FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube
PRESIDENT Robert
Mugabe, who has hitherto managed to avoid criticism for the
political and
economic crisis in Zimbabwe by his regional peers, today comes
under the
spotlight at the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
summit in
Maseru, Lesotho.
The multi-faceted crisis in Zimbabwe, once one of the
region's brightest
hopes but now its sick man, has been put on the summit
agenda.
This development comes as it also emerged that key regional leaders
are
divided on the Benjamin Mkapa initiative, held up by Harare as its
latest
attempt to resolve the crisis, which it insists emanates from a
bilateral
dispute with former colonial master Britain.
Diplomatic sources
said yesterday that the Mkapa initiative, used by Harare
to avoid censure by
the United Nations (UN) in July, would be high on the
agenda during closed
sessions today.
Namibia, Botswana and the region's powerhouse South Africa,
left discussions
on the former Tanzanian president's mediation initiative in
abeyance in
previous high-level discussions, but were yesterday gingerly
pushing to put
the issue to rest outside the official SADC
agenda.
Following President Mugabe's announcement of the initiative two
months ago,
Mkapa consulted Botswana (the outgoing chair) and Namibia as the
leader of
the SADC politics, defence and security organ on the way forward.
South
Africa, which previously tried to broker a lasting solution to the
nagging
Zimbabwean crisis, was also consulted.
Diplomatic sources said
SADC leaders would today press for clear terms of
reference before endorsing
the Mkapa initiative, which requires funding by
the regional
grouping.
"The feeling in SADC is that anything to do with rebuilding bridges
between
Harare and London would not work for Zimbabwe," said a source. "The
region
would want Mkapa to focus more on resolving the overall issues
affecting
Zimbabweans, some of which border on governance," added the
source.
President Mugabe, privately blamed by some SADC heads of state for
blighting
the regional outlook, in July appointed the former Tanzanian
president to
medi-
ate in the Zimbabwean crisis, which the veteran leader
attributes to what he
says is a bilateral dispute with Britain.
President
Mugabe has not made public Mkapa's terms of reference and mandate
and
diplomats expect the finer details to emerge at a closed-door session of
the
SADC hgeads of state.
SADC officials in Maseru said the Zimbabwean leader had
been informed that
he was expected to brief the closed-door session on how
he intended solving
the country's crisis after South Africa had allegedly
raised concerns why
Zimbabwe should be on the SADC agenda when the UN had
been prevented from
handling the issue at a higher level.
President
Mugabe wants SADC to endorse and fund the Mkapa initiative, which
Britain,
the United States and the European Union insist is doomed unless
the
Zimbabwean government first embraces internal dialogue with opposition
groups.
King Mswati, leader of the mountain kingdom of Swaziland, whose
landlocked
country is also seen as damaging the region in the eyes of the
international
community would join President Mugabe in the dock after
unfavourable reports
of human rights abuses in his country.
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube
IT NEVER
rains but pours for suspended ZANU PF legislator for Hurungwe West
Cecilia
Dausi Gwachiwa.
Last Thursday heavily armed security agents stormed her
government-allocated
farm allegedly in search of weapons, only to find two
licensed rifles.
Although Wayne Bvudzijena could not immediately comment on
the search saying
he was still to get the full details of what transpired,
sources from
Gwachiwa's constituency said police left the property with "egg
on their
face" after an unsuccessful "fishing expedition" allegedly
instigated by
some executive members of the Mashonaland West province
against her.
Constituency members added that the incident was indicative of
how the ZANU
PF leadership in Mashonaland West was determined to kick the
lawmaker out of
the party by raising "petty" personal issues against
her.
The John Mafa executive, which suspended Gwachiwa from the province,
wrote
to ZANU PF chairman John Nkomo seeking to have her summarily dismissed
on
the grounds that she was in love with a man suspected to be a member or
sympathizer of the main opposition Movement for Democratic
Change.
Insiders said although Nkomo was yet to give directives or deal with
the
issue brought to him by the Mashonaland West province, police, at the
behest
of Mafa's executive, had proceeded to conduct the search at
Gwachiwa's
property about 35 kilometres from Karoi.
Apart from
allegations that the ZANU PF legislator was cohabiting with an
alleged MDC
member, the provincial executive accused her of being in
possession of eight
guns obtained by her lover from former white commercial
farmers in the area,
hence last Thursday's police raid.
She also stands accused of financially
benefiting from the MDC through
"money made available to her by her MDC
lover."
Gwachiwa has flatly denied all the allegations, insisting this was a
smear
campaign by her political detractors.
Those privy to the goings-on
in Mashonaland West have attributed her
political tribulations to a serious
tribal turf war being waged by the
ruling party's provincial executive
officials who see Gwachiwa as an
outsider because she originally comes from
Manicaland.
She beat suspended ZANU PF Hurungwe-Kariba senator Phone Madiro
to win the
ticket to represent the ruling party in the March 2005
parliamentary polls
after a violent primary election campaign, which
resulted in the death of
one man.
Madiro has since been convicted of
public violence stemming from the
clashes.
He was fined $10 million (old
currency) but has appealed against the
sentence. Madiro was suspended from
the House of Assembly following his
conviction.
FinGaz
Stanley Kwenda
WIDOWS of
the country's national heroes from Bulawayo were on Sunday
detained at a
police roadblock in Kadoma after they refused to be frisked
during the
ongoing countrywide blitz to impound cash as part of the monetary
authorities' currency reforms.
The widows were travelling to Harare
for the Heroes Day commemorations that
were held at the national shrine on
Monday when they came face to face with
the countrywide clampdown that is
expected to net those fuelling illegal
parallel market
activities.
Eyewitnesses said the women, who were travelling in a hired
coach, were
asked to disembark with their bags so that they could be
searched at one of
the numerous roadblocks along the busy Harare- Bulawayo
highway, which were
manned by the police and officials from the central
bank.
The women reportedly refused to comply with the order, insisting that
they
be accorded respect as widows of national heroes, but the police
officers
would not budge, insisting that the widows and their families be
treated
like every one else.
The widows were eventually rescued by
officials from the Home Affairs
Ministry who instructed that
the Home
Affairs Ministry who requested that they be released as they were
running
late for the commemorations, where they were part of the official
programme.
The ministry is responsible for the welfare of the families of
fallen
heroes.
"It was a small incident but there are some people who
always want to make
it (the incident) something big. We travelled well and
we have no one to
blame since the police were just doing their job otherwise
it wasn't really
much of a problem," said one of the women who declined to
be named. "I think
the overzealous police officer did not know who we were
and I can't blame
him because he was doing his duty. We were just seated in
the bus and had no
reason to speak to the policeman since we had an escort.
A Mr Goredema from
the Ministry of Home Affairs was negotiating with the
police, " said the
woman.
Among some of those who were on the bus were
Mrs Masuku, wife of the late
former ZIPRA commander Lookout Masuku, Mrs
Nkala, wife of the late Cain
Nkala, Mrs Mangena, the wife of the late Nikita
Mangena, Mrs Ndlovu, wife of
the late Masotsha Ndlovu and Mrs Cele, the wife
of the late Cephas Cele.
The widows have in the past constantly complained of
ill-treatment by the
government until they formed the Association for the
Widows of Fallen Heroes
in 1996 with the aim of seeking redress from the
government.
They have also in the past complained of being sidelined at
important events
such as the ZANU PF national people's conference and paltry
monthly
subsistence allowances.
The chairperson of the widows'
association, Alice Mazorodze, wife of the
late hero Simon Mazorodze, could
neither confirm nor deny the Kadoma
incident.
She said, "I haven't heard
anything of that sort. The comrades from Bulawayo
didn't say anything on the
matter, maybe they told people at the Home
Affairs Ministry since they are
the ones who were taking care of them when
they were here."
Police
spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said he
had not
received a report, adding that the police did not apply the law
selectively.
"I haven't received any such report but without having to
confirm, it is
important to appreciate that there is nothing that we as the
police can do
other than arrest criminal offenders along the several
roadblocks on our
highways and the incident you are talking about could have
happened at one
of those roadblocks," said Bvudzijena.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda
RIVAL
factions of the split Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are engaged
in
informal talks to reunite the eight-year old party that has been weakened
by
the October 12 2005 fallout. Arthur Mutambara, a former student leader
who
emerged as head of an MDC faction opposed to Morgan Tsvangirai's
leadership
last February, told journalists in Harare last Friday that
'formal and
informal' engagement was underway to achieve unity.
Mutambara said this
would bring about a stronger bloc to dislodge President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU
PF government, which has been in power since
independence from Britain in
1980.
The MDC almost dislodged the ruling ZANU PF from power in the disputed
2000
parliamentary elections and the presidential polls that followed in
2002.
