Mugabe in dilemma

FinGaz

Njabulo Ncube Political Editor
To stick with old guard or Jabulani Sibanda?
AFTER securing an express ticket to represent the party in the presidential
race next year, President Robert Mugabe is now facing a serious dilemma over
who he should throw in his lot with after an embarrassing clash between the
war veterans' leadership and part of the ZANU PF old guard last week.

The fiasco over Jabulani Sibanda — the controversial war veterans leader —
has presented fresh challenges for President Mugabe who last week made a
passionate plea for unity among his lieutenants ahead of a tricky harmonised
election in March next year.
ZANU PF stalwarts, national chairman John Nkomo and Vice President Joseph
Msika, barred Sibanda from speaking at the special congress last Friday,
causing a commotion that deeply embarrassed the veteran Zimbabwean leader,
as it blew the lid on tensions within the top leadership of the party.
Up to that point, over a well-scripted four days, the President had managed
to keep the factionalism tearing his party apart away from the public eye.
But he was forced to spring to his feet to bar Sibanda from the podium after
Msika, Nkomo and Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu had seemed ready to
walk out.
Sibanda was among a group of officials President Mugabe sacked from ZANU PF
for opposing his support for Joice Mujuru to become Vice President in 2004
and backing former secretary for administration, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Sibanda appealed against the move, and his allies say this appeal alone
suspends his expulsion.
Ahead of the special congress, ZANU PF legal secretary Mnangagwa, told
reporters "the noting of (Sibanda's) appeal has the effect of suspending
that (expulsion) judgment."
As he led the solidarity marches, Sibanda claimed President Mugabe had given
him "the mandate" to campaign on his behalf.
But although President Mugabe had authorised Sibanda to spearhead his
campaign for re-election as ZANU PF leader, he told congress the war veteran
had no right to undertake any activities to do with the party until he has
been readmitted into the ruling party.
Should he decide to side with Sibanda outright, President Mugabe faces the
prospect of jeopardising the fragile Unity Accord, and the party itself.
The accord, signed in 1987, ended a bitter internal strife that saw over 20
000 people mainly from Matabeleland and the Midlands being massacred.
It has however, been shaky ever since the death in 1999 of former PF-ZAPU
leader Joshua Nkomo, who crafted the accord, which was strongly opposed by
most of his trusted lieutenants including those in the leadership of the
current ZANU PF.
Nkomo, Msika, Dumiso Dabengwa, the former ZIPRA intelligence supremo and
Ndlovu have previously threatened to withdraw from the unity pact over
President Mugabe's decision to let Sibanda lead his campaign.
None of the former PF ZAPU figures attended the "million man/woman march"
last month in protest, leading to a taunt by Sibanda that they were like
"leaves in a whirlwind".
After their threat to walk out from congress last Friday, there have been
renewed calls from some around President Mugabe to take action against the
group. But the President has previously resisted pressure from the same
hardliners to purge the party ranks of those that did not back the
solidarity marches.
By barring Sibanda from the podium last week, the President hoped to pacify
his former ZAPU allies.
On the other hand, President Mugabe cannot risk casting aside the one man
who can help him win votes in Matabeleland, a region that has so far
rejected him.
Party insiders, speaking after the congress, said there was only a façade of
unity within ZANU PF, saying President Mugabe was battling behind the scenes
to quell skirmishes between members of the old guard and ambitious "Young
Turks".
Matabeleland heavyweights are said to be strongly opposed to the rise of the
Young Turks, whom they view as a threat to their own positions, at a time
President Mugabe's powers to appoint non-constituency members of Parliament
have been reduced.
Yesterday, speaking for the first time after his public humiliation at the
congress, Sibanda told The Financial Gazette he believed Nkomo was the
instigator of his troubles.
But he said he would continue to support President Mugabe, despite
opposition by people he says are clinging to positions merely because of the
need to keep the 1987 Unity Accord intact.
Sibanda said it had not been his initial intention to address delegates.
"I was a legally accredited representative of the war veterans, and by
virtue of being accredited as a leader of a legal constituency of war
veterans, I should have been allowed to speak. But I did not exercise my
right to speak, due to the narrow mindedness of some people in the party. I
knew the political carrion would have none of it," said Sibanda.
"When I stood up, it was because people were calling on me to come forward
and speak. I had selected someone to speak on my behalf. When I went up
there, I was not going to speak. Nkomo was just overzealous."
Sibanda accuses Nkomo of being a "problem in the ruling party as he is
allowed to run it the way he sees fit".
"I have no problem with the chairman, personally. But I have a problem when
he is not following the party constitution. For instance, when he suspended
the chairpersons fingered in the so-called Tsholotsho debacle, there was no
hearing of their side of the story. As the chair of the national
disciplinary committee, he summarily suspended them," Sibanda said.
"I have appealed first, to the Central Committee and secondly to congress,
but Nkomo has delayed my appeals for years. My appeal stands until it
outlives him. I will never withdraw it until I get a fair deal, which I am
not getting from the present chair," he said.
Sources say Sibanda is anxious to have the suspension lifted so he can stand
as a ZANU PF candidate in the forthcoming elections.
Asked if he would consider standing as an independent in the event his
appeal was delayed further, he said: "I am not going to stand as an
independent. The issue has to be cleared but I do not see the issue being
attended to before the elections. I will only stand on a ZANU PF ticket, and
that can only be when I am finally cleared. The party is more important than
personal political gain."
Even after being publicly rebuked by the President, Sibanda said there are
no hard feelings.
"What happened is now water under the bridge. People whose appointments in
ZANU PF are only courtesy of the Unity Accord caused it. We are now focused
on the elections, and we are with the President all the way."

Gono declares war on cash barons

FinGaz

Dumisani Ndlela Business Editor

RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono yesterday declared
victory over cash barons as he demonetised the $200 000 bearer cheques and
introduced stringent deposit thresholds to punish speculators whom he blamed
for stashing $65 trillion.

The amount, part of the $67 trillion the central bank has pumped into the
market, was in the hands of a few barons, Gono said, indicating that the
$200 000 bearer cheques were the anchor notes for cash magnates wreaking
havoc on the economy.
The $200 000 notes would cease to be legal tender on December 31, and would
be replaced by higher denomination notes, Gono said as he sought to deal
with a punishing cash crisis that has greatly inconvenienced the public.
The country, grappling with its worst economic crisis in history, is
currently mired in a severe cash crunch that has disrupted normal business
transactions.
Banks say they are not getting enough cash from the central bank to meet
daily cash requirements from the public, but Gono last night blamed them for
abetting the crisis, saying some banks had fired staff members after the RBZ
revealed the extent of their connivance with the huge cash movers.
New $250 000, $500 000 and $750 000 bearer cheques would be introduced to
alleviate the cash crisis, which he, however, said was unlikely to vanish
overnight.
He accepted responsibility for the cash woes, but warned the system would
deal decisively with the huge cash holders who had refused to heed his call
to return the cash into the banking system to mitigate public suffering.
“We’ve taken our time to understand what’s going on, and understand we now
do,” Gono declared, warning investigations by the central bank had
unravelled a web of cash barons milking the banking system of huge cash
amounts to feed the black market.
Frequently referring to the cash barons as “top people in society”, a term
widely seen as a euphemism for ruling party bigwigs, Gono said banks had
conspired with the cash barons by siphoning vast sums of money to the
parallel market.
Bank employees were receiving kickbacks from the cash barons, and were
ignoring RBZ-determined withdrawal limits by allowing huge cash withdrawals
by the tycoons.
Fuel dealers, he said, were also a “major destabilising factor” in the cash
puzzle.
Gono adjusted deposit thresholds to $50 million for individuals, and $750
million for corporate institutions, including state-owned firms, with effect
from today.
Any deposits above those thresholds would require the depositor to declare
the source of the funds.
Besides, institutions and individuals making deposits inconsistent with
their banking patterns would also be quizzed, even when the deposit amounts
fell within the determined thresholds.
Officials from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Zimbabwe Republic Police,
the RBZ, the Anti-money Laundering and Anti-Corruption agencies would man
the banking halls. These would interrogate depositors with suspicious
amounts of money, and could demand details of any tax payments and garnish
bank accounts.
Gono said an investigation into the crisis had revealed that there were over
750 000 shelf companies with corporate accounts with domestic banks. These
were involved in no meaningful economic activities except moving huge
volumes of cash.
Moreover, some cash barons had multiple accounts — in some instances up to
10 with one bank.
In other instances, one individual could have power of attorney over
personal accounts for 100 people, Gono said.
This apparently was meant to circumvent the withdrawal limits by allowing
the cash moguls to withdraw more cash in a single day.

MDC camps endorse Tsvangirai

FinGaz

Njabulo Ncube Political Editor

THE two camps of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have tentatively
agreed to have Morgan Tsvangirai as the sole opposition candidate in next
year's presidential elections, as they begin delicate negotiations towards
forging a coalition.

The Arthur Mutambara camp met in Harare on Tuesday morning, where its
national executive council said it would support forging a united front with
the Tsvangirai faction to fight President Robert Mugabe and the ruling ZANU
PF in next year's elections.
The Tsvangirai group, which rejected a coalition with its rivals in August,
began exploring the possibility of uniting with the Mutambara camp last
week. A resolution to make similar moves was passed at the Tsvangirai
faction's national executive council meeting last Sunday.
Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for the Tsvangirai faction, said an agreement was
possible.
He said the Tsvangirai faction had been hurt by the "unhappy event of the
12th of October, 2005, which resulted in the emergence of two formations
using and sharing the same MDC name".
"Cognisant of the need to accept the principal concept of one candidate for
the opposition in respect of every contested seat, the national council
resolved that the party should endeavour to work for the creation of a
united front of all democratic forces against the dictatorship," said
Chamisa. "The President (Tsvangirai) and the national standing committee
were obliged and empowered to do all such things as necessary to achieve
unity."
Gabriel Chaibva, spokesman for the Mutambara group, however suggested there
was yet to be formal contact between the two groups.
But he confirmed his party's national council met on Tuesday to reaffirm its
support for a coalition.
"On the question of unity among all democratic forces to fight elections in
2008, the national executive noted that after 10 months of intense
discussions between the two MDC formations, which culminated in the
coalition agreement, the national council had formally adopted the
principles, spirit and philosophy of the coalition agreement at its meeting
on 28 July 2007," said Chaibva.
He said his party's leadership was happy that its plea for "all democratic
forces in Zimbabwe to come together had now found takers".
"The national executive welcomed prospects of a united front to fight the
2008 elections against the regime of (President) Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF,"
said Chaibva.
Sources said the two sides are likely to resuscitate an earlier agreement
that would see Tsvangirai representing a united MDC. But there could be
controversy over proposals to allow sitting legislators to stand in their
constituencies, with primaries held only for new constituencies.
"The idea is to avoid splitting votes or allowing ZANU PF to win seats in
our strongholds," said a source.
Analysts predict a heavy defeat for the opposition if it goes into the
elections divided.
However, there are fears the opposition could have left too late the mending
of a two-year split through which it has lost the punch it had in 2000 when
it won 57 of the 120 contested seats.

There's a Zulu on our stoep

inGaz

Rangarirai Mberi News Editor

AS President Robert Mugabe celebrated his disputed win in the 2002
presidential election, the very first visitor to arrive at State House to
toast the victory was Jacob Zuma.

