http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own Correspondent Friday 19 March
2010
HARARE – President Robert Mugabe has agreed during his
two-day meetings with
South African President Jacob Zuma to give back
ministers from Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party functions and
responsibilities he had
unilaterally stripped them of, a source close to the
power-sharing talks
told ZimOnline Thursday.
The source, who spoke on
condition that he remained anonymous, said the
amendments gazetted two weeks
ago, which saw several MDC ministers being
stripped of their powers will now
be shelved.
“The amendments which were gazetted will now be shelved,”
said the source.
“There is also an agreement pertaining to the issue of
(central bank
governor Gideon) Gono, (Attorney General Johannes) Tomana and
(Tsvangirai
top aide Roy) Bennett and a decision will be announced,” said
the source
declining to disclose further details.
Gono and Tomana are
at the centre of a dispute between Mugabe and Tsvangirai
with the Prime
Minister insisting that they must be fired because the
President appointed
them without consulting him.
But Mugabe has vowed never to fire the two
men who are among his staunchest
allies. Mugabe has refused to appoint MDC
treasurer Bennett as deputy
agriculture minister insisting that he must
first be cleared of treason
charges.
The source added: “The issue of
the appointment of the provincial governors
was also raised and it was
agreed that their appointment should be
finalised. “The main issue is that
if the agreement is not adhered to, then
the issue will be referred to the
SADC troika. We hope now the focus will
now be on the 25 and 26 to make sure
there is implementation.”
Both MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa and ZANU PF's
Rugare Gumbo were not
immediately available for a comment on the
matter.
The South African leader who yesterday wound up his visit to
assess the
year-old power-sharing government of Mugabe, Tsvangirai and
Deputy Premier
Arthur Mutambara told reporters that he was “encouraged” by
the “spirit” of
cooperation shown by Zimbabwe’s political leadership in
their efforts to
fully implement their September 2008 power sharing
agreement.
“I am very encouraged by the spirit of cooperation displayed
by the leaders
and all their parties,” Zuma said after meeting in Harare
former long time
rivals Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
“I have had fruitful
discussions with all the signatories to the global
political agreement
(GPA), their negotiating teams, leading Zimbabwean
personalities and other
key stakeholders,” Zuma, the Southern African
Development Community (SADC)’s
mediator in Zimbabwe.
The South African President met all the three
Zimbabwean principals
separately on Wednesday before meeting them together
yesterday. Zuma also
met Tomana, Gono and Bennett on Wednesday
night.
“The parties have agreed to a package of measures to be
implemented
concurrently as per the decision of the SADC troika in Maputo,”
said Zuma
without disclosing any details. “I believe that the implementation
of this
package will take the process forward
substantially.”
Zimbabwe’s unity government has stabilised Zimbabwe’s
economy to improve the
lives of ordinary citizens. But a dispute between
Tsvangirai and Mugabe over
how to share executive power, senior appointments
and security sector
reforms is holding back the administration and
threatening to render it
ineffective.
The unity government’s failure
to win financial support from Western powers
and multilateral institutions
has also crippled its efforts to rebuild an
economy shattered by a decade of
political strife and acute recession. –
ZimOnline
http://www.businessday.co.za/
DUMISANI MULEYA
Published: 2010/03/19 06:52:27
AM
President Jacob Zuma poses for a photograph with Zimbabwe’s
President Mugabe
in the capital Harare. Photo: REUTERS
PRESIDENT
Jacob Zuma yesterday managed to squeeze a raft of concessions from
Zimbabwe’s rival political parties and their leaders in a bid to resolve the
country’s decade-long political crisis which has ruined the
economy.
Zuma, who spent two hectic working days holed up in a Harare
hotel engaged
in critical marathon meetings, told journalists after long
behind-the-scenes
negotiations that the parties had agreed on “a package of
measures” to be
implemented soon.
If the parties stick to the
agreement and make progress it would bolster
Zuma’s efforts to mediate and
keep Harare’s teetering unity government
afloat.
“The parties have
agreed to a package of measures to be implemented
concurrently as per the
decision of the (Southern African Development
Community) Sadc troika in
Maputo,” Zuma said. “I believe the implementation
of this package will take
the process forward substantially.”
Zuma said President Robert Mugabe,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara
have agreed to get their negotiators
to pull out all the stops to resolve
the outstanding issues.
The negotiators will meet next week and have a
March 31 deadline to report
back to Zuma, who will then present a
comprehensive progress report to the
chairman of the Sadc troika, President
Armando Guebuza of Mozambique.
The negotiators, Patrick Chinamasa and
Nicholas Goche for Zanu (PF), Tendai
Biti and Elton Mangoma for the main
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
wing and Welshman Ncube and Priscillah
Misihairabwi-Mushonga for the smaller
MDC faction, would come up with ways
of implementing the measures. They will
work with Zuma’s facilitators
Charles Nqakula , Mac Maharaj and Lindiwe
Zulu.
Informed sources
within the negotiating teams and facilitators said the
measures referred to
proposed solutions to deal with disputes over the
appointment of provincial
governors, attorney- general Johannes Tomana and
Reserve Bank governor
Gideon Gono, the swearing-in of Deputy Agriculture
Minister Roy Bennett and
targeted sanctions.
As Zuma said the issues would be addressed
“concurrently”, Mugabe can no
longer claim progress cannot be made until
sanctions are removed.
The sources said negotiators were tasked to put in
place implementation
mechanisms and final touches on how to share the
governors’ positions and
when they would be sworn-in, when Bennett should
come in, and whether Tomana
and Gono should be removed from office in the
“national interest”.
Procedures to remove economic sanctions and travel
bans on Mugabe and his
party elite will also be discussed. The Gono and
Tomana issue would finally
be decided by Mugabe, Tsvangirai and
Mutambara.
Zuma met with Tomana and Gono in a bid to resolve the issue.
He also met
Zanu (PF) power brokers, Emmerson Mnangagwa and Solomon Mujuru.
Mnangagwa
and Mujuru lead factions viciously fighting to produce a successor
to
Mugabe.
Zuma’s package also deals with media reforms.
On
sanctions, the parties are going to work through a cabinet committee
established last year. It will approach the European Union, US, Commonwealth
countries, multilateral financial institutions and bilateral
institutions.
http://www.capetimes.co.za
March 19, 2010 Edition 2
Stanley Gama
Foreign Service
HARARE: President Jacob Zuma has persuaded Zimbabwe's
squabbling coalition
partners to settle their differences and to fully
implement their
commitments under the agreement which underpins the unity
government which
was launched in February last year.
In two days of
intense discussions here, Zuma forced President Robert Mugabe
to back down
and make concessions he had so far refused, such as appointing
members of
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) to
senior government posts, sources said.
They also said that Mugabe had
grudgingly agreed to fire his controversial
Attorney-General Johannes Tomana
who has been accused of selective
prosecutions against MDC supporters. But
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara, leader of the smaller
MDC faction, had agreed
that Mugabe's equally-controversial Reserve Bank
Governor Gideon Gono, could
stay on.
The government has been stalled
since its founding by bitter haggling mainly
between Mugabe's Zanu-PF and
Tsvangirai's main faction of the MDC. But,
flanked by Mugabe and Tsvangirai,
Zuma announced yesterday that the
Zimbabwean leaders had agreed to implement
the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) which they signed in September
2008.
"I have had fruitful discussions with all the signatories to the
GPA, their
negotiating teams, leading Zimbabwe personalities and other key
stakeholders," Zuma said.
"I am encouraged by the spirit of
co-operation displayed by the leaders and
all the parties.
"The
parties have agreed to a package of measures to be implemented
concurrently
as per the decision of the SADC Troika in Maputo," he said,
referring to the
summit of the troika of the Southern African Development
Community's (SADC)
security organ in November last year which instructed the
Zimbabwean parties
to resolve their outstanding differences, including a
more equal
distribution of top government posts among the parties.
I believe that
the implementation of this package will take the process
forward
substantially," Zuma added.
"The leaders have instructed their
negotiating teams to attend to all
outstanding matters during their
deliberations on 25, 26 and 29 March and to
report to the facilitator by the
31st March," said Zuma, who, however, did
not allow journalists to ask
questions.
After he receives the report from the negotiators, Zuma will
present a
progress report to the chairperson of the SADC Troika, President
Armando
Guebuza of Mozambique.
It is understood that Zuma used robust
and effective tactics totally
different from the soft approach by former
president Thabo Mbeki to secure
yesterday's agreement.
After meeting
the three leaders of the unity government separately on
Wednesday, Zuma
yesterday met them again together where he reportedly flexed
his
muscles.
And taking a more practical approach, Zuma also had a faceto-
face meeting
with individual officials whose positions have become
controversial issues
among the parties. These were Gono, Tomana and deputy
minister of
agriculture designate Roy Bennett , the Tsvangirai MDC's
treasurer-general.
He personally negotiated
with the three
individuals on the best ways to resolve their roles in the
political
impasse, sources said. After the meetings, it was felt that Gono
could
continue as the Reserve Bank governor but that Tomana will be
sacrificed.
Bennett's position was not resolved, the sources said.
The negotiators were
reportedly instructed to come up with a plan on whether
Bennett should be
sworn in after his court case or before. Mugabe also
buckled under pressure
on the issue of provincial governors, agreeing at
last to swear in several
MDC officials to some of the governorships as soon
as the negotiators come
up with a formula.
On the thorny issue of
European Union-targeted sanctions against Mugabe and
his Zanu-PF cronies,
Zuma managed to get a deal whereby a committee from
government comprising
all three political parties would be dispatched to
Brussels next month to
tackle the subject directly with the EU.
This decision reportedly
mollified Mugabe who had previously insisted that
he would not budge on his
commitments, such as the appointing of MDC
governors and the sharing of
other top posts, until the sanctions had been
lifted.
http://news.theage.com.au
March 19, 2010 -
10:24AM
AAP
Australia will give Zimbabwe $13 million to improve
access to clean water,
sanitation and food.
Foreign Minister Stephen
Smith said the money included $8 million for a
UNICEF program that works
with local authorities to build water
infrastructure.