The main opposition party, comprising various interest groups, was
however
shaken to its foundation last October when its leadership differed
on
whether to participate in the senatorial elections won by ZANU PF.
"We
are talking formally and informally," Mutambara said in his address to
journalists without disclosing details of the inter-factional talks.
He,
however, hinted that if the first prize - unity - could not be attained
then
a détente between the feuding factions, which have clashed violently in
recent months and a possible electoral coalition could be the
compromise.
Mutambara also reiterated that he was prepared to relinquish his
position to
allow fresh elections to be held for a unified MDC on condition
that the
"party returns to its founding values, which include non-violence,
respect
for the constitution and respect for collective
decision-making."
Mutambara's statement, however, appeared to be at variance
with that of his
faction's secretary-general, Welshman Ncube, who appeared
to dispute the
holding of any formal talks.
Ncube said in the informal
contacts his faction has had with the
Tsvangirai-led MDC, focus has mainly
been on issues that led to the split of
the once formidable party.
"Yes
it's true we talk to the other side in parliament about issues of
mutual
interest. I talk regularly with their (anti-Senate MDC) secretary
general
(Tendai Biti) and most of the time informally on issues of ad hoc
informal
discussions. But there are no talks about reunification," said
Ncube. "We
talk about the beating of Trudy Stevenson and issues of common
interest such
as how to approach certain issues in parliament. The issues
which divided us
remain in place and nothing has changed," said Ncube.
Following the widely
publicised meeting between Tsvangirai and Mutambara at
a convention
organised by the Christian Alliance late July, a hawkish Ncube,
who himself
did not attend the event, issued an angry statement.
"We have received
numerous inquiries from the media and the public, wishing
to get
clarification on the MDC president's statement in which he is
purported to
have indicated his willingness to join the Tsvangirai group.
This is
nonsensical and daydreaming on the part of the purveyors of such
falsehoods.
President Mutambara has not and will not join the Tsvangirai
group.
"We
have noted that our detractors have seized the opportunity to
deliberately
distort and misinform the public over what President Mutambara
said in order
to get political mileage. President Mutambara's statement at
the convention
was simply a reaffirmation of the commitment and undertaking
that he made at
the MDC 's second inaugural congress held in Bulawayo on
25-26 February 2006
at which he expressed his willingness to stand down for
the sake of unity,
provided the other leaders would reciprocate and also
stand down, paving the
way for the conduct of free elections to choose a new
leadership of a united
front, comprising of all political parties that would
confront the Mugabe
regime," Ncube said.
The Mutambara faction accuses Tsvangirai of disregarding
the party's
constitution by overturning the national council's decision to
participate
in last November's Senate elections and tolerating violence,
charges
Tsvangirai dismisses.
Insiders within the Tsvangirai camp told
The Financial Gazette that "at the
formal level nothing is taking place but
at individual level contact is
being made."
Tendai Biti, the
secretary-general of the Tsvangirai-led MDC yesterday
admitted to "some
contacts", but insisted that these were under the context
of the broader
alliance, an initiative to form a united opposition bloc that
also
accommodates civil society, labour, students, women's organisations and
churches to challenge ZANU PF.
"There is contact within the context of
the convention," said Biti,
referring to last month's convention at which
Mutambara and Tsvangirai
embraced in public for the first time and pledged
to work together to unseat
the ruling ZANU PF. Also present were the
presidents of three other
opposition political parties.
FinGaz
Rangarirai
Mberi
VISITING South Korean economics professor Doowon Lee was supposed
to have
unreservedly cheered Zimbabwe's "home grown" economic policies, but
he
disillusioned the "Look East" enthusiasts after he came to bat for free
markets and cooperation with the rest of the world. Delivering a lecture on
the development of the South Korean economy and what lessons there were for
Zimbabwe on Wednesday, Doowon said his country was a good advert for the
virtues of free markets - where private enterprise is encouraged and the
economy is opened to the world.
And for good measure, he showed how
hermit economies such as North Korea -
whose image as a defiant
anti-imperialist outcast Zimbabwe wants for
itself - always end up stuck in
the dark ages, even literally.
South Korea had prospered because it had
realised that "liberal economies
always perform better".
As if the
bureaucrats had not had enough, Doowon traumatised them by having
the nerve
to suggest that politics should take a back seat to economics.
Said Doowon:
"(Former South Korean president) Park always protected economic
arguments
from political arguments. Whenever there was disagreement between
an
economist and a politician, many times the president would be supportive
of
the economic argument, and protected that argument."
Well, if South Korea had
to take that kind of medicine to pluck itself from
poverty and become the
world's eleventh biggest economy, it can keep its
bitter
medication.
Revolutionary Zimbabwe will find a less sour pill somewhere
else.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda
WHEAT
shortages are expected to persist, following grim projections that the
current output could only meet half the country's requirements. In its July
food security report, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fewsnet)
reported that though wheat production is forecast to be higher than last
year's crop it will still fall short of national consumption
requirements.
The food monitoring agency expects Zimbabwe to harvest
about 135 000 metric
tonnes (MT) of wheat, which would be 13 percent higher
than last year's
production of 120 000 MT but will only meet 34 percent of
national
requirements.
Zimbabwe requires an estimated 400 000 MT of wheat
annually.
To cover the deficit, which has recurred since the chaotic land
reforms of
2000, contingency measures have to be put in place to import the
265 000 MT
balance.
Fewsnet said the availability and price of wheat
flour, which is mostly used
to make bread that Zimbabweans consume as a
major part of breakfast or a
substitute for the staple cereals during lunch
or dinner, would be heavily
influenced by the accessibility of foreign
currency.
Zimbabwean millers, who have been importing wheat, have recently
hiked the
price of flour and this has forced bakers in turn to increase
retail prices.
Currently, a loaf of bread is selling for $220 against a
gazetted price of
$85 and bakers say producing at current retail prices is
unviable and
threatens the sector's 20 000 jobs.
Fewsnet also reported
that the supply of basic foodstuffs such as sugar,
cooking oil, milk and
maize flour was generally stable in most formal urban
and rural markets in
the month of July 2006 in complete contrast to the
situation at the same
time last year, when most basic foodstuffs were very
difficult to find on
the formal markets.
The food-monitoring agency, however, cautioned that the
rising cost of
living threatens household food security.
"Poor urban
households and rural households in staple cereal deficit areas
are likely to
face serious difficulties in accessing food due to the
ever-rising cost of
living in general and the escalating cost of food in
particular," Fewsnet
cautioned.
Zimbabwe has suffered increasing food shortages, rising
unemployment and
runaway inflation, which at 993,6 is the highest in the
world, since the
government began redistributing seized white-owned farms
six years ago.
Opposition groups blame the economic crisis on President
Robert Mugabe's
administration.
But the octogenarian leader in turn
accuses western nations and the
opposition MDC of plotting to sabotage his
rule through the imposition of
targeted sanctions.
FinGaz
Staff Reporter
ZIMBABWE Congress of
Trade Union (ZCTU) secretary general Wellington
Chibhebhe, who was this week
arrested on allegations of common assault, has
been granted a $2 000
(re-valued) bail. The labour leader was arrested
Tuesday at a police
roadblock while returning from his rural home in
Masvingo with his
family.
Harare magistrate Never Katiyo further remanded him to September
4 on
charges of assaulting a police officer manning a roadblock during the
on-going blitz to net cash hoarders.
Chibhebhe is alleged to have refused
to be searched for cash and questioned
the legality of the exercise.
The
Congress of South African Trade Unions demanded the immediate release of
the
Zimbabwean labour leader.
Chibhebhe has in the past had several brushes with
the police over a number
of civil activities including calling for mass
stayaways.
FinGaz
Nkululeko
Sibanda
IGNATIUS Chombo, the Local Government Minister blamed for the
almost total
collapse of the country's municipalities, this week sought to
wiggle out of
the line of fire by directing public anger at David
Karimanzira, the
governor of the Harare Metropolitan
province.
Chombo, who previously ignored criticism over the sorry state
of affairs in
Harare, now appears cagey after the ZANU PF Harare Province
weighed in with
demands to end the rot at Town House.
The Local
Government Minister told The Financial Gazette yesterday that ZANU
PF
members should not rush to his office without going through Karimanzira.
He
said: "With reference to Harare, I believe that people are heaping extra
weight on me, while they should simply follow some procedures that are laid
down. There is a provincial governor and I believe that he is the person who
should be approached by the members of the party if they have any grievances
on how their affairs are being run."
Analysts said Chombo has dragged
Karimanzira into the deep end of the
discontent, which worsened last month
after the minister extended the term
of office of the Sekesai
Makwavarara-led commission by another six months.
Makwavarara, a political
turncoat who defected to ZANU PF after being
elected to council on an
opposition MDC ticket, has been at the helm of the
commission since 2004
when Chombo booted out the MDC's elected mayor, Elias
Mudzuri.
