http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in News
MDC-T
secretary-general Tendai Biti on Tuesday said exit polls conducted by
his
party’s polling agents indicate the referendum figures were “tweaked” by
between 10 and 15%.
Report by Paidamoyo Muzulu
According to
Biti, far less than 3,3 million votes announced by the Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission (Zec) were cast in the referendum of March 16.
The Zec figure
means this plebiscite recorded the highest voter turnout
since Independence
in 1980. Speaking at a public discussion hosted by the
Sapes Trust in
Harare, Biti expressed the MDC-T’s doubts over the veracity
of the number of
ballots cast as released by Zec.
“There is a 10 to 15% variance between
Zec’s figures and those collated by
our own team of agents who covered all
the polling stations nationally,”
said Biti.
Biti said his party was
dismayed that some constituencies and districts
recorded a higher voter
turnout than the population ordinarily resident in
the areas according to
the last census statistics.
“We did not announce our own set of results
out of respect for Zec and
(Justice) Rita Makarau but we are fairly
convinced by our parallel
processes,” said Biti.
“In some
constituencies in Midlands, Masvingo, Mashonaland East and
Matabeleland
South provinces, the number of people who voted in the
referendum is more
than the number of people enumerated in the (2012) census
in those
provinces,” he said.
He said the differences could be explained by either
that there were serious
inaccuracies in census figures or that Zec “cooked”
the referendum results.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Politics
SADC
facilitator to the Zimbabwean political stalemate, South African
President
Jacob Zuma, has entered the increasingly heated political fray
saying it may
not be feasible for the country to hold the polls by June 29
as demanded by
President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF officials.
Report by Wongai
Zhangazha
Mugabe and senior Zanu PF officials have lately been pushing
for elections
to be held by June 29 after failing to ensure polls were held
in 2010, 2011
or last year.
Now they have a new argument which claims
polls must be conducted by June
month-end to comply with the constitution
even though the founding law
allows elections to be held four months after
the expiry of the terms of
office of the executive and
parliament.
This means elections can constitutionally still be held at
the end of
October.
Zuma’s international relations advisor Lindiwe
Zulu said this week the
facilitation team did not think it was feasible for
elections to be held by
June 29 as envisaged by Mugabe and Zanu PF officials
considering a number of
issues — including finalising the new constitution,
amending electoral laws,
voter registration and election dates proclamation
— which still have to be
done to create an environment for free and fair
elections.
“The election dates will be determined by the roadmap to be
finalised by the
three political parties,” said Zulu.
“There is need
to cover certain areas which are important before elections
can be held.
These include ensuring relevant institutions are functioning
well, for
instance, Zec (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) has to have all
structures in
place; some issues still need attention like the Human Rights
Commission and
Media Commission.
I am generalising, but there are many other issues in the
GPA (Global
Political Agreement) that are outstanding.”
Zulu added:
“We know it’s not going to be easy. But now we need more robust
action as we
head towards elections.
“We should be in the country after the Easter
holidays for continuous
engagement on the roadmap towards
elections.”
Last week Mugabe made an urgent chamber application at the
High Court
seeking an order to be excused from complying with an earlier
Supreme Court
directive to proclaim and gazette dates for by-elections in
three
Matabeleland constituencies by March 31.
Representing Mugabe,
Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa said his boss must
be given further
reprieve to avoid proclaiming dates for by-elections by
Sunday on condition
that general elections are held by June 29.
Mugabe’s spokesperson Geo-rge
Charamba last weekend said delaying polls
beyond June 29 would be an act of
“constitutional indiscipline”.
The two MDC parties have however rejected
Mugabe’s demands on election
dates, saying political and electoral processes
will determine when polls
are held, not Zanu PF.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Politics
IN an
opportunistic move set to trigger a political storm ahead of crucial
general
elections, President Robert Mugabe is making back-door manoeuvres
through
the High Court to secure an order declaring polls be held by or on
June 29,
as Zanu PF increasingly sweats over its uncertain political fate.
Report
by Owen Gagare
During this past week Mugabe and his Zanu PF officials
have been strenuously
lobbying for elections to be held by June 29, citing
constitutional and
legal grounds — dismissed by their political rivals and
lawyers as expedient
intrigues.
Zanu PF insiders say Mugabe and his
loyalists now desperately want polls by
June as fears mount the 89-year old
leader, who recently made a veiled
admission to growing senility and
frailty, might struggle to sustain
rigorous election campaigns.
In
terms of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and elections roadmap,
Mugabe
is required to proclaim election dates in consultation with Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai.
Taking advantage of the on-going case of three
by-elections in Matabeleland
in which he is expected to proclaim dates by
Sunday, Mugabe has filed an
urgent application in the High Court seeking, in
effect, to be excused from
proclaiming the dates for the by-elections by
March 31 as directed by
Judge-President, Justice George Chiweshe on October
2 last year.
That followed a Supreme Court order initially directing
Mugabe to proclaim
by-election dates by August 30 last year.
Mugabe’s
application, through Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, is due to
be heard
by Chiweshe at the High Court in Harare today at 10 am.
Chinamasa says in
the application, following the “Yes” vote in the March 16
constitutional
referendum, parliament is expected to finish passing the new
constitution by
May 8 after which a proclamation on general elections will
be gazetted
immediately.
“It is anticipated that this stage of the process will be
completed by May 8
2013 and a proclamation for harmonised elections will be
published
thereafter,” Chinamasa says.
“In terms of the constitution,
the life of parliament terminates on the June
29 2013 by which date
harmonised elections must be held in the country.”
Chinamasa further
argues it does not make “economic or practical sense” to
hold by-elections
at about the same time it is anticipated to hold general
elections.
“It is for the above reasons that the applicant (Mugabe)
seeks this
honourable court’s indulgence to be excused from performance of
the order
requiring applicant to publish a proclamation of by-elections in
the three
constituencies by March 31 2013, on condition that the applicant
ensures
that harmonised elections are held by June 29 2013,” he
says.
Chinamasa then goes further to seek an interim order for Mugabe
which should
say: “That the applicant (Mugabe) be and is hereby excused from
performance
of the order granted in case No. 11222 of 2012 provided that
harmonised
elections are held on or before the June 29 2013”.
If
Chiweshe, who was in charge of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission in 2008,
grants Mugabe the order sought, this would mean the veteran politician and
Zanu PF would secure general elections dates by June 29 through the courts,
but effectively via the political backdoor.
Despite Mugabe’s claims
that elections must be held on June 29, but
according to Section 58 (1) of
the current constitution, polls can be held
four months after the date of
dissolution of parliament, meaning they can be
pushed back as far as October
29.
Given Mugabe’s old age and health problems, this is not helpful to
Zanu PF.
Veritas, a lawyers’ grouping that specialises in monitoring
parliamentary
activities, yesterday said Chinamasa’s claims that because
parliament ends
on June 29 elections should be held by that date were
wrong.
“There is no law that says the elections must be held by June 29,”
the group
said, citing Section 58 of the current constitution. “Section 58
(1) of the
present constitution allows four months for elections to be held
after
parliament comes to an end and the new constitution does not lay down
a
period within which the first election must be held.”
In his
founding affidavit, Chinamasa says Mugabe could not proclaim
by-elections
dates by March 31 because of political processes underway ahead
of polls. He
says following the adoption of the new constitution, there
would be need to
gazette a Constitutional Amendment Bill at least 30 days
before it is
introduced in parliament for debate by the Lower House and
Senate over four
days.
He says following adoption of the new constitution, there would
have to be
amendments to the Electoral Act to “usher in the electoral
process”.
MDC leader Welshman Ncube, also a constitutional law professor,
yesterday
said Mugabe was trying to manipulate the courts to order that
elections be
held by June 29 “through the back door.
“They are
seeking a court order which, instead of postponing the date by
which they
are supposed to proclaim the dates for the by-elections, will
direct that
general elections must be held by June 29,” said Ncube. “This is
a dishonest
and manipulative application which seeks to foist elections
dates on
Zimbabweans through the courts.”
Ncube said Mugabe and Chinamasa’s plans
would not work because political and
electoral processes, guided by the
constitution, law and negotiations, would
not allow that. Ncube said even if
the new constitution is adopted by May 8,
Mugabe could not proclaim general
elections dates immediately after as there
are 30 days needed for voters’
registration before poll dates are announced.
He said in terms of the
constitution, proclamation and voter registration
cannot be done
concurrently. Besides, Ncube said there must be 58 days
between proclamation
of election dates and the actual voting. “All these
things combined make it
impossible to have general elections by or on June
29,” he said. “If courts
order that, there will be a political crisis which
will make things even
more complicated.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in
Politics
MEMBERS of the European Union (EU) and international community
who held
talks with the Zimbabwe re-engagement committee comprising Global
Political
Agreement (GPA) negotiators have called for the full
implementation of the
GPA and urged Zimbabwe to invite a wide range of
international observers
ahead of general elections.
Report by Wongai
Zhangazha
The group called “Friends of Zimbabwe (FoZ)” comprising, among
others, the
EU, the UK, the US, Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France,
Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Japan and Norway, met Patrick Chinamasa (Zanu PF),
Elton
Mangoma (MDC-T) and Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga (MDC) in London on
Tuesday.
In a communiqué, the group said it supported Sadc’s role as
the guarantor of
the GPA and looked forward to implementation of the
outstanding democratic
reforms as outlined in the GPA and roadmap to
elections.
“We welcomed calls by Zimbabwe’s political leaders for peace
and
non-violence and the statements by party leaders that Zimbabweans should
be
able to choose their own government in free and fair elections, and to be
able to vote without fear or intimidation,” read the communiqué.
“We
look to all Zimbabweans, including state institutions and the security
sector, to heed these calls. We expressed concern about current harassment
of civil society and reports of political violence and strongly urged that
such incidents should cease.”
FoZ also stressed the importance of a
“wide range of international
observers” that would “help enhance the
credibility of the poll and the
strength of the government
elected”.
Noting the importance of lifting of international sanctions on
Zanu PF
officials, FoZ said its members are prepared to work with any
government
emerging from free and fair elections, which are “credible,
peaceful and
transparent”. “Where relevant, we confirmed our governments’
plans to review
their targeted measures following such elections,” the group
said.
