http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in
News
ZIMBABWE is on the verge of having a new constitution which will
phase out
the current Lancaster House document after parliament passed the
Copac draft
yesterday, laying the basis for a new political dispensation
ahead of
general elections later this year.
Report by Owen
Gagare
The Copac draft constitution, despite being widely condemned as
flawed and
unprogressive, was approved in a referendum in March and went
through its
first reading in the House of Assembly as Constitution Amendment
Number 20
Bill on Tuesday.
The Bill was read for a second time on
Wednesday, and yesterday it entered
the committee stage during which the
House scrutinised it clause by clause
before it was passed.
Should
Senate pass the new constitution next week and the president then
assents to
it, as is expected, its sixth schedule provides that only certain
parts of
it will come into operation immediately, while other sections will
become
effective at a later stage.
The parts that will come into effect
immediately include:
The provisions relating to citizenship;
The
Declaration of Rights;
The provisions relating to elections, in particular
those dealing with the
election and assumption of office of a new president,
the election and
summoning of parliament, and the functions and powers of
the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission;
Provisions relating to public
administration and leadership and the conduct
of members of the security
services, and
Provisions relating to provincial and local
government.
However, it is only after the first president elected under
the new
constitution is sworn in and assumes office that the other sections
in the
new constitution will start operating, repealing the present
one.
Legislators, lawyers, including Veritas which deals with
parliamentary
issues, and negotiators of the three parties in the inclusive
government,
say the Bill enacting the new constitution will have to be
passed by both
Houses of Parliament and assented to by the president before
the current
tenure of parliament lapses at midnight of June 28 because all
the Bills
which will not have been passed by then will also
lapse.
Before parliament dissolves, there will however, be a need to
harmonise
existing laws, such as the Electoral Act, with the new
constitution under
which elections will be held.
The Electoral Act
will be amended to make provisions for proportional
representation, among
other things.
Under the new constitution, 60 Senators, 60 women in the
National Assembly
and 80 members of provincial councils will be elected by
proportional
representation.
The new Senate will also have two
senators specially elected to represent
persons with disabilities. How they
will be elected and the definition of
“persons with disabilities” will have
to be set out in the Electoral Act.
The new constitution requires
nomination day in elections to be at least 14
days after the elections are
called for, and at least 30 days before polling
day. The time limits will
have to be incorporated into the Electoral Act.
The Electoral Act is also
vague and inconsistent on how and when election
results must be transferred
between electoral centres from ward to
constituency, provincial and national
level.
These inconsistencies will have to be clarified before parliament
is
dissolved. Should there be a challenge to the election of the president,
the
new Constitutional Court will decide although other challenges will
remain
under the Electoral Court.
A policy decision will have to be
made on whether the changes needed to
specify the procedure for bringing
such challenges before the Constitutional
Court are done by legislation
through parliament, or by amending the Rules
of the Supreme
Court.
Provisions of the new constitution relating to provincial and
local
government will come into operation as soon as the new constitution is
gazetted, but in order for the provincial and metropolitan councils to
become operational, legislation will have to be passed before then,
providing for the functions, powers and procedures of provincial
councils.
The Urban Councils Act and the Rural District Councils Act must
be amended
before the elections to remove the power of the minister of Local
Government
to appoint councillors.
Some of the changes that will have
to be made immediately include amendments
to the Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Act. The new constitution confers
rights on persons who have been
arrested or are up for trial.
As soon as the new Declaration of Rights
comes into operation, the rights
conferred by it will become enforceable.
Any appeals involving violations of
the new Declaration of Rights will then
go to the Constitutional Court
rather than the Supreme Court.
When a
new president is sworn in, the responsibility for prosecuting
criminal cases
on behalf of the state will be transferred from the
Attorney-General (AG) to
a National Prosecuting Authority under the control
of a Prosecutor-General
(PG). The AG will become PG.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in News
DEMOCRACY is often
defined as a form of government in which people have a
voice and influence
in the exercise of power, typically through elected
representatives.
Report by Elias Mambo
It is mostly manifested
through elections which enable people to choose
their representatives, but
if elections are held in hostile environments and
conditions, then a country
risks democratic stagnation or reversal.
However, democracy scholars say
it is absolute and the holding of elections
does not necessarily make a
country automatically democratic as polls can be
manipulated to ensure
regime retention and continuity.
Instead, a state’s democratic
credentials involve assessing many, if not
all, aspects of governance and
the political system.
In his classic definition, Robert Dahl states
democracy requires not only
free, fair and competitive elections, but also
the freedoms that make them
truly meaningful, such as freedom of
organisation, expression, and
alternative sources of information and
institutions to ensure government
policies depend on the votes and
preferences of citizens.
Democracy, he says, is much complex and has many
measures and nuances.
As highlighted by the recently launched Crisis
Coalition Transition
Barometer, democracy is not just about majority rule,
but requires political
freedoms so that there can be debate and independent
decision-making.
Commonly recognised essential components of democracy
include multi-party
electoral competition, freedom of association, freedom
of movement,
independent media, and the rule of law, among
others.
The Transition Barometer, which tracks the progress of Zimbabwe’s
inclusive
government and provides a researched analysis to give a better
understanding
of the transition, says if elections are held prematurely in
Zimbabwe — that
is within the next two months — the most probable outcome
would be a
prolonged transition.
Transition Barometer researcher
Phillan Zamchiya says the uncertainty over
the election dates and ambiguity
on what happens after June 29 when the
tenure of the president and
parliament expire presents a scenario in which
the executive would continue
without the legislature and thus rule by
decree.
“If elections are
held before June 30, the coalition will endure, as Zanu PF
will need the
co-operation of the two opposition MDC factions to form a
legitimate
government,” Zamchiya said.
This would also further prolong Zimbabwe’s
transition to a fully democratic
country with a transparent and accountable
system of governance, he said.
“It will be difficult to gain political
legitimacy due to the fact that
Sadc, other political parties, civil society
and the independent media will
keep tracking the transition and expose Zanu
PF’s election manipulation
strategies, subtle or overt,” said
Zamchiya.
Zanu PF insists elections should be held without fail by June
29 when
parliament’s tenure expires, while its unity government partners,
MDC-T and
MDC, civil society and Sadc say Global Political Agreement (GPA)
reforms
must be implemented first if the elections are to be
credible.
In the Transition Barometer analysis, Zimbabwe scored lowly on
almost all
the six focus areas that have an impact on both the transitional
process and
the building and consolidation of democracy. These include,
among other
things, the rule of law, implementation of the GPA which gave
birth to the
coalition government, clearly defined election dates and the
role being
played by Sadc in monitoring Zimbabwe’s
transition.
Zamchiya said although there have been some positive
democratic gains,
President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party are still in
a position to
manipulate state institutions and electoral systems in order
to retain
power.
“Zimbabwe is heading towards a prolonged transition
because the incumbent
(Mugabe) can overtly manipulate electoral processes,
economic resources and
state institutions and emerge as a winner if
elections are to be held within
the next two months,” he said.
He
also said Mugabe would allow for grasshopper reforms (reforms favourable
to
him) in a prolonged transition and this would lead to routine elections
with
pre-determined results.
Mugabe and Zanu PF are under increasing pressure
from the MDC parties over
reforms and the election dates, but have the
backing of security service
chiefs who are now some of the richest people in
Zimbabwe and have openly
declared their political loyalty to him and his
party.
While Zanu PF is engulfed in internal strife, primarily over
Mugabe’s
succession leaving its structures virtually collapsed in some
areas, state
institutions, particularly the military, continue to prop it up
making the
security forces the party’s pillar of strength.
Zimbabwe
Democracy Institute director Pedzisai Ruhanya said Transition
Barometer was
spot-on when it said Zimbabwe is headed for a prolonged
transition if
elections are held without critical reforms.
“The outcome of the next
elections will be pre-determined because GPA
reforms have been stalled by
Zanu PF and Mugabe,” Ruhanya said. “There is
chaos with regards to the
voters’ roll, voter registration and hostile
statements by military generals
show they are unwilling to accept change.
“So it will be tough to have a
democratic transition and smooth transfer of
power in the event Mugabe loses
the election.
“Furthermore, the conflation of voter registration and
inspection with the
′process of aligning laws with the new constitution,
there is potential
continuation of concealed and selective implementation of
that process to
the advantage of Zanu PF.”
Zamchiya said: “This
infrastructure of error has manifested itself through
concealed and
selective voter registration exercise and the unfettered
access of, and use
′of Zanu PF to state institutions.”
Political analyst Alexander Rusero
said reforms are needed particularly in
the security sector because
“military commanders are not only violating the
constitution, but their own
vision and core values which include
professionalism and
integrity”.
Analysts say given what is happening now before the
elections, Zimbabwe is
headed for botched polls and prolonged transition
whose outcome remains
uncertain.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in News
A STORM is brewing in the Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) over
salary disparities and general
conditions of service, putting spymaster
Happyton Bonyongwe under pressure
ahead of crucial elections expected later
this year.
Report by Elias
Mambo
Intelligence sources told the Zimbabwe Independent this week that
senior CIO
officers from the position of provincial intelligence officers
(PIOs) to
directors were given hefty salary adjustments, a move that has
riled poorly
paid ordinary officers.
“Directors and PIOs were given
hefty salary increments in order to silence
them; the adjustments were
secretly made while the rest of us are still
struggling,” said a
source.
“Besides the salary adjustments, the senior officers have been
issued with
vehicles on two different occasions in the last two years while
junior
officers’ salaries remain stuck below the poverty datum line.”
The
poverty datum line is currently pegged at US$506.
Sources said junior
intelligence officers petitioned Bonyongwe over salaries
and conditions of
service on several occasions, but in order to rein them
in, members were
asked to sign a code of conduct a few weeks ago instead of
having their
grievances addressed.
Minister of State Security, Sydney Sekeramayi,
could neither confirm nor
deny that there is disgruntlement in the CIO over
poor salaries and working
conditions.
“I am not at liberty to say
anything concerning those allegations of
remunerations and packages,” he
said. “Those issues are confidential and
cannot be discussed.”
The
discontent in the intelligence services may deal a body-blow to
President
Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party’s aspirations for victory in
crucial
general elections this year.
The CIO is currently vetting aspiring Zanu
PF members countrywide ahead of
its primary polls to ensure the party fields
strong candidates capable of
winning elections.
Among other tasks,
the CIO is reportedly doing background checks on
candidates while also
assessing their popularity in the respective
constituencies.
The CIO
restlessness has also put Bonyongwe under pressure to prove to
Mugabe that
his organisation can be relied on to help deliver victory to him
and Zanu
PF.
Early last year, some Zanu PF hardliners and sections of the security
establishment wanted Bonyongwe booted out because of his alleged links to
former Finance minister Simba Makoni and the late former army commander
General Solomon Mujuru.
Bonyongwe, a retired major-general, was
accused of supporting Makoni in the
2008 elections.
Mujuru, who
reportedly recommended Bonyongwe to become CIO director-general,
was behind
Makoni, something which former Zanu PF politburo heavyweight
Dumiso Dabengwa
recently confirmed. Dabengwa and Mujuru had tried hard to
oust Mugabe in the
run-up to the 2008 elections.
Mugabe and Zanu PF have over the years
become increasingly reliant on the
security sector to win elections. The
security forces, including the army,
police and intelligence services, have
become Mugabe and Zanu PF’s pillar of
support, making crucial interventions
to ensure the party stays in power.
Ahead of the 2008 presidential
election run-off, security forces embarked on
a campaign of terror to rescue
Mugabe who had lost the first round of voting
to Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Politics
A WAR of words is
looming between Zanu PF and the MDC formations over the
interpretation of
the provisions on citizenship and voting rights in the
draft constitution
overwhelmingly endorsed in a March referendum.
Report by Wongai
Zhangazha
Zanu PF wants previously disenfranchised Zimbabweans, commonly
referred to
as “aliens” even if they are born in Zimbabwe, to only start
voting after a
new president assumes office following imminent polls. Its
unity government
partners MDC-T and MDC want the aliens to vote in the
crucial elections.
Aliens voted in previous elections until 2000, but
their democratic right
was withheld when President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF
government amended the
constitution to outlaw dual citizenship while
disenfranchising them as they
were purportedly entitled to foreign
citizenship.
However, Chapter 3 of the gazetted draft constitution, voted
for by more
than three million Zimbabweans in the March referendum,
recognises
citizenship by birth, descent and registration.
MDC-T
Global Political Agreement (GPA) negotiator Elton Mangoma last week
said
Zanu PF was trying to introduce “some funny interpretation” to avoid
the
registration of aliens as voters before the next election.
“As far as the
MDC is concerned, as soon as the constitution becomes law,
these people
(aliens) should be allowed to become citizens and register to
vote,” said
Mangoma.
“This should come from Chapter 3 which was agreed on and the
agreement
should immediately come into force when the constitution becomes
law.
