http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009 21:25
WITH nine
days left before its first 100 days in office, the inclusive
government is
locked in infighting over a whole range of issues and is
limping on as it
faces a growing threat of paralysis.
The latest in a series of
battles within government is a fight over
donor funds.
It has
emerged that President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF ministers are
not happy
about Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his ministers',
particularly
Finance minister Tendai Biti's, campaign to mobilise donor
funds via
parallel structures which are not part of the government
system.
There were clashes in government this week after
Tsvangirai was barred
by state security guards from entering State House on
Monday to attend a
banquet held by Mugabe for a visiting North Korean
government
delegationTsvangirai could not enter after the guards refused one
of his
convoy vehicles entry, leading him to depart in anger.
Tsvangirai's spokesman James Maridadi confirmed the incident.
"The Prime Minister was invited for the state banquet but could not
get in
as a matter of principle after one of his vehicles was denied entry,"
he
said.
"Instead of wasting time on such trivial issues, he went
back home to
concentrate on the 100-Day Plan which his office formulated and
is now
executing."
Beside this incident, sources said
Mugabe was livid after meeting
Tsvangirai at South African President Jacob
Zuma's swearing-in ceremony in
Pretoria last Saturday. Sources said Mugabe
thought Tsvangirai was not
invited and was certain Zimbabwe would be
represented by Foreign minister
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, First Lady Grace and
himself, only to see Tsvangirai
pitching up.
The sources
said this heightened tensions between them, especially
after the premier had
left the country without the required cabinet
clearance. Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara was also there. Neither
Tsvangirai nor Mutambara
were part of Mugabe's delegation.
Sources said Mugabe and his
ministers feel that Tsvangirai and his
officials are systematically
sidelining them in their initiatives to secure
funds for economic
recovery.
The issue has been raised in government structures
amid growing fears
that it could hamper the resource mobilisation campaign.
Sources said Zanu
PF ministers are worried about Biti's Multi-Donor Trust
Fund and his
proposal to form a "focal unit" within his ministry to receive
donor funds.
The focal unit would coordinate donor funding while the
Multi-Donor Trust
Fund is being established.
The structures
which are not part of the treasury are seen as a threat
by Zanu PF officials
who are scared the funds would be used to hijack the
inclusive
government.
Zanu PF's suspicions are that if the MDC takes
control of the funds it
would be a stronger partner in government and would
use its leverage to
seize power from within.
"There is a
new fight within the government over these donor funds,
especially Biti's
focal unit and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund," a source said
this
week.
"Zanu PF officials think Tsvangirai would grab power
using this
money which is under his minister's control."
Sources said Zanu PF ministers warned Biti to exercise caution in his
engagement with international donors, claiming the donors were trying to
bypass and sideline established government structures as implied in the
proposal to form the Focal Unit and Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
The sources said Zanu PF ministers are demanding that they should be
allowed
to take charge of the country's strategic interests, instead of
leaving them
to the MDC and donors.
After his recent visit to Washington and
London, Biti met donors last
week to set up the Multi-Donor Trust Fund to
mobilise resources via the
Humanitarian-Plus initiative.
The
Multi-Donor Trust Fund would be driven by the World Bank, African
Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme and the Ministry of
Finance. No Zanu PF ministers would be involved directly and the funds would
be administered by Biti.
This is said to be causing
suspicions and frustration among Zanu PF
ministers who were used to managing
the treasury.
Zimbabwe has so far got more than US$1 billion
from donors which is
helpful but a mere pittance in view of its search for
US$10 billion for
economic recovery.
The internal battles
for influence and control within the inclusive
government - reflected in the
tug-of-war between Mugabe and Tsvangirai - are
being fought on many
fronts.
The points of conflict within the divided government,
trying hard to
present a united front even though the political gulf is
increasingly
widening, include:
. Receipt, management
and distribution of donor money through the
focal point and Multi-Donor
Trust Fund;
. Conditions of political and economic reforms attached
to some
donations;
. Engagement with the United States and
European Union over
sanctions via the ministerial task force;
.
The formulation and implementation of the economic recovery plan
and
. The unresolved issues contained in the Global Political
Agreement, especially the role of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and
Attorney-General Johannes Tomana.
Sources said Zanu PF
officials are uncomfortable with the
international community's insistence on
political and economic reforms
before providing aid. Zanu PF ministers also
want their MDC counterparts to
denounce sanctions like Mutambara and push
for immediate talks with US and
EU officials to get them lifted, an approach
not welcome by Tsvangirai and
his group.
Besides, there is
also friction about the economic recovery plan.
Although the Short-Term
Emergency Recovery Programme was initiated by the
MDC, Zanu PF officials are
claiming that most of its content was
"plagiarised" from their policy
documents. A document to substantiate this
has been prepared and would be
presented at an opportune time.
BY DUMISANI MULEYA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
21:08
THE editor of the Zimbabwe Independent Vincent Kahiya and News
Editor
Constantine Chimakure were arrested on Monday on the orders of the
Attorney-General, Johannes Tomana, a cabinet minister told parliament on
Wednesday.
Giles Mutsekwa, the co-Minister of Home Affairs,
told the House of
Assembly that the arrest was effected without his
knowledge or that of
Police Commissioner-General Augustine
Chihuri.
Asked by MDC-T MP for Kwekwe, Blessing Chebundo, if it was
his
ministry's policy to arrest journalists for covering court proceedings
that
highlight matters of public interest, Mutsekwa said his ministry
condemned
the arrest and harassment of journalists.
Mutsekwa
said he had spoken to Chihuri who denied involvement in the
arrest of the
journalists and said he had since asked him to write a report
on what
happened.
He said it was not his ministry's policy to arrest
journalists going
about their normal business.
Mutsekwa
said: "You might probably be aware ... that the
Commissioner-General of the
police who is under my ministry has made a
public statement that he also
disapproves of the arrest of journalists who
are going on with their normal
duties.
"However, in this particular incident, I want the
nation to know that
my ministry was not involved in giving instructions to
arrest. I was also
disgusted that these journalists (Kahiya and Chimakure)
have been arrested."
He said he approached Chihuri to find out
what had transpired.
"The story I got from the
Commissioner-General was that this
particular instruction came through the
Ministry of Justice and particularly
sent by the Attorney-General. I had an
occasion to discuss this issue with
the Attorney-General yesterday (Tuesday)
who admitted to having given the
instruction to the police to incarcerate
the journalists in question.
"I have asked the
Commissioner-General to reduce this to writing so I
can take it up with my
colleague in the Ministry of Justice (Patrick
Chinamasa pictured). I want to
reiterate that it is not my ministry's policy
and I am also completely
disgusted that this took place."
National Constitutional
Assembly chairperson Lovemore Madhuku last
night said the Attorney-General
has no powers to order the police to arrest
anyone, adding if what Mutsekwa
told parliament was true Tomana should be
investigated for interfering with
police work.
"In terms of the constitution, the
Attorney-General has no power to
instruct police to arrest anyone," Madhuku
said. "He is empowered to order
the police Commissioner-General to
investigate the commission of any crime
and report to him. The police should
also not have executed the
instruction."
In terms of the
constitution, the Attorney-General "may require the
commissioner of police
to investigate and report to him on any matter which,
in the
Attorney-General's opinion, relates to any criminal offence or
alleged or
suspected criminal offence, and the commissioner of police shall
comply with
that requirement".
Kahiya and Chimakure were arrested after
presenting themselves at the
Law and Order Section of Harare Central police
station on Monday morning in
the company of their lawyer, Innocent
Chagonda.
They spent the night in custody before they were
taken to court on
Tuesday afternoon and granted a US$200 bail each, and
ordered to report
every Friday at the Law and Order office.
The duo was jointly charged with Zimind Publishers represented by
finance
director Michael Curling. The company was granted free bail.
Chagonda notified the court that he would on May 28 apply for refusal
of
further remand saying allegations against his clients were
malicious.
After the court hearing, Chagonda told journalists:
"We are very happy
that they have been released because my clients believe
this is just
political harassment."
Kahiya and Chimakure
surrendered to the police after three police
officers visited their offices
last Saturday and Monday looking for them. -
Staff Writer.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
21:03
A SPECIAL PF Zapu congress to formalise its breakaway from Zanu
PF
will take place in Bulawayo tomorrow.
The congress will be
held at Macdonald Hall in the populous suburb of
Mzilikazi with delegates
expected from the country's 10 provinces.
PF Zapu national
spokesperson Smile Dube yesterday said: "Everything
is in place and come
Saturday (tomorrow) the special congress will kick-off.
We have delegates
from all the country's 10 provinces and some of them have
started arriving
in the city."
Dube said the congress was expected to endorse PF
Zapu's withdrawal
from the Unity Accord it signed with Zanu PF in December
1987.
"We have called for a special congress to endorse our
official pullout
from Zanu PF and there are no elections to be held during
this special
congress," Dube said.
The revival of PF Zapu
has caused rifts in Zanu PF in Bulawayo. Some
senior Zanu PF members in the
province have since left the party for PF
Zapu.
Former
cabinet minister and Zanu PF politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa
is the interim
leader of PF Zapu and is set to take over on a substantive
basis once
elections are held later this year.
Dube said delegates to the
congress would set a date for elections of
substantive leaders of the
party.
Former PF Zapu stalwarts led by Dabengwa last December
pulled out of
the Unity Accord alleging that Zanu PF had failed to honour
its part of the
bargain 22 years after the deal was
consummated.
BY LOUGHTY DUBE
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
20:41
A LAND ownership wrangle pitting Minister of State Responsible
for
National Healing John Nkomo and Bulawayo businessman Langton Masunda
turned
nasty last Saturday when Masunda's brother was shot five times by
suspected
war veterans reportedly employed by Nkomo.
The
shooting incident occurred on Saturday night after Masunda arrived
at the
disputed Jijima Lodge, Matabeleland North, with his three brothers.
Masunda's younger brother Patrick was allegedly shot after he left the
room
they were in and went outside the lodge to relieve himself.
He
is recovering at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo.
A group of 14
war veterans arrived at the lodge two days before the
incident and camped in
some of the chalets.
Police in Matabeleland North have arrested
one of Nkomo's workers on a
charge of attempted murder over the shooting
incident.
Masunda and Nkomo have been locked in a four-year
land dispute that
includes the ownership of the lodge on the boundary of
their farms.
Last week, Masunda filed an urgent Supreme Court
application seeking
to bar Nkomo from interfering with activities at the
lodge.
Masunda this week claimed to the Zimbabwe Independent
that he was the
target of "hired assassins" and said the shooting of his
brother was a case
of mistaken identity.
"These people
wanted to kill me and since my brother has dreadlocks
just like me they
mistook him for me," Masunda alleged. "This is a sad
development because the
matter is before the courts. We cannot have people
taking the law into their
own hands."
Police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Wayne
Bvudzijena,
confirmed the incident and the arrest of one person over the
shooting and
said investigations were continuing.
"There
was shooting at Jijima Lodge and we have arrested one person
who is
assisting police with investigations into the matter," Bvudzijena
said. "The
shooting victim was initially admitted at St Luke's Hospital, but
has since
been moved to a hospital in Bulawayo."
Since the beginning of
the land wrangle and before the weekend
shooting, Nkomo has had six court
judgements go against him.
Narrating events, Masunda said his
brother was shot five times on the
lower part of the body and by yesterday
still had bullets lodged in him.
He said the first bullet hit
him in the buttocks and when he fell the
assailants continued firing at him
while he was on the ground and shot him
four times in the pelvic
area.
"We then went out (of the room) after hearing the gunfire
and Patrick's
screams for help and found him lying in a pool of blood. We
dragged him to
the car before speeding from the lodge and the assailants
fired at us as we
were driving out of the farm," Masunda
claimed.
BY LOUGHTY DUBE
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
19:34
DIVISIONS in the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC widened this week after
the
party suspended two more MPs on allegations of unbecoming conduct
prejudicial to the party's interest and reputation.
This took
place amid reports the party secretary-general Welshman
Ncube had threatened
to quit the MDC if its leadership refused to take
disciplinary action
against defiant lawmakers and members of the party's
national
executive.
The MDC suspended Gwanda North MP Zinti Mnkandla and
Tsholotsho South
lawmaker Maxwell Dube, bringing to five the number of
legislators the party
has suspended in the past fortnight for allegedly
plotting to ouster the
leadership.
First to be suspended
were Nkayi South MP Abednico Bhebhe, Lupane East
lawmaker Njabuliso Mguni
and Bulilima East legislator Norman Mpofu. The
party also suspended its
national executive members Job Sikhala and Alex
Goosen and youth assembly
chairperson Gift Nyandoro.
Sikhala has since resigned from the
party.
Sources in the MDC said Mnkandla and Dube received their
suspension
letters yesterday dated May 7 and were signed by former MP Trudy
Stevenson
on behalf the national chairman of the party's disciplinary
committee, Lyson
Mlambo.
The two lawmakers will soon be
summoned to a disciplinary hearing on
charges of "conduct unbecoming and
prejudicial to the interest and
reputation of the party".
