http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in Politics
IN a
move which further shows the military will be a major factor in next
year’s
make-or-break general elections, Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) chief
General
Constantine Chiwenga has joined the Zanu PF campaign trail,
promising war
veterans –– the party’s foot soldiers during polls –– US$2 000
a month
between January and September next year.
Report by Herbert Moyo/Elias
Mambo
Informed sources told the Zimbabwe Independent this week Chiwenga
said the
money would come from the Marange diamond fields and investment in
the
Lupane gas project which government is moving to embark on with Russian
investors.
Sources said Chiwenga announced this while addressing more
than 800 war
veterans at One Brigade Headquarters in Bulawayo three weeks
ago.
ZDF public relations officer Major Matarirano yesterday confirmed
the army
commander has been meeting with war veterans but could not disclose
the
agenda.
War veterans leaders interviewed by the Independent say
Chiwenga promised
them huge allowances, which were far more than what an
average local worker
earns, if they campaigned for Mugabe and Zanu
PF.
“He told us that we have 10% shares in Marange diamond fields. We
will also
be getting something from Lupane because the government is
partnering
Russians to exploit methane gas so there won’t be any problem in
paying us,”
a war veteran leader said.
Zimbabwe National Liberation
War Veterans Association secretary-general
Shadreck Makombe confirmed
holding meetings with government over their
demands, saying there was
nothing sinister since they never received full
compensation in the first
disbursement in 1997.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in Politics
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe is reportedly fuming after former South African
president
Thabo Mbeki told him and provided evidence senior Zanu PF
ministers had
demanded a US$10 million bribe to facilitate a US$1 billion
investment by
African National Congress (ANC)-linked investors.
Report by Owen
Gagare
Informed sources said this week Mbeki, whose wife Zanele is
involved in
business, told Mugabe during Zimbabwe’s Diamond Conference in
Victoria Falls
from November 12-13 he was shocked by ministers who tried to
extort US$10
million from ANC-connected businesspeople who wanted to pour a
US$1 billion
investment in diamond mining and other areas.
Before
Mugabe hinted on the issue at the Zanu PF conference in Gweru last
weekend,
the Zimbabwe Independent was already investigating the story after
picking
up leads during the recent Victoria Falls meeting.
Sources say Mbeki
named the ministers, some of whom have built vast business
empires from
nowhere, to Mugabe and promised to give him evidence of
extortion. It is
said Mbeki last week sent an envoy, who was part of his
facilitation team
during Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement negotiations,
to give Mugabe
the evidence.
Efforts to get comment from Mugabe’s spokesman George
Charamba failed, while
Mbeki’s spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga refused to speak
on the issue now under
investigation.
Among the proof is information
clearly showing the names of the ministers,
who they met, when and where and
how they demanded bribes, effectively
scuttling huge investment to Mbeki’s
annoyance. Mugabe was said to have been
angered by the information,
especially insinuations that he was going to get
a cut from the US$10
kickback.
After getting the evidence from Mbeki of which ministers were
demanding
bribes, Mugabe, irked and disappointed by his appointees,
menacingly hinted
on the issue at the Zanu PF conference.
“I was
getting complaints from outside. Former South African president Thabo
Mbeki
was saying some of their people in the ANC wanted to come intending to
do
business and this is what they have been told: ‘If you want to do this
business, you bring US$5 million and from that US$5 million we take US$1
million that we will take to the minister to give to the president’,” Mugabe
said.
“If I get information stating that so and so minister is doing
this, he
goes. Unfortunately, sometimes complainants do not want to identify
the
ministers, fearing persecution but that is happening in the
ministries.”
The now defunct Canadile Miners director, Lovemore Kurotwi
was arrested in
2010 for allegedly ‘fraudulently misrepresenting’ to
government that his
company had money to mine diamonds, when in fact it was
bankrupt. Officials
claim this effectively ‘prejudiced’ the government of
US$2 billion
investment.
However, Kurotwi has insisted the fraud
charges are linked to his telling
Mugabe that Mines minister Obert Mpofu had
demanded a US$10 million bribe to
licence his company.
Sources say
the bribe from ANC-linked investors was demanded as “commission”
and
“facilitation fees” for the removal of obstacles to do with the
indigenisation programme to ensure the businesspeople did not encounter any
problems.
An internal government investigation has reportedly been
launched on the
issue which could open a Pandora’s Box on high-level
corruption, bribery and
extortion.
Zanu PF ministers, who live in
huge mansions and own luxury vehicles, are
some of Zimbabwe’s well-off
people despite that their sources of income are
not clear.
Several
Zimbabwean ministers have allegedly enriched themselves by demanding
bribes
and kickbacks from investors using Mugabe’s name. Some bribes have
been
demanded from those wishing to invest in the telecommunications, road
construction and energy sectors.
Although some of the ministers have
caught with their hands on the till,
Mugabe has failed to act and kept them
in his government. For instance,
Mugabe has been told by Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai that Local
Government minister Ignatius Chombo’s source of
wealth should be
investigated but nothing has been done.
Apart from
dealing with Zanu PF ministers such as Enos Nkala, Maurice
Nyagumbo and
Frederick Shava involved in corruption in the 1980s and later
Chris
Kuruneri, Mugabe has largely ignored or neglected dealing with corrupt
officials.
Ministers continue to loot public resources, including
Marange diamond
revenues, without consequences.
Mbeki was said to
have been disappointed as he highlighted that the
ministers’ demands were
militating against investment and Sadc’s efforts to
assist Zimbabwe’s US$10
billion Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme
(Sterp) endorsed by the Sadc
summit in Swaziland in March 2009.
One of the Sadc resolutions reads:
“The extraordinary summit noted the Sterp
developed by the Zimbabwe
government to guide the country’s actions and
efforts towards economic and
social recovery, estimated at US$10 billion.
The extraordinary summit urged
member states to support Zimbabwe to
implement Sterp in the form of budget
support, lines of credit, joint
ventures and toll
manufacturing.”
Addressing delegates at the Diamond conference in
Victoria Falls, Mbeki,
after informing Mugabe of his ministers’ corrupt
behaviour, went on to say
Zimbabwe’s resources, including diamonds, should
be used genuinely to
benefit the ordinary people, not the
well-connected.
“This must also mean that this country’s political
leadership, including all
the parties which serve in the current inclusive
government established
because of the GPA, must absolutely ensure that the
diamond mining industry
is not governed by a predatory elite which uses its
access to state power to
enrich itself, against the interests of the people
as a whole, acting in
collusion with the mining companies,” Mbeki
said.
There are a number of ANC-linked businesspeople with interests in
Zimbabwe’s
mining sector, among them Mzi Khumalo and Bridget Radebe, the
wife of South
Africa’s Justice minister Jeff Radebe. South African business
magnate
Patrick Motsepe and other tycoons have been to Zimbabwe searching
for
investment opportunities.
