Vue Weekly, Canada
MARC MORIN / marc@vueweekly.com
Travelling
around southern Africa last year really shed a lot of light on
the so-called
"dark continent" for me. Visiting all different kinds of
countries and
people provided a perspective not often seen in North America.
Poverty and
illness were rampant, and many governments were incredibly
corrupt, playing
a major role in suppressing their citizens in many of the
places I
visited.
But no place had problems quite like Zimbabwe. Gas shortages
created long
lines outside service stations along most major roads, and food
shortages
were starving a good portion of the population. President Robert
Mugabe,
meanwhile, was in the middle of Operation Murambatsvina (or "Drive
Out
Trash"), during which many urban slums were destroyed without prior
notice.
This operation has been reported by the UN to have displaced at
least 2.4
million people to date.
Gabriel Shumba was a lawyer in
Zimbabwe who was also appalled by the
conditions and unhappy with the
political climate in his homeland. After
speaking out against Mugabe's
political tactics in 2003, he was abducted by
secret police, who-without
laying any formal charges-beat and tortured
Shumba for three days, until he
was released.
Shumba then fled to South Africa and went on to become
executive director of
the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, travelling the world and
spreading the evidence
of the crimes that have been and are currently being
committed in Zimbabwe.
He speaks at the University of Alberta this Thursday
(Oct 19).
Vue Weekly caught up with Shumba on the Vancouver stop of his
speaking tour.
Here are the highlights of the conversation.
VUE WEEKLY:
When I was in Zimbabwe last year, I found it extremely hard to
get into the
country and to travel around freely. At one point police
stopped a bus I was
on after it passed by Mugabe's palace and examined
everything-we had things
such as rolls of film confiscated.
GABRIEL SHUMBA: Yes, it is crazy at
how extravagant his palace is. You could
call it a paradise in the middle of
incredibly desolate poverty. In a
country where things such as extreme
poverty and HIV are compounded, to have
such a palace surrounded by such
poverty is absurd.
VW: Mugabe's regime has been a long one, though, and
early on in Mugabe's
reign, Zimbabwe was seen as one of the most prosperous
sub-Saharan
nations-it was even nicknamed the "Breadbasket of Africa." What
has changed
since those times?
GS: Depression has not been ongoing in
Zimbabwe, but it started in about
1982, when Mugabe brought the fire
brigade-who had trained in North
Korea-into where all the Ndebele reside and
killed more than 20 000
civilians in a clear genocide. Torture and all these
other atrocities such
as killings had been happening as early as 1982.
However, many people chose
not to see or speak any evil about Mugabe's
regime back then. 2000 was seen
as the big turning point because it was the
first time an opposition party
was allowed. During this time he also
initiated his land reform programs, in
which white farms were confiscated
without compensation. Government
corruption became manifested unlike
previous years.
VW: Do you think there is any way Robert Mugabe will be
removed from power
in a democratic way, or is some sort intervention
needed?
GS: I don't see Mugabe relinquishing power voluntarily. Mugabe is
so power
hungry, he wouldn't want to let go, and the corruption that
surrounds him
shows he would not willingly relinquish power. I don't even
see a free and
fair election happening in Zimbabwe, either. Elections have
been rigged for
a long time. Even in the very first elections, when he had a
lot of popular
support, there are instances that were documented of beatings
and
intimidations.
In 2000, clearly that election was rigged-even
court decisions supported the
findings. In 2002, the presidential election
was again rigged. In 2005, the
parliamentary elections were rigged. As late
as last week, we had council
elections that were characterized by massive
intimidations, beating and
outright rigging of the elections. Mugabe has
actually indicated his
intentions to postpone the 2008 presidential
elections to 2010, giving him
two more years in power.
If it is
possible to get an international cognitive response to the issue in
Zimbabwe, we might have internationally supervised free and fair elections.
At a UN level, countries such as Canada might move to indict Mugabe for war
crimes. [Former Liberian president] Charles Taylor was indicted after he
left office, and he may be brought to account for the atrocities he has
committed. V
Thu, Oct 19 (12 noon)
Gabriel
Shumba
University of Alberta,
Law Center Room 2367
Xinhua
www.chinaview.cn
2006-10-19 13:28:55
HARARE, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The
official ground breaking ceremony
for the renovation project of Zimbabwe
National Sports Stadium has been held
in the country's capital city of
Harare.
Zhang Xianyi, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, said at
the ceremony
Wednesday that the China-donated stadium has witnessed the
development of
traditional friendship between the two countries in the past
20 years.
The stadium covering an area of 17 hectares and
accommodating
60,000 spectators have seen many international and local
sports games as
well as important gatherings since it was built and financed
by the Chinese
government in 1987.
The renovation is
expected to be completed in 20 months with a
cost of 5.8 million U.S.
dollars, which is disbursed with the previous grant
provided by the Chinese
government to Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's Minister of Local
Government, Public Works and Urban
Development Ignatius Chombo said the
maintenance project is expected to
enhance the utility and functionality of
the stadium, as well as improving
on its aesthetics. The maintenance works
are not structural as the stadium
was solidly built, he added.
Enditem
FinGaz
Chris Muronzi Staff Reporter
Ministers
angry with portfolio committees' reports
A ROW has erupted between Cabinet
and the heads of parliamentary portfolio
committees following an attempt by
Cabinet to suppress evidence from
hearings that ministers consider
"embarrassing" to government.
In a dispute that tests the independence of
parliament from the executive,
Cabinet is reportedly offended by a number of
critical reports that have
come out of hearings held by the different
committees recently, and wants to
embargo their release into the public
domain.
The ministers allege that the committees have cast them in bad light,
citing
recent hearings conducted by the Lands, Land Reform, Resettlement and
Agriculture committee chaired by Walter Mzembi, the ZANU PF Masvingo South
MP. The ministers have also taken umbrage over reports of the Budget and
Finance Committee chaired by ZANU PF Guruve South MP David Butau, and the
Industry and International Trade committee, chaired by Enock Porusingazi,
the Chipinge South ZANU PF MP.
Sources said the ministers complained that
the pronouncements of MPs heading
the portfolio committees cast doubt on
Cabinet's competence. Speaker of
Parliament and ZANU PF national chairman
John Nkomo last week called a
meeting at which MPs chairing the different
committees were warned about
releasing more critical reports from
hearings.
Nkomo cited three instances when committees were said to have
tarnished the
image of Cabinet.
Muzembi's committee released a negative
report on the state of preparedness
for this agricultural season, painting a
gloomy picture of the once thriving
sector. Porusingazi's committee hearings
have attracted considerable public
interest following disclosures that a
report detailing how senior ZANU PF
officials plundered state-controlled
Ziscosteel, had been suppressed. In a
recent report, Butau's committee
attacked government ministries for their
lack of fiscal discipline.
Clerk
of Parliament Austin Zvoma confirmed that a meeting had indeed taken
place
this week between Nkomo and the committee chairmen, but denied it had
been
called to intimidate the MPs or interfere with their duties.
"Yes the meeting
took place but it was a routine meeting. The Speaker just
stressed thaFrom
Page 1
committees should not make judgments while conducting investigations.
They
should come to the House with their findings before making
judgments.
"There was no one on trial so they did need to defend themselves.
If any
names were mentioned, they were mentioned in general comments on what
should
be done. Committees should report to Parliament and not talk to the
press
without following procedure, as has happened in some cases," said
Zvoma.
