FinGaz
Nelson Banya
HARARE
regional magistrate, Lillian Kudya, last week put Local Government
Minister
Ignatius Chombo under the spotlight in the long-running Zimbabwe
United
Passenger Company bribes-for-buses saga when she convicted ZUPCO
board
chairman Charles Nherera.
Following the ruling, speculation was rife that
Chombo would be picked up in
connection with the case, but police
spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said the
police would only question the
minister as a witness.
"The police are viewing Local Government Minister
Chombo as a witness and
not the accused. We will record his statement but we
cannot give details as
to when since it is an ongoing investigation,"
Bvudzijena said.
In handing down a guilty verdict in the corruption case
against Nherera, who
is also an associate of Chombo, the magistrate posed
serious questions about
the minister's involvement in the case - in a manner
reminiscent of the
controversial Shabir Shaik case in South Africa.
Judge
Hilary Squires' statement that the convicted businessman's
relationship with
former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma was
"generally corrupt" led
to his dismissal from government. Zuma's subsequent
indictment on corruption
charges has put the skids on his political career.
Kudya also raised
questions about Deputy Information and Publicity Minister
and former ZUPCO
chief executive Bright Matonga's evidence. Matonga has also
been arraigned,
along with Nherera, after further evidence of corruption at
the public
transport company was reportedly unearthed.
"The court also observed from the
outset when Minister Chombo and Deputy
Minister Matonga gave their evidence
that there were a lot of unspoken
features about the case, which if they had
been clearly laid out would have
been easy to calculate whether they were in
as defence or state witnesses.
"It was clear that their non-committal
evidence spoke volumes of what was
happening in the instant case, hence
without evidence to support that level
of involvement in the alleged scam,
the court also treated their evidence
with utmost caution, lest it be swayed
and make unsound conclusions. In
essence in particular, the two witness'
evidence left a lot to be desired.
"The court is of the opinion that if the
police were to delve into it, they
would be able to get to the bottom of
what exactly was happening as regards
the purchases of the buses," Kudya
said.
She noted that bus supplier Jayesh Shah, who brought the bribery
charges
against Nherera,
had told the court that Chombo had "stalled" him
when he initially wanted to
report the matter to the police, citing " bad
publicity" around the time of
last year's March 31 parliamentary
elections.
Kudya said Chombo's evidence was "totally contradictory" when he,
on one
hand, admitted receiving funding for his political campaign from Shah
and,
on the other, seeking to impugn Shah's standing as a
businessman.
"He (Chombo) kind of admitted getting a cheque from Shah, but
hastened to
state that a lot of companies and individuals were giving
donations for his
campaign, hence if Shah did give him one it would not have
been out of the
order of things. He, however, changed to say Shah seemed to
have just been
pushing for the sale of his buses yet ZUPCO preferred the
cheaper
alternative of Chinese buses. His evidence was totally contradictory
in that
respect."
On one hand, she said, he appeared to have been intent
on ZUPCO getting
buses from Shah to ease the shortage of transport and
because he had earlier
successfully delivered. Yet on the other hand he
seemed to be labelling him
a liar and a unworthy business counterpart whose
product they were not
anxious to get as they were keen on getting the buses
from China, thus
promoting the 'Look East' policy.
"As earlier mentioned,
the minister's evidence left a lot of unanswered
questions, which one hoped
can only be cleared with further investigations
into the matter," Kudya
said.
Referring to Matonga, the magistrate said she had noted a change of
statements during the course of the trial.
"Deputy Minister Matonga's
evidence was pertinent to the extent that his
change of statements clearly
added credence to the fact that something shady
was happening vis a vis the
sales involving Shah's buses. The court noted
that he was more of a defence
witness than a state witness but, as already
mentioned, depending on the
level of his involvement in the issue, such
would determine the kind of
evidence that he was going to tell the court,
hence notwithstanding the fact
that he was not impeached etc, the court
noted that the evidence was almost
motive based, hence could not detract
from the main body or the manifest
evidence led by the state.
"In one breath he (Matonga) argued that he did not
attend the meeting Shah
referred to where he claims the accused first asked
for the bribe. Later on
he (Matonga) said as Shah put it he would have been
busy on the phone. Later
on under cross-examination, he tells the court
about Shah's ploy to
influence him to change his statement and his desire to
bribe the accused.
Why such pertinent evidence would come only under
cross-examination left a
lot to be desired.
"In short, thus, very little
could be gathered from his evidence, save to
leave, again, a lot of unclear
issues that may need further probe," Kudya
said.
FinGaz
Kumbirai
Mafunda
THE Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) has deployed members of its
dreaded
military police to hunt down errant soldiers who unleashed a terror
campaign
against some commuter omnibus drivers, conductors and touts who had
allegedly assaulted one of their colleagues.
Simon Tsatsi, the ZNA
director of public relations confirmed the
investigation into the alleged
brutal assault of civilians on Tuesday,
saying the ZNA had deployed its
military branch to probe the reports of
harassment of civilians.
"We have
posted the military police to check on that because we are equally
disturbed
by what we are hearing," said Tsatsa.
A group of 10 soldiers last Thursday
allegedly terrorised commuter omnibus
drivers and touts in central Harare
whom they accused of beating up one of
their colleagues the previous
day.
The soldier had allegedly refused to pay $200 000 for a single trip to
Kuwadzana arguing that another passenger, a policeman, had not been asked to
pay a fare.
The soldiers first descended on the commuter omnibus rank at
the corner of
Albion and Mbuya Nehanda Street where Kuwadzana, Avondale and
Greencroft
residents board commuter buses around 5:00 pm. They allegedly
punched the
drivers and touts indiscriminately accusing them of assaulting
one of their
workmates.
Eyewitnesses told The Financial Gazette that even
passers-by were not spared
the soldiers' wrath while some uniformed and
plain-clothes policemen fell
victim to the soldiers operation.
"They were
careless in their approach as we ended up being victims of their
operation,"
said one eyewitness who was assaulted by the soldiers.
He said the drivers
and touts took to their heels as the soldiers ran amok
while the commuter
rank was briefly deserted by the commuter drivers and
rank marshals fearing
the soldiers' retribution.
Other observers said an OK supermarket located at
the intersection of Albion
and Mbuya Nehanda street was briefly shut down as
commuters sought refuge in
the shop.
But not satisfied the soldiers
allegedly fortified their retributive
exercise last Friday by widening it to
other commuter ranks such as Market
Square and the one located near Denenga
supermarket.
The terror team allegedly warned that they will not rest until
after the
Heroes and Defence Forces holidays scheduled for next
week.
Soldiers, some members of the police and some Central Intelligence
Organisation agents have previously been charged for beating and maiming
innocent civilians during the run up to the contested presidential and
parliamentary elections.
They at one time allegedly forced revellers at a
nightclub at Chikwanha
Centre in Chitungwiza to have unprotected sex after
they stormed it late
into the night.
FinGaz
Njabulo
Ncube
ZIMBABWE'S civil society is preparing a legal challenge to test the
legality
of emergency powers used in the crackdown against cash hoarders, as
a ZANU
PF-dominated Parliamentary sub-committee seeks to pressure Reserve
Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono to abandon his currency
reforms.
As the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) declared that the seizure
of cash was
illegal and condemned the direct exercise of executive powers,
the Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) cobbled up a legal challenge to
the
crackdown.
In Parliament, the Finance Committee agreed to seek a
meeting with Gono, in
a bid to lean on him to reverse the reforms. The
committee also wants to
hold "public hearings" on the matter, a member
disclosed. The currency moves
are believed to be jeopardising the commercial
interests of many powerful
figures.
Under the Presidential Powers
(Temporary Measures) (Currency Revaluation)
Regulations 2006, more than $10
trillion in the old currency has been seized
as part of far-reaching reforms
announced by the RBZ last week. But the LSZ,
which groups the country's
lawyers, said the cash seizures were illegal.
"While the regulations do
provide for confiscation, against the issue of a
currency stabilisation bond
at a time when an individual 'deposits or brings
for exchange' amounts in
excess of those prescribed for individuals and
traders, they do not provide
for the confiscation of money," the LSZ said.
Individuals and corporates are
now prohibited from carrying cash in excess
of $100 million ($100 000 in new
currency) and $5 billion ($5 million in new
currency) respectively as the
central bank authorities seek to punish
suspected money launderers and
individuals that have kept large amounts of
cash outside the formal banking
system.
But as authorities lay siege to the travelling public at roadblocks
and exit
points, The Financial Gazette can reveal that human rights lawyers
are
finalising a court challenge to the legislation being used to confiscate
cash from individuals and businesses.
"We are indeed working on a High
Court challenge on the legality of the law
being used to enforce the new
monetary policy regulations as it is felt that
some of the things being done
are unconstitutional or in viola-
tion of human rights," said Otto Saki, a
human rights lawyer with ZLHR. "We
are in fact finalising the court
application and hope to lodge the papers
with the courts tomorrow (Thursday)
or soon," added Saki.
Jacob Mafume, coordinator of the Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition (CZC), also
expressed concern at the way authorities were
enforcing the new regulations,
confirming legal action was being instituted
by the civic society.
"Apart from the legality of the laws the government and
central bank are
using, the action seeks also to challenge the setting up of
the roadblocks,
the use of unauthorised people, in this case, the militia,
who do not have
the authority to search people. It is believed that there is
no reasonable
justification in a democracy for the central bank and
government to do what
they are doing, seizing hard earned money from the
citizens," said Mafume.
Lawyers are opposed to Section 5 (6) of the
regulations which grants
immunity from any civil suits arising from losses
suffered by financial
institutions resulting from the process of rounding
off during the
conversion, and section 12 which provides that no suit shall
be brought
against government, the RBZ or any government employee for
anything "done in
good faith" under the regulations.
"It is of the view
that such blanket and generous protection does not only
promote and
cultivate police and state agent impunity, but also amounts to
an ouster of
the jurisdiction of the courts to decide whether the private
individual's
rights have not been infringed or violated by any person acting
under these
regulations," the LSZ said.
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi
CBZ HOLDINGS is
in talks for the takeover of a building society, believed to
be Beverley
Building Society, the country's second largest mortgage lender.