Although it remains uncertain if the
former ANC Youth League leader Julius
Malema also has business interests in
Zimbabwe, he is known to be close to
Indigenisation minister Saviour
Kasukuwere.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in
News
CABINET and parliament as well as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
were not
consulted by President Robert Mugabe when he decided to deploy
Zimbabwean
troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of a
Sadc
peacekeeping force.
Report by Wongai Zhangazha
Sadc
leaders decided to send 4 000 troops on a peacekeeping mission in
eastern
Congo after the regional bloc’s Extraordinary Summit of Heads of
State and
Government held in Tanzania last weekend.
M23 rebels have sustained an
eight-month siege of the eastern DRC and seized
the provincial capital of
Goma, before retreating less than two weeks after
taking control of the
strategic city end of November.
The rebels have been demanding direct
talks with President Joseph Kabila.
They have retreated to Kibati, just
15kms from Goma, allowing the Congolese
army to move back into Goma
alongside a neutral force which Zimbabwe is
sending its troops to
join.
Zimbabwe immediately agreed to send troops to the war-torn
mineral-rich
country after an International Conference on the Great Lakes
Region resolved
to send regional peacekeepers.
This would be the
second time Zimbabwe has deployed troops to the vast
country following the
1998 mission which helped prevent the overthrow of the
current president’s
father Laurent Kabila, after rebels had overrun the
Congolese army from Goma
right up to the capital Kinshasa.
Then, Mugabe unilaterally deployed the
soldiers without consulting
parliament, and to date no information on
casualties or the cost of the
deployment to Zimbabwe has ever been
released.
Namibia, which helped the Congolese army alongside Zimbabwe and
Angola to
drive the rebels out of Kinshasa in 1998, has said it is not
sending troops
to the country again despite the Sadc
decision.
According to The Namibian newspaper, the country’s permanent
secretary in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Veiccoh Nghiwete this week said
Namibia was
not sending troops to join the Sadc peacekeeping force,
indicating there
were other ways his country could assist without deploying
its soldiers.
Finance minister Tendai Biti yesterday said there was no
cabinet or even
parliamentary approval to send troops to the DRC.
“This
issue was not discussed in cabinet or parliament,” said Biti.
“While it
is good for Zimbabwe to help its brothers and sisters in the DRC
as part of
a peacekeeping mission, things must be done in terms of the
constitution and
the law. In this case, this was not done. We just read in
the newspapers
that Zimbabwe is sending troops to the DRC. Even though it’s
part of a Sadc
resolution, we still need to follow the constitution and the
law and not
behave like warmongers.”
Biti said Zimbabwe needs to first ensure peace,
security and stability at
home before rushing off to do that in other
countries.
“We also need transparency in terms of the levels of troop
deployments and
funding. We don’t want to go back to a situation like the
one in 1998 when
our army was deployed arbitrarily and without transparency
and
accountability,” said Biti.
Permanent secretary in the Foreign
Affairs ministry Joey Bimha said Sadc,
the DRC government, the United
Nations and African Union would fund the
peacekeeping mission.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in News
WHEN President
Robert Mugabe asked delegates attending Zanu PF’s annual
conference in Gweru
last weekend to declare 2013 “the year of electoral
victory”, only a few
mumbled a tepid “yes”, with the majority remaining
muted.
Report By
Owen Gagare
The lukewarm response, which was clearly not lost on Mugabe
and other senior
party leaders, epitomises the deep lack of confidence
ordinary members now
have in the party’s leadership.
It also
reflected this year’s conference’s low-key nature compared to
previous
fired-up sessions characterised by glowing rhetoric and feverish
demands for
elections to end the “dysfunctional” unity government.
Zanu PF resolved
at its conferences in Mutare and Bulawayo in 2010 and 2011,
respectively,
that elections would be held in 2011 and then this year
without
fail.
The party has again revised its dates, now insisting elections
would be held
in March 2013 without fail, although it is increasingly
becoming clear polls
are likely in the second half of 2013.
Mugabe
and Zanu PF officials’ pronouncements, particularly on elections, and
their
failure to ensure they are held in response to their menacing demands
as was
the case prior to the coalition government formation, shows they have
lost
most of their control and influence of the political situation. Their
word
is no longer anybody’s command.
Zanu PF conferences are clearly fast
becoming lacklustre and uninspiring to
the party members and
sympathisers.
Gone are the days when the conferences, though
rubber-stamping platforms
where guided democracy prevails, sent ripple
effects across the political
landscape and served as a barometer of the
political situation.
The conferences have now degenerated into mere
political calendar events of
no real consequence beyond sloganeering,
speechifying and high-sounding
promises designed to woo an increasingly
sceptical electorate.
Revealingly, during the Gweru conference the
singing was hardly passionate;
there was none of the kongonya dance popular
during the liberation struggle
which usually characterised Zanu PF
gatherings.
The chanting of slogans usually deriding the opposition,
seemed half-hearted
and mechanical at best. Gone are the days, it seems,
when delegates would
passionately sing revolutionary songs such as Mbiri
Yechigandanga designed
to send shivers down the spines of rival political
parties with their
implied violence.
The conference’s lethargic pace
was not helped by Mugabe –– whose health is
deteriorating due to advanced
age –– as he appeared jaded when delivering
his speeches. Mugabe appeared
drowsy, slurring some of his words while
occasionally leaning on the podium
as if to support himself.
Senior Zanu PF members privately admitted their
annual conferences have now
become monotonous with nothing new emerging
since Mugabe, at the helm of
Zanu PF since 1977, has managed to crush all
forms of dissent.
It was evident Zanu PF’s failure to resolve the
contentious succession issue
resulting in fierce factionalism was heavily
weighing down on delegates,
while high-level corruption continues to erode
the party’s popularity and
legitimacy.
Zanu PF is now deeply divided
into two major camps, one reportedly led by
Vice-President Joice Mujuru and
the other by Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa, although the two have of
late been strenuously denying leading
opposing camps.
The issue of
factionalism and succession abruptly flared up during Zanu PF’s
central
committee meeting last week as reported in the Zimbabwe Independent,
proving
the problem remained a powder keg despite belated attempts to deny
its
existence.
At the conference many delegates slammed factionalism in what
appeared to be
an attempt to propitiate Mugabe, with no one daring to tackle
the causes of
the problem and the attendant succession battle.
Mugabe
and senior party officials insisted at the conference factionalism
and
internal power struggles were rampant and destroying the party. The
problem
has bedevilled the party since the liberation struggle and has
evolved over
the years, reaching a crescendo in the run up to the 2004
congress as Mujuru
and Mnangagwa battled it out for the post of
vice-president.
Mujuru
prevailed after serious internal strife, leaving the party fractured
and
weak.
So deeply-entrenched is the factionalism that a section of the
party did not
celebrate the construction of the controversial Gweru
Convention Centre by
Zanu PF’s Midlands province, dubbed the “Hall Of
Shame”, as they deemed it
part of Mnangagwa’s efforts to boost his image and
enhance his prospects in
the succession race.
