FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Political Editor
Only
nine seconds to vote for some
FEARS of administrative electoral chaos and
vote rigging heightened this
week as the country's urban areas, where the
opposition enjoys support, were
allocated fewer polling stations than rural
areas, perceived ZANU-PF
strongholds.
So skewed is the distribution
of voting stations that in some urban centres,
each voter would have to
spend a maximum of nine seconds in the polling
booth if all registered
voters are to be accommodated in the elections to be
conducted inside a
day.
And yet unlike in previous polls, voters would need to spend more time
on
the March 29 ballot paper in view of the fact that the 18th
Constitutional
amendments railroaded through Parliament in September last
year rolled the
Presidential, Senatorial, House of Assembly and local
government elections
into one.
The Morgan Tsvangirai faction of the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
has taken court action to challenge the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)
on a range of provisions they believe
will give President Robert Mugabe and
his ZANU-PF party, destabilised by an
internal rebellion, an advantage.
The main opposition party has gone to court
to compel the Commission to
disclose the company that is printing the ballot
papers, the number of
ballot papers printed, as well as allow for an
inspection and audit of all
the printed ballots.
The MDC also wants the
court to compel ZEC to prove and put remedies in
place that ensure that the
voting process will not be slowed down as
happened in the chaotic 2002
presidential elections, controversially won by
the veteran Zimbabwean
leader, who will be seeking a sixth-term on March 29.
President Mugabe is
facing a strong challenge from Tsvangirai and former
finance minister Simba
Makoni, who broke ranks with ZANU-PF on February 5.
"There has to be a
maximum number of minutes for a voter to be attended to
and ZEC must not be
overwhelmed by a high turn-out," said Tendai Biti, in a
letter instructing
his party's lawyers on the court action.
"ZEC must disclose the minimum
number of votes to be roughly cast at a given
time and the time taken by
each voter. Hence the need for ZEC to increase
the number of polling
stations in every ward and to this effect ZEC must be
compelled to have at
least 12 polling stations per ward."
The MDC concerns tally with those
carried in a report released on Tuesday by
election watchdog, the Zimbabwe
Electoral Support Network (ZESN).
While ZEC officials could not be reached
for comment at the time of going to
print, ZANU-PF insiders said ZESN and
the MDC were conveniently disregarding
the facts on the ground.
The
ruling party insiders said it made sense for the Commission to allocate
more
polling stations in rural areas on account of their geography, which
might
have compelled ZEC to reduce the distance covered by rural voters to
get to
the polling stations.
Asked why ZEC could not double the number of polling
stations in urban
areas, the insiders said the Commission might be operating
on a shoestring
budget.
"Instead of crying, the opposition should take
advantage of the campaigning
period to educate voters so that they don't
spend a lot of time at the
polling stations," said the insider.
Ephraim
Masawi, the ZANU-PF deputy secretary for information and publicity,
also
dismissed allegations that ZEC was aiding his party.
While he was not privy
to how ZEC allocated polling stations, Masawi said he
suspected that the
opposition could be developing cold feet, intimidated by
President Mugabe's
"star rallies".
Masawi also dismissed allegations of vote buying levelled by
the opposition
against ZANU-PF.
"I am not aware of the issue of polling
stations as I need to check with
ZEC, but as for the issue of vote buying
using maize and farming equipment,
I don't think it is factual because
firstly, the country has no maize.
"But I am aware that some opposition
candidates are dishing out maize.I
suspect the opposition is beginning to
develop cold feet due to our sleek
campaign machinery, which is now in full
motion," said Masawi.
Elsewhere in this issue, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
governor Gideon Gono also
hit out at critics accusing the lender of the last
resort of launching Phase
3 of the Farm Mechanisation Programme to give
ZANU-PF an opportunity to buy
votes ahead of the March 29
elections.
"Nothing could be further from the truth. Remember that on 11 June
2007 and
in October 2007 I did pre-announce that future phases were coming.
Elections
or no elections, this programme was still going to take place," he
said.
Despite losing to the opposition in urban areas, ZANU-PF has always
pipped
the opposition at the finishing line buoyed by rural support.
In
its report, ZESN encouraged ZEC to increase the number of polling
stations
in urban centres to decongest the polling stations.
It reports: "ZESN notes
that there is a significant discrepancy in the
number of registered voters
per polling station for different provinces.
There should be some variation,
but the number of registered voters per
polling station in Bulawayo and
Harare is more than twice that of the other
provinces."
With 766 478,
Harare has the largest number of registered voters, according
to latest
statistics made available this week by ZEC. But it only has 379
voting
centres, giving an average 2 022.4 voters per station.
"As a result, the
average voter in Harare province will need to be processed
in 22 seconds and
some cases in as little as nine seconds (Chitungwiza Ward
2 - 9 281
registered voters and 2 polling stations). The average number of
voters
should be consistent by both constituency and ward."
ZESN encouraged ZEC to
increase the number of polling stations in Bulawayo
and Harare provinces as
well as other urban centres so that all Zimbabweans
have a reasonable
opportunity to vote on 29 March.
In Gweru and Mutare, the average number of
registered voters per polling
station is also high at 1 234.8 and 1 277.3
respectively.
"The ZEC's publication of the list of polling stations is an
important and
positive step. However, the list contains significant errors
and relatively
few polling stations in Bulawayo and Harare provinces. ZESN
encourages the
ZEC to rectify these issues so that everyone who wishes to
vote has a
reasonable opportunity to do so. It would be unfortunate if the
problem of
too few polling stations in these provinces in 2002 is repeated,"
said ZESN
chairman Noel Kututwa.
Tens of thousands of voters were turned
away at the close of polling in
2002.
The opposition sees the polling
station allocation as a deliberate ploy to
disadvantage its urban
support.
While urban voters are being deprived of polling stations, ZANU-PF's
perceived rural strongholds have a far better distribution of registered
voters per polling station.
Bulawayo has an average of 1 514.3 voters per
polling station, compared to
an average of 530 in Mashonaland West and 601.8
for Mashonaland Central.
Gabriel Chaibva, the spokesman for the Arthur
Mutambara faction of the MDC,
said as far as his party was concerned, it had
no problems with the issue of
polling stations.
"In fact in my
constituency in Sunningdale, I have more than enough. Let's
be reasonable
and sensible not to raise unnecessary complaints when we are
supposed to be
campaigning," he said. "I have not received any serious
complaints from our
members regarding polling stations and other issues
relating to this
election."
Adding pressure on the ZEC this week was the Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human
Rights (ZLHR), which wrote seeking clarification on what it sees as
inconsistencies in the Electoral Act regarding circumstances surrounding a
Presidential run-off.
The lawyers see inconsistency between sections 110
(3) of the Electoral Act
and 3 (1) of the second schedule to the Electoral
Act.
Section 110(3) of the Electoral Act says where two or more candidates
for
President are nominated, and after no candidate receives a clear
majority of
the total number of valid votes cast, a second round shall be
held within
twenty-one days.
However, section 3(1) of the schedule to the
Electoral Act says that the
candidate with the highest number of votes - and
not necessarily a majority
of the votes cast - should be declared the
winner.
"Clearly, this inconsistency has the potential to cause serious
problems in
the event of none of the Presidential candidates getting a
majority of the
votes cast. As such, we feel it necessary to bring it to
your attention and
ask what your view and position in respect of this
inconsistency is. How do
you hope to be able to handle it? It is trite that
the electoral system
should be certain and its integrity should be
unimpeachable. As such, the
certainty, which this inconsistency puts in the
system is unacceptable," it
added.
ZLHR warned that failure to obtain
clarity on the legislation would force it
to take legal action against
ZEC.
South Africa said yesterday that failure to hold free and fair elections
in
Zimbabwe would further entrench negative sentiment about democracy in the
country. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad told reporters Zimbabwe
could not afford yet another disputed poll. The head of the SADC observer
mission to Zimbabwe, Angolan Foreign Minister Joao de Miranda, said the
elections would be a major test for the region. He said he was confident
that free and fair elections could still be held in Zimbabwe. Even when
deploying just two weeks before elections, de Miranda said the SADC mission
could still adequately cover the polls.
Utterances by Zimbabwe's service
chiefs that they would not salute either
Tsvangirai or Makoni have also
raised fears in the opposition and civic
society organisations that the
elections were already being rigged in favour
of the incumbent.
Retired
Major General Paradzayi Zimondi and the Commander of the Zimbabwe
Defence
Forces, Constantine Chiwenga were widely quoted in the state media
stating
that they were not prepared to serve under anyone except President
Mugabe,
utterances viewed by the opposition as intimidation of the
electorate and
ordinary Zimbabweans prior to the harmonised elections
allegedly for the
purposes of manipulating their vote in favour of the
incumbent and
ZANU-PF.
The service chiefs, including Police Commissioner General Augustine
Chihuri
issued similar threats in the run-up to the controversial 2002
presidential
polls.
Voting will take place amid an economic meltdown -
including a shrinking
economy, rocketing inflation, shortages of most basic
goods and collapsing
public services - in a country once known as a regional
bread basket. Since
the government began ordering the seizure of white-owned
farms in 2000,
production of food and agricultural exports has slumped
drastically. The
country has the world's highest official rate of inflation
of over 100,500
percent.
President Mugabe blames the crisis on economic
sanctions imposed by Britain,
Zimbabwe's former colonial power, and its
Western allies to protest his land
reforms and accuse him of violating human
and democratic rights.
FinGaz
Clemence
Manyukwe Staff Reporter
THE corruption case against Attorney General (AG)
Sobusa Gula-Ndebele took a
new twist this week when a top police officer
alleged that the name of
retired army general Solomon Mujuru had been
dragged into the controversy by
unnamed persons gunning for his
prosecution.
An affidavit seen by The Financial Gazette, signed by the
investigating
officer in the AG's case, deputy officer commanding CID
Serious Fraud
Section, Chief Superintendent Alison Nyamupaguma, claims that
Mujuru and
Gula-Ndebele met banker James Mushore and assured him that he
would not be
prosecuted.
The allegation resulted in Gula-Ndebele's arrest
and subsequent suspension
for alleged abuse of office. A tribunal headed by
High Court judge, Justice
Chinembiri Bhunu is holding hearings on the
matter.
Now, sources tell The Financial Gazette that Nyamupaguma has informed
his
superiors that he was not aware of Mujuru's involvement in the matter
and
that he had no idea how the former army commander's name found its way
into
his affidavit.
"Nyamupaguma told his superiors that he did not know
who had implicated
Mujuru in the affidavit. He said he knew nothing about
Mujuru's alleged
involvement in the case," said a police
source.
Gula-Ndebele's trial has been widely linked to ZANU-PF's factional
fighting.
Two weeks ago, Ndebele's brother, former Speaker of Parliament
Cyril
Ndebele, publicly declared his support for independent candidate Simba
Makoni's presidential bid.
Nyamupaguma declined to comment when
approached yesterday.
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne
Bvudzijena said: "It would
be improper to comment on the issue when the
tribunal has not concluded its
work. Doing so would appear as if we want to
influence the proceedings."
It could not be established when Bhunu's tribunal
would finalise the case,
nor the identities of the persons who have
testified so far.
The proceedings are being held in camera following a
directive issued by
President Robert Mugabe.
Reporting on the proceedings
at this stage would be a breach of the Official
Secrets Act.
In 2006,
Gula-Ndebele spearheaded the prosecution of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa on allegations of trying to
defeat the
course of justice.
He also authorised the prosecution of National Security
Minister Didymus
Mutasa's supporters who were facing allegations of
perpetrating political
violence.
Chinamasa was acquitted, but Mutasa's
supporters were convicted.
This week, Chinamasa, while dismissing suggestions
that he was linked to
Makoni, described his 2006 prosecution as
"malicious."
"They started with the spread of falsehoods against me around
the so-called
Tsholotsho incident and they went on to mount a malicious
criminal
prosecution in 2006 and now we have this," Chinamasa said.
FinGaz
Stanley Kwenda Staff
Reporters
DUMISO Dabengwa, who has been subjected to a torrent of
denunciation by
ZANU-PF for supporting Simba Makoni, yesterday responded to
overtures from
Vice President Joseph Msika by saying he would agree to meet
the ruling
party leadership - but only to "tell them the
truth".