The bank
is also setting up a separate insurance business, The Financial
Gazette
confirmed, as it moves closer to its stated goal of becoming an
all-in-one
financial services group
CBZ officials declined to comment on the talks
yesterday, saying they could
not comment beyond a cautionary statement that
is out today.
The bank last year acquired Datvest, recouping the price it had
paid for the
asset manager within six months.
The Datvest buy was the
first step that CBZ took towards group CEO Nyasha
Makuvise's plan to turn
the
institution into what he has previously called a "one stop shop" that
would
include the
banking business, asset management, insurance and
mortgage finance.
The bank has recently set up CBZ Properties, which will
rent out properties
to the group.
Although CBZ paid cash-and-scrip to
acquire Datvest from Interfin, observers
will be keen to see how the bank
will choose to finance this latest
takeover.
The bank would however
afford a cash payment, despite having paid out a $340
billion dividend in
April.
The bank ended 2005 with cash of
$4,3 trillion, but could still
choose a cash-and-scrip offer.
Beverley remains the only independent building
society on the market, with
larger rival CABS owned by Old Mutual.
The
other two main mortgagers are Intermarket Building Society and FBC
Building
Society, a subsidiary of FBC Holdings.
Beverley had total assets of $690
billion last June, with mortgage advances
at $82 billion.
The building
society cut lending rates at one point in an attempt to spur
demand for
lending last year, but this did not happen.
There will be questions about
CBZ's move on Beverley, given the current
state of mortgage finance.
But
a source said the bank treats the acquisition more "as a long-term than
a
short-term play".
FinGaz
Staff
Reporter
INVESTIGATIONS into the arcane world of ZANU PF businesses have
deepened as
it emerged this week that investigators were in Botswana to
interview some
fugitive directors of the web of ruling party
companies.
While police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena could not immediately
confirm the
visit to Botswana by members of the Criminal Investigating
Department (CID),
sources said there has been contact with the directors who
fled the country
in April 2004 after ZANU PF launched investigations into
the operations of
its companies.
They said Dipak Pandya and the Joshi
brothers, Jayant and Manharlal, who
were holed up in Britain, had insisted
on meeting the CID officers at a
neutral venue.
Earlier efforts to meet
the fugitives in Harare failed after the trio,
through their lawyers,
demanded that their specification be lifted first.
The government flatly
rejected the condition.
Sources said the state, which is on an anti-graft
crusade that has netted
some of the bigwigs in ZANU PF, is hoping to bring
in Pandya and the Joshi
brothers as state witnesses.
It has not been
denied however, that the investigations could be targeted at
Emmerson
Mnangagwa, who, as the chief architect of ZANU PF's investments
until four
years ago, superintended over the party's business empire.
Mnangagwa has not
dismissed the possibility of ulterior motives behind the
probe.
"I
believe those who have an agenda against me are firing their salvo
through
this umbrella of the need to inform the politburo of the extent to
which
ZANU PF investments have spread," he was quoted as having said.
"Not that the
leadership was unaware, because accounts were distributed
every year.," he
said.
The companies under investigation include Zidco Holdings, M & S
Syndicate,
FBC Holdings, Treger Holdings, Ottawa, Catercraft and Zidlee
Enterprises.
FinGaz
Nelson Banya
WITH only five
full banking days left before the August 21 deadline for the
changeover to
the new currency system, security forces have raised their
levels of
alertness, fearing that long queues at banks could degenerate into
riots.
Police in Harare have already petitioned the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe over
the continued issuing of old bearer cheques by banks to the
public, saying
this could increase pressure on the banking sector as the
deadline
approaches.
Police have painted a scenario of possible
volatility should the restive
public find itself stuck with obsolete bearer
cheques.
Indications are that many businesses - especially those in the
countryside
without easy access to banks - could stop accepting the old
bearer cheques a
few days ahead of the deadline, to avoid a last-minute
banking rush.
The RBZ has, however, hinted at an extension of the deadline in
the
countryside, but is reportedly wary of creating a convenient loophole
for
those intent on beating the system.
Last week, small-scale farmers
were reportedly inundated with astronomical
bids for their cattle as hot
money sought conversion into corporeal assets.
Police, operating in concert
with officials from the RBZ, the Zimbabwe
Revenue Authority and the infamous
'Border Gezi' youths, last week launched
a blitz to mop up cash that was
outside the banking system, after the
government invoked Presidential Powers
to promulgate regulations limiting
cash deposits back into the
system.
Until the expiry of the changeover deadline, individuals can deposit
up to
$100 million, while companies can deposit up to $5 billion only.
Deposits
above these limits would not only be probed by both the police and
ZIMRA,
but would be converted into non-interest earning anti-money
laundering bonds
for a period of two years.
To date, $11 trillion - a
quarter of the total currency in circulation - has
been impounded in the
joint operation, dubbed 'Project Zuva Rabuda/Ilanga
Seliphumile.'
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda
A TYPOGRAPHICAL
error that replaced a "v" with a "d" on a menu item during
the First
Family's flight to the Far East last Friday left four Air Zimbabwe
staffers
suspended -and a sour taste in the mouth.
President Robert Mugabe and the
first family, on the Harare-Singapore-China
flight last Friday, were handed
a menu card where an item should have read
"Chimukuyu and Dovi". But there
was a disastrous typo when a 'd' replaced
the 'v'.
The national airline
on Tuesday reacted to the embarrassing stinker of an
error by suspending the
four employees involved after holding an emergency
executive meeting.
Air
Zimbabwe spokesman David Mwenga yesterday confirmed the suspensions.
"We have
suspended four staff members pending investigations into
operational
issues," said Mwenga who could not be drawn into detailing the
"issues" in a
terse response to The Financial Gazette.
The suspended include Masi Gambanga,
the cabin services manager, Victoria
Munzara, the acting flight services
officer, Chipo Sikireta the secretary to
the senior flight operations
manager and an unnamed worker who is employed
in the airline's reservations
section.
Robert Jr, the President's second born, reportedly stumbled upon the
typo
before alerting the veteran liberation war leader and the rest of his
travelling party to the embarrassing blunder. First Lady Grace Mugabe was
not on the flight, having travelled ahead earlier.
Sources said a furious
Transport and Communications Minister Chris Mushowe
took issue with Air
Zimbabwe's management over the error and summoned the
top officials to his
offices early this week.
The four workers will appear before a disciplinary
hearing next week. "They
(suspended workers) were served with their
suspension letters after
submitting reports detailing the incident at around
3 pm," our source said.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that management has since
apologised to the
First family, which arrived back home yesterday.
The
family was on a trip to the Far East, a frequent destination for the
President. The national carrier has faced a series of crises in recent
years, but this latest one takes its troubles to new depths.
FinGaz
Zhean Gwaze
INFORMATION and Publicity
Deputy Minister Bright Matonga and Zimbabwe United
Passenger Company (Zupco)
chairman Charles Nherera, accused of corruption in
bus procurement deals at
the state-run transport company, were yesterday
remanded to October
4.
Harare magistrate Olivia Mariga further remanded the two, who are out
on a
$15 million bail, to facilitate the conclusion of investigations in the
matter.
Matonga and Nherera are alleged to have received US$10 000 each
from Gift
Investments director Jayesh Shah to enable him to supply the
transport
utility with buses.
Nherera was last week convicted in another
corruption case involving
soliciting a US$5 000 bribe for each bus supplied
to Zupco by Shah and is
awaiting sentence on August 21.
Matonga's bail
conditions were also temporarily relaxed to enable him to
attend to
government business tomorrow in Victoria Falls.
The deputy minister was
ordered to reside at his Chigwell Farm in Chegutu as
part of his bail
conditions.
FinGaz
Nkululeko
Sibanda
THE government has continued to dole out millions of dollars in
allowances
to three Matabeleland governors who are yet to secure permanent
residences
in their respective provinces. Matabeleland North governor,
Thokozile
Mathuthu commutes from either Bulawayo or Victoria Falls to her
provincial
capital Lupane while her counterpart, Angeline Masuku, is
reportedly
accommodated in rented properties in Mzingwane district of
Matabeleland
South. Bulawayo governor, Cain Mathema, sources said, commutes
from his
Tsholotsho home to his Mhlahlandlela offices in
Bulawayo.
According to sources, the government officials are each paid
$25 000 (new
currency) for bed and breakfast, $12 000 lunch and supper
allowances and a
$3 000 supplementary allowance every day.
They are also
entitled to a mileage allowance.
Their aides and drivers are also reportedly
paid similar allowances albeit
at a lower rate.
Local Government Minister
Ignatius Chombo defended the payments, saying the
governors were entitled to
the allowances since the government was in the
process of constructing
houses for the officials.
"There is nothing sinister in that governors are
paid allowances for
accommodation. These governors are government employees
and they are
entitled to that allowance because we are still constructing
their houses.
What do you expect them to do if they do not have
accommodation?" asked
Chombo.
"They have limited time in which they can
have their accommodation paid for
by government. Once that limited time has
lapsed, then they will be expected
to secure their own accommodation and
thus government stops paying for
them," Chombo said.
FinGaz
Njabulo
Ncube
THE Politburo, ZANU PF's top decision-making body, has set-up a
committee to
investigate management woes bedeviling Jongwe Printers, the
ruling party's
printing arm and publishers of the defunct party official
mouthpiece, The
Voice.
Party insiders said the investigations into
the company came after a
decision was made to be salvage the company from
its severe financial
squeeze under the Distressed Companies Fund.
The
Financial Gazette is reliably informed that the management of the party
printing firm had indicated they needed about $90 billion to put the company
back on a sound financial footing after last publishing an issue of The
Voice nearly six months ago.
The sources said indications were that the
first tranche of about $50
billion would be released soon as the ministry of
Industry and International
Trade had approved Jongwe's application under the
Distressed Companies Fund.
According to Industry and International Trade
minister Obert Mpofu, about
300 companies listed in critical condition have
applied for assistance under
the Distressed Companies Fund facility, among
them Dunlop and Jongwe
Printers.
"We (Politburo) have set up a committee
to look into the management
problems. We need to get to the root cause of
the problems because we cannot
be seen to be pumping money when the firm is
a victim of dilatory
supervision. We want the firm restructured and this is
the mandate of the
committee," added the source, speaking on condition he is
not named.