Although most Zanu PF
officials are uncomfortable about going for elections
with a candidate who
would be 89 next February, the party’s provinces
stampeded over each other
to endorse Mugabe as their “sole candidate” in the
next
elections.
However, judging by the lacklustre conference, Mugabe might
yet again have
to ride out internal resistance and sabotage during the next
elections.
Mugabe was more direct in his criticism of factionalism, even
mentioning
Mujuru and Mnangagwa by name in his remarks.
“It’s said
these people belong to Emmerson Mnangagwa and these ones Mujuru,”
said
Mugabe. “The people are saying that and that’s the way they see it.
That is
dangerous, absolutely dangerous. Let the people see your leadership
as
unifying them; the leader should see the people as all his
people.”
Mugabe said “during our time” people never used to campaign for
posts, in
what seemed to be a realisation that he had overstayed his welcome
and
belongs to a bygone era.
Apart from Mugabe’s forthright remarks
on factionalism, as well as
behind-the-scenes manoeuvres on succession, the
conference sent alarm bells
ringing that Zanu PF might again lose the next
elections unless it pulls out
all the stops to arrest internal strife and
discontent.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in Politics
DEPUTY Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara, who is entangled in a drawn out
court battle with
Welshman Ncube over the leadership of the smaller MDC
formation, says his
record of rising above party politics makes his
political future bright
irrespective of which party wins next year’s
critical
elections.
Report by Elias Mambo
Mutambara said this in an
exclusive interview with the Zimbabwe Independent
this week although he
preferred to dwell on government issues only. He
however promised to talk on
political issues including his fall-out with
Ncube next
week.
Mutambara said he has been the stabilising factor and
troubleshooter in the
shaky tripartite coalition government often
characterised by open acrimony
among the parties, successfully operating
above party politics for the good
of the country instead of scoring cheap
political points.
“My approach has always been different from others
because my focus is on
what is of national interest and I stay away from
partisan aspirations and
personal agendas,” said Mutambara.
“I have
been the glue that has kept government players together and focused.
Whenever there has been bickering which had elements of partisanship and
party posturing, I have managed to unlock value by bringing the players
together,” he said.
The robotics professor-cum-politician said he has
often found himself in
troubled waters in the coalition government but has
always managed to come
up with solutions aimed at benefiting the
country.
Mutambara currently chairs the inter-ministerial taskforce
established to
resolve the Save Conservancy crisis following the invasion
and subsequent
partitioning of the country’s richest wildlife conservancy,
the largest
private wildlife sanctuary in the world, by Zanu PF leaders and
army
commanders.
Mugabe has blasted the invasions saying they were
motivated by “greed”. He
warned they could be damaging and costly to Zanu PF
as it prepares for
elections next year.
“The Save Conservancy is work
in progress and within the next two weeks we
will have a solution to the
crisis,” Mutambara said.
Mutambara has also chaired the committee on the
Chisumbanje ethanol project
in which Zanu PF and the MDC-T were involved in
a turf war to control the
project.
“I have managed to resolve these
crises that cut across the political divide
because there is more that
unites us as Zimbabweans than politics,” he said.
Mutambara stepped down
as MDC leader by choosing not to stand for
re-election at the party’s
congress in January last year where Ncube was
elected unopposed. He said
then “the time has come to hand over the baton to
another
individual”.
Mutambara later made a dramatic about turn and challenged the
validity of
Ncube’s election claiming he had breached party procedures to
ascend to the
leadership.
Mutambara challenged Ncube’s election at
the High Court in Bulawayo and lost
the case. He has since lodged an appeal
which is pending at the Supreme
Court.
By appealing to the Supreme
Court, Mutambara is accused of abusing the court
system to prolong his stay
as deputy premier helped in no small measure by
President Robert Mugabe who
is seen as using him as a political stick with
which to beat an increasingly
vocal and aggressive Ncube.
Contrary to views that he is politically
finished and has no legitimate
claim to the MDC presidency, Mutambara said
he firmly believes he will ride
on the successes he has achieved in the
inclusive government and still has a
role to play in rebuilding
Zimbabwe.
“Besides that, we are in an inclusive government where there is
competition
by cabinet ministers and party politics.
“My belief has
always been that we stay above politics and suspend all our
differences for
the duration of the coalition so that the GNU (government of
national unity)
can deliver,” Mutambara said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in Politics
WHILE
President Robert Mugabe emerged unscathed during last weekend’s Zanu
PF
annual conference after suppressing the explosive succession debate which
had unexpectedly surfaced, a bruising battle for the vice-presidency
triggered by Vice President John Nkomo’s deteriorating health has erupted,
pitting the party’s heavyweights in Matabeleland region against each
other.
Report by Owen Gagare
Nkomo — whose condition is said to be
grave — has been ill for some time,
forcing him to miss important party and
national events, including the
conference in Gweru. He started by scaling
down and eventually stopped his
involvement in his hectic official duties as
his condition moved from
serious but stable to critical, then extremely
critical and now grave health
condition.
As a member of the Zanu PF
presidium, Nkomo was supposed to play an
important role at the conference as
part of the management committee — which
oversees the running of conferences
— but he is now in a grave condition in
which only close family members are
allowed to see him. Sources said Nkomo
was flown from South Africa last week
where he was being treated so he could
“recuperate” at home.
However,
when the Zimbabwe Independent visited Nkomo’s Milton Park residence
in
Harare this week to check on his condition amid rumours of his death, the
paper was told he was in a grave condition and only close family members
could see him. There have been many unfounded rumours of his passing on of
late.
While Nkomo is critically ill, his colleagues from Matabeleland
are already
jostling to replace him before his death.
Although Zanu PF
chairman Simon Khaya Moyo is seen as the favourite to
succeed Nkomo if he
retires as he is now incapacitated or dies, sources say
Mines minister Obert
Mpofu’s growing influence in the region has also
brought him to the fore as
possible successor.
Moyo and Mpofu, as well as Zanu PF politburo member
and former Zapu chairman
Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu and former Zipra
commander Ambrose Mutinhiri,
were involved in fierce political tussles
around Nkomo’s rise to
vice-presidency after the death of Joseph Msika in
2009.
Now Moyo and Mpofu seem to be the ones slugging at each other over
the
fight.
Mpofu, who calls himself “Mugabe’s ever-obedient son”, has
never been a
favourite of most Zanu PF gurus from Matabeleland largely
because he
floor-crossed to Zanu PF before the signing of the Unity Accord
in 1987, and
is thus viewed as a “traitor”.
His biggest weapon,
however, appears to be the grassroots support he enjoys
in the region,
especially in Matabeleland North and Bulawayo where he has
used his
resources to build a solid support base and endear himself to the
electorate.
The Matabeleland turf war has been protracted, resulting
in suspensions and
counter-suspensions of Bulawayo and Matabeleland North
Zanu PF chairpersons,
until elections were held a week ahead of the party’s
conference.
