http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
22:00
INDEPENDENT Member of Parliament for Tsholotsho North Jonathan
Moyo
has accused MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti of being the first
lawmaker to
violate the secret ballot principle during the election of
Lovemore Moyo as
Speaker of the House of Assembly last
month.
In an application lodged with the High Court last
week seeking the
nullification of the election of the speaker, the former
Information
minister said Biti failed to set an example, which his fellow
MPs should
have followed.
Moyo said Biti was the first person
to openly display his completed
ballot paper to members of his party despite
the Clerk of Parliament Austin
Zvoma informing the house earlier that the
election was secret.
"I wish to place on record the fact that,
because his name is
alphabetically the sixth on the roster of honourable
members of the House of
Assembly and the first among members from the MDC-T
party, Honourable Biti
was the first person to openly display his completed
ballot paper in
deliberate and defiant violation of the election procedure
that the first
respondent (Zvoma) had laid out for honourable members," Moyo
averred in his
founding affidavit.
Moyo said Biti's
unprecedented conduct caused more than a fracas in
the house as legislators
started shouting objections, including trading
insults on top of their
voices.
He said the voting process degenerated into
disorder.
"He (Biti) actually led the way into utter disorder as
captured in
exhibit A in the attached video," Moyo said.
Moyo
said with the exception of only a handful of MDC-T lawmakers, the
majority
followed the example set by Biti to display their completed ballot
papers
and Zvoma did nothing to stop it.
According to Moyo, the MDC-T MPs
would collect the ballot paper, take
it to the booth where they would put an
X against their candidate and come
and open the ballot paper in front of
their vice-president Thokozani Khupe,
chief whip Innocent Gonese, party
spokesperson Nelson Chamisa and Biti
before placing it into the ballot
box.
"I was able to witness the shocking behaviour because I was
seated on
the front row to the left of the chair directly opposite where
honourable
members Biti, Khupe and Gonese were seated on the front row to
the right of
the chair," Moyo averred.
He said the MDC-T
legislators, emboldened by the conduct of Biti and
Khupe, became defiant in
the manner they openly displayed their completed
ballot papers.
"For example Honourable Amos Chibaya who represents the constituency
of
Mkoba defiantly and loudly challenged honourable members who were
objecting
to the rampant open display of completed ballot papers by
honourable members
from the MDC-T party by charging that, "Nyangwe tika
vhura une basa reyi
nazvo (Even if we open and display the completed ballots
that is none of
your business)?" Moyo alleged.
MDC MP for Mbare Pineal Denga is
said to have shouted, "Ivoti yangu ka
iyi" (This is my vote!).
He said various objections by Zanu PF MP for Chirumanzi-Zibagwe
Emmerson
Mnangagwa fell on deaf ears as Zvoma ignored them saying he was not
taking
any questions.
"In these circumstances it is now common cause that
the election of
Speaker on Monday August 25, 2008 was characterised by
systematic and
scandalous irregularities never before witnessed in
parliament," Moyo
argued.
He said the election of the Speaker
of parliament as conducted by
Zvoma was unlawful in that it violated Section
39(2) of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe that states that "the Speaker shall be
elected in accordance with
standing orders".
By Wongai
Zhangazha
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
21:16
THE inclusive government to be run jointly by President Robert
Mugabe
and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will face numerous challenges in
implementing the agreement they signed on Monday, among them how to tackle
the land issue and reform state organs.
Mugabe,
Tsvangirai and the leader of the other MDC formation Arthur
Mutambara,
signed a coalition agreement in a bid to end the country's
10-year crisis
after 17 months of negotiations.
South African President Thabo
Mbeki facilitated the Sadc-initiated
talks.
Political analysts
said the implementation of the agreement would face
hurdles with Zanu
frustrating its execution.
Under the deal, the new government would
carry out "a comprehensive
and non-partisan" land audit to establish
accountability and eliminate
multiple farm ownership.
But
analysts warned that it would not be easy to repossess the land as
most
multiple farm owners were Zanu PF bigwigs and have close relations to
Mugabe.
Numerous land audits were undertaken since 2000, but
very few multiple
farm owners were chucked out.
The agreement
said the United Kingdom government has the primary
responsibility to pay
compensation for land acquired from former white
commercial
farmers.
The challenge in enforcing that provision, the analysts
observed, was
it imposed an obligation on Britain that was not part to the
deal signed on
Monday.
This, the analysts argued, meant that
however desirable, the payment
of compensation would depend on the
acceptance of Britain to assume the
obligation placed upon it.
"You have to consider here that there are also internal dynamics in
Britain
that may militate against the fulfillment of this obligation," a
political
analyst who requested anonymity said. "Gordon Brown (British Prime
Minister)
is under the pressure, to put it mildly, and he will hesitate to
take a
position that appears to endorse what appears to be Mugabe's
stance."
He said if Britain accepted responsibility it would amount
to
accepting that Mugabe was right all along.
The new
government will also find it difficult to reform the state
media despite
that Zanu PF and the two MDCs agreed that they would take
steps to ensure
that the public media provides balanced and fair coverage to
all political
parties.
Just like the Rhodesia state media in the aftermath of
independence in
1980 took time to adjust, the same would be the case in
respect of the way
the ZBC and Zimpapers are operating.
The
analysts warned that there would be resistance to change, with
Zanu PF
fighting to control ZBC and Zimpapers for propaganda purposes.
Another hurdle in implementing the agreement would be reforming of
state
organs, especially the army, the police and the Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) whose leaders declared before the March 29 and June 27
elections that they would not salute Tsvangirai if he wins the presidential
election.
The state security organs reportedly spearheaded
Mugabe's bloody
presidential run-off campaign, which Tsvangirai's MDC
claimed to have
resulted in the death of over 120 of his supporters, plus 10
000 families
displaced and thousands injured.
The bond between
Mugabe and some of the service chiefs would be hard
to break. Even when
talks for an inclusive government were underway in
August, Mugabe honoured
war veterans and some of the service chief who were
accused of perpetrating
violence.
On Defence Forces Day, Mugabe rewarded the men who helped
him secure
Zimbabwe's presidential election by giving them
medals.
The beneficiaries included war veteran and also head of the
Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission George Chiweshe, Happyton Bonyongwe, head of
the CIO,
which the MDC claimed to have seized, tortured and killed its
activists
before the presidential run-off. Paradzai Zimondi, the prison
service chief
who said he would not recognise a Tsvangirai victory, was also
honoured.
Alex Magaisa, a law lecturer at Kent University in
Britain, yesterday
told the Zimbabwe Independent that reforming the state
organs would be a
challenge to the new government.
"That is
going to be a huge and important challenge because the
culture inculcated in
these organs is irrepressibly pro-Zanu PF," Magaisa
said. "I notice that
there are numerous references to training and
re-training of personnel in
the security organs - that's an important
feature which will need
implementation -- but the question is would the
implementation take place
soon?"
Other analysts said it would be difficult to reform the
army, the
police and the CIO without easing out their leaders whose terms of
office
were extended to 2011 by Mugabe before the March 29 harmonised
elections.
The inclusive government will also have a dilemma on how
to reform
loss-making parastatals, which perform the bulk of the country's
important
service provision.
Some of the parastatals are headed
by former army and police officials
and needed to be demilitarised, analysts
observed.
Under the deal signed on Monday, Mugabe after consulting
Tsvangirai,
will appoint heads of parastatals and other government
departments, meaning
that the president has the final say.
Sources in Tsvangirai's party said they intended to push for the
appointment
of new diplomats, but Zanu PF was likely to fight the proposal
to retain the
current ambassadors.
Tsvangirai's MDC, the sources said, was of the
opinion that there was
need to build bridges that have been burned over the
years.
The party believes that a levelheaded and diplomatic person
should
lead the foreign ministry.
"Zimbabwe simply needs to
take a detour from its belligerent approach,
especially against Western
countries," Magaisa said. "Therefore, the
appointment of diplomats needs
careful handling so that both Zanu PF and the
MDC can help build proper
relations because any aggressive stance will
jeopardise the work of the new
government. Changes will be gradual but they
have to have important symbolic
significance to the wider world."
Analysts said the government
would face a Herculean task to have
sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by
Britain, its European Union allies and the
United States
lifted.
The parties agreed to work together in "re-engaging the
international
community with a view to bringing to an end the country's
international
isolation".
But analysts said Zanu PF and the two
MDCs had no capacity to
influence the removal of the sanctions.
They pointed to the cautious optimism Britain, the EU and the United
States
expressed over the signing of the deal as an indication that
sanctions could
remain.
The countries said they would only lift the embargoes after
seeing
progress on the implementation of the deal.
The
reforming of the national youth programme would also be difficult
to
implement because since its inception it has been partisan with its
graduates used to perpetrate acts of violence against opponents of Zanu
PF.
By Constantine Chimakure
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
21:58
PRIME Minister-designate and MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai
is next
week expected to embark on a countrywide tour to assess the
distribution of
food aid by the government and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs).
According to the United Nations, over 5,1
million people -
approximately 45% of the population - would have no access
to food by
year-end.
Sources in the MDC said Tsvangirai wanted
to get an appreciation of
how the food crisis is, especially in rural
areas.
"Tsvangirai will embark on the tour to assess the extent of
the food
shortages in the country and to monitor the distribution of food
aid," one
of the sources said.
"The tour has been in the
pipeline for sometime now. The president (of
the party) thinks this is the
appropriate time to embark on it given that he
will be appointed prime
minister soon and would be mandated to seek food aid
for the suffering
Zimbabweans."
Nelson Chamisa, the MDC spokesperson, declined to
confirm or deny
Tsvangirai's intended tour.
However, United
States ambassador James McGee told an international
radio on Wednesday that
Tsvangirai had informed him he would from next week
conduct a food
insecurity assessment field trips.
McGee said: "He himself
(Tsvangirai) will be out in the field next
week seeing to the food
insecurity problems here in Zimbabwe."
The ambassador said the US
had instructed NGOs it supports to "get out
there in the field and do their
job".
According to a recent Food and Agricultural Organisation and
World
Food Programme (WFP) joint crop and food supply assessment, the number
of
food insecure persons in rural and urban areas would be 2,04 million by
the
end of this month.
The two organisations said the number
would rise to 3,8 million
between October and December 2008 and peak at 5,1
million between January
and March 2009.
Meanwhile, members of
the Action by Churches Together International
(ACT) in the country on
Tuesday said they were going to intensify their food
aid programmes after
government lifted the ban on NGOs.
The ACT is made up of Christian
Care and the Lutheran Development
Services.
