http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News, Politics
ZANU PF is deeply
divided over the July 31 general elections deadline set by
the
Constitutional Court (Concourt), with one group warning the ruling puts
the
party, currently reeling from factionalism and infighting, in a fix as
it is
not yet ready for polls.
Report by Faith Zaba
Although Zanu PF
bigwigs are publicly falling over each other to welcome the
Concourt
judgment delivered last week ordering President Robert Mugabe to
proclaim
poll dates by the end of next month, senior party officials who
spoke to the
Zimbabwe Independent in private said the ruling was a “pyrrhic
victory” for
them.
A top Zanu PF official said: “The party is not agreed over this.
There are
those who strongly feel we should have early elections when the
president
(Mugabe) is still fit to campaign. These people believe that
although we
have not held our primaries, we can easily go through them and
whip people
into line and go for elections anytime and win.
“However,
there is also a group which strongly believes the party is not
ready for
elections, largely because of primaries and infighting. This group
strongly
believes if we rush the processes and go to elections in July
without first
closing ranks, we will lose.”
Another official said Zanu PF was now
waiting for direction from Mugabe who
has said he will comply with the
ruling. Compared to MDC-T, the
faction-riddled Zanu PF appears to be much
less prepared for elections by
July 31.
While the MDC-T has held its
policy conference from which its manifesto will
be derived, and is almost
done with primaries which end this weekend, Zanu
PF is still haggling over
guidelines for the internal polls.
Zanu PF is also yet to finalise its
manifesto premised on its controversial
indigenisation policy which has of
late left the party and government
divided as senior officials clashed over
it in public amid allegations of
patronage and corruption.
Fireworks
are also expected in Zanu PF when it decides the list of women and
senators
to be elected through proportional representation.
The party is expected
to consider a divisive proposal from the Women’s
League to reserve certain
constituencies for women.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News, Politics
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe is panicking over the extraordinary Sadc elections
summit on
Zimbabwe postponed from Sunday to a date yet to be announced
following his
anxious plea to the Sadc facilitator, South African President
Jacob Zuma and
his regional colleagues, to give him more time to put his
house in order, it
has emerged.
Owen Gagare/Faith Zaba
Diplomats said this week after
failing to convince Sadc leaders the summit
was unnecessary as there is now
relative peace and stability before
elections, Mugabe was under pressure
over regional efforts to come up with a
final roadmap to ensure free and
fair polls at their next summit.
One Sadc diplomat said Mugabe — who was
still out of the country by
yesterday — spent the last 48 hours frantically
trying to get the meeting
postponed to give himself more time to prepare his
defences ahead of the
do-or-die summit.
“President Mugabe
communicated with President Zuma, asking for the summit to
be postponed and
after extensive consultations, it appears the meeting will
be held next
week,” the diplomat said.
“President Zuma consulted widely because this
is a critical meeting which
every Sadc leader is expected to
attend.”
Spokesperson of South Africa’s Department of International
Relations and
Co-operation, Clayson Monyela yesterday confirmed the summit
had been
postponed, but could not give the reasons and new
dates.
Sadc executive secretary Tomaz Salomao said yesterday Zuma was
still
consulting to secure a quorum before new dates could be
announced.
“We are still consulting so that we get a quorum. A statement will
be issued
on the issue,” he said.
Mugabe, who used to rule the roost
in Sadc, was reportedly arm-twisted by
Zuma and other regional leaders
during the Sadc meeting held on the
sidelines of the recent African Union
general assembly in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, on May 26 to accept an
extraordinary summit to assess the
situation in Zimbabwe before
elections.
Diplomatic sources say the next meeting would be crucial,
particularly after
the Constitutional Court (Concourt) ruling ordering
Mugabe to proclaim dates
for elections by July 31, a development which
dramatically raised the stakes
ahead of the summit.
The sources say,
fearing he would be cornered over the preparations for
elections and the
dates issues, Mugabe sought to delay the summit to
mobilise his allies in
the region, who mainly include Zambia, Malawi and
Namibia. The other
countries are allied to South Africa.
They say Mugabe is strongly against
the summit as he does not want scrutiny
before the crucial elections. After
the Addis Ababa meeting, he returned
home claiming the next summit will be
limited to elections funding issues, a
position Zuma and other leaders have
rejected insisting it would take stock
of the environment, looking into the
Global Political Agreement (GPA),
elections roadmap and reforms ahead of
polls.
Diplomatic sources said Mugabe, who left the country for the Tokyo
International Conference for African Development on Tuesday last week and is
only expected back today, contacted Zuma on Wednesday requesting
postponement. Mugabe’s call triggered a flurry of meetings and consultations
both in Zimbabwe and throughout the region, culminating in Sadc leaders
agreeing to postpone the summit.
“Mugabe contacted Zuma and told him
he was not ready for the summit and
needs time to receive briefings and
consult over a number of issues,
including the implications of the Concourt
ruling. He basically said he was
not ready for the summit and asked him to
communicate with other regional
leaders,” said a diplomat.
“Zuma then
phoned his political advisor Charles Nqakula, who got in touch
with
negotiators from other parties to hear their views. After consulting
other
regional leaders, Mugabe was initially given 24 hours to prepare, but
he
said he could not make it.”
Sources said Zanu PF then wrote a formal
letter to Sadc yesterday requesting
for more time to prepare for the
summit.
“President Zuma is still consulting to try and find a suitable
day for the
summit, which most heads of state and government are comfortable
with. From
what we have been briefed so far, it seems the Sadc leaders have
domestic
commitments between Monday and Wednesday. Remember these leaders
were also
in Japan with Mugabe,” said the diplomatic source.
Mugabe’s
postponement request came at a time Zuma’s facilitation team was in
the
country to meet negotiators, the co-chairs of the Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to assess the
country’s preparedness for polls.
The spokesperson for the
facilitation team, Lindiwe Zulu, this week said
Sadc was still insisting on
the full implementation of the GPA and the
election roadmap despite the
Concourt ruling.
Zimbabwe is still struggling with election
preparations.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News, Politics
THE MDC party
led by Professor Welshman Ncube has once again ruled out plans
for a grand
coalition with other political parties to remove President
Robert Mugabe
from power in the forthcoming make-or-break elections to be
held this
year.
Report by Elias Mambo
On Wednesday MDC-T leader Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met with MDC
deputy president Edwin Mushoriwa,
Zapu president Dumiso Dabengwa, Rekerai
Semwayo of Zanu Ndonga and
Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn leader Simba Makoni after
which they ganged up to resist
Mugabe’s bid to stampede the nation into
elections without
reforms.
Sources who attended the meeting told the Zimbabwe Independent
Tsvangirai
took advantage of the gathering and tried to push for a grand
political pact
in the next election.
MDC-T insiders say the coalition
against the court ruling “may sow seeds for
a grand pact against Mugabe in
the forthcoming elections”.
“This is the beginning of something great
aimed at unseating Mugabe in the
forthcoming elections,” said one senior
MDC-T official. “We hope the seeds
sown today will grow until a pact is
formed in the bid to defeat Mugabe and
Zanu PF,” the official
said.
However, this view is not shared by the MDC, which has since
dismissed talk
of a political pact with Tsvangirai.
In an interview
with the Independent yesterday, Ncube said his party will
not entertain any
coalition prospects with the MDC-T. “I am tired of these
coalition stories,”
he said.
“We have a party position and our party spokesperson can inform
you of that.
I have said it over and over again that we are not getting into
any
coalition with the MDC-T,” Ncube said.
Ncube is angry Mugabe and
Tsvangirai have been excluding him from principals’
meetings, violating the
Global Political Agreement and Sadc resolutions. “We
now have an alliance
between Tsvangirai and Mugabe which also must mean that
we now have an
alliance between Zanu PF and MDC-T which is working
tirelessly against the
MDC that I lead,” Ncube has said in the past.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News, Politics
A
COTERIE of Zanu PF political hardliners desperate to stampede the nation
into general elections after last week’s controversial and widely criticised
Constitutional Court ruling, which they are linked to, is plotting to make a
court application in a bid to shorten the mandatory 30-day voters’
registration exercise to ensure it runs concurrently with related processes
to meet the July 31 deadline.
Report by Owen Gagare
Informed
sources said it was likely another “concerned citizen” would soon
mysteriously emerge through the courts claiming the compulsory 30-day
voters’
registration, which in terms of the law starts soon after
publication of the
new constitution, actually started on May 23 despite that
the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Rita Makarau and
Registrar- General
Tobaiwa Mudede confirmed this week the process will start
on Monday.
The new constitution was signed, gazetted and published on May
22.
Sources said realising the July 31 deadline for elections is
technically
impossible to meet if the country conducts a 30-day voter
registration
starting on Monday and takes into account other related
matters, Zanu PF
officials are working behind the scenes on a plan to use
the courts to
shorten the legal time of the processes to suit their
political designs.
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF have since 2011
been demanding early
elections in vain. However, last week’s court ruling
suited their political
agenda.
Mudede announced on Wednesday the
30-day mandatory voter registration would
start on Monday. If the 30-day
voters’ registration process starts on Monday
and follows the legal route,
it will end around July 9.
After that the president can then proclaim
dates for elections. Legally, the
nomination court can only sit 14 days
after the proclamation of elections
dates.
There has to be 30 days
between nomination of candidates and polling day.
If voters’ registration
ends around July 9, nomination could then follow on
July 23, meaning polling
day which must be a month after that would fall
around August 23, a day
before Zimbabwe holds the United Nations World
Tourism Organisation general
assembly in Victoria Falls. The conference runs
from August
24-29.
But Zanu PF hardliners – emboldened the Constitutional Court
ruling after an
application by former journalist Jealousy Mawarire — are
said to be working
on an application to seek an order saying the 30-day
mandatory voter
registration started on May 23.
Although Mawarire,
executive director of the shadowy Centre for Elections
and Democracy in
Southern Africa, was widely thought to be working with Zanu
PF politburo
member Jonathan Moyo and certain state actors, has denied the
reports saying
he was acting independently.
Moyo this week claimed in a local
state-controlled daily on Monday the
30-day voters’ registration started on
May 22, suggesting this was a shared
view in some Zanu PF circles
considering information from our sources.
“Anyone who thinks that the
constitutionally mandatory 30-day period for
voter registration is yet to
commence is living in cuckoo land,” he said.
“The unassailable
constitutional position is that the 30-day period in
question started on May
22, 2013 when President Mugabe assented to and
published the new
constitution in the Gazette. What this means is that –
constitutionally –
today (Monday) is the twelfth day of that mandatory
30-day voter
registration exercise,” Moyo claimed.
Trying to seize on the technicality
that the 30-day voters’ registration
exercise must start after the
publication of the new constitution, Moyo
seemed to confirm reports some
Zanu PF officials were planning to seek a
court order by proxy to stampede
the nation to meet the July 31
Constitutional Court deadline.
“This
position is very clear from the reading of Section 6(3) of the Sixth
Schedule of the new constitution which provides that, ‘The Registrar-General
of Voters, under the supervision of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, must
conduct a special and intensive voter registration and a voters’ roll
inspection exercise for at least 30 days after the publication day’,” he
said.
Constitutional Court ruling opens floodgates for more
applications
LAST week’s Constitutional Court ruling has opened the
floodgates for more
election-related applications as the country tries to
come to terms with the
ruling that ordered polls to be held by July
31.
Yesterday a minor political party, Zimbabwe Development Party led by
Kisinoti Mukwazhe, filed an application to compel government to give it
US$1,5 million to enable it to prepare for the forthcoming general
elections.
Prior to that South African based businessman Mutumwa
Mawere filed an
application to stop the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)
from conducting
the voter registration exercise until the issue of the
citizenship status of
Zimbabwean –born persons who are holders of foreign
citizenship by
registration is clarified.
Mawere was barred from
registering as a voter because he is now a South
African citizen by
naturalisation.
Indications are there will be a number of
election-related applications that
will be filed with the Constitutional
Court in the next weeks.
In a court application lodged with the
Constitution Court yesterday, ZDP
cited justice minister Patrick Chinamasa,
Constitutional and Parliamentary
Affairs minister Eric Matinenga, Zec
chairperson Rita Makarau and Finance
minister Tendai Biti as 1st, 2nd, 3rd
and 4th respondents.
“In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Chapter
4, Part 2, section 67 (4)
states that “…for the purpose of promoting
multi-party democracy, an Act of
Parliament must provide for the funding of
political parties”, meaning all
political parties registered with the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the
applicant is such,” read his
applications.
“The applicant is entitled to material which includes funds
to enable it to
prepare fully for the forthcoming general elections and
requires at least
US$1,5 million…”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News, Politics
Reforming
Zimbabwe’s security sector is key to ensuring that the upcoming
general
elections are credible, free and fair.
By Human Rights Watch
The
elections could usher in a government that would introduce and implement
far-reaching reforms in the security sector and in other sectors.
The
current unity government has, for various reasons, failed to advance
such
important reforms, many of which have a huge bearing on the human
rights
situation in the country, especially around elections.
The new
constitution, signed into law by President Robert Mugabe on May 22
2013
following a March 16 referendum and the approval by the Zimbabwe
parliament,
replaces the 1979 Lancaster House Constitution.
The new constitution may
prove beneficial to the electoral process as it
prohibits any changes to the
electoral law once elections have been called.
Also, it restores
citizenship and voting rights to those born in Zimbabwe to
a parent or
parents with citizenship of another Southern African Development
Community
(Sadc) country, but resident in Zimbabwe.
While very important, the new
constitution is only one of the reforms
required for an environment
conducive for credible elections.
More crucial for the elections — and
the government that comes to power —
will be the role played by Zimbabwe’s
state security forces, particularly
the army, police, and the Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
The security forces have a long history
of partisanship on behalf of Mugabe
and Zanu PF, one of the parties in the
current unity government and the
former ruling party. Since Independence in
1980, the army, police and CIO
have operated within a system that has
allowed elements within their ranks
to arrest, torture and kill perceived
opponents with impunity.
As such, reforming the security sector is
essential in ensuring that
elections due by October 29 2013, are credible,
free and fair. There are
expectations that the elections would usher in a
democratically-elected
government with interest in addressing the country’s
longstanding and
serious human rights issues.
But as things stand,
the chances of having free, fair and credible elections
are slim,
particularly given the stalled security sector reforms and reforms
in other
sectors.
This report is based on research conducted by Human Rights Watch
(HRW) in
Zimbabwe’s Harare, Bulawayo, the Midlands, Manicaland, Mashonaland
East,
Central and West provinces in November and December 2012, and in
February
this year.
The report illustrates how the partisanship of
the security forces’
leadership has translated into abuses by these forces
against the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) formations and civil
society organisations
across the country and in political
interference.
HRW interviewed over 50 victims of abuses, legislators,
journalists, members
of the army and police, lawyers, and rights activists.
We also reviewed
Zimbabwe’s Lancaster House constitution and the new
constitution, various
laws and regulations, police reports, newspaper
accounts and reports by
local human rights organisations.
There is an
urgent need, ahead of the elections, for Zimbabwe’s security
forces to be
drastically reformed, to create a political environment
conducive for
holding non-violent and credible elections. Should the
security forces fail
to adopt a professional, independent and non-partisan
role during elections,
the new constitution and other recent reforms
including the setting up of a
new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) and
the licencing of private daily
papers, may be insufficient to deliver the
elections needed to put Zimbabwe
on a democratic and rights-respecting
track.