According to his office, Zuma, then South Africa's deputy president,
"congratulated President Mugabe on his re-election" after a South African
election observer team had declared the outcome "legitimate".
ZANU PF will probably hope Zuma was not merely part of routine South African
diplomacy.
John Nkomo, ZANU PF national chairman, was in Polokwane, South Africa, as
Zuma gained a foothold into the presidency of his country. Like many other
Zimbabweans following the ANC conference on Tuesday night, he must have
wondered what a Zuma presidency would mean for Zimbabwe.
Nkomo had earlier told the conference relations between the ANC and ZANU PF
were "anchored on a shared history and shared experiences in the liberation
struggle". He did not mention that the ANC was more a Zapu war ally, or that
Oliver Tambo once called Zanu "the spurious stooge of the imperialists".
But even he must have grappled with the same questions many Zimbabweans
asked as they watched the drama unfold.
Will Zuma's leftist allies, the Congress of South African Trade Unions
(COSATU) and the South Africa Communist Party, strongly critical of
President Mugabe and Thabo Mbeki's policy of quiet diplomacy, press Zuma to
adopt a harder stance on Zimbabwe?
And, how does Zimbabwe now relate to Mbeki, who, after Tuesday's defeat
could become a lame duck president for the next two years?
Sifting through Zuma's previous comments on Zimbabwe, no clear clues emerge
of how he might handle President Mugabe.
In 2005, to much applause from the ANC benches, Zuma described as
"unwarranted noises" pleas from the opposition to condemn election violence
in Zimbabwe.
Last year, he told the British Sunday Telegraph that the ANC had checks and
balances in place to prevent leaders becoming "monsters".
"As a member and a leader of the ANC all I do is carry out ANC policies. How
could you have an individual who would become such a monster? The ANC system
does not allow for that kind of thing."
Of course, the paper did not miss the opportunity to report Zuma had "called
Mugabe a monster". But his handlers scrambled to insist he had not referred
directly to President Mugabe, but only to the dangers of leaders staying too
long in power.
Zuma refused to give a “yes or no” answer on whether or not he supported
President Mugabe. But, crucially, he made clear his sympathy for the view,
widely held in the ANC and across Africa, that Britain was to blame for the
crisis, "because it did not live up to its promises to fund land reform".
In August this year, in an interview with the Voice of America, Zuma said he
was worried the crisis had dragged on too long.
"In Zimbabwe, we are dealing with political tension that is not yet a war,
which is not also based on ethnicity, which is based on political
disagreement as to how Zimbabwe must be run. And of course I know it has
taken too long, and I don't think it is desirable. By now that issue should
be resolved. It is not also good for the neighbours."
The opposition in Zimbabwe and their supporters in civic society and media,
despise Mbeki for refusing to rage at ZANU PF.
But Zuma has said: "The ANC on one hand, and the government on the other, we
took the view that instead of standing out there and shouting and
criticising, that is not going to help us."
In saying this, he echoed Mbeki, who has said if South Africa "shouted" at
Zimbabwe, "they would shout back at us and that would be the end of the
story".
But Zuma has given hints he could yet change tack.
"I think more vigorous engagement, particularly by the region, and with the
supportive kind of decisions taken by the globe, I think it will go a long
way."
The ANC has been anxious to drive home the point there would be no major
policy shift under Zuma, and Zuma has met investors to reassure them he
would not tilt the country too far to the left.
But now that Zuma's trade union and communist allies have propelled him into
the ANC presidency, there must be some "payback".
COSATU will doubtless demand sterner action. Twice, COSATU officials have
been deported from Zimbabwe, after they came to protest against attacks on
labour unions, which are allied to the MDC.
COSATU has also been critical of Mbeki's policy on the recruitment of
Zimbabweans in South Africa. Earlier this year, the union slammed Education
Minister Naledi Pandor after her department said it was desperate to recruit
Zimbabwean teachers.

One magistrate for entire Bulawayo

FinGaz

Stanley Kwenda Staff Reporter

THE corridors leading into Tredgold Building in Bulawayo, which houses the
magistrates’ courts, look dim and squalid.

It is a Friday morning, and I am at the courts to support a friend and his
bride who have an appointment with the marriage officer to register and
formalise their union.
Outside the courthouse is a throng of other couples waiting to complete the
same procedure. Passers-by get caught up in the atmosphere filled with love
in the air and stop to admire the couples making a commitment to each other.
Street photographers are on hand in case somebody needs their services and
not to be outdone some cheeky foreign currency dealers are on the prowl
right under the noses of law officers to offer their services to anyone who
runs out of cash.
We are ushered into a courtroom where we are to await our turn. But before
we make ourselves comfortable, a man whom we assume to be a court official
enters and announces that we are supposed to be on the first floor where the
magistrate serving as the marriage officer is preparing for the day’s
sessions.
As two months of strike action by magistrates and other court workers
continues to take its toll, the consequences are evident.
Accompanying us are young boys clad in shorts and all sorts of trendy caps,
which would normally not be allowed in a courtroom but on this occasion
restrictions are ignored and the place looks like the set of a hip-hop music
video shoot.
“Those who are supposed to monitor these things are on strike. I am just a
cleaner asked to do this on behalf of someone else,” says a worker at the
main entrance of the building in response to my questions about the lapse in
observing the court’s dress code.
On the first floor is a sign reading “Criminal Court.” We are taken aback,
as we had thought getting married was not a criminal offence but a desirable
development for which a special room would be reserved. The bottom line is
that the happy couples exchange marriage vows in a criminal court room!
The marriage officer sifts through a mass of papers as she begins what looks
like a long day. And from the conversation she has with her colleagues, we
gather she is the only one who has reported for work and fortunately for us
has decided to deal with marriages before her other duties.
As she takes my friend and his bride through their marriage vows, she
angrily tells off an elderly man who interrupts her by shoving a pile of
papers forward for her to sign.
“Look here, I am the only one working and, as you can see, I am doing
something at the moment. Wait outside.”
My friend’s marriage is formalised and registered without a hitch but we
cannot help but wonder whether the rest of the couples will be so lucky.
A single magistrate on duty in the whole of Bulawayo shows how the judiciary
system has gone to the dogs.
According to lawyers in Bulawayo, court workers now spend their time doing
private business. They have vowed not to return to work until their demands
for better remuneration are met.
The government has said it has no money and can only pay them in the New
Year.
The strike has affected people from all walks of life, including couples
wishing to marry.
But the hardest hit group are however, suspects on remand. Many face the
likelihood of spending Christmas in prison. There is little prospect of them
being brought before a magistrate for bail.
The Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs last month
threatened the court workers with unspecified action if they did not go back
to work. The workers called the ministry’s bluff and continued the work
boycott.
They rejected a government offer of a basic monthly salary of $141 million
for regional magistrates and $29 million for provincial magistrates.
Official statistics suggest that Zimbabwe used to have about 300
magistrates, but a large proportion have long left government employment.

President appoints Patel acting Attorney-General

FinGaz

Staff Reporter

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has appointed High Court Judge Bharat Patel acting
Attorney-General (A-G) following the suspension of Sobusa Gula-Ndebele last
week, to facilitate a probe into charges of abuse of office levelled against
him.

Patel, who has acted as A-G before, has represented government in high
profile cases such as the treason trial of Morgan Tsvangirai and the case of
70 suspected mercenaries jailed on arms charges.
A Mr Machaya has also been appointed acting director of public prosecutions.
Gula-Ndebele was arrested last month on allegations that he abused his
authority by meeting former NMBZ deputy head James Mushore at a restaurant
and assuring him he would not be prosecuted.
President Mugabe has appointed a panel consisting of judges Chinembiri Bhunu
and Samuel Kudya, and a lawyer, Lloyd Mhishi, to look into the allegations
against Gula-Ndebele after lawyers said the A-G’s arrest was illegal.
The Financial Gazette reported last week that Gula-Ndebele sought an order
barring police from interfering with his work after they threatened to
arrest him again if he becomes involved in the Mushore case.
Mushore faces charges of violating exchange control regulations and the
Immigration Act.
Law officers in the Civil Division of the AG’s office have declined to
represent the police in the matter forcing them to engage a lawyer in
private practice, Aston Musunga of Musunga and Associates.

2007 winner: mother of all n’angas

FinGaz

Njabulo Ncube Political Editor

AT the recent launch of Zimbabwe’s first bio-diesel plant, there was an
interesting exchange between President Robert Mugabe and two of his top
ministers.

As diesel was siphoned from a tank into a container, Science and Technology
Minister Olivia Muchena remarked: “Yah, iri ndiro dhiziri chairo manje iri
(now, this is real diesel).” Turning towards Security Minister Didymus
Mutasa, who was standing nearby, President Mugabe exclaimed: “Yah, haikona
riya ramaizorwa kumusana anaMutasa (not the stuff you had smeared on your
back, Mutasa).” Everyone, except Mutasa, thought it was funny. Of course it
was not.
Although this was a year of weighty issues, such as the inter-party talks
that culminated in major constitutional amendments, the story of the diesel
n’anga gets the Financial Gazette nod for Story of the Year.
More than any other development this year, this story best exposed the
failures and shortcomings of the government. How does one explain the fact
that an entire Cabinet – dominated by holders of doctorates – gets
hoodwinked by a Grade Three drop-out into believing that pure diesel was
flowing from a rock on a Chinhoyi hilltop?
The government authorised the squandering of $5 billion in taxpayer dollars
on the n’anga and allocated her a prime farm in pursuit of these fanciful
notions.
“The government and the President believe in African culture, we believe in
spirit mediums. She said the diesel was coming from our ancestors, so we had
to pursue it. The second reason is the current fuel problems. If we had not
pursued it, she was going to blame the government.”
These were the incredible words of Mashonaland West governor Nelson
Samkange, in response to questions from this paper on why the government had
been so eager to believe Rotina Mavhunga’s false claims that she had powers
to produce fuel from a rock.
Mutasa, who spearheaded the government’s dabbling in the diesel saga, said
he believed Mavhunga’s story because of the role spirit mediums played
during the liberation struggle.
These traditional intermediaries between the dead and the living offered
guidance and counselling to freedom fighters, he told The Standard, and
“could manage miracles and strange happenings. Anyone who was or claims to
be part of this country’s liberation struggle will tell you of the very
important roles performed by our spirit mediums.”
The affair ranks as the most embarrassing government lapse of 2007, a year
the majority of Zimbabweans cannot forget fast enough.
The saga raised questions about the calibre of people entrusted with the
task of governing the country, at a time when the nation is crying out for
solutions to alleviate pervasive human suffering.
Pictures of bare-footed government officials attending rituals published in
the press, raised serious questions about ZANU PF’s ability to steer the
country out of the complex political and economic quagmire in which it is
stuck.
Three government taskforces, made up of no less than six Cabinet ministers,
heads of intelligence, the army and the police, were set up to investigate
this supposed manna from the ancestors.
In animated discussions, journalists taking a retrospective look at 2007
agreed that the diesel n’anga story surpassed even the controversial
endorsement of President Mugabe virtually as ZANU PF president-for-life.
The story of how President Mugabe outwitted pretenders to his throne will
determine the future of the country.
In February, he suggested in a television interview that the Vice-President
Joice Mujuru faction had been too impatient for power, alluding to
complimentary references made about the Vice President in Edgar Tekere’s
memoirs.
He forged what three years ago would have been an unthinkable alliance with
the Emmerson Mnangagwa camp in the months leading to the ZANU PF congress to
engineer the Mujuru faction’s withdrawal from the succession race.
After Mujuru had been quoted as saying that a special congress had been
convened to elect a new leader, Mnangagwa, as legal secretary of the ruling
party, made sure the agenda did not leave President Mugabe’s post up for
grabs.
Mnangagwa’s was a two-pronged strategy, including a series of marches by war
veterans, designed to intimidate any persons opposed to President Mugabe’s
candidacy.
By the time the congress was held last week, the President virtually had the
endorsement in the bag. But the factionalism in his party permeated to most
of what transpired throughout the year.
Police nabbed Attorney General Sobusa Gula-Ndebele on allegations that he
assured former NMB Bank deputy chief executive officer James Mushore, who is
facing charges of contravening foreign currency and immigration regulations,
that he would not be arrested.
President Mugabe subsequently appointed a three-member tribunal to look into
Gula-Ndebele’s case.
Last week, the Financial Gazette reported that Gula-Ndebele had filed court
papers to stop what he called “unprofessional fingers” interfering with his
work and harassing him. Many linked the case to feuding between the AG and
two top government officials, Patrick Chinamasa and Mutasa.
Gula-Ndebele authorised Chinamasa’s prosecution when he faced obstruction of
justice charges relating to the trial of supporters of Mutasa who were
facing murder charges.
Eight of these supporters were convicted of culpable homicide arising from
the 2005 killing of war veteran Tina Wilson Mukono.
It is said the dispute can be traced to the factional fighting within ZANU
PF, given Gula-Ndebele’s reported links to the Mujuru faction.
The year also saw a group of Zimbabweans being arrested in connection with
an alleged coup plot implicating Mnangagwa.
It was claimed in court that the alleged coup plotters, led by Albert
Matapo, had planned to “invite” Mnangagwa to become leader of a new
government once President Mugabe was overthrown. Mnangagwa dismissed
suggestions that he was involved, describing them as “stupid”.
Once again, the coup plot saga was linked to ZANU PF factional fighting.
Subsequently, President Mugabe accused Britain of trying to manipulate the
army to oust him.
A major scar on the year was the arrest and torture of opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai and over 50 of his supporters and civic society allies.
The beatings forced the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to
intervene with Zambian leader Levy Mwanawasa calling Zimbabwe a “sinking
Titanic”.
At an extraordinary meeting in Tanzania, SADC appointed South African
President Thabo Mbeki to serve as mediator in the Zimbabwe crisis and try to
bring ZANU PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to the
negotiating table.
Mbeki said disputed election results were the root cause of Zimbabwe’s
problems. He made the delivery of free and fair polls next year a priority.
The SADC talks continue as 2007 ends. The highlights so far include the
joint endorsement by the two sides of Constitutional Amendment Number 18,
whose key provisions were to harmonise polls and facilitate changes to a
range of other electoral laws.
Amendments to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the
Broadcasting Services Act and the Public Order and Security Act were
gazetted this week as part of the agreement hammered out by the two parties.
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade flew into Harare last month in a bid to
broaden Mbeki’s mediation mission to include the whole of Africa. The matter
should not be left to Mbeki alone, he said. But President Mugabe rebuffed
him, rejecting what he called “parallel processes”.
President Mugabe’s invitation to attend the European Union-Africa summit in
Lisbon afforded him another chance to thumb his nose at Europe, especially
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who boycotted the summit. President
Mugabe returned from the deliberations declaring victory over Brown and
other perceived enemies.
A diamond rush that hit the country claimed one high profile victim. William
Nhara was arrested on charges of trying to smuggle diamonds valued at US$130
000. The ordeal of his arrest proved too much and he died soon afterwards.
The MDC generated its fair share of news.
Tsvangirai’s faction was bitterly divided after he supported Theresa Makone,
the wife of one of his top advisers, Ian Makone, to replace Lucia Matibenga,
a former union colleague and founding member, as head of the women’s wing.
The two MDC factions — led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara —
failed to bury the hatchet, leaving analysts predicting a whitewash when
elections are held next year. After the collapse of unity talks between the
two sides, Mutambara called Tsvangirai an “intellectual midget”.
But indications now are that new moves are afoot to forge a coalition.
While President Mugabe outwitted his rivals, the economy spiralled into the
worst crisis yet, following a government decree in June for businesses to
slash prices of all goods and services by 50 percent.
Supermarket shelves emptied rapidly as manufacturers refused to supply at a
loss.
The shortages raised political temperatures with Tsvangirai almost becoming
a victim.
While assessing the impact of the shortages, he was accosted by Jocelyn
Chiwenga, the controversial wife of army general Constantine Chiwenga.

