http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
22:10
FINANCE minister Tendai Biti yesterday deftly tucked under Treasury
a US$50
million unallocated contingency fund –– which was not announced to
the
public during his national budget presentation in parliament –– to cater
for
fresh elections whenever they are held.
Biti also dropped
clear hints that elections were looming after he set aside
US$30 million for
the referendum and US$20 million for other electoral
matters.
This came
as South African President Jacob Zuma, Sadc facilitator in
Zimbabwe, was due
to arrive in Harare today in a bid to sort out numerous
problems threatening
the existence of the inclusive government and clarify
the issue of
elections. Although Zuma discussed the issue of polls with
Zimbabwean
political leaders in Gaborone last week, his visit was likely to
take the
country a step further towards elections despite growing demands
for a
clear-cut road map to polls free of manipulation, violence and
intimidation.
Biti allocated US$30 for the referendum on the new
constitution which is
likely to take place during the first quarter of next
year ahead of
elections in June. He also set aside US$20 million for
by-elections, voters’
roll, delimitation of constituencies and
infrastructure for the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission
(ZEC).
Informed government sources said while the minister did not
specifically
budget for elections and make it public, there was an
unallocated US$50
million reserve fund under the Finance ministry which
could be used to
bankroll elections likely to be held by June next
year.
“If the referendum costs US$30 million, then it is likely that
the elections
would also cost around US$30 million,” a senior government
official said.
“However, the referendum and other election-related issues
(which need US$20
million) would altogether cost US$50 million. As a result
of this there are
some unallocated reserves of at least US$50 million which
have been set
aside and that’s your contingency fund for
elections.”
While the election funding issue appeared touch-and-go, Biti
warned that a
dark cloud of political uncertainty was hanging over the
country as bitter
wrangling within the unstable inclusive government
intensifies. The
infighting is endangering economic recovery and prospects
of a swift return
to normalcy.
Biti made the remarks while
presenting his US$3,2 billion national budget in
parliament. He said the
government of national unity (GNU) was reeling from
a series of problems,
including political bickering over hotly-contested
lingering Global
Political Agreement (GPA) issues. Some of the contentious
issues include
appointments of provincial governors, ambassadors and judges,
as well
central bank governor and attorney-general.
“The problems are huge
and structural and will require unrelenting effort to
resolve. They can be
divided into political, social, institutional and
economic categories as I
see them,” Biti said.
The minister listed “political challenges
around GNU; discord in the GNU;
lack of certainty on the tenure of the GNU;
GPA contestation and outstanding
issues; democracy and rule of law deficit;
cyclical and turbulent nature of
the country’s politics; lack of finality on
the land reform programme; lack
of definition of a clear land tenure system;
Zimbabwe’s isolation and lack
of integration” as some of the most serious
troubles besetting government.
Zuma is expected to hold crucial talks
with the country’s top political
leadership, President Robert Mugabe, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, over
the problematic residual GPA
issues and elections next year. This followed
an abortive meeting of the
Sadc organ on politics, defence and security in
Gaborone, Botswana last
week.
“Zuma is coming tomorrow and he
wants Zimbabwean leaders to be serious about
issues,” a senior Sadc diplomat
said yesterday. “His position is that they
must implement what they agreed
upon and agree on a road map to elections.
Sadc leaders are increasingly
getting fed up with this drawn-out political
stalemate and never-ending
bickering in Zimbabwe. They want a resolution of
this
standoff.”
The diplomat said Sadc leaders now firmly believe free and
fair elections
are the only effective way to end Zimbabwe’s decade-long
political crisis
which wrecked the economy and left the country in
ruins.
While there were indications that elections could be coming,
questions were
being raised as to why the issue of the funding of elections
was not dealt
with forthrightly. Mugabe is feverishly pushing for elections
by June next
year, but is facing stiff resistance from his MPs who are
opposed to the
polls.
Tsvangirai is cautiously saying he wants
elections but under conditions free
of political violence and intimidation.
Zimbabwe’s elections have often been
characterised by brutality and
coercion.
Despite opposition to the polls by MPs, Zanu PF is due to
endorse the call
for elections by June next year and Mugabe as the party’s
presidential
election candidate at its forthcoming annual conference in
Mutare next
month. The party’s politburo on Wednesday endorsed the issue,
starting a
process of getting it approved through party structures. Mugabe
said he was
disinclined to proceed with the inclusive government beyond
February next
year.
Biti said, apart from political troubles, the
coalition government was also
dogged by a series of problems, including
social and economic ones,
something which paints a gloomy picture of
situation ahead.
Dumisani Muleya
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
22:06
FINANCE Minister Tendai Biti yesterday presented a US$3,2 billion
national
budget for 2011 projecting that the economy would grow by a further
9,3%
during the year, mainly spurred by expansion in mining and
agriculture.
Biti said Zimbabwe would rely largely on domestic revenue to
fund its budget
as donors continued to hold back aid.
The
greater part of the 2011 budget –– US$2,7 billion (compared to US$2,2
billion in 2010) –– would be financed domestically as Biti had maintained
cooperating-partner support for the vote of credit at no more than US$500
million.
Biti said the bulk of the developing-partner aid would
not be channelled
through the fiscus.
“Zimbabwe is relying on its
own investments, not much external funds are
coming in…We are surviving on a
cash budget and want to move away from a
cash economy in 2011,” Biti
said.
The US$500 million vote of credit is a significant drop on the
US$800
million anticipated this year with only US$300 million finding its
way into
the fiscus.
“Indications are that developing-partner
support in 2011 will largely be
channelled outside the government budget
system,” said Biti. “While the
Multi Donor Trust Fund, the Zim-Fund, has
been successfully activated, with
confirmed contributions by donors standing
at about US$70 million, this is
being administered outside the fiscus as
well.”
Biti said the bids submitted by various departments for the
2011 budget were
at US$11,3 billion with recurrent expenditure accounting
for US$3,8 billion,
but it had to be rationalised to US$2,7
billion.
“Mr Speaker Sir, of the proposed 2011 budget of US$2,7
billion, I propose
applying US$2,2 billion or 80% towards recurrent
expenditures,” said Biti.
“Of this amount, the amount required for
the wage bill places a big
challenge when looked at against all the other
requirements, including
support to health and education delivery services,
agricultural services,
social protection, payment of service providers and
maintenance of
infrastructure.”
Only US$550 million of the revenues would
go towards capital expenditure.
“In 2011 we anticipate that GDP will
grow by 9,3% to $8 billion.
“Our initial projections were that our
GDP would be $5,9 billion in 2011 ...
we are ahead of schedule,” said
Biti.
He said the country is currently facing economic, political and
institutional problems.
Leonard Makombe
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010 22:04
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe yesterday said government is now tired of rescuing
underperforming state enterprises and parastatals (SEPs), adding it is time
they became self-sufficient.
He said most SEPs were performing dismally
necessitating government
intervention yearly. Mugabe made the remarks at the
official launch of the
Corporate Governance Framework (CGF) for State
Enterprises and Parastatals.
The launch was also attended by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara.
Mugabe said: “We have the story (of SEPs) of deficits,
deficits and
deficits, failure, failure and failure, loss, loss and loss and
appeals to
government to salvage situations.
“In some situations
government would not be able to salvage you (SEPs) and
in most cases
government has come with assistance. It has come with some
help but that
cannot be expected. So we say let us inject into ourselves
that
discipline.”
Some of the government state enterprises and parastatals
that have been
under intense public scrutiny for performing dismally are
Ziscosteel, Cold
Storage Company, Noczim, Telone, National Railways of
Zimbabwe (NRZ), Zesa
Holdings, Air Zimbabwe, Grain Marketing Board, Netone
and Agribank.
The framework signed by the three GPA principals hopes
to bring sanity in
most SEPs by providing guidelines to transparency,
accountability,
efficiency, risk management and
effectiveness.
Mugabe said: “It is common knowledge that most state
enterprises and
parastatals have not met the standards expected of them in
delivering
service. This is attributed to various reasons, the most
important being
weak corporate governance as well as poor ethical practice
guidelines.
“The unfavourable co-operational environment that
characterised our economy
owing mainly to illegal sanctions imposed by some
Western countries severely
contributed to the poor performance of the SEPs
at a great cost to the
nation.”
Mugabe expressed disappointment
at the continued inconsistencies that
“dogged” the SEPs. He said the
adoption of the CGF was fundamental and
timely and made it essential for
company officers, directors and senior
managers to understand their
responsibilities and legal obligations that are
cognisant of the changing
socio-economic environment.
Mugabe said failure for the SEPs to
adhere to the stipulated guidelines in
the CGF was punishable and hoped the
adoption of the framework would reduce
dependence on the fiscus and enhance
their contribution to economic
turnaround.
Tsvangirai said the
main issue that the government had to deal with was the
conflict between the
Ministry of State Enterprises and Parastatals and line
ministries.
“If we are able to define the key roles of this
ministry setting out
standards of how parastatals work and there is no
conflict in that ministry
we would have achieved a lot. There are some state
enterprises and
parastatals that need to be rationalised and others that
need to be
nationalised,” he said.
Mutambara was of the view that
SEPs have the potential to contribute about
40% to the GDP but were
compromised by “role ambiguity, ineffective boards,
ineffective management
systems and non adherence to statutes which has
contributed to poor
performance by some SEPs rendering them a drain on the
fiscus”.
Wongai Zhangazha
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010 22:03
FINANCE minister
Tendai Biti yesterday said the economy will next year grow
by 9,3% as the
country slowly recovers from a decade-long economic meltdown.
In his 2011
National Budget presentation in parliament, the minister said
gross domestic
product (GDP) will grow by 8,1% this year, compared with 5,7%
in 2009, as a
result of increased mineral earnings.
Inflation is expected to be at 4,8% by
year end.
The economic recovery started when President Robert Mugabe agreed
to share
power with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in 2009.
The
minister warned about the government’s high debt level. The country’s
foreign debt is estimated at US$6 billion.
The minister said he expected
government to generate US$2,7 billion in
revenue in 2011 against a projected
US$2,25 billion in 2010.
Biti said mineral earnings shot up 47% in 2010, most
of it from platinum,
ferrochrome and gold. Diamonds made up only 9% of
mineral earnings,
including US$85 million from the Marange diamond
fields.
“The economy is set to grow by 8,1% this year, compared to 5,7% in
2009 on
the back of growth in mining by 47% and agriculture at 33%.
Projections for
the year 2011 are of real GDP growth of 9,3%, underpinned by
further
recovery in mining production with output rising by a strong
44%.”
Biti says the growth will also be “complemented” by normal rainfall in
the
2010-2011 season which should see agriculture growing by 19,3% buoyed by
improved viability of farmers benefiting from the multi-currency regime as
well as the liberalised marketing environment. Biti projected a 5,75%
manufacturing growth for 2011 underpinned by improvements in capacity
utilisation.
Government says it will increase royalties on diamond sales
to 15% from 10%,
while gold and platinum royalties would rise 4,5% and 5%,
respectively, from
4%.
“Despite the increase in international metal
prices, royalties collected
from precious metals amounted to a paltry
US$20,7 million from sales of
US$593,8 million during the period January to
September 2010,” Biti said.
The minister says government would spend US$135
million to raise its power
generation capacity to 1 650 MW in 2011 from
current supply of around 1 000
MW.
“It is our intention to raise power
generation in 2011 to 1,650 megawatts by
prioritising the rehabilitation of
the Kariba and Hwange stations as well as
the small thermal stations in
Bulawayo, Harare and Munyati,” he said
The budget comes against a background
of a myriad of problems such as
limited vote of credit support and low
liquidity.
Biti said government will introduce new exchange control
regulations to
replace and consolidate the existing regulations.
The new
regulations, he said, will put in place a legal framework within
which the
multi-currency system and the liberalisation of current account
transactions
can operate.
Treasury will also come up with exchange control regulations to
compel all
authorised dealers, including banks, shops, petroleum undertaking
and any
commercial enterprise to display the daily applicable international
cross
rates for all prescribed currencies in a manner that is “conspicuous”
to the
public.
Biti said government will provide US$9 million worth of
coins on the market
after talks with the US Department of the Treasury for
acquisition and
access to smaller denominated coins and replacement of
soiled notes through
the US Federal Reserve and commercial banks.
The
minister said bank deposits were increasing by an average US$82 million
monthly, adding that money transfer agencies would next year conduct capital
transfers originating from Zimbabwe.
Government, Biti said, would
re-introduce an agricultural Commodities
Exchange to facilitate the trade of
agricultural commodities produced in the
country.
Biti increased the tax
free threshold on salaries from US$175 to US$225 and
also awarded a US$500
tax free bonus for this year.
Civil servants’ salaries would in January go up
by 80%.
Biti allocated a US$50 facility in conjunction with Afrexibank for
industry
to support the acquisition of equipment, purchase of raw materials,
as well
as spare parts, with interested companies applying through their
banks.