Institutional reforms
have not been introduced by the power-sharing
government consisting of Zanu
PF and the two formations of the MDC. Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai heads
the larger formation of the two MDC
parties.
The unity government was
established under the 2008 Global Political
Agreement (GPA), which was
underwritten by Sadc and the African Union (AU).
It was intended to make
institutional and legal reforms to create a
conducive environment for the
holding of free and fair elections.
However, the outcome of the GPA was a
Zanu PF-dominated government with
significantly more power than the MDC
parties.
Zanu PF has used its dominance to frustrate or block reform
efforts.
Zimbabwe’s security forces, notably the military, have, for several
years,
interfered in the nation’s political and electoral affairs in ways
that have
adversely affected the ability of Zimbabwean citizens to vote
freely.
This was particularly evident during the 2008 elections where the
army
played a major role in supporting widespread and systematic abuses that
led
to the killing of up to 200 people, the beating and torture of 5 000
more,
and the displacement of about 36 000 people. Since then, the
leadership of
the military, police and CIO, all appointed by Mugabe, remain
unchanged, as
have their clear, public and vocal support for Mugabe and Zanu
PF.
The partisanship of the security forces’ commanders has translated
into
abuses by these forces against MDC members and supporters, and civil
society
organisations. Although the Lancaster House and the new
constitutions, as
well as various laws, require neutrality and impartiality
from the security
forces, no effort has been made to enforce
them.
Beyond the open endorsement of Zanu PF, the security forces have
been
deployed across the country where they have intimidated, beat and
committed
other abuses against Zimbabweans perceived to be supporting the
MDC or
critical of Zanu PF officials in government.
No members of the
security forces are known to have been disciplined or
prosecuted for acting
in a partisan manner or committing criminal offences
against the MDC and its
supporters. Concerns about the role of the security
forces extend not only
to situations prior to election day and the voting
itself, but to the
critical post-elections period.
Instructively, the CIO has no legislative
framework guiding its
institutional set-up and operations. It is a
department within the President’s
Office — the Department for State Security
— with a minister responsible for
it and a director-general running. Its
operations are shrouded in secrecy.
The CIO has operated more as the
intelligence arm of the Zanu PF and has
been implicated in serious human
rights abuses against Zanu PF’s political
opponents.
The unity
government, with support from Sadc and the African Union, should
urgently
take steps to ensure the political neutrality of the security
forces, namely
by investigating and prosecuting alleged abuses by security
force personnel,
publicly directing the leadership of the security forces to
carry out their
responsibilities in a professional and impartial manner, and
appropriately
punishing or prosecuting those who fail to do so.
Urgent reforms are also
needed to increase the likelihood of credible, free
and fair elections.
These include electoral reforms to ensure the
independence and enhance
professionalism of Zec and an updated voters’ roll
under Zec’s exclusive
control.
Civil society groups, including human rights organisations,
should be able
to freely conduct voter education across the country. State
media should
give equal access to all political parties without bias or
favour, and laws
infringing on the right to freedom of expression should be
amended or
revoked.
Finally, there should prompt deployment of
long-term domestic, regional and
international election observers with
unfettered access to all parts of the
country.
Human Rights Watch is
an international non-governmental organisation that
conducts research and
advocacy on human rights.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in Politics
LAST week the
newly established Constitutional Court handed down its first
judgment in the
case of Jealousy Mbizvo Mawarire v Robert Gabriel Mugabe
N.O. and Ors
CCZ1/13.
Column by Derek Matyszak
Mawarire had brought an urgent
application “against” the president in a
successful attempt to provide legal
cover for Mugabe to do that which
political constrains prevented — call
elections as soon as possible.
The MDC formations and Sadc had been
placing Mugabe under intense pressure
to delay the polls, to allow time for
the implementation of various
democratic reforms. They were supported in
this approach by Section 58(1) of
the constitution which
provides:
(1) A general election and elections for members of the
governing bodies of
local authorities shall be held on such day or days
within a period not
exceeding four months after the issue of a proclamation
dissolving
parliament under Section 63(7) or, as the case may be, the
dissolution of
parliament under Section 63(4) as the president may, by
proclamation in the
gazette, fix.
The section refers to two methods
by which parliament might be dissolved:
through a presidential proclamation
to this effect or on account of the
expiry of the five-year term of
parliament on June 29, 2013 (Section 63(4)).
Whether the dissolution is
by way of a proclamation or on account of the
automatic dissolution on June
29, an election must be held “within a period
of not exceeding four
months”.
Thus, as the dissenting judges Luke Malaba and Bharat Patel
ruled, the
provision clearly allows for the elections to be held as late as
October 29,
four months after automatic dissolution.
The new
constitution provides that for the first seven years of its life,
the bench
of the Constitutional Court (“Concourt” as lawyers like to say)
will
comprise the members of the current Supreme Court.
Thus judges, who had
adjudicated upon constitutional matters in the past,
would continue to do so
as Concourt judges, and this, of course, includes
the Chief Justice Godfrey
Chidyausiku.
It was not so long ago in one such matter (J. Moyo & ors
v Zvoma Anor SC)
that the chief justice had effectively stated that if the
constitution
provides something in clear and unambiguous terms then that is
what must be
applied. Yet what Malaba and Patel held to be the clear and
unambiguous
meaning of Section 58(1) would yield a result unfavourable to
Mawarire and
his supporters.
Writing the judgment for the majority,
Chiyausiku argued as follows.
What if, he said, one were to read Section
58(1) as if there were a colon
after the word “on” in the
provision?
The section would then read like this: “Section 58(1): A
general election
and elections for members of the governing bodies of local
authorities shall
be held on: such day or days within a period not exceeding
four months after
the issue of a proclamation dissolving parliament under
Section 63(7) or, as
the case may be, the dissolution of parliament under
Section 63(4) as the
president may, by proclamation in the gazette,
fix.”
The meaning would then be that the election had to be held “on” the
dissolution of parliament and not “within a period not exceeding four
months” thereafter. Thus, said Chidyausiku, the provision is capable of two
meanings and ambiguous. And when the court is faced with an ambiguous
provision, it must choose the meaning which does not lead to an
absurdity.
The chief justice then went on to agree with the applicant,
that it would be
absurd to allow a four-month gap between the dissolution of
parliament and
an election. Such a situation would violate the principle of
separation of
powers, as there would be no legislature to act as check-upon
executive
powers and the president would have to assume the role of the
legislature,
and make laws by decree.
The judgment is problematic for
numerous reasons. Most obviously, the real
absurdity lies in inserting a
colon into the section when none exists. The
insertion of punctuation can
dramatically change the meaning of a sentence.
To give a worn example:
“While the mother was cooking, the baby, her brother
and the dog were
sleeping” is very different from “While the mother was
cooking the baby, her
brother and the dog were sleeping”.
Inserting the colon in Section 58(1)
after the word “on” has the effect of
removing the application of the phrase
“within a period not exceeding four
months after” from the portion of the
section referring to automatic
dissolution under 63(4). With a proper and
grammatical reading of the
sentence, the phrase must apply to dissolution by
proclamation and to
automatic dissolution.
The second difficulty is
that, while it may be democratically undesirable
for the legislature to be
absent for extended periods, it is certainly not
absurd. Several other
jurisdictions including Malaysia, Ireland, Bulgaria
and Canada allow for a
hiatus between the dissolution of parliament and
elections.
In all
previous elections in Zimbabwe, the dissolution of parliament has
preceded
the election. Rightly or wrongly, this situation is specifically
catered for
by our legislative architecture, which the Concourt is sworn to
uphold. For
example, aside from Section 58(1) itself: The current
constitution allows
for parliament to be prorogued (to be in recess) by the
president for a
period of up to six months.
Parliament was dissolved on March 28 2008
before the elections of that year
and only reconvened on August 26 2008,
thus being dissolved for a period of
five months without anyone claiming an
absurdity.
The current constitution stipulates that no person may be a
minister for
longer than three months, without being an MP, but then
provides that the
period may be extended for longer than three months if
parliament is
dissolved in this period.
Thus the law clearly
contemplates the executive continuing to function in
the absence of
parliament for periods of more than three months.
The old and new
constitution both provide that the legislature consists of
parliament and
the president. Our law specifically allows the president to
legislate by
“decree” under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures)
Act.
This
is a law which has been repeatedly criticised and challenged by human
rights
activists, but as often upheld and enforced by some of the same
justices of
the Concourt, who now claim a hitherto undisclosed abhorrence
for this kind
of legislation.
The purpose of the Act is precisely to allow the
president to make laws,
which override any of those made by parliament, in
periods when parliament
is dissolved.
Thus, while the absence of the
legislature for extended periods may be
undesirable in democratic terms, it
is specifically contemplated and
provided for in our constitution, both the
old and the new. The Concourt
thus found an absurdity where none exists to
resolve an ambiguity which it
created.
It cannot simply alter the
provisions of the constitution by inserting
colons where none exist, simply
because it believes that this will make the
constitution more
democratic.
Writing the constitution is the job of the legislature and a
basic principle
of the separation of powers that the court claimed to hold
so dear.
The order issued by the court that the election must be held by
the July 31
is also ill-conceived. While claiming that the July 31 date was
selected
because the June 29 deadline can no longer be met, the Concourt
failed to
consider other constitutional and legislative provisions which
make it
impossible for the July 31 deadline to be met also.
This is
so for the following reasons: The new constitution stipulates that
there
must be a 30-day intensive registration period before the election. If
this
period is deemed to have started on the June 5, it will end on the July
4.
The Electoral Act provides that no registration may take place after
nomination day. Thus the earliest date for nomination day is July
4.
The new constitution also provides that there must be a minimum of 30
days
between nomination day and the election, taking the earliest date for
an
election, if these laws are to be complied with, to August 3. The
president
cannot comply with both the Electoral Act and the constitution and
the
Concourt order all at the same time given these realities.
The
new constitution provides that the Electoral Act cannot be changed once
the
election dates have been announced. But the Electoral Act must be
changed to
accommodate the new provisions in the constitution relating to
proportional
representation before the election. Parliament, dominated by
the MDC
parties, is now unlikely to allow an early passage of the amending
Bill.
The new constitution provides that there must be at least 44
days between
the announcement of the election date and the election itself.
If the
amendment to the Electoral Act is only passed after June 17, and the
president waits for the change to take place, as the constitution requires,
before announcing the election dates, there will be less than 44 days left
between the announcement of the election date and July 31. In this
situation, once more, the president will not be able to comply with both the
constitution and the Concourt deadline.
The 44 days is the minimum.
The Act currently provides for a longer period
of a minimum of 56 days. If
there is to be compliance with this provision of
the Act (which was
specifically inserted into the law by negotiation between
the main political
parties in 2012 to accommodate complaints by the Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission that any shorter period creates logistical
difficulties), the
earliest date for an election would be mid-August.
The Concourt surely
does not expect the legislature to draft amendments to
enduring legislation
in such a way as to take into account an ad hoc court
order arising from a
specific breach of the constitution by the president.
This, indeed, would
violate the principle of separation of powers.
None of these issues, of
vital importance, were considered by the Concourt
when granting the earlier
election date desired by a section of Zanu PF.
Despite the seemingly clear
provisions of Section 58(1), perhaps it was
naive to expect a new
jurisprudence to emerge from a Concourt comprised of
the same old
judges.
With a Sadc summit pending, the question arises as to whether the
regional
leaders will, in the words of Malaba, “refuse to have wool cast
over the
inner eye of (their minds) on this matter”.
Matyszak is a
lawyer and researcher with the Research and Advocacy Unit. To
read the full
version of his article visit www.researchandadvocacyunit.org
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News,
Politics
Cracks are widening in Zanu PF’s deeply divided Bulawayo
province with new
clashes among party bigwigs in the province over the
unilateral co-option of
provincial executive members by chairman Callistus
Ndlovu intensifying.
Report by Brian Chitemba
The fresh conflict
is threatening to further weaken the party ahead of the
crucial elections
the Constitutional Court ordered should be held by July
31.
Senior
Zanu PF officials told the Zimbabwe Independent this week that
Ndlovu, who
was appointed to head Bulawayo by the politburo, co-opted about
50 members
into the provincial executive — a move said to be a grand plot to
promote
his supporters as factional battles escalate.
The controversial co-option
saw former Bulawayo chairman Isaac Dakamela,
Peter Nyoni — husband to Small
and Medium Scale Enterprises minister
Sithembiso Nyoni — and provincial
women’s league boss Eve Bitu bouncing back
into the provincial
executive.
This has sparked the ire of senior party officials who accuse
Ndlovu of
trying to resuscitate his political power base by promoting close
associates.
Ndlovu ascended to the influential post at the
instigation of his Bulilima
district homeboy, Zanu PF national chairman
Simon Khaya Moyo, who has been
on a whirlwind tour of provinces making
changes which he defended as
strategy to strengthen the party ahead of
polls.
Moyo, reportedly aligned to a camp led by Vice-President Joice
Mujuru,
spearheaded the removal of Manicaland chairman Mike Madiro and his
chairman
Dorothy Mabika and replaced them with Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Cuba
John
Mvundura and Retired Lieutenant-General Mike Nyambuya.
Party
insiders say the drastic changes in the provinces were part of a wider
plot
by Mujuru to consolidate her power base in the race to succeed ageing
party
leader President Robert Mugabe.
Zanu PF officials said dethroned Bulawayo
chairman who is now Ndlovu’s
deputy chairperson, Killian Sibanda, together
with a group of discontented
provincial leaders, wrote a letter to politburo
members in the region
complaining about Ndlovu’s appointment of Dakamela,
Bitu and other officials
without consulting provincial executive
members.
Ndlovu, sources said, worked with youth leader Khumbulani Mlilo
and women’s
league leader and central committee member, Judith Ncube, to
draw a list of
officials aligned to their camp who were added to the
provincial executive.
“The issue is expected to be topical at the next
provincial coordinating
committee meeting because of growing disgruntlement
in the province over
Ndlovu’s conduct. The developments may negatively
affect the party’s
performance in the forthcoming elections,” said a senior
Zanu PF official.
Meanwhile, war veterans’ leader Jabulani Sibanda has
lashed out at party
bigwigs in the region, including former Information and
Publicity Minister
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, for “destroying the party through
factional politics”.
Sibanda openly launched a blistering attack on party
leaders during the
burial of former Zanu PF Bulawayo chairman Themba Ncube
on Saturday at the
provincial heroes’ acre.
He accused the
heavyweights of working with former Home Affairs minister
Dumiso Dabengwa to
re-launch Zapu.
“Sibanda’s comments were met with wild applause and
ululation as party
members showed support in attacking senior officials who
are causing
divisions in the party,” said a source who attended the
burial.
Sibanda could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone was
unavailable.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News, Politics
THE MDC-T
has conducted primary elections in 10 of its 12 provinces which
have proved
to be quite a bloodbath after several high-profile MPs fell by
the wayside
in what appears to be a vote of no confidence on non-performing
legislators.
Report by Brian Chitemba
With Manicaland and
Masvingo provinces set to conduct their primaries over
the weekend, the
stage is set for more heavyweight casualties.