It also stated that transparency and integrity in economic and
financial
governance as well as extractive industry management are essential
to combat
poverty and corruption, while contributing to inclusive economic
growth.
“It is critical that Zimbabwe’s natural resources are utilised
for the
benefit of all Zimbabweans and that ownership and revenues from
mineral
extraction are fully transparent and accountable,” FoZ said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in
Politics
INTENSIFYING in-fighing threatens to widen fissures in the
MDC-T’s
Manicaland province amid allegations aspiring candidates’ CVs were
found
floating in Odzi River as the battle to represent the party in
imminent
general elections gets dirty.
Report by Elias
Mambo
Manicaland provincial executive sources told the Zimbabwe
Independent
primary election campaigns have turned dirty after CVs for
candidates
challenging National Housing minister and MDC-T secretary for
defence, Giles
Mutsekwa, for the Chikanga-Dangamvura parliamentary seat were
dumped in Odzi
river in late January while ostensibly being transported to
Harvest House in
Harare, the party headquarters.
Mutsekwa faces a
stiff challenge from five aspirants including suspended
Mutare mayor Brian
James, and lawyer Arnold Tsunga.
The five had to re-submit their
applications last month after the party’s
national executive agreed to
extend the deadline from January 31 for those
affected by the disappearance
of CVs.
“I have re-submitted my CVs to contest both mayoral elections and
as an MP,”
said James. “I am keeping my options open because Local
Government minister
Ignatious Chombo may stop me,” he said.
James
confirmed aspiring candidates’ CVs were found in Odzi river but would
not be
drawn into naming suspects.
Party sources claim candidates are now
vigorously decampaigning each other.
“There is a serious smear campaign
and sabotage from all parties, including
sitting MPs and aspiring
candidates,” a source said. “Mutsekwa is alleged to
have thrown aspiring
MPs’ CVs into Odzi river where they were found, but he
says he never
received any applications from the province.”
Mutsekwa refuted the
allegations, saying there is nothing unusual with the
de-campaigning going
on in his constituency.
“I have nothing to do with aspiring candidates
and the smear campaigns,”
said Mutsekwa. “It is election time and one would
expect such behaviour. Let
the electorate be given an opportunity to choose
whom they want.”
This is not the first act of sabotage cited within the
party as it prepares
for elections. MDC-T Masvingo province was also rocked
by controversy
following claims by aspiring candidates, including mayor
Femias Chakabuda,
aspiring mayor David Charirwe and deputy mayor Selina
Maridza, that their
CVs were tampered with to undermine their
prospects.
Provincial party secretary Tongai Matutu acknowledged
receiving the
complaints, but denied any acts of sabotage.
“We
received that complaint but we opened all the applications in the
presence
of 38 provincial members and studied them in an open transparent
manner,”
said Matutu. “The complaint is therefore without merit. Anybody who
wants to
represent the party can do so freely.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Politics
ZANU PF has
reportedly manipulated referendum figures to suit its template
for
predetermined victory in the next critical general elections, with party
officials telling supporters and would-be voters especially in Mashonaland
provinces since the greater percentage of the “Yes” voters were from its
strongholds, that would translate into a landslide at the
polls.
Elias Mambo/Herbert Moyo
With referendum voting trends
showing traditional Zanu PF rural strongholds
recorded high turnouts to
drive the “Yes” vote compared to urban areas,
there are fears the party
could manipulate the results to register a
convincing victory in the
imminent make-or-break elections.
According to figures released by the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec),
voting trends showed an increase of
voters in Zanu PF-dominated areas such
as Mashonaland provinces and key
regions like Manicaland, Masvingo and
Midlands, raising questions over the
accuracy of the results.
While Harare recorded the highest votes with 515
000, Manicaland recorded
418 000; Mashonaland Central 342 000; Mashonaland
East 397 000; Mashonaland
West 342 000; Masvingo 304 000; Midlands 394 000,
with Bulawayo and the
Matabeleland provinces recording low voter
turnout.
Zec says 3 259 454 voted on March 16 and is the highest turnout
in any poll
since Independence, beating the previous record of 3 046 891 set
in the 2002
presidential election.
Zec chairperson Justice Rita
Makarau initially projected a voter turnout of
close to two million on March
17 before announcing a turnout of more than
three million – a huge increase
on its earlier projection.
Zanu PF has vowed to go for broke in the
forthcoming high-stakes elections
and is known for using all sorts of
strategies and tactics to win by fair
means or foul. Suspicion abounds that
the more than three million voter
turnout in the referendum may have been
manipulated to give Zanu PF leverage
in its rigging plot ahead of
elections.
Those questioning the referendum figures point to the virtual
absence of
queues at most polling stations countrywide, contrary to Zec’s
claims of a
high voter turnout.
NCA chairperson Lovemore Madhuku said
the results were doctored.
“To claim that there was close to a million more
voters in the referendum
than in the March 2008 harmonised elections is to
take the public for
fools,” said Madhuku. “In any event, the claim that
more than three million
voted is a fraud by Zec.”
Sources in the
security sector said there was a parallel collation of
results carried out
by the police during the voting process.
“Police sent results every hour to
an unknown centre not under the Zec
command centres,” said the
source.
Political analyst Blessing Vava said Zanu PF used the referendum
to test its
rigging machinery in preparation for the elections.
“This
referendum was a dress rehearsal for Zanu PF to test its machinery for
rigging the next elections,” said Vava.
Vava said the NCA had
observers at every polling station and is convinced
the figures are nowhere
near three million. He said the MDC parties would
“suffer the consequences
of their folly in joining Zanu PF to endorse what
was clearly a fraudulent
process”.
“While it is understandable for Zanu PF to claim high turnouts,
especially
in rural areas, it is surprising the MDC parties endorsed the
fraudulent
process. Having endorsed this process, the MDC parties will no
longer have
the moral high ground to complain when rigging is repeated in
the
elections,” Vava warned.
MDC-T sources said the party failed to
field polling agents across the
country, leaving Zec officials and the
security apparatus to run the process
unchecked.
Sources said the
fraud was committed by printing 12 million ballot papers
for the referendum
which many estimated would not even attract a quarter of
eligible
voters.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Politics
DURING a media
workshop last Friday to discuss transparency and
accountability in the
extractive industries, the Zimbabwe Environmental
Lawyers Association (Zela)
indicated the key mining sector is characterised
by high levels of opacity,
something which has made it difficult for the
country to realise meaningful
revenue inflows from its vast mineral
resources.
Herbert Moyo/Hazel
Ndebele
Zela was adding its voice to that of many ordinary Zimbabweans
who have long
been saying the country is not benefitting from its resources,
pointing out
political and security networks were lining their own pockets
through shady
dealings, while bleeding the economy.
Some Zela
officials told the Zimbabwe Independent on the sidelines of the
workshop
that one of the reasons why the government of national unity (GNU)
is
failing to deal with such corruption and leakages of revenues is that it
is
riven with serious divisions which make it difficult to stem the tide of
venality.
The officials further suggested it would thus be better to
have one party in
government rather than a coalition as this would help
ensure policy cohesion
and coherence.
“There has been serious policy
discord in this coalition government as Zanu
PF and MDC formations have
often worked at cross-purposes, much to the
detriment of the economy,” one
Zela official said.
“The GNU has failed to ensure sustainable economic
recovery as Zanu PF and
the MDC parties spent the better part of the
government’s four-year
existence trading accusations of corruption and
fighting over indigenisation
instead of implementing coherent policies and
programmes to help economic
rebound.
“As a panacea to the
contestations around economic policy and to give
investors a sense of
predictability and confidence, Zimbabwe needs the next
elections to produce
an outright winner so that we can have a single party
governing and
implementing consistent policies.”
Zela’s views are in sync with those of
the business community as we move
closer to elections, while taking stock of
the achievements and failures of
the coalition government.
When it
was established in 2009, the GNU quickly tried to haul the country
out of
the economic doldrums as it spearheaded modest recovery programmes.
Prior
to its formation, political and economic upheavals had gripped
Zimbabwe from
around 1997 when war veterans marched to State House to demand
gratuities
for their role in the liberation struggle.
The resultant instability
worsened when Zanu PF launched violent farm
invasions from 2000, culminating
in the bloody June presidential election
run-off of 2008 which was boycotted
by MDC-T leader, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, citing state-sponsored
violence against his supporters.
Stronger policies and a favourable
external environment supported a nascent
economic recovery during the
inclusive government period. Real gross
domestic product growth accelerated
from 6% in 2009 to 9% in 2010, before
slowing to 7% and 4,4% in 2011 and
2012 respectively.
However, economic recovery had started from a low base
and was concentrated
on primary commodity sectors in mining and agriculture,
both of which are
sensitive to exogenous shocks.
Structural
impediments weighed heavily on manufacturing and utilities, which
used to be
the locomotives of growth and employment creation.
The humanitarian
situation improved throughout. The burgeoning economic
recovery, erratic
harvests, donor off-budget support which at one time was
9% of GDP, and
increased provision of government services halted the
deterioration of human
development indicators.
However, the projected US$600 million from
diamond revenues to support the
2012 budget never materialised, sparking a
war of words between Finance
minister Tendai Biti and Mines minister Obert
Mpofu.
Commenting on the lack of transparency and resultant corruption in
the
mining sector, Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), a non-governmental
organisation, said diamonds were being looted by politicians and security
forces.
PAC wrote in their 2012 report titled Reap What You Sow:
Greed and
Corruption in Zimbabwe’s Marange Diamond Fields that Zimbabwe was
witnessing
“the biggest plunder of diamonds” perhaps the world has ever seen
since
Cecil John Rhodes. Conservative estimates place the theft of Marange
diamonds at almost US$2 billion since 2008.
Zela officials say such
things would be better dealt with by a single party
government rather than a
divided coalition.
The question, however, is which of the three parties
would fulfil that
mandate in view of their performance during the tenure of
the GNU? Should
Zimbabweans look outside the GNU triumvirate?