“I have already written inviting Afreximbank to join us in this
endeavour by
considering providing additional lines of credit to complement
the US$50
million the budget is providing,” the minister said.
Lovemore
Matombo, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions president, had a mixed
view on
the budget. Firstly he expressed his displeasure on the proposed tax
free
threshold and secondly he “praised” the minister for allocating the
lion’s
share of the budget to education.
“We are greatly disappointed by the
proposed US$225 monthly tax free
threshold announced by the minister. We
expected him to announce a figure
close to the current poverty datum line
currently standing at US$487. We
have argued that as long as workers have
more disposable income, it also
increases aggregate demand.”
On education
he said: “For the first time in nearly 30 years, education has
received the
highest chunk of the budget. That is the principle we have been
looking for
quite some time. We praise him for the brave stance he has
taken.”
Chris Muronzi
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010 19:40
A
STORM is brewing in Zanu PF after war veterans’ leader Jabulani Sibanda
threatened to forcibly repossess land from multiple farm-owners across the
country whom he accused of having abused the controversial land reform
programme.
There are reports that many senior Zanu PF officials own more
than one farm.
In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent on Wednesday,
Sibanda said
owning multiple farms was “illegal” and
“counter-revolutionary”.
Sibanda, who is being accused of terrorising
villagers in Masvingo Province,
said his association was going to be very
hard on multiple farm-owners whom
he regarded as selfish and
non-productive.
“There are some things that we said as war veterans we will
not tolerate
like those with multiple farms but not doing anything
productive regardless
of their positions. They are criminals, a person who
has more than one farm
through the land reform is a criminal,” said Sibanda
without naming the
multiple farm-owners.
On local and international media
reports alleging that the war veterans’
leader was forcing villagers and
civil servants to his meetings and
threatening them with violence, Sibanda
dismissed this arguing that the war
veterans were having normal meetings
with their “stakeholders, peasants”.
MDC-T information and publicity
secretary for Masvingo province Dusty
Zivhavhe claimed that Sibanda told a
meeting in Chiredzi last week that even
if Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
won the election he would not rule the
country because it came through
blood.
Zivhavhe also alleged that the war veterans’ leader told villagers
that the
election would be about people choosing if they wanted a war or
not.
On Wednesday, the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) released a statement in
which
it alleged that Sibanda, with other members from his association
coerced
traditional leaders from Masvingo to tell their subjects to support
only
Zanu PF.
“The Zimbabwe Peace Project has noted that the current
political environment
does not guarantee a free and fair election in the
near future since all the
institutions of violence are still intact. It
remains very worrying that all
local governance structures in rural Zimbabwe
have been politicised that
they clearly and effectively serve the interests
of Zanu PF,” said ZPP.
Sibanda described as “nonsense” allegations by
Zivhavhe and the ZPP, saying
the meetings were held to explain to the people
how the MDC was committing a
“crime against humanity through
sanctions”.
“People are making a lot of silly allegations that I cancelled a
Copac
meeting and I am threatening villagers in Bikita, Zaka and Chiredzi.
Copac
found us already on the ground and we didn’t disrupt any meeting. The
allegations are stupid,” he said.
“The meeting is just a simple meeting
of the war veterans going to meet the
people and other freedom fighters. War
veterans belong almost everywhere in
the country,” Sibanda pointed
out.
He said allegations that he has been campaigning for Mugabe in MDC-T-
dominated areas ahead of the elections next year were “stupid”.
Sibanda
said: “That is just speculation which is very stupid. Which MDC-T
dominated
areas that they claim to dominate and control? The people of
Zimbabwe fought
for self-rule.
“What is so special about what we are doing now?” adding that
it was not the
first time they have had such
meetings”.
Wongai Zhangazha
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:40
THE United Nations has warned that Zimbabwe’s humanitarian
situation is
still fragile and could explode if funds are not provided to
contain the
situation.
In its October monthly report, the UN Office for
the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says there is need for “a
massive financial
investment” to control the situation before it becomes a
humanitarian
emergency.
“Unless these are addressed, the country will
remain vulnerable while its
ability to respond to shocks remains
compromised,” read the report released
this week.
The report cited “the
unexpected influenza A H1N1 outbreak in October,
coupled with the ongoing
cholera and measles epidemics reflect the fragile
humanitarian situation” as
indicators that the situation could explode.
An outbreak of the influenza A
H1N1 was recorded in Tsholotsho District in
Matabeleland North province on
October 15.
Over 2 600 cases had been reported by end of the week ending
October 17. The
outbreak affected mostly children particularly of school
going-age and those
under five years.
The report said this, and the
reported measles and cholera outbreaks,
exposed the fragility of the health
sector.
“Ordinarily, such outbreaks would be easily controlled in a
functional
health system. The continued need for agricultural input support,
food aid
and income- generating projects also testify of the same,” said the
report.
It said efforts to contain the situation were being hampered by
limited
inflows of both humanitarian and development funding.
“Health
partners, continue to support government efforts to contain disease
outbreaks. However, this requires a massive financial investment,
particularly in strengthening the infrastructure,” reads the report.
“Zimbabwe’s chronic vulnerability is largely a consequence of the
degradation in social services infrastructure.”
OCHA said there was a
cholera outbreak in the last two months in Manicaland,
with Buhera,
Chimanimani, Chipinge, Mutare urban and Nyanga districts
reporting
cases.
“By end of October 2010, a cumulative 20 deaths and 774 cumulative
cholera
cases, including 91 laboratory confirmed cases, had been reported in
an
outbreak that started in February 2010 and has spread to 18 of the
country’s
62 districts,” the report reads.
OCHA said reports of measles
were still being received in parts of the
country, however, at a lower rate
than in the period before the nationwide
immunisation campaign from May to
June 2.
“In the period July 5 to October 17 altogether 114 deaths and 1 128
suspected measles cases were reported, of which 69 were confirmed. Twelve
districts reported confirmed measles outbreaks, although there were no
confirmed outbreaks in the last 30 days. The attack rate of suspected cases
is nine per 100 000,” reads the report.
Food shortages are also
compounding the situation. According to the report,
World Food Programme’s
monthly Food Security Monitoring System indicated
that the majority of
households in rural wards had exhausted their harvested
stocks by the end of
September and beginning of October 2010.
“Although maize meal is readily
available in urban areas, availability in
rural areas is low due to
liquidity challenges and preference for maize
grain,” the report added. ––
Staff Writer.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:38
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has ordered the Constitution Parliamentary
Select
Committee (Copac) to accelerate the constitution-making exercise, as
seven
Zanu PF provinces have endorsed an early election which the president
wants
by mid-next year.
Sources said Mugabe told Copac co-chairman
Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana during a
politburo meeting on Wednesday that the
exercise should gather pace to
ensure Zimbabweans go to elections to end the
inclusive government which his
party formed with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s MDC-T and the MDC-M.
Mangwana had initially told the politburo
that the writing of the new
constitution was facing serious financial
constraints and could be further
delayed.
Mugabe, sources said, expressed
disappointment over the constitution-making
exercise’s snail’s
pace.
Earlier this year, Mugabe ordered Finance minister Tendai Biti to
budget
$200 million for the referendum and elections.
The
constitution-making process was marred by violence and intimidation for
which MDC-T blames Zanu PF.
The principals, Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara, agreed under the 2008 Global Political
Agreement that a new
constitution is required before fresh elections. A new
constitution will
replace the 1979 Lancaster House constitution.
A senior
Zanu PF member said Mugabe was clear that Zimbabweans would go for
elections
next year soon after the writing of a new governance charter.
According to
Mugabe, a referendum should be held in March followed by
elections in June,
although critics say democratic reforms should precede
polls. On the other
hand Mugabe argues he does not want a prolonged
extension of the inclusive
government.
The senior Zanu PF member said: “The president (Mugabe) was
disappointed
over the delays in the Copac programmes. The delay in the
constitution-making process means delayed elections and Mugabe doesn’t want
that.”
The source said despite earlier differences over the elections
among
politburo members, there was consensus at the Wednesday meeting that
Zanu PF
should push for elections because they believe MDC-T’s fortunes were
waning.
“People should stop doubting that elections are there next year.
Mugabe
wants the elections and everyone in Zanu PF is now committed to make
sure
that the party wins. It’s highly likely that we are voting in 2011,”
said
the senior Zanu PF member.
Meanwhile, Zanu PF chairman Simon Khaya
Moyo told the Zimbabwe Independent
yesterday that seven of the 10 Zanu PF
provinces had endorsed 2011 polls,
while more endorsements were expected
from the remaining three which are
still to hold their provincial
conferences.
“Provinces have been endorsing that as you have been aware - a
number of
provinces except three that are still to go for their conferences.
The rest
have all endorsed that position in terms of their resolutions as
provinces
and actually it is expected that the conference itself will
endorse what the
provinces want,” he said.
“The logic of it al is that we
are in an inclusive government and this
inclusive government is as a result
of the GPA which has a limited lifespan,
actually of two years and in these
two years it is anticipated that a new
constitution will have been in place
followed by elections. We cannot
violate it. I hope by the expiry we shall
also be concluding the provision
of the GPA and go for elections.”
Asked
if senior members opposed to early election had expressed their views,
Moyo
said they had not formally done so.
“Not formally, nobody has ever said this
formally at any meeting. People
might be having their own inner feelings but
have never heard any formal
pronouncements by anybody over this matter,” he
said.
Asked if the reason could be because they were afraid to publicly
oppose the
president, Moyo questioned why they should oppose something
sensible.
“If the president speaks sense which he does all the time, surely I
don’t
know why one should go against sense and logic and if that is what
people
say, so be it. In the politburo, central committee and conference,
people
are free to express themselves. People are saying we want elections
next
year, the GPA is spending time quarrelling,” he said.
About
legislators concerns that they wanted a guarantee that no primary
elections
would be held in their constituencies, Moyo said primary elections
would be
held as in prescribed in the Zanu PF constitution.
“They have not brought
that to us. The party constitution provides that
there must be primary
elections for everybody unless the constitution is
amended, which I don’t
see happening at all,” he said.
On violence and intimidation, Moyo urged all
parties not to engage in
violence and told the police to arrest anyone
involved irrespective of their
political party.
“There must be no
violence. This country has law enforcement agents and
really they have a
duty to protect citizens and if there is anybody that is
involved in
violence –– it is not one sided –– this must be stopped, we can’t
allow it.
We can’t allow people to be muzzled by whomever. The police must
apply law
to its fullest,’ he said.
Asked war veterans leaders is being allowed to
harass villagers, Moyo said:
“We don’t know what he has done. He has denied
everything. We have not heard
of any specific case he has done to warrant
any action against him.”
He also denied that soldiers were being deployed
countrywide to campaign for
Zanu PF and also said there was no
militarisation of the party.
“I saw it in the private paper; I don’t know
what that is (boys on leave).
We have never discussed it as a party –– I
only see it in the media, it has
never been brought to our attention. We are
all war vets, we are all
military people. I was part of those that liberated
this country and now I
must not participate in the running of the country,
why?” he said.
He referred questions related to Air Vice Marshal Henry
Muchena and former
Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO)
director-internal, Sydney Nyanhongo
working full time in the party’s
department of commissariat to national
commissar Webster
Shamu.
See full interview with Moyo in next week’s
edition.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:37
BRITISH Ambassador Mark Canning this week expressed concern over
Zimbabwe’s
handling of rough diamonds mined at Marange and the timing of
elections
which President Robert Mugabe wants mid-next year.
Canning told
journalists that the proceeds realised so far from the sale of
Marange
diamonds were not benefiting ordinary Zimbabweans.
He said Britain would
continue to oppose the export of the Marange diamonds
until there is
evidence that they are benefiting Zimbabweans.
“Diamonds –– what is happening
in Marange is very wrong. The benefits from
Marange diamonds are not used
for the benefit of this country,” he said.
“What we see here is that a
resource is being exploited not for the benefit
of Zimbabweans, you know
what is happening.”
The Kimberley Process earlier this month failed to reach
an agreement
authorising future diamond exports from Marange. An agreement
was widely
accepted at the KP plenary in Jerusalem in Israel but was blocked
by Canada
and Australia. The plenary meeting ended with a decision to
continue
negotiation until a unanimous agreement is reached.
To broker a
resolution on the exports of the diamonds, the KP’s Working
Group on
Monitoring met this week in Brussels. But Zimbabwe boycotted the
meeting and
has since written to the KP chairman saying the ban was invalid.
Zimbabwe
accused KP chairman Boaz Hirsch of not dealing with it honourably
and with
integrity and for yielding to what it described as “political
schemes
devised by NGOs and participants opposed to the diamond exports”.
The
Brussels meeting was attended by the United States, South Africa,
Israel,
the European Union, the World Diamond Council, Global Witness and
Partnership Africa Canada (PAC).