Leading the pack of dumped
MPs is Science and Technology minister Heneri
Dzinotyiwei (Budiriro),
Zengeza West MP Collen Gwiyo, Misheck Shoko
(Chitungwiza South), Marvellous
Khumalo (St Mary’s), Greenbate Dongo
(Goromonzi South), Edward Musumbu
(Norton), Felix Magalela Sibanda
(Magwegwe), Fidelis Mhashu (Chitungwiza
North), Samuel Khumalo
(Pelandaba-Mpopoma), Elias Jembere (Epworth), Pearson
Mungofa (Highfield
East), Willias Madzimure (Kambuzuma), Margaret Matienga
(Sunningdale), Gift
Dzirutwe (Glen Norah) and Simon Ruuke Hove (Highfield
West), Gift Mabhena
(Hwange West).
The primaries are part of the
party’s preparations for the forthcoming
make-or-break elections which
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF want by
July 31 in keeping with last
week’s Constitutional Court ruling, although
the former liberation movement
is still entangled in a long- running debate
over its own primary election
guidelines. In addition, several critical
processes tied to the elections
remain outstanding, making the July date
dicey.
The MDC-T claims
peace which prevailed during the primaries suggests it has
reached political
maturity and internal democracy is thriving.
“The party is particularly
proud at the level of maturity and political
tolerance displayed by all the
interested people and organs of the party.
This indeed is testimony that the
internal democracy of the MDC has reached
the required level,” said a
statement from the party’s information
department.
“The process, the
first of its kind in Zimbabwe is being carried out under
free and fair
conditions, a clear testimony of existing and thriving
democracy within the
party.”
Before the primaries there was speculation the polls would be
marred by
violence given that the party has faced an increase in intra-party
clashes
as growing factionalism takes its toll. Violence rocked the party
prior to
its 2011 congress in Bulawayo, while there were cases of clashes
between
aspiring MPs before the primaries.
Due to the factionalism
and infighting the party was forced to postpone the
primaries on several
occasions as Tsvangirai frantically attempted to quell
internal strife.
There was also widely reported stern resistance to the
confirmation process
in the primaries, with those opposed to the move
alleging it was an
undemocratic ruse by party bigwigs to ring-fence
themselves against internal
competition.
Political commentator Pedzisai Ruhanya said although the
primaries showed
thriving internal democracy in which the will of the
membership is
respected, it was also crystal clear that the electorate is
critically
judging the MPs on the basis of how they performed.
“The
outcome also shows that the legislators are reaping what they sowed in
the
last five years. Those who planted thorns cannot expect to harvest
apples.
This is legitimacy by performance,” he said.
Ruhanya said the MDC-T
should maintain the democratic momentum by making
sure there was peace and
zero tolerance to manipulation of the process to
come up with popular
candidates.
This comes against a backdrop of disgruntled losing MPs who
have filed
petitions seeking to reverse the outcome of the primaries. The
party’s
organising secretary Nelson Chamisa has since dismissed any
prospects of a
re-run in disputed constituencies.
Chamisa said: “Most
candidates endorsed the elections and we are no takers
to
afterthought.”
Political observer Mugove Munatsi said the next MPs will
now know they
cannot take the electorate for granted because a parliamentary
seat was not
hereditary; it has to be earned and retained on the basis of
sound
performance.
However, social policy for transitional societies
expert Admore Tshuma said:
“It would be naïve to think that those MDC-T
sitting MPs who have lost out
in primaries are the only ones specifically
incompetent. In reality, it’s a
protest that is simmering against a lack of
credible leadership in Zimbabwe,
be it in Zanu PF, MDC-T, Zapu, etc,” he
said.
Political activist Melusi Nyathi said the voting out of sitting MPs
was not
a protest, but “a sign of vibrant internal democracy, leadership
renewal and
heightened- political interest in the MDC-T.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News, Politics
THE
list of losing MDC-T candidates in the on-going party primary elections
demanding reruns in constituencies they lost is growing, as complaints the
elections were flawed mount.
Report by Elias Mambo
Party
insiders said organising secretary Nelson Chamisa’s office has
received
petitions and appeals from several candidates, including Owen
Matava (Kwekwe
Central) and Alec Masomera (Dzivaresekwa).
Willas Madzimure (Kambuzuma),
Henry Dzinotyiwei (Budiriro) and Artwel
Sibanda (Pumula) have indicated they
will soon submit their appeals.
“Chamisa has been bombarded with appeals from
constituencies in Bulawayo,
Beitbridge, Kwekwe and Harare, all claiming the
elections were flawed,” said
a top party official.
Losing candidates
say the MDC-T is behaving like Zanu PF. “MDC-T is shooting
itself in the
foot because it is failing to politically mature,” said a
Harare losing
candidate who alleged “irregularities in the way the elections
were
run”.
“They are emulating Zanu PF which was destroyed by imposition of
candidates
since the 2000 elections,” said the candidate.
In
Bulawayo, disgruntled MDC-T members have threatened to stage a protest
vote
against party candidates in the upcoming elections because of
irregularities
that allegedly marred the ongoing primary elections.
“We were not happy
with the imposition of candidates in the recently held
primary elections,
people are really angry and are mobilising to stage a
protest vote,” said a
party member from Pumula constituency.
Allegations of irregularities are
also emerging from Beitbridge following
reports of disgruntlement among
members who are accusing Beitbridge East
constituency aspiring legislator,
Morgan Ncube, and some councillors of vote
buying during primary
elections.
“We want the whole process nullified. There were a lot of
irregularities in
the process and if this is not addressed by the party we
are going to
mobilise people in the district to vote for Zanu PF,” said a
source in
Beitbridge.
A petition written by the Dzivaresekwa
residents in Harare province and
shown to the Zimbabwe Independent demands a
re-run of the election which saw
MDC-T youth president Solomon Madzore
cruising to victory amid allegations
of rigging.
“Dzivaresekwa has
been denied its democratic right to choose a leader of its
choice because
the primaries were clearly designed to rob Alex Masomere of
victory,” reads
the petition. “We are very much worried that complaints are
coming from all
directions and this is a cause for concern for the MDC-T
which is a champion
of democracy in Zimbabwe.”
In his appeal Masomere wrote: “In this
election, Solomon Madzore dubiously
and unethically won elections through
hook and crook, which our party
structures are profusely declaring null and
void, and election fraud which
must be condemned.” However, Deputy
organising Secretary Abednico Bhebhe
dismissed allegations of irregularities
as a media creation.
“The media is brewing a storm in a tea cup,” Bhebhe
said. “In any election
the world over people appeal when they lose and it is
not surprising when
that happens in the MDC-T. We will take each case as it
comes and we will
follow all the processes,” he said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News
THE newly-formed
Constitutional Court (Concourt), which Zanu PF was
resisting until it was
agreed that it would be packed with the current
Supreme Court judges for
seven years, was widely expected to safeguard
people’s rights and freedoms,
but started off on a controversial note after
it ruled elections should be
held by July 31.
Report by Brian Chitemba
The highest court in the
land last Friday ruled President Robert Mugabe
should proclaim election
dates for polls to be held before the end of July.
Seven judges ruled in
favour of the July 31 poll deadline, while Deputy
Chief Justice Luke Malaba
and Justice Bharat Patel handed down dissenting
opinions, saying the
majority was wrong in its ruling as the old
constitution, which together
with the new one will be used to hold the next
elections during the
transitional period, allows for the polls to be held
within four months
after the dissolution of parliament either by the
president before its
tenure ends or automatically when it expires.
The Concourt, led by Chief
Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, made the judgment
after Centre for Election
Democracy in Southern Africa director Jealousy
Mawarire filed an application
demanding elections and arguing delays in
proclaiming poll dates violated
his constitutional rights.
Mawarire argued elections should be held four
months before parliament is
dissolved and the court agreed with him,
sparking a fierce debate as legal
and constitutional experts said the ruling
it was blatantly wrong.
Given the resultant uproar, the judgment, widely
criticised and condemned by
major political parties except Zanu PF, is
likely to put the court under
pressure and in the spotlight in future
cases.
On Wednesday, MDC-T, MDC, Zapu, Zanu Ndonga and
Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn, in a
rare show of solidarity, agreed to push Sadc to
stop Mugabe from proclaiming
election dates before full implementation of
electoral and democratic
reforms.
The Concourt will be under immense
pressure and close scrutiny when it deals
with more likely polls-related
applications which have a bearing on the
election process.
The court
is currently faced with an urgent application by South
African-based
businessman Mutumwa Mawere to stop the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission from
conducting the voter registration exercise until the issue
of citizenship
status of Zimbabwean-born persons who are holders of foreign
citizenship by
registration is clarified.
There are also indications Zanu PF linked
groups will make court
applications to force the mandatory 30-day voter
registration to run
concurrently with related processes to shorten the
electoral process.
The Concourt is the highest court in all
constitutional matters, and its
decisions bind all other courts and it
determines whether parliament or the
president has failed to fulfil a
constitutional obligation.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News
AS President Robert Mugabe
steps up his efforts to stampede the nation into
early elections without
implementing key reforms to ensure peaceful and
credible polls, there
appears to be a series of efforts, underpinned by
relentless revisionism, to
revamp his image battered by his own leadership
and policy
failures.
Report by Herbert Moyo
In recent months, some
politicians, journalists and academics even from
countries and publications
hitherto deemed anti-Mugabe, have been falling
over each other in trying to
whitewash his grubby reputation ahead of
elections.
Recent interviews
and books by African and Western journalists, accused of
attempting to
salvage Mugabe’s reputation and legacy towards the end of his
long career,
have met sharp criticism across the globe with some political
pundits
insisting whatever the public relations stunts, he will bequeath the
nation
poverty, corruption and suffering, as well as racial and ethnic
divisions.
While his supporters say Mugabe has done well through
social programmes,
mainly education and land reform, for instance, his
critics say even on
those fronts he will leave schools collapsing and
graduates jobless, while
formerly productive farms all over the country will
be mainly derelict.
The darkest chapters though on Mugabe’s record
largely concerns human rights
issues. His trail cuts across the Gukurahundi
massacres which left over 20
000 people in south-western regions dead;
Operation Murambatsvina, which the
United Nations said left 700 000
homeless; the Patrick Kombayi shooting; and
the 2008 electoral killings,
among other abuses.
With such a tainted legacy, it seems there is a
co-ordinated revisionist
campaign to salvage his legacy by portraying him as
“an African statesman”.
Analysts say such efforts might be too late as
Mugabe has failed to
apologise for his mistakes and sought to reunite the
nation to bequeath it
with peace and stability.
Last Sunday, Dali
Tambo, son of South Africa’s liberation struggle icon
Oliver Tambo, joined
the fray when his controversial interview with Mugabe
was aired on SABC 3’s
People of the South programme.
Tambo came under fire for his interview
which critics said was a shoddy
public relations exercise, but came out guns
blazing defending the interview
saying he never meant to put Mugabe “on
trial”.
“Why is that (human rights) central to 89 years of a man’s life,”
an irate
Tambo asked 567 Cape-talk radio presenter Kieno Kammies. “How many
human
rights reports do you think there are on Britain, US, on all kinds of
great
countries?”
Tambo particularly attracted the wrath of human
rights activists by
describing Mugabe as a “warm, charismatic man who has
been misunderstood and
ill-judged”.
While his interview provided
useful insights into Mugabe’s political life
history and family, it was
widely seen as an attempt to facelift his
battered reputation.
Prior
to Tambo’s interview, Ghanaian film-maker Roy Agyemang and producer
Neville
Hendricks released a documentary titled Mugabe: Hero or Villain in
December
last year.
Some welcomed it for providing a fresh perspective on the
Mugabe story,
truly engaging with the thorny issue of African post-colonial
international
relations and for securing incredibly close access to an
undeniably
fascinating figure.
However, others said it was also a
puff piece because in close-up, Mugabe is
seen to be a fiercely charismatic
nationalist with more support among the
Zimbabwean populace than Western
audiences might expect.
Although it has plenty of compelling archival
news material, as well as
great footage of reggae superstar Bob Marley’s
historic appearance at
Independence celebrations in 1980 — reggae had
actually been banned in
Rhodesia — it was criticised as too romantic and out
of touch with
Zimbabweans’ current popular sentiment.
Crtics argued
that it was not true Mugabe’s image is a Western construct,
but a result of
his excesses in power. They said even if the film allowed
audiences a rare
opportunity to see Mugabe as a human being, and not, for a
change, as a
Western media construct, while broadening debate, the truth is
that his
regime has been brutal and unprogressive.
Apart from Tambo’s
controversial interview with Mugabe, academic Joseph
Hanlon tried to cleanse
the aged leader’s image in his book Zimbabwe Takes
Back Its Land, in which
he wrote glowingly about the chaotic and violent
land reform exercise which
left the economy in ruins.
The writer claims 245 000 new black farmers
who received land are farming it
and have already reached the production
levels of former white farmers.
Hanlon and his black co-authors join Ian
Scoones, who also had black
co-authors in writing an equally
plaudits-gushing Zimbabwe’s Land Reform:
Myths and Realities
(2010).
Politicians have also come to the party with Scottish MP
Christian Allard
saying land reform was necessary. He said he felt sorry for
what happened to
the white farmers although the black majority suffered
more.
Despite the praises and attempts at vindication, Zimbabwe is now a
basket
case relying on food hand-outs from Western donors and imports from
Malawi
and Zambia — where some of the evicted white farmers
went.
Zimbabwe’s food dependency was clearly demonstrated by the
state-run Herald
just three weeks ago in its story “Zim, Zambia finalise
grain deal” where
Mugabe met Zambia’s Vice-President Guy Scott to finalise
arrangements for
Zimbabwe to import 150 000 tonnes of maize. Zimbabwe
requires 1 800 000
tonnes of maize annually against current national yield a
mere 300 000
tonnes per annum.
The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU)
says Hanlon and his co-authors’ claims
that the new farmers matched tobacco
production levels of the pre-land
reform era are “simplistic” and “reflect a
failure to appreciate that the
land reform destroyed a diverse agricultural
base that included other
produce like coffee, tea and timber”.
The
CFU’s claims are backed by economic analyst Tony Hawkins who says the
impact
of Mugabe’s policies has been catastrophic on the economy with real
GDP
falling 40% from US$6,6 billion in 2000 to US$4,1 billion in
2010.
“Despite these harsh truths, there is no shortage of apologists
determined
to gainsay them,” said Hawkins who has added these praise-singers
range from
“itinerant British academics seeking to establish a reputation
for
themselves using specious, carefully-sanitised case study data to the
political scientists, journalists and politicians determined to prove that
sub-Saharan Africa would be a better place without commercial
agriculture”.
Political analyst Godwin Phiri says concerns about food
security are being
sacrificed at the altar of political expediency where
Western countries are
seeking to re-engage Zimbabwe in order to tap into its
mineral resources
currently being exploited by the Chinese.
“They
(Western countries) are alive to the fact that Zanu PF may be around
longer
than many would desire and therefore the party cannot be ignored. One
way of
dealing with the Zanu PF question therefore is to offer incentives
for
reform, hence the changes in the sanctions regime and the new discourse
on
land reform,” said Phiri.
This may well be the case given that former
American Democratic Party
presidential aspirant Jesse Jackson recently
visited Mugabe and spoke on the
need to remove sanctions. His visit came hot
on the heels of a similar one
by former US ambassador to the United Nations,
Andrew Young, lending
credence to claims Western countries are seeking to
mend relations with
Zimbabwe regardless of who wins the elections,
particularly after the recent
Friends of Zimbabwe meeting in
London.