“Now Zanu PF is trying to make sure that they do not take part (in
voting)
by bringing up some funny interpretation on something that is clear
and has
been agreed on.
This is an issue that requires finalisation
and we will make sure that what
was agreed on is adopted.” Efforts to get a
comment from Zanu PF GPA
negotiator Patrick Chinamasa were fruitless as his
phone continuously went
unanswered, as did that of MDC GPA negotiator
Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga.
This week a number of aliens were
turned away at the start of the government’s
30-day mobile voter
registration exercise.
This is despite Home Affairs co-minister Theresa
Makone’s and acting Home
Affairs co-minister Emmerson Mnangagwa’s recent
announcement that cabinet
had ordered Registrar-General (RG) Tobaiwa Mudede
to immediately allow
residents of foreign descent to register as voters
after swapping their
foreign IDs for local ones.
Officials at
Highfield Community Centre in Harare said they had not yet been
instructed
to register “non-Zimbabweans”.
Aliens from Gweru, Harare, Bulawayo and
Hwange were left confused after
failing to register as citizens and voters
despite political parties urging
them to go and “simply swap their IDs to
become citizens”.
“We woke up at three this morning since we knew there
would be a lot of
people who would come to swap their IDs as per government
advice, only to be
turned away in the afternoon by the registrar officials
who are demanding
that at least one of the parents of aliens must be
Zimbabwean,” said Aisha
Dube of Gweru on Monday.
While confusion
reigns over the registration of aliens, sources at the RG’s
office claim
there are irregularities with regards to voter registration.
“The
exercise of registering voters has always been done for three months in
all
previous elections since 2000, but has been reduced to a month now,”
said
the source.
The source also said there is an order not to issue new birth
certificates
to those without until the exercise is over.
“There are
a number of people who are above 18 years without birth
certificates who
will not be able to vote because there is an order not to
issue birth
certificates, yet to get a new ID one has to be in possession of
a birth
certificate,” the source added.
“We are also not sure whether the RG’s
office will be given time to capture
all the information being collected
around the country to come up with a
complete voters’ roll because it takes
one to two months to do the data
capturing.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in News
A MILITARY coup in
Zimbabwe is unlikely due to fear of regional and
international backlash as
well as uncertainty about the reaction by the
generality of members of the
defence forces, the International Crisis Group
(ICG) has said.
Brian
Chitemba
In a report titled Zimbabwe: Election Scenarios, the ICG, a
Brussels-based
non-profit research group, warns that although the military
was unlikely to
grab power, the securocrats may seek to influence the
outcome of elections
expected later this year.
“A military takeover
is unlikely, not least because of uncertainty about the
political allegiance
of the rank and file (of the army), probable regional
censure and
international isolation,” the ICG says.
“However, allegations of the
army’s bias and complicity in human rights
violations raise concerns it may
seek to influence the election outcome. It
may also present itself as a
stabilising force if inter and intra-party
relations deteriorate
further.”
The report adds: “2013 is a decisive year. Elections in a
context of acute
divisions are unlikely to provide stability. There is a
growing sense that
the best way forward is further power sharing, though
this is only helpful
if objectives are established and widely
accepted.
“To note that Zimbabwe is less violent now than in 2008 means
little before
the campaign – it is the competition for power that generates
violence. That
the elections are likely to be tense and see some violence
and intimidation
is clear; what is not yet clear is the nature of the
violence, its extent
and the response it will generate.”
The ICG
recommends that Global Political Agreement (GPA) principals should
address
the politicisation of security services through holding regular
National
Security Council meetings to iron out disagreements and reach a
consensus
prior to the polls.
The principals should also ensure security service
chiefs making partisan
public statements are censured or sanctioned, while
Sadc needs to engage
them not to interfere with the political process.
According to ICG, the
military requires an electoral code of conduct that
can be endorsed by Sadc
heads of state.
The grave concern over the
military’s involvement in political processes
comes against a backdrop of
partisan statements by senior military
commanders, including Zimbabwe
Defence Forces boss General Constantine
Chiwenga, Major-General Martin
Chedondo, Major-General Trust Mugoba and
Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba,
as well as Police Commissioner-General
Augustine Chihuri, making it clear
they will not accept Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai even if he wins
elections against President Robert Mugabe.
Sources say the military
commanders, who are under pressure to reform, will
almost certainly make
further partisan remarks going forward, including
during this coming
weekend.
The ICG noted security chiefs loyal to Zanu PF were likely to
seek to
influence the election outcome since some of them have demanded more
political representation and played a role in the bloody June 2008
presidential poll runoff which secured Mugabe’s continued three-decade grip
on power. The 2008 elections reign of terror against Zanu PF political
opponents left almost 200 people dead.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police
has demonstrated some professionalism, but its
leaders openly support Zanu
PF and frequently harass Movement for Democratic
Change formations and civil
society, which the MDC-T has been powerless to
prevent,” says the
ICG.
Free and fair elections could only be held if critical reforms were
implemented although Zanu PF was likely to resist further changes that may
weaken its grip on power, it says.
Apart from reforming the security
sector, institutional reforms are required
at crucial organisations such as
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission and
Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee
(Jomic), which are reeling
from limited funding and infiltration by state
security agents, it
said.
Last week Tsvangirai was on a whirlwind tour of the continent to
lobby Sadc
and other African leaders to push Mugabe to adopt reforms before
elections
to plug any loopholes for rigging and use of violence to coerce
the
electorate to rally behind Zanu PF.
Mugabe and his loyalists are
pushing for elections on June 29 with or
without reforms, but Sadc is
frustrating their plans.
“Sadc’s priority is “containment” even more than
reforms to maintain
stability. “This objective remains vague, but the
organisation must
consolidate its promotion of reforms in compliance with
its election
guidelines,” reads the ICG report.
“Reforms require
monitoring, but Jomic’s capacity for this is limited and
Zanu PF’s
resistance to extending its mandate to focus on elections has
frustrated
Sadc. The regional bloc should establish an office in Harare that
complements Jomic but also allows it to independently liaise with the
government.”
Sadc, the ICG notes, has to convene a heads of state
summit on Zimbabwe that
emphasises election roadmap compliance and
establishes a liaison office in
Harare to monitor and evaluate election
preparations, while facilitating a
prompt response when
necessary.
Another election scenario, according to ICG, is that if the
stalemate over
reforms persists, the polls may be rescheduled. Both MDC-T
and Zanu PF,
which are facing serious intra-party ructions, may support
elections
postponement.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in News
PRIME Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai is persisting with his push for a full Sadc
summit preceded by a
Sadc troika on politics, defence and security
cooperation meeting to ensure
security sector reforms and the full
implementation of the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) before make-or-break
elections expected later this
year.
Report by Hazel Ndebele
Tsvangirai last week went on
continental diplomatic offensive, meeting key
leaders from the four regional
blocs that make up the Africa Union namely
Sadc, Economic Community of West
African States (Ecowas), East African
Community (EAC) and the Economic
Community of Central African States
(Eccas), to impress on them the need for
security sector realignment among
other reforms.
Although Tsvangirai
refused to be drawn into a war of words with security
service chiefs, who
lately have publicly attacked his person, his
spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka
said the premier would not drop his demands
for reforms in the security
sector, adding that recent statements by
security forces bosses were an
indication that there was an urgent need for
such reforms.
Zanu PF
insists the security sector is a no-go area and calls for its
realignment
are a regime change agenda, despite this being one of the GPA
requirements.
The commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General
Constantine Chiwenga
last week described Tsvangirai as a sellout and
“psychiatric patient who
seems to be suffering from
hallucinations”.
He said the defence forces will not respect or entertain
people who do not
value the ideals of the liberation
struggle.
Chiwenga said this following revelations by this paper that the
MDC-T
defence and security secretary Giles Mutsekwa — a retired major — held
talks
with hardliners in the military including Chiwenga himself, Zimbabwe
National Army (ZNA) chief of staff (general staff) Major-General Martin
Chedondo and chief of staff and quartermaster, Major-General Douglas
Nyikayaramba.
Mutsekwa also said he held talks with
Commissioner-General Augustine
Chihuri, but the police boss and Chiwenga
have since denied meeting him.
Chihuri described Tsvangirai and MDC
officials as “confused malcontents”.
During his diplomatic offensive
Tsvangirai met South African President Jacob
Zuma who is also the Sadc
appointed facilitator in Zimbabwe, Tanzanian
President Jakaya Kikwete, the
chairperson of the Sadc troika as well as
Angolan Foreign Minister Georges
Chicoti and Botswana president Ian Khama.
He also went to Gabon where he
met President Ali Bongo Ondimba. Gabon is the
current leader of Eccas.
Tsvangirai further met Nigerian leader Goodluck
Jonathan, an influential
figure in Ecowas.
He wound up his tour by meeting the Prime Minister of
Cote d’ Ivoire, Kablan
Duncan. Cote d ‘Ivoire is the current chair of
Ecowas. The premier wants
both Sadc and the AU to put pressure on President
Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF
to implement key reforms to create conditions for
free and fair elections.
Tamborinyoka said Tsvangirai impressed on the
leaders the need for the GPA
to be fully implemented before polls while
there was special emphasis on
security sector reforms and a clean voters’
roll.
“He appraised Sadc leaders and key members of the African Union
about the
situation in Zimbabwe because they are the guarantors of the GPA
and
therefore the inclusive government,” said Tamborinyoka.
“The
Prime Minister told them about the lack of political will to implement
reforms and asked for their intervention. He asked that the Sadc troika and
the Sadc summit convene to assess the situation in Zimbabwe and set
guidelines for the polls.”
Tamborinyoka added: “He spoke to them
about the lack of political will as
far as security sector and media reforms
are concerned and also highlighted
the manipulation of the voters’
roll.”
The security sector is credited with rescuing President Robert
Mugabe in the
June 2008 presidential poll run-off through a vicious and
bloody campaign,
leading to a disputed poll outcome and the formation of the
unity
government.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Politics
DRAMATIC scenes rocked
Zanu PF’s 11-hour politburo meeting last Friday as
secretary for
administration Didymus Mutasa fiercely clashed with Justice
minister Patrick
Chinamasa and Women’s League chief Oppah Muchinguri in the
presence of
President Robert Mugabe as internal strife reaches fever pitch.
Report by
Elias Mambo
The bigwigs were locked in combat over the Manicaland
infighting which was
discussed at the tense politburo meeting for five hours
— from 8pm to
1:30am — during which an irate Mutasa reportedly accused
Chinamasa and
Muchinguri of working in cahoots with Defence minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa in
the race to succeed Mugabe.
Mutasa is believed
to be aligned to Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s faction
and has been pushing
for the removal of former Zanu PF Manicaland
chairperson Mike Madiro, who is
said to be in Mnangagwa’s camp.
Mutasa accused senior Zanu PF officials
from Manicaland, who have been
decampaigning him, of belonging to
Mnangagwa’s faction and fuelling
divisions in Manicaland, a politburo
insider said.
It is said Mutasa’s accusations did not go down well with
Chinamasa and
Muchinguri who hit back, taking turns to attack
him.
Chinamasa, Muchinguri and Mutasa are all from Manicaland where
infighting
has erupted over unilateral changes to the provincial
executive.
“Chinamasa and Muchinguri refuted accusations that they
belonged to
Mnangagwa’s faction, claiming Mutasa was bent on tarnishing
their image,”
said the politburo source.
There was a heated verbal
exchange and finger pointing among the three
rivals, politburo sources said,
until Mugabe intervened by ordering party
national chairperson Simon Khaya
Moyo to proceed with his investigation
report.
The clash had
disrupted Moyo’s presentation on his probe team’s findings on
Manicaland.
“The president did not say anything when the verbal
exchange was taking
place but he only ordered Moyo to proceed with his
presentation after the
showdown,” a source said. “Interestingly, Mujuru and
Mnangagwa also did not
react when the senior Manicaland party officials were
engaged in the war of
words.”
In line with a report presented to the
party’s decision-making body before
Zanu PF’s annual conference in December
last year showing intensifying
infighting, the politburo last Friday wanted
to bring to an end the
wrangling ahead of crucial general elections. Zanu PF
lost the 2008 polls
due to factionalism and squabbling.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Politics
Suspended Zanu PF Manicaland
provincial vice-chairperson Dorothy Mabika has
sensationally alleged the
party’s national secretary for administration and
Minister of State for
Presidential Affairs, Didymus Mutasa, is nailing her
because she turned down
his sexual advances.
Report by Clayton Masekesa
This emerged
yesterday at the Mutare magistrate’s court during the ongoing
trial of
Mabika who is facing stock theft charges and defeating or
obstructing the
course of justice.
In the state’s case led by public prosecutor Christine
Nyamaropa, it is
alleged that on September 7 2011 at her Shiriyakangwara
Farm in Chipinge,
Mabika received and took into her possession six dairy
calves on behalf of
Zanu PF from Dawid Hercules Joubert, which she
unlawfully and with intention
to steal converted to her own use.