‘Jingle hell’ all the way for Zimbos

FinGaz

Zhean Gwaze Staff Reporter
The festive season of yesteryear has become a distant memory for many
“JINGLE bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, Oh what fun it is to ride
in a one-horse open sleigh,” goes the old Christmas carol.

Five days before Christmas, ordinary Zimbabweans would gladly ride in a
one-donkey scotchcart — as long as it took them any place and time where, at
least for one Christmas, they could escape the agony that now characterises
their daily lives.
The stores are once again bedecked in Christmas trees and ribbons, but the
shelves are bare. Outside it is jingle bells all the way to endless queues
for anything from sugar to cash.
Traditionally, at this time of the year, the streets are bursting with
Christmas shoppers on spending sprees. This year, towns are crowded with
desolate people spending long hours in queues.
“It’s not going to be much of a Christmas, because there are no goods to buy
and where they are available, they are beyond the reach of many,” said
Shuvai Madiro, a civil servant.
On a visit to a store well stocked with imported goods, The Financial
Gazette discovered that a 5kg packet of par-boiled rice sold for $18.5
million — more than a teacher’s salary. A 2-litre bottle of cooking oil
costs $12 million and a 2kg packet of flour goes for $11 million — double
the daily cash allocations at banks.
However, amid this despair, Madiro, like most Zimbabweans, still manages to
be cheerful and optimistic: “May be Santa will bring us good fortune.”
The festive season of yesteryear has become a distant memory for
Zimbabweans, who can only reminisce about a time when even the tables of the
poorest groaned with bountiful meals.
With year-on-year inflation estimated at 14 000 percent for October, and
most households living below the poverty datum line of $24 million in
September, the Christmas season is a gloomy season for millions.
For urbanites, the woes include power and water cuts.
A recent parliamentary report tabled in the Senate revealed that South
Africa and Zambia had disconnected power to Zimbabwe because of its failure
to service substantial accumulated debt.
This has resulted in most suburbs going for days without electricity and
residents digging deeper into their depleted pockets to buy firewood and
candles.
Where electrical faults have been reported, consumers have been forced to
contribute substantial amounts to buy equipment.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority is failing to meet the demand of the
growing population owing to shortages of foreign currency and ageing
equipment.
At long-distance bus stations, there is not even “a one-horse open sleigh”
to ferry holiday travellers. The few operators whose buses are still on the
roads have increased fares steeply, citing viability problems and soaring
fuel prices.
Urban commuters fork out up to $1.5 million daily for transport, while
travellers from Harare to Bulawayo now pay up to $60 million one way on a
luxury coach.
Normally, those with kith and kin outside the country would enjoy a better
Christmas. However, they too have had to endure spending hours queuing at
Western Union franchises, which are desperately failing to meet demand for
foreign currency.
Zimbabwe is a country of sharp contrasts. While the poor contemplate one of
the worst Christmases ever, the well heeled are planning escapes to various
holiday resorts.
A check by this paper revealed that, like Bethlehem at the time of Christ’s
birth, there is almost “no room” at top hotels in Harare and in resort
towns.
They have been fully booked by the rich and powerful. Air Zimbabwe is fully
booked on virtually all routes, and the road to South Africa is congested
with holiday travellers and late shoppers.
With Christmas looking so gloomy, parents who have to send children back to
school in January face an even more daunting prospect.

The scourge in Harare’s air

FinGaz

Dumisani Ndlela

The highways leading into the capital have huge billboards that welcome
travellers to the “Sunshine City”, but there is no warning about Harare’s
deteriorating air quality.

Fog engulfs the atmosphere during the early morning hours , sending the
first signals the city’s air is harbouring harmful elements.
Evidently, Zimbabwe’s crumbling economy is bringing down with it the quality
of air Harare’s urbanites are gasping, terribly eating into their lungs.
The air is picking up uncurbed toxic emissions from industrial processes and
vehicles, making breathing a major health hazard.
There’s dust wafting through the atmosphere from the foundries, quarrying
and cement plants, wood-working, detergent and fertiliser manufacturing and
base mineral grinding.
Metallic fumes from foundries and fibreglass dust from the manufacture of
canopies and sanitary ware are presenting major air pollution threats to the
city.
What might have been a sunshine city is turning out to be a chamber of
death, with a cocktail of toxins whose effects might be the huge number of
patients the country’s health delivery system is failing to cope with, and
the overflowing mortuaries now turning away bodies of people dying in their
homes because they could not be accommodated in the crowded hospitals.
“We’re at a bad level,” says Professor Sarah Feresu, director of the
Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Zimbabwe, commenting
on the city’s pollution situation. “But (it’s) a level where we can do
something and minimise the impact.”
An unscientific sample of patients picked up by The Financial Gazette at
Harare Hospital revealed that most had respiratory related illnesses.
Beatrice Infection Hospital, a City of Harare facility dealing exclusively
with respiratory illnesses, is overwhelmed and turning away patients.
Coincidentally, the hospital, as well as Harare Hospital, is situated right
in the heart of the pollution zone, a factor one City of Harare official
admitted was a grave mistake on the part of planners.
The bulk of residents living with HIV/ AIDS are constantly under attack from
TB, a respiratory infection commonly described as “an illness for the poor”.
But it is not just the industrial operations that are discharging toxic
gases into the air.
The severity of the economic crisis has resulted in severe limitations in
the supply of electricity by the country’s sole power utility, resulting in
regular power outages which have forced residents into the forests as they
resort to cooking using firewood.
Wood smoke, according to the Air Pollution Information Network Africa
(APINA), has been identified as a significant risk factor for acute
respiratory infections in many parts of Africa, including Zimbabwe.
Moreover, the City of Harare’s administrators have stopped collecting refuse
from the suburbs, forcing people to burn the refuse in their backyards,
resulting in the degeneration of the quality of air.
Some of the rubbish burnt in the backyards includes tyres and plastics.
Professor Nimele Sibanda, who lectures clinical immunology at the University
of Zimbabwe, says while it is difficult to describe the trend of respiratory
infections and asthma because of the absence of a baseline, he had, however,
noted an increase in the number of asthma cases in recent years.
“There’s a big number of people who have asthma now and respiratory diseases
like hay fever,” says Sibanda, who also runs a clinic in the capital.
He contends that pollution also poses a big threat to the immune system.
“Immuno-compromised persons will have a lining which is not intact – it’s
disrupted by infection and air pollution exacerbates the respiratory
(illnesses),” says Sibanda.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned Harare’s air has crossed set
standards, posing a serious risk of acidic rain and respiratory illnesses.
The WHO said the capital’s air was heavy with a concentration of sulphur and
nitrogen dioxide, caused by the combustion of hydrocarbons such as petrol,
diesel and coal.
Generally, sulphur dioxide concentrations are higher in hot summer seasons
than in the cold winter seasons, a health expert in the city indicated.
Zimbabwe’s coal contains 3 percent sulphur of which 10 percent remains in
ash after combustion.
There is no legislation governing the emission of sulphur dioxide in
Zimbabwe. The main sources of the pollutant are coal-fired fuel burning
appliances and power generation plants.
City fathers were not readily willing to release official statistics on the
pollution situation in the capital, but independent sources indicated the
annual averages for sulphur dioxide has crossed 104.28 ug/m3, way above the
WHO recommended limit of 50 ug/m3.
Some points, such as the Southerton industrial area, are hitting averages as
high as 350 ug/m3, and the gas spreads into the suburban areas of Mbare,
Highfields, Southerton and Lochnivar.
APINA reports that the City of Harare’s air quality monitoring data shows
that the sulphur dioxide concentration has “consistently exceeded the WHO
guideline value of 50 ug/m3 by a factor of 2.25 times” over a six year
period.
Other trouble pollutants monitored by the City of Harare include suspended
particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide and ammonia.
Measurements of nitrogen dioxide in Harare’s air indicate that the toxin is
still below WHO limits.
However, the decomposition of the gas decreases and this could lead to
increasing accumulative levels of the substance in the atmosphere.
Exposure to nitrogen dioxide has detrimental effects on health. A British
study recently found that children who had more exposure to nitrogen dioxide
were more likely to report more severe respiratory tract symptoms, which, in
turn, were associated with exacerbated asthma symptoms the week after the
children had a viral infection.
The automobile has worsened the air pollution nightmare; it has become the
major emitter of smoke, lead, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen
dioxide. The capital’s vehicle population has been increasing dramatically
over the years.
“The fleet of cars is doubling every 10 years,” says Feresu, adding: “It’s
second hand vehicles, from Japan and other countries, and these have high
emission levels. The economic crisis has also meant that the cars are
receiving little or no servicing, so pollution gets even more (widespread).”
APINA reports that Zimbabwe’s petrol contains about 0.6-0.8 mg Pb/l — a
measure of lead content — and this makes it “justifiable to monitor Pb
levels in the country’s urban air, especially the major cities”.
A health expert preferring anonymity indicated that acute pollution levels
in the capital were causing respiratory infections, although no study had
been conducted to affirm this.
“This is a factor in life expectancy,” the expert said.
The problem is that many Zimbabweans are not acquainted with the hazards of
breathing bad air, and would quiver at the sight of a burning cigarette than
at the sight of bellowing smoke from a worn-out vehicle or industrial
process.
They have no idea that the enemy attacking their respiratory systems is now
resident in the air, and those too scared of hurting their lungs think it
just enough to shun tobacco.
“The air is heavily polluted,” Margaret Sangarwe, secretary for Environment
and Tourism, recently told a stakeholder meeting discussing air pollution
threats.
The air pollution level, she says, was intensifying during dry cold periods
due to thermal inversions.
Levels of air pollution rise during a thermal inversion. Dense, cool air
remains near the ground and warmer air sits above it. Pollutants released
into a thermal inversion are unable to rise upward and are trapped in the
cool lower layers.
This worsens the health problems for asthmatics and aggravates respiratory
illnesses.
While the government has stepped up efforts to stem excessive pollution by
demanding that all specified processes should install pollution abatement
equipment, devices meant to reduce toxic emissions, these have been rarely
used.
Moreover, companies, battling an economic recession, now entering its ninth
year, are unable to commit scarce foreign currency to import these devices
at a time they are scrounging for foreign cash to import critical raw
materials and spare parts to remain operational.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism says the country has no capacity,
and lacks the technological equipment, to control air pollution emitted from
industry and vehicles.
A government expert earlier told this reporter that while the government and
indeed the city council had pollution monitoring processes, understaffing
was proving to be a major constraint to the operation.
Besides, most industries could not be compelled to fit their pollution
spewing factories with pollution abatement equipment because of the acute
foreign currency shortages in the country.
That’s the real price of the crisis.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

FinGaz

Rangarirai Mberi News Editor

IN a scene in Sergio Leone’s classic western, The Good, The Bad, and The
Ugly – the best movie ever made (it’s true) – Blondie (The Good), played by
Clint Eastwood, stands atop a hill and surveys the civil war carnage below,
commenting: “I’ve never seen so many men wasted so bad.”

