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No chance, Mr President
Party officials and military commanders are ignoring
President Mugabe's
orders to surrender their farms
Several
government ministers and senior military officers accused of
grabbing farms
are refusing to hand them back to the state, according to a
new report on
land reform ordered by President Robert Mugabe. Information
Minister Jonathan
Moyo, Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo and 13
other ministers have
secured several farms in violation of the government's
'one man, one farm'
rule, the report says. Details of ministers' and
officers' holdings are
contained in a confidential annexe to the main
report, which has been
discussed in cabinet. Mugabe asked former Secretary
to the Government Charles
Utete to investigate the findings of an earlier
land audit by the Minister of
State in Deputy President Joseph Msika's
office, Flora Buka. This had found
major abuses of the land resettlement
programme by senior officials. Buka's
audit reported that some of the worst
violations of the land reform policy
were perpetrated by Mugabe's closest
political allies, such as Air
Vice-Marshall Perence Shiri, Minister Moyo,
and Mugabe's sister, Sabina
Mugabe.
The Utete report, which was given a stronger investigative
team then Buka's,
found that 178 Zimbabweans. Drawn predominantly from the
political and
military elite, had broken the terms of the land resettlement
programme;
Buka found just 41 wrongdoers. Some named have suggested that
Buka's report
was a conspiracy by allies of presidential aspirant and Speaker
of
Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa to weaken his rivals, such as Defence
Minister
Sidney Sekeramayi. Although Mnangagwa is one of Zimbabwe's
wealthiest
politicians, none of the land investigations has criticised his
operations.
Buka's list of those violating the one man, one farm' rule
included:
Sekeremayi; Provincial Governors Eliot Manyika, Peter Chanetsa
Josiah
Hungwe; newspaper publishers Ibbo Mandaza and Mutumwa Mawere; and
Barclays
Bank Chief Executive Alex Jongwe.
Only a few of those
Buka named appear to have obeyed Mugabe's order in July
that they should keep
just on of the farms they have been allocated and
return the rest to the
state. Moyo announced that he had withdrawn claims to
an additional farm on 4
August. He is currently registered as the owner of
one farm and his mother is
registered as the new owner of another. About
24,000 acres of farmland (about
10,000 hectares) had been handed back, but
the worst cases of land grabbing
remain. The Zimbabwe National Army
commander, General Constantine Chiwenga,
and Air Force commander Shiri are
also reported to have returned some of
their allocated farms to the state.
Yet Africa Confidential has learned that
no further action is to be taken
against Shiri, a business and political ally
of Mugabe's who was identified
as owning at least three farms: one was the
3,600-acre Eirin Farm in
Marondera, over three times the maximum size
allowed. Shiri was described in
Buka's audit as trying to evict from Eirin 96
landless families wo had been
allocated the farm under the government's
resettlement scheme.
Although the bulk of Utete's report has now been
made public, the annexe
listing 178 high-ranking Zimbabweans violating the
rules on land
resettlement is being kept secret. On the first drafts of the
full report
circulated to cabinet, there is a note on page 97 referring to a
secret
annexe which would be mad available separately. To date, only a
handful of
people have been able to see and make copies of the annexe,
presumably to
limit political embarrassment. The list includes Peter
Chanetsa, Governor of
Mashonaland West (Mugabe's home province), whose
household is reported to
own nine farms - one each for him and his wife, and
one for each of their
seven children. One of the nine farms was handed over
last month to the
newly elected member of parliament for Makonde, Kindness
Paradza. Mugabe
appoints all provincial governors. Chanetsa was the
government's chief of
protocol for the first decade of Mugabe's rule.
Governors chair the
provincial land committee, which is mandated to allocate
land under the
resettlement programme. The Utete committee reported a turf
war in
Mashonaland West. There Minister of Lands Joseph Made, Governor
Chanetsa,
and the provincial party chairman, Phillip Chiyangwa, are
quarrelling over
the right to allocate land. In Matabeleland, Governor Obert
Mpofu is
reported to have three farms amounting to 75,000 acres.
SOKWANELE
Enough is Enough
PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE
DEMOCRACY
We have a
fundamental right to freedom of
expression!
Zimbabwe
Authorities Resort to Desperate Measures In the
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) set
up road blocks today on all the major arteries into the city of
The roadblock on the main road to the
The law in
One couple en route to a business
meeting in
Several South African tourists were also
stopped and only after being thoroughly interrogated and producing proof of
their status were they released. An
American diplomat also bore the brunt of police harassment, but he too was
released after contacting his lawyers.
The Zimbabwean travelers were made to
wait until groups of ten victims were in place, and then were accompanied to
Donnington Police Station, close to the roadblock. There they were told they would receive
receipts for the confiscated currency, but the station had no receipt books so
they were sent off to
Eventually the police took bank details
for all the affected “criminals” who were informed that the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority would reimburse them in
Reports have also come in the women of
the
Ends
The Zimbabwe Independent revealed on October 3 that
Zvinavashe would be
quitting his military post in
December.
Sources said Shiri - commander of the now-defunct North
Korean-trained Fifth
Brigade which massacred thousands of civilians during a
campaign of
repression in Matabeleland and Midlands in the 1980s - was the
leading
candidate to fill the powerful post created in 1994 when the army
and
airforce were brought under a single command
structure.
Zvinavashe was the first ZDF commander after he took over
the army in 1992
from General Solomon Mujuru who had retired together with
Air-Marshal Josiah
Tungamirai.
"Shiri is likely to be the next
commander of ZDF because he is considered
loyal and dependable by Mugabe," a
military source said. "If you look at the
current crop of top military
officers, he is Mugabe's right-hand
serviceman."
As part of changes in
the defence forces, Mugabe last week promoted Air
Commodore Elson Moyo to Air
Vice-Marshal, bringing to three the number of
Shiri's deputies. The other two
are Air Vice-Marshals Henry Muchena and
Titus AbuBasuthu.
Sources
said this was an indication that Shiri was moving up. They said
Muchena was
expected to replace Shiri as airforce commander.
The sources said
however ill-health might militate against Shiri's
appointment for a five-year
term. His record as commander of the Gukurahundi
that perpetrated the
Matabeleland atrocities could also be a stumbling block
in an era of
political reconciliation.
"The other problem that could work against
Shiri's appointment is that
former Zipra commanders in the army are becoming
increasingly agitated by
Mugabe's noticeable preference for ex-Zanla
officers," a source said. "That
is creating unhealthy tension and
frustration."
Sources said the appointment of Lieutenant-General Mike
Nyambuya as
Manicaland governor was part of the army restructuring
exercise.
Another name mentioned in connection with Zvinavashe's post is
that of the
Zimbabwe National Army commander, Lieutenant-General Constantine
Chiwenga,
who could soon be elevated to a full general.
Chiwenga
is currently the acting ZDF commander because Zvinavashe in on
leave pending
retirement. Sources said Chiwenga was loyal and played a
crucial role during
last year's presidential poll in garnering votes for
Mugabe and could be
rewarded for that.
"Chiwenga is also well-placed but his chances
compared to those of Shiri are
slim," a source said. "Air-Marshal Shiri is
senior to Chiwenga and that is
important in the army."
It is
understood Chiwenga is close to Mujuru, and Mugabe, who is said to
be
ill-at-ease with Mujuru, might not give him the job for that
reason.