It is believed that some officials on the board headed by
businessman
Nhlahla Masuku want certain employees purged on suspicion that
they are
sympathetic to the main opposition Movement for Democratic
Change.
Another contentious issue, according to the same sources, is the
question of
the incumbent editor who is accused of various misdemeanours
including being
involved in an accident while driving a company vehicle and
abusing funds.
However both issues
were said to have been swept under the
carpet after senior party officials
allegedly intervened.
"The senior
party officials involved will be asked to appear before the
cabinet
committee to explain and clarify what is going on. As a party we can't
continue going on like this when we are saying we are fighting graft," added
another source.
Masuku declined to comment when approached by this
newspaper to shed light
on the latest goings-on at Jongwe Printers
especially in view of revelations
the firm's application to the Companies
Distressed Fund had been successful.
"I am too busy," said Masuku.
Jongwe
Printers owe several creditors various debts.
FinGaz
Nkululeko Sibanda
THE trial of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs Minister, Patrick
Chinamasa, who is facing charges of attempting to
defeat the course of
justice, was yesterday postponed to next week after a
power failure hit the
Rusape magistrate's court.
Chinamasa's lawyer,
James Mutizwa of Chihambakwe, Mutizwa and Partners told
The Financial
Gazette that retired magistrate Phineas Chipopoteke had to
defer the hearing
to next week after the power failure.
Said Mutizwa: "The trial had to be
postponed because we could not record the
proceedings due to a power
failure. The judge, (Chipopoteke) then set down
two days for the
continuation of the case, that is August 17 and 18," said
Mutizwa.
He
added that yesterday, a key witness, James Kaunye continued with his
evidence before Chipopoteke and was likely to take to the witness stand
again on resumption of the trial.
"We will continue with the witness
(Kaunye) on the 17th and we also hope to
call to court other witnesses to
testify," said Mutizwa.
Charges against Chinamasa arose after he allegedly
tried to coerce the
witness into making a withdrawal of public violence
charges that Kaunye had
pressed against the Minister of National Security,
Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement, Didymus Mutasa in the run-up to the
2004 ZANU PF primary
elections.
It is Kaunye's contention that Chinamasa
made several "lucrative" offers to
him in exchange for the withdrawal of the
charges. The offers included the
construction of a dam at his Yorkshire farm
in Headlands.
Chinamasa, Kaunye added, also promised that he would assist
Kaunye get an
offer letter for a farm in the area. However, Chinamasa, in
his defence,
argued that he went to visit Kaunye at his farm in Headlands to
negotiate
for a peaceful solution of the standoff between Kaunye and
Mutasa.
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi
RESERVE
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono loves using military
imagery;
brave knights slaying fire-spitting inflation dragons, patriotic
troops
rallying to the front, plus other Sergeant Major-style motivational
speech.
So one other thing he would probably know about war is that winning
one gets
a lot trickier without the trust of "the people".
What brave efforts
against speculative activity Gono had laid out when he
launched his landmark
currency reforms last Monday have, over the past 10
days, seen their
credibility badly tarnished in the eyes of the public after
the operation
was hijacked by a combined brigade of youths, soldiers and
police.
The
governor has had to issue a statement to remind the overzealous
uniformed
forces that he had actually set ceilings on what amounts could be
legally
carried.
His intervention came after reports that all sorts of brigades
wearing all
manner of badges and hats were harassing and seizing cash from
travellers
and businesses, leaving no evidence that they had ever done
so.
"A fresh breeze of hope and optimism," is what Gono had hoped the reforms
would bring, making the important confession that the zeros had eaten into
everybody's self-esteem: "Our dignity as Zimbabweans is affected as much as
our currency."
But it's hard to imagine that the crackdown has won the
central bank enough
public support to really blow "a fresh breeze of hope
and optimism".
That's because suddenly, Zimbabwe dollars have become
contraband, wound-up
youths in green uniforms are rummaging through people's
bags and poking
around their homes, while policemen are having a good time
confiscating
whatever amount of currency they feel like stashing away for
themselves on a
given day.
You do not heal anybody's wounded dignity by
stripping them down.
As Mao said, "the army is the fish and the people the
water". Over the past
10 days, the water has been muddied by menacing
soldiers on horseback
patrolling market stalls manned by the poor, by
roadblocks where officials
seize anything from grain to bundles of dollars
and by policemen stalking
the streets, waving AK47s in their hunt for
speculators.
Announcing the new currency measures last Monday, Gono had
warned there
would be need "to protect the public from potential abuse by
fraudsters who
may want to take advantage of the transitional adjustments to
rip-off other
members of the community".
According to the governor, there
was "tremendous hardship among the majority
of people, the majority of
workers and students, the majority of women".
Was it not possible then, that
energy in the transition period would have
been put more into what Gono said
would be "widespread publicity
campaigns" - convincing those same ordinary
poor that this needed to be
done - and less energy into a military style
crackdown that has only managed
to reduce public backing for what the RBZ is
trying to do?
As Gono himself said, the success of the currency reforms
depends on an
educational campaign "anchored on credible macro-economic
policies that
effectively address the root causes of high inflation and
other structured
rigidities".
The Reserve Bank boss must be worried that
what he launched as a monetary
policy initiative has quickly turned into a
military enterprise that appears
to punish "the people" for inflation,
losing the governor a key ally in his
battle to smoke out the real barons of
the black market who are the most
opposed to his reforms.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda
AT a
time when Zimbabwe is grappling with critical shortages of wheat, a
leading
milling company is sitting on 3 850 metric tonnes of wheat stocks
which it
cannot utilise before making payment to suppliers in hard
currency.
National Foods Limited (Natfoods), which is listed on the
Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange (ZSE) said it had been unable to successfully source
for foreign
exchange amounting to US$1. 232 million from the country's
financial
institutions due to a cash crunch and thus could not pay foreign
suppliers.
"The company has imported wheat in its silos brought into the
country under
a collateral management agreement over 15 months ago," said
Linda
Musesengwa, the milling company's spokesperson. "This wheat cannot be
used
for the manufacture of flour as it belongs to the external supplier
until it
has been paid for in foreign currency. National Foods has made
repeated
applications for foreign currency with commercial banks, but to
date, has
not been able to source the necessary foreign currency to pay for
the
wheat," she added.
According to milling industry officials, wheat
sourced under the collateral
management agreement can only be utilised once
foreign currency has been
sourced through the banks.
Zimbabwe is
grappling with an acute shortage of wheat and maize grain
spawned by a
six-year-old foreign currency crisis and the decimation of the
agriculture
sector following a government-backed plan to resettle landless
blacks.
The suspension of crucial balance-of-payment support by the
Bretton Woods
institutions and other multilateral lenders has left Zimbabwe
in a fix as
the government cannot pay for energy imports and drugs.
The
disclosure of the stored wheat stocks comes at a time when the demand
for
flour and bread is outstripping the level of grain allocations to
millers.
Millers say they have not been receiving their weekly
allocations from the
grain parastatal, the Grain Marketing Board.
In
response to the wheat shortages, bakers have hiked the retail price of a
loaf of bread by more than 50 percent citing the recent increase in the
price of flour from $3.5 million/50kg to $6 million/50kg.
FinGaz
Rangarirai
Mberi
STATE-RUN Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe (Agribank) has handed
nearly $40
billion in dividends to government despite the farm lender's
recent stated
concerns over its capital adequacy and
earnings.
Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa disclosed last Wednesday that
he had
received $38.5 billion ($38.5 million) in dividends from the former
Agriculture Finance Corporation (AFC).
Agribank chief executive officer
Sam Malaba was not immediately available
for comment this week.
Last
year, the bank needed $45 billion in additional capital from government
to
raise its capital adequacy ratio to above the required 10 percent.
And in
remarks accompanying Agribank's financial statements in April, bank
chairman
Steven Makonyere said he was concerned the bank was failing to grow
earnings
as fast as the loans it was handing out.
"The major factor affecting capital
adequacy is the low margin on the bank's
loan book. The growth of the risk
weighted assets is not being matched by
similar growth in earnings from the
same assets," Makonyere said then.
The bank had $519 billion in
non-performing loans in December. Bad and
doubtful debts had risen from $31
billion in 2004 to $401 billion in 2005,
blamed on crop failure and input
shortages.
The bank made a provision for doubtful debts of $434 billion, up
from $36
billion in 2004. Loans and advances to farmers stood at $1.53
trillion, with
the bulk of that loan book in 91 days to 180 days maturing
loans.
The bank wrote off $3 billion in bad debts in 2005, up from $415
million.
The heavy provisioning hit profits, which came in at $77.4 billion,
up from
$16.3 billion.
FinGaz
Kumbirai
Mafunda
FIVE candidates have been shortlisted to spearhead the turnaround
efforts of
the country's national airline Air Zimbabwe, which has gone for
close to a
year without a substantive chief executive officer. Informed
sources say a
panel of the troubled national airline's board conducted the
second round of
interviews with the candidates in the capital where they
each made
presentations to the Mike Bimha-chaired board.
Among those
vying for the job are Nkosinathi Sibanda, who runs an aviation
consultancy,
Peter Chikumba, who has worked at the International Air
Transport
Association (IATA) regional office in Nairobi, a Mr R Chirimuuta,
George
Mwase and the acting chief executive officer Oscar Madombwe.
The search for a
new boss follows the elbowing out of former chief executive
officer Tendai
Mahachi in December 2005 after a series of bungling episodes,
which
culminated in the grounding of the national airline's fleet.
Insiders tipped
Madombwe for the hot post considering his curriculum vitae,
which has seen
players in the tourism and hospitality industry backing his
candidature.
Madombwe holds the distinction of being probably the only
airline chief
executive officer who still gets to clock a captain's flight
hours.
Under Madombwe's nine-month leadership, Air Zimbabwe has gone into a
code
sharing arrangement with Air Tanzania and Air Malawi. The arrangement
is
expected to reduce operational and marketing costs while boosting
passenger
loads on the busy Dubai, Dar es Salaam and Nairobi routes. The
airline is
also searching for strategic partnerships and regional
cooperation with the
key players in southern Africa.
Madombwe's tenure,
has however, also been marred by controversy as three of
the Chinese-made
aircraft which the airline bought from Beijing in 2005,
have at one time
broken down due to technical faults and engine failures.