The sources said the MDC held a management committee meeting in Harare
last
week where Mutambara and his deputy Gibson Sibanda wanted charges
against
the lawmakers and national executive members dropped, but Ncube
reportedly
threatened to quit in protest.
Ncube, with the support of his
deputy Priscillah Misihairabwi-Mushonga
and treasurer-general Fletcher
Dulini Ncube, prevailed and this resulted in
last week's suspension of
Bhebhe, Mguni and Mpofu, Goosen, Sikhala and
Nyandoro.
The
suspended party members were accused of plotting to oust
Mutambara, Ncube
and Misihairabwi-Mushonga for allegedly failing to consult
the party during
talks that culminated in the formation of the inclusive
government on
February 13.
The three party leaders were also accused of
making the MDC an
extension of Zanu PF.
"He (Ncube)
controls the party, his word is final regardless of the
popular sentiments
by members," one of the sources said. "When the
leadership met last week he
threatened to quit if the six party members
where not
suspended."
The sources said Ncube had since instructed
Mlambo's disciplinary
committee to expel from the party the suspended
members. Mlambo yesterday
denied receiving instructions from Ncube, who is
also Minister Industry and
Commerce.
"This is mere
speculation. The disciplinary committee has not yet sat
to hear submissions
from the suspended members. So nobody knows the outcome
of the hearing,"
Mlambo said. "They might not be any expulsion as people are
now
speculating."
Efforts to get a comment from Ncube yesterday
were in vain.
Mpofu yesterday said his suspension was
orchestrated by a senior
leader of the party who was opposed to "dissenting
voices", while Bhebhe
claimed that the disciplinary committee had been
instructed to expel him.
"I understand that there is an
instruction from someone in the
leadership to fire people," Bhebhe
claimed.
"It could be me, Mguni or Mpofu. Our suspension is null
and void and
was unprocedural."
He declined to disclose who
wanted them arrested. Bhebhe said he would
challenge his
suspension.
"I will not attend the disciplinary hearing and I
will not even appeal
the suspension slapped on me," Mguni said. "I will
have to make it clear to
the party leadership that I was voted into power by
the people of Lupane and
that they are the only ones who can suspend me from
representing them."
At the weekend, suspended lawmakers
addressed two rallies in Lupane in
Matabeleland North and Umzingwane in
Matabeleland South where people from
the two areas said were not happy with
the party's decision to suspend the
legislators.
The Lupane
rally held at Mlonyeni was attended by Bhebhe, Dube and
Senator Dalumuzi
Khumalo, while deputy House of Assembly Speaker Nomalanga
Mzilikazi Khumalo
addressed a rally in her Umzingwane constituency where the
state of the
party was discussed, among other issues.
In his address, Bhebhe
lashed at the party leadership and said their
suspension was null and
void.
Bhebhe said. "The decision to suspend us is null and
void. When we
split from the MDC there are some people who said they wanted
to suspend
(Morgan) Tsvangirai and today these are the same people who claim
they have
suspended us. They forget that they are the same people who were
suspended
by the people of Bulawayo during elections last
year."
However, party supporters accused Bhebhe and Mguni of
having misled
them to back the MDC and independent presidential candidate
Simba Makoni in
last year's harmonised polls.
BY NQOBILE BHEBHE
AND LOUGHTY DUBE
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May
2009 19:30
THE arrest of Zimbabwe Independent editor Vincent Kahiya and
news
editor Constantine Chimakure has been roundly condemned locally and
abroad
as an affront to freedom of expression, undermining the inclusive
government
agreement signed last year.
Kahiya and Chimakure
were arrested on Monday for allegedly publishing
falsehoods prejudicial to
the state and appeared in court on Tuesday where
they were released on
bail.
Deputy Information minister Jameson Timba on Tuesday
condemned the
arrest of the veteran journalists.
Updating
journalists in Harare on the all-stakeholders media
conference held in
Kariba at the weekend, Timba said resolutions of the
conference were
eclipsed by the arrest of Kahiya and Chimakure.
"I took an oath
of office to uphold the law of this country. But I did
not agree to laws
that inhibit the work of journalists," Timba said at the
Quill Club, a
meeting place for journalists. "I condemn the arrests of these
journalists
in the course of doing their work. That is an affront to free
speech and
such laws must be reviewed."
The Kariba media conference was
boycotted by various sections of the
media in protest at last week's
re-detention of former television news
anchor Jestina Mukoko and the long
incarceration of freelance journalist
Shadreck Manyere.
Kahiya and Chimakure were arrested over a story published last week
that
named police and security agents who were allegedly involved in the
abduction of rights activists and supporters of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's MDC.
The two were charged with publishing
falsehoods prejudicial to the
state and of undermining public confidence in
the police.
The state alleges the story wrongly identified
agents and police
officers named in court papers as abductors when they were
in fact state
witnesses.
The story, titled "CIO, police
role in activists' abduction revealed",
said the agents' names were on
notices of indictment for trial served on
some of the activists last week.
According to the story, the notices
revealed that the activists were either
in the custody of the CIO or police
during the period they were reported
missing.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said they
were outraged by
the arrest and detention of Chimakure and
Kahiya.
"The arrest and detention of the journalists is, in the
considered
view of ZLHR, unjustifiable and unsustainable," the lawyers said.
"The
article on which the charges appear to be based merely reported on
information contained in indictment papers which had been placed before the
court by the office of the Attorney-General and which are now a matter of
public record. It beggars belief that they are now being prosecuted for
allegedly publishing falsehoods."
The arrest came hot on
the heels of an all-stakeholders' media
conference where it was agreed that
repressive laws should be repealed.
"It (the arrest) is also
yet another slap in the face for the
inclusive government which, in the
provisions of the inter-party political
agreement, has placed emphasis on
the need for media reform, freedom of
expression and access to information,
as well as the security of persons,"
the ZLHR said.
The
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) said the government had scored
an own
goal by arresting the scribes.
"In view of ongoing attempts to
rebrand the country in order to
attract investment and tourism, the latest
move amounts to a spectacular own
goal," said ZUJ secretary-general Foster
Dongozi. "We are actually shocked
that at a time when we are making efforts
to reform media laws, police take
such punitive measures against
journalists," he said.
"We are amazed by this behaviour by the
authorities. It makes us
wonder if government is serious in engaging media
stakeholders or maybe they
are trying to buy time."
Under
the global political agreement signed last September between
President
Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, the
inclusive
government should embark on reforms to create an open media
environment.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa)
said the arrests were
unacceptable and a clear indication that government
was yet to change its
hostile attitude towards the press.
Reporters Without Borders said the arrests of journalists represented
continuing police brutality. The journalists were freed on bail after being
held for 24 hours.
"Zimbabwean journalists continue to be
the victims of police brutality
and judicial abuses," Reporters Without
Borders said "We again appeal to the
authorities to stop these
practices."
The detention of Kahiya and Chimakure came at a
time when the editor
of the Sunday News, Brezhnev Malaba, and reporter
Nduduzo Tshuma were facing
criminal defamation charges for publishing a
story that implicated the
police in a corruption scam involving
grain.
Meanwhile, freelance photographer Shadreck Manyere,
former aide to
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai Gandhi Mudzingwa, and MDC-T
security
director Kisimusi Dhlamini were granted bail on Wednesday after
spending a
long period in custody.
High Court judge,
Justice November Mtshiya ordered the trio to deposit
US$1 000 bail each,
report once every Friday at Mabelreign police station
and to continue
residing at their last given addresses.
They were further
ordered not to interfere with the investigations and
state
witnesses.
The trio faces allegations of bombing two Harare
police stations, a
railway line and a bridge in Norton between August and
November last year.
BY CHRIS MURONZI
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
19:30
POLICE were on Wednesday called in to quell clashes between Zanu
PF
and MDC youth during a poll to elect the leadership of the Bulawayo
chapter
of the Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC) in the spirit of the inclusive
government formed in February.
The fighting took place at
Mhlahlandlela Government Complex after Zanu
PF youths allegedly declined to
share top executive positions they were
holding before the unity government
was formed.
About 200 youths from Zanu PF and MDC were in
attendance. The ZYC
falls under the Youth ministry and its role is to
facilitate, among other
issues, national youth training, employment, access
to resources and
entrepreneurship. The youth council gets its funding from
the fiscus.
Thamsanqa Mahlangu, the deputy Youth minister,
confirmed the clashes
between the MDC and Zanu PF youth.
"There were clashes in Bulawayo because Zanu PF has been abusing the
ZYC and
had turned it into a party property," Mahlangu said. "We are going
to
dissolve the current youth council because it is not inclusive, it is
Zanu-nised."
He said the council was appearing like an
extension of Zanu PF.
"We have agreed to put a new inclusive
structure and to decentralise
the ZYC so that it represents all Zimbabwean
youth across the political
divide," the deputy minister
said.
Witnesses to the clashes said the Zanu PF youths were
adamant that the
top positions they were holding were not for contest as the
MDC were
"newcomers" and did not know how the youth council
operates.
"Zanu PF youth were arguing that they were supposed to be
given all
the top positions without any contest," one of the witnesses
said.
Running battles, the witnesses said, started after the
Zanu PF youths
dug in their heels insisting that they should be allowed to
hang on to the
top positions. Mahlangu said after the Wednesday clashes,
fresh elections
have been slated for today at Mhlahlandlela Government
Complex.
He added that his ministry last week "removed the ZYC
offices from
Zanu PF headquarters" to Mkwati Building in
Harare.
"It is clear that the youth council had been
Zanu-nised. How can you
have an office which is supposed to represent all
Zimbabwean youths being
based at the Zanu PF offices? A large chunk of
taxpayer's money was being
used to fund Zanu PF programmes," Mahlangu
said.
The ZYC's objectives include ensuring that development
strategies and
programmes incorporate youths, developing specific
youth-oriented programmes
that improve the skills of young people through a
range of institutions and
encouraging equal youth employment opportunities
with particular attention
to reducing gender inequalities.
BY
HENRY MHARA AND NQOBANI NDLOVU
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
19:17
ZIMBABWE'S State Enterprises minister on Wednesday called for
quickly
finding investment partners for some state companies to help stem
decades of
losses and rebuild the shattered economy.
Zimbabwe
is trying to recover from a devastating economic crisis that
was marked by
the world's highest inflation rate, shortages of foreign
currency and the
closure of companies, which pushed unemployment past 90%.
State
enterprises have been key in the provision of affordable
services such as
water, transport and electricity, but low tariffs have seen
the companies
recording losses and racking up huge debts of more than US$2
billion.
Minister of State Enterprises and Parastatals
Gabuza Joel Gabbuza said
most of the companies, like electricity utility
Zesa Holdings, transport
entity National Railways of Zimbabwe, Air Zimbabwe
and state broadcaster
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings were operating at
between 8-20% capacity.
The government wholly owns and has
substantial shares in 64 entities,
Gabbuza said.
"One thing
that we have said is needed is the need to immediately
restructure (and)
very soon we will be presenting (proposals) to cabinet on
what needs to be
done for about 10 of them," Gabbuza told Reuters in an
interview.
"The restructuring will be in the form of
identifying partners,
bringing in partners who will bring in capital
investment. There will be no
more government money so for some parastatals
we have to re-organise their
tariff structures."
Economic
Planning minister Elton Mangoma had earlier said despite the
government's
urgent need to raise funds, there would be no sell-off of
underperforming
state enterprises because a global economic downturn meant
assets would be
sold cheaply.
But Gabbuza said that would not stop his ministry
recommending the
sell-off, arguing that they were a huge burden on the
treasury.
In the past five years, the companies have been
propped up by the
central bank with Air Zimbabwe gobbling up US$2 million
every week.
Gabbuza said his ministry was preparing a uniform
governance code to
be used by all parastatals, which would include
performance-based contracts
for senior management.
Critics
say most of the parastatals have been run-down through
mismanagement by
political appointees while President Robert Mugabe's past
governments have
been reluctant to sell off shareholding in the companies.
Zimbabwe's government in 2006 raised hope it was moving towards
privatising
state firms when it clinched a US$400 million deal allowing
Indian steel
concern Global Steel to manage its giant Zimbabwe Iron and
Steel Company
(Ziscosteel), only for the deal to collapse within months.
Ziscosteel used to be the largest integrated mining steelworks in the
region
and was cornerstone for the survival of the then white Rhodesian
government
before independence in 1980.
"The interest for some of these
parastatals are very high. Certainly
we are receiving unsolicited bids from
in and outside the country now,"
Gabbuza said.
"The fact
that an investor can now generate forex (foreign exchange)
inside Zimbabwe
is one thing that is attracting many people. We are actually
moving very
slowly for them."
Zimbabwe has since the start of the year
allowed the use of multiple
currencies, effectively replacing its worthless
Zimbabwe dollar and
officials say it will only be re-introduced once the
country starts
generating enough money to support it. - Reuters.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
17:21
UNESCO'S theme for this year's press freedom day: "Potential of
media
in fostering dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation" was
applauded by analysts as timely for a Zimbabwe learning to deal with the
politics of inclusivity.
While they agreed that the media has a
role to play in promoting
national healing, they criticised the government
for trying to use the media
as a driver of its agenda to gain public
confidence. They said that it was
trying to set the agenda for national
healing while downplaying the ugly
past and issues of transitional
justice.