Msika was quoted in the Herald yesterday as saying the ZANU-PF
presidency
would soon meet Makoni and Dabengwa in connection with their
"defection"
from the ruling party.
Yesterday, the former ZIPRA
intelligence chief said he had had no contact
with any member of the ZANU-PF
leadership, but was prepared to meet
President Robert Mugabe and the party's
top leadership.
"Nobody has contacted me about any meeting. I have no
quarrels with anyone.
As long as it is in good faith, I will meet with them,
but only to tell them
the truth," said Dabengwa.
"I will tell them the
truth of what is happening, and I will have no
regrets," said Dabengwa.
A
spokesman for Makoni, Godfrey Chanetsa, said Makoni would only respond to
Msika once the invitation came from ZANU-PF.
"It is an issue that has not
been discussed. We remain mindful of the fact
that this is a sensitive issue
on which we would rather comment once ZANU-PF
approaches us," said
Chanetsa.
Msika told supporters at a rally in Mutoko that the ruling party
would meet
the two men to find out why they, as members of the ZANU-PF
politburo,
rebelled against President Mugabe.
Dabengwa's decision to
support Makoni's presidential bid has shaken ZANU-PF,
with President Mugabe
devoting considerable portions of his speeches at
rallies to accuse the pair
of being sponsored by the British to oppose his
leadership. President Mugabe
described Dabengwa as the "greatest betrayer"
at a rally in Lupane on
Tuesday.
Msika was particularly embarrassed by Dabengwa's move, which The
Financial
Gazette had predicted in a story published a few days before he
and Makoni
appeared together in public for the first time at a rally in
Bulawayo.
Tweny-four hours prior to this, Msika had vouched for Dabengwa's
support for
President Mugabe at the launching of the ZANU-PF manifesto in
Harare.He
accused the media of fabricating stories about possible defections
from the
ruling party.
ZANU-PF has taken its time to announce Dabengwa's
fate, in contrast to the
haste with which it declared that Makoni had
"expelled himself from the
party" when the former finance minister launched
his presidential bid.
This week,President Mugabe met retired army general
Solomon Mujuru to
discuss what he believes to be rebellion within the ruling
party by figures
secretly backing Makoni.
Reports have repeatedly linked
Mujuru and those said to be aligned to him to
Makoni. Mujuru has not
responded publicly, but he has attended the
President's campaign
rallies.
"The President wanted to verify reports that more people would be
joining
Makoni. He said he did not want to be ambushed," a source
said.
Mujuru is said to have told the President that he was not aware of any
such
plot.
President Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, could not be
reached for
comment yesterday.
ZANU-PF's secretary for information and
publicity Nathan Shamuyarira was
also unavailable. His deputy, Ephraim
Masawi, declined to comment.
Deputy Information and Publicity Minister Bright
Matonga said: "I am not
aware if the meeting took place, but if it indeed
took place I do not see
anything unusual."
Makoni's decision to challenge
President Mugabe in election on March 29
sparked speculation that top
ZANU-PF officials would publicly support him.
However, only politburo member
Dumiso Dabengwa and former Speaker of
Parliament Cyril Ndebele have so far
openly backed his candidacy.
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Political Editor
AS the first contingent of
Southern African Development Community (SADC)
election observers started
arriving in Zimbabwe this week, the opposition
has reported a resurgence of
incidents of violence, especially in perceived
ZANU-PF
strongholds.
The MDC faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai alleges that one of
its council
candidates in Rushinga, Edson Muwenga, has been missing since
February 15,
while three other members of the party were allegedly evicted
on March 10
from a farm in Waterfalls by suspected soldiers ,who claimed
ownership of
the property. The party identified the three opposition
supporters as Taurai
Chipure, Passmore Chigogo and Obey Matanga.
The MDC
further claimed that five party activists in Chitungwiza were
arrested last
week for allegedly disturbing the peace near the house of a
sitting ZANU-PF
councillor. Those arrested were Joaquim Rosa, Viola Nyika,
Mercy Chari,
Christine Chiurungwe and Evelyn Shambare.
"This confirms we are headed for
another bloody election. The leopard has
not changed its spots," said Nelson
Chamisa, spokesman for the Tsvangirai
camp of the MDC. "Various reports of
intimidation, arrests and violence
against MDC members continues."
On
Monday, war veterans in Filabusi, Matabeleland South, allegedly accosted
Simba Makoni as he campaigned in the province.
Makoni and his team
proceeded to Zvishavane after the police intervened.
"Makoni is not deterred
by the actions of people who feel threatened by his
candidature. We are
having successful meetings across the country, even in
the rural areas where
people are consumed with fear," said Denford Magora,
spokesman for the
Makoni campaign.
The Zimbabwe Peace Project alleged in its latest
pre-election report that a
headman in Muumbe communal lands in Chipinge
South, only identified as
Musindo, had been abducted and assaulted by
suspected ZANU-PF supporters.
Incidents of vote buying have been reported in
Lupane with candidates from
both the ruling party and MDC offering cash and
scarce maize meal to voters.
But police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena insists
the run-up to the polls has
been relatively calm. "It is very calm and
quiet," said Bvudzijena. "We
don't expect any disturbing trends because so
far police have not been kept
very busy."
Reports of alleged incidents of
politically motivated violence surfaced at
about the same time the first
group of about 20 election observers from SADC
arrived in Harare on
Monday.
Russia is the only European country invited to observe the elections
while
the majority of African countries, among them Sudan, Kenya and
Ethiopia,
which have some of the worst human rights records, have been
invited.
The opposition, civic society organisations and the West accuse the
government of cherry-picking friendly observers allegedly to gloss over
violence and vote rigging.
The SADC Parliamentary Forum, which observed
and subsequently produced a
damning report about the controversial 2002
presidential polls, said on
Monday it is still awaiting invitation from the
government and so is the
Electoral Institute of Southern Africa.
FinGaz
Staff Reporter
AT
least two people died when a light aircraft crashed at Charles Prince
airport yesterday, police and aviation sources said. The two passengers
confirmed dead in the crash were doctors at Parirenyatwa Hospital, a police
spokesman said.
The plane crashed just as it took off from the
airport, north of Harare,
after catching fire and nose-diving to the ground,
witnesses said. Police
spokesman Andrew Phiri confirmed the crash yesterday,
but said no details
could yet be released on the identities of the
casualties. There was also no
detail as to the make of the plane, but an
aviation source said it was a
light aircraft owned by a private charter
company operating out of Charles
Prince. The plane was on its way to
Botswana, the source said. Zimbabwe is
reputed to have one of the best air
safety records, but incidents involving
light aircraft have increased over
the past five years. The most recent
serious crash was in 2003, when four
people were killed when a Beechcraft
plunged into two Kuwadzana homes.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda Senior Business
Reporter
... as Gvt intensifies crackdown on millers
THE country's
troubled millers and bakers this week warned that a fresh wave
of bread
shortage might hit the market because of inadequate flour supplies
and
unviable prices, which are pushing businesses on the brink of
closure.
The two allied industries have sent an SOS to government,
calling on it to
urgently intervene through the state granary - the Grain
Marketing Board -
and the National Incomes and Pricing Commission (NIPC),
which has been
disregarding their applications for price reviews.
Last
week, government intensified its crackdown on millers, accusing them of
flouting price controls.
Uncertainty has gripped both industries with a
number of executives living
under constant fear of arrest.
On Thursday
last week police arrested National Foods Limited managing
director Jeremy
Brooke, before descending on Mike Manga, head of Blue Ribbon
Foods and
chairman of the influential Millers Association of Zimbabwe on
Monday, for
allegedly breaching controls on the price of flour.
Brooke and Manga were
arrested on Saturday and Monday respectively, and are
currently on
bail.
Sources told The Financial Gazette this week that more executives could
be
thrown behind bars for increasing prices without government
authority.
The sources said it became clear last week that Brooke had become
the target
of the latest blitz after the National Foods boss and his team
were "thrown
out" of a stormy meeting convened by the Joint Operations
Command (JOC) in
the capital on Tuesday.
JOC comprise top representatives
from the army, the police and intelligence
services.
At the meeting, NIPC
chairman Godwills Masimirembwa turned on the heat on
the National Bakers
Association (NBA) to reveal the distortions in the
pricing of flour.
The
bakers obliged by revealing that flour was landing at their factories at
anything between $2 billion and $4,5 billion per tonne and not the gazetted
$600 million.
During the meeting, also attended by retailers, Brooke said
the Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange-listed group was charging transport and other
related costs
separately. However, his defence incensed the JOC members, who
ordered him
out of the tense indaba.
"Brooke defended the millers'
conduct and pointed out that they needed a
price adjustment because
production costs, among them fuel prices, had risen
sharply," said a
source.
"He was then ordered to leave the meeting and arrested a day later,"
added
the source.
Brooke was granted bail on Monday, the same day that
police also arrested
Manga.
The incidents have bred animosity between
millers and the bakers, with the
former accusing the NBA of blowing the
whistle to the NIPC.
"The acrimony is not healthy for the
industry.
"Instead of fighting for the common cause, the major players in
both
industries are turning against each other," said a source.
Industry
sources said most millers and bakers had ceased operations because
of the
wheat shortages compounded by delays by the NIPC in approving new
flour
prices to keep the sectors afloat.
The National Oil Company of Zimbabwe,
which used to supply cheaper fuel to
the baking industry, has also
terminated supplies, forcing industry players
to source expensive diesel
from the parallel market.
"There are serious bread shortages because of flour
shortages and the market
price, which is not correct.
"This does not
augur well for a country facing elections. Very few tonnage
(of flour) is
trickling to bakers," said one baker, who asked not to be
named.
NBA
chairman Vincent Mangoma said the bread shortages were more pronounced
in
Bulawayo and would soon spread across the country.
"There is very little
flour available on the market. There has been some
knock-on effect on the
production of bread and Bulawayo is already
experiencing shortages.
"The
production costs for bread has really shot up and bakers are unable to
recover the costs," said Mangoma.
The few millers who were still
supplying flour were reportedly pressing the
NIPC for a retail price of $6.5
billion per tonne to remain viable.
Bakers were also reportedly pressing for
a retail price of $15 million per
loaf, up from $3.5 million, to recoup
rising production costs.
A bank executives told The Financial Gazette this
week that by not reviewing
the price of flour and bread timeously, the NIPC
was eroding the gains that
had been achieved by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) in stimulating
production after the July 2007 price cuts.
A number
of companies, among them National Foods and Lobel's Bread accessed
the cheap
funds under the Basic Commodities Supply Side Intervention
(BACOSSI) and had
upped their output.
The bank executive said these companies might be forced
to go back to the
RBZ seeking additional BACOSSI funds to recapitalise their
operations.
"All these things (crackdown and uneconomic pricing) are
threatening to
reverse the benefits of BACOSSI," said one miller, who asked
not to be
named.
Masimirembwa this week insisted that millers had to
comply with the
commission's price dictates.
"We are prosecuting those
people flouting stipulated prices. If there is
need for a price review we
will look at it but people must comply first and
not flout prices and
justify (violation of the law)," said Masimirembwa.
Observers fear that
hundreds of jobs could also be lost as milling and
baking firms
downsize.
Bread shortages are just but one in a long list of key commodities
in short
supply in the country, which is grappling with its worst ever
economic
crisis.
FinGaz
THE Acting
Editor-in-Chief of The Financial Gazette Hama Saburi (HS) had the
opportunity to discuss with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon
Gono (GG) the mechanisation programme, whose third phase was launched in
Harare on Saturday. Here are excerpts from the interview.
HS:
Governor, on Saturday the country witnessed the launch of the final
Phase of
the Farm Mechanisation Programme, capping a three-pronged
Programme, which
started in June 2007. Looking back to where you started
from, what is your
overall assessment of the exercise?
GG: The recently launched Phase 3 of the
Mechanisation Programme was not the
final phase, as this programme will run
through to 2010. Looking back at
where we came from since the launch of
Phase 1 in June 2007, my team and I
are actually amazed at the breadth and
depth of what we have achieved. In
short, we have exceeded our own
expectations.
HS: Also, looking at the whole package, how many units of each
item have
been distributed under the programme and at what cost?