Air Zimbabwe board
member Luxon Zembe, who chairs the human resources
committee confirmed
holding interviews but could not be drawn to say
further.
"We cannot
discuss those things now because the process is still going on.
Hopefully
within the next four weeks, all things being equal, we would have
announced
the substantive CEO," said Zembe.
Air Zimbabwe has been split into five
strategic business units (SBU)s - the
core airline business Air Zimbabwe,
Air Zimbabwe Cargo, Air Zimbabwe
Technical, National Handling Services and
National Distribution Company
(Galileo), a distribution service.
The
national carrier, which for years has been battered by serious
maladministration, is probably the only parastatal with a high turnover of
chief executives.
Air Zimbabwe lost $2.6 trillion in revenue between
April 2005 and May 2006
and owes foreign creditors US$23 million and is
saddled with a $400 billion
local debt.
Apart from owing creditors
billions of dollars, the airline late last year
broke aviation records by
cruising more than 6 000 kilometres with a lone
passenger on its maiden trip
to Dubai.
In his 2006 Monetary Policy Review statement, central bank governor
Gideon
Gono disclosed that the debt load excludes a $1.381 trillion loan
that was
extended to the airline by the central bank under the Parastatals
Re-Orientation Programme (PARP). In addition, Air Zimbabwe still has to
cough up a further $ 2.6 trillion that was advanced to it by the central
bank outside the parameters of the PARP.
"Some of the challenges faced by
Air Zimbabwe include weak financial control
systems, poor marketing and
revenue generation initiatives, poor cost
management systems, weak corporate
governance structures and systems, and
poor equipment utilisation at the
institution," said Gono.
He added that the national airline had continued to
service routes that had
failed to bring into its coffers income that would
boost its income base.
FinGaz
Deemed benefit on
disposal of a motor vehicle to an employee With effect
from 1 September
2006: Formula amended to base the benefit on the market
value of the vehicle
less the original cost less an inflationary allowance
on cost based on the
increase in the Transport Consumer Price index from the
time of purchase by
the employer to the time of disposal.
Tax Exemptions for
Individuals
With effect from 1 January 2006:
Taxpayers over the age of 55
years are exempt from
- Income tax on the first $144 000 of rental income
accruing in a year of
assessment
- Resident Tax on Interest on the first
$144 000 of interest accruing during
a year of assessment from deposits with
financial institutions and the first
$144 000 of income accruing during a
year of assessment from bankers
acceptances and discounted instruments
traded by financial institutions.
Contributions to Pension Funds
For
the purposes of computing the maximum annual deduction for contributions
to
approved pension and retirement funds contributions paid in the year of
assessment ending on 31 August and 31 December 2006 will be treated as if
they were a single pension contribution paid in a single year of assessment
ending on 31 December 2006.
The maximum deduction in each period will be
a pro ration of the maximum
annual deduction calculated on this
basis.
Companies and Trusts - Rates of Tax
Rates unchanged
30%
Subject to 3% Aids levy
Provisional Tax
With effect from 1
September 2006: Provisional taxpayers required to submit
with each quarterly
payment returns, in a prescribed form, disclosing the
estimated total
taxable income for the year of assessment in respect of
which the
provisional tax payment is made.
Failure to forecast quarterly tax payments
within a 10% margin of error may
result in penalties.
Due to difficulties
of forecasting in the volatile macro-economic
environment consultations will
be held with stakeholders to determine an
appropriate method of
forecasting.
Presumptive Tax
With effect from 1 September 2006: Taxi
Cabs and Commuter Operators to
display a tax clearance certificate on their
vehicles at all times for
inspection by law enforcement
officers
Automated Financial Transactions Tax
With effect from 1
September 2006: The rate is increased from 50 cents to
$10 per
transaction.
Carbon Tax
With effect from 1 August 2006: Carbon Tax is
chargeable at the rate of $5
per litre on the importation of petroleum
products by the State procurement
entity, any oil company or person or
entity engaged in oil procurement or
wishing to use the petroleum for his or
her own consumption.
Noczim Debt Redemption Levy
With effect from 1
August 2006: The debt redemption levy is increased from
11cents per litre to
$ 25 per litre of leaded, unleaded and diesel fuel
imported by oil
companies.
Capital Gains Tax
With effect from 17 October 2005: The
rate of Capital Gains Withholding Tax
on sale of listed and unlisted
securities is confirmed as 5% and 10%
respectively
With effect from 1
September 2006:
Donations of immoveable property by a company or group of
companies to an
approved employee housing trust fund are exempt from Capital
Gains Tax.
Value Added Tax
With effect from 1 January 2006: Sales of
second hand vehicles by motor
dealers that are subject to Special Excise
Duty are exempt from VAT.
We are advised that the legislation is to be
amended to extend this
concession to sales of second hand vehicles by all
registered operators who
will, then not be required to recover VAT on any
vehicle sale on which
Special Excise Duty is payable by the
purchaser.
The VAT liability on imported services paid for in foreign
currency is no
longer payable in foreign currency.
Only VAT received in
foreign currency on importation of goods or services is
payable to ZIMRA in
foreign currency.
Customs & Excise Duty
With effect from 1 January
2006: Special Excise Duty is payable by motor
dealers on vehicles sold by
them buyers of second hand motor vehicles
purchased from non motor
dealers.
In Duplum Rule
With effect from 1 January 2006:
For the
avoidance of doubt it is declared that the in duplum rule does not
apply to
fiscal debts for outstanding taxes, duties or penalties.
This was the
position before 1 January 2006 as well.
Employee Share Options
Schemes
A regulatory framework to safeguard the interests of workers and
facilitate
the required approval of these schemes for tax purposes will be
in place by
December 2006.
Disclaimer: This publication contains
information in summary form and is
therefore
intended for general
guidance only. It is not intended to be a substitute
for detailed research
or the exercise of professional judgement. Neither
Ernst & Young
Zimbabwe nor any other member of the global Ernst & Young
organisation
can accept any responsibility for loss
occasioned to any person acting or
refraining from action
as a result of any material in this publication. On
any
specific matter, reference should be made to the appropriate
advisor.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda
MOZAMBIQUE has
augmented the amount of Hydroelectrica Cahora Bassa (HCB)
power purchased by
Zimbabwe's troubled power parastatal, ZESA Holdings, in a
gesture that could
help compensate for diminished supply from other regional
suppliers.
ZESA Holdings acting group chief executive officer Ben
Rafemoyo told The
Financial Gazette this week that HCB, which had been
supplying the southern
African country with 200MW, had agreed to add on
another 250MW bringing its
total supply to 450MW.
"HCB has increased our
contractual supply from 200MW to 450MW," said
Rafemoyo.
This, he said,
could help offset the diminished supply from Eskom of South
Africa and Snel
of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has not
been supplying
power since the vandalism of its transmission towers early
last
month.
Eskom has been failing to supply the 100MW contractual supply ZESA is
entitled to from Eskom.
"South Africa is still struggling with its peak
although during off peak we
are picking some supplies," said
Rafemoyo.
The power authority, which is reeling under a heavy operational
loss,
imports 35 percent of its power needs from Eskom, HCB, Snel and
recently
ZESCO of Zambia. The other 65 percent is generated from local
sources,
which, however, have been slowed down by shortages of coal and
foreign
currency needed to source replacement spares.
Rafemoyo said power
generation at Hwange Thermal Power Station was set to
improve as the power
parastatal is now operating three generators, up from
two following
increased supply of coal from Hwange Colliery.
"Once coal is sufficient we
would want to bring the fourth machine," said
Rafemoyo. "Things should start
improving in terms of availability. We must
improve generation then we
improve in terms of load shedding," he added.
The acting ZESA boss also
disclosed that generators at Bulawayo Thermal
Station began firing at the
weekend following the delivery of eighteen
wagons of coal to the Bulawayo
plant, while two other small thermal stations
at Munyati and Harare which
were not generating electricity will soon been
switched on.
"Hwange has
promised to give us enough coal and that should also boost our
local
production," stated Rafemoyo.
Zimbabwe is grappling with an energy crisis
spawned by the growing
consumption of power in the southern African region
and this has prompted
ZESA to introduce power rationing, which is
inconveniencing industry and
most households.
Observers say the power
shortage is likely to be catastrophic in 2007 when
the region's power
resources will be under intense pressure.
FinGaz
Staff
Reporter
SUSPENDED Grain Marketing Board (GMB) chief executive officer
(CEO), Martin
Muchero, might bounce back at the grain monopoly after the
High Court
nullified his six-year-long suspension. The loss-making
parastatal is likely
to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars of the new
currency after Justice
Chinembiri Bhunu declared that Muchero be entitled to
his salary and all
benefits with effect from the date of suspension being
October 24 2000. GMB,
which has unsuccessfully tried to fill up the CEO's
post in the past, will
also bear the costs of Muchero's
application.
"It is common cause that the respondent (GMB) filed its
opposing papers out
of time. The respondent was therefore, automatically
barred. There has been
no application for the upliftment of the bar," said
Justice Bhunu. "All what
its lawyer has done is to tell the court that the
delay was due to him being
taken ill. There being no application for the
upliftment of the bar, it
remains firmly in place," he noted.
Former
agriculture minister Dennis Norman appointed Muchero GMB CEO and ex
officio
member of the board in 1996. He was suspended in March 2000
following
allegations of misconduct. The suspension was later withdrawn
having been
realised that it was invalid. Muchero was, however, again
re-suspended a
week later. That too was aborted when it was realised that
the GMB's code of
conduct was inapplicable to Muchero in his capacity as the
board's
CEO.
The GMB board finally suspended Muchero without pay and benefits in
October
2000 citing some sections of the Labour Act, which require an
employer who
suspends an employee without pay to apply to a labour officer
for an order
terminating the employee's contract of employment. In reaching
his
conclusion, Justice Bhunu noted that GMB had not complied with certain
aspects of the law, which was a "fatal procedural irregularity".
"The
applicant (Muchero) has been on suspension from October 24 2000 to date
without any application being made for his dismissal that is today a period
spanning almost six years. There has been no reasonable explanation for this
lengthy delay. The respondent (GMB) cannot now comply with Section 3(1) of
S.I. 371/85 because it has since been repealed and labour officers no longer
have the necessary jurisdiction to preside over the matter," he
said.
