http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:30
Dumisani Muleya/Faith Zaba
THE Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF)
is investigating the two senior army
commanders who strongly criticised
their boss General Constantine Chiwenga
(pictured), describing him as a
“political general” with “little practical
military experience or
expertise”. The remarks were made at secret meetings
with top United States
diplomats whom President Robert Mugabe considers
enemies of the
state.
Revelations of military manoeuvres to probe Major-General Fidelis
Satuku and
Brigadier-General Herbert Chingono for clandestinely sniping at
their chief
and possibly court-martial them afterwards on treason charges
could trigger
an avalanche of punitive measures against senior Zanu PF
officials who also
met US envoys to discuss Mugabe’s succession and
future.
This comes as latest information shows senior Joint
Operations Command (JOC)
members are angry and pressing Mugabe to act
against top Zanu PF and
government officials, as well as military commanders
implicated in
clandestine meetings with US diplomats to discuss sensitive
political and
security issues. JOC brings together the army, police and
intelligence
chiefs.
Army spokesperson Colonel Overson Mugwizi
confirmed to the Zimbabwe
Independent this week the two army commanders,
still reporting for duty,
were under investigation. After the
investigations, if the two generals are
found to have any case to answer,
they could be court-martialled and could
face imprisonment if convicted, or
even a death sentence, although that is
unlikely.
A court-martial
is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed
forces using
martial law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide
upon
punishment
Mugwizi said in serious disciplinary cases like this, the
military
thoroughly investigates the matter before deciding on what course
of action
to take. “WikiLeaks is a new phenomenon. But in internal matters
to do with
discipline, we investigate and then take appropriate action,” he
said.
“Where there is need for public consumption of the findings, we make
our
findings public. In this case we are likely to do
that.”
Asked if Chingono and Satuku would be court-martialled,
Mugwizi said it
would depend on the outcome of
investigations.
“This is done on a case by case basis. Normally as
the military we don’t
take time investigating. We will be advised by the
outcome,” he pointed out.
“Court-martialling depends on the nature of the
offence. Investigations will
determine the next plan of action. They are
(the generals) at work –
remember you are innocent until proven
guilty.”
According to the Defence Forces Act, if found with cases to
answer, the two
commanders would have to be arrested before being
court-martialled within
eight days.
Intelligence sources say
Chiwenga and CIO Director-General Happyton
Bonyongwe are “gravely concerned”
about the situation and want decisive
measures taken to deal with senior
Zanu PF and government officials, in
addition to military or intelligence
officers, who might have compromised
national security through certain
disclosures to US envoys.
Information gathered this week from
military and intelligence sources
further indicate JOC bosses worried US and
other foreign diplomats and their
agents could have penetrated and
compromised the system. American diplomats
have particularly been running
rings around the system as shown by releases
of US secret cables by
WikiLeaks.
The Americans infiltrated the system all the way up to the
level of the
vice-president’s office and top ZDF echelons. Current US
ambassador Charles
Ray even managed to secretively meet Vice-President Joice
Mujuru in December
2009 when she was acting president. Ray met also Mugabe
on Tuesday to
exchange notes of “partnership and cooperation” issues.
Although the cables
scandal was not discussed, diplomatic sources said the
veteran US envoy
wanted to “gauge Mugabe’s mood” and “put out feelers” about
the current
situation at the highest level.
JOC chiefs also
feared the security establishment could have been
infiltrated by foreign
diplomats, operatives and their moles.
“JOC bosses, mainly Chiwenga
and Bonyongwe, are alarmed by the situation.
They want measures taken to
rectify the situation,” a senior intelligence
officer said. “Their worry is
that if this is not dealt with it will leave
the whole system compromised
and could undermine national security.”
However, high-level official
sources say Mugabe is in a “state of paralysis”
and does not know what to
do. This was confirmed by his failure to tackle
the issue at the Zanu PF
politburo meeting on Wednesday.
Satuku and Chingono were quoted in
leaked diplomatic cables dispatched in
January last year by Ray saying ZDF
commander Chiwenga was a “political
general” with “little practical military
experience or expertise”.
According to a secret cable by Ray, Satuku
and Chingono took “grave personal
risk” to attend the private meetings.
According to the cable, the two
generals took time to explain to Ray the
situation and dynamics in the
military. They spoke about Chiwenga’s
political ambitions, different views
and opinions within the army,
conditions of service, sanctions and politics.
“Ambassador met
privately on January 5 (2010) with Brigadier General Herbert
Chingono,
Inspector General for the ZNA, and on January 6 with Major General
Fidelis
Satuku, Director General for Policy and Personnel, ZDF. These two
serving
military officers took a grave personal risk meeting with us, and
their
identities should be strictly protected,” Ray said.
“In the current
environment, they risk being charged with treason for an
unsanctioned
meeting with US officials, and that could have fatal
consequences.”
As a
result, the cables by Ray marked around the names of Satuku and
Chingono
“strictly protect”.
Ray said if their identities were revealed that
could lead to “treason”
charges because only those generals aligned to
Mugabe and Zanu PF were
allowed to dabble in politics.
“Except
for those who are fully in bed with Zanu PF, people keep their views
private
to avoid being accused of treason, which can have fatal
consequences,” he
said.
Chingono, an artillery officer, was the last Zimbabwe National
Army
commander to train at the United States National Defence University
under
the International Military Education and Training programme, while
Satuku
received his military training in Britain.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:29
Wongai Zhangazha
CENTRAL Intelligence Organisation (CIO)
Director-General Happyton Bonyongwe
has been accused of “doctoring” reports
compiled by the agency’s operatives
meant for President Robert Mugabe’s
attention, mainly prior to the March
2008 elections.
This sensational
charge was made by Zanu PF politburo member and former
Information minister
Jonathan Moyo to ex-US ambassador to Zimbabwe
Christopher Dell at a meeting
on March 30 2007, according to leaked American
embassy
cables.
One of the cables dated March 30 2007 says Moyo told Dell
Bonyongwe
supported former Zanu PF politburo member and ex-Finance minister
Simba
Makoni who was challenging Mugabe during the 2008
polls.
Moyo, the cable says, claimed Bonyongwe had held discussions
with the late
former army commander General Solomon Mujuru over his support
for Makoni.
Other cables say Mujuru and former Zanu PF politburo member and
ex-Home
Affairs minister Dumiso Dabengwa initiated the Makoni
candidacy.
“With regard to the CIO, Moyo said Mugabe had received
information that CIO
Director-(General) Happyton Bonyongwe had been
conferring with Solomon
Mujuru,” the cable reads.
“Furthermore,
he (Moyo) had received information from CIO sub-directors that
Bonyongwe was
doctoring information. Believing Mujuru to be involved with
both military
and CIO dissension, Mugabe had summoned Mujuru. According to
Mugabe, Mujuru
had not yet responded. Meanwhile, a massive shakeup was
underway in the
security services, with many re-assignments within and
between agencies
being made in order to break up potential coup-plotting
networks.”
Furthermore, Moyo said most people in Zanu PF,
including Defence minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa and Justice minister Patrick
Chinamasa, wanted Mugabe to
step down and pave way for a new leader, as they
believed that Mugabe would
be defeated in the 2008
elections.
Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF allies, including Moyo, were
said to have thought
of forming a breakaway party after the Tsholotsho
debacle in 2004, according
to the cables. They also said later Moyo was the
architect behind plans to
form another new party, the New Patriotic Front.
He suggested either Makoni,
telecoms mogul Strive Masiyiwa or Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono could be
the leader.
In a related matter,
NMB managing director James Mushore, who is said to be
a nephew of Mujuru,
met US embassy officials on February 28 2008 and also
indicated that
Bonyongwe and his uncle supported Makoni’s candidacy.
“Mushore mused
about an ideal scenario under which Solomon Mujuru and CIO
chief Happyton
Bonyongwe came out for Makoni two days before the election,
insinuating
Bonyongwe’s support for Makoni as well,” one of the cables say.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011 18:27
Paul
Nyakazeya
GOVERNMENT contradicted itself sharply on the indigenisation
policy at the
Mining Indaba, a forum for the mining industry that began in
the capital on
Wednesday and ends today.
Mines and Mining Development
minister Obert Mpofu told the gathering that
government did not have any
intention to cancel any mining licence held by
foreign
companies.
This contradicted an earlier statement by the
Indigenisation minister and
fellow Zanu PF member Saviour Kasukuwere to the
effect that government would
revoke licences of foreign mining companies
that failed to comply with the
indigenisation laws, citing Zimplats and
Caledonia in particular.
“There are no intentions for government to
revoke licences of any mining
company. Technically how can you do so when
there are discussions between
the Ministry of Indigenisation and the foreign
mines?” Mpofu asked.
Addressing participants at the same event,
Economic Planning and Investment
Promotion minister Tapiwa Mashakada,
concurred with Mpofu.
“There have been fears that mines will lose
their licences, but that is not
the view of government. The relevant
authorities are working on a rational
solution that will not destabilise the
mining sector,” Mashakada said.
The indigenisation law, enacted in
2007 but only being forcefully
implemented now, imposes on foreign owned
companies to sell a 51% stake to
local designated black-owned entities.
Kasukuwere maintained the law should
be followed and an outcome that will
benefit locals and foreign investors
was expected and had to be
respected.
“In disposing of the 51% equity to indigenous Zimbabweans,
it is paramount
that the policy objective of broad-based empowerment is
adhered to,” he
said.
A miner with a foreign-owned company said
it was important for ministries to
respect each other’s jurisdictions and
know their boundaries.
“We expected that announcement (canceling of
licences) to come from the
Mines ministry. From our understanding he
(Kasukuwere) presents his
recommendations to Mpofu’s ministry, who will in
turn take action if there
is merit to the Indigenisation ministry’s
findings. There is also need to
explain how the 51% threshold was reached,”
said the miner.
A delegate who attended the Indaba told the
Independent that no one was
against empowerment, but it did not have to be
implemented by threatening to
withdraw licences of companies that failed to
comply with the policy.
“Surely it is not helpful to threaten someone
in public when you are
discussing in private. If the economy is to recover
at a faster pace some
people should throw away their political hats when
dealing with business
issues that are sensitive to future investments,” he
said
l Meanwhile, Mpofu also said that government will not pull out
of KPS
because “there can never be KPS without Zimbabwe”.
“You
can never push out a giant in an organisation and think you can
survive.
Zimbabwe is a big player in the mining business and cannot be
ignored,”
Mpofu said.
Mpofu said the international community alleged that
Zimbabwe was not
transparent when it came to minerals.
“What
people forget it that this industry is very sensitive area. In some
countries information on who is buying diamonds is private information,
including how much carats are produced. We will never be part of a private
system that will be used against us in future,” he said.
Analysts
say the Economic Empowerment Act, passed four years ago, is now
literally a
patchwork of amendments, shortly after promulgation. From this
initial
stockpile of conceptual mistakes, government has also made some
“discoveries” and retooled the legislation, tightening rather than relaxing
fundamental provisions, particularly those pertaining to alluvial
diamonds.
Chamber of Mines president Winston Chitando said the mining
industry was in
favour of a broad-based indigenisation framework that
enhanced the growth of
the industry.
“Discussions are going on in
terms of implementation and we are looking
forward to a win-win situation,”
he said.
The Zimbabwe Investment Authority has indicated that
projects valued at
US$941 million have been approved in the first six months
of 2011 compared
to US$131 million during the same period last year,” said
Chitando.
“The mining industry projects accounted for US$260 million
in 2011 compared
to US$80 million in 2010.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011 18:26
Wongai
Zhangazha
NMB Bank co-founder and managing director James Mushore
suggested that the
US blocks the importation of paper used to print money
from Germany as a
measure to choke the government’s access to cash.
Money
printing was crucial for the survival of President Robert Mugabe’s
government in the run-up to the March 2008 general
elections.