GG:
Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the mechanisation programme have seen the following
being distributed: 2,725 tractors; 1,846 ploughs; 1,733 harrows; 746 boom
sprayers; 608 fertiliser spreaders; 466 planters; 105 combine harvesters;
210 hay bailers; 78,000 scotch carts; 46,200 cultivators; 2,000 planters;
100,000 ploughs; 130,000 harrows; 92,000 knap sacks and 200,000 chains. This
collectivity of mechanisation came at a cumulative investment equivalent of
around US$180 million for the three phases. It is important to note that the
animal-drawn implements were all assembled locally, which created phenomenal
job opportunities for our youth, women groups and other sections of our
community.
HS: Now that the farming sector has been re-tooled, what are
your
expectations going forward?
GG: Our repeated call is that our
farmers now fully utilise every inch of
arable land so as to contribute in
the current fights against food
insecurity and inflation. As was made very
clear at the start of the
mechanisation programme, the machinery and
implements are not being given
for free. Every beneficiary is expected to
fully pay for what they got out
of the revenue streams the machinery
produces.
HS: At the launch of Phase 1, you emphasised the importance of the
programme
in fighting inflation. With what has been done so far, would you
say the
country is now in a better stead to fight the inflation
monster?
GG: Definitely yes. I strongly believe that the cumulative muscle we
have
injected into agriculture ushers in a new era for Zimbabwe's food
production
capacity. Starting this coming season, barring any unforeseen
vagaries of
nature, we should be able to produce enough food for our
internal
consumptive needs and for export. All this will directly deflate
the
inflation bubble.
HS: The current farming season is proving to be yet
another challenge for
Zimbabwe due to the excessive rains and the long dry
spell, which then
followed. Are you not foreseeing a situation where some
farmers might
struggle to pay for the equipment?
GG: The equipment is
repayable over 2-3 years. We took this position in
order to take into
account the unforeseen contingencies often associated
with farming. I must,
however, comment that already, some farmers have
covered some distance in
terms of paying for the equipment they received
under Phase 1.
HS: Isn't
there a possibility therefore, that the Reserve Bank might be
forced to
relax its payment terms to take into consideration the exogenous
factors
confronting the farming community?
GG: As I have already indicated, all the
equipment that was given out was
not for free. Through Fiscorp, itself a
wholly owned arm of the Reserve
Bank, we are in the process of following up
on these repayments. No
defaulters will be tolerated. In the cases of either
abuse or non-productive
use of the equipment, we reserve the right to
withdraw such support and
re-allocate it elsewhere to deserving
farmers.
HS: Critics argue that the timing of the 3rd Phase in particular,
was meant
to give the ruling ZANU-PF party an opportunity to buy votes ahead
of the
elections, what is your comment?
GG: Nothing could be further from
the truth. Remember that on 11 June 2007
and in October, 2007 I did
pre-announce that future phases were coming.
Elections or no elections, this
noble programme was still going to take
place. Soon, there will be Phases 4;
5; 6 and so forth. Surely this does not
mean there will be that many
elections to come over the outlook period.
Those who try to politicise the
mechanisation programme will be practicing
the highest order of intellectual
dishonesty since by its nature, the
programme benefits any deserving
Zimbabwean, regardless of their religious,
gender or political
persuasion.
HS: A lot has also been said about some farmers abusing the
farming
equipment sourced under the programme, are they any safeguards to
ensure
that the equipment is put to good use?
GG: The first safeguard
valve is that each beneficiary has to pay for what
they received. Those
abusing the equipment or those that simply lock it away
will thus, come
short on paying for the equipment. Secondly, the Reserve
Bank has sent out
teams of motivated inspectors who are following up on each
and every
beneficiary under this programme. Our work programmes are being
done
alongside the collaborative efforts of the relevant government
ministries. I
am very pleased that the systems we have put in place are
quite
robust.
HS: Early this year, the programme was mired in controversy after a
court
official alleged the Reserve Bank had released trillions of dollars to
a
company contracted to source farming equipment under unclear
circumstances.
While the courts have since cleared the RBZ, don't you feel
aggrieved that
despite your efforts, there are people who are out to put
spanners in your
works?
GG: Well, well, well, they say sweet nectar
attracts stinging bees. Where
good things are in motion you often find blood
thirsty vultures circulating
above. All that matters is that one has to
remain steadfast on the job. At
the Reserve Bank, we are very pleased that
our competent courts were
convinced beyond reasonable doubt that what the
Reserve Bank was doing was
above board. We will neither be swayed nor
deterred from implementing noble
programmes that have multiple positive
dividends to the economy and society.
HS: Then, there is the issue of farming
equipment going into the wrong
hands. How watertight is the criteria used by
the central bank and the
Mechanisation Ministry?
GG: We use tested
criteria, informed by tangible evidence of land ownership,
as well as
productivity track records at the GMB and other
agro-marketplaces. In coming
up with the lists of beneficiaries, we also
work closely with community
leadership structures, including our chiefs and
headmen who have better
insights on genuine farmers on the ground.
HS: It appears that the central
bank is extending its intervention to cover
the small to medium size
enterprise sector (SMEs). Can you briefly explain
what the SMEs programme
entails?
GG: The Reserve Bank has repeatedly argued that lasting
stabilisation of the
vices of inflation, GDP contraction, low investment,
rising unemployment and
diminishing standards of living for the majority of
our people is only
achievable when focus is placed on those programmes that
directly create
wealth for the people. The SME programme seeks to introduce
simple,
efficient, affordable and practical technologies at all service
centres
countrywide, as part of the broader strategy to revolutionise the
economic
empowerment programme. The vision we have is to see our youths,
women and
other unemployed sections of society rolling up their sleeves
engaged
productively under the SME programme.
HS: What is the objective
behind this SMEs initiative?
GG: The SME programme has multiple objectives,
central of which is to
directly fight inflation through massive grassroots
production of basic
commodities. Along with satisfaction of this objective
are other benefits of
empowerment of our youths and women groups through the
expected positive
externalities of the income effects. With more jobs and
more rural incomes,
the depth of our internal markets would also deepen,
which would give
further impetus to our productive sectors. There are also
other phenomenal
gains to the economy and the SME sectors starts to
contribute into the
fiscus through tax payments.
HS: It was also apparent
on Saturday that the RBZ is also investing in the
transport sector. What is
the rational behind this intervention?
GG: Our investment in the transport
sector is a direct response to what we
see as an urgent genuine need in our
community. Effective commerce cannot
take place in an environment where
people have restricted interface and
limited mobility intra and
inter-regionally. It is for this reason that we
had to be once again
innovative in finding practical solutions to the
transport shortages
currently characterising most districts in our
countryside.
HS: It would
be unfair to end this interview without touching on the novel
Basic
Commodities Supply Side Intervention (BACOSSI) facility, which you
unveiled
last year. It has come to light that a number of companies, which
accessed
the facility have not honoured their part of the bargain, are we
likely to
see the RBZ taking drastic action against them?
GG: Indeed, some
beneficiaries of BACOSSI have been a disappointment.
Fortunately, as a
central bank, we had taken pre-emptive and precautionary
measures by
ensuring that all beneficiaries entered into solemn covenants of
minimum
deliverables prior to benefiting under the facility. What we are now
doing
is to meticulously follow through to verify full delivery of the
agreed
targets. Naturally, where we identify unexplained deviations, drastic
action
will be taken, including immediate recall of the loans at market
interest
rates. We have made this position very clear to the corporate
sector.
HS:
Some of the companies argue that production has been affected by the
intermittent power cuts, water shortages and inadequate coal supplies among
other challenges outside their control, do you agree?
GG: No doubt that
power cuts and water shortages impinge adversely on
production but overall,
it is expected that every penny received under
BACOSSI is deployed
productively.
HS: Don't you feel let down that after supporting the baking
industry
through BACOSSI, the National Incomes and Pricing Commission has
not given
the industry a viable price to the extent where industry players
might come
back to you requesting for additional funding?
GG: These
matters are currently under active consideration and I am
confident viable
solutions will come through.
HS: In December last year, you hit out at cash
barons for causing cash
shortages. Has the situation normalized now?
GG:
Most definitely. Cash shortages are a thing of the past now.
HS: There is
speculation in the market that with inflation hitting 100,000
percent, the
RBZ might soon introduce a new set of high denominated bearer
cheques or
rather that the Central Bank will either lop off zeros from the
currency or
introduce a new currency altogether. Could this be something you
are
considering doing?
GG: We will cross those rivers and streams when we get
there.
HS: Governor, you promised to come up with a post-election monetary
policy
statement. Why is a post-election monetary policy necessary? And what
is it
expected to address?
GG: The harmonised elections are a landmark
programme in the history of the
country. It is quite normal that an election
period is followed up with
comprehensive policy reforms that ignite business
confidence and economic
productivity. I am sure you will agree with me that
the world over, election
periods are associated with higher than expected
budgetary expenditures
related to the logistical preparations. It is,
therefore, fitting that such
episodes be followed up with austerity measures
to stabilise the economy. I
am very excited and motivated about what my team
and I are working on. Of
course I cannot disclose what we are going to put
in place, as doing so will
be an act of policy negation.
FinGaz
Dumisani Ndlela Business
Editor
There are fears the programme could benefit ruling party, government
bigwigs
The Indigenisation and Empowerment Act has been received with mixed
feelings
by economic stakeholders, with foreign-owned firms expressing
caution while
local critics and business executives warned it could explode
into an
unprecedented crisis if not managed properly.
Jane Mutasa,
president of the Indigenous Business Women's Organisation,
welcomed the
signing of the bill into law last week, but warned government
had to tread
carefully to avoid dragging the economy further down the abyss
by
precipitatingcompany closures.
"As the people who championed indigenisation
in this country, we are happy
the bill has been signed into law but hope
things will be done in a proper
manner," Mutasa said yesterday.
She noted
that transformation had to be embarked on in a manner that does
not upset
foreign capital, and that the indigenisation programme should not
benefit a
few politicians and their cronies.
"It should also involve women who have
been culturally excluded from the
mainstream economy. Communities should
also benefit from the indigenisation
of companies mining in their areas,"
Mutasa said.
Her concerns resonated with those expressed by critics who
however, feared
the new law was signed as a political gimmick aimed at
oiling the tired ZANU
PF election machinery.
Foreign-owned companies will
be compelled to give up at least 51 percent
shareholding to local people
under the new law, signed by President Robert
Mugabe last
week.
Government argues that the new law creates an environment for greater
participation in the country's economy.
Under the law, a fund will be
created to finance the acquisition of shares,
working capital and other
forms of finance for indigenous people.
The National Investment Trust, which
has failed to raise cash for the
purchase of a 15 percent stake reserved for
locals in platinum miner
Zimplats, will be constituted as a special account
for the planned
empowerment fund.
Market analysts said the Bill would
effectively seal Zimbabwe's fate as a
pariah to international capital.
A
labour economist who declined to be named because of his consultancy work
with government said Zimbabwe was maintaining its trajectory down the
economic abyss.
"Implementation has always been bad on the part of
government and with this
I-don't-care attitude, we might witness something
worse than what we saw
with the land reforms," he said.
Investigations
indicated that shareholders in mining companies were the most
worried,
particularly given that they were the ones likely to be seriously
affected
by the new law.
Parliament passed amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act
recently, and
with the latest development, this is likely to be signed into
law before the
March 29 elections.
The amendments allow government to
take over a 25 percent stakes in
foreign-owned mining companies for free in
part fulfilment of the 51 percent
indigenisation quota.
According to a
confidential document prepared by the Chamber of Mines in
2006, Zimbabwe's
mining industry is valued at more than US$20 billion. This
gives the value
of the 51 percent indigenisation threshold across the sector
at more than
US$10 billion.
The 25 percent stake to be forcibly taken over by government
would amount to
US$5 billion.
Mining industry executives were not willing
to discuss the issue publicly,
saying they were still assessing the likely
impact of the new law.
President Mugabe has specifically said his government
would want domestic
control of the country's mineral resources.
Daniel
Ndlela, an economic consultant, told The Financial Gazette in an
earlier
interview: "The forced acquisition is tantamount to nationalisation.
Assuming we have the foreign currency (to buy out foreign-owned assets),
this will trigger a massive outflow of cash."
Apparently, the new act
comes as ZANU PF, seeking re-election in the March
29 harmonised elections,
has anchored its campaign around the issue of
economic empowerment, with an
abrasive theme: "Defending our land and
national sovereignty: building
prosperity through empowerment."
