http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Politics
THE
death of Vice-President John Nkomo, coupled with a clause in the
proposed
new constitution empowering the sitting president’s party to choose
a
successor in the event of the incumbent being incapacitated or dying in
office, has complicated Zanu PF’s succession battles amid revelations
bigwigs were positioning themselves for the party chairmanship.
Owen
Gagare/Brian Chitemba
Although presently the contest looks set for the
chairperson’s post, with
incumbent Simon Khaya Moyo a favourite to assume
the vice-presidency, the
dynamics for the chairmanship battle have taken a
serious tribal twist in
what looks like a dress rehearsal for the final
battle to replace ageing
President Robert Mugabe.
The principals’
decision last week to shelve the running-mates clause for 10
years, and
their proposal for the sitting president’s party to choose a
successor, has
energised Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa who was sure to
lose out had
the clause been adopted, largely because of his current
position in the
party.
Mnangagwa and Vice-President Joice Mujuru are believed to be
leading
factions battling to control the party, and the running-mates clause
was
seen as favouring Mujuru who is Mugabe’s deputy.
Mujuru had
appeared a shoe-in as 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 11th most
powerful
position in the party.
Sources said with the running-mates clause being
shelved, succeeding Mugabe
would boil down to the most popular candidate in
the provinces, thereby
giving Mnangagwa a lifeline after seemingly being
elbowed out by the clause.
“That’s why the issue of the national chairman
has become so important,”
said a senior Zanu PF official. “Don’t be
surprised if Mnangagwa himself
goes for the position which would put him in
good stead ahead of the bigger
fight for the presidency. There is also
Didymus Mutasa, who is eyeing that
position, and remember he is a key member
of the Mujuru faction, so there
will be a serious battle there,” the
official said.
The faction that would land the critical national
chairmanship would have
the advantage of a person presiding over the
powerful national people’s
congress in its corner, as well as the
extraordinary session of the
congress, the national people’s conference and
the extraordinary session,
the National Consultative Assembly, national
conference of the women’s
league, national conference of the youth league
and the national
disciplinary committee. The national people’s congress is
the supreme
policy-making body of Zanu PF. It is responsible for electing
the president,
the two vice-presidents and members of the central
committee.
“But there is also the Matabeleland element and people from
the region
believe that position is theirs as a result of a ‘silent’ clause
in the 1987
Unity Accord,” added the source.
“The likes of (Mines
minister) Obert Mpofu and (Home Affairs co-minister)
Kembo Mohadi have
constantly won elections in Matabeleland and are also
tipped for the post
while names of people like (Matabeleland South governor)
Angeline Masuku
have also been mentioned,” added the source.
“There is also a clique
which is questioning the wisdom of giving both the
vice- presidency and the
chairmanship to Matabeleland. The Manyikas, for
example, are complaining
they have been left in the cold for too long as
they have never held the
vice-presidency despite playing a pivotal role in
the war of
liberation.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Politics
MDC-T secretary-general
Tendai Biti fiercely clashed with party organising
secretary Nelson Chamisa
at a standing committee meeting over primary
election application forms,
while MPs Tabitha Khumalo and Albert Mhlanga
reportedly exchanged blows as
intra-party fighting rages on.
Report by Brian Chitemba
The
Biti-Chamisa fight engulfed the MDC-T’s standing committee comprising
the
Top 12, as the furious Information and Communications Technology
minister
queried why Biti dispatched application forms for aspiring MPs
without his
signature.
The ministers’ fight is seen as part of a wider MDC-T
factional and
succession battle as Biti and Chamisa are allegedly ensconced
in two warring
camps.
The initial deadline for the application forms
to be submitted was January
30, but this would be moved forward as Chamisa
is livid over Biti’s move to
send out the forms to provinces without his
say-so.
The debate, sources said, dominated the standing committee
meeting last
Wednesday resulting in MDC-T leaders recalling the application
forms and
restarting the process to pave way for contentious primary
elections
expected between February and March.
There is bad blood
between Biti and Chamisa as the two are also involved in
the party’s
succession and factional fights, a source said.
“The fight between the
ministers was over a template for aspiring election
candidates which Chamisa
said Biti did not follow while an equally incensed
Biti defended his
actions,” said the source.
“The debate went on for some time until the
standing committee resolved to
withdraw the application forms and restart
the whole process.”
Chamisa and Biti could not be reached for comment
yesterday as their mobile
phones went unanswered.
The MDC-T has been
sucked in a messy internal battle over the selection
criteria for the
party’s candidates for high-stakes national polls expected
later this year.
This was after the national council resolved to implement
the controversial
confirmation of sitting MPs, much to the chagrin of the
party’s grassroots
which view the move as undemocratic and a ploy to
ring-fence senior
officials’ posts from ambitious junior members of the
party.
Elsewhere within the party, sources said Bulawayo East MP
Khumalo confronted
her Pumula constituency counterpart Mhlanga during an
audit of structures in
the former MDC-T deputy spokesperson’s
district.
The audit is part of preparations for primary
polls.
Khumalo was miffed over a plot by Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani
Khupe, who
is Mhlanga’s ally, to elbow her out and replace her with former
United
Kingdom-based academic Mandla Nyathi, now a lecturer at the National
University of Science and Technology.
The grassroots are also fuming
over the party’s move to entertain candidates
from the diaspora, including
disc jockeys Eric Knight and Ezra Sibanda who
are believed to be vying for
the Mbare and Lower Gweru constituencies
respectively.
Tempers also
flared in Bulawayo last Saturday at Macdonald’s Hall in
Makokoba where
Mhlanga was bashed by an angry mob allegedly aligned to
Mzilikazi senator,
Mattson Hlalo.
After the Makokoba incident, Mhlanga proceeded to Bulawayo
East on Sunday
where he was welcomed with clenched fists and booted feet by
Khumalo and her
supporters.
“Mhlanga was accused by Khumalo of
forming parallel structures to ensure
Nyathi takes over Bulawayo East,” said
a senior MDC-T official based in
Bulawayo. “To make matters worse, Mhlanga
ordered Khumalo to organise an
emergency meeting for an audit of structures
in preparation for primary
elections, but Khumalo requested more
time.
Mhlanga continued pressing her resulting in the
fist-fight.”
MDC-T Bulawayo provincial chairperson Gorden Moyo, who is
also Khupe’s
right-hand man, then asked Mhlanga to write a report which is
likely to be
used against Khumalo, for long at loggerheads with
Khupe.
“Khupe is using all means to frustrate and push Khumalo out of the
party
regardless of the fact that she is one of the pioneers of the MDC-T,”
said
the source.
The Khumalo/Mhlanga fight has since been reported to
party leader Morgan
Tsvangirai’s office and would be dealt with once a full
report is compiled
by Mhlanga.
Khumalo declined to comment on
Wednesday while Mhlanga was not reachable.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Politics
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe allegedly bragged at Wednesday’s politburo meeting
that he had
outwitted the MDC leaders on contentious issues which were
stalling the
constitution-making process.
Report by Brian Chitemba
Mugabe said
Zanu PF was celebrating victory over the MDCs after he
successfully
arm-twisted MDC-T and MDC leaders Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and
Welshman Ncube to agree to the controversial agreement seen
as safeguarding
Zanu PF’s interests.
“Mugabe boasted that he outwitted Tsvangirai and
Ncube because the parked
issues relieve the party of unnecessary pressure
from the MDCs,” said a
high-ranking Zanu PF official. “He said it was a Zanu
PF victory which
should be celebrated by all.”
The politburo endorsed
the agreement and agreed to support the draft
constitution in the
referendum.
The issues whose postponement would be reflected in the
latest draft had
been pushed for by the MDCs, but Zanu PF came up with a
raft of
controversial amendments, some of which eventually
prevailed.
According to the principals’ deal which broke the governance
charter
deadlock last week, the issue of running-mates would be shelved for
10 years
from the date the new constitution comes into effect while the
constitutional court can only be constituted after 10 years.
The
Peace and Reconciliation Commission would exist for 10 years, after
which it
would be up to the government of the day to put it through an Act
of
parliament.
The draft constitution also provides a waiver on timelines
within which
Mugabe can call for elections soon after the adoption of the
new governance
charter on the basis that the principals did not know when
the
constitution-making process would be completed.
Mugabe instructed
the politburo to start campaigning for the party in
preparation for
elections which he said would be held this year without
fail.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in
Politics
THE Global Political Agreement (GPA) principals’ agreement to
park
contentious issues in the draft constitution for 10 years after which
they
would become part of the governance charter is a complete subversion of
the
will of the people who participated in the constitution-making
process.
Brian Chitemba
President Robert Mugabe and his long-time
nemesis Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, Industry and Commerce minister
Welshman Ncube, and Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara finally broke the
logjam over the writing of a new
constitution when they reached the
agreement last week.
The accord indicates a deeply divided society where
the will of the elite
prevails over the wishes of the majority.
The
principals agreed to shelve the running mates clause — which would have
resolved Mugabe’s succession issue that has divided his party Zanu PF — for
10 years from the date the new constitution comes into effect.
They
also agreed to set up a Peace and Reconciliation Commission for only 10
years, after which it would be up to the government of the day to put it
through an Act of parliament if there is need.
The constitutional
court can also only come into effect after 10 years while
there is also a
proposed provision spelling out that in the event of a
president dying or
being incapacitated, the party from which the head of
state hails would
provide the successor. This provision effectively bars
independent
candidates, a factor that has already raised much furore.