There has also been mention of Zimbabwean ambassador to Cuba,
retired
Major-General Jevan Maseko, as a possible replacement for Zvinavashe.
But
Maseko has been out of the army for a long time on diplomatic service.
This
leaves him as an improbable candidate.
There has recently
been speculation about Zvinavashe's future with some
reports linking him to a
political career. While late Vice-President Simon
Muzenda's Gutu North seat
is vacant, it is thought Tungamirai has a better
chance there. Zvinavashe has
been linked to the vacant vice-presidency. Such
an appointement - although
politically problematic - would at one stroke
remove a dilemma for Mugabe
while at the same time completing a process of
militarising top posts which
has been underway for several years.
Zim Independent
Mugabe snubs NECF meeting
Vincent Kahiya
PRESIDENT
Mugabe this week snubbed the country's key economic think-tank in
what is
seen as a gesture of defiance towards the business community. It
also
signals, analysts say, a resolve to press ahead with his own agenda
on
tackling the country's chronic problems.
Having summoned a meeting
of the National Economic Consultative Forum for
Wednesday to address the
country's deepening economic crisis, Mugabe stayed
away from the body charged
with implementing smart-partnership decisions
between government, business,
labour and civil society and instead attended
a ceremony at a Kadoma school
where computers were handed out.
Last week he attended two full days
of politburo and central committee
meetings on the economy.
Other
key members of the government also stayed away from the NECF meeting
leaving
Special Affairs minister John Nkomo to deliver Mugabe's
address.
Executive secretary for the NECF, Nicholas Kitikiti, said he
was not
disturbed by the absence of the president and
ministers.
"I am not so much disappointed that some key government
officials and the
president did not attend because the issue is about
interaction, not faces,"
he said.
"The issue is about availability
of foreign currency. What can (absent Lands
and Agriculture minister Joseph)
Made do about that?
"It is about access to bank loans, boosting
savings and winning back the
support of the International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank," said
Kitikiti.
Mugabe last Friday in a speech to
Zanu PF's central committee blamed
Britain, the European Union, and the
United States for the current economic
crisis. He said "a mercenary breed of
wily and selfish merchants" were
responsible for the burgeoning black
market.
It is thought Mugabe wants to target the business community
while ignoring
the government's failure to manage macro-economic
fundamentals. He has
promised wide-ranging institutional
reforms.
Business leaders who attended the meeting said government
was not serious
about finding a solution to the foreign currency
problems.
"For a start, the president has already appointed a
ministerial taskforce to
deal with that issue," said a business executive.
"Secondly, the position of
business with regards to solving the foreign
currency situation has not
changed since our last meeting. We need
devaluation. It is a waste of time
to continue tabling measures that will not
be implemented. Government at the
beginning of the year promised to devalue
periodically to cushion
exporters."
Confederation of Zimbabwe
In-dustries president Anthony Mandiwanza said
government had failed to
implement what was agreed under the National
Economic Revival Programme in
February.
"Close to 95% of what was agreed in February has not been
implemented," he
said.
He said there was need for political commitment to go forward.
Economic commentator Eric Bloch said the
NECF was a window-dressing outfit
for government to create an impression that
they have consulted with
business before implementing policies.
"I
am very sceptical that anything will come out of the meeting," said
Bloch
yesterday after the second day of discussions. "The track record has
been
that government only implements those recommendations that synchronise
with
what they want."
In addition to Nkomo, those in attendance
included Finance minister Herbert
Murerwa and Environment and Tourism
minister Francis Nhema.
But most other ministers stayed
away.
Nkomo, the most senior government official present, said
government should
mend fences with international donors but in the same
breath repeated the
ruling party's tired mantra about sovereignty being
supreme.
"Let me now address the import-ant question of Zimbabwe's
rela-tions with
the international com-munity, in particular the white do-nor
world and
international organisations which they dominate," he
said.
"Zimbabwe's sovereignty is not for bargaining, but we are ready
to engage in
mutually beneficial relations with the outside world in the
capacity of a
free and sovereign nation, governed by its laws and national
constitution,"
he said.
Business analysts said he didn't appear to
understand that Zimbabwe had few
options left. Senior diplomats pointed out
this week that there was no
question of the international community relenting
on balance-of-payments
support - which the country urgently needs - until the
issue of governance
had been addressed.
Zimbabwe Council for
Tourism president Shingi Munyeza said honest analysis
of what was ailing the
economy was necessary before solutions could be
arrived at.
"Let's
start telling the truth," he said. "By not telling the truth we are
digging
our own grave."
Zim Independent
Obasanjo tries to sneak Zim in
Dumisani
Muleya
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is battling to sneak into the
forthcoming
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Abuja,
Nigeria, next
month after he was initially barred.
Diplomatic sources
said Mugabe was engaged in critical talks with Nigerian
President Olusegun
Obasanjo over the issue. South African President Thabo
Mbeki is understood to
be part of the negotiations to secure Mugabe a
belated invitation to the
biennial summit, even if it may not mean
full
participation.
Mugabe has not been invited to Chogm because
his regime, which is suspended
from the councils of the Commonwealth, has
failed to comply with demands for
fundamental democratic reforms set out in
March last year.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian
premier John Howard, the
outgoing Chogm chair, have threatened to boycott the
meeting if Mugabe
attends. Commonwealth secretary-general Don McKinnon has
said Mugabe will
not attend the meeting unless he embraces serious
reforms.
Obasanjo said last month that Mugabe would not be invited to
Abuja unless
there was a positive "sea change" in Zimbabwe.
In an
attempt to deliver the "sea change" as Chogm approaches, Mugabe last
week
announced there would be sweeping reforms of state institutions,
including a
cabinet reshuffle.
This week he launched the reforms starting with
the appointment of a new
Reserve Bank governor and provincial governors. A
cabinet and army reshuffle
is also looming.
Meanwhile, Mbeki this
week said while visiting Canada that there was
progress in trying to resolve
the Zimbabwe crisis. He said talks between the
ruling Zanu PF and Movement
for Democratic Change opposition could produce a
coalition government
soon.
He said dialogue was still going on. But the parties concerned
have said the
talks were off. Mbeki's remarks after meeting Canadian premier
Jean Chretien
were seen as part of efforts to secure Mugabe an invitation to
Chogm.
Evidence of Mugabe's battle to get into Abuja mounted this
week with reports
by the Nigerian Chogm taskforce that Obasanjo and other
leaders were locked
in high-level consultations over the suspension of
Zimbabwe and Pakistan
from the Commonwealth.
Pakistan was
suspended in 1999 when President General Pervez Musharraf
seized power
through a coup. Musharraf, like Mugabe, has not been
invited.
Nigerian Foreign Affairs Director of International
Organisations Ambassador
Olusegun Akinsanya told journalists in Abuja that
although the two countries
remain uninvited to the December 5-8 meeting "for
the time being", Obasanjo
was still working on the issue.
Zim Independent
Banks ordered to retain 50% forex from
individuals
Blessing Zulu
THE governmenthas instructed ba-nks to retain
50% of foreign currency from
individual foreign currency accounts, the
Zimbabwe Independent has
established.
This follows recent moves by
government proposing to target individual
account holders although this was
never enforced. Now banks have been
ordered to account for every cent that
they have in foreign currency.
Government last week formed a special
taskforce to address the management of
foreign currency which it said was
being abused. The taskforce has directed
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to
scrutinise all individual foreign
currency
transactions.