But Parliament sources told The Financial Gazette that ministers were
irked
by some of the committees' reports which they found embarrassing and
"made
government look corrupt and incompetent."
The same sources said
Cabinet had asked Nkomo to curb the embarrassing
disclosures emanating from
these committees, but this was met with stiff
resistance by the MPs. They
argued that their committees had followed all
procedures, and viewed the
pressure being exerted on them as unwarranted
interference by the executive
in the duties of the legislature.
"This amounts to censorship by Cabinet and
defeats the purpose of
Parliament, which should be an independent arm of
government," said a source
who refused to be named.
At the meeting, which
was attended by both ZANU PF and MDC MPs serving on
the portfolio
committees, Nkomo is said to have expressed concern over what
he called the
leaking of reports to the media before deliberations in the
House, citing
standing rules of Parliament. However, the MPs defended their
committees,
saying all rules had been observed.
At the end of the meeting, Nkomo
reportedly asked ZANU PF MPs to stay
behind. He is then reported to have
informed them that the directive to tone
down their public criticism of
Cabinet had come from the executive.
Mzembi and Porusingazi refused to
comment on the matter, while Nkomo denied
knowledge of the meeting.
But
another source said: "Nkomo was not happy with Mzembi, Butau and
Porusingazi's committee reports which he felt were critical of government
and certain ministers. He was just telling the members that the reports had
created problems in Cabinet.
FinGaz
The Geoff Nyarota Column
THE
disturbingly high rate at which retired soldiers are taking over various
facets of the administration of state affairs could soon see Zimbabwe
becoming a fully-fledged military state.
Meanwhile, independent
Zimbabwe's first defence forces commander has truly
and firmly entrenched
himself as the undisputed king-maker.
The military has, over the past few
years, grown in both stature and
influence to become a dominant factor in
the balance of political power
within President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU
PF - and beyond. In the run-up
to the presidential election in 2002, General
Vitalis Zvinavashe, the then
commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces,
shocked both the electorate and
observers when he publicly declared that the
armed forces would not
recognise any new President, unless he had fought in
the war to liberate
Zimbabwe from colonial oppression.
There was genuine
concern at the time that should Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) leader,
Morgan Tsvangirai, win the election, as he was heavily
tipped to, he was
bound to encounter fierce resistance from a partisan army
leadership and a
likely military coup. The man behind the growing influence
and clout of the
military is Retired General Tapfumaneyi Rex Solomon Mujuru,
the first
commander of the Zimbabwe National Army.
Mujuru is a humble and unassuming
man. His demeanour, however, belies a
dogged determination, a relentless
pursuit of political power through
behind-the-scenes manipulation, as well
as skilful networking, extending
beyond his Chikomba District. His favourite
candidate for President is said
to be former Finance Minister, Dr Simba
Makoni, who hails from Manicaland
Province.
He is far from an eloquent or
engaging speaker, even in his native Shona
language. Mujuru's speech is
blighted by a pronounced stammer. He seems,
however, to overcome his
handicap to communicate and exert his influence in
the highest offices of
government. A man of limited academic credentials,
Mujuru entered the world
of African nationalist politics during Ian Smith's
Rhodesia, after
curtailing his educational career at a young age.
His future military role in
Rhodesia's guerilla war and in the army of the
new Republic of Zimbabwe was
defined in Lusaka, Zambia when he enrolled for
military training. After the
former Zanla supremo, Josiah Magama Tongogara,
perished in a car accident in
the dying moments of the armed struggle, as he
prepared to lead his guerilla
army triumphantly back to Zimbabwe-Rhodesia
and independent Zimbabwe, Mujuru
emerged in 1980 as the new commander of
ZANU PF's military wing.
Mujuru's
most significant contribution to the armed struggle and in
determining the
future destiny of both ZANU PF and Zimbabwe was his role in
laying the
groundwork for the ascendancy of President Robert Mugabe,
recently arrived
in Mozambique, to the leadership of the party that would
form the first
government of an independent Zimbabwe five years later. Those
closely linked
to the party say President Mugabe has not forgotten his
benefactor and
Mujuru is now reaping the benefits of that early association
in
Mozambique.
When President Mugabe became Prime Minister in 1980 he appointed
Mujuru to
head the newly created Zimbabwe National Army. The former guerilla
leader
became a man of immense power and political influence, Zanla having
spearheaded the final stage of the armed struggle. By the time of his
retirement from the army Mujuru had become fabulously wealthy. The source of
that conspicuous wealth remains a cause of muffled speculation. The most
persuasive evidence of Mujuru's mounting clout was the victory in 2004 of
his own spouse, Joice, over powerful and much feared politician, Emmerson
Mnangagwa, for long touted as the hot favourite to succeed President Mugabe.
Joice Mujuru overcame the challenge posed by Mnangagwa and is now
Vice-President. Her husband has emerged as a decisive player in the
so-called succession battle in preparation for President Mugabe's
long-overdue retirement.
Mujuru hails from a bastion of political power,
the Chikomba District of
Mashonaland East Province. Chikomba has spawned
influential players on
Zimbabwe's political landscape. Charles Utete, who
served as Chief Secretary
to the President and Cabinet, became extremely
powerful and served as de
facto Prime Minister after the abolition of that
post following Mugabe's
ascendancy to the executive presidency in December
1987.
The First Lady of Zimbabwe, Grace Mugabe, is perhaps the most famous
daughter of Chikomba. Airforce of Zimbabwe commander, Air Marshal Perrence
Shiri, is perhaps the most detested son of Chikomba, following his leading
role in the Gukurahundi massacres in Matabeleland.
Other notable
descendants of the Chikomba District include recently deceased
Information
Minister, Tichaona Jokonya; former Defence Minister, Ernest
Kadungure, and
the mercurial former chairman of the Zimbabwe National War
Veterans
Association, Chenjerai "Hitler" Hunzvi. The latter spearheaded a
campaign of
terror and mayhem at the height of the violent farm invasions in
2000.
Kadungure is said to have organised the training of ZANU PF youths to
wreak
violence on the ranks of political opposition parties. The former MDC
Member
of Parliament, Gabriel Chaibva, disclosed in the House details of the
training, which he claims he personally underwent.
"There was this
training camp called Robert Gabriel Mugabe in Marondera,"
Chaibva said.
"When we went there, we were taught by the late Ernest
Kadungure on how to
deal with ZAPU and to kill opponents to ZANU PF's rule
during those days in
the 1980s."
The shrewd manner in which Mujuru has amassed political power has
been
largely devoid of the crude violence preached and practiced by
Kadungure and
Hunzvi.
With the growth in political stature of Mujuru, a
large number of former
army brigadiers and colonels, most of them bearing
personal allegiance to
him, have climbed the ladder unobtrusively to occupy
positions of influence
in government and parastatals as well as within the
diplomatic corps.
The Attorney-General Sobusa Gula-Ndebele, was previously an
intelligence
officer in the army. He is alleged to be aligned to Mujuru in
the ongoing
succession battle while his own boss, Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa,
who was recently arraigned before the courts on charges of
allegedly
obstructing the administration of justice, is known to be aligned
to the
rival Mnangagwa faction.
Zimbabwe is not, prima facie, a
fully-fledged military dictatorship
in-so-far-as the political power is
vested in an elected civilian president.