According to leaked US embassy cables released by
WikiLeaks, Mushore told a
US embassy economic officer on February 28 2008
that Zimbabwe’s extreme
printing of money was an attempt to “buy the
election”.
“The government of Zimbabwe’s ability to print money is
key to the regime’s
survival…. he said the GOZ was printing Z$24,2
trillion/day in Z$10 million
notes at Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe-owned
Fidelity Printers in Harare, and
purchasing 432 000 sheets of notepaper per
week from the German company
Giesecke & Devrient,” the cable
reads.
Mushore said the government was printing Z$24,2 trillion a day
(which was
equivalent to US$1,2 million per day at the cash parallel rate)
at maximum
capacity and an “equal amount of currency is being imported from
the German
printer Giesecke & Devrient in an attempt to buy the election
at any cost”.
“Mushore implored the USG (United States Government) to
intercede to put
pressure on the German printer to stop supplying printing
paper and
banknotes to the GOZ,” reads the cable.
Mushore further
claimed that due to power outages the RBZ governor Gideon
Gono outfitted the
printer with enough power generators to ensure 24/7
production. However,
even at maximum production, Fidelity printers was still
unable to meet RBZ’s
“roaring demand for cash”.
“To meet the shortfall, Mushore said the
RBZ on February 5 had subcontracted
the German printer to supply an equal
daily amount of currency directly from
Germany.”
According to the
cable, Mushore said the government was desperate for cash
at any cost to
“buy votes” and to purchase foreign exchange on the parallel
market to
ensure that fuel, water, and electricity, goods and food were
widely
available in the run-up to the March 29 elections.
“He said the
German ambassador had been informed of the arrangement with the
German
printer but he was not aware of any action she might have taken.
Mushore
added that detailed information about the printing operation in
Germany had
been provided to The Sunday Times of London in an attempt by the
opposition
to ‘name and shame’, and the newspaper was considering publishing
the
story,” reads the cable.
The German company stopped printing bank
notes following requests by the
German government and international calls
for sanctions from the EU and UN
in July 2008.
In a closely related
matter, Standard Charted Bank chief executive officer
Washington Matsaire
told US ambassador Christopher Dell in 2006 that he
feared the government
would devalue the Zimbabwe dollar at the onset of the
tobacco selling season
aimed at making significant returns since most
officials were involved in
farming.
Matsaire met Dell on April 3 2006 just before the start of
the tobacco
selling season. Matsaire was sceptical that the relative
“stability” on the
parallel market was going to persist.
On the diplomatic scene, China’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Xin Shunkang
expressed dissatisfaction with the Zimbabwe government’s failure to
“implement correct policies” which attract foreign investment during a
courtesy visit to US ambassador Charles Ray.
Shunkang is quoted
saying Zimbabwe’s policies were creating tension between
the two countries
in their business dealings.
In a cable dated December 21 2009
Shunkang told Ray that Chinese companies
were “currently experiencing
problems doing business with the government of
Zimbabwe because of lack of
coordination among and between ministries”.
Shunkang said attitudes on land
reform had blocked a proposed agricultural
demonstration
project.
“When Zimbabwe was ruled by one party, Xin said, Chinese
companies found it
easy to do business here. Now they face difficulties
because often an
agreement made with one ministry will be countermanded by
another. Zanu-PF
and MDC must learn to get along,” Shunkang is quoted as
saying.
He further said as the more experienced member of the partnership,
Zanu PF
had the greater responsibility whenever the two parties fought, but
nothing
happened.
Shunkang said though they were close friends
with Zimbabwe, there were some
tensions between the governments’
relationship.
“China has, for instance, proposed an agricultural
demonstration project to
teach improved farming, but it has been blocked
because of the Zimbabwean
hang-up over land ownership. He said that China
understands the importance
of land to Zimbabweans and that redistribution of
the land since
independence was necessary, but ownership is meaningless if
the land is not
utilised properly,” reads the cable.
Former South
African ambassador to Zimbabwe Mlungisi Makalima told Ray in
December 2009
that political progress in Zimbabwe was being impeded by Zanu
PF’s failure
to manage its internal cohesion well.
“There is a lot of disaffection
within the party, making it difficult to get
a coordinated response, and
this has given the hardliners the upper hand.
The problem, according to
Makalima, is that Zanu PF seems to lack vision and
direction and this he
said was creating internal problems that will someday
come back to haunt
Mugabe and the other senior leadership,” says the cable.
Makalima
said though there was a need to continue strengthening a democratic
opposition, it was crucial that it finds ways to engage productively with
Zanu PF, “in particular to identify potential reform-minded moderates within
the party”.
Makalima thought that the idea of security sector
reform in the country was
“absolutely essential, as without it there is
little chance of political or
economic reforms being
sustainable”.
However, Makhalima said all parties had to be
engaged.
“Failure of security sector reform could cause unimaginable
chaos which
would threaten the stability of the entire region. US support
for security
reform is important, but there should be no US fingerprints on
the programme
to avoid arousing the suspicions of and possible disruption
from hardliners
in Zanu PF who continue to believe our main aim is regime
change,” reads the
cable.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:25
Brian Chitemba
THE Bulawayo City Council has instituted a
forensic audit of its vast
properties dotted around the city amid reports
that the local authority has
lost records for most of its buildings.
The
inventory comes following revelations that tenants who were given
10-year
leases in 1970 were still occupying the properties and no longer
paying
rentals.
Bulawayo’s 29 councillors held an emergency meeting on
Wednesday afternoon
to push for the audit of properties which should be
generating revenue for
the cash–strapped local authority.
The
council has several properties ranging from high density houses, sports
clubs, shops and community halls, but council has lost records of some of
the infrastructure.
Some councillors privately told the Zimbabwe
Independent yesterday that they
were pushing for an audit of properties
immediately because suspicion
abounds that housing department officials who
knew council had no record of
certain buildings were collecting rentals for
their personal use.
The council caucus meeting made it clear that
those found with invalid or
bogus leases would be
evicted.
According to sources, some councillors felt this stance
would be too harsh
on poor residents occupying council houses, particularly
in the rundown high
density suburb of Makokoba and Iminyela.
A
long serving councillor indicated that city fathers had passed a similar
resolution early last year, but it was completely ignored. The late former
Town Clerk Stanley Donga passed away while pushing for an inventory of all
council houses, sports clubs and halls.
“The council’s estate
department which manages leases has a shambolic record
of properties,” said
the councillor. “They don’t know that some of the
buildings scattered around
town are owned by council, but all that will be
sorted after the
audit.”
Repeated efforts to get a comment from Mayor Thaba Moyo were
fruitless.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011 18:25
Nqobile
Bhebhe
DEPUTY Foreign Affairs minister Robert Makhula has claimed that
the
government did not expel Libyan ambassador Taher Elmagrahi and his staff
after they defected to the National Transitional Council following the fall
of long–time eccentric leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Makhula said the envoys
“were simply asked to go back to Libya and receive
credentials from the new
authority since the NTC had no diplomatic mandate
at this stage to assign
ambassadors to other countries”.
Zimbabwe’s rushed deportation of the
Libyan embassy staff raised eyebrows
over the country’s foreign policy since
Zimbabwe has very close and personal
relations with
Gaddafi.
Makhhula said no firm decision had been taken on the
country’s trade
agreements entered into with the Gaddafi regime “as we
cannot pinpoint where
Gaddafi is at the moment”.
However, the
expelled envoy Elmagrahi recommended that all business deals
entered into
between Gaddafi and the then Zanu PF-led government be
cancelled.
There are few known Libyan investments in Zimbabwe.
However, the largest
known investment, a 14% stake in a local bank through
the Libyan central
bank, would remain unaffected by the power shift in
Tripoli.
Libya provided millions of dollars in direct aid and vast
quantities in
subsidised fuel to Harare as part of Mugabe and Gaddafi’s
enduring
friendship.
Meanwhile, Makhhula said his boss Simbarashe
Mumbengegwi had shut him out of
most of the functions and operations of the
department since he was
appointed to the post last year.
Makhula
said he was treated like a total stranger in the ministry and was
completely
bypassed by officials in his office who report directly to
Mumbengegwi.
“After carrying out assignments and producing reports, staff
members bypass
me and hand the reports directly to the minister without my
knowledge,” said
Makhula.
“When I try to retrieve the reports
from the minister’s office, it becomes a
struggle. I am doing nothing in
the ministry,” he said.
He said Mumbengegwi merely assigned certain
tasks and gave him no feedback
at all.
The Nkayi senator said
this probably stemmed from the frosty working
relations Mumbengegwi had with
his former deputy Moses Mzila-Ndlovu.
“The two were not on good terms
but I have been working toward closing
ranks,” said Makhula.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:24
Paidamoyo Muzulu
INDUSTRY and Trade minister Welshman Ncube
(pictured above) has dismissed
President Robert Mugabe’s call for elections
in March next year as a Zanu PF
ploy to divert attention away from
implementing democratic reforms and to
keep its storm troopers
mobilised.
Ncube’s remarks come in the aftermath of Mugabe’s address to
parliament
which prioritisied bills that would pave way for the holding of
polls.
Ncube, who is also president of the smaller MDC formation,
told the Zimbabwe
Independent on Wednesday that it was impossible to hold
elections in March
because the constitutional review process would not have
been completed.
“We know there won’t be any elections because there
would be no referendum
before March next year,” said Ncube. “The election
call is to keep the Zanu
PF storm troopers like Jabulani Sibanda on the
march.”
He said the actual drafting of the constitution had not
started and would be
halted between December and January since no government
work takes place
during that period. Mugabe and most of his cabinet
ministers go on leave at
that time of the year.
Zanu PF, Ncube
said, wanted people to remain in election mode, therefore
concentrating on
preparing for polls while conveniently ignoring requisite
reforms.
He
added: “Zanu PF’s strategy is that when people are kept in election mode,
its supporters would not openly discuss the succession issue and, therefore,
guaranteeing Mugabe’s candidacy. They want people like Jabulani Sibanda to
remain in an election state of mind because Zanu PF doesn’t want them
demobilised, and they can only do that by lying.”
Ncube revealed
that his party would continue piling pressure on the
coalition government to
implement reforms as stipulated in the 2008
Sadc-facilitated
GPA.
“We must keep our eyes focused on electoral reforms, such as the
setting up
of the Human Rights Commission and media reforms to allow the
entry of new
players in the electronic media. The roadmap is agreed and
therefore we
should focus on implementing it,” Ncube said.
Zanu
PF is on record saying it would not make any further reform concessions
to
the MDC formations.
Mugabe insists that the only outstanding GPA
issues are the holding of a
constitutional referendum and elections.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011 18:23
THE US ambassador to
Zimbabwe, Charles Ray, in January 2010 met with two
army generals who
criticised the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander
Constantine Chiwenga. In a
cable to Washington that has since been made
public by WikiLeaks, the
generals were quoted saying Chiwenga had little
military experience and was
more of a “political general”. The generals have
reportedly landed in hot
soup and may face a court martial. Below is Ray’s
edited cable.
A view
from the trenches
Ambassador and DATT met privately on January 5 with
Brigadier General
Herbert Chingono, inspector general for the ZNA, and on
January 6 with Major
General Fidelis Satuku, director general for policy and
personnel, ZDF.
These two serving military officers took a grave personal
risk meeting with
us, and their identities should be strictly
protected.
In the current environment, they risk being charged with treason
for an
unsanctioned meeting with US officials, and that could have fatal
consequences.
Chingono, an artillery officer, was the last ZNA officer to
train under the
Imet programme, graduating from NDU in 1999, while Satuku
received training
in England. Both participated in the fight for
independence as teenagers
and received commissions for that participation.
Unlike some of the senior
military who came out of the struggle, however,
they sought to develop
professional military credentials.
Chingono said
that the most senior ranks of the ZDF are so entwined with the
Zanu PF party
as to be practically indistinguishable. This is particularly
frustrating
for those officers who would like to focus on developing a
professional
military force that can be an effective national army, and can
at the same
time play a constructive role in the southern African region.