The elections somewhat confirmed Mpofu’s dominance after his
allies swept to
power in a convincing win. In Matabeleland North, former
Zanu PF District
Coordinating Committee chairman for Umguza, Richard Moyo,
who is close to
Mpofu, won the provincial chairmanship by a crushing margin
after defeating
Patrick Utete by 6 689 votes to 674. Khaya Moyo and
Matabeleland North
governor Thokhozile Mathuthu were backing Utete.In
Bulawayo another Mpofu
ally, Killian Sibanda also won the elections, putting
the two provinces
under the minister’s control. Mpofu is said to be now
working on a plan to
spread his influence to Matabeleland South where Khaya
Moyo hails from.
In recent weeks Khaya Moyo and other senior officials
from Matabeleland have
escalated their campaign to discredit and thwart
Mpofu, who has been
attacking them saying they have alleging they no popular
support.
At the Zanu PF conference last week, Khaya Moyo passionately
denounced
corruption and urged the party to take action against individuals
implicated
in corrupt deeds, in remarks seen as targeted at
Mpofu.
“Entrepreneurs have been replaced by corruptepreneurs,” said Khaya
Moyo.
“Where entrepreneurs have been replaced by corruptepreneurs, such
conduct is
unacceptable. Such conduct must be curbed by all. It is my
considered view
that once we deal with corruptepreneurs, we will succeed to
indigenise,
empower and create employment.”
Mpofu, who has
controversially built a vast business empire, insists he
acquired his wealth
by legitimate means and allegations of corruption were
purveyed by his
detractors. Mpofu also says Zanu PF officials from
Matabeleland without
constituencies were the ones against him.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in News
STATE Enterprises
and Parastatals (SEPs) are slowly returning to
profitability after decades
of loss-making mainly caused by mismanagement,
poor corporate governance and
corruption, SEPs minister Gorden Moyo has
said.
Report by Our Staff
Writers
An internal report issued by Moyo last week and seen by the
Zimbabwe
Independent reveals that seven SEPs had implemented various
strategies and
policies which had improved their profitability and viability
in 2011.
These are TelOne, NetOne, POSB, Zesa Holdings, Zimbabwe Power
Company, Petro
Trade and the National Oil Infrastructure Company of
Zimbabwe.
Several other SEPs showed signs of turning around as proved by
reduced
levels of losses in 2011 compared to 2010.
“The SEPs which
significantly reduced their losses during the period under
review include
Agribank, which improved from a loss of US$8,1 million in
2010 to a loss of
US$286 409 in 2011, and the Grain Marketing Board (GMB),
which improved from
a loss of US$18,7 million in 2010 to a loss of US$6,2
million in 2011,”
reads the report.
Capacity utilisation in some SEPs has increased from
about 30% in 2009 up to
an estimated 60% due to economic improvement caused
by political stability.
The Industrial Development Corporation, Agribank
and Zupco realised
increased working capital after they accessed lines of
credit in 2011.
However, most SEPs are still beset by multi-layered
problems including
amplified liquidity challenges, undercapitalisation, debt
overhang,
recurring power outages and lack of credit lines, as well as
inadequate
funding for plant retooling and upgrades.
Moyo said his
ministry was actively promoting good corporate governance in
SEPs through
monitoring compliance to relevant Acts of parliament,
subsidiary legislation
and the Corporate Governance Framework launched in
November 2010.
Under
this framework, the ministry prepares two corporate governance
compliance
reports up to June 30 and December 31 respectively.
Out of the 76 SEPs,
only 30 submitted compliance reports for the first half
of 2012, giving a
39,5% response rate for the half-year period (January 1 to
June 30 2012).
Last year 65,8% of SEPs complied with the bi-annual reporting
framework.
Moyo reported some line ministries have appointed boards
for SEPs under
their portfolio, such as TelOne, National Railways of
Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe
Power Company.
He however lamented some SEPs
including the Postal and Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe, Zimpost and the Traffic Safety Council of
Zimbabwe were operating
without properly constituted boards.
The GMB has managed to hold its
first annual general meeting in 81 years.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in Politics
ZANU
PF chairman Simon Khaya Moyo will lead his party’s delegation to the
African
National Congress (ANC) elective conference which starts in
Bloemfontein,
South Africa, tomorrow.
Report by Our Staff Writer
Zanu PF
spokesperson Rugare Gumbo confirmed Khaya Moyo would lead the party’s
delegation but could not name other members of his
entourage.
Although Zanu PF has been sending delegations to the ANC
elective
conferences held every five years, party representatives appear to
treat the
conferences as mere excursions as they have failed to use such
invitations
to learn vital lessons on how leadership contests help revive
and strengthen
the ANC.
President Robert Mugabe has led Zanu PF
virtually unchallenged since he
manoeuvred his way to the top in 1977.
Instead, the party’s provincial
structures have stampeded to endorse his
leadership months ahead of all
party gatherings, including elective
congresses. In contrast the ANC is a
dynamic party which allows any member
in good standing to be nominated by
the party’s branch members for any
leadership position.
South African President Jacob Zuma will be
challenged by his deputy Kgalema
Motlanthe for the ANC presidency after he
accepted nomination yesterday.
Zuma was nominated by six provinces to
remain party leader while Motlanthe
has the backing of three
provinces.
Whereas talk of leadership renewal in Zanu PF is taboo,
several ANC branches
and national executive committee members have openly
nominated Motlanthe to
challenge Zuma in open intra-party democracy that
Zanu PF believes is alien
as long as Mugabe wishes to continue leading the
party. Each of the ANC’s
over 4 000 branches make nominations for the
party’s top six officials,
including the president and deputy, and 80
members of the national executive
committee as well as delegates to the
conference. Voting is ultimately by
secret ballot conducted by the
Independent Electoral Commission.
Motlanthe accepts ANC
nomination
AFRICAN National Congress deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe
yesterday
announced his intention to challenge party and South African
President Jacob
Zuma at the party’s elective congress in Mangaung next
week.
Motlanthe’s announcement ended months of speculation over what
course of
action he would take after being nominated by the party’s youth
league,
although indications are that he is unlikely to win.
South
Africa’s media has been awash with reports Zuma is heading for a
comfortable
victory on the basis of votes taken by a show of hands in ANC
branches
around the country.
Motlanthe is not even likely to retain his post as
deputy president after
former ANC secretary-general Cyril Ramaphosa emerged
the leading contender
in the provincial nominations.
Zuma registered
strong support in provinces like KwaZulu-Natal, which has by
far the most
conference delegates, as well as Mpumalanga, North West, Free
State, Eastern
Cape and Northern Cape. All in all he has 2 521 branch
nominations and
Motlanthe a paltry 863.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in News
Freda Rebecca
gold production in the six months to September increased 66%
to 36 335
ounces leading to revenue of US$59,6 million from US$36 million.
