http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 20:54
Wongai
Zhangazha
MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti and Police
Commissioner-General
Augustine Chihuri are engaged in a war of words that
has led to accusations
and counter-accusations over political violence,
further heightening
tensions between the party and the police.
Biti has
accused Zanu PF of perpetrating political violence against MDC-T
members and
attacked the police for their selective application of the
law.
Chihuri hit back accusing the MDC-T of being the main
perpetrators of
violence and deliberately targeting cops in the process. He
used the murder
of policeman Petros Mutedza in Glen View by alleged MDC-T
activists as an
example.
However, Jomic has rejected the
finger-pointing saying there has generally
been inter-party violence
countrywide.
In a letter to Jomic national coordinator Patience
Chiradza dated May 31,
Biti complained about selective application of the
law following what he
called police failure to arrest perpetrators of
violence against MDC-T
members.
“The MDC has noted a clearly
discernible escalation of violence targeted at
MDC-T supporters by Zanu PF
supporters, persons dressed in military fatigues
and police officers since
the beginning of the year,” Biti said. “There has
been a pattern where
whenever MDC supporters are attacked by Zanu PF
supporters, the police
decline to offer them assistance or protection,
instead they have in many
instances proceeded to arrest the victims of
violence and initiated
prosecution against them,” Biti wrote.
He said about 100 Zanu PF
youths had attacked MDC-T Mbare councillor Paul
Gorekore’s house on January
31“smashing his property into smithereens in the
process”.
Despite pictorial evidence of the devastation in the
NewsDay edition of
February 1, Biti said the police ignored the
case.
“This viscious attack occurred in the presence of police
officers who stood
idly by, in itself, a clear unambiguous precursor of
their complicity in the
unlawful attack. None of the perpetrators of the
violent attack on Paul
Gorekore’s house were arrested despite the fact that
your police officers
witnessed the attack.”
Instead, Biti said the cops
arrested Gorekore and detained other MDC-T
supporters.
Biti
accused Chihuri of making “public inflammatory statements against the
MDC in
January while addressing police recruits”.
In an address to the
recruits, Chihuri was quoted saying: “Officers must
vote wisely and must
consider that this country came through the barrel of a
gun and we will
never allow puppets to lead us. This country came through
blood and the
barrel of the gun and it can never be recolonised through a
simple pen which
costs as little as five cents.”
Biti said Chihuri’s comments were set
to dangerously incite police officers
not to accept a possible outcome of a
legitimate and democratic election
process and to instead respect the barrel
of a gun.
“It is not inconceivable that his audience interpreted the
speech as an
invitation to perpetrate violence against those he described as
‘puppets’,”
Biti said. “The party that he supports, Zanu PF, constantly
refers to the
MDC-T as puppets and as such the irresistible deduction to
draw from this
speech was that your vitriol against ‘puppets’ was directed
at the MDC.”
In response through his secretary, an Inspector J
Sithole on June 7, Chihuri
said it was unfortunate that after perpetrating
several violent attacks, and
even murdering police officers, Biti chose to
accuse the police of being
violent towards his political party
members.
“Such assertions are highly provocative and sickening to say
the list. The
issue of Paul Gorekore has been explained several times
elsewhere. It needs
to be understood that a person can be a complainant in
one case and be at
the same time an accused in another case involving and
surrounding the same
circumstances. So one should not just be critical and
be happy with one part
of a whole.”
He said Biti’s linking of the
police debrief session to political violence
was ridiculous and an act of
mischief intended to fulfill a hidden agenda.
“It is the duty of the police
leadership to advise juniors or recruits where
we came from so that they
understand the present in order to properly handle
the future,” wrote
Chihuri.
Chihuri said his address was meant to educate recruits that Zimbabwe
was
decolonised through bloodshed and that the vote came through the barrel
of a
gun, and it had to be “exercised wisely in order not to allow
recolonisation, either directly or through puppets”.
“History has
it that a pen was used to overthrow one of our greatest
kingdoms and the
king disappeared. An X was used (a sign of voting) as a
signature as
alleged. Colonisers took over the country. The colonisers
defrauded the king
who fought after discovering the cheating but was
defeated and God knows
what happened to him up to this day,” Chihuri wrote.
He said Zimbabwe
did not require or need puppets and the police had a
mandate to safeguard
the country’s sovereignty and independence.
On the MDC-T political violence
murder reports of 2008, Chihuri said police
could not investigate unreported
cases unless they got information
concerning committing of a
crime.
“The police never refuse to investigate cases or apply the law
selectively
as alleged because cases involving members of all political
parties have
been brought before the courts all the time,” the commissioner
said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011
20:52
Faith Zaba
THE army is becoming increasingly involved in
politics amid new information
showing that retired soldiers are demanding
significant representation in
parliament, a proposal which top Zanu PF
officials said would never be
approved by the politburo.
Top Zanu PF
sources told the Zimbabwe Independent this week that the
military wants 25%
of elected seats in the House of Assembly and Senate to
be reserved for
retired soldiers.
The officials said such a proposal would not be
approved by the politburo.
They pointed out that Zanu PF’s top leadership
was united in blocking the
army from getting such a quota.
One
Zanu PF insider said: “The military wants 25% of all seats in the House
of
Assembly and in the Senate. We have been discussing the issue among
ourselves in preparation for the extraordinary politburo meeting on
elections to be held soon.”
The politburo was scheduled to meet
on Wednesday to discuss the rules and
regulations for primary elections, but
had to be postponed after President
Robert Mugabe left for an African Union
Summit in Equatorial Guinea.
One source said: “The issue will now be
discussed at the next (politburo)
meeting where we are supposed to discuss
and agree on the rules and
regulations for primary elections. So far we are
in agreement that we will
not give them the 25%. If they want to contest,
they should do that like
everyone else. There is not going to be any
imposition of candidates.
“They should do like other retired soldiers
have done in the past when they
decided to go into politics. You fight at
primary elections and if you win
then you fight it out with other
candidates. It will not be given to them on
a silver
platter.”
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo last night could not
comment on the matter
saying he was in a meeting. In an earlier interview
this year, Gumbo said
the party would not tolerate imposition of candidates.
During the 2008
elections Zanu PF was defeated by the MDC-T partly due to
imposition of
candidates.
Tension has been growing between the
military and the party top leadership
after army generals indicated that
they wanted Zimbabwe Defence Forces
Commander Constantine Chiwenga to take
over from the ageing Mugabe, who is
battling with ill-health.
A
group of generals in the army disgruntled by Zanu PF’s failure to resolve
the succession issue have said they want Chiwenga to retire from the army
and enter the fight to succeed Mugabe.
One retired general who
sits in the politburo dismissed talk that Chiwenga
could succeed Mugabe. The
politburo heavyweight said: “Zviroto (he is
dreaming), it is like you waking
up one morning and saying you are going to
be the next president — president
of which country and as whom..?
“We know what their (army) plan is.
They want to make sure that they have
enough numbers to help them if the
Electoral College sits to choose Mugabe’s
successor.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 20:44
Paidamoyo
Muzulu
ZANU PF stepped up its preparations for fresh elections by
dispatching a
high level delegation to China last week on a resource and
logistical
support mobilisation mission.
The delegation, which left last
Friday, is led by party chairman Simon Khaya
Moyo and comprises other
politburo members Thokozile Mathuthu, Herbert
Murerwa, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti
and Zanu PF director for science and
technology Gadzira Chirumanzu.
Zanu
PF has been pushing hard to have elections this year or in early 2012,
but
the party is financially distraught, hence the begging visit to China.
The
party’s financial report released at its conference in Mutare last year
showed that it was struggling to meet its financial
obligations.
Secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa yesterday said: “If
you are
interested in the support from China why don’t you tell us about
what other
political parties receive from their friends? You can only get
information
if you publish side by side what the MDC is getting from the UK,
the EU and
the Commonwealth.”
Mutasa said Zanu PF and the Communist Party
of China (CPC) had a long
standing relationship dating back to the
liberation struggle.
“We have had exchange visits with the Chinese since the
liberation struggle.
It is surprising why the world is so much interested in
what happens between
us and the Chinese now. It is just another exchange
visit,” he said.
Reports from China indicated that Khaya Moyo’s delegation
met with Li
Changchun, a senior CPC leader, in Beijing on
Wednesday.
According to China’s official news agency Xinhua, Changchun told
the Zanu PF
delegation that his country was willing to work with Zanu PF to
strengthen
political mutual trust and expand the bilateral pragmatic
co-operation in
various fields.
Zanu PF said it wished to foster its
exchanges and co-operation with the CPC
and learn from the successful
experience that the CPC has acquired on party
capacity building and the
management of national development.
The CPC and Zanu PF signed a Memorandum
of Understanding in May 2010 to
promote political exchanges and co-operation
between the two parties.
Members of the two parties have created a number of
joint venture companies
that are now operating in Zimbabwe in diversified
sectors of the economy.
These range from mining, farming, retail,
communications, and construction
to the motor trade.
The Chinese have
played a crucial role in protecting Zimbabwe from being
placed on the UN
Security Council agenda in the past.