Her term
of office has been marked by allegations of incompetence and her
extravagant
lifestyle at the expense of service delivery.
Recently, the ZANU PF Harare
provincial membership met and resolved to take
their case to Chombo.
They
argued that Makwavarara was a dismal failure who had been unable to
turn
around the fortunes of Harare because she could not come up with a
programme
of action to take the city out of its management and service
delivery
crisis.
Chombo yesterday said Karimanzira should have been the party members'
first
port of call before they even considered taking their complaints to
his
office.
"I am a minister who is there to approve some of these
things. My task is to
ensure that all other councils and municipalities
throughout the country are
functional and service is being delivered to the
people of Zimbabwe who pay
rentals and service charges," Chombo said.
He
added that members of the party had blown the situation out of proportion
by
accusing him of having failed to deal with Makwavarara, saying he was
waiting for communication "from relevant structures" on the issue.
"For
the record, I do not operate in a vacuum. There are structures that I
communicate with and this includes the office of the Metropolitan provincial
governor on what problems are being faced in different sections of the
community.
"If the party members bypass the provincial governor, how do
they expect me
to know what is happening on the ground because I do not, in
terms of
structures, communicate directly to members of the party and any
general man
on the street, but do communicate with the officials", he
said.
FinGaz
Staff Reporter
A
HARARE regional magistrate has granted former Mining Industry Pension Fund
(MIPF) chief executive Samuel Sipepa Nkomo permission to take his corruption
case to the Supreme Court. Regional magistrate Sandra Nhau agreed with the
former MIPF boss yesterday that his case had taken too long to conclude and
thus should be referred to the Supreme Court in terms of Section 24 (2) of
the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The section states that justice delayed
is justice denied. Nkomo had applied
to approach the superior court for a
permanent stay of prosecution in the
matter in which he is alleged to have
defrauded the fund of $570 (re-valued)
through his involvement in the
construction of a capital project in the city
centre between 1997 and
1999.
The case is now six years old.
Nkomo, also the chief executive of
the now defunct Associated Newspapers of
Zimbabwe, publishers of The Daily
News and its sister paper Daily News on
Sunday, was arrested in 2000 and
applied for refusal of remand.
The matter was only resuscitated in March this
year when he was served with
summons.
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi
HWANGE
Colliery Company (HCC) missed its July production target, but sees
coal
output finally running ahead of demand in the last quarter of the year
as
the company benefits from its US$123 million investment into capital
projects. And the company says a rush of new investors into coal production
does not pose an immediate threat to its tight grip on the
market.
HCC produced 195 000 tonnes per month (tpm) in July, missing its
target of
230 000 tpm, but lifting it above the previous output of 165 000
tpm.
But as the benefits of its investment show through, the company will
raise
output to 425 000 tpm between October and December, HCC managing
director
Godfrey Dzinomwa said. This would outstrip demand, currently at 300
000 tpm.
On the new competition, Dzinomwa said his company would bank on the
superior
quality of its coal - as measured by its energy content - to
maintain its
market leadership.
Steelmakers, a steel company based in
Redcliff, recently announced plans to
develop coal fields in Chiredzi while
another company is also reported to be
investing in a similar project in
Bubi, in Matabeleland North. But Dzinomwa
said the new players will find it
difficult to match Hwange on quality.
"Other players in coal mining will be
largely limited by inferior coal
quality. The coal in those areas will give
you 20-30 percent ash coal. They
would have to set up dedicated power
stations," Dzinomwa said. Hwange's
ash-coal - the content in the coal that
will burn - is 50 percent.
However, Dzinomwa said HCC's near-monopoly of the
coal industry did not
benefit the company as it meant it is bearing the
brunt of regulation alone.
New players would therefore be welcome, he
said.
Earlier this year, Joe Mtizwa, head of the country's largest beverage
brewer
Delta, said his company was having to import coal from Botswana to
augment
alternative supplies from Sengwa, the local mine partly owned by Rio
Zim.
However, this coal did not burn as much as HCC coal, he said
then.
FinGaz
THE government has
for the first time admitted it cannot guarantee the
safety of imported
consumer goods amid reports that above-normal levels of
carcinogen - a
substance that can cause cancer - were detected in toothpaste
imported from
Asia. Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Phineas Chiota said
last week that
goods brought in by traders from outside the country were
being sold in
Zimbabwe without having gone through the same quality tests
subjected to
locally produced goods. "It is difficult to monitor the quality
of imported
goods. We are only monitoring goods that are produced locally,"
Chiota
said.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association of Zimbabwe reported that
higher than
normal traces of carcinogen had been found in toothpaste
imported from
China, whose slash-price goods have found a ready market in
Zimbabwe among
the urban poor.
Members of the grocers' association have
agreed to contribute $300 million
each to fund a programme to research into
the quality of the imported goods
they have been putting on their
shelves.
The toothpaste imported from China has packaging that is almost
identical to
that of more recognised brands, one retailer said.
Zimbabwe
has opened its markets to Chinese goods as part of its "Look East"
policy,
which seeks closer ties with Asia to compensate for soured relations
with
Western economies.
However, critics say the preferential treatment given to
what many see as
inferior quality goods from Asia have pushed a range of
local businesses,
from textiles to retail, out of business.
Willie
Shumba, an official of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority said imports
were
charged the same rate of duty, unless there was a bilateral trade
agreement
between Zimbabwe and a particular country.
FinGaz
Rangarirai
Mberi
STATUTORY reserves will go up again if banks do not significantly
lift
lending rates to industry, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor
Gideon
Gono has warned.
The country's banks, which are taking their
time to react to huge rate cuts
effected nearly three weeks ago, however,
say uncertainty over the direction
of rates will see them remaining well
guarded in any lending.
In his last policy statement, Gono cut secured
accommodation rates to 300
percent from 850 percent and reduced statutory
reserve requirements to 40
percent, down from the previous 60 percent, and
said he wanted to see banks
"reciprocate these supportive efforts by also
deploying their free funds
into productive lending".
Adding to those
earlier comments, Gono warned last week: "Statutory reserves
were decreased
only on condition that they supported industry. If that does
not happen, you
can be sure that that decision could be reviewed. They just
can't put that
money into TBs and make profits."
Lending rates have tumbled from around 800
percent to 200 percent since Gono's
policy statement. But banks say the rate
outlook remains cloudy, despite
Gono hinting at further rate cuts ahead, his
hopes underpinned by optimism -
not shared by many - that inflation would
continue its recent slowdown.
"The key (to resumed lending) will be RBZ's
rate policy. For instance, what
happens if I lend today at 200 percent, and
rates suddenly go back up again
and my lending rates have to go to 600
percent? The in duplum rule kicks in,
and a lot of people get burnt," the
head of one of the country's biggest
banks told The Financial
Gazette.
Another banker said: "Participating in Treasury Bills is itself a
form of
lending."
Banks have significantly restricted lending due to
increased risk of
default, with industry having to borrow at high rates
while their capacity
and profitability is under pressure.
FinGaz
Nkululeko
Sibanda
THE chairperson of the commission running the affairs of the city
of Harare,
Sekesai Makwavarara, is yet to give a written explanation on how
she
utilised over $175 000 (new currency) on groceries as directed by the
council's audit committee. Sources at Town House, the administrative nerve
centre of the capital city, said Makwavarara could be spoiling for a fight
with the audit committee. Given the arrogance and the power she wields, the
report might take long to come, they say.
Makwavarara, whose
commission has presided over the total collapse of
service delivery in
Harare, allegedly flexed her muscles and abused her
authority to force the
city's treasurer's department into releasing the
money that she used to "buy
groceries for guests at her residence."
Contacted for comment yesterday,
audit committee chairperson Priscilla
Mupfumira said she was not privy to
any report that had been presented to
her committee by Makwavarara.
"I
will be going for an audit committee meeting very soon. But for now, I am
not privy to any letter of explanation that was said to have come from the
acting chairperson, Makwavarara. I am hoping that if there is any response,
that would come up during the committee meeting that I am talking about. For
further details, you can check with the chamber secretary, Ottilia Dangwa.
She might be able to help," said Mupfumira.
Dangwa was not contactable
for comment as she was said to be attending
meetings throughout the
day.
Sources said Makwavarara has centralised power, particularly after
suspending town clerk Nomutsa Chideya, and cannot be challenged by anyone at
the moment.
"She will write when she wants to and no-one knows when she
wants to write
that report," said one source.
FinGaz
Tawanda Karombo
AFRICAN Precious Metals Limited (APML), an
overseas investment company, has
struck a deal with a local mining company,
Exporien Mining, to fund
exploration in Zimbabwe. Exporien holds a number of
Exclusive Prospecting
Orders (EPOs) over diamond, platinum and chrome
prospects in several
mineral-rich regions in Zimbabwe.
