Zimbabwe, because of its
status as a country “that is failing to develop”
can be classified as part
of the 99%. It is common knowledge that Zimbabwean
rural cotton farmers
often store pesticides in their bedrooms or near
foodstuffs. As a result,
reports of suicide cases have appeared in numerous
editions of the print
media.
Due to poverty, carelessness or ignorance, some rural communities
end up
using these pesticide containers for water storage. The situation
becomes
more dangerous when drinking water is not treated, as is the case
with the
majority of Zimbabwean rural communities.
Research shows
that hazardous pesticides applied to cotton can potentially
contaminate both
cottonseed oil and cottonseed derivatives in animal feeds.
In simple terms,
it means the hazardous chemicals can affect the whole food
chain; therefore,
human beings, animals and the environment are not spared.
It is also
clear from the environmentalists’ point of view that ethical
practices are
normally resisted by some sectors of the society, including
cotton
companies.
Events of the 2012 cotton marketing season, where farmers got
a shocking raw
deal from cotton companies, which announced buying prices
when cotton was
overdue for sale, is not sustainable. Buying prices should
be announced in
advance so that farmers who intend growing cotton may do so
out of choice
and economic considerations.
Cotton farming is a
high-risk job which is very exploitative. This past
farming season we have
in Zimbabwe witnessed thousands of the rural poor
working for little, or no
reward at all.
In fact, they have been relegated to the dustbin of the
farming discourse.
Sometimes we witness cases of misplaced priorities by
these cotton
companies, where a company sponsors rugby, which is considered
an elitist
sport in Zimbabwe, while ignoring construction of roads in the
rural areas
where the cotton is grown.
The rural constituencies have
served these cotton companies in good faith,
but they have to destroy the
environment in order to construct make-shift
roads so that cotton companies
can have easy access to their loot.
Some communities do not have basic
educational facilities such as decent
classrooms. Children learn under
freezing conditions in winter and in
sweltering and suffocating heat come
summer while their major and only
important stakeholder is
watching.
There are also capable and scholarship-deserving students from
these
impoverished communities who fail to go to universities, not because
they
are dull, but due to lack of funding. They have been dumped and loathed
by
the exploitative cotton companies.
Indeed, it is not cotton
companies’ sole responsibility to undertake these
social obligations, but
these same rural constituencies have nurtured cotton
companies to what they
are today.
To reduce environmental damage and compromising the health of
their major
stakeholders, cotton companies must engage in research to find
out which
organic cotton species are suitable for sustainable farming,
depending on
available variables. The advantage of growing organic cotton is
that it does
not require the use of pesticides and
fertilisers.
Organic cotton farming does not poison the environment or
the people
involved in the production. If cotton companies in Zimbabwe have
proved
through research that organic farming is not suitable in our
situations,
then they must ensure that agro-chemical companies sell
recommended
pesticides only. They should allow the selling of pesticides
bearing the
labels of manufacturing countries and companies. The chemical
products
should have genuine eco-friendly certifications.
Farmers
need to have constant training, awareness and education programmes
in
chemical handling and better pest management techniques. Protective
equipment should be readily available and affordable too. The brush and
bucket spraying technique is highly contagious, so in that regard sprays
should be cheap as well.
Lastly, ethical business practices are
eco-friendly and sustainable as they
regulate the behaviour of all
businesses that operate in the supply-chain
such as contractors, suppliers,
distributors and sales agents.
Makwanya is a climate change communicator
who writes in his own capacity and
can be contacted on: kwanyas67@yahoo.com or petrovmoyt@gmail.com
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Business
BANKERS
this week denied snubbing the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s
maiden tender
of US-dollar denominated treasury bills floated last Wednesday
which failed
to raise the targetted US$15 million.
Report by Clive
Mphambela
Well-placed sources disclosed that the RBZ had taken the TB
issue’s failure
as a slap in the face and upon results of the tender last
Friday, summoned
banking sector executives to a meeting in which RBZ
governor Gideon Gono and
Finance minister Tendai Biti accused the bankers of
hindering their efforts
to bring back tradable paper onto the financial
markets.
The authorities are now said to have raised the ante by mooting
compulsory
purchase of the instruments in future.
However, in various
interviews with businessdigest this week, senior bankers
revealed that they
were not against the re-introduction of paper, but there
were significant
flaws with the inaugural treasury bill tender that needed
to be ironed out
before another one could be successfully floated.
“Whilst there were
consultations held between the RBZ, treasury and market
players, bankers
were not given enough time to give feedback during the RBZ’s
consultative
process. The results of the tender, which should not be
regarded as a
failure of the market at this stage, is purely a result of
inadequate
consultations on the part of stakeholders before the issue,” a
senior banker
who declined to be named said.
The bankers said the design of the
treasury bill was faulty, given that the
paper is supposed to be free of
default risk.
The bankers said the risk-free status of the bills was in
question because
of the government’s perceived poor creditworthiness at the
moment, and its
inability to print money.
“With the cash budgeting
system, it is likely that in future funds may be
unavailable to meet
maturing instruments,” a bank executive said.
He added that the absence
of a repurchase window for the bills at the RBZ
meant the instruments were
non re-discountable and could only be exchanged
for cash on the interbank
market, making them purely a secondary market
instrument.
A senior
treasury dealer with a major bank told businessdigest that the
concept of
averaging the tender rate and allotting bills at the average rate
was unfair
on market participants, as the approach ignored the particular
needs of each
of the participating banks and ultimately killed off
enthusiasm in the
instruments.
“When a bank tenders for the bills, it does so on the back
of its particular
circumstances, regarding its liquidity or underlying
customer order book. By
issuing bills at the average rate for all bidders,
one can find that the
bank will have lost money immediately on a market to
market basis on any
assets purchased, should the average rate be above the
banks bid rate. A
bank will also lose money should its average cost of funds
be above the
allotment rate. Going into the tender with such an unknown
variable
introduces an unacceptable trading risk for the bank,” the dealer
said.
He argued the allotment of bills at an average rate defeated the
whole
purpose of tendering and the whole concept of the treasury bill rate
becoming a benchmark market rate.
The whole idea of restricting the
tender to participation by banks cuts out
other potential investors such as
pension funds and insurance companies
which have large amounts of funds to
invest.