Report
By Staff Reporter
In a statement accompanying the interim results, parent
company Mwana Africa
said operations at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine have
performed well throughout
the period with the current annualised rate of
gold production now standing
at 72 000oz.
“At these production
levels, the current gold resource will support a mine
life in excess of 10
years,” said the group.
The group said there had been an increase in
milled tonnage, head grade and
recoveries whole cash costs had been reduced
to below US$800 per ounce
resulting in improved margins.
Freda
Rebecca Gold Mine in Zimbabwe restarted operations in 2009.
In the year
to March 2012, Freda Rebecca produced 47 770oz of gold.
Average monthly
production for the six-month period was 6 055oz of gold, and
the highest
level of gold production achieved in a single month was in
August when 7
242oz of gold was produced. Recoveries improved to 82%.
On Bindura Nickel
Corporation (BNC), Mwana Africa said following the success
of the rights
issue, work commenced on the restart programme at Trojan
Nickel
Mine.
The work focused on the mobilisation of the workforce, the
commencement of
underground operations and the refurbishment of certain
components of the
milling, flotation and concentrate handling
facilities.
BNC is planning to ramp up to a production rate of 7 000
tonnes per annum of
nickel concentrate, with first concentrate expected in
the second quarter of
2013. Nickel concentrate will be sold to Glencore
International.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in
Business
ZIMBABWE must avoid over-reliance on its natural resources and
instead
leverage on them to grow alternative forms of capital and become a
sustainable economy in the long-run, a top think-tank said.
Report By
Taurai Mangudhla
Alan Gelb, a fellow of the Centre for Global Development
(CGD), said the
drive can however not be achieved without political and
institutional
consensus, which has proved to be a major challenge in other
economies.
Resource-based economies, he argued, faced a lot of
uncertainty as market
fluctuations expose producers to huge revenue and
trade shocks.
“Who would have thought crude oil prices could fall to
US$34 per barrel from
as high as US$100,” said Gelb in his keynote
presentation at a World Bank
and Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and
Research Unit High-Level Technical
Dialogue on Zimbabwe Growth Recovery
forum this week.
“If you want to be rich you need more than just natural
resources or natural
capital. You must move to produced and intangible
capital. When countries
are poor, they have mostly natural capital and they
move to produced and
intangible capital as they get
richer.”
Currently, mining is Zimbabwe’s major economic driver,
contributing 12% of
fiscal revenue in 2011, excluding diamond proceeds, and
is expected to
contribute up to 25% of income in 2012.
Latest Chamber
of Mines of Zimbabwe production figures as at the end of
October 2012 show
the country’s mineral production in the 10 months to
October amounted to
US$1,6 billion spurred by gold production.
To diversify the economy
meaningfully, Gelb said government should reduce
the cost of doing business
in non-resource-based sectors like manufacturing
and spur productivity
through other measures like local procurement
policies.
“The country
should also use infrastructure created for the resource-based
sectors to
support non-resource-based sectors,” he said. “They should also
build human
capital, improve the business environment and reduce costs.”
According to
World Bank notes on Zimbabwe growth recovery in mining, the
extractive
sector is expected to grow in the next five years with the value
of
production anticipated to increase by 293% by 2018, exports by 287% and
fiscal revenues by 344%.
The World Bank said results show the
expected increase in production between
now and 2018 would be significant
under the current mining policy, mineral
fiscal regime and state
infrastructure, but there is need for
rationalisation of the tax regime and
ownership policy with respect to
indigenisation to attain mining growth in
the long-run.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in
Business
CASHLESS trading is fast becoming a reality in Zimbabwe as banks
and mobile
network operators scramble to set up partnerships offering a
variety of
mobile money transfer services.
Report by Taurayi
Mangudhla
The moves, which dovetail with government’s initiative to
encourage use of
alternative forms of money, have seen the rapid
proliferation of mobile
money services.
In the 2013 National Budget
Statement, Finance minister Tendai Biti said
banks should issue mandatory
debit cards without application to encourage
use of plastic money.
He
said his department would also commit resources towards promoting use of
e-banking platforms through point of sale (POS) facilities.
However,
card-based systems tend to cost banks more as they have to invest
in
extensive infrastructure such as Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and POS
which read the cards before accepting card-based transactions.
Some
banks have introduced innovations where customers can effect cardless
withdrawals from ATMs using the cellphone-based technologies.
With
most of Zimbabwe’s estimated 14 million people currently in the
unbanked
bracket and government failing to solve the small change crisis
emanating
from the adoption of a multiple currency regime in 2009, experts
say mobile
money transfer services offer an ideal solution.
A FinScope survey
launched in May 2012 revealed only 38% of Zimbabweans are
served by formal
financial institutions while 40% of the population is
financially excluded
from both the formal and informal financial products or
services.
The
survey indicates only 24% of the other population have access to a bank
account, 27% of the adult population keep their savings at home instead of
using formal financial savings products, 51% of the rural adult population
is financially excluded.
The appetite for mobile money is huge in the
country with, most of the
population having access to mobile phone
services.
Latest figures show the country’s three mobile networks-Econet
Wireless
(Econet), NetOne and Telecel Zimbabwe (Telecel)- have a combined
10,5
million subscribers, whilst mobile penetration is now estimated at over
70%.
Earlier this week, Econet integrated its 45% owned TN Bank on its
mobile
money transfer facility, Ecocash, a week after unveiling CBZ Holdings
as the
first of five top banks the mobile phone company will be connecting
with
directly to grow the mobile money service.
The move, Econet CEO
Douglas Mboweni said, would see EcoCash becoming a
financial service and not
just a mobile money transfer service as EcoCash
registered banks’ account
holders would be able to transfer money from their
bank accounts to their
EcoCash wallets and vice versa.
“Anyone with a bank account does not need
to go to an EcoCash agent anymore
to put money into their EcoCash account,
and they do not have to wait for
banking hours to move their money,” said
Mboweni.
In addition, depositors can also check their accounts, get
statements and
transfer money using their cell phones. They can also make
payments using
their bank accounts and withdraw cash at any time of the
day.
CBZ Holdings said the move was a major step in bringing convenience
to both
the banking public and the unbanked in the pursuit of a cashless
economy.
“This partnership allows existing bank account holders to easily
make
payments from their accounts through EcoCash to beneficiaries of their
choice without visiting banking halls. Non account holders who were only
using EcoCash to collect cash should now be able to make payments to any
beneficiary bank accounts without having to collect cash,” said CBZ Holdings
CE John Mangudya.
Since it was launched in August 2011, Ecocash has
1,8 million subscribers
and has handled funds worth US$300 million in the
first year of operation.
The amount is expected to exceed US$1billion in
the second year on various
initiatives that include partnering with banks
and developing new products
like the Ecocash commuter, which is used by
commuters to pay their public
transport fares.
Econet’s move comes
after Telecel abandoned its Skwama product, a mobile
money transfer service
it launched in 2011, for a broader product connection
on
ZimSwitch.