"It is not a matter of opinion that the government has not
done
anything regarding transitional justice. It is a fact and there is
nothing
on the ground to talk about," said National Constitutional Assembly
chair,
Lovemore Madhuku in an interview last week.
"The
government is downplaying the issue of political violence and
human rights
abuses. You cannot talk about national healing without talking
first about
justice," he said.
The analysts said while the media had a role
to play in national
healing, it was difficult to draw the line between
serving the current
political setup and serving the public by exposing those
accused of murder
and human rights abuses.
They said
without confronting the truth about what happened in the
past, there could
be no genuine national healing. It was the duty of the
government, they
said, to come up with mechanisms that recognise the
victims.
Transitional justice expert Gladys Hlatshwayo said
it was wrong to
talk about national healing without getting perpetrators of
violence and
their victims to confess and forgive. She said national healing
imposed by
political leaders was liable to failure.
"Talking about national healing without a transitional justice
mechanism in
place amounts to rhetoric," said Hlatswayo. "Asking the media
to propagate
such political rhetoric is unfortunate because the media has a
duty to serve
the public and not politicians."
The government in April set up
the organ on national healing and
reconciliation headed by Zanu PF national
chairman John Nkomo to spearhead
the process. The other members of the organ
are Minister of State in deputy
Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara's office
Gibson Sibanda and Minister of
State in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's
office, Sekai Holland.
Transitional justice, Hlatshwayo said,
is a way of addressing crimes,
rehabilitating victims and putting in place
measures to ensure that the same
violations do not recur.
She said the process might involve truth commissions, official
apologies,
reparations, and criminal prosecutions.
She said the media had
an important role to play in balancing the ugly
past and the agenda of the
new political dispensation. "Let the truth be
known and then we can talk
about national healing. Some families have no
idea what happened to their
relatives and remain in pain. When people know
and accept the truth, that is
the beginning of healing," Hlatshwayo said.
A political
analyst, Eldred Masunungure, said the current approach was
rather narrow as
it focused on national healing without spelling out the
processes
involved.
"Talking about national healing as a stand alone is
based on the
assumption that the people who are aggrieved suffered minimum
loses when the
damage is really heavy," said Masunungure. "Transitional
justice should come
into play naturally and I am for transitional justice
because it is more
comprehensive. The media have a duty to maintain a
delicate balance. While
they are encouraged to write constructively to
strengthen national healing,
they also have a duty to write the truth about
what happened. They cannot
ignore the ugly past," Masunungure
said.
He however emphasised that the media needs to report what
happened in
a constructive manner and not incite retribution
justice.
"I disagree with the overemphasis on national healing
without going
back to the people who were wronged and hear what they want
because national
healing is not about state building but nation
building.
From the media front, it is important for them to
appreciate that what
they present and the way they do it has direct impact
on public thinking and
thus should be careful in balancing information about
the dirty past without
rabble rousing; it is a delicate balance,"
Masunungure added.
The analysts said that national healing and
transitional justice were
cardinal issues in nation building and the media
had to make a choice
whether to play a constructive or destructive
role.
"A constructive role does not mean being silent about
ugly past. Let
the media talk but the reports should be facts-based and the
subject of
transitional justice must be understood through these channels,"
said
Masunungure.
He said it was wrong to think that
transitional justice was all about
arresting and incarcerating each other.
He said there were different ways
compensating those who had been wronged
either by perpetrators or by the
state.
He said what was
important was to recognise the victims and helping
them put their lives back
on track and move on.
Hlatshwayo said: "It is unfortunate that
some people do not understand
the subject of transitional
justice.
It is more constructive than retributive. The truth heals,
not vice
versa. In countries like South Africa and Rwanda where transitional
justice
mechanisms have been employed they have done more good than
harm.
I hope politicians in Zimbabwe will realise this. The media
should
help in directing their attention to these things and must play a big
role
in national healing."
Analysts said the sincerity of a
system is more evident in people's
eyes the moment the guarded secrets
become more available to them. As long
as long as they remain so, the
aggrieved dwell on the past and thus making
it difficult for national
healing to materialise no matter how much the
media try to set this agenda.
The role of media as a driver of
reconciliation can be used constructively
by openly discussing the past.
BY MELODY MBIRA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
17:43
GOVERNMENT has shelved full privatisation plans for parastatals
and
state enterprises amid fears that the move would do little to boost
shrinking treasury coffers.
Economic Planning and Investment
Promotion minister Elton Mangoma said
government would not embark on a
"wholesale' privatisation drive of
undercapitalised public
utilities.
Mangoma -- who chairs a cabinet cluster of ministries
responsible for
economic development -- made these remarks on Wednesday at
the official
launch of the 100-day work plan for the inclusive
government.
"Our focus is not on wholesale privatisation," he
said.
The minister said government would, however, "develop
strategies" to
ensure that "key parastatals" such as Zesa and the National
Railways of
Zimbabwe operate efficiently. According to the 100-day plan
document, public
sector reforms would include civil service and Reserve Bank
reforms and the
Public Finance Management System (PFMS) and the Results
Based Management
System (RBMS).
Steel manufacturing company
Zisco, according to the action plan
document, would complete relining of one
of its blast furnaces in 90 days.
Zisco has over the years been a target of
investors wishing to take full
control of the underutilised
firm.
"There would be parastatals that require reforms.where
there is
general agreement the public will know.
Selling assets
at low prices does not bring any benefit either to the
country or anybody,"
Mangoma said.
His remarks mark a shift from proposals made in
the Short Term
Emergency Recovery Programme (Sterp), a blueprint forming the
basis for the
100-day action plan.
"During the duration of
Sterp, the inclusive government, through the
ministry of State Enterprises,
will undertake and evaluate all public
enterprises with a view of
rationalising their functions as well as other
time-frame reforms," said the
Sterp document.
"Through this process and guided by cost
effectiveness, options for
public enterprise reforms will include
recapitalisation, privatisation and
part or outright
disposal."
Mangoma added that his ministry would audit
Bilateral Investment
Promotion and Protection Agreement
(Bippa).
This key result area would be a litmus test for the
inclusive
government's commitment to upholding property
rights.
The anticipated audit comes at a time when the World
Bank Tribunal
ordered government to pay US$21 million compensation to 13
Dutch farmers --
protected by bilateral agreements -- who had their farms
expropriated by
government under the land reform exercise.
But government has remained adamant that it will only compensate
farmers for
infrastructural developments on farms. The Lands and Rural
Resettlement
ministry, which is also part of the economic cluster, said
government would
carry out a land audit to address multiple farm ownership
during the same
period. The ministry said it would "secure (the) farming
environment-reduce
conflicts and disputes on land and ensure security of
persons and
assets".
The Ministry of Finance, which also falls into the
economic cluster,
also set various benchmarks to be met by August. The
treasury pledged to
mobilise resources to finance the 2009/2010 agricultural
season. In order to
boost government revenue, the ministry also proposed to
broaden the tax base
by reviewing the current tax policies.
Turning to the Reserve Bank the finance ministry pledged to implement
International Monetary Fund recommendations on central bank
reforms.
Meanwhile, the African Development Bank has pledged
assistance to the
cash strapped inclusive government once outstanding issues
of the September
15 Global Political Agreement are resolved.
BY
BERNARD MPOFU
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009 15:30
THE
mining industry, which is expected to drive economic revival, is
in freefall
as it emerged this week that only three mines are operating at
full
capacity.
As of last year, 88 registered mines were operating but
only 20 are
working.
Zimbabwe Platinum Mines managing director
Alex Mhembere told a mining
conference that to revive the mining sector,
closed mines should be opened
before expanding operating ones, as only three
were operating at full
capacity.
"There is urgent need to
revive the mining sector and resuscitating
closed mines should be the first
task. We have 88 registered mines as of
last year of which 20 are operating.
But just three are operating at full
scale. They mine platinum and gold,"
said Mhembere.
Gold production fell from 25 000 tonnes in 1999
to 5 000 tonnes in
2008. Before the turn of the century, Zimbabwe was the
third largest
producer of gold in Africa.
The production of
other minerals has also been declining during the
same
period.
Last week the Chamber of Mines said only 335kg of gold
was produced
between January and April compared to 1 407 kg during the same
period last
year.
In 2007, gold output declined by 33%,
whilst chrome went down 12%.
Phosphates declined by 15% during the same
year.
Mhembere said there was need for a paradigm shift in
policy
implementation if the country was to attract investment in the
sector.
"There is need for a consistent implementation of
policies in the
country, an issue that was overlooked in the past. Local and
foreign
investors want policy consistency before committing their money to
mining,"
he said.
Mhembere said perception that Zimbabwe
was a good investment
destination was still very low.
Mining companies had for the past 10 years shelved exploration
activities
because of "unfavourable laws".
"Over the last 10 years we have not
had exploration so we have a
10-year gap," Mhembere said.
Participants at the conference said the country should consider
scrapping
provisions compelling foreign mines to sell their stakes to locals
but
instead allow miners to set their own empowerment targets.
They
said foreign investors were concerned by government's
indigenisation laws,
which has led many companies to withhold investment
needed to raise mining
production after a decline over the past 10 years.
The move by
government to set the empowerment limit at 51% is said to
have discouraged
large investors from committing their funds in the country.
Independent economist John Robertson said by limiting ownership rights
the
sector was in danger of taking long to be revived.
"We are in
danger of sinking this entire set of possibilities because
government wants
to limit ownership rights, all the way from the prospector
staking a claim
to a mineral discovery to the company that knows how to
convert an ore
deposit into a fully functional mine," Robertson said.
Robertson said the proposals for change might be expected to deliver
more
control to government, but its control will be less simply because
development funding from foreign investors will stop and the industry will
reach the limitations imposed by Zimbabwe's lack of
resources.
Said Robertson: "The preoccupation with the dividend
is a shallow
interpretation of reality because a threat to its payment can
completely
wipe out all the other payments.
"Zimbabwean
authorities should become very much more supportive of the
basic
requirements of business and should appreciate more fully that
businesses
face more than enough problems."
Robertson said government was
"piling political risk on top of the
business risks already in
place".
Robertson said Zimbabwe had allowed itself to be
persuaded that
dividends paid to foreign shareholders constitute a huge
drain on the
Zimbabwean economy.
BY NQOBILE BHEBHE
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
15:24
ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange-listed RioZim is courting new investors
to
inject funds in the company through a private placement of shares to
raise
an unspecified amount of capital, the company said this
week.
The board is still to get the green light to pursue the
private
placement from shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting
(EGM)
scheduled for end of May.
The company is seeking
shareholder approval to increase its share
capital by 62,5 million for the
purpose of RioZim Employees Share Purchase
Scheme and endorse the process of
recapitalisation by private placement.
RioZim's share this week
rose above US$2,20.
Due to the dollarisation of the economy
last year, analysts say
smaller investors will not be able to follow their
rights in the event of a
rights issue.
Analysts believe
more listed companies will come to the market with
similar funding
arrangements because of lack of liquidity on the market.
Smaller investors are expected to approve the private placement
because
management hopes the funds will enable the company to pursue new
mining
projects and exploration.
"The company has prospects and
projects that could significantly
increase the number and scale of
operations in its portfolio. Apart from
financial capability, your directors
consider that engaging partners who
have relevant technical expertise and
skills will expedite and enhance the
development of these projects to the
benefit of shareholders," said RioZim
in a statement.
The
company says it needs capital to pursue fresh mining projects and
undertake
exploration that
will eventually benefit all
shareholders.
"RioZim would have to talk to foreigners if they
need capital because
at the moment locals cannot chip in with capital after
the dollarisation of
the economy," an analyst said.
Zimbabwean mining companies have not been able to invest in
exploration - a
key investment in the industry in terms of long-term
sustainability of
operations - in the past decade due to an economic crisis
characterised by
an acute shortage of foreign exchange.
Over the years,
ZSE-listed companies had resorted to rights issues as
a means of raising
capital but dollarisation has left local investors
without
liquidity.
RioZim is wholly owned by locals after Rio Tinto
divested from its key
Zimbabwe business, opting to remain with a significant
shareholding in
Murowa Diamond.
BY CHRIS MURONZI
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
14:50
ZIMBABWE'S diamond output rose last year from 145 000 carats to
260
000 carats, Murowa Diamonds managing director Niels Kristensen
said.
Kristensen hopes to lift production from last year's level
but
uncertainty over ownership legislation could put the brakes on the
company's
plans.
"We achieved record production in 2008.
Production was in the region
of 260 000 carats in 2008 and there is
potential to increase that
substantially," Kristensen said on the sidelines
of a mining conference.
Murowa had the potential to expand
production six-fold from current
production, Kristensen
said.
But De beers, the world's largest producer of rough
diamonds, has cut
output after the global financial crisis lowered
prices.
Kristensen, however, said plans to raise production
from last year's
levels were being curtailed by uncertainty over Zimbabwe's
empowerment laws
which require foreign companies to give 51% shareholding to
locals.