China together with Russia vetoed a
proposed UN Security Council resolution
to impose sweeping sanctions on
Zimbabwe, a move Zanu PF said the country
would always be grateful
for.
THE EU and international partners have called on officials in
Zimbabwe to
speed up the implementation of a power-sharing agreement, also
underlining
their concerns following last week’s bust-up in a Kimberley
Process meeting
over diamonds.
Members of the Friends of Zimbabwe Group
met in Brussels on Tuesday,
releasing a statement a day later in which they
welcomed some progress
towards a new constitution, democratic reforms and
credible elections.
“However, serious concerns remain. Continued violence,
intimidation, and
ongoing arrests demonstrate disregard for human rights,”
the group said in a
final communiqué.
Last month, Zimbabwean Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai predicted elections
would take place in 2012,
while President Robert Mugabe has been pushing for
an earlier vote amid
reports of increased political harassment of his
opponents. The two men have
been bound in an awkward power-sharing agreement
following disputed
elections in 2008.
Updated in February, EU sanctions against Zimbabwe target
200 people and 40
firms linked to Mugabe’s Zanu PF party, accused of
committing rights abuses.
Tensions over Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond mine
erupted last week following a
meeting between stakeholders in the Kimberley
Process (KP), a joint
initiative between governments, industry and civil
society groups to stem
the flow of conflict diamonds.
Despite civil
society groups rejecting a text enabling international sales
of diamonds
from the controversial mine, KP group chairman Mathieu Yamba
later said a
consensus had been reached, provoking uncertainty in the
industry and
criticism from the EU and US.
“The EU recalls that trade in Marange diamonds
requires a consensual
solution respecting KP decision-making rules,” a
spokesperson for EU foreign
policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a
statement.
Watchdog group Human Rights Watch says Zimbabwean armed forces are
engaging
in the forced labour of children and adults at the mine, as well as
beatings
and killings.
But born of conflicts in countries such as Angola,
the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone, the Kimberley
Process is designed to
tackle the illicit activities of rebel groups, rather
than government
activities.
“The Kimberley process was created for a
specific purpose ... it’s a bit
futile to make it do something that it
wasn’t originally created to do,” US
ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray
told the EU Observer on Wednesday.
“If we miscalculate and Zimbabwe is
knocked out of the Kimberley Process,
that does not help solve the human
rights problems. In fact, that
exacerbates them.”
MEPs who want the EU to
push ahead with US style rules on conflict minerals
such as gold, tin,
tungsten, and tantalum are keenly aware of the
limitations of the current
agreement covering international diamond sales.
Following the signing of the
Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, the US securities and
exchange commission (SEC) is
expected to come forward with rules later this
year that will require
US-listed companies to check whether raw materials
used in their products
are coming from militarised mines in eastern DRC and
the surrounding
area.
The European Commission is currently considering the merits of similar
legislation, with euro-deputies who support such a scheme keen for it to
cover government as well as rebel group abuses. — EU Observer.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011
20:38
Wongai Zhangazha
THE military is the major cause of the
country’s rampant institutional and
socio-economic decay, according to a
report compiled by Michael Bratton of
Michigan State University’s African
Studies Department and Eldred
Masunungure of the University of
Zimbabwe.
The report titled “The anatomy of political predation: leaders,
elites and
coalitions in Zimbabwe 1980-2010” cites self-interest and inward
looking
policy advice to President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF as other
drivers of the
present decay.
The two academics also argue that
Mugabe’s post-colonial administration
failed to build on the legacy of a
strong and capable state as well as to
take advantage of opportunities
presented by an already diversified private
economy to register broad-based
economic growth and social development.
Based on information gleaned
from key informants in Zimbabwe, the report
says Zimbabwe could have been
better in terms of development had the country’s
leadership been more
responsible.
It bemoans the spectacular descent of Africa’s one time
breadbasket into a
basket case, accompanied by “violence, deprivation and
decay” between 1980
and 2010.According to the report, Mugabe and his Zanu PF
lieutenants
prioritised political control and self-enrichment, and as a
result, a
predatory coalition of party and security elites turned the
coercive and
extractive powers of the state towards more destructive
ends.
It said the failure to craft a political settlement that
reconciled and
addressed the diverse interests of political, military,
business and labour
elites had forced a decline in living standards and life
expectancy to much
lower levels than they were at
Independence.
Zanu PF’s civil military coalition members placed their
own political
survival and welfare above broader developmental
goals.
“The political culture of a militarised elite, which was
forged in the
crucible of a national liberation war, led rulers to feel
entitled, not only
to rule Zimbabwe in perpetuity, but to seize the nation’s
wealth as they saw
fit,” reads the report.
Between 1980 and 1989,
the government managed to deliver development
benefits to its rural
political base, but the pardoning of political allies
involved in corruption
scandals was an early signal that the rule of law
would be sacrificed to
predation, the two researchers said.
Between 1990 and 1999 leaders
pushed for a one-party state due to Zanu-PF’s
easy de facto dominance at the
polls and the party asserting supremacy over
the state by politicising the
bureaucracy and army.
It pinpoints the series of strikes and
stay-aways called by the ZCTU under
the leadership of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai as marking the country’s
descent into political turmoil and
economic collapse.
“The turning point was a constitutional
referendum, in which the opposition
scored its first electoral victory. The
incumbent elite struck back with
land invasions, purges of judges, and the
mobilisation of militias,” reads
the report. “A Joint Operations Command of
security chiefs usurped key
policy making functions from the cabinet and the
Reserve Bank became a slush
fund for the ruling party and armed
forces.”
The report blames externally driven political settlements
for the failure to
find lasting political solutions to Zimbabwe’s
crisis.
It says the Lancaster House settlement marked a trend where
political
problems were settled through external interventions, making
lasting peace
and development elusive.
Third parties were also
blamed for putting together an unworkable GNU by
imposing a GPA upon
unwilling domestic partners.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 20:29
By Andrew
Chaponda
FREDERICK Titus Jacob Chiluba passed away on June 18,
aged 68, and was
buried in Lusaka, Zambia, on Monday.
The second
President of the Republic of Zambia, Chiluba will be remembered
for bringing
democracy to Zambia in particular, and for inspiring democratic
movements in
the region.
A post liberation hero, Chiluba punctured the myth surrounding
Africa’s
founding fathers’ veil of omnipotence, infallibility and
indispensability
when he humbled Kenneth Kaunda in a free and fair election
in 1992.
Kaunda presided over Zambia’s independence in 1964. He ruled Zambia
with an
iron fist for a good 28 years. Two generations later, Chiluba,
standing
barely 1,5 feet tall, defeated the larger-than-life Kaunda in what
became a
watershed election in Southern Africa. With his traditional white
handkerchief in hand, Kaunda conceded defeat to Chiluba’s Movement for
Multiparty Democracy (MMD), marking yet another first and peaceful transfer
of power in a country that had not known any other leader since
independence.
When the MMD was formed in 1990, Chiluba had cut his teeth
in the trade
union movement. As a workers’ movement leader, Chiluba was not
limited by
his height in terms of what he could achieve for the movement and
his
country. His detractors often denigrated him for his height without
recognition of his abilities.
The similarities continue in Zimbabwe today
where the Movement for
Democratic Change leader and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai is often
vilified as a “tea boy” of little intellectual
achievement. For such are the
tactics and strategies adopted by the
liberators now turned oppressors of
their people that nothing is out of
bounds of civil discourse, as long as it
helps them score very cheap
political points.
Chiluba saw it all. A bus conductor, Chiluba started from
very humble
beginnings. His political acumen, fearlessness and resilience in
the face of
apparently insurmountable odds led him and his protégés like the
late third
President of Zambia, Levi Mwanawasa, to challenge the narration
that only
those political parties that ushered in independence should rule
their
countries regardless of their less than stellar records in good
governance.
Unip, the party of Kaunda, had become so corrupt and bereft of
ideas that
its sell by date had long come and gone.
Chiluba takes his
place in the political history of Southern Africa as the
man who introduced
words like democracy and multi-partyism. Look at the
names of all the
liberation parties in Southern Africa and you will note
that the “D” word is
missing: Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu),
Zimbabwe African People’s
Party (Zapu), United National Independence Party
(Unip), Malawi Congress
Party (MCP), People’s Movement for Liberation of
Angola (MPLA), Tanganyika
African National Union (Tanu), African National
Congress (ANC), Pan African
Congress (PAC).
These were political parties formed at a certain point in
time, with a
specific objective to liberate their people from colonialism
and not
necessarily to bring about democracy and multi-party politics.
Democracy and
multi-partyism were and still are foreign to their
lexicons.
In Zambia, Unip was able to rule without challenge for so long
because
multi-party democracy was not a part of its founding values. In
Zimbabwe,
Zanu PF still thinks it should rule without challenge. In South
Africa,
Tanzania, Angola and Malawi the script reads eerily the same and the
people
have to fight again in order to bring about democracy in those
countries.