The
cows were donated by Joubert towards a Zanu PF inter-district
conference. On
the second count, Mabika is accused of defeating or
obstructing the course
of justice where she is alleged to have altered
documents to conceal a crime
of stocktheft. Mabika is out on US$150 bail.
While cross-examining
Mutasa, Mabika’s lawyer, Tinofara Hove of TK Hove &
Associates said
Mutasa was persecuting Mabika because she had turned down
his
advances.
Mabika told her lawyer that Mutasa at one time said to her:
“Mbizi nenyati
dzinofura pamwe chete, asi mbizi ikasafura pamwe chete
nenyati, nyati
inotunga mbizi. (A zebra and a buffalo can graze together,
but if the zebra
refuses to graze with the buffalo, the buffalo will gore
the zebra.)”
Apparently, Mutasa’s totem is the buffalo while Mabika’s is
a zebra. In
response Mutasa said: “I do not remember saying that. I never
made some
sexual advances towards her. It is only through the imagination of
the
lawyer. She is my friend in the party and I worked with her.
If
she thinks that my friendship to her meant I love her, then let it
be.”
Mutasa is maintaining that Mabika has a case to answer, saying she
was
supposed to declare to the party headquarters that she had the six dairy
cows.
“As the party’s national secretary for administration and the
presidium we
were supposed to be informed that there are such calves, but
she never did
that. This means that she stole the calves,” said
Mutasa.
“She did not follow the party’s procedure. The calves belonged to
Zanu PF
and she was supposed to hand them over to the party but she did not
do so.
The police did their job and made some investigations. The fact that
she is
in the dock means that she has a case to answer.”
Mabika
argues that she informed the provincial executive of the calves and
there
was no need to inform the party headquarters.
Mutare Magistrate Sekai
Chiwundura presided over the matter and the trial
continues today with more
witnesses expected to testify.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Zanu
PF relaxes conditions for aspiring candidates
May 10, 2013 in
Politics
THE Zanu PF politburo has waived the party’s five-year minimum
condition for
members to represent it in the general elections in a bid to
allow a few
party officials as well as serving and retired security sector
heavyweights
to contest in the forthcoming elections, the Zimbabwe
Independent has
learnt.
Staff Writer
The Zanu PF constitution
is clear that for one to contest in elections, one
has to have been a member
for five consecutive years, but this condition has
been set aside as the
beleaguered party tries to avoid defeat by the MDC
formations.
Sources in the party said the politburo was faced with a
conundrum of
dealing with the likes of Jonathan Moyo, Philip Chiyangwa and
members of the
security forces who have thrown their hats into the ring for
the high-stakes
elections.
“These people were supposed to be admitted
into the party as ordinary
members and serve for five years before
representing the party in any
election,” said a Zanu PF source.
Moyo,
who contested as an independent candidate in 2008, was expelled from
Zanu PF
in 2005 before he was re-admitted in 2009, while Chiyangwa was
re-admitted
early last year.Several serving and retired members of the army,
police and
CIO have indicated their interest in representing the party in
the
polls.
Sources in the party said Elias Kanengoni, CIO deputy
director-internal, is
interested in the Mazowe senatorial seat, while
serving CIO operative Lesley
Humbe is seeking to oust Tourism minister
Walter Mzembi from his Masvingo
South seat. Colonel Phillip Toperesu, a
serving member of the Zimbabwe
National Army, is reportedly also after
Mzembi’s seat.
Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao is facing a stiff challenge
from another
serving CIO operative Francis Mukwangariwa who has made his
intentions
public.
In Buhera South, Assistant Police Commissioner
Oliver Mandipaka, a police
spokesperson, has been campaigning while another
serving operative in the
CIO training department, Francis Muchenje, wants to
stand in Makoni North.
Zanu PF structures are already significantly
dominated by officials with
some security background, including former
Vice-Air Marshal Henry Muchena
and CIO director-internal Sydney
Nyanhongo.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in News,
Politics
WHENEVER general elections are looming, Zanu PF usually embarks
on a
campaign to pull the wool over people’s eyes by making promises of
development and uplifting citizens’ lives.
Report by Brian
Chitemba
While this applies to the rest of the country, Matabeleland
regions –– which
have always rejected Zanu PF since 1980 except for the
period between 1987
and 2000 after the Unity Accord between Zanu PF and PF
Zapu –– are
especially targeted for development promises due to their
marginalisation
and underdevelopment.
Despite being endowed with vast
natural resources such as gold, coal,
methane gas, wildlife and forests,
Matabeleland provinces are among the
least developed regions in Zimbabwe and
this has always stirred political
trouble, especially during
elections.
Most capital projects in the country have missed set targets
several times
and Matabeleland is no exception. Government usually cites
lack of funds for
its failure to implement developmental programmes but
there is also an
apparent lack of political will and commitment.
A
case in point is the renovation of Bulawayo’s Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Airport
which has been on-going for 10 years, despite lack of meaningful progress.
The project began in 2003 and was supposed to have been completed by
2009.
Many other projects, including the oft touted Matabeleland Zambezi
Water
Project and the Bulawayo-Nkayi road remain a pie in the sky as
government
dithers over their completion. A 10km stretch of road on the
Bulawayo-Beitbridge highway near the border town took 10 years to repair
after it was washed away by rains.
Bulawayo-based economist Morgan
Mthunzi said there was lack of political
will by government to improve the
living standards of people in Matabeleland
despite the same authorities
successfully changing the face of Victoria
Falls within a short period of
time to pave way for hosting of the United
Nations World Tourism
Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly in August.
“Although there are
delays in preparations for the UNTWO, work underway
demonstrates that
government has the capacity to complete critical projects
if it wants,”
Mthunzi said.
While the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo airport project may be
considered as not
essential, the proposed massive Gwayi-Shangani Dam,
crucial to securing
Bulawayo’s water needs, has been on the cards since 1912
and remains in its
initial stages.
The dam, which requires US$1
billion, will be an oasis to the arid
Matabeleland region, which desperately
needs water. The dam is a component
of the project expected to solve water
problems in Matabeleland North,
Matabeleland South and
Bulawayo.
Other stunted development programmes in Matabeleland include
the
construction of the Nkayi-Bulawayo Road, which has taken decades to
complete, while the Bulawayo-Kezi Road remains in a deplorable state.
In
Matabeleland North, the provincial capital Lupane is underdeveloped and a
number of capital projects remain on hold.
But now that elections’
season is upon us, talk of resuscitating these
projects has been growing
louder by the day.
“Voters should be wary of Zanu PF tendencies of
masterminding fake activity
and a semblance of progress around capital
projects before elections,”
Mthunzi said. “It is high time the electorate
reject the resurrection of
false promises on projects and other things just
before elections.”
Perhaps what could sway the vote is if the US$2
billion Lupane methane gas
project, which is expected to create more than 4
500 jobs, was to be
implemented. But the project has merely received a nod
from government, like
many others, and thus just remains on paper. There
have been projections
that by 2015, Gwayi and Lupane could be developed into
significant
industrial zones stemming from exploitation of the large coal
deposits and
gas in the area.
However, political commentator Melusi
Nyathi dismissed the projections and
associated promises as mere
electioneering.
“That is a Zanu PF trend to appease voters before
elections because we have
been given heavenly promises over the years
without corresponding action on
the ground; they are just electioneering,”
Nyathi said.
He said people “must forget about those promises and keep on
not only
rejecting Zanu PF, but doing so massively so that change can be
delivered”.
The Matabeleland vote is crucial in determining the national
outcome of
elections and political parties always scramble to win the hearts
and minds
of the electorate there by promising development in the
marginalised region.
Political analyst Chamu Mutasa said the new
government after elections
should turn around underdevelopment in
Matabeleland to end the region’s
marginalisation.
He said government
must come up with action plans to address the needs of
the masses whether
there are elections or not. In Bulawayo nearly 100
companies have closed,
leaving 20 000 people jobless.
“With companies closing down in Bulawayo,
Matabeleland requires a
development strategy, not talk shows and empty
promises. The time for
electioneering is no more and voters should not
entertain it during this
year’s elections,” said Mutasa.
It is not
only Zanu PF that has been grandstanding over Matabeleland capital
projects
ahead of polls. The MDC-T, through the Water Resources minister
Samuel
Sipepa Nkomo, has done little more than lip service on the
Gwayi-Shangani
Dam.
Another development project which remains on paper is the
Trans-Limpopo
Spatial Development Initiative which was agreed to in 2002 by
Matabeleland
South and Matabeleland North governors, the mayor of Bulawayo
and the
premier of Limpopo province in South Africa. The project aims to
create an
economic development corridor from Limpopo to Victoria
Falls.
Overall, Matabeleland has been flooded with promises of
development each
time there are elections on the horizon, although that
seems to be the case
all over the country.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in News
FORMER airforce
deputy commander Henry Muchena has embarked on a whirlwind
tour of provinces
instructing Zanu PF district executives to launch
door-to-door campaigns to
ensure the party romps to victory in the
forthcoming
elections.
Report by Brian Chitemba
Muchena, who retired from the
airforce to head the Zanu PF commissariat
department, started his provincial
visits at the weekend in Bulawayo where
he held a tense inter-district
meeting at Davies Hall.
Party insiders told the Zimbabwe Independent that
Muchena ordered the
officials to launch a vigorous campaign to secure a Zanu
PF victory.
The former liberation movement has not won a seat in Bulawayo
since 2000
when the MDC started participating in elections.
The party
has performed dismally in previous elections in the city and other
Matabeleland provinces due to underdevelopment and the 1980s massacres
dubbed Gukurahundi, which left over 20 000 dead.
But the party
believes it can turn this around in the next elections by
enticing the
electorate with the controversial indigenisation policy.
“Muchena did not
mince his words about the need for Zanu PF to win the
forthcoming elections
at all costs, hence the launch of a door-to-door
campaign in Bulawayo where
the electorate has been rallying behind the MDC
formations,” said a Zanu PF
provincial executive member.
Zanu PF has been using former military and
security sector personnel in its
quest to stay in power.
Apart from
Muchena, Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Constantine Chiwenga
and others
have also reportedly been meeting war veterans in provinces
urging them to
support Mugabe and Zanu PF candidates in exchange for hefty
allowances.
But sources said Muchena’s meeting was partly disrupted
by district
chairpersons who openly complained over the politburo’s
imposition of former
cabinet Minister Callistus Ndlovu as the provincial
chairperson ahead of
Killian Sibanda who was elected by the party
members.
Sibanda is now deputy chairperson and the controversial
appointment of
Ndlovu was, according to Zanu PF, meant to strengthen the
party ahead of
make-or-break polls later this year.
Ndlovu was not at
the meeting which was chaired by Sibanda.
Muchena told the districts
executives to accept the politburo decision,
sources said.
“Muchena
was put under immense pressure because most of the provincial
members are
opposed to Ndlovu’s recent appointment. The district executives
threatened
not to vote for Ndlovu as a member of the central committee
during the
party’s elections next year,” said a party official.
After failing to
defuse tensions at the tense meeting, Muchena promised to
table a report
over the discontent in Bulawayo to Zanu PF commissar Webster
Shamu.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in News
THE House of Assembly
yesterday unanimously passed Constitution Amendment
Bill No 20 (Copac draft)
with amendments after two days of debate in the
Lower House, setting the
stage for formal endorsement by the Senate next
week before it becomes the
new supreme charter.
Paidamoyo Muzulu
Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs minister Eric Matinenga was elated
after the house
passed the bill with the 10 new amendments to the gazetted
draft
constitution, which include clarifications on the proposed
proportional
representation electoral system that was introduced in the new
governance
charter after being repealed in 1990.
The changes are the second high
profile amendments made to the draft since
it was endorsed in the March 16
referendum.
Matinenga introduced the amendments during the second reading
of the
Constitution Amendment Bill.The new draft charter, among other new
systems,
introduces a dual electoral system but does not clearly spell out
how the
proportional representation candidates would be selected.
The
new changes would clarify Section 124 (1) (b) on how the new 60 women
would
be appointed to the National Assembly through proportional
representation
for the next two parliaments.
Section 124 (1) (b) would now read: “For
the life of the first two
parliaments after the effective date, an
additional sixty (60) women
members, six from each of the provinces into
which Zimbabwe is divided,
elected under a party list system of proportional
representation based on
the votes cast for candidates representing political
parties in a general
election for constituency members in the
provinces.”
This means political parties would now have to create party
lists that would
be lodged with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission during the
nomination
process before election results are announced.
“The changes
were agreed to by all parties at the Copac management committee
meeting held
on Monday to bring clarity to how the system would work,” said
Matinenga.
The other nine changes are deletions of repetitions and
names to some
sections, for instance, Section 272 that creates provincial
legislatures.
The chairpersons would now be known as “chairpersons of
provincial councils”
instead of “chairpersons of provincial and metropolitan
councils’’ as
initially stated.The changes would make the chairpersons title
uniform since
Zimbabwe only has two metropolitan provinces – Harare and
Bulawayo.