"Individuals who receive foreign currency
from foreign sources have been
classified as exporting services," said a bank
chief economist.
The new arrangement means that when an individual
wants to withdraw foreign
currency from a personal account, he has to
exchange half of it using the
official rate of $824 to the US dollar. The
bank will then remit the other
50% of hard currency to the
RBZ.
The move resulted in individuals rushing to liquidate their
foreign currency
holdings last week.
Analysts said the move would
force people to deposit their foreign currency
outside the
country.
"Botswana and South Africa are set to benefit from this
circus," said a
chief economist with a local bank. "People will opt for
offshore accounts in
these countries and Zimbabwe will lose the little
foreign currency that was
trickling in."
Finance minister Herbert
Murerwa said people working abroad would be
encouraged to
assist.
"Further, government is holding discussions with interested
parties for
purposes of mobilising foreign currency from Zimbabweans in the
diaspora,"
Murerwa said at a National Economic Revival Programme meeting
earlier this
year.
"Indications are that a minimum of US$1 million
can be collected on a weekly
basis," Murerwa said.
It is believed
that there are up to three million Zimbabweans in South
Africa, 176 400 in
the UK, 33 075 in the US and 165 375 in Botswana.
The shift from
exporting companies to individual foreign currency account
holders
demonstrates government's desperation to raise hard currency.
The foreign
currency crisis has been exacerbated by the collapse of the
agricultural
sector. The chaos on the farms has seen tobacco production, the
main forex
earner, taking a nosedive. The tourism sector has also been hit
by the
collapse of the rule of law and the government's human rights record.
Zim Independent
500 000 children face new type of malnutrition
Itai
Dzamara
A POVERTY-INDUCED disease previously unknown in Zimbabwe threatens
the lives
of 500 000 children as levels of malnutrition have increased
sharply over
the past two years due to the country's prolonged economic
crisis.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) discovered through a
survey
carried out in February the existence of global acute malnutrition
(GAM)
which affected 5% of children under the age of five.
This
comes after a more than 50% drop in the provision of immunisation to
children
under five compared to the period before 2000.
GAM is a combination
of massive wasting in children as well as a situation
called odeama, which is
the swelling of the neck and stomach.
The disease results from lack
of sufficient food with the right nutrients in
the body, a situation
thousands of children face, especially in the rural
areas of
Zimbabwe.
In Africa the disease has existed only in war and
famine-ravaged countries
such as Ethiopia, Liberia and Rwanda. It is the
first time that it has been
detected in Zimbabwe.
Nikolina
Drysdale, an official of Unicef in Harare, told the Zimbabwe
Independent this
week that there was a serious misconception about the
symptoms of GAM in
Zimbabwe. She said if not treated early enough the
affected child eventually
dies from the disease.
"There is a serious misconception regarding
the disease. People take a child
with a puff top or a swollen stomach to be
fat and think it's okay,"
Drysdale said. "The puff top and swollen stomach
arise from the accumulation
of excess water because of severe malnutrition.
If the child is not treated,
it may die."
The performance of an
affected child's heart drastically reduces because of
a huge deficit in the
supply of energy that should be derived from nutrients
accessed by the
body.
Zim Independent
Byo journalist arrested over youth militia
story
Loughty Dube
A BULAWAYO-based reporter with the Media Africa Group
(AMG), Gift Phiri, was
last Friday picked up by police over a story published
by the stable's
weekend paper outlining terror tactics employed by the youth
militia against
opposition supporters.
The story was published in the
Weekend Tribune of October 18 and quotes
opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi
confirming the activities of the
Green Bombers in Gwanda during the month of
October.
Phiri was
picked up from the newspaper's offices by officers from the CID
Law and Order
Section and was taken to Bulawayo central police station where
he was made to
sign a warned and cautioned statement.
According to Phiri's lawyer,
Brighton Chindove of Hara, Moyo & Partners, the
police said they would
charge Phiri under Section 15 2 (b) of the Public
Order and Security
Act.
"The police said the story published by my client was likely to
cause public
alarm and despondency," Chindove told the Zimbabwe
Independent.
He confirmed that Phiri was made to sign a warned and
cautioned statement
and said the police informed him that they would proceed
by way of summons.
Zim Independent
Bishops vie for Zim Catholic leadership
Itai
Dzamara
CATHOLIC Bishops Patrick Mutume and Michael Basera of the Mutare
and
Masvingo dioceses respectively are the front-runners in the search for
a
successor to the late head of the church in Zimbabwe, Archbishop
Patrick
Chakaipa.
Investigations last week revealed that discussions
were under way at the
Vatican to find Chakaipa's
successor.
Chakaipa died in April this year after a long battle with
a cardiac problem.
Mutume is understood to be in the running on the
strength of his role in
efforts to revive dialogue between President Robert
Mugabe's Zanu PF and the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC).
Basera, who has openly criticised Mugabe's wayward leadership,
is also
involved in initiatives to revive political dialogue. Basera reports
to the
Vatican on progress on the Zimbabwean crisis.
As the
current president of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference,
Basera
recently held a meeting with Mugabe at the instigation of the Vatican
to
persuade the beleaguered Zanu PF leader to negotiate a political
settlement
with the opposition.
"The issue (of Chakaipa's successor) is now at
an advanced stage after
consultations here (in Zimbabwe) as well as in the
Vatican," said a highly
placed source. "Four names initially emerged, those
of bishops Mutume,
Basera and Archbishop Pius Ncube as well as Jesuits'
leader in Zimbawe,
Father Fidelis Mukonori. However, after deliberations,
Mukonori and Ncube
were deemed to be already performing impressively in vital
capacities,
leaving Basera and Mutume in the running for the archbishop's
position."
The source said it was agreed that Ncube, considered a
beacon in the fight
for justice in Zimbabwe, had to remain in his present
post. Ncube was urged
to continue his fight for justice and peace in various
capacities in Africa.
Ncube is the chairman of Soli-darity Peace
Trust, a joint Zimba-bwean/South
African human ri-ghts group that recently
released a shocking report on the
government's controversial national youth
training service.
Fr Mukonori is also a major player in human rights
issues and reports to the
Vatican on various areas of conflict in Africa. He
played a major mediating
role during Zimbabwe's liberation war and is in the
thick of manoeuvres to
solve Zimbabwe's political impasse.
Pope
John Paul's representative in Zimbabwe, Edward Joseph Adams, declined
to shed
light on the issue of Chakaipa's successor, saying the Pontiff had
the final
say.
"It takes place when all the steps required by church law for a
bishop's
appointment are completed. The definitive judgement, however, rests
with His
Holiness the Pope," said Adams.
Efforts to obtain comment
from Mukonori, Ncube, Mutume and Basera were
unsuccessful as they all
insisted church procedures would be followed and
that, in any case, only the
pope's representative could speak with authority
on the issue.
Zim Independent
UN still to clear those linked to Congo deals
Dumisani
Muleya
THE United Nations panel on the plunder of natural resources in
the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which finished its extended mandate
last
Friday, has not cleared top Zimbabwean officials and military
officers
implicated in shady deals.
The panel submitted its report to
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan on October
15 and to the UN Security Council
two weeks later. It says Zanu PF secretary
for administration Emmerson
Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander
General Vitalis Zvinavashe, and
Brigadier General Sibusiso Moyo still have
cases to answer.
All
three have denied any wrong-doing. Mining companies are also not let off
the
hook.