ZimSwitch, a Zimbabwean third party transaction acquiring
business operated
by Uniswitch, is connected to almost 20 of the local
banks.
NetOne also has its mobile banking facility, branded OneWallet,
principally
for money transfer service, airtime top-up and utility bill
payments.
The mobile money transfer facilities are common with the rural
population
who have no access to banks, but are near shopping centers where
some
retailers are Ecocash agents or have POS machines.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in
Opinion
ZIMBABWE has irrefutable potential to have a thriving economy of
such
magnitude that poverty amongst its populace would be virtually
non-existent.
Column By Eric Bloch
It could have one of the most
vibrant economies in Africa, with employment
for almost all desirous of
income-generating work, and nationwide economic
empowerment.
The
desired economy would be devoid of national debt, have a recurrent
favourable balance of trade, fiscal inflows more than sufficient to assure
continuous provision of essential services by government including health,
education, provision of utilities, maintenance and enhancement of
infrastructure and much else).
The ability of Zimbabwe to create and
develop such an economy is
indisputable because of the magnitude and diverse
nature of its resources.
There is tremendous wealth of mineral resources
including gold, platinum,
diamonds, lithium, chrome, tantalite, coal,
methane gas and much more in
Zimbabwe.
Although the country has a
significant and growing mining sector, the extent
of its production is a
fraction of that which it could be.
In addition to the minerals is land
of long-proven immense production
potential of different agricultural
products, with burgeoning outputs
throughout the twentieth
century.
Sadly, production has fallen instead of increasing. The country
also has
exceptional tourism sector potential, being vested with a
remarkable array
of spectacular attractions.
Although currently
withered and derelict, Zimbabwe manufacturing sector was
extremely buoyant,
producing a wide variety of products for the local and
export
markets.
Given the right national policies and effective recovery
measures, industry
can not only be revitalised to its former levels but also
develop to even
greater levels.
And, despite the magnitude of the
“brain drain” of able Zimbabweans to
neighbouring territories and further
afield, there are still many with
considerable skills and aspirations which
can be used productively.
However, not only is very little of this
massive potential being realised,
but the economy endlessly limps along,
with more and more becoming
unemployed and increasingly
poverty-stricken.
Government (or, more correctly, elements of the
political hierarchy) would
have one believe that the cause of the long
economic morass is the
imposition of so-called “illegal international
sanctions”.
This seeks to mislead the populace and divert recognition
from reality that
the pre-inclusive government political leaders continue to
pursue
destructive economic policies which not only preclude the economy’s
recovery, but also worsen the country’s economic circumstances.
The
impediments to economic recovery and growth include immense deterrents
to
achieving investment which is a prerequisite to recovery. If economic
wellbeing is to be restored and enhanced, both domestic and foreign direct
investment is crucial.
That investment triggers off employment
creation, generates export
enhancement and import substitution, is the
source of substantial downstream
economic activity, and increased revenue
inflows to the Fiscus.
This heightens gross domestic product.
Of
the many deterrents to investment foremost are Zimbabwe’s disastrous
policies of indigenisation and economic empowerment. None can deny there is
a critical need for participation in the economy by indigenous Zimbabweans,
and for an overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans to be meaningfully,
economically empowered.
But Zimbabwe has sought to achieve this in a
deleterious manner, triggering
the collapse of many enterprises while
creating yet another deterrent to
investment necessary to stimulate and
facilitate economic wellbeing.
Almost all investors demand investment has
substantial security.
When an investor is confronted with a statutory
requirement that after
injecting the necessary capital resources and
operational funding into the
investment venture, and often also effecting
technology transfer and of
diverse proprietary rights (such as usage of
patents and trademarks), as
well as releasing access to the investor’s
markets, a majority of the
venture’s equity must be vested in indigenous
individuals or entities, the
investor is confronted with massive potential
loss of investment security.
Moreover, that loss is often accompanied by
limited expectation of equitable
compensation for the enforced
disinvestment. This has been so since 2008.
Zimbabwe’s legislation has
prescribed a minimum for indigenous ownership of
enterprises of 51%. Since
that legislation was foolhardily promulgated,
investment in the Zimbabwean
economy has dwindled to minuscule levels.
As if sufficient harm to
attracting investment had not been done by the
ill-considered and damaging
legislation, that harm has been progressively
intensified by dogmatic and
authoritarian statements, threats and
enforcement actions directed by
government at the mining and financial
sectors, as well as at multinationals
and other enterprises avariciously
sought after by those who are
well-connected politically.
But instead of learning from the tragic
experiences of the past five years
or so, some of the senior political
leaders have been more and more
vociferous in demanding intensification and
acceleration of the
indigenisation programme.
Last week the
discouragement of investment was increased multifold. Speaking
at the Zanu
PF annual congress in Gweru, President Robert Mugabe is reported
to have
stated 51% indigenisation of the nation’s enterprises did not
suffice, and
that the indigenisation level should be 100%.
That was effectively a
blatant statement that non-indigenous investment is
unacceptable, and has
driven yet another nail in the economic recovery
coffin.
That
statement, if correctly reported, is even more damaging to Zimbabwe’s
contemptuous disregard for property rights.
Until there are major
policy transformations and a complete metamorphosis,
economic recovery will
remain mere wishful thinking, while intensified
decline is assured.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in
Opinion
ZIMBABWE’S treacherous political transition to a possible
democratic
dispensation has so far shown that no institution matters the
most to the
Zanu PF regime’s survival than the military and therefore the
democratisation process cannot succeed without a positive role played by the
security establishment.
Report By Pedzisai Ruhanya
This is not
to blindly suggest the military’s role alone is sufficient to
make a
successful transition to democracy in Zimbabwe because there are
social,
economic and political factors and unforeseen events that can
influence how
a democratic shift unravels.
However, the decisive involvement of the
military in Zimbabwe’s political
and electoral affairs in the past elections
in 2000, 2002 and 2008 makes
cogent the role of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces
and other security
institutions, including the police, intelligence services
and prison
service, is critical in the process leading to democratic
transition and
power transfer.
The recent annual Zanu PF conference
in Gweru shows the party’s membership
has declined in Masvingo and
Matabeleland provinces, while in regions like
Mashonaland Central province,
the party is disorganised.
This suggests that without the support of the
security apparatus it is not
possible for Zanu PF to retain
power.
Given this apparent decline in Zanu PF support across the country,
by its
own admission, it is imperative to closely and critically scrutinise,
as
well as interrogate what determines the support of the military for
President Robert Mugabe’s regime and why the soldiers are propping up Zanu
PF’s political elite.
Like any other huge organisation, the military
has institutional interests
to protect and advance.
In this regard,
the military’s move to back Zanu PF in electoral and
political
administration of the state or not, support for the democratic
contingent or
decision to stay neutral and respect the will of the people
will depend on
several issues that should be diagnosed, while putting proper
solutions in
place ahead of crucial elections next year.