This situation
has been exacerbated since the ZDF came under the leadership
of General
Constantine Chiwenga, a man with little practical military
experience (he
was a political commissar before 1980), who has clear
political ambitions.
Chingono said that once Chiwenga called a meeting of
senior officers that
started at 10:00 in the morning and went on until 9:30
pm, which discussed
economics and politics, but not once did a military
issue come up.
He
said that near the end of the meeting, as he consulted his notes, he
turned
to a colleague next to him and asked, “Why have we not discussed how
to
teach soldiers to shoot straight, how to better feed and clothe them?”
This
was, he said, a purely rhetorical question, as, given a choice between
a
military and a political issue, Chiwenga will always choose the political
because he doesn’t know enough about the military to be comfortable
discussing it. Satuku, who works directly for Chiwenga at the Defence
Ministry, said that he is hardworking, coming to his office at 7:30 am and
staying until 10:00 at night, but he spends his time on political
issues.
A political general
Both officers stressed Chiwenga’s political
ambitions repeatedly. Chingono
said, “He will be very disappointed if he
does not get a political position
when his tenure as defence chief
ends.”
His politics, however, could very well be his undoing. His frequent
political statements have upset and worried some Zanu PF politicians, and
about five months ago Mugabe reportedly called him and chastised him for
it.
Comment
This comes as no big surprise. People who do
not hesitate to use the
military to enforce and buttress their hold on power
have to be concerned
that a member of that very same military might one day
use it against them.
What is surprising is that Mugabe himself took a hand
in the matter.
This seems to counter rumours we’ve heard that he is under the
control of
the military.
No military factions
In response to a
question about factions within the military, Chingono said
that he would
take issue with the view because factions imply that there is
leadership
around which they can coalesce. What there are, he said, are
different
attitudes and opinions. There are those who fully support Zanu
PF, have no
compunction about engaging in violence when the party orders it,
and who are
intensely political. Others recognise that the military has
been used
improperly, and in some instances, illegally, and would like to
get back to
the business of developing a professional military. They worry
about
morale, discipline, and training of the troops. Still others are
fence
sitters — they could be professional military or thugs — waiting to
see who
comes out on top, and will cast their lot with the winning side just
to
survive. With the exception of those who are loyal Zanu PF tools, no one
dares publicly air their views. The consequences of such rashness could be
fatal.
Comment
Pomona Barracks weapons theft, when several soldiers,
including at least one
officer who fought in the liberation war, were
tortured and several died,
demonstrates how the hardliners treat those on
the “out”.
Chingono said that on the issue of sanctions, the key people on
the list
probably don’t really care, as they have other avenues of funding.
Hurt by
them, though, are other officers who are not on the list. He spoke
of one
brigadier general who was in Kenya for training who was unable to get
his
salary remitted through the banking system because of
sanctions.
While they would like to see them lifted, they are realistic
enough to know
this won’t happen in the short term. The fence sitters,
however, could be
swayed by some flexibility in sanctions relating to
state-owned enterprises,
as this would show that there is hope.
What does
the future hold?
Regarding predictions on the future of Zimbabwe, both
officers expressed
cautious optimism. Military personnel who are older and
more experienced
take a pragmatic view of difficulties compared to the
younger generation.
Life, they said, teaches us to expect a certain amount of
difficulty and
conflict, and the situation with the current coalition
government is no
different. Anyone who thinks there would be little or no
conflict in such
an arrangement is very naive. Having said that, it is
essential that both
sides in the coalition government work out their
differences because they
owe it to the people who elected them. The people
of Zimbabwe want to be
able to live their lives in peace; they want a house,
a car, and education
for their children. Many, perhaps even most, in the
military want to be
able to pursue their profession in an honourable
manner.
When the government, or the press, report that everything is rosy,
they
said, it is time to be suspicious, because it means they are concealing
something. The events of 2008 when the military was used to violate the
human rights of those who opposed Zanu PF are, Chingono said, hopefully an
anomaly that will never happen again. When asked why officers who want to
be professional didn’t oppose such employment, he said, “In a professional
military, you can be court-martialled for failing to carry out an
order.”
Comment
This raises questions of culpability for following an
illegal order, similar
to the arguments advanced at the Nuremberg Tribunal
after WWII, but one can
also see the motivation for this, given the
potentially fatal consequences
here in Zimbabwe.
Chingono said that if
the West insists on prosecution of all personnel
involved in the 2008
violence and the killings in Matabeleland, this is
likely to ensure that
those in power will do everything to retain that
power.
The ambassador
pointed out that these are issues that the people of Zimbabwe
have to
decide, but that there should at least be some forum established to
allow
healing. Regarding any military involvement in violent land seizures,
however, this is a politically-motivated criminal act, perpetrators can be
identified, and the legal system should take appropriate action.
Both
Chingono and Satuku said they would like to see re-engagement with the
US
military because they and many of their colleagues are impressed with the
flexibility and resilience of American military personnel. They also think
that the generation of military officers that will follow them could benefit
from exposure to American military professionalism.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:21
ON March 30 2007, Former Information minister Jonathan Moyo met the
US
ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell and spoke on a number of issues
affecting the southern African nation. Dell wrote a cable to Washington on
his revealing meeting with Moyo. Below is the edited version of the
cable.
By Christopher Dell
Jonathan Moyo, former Minister of
Information and erstwhile Mugabe intimate,
told the ambassador March 30
(2007) that Mugabe is aware that there is
diminishing support for him within
Zanu PF and around the country. However,
if Mugabe decides to run for
president again in 2008, Moyo said it is
unlikely his decision will be
successfully challenged from within the ruling
party. Moyo does not expect
the Zanu PF central committee on March 31 to
deal definitively with the
succession issue one way or another.
Moyo noted that Mugabe genuinely
fears “hanging” if he leaves office and
suggested international guarantees
for his safety could help persuade Mugabe
to go. The ambassador responded
that this was a decision for the Zimbabwean
people.
Moyo urged
the US to expand our outreach to Zanu PF moderates. The
ambassador said we
were working to do so but that many Zanu PF moderates
were afraid to meet
with us. Moyo urged the US to send positive signals
about the post-Mugabe
future as this could help convince many party
stalwarts to abandon
Mugabe.
The ambassador briefed Moyo on the principles for
reengagement agreed to at
last week’s London meeting of like-minded
countries. Moyo welcomed the
principles, but noted that given Zimbabwean
sensitivities it would be better
to refer to “internationally assisted” vice
“internationally supervised”
elections. On sanctions, Moyo accepted the
placing of policy makers and
their families on sanctions lists, but urged us
not to list parliamentarians
who are not members of either the Zanu PF
politburo or central committee.
Run-Up to March 30 central committee
meeting
Moyo told the ambassador that Mugabe was stung by criticism
at the Zanu PF
December conference of his decision to extend his term until
2010. About a
month ago, he asked Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa and
Emmerson
Mnangagwa, who had advised him on succession in 2005, to update
options.
They produced a package of suggestions that included: (1) 2008
harmonised
presidential and parliamentary elections; (2) an expanded
parliament (to
take care of some of Mugabe’s supporters; (3) a
constitutional amendment
providing for parliamentary election of a new
president in the event of the
president’s death or incapacity (replacing the
present system whereby the
acting vice-president takes over for 90 days,
followed by new presidential
elections).
In presenting the
package, according to Moyo, Chinamasa and Mnangagwa
assumed Mugabe would not
run.
Outside of Mugabe’s inner circle, most of Zanu PF wanted him to
step down,
and they saw the package as a vehicle to facilitate this. Mugabe
liked
their suggestions and surprised them by saying he would be the 2008
candidate.
Moyo informed the ambassador that after stating his
intention to run, Mugabe
sent teams to all the provinces to gauge his
support among party members,
business leaders, security forces, civil
society, and the churches. Moyo
was aware of the results from seven
provinces; the clear sentiment was that
he should not run
again.
Mugabe had hoped, according to Moyo, to have positive
responses from the
provinces that he could then use at the March 28
politburo meeting and March
30 central committee meeting to leverage support
for his 2008 candidacy.
However, because of the lack of support from the
provinces, Mugabe largely
dampened discussion of 2008 in the politburo
meeting. Moyo also believed no
decisions would be taken at the central
committee meeting, which many had
hoped would result in a date for the
election as well as a candidate, beyond
some posturing by Mugabe and his
Zanu PF rivals.
Dissension in the ranks
Moyo said he
thought it highly unlikely the military would act on its own
and stage a
coup. The surviving members of the General Staff of the
Zimbabwe African
National Liberation Army (Zanla) had recently approached
both General
Solomon Mujuru and Mnangagwa to urge Mugabe’s retirement. They
believed
Mugabe would be defeated in 2008, and it was important for Zanu PF
to put
forward another candidate to win and preserve liberation gains.
Mujuru’s
response was to have the leaders talk to Mnangagwa; Mnangagwa in
turn
rebuffed them, saying the central committee had replaced the high
command as
a political decision maker.
With regard to the CIO, Moyo said Mugabe
had received information that CIO
director Happyton Bonyongwe had been
conferring with Solomon Mujuru.
Furthermore, he had received information
from CIO sub-directors that
Bonyongwe was doctoring
information.
Believing Mujuru to be involved with both military and CIO
dissension,
Mugabe had summoned Mujuru. According to Mugabe, Mujuru had not
yet
responded.
Meanwhile, a massive shakeup was underway in the
security services, with
many re-assignments within and between agencies
being made in order to break
up potential coup-plotting
networks.
On 2008 Elections
Moyo said he believed that
Zanu PF opponents of Mugabe would prefer a
government of national unity with
a presidential election postponed until
2010. However, if they failed to
achieve this and Mugabe ran, he would not
be challenged from within the
party. But neither would he have strong party
support. For this reason,
advancement of parliamentary elections to 2008
would be important so that
Zanu PF MPs would get out the vote.
With Mugabe as candidate, the rallying
cry of the opposition, against the
backdrop of a desperate economy, would be
“Mugabe must go”. Moyo believed
that a Zanu PF party led by Mugabe was
likely to lose any election.
He commented, however, that the MDC is also weak
at the moment.
Additionally, because of the polarisation of Zimbabwean
politics and
stigmatisation of the MDC, many traditional Zanu PF voters
would find it
difficult to vote for the MDC. To be effective, Moyo thought
the MDC would
have to somehow rise above its history. Moyo commented that
the MDC has
convinced supporters that with rigged elections, registration is
a futile
exercise. He argued that the MDC must get young people to
register. Then,
if an election were rigged, they would feel they had been
robbed and would
react.
Exit strategy for Mugabe, fear of
prosecution
Moyo observed that Zimbabwe has an active human rights
community, and many
Zimbabweans want Mugabe held accountable for his
excesses. He added that
the example of Charles Taylor’s expulsion from
Nigeria and subsequent
delivery to The Hague Special Court was particularly
worrying for Mugabe,
who had told Mnangagwa that he feared being hung. Moyo
inquired about the US
position on immunity for Mugabe.
The ambassador
replied that we would respect the wishes of the Zimbabwean
people and would
understand if they wanted to put the Mugabe era behind them
and not work for
his prosecution. Nevertheless, the ambassador noted “the
dictator’s
dilemma”, who can give the guarantees he wants and how could he
trust
them?
On renewed international engagement and sanctions noting the widespread
opposition to Mugabe within Zanu PF, Moyo argued for greater engagement with
moderates to explain US positions. There is growing opposition to Mugabe
within the party, and a better understanding of US positions could help
convince party stalwarts to abandon him. The ambassador agreed this was
important and said we would expand our efforts, including the hosting of
lunches and receptions for parliamentarians, but that many in the party and
government had refused to meet with us.