In its manifesto released last month, the
party said: "ZANU PF says as long
as nationally conscious Africans remain
salaried managers running
white-owned industrial and commercial concerns,
prosperity will continue to
elude the people of Zimbabwe.
ZANU PF
believes there is a real opportunity for building on gains already
made
through empowerment achieved on land. It must now extend to the rest of
the
economy so that the politics of the country begin to address and
rearrange
the economic domain."
However, its chaotic land reform exercise has been
blamed for plunging the
country into its worst economic crisis in history,
characterised by acute
commodity shortages that have spawned a thriving
black market and fuelled
inflation, currently topping 100 000 percent year
on year.
There are fears the programme could benefit ruling party and
government
bigwigs and their cronies.
For example, the Indigenisation
Minister will be empowered to review and
approve all black economic
empowerment arrangements, and can order a
licensing authority of any
business to cancel the licence if he/she is not
happy with the transaction,
or the beneficiaries of the deal.
However, Paul Mangwana, the Minister of
Indigenisation and Empowerment this
week sought to calm fears of a
disastrous implementation of the programme,
saying "it was not as bad" as
critics had described it.
He told a press conference this week that
government would not force black
partners on foreign-owned companies and
that not all firms would be
compelled to sell their shareholding to
blacks.
"It's not every business, which will have to have 51 percent
indigenous
ownership. The minister will prescribe on the basis of capital
(investment)
and employment levels," Mangwana said.
FinGaz
Clemence Manyukwe Staff
Reporter
IN 1993, a group of ZANU-PF Members of Parliament (MPs) risked
expulsion
from the ruling party when, without instruction from their
seniors, they
moved a motion calling for the reviewing of the
Constitution.
Great Makaya, then ZANU-PF's Bikita West MP, called for the
formation of a
12-member select committee to formulate a new
Constitution.
In addition to Makaya, other ZANU-PF MPs who were to serve on
the committee
included Margaret Dongo, Sydney Malunga, Cyril Ndebele,
Angeline Masuku,
Mike Mataure, Tirivanhu Mudariki, Byron Hove and Alois
Mangwende.
Makaya told Parliament then that this group had consulted widely,
even among
politburo members, and that consensus was that the existing
constitution was
defective.
However, ZANU-PF's then secretary for legal
affairs, Edison Zvobgo, and
Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was then Justice
Minister, shot down the proposal.
Mnangagwa told the group to abandon the
plan immediately. Zvobgo was more
conciliatory, saying the group had the
right to pursue the project although
he said it was "doomed".
Mnangagwa
said: "As secretary of legal affairs, Mr Zvobgo has said it is
unheard of in
any country, in the past or in the present, where a
constitution of a
country is going to be fathered or mothered by a couple of
MPs.
"As far
as ZANU-PF is concerned, we will continue to rule this country. This
Friday,
the Central Committee of the party is going to meet.we have come to
a
political watershed for ZANU-PF where political authority must be
respected,
where philosophy of the party must be respected."
Fifteen years later the
government suffered a defeat in a constitutional
referendum. Debate about
constitutional reform remains a ground for much
contradiction and
flip-flopping for ZANU-PF officials.
Records of Parliamentary debates show
that support for constitutional reform
has been strong within ZANU-PF for
years. However, ZANU-PF MPs have to take
their cue from President Robert
Mugabe, lest they suffer the fate of those
who pioneered calls for such
reforms.
Fifteen years after being part of that pioneering group, Margaret
Dongo, in
an interview with The Financial Gazette on Monday, said she and
the other
legislators were "grilled left, right and centre" during the
subsequent
Central Committee meeting. Dongo was almost suspended as tempers
flared.
The initiative subsequently died a natural death, and most of its
advocates
lost their seats. Dongo was only re-elected after running as an
independent.
Then, as now, President Mugabe relied on Mnangagwa to thwart any
constitutional reform that would have endangered his position.
"Mnangagwa
wanted to protect (President) Mugabe, just as he is doing now,"
Dongo said.
"He wanted to be a good boy."
And indeed, records of most contributions by
ZANU-PF members on the issue
reveal that they wanted a limit on the
President's term of office.
ZANU-PF's then Highfield MP, Richard
Shambambeva-Nyandoro, went as far as to
propose what would be unthinkable to
a ruling party MP today; that
Parliament must be given powers to summon the
President for a hearing to
explain his actions.
To end patronage and
nepotism, Shambambeva-Nyandoro said, the constitution
must have provisions
authorizing Parliament to vet key appointments such as
those of ambassadors
and ministers, a procedure in force in the United
States.
"We also have
the army and the police, we want a constitution, which has an
army general
who is very loyal to the country and is not allowed to
participate in
politics," said Shambambeva-Nyandoro.
Fredrick Shava, now Zimbabwe's
ambassador to China, proposed a single vice
president and that such a person
must not be appointed, but must be elected.
And contrary to President
Mugabe's assertions that judges were biased under
the then chief justice
Anthony Gubbay, Shava said the judiciary was
independent and, as such, there
was need for a new Constitution to ensure
that funding for the justice
system was channeled through a consolidated
fund, and not from government,
to guarantee the judiciary's independence.
Despite the 1993 experience, the
Parliamentary Reform Committee in 1996,
which once again included Dongo and
Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere,
resuscitated the constitutional
issue.
In 1998, ZANU-PF MP Dzikamai Mavhaire moved a motion for a new
constitution.
However, all these efforts came to naught.
Chigwedere once
boasted he was well versed in constitutional matters and
could make a
positive contribution towards crafting one.
"I want members here to know that
I am a student of constitutional history
and I have studied the American
constitution from 1781 right up to the last
amendment in 1971. I know the
British constitution, from the Magna Carta of
1215 right up to the
enfranchisement of women after the First World War. I
know the French
constitution from the outbreak of the great revolution in
1789 to the 5th
Republic. I know the Russian constitution from the Bolshevik
revolution to
1991," he said.
But Chigwedere's defeat in the ZANU-PF primaries means he
becomes the latest
of a string of MPs whose careers ended before they could
contribute towards
the crafting of a new charter.
Dongo says the
stumbling block to constitutional reform is not ZANU-PF, but
President
Mugabe himself.
"The person who was and is still against a new constitution
is President
Mugabe himself, because, for him, it would mean executive
powers would be
removed. He is not open about it, but he uses his
cronies."
President Mugabe has said "there could never be another
constitution so
dear, so sacrosanct" as the current one. But history shows
that many in his
party do not agree.
Chigwedere said in 1998: "We know
very well that the Constitution is not a
people's constitution. It is a
Lancaster one designed by the British, not
necessarily to meet Zimbabwe's
needs. It has too many weaknesses."
Ephraim Masawi, then ZANU-PF Mbare West
MP, weighed in: "Mr Speaker, the
issue of re-writing the Zimbabwean
Constitution is long overdue and I have
pointed out that it was a hurried
constitution. The major thing is to have a
constitution that can look after
the citizens in terms if human rights."
Today, it is with a sense of déjà vu
that Dongo watches as senior ZANU-PF
officials compete to declare their
allegiance to President Mugabe.
Just as Politburo members have fallen back in
line behind President Mugabe
to denounce Simba Makoni, Dongo and her
parliamentary colleagues had also
been assured of support in their drive for
a new constitution, only to side
with the party leader when he turned up the
heat on them.
FinGaz
Charles Rukuni Bureau Chief
BULAWAYO - Nine city councillors
have opted out of local government
elections scheduled for March 29 but four
of them are aiming for higher
office. Three are contesting House of Assembly
seats while one is eyeing a
senate seat.
The executive mayor, Japhet
Ndabeni-Ncube, who was not a councillor, is also
contesting a seat in the
House of Assembly as a representative of the Arthur
Mutambara faction of the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
He will be battling it out in Bulawayo
Central with seven other candidates.
There are three independent candidates,
namely Kudzanayi Ivan Chigwada,
Hlabati Frank Dzukuso and Angirayi Delwin
Kwembeya.
Bishop Clement Ncube is representing ZANU-PF while Carl Arnold
Payne will
represent PUMA and Staff Dorcas Sibanda will stand for the
Tsvangirai
faction of the MDC.
The post of executive mayor has been
abolished. The 29 elected councillors
will now select the mayor.
The
provincial administrator will oversee elections for the posts of mayor
and
his deputy.
Among the councillors who have dropped out of the race completely
is Phil
Lamola, the current deputy mayor.
The only councillor contesting
for a senate seat is Alderman Matson Hlalo,
who is standing in Mzilikazi for
the Tsvangirai faction.
Hlalo is facing two independent candidates - Austen
Moyo and Losper Mpande -
and Sibangilizwe Msipa of the Mutambara faction and
Canisia Satiya of
ZANU-PF.
Hlalo represented Barbourfields, Mzilikazi,
Nguboyenja, Thorngrove and
Burombo Flats in the council.
Other
councillors vying for higher office are Alderman Charles Mpofu, Samuel
Khumalo and Albert Mhlanga.
Mpofu is contesting as an independent in
Nketa. He said he was fully behind
independent presidential candidate Simba
Makoni.
Mpofu joined council as a ZANU-PF councillor but left to become an
independent, then joined the MDC but left the party again to become an
independent.
The alderman was an outspoken critic of the executive mayor
as well as both
the ZANU-PF and MDC leadership, accusing them of dictatorial
tendencies,
claiming that they did not respect independent opinion and
always suspended
anyone who disagreed with the leadership.
"I am standing
as an independent candidate but at the same time I am urging
people in my
constituency to vote for an independent president and an
independent
senator," he said.
Mpofu will lock horns with Bongani Sikhumbuzo Dube of
ZAPU-FP, Kisimusi Moyo
of UPP, Seiso Moyo of the Tsvangirai faction, Coustin
Ngwenya of ZANU-PF and
Sternlord Ndlovu of the Mutambara faction.
Khumalo
is battling it out in the heavily contested Pelandaba-Mpopoma
constituency,
where he is squaring up against Information Minister
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu of
ZANU-PF. He represents the Tsvangirai faction.
The serving legislator for the
area was Milton Milford Gwetu, who died two
weeks ago. He represented the
Mutambara faction and was the party's
candidate.
Others are Chamunorwa
Mahachi of ZDP, Paul Siwela of FDU and two independent
candidates Job
Sibanda and Fungai Mutukwa.
Khumalo is the councillor for Iminyela,
Mabutweni, Pelandaba and Kelvin
North.
Mhlanga, a former deputy mayor and
currently the councillor for Enqameni,
Luveve and Gwabalanda, is contesting
in Pumula. He is standing for the
Tsvangirai faction. He is facing Nkanyiso
Mhlope (Mutambara faction), Malaba
Godfrey Ncube (ZANU-PF), Lovemore Sibanda
(FDU) and Paul Sibanda (UPP).
The real fight in both local government and
parliamentary elections in
Bulawayo is, however, between the two MDC
factions.
The city and metropolitan province are both currently controlled by
the
Mutambara faction but all councillors and members of the lower house
were
elected before the split under Tsvangirai's leadership.
Only
senators were elected under Mutambara's leadership after the party
split
over whether it should participate in the senate elections or not.
This
month's elections are therefore a test of who really has the support of
the
people. Tsvangirai has so far attracted the biggest crowd at rallies at
White City Stadium.
It will therefore be interesting to see if these
numbers will translate into
votes.
Opponents of Tsvangirai argue that
most of the people that attended the
rally, like those who were at Makoni's
a week before, merely went there to
hear what he had to say. They were not
party supporters.
A former ZAPU politician, however, argued that there were
no spectators in
politics.
"In the 1980s, before the merger of ZANU-PF
and ZAPU we went to a rally
being addressed by (President) Mugabe.
"When
we told Umdala (Joshua Nkomo) that we had merely gone there to hear
what he
had to say and see whether he had support, Nkomo asked: "Did you
tell
journalists on your way into the stadium that? Because if you did not,
the
media will report that all those who were at the rally were (President)
Mugabe's supporters."
FinGaz
Dumisani Ndlela
Business Editor
JUDGE President, Rita Makarau, is presiding over what
might turn out to be a
revolution in the justice delivery system in
Zimbabwe.
On Monday, she was at a local hotel with economic stakeholders,
proposing
what she termed a commercial law court.
This will be a separate
wing of the High Court of Zimbabwe dealing
specifically with commercial
cases.