This state of affairs explains why Chiluba occupies a very
important place
in the history of democratic movements in the region. He
was able to inspire
the new generation to look beyond the founding fathers
for democracy and
rule of law. It was not in their DNAs, the liberation
political parties, to
open the political space to all citizens. Instead of
truly liberating their
people, the new ruling class mimicked, with tragic
consequences, the same
brutal tactics employed by the colonial rulers to
suppress and subjugate the
indigenous populations.
Instead of overhauling
the colonial laws, like the Law and Order
(Maintenance) Act in the case of
Zimbabwe, the new rulers invented every
reason they could come up with to
maintain and strengthen those oppressive
laws, often citing legal
impediments to their repeal. In Zambia, Kaunda
outlawed all opposition
political activity and turned a nation into that
undemocratic “One Zambia
One Nation, One Zambia One Leader, and That Leader
is Kaunda” mantra.
In
Zimbabwe, the preoccupation with a one party state and the subsequent
Unity
Accord with Zapu in 1987 sealed the nation’s fate that has condemned
our
country to the dictatorship of Zanu PF. It is unfortunate that Zanu PF
has
managed to hoodwink and bribe some very gullible youths to believe that
democracy and multi-party politics and free and fair elections are
synonymous with neo colonialism. The Zimbabwean equivalent of Zambia’s “One
Nation, One Leader” is the “VaMugabe Forever” or “Forever VaMugabe” that you
hear being chanted at Zanu PF rallies.
These political parties that
ushered Independence will all die the moment
they lose power. They are not
only undemocratic in government, but they lack
mechanisms within to reform
and renew, such that any loss of power tears
them at the seams. They operate
like the mafia. The big one cannot be
challenged, nor is he required to
groom the next leadership. They know once
their time is up, they implode —
and are either all incarcerated or go
underground. To delay the inevitable,
many people have to die to secure the
status quo.
Chiluba, in spite of
all his transgressions — corruption and love for
everything exotic including
designer shoes — will always be remembered for
bringing hope to the
oppressed people. He was a pioneer, a true son of
Zambia whose bravery has
inspired a new group of leaders in the region
determined to spring their
countries free from one-man rule.
These leaders of yester year did their part
liberating our countries, but
they are not suited for the challenges of
leading their countries to the
next higher level of political and economic
emancipation. Chiluba and the
MMD took the baton from an exhausted Kaunda,
who was clearly out of his
depth leading a modern nation state. When the
history of democratic
transformation in Southern Africa is written,
Chiluba’s name should occupy
prime space in the narrative.
Andrew
Chaponda can be contacted on chapsaj@gmail.com .
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 20:09
Brian
Chitemba
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai should first win elections,
then implement
security reforms instead of engaging in a dim-witted cold war
with the
country’s service chiefs, analysts have said drawing parallels to
what
transpired in other African countries.
Tsvangirai and military
commanders have been involved in public squabbles
over Zimbabwe’s future
leadership with the premier last week challenging
them to quit the defence
forces and contest elections. In turn, the
commanders branded him a national
security threat.
The attacks have become personal and have escalated tension
between the
defence forces and the MDC-T.
The public spat comes at a time
when security reforms have become a
political logjam between President
Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
For the neutral observer, the question is: What
will happen if Tsvangirai
and his party win the harmonised elections? Will
Tsvangirai axe all senior
security officers given that they have vowed never
to salute him? Will the
security chiefs stage a coup against the new
establishment?
Defence forces chief General Constantine Chiwenga, army
commander
Lieutenant-General Philip Sibanda, Airforce boss Perence Shiri,
Police
Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, Prison Services head Paradzai
Zimondi and CIO director-general Happyton Bonyogwe have publicly displayed
their disdain for Tsvangirai by saying the uniformed forces would only
salute a president with liberation war credentials.
Bulawayo-based
analyst Chamu Mutasa said Tsvangirai’s attacks on the
security chiefs are
aimed at trying to destroy a military and business
clique running the
affairs of state behind the scenes.
The military chiefs involved, Mutasa
said, have the political and economic
means to influence the day-to-day
running of the state’s affairs.
He said Tsvangirai’s call for the securocrats
to step down should be seen
simply as his call for security sector reforms
since he points to the
service chiefs as a stumbling block in implementing
security sector reforms
in accordance with the GPA.
Mutasa said: “The
Prime Minister is wasting time on those securocrats. He
should concentrate
on winning elections first and then start on the reforms.
He should look at
institutional reforms (instead of asking a few individuals
to quit) because
this is the problem. They have the guns and can plot a
coup.”
Tsvangirai
has no direct contact with the security chiefs who are regulated
by the
Defence Act leaving only Mugabe, as commander-in-chief of the Defence
Forces, as the only one to deal with them.
The MDC-T accuses Mugabe and
the securocrats of deploying army units to
intimidate, beat up and even kill
its supporters ahead of elections.
Realising that potential candidates with
liberation credentials capable of
leading this country are quickly running
out, the military has allegedly
positioned Chiwenga as a liberation war hero
to take over from Mugabe.
The army’s move to tout Chiwenga’s name seems to be
a thinly veiled warning
to Mugabe’s Zanu PF party that should it fail to
sort out the acrimonious
succession issue, the uniformed forces would
intervene by shoving their boss
into the hot seat.
Mugabe, who is the
glue that has kept Zanu PF intact and running this
country for the past 31
years, has been battling poor health and old age
triggering a scramble to
replace him.
But are the service chiefs alone in their public declarations
that they
would not allow anyone to run this country as long as Mugabe is
alive? Can
the five service chiefs and the intelligence boss hold the entire
country to
ransom without the unqualified support of their subordinates to
make such
pronouncements which border on announcing an impending coup should
Zanu PF
lose?
So far, Zimbabweans have only heard those five defiantly
vowing to resist
any change on Zimbabwe’s political landscape. Do they have
the backing of
other senior and middle-ranked officers who have their eyes
and ears among
the rank and file?
If they all have a one track mind as
the service chiefs, the analysts said,
then the country might as well not
waste time and resources holding
elections since the military would simply
implement its threat if Zanu PF
loses.
Tsvangirai has called on the
military elite to quit and face him in an
election, but he has not made
known who should replace them.
When Mugabe assumed power at Independence in
1980 and South Africa’s first
black president Nelson Mandela came to power
in 1994, they incrementally
replaced the military chiefs with their trusted
loyalists without issuing
public threats to those who suppressed them during
the fight for freedom.
Even the late Zambian President Frederick Chiluba
never engaged in public
spats with security chiefs when challenging the
veteran leader Kenneth
Kaunda and even went on to appoint Kaunda’s former
military chief Christen
Tembo as his vice president.
However, the already
strained relations between Tsvangirai, who has the
potential of winning the
next elections, and the military make such a
scenario almost impossible.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 20:32
Paul
Nyakazeya
GONE are the days of a bloated workforce, companies have
learnt.
Now, manufacturing and financial services companies are seeking to
lower
high operational and staff costs in response to the adoption of multi
currencies two years ago.
An analysis of financial results since June
2009 show that most companies
are adopting leaner, more sustainable and
manageable organisational
structures to boost their income and support
infrastructure they had put in
place when the economy was faring
better.
According to the Parliamentary Committee on Public Service, Labour
and
Social Welfare, in 2009 companies facing viability problems laid off 4
101
workers, while some are still to pay severance packages two year
later.
Statistics from the Labour and Social Welfare Ministry reveal that the
government approved the retrenchment of 2 913 workers during the first half
of this year.
The banking sector had the highest number of approved
retrenchments,
accounting for 29% of the total number, followed by the
clothing sector with
15% and the transport sector at 12%.
The mining
sector accounted for 8,6% of the total number of retrenchments,
while the
commercial sector had 6% and other sectors accounted for 29,4%.
According to
the ministry, banks applied for retrenchments saying they were
restructuring, while the clothing sector cited competition from cheap
imports.
Most financial institutions had hired a large staff during the
hyperinflationary period to meet the demand that came with the high volumes
of transactions.
NMB finance executive Ben Ndachena said high operating
expenses were
weighing down on the bottom line in most financial
institutions. Operational
costs for NMB for the full year to December 2010
totalled US$15,36 million,
which included a US$3,1 million retrenchment
bill.
Ndachena indicated that even after laying off 110 employees,
administration
and staff costs still constituted 89% of total costs.
The
bulk of the costs had largely been booked in the interim period,
resulting
in a US$2,4 million pre-tax loss in that period, but performance
of the
group had picked up in the second half after completion of
retrenchment in
August to a pre-tax profit of US$3,31 million.
Barclays Bank MD George
Guvamatanga said a US$33,9 million cost base, which
included US$6,5 million
in retrenchment costs, resulted in a US$1,27 million
loss in its December
2010 finals, compared to US$1,5 million in 2009.
Staff had been reduced by
43% to 696 in December 2010, from 1205 at the end
of 2008.
In 2009,
Barclays’ staff complement was 923. Guvamatanga said the group
realigned its
business to a “leaner, more sustainable and saleable
organisational
structure.”