"This will
increase access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene
services for
over two million people in urban and rural areas, including
Zimbabwe's
second largest city, Bulawayo," Mr Smith said in a statement.
A further
$5 million will be provided to Australian non-government
organisations for
work in Zimbabwe.
Late last year, Australia decided it would consider
engagement with
Zimbabwean ministers making a genuine contribution to the
troubled country's
social and economic recovery.
Mr Smith on Friday
met with Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti in
Sydney to discuss
reconstruction efforts since the swearing in of Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's inclusive government last year.
Relief agencies estimate two
million Zimbabweans still require food
assistance, with food insecurity
likely to persist into 2011
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=28096
March 19, 2010
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Central Bank chief Gideon Gono has clashed with
President Robert
Mugabe over the country's recently enacted empowerment laws
and revealed
that there have been attempts to seize foreign-owned banks
since the coming
into effect of the country's controversial regulations on
March 1.
Gono's criticism of the law puts him on the side of Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai who is currently pushing for its
review.
Four weeks after Mugabe said there have been "vultures" who
intend to stop
indigenization; Gono said there wee "vultures" that made
moves to seize
foreign banks in line with the regulations that stipulate
that 51 percent of
shareholding in foreign firms must be handed to
locals.
"Let us face facts. Already, in my own backyard in the financial
sector,
there have recently been unfortunate incidences of "vulture-style"
attempts
by some cohorts to wrest stakes in some foreign owned banks," Gono
said in a
"question and answer" interview published on Thursday in a local
newspaper.
In celebrations to mark his 86th birthday in Bulawayo last
month, Mugabe
said: "We know there are vultures, aggressors , imperialists,
and neo
imperialists who want to interfere with our systems.The policy, like
the
land reform programme, was designated to redress the historical
imbalances
in the ownership of the economy."
But on Thursday, Gono
poured scorn on Mugabe's land reform mantra.
"Some people would want to
mischievously equate and interpret the land
reform type of indigenization as
the one that should, must and could be
applied to other sectors of the
economy," said Gono.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor added
that the central bank
would not seek to dilute or disrupt the current
shareholding, unless it is
voluntary in such banks as Stanbic, Barclays
Bank, Standard Charted, MBCA
and CABS.
And in an apparent salvo at
Youth and Indigenization Minister Savior
Kasukuwere who has maintained that
the regulations remain in force even
though Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
had said they are null and void as
they were gazetted without consultation
within government, Gono said:
"Fellow Zimbabweans, let us avoid falling
into the trap of being driven by
the shrill war cries and voices of a few
who are driving their own private
agenda's for personal gain in the name of
the empowerment of the masses. We
definitely need to sober up."
In
the interview, Gono repeated the advice he gave to politicians in his
October 2007 monetary statement
Legislators and government in general
must strike a balance between the
objectives of indigenization and the need
to attract foreign investment,
Gono said then
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Caroline Mvundura Friday 19
March 2010
HARARE - Zimbabwe will next month launch a new blue print
to succeed the
Short Term Emergence Recovery Programme (STERP) hastily
cobbled up in March
2009 following formation of a power sharing government
between President
Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Officials from the Ministry of Economic Planning told
ZimOnline on Thursday
that the new Medium Term Plan (MTP) was expected to
help spearhead the
recovery of Zimbabwe's ailing economy up to December
2015.
"The final draft of the MTP document will be edited, bound and the
launch
date will be on April 21 2010," said a government economist, who
declined to
be named because the new economic plan is not yet
official.
Officials said the new plan seeks to increase capacity
utilisation in the
manufacturing sector currently hovering between 40 and 45
percent and to
increase investment in the economy.
But the officials
did not say how the government hopes to attract foreign
investment while at
the same time pursuing a controversial indigenisation
policy that seeks to
force foreign shareholders to cede controlling stake in
their businesses to
locals.
Under the empowerment regulations announced last month by
Indigenisation
Minister Saviour Kasukuwere from Mugabe's ZANU PF party,
foreign-owned
businesses, including banks, mines and factories will be
forced to sell a
majority stake to locals by March 2015.
The rules
have been a source of controversy and besides dividing the unity
government
along party lines, they have rattled foreign investors who
analysts say will
continue to stay away from the country.
The MTP, championed by Economic
Planning Minister Elton Mangoma from
Tsvangirai's MDC party seeks to
establish a vibrant market and private
sector driven economy and a large
part of the financing and investment of
programmes and projects under the
plan is expected to come from the private
sector through the public private
partnerships.
The ratio of investment to GDP is targeted to average 25
percent of GDP
during the next five years while that of domestic savings to
GDP is targeted
to rise to the same level during the same time
period.
Other than high growth rates, the MTP will place a premium on job
creation,
poverty reduction and equity while also ensuring that balance is
attained in
development across all regions of the country.
The
policies, reforms and structural and institutional changes are aimed at
transforming Zimbabwe from a primary product producer to a producer of
diversified manufactured products.
"The ultimate objective is to make
Zimbabwe a growing, transforming and
globally competitive developed economy,
occupying its niche in the world
economy. To achieve this Zimbabwe needs to
draw lessons from its past
economic performance, invest in acquiring new
technologies, knowledge and
ideas, entrepreneurship, research and
development and innovations," said
part of the draft MTP.
The STERP
was expected to stabilise the economy and lay the basis of a
mid-to-long
term recovery programme. While the economy has stabilised, the
STERP has
largely fizzled out after key Western donor governments and
multilateral
institutional declined to bankroll the programme demanding more
political
reforms.
Zimbabwe's coalition government - that Mugabe and Tsvangirai
agreed to form
only because of pressure from southern African leaders - is
seen as offering
the country its best opportunity in years to turn around
its economy after a
decade of severe recession.
But analysts remain
skeptical about the government's long-term
effectiveness, citing unending
squabbles between Mugabe's ZANU PF and
Tsvangirai's MDC parties and refusal
by rich Western countries to provide
financial support. - ZimOnline
http://www.hrw.org/
By Loubna Freih Georges
and Walter Stresemann, members of Human Rights
Watch's Geneva
Committee
March 18, 2010
From March 18 to 25, Basel will be
filled with excitement and beauty as
nearly 2,000 companies and 100,000
people in the watch and jewelry business
in 100 countries gather for
BaselWorld, the world's largest jewelry show.
As is well known, the watch
and jewelry business is an important commercial
sector in Switzerland, which
is also planning to develop an international
diamond exchange in
Geneva.
If Switzerland wants to play an even greater role in the global
and domestic
jewelry trade, it should demonstrate more leadership in ending
the sale and
production of "blood diamonds," gems procured in the context of
the most
severe human rights abuses. It can do so as a member of the
Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme, an international group that monitors
the
diamond trade.
Switzerland, in fact, was a founding member of the
Kimberley Process, which
was formally established in 2003 by governments,
industry, and civil society
to provide both jewelers and consumers with
guarantees that their diamond
purchases were not underwriting grave abuses,
particularly by violent rebel
groups.
But those abuses continue. In
Zimbabwe, for example, a June 2009 Human
Rights Watch report exposed a
massacre of 200 people, forced labor,
beatings, and rape committed by the
Zimbabwean military on diamond fields in
Marange. Blood diamonds from
Marange continue to be smuggled out of
Zimbabwe, and, in part because the
Kimberley Process has refrained from
taking strong action, these stones are
entering the showcases of the world's
leading jewelers.
The diamond
industry and those who buy fine jewelry need a Kimberley Process
that works,
and that requires stronger leadership by member countries like
Switzerland
to curtail the continuing abuses in Zimbabwe.
The Kimberley Process has
three major weaknesses. First, the group's charter
refers to conflict
diamonds only in connection with their use by rebel
groups to finance wars
against legitimate governments. The definition should
be expanded so that
the Kimberley Process explicitly condemns human rights
abuses connected with
diamond production, regardless of whether they are
committed by governments
or rebel armies. Second, there is little
independent monitoring of
compliance with Kimberley Process rules and few
penalties for violations.
Third, the group makes decisions by consensus,
rather than by voting, which
means that it is difficult for well-meaning
countries to take action against
a member that violates the rules if even
one other member votes to block
that action.
Thus, despite a harsh report last summer by a Kimberley
Process review team
about abuses in Marange, the group voted in November not
to suspend Zimbabwe
from membership. The Democratic Republic of Congo,
Namibia, Russia, South
Africa, and Tanzania - all Kimberley Process members
- blocked the
suspension. Instead, the group voted to allow Zimbabwe to
implement an
action plan that Zimbabwe itself developed. The plan has not
yet resulted in
any positive changes on the diamond fields.
As a
founding member of the Kimberley Process, and in concert with other
members,
particularly the European Commission, Canada, the United States,
and Israel
(the current chair), Switzerland should work to correct
Kimberley's
deficiencies. More immediately, it should publicly condemn
Zimbabwe's abuses
and call for tougher action against the country.
Switzerland should also
join forces with the jewelry industry here and
across the globe to stop the
sale of blood diamonds and keep them out of
Switzerland, including the
tax-free zones at Zurich and Geneva airports. The
Swiss government, for
example, could require importers to audit and publish
their supply chains
and conduct spot checks of rough and polished diamonds
at
customs.
Retailers and wholesalers, in particular, should refuse to
purchase diamonds
that originated in Marange. These diamonds can easily be
detected by their
hue and the use of a "footprint," or analysis developed by
the Kimberley
Process. Those in the jewelry industry should ask their
suppliers to confirm
that the diamonds they sell are not from Marange, are
not blood diamonds,
and have genuine certificates attesting to the stones'
legitimacy.
Switzerland has a lot to lose if its jewelry industry becomes
corrupted by
blood diamonds. On behalf of its jewelers, consumers, and the
people in
Marange who have suffered grievously from diamond mining, the
Swiss
government should make a strong stand. It should not allow human
rights
abuses to tarnish its gem of a commercial sector.
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
18/03/2010 5:12
PM
HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwean authorities criticized New
Zealand's decision
to withdraw from a tour of the southern African country
for the second
straight year as being "factually incorrect" on
Thursday.