The ambassador discussed in
general terms with Moyo principles for
international reengagement with
Zimbabwe. In particular, he stated the
importance of internationally
supervised elections. Moyo agreed that free
and fair elections were
important; noting Zimbabwean sensitivities about
sovereignty, he thought
talking in terms of internationally “assisted”
elections would be more
palatable. This was particularly true, he added,
since Zimbabwe had no money
to hold elections and would need international
help.
Moyo said his
colleagues were aware of the ambassador’s remarks in a SW
Radio interview
that the US should consider expanding sanctions to
parliamentarians.
He
said he understood a policy of expanding sanctions to include politburo
and
central committee members (and their families) because they are in
decision
making positions. He thought it unfair, however, to include the
large
majority of parliamentarians who are not members of either committee.
Including them on the sanctions list might push them into Mugabe’s camp; not
including them might be an incentive to exercise
independence.
Comment
Moyo has a checkered history as a
one-time apologist for Mugabe but he
maintains good contacts across the
political spectrum and he provides a
window into Zanu PF’s internal
politics. He confirmed what we have heard
from others: Mugabe at this
point intends to run for election in 2008 but
there is substantial and
growing opposition within Zanu PF to his continued
rule.
We don’t
expect a resolution in the near term as both Mugabe and his rivals
manoeuvre
for the upper hand before forcing a show down. Moyo is also a
useful
messenger and in that regard we expect the substance of the
principles for
reengagement to quickly make the rounds of Harare and
increase the pressure
on the regime by showing Zanu PF moderates and
wayfarers that there will be
life after Mugabe. With respect to adding
parliamentarians to the visa
list, we take Moyo’s point about not forcing
the doubters back into Mugabe’s
arms, and would limit the additions to those
Zanu PF MPs who are
particularly odorous or who are major economic players.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011 17:37
Wongai
Zhangazha
A SENIOR Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) official has said the
central bank
operated like a “mafia” during the decade-long economic
crisis.
These revelations came to light in a leaked American cable
released recently
by WikiLeaks, relating to when the then head of research
at RBZ, Simon
Nyarota, met with the American embassy economic specialist
“after hours” on
January 24 2008.
According to the cable,
sent by former US Ambassador James McGee and quoting
the embassy’s economic
specialist, Nyarota complained that Gono no longer
consulted his staff on
decision-making policies and was playing to the whims
of his political
masters.
“According to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe division chief Simon
Nyarota, RBZ
Governor Gideon Gono no longer consults with staff when
designing policy.
Having isolated himself from the technocrats, he fails to
grasp the extent
of Zimbabwe’s dire economic straits, including the current
bank liquidity
crisis,” reads the cable.
Nyarota accused Gono of
working with other government institutions in hiding
the real rate of
inflation. He described Gono as blind to the full extent of
Zimbabwe’s
economic crisis and incapable of formulating prudent policy.
“Gono
steadfastly resists devaluation of Zimbabwe’s grossly overvalued
currency as
inflationary, despite advice to the contrary. His governorship
is marked by
fear and mistrust among bank staff that has been deeply
infiltrated by
Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agents,” says the
cable.
Nyarota condemned Gono’s failure to seek input on policy,
particularly in
relation to the cash crisis of 2007, from any other staff
member other than
his senior advisor Munyaradzi Kereke.
“Nyarota
said his staff had recommended from the start introducing higher
denomination notes but Gono clung to the view, which he reportedly conveyed
to President Robert Mugabe, that hoarding of the largest denomination
Z$200,000 note by ‘cash barons’ was the root cause of the shortage, and
withdrawing the note from circulation would force cash back onto the formal
market. As the crisis worsened, however, Gono was forced to seek Mugabe’s
approval to print larger notes,” reads the WikiLeaks
report.
According to the report, Nyarota told the unnamed US diplomat
that he and
Division Chief of Bank Licensing, Supervision and Surveillance,
Norman
Mataruka, visited Gono at his home on Christmas Day that year without
going
through Kereke, to advise him not to withdraw the Z$200 000 note from
the
market because the supply of new notes was inadequate and incessant
rains
were hindering the distribution of cash in rural
areas.
They also advised Gono to reverse newly implemented
restrictions on bank
transfers.
Nyarota said Gono accepted the
advice after consulting with Mugabe.
In the cable, Nyarota maintained
as a further example of the “monetary
authority’s tunnel vision”, that Gono
did not comprehend that his management
of the bank liquidity crisis was
pushing banks to the brink of insolvency.
In a wide ranging
discussion with the US official, Nyarota claimed that the
then Finance
minister, Samuel Mumbengegwi, prohibited publication of Central
Statistical
Office findings on the monthly rate of inflation.
The RBZ official
said as for the grossly overvalued official foreign
exchange rate, Gono and
Kereke were of “unswayable opinion” that devaluation
would be inflationary,
notwithstanding, as Nyarota’s staff had sought to
explain to the Governor
that domestic prices were already largely indexed
to the parallel market
exchange rate.
The chief researcher in October 2007 also “harshly”
criticised the RBZ
policy of paying farmers partly in foreign exchange for
grain and
postulated that Gono and Kereke, being both farmers, had designed
the policy
for their own personal benefit.
The cable further says
Nyarota submitted his resignation in 2007 but was
threatened with jail by
Gono if any of them resigned before their tenure
expired. According to
WikiLeaks, Nyarota also maintained that Gono regularly
bribed ministers with
cash handouts and cheap foreign exchange to keep them
beholden to him.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
17:34
Hapiness Zengeni
BULAWAYO’S textile industry has
been hardest hit in terms of capacity
utilisation as it continues to be
affected by competition from cheap imports
and high costs of production,
analysts have said.
CZI is currently conducting its
manufacturing survey while at the same time
the Industry and Commerce
ministry is consolidating their findings on
capacity utilisation. General
statistics put the number of closed companies
across the board at 87 in
Bulawayo. Of those companies, 19 are in the
textiles
industry.
Jerome Negonde, a market analyst, said generally what is
happening in
Bulawayo is no different to anything across the
board.
“The major problem that they are facing is that as the
industrial hub it was
heavily concentrated and therefore the ripple effects
become more
pronounced,” he said.
Ruvimbo Tenga, a Bulawayo
financial adviser, says the issue of
recapitalisation is at the centre of
the challenges as there is pervasive
pressure across the value chain, making
operations difficult.
Much of the textile companies still make use of
outdated processes due to
obsolete equipment and machinery. National
Blankets, one of the oldest
Bulawayo companies, commissioned new weaving
machines in 2009 and also
upgraded its raising, warping and finishing
sections at a cost of
US$5million. The spinning machines, which were not
part of the first phase
of the factory upgrade, are old and are no longer
competitive to run.
National Blankets also noted that the 1980s
machines at the factory did
limited ranges. “Funding remains limited and
the decision was made to
concentrate on the area where the competitive
advantage lies, which was in
weaving,” the company said.
At
Edgars, the group’s Carousel factory is running at 40% capacity and has
old
machinery that needs to be replaced. For instance, the company is still
using manual labour to fade jeans, a process which is now more efficiently
done by machines.
Edgars has mothballed two of its factories and
is currently making use of
just one after the group downsized its workforce
by nearly three quarters to
400 from 1 500. The cost of labour remains high
with the minimum wage for
the textiles sector ranging between US$150 and
US$175, much higher against
regional comparatives.
Such
downsizing has been across the board, pushing the unemployment rate up.
Negonde said that because the companies are sitting on excess capacities,
downsizing is the only option, especially in light of immense competition in
the textiles industry. But then downsizing in itself is an expensive process
and careful thought has to be given to its implementation. He said at the
moment the area was not a magnet for new business, even though Bulawayo was
generally a convenient location.
In 2007, the clothing and
textiles sector employed 13 500 workers in 237
companies. The seven major
exporters employed 40% of employees in the
clothing sector and accounted for
70% of total exports, while the other 20
clothing companies on average
employed about 23% of the total sector`s
employment, accounting for about
US$40 million exports revenue.
Credit lines remained limited, and
where available, loan facilities were
short-term and at very high interest
rates. The Finance ministry however has
made a provision for the US$40
million Distressed and Marginalised Area Fund
but it has not been availed as
yet.
Whereas the Comesa Free Trade Area was expected to usher in
opportunities
for the clothing sector, two major problems have emerged.
Firstly, the
Comesa Common External Tariff is being abused.
This
is because of lack of border reforms, resulting in goods from outside
the
free trade area entering without payment of duty. In many cases, correct
duty is not paid because of corruption at the ports of entry. This has the
effect of making those foreign goods cheaper than those produced in the
region.
Secondly, the Comesa rules of origin provision is also
being abused. Under
this arrangement, products manufactured within the
region are supposed to
enjoy duty free access to member countries. However,
the same illegally
imported goods are being fitted with labels that claim
they are made in a
Comesa member country and are corruptly granted
certificates of origin which
support that claim.
Nevertheless,
there are other industries that are doing well, with above
average
capacities such as Zimplow, Turnall and Tregers. Turnall recently
commissioned a new technology non-asbestos plant. The asbestos company’s
sheeting plant is running at full capacity while the piping plant was
shelved due to limited water in the city.
Olivine is also in
production, with Panol cooking oil on the supermarket
shelves, while Lobels
has just come back on board. Lobels has seven retail
outlets in Bulawayo
and plans to open three more outlets if plant capacity
improves.
Volumes at National Tyre Service’s Bulawayo factory are
expected to grow 20%
following its re-opening, after it had been mothballed
due to low volumes.
The group is also facing competition not only from the
region but from
China.
Before independence, Bulawayo was
generally known as the country’s hub of
industry and at one point accounted
for 75% of the country’s manufacturing
activities.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
17:18
Paul Nyakazeya
MEIKLES Africa Limited is in talks with the
Ministry of Youth Development,
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment with
a view to complying with the
empowerment law, but is mindful that progress
may be slow due to a hybrid of
historical issues, chairman John Moxon said
this week.
However, Moxon cautioned that the issues that may delay the
company’s
compliance include the search for ways to recapitalise the
operations and
running a diversified corporation in a demanding economic
environment.
“Meikles Ltd embraces the spirit and objective of the
indigenisation laws of
Zimbabwe and will prime all its activities to ensure
compliance with such
laws,” Moxon said.
The company said it was
mindful of the unfair comparison that may be made
between the conglomerate
and other local enterprises, saying the bulk of the
companies were younger
and smaller, therefore arguably more nimble in their
response to the
changing policy framework as articulated by the
Indigenisation and
Empowerment ministry.
“Meikles Ltd is in communication with the
Ministry with a view to reaching
an agreement on ways to ensure full
compliance with the Indigenisation and
Empowerment Act,” Moxon
said.
He said a framework acceptable to both the ministry and the
company was
agreed upon and the relevant trust deed for the creation of a
share
ownership trust, the vehicle through which Meikles will empower
indigenous
employees at all levels, as proposed by the ministry and accepted
by the
company, was approved by shareholders at the EGM of 18 August
2011.
“Where necessary, the company shall consider making appropriate
adjustments,
bearing in mind the provisions of the law. The company will
comply with the
law and ensure that it remains and continues to enhance its
status as an
equal opportunity organisation,” Moxon said.
“It
should be mentioned that in the interests of the company’s investors,
the
large numbers of employees and indeed in the interests of Zimbabwe’s
economy, Meikles shall continue to ensure that there is an appropriate
balance between the investor interests on the one hand and those of the
communities in which we do business,” he added.
Meikles Ltd has
been accused of using racist tactics to fire top black
management workers in
a move that has raised questions among stakeholders
about the group’s
commitment to the country’s indigenisation policies.
The company has
also been in the media for alleged racism following the
ousting of
entrepreneur and banker, Nigel Chanakira, which led to the
demerger of
Kingdom Financial Holdings from the former King Meikles Africa
Limited
conglomerate.