The members said
they had suspended their fieldwork because of the ban
resulting in them
failing to distribute food to two million Zimbabweans.
Plans to
deliver seeds and livestock for the next agricultural season
were also put
on hold. - Staff Writer.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September
2008 20:47
THE Reserve Bank was on Wednesday forced to introduce a new
1
000-dollar note which was scheduled for the festive season after the bank
failed to find a lasting solution to meet the daily cash
demands.
Information gathered by Businessdigest yesterday
revealed that the
Reserve Bank which the IMF says is technically insolvent
was under pressure
from banks, companies, government and individuals to
ensure that the cash
situation which has been worsening since the
introduction of the new
currency improves.
Businessdigest
understands that Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono was
advised of "the
desperate cash situation" in Casablanca, Morocco where he is
said to be out
on "official business".
Gono in turn gave orders for the bank to
introduce the new note
earlier than scheduled. The note was scheduled to be
introduced during the
festive season to coincide with increased cash demands
associated with the
period.
Gono also ordered that the maximum
cash withdrawal be reviewed from
$500 to $1000 because of skyrocketing costs
of goods and services.
Reserve Bank officials told businessdigest
that despite the bank
reducing its quasi fiscal activities and was no-longer
printing money at the
rate it used to, it had failed to improve the cash
situation.
Bank executives said transactions were taking longer to
be processed
for companies and banks to receive cash because of the
situation.
The situation has also been worsened by the withdrawal
of Giesecke and
Devrient, a German company which has been supplying Zimbabwe
with paper to
print money for the past 40 years in June.
Despite Gono saying the Reserve Bank had put in place "pro-active and
appropriate" strategies to counter these developments, the situation has
been deteriorating.
Memoranda sent to banks on Tuesday with
regards to the new notes and
maximum cash withdrawal which usually have
Gono's signature had a different
signature.
Bankers Association
of Zimbabwe (BAZ) president John Mangudya however
said cash shortages could
end soon.
"What we are seeing now is the release of pent-up demand
for cash
which is also a direct indication of the hyperinflationary
environment that
we are living in," he said.
Banks interviewed
said they were being allocated insufficient money
for a half day's demand as
the Reserve bank did not have money.
Liquidity problems at some of
the banks also compounded the problem
because such banks were unable to
request adequate cash allocations from the
central bank.
Reserve Bank officials yesterday said the cash shortages will persist
as
banks had inadequate Treasury Bills (TB) that they can use as collateral
when collecting money from the Bank.
According to the Reserve
Bank, banks lacked sufficient TBs to collect
cash from the bank which has
resulted in stringent conditions to release
money onto the
market.
Although the Reserve Bank has introduced a higher
denomination, long
winding queues of people waiting to withdraw their money
continue to be a
common feature around the central business
district.
Banks are required to lodge Treasury Bills at the Reserve
Bank as
collateral before being given cash that meets their client's daily
requirements.
Bankers said Treasury Bills which are issued at
340% against official
inflation of 11,2 million% will compromise their
earnings and force them to
scale down on the amounts they have been
procuring in cash in relation to
deposits.
While the Reserve
Bank has kept the accommodation rates very high,
annualised at 1,5
decillion%(33 zeros), depositors are languishing with
interest rates below
250% per annum.
The Reserve bank also demands 45% of statutory
reserves from banks and
this according to officials has seen most financial
institutions "hurriedly"
offloading their securities portfolios to improve
their liquidity positions.
Banks have become victims of abrupt
policy changes and disposing of
their stocks thus becomes the only option to
improve liquidity.
Confronted with high inflation, depositors would
see little incentive
to leave money in the banks, especially now when the
interest rates on
savings and current accounts are generally below 10% per
annum.
Commercial banks are now citing general preference towards
Bankers
Acceptances over TB's which no longer have the "all important
liquidity
status".
Presently, 30-day Bankers Acceptances are
being drawn in the market at
yields around 1 000%, which, when annualised,
leave banks raking in returns
of about 147 731%.
These returns
are well above the TB returns of 340%. Banks have had
few TBs accumulating
on their balance sheets.
Gono has however accused banks of creating
"artificial" cash shortages
by failing to collect money from the country's
main bank to distribute it to
clients.
"Notwithstanding the
high levels of cash stocks sitting at the Reserve
Bank ready for dispatch
into the market, banking institutions have been
noted to be engaging in
imprudent and unethical practices which are creating
artificial queues for
cash," Gono told journalists and bankers recently..
Meanwhile
parallel market rates appreciated while stock markets'
bullish sentiments
slowed down after the country's three main political
parties on Monday
agreed to give priority to the restoration of economic
stability.
While it might take some time to realise a long-term
and sustainable
improvement in the economic variables in the short term, a
cautiously-optimistic behaviour by speculators, parallel market dealers and
investors could see a decline in asset-price inflation through a slowdown in
expectational pricing.
The Zimbabwe dollar appreciated against
the US dollar on the parallel
market on Tuesday from $500 on Friday last
week to the US dollar to between
$400 and 350 for cash. Real Time Gross
Settlement (RTGS) gained to trade
around $3 500 to the US dollar yesterday
from above $4 600 on Friday last
week.
The industrial index
recorded its heaviest loss since the beginning of
the year on Tuesday after
the signing of the power sharing deal between the
country's three political
parties shedding 47,50% while the mining index
lost 53,72%. The market
however rebounded 34% for the mainstream industrial
index and 83% for the
mining index.
Investment rates remained subdued during the week
owing to high
liquidity that is emanating from fiscal and quasi-fiscal
expenditure, with
the 7-14 day NDC rates remaining largely unquoted. The
30-90 investments
rates were quoted in the range of 50-300%, a sign of the
low appetite for
cash currently on the market.
The 365-day
Treasury bill rate was unchanged at 340%.
By Paul Nyakazeya
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008 20:41
ZIMBABWE has been ranked as the country with the worst economic
freedom out
of the 141 countries surveyed, according to Economic Freedom of
the World:
2008 Annual Report, released on Tuesday by the Free Market
Foundation
(FMF).
The report, produced by Canada's Fraser Institute,
with local input
provided by the FMF, measures economic freedom by
considering aspects such
as size of government, the legal system, access to
"sound" money that is not
eroded by inflation or hindered by foreign
exchange controls, freedom to
trade internationally, and regulation of
credit, labour and business.
According to the report, Zimbabwe has
been performing badly in the
five areas compared to the other 141 countries
surveyed.
"Zimbabwe has been found wanting in all measures used in
the survey
and was ranked at the bottom," said the report.
The
report ranks Hong Kong number one, followed by Singapore and New
Zealand.
Angola and Burma are second and third from bottom.
"The single most
important factor in economic growth is the legal
system. The laws of
economics say to governments, 'You can really mess up on
a lot of things and
we'll forgive you provided you have a good legal system',"
said FMF
executive director Leon Louw.
Zimbabwe's investment rating has
remained dismal with the latest World
Bank report indicating it was still
one of the worst countries to do
business in . The World Bank ranked
Zimbabwe 168 out of 181 on the ease of
doing business index, highlighting
deterioration in the country's unstable
economic environment.
The stiffest challenge for any government that emerges from the
power-sharing deal itself a "product of painful compromises", is to ensure
that the country's "economic freedom and doing business ratings" improve
after it's economy shrunk by 60% in a decade.
Article three of
the power-sharing deal signed in Zimbabwe on Monday
says the parties agreed
"to give priority to the restoration of economic
stability and growth in
Zimbabwe".
The agreement said the new government would lead the
process of
developing and implementing an economic recovery strategy and
plan.
"To that end the parties are committed to working together on
a full
and comprehensive economic programme to resuscitate Zimbabwe's
economy,
which will urgently address the issues of production, food
security, poverty
and unemployment and the challenges of high inflation,
interest rates and
exchange rates," the agreement said.
"The
cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary
exchange,
freedom to compete, and security of private property," said the
report.
The report, said research has shown that individuals
living in
countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy higher levels
of
prosperity, greater individual freedoms and longer life
spans.
This year's report also contains new research showing the
effects of
economic freedom on poverty reduction.
By Paul
Nyakazeya
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
20:37
THE National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) has said the
recent
"dollarisation" by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe would create more
price
distortion due to poor implementation.
The NECF,
which said it proposed the idea, said the Reserve Bank
should have
introduced foreign currency denominated zones instead of
licencing 1 000
retail shops.
Last week, Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono,
announced that 1 000
retailers and 250 wholesalers would be allowed to sell
goods in foreign
currency, in a bid to improve availability of goods on the
shelves.
"Our vision was to create (foreign currency denominated)
zones not 1
000 shops for ease of monitoring," NECF spokesman Nhlanhla
Masuku told
journalists on Tuesday.
NECF said the Reserve Bank
"misrepresented their ideas" in the foreign
currency reforms introduced last
week.
"In Harare we had proposed Westgate shopping mall, High Glen
and
Chitungwiza as the foreign currency shopping zones while in Bulawayo we
had
suggested Nkulumane Shopping Complex and the Bulawayo Centre to be
ring-fenced as the foreign currency shopping zones," he said.
The NECF said the project which they presented to the president on
June 11
this year would not create the desired business as it will create
many price
distortions and fall away from regional benchmarks.
"What has been
done destroys the whole objective of what the NECF had
in mind, we are
lobbying again," said Masuku.
NECF said it was prepared to send out
groups to Mozambique, where the
concept has been adopted and was working, on
a fact-finding mission on how
to correctly implement the
programme.
Another senior official with the organisation said the
move by the
Reserve Bank was aimed at making money through licensing
retailers.
"This was merely a creation of inflation pressure and if
we have a
credible cabinet with sound policies we will not need all these
organisations and temporary measures," the official said.
The
National Incomes and Pricing Commission (NIPC) chairman, Goodwills
Masimirembwa this week told businessdigest that the intentions of the
governor were noble although there were some loose ends that needed to be
dealt with before the policy could be fully implemented.
"The
economy has been dollarised and the difficulty we have is the
policy's
impact on pricing," said Masimirembwa.
"They will be a negative
impact on pricing and there is going to be
increased demand for foreign
currency by the ordinary man on the street and
where will people get the
foreign currency from," he said.
Masimirembwa said the situation
was likely to exert pressure on the
parallel market resulting in the price
of foreign currency going up.
He said the NIPC will continue to be
relevant as it will continue to
set prices and make sure that regional
benchmarks are observed.
Economic analyst Daniel Ndhlela, said
although the governor denied
that he had dollarised the economy, what he did
amounted to unofficial
dollarisation.