The principals
further agreed that there be a six-year transitional period
for a new
independent National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) separate from the
Attorney-General (AG’s) office.
The draft constitution further
provides a waiver on timelines within which
Mugabe can call for elections.
The new provision was agreed to by the
principals on the basis that they
were unsure as to when the
constitution-making process would be
completed.
This means the president can call for elections as soon as the
new
constitution has been adopted. Observers noted that the waiver on
election
timelines proves that the MDCs gave in to Mugabe’s demands for
early
elections way before the new constitution was given time to establish
and
synchronise institutions provided for in the governance
charter.
The agreements indicate that politicians were never sincere
about
incorporating the views of the masses — as they claimed ad nauseum —
in the
new governance charter, sparking widespread criticism over why Copac
“wasted” about US$50 million in the four-year constitution-making
process.
While the political parties initially agreed to the July 18 2012
draft
constitution produced by Copac, Zanu PF spectacularly somersaulted and
demanded a raft of amendments to retain Mugabe’s imperial powers, whittled
down in the draft. Zanu PF’s politburo spent long hours shredding the Copac
draft to incorporate its demands meant to protect Mugabe’s
interests.
Last week’s concessions by the MDCs have been described as a
betrayal of the
expectations and aspirations of Zimbabweans who participated
in the Copac
outreach programme.
It is “scandalous”, observers said,
for the MDCs to be arm-twisted into
parking constitutional issues for
periods stretching up to 10 years.
While many Zimbabweans feel cheated by
politicians, the drafters — former
High Court judge Justice Moses Chinhengo,
lawyer Priscilla Madzonga and
University of Zimbabwe law lecturer Brian
Crozier — are busy amending the
July 18 draft which would be presented to
parliament next month by Copac.
Matabeleland Constitutional Reform Agenda
chairperson Effie Ncube argued
that postponement of constitutional issues
for 10 years mirrored the
political landscape where views and values of the
ordinary people were
trampled upon by the rulers.
The sunset clauses
which refer to the parking of constitutional matters are
not peculiar to
Zimbabwe; the same happened in countries like the United
States where the
issue of slavery… was deferred for three years.
But Ncube argued that
deferring critical issues for 10 years was tantamount
to refusing to
implement democratic reforms.
“Postponement of controversial issues is mostly
done for two to three years
to allow negotiating parties’ tempers to cool
down,” said Ncube. “But in
Zimbabwe’s case, its crystal clear Zanu PF is
buying time to resist
reforms.”
The new draft constitution has
sparked a furore from constitutional
organisations with the National
Constitutional Assembly vowing to campaign
for a “No” vote in the referendum
which Constitutional and Parliamentary
Affairs minister Eric Matinenga says
would be held between March and April.
Although he could not discuss
details of the draft constitution, NCA
chairperson Professor Lovemore
Madhuku warned his organisation would
campaign vigorously for a “No” vote in
the referendum because the whole
constitution-making process was driven by
politicians instead of the people.
But political analyst Chamu Mutasa
believes the “Yes” vote would prevail
because political parties were likely
to choke their supporters to ensure
the new governance charter sails
through.
However, some academics argue that the breakthrough achieved by
the
principals was not a Mugabe victory because the charter provides
reasonable
clauses for sustainable transformation.
They say
Zimbabweans should celebrate the new constitution since it would
solve
contentious issues even after 10 years while the creation of the Peace
and
Reconciliation Commission would bring to finality historical injustices
like
Gukurahundi and the 2008 election violence, among others.
Policy and
administration expert Qhubani Moyo said the provision of
devolution would
ensure that power would reside in the grassroots and
citizens away from the
capital where everything is currently centralised.
“Deferring clauses for
10 years is not an issue, but what is fundamental is
the acceptance of
institutions like the Constitutional Court to be
established,” said
Moyo.
“With elections coming, if Zimbabweans vote wisely, they should
choose a
party which will effect the fundamental issues immediately after
polls.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Politics
AS
electioneering gathers momentum, war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda has
warned his members would respond violently if the MDC formations try to
disrupt Zanu PF rallies and intimidate its supporters as the country gears
for elections later this year.
Report by Elias Mambo
This is
despite the fact than in the past, war veterans have been used by
Zanu PF to
perpetrate violence against its opponents during the pre and
post-election
period.
In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent, the war veterans
leader said
his men and women are on the ground mobilising support for Zanu
PF against
the “foreign-funded MDC parties” who want to reverse the gains of
the
liberation struggle.
“I have warned them on several occasions and
I am warning them again that
any violence against a peaceful operation that
is busy mobilising its
support peacefully will breed counter-violence that
may turn out to be seven
times harder,” said Sibanda. “We are not a violent
association; we want free
and fair elections, but we will not sit back once
our members are attacked.”
Sibanda said war veterans would not rest as
long as the MDC formations are
still represented in parliament and Zanu PF
does not solely run government.
“We want to liberate that parliament
because the MDCs have been used as
missiles against their own people,” he
said.
Sources say President Robert Mugabe, desperate to extend his
33-year
stranglehold on power, has given the firebrand war veterans leader
the nod
to mobilise support countrywide ahead of the make-or-break
elections.
War veterans have previously been accused of spearheading
political violence
and coming to Mugabe’s rescue since 2000 when Zanu PF
party structures began
to crumble after the entrance of the MDC into
mainstream politics.
At the heart of Mugabe’s strategy to cling to power
in the past was
electoral violence spearheaded by war veterans who led
chaotic farm
invasions and played a central role in the terror campaign
against Mugabe’s
opponents.
Sibanda’s threats of violence are in
stark contrast to Mugabe’s recent
repeated calls for people to shun violence
in the run-up to, during and
after the next elections.
While Mugabe
has been passionately denouncing violence his diehard
lieutenants have been
threatening bloodshed and even a coup should Zanu PF
lose.
Army
generals have vowed that they would not allow anyone without liberation
war
credentials to rule Zimbabwe.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in News
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe this week ordered police to investigate five Zanu PF
Manicaland provincial executives facing fraud allegations involving more
than US$750 000 in diamond money, saying the party did not tolerate
corruption.
Report by Faith Zaba
A visibly angry Mugabe
removed the matter from the politburo agenda on
Wednesday 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.
The
five, who include Manicaland provincial chairperson Mike Madiro, ousted
provincial youth chairperson Tawanda Mukodza, provincial youth secretary for
security Admire Mahachi, provincial youth secretary for information Masimba
Kangai and former district co-ordinating committee member Clever Muparutsa,
are accused of soliciting for money from diamond mining companies in
Chiadzwa purportedly for party activities including preparations for the
party’s annual people’s conference in Gweru last December.
Mugabe met
with Vice-President Joice Mujuru, Zanu PF national chairperson
Simon Khaya
Moyo and party secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa just
before the
politburo meeting, where he fumed over the decision to bring the
matter to
the party for investigation.
Politburo insiders told the Zimbabwe
Independent yesterday that: “Mugabe
said the matter was a clear case of
theft and corruption and as a party we
should not tolerate
corruption.”
He asked what message they would be sending out if they were
to discuss the
issue.”
When the matter was initially reported to the
police, acting
Commissioner-General Levi Sibanda wrote to Mujuru, then
acting president,
seeking advice on what action to take since the issue
involved top party
officials.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in News
AGRICULTURAL Bank
of Zimbabwe (Agribank) and the Industrial Development
Corporation of South
Africa (IDC) are reeling from a US$5 million exposure
as it emerged this
week that Interfresh Holdings Ltd could default on its
obligations after 52%
of its productive assets were listed for compulsory
acquisition two weeks
ago.
Staff Writer
Sources told the Zimbabwe Independent that
Interfresh, which lost its prime
lemon orchards and crops, seed maize and
soya beans at Mazoe Citrus,
allegedly to President Robert Mugabe’s wife
Grace, could fail to meet its
obligations to Agribank. The sources added the
group was likely to
experience financial constraints given the extent of the
asset grab.
Agribank unveiled a US$5 million facility to Interfresh
Holdings Ltd under a
US$30 million IDC facility, which was guaranteed by the
government of
Zimbabwe.
Sources said IDC was worried by the exposure
and could withhold a further
US$30 million line of credit it had pledged to
the local financial
institution.
But Agribank CEO Sam Malaba
described his bank’s relationship with IDC as
excellent, adding all
beneficiaries of the facility were up to date on their
payments.
“As
per the terms of the facility, the bank is currently at advanced stages
in
respect of a further drawdown scheduled for early next month. The bank
has
an excellent relationship with IDC SA and IDC SA is satisfied with the
performance of Agribank and its clients under the terms of the two
facilities. All beneficiaries of the IDC SA facilities are up to date in
respect of their payments including Interfresh,” said Malaba.
But
sources insisted IDC is now worried by the exposure and wants to put the
brakes on a similar facility established late last year until it engages
Agribank and government officials to see how the institution can extricate
itself from imminent losses arising from the Interfresh
exposure.
“IDC is concerned they could be throwing good money after bad
and would want
to hold on to the latest US$30 million facility,” said a
source privy to
developments. “They want assurance the developments at
Interfresh won’t
affect their loan book in Zimbabwe.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in News
WHILe President
Robert Mugabe has been preaching the gospel of peace and
violence-free
elections, the military has ratcheted up its pro-Zanu PF
campaign by
increasingly deploying in the country’s villages to scale up the
party’s
poll campaign under the guise of a recycled exercise codenamed
“Operation
Maguta”.