Amid escalating authoritarian rule,
the uniformed services, however, wield
an inordinate amount of power and
influence outside their own ranks. This is
facilitated by a network of
former high-ranking officers who hold positions
of power in government and
are largely loyal to their former commander,
Mujuru. While living in
blissful and prosperous retirement, the former army
commander has now
emerged as, perhaps, the most politically dominant single
individual in
present-day Zimbabwe, wielding more power than the ageing and
anachronistic
President.
Fawning articles in the government media describe Mujuru the
"kingmaker".
The title occasionally appears in the independent press as
well. Senior army
officers, both serving and retired, have benefited as a
result.
Three retired army officers serve government in the capacity of
cabinet
minister or deputy.
The man who heads the Ministry of Energy and
Power Development is Retired
Lieutenant-General Michael Reuben Nyambuya,
while Retired Brigadier-General
Ambrose Mutinhiri is his counterpart at the
Ministry of Youth Development
and Employment Creation. Meanwhile, Retired
Lt.-Colonel Hubert Magadzire
Nyanhongo is the Deputy Minister of Transport
and Communications.
Justice George Chiweshe, who is a High Court judge as
well as chairman of
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, is a former
advocate-general in the
Zimbabwe National Army. He was responsible for
court-martials.
Another ex-military man, Retired Colonel Christian Katsande
heads the
Ministry of Industry and International Trade as permanent
secretary. Justin
Mupamhanga, the permanent secretary for Energy and Power
Development does
not have a military background, strictly speaking, but his
credentials are
close enough. He is formerly a senior officer of the Central
Intelligence
Organisation.
By some coincidence, the transport sector has
become a preserve of retired
army personnel. While Nyanhongo is Deputy
Minister, retired Air-Commodore
Mike Karakadzai presides over what remains
of the National Railways of
Zimbabwe (NRZ) in his capacity as general
manager. The chairman of the NRZ
board is - you guessed right - another
military man. Brigadier-General
Douglas Nyikayaramba is still a serving
officer.
Even the Commissioner of Prisons is Retired Major-General Paradzai
Zimondi,
as opposed to a career prison warder.
For some unfathomable
reason, the administration of sport has become the
exclusive domain of
soldiers, both serving and retired. The chairman of the
Sport and Recreation
Commission is Brigadier-General Gibson Mashingaidze
(still serving), while
the director-general of the same commission is
Retired Lt. Colonel Charles
Nhemachena. One of the commissioners is
Brigadier-General Justin Mujaji, who
is also still serving.
Not to be outdone, the parastatals have their own
sprinkling of senior
executives who were appointed after they had retired
from the armed forces.
Retired Colonel Samuel Muvuti is the acting chief
executive officer of the
perennially loss-making Grain Marketing Board.
Muvuti was suspended from
employment in August, two days after his arrest on
allegations of defrauding
the parastatal of close to $1 million. Agriculture
Minister, the thespian
Joseph Made, vetoed the suspension. It boggles the
mind that the said
retired colonel was embroiled in allegedly fraudulent
conduct while he was
still acting CEO of the GMB. But let me not
digress.
The military have spread their wings into the banking sector as
well,
Retired Colonel Godfrey Matemachani is the general manager of CBZ
(Nominees)
Limited. Government is a major shareholder of CBZ.
Retired
Brigadier Elisha Muzonzini, who became director of the Central
Intelligence
Oranisation was appointed Zimbabwe's High Commissioner to Kenya
in 2002. His
title changed to Ambassador after President Mugabe unilaterally
withdrew
Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth
On his recent visit to Cuba, where he attended
last month's summit of the
Non-Aligned Movement in Havana, President Mugabe
was welcomed at Jose Marti
International Airport by a retired soldier.
Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Cuba is
Retired Major General Jevan Maseko. The
line-up of dignitaries who saw him
off at Harare International Airport would
have included a large turnout of
both serving and retired soldiers.
One
would expect President Mugabe, as an ex-school teacher himself, to be
partial to the appointment of members of his former profession to the
structures that keep the wheels of his administration well oiled. Instead,
it is the military personnel who have become the flavour of the month. When
soldiers, whatever their rank, succumb to illness, whether long or short,
their demise is routinely given prominence in the state-controlled
electronic and print media. This privilege is not extended to members of the
teaching fraternity, company executives, university professors, doctors,
accountants, bank managers, nurses or anyone else, unless they die in
bizarre circumstances.
Some animals are obviously more equal than others,
as George Orwell
cynically pointed out in his Animal Farm.
A question
that goes begging for an answer, however, is why so many
supposedly
talented, enterprising and still mentally and physically able
officers
retired from active service with the army, in the first place.
The
disbursement of favours and other resources of patronage to a network of
supporters in government and the uniformed forces, which is so prevalent in
Zimbabwe is symptomatic of deep-rooted corruption.
Saying of the
Week:
"When we asked him about the disturbances, he apologised to me
personally,
but I was not convinced." - Vice-President Joseph Msika
referring to
President Mugabe in the context of the Gukura-hundi atrocities
committed by
the Five Brigade in Matabeleland in the 1980s. (The
Standard)
FinGaz
Charles Rukuni Bulawayo Bureau
Chief
Harassment of business could be last straw
THE government could be
shooting itself in the foot. By harassing business
and labour it could be
sapping the little confidence left among its
nationals.
And the
central bank, whose role is that of advisor to the government, is
making
things worse by playing "Father Christmas" instead of reining in
government
spending.
Management consultant Luxon Zembe said the government was playing a
dangerous game by blaming everyone else for the current economic crisis
instead of looking at itself. It was also fuelling inflation and creating
shortages by enforcing price controls instead of consulting business on why
it was increasing them.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president
Callisto Jokonya, said it was
unfortunate that industry was now being
portrayed as an enemy of the nation.
"This is not true. The cost drivers are
controls imposed by the government
in the economy," he said.
"We need to
deal with the root problem, that is, too many controls. We must
free the
economy for increased production and new investment from
Zimbabweans
overseas and abroad," Jokonya said.
The government clamped down on a planned
demonstration by the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) on September
13. The ZCTU wanted to press
for the minimum wage to be linked to the
poverty datum line. It said workers
earning less than this amount, which
stood at $84 000 in August, should not
be taxed.
The current tax-free
threshold is $20 000.
The ZCTU also wanted those living with HIV/AIDS to have
free access to
anti-retrovirals and local authority police and the Zimbabwe
Republic Police
to stop harassing informal sector workers. It also wanted
prices of basic
commodities to be stabilised.
The proposed peaceful
demonstration was disrupted by police with some trade
union leaders
allegedly being beaten up and seeking treatment in South
Africa.
Days
later the government arrested and detained business leaders for
overcharging.
Zembe said these arm-twisting tactics were further
alienating the government
because it had so far failed to turn around the
country's fortunes despite
announcing wide-ranging policies in its mid-term
fiscal review and the
monetary policy review.
Even its much-lauded
National Economic Development Priority
Programme(NEDPP), which was expected
to have yielded tangible results in the
first 90 days, seems to have
faltered.
"Government is trying to cover up its own mistakes by harassing
people and
stirring up public emotions," Zembe said.
Jokonya was,
however, optimistic that the NEDPP would yield tangible results
if the
government took appropriate action. He said the first three months
had been
disappointing because the nation was looking for "quick wins".
"Things are
getting a bit better," he said. "MOUs (Memorandums of
Understanding) have
been signed with China and Russia. These two deals are
likely to bring in
over US$3 billion in cash and investment. What is left is
action from mainly
the government to see to it that results are achieved.