The payback period for the (retrenchment) exercise is projected
at two
years. High cost to income ratios remain a trend in the sector with
the
average as high as 86% as at December 31 2010. Some agro- based and
manufacturing companies are closing subsidiaries and reverting to what they
do best — core business.
The Reserve Bank in January this year served 74%
of its workers with
retrenchment letters in a move aimed at streamlining the
central bank and
returning it to its core mandate.
Staff levels at the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) rose by 1 000% since
Reserve Bank chief
Gideon Gono took the reins in 2003, dabbling heavily in
quasi fiscal
activities that wrecked the economy.
A total 1 600 employees laid off then
were given up to January 31 to clear
their desks.
“When a company goes
through retrenchment, it reduces outgoing money or
expenditures or redirects
focus in an attempt to become more financially
solvent,” an analyst said.
“Many companies had resorted to retrenchment to
shore up their operations
and make them more profitable.”
PG Industries Zimbabwe CEO Hilary Munyati
said sales in PG Merchandising
rose 97% in the first quarter to US$5,6
million, but the performance
remained constrained by lack of capital. He
said branch rationalisation had
been undertaken in the period, which had
seen seven outlets closed. The
group was focusing on competitive sourcing as
well as the benefits of timber
processing in other divisions.
At its AGM,
Cairns said it wanted to recapitalise the group in the wake of a
restructuring exercise that saw its Bulawayo and Mutare operations closed
down, and a new International division created to maximise on cheap imports
of brands which Cairns had established, such as Willards.
The group says
it was looking to raise US$20 million to retire expensive
short-term debt,
raise working capital, as well as retool and modernise the
Harare
factory.
An estimated US$4,2 million would come through the sale of non-core
assets.
Edgars MD Linda Masterson said employment costs at US$3,15 million
(or 8,9%
of total sales) did not include the US$545 000 in retrenchment
costs.
Headcount was now at 734 from 1053 in year ending December 31 2009.
Masterson said in spite of the staff reduction, unit sales per retail
employee had risen to 4 971 from 1 738.
The country’s second largest
hospitality group — Rainbow Tourism Group —
says it expects to break-even in
the year ending December 31 2011, with
profitability only returning in 2012
as the group began refurbishment of its
flagships Rainbow Towers and
A’Zambezi lodge.
Payroll costs accounted for 36% of turnover, cost of sales
at 16% utilities
at 9% as were rentals and repairs.
“The target was to
bring down payroll to 25% and cost of sales to 13%.
Employment costs remain
a major challenge in the face of depressed
occupancies,” CEO Chipo Mtasa
said. She added the group had to downsize at
US$700 000 cost.
CFI CEO
Steve Kuipa says the company has put a rights issue on hold to
expedite the
disposal of non-core assets, arguing the market capitalisation
at 24% of net
asset value, any rights issue would be potentially prejudicial
to other
shareholders.
With proceeds from the disposal of noncore assets Kuipa said
the group would
reduce borrowings by US$7 million before September. US$3
million was assured
currently while the rest depended on progress on
negotiations and liquidity
in the market.
The balance of the proceeds
will be used to fund retrenchments at US$850 000
and other costs aimed at
enhancing streamlining of the group.
Andrew Chaponda can be contacted
on chapsaj@gmail.com .
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011
19:55
Paul Nyakazeya
RACISM, under the guise of indigenisation,
reared its ugly head at Rainbow
Tourism Group’s annual general meeting on
Wednesday, in which the single
largest majority shareholder Nick van
Hoogstraten failed to get a single
seat on the RTG board, despite having a
36,5% stake in the tourism group —
the second largest hospitality company in
the country.
An apparently rented crowd, led by mercurial indigenisation
lobbyist
Paddington Japajapa jeered and ululated after van Hoogstraten
failed to
secure a seat on the RTG board, lambasting the Zimbabwean-resident
Briton
for being a colonialist who had his finger in every pie of Zimbabwe’s
economy.
Japajapa, who is president of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Economic
Empowerment
Organisation (ZIEEO), told businessdigest after the AGM that the
blocking of
Van Hoogstraten’s proposed nominees was a victory for
indigenisation in
Zimbabwe.
“This is a victory for empowerment in this
country. We cannot have one man
holding us to ransom all the time. He wants
to be everywhere. He is in the
financial services, mining and hospitality
and his story is the same. He is
using the money that they stole from us in
Rhodesia to suppress us,” he
said.
“We had waited a long time for this.
We cannot have someone who shareholders
say cannot even be engaged at any
stage of running the business to later
come and allege that the company is
being mismanaged. Why can’t he use
proper channels if he can prove is
allegations instead of disrupting the AGM
every year,” Japajapa
said.
Japajapa then confronted Van Hoogstraten, asking him what he will do
next
after “receiving a thorough beating and humiliation.”
Indigenous
Business Development Centre CEO Joshua Marufu, who was also part
of the
cheering crowd, said he was pleased that empowered Zimbabweans were
taking
centre stage on the running of local institutions.
“We want to thank the
shareholders for having faith in their own empowered
Zimbabweans as
evidenced by the results of the polls,” he said.
“We urge all Zimbabweans to
remain united as we fight for the removal of
illegal sanctions which have
impacted negatively on RTG which van
Hoogstraten is purporting as
mismanagement while it’s their effect,” Marufu
said.
Van Hoogstraten, a
property mogul who
has also been bandied about as being the single largest
investor on the
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, told businessdigest he will call
for an urgent
Extraordinary General Meeting after shareholders resisted his
proposed
nominees to the board at the group’s tension-filled AGM. “Expect a
notice
for an EGM in the next few months to detail the fraud that has taken
place
and who was involved. It will be a detailed account of those
fraudsters who
want to enrich themselves by having more board seats and
shareholding,” he
said. “It is time to put an end to this. (alleged fraud).
We will expose all
that they did and are doing.”
He had proposed
Shingirayi Chibanguza aged 27, Alexander Hamilton (23), Ian
Haruperi (32)
and Maximilian Hamilton (25), be appointed to the board.
However, it was
mostly those in the Econet –Afre – NSSA axis that were
appointed. They were
chairperson Tracy Mpofu who got a 61% vote, Trynos
Kufazvinei (61,1%),
Godfrey Manhambara (99,9%), Shadreck Vera (61,1%),
Krison Charairo (61%) and
John Gould (61%).
This means Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa now has the upper
hand in the
attempt to take over RTG. Like his adversary, Masiyiwa, appears
set to have
his finger in every pie of Zimbabwe’s economy, now that he has
entered the
financial services sector via Afre and Renaissance Financial
Holdings and
tourism via RTG. Masiyiwa has also made a bid for largest hotel
group in
Zimbabwe, African Sun Limited.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 19:51
Reginald
Sherekete
THE Hwange Colliery annual general meeting yesterday had to be
adjourned to
a date yet to be advised, as Nick van Hoogstraten, who now
seems to be on a
warpath, sought to effect changes to the board of
directors.
Van Hoogstraten queried the agenda items before the AGM could
start and
board members were seen scurrying about in the room into caucuses
as they
pondered on the intentions of the Zimbabwean property mogul and
share
portfolio investor.
The agenda included the re-election of
directors who had retired by rotation
and were offering themselves for
another term. Directors seeking
re-election included two independent
non-executive directors Rosemary
Sibanda and Thabani Ndlovu. James Nqindi
was another non-executive director
vying for another term.
The Briton had
other intentions as he sought to block the re-election of the
board members
and ultimately proposed to bring in new blood from his
youthful camp.
The
meeting had to be adjourned several times as the board, chaired by
Tendai
Savanhu, tried to digest and reflect the legality of the move by the
British
tycoon.
“The Hwange board is too big and has members who bring no relevance
to the
board if one considers their qualifications and background,” said one
of the
analysts after the meeting.
The company has 10 board members, six
of whom are independent non-executive
directors, two non-executive directors
and independent non-executive
chairman Savanhu.
After numerous
consultations with van Hoogstraten and other major
shareholders, the board
members behaved as though they would proceed with
the meeting. However,
Valentine Vera, representing government with a 37%
majority stake, proposed
to have the meeting adjourned to a later date. Van
Hoogstraten seconded the
motion.
The British native had earlier on blocked all extraordinary
resolutions on
an employee shareholding option scheme, save for a share
buyback scheme, at
the company’s extraordinary general meeting held earlier
in the day.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 19:41
Nqobile
Bhebhe
FALCON Gold Zimbabwe (Falgold) sees the group ending the year
without losses
and last quarter output at 16 00 ounces of gold.
Falgold
chairman Ian Saunders said although it was difficult to come up with
accurate projections, he envisaged his company would exit the year without
losses.
“Revenue forecasts are difficult to make because we are not in
control of
the projects’ timelines. Many things are capital dependent but we
believe
that in the last quarter of the year Falcon should produce about 16
000
ounces annualised and we are looking at US$6-7million, basing that the
gold
price is at US$1 500,” he said.
He did not expect Falcon to incur
losses this year as it didnot have
substantial assets on care and
maintenance.
However, costs of production — electricity and labour —
rose.
Saunders said before the adoption of multicurrency payment system,
labour
that cost US$70 per month now cost US$200.