Report by Elias Mambo
The ad hoc Operation Maguta was
previously introduced in 2007 purportedly as
part of government efforts to
boost agricultural production, but it flopped
dismally, producing less than
a quarter of projected output. The army’s role
in the programme has always
raised eyebrows amid allegations of campaigning
for Zanu PF.
Mugabe
told thousands of mourners at the Heroes’ Acre on Monday that the
best
tribute to the late Vice-President John Nkomo would be a smooth and
peaceful
election.
“Peace, unity and harmony should prevail in the country if we
desire to move
forward,” he said.
Mugabe, who in the past used such
platforms to attack his opponents, sounded
conciliatory and urged
Zimbabweans to bury “petty personal differences” over
politics. Sources in
the Midlands said as Mugabe was speaking at Heroes’
Acre, soldiers deployed
at Mataga Growth Point in Mberengwa in December 2012
were harassing
villagers in the area for failing to produce national
identification
documents and for allegedly backing Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s
MDC-T.
The soldiers are alleged to have imposed unofficial curfews and
are carrying
out late-night visits to suspected MDC-T activists’ homes as
intimidation
intensified in the district. Sources said the soldiers have
also been
holding several meetings with four Mberengwa chiefs, Mataga,
Mataruse,
Chingoma and Mahlebadza, urging them to ensure their subjects
“vote wisely”
in the next elections. The opposition and sections of the
international
community remain sceptical of Mugabe’s peace pronouncements
given violence
has been his party Zanu PF’s trump card in previous
elections.
Mugabe’s peace rhetoric comes at a time fiery war veterans’
leader Jabulani
Sibanda has warned MDC supporters any attempts to disrupt
Zanu PF meetings,
at many of which people are coerced to attend, would
“breed counter-violence
that may turn out to be seven times
harder”.
Chief Mataga yesterday confirmed to the Independent he had met
with the
soldiers but declined to disclose details of their meetings.
“We
have them (soldiers) in the area and we have met them on several
occasions,”
said Mataga. “All we know is that they are on a Maguta
programme,” Mataga
said.
National Healing, Integration and Reconciliation co-minister Sekai
Holland
said she had also received reports of military involvement in
Mberengwa.
“We have heard of such reports for weeks now and as a national
healing
organ, we are arranging a meeting with the people and traditional
leaders so
that the political field is violence-free,” said
Holland.
Military deployment in communities has been a source of constant
fear for
villagers, who dread a repeat of the June 27, 2008.
Last year
the Independent revealed the presence of soldiers in Nyanga
villages where
they reportedly held meetings with local chiefs to prop up
Zanu
PF.
Soldiers were also deployed in Masvingo province and summoned local
chiefs
to meetings whose details remain unclear.
The Joint Operations
Command, which brings together the army, police and
intelligence chiefs, has
played a strong commissariat role for Zanu PF in
elections, and army sources
said Operation Maguta was being revived to
justify the presence of soldiers
in many rural communities.
However, Zimbabwe National Army director of
public relations
Lieutenant-Colonel Alphios Makotore refused to comment on
the matter, asking
this paper to put its questions in writing.
“We
can only respond to written questions if you submit your hard copy to KG
6
(army headquarters),” Makotore said.
Political analysts say Mugabe has a
long history of misleading Zimbabweans
on a variety of electoral issues by
“indicating left when actually turning
right” as long as it ensures he
retains power.
Charles Mangongera said Mugabe is a good performer on stage
because what he
usually says on public platforms is often the exact opposite
of what would
be happening on the ground. “Mugabe is an excellent performer
and that has
always been his modus operandi,” said Mangongera. “He is a
ruthless schemer
who thrives on double standards. He has thrived on
violence. He might appear
to be castigating it (violence), but the reality
is that he has used
violence to hold on to his post,” he said.
There
are growing fears the situation could deteriorate and spread from
rural to
urban areas as elections fast approach.
The coalition government has
repeatedly failed to agree on security sector
reforms to restore
professionalism, independence and impartiality within the
armed
forces.
All attempts to reform the military or the broader security
sector have been
met with fierce resistance from Zanu PF which vowed at its
congress in
December 2009 that security sector reforms would never be
allowed in
Zimbabwe.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in News
THE
National Social Security Authority (Nssa), which registered cumulative
losses of US$4,5 million in a botched computerisation deal in 2011, has lost
a further US$220 000 after the High Court threw out its attempts to encash a
performance bond in a hard-hitting judgment which blasted the authority for
greed.
Report by Herbert Moyo
The US$4,5 million represents
losses through payments to Professional
Computer Services (PCS) for partial
performance and litigation costs after
the two went through an arbitration
process presided over by former Chief
Justice Anthony Gubbay, and lately in
a High Court case (Case Number
HH426-2012) heard by Justice Francis
Bere.
The court action arose after PCS took exception to Nssa’s decision
to encash
a performance bond of US$220 000 held by National Merchant
Bank.
In his judgment, Bere accused Nssa of “greed” and ordered it to pay
PCS the
US$220 000 the authority had encashed after directing NMB to pay it
out.
Nssa was also ordered to pay costs of the suits.
Indications are
that Nssa disregarded legal advice for an out of court
settlement. NMB,
cited as second respondent, was spared the costs because of
its decision not
to contest the matter.
“When everything is said and considered, one
cannot help but conclude that
the first respondent (Nssa)’s letter to the
second respondent (NMB)
demanding the encashment of the performance bond was
in bad taste and
actuated by greed and a stout effort to subvert the
arbitrary order of the
tribunal,” ruled Bere.
E-mail correspondence
between Cris Shava of PCS and Nssa general manager
James Matiza and board
chairman Innocent Chagonda clearly demonstrates Nssa
ignored forewarnings on
the futility of encashing the bond and advice to
settle the matter
amicably.
Matiza said on Wednesday they had acted in good faith after
advice from
their legal team that they were within their rights to encash
the bond
following PCS’ failure to fulfil their contractual obligations of
delivering
on the computerisation project.
Meanwhile, Nssa’s attempts
at computerisation, five years after terminating
a tender originally awarded
to PCS in 2005, have flopped once again after
the State Procurement Board
directed it to re-tender citing irregularities
in bid
documents.
Sources said the authority could incur more costs as some Nssa
employees
continue to frustrate the project due to vested interests in who
wins the
bid.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in News
THE discovery
of diamonds in Chiadzwa in 2006 was followed by the signing of
the Global
Political Agreement and establishment of the coalition government
in 2008
and 2009 respectively, raising hope that a country ravaged by
political
strife and severe economic decline for over a decade was on the
road to
recovery.
Report by Herbert Moyo
Four diamond-mining firms,
Marange Resources, Mbada Diamonds, Anjin and
Diamond Mining Corporation
subsequently commenced state-of-the-art mining,
bringing an end to the
primitive pick-and-shovel operations of villagers and
other fortune
hunters.
Local and international experts fell over each other in hailing
Zimbabwe’s
new find and predicted the country could earn up to US$2 billion
a year from
the diamonds to become the third largest producer in the world
by 2020, as
well as supplying 25% of global demand.
Embattled former
ruling party Zanu PF, reeling under targeted sanctions
imposed by the West,
even touted the diamonds as “sanctions busting”.
However, as has become
the norm in Zimbabwe, that optimism quickly gave way
to despair, accusations
and counter-accusations among the Zanu PF and MDC
coalition partners
following paltry remittances to national treasury headed
by Finance minister
Tendai Biti.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) revealed only US$136
million was
realised by treasury in 2012, a far cry from the US$600 million
Biti
anticipated would flow into his empty coffers.
Partnership
Africa Canada (PAC), a group campaigning against “blood
diamonds” accused
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF elite of conniving with
international
dealers and criminals to loot diamonds in perhaps the biggest
single plunder
of diamonds the world has seen since Cecil (John) Rhodes.
“Revenue that
could have revived the country’s ailing economy has been
channelled into a
parallel government of police, military officers and
government officials
loyal to Mugabe,” wrote the PAC last year in a report
titled Reap What You
Sow: Greed and Corruption in Zimbabwe’s Marange Diamond
Fields.
Mines
minister Obert Mpofu has led spirited denials by Zanu PF of any
wrong-doing
claiming everything is transparent and above board in the
diamond sector,
but even he would be hard pressed to explain the shady
nature of the
relationship between his party and the diamond companies.
This follows
revelations last week that Zanu PF Manicaland provincial
chairperson Mike
Madiro and four colleagues allegedly solicited money from
Mbada Diamonds and
Anjin, purportedly for party activities including
preparations for the
party’s annual conference in Gweru last December, which
they converted to
their own use.
It was only last month that Mugabe fumed at the conference
in Gweru after
former South African president Thabo Mbeki told him — and
provided
evidence — that senior Zanu PF ministers had demanded a US$10
million bribe
to facilitate a US$1 billion investment by African National
Congress
(ANC)-linked investors.
Is it any wonder Zimbabwe has failed
to attract significant foreign direct
investment despite an energetic
campaign by Biti and others to court
international investors?
It now
seems as though even provincial party officials have taken a cue from
their
seniors to embark on an orgy of self-aggrandisement.
