FinGaz
Nelson Banya News
Editor
Tells farmers to get a reality
check
TOBACCO farmers, who were expecting huge
cheques as
the selling season got underway last week, have been told to get
a reality
check first and accept the vagaries of the current economic
environment.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor
Gideon Gono, who
drew the ire of tobacco growers when he withdrew a $180 000
sweetener for
early deliveries on the eve of the current selling season last
week, has
warned tobacco farmers - most of whom have held back their crop to
press for
better terms - against holding the country to
ransom.
"We cannot . . . be reckless enough to allow
one
section of farmers, ignoring others, or one sector of the economy, to
either
hold the country to ransom or to demand the whole 'cookie jar' in the
form
of unsustainable, ruinous subsidies.
"Subsidies of any nature outside market forces are a
form of 'cookie jar'.
An economy is an all-inclusive animal, made up of
various players who should
be considerate to one another, be appreciative of
the current constraints
affecting the generality of the economy and
therefore who behave
accordingly.
"I am aware that some stakeholders think
that the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is a bottomless pit of money simply
because we both
print and keep it, that we do not feel the pain of excessive
money supply
growth and that we would not want to reduce it," Gono said
yesterday.
Gono was responding to widespread calls
from tobacco
growers, some of whom have asked the government to reinstate
the tobacco
support price to cushion them from the effects of an exchange
rate that has
been virtually static since January despite rapidly rising
inflation.
Although the central bank has put in place
a policy
to award a 35 percent bonus for early deliveries, farmers insist
this is not
enough, saying an exchange rate of US$/Z$180 000 would allow
them to break
even.
The interbank exchange rate
currently stands at
about US$/Z$100 000.
Zimbabwe
Tobacco Association president James de la
Fargue has said at current levels,
farmers would be selling at a loss.
"Essentially,
growers are going to be selling below
break-even. Costs have more than
doubled since January but the exchange rate
has remained fixed," de la
Fargue said.
Gono however said farmers should
consider the
support lent by the government during the production
process.
"The government has supported our farmers,
tobacco
farmers included, with subsidised loans at 20 percent when market
rates are
30 times higher due to inflation, has provided subsidised fuel,
although not
every farmer received it due to inadequate volumes and abuse,
heavily
subsidised electricity, free pieces of land or whole farms to some
under the
land reform programme.
"This generation
of new tobacco farmers must realise
that farming is, like any other, a
business; that not every farmer will make
it to the bank smiling; that some
will burn and others will prosper. That is
the nature of business the world
over.
"So my message to our tobacco farmers remains:
farming is a business. No one should feel compelled to do it if it is
ruinous to their fortunes," Gono said.
FinGaz
Staff Reporter
NOMIAS
MUNEMO, one of the security details assigned to the First Family, was
arrested after he was caught switching price tags in a Singaporean
department store during First Lady Grace Mugabe's visit to the Asian
shopping paradise last month.
Although local officials could not
confirm the incident, security officers
at Singapore's Mustafa department
store told The Financial Gazette that the
incident took place on April 11
this year.
A security officer, who only identified himself as Lim, said
Munemo had paid
less for the goods he purchased after changing price
tags.
"Yes, that's correct. Munemo Nomias was apprehended after he had
changed the
price tags on a jacket, one pair of jeans and one shirt. Instead
of paying
172.30 Sing dollars (about US$110), he paid 84.70 Sing dollars
(about
US$54)," the security official said.
Asked what action had been
taken against Munemo, Lim could only say the case
had been
concluded.
"The case has been concluded. I don't know, may be he got a
warning," he
said.
However, sources said Munemo, whose rank was given as
assistant inspector,
was arrested upon arrival at the Harare International
Airport. He is
believed to be still in police custody.
The First Lady is
reported to have been in Singapore on holiday from April 7
to April
12.
The incident is reported to have incensed the First Family, especially
considering the considerable US$5 000 allowance Munemo received for the
trip.
FinGaz
Chris Muronzi
Staff Reporter
LOSSMAKING power utility ZESA Holdings has relaunched its
bid for a tariff
review, which the board says is imperative for the
parastatal's turnaround.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe recently blocked
ZESA's proposal for a huge
tariff hike, citing inflation
concerns.
Sources within the parastatal say the ZESA board, chaired by Sydney
Gata,
has appealed to Vice-President Joice Mujuru to look into the company's
plight.
Mujuru oversees parastatals and local authorities.
A ZESA
board member told The Financial Gazette that the tariff hike was
crucial to
the parastatal's revival.
"We have made an appeal to Vice-President Joice
Mujuru to look into the
issue of a tariff hike because it is of importance
to ZESA," he said.
Gata also confirmed the move, saying his company would
want to implement a
tariff hike but intervention by central bank chief
Gideon Gono had stalled
the move.
Gata said: " (The tariff hike) was not
implemented because of the
intervention by the central bank, which wanted to
keep the lid on inflation.
You are aware of the recent intervention by the
central bank governor."
Zimbabwe is experiencing erratic power supplies, and
ZESA says foreign
currency shortages have worsened the situation.
Energy
experts say ZESA's tariffs are below regional standards.
Zimbabwe faces the
prospect of worse power shortages in 2007 when a deficit
is expected in the
sub-region that will see the country's current sources of
imports being
unable to export.
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Chief
Reporter
Transport ministry introduces performance contracts for SBU
heads
HEADS of the five proposed strategic business units (SBUs) to be
established
under Air Zimbabwe's unbundling exercise will sign performance
contracts, as
the beleaguered national airline attempts to lift itself from
its myriad
operational and managerial problems.
Transport and
Communications minister, Chris Mushowe, told journalists in
Harare last
Wednesday that cabinet wanted a new-look Air Zimbabwe which
would play a
leading role in the revival of the economy.
Air Zimbabwe has already placed
adverts in the national press scouting for
suitable candidates to head Air
Zimbabwe Holding, National Handling Services
(NHS), Air Zimbabwe Passenger
Company, Air Zimbabwe Technical and Air
Zimbabwe Cargo.
"We are looking
for competent managers and to ensure that they deliver, the
heads of the
SBUs will be made to sign performance contracts. Those that
fail to deliver
as per the contracts agree unfortunately will be asked to
go," said
Mushowe.
"The SBUs will operate as profit centers," he said. The government
last
Tuesday approved Air Zimbabwe's restructuring that will see it
establish the
five SBUs as well as trim its bloated staff of about 1 900 by
30 percent.
"We are now in the process of setting critical milestones through
the
Tripartite Turnaround Committee (TTC), to pave way for a new structured
and
focused airline," added Mushowe.
The minister however said a
voluntary retrenchment package would be put in
place to cut staff as the
national airline as cost-cutting measure.
"While the process will have
casualties, it is strongly supported by the
government. We shall all be
guided by principles of fairness and
accountability when we implement the
impending job-cuts. All this is for the
good of the airline. It will be
carried out without any vindictiveness," he
said.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda Senior
Business Reporter
CENTRAL bank governor Gideon Gono will today deliver a
landmark ruling on
the amalgamation of Trust Bank and Royal Bank into the
Zimbabwe Allied
Banking Group (ZABG).
Lawyers representing the
shareholders of the two former colourful banks that
were promoted by William
Nyemba and Jeffrey Mzwimbi told The Financial
Gazette yesterday that
authorities at the central bank had advised them that
Gono will deliver the
verdict today.
"The ruling will be out tomorrow (today) in the afternoon,"
said Sternford
Moyo, who is representing shareholders of Royal
Bank.
Mordecai Mahlangu is representing Trust Bank shareholders.
The RBZ
collapsed Royal and Trust Bank into the ZABG, an amalgamation of
formerly
troubled banking institutions, in January 2005 after it discovered
that the
banks were near collapse because of gross financial mismanagement
and in
some cases downright corruption. But Trust and Royal later challenged
their
closure and compulsory incorporation through the courts to stop the
central
bank from assimilating them into the ZABG, prompting Gono to appoint
an
independent panel which included South Africa's corporate governance
expert
Mervyn King to look into the founding shareholders' claims over the
banks.