Analyst
Dumisani Nkomo said another GNU would not be the best way forward
given the
power struggles that characterised the tenure of the present
arrangement.
While analysts say an outright victory for one party
might move the country
forward, they expressed fears if Zanu PF wins, its
victory might roll back
democratic and recovery gains so far.
“The
GNU with Zanu PF as the dominant partner has been unable and unwilling
to
stop violence and the selective application of the law,” said Nkomo.
“People
obviously do not want to see their country going back to the hands
of those
who have ruled and ruined it for 33 years.”
Another analyst Godwin Phiri
said despite their flaws, the MDC parties were
better placed than Zanu PF to
lead the country out of the current situation
as they will still get the
benefit of the doubt from the people, investors
and the international
community. He however said an MDC-T victory alone
would be
worrying.
“Unfortunately, the MDC-T’s curriculum vitae, which includes
corruption in
the administration of councils during the GNU, does not augur
well for the
future,” said Phiri. “The other MDC also suffered from too many
squabbles
which led to some MPs being fired.”
Another analyst Brian
Raftopoulos said Zanu PF had only used the
transitional respite to regroup
and consolidate its comeback, without
embracing democratic reforms and
changing direction
While benefitting by gaining experience in government,
Raftopoulos said the
MDC parties have faced challenges of dealing with their
organisational
structures as well as corruption within their
ranks.
With three months before the end of the coalition government, the
options
for Zimbabweans are still not clear-cut.
While another GNU
may not be desirable due to policy discord, none of the
parties seem to
offer the desirable option on their own in terms of economic
policy and
development although there is general consensus an outright Zanu
PF victory
will leave Zimbabwe going round in circles.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in
Politics
THE proverbial expression “much ado about nothing” appears to
capture well
the noisy and high-sounding claims surrounding the community
share ownership
schemes which Zanu PF is persisting with ahead of the
crucial general
elections.
Report by Elias Mambo
Under the
indigenisation policy — Zanu PF’s collapsing selling point in the
make-or-break polls expected mid-year — the key objective of the schemes is
to ensure communities benefit from the exploitation of natural resources in
their immediate environments.
Through this vehicle, companies are
obliged by law to avail at least 10% of
shares out of the total value of the
company to the selected groups of
people represented by a community
trust.
The trusts are chaired by chiefs and consist of all key
stakeholders within
the relevant communities, including district council
officials.
The schemes started operating as part of government’s campaign
to force
foreign-owned companies to sell 51% of the equities to broke local
investors. In these deals, communities located in areas where mining
companies exploit minerals get 10% of their stakes in the empowerment
deals.
However, questions continue to be raised about the legality of
these schemes
and whether they would benefit local communities in practice,
with critics
saying they are just a disguise for legalised racketeering by
Zanu
PF-connected political and business elites.
Allegations of
patronage, nepotism and corruption surrounding indigenisation
deals, as well
as lack of visible development projects in targeted
communities reinforce
claims the process is more about elections and
self-aggrandisement by Zanu
PF officials than genuine empowerment.
Despite lack of transparency and
controversy engulfing implementation of
indigenisation policy, which
economic analysts say is damaging as it has
triggered capital flight and
forced investors to adopt a wait-and-see
approach towards the country,
President Robert Mugabe is set to launch
another community share ownership
scheme in Mashonaland East before the
elections.
The other seven
schemes were launched in Masvingo (Bikita), Mashonaland West
(Mhondoro-Ngezi), Midlands (Zvishavane and Tongogara), Matabeleland South
(Gwanda), Manicaland (Marange-Zimunya) and Matabeleland North
(Hwange).
Political analyst Jabusile Shumba said the schemes are a “pie
in the sky” as
the majority of communities would not benefit anything
significant.
“This is a campaign gimmick meant to win votes for the
beleaguered Zanu PF
party. The whole idea is like putting lipstick on a pig,
something which
does not change anything.”
Director of the Zimbabwe
Institute for Democracy, Pedzisai Ruhanya said the
programme is a vehicle
for electioneering and plunder by Zanu PF.
“The whole programme is an
opportunity for electioneering and selected
political elites to continue
looting resources in the name of
indigenisation,” said Ruhanya.
“We
have not yet heard a convincing testimony on the benefits of these
schemes.
All we hear are scandals unfolding and this is proof that the
programme is
designed to benefit a few individuals.”
Indigenisation minister Saviour
Kasukuwere — who last week was in
Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe to prepare for the
launch of the last community share
ownership scheme in Mashonaland East
before elections — has repeatedly
insisted the empowerment programme is
meant to broaden the ownership
structure of the economy and help the
previously disadvantaged majority.
His critics, however, say the problem
is the way it is being implemented
which is damaging the economy still
struggling to recover from the ravages
of hyperinflation and corruption
under Mugabe’s previous failed regime.
Chaos, corruption and greed appear
to have blighted the programme.
In August 2012, Local Government minister
Ignatius Chombo had to intervene
in Zvishavane and direct chiefs to return
US$2 million they had withdrawn
from the community trust account and shared
among themselves.
The five chiefs had also awarded themselves US$5 000
each as sitting
allowances for meetings they had called. Chiefs Mazvihwa,
Masunda,
Mapanzure, Wedza and Mafala had reportedly awarded themselves
between US$200
000 and US$250 000, according to a number of their
subjects.
In a similar incident, Kasukuwere had to read the riot act to
the Tongogara
scheme chiefs after they demanded US$5 000 each as sitting
allowances.
The MDC-T has attacked indigenisation in its current form,
equating it to
theft by Zanu PF, saying foreign-owned businesses are being
arm-twisted into
supporting illegal schemes that have no credence in a
normal country.
“Zanu PF is on a crusade to fleece companies in order to
fund its elections
war chest,” the party said recently.
Finance
minister Tendai Biti said the schemes are “illegal” as they are not
provided
for in the law. Companies have been forced to contribute between
US$10
million and US$15 million to these schemes.
“On what legal basis are
companies being made to part with US$10 million or
US$15 million?” Biti
queried.
“There is nowhere in the Indigenisation and Empoerment Act that
compels
companies to donate money to a community share scheme or to any farm
or to
anything; so what you are actually seeing is coercion; companies being
forced to part with US$10 million or US$15 million.”
Kasukuwere says
the schemes are aimed at forcing companies to invest in the
development of
communities where they operate, but Biti said the
arrangements were an
after-thought aimed at sanitising a “predatory and
elitist”
programme.
“In the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act, you will not find
the word
community share trust, you will not. Then you come to the
regulations,
statutory instrument number 30 of March 2010 that was passed or
enacted,
again, you will not find the name community share trust,” said
Biti.
“So the issue of community share schemes is actually an
after-thought which
is not backed by the law, the Indigenisation and
Empowerment Act. Such that
community share schemes don’t actually have legal
existence vis-a-vis the
Indigenisation and Empowerment
Act.”
Political analyst Brian Raftopoulos said although the
indigenisation
initiative remains a worthy cause, Zanu PF is merely pursuing
the
controversial programme to gain votes.
“By implementing this
controversial programme, Zanu PF has managed to
recover some ground it lost
to the MDC parties in the 2008 disputed
elections and increase its support
base,” Raftopoulos said. “It is
unfortunate indigenisation has exposed the
state itself as being some kind
of a possession of a particular political
party which is using this process
to spearhead its elections campaigns,” he
said.
Critics say instead of rigidly going for the 51-49% equity model,
government
should have adopted a dynamic approach which included other
measures such as
supply-side methods, royalties and partnerships used in
other countries.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Politics
THE drama during
the past few weeks was not over the referendum where more
than three million
voters suspiciously endorsed a flawed draft constitution
cobbled together by
Zanu PF and the MDC formations, partners in a fractious
government of
national unity (GNU) inexorably sliding towards the end of its
tenure on
June 29.
Report by Herbert Moyo
It was neither over the
unprecedented spectre of the major political players
speaking with one
voice, urging their supporters to endorse the draft
belying squabbles
engulfing them in their acrimonious marriage of
convenience.
It was
rather in more sinister developments playing out like a theme song to
a
horror movie. The real drama involved daring attempts by the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) to raid and arrest three cabinet ministers
over allegations of graft, and the backlash from the powerful officials
against their now frightened investigators.
Zacc investigators were
stopped in their tracks from raiding and searching
offices of Mines minister
Obert Mpofu, Indigenisation minister Saviour
Kasukuwere and Transport
minister Nicholas Goche.
After being thwarted by the High Court when they
had obtained an
unprocedural search warrant from the same court, Zacc
officials have been
put under sustained political pressure, ironically
making the hunters the
hunted as tables dramatically turned against
them.
Apart from a sustained crackdown on civic society organisations
over the
past two months which has heightened political tensions, the
unfolding
theatrical events included the arrest of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s
office functionaries for allegedly impersonating the police and
violating
the Official Secrets Act, together with prominent human rights
lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa who was picked up and detained for a week for
purportedly
shouting obscenities at the police.
Tsvangirai’s aides,
Thabani Mpofu, Felix Matsinde, Warship Dumba and Mehluli
Tshuma, were also
arrested for allegedly conniving with Zacc officials to
probe ministers and
other top government officials.
So from being investigators of alleged
corruption surrounding ministers and
senior state officials, Zacc
commissioners and their secretariat, including
chief executive Ngonidzashe
Gumbo who is now in jail, find themselves under
investigation for
graft.
Analysts say the situation shows Zimbabwe’s state institutions and
leaders
are not geared to fight and defeat the scourge of
corruption.
Those involved in corrupt activities seem far stronger than
investigators
who have also weakened their anti-corruption stance by being
implicated in
dubious deals.
“This is proof that the Zimbabwean state
has officially taken a position in
defence of corrupt top government
officials,” said one Zacc commissioner
speaking on condition of anonymity on
the crackdown on the anti-graft body’s
personnel.
Justice Charles
Hungwe, who initially granted Zacc the search warrant
allegedly
unprocedurally, has also come under a barrage of criticism from
Zanu PF
officials who are using state media to cast aspersions on his
professionalism and character, while fighting Zacc and its
officials.