These deals have the
potential to turn around the economy."
But government is notorious for policy
shifts and backtracking mainly to
appease the public. A typical example was
how the government claimed it had
reached agreement with industry on the
price of fuel and had come up with a
price structure which immediately saw
the product disappearing.
Jokonya said the government's decision to regulate
the price of fuel was
unfortunate because the product had become readily
available and the price
was beginning to fall.
"The price of fuel was
already beginning to come down because supply had
increased on the market,"
he said. "This is clear evidence that market
forces work. Force or control
cannot produce the desired results for long."
He said the current arrangement
where the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe
was supplying cheap fuel only
three days a week was not benefiting business
because spending days in a
queue was "a cost". Besides, there was no
guarantee that one would get the
fuel.
Jokonya said the government must move away from subsidies because the
economy could not afford them. Besides, the subsidies were not benefiting
the poor.
"Industry is currently operating at 30 percent and because it
contributes
the bulk of the country's gross domestic product this means the
economy is
operating at 30 percent," Jokonya said.
Zembe said he could
not understand why government expected prices to remain
stagnant when it had
devalued the dollar from $100 to $250 to the greenback.
"Once your currency
has been devalued, production costs go up. But the
government does not want
to accept this because it is looking more at
convenience rather than
economic rationale," he said.
"Instead of admitting that its policies are not
working government is now
harassing business and labour. This is very
unfortunate because it is
destroying the confidence of those few Zimbabweans
who had decided to stick
it out."
He said the central bank was making
things worse by dishing out money to the
government instead of keeping a
tight rein on government spending.
Government's domestic debt stood at $121.5
billion on September 29 having
peaked at $127.4 billion on September 15. It
stood at $14.4 billion at the
beginning of this year.
"There is no fiscal
discipline at all and the central bank is acting like
Father Christmas. It
is giving the government whatever they want and the
government continues
with its spending spree," Zembe said.
Jokonya said the governor of the
central bank had no choice because high
government expenditure had put him
under pressure to print money.
"The economy is not performing at an
acceptable level. We must stop
subsidies because our economy cannot afford
them. Besides, the subsidies are
not benefiting the poor," he
said.
Central bank governor, Gideon Gono, defended the bank's quasi-fiscal
operations through which it has been bailing out the government, in his
monetary policy review statement in July, arguing that these were
extraordinary times which called for unorthodox solutions.
"We admit that
in the short-term, our money supply growth numbers have been
and remain
unhealthy for short-term inflationary outlook; that the bank's
quasi-fiscal
operations would be best handled within the budgetary framework
if it can
and that the central bank should not micro-manage or compete with
market
institutions in the allocation of resources," he said.
"Such is conventional
wisdom in orthodox times and we have no quarrels with
this line of thought.
But like we have argued before, we continue to call on
Zimbabweans to
realise that these are not ordinary times for Zimbabwe to
entwine itself
with orthodox solutions. That time will come!"
FinGaz
Staff
Reporter
VETERAN Zimbabwean journalist, Geoffrey Nyarota, has announced
the launch of
the country's newest Internet publication, The Zimbabwe
Times.com, which
goes online tomorrow.
Nyarota, the founder and
editor of the banned Daily News since its inception
in 1999 until January
2003, said The Zimbabwe Times.com is an initiative
driven by Zimbabwean
media practitioners in Zimbabwe, South Africa, the
United Kingdom and the
United States, where he is currently based. Nyarota
is the online
publication's managing editor.
"The project is driven by a passionate and
patriotic desire to expand media
space in a country where press freedom has
been methodically curtailed by a
government committed to keeping mainstream
media under effective control,
while denying the public full access to
information.
"The population of Zimbabwe has, therefore, become increasingly
starved of
meaningful information of interest and relevance. We are elated
that we are
able to join and to complement the effort of the growing family
of
independent Internet-based Zimbabwean publications, all contributing in
their own way to the crusade to keep Zimbabweans well informed, as is their
democratic right.
"We seek to provide a vibrant, quality, reliable and
credible medium for the
dissemination of news and information for the
benefit of a readership based
in as well as outside Zimbabwe, in the vast
Diaspora," Nyarota said.
He said that a team of competent and well-respected
journalists and writers
will contribute to the news site.
"Relying on
in-depth investigation into issues and analysis of events, as
well as
trail-blazing and courageous journalism, The Zimbabwe Times will
publish
without fear or favour. Quality, fairness, independence, public and
national
interest, as well as relevance will be the keystone of editorial
policy.
"The Zimbabwe Times will not, in any way, be beholden to any
sectoral
interests, whether, political, business, social, religious, ethnic
or
racial. An innovative feature of The Zimbabwe Times will be a special
column
where all political parties and independent politicians are invited
to have
their say, as and when they wish, while also addressing questions
from
members of the public."
The news site is accessible through the link
thezimbabwetimes.com.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda Senior
Business Reporter
THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has
defended its role in
brokering a recent consultative meeting on the
establishment of a human
rights commission, which Zimbabwe's main rights
groups boycotted.
Influential human rights and pro-democracy
organisations, including the
combative National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA), the militant Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions, the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC), the
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the
Media Institute of Southern
Africa, boycotted the inaugural consultative
meeting hosted by the UNDP in
Kariba last month to show their disapproval of
police brutality against
labour leaders.
The rights bodies have also
demanded the repeal of repressive legislation
such as the Public Order and
Security Act (POSA) and the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy
Act (AIPPA), before the government
considers the setting up of a rights
commission.
Leaders of the civic organisations accused the UNDP of trying to
push them
to enter into dialogue with the government without taking their
concerns
into consideration.
But the UNDP refutes suggestions that it is
hobnobbing with President Robert
Mugabe's government, which the
organisations accuse of gross human rights
abuses.
"Our role is to
facilitate dialogue. We are not pushing anybody. We are
committed to
dialogue. If NGOs say we want to meet government we will go
ahead and
organise a meeting and if the government says it wants to meet
civic society
we will do that (organise a meeting)," said Nana Busia, the
UNDP's senior
legal and policy adviser.
Although only six non-governmental organisations
attended the inaugural
consultative meeting held in the resort town of
Kariba, the UNDP is
reportedly pressing ahead with plans to hold a second
consultative meeting
later this month.
Insiders within the civic society
movement say they are working hand in hand
with the UNDP on an itinerary for
the second consultative meeting.
FinGaz
Chris Muronzi
Staff Reporter
POLICE have launched investigations into why Zimbabwe
United Passenger
Company (Zupco) paid legal bills for its jailed, board
chairman, Charles
Nherera.
Sources close to the developments revealed
this week that the police have
questioned acting Zupco chief executive
Godfrey Mawarura, senior managers
and other board members on why the
state-owned company paid legal bills for
Nherera, who was on trial for
graft.
It emerged that detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department
(CID)
visited the parastatal's premises last week and questioned Mawarura
and
senior management over an $8 million payment made to Nherera's lawyers
and
collected proof of payment and the correspondence from the lawyers
demanding
payment for their services.
The detectives also questioned
acting chairperson of the board, Chipo
Dyanda, over her role in the
matter.
Sources say Dyanda authorised the payment of the lawyers' fees
without
consulting the board, in contravention of standing
procedures.
All board members have been interviewed and police sources say
the
investigation is focused on Dyanda.
Dyanda declined to comment when
contacted yesterday, while Mawarura had not
responded to questions sent to
him by late last night.
Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed the
development and said the
police were investigating why Zupco paid Nherera's
legal bills.
Zupco is demanding a refund of the $8 million it paid to the
lawyers from
Nherera.
This development comes a month after Chinhoyi
University of Technology,
where Nherera was vice chancellor, demanded that
he surrender the
institution's property after his conviction.
The
university is demanding a Mercedes Benz, two cellphone handsets, two
mobile
phone lines, a four plate stove, a refrigerator and two bedroom sets,
among
other things.
In June this year The Financial Gazette revealed that Mandizha
& Company, a
law firm representing Nherera, received over $8 million in
June on separate
occasions.
Nherera is serving a two-year jail term after
a Harare regional magistrate
convicted him of soliciting a US$85 000 bribe
from businessman Jayesh Shah,
who wanted to supply buses to Zupco.
He has
appealed against his conviction and sentence but his lawyers are
still
fighting for his freedom after the High Court threw out his appeal.
FinGaz
Zhean Gwaze Staff
Reporter
Magistrate declines to hear case
A COURT case to test the
legality of the government's bid to prosecute white
farmers for defying
orders to vacate their properties failed to take off
this week after a Karoi
magistrate declined to hear the matter, saying a
similar challenge was
pending in the High Court.
Karoi magistrate Archibald Dingani struck the
case, involving Daniel Nel and
Gert Terblanche, off the roll, saying the
lower court had no jurisdiction to
handle the matter, as it was before the
High court.
The two farmers, had been arraigned for defying government
eviction orders.
Government served the white farmers with Section 8 orders to
vacate their
farms and make way for black farmers under the controversial
land
redistribution programme.
According to the Commercial Farmers' Union
(CFU), which represents mainly
the interests of Zimbabwe's white commercial
farmers, the eviction orders
were subject to a pending legal challenge in
the High Court.
Only about 600 out of an estimated 4 000 white commercial
farmers remain in
Zimbabwe after the implementation of the government's land
reform programme,
under which it allocated blacks large tracts of land in a
bid to correct
racial imbalances in land ownership.
"According to our
database, 40 white farmers were served with eviction
orders but not all of
them that get the eviction orders report back to us,"
a CFU official
said.
Harare lawyer David Drury of Gollop and Blank, who is representing the
farmers, could not be reached for comment.
One of the affected farmers,
Nel, a South African, said as a foreign
investor, his investment should be
protected.
"I entered the country in 1994 as an investor through ZANU PF,
which is
still the government of the day and I urge the government to
protect me as I
am not party to any politics," Nel said.
State Security,
Lands and Land Reform Minister Didymus Mutasa said he had
not yet heard
about the judgment. "When the consequential (Gazetted Land)
Bill becomes
law, anybody with no permission to farm will be prosecuted."
The essence of
the Gazetted Land Bill is that all those occupying state
land, in other
words, all land that came under a Section 5 notice before
September 14 2005,
or all land which was subsequently compulsorily acquired
by the government,
notification of which will have been published, are
deemed to be occupying
such land illegally unless they are in possession of
either an official
offer letter, a permit or a lease.
Those without such
permission, who had
previously received a Section 5 notice, shall cease to
occupy, hold or use
that land forty-five days after the fixed date of the
passing of the
law.
Failure to comply in either case will attract criminal charges
punishable by
a fine and or a custodial sentence of up to two years.
FinGaz
Staff Reporter
Could
have been more but for unstable land tenure policies: analysts
ZIMBABWE last
year recorded a marked increase in Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) flows
into the country, a World Investment Report said.
The report, which was
released this week, showed that the struggling
Southern African nation
realized US$103 million in foreign investments last
year, reflecting a 13,5
percent jump compared to last year.
South Africa was the largest FDI
recipient in the region in 2005,
experiencing a sharp jump in inflows to
US$6,4 billion from only US$0,8
billion in 2004.
South Africa accounted
for about 21 percent of the region's total.
This was mainly due to the
acquisition of Amalgamated Bank of South Africa
by Barclays Bank (United
Kingdom) for US$5,5 billion.
Zimbabwe has been failing to convince foreign
investors over the years owing
to its growing economic problems and unstable
tenure policies.
Analysts say a controversial agrarian reform, which saw the
seizure
of white owned farms, has reduced Zimbabwe into a land of contagion
shunned
by investors.
They added that proposed legislation, which will
allow government to take
controlling stakes in mines, might put a damper on
investment if government
proceeds with plans to nationalize the
sector.
Africa received record high foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows
in 2005
of US$31 billion, but this was mostly concentrated in a few
countries and
industries.
In 2004 foreign direct investment stood at US$9
million up by
1,2 percent from the previous year largely because of
uncertainty
surrounding land reform issues.
The report says a sharp rise
in corporate profitability and high commodity
prices over the past two years
helped produce a growth rate of 78 percent in
FDI inflows into
Africa.
Prospects for the continent are looking good for another increase in
2006
given high project commitments, large numbers of investors eager to
gain
access to resources and a generally favourable policy stance for FDI in
the
region.
FDI continued to be a major source of investment for Africa
as its share in
gross fixed capital formation increased to 19 percent in
2005.
However, the region's share of
global FDI remained low at about
three
percent in 2005.
In the manufacturing sector, a number of
transnational corporations (TNCs)
in the textile industry pulled out of
Africa because quota advantages for
African countries declined after the end
of the Multi-fibre Arrangement
(MFA) in 2005. On the other extreme, FDI
inflows remained below US$100
million in 34 African countries, the report
said.
"These are mostly least developed countries (LDCs), including
oil-producing
Angola, which witnessed a drastic decline in FDI receipts in
2005.
"Many of the low FDI recipients in the region have limited natural
resources; lack the capacity to engage in significant manufacturing, and, as
a result, are among the least integrated into the global production system.
Some countries have also experienced political instability or civil war in
the recent past, which destroyed much of their already limited production
capacity," said the report.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda Senior
Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE'S Ambassador to China, Christopher Mutsvangwa,
is quitting the
diplomatic service under a cloud. His tour of duty ends in
December.
Speculation has mounted over the past few weeks that Mutsvangwa
could become
the latest victim of fierce ZANU PF infighting, after he
allegedly prepared
a contentious dossier following Vice President Joice
Mujuru's official visit
to China in June. The visit sparked a storm within
the ruling party and
government after two firms reportedly linked to Mujuru
- Dande Capital
Holdings and Ele Resources - signed US$1.3 billion worth of
deals during the
trip.
Mujuru's daughter Kumbirai is employed as a
business development executive
at Dande, which is fronted by Guruve North
legislator David Butau, who is
believed to be close to the Mujuru family.
The promoters of Dande and Ele
Resources have, however, dismissed media
reports linking them to Mujuru.
The deals with the Chinese Machine-Building
International Corporation will
result in the establishment of a joint
venture to mine coal in the Dande
area of the Zambezi Valley and to build
two thermal power plants there.
Mutsvangwa, who had been notified of his
impending transfer to Germany in
August, told The Financial Gazette this
week that he had opted to leave the
diplomatic service. He, however, denied
reports that he had compiled and
leaked a dossier linking Mujuru to the two
firms.
"That report didn't come from the embassy. At this embassy we support
all
Zimbabweans. We don't look at minister's children. I would have a
particular
interest in Mujuru's children because vakazvarwa kuhondo. I feel
quite
emotional about this. I saw a report in the newspapers but I dismissed
it,"
he said.