As has been witnessed in the
Arab spring upheavals, a number of internal and
external factors shape and
determine the military’s response to the
democratic aspirations of the
population.
Questions such as how legitimate are the regimes in the eyes
of the soldiers
and top military commanders as well as those of the general
populace?
How does the military relate to the state and civil
society?
Is there consensus within the rank and file of the military to
support the
regime and do the military and the security services have blood
on their
hands?
Answering these questions will give some ideas on why
the military in
Zimbabwe side with Mugabe’s regime, not the
people.
In general, the stronger a regime’s record of satisfying
political and
socio-economic demands, the more likely the armed forces will
prop up the
system.
This is a critical aspect of the relationship
between the top military brass
with the political elite in
Zimbabwe.
Through an elaborate patronage system established to reward
partisan senior
military commanders and keep them loyal to Zanu PF and
Mugabe, the military
has increasingly played a central role in directing
production and
controlling ownership of the means of production.
The
military, through political patronage, has also become a significant
part of
the domestic bourgeoisie and many top commanders have teamed up with
politicians and businesspeople to form political and economic interest
groups venturing into lucrative businesses such as farming, platinum,
diamond and gold mining as well as running a number state-owned
enterprises.
A state that pays its senior army officers generously, as
Zanu PF has done
through the involvement of the military in economic
affairs, will be better
placed to receive their enthusiastic
protection.
Top army commanders from 2000, when Zanu PF lost its
grassroots support to
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), have been
openly campaigning for
Mugabe and his party, in many instances abusing human
rights in the process.
The soldiers have on several occasions pronounced
they will not respect any
victory other than that of Mugabe, thereby
pre-determining electoral
outcomes in flagrant violation of domestic and
international conduct
expected of professional armies; besides breaching the
constitution and the
law. There is clear cohesion between top army officers
and regime elites
based on their economic interests which they protect by
maintaining and
promoting the status quo.
The military has been
accused of human rights violations as they prop up the
Zanu PF regime in
past elections as was seen during the sham June 2008
presidential election
run-off when the army was part of the election
campaign for Mugabe which
ultimately became a political onslaught on civil
and political liberties of
opponents.
An army that has a record of extensive human rights violations
is more
likely to shamelessly stick with a norm-violating regime than
support the
democratic contingent.
These are the issues that should
necessitate behind-the-scenes negotiations
with the military to persuade
them to remain professional.
A clear fear of possible prosecution in a
new democratic dispensation will
make some military elements continue to
abuse human rights in the next
elections in order to maintain the status quo
that will guarantee them
immunity.
Like in any situation where the
military sides with a political
dictatorship, the key external variables are
the threats of foreign
intervention, the impact of widespread democratic
diffusion that can lead to
a revolution and the type and degree of education
or training that military
officers may have received abroad.
If the
army in Zimbabwe realises a real possibility there will be both
regional and
international intervention in the event they blatantly subvert
the sovereign
democratic will of the people either through a violent
electoral process or
a blockade of a democratic transition, it will soften
its stance and abandon
the political cabal clinging to power through
illegitimate
methods.
As the country prepares for elections in 2013, partisan military
generals’
decision to support continued violation of human rights and
subversion of
the democratic process on behalf of their political handler,
Zanu PF, will
be largely affected by their calculations on whether foreign
powers might
intervene to back the democratic contingent or not.
It
is therefore critical to continue advocacy work among Sadc and AU-member
states, showing empirical evidence of the interference of the military in
the electoral and political affairs of Zimbabwe ahead of elections next
year.
Ruhanya is a PhD candidate and director of the Zimbabwe
Democracy Institute.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in
Opinion
FIGURES from the 2013 budget recently presented by Finance
minister Tendai
Biti show the country’s import bill for the period January
to October 2012
totalled US$6,5 billion compared to exports of US$3,09
billion for the same
period.
Report ByPeter Gambara
The import
bill is projected to grow to US$8,5 billion, while exports would
go up to
US$5,5 billion in 2013, resulting in a negative current account
balance of
US$3 billion.
OK Zimbabwe’s chief operating officer Albert Katsande
acknowledged his
supermarket business is importing 65% of the goods on their
shelves.
A few weeks ago the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries survey
showed that
capacity utilisation in industry has gone down from an average
57,2% to
44,5% over the past year.
It is not a secret that Zimbabwean
companies declined to near-collapse or
closed during the hyperinflation
period leading to 2008, and by the time
dollarisation was eventually
introduced in February 2009, most of them had
crumbled and had to start
afresh.
Capacity utilisation eventually improved from lows of 10-30% in
2009 to over
50% in 2011. However, we seem to be on a downward trend once
again.
Coming from that hyperinflation environment, it made sense to
simply import
almost everything as our shelves were completely empty
then.
Those supermarkets that could easily import goods from South Africa
like
Spar quickly established themselves at the expense of the traditional
ones
like OK and TM.
However, it would look like our supermarkets
have failed to adjust since
then; they seem to go the easy route, just
importing everything at grave
consequences to local industry.
Having
recovered from that difficult period, companies should deliberately
promote
local products at the expense of imports.
We need to support the
resuscitation of local industry by preferring local
products to imported
ones.
How do we expect capacity utilisation in our local industry to go
up when
65% of products in supermarkets are imported? We need to abandon the
business as usual approach and adopt a paradigm shift for the good of our
economy.
We can learn a few tricks from the Chinese. They have
managed to grow their
economy to the second largest in the world because
they are selfish and it
has helped them.
They manufacture almost
everything, their own cellphone handsets, tractors,
vehicles, clothing, you
name it, but they always try to have a Chinese
version of it.
We mock
their products as “Zhing Zhong”, but look at what is happening to
their
economy as they support their products religiously. Supermarkets can
start
by reducing imported goods in their shelves to at most 50%.
They can also
try to promote local products by adopting differential mark-
ups for local
products, for instance where they were applying a uniform
mark-up of say
15%, they could lower the mark-up on local products to 10%
and increase the
mark -up on imported goods to 20%.
They can also deliberately import less
of those goods that are made locally,
for example cooking oil, soaps,
margarine etc.
Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa was right when he
recently pointed out
that the Meikles/Pick n’ Pay partnership is a real slap
in the face for
locals. Visit TM Westgate and see how the current changeover
to Pick n’ Pay
has resulted in local goods being substituted by imports
which now account
for over 90% of the produces in the store. Only fresh
vegetables and
confectionaries are still local.
Our own shopping is
another way through which we are shooting ourselves in
the foot.
How
many of us will choose to buy a Zimbabwean product when faced with an
option
of same-priced imports.
I have had numerous wars with my wife when we go
shopping together because
when I try to persuade her to buy a Zimbabwean
product even if it cost a few
more cents she has always argues that if she
adds up those few cents, she
might end up buying something extra.
I
am sure a lot of shoppers think the same way, but by doing so you are
denying a Zimbabwean colleague a job as many companies continue to close
down due to dampened demand for local products.