FinGaz
Chris Muronzi Staff
Reporter
THE corruption trial of Zimbabwe United Passenger Company
(ZUPCO) chairman
Charles Nherera was yesterday adjourned to allow experts to
establish the
authenticity of a copy of a recording made by businessman
Jayesh Shah, whose
claims that Nherera sought a bribe from him form the
basis of the case.
Shah, who is managing director of Gift Investments -
one of ZUPCO's biggest
coach suppliers - yesterday submitted a master copy
of the recording of a
conversation in which Nherera allegedly solicited a
bribe, but defence
lawyers argued there was need for expert opinion on the
authenticity of the
recording and whether it had not been tampered
with.
Shah said he made the recording on January 28 2005 at a coffee shop in
Kensington after Nherera continuously demanded a US$51 000 bribe for 17
minibuses his company supplied to ZUPCO.
"On the 28th of January 2005.
The Minister (of Local Government, Ignatius
Chombo) called for a meeting in
his office. The purpose of the meeting was
to formalise the purchase of
additional buses. The minister, local
government permanent secretary, the
accused and myself attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the minister
told the accused that the suppliers had the
capacity to supply 30
conventional buses and another 50 minibuses before
March 2005 and he
(Nherera) should instruct Zupco management to float a
tender. The accused
said before the tender was floated it was important to
get RBZ authority and
approval," said Shah in his testimony.
"It was agreed that Nherera would go
to the RBZ and see the deputy governor
of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Mr
Nick Ncube, to get the go-ahead. I was
asked to wait outside while the
accused and the permanent secretary remained
in the office.
"The accused
asked me to follow him. When we got into the lift it was just
the two of us
going down. I asked him where we were oing and he said 'there
are too many
eyes watching us here. This place is not safe to talk'.
"He told me to follow
him and I followed him all the way to Kensington
shopping centre," Shah
said.
Shah said when they got there, Nherera told him to find a place to sit.
The
businessman further told the court that he started recording his
conversation with Nherera on a Siemens SL45 mobile phone, which has
dictaphone capacity.
The businessman produced a multi media card, which
he claimed was the
original and could not be manipulated, but Advocate
Clement Phiri, who
represents Nherera, and regional magistrate Lillian Kudya
said the
authenticity of his claims needed independent expert
opinion.
The state, led by Obi Mabahwana is alleging that Nherera committed
the
offence between August 2004 and February 2005.
Nherera, who is being
charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, has
pleaded not guilty to
the charges.
Shah took the witness stand on Tuesday and is expected to
continue with his
testimony on Monday next week
FinGaz
Jonathan Maphenduka
IT is
difficult when one is a member of a country divided by tribes to be
dispassionate when dealing with issues of tribalism.
A dispassionate
disposition is not a gift that belongs to every scribe, with
journalists
often hard put to observe this cardinal law of the fourth
estate.
People
often make sarcastic statements at the expense of each to conceal
their
tribal motivation.
They often find themselves unable to resist the urge to
pass subtle tribal
messages, even those in positions of authority and great
influence.
I will try to be as much dispassionate as is humanely possible
under the
circumstances.
There is a popular but fallacious belief that
the people of the region of
Matabeleland are tribalists because Joshua Nkomo
was reduced by tribal
forces to represent one tribe, as opposed to a
national unit.
It follows, therefore, according to this school of thought,
that his
followers became a tribal clique, if one may borrow a tired
cliché.
Those who by tribally motivated calculations assert a tribal
ascendancy in
the political arena conveniently forget recorded history about
the role he
and his followers played beyond tribal lines, and often indulge
in downright
deception.
It is a popular pastime to attack him and his
tribe to keep together the
motley of allied tribes in their own
group.
They are not only content to do that, but have also been known to
dramatise
tragedies in our history, like the legend that Nguni people in
past
generations drowned their Shona victims in the Chirodziva Pool in the
Chinhoyi Cave, to fan tribal hatred.
That no one has protested the
Chirodziva drama on national television for
years is an indictment of the
perpetrators. They choose to omit mention of
the Gukurahundi atrocities in
Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces, where
Ndebele-speaking people could
be found.
This historical background is necessary to understand and
appreciate the
true facts of what will follow in this narration.
These
same people, in their rank hypocrisy, forget that these tactics help
only to
fan tribal hatred where people should use their tongues to promote
nation-building.
I must not aberrate away from the topic that Nkomo
allegedly represented a
tribe and that he left a legacy to be carried
forward, when the true fact is
that the other tribes in the embryonic
nationalist movement in the 1960s
deserted him, ostensibly to find a better
leader.
This act alone destroyed for all time the only national movement that
had
united the people of Zimbabwe beyond our wildest dreams.
The current
professors of national unity, with all the goodwill in the
world, can never
hope to achieve and reach heights in nation-building that
Nkomo had reached
before the other tribes in the movement, impelled by a
deeply rooted desire
to build tribal castles, stormed out.
But the myth that Nkomo became a tribal
leader while Robert Mugabe and his
tribal co-conspirators became leaders of
a national movement must be
exploded in the interest of national
survival.
Also, the popular fallacy that the people of Matabeleland abandoned
their
national outlook when tribalists from other ethnic groups reduced him
to the
level of tribal leader cannot be backed up by facts, and history must
be
read in its correct context.
This demands the study of both the
Ndebeles' contribution to African
nationalism in Zimbabwe and their
post-independence role in the exercise of
national cohesion.
Those who
care to examine this history will find overwhelming evidence of
true facts
that contradict the labels of tribalism among the people of the
region.
Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
should be the
first to set the record right.
Those who delivered all but
two constituencies to the MDC in 2000 are now
being accused of being
tribalists for questioning Tsvangirai`s flagrant
disregard of the party's
constitution because he is assured of support from
most of the MDC
membership.
This is an extremely dangerous development in a party that
professes to
uphold constitutional rule. That this attitude is buttressed by
tribalism is
beyond any doubt.
Long before Nkomo died in 1999 , his
followers in ZANU PF had long begun a
process of withdrawing their
wholehearted support from him and the party
because of a unity accord they
saw as a betrayal of their best interest in
the aftermath of the atrocities
in the region and the Midlands in 1980.
This withdrawal was clearly
demonstrated in their apathy in all elections
that followed the
accord.
The gradual withdrawal reached its climax when they threw their lot
behind
the MDC, led by Tsvangirai, in the first election after Nkomo's
death.
That the people gave their support to a total stranger from another
region
of the country speaks volumes.
A year earlier they had joined
their compatriots from other regions in
rejecting, unwisely we are told, the
government's constitutional proposals.
Another important point to remember is
the fact that the people shunned Paul
Siwela's ZAPU, formed to capitalise on
the vacuum left by PF ZAPU's
"swallowing" by ZANU PF.
If the charges of
tribalism on their part are based on fact, why did they
shun Siwela's party
and, instead, voted for the MDC and continue doing so up
to this
day?
This whole question of tribalism, after all, is well-documented for
posterity in the history nationalism in Zimbabwe, which goes far beyond the
emergence of the MDC.
It became a reality of political life in 1963 with
the formation of the
Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a breakaway
movement from the
Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) .
ZANU's first
leader, Ndabaningi Sithole, later became a victim of the same
tribally
motivated conspiracies that Nkomo had earlier experienced.
It has been
claimed that the founding of ZANU was dictated by a need to find
a better
leader to take the country to independence, and not by tribalism.
But did the
better leader have to be found by destroying a national movement
that had
united our people like no other organisation can ever hope to unite
them?
And if Sithole was a better leader than Nkomo, what did he do to
deserve
expulsion and replacement by a man of another tribe?
All manner
of reasons have been advanced, except tribalism.
The breakaway from ZAPU was
the first shattering episode in our national
dreams.
The next was the
announcement by Mugabe, on the eve of the first
independence elections in
1980, that the patriotic front partners were to
fight elections
separately.
Although Nkomo's ZAPU was later invited to join a government of
national
unity, this arrangement lasted only two years before Nkomo and his
party
were given marching orders, to face accusations of involvement in
subversive
activities.
So much for the label of tribalism against the
people of Matabeleland.