"The local environment has improved in Zimbabwe . . .
but there are a
number of changes that are needed to improve confidence and
we are watching
what happens in the medium and long-term," said
Kristensen.
He added that government needed to build investor
confidence, which he
believes is fragile at the moment.
Zimbabwe's policies are said to have lowered the country's potential
to
revive its mines and increase foreign currency inflow in the
country.
Government is being advised to finalise the Mines and
Minerals
Amendment Bill to create a policy framework that boosts investor
confidence
in the mining industry.
Geo Associates managing
director Paul Chimbodza said it was important
for the country to have an
enabling legal framework to lure investors.
The Mines and
Minerals Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament some
five years ago and
only remains to be signed into law.
"There is need for speedy
resolution (of the Bill) as it should
include policies that stimulate
current and future investment while
supporting existing investors and
operators," he said.
"The reviewed Bill should encourage
long-term investments in the
mining industry," Chimbodza said.
He
said there was also need to include new mining organisations on the
Mining
Affairs Board, which deals with mining rights.
"We are lobbying
for the inclusion of Zimbabwe Miners Federation,
Youth in Mining and
Environment Trust, Women in Mining and other players,"
he
said.
"Confidence needs to be rebuilt but it is easily
destroyed and that's
what the country needs to work on," Kristensen
said.
"The current legislation is not practical and workable.
It will not
lead to investment in the country. We fully support the
principle of
indigenisation but it should be done in a workable
way."
Speaking at a mining conference last week, Jack Murerwa,
immediate
past president of the Chamber of Mines, said it was important that
government comes up with policies that encourage investment in the mining
sector.
Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere last
month played down
fears saying the government's empowerment would not be
implemented
"carelessly".
Kasukuwere said fears of the 51%
shareholding were unfounded because
the law would not apply to all
investments.
BY CHRIS MURONZI
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
14:47
DAIRIBORD Zimbabwe Ltd (DZL) is operating at between 15 and 20%
capacity amid reports of significantly low raw milk output from
farmers.
DZL chief executive officer Anthony Mandiwanza this week
said low
delivery of milk was affecting the company's
production.
"At present Dairibord is operating at between 10 and
20% and that is a
major challenge for us. Delivery of milk from farmers is
significantly low
and that needs to be changed," he said.
Mandiwanza would not reveal the volume of sales saying this would be
disclosed at the coming annual general meeting later in the
month.
"I cannot disclose that (volume of sales) as it might
not go down well
with out shareholders. Let's wait for the AGM scheduled for
May 28," he
said.
Over the past years raw milk production
has faced major challenges.
In February 2000, when the then
controversial land reform programme
started, the national herd numbered
about 1,4 million.
Since then, more than 4 000 commercial farms
have been seized, the
herd is estimated to be less than 140 000 and numbers
are falling fast and
macro-economic turbulence have all weighed on
production, processing and
distribution of milk.
The dairy
sector has also suffered a crippling labour shortage as many
farm workers
have left the farms or are demanding higher salaries, resulting
in very high
staff turnover.
Most of the farmers who took over the dairy
farms were said to have
limited knowledge of dairy and beef
farming.
Mandiwanza said there was need for government to
resuscitate
programmes aimed at boosting the national herd.
He said the tripartite arrangement should involve DZL, banks and the
Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe.
He said although more than 1 000 herd of
cattle were recently bought
the "figures still remain low".
The company attributes low production to reduced milk supplies from
farmers.
Asked on the plans of Democratic People's Republic
of Korea officials
who toured Dairibord on Tuesday, Mandiwanza said: "It is
too early to come
up with a definite response as they have not expressed
anything to us."
DPRK Minister of Trade Ri Ryong Nam toured
Dairibord Zimbabwe and
Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries on
Tuesday.
BY NQOBILE BHEBHE
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
14:33
THE stock market's fine run continued into yet another week as
positive economic developments continue to hit headlines.
The
presence of foreign investors is a major driver of the market at
the moment
with a lot of money being pumped into the share market. This,
coupled with
lines of credit that have been given to Zimbabwe, has improved
liquidity in
the economy.
Last month stocks struggled for direction as investors
reacted to
interim and year-end financial results which gave disappointing
economic
forecasts.
When the market hit its lowest point on
March 24 2009, analysts and
fund managers took this as a strong buy
indicator which resulted in a
stampede leading to the current
bull-run.
According to Kingdom Stock Brokers, in the absence of
US dollar
denominated financial data, there was no agreement as to the
method that
could be used to evaluate share prices in the newly dollarised
environment.
"This resulted in very low bids to the few buyers
who were then
available in the market as they also wanted to avoid buying
overpriced
assets.
"The presence of more buyers now has
seen more demand for the shares
thereby pushing prices to higher levels.
The blue chip counters have now
stabilised while the share prices of the
small counters continue to
oscillate as investors search for right value,"
said Kingdom.
On Monday the industrial index surged 28,9 points
(29%) to close at
128,8 points on the back of strong gains in financial
service counters.
Barclays added US 6c (100%) to US12c.
Management at Barclays told analysts that deposits during the month of
April
were between US$50 million and US$55 million.
NMB added US0,
65c (187%) to US0, 86C, Trust was up US1, 5c (75%) to
close trade atUS3, 5c,
CBZ was US3, 99c (133%) firmer at US6, 99c. CFX
closed the week US0, 01c
(14%) stronger at US0, 80c. The bank has released
its 2008 December year-end
financial statements.
Mining counters rallied 67,6 points
(67,6%) to 228,3 on the back of
firmer metal prices and news that the lines
of credit recently availed to
Zimbabwe are earmarked mainly for mining and
agricultural sectors.
Nickel miner Bindura surged US10c (100%)
to US20c while Falgold ended
last week at US$5c (62,5%) stronger at US13c.
RioZim closed the week US54c
(35%) stronger at US$2,10 while coal miner
Hwange advanced US15c (33,33%) to
trade at US60c.
On
Tuesday, the industrial index rose 2,3 points (1,6%) as investors
started to
cash in on recent gains.
On Wednesday share were on the back foot as
profit taking gained pace.
Market prices have been gravitating downwards
towards regional parity
levels putting pressure on margins.
The direction of 11 counters in the short-term will be determined by
the
outcomes at their AGMs. Ten AGMs are scheduled this month - Larfage and
Cafaca May 21, ABC's in Gaborone on May 26, Pearl Properties May 27, British
America Tobacco, RioZim and DZL May 28 and Afre May 29.
Shareholders for Econet, Kingdom Miekles Africa and Rainbow Tourism
Group
(RTG) are keeping their cards close to their chest ahead of potential
battles at their AGMs.
A lot of behind the scenes action
has been happening at the companies
since the beginning of the
year.
RTG majority shareholder Nicholas Van Hoogstraten wants
to fire the
entire RTG board for allege "incompetence" but does not have
proposals on
who should replace the directors.
Some
analysts believe Van Hoogtraten is not being realistic and still
has an axe
to grind over the company rights issue three years ago.
KMAL
chief executive Nigel Chanakira and his chairman John Moxon have
to iron
their differences ahead of the company's AGM in June if shareholder
confidence is to be restored.
Both can appoint
proxies.
At Econet's AGM, their "controversial" chairman
Tawanda Nyambirai has
said he is stepping down due to conflict of
interest.
Conglomerate CFI will release its results at an
analyst's briefing
next week.
Apathy among investors during
the past few years is evident in most
results published recently for the end
of December 31 2008 reporting season.
Corporate profitability, in most
instances, was at distressed levels with
declining volumes, rising costs and
a severely overvalued Zimbabwe dollar.
Whilst these factors
were to some extent offset by access to "cheap
money during burning period",
this has not been enough to mitigate the fall
in profitability for most
companies.
BY PAUL NYAKAZEYA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May
2009 19:11
IF there is one development that has raised troubling
questions about
the seriousness of the coalition government which completes
its critical 100
days in office on Saturday next week, it is Wednesday's
launch by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Vice-President Joice Mujuru
of what they
unconvincingly presented as the government's 100-day action
plan.
What action plan?
Curiously, Wednesday's launch
of the purported 100-day action plan
came 90 days since the formation of the
coalition government and 45 days
since the launch of Sterp, which some in
the government say is an economic
recovery plan while others in the same
government say is an emergency
recovery plan, as if the words economic and
emergency mean one and the same
thing.
Even more curiously,
the latest launch was done 38 days since the
wasteful Victoria Falls cabinet
retreat during which the 100-day action plan
was crafted while the prime
minister, his two deputy prime ministers,
ministers, their deputies along
with permanent secretaries, sought to get to
know each other through horse
and helicopter riding and boat cruising when
most Zimbabweans were failing
to make ends meet.
If the coalition government wants
Zimbabweans to believe that it is in
an emergency mode and its Victoria
Falls retreat produced an action plan
with ministerial targets to be met
within 100 days, why did it take the same
cabinet that produced the 100-day
action plan in Victoria Falls 22 days to
approve its own plan? And why did
it take the coalition government 16 days
to launch that action plan
following its approval by cabinet on April 28?
It is hard if
not impossible to avoid the inevitable conclusion that,
while its formation
on February 13 was without doubt most welcome in the
interest of reducing
political tension in the country, the performance of
the coalition
government has been utterly delinquent.
What has compounded the
government's manifestly delinquent performance
is that, like a truant
juvenile, it has gotten itself entangled into a maze
of meaningless "100
days" mumbo jumbo and is now trapped by that hogwash
like a hopeless spider
ensnared by its own web.
The time has come for someone to tell
Prime Minister Tsvangirai to
free himself from the 100 days nonsense. The
Prime Minister and his
unimaginative inner circle have obviously tried but
failed to understand the
notion of the first 100 days in office which
they've stolen from American
presidential politics. Franklin Delano
Roosevelt was the first American
president to frame his assumption of office
around the notion of the first
100 days.
After his
landslide electoral victory in 1932 when the United States
was under a
devastating economic crisis, the so-called Great Depression,
Roosevelt gave
himself a tight timeline to come up with politically creative
and policy
meaningful ways to get the United States out of the crisis.
Following his inauguration on March 4, 1933 Roosevelt put in place a
radical
100-day action plan on the strength of the unprecedented political
capital
he had received from the electorate. His first 100-day action plan
became
the basis of what Roosevelt called "the new deal" which was the
essence of
his policy programme that transformed the American economy and
got that
country out of its economic depression from 1933 to 1935.
Roosevelt's 100-day action plan was not crafted after he was sworn in
but
well before he was elected in November 1932 and it was refined after his
election but prior to his inauguration.
This enabled him and
his administration to hit the ground running
because, once they assumed
office, they had a bankable plan from day one
which they used to engage
Congress to secure the funding they needed to make
things
happen.
Since Roosevelt's time, successive American presidents
and the general
American public, especially the media, have sought to define
and understand
their administrations by what they do within their first 100
days in office
not only in terms of the implementation of prior plans but
also in terms of
how they respond to previously unforeseen
emergencies.
The vain attempt by Tsvangirai to model himself on
the American
presidential experience is understandable given the close
relations between
his MDC-T and the American political establishment. But
commonsense dictates
that folks in the Prime Minister's office should not
get carried away to the
point of comparing oranges with apples or
uncritically mimicking Americans.
Tsvangirai is not a president
in the mould of Roosevelt or any other
American president for that matter.
No, he's not. And, besides, he's not a
Prime Minister as is Gordon Brown or
as was Robert Mugabe in 1980 under the
Lancaster Constitution. Things have
changed. Tsvangirai is an Honourable but
not a Rt Honourable Prime
Minister.
This is because he is not the head of government. In
terms of the
so-called Global Political Agreement signed by Zanu PF and the
two MDC
formations on September 15 2008, Prime Minister Tsvangirai is only
the
deputy head of government regarding the chairing of cabinet and that is
quite a long way from chairing cabinet because the organogram of the
coalition government clearly shows that he is number four in the hierarchy
of the leadership of the government after President Mugabe, Vice-President
Joseph Msika and Vice-President Mujuru who will have to chair before he
does.
Although it is true that if you go to Munhumutapa
offices, most of the
human traffic you'll find there heads to the Prime
Minister's office or his
deputies, the truth is that it's all symbolic
because the real power is not
there at all since it is shared in terms of
the Constitution. The sharing of
power is the essence of a coalition
government.
Roosevelt was able to do big things within the
first 100 days of his
tenure, and to lay the foundation for his "new deal"
because he was not part
of a coalition government and also because the
American Congress approved
budgetary allocations to fund his policy
programmes.
The 100-day action plan launched on Wednesday by
Tsvangirai and
Mujuru, who seem to be forging a parliamentary partnership
apparently
designed to manage and control Mugabe's succession, is unique by
its lack of
funding. Anyone who thinks they can implement a plan in a
battered economy
such as ours without funding is joking and their joke is
not funny.
Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Tsvangirai and
his cronies must
come to terms with the fact that the first 100 days of the
coalition
government will be completed next week on Saturday. After that any
talk of
100 days of this or that will be just idle or even
dangerous.
In the same vein, the Prime Minister and his team
must be aware that
there are only four months to go before the first
anniversary of the much
touted GPA. Yes, eight months have gone by since
September 15, 2008!