It is therefore
welcome Finance minister Biti is imposing a 25% surtax on
soaps, meat
products, beverages, dairy products and cooking oil, in addition
to imposing
a US$1,50 per kg or 40% customs duty on imported chicken.
We hope this
will take away the price advantage that imported goods have
over
locally-produced ones.
Many people lamented Biti could not allocate
enough resources to the various
demands presented to him but I tend to agree
with the chairman of the budget
portfolio committee Paddy Zhanda who said we
should aim to have a US$10
billion budget before we can seriously talk of
allocating adequate resources
to different sectors and
ministries.
However, we can only reach that US$10 billion budget if we
start now by
choosing to support our own Zimbabwean products.
The
more products that our companies produce, the more profitable they would
become, hence the more tax revenues to the fiscus. As these companies
prosper, they will employ more people and pay their workers good salaries
which mean more buying power for the workers and hence more demand for the
goods in the supermarkets.
The workers will also pay more taxes on
their salaries and VAT on the goods
they buy, once more resulting in more
revenue accruing to Treasury.
Biti also highlighted during the last
budget that most of these imported
goods are escaping the net at the ports
of entry and are not paying the
customs duty, hence depriving the state of
much-needed resources.
Zimra officials are just too comfortable, the
department keeps a certain
percentage of the monies that they collect and
therefore can afford to pay
very good salaries to their staff.
We
need a wakeup call at Zimra.
One area Biti needs to exercise his mind
over his promise to deepen and
widen the revenue base is the informal
sector. He should seriously engage
Zimra in trying to collect taxes from
that sector.
It is very clear that our industries that create jobs are
not expanding.
Limiting exports will help local industry recover and create
jobs.
Peter Gambara is an agricultural economist and agricultural
consultant with
AgriExpert, a consultancy firm. He writes in his personal
capacity. His
email address is pgambara@hotmail.com
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 14, 2012 in Opinion
PROGRESSIVE nations are
beginning to employ strategic human resources (HR)
concepts to address
perculiar national challenges.
OPINION BY BRETT CHULU
A case in
point is the government of Singapore who happen to be a member of
a highly
respected strategic HR institute. Singapore has a very low
fertility rate of
1.1, which is below the population replacement rate of
2.1. Human capital,
being Singapore’s chief national resource, a fertility
rate persistently
below the replacement rate threatens to reverse Singapore’s
hard-won
economic gains.
Under these circumstances immigration would have to be a
key national policy
priority. Accelerated immigration would bring with it
the potential
challenges of a society fragmented around national origins,
language and
religious persuasion — possibly leading to the development of
an enclave
culture fanning social tensions. The question before the leaders
of this
nation-state was how to address the twin challenges of future human
capital
shortages and a potentially unstable social structure.
Multiculturalism was
the answer. To this end, Singapore crafted a deliberate
national housing
policy requiring neighbourhoods and housing blocks to
reflect
multiculturalism.
Land not the economy
What Singapore
lacks, Zimbabwe has in abundance — minerals and land. That
which Singapore
has, a strong human capital base, Zimbabwe has too. Sadly,
the irony is,
Singapore with a population size of 5,2 million produces a
Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of about US$250 billion. That’s an astonishing
per capita GDP
of close to US$50 000. Contrast that with Zimbabwe — 12
million or so people
produce about US$9 billion of GDP (honestly speaking,
no one seems to have
an authoritative knowledge of the real figure) — and
this with abundant
mineral resources and land.
Singapore’s case clearly demonstrates that
land is not always the economy.
Abundant natural resources do not always
translate to economic prosperity.
In fact, history has shown that nations
with scarcity of natural resources
have been spurred to come up with
innovations that have created globally
competitive industries.
Put
differently, many nations have turned natural resource scarcity into a
competitive advantage. Britain has some of the world’s top quality clays for
ceramic tiles. However, Italy not Britain is the world’s top producer of top
quality ceramic tiles though Italy does not have high quality clays.
Physical space constraints in Japan have led the Japanese to develop
miniature technologies for everyday home life. That expertise inspired many
Japanese innovations such as Just in Time (JIT) manufacturing
systems.
In contrast, other nations where physical space constraint is
not an issue
were using Just In Case systems, leading to relatively higher
manufacturing
costs. Another famous Japanese innovation was the compact car
which not only
economised on space but was also fuel-efficient and more
affordable than the
traditional big and fuel-guzzling Western car models. A
national physical
resource challenge supercharged Japan’s economic progress
and set its
long-time world dominance in electronic and vehicle
exports.
Ideas are the economy
We need a decided paradigm shift in
Zimbabwe that interrogates the economic
agenda.
Let us imagine a Zimbabwe
without diamonds, gold, platinum and other mineral
deposits. Compound that
picture and imagine a Zimbabwe without its rich
wildlife. Let’s further
complicate that scenario and imagine a Zimbabwe with
rich agricultural land
but with a dry climate. We now have a future
imaginary Zimbabwe devoid of
its current economic base.
Under these imagined circumstances land ceases
to be the economy. What
would we do as a nation when land ceases to be the
economy? What sort of
economic agenda would we craft? What sort of a future
Medium Term Policy
would Economic Planning minister Tapiwa Mashakada craft?
What sort of a
national budget would a future Minister of Finance come up
with? What kind
of content would go into a 30-year economic vision such as
the current
US$100 billion economy by 2040? Put differently, how will the
pillars of
the current Vision 2040 of a US$100 billion economy change if the
imaginary
future circumstances we have highlighted became a reality
today?
The answer to these questions is that the thrust, content and
assumptions
going into our key economic policies will be radically
different.
This kind of approach rescues us from the curse of
resource-abundance in
which natural resource advantage fails to translate
into economic prosperity
and improved living standards.
Imagine the
possibilities, for instance, what sort of technologies would we
develop to
take advantage of rich agricultural resources constrained by an
imaginary
dry climate? One foresees benchmark breakthroughs in science and
technology
as a result of our heightened need to guarantee food security
which will
result in unique expertise. We could develop a cluster of related
industries
leveraging on this core expertise. These related industries could
develop
into global exporters. Now extend this kind of thinking to
addressing
possible day-to-day constraints people would face as a result of
our
imagined national constraints.
In general, this kind of thinking is
lacking in our nation.
Land and ideas the economy
Having adopted an
ideas-is-the-economy approach, the next step is to then
leverage on the
abundance of our natural resources. We then need to imagine
future global
social, political and environmental scenarios that will impact
on the world
economy. For these scenarios, we then seek how to position our
nation’s
natural resources to develop solutions to future global challenges.
If we
fail to see the future ahead of time, other nations will develop the
knowledge and expertise necessary to spur future economic growth. As has
been the case in the past, these nations will come to us for our natural
resources.
Chulu is a strategic HR consultant who has consulted to
listed and unlisted
companies. brettchulu@consultant.com
