http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in News
RESERVE Bank governor
Gideon Gono yesterday made a dramatic about-turn on
the country’s drive to
indigenise the financial sector, lending his support
to Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere with
whom he had been
openly sparring over the issue.
Staff Writer
Announcing his
monetary policy statement for 2013 in the capital yesterday,
Gono, who
previously had been adamant the banking sector was a sacred cow
that should
not have been included in the ongoing radical transfer of
economic power
into the hands of the black majority, showed he had yielded
to the
political pressure he has been facing from Zanu PF, which has been
having an
upper hand in the unity government.
“All banks should observe the laws of
the country including the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment laws. In
this regard, the Reserve
Bank is working together with the Ministry of
Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment to ensure that compliance with
appropriate laws is done in an
orderly manner,” Gono said
yesterday.
He however stressed that the process to indigenise the banks
should take
cognisance of the sensitivities around the operation of the
banks to restore
confidence, trust and stability in the
sector.
Nonetheless, the governor could be taking his last stand by
demanding that
all indigenisation transactions that involved notion vendor
finance for the
new black shareholders obtain his approval.
The
transactions, which have been dubbed successful by some sections of the
financial markets, could be in danger of being labelled null and void if
Gono disapproves of them in the interests of curtailing further national
debt.
The country’s Indigenisation Act compels foreign owned firms to
sell 51% of
their stakes to local entities. In the absence of credit lines
willing to
fund the sale of the stakes, the companies and the ministry of
Indigenisation have an agreement that the stakes would be sold through
notional vendor financing (NVF).
NVF is credit provided by the
supplier, normallly in the form of deferred
payment terms, usually over 10
years or so. This means indigenous entities
contracted commercial debt from
the companies which they have now taken
over.
However, Gono said
there were laid down procedures in the contraction of
credit lines which
strictly requires the approval of the External Loans
Coordination
Committee.
The contraction of credit lines and loans in Zimbabwe are
undertaken through
the ELCC as it has been empowered by government to use
stipulated guidelines
in debt contraction with a view to monitoring the
country’s indebtedness to
the rest of the world.
Gono noted there had
been incidents where credit lines were contracted on
behalf of government
outside the purview of the ELCC or involvement of the
RBZ.
“Against
this background all institutions, both in the private and public
sectors,
need to send their loan applications through the ELCC for prior
approval.”
Gono said this applied to various vendor financing schemes
that had emerged
over the recent past Zimbabwe Independent is reliably
informed that Gono is
currently in the process of granting ECCL approval to
the transactions in
the same as he had already approved that of Blanket
Mine.
Blanket Mine was the first company to receive an indigenisation
compliance
certificate.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Politics
THE Zimbabwe
Republic Police command has embarked on a full-scale campaign
for Zanu PF
ahead of high-stakes elections this year in blatant violation of
the
constitution and Global Political Agreement (GPA).
Report by Owen
Gagare/Wongai Zhangazha
The move confirms the partisan nature of the
country’s security forces.
In recent weeks commanders have been touring
police stations countrywide
urging officers, their spouses and everyone
residing in the camps to
register for elections and vote Zanu PF.
A
top police officer in Harare said senior officers were following orders
given by Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri in December.
On
Tuesday Chihuri addressed wives of senior police officers in Selous and
urged them to vote for Zanu PF. He told the wives, gathered for a Kuyedza
Women’s Club leadership workshop, that they should be patriotic and
demonstrate their love for their country by returning Zanu PF to
power.
Kuyedza Women’s Clubs run income-generating projects for female
police
officers and spouses of policemen and are led by female senior
officers and
wives of senior officers.
Some of the club’s leaders
have been distributing Zanu PF membership cards
to the women they
lead.
Taking a cue from Chihuri, who has openly declared his loyalty to
Zanu PF,
several senior officers have hit the campaign trail for Zanu PF
while others
have become immersed in the party’s factional
fights.
Officer commanding Harare Province, Senior Assistant Commissioner
Clement
Munoriyarwa, for example, has been urging police officers and their
dependants to “vote wisely”.
Two weeks ago he addressed officers,
their spouses and dependants at
Chitungwiza Police Station, advising them to
register and vote.
“He was persuasive rather than intimidatory,” said a
policewoman who
attended the meeting.
“If there was any intimidation
it was subtle unlike in 2008 when we were
told there would be war if Zanu PF
lost the elections. He explained that the
next election would be crucial and
urged all of us to vote because each vote
is important.
“He also
emphasised the need for those with children to ensure that they
register as
voters. He said the younger generation should be educated so
that they vote
wisely and said it was the responsibility of parents to do
so.”
In
Mashonaland East Assistant Commissioner Everisto Pfumvuti, believed to be
harbouring political ambitions, has been mentioned in Zanu PF factional
fights and has teamed up with a war veteran, Jephat Chinake, in
decampaigning Mutoko South legislator Olivia Muchena — also Women’s Affairs
minister.
Pfumvuti has ordered all police officers based at Mutoko
Police Station to
register for elections and show their registration slips
to the Officer in
Charge as evidence of registration.
Zanu PF
Mashonaland East chairman Ray Kaukonde confirmed Pfumvuti has been
attending
party meetings but said he did not believe he was decampaigning
Muchena
because “he is a cadre”.
Kaukonde said Pfumvuti has been interested in
the Mutoko South seat for a
while but had been told it was reserved for a
woman.
ZRP commanders have also been campaigning for Zanu PF in other
provinces,
contravening the GPA and constitution which state they should be
impartial
and professional.
Article X111 of the GPA says: “State
organs and institutions do not belong
to any political party and should be
impartial in the discharge of their
duties”.
The same article also
states that “all state organs and institutions should
strictly observe the
principles of the rule of law and remain non-partisan
and
impartial.”
The police and other security forces have frequently taken an
active role in
politics and have often been accused of aiding Zanu PF
through disrupting
rallies and political gatherings organised by the MDC
formations, as well as
arresting and intimidating political players and
members of civil society.
In the June 2008 presidential election runoff
police commanders joined their
counterparts from the military in a
countrywide campaign where they
addressed rallies and meetings promising war
in the event that Mugabe lost
the runoff.
Junior members of the force
were also forced to register for polls and voted
under the watchful eye of
senior officers.
The stance taken by the police has given rise to fears
that the police may
once again curtail free political activity in the run up
to the elections
and fail to guarantee free political activity or guarantee
freedom of
assembly and association.
Police spokesperson Assistant
Commissioner Charity Charamba said she had no
knowledge of police commanders
campaigning for Zanu PF.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in
Politics
THE proposed constitutional provision for a Land Commission to
fall under
the Lands ministry would hinder its independence, raising doubts
over its
effectiveness.
Report by Wongai Zhangazha
The changes
were introduced in the final draft constitution agreed to by the
unity
government principals two weeks ago. Critics say the Land Commission
should
have remained independent as was provided for in the July 2012 draft
constitution.
The July draft stipulated that the commission should be
independent, but new
provisions were added in the latest draft which state:
“The Zimbabwe Land
Commission, with the approval of the minister responsible
for land, may make
regulations for any of the purposes set out in the
subsection.
“The Zimbabwe Land Commission must exercise its functions in
accordance with
any general written policy directives which the minister
responsible for
land may give it.”
The commission’s main functions
include ensuring accountability, fairness
and transparency in the
administration of agricultural land that is vested
in the state; conducting
periodical audits of agricultural land; and making
recommendations to
government regarding the acquisition of private land for
public
purposes.
It will also investigate complaints and disputes regarding the
supervision,
administration and allocation of agricultural land and ensure
fair
compensation payable under any law for agricultural land and
improvements
that have been compulsorily acquired.
Blessing Vava of
the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) said: “The fact
that it’s under a
ministry removes its independence. The minister
responsible will be the one
calling the shots.”
However, Constitutional Affairs minister Eric
Matinenga on Tuesday said the
Land Commission was changed from being
independent to being an executive
commission because the land issue was not
a universal matter.
Matinenga said: “The July provision had an
independent commission, but the
draft now has an executive commission, the
reason being that when it comes
to issues like human rights they are general
and universally accepted, they
do not change. However, land is a specific
matter; something that can change
with policies.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in News
THE two Sadc
representatives who should have been seconded to the Joint
Monitoring and
Implementation Committee (Jomic) last year are now expected
in the country
“any time soon” to monitor the volatile political situation
ahead of crucial
elections expected later this year.
Report by Wongai
Zhangazha
This was disclosed at a meeting between the Sadc facilitation
team
comprising spokesperson and President Jacob Zuma’s international
relations
adviser Lindiwe Zulu and Zuma’s political adviser Charles Nqakula,
and the
negotiating teams from the three political parties.
Zanu PF
was represented by Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa and Transport
minister
Nicholas Goche; the MDC-T had Finance minister Tendai Biti and
Energy
minister Elton Mangoma while the MDC’s Regional Integration minister
Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga and National Reconciliation minister Moses
Mzila-Ndlovu also attended the meeting.
The two Sadc representatives,
David Katye of Tanzania and Colly Muunyu of
Zambia, should have joined Jomic
in November last year, but Zanu PF has been
resisting this move arguing that
it was tantamount to interfering with the
country’s sovereignty.
A
third official from South Africa was dropped since the neighbouring
country
is the regional bloc’s official facilitator.
Disagreements over terms of
reference for the team by the political parties
also delayed their
deployment.
Zanu PF wanted the terms of reference to be clarified to
ensure they would
not interfere with the country’s sovereignty.
Mangoma
said: “It was discussed that the Sadc technical team be deployed in
as soon
as possible.”