While the likes of Gorden Moyo, the
Minister of State in the Prime
Minister's office, have been confusing
themselves and asking Zimbabweans not
to criticise the coalition government
but to support it by giving it more
time, the government itself has been
taking the time it is being given to
indulge in endless rhetoric about 100
days that never start or finish and
about unbudgeted plans that have no
chance of seeing the light of day.
The record will show that
with one week to go before completing its
first 100 days in office, and with
nothing to show for its performance in
real terms, the coalition government
has thus far only preoccupied itself
with the following three issues that
will not help the nation to get out of
its economic meltdown that is getting
worse:
The pursuit of the so-called outstanding issues about
provincial
governors, the appointments of the Attorney-General and the
governor of the
central bank, permanent secretaries and ambassadors; and the
confusion of
the real mandate of the new and the curiously named Ministry of
Information
Communication Technology;
The persistent false
and embarrassing claims of credit for the current
impacts, mixed as they
are, of fiscal and monetary policies respectively,
implemented on January 29
by Patrick Chinamasa as Acting Minister of Finance
and on February 2 by
Gideon Gono before the formation of the coalition
government;
The shameless turning of Zimbabweans into
hunter-gatherers by
officially declaring, as did the Minister of Finance
Tendai Biti in his
revised national budget statement, the illegal death of
the Zimbabwe dollar
with the consequence of rendering ordinary people unable
to participate or
even exist in the formal economy all in order for the
minister to settle
personal scores with the governor of the central
bank.
If one thing can be said about the coalition government
one week
before its first 100 days in office, it is that its future is very
bleak.
Moyo is an independent MP for Tsholotsho
North.
BY JONATHAN MOYO
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
18:02
AFTER a history of violence our society requires concerted
efforts
from all stakeholders to map out the best way to democratise the
country and
build a platform for sustainable peace.
Questions
are being raised with regards to how best our nation can be
healed and it is
my view that the nation has to come together and deliberate
on these
issues.
In order to promote justice, peace and reconciliation,
government and
NGOs should consider both judicial and non-judicial responses
to violations
of human rights that occurred in past years.
Such
responses could include prosecuting individual perpetrators,
offering
reparations to victims of state sponsored violence, establishing
truth-seeking initiatives about past abuses, reforming institutions like the
police and the courts and also removing perpetrators from positions of
power.
It cannot be overemphasised that transitional
justice is essential for
any society emerging from an abusive and repressive
past to a democratic
country imbued with principles that guarantee the
respect of human rights.
Surely victims and survivors need to know the truth
as a means of bringing
closure to their suffering.
The
Oxford-based historian, Timothy Garton Ashe, once stated that
while victims
are cursed by a good memory, perpetrators are blessed by an
ability to
forget.
Thus the failure by government to acknowledge the
horrendous human
rights violations it visited upon the Ndebele people in the
early 1980s has
increased the tensions and rifts in our
society.
To date many people in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces
still
lament that the Zanu PF government has not shown sincere
penance.
Justice demands that perpetrators be brought to account
for their
heinous misdeeds in order to bring closure to the past and as a
deterrent
that is needed to avoid the repeat of such events. Prosecution of
those who
violate people's rights with impunity is a minimum ingredient for
the rule
of law and an essential requirement for the protection of human
rights.
It is important that our country is given the
opportunity to lay a
firm and durable foundation for respecting human
rights.
The new Constitution must be born out of this process
and must provide
a bridge between the past of a deeply divided society,
characterised by
strife, conflict, untold suffering and injustice and a
future founded on the
recognition of human rights, democracy and peaceful
co-existence and
development opportunities for all Zimbabweans regardless of
political
affiliation.
South Africa is a classic example of
a country that used a similar
golden opportunity to start a smooth
transition from the apartheid regime to
a constitutional democracy that is
obtaining today in that country. As a
logical corollary, the lessons learnt
from South Africa must also guide and
inform us in our Constitution-making
process, also taking into account our
own national values and
ethos.
The pursuit of national unity, the wellbeing of all
Zimbabweans and
durable peace require reconciliation amongst the people and
reconstruction
of society, which has been damaged by the repressive and
oppressive
environment of past years.
But such reconciliation
can only be attained not by sweeping the past
atrocious history under the
carpet as a mere aberration, but by pursuing
various profound processes of
transitional justice.
Undeniably, the adoption of a people
driven constitution (the content
of which must be agreed upon by all
citizens) lays the secure foundation for
all the people of Zimbabwe to
transcend the divisions and strife of the
past, which generated gross
violations of human rights, the transgression of
humanitarian principles and
a legacy of hatred, fear, guilt and revenge.
These challenges
should now be addressed on the basis that there is
need for understanding
but not for vengeance, a need for reparation and not
for retaliation, a need
for ubuntu and not for tyrannical victimisation.
This
invariably is a delicate process which essentially means that the
Constitution as a supreme national document founded on the will and
aspirations of Zimbabweans seeking to close a sad chapter and opening a new
chapter in the history of our nation.
It must be imbued with
the values, principles and aspirations that
identify with Zimbabweans in
accordance with international human rights
norms. It is against this
background then that Zimbabweans can enjoy durable
peace established by the
rule of law and supported by strong accountability
systems.
Each and every one of us, individually and institutionally, has a
responsibility therefore to establish processes for consensus building and
to facilitate transitional justice and reconciliation in our nation that has
been (and still is) extremely polarised and antagonised on political and
ethnic lines, to the detriment of international human rights norms and
standards.
In this we firmly believe that a prosperous and
democratic Zimbabwe,
where all people across the political divide and from
different ethnic
backgrounds can live peacefully and in harmony with each
other, can be
realised if the current transitional process is handled
competently.
Innocent Mawire writes for the Peace and Justice
Support Forum.
BY INNOCENT MAWIRE
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
17:46
IF one is to go by the Herald of May 11, the much publicised
Media
Conference on media reform organised by the Ministry of Information
and
Publicity confirmed fears that many had, and indeed the fears that led
many
in the media to stay away - that this was a sham of a
conference.
First the Herald says the main issue that came out of
the conference
is that sanctions should be lifted to level the media playing
field. It
boggles the mind how that issue ever arose in a conference around
media in
Zimbabwe, of all places.
And which level playing field is
the Herald talking about? Does this
level playing field relate to the
dominance of the state media, the Herald
included, in information
dissemination in Zimbabwe? This matter is made so
obvious by the fact that
the only daily newspapers in Zimbabwe are those
owned by Zimpapers after the
violent shut down of the Associated Newspapers
of Zimbabwe.
Does this level playing field relate to the dominance of the ZBC which
is
the sole broadcasting station in Zimbabwe? Does this playing field relate
to
the detention of Andrisson Manyere who is languishing under police guard
in
hospital, after being abducted, detained incommunicado?
We ask the
question whether this level playing field also relates to
the bombings of
the Daily News, the hounding out of the country of hundreds
of journalists
and the arrest of Zimbabwe Independent editors for publishing
the story on
police complicity in the abduction of Jestina Mukoko, Manyere
and others in
December.
The Herald did the sceptics of this conference a huge
favour by
confirming that nothing has changed in the thinking of the Zanu PF
government.
The much talked about media conference obviously
came to nothing
because it was never meant to be about reform, but a
confirmation of the
desire by the new government to perpetuate the current
media law regime by
tinkering with the periphery while leaving the centre
intact.
This conference completely missed the point by
attempting to be a
public bus open to all views, including the absurd, to be
discussed, except
genuine reform.
This newspaper questioned a
few weeks ago why some strange topics were
included in the programme for
this conference.
This conference, we later heard from the former
Minister of
Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo writing online, was
meant to address
those same queries that the media has on the continued
harassment of the
media. Does it take a conference to raise complaints on
the arrests of
journalists? Has Zimbabwe sunk this far?
Coming back to the issue of the conference, the Herald story did us
favour
by exposing, from the unity government point of view, a failure to
grasp
what a media law conference or discussion is all about.
Such an
issue cannot be tackled from a chaotic point of view as has
prevailed where
all and sundry could present as they please and talk about
what might amount
to a desire to build a ladder to the moon, censoring the
web and shortwave
broadcasts.
The main issues around media and freedom of
expression in Zimbabwe
remain the skewed, repressive media laws and abuse of
the state media by
Zanu PF and its functionaries. Media reforms in Zimbabwe
would therefore
have to look first at the state policies in relation to
media issues,
especially how the state, through its arsenal of laws, has
virtually
destroyed the media in Zimbabwe - save for a few newspapers -
harassed for
exposing state abuse of citizens.
The critical
matter around levelling the Zimbabwe media playing field
is removing
restrictions on the operations of the media and the enactment of
laws and
policies that guarantee the independence of the state media.
Those in support on this conference cannot pretend that the state
media is
under any sort of pressure and that the private media in Zimbabwe
is a
domineering giant suppressing or misrepresenting the voice of those in
government and Zimbabwe. The role of the international media is not a
concern to Zimbabweans because we neither own, nor have the power to change,
the CNN or BBC.
We can however change our own situation,
after all the majority of
Zimbabweans get their news locally and would
appreciate having more local
media. In this regard the conference had to
acknowledge that the private
media is so vulnerable and weak in Zimbabwe and
any serious discussion on
levelling the playing field has to start with the
reasons for this decline,
the closure of the Daily News, Tribune and other
newspapers.
Such a discussion has to start with genuine policy
issues around
opening the airwaves and guaranteeing the independence of the
ZBC so that it
can represent all voices. The unity government cannot speak
of regulation of
the print media, success so far.
Who does not
know of the "successes" of Zanu PF in regulating the
media. Does it take a
conference to know that the MIC shut down four
newspapers and hounded
hundreds of journalist out of the country? And is it
the intention of the
unity government to continue with the Mahoso-style of
media regulation? If
so shame on the unity government for this kind of
thinking.
Serious discussion on reforms should look into the Broadcasting
Authority of
Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Media Commission and the Post and
Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority and how these are not democratically
constituted to
play any meaningful role in advancing media and communication
issues.
The unity government cannot pretend, serve out of
ignorance, that
these bodies can license, regulate the media and the
communications sector
in a fair manner while they are not only weak, but
directly under the
control of politicians. The bodies also lack any
technical capacity and
independence to make decisions without political
interference.
Media reforms cannot start on or be built on lies
that we have
regulatory bodies when in fact we have bodies that play a
secretarial role
to the decisions of politicians.
What did the
conference say as an example about the closure of the
Daily News, and other
newspapers? What did the conference say about the
continued detention of
journalists? What did the conference say about the
biased reporting of
Zimpapers publications and ZBC?
What did the conference say about
the continued coverage of Zanu PF
cell meetings and not those of MDC-T, MDC
M, NDU, Zanu Ndonga etc?
It is a shame that the unity
government, especially those from the
MDC, is being misled and abused in
validating Zanu PF's cover-up
conferences. Without fundamentally looking at
what the problems in the media
in Zimbabwe are, we might as well forget
about any meaningful reforms coming
up.
The first point of call
for any serious media conference is therefore
the state or precisely Zanu PF
polices on the media. Once we agree that
these need reform, everything else
will fall into place and citizens can
agree on the media we all want. The
failure by the unity government to
condemn and do away with laws such as
Aippa and BSA, among others, shows a
lack of sincerity.
The
media conference should have understood that in this day and age
you cannot
waste time discussing radio stations that are broadcasting on
shortwave and
internet-based sites. Who has control over these and who has
the power in
Zimbabwe to stop them?
The unity government however has the power
to remove Aippa, license
new broadcasters, reform the ZBC and Zimpapers to
make them relevant to the
needs of the people. These are the reforms that
people are looking for.
Rashweat Mukundu is a Programme
Specialist: Media Monitoring and
Research Media Institute of Southern Africa
(Misa) Regional Secretariat.
BY RASHWEAT MUKUNDU
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
15:40
Our editor and news editor spent Monday night in police cells.
This
followed accusations that the Zimbabwe Independent had published
"falsehoods" in a story revealing the role of CIO and police officers in
the alleged abduction and torture of MDC and other human rights activists
last year.
The story, it was alleged, was meant to undermine
public confidence in
law enforcement and security agents.
It
was an incident which we found shocking and outrageous, coming so
soon after
a government-organised media reform conference held in Kariba the
previous
week. Ironically, the theme of the conference was "Towards an open,
tolerant
and responsible media environment". A number of journalists
boycotted the
conference to protest against the harassment and continued
detention of
fellow journalists.
It is hard to see whether government wants
to be taken seriously when
it professes support for media freedom but
continues to harass journalists
for doing their job. It is like beckoning
the media to a peace conference
with one hand and punching it in the nose
with the other.
Whatever the message government was trying to
put across through the
harassment of Independent journalists, the result in
negative publicity is a
plain on-goal. It is a bumper harvest for those who
say there has been no
change in the media environment despite the
institution of the inclusive
government. In fact there is no indication
whatever of the MDC bringing any
change in government thinking about the
role of the private media.
What exactly is going on with
electricity charges?