Under the
deal, APML will fund Exporien to develop portfolio projects and to
enhance
its feasibility studies.
Sam Chikowore, chief executive officer (CEO) of
Exporien Mining, said the
deal would considerably boost his company's
exploration activities.
"The partnership forged between APML and Exporien
will result in very
significant exploration in Zimbabwe. It will also give
impetus to other
mining investors from the west and the world over to come
and invest in the
country, showing a restoration of confidence in the
sector, which has
suffered greatly due to lack of exploration funds,"
Chikowore said.
APML raises funds from other institutions for exploration and
development of
projects in Southern Africa.
The company is represented in
two other mineral exploration projects in the
region, Platinum Limited and
Central African Mining and Exploration Company
(CAMEC). The latter is due to
list on the Toronto Stock Exchange and has a
market capitalisation of US$300
million.
CAMEC, with a market capitalisation of about US$1.3 billion, is
quoted on
the Alternative Investments Market (AIM) in London.
The
country's mining sector expects more foreign investment despite proposed
mining laws that would require 51 percent local ownership of all foreign
mines. Some of the new investment has been going into non-traditional
sectors, such as the new corundum development that opened in Concession
recently.
FinGaz
Tawanda Karombo
TOBACCO sales were
last week up 25 percent on the same period last year,
earning about US$84.3
million, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board
(TIMB) has said.
At
the same time last year, US$67.1 million of flu-cured tobacco had been
sold.
Prices had averaged about US$2 this year, TIMB said, better than the
average
of US$1.51 recorded in the corresponding period last year.
A total of 540
bales had been delivered since the beginning of the month,
with 494
sold.
Tobacco had earned US$70 million from more than 35 million kg sold at
the
end of July.
The government has already set aside $23 trillion (old
currency) for the
2006/7 season to counter input shortages experienced in
the last
tobacco-growing season.
Once Zimbabwe's largest foreign currency
earner, tobacco has suffered from
disruptions to production caused by
government's chaotic land reform,
coupled with the shortage of inputs such
as fertiliser and chemicals.
Zimbabwe was once the world's largest tobacco
producer, but the decline in
the size of its crop has seen it lose its place
to countries such as the
United States and India.
The country expects
tobacco sales of 50 million kg this year, a 24 million
kg slump from last
year's output.
FinGaz
Gondo Gushungo
NO-HOLDS-BARRED
AT
independence in 1980 it was a piece of cake for the self-serving ruling
ZANU
PF to pull the wool over the eyes of the people and masquarade as
patriots
driven by the desire and passion to bring about a Zimbabwe many
sacrificed
life and limb for. I remember vividly that amidst that patriotic
fervour and
state of euphoria it was common to see seething masses of people
cheering
and patriotically waving flags and banners at ZANU PF officials. It
was easy
because then, various sections of the population were united by a
common
hatred for the white minority regime.
But not any more. As already
observed by Michael Barone, Senior Staff Editor
of Reader's Digest - major
changes in society sometimes announce themselves
with a bang and sometimes
tiptoe in silently - as did the new political
realities which took ZANU PF,
arrogant enough to think that it is the only
capable political force in the
country, by surprise. Thus gradually,
inevitable questions began to emerge
over the socio-political orientation of
the country as well as the quality
and pace of political reforms as ZANU PF
pushed for a one-party
state.
This was against the grain of the aspirations of the nation. And it
not only
ignited a dog fight within the ruling party's own ranks but also
cost ZANU
PF popular support. The ruling party's claims to patriotism and
commitment
to upholding democratic principles that would transform Zimbabwe
into a land
of unlimited opportunities where each and everyone of the
country's citizens
could pursue their wildest dreams, were in the process
exposed for what they
are - cheap politicking that seeks to narrow the
definition of patriotism to
mean fanatical support for ZANU PF. I don't want
to be uncharitable but
since then, if any of the speeches on patriotism by
ruling party officials
are memorable for anything, it is for their polemics
rather than their
substance.
My small dog-eared dictionary defines
patriotism as love for your country
and willingness to defend it. But is
this what the wealth-accumulating
Zimbabwean politicians for whom it is
difficult to accept criticism without
rancour, mean when they repeatedly
importune journalists to be patriotic?
Hardly. To the hypocritical
politicians, known for their patronising
arrogance, the interests of the
nation are the same as those of ZANU PF.
Thus ZANU PF is Zimbabwe and
Zimbabwe is ZANU PF. Hence their narrow
perception of patriotism, which is
defined in terms of political party
affiliation. Yet nothing could be
further from the truth and I find the
politicians' sentiments ninety-nine
times in a hundred singularly repulsive!
It is absolutely sickening.
The
bottom line is that the politicians would like Zimbabwe to be a place
where
many areas of public life should remain opaque and unfriendly to
scrutiny or
some utopian society that should emphasise differences quietly
with the
utmost of subtlety. Under such circumstances, a crusading private
media is
grossly misunderstood and treated with suspicion. This explains why
the
private media has always proved to be a banana skin for the authorities
for
piercing through the government's self-serving veils of secrecy.
Thus the
main reason behind this chorus of patriotism (read support for ZANU
PF) is
that the unaccountable politicians now view the small but vibrant
private
media, which does not shy away from debating essential political and
social
problems in the country, as part of the problem in Zimbabwe and not
their
policies. And the politicians now seek to guide journalists in search
of the
truth and informing the country's poverty-stricken citizens who are
expecting commodities back on the shelves and peace back to their
souls.
It was author Thomas Blanton who said that motivations for curtailing
freedom of information have been as varied as the circumstances in each
country that has sought it. But in Zimbabwe it has more to do with the
desire to keep a tight lid on government failures. And these calls for
patriotism, which have been repeated ad nauseam, are part of the broader
political machinations to muzzle the media.
I was therefore not surprised
when ZANU PF spokesman, Nathan Shmuyarira
added his voice to the annoying
cacophony of calls by ruling party
politicians who loathe a no-holds-barred
debating society, for journalists
to be patriotic. Indeed, that calls for
patriotism must come from those
responsible for the waste, abuse and plunder
of public resources and whose
disastrous and sometimes irrational policies
have spawned a socio-economic
crisis of nightmarish proportions, would in
any other country, be nothing
short of a curious paradox. The question begs,
if patriotism means love for
your country and willingness to defend it, how
did the "patriotic" ZANU PF
reduce the erstwhile regional breadbasket into a
banana republic? How do you
destroy something you love?
There is no
arguing that economic progress in Zimbabwe is being held back by
the dead
hand of the ruling ZANU PF's obsession with revolutionary mantras
and hatred
for the West, Band-Aid approach to serious issues and wasteful
pork-barrel
projects such as the unbudgeted-but-politically convenient
payouts to former
freedom fighters and military adventurism in the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo. Yes, I know that success has no orphan.
But just like they take
credit for liberating Zimbabwe, which nobody denies
them, ZANU PF must also
take full responsibility for plunging the country
into an unprecedented
crisis.
Thus those who have visited misery upon millions of Zimbabweans are
in the
forefront of preaching patriotism through their virulent nationalism.
And
when Shamuyarira and his colleagues say journalists should be patriotic
they
mean to say journalists who should, by virtue of their profession be in
the
eye of the storm and be brave enough to state opinions that might even
upset
certain people, should lose their objectivity in a hear, see and speak
no
evil manner.
The message is loud and clear: if you are patriotic stop
highlighting the
irony of a black underclass under a supposed majority black
government, the
stifling of democratic space through the arbitrary closure
of newspapers as
happened under Ian Smith's Rhodesia when the Daily News of
which Shamuyarira
was the first black editor was closed down in the 1960s in
much the same way
the incumbent government closed down the later-day Daily
News co-founded by
exiled journalist Geoffrey Nyarota, the unprecedented
economic melt-down and
the resultant disappearance of jobs and cycle of
broken families.
In other words journalists, whose work should represent
things as they are
in real life, should paint a rosier-than-real picture of
the depressing
situation in Zimbabwe. To the politicians who see journalists
as ravening
wolves, the media should hold political bias in favour of course
of the
sacred cow - ZANU PF. They are, to all intents and purposes, saying
journalists should do the bidding of ZANU PF! This explains the politicians'
unconcealed satisfaction with Zimpapers where scribes practise uncritical
journalism that went out with Noah's ark and unashamedly attach the names of
the authors to the articles. But wouldn't it be absurd for journalists with
conscience, values and opinions and who know that honesty is the best
policy, to debase themselves in that way?
That ZANU PF, not only as the
ruling party but also the author of the
deepening crisis which the
politicians prefer to call challenges, cannot by
any stretch of the
imagination escape the harsh glare of the media spotlight
is conveniently
lost on the politicians.