“This market will be aware that Meikles Ltd has been at
the centre of
promoting indigenous businesses long before this became a
legal requirement
and can rightly be classified as one of the champions of
indigenous economic
empowerment in this country, the Kingdom Financial
Holdings decade-long
investment being a case in point,” said Moxon.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011 17:06
Paul
Nyakazeya
WHEN President Robert Mugabe said there was no going back on
the
indigenisation programme, few would have guessed what his Empowerment
minister Saviour Kasukuwere would do to achieve the controversial wealth
redistribution policy.
“We must never surrender the ownership of our
resources,” Mugabe told
thousands of mourners at the burial of the late
retired general Solomon
Mujuru last month.
“The people fought for
their independence and their land. Let us protect the
legacy of the
liberation war.”
Analysts say while the idea to empower locals,
historically disadvantaged
and the less privileged is both noble and
sensible, it’s how government
juggles the need to attract investment versus
the desire to empower the
masses that will see the exercise succeeding or
failing.
Mugabe spoke as Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon
Gono clashed with
Kasukuwere over implementation of the
programme.
Kasukuwere had issued a 14-day ultimatum to foreign owned
banks such as
Barclays, Stanbic and Standard Chartered as well as several
mining firms,
warning them to comply with the country’s indigenisation laws
or risk
seizure by government.
The country’s empowerment laws
compel all foreign-owned companies to give up
at least 51% of their equity
to locals as part of measures aimed at
empowering the economically
marginalised black majority.
“This is one of the best laws to come
out of Zimbabwe. We need to empower
our people and we are not going back in
that regard. People should not
create or see problems where there are no
problems,” said Kasukuwere
According to Kasukuwere, black
Zimbabweans have been made to scramble for
bits and pieces, and have become
content with being perpetual economic
subordinates. For a country with vast
deposits of resources, it bodes ill,
he said.
While Mugabe and
Kasukuwere insist there is no going back on the policy,
several
inconsistencies regarding the threshold have come to the fore. Is
Kasukuwere
consulting on the policy or is only articulating his own ideas or
opinions?
Analysts say such questions are relevant after Economic
Planning minister
Tapiwa Mashakada said Kasukuwere’s position on revoking
operating licences
of foreign owned companies was a lone move that was not
blessed by cabinet.
Analysts say this shows lack of a clear position on
indigenisation and
empowerment.
RBZ governor Gono is scheduled to
meet Finance minister Tendai Biti on
foreign banks’ indigenisation
thresholds. Analysts say the scheduled meeting
shows Kasukuwere could be
failing to rein in Gono after the latter said he
would not withdraw bank
licences.
Some feel that indigenisation is masked in anti-imperialist
ideology that
will eventually benefit the few elite. Others feel that a real
plan for
economic empowerment of the poor should focus on local communities
and the
massive informal sector.
Critics say the Zanu PF style of
indigenisation is based on the politics of
disincentive for foreign
ownership and investment rather than the promotion
of entrepreneurship and
local development.
The indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act
requires all foreign
businesses to sell 51% of their shares to indigenous
Zimbabweans.
But Kasukuwere last week said new indigenisation
thresholds for the banking
sector would soon be put in place once he
fininished consultations with
Biti.
However, analysts believe
from this initial stockpile of conceptual mistakes
government has made some
“discoveries” and retooled the legislation,
tightening rather than relaxing
fundamental provisions, particularly those
pertaining to mining companies
and banks. The indigenisation law has
literally been a patchwork of
amendments, they say.
As for the banking sector, Gono warned that
Kasukuwere’s ultimatum “could
irreparably harm the nerve-centre of our
recovering economy.”
The central bank governor said “dishing out
threats to sensitive
institutions that are custodians of people’s hard
earned savings smacks of
irrational exuberance during these times of
necessary soberness.”
“There are ways of achieving the same
objectives as intended by the law
through non-confrontational means,” Gono
said.
But how easy is it to indigenise foreign owned companies and
what impact
will this have on the economic recovery
efforts?
Critics have warned that a rushed implementation of the
programme could
scare away much-needed foreign investment and harm the
country’s fragile
economy.
Industry minister Welshman Ncube said
government was divided over the way
the indigenisation regulations should be
implemented.
“There is no clear-cut government voice on the matter.
That is why we keep
explaining it and once you start explaining it you are
losing it,” he said.
“How then do you do the right thing when it seems you
do not know what it is
and how to do it? What could be more worrying is that
government is not
speaking with one voice over the issue. It is easy to
indigenise but
empowering is a process.”
It appears government
tossed the idea of indigenisation more or less as a
policy adventure, wary
of just the broader aim to the neglect of the “how”
elements of the
programme.
In terms of the original set of regulations, only
businesses with a net
asset value (NAV) of at least US$500 000 were
compelled to comply with the
indigenisation legislation. But when
government started enforcing its
regulations this year, starting with the
mining sector, the minimum
threshold for companies in that sector eligible
to comply with the
indigenization law was reduced to those with a net asset
value of US$1.
Although government has dropped the
“one-size-fits-all” approach and agreed
to consider sector-specific NAVs
recommended by 13 sectoral committees set
up to review the regulations in
August last year, it looks likely that as
with the mining sector the NAV
threshold will be also be lowered to way
below half a million
dollars.
NAV refers to the value of the assets of a business entity
less the value of
liabilities.
It is no secret that the majority
of companies emerged from Zimbabwe’s
decade-long crisis financially
fractured, either insolvent or
near-insolvency and clamouring for credit to
recapitalise operations and
therefore did not have NAVs of US$500
000.
Mashakada, however, is on record as saying the empowerment law,
which
requires foreign miners to transfer 51% equity stakes in local
entities to
black investors, is “flexible” and does not aim to seize or
nationalise
assets.
“It is a flexible law and investors are given
time to comply. It’s not about
seizure of assets, it’s not about
expropriation,” said Mashakada at an
industry conference in Perth,
Australia, about two weeks ago.
Mashakada said the law may prove
difficult for some miners, but some
exemptions to the law have already been
made, pointing to Indian
conglomerate Essar Group.
“For big
mining firms, you may not be able to readily get a partner who can
take up
the 51%. The 51% is not going to be nationalised. It is not going to
be
expropriated,” Mashakada said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:15
By Ibbo Mandaza
THE most obvious of all the implications
that flow out of the WikiLeaks
revelations is the extent to which they
provide an insight into the nature
and content of contemporary Zimbabwean
politics. All this notwithstanding
the fact that what is being revealed
confirms, at least to those familiar
with the Zimbabwean political process,
the most obvious.
Otherwise, the biggest casualty of the WikiLeaks saga is,
of course, the
United States, exposing as it does the superpower’s foreign
policy
operations in Zimbabwe –– and the world over –– during the period
since
March 14 1988. This has opened a rare window through which to study US
foreign policy, however inadvertent such an opportunity has presented
itself.
Ordinarily, there would be little or nothing at all
untoward about such
revelations; this is the normal order of operations in
any diplomatic
mission, namely to scour and scrutinise, in the greatest
detail possible,
the nature and pulse of the country in which it is
stationed. Indeed, both
the efficiency and effectiveness of any ambassador
–– or his/her key
functionaries in the mission –– is judged on the extent to
which he/she can
render the country as much an open book for those who are
thereby
better-placed for the design of the appropriate policy option back
home.
So, as the Zimbabwean case refers, Washington has been obsessed
with the
exit of President Robert Mugabe from the political scene, albeit
through a
peaceful process in which Zanu PF insiders themselves would be the
catalyst.
This is what the official propagandists in Harare have termed
‘‘regime
change’’ (which may assume a new meaning and usage after the
WikiLeaks
exposé). But it is an obsession that has pervaded almost the
entire
international community (West and East), the African continent in
general,
and the Southern African sub-region in particular, including former
presidents Kenneth Kaunda, Nelson Mandela, Joaquim Chissano, Thabo Mbeki and
Benjamin Mkapa –– all of whom have, in one way or another, tried to plead
with Mugabe to retire from politics. As it is now, there is unlikely to be
a single head of state in the region who believes that Mugabe should remain
another day in office.
As the WikiLeaks revelations testify,
almost everyone in Zimbabwe, not to
mention Zanu PF itself, wherein, from
the Vice-Presidents, throughout the
politburo and central committee, and
even among ordinary functionaries, the
call, albeit in whispers, has been
that Mugabe must go, not now but
yesterday!
The question that
ponders even now is how and why Mugabe has so far survived
such a universal
disapproval. This is an attempt to answer the question
against the
background of the WikiLeaks revelations and in the context of
highlighting
some of the poignant issues that characterise Zimbabwe’s
politics
today.
As I have already intimated, there is nothing new in these
WikiLeaks
revelations for those of us who have been writing and speaking
openly on the
country’s political process over the decades since
Independence in 1980.
First, the gradual erosion of the political,
ideological and organisational
fabric of the party of liberation, to the
point wherein Zanu PF is in
disarray; this is the main import of all that
the WikiLeaks has revealed
through the alleged utterings of all the
Vice-Presidents departed and
current, a cross-section of politburo and
central committee members, a
variety of ministers and MPs, academics and
businessmen associated with the
party, and, allegedly even the First Lady
and such of the president’s close
confidantes as Reserve Bank Governor
Gideon Gono.
Now, it is doubtful that there is anybody in the party’s
leadership who can
confidently assume the moral high ground in this regard;
not even Didymus
Mutasa and his inane threats of disciplinary action against
alleged
‘‘culprits’’. Likewise, my brother Jonathan Moyo and his call (as
part of
his vain attempt to clear his name) ‘‘for the nation to remain
united and
move forward under the leadership of President Mugabe’’ (The
Herald,
September 13) does not have the moral high ground to do so. His
remarks are
as hollow as they are likely to be interpreted as grossly false
when all is
said and done; not even he believes that!
For the reality is
that Zanu PF, under the current circumstances, is
unlikely to survive the
post-Mugabe era, unless and until the real comrades,
many of whom have been
marginalised by a party increasingly identified with
the person of Mugabe,
can re-organise and coalesce around a new vision,
profound enough to infuse
the younger generation with the hope of a better
existence after Mugabe’s
exit.
Second, Mugabe’s Zanu PF –– and the state with which it has
been
conflated –– has yielded a schizophrenic political class which sings
for its
supper during the day, but connives and conspires towards the
earliest exit
of the “Great Leader” during the night. In this regard,
Morgan Tsvangirai
and the MDC are only marginally better off than Robert
Mugabe and Zanu PF,
with all the indications that, once in the real saddle
of power, they could
find themselves fatally afflicted by the same disease,
one borne out of the
twin pillars of the contemporary Zimbabwean state:
violence (or the threat
of it) and patronage.
These twin pillars
account in large measure for Mugabe’s survival so far;
and as long as
state-related violence (or the threat of it) and
state-sponsored patronage
remain so institutionalised in Zimbabwean society,
so, too, will the Great
Leader syndrome remain with us, on the back of a
schizophrenic political
class that is clearly a product of these twin
pillars of the
state.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to address the current
political
pathology, through the systematic restoration of our national
institutions,
at least to the level they were at Independence in 1980: as
non-partisan,
efficient, of sound and tested leadership, conscious of the
national
interest, nationalist, and thereby not given to corruption and
political
sycophancy.
Hopefully, the current
constitution-making exercise will also attend to the
main task of providing
the framework through which we can begin to restore
our national
institutions, de-couple the party and state, institute a
limited term (at
most two, if not one!) for the CEO of the State, and
provide the strictest
possible separation of powers.
In the meantime, it would be advisable
for the Zanu PF leadership to embark
on a reality check, not least Mugabe
himself whose political legitimacy has
been openly questioned, thanks also
to the WikiLeaks revelations.
Surely, it is long overdue for him to have
called it quits and allow both
his party (or whatever is left of it) and the
nation to turn a new leaf. To
continue to contrive a critical mass around
the politburo and central
committee on a monthly basis will henceforth
appear as farcical as the
WikiLeaks revelations have
confirmed.