FinGaz
Staff Reporter
PRODUCTION
at RioZim Limited's Murowa Diamond mine has declined from last
June's peak
of 67 423 carats to just 48 472 carats in the first quarter of
2006, largely
due to the exhaustion of rich surface ore.
Management at Murowa had
previously predicted that output would be lower
this year compared to the
impressive maiden recovery of 251 152 carats. Last
quarter marked the lowest
quarterly output since the mine went into
full-scale production in 2005. A
total of 65 869 carats were produced in the
first quarter of
2005.
Production has, however, been declining steadily since the June peak,
with
the third quarter of 2005 recording 61 060 carats against 56 800 carats
at
the close of the year.
RioZim, which owns 22 % of Murowa, with Rio
Tinto Plc owning 78 percent, got
$172 billion as its share of the mine's
profits in 2005.
FinGaz
Mavis Makuni Own
Correspondent
HAVING 10 former presidents or heads of state of different
African countries
in one place at the same time would have been an
impossible scenario to
imagine not long ago simply because there were not
enough of them who
relinquished power voluntarily, democratically or alive
for that matter.
About 20 years ago most of the continent's leaders
either "passed on the
baton" posthumously, that is, only death ended their
"life presidencies" or
they were ousted in bloody coups. A leader ousted by
the army either died a
gruesome death or went into exile in another country
where he was obliged to
keep a low profile so as not to ruffle the political
feathers of his
deposers and embarrass his hosts.
The advent of peaceful
transitions and transfers of power began in 1985 when
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere
voluntarily relinquished his position as the founding
president of Tanzania,
signalling the end of one-party rule and
establishment of multi-party
democracy. Since then, Tanzania has had three
changes of leadership.
Two
former presidents of Tanzania, Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Benjamin Mkapa were
among 10 former heads of state who attended a two-day roundtable discussion
at Wits University in South Africa about 10 days ago. Other luminaries
bringing a wealth of experience and wisdom in hindsight to this formidable
think-tank were Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, Sir
Ketumile Masire of Botswana, Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya, Pierre Buyoya of
Burundi, Nic Phore Soglo of Benin, Karl Auguste Offman of Mauritius and
Aristides Maria Pereira of Cape Verde.
The meeting, held under the
auspices of Boston University's African
Presidential Archives and Research
Centre, was also attended by university
students from all over Africa, the
United States and Africans living in the
diaspora.
During these annual
gatherings the former heads of state review the
promotion and establishment
of democratic governance in Africa. This year,
they also discussed the issue
of the increasing numbers of Africans living
in the diaspora and how their
earning power could be harnessed for
development back home. They agreed that
strategies must be developed to
encourage the thousands of scientists and
other experts living abroad to
return to Africa and contribute to its
development.
"The strategies for doing so start with African leaders leading
the way in
building a bridge to the diaspora. The time for talk and
romanticising the
necessity for coming together is past. The time is now for
action", said
Kenneth Kaunda.
The former heads of state were less candid
when it came to analysing why so
many skilled Africans who live and work
abroad are so disenchanted with
their motherland. It is not enough to call
for bridge building when it is
obvious that some of those living in the
diaspora had no choice but to leave
their countries to escape persecution
and harassment under generally
repressive political dispensations that
stifled academic, professional and
artistic zeal and freedom. In recent
years, in some countries such as
Zimbabwe, citizens have left in droves for
Europe, America and Asia to
escape grinding poverty, unemployment and a
repressive political atmosphere.
The assembled former leaders should have
tackled the reasons why "economic
refugees" from countries with collapsed
economies prefer to do menial work
abroad when they should be contributing
to the development of their nations
by putting their education and training
to good use. It is only by being
honest about some of the causes of the
continent's problems that the former
leaders can channel their collective
wisdom and insight towards influencing
events and bringing about positive
change. Their annual gatherings could
soon degenerate into one more talkfest
if they choose to gloss over
unpleasant realities
Regrettably, the former
presidents had their defensive blinders up when they
singled out the
unflattering coverage of Africa by foreign media as the main
reason for the
continent's negative image internationally and particularly
in America. They
suggested that in order for the story of Africa to be told
properly and
positively, a multi-media campaign and strategy must be
developed to
encourage fairer and more balanced coverage of the continent.
They said this
could be achieved by developing alternative media and
encouraging leading
American schools of journalism and media organisations
to "develop specific
tracks for covering emerging economies and emerging
democracies,
particularly in Africa."
These former presidents need to be told that the
role of the press is to act
as a watchdog rather than a public relations arm
for corrupt and repressive
regimes. The reason why the coverage of events on
the African continent is
embarrassing is because what is happening in many
parts of the continent is
not pretty. Most countries in Africa have been
independent for at least 50
years now and cannot permanently be viewed as
emerging democracies and
economies. Instead of making progress towards these
ideals after
independence, many countries have been plunged into economic
ruin and
political retrogression by despotic leaders whose policies have
pauperised
entire populations.
The unpalatable truth that the former
leaders were not willing to admit is
that no "good story of Africa" can be
told as long as it does not exist.
What needs fixing is not the reportage or
the journalists covering Africa
but what they find on the ground. Africa is
part of the global village and
the global reach of the media means that the
continent's warts and all are
as liable to be noticed and exposed as those
of Asia, Europe and the
Americas. The only way for the continent to compete
for positive coverage is
to attend to those issues such as dictatorships,
poverty, civil wars,
disease and corruption that currently cast it in bad
light.
Shooting or requiring the messenger to wear rose-tinted glasses is not
the
answer. Some incumbent leaders guilty of such horrors as dictatorship,
human
rights violations, looting and ruination of economies, election
rigging,
lack of accountability etc. etc. have tried to conceal these evils
from the
rest of the world by emasculating the media in their countries
through a
slew of draconian laws. This harsh legislation, such as Zimbabwe's
notorious
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) has
virtually
resulted in a role reversal between the media and the
establishment. Instead
of the media playing the role of watchdog so as to
ensure government
transparency and accountability, it is media practitioners
and media owners
who are now under microscopic scrutiny by the state through
the Media and
Information Commission. It is this kind of scenario that
raises the question
of whether what Africa has is a good story to tell or a
lot to hide. Instead
of exploring this question honestly, the 10 former
presidents assembled in
South Africa, chose like some incumbent leaders, to
bury their heads in the
sand. This enabled them to attribute Africa's poor
image to everything else
except the real reason. The continent cannot have a
positive image when the
negative and horrendous things happening on the
ground in most countries
outweigh the positives in intensity and
prevalence.
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Staff
Reporter
THE OPPOSITION Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) former legal
secretary,
David Coltart, has given up on his efforts to broker a settlement
between
the two warring factions of the party.
Coltart, who is also
the MDC's legislative representative for Bulawayo
South, has in the past six
months, attempted to reunite the two or, at
least, broker what he has termed
"an amicable divorce." He, however,
admitted yesterday he had reached a dead
end after failing to bring the
Morgan Tsvangirai led faction to the
negotiating table and is now set to
align himself with the Arthur
Mutambara-led faction of the party.
"I think I have given this a full go," a
dejected Coltart said yesterday. "I
have tried for six months now. I hate to
admit it, but I think I have failed
and now I will have to make a decision
and in fact I already have started a
process of consultation," he
said.
Although Coltart says he is still to decide on which faction to join,
indications are he could end up aligning himself with the Mutambara faction,
which had initially appointed him secretary for legal affairs at its
February congress. Coltart turned the appointment down at the time, saying
he preferred to retain his neutrality in order to give mediation efforts a
chance.
Coltart accused Morgan Tsvangirai's camp of rebuffing his
mediation efforts.
Matters have also not been helped by the angry
correspondence Coltart
received from Tendai Biti, the secretary general in
Tsvangirai's camp, on
Tuesday.
Biti questioned Coltart's claims to
neutrality, saying he had undermined his
efforts by "negotiating in the
media."
"I have written to him raising our concerns," said Biti. "We don't
think it
is proper for him to use the media as a negotiating platform. I
don't think
he was a neutral negotiator because, in any case, he is part of
the MDC,"
Biti said yesterday.