This is in line with the proposed devolution of power to
provinces.
President Robert Mugabe is expected to sign the bill into law
soon after
senate formally passes it, which could be as early as next
Friday.
Passage of the new constitution paves the way for Zimbabwe to
hold general
elections later this year after parliament amends laws such as
the Electoral
Act, Urban Councils Act and Rural District Councils Act to
align them with
the new constitution.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in News
STAKEHOLDERS in the
Chisumbanje Ethanol Project say while the local
community has resolved its
disputes with investor Green Fuels, political
posturing continues to stall
the re-opening of the plant which they expect
to improve local livelihoods
in particular and the economy in general.
Report by Herbert
Moyo
Members of the District Ethanol Project Implementation Committee
(Depic)
have urged government to relax its demand for a 51% share in the
project in
line with its controversial indigenisation programme, blaming it
for
delaying the granting of the operating licence needed for operations to
resume.
Depic members currently in Harare to meet the top leadership
including
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai vowed
to remain
in the capital for as long as it takes to obtain a guarantee that
the plant
would be re-opened.
Depic said their visit comes against
the background of Vice-President Joice
Mujuru’s visit to the plant in March
despite the setting up of an
inter-ministerial committee headed by Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara.
Although Mujuru reportedly blamed
politics for scuttling development
initiatives and told the Chisumbanje
community to “consider the ethanol
plant opened”, the plant remains
closed.
“We are tired of politicians coming as individuals and posturing
while the
plant remains shut causing suffering to the community that would
otherwise
be benefitting. So this time we want to meet all of them,
including
President Mugabe,” said Claris Madhuku speaking on behalf of
Depic.
Depic was set up to facilitate communication among the local
community,
government and Green Fuels, the developers of the Chisumbanje
ethanol
project.
Depic members who met the Zimbabwe Independent in
Harare on Tuesday include
Chipinge South MP Meki Makuyana, Green Fuel
assistant general manager
Raphael Zuze, local headmen and
councillors.
They are demanding the opening of the project as soon as
possible.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in News
AFRASIA Kingdom Bank
has run into serious problems and is facing censure by
the Reserve Bank
after it emerged this week it is reeling from a massive
US$21 million
under-performing loan and could be placed under recuperative
curatorship to
protect depositors’ funds and the banking sector, amid
indications the
institution could have misrepresented material facts about
its financial
position.
Chris Muronzi/Taurai Mangudhla
The Zimbabwe Independent
has established the bank was in trouble from a huge
US$21 million
under-performing loan which has weakened its financial
position, while
creating internal strife among management.
Former Kingdom Bank MD Francois
Molife resigned from the institution about
two months ago under unclear
circumstances.
But investigations show when Molife stepped in he had been
involved in the
structuring of a botched debt-to-equity deal crafted to
conceal a bad loan
given to a local mobile phone operator that could eat
into the bank’s
equity.
Mauritius-based AfrAsia Bank Ltd invested
US$9,5 million in Kingdom
Financial Holdings Ltd for a 35% equity stake in
the group which owns the
local bank.
Well-placed sources told the
Independent this week Kingdom’s fate was now
precarious in the wake of a
potential massive hole which it is struggling to
plug.
“The entire
capital of the bank is gone. We don’t know what tricks (Reserve
Bank
governor Gideon) Gono will pull to save it,” an informed source said.
“The
central bank is incapacitated in terms of liquidity support and
lender-of-last-resort position. It’s a miracle the financial sector is still
standing. The fate of Kingdom is not known and it is understood the
transaction in question is likely to pull down another local financial
institution as there is likely going to be a serious contagion
effect.”
Gono was not available for comment.
Things came to a head
after Spiritage CEO Zach Wazara wrote a damning letter
to the central bank
highlighting what he said was a deliberate attempt to
conceal non-performing
loans on the part of Kingdom.
In the letter to the central bank seen by
the Zimbabwe Independent, dated
May 2, to the central bank, Wazara says
Kingdom entered into a
debt-to-equity swap for 80% of Valley Technologies
through the bank’s
special purpose vehicle — Lalela Trading — in December
last year after the
mobile network operator failed to settle its obligations
to the bank.
Wazara also states Kingdom acquired the shares on the
understanding that
they would allow a partner, a Chinese company, to take
over the company.
However, after a meeting with the Chinese investors,
Kingdom reportedly went
ahead with a decision to foreclose on the loan. This
culminated in Kingdom’s
attempt to sell the company’s assets through an
auction last week. The
assets had been pledged as security for the
loan.
Wazara further sensationally claims the bank entered the
debt-to-equity deal
with his company in order to hoodwink the Reserve Bank
by covering up the
true state of its financial affairs during the December
reporting period.
“The bank advised (us) they were concerned that Reserve
Bank would require
them to provide for the loan, and with a capitalisation
of US$23 million,
they (Kingdom Bank) would be required to hand over their
licence,” reads
Wazara’s letter. “Now that they crossed December 31
milestone, the bank is
seeking to reverse the transaction in a very
unceremonious manner.”
Other sources said the Reserve Bank had dispatched
a team of forensic
investigators who have been camped at Kingdom Bank for
close to a month.
Initial findings, according to one source at the bank,
have unearthed the
need for recapitalisation after its entire investment was
wiped out by
non-performing loans which were not provide for in December as
required by
statutory provisions.
The latest developments are said to
have riled founder Nigel Chanakira’s
partners in Kingdom — Afrasia — who are
now holding on to a shell, barely a
year after rescuing the bank from the
brink of collapse. It also comes just
a couple of months after Chanakira had
survived a brutal showdown with
Meikles Africa Ltd chairman John Moxon,
after a fall-out over their widely
publicised failed merger.
Wazara
also says Kingdom had abused his company’s facility with an
international
financier to pay interest from the funds against conditions
agreed to by the
parties and without the knowledge of Valley Technologies,
while using the
money for non-permitted transactions without the knowledge
and consent of
his company and further utilising the funds to pay off third
party
facilities owing to it without permission.
He also says the bank had
delayed the disbursement of draw down requests for
unexplained reasons,
despite asking for a US$2 million advance from the
financier. He adds
Kingdom had drawn down on the company’s facility without
the knowledge or
consent of his company.
Wazara further indicates the bank overcharged Valley
Technologies by almost
US$3,2 million in interest on its loans.
“As
of March 15 2012, the total interest due was US$2 230 360, but by
November
2012 the bank was claiming US$5,4 million in interest and bank
charges, a
matter that remains unresolved up until now. Valley Technologies
contends
that its interest burden should be US$3,4 million less than what
Kingdom has
charged. This information is documented in an annex as well as
the E&Y
(Ernest & Young) audit report,” Wazara’s letter reads.
“The bank is
calling in loans that are not yet due. Valley had a grace
period on
interest, payable on March 31 2013, and the rest of the amounts
are payable
quarterly until December 31 2015 in terms of agreement.”
In response to
questions sent to Chanakira, Kingdom Bank head of public
relations &
corporate communications, Sekai Chitemerere said: “Ordinarily,
the group
does not discuss with the press each and every disagreement or
dispute that
we encounter with our clients and associates, and the one in
question is not
an exception. In addition to that, Kingdom Bank Ltd does not
comment on
individual clients owing to the client-confidentiality clauses
that we
strictly enforce.”
However, a source said: “The two case scenarios for
Afrasia would be;
bringing in new money and increasing its shareholding or
allowing the bank
to fold. I don’t think they want to see it folding without
getting a return
on their investment.”
Zimbabwe has in recent years
experienced a series of bank collapses due to
economic problems, especially
a chronic liquidity crunch, mismanagement and
corruption.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Business
The European
Union has to date contracted €18 million (US$23,4 million)
under its
Zimbabwe Sugar Adaption Strategy while a remaining €13,4 million
(US$17,4
million) will be contracted this year.
Staff Writer
Of that amount
€4.7 million will be contracted for the national land audit.
According to
figures from the EU mission to Zimbabwe, the EU has made a
total of €31,4
million (approx US$41 million) available for the
implementation of the
Zimbabwe Sugar Adaptation Strategy. The actual
implementation of the
strategy started in 2008 and is expected to end in
2015 or at the latest in
2016.
The strategy is designed to; increase sugarcane production by
out-growers to
improve cane transport facility from out-growers fields to
the sugar mills,
environmental protection of Runde river catchment area to
avoid siltation of
dams and waterways, increase of water-holding capacity of
certain dams, and
improvement of health facilities of Chiredzi district
general hospital.
Last year total trade between the EU and Zimbabwe
amounted to €609 million
(around US$791 million) with a positive trade
balance of €132 million
(around US$171,5 million) in favour of
Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe exported to the EU, €370,85 million (around US$482
million) and
imported from the EU goods to a total value of €237,97 million
(around
US$309,37 million).
The mission said as EU is a traditional
importer of minerals, agricultural
products and other raw materials that are
produced in Zimbabwe, Economic
Partnership Agreements (EPAs) would stimulate
the exports volumes by making
use of the Duty Free Quota Free access to the
EU.
An end to sugar quotas in the bloc, expected by the EU Council as
early as
2017, may promote trade of the sweetener within Africa, according
to
Bloomberg research.
“There is a deficit of sugar in Africa, yet
producers still export to Europe
and import from Brazil,” Edward George,
head of soft-commodities research at
Ecobank, said in an April 17 interview
in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. “This
will change if and when Europe bans
quotas.”
Producers in the EU, the world’s largest sugar importer, can by
law only
sell a limited amount in the common economic area, and some local
demand
must be met by duty-free shipments from African, Caribbean and
Pacific
states that have preferential access to the market.
Africa
produces less than it needs, according to the International Sugar
Organisation. The council, which represents governments of EU member states,
wants an end to quotas in 2017, while the European Commission, the bloc’s
regulatory arm, has proposed limits should end two years earlier.
The
European Parliament voted to extend the quoters to 2020. All three are
negotiating the quotas from April 11 to June 20, Martin van Driel, team
leader for sugar issues at the commission, said yesterday.
The curbs
restrict sales to 13 million metric tons in the 27-nation bloc,
which has
faced sugar shortages in the past two seasons after imports from
nations
with preferential accords fell short of estimates.
The EU will produce
17.6 million tons of sugar in the 2012-13 season that
starts in October, the
Commission said in a June 28 report on its website,
19% less than a year
earlier.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Business
THE Chamber of Mines
Zimbabwe (CoMZ) will at its annual general meeting and
conference slated for
next week in Nyanga challenge government’s decision to
repossess idle mining
claims from mining companies for reallocation to new
investors.
Taurai Mangudhla
At a pre-conference briefing,
chamber president Winston Chitando said the
mining body’s submissions for a
new Minerals Development Policy, which
interrogates clauses of the proposed
land policy, are expected to be tabled
before government via the Mines and
Minerals Development ministry early next
week, ahead of the
conference.
“There are two specific issues; that of Zimplats and then
there is a policy
issue of taking over excess land.
“We have included
the policy issue of taking excess land in the Minerals
Development Policy,
ie. what the definition of excess land is and how to
handle a case where
land is deemed to be excess,” said Chitando without
being drawn to give
specific details of the mining body’s argument.
“It would be most unfair
that we have a document, and before we send a
written submission, we start
commenting publicly, it’s not the best way to
negotiate,” he
said.
“The general feeling among members (of CoMZ) is what defines excess
land:
that is the main issue, and again, the other issues will be
covered.”
The CoMZ president said there were ongoing stakeholders’
consultative
sessions after which a comprehensive paper covering a number of
issues
relating to mining charges, beneficiation and administration of
title
culminating in what is excess land, would be produced.
The CoMZ
will, together with the AGM, hold its annual conference which is
expected to
generally make submissions to government on key industrial
concerns.
Government recently indicated plans to introduce higher
royalties and taxes
on mining firms in order to raise funding for the
upcoming decisive
elections.
In February, the Mines ministry repossessed
28 000 hectares of excess claims
from Zimplats, amid looting and speculation
concerns, a development minister
Obert Mpofu said was to allow other players
to invest in the sector.
The Mines minister argued that at current extractive
rates, Zimplats would
take 300 years to fully exploit its platinum resources
along the Great Dyke.
Similar moves, according to Mpofu, were expected across
the extractive
industry, together with the introduction of high taxes on raw
minerals, with
a view to bringing in new investors and promoting local
beneficiation of
minerals.
At the time, Mpofu said: “As the sole
regulator and promoter of the mining
industry in terms of the Mines and
Minerals Act (Chapter 21:05), the
ministry is focusing on the creation of
real opportunities and investment
space by making more land available for
new investments, attracting new
players into the industry and acting on
excess and idle land.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in
Business
INVESTMENT returns and pension fund asset allocations will come
under the
spotlight next week at the 38th annual congress of the Zimbabwe
Association
of Pension Funds (Zapf) in Victoria Falls, according to one of
the
association’s executives.