Muchero and a local businessman Lastworth Kadirire were this year fined
$500
000 ($500) each by the magistrates' courts after being convicted of
defrauding the parastatal of $115 000 ($115) in February last year.
FinGaz
Rangarirai
Mberi
FIXED phone monopoly, Tel One has earned US$10 million (Z$2.5
billion at the
official exchange rate) from its involvement in agriculture.
Tel One is
desperate for cash to replace its ageing equipment, over half of
which is
well past its use-by date, and is saddled with foreign debt of
US$18
million, said Hamton Mhlanga, Tel One technical
director.
"Financing of inputs into tobacco and horticulture will
continue as a means
of earning foreign currency. We expect to earn US$10
million from tobacco,
which we will use to implement capital projects," said
Mhlanga.
According to Mhlanga, over half of Tel One's equipment is obsolete
and
should have been replaced years ago. This means Zimbabwe cannot use any
of
the new technology in telephony that most telecoms companies worldwide
are
using to ramp up earnings.
"Most of the equipment we are using has
outlived its useful life. We are
having to go with non-repairable equipment.
Value added services can't be
provided using such equipment, which is more
than 50 percent of what we
have," Mhlanga said.
Tel One has followed
power utility ZESA's lead into agriculture, giving
further evidence that
state-owned enterprises - cramped by government
controls on their pricing -
are not able to turn in profits from their
operations despite their
monopolies. Government has been reluctant to
privatise companies such as Tel
One, and attempts at attracting foreign
investment has been foiled by
investor fright at legislation that places a
cap on tariff charges.
Total
parastatal debt stood at $76.43 trillion in June, Finance Minister
Herbert
Murerwa said last Wednesday.
Tel One holds 32 percent of the overall
telecommunications market, lagging
behind mobile phone company Econet, which
has a 38 percent share of the
market.
FinGaz
Kumbirai
Mafunda
ZIMBABWE has lost its ranking as Coca-Cola Central Africa's sixth
largest
consumption market, slipping to ninth position owing to
distributors'
mounting operational constraints and worsening poverty. In
2005 the country,
which is muddling through an agonising economic crisis,
was positioned sixth
after losing its ranking as the fifth largest consumer
market to Kenya.
Latest rankings show that the country slipped three
places down to ninth
position in the first six months to June
2006.
Zimbabwe now trails South Africa, which maintained its pole position,
Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Tunisia, Tanzania and Angola.
Some
statisticians use the consumption of luxury foods and goods such as
soft
drinks to measure the general wealth of ordinary citizens. The decline
in
the consumption of carbonated soft drinks could be a reflection of waning
per capita incomes as Zimbabweans prioritise other consumables.
Sheree
Shereni, Coca-Cola Central Africa's public affairs and communications
director, confirmed that Zimbabwe had lost its footing.
"Zimbabwe is
Coca-Cola Africa's 9th largest market by volumes sold as of 30
June 2006,"
Shereni said.
The US multinational is Africa's leading carbonated soft drinks
seller and
the continent's largest foreign consumer product investor. Its
beverages are
marketed and distributed by bottling partners in more than 160
plants,
serving more than 830 million consumers in Africa.
Harare's slide
in the Coca-Cola rankings is synonymous with the country's
general decay
marked by severe shortages of food, hard currency, fuel and
worsening
poverty.
Economic analysts and bottlers attribute Harare's lower ranking to a
cocktail of constraints currently rocking its three bottlers - Delta
Beverages, Mutare Bottling Company and Schweppes.
Zimbabwe's retail and
supermarket shelves have gone for several months
without soft drinks due to
a deep-seated shortage of hard currency to import
beverages concentrate from
Swaziland.
Underlying shortages of closures, plastic granules, carbon
dioxide, fuel,
spares and intermittent power outages are some of the foreign
currency
induced import shortages that have aggravated the erratic supply of
soft
drinks.
Apart from the foreign currency induced raw material
shortages, price
dictates imposed on soft drinks in 2001 have had a bearing
on supply.
FinGaz
Staff
Reporter
COMPUTER systems will not to meet the deadline for changeover to
the new
currency, an information technology (IT) expert has warned. Zimbabwe
dropped
three zeros from the currency last Monday, weeks after over 70 bank
IT
experts had recommended the measure to central bank, citing the failure
of
computer systems to read the inflated figures of the old
value.
However, IT experts say the 21-day changeover period may be
shorter than
required for IT systems and businesses to fully convert to the
new
denomination.
There will be need for engagement with IT vendors, and
with source codes -
the original programme instructions that would be needed
to make
adjustments - having to be sourced abroad, there will be "foreign
currency
implications" to consider, said Edmore Verenga of the Computer
Society of
Zimbabwe.
"The 21 days may simply not be enough. There is need
for further engagement
with authorities, not to ask for more time, but to
explain the position
factually," Verenga said.
Verenga also said dropping
the zeros had been recommended only as a short
term measure, saying the
currency reforms would only help for a short while
unless inflation was
slowed down from its current rate.
Businesses are concerned over the effect
the abrupt changeover will have on
their accounting. According to Verenga,
conversion will be smoother for
businesses with simpler systems, but bigger
businesses that lean heavily on
IT will find it harder.
Experts say
businesses now need to urgently reform their Enterprise Resource
Planning
(ERP) - a business management system that integrates all facets of
the
business, including planning, manufacturing and sales designed to help
managers implement ERP in business activities such as inventory control,
order tracking, customer service, finance and human resources, will need
time to conform to the new system.
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi
EVERY
new Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has found it harder
than the
last to decide where to position the group in its relationship with
government. For new CZI president Callisto Jokonya, that task will be a lot
harder.
The Zimbabwe government has grown very touchy about criticism
from big
business, which it frequently accuses of trying to "derail" the
economy and
even funding the opposition. This makes being CZI president
quite a tricky
job. On one side are members angling for stiffer criticism of
government,
and on the other side is the need to remain relevant in the eyes
of
government.
However, Jokonya, elected to take over leadership of the
CZI from Patison
Sithole last Tuesday, says he will seek to edge the
industry body closer the
centre of the country's decision making
process.
"We are positioning CZI to a position where it can play its rightful
role in
the economy, an active role. The CZI should not shy away. It's not
only
about government," says Jokonya.
And when dealing with such an
ultra-sensitive government, public displays of
optimism have always been
seen as a trusted tactic for the CZI to retain at
least some influence over
government. So, even when surveys - many of them
commissioned by the CZI
itself - show that business confidence is down in
the dumps, Jokonya sees a
recovery only a year away. "Give it another twelve
months and we will be
back on our feet. I am positive about that," Jokonya
enthuses. "There is an
element of seriousness to take corrective action."
According to Jokonya, CZI,
together with other business groups, must look to
share with government the
responsibility of pulling Zimbabwe's economy
towards recovery. "From the
government point of view they have done their
part. For once I would like to
put the onus on the private sector to go out
and manufacture and export," he
says.
Critics last week charged that the CZI was letting government off, not
criticizing it enough for its ruinous management of the economy. But others
say rabid, Pius Ncube-style condemnation would only lose CZI the ear of
government, and industry would have lost that precious little influence it
still retains in the formulation of economic policy.
Jokonya has also
cheered the new foreign currency retention system for
exporters, saying this
had been one of the biggest concerns industry had. He
however argues that
there is need for the currency and exchange rate reforms
to be backed by
"more sound policy".
Firm recovery is unlikely to come unless economic policy
is able to help
companies lift production, Jokonya says.
"Nothing will
happen unless they take action and get their hands dirty.
Industry at the
moment is operating below capacity, almost about 30 percent.
The key thing
is that we increase our capacity to over 60, 70 percent."
FinGaz
Ray Mawerera
TALKING TO
TOMORROW
"THE most critical challenge facing leadership today," says Simba
Makoni,
"is the need to reaffirm and reassert the mission of service."
Makoni was
supporting his own assertions to a conference of Rotarians
recently that,
for the people of Africa to have a quality of life that is
better than the
one we have today and one that is continually improving, it
is critical to
combine good leadership with discipline and hard
work.
You all know Simba Makoni, so I won't bore you with his long
impressive CV.
Suffice to say that he remains one of our country's foremost
respected
paragons of virtue. True, not everyone likes him or agrees with
him, but
then who can boast universal popularity? The fact is that most
people I know
listen when he speaks, and that alone says a lot.
Promoting
his thesis that leaders need to identify and characterise the
problems and
challenges facing the communities in which they live and serve,
Makoni
suggests that African societies and nations are currently facing a
leadership crisis.
"(This) arises mainly from abandonment, by those in
high positions, of the
basic mission of leadership - which is to serve, in
preference to themselves
being served."
In this rare perspective, Makoni
points to what he sees as pervasive styles
and forms of leadership which
demand "rote obedience and subservience" from
the led. He quotes
international observations on the requirement of a new
and different style
of leadership that is sought from all leaders throughout
the world, whether
they be politicians, businesspeople, voluntary
organisation leaders or
community and religious leaders.
"I would . . . like to urge those of us
already in leadership, and
especially those aspiring to it, to accept our
main role as being to
facilitate, guide and assist those we lead," pleads
Makoni.
I quote extensively from Makoni's address to Rotarians to make this
moot
point, that in these trying times, organisations that will emerge
successfully from the depths of crises may well be those that manage to
rally behind a vision that they all understand and subscribe to.
Like
Makoni, I fully believe that it is not enough for leadership to have
farsighted vision; it is better that this be shared and buy-in achieved with
those they lead.
How has this subject come about? The realisation, from a
public relations
perspective, that for as long as we continue to harp on
reputation
management and image profiling programmes for organisations
without the
necessary backup from top to bottom, we would be engaging in
futile academic
discourses.
Organisations all want a good reputation and
image. The paradox is that very
few appear willing to spend the requisite
resources to do so. When we
analysed the issue carefully, we found that it
was a leadership issue. We
came across leaders who said all the right
things, pronounced all the right
platitudes and urged the people they led,
onto higher levels of achievement,
only to go back into the comforts of
their offices to demand performance
reports on projects they didn't
resource. They then proceeded to attack
performance from all angles, for
lack of results.