Zanu PF may claim
these were just individuals acting on their own selfish
initiative and
bringing the party’s name into disrepute by allegedly
demanding and getting
US$750 000 from the companies, but the entire episode
demonstrates how the
country’s resources are being used to benefit one
political party. This also
gives credence to fears Zanu PF is using diamonds
to fund its election war
chest.
“It obviously means they have been abusing the country’s mineral
resources
and there is need to investigate the broader implications of this
whole saga
which may only be a tip of the ice berg,” said Habakkuk Trust
chief
executive officer Dumisani Nkomo.
“After the collapse of the
Zimbabwe dollar and the end of the
quasi-financial activities of the Reserve
Bank which used to prop up the
party, Zanu PF is now preying on the diamond
sector to fund its activities,”
Nkomo added.
Zanu PF officials,
including party chairman Simon Khaya Moyo and secretary
for administration
Didymus Mutasa, confirmed the fraud allegations adding
the accused were
under investigation by the party’s disciplinary committee.
However, the
five are not being investigated for extorting money for party
activities,
but merely for converting the money to their own use. Clearly
Zanu PF can
demand money from companies to fund its activities, something
the MDCs and
any other party could never do without attracting a backlash.
In fact
sources within Zanu PF say Mbada Diamonds made cash donations to the
party
as it prepared for the annual conference in Gweru last month.
Pedzisayi
Ruhanya of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute questioned how a
political party
could extort money from companies in that manner, adding
that the issue
pointed to a “corrupt patron-client relationship between Zanu
PF and these
companies”.
Corruption involving senior Zanu PF politicians is nothing
new, but they
have almost always walked away scot-free.
Zanu PF
officials and those linked to the then ruling party looted a VIP
housing
scheme in 1995 but nobody has ever been held to account, while civil
servants who contributed the money remain homeless to this
day.
Security chiefs and senior party officials, including former war
veterans’
leader (the late) Chenjerai Hunzvi, were let off the hook after
fraudulently
claiming massive disability pay-outs from the War Victims’
Compensation Fund
set up in 1997 to help those who were injured during the
liberation
struggle.
“If small people like those provincial officials
can abuse such large sums
of money what does it tell us about situations
involving senior Zanu PF
officials and the security apparatus for instance?”
Ruhanya asked.
When the abuse of the funds came to light last year, police
deputy
Commissioner-General Levi Sibanda, who was acting
commissioner-general at
the time, wrote to then acting President Joice
Mujuru a two-lined letter —
with the police report attached –— seeking
advice on what action to take
since the issue involved party
bigwigs.
Mujuru wrote to Khaya Moyo telling him to take action. This
points to an
unholy alliance between the police and Zanu PF, in which the
police seek
guidance on criminal matters from Zanu PF when cases involve
party
activists. It also raises questions as to how many other cases
involving
Zanu PF officials have been swept under the carpet.
“The
most tragic dimension in all this is that Zanu PF’s predatory behaviour
is
being abetted by pivotal state officials,” said Jabusile Shumba of the
Institute for a Democratic Alternative for Zimbabwe.
“Regrettably,
there is a collective structure of power which surrounds and
even controls
the police and judiciary,” said Shumba.
As the fraud saga involving Zanu PF
officials unfolds, the failure of law
enforcement agents in dealing with
corruption where it concerns the party is
yet again a talking point. With
crucial elections expected later this year,
the police’s readiness to deal
with electoral offences involving Zanu PF
officials comes under
scrutiny.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in News
DESPITE the indigenisation
programme being widely trumpeted by Zanu PF as
the key to economically
empowering Zimbabwe’s majority, indigenous suppliers
are the biggest
culprits in ripping off government by inflating tenders for
government
hospitals, an official investigation has revealed.
Staff
Writer
According to a 151-page report titled Investigations Report on the
Procurement Processes by Government Hospitals under the Targeted Approach by
the National Economic Conduct Inspectorate (NECI), indigenous business
people are burdening the national fiscus by charging inflated prices, with
some overcharging by more than 100%.
“On prices, the government is
being ripped off by suppliers who in general
are the indigenous
businessmen,” NECI said in the report. “… Some of them
are putting a mark-up
of more than 100%, putting pressures on the already
overstretched financial
resources of the fiscus.”
The report exposed corruption and flagrant
flouting of State Procurement
Board (SBP) procedures at hospitals, noting
all hospitals had in some way
violated the Procurement Act, its regulations
and procedures.
This included the failure to adhere to stipulations like
seeking competitive
bids, failure to advertise in the press as well as
failure to send all
purchases above US$50 000 for SPB
adjudication.
“… It seems hospitals were also operating in a vacuum as
they seem to have
deliberately ignored purchasing procedures as stipulated
by the Procurement
Act,” the report stated.
The NECI expressed
concern that problems encountered would become more
pronounced with the
coming on board of mission hospitals if no stringent
monitoring measures are
in place.
It called for the investigation of companies to establish how
they found
themselves on the “favoured” list and if their preferential
treatment was
due to payment of bribes. The NECI recommended quarterly
audits be carried
out on “targeted approach monies” by auditors from the
Ministry of Health
and the Comptroller and Auditor-General.
It also
suggested the presence of professionals on both the central buying
unit and
the procurement tender committee, the blacklisting of companies
found to be
overpricing commodities and preventing them from supplying any
government
departments and hospitals.
Anti-Corruption Commission chairperson Denford
Chirindo refused to confirm
they had received the damning report.
“I
cannot confirm or deny that we have received the report because doing so
compromises investigations if ever there are any,” Chirindo told the
Zimbabwe Independent on Wednesday.
However, another source within the
commission pleaded with this paper not to
publish the story saying this
would alert suspects who would prepare their
defence.
“Munobhururutsa
shiri (you will alert the suspects),” he said, “and in any
event, the case
will be heard in the courts once we wrap up our
investigations. That is the
appropriate time when you will hear everything
because the courts are open
for all to attend.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in News
Zimbabwe’s
mineral production in 2012 was lower than in previous years, with
gold the
only major mineral to post significant growth.
Staff
Writer
According to latest figures from the Chamber of Mines, mineral
production
excluding the December figure for coal was US$1,86 billion, which
was lower
than the US$2,01 billion reported in 2011.
Analysts say
even if the December coal production were to be added, it would
not result
in any significant change as average monthly production for the
mineral was
at US$7,5 million.
Gold production in 2012 rose 18,94% to US$782,75
million from 2011 but at an
output of 14 742,99 kg fell shy of a targeted 15
000kg. The major
gold-producing mines reported record production for the
year on the back of
improved investment in exploration.
However,
lower platinum production weighed down the mining industry’s
overall
performance. Platinum miners last year scaled down production owing
to a
sharp increase in costs largely attributed to the hike in mining
licence
fees and taxes which ballooned input costs against falling global
prices.
The white metal’s prices were weak due to a slowdown in the
automotive
industry.
Platinum production in Zimbabwe last year was 10 524kg, a
decrease of 2,79%
from 2011, and fell far short of a forecast 12 900kg. As a
result, the value
fell to US$464,51 million from US$538,27 million the
previous year, a
decline of 13,7%.
Economists have said the mining
sector is the only sector with growth
potential and to a lesser extent,
agriculture and tourism.
The Finance ministry revised upwards the growth
forecast for the mining and
quarrying sector in 2012 to 16,7% from 15,9%,
after increased investment in
exploration and development, particularly in
the gold sector.
Mining contributes 13% of the country’s gross domestic
product (GDP), almost
matching the 14% contributed by manufacturing.
Analysts believe if key
challenges facing mining such as inadequate capital
and energy supply
constraints are overcome, the sector can contribute as
much as 18% to GDP by
2015 and well above 25% by 2020.
Markets
analyst Tafadzwa Denya said due to short-term stresses, capacity for
overall
autonomous growth of the manufacturing sector was limited and credit
was
constrained for most sectors, but a large part of the mining sector
could
still attract foreign direct investment.
Denya said the driving power in
the mining sector was subdued as the country
was not able to take full
advantage of the global boom in mining prices.
High carbon ferrochrome
production amounted to 137 534 tonnes at US$156,75
million, less than the
targeted 155 000 tonnes.
Total raw chrome output was 408 475 tonnes at
US$48, 96 million. Most of
chrome mines are currently under care and
maintenance owing to the low
prices currently prevailing in the sector and
the high operating costs.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Business
ZIMBABWE has
launched its first ever online and real-time payments platform,
Zimswitch
vPayments, which will enable its citizens and residents to use
their
locally-issued debit cards.
Report by Clive Mphambela
Modeled
around globally renowned system, PayPal, Zimswitch vPayments is a
locally-designed real-time online payments platform; a result of joint
efforts by leading internet service provider, Dandemutande, the sole
national electronic funds switch linking most of Zimbabwe’s banks through
ATMs and points of sale systems, Zimswitch and Zimbabwe’s largest building
society Cabs.
The system, which came online this week, has been given
the go ahead by the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), according to its
promoters uMax, a division
of Dandemutande. An online real-time payments
system is one of the last
major steps taken by Zimbabwe in facilitating
e-commerce.
“Cabs is the first financial institution to be certified to
use vPayment,
and uMax, as the pilot project driver, is the first official
merchant to
accept payments through this online payment
platform.
However, the platform is available to all Zimswitch
participating banks and
three more banks are scheduled to come on board
soon,” uMax interim CEO
Michael Weeden said.
Zimbabweans have been
unable to make online payments for purchases on
international platforms such
as PayPal owing to sanctions imposed on the
country. Most international
payment service providers will not process
payments on the back of
Zimbabwean issued debit and credit cards.