What the politicians should realise is that when we
(journalists) say that
we follow the flag in journalism, we mean that the
broader national
interests take precedence above everything else. It does
not mean that
journalists should gloss over issues and pander to the whims
of powerful
politicians in line with parochial and self-serving patriotism
like that
espoused by ZANU PF. Facts are sacred in journalism and that it is
why the
media has to tell it like it is - warts and all. And that is the
bottom
line!
- email: gg@fingaz.co.zw
FinGaz
personal
glimpses
PLACARDS bearing anti-corruption slogans and those with epithets
denouncing
Tony Blair and Zimbabwe's other traditional enemies festooned the
scene
during the Heroes Day commemoration proceedings at the national shrine
on
Tuesday, detracting, in my view, from the solemnity that the ceremony
must
be accorded.
But of course, following the unveiling of Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe Governor,
Gideon Gono's Midterm Monetary Policy about a
fortnight ago, anti-corruption
rhetoric is big business and the main speaker
at Heroes Acre, President
Robert Mugabe, did not disappoint. Exhorting the
nation not to forget the
supreme sacrifice made by the heroes buried at the
national shrine, the head
of state said these gallant sons and daughters of
the soil had endured
colonial oppression and suppression but had refused to
surrender.
Regrettably, he said, their patriotism and sacrifice were being
disregarded
by those who have chosen to "worship the god of wealth and who
have shown
unbridled greed, corruption and self-aggrandisement". He warned
these
economic saboteurs that the government was prepared to fight the
scourge of
corruption and restore the honour and dignity of the
nation.
But considering that big shots in both government and the ruling
party have
been corruptly enriching themselves with impunity for the last 26
years, the
President's warnings of dire consequences will not have caused
any
excitement among the struggling masses. The President will have been
perceived as someone shedding crocodile tears as no one expects the tough
new rules announced by the monetary authorities to apply to the powerful and
influential in the ruling party and government.
ZANU PF's record as the
liberator of this country from colonial bondage puts
its cadres on an
untouchable pedestal. Indeed, the head of state has
unintentionally
acknowledged this fact in his regular impassioned railings
against what he
describes as the "illegal sanctions" imposed by Britain, the
European Union,
the United States and their allies.
Despite having dismissed these targeted
sanctions as a non-event when they
were first imposed, the establishment has
now changed tack and wants them
lifted. The reason? No one seriously
believes the ruling party still has any
sense of mission beyond holding on
to power, but we have been told a
moratorium should now be called on these
measures because they are hurting
the ordinary person. It is of course true
that it is the man in the street
that bears the brunt of the economic
stagnation within the country but it is
a fallacy to claim this is because
of the targeted sanctions imposed on
President Mugabe and his lieutenants.
The masses are suffering because the
ruling elites have become more brazen
in their plundering and looting of
national resources and wealth since being
given the cold shoulder by Western
countries.
It is almost like a direct
reaction to being told that they could not
continue to enjoy the trappings
of capitalism through endless junkets to
Western capitals while running a
tyrannical regime at home. These sanctions
must be biting, but those
affected are cushioning themselves by grabbing as
much as possible. It is by
no accident that the ramifications of the
targeted sanctions are affecting
ordinary people who are not part of the
enormous ZANU PF patronage network.
The ordinary person has literally been
bludgeoned into a submission
economically.
I maintain that if the powers- that-be genuinely cared about
the welfare of
the general populace, they would have made an effort long ago
to address the
issues that led to the imposition of sanctions in the first
place. But
listening to the official spinning being undertaken on the
negative impact
of sanctions today, one would be excused for thinking that
these were
suddenly and arbitrarily dreamt up and imposed. Only the most
gullible would
buy the government's false show of concern over the suffering
of the people
when it is unwilling to address fundamental issues such as
restoring the
rule of law, protecting freedom of speech and guaranteeing
civil liberties
for all regardless of colour, creed or political
affiliation.
One placard that television cameras zoomed on during the
proceedings at
Heroes Acre bore the legend, "Blair, the issue is bilateral".
Would a caring
government waste so much time and energy trying to force a
reluctant foreign
leader into a quarrel instead of attending to the internal
issues that the
people, opposition parties and civic organisations have
raised concerns
about? The government's intransigence and uncompromising
leadership style
displayed both at home and on the international scene
confirms that the only
issues that really matter to the country's rulers are
the crushing of
dissent, silencing of the opposition and emasculation of the
media.
President Mugabe's voice literally rose by several octaves at Heroes
Acre on
Tuesday when he warned that the jackboot of the army would descend
mercilessly on opposition groups if they and their allies sought to effect
regime change in Zimbabwe. This is a clear indication that while noises can
be made about corruption and the need for culprits to know that "wrongful
self-enrichment will not be allowed to go unpunished", the real cardinal sin
in Zimbabwe is to oppose, criticise and hold views that are contrary to
those of the rulers.
FinGaz
Tjenesani
Ntungakwa
With Africa in Mind
THE commotion which shook African politics
from the late 50s created some
avenues for ascending the hierarchy of power.
By then, several African
countries had attained independence. Nationalist
revolutions swept across
the continent like a wind-fanned fire. Invariably
there emerged an
unpredictable pattern of succession in the leadership of
governments.
In given cases, the ballot box was used as a tool for the
smooth transition
from one head of state to another. Others took the option
of engaging in
bloody insurrections. A major phenomenon of the process
involved the idea of
resorting to a "coup de tat". The coup became the means
with which certain
"strongmen" found their way into political
office.
Normally, it took the form of a quick upstaging of an existing
administration by an individual or group who had seen an opportunity to do
so. In essence, a coup usually became the work of those who were in the
military. Basically, it was a rapid replacement of one ruler by the other.
Thus the formula varied from a bloodless, well coordinated act to a
shortlived skirmish with loyalist troops. Besides the proceeding analysis,
it can be argued that African coups became more or less
endemic.
Consequently a new statesman of some kind began to emerge. Donned in
combat
fatigues and later, civilian clothes, the soldiers left the barracks
for the
Presidential Palace.
However, some controversy surrounded such a
developments. Arguably the
soldier was a political misfit and had to remain
where he belonged. It was
also felt that civil society could not be run by
the army, rather the other
way round.
Ideally a system of "popular
governance" was expected to be morally just.
Whichever way, the arguments
went, the incidence of coups in Africa became
inevitable. By the end of the
20th century, almost every region in Africa
had experienced a coup. From
Maseru, through the Accra, Tripoli and Kampala,
the rifles replaced the
walking sticks of Africa's admirable leaders.
It would appear that most coups
occurred in those countries where colonial
rule had become a thing of the
past. An exception to the observation is the
example of a "revolutionary
mutiny" carried out by some officers in the
Egyptian ranks around the 50's.
Among them was Gamel A. Nasser. The move was
largely seen as bringing about
freedom from a colonially-influenced status
quo.
From the looks of
things, the early efforts at establishing martial rule in
Africa were in the
Congo in 1960 and later Dahomey (now Benin) in 1961. From
then on, the coup
habit developed fast among a number of Africa's armed
forces.
To have a
sound appreciation of the whole scenario, one needs to take a
closer look
into whatever transpired at independence. The quest for
decolonisation had
seen the emergence of two or more divided camps in most
of Africa's
nations.
On one hand, there existed an active mass of anti-colonial agitators
led by
an educated class of African nationalists. The people organised
themselves
into a visibly forceful movement. It should be noted however that
such
organisations did not necessarily translate to waging an armed
struggle. The
likes of Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba can be understood
in that
context.
The crop of Africans who had served in the imperial
military and civil
service structures remained in place. Such names as the
Royal West Africa
Frontier Force, the Kings African Riffles and Force's du
Public reflected
upon the hegemony of industrialised Europe over Africa's
people. The armies
mentioned so far ensured the survival of Europe's African
colonies as
"governable entities".
Having been "granted" self rule, the
socio-political mechanisms of the
colonial era, were the "weeds" that would
germinate and grow with the
"wheat". Coincidentally, the independent
African states began to experience
some "civil strife" whose magnitude had
not been foreseen by the brand of
"incoming politicians". The Congo crisis
of 1960 is one of such examples.
Under the prevailing circumstances the
possibility of taking power by force,
easily availed itself to the "former
army."
The factual basis of the argument put across so far can be cited as
the
story of Idi Amin "Dada" Uganda. Having joined the Kings African Rifles
in
1946, Idi Amin was later involved in the operations against the Mau Mau
rebels in Kenya. In 1959, the colonial establishment in Uganda sent some
officers on a course that was meant to prepare them for independence. Idi
Amin was among them. By 1964, Idi Amin was in the highest echelons of the
Ugandan army. At that time, Milton Obote had, together with others, fought
to bring about a self-governing Uganda. The two became incompatible. On
January 25 1971 when Obote had gone to attend a Commonwealth Summit, Amin
seized power.