Zimbabwe Democracy Institute director Pedzisai Ruhanya said
attempts by to
spruce up Mugabe’s image will fail because he has continued
with the same
ruinous policies that led voters to reject him in the March
2008 elections.
While attempts to re-engage and rehabilitate Zimbabwe
into the international
fold are desirable if the country is to recover
socio-economically, analysts
say air-brushing Mugabe’s appalling record will
not work.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News
THE Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) is set for a major overhaul if the MDC-T
takes control of
government after the the next elections due anytime from
next month, a
senior party official has said.
Clive Mphambela/Herbert Moyo
In an
interview with the Zimbabwe Independent this week, Economic Planning
and
Investment Promotion minister Tapiwa Mashakada said the new MDC-T
economic
policy would address most of the shortcomings of the RBZ that have
been
observed over the 10-year period from 1998 to 2008, which had resulted
in
the country having a substantially weakened central bank after
dollarisation.
“One of the things we will deal with is the mischief
that has been abound at
the Reserve Bank. The greatest mischief has been the
issue of the Reserve
Bank debt which now stands upwards of US$1 billion
dollars,” said Mashakada,
adding, “The manner in which we are going to
resolve the debt overhang will
necessitate a substantial capitalisation of
the bank.”
Mashakada, who is MDC-T deputy secretary-general, said his
party would
strengthen the bank so that it could fulfil its mandate as a
lender of last
resort.
He said his party would enhance the autonomy
of the central bank through a
restructuring exercise to ensure it discharged
its fiduciary duties of
supervising of the banking sector and acting as
bankers to the government of
Zimbabwe.
“The central bank will also be
capacitated to maintain price stability and
effectively manage the country’s
deteriorating balance of payments
position,” he said.
“As you are
aware at this stage this is a policy position and the details of
the actual
strategies will be made public when we assume control of
government.”
The MDC-T launched its policy document three weeks ago
dubbed “Art-Agenda
for Real Transformation” that seeks to address a number
of economic ills
bedevilling the country.
The huge RBZ debt, now
estimated at over US$1 billion, was accumulated since
1998 through the
hyperinflationary 10-year period now referred to as “the
lost decade”. It
has added to the country’s growing debt burden.
The country’s total debt
overhang, including both domestic and international
arrears, is now
estimated at over US$11 billion.
While presenting the first quarter
report on the state of the economy in
April, Finance minister Tendai Biti
last week said government’s domestic
arrears were also approaching US$1
billion.
In Art, the MDC-T says the country’s debt burden is not
sustainable and has
to be resolved as soon as possible.
“The MDC-T
government will work with the international community and
international
financing institutions to accelerate negotiations on debt
cancellation,
rescheduling, restructuring and forgiveness with a view to
reducing the debt
service burden on the state to acceptable levels,” reads
the
document.
“When contracting new debt, the MDC government will make sure
it will be
inclusive, transparent, stakeholder-driven and with full
parliamentary
oversight. New debt will be used to fund development
priorities and
recurrent expenditure will be funded from the normal fiscal
revenue base.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News
THE Zimbabwe government
has not yet provided a single cent towards the
budget for the co-hosting of
the United Nations World Tourism Organisation
(UNWTO) general assembly
despite the event being less than three months
away.
Report by Taurai
Mangudhla
Since the country won the bid to co-host the mega tourism event
with Zambia
in 2010, government is yet to release funds towards conference
preparations.
Tourism minister Walter Mzembi says he is unfazed by
Treasury’s reluctance
to fund preparations for the event to be held from
August 24 to 29, saying
the private sector had extended tremendous
support.
Zimbabwe requires about US$11 million for the successful hosting
of the
general assembly.
According to the budget, US$6,5 million is
to be channelled towards core
general assembly activities while US$5,2
million will go to infrstructure
development for the host
town.
Mzembi said this week adequate resources have been mobilised from
sponsors.
“I have never been more confident about the general assembly,”
Mzembi said,
adding a function to unveil sponsors for the UNWTO general
assembly would
soon be held.
“We have since stopped citing lack of
funding a UNWTO, as you have seen
about one million people came for the
Harare International Carnival without
treasury support.”
The
carnival, which according to highly placed sources required at least
US$500
000, was supported by the private sector.
Mzembi said construction
material for the semi-permanent aluminium glass
structure, to be built on
African Sun Limited’s Elephant Hills resort golf
course in Victoria Falls,
has been acquired and is expected in the country
next week.
The
structure, with a seating capacity of 1 000 delegates and a life span of
30
years, is set to be the main conference centre for the general
assembly.
China has donated US$1million worth of sound and translation
equipment which
has already been shipped and is expected in the country on
June 30. The
country has also made a commitment to provide six technicians
to help
install and operate the technology.
Last week Mzembi attended
UNWTO’s 95th executive council meeting in Serbia
which, according to the
minister, commended Zimbabwe and Zambia for their
state of
preparedness.
“The debate on whether we are ready or not was closed last
week by the UNWTO
itself and they are the ones who do the monitoring,” said
the Tourism
minister.
“The only area we have to work on is our
preparedness in terms of our state
of mind.”
The two countries have
come up with an open boarder system and scrapped visa
fees for delegates to
the general assembly.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News
THE Budget and
Finance portfolio committee this week flexed its muscles
prompting Finance
minister Tendai Biti to concede amendments and delay the
passage of the
Income Tax Amendment Bill that proposed to change the country’s
tax regime
to include a clause to levy funds remitted to Zimbabwe from the
diaspora.
Report by Paidamoyo Muzulu
This is the second time
in as many months that the committee has delayed the
passage of the Bill on
the basis that there is need for extensive
consultations and revision of the
proposed amendment.
The committee last week held public hearings across
the country and the
final one was at parliament in Harare where they forced
the minister to
concede to amend the Bill.
In separate interviews,
committee chair Paddy Zhanda and committee member
Eddie Cross said they were
happy Biti had agreed to incorporate nearly 90%
of their suggestions in the
Bill before it is returned to the House of
Assembly next week.
Zhanda
said: “There was no need for the minister to fast-track the Bill and
in any
event it will only become operational next year (2014) thus we needed
wide
and extensive consultations.”
Cross concurred, adding the committee was
now happy Biti promised to
incorporate changes to the Bill, chief among them
the deletion of clauses on
foreign remittances.
Among the unpopular
sections was one calling for punitive fines for people
and companies that
missed timetables to file their tax returns.
The Bill further sought to
tax money remitted to Zimbabwe from the diaspora
which the committee felt
was unfair and a form of double taxation on people
working outside the
country.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News
AS you drive past
the neat, attractively painted green and yellow detached
housing units
belonging to Mimosa Mining Company into Zvishavane town
centre, which is a
hive of activity, life appears normal in the small mining
town.
Report by Faith Zaba
The town that owes its existence to
Zimbabwe’s oldest asbestos mine,
Shabanie mine, appears to be booming. Most
of the banks and the country’s
major retail companies are present, and there
are long queues at its busy
food court.
However, Zvishavane is a tale
of two cities comprising Mimosa mine workers,
who seem to be living a
comfortable life, and Shabanie mine workers
wallowing in abject
poverty.
Beyond the neat perimeter-fenced houses with white Corsa bakkies
parked in
the front yard are the Kandondo, Maglas and Newu compounds, built
for
Shabanie workers.
In their yesteryear, Shabanie workers mined
asbestos during the day and
relaxed afterwards at a local sports bar in
Kandondo. Their children went to
subsidised schools. Zvishavane was
developed as a residential centre for the
asbestos mine which started
operations in 1916.
Although asbestos is the major minerals in
Zvishavane, platinum, gold,
beryl, chromite iron ore at Buchwa and recently
discovered huge deposits of
diamonds at Murowa are also mined in the
area.
Shabanie mine, which is part of the Shabanie-Mashava Mines (SMM),
has been
at the centre of a protracted ownership wrangle between former
owner Mutumwa
Mawere and government. It is now owned by the Zimbabwe Mining
Development
Corporation. Before it was transferred to ZMDC, SMM was under
judicial
management for two years.
SMM used to produce an estimated
200 000 tonnes of fibre every year. When
the company closed it left an
estimated 3 000 workers jobless.
SMM was once one of Africa’s largest
asbestos producers and had access to
markets in the United States, United
Kingdom, Angola, Nigeria, Zambia,
Mozambique, India, Iran, the United Arab
Emirates, China and Indonesia.
The miner is reportedly sitting on
reserves that can be exploited for the
next 20 years.
But due to
ownership wrangles and viability problems haunting SMM, Shabanie
mine has
proved difficult to resuscitate. In the meantime, Shabanie mine
workers and
their families have had to contend with a poverty-stricken
existence
courtesy of irregular staggered allowances, with the last pay-out
being a
meagre US$34 in March.
By assuming ownership over SMM, ZMDC took the
responsibility to pay workers
who had gone for years without receiving
salaries. While some of the workers
have been absorbed by Mimosa which
employs about 2 000 people, more than 800
employees have since resumed work
at both Shabanie and Mashava Mines in
Masvingo province, also part of the
SMM group. Close to 500 people are at
Shabanie Mine.
The non-payment
of salaries has caused social and economic problems in the
town, while the
moral and social fabric of the community has been torn
apart.
Marriages have irretrievably broken due to poverty-induced
challenges. Crime
and vices such as prostitution and illegal gold mining
have set in as the
majority look for alternative sources of
survival.
Workers at Shabanie Mine have also turned to wood poaching in a
bid to make
ends meet.
The road to Kandondo, just a kilometre from
the town centre, is bumpy with
potholes and rocks. The compound is in stark
contrast to the neat green and
yellow Mimosa houses, built in
2011.
The dilapidated houses comprise of electrified six-roomed and
four-roomed
houses for senior employees and three-roomed houses commonly
referred to as
Cherima (in darkness) for the lowest paid workers.
For
Kenneth Zulu life has become unbearable, as he is failing to make ends
meet.“I am suffering and I cannot provide for my small family,” said Zulu,
who works Mondays to Saturdays. “I have a young wife and child. I am afraid
that if things don’t improve I might lose my wife.
We are not receiving
our salaries. I last received an allowance of US$34 in
March. The last time
I got a salary was in June last year, when I was paid
US$150.”
“In
December I received US$15. Tell me, how are we supposed to survive? How
do
you even stretch US$34 over three months? Our marriages are under threat
right now. Wives are getting involved in extra-marital affairs with workers
from Mimosa, who are the men with the money. We have come to accept that as
a way of life because we cannot blame the women — they need to eat and feed
the kids.”
A member of the Shabanie workers committee, who preferred
anonymity, said
they approached ZMDC in January asking the parastatal to pay
school fees and
Ordinary Level and Advanced Level examination fees.
But
halfway through the year, ZMDC has not responded and many kids have
since
dropped out of school.
“The situation is bleak. ZMDC asked us to submit
names of kids going to
school, which we did but up to now nothing has been
done. The kids’ future
is now doomed. ZMDC is lying in the newspapers that
they are paying us
salaries regularly.”
School fees in Zvishavane
range between US$80 and US$120 per month.Mutarisi
Manyaviri (24) dropped out
of school the year he was due to write his O’level
exams.
“I am now
into gold panning and I help my parents ensure my young siblings
remain in
school. I have a 12-year- old sister and I would not want her to
go into
prostitution,” he said.A room in a house with electricity costs
US$80 per
month while one without needs US$40 per month.
In March this year, ZMDC
said it has injected US$1,2 million for the
immediate revival of Shabanie
and Mashava Mines. The underground mines are
currently flooded. However,
workers said they are producing fibre through
reprocessing mine dumps
without protective clothing.
“We are doing it manually without protective
clothing, which is harmful to
our health. This work is supposed to be done
by machinery but we are risking
our health for peanuts. This is so sad but
what can we do, we are desperate
people,” said Zulu.
There are four
main diseases caused by asbestos: mesothelioma, which is a
form of cancer
mainly affecting the lining of the lungs and lung cancer
(both of which are
always fatal), asbestosis (not always fatal but it can be
debilitating as it
is related to lung cancer) and diffuse pleural thickening
(not
fatal).
ZMDC says it is still courting foreign investors to expand
current operation
at the mines and needs US$120 million for the asbestos
mines to become
operational.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in News
THE National Social
Security Authority (Nssa) is pushing for greater
latitude on state
procurement regulations and strict municipal by-laws
pertaining to property
development as it seeks to expedite its real estate
initiatives.
Report by Herbert Moyo
Impeccable sources from
both Nssa and the Ministry of State Enterprises and
Parastatals this week
told the Zimbabwe Independent Nssa officials made
representations to State
Enterprises minister Gorden Moyo seeking a review
of the procurement law
which it considers to be bureaucratic while hampering
its
effectiveness.
“They (Nssa) highlighted to Moyo that procurement laws and
by-laws are
slowing down implementation of development projects such as
servicing of
stands, houses, shopping malls and other projects,” said a
ministry source.
“Nssa is therefore requesting exemption from the current
State Procurement
Board (SPB) procedures. An arrangement such as that of
local authorities is
preferred, that is internal tender
regulations.”
Contacted for comment, Nssa general manager James Matiza
said the SPB was
often slow in dealing with bids submitted by the authority
making to
impossible for Nssa to commence operations in developing
properties.
He also called for the relaxation of council by-laws that
compel housing
stands to be developed within an 18-month period, saying they
are
unrealistic and severely hampered the authority’s efforts to assist in
the
provision of housing.
“Yes we held a meeting between Nssa and the
State Enterprises ministry where
they sought to understand the delays in
Nssa’s commitment to developing
housing stands we bought in various
municipalities from Harare, Bulawayo,
Mutare and Masvingo,” said
Matiza.
He said Nssa had crafted a 10-year housing development plan in
which it
hoped to build houses in different municipalities.
However,
this had become impossible to fulfill because local authorities,
who wanted
them to build simultaneously in all the municipalities within a
strict
18-month timeframe, had repossessed their stands.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in Business
A SINGLE stand, manned by
one man exhibiting a handful of products was all
that Zimbabwe could offer
as a window for the world to take a look at its
export products during the
just ended Ticad Africa Fair in Yokohama, Japan.
Itai Masuku in Yokohama,
Japan
In contrast, Botswana, formerly unknown as a manufacturing country,
but
which is slowly driving itself to be one had a well-organised stand that
not
only showcased its newly-found manufactured goods, but its tourism and
services sector products.
It was not Botswana alone, but all the
other African countries that
displayed a high degree of maturity and
business-like approach in trying to
market their wares to the
Japanese.
Virtually all the African stands had a Japanese interpreter to
facilitate
communication with their potential customers. Zimbabwe was the
exception.
The exhibition was being run alongside the Ticad conference,
through which
Japan is moving full speed ahead to forge closer investment
and trade ties
with the African continent. Given that Japan has a captive
market of 120
million people that have disposable income, this was clearly
not an
opportunity to be missed.
And yet Zimbabwe continues to relish
in its world of political relic while
maintaining “cordial” bilateral
relations. The Zimbabwean contingent was not
short of government officials,
semi or quasi officials of all colours and
shade. The total number exceeded
50. However, they were hardly seen around
the conference or exhibition
venues.
Instead, the writer was inundated with requests from Japanese
businessmen
who wanted to do business with Zimbabweans but had not come
across a single
one. Many of the Japanese wanted to look for joint venture
partners in the
engineering enterprises, given Japan’s leading edge in such
areas. Needless
to say mining engineering products were among those on
offer.