And the forthcoming Zanu PF national conference in
December should be the
occasion for one or two of the party heavyweights to
stand up and be counted
(like the late General Solomon Mujuru, Simba Makoni
and Dumiso Dabengwa
tried to do in the run up to the Zanu PF extraordinary
congress in 2007) if,
as is likely to be the case on the backs of those
still given to the
political sycophancy that has helped him to survive thus
far, Mugabe himself
does not call it a day by the end of
2011.
Mandaza is a Zimbabwean academic, author and publisher.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:13
LAST week Muckraker drew attention to the laughable bid by
Zimbabwe’s
authorities, reported in the Sunday Mail, to take the EU to the
European
Court of Justice if it refuses to lift sanctions against this
country.
The Sunday Mail has further undermined the credibility of this
dubious
attempt by claiming the EU had been “gripped by panic” at the news
of the
two-week ultimatum from Harare.
The justification for such purple
prose was the visit by the EU’s external
action services managing-director
for Africa, Nick Westcott, which the
Sunday Mail imaginatively tried to link
to the ultimatum. This was despite
the fact that EU ambassador Aldo
dell’Arricia flatly denied that Westcott’s
mission had anything to do with
the ultimatum.
Westcott was on his way to South Africa to attend the EU/SA
summit, he
pointed out.
How the Sunday Mail managed to transform this
long-standing date into a
sudden fit of panic is beyond belief. And why does
anyone think Westcott
would have been impressed by President Mugabe’s little
homily on land when
he would already have been fully briefed by EU staff on
violent land
seizures?
Mugabe told Westcott: “Don’t judge us”. Does he
really think the EU can
commit millions of dollars in support for Zimbabwe
without having to account
for where the money goes?
That might be
Zim-style but it doesn’t stand up anywhere else. And we hope
Westcott told
Mugabe, in response to the president’s claim, that the EU is
having to judge
itself all the time. It is called transparency.
What we do know is that
Zimbabwe has been attempting to “reengage” with
Brusssels so sanctions can
be reviewed. But as Zanu PF refuses to address
the outstanding issues
bedevilling the GPA, there is little or no prospect
of sanctions being
lifted. This should be spelt out in large letters to Zanu
PF’s apologists so
they don’t continue to mislead the public.
The Sunday Mail demonstrated its
ignorance of the sanctions process by
claiming that Germany was opposed to
the restrictive measures.
This was derived from WikiLeaks. But a call to the
German embassy would have
quickly established the obvious fact that Germany,
like the other 26 member
states, abides by the EU’s “common position” on
Zimbabwe. Despite occasional
differences among themselves, there is no
significant divergence of views as
Zanu PF’s apologists would like to
pretend.
Making the lifting of sanctions less likely has been President
Mugabe’s
pronouncement that Britain will not be allowed to observe the
forthcoming
elections.
He made the remarks at the presentation of
credentials by the new British
ambassador, Deborah Bronnert.
She will
have noted from this how the role of the ZEC is undermined by the
executive.
The ZEC is specifically tasked to run the election. Politicians
should not
interfere.
What is ironic in all this is the report that Bronnert has been
instructed
by David Cameron to lower the temperature between London and
Harare. This
was not a good start!
It is always interesting to note how
new Western envoys get off the boat
with a huge bag of goodwill. They think
Zimbabwe is a wonderful place and
stand ready to help “build bridges” with
the regime.
It takes about six months, one US ambassador told us, to wake up
to the
reality that Zanu PF doesn’t want to build bridges. And as ministers
provide
formulaic responses to overtures, as SK Moyo recently demonstrated,
there is
little likelihood of progress.
Muckraker has commented in the
past on the tablets senior Zanu PF luminaries
take on assuming office so
perfectly rational individuals are transformed
into fools or demagogues
whose task is to read whatever is handed to them
that week. Ask
SK!
We were interested to note how Jabulani Sibanda, a good example of a
budding
demagogue, has seized on the WikiLeaks cables to promote his career.
It
obviously hasn’t been explained to this wannabe war veteran that swimming
in
such dangerous shark-infested waters is likely to terminate his career,
not
promote it.
After all, despite Tsvangirai’s reported indecision and
poor advice, it is
Zanu PF that has come out of the cables the worst. Here
are individuals who
make a habit of singing their leader’s praises, but are
then exposed as
“useful messengers” for the Americans who in some cases
didn’t even ask for
their advice! And we were shocked to hear that the
investigation into
Tsvangirai’s “treachery” was ongoing, only he now has
formidable
competition! Will it be possible to prosecute them all? And what
about Joice
and that curious visit to the house in darkness.
The chefs
have their mansions in the rolling hills of Harare East. But like
the rest
of us, they don’t have magetsi!
Government will not hesitate to revoke
the operating licences of foreign and
private media organisations “abusing
their journalistic privileges by
denouncing the country and its leadership”,
Media minister Webster Shamu has
warned. There has been a trend by media
organisations, Shamu said, to
denigrate the president and the first family
for unjustified reasons.
He said the British and Americans were hypocrites
because they had
restrictive press laws. He cited a British law of 1840
which provided for
banishment.
This is all nonsense of course. Has
anybody heard of any journalist in the
UK being banished anywhere? But
Zimbabwean journalists currently working in
the United States, Britain and
South Africa cannot return to their homeland
as a result of threats against
them.
And the state media has created the fiction of a “first family”,
something
that doesn’t exist in law, in order to protect the Mugabes from
criticism.
Let’s be clear about this. President Mugabe is not just head of
state, he is
also –– as we are endlessly reminded –– head of government and
first
president of Zanu PF.
Whenever the independent press criticise him
he emerges from behind the
barricade of numerous press laws to attack his
critics while his ministers
and AG take steps to have those who have spoken
out arrested. They are then
prosecuted under what are called insult laws,
often measures inherited from
the colonial era. In Britain today you can say
what you like about the
Queen. Has Shamu ever read Private Eye?
Here the
balance of media power is firmly in the president’s camp. Shamu
should stop
misleading his followers in Mutare by taking advantage of their
ignorance.
Muckraker has to report that our friend Reason has been a
naughty boy. He
has committed the most serious offence in journalism:
plagiarism according
to an SMS to the Herald.
As an eagle-eyed reader of
the SMS column in the Herald pointed out, in his
column of September 8,
Reason “borrowed” nine paragraphs from Thomas Sankara’s
address to the UN in
New York. He claimed to be writing on behalf of the
“disinherited and
dispossessed Aboriginal people of Australia,” he said, “of
the Amerindians
who were massacred, crushed humiliated…I write in the name
of the child, the
hungry and dying African child furtively watching the
accumulation of
abundance in the rich man’s store…I write in the name of the
African child
born in disease and poverty…of the persecuted Palestinian
people…”
etc.
He may indeed have been writing on behalf of all those people (although
they
didn’t ask him to) but he should have acknowleged his source. We wonder
what
the editor had to say.
He did at least publish the SMS exposing
Reason’s delinquency
The delusional tendencies at Zimpapers show no signs
of abating with yet
another fantastic tale this week. As reported earlier
they managed to
conjure up a “panicking” EU.
The Sunday Mail said EU
external action services managing-director for
Africa Nick Westcott was
expected to hold talks with NGOs, the MDC and other
organisations that are
against Zanu PF to “gather malicious evidence to use
against the country in
the event that Zimbabwe goes ahead and sues for the
illegal
sanctions”.
Strangely, the “panicking” Westcott was unequivocal in telling
President
Mugabe on Monday that the so-called illegal sanctions imposed on
Zimbabwe by
the West will only be removed when the country holds free and
fair
elections.
Westcott, ZBC reports, also said the issue of sanctions
will only be
considered if there is full implementation of the Global
Political Agreement
(GPA).
So if we are to believe the Sunday Mail story,
the EU panicked by sending
their envoy to tell the government what they have
been telling them all this
time. Come on guys, you can do better than
that.
Meanwhile, we were amused by Jonathan Moyo’s attempt to extricate
himself
from the WikiLeaks saga. According to Moyo he is not ashamed of the
revelations because he made the remarks attributed to him at a time when he
was an “independent politician and in the political wilderness”. Moyo –– all
too recently –– had called on government to have Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai arrested and charged with treason for speaking to US officials.
Now it is okay as long as one is an “independent politician and in the
political wilderness”.
Moyo at the time wrote an opinion piece lambasting
the US and Tsvangirai:
“Thanks to the sensational and rather curious
Wikileaks revelations
published last week,” he wrote, “the treacherous cat
is finally out of its
sell-out bag. This time the narrative about the
MDC-T’s treachery is
official, courtesy of a tell-all diplomatic cable sent
to the US government
by Christopher Dell after he completed his tumultuous
tenure as US
Ambassador to Zimbabwe in July 2007.”
Moyo, who Dell
describes as a “useful messenger” this week was in
firefighting mode trying
to realign himself to the Zanu PF cause.
In an article he wrote in the
Sunday Mail, Moyo suggests that the US
diplomatic communications on Zimbabwe
in the decade between 1998 and 2008
“shows that there was a formidable and
rising ‘Mugabe must go’ campaign
across the political divide which started
in 1998 whose wave spread like a
fire ahead of the 2008 harmonised
presidential, parliamentary and local
government elections.
“But as a
result of a combination of the GPA experience which brought MDC
elements
into government and exposed them to President Mugabe’s iconic
leadership and
new developments within Zanu PF sparked and impelled by the
scary results of
the first round of the presidential election on March 29
2008 and buoyed by
the pursuit of indigenisation and economic empowerment
under the banner of
the Last Chimurenga which has attracted the overwhelming
support of G40
elements between the ages of 18 and 35 who make up at least
70% of the
electorate, the ‘Mugabe must go’ mantra has given way to the
‘Mugabe must
stay’ refrain.”
Phew! That was hard work.
Hopefully Moyo’s bold attempt to
endear himself to Zanu PF –– for the
umpteenth time –– will yield results
for him. But it will take a little more
than sophistry for them to buy his
claims this time.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:09
IT would be foolhardy and naive in the extreme for any to expect
that an
economy which has been whipped and beaten for more than 13 years can
wholly
transform overnight. It would be even more harebrained for anyone to
imagine
that the politicians who were the culprits responsible for the
economic
decimation to metamorphose instantaneously.
When change occurs
(and any devastated economy does eventually make a
positive transition from
its devastated state), it does so slowly, over an
extended period, albeit
progressively.
However, when politicians have been the key catalyst
of an economy’s
near-total demise, it is their stance, and policies that
must change to
trigger the recovery. Doing so is, for any politician, a
herculean task, as
they might fear that their so doing will be perceived by
the electorate as
admission of error, and that is greatly deflationary to
their ego.
Consequently, they do so hesitantly and in very small
steps, hoping that
slow policy changes will be perceived as driven by
themselves, and not by
the electorate’s needs and
demands.
Nevertheless, the first tentative signs of meaningful and
constructive
policy changes have become evident in the last two weeks
(better late, and
slow, than never!) when President Robert Mugabe opened the
current session
of Parliament.
His speech was impressively
conciliatory and targeted at more inter-party
collaboration and cooperation
than at any time since the Global Political
Agreement was negotiated and the
Government of National Unity came into
being.
He assertively
called for a complete cessation of the violence which has
recurrently
prevailed (including, tragically, outside parliament as he was
speaking).
However, he and his government must now ensure that
law-enforcement
authorities ensure compliance with his call, and that they
do so operating
strictly within the confines of law.
Many
reasons why violence (especially pursued by politically-associated
youth,
and by politically-related activists) must cease, such cessation will
be a
key critical to the restoration of businesses and public confidence and
to
rebuilding the investor confidence which is essential for economic
recovery
and wellbeing.
Of great potential economic significance is Mugabe's
statement to parliament
that during its current session, Zimbabwe’s land
reform programme is to be
modified by according negotiability to the 99-year
leases which are given by
government to new farmers so that the leases can
have collateral value,
thereby enhancing access to finance by the
farmers.