According to Weeden, the
platform will enable Zimbabweans to transfer funds
from their ordinary
accounts into an online account and transact in
real-time.
The
Zimswitch vPayments system has been configured as a secure payments
platform, designed to capture and secure Internet-based payments between
retailers and merchants and the final customer.
Zimswitch vPayments
uses One Time Passwords (OTP) which are randomly
generated code keys sent to
a client’s mobile number as an SMS every time a
transaction is carried out
on vPayments, providing additional security.
It took uMax more than 18
months to develop and test the system and get the
appropriate RBZ
approval.
As with PayPal, Zimswitch vPayments card holders go through a
registration
process after which they are then able to shop and make
payments online at
any merchant certified by Zimswitch.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in
Business
Zimbabwe’s trade deficit in the year to December 2012 stood at
US$3,6
billion after it imported goods worth US$7,48 billion against exports
of
US$3,88 billion.
Staff Writer
According to figures from
Zimstat, the country imported mostly fertilisers,
diesel, petroleum oils,
motor cars, mobile phone handsets and wheat.
The country’s exporting base
is mainly in the extractive sector, which
includes industrial diamonds,
nickel mattes and semi-manufactured gold as
well as flue-cured
tobacco.
Flue-cured tobacco exports amounted to US$733,9 million in 2012.
The tobacco
industry Marketing Board put the figure of all tobacco exports
including
burley, at US$771 million. Gold exports grossed US$624,85
million.
Imports from South Africa amounted to US$3,207 billion, followed
by UK at
US$1,62 billion, while imports from China were US$354,5
million.
Exports to South Africa totalled US$2,674 billion, representing
a trade
deficit of US$353 million.
Zimbabwe exported US$482 million
worth of goods to the UAE and $282,89
million to
Mozambique.
Mozambique has witnessed an economic boom following an
increase in foreign
direct investment, particularly in the mining
sector.
Companies as PPC, PG and BAT export to the
country.
Overall, the decline of exports is linked to unreliable supplies
and
inability to compete on price. In 1992, more than a quarter of firms
were
exporters. However, according to the World Bank, less than 10% of the
firms
are now exporting their output.
Generally in Zimbabwe,
businesses are not deterred by lack of knowledge of
export markets or import
barriers. Lack of short-term finance for exports is
limiting export-led
growth for firms that could potentially compete
globally.
Finance
minister Tendai Biti has tried to curb imports of goods into the
country by
introducing import duty on products which are manufactured and
are available
locally and scrapped the US$300 rebate on some goods which are
popular with
cross-border traders and introduced duty on them.
Importers of blankets,
footwear, refrigerators, stoves and other electrical
gadgets now pay 40% of
the purchasing price plus a flat rate of US$5 per
unit as duty. Government
is also now charging between 10% and 25% duty on
basic commodities such as
maize meal, cooking oil, potato chips, baked beans
and mixed fruit jam.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in
Opinion
ZIMBABWE, we are told, now has a final draft constitution that we
as
citizens should either accept or reject in a referendum prior to
elections
expected later this year.
Opinion by Rashweat
Mukundu
The extent of how this document reflects the wishes of the people
is a
matter of conjecture, save to say the referendum and adoption of the
document is one of many political rituals we have to go through with no
clarity as to their benefits for citizens of the country.
The nature of
the discussions clearly indicates political interest took
centre stage from
citizens’ interests.
In this regard, it is folly to expect the document
to foster a process of
change that resonates far beyond the political sector
to transform our lives
socially and economically.
Even as many people
did not know what this constitution is about and talked
of the need for
food, clinics, roads and jobs during the outreach programme,
those
statements spoke to the real issues for the people.
They want a document
that focuses on people rather than political issues and
people should be at
the centre of the constitutional debate. When
politicians met to debate and
compromise on the constitution, it is a
natural expectation they have people
at heart rather than party and personal
interests.
We note, however,
the new constitution has become an intense battleground
for the contrasting
political interests and debate has progressively drifted
away from our
understanding, participation and control.
There is no doubt there is a
facade of Zanu PF having been forced to
backtrack on a number of issues the
party was pressing for.
On the other hand, nothing seems to have changed
much as there appears to be
no fundamental changes to policies that guide
and influence national
governance and the function of key national
institutions.
Our political leaders have skirted fundamental issues that
include the fact
that challenges we have faced over the past decade are
largely defined by
disrespect for the rule of law, dysfunctional national
institutions and
their abuse.
With or without a new constitution it
appears Zanu PF still has an upper
hand in defining our political destiny.
Even as it appeared Zanu PF’s
numerous objections and suggestions to the
constitution have not been fully
entertained, the party successfully took
its government of national unity
(GNU) partners down a long, winding road in
order to bring us back where we
have been since 1980.
That the
pillars of Zanu PF control of this society have remained intact is
shameful
when, as stated earlier, they are at the centre of the national
decline as a
result of abuse and inefficiency.
It is extremely sad the political
leadership opposed to Zanu PF had the
cheek to inform us that they
compromised with Zanu PF on many constitutional
provisions in order to
accommodate Zanu PF’s internal politics of
succession.
We now have
the strangest language in a draft constitution, of provisions
that will be
implemented after six years and others that would come into
effect after 10
years.
We are not necessarily given details of this political
horse-trading, save
for an acceptance and confirmation by the MDCs that our
lives are in the
hands of Zanu PF, and that we need to give Zanu PF space to
deal with its
internal issues and re-organise without
disturbances.
This constitution is not about the people; instead it
allows President
Robert Mugabe to ease out of political life without
embarrassment and do so
outside the control, will and wishes of the majority
of people.
There is suddenly a strange political convergence among GNU
parties even as
they appear to disagree.
We then ask: does it
necessarily need a “new” constitution to negotiate
Mugabe’s exit, or the GNU
could simply have negotiated that without taking
the nation down the garden
path for three-and-a-half years at a cost of
nearly US$50 million. This
constitution presents change without change; it
marks a false transition and
reinforces the continuation of a political
culture that we have known for
the past 30 years — that is the dominance of
Zanu PF and subjection of the
rest to its will.
While Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says this is a
social contract and
about the people, there is little if any citizen
footprint in the
constitutional document and process. The odds against the
MDCs are well
documented and cannot be overemphasised; their failure is to
leave so much
room for Zanu PF and Mugabe to use this important process to
subvert the
process of change. By leaving citizens out of the process the
MDCs have
missed a chance to reconnect with their political base that has
driven
opposition to Zanu PF for over a decade.
It was and still
remains genuine grievances that drive opposition to Zanu PF
and these remain
unresolved today as desperation increases on a day-by-day
basis. Although it
has stabilised the socio-economic environment, the unity
government has
largely failed on issues such as service delivery, industrial
revival and
employment creation.
Our failure as citizens has been to allow piecemeal
“political change” led
by politicians to drive us nowhere.
The stakes
against the people are huge. The levels of social decay,
suffering,
hopelessness and pessimism are staggering, yet once again we seem
to let a
chance for change slip through.
Rather than “negotiate” Zanu PF’s
internal issues and insert these into the
Copac draft as constitutional
issues, the MDCs should have returned to base
and consulted the people on
the way forward.
Mukundu is chairperson of the Zimbabwe Democracy
Institute.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Opinion
First lady
Grace Mugabe’s recent grab of about 1 600 hectares of land,
belonging to
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed agro producer Interfresh’s Mazoe
Citrus
Estate is testament to the charade our rulers call the indigenisation
programme.
Column by the MuckRaker
The fact that the company
is owned by black Zimbabwean shareholders did
nothing to stop the voracious
expropriation scheme which in the case of the
first family has claimed the
farms of former Standard Chartered Bank CEO
Washington Matsaira and High
Court judge Ben Hlatshwayo, among others.
This glaring case of double
standards does not stop her expounding upon the
virtues of hard work and
urging women to “work hard to become independent
and reduce dependence on
their husbands” even though she uses her husband’s
influence to dispossess
citizens of their properties.
Zanu PF ups ante
As if these
developments, for lack of a better word, were not shocking
enough, Zanu PF
upped the ante with NewsDay reporting that Chivi South
legislator Irvine
Dzingirai has declared himself the new owner of troubled
Renco Mine as part
of his party’s indigenisation policy.
“Yes, I have taken over Renco Mine
as we speak. I am the new general
manager. I am at the mine right now,”
Dzingirai chimed.
“I just took over the mine. There were no
talks.”
The mine’s failure to pay workers their bonuses, Dzingirai said,
and the
fact that there is no money at the pension fund had compelled him to
take
over.
Bemused workers accused Dzingirai of hijacking their
strike for political
gains.
“Ours was a genuine strike. It was an
apolitical protest comprising workers’
wives and villagers who support
either Zanu PF or MDC,” a villager said.
“But we were surprised when
Dzingirai came from nowhere and said he was now
the new
owner.”
Undeterred, Dzingirai vowed to stay put at the mine, saying he
had the
capacity to run it because he holds a “diploma in mining and so the
mine
will be as viable as it used to be”.
Still on the
prowl
Not to be outdone Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere, a
failed
banker in his own right, remains unflinching in his crusade against
foreign-owned banks. Despite the spectre of the ill-fated Genesis Investment
Bank hanging over him, Kasukuwere remains determined to expropriate what
remains of the banking sector.