“Currently we are
moving cash from one entity to the other and Falcon Gold
is getting the bulk
of the cash. So we are growing Falcon Gold from other
assets. We have no
other borrowings locally and Falcon has no debts in its
books. Falcon has
been funded by inter-company funds,”said Saunders.
Phase two of a
three-phased recovery programme on its vast asset base
required US$5 million
and was dependent on funds from other group entities.
He expected that by
September this year, 60% of the recovery programme would
be covered.
“We
had said we would put in US$5 million over 12-18 months period and by
late
September we envisage to have covered 60%. Also we had hoped the U$5
million would come in a lump sum to drive the business more aggressively but
that didn’t happen. Funds are coming in from other cash generating assets,”
said Saunders.
The recovery strategy entails stabilisation and
re-organisation, recovery
and growth. The board hopes the process is
expected to return the company to
full operating status.
The company
estimates that the second phase will lift annualised gold
production levels
of approximately 25 00 to 30 000 ounces by late 2012.
New Dawn Mining, in
which Saunders is chief executive officer, controls
Falgold.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011
19:37
A TOTAL of 118,5 million kgs of flue cured tobacco valued at
US$323,4
million have so far been sold since the auction floors opened in
February
this year.
The sales are up 27,14%, from the 93,1 million kgs
valued at US$276,5
million sold during the same period last
year.
According to figures from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board
(TIMB),
of the 118,5 million kgs sold, Tobacco Sales Floor handled 30,7
million kgs
worth US$76,6 million.
Boka Tobacco Floors sold 14,1 million
kgs valued at US$31,7 million, while
Millennium Tobacco Floors handled 8,9
million kgs valued at US$21,5 million.
Contract farmers accounted for 64,5
million kgs valued at US$193,4 million
during the period.
The golden
leaf’s average price has been US$2,73, from US$2,97 recorded
during the same
period last year, an 8% decline.
A total of 1,5 million bales were laid, a
35,3% increase from last year’s
1,1 million.
TIMB said Zimbabwe’s tobacco
output may rise 38% to 170 million kgs this
season, as more farmers planted
the crop as the nation’s “economic
environment” improved.
“Small-scale
tobacco farmers currently account for more than half of
Zimbabwe’s output.
As production rises, farmers should now focus on
improving quality,” said
TIMB.
Zimbabwe earned US$347,8 million from tobacco sales last year,
according to
TIMB. China was the main buyer, replacing Western companies
that were
traditionally the biggest buyers, it said.
Zimbabwe is the
world’s sixth-largest exporter of the flue- cured Virginia
tobacco.
It
lags behind Brazil, India, the United States, Argentina and Tanzania,
according to the website of Universal Corp., the world’s biggest
tobacco-leaf merchant. — Staff Writer.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 20:13
WE
were intrigued to note that Herald columnists are claiming that Reserve
Bank
Governor Gideon Gono managed to keep Zimbabwe’s economy afloat by
adopting
“extraordinary measures”. We are not told what these were, apart
from
writing a book, but they presumably included raiding bank customers’
forex
accounts.
How can Gono publicly declare there was no turmoil in the banking
sector
given the events at ReNaissance Merchant Bank!
What Herald
columnists are doing full time now is trying to excuse the
appalling
mismanagement of the Zanu PF regime which has resulted in living
standards
falling to 1953 levels.
That was the figure US ambassador Christopher Dell
used in his speech at
Africa University in Mutare in 2005. Zanu PF
apologists are anxious to claim
that the collapse of living standards was
the product of sanctions. That
dishonesty cannot be sustained.
When Dell
made the speech in 2005 agriculture had ground to a halt,
inflation had
soared to stratospheric levels, and manufacturing was in a
tailspin.
Gono
came to the rescue and sorted things out, at least that is how the
official
version goes. It doesn’t match public perceptions. Gono is a hero
only in
the Herald.
The deceit-mongers simply put the words “sanctions-induced” and
“hyper” in
front of inflation to get the smoke-and-mirrors impression they
want.
Needless to say nobody believes this nonsense. It is quite obvious to
even
the most obtuse observer (which includes half the cabinet), that the
government that caused the nation’s misery in 2005 is the same one that is
doing the same thing today.
Did Britain and the US mastermind
Murambatsvina? Did they steal the election
of 2008?
You have to be really
slow of mind to swallow these claims.
Tendai Biti is a perpetual target of
Zanu PF’s propaganda machine. He was
under fire last weekend for refusing to
sign the anti-sanctions petition. Of
course he refused to sign it. So did
most people. Why should they be
complicit in Zanu PF’s dishonesty?
And
who manufactured the two-million signatures story? Did you notice how
suddenly the targeted figure was attained? Who did the counting? Suddenly,
hey presto, the target had been reached. Now they will try and chuck in
another million. These sound like Gono’s casino numbers! But one thing’s for
sure. They will be rejected by those to whom they are submitted so Zanu PF
is wasting its — and everybody else’s — time.
The Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation (ZMDC) has called on those
countries holding
confiscated Zimbabwean alluvial diamonds to release them
immediately
following a recent decision by the Kimberley Process to give the
green light
to marketing of the gems.
ZMDC chairman Godwills Masimirembwa said: “Now that
the KP has ruled in our
favour, those goods that are being held in transit
by certain countries
should be immediately released.
There is something
Zanu PF spokesmen appear to be unaware of here. These are
often the same
people who have in a past life been promoting Zanu PF
propaganda or
mismanaging the economy.
Now they want the Americans to do them a favour by
being helpful with the
diamond trade. Should they be surprised if the
Americans prove less than
willing?
We recall Masimirembwa a couple of
years ago threatening business people
with jail if they didn’t adhere to his
edicts. We said at the time he
appeared to be gunning for an important post.
He was completely
unsympathetic to those who pleaded they needed to factor
in the costs of
production when calculating prices.
Those prices were
often distorted and completely unfair to business people
thanks to state
intervention. Have we forgotten so soon those empty shelves?
Also last
week we had
Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba declaring that Zimbabwe
was dealing
with a “national security threat” which could only be dealt with
by “people
in uniform”.
“If it was a normal political environment one
would hope to retire at some
point and join politics,” he said. “However, we
can’t afford to be in an
akimbo (sic) when there is this foreign
attack.”
What foreign attack? Is anybody aware of this mysterious phenomenon
apart
from Nyikayaramba?
What we have here is pure invention. Zanu PF is
inventing a bogey man and
then telling us to be scared of it. This is a game
for children.
Then followed Chihuri’s statement in which he spoke of the
ZRP’s
“unfaltering commitment to uphold citizens’ rights and fundamental
freedoms
as enshrined in the supreme law of Zimbabwe”.
Last Friday
evening, as we know, Jameson Timba was arrested and held for
undermining the
authority of the president. He was released on Sunday after
a High Court
judge ruled that his detention was unconstitutional. Timba was
only told of
the charges he was facing minutes before his court appearance.
So much for
human rights!
Chihuri by the way claimed that since its inception in 1980
the force
included human rights in its training curriculum. This is useful
to know.
But we were under the impression that Home Affairs minister Dumiso
Dabengwa
introduced the subject in 1990 when he came into office on the
grounds that
the state was losing money in cases where rights violations
occurred.
Readers might be interested in President Mugabe’s remarks about
the GNU made
in Harare in August 2009:
“President Robert Mugabe has said
the inclusive government was solid and
working well in spite of challenges
the new administration was facing as it
strives to revive the country’s
economy,” according to New Ziana.
“He told a visiting Sadc Parliamentary
Forum delegation that Zimbabwe’s GNU
had managed to bring about peace and
stability in the country.
“As things are now, there is a very good spirit
amongst us, the president
and vice presidents, prime minister and his
deputies. When we meet, it’s
very friendly and it’s as if we have never had
any political fights in the
past.”
All good to know.
Even better to
have was Rugare Gumbo’s statement on Jonathan Moyo’s status.
“(Prof) Moyo is
free to talk. But he does so in his personal capacity,”
Gumbo told the Daily
News last week. “He cannot speak for the party. I am
the spokesperson of the
party. If Moyo wants to be the spokesperson he
should wait for the next
congress.”
So that’s all clear then!
What on earth is going on at Book
Café? According to the Sunday Mail, the
place was “invaded by 40 people
wearing women’s clothes and make-up”.
They had come to watch a show by
Afro-pop artist John Pfumojena.
“They were dressed in miniskirts, wigs, bras,
and were wearing make-up,” one
staff member said on condition of anonymity
“for fear of retribution”.
“Not all of them were gay, some were normal,” he
said, “but a sizable number
of them, especially the men, were acting quite
bizarrely.”
And what sort of retribution could the Sunday Mail’s informant
expect from
somebody in a bra and tights?
Manager Paul Brickhill disowned
the “invaders”. He told us he was “a decent
family man”.
Is that the best
he could do?
Then there was Ian White who declared that he couldn’t do
background checks
on all his customers. There was nothing he could do about
it, he explained.
Luckily the police were on hand to explain the finer points
of the law.