Last year, the New Zealand Cricket board postponed the tour
until June 2010
but now wants to push it back till 2011 or play it in a
neutral venue.
"It is clear from our recent discussions that the
government's assessment of
the security situation in Zimbabwe has not
changed from that of a year ago,
when the scheduled tour was postponed," NZC
chief executive Justin Vaughan
said this week.
Zimbabwe Cricket
managing director Ozias Bvute said his organization would
not agree to
either suggestion.
"We have found the decision taken by the New Zealand
Cricket board to be
factually incorrect and unfortunate," Bvute said. "It
was a unilateral
decision that was presented to us without
discussion."
Zimbabwe Sport Minister David Coltart expressed
disappointment at the
cancellation.
"It seems it's a decision taken
by the government rather than the team
itself," Coltart told The Associated
Press. "I believe the use of 'health
and safety risk' reasons is wrong. I
said it last year and I repeated it
again this year: Zimbabwe is one of the
safest places to visit and play
cricket. Harare and Bulawayo have good
health facilities and, to that
extent, there is no health risk
whatsoever."
"We are in the process of transition as a country. It's a
national
experiment and that process should be supported by the
international
community. The decision taken by New Zealand sends wrong
signals to
potential visitors from New Zealand and other country."
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Showers Mawowa Friday 19 March
2010
OPINION: The promulgation of Statutory Instrument 21 of 2010
meant to
breathe life into the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act,
legally
referred to as Chapter 14:33 of 2007, which inter alia requires all
foreign
companies to cede at least 51 percent stake to indigenous
Zimbabweans has
been cause for much consternation.
Not least in
triggering this widespread apprehension is the timing of the
regulation
coming as it does in the wake of an inclusive government battling
to salvage
and resuscitate the little that is left of the economy as well as
restore
lost confidence among investors, local and international.
Ironically,
this is a time when companies are struggling to come out of the
hood and
looking at raising capital through public sale of shares among
other
things.
Frankly speaking, after a decade-old downward economic spiral
there is very
little of the economy left to indigenise.
But a careful
reading of the modus operandi of President Robert Mugabe ZANU
PF party
informs us of the fact that for them it is not the size of the
economy that
matters.
The size would only matter if the intention was to support the
majority: but
far from it, this is a strategy to complete the Zanufication
of the economy
and enrich a few political elites.
ZANU PF has a
serious accumulation agenda that goes beyond the present
political
interregnum. It is no wonder that the law's orientation is toward
giving
access to Zimbabweans that are already rich enough to buy shares in
big
companies.
If one is able to mobilise as much capital, why not start up
own companies.
In so doing we increase the number of players in the economy
and create more
jobs and spread the benefits wider.
That the Act has
as its prime objective transfer as opposed to creation of
wealth betrays
entrepreneurial laziness and serious lack of innovation.
Like the
post-2000 land seizures which led to the multiple ownership of
farms by
individuals within the ruling elite this is meant to accommodate
political
elites who want to own businesses instead of promoting business
people who
want to do business.
The African tragedy has been partly due to a
preponderance of "comrades in
business" to use Gavin Capp's characterisation
of South Africa's Black
Economic Empowerment (BEE).
For ZANU PF it
seems, because the perpetuation of the political kingdom is
becoming more
and more elusive by the day pursuing an economic one is worth
the while and
certain to guarantee a survival enclave of sorts.
"Indigenisation and
empowerment" are sweet words. Nice words but flawed
ideas!
The
post-colonial so-called empowerment initiatives as is with this broadly
disempowering and narrowly empowering (temporarily for that matter) Act
derive their logic from a poisonous political-economic doctrine that says,
"Land is the economy".
On the contrary land on its own is not the
economy. There is also
production, trade and consumption as well as the laws
and the politics
governing these processes. The sum is the
economy.
Soon the seized companies will be run down leaving workers worse
off. If
land was the economy then why have we become the poorest among
nations?
Owning companies, dying companies is not empowerment.
Day in
and day out we are told that we are the richest nation on earth
because we
have an abundance of mineral resources - but the majority is
wallowing in
abject poverty. So what's the point?
Gold does not equal to wealth! The
point is how you use it! It is from this
standpoint that meaningful
empowerment should emanate.
While there is need to create a more equal
society Zimbabweans need not pay
with their jobs, stomachs and skins. A
nation must produce. The purpose of
wealth is to sustain life - and that for
everyone.
"There is no wealth but life," once remarked the great art
critic cum
economist John Ruskin in 1860. What empowerment is there when
"empowerment"
threatens the right to full and reasonable employment, a
livelihood for
many?
In my view, politics and the love for wealth
must always be subservient to
the human spirit.
In spite of an
inclusive government in Zimbabwe, there remains a strong
tendency within
ZANU PF to pursue an obviously destructive course with
forcefulness
comparable only to religious conviction.
One is thus left to conclude
that perhaps ZANU PF has become irredeemably
corrupt and solely guided by a
private acquisitive agenda and the power
retention project that guarantees
so much that the party has completely lost
any trace of national interest in
its thinking.
Within this context any attempt to engage with them
meaningfully on matters
of national interest becomes a futile exercise. ZANU
PF needs to give people
a reason to take it seriously when it comes to the
national development
question.
"Zimbabweans must own the means of
production," so the argument goes. I will
momentarily take a detour and ask;
does the indigenisation law in its
present form have the potential to give
control and ownership of means of
production to Zimbabweans? Who is
Zimbabwean? Should all become owners of
the means of production? What is
meant by means of production? What is the
purpose of
production?
These are questions for another day. There is a difference
between economic
indigenisation and economic empowerment. The former tends
to be narrow and
by no means leave the majority better off. It refers to the
mere transfer of
ownership from one minority to another
minority.
There is nothing empowering to the majority about the law under
discussion.
It is simply bringing to sum a decade-long process that has been
underway in
Zimbabwe - the transfer of ownership of means of production to a
minority
blacks.
While it may appear as if Zimbabwe is nearly
outliving the post-colonial
phenomenon where the local bourgeoisie serves a
primarily compradorial
function for the imperial core the reality is more
complex than that.
Today networks and alliances with residual elements of
white colonial
capital exist as a clear sign of failure by the black
political and business
elite to independently pursue a meaningful and
sustained accumulation
programme.
There is a problem with equating
transfer of property to empowerment. The
philosophy that equates transfer of
company ownership to empowerment is the
same that mistakes untapped
recourses for wealth.
The Peruvian public intellectual Hernando de Soto
reminds us that resources
must be made to "produce value beyond their
natural state" otherwise they
remain "dead capital".
A look at what
has become of Shabanie mine shows how easily a once
productive company (or
farms) can be turned from 'active' to 'dead capital'.
What produces
wealth is man's ability to tame nature and give it value. So
what use is
untapped or unrefined gold? Even after being extracted the gold
must be
tradable. What use is an uncultivated fertile land? It is precisely
what we
do with what we have that generates wealth.
Thus any serious national
economic empowerment project must focus on
capacitating the nation to
produce. On its part a government must create a
favourable environment,
legislative, political and otherwise to enable those
who wish to produce to
do so.
African countries need to liberate themselves from the obsession
with
extractives as the alpha and omega of empowerment. History has taught
us the
dangers of relying on commodities production. As a nation we should
be
engaging in a holistic economic empowerment programme whose main
objective
is to create a better life for all through the creation of a
dynamic,
diversified and competitive modern economy.
This is no mean
task and cannot be a preserve for a single ministry let
alone one political
party. The conceptualisation of a natural resource needs
to go beyond the
preoccupation with extractives, to include individual
endowments, arts,
culture, development of a globally comparable IT sector,
services industry,
innovation and other aspects that define a 21st century
modern
economy.
The problem with most empowerment programmes in Africa, such as
the BEEE in
South Africa, is that they have not created entrepreneurs,
innovative
business players. By their nature and design these programmes
cannot - for
the simple reason that they are geared to accommodate a few
political
well-placed blacks to share a limited cake especially in the
commodity
industry.
These processes do not enlarge the cake. A
national economic project for
this day must be developmental; production
oriented and aimed at enlarging,
broadening and diversifying the
economy.
It is time the "Land is the Economy Slogan" be jettisoned not
only from
campaign posters and political slogans but also from minds. The
country's
farms and firms must produce for its citizens and for trade with
other
nations.
****Showers Mawowa is PhD Candidate (School of
Development Studies -
University of KwaZulu Natal in Durban, South Africa)
and Research Fellow at
the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Harare.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010 19:29
HOPE for
recovery of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and equity investment
has
turned into a nightmare as the volume of trade and share prices continue
to
shrink following the introduction of indigenisation and empowerment
regulations. Never since dollarisation has the market recorded such a big
loss as that suffered in February after the regulations were gazetted by
Indigenisation and Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere.
The benchmark
industrial index lost 9,8% to close at 140,37 points having
opened the month
at 155,60 points.
The market went for 10 consecutive trading sessions in the
red. The
downtrend has continued in March.
According to the ZSE, the
value of shares traded in February fell by 7,6%
compared to
January.
February also recorded the lowest turnover since April 2009 with
only US$29
million changing hands on the market.
Previous heavy losses
had been suffered in August last year when the market
lost 7,7% and October
when it shed 5,7%.
The reporting season has however stimulated the ZSE, an
indication that the
bourse has some value, but is still failing to find
direction.
Chengetai Zvobgo, an analyst with Kingdom Bank, said a sectoral
analysis
shows that the losses were being recorded across all
sectors.
"The resultant panic by investors turned the equities market into a
sellers'
market as investors began offloading their holdings in anticipation
of a
fall in share prices as companies rearrange their shareholdings
structure,"
he said. "The new regulations could have scared away investors
as they
digest the way forward in light of this development. Business coming
from
foreign investors averaged 40% last year and contributed 29% in January
and
below 20% in February."
The indigenisation regulations, among other
things, require businesses to
cede a controlling interest of not less than
51% of their shares to
"indigenous" Zimbabweans.