According to sources, it was also agreed at the meeting
that negotiators go
back to the election roadmap and ensure it is
implemented before elections.
A Sadc diplomat told the Independent this
week that Mugabe and Zanu PF were
using the issue of sovereignty to block
Katye and Muunyu from coming to the
country.
The sources were,
however, quick to point out that during these
deliberations, the two MDCs
never expressed their objection to Mugabe’s
excuses.
“It is
interesting that no one was questioning what happened to the two Sadc
representatives whose presence is crucial in terms of monitoring the
political environment in the run-up to elections and also to help Jomic
ensure the agreed reforms are implemented before the elections,” said one
diplomat.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Politics
THE long-drawn
out Zanu PF succession dogfight is now being played out at
the party’s
provincial levels as the two main factions led by Vice-President
Joice
Mujuru and Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa intensify their
struggle to
succeed President Robert Mugabe.
Report by Owen Gagare
The
factions battling for control of Zanu PF are now thrashing it out in the
provinces as they seek to strategically position themselves in preparation
for an assault on the presidency, ahead of crucial elections this
year.
Fights have started in Manicaland, Masvingo, Mashonaland West and
the
Matabeleland provinces, with the Mujuru faction currently on the
offensive
in an attempt to wrestle power from the Mnangagwa faction,
believed to be in
control of at least six provincial executive
councils.
Controlling provinces has become crucial given the Global
Political
Agreement (GPA) principals’ decision to shelve the running-mates
clause for
10 years, and their proposal for the sitting president’s party to
choose a
successor.
The running-mates clause was seen as favouring
Mujuru who is Mugabe’s
deputy.
By virtue of her position Mujuru was
almost assured of being Mugabe’s first
running mate in the election and
therefore an automatic successor if the
clause had been adopted.
In
contrast, Mnangagwa is the Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs, the
eleventh
most powerful position in the party.
According to the Zanu PF
constitution, the presidium, comprising the
president, the two vice
presidents and national chairperson, shall be
nominated by at least six
provincial coordinating committees constituting
the provincial executive
council, provincial women’s league and youth league
committees and
legislators, central committee and national consultative
assembly members in
the province.
With the death of Vice President John Nkomo, campaigning
has already started
for the vice-presidency and chairmanship positions,
depending on Simon Khaya
Moyo’s elevation to the second top
post.
Zanu PF insiders said the opening up of the race would intensify
the
factional fights which have been going on in the provinces for
years.
In Manicaland, for example, the party is torn on how to deal with
fraud
allegations implicating provincial chairman Mike Madiro and four
provincial
youths, involving about US$750 000 sourced from diamond mining
companies
operating in Chiadzwa.
Party sources say the Madiro saga
gives the Mujuru faction an opportunity to
replace the provincial
chairperson with one of their own.
Zanu PF secretary for administration
Didymus Mutasa, a Mujuru ally who has
been trying to remove Madiro from
power is said to have pounced on the issue
to deal with the provincial
chairperson, but the Mnangagwa camp came out
fighting in Madiro’s corner and
argued that he should go through the proper
disciplinary
procedures.
Zanu PF Women’s League boss Oppah Muchinguri, a Mnangagwa
ally, fought hard
for the matter to go through disciplinary hearings
believing Madiro could
have been set up. Diamond mining companies have
denied giving Madiro money
while his supporters allege he was being set up
as part of the factional
fights.
“Mutasa has wasted no time in moving
around with Nyabadza, introducing him
as the next chairperson in the wake of
the Madiro saga,” said a Manicaland
provincial member. “He did this a
fortnight ago at a party meeting in
Bocha.”
Nyabadza described the
reports linking him to the chairpersonship as
mischievous, adding that he
has no desire to fill the position because he
was “already a very busy
man”.
“I have never spoken to anybody or held any meeting over the
position
because I am a very busy man with a full plate,” said Nyabadza. “I
am the
chairman of Arda (Agricultural Rural Development Authority), I’m also
chairman of the Save Valley Conservancy, so why would I want to campaign for
a position which is not vacant in any case,” asked Nyabadza, adding that he
would only do so if called upon by the Zanu PF presidium.
In
Mashonaland West, daggers have also been drawn against provincial
chairman
John Mafa. Word is that Mafa should be removed because he is a
Karanga. Key
provincial executive council positions in the province have in
the past few
years been held by people aligned to the Mnangagwa faction.
In Masvingo
there is also an attempt to remove secretary for administration
Edmund Mhere
and provincial chairperson Lovemore Matuke following clashes
during the
party’s provincial congress held at Masvingo Polytechnic College
in November
last year.
Riot police set dogs on delegates to deffuse the clashes which
occurred
after some delegates were denied entry into the venue.
In
the Midlands, the Mnangagwa camp is planning to oust Flora Bhuka from her
Gokwe-Nembudziya constituency after she jumped ship and joined the Mujuru
camp. Sources in Midlands said the camp will sponsor a youthful candidate to
fight off Bhuka in primary elections.
In Matabeleland, Mines minister
Obert Mpofu has been on the campaign trail
but his moves are viewed with
suspicion by some party bigwigs, among them
national chairman khaya Moyo,
who believes Mpofu is not only seeking to
control the region but is seeking
to use his influence as leverage to land
the vice-presidency.
Mpofu
is said to be working with Mnangagwa.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Politics
“I HAD
always been committed to the armed struggle, and moreover, as the
leader of
the youth, I was the obvious choice. For the youths are, after
all, the
lifeblood of the army: it is the young who do the fighting.”
Report by
Elias Mambo
These were the words of the late Zanu PF firebrand Edgar
Tekere in his book
A Lifetime of Struggle, capturing the role of the youths
in national
politics.
Tekere spent his youth in detention and was
imprisoned for 10 years until
his release in December 1974, together with
President Robert Mugabe, Enos
Nkala and the late veterans Ndabaningi
Sithole, Maurice Nyagumbo and Morton
Malianga.
The youths have been
at the forefront of political change in the country
since the colonial era
and have radically changed the face of national
liberation movements in most
African countries.
Likewise, Nelson Mandela, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the late
John Chilembwe,
Kenneth Kaunda and Mahatma Gandhi assumed leadership
positions at relatively
young ages.
In Zimbabwe, the youths have had
a chequered if not infamous role in the
political and socio-economic affairs
of the country beginning with the
communist-style Zanu PF youth brigades of
the 1980s.
The problem however, is that the aging political elite do not
see the youths
as future leaders, but rather as an apparatus for staying in
power by using
them in their political campaigns which are sometimes
violent, mostly for
token benefits and false promises.
With crucial
elections looming, youths across the political divide are now
demanding a
bigger stake in parliament.
In keeping with the words of 18th century
French poet Victor Hugo, “nothing
else in the world, not even a great army,
is so powerful as to stop an idea
whose time has come.” Zimbabwean youths
believe that their time has now
arrived and no power, least their parties’
policies, would stand in their
way.
As a result, political parties in
the country are struggling to contain the
youths’ demands.
MDC-T
youths have even gone to the extent of demanding a quota system that
would
ensure they are represented at every level of the party.
“We demand a
quota system along the lines of gender parity system and our
leadership
should be aware this is our right,” said MDC-T Youth Assembly
national
secretary for information Clifford Hlatshwayo recently.
“We are not
declaring war; this is a youth national council resolution. We
will persuade
our leaders and tell them a peaceful and smooth transition in
the future can
only be realised if the youths have practical experience
now.”
Hlatshwayo said youths are arguably the most visible
demographic group in
the run-up to any election, but account for little in
terms of
representation and only a quota system could redress this anomaly.
In Zanu
PF, moves to inject new blood into the structures are likely to
further
widen the party’s factional cracks as youths’ parliamentary
aspirants are
currently pushing for wholesale leadership renewal, fuelling
divisions with
the old guard which still prefers the seniority and
hierarchical approach.
“The party is up for a rude awakening and the
politburo has to come up with
a good strategy to vet and consider the new
young politicians,” said a Zanu
PF official who spoke
anonymously.
Youths, according to Zimbabwe Youth forum national
co-coordinator,
Wellington Zindove “refers to those within the 18 to 35 age
-group as
stipulated in the African youth charter which Zimbabwe recently
ratified.”
However, this age group is not strictly observed with some above
35 claiming
to be youths.
Zindove is upbeat over the youths’ demands
to contest in the next elections.
“The next election will be crucial
because, for the first time in the
history of this country, we are likely to
see a new crop of youthful
politicians,” Zindove said.
“This is a way
of protest by the youths who have been used as pawns for a
long time by the
politicians without getting much in the way of tangible
results,” he
said.
Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe recently lambasted
politicians for
manipulating the youths and using them to hold onto
power.
“It is a pity that politicians in this country do not see and
value the
youth as partners in development, but tools for political
violence,” said
Khupe.“The youths should wake up and turn against anyone who
wants to use
them as pawns in the dirty game of political violence. These
old and tired
leaders do not have an eye for tomorrow,” Khupe
said.
The forthcoming elections would be crucial in the sense that they
are likely
to usher in a new wave of youthful politicians.
With the
likes of youthful Information and Communications Technology
minister Nelson
Chamisa having proved to the young generation that they can
be leaders, it
remains to be seen how many of them would be bold enough to
battle their
parties’ old guard in primaries.