For the discerning executive, how about a court where the judges are
not
draped in those court robes, their heads are not adorned with the wigs
that
make them look like medieval landlords?
The judge comes to court
wearing an executive suit, his papers filed in a
classy briefcase and the
well-furnished court is probably located in an
upmarket building in the city
centre.
Of course, that is part of Makarau's proposed commercial law court,
but not
exactly the case for the ambitious project.
In a country now
almost steeped in a culture of delay, Makarau comes across
as an
indefatigable judge who wants to see things move faster.
Soon after her
appointment as Judge President, Makarau set up a dedicated
family law court
in the third term of 2006, dealing exclusively with family
law
matters.
This resulted in a higher disposal rate of family law matters.
In
2007, she experimented with a fast track court system for civil cases.
This
resulted in a dramatic reduction in delay periods, down from over 36
months
to just about six weeks, with all matters requiring up to two days of
trial.
"I am coming from experience that specialisation helps; it does
bring
results if we have a dedicated commercial law court," Makarau said,
addressing executives from across Zimbabwe's diverse economic
sectors.
Arguing for the establishment of the commercial law court, Rex
Shana,
director of the Judicial College, said: "I know that it is a truism
that as
commerce and industry goes about its business, there is that
inevitable
dispute that arises between an individual and company, or company
and
company. I would actually venture to suggest that legal disputes have
now
become an integral part of the intercourse that exists in commerce and
industry."
Shana said players in commerce and industry would want to see
disputes
resolved expeditiously with minimum disruption to their
businesses.
"The current reality, however, is that as more and more disputes
find their
way to court, the case backlog increases. Delay in the disposal
rate of
cases becomes inevitable," said Shana.
A dedicated commercial law
court would bring a measure of specialisation
within the High Court, she
said. This would ensure the availability of both
knowledge and skills for
efficient adjudication in matters of trade and
commerce, Makarau
said.
With the experience gained so far with the establishment of a family
law
court and the fast track court for civil cases, a commercial law court
was
likely to result in a higher disposal rate for commercial cases in the
High
Court.
Quicker and more efficient disposal of cases would ensure
legal certainty in
trade and commerce, while also allowing for depth and
quality of judgements
in commercial law matters.
Quicker disposal of
cases would also curtail inflation-induced erosion of
values determined by
court judgements in the current hyperinflationary
environment, Makarau
noted.
"In current hyperinflationary environment, most bad debtors find
profit in
delaying payment until compelled by a court order. The longer it
takes the
better for them," Makarau said.
The establishment of a
commercial law court would also provide a faster
forum for dispute
resolution between landlords and tenants in commercial
lease
agreements.
Generally commercial law court will provide efficient service for
dispute
resolution, thus minimising business risk associated with legal
uncertainty.
The commercial law court will deal with all disputes arising
from
contractual relationships, except those involving residential
properties.
It will also handle matters relating to land acquisition and
title to
agricultural land.
The High Court has historically operated as
general division, with judges
dealing with all nature of cases without
specialisation
This has resulted in the mixture of criminal and civil matters
in a single
court.
Shana, the director of the Judicial College, said
owing to the country's
history, Zimbabwe had adopted a system where the High
Court operated as a
general division without specialisation.
The
assignment of judges to a mixed bag of cases precluded them from giving
priority to any particular type of cases, he said.
As a result,
commercial cases were not dealt with reasonable promptness
because they were
treated just like any type of case.
Makarau said the current delays in
resolving commercial cases had forced
many companies into arbitration, which
was faster than litigation.
However, the problem with arbitration was that it
did not bear the certainty
of legality as different arbitrators made
different judgments unlike a court
system that depended on the doctrine of
precedence.
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi News
Editor
THE numbers game is on. With Morgan Tsvangirai, the Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) leader having pulled off a massive rally at the
weekend, expect
a period of arguments over crowd sizes right into March 29.
On Saturday, a
text message went out from the Tsvangirai campaign. It said
40 000 had
attended the Bulawayo rally.
Sunday morning, the MDC
website reported that "a mammoth crowd of 40 000
turned up to ignite a
carnival atmosphere at White City Stadium".
But the Standard reported the
crowd at 12 000. The Sunday News played safe,
only saying Tsvangirai had
addressed "scores" of supporters. However, a
website reported "60 000 wildly
cheering supporters". The MDC website puts
the crowd at its Mutare campaign
launch last month at 60 000.
One agency report put the Bulawayo crowd at 20
000.
But the Chronicle believed it had a perfectly reasonable explanation for
the
huge crowd.
"With the opposition involved in a fierce tussle over the
political turf in
Matabeleland region, the MDC faction led by Mr Morgan
Tsvangirai on Saturday
bussed hundreds of hired supporters to Bulawayo in a
bid to paint a picture
of massive support in the city, Chronicle can
reveal."
It then put forward its own estimate of 10 000. And why would
Tsvangirai bus
supporters in? Well, according to the Chronicle, an "insider
said the MDC
faction was under pressure to better President Mugabe's well
attended star
rallies."
It then quotes its MDC source as saying: "The
people have come to realise
that the faction is full of empty promises and
it's only there to please its
Western donors."
And this quote is supposed
to be coming from "an MDC insider", remember.
But while one newspaper is
telling us that Tsvangirai is desperate to match
President Mugabe's "well
attended" rallies, the online Zimbabwe Times is
reporting
differently.
"The turnout for President Mugabe's rally - less than 600-strong
- was so
disappointingly small that Angeline Masuku, the Matabeleland South
governor,
apologised profusely to President Mugabe in her introductory
remarks," the
site's correspondent reports from Esigodini.
"Masuku
claimed the low attendance was a result of the country's fuel
shortage and
the short notice of the rally. The fuel shortage has, however,
not deterred
supporters from attending rallies of opposition parties."
The site puts its
own estimate on the Tsvangirai rally at 30 000, and weighs
in for good
measure: "Observers said this was the largest crowd ever seen in
Matabeleland since the days of Joshua Nkomo".
The Herald has hesitated to
put figures on what the Chronicle says have been
President Mugabe's "well
attended" rallies, preferring to use abstract terms
such as "thousands" and
"hordes". But last Wednesday, the paper led with a
"Massive turnout for
President" in Manicaland.
Simba Makoni's website is dealing its own cards in
the numbers' game,
playing up its candidate's underdog tag.
On Monday, it
showed wide-angled pictures of Makoni's rally on Saturday at
Mkoba Stadium
in Gweru, and said he had pulled 8000.
Gushed Makoni's PR: "When Simba
Makoni's convoy headed for Mkoba via the
city centre, there was pandemonium
at the weekend in the city centre as a
huge crowd rushed to catch a glimpse
of Simba Makoni in the vehicle that was
carrying him. This signaled just the
beginning of amazing things to come.
It goes on: "At the stadium, a crowd of
between 5 000 to 7 000 was already
waiting and this swelled to about 8 000
by the time Simba Makoni was invited
to address the crowd.
"How amazing;
there were no buses, lorries or kombis that had ferried people
to the
stadium.how amazing indeed for a man reported to be a lightweight
with no
grassroots support."
A correspondent in Kwekwe reports some 5000 attended his
rally at Mbizo
stadium at the weekend.
Last week, Makoni's website showed
pictures of Makoni on a walk-about at
Sanyati and Nembudziya.
"The
attached photos tell the story clearly enough," said the website
triumphantly, showing images of large crowds walking behind Makoni.
The
numbers game will be important in the battle for momentum over the next
two
weeks; each large crowd is designed to make a statement and prod the
fence
sitters. However, it is unclear just how much of these crowds will
turn into
votes. And in this fight over numbers, real issues are being
ignored, giving
way to arguments over which of the three personalities -
three, because
Langton Towungana says rallies are against his religion - has
more personal
charisma than the other.
Is it President Mugabe and his British-bashing fist
of fury, Tsvangirai and
his drive to remain the "legitimate opposition"
leader - at least according
to Lovemore Madhuku last week - or Makoni and
his centrist "let's-all-hug-each-other-and-sing-Kumbaya"
campaign?
FinGaz
Austin
Chakaodza
GOVERNING Zimbabwe after the election presents the greatest
challenge to the
party that will win the majority of seats in
Parliament.
However, without an understanding of precisely what victory
means, the
outcome can involve policy paralysis, escalating problems, loss
of public
support and ultimately regime failure.
This article is designed
to grapple with some of the complexities of victory
in a country facing
economic collapse.
It is also aimed at identifying common fallacies held by
victors.
Finally, as usual, this author will attempt to discuss issues about
the way
forward and social transformation of Zimbabwe.
Elections by
themselves do not equal democracy because democracy and poverty
are
incompatible. Elections do not provide solutions to economic and social
problems. Rather what matters are questions of legitimacy, accountability
and effectiveness of democratic governance.
The broad issue of democracy
seems in danger of being narrowed down to mean
electoral competition. Indeed
elections do provide the opportunity for
choice to be made among the various
alternatives.
However, this process alone does not offer sufficient
conditions for real
fundamental changes. Multi-party politics and the
politics of independents
do not offer long-term solutions to the economic
problems of any society but
rather it is the content of the policies and
programmes that matter more.
At the same time, elections do not guarantee a
better future, especially
under a new ZANU-PF government, but a lack of
solutions to the economic
problems will almost certainly lead to disastrous
consequences.
Politics in Zimbabwe today is confused by an over-abundance of
opportunism
that obscures the real nature of the political economic and
social
struggles. All sorts of ideas are being put forward to explain the
unfolding
events and to serve as a panacea for the enormous social economic
and
political ills the country is facing.
Statistically the cost of
living has been rocketing in all areas while wages
and returns to peasants'
efforts have been pegged or reduced in real terms.
The Zimbabwean people are
suffering from a variety of AIDS. Apart from the
well-known AIDS epidemic,
there are also other forms of AIDS in Zimbabwe
such as the Acquired
Industrial Decline Syndrome and Acquired Inflation
Disease Syndrome.
The
last mentioned disease has indeed affected retailers in such a way that
they
often raise the prices of basic commodities three times a day with
impunity.
No wonder the helpless average Zimbabwean is growing poorer, in
some cases
physically shattered. Unemployment is staggering, health is
degenerating
both in the cities and countryside and wrong education is
becoming
increasingly costly.
Yet members of the ruling class are getting
bigger "pot-bellies" and more
stainless cash to squander on prestigious
eccentricities.
What about the masses? Near starvation, chronic diseases,
heavy taxation,
rude treatment when off the 'path'. The labouring masses
must continue to
suffer and lament in the wilderness.
ZANU-PF had the
opportunity to serve and free the Zimbabwean people after
years of intensive
exploitation, oppression, degradation and dehumanisation
by successive white
minority regimes.
But ZANU-PF has failed and even has gone further to betray
the Zimbabwean
people through economic mismanagement.
Therefore one of
the pressing problems facing all Zimbabwean people is how
to remove ZANU-PF
from power through the ballot box. Ruling parties are
head-bent on clinging
to power at any cost.
ZANU-PF has already unleashed a double-pronged
offensive during its election
campaigns - to consolidate its ruling class
status and to brand opposition
leaders such as Simba Makoni and Morgan
Tsvangirai "agents" of the
Europeans, the British and Americans. Needless to
say, ZANU-PF is a master
at encompassing, dehumanising and neutralising
every potential opposition
leader at every available opportunity.
The
only guaranteed road to total emancipation of the Zimbabwe people from
all
forms of authoritarianism is to look beyond the 2008 general elections.
In
the event of ZANU-PF winning power again legitimately, or by hook or
crook,
there is need to drive towards a new mass movement in the
post-election
situation in Zimbabwe. The availability of a viable,
organised, steeled and
correctly led movement is a vital prerequisite for
political change in
Zimbabwe. At present efforts for such movement are
confronted by numerous
but surmountable obstacles and problems. That is why
all aspiring patriotic
politicians need more audacity, creativity, energy
and persistence. That is
why these leaders must be selfless, meticulous and
patient in the process of
bringing about political change in Zimbabwe.
All opposition forces need to
rethink and re-conceptualise the way forward.
There is need for the
realignment of all progressive opposition forces in
order to challenge those
resisting political change in Zimbabwe. Let us
remember, elections merely
bring about cosmetic changes rather than
fundamental ones.