Clive Mphambela
In an interview
with businessdigest this week, Zapf Director General Tendayi
Kakora said
this year’s congress would challenge the role of pension funds
in the
development of the economy as stakeholders explored the value that
asset
allocation decisions play in the delivery of sustainable investment
returns
on pension fund investments.
She said one of the main purposes of the
conference was for delegates to
share thoughts on how the industry could be
revitalised so that stakeholder
confidence in the sector would be
restored.
“The introduction of a multi-currency regime in 2009 entailed
conversion of
assets and liabilities of pension funds from Zimbabwe Dollars
to United
States dollar denominations.
The low values that emerged
have disappointed many active members of pension
funds and pensioners.
Confidence in pension as a source of retirement income
provision has waned,”
Kakora said.
The theme of this year’s four day congress is : “Regaining
Stakeholder
Confidence In Long Term Savings Through Reforms.”
“We
have invited four international speakers and we are hoping that
delegates
will learn from experiences of other countries that experienced
hyperinflation and how they restored their economies particularly the
financial services sector. Delegates will also get the opportunity to learn
about pension reforms currently underway in other countries, especially
South Africa,” she added.
Kakora said 300 delegates drawn from
pension fund administrators, principal
officers, trustees, the investment
management and banking industry as well
as the Insurance and Pensions
Comission (Ipec) had signed up for the
event.
Recently, Ipec issued a
new set of asset allocation guidelines aimed at
influencing positive
performance of pensions and insurance fund investments.
She said the
conference would explore whether asset allocation limits would
act as a
signal of guidance towards the attainment of this goal. The
conference will
discuss how retirement reforms impacted on the industry in
South Africa,
exploring the complementary role of the National Social
Security Scheme
(Nssa) and occupational pension funds.
Delegates will also be advised on
how to set investment performance
benchamrks and assess overall fund
performance and the determination of
bonus calculations.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Business
THE ZIMBABWE
National Chamber of Commerce has called on government to
immediately hold
elections, saying continued focus on politics was holding
back business and
the economy at large.
Hazel Ndebele
ZNCC vice-president Davis
Norupiri said the voice of business was not being
heard at the moment
because of the focus on politics.
“We need the elections soon so as to
cross the bridge and shift focus from
politics to business, since in other
countries business comes before
politics,” said Norupiri.
ZNCC
president Oswell Binha echoed the same sentiments, saying at the moment
the
private sector had no direct voice and business was suffering because of
inconsistency in some policies which were not in its favour.
“The
reason why Zimbabwe at the moment is not a destination of preference
for
investors is because of the inconsistency of policies and
politics-related
issues,” he said.
The rate at which companies were closing down was
increasing, he added.
“Most companies are scaling down and some are
totally closing down,
especially in Bulawayo, Gweru and Mutare. This is a
major problem,” he said.
“As the private sector, we are advising these
companies that the country
survives in a global market and at the moment we
are not a destination of
choice for investors and this is seriously
affecting business.”
Zimbabwe’s economy has been on a growth trajectory
since 2009 but critics,
however, contend that this is because it is coming
off a low base.
They point to the high growth rates recorded since
dollarisation as
evidence. Zimbabwe’s rapid GDP growth and poor business
environment were
paradoxical, they pointed out.
The country needed to
fix its internal problems, which included a high risk
profile, dependence on
foreign aid and raw material exports as opposed to
processed products.
There was also need for a candid examination of the
country’s
competitiveness, analysts said.
ZNCC will hold its annual congress and
AGM in Victoria Falls from June 12 to
14 at which members will elect new
board members and honour business
leaders and companies for entrepreneurial
excellence.
The annual congress will be a platform for business and
policymakers to
engage in broad discussions on the current economic policy
challenges. The
theme of the event is “The road map to Zimbabwe’s desired
future: Defining
the possibilities that deliver value”.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Business
PRESSURE is
mounting on Kimberly Process (KP) members opposed to a proposed
redefinition
of what constitutes conflict diamonds after the World Diamond
Council (WDC)
this week reaffirmed its support for the move.
Taurai
Mangudhla
Once approved, the new definition will come with new KP
compliance terms.
The initiative, which is being promoted by Canada, the
European Union and
the United States, was shot down in October by KP
African member states
including Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe as well
as major diamond
buying nations as India, Russia and the United Arab
Emirates that argued it
specifically targeted Zimbabwe so as to prevent
its Marange diamond
industry from competing fairly on the global
market.
According to immediate past KP chair US Ambassador Gillian
Milovanovic, new
desirable attributes included human rights, financial
transparency, economic
development, or other important questions that impact
on the diamond sector
through the exchange of best practices and voluntary
initiatives. This was
in addition to maintaining the previous focus on
ensuring rough diamonds are
free from armed conflict and armed
violence.
Zimbabwe Environment Law Association (Zela) head of research
Shamiso Mtisi
said the proposed new definition remained controversial in
the KP, with
influential countries such as China and Russia resisting
change.
Mtisi is KP Certification Scheme’s local focal point nominee for
Zimbabwe’s
civil society.
He said Zela was in support of the proposed
changes as they would improve
diamond mining in Zimbabwe.
“If you
look at the prevailing situation in Marange, it has improved to some
extent
but Zimbabwe could not be compliant under the new definition,” said
Mtisi in
an interview.
“We still have instances where diamonds are coming from
areas where
soldiers, police or private security guards are beating up
people and civil
society is saying state actors and non-state actors should
desist from
violence.”
The WDC consists of more than 50 members drawn
from the diamond
beneficiation and trading companies, and has influential
representation on
the KP’s working groups. The WDC fully supports
Milovanovic’s proposal to
widen the definition of conflict diamonds to
include rough diamonds used to
finance, or otherwise are directly related to
armed conflict or other
situations of violence.
In an opening address
to the WDC’s plenary session and annual meeting in Tel
Aviv, Israel on
Monday, WDC president Eli Izhakoff said the diamond business
could in no way
benefit from having its products directly associated with
systematic
violence. The tools and mechanisms of the KP had to be employed
to make sure
that this is never the case.
“As we have clearly articulated in the past,
the WDC is in favour of
reviewing the definition of the term “conflict
diamonds” to ensure that it
is relevant to the situations and the sentiments
that are prevalent in the
times in which we live,” said Izhakoff.
“It
was for that reason we reacted positively to the proposal last year by
the
former KP chair, Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic, during her speech to
the
eighth World Diamond Council in Vicenza, that the definition be expanded
to
include rough diamonds used to finance, or otherwise are directly related
to
armed conflict or other situations of violence,” added the WDC
president.
“We also agreed with her qualification that “additional
certification
standards beyond the current definition should apply only to
armed conflict
and or armed violence that is demonstrably related to rough
diamonds and
independently verified, and that they should not be applicable
to isolated,
individual incidents, or to circumstances or situations in
which an armed
conflict exists but is unrelated to the diamond sector,” he
added.
Izhakoff said implementation of the proposed definition and new
compliance
conditions were subject to discussion, leading eventually to
agreement by
consensus through a process that would require compromise on
the part of
players.
“The requirement that we act though consensus
should never become an excuse
for inaction. If we do not adapt to the
changing environment, then we will
surely lose our relevance.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Opinion
The recent Gupta
aircraft scandal has caused divisions in the African
National Congress (ANC)
and in cabinet and could lead to President Jacob
Zuma’s ousting, according
to unnamed sources in news reports this week.
iafrica.com
The Star
reported that Zuma and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe had
“fallen out”
over the Guptas’ landing a private aircraft with wedding guests
aboard at
the Waterkloof Air Force Base on April 30.
It said the incident had been the
final straw for Mantashe, who had
privately expressed concerns that the
family wielded too much influence in
government and ANC
affairs.
Mantashe’s supporters had since thrown their weight behind ANC
deputy
president Cyril Ramaphosa, after reports that some of Zuma’s allies
planned
to block him from taking over as ANC president in 2017.
It
also said Defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula threatened to resign,
rather than be the “fall guy”, a claim her adviser Mike Ramagoma
denied.
According to the report, a “kitchen cabinet” of “predominantly
Zulu-speaking” ministers and national ANC leaders, took key ANC and
government decisions without Mantashe’s input.
ANC spokesperson
Jackson Mthembu dismissed suggestions Mantashe and Zuma had
fallen out and
that there was a “kitchen cabinet”.
He said that according to ANC tradition,
Ramaphosa was likely to succeed
Zuma.
The Citizen newspaper said it
“understood” that plans were afoot to sack
Zuma following the Gupta plane
scandal.
“ANC top brass have concluded that Zuma’s relationship with the
Guptas has
brought the organisation and the government into disrepute and
Zuma should
go,” its source said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Opinion
YOU know justice is
on its way to the guillotine when the executive starts
exerting undue
political pressure on the judiciary, picking and choosing
whichever law they
want to obey or defy.
Dwyane Sagomba
As citizens, we should also
know we are in deep trouble when this happens
because the rule of law is
critical in a reasonably free and democratic
society.
On as yet to be
specified date and period, High Court judge Justice Charles
Hungwe will
appear before a tribunal over alleged failure to pass a sentence
on a robber
and murderer convicted in 2003, among other charges.
The judge is at the
same time being accused of granting “during the night” —
as if that’s
unusual — a court order for the release of prominent human
rights lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa arrested for allegedly obstructing the course
of
justice.
The police ignored Hungwe’s court order to release Mtetwa and
subsequently
the state media went on a propaganda jihad against him, roping
in partisan
and self-serving political commentators to besmirch the judge,
prompting
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku to advise Hungwe of his
intentions to
invoke Section 87 of the Constitution that will ultimately
cause the
president to appoint a tribunal to investigate his
conduct.
Judges in Zimbabwe operate in a difficult and rather closed
framework in
which the temptation to respond to media remarks, even
deliberate and
calculated abuse to tarnish their reputations, is often high
although it is
practically difficult to react. Defending oneself is not an
option available
to a judge personally. If a media report is grossly
inaccurate, as is the
case here, it is only the Chief Justice who has the
prerogative to respond.
But in the Hungwe case, there was deafening silence
from Chidyausiku.
In fact, to the contrary, the Chief Justice
inexplicably saw it fit to
instigate an inquiry against him.
The
patterns of the attacks against Hungwe in the state media appeared to
have
been systematic and well-choreographed, raising fears there was a
hidden
political hand at work which was remote-controlled to turn the heat
on the
judge to force him out. This comes 13 years after at least 10 judges
were
unceremoniously kicked off of the bench.
Zimbabweans may understandably
have everything to fear as we approach the
next elections. It simply means
four years into Zimbabwe’s inclusive
government and more importantly, after
a referendum for a new constitution,
the leopard hasn’t changed its
spots.
It is really incredible the aggressive urge to savage judges —
taking
advantage of their inability to publicly defend themselves — and
haunting
them out of the system, hasn’t gone. The most startling fact is
that the
state is so brazen about it. The executive is blatant in its
pursuit of
political agendas against judges and undermining the rule of law
— the
bedrock of any functional constitutional democracy.
Former chief
justice Anthony Gubbay’s remarks to the Bar of England and
Wales in 2009 are
instructive.
“The rule of law is the antithesis of the existence of wide,
arbitrary and
discretionary powers in the hands of the executive. It is a
celebration of
individual rights and liberties, and all the values of a
constitutional
democracy, characterised by the absence of unregulated
executive or
legislative power,” he said.
“It is a society in which
the rule of law is observed, through the mechanism
of judicial review.
Executive decisions and legislative enactments, outside
the framework of the
law, are declared invalid, thereby compelling both the
executive and the
legislature to submit to enjoyment, by the individual, of
all rights and
liberties guaranteed by the constitution.
“An independent judiciary and
legal profession are critical elements of the
rule of law. The bedrock of a
constitutional democracy is an independent
judiciary. A judiciary which is
not independent from the executive and
legislature renders the checks and
balances inherent in the concept of
separation of powers
ineffective.”
The sustainable measure of a government’s commitment to the
rule of law is
demonstrated by its respect for the same, which, inter alia,
includes
respecting the independence of the judiciary, and court
decisions.
The seizures of commercial farmlands in 2000 to redress
racially-skewed land
ownership patterns was executed in a haphazard manner
and white judges were
instantly viewed as legal stumbling blocks. White
judges, just like white
farmers, were targeted and haunted out as part of
the political cleansing
ceremony.
The current issue surrounding
Hungwe has nothing to do with land reform. It
is more about the politics of
survival. The attack on Hungwe de-legitimises
government’s previous conduct
against white judges. Apart from being black,
Hungwe is a war veteran who
founded the current war veterans association.
When the same government
turn the heat on black judges for making
unfavourable rulings, it can only
be viewed in the context of politics of
survival and self-interest, not
national interest.
That was the case before against white judges,
although land was the main
issue.
On the political Richter scale, the
intolerant levels of the state are again
now measuring high and scary. The
epicentre of such conduct is President
Robert Mugabe’s inner circle and Zanu
PF hardliners, aided and abetted by
the partisan state security sector and a
compliant judiciary.