"There is going to be
further distortions as no one, even those
without licences will be willing
to charge in foreign currency," Ndhlela
said.
Ndhlela also said
the move does not in any way address the problems
that the economy, is
facing such as inflation. John Robertson another
economic analyst said
though the governor was trying to control the informal
sector and control
transactions that were being done in foreign currency,
there were not many
advantages to it.
"Ideas are not compatible; they don't do anything
to overcome problems
associated with foreign currency scarcities. This is
just another government
interference in what was becoming an official and
efficient market," said
Robertson.
Tony Hawkins, an analyst and
lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe
said Gono did not have much of a
choice but to dollarise since the economy
had already been
dollarised.
Hawkins said, "They just wanted to make money by
selling licences but
SMEs don't have the foreign currency to purchase the
licences and that is
not going to solve anything."
By Jeslyn
Dendere
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
20:31
RESERVE Bank governor Gideon Gono's tenure could be short-lived
in the
new inclusive government after it emerged that Zanu PF and MDC
politicians
and business leaders are pushing for his removal.
Sources said reformists in Zanu PF and the MDC wanted an end to Gono's
term
in office, blaming his macro-economic policies for the deepening
economic
crisis.
Politicians aligned to former army general Solomon Mujuru's
camp in
Zanu PF reportedly wanted Gono fired, while senior members of the
Morgan
Tsvangirai-led MDC are also calling for his head.
During
the inter-party talks, sources said, the MDC pushed for Gono's
removal
either through sacking or by not renewing his contract at the end of
his
first term in office in November.
However, the sources said the MDC
was reportedly told that Gono was
appointed by the president in line with
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act.
"They were told that Mugabe has
the prerogative to remove him," one of
the sources said.
"It is
going to be difficult to have Gono removed by Mugabe because of
their strong
ties. Mugabe may even appoint him a finance minister. What can
the MDC
do?"
The sources said the MDC wanted Gono to be replaced by one of
his
three deputies -- Edward Mashiringwani -- who has worked for the World
Bank
and over 20 years at the central bank. The other deputies, Charity
Dhliwayo
and Nicholas Ncube, sources said could retain their
posts.
Under his tenure the central bank undertook quasi-fiscal
policies like
the Basic Commodity Supply Side Intervention (Bacossi) and the
farm
mechanisation programmes, among others, that have been widely
criticised for
fuelling inflation.
He, however, defended his
policies saying he was operating in
"desperate" situations that required
desperate solutions.
He joined the Reserve Bank when inflation was
double digit, but
official figures last released indicated that it was now
above 11 million
percent.
If the central bank chief leaves, he
would be the first governor since
1980 to have only served one term. His
predecessors Kombo Moyana and Leonard
Tsumba both served the mandatory two
terms each.
Independent economist John Robertson said it would be
unfair to blame
Gono because he failed to deliver as a result of political
interference by
Zanu PF, which instructed him to embark on populist
policies.
"We need discipline from the central bank," Robertson
said.
"We need the government to stop printing money . . . that is
what's
causing inflation. He (Gono) wasn't allowed to do what should have
been done
or he did not do what he could have done."
Callisto
Jokonya, president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries, declined to
comment on Gono's performance and assertions that
business wanted the
central bank boss fired or his contract not renewed at
the end of his first
term in office in November.
Jokonya said the business community
would engage the parties in the
inclusive government and assist in turning
around the economy.
"Like any other development, this new era
requires new thinking and
new blood," Jokonya said.
"Just as
much as reconstructing the economy, business needs to
transform
equally."
MDC secretary-general and chief negotiator in the
inter-party talks,
Tendai Biti, before the March elections blasted Gono as
the "Al Qaeda" and
"saboteur" of the country's topsy-turvy
economy.
Efforts to get a comment from Gono were fruitless last
night as he was
out of the country on business, but he is on the record
saying that if asked
to leave the bank he would do without
qualms.
By Bernard Mpofu
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18
September 2008 20:29
NATIONAL Foods Limited (Natfoods) believes its
turnover which
increased by 3,9 million percent to $2,7 million (revalued)
for the interim
period ending June 30 and its operating profit which
increased by 7,8
million percent to $1,7 million could have been "far much
better" had it not
been for price controls.
Realising
how the current unstable economic environment and price
controls were
affecting its operation, Natfoods said it will focus on
obtaining raw
materials to increase its production levels.
The industrial
agro-processor said it will also find sustainable
methods of financing the
importation of grains and oils in the current
reporting season.
During the period under review, Natfood realised a profit after tax of
$24
million while its basic earnings per share increased by 183 million
percent
to 36 cents (revalued).
Most of Natfoods' divisions traded below
previous levels a situation
which saw the company leasing some of its
underutilised depots.
Natfoods, one of the first beneficiaries of
the Bacossi funds has
scaled down its operations due to lack of raw
materials, and power outages.
Natfoods manufactures mealie-meal,
cooking oil and flour. Consumers
have however been forced to import flour
and cooking oil from South Africa.
"We do not have enough raw
materials, that is our major constraint
here at National Foods," said Golden
Chekenyere, spokesperson for National
Foods told businessdigest
recently.
"Another constrain that has been of major concern is the
intermittent
power outages. The disruption in power supply has been
costly.
"We are running a loss every time there is a power cut. For
example if
the mill is running and power stops, we can lose the product or
it can be
affected. We lose money due to such unplanned work stoppages," he
said.
Chekenyere said the company has been battling to get raw
materials
from the Grain Marketing Board which is their sole supplier. --
Staff
Writer.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
19:30
MISA-Zimbabwe welcomes the signing of the agreement by Zanu PF
and the
two (MDC) formations as a development that should usher in a new era
of
tolerance and diversity of views underpinned by fundamental reforms that
respect the right to freedom of expression and access to information by
citizens.
The media and most critically radio and
television because of their
wider reach, play a critical role in creating
the required platform for
national dialogue that will input into the
envisaged era of national
healing, stability, harmony, reconciliation and
economic development.
Misa-Zimbabwe is therefore appealing to the
incoming inclusive
government to prioritise the transformation of the
Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation (ZBC) from a state broadcaster into a
truly independent public
service broadcaster (PBS) that serves the citizens
objectively and
impartially as a matter of extreme urgency.
The
role of the PBS is that of enhancing the national collective
responsibility
of engaging the people of Zimbabwe to actively participate in
national
discourse by freely expressing, imparting and accessing information
through
the broadcaster irrespective of one's political affiliation,
religion,
ethnicity, colour or creed.
The African Charter on Broadcasting
(ACB), which calls for a
three-tier system of broadcasting that includes
public service, commercial
and community broadcasting can be used as a
benchmark for the enactment of
the enabling legislation and policy
formulation. The Charter stipulates
that:
*All formal powers in
the areas of broadcast and telecommunications
regulation should be exercised
by public authorities protected against
interference, particularly of a
political or economic nature, by, among
other things, an appointments
process for members which is open,
transparent, involves the participation
of civil society, and is not
controlled by any particular political
party.
*All state and government controlled broadcasters should be
transformed into PSBs, that are accountable to all strata of the people as
represented by an independent board, and that serve the overall public
interest, avoiding one-sided reporting and programming in regard to
religion, political belief, culture, race and gender.
*PSBs
should, like broadcasting and telecommunications regulators, be
governed by
bodies which are protected against interference.
*The public
service mandate of PSBs should be clearly defined.
*The editorial
independence of PSBs should be legally guaranteed.
*PSBs should be
adequately funded in a manner that protects them from
arbitrary interference
with their budgets.
ZBC should therefore be run by an independent
board which is
representative of civil society, the media, churches, labour
and the
business community among others. This will cushion the institution
from
falling into the helms of political and economic interests that
compromise
its public service mandate.
Misa-Zimbabwe remains
committed to playing its contributive role
towards that eventuality and
reiterates its position that an enabling
environment can only be created
through:
1. An immediate cessation of the arrest, harassment and
torture of all
journalists and media houses reporting on
Zimbabwe.
2. The granting of permission to all media houses, (both
foreign and
local) to cover the political situation.
3. The
suspension and subsequent repealing of all repressive
legislation that
targets the media, and in particular, the Access to
Information and
Protection of Privacy Act, the Broadcasting Services Act and
the
Interception of Communications Act.
In their place, all media
policy should be guided by the principles
outlined in the African Charter on
Human and Peoples Rights, the Windhoek
Declaration and the African Charter
on Broadcasting.
4. An immediate conversion of the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation
from a state broadcaster into a public broadcaster
under the guidelines
outlined in the African Charter on Broadcasting. --
Misa-Zimbabwe
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
19:27
EVERY picture tells a story. The picture of Mugabe, Mutambara and
Tsvangirai after signing the 'deal' portrayed a bitter Mugabe having to
stand next to the "despicable" Tsvangirai .
He surely
must have felt like he was standing next to Gordon Brown.
Arthur Mutambara
looked like a young boy who could not wait any longer
before running to the
school grounds to show off his new prized possession.
For the
people of Matabeleland the picture would have told a different
story. For
the first time in a very long time no leader from that part of
the world was
part of the set. There was no Enos Nkala, no Joshua Nkomo nor
Dumiso
Dabengwa -- there was nobody. To think it's this very part of the
country
that by default will decide the sway of discussions and decisions in
Parliament.
It would not be out of place to contemplate how the
three leaders will
recognise the significant contribution that Matabeleland
holds in the
corridors of power. When they have their own little discussions
-- and they
will be many -- who among them will truly and honestly take up
the mantle
for Lupane, Kezi and Mawabeni?
For MDC Mutambara the
question should be fairly simple to answer. All
his cabinet posts must be
made up of MPs and or senators from this part of
the country. There is no
point in Mutambara or any of his executive council
kidding themselves that
they are a national party -- they are not. He is
only deputy prime minister
as a result of the elections of those MPs and
senators.
The
challenge for MDC Tsvangirai is no different. The message will not
be lost
to Tsvangirai that the people of Matabeleleland have provided the
party's
oxygen without fail since its formation and it is only proper that
their
role and contribution is acknowledged accordingly. There will be an
expectation of proportional representation of the cabinet ministers from
Matabeleland in Tsvangirai's group. The leverage that Thokozani Khuphe,
Lovemore Moyo and others have or do not have will be reflected in the
cabinet make.
Let there be no mistake, the four cabinet posts
for Mutambara, do not
count as part of overall cabinet ministers from
Matabeleland. They are
separate number altogether.
This is not
tribal politics but an acceptance and acknowledgement of
the facts that have
given birth to the structures of political power that
are in place
now.