“This we can make in Africa at affordable prices. We already have
done some
work in Ghana,” said one Japanese exhibitor, expressing an
eagerness to
extend the model developed in the West African country to
southern African
countries such as Zimbabwe.
While Zimbabwe plays
host to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation
(UNWTO) general
assembly in August, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority was
conspicuous by its
absence.
And yet this was a unique opportunity to market Zimbabwe’s
tourism products
at a one stop shop where thousands of Japanese were
streaming through. Many
South East Asian Nations, including China and South
Korea, were also
represented here.
In general ASEAN countries have
grown in international importance as a
source market for
tourism.
Tourism authorities in Zimbabwe could also learn a thing or two
from the
Japanese on how to promote domestic tourism. For instance, of the
50 million
people that visit Japan’s ancient origin Kyoto each year, 90% are
local.
The city is bustling with visitors wishing to catch a glimpse of
Japanese
history, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and epochal engineering
projects
among other attractions.
Great Zimbabwe ranks as one of the
most interesting archaeological sites,
with world heritage status, but in
comparison receives very few
international visitors, let alone local
ones.
As for Zimbabwe’s prime destination – the Victoria Falls – the
brochures
that were on the Zimbabwean stand, mounted by Zimtrade, were South
African
ones where, as usual, the southern neighbour continues to take
advantage of
the thunderous beauty to its north by marketing the majestic
falls virtually
as if it is in its territory for business
purposes.
It’s not the ZTA alone that failed to take advantage of the
expo; the
Zimbabwe Investment Authority had no presence either.
This
is in spite of the fact that foreign investment in Africa has overtaken
official development assistance (ODA) as a major source of funds for
Africa.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in
Business
Zimbabwe’s banking market was traditionally not very
open.
By Collins Rudzuna
At independence in 1980, only a handful
of banks controlled by foreign
banking groups or government,
existed.
Deregulation in the 1990s resulted in the emergence of new
participants and
today the country has more than twenty banks with a diverse
array of
shareholders.
Yet in many respects banking remains an old
boys’ club where one has to
belong to succeed. Despite the emergence of many
new participants, the
traditional banks still dominate the market. The five
biggest banks control
about 62% of banking deposits and the traditional
banks which existed at
independence still find it easier to attract deposits
than new banks.
The older banks have often been accused of being
arrogant. Feedback from
customers on the quality of service is usually
negative.
Increased competition from the newer banks does not seem to
have woken up
the big boys from their slumber. Yet something newer,
something outside what
is traditionally considered a banking service, seems
to have got the
attention of bankers — EcoCash.
Econet launched a
mobile money transfer service, EcoCash, and the banking
industry immediately
took notice. EcoCash allows people to send money to
each other from their
cellphones.
The money can be collected from a network of about 3,000
agents dotted
across the country. Unconfirmed reports suggest that bankers
have lobbied
the central bank to force EcoCash to stop offering what they
consider to be
solely a banking product.
Executives from Econet have
downplayed the apprehensiveness of the banking
community, suggesting instead
that EcoCash complements traditional banking
services rather than supplants
them.
But why would bankers be worried about EcoCash especially when the
older
banks have managed to maintain their dominance despite the emergence
of more
than fifteen new banks since independence? The reason is that
EcoCash is a
potentially disruptive innovation and could well signal the
beginning of the
end for traditional banks’ monopoly of services. Disruptive
innovation is a
widely used buzzword in today’s business world, especially
in
technology-based businesses. Loosely defined, disruptive innovation
refers
to a situation where existing technology is applied in a new way,
creating a
new product or market which disrupts or threatens the existence
of a more
established one.
EcoCash works by allowing agents to accept
sms-based confirmations of money
transfers. Reportedly at least 3 000 agents
have already been registered.
All the banks in the country combined do not
have a branch network as wide
as that, even if ATMs are included. EcoCash
agents are existing businesses,
shops that have partnered Econet in
providing the service.
The network is so widely distributed that EcoCash
has the potential to reach
places that banks have long considered unviable
for setting up branches. Not
only is the network widely distributed but it
includes shops that are open
after banking business hours.
Customers
are able to do their “banking” on EcoCash in more places and for
longer
hours than they can with their bank.
Another reason why Ecocash can
potentially outdo banks at their own game is
that Econet already has a
massive captive audience. Latest results from the
company suggest that there
are now more than 8 million subscribers. That
number far exceeds the number
of bank customers for the whole banking
industry. Bankers have long been
scratching their heads over how to reach
the unbanked
population.
Estimates are that cash circulating in the informal sector is
equivalent to
the amount of deposits in the formal banking sector which
stood at US$4,41
billion at end of December 2012. Bankers are keen to get
their hands on this
money to boost transaction fees and
deposits.
Thus far most of their efforts have been futile as the informal
sector
participants are resistant to bank charges and inconvenient banking
hours.
EcoCash could potentially beat the banks in the race to access
this bounty.
So are banks on their way into oblivion, to be replaced by
mobile based
money transfer services? Hardly. Experience from other markets
where such
services have been introduced suggest otherwise.
In Kenya,
Safaricom runs a similar product called M-Pesa. Whilst the service
is
popular and now contributes 18% to Safaricom’s revenues it has not
overshadowed traditional banks’ business. M-Pesa has been successful in
providing bank type services to previously unbanked people through a network
of 11,000 agents.
But some banks have responded by partnering M-Pesa
or launching rival
products with identical functionality. Banks in Zimbabwe
have started to do
the same.
Ten banks are already linked to the
Ecocash platform and others have
launched rival products.
Another
reason that if unresolved could curtail Ecocash’s growth is their
pricing.
EcoCash charges especially to unregistered users are exorbitant and
can go
as high as 5% of the money being transferred. If this is not resolved
it
could affect the take up of the product.
When Econet released its results
management indicated that a total of US$1.5
billion had been moved through
the EcoCash platform since inception.
With traditional revenue streams
such as sms on the decline and voice
contribution slowing down, Ecocash
could be Econet’s saving grace. Along the
way it could also prove to be
somewhat disruptive to traditional banking
services.
With only a
couple of years in operation the platform is still in its
infancy. It
remains to be seen whether it will prove a worthy competitor for
established
banks.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in Business
ALTHOUGH
there are many diverse actions necessary for substantive recovery
of the
Zimbabwean economy, among the most critical is the restoration and
enhancement of most facets of the country’s infrastructure.
Column by
Eric Bloch
No economy can function successfully without reliable and
adequate
electricity supplies, comprehensive rail, road and air
transportation
services, effective domestic, regional and international
communication
facilities, constant access to water and other utilities and
public sector
services, and an economically conducive national
infrastructural service.
Tragically, this is not the case in Zimbabwe
where most infrastructure has
progressively deteriorated over the last 15-20
years. Electricity supplies
are subject to extensive load-shedding, often
not in accordance with
scheduled times advised by the Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority (Zesa),
and worsened by occasional generation and
transmission faults.
Over and above the demoralising consequences thereof
upon the population in
general, this has adverse effects upon economic
operations. Mining of
Zimbabwe’s vast mineral resources is frequently
interrupted, as is the
irrigation of crops.
Manufacturing operations
are all too often interrupted, with losses of
operational inputs during
processes critically dependent upon uninterrupted
energy
supplies.
Similarly, the commercial sector is impeded by unforeseen
non-availability
of electricity needed to provide power to premises, assure
the operation of
deep freezers, cash registers, computer systems and other
key essentials.
Similarly, the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) is
unable to function
effectively and to meet the economy’s needs. Much of its
rail network,
approximating, 3 109 kms, requires renovation and upgrading,
with an
estimated 60% being functional, concurrently with less than half of
its
locomotives and rolling-stock operational.
According to the
African Development Bank, two decades ago NRZ could convey
14 million tons
of freight, but is now only able to handle one-fifth of the
volume.
Similarly, its passenger service carrying capacity has markedly
declined.
Due to minimised operational levels of NRZ, road
transportation has
increased considerably, impacting negatively upon the
condition of the
national highways, although major rehabilitation and
enhancement of the
Plumtree to Bulawayo, to Harare, and hence to Mutare
highway is underway,
funded by loan facilities provided by Development Bank
of Southern Africa.
However, completion will take time, and major work
must also be pursued
(when funding is available) on the roads from
Beitbridge to Harare and to
Bulawayo, the Harare to Chirundu and Kariba
road, the Bulawayo to Hwange and
Victoria Falls road, and many others. In
the meanwhile, having to resort to
road transport in lieu of rail services
is costly, time-consuming and
further impairs the roads.
Air Zimbabwe
must be commended for its valiant efforts to recover from the
brink of
extinction, but its continuing financial and infrastructural
constraints
continue to preclude it providing the comprehensive services
essential to
commerce and industry, to significant growth of the Tourism
sector and the
economy in general.
The airline requires several more aircraft and needs
a considerable
financial injection to support and sustain full operational
levels
domestically, regionally, and internationally.
All too often
Zimbabwean enterprises, and the populace in general, are
critically hampered
by communication constraints.
These range from the numerous instances
when it is impossible to make
inter-city telephone calls, to calls to
parties in the region or further
abroad.
Similarly, computer-based
communication is frequently hindered due to
factors including sudden
non-availability of electricity, or service
provider interruptions
precluding Internet access.
These are some of the infrastructural
deficiencies which have a marked
impact upon achieving economic recovery and
growth.
Such recovery would restore a virile economy, enhance employment
opportunities for jobless millions, and help eradicate nationwide poverty
and concomitant hardships.
Some of the other infrastructural
constraints include limited and irregular
water supplies in urban areas,
intensive siltation of many of Zimbabwe’s
dams, recurrent operational
failure of local authority lighting facilities
(also impeding traffic flows
and controls, and compounding extent of road
traffic accidents) and much,
much more.
Authoritative assessments suggest a substantial
infrastructural recovery
requires more than US$15 billion dollars, an amount
far greater than
available to government and local authorities. As long as
economic recovery
continues to be impeded, the prospects of generating
funding are
nonexistent.
This is notwithstanding the admirable
support given by entities such as the
ADB, DBSA and some
others.
Therefore it is necessary for government and local authorities to
recognise
that privatisation (whole or partial) of state enterprises, and
some
municipalities, is an incontrovertible must.
It is long overdue
for Zimbabwean authorities to stop running down state
enterprises through
mismanagement and corruption, and instead pursue total
or partial
privatisation rapidly.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in Opinion
What
sort of state is it where the president’s decision to obey the law is
front
page news?
By The MuckRaker
The Herald on Monday announced that
President Robert Mugabe will comply with
a court ruling ordering him to
proclaim dates for the holding of elections.
Anywhere else this would be
a routine procedure passing without too much
notice. But in Zimbabwe’s
totalitarian climate, it is big news!
“I’ll comply with ruling:
President,” the paper announced. This came after a
campaign of stiff
resistance and a stream of abuse by Zanu PF propagandists.
The heading was
related to another presidential statement saying “I am not a
dictator”.
Again, does this need to be spelt out unless it is
true?
Smeared
Mugabe said in Japan last week that he was smeared
by Western countries
because of the land reform programme that addressed
colonial injustices
through “dispossessing white farmers of excess
land”.
Only excess land was it? And we noted the bit about Zanu PF
standing for
people’s rights. Tichaona Chiminya, Talent Mbika, Tonderayi
Ndira, the Olds
family and hundreds of other Zimbabweans, if they were still
with us may
have a different view! Those who escaped death and abuse at the
hands of our
national guardians will see Mugabe’s claims in Japan as not so
much
offensive as disingenuous.
“I am a Zimbabwean serving Zimbabwean
people,” Mugabe claimed. “If my people
say I must retire, I retire. But they
still want me to go on. So who is
saying I must retire?”
Well, in
2008 it was the people of Zimbabwe — a democratic majority — and he
didn’t
take any notice of them!
Mugabe said he never imprisoned any Briton. OK,
but how about Zimbabweans?
How about Dumiso Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku,
found not guilty by the courts
after their trial, but kept in
jail.
Poor judgment
Last week we commented on Mugabe’s remarks
about Nelson Mandela being too
kind to whites.
“Mandela has gone a
bit too far in doing good to the non-black communities,”
Mugabe said.
“Really, in some cases at the expense of blacks. That’s being
too saintly,
too good, too much of a saint.”
Nothing better illustrates his poor
judgment. He is inviting us to subscribe
to his partisan agenda. There can
be no benefit to be heard by criticising
other rulers, especially those
committed to constitutionalism and tolerance.
Mugabe wants people to know
that he is committed to democratic rule. You don’t
do that by opportunist
attacks on nationalist icons deeply revered in their
own countries and
around the world.
We have often said Zanu PF leaders are on the wrong
side of history,
camouflaging their racism as redressing colonial misdeeds.
Their favourite
target is British colonialism. But we have often wondered
how the British
can continue to be guilty of colonial ambitions when they
have given
independence to India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Pakistan, Malaysia,
Ghana,
Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Mauritius, Botswana, Jamaica, the
Bahamas
and Barbados, some of them choosing to retain the Queen as head of
state.
Not a very plausible illustration of colonial expansion!
Mugabe
is evidently still stinging from the fact that many of these
countries
backed Australia in its proposal to have Zimbabwe remain suspended
from the
Commonwealth until it met the terms of the 1991 Harare Declaration.
After
Zimbabwe’s monumental efforts to get back in 2003 failed, state
propagandists were told to refer to it as the “white
Commonwealth”.
We wonder how that went down in India and
Nigeria?
Fawning articles
Meanwhile, commentators such as Andile
Mngxitama have been writing fawning
articles in the Herald saying Mugabe is
the “greatest black statesman alive
today”.
What is significant about
such opinions and those in New African is that
they are written by people
living outside Zimbabwe. They write from the
comfort of their homes in
Britain and South Africa while denouncing those
countries.
What is
more they don’t have to worry about their arrest for commenting in
the back
of a taxi that Mugabe is a dictator. In Zimbabwe, people do not
easily
express such views.
And what are we to understand from people like
Mngxitama? That there is no
alternative to jambanja? That violence and
destruction are the only way?
Future generations will look to Mugabe, not
Mandela, we are told.
What an indictment of African leadership!
But
this misses the point. What we know from the present leadership is that
when
African leaders fail, they turn on their own people. They squander
their
legacy on the business of repression.
The claim that Africa’s failed
nationalists will look to Mugabe for their
legacy is an indictment of
Africa. Even Zanu PF knows that a younger
generation has already rejected
Mugabe’s blandishments. They know Zanu PF
offers no viable future for them.
Unemployed and without hope, Mugabe is no
hero for them. He has failed
them.
Future generations are unlikely to recall fondly the present regime
with its
economic cannibalism and political repression. Posterity is
unlikely to be
kind to the Herald’s columnists.
Heavier Mataire
It
was good to see our old friend former Voice editor Lovemore Mataire back
in
print on Wednesday, sans the trademark beret, but several kilos heavier.
Readers may wonder what he has been doing all this time.
Let’s hope
he has settled matters with George Charamba and other
presidential
publicists with whom there were certain disagreements.
We recall Voice
publisher Nathan Shamuyarira taking matters into his own
hands when the
usual gang became intractable, inviting news crews to
Zimbabwe for
interviews with the president regardless of objections from the
inner
circle.
Shamuyarira believed Mugabe could more than hold his own in any
interview
and didn’t need to be hand-held in front of the cameras. As for
Mataire, his
Wednesday piece was full of nostalgia for the architects of
African unity.