Harassing the judiciary is a demonstration of the
lack of commitment by the
government to the rule of law as well as
appreciation of the separation of
powers principle that provides necessary
checks and balances.
As we approach the next general elections,
Zimbabweans have every reason to
be afraid. There is one frightening message
around this. It may not even be
an attack on Hungwe. Make an example of one
judge, and let others feel the
pressure and become compliant.
Most
judges in Zimbabwe are in their early 50s and above. Besides their
judiciary
roles, most of them, including Hungwe, are into farming, largely
courtesy of
Zanu PF. If their farms are unproductive, their fall-back
position is the
bench.
Judges, like most newly resettled black farmers, don’t have title
deeds, but
offer letters which the state can withdraw at any time. Most
importantly,
they can only keep their farms at the mercy and pleasure of the
state.
Due to liquidity problems affecting local financial institutions,
judges do
not have access to finance to turn around their farms. Most use
their
salaries to fund agricultural production. This puts them in a dilemma.
Making a bad political judgment is therefore biting the hand that feeds you.
And the consequences are there for all to see. Herein lies the danger: You
can lose both your farm and job. If you remain with any one of the two, you
will be very lucky.
Judges cannot go back to private practice and
appear again before their
erstwhile colleagues. Legal ethics do not allow
that and this rule also
applies in Zimbabwe.
The only fall-back
position for haunted-out judges is doing consultancy
work, but with the
domino effect of world recessionary pressures, there is
hardly any
consultancy to talk about now. So he who pays the piper calls the
tune at
will.
Judges may now find themselves reading judgments for their supper,
especially if the cases are politically-motivated. With elections just
around the corner, Hungwe has been made an example and a chilling warning
has been sent to the rest of the judges.
Before, during and after the
elections, there shall be dozens of electoral
petitions. Some may even
centre around the presidential election. Any judge
hearing such matters is
already bludgeoned into submission by circumstances
and prevailing political
pressures.
That’s one danger facing Zimbabwe today ahead of the
elections.
People will be under siege. Hungwe’s state-sponsored political
predicament
could be the curtain-raiser. If a judge can be made an example,
then what
more of ordinary citizens. Politically-motivated offences may be
unattractive to justice.
Whoever shall become a victim of
politically-motivated arrests in the next
few months, his or her cries, may
as well remain the biblical cry in the
wilderness.
A new political
dispensation will require a commission of inquiry into the
judiciary
appointments, conduct of judges in the past decade to present, and
such
recommendations that will restore the people’s faith in the
judiciary.
There is no significant difference between the judiciary and
financial
institutions. They are both sensitive and need the confidence of
the public.
Any external unorthodox pressures dent their reputations.
Banks can twist in
the wind and go under should there be a run on deposits.
With a pliant and
timid judiciary, no one wants to invest in a country in
which no justice can
be guaranteed if political pressure is applied on their
investments. The
rule of law is key for political and economic
stability.
Currently, any politically sensitive case would require a
judge with steel
nerves to resist attendant pressure. If you are given to
superstition, you
certainly need to oil your face with lion fat before
wearing those flowing
red and grey robes.
Sagomba is a locally-trained
lawyer.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Opinion
WHILE
the call to have a peaceful electoral environment is critical in the
administration of the coming elections, it is important to note that the
presence of law and order and consequently the absence of political violence
are not adequate ingredients to foster a credible electoral
process.
Opinion by Pedzisayi Ruhanya
A transparent voter
registration process is a key component of a democratic
electoral
process.
From my observations of the voter registration shenanigans
taking place
under the watch of the Registrar-General’s office (RG), with
the
acquiescence of the Zimbabwe Election Commission (Zec), it seems the
manipulation of the electoral process is already underway through the voter
registration process and ultimately the configuration of the voters’
roll.
It would be disingenuous for political and civic actors to only
concentrate
on the political environment without giving due attention to the
state of
the voters’ roll and the registration process.
Clearly forces
bent on frustrating the democratic process have invested
effort, time and
resources into influencing and manipulating the outcome of
the elections by
compromising the integrity of the voters’ roll and masking
their trickery
with limited instances of overt violence and intimidation.
Zanu PF and
its surrogate electoral institutions’ political strategy has
shifted
following the realisation that overt violence and intimidation will
ultimately deny them the regional and international legitimacy they so
desperately need.
Judging by how Zimbabweans with foreign parentage
–– the so-called aliens ––
are finding it difficult to register and the
opaque nature of the process,
it becomes clear there are concerted efforts
to manipulate the voters’ roll
to influence the electoral
outcome.
The focus for the pro-democracy lobby groups should be to ensure
a
transparent and open voter registration process and updated voters’ roll
to
avoid the pitfalls of yet another disputed result and possibly another
government of national unity.
Zanu PF’s attempt to influence the
electoral process through manipulation of
the voter registration process is
being aided and abetted by some partisan
elements within the RG’s office and
Zec, some of whom were responsible for
running disputed elections such as
the violent June 2008 presidential
run-off.
Some of the officials
were seconded from the security establishment after
retiring from active
service.
While it is lawful to have retired officers serving in election
bodies, the
past record of failure and partisanship disqualifies some of
them from
assuming such positions in a democratic society.
Eligible
Zimbabweans should have the unfeterred right to register to vote.
This right
cannot be compromised by partisan officials if the coming general
elections
have any chance of being deemed credible, free and fair.
Recently the
RG’s office and Zec claimed close to a million dead voters have
been
deleted. They also stated that since November 2012, 62 245 new names
were
added on the voters’ roll. These statistics need to be corroborated by
civic
society and political parties pushing for a transparent electoral
process.
Added to this, there have been reports people seeking to
register to vote
for the first time are failing to do so due to bureaucratic
bungling and
systematic disenfranchisement by the RG’s office.
If only 60
000 people have registered to vote in the last four years then
Zec and the
RG’s office need to do more to remove the hurdles in the voter
registration
process.
The disenfranchisement of voters by these bodies should be
nipped in the bud
to ensure all Zimbabweans can participate in electoral
processes.
Most people, especially young voters, are also being turned
away from
registering to vote because officials demand proof of residence
despite most
urbanites being tenants.
The decision by cabinet to
relax the proof of residence requirements is not
being applied uniformly
particularly in areas where the majority of eligible
voters are deemed
supporters of the MDC parties.
These loopholes cumulatively influence the
electoral outcome.
For instance, in the 2002 presidential election Zanu
PF was accused of
rigging polls in Harare by reducing the number of polling
stations while
electoral officials were accused of deliberately conducting
their duties
slowly, resulting in congestion at polling stations.
The
so-called aliens also face an uphill task in acquiring birth
certificates,
requisite for also getting national identity documents. As a
result a number
of them are unable to register as voters because they would
do not have
identity documents.
This will ultimately benefit Zanu PF which is using
every available loophole
and opportunity to disenfranchise citizens who are
perceived to be hostile
to its political agenda.
In authoritarian
regimes, elections are merely a means by which the ruling
elites consolidate
their hegemony. Under this scenario, the electoral
process, environment and
administration are crafted to deliver a
pre-determined outcome of regime
retention and continuity.
A credible and impartial RG’s office is a
critical factor in attempts to
deliver a democratic electoral process and
outcome culminating in a smooth
transfer of power in Zimbabwe. This office
has been a monumental failure and
all eyes must focus on its activities
before it is too late.
Elections can be perceived as a barometer for
defining democracy. A modern
state could be perceived as having a democratic
political system if its most
powerful political office bearers are chosen
through fair, honest, periodic
elections in which candidates freely compete
for votes in a system allowing
for universal suffrage.
The RG’s office
and Zec secretariat, as currently composed, cannot deliver
free and fair
elections.
These two offices are a breeding ground for subverting the
will of the
people.
Ruhanya is director of Zimbabwe Democracy
Institute.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Opinion
DEBATE on
indigenisation of Zimbabwe’s financial sector has occupied
centre-stage for
the last two or three years with the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ)
expressing unhappiness over the “one-size-fits-all” method of
implementing
this long-overdue and desirable programme.
Opinion by Gideon
Gono
Strategists the world over are familiar with the saying that “the
devil is
in the detail”, in this case of implementation, while those in the
legal
fraternity will warn you against ignoring “the small
print”.
This installment seeks to highlight our experiences and why the
financial
sector ought to be treated with caution and why the
“one-size-fits-all”
approach to indigenisation of the financial services
sector is considered to
be inappropriate, disruptive and dangerous, hence
our view that any “deals”
that foreign banks in this market voluntarily or
involuntarily enter into
and sign-off without our prior approval will remain
“deals on paper” —
basically null and void.
Role of RBZ in
indigenisation
Like any national programme, the indigenisation and economic
empowerment
programme must be implemented in a manner that respects the
entire
legislative mapping of Zimbabwe as represented by various pieces of
legislation on our books that seek to create checks and balances against
potentially domineering legislative elephants in the living room, so to
speak.
The following are some of the critical pieces of legislation
and regulatory
frameworks to be respected: Banking Act, Chapter 24:20;
Reserve Bank Act,
Chapter 22:15; Exchange Control Act, Chapter 22:05; Public
Finance
Management Act, Chapter 22:19; Procurement Act, Chapter 22:14;
Arbitration
Act, Chapter 7:15; Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection
Agreements;
Competition Act, Chapter 14:28 and Corporate Governance
Framework for
Parastatals of which National Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Board
is part of.
In view of the above plethora of legal
instruments, the current seemingly
unilateral approach to implementing the
indigenisation can only lead to
fictional results akin to the mining deals
involving Zimplats, Unki and
Mimosa which will have to be renegotiated and
submitted to us for approval
for them to become “real”.
In the
banking sector, and as the law stands, it is only the central bank
that has
been conferred with legal powers to issue or withdraw banking
licenses and
that is the practice the world over.
Furthermore, as a central bank, we
are duty-bound by local Banking Act
(Chapter 24:20) and RBZ Act (Chapter
22:15) as well as international laws
and conventions, to check, verify and
certify that people wishing to be
shareholders or group of shareholders of
any financial institution in our
backyard are identifiable men and women or
institutions of impeccable
credentials.
My position on
indigenisation
I am on record, as far back as 2007, as having been one of the
first public
officials to hail the government for passing the then
long-overdue
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.
The central
bank’s voice on this subject is, therefore, as old as the
enactment of the
law itself. On October 1 2007, while presenting my monetary
policy
statement, I said:
“As monetary authorities, we fully support the noble
objective of empowering
the majority of Zimbabweans through the introduction
of enabling statutes
that expand wider, the involvement of the people in the
mainstream economy.
“Noble as this objective is, our well-considered
advice to legislators and
government in general is that a fine balance
should be struck between the
objectives of indigenisation and the need to
attract foreign investment.
“Specifically, the local-foreign ownership
thresholds must be taken and
implemented as down–the-horizon targets, as
opposed to excitable but
impractical overnight conversion events.”
I
also went further in the same statement to give advice to government well
before the current officials in the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment had been appointed.
“Of particular concern to us
as monetary authorities would be any attempts
to forcibly push the envelope
of indigenisation into the delicate area of
banking and finance. To this
end, we call upon those with interests in the
financial sector to approach
the central bank with their applications for
new banking
licences.
“It is important to note that this comment comes against a
background of
reported incidences involving well-connected personalities who
are
positioning themselves to muscle into certain mining, manufacturing,
financial and other entities that are currently performing well and
contributing to the foreign currency inflows of the country.”
It is
against the above background that the entire new board of the central
bank
unanimously passed a resolution in support of the indigenisation at its
meeting of July 31 2012 which resolution, as governor, I disseminated to the
public through the my monetary policy statement of the same date, stating:
“That the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe supports the government’s indigenisation
and empowerment policies as enunciated in relevant statutes and regulations.
It is fully supportive of the need to ensure that the indigenous people of
Zimbabwe are capacitated to engage in the entire spectrum of Zimbabwean
economic activities including the financial services sector. However, the
bank has reservations concerning implementation of the
policies.
“That the Reserve Bank is conscious of the sensitivities
surrounding the
economy, particularly the banking sector and mining sectors.
It supports the
implementation of indigenisation and economic empowerment
regulations in the
various sectors and is of the view that they should be
done in a manner that
preserves confidence. Any adverse developments in the
banking sector could
grind economic activity in Zimbabwe to a
halt.
“That this is particularly so, given that regional and
international banks
in the local banking industry play a pivotal role in
providing the vital
link between the domestic economy and the international
community,
particularly through correspondent banking
relationships.
“In this context, the need to reconcile the indigenisation
regulations and
other Acts of Parliament cannot be over-emphasised. As such,
the
implementation of the indigenisation and economic empowerment provisions
has
to be done in harmony with the Banking Act and Regulations, RBZ Act,
Exchange Control Act and Regulations, Companies Act, Mines and Minerals Act,
Zimbabwe Investment Act and other existing legislations.”