From March 1, companies
were given 45 days to disclose their shareholdings
or indigenisation plan,
and they must fully comply with the law within five
years.
ZSE chief
executive Emmanuel Munyukwi was however diplomatic on the impact
of the
regulations on the market saying: "They could be, of course, some
challenges
since the shares are traded on a free-buyer/free-seller basis,
but I believe
listing could be the best option to meet the desired goals."
Munyukwi said
most companies on the market were already indigenised "and we
are conducting
a verification exercise".
"Listings would help companies to raise working
capital. Companies used to
borrow money from banks but bank finance remains
a challenge," he said.
Stockbrokers said the political situation in the
country had a bearing on
the general sustainability of the equities
market.
"Politics will continue to play a big role in determining the
direction of
the market and more progress is still to be seen on that front.
Political
developments should mirror a country that is ready to do
business," an
analyst with ZABG stockbrokers said.
Economist Brains
Muchemwa believes that the bearish trend was temporary, and
pins his hopes
on transparency from both government and private sector.
"The market prices
risk, and as such thoughts of doubt and fear can
crystallise and solidify
into negative perception that may weigh on the
market for unnecessarily long
periods. Therefore the media, government and
private sector have to remain
objective, fair and transparent to assist the
markets," he said.
Muchemwa
said most of the ZSE-listed companies were compliant with the
indigenisation
regulations, and "we should expect more unlisted
non-compliant entities to
approach the market in search of fair valuation
for their assets as they
gravitate towards compliance with the
indigenisation regulations," Muchemwa
added.
For the fairest implementation, Muchemwa said the ZSE offered "the
best
platform where the private sector will get market value for their
assets,
while the empowerment will have a greater chance to filter to many
disadvantaged people in the streets, unlike compliance via private
placements that may result in asset manipulation by greedy and corrupt
elements, or outright distortions and deceit by the private sector through
phoney schemes".
According to Lynton-Edwards Stockbrokers, the
legislation could not have
come at a worse time in the country's economic
reform process.
"The biggest threat facing business is if government decides
to disregard
the law and simply help itself to cherry-pickings of the
Zimbabwean
economy," Lynton-Edwards Stockbrokers said.
It said in the
short term the market is expected to trade flat.
"The majority of trade will
probably involve strategic moves from counters
with small market caps to
large blue chips shares as investors seek security
in anonymity and large
numbers," the stockbrokers said. "The volume of trade
will remain suppressed
and liquidity in the market should worsen. It is
probably too early to
predict whether or not companies will begin selling
assets or demerging, but
the protection offered by free floating
shareholdings (and the legislation's
complete inability to adequately deal
with them) will probably prevent this
in most counters," said
Lynton-Edwards.
Economist Eric Bloch said the
market was expected to trade flat as the
legislation was as "unjust and
pernicious as was legislation during the
abysmal UDI era".
"It is as
iniquitous and contrary to the best interests of Zimbabwe and its
people as
was the ill-conceived, counter-effective Land Acquisition Act of
two decades
ago, devastatingly implemented since the turn of the century.
And yet again
it is in blatant conflict with the diverse Bilateral
Investment Promotion
and Protection Agreements," Bloch said
Bloch said no investors, providers of
technology-transfer and of access to
their markets, could realistically be
expected to subjugate themselves to
being junior partners, devoid of
authority in the investment ventures.
"With such an expectation in the hands
of government, the markedly increased
interest in investment that has
progressively been developing has now been
annihilated," he said.
Going
forward, analysts said investors should brace themselves for further
losses
as long as the factors highlighted above continue to exist.
Paul
Nyakazeya
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010
21:48
WHEN the GNU came into effect a year ago there were high
expectations on the
"expected flood" of foreign direct investment (FDI).
Many anticipated that
the economy would get a boost from foreign capital
directed towards the
ample opportunities the country presents. There were
extremely optimistic
FDI figures thrown around' at the signing of the GNU.
The general sentiment
was that investors who had a historical presence in
Zimbabwe, such as the
South African and British companies, would
re-establish their presence in
the country.
Over the last decade, FDI
into the country peaked at US$444 million in 1998
before it became virtually
non-existent as the political environment
deteriorated thereby increasing
country risk. The Chinese global influence
was also expected to contribute
towards more FDI coming into the country.
The general perception was that the
"Look East" policy tends to be more
effective as the investment
consideration model from China does not come
with "strings attached" to the
developments on the political front. The
question to be asked is, have any
of these expectations been met and to what
degree?
There has been
excitement generated by the press of "impending" corporate
transactions from
external investors but for most cases these have not
materialised. In late
2009 the local press reported that China and Zimbabwe
had signed an accord
which would see China investing US$8 billion towards
mining, housing and
energy. The state utilities privatisation scheme which
had also generated
interest has been slow in implementation. The Zisco
privatisation which
aroused interest is yet to be concluded.
Furthermore there has been an
unclear position on how the other utilities
would be privatised, if at all.
Public-Private Partnerships have not
materialized with most deals reaching
the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
stage, but none have been concluded
due to the economic uncertainty.
The political front has not been stable with
unresolved issues pertaining to
the GNU resulting in investors waiting on
the sidelines. Policy enactments
with the latest one being the
"Indigenization Act" have also dampened
investor sentiment and reduced the
amount of long-term finance available.
If the banking sector deposits are
anything to go by, the Zimbabwean banking
sector is currently sitting on
US$1,3 billion which in the broader global
perspective is insignificant. The
sector has not been able to mobilise
external credit lines for specific
projects due to the perceived country
risk. The country currently does not
have a sovereign credit rating which
also has an impact on its ability to
mobilise funding from both the private
investors and international funding
institutions. African countries with a
good credit rating like Ghana and
Congo Brazzaville have been able to raise
sovereign debt through US$
denominated bonds for infrastructure development
among other country
needs.
The recession did not help the situation as liquidity dried up and
investors
started looking at opportunities which made the most commercial
sense with
emphasis being on the return on investment and other risk
factors. There was
competition amongst emerging market economies for the
same "US dollar" which
would be invested in the best market amongst a
plethora of opportunities.
The country presents a lot of compelling
investment cases: a learned
workforce with a literacy rate of 90% which is
amongst the highest in
Africa.
The key to ensuring that FDI inflows are
harnessed into the country will be
the creation of an enabling environment
where there is security guaranteed
for foreign investments without policy
inconsistencies.
Respect of property rights will also instil confidence in
would-be
investors. A Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection
Agreement (Bippa)
with South Africa was signed late last year - after
protracted
negotiations - which offers protection to South African
investments in the
country against possible forfeiture. This also gives an
assurance that they
will be able to take their money out. If this agreement
is observed to the
letter it should also stimulate FDI; assuming all other
factors are also in
sync.
By Precious Mhlandhla
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010
21:43
BANK deposits increased by 35% during the last quarter of 2009 from
US$1
billion to US$1,35 billion due to growth in business activity,
increased
confidence in the financial sector and rising industry capacity
utilisation.
The average monthly deposit growth was US$113 million, a 9%
increase or 26%
of GDP.
Loans and advances for the quarter grew by 39,6%,
while loans to deposit
ratio increased from 55,2% to 57,7%.
According to
figures obtained from the Reserve Bank this week, CBZ emerged
as the market
leader controlling 24,6% of the deposits.
Standard Chartered had 16,7%, while
Stanbic received 12,6% of the deposits,
Barclays 9% and FBC 7%.
The apex
bank said growth in industry loans had been curtailed mainly by the
shortage
of term deposits.
"The future of the banking sector lies mainly in
private/wealth management
banking and small and medium-sized business
sector," the bank said.
The bank forecasts deposits for the first quarter of
2010 to reach US$1,69
billion.
Major market movers were Standard
Chartered Bank with a market weighted
growth of 33%, CBZ 29%, FBC 18%,
Barclays 4% and Premier 3%
"Market shakers were Stanbic and MBCA, having
market weighted loses of 13%
and 2% respectively," the central bank
said.
The market weighted growth for the rest of the banks was 1,4%.
"The
high deposit growth rate has had a ripple effect on the stock market as
evidenced by high and positive correlation of 80% between the growth rates
of deposits and the indices," said the Reserve Bank.
The bank said one of
the reasons for such strongly correlated growth was
because of an increase
in advances for working capital, thereby increasing
capacity utilisation of
companies.
Of the deposits, commercial banks accounted for US$1,2 billion or
89,3%
while merchant banks handled US$110 million (8,2%), Post Office
Savings Bank
accounted for US$11,9 million (1,4%) and building societies
US$15,7 million
(1,2%).
The current industry deposit structure is 46% for
1-7 days, 17,2% for 8-14
days and 27,8% for 15-30 days.
Volatility of
banking deposits shows that wealth or income was concentrated
in a few hands
hence the future of the banking sector lies mainly in private
wealth
management banking and small and medium-sized business sector.
"Given the
recent boom in mobile phones and internet accessibility, another
key area
for growth will be the telephone and internet (electronic)
banking," the
central bank said.
The deposit concentration by the top five banks (all
commercial banks)
averages 68,4% during the last quarter of 2009.
The
increase in bank deposits has enhanced banking sector capacity loans and
advances with banks such as CBZ Bank now offering 180 days loans.
Loans
and advances for the quarter grew by 39,6% from US$558 million as at
30
September last year to US$779 million as at December 31.
The market monthly
average advances were US$613,7 million.
"During the period under review, the
industry loans to deposit ratio
increased from 55,2% to 57,7%, the bank
said.
Growth in loans has been curtailed by the shortage of deposits. The
fact
that demand deposits restrict banks from providing funding to the
productive
sectors of the economy limits the rapid take-off of these
sectors.
Analysts said default risk remained very high with most loan
applications
being businesses trying to recover.
Some banks cited high
risk profiles associated with some sectors of the
economy such as
agriculture, resulting in the industry loan book being
skewed towards the
retail and distribution sector where working capital
cycles are in sympathy
with the structure of deposits.
Despite a sustained increase in bank deposits
during 2009, there was limited
interbank trading because of the absence of
acceptable collateral
instruments and absence of lender of last
resort.