“Calls for urgent review of judiciary system”, screamed one
headline in a
state-owned daily on Monday, while another urged “empowerment”
crusader
Kasukuwere to “soldier on” against the “diversionary tactics by his
detractors”.
In the ministers’ fight back, Gumbo was arrested on
allegations of
defrauding the anti-graft body of US$435 000. When he was
granted a US$1 000
bail this week, the state immediately invoked the
notorious Section 121 of
the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act that allows
it to keep someone in
custody for seven days despite the bond.
The
situation became even more melodramatic after Zacc chairperson Denford
Chirindo appeared in the state media, seemingly condemning colleagues for
trying to probe ministers as he exploited the fiasco over the search warrant
to practically discredit and stall their investigations.
After
surprisingly accepting “we (Zacc) have made mistakes and having made
mistakes, we have to correct our mistakes and comply with the law”, Chirindo
noted while conceding his commission was actually compromised as it had
received allowances and funding from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
where, ironically, he used to work when the funding was granted.
“The
commission has been compromised by receiving financial assistance from
RBZ.
I want to be honest; the quasi-fiscal operations started around
2006/2007.
Yes, I was with the Reserve Bank and the commission actually
received that
assistance which was also given to various other sectors,”
Chirindo
said.
Therein lies the real question around events of the last few weeks:
is
Zimbabwe ready to seriously tackle corruption?
Do Zacc, the
police, judiciary and politicians genuinely want to fight
corruption?
Furthermore, does Zaac still have the moral high ground to deal
with
corruption which has seen Zimbabwe come close to topping Transparency
International’s Corruption Perceptions Index after being placed 163rd out of
176 countries in the December 2012 survey given the situation if finds
itself in? Corruption, particularly in its political form, implies the use
of power by government officials for illegitimate private gain.
In
its various manifestations, corruption takes the form of graft,
embezzlement, bribery, extortion, nepotism and patronage, among others
things. Rent-seeking is another major form of corruption. The private sector
is also riddled with corruption.
In the political realm, the impact
of corruption is that it undermines
democracy and good governance, while
subverting formal processes and
sabotaging economic
progress.
Institute for a Democratic Alternative for Zimbabwe public
policy and
governance manager Jabusile Shumba said Zanu PF is fighting back
and has
emasculated Zacc to cover its corrupt activities ahead of
forthcoming
crucial elections.
“Whenever corruption reaches shocking
levels that cannot be sufficiently
hidden from the public eye, Zanu PF
engages in ritualised displays of
posturing and pretentious rhetoric, even
setting up commissions of inquiry
to give the impression of doing something
yet there is no will to tackle the
scourge,” Shumba said.
As observed
by the late political analyst John Makumbe “Zacc is
poorly-resourced and
incapable of fighting corruption as is the Human Rights
Commission and all
other commissions set up by the coalition government”.
However, it
appears there is more to the shenanigans than just Zacc being
poorly
resourced or the judiciary being intimidated by Zanu PF. Institutions
tackling corruption lack the integrity and moral high ground to cast the
biblical first stone at politicians, business and the rest of
society.
“Not only is Zacc a toothless bulldog,” said Zimbabwe Democracy
Institute
director Pedzisayi Ruhanya, “there are allegations of corruption
levelled
against the commission itself and they cannot investigate
corruption if they
are not clean themselves.”
Another analyst Godwin
Phiri described as unfortunate allegations of
possible corruption at Zacc
saying Zimbabwe is not committed to fighting
corruption. “Who will guard the
guards, that is the question?” Phiri said.
“It is a sad development if those
who are entrusted to lead the fight
against corruption are themselves
compromised.”
Corruption has not only been the preserve of Zanu PF. The
MDC-T, initially
seen as a beacon of good governance and hope, wasted no
time in joining the
gravy train with many of its councillors and senior
officials fingered in
corrupt activities.
State institutions
themselves are compromised. Besides Zacc the police,
prosecution department
and the judiciary are all seen as partisan and unfit
to fight
corruption.
Given that the plague of corruption is gnawing away at the
Zimbabwean
society, and those entrusted with uprooting it are either
unwilling or
unable to do so, the economy will remain at the mercy of
rampaging vampires
sucking its blood dry.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in
News
TENSIONS are once again running high in Chisumbanje over the
re-opening of
the controversial ethanol project with some stakeholders
accusing
Vice-President Joice Mujuru of politicising the venture ahead of
crucial
elections due after June.
Report by Herbert
Moyo
Speaking to the Zimbabwe Independent on Monday, stakeholders accused
Mujuru
of poisoning the atmosphere of trust through her “reckless”
utterances
labelling the reportedly US$600 million ethanol production scheme
a “Zanu PF
project”.
Mujuru told scores of villagers the project had
the full backing of Zanu PF
but faced challenges after the formation of the
inclusive government in
2009.
Green Fuels, a joint venture between
Macdom, Rating Investments and
government through Arda, closed the plant in
February 2012 after reaching
the maximum 10 million litres of ethanol its
storage facilities can hold. It
is one of the few major investments in the
country in recent years.
“Procedures for the re-opening of the plant have
all along been handled by
an inter-ministerial committee headed by (Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur)
Mutambara but now Mujuru has divided stakeholders
with her partisan
approach,” said Claris Madhuku, the director of the
Platform for Youth
Development Trust.
Madhuku said tensions were
simmering between rival supporters of Zanu PF and
MDC-T over the project and
warned this could scupper the community’s chances
of speaking with one voice
to ensure they receive full compensation for
losses incurred when the plant
was built.
During last year’s fact-finding mission by the inter-ministerial
team,
tempers flared as villagers complained bitterly about their loss of
arable
land, pollution of water sources as well as impounding of livestock
by Green
Fuels.
According to Chipinge South legislator Meki Makuyana,
as many as 187
families were forced to cross the border into Mozambique
after losing their
land to the company.
Political rivalry between the
main political parties over the project first
arose in 2012 when Zanu PF
secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa told
stakeholders his party’s
politburo had already decided the plant would be
re-opened, even before the
inter-ministerial committee had made its
recommendations.
At one time
a self-proclaimed war veteran had to be restrained from
manhandling Energy
minister Elton Mangoma, accusing Mangoma’s MDC-T party of
instigating
closure of the plant.
“We have worked tirelessly to defuse tempers and
re-brand the project as a
national undertaking but all of that is being
undone by the posturing of a
reckless politician seeking mileage ahead of
elections,” Madhuku said.
While the state media claimed the plant had
opened and resumed operations on
Monday, it effectively remained shut as
there are various logistical issues
to be dealt with. Workers are yet to
report for duty and company officials
also say there is need to upgrade
machinery at the plant.
“It is going to be a process and we are still
mobilising our workers,” said
Green Fuels assistant general manager Raphael
Zuze. “We are still attending
to logistical and administrative
issues.”
Makuyana described Mujuru’s visit as an attempt to steal the
limelight from
the Chisumbanje community as well as Mangoma and other
stakeholders in the
inter-ministerial committee whose efforts to revive the
project received
cabinet approval.
“Zanu PF is deeply divided over the
highly controversial indigenisation
programme and Mujuru was here to save
face by hijacking this project,” said
Makuyana. “She even gave the
impression that she was issuing a directive for
the re-opening of the plant
which had been forcibly closed down, yet the
plant ceased operations only
because there were no takers for the ethanol
product.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in News
WITH only
three months to go before the coalition government’s tenure ends
on June 29
and crucial elections beckoning, the latest theatre of political
contestation is the “alien constituency” which has the potential to swing
the vote.
Elias Mambo/Herbert Moyo
Of the unity government
partners — Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC — it is the former
ruling party that has
hit the ground running, embarking on a vigorous
recruitment drive in order
to win the vote of “aliens” once derided by
President Robert Mugabe as
“totemless” people.
He was widely criticised for these xenophobic
remarks. The party has been
holding meetings on farms in Mashonaland Central
encouraging “aliens” to
register and vote Zanu PF as party officials claim
they helped restore their
voting rights.
Sources said Zanu PF
district commissars have been emphasising the historic
ties between Zanu PF
and the aliens’ countries of origin.
“Zanu PF has played a crucial role
in making sure that you get your voting
rights. Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and
Mozambique have been close since time
immemorial so there is no need to vote
for any other party besides Zanu PF,”
is the message being preached to
aliens, sources said.
The battle lines have been drawn as the MDC parties
are also claiming credit
for ensuring that dual citizenship and voting
rights for formerly
disenfranchised voters are included in the new
constitution.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said citizenship ought
to be “by
registration and by descent” and therefore dual citizenship must
be allowed.
“The MDC-T position has always been that under this
constitution, dual or
multiple citizenship is automatically allowed for
Zimbabwean citizens by
birth,” said Mwonzora.
Zimbabweans of foreign
origin last voted in the 2000 constitutional
referendum and were denied the
vote in the just-ended referendum on the
draft constitution which ironically
restores their citizenship and
concomitant voting rights.
While there
are no official figures of citizens of foreign descent, the
number of
Zimbabweans of Malawian, Zambian and Mozambican origin is thought
to be in
millions and these could swing the vote in favour of any party that
successfully woos them.
Former Malawi Information minister Patricia
Kaliati once estimated that more
than a third of Zimbabwe’s population is of
Malawian origin, with the
majority of them residing in farming and mining
communities around the
country.
In 2005 Kaliati reportedly said
Malawi and Zimbabwe enjoyed cordial
relations since the times of the
Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federation, pointing
out “Zimbabwe is playing host to
over five million Malawians”.
“If we quarrel with (President Robert)
Mugabe where will these Malawians
go?” she asked.
Even without
census figures, Mugabe and Zanu PF evidently believed the
“aliens” were
numerous enough to be decisive in elections, and blamed them
for the party’s
defeat in the constitutional referendum of 2000.
This week Justice deputy
minister Obert Gutu said there was need to align
Zimbabwe’s laws, including
the enfranchisement of the former aliens, before
elections can be
held.
“Those who say we will have elections in June obviously got their
basic
arithmetic wrong because from May 7 when the constitutional Bill is
brought
before parliament, it would take at least three months to finalise
everything, including harmonising the country’s laws with the new
constitution,” Gutu said.