Allegations of pillage against Osleg and Cosleg, in which the
Zimbabwean
army had interests, are still pending. The report urges government
to
investigate those accused of looting in the DRC and take
appropriate
measures. Countries like Uganda and the DRC itself are already
doing that.
Those accused of plunder have been suspended from government
in the DRC.
Zimbabwean companies and individuals who have been
cleared include Thorntree
Industries (Pvt) Ltd, business magnate Billy
Rautenbach's Ridgepointe
Overseas Development, and the late army officer
Charles Dauramanzi.
Others cleared but subject to monitoring by the
panel are tycoon John
Bredenkamp and Kabankola Mining. Avient Air's case is
still being probed.
The UN panel says in May and June, government
forwarded responses on the
pillage accusation by "three Zimbabwean
individuals" named in its October
2002 report.
The report, which
named 157 companies and individuals from the UK, the US,
Belgium, Germany,
South Africa and countries that fought in the DRC,
prompted international
condemnation against accused looters. At least 119
accused parties reacted to
the report.
"As the panel considered that a number of outstanding
issues remained, it
provided information and documentation to Zimbabwean
authorities to enable
them to examine the panel's findings and take the
appropriate corrective
action," the report says.
However, the
report notes Zimbabwe has said it is "in no position to take
any measures ...
as neither itself nor its nationals were or are involved in
any illegal deals
in the DRC".
Zimbabwe was bogged down in the recent DRC war for four
years. Its political
and military leaders were accused of
looting.
On January 24, the Security Council adopted resolution 1457
(2003) renewing
the mandate of the panel. Under that six-month mandate, the
panel, which has
been working on the issue for three years now, was requested
to verify,
reinforce and update its earlier findings and, as necessary,
revise its
information.
Zim Independent
Human rights violators still on the loose
Blessing
Zulu
THE rule of law in Zimbabwe has been severely undermined in cases where
the
police have failed to investigate or prosecute state-sponsored killings
and
torture.
The government has made promises both locally and
internationally to deal
with perpetrators of gross human rights abuses but
there appears to have
been little or no progress in this
regard.
Emblematic of this failure to tackle state-inspired violence
is the case of
Talent Mabika and Tichaona Chiminya, two Movement for
Democratic Change
activists who were petrol-bombed by a known state agent and
his accomplice
in the run- up to the 2000 parliamentary
poll.
Joseph Mwale, a CIO operative and Tom Kitsiyatota Zimunya, a
war veteran,
have been named as suspects. They were arrested by the police
but
subsequently released.
Mwale and Zimunya failed to appear in
the High Court to give evidence in
their own defence in a MDC parliamentary
election appeal. A warrant for
their arrest was issued but no arrests have
been made.
High Court judge Justice James Devittie two years ago
ordered that a record
of the case involving the constituency challenge in
Buhera North be sent to
the Attorney-General with a view to a possible
prosecution of the alleged
killers of Mabika and Chiminya. The court heard
testimony from an eyewitness
that Mabika and Chiminya were killed by Mwale
and Zimunya.
The judge said "the killing of Chiminya and Mabika was a
wicked act".
Acting Attorney-General Bharat Patel has promised to bring
to justice the
alleged perpetrators but there has to date been no
prosecution.
At the height of farm invasions from March 2000 12 white
commercial farmers
and an estimated 100 opposition supporters lost their
lives to marauding
militias and self-proclaimed war veterans, but so far
there have been few,
if any, successful prosecutions.
The first
white farmer to be killed in cold blood was David Stevens. He died
on April
15 2000 in Mashonaland East province after having been seized from
a police
station by a Zanu PF gang.
A priest who conducted a memorial service
said it was essential for "the
soul of the country" that Stevens' killers be
brought to justice.
A few days after the death of Stevens another
farmer, Martin Olds, was
killed in Nyamandlovu. In 2001, Olds' mother,
Gloria, was also killed on the
same farm.
Justice for Agriculture,
a farmers organisation, said on its website that
"no arrests have been made
in connection with any of these murders". In both
the Stevens and Gloria Olds
cases suspects were interviewed but released.
Police spokesperson
Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena however insisted
last week that there
had been follow-ups.
"The Stevens case and all the other cases
involving the farmers were
investigated," Bvudzijena said.
When
challenged to explain why the suspects had not been prosecuted,
Bvudzijena
said this was not their problem.
"We arrest people on reasonable
suspicion according to the evidence we have.
These are not the only cases
where suspects have been released for lack of
substantial evidence," he
said.
MDC MP Job Sikhala and his colleagues, Taurayi Magaya, Charles
Mutama and
Gabriel Shumba were arrested and tortured by police earlier this
year but no
action has been taken against the culprits.
Sikhala,
Magaya and Mutama had to receive specialist treatment in Denmark.
An
affidavit signed by Dr Faith Ndebele, a psychiatrist, said Sikhala
was
suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder with depressive
features.
Earlier this year Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo in a
letter to
Australian Prime Minister John Howard calling for the lifting of
Zimbabwe's
suspension from the Commonwealth, said President Mugabe had
promised to deal
with the issue.
"I raised the issue with
President Mugabe who confirmed that the MP
concerned (Sikhala) had taken the
case to court and that the police admitted
with apology that the MP was
assaulted," said Obasanjo in his letter.
"The police were to take
necessary disciplinary action against the culprit.
President Mugabe denied
any government involvement in such police acts.
Allowing the case to be
prosecuted in court must convince people that the
government was not behind
the act and would not condone it," said Obasanjo.
Sikhala said Mugabe had deliberately misled Obasanjo.
"That promise to Obasanjo never
went anywhere," Sikhala said last week. "It
was just a gimmick by Mugabe to
win sympathy, no investigation took place."
It was last month
reported that Henry Dowa, a chief inspector in the
Criminal Investigation
Department (Law and Order Section) who had been
serving in the United Nations
administration in Kosovo, returned to Zimbabwe
after he was accused by human
rights groups of torturing detainees here. The
UN made a request for his
withdrawal from the Kosovo mission after an
internal inquiry, it was
reported.
Bvudzijena confirmed at the time that the UN had written to
government about
the matter. But Dowa remains active and was involved in the
arrest of NCA
members last month.
Zim Independent
Tekere readmission challenge to Mugabe
Dumisani
Muleya
THE readmission of former Zimbabwe Unity Movement (Zum) leader Edgar
Tekere
to Zanu PF from which he was fired 15 years ago will be a direct
challenge
to President Robert Mugabe's ego, ruling party insiders said this
week.
Zanu PF veterans say Mugabe launched a personal crusade to ensure
Tekere, an
ex-ruling party secretary-general, was sacked because he
persistently
criticised his party for corruption and
tyranny.
Prior to his dismissal, Tekere had attacked the "vampire
class" around
Mugabe and warned that democracy was in the "intensive care
unit" because of
Zanu PF's one-party state drive.
Zanu PF
officials say Mugabe made it his personal business to fire Tekere at
all
costs.
They say matters came to a head on October 21, 1988 when
Mugabe finally
confronted Tekere at a central committee meeting at State
House.
"There was a drama on that day," a Zanu PF official said. "Mugabe
personally
tabled a motion demanding that Tekere be fired on the spot for his
criticism
of the party.
"But Tekere protested and asked for an
adjournment of the issue to prepare
his defence," the official said. "Mugabe
rejected that but some senior party
cadres joined Tekere in his protest. The
late Robert Marere and Moven
Mahachi backed Tekere."