“Zimbabweans should be their own
investors. Zimbabweans should invest in
their economy,” Kasukuwere said,
without a hint of irony. “This is our
country and we should benefit from all
that is in it.”
Taking over private properties is what passes for investment
in Zanu PF’s
book.
Poisoned chalice
Muckraker was amused to
see President Mugabe waxing lyrical to Benin
President Boni Yayi about how
Zimbabweans have put aside their differences
as they prepare for elections
this year.
“In my country, yes we have had divisions, political
divisions, but I am
glad that we all appreciate that whatever political
affiliations we belong
to we are Zimbabweans.”
The president says one
thing to visiting VIPs and another to his own people.
The truth is President
Mugabe heads a narrow exclusivist state where
minorities are treated as
second-class citizens. Over the past 10 years
white Zimbabweans have had
their properties and livelihoods expropriated by
Zanu PF supporters. Anybody
who seeks evidence for the malevolent partisan
state Zanu PF has spawned in
our midst need do no more than read the opinion
columns of the public
press.
Bulawayo, once the vibrant hub of an industrial society, has been
transformed into a wasteland as the productive inhabitants of that part of
the country have become refugees in their own homeland.
All that is
needed is the harnessing of water to turn things around but the
former
ruling party continue to drag their heels as if to punish voters for
making
the “wrong” choice in 2008.
Indeed, Zimbabweans are accused of “voting
with their stomachs” as if that
is an offence.
Singing for
supper
We were pleased to hear that General Constantine Chiwenga is
encouraging
members of the defence forces to plant trees to replace those
cut down. He
was speaking at Kabrit Barracks in Harare.
This is welcome
news. But can we refer him to the fate of the trees, planted
in the 1980s
and 90s, which have been cut down in wetlands adjoining the
National Stadium
to facilitate a Chinese hotel and shops development.
Curiously President
Mugabe received a Forestry Commission award for
“leading” environmental
conservation. In its citation, the Commission said
Mugabe had shown
“visionary leadership” in different aspects of
environmental
management.
“The president had the foresight to see that if no measures
were put in
place for the country to plant more trees, then we would face a
bleak
future,” the fawning citation read.
Maybe it escaped the
Forestry Commission’s notice that under Mugabe’s watch
vast tracts of once
very productive farmland have been reduced to wasteland
after being
parcelled out to mostly high-ranking Zanu PF officials and those
closely
connected to the former ruling party.
It also seems to have escaped their
notice that the party’s officials and
supporters are now grabbing wildlife
conservancies and relentlessly
destroying flora and fauna.
So much
for Mugabe’s “visionary leadership”!
Naked aggression
Meanwhile,
Zanu PF has been mobilising its supporters to confront the new US
ambassador
who has been on a meet-the-people tour of the country.
The banner and
placards from the protestors were remarkably similar, we were
told, and
probably the handiwork of Jongwe Printers.
The United States has been a major
contributor to Zimbabwe’s survival in
recent years yet instead of gratitude
the former ruling party organises a
campaign of obstruction. The majority of
Zimbabweans are friends of the
United States and want the benefits of an
orderly and productive society.
Zanu PF is preventing that by organising its
rent-a-crowds.
Conspicuous by their absence were the police who left the
thugs to run riot
and harass the ambassador and his entourage, leaving Zanu
PF apparatchik
Sheila Mutsenhu who last year reportedly stormed into the
Daily News’
offices and urinated in the reception area. This time Mutsenhu
decided to
strip to her underwear in protest at the “illegal “sanctions
imposed on her
handlers.
No charges of indecent exposure were
levelled against Mutsenhu for such a
disgraceful act, exposing Augustine
Chihuri’s claims the police are not
partisan for the baloney they
are.
Birds of a feather …
Muckraker is a fan of Marvin Meintjies’
column in the Johannesburg Sunday
Times. He was particularly entertaining
this week with his account of what
13th century warrior Genghis Khan did to
the wives and daughters of his
enemies.
This emanates from a court
case in which Julius Malema’s former friend, now
sworn enemy, Boy Mamabolo
was charged with crimen injuria after he allegedly
threatened to exhume the
body of Juju’s mom and lay her before Juju’s granny’s
door. Mamabolo
threatened to do this because Malema “had done many bad
things to
him”.
Mamabolo accused Juju of sending two of his very few still-loyal
acolytes to
lie with the young Mamabolo’s girlfriend. At the time of
writing, Meintjies
says, Juju had not issued a denial. That was left to his
two acolytes,
Limpopo ANC Youth League secretary Jacob Lebogo and Jossie
Buthanie.
Both denied sleeping with Mamabolo’s girlfriend. Lebogo said:
“Malema is not
a pimp. He is the leader of our society.”
“But here’s
the scary part,” Meintjies relates. “For quite some time Malema
and Mamabolo
occupied senior positions in the ruling party’s youth league
and provincial
government. Malema was Youth League president and Mamabolo
was chairman of
the Limpopo Geographical Names Committee from which he
allegedly stole about
R400 000.”
Meintjies recalls Malema’s marks at school for woodwork. They were
abysmal
apparently.
‘It is clear,” he says, “both men swam ashore
from the shallow end of the
gene pool.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Opinion
THE third
US President, Thomas Jefferson, is renowned for saying: “If it
were left on
me to decide whether we should have a government without
newspapers or
newspapers without a government I should not hesitate a moment
to prefer the
latter”.
Opinion by Nhlanhla Ngwenya
This from a man who
experienced one of the worst abuses by the media which
bordered on the
slanderous during his reign.
Despite a series of fabrications about his
personal life by disgruntled
members of the press, never did he use his most
powerful position to silence
them, but instead defended their right to
exist.
Those that hate free expression will habitually parry this example
on the
grounds that Zimbabwe is not the US and “we do things differently
here”, or
“our democracy is still young”, and other manner of flimsy
excuses.
But nearly four years after the inauguration of the coalition
government
which was accompanied by promises of democratic reforms, there is
still very
little to show as concrete deliverables of the reform
agenda.
Save for the licensing of publications, including private
newspapers, the
controversial awarding of licences to two commercial private
radio stations
and the calling of applications for 14 provincial commercial
radio licences,
nothing significant has been achieved when measured against
the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) — precursor to the unity government —
and several
pledges made at various fora.
The same infrastructure of
repression steeped in dictatorial media
legislative framework and
superintended over by paranoiac enemies of free
press still exists,
threatening the sustainability of the very newly
licensed
players.
While Sadc has expressed its disapproval of the authorities’
slow-paced
reforms, this has not deterred those who hate the free press from
abusing
their control of law enforcement agents to selectively arrest
journalists
from the private media in a bid to intimidate them into turning
a blind eye
to authorities’ excesses.
With news of a breakthrough in
the constitution-making process filtering
through, it is hoped there was no
major tinkering with sections in the July
2012 draft document, which sought
to sufficiently protect free expression
and explicitly guarantee freedom of
the media and access to information.
It is only through such safeguards
that the country’s media can be liberated
from debilitating state clutches
as well as unwarranted abuse by those in
power.
However, such clauses
can only be meaningful if there is political will to
genuinely democratise
the media space, regardless of one’s attitude towards
the media.
One
of the main professional hazards of assuming public office is scrutiny
that
transcends what would ordinarily be private space for an ordinary
member of
the public. Those that seek public office should therefore develop
thick
skins because as long as they hold such office the media will rummage
through their public and private lives.
That’s not personal; it’s
precisely the role of the media!
The coalition government’s approach to the
media has not demonstrated much
desire to protect media space. Neither has
it displayed the requisite will
to transform the media, which creates doubts
on what the future holds for
the media in the country.
For instance,
except for isolated calls for media reforms by a few
individuals such as MP
Settlement Chikwinya and the late deputy Agriculture
minister Seiso Moyo,
none of the MDC formations have put up a spirited fight
on the
matter.
Instead, they have subordinated the fight for free media space to
their
quest for power. The argument has been that once they gain political
power
everything will fall into place. But this is not necessarily true and
betrays lack of understanding on the indispensability of the media in the
enjoyment of all civil liberties.
History is littered with examples
where those that cast themselves as
unwavering democrats while seeking
political power turned out to be the
complete opposite once in
office.
Without delving into a history lecture, post-colonial Zimbabwe is
a perfect
example.
Despite all promises of democratic reforms
anchored on unpleasant treatment
of nationalists and liberation fighters by
the colonial media, no
significant changes were made to the country’s media
after Independence save
for change of hands of control. In fact, it took the
country 20 years for
ZBC’s broadcasting monopoly to be struck off the
country’s statutes.
Even then, it was after a citizen had taken the
authorities to court on the
matter. To this day, the broadcaster is still
shackled to state controls and
operates on the whims and caprices of its
Zanu PF masters in government.
Resultantly, it has covered and
interpreted the Zimbabwean story only from
the partisan lens of its masters
while labelling those opposing them as
ideologically bankrupt and appendages
of imperial forces.
In spite of all the abuse the MDC formations have
suffered through the
broadcaster, they have hardly pushed for comprehensive
overhaul of the
broadcaster’s governance and management structures to
insulate it from
political manipulation and turn it into a genuine public
broadcaster that
reflected all shades of Zimbabwean opinion. Oddly, about
two years ago, the
MDCs agreed to an inexplicable formula for the
appointment of the ZBC board
as a way of reforming the
broadcaster.