Going forward after banks have published their first set of audited
US
dollar denominated accounts, inter-bank trading may resume although at a
slower pace.
"The survival of the sector rests on the restoration of
confidence in the
sector, an even spread of deposits, ability to attract
long terms deposits
and recapitalisation of the banking sector," the bank
said.
Bank's interim financial results in US dollars saw them incurring
impairment
losses as a result of the multi-currency introduction and such
writedowns
are minimal in the full year -end results being announced as cost
restraining measures have been adopted by most banks.
Paul
Nyakazeya
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010
21:30
AT a rare meeting with journalists a fortnight ago, President
Robert Mugabe
disclosed that he owned Highfield Farm in Norton, a farm he
bought in the
early 1980s, and Gushungo dairy farm in Mazowe, which he
called a family
farm. From there, in the words of David Copperfield, he
"meandered" into
business matters and unveiled the capitalist in him.
He
spoke about his business, a dairy farm seized from a hapless white
farmer.
He complained bitterly that DZHL (formerly Dairy Marketing Board)
had failed
to pay for milk deliveries for six months and spoke of his
investment in
Gushungo Holdings, giving a rare insight into his grasp of
business. He
seems to have now become a capitalist.
He was commenting on the Nestlé
fiasco last year where the food conglomerate
refused to buy milk from his
farm owing to relentless pressure from various
activist groups.
Mugabe
claims he made a business decision; to sell milk to a company that
pays on
time. He realised that Nestlé's decision was basically business and
nothing
personal in other words.
He said: "Nestlé has a right to choose people whom
they want to deal with.
We have parted ways and it was a question of
external forces. It is an issue
of sanctions -- it should not have been on a
political basis."
Mugabe said they had now reverted to Dairibord, which
pointed out that it
did not have money.
"They (DZHL) didn't pay us for
six months -- imagine six months.aahh vanenge
vachiti tinenge tichirarama
sei (how do they think we survive)? The dairy
industry is very costly. We
put so much into it and we bought machinery
which is very expensive. We had
hoped that Gushungo will be a model farm,"
he said.
Years back, a
communist like him would have been thinking of how well he
would share his
milk with his neighbours in the spirit of socialism.
And harbouring such a
business idea would have been treasonous by communist
standards.
His
communist friends in the party would have branded him "an ally of the
capitalists and an enemy of socialism".
Mugabe's party, Zanu PF, adopted
a communist style leadership code in 1984,
barring members from venturing
into businesses for profit except for small
poultry projects. Leaders could
also not get into farming projects on land
above 50 acres in size among
other prohibitions.
The leadership code reads: "Zanu believes that a leader
who concentrates on
acquiring property, or who personally engages in the
exploitation of man by
man, rapidly becomes an ally of the capitalists and
an enemy of socialism;
and of the masses of the population."
It also
said: "Except as provided in this section, and except as required by
his
official position, a leader may not: -- own a business, a share or an
interest in a business organised for profit; provided that this shall not be
interpreted as prohibiting such petty side-line activities as chicken runs,
small plots and gardens on one's residential property; receive more than one
salary."
The code also prohibits members from taking up directorships in
a private
firm or business organised for profit, own real estate or other
property, or
an interest in real estate or other property from which he
receives rents or
royalties.
The code further disallows owning more than
one "dwelling house" except as
dictated by family requirements, but in no
event shall additional houses be
for purposes of earning rents.
"In
addition to a salary, receive fees on account of lectures or
professional
activities in excess of $1 000 a year. Nothing in this section
prohibits a
leader from receiving a fee/ or a royalty on account of a book
or work of
art or patent that he personally wrote, created or invented,"
read the
code.
"The Central Committee shall require that leaders disclose their assets
periodically, and when so asked, leaders shall comply. Whilst a leader may
secure a loan against his salary, in no circumstances shall he use his
position to borrow funds or secure any other personal benefits."
The
party was still communist and a thousand Zimbabwean dollars was still a
considerable sum.
Members were supposed to disclose their wealth and
financial affairs.
But the code was only valid for a while. Cracks within the
bastion of
communism in Europe had been emerging. The then president of the
USSR
Mikhail Gorbachev was pushing reforms in the economy and in government
through his glasnost and perestroika.
The USSR began a transformation
from communism into capitalism and pursued a
free market economy. When the
collapse of communism in Europe finally
happened, the Zanu PF leadership had
embraced capitalism quietly after
realising that even die-hard "comrades"
had betrayed their own cause and
were moving towards capitalism.
The code
was abandoned.
Four years down the line, the first high-profile corruption
scandal --
Willowgate -- rocked the young government. Ministers and well
placed
individuals were caught with hands in the cookie jar.
The scandal
claimed the scalp of Morris Nyagumbo, who took the code a bit
too seriously
and committed suicide.
In retrospect, the scandal was a mere storm in a tea
cup and Nyagumbo's
offence seems laughable now.
Nyagumbo had helped
himself to the then trendy Toyota Cressidas for resale.
Now his buddies are
cruising in luxurious Mercedes Benzes and Toyota
Prados.
Other culprits
such as Fredrick Shava were forgiven. He is now Zimbabwe's
ambassador to
China.
After Willowgate, leaders have never disclosed what they own and how
they
got their money. Corruption has become entrenched and party bosses do
not
respect the code. To them, the need to fight corruption went away with
the
Wilson Sandura Commission, which investigated Willowgate.
Government
and party officials own businesses in various sectors of the
economy.
Ministers own more than one farm flouting their own policy of
one-man-one-farm policy when Zimbabwe embarked on a land reform
programme.
Even Mugabe does not say where he got the money to pay for
equipment given
his paltry salary which was wiped out in the hyper-inflation
days.
He also does not reveal what else he owns. His critics say he has built
a
business empire apart from the milk business.
Mugabe says his
"relatives" also own other farms. Back in those days, the
red in him would
have defined a "relative" as a "wife, son, daughter,
grandchild or any other
relation of the family".
The party's central committee would have moved to
"ascertain that a leader
does not derive any financial benefits" from such
"relatives" on the pretext
that relatives were not to "be used as fronts" in
business ventures,
according to the leadership code.
But those were the
days of socialism and a corruption-free leadership. How
times have
changed!
Chris Muronzi
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010 21:28
WHEN
government gazetted the indigenisation regulations compelling
foreign-owned
companies to cede 51% stake to native Zimbabweans, blue chip
counter, Old
Mutual and a few other listed companies came under the
spotlight. Zanu PF
sharks are reportedly eyeing the group and could be
imagined salivating for
a stake.
Owning such a conglomerate whose life assurance arm is an active
player on
the bourse and has varying interests in most listed companies was
simply
irresistible for many.
The January 29 regulations required all
foreign-owned businesses with assets
valued over US$500 000 to declare their
shareholding to government and
present an empowerment plan to indigenisation
minister Saviour Kasukuwere by
mid-April.
Opportunists must have already
been targeting chairing the board of the
conglomerate and calling the shots
at a company that owns prestigious
shopping malls such as Borrowdale Brooke,
High Glen, Chitungwiza and
Nkulumane.
But reported "covert plans" by Zanu
PF sharks to seize control of Old Mutual
are unlikely to be a walk in the
park.
Stock market sources say the empowerment regulations may prove
difficult to
implement on fungible stocks.
The regulations require
companies to fully comply within the next five
years.
Some players also
argue that ownership of companies should be on the basis
of who has the
deepest pockets.
Analysts say the controversial indigenisation regulations
which came into
force this month will have less impact on companies whose
primary listing is
outside Zimbabwe.
Primary listing refers to the main
exchange on which a stock is listed.
Apart from Old Mutual, cement
manufacturer PPC and ABCH have primary
listings on the JSE and Botswana
bourse respectively. Old Mutual is fully
fungible being listed in London,
JSE and ZSE. BancABC shareholders include
among others Old Mutual, Botswana
Insurance Fund Managers (BIFM) and the
International Finance
Corporation.
"It is difficult for government to apply the regulations on
companies with
primary listings outside Zimbabwe," said a veteran
stockbroker. "Such
counters should be governed by the laws of countries
where they have primary
listing."
ZSE sources also said the Securities
Commission of Zimbabwe is organising a
meeting where the local bourse, the
ministry of Indigenisation, treasury and
the commission would clarify the
fate of listed companies likely to be
affected by the regulations.
For
Old Mutual, its demutualisation has been the "biggest empowerment
exercise"
the company has undertaken.
Old Mutual is often viewed as a very influential
investor both on the stock
market and in the real estate sector.
"Its
investment activity is often labelled 'foreign'.We believe that the
demutualisation of the old society is probably the biggest empowerment
exercise in this country. Main beneficiaries were ordinary people such as
workers and policyholders," reads the company's prospectus.
In 2007, the
company offered a fifth of its business to employees as part of
its
empowerment drive.
Critics also criticised the regulations for granting
Indigenisation minister
carte blanche over companies. This, they argue,
could prejudice Zimbabwe's
economic growth plans.
Market watchers also
said the indigenous regulations would also see major
shake-ups in companies
that have in the past failed to comply with ZSE
regulations on
ownership.
At least 30% of shares of listed companies should be in the hands
of the
public, or rather no individual or corporate investor is supposed to
have
more than 70% scrip in a listed company.
But a look at a handful of
listed companies tells a different story.
Cafca, a manufacturer of electrical
cables, is one company that is likely to
have a major shake-up unless it
gets some form of reprieve.
The London Register has a controlling stake of
74% in Cafca followed by
Edwards Nominees. Business magnate Nicholas van
Hoogstraten, through his
Messina Investment, is third accounting for 4,65%
of issued shares.
Cement producer Lafarge is also in breach of the ZSE
regulations. Associated
International Cement Ltd has a scrip that is above
the threshold, accounting
for at least 76%. CFI Holdings and The Farlow
Trust placed second and third
on the register account for just over 5% of
Lafarge. Colcom Holdings is 80%
owned by Innscor Africa, followed by Old
Mutual Life Assurance and Zesa
Staff Pension Fund.