“The TB tenders should be opened up to a wider audience as
ultimately, the
pension funds and asset managers are the ones that are
mobilising longer
term savings which can be channelled into Treasury Bills,”
he said, adding
that banks would maintain their agency role.
A senior
RBZ official said the bankers had unfortunately sent the wrong
signal to the
authorities and this might result in a regulatory backlash.
“We had a
meeting with the bankers following the failure of the inaugural TB
tender
and emotions were very high,” the official said. He said the
authorities
were clearly disappointed by the lack of support from the banks,
given the
huge cash piles that were sitting in bank vaults and in their RTGS
accounts.
“It was pointed out at the meeting that one bank has been
sitting on an
average balance of US$67 million for over two years on their
RTGS account
and these are idle funds that are earning zero interest for the
depositors.
In addition, some banks are sitting on up to US$400 million in
non-productive vault cash in notes. This is a serious situation that needs
redress,” the RBZ official said.
“The same banks that are tendering
for government treasury bills at
ridiculously high rates of interest are
sitting on huge customer deposits at
zero percent and the powers that be
will be forced to come up with
interventions to correct the situation,” he
warned.
Banks have come under fire for failing to pay significant
interest on
deposits and savings. This has been cited as the main cause of
the slowing
growth in savings in the economy despite low inflation levels.
The bankers
have previously blamed the absence of medium- and long-dated
quality money
market instruments for the absence of a vibrant secondary
market and the
lack of a visible market yield curve for interest
rates.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Business
Caledonia
Mining’s Blanket mine saw its gold production rise 33% to 12 919
ounces in
the third quarter to September 30 2012, a record since the first
year of the
company’s recorded production in 1906. This compared to 9 743
ounces in the
same period last year.
Report by Gamma Mudarikiri
Caledonia is an
Africa-focused mining and exploration company with an
operating gold mine in
Zimbabwe, two platinum-nickel exploration projects in
South Africa and a
cobalt-copper exploration project in Zambia. Blanket mine’s
total gold
production in the nine months ended September 30 also increased
by 33% to 33
643 ounces, compared to 25 331 ounces recorded in the same
period in
2011.
The group said it was targeting an increase in production to 40 000
ounces
annually.
Blanket mine has 18 brownfield exploration projects
close to its current
site. The group said its immediate focus would be on
the GG and Mascot
Project Area. The GG satellite project is seven kilometres
from Blanket
while the Mascot satellite project is 42km away.
The
mine’s reserves and resources are above 750m and can support 14 years’
production at 40 000 ounces per annum. Caledonia is one of the foreign
mining companies in Zimbabwe required to meet government’s 51%
indigenisation requirements.
CEO Stephan Hayden earlier this year
said the country’s indigenisation
compliance requirement would not
significantly disturb operations at Blanket
mine.
Caledonia in June
this year signed an agreement with the National
Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Fund (NIEEF) to transfer 16% of
Blanket Mine in
Zimbabwe.
The agreement was in accordance with the Memorandum of
Understanding
Caledonia signed with the government in February this
year.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Opinion
THE
annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings will be held
in
Tokyo, Japan, this weekend, according to the hosts, amid uncertainty
facing
the global economy.
Report by Itai Masuku
On the economic front,
the global uncertainties stem from the recession
which peaked in 2008.
Although it may not have equated to the great
depression of the 1930s, it
certainly got many of the world’s economists,
business and political leaders
thinking: “Hey, if this could happen in the
21st Century, what could happen
next?”
The assumption, of course, being that in the 1930s, people were
less
prepared to deal with such developments, but in high-tech C21, advanced
economic modelling could anticipate such downswings, unlike the disputed
Kondratiev theory on economic boom and bust, and allow preventive steps to
be taken.
On the political front, the ghost of 9/11 in the US
continues to haunt the
world, with the US becoming more militarily
aggressive by engaging in
pre-emptive strikes against perpetrators of
terrorism, perceived or real.
This has resulted in an unfolding new world
order (I hate that phrase),
characterised by Anglo-American-led
unilateralism. It is this that has seen
the political disintegration of the
Arab regional economic hub whose impact
is yet to be fully
understood.
It is not clear whether this is to be followed by similar
fall-outs in Asia
and Latin America.
Backwater Africa is never really
part of the equation, except insofar as its
resource endowments are in the
interest of the world’s major players.
Conspiracy theorists believe it’s
part of a wider plot to impose a global
economic order that sustains
south-north economic prosperity.
Back to Tokyo. Zimbabwe, of course, will
be represented by its Finance
minister Tendai Biti and Reserve Bank governor
Gideon Gono, who will compare
notes with their counterparts from all over
the world. We understand that
the state of Zimbabwe’s economy will attract
some attention at the meet.
The country has enjoyed a love-hate
relationship with the IMF stemming from
its failure to repay arrears and
controversial land reform programme in
2000. The IMF argues this has
disrupted agriculture, traditionally the
backbone of the country’s economy,
and therefore its ability to settle
accounts with the IMF.
Zimbabwe’s
debt is reported to be US$10,7 billion and last month the world’s
lender-of-last-resort said it would not cancel any portion of it. The Fund
listed Zimbabwe, along with countries such as Somalia and Sudan, as failing
to service its debts.
Biti and Gono therefore go to the meeting with
their tails between their
legs following the Fund’s snubbing of their
request for debt clemency.
However, a window of opportunity still remains,
the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) route, which some authorities
abhor.
They argue HIPC conditions will place it at the mercy of the IMF.
Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you default with
creditors.
Unless Zimbabwe comes up with its own Marshall Plan to
resuscitate its
economy, which must include accounting for its diamond
revenues, it is less
likely to come up with a debt repayment strategy that
meets the expectations
of its creditor. This has implications on this
country’s voting rights and
access to further WB and IMF funding.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Opinion
ENERGY minister Elton
Mangoma was held by police for three hours on
Wednesday and later released
on charges of insulting President Robert Mugabe
over statements he made at a
rally several months ago.
It is alleged Mangoma, who is also MDC-T
treasurer, shouted “Mugabe chifa,
Mugabe chibva (Mugabe die, Mugabe go)”
during the rally. Wishing people dead
is morally wrong, but certainly not a
hanging offence.
Mangoma is by no means the only person who has been
arrested over charges of
insulting or ridiculing Mugabe. Many people have
been picked up over similar
allegations, including for waving, signalling
and joking about the president
in a manner authorities and police consider
objectionable.