“Has Africa gone to the dogs?” he asks.
“The dilemma
that Africa faces today,” he writes, “is that most of its
current heads of
state pay lip-service to the idea of a united Africa. They
espouse rhetoric
on the need for African solidarity while totally unwilling
to practically
bring unity to life.
“These African leaders also fail to act in a manner
that fosters unity and
solidarity. Their duplicitous stance is as much a
problem to African unity
just as the forces that strive to ensure the
continued fragmentation of the
continent.”
Mbeki’s
finest
Mataire ropes in Pan-Africanist writers to bolster his claim that
Mugabe is
not alone in seeking renewal. And he recites Thabo Mbeki’s “I am
an African”
speech which is arguably the former president’s finest
moment.
“I am the grandchild who lays flowers on the Boer graves at St
Helena and
the Bahamas, who sees in the mind’s eye and suffers the suffering
of a
simple peasant folk: death, concentration camps, destroyed homesteads
and
dreams in ruins … I am the grandchild of Nongqawuse … I come of those
who
were transported from India and China …”
Mataire speaks of
Africa’s unfinished task. He writes for the Southern
Times. We may not like
the content, but he has something to say and says it
well.
What an
improvement on Rangu Nyamurundura, Panganai Kahuni, Isdore Guvamombe
and the
Bindura twins, Bowden Mbanje and Darlingtom Mahuku, who appear
unable to
think individually!
Mataire’s piece was headed “Africa needs more
Mugabes”.
Tell them they can have ours and let’s hear what they say.
Below
was a picture of Zuma and other African leaders laughing uproariously
at
something Mugabe had said. Could it be: “OK boys, I need this. It could
be
my last group photo. Next time Morgan Tsvangirai could be standing
here.”
Is that what they found so funny?
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in Opinion
ONE of
the key characteristics of Zimbabwe’s flawed political system is the
arrogance of those in power and the blind loyalty of their
supporters.
Opinion by Nhlanhla Ngwenya
Often times, the leaders
and their followers are at pains to parry genuine
concerns of the people
with an attitude in which they try to portray
themselves as the only ones
who know what problems the country is facing,
their root causes and the
solutions.
Their gullible surrogates often bolster this posturing by
projecting
themselves as the most educated and the only ones ordained with
the
proverbial King Solomon’s wisdom, confusing education with wisdom and
effective leadership in the process.
The majority of Zimbabweans are
then projected as ignoramuses bereft of
sound ideological grounding;
dunderheads who cannot read in-between the
lines; idiots who cannot tell the
difference between day and night or simply
morons who can only be served
from the captivity of ignorance through
“official wisdom” of some government
authorities and their supporters.
A rough scan of opinion pieces and
comments made by selected contributors
particularly in the Zimpapers stable
and the Zanu PF-controlled public
broadcaster, ZBC, proves this.
But
that would be perfectly fine if this were only restricted to their
freedom
to hold an opinion. However, it becomes a problem when that view
becomes the
cornerstone for spin aimed at creating a big lie, which is then
relentlessly
peddled as fact to mislead the public.
On June 1, for instance, the
faceless Herald columnist Nathaniel Manheru,
widely believed to be President
Robert Mugabe’s spokesperson George
Charamba, illustrated this. In an
article headlined Elections: Dangling the
Mascot of Reforms, he sought to
suffocate the glaring need and justified
demands for media reforms in
Zimbabwe with his usual acerbic arguments whose
import was to dismiss the
quest for the democratisation of the media sector
as baseless.
With
his usual shenanigans, he opted for his favoured narrow and now tedious
escape route: muddling the demand for the promotion and adequate protection
of Zimbabweans’ civil liberties through political skullduggery. At the end
of the article, it was not clear how a genuine demand for the
democratisation of the media space — itself a key ingredient for the
exercise of freedom of expression and access to information — is a sinister
MDC agenda.
Manheru, without a shred of evidence, also implied that
those that are
advocating the enjoyment of these basic liberties are the
party’s “tongs”,
including those that began demanding these universal rights
well before the
formation of the MDC such as the Media Institute of Southern
Africa (Misa).
But such is to be expected given the increasing pressure
exerted both
locally and regionally on Manheru’s bosses in government to
adopt democratic
reforms in line with the terms of the Global Political
Agreement, as well as
government’s obligations under the regional and
international instruments on
the protection of human rights.
Moreso,
when the Zanu PF-run information ministry has defied government
principals’
instructions for it to implement media reforms the three parties
in the
coalition government have agreed to before Sadc leaders.
Clearly, Manheru
was simply trying to advertise his ministry’s reactionary
agenda, political
intransigence and its open disregard for decisions taken
by the principals
in government and Sadc leaders.
In a normal country where there is a
proper constitutional order and
functioning government, his diatribes should
have invited drastic
consequences in terms of his conditions of service as a
civil servant and
presidential spokesperson. His attempt to undermine the
media sector while
normalising the abnormal shows he is taking Zimbabweans
for granted.
It is a matter of public record the state has hijacked the
public media,
specifically Zimpapers and ZBC turning them into supine
mouthpieces of Zanu
PF in violation of their public service mandate and to
the detriment of the
people in general.
Indeed, all media have a
public responsibility to report fairly and
professionally about events
taking place in the country, but the public
media has a public mandate and
should not be used as mouthpieces of one
party and its leaders.
Even
as the private media choose who they want to support among the
political
actors, for example, they need to do so within the limits of
professional
journalism ethics because they are accountable to their readers
in the
end.
And apart from being responsible to the public, the public media
should, at
all times, reflect all aspects of Zimbabwean society, including
different
cultures and views. That is the whole idea of having
publicly-owned media —
to serve the public interest.
Ministers of
information have over the years systematically rendered the
Mass Media Trust
(MMT) — a buffer between government and Zimpapers, in this
case, to
safeguard the public interest — dysfunctional through inadequate
funding and
staffing it with political appointees while allowing the
ministry of
information to usurp its powers, does not invalidate one crucial
point.
That is, after independence, the Nigerian government provided
a gift of
approximately US$5 million to the Zimbabwean government so that it
could
acquire the majority shares in the South African-owned Argus printing
company, publishers of some of the Zimpapers titles on behalf of the public.
These shares were to be held in trust by the MMT on behalf of
Zimbabweans.
In 2001, the then information minister Jonathan Moyo was
reported as
advocating the dissolution of the Trust and its replacement with
something
called the Multimedia and Information Trust. There is no public
record to
show that this ever happened.
If indeed the Trust was
dissolved and the Zimpapers stable is now running
just like any other
private entity, as Manheru suggests, it would be
necessary for him to
provide details on what happened and who benefitted, as
well as the current
situation.
It is unimaginable that his claims are true given that
Zimpapers is a
publicly-listed company.
Even more crucial is for him
to explain why the principals insisted on the
reconstitution of the MMT as
one of the measures to insulate the
state-hijacked public media from
political abuse and manipulation. Are they
“ignoramuses”,
too?
Zimbabweans deserve respect and a serious explanation from public
officials,
not incoherent diatribes against those demanding
reforms.
Mugabe has also expressed his disappointment with media,
including the
government-run outlets, itself a vindication of those
demanding media
reforms. So what does Manheru think of what Mugabe said
about the state
media which he apparently controls as shown by his
long-winded column in the
Herald?
Manheru further contends that
anyone, including the MDC parties, is free to
establish their own media
houses if they feel ill-treated by the public
media. What sort of argument
is that? The public media is for everyone, not
just him and his
bosses.
Besdies, he knows that Zimbabwe has a raft of laws that impose
undemocratic
restrictions on the establishment of media houses, in addition
to
unwarranted controls and extra-legal hindrances that feed onto the
pervasive
culture of impunity enjoyed by media rights violators suspected to
be
aligned to coercive arms of the state.
It is a fact that Zimbabwe
only just witnessed the growth of the print media
industry after the
inauguration of the inclusive government following years
of being subjected
to a one-sided narrative of the Zimbabwean story peddled
by the captive
public media.
Similarly, the broadcasting sector remains under tyrannical
controls
anchored in the Broadcasting Services Act. Scores of aspiring
community
radio and commercial broadcasters remain unlicenced despite
applications to
the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe.
These are the
issues. Manheru’s conspiracy theories are simply designed to
defend and
protect a repressive order through authoritarian control of
media.
Fortunately, it does not work anymore in this digital and social
media age.
Manheru and his handlers are fighting a losing battle due to
technological
advances and changes on the media landscape.
Ngwenya is the director of
Misa Zimbabwe.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in Opinion
So, a US$30
billion economic rescue package from the world’s third largest
economy, and
this time the provider of funds is leaving administration of
money in the
hands of the Africans themselves?
Candid Comment with Itai
Masuku
There is no doubt that many an African government must be rubbing
their
hands in glee asking themselves in their indigenous languages the same
question as ours, and that is: “Japan yatibvira nepi nhai?” (What a Godsend
Japan has been).
Naturally, our governments are salivating at yet
another prospect of a gravy
train once more when, in the particular case of
Zimbabwe, the chips were
down.
That Japan is no doubt committed to
the economic and social upliftment of
Africa while also benefitting in
return cannot be doubted. In the words of
its Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the
country commits to what it promises and
this is rooted in the culture of the
nation, which has a very strong element
of ethics and
discipline.
Indeed, since it began the Tokyo International Conference on
African
Development (Ticad) process 20 years ago, Japan has kept its
pledges,
beginning by committing US$1 billion in Ticad I and increasing this
to
US$3,2 billion in Ticad IV.
It was at the just-ended Ticad V in
the port city of Yokohama that the
country increased its support
exponentially to 32 trillion yen (US$32
billion.) Of this, US$14 billion
will be in the form of the normal official
development assistance (ODA), the
traditional pot that our African
governments have always dipped from; no,
not dip, decant from, and left
donors and citizens marveling at the
disappearance act.
Mind you, this is only part of the “bag” from Japan.
We are yet to hear what
the other Ticad partners, particularly the World and
Bank and UNDP, are to
put on the table.
Whatever it is, it has been
agreed that the African Union Commission will
run with the show, so that the
element of African ownership is present.
It is this part of Ticad that is
a cause for concern, given our proven track
record in mismanaging funds.
Yes, some may question what may seem to be
Afroscepticism, or in particular,
Zimboscepticism.
Would that be unjustified, however? Our growth
projections have already been
revised downwards by about half, while our
budget and trade deficits
threaten to be wider than the Sea of Japan. And we
are not even half-way
through the year. Strong mechanisms need to be put in
place to ensure that
the Ticad money doesn’t face the fate of its
predecessors.
While it is true that Africa is inevitably the next big
thing in terms of
world economic growth, it doesn’t necessarily hold that
all its countries
will benefit equally. It is those countries that are
better prepared to take
advantage of the unfolding opportunities such as
those from Ticad that will
stand to benefit.
The remaining US$18
billion from Japan that will be in the form of private
money and commercial
loans will naturally go to countries that offer a
conducive environment for
private investors, mainly those from Japan.
Zimbabwe should not miss this
last train lest it passes us by as rapidly as
the famed Japanese bullet
train!
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in Opinion
I HAVE read the
judgement prepared by the learned Chief Justice (Godfrey
Chidyausiku). I do
not, with respect, agree with it for reasons I agree to
set
out.
Column by Justice Luke Malaba
The applicant (Jealousy
Mawarire) approached the court seeking redress in
terms of Section 24(1) of
the former constitution. I say the former
constitution because Zimbabwe has
a new constitution. Some of the provisions
of the new constitution came into
effect on May 22 2013, which is the
publication day.
The question for
determination is whether the interpretation by the
applicant of Section
58(1) of the former constitution on the timing of the
“first elections”
which he wants the court to apply in deciding whether the
first respondent
(President Robert Mugabe) has violated his fundamental
right to the
protection of the law is correct.
Meaning
In my view, the clear
and unambiguous provisions of Section 58(1) of the
former constitution as
read with the other relevant sections, admit of
nothing other than their
ordinary grammatical meaning.
The applicant has turned the clear and
unambiguous language of the
provisions into a subject-matter of a question
of interpretation which has
unfortunately plunged the court into
irreconcilable differences of opinion.
I, however, refuse to have wool cast
over the inner eye of my mind on this
matter.
According to the
interpretation of Section 58(1) which the applicant wants
the court to
apply, the provision imposes on the president a duty to fix
June 29 2013 or
a day after as the date of the first elections. He contends
that Section
58(1) requires the president to issue a proclamation fixing the
date of the
first elections within four months before the date of automatic
dissolution
of parliament.
It is common cause that, barring any dissolution by
proclamation, the
parliamentary term of five years will come to an end at
midnight on June 29
2013.
It is common cause that up until the
hearing of the application on May 24,
the president had not fixed the date
of the first elections. The applicant
alleges that he has a right to the
performance by the president of his legal
duty to fix June 29 2013 as the
date of the first elections. He says his
corresponding right derives from
the fact that he is a registered voter. As
a result of the alleged failure
by the president to fix June 29 2013 as the
date of the first elections, the
applicant alleges that his right to the
protection of the law has been
violated.
Terms
I have no difficulty in recognising in the applicant
the right to approach
the court in terms of Section 24(1) of the former
constitution seeking the
relief of an order of mandamus against the
president. The principal on locus
standi is after all that it is better to
let people have access to the
fountain of justice where they fail for the
reasons of their folly than have
them blame the gatekeepers. An order of
mandamus is a means of relief which
the court, in the exercise of its wide
discretionary powers under Section
175(6)(b) of the new constitution can, in
appropriate cases, grant.
In determining the questions raised by the
applicant, I bear in mind the
fact that elections are crucial to
democracy.
This is particularly so at this stage of the history of our
country. The
first elections which are due to be held under the new
constitution are
bound to test the readiness of Zimbabweans to embrace the
change embodied in
the new constitution. The leadership that is going to
emerge elected will
have to embrace the new values prescribed by the new
constitution.
Choosing the precise date to hold the first elections is
therefore a matter
of utmost importance to be handled with greatest care.
There is no doubt
that Section 58(1) of the former constitution grants power
for the fixing of
the date of the first elections. For ease of understanding
of the import of
the provisions, I have analysed them against a framework
which looks at the
nature of the power, the repository, the contents, the
conditions and
restrictions on its exercise.
The answers to these
questions determine the democratic quality of the first
elections as they
depend on the guarantees that surround these different
aspects of the
choosing of the date of the elections.
Section 58(1) vests in the
president discretionary power to fix a day or
days of the first election by
proclamation published in the official
gazette. The use of the word “may” is
clearly indicative of the fact that
the power conferred on the president is
of discretionary nature.
It means that the president can act on his own
discretion or judgment. It is
not a power which is accompanied by a duty on
the president to act in a
specified manner at a specified time.
In
matters in which the president has discretion, he may seek advice from
any
quarter, but he must discharge his duties to the best of his own
judgment
and ability. The power is vested in the president, but he has the
freedom to
decide when to act provided he observes all the requisite
conditions of the
exercise of the power.
So Section 58(1) as the source of the
discretionary power, defines the
circumstances when the power may be
exercised not when it must be exercised.
There is, in my view of the
nature of the power conferred on the president
by Section 58(1), no legal
duty on him to fix June 29 2013 or a day after as
the date of the first
elections as suggested by the applicant.