He would have said the same, perhaps, looking back at 2007 in Zimbabwe.
Even then, perhaps, with “so many men wasted so bad”, he would still have
had someone try to raise his hopes.
In the movie, amid the war, Blondie and his partner, Tuco (The Ugly), are on
the hunt for a stash of gold – much like your modern Zimbo, trying to get
rich while everyone else is wasted (killed) around them.
Tuco tries to be hopeful: “God is on our side because He hates the Yanks”.
But Zimbabweans should take note of Blondie’s reply.
“God is not on our side,” he says, “because He hates idiots also”.
Why should Zimbabweans pay attention to this response? Well, because,
throughout the year, we suddenly had businesspeople raising their hands and
saying “only God can help us now”, as if, up to that point, they had managed
on their own.
And on the other hand, you had in government people who believed you can dig
the deepest hole for yourself and still rely on witchcraft to get you out,
and still avoid looking like one of Blondie’s “idiots”.
The year did produce some good. But the bad and the ugly dominated. Here are
a few:

The Good
In January, The Financial Gazette reports that Heinz is to sell 49 percent
of its 51 percent stake in Olivine, the country’s biggest food manufacturer.
Cottco emerges the surprise buyer, through a deal with the state Industrial
Development Corporation (IDC).
In March, Greg Hunter’s Central African Gold (CAG) pays US$6.2 million for
84.7 percent of Falgold, a deal that, as this paper points out then, spares
everybody the pain of listening to any more whining from Falgold.
ABC Holdings sells 10 percent of its stock to the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), giving it US$20million in new capital and allowing it to
clean up its “legacy issues” and begin the hunt for acquisitions. The bank
announces plans to offer retail services to a niche market.
The arrival of a possé of foreign prospectors was good news. Imara opens a
fresh Zimbabwe fund and closes it just two weeks later after it is
oversubscribed. BoE Private Clients and Sanlam also come prospecting.
Lonrho, the old capitalist, is back in town. This time, though, and perhaps
with the good sense of a wanted outlaw, it drops the “rho” part of its name
for a “Zim”.
LonZim’s first buy is a surprise, a US$5.45 million acquisition of a
majority interest in Celsys.
LonZim reckons it has won a bargain for just part of Celsys. But on the day
the deal goes down, the whole of Celsys is, in fact, valued at around
US$2.7million.
This means Gary Shayne rides off into the sunset, a fistful of dollars safe
under the saddle. Again, Shayne shows why he’s regarded one of the fastest
guns in these parts.
Renaissance Capital, “The Russians”, also buys 15 percent of CBZ.
Econet broadens its non-telecoms investments. It raises its FML stake to
21.73 percent after buying out Trust’s share. Then, last week, we report it
had bought control of Mutare Bottling Company.
Ok, so it’s rather odd for mobile phone companies to buy bottling companies.
But what the heck is Econet to do with all those Zimdollars it has lying
around? Use them as business cards?
What Econet needs is hard currency, which is why it sells 10 percent of its
shares offshore during the year to fund expansion.
But the biggest deal of the year has got to be the Meikles-Kingdom merger,
which is announced in July to a mixture of scepticism and rioting stock
prices.
But few deals go down around the ranch without Old Mutual jangling the old
spurs and waving its big gun around.
Big Green demands a rethink on valuations, but minorities in Meikles vote
the deal through.
The one upshot of the Indigenisation Bill is that OM announces it is to sell
up to 20 percent of its Zimbabwean business to staff.
Which will be interesting to see, given the insistence by OM management on
meticulous valuations.
There are two IPOs for property stocks, ZimRe Property Investments (ZPI) and
FML’s Pearl. There are questions asked of Fidelity, after it shunts
virtually its entire property portfolio into ZPI for stock.
Sinosteel, China’s second largest iron ore trader, rides in to buy 73
percent of Zimasco Consolidated Enterprises Limited (ZCE). Interesting,
though, given the 51 percent requirement.

Bad
The Financial Gazette reports in April that Transnational, Nicholas
Vingirayi’s outfit of founding shareholders in Intermarket Holdings Limited
(IHL), is looking to block ZB’s takeover of IHL.
ZB’s offer of $6 per share values IHL at $8.3 billion, a valuation that,
according to IHL, does not “pass a sanity check”.
The IMF retains Zimbabwe’s suspension, and demands “fundamental economic
reforms”. Yawn.
In June, a much-touted “social contract” turns out to be a hoax.
In September, government shows again it too has lost all faith in the
Zimdollar, listing hundreds of luxury items for duty in foreign currency.
In November, government gazettes a draft law on mine ownership. Wouldn’t be
bad, if it didn’t force mines to hand over a free 25 percent stake to the
state, plus an additional 26 percent paid for, ridiculously, by dividends
off the free 25 percent.
A survey commissioned jointly by The Financial Gazette and the CZI shows
that fewer than 5 percent of Zimbabwe’s industrialists believe the country
will recover from the crisis in the next three years.
Ugly
Surprised the “bad” bit was so short? That’s because most of the stuff is
here, in the “ugly” section, where we recall times the horse-dung hit the
fan.
Do you remember Zesa saying it was to cut power to households for up to 20
hours a day to irrigate the winter wheat?
No such thing happened. The power cuts did not go on for 20 hours. They went
on for days in some cases. And the winter wheat? Agriculture Minister Rugare
Gumbo later told Parliament it was really never watered.
It was during this year that bureaucrats started ducking and diving on
inflation. One day, after horsing around for 23 paragraphs, The Herald
wrote: “The much awaited (incomes) body comes as it emerged yesterday that
the consumer price index rose 100.7 percent in April…and the corresponding
annual inflation rate at the end of April rose to 3713.9 percent.”
Later, CSO boss Moffat Nyoni – who is perhaps too honest a man for his own
good – admitted the country had run out of inflation.
Ok, so he didn’t use those words, but that’s what he meant when he said CSO
could no longer measure inflation because there were no goods in the stores.
Then there is, surprise surprise, FML. What would we do without this lot?
They made this list last year with the fighting over board seats. Now, this
spat over a proposed merger with ReNaissance, a deal first reported by this
paper last year.
The deal would have resulted in the creation of a big group, which was to be
called Africa First ReNaissance Corporation (AFRC). A long name, but one
however better than, say, First Africa ReNaissance Corporation, which would
have left us with a vile acronym.
But the name change itself was to be one of several reasons the ZSE sent it
all down the river.
It was all cowboys-and-Indians after that; feathers flying, people yelling,
random shooting, dust needlessly kicked in the air.
In August, the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe
(Potraz) threatens to cancel Telecel’s licence over its shareholding
structure (60 percent foreign and 40 percent local). Zimbabwe’s national
nephew claims he has bought the offending 11 percent, but Orascom denies
selling.
Just when NMB Bank was beginning to roar ahead after its lean years, some
nerd nicks US$6 million and skips town.
Later, Nick van Hoogstraten rides out of NMB, fueling talk of a takeover.
Underhill, an outfit of foreign-based Zimbabweans, wins a bid for 51 percent
of David Whitehead, and is ready to plough in US$5.4 million when The Herald
reports that government has decided it would rather be the owner itself.
Then Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi announces his $7.8 quadrillion
budget. So, even with the zeros removed…
All this was ugly, but all of it was lovely compared to what began June 25.
How they all laughed — foolishly, with hindsight — at the Herald headline
that day, when Industry Minister Obert Mpofu proclaimed all prices would be
cut by half.
Thousands of arrests, home invasions and beatings later, businessmen were
not laughing when they grovelled at President Mugabe’s feet — a sensible
thing to do — flogging themselves for “letting you down as there exists a
glaring gap between your goals and our performance as an economy”.
They grovelled, they begged, lay face down, and then they grovelled again:
“From the time of the struggle for Independence to today, you have, Your
excellency, consistently pursued very clear over-arching national goals.”
Hate them for this, but what were they to do when the “Price Monitors” were
coming, a motley crew of police and militia punks, to put some fire under
business leaders used to tea and seminars?
So, then, what’s to be expected from 2008? More of the same, most probably.
As Tuco puts it: “One bastard goes in, another one comes out”.

Arrogance, imperviousness prove Mbeki's undoing

FinGaz

Mavis Makuni Own Correspondent

IN pictures taken to accompany newspaper interviews in the week leading up
to the ANC national conference in Polokwane last weekend, South African
President Thabo Mbeki looks genuinely perplexed when told of the depth of
negative feeling against and extent of opposition to his continued
leadership of the party and country.

In one such interview with journalists from the Mail and Guardian, led by
the paper's Editor, Ferial Haffajee, Mbeki seems annoyed when asked: Some
accuse you of clinging to power by seeking a third term as ANC president and
trying to block Zuma's path to leadership of the country. What is your
motive?
In response the South African President bristles: "We must get away from
this concept of terms - in terms of ANC processes, there's no such thing.
That applies to government, to the country's presidency. I've said from the
beginning: We came from an ANC generation that grew up in circumstances
where people did not battle for positions …"
This response could provide an accurate clue to the origins of Mbeki's aloof
and nonchalant leadership, which has left him repeatedly at loggerheads with
stakeholders since he succeeded the revered Nelson Mandela in 1999. It is
clear the importance Mbeki places on his liberation struggle credentials and
his intellectual prowess rendered him complacent and impervious to the need
to earn the respect and trust of the electorate. This is a common flaw among
African freedom movement cadres from a certain generation who have remained
in a time warp and expect to hold their compatriots to ransom perpetually by
brandishing their liberation struggle records.
Mandela may have been a hard act to follow but if Mbeki had not been so
engrossed in the belief that as the ANC "Crown Prince", he knew everything
and had all the answers to national problems, he would still be riding on
the coattails of his predecessor's charisma and compassion. When Mbeki was
asked shortly before taking over as state president how it felt to be
filling Mandela's shoes, he replied tellingly: "Madiba wears ugly shoes".
This was clearly an encoded response to tell the world that he had arrived
and would succeed of his own accord.
Mbeki immediately made the fatal error of climbing into an ivory tower from
where he began to dispense all-knowing pronouncements. For several years he
denied the reality of the havoc AIDS was causing within the population by
sticking to the intellectual stance of questioning the scientific causes of
the disease. In a country with one of the highest HIV prevalences and AIDS
death tolls, Mbeki declared that he did not know anyone who had died of
AIDS. It took a public rebuke by Mandela and a lawsuit by the AIDS Treatment
Campaign for Mbeki's administration to grudgingly avail free anti-retroviral
drugs to ordinary South Africans.
Mbeki displayed similar disdain for public sentiment in many other respects
on different occasions. Most recently, his approval ratings plunged to their
lowest after he dismissed Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, who was a popular and
effective deputy minister of health.
At the same time, he staunchly supported the incumbent minister of health,
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, whose suitability for the job had been publicly
questioned when revelations were made about her alcoholism and a criminal
record. Tshabalala-Msimang had caused national embarrassment by insisting at
an international AIDS conference in Canada that olive oil, beetroot and
garlic constituted an effective treatment for the disease. A related
controversy centred around Mbeki's dismissal of a newspaper expose about
conditions at Frere hospital where hundreds of babies had died.
Mbeki caused outrage by dismissing South Africa's director of public
prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli, which was seen as a blatant attempt to protect
the national police commissioner, Jackie Selebi who was facing arrest for
corruption, racketeering and defeating the course of justice. As he did,
when a hue and cry followed Madlala-Routledge's sacking, Mbeki remained
resolutely blind and deaf to the resultant backlash. The South African
President, who has been accused of trying to gag the press, also adopted a
dismissive attitude when stakeholders voiced concerns about government
interference at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). He would
not budge when complaints were made that he had stuffed the SABC board with
loyalists who were only appointed to do his bidding.
Last year, Mbeki, who is the main architect of the New Partnership for
Africa's Development sparked incredulity when he rejected a report prepared
under NEPAD'S Peer Review Mechanism which was critical of his government's
failure to tackle the high rate of crime in South Africa, its treatment of
illegal immigrants and the negative impact of affirmative action. Taking
comfort in denial and a belief that he knew better than everybody once more,
Mbeki angrily rejected all but one of the recommendations made by the panel.
Nor was Mbeki's imperviousness to public sensibilities and opinion limited
to domestic affairs. He was regularly and scathingly criticised at home and
internationally for his lacklustre handling of the Zimbabwean crisis. For
many years he insisted that "quiet diplomacy" would yield results although
all outward signs seemed to justify accusations that he was actually in
collusion with the government in Harare. In the end he admitted he had
failed and washed his hands of Zimbabwe. But instead of declining on account
of his earlier dismal performance, Mbeki accepted in March this year
appointment by the Southern African Development Community as the mediator in
Zimbabwe. A more modest person would have suggested that having failed
before, someone else should have a go.
Hopefully, the rude awakening Mbeki received on Tuesday night when he was
trounced by the less intellectually formidable but more affable and
accessible Jacob Zuma will be a lesson to him as he serves the rest of his
term as South Africa's president. The development should also prick the
consciences of other leaders in the Southern African region who rely on
Machiavellian tactics to keep their grip on power. The lesson from Polokwane
is that in a democratic atmosphere, one cannot succeed in fooling the people
through deception and spinning. Given a conducive environment, the people
will speak, as ANC delegates did on Tuesday night. The danger, on the other
hand, is that unrepentant authoritarians could see Mbeki's humiliation as an
excuse to tighten screws even further for self-preservation.
The Mail and Guardian editors who interviewed Mbeki asked him: “In covering
your presidency it's become clear that people are afraid of you. Isn't this
the reason they don't criticise you openly?” He responded: "I have heard
this and I don't understand it. Do I look as if I've got horns? It's said
that I block and inhibit open discussion. That's puzzling to me, it's
completely untrue…" But it is true as the instances cited above demonstrate.
Mbeki was just not willing to listen to any other voice but his own. What
happened in Polokwane is a victory for democracy.
Some observers say the people of South Africa may have erred by electing
Zuma, who carries considerable baggage, to the top position in the ruling
party. The people can make a mistake but as long as democratic institutions
and dispensations are allowed to continue working, they can change their
minds and correct their mistake at the next opportunity. Fears that Mbeki
may become a lame duck president for the rest of his term when ministers and
government officials may switch their allegiance to Zuma may be justified in
the short term. In the long term, however, it is not a bad idea to have
separate centres of power in the party and government as a checks and
balances mechanism.