Some have simply been assaulted by security details. Even
lawyers have not
been spared. Harrison Nkomo was once arrested under Section
33 of the
Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for making “dangerous
public
utterances likely to cause disaffection” against Mugabe.
Nkomo
had allegedly said: “My friend can you go and tell your father
(Mugabe) that
he must go because he has failed to run this country. Tell him
we have
suffered enough in this country.”
This, police strangely claimed, was
likely to demean his office as head of
state.
Repressive pieces of
legislation usually used to silence Mugabe’s critics
include the Public
Order and Security Act (Posa), Access to Information and
Protection of
Privacy Act (Aippa), General Laws Amendment Act and the
Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act as they criminalise making
utterances that may
“engender feelings of hostility or cause hate, ridicule
or contempt towards
the head of state or his office”.
Criminal defamation is one of several
relics of colonial laws still being
used to stifle debate and criticism of
public officials. The arrest of
Mangoma and citizens as well as journalists,
over and above relentless
political seizures and detentions of ordinary
Zimbabweans all over the
place, is unacceptable.
First, such arrests
confirm Zimbabwe is a police state. Second, they stifle
free flow of
information and ideas, the lifeblood of any democracy. Without
free flow of
information and criticism there can be no viable or sustainable
democracy.
Since 1980, Zimbabweans have endured all sorts of horrors
at the hands of
security forces. This clearly shows Zimbabwe is a police
state.
The arrest of Mangoma and others shows freedom of expression
remains
endangered in Zimbabwe. Freedom of expression, including press
freedom,
plays a critical role in fostering democracy and respect for human
rights.
Put differently, it is the cornerstone upon which the very existence
of a
democratic society rests.
If Zimbabwe is to develop as a free,
democratic and prosperous society, it
is important for people to express
themselves without fear and undue
restrictions. Police must not play a
political role in society — being used
as an instrument of terror and
repression.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Opinion
IT was commendable for
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to apologise to the
nation two weeks ago in
Bulawayo for his sexual indiscretions while
purportedly searching for a new
wife, as it went some distance towards
repairing the damage he has inflicted
on himself.
Report by Faith Zama
“It was a genuine search for a
new wife and therefore I would like to
apologise to those that were
inconvenienced; it was not my intention to hurt
anyone,” Tsvangirai told
supporters at his party’s 13th anniversary in
Bulawayo.
Even though
some felt the apology was too little too late, Tsvangirai had at
least
succeeded in giving the impression he was remorseful and was taking
full
responsibility for his lapses.
Given his high position and profile as a
top public official — a premier who
shares executive powers with the
president — it was important for him to
apologise and show
contrition.
So the prime minister, emerging from the storm which had
engulfed his
personal and political life, was right to make an apology. Many
people were
ready to somehow forgive him and move on, while others of course
were
reluctant.
However, that credit now seems to have been wiped out
by his remarks 10 days
down the line.
In what amounts to reversing
his apology, Tsvangirai told The Guardian (UK)
this week he was a victim of
a smear campaign by his state-sponsored
enemies.
“I had two or three
relationships and that was blown out of proportion,” he
said.
Well,
we don’t know whether there was a smear campaign against him or not,
but
that is wholly irrelevant. And, of course, his claims to have had only
one
or two relationships are simply not true. That is besides the fact that
even
if they were true, it was still bad enough for him to do that. Such
sort of
remarks only show he has retreated to denial and excuses for his
scandalous
behaviour.
No one is an angel here or is pretending to be, but Tsvangirai
must
understand he is a national leader and senior public official, so he
can’t
defend himself by making claims of a set-up or saying his scandals
were
exaggerated. He can’t even credibly deny what he was doing amounts to
scandal.
Worse still, he can’t seriously say those criticising him
are worse off as
they have a string of girlfriends or kids all over the
place. That’s a poor
line.
He is a public official who must lead by
example, especially in a society
like ours plagued by HIV and
Aids.
If anyone doubted the prime minister doesn’t get it on this issue,
consider
what he incredibly went on to say to The Guardian: “If two
consenting adults
have a relationship, what is wrong with that? I didn’t go
and rape somebody.
I didn’t go and take somebody’s wife.”
This is
shocking, to say the least. So for him the only moral benchmark he
uses is
adulthood and mutual consent. He has no problem with multiple
relationships
and using and dumping women like diapers as long as they are
consenting
adults?
It gets worse when he refers to rape and adultery. Does it mean
that for him
to appreciate whether he was right or wrong he has to lower the
moral
benchmark to the base of adultery or rape? So it means unless he
commits
adultery or rape, he would not see anything wrong with
bed-hopping?
Tsvangirai has been linked to a string of women, children
outside marriage
for whom he is currently paying maintenance, and even
worse, polygamy since
the death of his wife, Susan in March
2009.
Only recently, he was forced to technically cancel his high-profile
wedding
to Elizabeth Macheka because a Harare magistrate ruled he was still
customarily married to Locardia Karimatsenga-Tembo.
Look, this is a
really hectic and damaging lifestyle, especially for a
person of his status
and of his age, with grown up children. That is why he
is clutching at
straws.
Tsvangirai must do the right thing: Stop making excuses and take
responsibility for his actions. The measure of a good leader is ability to
take responsibility, make amends and move on.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Opinion
FOR 32 years
since he came to power, President Robert Mugabe has
consistently outwitted
his opponents and detractors through various
strategies and tactics ranging
from persuasion to violence to secure his
continued reign.
Report by
Herbert Moyo
Mugabe has used whichever methods he deemed fit at different
junctures of
his rule — uninterrupted since Independence in 1980 — including
amending the
constitution, manipulation of laws and state institutions,
gerrymandering,
vote-rigging and state brutality when cornered.
After
coming to power in 1980 following a protracted liberation war and
bruising
power struggles with Zanu PF, Mugabe, who left a trail of political
and even
bodily casualties on his way to the top, instinctively became
obsessed with
ruthless consolidation and retention of power.
Faced with a tricky
situation recently over by-elections, Mugabe pulled one
of the many tricks
up his sleeve in a bid to manipulate the issue to his
advantage.
He
turned to the courts last week and won a stay of execution allowing him
to
defer by-elections in three vacant constituencies the Supreme Court had
ordered he should proclaim poll dates for, initially by August, later in
October and now in March next year.