Others will argue that since the Speaker of Parliament is from
Matabeleland that should be sufficient to appease the spirits of Joshua
Nkomo, Lookout Masuku, King Lobengula and others, it is not. The truth be
told the Speaker of Parliament was delivered courtesy of the Mutambara MPs
who by default may have realised that a perfect opportunity had arisen to
tilt the pillars of power towards Matabeleland.
Zanu PF faces
no such problem.
By Bekithemba Mhlanga
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
21:34
Chimakure: Professor, what is the meaning and significance of the
power-sharing agreement signed on Monday?
Mutambara: In
the history of every nation there comes a time when a
unique and
game-changing opportunity presents itself to the citizens of that
country.
Such an occasion, to chart a different national trajectory, is what
we
witnessed on Monday. Every generation of Zimbabweans will define what it
means to be Zimbabwean. What we did on that Monday was to start a
conversation about our collective destiny leading to a shared definition of
the Zimbabwe we want. Achieving a political settlement through the
establishment of an all-inclusive government is the beginning of a long and
arduous journey towards a peaceful, democratic and prosperous
Zimbabwe.
Chimakure: Can you tell us the agenda of this inclusive
government,
and how it is going to work?
Mutambara: This is a
coalition government of three political parties
which means, necessarily,
that you have to combine the political platforms
of those three entities.
There has to be synergistic and complementary
integration of the different
political programmes. However, there is a
unifying and overriding theme
defining the agenda. Our collective mandate
involves addressing the
unprecedented humanitarian, political and economic
crisis characterising our
country. Surely, these are shared terms of
reference and a common redemptive
framework to address our challenges.
In particular, we have to make
sure that there is food relief to those
in need, national healing, and both
economic stabilisation and recovery. Our
country has gone through traumatic
experiences, in particular during the
months of April, May and June this
year. We have had nearly 10 years of
political polarisation, divisions and
acrimony. We need national healing,
and that healing must cascade from the
top to the villages and townships.
Our economy has virtually
collapsed, with inflation raging beyond 10
million percent. Hence we need
programmes and strategies to stabilise and
recover the economy. More
importantly, we need to transform the economy into
a globally competitive
nation. That is the broad agenda of the inclusive
government.
Obviously as three political parties we may differ on the strategies
and
frameworks to achieve the envisioned future of our country. That is why
ideological compromise and accommodation will be essential. However, there
has to be a common and shared value system rooted in salient and immutable
principles. It is our considered view that there is more that unites us as
Zimbabweans than that which divides us. We have to find each other. The
variance and variability in our perspectives on the national interest and
its pursuit are manageable.
Nonetheless, it is imperative that
we emphasise that this agreement is
a compromise arrangement which is both a
flawed and limited. It is the best
short-term answer to extricate our
country from its worst situation. It is
the price we pay for
peace.
However, it is important that we are cognisant that the
objective is
to deliver services, and improve the quality of our people's
lives. This
government must perform and deliver. The challenge is how do you
extract
efficiency, effectiveness and excellence from a mediocre and
suboptimal
framework? That is the leadership question, and we will not
disappoint.
Chimakure: You alluded to national healing, are we
going to see
perpetrators of political violence in the countdown to the
controversial
June 27 presidential election run-off brought to book? Is
there going to be
a blanket amnesty?
Mutambara: As I have
indicated earlier, we need national healing in
the country so that
Zimbabweans can accept each other irrespective of
political affiliation. We
should never question each other's patriotism
because of our different
political associations. The details of the national
healing programme will
be crafted and executed by the three cooperating
partners.
Without pre-empting that discussion, I must say the underlining
principle is
that we must build a society that cherishes political tolerance
and accepts
freedoms of association, assembly and expression, as
inalienable. The
details of the healing process will be announced at the
appropriate time,
save to say we must break the cycle of impunity. We must
create a society
where we say never again will we have a situation where
Zimbabweans
brutalise their fellow citizens over political differences.
In
order to achieve this, institutions and individuals must always be
accountable and take responsibility for their actions. Even if this means
moral responsibility in order to establish the truth of what happened. We
must embrace restorative justice that seeks to incorporate the views of the
victims and rehabilitate the affected individuals and
communities.
The motive is not retributive justice or revenge. We
seek to heal the
nation and turn the page of history. However, this should
be built on the
basis of accountability and the truth. Abuse of human rights
and crimes
against humanity should never be tolerated in our great country.
It is also
important that as we seek to heal the nation, we take a holistic
and
comprehensive view of our country, starting with the atrocities of the
Smith
regime, through Gukurahundi and the election violence of the past
eight
years, up to the brutality of the June 2008 presidential
election.
The requisite healing goes beyond the nation of Zimbabwe.
After
finding each other internally, we must heal the relationships between
Zimbabwe and its neighbours in Sadc. We must re-establish viable, respectful
and productive relationships with our African brothers and sisters
throughout the continent. This will also augur well for our regional and
Pan-African developmental strategies, which are the cornerstone of our
survival paradigm under globalisation.
Beyond Africa there is
need for healing between Zimbabwe and the rest
of the world, in particular,
with respect to the British, the Europeans and
Americans. Of course this
process must be based on mutual respect,
recognition of Zimbabwean
sovereignty and acceptance of our nation's history
and its consequences
thereof.
Our economic transformation and revolution into a global
player will
be driven by both empowerment of our people and leveraging
strategic
partners in the East, West, North, and South of the globe. We are
saying the
healing is a transportable phenomenon beyond the borders of
Zimbabwe into
the region, Africa and the globe.
Chimakure: Are
there ideological differences between the MDC and Zanu
PF which may be
stumbling blocks to the implementation of the deal? Is there
a meeting of
minds between the three political parties?
Mutambara: Obviously
when you have three political parties, there will
be three political
ideologies. This means we must develop a common agenda to
provide solutions
to the crisis in our country. What we need to do is to
craft and define a
shared value system. We must have a shared vision, that
is, where we want to
take our country, both politically and economically.
There is
enough common ground around issues of good governance, a new
people-driven
constitution, enabling competitive politics and growing the
Zimbabwean
country. That shared vision must be able to force us to work
together
irrespective of our different ideological positions. Where the
ideologies
may play a role is in crafting the strategies to achieve the
vision.
In that arena we have to sit down and compromise and
come up with a
hybrid or composite strategy, which we can then push and use
to achieve a
common vision. The national interest and its pursuit will force
us to
effectively manage our ideological differences. Our charge is to
pursue the
people's agenda. This is about Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans. It is
not about
partisan or personal interests.
Chimakure: Will Zanu
PF's politburo and the two MDC national executive
council decisions have a
bearing on what will happen in the cabinet and
council of ministers? Over
the years we have seen the politburo formulating
policy for implementation
by the government because there was no clear
distinction between Zanu PF and
government?
Mutambara: Yes, those three entities will have their
say. We are three
political parties and as three separate entities, we are
going to have
separate perspectives on how we want things done. This means
there will be
at some level a three-way caucus system before going to
cabinet. In the
three executive bodies of the three political parties,
leaders will discuss
resolutions and thoughts that will be brought to
cabinet. Here these
three-way ideas are debated, compromise achieved and the
composite positions
will then be structured into government business and
brought to Parliament.
The three political parties have to compromise their
different perspectives
and come up with shared platforms that would then be
adopted in cabinet
through collective responsibility. The operative phrase
is an efficient and
dynamic three-way compromise framework.
Chimakure: In your view, do you see any areas of potential conflict in
implementing the inclusive government deal?
Mutambara: There
will be several areas of potential conflict. There
could be differences on
issues pertaining to the land question, public
service reforms, economic
prioritisation, educational reforms, security
institutions reform, and new
constitution development processes. All these
differences are not
insurmountable. Differences are healthy. Diversity of
thought is a source of
creativity and innovation.
The leadership challenge is how best to
manage the differences and
come up with a common position. I am sure the
three cooperating partners
will be able to manage the areas of conflict and
drive the Zimbabwean
agenda.
Chimakure: What will be your role
as deputy prime minister besides
assisting Tsvangirai?
Mutambara: The details of the roles of the two deputy prime ministers
will
be fashioned out soon. I will be able to speak more authoritatively
after
that. Essentially, the role of a deputy prime minister is to assist
the
prime minister in the execution of his responsibilities clearly
articulated
in the agreement. It is primarily a supportive role.
Chimakure: Are
there areas of potential conflict between the two MDCs
and Zanu PF,
especially on the powers and functions of the president and
prime minister
in relation to the cabinet and council of ministers?
Mutambara: The
cabinet, chaired by President Mugabe, and the Council
of Ministers, chaired
by Prime Minister Tsvangirai, are complementary
institutions. The council is
not a parallel cabinet, and it does not
duplicate cabinet functions. It does
not make decisions, nor initiate
activities, which are the functions of
cabinet. The primary functions of the
council include assessment of cabinet
decision implementation, coordination
of government activities, and
reception of cabinet committee reports.
Furthermore, all the three parties'
ministers sit in the council, and hence
it is not possible for any party to
use the council to subvert the cabinet.
Chimakure: Who has "real"
power between the president and prime
minister?
Mutambara: They
both have real power. This is a power-sharing
agreement with an executive
president and an executive prime minister. Both
their powers as clearly
indicated in the agreement are executive and
substantive. What is critical
is for the two leaders to work closely
together and deliver on the promise
of the power-sharing agreement.
Chimakure: During speeches on
Monday, President Mugabe appeared to be
still rooted in the past, while you
and Tsvangirai spoke about the future.
Do you think you can pull in the same
direction with Mugabe?
Mutambara: We are a nation with a rich
history and a revolutionary
tradition rooted in the liberation struggle,
pan-Africanism, emerging nation
solidarity, land revolution and economic
empowerment. A page of history is
worth 10 volumes of logic. We must
understand where we came from and the
lessons of that experience in order to
chart the way forward.
However, it is critical to clearly
articulate our view of the Promised
Land, where we want to be as a nation
both politically and economically.
Having done that, we must then develop a
strategy or game plan that will
take us from the current crisis to the
shared economic and political vision.
Hence the three speeches were
complementary. Yes, Zimbabwean leaders can
pull in the same direction if
they put national interest before any other
considerations. History will
never absolve us if we equivocate and
prevaricate.
Chimakure:
Professor, any further comments?
Mutambara: The work has just
begun. Delivery, impact, and performance
are the only matrics that will
determine the success or failure of the power
sharing agreement. The people
of Zimbabwe have suffered, and they deserve a
new dispensation. We shall not
let them down. Defeat is not on the agenda of
this inclusive
government.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008 21:45
THERE
will no doubt be many people on both sides of the political
spectrum who
have questions and queries about the "power-sharing" deal which
was signed
last Monday.