Muckraker thought he had missed something
when Energy and Power
Development minister Elias Mudzuri appeared on
television on Tuesday
announcing that consumers would pay a "minimum" of
US$30 and US$40 depending
on whether they stay in high or lowdensity
suburbs. The papers would clarify
it tomorrow, he presumed.
Sure enough, on Wednesday the Herald led with the story on Mudzuri's
announcement: "Electricity bills: govt sets ceiling."
The
story advised consumers to "disregard bills" they had received
from Zesa,
and pay US$30 and US$40 per month as from February, "until the
power utility
regularises its billing system". Mudzuri said he had talked to
the Zesa
chief executive about this "and customers should disregard the
exorbitant
tariffs they are being asked to pay".
But this is contrary to
his statement in which he states ". I am
further directing that all
consumers in the high-density and low-density
areas should pay a minimum of
US$30 per month and US$40 per month of their
bills
respectively."
That isn't relief at all. For the Herald, a
minimum charge cannot be a
ceiling. A US$40 minimum leaves the ceiling wide
open, in which case the
maximum can be the full amount or more. Unless we
are saying Muzuri's word
is law, otherwise he is just confusing consumers.
Which is which minister?
So far, as they say, it's all as clear as
mud.
The North Koreans are back in town. That's something to send
the chill
down everybody's spine, never mind the nonsense about "democratic
people's
republic".
The DPRK's Trade minister Ri Ryong Nam
who toured Dairibord and
Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries on Tuesday, said
his country was keen to
help Zimbabwe. Both companies are operating at
around 20% of capacity.
We never heard that our friends in the
DPRK had imposed sanctions on
Zimbabwe. So why are they only now coming out
of the woods to announce that
they "are fully ready to cooperate in close
relationship with the
government"? Are they only fair weather
friends!
Mr Ri said the two countries had a long history of
friendship while
Industry and Commerce minister Welshman Ncube, who
accompanied the DPRK
delegation on its "investment tour", talked of
cooperation agreements signed
at Independence in 1980.
Now,
that rings a bell again. That's why we say the Koreans are back
in town.
They are remembered for the Heroes' Acre monument to honour our
liberation
heroes. It has since been discredited and defiled by the
internment there of
dubious characters who should make genuine heroes turn
in their
graves.
The North Koreans are most despicably remembered for
training the
notorious Fifth Brigade which subsequently massacred an
estimated 20 000
civilians in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in the
1980s.
This was during one of several of President Mugabe's
moments of
madness. Nobody has atoned for that madness nearly 30 years on.
What good
omen can we expect now from the North Koreans? They are here to
tell us they
can milk and drive us.
Incidentally, can
somebody clarify what they are? On radio they are
referred to as "Comrade"
while the Herald salutes them as "Mister".
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai says his first 100 days in office
have been the "most wonderful
and awful" of his life. It's easy to
understand the awful bit after he lost
his wife Susan in a traffic accident.
What is questionable is the wonderful
part.
He told the South African Sunday Times in an interview
last week that
schools and hospitals had reopened.
These
are very debatable claims. There is very little going on at most
schools
while hospital patient intakes are still limited. There is a
critical
shortage of qualified personnel at schools and hospitals. He is
closer to
the truth in saying there is still a long way to go before there
is proper
health delivery.
Tsvangirai also said the new government had
managed to put food on the
shelves and bring down Zimbabwe's astronomical
inflation rate. "We managed
to contain hyperinflation which is almost down
to minus 3% from 500 billion
percent. That is an extraordinary performance,"
said Tsvangirai smugly.
We wonder how many of the country's
poor can afford the food now said
to be readily available. Critics would be
forgiven for thinking that he is
already beginning to see Zimbabwe through
rose-tinted glasses.
As for claiming victory over inflation,
that's stretching credibility
too far. Not even his blind loyalists would
give him credit for such a feat.
The trick was a change of currency
Muckraker believes! But it shows how we
all love rewriting
history.
The Herald of Monday carried on its letters' page what
Muckraker
should like to call the lamentations of an illegal
trader.
The writer, almost tongue-in-cheek, said Zimbabwe and
South Africa
should reconsider their decision to scrap visa requirements for
travellers
between the two nations. Bus drivers, the police, touts, customs
clearing
agents, photographers and briefcase companies were making money in
the chain
of acquiring a visa, he said.
Commissioners of
oath were into the racket too.They used to be
honourable members of society.
Their services then were offered for free!
The writer says some
"companies" charged as much as US$100 to produce
a visa in two days. "In a
day you could easily make R2 000 from illegal
immigrants with no
visas."
Talk of a "high-rate" scheme gone bust.
A
reader has sent us a report of a Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
community
meeting in Guruve in rural Mashonaland Central at the weekend. The
objective
of the meeting, we are told, was "to interrogate the global
political
agreement with emphasis on national healing and constitutional
reform". The
people complained about the incarceration of human rights
activists and
government's failure to adhere to the GPA guidelines, says the
report.
It says the people of Guruve want government to
reduce school fees
"since foreign currency is difficult to acquire". Is
Education minister
David Coltart aware of this? Didn't we hear something
about rural schools
not charging anything? What is the official position and
if there are indeed
fees being paid, how much?
The report
also claimed the people of Guruve have demanded that
government should make
the constitutional reform process "participatory and
inclusive".
Our guess is that government will say it is
doing precisely that. The
question is what the villagers themselves
understand by "participatory and
inclusive".
The report
also mentions the poor state of roads in the area and lack
of buses.
Unfortunately nothing is said about the "objective" of the
community meeting
-- national healing -- which would clearly be closer to
the people's
hearts!
In a story on President Jacob Zuma's cabinet carried in the
Herald on
Monday, the BBC reported that Aaron Motsoaledi had been appointed
"to the
key post" of Health minister as the country tackles an HIV/Aids
epidemic. We
were reminded of our own Zimbabwe.
Even as the
people were dying in their hundreds during a cholera
outbreak last year, the
"key ministries" were identified as home affairs,
defence and finance. That
explains our dubious distinction of two ministers
sharing a portfolio even
if government has no money to pay them for it.
It says
something about our moral values and national priorities.
In
the same story, it was reported that Zuma had pledged to tackle the
tough
economic crisis, widespread poverty and rising crime. It didn't say
how this
would be done. But there was an assurance to those who control
South
Africa's economy.
Zuma "insisted he would not hand out favours
to his supporters", that
is the poor, Cosatu and South African Communist
Party members. There is no
hint of injustice in the report. It means the
favours will go to those, most
likely, who voted against Zuma's presidency.
Rarely is irony so bitingly
cruel to the voter.
But all is
not lost, according to the Times. Zuma, it reported,
rewarded loyalists but
also promoted whites, Asians and technocrats and
"sidelined those with any
whiff of incompetence or corruption" around them.
Hear! Hear!
Talking of favours, we were reminded of the Democratic Alliance and
Helen
Zille. What particularly caught Muckraker's attention was the bold
headline
in the Mail & Guardian proclaiming the "Return of the white men".
This
followed the defeat of the ANC in the Western Cape in the recent
elections.
There are several anomalies in the DA
legislature. Helen only has four
women out of 22 members. The report says
there are 15 white men, four
coloureds and "two Africans" in the
legislature.
We are not told anything about the racial make up
of the population
except that the DA won courtesy of the overwhelming
support of the coloured
community "which makes up 52% of the eligible
voters". It polled less than
3% of the "African" vote.
So
what do the other two races call themselves when they are not being
"white"
or "coloured"? It looks like being "African" refers only to
blacks.
Just in case you missed the point, the writer rubs it
in. In Zille's
possible cabinet line up there is Bonginkosi Madikizela ("and
the only
African minister") for housing. Welcome to Helen's Cape of Good
Hope and
Nelson Mandela's dream of racial harmony in the rainbow
country!
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
15:35
SHORTLY after the Zimbabwean "inclusive government" came into
being 92
days ago, the newly appointed Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti,
announced
that Zimbabwe's most critical financial needs amounted to US$8,3
billion.
Such funds would not meet all Zimbabwe's great economic
recovery
requirements, but would significantly address some of the most
urgent of
them.
He did not conceal the intensely impoverished
state of the Zimbabwean
government, and that whilst every endeavour would be
made to generate
revenues for the fiscus internally, whatsoever could be
raised would, in the
short-term, be insignificant in extent, as compared to
that required.
Government's gross lack of funds was (and is) of
such magnitude that
it cannot pay barely reasonable salaries and wages to
the public service,
inclusive of teachers, police, army, healthcare service
workers, and
innumerable others.
When such a basic
ongoing funding commitment cannot be serviced,
then even more so
government cannot fund the humanitarian aid and social
welfare needs of
more than seven million of Zimbabwe's distressed
population, let alone
meet the immense costs that must be sustained in
reasonably restoring
the intensely debilitated infrastructure.
Monies are needed for
rehabilitation of healthcare facilities,
schools, water procurement,
purification and distribution, electricity
generation and supply,
telecommunications, roads, rail and air services, and
much, much else.
Government simply does not have the money to do even the
very slightest
element of this long overdue, vitally essential expenditure.
Recently Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai corroborated Minister Biti's
statements of Zimbabwe's chronic fiscal needs. He publicly admitted that
government is "bankrupt". Although that state of affairs has prevailed for
some considerable time, it is the first time that any in Zimbabwean
political authority has been prepared to admit to, and acknowledge, this
deplorable circumstance.
Ultimately, neither acknowledging
its grievous fiscal mismanagement,
nor doing anything substantive to contain
it, it resorted to imposing
endless quasi-fiscal operations upon the Reserve
Bank, knowing that the
central bank could generate the funding by
promiscuous printing of money.
That the consequences of doing so
would be exacerbation of pronounced
hyperinflation, concurrently with
further destruction of Zimbabwe's then
already very tarnished international
image was of no concern to those in
power. They just had to spend, spend,
and spend some more!!
But chickens always come home to roost,
and ultimately, albeit with
extreme reluctance, and with bravado
misrepresentation that it was
prescribing central bank discontinuance of
operations allegedly usurped by
it, but which it had never wished to
engage in, government had no choice
but to resume the responsibility for
quasi-fiscal activities.
The hyperinflation triggered
"dollarisation" of the economy
precluded continuing recourse to
unsupported money printing, and there were
no longer enriched foreign
currency accounts to "borrow" from (although
without concurrence of the
victimised "lenders").
So the state had to assume responsibility
for the quasi-operations,
and yet doing so is in practice an
impossibility, for it does not even
have the funds for its basic fiscal
outflows, let alone for quasi-fiscal
ones. Hence, the new government has
had no alternative but to admit
publicly to that which has long been known
to, but denied by, its
predecessor, and in the full knowledge of the
international community, the
financial sector, economists, and many
others.
Acknowledging an ailment is the first step towards
curing it, even if
only a very small step, and Prime Minister Tsvangirai and
Finance minister
Biti must be commended for courageously doing so. That
commendation is
especially deserved in that they have done so very
factually, without
seeking to gain political advantage by resorting to
recriminatory and
castigatory denigration of those whose indisputable
culpability caused
Zimbabwean fiscal bankruptcy. Instead, they have confined
themselves to
stating facts, and by focusing upon ways of healing the
nationally
disastrous fiscal ills.
To a material, but not
total, extent, government has to curb
expenditure, including reducing the
vast outflows attributable to fiscal
abuse, intemperate expenditures, and
widespread corruption.
But both of those actions cannot suffice,
for the gap between
essential needs and available resources is so great as
to be unbreachable by
those measures alone, and will remain so until there
is a very marked
improvement in the economy. In consequence, government is
presently not even
able to pay anything above token salaries, be it to the
public service in
general, or even to its ministers.
Civil
service morale is at an all time low, worsening yet further the
renowned
lack of productivity of the public service, and stimulating an
endless
exodus of skilled personnel to the private sector in general, and
beyond
Zimbabwe's borders in particular.
Understandably, the
international community is confronted with a major
dilemma. On the one hand,
despite its own constraints, due to the prevailing
global economic
recession, it's anxious and willing to assist Zimbabwe's
economy recovery.
On the other hand, it is very understandably concerned
that any
funding provided will only be used for agreed purposes, as
distinct
from diversion and abuse, which was a very frequent occurrence
in the
past.
It is also deeply concerned that the slow but positive
developments
since the conclusion of the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
will continue,
and accelerate. The past has been so greatly characterised by
governmental
duplicity, self-protection and beneficiation, that fears of
recurrence
thereof are inevitable.
This is especially so
because of the many instances of Zanu PF in
general, and it's hierarchy
in particular, have as yet given only
lip-service to the GPA, complying
superficially only with many of its
provisions.
Until the
disputes over appointments of Permanent Secretaries,
Provincial Governors,
and others are resolved, until Roy Bennett is
belatedly sworn-in, as Deputy
Minister of Agriculture, until farm invasions
are wholly discontinued, until
human and property rights are fully respected
and the principles of justice,
law and order fully complied with, and much
else, international cynicism,
scepticism and caution and wariness is
inevitable.
However,
for the sake of the desperately suffering Zimbabwean people,
and to maximise
prospects of success for the inclusive government, followed
by transition to
a genuinely free and fairly elected, democratic government,
it is vital that
the international community very urgently accelerate and
intensify financial
support for Zimbabwe.