But changing dynamics wrought by the
draft constitution may be a stumbling
block for the youths’ political
ambitions across the political divide. With
the draft constitution stating
that the “senate will comprise 80 members and
six from each province on
proportional representation,” the majority of
senior politicians are likely
to revert to contesting as members of
parliament.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Politics
FRESH
from cobbling together an agreement on the constitution after
incessant
bickering for nearly four years, Zimbabwe’s major political
parties appear
to be heading on another collision course after Zanu PF
rejected the MDCs’
demands for further reforms before elections can be held.
Zanu PF
negotiator and Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday said
there would
be no more reforms as stipulated by the Global Political
Agreement ––
precursor to the Government of National Unity –– and Sadc
roadmap to
elections.
“We agreed that the completion of the constitution is the only
stumbling
block towards the holding of elections,” said Chinamasa in an
interview.
“The renewed calls for reforms by the MDCs are an agenda to try
and avoid
elections.”
Chinamasa said the issue of reforms was never
raised at Tuesday’s meeting
with the Sadc facilitation team comprising
President Jacob Zuma’s
international relations adviser Lindiwe Zulu and
political adviser Charles
Nqakula.
“We met them (Zuma’s team) and
gave them an update with regards to the
constitution and referendum. The
team was happy with our efforts and
achievements as the country prepares for
elections.”
Chinamasa then rubbished the MDCs’ calls for media
reforms.
“What reforms are they talking about now?” asked Chinamasa. “We
agreed with
them to complete the constitution and prepare for elections, but
they go out
there and say they want reforms. The MDCs have failed and they
are likely to
lose the elections.
“They thought we were not going to
agree on the constitution and now they
are hiding behind reforms in order to
avoid elections,” claimed Chinamasa.
MDC-T secretary-general and Finance
minister Tendai Biti told a media
briefing on Tuesday that his party would
continue pressing for major reforms
before elections are held to ensure
there is no repeat of the violence which
engulfed Zimbabwe in the 2008
elections after Zanu PF was defeated by the
MDC.
“We can have
elections tomorrow but if there are no reforms it will be one
step forward
and 20 steps backwards and we will have a similar situation
like we had in
2008,” said Biti, whose party demands reforms to the Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission among other measures in its Conditions for a
Sustainable Election
in Zimbabwe document launched last year.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Politics
UPON assuming
office at Independence in 1980, Prime Minister Robert Mugabe
faced a
daunting task of winning over an international community
apprehensive that
his socialist rhetoric would be translated into
nationalisation of land and
other key economic resources held by minority
white Zimbabweans and other
foreign interests.
Report by Herbert Moyo
Mugabe did not let the
euphoria of Independence go to his head, but instead
choose the pragmatic
route, and soon won over sceptics with a
highly-publicised policy of
national reconciliation. He allowed capitalist
enterprises to co-exist with
his socialist style five-year economic
development plans.
A
leadership code requiring party officials to declare their assets and
desist
from engaging in private business to prevent corruption was the
cherry on
top.
When growing corruption reared its head in 1988 in the form of the
high-profile Willowvale Scandal in which senior government ministers used
their status to acquire motor vehicles at knock-down prices before
re-selling them for substantial profits, Mugabe did not spare the
rod.
The likes of Enos Nkala, Callistus Ndlovu, Frederick Shava, Dzingai
Mutumbuka and Maurice Nyagumbo were forced to resign. Such was the stigma
attached to corruption that the shamed Nyagumbo allegedly committed suicide
after his dismissal.
Mugabe’s profile subsequently rose as he became
the darling of the
international community, winning acclaim as attested to
by the Africa Prize
for Leadership he won in 1987, the same year he assumed
the powerful
executive presidency.
However, things began to unravel
in the 1990s as politicians looted a VIP
housing scheme in 1995, claimed
massive disability pay-outs from the War
Victims’ Compensation Fund in 1997
before being exposed as multiple-farm
owners after the controversial
fast-track land reform that started in 2000,
among other cases.
This
was exacerbated by Mugabe and his party Zanu PF’s populist and ruinous
economic policies and an increasingly dictatorial state which has not only
impoverished the country but condemned it to pariah status, ranked 163rd out
of 176 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index
for 2012.
Corruption has become so deeply entrenched in Zanu PF that
even provincial
party officials from Manicaland, including chairperson Mike
Madiro and four
colleagues, allegedly solicited US$750 000 from diamond
mining companies in
Chiadzwa, purportedly for party activities including
preparations for the
party’s annual conference in Gweru last December, only
to convert the funds
to their own use.
Initially at a loss as to the
next course of action, the police, accused of
bias towards Zanu PF, sought
advice from the party on how to deal with the
issue since embezzlement
involved party officials.
Instead of throwing it back to the police for
investigation, Vice-President
Joice Mujuru, acting president, referred the
matter to the party’s
disciplinary section.
An irate Mugabe withdrew
the issue from the politburo agenda last week
saying it should be
investigated by the police as it was a purely criminal
matter, lending
credence to the public belief the police are partisan.
Politburo insiders
said Mugabe, battling to salvage his damaged legacy and
keen to be seen as
taking a tough stance against corruption, argued that the
matter was a clear
case of “theft and corruption”. As a party he said “we
should not tolerate
corruption”.
Although Mugabe can be commended for putting his foot down
while
inadvertently exposing the police, the question many Zimbabweans are
asking
is when does corruption become a crime in Zimbabwe? Does it only
become
corruption when Mugabe says so?
Despite his rhetoric, Mugabe’s
record in dealing with corruption suggests
his handling of the Madiro saga
smacks more of double standards and
selective justice being meted out to
lower ranking party officials, while
party bigwigs are left
scot-free.
Mugabe’s failure or tardiness in dealing with bigwigs
implicated in
corruption has also been exposed in his continued inaction
following former
South African president Thabo Mbeki’s disclosure of
kickback demands by Zanu
PF ministers. Mugabe requested and was given
evidence that his ministers
demanded US$10 million in bribes from ANC-linked
business people who wanted
to invest in Zimbabwe.
An expectant nation
held its collective breath waiting to see corrupt
ministers consumed by the
fire and brimstone Mugabe promised at the party’s
conference in
December.
So far no-one has been sacked or suspended, let alone openly
investigated,
giving credence to assertions party heavyweights literally get
away with
anything as long as they are loyal to Mugabe. Mugabe also failed
to act
after being informed by Core Mining director Lovemore Kurotwi that
Mines
minister Obert Mpofu had allegedly demanded a US$10 million bribe last
year
to facilitate a mining venture.
This was despite High Court
judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu saying Mpofu’s
name was being “dragged
through the mud”.
“The allegations might also be true, said Bhunu,
adding, “I am inclined to
call the minister and the minister should come and
clear his name.”
Habakkuk Trust chief executive officer Dumisani Nkomo
said the latest
attempts to deal with Madiro and his accomplices smack of a
whitewash given
Mugabe’s long history of failing to deal with high level
corruption.
“There have been a few isolated cases in the past like
Willowgate where
ministers were forced to resign but generally the net has
always caught the
small fish whilst the big fish swam their way out,” said
Nkomo.
Zimbabwe now has some super-rich ministers and party officials who
have
never had any other job except their modest-paying government
portfolios,
which begs the question: how did they acquire their vast
wealth?
Even Tourism minister Walter Mzembi (Zanu PF) called for the
re-introduction
of his party’s leadership code of the 1980s requiring party
officials to
declare their assets and prohibiting them from engaging in
capitalist
accumulation of wealth.
Analysts say even if they do not
steal, there is a general lack of
transparency which makes it easy for
ministers to influence entities in the
sectors they steward for
self-enrichment.
Parastatals minister Gorden Moyo revealed some ministers
were double-dipping
by claiming money and other resources from parastatals
under their watch
despite being given the same benefits by
treasury.
Despite Moyo’s revelations, nothing has been done and political
analyst
Godwin Phiri says even if Mugabe is serious he cannot take action
against
these bigwigs because the rise of a strong opposition in the form of
the
MDCs means his party would be weakened without some of these corrupt
ministers. There is also the issue of high-stakes election anticipated later
this year.
“He cannot deal with modern-day corrupt ministers because
he needs them in
his fight for supremacy with the MDCs just like he has been
forced to allow
back into the party those who attempted a palace coup
against him in
Tsholotsho in 2004 because he realises they have the capacity
to win back
seats for Zanu PF,” Phiri said.
Zimbabwe Democracy
Institute executive director Pedzisayi Ruhanya says
“Mugabe must do the
fishing in the biggest ponds of the political structure
including his
cabinet” to rid the country of corruption.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Politics
VETERANS of
Zimbabwe’s 1970s liberation war had their hopes of a US$2 000
monthly
windfall dashed after government failed to pay them the money
despite
promises made by Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) chief General
Constantine
Chiwenga late last year.
Report by Herbert Moyo
Chiwenga
reportedly promised war veterans payments of US$18 000 each to be
paid in
monthly instalments of US$2 000 for nine months at a meeting at One
Brigade
Headquarters in Bulawayo in November 2012.
Chiwenga said the money would
come from diamond mining in Marange and
investment in the Lupane gas project
in which the ZDF partnered Russian
investors.
The expectant war
veterans were disappointed to find no deposits into their
bank accounts on
their pay day on Monday.
Instead they got the usual amounts of between
US$160 and US$170.
Disgruntled war veterans told this paper it was
disheartening that Chiwenga
and Zanu PF were engaging in cheap politicking
by making false promises.
“They owe us the money because we were never
paid in full when we got Z$50
000 in 1997,” said one irate war veteran. “The
most distressing thing is
that nobody bothered to explain anything to us.
Members need to re-group to
decide on the appropriate response if nothing
materialises in the coming
months.”