mmakuni@fingaz.co.zw

Barons must pay

FinGaz

Comment

RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono was last week invited to
the ZANU PF special congress to explain the biting cash shortages paralysing
the country’s economy. He did not hesitate to tell it like it is.

Gono — one of the few technocrats, who speak their minds — fingered senior
ZANU PF officials as being behind the cash squeeze, which is conspiring with
the acute shortages of basic foodstuffs to dampen the excitement that
normally characterises the festive season.
“It’s not ordinary members of the party (ZANU PF) who are doing this. It’s
the top officials because as we can all see ordinary people have no money,”
he said.
There was more to come for those who thought Gono would not dare go beyond
generalising issues.
“Another problem is corruption, corruption, corruption … this country is
losing a lot of money because of top officials,” said the RBZ chief,
declaring he knew who the “cash barons” are.
To illustrate the severity of the cash leakages, Gono revealed that the RBZ
could only account for $2 trillion out of the $67 trillion pumped into the
system the previous day. The “cash barons” siphoned $65 trillion out of the
system, it is presumed.
While Gono’s conclusion is quite valid, he should not dismiss accusing
fingers pointing at the RBZ.
The appetite for cash has grown exponentially and the printing machine at
Fidelity Printers and Refiners cannot run fast enough to catch up with
rampaging inflation. Instead of readying itself for this eventuality, the
RBZ has been caught napping.
Discounting the three million Zimbabweans estimated to be in the diaspora,
the $65 trillion the central bank is referring to translates to not more
than $7 million per person, which is not enough to cater for an individual’s
daily needs.
The bank would need to inject quadrillions into the system in order to
satisfy the burgeoning demand for cash. Unfortunately, it cannot do so
without aggravating inflation, estimated to end the year at 20 000 percent.
The biggest challenge confronting the RBZ remains that of restoring public
confidence in the national payments system, which is failing to cope with
the upsurge in cheque and electronic transactions.
Instead of making life easy for clients, the Point of Sale and the Real Time
Gross Settlement systems are now a thorn in the flesh. As the country sinks
deep into a cash economy, the survival of traditional banks is now in
serious doubt, as people are now finding it convenient to keep their money
stashed under the pillow.
Admittedly, the challenges are beyond the central bank, but then Gono is the
only technocrat in government showing the courage to confront them.
But instead of sharing the little cash available and ensuring the party’s
survival at next year’s tricky elections, ZANU PF bigwigs are competing to
empty the cash vaults. If only they knew that they are digging their own
mass grave.
It cannot be members of the opposition who are only too aware of the huge
price they can pay for bending the rules.
The question, which begs an answer is: why are these cash barons not behind
bars? Is it that they are above the law? Could it be that the powers-that-be
are guilty of complicity? If the police can arrest the Attorney General, who
is the final prosecuting authority, why not these cash barons?
The cancer of corruption has been left to spread for a very long time and it
is time the powers-that-be apply chemotherapy before it becomes life
threatening.
As early as 1988, the then ZANU PF secretary-general Edgar Tekere raised the
alarm, but his courage earned him a sacking after the firebrand politician
failed to substantiate allegations of massive corruption by top ministers.
By standing for the truth, Gono has touched a raw nerve and it won’t be
surprising if the Mafia in ZANU PF were to bay for his blood.
The crackdown on corruption has been applied like a spider’s web, which
catches the small insects and lets the big ones through. Those in ZANU PF
caught in the corruption dragnet, it is said, are merely sacrificial lambs
used as pawns in the bitter ruling party succession wars.
In 1997 the Chidyausiku Commission unearthed the obscene looting of the War
Victims Compensation Fund by officials in high places but nothing was done
to bring them to book.
The political heavyweights went on to ransack the VIP Housing Scheme with
impunity. They have also helped themselves to multiple farms contrary to
government policy of one-man, one-farm. Now they are selling the diesel
sourced at ridiculous prices to sustain their farming operations and yet
they claim “Land is the Economy”. What rank hypocrisy!
Unfortunately, it is the ordinary folk paying the heavy price for the
flagrant abuse of public office and widespread looting of government
resources, through exorbitant taxes, tariffs and rates.
Government should descend heavily on the culprits. As it is, the
powers-that-be are only toying with the symptoms. It just doesn’t work.
Pumping cash into a rotten system would only address the symptoms for a
while but the root cause would remain for as long as inflation maintains its
upward trajectory.

Time to name and shame the corrupt

FinGaz

Mavis Makuni

Many will say that there was nothing
extraordinary about the ZANU PF congress held in Harare last week whose
outcome was predetermined and predictable but I say it was extraordinary
because of how much could be deduced from it.

There were the usual shrill voices of
fanatical patriots, some voices in the wilderness and as usual at a ZANU PF
jamboree, some silenced dissenting voices. I am not making this up. In the
run-up to the congress, those in the militant war veterans lobby had made it
clear that they would be out in full force to deal with any last minute
opposition to the declaring of President Robert Mugabe as the ruling party’s
candidate for general elections next year. What can observers discern from
this? For the war veterans to have seen the need to put in place such a
blatantly undemocratic contingency implies they knew of the existence of
real opposition to the declaration of the president’s candidature.
Indeed Women’s League boss Oppah Muchinguri
said as much soon after the million-man march when she said those within the
ruling party who had not attended the procession because they opposed the
president’s candidacy were in a fix because they would have “no choice” but
to accept the inevitable. But one wonders Madam Minister, whether you are
aware that in a democratic setting, thwarting those holding different views
by forcible means should not be something to celebrate and gloat about.
In a book about free speech, a writer had this
to say ; “The search for truth is an endless one. It involves the
possibility –even the inevitability – of error. The search cannot go on
unless it proceeds freely in the minds and speech of all.” This means,
according to an American jurist, not only freedom of expression for those
who agree with us, “but freedom for the thought we hate.” The open
intolerance for divergent views within the ruling party, highlighted by the
intimidating involvement of war veterans does not inspire confidence that
the ruling party can countenance dissent from other groups in the rest of
the country.
Observers got more glimpses of what kind of
democracy is practiced within the ruling party through the fracas sparked
when million-march crusader, Jabulani Sibanda tried to force his way to the
podium to address the delegates.Despite ZANU PF national chairman John Nkomo
informing him that he could not be given the floor because he was suspended
from the party, Sibanda continued to push his way through. How much respect
is there for rules and procedures within the ruling party when the authority
of the chairman can be openly defied during deliberations? Sibanda only
retreated to his seat after President Mugabe had sprung to his feet to read
him the riot act in a way he is unlikely to forget for a long time. But as
should be the case in national affairs, laws and regulations should not be
personalized so as to carry weight only when adherence to them is insisted
upon by particular individuals.
A voice in the wilderness at the congress was
that of Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono, who while addressing delegates
about the prevailing cash crisis, let it be known that the culprits were “
us chefs”.He is the only top official in the country to have consistently
spoken out against corruption and impropriety among the powerful and
influential. He now needs the support of the appropriate ministries to
translate this indignation into remedial action. The day before the
congress, President Robert Mugabe had similarly railed against greed and
avarice within the ruling party.
He conceded that most of the companies that he
has regularly accused of sabotaging the economy were owned by members of the
ruling party. “Sadly, most of the businesses are either owned or fronted by
our people – yes the same people we assisted, when yesteryear, they went
into business through various government-sponsored or initiated schemes
designed to economically empower them,” he was quoted as saying last week.
From what else has been exposed in the past, a
picture emerges showing that the culprits in most of the corruption and
rackets that have brought this country to its knees are ruling party
heavyweights and cadres. This group has been accused in the past of:
*Looting the VIP housing fund.
*Looting the War Victims Compensation Fund
*Multiple farm ownership under the land
reform programme
*Looting equipment from Kondozi Farm and
other farms throughout the country
*Abusing subsidised fuel and inputs availed
to enhance agricultural production
n Smuggling gold and other minerals, depriving
the country of foreign currency revenue
*Looting at ZISCO and other parastatals
*Abuse of farm mechanisation equipment that
was distributed recently
* Corrupt allocation of stands to relatives
and cronies under Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle.
*Involvement in the parallel money market as
“cash barons.”
The list is endless but the above tabulation
shows how extensively powerful and influential culprits are involved in
shady and corrupt deals. It is quite obvious that because of the existence
of a well established political patronage system, it is rare for people from
opposition groups to access most of the benefits and opportunities that have
resulted in rampant corruption and pillaging of national resources. One can
say with certainty that if the culprits in the rackets listed above were
from any other party, they would have been dealt with long ago.
The ruling party has cried “wolf!” about
corruption within its own ranks long enough.The question is, why does the
Ministry of Anti-Monopolies and Anti-Corruption exist when it has not lifted
a finger to deal with the above? If the government and ruling party are
serious about stamping out corruption and graft, it is time to act. The
public has heard enough about the corrupt and greedy. It is time to name
them and take action. The rest of the populace should not be made to suffer
on account of these fraudsters.
mmakuni@fingaz.co.zw

Cheap diesel floods market

FinGaz

Shame Makoshori Staff Reporter
Bumper harvest hopes dashed as farmers divert fuel to the streets
THE price of diesel went down from about $4 million per litre to between
$600 000 and $1 million per litre amid reports that farmers were pouring
their allocations for the current agricultural season into the market.

Zimbabwe’s commercial farmers were this year offered cheap fuel by the
government, which is battling to shame critics by increasing output from
farms acquired under the controversial agrarian reforms.
But instead of investing their diesel allocations on farming activities, the
bulk of the farmers were said to be diverting fuel onto the illegal market
where they are promptly paid, arguing that farming in Zimbabwe was no longer
viable.
With reports of flooding across several parts of the country, the farmers
feared poor harvests, and therefore little or no returns from cheap fuel and
other funding for production availed to them to ensure a bumper harvest.
Investigations showed that the major recipients of the fuel were commuter
omnibus operators and illegal traders who buy the fuel to sell to desperate
motorists who had been hunting for fuel to travel over the Christmas
holidays.
Most farmers were selling diesel on the black market but petrol remained
undersupplied on the market, leading to the continued increase in the price
of petrol.
The black market price of petrol remained high, with prices ranging between
$3 million per litre and $4 million per litre.
Most farming implements that were purchased by the central bank under Phase
One and Phase Two of the farm mechanisation programme are diesel powered.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono has warned that the central
bank would be forced to withdraw tractors from some beneficiaries of the
programme following reports that some of the farmers had been using tractors
for purposes other than agriculture.
Zimbabwe has made tremendous efforts to make this year’s agricultural season
one of the most successful and with the promising good rains, there were
hopes that the country would be able to come out of the perennial food
deficits and be able to produce enough food to feed the estimated 4.1
million people reported to be in need of food aid.