In certain specific cases, full public relations campaigns
were chopped up
into little fragmented events that ended up in disjointed
projects whose
main message was lost as a result. While the leaders
celebrated the little
"successes", a disgruntled PR practitioner in some
office reflected on how
much opportunity had been lost because they had not
been given a chance to
do it "properly".
I suppose we are all guilty of
this, if we are leaders. We fail to realise
that our vision is unlikely to
be executed in exactly the way we want it to,
mainly because we do not give
our people a chance. We get too domineering to
the point of being
autocratic. We have all the answers, and the people we
lead get intimidated
by us. In the end, we fail to achieve the mission of
our vision, and are at
a loss as to why.
Yet it's supposed to be so easy, if you listen to people
like Milton
Kamwendo, the motivational guru. His take on it is that it comes
down to the
individual psyche, the attitude and mindset that grows an
internal idea
outwards, harnessing all available resources to
advantage.
There has, in fact, been so much focus on leadership in the first
half of
this year that we all ought to not only pay attention but motivate
ourselves
to proactive responses. The Rotarians whom Makoni was addressing
are
progressing their community enterprise projects this year under the
theme
Lead The Way, with their current president, Bill Boyd,
proclaiming:
"Our communities today need real role models, not distant
celebrities;
practical minds, not idealistic dreamers . . . "
And he
joins Simba Makoni in asserting that true leaders lead by example.
Makoni:
"We are all judged more by our actions than by our words. In this
respect,
leadership faces another critical challenge: do we lead by example?
How
often do we hear leaders shout their voices hoarse, denouncing one vice
or
another, and yet they themselves are at the forefront of its commission?"
In
the words of the cliché, leaders ought to walk their talk.
lRay Mawerera is a
Harare-based public relations consultant and the
president of the Zimbabwe
Institute of Public Relations.
rayma@wordsandimages.co.zw
FinGaz
Geoff
Nyarota
The Geoff Nyarota Column
I HAD never heard of Dwight Kirk until I
read in mid-July an article on
Zimbabwe written by the Washington-based
American journalist, who usually
writes on employment and union
issues.
Neither had I come across the name of William Lucy whom Kirk
wrote about.
Lucy is the president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
(CBTU). Kirk
reported that the CBTU had launched "a major campaign to clip
Mugabe of his
liberator image in the African American community by exposing
the thuggish
actions of his regime against the Zimbabwean people".
Strong
words these. Lucy announced that the CBTU would aggressively reach
out to
African American media, labour websites or blogs, as well as other
progressive media to get Americans "tuned into the Zimbabwe crisis". Lucy
intimated that the CBTU would join other organisations in demonstrations at
the Zimbabwe Embassy and other locations. I don't believe the first of the
threatened demonstrations has occurred, unless I missed this particular news
item, which can easily happen in this vast and information-inundated
land.
While the majority of Zimbabweans are obliged to read The Herald or The
Chronicle every morning, depending on which part of the country they live
in, or to "tune into the Zimbabwe crisis", to borrow Lucy's catchy phrase,
courtesy of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, for their American
counterparts the choice is literally mind-boggling.
In Boston, for
instance, they have a choice of three daily newspapers - The
Boston Globe,
owned by the same company that publishes The New York Times or
The Boston
Herald, owned by Rupert Murdoch's mega-media empire. Then there
is The
Metro, which the publishers distribute freely. At The Metro brevity
is the
spice of journalism. Commuters pick up a copy as they enter the
train,
peruse the encapsulated news and discard the copy on the train when
they
reach their station for other commuters to update themselves on the
major
events of the day on the international scene or across the United
States.
Unlike its staid Harare namesake, The Boston Herald is a racy
tabloid in the
mould of it's London counterpart, Murdoch's hot-selling The
Sun.
The
average Bostonian also has access, on a daily basis, to The New York
Times,
The Washington Post and other out-of-state newspapers. He or she also
tunes
into the major networks, ABC, CBS and NBC as well as a host of
national and
local radio channels. In addition many Americans subscribe to
cable news
networks, MSNBC, CNN and Fox News.
Even Gutu and Tsholotsho would have local
television stations of their own.
The range and variety of news and media in
the US can be quite overwhelming
to a journalist arriving from Zimbabwe
where media institutions are targeted
for bomb attacks for the mere crime of
disseminating news and propagating
views contrary to those espoused by the
government.
During the last US presidential election, a popular car sticker
in the
liberal state of Massachusetts was "Somewhere in Texas a village is
missing
its idiot." This reference to the sitting President, George Bush,
was
daring, to say the least. A Zimbabwean political campaigner displaying
such
a sticker would become an instant guest at either Rhodesville or Matapi
police station.
Apart from my growing concern over what I view as the
overzealous patriotism
of sections of the US media following the invasion of
Iraq in 2003, another
cause of disquiet on my part was the attitude of some
black American
journalists to those Africans from the continent who express
views regarded
by their American counterparts as being uncomplimentary of
the heroes and
icons of the struggle for the liberation of the African
continent from
colonial bondage.
The President of Zimbabwe was one of the
leaders singled out for such
protection.
In June, 2003, I had occasion to
address the annual congress of the National
Association of Black Journalists
in Dallas. After my presentation I was
flooded with a barrage of questions,
some bordering on outright accusation
that I dared to cast aspersion on the
performance of the government of
Zimbabwe under the revolutionary President
Mugabe. I stood my ground,
insisting that, in my opinion, their
characterization of the Zimbabwean
leader was no longer consistent with the
reality on the ground. The
performance of the Mugabe government in causing
and failing to arrest the
decline in the state of the economy and in the
gross abuse of human rights
had become a matter of great concern to the
majority of Zimbabweans. The
majority of them now regarded, perhaps with
justification, the former hero
of the liberation struggle as a ruthless
dictator, responsible for the
suffering of millions of his people.
I gave
the example of the demise of The Daily News, in particular, and the
Zimbabwe
media in general, as a fine example of the betrayal
post-independence
national aspirations. I cited the decline in the general
standard of life
and the erosion of those very social benefits - education
and health
delivery - that had contributed to the enhancement of Mugabe's
initial image
as a revolutionary leader and great statesman. Some African
Americans have a
tendency to view the current crisis of Zimbabwe through
liberation struggle
glasses, their view often tinted by a preoccupation with
racial conflict,
which is no longer an overriding issue, at least in the
eyes of the majority
of Zimbabweans. For one to argue that the struggle in
Zimbabwe has
transcended racial barriers to assume the countenance of
black-on-black
confrontation is often to invite instant censure or ridicule
by African
Americans.
The ongoing perception of the Zimbabwe crisis as a
racially-inspired
struggle is to an extent fuelled by coverage of events in
the western media,
which since 2000 has tended to highlight the plight of
the white commercial
farmers, while glossing over the anguish, the poverty
and the humiliation
endured by the black majority.
In Dallas I cited the
melodramatic intervention of the December 12 Movement
of Harlem of New York
in a bid to rescue the falling political fortunes of
Zanu-PF. It transpired
that not too many of my listeners had ever heard of
Comrade Coltrane
Chimurenga or Sister Violet Plummer who shot to prominence
in Zimbabwe on
the front pages of government-controlled newspapers or on
through the medium
of government-controlled television.
Zimbabweans with a sharp memory will
remember that the annual
Harlem-to-Harare pilgrimage of Chimurenga and
Plummer coincided with the
celebration of Zimbabwe's national
independence.
In-between living in the lap of luxury in Harare's
five-star hotels and
being flown to exotic tourist destinations, all at
tax-payers expense, the
December 12 Movement delegation found time to grant
exclusive interviews to
The Herald and The Sunday Mail and the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation's
radio and television channels. Banner headlines
then proclaimed boldly that
Chimurenga had once more endorsed the Third
Chimurenga, as defined by the
then Minister of Information, Professor
Jonathan Moyo..
I never tire of reminding politicians who care to listen that
while Zimbabwe
may be a nation of docile citizens, they are not imbeciles,
by any stretch
of the imagination. By 2002 Chimurenga and Plummer had become
the butt of
uncharitable jokes among politically perspicacious
Zimbabweans.
What the December 12 Movement did to undermine the faith of the
average
Zimbabwean in the judgement of the African American, Lucy did much
to undo
when he issued his statement of intent on behalf of the CBTU in
July.
Lucy is not push-over; he is an influential man. He is the
secretary-treasurer of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees. He has excellent African credentials. Back
in the 1980s he played a role in the forefront of the Free South Africa
Movement, which mounted the most vigorous anti-apartheid campaign at
grassroots level on US soil.
"CBTU will not be a silent witness to this
tragedy unfolding on distant soil
liberated by heroic freedom fighters," he
declared. "Zimbabwe's people, who
are suffering crushing poverty,
homelessness, hunger and rampant violations
of human and trade union rights,
need to know that their cries for help echo
in our hearts, no less than
those of our sisters and brothers in South
Africa who prevailed over the
racist apartheid regime."
Kirk reported in his article that Josh Williams,
who is president of the
Washington, DC central labour council, had
experienced a face to face
encounter with the authoritarianism of the Harare
regime. He attended the
25th anniversary convention of the Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions in
Harare in May. On return to DC he took off the
kid-gloves.
"He has lost touch with the people," he pronounced of Mugabe. "In
the past
10 years Mugabe has become a totally different person. Workers
there find it
hard to accept that many of them are being beaten, arrested
and harassed by
the same people that they marched with 25 years ago for
liberation."
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) Secretary General
Wellington
Chibebe flew across the Atlantic to speak at CBTU's 35th
anniversary
convention in Orlando, Florida also in May.
"It is one thing
to be independent," he told the 1,500 cheering delegates.
"It is another to
be free. We are still fighting for our freedom in
Zimbabwe. Oppression is
oppression, whether by a white person or a black
person."
"Amen," the
audience responded as they gave him that kind of standing
ovation for which
American Americans are renowned.
Saying of the Week
"As Judge
President, I occupy a senior position in the judiciary and my
reputation was
damaged considering that I also sit on international
judiciary boards" -
Paddington Garwe testifying in a case in which he is
suing The Zimbabwe
Independent, Vincent Kahiya and reporter, Augustine
Mukaro, for Z$75 billion
following a story that was published in the weekly
claiming that the former
Judge President had been blocked by his two
assessors from passing judgment
in the treason trial of MDC President Morgan
Tsvangirai. Readers should
delete three zeros from the amount demanded by
Garwe's lawyers.