Exports from Marange are subject to
restrictions imposed by KP rough diamond
certification scheme because of
concerns regarding human rights abuses and
military involvement in diamond
mining and smuggling in the region.
On elections, Canning said the
environment was not conducive to a free and
fair elections. He said Zimbabwe
has to ensure that the constitutional
process was completed in an orderly
and well-paced way.
“The draft constitution –– all this takes months. It’s
hard to see how this
could be done sooner,” he said.
President Robert
Mugabe has said there is no need to extend the unity
government by six
months after its expiry in February next year. He said the
constitution-making process should be fast-tracked so that a referendum is
held early next year and an election mid-next year.
In addition to a
smooth and orderly constitution-making process, Canning
said the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission and others like the Zimbabwe Human
Rights Commission
should be capacitated, while technical changes should be
made to the voters
roll and electoral laws before an election is held.
Canning said thorough and
comprehensive monitoring arrangements should also
be put in place prior to a
credible, free and fair election.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has
insisted that electoral, media and
security reforms should be implemented
before an election. He wants Sadc,
the African Union and international
observers and monitors to be stationed
in the country six months before and
after the election.
“Obviously, it is for the parties to the GPA to decide
when the next
election should be held,” Canning said. “However, it’s
important to note
that an election that is held too soon is likely to be
much like the last
one in 2008,” Canning said. “If a poll was held
prematurely, it would be
most unlikely to be either free or fair. I
sympathise with people’s views
that elections are the last thing on their
mind. It is inconceivable that it
will be a successful election if it is
done too early.”
Turning to sanctions, the British ambassador was
non-committal on the
argument, advanced by Presidents Jacob Zuma and Seretse
Khama, on whether it
would be politically prudent to remove sanctions and
see how Zanu PF reacts
on fully implementing the Global Political
Agreement.
Journalists in the briefing raised the issue of Zanu PF’s refusal
to
implement the 24 agreed issues and make concessions on the other three
issues involving the appointments of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and
Attorney-General Johannes Tomana until sanctions are removed.
Just last
month, Mugabe re-appointed provincial governors after Zanu PF
argued that
the appointments using the agreed formula of five MDC-T, four
Zanu PF and
one MDC-M could only be done simultaneously with the removal of
sanctions.
One journalist asked if it would not be wise to remove the
restrictions,
which Canning said only affected one in every 70 000 of
Zimbabwe’s
population and 35 companies, as this would test Zanu PF’s
commitment to
fully implement the necessary and essential reforms agreed on
in the GPA.
The reporter then suggested that if Zanu PF failed to comply,
then the EU
could still re-impose the sanctions.
“We will not seek to
argue that particular elements in the GPA should hold
up other areas of
progress. There should be a difference between economic
sanctions and
restrictive sanctions,” Canning said.
The EU is meeting in February to
discuss the renewal of sanctions.
Faith Zaba
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:37
THE MINISTRIES of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and
International
Cooperation admitted this week that they had failed to
increase business
confidence and investment levels with the West, which were
some of their set
targets for 2010.
The ministries’ permanent secretaries
told the parliamentary portfolio
committee on Foreign Affairs, Regional
Integration and International Trade
that they had also failed to normalise
relations with the United States (US)
and the European Union (EU) and to
re-engage international financial
institutions for financial
assistance.
The EU and the US imposed travel restrictions on President Robert
Mugabe and
his cronies and 35 local companies accused of funding Zanu PF.
The measures
come up for renewal in February and discussions among the 27
members are
expected to start soon. The decision to remove or renew the
sanctions will
depend on the status of the Global Political
Agreement.
Foreign Affairs acting permanent secretary Ambassador Ngoni Sengwe
said:
“Most of the ministry’s set targets were not met. These include
desired
outcomes like noticeable increase in business confidence and
investment
levels with the West, normalisation of relations with the West
and the
repeal of Zidera (Zimbabwe Development and Economic Recovery Act
passed by
the US congress).”
He added that the country failed to
re-engage the international financial
institutions for financial
assistance.
“Relations with Western countries and major financial
institutions like the
World Bank, International Monetary Fund have yet to
thaw,” Sengwe added.
However, he said his ministry had scored some success in
the region and
Africa.
“The country scored major successes in that both
Sadc and the AU now speak
with one voice especially on the issue of the
removal of sanctions and on
the call for the support of the Inclusive
Government,” he added.
Ministry of Regional Integration and International
Cooperation permanent
secretary Tadeous Chifamba lamented the EU’s lack of
movement on sanctions
until the full implementation of the GPA by all
parties in the Inclusive
Government.
“Negotiations with the EU and US on
sanctions have yielded very little. They
said normalisation of relations
will only take place when Zimbabwe is
perceived to have implemented the GPA
in full.
“We are urging them to take corresponding measures to help healing
in the
country in relation to the number of issues implemented in the GPA so
far,”
Chifamba said.
He added that the EU had shifted a little on the
sanctions by delisting some
companies from the sanctions list.
“The last
EU/Zimbabwe reengagement dialogue managed to produce some shifting
of
stances by the EU. They delisted a number of companies from the sanctions
list. A lot still has to be done. The ultimate aim is to have the sanctions
removed,” added Chifamba.
Both ministries lamented limited funding they
were receiving from the
Treasury and restated that re-engagement and
normalisation of relations with
the EU and the US remained their major
priority in 2011.
Sengwe said: “Ministry of Foreign Affairs will in 2011
pursue normalisation
of relations with Western countries and international
financial
institutions. In that regard the re-engagement will involve
hosting meetings
and receptions at home and abroad.”
On the other hand,
Chifamba said Zimbabwe needed to get its priorities
right.
“We need to
have an agenda. We need to be clear on our strategic objectives
at every
forum we attend be it, Sadc, EU or AU. We should stop sending mixed
signals.
Thus far we will try to harmonise the objectives of different
ministries and
package them for presentation,” he said.
Both ministries are bidding for
allocations double the amounts they received
in the current year. Foreign
Affairs wants $124 million while Regional
Integration and International
Cooperation is bidding for $15 million.
Paidamoyo
Muzulu
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:36
YOUTH Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment minister Saviour
Kasukuwere and Economic Planning and Investment Promotion minister Tapiwa
Mashakada this week displayed a wide ideological chasm between partners in
the coalition government running Zimbabwe’s affairs.
The two ministers,
together with prominent businessmen, on Wednesday faced
each other during a
Zimbabwe Independent-sponsored “Independent Dialogue”
meeting — a forum
which engages business, academia and policymakers on key
issues affecting
the country.
Guided by a theme, “Doing Business in Zimbabwe: Who is welcome?”
Kasukuwere,
quite predictably made the provocative remark that British
investors were
unwelcome to do business in the country. This was when it was
badly in need
of foreign direct investment and currently at the tail end of
global
competitiveness.
His vitriol towards the former colonial master
could leave British
billionaire Richard Branson reconsidering his recent
positive remarks on
Zimbabwe.
Branson was in September quoted by wire
services as saying : “Zimbabwe, of
all the African countries, it’s got the
best chance of getting back ... it
just needs a bit of help getting
kick-started. Only time will tell.”
Seemingly guided by the “Look East
Policy”— a desperate investment bid
undertaken by the Zanu PF-led government
to bust Zimbabwe’s economic
isolation from the Western bloc — Kasukuwere
said the Brits could eat
Zimbabwe’s cake last.
As the tiff within the
inclusive government escalates, capital remains
scarce and a huge proportion
of Zimbabwe’s “bellwether friends” from the
East are rolling up their
sleeves to compete for relatively low-income
investments with
locals.
Said Kasukuwere in the presence of British ambassador Mark Canning:
“Any
investment that will be coming from Britain will be looked at very
negatively. If you want to invest in this country, fine. But with British
investment, I would use the Malaysian parlance, “Buy British Last.” He
omitted to mention the quote came from Mugabe’s old friend Mahathir, long
since out of office.
“You ask me why?” he said. “They come here to invest
and put you under
sanctions again.”
Foreign Direct Investment, which at
the peak of Zimbabwe’s economic fortunes
in the mid-90s averaged 20% now
stands at 5% as investors look elsewhere in
the region.
The government,
especially Zanu PF politicians, blame controversial
sanctions imposed on
President Mugabe and his inner circle.
That the inclusive government
represented by the main political parties —
Zanu PF and the two MDC
formations — is engaged in frantic diplomatic
efforts to warm frosty
relations between Harare and the European Union — was
not enough to stop the
Zanu PF minister from making maladroit remarks that
are likely to scupper
British investment of any kind.
Kasukuwere’s position on British investors
vindicates the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), a private sector
lender of the World Bank which
ranked Zimbabwe among the worst investment
destinations in the world.
The current IFC Doing Business Report showed that
Zimbabwe slipped one
position to 157 out of the 183 countries surveyed owing
to its reported
limited commitment to enforce contracts.
Zimbabwe should
play its political cards right before investment comes,
business leaders
said in response to Kasukuwere’s remarks.
Fred Mutanda, chairman of the
American Business Association of Zimbabwe,
said the politicisation of
corporates by the government was enough to scare
away investors. He said the
country needs economic empowerment policies that
will survive politics to
attract capital inflows.
Mutanda said: “Government should allay concerns
about political risk
regarding expropriation. This applies to local
investors, especially if one
looks at the seizure of black-owned farms, 2004
bank closures, the Shabanie
Mashaba Mines-Mutumwa Mawere matter and how the
Kingdom Meikles issue was
made political.”
Mutanda has business interests
in the motor industry, finance,
pharmaceuticals and real estate.
“The
bone of contention with the indigenisation regulations is that it
becomes a
deterrent to new investment,” he said. “It is difficult to find a
local
partner with the capacity to start new projects. The policy should
allow an
initial 100% ownership and then a gradual reduction to 49% through
an
initial public offering to encourage broader empowerment. The
introduction
of the multicurrency system has seen Zimbabweans unable to
access capital
and therefore can easily partner with foreign investors,” he
added.
In
his bid to curry the controversial empowerment regulations which came to
force in March this year, Kasukuwere cited OK Zimbabwe and NMB whose
ownership structures were altered during capital-raising initiatives as
examples of how government can be “flexible” on the prescribed
indigenisation threshold that tallies with the “national interest”.
He
however reiterated that government would not budge on the mining sector.
“We
need indigenisation because how can a company export minerals worth over
US$1 billion and only remit US$44 million to the state. Let’s stop living in
dreamland,” Kasukuwere said.
Mashakada said Zimbabwe should remove the
bad-boy tag attached to it by
investors owing to dirty politics.
In a
veiled attack on Zanu PF politicians, Mashakada, the deputy
secretary-general of the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC, said no political party
should claim ownership of the indigenisation exercise which came after
parliament passed the empowerment bill three years ago.
Zanu PF has since
announced that it will use indigenisation as an election
trump card in polls
President Robert Mugabe wants held by June next year.
“As politicians we tend
to politicise an otherwise necessary piece of
legislation. Those who are
politicking the indigenisation law are saboteurs
because they are
vulgarising the law,” Mashakada said. “That is cannibalism.
The most
important issue is the sovereign risk of the country — that is in
the realm
of politics. People haven’t forgotten the land reform exercise
that is
perceived as expropriation and grabbing.”
At the turn of the millennium, the
Zanu PF-led government embarked on an
arbitrary land exercise that resulted
in white commercial farmers owning
vast tracts of land losing farms to what
critics say were
politically-connected black Zimbabweans.
The two
ministers, however, found common ground on mining. Like Kasukuwere,
Mashakada admitted that mining companies were not significantly contributing
to the fiscus.
“The largest influx of investors are Chinese but their
interest is
extraction of raw materials. They are extracting chrome, they
are in Marange
(diamond fields) but we are saying they should add value,”
Mashakada said.
Statistics from the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, project
that chrome mining
will outgrow other mining sectors after projecting a
147,6% growth.
Gold was ranked second with a 62% growth forecast. On the
downside the
chamber expects a contraction of -21% in black diamonds output.
Judging by
projections, financing the empowerment policy in the mining
sector could be
a herculean task for the cash-strapped government, currently
struggling to
pay the civil service modest incomes.
The CMZ says the
mining industry requires up to US$5 billion in the next
five years to
recapitalise local mines.
On the contrary, mining companies operating in the
country argue that the
country’s perennial energy crisis and unsustainable
costs of alternative
energy stifle their efforts to beneficiate
minerals.
As the two ministers critiqued each other and emotions flared,
businessman
Pattison Sithole frankly discouraged the apparent incoherence
between the
two bureaucrats.
“We have a problem in this country. We have
so much emphasis on political
positions and in trying to outdo one another
at the expense of business. To
me it’s wrong, I think we should really spell
out as a country what we need
to do. We need to put the economy first ahead
of political interests.”
Kasukuwere however in response to politicisation of
economic policies said:
“I am a political animal and I need votes. So I feel
that indigenisation
will bring votes, I will discuss it at
rallies.”