Coltart has said he has four options open
to him after failing to bring the
two camps to thrash out their political
differences: joining any of the two
camps, becoming an independent
legislator, reverting to his work as a human
rights activist or resigning
from politics altogether.
"I have started to speak to people I trust and
respect right across the
board to gauge their opinion. The majority opinion
seems to be at present
that I should not leave politics," he said.
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Staff
Reporter
FUGITIVE MDC national treasurer Roy Bennett will remain in
charge of the
party's finances even if he is granted political asylum in
South Africa, it
has emerged.
Bennett, who was elected the party's
national treasurer in absentia, fled
the country last month after police
said they wanted to question him in
connection with the discovery of an
"arms cache" in the eastern border city
of Mutare.
Several MDC officials
were arrested along with arms dealer Peter Hitschman.
The state case later
crumbled due to lack of evidence. Only Hitschman, at
whose house the arms
were discovered, remains in custody.
"The regime is after his (Bennett) head.
He is better off in South Africa,"
said Nelson Chamisa, the MDC spokesman.
"He nonetheless stays on as our
national treasurer. We are aware of what he
can do in that post and location
is not a factor."
Bennett, who lost his
coffee farm in Chimanimani under the government's
controversial land reform
programme, has since applied for political asylum
in South Africa citing
continued persecution by the government.
In October 2004, Bennett was jailed
for a year after he pushed Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa to the floor
during a rowdy exchange in
Parliament over the expropriation of farms from
the minority whites to
landless blacks. He was released last year after
completing his jail term.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance chief whip
Douglas Gibson said the South
African opposition party believes Bennett's
application for asylum provides
the South African government with the ideal
opportunity to signal to Harare
that it believes there is a crisis in
Zimbabwe, and it will not tolerate
tyranny in the region.
"The South
African government was quick to provide a haven for the unsavoury
Jean
Bertrand-Aristide, a known abuser of human rights. I therefore,
strongly
urge the South African government to expedite Bennett's application
for
political asylum before more harm is done to him and his family," said
Gibson.
FinGaz
Charles Rukuni Byo
Bureau Chief
'I see committees, but no commitment'
The United States
ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell, who irked the
government last year
when he blamed it for the current economic problems,
yesterday said the
country's economic woes were likely to persist despite
the introduction of a
new economic recovery plan because there had been no
policy shift on the
government's part.
Addressing journalism students at the National
University of Science and
Technology in Bulawayo to mark World Press Freedom
Day, Dell said the
National Economic Develop-ment Priority Programme (NEDPP)
launched two weeks
ago with a lot of fanfare was likely to fail because
there was no evidence
that there would be policy shifts that would address
the fundamental
problems of the economy and restore domestic and
international faith in the
economy.
"So far, I see structure, but no real
debate. I see form, but no reform. I
see committees, but no commitment to
change policies that have shown they do
not work," he said.
"One can't
help recall the series of economic plans announced periodically
since the
country's economic crises got underway at the beginning of this
decade," he
went on. "We have the MERP-Millennium Economic Recovery Plan;
the NERP-New
Economic Recovery Plan; a Ten-point Plan; NERP 2, a TNF-
Tripartite
Negotiating Forum; and now a NERC (National Economic Recovery
Council). All
announced with great fanfare, unfortunately, none yielding
effective policy
to arrest economic decline. We certainly hope the NERC
enjoys a different
and happier fate, but historical experience suggests some
cause for healthy
skepticism."
NEDPP was launched a fortnight ago to turn around the country's
fortunes in
six to nine months. It was expected to generate US$2.5 billion
in cash or
investments in the first 90 days.
He once again brushed aside
the argument that targeted sanctions imposed
against Zimbabwean officials
were responsible for the present crisis arguing
that poor policies by the
government were to blame since the sanctions were
targeted at just over a
100 people.
Dell said his government was prepared to talk with the Zimbabwean
government, that was why he was in Zimbabwe as the US ambassador, but the
Zimbabwean government was not willing to talk to him.
"It takes two to
tango," he added.
FinGaz
Kumbirai
Mafunda Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE'S tobacco growers and merchants have
closed ranks to lobby
government for the economic pricing of the country's
former prime export
crop.
The country's three tobacco growers' bodies
and two merchant associations
met in the capital yesterday and resolved to
pressure the government to
review the current pricing system which they
criticise as unprofitable.
The associations included the Zimbabwe Farmers
Union (ZFU), the Zimbabwe
Association of Tobacco Growers (ZATG), the
Zimbabwe Tobacco Association
(ZTA), the Zimbabwe Association of Tobacco
Merchants (ZATM) and the Tobacco
Trade Association (TTA).
Sources who
attended the meeting said the tobacco bodies had put together a
joint
position paper entitled "To Grow the Tobacco Industry With Confidence",
which representatives of the associations will present to Agriculture
Minister Joseph Made and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono
early next week.
"We have come up with an indication that the reason for
the slump in tobacco
over the past three years has been the viability model
which is not
sustainable. The real problem is there has been little movement
in the
interbank exchange rate and that is causing the viability crunch for
tobacco
growers," said one official who attended the meeting.
"We must
ensure that there is movement in the interbank rate," he added.
Although
auction floors opened last week, farmers have expressed concern
over what
they deem to be unviable prices and a static exchange rate.
This has seen
only a few deliveries coming through to the auctions.
A new tobacco support
framework announced late last month has seen some
growers opting to delay
further deliveries to the floors. The central bank
announced a 35 percent
bonus on all early deliveries of tobacco, which
replaced an earlier
announced $180 000 per kg support price.
Although the new system rewards
quality, growers say it discounts
representations made in earlier
consultations.
Growers had pushed for an exchange rate of US$1:180 000, a
continuation of
the 15 percent retention scheme with improved access for
smaller growers,
and a possibility for merchants to bring in US Dollar
inputs to set off
against leaf purchases. The new system gives an implied
exchange rate of
US$1:134 000, which growers say is below their breakeven
level, and below a
return of 35 percent.
The official said there is need
to restore confidence in a sector that has
traditionally nourished
Zimbabwe's comatose economy.
"The individual must be confident and happy to
grow tobacco," he said.
Zimbabwe has in the last six years witnessed a
drastic and agonising drop in
the output of the golden leaf. Only 45 million
kgs, the lowest output since
independence, is expected to pass through the
country's three auction floors
this year. But in 2000, shortly before the
launch of a controversial land
confiscation programme commercial farmers
produced well over 200 million kgs
of the crop.
FinGaz
Kumbirai
Mafunda Senior Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE could once again register
another poor gold yield this year, after
a leading mining group, RioZim,
reported that production had plummeted in
the first quarter of
2006.
Figures released by the RioZim in its first quarter production
report last
week showed that production at the mining giant's Renco mine
dipped by 2.8
percent in the first quarter of 2006. The diversified mining
house extracted
5 787 ounces of gold compared to 5 956 ounces during the
same period in
2005. At 5 787, output was static with the one recorded in
the fourth
quarter of 2005.
RioZim has previously attributed the decline
in gold production at its mine
to intermittent power cuts effected by power
parastatal ZESA Holdings and
foreign currency shortages.
Zimbabwe's gold
mines are facing serious fuel and electricity shortages and
a foreign
currency crunch, which is pushing up production costs and forcing
the
suspension of some operations. Another gold producer Falcon Gold has
previously been forced to suspend operations at its Venice Mine due to
unsustainable losses.
In 2005 central bank Governor Gideon Gono said the
decline in gold output
had worked against the country's target to grow
exports. Statistics indicate
that deliveries to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ)'s Fidelity Refineries
fell 37 percent from 21 342 kg's in 2004 to 13
453 kg's in 2005 robbing the
country of US$160 million.
Gono blames
smugglers for denting yields and came close to revealing the
identity of the
smugglers in January. But the Chamber of Mines, which
represents the gold
miners, says though smuggling could be contributing to
the decline in
output, there had been depletion of surface gold while
currency shortages
have continued to pin down both small and large-scale
miners.
The drop in
gold output comes on the backdrop of Harare's threats to seize
more than
half the shares in foreign owned mines.