Millers press for fresh increase in flour price

FinGaz

Shame Makoshori Staff Reporter

THE milling industry is pressing for another increase in the price of flour
to cushion itself from escalating costs of production, The Financial Gazette
heard this week.

Last Friday, millers who attended a meeting convened by the National Incomes
and Pricing Commission (NIPC), assured the commission that the industry
would be open for business over the festive season to ensure adequate
supplies despite the unviable prices.
There has been concern that the traditional annual shutdown by industry
would worsen the shortages spawned by a government crackdown on prices.
While the state granary, the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), has a huge amount
of wheat to see the country through the festive season, maize meal supplies
are still depressed.
If approved, the new flour prices could force the NIPC to hike the price of
bread, which is now threatening the survival of the baking industry.
Bakers have since proposed that the price of a loaf of bread be increased to
$900 000 per standard loaf but their application is still to receive Cabinet’s
nod after sailing through the NIPC.
Fears are that the market could run short of bread if Cabinet, which met on
Tuesday, did not endorse the NIPC’s recommendations.
Milling industry sources who attended the NIPC meeting said the industry had
warned that companies were on the brink of bankruptcy due to uneconomic
prices and delays by the commission in processing applications for price
reviews.
Millers had long applied for an increase in the price of flour from $111
million per tonne to $275 million per tonne but the price has since been
overtaken by events.
“The commission promised to consider the application this week. Millers also
argued that selling flour at the current price was unviable considering the
high price of packaging and the power outages, which are affecting GMB in
terms of loading,” said a source. “The NIPC could not understand why the
market was starved of flour and bread when the GMB has adequate wheat. It
was explained that millers where not buying the wheat from the parastatal
because they are yet to get the correct price of flour from the NIPC,” added
the source.
Tafadzwa Musarara, chairman of the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe
(GMAZ) said he could not discuss industry-related issues in the press.
He said: “Your best bet if you want a comment would be to contact the NIPC.”
The Financial Gazette however, understands that the GMAZ chairman was among
industry players who were taken to task by the NIPC.
The NIPC angrily accused the milling industry of selling their products in
foreign currency and ditching Zimbabwe’s legal tender.

RBZ tries to unravel cash crunch mystery

FinGaz

Dumisani Ndlela Business Editor
Crack teams deployed in market
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has dispatched crack units into the
market as it seeks to unravel the conundrum over a bitter cash crunch that
has thrust the economy into unprecedented turmoil.

Sources indicated several supermarket outlets had been visited by members of
the central bank’s crack unit who demanded to see books with details of
their daily cash takings.
“They first demanded books for October, then they came back and said we
should give them our records from January this year,” a supermarket
supervisor told The Financial Gazette, describing the team members as “shock
troopers” because of their “rude and arrogant” approach.
The teams are also said to have paid visits to the banking sector.
The country, grappling with its worst economic crisis in history, is mired
in a severe cash crunch that has disrupted normal business transactions.
Banks say they are not getting enough cash from the central bank to meet
daily requirements from the public.
The RBZ blames the banks for hoarding cash in their vaults and of an illicit
liaison with cash barons moving huge sums of money from the banking sector
to fund illegal black market transactions that have fuelled inflation.
The central bank says over $60 trillion is outside the banking system and
unaccounted for.
The ordinary people have had to bear the brunt of the cash crunch as they
are unable to withdraw money from the banking system for day to day
transactions like bus fares.
The situation has been made even more desperate by the fact that the
electronic payment system, which has been stretched by an unexpected surge
in demand, has crumbled.
Moreover, most retail outlets do not have point of sale (POS) terminals for
electronic payments.
There has been a surge in the use of plastic money as a result of the cash
crunch.
POS terminals in most retail outlets, which were overwhelmed by increased
demand, were down in almost all shops across the capital this week.
But part of the POS disaster is the poor telecommunication system linking
these points of sale terminals with banking institutions, or power outages
that disrupt the system.
In several retail outlets where power had not been cut off, management
indicated that telecommunication problems had hamstrung the operation of POS
terminals.

Miners concerned at sector indigenisation

FinGaz

Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWE’S mining executives are understood to have expressed serious
concerns over proposals by the government to localise 25 percent
shareholding in foreign-held mining companies without paying for the equity.

However, it is understood Mines Minister Amos Midzi had offered no
commitment to revise the proposal, part of plans by the government to force
all foreign-owned companies operating in the country to give up at least 51
percent shareholding to black Zimbabweans.
Midzi is expected to table before parliament an amendment to the country’s
mining law to legislate for the forced expropriation of stakes in the
foreign-owned mining companies after the legislature recently passed the
Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill seeking to force the foreign companies
to give up control of their domestic operations.
The amendment would permit the government to take for free the 25 percent
shareholding in foreign-owned mining companies, while forcing them to sell
an additional 26 percent of their shares to black people.
Alternatively, 51 percent could be sold to local shareholders within seven
years, the proposals indicate.
Zimbabwe is going through its worst economic recession, now entering its
ninth year.
The economic crisis has resulted in acute foreign currency shortages, which
have in turn spawned market-wide shortages as producers grapple for scarce
foreign currency to import raw materials for production.
A mining industry representative was recently quoted saying that they were
seeking an opportunity to meet Midzi to discuss amendments to the mining
laws, indicating they were willing to make concessions.
According to a confidential document prepared by the Chamber of Mines
president, Jack Murehwa, and sent to Midzi early last year, Zimbabwe’s
mining industry is valued at more than US$20 billion. This gives the value
of the 51 percent indigenisation threshold across the sector at more than
US$10 billion.
“With the value of the mining industry businesses at more than US$20
billion, it is also the perception that neither the government nor
historically disadvantaged persons can raise the amount to purchase 50
percent shareholding in existing mining companies,” the confidential
document had indicated.
Government could, therefore, only acquire the foreign-owned shares through
expropriation, cession or legislated nationalisation, the document said.
Apparently, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono has
flatly refused to endorse “confiscation and donations” in the pending
empowerment legislation, saying any empowerment programme should help
contribute to new capital, adding value to existing operations.
“As advisors (to the government) we are not in favour of donations … black
empowerment is necessary but not through expropriation,” Gono told a meeting
of stakeholders this year, insisting he had been in a mine and knew what was
involved in running a mining project.
The Herald newspaper recently quoted Midzi saying only black people with
resources would be allowed stakes in the targeted foreign mining companies.
“It must be understood that we are not proposing to give away mines for
free,” Midzi was quoted saying, adding: “The beneficiaries would have to
raise the necessary capital in order to participate.”

Hefty rate hike stuns CIMAS members

FinGaz

Staff Reporter

CIMAS Medical Aid Society this week stunned its members after hiking
contribution rates by nearly 350 percent, triggering a sell-off.

The move, which stunned workers across the country, came soon after another
significant hike in rates by the medical aid society two months ago, which
whittled down disposable incomes and left a number of workers in the lurch.
But the latest rates hike by CIMAS created unprecedented disquiet among the
restive working population, with several workers saying they would withdraw
their policies from CIMAS.
CIMAS commands a 40 percent market share of the medical insurance business,
making it one of the biggest medical aid societies in the country.
Its client base consists largely of the private sector.
An executive with a Harare-based firm indicated that the majority of its
workers would be left without incomes should they factor in the new CIMAS
contribution rates on their salaries.
The company, the executive said, paid half of its workers’ contributions but
still the other half to be met by the workers was way above their take-home
incomes.
“It’s a desperate situation,” the executive said, indicating that many had
called their human resources department to cancel their medical aid schemes
with CIMAS or to plead with management for loans to pay for the
contributions.
Senior executives were also reportedly downgrading their policies to take
cheaper packages with the medical aid society.
The cheapest package now costs $3.6 million per member, with an equivalent
rate for a spouse, child and other dependents.
Under this package, an average family of five people would now pay $18
million.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions says most shop floor workers are
earning as little as $10 million per month.
The highest package costs $100.8 million per individual.
“It’s time I moved my policy elsewhere,” a middle manager, who claimed to
have held a CIMAS medical aid policy all his working life, told The
Financial Gazette in frustration.
Apparently, the year had opened on a very bad note for CIMAS members after
the medical aid society, which had previously reviewed its contribution
rates quarterly, increased rates in February by 100 percent.
CIMAS celebrated 60 years of existence in 2005.

An overview of the society’s operations
CIMAS Medical Aid Society operates as a mutual benefit organisation of
members who pool their resources or contributions in order to get assistance
from the funds in time of need to help pay for medical costs. This naturally
requires a relationship with other bodies in order for it to work.
These other stakeholders comprise the Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZIMA),
the National Association of Medical Aid Societies (NAMAS), member firms and
individual members.
NAMAS, which represents all registered medical aid organisations negotiates
with ZIMA, representing all medical practitioners and various other
associations that provide medical services of all kinds (e.g. radiologists,
pathologists, physiotherapists, the Private Hospital Association and others)
to set the fees and conditions of operations.
They negotiate a tariff of fees as reflected in the Zimbabwe Relative Value
Schedule. This schedule of fees and its attendant rules and regulations,
determine the fees that are to be paid by medical aid societies and the
conditions under which they pay those fees.
All medical practitioners and the allied associations that agree to and
accept these fees, can be paid on a fee-for-service basis directly by the
medical aid societies. In other words, the members of a medical aid who
utilise the services given by the providers of services do not need to have
cash to pay upfront for these services. They accept the provision of
services by signing a national claim form, which is then passed on to
medical aid societies by the providers for processing and reimbursement.
This system is also known as the direct payment facility.
Medical practitioners who wish to enter into the direct payment facility
have to be registered with the Health Professions Council in the first
instance, and then apply to NAMAS for a provider number.
Over the last few years there has been a change in that for some services
provided by direct payment providers, there is a small co-payment required
from the member. This co-payment is not claimable from medical aid
societies.
NAMAS has to satisfy itself the practitioner is registered and has
facilities that are of an acceptable standard before issuing a practice
number. This number is used by all medical aid societies for processing
claims and making payments to the practitioners.
However, not all providers of services are on this system for a number of
reasons. The choice as to whether a provider wishes to be on direct payment
rests with that provider and medical aid societies.
Those who opt out of the system are known as ‘cash providers’. This comes
about because the provider may not be willing to accept the negotiated
tariff and wishes to charge more for services. Alternatively, individual
medical aid societies may not be satisfied with the services of the provider
through perhaps, misuse and abuse or fraudulent activity by the provider. In
these cases, the concerned society will thoroughly investigate the case, put
the provider onto a cash basis, and possibly prosecute.
At present, over 90 percent of general practitioners are on the
direct-fee-for-service payment. The majority of specialists and related
associations such as private hospitals and ancillary providers also operate
on this system. Some providers prefer the cash system, as they may be
experiencing cash flow problems.

— CIMAS Medical Aid Society

History of CIMAS Medical Aid Society
PRIOR to the Second World War in 1939, discussions were held in the then
Salisbury Chambers of Commerce and Industry, in what was known as Southern
Rhodesia, on the need for some form of medical aid insurance for employees
in the private sector. At that time, members of the civil service were
already covered by a medical aid society, which is still in existence today.
The municipalities of the two major towns of Salisbury (Harare) and Bulawayo
had also introduced medical aid benefit funds. The Chambers of Commerce and
Industry felt there was a need for a medical aid society, or mutual benefit
fund, that catered for the employees in the private sector as well.
The advent of the Second World War delayed the start of the operations of
the proposed society until the October 1, 1945, when the Commercial and
Industrial Medical Aid Society opened its doors for business.
Membership was open to those firms and employees that were members of the
constituent chambers of Zimbabwe. Some interesting facts and figures reflect
the tremendous growth that the society has enjoyed.
Membership History
1946 — 2 294 members and dependants, 66 member firms, $9 946 contribution
income, claims paid $1696
1990 — 212 678 members and dependants, 14 121 member firms, $53 million and
claims paid $52 million
1996 — 384 000 members and dependants, plus 2 000 member firms, contribution
income $540 million, claims paid $500 million
1999 — 420 000 members and dependants, plus 2 000 member firms, contribution
income $1.7 billion, claims paid $1.3 billion
— Source: CIMAS website

Makoni calls for commitment from national leadership

FinGaz

Staff Reporter

POWERSPEED Electrical Limited’s board chairman Simba Makoni has appealed for
positive commitment by the country’s leadership to heal a battered economy
and chart a new course next year.