War veterans’ leader Jabulani
Sibanda confirmed they had not received the
promised money but referred all
questions to Chiwenga since he made the
promises.
“All l know is that
war veterans never received any money,” said Sibanda.
“People have been
asking me what happened to the money promised by Chiwenga
but they should be
asking Chiwenga. I wasn’t there in Bulawayo because l
wasn’t even invited to
the meeting. You should ask Chiwenga because l don’t
know his programme and
how he is operating,” Sibanda said in a telephone
interview on
Wednesday.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association
secretary-general
Shadreck Makombe confirmed last month that the association
was having
meetings with the government over compensation for liberating the
country
from colonial rule.
“We negotiated for Z$150 000 per
individual which was equivalent to US$20
000 and we only received Z$50 000
(US$2 000) in 1997; as such there is need
for our patron (President Robert
Mugabe) to release the remaining US$18
000,” Makombe said.
However,
Sibanda appeared to contradict Makombe when he said the immediate
priority
is to ensure that Zanu PF wins elections and the money issue will
be
discussed later.
“We are not in a rush to get the money because right now
our priority is to
ensure Mugabe wins the elections. Only then will we start
talking about the
money issue. In any case we don’t get our money from
Chiwenga because we are
not in the army,” said Sibanda.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in
Politics
THE chaos that rocked the Zanu PF Masvingo provincial meeting
designed to
endorse President Robert Mugabe’s candidature for next year’s
elections
exposed underlying divisions in the party ahead of its conference
in Gweru
next month.
Report by Elias Mambo
The Masvingo
meeting held last week was characterised by acrimonious clashes
between
partyspokesperson Rugare Gumbo and former Masvingo governor and
politburo
member, Josaya Hungwe, who are said to support the rival camps of
Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa,
respectively.
According to sources who attended the meeting, Gumbo
took a swipe at Hungwe
for proclaiming he is the party’s new leader in
Masvingo following the death
of Higher Education minister Stan Mudenge.
Mudenge died on October 4.
“The atmosphere was very tense as Gumbo
attacked Hungwe for allegedly
declaring in the media that he is the new
leader of Masvingo after the death
of Mudenge. Gumbo said those being
labelled as belonging to the Mujuru
faction are in the right group because
Mujuru is in Mugabe’s ‘faction’,” the
source said.
Gumbo advised
Masvingo provincial members to revisit the party constitution
to verify who
is senior in the province between Hungwe and politburo member
Dzikamai
Mavhaire, aligned to the Mujuru faction.
Sources said Hungwe hastily hit
back, describing Gumbo as coming from “a
clan of losers” who succumbed to
the rival MDC-T in previous elections.
In his closing remarks Hungwe
reportedly said: “The Gumbos originally come
from Gutu where they have been
defeated by the MDC since 2000. We thought
his visit would bring peace as
his name Rugare (peace) suggests, but it
appears he has brought further
divisions.”
Gumbo had also poured scorn on Zanu PF T-shirts sourced by
Hungwe for
campaigns in Masvingo, saying they were of cheap material.
However, Hungwe
told the Zimbabwe Independent on Wednesday that most senior
party officials
had failed to source T-shirts.
“I gave them T-shirts
so that the Masvingo people may not look orphans who
have no one to provide
for them,” said Hungwe.
The re-admission of former provincial chairperson
Daniel Shumba has also
stirred more controversy as he would contest against
Gift Orma for the party’s
Masvingo Urban primary elections.
Shumba
belongs to the Mnangagwa faction while Orma is from the Mujuru
grouping.
Gumbo warned those supporting Shumba are going against the party
because
Shumba formed his own party after being expelled from Zanu PF and
contested
against Mugabe.
“It was clear Gumbo is pushing Mujuru’s agenda because he
was totally
against everything done by those belonging to the Mnangagwa
faction,” said a
close source.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Politics
THERE is growing
confusion over MDC-T Vice-President Thokozani Khupe’s fate
after her alleged
role in the intra-party violence that rocked the party in
Bulawayo in the
run-up to its congress last year as spokesperson Douglas
Mwonzora has
absolved her of any blame.
Report by Herbert Moyo
Mwonzora said a
disciplinary committee is summoning those fingered by the
Trust Manda
Commission report on violence to answer charges.
He, however, said Khupe
was not among those facing action as all allegations
levelled against her
had been investigated and proved baseless.
The commission investigated
intra-party violence that shook the MDC-T in
Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Midlands
North, Masvingo and Mashonaland West ahead
of the party’s
congress.
Mwonzora’s comments contradict those of party leader, Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai who in an exclusive interview with the Zimbabwe
Independent
recently confirmed all those fingered in the intra-party
violence, including
Khupe, would face disciplinary action.
Mwonzora
however dismissed accusations the party is protecting high-ranking
party
officials fingered in corruption and fuelling violence, saying the
party is
in the process of disciplining all those implicated, including
national
executive members.
Mwonzora’s comments follow complaints by Bulawayo
officials who this week
accused the party leadership of letting
vice-president Thokozani Khupe off
the hook .
Khupe is reportedly
angry with Tsvangirai over the issue.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in News
ZIMBABWE’S bloated
parliament is set to expand further to accommodate an
extra 60 women MPs
provided for in the draft constitution recently endorsed
by Zanu PF and the
MDCs.
Report by Herbert Moyo
According to Section 124, subsection
1(b) of the draft constitution, the
first two parliaments after its
adoption, would have “an additional 60 women
members, six from each of the
provinces into which Zimbabwe is divided,
elected through a system of
proportional representation based on the votes
cast for candidates
representing political parties in a general election for
constituency
members in the provinces”.
The new measures come at a time political
parties are still to fully
implement Sadc protocols on gender requiring them
to adopt measures that
would culminate in gender equality by 2015, including
reserving political
positions for women.
Women’s Affairs deputy
minister Jessie Majome said the country had not done
enough to promote
gender equality due to “male resistance” and took a swipe
at government and
political parties for stifling the political advancement
of women, saying at
17% Zimbabwe was well below the global average of 30%
women representation
in politics and government.
“Zimbabwe is still way below the global
average as (far as) women’s
representation is concerned and I am
disappointed that the provisions will
last for the duration of only two
parliaments,” said Majome. “I would have
preferred that they remain in place
until there are proper guarantees that
Zimbabwe will have 50-50 gender
equality in political positions,” Majome
said.
She however defended
the new constitutional provisions saying it was more
important to increase
women’s representation and worrying about the
financial implications was a
luxury that can only be afforded by men who
were already well
represented.
“The only way of avoiding a bloated parliament would have
been to reserve a
quota for women in the 210 seats already in place, but
that has been met
with resistance from men,” said Majome.
National
Constitutional Assembly spokesperson Blessing Vava said the
provisions were
“expensive, cosmetic and irrelevant in the fight to achieve
gender
equality”.
“The government is already struggling to pay salaries of the
current
parliamentarians and they further complicate the situation by
increasing the
numbers,” said Vava. “The people never asked for these
measures in the
outreach programmes, but the parties go on to create more
areas of patronage
and accommodation for their members.”
Questions
have always been raised about the desirability and sustainability
of a
bi-cameral legislature as well as its size given Zimbabwe’s relatively
small
population of around 12 million.
Zimbabwe already has 210 members of the
House of Assembly and 80 senators, a
result of various constitutional
amendments that have been effected during
the 33 years of Zanu PF
rule.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in News
BULAWAYO youths
bearing the brunt of the city’s company closures have
questioned Youth
Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment
minister Saviour
Kasukuwere why he was only engaging them now that crucial
elections were
imminent.
Report by Nqobile Bhebhe
Zanu PF is targeting the youth
vote in the elections expected later this
year.
The youths constitute
a huge voting bloc of about 60% of Zimbabwe’s 5,4
million registered
voters.
Kasukuwere told the youths in Bulawayo on Monday he had been
tasked by
President Robert Mugabe with a “generational mandate to inform
youths
countrywide that they should have a firm grip on the
economy”.
“Mugabe said to me, minister, tell the youth that time for
action is now,”
said Kasukuwere. “The hour that many of our young people
have been waiting
for is a generational assignment to take control of the
economy.”
He had a torrid time responding adequately to queries raised by
the city’s
youths.
They told him of alleged skewed disbursement of
the controversial Youth
Fund.
Youths from the Matabeleland region
have been accused of submitting
un-bankable business plans or simply
shunning the Youth Fund scheme.
The youths said they are struggling to access
the Youth Fund and felt
marginalised.
Kasukuwere blamed the banks for
the youths’ woes saying they (banks) are
refusing to fund youths’
empowerment drive.
He said that attitude would be rectified “in a few
days” without
elaborating.
However, that was insufficient to calm the
youths who charged that
Kasukuwere was only expressing concern over their
plight because elections
are looming.
Zanu PF passed a resolution at
its conference in Gweru last December calling
for the “speedy disbursement
of youth empowerment funds to districts and
wards by the responsible
government ministry to facilitate the much-needed
development capital to the
jobless youths”.
Kasukuwere said in Lupane last year he was amazed “most
proposals by the
youths from Matabeleland are about chickens” and demanded
that they submit
“big proposals to venture into tourism, mining and
wildlife”.
“I do not want any more chicken projects from you!” he
said.
It also emerged at the meeting that Cabs had not processed most project
proposals with more than 7 000 having already been rejected.
Out of
the US$10 million seed money for the fund, only US$2,9 million has
been
disbursed to youths in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and
Bulawayo.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Politics
LOOMING
primary elections in the MDC-T are set to provide a litmus test for
the
party’s democratic ideals.