In summary,
let it be stressed that the analysis of issues always serves as
the basis
for action and exhortation should always be analytical, based on
sound
examination and reasoning. Individuals can make a difference working
for
political change inside Zimbabwe.
Individuals can also help to develop the
consciousness of active patriots in
Zimbabwe: to pose pressing questions and
join in the finding of solutions.
Professor Austin Chakaodza is a
political analyst of African affairs. He is
professor of International
Relations at Regents College in London.
FinGaz
Charles
Frizell
IT is clear that the most pressing problems in Zimbabwe at the
moment are
economical. The country is rapidly collapsing towards being a
failed state.
Many will say that, it has already achieved that dubious
distinction.
Obviously, everyone desperately wants to halt this slide to
oblivion, and
then reverse it and claw our way back to some measure of
prosperity.
In order to tackle any problem you have to investigate and
understand its
root causes before it is possible to take any meaningful
corrective action.
This is where we have the "elephant in the living room"
problem. Everyone
knows it is there, but everyone ignores it, and pretends
it's not there.
Once we look at the causes of the economic collapse, the
reasons for this
self-induced blindness become embarrassingly
apparent.
OK, to bite the bullet, let us be brave and face these events
head-on.
The first major problem was when the war veterans were awarded
massive
benefits during 1997. The economy plainly could not afford this
unbudgeted
and continuing expense, and so began its slide to oblivion. The
next major
blow was when half of Zimbabwe's armed forces were despatched to
the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in August 1998. This caused
another
huge drain on the weakened economy, though the precise figures have
never
been made public. Although certain individuals benefited mightily, the
country and the economy suffered enormously.
The final coup de grace was
the land invasions, which began in 2000. It may
have seemed like "a good
idea at the time", but this was the final nail in
the economic coffin.
Whether anyone realised at the time that if one removed
the major pillar
supporting the economy, then it would inevitably collapse
is unknown. I
cannot remember any warnings other than my own, though of
course there may
have been. Not only was our major employer and income
generator destroyed,
but the way it was done led to a multitude of problems.
First, the violent
"jambanja" did untold harm to our tourism industry, which
used to generate a
large amount of hard currency. Subsequent actions exposed
this exercise as
uncompromisingly racist, manifestly unjust and plainly
illegal when judged
by the standards of natural justice.
Manipulations to the judiciary and to
the law reinforced the perception that
ours was a "bandit nation" where the
rule of law meant nothing. This
inevitably led to the imposition of travel
restrictions on those thought to
be primarily responsible and as well caused
the drying up of international
credit.
The next blow came with Operation
Murambatsvina, which attracted
international condemnation including the
United Nations. This was then
followed by the "price reduction" exercise and
the threats of seizing mines
and other businesses by government.
How then
do we extricate ourselves from the hole we have dug for ourselves?
That must
be the paramount issue facing whatever government emerges after
March 29. It
is said that only a fool repeats the same action constantly
while expecting
a different outcome. When we look at all the decisions that
have led to the
downfall of Zimbabwe as a nation, one glaring common factor
stands out like
an elephant in the sitting room.
Each and every one of these decisions was
taken for short-term populist
political gain, coupled in most cases with the
opportunity for
self-enrichment by a small elite. None were well-considered,
rational and
long-term decisions.
The first step towards regaining
economic stability must be the restoration
of the rule of law. This will be
difficult because over the last eight years
particularly, the rule of law
has been eliminated.
The judiciary are considered to be for sale to the
highest bidder, or
beholden to certain groups through patronage. The police
force is no longer
trusted and it is often considered to be just the
enforcement arm of one
particular political party.
Restoring the rule of
law is vital, because the economy cannot and will not
recover until this has
not only been done, but also seen to have done. No
one, local or foreign
business will invest in the economy until such time as
they believe that the
rule of law has been restored. -
The next step must be to try and revive our
once-biggest industry,
agriculture. It is clear that the system tried over
the last eight years has
failed dismally as the country cannot feed itself;
much less, generate the
desperately needed hard currency to cover essential
imports.
Again, it is the restoration of the rule of law that will be
required to
underpin agricultural recovery. Titles must be legitimately and
legally held
in order for farmers to secure the essential loans required for
inputs.
Banks cannot gamble their depositor's money (actually, it's your
money)
unless they have solid collateral security.
A number of other hard
facts must be faced as well. First, absolutely no one
has any "right" to
agricultural land for free. Productive land is a national
asset, and as such
must be paid for by those who wish to use it. Next, there
is a fundamental
difference between large-scale commercial agriculture,
which fuels the
nation's economy and small-scale subsistence farming, which
benefits one or
two families at most.
Those who genuinely wish to earn their living through
agriculture should be
assisted with training and loans; but unpaid loans
must lead to repossession
of the land and resale to someone else who can be
more successful.
Unused land can be set aside for "communal" use, though this
is
unsustainable in the long term. What the nation needs are competent and
proven farmers who do nothing but farm 100 percent of their time. No matter
how many farms they own, as long as those farms are productive. The entire
economy must be freed from the clutches of domineering control and the
threat of expropriation. This applies to mining, tourism, manufacturing,
wholesale and retail business.
It is worth remembering the saying:
"Governments have no business in
business". The only healthy role for
government is to facilitate and nurture
all forms of business, large and
small. Once again, the rule of law is
paramount.
We have all the
ingredients to once again regain our position as one of the
strongest
economies in Africa. We have a well-educated and hard working
population,
though a huge number now reside outside the country. We had in
the past, a
flourishing manufacturing sector, and once upon a time we could
not only
feed ourselves, but also support our imports through our
agricultural
exports. But in order to do this, some bitter pills will have
to be
swallowed and some sacred cows will have to be sacrificed.
"Revolutionary
rhetoric" has taken us nowhere except straight down. What we
need now are
sound plans coupled with rational implementation. Slogans will
not save
us!
Somehow the agricultural disaster must be "unwound". This is essential on
two counts; first for economic reasons and second to regain our reputation
as an honest, law-abiding nation. Unless these problems are tackled head-on,
we will not get essential investment ever from anyone.
Of course ,scores
of problems have reared their heads over the last 10 or
more years,
including multiple exchange rates, rampant corruption, naked
racism and a
host of others.
The first step to recovery has to be the restoration of the
Rule of Law and
the cleansing of all aspects of the judiciary and police.
This underpins
everything else.
Then, we need to do our utmost to
encourage and attract investment from both
Zimbabweans and others.
I am
reminded here of an interview I heard many years ago on ZBC with the
Zambian
Minister of Industry. The ZBC interviewer seemed incensed that
Zambia was
encouraging investment by non-Zambians. To which the Minister
replied, "In
Zambia, we do not care about the colour of the cat. All we care
about is
whether it catches mice."
FinGaz
Shame
Makoshori Staff Reporter
THE government this week began the process of
selecting candidates for
appointment to the National Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment Board
(NIEEB), following the enactment of the
Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Act last week.
Indigenisation
and Empowerment Minister Paul Mangwana said on Tuesday he had
received CVs
and recommendations of potential candidates for the
appointments.
He,
however, refused to disclose when the board would be appointed but
indicated
work had already started on the selection process.
"We are still looking at
the CVs of potential candidates," Mangwana told The
Financial
Gazette.
"After identifying the individuals, we will then appoint the
board.
"The board will be tasked to appoint a chief executive officer (CEO)
and set
up (an empowerment) fund, which they will manage.
"The board will
also act as advisors to the minister on matters to do with
indigenisation,"
he said.
The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act says the NIEEB shall
consist
of the CEO and not less than 11 members and not more than 15 members
appointed by the minister after consultation with the President.
One of
the members shall be the secretary in the ministry in which the
minister is
responsible while at least one member shall represent any
organisation,
which the minister considers to be representative of women.
There will also
be representation from the disabled, youths or youths'
organisations, while
a legal practitioner and a person with vast knowledge
on indigenisation
would also be appointed.
The functions of the NIEEB will include giving
advise to the minister on the
government's indigenisation and economic
empowerment strategies and to
advise the minister on appropriate measures
for the implementation of the
objectives of the Act.
The board will also
administer the fund and oversee compliance with the
Charter as well as
perform other functions as may be imposed or conferred
upon under the Act or
any other enactment.
Mangwana added: "It (Act) is not as bad as people
say.
"We want to empower people and come up with share ownership schemes in
companies so that workers become shareholders in the companies they work
for.
"We do not want a few individuals to benefit."
FinGaz
Kumbirai
Mafunda Senior Business Reporter
AN ambitious plan by the government to
venture into bio-diesel production
has begun to bear fruit after the plant
produced 100 000 tonnes of fuel.
Central bank Governor Gideon Gono last week
reported that a bio-diesel plant
set up as a joint venture with a South
Korean firm was now producing up to
25 000 tonnes of diesel per month, which
could help ease the country's acute
fuel shortages.
"The bio-diesel
plant now produces as much as 25 000 tonnes of the product
per month.
"As
much as 100 000 tonnes of diesel are here today, perhaps a small step
forward but a giant forward leap for our economy."
He said the provision
of adequate diesel was at the heart of the country's
success in agro
reforms.
"The summer cropping programme requires no less than 100 million
litres of
diesel.
"The bio-diesel plant will indeed underpin our
agricultural recovery
efforts," Gono said at the handover of farm equipment
to new farmers last
weekend.
Zimbabwe, like most countries in southern
Africa, is largely dependent on
imported petroleum products to power its
industrial production and transport
systems.
The bio-diesel processing
plant, the first of its kind in southern Africa,
has a capacity to produce
between 90-100 million litres of diesel annually,
making it the largest of
its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.
At full capacity, the plant will meet 10
percent of the country's annual
diesel requirements, which translates into
foreign currency savings of US$80
million annually.
Already, new black
farmers who seized land under a controversial land reform
exercise in the
last eight years have put 10 000 hectares under jatropha
production out of a
targeted and ambitious 40 000 hectares, in a desperate
bid to boost the
production of bio-diesel.
Zimbabwe, which holds crucial presidential,
parliamentary and municipal
elections at the end of the month, is grappling
with a fuel crisis, with
most service stations going for months without
receiving deliveries of both
petrol and diesel.
Last year a spirit medium
fooled some government officials into a wild goose
chase after claiming to
have discovered diesel oozing from rocks in
Mashonaland West.
Observers
fear the critical shortage of fuel could scupper the
administration of the
elections on March 29.
FinGaz
Clemence Manyukwe Staff
Reporter
COGNISANT of the disruptions power outages could cause during
voting, the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is seeking trillions of
dollars to buy
generators to be used to power polling stations on election
day.
ZEC confirmed it was seeking funding for generators, but could not
quantify
the amount or number of units required. "ZEC is mobilising all the
resources
necessary, including generators," a Commission official, Utoile
Silagwana
said. Although he gave no details, sources said ZEC needs $84
trillion for
the generators to prevent disruption to voting and vote
counting.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has been approached to assist with the
funding,
a source said. With each voter having to go through four separate
ballots,
voting in many areas is expected to continue well into the
night.
Although voting must officially end at 7pm, those already in queues at
that
time will be allowed to cast their ballots.
Meanwhile, ZEC last week
published new regulations on the media's coverage
of elections. The
regulations say public broadcasters have an obligation to
schedule interview
programmes for all candidates as well as party
presentations of manifestos.
The regulations require election programmes to
be transmitted during prime
time, and stipulate that four hours should be
set aside for political
advertisements. The advertisements must be allocated
equitably and at
discounted rates of 70 percent of current tariffs for
commercial
advertising.
The regulations say presenters or television reporters must not
express
personal views, wear party regalia or colours, or accept gifts or
favours
from political players. In a statutory instrument, Electoral
Amendment
Regulations No 3, ZEC has revised the list of persons who must be
present in
a polling station when ballot boxes are opened and votes
counted.
ZEC says only presiding officers, the election agent of each
candidate and
accredited observers would be allowed.
Last week, ZEC
admitted bungling its voter education campaign, such as
"factual errors"
claiming cardboard ballot boxes would be used as ballot
boxes.
ZEC said
it had realised the mistake and was recalling pamphlets issued to
the public
containing the incorrect information.
FinGaz
Kumbirai
Mafunda
ZIMBABWE'S hotels are threatened with huge losses after the
National Incomes
and Pricing Commission (NIPC) ordered them to charge below
market rates for
hotel bookings to government institutions during the March
29 elections.