Besides betraying their desire to equitably abuse the
broadcaster, the move
underlined lack of understanding of the role of a
public broadcaster and how
to protect its independence.
This is also
demonstrated in the July 2012 draft constitution where the
parties actually
entrenched state control of the media.
Further, following the controversial
licensing of two national radio
stations there was no attempt to expose the
licensing authorities’ claims
that the two frequencies were finite and the
country couldn’t license any
more aspiring national broadcasters.
It
is a fact that although the country only had two free national radio
frequencies, it can still expand the spectrum by simply applying to the
International Telecommunication Union for additional frequencies.
No
concerted efforts have been made to ensure this is done as well as the
licensing of community radio stations.
It is not only in the
broadcasting sector that the parties have demonstrated
neglect. The laws
that beset the media and imposed severe restrictions to
free journalism
enterprise before the formation of the coalition government
exist and
continue to be used to control free media activity in the country.
After
promises of media reforms following the Kariba Media Conference of
2009, at
which clear recommendations were made with regards reforming the
media
sector, there has been deafening silence on progress. The nearest that
Zimbabweans were informed about the matter was when President Robert Mugabe
announced that a Media Practitioners’ Bill, which was one of the Kariba
recommendations, would be part of parliament’s legislative agenda in 2011.
However, nothing happened on that score.
Isolated motions on the need
to repeal media laws have also been made to no
effect. And as Chikwinya
seeks to push for the replacement of the Access to
Information and
Protection of Privacy Act with a freedom of information law,
the effort may
be coming too late as it is doubtful the move will succeed
given the
imminence of elections and its ramifications on all efforts aimed
at
democratising the space.
Clearly, our own Jefferson has been missing in
the last four years of the
inclusive government!
Ngwenya is director
of Misa-Zimbabwe.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in
Opinion
JANUARY 15 was the 84th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King’s
birth.
Opinion by Bruce Wharton
Giving King his full due as a
leader and a catalyst for change, it is vital
that we remember many others
who worked for the extraordinary
accomplishments achieved as a result of the
American Civil Rights Movement.
Many — perhaps most — of the people who
supported the movement did it
through churches and civic organisations,
which are today popularly known as
civil society organisations
(CSOs).
For 13 years King faced incredible adversity to his leadership of
the
struggle for civil rights. He was arrested at least 30 times, his home
was
bombed, his phones were tapped, and he was often threatened.
He
and his team relied upon the support, energy and hard work of their CSO
partners in helping citizens to organise, to make their voices heard, and to
bring pressure on authorities in the long and difficult struggle for civil
rights in the United States.
Although we now agree on the value of
their accomplishments, 50 or 60 years
ago some state and local governments
and other entrenched powers saw CSOs as
threatening and as
enemies.
Even elements of our federal government, fixated then on
fighting communism,
were concerned civil rights organisations might be
infiltrated by communists
bent on attacking the US.
It is now obvious
King and other leaders of the struggle for racial justice
were deeply
patriotic and were simply calling upon America to be true to the
ideals upon
which the country was founded.
In the 1960s, much of the US witnessed a
serious conflict between CSOs, such
as King’s Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, and state and local
governments.
The conventional wisdom
across much of America at the time was that King and
the CSOs represented
danger, and elected officials such as Bull Connor and
George Wallace
represented safety.
Today, we can see how wrong that conventional wisdom
was. Individuals who
sought to limit the ability of CSOs to work for civil
rights are not well
regarded by history, while those who endured the
harassment, the abuse, and
the violence are remembered as
heroes.
Some of the officials who sought to stop the work of CSOs even
came to
change their views and later expressed regret for their actions.
George
Wallace, the former governor of Alabama, was one of those. In 1979,
recalling his effort to prevent black students from studying at the
University of Alabama, he said: “I was wrong. Those days are over, and they
ought to be over.”
As a government official, I can testify that it is
not always easy to work
with CSOs. Before coming to Zimbabwe, I met with
CSOs interested in issues
such as human rights, conservation, education,
health care, democracy and
business. I did not necessarily agree with all of
their analyses or goals,
but it was important for me to make the time to
meet with them, to hear
their points of view and to explain my
own.
One of the functions of CSOs is to represent the interests of a
given group
of citizens to government. A single e-mail from an American
urging our
government to take action on an issue is far less powerful than
one-million
e-mails to government that a CSO can organise. In this way, CSOs
act as a
collective bargaining unit for citizens who share concerns about an
issue.
So, while CSOs can be challenging for a government to deal with,
the US
experience with CSOs during our own struggle for civil rights and
justice
makes their value absolutely clear. As a government official, I have
a
responsibility to be respectful of CSOs that operate within the law to
advance their membership’s interests — even if I do not agree with their
goals.
Furthermore, I have a responsibility to pay attention to their
position and
to give them an opportunity to share their views with me. I see
it as an
important duty of government to protect the space in which CSOs
operate,
just as it is our duty to protect freedom of expression and the
right to
peaceful assembly.
This week, in celebrating King, the other
leaders of the American Civil
Rights Movement and thousands of people who
worked through civil society
organisations, it is worth repeating one of
King’s most popular quotes: “We
shall overcome because the arc of the moral
universe is long, but it bends
toward justice.”
Wharton became
ambassador of the United States to Zimbabwe in November 2012
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Opinion
Among the
many sectors of Zimbabwe’s economy that have declined
progressively over the
years is agriculture which, until the millennium 12
years ago, was thriving
and was the key foundation of the economy.
Opinion by Eric
Bloch
Agricultural production was not only of very great substance, but
was also
impressively varied, and included tobacco, maize, wheat and diverse
other
grains as well as cotton, citrus, sugar, and much else.
One of
the very significant elements of the country’s agriculture was
livestock,
which was not only the mainstay of rural communities, but also
serviced the
requirements of the urban populace and was a major contributor
to Zimbabwe’s
exports (within the region, and to markets in the European
Union).
Tragically, however, all of Zimbabwean agriculture has very
markedly
declined, and that includes the livestock sector. A major
contributor to the
decline was the racist ousting,from the turn of the
century onwards, of most
of the very experienced and highly productive
established farmers.
The economic devastation triggered by that action by
the State was
intensified, and maximised by the simultaneous withdrawal of
all rights of
title and ownership to the lands, precluding newly-settled
farmers from
access to funding necessary for the conduct of their farming
operations, as
they were rendered devoid of any collateral value required to
access loans.
Compounding the decimation of agriculture has, during the
past decade, been
several years of very adverse climatic conditions,
occasioning an
insufficiency of water resources in general, and minimised
recourse to
irrigation (exacerbated by the extent that much of the country’s
irrigation
infrastructure had been cannabilised and disposed of by
newly-settled
farmers, and such systems as continue to exist also limited in
usage in
consequence of erratic availability of energy).
Yet another
major contributor to the decline in agriculture has been the
diminution in
production by communal farmers, and that has resulted in very
considerable
hardships and poverty for innumerable villagers residing in the
communal
areas.
Some of the negative effects of the decline in livestock rearing
has been
the consequential diminution of export operations, and the reduced
supply-driven rises in prices for domestic consumers, and the adverse
impacts upon Zimbabwe’s already considerable trade deficit. The Cold Storage
Company imports much beef and beef products from Botswana, intensifying
hardships for rural communities. With that in mind, this columnist
recognised the substance of a recent submission to him by one reader, who
wrote:
“Large numbers of communal cattle are dying during the present
season,
blamed upon the drought. During (that contributor’s 56 years in
Matabeleland) there were several droughts like the present one. In
commercial farming, however, livestock survived under proper veld
management. Grass eaten by cattle is shallow-rooted, and will produce
sufficient leaves with a rainfall of approximately 100 mm. This leaf matter
must be looked after to sustain livestock during both rainy and dry
seasons.
The present set-up in the communal areas, on village level, is
the available
land around the dwellings. The communal grazing area is shared
by all. The
animals are released from their kraals after milking, into the
communal
grazing areas. Some are herded by non-school going children and the
elderly,
but many are not.
As a result, cattle stray into available
land. To prevent this, an average
of 50 trees are cut down for fences, which
fences are replaced every two to
three years. Minister Sipepa Nkomo has said
seven million trees are cut
annually.
Fencing of lands probably accounts
for half of that figure. The number of
animals per owner varies, ranging
from 900 to 300, 50, 20,10 and for others
five.
The big number owners
employ herdsmen, but with most cattle being let out in
the morning and
brought in at night. The animals go for the sweet grasses
and move on. There
is no controlled grazing for them, and once the dry
season arrives there is
no more grazing available, and cattle starve to
death. Survivors are in such
poor condition that it takes the whole incoming
rainy season to make up for
the weight loss.”
The reader, who succinctly summarised that major
constraint upon the
wellbeing of millions of villagers, did not only
identify a pronounced
reason for the diminution of effective livestock
breeding and wellbeing in
communal centres, but also suggests ways of
improving grazing in communal
lands. He suggested that:
Firstly,
there should be formation of livestock associations at village
level.
“Members should contribute financially for the employment of
herdsmen, being
one or more, depending on the number of animals to be looked
after. One of
the herdsmen should be trained to identify and treat diseases
and illnesses
at an early stage, and in the use of vaccines, antibiotics and
other basic
veterinary methods, as early diagnosis and treatment saves lives
and more
than offsets the cost of employing the herdsmen.
Secondly, as a policy of
short duration, high density grazing,should be
pursued. The aim of this is
to force the animals to graze all the plants at
a given time, to give the
sweet annual grasses a chance to reproduce through
seeding.”