“We pray that 2008 marks the dawn of a new realism and positive commitment
on the part of the national leadership and the citizenry to genuinely and
honestly work together to solve the problems confronting us all,” Makoni
said in a statement accompanying his group’s financial results for the year
to September 30, 2007.
The appeal by the former finance minister comes against the background of an
escalating economic crisis and runaway price hikes despite a rigid price
control regime, which started with a government blitz on the business
community that forced prices down by 50 percent and triggered market-wide
shortages of basic commodities in the economy.
The blitz buried a social contract hammered out by the central bank to allow
stakeholders to work together under an agreed pact to resolve the economic
recession, now entering its ninth year.
“We approach the new year with a combination of optimism and expectation,
hoping that the national situation does not deteriorate further, but at the
same time preparing ourselves for the worst,” Makoni said.
He added: “It is only the confident belief that normalcy and prosperity will
surely return, which motivates us to persevere through the difficulties that
we encounter every day.”
Dealing with prospects for his company during the coming year, Makoni said:
“The hostile operating environment … makes it extremely difficult, if not
hazardous, to read the future.”
Powerspeed’s results for the nine months to June 2007 had been satisfactory,
but losses incurred during the last quarter had wiped out the entire
operating profit for the year under review.
Turnover rose by 18 000 percent to $443 billion, from $2.4 billion the
previous year, with gross margins of 80 percent on original costs.
This, however, had been countered by increases in expenses, resulting in an
operating loss of almost $140 billion.
“The re-valuation of foreign creditors contributed significantly to the
losses. Concurrently, stocks remain valued at original cost,” Makoni said.
The group’s properties were re-valued, giving a fair value surplus of $784
billion, resulting in a profit attributable to shareholders of $454 billion,
and an EPS of $1 186.
During the year under review, all the group’s operations were integrated
into the main Graniteside site, allowing for rationalisation of operations
and improvement of efficiency.

ZCTU sees red over NOCZIM levy hike

FinGaz

Shame Makoshori Staff Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) this week fired a broadside at
Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi for proposing a 900 percent increase in
the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) debt redemption levy during
the presentation of the 2008 budget at the beginning of the month.

In an analysis of the budget and its impact on workers, the labour body
argued that the increase in the levy would drive Zimbabwe's already
impoverished workers into the abyss as transport costs would escalate
because operators would pass on the costs to consumers.
With incomes for shop floor workers averaging $10.2 million per month, most
workers were already earning "starvation wages" that were merely 44.9
percent of the country's Poverty Datum Line (PDL), the ZCTU said.
This had forced most workers to walk to and from work make ends meet.
The labour body projected a fresh round of price increments from January 1
2008 when the new levies are set to take effect.
"The NOCZIM redemption levy was reviewed from $2 500 to $25 000 per litre
for both petrol and diesel," the ZCTU said.
"This represents a 900 percent increment. This will result in the increase
in the cost of fuel, which will in turn have a knock-on effect on retail
prices of goods and services. This will further increase the inflationary
pressures and is also tantamount to subsidising corrupt tendencies and
mismanagement within parastatals," said the ZCTU.
"The average minimum wage as at the end of October 2007 was $10.2 million,
which is 44.9 percent of the PDL as at September 2007, which are starvation
wages. Considering that a return trip to work works out at $1 million per
day, a worker therefore needs $5 million a week and $20 million per month
for transport alone. Workers therefore have to walk in order to make ends
meet. It is therefore not surprising that the brain drain is escalating."
The ZCTU argued that Zimbabwe's economic crisis was not the result of
western imposed sanctions as alleged by Mumbengegwi during the presentation
of the budget, but the result of government's implementation of wrong
policies.
"Information at hand suggests that the trade balance between Zimbabwe and
the West is favourable," said the ZCTU.
"In any event, the withdrawal of balance of payment support, lines of
credit, foreign direct investment and the so-called deliberate efforts to
undermine our economic turnaround initiatives is a direct response to the
implementation of wrong policies on the part of government and the
deteriorating internal governance."

Edgars remodels to suit volatile climate

FinGaz

Staff Reporter

RETAIL group Edgars Stores Limited said this week it was remodelling its
business to suit the changed circumstances in the country’s volatile
environment, after a price blitz in June virtually destroyed operations and
left stores empty.

Even as management reported that stocking levels had started improving
following a government price blitz that forced prices down by at least 50
percent and triggered massive commodity shortages across the country, the
group acknowledged the situation remained critical.
“Management efforts have been concentrated on remodelling the business to
suit the changed circumstances in the operating environment,” Thembinkosi
Sibanda, Edgars’ board chairman, reported to investors in a statement
accompanying interims for the 39 weeks to October 6, 2007.
“The restocking exercise will continue into the new year. The major
constraints in this regard will remain the capacity of our suppliers and the
working capital erosion due to inflation and reduced margins,” he said.
Sibanda said clothing and footwear retailing depended on a long merchandise
pipeline, starting with the placement of fabric orders and ending with the
delivery of the finished product to a store.
At the best of times, he said, this took up to six months.
But because there had been no agreement with the government over pricing
modules for clothing manufacturers and retailers between July and September,
the merchandise supply pipeline had practically dried up.
He said that when an agreement was finally reached, suppliers did not have
enough fabric in stock and the Edgars group did not have the financial
resources to re-stock depleted retail shelves.
This forced management to negotiate substantial working capital resources
with banks. An application for cheap money from the central bank’s BACOSSI
facility was made but the outcome was still pending.
“In June, the group was in a net borrowed position of $116 billion. By the
end of September we had a net cash position of $21 billion owing to
higher-than-expected sales in July and August and the depletion in stock
holdings following the price reductions,” said Sibanda.
He said the current mark-up regime precluded the company from borrowing
aggressively for restocking.

Critique of 2008 national budget

FinGaz

Economic Viewpoint with Naome Chakanya

THE 2008 National Budget needs to be analysed in the context of the severe
crisis bedevilling the economy characterised by the following:

lA cumulative economic decline of 44.4 percent during the period 1999-2006;
lHyperinflation at 7 982.1 percent in September 2007, way off the year-end
target of two digits;
lChronic shortages of foreign currency;
lErratic supply of water, electricity and fuels;
lShortages of basic commodities;
lLow capacity utilisation in industry, averaging 34 percent;
lCritical shortages of skills as the brain drain worsens;
lPoverty wages and declining levels of employment;
lInformalisation of the economy;
lInstitutional collapse and decay;
lEndemic poverty afflicting in excess of 80 percent of the population and
its feminisation and;
lPolicy reversals and contradictions.
The average minimum wage as at the end of October 2007 was Z$10.2 million
which is 44.9 percent of the Poverty Datum Line as at September 2007, which
are starvation wages. Considering that a return trip to work works out at
Z$1 million per day, a worker therefore needs Z$5 million a week and Z$20
million per month for transport alone, implying the current minimum wages
are not able to meet transport requirements alone. Workers therefore have to
walk in order to make ends meet. It is therefore not surprising that the
brain drain is escalating.
The expansion of the quasi-fiscal operation in the mid-term monetary policy
statement, necessity to import grain in view of the drought, forthcoming
elections, fiscal indiscipline among other issues, has effectively resulted
in the expansion of the budget deficit from the already difficult level of
44 percent recorded in 2006 and over 60 percent of GDP as at October 2007.
Thus, the inflationary pressures will not subside as inflation is expected
to go beyond 15 000 percent by year-end.
It is in this current context that the budgetary process must take an
inclusive, participatory approach. It is necessary to create a framework
through which key stakeholders are consulted simultaneously.
The 2008 Budget Framework
The Minister of Finance clearly stipulated the challenges being faced within
our economy which include hyperinflation, supply side bottlenecks,
undercapitalisation, shortages of foreign currency, brain drain caused by
the lack of necessary supportive incentives from the government.
The inflation target of 1 978 percent is unrealistic, given the projections
that it will rise to more than 10 000 percent by year-end 2007. The targeted
inflation level remains overly optimistic, especially given that the budget
does not clearly stipulate measures to reduce inflation. In addition, the
budget deficit forecast of 11 percent poses a challenge on the fight against
inflation. A budget deficit to GDP ratio of five percent is considered
optimal, implying as things stand, the budget deficit is unsustainable, and
with the need to import grain, coupled with collapsing service delivery, it
could worsen.
The expenditure target of Z$7.840 trillion pales in significance when
compared with the total budget revenues of Z$6.080 trillion, implying yet
another supplementary budget will have to be made to meet the actual
expenditures.
On the issue of reining in inflation by, among other things, implementing a
consistent and mutually agreed mechanism for determining prices and incomes,
it is important to note that since 2003, the stakeholders in the TNF agreed
on the principles of price management, and yet this has not been implemented
with ineffectual price controls being applied.
Sectoral budget allocations
Agriculture — The 2008 national budget has been termed the “Peoples Budget”.
The major reason being its thrust on the agriculture sector as supported by
the minister’s statement that “Since the majority of the people are engaged
in agriculture, increased support for agriculture is increased support for
the people” (Paragraph 163). However, contrary to the minister’s statement
that “Agriculture has to be given the highest priority in the 2008 budget…”
(Paragraph 161), further analysis of the vote appropriations indicate that
the agriculture sector including engineering, mechanisation and irrigation
was accorded only seven percent of the total vote appropriations.
For the 2007/2008 agricultural season to be termed the “Mother of All
Agricultural Seasons”, it should pointed out that accessible marketing
facilities, research and development, extension services, viable producer
prices and timeous availability of electricity for irrigation purposes and
other inputs among others are critical in maximising output in the
agriculture sector.
Social service
delivery allocations
Past budgets have failed to adequately provide for social service delivery
which includes education, social welfare and health care delivery especially
in the context of HIV/AIDS. The majority of people can no longer access
health care services because the care has been replaced by profit-seeking
and maximisation resulting in patients failing to seek medical services or
resorting to traditional means.
The burden has shifted to the household level and against a backdrop of mass
poverty, women have borne a disproportionate share of caring for the sick.
In the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the adequate provision of ARVs is
essential. An allocation of Z$940.9 trillion (Paragraph 242) allocated to
education, social welfare and health remains inadequate.
On the assumption that of the estimated population of 10.8 million (Labour
Force Survey, 2004), 80 percent are living in poverty, dividing the
allocation for social service delivery yields an average per capita
allocation of only Z$114 million per annum for social service delivery
(education, social welfare and health). This gives an average allocation of
only Z$38 million per capita per annum for service delivery. It has to be
pointed out that the provision of social services and in particular health
care, education and enhanced safety nets is the primary responsibility of
the state and the budget must ensure that adequate resources are provided.
Public utilities
While the allocation of the Z$146.4 trillion for addressing structural
bottlenecks in public utilities which include energy, water, and transport
among others seems to be very huge, however, the share of each of these
public utilities in the total allocation remains skewed. Of this total
amount, ZESA was allocated only 3.7 percent, rural electrification 61.5
percent, ZINWA 32.8 percent and the NRZ 1.5 percent. Given the frequent
power outages and their detrimental effect on productivity and output, the
allocation to ZESA is too little in the light of the current challenges the
company is facing. Without adequate supply of electricity, rural
electrification and ZINWA operations would remain a challenge and yet the
share of rural electrification is far greater than for the company which
supplies the electricity (ZESA)! In addition, there is also need for viable
tariffs for utilities.
Taxation policy
Tax-free thresholds — The welfare of the worker remains important for
productivity to be maximised. It has to be applauded that the tax on bonuses
was reviewed upward to reach $75 million. However, not much has been done on
the income tax threshold. The minister reviewed upwards the income tax free
threshold from Z$4 million per month to Z$30 million per month with effect
from 1 January 2008. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has always
maintained that the tax-free threshold should be linked to the PDL which, as
at the end of September 2007, stood at Z$22.7 million and was hovering near
Z$30 million as the minister was delivering his statement.
As in most cases in past budgets, the threshold is inadequate given that by
the time this will be effected in January 2008, in the current context of a
deteriorating macroeconomic environment characterised by hyperinflation and
absence of an effective measure to curb inflation, the Z$30 million would
fall behind the PDL come January 2008. In fact, when the new tax-free
threshold comes into effect in January 2008, inflation would have eroded the
intended gains. Furthermore, comparison of the figures given by the minister
reveals that workers are highly taxed, contributing 25 percent of the total
revenues while company taxes contribute only 16 percent of the total
revenues. Hence, we urge the minister to implement the proposed quarterly
reviews. Taxing someone earning below the PDL is not only immoral but also
regressive.
Tax Free Pension Contributions and Retrenchment Allowances — The non-taxable
portion of the retrenchment package was reviewed upwards to Z$1 billion
while the rentals for elderly taxpayers would be Z$25 million effective 1
January 2008. This is a very welcome development, though government should
provide support to enable retrenchees to either venture into income
generating projects or find alternative source of livelihoods, as is the
case with the social plan of South Africa.
NOCZIM Debt Redemption Levy and Carbon Tax — The NOCZIM debt redemption levy
was reviewed from Z$2 500 to Z$25 000 per litre for both petrol and diesel
effective 1 January 2008. This represents a 900 percent increment. This,
coupled with the increase in fuel carbon tax from Z$5 000 per litre to Z$100
000 effective 1 January 2008, representing a 1 900 percent increment will
result in an increase in the cost of fuel, which will in turn have a knock
on effect on retail prices of good and services and further erode the
workers’ disposable income.
Commuter Transport Operators Presumptive Tax — The commuter transport
operator’s presumptive tax has been increased to range from Z$75 million to
$200 million depending on the nature of the vehicle, effective 1 January
2008. This will also have a pass on effect, as the operators will simply
pass on the cost to the workers.
Employment Creation
It is important to note that the makeup of Zimbabwe’s unemployment level is
seriously towards young people. In seeking to incorporate youth unemployment
into the national 2008 budget, the minister allocated of $11.5 trillion
under the Youth and Development and Employment Creation Fund. On the other
hand, the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises received only 0.4 percent
of the total vote appropriations for the year. Given the extensive nature of
youth unemployment in Zimbabwe coupled with the hyperinflationary
environment, such an allocation is inadequate and the respective ministries
would find it difficult to effectively and efficiently fulfill their
mandates. Hence, the problem of unemployment and youth unemployment in
particular, will remain a challenge in the next year.
In as much as the budget tried to be gender neutral, the allocation towards
the Women and Community Development Fund of $26.6 trillion is too little. A
further analysis indicates that the share in the total vote appropriations
for 2008 for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community
Development is only 0.5 percent yet the widespread concentration of women in
the informal economy is a symptom of deeply rooted discrimination and
oppression which needs to be addressed by stakeholder driven policies on
employment. Despite the fact that the minister clearly indicated that
community-based programmes are the hub of employment creation, this
therefore means that the twin objectives of employment creation and poverty
allocation will remain a challenge for the country in 2008.
Conclusion
It can be said that the 2008 Budget carries a clear diagnosis of the
challenges that the country is facing but however fails to deliver the
prescription required to solve the deepening economic crisis, especially
inflation reduction and low productivity. Curbing inflation would require
more than an increase in agricultural production and productivity at the
grassroots levels.
There is need to unequivocally maintain an exchange rate based on inflation
differentials between Zimbabwe and her major trading partners. We note that
in the absence of adequate foreign exchange supply, the market will fail and
hence the need to take measures that normalise our relationship with the
international community so as to ensure a steady inflow of foreign currency.
While the tax thresholds for workers were reviewed upwards, the final
outcome hardly measures up to the existing hyperinflationary environment. On
the need to share the national burden, the ordinary worker has already borne
a disproportionate brunt and hence the need for other stakeholders to also
pull their weight. There is no more room for any further belt tightening on
the part of the ordinary workers who are living on starvation wages.
Naome Chakanya is a research analyst at LEDRIZ.lThe Zimbabwe Economics
Society articles are coordinated by Lovemore Kadenge and he can be contacted
on email
lovemore.kadenge@gmail.com
Cell 091 2 732 873