A good number of these people may be reacting
less on the basis of an
objective analysis of a process of negotiations
that, with the benefit of
only brief hindsight, now appears to have been
inevitable in terms of its
outcome, than as a knee-jerk reaction to an event
that definitely represents
a major turning point in the political history of
contemporary Zimbabwe.
The complaint on the part of some Zanu PF
heavyweights to the effect
that Mugabe has "sold out" smacks of the kind of
self-denial that has
pervaded that party even as it faces defeat. These
heavyweights are just as
responsible as Mugabe himself for the demise of
Zanu PF: they have lacked
the courage and conviction to warn their leader of
the gathering clouds nor
urge him to place the party and nation beyond
himself.
Of course, Mugabe himself is the master of self-denial:
the problem in
Zimbabwe is extraneous, he asserted in his largely incoherent
address during
the signing ceremony on Monday; and above all, he is not
responsible at all
for the division in his party nor for political
circumstances that have led
to this "humiliation" at both the March polls
and the consequent
capitulation to the "power-sharing" deal.
For, a closer reading of the "power-sharing" agreement does contradict
Mugabe's assertion that Zanu PF is "still in a dominant position", less
still in the "driving seat", to quote his statement to the central committee
on Wednesday. And within the few months that follow the historic deal, he
may learn to understand that, in the real world of power relations, there is
no such thing as "power-sharing", especially when someone other than
yourself is actually in the driving seat, as the executive prime minister,
like you were in 1980.
Worse still, it might turn out to be
delusional to expect that, having
conceded defeat as Mugabe has, and no
longer able to live off resources of
the state as Zanu PF has been doing
with such reckless abandon, the party
can be "re-invigorated" and "revived".
As history and precedent can testify,
no party of independence in Africa has
survived having lost state power.
The "power-sharing" agreement
gives Morgan Tsvangirai immense
executive powers as the new prime minister,
and leaves Mugabe as a virtual
ceremonial president. It was essentially
fallacious for the architects of
the agreement to have sought to "share"
power between the two persons and
their respective offices. But it will
prove even more farcical, as the
agreement is rolled out and implemented, to
expect such a "power-sharing"
exercise. The devil, as the saying goes, is in
the detail; but, likewise,
the reality will dawn with practice and in the
exercise of power itself.
Essentially, the prime minister is the
head of government, to whom all
cabinet ministers are accountable, and is
responsible for the oversight of
the formulation and implementation of
policies by the cabinet. Whichever way
one reads the text of the agreement,
it is clear that the prime minister and
his Council of Ministers constitute
the centre of power in the new
dispensation.
Of course, much
will depend on the prime minister's ability to build
and forge a team out of
the apparently disparate ministers that come into
cabinet. To his advantage
will be the core principles that guide all
cabinets: collective
responsibility under the leadership of the prime
minister; and complete
deference to Cabinet matters and policies ahead of
any party
considerations.
Herein lies the opportunity for the new prime
minister to build a team
that will be loyal to both himself and the task at
hand. There is enormous
potential for a real new dispensation that, in
Tsvangirai's own expectation
as expressed in his address last Monday, will
render party labels
increasingly meaningless.
The backdrop of a
former ruling party now on the ropes and the
necessity of the prime minister
himself having to downplay his party in
favour of a united government - all
help towards the successful
implementation of the agreement signed on
September 15.
At least two other observations need to be made with
respect to this
historic agreement.
First, is the priority
given to the "restoration of economic stability
and growth in Zimbabwe".
Clearly, the architects of the agreement were alive
to the studies that have
been completed and expectant of a political
settlement in
Zimbabwe.
Here is an opportunity, as outlined in article III of the
agreement,
for the country to develop a genuine economic policy framework,
on the back
of national dialogue through the National Economic Council, as a
key
advisory body to the government.
Related to this, though an
important provision in its own right, is
the reference to the land question
(article V) and how its resolution will
constitute not only the fulfillment
of the social justice that has been a
central objective in this regard, but
also the backbone of Zimbabwe's
economic development.
The
proposed "comprehensive, transparent and non-partisan land audit"
is, of
course, long overdue and will help to restore the noble objectives of
the
land reform programme whilst also complementing both the social justice
and
economic considerations.
For, the abuse of the land reform
programme over the last eight years
had become one of the most controversial
subjects in the politics of
Zimbabwe, not to mention the extent to which it
has also impacted negatively
on agricultural production.
Above
all, it is evident that the agreement itself is premised on the
need for a
new Constitution for Zimbabwe. In fact, the life of the agreement
begins and
ends virtually with the process through which Zimbabweans will
develop and
design their Constitution, within a very well-defined time
frame, from
November, 2008 to April 2010, by which time the Constitution of
Zimbabwe
will be law, following a referendum in February, 2010.
Significantly, the agreement states, under Article XXIII, Section
23.1.C,
that "this agreement...will be reviewed at the conclusion of the
constitution-making process"
Therefore, it is a fair inference
that this transitional government
will conclude its work by April 2010,
after which there should be elections
under the new Constitution, by June
2010, if the normal three months are
required in preparation for the day
that will see Zimbabwe truly enter a new
dispensation.
By Ibbo
Mandaza
*Mandaza is a politician.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
19:09
THE signing of the inter-party power-sharing agreement between
Zanu PF
and the two MDC formations at the Rainbow Towers this week is
historic, not
only because it signals a triumph for African diplomacy but
also because it
gives Zimbabweans hope to rebuild their shattered
lives.
However, there are still a number of dangers and
possibilities to this
deal. The greatest challenge to this historic but
fragile agreement, in my
view, lies in the reconstruction framework the
coalition government will
adopt.
Given the extent of the
economic decline in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe will
undoubtedly need a massive and
immediate injection of funds from outside to
revive its economy. The general
expectation is that these funds will come
from an economic aid package from
the politically and economically dominant
West.
Some European
countries have already said that they might provide
reconstruction funds
once there is a "credible political settlement" in
Harare. The country has
no foreign currency reserves, multi-lateral lending
agencies such as the
World Bank or International Monetary Fund, are also
expected to play an
important role in providing loans for the country's
recovery.
This kind of reconstruction model, currently informing the thinking of
the
political leadership and their economic advisers in Harare and beyond,
presents both challenges and opportunities.
The most obvious
opportunity is that multi-lateral aid provides the
most immediate source of
funds Zimbabwe can access at the moment. Once these
funds have been
released, the economy, which has been experiencing a
free-fall for more than
eight years, could be stabilised within a few
months, runaway inflation
could be halted and the basis of a broad based
economic recovery could be
laid.
But the main problem with this reconstruction framework is in
its
exclusive reliance on "external goodwill" for recovery. First, it is
naïve
for any country to base its recovery on "external goodwill" because
there is
no such thing as goodwill in international relations, especially
where it
involves Africa and the West.
Second, this external
goodwill is not guaranteed and the recent
statements from European countries
about the provisions of the Rainbow
Towers agreement, the composition of the
new government and its operational
framework proves this point. Against this
backdrop, I cannot understand why
our political leaders seem to think that
the country's recovery will be
facilitated through truckloads of foreign
currency waiting to be offloaded
at Zimbabwe's borders as soon as the ink on
the agreement dries.
Even if Zimbabwe were to receive the expected
Western rescue package,
this aid, as with all Western aid, will come with
difficult conditions which
might jeopardise the agreement and destabilise
the functions of the new
government. With the ink on the deal hardly dried
some Western countries
have already tried to dictate how the new government
should conduct its
affairs in exchange for this envisioned aid. European
governments have
reportedly said that they want to see how much power MDC
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai wields as the prime minister before committing a
rescue package.
Others said they want to see "signs that Tsvangirai is in
total control" and
that the coalition government should be subjected to a
"litmus test" before
it could receive aid.
The arrogant and
preposterous demands that have been expressed include
the removal of senior
civil servants viewed to be partisan to Zanu PF and
the return of the
British Military Assistance Team to retrain Zimbabwe's
soldiers.
Clearly, these attempts to impose political
conditions in exchange for
aid not only display Western arrogance but are
unacceptable. More
fundamentally, the demands are not pragmatic. The new
government is about
Zanu PF and MDC working together.
It is not
about the MDC or Tsvangirai being in control, and the
political deal itself
is crafted in such a way that neither Zanu PF nor the
MDC has absolute
power. The deal gives the prime minister substantial powers
but not absolute
power. How Tsvangirai or the coalition government is
expected to carry out
these demands without violating the terms of the
agreement is beyond any
reasonable person's imagination.
Given these problems associated
with a "rescue package" from the West,
Zimbabwe's leaders need to start
thinking seriously of alternative forms of
financial support based on
effective utilisation of the country's natural
and human resources. The
millions of Zimbabweans now living abroad, in my
view, can be an effective
source of external funds for recovery and
reconstruction if the new
government creates the right opportunities and
spaces for them to be
involved.
In Central America, where many national economies have
collapsed and
the state has been struggling to provide basic services to the
population,
diasporans have been largely responsible for community
development projects
through their social investments and collective
remittances.
In countries like Mexico, migrant remittances have
become the biggest
source of foreign income, and public works that would be
considered the
province of government elsewhere are financed by Mexican
workers'
remittances sent to their hometowns.
Closer to home in
Ghana, remittances from Ghanaians abroad have become
the biggest source of
foreign direct investment received by the country,
much more than amounts
received from Western donor countries and
multi-lateral
institutions.
Since the beginning of the crisis in 2000, the mantle
of helping
Zimbabweans failing to feed and pay school fees for their
children and
assisting schools and hospitals battling to provide normal
services has
fallen on ordinary Zimbabweans.
Zimbabweans living
abroad have also been involved and investing in
community development
projects in their regions, building bridges and
repairing roads. Former
students have been assisting their struggling former
schools by donating
money, books, computers and other research material.
Over the last
couple of years, Zimbabwe has increasingly come to rely
on its nationals
outside for survival and there is no reason why migrant
remittances cannot
be turned into an important source of external funding
for reconstruction if
the remittances, mainly coming through informal
channels, are formalised and
more opportunities for diaspora involvement in
the economy are o With the
right kind of planning and consultation,
Zimbabweans living abroad can play
a crucial role in the country's
reconstruction. In the past, their role has
been limited because of the
political polarisation and absence of formalised
channels of engagement and
imaginative ways to include them in the
developmental planning. Zimbabwe's
leaders need to work on a plan to utilise
both the financial and skills
resources of this important constituency. The
starting point for the new
government would be the setting up of a
department or unit responsible for
the diaspora in the ministries of
economic planning and finance.