He said he was leaving the diplomatic service to
concentrate on his
telecommunications consultancy business in Harare.
"I
will go back to the telecommunications business rather than take up
another
ambassadorial job at the expense of career diplomats. I am also of
the view
that my talents can be used elsewhere. What I have achieved in
developing
economic links here I cannot see myself achieving in any other
country. I
just feel that I came in on a non-career basis and I feel other
Zimbabweans
who have zest and energy can take it up," he said.
"I am not coming from a
career background in civil service. When I assumed
the post it was on the
basis of a special request. It is too late in my life
to be a career
diplomat. My understanding was that the government wanted to
develop
relations between China and Zimbabwe. If there is a challenge about
Germany
I would rather it is given to someone else. My real wish is to go
back to
Zimbabwe," Mutsvangwa said.
Mutsvangwa was appointed Zimbabwe's ambassador to
China in 2002.
Prior to his appointment to represent Zimbabwe in Beijing, the
war veteran
served as a diplomat in Brussels, New York, the Democratic
Republic of Korea
(DPRK) and Namibia.
Mutsvangwa, who was once a Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO),
operative, also served as an acting
director-general at the old Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) from
where he made an unceremonious
departure.
Mutsvangwa's tenure in China
coincided with the government's push for closer
ties with the rising Eastern
economic giant, after falling out with the West
over a growing democratic
deficit.
The highlight of Mutsvangwa's term of office was the conferment, on
Zimbabwe, of the Approved Destination Status (ADS) in 2003. The ADS is a
bilateral tourism agreement under which the Beijing government allows
Chinese tour operators to organise tours to a counterpart country while the
counterpart government allows Chinese tourists to travel into its territory
on a special group visa. This policy has had a significant impact on the
Chinese outbound tourism market in other countries conferred with ADS
status.
Mutsvangwa has also been involved in other less successful deals,
such as
the purchase of planes for Air Zimbabwe and buses for the Zimbabwe
United
Passenger Company (ZUPCO).
Although the fate of Zimbabwe's
Ambassador to Germany - Lucia Muvingi - is
not yet clear, sources say
Christian Katsande, the permanent secretary in
the Ministry of Industry and
International Trade, will replace Mutsvangwa as
Zimbabwe's ambassador in
Beijing.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda Senior Business
Reporter
MORE than 100 white farmers have been forced to cancel their
harvesting and
cropping plans just before the start of the summer planting
season, as
government presses ahead with fresh farm seizures.
The
Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) reported this week that its members were
being served with eviction notices barring them from working their
fields.
Against the background of a government undertaking to halt land
seizures,
which have decimated agricultural production, government
supporters have
reportedly intensified farm invasions, ordering all
production to cease even
if crops are ready to be harvested and appeals
against the evictions are
pending. Failure to comply with an eviction order
attracts a sentence of up
to two years in prison.
The Mashonaland West
and East, Manicaland, Midlands and Masvingo farming
regions are reported to
be the worst affected by the fresh wave of farm
disturbances.
In
Manicaland, the CFU reported that some ZANU PF gangs had seized avocado,
macadamia, coffee and timber plantations, while some farmers lost sugarcane
plantations in Chiredzi.
In Banket and Karoi, tobacco farmers said they
were being served with
eviction notices signed by State Security, Lands,
Land Reform and
Resettlement Minister Didymus Mutasa at a stage when they
should be
transplanting seedlings.
CFU chief executive officer Hendrik
Olivier told The Financial Gazette that
the situation was so bad that some
farmers were evicted as they prepared to
harvest their winter wheat
crop.
"The disruption is ongoing and we are very disturbed. All of a sudden
there
is an upsurge in evictions when farmers have already secured finance
and
inputs," said Olivier.
He estimated that between 3 000 and
5 000
jobs could have been lost as a result of the latest wave of
evictions.
"Labour is unsettled as their only source of employment is being
taken
away," Olivier said.
Mutasa vowed to press ahead with the
evictions.
"We are taking over our farms. Who said land reform yakapera (is
over). We
have just taken a little part of the land," said
Mutasa.
However Mutasa's comments appeared to be inconsistent with Vice
President
Joice Mujuru's speech last week when she reassured more than 300
international guests attending the tourism expo that "Our land reform
programme is now part of our history. I am happy to say that the issue has
now been taken to its logical conclusion."
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
Governor Gideon Gono says the decline in food
production is militating
against efforts to slay inflation, which at 1 023,3
percent is the highest
in the world.
Critics warn that the radical parcelling out of productive
pieces of land to
unproductive farmers under the pretext of redressing
colonial injustices
could drastically reduce next year's
harvest.
Already, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has indicated
that
1,4 million Zimbabweans will need food aid until next year's harvest to
avert massive starvation.
FinGaz
Staff
Reporter
THE adjudicating process for The Financial Gazette/Premier
Banking
Corporation 2006 Top Companies Survey is now underway ahead of the
much-awaited awards presentation ceremony set for next month.
Fingaz
Special Projects Editor Hama Saburi said this week that The Financial
Gazette, Zimbabwe's leading financial weekly, and the sponsors of the
survey, Premier Banking Corporation, have put together a team to work on the
logistics and to ensure the grand annual event, slated for November 22,
lives up to its top billing reputation.
The survey, which will be
packaged in magazine format, started in 1980 as a
fringe competition but has
over the years become one of the most exciting
events on the country's
corporate calendar.
The magazine, which focuses on top performing Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange (ZSE)
counters and other topical business and economic
issues, has become a major
reference point for financial analysts,
stockbrokers and investors in
particular as well as the corporate world in
general.
"Our team has since assembled a panel of respected judges and
analysts who
are already meeting on a regular basis to assess winners in the
various
categories," said Saburi.
"The team, comprising representatives
from both Premier Banking Corporation
and The Financial Gazette, has already
made commendable progress in ensuring
that everything is in place come
November 22. The judges' panel and the team
of analysts have been expanded
to add more depth to the competition," he
added.
The Top Companies Survey
aims to reward top performing ZSE companies,
encourage healthy competition
and good corporate governance. It also forms
part of Fingaz and Premier
Banking Corporation's social corporate
responsibility programmes especially
as corporate responsibility has become
a buzzword throughout the
world.
Cigarette manufacturer, BAT Zimbabwe Limited scooped the top prize
last
year.
Established in 1969, Fingaz is southern Africa's leading
business and
political newspaper, well known for its in-depth and
authoritative reportage
that is anchored on providing timely, accurate, fair
and balanced news.
Premier Banking Corporation, is part of the Premier
Finance Group Limited
family, whose other members include Premier Asset
Management and Premier
Capital Management.
Despite the turmoil and
recapitalisation concerns in the financial sector in
the first half of the
year, Premier Banking Corporation proved to be a
worthwhile and strategic
investment as shown by its latest set of
financials.
From a trading
perspective, net interest income rose substantially by 9 544
percent to
$2.06 billion from $21.35 million in the comparative period last
year. This
growth was achieved in a volatile trading environment, brought
about by the
need for the relevant authorities to control inflation using
various open
market monetary tools.
The Bank's deposit base grew by 1188 percent to $3.32
billion as the
financial institution pursued an aggressive market share
growth strategy.
Similarly, there was real growth in the tradable financial
assets position
that increased by 1755 percent to $3.50 billion.