Report by Elias Mambo
Sources within
the party said fissures could further widen given the way the
party’s top
brass are protecting each other from possible challengers for
parliamentary
seats.
The party has put in place stringent conditions for aspirants,
including
requiring that candidates for local government elections own
houses in the
area they want to represent.
This is being deemed
undemocratic by some party members. An official in the
national executive
said the MDC-T leadership is shooting itself in the foot
by closing doors on
its foot soldiers who have stuck with the party since
its
formation.
“Tsvangirai wants to make sure that he removes all those with
the
institutional memory of the party to replace them with people who do not
challenge him,” said the official.
Sources also said some
constituencies were not going to have primaries as
they had been reserved
for certain individuals.
For example, Buhera West had been reserved for
the late John Makumbe.
Outgoing legislator Eric Matinenga said he was
working with Makumbe as an
“incoming member of parliament”, which suggests
that while the MDC-T has
been talking about a transparent process in
selecting candidates to
represent the party, a “royal clique” had been given
safe passage, sources
said.
Controversy is also brewing over the
candidature of party members based in
the diaspora. A number of these have
expressed interest in contesting.
“MDC-T is setting a very bad precedent
by giving constituencies on a silver
platter to those who were comfortable
abroad at the expense of those who
have endured Zanu PF abuse,” said another
source.
Former Zimbabwe Mirror journalist Grace Kwinjeh and ex-ZBC disc
jockeys Ezra
Sibanda and Eric Knight have expressed an interest in
contesting on the
party’s ticket.
Kwinjeh announced her interest to
contest the Makoni Central constituency in
Manicaland while Sibanda and
Knight are eying Lower Gweru and Mbare
respectively.
This has set the
party on a collision course with the MDC-T Supporters’
Forum which is
against imposition of candidates as well as reservation of
seats for
“special people”.
The forum comprises the party’s supporters from the
high-density suburbs of
Kambuzuma, Mufakose, Rugare, Dzivaresekwa, Warren
Park and Kuwadzana and is
a loose union of MDC-T district executives
disgruntled over their party’s
selection process of candidates for the
forthcoming polls.
“We are not happy at all and we are arranging
countrywide campaigns to stop
imposition of candidates,” said one forum
official.
However, MDC-T organising secretary Nelson Chamisa said there
was nothing
wrong in allowing those who were outside the country to contest
because they
were in the party structures.
“Those from the diaspora
have always been part of this family. They were in
the structures which I
supervise abroad, so constitutionally they are
allowed to contest in any
election,” Chamisa said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Politics
AS elections loom
after the principals compromised on the contentious draft
constitution, the
MDC led by Welshman Ncube has started scouting for
potential candidates to
represent the party.
Report by Brian Chitemba
The party is
inviting applications from aspiring councillors, MPs and
senators by
February 14.
The MDC, which won 10 House of Assembly seats and six senate
seats in the
2008 polls, would only have primary elections in constituencies
with more
than one aspiring legislator.
Unlike the MDC-T and Zanu PF,
the MDC has minimal cases of jostling for
seats as party members seem to
agree on candidates.
Sources said jostling was only expected in Bulawayo
East where provincial
vice-chairman and Ward 4 councillor Paul Malaba and
2008 losing candidate,
Jasmine Tofa, who is the provincial treasurer, are
set to battle it out.
Bulawayo East constituency is a political hotbed
even for the MDC-T where MP
Thabitha Khumalo is fiercely fighting to retain
her parliamentary seat amid
reports that the MDC-T leadership wants to
replace her with former United
Kingdom-based academic Mandla Nyathi, now a
National University of Science
and Technology lecturer.
MDC research
and policy director Qhubani Moyo has publicly declared that he
will contest
for the Bulawayo Central seat currently held by Dorcas Sibanda
of the
MDC-T.
Thabile Ndlovu is vigorously campaigning to unseat Deputy Prime
Minister
Thokozani Khupe in Makokoba where over 100 MDC-T supporters
allegedly
crossed the floor to join the Ncube-led MDC last year.
The
MDC is set to field candidates in all 210 House of Assembly seats
countrywide, quashing claims that the party was a Matabeleland-based
organisation.
MDC sources said out of 26 constituencies in Masvingo,
about 23 aspiring MPs
had already shown interest while aspiring candidates
in Mashonaland,
Manicaland and the Midlands are busy submitting their
applications.
MDC secretary-general Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga has
written to
provinces instructing them to submit names for prospective
presidential
candidates although indications are that Ncube is likely to be
unanimously
nominated.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in News
HANDS
cuffed, seat belt strapped and legs tightly bound together, a deported
Zimbabwean is flown back from London to Harare International Airport on an
economy-class ticket, courtesy of the British government.
Report by
Tendai Marima
The deportees are accompanied back by private security
guards long-accused
of assaulting people during deportation from the
UK.
Rights activists based in the UK now claim the security contractors
hired by
the UK government sedate or threaten to sedate Zimbabweans during
deportation.
Diaspora activist group ZimVigil which stages weekly
demonstrations in
London against Zimbabwe’s (President Robert) Mugabe-led
government said they
had recently received four reports of use and
threatened use of sedation by
security. One woman alleges that when she was
flown back to Harare at the
end of last year, she was told she would be
drugged if she refused to
co-operate with authorities.
Former MDC
chairman and president of ZimVigil, Ephraim Tapa, said initial
reports had
come from members and the deportee later revealed she was
shipped back to
Harare with nothing.
“A relative of a person who was deported told us
this. The (deported) girl
was one of our members and she was forced to go
(home) with nothing; no
clothing or bags, only what she had on her,” said
Tapa in a telephone
interview. “She told us they threatened to sedate her
and bundled her away
to deport her.”
Braving Britain’s freezing
wintry temperatures a few weeks ago Zimbabwean
human rights activists
protested and petitioned the British government to
review the manner in
which the immigration department, UK Border Agency
(UKBA), is handling
asylum claims.
Scores of Zimbabweans gathered in Leeds, West Yorkshire,
to demonstrate
against UKBA because, activists claim, new asylum claims are
strangely being
rejected on the basis of evidence given in previous asylum
claims, yet this
old evidence is inadmissible in fresh appeals to
remain.
Activists also allege UKBA has stepped up its deportation of
Zimbabweans and
private security companies contracted to conduct
deportations have been
accused of using or threatening to use sedatives on
deportees during flights
in order to restrain them.
Zimbabwe Let’s
Unite, a Leeds-based diaspora pressure group which organised
the march,
claims several hundred people demonstrated in Leeds. After the
two-hour
protest, briefly covered by BBC Leeds Radio, the group submitted a
signed
petition to the head of UKBA’s Leeds office.
“BBC Leeds Radio interviewed
a few individuals regarding inhuman treatment
received by Zimbabweans at the
hands of Home Office’s contractors,” said
organiser, Kevin Ngwenya, in an
interview.
“Almost 300 people signed the petition later handed to Sharon,
Head of UKBA
in Leeds to submit it to the Secretary of State for us. Sharon
made a
promise that she would make sure we get a
response from the
Secretary of State,” said Ngwenya.
Due to growing concerns about drugging
and other controversial deportation
procedures, Tapa said ZimVigil was
planning to visit detention centres where
those awaiting removal are held.
The group also plans to petition the UK
Home Secretary, Theresa
May.
“The UKBA is denying the allegations, but we intend to visit
detention
centre to get some insight into what is going on. We have
petitioned the
Home Office Secretary of State to express our grave concerns
and misgivings
about the deportations,” he
said.
UKBA denies there
has been any use of sedatives in restraint of deportees.
Responding to a
Freedom of the Information request in July 2012, UKBA said
it did not
administer substances to people for deportation purposes.
“UKBA has never
used sedation to achieve the compliance of any individual
being returned on
either a chartered or scheduled flight,” responded Hussain
Tanvir, a UKBA
official.
British charity, Medical Justice, an organisation which
advocates for
healthcare provision to immigration detainees, recently told
the Independent
that it had not received any reports of Zimbabweans or any
other
nationalities being drugged by security. However other EU countries
such as
France, Ireland and Switzerland are known to use sedatives,
straightjackets
and mouth gags to restrain resistant deportees. On several
occassions,
injection has resulted in death.
Emma Ginn, spokesperson
for Medical Justice, said in 2008 the organisation
documented more than 300
assault claims during removals from the UK. Reports
of assault during
detention and removal are not uncommon. In 2011 Jimmy
Mubenga, an Angolan
refugee died under mysterious circumstances on board a
forced flight back to
Luanda.
Mubenga died before the plane even left the runway at Heathrow
Airport, as a
result of being assaulted by security men from G4S, a private
company hired
by UKBA to conduct removals. Last year, Medical Justice
revealed how the UK
government breached its own rules, holding victims of
torture for longer
than the prescribed period.
Zimbabwean activists
vow their protests are only the beginning, as the
possibility of elections
in 2013 poses risks for those who fled Zimbabwe in
fear of political
persecution during the 2000s.
The groups recommend the UK halt
deportations to Zimbabwe until at least six
months after crucial elections
expected later this year to end a wobbly
coalition government, when there is
certainty over the winner. Although the
UK has offered refuge to many
Zimbabweans fleeing political persecution
since 1999, allegations of
sedation and threats of drugging resistant people
on long-haul flights raise
serious human rights concerns about the UK’s
deportation policy towards
Zimbabwe.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in News
MEDIA organisations
have expressed disappointment over a “cocktail” of
provisions that curtail
media freedom and access to information in the new
constitutional draft,
saying the provisions are steeped in the same attitude
as the current
constitution.