The government says the
nationalisation plan, which has worked up most
miners, is meant to
indigenise the delicate sector. However, large scale
miners have reacted to
the seizure threats by freezing expansion and
potential investment
projects.
Although Zimbabwe has historically been a prominent gold producer
in Africa,
political and economic issues have pushed the country off the
continent's
top five producers' list.
FinGaz
The Geoff
Nyarota Column
THE Zimbabwe Standard on Sunday published one of the most
fascinating
stories to appear in the Zimbabwe press last
week.
Considering that the story was eight days old and therefore almost
stale by
then, I was puzzled that no other publication had picked it
up.
Running the story under the headline "Ncube breaks down over
Gukurahundi",
the Standard reported that Welshman Ncube, the tough-fighting
but
much-maligned secretary-general of a breakaway faction of the Movement
for
Democratic Change (MDC), allegedly broke down under intensive
interrogation
by journalists in the city of Gweru on Saturday April
22.
Ncube and the president of his faction, Arthur Mutambara, were invited
guests at the Gweru Press Club.
Apparently, the journalists hosting the
politicians subjected their guests
to a barrage of hard-hitting questions.
As he attempted to rebut allegations
that he was on the payroll of the
ruling ZANU PF party, Ncube is said to
have chocked on his words and slumped
in his chair right in front of the
flabbergasted journalists.
Smelling
blood and totally unmoved by the pathetic situation, a hard-nosed
Zimbabwe
Standard correspondent dutifully recorded details of the unfolding
drama.
"There have been all sorts of allegations about my association
with ZANU PF
by (Morgan) Tsvangirai and other people in his faction," he
quoted Ncube as
saying in self-defence. "It has been said I was given a farm
by ZANU PF,
that ZANU PF bought me a Mercedes Benz, and that I am on their
payroll. I
was never a member of ZANU PF."
Ncube then asked his
tormentors how he could ever have been a member of ZANU
PF considering that
the same party had caused much suffering to his family
in Matabeleland and
the Midlands during the Gukurahundi atrocities in the
1980s.
Ncube
originally comes from Lower Gweru in the Midlands.
"My brother was killed
just 30 kilometres away from here during that time
when Tsvangirai himself
was still a ZANU PF commissar," he revealed.
"My grandfather was also killed
and for six days the army did not allow us
to bury him. We were only able to
bury him after we asked for the
intervention of my cousin, Sobuza
Gula-Ndebele, who used his influence as he
was then with the military
intelligence," he said.
Gula-Ndebele is now the attorney-general of
Zimbabwe.
"We buried my grandfather right where he had been shot as we could
not lift
him because his flesh was falling off as it was in a very advanced
state of
decomposition," Ncube added.
Then he broke down, the Standard
reported. Mutambara reportedly rushed to
Ncube's rescue and directed that
any further questions be directed to him.
I have an idea of the inner torment
that Ncube must have experienced as he
tried to recount the catastrophe that
befell his family in those tragic
circumstances.
I was a school teacher
in the Nyamaropa communal lands along the border with
Mozambique, an area
heavily infiltrated by ZANLA guerrillas during the war
of liberation. I have
first-hand experience of atrocities committed by the
Rhodesian security
forces and by ZANLA and I sympathise with Ncube.
In 1989, a few years after
the tragedy that befell the Ncube family at the
hands of Gukurahundi,
College Press published a book, Turmoil and Tenacity,
which was edited by
then President Canaan Banana and sought to promote the
unity agreement
signed between PF ZAPU and ZANU PF in 1987.
Ncube contributed a chapter to
the book, in which he dwelt at length on the
emergence of the dissidents and
the deployment by the government of the Five
Brigade to deal with
them.
This was a good 10 years before Ncube, then a law lecturer at the
University
of Zimbabwe, became the Movement for Democratic Change's
secretary-general
on the party's formation in 1999 and 15 years before the
episode at the
Gweru Press Club a fortnight ago.
In his chapter in
Turmoil and Tenacity, Ncube stated that after the sacking
of PF ZAPU
ministers from the government in 1982, a number of former ZIPRA
combatants
had taken back to the bush.
Ncube wrote: "In January 1984 the then Minister
of Home Affairs, in seeking
a renewal of the State of Emergency, informed
the House of Assembly that in
the preceding six months these armed men had
murdered 75 people, carried out
284 robberies and been involved in 16
rapes.
"Two years later, in January 1986, the Minister of Home Affairs in
seeking
yet another renewal of the State of Emergency informed Parliament
that
during the previous six months of 1985 dissidents had murdered 103
people,
raped 57 women, committed 263 armed robberies and destroyed property
worth
millions of dollars."
Ncube stated that in material terms the
dissident war was devastating in
that virtually all development projects in
Matabeleland had been brought to
a standstill and that, for example, by
early 1984 nearly 500 000 acres of
commercial farmland in Matabeleland had
been abandoned by fearful white
farmers.
He stated that in attempting to
eradicate banditry and dissidents, the
government had deployed the army in
Matabeleland, but the activities of the
army in the process had given rise
to accusations of severe brutality by the
soldiers against innocent
people.
"This reference to the ugly occurrences associated with the banditry
problems in Matabeleland and the Midlands ought to be made so that the
success and benefits of national unity can be viewed within their proper
context," he wrote.
"After the signing of the unity agreement and the
installation of Robert
Mugabe as the first Executive President of Zimbabwe,
the new President
declared a general amnesty and in terms of Section 31(1)
of the Constitution
of Zimbabwe granted a free pardon to all dissidents who,
on or before March
31, 1988, reported to the police in order to claim
benefit of the pardon. He
also pardoned all ZAPU political fugitives who
were out of the country to
escape prosecution and all persons who had
collaborated with dissidents in
violation of the laws of Zimbabwe.
"With
the surrender of all the dissidents, peace returned to Matabeleland
and
parts of the Midlands. The atrocities and brutalities that had been
characteristic of dissident activities all came to an abrupt end. For the
first time since the liberation war started in earnest in the early
seventies, the people of Matabeleland were experiencing normal life," he
wrote.
It is worth noting that given this magnificent opportunity, three
years
after the cessation of hostilities in Matabeleland, Ncube did not
seize on
it to record for prosterity the real context of Gukurahundi from
his
personal experience. It is amazing that Ncube did not raise then the
issues
that caused him to slump in his chair at the Gweru Press Club
recently.
I am not in a position to state categorically whether or not Ncube
has
become the beneficiary of any of ZANU PF's many resources of patronage,
as
alleged by those who interrogated him that evening in Gweru or by others
before them who have levelled similar allegations against him.
But I wish
to address the issue of whether a man who has been victimised by
a political
party can ever associate with the same party.
Jonathan Moyo was a cabinet
minister in the government of President Robert
Mugabe. He served loyally,
dynamically and zealously in that capacity for a
total of four years.
As
chief government spin-doctor, Moyo incurred the collective wrath of the
citizens of Zimbabwe when on April 11 2003 he pronounced: "Where the army is
deployed, people should not expect a picnic."
He was commenting on the
deployment of the army against innocent and unarmed
civilians.
Power does
corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, as Lord Acton
wisely put it
in his now famous words. Two years earlier Moyo had surprised
those who knew
him by his previous reputation as a fierce fighter for
democracy, fairness
and justice, when he stated on July 31 2001: "It is
clear to anyone who can
read the writing on the wall that ZANU PF is the
future."
Yet when Moyo
was fired or resigned from ZANU PF, depending on who you were
listening to
at the material time, he took the public by total surprise when
he disclosed
a personal experience that he had kept a closely guarded
secret.
As he
clutched at straws while fighting for political survival ahead of
parliamentary elections early in 2005, Moyo made the mindboggling revelation
that his father had fallen victim to the massacres committed by the Five
Brigade during the Gukurahundi atrocities.
"My father . . . was killed in
1983 in Tsholotsho in a tragic encounter with
elements of the Zimbabwe
National Army who took his life during Zimbabwe's
post-independence dark
period generally referred to as the Gukurahundi Era,"
Moyo declared in the
curriculum vitae that he submitted to ZANU PF's
national electorate
directorate to facilitate his vetting as a candidate in
the party's primary
polls in January 2005.