British ambassador Mark Canning was clearly dismayed with
Kasukuwere’s
disrespect for British investors.
“Indigenisation should be
the rule of law. I can only express my
disappointment at what I heard. I
have worked to have British companies come
to Zimbabwe,” Canning
said.
Bernard Mpofu
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:35
ZIMBABWEANS’ right to freely access and disseminate public
information will
be further curtailed if the proposed General Laws Amendment
Bill goes
through the Parliamentary Legal Committee without
amendments.
Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa steered the Bill through its
first
reading two weeks ago.
The General Laws Amendment Bill, among other
issues, seeks to amend the
Copyright and Neighbouring Act by giving
copyright protection to
legislation, notices and other material in the
Government Gazette, court
judgments and certain public
registers.
Copyright in all these documents will vest in government.
Government, as
copyright holder, will have complete discretion in deciding
whether or not
the documents should be published and disseminated, after
their initial
publication in the Gazette; and government will be able to
dictate the terms
and conditions under which the documents are published and
disseminated.
Local human rights and legal rights organisations have
condemned the
development saying it is retrogressive and unconstitutional in
a democratic
state.
Veritas, a local lawyers grouping, blasted the
changes as inimical to
democracy.
“The amendment proposed by clause 16 of
the Bill will violate Section 20 of
the Constitution, will be inimical to
transparent government, human rights
and the rule of law, and will be
contrary to best practice in the southern
African region,” Veritas
said.
“Amending the Copyright and Neighbouring Act has serious implications
for
the rights of citizens to freely access and distribute legislation,
notices
and other material in the Government Gazette, court judgments and
certain
public registers. It is important that such information should
remain in the
public domain.”
Section 10 of the current Copyright and
Neighbouring Rights Act does not
subject certain public documents to
copyright such as official texts or
statutes; official texts of judicial
proceedings and decisions (judgments);
notices and material published in the
Government Gazette and the contents of
official registers.
Pedzisai
Ruhanya, Crisis Coalition programmes manager, echoed the same
sentiments as
Veritas saying the development was uncalled for.
He said: “It is uncalled
for. The system that was there before should be
observed. Public documents
are in the public interest. I believe people
moving for the changes do not
understand how democracy works. What do they
want to hide from the
public?”
Takura Zhangazha, a civic activist, concurred saying the Bill wanted
to
curtail the influence of non-governmental organisations and other
pro-democracy groups from disseminating information which government may
deem sensitive.
“The intention of the Bill is political rather than
administrative. They are
seeking to control the flow of information. This
should also be read in the
context of electoral language as Zanu PF braces
for elections next year.
They are trying to manage the flow of information
and this is contrary to
democratic principles,” Zhangazha said.
The
activists said if government was granted copyright in statutes and
judgments, then the state would control how they are disseminated.
Human
rights and legal activists believe that the amendments in clause 16
are a
great departure from other jurisdictions in the region citing examples
from
South Africa, Zambia and Botswana. In all three countries no copyright
subsists in official texts of a legislative, administrative or legal nature.
Statutes and judgments are not subject to copyright.
The amendment will
have profound effects on private organisations that would
like to publicise
electoral laws prior to an election as they will have to
seek government
permission first, in addition to any permission they may
require from the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
Human rights orgainsations that want to
disseminate a court judgment would
have to get permission from the Minister
of Justice while organisations that
want to print and issue a statutory form
enabling women to apply for
maintenance will have to get permission too and
may also have to pay a
royalty to government for each form printed and
distributed.
Paidamoyo Muzulu
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:26
ACCORDING to media reports, in the aftermath of the Sadc ceremony
to open
that organisation’s new headquarters in mid-November, the assumption
that
there would be a side meeting of the regional body’s Troika to directly
address the Zimbabwean crisis turned out not to be true.
What has since
emerged is that President Jacob Zuma is due in Zimbabwe by
the weekend
beginning Friday November 26 according to Reuters News Agency.
Whether his
meetings with the three political principals will be as brief as
the last
time he visited, it is hard to tell, but what is clear is that no
matter the
duration of his visit, this time Zuma has to ensure that there is
progress
or at least clarity on the way forward vis-à-vis the GPA. But
because Zuma
is not a Zimbabwean leader, one cannot expect too much from him
and our
focus must no longer be on measuring his ability to deliver our
country to a
political Canaan.
Instead our focus at this critical juncture must be firmly
set on how
President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara demonstrate a full appreciation of
the gravity of
the issues at hand in the country. Especially when they meet
Zuma.
In direct relation to the political stalemate in the country at
present, the
three leaders have neither demonstrated nor indicated a clear
understanding
of how with each passing day their differences real or
perceived are now
patently symptomatic of how the GPA has become a political
ceasefire
arrangement.
This, in a fashion similar to the much written
temporary World War 1
Christmas Day ceasefire, where warring troops
suspended fighting for a day
and continued with killing each other on Boxing
Day. In other words, nothing
in relation to their political attitude to each
other or to the country has
changed.
The three leaders have failed to
utilise time to depart from the past.
Instead they have used it to restock
on ammunition in order to fight another
day in similar fashion to all the
fights of the last 10 years.
This also essentially means that they have
failed even in their endeavour to
seek incremental change in the country,
and that perhaps all they sought
from each other was temporary respite, or
to live to fight another day. And
it is this attitude which neither puts the
country first nor inspires
confidence in the leadership capabilities of all
of the three leaders.
But the country and its citizens have to face up to the
reality of the
tragic nature of the leadership of the inclusive government,
and once again
decry what has come to be called “African politics”. And
where this
statement is made, this article may be considered naïve or
simplistic.
The truth of the matter is that the political reality of our
country
standing as always on the precipice of disaster and doom because one
party
has done one thing or the other is setting the base for a banana
republic
where it is individuals and their increasingly personalised
political
parties that hold sway over the nation. Simply put, all of the
three
political parties made the GPA their bed and they must lie in it,
albeit
with all its discomforts.
And for these discomforts all of the
three leaders are to blame. Perhaps one
more than the others, but when the
final analysis is made, the GPA is the
responsibility of all of them. Mugabe
must be informed that political
brinkmanship is neither helpful to the
country’s present nor its future.
Seeking, as evidenced by his publicly
recorded statements, to have an
“arithmetic” condign election and attempt to
get rid of the MDCs in
government is neither realistic nor possible.
This
is because even if he seeks to ram an election down our throats, the
political psyche of the country will not digest it and he together with Zanu
PF will be dogged by legitimacy problems nationally and in the international
community. Such a development would only serve to increase the number of
people seeking to leave the country, compound the economic crisis further
and make this state a very unstable one.
Tsvangirai on the other hand
cannot skirt his responsibilities in the GPA
and the matter of how his
political conduct is potentially negatively viewed
by its guarantor, Sadc.
Where he makes public statements, they should be
consistent both with his
party’s principles as well as with the mantra of
“necessary compromises” he
has insisted on since September 2008. This
together with a deliberate
tackling of the perception that the MDC-T is
working too closely with the
West and a reduction of MDC-T policy ambiguity
on the issue of sanctions
would serve our country better.
Mutambara for all his attempts at bridging
the political gap between his two
more powerful colleagues, must function
with a greater understanding of
collective responsibility with his party as
well as the inclusive
government.
By Takura
Zhangazha
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:25
THE arrest and continued detention of Standard reporter Nqobani
Ndlovu,
Zimbabwean journalists believe, is a clear indication of President
Robert
Mugabe’s plan to silence the media ahead of possible elections next
year.
Ndlovu was arrested on Wednesday last week and was charged under
Section 96
of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for defaming
the police
over a story alleging police scrapped exams to promote officers
and were
roping in war veterans and retired officers to fill senior
posts.
He was brought to court on Monday where a Bulawayo magistrate granted
him
$100 bail but the state invoked Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure
and
Evidence Act to bar him from enjoying his freedom.
But journalists’
organisations believe Ndlovu’s detention at the notorious
Khami Maximum
Security Prison just outside Bulawayo is meant to intimidate
media
practitioners from reporting ills in government departments,
especially
those controlled by Zanu PF appointees.
Even the magistrate Sibongile Msipa
said the state’s denial for Ndlovu’s
release was not justified, arguing that
the state failed to give convincing
reasons in opposing the journalist’s
bail.
“The state has failed to give enough reasons why the accused should be
denied bail,” she said in her bail ruling on Monday. “The other issue raised
by the state that he was facing a serious offence; that alone could not be
good enough to warrant denying accused bail without being accompanied by
other cogent reasons.”
Journalists said the state’s invoking of Section
121 of the Criminal
Procedure and Evidence Act showed that the state was out
to “fix” reporters
particularly from the private media.
There are
reporters from the state media who are facing criminal defamation
charges
but they were never incarcerated, suggesting that the state was
determined
to silence investigative journalists from the private media, said
the
journalists.
International journalists’ organisations have also demanded the
release of
Ndlovu and the need to guarantee press freedom. The Norwegian
Journalists
Association (NUJ) petitioned Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai to
order Ndlovu’s immediate release.
Zimbabwe Union of
Journalists president Dumisani Sibanda said the union was
dismayed by the
attempt to muzzle the press by the state.
He said the arrest of the Standard
journalist when Mugabe has indicated that
he wants elections by mid next
year was testimony that the 86 year old
leader was determined to silence the
private media.
Sibanda said the criminal defamation charges were archaic and
primitive,
adding that the pieces of legislation should be repealed to
promote media
freedom in Zimbabwe.
“The laws are contrary to the basic
tenets of democracy. We fear that the
arrest is meant to intimidate
investigative journalists; it’s absurd,” he
said.
He said Mugabe and his
security chiefs claimed that there was democracy in
Zimbabwe but the arrest
and prolonged incarceration indicated that a lot was
needed to achieve press
freedom.
Sibanda said the police, like any other government workers, were
civil
servants who survive from taxpayers’ money and were, therefore, should
not
be spared public scrutiny.
“We wonder why and how a government
department can be defamed when the
public officials are supposed to be
accountable to the general citizenry.
Ndlovu’s detention typifies the
highest level of dictatorship by those that
don’t want press freedom,” he
said.
ZUJ is planning a demonstration in Bulawayo on Monday against Ndlovu’s
detention but the police are reluctant to grant permission to journalists to
march through the streets.
Police told ZUJ, according to Sibanda, that
they do not have manpower to
escort journalists during the
march.
Sibanda, however, said the arrest of Ndlovu strengthened reporters
from the
private media to continue exposing the ills of the
society.
“Journalists will not be moved by police intimidation. We shall
remain bold
and unflinching because we are the watchdogs of the society,”
said the ZUJ
president.
From 2000, several journalists labelled as the
so-called “enemies of the
state” have been arrested and detained. The
arrests, analysts said, were a
violation of promotion of press freedom in a
country purported to be
enjoying democracy as a result of the liberation
struggle.
Media watchdog, Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) also
condemned the
arrest of Ndlovu, saying the state was making an example in an
attempt to
instill fear among journalists in the face of 2011
elections.
Misa Zimbabwe chairman Loughty Dube said the state must stop
criminalising
the journalism profession.
“Ndlovu reported the story
within his professional mandate. When the state
starts arresting reporters,
then it’s crystal clear that they want to stifle
press freedom,” he
said.
“We are sure that the arrest at a time when there is election talk is
meant
to force journalists from being sceptical about certain stories. This
is
travesty of justice and unacceptable.”
Legal experts say it was
legally impossible for a state organ like the
police to be defamed.
From
2000, critics accused Mugabe’s regime of stifling media freedom by
using
draconian pieces of legislation such as the defamation laws and Access
to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa) to silence
journalists.
Under the inclusive government, the parties which are signatory
to the
Global Political Agreement, prioritised media
reforms.
London-based journalist, Gilbert Nyambabvu said the potential effect
of what
is being done to Ndlovu and investigative journalism in general
ahead of a
crucial election was a shame.
He said: “The fact is
journalists working in the privately-owned media will
rightly see their
options as coming down to the question of whether they
want to be ‘free’
cowards or incarcerated ‘heroes’.”
“It is difficult to argue an abuse of
process in this case because our
convoluted legal system does provide for
the sort of appeal such as the
state has filed and the accused is obliged to
remain in custody until the
said appeal is heard.”
Brian
Chitemba
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
18:34
THE absence of statistics has resulted in government and companies
failing
to make long-term plans which could speed economic recovery, says
CBZ Bank
MD John Mangudya.
Speaking at the 2010 Manufacturing Sector
Survey carried out by the
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) and
launched on Wednesday,
Mangudya said statistics provide tools that are
needed to react
intelligently, read the situation and make informed
decisions and policies.
“Statistics in Zimbabwe leave a lot to be desired,”
he said. “Without them
one cannot make meaningful decisions. You cannot run
a country or company
without them.”
Mangudya said the country should take
a cue from countries such as China
that have statistics on all sectors as
recent as a week or two ago.