These
tradable financial assets for the current period represented 1.05
times the
size of deposits, compared to 0.73 times last half-year. Operating
profit
grew by a staggering 8680 percent to $1.98 billion as the
cost-to-income
ratio declined to 18 percent against 40 percent in the
previous
half-year.
Profit before tax was $1.95 billion and profit after tax was $1.25
billion,
up a massive 8966 percent from June 2005.
FinGaz
Allan
Choruma
EACH time there is talk of inflation we hear about the Consumer
Price Index
(CPI) through statistics released by the Central Statistical
Office (CSO).
This week I am going to look at what the CPI is all about
and its link with
the rate of inflation. This subject is very critical for
people involved in
corporate governance. Corporate leaders need to have an
understanding of
these important economic concepts.
What is the
CPI?
The CPI is a measure of the average change over time in the general
price
level paid by urban consumers for a given market basket of consumer
goods
and services. It is obtained by comparing the cost of a fixed consumer
market basket of goods and services over a specified time period (which can
be weekly, monthly or yearly). Since the consumer market basket contains
goods and services of unchanging or equivalent quantity and quality, the
index reflects only pure price movements.
What does the CPI actually
measure?
The CPI measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services
over
time, rather than the level of prices or the quality and quantity of
goods
and services. In other words the CPI is concerned with measuring the
'movement' in prices of goods and services, which constitute the consumer
market basket, from one period to another. The CPI is sometimes referred to
as a 'cost of living index' (though it differs in some important ways from a
complete cost of living index) because it only measures the cost of living
as experienced by consumers.
The CPI consumer market basket is developed
from a detailed expenditure
provided by families and individuals on what
they actually buy over a fixed
period of time. The categories included in
this market basket of goods and
services are: Food and beverages, housing,
clothing, transportation, medical
care, recreation, education and
communication, Other goods and services
(tobacco, alcohol beverages, hair
dressing, funeral expenses, personal
services etc).
As described above,
goods and services are organized according to a
classification system in
accordance with their uses. The lowest level group
is called a 'basic
class', while the highest level is called the 'major
component'. All groups
of goods and services make up the 'All Items' class.
How is the consumer
market basket
developed?
The CPI is based on consumer expenditure patterns
in urban or metropolitan
areas (excluding rural areas) that are
predominantly working class. The
consumer market basket is developed from
these detailed consumer patterns,
which are determined from information
provided by selected samples of
families and individuals on what they
actually bought over a given time. The
goods and services listed in the
consumer expenditure survey are then
weighted over certain categories to
produce a consumer market basket. The
market basket is therefore neither
based on individual expenditure nor on
any specific family expenditure, but
on average household expenditures in a
given geographical area.
The
content of the CPI basket is reviewed and updated periodically when
there
are significant changes in consumer buying habits, shifts in
population
distribution or other demographics. Usually CPI baskets are
reviewed in
four-year intervals (i.e. Canada), and after a census (i.e.
USA). The single
most factor that determines or drives the review of the CPI
basket is change
in spending patterns. Changes in spending habits reflect
changes in
composition and distribution of population, the quality of and
availability
of goods and services, income levels and changes in consumer
tastes and
preferences.
How is the CPI
calculated?
The CSO compiles data and
statistics on the CPI. The current index base rate
in Zimbabwe set by the
CSO is: (2001 = 100). The CPI index base rate is
reviewed every 10 years in
line with international trends. However the base
rate may be reviewed at
earlier periods say five years depending on
consideration of special
macro-economic factors. Once the CPI rates are
officially published, they
cannot be changed, except under exceptional
circumstances. This is designed
to maintain credibility of statistics.
Examples of computation of
CPI:
Example 1: Calculation of index points: Using CPI, all items of 256
564.7
points (August-06 CPI) and 294 583.7 points (September-06 CPI)), means
there
has been an index point change of 38 019 points (i.e. 294 583.7 -256
564.7 =
38 019).
Example 2: Calculation of percent change: Change in
index points: 38 019
(September points- August points) divided by 256 564.7
(previous month
index) x 100 = 14.82 percent. This means that the monthly
rate of change in
prices was 14.82 percent for September 2006 compared to
August 2006.
The CPI can also be expressed for separate classes of items in
the consumer
basket. For example, some of the year on year (September 2005
over September
2006) percent indexes for 2006 for food and non-alcoholic
beverages was: 1
116.3 percent, while non-food was: 981.7 percent.
What
is the current CPI in Zimbabwe?
The recently published annual CPI (inflation
rate) for September 2006 is 1
023.31 percent (compared to 359.85 percent in
September 2005).
The CPI for all items for September 2006 is 294 583.7
compared to 26 224.6
for September 2005. The month on month CPI recorded is
14.82 percent. This
means that in September 2006, consumers paid 14.82
percent more for goods
and services than they did in August 2006.
The
above figures mean that, for instance, a bundle of goods and services
that
cost $100 in September 2005 would on average cost $123.30 in September
2006.
A price increase of 1 023.3 percent!
Does the CPI measure inflation?
Yes.
Though there are other economic indexes, which measure different
aspects of
inflation depending on the intended use of data, the CPI is
probably the
best barometer of inflation. The CPI measures the movement
(upward or
downward) in prices of essential goods and services consumed by
people and
as such it is the best indicator of inflation. The CPI measures
the price of
goods and services that constitute a consumer market basket, at
today's
prices, in comparison to what consumers actually paid for the same
market
basket at an earlier period.
The CPI measures the fall or rise in prices as
well as the corresponding
weakening or strengthening in the value of a
monetary currency that is used
to purchase the goods and services. Since
these are the key indicators of
inflation, the CPI is viewed as the best
measure of inflation as experienced
by consumers.
lAllen Choruma can be
contacted on:
allenc17@juno.com
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi Business
Editor
POSB? Winding queues of soldiers, policemen, civil servants and
farmers.
Dark, stale smelling banking halls. Grumpy tellers swinging down
huge,
wooden stamps.
Files. And yes, that little old green
book.
Not anymore, according to CEO Admore Kandlela, the People's Own Savings
Bank
is becoming a real bank.
"We're taking history away and empowering
the customer," says Kandlela,
still glowing after POSB underwrote its first
big public deal, the $1.8
billion CFX rights offer.
"History" here means
a total of 100 years of handing out passbooks, with
balances handwritten
under smudges of post office stamps.
That history never imagined the former
Post Office Savings Bank would one
day be talking about things like rights
offers or treasury products. Even IT
was somewhere out there in
space.
But the times are clearly changing. Kandlela reveals to The Financial
Gazette the possibility of POSB listing on the ZSE next year, plans for more
acquisitions, and shows off profit numbers that would surprise many.
POSB
had by August this year made a $5.6 billion profit, well on course to
beat
the full year budget of $7.6 billion. In August alone, POSB made a
profit of
$1.4 billion.
Capital adequacy is a somewhat unwieldy 230 percent, and the
company sits on
capital revenue reserves of $7 billion.
The CFX deal was
only the first of many, Kandlela says, part of a wider
strategy to move POSB
out of the shade and allow it to compete directly with
the "traditional big
players" in corporate banking.
However, the trick will be to do all this and
still keep some of POSB's
"history" intact.
"We have to preserve the
traditional function of POSB, which is savings
mobilisation. But we also
want to develop new services and market them."
Arriving at POSB in 2003,
Kandlela, armed with experience gained at the
former PTC and at Agribank,
found a company creaking under the weight of
history, afraid of
change.