I rest my case, having successfully proven, I hope,
that a man can be
abused, victimised or traumatised by a political party and
still associate
with it somehow or other.
It is also my hope that the
point has been made patently clear that it is
most unbecoming for
politicians to attempt to derive personal political
capital out of the
national tragedy that was Gukurahundi.
(gnyarota@yahoo.com)
FinGaz
Mavis Makuni Own
Correspondent
RESERVE Bank Governor Gideon Gono seems to be the only
public official who
is honest enough to consistently dish out "tough love"
as the only way to
tackle some of the country's self-inflicted troubles and
crises.
Not long ago, the Central Bank boss violated a long standing
taboo by
pointing fingers of accusation at the establishment for the rampant
corruption that has changed the way virtually everything is done in
Zimbabwe. He wiped the smug look off the faces of most chefs when he
declared that most of them were guilty of corrupt activities and dealings
particularly with regard to the distribution of fuel and farm inputs. "If as
a country we do not resolutely stamp out growing corruption, especially
among us people in positions of authority and influence, us the so-called
chefs, if we do not stamp out the indiscipline in our midst, we will soon
discover too late that policy formulations . . . have been (based) on
self-interest at the expense of the national good", the governor declared in
March while presenting his monetary policy review.
Gono had previously
been equally candid when he railed against farm
invasions that continued to
take place long after the government had
declared the land reform programme
completed. He described the invaders as
saboteurs. Now, in an equally
brutally frank statement, the governor has
slammed some new tobacco farmers
who have failed to make the grade for
demanding to be perpetually
mollycoddled through the provision of "infinite
subsidies". The governor
made his remarks after the farmers had complained
about the inadequacy of
the RBZ's 35 percent early delivery bonus.
He said these farmers,
particularly "low-yield marginal farmers" tended to
shout the loudest and it
was time to tell them some hard truths, including
the fact that they should
only grow crops they are best qualified to grow.
Gono's is always like a
voice in the wilderness and the situation is
rendered more ironic when it is
considered that he has to shout himself
hoarse to deal with a mess created
by other people who have conveniently
fallen silent. The problems being
faced with regard to the quality of
tobacco being delivered to the auction
floors is a by-product of the
haphazard and chaotic manner in which the land
reform programme was
implemented.
Failure to differentiate between
populist rhetoric and the practicalities of
agricultural production resulted
in hundreds of thousands of people becoming
"instant farmers" regardless of
whether or not they had the foggiest idea
about what was involved in
commercial agriculture. It has slowly become
abundantly clear that even with
the best revolutionary intentions in the
world, a person who has no aptitude
for farming and the wherewithal to
undertake it cannot, with his or her bare
hands, produce crops of acceptable
quality and adequate quantities. These
are some of the issues that were
overlooked in the implementation of the
land redistribution exercise and now
that they can no longer be concealed or
attributed to scapegoats they should
be revisited and addressed
honestly.
It is a matter of record however, that anyone who tried to draw
attention to
these oversights and omissions at the height of the land
acquisition
programme was accused of being an enemy of the state and an
opponent of an
exercise which sought to correct historical injustices and
empower the black
people. But empowerment is totally meaningless and
misplaced if, as Gono has
indicated, the beneficiaries of a dispensation
that is supposed to make them
productive and economically independent,
become "cry babies" who cannot be
weaned from the fiscal breast. It means
ultimately, that taxpayers and
consumers who are preached to endlessly about
the glories of land reform are
forced to foot the bill for the ineptitude
and non-productivity of these
"farmers."
If people in government are
honest, they should admit that no one, not even
the British government, has
ever opposed land redistribution per se. Most
critics have only expressed
reservations over the violent methodology used,
which did not allow for
adequate forward planning to eliminate most of the
snags that have bogged
down the entirely justifiable initiative, triggering
an economic crisis that
now seems insurmountable.
When commercial agricultural land was in the hands
of white commercial
farmers, Zimbabwean tobacco was highly priced and in
great demand on the
international market. But even at this time when the
crop earned the country
most of its foreign currency, not all the 4 000
commercial farmers were
experts in growing tobacco. Today, we are told there
are 30 000 new tobacco
producers. The authorities must accept that while
this free-for-all approach
may have been politically expedient, it has been
disastrous in terms of
production. It has been a case of too many cooks
spoiling the broth with the
result that where before perhaps one farmer
delivered a consignment of
quality tobacco we now have 5 000 tiny lots of
poor quality produce.
Gono said, " If you come to my farm, you will see that
I venture into crops
I am able to grow. I do not grow tobacco. But those
crops I am able to grow,
I grow them well." This is sound advice that should
be heeded regardless of
whether the crop in question is maize, wheat, soya
beans or tobacco. If
these hard truths are not faced, agriculture will
continue to be a millstone
around the nation's neck instead of being a
source of economic wealth and
food security. More officials should join Gono
in conceding that some
mistakes were made and they need to be corrected.
FinGaz
Comment
IT has always been
said that it is only sex and inflation that are
characterised by a rising
rate of interest.
Inflation, which the authorities in Zimbabwe have
acknowledged is a
millstone around the economy, rose to a frightening 913.6
percent in March.
And the outlook remains very bleak.
It is frightening
not because the rise had been unexpected but because it is
said that if you
see the evidence of accelerating inflation it may be too
late to prevent it,
which is why other economies believe in pre-emptive
actions. As it is,
Zimbabwe is now much further away from reducing the rate
of inflation to
single digit levels than it was when the economy touched off
the long
running meltdown.
And as if to confirm the anxiety caused by the rising
inflation, the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe last week responded by hiking the
overnight accommodation
rate to 850 percent for unsecured lending and 800
percent for secured
lending as it struggles to maintain a tight monetary
policy and positive
interest rates.
We have no quarrel with pursuing a
tight monetary policy to tame inflation
which interferes with the efficient
allocation of resources by confusing
price signals, undercutting a focus on
the long run as well as distorting
incentives. We are only too aware that
inflation imposes a speed limit on
economic growth, which is why economic
experts are agreed that curbing
inflation is probably the most important
factor in producing a growing
economy.
And from its intervention last
week, it would seem that the central bank,
which controls the country's
financial levers, seeks to achieve price
stability by holding the line on
inflation as the key to economic stability,
surplus and
security.
However, we are afraid there is always a dark side to the high
interest rate
regime adopted by the central bank, particularly in Zimbabwe
where the
economy has been growing slower than the real interest rates. This
means
that the national debt has been growing faster than the government's
ability
to pay it back. As it is the government domestic debt currently
stands at an
incredible $15 trillion from just over $3 trillion in January
2005.
The International Monetary Fund has argued that those in debt usually
welcome inflation because it makes existing debt - if it has a fixed rate -
cheaper to service and repay. However, the surge in inflation does not, in
this case, provide the government with a reprieve. It is not going to float
the government's debt problems away because only unanticipated inflation
reduces debt since creditors negotiate the terms of each loan with a keen
eye for anticipated inflation to ensure a reasonable real rate on their
money. Suffice to say that the rise in inflation has long been
anticipated.
So, apart from the fact that government cannot raise interest
rates up to a
certain level without disrupting financial markets, what are
the
implications of a high interest rate regime to Zimbabwean government
debt?
That is the question given that in Zimbabwe there has been a
persistence of
budgetary shortfalls during a long period of peace in which
governments
traditionally pay off debts and save for the future.
The
stubborn budget deficits are a reflection of government's failure to
live
within its means, which forced it to borrow in a desperate bid to
survive.
If deficit spending remains the norm rather than the exception, how
does the
situation develop from here even with the aggressive interest rate
policy,
if government does not rein in its profligacy? Will the RBZ get its
desired
results?
The picture is radically altered if the more-than 300 percent recent
increase in the civil service wage bill is factored in. This is a straight
increase in government recurrent expenditure totalling $60 trillion in the
next eight months which can only stoke demand-pull inflation, coming as it
does at a time when the economy has hit historic contraction. Thus the
domestic tax revenue base is ever dwindling resulting in meagre tax
receipts. To make matters worse, the local tax rates have for a long time
been in that territory where the law of diminishing returns has taken over,
which means there is very little room to manoeuvre.