Mangudya said governments and companies use
statistics to measure key
economic indicators that affect business and
industry.
He said keeping track of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) enables
government
to determine whether expenditures in business and various
industries is
increasing or decreasing per given period.
“We just hear
that tourism has grown, but by how much no one knows. It is
only tobacco
where statistics are readily available and we are constantly
updated.
Statistics help the government determine if there is an impending
recession
on the horizon; or if economic conditions are improving,” Mangudya
said.
“It appears as a country we do not know the importance of making
policies
based on correct statistics. I for one am a person who does not
entertain
serious corporate matters with someone who cannot furnish me with
figures.”
He said accurate and up-to-date statistics help banks to channel
funds to
sectors that government priorities.
“Once you have been advanced
the loan, please re-pay on the agreed time.
Zimbabweans have developed a
culture of not paying loans,” he said. “What is
worrying is that some people
have the ability and resources to pay but just
do not want to pay.”
He
said the results of the 2010 manufacturing survey were an examination of
the
industry that should help policy formulation.
Mangudya said confidence
building was important in the country to attract
lines of credit and
long-term investments to increase capacity utilisation
in
companies.
According to the 2010 manufacturing survey, CZI said capacity
utilisation
has remained a key challenge within the manufacturing
sector.
The survey said although a few firms were producing to their full
capacity
or close to 100%, the majority claim under utilisation.
“From
the survey, average capacity utilisation has continued to improve,
albeit,
at a much slower rate than expected. Average capacity utilisation as
at the
end of the first half of 2010, stood at 43,7%, compared to 32,3% at
the end
of the first half of 2009,” said the CZI.
The CZI said this has been largely
due to the stable environment which has
allowed companies to plan and
budget.
“The manufacturing sector is yet to experience the big leap to high
sustainable growth that had been projected by government. On interrogation,
it was observed that the major constraints to capacity remain largely
unchanged with government having failed to address the fundamentals required
to attract the much needed investment,” said CZI.
The three major
capacity constraints have been attributed to lack of working
capital;
antiquated plant machinery, which has resulted in loss of time due
to
machinery breakdowns or plant and machinery refurbishment; and low
demand.
“Levels of exports remain depressed; in terms of export markets
Zambia
continues to be the leading export destination. Interesting to note
is the
drop in market share of South Africa, and a considerable increase in
market
share to Mozambique, from 5% in 2009 to 11% in 2010,” the CZI
said.
Paul Nyakazeya
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
18:32
THE limited liquidity prevailing on the market since the adoption
of
multiple currencies last year affected retailers and manufacturers who
have
failed to take off from the deep recession which has resulted in listed
companies posting unexciting results during the current reporting
period.
Results released in the latest reporting period showed that companies
have
largely failed to emerge from the deep recession, which saw capacity
utilisation dropping to 10%, with other companies closing shop.
Apart
from the limited liquidity, the cost of doing business in the country
has
continued to rise, a development that has dented prospects for
recovery.
Analysts have attributed the costs spike to the intermittent power
cuts,
high borrowing costs and expensive cost of utilities.
Mike Mashiri,
an economic analyst, said the issue of power cuts had weighed
heavily on
companies in the manufacturing sector as most of them use heavy
machinery
which would take time to reboot once they have been cut off.
“They cannot use
generators to power such machinery,” said Mashiri. “It
takes time to restart
the machinery and this translates to hours lost.”
Mashiri said low capacity
utilisation made local manufacturers uncompetitive
as they have to meet
fixed costs which do not change no matter how much a
company could be
producing.
“Generally, companies are at 30% capacity and it is a challenge as
they have
to meet the fixed costs,” said Mashiri. “These costs will be
factored in the
price of the commodities which would make the local products
uncompetitive.”
Mashiri said the technological lag, where the country lost
close to a decade
ago in terms of renewing machinery, was also denting
profit levels as the
equipment used was “obsolete” and has seen
manufacturers being less
efficient compared to regional competitors who have
been constantly renewing
equipment.
While results released recently have
confirmed the obvious problems faced by
both the manufacturing and retailing
sectors, there were certain issues
which have become particular to the
latter.
In a statement attached to its results last week, OK Zimbabwe, the
second
largest retailer in the country, summed up the situation in the
sector when
the company bemoaned the effects of shrinkage –– loss of
products to theft.
The retailer has engaged a private security firm to assist
fight shrinkage —
a retailer’s word for theft –– and this had a bearing on
the company’s cost
structure as it added to overhead expenses together with
expenditure such as
replacement of aging refrigeration plants, closed
circuit television and
generators.
Overhead expenses during the financial
year to September increased 63% to
US$18 million, said OK.
OK Zimbabwe’s
revenue during the 12 months to September was US$116 million
while pretax
profit stood at US$614 941.
This, analysts say, shows that the margins in the
retail sector were very
narrow during the year under review as it literally
meant that they retained
less than one cent for every dollar they
produced.
Profit margins were, however, slightly higher in agro-processing
and
agriculture companies such as Ariston and Hippo Valley which is around
10
cents retention for revenue realised.
Aico Africa Limited, a
diversified entity which has interests in cotton
processing and growing,
fast moving consumer goods and spinning, was hit by
the harsh operating
environment and posted US$11.7 million pretax loss.
“Group performance has
been disappointing with losses forecast in Cottco,
Olivine and Scottco,”
Aico group secretary Pious Manamike said. “An
injection of capital is
critical to the future success of the group.”
Both OK Zimbabwe and Aico
concurred that the low liquidity had impacted on
sales as consumer demands
remained subdued.
Leonard Makombe
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
18:31
COAL reserves at Hwange’s dragline pit, which supplies the
country’s largest
thermal power station, will run out by 2012, a development
that may force
government to import the commodity to avert a worsening power
crisis.
Responding to questions from businessdigest, Hwange Colliery Company
Ltd CEO
Fred Moyo said coal reserves at the dragline pit would been depleted
within
the next two years while those at Chaba and 3 Main Underground will
last for
the next 17 years.
“In general terms the said figures are
reasonably accurate, but impact will
depend with type of mining methods
applied at the end of the day,” Moyo
said. “The depletion of coal reserves
at the JKL pit is a cause for concern
to the organisation as far as
utilisation of the dragline is concerned. The
dragline will not have future
coking coal reserves to mine after JKL.”
Hwange Colliery Company has three
operational mines namely JKL Opencast
(widely known as the dragline pit),
Chaba Opencast and 3 Main underground.
An expert report said reserves at
Chaba and 3 Main mines, which produce
industrial coal used in metallurgical
industries, were projected to last
until 2020.
But Hwange says resources
will be depleted by 2027.
The depletion of the reserves will leave the
colliery company facing
survival challenges.
Commenting on the
performance of the three mines, Moyo said: “JKL has
started recovering after
repairs to the dragline. However, recovery is
rather slow due to shortage of
dragline support equipment.”
He said this was the main source of coking coal
and contributes 40% of the
company’s output.
“The 3 Main Underground Mine
has experienced major equipment challenges and
its contribution is 10% of
total output. Chaba Opencast has worked well
contributing 50% of total
volumes. In terms of capacity JKL -40%, Chaba -
50% and 3 Main -10%,” Moyo
said.
This month Hwange Colliery Company Ltd announced that it was disposing
its
non-core businesses to cut costs.
The disposed units would be leased
out to small to medium enterprises. The
non-core businesses include liquor
outlet, social clubs, retail outlets,
fuel stations and garages, schools,
medical centres, recreation facilities
and horticultural projects.
Most
of these businesses will be leased out to small to medium enterprises
in
line with government’s indigenisation and empowerment initiative.
First
preference will, however, be given to local entrepreneurs. Engagements
with
local SMEs to this effect is said to have already started.
Hwange will,
however, keep some of the key social clubs and shops to
guarantee
traditional standards for the interests of its employees and the
surrounding
community.
Departments such as hospitals have already been partially
commercialised.
One of the hospitals is already being run by Premier Medical
Aid Society.
Tenders have also been floated for the maintenance of the golf
course,
canteens and Coronation Island, among others.
For the interim
period ending June 30 2010, Hwange recorded a significant
increase in
industrial coal sales by three-fold to nearly 320 000 tonnes
compared to the
just over 100 000 tonnes sold the previous year.
Paul
Nyakazeya
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:24
MUCKRAKER finds it difficult to feel any sorrow for deputy Economic
Planning
minister Samuel Undenge who failed to plan for the upkeep of his
children.
The Harare civil court has issued a garnishee order on the minister
which
will, he says, make a big dent in his income.
The order to pay $300
for his two children with ex-wife Angeline Munyeza
means he is now
maintaining four children at a cost of US$450.
He was already paying $150 for
the upkeep of two children from another
marriage, the Herald tells
us.
This looks very much like poor planning from the Planning
minister!
Munyeza had approached the courts accusing Undenge of neglecting
his
children and having last bought school uniforms for them in 2005. He had
last contributed to the children’s upkeep in 2006 and their daughter had
been turned away from school because of unpaid fees.
Undenge denied that
he was running a profitable farm in Chimanimani, as
claimed by his ex-wife.
The farm was being sustained by bank loans he said.
We know ministers can
rarely be accused of running profitable farms. But the
farm in this case was
almost certainly profitable when the minister acquired
it. We recall Undenge
spouting Zanu PF mantras when he was seeking
preferment some years ago. He
evidently thought that was the way to go. But
what exactly has he produced
over the past five or six years except a batch
of progeny he is unable to
sustain?
Meanwhile we had SK Moyo complaining about farm equipment lying
idle at the
RBZ warehouse for three years. Some of the implements had been
vandalised he
told the party faithful in Bulawayo.
Strange isn’t it that
nobody in Zanu PF noticed the implements lying around
at the warehouse until
President Mugabe mentioned an election.
We liked Morgan Tsvangirai’s
comparison of Chombo and the baboon. Why does
he need all those vehicles,
Tsvangirai wanted to know? It was like the
baboon picking up mealie cobs in
the field, one under each arm and others in
his hands. But then he would see
another cob and drop his current bundle to
pick up the new one.
Under
the heading “Zim, Zambia call for stronger ties”, the Herald on Monday
carried a report on a meeting of the Zimbabwe-Zambia Joint Permanent
Commission on Defence and Security.
“The commission observed that some
externally funded non-governmental
organisations were working against the
governments of the two sister
republics as well as governments of other
countries in the region,” the
commission said. Opening the meeting, National
Security minister Sydney
Sekeramayi said the two countries had been the
victims of colonialism and
“continue to be at the mercy of neo-colonial
machinations by the former
colonial masters”.
In fact both countries have
witnessed the steady sabotage of their economies
by their own governments.
Zambia’s nationalisation of the copper mines and
other institutions in the
1970s led to the collapse of its economy from
which it is only now
recovering. Here, Zanu PF is performing the same sort
of national hara kiri
which has seen the departure of investors and dramatic
destruction of
commercial agriculture.
Levy Mwanawasa’s wisdom is sorely missed. He
rarely engaged in the sort of
nonsense emanating from the joint commission
and its foolish fantasies about
NGOs. Many of the NGOs supposedly plotting
against Zambia and Zimbabwe were
in the forefront of rescuing our people
from starvation in 2008 and continue
to work for the provision of clean
water and hospital equipment.
NGOs played a key role in providing
transparency in the 2008 electoral
process and thereby prevented the
cheating that has come to be associated
with Zimbabwean elections. No wonder
they are hated in Harare!
Sekeramayi said the two countries should continue
to fight neo-colonialism.
In fact they should continue to fight ministerial
foolishness that has
reduced once prosperous states to basket cases.
The
commission did call on Sadc and the AU to support the forthcoming
elections
within the framework of the Sadc principles and guidelines
governing
democratic elections.
That presumably includes acceptance of the
outcome?
Emmerson Mnangagwa was quoted in NewsDay on Monday saying Zanu
PF would
continue to rule whatever the outcome.
Speaking in Kwekwe, he
said: “In the last elections you voted for the wrong
party but today I am
pleased to see all of you here and I assume you are
here because you support
the revolutionary party and what (Owen) Mudha
stands for.
“If you
disagree with what is being said here, then there is nothing I can
do about
it, and if you don’t vote for us in the next election –– this
country is
huge –– we will rule even if you don’t want.”
So there you have democracy
Zanu PF-style. Good to have it on the record.
Mnangagwa by the way, despite
having got religion, is a serial loser. We
recall his failed bid to become
party national chairman in 1999. Then we
remember him losing his Kwekwe seat
in 2000 to a MDC candidate in hiding. In
the end, after yet another defeat
in 2005 he had to be rescued from
humiliation by President Mugabe who gave
him the Rural Housing ministry.
Now he has managed to claw his way back up
the ladder to the Defence
portfolio. Not a very impressive performance! And
do we really want another
national leader who doesn’t give a damn what the
electorate says?
In this connection, has anybody heard President Mugabe
admonishing those of
his adherents who want him to rule forever?