The NIPC met hoteliers on Tuesday and ordered them to
introduce a dual
pricing structure, which would exempt government bodies
such as the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC), government departments and
local authorities,
from paying the same accommodation charges and other
rates as tourists,
business bodies, election observers, journalists and
other officials who are
expected to flock into the country to cover the
elections.
NIPC chairman Godwills Masimirembwa told The Financial Gazette
that the
state-run pricing body had granted ZEC and some government
departments this
privilege because they were drawing their resources from a
fixed national
budget, already under threat from rampaging inflation, now at
100 582.2
percent year-on-year for December.
"These are vulnerable
groups. ZEC has a fixed budget for the election. What
we are simply saying
is they (hotels) must charge (for) a return that is
lower than other people
who go to hotels for luxury. The charges will not be
sub-economic,"
Masimirembwa said.
But hoteliers this week warned that implementing a
discriminatory cost
structure at a time when they were already grappling
with exorbitant costs
and widespread shortages would plunge their businesses
into bankruptcy.
"How do we pay salaries, which are reviewed almost every
month and other
costs if we are to subsidise government?," said one
hotelier, who asked not
to be named.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chairman
and ZimSun chief executive officer,
Shingi Munyeza, said the tourism players
were consulting with the NIPC over
the directive, while the Zimbabwe Council
for Tourism president Chipo Mtasa
said she had not yet been briefed by
members on the details of the proposed
payment structure.
Last month
ZANU-PF forced hotels to provide free accommodation for party
guests who
attended the launch of the party's election manifesto.
FinGaz
Dumisani
Ndlela Business Editor
DOMESTIC debt has burst through the
quadrillion-dollar mark to reach an
all-time high of nearly $1.4
quadrillion, giving an unequivocal indicator of
a worsening economic crisis
this year, fuelled by intensifying spending by
the cash-strapped
government.
The government is facing increasing expenditure pressures
emanating mainly
from escalating inflation, which topped 100 580.2 percent
year-on-year for
December 2007, a world record for a country not at
war.
The inflation rate is projected to have reached fresh records in the
months
of January and February.
The pressure on expenditure appears to
have also been stoked by a hugely
expensive election scheduled for the end
of this month, which has forced the
government to scramble for cash to
placate a restive electorate and civil
service.
Apparently, indications
are that the electoral machinery is gobbling huge
sums of money ahead of
harmonised elections scheduled for March 29.
Finance Minister Samuel
Mumbengegwi allocated $209 trillion for the 2008
elections, saying this
would fund personnel costs, vehicle procurement and
other election related
costs.
Political scientist, Jonathan Moyo, last week indicated that the
election
would be extremely expensive, stretching state resources "to the
limit".
"This election is going to be very, very expensive," Moyo told
journalists
at a Press club in Harare. If you look at the government budget,
you will
realise that we are going to have an election we cannot afford," he
said.
Zimbabwe is holding its first harmonised polls - combining
presidential,
legislative, senatorial and local government
elections.
Fresh salary and wage hikes are expected to further bloat
expenditure, which
has greatly suffered from escalating costs of goods and
services that have
risen beyond projections.
Statistics on government
domestic debt published by the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ), indicate that
domestic debt surged from just over $60.8
trillion on February 1 this year
to $1.353 quadrillion on February 29, the
biggest jump ever in domestic debt
stock in dollar terms since Independence
in 1980.
The debt had stood at
$21 trillion at the start of the year.
Of the current government debt stock,
$13 trillion is already outstanding, a
sign that the government's default
risk is intensifying on the domestic
market.
Treasury Bills (TBs), the
most common debt instrument by the government,
account for $210 trillion
with an interest charge of $625 trillion.
Advances from the RBZ account for
$515 trillion of the total government
debt.
The government has entirely
depended on domestic sources to finance its
ever-increasing budget deficits,
resulting in increased money printing.
Bilateral and multilateral financial
institutions terminated balance of
payments support to the country over
alleged human rights violations by
President Robert Mugabe's government,
accused of rigging the 2002
presidential election to retain power.
Money
printing stokes money supply growth that provides an impetus for
higher
inflation.
Money supply is the generation of new money, in other words, an
additional
stock to money already in circulation.
Large-scale money
printing propels high inflation, which is the equivalent
of a drastic loss
of the purchasing power of money.
Gono last year indicted that money supply
growth levels were "too high for
the size of our economy", indicating that
he would wage a battle against
excessive money supply growth to stem a
worsening economic crisis.
The latest domestic debt figure appears to suggest
that increasing demand
for cash by the government might have ruined efforts
to control money supply
growth.
FinGaz
Shame Makoshori Staff
Reporter
A SHORTAGE of Net*One and Telecel recharge cards has
intensified, triggering
an unsanctioned hike in prices for the few cards
released on the market.
Net*One, which has a 23 percent market share, is
the country's second
largest mobile telecommunications firm in terms of
subscriber numbers after
Econet Wireless, which has a 61 percent share of
the market. Telcel is third
with a 15 percent.
The Financial Gazette can
reveal that Net*One and Telecel recharge cards
have disappeared from the
market and the few cards that are still available
are fetching more than
their face value.
The $1 million recharge card for Net*One, for example, was
selling at $5
million this week.
In Harare, Net*One recharge cards had
only been available at the firm's head
offices and vendors, who normally
sell the bulk of the airtime cards, were
also desperately trying to buy the
recharge cards from the designated retail
outlets.
While no comment could
be obtained from Telecel, Net*One managing director
Reward Kangai insisted
on Monday that the network had enough recharge cards
in $10 million
denominations.
This was despite glaring problems encountered by the network's
customers who
were battling to procure the cards from selected outlets in
the capital and
from street vendors.
The Financial Gazette on Monday
witnessed thousands of subscribers in long
queues to buy the recharge cards
at a few outlets.
The highest denomination that was available was for a $1
million recharge
card.
"There are enough recharge cards. We sell our
recharge cards to agencies and
they give vendors to sell on the streets,"
Kangai told The Financial
Gazette.
He insisted they did not promote the
selling of cards at unsanctioned
prices.
"It is something we do not
encourage (inflating prices) but you can come and
purchase at our banking
hall the $10 million recharge cards," he said.
An estimated 90 percent of the
country's small enterprises rely on mobile
phones to do business, and the
continued shortages of the cards has
disrupted their operations.
FinGaz
Mavis
Makuni
Elections are supposed to be an expression of the will of the
people and
those being held in Zimbabwe at the end of this month must be no
exception.
I bet my last worthless million dollars that right now ,the
most cherished
wish of the majority of struggling Zimbabweans who are not
well positioned
and well connected enough to be swimming in riches is to
lead normal lives
again. And in this instance normalcy is referred to in its
most basic sense.
It means the hassle-free ability to do the most basic,
routine and mundane
things with dignity and freedom. This is impossible in
the prevailing
atmosphere and the presidential candidate most capable of
turning things
around will surely strike a chord with the
electorate.
Even with an inflation rate conservatively estimated at 100 000
percent, 80
percent unemployment and the majority of the people living below
the poverty
datum line, the sunny disposition of Zimbabweans means that we
sometimes do
our best to forget how grave our situation is and how much
political will is
required to put things right. But no matter how optimistic
or patriotic one
tries to be, the business of surviving from one day to the
next has simply
become too much of a grueling hassle and things can not
continue like this
after March 29.
Some time ago I read a magazine
article about an American contestant who won
US$1 million in the Survivor
reality television show. Asked what he would do
with the windfall, he
recited a long list of plans, including buying his
parents a house, buying
himself a new car, donating to charitable causes and
investing the rest of
the money in stocks. He could not get over the fact he
had made his first
million dollars before the age of 30.
The abnormality of the economic
situation in Zimbabwe hit me afresh when I
tried to come up with a list of
what one could do with a million Zimbabwe
dollars. Buy a single sweet or a
small tomato on the street and you have
squandered your fortune! How absurd
and tragic. It is comical for everyone
in Zimbabwe to be a millionaire when
the money is worthless. During a recent
trip to my rural home, my generous
brother-in-law gave everyone at my
parents' home amounts ranging from $10
million to $50 million. The
beneficiaries ranged from a two-year old baby to
the infant's great-grand
parents.
The next day as my brother-in-law
reversed the car for our journey back to
Harare, my sister remarked, "Can
you imagine that everyone in this home is a
multi-millionaire." Apart from
the sheer economic hardships of struggling to
keep body and soul together
and providing basic family needs, there are many
other things wrong with the
way we are living. Children accustomed to
handling bundles and bundles of
the worthless millions needed to pay for
items like pencils, exercise books,
sweets and other snacks are growing up
without appreciating the proper value
of money and how hard one must work to
earn it. A million dollars means
nothing to youngsters today and yet before
the current crisis it was a rare
achievement for an adult to have that kind
of money in the bank.
In the
past, parents taught children the value of money by encouraging them
to have
piggy banks into which they deposited small coins to save for
particular
items or just to have money they could call their own. With the
bearer
cheque form of the Zimbabwe dollar now being a coin-less currency, it
is no
longer possible to maintain this important tradition. There is no
longer
such a thing as small change now.
These days if you give a child $1 million
dollars to buy sweets he or she
will laugh in your face and tell you the sum
you have offered "does not
buy." A small banana costs $1 million but could
a youngster ever understand
that if three zeroes were not lopped off
sometime last year, the price of
that healthy fruit would be $1
billion?
Children need to learn these basic facts about their national
currency but
even the most enthusiastic parent or teacher must find
explaining such
aspects daunting. If the proper price of a banana should be
$1 billion, the
question can be asked whether Zimbabwe is not a banana
republic.
In the past the honesty and dependability of children was usually
measured
by how trustworthy they were in handling money when sent to the
shops or on
other errands. The child was supposed to bring back the correct
change
which, if it was in coins, he was likely to be allowed to keep for
his or
her piggy bank. But these days handling money is a recipe for
dishonesty and
cheating, not necessarily just on the part of
children.
This is because paying for goods and services is no longer an exact
science.
Customers regularly have to surrender various sums at supermarket
tills when
the attendants claim to have no change in the denomination that
must be
handed back to the customer. I recently quarreled with an assistant
in a
supermarket in Harare when she nonchalantly handed me a receipt without
my
$8 000 change. When I asked, she was patronisingly sarcastic about the
fact
that I was making a fuss about such a small amount of money
.
However, I told her I was insisting on getting my change on principle.
Pointing out that if $8 000 was nothing to a customer, the shop should not
mind handing over $10 000 change and losing only $2 000. Moreover, I pointed
out, the shop must be making a killing out of cash-strapped customers by
holding back various sums in change due to customers. In the past, if you
were a child and went back home after an errant without the correct change,
you were in serious trouble. But in a situation where prices can change by
the hour and change can be withheld, how can the truth be ascertained?
If
a country no longer functions in the most basic of ways so as to enable
the
people to do everyday things without a hassle, a complete overhaul is
called
for. Zimbabweans must scrutinise the presidential candidates
contesting the
looming elections and decide which one is most likely to get
things working
normally again. That candidate is the only one who deserves
to win. The
polls would be meaningless if nothing changed after March 29 and
the masses
were required to continue tightening their belts.
FinGaz
Comment
THE signing
into law of the controversial Empowerment and Indigenisation
Bill,
notwithstanding the chorus of disapproval echoed countrywide and
beyond
Zimbabwe's borders, has confirmed our worst fears: that government
has not
learnt anything from past botched economic experiments that have
escalated
the collapse of the country's economy.
There had been a modicum of hope that
President Robert Mugabe had understood
the issues causing apprehension in
the investment community and had had a
change of heart after delays in
assenting to the Bill. It had been reasoned
that, like the controversial NGO
Bill, which passed through parliament but
never received his assent, the
empowerment bill would suffer a similar fate.
But President Mugabe last week
gave the Empowerment law wings to fly after
appending his signature on the
Bill, opening yet another page of the ruinous
economic policies that have
turned what was once the continent's most
promising economy into a basket
case.
The Act states that indigenous people, essentially blacks, shall own 51
percent of the shares of every public company, banks and mines included. No
merger or de-merger would be approved unless the transactions comply with
the indigenisation threshold.
At 51 percent, it means whoever acquires
the controlling stake calls the
shots. Not a bad idea.
But is government
sincere? Why now and why the hurry?