By James Muzondidya
*Muzondidya is senior research specialist: Human Sciences Research
Council,
Pretoria.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18
September 2008 19:07
IDEOLOGICAL differences between Zanu PF and the
two MDC formations may
threaten the inclusive government deal signed on
Monday in a bid to end the
country's decade-long
crisis.
The differences were apparent in the acceptance
speeches by the pact's
principals, President Robert Mugabe and the leaders
of both formations of
the MDC -- Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara.
Under the agreement, Mugabe remains president,
Tsvangirai will be
prime minister and Mutambara one of the two deputy prime
ministers. The
other deputy prime minister will come from the Tsvangirai-led
MDC.
Political analysts and commentators said Tsvangirai and
Mutambara
spoke about hope and the future, but Mugabe was unable to move
away from the
past and perceived enemies.
Alex Magaisa, a law
lecturer at Kent University, Britain, said while
there was no doubt that the
country cannot ignore the gravity of history, it
was also necessary to look
to the future and the possibilities that it
offers.
"It seems
to me that those speeches may be harbingers of a difficult
future because if
others try to build bridges with external partners,
especially in the West,
it may be that they could be destroyed by other
members of the team,"
Magaisa said in written responses to questions by the
Zimbabwe Independent.
"I think Mugabe needs to appreciate that Tsvangirai
and Mutambara understand
the problems that Zimbabwe has faced and the
challenges of dealing with the
external parties, but also that they can
bring in a new perspective and
direction that is mutually beneficial."
He noted that despite the
agreement endorsing the irreversibility of
the 2000 land reform programme,
Mugabe on Monday spoke angrily about the
issue.
"If the
rhetoric of antagonism continues, it will ultimately affect
the positive
perception of unity and common purpose that they have been
trying to build
collectively," Magaisa observed.
"There is a risk that such
differences could work against the success
of the inclusive
government."
Political scientist Michael Mhike said it was evident
at the official
signing of the deal that there still exist transitional
challenges, arguing
that Mugabe was yet to accept responsibility for the
comatose economy.
"Rather, he still believes that the ascendancy of
the opposition is
nothing but a direct consequence of the machinations of
the West," Mhike
observed.
"He is still bitter and it will
probably take some time for him to be
convinced that the opposition truly
represents the wishes of the majority of
Zimbabweans."
He said
land and empowerment issues were likely to test the deal.
"Equally,
the economic turnaround options are limited and Mugabe has
set views on what
should be done and he appears unlikely to be flexible,"
Mhike
argued.
"To what extent the opposition comes up with a united front
that can
also attract reform-minded people in Zanu PF to see that the
country is
bigger than their individual egos will determine the pace and
direction of
changes to come."
Zimbabwean-born South Africa
businessman Mutumwa Mawere said the
implementation of the deal could be
scuttled by Mugabe's stubbornness.
"It is safe to say that people
must fasten their seat belts," Mawere
said. "Mugabe can be stubborn and the
need to manage him cannot be
overstated. His stubbornness is born out of his
contention that there exist
forces bent on subverting the sovereignty of the
country and he is not
satisfied that the country is safe without his
custodial input."
He suggested that it would be up to Zimbabweans
to show Mugabe "what
time it is".
"Indeed, it is time for
change and time to look forward and stop
dwelling on the past, however
painful that may be. Tsvangirai set the tone
for the future and together
with Mutambara they provided a framework within
which the new administration
ought to function," Mawere added.
He argued that Mugabe's speech
was significant in that many people
expected to hear a different voice, but
ended up hearing the "tired and
bitter voice" even after he acknowledged the
defining nature of the signing
ceremony.
The analysts said the
inclusive government agreement, as a compromise
document, was fairly messy
and left some grey areas whose resolution will
depend on the political will
of the signatories.
The analysts said the deal provides that
executive authority shall be
shared among the President Mugabe, Prime
Minister Tsvangirai and the
cabinet, but does not clearly demarcate the
boundaries of the powers of the
president and the prime
minister.
This, the analysts added, was a source of potential
conflict between
Mugabe and Tsvangirai in implementing the
deal.
"Nevertheless, there is a crucial provision, which states
that in
exercising executive authority, the parties must have regard to the
'principles and spirit' underlying the agreement to form the inclusive
government," Magaisa said.
"This is very important because it
creates a second tier beyond the
constitution, so that when exercising
executive authority, Mugabe,
Tsvangirai and his senior counterparts do not
simply resort to a legalistic
interpretation of the
constitution."
He observed that they must at all times attempt to
uphold the values
underlying the agreement.
"If they do that,
which requires great political will, I like to think
that they might just be
able to find a way through the legal labyrinth,"
Magaisa
argued.
The analysts said Tsvangirai's council of ministers is no
more than a
special committee of the cabinet to be chaired by Mugabe despite
the deal
not specifying which organ takes precedence over the
other.
One of the analysts noted that the council of ministers is
composed of
the cabinet and argued that in some cases there could be a
"bizarre scenario
whereby the cabinet may be required to report to itself,
where the agreement
says the council of ministers shall report to
cabinet".
"They are effectively the same animal by different
names," a lawyer
who asked for anonymity said.
"A lot will
depend on the practicalities, such as which of the two
meets more
frequently."
He added: "If I were to use an analogy from corporate
organisations,
the council of ministers is more like the management
committee which is
involved in the day-to-day management of government
business under the
supervision of Tsvangirai, with the cabinet as the board
of directors,
meeting periodically under the supervision of Mugabe and his
vice-presidents
who, to take the analogy further, are effectively
non-executive directors."
Tsvangirai, the lawyer argued, would have
the management power on a
day-to-day basis while Mugabe has supervisory
authority.
Mutambara told the Zimbabwe Independent that while there
were areas of
potential differences and conflicts, the parties had a common
agenda to
address the country's humanitarian, political and economic
crisis.
"There will be differences, but that which unites us is
much stronger
and much more fundamental than that which divides us,"
Mutambara said.
"This means we have a common agenda to provide
solutions to the
political crisis, humanitarian crisis and political crisis
in our country.
What we need to do is to craft and define a shared value
system, some
co-principles that are invariably acceptable to the three
players."
By Constantine Chimakure
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
18:59
VERY justifiably, a wave of positive confidence flooded across
the
majority of the Zimbabwean population upon the announcement last week of
the
long awaited,
very belated, agreement between the country's
three principal
political parties to work together to resolve the prolonged,
intensely
debilitating political hiatus, and to achieve a constructive
transformation
of the horrendously devastated economy.
The
pronounced spirit of hope, in some instances verging upon
euphoria, was
undoubtedly stimulated by the magnitude of the immense
stresses that have
been the burden of almost all in Zimbabwe as the economy
has, year after
year, sunk to ever lower levels.
Those stresses have been fuelled
by near all-time record levels of
hyperinflation, by cataclysmic degrees of
unemployment (within the formal
sector), by an almost continuously
deteriorating infrastructure, by extreme
scarcities of basic commodities and
other essentials of life, by the
shattering of family units as more and more
fled to seek livelihoods in
neighbouring territories, and further afield,
and by much else.
Inflation has risen to levels very well in excess
of 20 million, less
than 10% of the employable population is engaged in
formal sector
employment, almost all households are confronted with
electricity supply
interruptions for many hours each day (and some for days
on end), water
supplies are appallingly erratic, and over five million
Zimbabweans, being
more than a third of population, have left their families
in order to strive
to sustain themselves and their loved ones with incomes
earned outside
Zimbabwe.
More than four-fifths of the
population are struggling to survive on
incomes markedly below the poverty
datum line, with many being homeless,
unable to fund education for their
children, and financially deprived of
access to healthcare.
Distraught from all those afflictions which have not only endured for
years,
but have unceasingly become more and more severe, very many of the
Zimbabwean people had lost almost all hope of any positive
changes.
They were more and more convinced that suffering and
misery, to an
ever greater extent, was their lot, to be relieved only by
death.
That dismal perspective of their lot became more and more
deep-seated
as months of intermittent endeavours to achieve a political
accommodation
appeared to be fruitless, with the negotiating politicians (or
some of them)
apparently being totally dogmatic and intractable, being only
willing to
reach agreements which wholly accorded with their will and
demands.
Thus, when an agreement was reached last week, suddenly
many acquired
a ray of hope that the critically needed changes so very
necessary would at
last be forthcoming, and that better times lie
ahead.
That hope is not misplaced, and the political leadership is
to be
commended for finally concluding an agreement, albeit that it is near
unforgiveable that it took so long to materialise, at the expense of a
grievously suffering populace.
Provided that the agreement is
unreservedly honoured and implemented,
and that the politicians unreservedly
set aside self-interests and focus
wholly and exclusively upon bringing
about a real and positive metamorphosis
to Zimbabwe, then a great future
lies ahead for Zimbabwe and for all
Zimbabweans.
However, the
expectations that the changes will be instantaneous, and
that the distressed
circumstances which have bedevilled Zimbabwe will cease
forthwith, and
misplaced and devoid of credible foundation, driven by
desperation instead
of by reason and recognition of realities.
Unavoidably, Zimbabwe's
recovery will be long and slow, for the
devastation wrought upon Zimbabwe is
of such gargantuan magnitude that there
just cannot be a "quick
fix".
Many of those measures must be pursued, with great
determination and
resolve, concurrently, instead of sequentially. Amongst
those of greatest
urgency are:
*Zimbabwe has to reconcile with
those of the international community
that it has intensively alienated over
the years. Any belief that "Zimbabwe
can go it alone" is completely
misguided. Virtually without exception, all
countries have to interact
co-operatively and constructively with the world
at large, only distancing
themselves from the few that contemptuously
disregard international norms of
conduct and relationships.
Zimbabwe's need to do so is magnified by
its bankrupt state, which
necessitates that pride must be set aside in
favour of receiving, and
accepting, assistance from others. Without that aid
and support, Zimbabwe
will continue to be without most of the foreign
currency which, Zimbabwe
being a highly import-dependant country, is
desperately necessary.
The lack of foreign currency is the fuellant
of the black markets, and
they are pronounced catalysts of the crippling
hyperinflation which is a key
destroyer of the economy. It is also the
biggest cause of productivity
decline, which in turn is yet another major
cause of intense inflation, and
it is a significant factor in the
devastating deterioration of the
Zimbabwean infrastructure.
The
reconciliation with the international community has many needs,
including
total adherence to the precepts of democracy, respect for human
property
rights, maintenance of law and order, compliance with international
agreements, and cooperation and collaboration instead of insult and
abuse.