FinGaz Letters

 Zim being run like a private company

EDITOR — I find it hard to imagine how my brothers and sisters are suffering
in Zimbabwe and how the government will not accept blame for what it has
done.
Zimbabwe is being run like a private company. The depressing thing is that
the government continues to think what it is doing is the correct thing.
What other alternative is it going to offer the people of Zimbabwe in the
next election? Have the people not had enough?
Only recently, about 100 000 war veterans marched through the streets of
Harare to ratchet up support for the endorsement of a man who has destroyed
the economy and brought all Zimbabweans to their knees. Who is going to feed
these people now that they are back at their homes to face the harsh
reality?
Let me tell all those who think they own the lives of my brothers and
sisters that the people have had enough. Stop being selfish. Can you not see
the suffering the people are going through? Open your eyes, it’s 2007 and
you cannot make it any better.

Freedom
United Kingdom
-----------
 Open letter to RBZ governor

DEAR Governor — I write this open letter to you with a lot of grief. No
malice is intended and the experience presented herein is very true.
My wife suddenly fell ill in the early hours on December 3, 2007 and needed
immediate specialist attention.
A well-wisher rushed us to Harare Central Hospital. After four hours of
waiting for the doctor, my brother offered to foot the bills for a private
doctor.
He rushed into town and collected banking details from a well-known private
clinic and made a beeline for the bank to make an RTGS as the cut-off time
drew nearer.
Getting cash was out of the question. You are well aware of the severe cash
shortage in the country. The private clinic insisted that no payment, no
treatment.
There was a winding queue at the bank for RTGS transactions. Just after
noon, my brother phoned to say he couldn't beat the RTGS cut-off time. I
could feel tears welling in my eyes as I watched my deaf wife writhing in
pain, with my four-year-old son looking at her in confusion as to why nobody
was interested in assisting her.
I prayed and hoped that the doctor at the general hospital would at least
turn up. He finally did and I was relieved. But my relief was shortlived. He
looked at my wife and recommended a couple of tests that were required
urgently to diagnose the cause of the illness.
All these tests could not be carried out at the central hospital because the
necessary equipment was not functioning. He recommended Paracetamol to
reduce the pain.
We were back to square one. The private clinic! But no cash, no treatment!
That day was the longest in my life.
The following day, we were at the bank by 03:30hrs but already there was a
queue. When the bank opened its doors five hours later, pandemonium ensued
and the queue became useless. My brother did however, manage to submit the
RTGS forms on time but I couldn't get cash, so we left the bank and rushed
to the private clinic.
If we thought our misery was over, we were wrong! At the clinic we were told
that they would only attend to my wife after the RTGS had cleared. Their
contention being that some RTGS transactions were taking as long as 72
hours.
My wife died the following day without receiving medical attention!
Burying my wife was not easy either. The funeral parlour also insisted on
the RTGS clearance first. We could not buy enough food for the mourners, as
the vendors at Mbare musika do not accept RTGS.
It was the worst experience in living memory and the most traumatising ever.
Today when I was browsing the Internet, I saw an intriguing poll on ZBC's
Newsnet website (www.newsnet.co.zw), "Who do you blame for the cash
shortages?" The answers: RBZ — 73.95 percent, Banks — 3.54 percent and
foreign currency dealers — 22.51 percent. This actually provoked me to write
this letter to you.
I would be naive to blame you for everything that befell my dear wife. The
lack of equipment in the hospitals, the shortage of doctors in government
hospitals, etc. My wife died mainly because the national payment system has
collapsed. Nobody has faith in it anymore. That is why everyone wanted to
see money in his or her account before assisting.
We could not get cash. The facilities to take care of my wife's illness were
there, and money was there from relatives, but it was locked up in the
banks!
It is extremely naive for the RBZ to blame parallel market activities for
the shortage of cash and the collapse of the national payment system.
Zimbabweans are not that stupid. Look at the Newsnet poll for all the proof.
It is a shame that you as the governor, have decided to behave like
opposition politicians, who oppose everything for the sake of opposing, no
matter how good it is.
Everyone thinks the RBZ should have acted long ago, but because "they" said
it first, you will not act; otherwise people will think you are dancing to
their tune!
You blame parallel market activities for the cash shortages! $58 trillion in
circulation only translates to an average of less than $6 million per
individual, enough for transport fares for one week only, lunch excluded!
How many items can you buy with $6m? The bulk of business in Zimbabwe is
from informal traders. Do you really expect these people to use plastic
money? Have you ever tried to install a Zimswitch Point of Sale terminal at
Mbare Musika? Does it not make sense to you that since more than 80 percent
of Zimbabweans are not in formal employment; it means the majority of this
80 percent is involved in the informal trade. This translates to more than
50 percent of the cash outside the formal banking system because there are
no banking facilities customised for informal traders.
Are parallel market activities responsible for the near-total collapse of
Zimswitch? The more than 72 hours needed for RTGS?
Zimbabweans are not stupid. Take them for granted at your own peril.
In our neighbouring countries (Zambia and Malawi), reports say currency in
circulation is the equivalent of more than US$200-300 million (using an open
exchange rate used in their country).

TN
Harare
-----------
 Mbeki’s sincerity questionable

EDITOR — I would like to comment on the "quiet diplomacy" that President
Thabo Mbeki has adopted on the Zimbabwean crisis.
While he may seem very concerned about our situation and appear as if he is
doing something about it, his sincerity and credibility is now questionable.
I say this because Mbeki is very much aware that South Africa is the
greatest beneficiary of the crisis in Zimbabwe, particularly in light of the
brain drain situation.
The South African government is employing most of our skilled people. The
South Africans are aware that without expertise from Zimbabwe, they are
bound to suffer humiliation should they fail to meet their project deadlines
ahead of the 2010 World Cup. They need the engineers and they know that once
the Zimbabwean situation is rectified as soon as possible they are likely to
face a crisis themselves.
I suppose Mbeki likes the status quo and will try as much as possible to
"bark" at anyone who might want to interfere with his "mediation" effort.
Outright malevolence one may say! Thanks for the effort Mbeki, but your stew
has taken too long to be ready. Give other competent people a chance. Move
over!

Pinocchio Woodwork Mlilo
Harare
---------------
 A short 8 years

EDITOR — Your paper is the best as you always keep me updated about the
situation in Zimbabwe — a country that was so promising, but has now been
reduced to a basket case.
It is so painful to see a country I saw as the Switzerland of Africa reduced
to this poor state in no more than eight years and there seems to be no
solution available to right the situation.
Thank you for your informative stories.

Otawo Mtrue
Zambia
--------------
 Mutambara self-centred and arrogant

EDITOR — I refer to Geoff Nyarota's articles in the Zimbabwe Times last
week. He writes that while Arthur Mutambara was at Harvard attending some
course three weeks ago, he took the opportunity to invite him to his house
for lunch as well as to meet a group of some 20 Zimbabweans living in the
Massachusetts area.
I was one of those who attended. Indeed, I was deeply disappointed by
Mutambara. Yes, I had read all the negative press reports and thought that
maybe the reports were exaggerated. No, they did not exaggerate!
Here is a so-called 'leader' of a party who is pompous, self-centred and
arrogant. Simply not a man of the people!
The whole time he was talking, I kept thinking to myself how sad is it that
Mutambara has not learnt anything in his two years as faction leader. Two
years ago, fresh on the scene, he was accused of arrogance and pride. Two
years later, he is still arrogant. He is not showing capacity to learn from
his mistakes and change. Yet he is one of the brightest minds in the
country, at least in terms of academic achievements!
It got me thinking that this arrogance will be his undoing! It also raises
the question whether Mutambara is really that smart. Why would a clever
person continue to do the very same things that work against him? He is a
self-destructing person.
After he left, I conversed with a friend about our encounter with the
Professor. My friend was astounded that the faction could choose someone so
uncouth and so brash as their leader, but then again maybe even they had not
known the extent of the brashness and how it would turn out to be a
liability for the faction.
My friend was also astounded that, having seen that their leader was so
unrefined they had not sent him on some sort of media/communications
training.
I, on the other hand, am not actually convinced that Mutambara needs media
training. How exactly will a two-week media-training course undo years of
bad manners, lack of etiquette, pomposity, delusions of grandeur, bullying
tendencies, autocracy and aggression.
Clearly, beneath all that aggression, there is a lot of insecurity (remember
people who bully others are often acting out their own inadequacies and
insecurities).
These are fundamental character flaws and he is a 41-year-old man. Assuming
even that he wanted to change, where does he even begin? A leopard does not
change its spots.
Professor, given your pre-disposition, please do some introspection and
rethink the career path you are pursuing. Perhaps you are not cut out for
politics.
It is quite clear that your political career is not going anywhere, at least
from our point of view, the people who vote and determine these things.
And believe me, we have decided that it is not going to go anywhere! We
cannot go from (President) Mugabe to Mutambara. That would be to jump from
the frying pan straight into the fire.
As a compromise, maybe you can formulate political strategy behind the
scenes where your analytical skills could be handy but you cannot be the
face and leader of your party, you cannot be the one who interfaces with the
public.
Look at United States politics: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton with their
impressive credentials manage to humble themselves. They have been going
around from door to door in the cold weather and snow, speaking to the
electorate and trying to convince them to vote for them. You must stoop low
so that in turn, the people will raise you.
You can't be the shasha all the time. And all these courses you are
attending at prestigious institutions like Harvard might be good for your
sense of validation and ego ("Yes, I am brilliant, I was at Harvard"), but
at the end of the day they will count for nothing, if people do not connect
with you. It's about Emotional Quotient (EQ) not Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
As Americans would say, "I'm not feeling you."

Also educated but not arrogant
Boston