While applauding the draft constitution for explicitly
guaranteeing media
freedom and freedom of expression, media experts have
said it appeared more
of a privilege than a fundamental right.
Media
Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Zimbabwe director Nhlanhla Ngwenya
said
the draft constitution safeguards freedom of expression and explicitly
guarantees media freedom and access to information, which liberties were
only inferred under Section 20 of the current constitution.
Ngwenya
said: “Also notable is the constitutional protection of journalists
against
revealing their sources as well as the ushering in of an independent
broadcasting regulatory mechanism.
However, Ngwenya said the
entrenchment of a statutory media regulatory
board, the Zimbabwe Media
Commission, contradicts the spirit and letter of
media freedom and access to
information the draft seeks to promote.
“The commission, for example,
retains powers to ‘take disciplinary action’
against journalists deemed to
have violated ethical conduct. In a democracy,
the duty of a media regulator
is not to ‘discipline’ journalists or media
houses, but to secure an
environment that would promote free media
activity.”
Vice-chairperson of the Voluntary Medias Council of
Zimbabwe Cris Chinaka
said, “The media industry has clearly and loudly said
it wants
self-regulation. We want it to be explicit in the constitution,
especially
coming from a period where we had repression of media
practitioners.
We need to continue to campaign for an environment that
enables freedom of
expression where journalists’ issues are treated as civil
matters.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in
Business
ESSAR Africa Ltd’s takeover of Ziscosteel, which was hanging in
limbo
following an appeal by businessman Rodreck Mumbire, who was
challenging the
transfer of some of the iron ore claims owned by Buchwa Iron
Mining Company
(Bimco) to Essar, will now proceed following a landmark
ruling in favour of
the government, businessdigest can reveal.
BY
CLIVE MPHAMBELA
The Supreme Court, sitting in the capital on Tuesday this
week, issued an
order that could effectively pave the way for the closure of
the outstanding
Essar Africa-Ziscosteel transaction.
Deputy Chief
Justice Luke Malaba, sitting with Justice Anne-Mary Gowora and
Justice Yunus
Omerjee heard the appeal arising out of a judgment by Justice
Samuel Kudya
in the High Court last year, which had effectively upheld the
transfer of
the BIMCO claims to Mumbire.
The Supreme Court agreed with the
submissions made by Addington Chinake of
Kantor & Immerman for the
appellant — Bimco — the gazetting of a
cancellation of Mumbire’s claims on
October 26 by the Minister of Mines had
effectively determined the rights
of the parties for the purposes of the
appeal.
Consequently, the
Supreme Court declined to write an academic Judgment on
the
point.
The effect of the judgment is summed up by Deputy Chief Justice
Malaba who
said that on October 26 the Minister of Mines had effectively
determined the
rights of the parties factually and with the consent of
Buchwa’s counsel,
Chinake, and Advocate Lewis Uriri appearing for Mumbire
and his company
Bearable Prospects (Private) Limited ordered by consent
that: “In light of
the publication of Government Gazette, Vol XC No 60,
General Notice 484 of
2012 dated October 26 2012 cancelling the claims in
dispute: the appeal is
hereby withdrawn; each party shall pay its own costs,
both in this court and
in court a quo.”
The Supreme Court found that
the gazetting of cancellation of the claims was
final in the
circumstances.
The legal proceedings instituted against the government,
which have
allegedly been frustrating efforts by Essar to conclude the
take-over of
Ziscosteel operations, were threatening to wreck the Essar
deal.
According to reports carried in our sister paper, NewsDay, the
transaction
between the government and Essar Africa for the take-over of
Ziscosteel
could not be fully consummated because of legal challenges over
the iron ore
mining claims that are supposed to be transferred to the mining
giant.
The deal, worth an estimated US$750 million, was sealed in March
2011,
resulting in Ziscoteel being unbundled into two companies, NewZim
Steel and
NewZim Minerals.
Essar acquired 60% in NewZim Steel and it
was also agreed that the Indian
giant would acquire 80% of iron ore mining
unit Bimco.
Bimco held the rights to iron ore claims for supply to
Ziscosteel.
The reports said several people were claiming ownership of
the claims, among
them Mumbire.
The claims in dispute were cited as
Leleza 1-15 registration no 12896
BM-12910BM and Berlena 1-15, registration
numbers 12896 BM–12895 BM.
Essar has since expressed frustration as it
has failed to commence
operations more than a year after the deal was inked
and has threatened to
withdraw in protest over the government’s failure to
guarantee adequate iron
ore supplies.
Contacted for comment, Industry
and Commerce minister Welshman Ncube said
the legal issue surrounding the
mining claims had been one of the issues
delaying the Essar deal.
“We
are in the process of bringing finality to the issue and are hopeful
that
within the next few weeks there will be timelines for when everything
will
be completed,” he said.
“Those are some of the things that have been
delaying us on this deal but
they fall under the jusridisction of the
ministry of mines.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Business
Tobacco
yields for the 2012-13 marketing season are expected to slump by 40%
owing
to serious damage to the crop by heavy rains in January, the Zimbabwe
Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) said this week.
Report by Gamma
Mudarikiri
ZCFU president Wonder Chabikwa told businessdigest the
heavy rains
received in the country in January resulted in heavy
leaching which
would compromise the quality and quantity of the
crop this year.
“There was massive leaching, especially in sandy
soils, due to the heavy
rains received in January and we are
estimating that the tobacco
output will decline by at least 40%,”
said Chabikwa.
However, the Tobacco Industries and Marketing Board (TIMB)
had projected
this year’s crop yield to be around 170 million kilogrammes
from 144
million kilogrammes last year.
Chabikwa projected maize
output would also slump to below the initial
forecasts of less than 600 000
tonnes owing to the same heavy January rains.
This meant the country
would continue to import food, a development
that would see the
country’s trade deficit, currently at US$3,6 billion,
widening.
Meanwhile, national cattle herd in 2012 dwindled to 5
million owing to
the drought in the country especially in Matebeland
and other regions
of the country.
Matebeland South provincial
livestock specialist Simingaliphi Ngwabi told
businessdigest that last
year the national herd slumped to 5 million,
from 5,2 million the
previous year, adding the decline was due to the
persistent drought in
the region.
“The decline in the number of cattle is because of
the persistent
drought and is thus a major setback towards rebuilding
the national
cattle herd in Zimbabwe,” said Ngwabi.
The decline in
the national herd has consequently reduced export operations
in the sector
and the country continues to be dependent on beef imports from
countries
like Botswana.
Agriculture in the country remains in the doldrums amid
accusations the
government has done too little to revive the sector.
This
year the economy is expected to grow only by 5% largely due to the poor
performance of the sector.
The 2012 agricultural season was also
characterised by lower than expected
maize and tobacco output, resulting in
depressed production in the
food-based manufacturing and the retail
sector.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Business
Zimbabwe must
increase its tobacco production to meet increasing demand in
the United
States and other international markets, Zimbabwe Tobacco
Association
president Adrian Swales said.
Fidelity Mhlanga
At a Blackfordby
College of Agriculture open day recently, Swales said there
was increasing
demand for locally-produced tobacco internationally, adding
this called for
an increase in production.
Zimbabwe, which exports its tobacco to the
United States, Brazil and China,
is facing high demand following a supply
deficit.
Traditionally, because of its high quality owing to unique
climatic
conditions, Zimbabwean tobacco is used internationally for blending
in the
manufacture of cigarettes to give them their distinct
flavours.
“There is shortage of tobacco. I received a call from the
United States of
America urging us to increase the size of the crop due to
the increasing
demands of our tobacco,” said Swales.
Tobacco Industry
Marketing Board chief executive Andrew Matibiri said as of
January 4 at
least 65 199 growers had registered, compared to 34 673 in the
same period
last year.
Of those registered, A1 farmers comprised 43%, communal
farmers 40%, small
scale commercial farmers 10% and A2 farmers 7%. The
number of registered new
farmers was 30 526.
“Generally, there is a
sharp increase in area planted compared to last year.
Reaping and curing of
the irrigated crop is under
way and dryland tobacco’s condition is ranging
from fair to good, with barn
construction in progress for new farmers,” said
Matibiri
Contract farmers had the potential of producing about 92 030 139
kilogrammes
this year. Among the merchants who contracted farmers, NT had 12
004
hectares, Mashonaland Tobacco Company 8 903ha, Tianze 51 199 ha, Tribac
4
888,75ha, and Chidziva 3 167,5 ha.
A total of 92,4 million kg of
the contracted crop were sold at an average
price of US$3,72 per kg last
year. This was a significant increase from 74,5
million kg at an average
price of US$2,97 per kg recorded in 2011.
Total tobacco sales volumes at
all auction floors last year were 52,1
million kg, at an average price of
US$3,52/kg. This was down from 57,9
million kg at US$2,52/kg in
2011.
A total 130 million kg was exported last year, with more than 42%
of the
tobacco going to China. In total, exports earned US$771 million
averaging
US$5,94/kg. The average price is the highest annual average
export price
achieved since dollarisation.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Opinion
Zanu PF has
encouraged people in Bulawayo to “vote wisely” and “completely
wipe out” the
MDC formations in the forthcoming elections, the Herald
reported on
Monday.
Column by Muckraker
Senior Zanu PF members addressed a
rally at Stanley Square on Sunday where
they promised to revive the city’s
fortunes.
They took turns to address party supporters telling them the
time to
“completely wipe out” the MDC was now. They paid tribute to the late
John
Nkomo who would have been surprised to hear his “legacy of peace”
hijacked
by vitriolic partisan speakers.