Market players also
say the ZSE already has regulations that economically
empower locals.
Listing regulations dictate that 30% of companies' total
issued share
capital should be in the hands of the public.
Efforts to get comment from ZSE
chief executive officer, Emmanuel Munyukwi,
on the fate of companies that
are in breach of the regulations were in vain
as he was out of the
country.
Bernard Mpofu
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010
20:00
WHERE is Jomic when cabinet ministers such as Sydney Sekeramayi
move around
inciting political tension in the country at a time when the
healing and
reconciliation process should be in full swing? Sunday's ZBC
news bulletins
were dominated by Sekeramayi. He was quoted telling Zanu PF
supporters in
Mazowe they should remain vigilant as the "enemy was making
dedicated
efforts to penetrate the party's strongholds, especially in the
rural areas".
Which "enemy" was Sekeramayi talking about? We can safely
assume he was
referring to Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC.
Is this not the
kind of language that leads to political tensions and
violence?
Can he
tell us why Tsvangirai's party should not be allowed to penetrate
Zanu PF
strongholds?
It is fine for Zanu PF to want to penetrate the MDC's urban
strongholds but
they are immediately branded "enemies" when they want to
penetrate Zanu PF's
rural stronghold.
Jomic must move in and censure such
individuals from uttering statements
that are designed to upset the fragile
"truce" pervading the countryside.
This is a deliberate breach of both the
letter and spirit of the GPA.
Sekeremayi was speaking at a celebration
party hosted by Zanu PF politburo
members from Harare and Mashonaland
Central. They were celebrating their
recent appointments.
He seized the
opportunity to mislead Zimbabweans by telling the gathering in
Mazowe how
good the new indigenisation laws were and how they would "benefit
every
Zimbabwean".
We know what that means. Only Zanu PF bigwigs, their relatives,
girlfriends
and small houses will be assured of being empowered through this
latest
gravy train.
"Our economy is better protected in the hands of the
majority," Sekeramayi
said. We recall voters rejecting these blandishments
in 2008.
Can the minister be honest, at least for once? Did we all not see
for
ourselves what happened to previously viable commercial farms as soon as
they were taken over by "the majority"? Where did Kondozi go?
Was
President Mugabe sincere when he told editors at Zimbabwe House recently
that his relations with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai were cordial and
the two occasionally have tea and pancakes together?
The question was
prompted by threats issued against the PM by Zanu PF youths
at the party's
headquarters in the capital in Mugabe's presence. A week
later, youths from
this same "revolutionary party" promised Tsvangirai from
their Bindura base
that he would "face unspecified action" if he failed to
have sanctions
removed "not later than March 24".
"This is not a threat but a promise," read
a petition from the Zanu PF
youths. The Sunday Mail reported "over 5 000
youths" last Friday marched
through the streets of Bindura to register their
displeasure at the
Western-imposed illegal economic sanctions on
Zimbabwe.
The threatening petition was handed over to Advocate Martin Dinha,
governor
and resident minister for Mashonaland Central.
Has anybody cared
to remind these "youths" that sanctions were imposed as a
way of forcing
President Mugabe and his delinquent party to restore the rule
of law in the
country.
The United States and the European Union have always made it clear
that as
soon as Mugabe restores Zimbabwe to a proper democracy the punitive
measures
will be removed.
The demonstrating "youths" should be reminded
that threatening the PM with
"unspecified" action undermines the Global
Political Agreement. We have
heard the US and the EU saying sanctions can
only be removed if they are
satisfied Mugabe and Zanu PF are genuine about
implementing, in full, the
GPA.
So anyone inciting these "youths" to
continue to undermine the GPA is
advocating for the sanctions to
stay.
And why is the president quiet when Tsvangirai is obviously being
harassed
and threatened by "youths" from his party in complete disregard for
the
spirit of the GPA?
How many readers remember Margaret Dongo, who
famously referred to the
braggarts in Zanu PF as "Mugabe's wives"? Online
agency Zimdaily reported as
follows recently:
"Forgotten political loose
cannon Margaret Dongo spiced up ZTV's usually
tiresome news broadcast with a
foul-mouthed tirade against 'grown men who
are always crying about
sanctions'.
"Dug out of obscurity by some reporter who had obviously
forgotten to give
Maggie the full script and a producer who was evidently
half-asleep on the
job, Dongo launched a trademark rant at the leaders of
the country.
"'We are tired of grown men who are always crying about
sanctions. Now they
are saying they have sent President Zuma (to England to
call for the lifting
of sanctions).
"'You want to get someone to help you
screw,'" shouted Dongo facing straight
into the TV camera while making the
time-honoured finger gesture to
illustrate her point."
There is obviously
still some life left in the old girl!
DStv screened Valkyrie last Sunday
night. This was the story of the plot to
assassinate Adolph Hitler in 1944
with Tom Cruise as the chief conspirator
Claus von Stauffenberg. What caught
Muckraker's attention was the
designation of Hitler as "Fuhrer of the German
Reich and People, and
Commander in Chief of the German Armed
Forces".
Does that ring a bell? Some acolyte has been watching too many war
films!
Still on DStv, we were curious to know what the policy is on the 8pm
Sunday
slot. This used to be a premiere screening of a movie that would then
make
its way around the DStv circuit. But Valkyrie has already been showing
around the circuit so when it screened on Sunday night it was far from being
a premiere.
Muckraker was a tad sceptical about DStv's interviews with
viewers a few
weeks ago in which they were encouraged to say how much better
DStv is than
cable TV in the UK and Australia.
When viewers complained
about constant repetition of programmes they were
told to plan their viewing
so this didn't happen.
It wasn't the most suave PR exercise we've ever seen!
If they asked
Muckraker what the most annoying thing about their output was,
we would have
unhesitatingly said their promotional ads for their own
programmes.
How many of our readers we wonder enjoy the BBC's "Africa
Have Your Say"?
All networks it seems have now embraced the practice of the
feedback,
letting listeners/viewers have their say. No sooner has a
programme started
than the phone lines are buzzing with listeners wanting to
have "their say".
But have they anything interesting to say?
Sadly, not
always. Some months ago under the heading, "Best and Worst of
2009", they
had people call in to say what their best and worst experiences
were. One
listener in Gabon wanted the world to know that his girlfriend
left him in
2009. We are not surprised. He was not the brightest light in
the room.
Asked how old he was, all he could say was "Yes, I'm young".
This mantra was
repeated every time the interviewer tried to eke out this
pertinent
information. It never varied: "Yes, I'm young."
But listener participation is
not confined to "Africa Have Your Say". Just
about every news item now has a
phone call or e-mail from somebody in Sierra
Leone or Sudan providing their
less-than-scintillating views on something
that has featured in the
programme. And audio quality doesn't seem to
matter.
Do we really need to
know what Joe Blogger next door thinks about the
situation in Somalia or
Swaziland? We listen to the BBC and other networks
to hear their reporting
and views, not somebody whose views are
unintelligible and sound as if they
are calling from Mars!
Please guys, get a life. If you don't have anything to
say, don't call in!
Finally we were amused to notice on Page 2 of
Wednesday's Herald an article
proclaiming "Chiadzwa: Cabinet endorses Mbada,
Canadile activities". It was
based on a statement by Obert Mpofu. Elsewhere
on the same page was a story
illustrating some of those "activities".
The
trial of one of Canadile's directors, Komilan Packirisami, accused of
illegal possession of 57 diamonds, started on Monday in Mutare, we were
told. He was "nabbed", as the state media likes to say, with a colleague at
Hot Springs.
Mpofu said at his press conference it was government's
desire to ensure
Zimbabwe enjoyed benefits from
the sale of diamonds from
Chiadzwa.
How long did it take him to wake up to that "desire" we
wonder?
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010
19:33
CHARITY provokes a wish to believe that government's endless and
relentless
pursuit of policies which assure intensifying destruction of the
Zimbabwean
economy is naught but ill-conceived, dogmatic ideologies and
concepts which
are grossly oblivious to realities.
However, as
government embarks upon one devastating economic policy after
another,
ignoring the informed and well-founded cautions and advices of the
private
sector, the international community and others, ultimately one must
ponder
whether government is not bent upon the total annihilation of the
economy.
How else can one explain that government
continuously legislates measures
which can only result in the further,
accelerated decimation of that which
could be one of Africa's most virile
economies?
In the 1980s it did so by the wasteful misuse of the
considerable funding
from numerous international
well-wishers.
Instead of substantively using the funds for capital
development and
infrastructural enhancement, the funding to such
economy-enhancing purposes
being relatively minimal (save for commendable
expenditure on education and
health), most of the funding was targeted at
governmental aggrandisement,
corrupt misappropriation and
abuse.
Expenditures on flashy motor vehicles, housing for the
governmental elite,
international travel and upon the incomprehensibly large
armed forces were
prioritised over construction of dams, procurement of
adequate
energy-generation resources, viable capitalisation of parastatals
and
similar economic enhancement.
Then, in interaction with the
International Monetary Fund and other Bretton
Woods institutions, the
Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (Esap) was
formulated, strongly
supported with international funding.
However, much of Esap was abhorrent
to government (such as the containment
of corruption), and government
perceived that the programme would markedly
diminish governmental control
over the economy.
Therefore, only selective elements of the programme
were implemented and,
isolated from the other facets of the programme, those
pursued were mainly
ineffective, or counterproductive to a significant
extent.
As a result, not only were the projected benefits of Esap not
forthcoming,
but also in many respects the economy worsened. Of course
government denied
culpability, blaming all the economic ills and woes upon
Esap (and claiming
that Esap was a diabolically-connived strategy of the
international
community to dominate Zimbabwe and its economy).
In
making such denials, government expertly used its vast propaganda
machine,
convincing most Zimbabweans that Esap and its international
promoters were
the catalysts of the economic hardships and associated
suffering.
Belatedly, in 1994, driven by economic desperation,
government implemented
most of Esap, resulting in a significant upturn over
the ensuing three
years.