“According to the law, gay festivals or parades are not allowed
as stated in
the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act,” said Inspector
Zimbili of
the CID.
“What they did is considered as sodomy…”
Is it?
And only last week we had Commisioner Augustine Chihuri claiming to
be
upholding people’s rights.
This incident did not come as a surprise, the
Sunday Mail correspondent
helpfully commented. “Rumours of bizarre
activities at the Book Café and
Mannenburg have long been
circulating.”
So is the Sunday Mail in the business of circulating “rumours”?
.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011
20:11
FINANCE minister Tendai Biti is expected to present his 2011
Mid-Year
Fiscal and Budget Review to parliament in approximately two weeks’
time.
Many in commerce and industry and in the population in general, await
the
presentation with mixed emotions (similar to the sensation of seeing
one’s
mother-in-law driving over a cliff in one’s new car!).
Expectations
range from trepidation to hope. The fears are that as a
consequence of the
parlous, near bankrupt circumstances of the Fiscus, the
minister’s focus
will be upon increases in direct and indirect taxation,
adding to the
stressed and constrained circumstances of the heavily
embattled Zimbabweans
and business. The hopes are that the minister will, on
the one hand, be
conscious of the prevailing circumstances confronting the
majority and will
seek to address those circumstances. On the other hand,
the hopes are that
the minister will constructively pursue the much-needed
but presently very
fragile economic recovery.
Looking at the crystal ball, amongst the many
measures which the minister
should positively address are:
The
taxpaying threshold is currently at the low level of US$225 per
month, which
is well below the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) of US$501, resulting
in
low-income earners, already poverty-stricken, being subjected to even
greater poverty. The threshold should at the very least be raised to US$350
per month, ensuring that earners’ after-tax income is marginally above the
Poverty Datum Line, assuming the family has two income earners.
Most civil servants are also poverty-stricken, for many of them receive
salaries as little as US$150 per month. Very justifiably, they have been
demanding significant salary increases, but equally justifiably, minister
Biti has emphatically stated that government does not have the resources
with which to raise the salaries. In the budget review, the minister needs
to be emphatic that in order to have the funding necessary to pay the public
service a fair living wage, energetic action will be taken forthwith to
eliminate the reputed 75 000 ghost workers presently on government’s
payroll, concurrently with intensive actions to reduce other governmental
expenditures.
Those curtailments of spending could readily include a
very marked reduction
in the extent of international travel by Zimbabwe’s
political hierarchy and
senior civil servants. At the same time, there
should be a marked cut-back
in the size of Zimbabwe’s armed forces (as the
country’s only war is an
economic one, there is no need for more than 40 000
soldiers, police and
airforce personnel). There is similarly no need for
Zimbabwe, with a
resident population of less than 12 million, to have more
ministers and
deputy ministers in government, together with attendant
infrastructure, than
do the governments of US, UK, and most other
countries. Similarly, Zimbabwe
can well reduce (without national prejudice)
its number of embassies,
consulates and trade missions. A freeze could also
be imposed upon the
endless purchasing by the state of luxury
vehicles.
Recovery of Zimbabwe’s distressed manufacturing sector is
of extreme
urgency, and one of the many measures required to ensure that
recovery is
the rationalisation of the customs duty regime. It is
incomprehensible that
in the 2011 budget, duties on textiles, clothing and
footwear were reduced.
Zimbabwe’s manufacturers of those products are
confronted with endless,
unfair and unbalanced competition, particularly
from the Far East — where
many countries provide their industrialists with
vast export incentives and
subsidies markedly greater than permitted under
GATT, (the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade) — and partially from
neighbouring states where labour
force wages are considerably lower than
those prevailing in Zimbabwe. It is
equally incomprehensible that duties
were increased on various manufacturing
inputs that are not available
locally, such as certain gauges of steel tube.
The minister has
repeatedly threatened to raise mining royalties,
erroneously contending that
mining sector contributions to the Fiscus are
minimal. The assumption is
founded only upon the relatively low levels of
income tax paid by mines,
(due to their qualification for capital
expenditure allowances), but
disregards that the sector also pays licence
fees, royalties, withholding
taxes on dividends and fees, and diverse
indirect taxes. Government has
acknowledged that mining is key to economic
recovery, but investment has
been grievously shackled by extremely
ill-considered, unjust, indigenisation
legislation and would be yet further
fettered by increases in royalties, or
in the income tax rates applied to
mining income.
It is
uncontestable that Zimbabwe must vibrantly pursue indigenisation
and
economic empowerment, provided that it is done constructively. One
measure
that would aid progression in indigenisation would be the
introduction of
associated tax incentives. Sales of shares by
non-indigenous to indigenous
should be exempted from Capital Gains Tax, and
dividends received by
indigenous shareholders should, if applied to the
purchase of shares in
enterprises, be exempt from Withholding Tax.
Economic recovery and
concomitant improved Fiscus inflows would also be
advanced and accelerated
by appropriate taxation incentives, including more
substantive investment
incentives than currently exist, and incentives for
enhanced export
performance (subject to such incentives being within GATT
parameters).
It is of critical urgency that substance be restored
to Zimbabwe’
central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). To that end,
it needs to
be recapitalised and, bearing in mind the miniscule resources
available to
government, Zimbabwe should emulate South Africa (and various
other
countries) by providing for partial private sector equity investment
into
RBZ’s capital. At the same time, in view of the magnitude of RBZ’s
accumulated debts, such of its indebtedness as appropriate, including its
Gold Bonds, should be accorded Prescribed Asset status. That would render
those debts marketable, enabling creditors to address their cash flow needs
by trading their RBZ indebtedness to insurance companies, pension funds, and
like institutions.
Zimbabwe also needs to address its own
indebtedness, which approximates
US$7 billion. It can do so by allowing
reality needs to prevail over its
ego, by seeking Heavily Indebted Poor
Country relief from the international
community, under the Paris Club,
notwithstanding that any relief granted
would be subject to diverse economic
conditions and economic-performance
linked. The state’s massive debt burden
could also be partly eased by,
belatedly, now speedily progressing the
privatisation of most Zimbabwe’s
parastatals, most of which are heavily debt
burdened, with those debts
frequently being subject to governmental
guarantees. Such privatisation
would also diminish the frequent,
panic-driven calls upon government by
parastatals for emergency funding.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 20:01
By Psychology
Maziwisa
LONG regarded as a contemptible figure, a danger to society and
so unworthy
of occupying the highest office in the land, Defence minister
Emmerson
Mnangagwa has, quite possibly, always felt duty-bound to do a bit
of
explaining in a bid not just to clear his name but to save his reputation
as
well. In that regard, his interview last week with a British journalist
was
every bit valuable and could not have come at a better time.
“I have
no ambitions to be President...I just wish a legacy of peace,
prosperity and
growth for the younger generation,” he said.
It was a most encouraging
revelation, wasn’t it? It demonstrated that within
Mnangagwa himself — and
hopefully within Zanu PF too — there is still
considerable love left for
this country and its people. It is no small
matter. And if Mnangagwa says
what he means and means what he says, then God
bless him.
But, then, one
man’s show of goodwill is not quite enough to redeem a party
widely viewed
as uncaring and wicked. It requires a concerted effort rather
than an
isolated one, a re-think in tactics and strategies, a genuine desire
to do
the right thing.
To appeal to the electorate, Zanu PF needs to confront its
failings and
demonstrate willingness to transform — a keenness that goes
beyond passing
the buck and empty rhetoric. It has to show not just a
preparedness to take
responsibility for its faults but a readiness to bring
about acceptable and
effective remedies too. That way, not only will the
country be saved, the
party itself will be preserved.
If the MDC has
managed to secure the support of millions of Zimbabweans, it
is only because
Zanu PF has over the years taken everything and everyone for
granted,
abdicated its responsibilities along the way and, whenever an
opportunity
has presented itself, taken everyone for a fool. In 2008, for
example, the
MDC owed its electoral triumph more to the failings of Zanu PF
than to any
appeal of its own.
Certainly, a party is not a party properly so-called if
all it thinks about
is itself and not much else. That party has no business
taking part in any
election let alone a free and fair one. Voters have food
to think about,
water to worry about, electricity, proper sanitation,
education — none of
these is a luxury; all are basics and all are
legitimately expected from a
party that claims to champion the needs of its
people.
And what use is a party that neglects its people for an
unconscionable
period, does nothing to prevent the disaster from escalating
and still says
nothing is its fault? As Abraham Lincoln aptly stated: “You
can fool some of
the people all of the time and all of the people some of
the time, but you
cannot fool all of the people all of the time”.
In all
history, it is difficult to think of an election that was ever won
through
meaningless speeches or the blame game. Always, elections are won by
demonstrating an ability to deliver, a willingness to serve the masses not
the bosses. That changes are needed within Zanu PF was evident from the
party’s dismal performance in 2008. Of course, it would be foolish to
overlook the facts. Yet that wake-up call seems to have gone largely
unheeded.
Admittedly, Zanu PF’s problem is not so much a shortage of
visionary and
compassionate leaders as a lack of desire to change, a
readiness to reform.