Reference can also be made to the Central African Republic.
In that case,
Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa seized power in a coup. He deposed
the government
of David Dacko on December 31 1965. Bokassa had served in the
French army.
In turn, France had colonised the Central African Republic.
Bokassa had
joined the French army in 1939. His service saw him being sent
on several
courses overseas. The self-declared emperor had also operated as
part of the
French army in Vietnam (then French Indo- China).
At
independence in 1961, Colonel Bokassa was back in the Central African
Republic. David Dacko and the nationalist leader Father Baithelemy Bonogunda
welcomed him. Colonel Bokassa seemed to have been much trusted to help in
building an army for the independent Central African Republic. By 1964,
Colonel Bokassa was the chief of staff of the Central African Republican
Army. As time went on Bokassa was not prepared to submit himself to the
authority of the civilians who ruled his country. Like Idi Amin, he staged
coup.
Another case in point can be noted in post-independence Ghana. One
of the
earliest military rulers of Ghana was Lieutenant Joseph Arthur
Ankrah. He
had joined the army in 1939, way before the independence of
Ghana. At the
beginning of World War 2, he was a member of the Royal West
Africa Volunteer
Force. Lt Ankrah continued to work in the army after
then.
Having reached the rank of Major General in 1961, he was retired from
the
army in 1965. The government of Kwame Nkrumah was on an ill-fated
course. On
February 24 1966, the military deposed the civilian government in
Ghana. The
event signalled the beginning of the army's involvement in the
running of
the West African country.
The most interesting analysis of a
coup has always been the background of
those who take part in it. It is also
necessary to point out that one of the
widely mentioned failed coups in
Europe was Hitler's attempt to take over
power at a beer hall in Munich in
1923. Europe's most recent classical coup,
was probably the overthrow of the
government of Dr Caetano in Lisbon,
Portugal in 1975, suggesting that the
problem has not been wholly African.
Coming back to Africa, the feeling has
always been that coup plotters are
generally a bunch of ill disciplined,
disaffected and illiterate members of
a rag-tag militia. History has proved
otherwise. Some conspirators came from
a well to do background. Others had
even furthered their careers at some of
the most prestigious military
academies on earth. Such institutions are
Sandhurst. The Mons Officers'
Cadet School at Aldershot and the Royal
Engineers Academy in Shrivenham in
England became host to some of officers
from mainly English speaking Africa.
Interestingly, the men went back home
and found themselves involved in
organising coups.
Soldiers like Major Patrick Kaduna Chukwumu Nzeogwo of
Nigeria were
commissioned after attending Sandhurst Military Academy in
England. The same
officer was involved in the infamous January 1966 coup in
Nigeria. General
Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria also attended the Officers
Cadet School at
Aldershot in England. He later became, a military ruler of
his country.
General Ignatius Kuta Acheampong who led Ghana's second coup,
at one time
enrolled at the Mons Officer Cadet Training School in England
between 1958
and 1959. Thus, even the much militarily schooled career
officers could not
resist the temptation to taste power.
FinGaz
Geoff
Nyarota
THE GEOFF NYAROTA COLUMN
PROFESSOR Jonathan Moyo crafted what he
called a review of my recently
published book, Against the Grain, Memoirs of
a Zimbabwean Newsman, in the
form of an open letter to me which he posted on
the New Zimbabwe.com
website.
Lest I am accused of abusing this
column, I feel compelled to respond to the
vicious attack by Prof Moyo on
the assumption that readers have acquainted
themselves with the review after
they were urged to do so by fellow
Financial Gazette columnist, CZ, last
week. I hope readers share my view
that since it is this very column which
is the cause of my constant
persecution it is proper that I defend myself
here, hopefully for the last
time.
In this response to Prof Moyo's
evaluation I wish to start by pointing out
that there is a world of
difference between a mistake, also known as an
error, a blunder, slip-up,
gaffe, or inaccuracy, on the one hand, and
outright falsification, which has
more sinister connotations such as
fabrication, forgery, deception,
fiddling, on the other. I am grateful to
Prof Moyo and to others who have
pointed out any errors. When the
opportunity arises they will be duly
rectified.
Let me hasten to clarify that I write about Prof Moyo here, not in
his
capacity as a representative of the people of Matabeleland, but because,
as
an individual, he wrote a vituperative review of my book.
That being
so I deny that I am guilty of any deliberate falsification, as
charged by
him. There can be no justification whatsoever for him to regard
any errors
in my book as carte blanche to insult me repeatedly and most
unbecomingly
throughout his critique.
In my book I set out to write about the trials and
tribulations of an
independent press struggling against heavy odds to expose
rampant corruption
and abuse of power on the part of Zimbabwe's increasingly
tyrannical
political elite. I do not believe that any of the errors that
Prof Moyo
cites really go to the root and general thrust of that
theme.
In addition to his gratuitous insults, Prof Moyo has unfortunately put
words
into my mouth in several instances and has quoted statements
completely out
of context to suit his malicious agenda. As it would be
unseemly to rebut
every single one of his allegations, I will leave readers
to reach their own
conclusions, not on the basis of Prof Moyo's attempt to
rewrite my book, but
on the basis of their own reading of the text. Once a
book is out in the
public domain, an author no longer owns it; it is up to
readers to read for
themselves; to be informed and to reach their own
conclusions.
Prof Moyo's strategy seems to be to cause the public to shun the
book so
that they do not read what it exposes about the ruinous
transgressions
committed by him and his erstwhile colleagues in government.
By being the
first to review Against the Grain he also seeks cunningly to
influence other
reviews.
His review is no more than a malevolent personal
attack which leaves one
with the inescapable conclusion that it is motivated
by self-interest and
malice.
I certainly did not set out to "add new
methodological and theoretical
insights into media politics, press freedom,
media propaganda, human rights,
transparent and accountable governance" as
suggested by Prof Moyo. If he
wants to write that sort of book he is welcome
to do so. I set out to record
my memoirs, including my role in investigating
and exposing rampant
corruption within the ranks of the ruling ZANU PF party
and in fighting the
gross and arrogant abuse of human rights by Prof Moyo
and other politicians
of his ilk.
Memoirs, by their very nature, tend to
be narcissistic - how can they be
otherwise when they are the story of a
life. My memoirs are no more
narcissistic than those written by Joshua Nkomo
and Ian Smith, to quote just
two examples of people involved in Zimbabwean
history who have taken the
trouble to put pen to paper. Nor will my memoirs
be any more narcissistic
than those of Prof Moyo himself, who indicated in
the distant past that he
intends to write a book based on his own
experiences.
The most constructive statement in his review is: "I hope your
book will be
reviewed by competent people soon."
I will comment no more
on the book itself, but just on a few aspects that
Prof Moyo highlights ad
nauseam in his review. I have been accused of being
a tribalist. I find this
particular accusation from Prof Moyo puzzling,
given the cordial relations
that I have had with him in the past. When I was
executive editor of The
Financial Gazette and he was the paper's columnist
he and I spent a
memorable two weeks while touring reunified Germany, just
after the fall of
the Berlin Wall.
"At that time," Prof Moyo now publicly professes, "my point
of editorial
contact was always Trevor Ncube. I never ever spoke to you or
interacted
with you about anything editorial or otherwise."
Generally
newspaper editors don't always interact with their columnists.
Notwithstanding that, a picture of the erudite professor and I as we sailed
down the Rhine occupied a place of honour in my office at The Daily News a
decade later, even as our printing press was blown to smithereens within
hours of his published statement that the paper should be silenced. On
another occasion I invited Prof Moyo to my village in Manicaland. We spent
an equally memorable Saturday afternoon as my relatives and members of the
local teaching fraternity mobbed the famous columnist at Gwangwadza
Township, outside Nyazura. There was absolutely no issue then about
tribalism. I became a tribalist, apparently, after I moved to the United
States, especially after I started contributing this column to The Financial
Gazette.
With all due respect to the professor, this accusation is
totally unfounded.
If Prof Moyo had read my book, as opposed to quickly
skimming through it, he
would have been reminded of those happy occasions.
Therefore, he would never
have made statements such as that he never had
anything to do with me at The
Financial Gazette. This is indisputable
evidence that Prof Moyo did not
peruse my book as thoroughly as he would
like the public to believe before
he embarked on the scurrilous
review.
Prof Moyo claims he was informed by my then deputy, Ncube, that I
used to
complain about the tone of his hard-hitting articles concerning ZANU
PF.
This is false. I was aware of the close relationship between the two men
but
I am both taken aback and disappointed by the revelation now that my
then
deputy was in the habit of taking insidious potshots at me from behind
as
far back as 1990. We created a column for Prof Moyo, not only on account
of
the said hard-hitting tone, but also for the sheer bravado of his
articles.