Analysts say while on the surface
it appeared Mugabe had lost several rounds
in the by-elections case, in
reality the situation fitted his political
designs. The situation fitted in
snugly with his strategy to hold early
elections next year before
implementing outstanding reforms as outlined in
the Global Political
Agreement (GPA), while his age and deteriorating health
still
permit.
Former legislators Abednico Bhebhe, Njabuliso Mguni and Norman
Mpofu had
successfully dragged Mugabe to court to force him to call for
by-elections
after they lost their seats when they were expelled from the
MDC led by
Welshman Ncube. The Supreme Court ruled in their favour and gave
Mugabe up
to the end of August to proclaim the dates before he got a
reprieve up to
October and finally until March next year when he intends to
call for
general elections.
Mugabe hopes to manipulate the ruling to
fulfil his and Zanu PF’s agenda of
holding early elections, while he can
still sustain a rigorous and
energy-sapping campaign.
Mugabe would be 89
by the time the next elections come and his health might
even deteriorate
further, hence fears that he could falter in the middle of
the do-or-die
polls.
Analysts say the last week’s court ruling allowing Mugabe to call
for
by-elections in March next year while subsuming general polls into that,
largely abets Zanu PF’s expedient political agenda.
In an analysis
titled “Does Chiweshe’s ruling measure up”?, directors of the
Harare-based
Research and Advocacy Unit Derek Matyszak and Tony Reeler said
the High
Court ruling on the matter was flawed, indicating politics and law
can be in
direct conflict, putting politicians and judges in an invidious
position in
handling such situations.
They said “the granting of the extension to
this date for the three
by-elections is a violation of the principle of the
separation of powers
established by our constitution.”
“The president
is already in breach of the law in having failed to call for
these
by-elections and others that are over due. The excuse that this could
not be
done because of financial constraints has rightly been rejected by
the
Supreme Court as simply a delaying tactic and abuse of the court’s
process –
as was the first application for an extension of time within which
to call
for the by-elections,” Matyszak and Reeler said.
“The legislature has
decided where a vacancy arises in parliament, the
president must set the
dates for a by-election within 14 days. It is not for
the judiciary or the
executive to decide the will of the legislature does
not require
compliance.
“It is not for the courts or the president to decide which laws
can be
ignored out of political expediency – though unfortunately this is
not
atypical of the modus operandi of both in present day
Zimbabwe.”
Alex Magaisa, a law lecturer at the University of Kent in the
United
Kingdom, said: “The High Court cannot overturn a Supreme Court
decision. The
fact is there cannot be any proper legal ground for
effectively reversing a
higher court’s decision. The judge of the High Court
should have declined to
hear the matter on the basis that he does not have
jurisdiction in the
matter.”
However, constitutional law expert
Lovemore Madhuku had a different view.
“The president went to the High
Court to merely request a stay of the
execution of an order granted in the
Supreme Court, not to challenge or
appeal against that decision so there is
nothing amiss about that. The
Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to stay the
execution of its own order,
but the High Court can do so,” Madhuku
said.
Analysts say whatever Mugabe’s manoeuvres, elections should not be
held
without key political reforms.
In terms of the Sadc-sponsored
GPA, Zimbabwe should hold free and fair
elections guided by regional
benchmarks, the polls roadmap and an array of
reforms, including a new
constitution.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Opinion
ZIMBABWEAN
history is poorer today with the loss of Dr Stanislaus Isaak
Gorerazvo
Mudenge. Indeed, the country’s guild of historians (and
archaeologists) has
been robbed of a pioneer who blazed the trail of what
could really be termed
the academic history of Zimbabwe.
Report by Gerald Mazarire
His
passing on takes with it the wealth of experience and knowledge that
made
him a fount of critical themes and subjects in Zimbabwean history.
I have
known Mudenge mostly through his academic work and had very little
contact
with him except on a couple of occasions when we met. Each time he
left a
lasting impression. My first meeting with him was a huge surprise.
He
knocked at my door in the History Department of the University of
Zimbabwe
and told me he was completing a book project on the vaRozvi and had
been
told that I had copies of the works by Harald von Sicard and NJ van
Warmelo,
two colonial ethnographers who had written extensively on the
pre-colonial
people of southern Zimbabwe and northern South Africa, that he
wanted to
borrow.
This led to a passionate exchange that lasted for almost four
hours. Each
time he stood, paced up and down the office, gazing for moments
on end into
the horizon through the first floor window as he went through my
humble
personal library.
I took volumes of notes as he directed me to
one source or another and
referred me to this or that historian. I had never
encountered this much
history of the vaRozvi coming from anyone other than a
written source. I
knew Mudenge’s classic thesis on the Rozvi Empire and the
Feira of Zumbo
which he had defended way back in 1972, and it was evident
the man had not
stopped researching, he had done even more!
“This
time I have prepared you a bomb young man … zvenyu zvekutamba zviya
(not
your games),” he threatened. His well-known The Political History of
Munhumutapa, a legend by my standards and a favourite with my students for
its clarity of argument and resourcefulness based on a wide range of
sources, was perched somewhere on my desk, clear evidence of its centrality
in my teaching. I thought for a moment this would flatter him but he was
dismissive.
“That book was a pure accident”, he said to my amusement.
“After I did my
thesis, I realised I had gathered so much data on the Mutapa
State from the
Portuguese sources I used than on the Rozvi on whom they had
comparatively
little to say; that is how I then decided to write on the
Mutapa and I was
surprised by the book’s impact … I still owe this country a
history of the
Rozvi and I am almost finished.”
We struck a note. I
was in the process of writing my doctoral thesis and
pursuing some Karanga
families in southern Zimbabwe and I had occasion to
show off some
preliminary findings to Mudenge, some of them Rozvi off-shoots
breaking
apart and forming ruling lineages and these intricate details
tickled his
fancy. And so the sparring started as we shared sources, argued
and laughed;
but he took me through the paces like a coach, Rozvi
archaeology, its
weaknesses, Rozvi historiography, the problems and his new
discoveries
including references of files in different archives whose access
numbers he
knew from the top of his head. I said to myself, goodness me this
man is
just a genius! He took possession of a draft of the thesis in its raw
state
and the meeting ended on this happy note.
I talked to Mudenge as if we
were buddies who had known each other for
years, but more importantly, I was
humbled that he treated me as a fellow
historian and midway through the
conversation he had elevated me to a
counterpart in a different academic
epoch and our verbal scuffles turned to
generational matters affecting our
fraternity as Zimbabwe’s younger crop of
historians.