As most of those who have been allocated land since 2000
were devoid of
resources and the majority still are, it is of critical
importance that
value attach to the land, enabling it to be the security
with which to
obtain essential working capital.
This has been widely
recognised and repeatedly brought to the state’s
attention for more than a
decade, but until now the political regime was
intentionally unheeding to
the innumerable calls for title deeds to be
restored or, at the least, as a
partial compromise, for there to be ready
transferability of leases.
Had
government listened earlier to the voices of reason, the contribution
of
agriculture to the economy in general, and to the wellbeing of millions
of
Zimbabweans in particular, would have been markedly greater. However, as
the
old saying goes; “Better late than never.”
In the same speech Mugabe
said that the land audit, determined upon years
ago to ascertain whether
lands are being viably used or not, will at last be
vigorously pursued and
completed. Provided that the audit is done
impartially and its findings
justly acted upon, it will also contribute to
substantive recovery and
growth of the agricultural sector and therefore of
the
economy.
Yet another economically positive statement by Mugabe in his
speech during
the opening of the parliamentary session was that negotiations
for the
privatisation of Air Zimbabwe, with its attendant revitalisation and
resumption of services, are now being progressed.
For decades
government has been rigidly reluctant to pursue privatisation
despite the
incontrovertible evidence that privatisation of parastatals is
in the best
interest of the economy. Few exceptions include the recent
privatisation of
the former Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company. Currently Air
Zimbabwe is
moribund, to the immense prejudice of the economy in general and
of the
tourism sector in particular.
Although much more is needed to be
done by government to revitalise the
economy, Mugabe’s speech contained four
key economically positive policy
interests, in sharp contrast to the
desultory stance on economic policies,
and upon other policies which have
indirect economic impacts.
This is indicative of a pronounced change
in governmental attitudes.
Concurrently, outside of the spectrum of the
deliberation at the opening of
parliament, there have been a few other
marginally encouraging developments
within the corridors of
government.
Since March 2008, when the Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Act
received the presidential assent (almost seven months after
passing through
parliament and the senate, and just ahead of the 2008
elections), the
inflows of foreign investment diminished to a cataclysmic
extent, as did
most domestic investment. This had grievously negative
consequences upon the
endeavours to achieve a comprehensive economic
recovery with real growth,
upon much-needed job creation, and therefore also
upon the fiscus.
There was virtually nationwide accord that major
economic empowerment was
necessary for the majority of the population, but
there was similar
widespread agreement that pursuing it in the manner
envisaged by government,
in general, and by the Minister of Youth
Development, Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment, Saviour Kasukuwere in
particular, would not only
achieve little, merely enriching-temporarily the
selected few, but would
also reverse such slight economic gains as had until
then been achieved.
Moreover, much of the measures being pursued were in
blatant breach and
contempt of the constitution, especially with regard to
property and human
rights and of the norms of international
law.
However, after exceeding his lawful powers by enacting and
seeking to
enforce inequitable and unjust enterprise indigenisation, with
particular
focus upon certain banks, multi-national companies and major
mines,
Kasukuwere has in the last fortnight backtracked and sought to pursue
compromises.
Having sought the revocation of various operating licences,
over which he
had no authrority, and usurping the authority of other arms of
government,
he has now withdrawn his demands for such
revocations.
Instead, he is now endeavouring to negotiate compromises
and to motivate
indigenisation programmes. Moreover, he has now reverted to
a previously
declared but not pursued has intent of applying differing
criteria of
indigenisation for different economic sectors.
A
further possibly pleasing development is that an increasing number in
government, led by Minister of Finance Tendai Biti are acknowledging that
Zimbabwe should pursue resolution of its immense foreign debts,
approximating US$8,8 billion, by seeking Heavily Indebted Poor Country
relief. Is reality beginning to prevail?
Much more is needed if
the economy is to be fully and rapidly reinvigorated,
but the last fortnight
has demonstrated that most in government are finally
beginning to recognise
realities and to take appropriate actions, even where
those actions are
abhorrent to them and in conflict with long-fixed,
ill-considered ideologies
and perceptions.
May this trend and slow rejection of misplaced
fixations continue!
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:04
Wongai Zhangazha
THE violence which rocked the official
opening of parliament in Harare last
week after President Robert Mugabe had
condemned the practice in his address
shows that the 87-year-old leader is
no longer in control of his party.
Political analysts have long accused
Mugabe of insincerity when dealing with
violence since most perpetrators
from his party are left to go scot free.
Zimbabweans were shocked to
see Zanu PF youths singing and chanting party
slogans and attacking
onlookers while Mugabe was delivering his address.
Mugabe was ironically
preaching peace.
The situation was made more bizarre by police
inaction and failure to arrest
the marauding youths.
It later
emerged that the MDC leadership and activists were the target of
the orgy of
violence at the hands of the suspected Zanu PF thugs. MDC-T
Harare
councillor Victor Chifodya was among the victims of the attack and he
suffered head injuries.
As has become its custom, Zanu PF
maintained that its members were victims
of MDC violence, even when facts on
the ground point to the contrary.
Zanu PF Harare youth chairman Jimu
Kunaka told the state media that his
party was not involved in the violence
saying it was instead fuelled by the
MDC-T, which he accused of refusing to
share the open space outside
parliament.
Even police officers
were not spared the fury of Zanu PF youths as shown by
pictures in Newsday
showing cops being shoved and scurrying for cover.
The following day, similar
violence flared up in the high density suburb of
Highfield. No arrests have
been made to date.
Zanu PF youths in Highfield claimed that they were
demonstrating against
irregular allocation of vending stalls by the MDC-T
led council in their
area when they were attacked.
Analysts
pointed out that there was a well established trend of Mugabe
always
refusing to take action against violent party supporters since
Independence
in 1980.
In 1987, Mugabe granted blanket amnesty to perpetrators of
violence and
torture in the Matabeleland and Midlands Gukurahundi
atrocities.
In 2000, he also granted amnesty to people accused of
participating in
violent election campaigns which were roundly condemned
internationally.
Questions have been raised as to whether the
octogenarian leader has lost
his grip on directing collective action against
violence, or is his
condemnation of violence just lip
service?
Could it be that he is no longer in
control?
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights chairperson Andrew Makoni
said for Mugabe’s
noble call to end violence to be taken seriously,
perpetrators of violence,
including those who claim to act under
provocation, should be brought to
book.
Makoni said: “Political
violence is either inter-party or intra-party. We
expect political parties
to deal decisively with intra-party violence. Where
it is inter-party, one
expects that all the warring parties are brought to
book. What the police
continue to be accused of (usually with justification)
is selective
application of the law. For as long as the law continues to be
applied
selectively, the call to desist from violence will not be taken
seriously.”
In July, Zanu PF youths invaded parliament and
disrupted a public hearing
into the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill.
MPs were assaulted while the
police stood by.
Speaker of
parliament Lovemore Moyo condemned the violence and blamed Zanu
PF accusing
the party of being behind the “worst violent scenes ever
witnessed at the
august House since Independence”.
Again police neither made arrests
nor rounded up any suspects.
Political analyst Trevor Maisiri said
Mugabe might be sincere in his call to
stop violence but ructions within his
party as exposed by leaked American
cables showed that Zanu PF members have
a propensity to commit violence.
Maisiri said: “I think the
president is quite genuine in calling for an end
to violence, but there
seems to be more voices in Zanu PF speaking to the
people other than
Mugabe’s. The violence seems to be stemming from the
divisions within Zanu
PF. His instruction to arrest or stop violence may not
be implemented when
it comes to Zanu PF perpetrators because so many people
are in power in Zanu
PF leadership.”
Another political commentator Blessing Vava was of
the opinion that violence
was being instigated by some individuals within
Zanu PF.
“He might be speaking from the bottom of his heart because
this time around
he will not want a violent election campaign like we
witnessed in June
2008,” said Vava.
Vava said Mugabe realised
that violence did not pay and it would lead to the
discrediting of any
election result thus removing legitimacy to any victory
he may
score.
“Zanu PF is now an animal with many heads. Party supporters no
longer care
about Mugabe and that explains why in the March 2008 elections
most of his
stalwarts were campaigning on their own and did nothing for his
presidential
bid.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011 17:54
By
Zesn
WHILST the Constitution of Zimbabwe contains provisions to prevent
discrimination on the grounds of disability, the electoral laws have not
always adequately covered the rights of the visually and physically
handicapped. This is, of course, part of a wider societal problem and both
the state and private sector should do more to enable all persons regardless
of physical limitations to participate fully in societal
activities.
This includes people who are illiterate, a large
proportion of whom are in
the rural areas especially among the elderly.
Proposals in the electoral
reforms are designed to advance the rights of
illiterate and handicapped
voters in so far as their participation in the
voting process is concerned.
It is important however to analyse their
effectiveness and where
improvements can be made.
In particular,
Clause 19 of the Electoral Amendment Act introduces a new
provision into the
Electoral Act which allows illiterate and physically and
visually
handicapped voters to be assisted by persons of their choice rather
than
having to rely solely on state officers such as electoral officials or
the
police.
In the past, illiterate and handicapped voters had to be
assisted by members
of the police force.
This was much criticised as
it allowed the state, through its officers, to
invade the privacy of voters
in exercising their secret ballot. When it
comes to illiterate and
handicapped voters, this rule effectively made
redundant the whole concept
of the secret ballot which is generally regarded
as sacred in the electoral
process.
These concerns over the involvement of the police must be
viewed against the
background of electoral violence and intimidation which
have been prevalent
in previous elections. Police and members of security
forces were often
implicated in the violence, either as active participants
or for taking a
passive, nonchalant attitude towards violence affecting
mainly opposition
supporters.
Therefore, involving police in the
voting process was tantamount to placing
the illiterate and handicapped at
risk of undue influence, fear and
intimidation. Their free will in the
voting process was basically
compromised by the involvement of the police in
the voting process.
It must be noted that the overall reforms are
designed to exclude the police
from the voting procedures, so that their
role shall be restricted only to
the area of maintaining law and
order.
We have already observed in previous articles that police officers
are
prohibited from interfering with the electoral process at any polling
station. The language used in the proposed provision is peremptory and does
not offer the police any discretion.
It says, police officers, “(b)
shall not interfere with the electoral
processes at a polling station”. They
are not permitted to enter a polling
station unless they have been called
upon for help by electoral officers or
where they are casting their votes.
Also for as long as they are within the
confines of the polling station,
police officers come under the command and
direction of the presiding
officer. This prevents the dilution of the
commission’s
authority.
This is the context in which the exclusion of police from
assisting voters
must also be viewed.
The new provisions are that
where a voter is illiterate or handicapped
rendering him/her unable to vote
without assistance, he/she may nominate a
relative or other person of their
choice to assist them in voting. However,
in circumstances where such
voters who do not have relatives or other
persons of their choice to assist
them, the presiding officer of a polling
station and two other electoral
officers can provide the assistance.
The presiding officer is required to
keep a register in which any person who
provides assistance must record his
or her name, identification particulars
and the name of the voter he or she
assisted to vote.
Although the administrative purpose of such a list
for transparency is
useful, it must be recalled that voters are generally
sceptical of any
procedures whereby their details are recorded during the
voting process.
It is therefore important that the voter education
processes address this
issue for purposes of clarification and allaying
voter fears.
Furthermore, where the presiding officer is assisting a
person, he may ask
questions that are necessary to ascertain his intentions
where such wishes
are not clear. Here again, it must be noted that such
questioning may be
viewed by voters with scepticism.
It is
recommended that presiding officers should only resort to use of this
power
when it is absolutely necessarily otherwise it should be used very
sparingly.
In all circumstances, it is important that election
observers exercise
vigilance to ensure that voters are not unnecessarily
questioned or harassed
and that their intentions are carried
out.