Thus the government
will either have to seek recourse to the domestic
markets to finance the
wage increases or the central bank's printing machine
has to run
twenty-four-sevens. And that would be a recipe for disaster. It
would be
tantamount to watering a waterlogged garden, risking impairing the
quality
of the crops as nutrients are leached away because there is already
excess
money in circulation. We do not have to belabour the fact that this
leaves
Zimbabwe in a catch-22 situation because money supply growth will not
be
consistent with real economic activity. Yet there can never be a vibrant
economy without sound money. Economic reality is unequivocal on that.
In
our own estimation, nothing can be more telling than the fact that,
despite
employing the interest rate policy to fight inflation, the
government has
all along been chasing its own tail. This only adds urgency
to the need for
fundamental structural reforms in the economy, the extent of
whose mess is
underlined by the fact that even after the 300 percent salary
hike, most of
the civil servants still remain below the conservative
breadline of $35
million.
FinGaz
National Agenda with
Bornwell Chakaodza
. . . but in Zimbabwe . . .
Yesterday, May 3, Zimbabwe
joined the rest of the world in celebrating World
Press Freedom Day. The day
is set aside in recognition of the sacrifices
that are made by the media and
private individuals to pressure governments
that continue to deny their
citizens freedom of the media.
Sadly for us, Zimbabwe is among the worst
offenders and violators of press
freedom and people's rights - thanks to the
censor of all censors, Jonathan
Moyo, and his sidekick Tafataona
Mahoso.
After some initial encouraging noises from the current Minister of
Information, Joseph Tichaona Jokonya, the status quo still remains intact.
We are still a bit far away from squaring the circle.
But in time, the
repression we are experiencing at the moment will give way
to democratic
values. About that there is absolutely no doubt.
In my travels around the
country, I get the pleasure of hearing people from
all walks of life,
particularly in the rural areas, talking about the news
and programmes they
would have heard on Studio 7, SW Radio Africa and Radio
Voice of the People
(VOP), before it was raided and rendered unoperational
by the government
last December.
The same excitement is expressed when they make reference to a
news story or
feature in an old independent newspaper - whether it be The
Financial
Gazette, The Zimbabwean, the Zimbabwe Independent or The Standard
- that
would have been written by an urban dweller after visiting his or her
relatives in the rural areas.
It is indeed heartening to see that the
Zimbabwean public, particularly in
the rural areas, are not an unthinking
and gormless battalion of voters as
they are made out to be.
Of course,
they have no option but to watch and listen for many more hours
to the
state-owned and controlled Zimbabwe radio and television because of
its
ubiquitous nature.
The point, however, is that Zimbabweans are discerning and
sufficiently
educated to distinguish and separate fact from fiction. In any
event, they
are living on a daily basis the same economic hardships that
their
counterparts in the cities and towns are experiencing, and the free
movement
between town and country ensures cross-fertilisation of ideas and
experiences.
So the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), which organised
a march for
freedom yesterday and the discussions that followed, must take
comfort from
the fact that the media has more influence over the political
process than
anything else - going by the thousands of Zimbabweans who
listen to far-away
alternative radio stations and read urban-based
independent newspapers.
The beauty of celebrating World Press Freedom Day is
not only to acknowledge
the work and sacrifices of the journalistic
community here but to cast a
high-wattage spotlight on the fact that
governments may kill the messenger
legally but they cannot kill the
message.
Banning or closing newspapers does not mean that you eradicate the
truth.
Zimbabweans clearly understand and appreciate the fact that it is
phenomenally healthy to listen, watch and read alternative
media.
Zimbabweans also understand that freedom of speech cannot be rationed
in the
manner that Rasputin Moyo did.
Among the natural human urges are
the will to express and the will to
survive. That is the reason why the
extraordinary resilience on the part of
all Zimbabweans has enabled them to
go on despite the tremendous odds ranged
against them.
And that is why
also they go beyond the government-owned broadcaster and
Zimpapers to have
different perspectives from which to interpret events and
issues.
This is
an information age. It is sad, very sad that when the world is
opening up to
everything in business, tourism and trade, Zimbabwe is closing
all avenues
by introducing all sorts of draconian laws and impending bills,
the latest
being the draft Interception of Communication Bill 2006.
We hope to God that
this piece of legislation, which to all intents and
purposes is
unconstitutional, will not see the light of day.
By any stretch of the
imagination, this draft bill cannot be demonstrably
and reasonably justified
in a democratic society.
In any event, how is it possible to intercept phones
and e-mails in this age
of the Internet?
Can any government in this
millennium fight against the democratisation of
information and hope to win?
When will our political leaders understand that
it is an exercise in
futility to fight against the tide of democracy?
Intercepting private mail
for what purpose?
The use of the media as a tool of communication only for
the advantage of
the political party in power is a serious misunderstanding
of the functions
of the media in a democratic society.
There might be no
specific reference to press freedom in the Zimbabwean
constitution, but
freedom of speech is indeed enshrined in our constitution
in line with
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which
says:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This
right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,
receive
and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of
frontiers.
The challenge we face therefore is to make sure that the
Zimbabwean
authorities are held accountable to what is contained not only in
the
Zimbabwe constitution but also to the international instruments of which
the
country is a signatory.
Reflecting on the state of the media at both
national and international
levels is what World Press Freedom Day is all
about.
This reflection is a basis for the kind of progress we would all like
to see
in this country.
For example, there is now a growing consensus on
the value and importance of
a voluntary media council (rather than a
statutory one) and a code of
conduct to guide the operations of news
organisations in this country.
In fact, there are three different ways that
exist to deal with perceived
excesses of the media and many countries around
the world have tried them
all in various combinations.
This is premised
on the belief that journalists, like anybody, are not
infallible.
One way
to deal with media excesses is by legislation, which in Zimbabwe has
been a
nightmare for journalists in the form of the Access to Information
and
Protection of Privacy Act, the Public Order and Security Act and other
pieces that are Moyo's terrible legacy, which is still with
us.
Yesterday's march and discussion sessions to mark World Press Freedom Day
rightly called for the abolition of these repressive laws which have no
place in a modern society.
Along with the abolition of these laws will
obviously be the abolition of
that media dinosaur, Mahoso.
The second way
to take care of the excesses of the media is the one which
has now gained
currency and acceptance in this country, namely the
collective action of all
journalists and all media organisations in the form
of mutual
self-regulation: a voluntary media council. The best regulation is
obviously
self-regulation.
The third way to deal with media excesses is, of course,
through the efforts
of individual media houses to build faith and trust
among their audiences
and readers.
As the world drowns in information,
people will gravitate towards and will
be willing to pay more for
information they believe they can trust.
All the best practices and codes of
conduct in the world will make no
difference if they don't square with the
culture and ethos of the individual
newsrooms.
In saluting the ideals of
liberty as we did yesterday, it is equally
important to go beyond the
political intolerance of this regime and the
consequent repressive
environment and examine our own shortcomings - as
journalists - as part of
our own openness.
Presently, our media here in Zimbabwe is populated with
young,
inexperienced, poorly paid and inadequately trained journalists who
are
prone to manipulation in their reporting, particularly in the
state-owned
media.
Moyo sacked all the experienced journalists at the
Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation, now Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH)
and the Zimbabwe
Newspapers Group and replaced them with toddlers at both
editor and
reporters levels so that he could control and tell them what to
do.
As a result, the state broadcaster must be one of the worst broadcasting
corporations that this world has ever seen.
As to the majority of the
news stories in The Herald, The Sunday Mail, The
Chronicle, The Manica Post
and The Sunday News, one is at loss as whether to
laugh or cry!
Moyo made
sure that these youngsters were driven by fear and survivalism
rather than
real journalism.
Too often, press conferences are reported almost verbatim
without analysis,
investigation and contextualisation, which is a real
tragedy.
Except for a few journalists who, under a very difficult and tough
environment, continue to put Zimbabwean journalism in its rightful place,
most of the experienced people have either left to eke out a precarious
existence in far-away lands or are in non-journalistic occupations here at
home.