Over recent weeks there has been a slow
escalation of that support,
including last week's grant of a US$250 million
line of credit by the
African Export and Import Bank and an amount recently
of US$400 million from
Sadc and Comesa (and a derisory, near insulting US$10
million from China).
But the total of funds received and pledged to date
is not yet even 10% of
the most essential needed.
The
International Monetary Fund resumption of technical assistance is
very
positive, but its funding, as that from the Word Bank, European
Investment
Bank and many others, are prerequisites if Zimbabwean recovery,
and
progressive restoration of basic essentials for survival of the
Zimbabwean
people, are extremely urgent essentials.
Tribute is due to
many donors of humanitarian aid, but rapid and
meaningful governmental
funding and developmental aid are as necessary if
Zimbabwean humanity is to
be saved. Otherwise malnutrition, ill-health and
deprivation will see the
continuing decimation of the Zimbabwean people.
BY ERIC
BLOCH
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
18:19
ON Wednesday Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai launched what the
unity
government calls a 100-Day Plan which he said has the "potential to
change
the culture of governance in Zimbabwe".
This new project
comes after the GNU's first 100 days in office which
Tsvangirai said focused
on the "process of formulation and consolidation".
The next 100 days will
now focus on implementation, he said.
This is how Tsvangirai's
project is going to be executed; in 100-day
phases which practically mean
nothing at this stage because events lately
point to the fact that the first
100 days have not achieved the desired
consolidation. With it we question
whether the unity government is working.
The answer is a straight
no if viewed in the recent context of
political arrests of activists,
journalists and lawyers. This places doubt
on the success of the second
100-day phase which is supposed to deal with
implementation.
Principals in the power-sharing agreement
which resulted in the
formation of the GNU would at this stage rather have
their first hundred
days in office airbrushed out.
The score
card of the first 100 days does not look good and it has a
serious bearing
on the next 100 days. That is not to say that the first
hundred days have
not achieved anything. We have seen price stability on
consumer goods, which
effectively halted runaway inflation. Food is
available in shops and
business sentiment has improved.
But more could have been
achieved if the politicians had managed to
deal with outstanding political
issues in the first 100 days. The failure
poses a major threat not only to
the 100-Day Plan but to the life of the
unity government
itself.
It has become hostage to the failure by Tsvangirai,
President Mugabe
and Arthur Mutambara to not only deal expeditiously with
the so-called
outstanding issues but to also correct the defective power
balance in the
government.
This phenomenon has created fiefdoms
within government which have
become a law unto themselves. We have lately
seen violations of the
power-sharing deal and a new wave of repression which
this week saw the
arrest of staffers of this paper and key human rights
lawyer Alec
Muchadehama.
The major worry in all this is that
solving the outstanding issues as
spelt out by the GPA could fall short of
what is required to implement any
recovery programme. Tsvangirai is aware of
this. On Wednesday, despite
sounding upbeat about the 100-Day Plan, he
revealed the extent of the crisis
being faced by the GNU.
"If all the signatories are not fully committed to abiding by the
agreement
to which they have appended their names, then the technical
implementation
of government will falter," said Tsvangirai.
"Sadly there
appears to be reluctance by residual elements from the
old government to
obstruct and frustrate the successful implementation of
the GPA. This
attitude, should it continue, will limit the effective
implementation of the
100-Day Plan and subsequently impact negatively on our
ability to make a
positive difference to the lives of all Zimbabweans."
He added:
"What continues to plague Zimbabwe can best be described as
a reluctance to
accept the reality of the changes taking place within the
country."
There you have it. There are residual elements
which Tsvangirai is
very much alive to. These have continued to frustrate
government efforts. He
is also aware of their location. They are denizens of
the old government,
meaning they are domiciled in Zanu PF. Theirs is to
frustrate the process.
They are huge stumps in the middle of a busy
highway.
But Tsvangirai should not continue to speak in riddles
about the
people and centres of power frustrating efforts to ensure
recovery. As the
person who has been tasked to bring the desired change to
this country, he
is doing this nation a great disservice by not naming and
shaming the
culprits and the nature of their destructive
projects.
That is not all. He should also tell us why as prime
minister he has
been unable to deal decisively with those frustrating
government efforts. We
also want to know who have been protecting the
saboteurs.
He said on Wednesday that "those individuals that continue
to
undertake these actions (of violating the GPA) are in effect stealing
from
every Zimbabwean".
Yes, the felons are on the loose.
Daily, Zimbabweans are being robbed
of the freedom to express themselves and
speak out against repression and
demagoguery.
Citizens have
been robbed of their dignity through policies and
machinations that have
obstructed the progressive legislative agenda. Then
there are bandits and
rogues who have continued to cause havoc on the farms,
stealing ripening
crops and destroying infrastructure.
It is time that those
responsible for our misery are exposed for what
they are: thieves. This has
been the state of affairs in the first 100 days
of the unity
government.
The situation as it stands does not inspire confidence
in the ability
of the GNU to deliver on the 100-Day Plan as long as material
and emotional
theft is not dealt with. The roll-call of felons must start
now, Rt Hon
Prime Minister Tsvangirai.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14 May 2009
16:43
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe this week received a delegation from the
"Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (North Korea), nailing his political
association colours to the mast.
He looked very comfortable in
the company of the group from the
far-flung outpost of tyranny.
The visit cemented Mugabe's relations with North Koreans and paraded
their
political affinity, while it was also a throwback to the dark era of
the
1980s.
Mugabe thanked the North Koreans at a state banquet held for
them on
Monday night, saying they had provided support in areas of
construction,
defence, security, energy, mining, health and arts and
culture.
He claimed the visit was a "clear demonstration of support
and
solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe" in the context of the inclusive
government.
Mugabe congratulated North Koreans for their
widely condemned
satellite launch last month. The launch was slammed by
influential sections
of the international community, especially the US,
Japan and EU states, as
provocative and a threat to international peace and
security.
Venturing deeper into the subject and displaying his
admiration for
the North Koreans, Mugabe thanked the country's founder, the
late "Great
Leader" Kim Il Sung. "The Great Leader will thus live forever in
our
memories of the revolutionary struggle we waged to earn our freedom,"
Mugabe
said. "Not only did he provide us with training facilities for our
cadres,
but he extended us substantial material assistance by way of
weaponry. We
thank him today as we did yesterday."
Mugabe
forged a close relationship with the "Great Leader" in the late
1970s at the
height of the liberation struggle. His 21st February Movement
is modelled
along Kim Il Sung's Juche ideological lines of following the
"party and the
dear leader".
Because Joshua Nkomo's Zipra forces received support
from the orthodox
Moscow-led Soviet bloc, Mugabe had to find his own
sponsors for Zanla in
Bejing and Pyongyang. This explains Harare's frosty
relations with Moscow up
to this day.
The alliance between
Zanla and Pyongyang was a rare breakthrough for
Kim Il Sung to pursue his
own foreign policy adventures. So when Zimbabwe
became independent in 1980
it immediately became North Korea's most
ambitious foreign policy
objective.
Hundreds of North Korean military advisers were deployed
to Zimbabwe,
not only to train but also equip the professional army and
Mugabe's
shock-troops, the notorious 5th Brigade, with T-54 tanks, trucks,
armoured
cars, heavy artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and a plethora of
small arms
and ammunition.
For a few years Kim Il Sung even
dreamt of emulating Fidel Castro and,
from his Zimbabwean base, had over 3
000 troops helping the Angolan,
Mozambican and Ethiopian
governments.
Mugabe's association with North Koreans is very
controversial. While
they backed the liberation war effort, the same North
Koreans trained the
5th Brigade which killed at least 20 000 Zimbabweans in
the southwestern
region from 1982-87 during the Gukurahundi
campaign.
For most balanced and objective Zimbabweans, the
North Koreans are
therefore not welcome. Their presence is seen as not only
an insult to the
families and relatives of those killed by the 5th Brigade,
but also an
affront to our collective conscience and humanity as a
nation.
How do serious leaders receive with open arms agents of
a regime which
was behind grisly massacres of their own fellow citizens?
Does this not
speak volumes about Mugabe's attitude and government's
approach towards the
untold atrocities which left scars and bitterness in
the consciences of all
civilised Zimbabweans?
Perhaps we
can understand Mugabe's friendship with the North Koreans,
but how about the
MDC leaders? Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and deputy
prime minister
Thokozani Khuphe were part of the Zanu PF delegation which
received the
North Koreans at the airport.
It was an unbelievable scene.
Industry and Commerce minister Welshman
Ncube and other ministers later
joined in the fray, taking the North Koreans
to our collapsed industries and
other sectors of the economy as if they
expect serious investment from a
country which can't even feed its
population.
North Korea,
like the impoverished Zimbabwe of today, relies on food
aid to feed its
citizens. So what sort of investment do we expect from
there?
As part of the tour, inclusive government leaders
dined, wined and
enjoyed at the taxpayers' expense with the North Koreans.
But the whole trip
was an offensive and distasteful event for most
Zimbabweans.
The Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu)
captured the mood very
well.
"We wish to castigate and
condemn all those who embraced and gave
North Koreans a warm reception,"
Zinasu spokesman Blessing Vava said. "We
throw our support behind all the
progressive Zimbabweans who are calling for
their immediate departure from
Zimbabwe.
Lest people forget, North Korea provided training to the
notorious 5th
Brigade troops who massacred close to 20 000 innocent
civilians. North Korea
also is on top on the list of worst human rights
violators in the world.
"We appreciate our country is in dire
need of funds and resources but
this should not be an excuse for government
to accommodate, wine and dine
with well-known dictators, human rights
violators, and vampires," Vava said.
Need we say
more?
BY DUMISANI MULEYA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
Thursday, 14
May 2009 15:52
NOTHING has really changed at Harare Central Police
Station since the
last time I was a guest there in January
2004.
It is still the same dark alleys and passages that take
suspects and
police officers up and down a maze of steps that eventually
open in front of
a well-maintained small garden.
The badly lit
offices, like they were five years ago, are still
littered with rickety
chairs and Olivetti typewriters which should have been
retired more than a
decade ago to rest in peace in antique shops or museums.
Police officers on
duty at the Law and Order Section dutifully typed the
charge against us on
these ancient inventions.
Together with our News Editor
Constantine Chimakure, I was this week
charged under the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act for
communicating falsehoods prejudicial to
the state. For our alleged crimes,
we spent a night at Harare Central Police
Station.
Police at the little reception area were pleasant and
professional.
They welcomed us to the "hotel". This one does not require
Koga's perception
management projects to attract customers. It is well
patronised.
Since my last visit, the authorities at the police
station have done
something on the plumbing as sewerage has stopped dripping
close to police
officers' desks and in passageways. I also noticed piles of
breadcrumbs
which I am told now constitute part of the meal for prisoners.
The pleasant
smell of the bread confirmed its freshness. These are damaged
loaves from
bakeries.
I introduced Constantine to the
check-in routine of peeling off layers
of clothing, belts, shoes and socks
and surrendering them to officers in the
inventory room. This is when
reality then set in. We were in for a long cold
night.
For
company, we had a young banker arrested on charges of defrauding a
bank of
"a lot of greens". He appeared unperturbed by the allegations;
neither was
he complaining about his detention from the previous Friday.
There were truck drivers whose crime I could not understand. They had
been
arrested after being robbed of their truck at gunpoint in South Africa.
Dumbfounding? But that was their story.
There were also two
CID police officers who were not very keen to talk
about their crimes. A
shake of the head and deep sighs defined the gravity
of their
charge.
Then there was the usual potpourri of vendors, touts,
pickpockets and
a triumvirate that was constantly in deep conversation about
cars and how to
talk nicely to the PPs (public
prosecutors).
Amid the acrid smells of urine and faecal matter
from the toilets, and
the cold floors thick with gooey black grime that
covered our bare feet, the
setting appeared complete for a dreary long cold
night. But for four hours
we were to be treated to an unexpected comedy show
from a most unlikely
character.
He was brought to the cells
in full military fatigues minus his hat
but in an advanced state of
inebriation. The few intelligible things he said
suggested that he had
refused to pay bus fare. His reason; Mbuya Nehanda
Nyakasikana paid bus fare
for all soldiers before she died.
This statement was repeated
severally as "Gunners", his adopted name
now (apologies to Arsenal fans),
propped himself against the wall. Later his
show focused on the big bag he
had surrendered to the police manning the
inventory office.
He wanted it back because it contained "perishables" for his wife Mai
Lucy.
Intermittent questions from fellow inmates revealed that he had been
drinking gondo (Eagle lager) since morning but was arrested in town by
fellow soldiers around 7pm.
He was booked in for disorderly
and drunken behaviour. His
embarrassing state provided comic relief but also
got me thinking about why
I was being detained. I was being accused of
communicating falsehoods, and
causing disaffection among members of the
uniformed forces.
The state of "Gunners" did not portray the
military establishment in
good light. It raised the question of how Gunners
managed to get so drunk in
uniform and while on duty. Where were his
superiors when he was drinking on
the job? Are there other men in uniform
drinking on the job?