Could it be an election gimmick to
sweeten its campaign tune, which had
become monotonous after being played
over and over again?
We ask these questions because a decade ago resource
group Anglo American
Corporation invited local partners to take up 20
percent stake in Unki
Platinum Mine. To this day, there have been no takers
due to lack of
funding.
Three years ago, Zimplats also set aside a 15
percent stake for indigenous
partners but its offer drew blanks. In fact,
spanners were thrown into the
works to derail Needgate's bid in favour of a
rainbow-like consortium that
could not convert its political clout into
equity.
Then there were long drawn plans to turn loss-making public
enterprises into
family jewels such as CBZ, Dairibord, RTG and Cottco, whose
fairy tale
successes helped government achieve the twin objective of
empowering black
management while releasing revenue into the
fiscus.
Regrettably, privatisation has been on the backburner for over a
decade now,
tangled in red tape and inertia in the civil service.
If
government could not walk the talk on Unki and Zimplats, wherefrom is it
drawing the guts to suddenly think it can now indigenise the economy at the
grand scale mooted in the corridors of power?
Not that we are against
economic empowerment or that we have become willing
tools to do the bidding
of big business. No.
Indigenisation is one of the unresolved issues left to
linger on for far too
long. It is an embarrassment that Zimbabwe is still
harping on about black
economic empowerment nearly three decades after
gaining independence.
The few post-independence opportunities have only
benefited a few and the
rest of the majority blacks - 80 percent of the
population - are still
wallowing in poverty.
We can only hope there are
no ulterior motives behind this newly found zeal
to indigenise the economy
in view of the fact that government's paranoia
about the political influence
of foreign-owned companies is well documented.
The powers-that-be have for
long held the view that foreign-owned companies
are working in cahoots with
the opposition to wrest power from its
octopus-like grip.
And because of
these fears, government has lurched from one pre-emptive
strike to the
other. The emotive land seizures spearheaded by the war
veterans in 2000
immediately comes to mind, but these reforms decimated
agriculture and
hastened the collapse of the economy.
Operation Murambatsvina, which left
over 700,000 families homeless, is
another example. And most recently
companies accused of unjustifiably hiking
prices to foment public anger
against President Mugabe's administration,
were forced to slash prices by
half.
We have said it before and will say it again: dishing out shares of
collapsing businesses like confetti, to an equally struggling indigenous
populace, is no empowerment by any stretch of imagination.
Companies are
on the verge of collapse and government has not dealt with the
causes of the
private sector woes.
This form of empowerment might further impoverish the
intended beneficiaries
unless if it is done gradually and supported by
adequate funding and
requisite skills.
The national economic cake is
shrinking at an alarming pace due to lack of
foreign direct investment,
foreign currency shortages, the dearth in balance
of payments support, a
free-falling exchange rate, declining demand and the
high costs of
production.
Hasty indigenisation strategies might unnerve foreign investors,
who have
been sitting on the fence and might stiffen the hand of existing
foreign
investors who may find it futile to inject fresh capital or expand
operations in institutions where they have no say.
Foreign cash, which
has been trickling into the country by way of lines of
credit facilities,
might also dry up, nudging the nine-year-long recession
into a full-blown
economic crisis.
Capital, by nature, is timid and tends to rush for the exits
at the
slightest whiff of bad news. The lack of clarity on this new Act and
the
behind the scenes manoeuvres of political bigwigs known for reaping
where
they did not sow, are least reassuring.
Populist policies are
inflationary. What is extremely saddening about
Zimbabwe's seemingly
untenable situation is that the powers-that-be are
determined to continue
blowing up the inflation balloon and hoist themselves
high up in order to
take aim at an imaginary enemy.
We sincerely hope that the bubble does not
burst. Perish the thought!
Each one takes 10
EDITOR - Whatever people do and think about
Simba Makoni, he has the backing
of us ordinary Zimbabweans. Our campaign
strategy is simple: We will make
sure each one of us takes 10 relatives and
friends to the polls and the 10
take 10 and 10 take 10.
He is a liberator
and, yes, he is the only cabinet minister who never
grabbed a piece of land.
Winning or not, he is the anointed one to lead
Zimbabwe.
Handei nyati
mhenyu. Do you think with the torture that happened anyone in
ZANU-PF will
admit they are behind Simba. They are big in age and very young
in
courage.
I urge Zimbabweans not to think twice as we have a messiah in
Simba.
Email us on votesimbamakoni@yahoo.com and
register your 10 friends and
relatives. The in thing is to be independent
and enjoy the independence.
Who wants to be saluted nemhondi dzapedza
kutorture vanhu.
Shungu
Shungu
Zimbabwe
----------------
Zimondi's words
futile
EDITOR - What is the point of having an election when
men like Retired
Major-General Paradzayi Zimondi, who is supposed to be
apolitical, coerce
those under them to vote for ZANU-PF?
This country,
which is now called Zimbabwe, is a European construct. It is
the Europeans
who set out the borders in 1889 in Switzerland.
Before that, people were just
drifting from one place to the other. There
was no recognised authority
before the colonialists came. If the Portuguese
had not occupied Mozambique
before the British then perhaps Southern
Rhodesia would have included
Mozambique as Eastern Rhodesia. Or if the
Portuguese wanted, they could have
made Southern Rhodesia part of
Mozambique.
We should all thank the
colonialists (British) for setting out the borders.
General Walls refused to
salute (President) Mugabe. Where is he now? The
same will happen to
Paradzayi Zimondi.
All the inhabitants of this former British colony have an
inalienable right
to choose who rules over them. This is not to be done on
their behalf by the
likes of Zimondi.
Blind faith is what Zimondi is
showing here. He and his friends can support
(President) Mugabe as much as
they like but he must leave us to choose who
rules over us.
I don't think
Zimondi got his job as a soldier on merit. He serendipitously
got into this
position by virtue of either being a school dropout or he was
a fugitive
from justice or both when he strayed into Mozambique. This was
not by design
but by accident so he should not brag about his position.
The fact that
General Walls refused to work under (President) Mugabe did not
stop
(President) Mugabe being President and by the same token Zimondi's
scrappiness will not stop Tsvangirai being President.
What Zimondi has
done is outright intimidation or gangsterism and he should
be arrested for
this offence but then this is a corrupt regime. Instead, he
will be
promoted. Saka (President) Mugabe vachitaura semunhu akatsika pfuti.
It is
quite obvious who runs the show in Zimbabwe - the army.
Zimondi doesn't even
understand what an election is all about; he needs to
be educated on the
do's and don'ts of elections.
And you expect a free and fair election in such
an environment.
S. Chimbindi
United Kingdom
--------------
Face
it Madhuku, time's up for Tsvangirai
EDITOR - Lovemore
Madhuku is entitled to express an opinion as he did last
week, but
fortunately it remains what it is - an opinion.
Has it ever occurred to him
that for (President) Mugabe to be what he is
today, it was because he took
an opportunity and made the best out of it.
When a chance does arise one
should make the best out of it and shine.
Tsvangirai got the opportunity in
2002, but failed to make the best out of
it, and lost by over 420 000
votes.
(Simba) Makoni if you are clever, as the people think you are, a
scenario
you should take advantage of comprises the following elements: (a)
food
shortages (b) unemployment (c) mass exodus of potentially good manpower
that
could be used to improve economic performance (d) internal fissures
within
ZANU-PF and confusion over who is backing who (e) a tired society
that is
waiting for anyone to vote for as long as they can stand for the
peoples'
rights.
So if I were you (Makoni), I would go for it and leave
Madhuku to theorise
about the right constitution and all that.
If you
stand for what is right you never know who is behind you.
Pasi
Makwabs
Canada
--
Rich states didn't get there by waving
fists
EDITOR - Any ruling elite that has passed its sell-by
date in countries such
as Finland and Japan, which are relatively poor in
natural resources or any
"soil" to call their own, could not boost sagging
fortunes at the polls by
waving fists at "exploitative" foreigners. Yet
those countries have some of
the highest incomes per capita in the
world.
Then, countries such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela are so fixated about
who
exploits their treasure-trove of natural resources, yet demonstrate
least
success in spreading wealth down to the common man.
Why don't we
just enable, rather than frustrate, those who are willing and
able to add
value? Wealth for Zimbabweans would come less from who "owns"
the productive
process, than in getting as many of our people as possible
back into sharing
a slice of the "employment" action.
Strip away the jargon from published
financial statements, and you may just
find one of the more interesting
facts. That is how small a percentage of
the value added by most businesses
goes as net dividend to the owners,
compared with the bulk that goes to
employees as net remuneration, other
businesses as suppliers, and to
government as tax on profit, dividends,
interest, PAYE, VAT and
others.
You can be sure there is no Japanese or Finnish minister putting a
cap on
the prices their entrepreneurs can charge. The marketplace takes care
of
that, and is far too vibrant and dynamic a place for armies of
bureaucrats
to wrap their brains around.
It's the old adage, that the
fist that closes tightest is the one that kills
the bird. Command
economists, even those with the best intentions, tend to
bequeath poverty to
today's generation, and a desert to the next.
John
Bennett
Mutare
----------
-- Rigging has
started
EDITOR - All police officers have been asked to
submit their voting details.
Not bad because they will be deployed out of
their wards. The catch is that
everyone would be forced, one way or the
other, to vote for a particular
candidate. You know who?
How can you vote
when there are ex-combatant officers seeing where you are
putting your vote?
That is rigging if you ask me. Last time some envelopes
were opened and
officers were victimised when it was seen that they had
voted for the
opposition.
Please highlight this issue in your widely read newspaper so that
our votes
can count. Imagine all 30 000 police votes being stolen. That can
steal a
whole election in someone's favour. The time is
now.
Ngonjo
Harare
---------------
Tsvangirai should not step
aside for anyone
EDITOR - I refer to your comment in your
February 21 issue of The Financial
Gazette under the heading, "It's not
about Tsvangirai." Well, your comment
encourages unity of opposition and
civic society against the ruling party on
March 29 2008 and you propose that
the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai should
step aside for Simba Makoni. It was
unfair on the person of Morgan
Tsvangirai and his top leadership.
My
understanding is that the decision not to join forces with the Mutambara
faction was recommended by a negotiating team and thus it was not an
individual decision by Tsvangirai.
I totally agree with your
recommendation that it will be good for Tsvangirai
to embrace all
progressive forces that include the youth, intellectuals and
the business
community. The break up of the MDC in October 2005 was a very
unfortunate
development in the history of the opposition and Tsvangirai as
the leader
should shoulder most of the blame for the break up.
ZAPU split after its
banishment by the Rhodesian government in 1963 and
hence the formation of
ZANU. In 1989 Edgar Tekere, then secretary-general
for ZANU PF, was fired
from the party after opposing the one party state,
leading to the formation
of the Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM).
But, Mr Editor, for how long should we
cry over spilt milk- the good old
days of the MDC? The writer still has the
highest regard for Tsvangirai's
former comrades in arms, the likes of Gibson
Sibanda, Welshman Ncube and
Paul Themba Nyathi, as he worked with them
during their trade union and NCA
days. I also have no problems with
Professor Arthur Mutambara opting not to
stand as a presidential candidate
and opting to contest Zengeza constituency
and his support for Dr Simba
Makoni for the presidency.
Your comment on Tsvangirai needs repeating "by
refusing to embrace other
progressive forces, Tsvangirai is no different
from a captain of a losing
team who protests at the entry of a super
substitute for fear that the fresh
pair of legs might steal the
show."
Your analogy is misplaced, suppose Dynamos FC is playing against its
arch
rival Highlanders FC at Rufaro stadium and at half time the scoreline
reads
Dynamos 0 - 1 Highlanders. For some strange reason, some spectators
(Fingaz
Editor included) shout and ask the Dynamos captain Murape Murape to
make way
for Zephania Ngodzo the Highlanders star who is on their bench.
Surely this
does not make sense.
What stops Zephania Ngodzo from scoring
an own goal, and thus help
Highlanders to increase its tally. The norm, in
football, is for the Dynamos
team to use one of the substitutes on its
bench. Simba Makoni should be a
super substitute for ZANU PF and not for the
MDC Tsvangirai. Simba Makoni
has publicly confirmed that he is an
'independent' presidential candidate
and is not a member of the
MDC.
Lovemore Kadenge
Harare