He also said there was need to ensure the
newly enfranchised aliens are
added to the voters’ roll, criticised as
shambolic, to enable them to
exercise their rights.
According to the
Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative dedicated to ending
statelessness
and the arbitrary denial of citizenship, Zimbabwe is one of
the countries on
the continent said to be practising denationalisation, a
move described as a
severe human rights abuse now more entrenched because of
Zanu PF’s
xenophobic treatment of “aliens” now perceived as MDC supporters.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in
Business
ZANU PF used the draft constitution to entrench its position on
land reform
by constitutionalising the 2000 land invasions and giving
security of tenure
to land occupiers under the chaotic fast-track land
reforms.
Report by Paidamoyo Muzulu
The draft, endorsed by a
reported 3,1 million Zimbabweans in the referendum
on March 16, seeks to put
finality to the controversial land redistribution
which dispossessed about 4
000 white commercial farmers of their prime land
without
compensation.
The draft grants resettled farmers legal authority to
remain on the land as
owners by virtue of having an offer letter from the
state.
Section 291 of the draft says: “Continuation of rights of
occupiers of
agricultural land subject to this constitution, any person who,
immediately
before the effective date, was using or occupying, or was
entitled to use or
occupy, any agricultural land by virtue of a lease or
other agreement with
the state continues to be entitled to use or occupy
that land on or after
the effective date, in accordance with that lease or
other agreement.”
The draft also allows resettled farmers to lease the
land or sell it despite
the fact that they got it for free.
Section
294 of the draft reads: “Alienation of agricultural land by owners
or
occupiers subject to any limitation imposed by law, an owner or occupier
of
agricultural land has the right to transfer, hypothecate, lease or
dispose
of his or her right in agricultural land.”
These clauses are widely
viewed as Zanu PF’s bid to constitutionally
entrench and protect a process
that dispossessed white farmers without
compensation and left over 200 000
farm workers jobless and homeless.The
draft effectively thwarts the MDC
formations’ call for an independent land
audit, thus legalising multiple
farm ownership.
The leader of the International Socialist Organisation in
Zimbabwe,
Munyaradzi Gwisai, said the draft legalises Zanu PF’s seizure and
looting of
farms.
“The draft constitution sanitises Zanu PF’s looting
exercise as the new
farmers who mostly got the land by patronage will now be
able to sell it on
the open market,” Gwisai said.
“The draft further
eliminates the need for a land audit since the new owners
would have a
constitutional right to the land.”
Dispossessed white commercial farmers
will only receive compensation for
improvements made and not for land under
the new charter.
Ironically, farm workers who lost their homes and their
jobs have been
ignored and will not be compensated.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Business
Dairibord has
arguably been accorded the status of a success story. The
company morphed
from a parastatal dairy processor into one of the country’s
few
privatisation success stories. Today Dairibord is a listed corporation
and
as a relatively large, consistent performer, many consider it a blue
chip
company.
Report by Collins Rudzuna
Naturally therefore,
Dairibord’s financial results are some of the
most-awaited by stock market
analysts.
Much-awaited as they were, Dairibord’s financial results turned
out to be
nothing to write home about. They were “neither here nor there” as
some like
to put it.
Volume growth across the company was 10%, and
coupled with static consumer
prices, this led to modest revenue growth of
just 11%. Sales volumes in the
foods unit were up 21% while beverages and
milk volumes rose by just 10% and
4% respectively. Profit margins were
slightly lower, resulting in profit
growth of just 1% to US$7,2
million.
Management were at pains to justify to analysts, journalists and
the
investing public why their financial results were so subdued and to
explain
their plan for recovery. Some of the statistics given in the course
of this
explanation related to the national herd of dairy cows and the level
of
national milk production.
Zimbabwe’s dairy cow herd now stands at
only 26 000, down from a peak of 119
200 in the 1990s. Correspondingly, milk
production peaked at 257 million
litres, but is now only 54 million litres.
That is a decline of more than
78% for both measures! Taken in the context
of an increasing population, the
extent of decline in the dairy industry is
shocking, to say the least.
Thankfully for Dairibord, since its days as a
parastatal the product
portfolio has been diversified from just milk to
include a wide array of
value-added foods and beverages. Profit contribution
from these products now
exceeds that from milk sales. Yet one cannot shake
off the fact that milk
remains the staple of the company’s existence. In
recognition of this fact,
Dairibord’s management is embarking on an
ambitious new plan that it not
only hopes will guarantee milk supply for the
company, but perhaps revive
the dairy industry as a
whole.
Dairibord’s plan for revival of dairy farming involves acquiring
heifers and
loaning them out to farmers. In return, farmers will provide
milk to the
company. An initial batch of 250 in-calf heifers has already
been disbursed
to 10 farmers. An additional one million litres per annum is
expected from
this batch. Ultimately, the company hopes to import a total of
1 000
heifers. One cannot help but applaud Dairibord’s initiative in trying
to
solve the industry’s problem of a depleted herd. As the heifers calve,
the
herd will also continue to grow. Yet this ambitious plan is not without
its
potential pitfalls.
Farming has always been a business with many
risks. For dairy farming, this
risk is exacerbated by the fact that each
animal represents a significant
investment which has to be protected and
managed with absolute care. The
average cost for each animal imported by
Dairibord is US$2 000. That is a
lot of money to invest in an animal.
Putting assets worth that much into the
hands of third parties can
potentially be ruinous should something happen to
them. One hopes the
animals are adequately insured.
Dairibord’s heifer programme is just the
first step of many that need to be
taken to restore the viability of the
dairy industry.
A few new players have sprung up in the industry and they
are giving
Dairibord a run for its money. Kefalos, Dendairy and Alpha &
Omega
immediately come to mind.
If these and other players could also
do their part to help replenish the
national herd, that would be a good
thing. They may even consider a
different model, perhaps backward
integration into dairy farming.
Increasing industry capacity solves only
one of the challenges being faced
by the local dairy industry. Another
shortcoming that was exposed during
Dairibord’s results briefing is the
flood of imports from South Africa.
Imports now make up a significant
portion of milk consumed in Zimbabwe. In
fact, imported brands of long life
UHT milk are more visible than local ones
in the supermarkets. This is not
to blame the imports, which have bridged an
unsatisfied gap between demand
and supply. South African milk lands here at
a lower price which cannot be
matched by local producers, thus making
locally-produced milk uncompetitive.
A litre of imported milk lands in
Zimbabwe at about US$1,05 while
locally-produced milk costs US$1,20 — a gap
of 14%. The difference emanates
from local raw milk being more expensive to
produce than in South Africa and
the region in general. Raw milk costs 62 US
cents a litre locally compared
to 40 US cents and 44 US cents in South
Africa and Zambia,
respectively.
Dairibord has tried to bridge the gap by importing
toll-produced UHT milk
under its own brand “Chimombe”. Although this ensures
the brand remains
visible in the market, ultimately, it is still a cheaper
import which makes
local milk uncompetitive. Dairibord management admitted
that this is a
stop-gap measure, the ultimate goal being to revitalise local
milk
production.
Milk is an essential source of nutrition and
government is unlikely to ban
imports, especially where local production
falls short of demand. Government
could, however, investigate whether there
are certain unfair practices by
South African dairies which make their milk
cheaper. Namibian dairy farmers,
for example, once accused their South
African neighbours of predatory
pricing, using genetically modified feeds
and on-exporting sub-standard
Brazilian milk.
Dairibord’s results
were indeed subdued; the market usually expects a more
robust performance
from blue chip companies. Most of the weaknesses are
nonentheless external
to the company itself and are more to do with the
state of the dairy
industry.
Dairibord has taken the bull by the horns and tackled some of
these problems
head-on. However,there is only so much that a company can do.
Only when the
industry can rebuild the national herd, produce enough milk to
meet demand
and lower production costs can it become
competitive.
Meanwhile, consumers will have to remain content with
imports. Local milk
producers also have to deal with stiff import
competition.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Opinion
AS Zimbabweans brace
themselves for the critical forthcoming general
elections, one wonders
whether any lessons have been learnt from the bloody
and chaotic 2008 polls
which President Robert Mugabe stole before declaring
himself the winner
after Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the
contest, citing
violence and intimidation.
Report by William Muchayi
The next
elections are polls which neither of the two main parties can
afford to lose
given the high political stakes.
Mugabe is now old, frail and tired. At
the age of 89, this is most likely
his last election, and winning it would
guarantee him protection from those
who may be dreaming of dragging him to
The Hague for human rights abuses.
Moreover, winning would save his face
as he cannot afford to be humiliated
for the second time by Tsvangirai and
leave a tattered legacy of failure and
defeat.
As such, Mugabe and
his Zanu PF party will use all weapons at their disposal
to thwart
Tsvangirai and the MDC-T.
It seems Zanu PF and Mugabe have now come to
the conclusion that Tsvangirai
and his party lack the strategy and political
staying power to neutralise
violence perpetrated by such groups as Zanu PF
militias, war veterans, the
army and police.
As a result Mugabe will
capitalise on this wicked pillar of strength to win
the next elections
again.
Tsvangirai on the other hand cannot afford to boycott these
crucial
elections since by so doing he would have simply fallen into
Mugabe’s most
reliable trap.
With the post of prime minister scrapped
in the new constitution, Tsvangirai
cannot risk being jobless by boycotting
elections in which he stands a good
chance to win. He would also risk losing
the party leadership after trying
on several occasions to unseat Mugabe
without success.
As for Welshman Ncube, Arthur Mutambara, Job Sikhala,
Simba Makoni and
Dumiso Dabengwa, none of them has any serious chance of
making a huge impact
in the forthcoming elections, except as power brokers
in the event of
another coalition arrangement between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai.
One of the three following scenarios is likely to happen
after the
elections. Firstly, Mugabe gets outright victory over his
opponents.
However, this is unlikely taking into consideration his continued
unpopularity after 33 years in power, marked by repression, economic
mismanagement and rampant corruption.
The extent to which he could
unleash violence on his opponents and
manipulate the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (Zec) and the Registrar General’s
office before, during and after
the elections will determine whether he wins
or loses.