I honestly do not see anything other than hell when God finally
calls that
man called Jonathan Moyo.
Be that as it may, I am sure it is
only a matter of time before the golden
age of Zimbabwean journalism returns
once again and real ideals of freedom
are saluted on future May 3s.
borcha@mweb.co.zw
The truth will out
EDITOR - the recent
developments in the MDC, while a major disappointment to
many of this
party's supporters, may be a blessing in disguise.
I strongly believe that
each MDC faction knows what it is doing. My only
problem is that we have not
been furnished with the full details of the
events leading to the split. The
little that I know is that Morgan
Tsvangirai is alleged to have condoned
violence against certain members of
the party such as Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Welshman Ncube.
In addition, Tsvangirai is also
alleged to have unilaterally deviated from
several major party resolutions,
one of which is the national executive
council decision to take part in the
Senate election late year. Whether
these allegations are true or not will
never be clear, but the truth will
come out one day.
Whatever reason
Professor Ncube and his colleagues had for parting ways with
Tsvangirai, it
cannot be because they are tribalists. How can someone from a
minority tribe
hope to benefit from tribal politics? Only a politician from
an ethnic
majority can benefit from politics of ethnicity, as probably
happened when
ZANU split from ZAPU in 1963.
Therefore the accusation that the
anti-Tsvangirai group consists of
tribalists needs careful scrutiny. It
seems that this group genuinely
believes in transparent, non-violent and
democratic politics, which
principles they claim are no longer practised by
the Tsvangirai-led MDC.
The Arthur Mutambara-led MDC, therefore, has to work
overtime to convince
Zimbabweans that it differs fundamentally from both
ZANU PF and
Tsvangirai-led MDC.
A recent statement from Morgan Femai of
the MDC (Tsvangirai) that members of
the MDC (Mutambara) will not be allowed
to campaign in Budiriro and that
they will uproot MDC (Mutambara) members
from this constituency, makes him
sound frighteningly identical to ZANU PF,
something this evil party has
propagated since 1980 up to today. It is a
statement Femai must retract, and
if he does not, Tsvangirai must take it
upon himself to go public and
denounce his lieutenant.
The defections
from the MDC (Mutambara) by the likes of Gift Chimanikire
should not come as
a surprise. Zimbabwean politics has, over the years,
degenerated into
politics of the stomach, "ukukapula", again, thanks to ZANU
PF. Just look at
how everyone in ZANU PF, especially the leaders, are
pre-occupied with
personal aggrandisement, ranging from looting of farm
machinery and produce
to squandering taxpayers' money the
Makwavarara-Mathuthu way. So the
Chimanikires are merely looking for
opportunities that will make it easy for
them to "kapula".
Lastly, here is a word of advice for Nelson Chamisa. No
matter how much you
believe in your cause, keep a tight rein on your
language. Do not insult
your political opponents. You run the risk of
becoming another Jonathan
Moyo, who is today one of the most detested
politicians in Zimbabwe.
Instead, take a leaf from Simba Makoni's book. Even
if he is a staunch
supporter of the much hated ZANU PF, Makoni is himself a
greatly respected
man because he never insults anyone, however much he
differs with that
person.
John
Majaha
Bulawayo
----------
Govt departments' lack of initiative spoiled
it for us
EDITOR - Over the Easter-Independence holidays I
took my family to Masvingo
to see the Great Zimbabwe National Monument. It
was a lifetime experience as
it was the children's first time to visit the
historical capital that served
as the trading hub in Southern Africa between
the 12th-15th centuries.
We thoroughly enjoyed the thrills and spectacular
beauty of Lake Mtirikwi
and the sunset cruises, the breath-taking and
spine-tingling Bopoteke Gorge
and the general scenic variety and beauty of
the surrounding hills. It was
indeed a voyage of discovery.
We were
however unhappy with the departments of tourism, parks and wildlife,
and
national archives who are not doing a good job of creating the
appropriate
holiday mood for one of Zimbabwe's major holiday destinations.
I suggest,
with the help of the Department of Roads, that the Department of
Tourism
gives a celebratory welcome to visitors by constructing ornamental
structures denoting the Great Zimbabwe architecture punctuated by spacious
boulevards, traditional homesteads and curio shops and manicured parks
between the town and the monument.
Parks and Wildlife could do with
bigger billboards on the same highway
publicising a game park where visitors
could go on a safari to see the big
five - elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo
and rhino. At the moment there is no
big game to see and we were forced to
travel almost 230 km to Gona re Zhou,
located east of Chiredzi, although we
did not get much joy either! Where
have all the lions and elephants
gone?
The Department of Archives should not rely on the Great Monument only
for
revenue, but build a small office near the Bushmen Painting rocks.
Visitors
would have travelled long distances and their wish is to get value
for money
and time. They would be prepared to pay to see the paintings that
depict the
history of our people that dates back tens of thousands of
years.
We were dismayed and revolted by the neglect and signs of abandonment
of the
paintings. Lack of care and security has led to vandalism by unruly
elements. Empty beer bottles are strewn all over the caves while the quality
of the paintings has started to deteriorate in value. In a few years time
there might be no paintings to see.
Lastly, apart from the sunset cruise
at the lake, there are no night life
activities for visitors in the whole
tourist resort centre. The departments
of national archives and tourism
could play a vital role by setting up
entertainment programmes to keep
visitors busy and cherish such a wonderful
experience.
Nhaka
Yedu
Belvedere
----------
The Umthwakazi
threat
EDITOR - Thank you very much for publishing Geoff
Nyarota's article on the
link between the lndependent and the shadowy
Mthwakazi organisation. I have
visited the site myself and I actually
failled to see any difference between
the eagles.
The tone of the website
actually confirmed what many Zimbabweans have always
suspected - that the
Mutambara-led faction is nothing but a tribal grouping
of power-hungry
people who are harbouring sinister agendas.
I think the small pieces of the
jigsaw puzzle are slowly coming together.
Thank you very much Geoff for
exposing them. What we need in Zimbabwe is
unity to continue the struggle
against tyranny and tribalism. The split in
the MDC had nothing to do with
the senatorial elections or the collapse of
democracy as the Mutambara-led
faction would want us to believe. Cdes, let's
fight for our motherland
against the Umthwakazi republic and all its
clandestine
agents.
AC
Mutare
------------
It's time to
forget
EDITOR - I would like to categorically state that
after reading Tom's letter
to Geoff Nyarota (Readers' Forum) I hate the guy.
I know the words are very
inappropriate but everthing he says borders on
tribalism and a clear zeal
for vengeance for the so-called
Gukurahundi.
Nobody wants to revisit the so-called anihiliation of the Shonas
and
Gukurahundi. The guy says he or the Ndebeles are crying for
vengeance.What
sort of talk is that? These are the people who will never be
given a chance
to rule for we know that they seek bloodshed.
Tom hates
the Shonas and I being one, hate him too. I pray such people will
never get
the chance to realise their dreams of vengeance. We thought the
December 22
1987 accord was meant to heal, forgive and forget but some seem
not to want
to forget and forgive. No Tom, you can't have it both
ways.
Walter
Harare
-------------
Coltart being
double-faced
EDITOR - I find the interference by David
Coltart in the MDC dispute
disgusting, to say the least. Believe me, the man
is behind the Mutambara
faction, better known as the MDC-PF because I don't
see where he comes in
since both factions did not solicit his services as a
legal practitioner.
It should be noted that it is the few that defected that
should consider
sinking into oblivion or join the main MDC led by president
Morgan
Tsvangirai, so please Mr Learned Man recuse yourself or say goodbye
to
active politics because the choice is yours.
Remember the Mutambara
faction previously boasted of the number of MPs
aligned to it in the House
of Assembly but now it's the other way round.
It's better you start to openly
declare which faction you belong to rather
than pretend to be neutral? I
also would like to thank good and brave men
like Samuel Sipepa Nkomo,
Blessing Chebundo and many others for taking the
right decision to jump ship
in favour of the real MDC. Gentlemen welcome
home. I salute you because you
did not betray the struggle.
Baba vaLaureen
Glen Norah