Has
anybody heard him say that such a post is inappropriate in a democracy;
that
such talk is to be discouraged in Zanu PF because it sends the wrong
signal
to the country?
How is Kamuzu Banda remembered today? As a devoted ruler of
his people? Or a
sad case of not knowing when to call it
quits.
Please tell us it isn’t true: The government regularly doctors
weather
forecast data, especially information relating to rainfall and
droughts,
according to a report in a local newspaper.
Climate Change
director Washington Zhakata told journalists at a climate
change workshop in
Harare last week that weather information required
“moderation” prior to
transmission.
You see, the public are not thought to be ready for bad
weather!
Zhakata was asked why the Met office had every year over the past
decade
consistently predicted normal to above normal rainfall only for the
country
to experience droughts.
The Met office apparently gives daily
updates to government officials before
such sensitive information is put
out.
Muckraker is shocked by this disclosure. And what about those days when
the
Herald fails to carry a weather report? Does that mean there will be no
weather that day?
Who advised Happison Muchechetere to sue the
Standard? The paper was guilty
of portraying the broadcaster as a Zanu PF
propaganda tool, trying to make
viewers and customers shun the broadcaster,
an indignant letter from the CEO
said. He demanded $10 million in
damages.
We are not sure whether to laugh or cry. Of course we think ZBC is a
Zanu PF
propaganda tool. Doesn’t everybody? Despite being publicly owned, it
fails
to provide a platform to parties other than Zanu PF and speaks in
demeaning
terms of Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC-T. It has never once been
critical of
President Mugabe even though he determines national policy.
Instead it is
slavishly loyal to the party that lost the last
election.
Of course we are not going to contribute to Muchechetere’s handsome
income
by paying him large amounts of money. He doesn’t deserve
it.
Instead we shall take great pleasure in getting the Media Monitoring
Project
of Zimbabwe to check their records and tell us which item they think
is the
most egregious example of partisan and unprofessional conduct by
ZBC.
It will be a tight choice!
Muchechetere encourages his managers
to take individual legal action against
the Standard if they like.
That
single act demonstrates that his loyalty is with the cabal that abuses
power
by refusing to open up the airwaves. And we are very doubtful that our
colleagues at ZBC will take him up on his spiteful offer.
We recall a
minister encouraging officials at the 1999 constitutional
commission to sue
the Standard. “Come and feed at this trough,” he said
after the paper
carried a story on the commission which it didn’t like.
He lost the case on
appeal.
Another minister tried to get Air Zimbabwe to sue the Zimbabwe
Independent.
The Independent is still here. The airline’s managers involved
in that case
aren’t. In fact they didn’t survive more than a few
months.
The problem is it is very difficult in law to defame the state or
state
organs. They are considered to be subject to public scrutiny and
critical
comment even where that comment may be hostile. Read PTC vs
Modus.
But whatever the case, Happison should not be such a crybaby. ZBC
fires
hostile broadsides at the independent press and civil society on a
regular
basis, then it hides when the heat in the kitchen gets too much. How
pathetic!
Also the recipient of poor advice, Deputy Prime Minister
Thokozani Khupe
should reflect on whether speculation about a prominent
person’s possible
pregnancy can possibly be defamatory. Is it defamatory to
be pregnant? This
looks like another MDC miscalculation. Declaring war on
the press is never
a good idea. Ask Obert Mpofu.
Morgan Tsvangirai
was complaining the other day that he couldn’t raise the
funds needed to
compensate white farmers.
He didn’t seem to recall the visits to farms under
siege which he and other
MDC luminaries undertook soon after the GNU came
into office.
Did he think it was OK to ignore the violence and greed that
took place on
those farms and that Western states would be pleased to give
him lots of
money –– $6 billion he wants –– even though he didn’t do
anything about it?
And how about these thoughtful words from Tendai Biti to
the same CZI
audience.
“We have a very difficult situation that we have
to handle. I say it is
difficult because we are faced with a serious lobby
by the international
community to compensate our former farmers that were
dispossessed of their
land.
“Should we fail to do that, it means we are
placing ourselves at the mercy
of these farmers for they can do anything to
ensure that they are
compensated.”
Great stuff Tendai. Really
enlightening!
Jonathan Moyo never ceases to amaze. His exploits as a
political turncoat
are well documented and need no further elaboration.
Muckraker thinks if the
professor had his way he would delete from the
archives the vociferous
articles he wrote during his wilderness years ––
against President Mugabe
and Zanu PF.
They seem to pop up now and again
and will surely dent his attempts to
ingratiate himself with the party
faithful.
He always seems to find new lows in his articles, even if you think
he has
gone as low as one can get. Most will concur that his ability to
twist and
fabricate facts with a metaphorical straight face are second to
none and his
recent article in the Sunday Mail is certainly no
exception.
He brazenly states that “the dubious political success of
Tsvangirai’s MDC
at the polls has always been synonymous with and only
possible through chaos
as borne out by what happened in the 2000 and 2008
general elections.
“The MDC-T’s only election strategy is to be destructive
by, for example,
heightening political tension in the country which attracts
negative
international media coverage and generally promoting dysfunctional
politics
whose aim is to dispirit and disenchant Zimbabweans by doing and
saying
destabilising things that leave them alarmed and
despondent.”
Laughter would be an appropriate reaction to such drivel if one
didn’t know
the author. To accuse the MDC of heightening political tension
when they
were on the receiving end of the violence that accompanied the
elections
from 2000 up to 2008 is insulting to any reader’s
intelligence.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:21
SPEAKING at the Midlands State University last week, former
Mozambican
President, Joaquim Chissano, demonstrated his renowned
perspicacity and
tendency towards recognising reality and the facts as they
are. He
unreservedly showed that he did not concur with the endless
attribution by
President Robert Mugabe and his political echelons of
“illegal sanctions” as
the cause of Zimbabwe’s intense economic ills and
woes. He stated
categorically, and very correctly, that it is the
“politics, not sanctions,
sinking Zimbabwe”, and that it was the “political
crisis of the last 10
years “which wrought ravages to the Zimbabwean
economy”.
From the mid-1980s onwards, with a few brief positive interludes,
the
Zimbabwean economy has contracted and become more and more decimated.
The
shining prospects so bright and pronounced upon Zimbabwe attaining its
independence in 1980 were progressively eroded and dissipated from 1985
onwards, save for a limited extent during the years 1994 to 1997. As
Zimbabwe increasingly failed to realise its very immense economic potential,
and as the exchequer became more and more bankrupt, the early 1980s’
advances in education and health services were reversed. The pre-GNU
government strove evermore vigorously to deny culpability for the
intensifying ills seeking for scapegoats to whom it could attribute
them.
First and foremost, for over two decades, the government strenuously
asserted that the economic ills confronting Zimbabwe were a result of the
Machiavellian stratagems of the former colonial powers to recolonise
Zimbabwe. The plan, they said, was to denude Zimbabwe of its resources and,
to all intents and purposes, to enslave Zimbabweans. Occasionally they
varied their theme song, by also ascribing the ills to negative climatic
circumstances and other “acts of God”. On rare occasions, the latter
contention had some limited credibility, whilst the primary claims of
recolonisation intents were blatantly devoid of any substance.
As the
Zimbabwean populace progressively recognised that not only were the
stated
causes of Zimbabwean ills wholly without foundation, but also that
the
actuality was a combination of intense economic mismanagement and of
even
more intense profligacy and actions of self-enrichment and
engrandisement.
So the politicians had to find other explanations for the
ills. They needed
desperately to prevent the electorate from recognising
the real causes,
which would endanger their retention of power.
Although with the best of
intents and motivations, many of the international
community then played
straight into the hands of the Zimbabwean politicians.
Having previously
imposed selective sanctions upon named Zimbabwean
political leaders, and
their families, in 2002 they extended the sanctions.
Initially, the
sanctions precluded those leaders and their families from
travel to the
imposing countries, and from investing therein, but in no
manner were those
sanctions directed at the economy, or at the populace as a
whole. However,
the extension of the sanctions created barriers upon any
economic
interactions with the Zimbabwean government, its parastatals and
other
entities owned or controlled by government. Foremost amongst the
instruments of sanctions imposition was the Zimbabwean Democracy Act of the
United States of America, and very similar measures were pursued by the
European Union and various of the member states of the Commonwealth.
But
none of the increased sanctions were targeted at the Zimbabwean economy
per
se. Zimbabwean private sector enterprise was not barred from exporting
to
the US, to Europe, or elsewhere and similarly remained enabled to source
any
goods or services they required from those countries. Admittedly, the
US
legislation prescribed that country from supporting funding to Zimbabwe
by
the Bretton Woods’ institutions (the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank), but this was only notional in effect, as Zimbabwe’s debt
servicing defaults in any event barred it from accessing such funding.
Furthermore, government and its puppet media vehicles endlessly alleged (as
they still do) that the sanctions were “illegal”. That allegation is
spurious and specious in the extreme, devoid of any credibility, for none of
the countries were in breach of their own laws, or of international law, by
constricting economic interactions with the government and its underlying
entities.
It is the absolute right of any country to determine which
countries it will
interact economically with, and the nature and extent of
such interactions.
Therefore, the never-ending description of the sanctions
as being illegal is
only a political stratagem to mislead the Zimbabwean
people. As stated
courageously and authoritatively by former President
Joaquim Chissano, the
reality of Zimbabwe’s tragic economic circumstances
has been, and is,
nothing but politics. No country that pretends to be a
democracy, but in
practice is driven by non-democratic, authoritarian rule,
can have a viable
economy. A country that has contemptuous disregard for
property and human
rights, rule of law and for Bilateral Investment
Promotion and Protection
Agreements cannot have a virile economy. Endless,
oppressive economic
regulation rings the death-knell for an economy.
Pronounced governmental
profligacy, far beyond national means, not only does
not provide a
foundation for economic development and growth, but guarantees
an economy’s
decline and collapse.
All of these, and many other, negative
political actions and inactions have
been the cause of the cataclysmic
contraction of the Zimbabwean economy.
They fuelled the greatest
hyperinflation ever experienced anywhere in the
world. They destroyed much
of Zimbabwean agricultural productivity, which
was the foundation of the
economy. They grievously eroded business
confidence, which is a
prerequisite for economic growth. They deterred
much-needed foreign and
domestic investment, essential for the creation of
employment, the
generation of foreign exchange, the access to
state-of-the-art technologies,
enhancement of inflows to the Fiscus, and
much else. They undermined
confidence and trust in the banking system and
in the financial sector as a
whole. The Zimbabwean economy has overwhelming
potential, and great
opportunity for the populace, but only when politicians
put the country and
its people ahead of their own interests, when they
govern the country
consistently with internationally accepted norms, when
they govern according
to national needs, instead of their own, and when the
politicians have the
courage to recognise and acknowledge facts, instead of
allowing megalomania
and paranoia to drive them and to ascribe all ills to
the actions and deeds
of others.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:21
CIVIL-military relations are a problem in post-colonial Africa and
in
Zimbabwe soldiers play a very active role during elections leaving many
questioning the implications for the outcome.
While in certain African
countries, especially those in the western parts of
the continent, military
personnel have left barracks to carry out coups, in
Zimbabwe they prop up
the incumbent president.
Soldiers have been accused of playing a partisan
role in elections, with an
unambiguous support for Zanu PF which goes
against the Defence Act, the law
that provides for the administration,
duties and training of the armed
forces.
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces’
mission and vision clearly spells out what the
army and other armed forces
seek to achieve. This includes ensuring the
protection and security of
Zimbabwe’s territorial integrity and
independence.
Another objective of
the ZDF is to provide military aid to civil power and
civil authorities in
Zimbabwe as well as support and promote Zimbabwe’s
economic, political and
social interests.
ZDF also seeks to fulfill international obligations and
responsibilities
with regard to international treaties with other states in
the field of
support operations, collective security, confidence and
security building
measures and humanitarian relief activities.
There is
no mention of partisan participation in elections and other
political
processes in either the Defence Act or the ZDF vision and mission
statements.
However, while on paper there is no room for the military in
the elections,
the reality is that they have been playing an active
role.
Soldiers’ participation in elections, especially after 2000, has seen
political parties attempting to reform the security sector but this has so
far been a mirage and the possibility of another plebiscite mid-next year
reopens the debate on what role the armed men and women play in our
stuttering democracy.
University of Zimbabwe political science professor
Eldred Masunungure said
the participation of the soldiers in elections was
improper and highly
irregular in a Western liberal democratic sense.
“The
presence of the military is a common occurrence in the former Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, China and Cuba,” Masunugure said. “It is
inconsistent with liberal democratic systems where there is a clear
separation of the military and the civilian authority.”
He added that:
“While the military itself is a political institution, they
should not be
involved in partisan politics but should be subordinate to the
civilian
authority that comes into power as a result of the electoral
process.”