Marere, a
former Public Construction and National Housing deputy minister,
died
recently, while Mahachi, ex-Defence minister, died two years ago.
"The
issue of Tekere's expulsion was then put to a vote and the meeting
backed his
dismissal. However, 15 senior party officials voted against it,"
the official
recalled.
Tekere left the meeting in a tantrum amid a volley of
expletives.
"However, we were surprised to see him come back shortly
after, carrying a
pile of Chronicle newspaper editions that he distributed to
the meeting,"
the official said.
"The newspaper contained a story
about the Willowgate scandal. Tekere then
told the meeting: 'This is what I'm
being fired for'. Immediately after that
he left. It was a big embarrassment
to Mugabe."
The Willowgate scandal exposed a racket in which
ministers bought vehicles
from Willowvale Motor Industries which they resold
at inflated prices for
personal gain.
Sources said Mugabe vowed
Tekere would never be readmitted to Zanu PF. But
two months down the line,
Mugabe arranged for a private one-on-one meeting
with Tekere on December 15,
1988 at State House. The late Zanu PF
heavyweight Maurice Nyagumbo was later
called in as an observer.
"At that meeting Mugabe asked Tekere to
write a letter to the central
committee asking for a review of his dismissal
but he refused. Tekere
insisted that Mugabe should reverse the expulsion
because it was his
personal action," a senior Zanu PF member who was present
at the time said.
"In the end, the two failed to agree and Tekere
went away for good, or so it
seemed. Now that he has been readmitted to the
party most people who were
there during that time see this as a direct rebuke
to Mugabe. It is an
attack on his personal ego because Tekere has proved
indestructible."
Soon afterwards, Tekere formed Zum and contested the
1990 presidential poll
against Mugabe but lost. He abandoned the now defunct
Zum in 2000. Tekere
has however remained critical of Zanu PF.
Zanu
PF external affairs secretary Didymus Mutasa recently said Tekere, a
former
Minister of Manpower, Planning and Development, had been readmitted
to the
party because "we want him back". Tekere said although he was
prepared to
return to the Zanu PF fold this was yet to be formalised. His
return has been
linked to the escalating succession battles in the party.
Zim Independent
Editor's Memo
Not so smart
I HAD a letter
this week from Nicholas Kitikiti, executive secretary of the
National
Economic Consultative Forum, inviting me to attend a national
dialogue
session on the subject of "resolving the national economic crisis".
Kitikiti
said the NECF's patron, "HE Cde RG Mugabe" had convened
the
session.
"It is extremely opportune that our Patron has summoned
the nation, through
the NECF, to a dialogue intended to forge a national
consensus on how to
resolve this entrenched national crisis," he
said.
The NECF, in conformity with standards adopted by the
International Smart
Partnership Movement where all stakeholders contribute to
a national
dialogue, was keen to have the participation of the media
alongside
business, labour, government and civil society, Kitikiti
said.
I am grateful to him for the invitation even though I was
struck by the
redundant form of address accorded the president and the
obsequious manner
in which we were all "summoned" to discuss the "national
economic crisis".
It would be nice to think this finally represented
some acknowledgement by
the head of state that such a crisis exists. But
Mugabe spurned the very
meeting that he had "convened" to attend to more
pressing business
elsewhere - the donation of computers to a high school in
Kadoma - leaving
John Nkomo to read his speech to the assembled business
leaders.
With the notable exceptions of Herbert Murerwa and Francis
Nhema who were
present, the meeting was thinly attended by senior ministers -
confirming,
as we have long suspected, that the NECF is little more than
window
dressing, providing an impression of consensus to decisions already
taken
elsewhere.
In part the NECF has only itself to blame if it
is not taken seriously by
those in authority. Agreeing to be summoned to
consider a situation which
has been evident to everybody else for over a year
does nothing for its
credibility. And how useful is a meeting of this sort
when Mugabe has
already decided who is to blame?
It is all the
fault of Britain, the European Union and the United States, he
told the party
faithful last Friday.
But this didn't prevent some of the business
people present from speaking
out on the delusional propaganda currently being
peddled at the highest
levels.
Zimbabwe Council for Tourism chief
Shingi Munyeza pointed out that the
promotional video on the Victoria Falls
released recently with great fanfare
was highly misleading. It for instance
showed planes and trains in action
when nothing in the country was moving.
Only the water tumbling over the
falls was real, he said. That was the only
thing actually moving!
In 1999 tourism together with downstream
activities generated US$700
million, he said. "Last year we could only
generate $70 million."
Munyeza referred to what he called "a dying
spirit" in the country that
started with the leadership.
"We need
to be honest about the situation," he said. "At some stage we have
to say I
am sorry."
These remarks will not go down well with the
smoke-and-mirrors brigade that
have been looking for somebody else to blame
for the mess we are in. But
they do redeem the NECF.
At the heart
of the NECF's deliberations was the role of the parallel
market. Mugabe
claims it is "run and supported by a mercenary breed of wily
and selfish
merchants, a breed that neither sows nor sweats but harvests
millions from
base speculative activities that have spawned so much grief
and ruin for
honest citizens".
That sounds suspiciously like a description of Zanu
PF chefs, the people who
owned the bureaux de change, who take forex from
banks at the official rate
and change it at the parallel rate, who educate
their children abroad and
seek medical attention there when they need
it.
It is this hypocrisy that is at the root of our problems. But the
most
damaging aspect of the current crisis is an artificial exchange rate
that
disadvantages producers by obliging them to borrow at the parallel rate
and
remit their earnings at the official rate, or close to it. Nothing could
be
more calculated to prejudice legitimate business and
discourage
entrepreneurial activity.
Underlying the disparity
between the official exchange rate and the
parallel - or real - rate is 500%
inflation fuelled by runaway borrowing and
spending driven by political
needs. Zimbabwe is thus trading with African
markets where inflation is no
more than 21% (and mostly half that) and
overseas markets where it is 2%.
That is a recipe for exchange-rate disaster
in any society. Government's
inability to rein in inflation is thus the
single biggest factor in
distorting the exchange rate.
Meanwhile, depressed earnings from
tobacco as a result of farm seizures, a
tourist stayaway, falling mineral
production and profligate consumption of
what little forex is left by
government officials travelling abroad have all
contributed to forex
shortages.
Business leaders need to spell out these problems. Their
current policy of
"quiet diplomacy" is not working.
What NECF
initiatives have been taken up by the government to date? What is
the
government's record on the advice tendered to it by the NECF or indeed
any
other advisory body? This is a government that is deaf to reason.
The
Smart Partnership concept, the subject of a number of conferences
attended by
Mugabe and his advisors, most notably in Langkawi, is cited as
the template
for the NECF's deliberations. In fact, there is no such thing
in Zimbabwe.
The tripartite forum between government, business and labour
collapsed when
government made unilateral decisions on the economy and
workfront, and civil
society has never been consulted about anything
including laws that directly
affect its operations.
At this week's NECF session the business
sector complained that government
was not serious about talks on the economy,
it had done nothing to reduce
inflation to the 96% target set by Murerwa last
year, and more than anything
else it had failed to improve its behaviour in
ways that would help to
re-engage the international
community.
There is very simply nothing smart about the way in which
this government
goes about making decisions. It would be nice if the NECF
found its voice
and asked what happened to its previous resolutions. It must
rock the boat a
bit if it is to command attention. It must not thank the
president
effusively for agreeing to afford the nation the chance to share
with him
his muddled views - articulated by somebody else because he was too
busy to
attend!