What was our
methodology, impact and legacy? He emerged triumphant of course
when he
proudly stated that his generation had not only broken new ground in
the use
of different sources such as oral traditions and contemporary
literary
accounts to produce a new kind of history for Zimbabwe that became
directly
relevant at that critical stage in the local struggle for
self-determination, but that as a generation they pioneered the publication
of this high quality research in various journals and
textbooks.
Their work confronted and even defeated the racial censorship
of the
Rhodesian Front and became the foundation of new curriculum in
schools in an
independent Zimbabwe. With this challenge he bade farewell and
I walked him
out to the car park.
I reflected on this encounter with
Mudenge on my own. It was a huge
revelation. It is true he belonged to a
group of Zimbabwe’s first
professional historians who defended their PhDs on
various subjects of
Zimbabwean history between 1971 and 1972. The most
successful was the group
from the School of Oriental and African Studies
(SOAS) at the University of
London. These included Mudenge himself,
Professor Ngwabi Bhebe and Hoyini
Bhila.
To this group one could add
David Beach who was British but moved to
Rhodesia in the 1960s. This trio
was a unique combination that had trained
under Professor Richard Gray and
invariably worked on pre-colonial topics
related in one way or another to
their places of origin in Zimbabwe.
Mudenge worked on the Rozvi because,
as he proudly stated, he was a mukwasha
waMambo, the descendant of Zimuto
Govere, the Rozvi mambo Tohwechipi’s
son-in-law; Bhebe on the role of
religion in western Zimbabwe and
Ndebele-Shona relations in the buffer zone
of Mberengwa, his homeland, and
Bhila working on the Manyika in eastern
Zimbabwe where he hailed from.
The result was cutting-edge research which
went on to set the standards of
Zimbabwean history in the areas that they
worked.
Prior to their coming, much of the research on the history of
local people
had been done by anthropologists based at the Rhodes
Livingstone Institute
in Zambia or by colonial officials in Rhodesia.
Although a History
department had been established at the University College
of Rhodesia and
Nyasaland (UCRN) when it opened in 1957 the first lecturers
in the
department were mostly European expatriates encountering African
history for
the first time and were actually experimenting with new research
topics in
Zimbabwe’s history coming up with their first collection of
preliminary
findings in 1966; a book titled A Zambesian
Past.
Mudenge, who became a history student in this department at this
time, was
to be caught up in the increasingly volatile politics of anti-UDI
demonstrations against Ian Smith’s Rhodesian Front regime and was detained
in 1966.
After this, whatever could have emerged of historical
research at the
University of Rhodesia was severely compromised by this
highly racialised
atmosphere. How could research on African history thrive
at a university
under a racist regime?
While this question haunted
many, pockets of black Zimbabwean historians
were qualifying with doctorates
around the world, especially in the United
States and other parts of
Britain, and this slowly grew into a sizeable
crowd in the 1970s to include
such people as Mutero Chirenje, David Chanaiwa
and Elleck Mashingaidze,
among others. None of them were able to come back
to work at the local
university where they would be humiliated under
existing laws to work as
Teaching Assistants under white lecturers with
lesser
qualifications.
This is why, for instance, both Mudenge and Bhebe ended
up in Sierra Leone
at the then prestigious Fourah Bay College, before
trekking down to work in
Southern Africa at the campuses of the now
disbanded former High Commission
territories’ university, the University of
Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
Most of their research found expression
in the very successful journal
Rhodesian History in which Mudenge published
his seminal article An
Identification of the Rozvi in 1974. This journal
bore the critical mass of
research done by what had become a self-motivated
multi-racial community of
historians directly engaging each other’s work
although they could not
gather under one roof in Salisbury.
Younger
scholars like Julian Cobbing, Ian Phimister, Barry Kosmin, Iden
Wetherell,
Richard Mtetwa, Chengetai Zvobgo and Misheck Sibanda had joined
the fray
turning the whole decade of the 1970s into the golden age of
Zimbabwean
historical research.
While the aforementioned contradictions persisted,
the department started to
train its own crop of doctoral
students.
Amid these challenges, Mudenge was one of the few Zimbabwean
historians who
raised the bar of research by exploding several myths of
Zimbabwe’s past,
taking no prisoners in the process. For this reason, his
work has stood the
test of time.
Stretching the length and the bar of
research by exploding several myths of
Zimbabwe’s past, taking no prisoners
in the process. For this reason, his
work has stood the test of time,
stretching the length and breadth of the
historical spectrum; he challenged
established dating systems used by
archaeologists to determine the age of
important sites such as Khami. He
debunked the “trade stimulus” hypothesis
popularised by fellow historian
David Chanaiwa which attributed the rise of
local states to the role of
foreign trade and Mudenge’s innovation totally
overhauled existing knowledge
of the Mutapa economy, religion and politics
from the popular versions
championed by earlier writers like Donald Abraham
and WG Randles. All this
work he showcased in such high quality journals as
the Journal of African
History and the International Journal of African
Historical Studies. Mudenge
was however not content with being on the
receiving end of African
scholarship either. He believed scholarly research
on Africa by Africans
should not be controlled by academic cartels out
there; it should be brought
home to Africa.
In pursuit of this dream
he not only established the Institute of African
Studies at Roma University
in Lesotho but began publishing an equally
successful journal called
Mohlomi. While in Lesotho too, Mudenge ran a
successful fundraising campaign
for the Zanla war effort raising thousands
of dollars. By 1980 Mudenge had a
formidable academic profile and held an
important position in the executive
of the Pan-African Association of
African Scholars having been part of the
contributors to the massive Unesco
project on the eight volume General
History of Africa in 1979.
So for me, Mudenge’s profile as a historian
was exemplary. He had proven
beyond doubt and despite all the odds what a
Zimbabwean historian could do
in the colonial period. In fact his profile
makes him a professor of history
by any international rating, a title he got
in Lesotho but one he has never
liked to use.
In politics again, it
looked like Mudenge had lived yet another illustrious
life, permanent
secretary, United Nations permanent representative, Foreign
Affairs minister
and Minister of Higher Education.
What baffled me was his continued
commitment to active historical research
despite his new non-academic
commitments. It has always been an unwritten
law that the mark of a true
academic is the ability to complete and publish
a single-authored book that
is not a revised thesis.