His dream was to see a
peaceful 2013 and he wanted Zanu PF to win
resoundingly, the Herald reported
Ignatious Chombo as saying. “We know the
MDC is everywhere but we are geared
for the elections,” he said.
“During the last elections in 2008 we did
not do well because of MDC but
that will not happen again,” Chombo declared
with some confidence. “When you
vote choose Zanu PF, the people who have
your concerns at heart.”
Strange isn’t it that Zanu PF only has the
people’s concerns at heart when
it is election time!
Sudden
concern
Suddenly Zanu PF is committed to seeing “the water situation,
housing and
your welfare generally improving and that can happen when you
vote wisely,”
Chombo declared.
So the people of Bulawayo failed to
vote wisely in 2000, 2005, and 2008, it
would seem!
Saviour
Kasukuwere was in an equally belligerent mood. “We do not want MDC
in
Bulawayo anymore and we want to run it over,” he proclaimed. This was the
start of the city’s revival, he said.
“Factories have closed and MDC
is always calling for change. What change
have they brought apart from
short-changing Bulawayo?”
“The journey has started,” Kasukuwere declared,
“and we will be visiting
Bulawayo regularly.”
“You people of Bulawayo
should start that fight today.”
Should they? It evidently hasn’t occurred to
the gang of failed bankers and
self-enrichment pioneers who constitute Zanu
PF’s apparatchik class that the
people of Bulawayo may not be in any mood
for fighting talk. What has Zanu
PF done for Bulawayo since 2000? Blocked a
pipeline?
From bad to worse
As if Chombo and Kasukuwere’s utterances
were not clownish enough, NewsDay
reports Zanu PF Matabeleland North
provincial commissar, Jonathan Nkanyezi,
vowed to continue backing President
Mugabe even if he became too old or
incapacitated.
“We will rally
behind him because of his leadership. At the moment he is the
only leader
capable of heading the party,” bleated Nkanyezi. “They may say
he is old,
but we will rally behind him, even when he is wheelchair-bound,
we will
bring him here to address us.”
Vote wisely indeed!
Embedded
scribes
Despite the accord reached between Zanu PF and the two MDCs, the
state media
continues to spew out its poisonous propaganda. Instead of
serving the
interests of the wider public, Herald reporters have been
pursuing a
partisan agenda.
They were for instance thrilled that
several civic groups were prevented
from attending last weekend’s AU summit
in Addis Ababa.
The civics had tried “to misrepresent the situation and lobby
for Zimbabwe’s
inclusion on the summit agenda”.
Their failure to gain
admission to the summit left them with “egg on their
faces”, the Herald
reported, using one of its favourite expressions.
One of the areas that
civil society claims is largely unresolved is that of
press freedom. The
public press remains captive to Zanu PF as the episode in
Addis Ababa, as
reported, illustrates. So no change there!
Meanwhile the state media must
stop claiming there has been a seismic
breakthrough in talks between the
three parties when nothing has been done
to address media
anomalies.
Zanu PF hasn’t woken up to the reality that the more it boasts
of having
triumphed in the talks, the more the public are likely to vote
“No”.
A number of civics and newspapers have rather incautiously rushed
to say
“Yes” on Morgan Tsvangirai’s instructions where they will sit rather
uncomfortably alongside the Herald and Sunday Mail.
The public press
by the way managed to get John Nkomo’s age wrong in just
about every mention
of him. “He was 79” we were constantly told. In fact he
was 78. Not terribly
difficult to work out when he was born on August 22
1934.
Fuming
spree
Last week we carried a story in which President Mugabe ordered
police to
investigate Zanu PF Manicaland provincial executives facing fraud
allegations involving more than US$750 000 in diamond money.
An
“irate” Mugabe had said Zanu PF did not tolerate corruption, as if he had
just realised it.
Mugabe, who we are told was, “visibly angry”
removed the matter from the
politburo agenda and threw it back to the police
for investigation, arguing
the supreme party organ was not the right forum
to discuss a matter “more
criminal than political”.
Not too long ago
Mugabe was again “fuming” after former South African
president Thabo Mbeki
named senior Zanu PF ministers who had demanded a
US$10 million bribe to
facilitate a US$1 billion investment by ANC-linked
investors. The ministers
had demanded “commission” and “facilitation fees”
for the removal of
obstacles to do with the indigenisation programme to
ensure they did not
encounter any problems.
Mugabe had then threatened to fire Cabinet
ministers implicated in corrupt
activities at the Zanu PF conference in
Gweru. Nothing of the sort has
happened since and Mugabe’s righteous
indignation has been meted out to
small fry in the party like provincial
executives whose transgressions pale
in comparison to those of the
bigwigs.
This puerile attempt to sanitise Zanu PF’s tattered image ahead of
elections
will get few takers.
Ill-advised police
Equally
shocking is the revelation that when the matter was initially
reported to
the police, then acting Commissioner-General Levi Sibanda wrote
to acting
President Joice Mujuru seeking “advice” on what action to take
since the
issue involved top party officials.
And yet Augustine Chihuri still has the
temerity to claim the police are not
partisan. What a load of
hogwash!
A Dream Deferred
Meanwhile President Mugabe, on his
return from the African Union summit,
expressed satisfaction with the
deliberations focusing on a wide range of
“pertinent issues affecting the
continent”.
While the leaders were mainly concerned about conflict
resolution, there
were a number of side issues like maternal health that
were considered
during the summit, we are told.
“There is the cry
that women are dying because of us, because we make them
pregnant and when
they give birth, we are not there,” Mugabe said.
“Sometimes it’s a birth
given after nine months that has not been taken care
of by doctors and there
is also the case of young girls getting pregnant.”
Muckraker was
disappointed Mugabe did not propose the appointment of a
President of Africa
as he had earlier intimated. Mugabe had told outgoing AU
chairman Benin
President Boni Yayi two weeks ago the summit should discuss
the appointment
of a President of Africa to foster unity among Africans.
“The continent
of Africa: this is what we must become. And there, we must
also have an
African head. Yes, we need one. We are not yet there,” Mugabe
said. “This is
what we must go and discuss, but we must also discuss the
issues that divide
us.”
Sadly Mugabe’s bid for an African president was lost in talk of
impregnating
women.
Savanhu’s ‘downfall’
Finally the tough
talking Tendai Savanhu has met his match in President
Mugabe’s dreary
speeches. Savanhu collapsed at the burial of Vice-President
John Nkomo at
Heroes Acre.
An unidentified senior police officer was the first to hit
the ground, the
Daily News reports, as Mugabe delivered his keynote speech.
Savanhu soon
followed suit and was wheeled-off on a stretcher lying
prostrate.
Savanhu gained infamy for threatening to “eliminate whites in
Marondera
within a week”.
“Please allow me and Chipangano youth a
week’s stay here and we will
eliminate (MDC-T legislator Iain) Kay without
any problem. Down with
whites.”
Down he went for sure!
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Opinion
No satisfaction,
joy or pleasure is gleaned from differing with the Minister
of Youth
Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment, Saviour Kasukuwere,
especially
as none can credibly contend that a substantive economic
indigenisation and
empowerment programme is irrefutably long overdue and
critically necessary
for the well-being of Zimbabwe and its people.
Opinion by Eric
Bloch
It is untenable that Zimbabwe’s economy is so relatively miniscule
that the
majority of its population enjoys very niggardly incomes, grossly
insufficient to sustain them, their families and other dependants.
It
is as greatly untenable that such economic activity as does exist vests
in
the hands of very few, whilst most are predominantly economically
inactive,
and possessing little.
Nevertheless, sometimes it is necessary to differ
with the minister, for his
very pronounced motivation and dedication to
pursue considerable indigenous
involvement in the economy and meaningful
economic empowerment is all
tragically often done in counterproductive and
adverse manners which become
barriers to achieving the declared
objectives.
In reality, the majority of Zimbabwe’s indigenisation and
empowerment laws
have proved to be deterrents to achievement of the declared
objectives.
Instead of fuelling economic growth in the beleaguered
economy, the laws
have been very major causes of continuance of Zimbabwe’s
ills, and of
intensified unemployment, with concomitant intensified poverty
for very
many.
This was emphatically shown when the minister
addressed editors who attended
the Zimbabwe National Editors Forum eight
days ago. He launched a vitriolic
attack on Zimbabwe’s foreign-owned banks
in general and upon Standard
Chartered Bank, Barclays Bank and Stanbic, in
particular.
He is reported to have said that the behaviours of
foreign-owned banks “are
appalling and, if they want to pack and go, they
can do that because they
are not of benefit to us.” He underscored that
these banks “are free to
leave if they are not prepared to support the
agricultural sector and
emerging businesses in Zimbabwe” and he alleged that
“the money they are
holding is ours, as it comes from our pension funds and
farming activities.”
These statements are cluttered with
misrepresentation, suggesting that the
minister has been markedly
misinformed of the facts and realities.
First of all, he is oblivious of
the fact that the majority of the funds
held by the banks comprise the
capital injections forthcoming from their
shareholders and international
lines of credit that they were able to
source, mainly from their
shareholders and from non-Zimbabwean financial
institutions.
Only a
small proportion of their funding is from Zimbabwean pension funds,
insurance companies and like entities, and save for such relatively small
extent as those bodies have provided funding to acquire shares in the banks,
most of those funds are naught but loans and advances which are subject to
repayment.
Admittedly, some bank funding also emanates from private
sector depositors,
including (to a limited extent) from the agricultural
sector, but almost all
of these funds are usually withdrawn very soon after
having been deposited
and, therefore, cannot be excessively used to provide
advances, be it to the
agricultural sector, to emerging businesses or other
enterprises.