The second
scenario is that of an outright MDC-T victory. It is possible for
the party
to achieve this monumental task depending on the extent to which
its
supporters resist pressure from Zanu PF to boycott the elections or be
cowed
into submission.
Tsvangirai can also achieve this if he enters into an
alliance with other
opposition parties, Ncube’s MDC, Mavambo and
Zapu.
This will not be an easy task taking into consideration the time
left before
the elections as well as the deep- rooted animosities between
Tsvangirai and
Ncube.
Ncube seems to be comfortable in being a power
broker in a coalition
government than to see either Tsvangirai or Mugabe
being an outright winner.
For that reason he will resist any attempt to back
either Tsvangirai or
Mugabe.
It remains to be seen the extent to
which his followers will back this
strategic approach which will have a
marked impact on the outcome of the
elections. If an alliance of opposition
parties fails, it will be an uphill
task for the MDC-T to have outright
victory which leads to the last
scenario.
A political stalemate might
arise again – perpetuating the problem we have
had for over a decade now –
after none of the main parties have been able to
achieve outright victory,
leading to a possible coalition again.
Neither Mugabe nor Tsvangirai
would want this scenario as it has serious
challenges as witnessed during
the current arrangement. Mugabe does not want
to be humiliated again and to
be seen to be weak, while suffering a second
defeat from Tsvangirai. That is
on the one hand.
On the other hand, Tsvangirai does not cherish a second
Government of
National Unity (GNU). He was humiliated and rendered powerless
in the
current one to the extent that most people wonder why he is still in
there
when he has been reduced to mainly playing a ceremonial
role.
The MDC-T has lost considerable support from its power base since
when GNU
in 2009 and is now being blamed for poor basic services delivery as
it is
now being painted with the same brush as Zanu PF despite it being
powerless
to effect any meaningful change. Their dilemma is that they failed
to quit
the coalition government hoping that they would influence change
from within
which they have failed to do.
The question now is: what
is to be done to minimise Mugabe’s rigging
strategy? Has the MDC parties
learnt any lessons from the chaotic 2008
elections which Zec rigged in
favour of Mugabe in broad daylight? As no
meaningful reforms have been
implemented since the formation of the GNU, the
odds are still stacked in
Mugabe’s favour.
However, several strategies can be used by the
opposition groups to minimise
Mugabe’s rigging.
Firstly, the
opposition parties must confront Mugabe as a united front.
Ncube, Makoni,
Dabengwa and Reketai Semwayo should back Tsvangirai in a
grand coalition
against Mugabe for the presidency.
In return, Tsvangirai should reach a
deal with them in parliamentary
elections whereby aspiring MDC-T candidates
are not to contest in
constituencies where Ncube and Dabengwa would have
fielded candidates.
Through this grand alliance, the opposition parties
stand a better chance of
unseating Mugabe and Zanu PF.
Voter turnout
on elections day would have a marked impact on the outcome of
the
elections.
The higher the turnout, the greater the chances of the
opposition parties
defeating Mugabe. The opposition groups should embark on
a vigorous campaign
to reach all corners of the country and neighbouring
states encouraging
voters to vote.
However, that will not be easy as
Mugabe will throw all spanners in the
works to neutralise such an
offensive.
It is also important election observers at all polling
stations make use of
modern technologies to the fullest as happened during
the Arab spring
revolutions.
Let twitter, facebook, whatsapp and many
other social media tools be made
use of to the fullest to update others on
election processes and results
from each polling station before boxes are
collected to the central counting
station where Zec and the Registrar
General will be in control.
This is important as I foresee the Kenyan
scenario where political parties
drag each other before the courts as the
results are likely to be disputed
again.
In the event election
results are stolen in favour of Mugabe, many scenarios
are likely to happen.
Firstly, Zimbabweans as happened in 2008, will grumble
but remain passive,
allowing Mugabe to slap them in the face again.
Alternatively, the
opposition parties will take the issue to the courts but
to no avail as the
judiciary is pliable to executive pressure.
Mugabe will definitely be
declared the winner but with devastating
consequences socially and
economically. Appeals to Sadc and the
international community for help with
yield little success.
Mass protests by the ordinary people over the
stolen vote is one other
option but it remains to be seen whether
Zimbabweans are now prepared to
sacrifice their lives for
change.
Muchayi is a political analyst who can be contacted on wmuchayi@gmail.com
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Opinion
Zanu PF’s
approach to politics is a case study of poor statecraft and
diplomacy in
this increasingly complex yet open world.
Column by The
MuckRaker
First they launch a campaign of violence and destruction ahead
of the
referendum accompanied by arrests and lengthy column inches of abuse
in the
state media.
Then, when the British government invites the
reengagement team to London to
ascertain the country’s needs ahead of the
elections, we are subjected to
more hate language directed both at those
countries that are prepared to
assess Zimbabwe’s needs and local
civics.
An organisation of EU and allied states, known as the Fishmonger
Group owing
to the Harare restaurant where they first met and subsequently
renamed the
Friends of Zimbabwe, has made it clear for several years that
they are
prepared to consider lifting sanctions on an incremental basis to
help
democratic transition.
This week they fulfilled that commitment
by “delisting” 81 individuals.
But instead of working with the EU and
other countries on a democratic
agenda, the Zanu PF media persists with the
disingenous claim that Britain
and its allies in the EU and the US imposed
economic sanctions on Zimbabwe
“after the country embarked on a successful
land reform programme”.
Zanu PF at it again
In fact the sanctions
were imposed after a EU observer mission was expelled
prior to the bloody
and disputed 2002 presidential election.
As for the “successful land reform
programme”, Zanu PF refuses to appoint a
land reform commission because it
would expose multiple farm ownership and
evidence of corruption, besides
failure.
Of course we understand the need by the former ruling party to
go on
claiming that the reengagement team’s invitation to London provided
evidence
of Albion’s perfidy, but a more serious criticism could be directed
at
Britain for extending the prospect of funding for elections when members
of
civil society and human rights lawyers are incarcerated.
The
pattern of intimidation and violence continues despite calls by party
leaders to eschew bad behaviour.
As a result there is a widespread
perception that Zimbabwe is not ready for
re-engagement and Western
support.
Meanwhile, Zanu PF uses and abuses the public media to claw back
its 2008
losses by churning out a barrage of hostile propaganda, much of it
unreadable. So long as this goes on, reengagement will remain a distant
prospect.
The bloody British …
In keeping with Zanu PF’s
blame-it-on-everyone-else-but-us policy, Didymus
Mutasa laid all the blame
for the economic collapse on sanctions.
“I was in Mutare recently and
there is no industry to talk of anymore and
the situation is the same in
other parts of the country because of these
illegal sanctions; that is why
we want them to be removed in their
entirety,” squealed Mutasa.
We
have come to expect that from Zanu PF. The fact that the economy had
fallen
off the precipice much earlier than 2002, when the sanctions were
imposed,
has been conveniently forgotten.
Even in 2002 the economy was already in
free-fall with the concomitant food
and fuel shortages.
President
Mugabe claimed, at a Zanu PF congress in 1999, the British were
hijacking
fuel tankers on the high seas and that fuel companies in
collaboration with
white farmers were hoarding the commodity.
Of course the real reason for fuel
shortages was a forex crisis, not British
pirates!
Log in Kunonga’s
eye
Nolbert Kunonga’s Anglican faction has re-emerged from the woodwork
with an
ironic appeal for the church to “play an important role in ensuring
there is
unity and peace in the country in view of the forthcoming
harmonised polls”.
“There is need,” said Kunonga “for the church to
remember and ensure that it
fosters the spirit of peace and
unity.”
Not too long ago he was describing Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai as
“satanic”.
People of Tsvangirai’s “warped” thinking,
Kunonga said last May, should be
“flushed down the sewerage system come next
elections”.
Meanwhile Kunonga continues to refuse to return numerous
properties to the
Church of the Province of Central Africa as instructed by
the Supreme Court.
Kunonga should first heed his own advice before he
expects anyone else to
take him seriously.
Not mincing
words
We were amused by Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana’s attack on Jonathan
Moyo, in
which he said the professor should be “hiding his face in shame”,
following
the referendum vote .
“I was called all sorts of names by
Jonathan Moyo, that I was a sellout;
there was a lot of character
assassination by him in the electronic and
print media. I never sued him or
anybody for these malicious statements but
I am sure he now knows that his
was just a lost cause,” a beaming Mangwana
said.
While Mangwana said
he harbours no ill feelings towards Zanu PF colleagues
such as Moyo,
according to the Daily News, he still went on to describe him
as
“treacherous and a turncoat”.
It’s not us who said it but his colleague
Mangwana.
The new target
Moyo, however, did not respond as he seems to
have focused his attention
elsewhere with his vitriol now targeted at
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono’s
direction.
In another
expletive-laden article in the Sunday Mail, Moyo claimed there
were “some
self-important individuals” who he said “have established
propaganda
networks that are designed to shield them from public
accountability even
where or when their mischief is too ghastly to ignore”.
Moyo could very
well be talking about himself but the irony is almost always
lost on
him.
Elsewhere, Moyo accused Gono of having created an “unhelpful aura of
untouchability around himself even when sometimes he says and does things
that are wrong and harmful to the nation”.
To this Gono responded by
saying: “I owe Zimbabweans an answer despite my
usual stance not to respond
to every provocation from personalities that
have dark and troubled
childhoods and histories of inconsistency.”
We can count on Moyo rising
to the bait and reciprocating in kind.
Unstrange bedfellows
US black
supremacist group New Black Panther Party for Self-Defence (NBPP)
has
pledged support for President Mugabe and Zanu PF in the next elections,
the
Herald reports.
NBPP, we are told, is among the ignoble ranks of the
December 12 Movement
and the Nation of Islam among other “progressive” black
movements in the US
and internationally.
Party chairman Malik Zulu
Shabazz said his mission was to “clear the lies by
Western media on
President Mugabe” and would use his party’s influence to
have sanctions
imposed on Zimbabwe removed.
Curiously members of the original Black
Panther Party have dismissed Cde
Shabazz’s outfit as “illegitimate” and even
sued them for use of the name
arguing that they operate on the basis of
“hatred of white people”.