Zim Independent
Ad hoc taskforces duplicate role of ministers
Ngoni
Chanakira
LIKE a bolt from the blue, Zimbabweans were last week informed
that
government had finally got its act together and was about to solve
the
foreign currency shortages and other pressing economic
matters.
But instead of working flat out to restore Zimbabwe’s crumbling
economy by
controlling soaring inflation, government has once again decided
to buy time
by setting up a taskforce to investigate the problem.
A
cabinet “special taskforce” was announced last Wednesday.
This one, we
were told, was designed to address the management of foreign
currency after
realising that the root cause of the economic problems was
“the
unaccountability of foreign currency by exporters and other players”.
The
taskforce — comprising nine cabinet ministers, some of whom have
been
regularly recycled since Independence in 1980 — was formed through
the
reconstitution of the taskforce on the cash crisis. Its members are said
to
have resolved the shortage of bank notes that had gripped Zimbabwe of
late.
Minister of Rural Resources and Water Development Joyce Mujuru will
chair
the taskforce which comprises the Minister of Finance and
Economic
Development, Herbert Murerwa, Minister of State for Information
and
Publicity Jonathan Moyo, Minister of State for National Security
Nicholas
Goche, and Industry and International Trade minister Samuel
Mumbengegwi.
Other members are Mines minister Edward Chindori-Chininga, Lands
minister
Joseph Made, Tourism minister Francis Nhema, and Home Affairs
minister Kembo
Mohadi.
The team will compile a “data bank” of all
major exporting companies and
examine foreign currency leakages and
externalisation of funds by exporting
entities including Export Processing
Zone concerns.
It will also find ways of mobilising gold from small-scale
miners and
partners to market it through Fidelity Printers and Refiners (Pvt)
Ltd — a
subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
The
high-powered team would also recommend the best foreign currency
allocation
mechanism in accordance with national priorities and recommend
the formation
of an appropriate central exporting authority.
On Thursday, a day after
the taskforce was announced, we were told that the
National Economic
Consultative Forum (NECF) would meet to discuss the
macro-economic situation
prevailing in Zimbabwe.
The NECF is a 150-member team of businesspeople,
politicians, labour chiefs,
bankers and government officials hand-picked by
President Robert Mugabe to
devise strategies and solutions to the country’s
myriad economic problems.
The special taskforce came as a surprise even
to some NECF members,
especially when there are less than three weeks to the
2004 national budget
presentation in parliament by Finance minister
Murerwa.
Analysts say what is now crystal clear is that the snail’s pace
at which
government goes about attending to burning issues and the use of
taskforces
and commissions of enquiry has resulted in feuding between
politicians and
technocrats.
Generally while politicians are fond of
sloganeering and building castles in
the air while the country’s economy
burns, technocrats are hands-on people
with little time for
this.
Examples of such technocrats who served government include former
Finance
ministers Bernard Chidzero, Ariston Chambati, and Simba Makoni, as
well as
banker Nkosana Moyo.
Moyo made Zimbabwean history and ruffled
feathers when he quit Mugabe’s
government after realising that what he was
recommending was falling on deaf
ears.
On the other hand, while he did
not resign, former Finance minister Makoni
eventually felt President Mugabe’s
boot. His crime? Recommending that the
Zimbabwe dollar be devalued through
the front door. The dollar was however
later devalued through the back door —
which became known as an exporters
incentive!
Analysts point out that
what government needs are not taskforces, but
solutions to the many
problems.
They query what exactly ministers are doing if taskforces have
to be formed
to run their ministries.
Cases of ministries which have
had either a commission or a taskforce in
action include Lands (under Made),
Local Government and National Housing
(under Ignatious Chombo), Sport and
Recreation (under Mujuru), Higher
Education (under Murerwa), and even Finance
(again under Murerwa).
Before he left his job after a two-term stint,
former RBZ governor Leonard
Tsumba gave an interview to businessdigest on
August 19.
Tsumba said foreign exchange shortages over the last five
years had largely
been a result of poor export performance.
“The
foreign exchange situation in the country remains critical against
the
background of declining inflows and widening demand for foreign
currency,”
her said.
“Foreign exchange shortages over the last five
years have largely been a
result of poor export performance due to a
shrinking export base,
deteriorating terms of trade for primary exports and
the suspension of
international balance of payments support, as well as
drying up of external
lines of credit. As a result, growth in exports has
fallen from 13,9% in
1996 to an estimated minus 11,3% in 2002.”
Tsumba
pointed out that while exports and export earnings had continued to
decline,
demand for foreign exchange to procure critical imports such as
food, fuel,
electricity, drugs and industrial inputs had risen sharply.
“The sharp
escalation in inflation, from 55% at the end of December 1999 to
just under
400% by July 2003, against levels of below 10% obtaining in most
of the
country’s regional and international trading partners, has severely
affected
export performance,” the outgoing RBZ boss said.
He said whereas in many
developing countries widespread trade restrictions
and stringent foreign
exchange controls had led to the proliferation of
parallel market forces for
foreign exchange, the Zimbabwean situation arose
from “persistent
macroeconomic imbalances, in particular high inflation”.
“Speculators
have taken advantage of the resultant crippling foreign
exchange shortages to
continuously depreciate the exchange rate for
desperate importers in the
parallel market,” Tsumba said. “The long-term
solution to the problem of
foreign exchange shortages and the parallel
market, however, lies in the
implementation of a consistent and
comprehensive set of macroeconomic
policies, aimed primarily at promoting
export growth, so as to ensure that
the economy realises adequate foreign
exchange.”
When quizzed about
the skewed exchange rate, which analysts contend is the
main root of the
foreign currency crisis, Tsumba pointed squarely at
Murerwa.
“The
exchange rate policy is a matter for the Minister of Finance and
Economic
Development,” he said. “Under the existing law, the Reserve Bank
implements
the exchange rate policy as announced by the minister. You may be
aware that
the National Economic Revival Plan provides for regular reviews
of the export
support rate, taking into account inflation and other
macroeconomic
developments. Consultations with key stakeholders are,
however, under way to
review the export support rate.”
Meanwhile, the taskforce last week
blamed forces hostile to Zimbabwe who are
“hoping to derail the land reform
programme by killing agriculture through
black marketeering and profiteering
where prices have nothing to do with
real costs”.
When he launched the
short-lived Millennium Economic Recovery Programme on
September 28 2000,
Nkosana Moyo pointed out that divisions in Zimbabwe, be
they party political
one-upmanship or any abuse of influence in regard to
the implementation of
the programme, would only serve to make deeper the
hole that the country had
dug for itself.
“If we want to stop sinking — we simply have to stop
digging,” he said then.
Bankers say the sooner government realises that
we cannot write new economic
rules that ignore supply and demand, the sooner
we can set about
implementing solutions to the economic mess that we are
in.
Zim Independent
Eric Bloch
Don’t give us facts, give us
scapegoats
COMPLETELY out of character with its administration of
Zimbabwe’s
non-economic affairs, government has demonstrated a remarkable
consistency
in justifying the country’s economic ills. It has evidenced an
astounding
ability to disregard or deny facts and realities, matched by a
constant
capacity to ascribe those ills to causes other than its own acts of
omission
and commission.