Even to the extent that the foreign-owned banks do have
funding available
for advances to the private sector, they cannot extend
that availability to
all and sundry, and especially to the Zimbabwean
farmers and to emerging
businesses.
The world over, it is a
fundamental precept of banking that loans and
advances need to be secure, in
order that the banks do not sustain losses,
and thereby become unable to
meet the withdrawals by depositors, and timeous
repayment of loans advanced
to the banks.
However, in Zimbabwe, the majority of those now engaged in
agriculture do
not have assets which enable them to provide reasonable and
realistic
collateral security to banks.
They do not have lawful title
to their lands, ever since government
prescribed in the 1990s that all rural
lands vest in the State.
At best, the farmers are only possessed of
non-transferable, non-negotiable,
99-year leases, and very limited other
assets of collateral value. This is
despite the fact that 15 months ago,
President Mugabe told Parliament that
these leases would be modified to
accord them collateral status.
That has not happened. Therefore, even
though the banks may have the
wherewithal to provide some funding to
farmers, they are severely
constrained from doing so because of the absence
of the collateral. The
provision of collateral is a worldwide prerequisite
of good governance in
banking, in order to protect depositors against a
loss.
In like manner, most emerging businesses within the Zimbabwean
economy are
under-capitalised, under-funded, and devoid of that which is
necessary to
provide banks with fair and reasonable security to protect any
advances made
by them to such businesses.
Hence, the inadequacy of
bank financing in the agricultural sector and for
emerging businesses is not
a consequence of any intended discrimination or
refusal to recognise the
needs of the would-be borrowers.
Nor is it because of any bank’s policies
to undermine the economy in general
or the policies of indigenisation and
economic empowerment in particular.
That inadequacy is in part because of
the insufficiency of available
funding, despite the under-lying capitals of
the banks and by the short term
nature of deposit.
The desultory
state of the economy ensures that the deposits are also low.
Furthermore,
potential depositors, both local and foreign, still harbour
fears of the
local banking system, that some day they might not be able to
access their
money when they want to.
Banks are not enemies of Zimbabwe, as implied by
the minister, and his
accusations against them are unfounded and devoid of
substance. Such
attacks on the foreign-owned banks are a major contributor
to hesitancy and
reluctance of their shareholders, and of international
financiers, to
enhance the provision of further funding to the
banks.
That concern-based hesitancy by key-owners of those foreign-owned
banks to
further fund their Zimbabwean banking enterprises is intensified by
the
manner in which Zimbabwe is trying to aggressively enforce indigenous
majority ownership of the banks.
It is untenable to the foreign
shareholders to be confronted by endless,
antagonistic, demands that they
divest themselves of 51% of their equity
holdings, being reduced to minority
shareholders with no reasonable and
rational control authority over their
businesses.
They are not only prejudiced by this, but are also accorded
very little, if
any, ability to identify any co-shareholders, instead having
various
national funds (such as the Sovereign Wealth Fund and the Youth
Development
Fund) and community-related Trusts imposed upon
them.
They are not even given assurance that they will be accorded fair
value for
the shares of which they are divested, or as to when they will
receive
payment for such shares.
As a result, they are not only
unprepared to increase their exposure by
providing additional funding to
enhance the lending ability of their
Zimbabwean operations, but can well
reach a stage of complying with the
minister’s suggestion that they can
“pack and go”.
If this happens, there will be withdrawal from the
Zimbabwean straitened
money market of all their funding, which would further
weaken the economy.
That in turn will be yet another barrier to achieving
greatly needed,
effective and constructive, indigenisation and economic
empowerment.
The minister needs to ensure that he is given factual,
economic and
financial information, to ensure that he does not goof
again!
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Opinion
THERE is a buzz around
the country about the draft constitution which
principals in the unity
government recently endorsed.
Zimbabwe Independent Editorial
Their
endorsement of the document paves the way for parliamentary processes
that
should lead to a referendum in which Zimbabweans will be encouraged by
their
respective political parties to endorse the draft in a plebiscite.
While
constitution-making is seen as an important process critical to
citizens’
participation in governance and deepening democracy in the
country, there is
no real guarantee the new supreme law of the land is going
to achieve
this.
Like many African countries, Zimbabwe has a constitution, but does
not
practise constitutionalism. The result is that we have
progressive-looking
constitutions and paradoxically huge democratic deficits
in governance.
Recent experiences have revealed the extent to which the
Zanu PF ruling
establishment is prepared to go towards subverting the
constitution. The
post-liberation aristocracy in this country has proved to
have little
respect for the current constitution and there are no guarantees
the new one
will change that.
In the absence of a deliberate resolve
to respect the rule of law and uphold
fundamental freedoms, Zimbabwe will
continue to be a poor state, governed by
political apparatchiks who use
elections and the constitution to give
themselves a veneer of
legitimacy.
It should be noted that the ills which have afflicted this
country in recent
memory have not been caused by a deficient constitution,
but largely by
failure to adhere to the letter and spirit of the law.
In
March 2008 Zimbabwe held largely peaceful elections under the same
constitution that was in force when violence was unleashed.
The
problem after the March polls was not necessarily due to flaws in the
founding law but individuals and institutions of the state that have little
respect for constitutionalism.
The current constitution does not
condone torture but our security officers
use this as a weapon of choice to
extract information and punish political
opponents. The constitution is
clear on the need for serving security
personnel to be apolitical, but
police Commissioner-General Augustine
Chihuri and a band of senior army
officers have lent themselves to roles as
Zanu PF commissars.
Only
this week Chihuri was quoted urging wives of police officers to vote
for
Zanu PF. The new constitution is not likely to deter him from flaunting
his
political credentials and campaigning openly for the party.
There is a
dearth of constitutionalism in this country which remains a clear
and
present danger to any constitution. Constitutionalism implies
governance
within the framework of the rule of law, justice and respect for
fundamental
human rights and freedoms.
It is about constitutions in practice and not
only in form or in theory.
Failure to establish constitutionalism has
been one of the spectacular
downfalls of the unity government.
There
is no political will at the moment to disband institutions guilty of
subjugating fundamental rights. Also absent is the professionalism
fundamental to a successful state. These are still kicking about and ready
to strike at the heart of the new constitution’s bill of rights. We must be
on our guard.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 1, 2013 in Opinion
AFTER the high
drama that engulfed the constitution-making exercise, the
soon-to-end
journey that is the Government of National Unity finds itself in
the alien
realm of cooperation.
Editor’s Memo by Stewart Chabwinja
From the
Zanu PF-inspired fracas that rocked the First All-Stakeholders
Conference to
the intra and inter-party ructions amid charges of “selling
out”, and the
endless amendments and countless “deadlocks”, the road to the
new
constitution has been as bumpy as it has been costly and fractious.
The
exasperating four-year saga came to a rather anti-climactic end with the
announcement GPA parties had finally “found each other”, leading to the
resolution of all contentious clauses, thus clearing the road to a
referendum on the draft and elections this year.
All of a sudden we
have strange bedfellows –– Zanu PF and the MDC formations
that normally
would not agree on even the most mundane of issues –– cosying
up to each
other, putting on a grand show of unity of purpose as the
campaign for a
“Yes” vote from their supporters picks up speed.
Given the parties’
intractably disparate interests and the history of
acrimony that pervades
their association, it would be impossible to shake
off the nagging suspicion
that someone is being had.
Make-or-break elections are nigh; we’ll find
out soon enough!
The current unity of purpose, if you will, is bound to make
it that much
more difficult for the MDCs to wring any further concessions
from Zanu PF in
any subsequent bargaining, not that they have met much
success up to now.
Right from the first flashpoint over ministerial
allocations at the outset
of the unity government the MDCs have rarely had
it their way with Zanu PF
which has at times rode roughshod over them,
leaving no doubt as to where
power lies. Viewed from the MDCs’ standpoint
that the July 2012 draft was
final and there would be no more amendments,
Zanu PF could be whistling
merrily yet again.
Crucially, the MDC
formations have all but given up on the implementation of
the outstanding
issues spelt out in the GPA, whose aim is to facilitate free
and fair
elections, instead outsourcing the task to Sadc –– guarantors of
the
GPA.
Sadc has evidently taken up the mantle, with African Union leaders
on Monday
again urging President Robert Mugabe to implement outstanding
provisions of
the GPA before elections are held.
That, and the visit
by South African President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation
team on Tuesday, roused
the MDC-T from its long slumber to demand reforms at
a press conference the
same day.
Apparently going through the motions, MDC-T said it would
continue calling
for major reforms before elections are held in order to
ensure there is no
repeat of the violence that took place in 2008, leading
to a sham election.
Such demands have been too few and far between to
have the desired effect,
with the impression the MDC-T is only sporadically
paying lip-service to
reforms.
As reported elsewhere in this issue, Zanu
PF’s response to the reform
demands has been swift and
unequivocal.
Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa said the parties had agreed
elections
would follow soon after the new governance charter is enacted and
they had
not discussed reforms among themselves or with Zuma’s team.
“We
agreed that the completion of the constitution is the only stumbling
block
towards the holding of elections. The renewed calls for reforms by the
MDC-T
are an agenda to try and avoid elections,” Chinamasa said.
His colleague
Ambassador Chris Mutsvangwa added: “The MDCs have failed the
people and any
attempts to bring other issues are an excuse to remain in
government.”
There you have it. As the saying goes, give them an inch and
they’ll take a
mile!