FinGaz
PERSONAL
GLIMPSES
IT is scary. Corruption has reached such high and dangerous levels
in
Zimbabwe that its perpetrators have begun adopting mafia-style tactics
used
by organised crime syndicates in other countries. A report published in
a
daily newspaper on Monday to the effect that Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Governor, Gideon Gono had lost a crop yield of both seed and commercial
maize estimated to be worth about $45 million in the re-based currency made
disturbing reading. The enormous loss of 1 300 tonnes of maize through an
act of arson is linked to the announcement of Gono's mid-term monetary
policy last week in which he declared war on the corrupt and greedy in high
places who have brought the country to its knees economically. The fire at
Gono's farm is believed to have been started by individuals who took umbrage
at the RBZ chief's determination to take on cash hoarders and those involved
in shady deals.
Their criminal act is a warning to Gono to lay off or
face more serious
consequences. This is because corruption has become such a
lucrative way of
generating instant wealth that the culprits now think they
are entitled to
be left alone to engage in these unscrupulous activities.
Their strike at
Gono's farm is a warning that they are prepared to protect
their ill-gotten
gains at any cost. These greedy vultures, whose illegal and
immoral pursuits
have pauperised the rest of the population have now shown
they are ready to
commit any number of further criminal acts to ensure that
they continue to
enjoy an unfair advantage at the expense of the rest of the
populace. Dare
the nation hope that this alarming development will be enough
to finally
convince the head of state to take decisive action to tackle
graft within
his administration?
Addressing delegates during a Zimbabwe
Chamber of Commerce congress in
Bulawayo, Gono vowed that he would press on
with the anti-graft war despite
the attempts to bully him. "There is no
amount of intimidation that will
force me to abandon the task at hand. I
will not let the Presidium and the
majority of the people of Zimbabwe down,"
he said.
Gono's fearless determination could however expose him to mortal
danger if
he is thrust forward to bell the ferocious fat cats in high places
single-handedly without the unequivocal backing of the head of state. These
vultures, after all, know that the President has come to the rescue of
wrongdoers in the past by vetoing moves to tackle their abuses. A case in
point is when the head of state overruled both Vice President Joseph Msika
and Speaker of Parliament John Nkomo when they spoke out on the issue of
farm invasions.
The kind of support Gono needs to succeed in his crusade
would require
President Robert Mugabe to abandon his softly-softly policy of
protecting
undesirable and unworthy elements in his administration simply
because they
have liberation war credentials or because he has a soft spot
for them. It
is time to name and shame these culprits and allow the law to
take its
course. A statement by Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri quoted
in
yesterday's issue of a daily newspaper indeed confirms that the President
is
now the only person who can speak authoritatively against those
continuing
to thumb their noses at the rest of society.
Following the
seizure of $10 trillion in old bearer cheques, Chihuri said;
"The problem is
that we are becoming too much of crooks. Each one of us is
busy crooking one
another and I just hope Zimbabweans would stop this
madness so that the
system can become normal." What Chihuri neglected to say
is that if he had
provided the kind of leadership necessary to ensure that
the police force
remained professional and apolitical, this anarchic
situation would never
have arisen. As it is, the police long ago succumbed
to political
manipulation and contributed to the subversion of the rule of
law in the
country by agreeing to apply it selectively. The nabbing of some
senior
police officers in the RBZ blitz shows that instead of being the
custodians
of the law, the force is as guilty of corruption as any other
sector of
society. The Anti-Corruption Commission has proved equally
toothless and
impotent.
As a result of a dereliction of duty by the police, powerful and
influential
culprits have got away with murder for so long that they regard
whatever
official policy or plan is touted publicly as designed to cater for
the
needs, welfare and aspirations of the people as an encoded message for
them
to seize the opportunity to feather their own nests and to hell with
the
suffering masses. They have adopted this corrupt and greedy approach
with
impunity with respect to the War Victims Compensation Fund, The VIP
Housing
Scheme, the land redistribution exercise and lately Operation
Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle. The President has occasionally breathed fire and
brimstone over this plundering and looting by his lieutenants, but that is
as far as it has gone. He has been reluctant to sack or discipline
wrongdoers and non-performers.
His inertia has emboldened crooks in
government to such an extent over the
years that it now seems that the roles
have been reversed and the head of
state is a hostage to his
subordinates.
A press report published after Gono had declared his anti-graft
war
describing the reaction of individuals in high places shows just how
arrogant they have become. The report said some members of cabinet and the
ruling party had reacted angrily to the fact that they had not been
pre-warned about the RBZ's crackdown! From this, the long-suffering public
can be excused for concluding that it has been the President's policy all
along to deem government and party officials to be more equal than the rest
before the law.
The President now needs to go beyond mere rhetoric to
deal with his corrupt
ministers. They have proved beyond doubt that they are
impervious to gentle
chiding and appeals to their consciences. Facing the
full wrath of the law
is the only language they would understand at this
stage and as a
long-suffering ordinary person who longs to lead a normal
life again, I say
the ball is in your court, Mr. President.
FinGaz
Comment
SINCE 2000, the issue of scant regard for the rule of
law has
been a major point of bitter attacks on Zimbabwe not only by the
international community but also by local civic and human rights
organisations. And they are not cutting the country some
slack.
Zimbabwe's problems of law and order started with the
violent
and chaotic land reform exercise, which turned Zimbabwe into a land
of
contagion shunned by circumspect investors. Indeed, that is when the
question of the independence of the judiciary became an issue. While as
citizens, Zimbabweans were overjoyed by their political independence, they
were certainly bewildered at the political meaning and basic significance of
the actions of government whose political thinking seemed to be that
violence can be admissible and certain laws such as the law of persons, the
law of property and the law of contract could be infringed for the sake of
drastic socio-economic change.
In the eyes of Western critics
and Zimbabweans who are in a
better position to judge events in the country
and the role of the ruling
ZANU PF government, that the aggrieved
dispossessed commercial farmers got
little if any joy when they sought
recourse to the courts, even before the
eleventh-hour controversial
constitutional amendments, gave the lie to
official assurances that all
citizens enjoy equal protection under the law.
Yet in well-functioning
civilised societies, no citizen can be legally
deprived of his possessions
except by the decisions of ordinary courts of
law. Of course, with the
temperament characteristic of their party, ruling
ZANU PF officials reject
charges made with regard to the political system of
the country, which is
directly responsible for the breakdown of the rule of
law. What else could
they say?
But over recent months, the situation as regards the
independence of the judiciary has become truly worrisome. Rightly or
wrongly, critics are clearing their throats and warning investors that they
should prepare for the worst, insofar as the rule of law in Zimbabwe is
concerned. This has in part been prompted by what we feel were the low
points in the history of judiciary intimidation and threats in the
country.
Apart from continued farm invasions, we have in mind the
case of
arms caches allegedly discovered in Mutare early this year. The
widely
publicised case took a bizarre twist when state security agents,
according
to Justice Charles Hungwe, acted unlawfully and brought the
administration
of justice into disrepute through the manner in which they
handled both the
accused and the prosecution which said it was bullied by
the security
agents. As if that was not enough, the independence of the
judiciary once
again came under scrutiny a fortnight ago when magistrates in
Manicaland
refused to try Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, citing alleged
intimidation by State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa. Mutasa denied this
allegation last week. But if it indeed happened then the minister's judgment
and motives are questionable. And if he had the gumption, he should have
sensed it. These are just but only two cases in which a dark cloud has been
cast over the country's judiciary.
Yes, Chinamasa, facing
obstruction of justice charges is now
back in court after a retired
magistrate Phineas Chipopoteke agreed to
preside over the case. But what
should be done to avoid a repeat of what
happened when magistrates refused
to try the minister? Under normal
circumstances we would be wary of
advocating what would be seen as
special-interest legislation. But given the
travesty of justice and the
absolutely sickening assault on the judiciary in
Zimbabwe, it is our
considered opinion that the prosecution authority should
be a
constitutionally established, non-partisan, independent
body.
Such an authority, as has been proven elsewhere, will go a
long
way in helping in the administration of justice, observation of the
rule of
law and the doctrine of separation of powers which will bring with
it what
critics are unanimous is missing in Zimbabwe today - the
accountability of
executive power to legislative power. Thus whatever our
station in life,
whether rich or poor, coloured or white, all of us will be
liable to
punishment in the ordinary courts of law for breaches of the
law.
This is not possible under the current arrangement where
magistrates are employees of the Ministry of Justice where retribution could
manifest itself through arbitrary and insensitive transfers or postings,
among others. As it is, there are those who justifiably feel that the
country's criminal justice system has been twisted into tenuous threads of a
spider's web to protect the powerful and frustrate those working for
positive change. Indeed, under the circumstances, it is not possible to
discount manipulation, unfairness and bias. Thus the only solution lies in
an independent prosecution authority.
When nationalists walk alone
SOME decades ago Zimbabwe experienced
its own share of events that engulfed
other parts of Africa. As it turned
out, men and women of different stature
ran around and organised into what
came to be called a "Nationalist
Culture". In any case the period in
question witnessed the convulsions of a
self-governing settler colonial
system.
Given such a background, the forces of the prevailing status quo
found
themselves antagonised and prepared for a fight. Several developments
began
to take shape on the political front. One Prime Minister considered
more of
a liberal weakling was at the helm of the Rhodesian political system
towards
the mid sixties. Mr Winston Field, as he was known, led the much
talked
about Rhodesia Front. However the high stakes of the conflict with
the ever
growing Nationalist Movement called for a vigilant and cunning
leadership.
Under those circumstances there emerged a man who had been an
active pilot
in the Second World War.
Part of his unfortunate flying
career resulted in him being shot down. Later
he furthered his studies
preferring to be well read in commerce. As it
turned out he was the son of a
couple who had settled to farm in Rhodesia in
the early part of the 20th
Century. Based in Shurugwi (then Selukwe), Ian
Douglas Smith became the
Rhodesian Prime Minister around the mid-sixties.