Mudenge completed two book projects while he was
a full-time diplomat: the
aforementioned Political History of Munhumutapa
and Christian Education at
the Mutapa Court. In the latter he was able to
trace the sons of Munhumatapa
that were sent to Goa for higher education,
one of them becoming the first
ever Zimbabwean to earn a doctorate way back
in the 17th century. Mudenge
characteristically organised a diplomatic visit
to the station they were
trained at and their burial sites in Goa in the
company of President Robert
Mugabe.
With his passing on, the
challenge is how to complete the projects that he
had started, chief among
them to get the Rozvi book published for it was
already completed. His
family would be pleased to know that he remains the
undisputed authority on
that subject and his was going to be the first
complete study ever of
vaRozvi.
Equally, Mudenge and Bhebe had successfully resuscitated the
Unesco project
to convert the eight volume General Histories of Africa to
pedagogical use
in primary and secondary schools which resulted in the
international
conference held in Harare in 2011. As this was only the first
stage, the
project must not only be completed but be seen to pursue his
dream to
pedigree Zimbabwean scholarship in general and historical research
in
particular, as second to none internationally. May his soul rest in
peace.
Dr Mazarire is a post-doctoral fellow at Stellenbosch University’s
Department of History.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Opinion
AS often stated in this
column, there are many causes of Zimbabwe’s severe
economic
problems.
Eric Bloch Column
Most of the economic morass stems from
the ruling politicians’ penchant for
pursuing destructive policies. These
range from deterring much-needed
foreign direct investment (FDI) and
domestic investment, to gross fiscal
mismanagement and abuse.
We also
have counterproductive taxation measures, recurrent confrontations
with
other countries (most of which could provide developmental aid),
negative
policies in assuring enterprises, residents and tourists of
security. There
is also failure to resuscitate fiscus-bleeding parastatals
plus destruction
of the agricultural foundation of the economy. These are a
few of the
contributors to the decimation of the economy, and the
concomitant misery
for the Zimbabwean majority.
Another economic affliction is the growth of
corruption and white-collar
crime in Zimbabwe. (I recall travelling from
Bulawayo to Harare on a then
operational Air Zimbabwe flight, sitting next
to a leading Zimbabwean
politician.
He asked why I was travelling to
Harare, to which I replied that I was going
to attend a conference on
corruption at which I would make a presentation.
The politician replied:
“That’s a very good thing, for by now there are
only two honest people left
in Zimbabwe.” My response was, “Really? Me and
who else?”
Not all
Zimbabweans are dishonest and corrupt, but the number guilty of such
practices is increasing all the time.
Most Zimbabweans are inherently
honest and seek to avoid corrupt practices,
but tragically this is
progressively changing. There is no greater trigger
to the abandonment of
honesty and of recourse to crime than when one’s
children are often crying
from hunger. Many children suffer from
malnutrition, and cannot access
healthcare and decent education due to their
parents’ plight.
In
desperation, the poverty-stricken turn to crime and corrupt practices. At
the same time, there are many who are increasingly determined not to join
the ranks of the impoverished, thus they resort to accumulating great
wealth. These are mostly politicians, corporate executives, managerial
personnel, and others who have found opportunities of circumventing
provisions of law.
Aiding and abetting the growing tendency to
corruption is that to an
increasing extent, the principles of good
governance are being disregarded
by government, its parastatals and other
business enterprises. There is
mere lip service to governance principles as
less and less are observing the
principles. In part this is attributable to
the brain drain suffered by
Zimbabwe over the past 15 years, motivated by
the declining economic
environment, and the deterioration in central and
local government services.
Consequently, senior and management personnel
were replaced by inexperienced
personnel with limited knowledge of the
fundamentals of good governance and
management. Due to cost containment
necessitated by distressed economic
circumstances, many enterprises could
not afford the services of external
auditors, whilst others cut the
operations of internal audit departments.
This created an enabling
environment for white-collar crime.
Within the public sector, highlights
of corrupt practices include the
disclosure that government had about 40 000
“ghost workers”.
These were alleged, non-existent persons in the employ
of various
ministries, whose salaries are enjoyed by those who created the
fictitious
workers. This major white collar crime was exposed only after
external
auditors had been engaged by the Ministry of Finance.
If the
amount allegedly paid to each such imaginary public servant was a
basic
salary of US$150 per month, this would mean the perpetrators were
stealing
US$6 million a month (equating to US$72 million dollars per annum),
a
significant contributor to government’s fiscal deficits.
Other white
collar crimes include those by many in government, parastatals,
and those
private sector enterprises who evade prescribed purchasing
procedures. They
ensure supplies and services are sourced from suppliers who
secretly pay the
perpetrators of the procedural evasions secret, undisclosed
commissions;
such amounts are concealed in the prices charged.
Even when prima facie
tender procedures are applied, the culprits often
manage to circumvent or
distort those procedures, ensuring tenders are
awarded to pre-selected
suppliers who pay them hidden “gratuities”.
Often, those who resort to
such white collar crimes are of high social
standing, intelligence and
authority, both in the public and private
sectors. They find ways of
committing undetected fraud, embezzlement and
insider trading. In so doing
they exploit state-of-the-art technologies
(especially computer systems),
falsify paperwork and abuse positions of
authority.
Consequences of
corruption include inflated fiscal deficits, greater losses
for parastatals
and many private sector enterprises, often resulting in
their liquidation.
This also has the effect of increased prices to
consumers, thus stimulating
inflation.
The magnitude of white-collar crimes and their consequences
are yet another
deterrent to investors, and a major contributor to
continuing economic
decline.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in
Opinion
Police do not selectively apply the law and do not target MDC-T
members, new
police spokesperson Charity Charamba said. According to the
Herald she said
this “while quashing MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s claims
that police
were partisan”.
A more accurate account would have been that
she said this “while attempting
to quash” Tsvangirai’s claims. Addressing
supporters in Zaka, Tsvangirai
said the role of the police was being
compromised. He accused the police of
arresting members of his party for
political violence. He also said MDC-T
members were victims of violence
unleashed on them by Zanu PF.
Charamba however claimed the force was
impartial in discharging its duties.
She said the police have zero tolerance
to crime and Commissioner-General
Augustine Chihuri would confirm that. But
Tsvangirai insisted the police
were not arresting Zanu PF members who were
assaulting and killing MDC-T
members.