Somebody did complain about that tone, though. It was the
publisher, Elias
T. Rusike. This is recorded in Against the Grain and if
Prof Moyo had not
perused the text with a jaundiced eye he would have come
across this vital
information.
Prof Moyo is an internationally recognised
master of spin but his
performance this time surpasses his past
accomplishments.
Talking of Ncube, he recommended to me as editor that we
create a column for
Prof Moyo. I then requested him to confirm whether Prof
Moyo was, indeed,
willing to contribute as a regular columnist. I do not see
any contradiction
here, as now shrilly claimed by the professor.
Some of
Prof Moyo's criticism arises from his blissful ignorance. He berates
me for
referring in one sentence to "Mugabe, Sithole, Enos Nkala, George
Nyandoro,
Maurice Nyagumbo, Chikerema and Tekere".
"I don't know why some of the names
in the above paragraph are given in full
while others are not," he
fumes.
The answer is simple. It is a basic rule of journalism that people are
identified by their full names at the first mention. Thereafter, they are
referred to only by their surname. In this instance Mugabe, Sithole,
Chikerema and Tekere had already been referred to while the rest are being
introduced for the first time.
Prof Moyo may be peeved, understandably,
that he is not portrayed in a
positive light in Against the Grain. This is
his fault, not mine. My
portrayal is not influenced by any tribal agenda. It
is based on his
performance and record as Minister of Information, as well
as the relentless
war that he waged against press freedom and democracy, as
repeatedly
expressed in his own damning words. I will refer him and readers
to the same
National Archives he refers me to in his review. As minister he
did not in
any way represent the interests of the people of Matabeleland. So
how can
anyone who criticises his performance then be said to be campaigning
against
the Ndebele people?
He may well have changed his colours like the
proverbial chameleon. It
matters not how long the arms with which he has now
been embraced by the
same coterie of journalists that he wilfully and
gleefully persecuted for
five long years. The fact still remains that Prof
Moyo did cause irreparable
damage not only to the standard of journalism but
also to freedom of
expression in Zimbabwe. Above all, he was responsible for
the demise of four
newspapers, thus rendering hundreds of his compatriots
and their dependants
destitute.
There has been a concerted campaign,
expressed again in Prof Moyo's review,
to drag me willy-nilly in retrospect
into the formulation and perpetration
of the Gukurahundi atrocities in the
1980s. The persistent accusations
against me have so far turned out to be
nothing more than spurious and
ethnically driven allegations, which are not
supported by any tangible
evidence. They remain just that - mere malicious
allegations that are now
propagated with gay abandon by the learned
professor and honourable Member
of Parliament for Tsholotsho.
It is an
open secret that some of the activists who shout loudest about
Gukurahundi
do so as a ploy to access donor funds, some for
self-aggrandisement and not
out of any altruistic concern for those who
suffered or perished at the
hands of Five Brigade. It is for that reason
that the substance of their
campaign is sometimes difficult to comprehend -
why they now constantly
exonerate the known perpetrators of Gukurahundi,
while persecuting innocent
people.
I note now that I have been doubly damned, on the one hand, I was
cheerleader to Five Brigade, while on the other I stood by and did
absolutely nothing. In his review Prof Moyo seems to accuse me of a crime of
omission. I should be grateful for this, as I was beginning to believe that
maybe I was guilty of some crime of commission, through something that was
published in The Chronicle, as so often stated without substantiation. Now
the goal-posts have shifted. Prof Moyo claims that I am guilty of what I did
not write.
Separately, it was not until I read about it in the review
that I realised
that back in the 80s I was a recognised human rights
investigative reporter
at The Chronicle.
Prof Moyo wants to achieve the
dubious distinction of reviewing a book in
which he is portrayed as a
villain. Readers will draw their own conclusions
about his objectivity. But
one does not need to be a rocket scientist to
figure out what motivates him
to hasten to discredit a book out which he, as
a politician, does not emerge
smelling of roses.
Prof Moyo and I find ourselves on the same side today, the
side of a battle
for accountability, transparency and democracy in a
besieged Zimbabwe. While
we have taken different routes to this destination,
I think we both agree
that the exchange of ideas is necessary to fuel
progress. If ideas are
however based on defamatory untruths, vitriolic
insults and unmitigated
malice, they lose their power to persuade.
Above
all, malice can never be a substitute for proof, logic or credibility.
Nkomo
and Fort Hare University
For those who have an interest in these matters,
such as Zimbabwe
Independent correspondent, Rob C Moyana of Bramley, South
Africa, and
Professor Arthur Mutambara of the MDC, who aver that it is
wrongly stated in
Against the Grain that the late Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo
attended Fort Harare
University, the following is an extract from the
university's website on the
Internet:
Notable alumni:
lGovan Mbeki
(1910- 2001) - South African politician
lYusuf Lule (1912 - 1985) - Interim
president of Uganda 1979
lOliver Tambo (October 27, 1917-April 24, 1993) -
member, African National
Congress
lJoshua Nkomo (1918- July 1, 1999) -
founder of the Zimbabwe African Peoples
Union (ZAPU).
lNelson Mandela
(July 18, 1918- ) - President of South Africa
lJulius Nyerere (July 19,
1922-October 14, 1999) - President of Tanzania
lHerbert Chitepo (June 15,
1923-March 18, 1975) - ZANU leader
lRobert Sobukwe (1924-27 February, 1978) -
founder of the Pan African
Congress
lRobert Mugabe (February 21, 1924- )
- President of Zimbabwe, attended
1949-1951
lKenneth Kaunda (April 28,
1924- ) - first President of Zambia
lMangosuthu Buthelezi (August 27, 1928- )
- leader of the Inkatha Freedom
Party
lDesmond Tutu (October 7, 1931- ) -
Archbishop, South African peace activist
lChris Hani (June 28, 1942-April 10,
1993) - leader of the South African
Communist Party
Saying of the
Week
"THE problem is that we are becoming too much of crooks. Each one of us
is
busy crooking one after another and I just hope Zimbabweans would stop
this
madness so that the system can become normal." - Zimbabwe Police
Commissioner Augustine Chihuri while bidding farewell to police officers
destined for United Nations peacekeeping duties in Sudan. (The Herald,
August 9, 2006)
FinGaz
Bornwell Chakaodza
national agenda
WE have said it before. We
will say it again. And we shall continue saying
it as long as the Zimbabwean
crisis persists . Despite the positive
developments on the currency reform
front, there is no hope in hell for
resolving our problems unless and until
the core issues we are facing are
addressed. In the absence of an all
inclusive political settlement resulting
in massive foreign currency
injection, confidence in our economy and
increased productivity in all
economic sectors, the main objective of the
economic turnaround process
currently underway will not be realised.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
will continue to firefight without completely
putting out the fire. In other
words, the currency reform measures alone
cannot and will not guarantee a
lasting solution to our crisis.
The piecemeal approach by the well-meaning
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor
Gideon Gono will not get us very far. The
Governor's 2006 Mid-term Monetary
Policy Review Statement has much to
commend it but falls far short of what
is needed to comprehensively deal
with the ongoing economic meltdown.
Since the presentation of the Monetary
Policy Review Statement 17 days ago,
conditions have deteriorated markedly.
Prices of basic commodities, goods
and services have gone up. Fuel prices
have skyrocketed, triggering off all
sorts of increases including commuter
omnibus fares.
Yes, money has became very tight but at what cost? Nobody
would disagree
with the principle and motivation behind the ongoing blitz on
money
laundering as it had reached totally unacceptable levels. What many
people
are taking issue with are the methods that are being employed to
combat this
highly despicable practice. Couldn't the banks have been used to
achieve the
same ends of netting the crooks and the criminals?
The use of
soldiers, the dreaded CIO agents and Border Gezi militias and
youths to man
the various checkpoints nationwide does not do the monetary
authorities any
good in the eyes of the long-suffering Zimbabwean public.
What kind of
policing can be expected from such elements except that of
force and
intimidation ?
Zimbabweans regard them as instruments of oppression,
intimidation and
harassment - nothing more, nothing less. And their past and
present record
speaks volumes about this perception and reality. What is so
sad about this
blitz is that the monetary authorities have become full
members of ZANU PF's
oppressive and intimidatory machine - most unfortunate
indeed !
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe should have thought twice about the
message
they are sending out in their use of these partisan and
poverty-stricken
groups of people. Sensitive and good policing should be
left to the Zimbabwe
Republic Police (ZRP) although they too have been
partisan and seen in
recent years as instruments of ZANU PF's political
agenda. But at least the
ZRP is trained in policing matters and have
policing authority enshrined in
the Zimbabwean Constitution.