This is not a case where the
date of general elections following automatic
dissolution of parliament is
precisely determined in the constitution. The
date is left to be chosen by
authority vested with the power to do so within
a framework of time
determined by the constitution. Within that timeframe,
the authority is left
with a fairly large margin of appreciation in choosing
the day or days in
which the election will have to take place.
Repository
In that regard,
the court has no power to dictate to the president when and
how he should
exercise the discretion vested in him by the constitution. It
is important
that the repository of the discretionary power to fix the date
of the first
elections is the president.
He is a democratically elected authority. As
he is vested with the power to
fix the date of the “first elections” in his
capacity as the President of
the Republic, he is expected to take into
account relevant factors relating
to the proper conduct of the elections in
the national interest. He does
not, in that capacity, act as a leader of a
political party.
The content of the discretionary power is very clear. It
is the fixing of a
day or days on which the first elections are to be held.
The discretionary
power is to be exercised in respect of a specific matter.
Which day or days
the president chooses to fix as the dates for the election
is a matter
strictly within his discretion.
Conditions
The court
cannot get involved in determining for the president the manner in
which he
should exercise his discretion. It cannot tell the president which
day or
days he should fix or that he was wrong in fixing a certain day.
It is
not the function of a court of law to substitute its own wisdom and
discretion for that of the person to whose judgment a matter is entrusted by
the law. While a court can review a public officer’s action for legality, it
cannot act as if it were the executive.
The real issue in this case
arises because of the interpretation of the
conditions and restrictions
imposed by the law on the exercise of the
discretionary power by the
president. The first condition is, of course, not
so controversial. It
relates to the form the exercise of the discretion
should take. The
president is required to give notice to the public of the
day or days he has
fixed for the holding of the first elections in the
gazette. Upon public
notification, the date or dates fixed for the elections
have legal
effect.
The fact that the manner by which the president is required to
make known to
the public the result of the exercise of his discretion is by
proclamation
published in the gazette means that it is an unconditional
notification.
It cannot be conditional upon the president reserving for
himself the right
to dissolve parliament by proclamation. That would be the
implication if the
contention by the applicant that the proclamation fixing
the date of the
first elections must be issued some four months before the
date of automatic
dissolution of parliament is accepted.
The next
condition is one in respect to which the interpretation of Section
58(1) by
the applicant has given rise to the question for determination.
In my
view, Section 58(1) is clear. It gives the president the discretionary
power
to fix a day or days for the holding of the first elections to fall
within a
period of four months calculated from the date of occurrence of any
of the
events referred to in Sections 63(4) and 63(7) of the former
constitution.
The date or dates fixed for the holding of the first elections
must follow
the date of the happening of the event concerned.
If the dissolution of
parliament is by proclamation issued by the president
in terms of Section
63(2) of the former constitution, the time within which
the day or days for
the holding of the elections starts running from the
date of the issuance of
the proclamation.
If the dissolution of parliament is automatic as
provided for in Section
63(4) ,the time within which the day or days fixed
for the holding of the
elections starts to run from the date of the
automatic dissolution.
It is generally accepted that in the absence of
express provisions to the
contrary, dissolution of parliament is usually
followed and not preceded by
a proclamation fixing the date of a general
election. An election is usually
called and polling dates fixed by
proclamation after and not before
dissolution. I have no doubt in my mind
that the period of four months
referred to in Section 58(1) related to what
should happen after the
happening of either dissolution of parliament by
proclamation or automatic
dissolution.
Contention
The contention
by the applicant that the time limit of four months relates
to what the
president should do before the date of automatic dissolution,
cannot be
correct. It ignores the word “after” in the section. According to
the old
legal maxim, “parliament does not speak in vain”. These words must
surely
have been used in Section 58(1) for a purpose.
The purpose is precisely
to subject each type of dissolution to the same
mode of fixing the day or
days for the holding of the first elections.
The words “or, as the case
may be” mean that whichever of the two events
referred to in Sections 36(4)
and 63(7) occurs, two things shall happen. The
first consequence of the
occurrence of the event is the need for the
president to decide when to
exercise his discretionary power and fix the
date or dates of the election
by issuing a proclamation. The second
consequence of the occurrence of the
event is the commencement of the
running of the limitation period of four
months referred to in Section
58(1).
While the two elements are the
direct consequences of the issuances of a
proclamation dissolving parliament
or of the automatic dissolution of
parliament, there is an additional
restriction on the exercise by the
president of the discretionary power
which applies to dissolution by
proclamation only. The restriction is
provided for in Section 63(7).
The words “subject to the provisions of
subs (4)” in Section 63(7) emphasise
the additional restriction. They also
emphasise the fact that there are
elements which are common to both methods
of dissolution in so far as the
direct consequences are concerned. In other
words, while the time limit is
applicable to both forms of dissolution, the
requirement that the
dissolution shall take effect on the day preceding the
first day of polling
in the elections does not apply to the automatic
dissolution of parliament
in terms of Section 63(4).
It is important
to understand the effect of Section 63(7). The section must
be read together
with Sections 63(1) and (2). While these sections provide
for the power to
prorogue and dissolve parliament respectively, they do not
state the manner
in which the power is to be exercised. Section 63(7) then
provides that the
power to prorogue or dissolve parliament shall be
exercised by means of a
proclamation published in the gazette. Where the
proclamation dissolves
parliament as opposed to proroguing it Section 63(7)
then goes on to
prescribe the restriction therein contained.
Accountability
Section
63(4) fixes the parliamentary terms at five years. This is clearly
an upper
limit to ensure regular accountability to the electorate. That
principle is
not offended by a shorter term by dissolution of parliament by
proclamation.
The purpose or objective
of accounting to the electorate is the same. The
fixing of a day or days of
the holding of the election facilitates
accountability to the electorate in
each case.
Put differently,
Section 63(7) does not affect a situation where Section
63(4) applies. The
contention that the president is under a duty to issue a
proclamation fixing
the day or days of the election within a period of four
months before the
date of automatic dissolution of parliament is difficult
to
justify.
It requires that the word “after” in Section 58(1) be ignored or
expunged
and in its place read the word “before”. On what event would the
proclamation fixing the date or dates of the election be based on except
itself.
The fact is that there is nothing in Section 58(1) of the
former
constitution imposing on the president an obligation to fix a day or
days of
the election to coincide with the date of the end of the natural
life of
parliament.
If that were the case, the date of the election
would be known in advance as
if it was fixed by legislation.
If the
framers of the former constitution had intended the election date to
fall on
the last day of the maximum duration of the life of parliament, they
would
have said so. They would have imposed the duty on the president to
simply
issue the proclamation announcing that date. There would have been no
need
at all to vest the President with the power to “fix” “such day or days”
of
the holding of the election.
It is clear to me that the words “fix” and
“day or days” indicate the
conferment of a discretionary power. In other
words, the date of an election
remains unknown to the public until the
publication of the proclamation
fixing it in the gazette.
Reference
to Section 158(1)(a) of the new constitution is inappropriate.
Section
158(1) provides that “a general election must be held so that
polling takes
place not more than thirty days before the expiry of the
five-year period
specified in Section 143”. Section 158(1) cannot be used to
support the
applicant’s contention.
It is correct to say Section 143 of the new
constitution relates to
automatic dissolution of parliament. Section 3(1)(e)
of Part 2 of the Sixth
Schedule to the new constitution, makes it clear that
Section 158 does not
come into operation on the publication
day.
Section 1 of Part 1 of the Sixth Schedule provides that the “first
elections” should be held in terms of the new constitution. In fact,
Section 8 of Part 3 of the Sixth Schedule specifically provides that the
“first elections” must be conducted in terms of an Electoral Law in
conformity with this constitution.
In suspending the coming into
operation of Section 158, the framers of the
new constitution were aware of
the provisions of Section 58(1) of the former
constitution. They were aware
of the clear conflict between the position
provided for under Section 58(1)
and that enacted by Section 158(1)(a) of
the new
constitution.
Section 158(1)(a) provides for the fixing of the date of
election within the
specified period before the date of automatic
dissolution of parliament.
Section 58(1), to the contrary, provides for the
fixing of the date of the
election within the prescribed period after the
date of automatic
dissolution of parliament.
For the purposes of the
timing of the holding of the first elections, the
former constitution
operates simultaneously with the new constitution. In
any case, the
applicant’s case is not that a general election must take
place within four
months before the president leaves office or parliament is
dissolved by
operation of law.
His case is that Section 58(1) authorises the issuance
by the president of a
proclamation fixing the date of the first elections on
June 29 2013, some
four months before the date of automatic dissolution of
parliament.
It is important to refer to constitutions of other countries
practicing
constitutional democracy. Section 55(3) of the Malaysian
constitution
provides that: “Parliament, unless sooner dissolved, shall
continue for five
years from the date of its first meeting and shall then
stand dissolved.”
Section 55(4) then provides that the general election
“shall be held within
sixty days from the date of dissolution of
parliament”. During the debate on
the 13th general elections in Malaysia,
there was no question about the
period of 60 days running after the date of
the automatic dissolution of
parliament. The debate centred on when the
prime minister would fix the date
of the election.
The Kenyan
situation is even closer to ours. Kenya has had a new
constitution as us.
The Constitution of Kenya 2010 has prescribed a precise
general election
date. Section 9 of the Sixth Schedule suspended the
operation of some of the
provisions of the new constitution during the
transitional
period.
The date of the first elections was fixed on the basis of the
former
constitution. Section 9 of the Sixth Schedule provided that the
“first
elections for the President, National Assembly and the Senate shall
be held
within sixty days after dissolution of the National Assembly at the
end of
its term”.
Cases that went to the courts in Kenya did not
raise the question of when
the period of sixty days started to run. The
cases which were eventually
decided by the High Court of Kenya raised the
question whether the courts
should involve themselves in fixing the date of
the first election.
In fact, the High Court fixed the date of the first
elections by calculating
sixty days after the date of automatic dissolution
of parliament.
In this case, there are provisions of the new constitution
relating to the
conduct of the first elections which the president would
have to take into
account in fixing the date of the elections. As pointed
out earlier, Section
8 of Part 3 of the Sixth Schedule requires that the
first elections be
conducted in terms of an Electoral Law in conformity with
the new
constitution.
Section 6(3) of the Part 3 of the Sixth
Schedule requires that there be
conducted by the Registrar-General of voters
under the supervision of the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, a special and
intensive voter registration
and voters’ roll inspection exercise for at
least 30 days after the
publication day.
Section 157(3) of the new
constitution requires that the Electoral Law must
provide for the nomination
of candidates in any election to take place at
least 14 days after the
publication of the proclamation calling for that
election. It further
requires that the polling in that election must take
place at least 30 days
after the nomination of candidates.
The presumption of constitutionality
requires that the president in the
exercise of the discretionary powers
vested in him, should take into account
all these factors in deciding to
issue the proclamation fixing the day or
days on which the “first elections”
are to be held. All these factors are
designed to ensure not only
accountability to the electorate, but also that
the electorate plays a
meaningful role in the election and make informed
choices.
In all
matters relating to the “first elections” Cap.7 of the new
constitution is
the supreme and binding law. The president would have to
take into account
the amendments which have to be made by parliament to the
Electoral Law and
other regulations relating to the conduct of the elections
to make them in
conformity with the new constitution.
Section 157(5) provides that after
a proclamation of the date of the first
elections, no amendment to the
Electoral Law or to any law relating to the
elections would have effect for
the purposes of those elections. Any changes
to such a law must be made
before the proclamation is issued.
What all this means is that the
president’s exercise of discretion in
calling the first elections and fixing
the date when the poll should be held
must in itself be in conformity with
the new constitution. The applicant,
like all other potential voters, must
wait for the exercise by the president
of his discretion in accordance with
the law.
The applicant seems to have been driven into making the
application by his
aversion for what he calls a situation in which executive
and judicial arms
of the government can function for four months without
parliament.
The aversion is obviously based on the interpretation of the
principle of
separation of powers which is characteristic feature of
constitutional
democracy. While the situation criticised by the applicant
may be
undesirable, it is certainly not unconstitutional. It is a situation
provided for by the constitution.
The applicant exaggerates the case
by saying that the second and fourth
respondents want the affairs of the
country to be run by the executive and
judiciary without parliament for four
months. An honest and objective
assessment of what the two respondents have
said shows that they acknowledge
that the president has a discretionary
power to proclam the date of the
first elections.
They accept that it
is in the exercise of his discretion for the president
to decide when within
the period of four months after the date of the
proclamation dissolving
parliament or the date of automatic dissolution of
parliament, the first
elections are to be held.
Zimbabwe is not the only constitutional
democracy with a provision of a
constitution allowing for a period in which
the affairs of the country can
be run by the executive and judiciary without
parliament following its
dissolution by operation of law at the end of its
full term. Section 55 of
the Malaysian constitution has already been
referred to.
Article 16.3 of the constitution of Ireland provides that
after the
dissolution of the Dail Eireann (parliament), a general election
for members
of parliament shall take place not later than 30 days after the
dissolution.
Article 15(2) of the constitution of Andorra provides that the
president has
the power to choose a date of an election to fall between the
30th or 40th
days following the end of the term of the
president.
Article 64.3 of the constitution of Bulgaria provides that the
date for an
election shall fall within two months from the expiry of the
life of
parliament. Article 73(1) of the constitution of Croatia provides
that
elections for members of the Croatian parliament shall be held not
later
than 60 days after the expiry of the mandate or dissolution of the
Croatian
parliament.
Even in countries such as Canada where the date
of a general election is
fixed by legislation, the situation the applicant
criticises has not been
avoided. In terms of the Canada Elections Act, a
general election is
required to take place on October 19 at the end of four
years of parliament.
The dissolution of parliament by proclamation
prematurely terminated the
life of parliament. As a result of a general
election which took place on
May 2 2011, the life of parliament would end on
May 2 2015. The general
election would have to be held five months later on
October 19 2015.
It is clear therefore that the principle that there can
be a period
following automatic dissolution of parliament when the affairs
of a country
are run by the executive and judiciary is recognised. It is
interesting to
note that while the applicant is concerned about the fate of
parliament, he
does not seem to be interested in the need to comply with the
requirements
of the new constitution designed to ensure that the electorate
plays a
meaningful role in the electoral process.
There is no doubt
in my mind that these requirements of the new constitution
are designed to
ensure that the first elections are truly a legitimate
democratic instrument
for the people to choose and control the authorities
that will act in their
name. Taking into account the importance of the first
elections, the new
constitution tries to guarantee the democratic character
of the
decision-making on the date of the election.
It appears to me that once
it is accepted that the date of the first
election can be fixed to take
place after June 29 2013, the whole basis of
the applicant’s argument
collapses. He then clearly falls in the “within
four months after the
automatic dissolution of parliament argument”.
It also defeats logic for
the majority to find that the president has broken
the supreme law of the
land and at the same time authorise him to continue
acting unlawfully. That
is a very dangerous principle to apply as it has no
basis in law. The
principle of the rule of law just does not permit of such
an
approach.
A finding that the president has a discretionary power under
Section 58(1),
which he has to exercise within the prescribed time limits,
would clearly
avoid such a contradictory order by the majority.
For
all these reasons, I should dismiss the application with costs.
Malaba is
Zimbabwe’s deputy chief justice.of accounting to the electorate is
the same.
The fixing of a day or days of the holding of the election
facilitates
accountability to the electorate in each case.