Thus
acknowledging the above as given, it is a total misrepresentation of my
position as governor to suggest that I or my management team and board are
opposed to the indigenisation programme. Nothing can be further from the
truth.
Banking sector architecture
From the early 1990s, the
financial sector is one of the sectors which
benefitted immensely from
liberalisation of the economy. From a sector which
was largely dominated by
a few foreign-owned institutions to the current
standing where the majority
of banks (71%) are locally-owned.
Currently, there are 24 banking
institutions in the country, of which only
seven (29%) are foreign-owned and
internationally active banks. The
international banks are among the
country’s systemically important banking
institutions whose condition needs
to be safeguarded at all times.
In the interest of clarity and common
understanding, a systemically
important institution is one whose size,
complexity, scale of operations and
connectedness to the local and foreign
financial and other economic systems
is such that an event within or
surrounding it would have far reaching
implications for others and economic
sectors within a given jurisdiction.
There are 24 mainstream banking
institutions namely commercial banks (17),
merchant banks (2), building
societies (4) and savings bank (1).
In addition, there are 164 licenced
microfinance institutions (MFIs), 53
money lending institutions (MLIs) and
16 asset management companies (AMCs)
in Zimbabwe spread throughout the
country giving the following outlook as
illustrated above:
If we are
talking about sectoral institutional ownership and outlook
regardless of
size, the above picture tells a story which we cannot ignore
when it comes
to how open the financial sector is to new indigenous
entrants.
As
for size, it is a function of age, market confidence, capitalisation,
reputation, stability, and international connections, among other
factors.
The seven foreign owned banks (3%) command US$250 million (36%)
of the
sector’s US$700 million paid-up capital of which 64% (US$450 million)
is
held by 97% of the market players who are indigenous.
In terms of
deposits, indigenous banks cumulatively hold about US$3 billion
(70%) in
total deposits, while the foreign-owned institutions hold US$1,3
billion
(30%) of total deposits as at March 29, 2013.
In terms of the loan book,
out of a total market book of US$3,6 billion,
indigenous owned banks had a
loan book of about US$2,7 billion (75%), while
the seven foreign-owned banks
have extended loans of about US$900 million
(25%).
From the above, it
is clear that the “rush” to indigenise the banking sector
is more driven by
emotions and an uninformed perspective than by necessity.
When all is
said and done, on banks we should all ask ourselves the
question: Whose
money do we want to indigenise? No wonder over US$2 billion
is circulating
in the informal sector, thus adversely causing serious
liquidity challenges
for the economy, apart from chasing away investors. We
are shooting
ourselves in the foot through such ill-advised demands.
What needs to be
done
There is need for more creativity, co-operation confidence and leverage
strategy to secure more benefits for indigenous people through foreign
networks and associations.
As chief superintendent of the Zimbabwe’s
banking sector, I’m on record
emphasising that foreign-owned banks will need
to comply with the country’s
indigenisation laws over a mutually agreed
period of time and in proportions
that allow foreign shareholders to feel
comfortable that they can still
leave their names, brands and systems
attached to the same indigenised
institutions.
In other words, we
need to “hurry slowly”. We can achieve the desired
benefits through other
creative means such as lending quotas, mobilisation
of support lines of
credit and supply-side empowerment.
It is important that the process does not
disconnect the local institutions
from their original parentage as doing so
would be to throw away serious
associational benefits to the country that
come with those connections.
The benefits I am referring to include,
among others, access to lines of
credit, latest technology platforms,
training and exposure to international
best practices, strength through
adequate capitalisations as and when
required, access to international
networks as well as customer confidence
arising from the mere knowledge that
local outfits are part of an
international balance sheet of both financial
and technical capabilities,
products and a recognised brand network that can
be counted upon in
international business transactions, travel, investment
advice and general
services.
Historically and even today for
instance, close to 90% of all lines of
credit for our tobacco auction-floor
purchases, cotton and other external
funding requirements come through these
foreign owned banks and trying to
change their ownership in a unstructured
and reckless manner can only be
counter-productive at a time when indigenous
owned banks, save for a few,
are struggling to meet basic minimum standards
of capitalisation,
international networks, brand recognition internationally
and capacity to
mobilise meaningful international lines of credit for the
country’s needs.
My next installment will show the potential impact and
far-reaching
consequences to the economy of unstructured and emotive
interventions on
banks if that is allowed to happen.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Opinion
Muckraker has
warned that there are external pressures being brought to bear
at the Herald
and Sunday Mail that prevent them from carrying major news
items or see
those items manipulated to suit Zanu PF’s electoral needs.
By the
MuckRacker
A good example was evident on Monday. Herald political editor
Hebert Zharare
repeated the tired myth that US sanctions were signed into
law “as
punishment for government’s decision to acquire white-held farms for
resettlement”.
In fact they were drafted in response to electoral
violence and
manipulation. The Americans had no objection to land
redistribution.
Why should they?
Putting a damper
Over the
weekend the Herald told us what a “damp squib” Morgan Tsvangirai’s
regional
tour had been.
On Monday the Daily News carried a story in which Ivory
Coast prime minister
Daniel Kablan Duncan warned Zimbabwe should not be
allowed to replicate his
country’s electoral dispute which sparked a
four-month civil war.
Tsvangirai urged the Economic Community Of West
African States (Ecowas) to
ensure the environment in Zimbabwe was conducive
to the holding of free and
fair elections. Ivory Coast is currently chair of
Ecowas.
Tsvangirai emphasised the need to implement all outstanding
reforms under
the GPA including public media reforms.
Now we can see
why. Those feeding the public press are dishonestly omitting
and
manipulating election-related stories.
Between the lines
The main
reason they are denouncing Tsvangirai’s tour is the discovery the
African
Union, Sadc and Ecowas are speaking with one voice on the Zimbabwe
crisis.
It must be very annoying for the former ruling party. So how
does it
respond? The Herald puts the Gupta story in a prominent
position.
President Jacob Zuma was among those giving Tsvangirai a warm
welcome. It
was always said of Izvestia in the Soviet Union that analysts
needed to read
between the lines to find out what was really going
on.
However tempting it may be to gloat over Zuma’s discomfort, the Gupta
story
has a dimension for us as well as South Africa: this is what happens
when
power is abused.
Zharare by the way told us Tsvangirai “sneaked
back home after (his) damp
squib tour”.
Who is the sneak here?
Journalists who parrot the regime’s mantras or prime
ministers who insist
free and fair elections?
An inconvenient truth
By far the most
interesting story for both our media and the international
press was the
revelation by Zambian Vice-President Guy Scott who told the
Guardian that
Mugabe really wanted to go.
We had a hint of this at the Independence Day
celebrations but here was
confirmation in all its glory. Mugabe was an
Englishman, Scott declared, and
he wanted to step down and retire. To the
Home counties we assume?
“I think if you asked him he would say it was
enough,” Scott told the
Guardian. That’s what he said to us a few months
ago. I said the way forward
in African democracy is the way we do it in
Zambia.”
“He said ‘I absolutely agree. I wish it would happen to
me’.”
Asked if that meant losing an election, he said “Yes, and a smooth
handover.”
“I think he meant it or he was toying with the idea of
meaning it,” Scott
said.
“He’s a funny chap,” Scott continued. “He
seems to doze off and then he
suddenly laughs at a joke in the middle of
dozing. And very articulate,
without a note, without a scrap of
anything.”
You can see now why the Herald omitted this story. It is entirely
credible
given what he said at the National Sports Stadium. And given his
published
liking for Scott it would be difficult to repudiate.
Zanu PF is
in a fix here. How can they fight an election led by a leader who
would
rather not be contesting?
The First Zoo
Has the Amai Grace School
and Children’s Home in Mazowe become a zoo, a
reader wanted to know?
Everybody is required to see the children. They are
paraded for the benefit
of VIP visitors and television cameras.
The Malawi head of state was taken
out to Mazowe as was a visiting sheikh.
This week it was the turn of the
wives of intelligence bosses. Don’t the
children get any peace? Don’t they
have rights, our reader asked?
Muckraker thinks we must respect the rights of
children.
After the CIO bosses’ tour, Amai Mugabe complained that Zimbabwe
continued
to get negative media publicity “when the situation was different
on the
ground”.
Is it any different?
Two of our journalists were
arrested this week for publishing a story
“prejudicial to the state”. Did
Amai Mugabe tell the visiting wives the
circumstances in which she acquired
the land for the school and Gushungo
dairy?
What happened to the elderly
couple that were dispossessed to make room for
her scheme?
We were
interested to note the wife of the Nigerian head of security holding
forth
on such an “impressive” scheme.
She didn’t say that Zimbabwean commercial
farmers were in Nigeria providing
fresh dairy products which her country had
been unable to provide itself.
Shamu at it again!
Meanwhile
Webster Shamu chose the wrong occasion to gloat over Zanu PF’s
credentials.
Zanu PF emphasises on “tried and tested leadership”,
Shamu declared as he
had to deal with the issue of Zanu PF Manicaland
chairman Mike Madiro and
his deputy Dorothy Mabika who face stock theft
charges after they allegedly
stole 10 beasts meant as donations for the 21st
February Movement.
“Zimbabweans now understand the difference between MDC
and Zanu PF, as the
former has reflected its true colours with corruption in
all local
authorities they dominate,” Shamu added despite leaders from his
own party
being accused of corruption.
As if Shamu’s utterances were not
ironic and damning enough, he went on to
blame the suffering Zimbabweans
have gone through to “illegal” sanctions.
The reason for our suffering is
pretty clear from where we are standing!
Govt on the prowl
Another
year, another Hifa. This is one of Zimbabwe’s finest products the
intelligence bosses’ wives didn’t see.
Muckraker’s favourite was the
giant puppets, one looking suspiciously like
our esteemed leader.
The
trouble is Zimbabwe’s officialdom see the week-long show as an
opportunity
to fleece foreigners. The owners of the puppets and other
foreign artistes
were told they should obtain a work permit which would cost
Hifa a total of
US$20 000.
They fought Zimra all the way but in the end, exhausted, they
gave in. Two
days later they got a letter from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
It excused them from obtaining a work permit. Do you think they
got their
money back?
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Opinion
As the
rhetoric and clamour for elections gathers momentum, it is convenient
to
warn fellow citizens of the challenges that lie ahead.
Opinion by William
Muchayi
The formation of the inclusive government in 2008 masked
deep-rooted decay
in the politics of this country and it is these challenges
that haunt and
will continue troubling citizens as we approach elections and
thereafter.
It has been the suspicion of many within and outside
opposition circles that
MDC-T leader Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
defeated President Robert
Mugabe convincingly in the first round of
elections in 2008, but was robbed
of victory as the latter connived with
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)
to create a false scenario in which none
of the adversaries scored more than
the 50% benchmark to have outright
victory, hence the need for a run-off.
Social media reports say
Tsvangirai garnered 67% of the vote compared to
Mugabe’s mere 28,7% in the
2008 presidential election.
However, with the help of Zec and the
military Tsvangirai was robbed of
victory culminating in the run-off which
he boycotted in protest against
intimidation and violence.
Five years
after the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), it is
regrettable
that no meaningful reforms have been implemented. The security
sector is
still as intact as it was before.
The same generals who were behind the
2008 violence are still fully
entrenched in their political war trenches,
with some of them even promoted
to higher ranks as a reward for the role
they played in propping the regime
up.
Recently State Security
minister Sydney Sekeramayi was quoted as saying
calls for the security
sector reform are uncalled for as they are tantamount
to demands for regime
change.
For Mugabe, maintaining the status quo in the security sector is
a matter of
survival as opposed to luxury. He has lost support among the
electorate and
for him to maintain power, he needs the backing of the
military.
Much is also at stake for the generals. Victory for MDC-T would
leave them
vulnerable as they would be forced to answer to charges of human
rights
abuses which hang around their necks.
Also, they cannot afford
to let go all the fortune they have amassed
throughout Mugabe’s reign.
Moreover, they are following events in other
parts of the continent, for
instance, the surrender of Bosco Ntaganda of the
DRC before the
International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Because of that, Mugabe will
never give in to demands for security sector
reforms and the opposition has
to live with this reality. Mugabe’s mentality
and that of his security
chiefs has not changed, hence they will fight tooth
and nail to rob
Tsvangirai of victory again.
Faced with this stark reality, the MDC-T
seems powerless to effect change
from within as was the hope when they
entered into the government of
national unity. The political and electoral
playing field has remained in
Mugabe’s favour. A relapse into violence as
experienced in 2008 is
inevitable.
There has been no meaningful
reforms, including on the media, since 2008.
The clampdown by the partisan
police on people using small wind-up radios is
an attempt by Mugabe to
restrict the electorate’s access to information.
The dysfunctional ZBC
that propagates Zanu PF propaganda is viewed by the
regime as the right
official source of information for the electorate. The
awarding of licences
to two new players to broadcast is a non-event as they
are all linked to the
regime.
In a sense, it is just an extension of Zanu PF’s control of the
airwaves.