Reports that
have been published in the media of looting and massive seizure
of people's
hard -earned cash and assets by some criminal elements and
people's patience
stretched to breaking point in long queues at roadblocks
in a bid to net
money launders have cast a dark shadow on an otherwise
well - intentioned
policy -albeit self inflicted on the part of the ruling
Zanu PF
Government.
Without in anyway absolving the money - launderers of their
criminal,
activities, it is important to place on record that it is the Zanu
PF
misgovernance and bad policies that have given rise to the kind of things
that the monetary policies are now trying to correct .In the 80s and 90s,
these things were unheard of precisely because the political environment was
by and large stable and normal .
For the past six years we have been
lurching from one chaotic situation to
another with no end in sight to our
troubles .This is because both the
Government and the monetary authorities
have been all the time introducing
piecemeal measures and ways of dealing
with our crisis rather than coming up
with an overall strategy that
encompasses all aspects - political, economic,
social , international - call
it what you will .
What we now need is a sustainable solution to our
problems, solutions that
last. ZANU PF has got to listen to what Zimbabweans
and non-Zimbabweans of
goodwill are saying.
In his address to people
gathered at Heroes Acre in Harare on Monday ,
President Mugabe implored
Zimbabweans to whole heartedly support the
currency reform measures . In the
same venue, Zimbabweans are also imploring
him to move beyond the currency
reform measurers and get to the heart of the
problems and embrace a total
and lasting solution.
The Reserve bank of Zimbabwe can slash three zeros
today, tomorrow, next
week, next month , next year but it wont get us
anywhere. If anything , the
danger is ever present that the zeros might come
back one by one .The
monetary authorities can seize all the old bearer
cheques smuggled into
neighboring countries but no sooner as they do this ,
the criminals quickly
find new ways of smuggling the new bearer cheques out
of Zimbabwe . It is
indeed a hard life for Governors Gideon Gono and his
team.
The only way forward is to look at the bigger picture and see how
everything
that is happening in our county is interlinked and interwtinned .
How I wish
we could be more frank about telling the truth . The truth is
that ZANU PF
as presently constituted is the major impediment and albatross
around the
necks of Zimbabwean . This, we have said numerous times but it
has been
falling on deaf ears .
I do not know what Zimbabwean can do to
force ZANU PF to listen. Perhaps the
return of the zeros, thoroughly
confusing as they are, might just be a
blessing in disguise .The ruling
party is unwilling , at least for now , to
reform itself. The people of
Zimbabwe have , at least for now failed to
remove it from power . Neither
the fundamentally flawed electoral process
since 2000 nor the half hearted
people power over the years have done
anything to change the reality on the
ground. This is the crucial dilemma
that Zimbabweans are facing at the
moment .
And yet the very nature of reality is that of change . What can
people do in
a situation in which the ruling part is suffering from the
disease of fixed
ideas that are no longer workable .There is a limit to what
Gideon Gono and
his team can do . Indeed a major part of the crisis we face
in this country
is rooted in the obstinate refusal on the part of ZANU PF to
look beyond the
immediacy of their needs and wants and instead invest in the
kind of future
our children's children have a right to expect . A belief in
the future -
that is all what our children expect and deserve. But President
Mugabe and
the ruling ZANU PF
party are refusing to give it to them .
What a tragedy!
I have no doubt in my mind that a total solution to our
crisis would have
profound effect not only on the economy of the country but
on everything
else - the judiciary , the media , education , health ,
agriculture ,
industry , mining and above all acceptance by the
international community of
nations . With this kind of best scenario for the
country, Gideon Gono and
the rest of Zimbabweans would smile all the way to
the bank .
An all inclusive political solution is premised on my strong
belief that the
events that have happened in this country during the past
six years and
indeed still happening should not be seen as isolated ,
accidental or
superficial occurrences but as grounded in a deeper political
and social
post .
It goes without saying that once there is a break of
the rural of law in a
country like the present lawlessness triggered off in
the year 2000 by the
chaotic and disorderly land reform , then everything
else goes haywire ! .
For example, the recent refusal of magistrates in
Manicaland to preside over
the Patrick Chinamasa case because of
intimidation must be understood in
this context .
That is why it
extremely important not to separate issues but to see them as
interconnected
and in the search for solutions such a search must be carried
out in
comprehensive and holistic manner . Not piecemeal in the way the
monetary
authorities are doing it currently .
In conclusion , we can never emphasize
enough the urgent need to bridge our
differences as Zimbabweans
.Unfortunately, the political will and courage on
the part of ZANU PF to end
this crisis is not there .Zimbabweans are
pleading for it .All what Gideon
Gono and his team are doing is to offer
bandages and in the process
maintaining the status quo . In the final
analysis what we really need is a
cure for the disease .
Email : borncha@mweb.co.zw
FinGaz
Comment
NIGERIA, which has the
dubious distinction of being one of the most corrupt
countries in the world,
alongside Zimbabwe, has upped the ante in its fight
against corruption. It
is adopting a punitive name and shame approach where
it will publish the
names of all past and present political leaders who have
stolen money from
the treasury.
The country's authoritative, assertive and resolute
anti-corruption agency,
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, says
this came about after it
emerged that an unbelievable US$400 billion in oil
revenues had been stolen.
Not only does this move deter corrupt politicians
from seeking office in
elections slated for next year but it will also take
the anti-corruption
drive to its full expression. In Kenya the entire
Cabinet, including
President Mwai Kibaki, will soon be undergoing a wealth
probe. And that is
as it should be.
With the sickening rapacity of local
politicians, it is desperately
important that Zimbabwe bites the bullet and
emulates Nigeria, if only it
had the unshakeable political will and
commitment. Sadly, we do not have any
high hopes for such a lucid expose`.
It is not difficult to see why. In
Zimbabwe, where the whole political
system is inefficient and corrupt and
where corruption is now a problem of
mind-boggling complexity, the
government seems to be stalling when it comes
to unmasking those fuelling
corruption, despite the fact that moral pressure
is inexorably rising for it
to do so.
Not so long ago, the government,
which over the years has taken a licking
from critics for not only nurturing
corruption but also sitting on the fence
in the face of the scourge,
admitted that an assortment of 300 government
and ZANU PF officials and
gold-plated businessmen with whom they have
back-scratching relationships
had more than one farm each, in flagrant
violation of government policy. But
that is as far as it went. Zimbabwe has
never been told who these people who
have turned the land reform programme
into a senseless land grab orgy are.
The last time the issue was mentioned
again was recently when the nation was
told that the land grabbers had
returned the farms!
This is just but one
example. There are as many corruption cases as there
are stars in the sky,
which are now being treated as water under the bridge
before the culprits
are brought to book or Zimbabweans are told who they
are. These include the
case of the now-defunct United Merchant Bank, owned
by the late eccentric
and self-proclaimed black economic empowerment
activist Roger Boka, where
crony capitalism was taken to a whole new level,
the unashamed social
welfare cheats who looted the War Victims Compensation
Fund and the
remorseless government and ZANU PF officials, some of whom did
not qualify
but still abused the VIP Housing Scheme, among others. Just like
the
contents of a closed book, the culprits in all these cases remain
unknown to
the generality of the populace.
Even though we have said time without number
that naming and shaming the
corrupt would go a long way in fighting
corruption by promoting transparency
and accountability, it will take an
incredible leap of faith to take the
government at its word despite repeated
threats to name and shame. It is the
same old story of continuous revving
without engaging the gears. And the
very paucity of action along these
lines, when corruption has pauperised a
whole nation and smoking guns are
scattered everywhere, tells a very
disturbing tale.
True, President
Robert Mugabe was quoted over the weekend as having said
that there would be
no sacred cows in the fight against corruption. Dare we
say, blessed are the
believers! Indeed, how we would love to believe that no
one would be immune
from prosecution in the fight against corruption, their
social or political
status notwithstanding. But we know better. It is easier
said than done.
Haven't we heard this a million times since the launch of
the government's
much-vaunted anti-corruption drive, for which there is very
little if
anything to show, in 2004? Yet we can count the grand total of
corruption-related indictments on the fingers of one hand, underlying the
persistent lack of action by the authorities even after relevant information
has been obtained and presented.
Even then, how many of the big fish have
been netted? Is it because they are
clean or that the decisions to
investigate and prosecute politically
influential and powerful suspects
rests solely with the ZANU PF upper
echelon? Indeed, there is an inescapable
impression that the ruling ZANU PF
government - just like the Malawian
authorities who suspended the head of
that country's anti-corruption agency
and subsequently forced him to resign
after former President Bakili Muluzi
was arrested for corruption - will not
do more than it has already done for
fear of opening a Pandora's box whereby
big names will be dragged through
the mire. If not, then Zimbabwe should
emulate Nigeria and uncover all the
corruption cases that were swept under
the carpet over the past 26
years.