The
third recommended action depends upon the number of animals in the herd.
The
available grazing area should be subdivided appropriately (say 50
animals
per five hectares). In doing so, the condition of the grazing must
be
considered. Although ideal, fencing the divisions would be too costly,
but
instead painted poles can be used, at distances of, say, 50 metres, or
closer in wooded country, dependent upon the condition of the grazing
land.”
The reader giving this advice recognises that this is “just a
basic outline”
of the project of enhanced utilisation of grazing, and that
“the main task
is to convince communities of the necessity to reverse the
condition of
hope, but inadequate or ineffective maximisation of available
grazing, as
presently prevails in very many areas.”
However, as
simplistic and basic as these measures are, the Ministry of
Agriculture and
the Council of Chiefs should vigorously promote their
implementation,
although concurrently Zimbabwe must intensively develop dams
and concomitant
irrigation schemes wheresoever potentially viable,
throughout the country,
for the benefit of both commercial and communal
farmers. In so doing, urgent
attention is needed to address the massive
over-siltation of very many dams
and rivers, the refurbishment of such
irrigation systems as still exist, and
the development of new dams and
irrigation facilities wheresoever
possible.
Doing so will enhance both commercial and communal farming, and
a partial
recovery of Zimbabwe’s decimated agricultural sector.
In the
event Government restores collateral value to Zimbabwe’s rural lands,
agriculture will become a major contributor, and probably the foremost one,
to the long-awaited economic recovery so greatly needed for the wellbeing of
Zimbabweans.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Opinion
The new year has
begun with what in terms of the indigenisation drive may be
termed a high
note, the penning of a nearly US$1 billion dollar deal between
the
government of Zimbabwe and the world’s largest platinum producer, South
Africa’s Impala Platinum (Implats) on the selling of the latter’s 51% stake
in Zimbabwe Platinum (Zimplats) to the former as part of a compliance
deal.
Candid Comment with Itai Masuku
But before we put down our
toast glasses, one would like to ask: who is the
real beneficiary of that
deal? On the surface, we are told it is the
formerly disempowered black
community of Zimbabwe.
The question is not based on any in-depth analysis
or any inside
information, but on that nebulous, vexatious but oft time
tested concept
called intuition by some, gut feeling by others, or merely a
hunch by many.
Those who want to sound sophisticated may call it ESP
(extra-sensory
perception).
Experience shows whenever you see
executives of a multinational corporation
and officials of a developing
nation such as our little Zimbabwe shaking
hands and both parties smiling,
the representatives of the multinational
have a bigger cause to
smile.
Just by way of example, in 1991 a hitherto obscure “chicken bus”
operator by
the name of Enoch Msabaeka made headlines when he bought a
luxury coach
service, Express Motorways, from Unifreight International. One
recalls the
photo of a beaming Msabaeka shaking hands with a Unifreight
representative.
Only a few years down the line, things turned awry for
the later Mayor of
Mutare as the creepy crawlies of the deal began to haunt
him. In short, the
Express Motorways deal became the death knell of his
business empire.
More specifically with mining, cameras flashed in 1997
when Anglo American
Corporation of South Africa representatives and
Zimbabwean government
officials inked a deal in which government bought a
50% stake in the
multinational’s flagship, Bindura Nickel
Corporation.
Only a few years down the line, the company was teetering on
the brink of
collapse, the multinational had parachuted and the government
was left with
a problem baby.
Those familiar with Bindura know about
its trials and tribulations. Only a
couple years ago, there was yet an
opportunity for a photo call when Essar
Global and our government penned an
agreement on the “rescue” of Ziscosteel.
As everyone now knows Essar did not
smile; they laughed, and all the way to
the bank at that. Now to
Zimplats.
The ink is yet to dry on the “landmark” deal and as per our
African custom,
we are still ululating and cat whistling. As far as one
remembers, Zimplats
claims used to belong to Mimosa, who sold them to Anglo
American Corporation
for US$20 million, who then onsold them to Delta Gold
for US$40 million, who
in turn sold a majority stake in the business to BHP
after adding another
US$20 million or so.
We are told BHP later sold
their lot to South Africa’s Implats for a
pittance, saying the resource was
not viable. At that time the government,
through the National Indigenisation
Investment Trust, was offered 10% in the
mine but failed to raise the money,
US$1 million or so.
Now, just a decade down the line the mine is worth
about US$2 billion? Is
this an accounting error or a miscalculation of the
resource at Ngezi by
geologists? Do we have alchemists in the country or
have the miracles we’ve
been hearing of lately spread to Ngezi? Some answers
please.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Opinion
ZIMBABWE’S
infrastructure is now embarrassingly poor with our roads fast
deteriorating
to the extent many are now virtually impassable.
Editor’s Memo with
Dingilizwe Ntuli
Large swathes of our road network are full of potholes
and are not only
every motorist’s nightmare, but also endanger commuters’
lives, particularly
during the current rainy season when the problem
worsens.
Most of our roads are potholed and have not been adequately
resurfaced since
Independence in 1980. The toll they take on our vehicles
and people is
common cause. Driving on our roads is now so dangerous, unless
maybe you are
part of President Robert Mugabe’s high-speed convoy which
appears
unperturbed by the deteriorating roads.
Some of Harare’s
roads resemble the outback with potholes now so large they
are in fact
gulleys. This makes driving in the capital’s roads extremely
dangerous as
drivers have to zigzag to avoid hitting the potholes, while
risking
colliding with other vehicles.
Our roads are in such a poor state as a result
of years of neglect, poor
planning and lack of investment.
Road
maintenance has been so low on government’s priority scale in the past
three
decades that most roads are well past their useful lifespan and need
complete reconstruction.
And just what are the authorities doing to
tackle this growing menace of
potholes on our roads? Patching them
up!
Although patching up the potholes has brought some relief, that does
not
improve the condition of our roads as those patches mostly do not appear
to
last as much as a couple of days, especially during the current rainy
season.
Authorities seem to focus more on improving pothole patching
technology
while road foundations continue to deteriorate.
This type of
response is more expensive because in the long run patching up
potholes
could easily cost double as much as simply resurfacing the entire
road.
When will the authorities realise that potholes won’t go away
as long as the
size or weight of some trucks and buses is too much for some
of our roads.
It is high time large vehicles that have contributed to the
extensive damage
of our roads are taxed based on how much weight they carry
on our roads.
Local municipalities must also curb the current
free-for-all digging up of
roads wherever and whenever utility companies
fancy laying their cables.
It is scandalous that such private road works
are not coordinated by
councils as most companies reduce the lifespan of
sections of our roads
through such activities. The authorities need to
develop a longer-term
strategy of regular resurfacing and pre-emptive
maintenance if ever the rot
on our roads is to be arrested.
This
would go a long way in reducing road carnage and save motorists on car
repairs.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 25, 2013 in Opinion
WHAT is remarkable
about the draft constitution is its failure to address
democratic norms
while the country yearns for the peace and prosperity such
norms would
deliver.
Zimbabwe Independent Editorial
A lot of hard work remains
as Zimbabwe labours with a heavy democratic
deficit. Essentially, the whole
process has been about getting the former
ruling party to agree to what
anywhere else in the region would be regarded
as elementary
reforms.
The country, for instance, has had to watch as the public media
is abused
for the partisan interests of a discredited clique of electoral
losers.
Two radio stations are all the state has conceded in virtually
four years
since the formation of the unity government and they are far from
independent. In the absence of a diverse broadcasting environment and given
the state’s manipulation of vast swathes of the print media, voters face
difficulties making informed choices at the polls.
This is in direct
conflict with the Grand Baie terms crafted by Sadc that
require popular
participation in the electoral process. The authorities have
in some cases
prevented MDC-T from holding rallies on spurious grounds while
those of the
former ruling party receive automatic approval.
Similarly, the failure to
repeal laws such as Posa, Aippa and the Criminal
Law (Codification and
Reform) Act leaves civil society vulnerable to the
depredations of a hostile
state. Civic activists are unable to exercise
their right to freedom of
assembly and speech.
Put simply the new constitution fails to address the
fundamental issues
which led to conflict in 2008 and which the GPA was
supposed to resolve.
Will the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, for example,
perform its intended
role as an independent supervisory body or will it
remain open to political
manipulation? What role will the Registrar-General
play given his declared
attachment to Zanu PF in the past? These are
fundamental issues that have
not been fully addressed.
MDC-T leader
Morgan Tsvangirai seems to have got cold feet on the issue of
security
reform.
Given the public statements by generals and others in the
security matrix,
one would have thought reform in this sector was essential.
Tsvangirai
appears to have accepted he will not get a separate head of the
National
Prosecuting Authority to sit alongside the Attorney-General. At
least not
for another seven years. And there has been no immediate progress
on the
issue of a constitutional court which played such an important role
in the
democratic transformation of South Africa.
The MDC-T has
self-evidently given away too much. What happened to the GPA?
The whole
purpose of the negotiations around a new constitution was to
establish the
basics of a democratic society.
That doesn’t seem to have
happened.
Instead, the MDC-T has nodded through burning issues on the
confident
expectation they will win the next election. That can only be put
down to
naivety, and a dangerous naivety at that. Tsvangirai is riding a
tiger and
thinks the only answer to its rumbling stomach is to feed
it.
We shall soon see the folly of that policy!