Masunungure said the genesis of the problem in Zimbabwe was
that the country
used a hybrid system that blended the British heritage and
the Chinese model
(where the military plays a role).
“In the latter
model, the army, state and partisan politics are one and the
same thing,”
Masunungure added. “Our situation is also a result of the
legacy of the
liberation struggle where the military and the political wing
were one and
the same thing especially in Dare reChimurenga (war council).”
During the
liberation war, the military/ political dichotomy was very
blurred as the
logic of the situation required a merging of both for the
effective
execution of the war.
Military personnel in the then Zimbabwe African
National Liberation Army
(Zanla) were unambiguous in their mobilisation of
the people as there was a
political commissar responsible for keeping the
morale of the fighters high
as well as political orientation of the
“masses”, deployed at every level.
Zanla combatants were deployed in sections
(8-10 fighters), platoons (up to
30 guerillas), companies (about 100
soldiers) and detachments (comprising 3
companies) and there was a political
commissar at each of these levels.
Political commissars were men and women
who had received basic military
training before specialising in political
orientation and this method of
mobilisation could have been continued in
post-colonial Zimbabwe. Another
analyst and University of Zimbabwe
researcher Sibanengi Ncube said the laws
were clear that it was the police
force which was supposed to play an active
part and not any other security
department.
“While the police force can seek assistance from the military in
serious
situations, I do not think there has been a need to have the
military
personnel in elections,” said Ncube.
Whereas there have been
cases of violence in elections, it has been argued
that the state played a
very significant part and soldiers have been accused
of terrorising people
in high density suburbs.
One way of ensuring that the military men and women
remained within the
barracks was the stalled security sector reforms.
However, in the absence of
these reforms, there has to be reorganisation of
the forces.
An analyst based in South Africa, Sabelo Gatsheni-Ndlovu said the
ZDF must
remain non-partisan and professional.
“This means that as an
organised force it must not favour or support any
political party,” said
Gatsheni -Ndlovu. “Election time is a sensitive
moment and the military
must only be on guard to defend the state and the
people during this time
without necessarily embroiling themselves in running
of elections and
prescribing who should run the country.”
Gatsheni–Ndlovu said the main
problem was that the top brass of our military
remained in the hands of
ex-guerrillas “who throughout the liberation
struggle were organised as
armed mini-politicians who organised pungwes
(night vigils) and mobilised
people on behalf of Zapu and Zanu.”
He added that the mere fact that
post-colonial Zimbabwe saw a brigade
deployed to quell dissident activities
ending up killing civilians was a
sign that the military played a very
significant role.
“Those forces were eventually absorbed into our military
sector, giving it a
very bad taste,” said Gatsheni-Ndlovu. “The other reason
is that since 2000,
Zimbabwe found itself in an interregnum, where there was
no real legitimate
government.”
“During this interval the securocrats
moved in to occupy a problematic
position in our body politic through the
secretive but vicious Joint
Operations Command (JOC),” he said adding that:
“They became the monsters
who rule a country at a time when the old are
taking time to die and the new
are taking time to be born. “
An attempt
to dismantle JOC through the creation of a National Security
Council has
largely has failed as it continues to play a central role in
the country’s,
political, security, and economic affairs.
Leonard Makombe
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:20
THERE is no political event more dangerous than a general election.
Even in
what are called the “mature democracies”, elections bring out hidden
weaknesses in a nation’s structure that can be stretched to breaking point,
and if wise counsel does not prevail, no one can predict what might
happen.
The best example of this sort of situation is the US presidential
election
of November 2000. The result was extremely close –– George W Bush,
the
Republican candidate, beat his Democratic opponent, Al Gore, by only
0,5% of
the votes –– 48,4 against 47,9%. Such a close vote always brings
allegations
of hanky-panky.
Speculation became rife over what might have
been, had it not been for… What
follows the “for” is anybody’s game. In the
US election under question,
there were reports about votes disallowed
because of “hanging chads” and
“pregnant chads” caused by faulty voting
machines. There were also
allegations of fraudulent counting, and many other
misdeeds amounting to
electoral fraud.
So emotionally charged became the
atmosphere that even when the matter
reached the US Supreme Court, not
everyone was prepared to accept the Court’s
judgement –– predictably given
in favour of George W Bush –– as a genuine
judgment based on legal argument,
rather than as a partisan judgement
rendered by the court in line with the
known political leanings of Supreme
Court members.
The US is one of the
few democracies in which judges are openly branded as
“conservative” or
“liberal”, and where these judges almost invariably
satisfy the cynics by
voting in precisely the fashion that it has been
predicted they will
vote!
Fortunately for the US (and this is why it is called a “mature
democracy’)
at the point where the very existence of the Supreme Court
became threatened
because of the tension created by what many considered to
be the usurpation
of the American people’s democratically-delivered verdict
by the court –– or
more exactly, the conservative members of the court who
voted in favour of a
Bush victory –– the person who stood most to gain from
an opposite decision
by the Court, Al Gore, called off further challenges of
the alleged
electoral verdict.
What could have happened if Gore had gone
on with more legal and political
challenges?
In an “immature democracy”,
Kenya, on the other hand, a “minor” civil war
did occur, when, in December
2007, election results were declared in a
manner that the populace clearly
thought was manipulated to favour the tribe
of the incumbent president, [the
Kikuyu] Mwai Kibaki, who was seeking
re-election.
Several thousand people
were killed in inter-ethnic fighting that arose out
of the dissatisfaction
with the election’s results as declared.
Thousands more were chased out of
their homes, and for a while, it looked as
if Kenya would be permanently
divided along ethnic lines –– just because of
dissatisfaction with the way a
single election had been conducted. Certain
areas became de facto no-go
areas to certain ethnic groups.
The bitterness caused by the few months
following the election, will remain
a psychological scar on the entire
populace for at least a generation, as
ethnic oral history is recounted ad
nauseam by those who lost relatives, or
were themselves injured, during the
post-election maelstrom.
The Kenya situation was repeated in Zimbabwe in
March and June 2008, and
nearly replayed in Ghana in December 2008. Zimbabwe
emerged from the
near-civil-war of the election’s aftermath with an uneasy
coalition that
looks as if it may not take the country into the next
election.
And in Ghana, what saved the situation, after an extremely close
runoff
between two candidates, Professor John Evans Mills and Nana Addo
Danquah
Akufo-Addo was that the outgoing president, John Kufuor, had the
prescience
to conclude from what he was hearing on the ground that any
prolongation of
the tension created by the electoral result
pull-and-stretch, might toss the
nation/baby out with the presidential
seat/bath altogether –– so to speak.
What would the anxious crowds all over
Ghana who were cursing the Electoral
Commission for delaying the results
have done, if it had known then, what
had happened in South Africa’s
election of 1994, when a computer hacker
managed to alter the results of the
election and add millions of votes to
the numbers cast for three parties of
the hacker’s choice?
The near-disaster that would have blown up in South
Africa had the hacking
not been detected and corrected has just been
revealed in a report published
in the Johannesburg Sunday Times of October
24 2010.
The report tells the world for the first time that the much-hailed
general
election in South Africa in May 1994 –– in which the African
majority formed
beautiful, peaceful queues to joyfully cast their votes for
the very first
time ever –– was nearly ruined when a racist computer hacker
was able to
change the results of three of the minority parties that
contested the
election against the African National Congress (ANC)!
If
the hacked results had stood, the power of the ANC in parliament would
have
been considerably reduced, and the ANC would have found it extremely
difficult to rule the country, if not impossible altogether.
Aptly headed
“Plot to steal freedom”, the Sunday Times account says: “In
this edited
extract from his ground-breaking book, Birth: The Conspiracy to
Stop the ’94
Election, Peter Harris recalls the tension that followed the
discovery of …
an elaborate attempt to inflate the votes of the National
Party, the Freedom
Front and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), [in order] to
steal the country’s
first democratic elections through computer hacking.”
Computer hacking in
South Africa, the most technologically-advanced nation
on the African
continent? If election results could be hacked in a South
Africa on which
the eyes of the entire world were riveted at that particular
time, then what
chance does the rest of Africa have, with its cheap systems
(sometimes
donated from discarded stock by foreign governments and therefore
relatively
primitive)?
It turns out that the changes upward are between 2,5% and 4% for
the Freedom
Front, approximately 3% for the National Party and between 4 and
5% for the
Inkatha Freedom Party.
Where have we heard that before? It is
up to African electoral commissions
to get in touch with their South African
counterparts and attach their own
IT staff to the improved system in South
Africa, so that they can be certain
that in their next elections, everything
will go well.
For we have seen through blood on the streets that African
elections are too
important to be left to chance. If African governments do
nothing and we
continue to see bloodshed at election times –– when the
technology exists to
put an end to speculation about declared or undeclared
results –– they will
be cursed by generations unborn.
l Duodu is a
journalist, writer and commentator. — Pambazuka News.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010 19:07
ONE of the
purposes of black empowerment is “to ensure broader and
meaningful
participation in the economy by black people to achieve
sustainable
development and prosperity”.
The above passage is from the South Africa Black
Economic Empowerment (BEE)
Commission report produced by the commission,
established under the auspices
of the Black Business Council, an umbrella
body representing about 11 black
business organisations. The establishment
of the council was one of the
primary and significant events that led to the
promulgation and eventual
passing of the Broad Based Black Economic
Empowerment Act.
None other than Cyril Ramaphosa, one of the foremost black
business leaders,
led the commission. With the risk of being accused of
heaping praise on
Ramaphosa, he has emerged as one of the very few black
business leaders who
had a complete understanding of the purpose of black
empowerment: that is,
ensuring meaningful participation of blacks in the
economy and most
importantly creating sustainable business, development and
prosperity.
For the past few weeks those of us who aspire to and subscribe to
the
original tenets of black economic empowerment have endured loads of
embarrassment, shame and disgrace with several cases of black economic
(mis)empowerment.
It is not the purpose of this article to discuss, at
length, the merits
and/or demerits of the clearly undesirable conduct giving
BEE the bad name
that it has today. Rather than the “usual” criticism of the
behaviour of the
so-called BEE entrepreneurs the spotlight for me shifts to
government.
The successive governments of the African National Congress (of
which I am a
member) have wittingly and unwittingly created a fertile ground
for making
criminals of law abiding black business people and civil servants
(most of
whom are prominent and senior members of the
organisation).
Undisputedly government procurement has been the root cause of
many of the
troubles besetting the so-called tenderpreneurs. Party loyalty,
cronyism and
sycophancy has all but taken government procurement from
legitimate black
business people –– and potentially long term sustainable
black business ––
to speculators, brokers and other overnight
“millionaires”.
Today you do not need the guts, resilience, informed risk
taking and
calculation to make it in business. All you need is a membership
card of the
African National Congress, its youth league, women’s league and
the like to
access lucrative government procurement contracts. Forget
knowledge of the
industry, skills, experience and business acumen because
they surely will
not assist your cause unless you know a comrade in high
places who will, for
a cut of the loot, deliver the tender to you.
This
system is all but destroying legitimate black business run by people
who are
entrepreneurs and who are concerned about sustainability of their
businesses
which, in turn, contribute to the economy in the form of
sustainable
employment and taxes (the source of the loot in the first
place). The former
aspect of the contribution, employment, should in all
likelihood be welcomed
by a government beset with a huge unemployment
problem amongst the very same
black people it originally sought to empower
by BEE.
The South African
government seems to be oblivious to the damage it is doing
in this regard
and also the opportunities it is losing by it. Firstly, by
sidelining
credible entrepreneurs in favour of the so called BEE’s it is
effectively
sabotaging its own policies especially with regard to the long
term
sustainability of black business, and reversing the economic disparity
between the previously advantaged and the previously
disadvantaged,
Secondly, the South African government is missing a massive
opportunity to
rope in whoever benefits from its BEE policies (including the
self-same
so-called BEE’s) in its fight against unemployment. Government
should be
using the so-called BEE scorecards not only to force white
business to do a
box ticking exercise, including instances of fronting, but
also to hold
black business accountable.
I find it a very serious problem
that black business, more particularly the
so called BEE’s or
tenderpreneurs, are just handed huge amounts of monies in
the form of
procurement and other opportunities without being held
accountable in
assisting national projects, including the reduction of
unemployment.
Since most of the so called BEE beneficiaries are either
members or
supporters of the African National Congress I am sure they would
not mind if
government were to insist for example that, they employ other
people, with a
minimum number prescribed for companies bidding for state
tenders and
opportunities above a particular threshold; that sustainability
of the
bidding entity be one of the primary requirements for securing
certain state
tenders and opportunities; and that companies who are bidding
for certain
state tenders and opportunities be required to adopt projects in
rural and
poor communities including bursary funds, contributing to
community
development initiatives etc.
The above, are but some of the
suggestions that could be incorporated into
the BEE requirements for
black-owned businesses seeking to benefit from
state opportunities. Not only
will this help reduce unemployment and reduce
poverty but it will assist in
creating sustainable and vision inspired black
enterprises that would, in
the long run, rival white companies. The system
as it is today is promoting
corruption, fraud, conspicuous and vile
consumerism as evidenced by the past
week’s headline grabbing stories.