Coincidentally,
organisations like the People's Caretaker Council (PCC), the
National
Democratic Party (NDP), Zimbabwe African Peoples' Union (ZAPU) and
the
Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) became part of the political
vocabulary of those days. Such organisations were the outcome of varied
efforts of the nationalist cause. It was inevitable that bannings and splits
were obviously going to affect the cause for national liberation.
Such
possibilities were not only peculiar to the then Rhodesia. In the South
African scenario for example, the African National Congress had seen the
birth of another party, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC). As for
Angola, the Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) led by Holden Roberto,
The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) led by Augustino
Neto and the Union for the Total Liberation of Angola (UNITA) under the
leadership of Jonas Savimbi had at one time related as more or less one
movement. The same situation applied to the then South West Africa where the
South West Africa Peoples' Organisation (SWAPO) and the later defunct South
West Africa National Organisation (SWANO) had also come from possibly
similar objectives.
However, Rhodesia then came under the serious
scrutiny of British foreign
policy as well as the interest of the
Organisation Of African Unity (OAU).
By 1965 Ian Smith had effected the
Unilateral Declaration of Independence
(UDI). In those moments Zimbabwe
(Rhodesia then) was subjected to an
escalation of armed confrontation
between the nationalist forces and the
Rhodesia Front
government.
Similarly the same predicament manifested itself in Angola,
Mozambique,
Portuguese Guinea, South West Africa, (Namibia) and to some
extent South
Africa. Armed action to remove settler colonial governments as
well as
apartheid became generally known as the "armed struggle". However
the
powers-that-be preferred to refer to such activities as "terrorist" or
simply armed "insurgency".
Quoted in one of his Parliamentary
presentations around early 1966, Ian
Smith indicated that terrorists were
being trained in the countries "to the
north of us". The strong implication
was that Tanzania, Algeria, Egypt and
Zambia were somehow involved. It
should be noted that the essence of any
process of struggle was to create a
critical mass of ideologically sturdy
cadres. In that case the trained and
ideologically armed combatants were to
be prepared to be able to effectively
run the political structures of an
independent country.
On the other
hand, the ideological strength of those involved in the effort
to liberate
their nations from the hegemony of the industrialised primarily
European
nations would sustain such individuals throughout the struggle.
Thus it
became necessary to continuously impart the required mindset into
those who
were taking part in nationalist activity.
Taking into account the
circumstances which surrounded the status quo of
those years, there were
many variables that would influence the general
ideological growth of
Africa's liberators. One has to bear in mind that the
powers which supported
Africa's nationalist endeavors had also come from
their own political
experiences. The Chinese had seen a nationalist war on
their soil. The
former Soviet Union had also witnessed the commotion of the
Bolshevik
Revolution of 1917.
On that note Zimbabwean and other nationalists came to
reflect upon these
various brands of ideological inclinations. For that
reason some spoke as
Marxists Leninists, others behaved as Maoists, an
unconfirmed number became
outward socialists, a notable grouping identified
themselves as avowed
communists and the rest stood up as Pan-Africanists. In
that context
everyone became someone. It is also possible that in the
hotchpotch of
things, certain members of the nationalist movements remained
without
anything to believe in. In other words they were an available human
resource.
Back home such a scenario was going to have its own
implications. It should
be borne in mind that at independence the former
system had left an economic
and political infrastructure in place. The
masses of an independent Zimbabwe
were to look up to the returning
nationalists with the hope of a better
life. In any case the country was to
develop in a way to uphold its
political, moral and social fibre. Having
said that, the critical mass of
ideologically equipped minds was necessary.
Such a mass was to be the basis
of governance and create an environment
which was conducive for the well
being of the country. The nationalist
culture had the option of perpetuating
itself among the people of an
independent Zimbabwe. That is to say the
features and benefits of
nationalist commitments could be sold to the
populace.
Judging by the
events that followed the proclamation of Zimbabwe as an
independent state in
1980, a lot can be said or observed in relation to the
ideological substance
of the nationalist mind -essentially the extent to
which one committed
himself or herself to the country before anything else.
The making of such
thinking was to be a vulnerable trait in the
personalities of many, the
reasons for shortcomings as varied as the colours
of a clown's
gown.
Interestingly not all managed to attend the nationalist school in an
exhaustive manner. To add some pain to the whole process, it still remains a
fact that some minds were at their developmental stage throughout the
struggle. There was room to dilly-dally in the face of intense practical and
psychological obstacles. Given the intensity of the struggle and the notable
capacity of the settler colonial system, it followed that one had to be
strong in spirit and in truth.
The Zimbabwe of 2006 can be viewed as a
reflection of the past and present
ideological circumstances. Comprising 15
million people, the country has
obviously had its share of heavenly and
difficult moments. However it is
interesting to note that the economy has
become a subject of much
discussion.
The arguments and analysis that have
been adopted disagree on all but one
thing. That is, the need for the
country to move forward and afford its
citizens a better life. In the mix up
of things there has arisen a scourge
in which those who are strategically
placed can have unethical access to the
means of wealth.
It can,
therefore, be argued that the nationalists walk alone. When
corruption,
dirty deals, inconsiderate statements that smack of tribal
overtones, an
outward complex of fearing to openly identify oneself as
Zimbabwean and
generally extravagant tendencies begin to manifest
themselves, it becomes
necessary to check the ideological barometer in some
of us.
The lack of
nationalist ideological strength can be cited as one of the many
reasons for
such a predicament. The nationalists are few and possibly walk
alone.
Arguably some of the Zimbabwean minds came out of the pre- and
post-independence process as half cooked nationalists. Others graduated as
tactful tribalists.
In a way there is a crop of smartly dressed
technocrats who lack the
thinking of practical nationalism. They never had
the opportunity or
interest of attending the nationalist school. For that
reason the country's
resources can easily be exchanged for temporary gain
backed by the power of
the other "currencies". It pays to be optimistic that
the next critical
minds will be those of ambitious nationalists who identify
with the country
and are anointed by the spirit of commitment. For the time
being the few
nationalists will continue to walk
alone.
--------------
Mthwakazi issue revisited
EDITOR - The
following is a letter written to Fingaz columnist Geoff Nyarota
by a reader,
Bendict Maricho: I very much enjoy reading your exciting,
intelligent and
enlightening articles in The Financial Gazette. I have read
many letters to
the editor commenting on your articles. As expected, some of
the letters
oppose your views, while others support them. I have, however
been surprised
by one strange observation about the majority of these
letters. Most of them
seem to be written by people who do not thoroughly
read and understand what
you write.
If these people who comment on your articles really read what
you write, I
do not understand how the tribal connotations they attribute to
you can
arise.
I think two articles which you wrote incensed these
people. In the first one
you suggested that ZANU PF does not necessarily
segregate on the basis of
tribalism. You stated that some of the leaders who
perpetrate evil against
the people are Ndebele, while some of the victims of
ZANU PF violence are
non-Ndebeles.
You gave the examples of Enos Nkala
and Jonathan Moyo as Ndebeles who in
their heyday with ZANU PF committed
some evil things against the people. You
then mentioned Patrick Kombayi as
one non-Ndebele who fell victim to ZANU
PF.
I believe the other article
that irritated them was when you exposed details
of the proposed Mthwakazi
Republic. I have read these two articles and it is
difficult to see where
they offend Ndebele people. Generally, I think their
responses do not
respond to the objective issues raised in your articles.
I wish to make a
suggestion on your Mthwakazi article. Many people from
outside Matabeleland
like me do not really know whether the majority of the
people of
Matabeleland support secession, or whether they want Matabeleland
to remain
a part of Zimbabwe, as it is today. Don't you think that the
people of
Matabeleland must be given an opportunity to express what they
want in a
referendum? This happened in Quebec, Canada, and recently in
Montenegro.
If the majority of the people of Matabeleland support
secession, don't you
think we the Shonas are depriving them of their right
to exercise that
option? If the majority supports federalism don't you think
they have a
right to that option. There are many federations such as Nigeria
and
Australia in the world. But if the majority want Zimbabwe to remain one
united country as it is today, that would be good for most of us.
For
some of us it would be painful to see Victoria Falls cease to be part of
Zimbabwe. But let the people of Matabeleland choose for themselves in a
referendum, rather than create the impression that we want to subjugate
them. I am sure that, given the choice, the majority would choose to
continue to live in Zimbabwe.
Bendict
Maricho
----------------
Politicians put Gono's effort to
waste
EDITOR - Thanks vey much for your paper. It's good to see that
we still have
journalists with such a fine moral fibre. My contribution is
directed at
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and the economy.
Gono
is being criticised by many people over his policies. It is important
for us
to remember that every individual has an enemy and an enemy does not
want to
acknowledge good things. The governor is under attack from
armchair-approach
executives and fly-by-night economic analysts.
The governor should be
supported as he is doing a good job. Where he is
getting off the road due to
overworking, let's assist, not stop the journey.
We have learnt from the
governor that criminals are dirty. So dirty that
they want to kill an honest
and hardworking professional. It is not easy to
make bold decisions when
unscrupulous see-no-evil politicians surround you.
Gono has done that and now
the bloodsucking witches want his blood.
Corruption is being fuelled by
influencial people and it has caused all
these economic boils. Some people
want a cure for inflation without solving
the corruption equation. It is
impossible to halt the runaway inflation
unless we have decisively dealt
with corruption.
ZEXCOM was looted by known people who are today running
businesses from
ill-gotten money. Who was arrested?
Our judiciary needs a
complete overhaul. Without highly moral and upright
professionals, our
governor's efforts are worthless. The President needs to
act as talking
alone will not solve anything. Ministers have been named in
timber and fuel
licence scams, adulterous affairs, looting of farm
equipment, tender
violations, exchange control violations and deliberately
ignoring tender
procedures. The list is endless but President Mugabe has
done nothing.
Tacitly he is authorising immoral and unethical behaviour by
his
lieutenants.
Revive Economy
Harare
-----------
Thumbs up to
Gono
EDITOR - Congratulations to Dr Gono for the marvellous job that
he is doing.
Shame on all the politicians who are corrupt and who only think
of
themselves and their families.
Keep up the good work ,
Unonzwa vanhu vachiti Mugabe auraya nyika aiwa
maminister ake ndivo vanhu
vauraya nyika and they must go.
Fadzai
Nyarita
Australia