Obviously, such upturn was against the
governmental "grain", so with devious
skill the upturn was peremptorily
halted in late 1997.
Government agreed a compensation and pension package
for war veterans (real
and pseudo) which, irrespective of justification or
otherwise, was far
beyond the state's financial means.
The
consequential imminent, intensified bankruptcy of the state triggered an
immediate, monolithic devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar, which in turn
fuelled severe inflation. The inflation impacted negatively upon the
viability of commerce and industry, and the economy as a
whole.
Fearful of the growing bitterness of most Zimbabweans
subjected to
ever-increasing economic stresses and concomitant hardships,
government
embarked upon its land acquisition and resettlement
programme.
There was an incontrovertible need for land reform, enabling
all who would
meritoriously and productively use the land to have
opportunities to do so.
But the programme was implemented in a manner
devoid of justice and equity,
in blatant disregard for Bilateral Investment
Promotion and Protection
Agreements (Bippas), and with equal disregard for
the thousands of
Certificates of No Interest previously issued by government
when land was
being sold.
Land reform was progressed by the
displacement of thousands of productive
farmers, in the main being replaced
by those without capital, or without the
expertise to generate productivity
commensurate with that previously
attained by the displaced
farmers.
From being the region's "bread-basket", Zimbabwe was reduced to
mass
importations of basic foods. Concurrently, hundreds of thousands of
farm
workers became unemployed.
They and their dependants,
aggregating more than two million souls, joined
the ranks of the
poverty-stricken, undernourished population.
And government compounded
the ills it had created, and continues to compound
them, by gross
maladministration of the land reform programme and of the
procurement and
distribution of essential inputs (such as seeds and
fertilisers).
However, convinced of its absolute omnipotence,
government has steadfastly
convinced itself that the collapse of Zimbabwe's
agricultural sector cannot
in any manner be attributable to its policies and
administration.
Such collapse is, in the psychotic perception of
government, due primarily
to evil, Machiavellian and self-centred
machinations of the international
community in general, and the former
colonial powers in particular,
exacerbated by adverse climatic
conditions.
There are none so blind as those who will not see, and the
Zimbabwean
government is first and foremost in its determination not to
recognise any
facts which do not align to its
preconceptions.
Despite effecting one onslaught after another upon
the economy, elements of
the economy continued to survive, albeit with
ever-greater difficulty.
To a government which appears to be determined
upon achieving total
eradication of the economy (save for any ill-gotten
gains that some in, or
associated with, government have accumulated within
and outside Zimbabwe),
the continuing survival of some economic activity
must be anathema in the
extreme!
Clearly, yet a further strategy was
necessary! And hence the promulgation
of the Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Act, on March 7 2008,
followed by enactment of that Act's
underlying regulations, gazetted by
Statutory Instrument on February 12
2010. In one fell swoop, government
(probably gleefully) frightened away
from Zimbabwe billions of dollars of
grievously needed, employment-creating
and foreign investment.
Concurrently, such limited residual business
confidence and morale that
still existed in Zimbabwe was totally
destroyed.
Presumably fearing that even this will not have achieved
the final and total
destruction of the economy, last week government sought
to reinforce its
strategies by an announcement by Minister of Mines Obert
Mpofu that the
entirety of mining operations in Zimbabwe must be owned and
conducted by
Zimbabweans, foreign investment being barred from engagement in
mining. Yet
another nail in the economy's coffin!
It stretches
imagination too far to believe that these endlessly pursued
policies of
economic destruction are conceived and implemented with good and
positive
intents. Surely no government can be so bigoted, or so stupid (or
both) as
to fail to recognise the recurrent and never-ending harm it has
occasioned,
and continues to cause. Not unless either it is imbued with
absolute beliefs
of its omnipotence, compounded by pronounced paranoia, or
is wholly
determined upon achieving a total economic Armageddon, for
whatsoever
inconceivable reason.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010 19:24
UNDER the Economic
Empowerment Regulations 2010 an indigenous Zimbabwean is
defined as "any
person who, before the 18th April, 1980, was disadvantaged
by unfair
discrimination on the grounds of his or her race, and any
descendant of such
person..." This, thankfully, covers every person then
living here.
I,
for example, was born in the Midlands at Dadaya in what was then termed a
Native Reserve, now Runde communal lands. While Dadaya was becoming a
centre of academic excellence, the alma mater of students such as Ndabaningi
Sithole, Cephas Msipa, Misheck Sibanda etc I couldn't enrol there as I
wasn't
black. I had to attend a white school, the nearest being in
Zvishavane,
where the children were being "unfairly discriminated" against
(what is
"fair discrimination"?) by being segregated from contemporary
black, Asian,
coloured etc kids, thus unable to make friends with them or
to learn
languages other than English.
They were also being damaged by
the inculcation, deliberate or otherwise, of
the insane belief that to be
white was to be superior - unless they were
little Jews, Greeks, Portuguese,
Italians or others from a non Anglo-Saxon
genesis who were regarded as being
not quite white.
All members of every community were also being unfairly
disadvantaged and
damaged, spiritually, physically and mentally, by the
cruel suppression of
blacks under the rampant leaders of the white
minority. This suppression
was rooted in the 1931 Land Apportionment Act
described in 1964 by the
Constitutional Council, a body created to review
existing legislation, as
"the embodiment of racial discrimination...
responsible for not only
intangible prejudice but actual material prejudice
in the financial sense to
all races in Southern Rhodesia ...."
The 1957
manifesto of the African National Congress, then lead by Joshua
Nkomo,
stated that its aim was "national unity of all inhabitants of the
country in
true partnership regardless of race, colour and creed. It stands
for a
completely integrated society, equality of opportunity in every
sphere and
the social, economic and political advancement of all". Banned,
it was
replaced by the equally non-racial National Democratic Party where,
to the
horror of government, the overwhelmingly black membership was
slightly
increased by a number of whites, Asians and Coloureds. When banned,
it was
replaced by the non-racial Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu),
from
which the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu) broke away in 1963.
By now
a contrived, CIO-encouraged apartheid had taken root and those few
whites
who may have wanted to join were unfairly excluded from membership of
Zanu
because of their race.
It is difficult, painful, and maybe temporarily
impossible for contemporary
Zimbabweans, victims of decades of ceaseless
racist, religious and tribal
and brain-damaging propaganda and violence
from one side or another, to
comprehend the human intricacies of what was
an essentially non-racial
struggle for freedom, independence, dignity and
democracy embodied in the
word Zimbabwe. We are, for example, acquainted
through the names, although
not deeply or honestly enough yet through
dispassionate histories of their
lives, with some of the many black heroes
of Zimbabwe such as Charles
Chikerema, Enoch Dumbutshena, Richard Hove,
George Nyandoro and Washington
Sansole to name but a few.
But the names
of their non-black
fellows in the struggle are yet to take their rightful
place in our history
and this is possibly the explanation of how latter-day
Zimbabweans, such as
Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere, seem
unaware that they ever
existed.
In his oration at the 1986 funeral of
one of our heroes, Lieutenant General
Lookout Masuku, Joshua Nkomo lamented
the fact that Masuku had died a
prisoner in the hands of the Zimbabwe for
which he had fought. "We cannot
blame colonialism and imperialism for this
tragedy. We who fought against
these things now practise them. Why? Why?
Why?... We are enveloped in
the politics of hate. The amount of hate that
is being preached today in
our country is frightful. What Zimbabwe fought
for was peace, progress,
love, respect, justice, equality, not the
opposite..."
He continued by warning that "our country cannot progress on
fear and false
accusations which are founded simply on the love of power.
There is
something radically wrong with our country today and we are moving,
fast
moving, towards destruction. There is confusion and corruption and, let
us
be clear about it, we are seeing racism in reverse under the false mirror
of
correcting imbalances from the past. In the process we are creating
worse
things. We have created fear in the minds of some in our country. We
have
made them feel unwanted, unsafe."
Nkomo concluded by regretting that
Masuku was not being buried at Heroes
Acre. "But they can't take away his
status as a hero. You don't give a man
the status of a hero. All you can do
is recognise it. It is his. Yes, he
can be forgotten temporarily by the
state. But the young people who do
research will one day unveil what
Lookout has done."
And research will also, one day, unveil the fact that
non-Zezurus too
contributed mightily to the struggle for and achievement of
Zimbabwe.
Amongst the many names of those who fought and suffered for us a
few, just
to start off with, are Mike Auret, Guy Clutton-Brock, Joseph
Culverwell and
Eline Raftopoulos,.
South Africa's late Dr Hendrik
Verwoerd would perhaps have been pleased to
know that even into the 21st
century some are still in hot pursuit of his
goal of apartheid as evidenced
by the regulations covering so-called
indigenisation and economic
empowerment. But he may have been surprised to
learn that his few spiritual
disciples of today are also members of Zanu PF.
Judith Todd and her
father, Sir Garfield Todd, were among the victims of
white supremacy in
Rhodesia during the struggle for Zimbabwe.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010 20:27
IT'S
over 10 months since a media reform conference was held in Kariba and
various resolutions were adopted, but their implementation has been slow and
in most cases non-existent. The conference, facilitated by the Media,
Information and Publicity ministry, was boycotted by most private media
players and civil society who viewed it as a mere talk shop. It was
inappropriate, they felt, to hold such a meeting when journalists such as
Shadreck Manyere were incarcerated facing trumped up charges.
They were
also concerned by some of the panellists who over the past decade
have been
at the forefront of not only muzzling the media, but also closing
newspapers
altogether.
From several media reform proposals agreed to at the conference,
only one
has so far been implemented - the establishment of the Zimbabwe
Media
Commission - but with no benefit yet to the media.
But the time
spent getting to this point is inexcusable given that the unity
government
formed last February under the global political agreement (GPA)
was
explicitly mandated to ensure the "immediate processing by the
appropriate
authorities of all applicants for re-registration and
registration in terms
of both the Broadcasting Services Act as well as the
Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act".