That’s why they fit in snugly with Zanu
PF.
Embedded officials
Finally, the Ministry of Media, Information and
Publicity is “consulting
with the leadership to come up with a position on
international media
correspondents who abuse the freedom of the press
extended to them by
falsely portraying Zimbabwe as a country of violence,”
the Herald reported
George Charamba as saying this week.
Honestly
what is Charamba talking about?
How can you have senior officials who make
such partisan statements and have
difficulty understanding the concept of a
professional civil service?
And what would the family of Christpowers
Maisiri have to say about
officials from the same party when they attempt to
airbrush their son’s
terrible fate?
Then there are officials who lead
Herald reporters by the nose by publishing
material that is dripfed to
them.
Zanu PF is a rogue party and no amount of smoke and mirrors will
change that
Cde Charamba.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Opinion
Lately I had
a chance to debate the recent constitutional referendum outcome
with Copac
co-chair Paul Mangwana, focusing on the legitimacy of the “Yes”
vote.
Opinion by Rawlings Magede
His argument was Zimbabweans
did well by grabbing this historic opportunity
presented to them and voted
in favour of the draft as this process had taken
a lot of time and
money.
He went to further argue there is no constitution that can best
meet the
expectations of being “people-driven”, citing even the American one
written
by less than five people and yet it is ranked as one of the best in
the
world.
To him the fact that only a “handful” of people in
Zimbabwe were consulted
during the outreach programme, does not matter
because in the end it was
“people-driven”.
While there might be a
grain of truth in his argument I reminded him that
the United States and
Zimbabwe are different countries at different
socio-economic and political
stages of development, hence they are worlds
apart and cannot be casually
compared to each other.
As far as Mangwana, as a citizen, is concerned,
he thinks his job was done
because he claims he delivered a new
constitution, 33 years after
independence.
But he wrongfully thinks
history will absolve him and his colleagues for
delivering such a shoddy and
flawed constitution to the people of Zimbabwe.
I told him that constitutions
across the world are based on the country’s
history and circumstances, hence
the Lancaster House constitution was
amended 19 times as it fell short in
addressing critical issues.
I later on jokingly concluded to him that if
there was anywhere in the world
where constitutions should not provide for
an executive president, then it’s
in Africa, the place where power is
terribly abused by powerful incumbents
to unleash terror and mayhem against
citizens.
The real political idiots in Zimbabwe are not those who oppose
and question
undemocratic decisions taken by politicians and labelled
“nhinhi” (thick and
uncooperative), but those who cannot learn, unlearn and
relearn from
history. They are those who herd people like cattle into
unprincipled
terrains where the grass will not be greener for the future
generations.
The question should be: is the next generation going to be
proud of
decisions that we make for them on this
constitution?
History teaches us that if too much power is given to an
individual, where
he is the sole appointing authority of all key posts, then
it will be abused
and there will be untold suffering.
While this
writer feels pity for the two MDC formations in the inclusive
government and
some malleable civic society organisations for conniving to
impose the Copac
draft amid its widespread approval at the referendum even
if it is an
elitist document, those who voted for it might not have
seriously considered
the consequences of their decision. For some people, no
matter what the
content of the draft is, “progress” had been made to do away
with the
Lancaster House constitution.
They actually were hoodwinked into
believing that Zanu PF was sincere in
calling for unity and peace and the
need to “move” the country forward by
voting “Yes”.
Little did they
know that they were wrong and in the end Zanu PF managed to
achieve what it
had always wanted to: writing a constitution that protects
its own narrow
political interests — mainly executive power which is very
key especially
now ahead of watershed general elections. There is no
vocabulary in the
dictionary that can best describe such sell-out tendencies
by the MDC
parties and some civic groups.
While some Zimbabweans were campaigning
for a “No” vote to stop Zanu PF
machinations, they were harangued and called
all sorts of names including
being labelled retrogressive elements even when
it was clear the “Yes” vote
was not about progress, moving the country
forward, but narrow political
agendas.
The MDC parties will learn it
the hard way. Zanu PF has not changed. Before
the ink on the ballot papers
could even dry, a top human rights defender,
Beatrice Mtetwa was arrested
for allegedly “shouting” at the police. To make
matters worse, four staffers
in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office
were also arrested. More
arrests followed. The premier even tried to get
them released, but to no
avail.
What does that show? At one point I used to believe Tsvangirai was
the man
with his finger on the pulse of public opinion and interests of the
people
at heart, but after endorsing this shoddy draft constitution by
whipping his
supporters into line, I now have serious doubts.
He got
the “Yes” votes by even misrepresenting the draft to voters, claiming
the
new constitution clips executive power when it doesn’t? Having read the
draft, I still wonder what he was talking about.
While many of his
supporters see the world in binary terms, that is MDC-T
versus Zanu PF, what
they fail to understand however is that our politics
transcend these two
political parties. There are many interest groups and
organisations which
are part and parcel of our politics out there.
This new constitution will
not change much. It did not address key issues
around the executive
structure, Attorney-General’s Office and judiciary, for
instance. We will
continue to see unwarranted arrests and detentions even
after courts have
cleared victims just like in the Mtetwa case.
The trouble is the MDC
parties and civic groups sold out their principles
just because they
wrongfully think that they are always right and should
never be questioned
and can never be wrong. That is dangerous thinking which
must be opposed and
discouraged.
While this shoot-from-the-hip approach by civic society to
endorse a
fraudulent draft constitution against better advice on the basis
that the
MDC parties had endorsed it, has triumphed — unfortunately when the
history
of Zimbabwe is written it will not be kind to these sell-outs. The
real
story behind this yet to be fully-told but just like the sun shall rise
tomorrow — it will be told.
Magede is a political enthusiast and
writes from Nkayi, Matebeleland North
province. rawedge699@gmail.com
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Opinion
Among the
very many negotiations that are ongoing in the Zimbabwean economy,
there is
a continuing deterioration in relations and collaboration between
employers
and their employees.
Column by Eric Bloch
That decline continues
to threaten the survival of many enterprises, over
and above the great
number which have already ceased to exist and the
numerous others that have
had to resort to substantial downsizing.
Although the ills afflicting
most manufacturing industries and many other
businesses are not solely due
to the confrontational interactions between
management and labour, the
confrontations and tensions that exist between
them are major contributors
to enterprise survival, and hence to the economy
as a whole.
Almost
without exception, Zimbabwe’s labour force believes itself to be
exploited
by employers, the workers being convinced that they are grievously
under-remunerated for the services they provide.
To a major extent,
that conviction is devoid of foundation, save that their
earnings do not
suffice to meet their absolutely essential expenditures.
The inadequacy
of their incomes is largely attributable to the
hyperinflation that
prevailed until late 2008. That was the highest
inflation ever experienced
anywhere in the world, at many septillion
percent.
Since 2009
inflation has markedly declined to levels among the world’s
lowest but not
to the extent of deflation, and hence the 2008 high cost of
living has
continued to prevail. An average family of six needs
approximately US$580
per month, being the income necessary to fund minimum
essentials, or Poverty
Datum Line (PDL).
Moreover, as a consequence of widespread unemployment,
extensive numbers of
HIV-Aids widows and orphans, and the inability of many
to fund essential
healthcare, most Zimbabweans who are income earners now
wholly, or partially
support more than their immediate families, some having
as many as 14
dependants.
As a result of the intense financial
stresses that confront labour, almost
all workers are unable to recognise
that, with very rare exceptions,
employers do not have the resources which
would enable them to pay that
which the workers perceive as their rightful
dues.
The employers’ enterprises were as hard hit by the hyperinflation
as were
the employees, with their operational capital resources having been
eroded.
Employers suffered marked decreases in their sales and consequent
revenue
flows due to the massively diminished spending power of
consumers.
The businesses also suffered immense losses due to non-receipt
of payments
from other businesses, many of which were closed down and
liquidated. While
in a viable economy it is generally possible for
undercapitalised businesses
to access new investment or loan funding from
within the money market, that
has only been marginally possible in recent
years.
For not only have diverse political and economic circumstances
deterred most
from seeking investment, but in addition, the money market has
been
exceptionally illiquid. Such little funding as was available could only
be
accessed at high cost.
Also, many businesses that had been
substantially dependent on exports of
their goods and services were no
longer competitive and therefore lost
further the opportunity to generate
revenue.
The consequences of Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation resulted in a
surge in
production costs and operational overheads. On the other hand,
competitor
exporting countries had lower inflation and in most instances
their costs of
labour and utilities were considerably less than those to
which Zimbabwean
enterprises were exposed.
In addition, many
countries (especially those situate in the Far East)
accorded their
exporters massive incentives and subsidies in order to assure
their
competitiveness.
Had Zimbabwean businesses sought to pay their employees
what they were
demanding, the export of Zimbabwean goods would have declined
even more,
further diminishing opportunities of survival and intensifying
and
accelerating business closures, and attendant
unemployment.
Another factor which has greatly contributed to ongoing
labour
dissatisfaction has been that many of the trade unions have
irrationally
disregarded factual realities, and done all they could to
motivate their
members to intensify their wage demands. The unions have
threatened action
against employers who did not succumb to those
demands.
In fact, the unions have been motivated to do so in order to
enhance their
standing in the eyes of their members, thereby retaining
member support and
their continued existence. Increased member earnings
would enable the unions
to exact higher membership contributions, thereby
swelling the unions’
coffers.
What the unions and most workers fail
to recognise is that while many
employers are highly sympathetic to the
financial pressures, stresses and
near poverty of their employees, they are
just unable to yield to the
employee demands.
They cannot pay what
they do not have. In addition, as beleaguered as the
workers are by their
trying financial circumstances, they fail to recognise
that earning too
little is better than earning nothing at all, and if their
demands are such
as inevitably collapse the employer’s business, then all
workers become
unemployed, with very little prospect of alternative
employment (other than
by recourse to illegal unlawful practices).
The workers also need to
recognise that their very understandable
demoralisation results in massive
demotivation, with the result that their
work productivity decreases, and
also the quality of their work.