It’s a state of affairs that ought to be ridiculed by
everyone who cares
about the welfare of this country. It is the same
mentality that has
destroyed and buried this nation under the rubble and
will, almost
assuredly, come to haunt Zanu PF in the not too distant future
if left
unaddressed.
Granted, sanctions may have had their share in the
misfortune of our people.
Is there any rational person who still denies
that? But Zanu PF cannot
escape blame either. Comparatively the damage
caused by the sanctions is
trivial. And don’t blame it on anyone, blame it
on the facts. Consequently,
any attempt by Zanu PF to pass the buck will
only serve to further alienate
it from the masses who now rightly feel they
have been taken for fools for
far too long. In that regard, Jonathan Moyo
may need to tread warily.
Rather than admit some of its failings, Zanu PF has
always pretended that it
is faultless. That’s been a huge mistake on its
part. At times, the truth
sets people free. The time to hoodwink everyone
for purposes of getting
their support has long gone. It’s time to do the
right thing, to embrace
national interest ahead of self-interest.
Of
course it’s possible to support a party and hate its strategies. The fact
that some of Zanu PF’s old-fashioned plots and plotters have repeatedly been
used even in the absence of any proof that they are producing meaningful and
sustainable results ought to prompt a rethink in the way things are done
within that party. Only fools employ the same strategies and strategists all
the time and expect to yield different results.
Zanu PF can still enjoy
popular support in this country. It needs only to
look in the right places,
to do the right thing.
Psychology Maziwisa is a Harare based lawyer
and political analyst.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011 19:58
By Shakeman
Mugari
IF we have learnt anything from the current situation in the
financial
sector, it is that there are wobbling banks that have literally
become
“squatters” in our banking industry.
For now, these fragile banks
owe their continued existence to the
benevolence of the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) which has relaxed
statutory requirements to allow them to
cling on to their licences despite
that they have become a danger to the
whole financial sector.
But it’s only a matter of time before these banks
collapse and when that
happens they might take the whole financial sector
with them to their
graves.
We saw this during the 2004 crisis when banks,
once thought to be sound and
profitable, collapsed in spectacular fashion
and almost sank the country’s
financial sector.
It is not fear-mongering
to warn that unless something drastic is done about
these ailing banks we
might find ourselves with the same financial
“Armageddon” we had in
2004.
These weak banks are disasters waiting to happen and they will implode
sooner or later. That is why it is urgent that they are either shut down,
properly recapitalised or merged if we are to protect depositors’ funds and
rescue what’s left of the financial sector’s integrity.
The RBZ says 18
of the 26 banks in the market had met their minimum capital
adequacy
requirements as of last December.
It is worrying that as late as last week
some of the banks were still
scrounging around to meet the capital
requirements to beat yesterday’s
deadline.
However, the fact is even if
these banks comply with the minimum capital
requirements it does not mean
they would be out of the woods.
Compliance with the capital requirements does
not mean a bank has turned
around and managed to avoid going bust.
It
merely means a bank has managed to raise enough money to submit to the
central bank as security just in case it collapses due to embezzlement or
other market-related hazards.
The risk of bank failures, therefore,
remains prevalent even if some of the
struggling banks have managed to meet
the statutory capital requirements.
That danger will also remain even if the
banks manage to persuade the RBZ to
postpone the deadline for meeting the
minimum capital adequacy requirements.
It must also be remembered that after
some time, market conditions will
dictate that the central bank raises the
statutory requirements again.
So, for as long as these banks are owned by
poor shareholders, they will
continue to chase a shifting target. The sad
reality is that most of the
shareholders in these banks lack the capacity to
raise even a mere US$12
million to help capitalise their banks.
By
allowing these frail banks to either scrounge for more capital or
postpone
their deadline for capital requirements, the RBZ is only delaying
the
inevitable certainty that soon or later some of these banks will
collapse.
The odds are already stuck against them. This is especially so
because the
fundamental problems that have weakened the financial sector
remain
unresolved.
The biggest problem is that our economy, which has
barely recovered from the
ruinous effects of the past decade, cannot sustain
26 banks. An economy as
badly damaged as ours has no place for squatters in
the banking sector.
South Africa, Africa’s largest economy by far, has no
more than five proper
banks for a population of nearly 50 million people and
several huge
conglomerates.
Estimates show that Zimbabwe’s banks are
scrambling for a mere US$3 billion
in total deposits.
That might sound
like a huge figure, but if you consider that 62 % of that
money is
controlled by only six large banks, then you realise that our banks
are in a
fix. In real terms, our frail banks are scrambling for just over
US$1
billion. Deposits are the essence of banking because it is out of them
that
banks lend more money and earn service charges. Loans and service
charges
are the main source of funds for a bank.
There is therefore no way that some
of these banks are going to stabilise
unless, by some miracle, there is an
avalanche of deposits into their books.
With the economy already battling to
recover, it might take several years
for the country to have a decent amount
of deposits.
In the meantime, the weak banks will continue to stagger on and
hope that
one day something miraculous will change their fortunes. The omens
don’t
seem auspicious at all. Salaries have remained depressed and
companies have
a hand-to-mouth existence.
The economy remains weak and
foreign investors are yet to come to the party.
It’s not that Zimbabweans
don’t want to keep their money in the banks or
save.
No.
They just
don’t have anything to save because they live on a shoestring.
Many watched
haplessly while their savings were wiped away during the
madness of the
pre-2009 crisis. Because now their take-home salaries can’t
even “take them
home,” they have nothing to leave in their bank accounts by
way of
savings.
Most of our banks have been turned into platforms through which
employers
transfer salaries to employees and nothing else. Given this
situation, it
is clear that most of the banks will keep on scrambling for a
tiny share of
the deposits.
What makes their predicament worse is that
the new crisis has only served to
confirm the notion that the banking sector
is strong is a façade.
As news, of the crisis continues to spread, more
people, who were regaining
confidence in the banking sector, will shy away
from banks or move their
monies to the six banks that already dominate the
market.
Starved of the much-needed deposits, the smaller banks will therefore
continue to struggle and soon they will go bust.
There is a danger that
when push comes to shove these weak banks might start
engaging in
speculative behaviour and risk depositors’ funds.
The shenanigans at
ReNaissance Merchant Bank (RMB) have only helped to erode
the trust that the
public was beginning to have in the banking sector.
The little goodwill that
people had in our banks has been squandered.There
is now a perception that
banks, especially those owned by local
entrepreneurs, cannot be trusted with
depositors’ funds.
Thanks to the RMB scandal, people now know that bank
owners run their
operations worse than stokvels or rural burial
societies.
They can play lotto with depositors’ funds right under the central
bank’s
watchful eye. It is precisely because of what happened at RMB that
we now
know that it is possible for a bank to lose US$12,5 million while the
central bank stands by, akimbo.
We also know that directors and
shareholders can plunder depositors’ funds
with enthusiasm.
The RMB
crisis has taught us that bankers can butcher basic business ethics
with
impunity even if there is a board of directors and an external
auditor.
Thanks to RMB, Zimbabweans will now think twice before leaving
anything in
their bank accounts.
Companies too have learnt the hard way
that they can only trust some banks
at their own peril.
The net impact of
all these lessons is that many people will find it better
to keep their
money under their pillows instead of entrusting it to
unscrupulous
bankers.
As a result, fewer deposits will trickle into the banks and that
spells more
trouble for the financial sector. The frail banks will continue
to weaken
while the dominant ones get stronger.
Yet apart from the lack
of deposits and their own treachery, there is no
denying that our banks are
victims of the government’s reckless policies.
There is no way local banks
will get new investors when the government
insists on pushing hostile
policies like indigenisation. The policy
flip-flops have only served to put
off foreign investors who might have
otherwise helped save the struggling
banks.
Who in their right mind will invest in an economy where key policies
are
changed or implemented on the hoof? Who will dare venture into a market
held hostage by politicians who have a penchant for cobbling up populist
policies for the sake of votes?
Shakeman Mugari is a former
Zimbabwe Independent business editor. He is
currently the editor of the
Sunday Express in Lesotho.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011
20:24
RECENT events have clearly shown there is a Fifth Column at work in
this
country comprising ambitious elements from state security forces and
Zanu PF
opportunists clandestinely trying to influence the direction of
politics and
future of the nation.
This clique seeks to militarise
civilian politics and project itself as a
major force on the political
landscape in search of legitimacy and a role in
governance in the
future.
This group is however motivated by a narrow agenda of
self-preservation and
self-aggrandisement. It currently sees a gap to
manoeuvre because Zanu PF
has all but collapsed into the state. The party
now relies considerably on
state structures, including those of the
military, for survival.
The inexorable decline of President Robert Mugabe’s
power and rule, as well
as the subsequent growth of a power vacuum has
encouraged the Fifth Column
to gather and start manoeuvring, particularly
under the present conditions
in the aftermath of the decade-long political
stalemate and economic
meltdown.