The concept of cadre deployment is noble
and essential, especially at this
juncture of the development of South
Africa and its economy. It is a fallacy
and disingenuous for the opposition
and other pundits to cry foul over the
policy. In fact every political party
in South Africa is doing it including
the Democratic Alliance, which has
come out as its fiercest critic.
The ANC has every right to deploy its cadres
in senior government positions
and other strategic places. In fact it would
be suicidal for it to do
otherwise. The biggest problem is not cadre
deployment but rather what I
prefer to call “cadre misdeployment”. Cadre
misdeployment is when you take a
clueless, skill-less, inexperienced and at
times semi-literate person party
member, who is close to the guys in the
organisation calling the shots, and
place them in a position where he is or
will be clearly out of his depth.
There are many examples in state-owned
enterprises and their boards of
directors, senior management in government,
municipalities and even in South
African Parliament. The result has been
system failures, wasted state
resources, tenders allocated to the “masters”
who deployed the cadres,
outright theft, shady golden handshakes,
corruption, fraud and all other
shenanigans that have only served to
embarrass the ANC and make a case for
criticism of cadre deployment.
The
factional nature of the politics in the ANC are chiefly responsible.
Capable
and educated (not necessarily academically certificated –– although
academic
certification is crucial) cadres of the ANC who would on merit
deserve
deployment are sidelined and overlooked for incompetent cronies, who
in turn
embarrass the party when they steal or cannot deliver.
Cadre deployment could
be a powerful weapon on the part of the ANC
government to deliver on its
electoral promises if it deployed capable
cadres and not cronies and/or
sycophants.
The one aspect which is a potentially self-sabotaging weapon
of mass
destruction for the ANC government is the way it has been treating
the youth
and more particularly members of its youth wing, of which I am a
member, as
well as their cronies and hanger ons.
Not only is the current
leadership of the ANC helping in the destruction of
future black leaders by
allowing for an environment where black youth are
having millions of rands
thrown at them to insult fellow leaders and
opposition party leaders, but
they are also effectively encouraging
semi-literacy and corner
cutting.
The phenomenon has effectively overrun the current ANC leadership:
no one is
willing, able or even capable of reining in the youth.
They are
equals, they know all and cannot be taught because the lesson being
taught
in the organisation is to chase as much money (read tenders) as you
can and
show a middle finger to education, respect and values.
They are effectively
being taught that having money (irrespective of the
nefarious means through
which you may have acquired it) beat respecting your
elders and getting an
education.
When statistics are realised about the high dropout rate of black
students
only financial exclusion is cited. Other conventional reasons,
including
tenderpreneurship, are not mentioned despite the fact that they
also
contribute.
The logic is: go to an institution of higher learning,
join the ANC Youth
League, lead strikes and inform the management.
Then a
senior comrade in government will hear of you and recruit you to
“empower”
you or you will be awarded a position in one of the state agencies
or
entities after which you will “go into business”.
As things currently stand
we have a lot of youth tenderpreneurs who have
replaced proper role models
and are nothing but glorified state parasites.
The time has arrived for the
ANC government to go back to the drawing board
and demand its socio-economic
pound of flesh from the so-called BEE’s and
tenderpreneurs “to ensure
broader and meaningful participation in the
economy by black people to
achieve sustainable development and prosperity”.
Nkhwashu is a member of
South Africa’s African National Congress and its
youth wing and CEO of
Empowerment Dynamics Consulting based in Pretoria. ––
www.politicsweb.co.za
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25
November 2010 19:33
THE Zimbabwe Independent on Wednesday held its second
discussion series with
business billed “Independent Dialogue”.
The idea
is to facilitate an exchange of ideas between policy-makers and
business
executives.
The panel of discussants featured ministers Saviour Kasukuwere
and Tapiwa
Mashakada, as well as prominent businessman Frederick Mutanda,
who is
chairman of the American Business Association of Zimbabwe.
Mutanda
kicked off the discussion saying the current indigenisation laws
were not
workable given the state of the economy, lack of capital and the
need for
economic recovery. He said government should allow foreign
investors to own
100% of their businesses and then reduce that gradually.
Mashakada said while
he supported indigenisation he did not agree with
partisan politicisation of
the issue and its manipulation for electioneering
purposes. He said capital
is very fickle and could take flight anytime to
safer destinations where
there is rule of law and property rights. The
minister said sustainable
capital inflows into an economy largely depend on
the investment climate and
perception about the country.
Kasukuwere said indigenisaition was a key
national objective logically
flowing from the history of the liberation
struggle. Quoting a UN resolution
of 1952, he said every country has a right
to assert “sovereignty over its
resources” and use that to fight poverty. He
said indigenisation was
imperative because Zimbabwe was still dominated by
Rhodesian economic
ownership patterns. He said “tough luck” to those who did
not support the
current indigenisation policy or its implementation
matrix.
Then the floor was opened for debate.
British ambassador Mark
Canning fired the first broadside against
Kasukuwere. He accused the
minister of indulging in “crude populism”, noting
his presentation was a
disappointment.
“Everything that the minister said this morning will send
shivers down the
spines of investors,” Canning said. “It’s crude populism. I
can only express
my disappointment at what I heard.” The ambassador left
soon after his
comments.
The indigensation debate has poisoned national
economic discourse.
It must be said the objective of indigenisation is good,
but the policy
process, the policy choice and implementation are
problematic, even
potentially disastrous.
Government, just like
everybody, knows that indigenisation is necessary but
wants to use gung-ho
methods (bordering on seizure or grabbing) instead of
equitable ones to
achieve that.
The other trouble is that indigenisation is now used as an
electioneering
tool, not to further the economic transformation agenda but
help the
political elite to hang onto power and amass wealth.
The danger
is that the process would eventually become hostage to narrow and
partisan
political agendas. Instead of pursuing this issue from an economic
transformation and development platform, it is being executed from a
patronage perspective.
Therein lies the problem. Indigenisation has been
hijacked by the politics
of rent-seeking.
The motives of those currently
behind indigenisation are clear, no matter
how hard they try to disguise
them. It’s about electioneering and primitive
accumulation.
There is
nothing wrong with anyone using indigenisation to secure votes as
long as
the policy achieves the desired national objective but there is a
problem
with partisan politicisation of the issue to ensure
self-aggrandisement
under the pretext of economic empowerment.
What is happening now is that
politicians and their cronies have positioned
themselves to extract maximum
rents from the indigenisation process (we know
of ministers running
collapsing businesses now trying to use indigenisation
to revive their shell
companies). Besides, it’s only those who have
privileged access to credit,
information and contacts with foreign business
who will be able to buy large
blocks of shares for themselves.
Already there is corruption, bribery and
fronting for foreign businesses
going on.
At this rate, the policy may
well fail and the whole process could end up
being like suicidal ideation.
It may lead to economic suicide like the land
reform
programme.
Dumisani Muleya
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:32
ZANU PF spin-doctors rallying behind President Robert Mugabe’s
pointless
quest for elections next year ahead of national healing, political
and
economic stability have become victims of the fallacy of
electoralism.
They have persisted with the illogical and unreasonable
assertion that
Mugabe’s call for the elections has nothing to do with his
insatiable desire
to die in office, but to resolve the current contestation
for power in the
inclusive government between the ageing leader and MDC’s
Morgan Tsvangirai.
They further argue that by allowing the holding of
elections, Mugabe cannot
be said to be yearning for a life presidency as he
risks losing the poll.
The spin-doctors attempt to pitch Mugabe as a democrat
when the opposite is
true and to them democracy is reflected in the holding
of elections
frequently despite them not being free and fair — a pure
fallacy of
electoralism. This is because in this system they want to pass
for
democracy, the dominant position of the incumbent regime is retained and
thus there is no true democracy.
Despite Nathaniel Manheru pontificating
from his ivory tower at Munhumutapa
Building, the prevailing view in Zanu PF
and in the country is that Mugabe’s
call for elections next year is
ill-advised and a true manifestation of a
desperate leader who intends to
cling to power by hook or by crook in his
own interest.
The argument is
simply that the environment is not yet conducive for any
election, either
economically or socially. Again the nation is still highly
polarised; and
the three political parties in the inclusive government are
yet to fully
consummate the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which is the
roadmap to
free and fair elections.
This country needs national healing and a sustained
period of peace and
stability before an election can be held.
Besides
serving the interests of Mugabe and a few hardliners in Zanu PF,
whose
interests will the elections serve when it is now clear that they will
not
be free and fair given reports from across the country of violence and
intimidation? They will only plunge the nation back into the dark era
epitomised in June 2008 when Zanu PF unleashed an orgy of violence which
took the country back to the Dark Ages. People in the rural areas still bear
the scars of that madness and will understandably not be supportive of an
early election.
Those who witnessed and were victims of this barbarism
oppose elections and
the message to Manheru and his ilk should be clear that
the majority of
Zimbabweans don’t want elections next year merely to secure
Mugabe’s future.
Law, Politics and Zimbabwe’s Unity Government, a recently
published book,
describes our country as being characterised by both
“dominant power
politics” and “electoral authoritarianism”.
“Both
characteristics of the state allow minimal open civic space within a
largely
authoritarian regime and undertake elections that pretend to conform
to
democratic electoral standards but are actually a sham and result in
international disapproval,” the author writes.
We cannot afford to be
stampeded into an election no matter the amount of
vitriol Manheru or any
other apologist will spew against those who hold
contrary
views.
Constantine Chimakure
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Thursday, 25 November 2010
19:30
POLITICAL developments in Zimbabwe over the last few months
threaten the
continuity of the Government of National Unity (GNU) which,
though not a
perfect arrangement, has arrested the rapid economic and social
decline the
country experienced between 2005 and 2008.
The
political arrangement, which was wobbly from birth, should be saved if
anarchy is not to be loosed upon the country as was the case two years
ago.
As such, Sadc, not only as a regional bloc that is seriously affected by
Zimbabwe’s political and economic problems, but as the guarantor of the
Global Political Agreement (GPA), should play a decisive role that would
save the political arrangement.
What is very clear, no matter where one
stands, is that the death of the GPA
could cause a rapid reversal of the few
gains which were registered under
this arrangement drowning the country and
the entire region in the mire.
It is thus important that Sadc should
immediately engage the political
leadership in Zimbabwe, especially
President Robert Mugabe, and tell him the
consequences of not fully
implementing the GPA, which is one of the reasons
why there has been so much
unhelpful contestation in the GNU.
It has to be brought to the attention of
Mugabe et al that one by-product of
the GPA has been to give them legitimacy
especially after the 2008
presidential runoff. However, it is not only the
need for legitimacy which
requires Sadc to intervene. It has to be reckoned
that with deepening
integration within the bloc, symbiotic relations have
become more pronounced
and deterioration in one country upsets the whole
region.
It is thus important for Sadc not to sever the umbilical cord that
connects
Zimbabwe with the region as this would suffocate the country
politically and
economically. Sadc’s evolution from the Frontline States
through the
Southern Africa Development Coordinating Conference to the
current structure
was mainly a response to political and economic
developments in the region
and what is happening in Zimbabwe now requires
its active intervention.
The formation of the Sadc troika was itself another
response to the dynamics
within the region and its failure to convene last
week to resolve the
current Zimbabwe crisis, for whatever reason, was an
abdication of its
duties. The Sadc Protocol on Politics, Security and
Defence signed in 2001
gave a legal framework to the organ whose objective
is to promote peace and
security in the region. What is happening in
Zimbabwe at the moment could
translate to a threat to peace and security in
the short term thus the organ
should intervene. What is clear is that the
troika still holds leverage in
all political processes in the region and
particularly Zimbabwe and the
lackadaisical approach shown last week smacks
of a backwardness that has no
place in resolving regional problems.
The
Sadc troika was very active during the genesis of the GNU, intervening
every
time there were problems and one can argue that the organ is now
needed more
than ever since the institution of the inclusive government in
February
2009.
It would, however, be very naïve to expect the troika to hold the
magical
formula that would ensure the continued existence of the GNU,
especially at
a time when local political actors have adopted an arrogant
and self-serving
stance.
Mugabe, for example, has set his eyes on
elections at any cost but the
question is whether this is out of the need to
serve the country or his own
narrow political interests. The political
crisis which has enveloped the
country in the last few weeks has created a
Machiavellian moment where
political actors maximise power at the expense of
national development.
The death knells of the GNU have grown louder with each
day and the question
is what will occupy the space where this stuttering
political arrangement
now stands. What guarantees do we have that the next
election, presumably
the logical successor to the collapse of the GNU, would
be free and fair?
Are we not laying the foundation for GPA/GNU Part Two? How
will the GPA 2
work, especially now that the political players have realised
that they
cannot trust each other?