“People were burnt by Zanu PF
members and some were assaulted and their
assailants were known,” he said.
“They are actually boasting of committing a
crime. Are the police still in
existence?” he asked. “What is the role of
the police?”
“The law only
applies when an MDC member is accused of committing a crime,”
Tsvangirai
said. “There are 29 young people who are rotting in prison and
their crime
is that they are MDC. Why should we have selective application
of the law
when we are saying we are one?” he said. Enough said about the
first
Charity.
Uncharitable Charities
Another Charity, Dr Charity
Manyeruke who lectures in the Department of
International Relations at the
University of Zimbabwe, said Tsvangirai’s
claims were baseless.
“We
know the international community has cleared Zimbabwe of any violence
hence
they gave the go-ahead to host the United Nations World Tourism
Organisation
general assembly.
“We should not have people lying that there is violence
when we can’t hear
or see it,” she said. “We can’t continue with these lies
of violence when it’s
not happening.”
Not happening? What planet is
she living on? What happened to Talent Mabika
and Tichaona Chiminya? And
more recently to Tonderai Ndira? As for the UNWTO
general assembly, when did
it clear Zimbabwe of violence?
For these Charities the mantra seems to be
“see no evil, hear no evil, speak
no evil”!
Conspicuous by
absence
As if to buttress Tsvangirai’s assertion, the police were
conspicuous by
their absence last week when war veterans besieged Finance
minister Tendai
Biti’s offices, grounding government business to a halt in
at least four
ministries.
The veterans held government workers
hostage, barring anyone from going in
or coming out, reports the Daily
News.
A bemused Biti slated the police and the army for not taking action
saying
they are always fast to respond to civil rights protests by human
rights
groups such as Women of Zimbabwe Arise, and yet very slothful in
dealing
with the war veterans’ lawlessness.
Newly-appointed Harare
provincial police spokesperson Tedious Chibanda has
clearly taken his
predecessor’s lethargic cue, declining to comment on the
incident and
referring the Daily News to the national police spokesperson.
“Those
issues are commented on at national level, we do not talk at
provincial
level,” Chibanda unhelpfully said.
Asked to comment on the issue,
national police spokesperson Charity Charamba
said she was off-duty while
her deputy Oliver Mandipaka said call after an
hour.
Evasive ‘war
vet’
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association leader
Jabulani
Sibanda was afforded a chance to put to rest speculation he was
born in 1970
and thus too young to have fought in the liberation
war.
Surely his interview with the Sunday Mail would bring closure to
the
lingering question of whether Sibanda was the revolutionary he claimed
to be
or just a charlatan.
The youthful looking Sibanda claimed to have
joined the liberation struggle
in 1976 although conceding to be “very young
at that time”.
When probed on how old he was when he joined the war, the
“irrepressible”
Sibanda was, however, very tame and evasive. “I was old
enough to make that
choice,” was Sibanda’s feeble reply.
“I don’t
want to be forced to talk about personal issues,” he added. “I am
not in
this position in a personal capacity.”
Asked who he trained with during
the war, Sibanda gave yet another ambiguous
response. His former colleagues
were either retired or their whereabouts are
unknown.
“Some of them
are still serving today like Brigadier Ncube. I think he is in
Mutare or
somewhere. I also trained with Brigadier Matiwaza, he must be a
retired
brigadier by now,” Sibanda claims.
To the question of which areas he
operated from during the war, Sibanda
could only say:
“I cannot give
the whole situation saying this happened here and so on.”
“I am just content
with what I am telling you” was the lame rejoinder.
When the interview
meandered beyond personal issues, the vitriolic Sibanda
emerged with all
guns blazing threatening to mete out retribution to
“corrupt” Zanu PF
officials.
Despite a shadow hovering over his credibility as a war
veteran, Sibanda
still demands to be taken seriously.
‘Sharpening
strategies’
Zanu PF chairman Simon Khaya Moyo believes his party’s
conference to be held
in Gweru in December will “sharpen its strategies and
ensure a resounding
victory” in next year’s elections.
A “giant” 5
000-seater conference centre is under construction in Gweru in
preparation
for the December meeting, the Herald reports. The facility will
be equipped
with “modern technology”, whatever that means.
The US$6,5 million project
spearheaded by Zanu PF provincial
vice-chairperson Larry Mavima is on course
“despite the illegal sanctions
imposed on us”.
According to Mavima
the project signalled the “renaissance of Zanu PF”.
This “renaissance”
continues unabated despite practical collapse of Zanu
PF-run companies. The
Financial Gazette reports that workers at Zanu
PF-owned Jongwe Printers were
up in arms against management over unpaid
salaries. Workers at another Zanu
PF-run company, Catercraft, said they had
not been paid for the past six
months.
So much for renaissance!
Poor grasp of history
We
are surprised at George Charamba’s poor grasp of modern African history.
He
told the Herald, gullible as ever, that Uganda was “one of the first
countries in Africa to gain Independence”.
He was accompanying
President Mugabe to Uganda’s golden jubilee Independence
celebrations.
In fact the following countries gained Independence
before Uganda (1962):
Sudan (1956); Ghana (1957); Nigeria (1960); Tanzania
(1961); Congo Kinshasa
(1960); Congo Brazzaville (1960); Gabon (1960);
Cameroon (1960); Togo
(1960); Central African Republic (1960); Chad (1960);
Mali (1960); Guinea
(1958); Sierra Leone (1961); Morocco (1956); Tunisia
(1956); Ivory Coast
(1960); Niger (1960); Mauritania (1960) and Senegal
(1960).
Clearly many African nations were independent before
Uganda.
President Mugabe also needs some help with other facts. He told
mourners at
Stan Mudenge’s funeral that when there was a logjam over the
land issue in
the Lancaster House talks the British went to the Americans
for help with
compensation which the US agreed to.
They contributed
“significant amounts” the president told us.
In fact it never happened. The
Americans at no stage agreed to support land
reform.
Wooden
moves
Finally we were amused by the Mail&Guardian’s story on the Born
Free Crew’s
new video which features President Mugabe. The idea behind the
videos,
reports the M&G, is to bridge the huge gap between the
88-year-old leader
and the young, urban voter.
“But with his co-stars
leaping enthusiastically around him, Mugabe manages
only a few reluctant,
wooden moves, his grey designer suit out of place next
to the bandanas and
mohawks of the Born Free Crew,” reads the M&G.