The Fifth Column seems emboldened by the
deteriorating democratic
civil-military relations. Whereas the institutional
boundaries between
civilian government and the military were initially
blurred, now the
distinction has been lost, hence the military’s direct
interference in
politics.
This group, which is against the continued
existence of the GPA and GNU, as
well as the crafting of the elections
roadmap, seems to think the two main
Zanu PF factions have also failed to
sort out the Mugabe succession issue.
It then feels this justifies its
existence as a new organised political
force to rescue Zimbabwe, while
shutting out parties like the MDC-T and
MDC-N from possibly taking
over.
The Fifth Column thinks of itself as a bulwark against hostile foreign
powers and their local “collaborators”.
Although this group is not a
cohesive entity and lacks a social base and
strong foundation, the current
political impasse and events in major parties
and the country keeps it
going. Zanu PF’s political turmoil and the MDC-T’s
paralysis also feed into
its theories and beliefs.
This clique remains loyal to Mugabe as it sees him
as a springboard to
power, something which would guarantee
self-preservation.
Even though this coterie has yet to have a coherent and
consistent voice,
Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba seems to be
emerging as its most
convinced and aggressive proponent.
There have been
untested reports Jonathan Moyo is close to state security
chiefs some of
whom may be part of this group. Moyo’s recent article in the
Sunday Mail in
which he harped on about “national security” issues in the
context of the
GPA debate fuelled this speculation, with some analysts
saying his remarks
were a threat to democracy.
Although it is not clear what Moyo’s role is, his
arguments about “national
security” overlap with those of Nyikayaramba who
now seems to be the
spokesman of this group. Of late Nyikayaramba has been
getting increasingly
agitated about politics and last week he accused Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, also MDC-T leader, of being a “major security
threat” working
with foreigners to stage regime change. Nyikayaramba and
this clique say
they would not accept a Tsvangirai victory.
This has
raised fears there is a Fifth Column trying to undermine the will
of the
people.
Now, as shown by Nyikayaramba’s outbursts, the military is openly
dabbling
in politics. This is where the coalescence and crystallisation of
the Fifth
Column comes in. However, it must be noted state security organs
are not a
monolithic entity. They have internal contradictions, divisions
and
rivalries, and so they are dynamic.
But the main point is this group,
driven by expedient designs, poses a
serious threat to democracy and must be
boldly resisted to prevent it from
plunging the country into a new form of
crude and dangerous dictatorship.
There must be resistance to this sinister
and self-serving project by
military and political misfits.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011
20:21
By Itai Masuku
IT IS now nearly three weeks since
African leaders who met in Johannesburg
formally agreed to discuss the
continent’s biggest free-trade bloc with a
US$875 billion
market.
According to the leaders, the “Grand Free Trade Area” would
cross 26
countries, stretching from Cape Town to Cairo and would have a
combined
population of 700 million. The new bloc would integrate the Common
Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community and the
Southern
African Development Community.
We haven’t heard much about that
ever since and once again, hope that this
was not yet another talkshop about
some grandiose idea. While not the
panacea to our economic woes, it would
certainly go a long way in ensuring
markets for our burgeoning economies, in
much the same way the industrial
revolution did for Europe. It’s all about
markets.
The industrial revolution in Europe was about finding markets for
Europe’s
surplus production, surplus which came about because of
technological
revolutions of the time. Of course, we in Africa and elsewhere
in the
so-called Third World countries ended up at the receiving end of that
process in the form of colonialism.
In as much as it was imperative for
Europe to find markets for its products
then, it is also instructive for
Africa to do the same. Nothing is new
under the sun. Unfortunately, barring
South Africa and possibly Egypt, none
of our countries have an excess
capacity problem as was the case with
Europe. But we do have a problem where
modern technology requires that we
have markets bigger than our own domestic
markets. And there is no point
trying to stick to old technology, and try to
create protected markets while
the rest of world is cruising on. We have to
run with the big boys. Ay,
there’s the rub. The big boys themselves,
particularly the European Union,
have realised this and have been supportive
financially, materially and in
terms of expertise towards the creation of
the common market for Africa. But
as we all know, there’s no free lunch in
the world. The EU realise they
stand to gain more once this seamless market
is created. Therefore this is
also partly a 21st century attempt to find
markets for the products. Hence
they have been pushing for regional economic
partnerships, where they
partner with selected regions in order to come up
with free trade regimes.
The agreement our leaders made for a grand free
trade area must be followed
up with diligent examination of how exactly
African countries stand to gain
from the FTA.
The fact that the EU has
been very supportive of these initiatives is not an
act of philanthropy but
a purely business decision. Hence our leaders should
not go into the deals
with their eyes wide shut. While the rest of us may
operate on the
principles of the famous Desiderata, business, unfortunately
doesn’t.
Instead it abides by the dictates of the Desiderata’s antithesis,
the
Considerata, which states: “In business make sure you cheat the other
person
before he cheats you first.”
We’re not saying we should cheat, but instead be
on the lookout for
unfavourable clauses. So we are hopeful our leaders do
not sign us into
unfavourable trade deals in the same way they have already
signed us and our
grandchildren to a life of debt through facilities such as
the International
Monetary Fund’s Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility
(ESAF), which
Zimbabwe once aspired to access, and the Highly Indebted (take
heed) Poor
Countries facility (HIPC), that minister Biti seems to be
aspiring to
access. The real issue is we shouldn’t get into the position
where we need
these facilities in the first place! We end up needing them
because of ill
though self-centred policies by our successive governments
and never seen
before profligacy by our leaders. For instance, Joseph Mobutu
Sese Seko was
once ranked among the world’s five richest persons while his
country, Zaire
(DRC) was among the five poorest in the world. We hope this
does not
continue to be the case on our continent.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 30 June 2011
20:22
By Constantine Chimakure
THE diminishing credibility
and integrity of the police and Attorney-General
(AG) Johannes Tomana and
his office is once again in the spotlight after
Tuesday’s High Court
acquittal of Energy minister Elton Mangoma.
Several MDC MPs, ministers,
officials and activists have over the past two
years been arrested and
arraigned in court on a litany of charges, but very
few, if any, were
convicted. The MDC has repeatedly accused both the police
and the AG of
being used as attack dogs for Zanu PF to persecute and
intimidate their
members, and selective application of the law.
Zanu PF perpetrators of
political violence in the countdown to the bloody
June 2008 presidential
election run-off, which the MDC alleges claimed more
than 200 lives with
thousands maimed and displaced, are yet to be brought to
book.
Yet
several MDC members and activists have been visitors to cop shops and
courts
facing numerous charges, most of them later thrown out by the courts.
In 2009
seven MDC MPs were accused of abusing Farm Mechanisation Programme
inputs,
but all were exonerated.
In the case of Roy Bennett, the MDC
treasurer-general appeared in court a
record 109 times before he was
acquitted last year with Tomana calling
several witnesses who Justice Bhunu
later described as being of “amazing
ignorance”.
Mangoma was arrested in
humiliating fashion and tried in what the MDC said
was not prosecution, but
persecution.
Certainly there is something wrong with the police and the AG if
one is to
read into the arrests and acquittals witnessed lately. It boggles
the mind
why some arrests, like that of Mangoma, were made in the first
place, only
to have the case melt away. The AG’s office and the police have
to a large
extent given credence to assertions that they are not acting
impartially and
independently, especially that they are
politically-motivated and out to
persecute Zanu PF opponents.
In the
Mangoma case, we were left wondering whether there was ample reason
to
arrest him or was it mere manipulation by powerful politicians with the
aim
of embarrassing perceived opponents?
The lesson to be drawn from Mangoma’s
discharge is not a confirmation of the
openness of our legal system, but the
covert operations that have come to
characterise the AG’s office and the
police.
The AG’s office, being the state’s lawyer, has a responsibility to
protect
the image of the state by refusing to prosecute frivolous cases
meant to
settle certain scores. Why would they want to embarrass
themselves?
It appears there are very high political stakes warranting the
defilement of
the entire prosecution system. We need to reflect and
re-establish a
functional legal system devoid of partisanship, cronyism and
partiality.
We need not go very far to see where we should go as the ousted
Sobusa
Gula-Ndebele, the past AG, had a vision to transform the legal
system.
He wanted to professionalise the AG’s office and had made far
reaching
proposals, including making sure that there was qualified personnel
at the
office. This could be one of the most important steps to be followed
or
implemented concurrently with the depoliticisation of the police, AG’s
office and the prison service. Then the police force has to go a step
further and professionalise and reform so that lawyers and former
prosecutors could lead investigations.
MDC-T Justice deputy minister
Obert Gutu aptly summed up the clumsy manner
in which the AG’s office is
run: “The AG’s office should never allow itself
to be reduced to become an
attack dog of misguided hardliners in Zanu PF.
With due respect, the
credibility and integrity of the AG’s office has been
eroded beyond
redemption. The AG’s office has spectacularly failed to secure
even a single
conviction in all the various criminal cases that have been
brought against
MDC activists in recent times. To any decent lawyer, this
appalling failure
rate is cause for serious self-introspection. The need for
a totally
de-politicised and independent prosecuting authority is thus
compelling.”
Need we say more?