From 1982 to 1988, anything that was wrong
within the economy was alleged by
government to be due to the conduct of the
pre-Independence “colonial
regime” which, it contended, had created an
unconducive economic
environment. However, by 1988 that contention ceased to
have credibility,
for questions were rightly being asked as to why, if it had
substance,
government had not implemented remedial policies. So from 1988 to
1991
government claimed that the desolate economic circumstances were due
to
destabilisation by the evil apartheid regime in South Africa.
As
the transition to the “new South Africa” commenced, some alternative
target
for blame was necessary, and readily presented itself. The
continuance of
economic decline was, according to government, attributable
to drought and
its repercussions. It cannot be denied that adverse climatic
conditions had a
negative impact upon the economy, but only to a
contributory extent. The
underlying problems continuing to be government
created. Then government had
a brief reprieve for it reluctantly and
belatedly began implementing the 1991
Economic Structural Adjustment
Programme (Esap) and the economy began to
enjoy an upturn.
Regrettably, that was short-lived for, on the one hand,
some essential
elements of Esap were abhorrent to government and, therefore,
not
implemented (such as curbing state expenditure and containing
corruption)
and, on the other hand, it was determined to pursue ideological
and
political objectives irrespective of their destructive economic
effects.
Those objectives were pursued with ill-considered, disastrous
effects, and
at the forefront of the modalities of seeking to fulfil the
objectives were
a counterproductive and highly destructive land reform
programme and
provision of a compensation package to war veterans, real and
pseudo, in
amounts way beyond the state’s means. The economic gains of the
preceding
three years were rapidly reversed and the economy set upon a slope
of fast
downward direction.
Over the ensuing six years, numerous
factors beyond government’s control
were said by it to be behind the
ever-intensifying economic morass. Foremost
amongst the state’s alleged
culprits were Western diplomats, various within
the international community,
whites, commercial farmers, “profiteering”
industrialists and retailers, and
the opposition party. Most recently, the
prime focus for blame has been those
perceived to be depriving Zimbabwe of
critically needed foreign exchange and,
in one speech after another, whether
emanating from the president, the
Minister of Fiction, Fable and Myth, and
numerous others, the distressed
state of the economy is stated to be almost
wholly as a result of the lack of
foreign exchange.
As the repetition of this allegation and “excuse”
gained momentum,
government realised that there would be a growing
expectation amongst the
populace for it to do something about it. So, last
week, a foreign exchange
taskforce was established to “address urgently the
management of foreign
currency”. Justifying its establishment, it was said
that “the root cause of
the obtaining economic problems was the
unaccountability of foreign currency
by exporters and other players”. What
absolute, total hogwash!
The taskforce is a very high-powered one,
comprising the Minister of Rural
Resources and Water Development, Joyce
Mujuru as its chairperson, the
Minister of Finance and Economic Development,
Herbert Murerwa, the Minister
of State for Information and Publicity,
Jonathan Moyo (what on earth does he
know about foreign currency other than
how to spend it?), the Minister of
State for National Security, Nicholas
Goche, the Minister of Industry and
International Trade, Samuel Mumbengegwi,
the Minister of Mines and Mining
Development, Edward Chindori-Chininga, the
Minister of Lands, Agriculture
and Rural Resettlement, Joseph Made, the
Minister of Environment and
Tourism, Francis Nhema, and the Minister of Home
Affairs, Kembo Mohadi. In
other words, a taskforce of nine ministers charged
with completing its task
and reporting to the cabinet within three
weeks.
That task is stated to include compilation of a data bank of all
major
exporting companies, examining foreign currency leakages and
externalisation
of funds by exporting companies, identifying ways and means
of mobilising
all gold from small-scale miners and panners, checking whether
all banks and
other authorised dealers are complying with exchange control
requirements,
and to devise watertight mechanisms of remitting foreign
currency to the
Reserve Bank. In addition, it is to recommend the best
foreign currency
allocation mechanism in accordance with national priorities,
and to
recommend an appropriate central exporting authority.
What a
farce! How can any responsible body comprising persons with extensive
other
duties, carry out such a exercise meaningfully and thoroughly in such
a
constrained period, and how can government, in conceiving the
taskforce,
pre-empt its determinations by planning ahead for the
establishment of a new
regulatory authority (within an already over-regulated
economy)? The answer
is simple. Before the taskforce had already commenced
its work, its findings
were, to all intents and purposes, already
decided.
This is apparent from the mouthings of an unnamed government
spokesman,
quoted in the state-controlled media as saying that “the root
cause of the
economic instability, characterised by relentless price
increases and the
shortage of such critical agricultural inputs as seed,
fertiliser and
diesel, was the unaccountability of foreign currency. All
available evidence
indicates that this economy is generating more foreign
currency today than
it did three years ago. But this foreign currency is
being externalised and
abused in the black market for reasons which are
either political mischief
or economic sabotage.”
Another source was
quoted as saying that “in an economy which some analysts
say grosses US$700
million a month from a combination of agriculture,
mining, tourism and
manufacturing products, the RBZ is said to be getting a
paltry average of
below US$5 million a month”. How detached from reality can
anyone be! In
contrast to their prognostications, most in the private sector
are well aware
of the circumstances fuelling the inadequacy of foreign
exchange inflows. Far
greater causes are, amongst many others:
lIn less than three years,
tobacco exports have fallen from 237 million kg
to about 80 million kg,
thanks to the destruction by government of the
tobacco growing
industry;
lMining production has fallen, as rampant inflation has
escalated operating
costs to unsustainable levels for so long as government
maintains a spurious
currency exchange rate;
lAlthough government
repeatedly claims that Zimbabwe’s tourism industry is
enjoying increased
patronage from non-Zimbabweans, this is not factually
correct. Increased
numbers of arrivals into Zimbabwe are not as a result of
tourism growth, but
due to thousands of “cross-border shoppers”, most of
whom do not expend
foreign currency but unlawfully obtained Zimbabwean
dollars from illegal
dealings in foreign exchange which would not, in any
event, enter
Zimbabwe;
lZimbabwean politics and disregard for law and order, have
turned
Zimbabwe into an international pariah and, therefore, no longer a
recipient
of considerable foreign direct investment or of much of the
international
aid previously forthcoming;
lGovernment still expends,
unnecessarily vast amounts of foreign exchange on
maintaining unproductive
embassies and trade missions in numerous countries;
lWhilst much foreign
exchange does not enter the Reserve Bank’s coffers, it
nevertheless is
available to, and used by, the economy via the parallel
market. Redirection
to the Reserve Bank will not enhance the total foreign
currency resource.
These are but a few of very many facts, but government
doesn’t want facts, it
wants scapegoats!
Zim Independent
Muckraker
Does the taskforce have a clue about
forex?
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will be “restructured”, President Mugabe
told
the party faithful last Friday, “to make it much more of a
developmental
institution that protects the national interest”.
In
other words, the last institution to hold out against Mugabe’s
messy
economics will be subverted to serve the ruling party’s agenda. Experts
from
the Malaysian central bank will be coming to assist with revamping the
RBZ.
“The restructuring of the RBZ comes against the background of
widespread
public displeasure over its failure to monitor leakages in the
foreign
exchange market…” the Herald informed us, no doubt speaking for
its
handlers.
In fact the “leakages” in the foreign exchange market
are the product of a
fixed exchange rate that bears no relationship to
reality. As the cabinet
taskforce rushes to plug one hole in the dam, another
will appear elsewhere
as the pressure on the official rate mounts. Zanu PF is
fighting a losing
battle.