Put differently, Section
63(7) does not affect a situation where Section
63(4) applies. The
contention that the president is under a duty to issue a
proclamation fixing
the day or days of the election within a period of four
months before the
date of automatic dissolution of parliament is difficult
to
justify.
It requires that the word “after” in Section 58(1) be ignored or
expunged
and in its place read the word “before”. On what event would the
proclamation fixing the date or dates of the election be based on except
itself.
The fact is that there is nothing in Section 58(1) of the
former
constitution imposing on the president an obligation to fix a day or
days of
the election to coincide with the date of the end of the natural
life of
parliament. If that were the case, the date of the election would be
known
in advance as if it was fixed by legislation.
Maximum
duration
If the framers of the former constitution had intended the election
date to
fall on the last day of the maximum duration of the life of
parliament, they
would have said so. They would have imposed the duty on the
president to
simply issue the proclamation announcing that date. There would
have been no
need at all to vest the president with the power to “fix” “such
day or days”
of the holding of the election.
It is clear to me that the
words “fix” and “day or days” indicate the
conferment of a discretionary
power. In other words, the date of an election
remains unknown to the public
until the publication of the proclamation
fixing it in the
gazette.
Reference to Section 158(1)(a) of the new constitution is
inappropriate.
Section 158(1) provides that “a general election must be held
so that
polling takes place not more than thirty days before the expiry of
the
five-year period specified in Section 143”. Section 158(1) cannot be
used to
support the applicant’s contention.
It is correct to say
Section 143 of the new constitution relates to
automatic dissolution of
parliament. Section 3(1)(e) of Part 2 of the Sixth
Schedule to the new
constitution, makes it clear that Section 158 does not
come into operation
on the publication day.
Section 1 of Part 1 of the Sixth Schedule
provides that the “first
elections” should be held in terms of the new
constitution. In fact,
Section 8 of Part 3 of the Sixth Schedule
specifically provides that the
“first elections” must be conducted in terms
of an Electoral Law in
conformity with this constitution.
Conflicting
sections
In suspending the coming into operation of Section 158, the framers
of the
new constitution were aware of the provisions of Section 58(1) of the
former
constitution.
They were aware of the clear conflict between
the position provided for
under Section 58(1) and that enacted by Section
158(1)(a) of the new
constitution.
Section 158(1)(a) provides for the
fixing of the date of election within the
specified period before the date
of automatic dissolution of parliament.
Section 58(1), to the contrary,
provides for the fixing of the date of the
election within the prescribed
period after the date of automatic
dissolution of parliament.
For the
purposes of the timing of the holding of the first elections, the
former
constitution operates simultaneously with the new constitution. In
any case,
the applicant’s case is not that a general election must take
place within
four months before the president leaves office or parliament is
dissolved by
operation of law.
His case is that Section 58(1) authorises the issuance
by the president of a
proclamation fixing the date of the first elections on
June 29 2013, some
four months before the date of automatic dissolution of
parliament.
It is important to refer to constitutions of other countries
practicing
constitutional democracy. Section 55(3) of the Malaysian
constitution
provides that: “Parliament, unless sooner dissolved, shall
continue for five
years from the date of its first meeting and shall then
stand dissolved.”
Examples from elsewhere
Section 55(4) then provides
that the general election “shall be held within
sixty days from the date of
dissolution of parliament”. During the debate on
the 13th general elections
in Malaysia, there was no question about the
period of 60 days running after
the date of the automatic dissolution of
parliament. The debate centred on
when the prime minister would fix the date
of the election.
The
Kenyan situation is even closer to ours. Kenya has had a new
constitution as
us. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 has prescribed a precise
general election
date. Section 9 of the Sixth Schedule suspended the
operation of some of the
provisions of the new constitution during the
transitional
period.
The date of the first elections was fixed on the basis of the
former
constitution. Section 9 of the Sixth Schedule provided that the
“first
elections for the President, National Assembly and the Senate shall
be held
within sixty days after dissolution of the National Assembly at the
end of
its term”.
Cases that went to the courts in Kenya did not
raise the question of when
the period of sixty days started to run. The
cases which were eventually
decided by the High Court of Kenya raised the
question whether the courts
should involve themselves in fixing the date of
the first election. In fact,
the High Court fixed the date of the first
elections by calculating sixty
days after the date of automatic dissolution
of parliament.
Voters’ roll process
In this case, there are provisions
of the new constitution relating to the
conduct of the first elections which
the president would have to take into
account in fixing the date of the
elections. As pointed out earlier, Section
8 of Part 3 of the Sixth Schedule
requires that the first elections be
conducted in terms of an Electoral Law
in conformity with the new
constitution.
Section 6(3) of the Part 3
of the Sixth Schedule requires that there be
conducted by the
Registrar-General of voters under the supervision of the
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission, a special and intensive voter registration
and voters’ roll
inspection exercise for at least 30 days after the
publication
day.
Section 157(3) of the new constitution requires that the Electoral
Law must
provide for the nomination of candidates in any election to take
place at
least 14 days after the publication of the proclamation calling for
that
election. It further requires that the polling in that election must
take
place at least 30 days after the nomination of candidates.
The
presumption of constitutionality requires that the president in the
exercise
of the discretionary powers vested in him, should take into account
all
these factors in deciding to issue the proclamation fixing the day or
days
on which the “first elections” are to be held. All these factors are
designed to ensure not only accountability to the electorate, but also that
the electorate plays a meaningful role in the election and make informed
choices.
Applicant’s aversion
In all matters relating to the
“first elections” Chapter 7 of the new
constitution is the supreme and
binding law. The president would have to
take into account the amendments
which have to be made by parliament to the
Electoral Law and other
regulations relating to the conduct of the elections
to make them in
conformity with the new constitution.
Section 157(5) provides that after
a proclamation of the date of the first
elections, no amendment to the
Electoral Law or to any law relating to the
elections would have effect for
the purposes of those elections. Any changes
to such a law must be made
before the proclamation is issued.
What all this means is that the
president’s exercise of discretion in
calling the first elections and fixing
the date when the poll should be held
must in itself be in conformity with
the new constitution. The applicant,
like all other potential voters, must
wait for the exercise by the president
of his discretion in accordance with
the law.
The applicant seems to have been driven into making the
application by his
aversion for what he calls a situation in which executive
and judicial arms
of the government can function for four months without
parliament.
Separation of powers
The aversion is obviously based on
the interpretation of the principle of
separation of powers which is
characteristic feature of constitutional
democracy. While the situation
criticised by the applicant may be
undesirable, it is certainly not
unconstitutional.
It is a situation provided for by the
constitution.
The applicant exaggerates the case by saying that the
second and fourth
respondents want the affairs of the country to be run by
the executive and
judiciary without parliament for four months. An honest
and objective
assessment of what the two respondents have said shows that
they acknowledge
that the president has a discretionary power to proclam the
date of the
first elections.
They accept that it is in the exercise
of his discretion for the president
to decide when within the period of four
months after the date of the
proclamation dissolving parliament or the date
of automatic dissolution of
parliament, the first elections are to be
held.
Zimbabwe is not the only constitutional democracy with a provision
of a
constitution allowing for a period in which the affairs of the country
can
be run by the executive and judiciary without parliament following its
dissolution by operation of law at the end of its full term. Section 55 of
the Malaysian constitution has already been referred to.
Article 16.3
of the constitution of Ireland provides that after the
dissolution of the
Dail Eireann (parliament), a general election for members
of parliament
shall take place not later than 30 days after the dissolution.
Article 15(2)
of the constitution of Andorra provides that the president has
the power to
choose a date of an election to fall between the 30th or 40th
days following
the end of the term of the president.
Article 64.3 of the constitution of
Bulgaria provides that the date for an
election shall fall within two months
from the expiry of the life of
parliament. Article 73(1) of the constitution
of Croatia provides that
elections for members of the Croatian parliament
shall be held not later
than 60 days after the expiry of the mandate or
dissolution of the Croatian
parliament.
Even in countries such as
Canada where the date of a general election is
fixed by legislation, the
situation the applicant criticises has not been
avoided. In terms of the
Canada Elections Act, a general election is
required to take place on
October 19 at the end of four years of parliament.
The dissolution of
parliament by proclamation prematurely terminated the
life of parliament. As
a result of a general election which took place on
May 2 2011, the life of
parliament would end on May 2 2015. The general
election would have to be
held five months later on October 19 2015.
Electoral requirements
It
is clear therefore that the principle that there can be a period
following
automatic dissolution of parliament when the affairs of a country
are run by
the executive and judiciary is recognised. It is interesting to
note that
while the applicant is concerned about the fate of parliament, he
does not
seem to be interested in the need to comply with the requirements
of the new
constitution designed to ensure that the electorate plays a
meaningful role
in the electoral process.
There is no doubt in my mind that these
requirements of the new constitution
are designed to ensure that the first
elections are truly a legitimate
democratic instrument for the people to
choose and control the authorities
that will act in their name. Taking into
account the importance of the first
elections, the new constitution tries to
guarantee the democratic character
of the decision-making on the date of the
election.
It appears to me that once it is accepted that the date of the
first
election can be fixed to take place after June 29 2013, the whole
basis of
the applicant’s argument collapses. He then clearly falls in the
“within
four months after the automatic dissolution of parliament
argument”.
Contradictory ruling
It also defeats logic for the majority
to find that the president has broken
the supreme law of the land and at the
same time authorise him to continue
acting unlawfully. That is a very
dangerous principle to apply as it has no
basis in law. The principle of the
rule of law just does not permit of such
an approach.
A finding that
the president has a discretionary power under Section 58(1),
which he has to
exercise within the prescribed time limits, would clearly
avoid such a
contradictory order by the majority.
For all these reasons, I should dismiss
the application with costs.
Malaba is Zimbabwe’s deputy chief
justice.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in Opinion
While the politicisation of
the judiciary is common the world over,
including in Zimbabwe, a new
phenomenon seems to be developing in this
country, particularly fuelled by
last week’s controversial Constitutional
Court ruling which ordered
President Robert Mugabe to proclaim the dates for
elections it directed must
be held by July 31.
Editor’s Memo with Dumisani Muleya
The ruling,
widely criticised and even condemned by some, provoked uproar.
While some —
mainly those linked to Zanu PF — welcomed it, others,
particularly those who
suspected the application was sponsored by political
forces of darkness,
said it was badly flawed.
It must be noted legal and constitutional
experts defending the ruling are
mainly using sophistry — plausible but
misleading or fallacious arguments
based on subtle yet unsound
reasoning.
I must quickly point out that my good friend Jealousy Mawarire
says the
application was his, not a dark arts initiative. Critics’ main
concerns
though were Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku and his six
colleagues behind
the ruling, misdirected themselves in coming up with the
judgment
effectively based on a misconstruction and a default amendment of
the law,
quite apart from mangling and decrypting straightforward provisions
in an
expedient way when they were not inscrutable. (See Pages 10 and
15).
Although there were no concurring opinions (an opinion by one or
more judges
which agrees with a majority judgment, but for different
reasons), two
judges, including Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba, offered
dissenting
opinions.
This left the bench divided. That fallout
spilled into society. Even
neutrals who ordinarily refrain from publicly
expressing their views, joined
the fray as judges, legal and constitutional
scholars, politicians and
interested parties of all stripes, tore at each
other.
As politicians fuel dramatic and stirring reactions, Zimbabwe could
between
now and July 31 be engulfed in political tumult as the combat over
election
dates, which has been going on since 2011, reaches a
denouement.
Mawarire, whatever his motivation, could have by his probably
well-meaning
actions thrown a cat among pigeons. Although the implications
of his
successful court application are yet to be fully digested, its
consequences
on elections in particular, and the courts, judges and
political
jurisprudence might be far-reaching.
One of the unintended
consequences of the ruling might be the advent of
serious judicialisation of
politics in Zimbabwe. Already, there is a debate
about whether judges are
mere professionals or political animals.
That question looms large
especially taking into account how the executive
has dealt with judges,
particularly the purging of dissenting ones, over the
past decade. The
avowed policy of the executive, mainly since 2000, has been
to appoint
judges sympathetic to the zeitgeist, the spirit and thinking of
the
time.
The purging and packing of benches, as well as the dishing out of
farms and
other material gifts to them, was criticised as attempts to
compromise the
judiciary.
After that, debate about politicisation of
the judiciary and now
judicialisation of politics in Zimbabwe, has
intensified. Some now speak of
encroaching juridification, a situation in
which judicial actors become
dominant, in some cases displacing lawmakers or
forcing them to conform to
court jurisprudence.
Indeed, courts are
becoming major players on the political landscape
elsewhere, for instance in
Southeast Asia. There have also been cases in the
United States and
elsewhere. Is this now happening in a major way in
Zimbabwe?
If it
is, then it must be combated because whatever their backgrounds when
they
reach the bench, judges, whether they believe in strict constructionism
or
judicial activism, must put aside personal political and policy
preferences,
values and attitudes and have allegiance only to the law and
facts of the
case. I think that’s a reasonable expectation.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
June 7, 2013 in Opinion
GIVEN that Sadc has been
battling to resolve the Zimbabwe political
stalemate for over a decade now,
the regional summit postponed from this
weekend to a date yet to be
announced, although some say it would now be
next week in Pretoria, South
Africa, provides the opportunity for
sub-regional leaders to ensure free and
fair elections in the country to fix
the situation once and for
all.
Zimbabwe Independent Editorial
Whatever the date of the
summit, Sadc, as the guarantors of the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) and
attendant elections roadmap, must discharge
its responsibility without fear
or favour to ensure peaceful and credible
polls in the
country.
Zimbabwe must move forward. In the same vein, Zimbabwe’s
national and party
political leaders must stop being irresponsible and help
the processes to
prepare for free and fair elections with the assistance of
Sadc acting on
its own behalf and on behalf of the African
Union.
Despite nationalist posturing by some political actors in our
midst who want
to scare away regional leaders from performing their duties
to help Zimbabwe
hold peaceful and credible elections, Sadc must keep its
feet on the ground
and decisively tackle the situation to end the current
political stalemate
and give the country a chance to concentrate on economic
and social
recovery.
It is clear President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF
want to stampede the nation
into elections without fulfilling their GPA and
roadmap obligations,
including media and security reforms, conveniently
forgetting why they ended
in a coalition government. Zimbabwe cannot afford
to hold another disputed
election after all that the country and the people
went through in the
decade preceding 2009.
Only callous political
brutes and their surrogates would want the country to
be pushed into
elections without regard for what happens afterwards.
So Sadc should
seize the moment to assist Zimbabwe hold free and fair
elections.
For
those with a genuine national interest, not greedy political robber
barons
guided by power, plunder and personal aggrandisement, it does not
matter who
wins so long as they will serve the people and safeguard the
country’s goals
and ambitions.
The Sadc summit will come as Zimbabwe is struggling to
finalise election
preparations.
Even if Zanu PF anarchists want us to
believe the country is ready for the
polls, the fact is there are some
critical issues such as voters’
registration and alignment of legislation to
the new constitution that still
need to be done.
Although the
Constitutional Court has ordered polls to be held by July 31,
it does not
remove the fact that certain legal issues and processes must
still be
addressed to ensure progressive elections.
While the court ruling must be
respected in the spirit of constitutionalism,
upholding the constitution and
the rule of law, Sadc must not allow itself
to be held hostage to the extent
of failing to appreciate the broader
political context and its main mission
to help the country out of this
debilitating stalemate.