“Shot in Mugabe’s
office in the capital Harare, the video shows him standing
to attention
while the singers salute him. They then surround him, dancing
and throwing
their arms around his shoulders as if he was one of their own.
When they
finally coax him into a dance, he carefully, if seemingly
reluctantly, kicks
one leg and then another, wearing a wide grin.”
Fawning man of
the cloth
Zanu PF politburo member Tendai Savanhu recently handed over
groceries to
vulnerable groups living at Matapi Hostels in Mbare.
Savanhu
visited the beneficiaries of his largesse accompanied by a Pastor
Alwyn
Bizure of Adonnai Ministries.
The fawning pastor said Savanhu’s gesture
showed Zanu PF was putting God’s
word into practice and has a “God-fearing
leadership that is obedient and
visionary”.
One wonders if those at the
receiving end of Zanu PF brutality in Mbare
share the pastor’s
sentiments.
Bippa subject to govt’s whims
The Herald carried a
story this week in which Mines minister Obert Mpofu
told some Russian
visitors that “we have been subjected to very destructive
media. The Western
media has been hostile to us because we wanted to use our
resources for our
people”.
Shouldn’t this read: “The international community has been very
critical of
us because ministers are helping themselves to public resources
and in the
process undermining the economy?”
The Russians should know
the Bippa they signed is not worth the paper it is
written on because Harare
will tear it up when it suits it.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 12, 2012 in Opinion
IN the
penultimate instalment of his article tackling the Zanu PF
constitution and
succession, Derek Matyszack looks at how Mugabe has
resorted to
unconstitutional strategies to cling on to power, his insecurity
over
diminishing support and how he cunningly countered those positioning
themselves for his job.
Report by Derek Matyszak
The
unconstitutional actions by Robert Mugabe and the centralisation of
power at
the top echelons of Zanu PF’s hierarchy have caused considerable
disgruntlement in the Emmerson Mnangagwa (secretary for legal affairs) camp
at lower levels of the party structure.
It is significant that,
despite the pressure brought to bear, only six
provinces eventually endorsed
Joice Mujuru as the nominee to be elected by
the December congress of
2004.
Four provinces — Bulawayo, Matabeleland South, the Midlands and
Masvingo —
remained obdurate, also refusing to nominate John Nkomo (who
would complete
the Ndebele/PF Zapu balance) as national chairman, and
persisting, in line
with the Tsholotsho principles, to nominate Patrick
Chinamasa (a Manyika)
for this post. The defiance from the Bulawayo
provincial coordinating
committee (PCC) was complete, with the province
refusing even to nominate a
woman as vice-president as the other rebellious
provinces had done in
accordance with the directive from the politburo. They
also refused to
nominate several of Mugabe’s preferred candidates to the
central committee.
An infuriated Mugabe and members of the politburo
exerted extreme pressure
in a vain attempt to try to bring the Bulawayo PCC
into line. Further
indications of Mugabe’s insecurity within the party
emerged in graphic
fashion two years after the Tsholotsho saga. The saga,
and Mugabe’s apparent
anointment of Mujuru as the chosen successor at the
congress, led Mujuru to
believe that her time was at hand and that Mugabe
would not stand for
election in 2008. Mugabe indeed signalled that he did
not wish to stand for
election in 2008, but not in the manner that those
seeking to occupy the
presidency wished.
Never enthusiastic about
facing the electorate, either nationally or within
Zanu PF, Mugabe proposed
the “harmonisation” of parliamentary and
presidential elections to avoid
going to the polls alone. While there was
general consensus within the
country that elections be harmonised, the
understanding was that the
parliamentary election due in 2010 would be
brought forward to coincide with
the presidential election due in 2008,
rather than the
converse.
Mugabe, however, aware of his diminishing support within the
party as a
candidate in 2008, sought,with the support of the securocrats, to
postpone
the presidential election until parliamentary elections were due in
2010.
Although Mugabe’s plan to extend his term of office had been
rebuffed by
both the politburo and central committee, he presented the
scheme to the
Zanu PF national people’s conference held at Goromonzi in
December 2006.
Following intensive lobbying by both the Mujuru and Mnangagwa
factions,
Mugabe found no takers for his proposal. To avoid embarrassment to
Mugabe,
the conference took the unprecedented step of not passing any
resolutions
and indicated that the suggestion had been referred to the PCCs.
In the wake
of this humiliation, Mugabe apparently sent emissaries to the
provinces to
gauge his support as party candidate for the earlier election
which he would
now have to contest in 2008. Seven of the 10 were reportedly
opposed to his
candidacy with three uncommitted.
Mugabe’s view that
his defeat in Goromonzi was part of Mujuru’s bid for the
presidency appears
to have been consolidated following the publication of
Edgar Tekere’s
autobiography A Life Time of Struggle. Mugabe claimed Mujuru
had plotted
with Ibbo Mandaza, the publisher of the book, to denigrate his
role during
the “liberation war” to further her presidential ambitions. He
launched a
scathing attack on Mujuru during a February 2007 interview on the
occasion
of his 83rd birthday.
Mugabe stated: “The Tekere/Mandaza issue, ah! they
are trying to campaign
for Mujuru using the book… you can’t become a
president by using a
biography. Manjevairasa (they have lost the plot). They
don’t realise they
have done her more harm than good.
Somewhat
paranoid sounding, Mugabe added: “The way to any post in the party
is
through the people. It is not through n’angas (witch-doctors). Others are
using biographies. We do not take notice of that but we move along the path,
the people’s way.”
Further evidence of Mugabe’s insecurity over this
period is manifest in his
decision to convene an extraordinary congress at
the end of 2007. The main
purpose of the congress was to affirm Mugabe as
the party presidential
candidate for 2008, which, given that this is a
routine duty of the people’s
conference, could hardly be said to justify the
need to bring together the
reported 10 000 delegates to the
congress.
To the extent that Mugabe had been “elected” to the presidium
by congress in
2004, and declared party candidate for national elections by
successive
national people’s conferences, this move, if not outside the
provisions of
the Zanu PF constitution, and procedurally flawed, ought
certainly to have
been viewed as superfluous. It had no other purpose other
than for Mugabe to
counter those positioning themselves for his
job.
Matyszak is a former University of Zimbabwe law lecturer,
constitutional
expert and researcher with the Research and Advocacy
Unit.