Malaysia succeeded in staunching the flow of
speculative capital in the late
1990s because it had the economic muscle to
do so. In other words it was
well-placed to resist the dictates of George
Soros and others and manage the
exchange rate. Zimbabwe, thanks to Mugabe and
his Crazy Gang, has ensured
Zimbabwe has nothing to fall back on. It is in no
position to go it alone.
The Malaysians, let us note, have persistently
failed to put their money
where their mouths are in support of Zimbabwe.
Apart from the occasional
housing project, none of the vast commodity deals
or investments in the
power sector they planned have seen the light of day.
Instead they have
invested in South Africa’s fuel and tourism markets where
the dividends are
higher.
Mahathir Mohamad, who sacked his supreme
court in 1988 and reportedly
advised Mugabe to do the same, at least knew
when to bow out. And he left
Malaysia immeasurably stronger by harnessing the
skills of all his people.
Can the same be said of Mugabe?
The attack
on the RBZ is one more nail in the coffin of Zimbabwe’s economy.
Does the
politburo or the cabinet taskforce have a clue on how to tackle the
myriad
problems they have created in the economy? If so why haven’t they
done so
before?
And why do we need all these taskforces if ministers are doing
their jobs
properly? Are the taskforces not duplicating what government
should be doing
as part of its normal functions? Let’s hope ministers don’t
receive any
special allowance for attending these meetings. Jonathan Moyo, we
must
assume, is a forex taskforce member because he is good at spending
it!
Still on the subject of forex, exactly how much does Mugabe get as
an
allowance every time he leaves the country? Why isn’t that figure
published?
It is said if all the chefs repatriated the amounts they have
banked abroad
as a result of school-fee payments, consultancies, and travel
allowances, it
would go a long way to solving the country’s forex
shortages.
But that’s not the name of the game is it? This is about
targeting
businesses and claiming a conspiracy. It’s about squeezing
companies that
are already having difficulty surviving in Zimbabwe’s toxic
business
climate.
Zimbabwe Open University vice-chancellor Primrose
Kurasha should be
circumspect in her public comments if she wants to preserve
the credibility
of the institution she heads. Carried away by the excitement
of the moment,
she described herself as a product of President Mugabe’s
dreams.
“Because of your dreams, new farmers are in the fields right
now,” she
gushed, cheered on by Gutu South MP Shuvai Mahofa. “Your Excellency
and
Chancellor, I Primrose Kurasha am also a new farmer and the Zimbabwe
Open
University is my field.”
Like so many other chefs, she clearly
intends to reap where she did not sow!
What is so extraordinary is that this
enthusiastic recipient of presidential
patronage has not weighed the
significance of partisan remarks that will
link ZOU in the public estimation
to the discredited Zanu PF regime. Who wil
l want to employ somebody who is
the product of such an institution?
And why is Mugabe going around the
country collecting university
chancellorships like pangolins? Is this some
royal monopoly? Is there nobody
else who qualifies or are they scared off by
his degrees in violence?
The Herald thoughtfully explained to us how the
system works: “The president
first installed Dr Kurasha, who in turn
installed Cde Mugabe.”
All very cosy!
Government spokesmen like to
slam CNN for what they claim is biased coverage
of events in Zimbabwe. But
the South African authorities can hardly complain
about a report aired last
weekend. CNN interviewed ANC-aligned activists who
said how betrayed they
felt by Vanessa Brereton, the now infamous agent
RS452 who had been a police
spy in the Port Elizabeth area in the 1980s.
Nowhere in this account was
it mentioned that RS452 was the number which
senior ANC informants in the
party’s former intelligence network claimed the
security police had given to
the current Director of Public Prosecutions,
Bulelani Ngcuka.
They fed
the claim that Ngcuka was an apartheid spy to a Sunday Times
reporter who had
previously worked for the party. When the paper’s editor
refused to publish
the allegation, the reporter tipped off City Press which
ran it.
And
why were these senior ANC members so keen to have the story
published?
Because Ngcuka had headed an inquiry into Deputy President Jacob
Zuma’s
alleged involvement in a multi-billion rand arms deal with a number
of
European companies.
As a result of the allegations about Ngcuka,
President Thabo Mbeki set up
the Hefer Commission to investigate the claims.
It looked as if Zuma would
be able to prove manifest bias by Ngcuka. But once
it transpired that agent
RS452 was a white woman, now resident in Britain,
and not Ngcuka, the Hefer
inquiry ceased to generate the same interest —
although the reporter at the
centre of it will be asked to reveal the manner
in which she came to be in
possession of the information about Ngcuka, the
people from whom she
obtained it and the steps she took to verify
it.
None of this was mentioned in the CNN report for some
reason.
An eagle-eyed reader spotted an interesting detail in a picture
of Media and
Information Commission chair Tafataona Mahoso in the Mail &
Guardian
recently. It was a sticker advertising the Zvakwana (enough is
enough)
website. The website urges people to “get up” and “stand up” to
oppression.
It is headed “street level action”.
Would the MIC head
approve of such sentiments we ask ourselves? Does
anybody
care?
Meanwhile, we must be grateful to Sunday Mail writers
for expressing complex
events in terms we can all understand. Here is Kofi
Mate-Kole on events in
Malaysia: “The Malaysians discovered a plot hatched
around vice-prime
minister Anwar Ibrahim to oust Dr Mahathir from power. He
acted swiftly and
crushed the treasonable move before it could cause any
serious damage to the
country.”
So that’s what happened? So much
clearer now.
Some goofy grins all-round on the front page of the Herald
on Tuesday as
General Zvinavashe’s retirement was announced. Even “Sinister
Syd”
Sekeramayi, possibly the least prepossessing person in Zimbabwean
politics,
was coaxed into a smile.
Sekeramayi was reported as urging
other officers to emulate “Foxy”
Zvinavashe so they get a “respectable
send-off” from government.
It was not clear if this was a reference to
Osleg and other entrepreneurial
activities.
Still with the comrades,
why has Cde George Charamba suddenly become a “Mr”?
In a story saying he had
invited church and religious organisations to
forward nominations for the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, the Herald
studiously referred to him as
“Mr Charamba” throughout.
For those following Charamba’s partisan remarks
in the press over the years
when he has understandably been described as a
“comrade”, this latest move
clearly represents a policy switch.
Any
clues why? Perhaps the recent court ruling that the Media and
Information
Commission was improperly constituted and biased in its
deliberations may
have something to do with it. Affidavits submitted in a
related case reveal
Charamba’s role in the disputed appointments process.
Charamba now wants
us to believe that the procedures for the appointment of
board members at the
Broadcasting Authority are professional and above
board.
We shall see.
But we are not fooled for a minute by this “Mr” nonsense. It
won’t suddenly
confer respectability on dubious legislation.
Charamba provided a yahoo
address — gcharamba@yahoo.com. It is
not clear why
he didn’t provide a government address. But it might also be
possible to get
him on natha-niel.manheru@zimpapers.co.zw.
A
reader has e-mailed to say that in the Herald of November 4 there is a
GMB
advert offering maize polads/offal for stockfeed. Upon enquiring, our
reader
was told the price was $350 000 a tonne.
The irony here, he says, is that
the GMB is buying maize at $300 000 a
tonne. People will save a lot by just
milling their maize for stockfeed!