On broader analysis, the new provisions are welcome departures
from the old
provision whereby police officers were given the power to
provide assistance
to illiterate or handicapped voters. By ensuring that
voters bring a person
of their choice it could be said to promote the
voter’s freedom to choice.
Where assistance is given only by electoral
officials, it still means that
the commission retains undiluted authority
over the electoral process.
Nevertheless, there are shortcomings
which require careful attention:
Although the provisions can be said
to promote voter choice in selecting who
will assist them in voting, there
is also the risk that the voter may be
intimidated into making a choice
under duress.
This is especially problematic in rural areas where there
is close proximity
between members of the community and dependence on
traditional or political
authorities. It may be the case, for example, that
the headman who is
aligned to one political party may impose on illiterate
or handicapped
voters persons who will provide the
assistance.
Therefore the whole intention inherent in this provision of
promoting voter
choice may in effect be negated by such
impositions.
There is also the risk that in order to make sure voters
vote in accordance
with specific directions, they will be forced to declare
their illiteracy,
even if they are literate or can vote notwithstanding
their alleged
illiteracy, so that each one will be “assisted” by selected
persons.
It is recommended that election observers and electoral
officials keep a
vigilant eye on the process to ensure that illiterate (or
allegedly
illiterate) and handicapped voters are not subjected to undue
influence.
Where necessary questions must be asked to ensure that voters are
not being
“assisted” under duress.
As another solution to this
problem, there is no reason why
visually-handicapped voters should not be
afforded Braille facilities so
that they can vote without assistance from
any other person.
There are Zimbabweans who can use such facilities but
currently are forced
to rely on assistance which violates the secrecy of
their vote. It is quite
possible that visually handicapped voters can
challenge the
constitutionality of these provisions which deny them the
choice to vote
without seeking assistance. The Braille facility is already
used in
countries such as Sierra Leone.
In respect of illiterate
voters, one way to prevent having to use other
persons to assist them is to
allow voters to vote using thumb imprints on
the ballot paper. Ballot papers
usually have the party or candidate’s symbol
and/or photograph.
This
should be simple enough for even an illiterate voter to identify. They
do
not have to read and write anything — all they have to do is to look at
the
ballot paper and place their thumb imprint (dipped in ink) next to the
party
or candidate of their choice.
This facility should be available and
explained to voters so that they do
not have to be forced to rely on
so-called assistants. This is also being
used in African countries like
Rwanda.
The measures to improve voter choice regardless of illiteracy
or disability
are probably well-intentioned. However as we have observed,
they are prone
to abuse, especially in rural areas where there are greater
levels of
illiteracy and also a large proportion of
voters.
Legislators must be careful not to introduce a rule that will
have a
boomerang effect. The risk of imposed assistants is particularly high
in
small rural communities and this could effectively hamper voter choice
and
increase levels of vote rigging through duress.
The
suggestions discussed give greater autonomy to the voter. When
everything is
assessed, the risk of spoilt votes is less harmful than the
risk of imposed
assistants who will force voters to vote in particular
directed ways and
therefore facilitate vote-rigging.
Comments and and feedback to: info@zesn.org.zw or zesn@africaonline.co.zw
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September
2011 18:20
THE seemingly softer stance on the contentious issue of
indigenisation
espoused by Mines and Minerals Development Minister Obert
Mpofu and
counterpart in the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation
and
Economic Empowerment Saviour Kasukuwere at the Mining Indaba this week
suggests welcome thinking on the part of the Zanu PF component of our unity
government.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether this was sincere
or the two were
just playing politics to the miners.
Politics
should be defined as the mass deception of society by the
unscrupulous few
for the benefit of those few at the expense of the
majority. For all we
know, Mpofu and Kasukuwere could have been playing good
cop bad cop in front
of potential investors in Zimbabwe’s alluring mining
industry.
Zanu PF has never been known to contradict itself
so openly, unless this is
a WikiLeaks-induced phenomenon. Kasukuwere
acknowledged that mining
requires heavy capital investment but seemed
oblivious to the knock- on
effects on the share prices of some of the
companies that he threatended
with compulsory share acquisition. So now what
happens to the apparent
capitulation of companies such as Zimplats to those
threats? I
s government now saying, “of course we didn’t mean
what we were saying,”
(which would not be surprising, coming from
politicians) or “it was only a
(bad) joke”, (ha, ha, ha) or “our earlier
position stands?” For in the same
breath as they are saying the 51%
indigenisation threshold can be lowered as
was the case with Essar, the
official position in terms of the law and in
terms of Kasukuwere’s written
speech, which is what contains government’s
policy statement, as opposed to
what he may say thereafter and might be
“quoted out of context”, the 51%
rule still applies.
Call this double speak, forked tongue or what you
may, this ability to
breathe in and out simultaneously is the hallmark of
political demagoguery.
Don’t try this at home folks. It is designed to keep
all and sundry
confused, as is the case now. This is not good for investment
as it only
sends out conflicting signals to all investors, local and
international
alike. And besides, Essar might not be a good example to
quote, as being of
Indian origin, they, like the Chinese, might have been
accorded indigenous
status. Do not forget that in this country there are the
indigenous on the
one hand and the indigenous indigenous on the other. And
if thresholds are
to be lowered for other companies, this should be
transparent and the merits
thereof made public.
While seeming to
embrace transparency where the Kimberley Process is
concerned, Mpofu in the
same breath defends secrecy when it comes to the
Marange
diamonds.
On the other hand, Kasukuwere keeps talking of a yet to be
instituted
Sovereign Wealth Fund, in whose name he has already been
acquiring shares.
All these are signs to watch out for. Clearly it is not
yet time for people
to celebrate.
They should only do so or
otherwise once amendments to the Mines and
Minerals Act by Mpofu and Co have
been concluded. It is these that will
distill the direction of the mining
industry. Who knows, those amendments
may finally give Kasukuwere or his
successor legal power to revoke mining
licences, hence clearing current
confusion.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:19
Constantine Chimakure
WE live in a surreal world where
accountability and transparency have been
sacrificed on the altar of
political expediency by our rulers. The elements
have abandoned and
discarded the ideals, goals and objectives of the
liberation struggle in
their unbridled pursuit of power and control. They
have forgotten that
ultimately they should be subservient to the whims and
desires of the
electorate.
Minister Webster Shamu’s threats at the weekend that
government would
withdraw licences of private media houses for allegedly
vilifying the
president lays bare a fundamental misunderstanding of the
modus operandi of
a democratic society.
Holding an elected leader
— be it a president, MP or councillor —
accountable should not be
interpreted as vilification. It is within the
ambit of a democratic society
which the government always claims we live in.
The media’s role is
essentially to enlighten and empower citizens to play an
active role in
government at all levels and to give them access to public
information.
President Robert Mugabe, therefore, is an elected officeholder
and should be
accountable to the people of Zimbabwe, including the media. He
should take
both compliments and criticism in equal measure.
We cannot join the
bandwagon of praise singing while Rome burns. The
Zimbabwean agenda is
bigger than any individual(s) and should guide our
actions.
Holding our leaders accountable has to do with the
national vision which is
predicated on our liberation struggle’s goals and
objectives.
Zanu and Zapu’s cry in the 1960s for “one man, one vote”
articulated a
desire for every citizen to have a voice on how they are
governed. It is in
the public interest for citizens to know and demand
explanations on how the
country is governed, to be able to critique bad
policies and expose
governmental excesses. The president, as the head of
government, will
naturally be in the spotlight and should be prepared to
face the music.
When we attained Independence, expectations were high
that this new
political dispensation would herald a government of the
people, by the
people and for the people. Naively we tended to trust elected
officials to
do the right thing. The last 31 years have proved that such
trust is grossly
misplaced.
We have ended up with a body politic
geared towards appeasing certain
personalities instead of demanding
delivery.
We need structures and processes to continually hold
elected leaders to
account based on a public policy agenda. One way of doing
that is to have a
robust media which questions and critiques the president,
ministers and
anyone in a leadership position.
Shamu’s threats to
withdraw private media licences show clearly that he does
not believe in
media freedom and plurality. We cannot have a free press when
journalists
and their media houses work under the shadow of threats for
merely
criticising Mugabe’s style of governance.
The minister should,
instead and as a matter of urgency, demonstrate his
sincerity on media
reforms — about which he likes to talk — so as to build a
nation whose
foundation is copper-bottomed in an unfettered press.
Zimbabwe is not
a kingdom so Mugabe should not be treated like a king by the
media?
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 15 September 2011
18:17
THERE is no doubt the release by WikiLeaks of secret United States
diplomatic cables from different embassies dotted around the world has
caused a global storm. The sheer scope and scale of the revelations is not
just unprecedented but also earth-shattering.
The disclosures cover a
wide range of issues spanning abuses of power,
brutality by states,
corruption, hypocrisy, lies and deception.
It is time for
some dispassionate assessment of what the WikiLeaks affair
has taught us.
Lessons fall into different categories, including the foreign
policy matrix,
diplomatic processes, and geo-politics. Let’s take them in
reverse
order.
WikiLeaks releases have taught us that over the years
politicians have been
staging shows for us and this will continue as they
persist in pursuit of
their interests. We must keep tabs on political actors
to decipher their
personal and policy actions. The cables also showed us how
diplomats gather,
process and dispatch information which feeds into foreign
policy formulation
and options. The cables reflect field reporting, but are
not an expression
of policy by themselves.
The US is the biggest
casualty of the WikiLeaks releases. Its statecraft and
adventures around the
world have been opened to the elements. .
In that regard, WikiLeaks releases
gave perspective and insight into the
world of politics and diplomacy in
many countries, including Zimbabwe.
A trend analysis of the cables on
Zimbabwe illuminates contemporary
political dynamics and highlight certain
themes and patterns running through
the dispatches. The most common threads
are on Zanu PF’s internal dynamics
and Mugabe’s succession issue, his health
and future.
Above all, the cables enable us to read into the broader
picture of the
situation in Zimbabwe and come up with informed conclusions
in the context
of what has been and is still happening and indeed is bound
to happen.
One thing which is now very clear from the reading of US
cables is that key
Zanu PF officials want Mugabe to go. They think he has
overstayed his
welcome and is also too old for him to continue in
power.
The faction which emerges as the most aggressive and agitated
is the one led
by Vice-President Joice Mujuru.
Thus, the cables
give us an insight into how the Zanu PF factions interact
with forces around
them trying to shape and influence debate on Mugabe’s
succession.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, who leads the other Zanu PF
faction, is also in the mix
and this changes Mugabe's relations with senior
party leaders.
The Mnangagwa faction also met with Americans, although its
members appear
so far to have been more cautious than their rivals. But this
does not mean
they don’t want Mugabe to quit.
This is why
Jonathan Moyo’s latest somersault on whether Mugabe should go or
not is a
disgraceful charade. Moyo, who met the Americans several times and
wanted
Mugabe out, now claims everyone wants him to stay. Of course, this is
obvious deceit which no one, including himself and Mugabe, would believe.
Moyo is caught in a complex web of deception of his own making and is
dismally failing to extricate himself.
He can abuse the
suborned public media to fuel hate speech and insult
journalists
illuminating his duplicity, but the truth is he has been exposed
for what he
really is: a despicable political turncoat and hypocrite.
There is
nothing inherently wrong with local politicians meeting foreign
diplomats
and becoming “useful messengers” for them if they want, but their
treachery
and lies is what is unacceptable.
However, whatever Zanu PF does with
its own “sellouts”, it must not forget
to address the fundamental issues at
stake. The real issue here is that
Mugabe has overstayed his welcome, ruined
the country and now lacks
legitimacy.
His failures,
unredeemed by claims of positive achievements, dictate he must
go. The
crisis has been simmering for far too long, hindering national
progress and
development, and now it’s time for senior Zanu PF officials to
tell Mugabe
frankly and openly to step down for his own sake and that of the
country. We
can’t afford another five-year Mugabe term to stretch his
controversial and
failed rule further.