*The Land Reform Programme must be reformed. It must not be
reversed
in the entirety, but restructured to be just and equitable,
non-discrimatory, devoid of nepotism and corruption, and targetted at full
restoration of productivity.
*Economic deregulation is a
perquisite. Overly regulated economies
have never, ever, succeeded, be they
as they were in the former Soviet
Union, in China, Cuba, Tanzania, Zambia,
or in many other countries. The
only economies that succeed on an on-going,
continuous basis, are those
driven by market-forces, aided by Government,
instead of being hindered by
endless governmental dictates and
controls.
*Zimbabwe needs a truly investment-conducive and
welcoming
environment, driven by constructive governmental policies (with
assurance of
continuity thereof), to attract and then maintain both foreign
and domestic
investment. That investment provides employment, economic
growth, foreign
exchange generation, Fiscal inflows, technology transfer,
and much else,
essential for economic recovery, and for unending economic
wellbeing.
*Well-managed, economic need-aligned Fiscal polices,
with utmost
probity and sound management of the State's finances, contained
expenditure
within national means, and realistic, non-oppressive, taxation
policies.
These are but a few of the many necessary polices and
actions of the
new, "unity" Government, but if pursued with determination
and dedication,
and without equivocation, then the great expectations of the
populace
fuelled by the recent political agreement, will become realities,
although
not as rapidly as craved for and needed.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008 18:56
ZIMBABWE'S schools are becoming a hotbed of confusion and
irresponsible
behaviour.
Parents and pupils are their main target, not
those responsible for
the economic mayhem.
Many schools are
demanding school fees either in foreign currency, in
the form of fuel
coupons, or in the case of the elite Petra High School in
Bulawayo,
livestock.
Some schools are demanding up to US$2 000 while others
want 1 500
litres of fuel in flagrant violation of the law.
Then there are those like Queen Elizabeth school in Harare pretending
to
obey the law by charging their fees in local currency. This week the
school
demanded a top-up of $851 000 in "hard cash" although fully aware
that
withdrawal limits are just $1 000. According to a Herald report, the
school
has rejected bank cheques or direct transfers because "it needs the
cash to
buy food".
Officially, maximum school fees for the third term were
set at between
$40 000 and $200 000 by the National Incomes and Pricing
Commission. The
question is who authorised these outrageous figures, against
what average
national income? Is there a worse form of discrimination
against the poor
than this or is it only discrimination if there is an
element of racism?
The only sensible conclusion one can draw from
this criminal behaviour
by the schools is that now it is only illegal
foreign currency dealers and
cash barons who should send their children to
school. Honest citizens have
become undesirables.
One question
for Petra High School: How many beasts are equivalent to
the fees of $750
000 and who determines their market value? It's nothing
short of daylight
robbery.
Still on money matters, the Reserve Bank has increased
daily maximum
bank withdrawals from $500 to $1 000. Muckraker has no access
into the
arcane workings of RBZ governor Gideon Gono's sophisticated
mind.
Our simplistic assumption is therefore that this irritating
adjustment
is meant to rein in inflation. This is because in our lawless and
amoral
economy, every rise in the daily withdrawal or a removal of zeros
from the
currency is followed by a mad rush of price increases.
But short of a holistic political resolution of the national crisis,
Muckraker reckons raising the daily maximum bank withdrawal from $500 to $1
000 is an insult to the country's already overstressed
workers.
Many questions are being raised about the import of
the power-sharing
agreement signed between Zanu PF and the two formations of
the MDC on Monday
this week. To us the jury is still out.
The
Herald was keen to show us that nothing substantial had changed
from the
status quo ante. The president would chair cabinet, we were told,
and
subject to the constitution, retains the authority to "declare war, make
peace and can proclaim or terminate martial law".
"This," it
reminded the reader, "means that the president remains
commander-in-chief of
the Zimbabwe Defence Forces."
Given the number of appointments
Mugabe is allowed to make under the
agreement, including that of prime
minister, came the rub, "means that the
president effectively remains the
head of state".
It deliberately sought to downplay the executive
powers given to the
prime minister who shall oversee the formulation and
implementation of
government policies.
No doubt Morgan
Tsvangirai would have loved to have been at a
theoretical par with Mugabe in
terms of power. In practice, he realised this
was not possible without
reverting to the irresoluble question of March 29
or June 27 as the
benchmark -- a return to a devastating stalemate.
The solution, and
we believe this is where the facilitator Thabo Mbeki
played the most
decisive role, was summed up by both Mugabe and Tsvangirai
in their speeches
at the signing ceremony.
Both had to accept things they didn't want
for the sake of progress.
"There are many issues in the agreement that I did
not agree with and still
don't agree with," said Mugabe. "Likewise Mr
Tsvangirai has some issues he
did not agree with. There are things that we
both do not like."
Tsvangirai called the deal "a painful
compromise" for the sake "of a
new, better and brighter"
future.
To us the deal will stand or fall on whether the two,
together with
Arthur Mutambara, are able to persuade power-brokers in their
respective
parties to make painful compromises for the national
good.
Who is in the news in South Africa today?
You are wrong if you said ANC president Jacob Zuma. You are wrong
again if
you said Thabo Mbeki. Cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro) takes
the trophy
for his stinging depiction of the political madness going on
there since
Polokwane in December.
His cartoon of Zuma and his alliance
partners, the South African
Communist Party, the Congress of South African
Trade Unions and the ANC
Youth League, ganging up in the rape of Lady
Justice has turned Zapiro into
more than "Zapiro as-usual".
He
has at the same time provoked outrage and admiration from
conservatives and
liberals and from men and women for his depiction of how
the ANC, especially
under Zuma, has become a major threat to the
independence of the judiciary
in South Africa.
A sample of readers' reactions and comments on the
rape cartoon in the
Sunday Times:
"Zapiro's cartoon stripped
away the public relations fuzz that the ANC
has been trying to create around
Jacob Zuma, and incisively portrayed the
truth about what's happening," -- A
Laurie.
"The most telling part of Zapiro's cartoon was the
shattered symbol of
the scale of justice. It would appear that there are
elements in the ANC who
are not comfortable with the fruits of the struggle
or 'revolution', one of
which is, critically, an independent judiciary and
the due process of law
with all its checks and balances," -- Peter
Auld.
A lady who wrote that she had counselled a lot of rape
victims, was
offended by the cartoon. "I find this cartoon to be insensitive
and hurtful
to women as a whole, raped victims in particular," she said, and
wondered
whether senior female editorial staff would have allowed that to
pass.
Another reader observed: ".I wonder who really has the right
to feel
offended: Zuma, his supporters depicted in the cartoon, the justice
system
or women?"
For its part, the Mail & Guardian
this week had three reproductions of
the "offending" cartoon and a deluge of
mixed reactions from across South
Africa.
"One of the best
cartoons of our time," said Louis van Heerden, to
which Mtungwa Mbulazi
retorted that the "cartoon is insensitive and an
insult to black people as a
whole".
Tsiliso Tamasane came in Zuma's defence saying "Zapiro has
an
insatiable hatred for Mr Zuma and will use any event to humiliate him
publicly".
This was rebutted by Mzantsi FoSho: "Calling judges
names and
protesting outside justice offices to try to influence rulings is
exactly as
Zapiro has depicted it. Rape!"
But most hilarious
was a picture of Zuma on the front page of the
Sunday Times. Those now
familiar with Zapiro's portrayal of Zuma since the
2006 rape trial in which
he said he took a shower after sex to prevent an
Aids infection must have
split their sides over the picture.
Zuma, for some strange reason,
has his right hand over his head in the
exact image of his now world famous
"shower-cap".
Finally, we have a gem from Uganda.
Uganda's ethics and integrity minister says miniskirts should be
banned --
because women wearing them distract drivers and cause traffic
accidents.
Nsaba Buturo told journalists in Kampala that
wearing a miniskirt was
like walking naked in the streets.
"What's wrong with a miniskirt? You can cause an accident because some
of
our people are weak mentally," he said.
The BBC's Joshua Mmali in
Kampala, the capital, said journalists found
the minister's comments
extremely funny.
Wearing a miniskirt should be regarded as
"indecent", which would be
punishable under Ugandan law, Buturo
said.
And he railed against the dangers facing those inadvertently
distracted by short skirts.
"If you find a naked person you
begin to concentrate on the make-up of
that person and yet you are driving,"
he said.
"These days you hardly know who is a mother from a
daughter, they are
all naked."- BBC.
What ever became of
WAG?
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September
2008 18:50
CAN we spare a thought for the state of affairs in
government schools
today.
There is nothing exemplifying
collapse, decay and corruption in this
country than the mess festering in
government schools.
Schools are there to help shape children into
upright, knowledgeable
and clever young adults. Institutions of learning can
no longer be trusted
to achieve this because teachers, school masters and
heads have become
vessels of shameful acts which cannot be condoned in the
name of low pay or
low morale.
I am not just referring here to
the teachers coming to school three
times a month because they cannot raise
busfare, neither am I referring to
them forcing pupils to buy sweets,
biscuits and other goodies brought into
the classroom daily. Profits from
daily takings are quickly converted into
foreign currency before the teacher
abandons class to cross the border into
South Africa or Botswana to buy more
confectionaries which are then brought
to the ready market in the classroom
when the teacher makes a rare
appearance. The cycle continues until the end
of the term. The Ministry of
Education is well aware of this because it is
so widespread. In fact there
are instances when officials from the
ministry's district offices have
visited schools manned by less that 10
teachers and have done nothing about
it.
I lived close to a
school until recently where boys with shorts flying
at half mast strolled
into the school at 9.00am and would walk--out through
the gate unchallenged
at 11.00 to go for a smoke or simply walk up and down
the streets like
demonic spirits. This again the ministry is well aware of
but has ceased to
care about how to deal with discipline in schools. The
ministry is also
aware that schools charging commercial rates for levies
cannot provide
books, tissue paper, chalk and paper.
Teachers and teachers'
organisations will argue that their current
conduct is a direct result of
low morale due to poor remuneration. But the
profession -- like a surgeon's,
is not about half measures and cutting
corners. It's either you do it or you
don't. I find it immoral for anyone
entrusted with the education of a child
to brazenly not do the job but come
to school to force the same child to buy
sweets and chewing gum. How about
the teacher resigning from the job to sell
sweets fulltime by the school
gate? We have in this country thousands of
career paths of children that
have been ruined by teachers who believe
punishing the innocent child is
making a political statement.