This further worsens employers’
circumstances, which in turn results in
further unavoidable barriers to wage
increases, and often, to the total
collapse of the employers’ enterprises,
causing more unemployment.
Employers are often also at fault, failing to
communicate sufficiently to
their employees the factual circumstances of the
economy in general, and of
their businesses in particular.
Some of
them fail to be compassionate to the trying circumstances of those
that they
employ, and to interact with them to find ways of restoring
operational
viability. Most employers also fail to incentivise employees
with
performance-related rewards.
Workers and employers desperately need to
develop mutual understanding and
collaboration to aid the economy regain
viability and strength, and a better
livelihood for all.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Opinion
The decision by
newly appointed Chinese president Xi Jinping to overfly
Zimbabwe en route to
South Africa and then overfly it again on his way back
heading for the DRC
may readily be interpreted as a diplomatic snub for
Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Independent Editorial
However, more closely
examined, it is apparent that Jinping is more
interested in economic matters
than cosy political talk, hence on his maiden
trip around the world, he
visited Russia in an effort to continue the
thawing of relations that went
frosty in the early 1960s.
The two countries are now the kingpins of the
emerging axis of world
economic power now known as the Brics countries, the
other three being
Brazil, India and South Africa.
Inevitably, this is
growing into a new political axis, strong enough to
possibly rival the EU
bloc. It is evident that for Jinping it’s the economy
first.
These
are the tea leaves that need to be read by our own leadership.
Zimbabwe is
still far too engrossed in political rhetoric at the expense of
economic
pragmatism.
If Jinping decided to embark on a political tour, Zimbabwe
would be his
first port of call in Africa. But as it is, he chose Tanzania,
where he
oversaw the signing of several economic co-operation pacts with his
counterpart Jakaya Kikwete.
He will most likely do the same in the
DRC. To elucidate this point further
it may be necessary to go back to the
early days of Uhuru in Africa.
The Organisation of African Unity was a
political animal, while the African
Union has developed Africa’s economy as
its main focus. Granted, the OAU was
central to Africa’s political agenda
but fortunately latter day leaders
quickly realised that it had played its
role and transformed it into
essentially an economic bloc.
Zimbabwe
still seems caught in this politics-first time warp while economic
opportunities pass it by. The IMF is an institution that has drawn harsh
criticism from our politicians but on many occasions its advice is apt, if
not least because it is based on figures it would have been supplied by the
host country.
Last year, it underscored that improving the business
climate is necessary
to strengthen competitiveness, build investor
confidence, and boost the
growth potential.
In particular, they
stressed the importance of ensuring that the
indigenisation and empowerment
policies are implemented in accordance with
transparent rules and preserving
property rights.
To drive home the point of prioritising economic
development, a statement by
Brics summit hosts, South Africa’s Trade and and
Industry minister Dr Rob
Davies, underscored trade and industrialisation on
the continent.
Davies pointed out Africa is the second fastest growing
continent after
Asia, driven mainly by the boom in mineral production, the
development of
the service industries, the benefit of not having the
financial crisis, and
infrastructure development.
Figures from South
Africa’s department of trade and industry bear testimony
to that country’s
economic pragmatism. Trade between that country and its
Bric partners has
risen to nearly US$20 billion.
Davies said African leaders were currently
talking about how
industrialisation would drive the next wave of African
economic development.
As James Carville, campaign strategist for former US
president Bill Clinton
said: “It’s the economy, stupid.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Opinion
THE long-awaited
holding of a constitutional referendum, peacefully as
expected, appears to
have afforded the European Union the grounds it needed
to lift “restrictive
measures” (sanctions) against much of President Robert
Mugabe’s inner
circle.
Candid Comment with Stewart Chabwinja
This is the third
time the EU has eased so-called targeted restrictions on
Zimbabwe in the
past 13 months.
In a statement on Monday, the EU said the suspension of
the assets freeze
and visa ban against 81 Zimbabweans and eight
Zimbabwe-based companies and
organisations was in response to a “peaceful,
successful and credible”
referendum on a new constitution. However, Mugabe
and nine others remain on
the blacklist, including his wife, party leaders
and security chiefs.
That the EU would reward Zanu PF for a
constitutional referendum whose
credibility was never remotely in doubt
suggests the bloc concedes the
measures have woefully failed to
deliver.
In terms of contestation the referendum was a non-event: the
Global
Political Agreement (GPA) trio –– Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC –– were
united in
campaigning for the “Yes” vote since the draft was a product of
their
political horse-trading.
While the EU and the United States
were justified and well within their
rights to slap sanctions on an obdurate
Mugabe regime in 2002 in response to
widespread political repression,
economic mismanagement as well as to
register their displeasure at the
chaotic, violent land grab which
dispossessed their kith and kin, in the
long run the measures have been
ultimately futile and
counterproductive.
Indeed Zanu PF deserved robust censure and action for,
among others, its
subversion of the will of the people through poll rigging
and habitual
resort to intimidation and violence to cow the electorate but,
as the law of
unintended consequences would have it, the measures
unwittingly played into
the hands of the crafty party.
After the
formation of the Government of National Unity in 2009 as a result
of the
sham presidential run-off thanks to another chilling installment of
Zanu
PF’s electoral skullduggery, Sadc –– guarantors of the GPA –– were
quick to
call for the lifting of all of the sanctions.
They reasoned this would be
a major incentive for Zanu PF to observe the
letter and spirit of the
accord. But the West, wary that a cornered but
recalcitrant Zanu PF would
merely use the unity government as time-out to
reorganise, insisted on a
carrot and stick strategy where the party would be
rewarded for fully
implementing reforms outlined in the GPA.
Far from forcing Zanu PF to
change its devious ways, the sanctions became
the one-size-fits-all excuse
the party required for its monumental failures
that including running a once
thriving economy into the ground.
The measures have among others become
the convenient reason why Zanu PF
could not implement GPA reforms as they
tilted the playing ground in the
MDCs’ favour; they are the reason for the
country’s economic decline and
lack of foreign investment; they have
prevented the government from getting
fair prices for diamonds on the
international market and forced it into
covert trade.
It is all
politically expedient baloney, of course. It is common cause that
reasons
for the country’s durable economic morass include the war vets
payout of
1997, the DRC war adventure in 1998-2002, land invasions and
populist
policies. And it is on record that despite full UN sanctions
Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe) flourished through various sanctions-busting
measures to the
extent that its currency was even stronger than that of the
US.
The
debate over the efficacy of sanctions has been extensive and will
continue.
But evidence suggests, as is the case with Zimbabwe, such measures
end up
hurting the common man more than the intended targets.
Meanwhile it is
business as usual for state-machinery-backed Zanu PF; there
are increasingly
frequent patrols by armed police in intimidating vehicles
while the
crackdown on civil society and dissent is being ratcheted up.
The
imminent, crucial polls will be a different ball game altogether.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
March 28, 2013 in Opinion
THE fifth summit of
Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)
countries, the first
in Africa, which ended in Durban yesterday gave further
momentum to efforts
by key representatives of emerging markets and the
developing world to
create a new global order.
Editors Memo with Dumisani
Muleya
Brics, an acronym coined by British economist and retiring
chairman of
Goldman Sachs Asset Management Jim O’Neill, wants to ensure a
new trajectory
in global economic development, while contributing to peace
and security.
In the process, it seeks to contribute towards establishing
a more equitable
and fair world.
Its emergence has now come to
symbolise a gradual shift in global economic
power away from the developed
G7 economies to emerging markets, hence
needless hostility by some Western
administrations and interested parties.
Attempts at achieving this have
been underway for some time, with the
Emerging and Growth-Leading Economies
(Eagles), which include Brics members
and other economies like South Korea,
Malaysia, Taiwan, Mexico, Indonesia,
Thailand, Turkey, Egypt and Nigeria,
among others, being another such
initiative.
The eThekwini
Declaration, named after the alternate name for Durban, set
the future
agenda for the bloc by launching a Brics business council; five
think tanks;
multilateral infrastructure financing agreements; and a
development bank as
part of its bid to promote global growth, sustain
macro-economic stability
and investments.
This came at a time when the world is facing multiple
challenges on which
Brics got a useful and timely opportunity to consult and
co-ordinate.
Brics has also been urging faster movement on reform of
institutions of
global political and economic governance, while encouraging
different forms
of engagement to encourage global peace and
security.
While it is important to analyse and critique the Brics
initiative, there is
need to support such initiatives to reform and redefine
the global
political, security and economic order to ensure
progress.
Even if Brics controls 21% of the world’s US$70 trillion
economy and 43% of
its seven billion population, it won’t be easy to ensure
change in a
unipolar world controlled by a domineering United States, the
only
superpower.
Besides a deeply entrenched prevailing order and
resistance to reform, Brics
does not as yet have the critical mass to secure
sustainable change.
Therefore Brics countries must not unnecessarily come
across as hostile
rivals to Western institutions, but progressive
counterweights in the
balance of power.
Besides, Brics also has its
own internal dynamics, including serious flaws,
and hence needs to shelve
its differences over strategic objectives to
establish more common
interests.
Its member states have different social systems and follow
different
ideologies. Its member states are some of the most unequal
societies on
earth and instead of capitalising from each other’s advantages
they might
multiply and reproduce their defects.
The good thing
though is they largely have shared interests and hold
comparable views on
how to address the pressing issues obstructing global
development. Given
their huge potential they can bring measurable changes
across the
world.
There is an urgent need to establish a peaceful international
system and
promote democracy and equality in international relations, as
opposed to the
current Cold War approach. The only trouble though is besides
India, Brazil
and South Africa, the two biggest Brics member states, China
and Russia, are
authoritarian.
Many countries around the world want a
fairer and more equitable global
economic and financial order to replace the
one dominated by major developed
economies, especially the US due to its
control over global institutions,
including the International Monetary Fund
and World Bank.
So Brics’ strategic objective to help shape a more
democratic, fairer,
multipolar world, and ensure the United Nations plays
the central role in
world affairs is useful. China and Russia are permanent
UN Security Council
members.
And if India, Brazil and South Africa
succeed in getting permanent security
council seats, it will further bolster
Brics’ position and influence while
helping in the creation of a new global
order.