The Public Order and Security Act and Access to Information and
Protection
of Privacy Act are still at the regime’s disposal to stifle
freedom of
speech and expression.
Perpetrators of the 2008 atrocities
are still roaming the streets with none
of them having been brought before
the courts of law. The thugs are
well-known, but are protected by those who
use them. Most of them are
reported to be on government payroll and in wait
for a call to unleash
terror.
The judiciary, on the other hand, is
rendered powerless to prosecute the
criminals as it is compromised in favour
of the executive. As a result,
victims of politically-motivated violence
remain vulnerable as they are not
protected by the institutions meant to
protect them.
Zec as well as the Registrar-General (RG)’s Office have not
been reformed
enough for the electorate to have confidence in them. As in
2008, Mugabe is
likely to rely on these two institutions to rig the
forthcoming elections in
a smarter way than before. Violence in the
forthcoming elections, however,
is likely to be on a smaller scale than that
of 2008 for a number of
reasons.
Firstly, Mugabe is old and tired and
these elections are likely to be his
last. As such, he may want to leave the
stage peacefully. Jerry Rawlings of
Ghana left the stage in the same
fashion.
Secondly, a repeat of the 2008 violence will not work in
Mugabe’s favour
especially taking into consideration the pressure from Sadc.
Mugabe does not
want to be on a collision course with Sadc at a time he is
shunned by the
international community.
He may appear to be snubbing
South African President and Sadc-appointed
facilitator on Zimbabwe, Jacob
Zuma in public, but privately, he is well
aware that being isolated by Sadc
will not help his cause.
Thirdly, no one and even Mugabe himself would
dream of a return to the
economic meltdown of 2008. Because of the above
reasons, elections are
likely to be rigged in a smarter way with the help of
Zec and the RG’s
Office.
Instead of withholding election results for
ages, this time the shock
results are to be announced within
days.
Despite reports that Zec is staffed with personnel from the secret
service,
it would be interesting to note that it is going to be the
playground where
elections are to be won or lost.
The MDC-T might
have played a part in the restructuring of Zec, but it is a
fact that theirs
was a peripheral role as Mugabe dictated the tempo.
The resignation of
Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe and the subsequent
appointment of Rita Makarau
can best be understood in this context which
then tells you who is likely to
win the forthcoming elections.
The role of the RG’s Office is also
significant in shaping the outcome of
the elections. The RG’s Office has
been instrumental in the past in
facilitating the regime’s rigging mechanism
and the same office has been
left almost untouched leaving Mugabe with
enough room to manouevre.
The recent persecution of human rights
activists, NGOs and journalists as
well as members of the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission is a clear signal
of Mugabe’s
intentions.
Although he appears to condemn the arrests and harassment of
rights
activists in public, in private he approves of them.
If he is
to be taken seriously, he should acknowledge that he is now
powerless to
control his marauding militias. However, reality on the ground
seems to
imply that he is still in control, but is reluctant to instill
discipline in
them as they are his source of power. Without them he is
finished and they
cannot do without him as theirs is a symbiotic
relationship.
Mugabe
will push for elections before the end of June and his excuse as
usual will
be the need to abide by the constitution, but at the same time it
is a ploy
to do away with talk of reforms before elections.
The MDC parties will
find it difficult to stop him from declaring elections
before June unless
pressure comes from Zuma and other regional leaders.
Whether Sadc will
succeed in forcing Mugabe to implement the remaining
reforms before
elections remains to be seen. If no meaningful reforms are
implemented, a
return to the chaotic elections is a possibility.
As advised, Zimbabweans
should have Plan “B” on the table. In the event that
Mugabe steals the vote
again, what can be done? Mugabe will not go
peacefully as Rawlings did in
Ghana and Kaunda in Zambia. What he and his
generals need are guarantees of
protection in exchange for leaving office.
If Zimbabweans forgave Ian
Smith and his generals, then why not their own
wayward sons? If Ghanaians
forgave Rawlings and the Pakistanis Pervez
Musharaf, why would Zimbabweans
deny Mugabe and his generals the same
forgiveness? It is guarantees of
protection and forgiveness that Mugabe and
his generals need before
relinquishing power.
However, it is those who acknowledge their blunders
who should qualify for
an amnesty, but Mugabe and his generals have not
shown any remorse at all.
Pardoning them without them acknowledging their
guilty is like rewarding
vice with virtue.
The last question is: who
is it they trust if an olive branch is extended to
them as a gesture of
goodwill? In life, there are some truths we will have
to learn to live with
although we may not want to think of them as reality
but just
dreams.
Muchayi is a local political analyst. E-mail: wmuchayi@gmail.com
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Opinion
ONCE again we are facing a
bank crisis as shown by the report we are
carrying on our front page in the
midst of an economic malaise all along
concealed by the multi-currency
regime and exchange rate stabilisation since
2009.
Zimbabwe
Independent Editorial
Since 2004, Zimbabwe has witnessed a series of bank
collapses due to
economic problems, liquidity crunch in particular, and
gross mismanagement,
including theft and abuse of depositors’
funds.
As usual, the banks affected are indigenous. This is not to say
that there
is something wrong with indigenous ownership of banks, but
suffice to say
most local banks are struggling.
And yet there is
clamour in some misguided quarters to take over
international banks despite
clear signs this would destabilise the banking
sector and unravel the gains
of indigenisation made so far.
The latest problem at Kingdom Bank shows
there is a deep-seated crisis in
this sector. This is a reflection of the
broad picture of inept political
leadership and policy
failures.
Zimbabwe is always hurtling from one policy to another due to
lack of
leadership and vision. Our rulers simply don’t know how to manage a
modern
economy and the consequences of their misrule are there for all to
see.
Even the most blind of their apologists can see the ravages of their
misrule.
Many may have by now forgotten about one Roger Boka, the
first indigenous
Zimbabwean to own a bank. He never worked in a bank before
so as to
understand the subtleties of running a financial
institution.
However, to his credit the man was an outstanding
businessman, a pathfinder
of unequalled status.
He built a successful
business empire that spanned commerce, agriculture and
mining. Long before
government ever thought of indigenisation, Boka had made
his own forays. The
Boka Tobacco Auction Floors are a living testimony to
his
entrepreneurship.
That was nearly two decades before government adopted
its indigenisation
policy, showing Boka was ahead of his time.
The Boka
legacy, however, met its nemesis the minute his adventurous spirit
led him
to the heart of the financial services sector.
United Merchant Bank (UMB)
became a misadventure that tainted his otherwise
astounding business
success. UMB collapsed like a deck of cards, never to
recover. And so did
the other UMB (Universal Merchant Bank).
Henceforth, a list of casualties
followed, First National Building Society,
Time Bank, Zimbabwe Building
Society, Trust Bank, Royal Bank, Barbican, and
others. Of course Trust and
Royal made a comeback before Royal was closed
again.
Trust, Royal and
Barbican were eventually collapsed into ZABG before their
assets were
separated.
Fast-forward to the dollarisation era and yet some more
collapses that
included Renaissance Merchant Bank, Interfin and Genesis were
recorded. Some
of those clamouring for indigenisation of banks had interests
in the
collapsed institutions.
And yet, in this sea of financial
turbulence, the international banks,
Standard Chartered, Barclays, Stanbic
and MBCA remain steady. CBZ, which at
one time had some Absa shareholding,
is a good example of local success
though. These banks are doing well
because of prudence.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Opinion
WITH critical
elections inexorably drawing closer, Zimbabwe is hurtling down
a familiar
path as the usual suspects, Zanu PF, marshals its formidable
state machinery
against those perceived to be working against its interests.
Candid
Comment with Stewart Chabwinja
As part of the party’s trademark crackdown
integral to its poll
preparations, this week our editor Dumisani Muleya and
chief reporter Owen
Gagare were arrested and charged with contravening the
Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act allegedly for publishing
falsehoods.
Needless to say this is a clear case of harassment from the
Zanu PF-aligned
state machinery quick to resort to an array of weapons that
include Aippa,
Posa, the Official Secrets Act and Criminal Law Act to clamp
down on the
private media, civil society and other progressive forces. Our
“crime” is
simple: honouring our pledge to shine a light in dark places,
scrutinise the
executive and hold the powerful to account in the public
interest.
Despite the private media’s adherence to media ethics through
well-sourced
stories and affording those concerned the right of reply, the
state’s
hostility towards us is being ratcheted up, with reporters at our
sister
paper, NewsDay, being summoned by police last week over their
stories.
This was just part of a broader clampdown whose repressive
script also
features the seizure this week of 15 poll campaign bikes
belonging to the
MDC-T and attacks on civic groups.
Contrast this to
the fact the state media — part of the formidable pro-Zanu
PF state
apparatus — appears to have the licence to malign those opposed to
the
interests of Zanu PF and President Robert Mugabe without risking
arrest.
We are not calling for the arrest or harassment of our state
media
colleagues, but it is inconceivable that they have never fallen foul
of the
draconian media laws like us.
The ritualistic suppression of
pro-democracy forces which includes
systematic onslaught against the private
media and all dissenting voices is
as futile as it is anachronistic in an
age when cyberspace and the social
media have rapidly expanded the frontiers
of freedom of expression beyond
our wildest dreams.
Ancient
repressive laws meant to muzzle the media will fail; cyberspace has
no
respect for national boundaries with information spreading in real-time
while preserving anonymity.
The bad news for regimes and despots
whose continued reign is innately tied
to their ability to misinform their
subjects or keep them in the throes of
darkness and ignorance is that the
digital tide is irresistible.
With digital revolution, repressive regimes
stuck in a time warp are
increasingly powerless to control what their people
watch, read or listen
to, and hence their thoughts. The Arab Spring
immediately comes to mind.
True to form, some of Zimbabwe’s political
elite appear to have drawn no
lessons from the WikiLeaks exposé which
unmasked them as hypocrites, despite
their oft-reprised claims of patriotism
and allegiance to party leaders. It
is the same hypocrites who wish to set
the agenda for the private media by
dictating the national interest and what
should be published. It won’t work.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 10, 2013 in Opinion
YOU don’t need to be
particularly clever, intelligent or a security expert
to see what’s going on
with regards to the arrest of our chief reporter Owen
Gagare and myself this
week at the behest of the forces of darkness for
running a story based on
what Housing minister Giles Mutsekwa had told us on
record regarding his
meetings with senior security service chiefs to discuss
electoral issues and
post-election political scenarios.
Editor’s Memo with Dumisani
Mleya
Of course, there has been some hysterical official reactions to
what
Mutsekwa said even though the minister, a former soldier as well as
defence
and security secretary for the MDC-T, has held firm.
Although
he has taken a lot of flak from angry military commanders and his
own
political party, Mutsekwa has stood firm in the face of adversity and
remained calm.
But what is striking is the intensity of anger which
the story provoked,
triggering our arrest for merely doing our
job.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba was the first to react
publicly,
saying the story was a “major lie coming from a Rhodesian
major”.
Mutsekwa however hit back, telling Charamba to keep away as he is
not part
of the army.
Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri
said service chiefs had no
time to engage “confused
malcontents”.
Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) commander General Constantine
Chiwenga was
furious, describing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as a
“sell-out” and
“psychiatric patient who seems to be suffering from
hallucinations”.
Needless to say, this was all over the top.
While
Charamba and Chihuri were temperate by the regime’s brazen standards,
there
was also a hint of threats in their statements.
This is very strange, yet
not really difficult to understand.
But then, it also raises questions as to
why they were so agitated. If we
first go by what Mutsekwa said, the
question is: were security chiefs’ talks
with him authorised by President
Robert Mugabe? If not, who did and what was
happening then? If they were
authorised, why the hysteria?
If Mutsekwa is lying, as they claim, why
not just call his bluff and expose
him for what he is? And why do the powers
that be react as if this was the
first time such a thing has happened
here?
Ahead of the 2002 presidential election, didn’t former MDC MPs Job
Sikhala,
who was secretary for defence and security, and Tafadzwa Musekiwa
hold talks
with Air Marshal Perence Shiri?
In January 2003, didn’t
Tsvangirai reveal he had held talks with retired
Colonel Lionel Dyke who
said he was acting on behalf of the late ZDF chief
Vitalis Zvinavashe and
Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa?
So what is the fuss all about and
what is going on here? Well, the truth is,
we simply don’t know. What we do
know is Zimbabwe’s military as presently
configured, a product of
integration of former liberation forces and their
adversaries, has always
been involved in partisan politics since 1980.
As a result of the role of
the military in politics and elections, the issue
of security sector reform
is looming large now.
During political transitions, especially after
conflict, as was the case in
1980, the military is always a factor and how
it is managed is a big issue.
That is why there is so much sensitivity
because the next elections are
critical and could produce outcomes in which
the military’s reaction can be
either a source of stability or
instability.
So it’s not surprising journalists, digging around this
issue and writing
inconvenient reports, will naturally be targeted.
But
our arrest was uncalled for.