The conduct is not only debasing the profession but also eroding the
self-esteem of individuals. Such is the extent of the depravity that an old
schoolmate told me that the lower rugby fields at a school in Mount Pleasant
have been dug up and turned into maize fields by guess who, teachers. These
are professional who expect to be respected. My foot! All this is happening
under the watch of a ministry that still claims Zimbabwe has the best
education system on the continent.
Perhaps the ministry is also
not aware of what school officials --
when not digging up sports fields and
selling sweets -- are doing with
monies collected as levies, staff welfare
funds and on special occasions
like blazer days, hat days, tracksuits days
and civics days. To give the
ministry insight into what is happening,
schools have now said they will not
accept cheques or any other form of
payment other than cash. Thus on blazer
day for example, a school with an
enrolment of 1 000 pupils can collect as
much as $1 million which is then
"banked" on the foreign currency black
market and select individuals in the
school development associations and
senior administrative staff transfer
monies into the school account. The $1
million in cash can buy US$2 000 on
the street. To put the same amount in
the bank the racketeers only need to
sell US$32 through the RTGS rate of $32
000:US$1. They then share the
remainder of the foreign currency.
The cash can also be "sold" to
dealers exploiting the RTGS system.
There are individuals who have become
very rich because they occupy
privileged positions in administration of
school. Meanwhile teachers and
support staff who are expected to benefit
from fundraising activities
receive their payments in cheques.
But these are small figures. There are schools demanding fees in cash
with
figures as high as $800 000 a term per child. It would be ghastly to
contemplate that these large amounts are being administered in an opaque
way. This also includes government schools asking parents to pay for school
fees in goods and services. How are these being accounted for? In the
absence of clear guidelines and supervision by the ministry, schools have
gone a limb to invent levies and systems which have not benefitted pupils at
all. If such guidelines are available from the ministry they need to be
communicated to parents and stakeholders to cut back on abuse.
I am also keen to know if the conduct of schools when administering
monies
from levies and other fundraising activities is governed by the Audit
and
Exchequer Act. A view from the Comptroller and Auditor General on the
issue
of school levies could also help here. I would like to challenge the
authorities to carry out sample audits on schools to prove my paranoia
wrong.
By Vincent Kahiya
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18
September 2008 18:34
"PARTY divisions and party brands no longer matter
to the people of
Zimbabwe," said Morgan Tsvangirai at the formal signing of
the unity
government agreement on Monday.
"We must all
unite to solve to the problems facing the nation. The
world has too many
examples of what happens when people are driven by past
wrongs rather than
the hope of future glories."
It was a grand occasion, the signing,
but lacked greatness. It failed
to glow beyond the external splendour of the
invited dignitaries. Tsvangirai
and his partners in the unity government,
President Mugabe and Arthur
Mutambara, appear to have discovered too late
what ordinary Zimbabweans long
knew - the need for unity and the dangers of
revenge-driven agendas.
But that still doesn't explain the bathos.
To me it takes great people
to make great occasions and great speeches.
Tsvangirai has suffered a lot
over the years in the name of democracy. He
has been imprisoned and beaten
on several occasions. He has remained
steadfast, and has grown in stature in
his party.
But he has
made so many grave electroral tactical blunders in his
short tenure as
leader of the MDC I have reservations about his judgement of
people and
situations. It was his blunders which have finally forced the MDC
into the
current compromise deal instead of an outright victory.
Mutambara
is still trying to find his bearings in the face of white
hot hostility from
Tsvangirai's people who view him as an intruder; not
quite. His biggest sin
was to associate himself with Lucifer who had
cautioned that in Zimbabwe's
hellish conditions, there was a danger of
creating another imperious
god.
Mugabe has blundered as much as Tsvangirai in his many years
of
hegemonic power. He has frequently lapsed into moments of madness in
which
he doesn't flinch from using violence to justify his ends. He now
faces an
inglorious exit when he should have made an honorable departure at
the
December conference, which has turned out to have been a disastrous act
of
bravado for himself and his party.
Land reform, with all its
imperfections, but for its historical
significance, for me should have been
the high watermark of his policy
intervention, giving full expression to the
assertion that land was the
primary motivation for the liberation
war.
Lately, failure by either Tsvangirai or Mugabe to win the
elections
decisively when opportunities were evident served to deepen the
political
stalemate and worsen the economic malaise, thus reducing them both
to
ordinary men fighting for political power with the backing of ordinary
people who love their party brands.
Sheer desperation forced
them to negotiate, not statesmanship. Each
had an equal grip on the other's
throat. Which explains why their speeches
on Monday were so banal and
self-contradictory I had the impression they
were drafted while each awaited
his turn to speak.
Without outright victors there can be no acts of
magnanimity, which
alone show up great leaders and make historic events. The
political deal
between Zanu PF and the MDC will therefore collapse or
survive depending on
whether these leaders are able to rise above the
ordinariness of the event,
to aim for a higher national
purpose.
There are many in both parties who don't like the
agreement as much as
the leaders admitted. To the poor, the ebullient
excitement which preceded
the signing has been replaced by an air of anxious
bewilderment and
uncertainty. "Was that all?" they ask. It had the bathos of
getting to Cana
and being told Jesus is not coming.
I don't
know precisely what the balance of power is like in practice
between
Tsvangirai and Mugabe, but what will make or unmake the deal is what
Alex
Magaisa referred to in a recent essay as the "human factor". It's not a
novel theory, but in Zimbabwe it has a certain poignancy because of the
polarisation and violence which preceded the talks and the controversial
elections.
In essence it says a deal will succeed or fail
depending on the
attitudes, actions and motivations of all those who have a
decisive
influence on it.
Mark civic society groups, which feel
excluded or whose survival is
threatened by a return to normalcy, who insist
Tsvangirai has sold out
because to them there can never be a meeting of
minds between Zanu PF and
the MDC. To many self-seekers, evidence was there
in Tsvangirai already
quoting Mugabe's speech on reconciliation before there
is a template on
national healing and how "past wrongs" would be dealt with
under the
envisaged political dispensation. They will insist in their
cynical attack
on the deal to make sure it doesn't succeed. You need
political maturity and
true leadership to tell between embittered cynicism
and genuine criticism
and forge ahead.
Beyond the continent,
will Mugabe and Tsvangirai be able to withstand
the manipulation and
cajoling riding on a Trojan horse called foreign
assistance? There is today
in Zimbabwe a self-deprecating obsession with
promised salvation from
outside, forcing us to search for inferiority
complex-laden qualifying
criteria for this assistance as if Zimbabwe's
economy is amenable to a
quick-fix. Immediate food aid yes, but foreigners
who are well-meaning
should give us tractors, seed, fertiliser and, above
all, remove sanctions
and see if we can't feed ourselves. It is demeaning
that we should be making
a political settlement designed solely to please
outsiders.
So
long as Mugabe looms large on the political podium, they will have
a
convenient excuse of why such aid is not forthcoming - that it was a bad
deal in the first place. Local media will be decisive in putting things into
the correct perspective.
By Joram Nyathi
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 18 September 2008
18:31
IN the euphoria surrounding the signing of the power-sharing
agreement
between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations this week, it is easy
to forget
that prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai had promised a
leaner and
more efficient cabinet of 15 ministers.
At
the launch of his party's manifesto in March, Tsvangirai promised
he would
trim the size of cabinet from the current 52 under President Robert
Mugabe
to just 15, if voted into power. What has happened since March is a
matter
of public record, the result of which has seen Tsvangirai being part
of a
monolithic political edifice of 31 ministers, 15 deputies and 10
governors
drawn from a parliament of over 300 MPs.
This is a line up that
also includes an executive arm of government
featuring six leaders, a
president and two deputy presidents and a prime
minister and two
vices.
At the signing ceremony on Monday Tsvangirai said
negotiators had made
painful compromises in coming up with the agreement. We
want to believe that
for his party, one of the painful compromises was
agreeing to add another
layer of artery-clogging lard on top of an executive
that we feel was
already too big with two vice-presidents whose contribution
to policy we
have always doubted.
The opposition will argue
easily that the country has to accept these
power permutations because
ordinary people went through a near death
experience because of violence and
a sham of an election. They will also
argue that the nation should accept
this hybrid form of government because
it protects lives. But that does not
stop us from asking how and why the
opposition, so vocal in its condemnation
of the previous government's large
cabinet, has become part of another fat
structure whose agility and
flexibility is not in accordance with the task
to hand. We should prepare
ourselves to pay through our noses once more to
support this juggernaut.
Zimbabwe cannot afford this. This is a not-so-good
a start.
More often than not in excessively large government
structures which
are a result of political compromise, there is an
indiscriminate division of
portfolios for the purpose of accommodation and
appeasement - in most
instances without matching qualifications to job
requirements. In the
discussion about who should get what, a lot turns on
the "deservingness" of
the candidates and not whether the new portfolios
being created are
necessary.
The Zanu PF style of appointments
has sometimes been instructed by
simplistic notions like how unfair to deny
X who spent the most time in
prison while the leaders were exiled; how about
Y who sang loudest and
danced like a demon during presidential campaigns?
How about Z who won the
only urban constituency for the party?
This is the politics of reward. The spoils are distributed to
supporters
displaying the greatest loyalty. Next, it is the politics of
appeasement -
nobody important can be left out who would promptly switch
loyalties to the
other side.
And finally, it is the politics of pacification - all
those who might
create problems in their home districts would be safer
eating and drinking
in the capital. Add up all those who can assert a claim
on the state and it
turns into a very large number. As a result it has been
a case of employing
three butchers to the job of one baker. The opposition
is trying to put out
fire with petrol.
It is easy to calculate
the extra cost of a large cabinet by ministers'
personal emoluments but it
is far more serious than that. Each of these new
ministers comes with
institutional costs that run into the millions.
The new cabinet
should be watched very closely to immediately identify
those who sleep on
the job and political merchants whose names have been
mentioned in shady
deals.
There is a danger of the MDC joining the "experienced" Zanu
PF
government in an orgy of debauchery at the expense of the nation. On
Monday
Tsvangirai set out the priorities of new government as food on the
table and
reviving the education and health sectors. To achieve this, his
party should
demonstrate that it is prepared to go beyond painful political
compromise.
It should make painful sacrifices as well like
rejecting profligacy
which has been the legacy of Zanu PF; importing Mercs,
Jeep Cherokees and
Range Rovers for ministers when hospitals do not have
drugs. We wait to see
the length of the PM's motorcade if he is going to
have one, plus the length
of the latest gravy train given also the number of
members of the house of
assembly and the senate.