A man or woman in uniform who misbehaves
in public sends the wrong
signal to the public on what the security
establishment represents. This
also includes policemen openly demanding
bribes from kombi drivers at
roadblocks, or soldiers harassing transport
operators at bus termini.
Journalists reporting on the bad conduct of
security officers are not
causing disaffection to the establishment but
simply articulating societal
concerns.
But our rulers
appear to have a resolute stance that military
establishment are a sacred
lot whose excesses should escape the glare of the
media.
It
is not the role of the media to launder the image of the security
establishment. A professional police force or army does not need the media
to praise it for the public to celebrate its professionalism. There is
serious need for introspection in the security establishment in this
country.
The men in uniform must find out from the public
what they think about
the conduct of the security establishment. We would be
very keen to publish
the findings of such a survey.
BY VINCENT
KAHIYA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com
ZC Needs Govt Supervision
Thursday, 14 May 2009 16:32
UNLIKE other sporting disciplines like soccer where government
interference
is not tolerated, in cricket the Ministry of Sport -- on behalf
of
government -- is responsible for checks and balances of the game.
They usually set up boards of inquiry to probe whatever would be the
problem
bedeviling the game of cricket. The board of inquiry will make a
recommendation to the Ministry of Sport. This kind of arrangement is
prevalent in the Indian sub-continent.
Whenever there is a
probe heads will definitely roll especially if it
causes an embarrassment to
the game. Following Pakistan's humiliating exit
at the 2007 World Cup there
was a commission of inquiry to find out the
causes of the team's dismal
performance.
Almost all of the members of Pakistan's cricket
board quit and a host
of players went into retirement.
In the other
cricket playing nations the media play a pivotal role in
exposing
maladministration by cricket administrators.
Zimbabwe Cricket
(ZC) has for the past 10 years been through a number
of problems. Players,
coaches and some administrators have come and gone.
From Dave
Ellman-Brown, Neil Johnson, Dave Houghton, Phil Simons to
Brendon Taylor
they all left and contributed their talents elsewhere.
Nobody
from the Ministry of Sport bothered to ascertain the causes
which led to the
resignation of such cricketers as Murray Godwin and Neil
Johnson. So many
cricketers and officials were sidelined and the final blow
came in April
2004 when 15 senior players rebelled against ZC.
Our domestic
league used to be strong and our junior development
programmes were very
sound but now everything is in a messy state and nobody
seems to
care.
Government should scrutinise the decisions that are made
by ZC to
ensure that they are in the best interest of the game. This is
because I
believe that the decisions they make are influenced mainly by
personal
ambitions.
I am of the view that some people at ZC
are motivated by grants and
money made from TV rights to remain as
administrators.
Until there is a strong and impartial
monitoring of cricket by
government the problem will continue and in the
near future there will be no
cricket to talk about in Zimbabwe. Like they
say it's easy to destroy than
construct.
Concerned
Fan,
Harare.
-----
Property Rights and
Freedom
Thursday, 14 May 2009 16:31
THE concept of freedom
is not new; it has been an idea that previous
generations have sought with
passion and determination.
The first European settlers in the
United States were people fleeing
religious persecution in Europe, so were
some of the first settlers in the
Cape.
It was this motive,
amongst others, that drove the Afrikaners to set
out from the secure
confines of the Cape to undertake a great trek into the
remote hinterland of
Africa where they sought freedom.
In turn, the people they
oppressed as they occupied new lands, sought
freedom in a struggle that took
on political and even military form.
The very freedoms the
Afrikaners desired from the "uitlanders", they
in turn denied the indigenous
people they displaced and subjugated.
In the United States the
settlers swamped the indigenous peoples and
in their turn not only denied
them their own rights, but nearly wiped them
out.
Today the
struggle for real freedom is less obvious but is still an
important
issue.
In my view the modern Africans struggle for freedom has
more to do
with property rights today than political rights. The latter
struggle is
won, the former is still with us and it is in this context that
the current
farm invasions in Zimbabwe must be seen.
The
greatest threat to African progress today is the near universal
denial of
individual ownership rights to property that characterises
traditional
society. The roots lie deeply imbedded in a culture where chiefs
hold the
title to the land and made use of this to establish their power and
authority.
Such socio economic systems were fine so long as
there was ample land
available and no fences.
The
introduction of the modern economy and health systems led to
rising
populations and these soon outstripped the capacity of the land to
carry the
burden of traditional agricultural practices.
It is all about
property rights. The colonists, when they occupied and
subjugated the land,
restricted the indigenous people to specific land areas
and did nothing to
see to it that they enjoyed property rights there.
In such
situations people cannot be free. They are subject to the
whims of their
leaders and the people with wealth and power in their midst.
They are easily
persuaded to use violence for one end or another and can be
forced by their
dependence on others to vote this way or that.
To bring freedom
to people caught up in this cycle of violence,
poverty and subjugation
requires access to secure property rights. In town
the right and even the
capacity to own a home large enough to accommodate a
family.
By destroying the property rights of the commercial
farmer in
Zimbabwe, the government of the day took the process of reform in
the wrong
direction.
It has long been a goal of the MDC to
bring secure property rights to
all who must live on the land and to ensure
that every family that chooses
to move to the towns, is able to buy their
own home and live with security.
Freehold property rights
create freedom and secure democracy.
That is why tyrants try to
destroy them whenever they have the
opportunity.
Eddie
Cross,
Bulawayo.
------------
Constitution Making
Process Flawed
Thursday, 14 May 2009 16:22
ZIMBABWEANS and
the international community should join forces condemn
the inclusive
government's flawed constitution-making process.
After calling for
a people-driven constitution we are surprised to
find ourselves in a
scenario where Morgan Tsvangirai, Eric Matinenga and
John Makumbe are the
drivers of the process.
A body has been set up to spearhead the
constitution making-process
but we as the people demand our space in the
constitution making process.
I would like to remind Zimbabweans
of Constitutional Amendment No 7 by
Dr Eddison Zvobgo as evidence of how
politicians abuse authority to further
personal interests. Politicians have
a history of abusing constitutions to
loot and cling on to
power.
In as much as we respect Robert Mugabe, Tsvangirai and
Arthur
Mutambara we should not allow them to lead the constitution-making
process.
Representations made by the National Constitutional
Assembly should be
heeded since they are a reflection of our thinking as
Zimbabweans.
If Tsvangirai, Mugabe and Mutambara are serious
about a new
constitution they must allow civil society to lead the process
instead of
imposing a select committee on the people.
Informed
Citizen,
Harare
-------------
Look Into Plight of Zim
Students in China
Thursday, 14 May 2009 16:22
THE Chinese
government through Zimbabwe's Ministry of Higher Education
offered local
students scholarships to pursue their studies in China.
The
agreement is that the Chinese government would pay for the tuition
fees
whilst the Zimbabwe government would cater for the welfare of the
students.
However, the million dollar question is whether the
responsible
authorities are aware that some students who went to China some
10 months
ago have not yet received any grants for their
upkeep.
They have since exhausted whatever meager resources they
brought from
home and are languishing in a foreign land.
A
situation like this becomes unfair to us relatives as we are now
struggling
to assist them. We appeal to the Ministry of Higher Education,
Ministry of
Foreign Affairs as well as the Finance Minister to act quickly
to alleviate
the plight of these students.
Concerned Relative,
Kwekwe.
-------------
Herald Letting us Down
Thursday, 14 May 2009 16:18
AS usual our daily "public" newspapers
continues to disappoint their
readers as they fail to cover the issues they
are expected to cover.
For starters, there was a lot of rancour at
a recent Zanu PF politburo
meeting after the party's faction leaders engaged
in verbal exchanges yet
the Herald never wrote anything about
it.
Is it because this "public" newspaper's reporters never got
wind of
the story or did they choose to turn a blind eye to what is
happening to its
beloved party?
If such an incident had
occurred at the MDC the Herald would have
splashed the news for all to see
for the whole week including photographs.
This just shows how partisan the
paper is and why it does not deserve to be
called a public paper but should
rather be called the Zanu PF Herald.
As a citizen of Zimbabwe I
have the right to be informed and the
Herald does not have the right to be
the gatekeeper of such information.
There are power struggles
within Zanu PF and the party is on the verge
of collapsing and we need to
know about it. United the MDC stands and
divided Zanu PF falls.
Saymore Furusa,
Harare.
--------------
Too Many
Reckless Drivers on the Roads
Thursday, 14 May 2009 16:06
I AM
incensed by the rate at which reckless drivers are multiplying in
our
roads.
On Tuesday last week I was involved in a minor accident at
the hands
of these poor drivers. It occurred at the Kuwadzana roundabout on
my way to
work.
A Mazda T35 truck entered into the lane which
we were travelling in
when we were about to come out of the
roundabout.
The truck almost hit the commuter omnibus in which
we were travelling.
The driver of the vehicle we were in remained calm and
composed but
unfortunately he was forced to get into a trench as he tried to
avoid the
collision.
The truck driver did not even stop to
see what he had caused but
instead just drove off.
Usually
it is the commuter omnibus drivers who are labelled as
reckless and careless
but most times the opposite is the case. Some of them
may be speedy drivers
but usually they are very cautious because they will
be holding the lives of
the passengers in their hands.
I find it very annoying that a
lot of drivers are being careless on
the roads and tend to point fingers at
the commuter drivers.
It is these reckless drivers who are
causing accidents on the roads.
Concerned Commuter,
Harare.
------------
SMS Zimbabwe
Independent
Thursday, 14 May 2009 16:13
ROBERT
Mugabe should recognise the change that has occurred in
South Africa. The
days when he was treated with kid gloves by Thabo Mbeki
are long
gone.
Thwalimbiza.
ROBERT Mugabe controls the
Justice ministry whilst Morgan
Tsvangirai controls the Finance ministry.
Mugabe should therefore be left to
appoint Johannes Tomana and Tsvangirai
deal with the portfolios he controls.
N
Mukandiona.
A LOT is happening behind the scenes in this GNU.
New farm
invasions and re-arresting of political detainees released on bail.
It does
not need a rocket scientist to come out with the chief culprit.
Whoever is
responsible should know that the world is
watching.
Taurai Musingarabwi.
IS there really
going to be an election to be contested by MDC
and Zanu PF in two years
time? I don't think so anymore!
Observer,
Harare.
WITH thieves still lurking in this "new" political
dispensation
and no audit having been done prior to the GNU emerging, how
sure can one be
that the same thieves will not steal again? Is it our trust,
naivety or
docility?
Not convinced.
IT
will take a very long time for ordinary people whose life has
been trashed
by the previous government to forgive or forget the misery
inflicted on them
by these apparent "liberators" who then refused them the
right to vote for
individuals or a party of their choice.
Pessimistic.
IT'S high time the police, CIO and army got
their priorities
right. They are remunerated by the citizens through taxes
paid to the
government. They are servants to the people and not to Robert
Mugabe and
Zanu PF. They have a duty to stand up and say no to violence and
injustices
against the people.
Get Smart.
IF Johannes Tomana knew what the due process of the law really
meant the
true criminals would be behind bars. Tomana must go.
N
M.
AFRICANS are taking the initiative to help Zimbabwe while
the
West dithers and sets condition after condition. This goodwill by Africa
has
nothing to do with Tendai Biti's performance but all to do with them
wanting
to see the inclusive government succeed.
Political
Analyst.
TENDAI Biti is doing a marvellous job for
Zimbabwe. Keep up the
good work.
Impressed.
IT'S high time that the owners of Trust, Barbican
and Royal Bank
are given their assets without further delay. This is another
success for
the Ministry of Finance, in particular and the inclusive
government in
general.
Analyst.
TO Tendai
Biti I say please stop making criminals out of
citizens who are trying to
make an honest living. The prevailing customs
duty tariffs are just not
sustainable. They do not inspire anyone to pay and
you are losing out to
smugglers in the process. Anything between 5% and 25%
would
do.
Impoverished.
CAN Gideon Gono explain to
us what he intends to achieve with
his endless supplements. Who is he trying
to convince? Is it the Finance
minister or the general public? He should get
a prime time on ZTV to tell us
that he has single-handedly "saved" Zimbabwe
from total collapse?
Bemused.
TEACHERS'
monthly allowances are pegged at US$100 yet they are
being taxed 6%, leaving
their net pay at US$94. With this kind of daylight
robbery, why should they
not strike.
Perplexed.
FARMERS need to save
seed. This will ensure that they have seed
to sow in the fields when they
are let down by the seed companies and the
GMB.
Observer.
THE Zimbabwe Independent is a straightforward,
accurate
newspaper. I enjoy reading its stories.
Reader.
WHAT has happened to ZTV's Mike Madhodha? He was
Zimbabwe's
only world class presenter and I have not seen him on television
for a year
now. He brought a breath of fresh air to ZTV's Sportnet -- not to
mention
the clear and insightful analysis of sporting issues.
Sports fan, Harare.
THOSE who run Zesa, TelOne and the city
of Harare should charge
realistic tariffs for the services they are
providing. Many companies for
instance are complaining that their TelOne
lines are not working. The
reality is that TelOne has cut these lines due to
non-payment of bills. If
they go on like this they won't have any
customers.
Bushman.