The GPA furthers states that: "In recognition
of the open media environment
anticipated by this agreement, the parties
(Zanu PF and MDC formations)
hereby . encourage the Zimbabweans running or
working for external radio
stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe to return to
Zimbabwe, and that steps be
taken to ensure that the public media provides
balanced and fair coverage to
all political parties for their legitimate
political activities."
No one knows when this will happen though the
government claims to be
yearning for investment to revive the comatose
economy and at the same time
creating employment.
The media environment
under the inclusive government is not yet conducive
for exiled journalists
to return home and carry on with their business. The
Media ministry has
refused to guarantee their safety. The Zimbabwe National
Editors Forum has
written to the ministry on the subject of returning exiles
and up to now
there has been no response.
Nothing significant has been done to repeal the
draconian Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act and replace it
with two vital
proposed laws - the Freedom of Information Act to regulate
access to
information and privacy and the Media Practitioners Act to outline
procedures for registration of journalists, which should be as simple and
informal as possible, and provide for issues of discipline which must be
handled by self-regulating bodies and not the self-interested
state.
Another resolution at the Kariba conference which is far from being
implemented is that access to the media industry in broadcasting should be
open to "foreign investors to the extent of 49% maximum, and no discretion
should be allowed to the Media minister to vary this percentage", as in the
Broadcasting Services Act.
The airwaves remain closed and ZBC continues
to enjoy a monopoly to the
detriment of would-be private broadcasters and in
defiance of a Supreme
Court order 10 years ago. It was agreed at the
conference that the national
broadcaster must become a statutory body again
instead of being incorporated
as a private company controlled by the
ministry. It was also agreed that the
Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust should be
reinstated to manage Zimpapers and Ziana
as public entities, not purveyors
of Zanu PF propaganda.
These reforms remain unimplemented and there is no
evidence that they will
be embarked on any time soon.
What is disturbing
is that the two MDC formations who are partners in the
inclusive government
have failed dismally to initiate or push for media
reforms. Before going
into the shaky government the parties had spoken out
loudly about media
freedom, but seem now to have been consumed by the
trappings of power and
are behaving like their Zanu PF colleagues.
Jameson Timba, Deputy Media,
Information and Publicity minister, recently
told the MDC-T's newsletter,
Changing Times, that prospects of a free media
in the near future remain a
mirage because of laws like Aippa and the
draconian Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act.
The minister was candid that this state of
affairs was forcing people to be
proactive and publishing newsletters and
other unofficial media.
The diehards have been beneficiaries of a skewed
media environment and they
will fight tooth and nail to maintain the status
quo, especially now that we
are likely to go to the polls next year. Freedom
of the press is a threat to
Zanu PF diehards who want to use the public
media to disseminate their
pernicious propaganda. There is need for all
progressive forces to compel
the inclusive government to embark on media
reforms to enhance democracy and
level the political playing field ahead of
the elections. Without a free
press, there won't be a free election.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010
20:21
ON behalf of all suffering Zimbabweans who seek genuine peace,
freedom and
respect for human rights, we the Europe province of the first
party to fight
for these issues in Zimbabwe, welcomed the three-day visit by
South African
President Jacob Zuma to "facilitate removal of
obstacles".
In attempts to resolve the issues between Zanu PF and the
MDC, we believe
that it is now time for the parties to the September 15 2008
global
political agreement (GPA) to admit that they have failed Zimbabweans.
Because of their selfish motives, the parties have failed to implement their
agreement.
They have not achieved the set objectives or
even to adhere to their
declared commitment as provided by Article II (2) of
the GPA that: "The
Parties hereby declare and agree to work together to
create a genuine,
viable, permanent, sustainable and nationally acceptable
solution to the
Zimbabwean situation with the aims of resolving once and for
all the current
political and economic situations."
It has been
more than a year since the MDC-Zanu PF unity government came to
power, but
Zimbabweans continue to echo President Zuma's predecessor Thabo
Mbeki's
words: "When will the day come that our dignity will be fully
restored, when
the purposes of our lives will no longer be merely to survive
until the sun
rises tomorrow."
The parties have failed to implement an acceptable
solution to the
Zimbabwean crisis. It is clear that the real obstacle to
progress in
Zimbabwe is both MDC and Zanu PF who believe that it is only
they and nobody
else that have a right to rule Zimbabwe or have a say in how
the current
crisis can be resolved.
This is clear from the GPA which
was agreed without any consultation with
Zimbabweans, the civil society or
other political parties.
We encourage His Excellency, President Zuma
to recall the words of Winston
Churchill who once said: "However beautiful
the strategy, you should
occasionally look at the results."
There
is no evidence that the GNU is working or delivering for the people of
Zimbabwe. Farm invasions, persecutions, torture and closure of media and
democratic space continues.
Opposition parties and increasingly civil
society are excluded from
participation. The MDC has joined hands with Zanu
PF in abusing power,
corruption and even defending injustices.
There
is fear of including others. The GPA parties are even conniving and
refusing
to hold by-elections in vacant constituencies for fear that Zapu
will win
these by-elections and create a political headache for them.
Former
South African President Nelson Mandela observed "failure of
leadership" in
Zimbabwe some two years ago.
Not surprisingly, the GPA parties appear to
have no clue how to run the
country because the lives of ordinary people
continue to deteriorate, the
constitution-making process is continuously
pushed back to avoid new
elections, civil servants have started strikes
because of unfulfilled
promises and the GNU is hampered by continuous
bickering on positions of
power, pending issues and costly
negotiations.
We now appeal to President Zuma and Sadc to reconsider
the myth that the
Zimbabwean solution lies in the GPA or the two MDC
factions and Zanu PF
exclusively.
Zapu has a bigger constituency and
has answers and credible solutions to the
crisis. So do other political
players and civil society.
The GPA parties appear to lack the
seriousness of resolving the real
problems and the betterment of lives of
Zimbabweans, who on a daily basis
join the trek to Zimbabwe's neighbours and
mostly to South Africa.
The GPA parties appear to only want to advance their
selfish political ends.
More stakeholders must be invited to the
roundtable to work out a credible
way forward for Zimbabwe.
Zenzo
Ncube is Zapu secretary for marketing and communication (Europe
Province).
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 18 March 2010
20:03
THE Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe, a grouping of non-governmental
organisations, last Thursday launched a report -- Cries from Goromonzi:
Inside Zimbabwe's Torture Chambers -- which chronicles how 23 people were
tortured and some even killed at the hands of state-security agents, war
veterans and Zanu PF militia mainly before the disputed presidential
election run-off in June 2008.
The victims of that brutality were
suspected and known MDC members and civil
society activists, critics of the
government and journalists.
Various forms of violence and torture, among them
simulated drowning,
assault, inserting sticks in women's private parts,
squeezing men's
genitals, starving and solitary confinements were visited
upon the victims,
according to the report.
These dastardly acts were
allegedly carried out by known Zanu PF members,
war veterans and state
security agents, but they were never arrested to
atone for their crimes
because their mission was sanctioned to secure Mugabe's
victory at all cost
after he lost the first round of the presidential poll
in March 2008 to
Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC-T.
It is this culture of impunity that has seen
violence against those opposed
to Mugabe and Zanu PF becoming a permanent
feature of our body politic since
Independence. Zanu PF has become
synonymous with violence and has used it
systematically to retain power over
the years.
Its foot soldiers have gone scot free despite perpetrating heinous
acts from
the countdown to the 1980 elections, the Matabeleland and Midlands
massacres
of the 1980s and subsequent violence before general and
presidential
elections.
Despite Mugabe setting up the Chihambakwe
Commission in the 1980s to
investigate the Matabeleland atrocities, the
commission's findings were
never made public.
It was only the Catholic
Commission for Justice and Peace which in the early
1990s released a report:
Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace -- which
revealed how over 20 000
civilians were massacred by the red-bereted Fifth
Brigade -- a North
Korean-trained crack unit.
The CCJP and civil society's call for the
establishment of a truth
commission to deal with these atrocities was
ignored by Mugabe who, to date,
is yet to apologise for the massacres.
It
is this level of impunity which is worrying given the talk for polls next
year. Reports from throughout the country are that Zanu PF is already in
campaign mode, establishing bases to coerce people to toe the party line in
the constitution-making process and also to prepare for the
elections.
Just last week the MDC-T claimed that some Zanu PF members went on
the
rampage in Mudzi, Mashonaland East, forcibly taking livestock from its
supporters because they wanted a people-driven constitution-making process,
instead of merely adopting the Kariba Draft.
From this scenario it is
evident that we cannot have free and fair elections
next year.
We need to
first deal decisively with this culture of impunity and the route
is
transitional justice.
It is a shame that despite having an organ on national
healing, nothing
tangible has been done towards the "setting up of a
mechanism to properly
advise on what measures might be necessary and are
practicable to achieve
national healing, cohesion and unity in respect of
victims of pre- and post-
Independence political conflicts", as outlined in
the global political
agreement.
What we have witnessed from the organ are
high-sounding but empty speeches
at meetings across the country which have
left citizens even more divided on
political lines.
The organ must come
up with a concrete framework for transitional justice
such as instituting
criminal prosecutions, establishing a truth commission,
reparations
programmes, gender justice, security reforms and memoritisation
efforts.
Our transitional justice should be designed to strengthen
democracy and
peace and these goals are "more likely to be reached with
active
consultation of, and participation by, victims groups and the
public".
According to the International Centre for Transitional Justice, a
society's
choices are more likely to be effective if they are based on a
serious
examination of other societies' experiences as they emerged from a
period of
abuse.
This reduces the likelihood of repeating avoidable
errors, which
transitional societies can rarely afford to make. Let's take a
leaf from
South Africa's transitional justice after apartheid.
It is
incumbent upon us to conduct a serious investigation of violations
when they
occur, to impose suitable sanctions on those responsible for the
violations,
and to ensure reparation for the victims of the violations.
Brian
Raftopoulos, a leading political analyst, in a paper on prospects for
transitional justice in Zimbabwe made a number of interesting proposals
which I subscribe to.
He said there was need for accountability, truth
recovery, reconciliation,
institutional reform and reparation. Those should
be top of the agenda.
Constantine Chimakure