His first task was to draw up an organogram, which had not existed
before,
and also to devolve power away from headquarters at Causeway.
The
next step was to examine POSB's products and markets.
"We started by thinking
of introducing new products to existing markets, and
then also to introduce
new products to new markets."
On examining the former, POSB discovered that
passbooks were being placed as
security for small loans with loan sharks.
This gave birth to POSB's
micro-lending service. And on exploring the
latter, POSB started talking
about previously taboo topics - like asset
management, debt factoring and
underwriting deals.
POSB acquired a 15
percent stake in CFX after the rights offer and has no
intention to sell. In
fact, the plan is to get more, and Kandlela lays out
POSB's strategy on
CFX.
"When we made an audit of our products and markets, we felt we needed to
target the higher end market. We thought there was no need for us to
replicate existing banks. We said 'if you are cash rich, just acquire an
institution that's already in that market'. And CFX is serving a niche
market."
All of this has been a big leap for a bank that once imposed a
cap on
deposits, and the changes have unnerved older staff used to the old
ways.
And the changes have also attracted a few sceptical looks from
government
officials who feel the "people's bank" is being taken away from
the people.
"We don't want to abdicate our savings role, especially in the
rural areas,"
Kandlela responds. "But what we are doing is create and
promote a strong
commercial wing, which we will use to do all these deals
that we are
planning."
POSB has taken over former CFX branches in
Zvishavane, Gwanda and Bindura,
and is looking for more branches.
The big
idea is to escape heavy agency fees that POSB has to pay Zimpost for
the use
of the post's banking halls. Some 20 percent of POSB's costs are
agency fee
payments to Zimpost, $28 million in August alone. The arrangement
is clearly
not in POSB's favour, but the fact that the agency fees are 90
percent of
Zimpost's total income makes it doubtful that POSB will be
allowed to break
away just yet.
FinGaz
Staff
Reporter
HWANGE Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) hopes to resume
coal exports by the
end of the fourth quarter as output rises after the
arrival of new mining
equipment, managing director Godfrey Dzinomwa has
said.
Dzinomwa said his company has received the last batch of imported
equipment,
adding he hopes this would have an immediate impact on
production, which
would see the company resuming normal coal supplies and
having enough for
export.
"We have received the last batch of mining
equipment. This will see
production meeting national demand as soon as we
commission. We will also
have enough to export as well," said
Dzinomwa.
Although Dzinomwa did not comment on how much the equipment was
worth, the
company has previously reported that it was spending US$123
million on
capital projects. The Financial Gazette recently quoted Dzinomwa
as saying
that the company would raise output to 425 000 tpm between October
and
December, outstripping local demand, currently at 300 000 tpm.
Local
companies had resorted to importing coal from neighbouring companies
owing
to supply problems at the company.
In recent remarks accompanying its
interims report, Hwange said the new
equipment to be received this quarter
would be key to lifting output.
"The delivery of the mining equipment from
abroad is expected within the
third quarter of 2006. This equipment will be
additional to the new drilling
machines acquired from Europe, and two new
cars for the underground mine
from South Africa. Work is in progress on the
acquisition of and delivery of
the coal fines recovery plant. The company's
capitalisation initiative is
expected to improve production.
"The company
is confident that sustainable production output to meet market
demand will
be realised before the end of the year. The current plant and
equipment will
be refurbished. In the meantime, the company has hired mining
equipment from
a contractor in order to augment the existing production
equipment," said
the company.
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi Business Editor
ACCORDING to central bank boss
Gideon Gono, there is a "veil of secrecy" in
Zimbabwean business, and time
is now ripe to finally lift it.
Although disclosure of shareholders under
nominees will only be made to the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, hope is that
Gono's move will push broader reforms
to finally break down the walls of
secrecy that many executives have built
around how they are running and
benefiting from listed firms.
Investment analysts, media and minority
shareholders only know too well what
Gono is worried about. Try getting a
CEO to justify a share option scheme,
to reveal insider loans, or to
disclose how much they are paid.
Although the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE)
is the region's second largest
exchange after South Africa's JSE, there is a
big gap in size between the
two. However, an ever bigger, and less
talked-about gap exists - that's
between the corporate governance cultures
on the two markets.
Whereas in other markets it is easy for shareholders and
media to get access
to how much a CEO earns, Zimbabwean business treats this
sort of information
as hush-hush stuff, more top secret than North Korea's
nuke programme.
Journalists know full well not to even "go there"; asked for
comment for
this story, one chief operating officer of a listed company
asked this
reporter if he was willing to publish his own salary. Which was
quite funny,
but sad.
But the unwillingness to make public executive pay
is just the short of it.
Loans to directors are usually tucked under the
skirts.
There are exceptions. ABC Holdings' last annual report discloses
loans to
directors amounting to BWP7.9 million, and loans to management -
including
to CEO Doug Munatsi and chief banking officer Francis Dzanya -
worth BWP10.3
million. Remuneration for the year was put at BWP10.965 as at
December 2005.
And starafricacorporation's 2006 annual report also discloses
executive pay
at $48.9 million, from $8 million in 2005.
Importantly, ABC
notes of its policy on internal loans: "All loans bear
interest and fees at
rates applicable to similar exposures to third parties
and have appropriate
security. The group assists officers and employees in
respect of housing,
motor vehicles and personal loan at subsidised rates in
some instances.
Consistent policies and processes govern the granting and
terms of such
loans."
And there are indeed many other companies that do make mention of key
information on their inner workings. But for the most part, many make it a
point to mask such numbers, such that for minorities, finding them is like
trying to crack the Da Vinci code.
Dealings with companies owned or
associated with directors is common. For
instance, the head of a one ZSE
company is a major supplier of produce to
the same company he runs, but the
company never discloses it. Share options
also remain a vast grey area.
There is scant mention across the market as to
who owns what options, and
silence when the options are exercised.
Directors and management go about
buying and selling stock in their own
companies as they please, without
their companies having to make statements
to the public about director
dealings in shares.
This is obligatory disclosure elsewhere. The JSE runs an
on-line service
where investors can access news on all director dealings in
securities.
In Zimbabwe, a CEO could sell their stock ahead of the release of
an
earnings report or a major event likely to impact on the share price, and
nobody would ever know - or care. Recently, the head of an asset management
company, a key division of a listed firm, lost a then $30 billion in a short
sale deal that went pear-shaped. It was his own money, and because the law
does not allow an insolvent person to run a financial company, he left
quietly. But this was without a single shareholder, apart of course from
those in executive management, being told about it.
A law to enforce
better corporate governance, the Securities Act, has been
proposed. The Act
would create a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
which would take
over the management of the ZSE from the ZSE Management
Committee. The
provisions of the Securities Act are much wider that those of
the Stock
Exchange Act, and would look to curb insider trading and
facilitate
accountability for any breach of rules, while a corporate finance
division
is expected to monitor corporate disclosure and governance.
FinGaz
Personal
Glimpses with Mavis Makuni
AFTER years of enduring a saturation of
ennui-inducing propagandistic
rhetoric on land reform, Zimbabweans should
now brace themselves for
corruption fatigue.
It would appear that the
Ministry of Anti-Monopolies and Anti-Corruption has
adopted the most
convenient motto in government: if you cannot or are
unwilling to tackle an
issue, saturate the airwaves with happy jingles about
the successes you are
scoring. This way, the reasoning apparently goes, you
can create a
smokescreen to dupe the public by diverting attention from the
scandal or
problem.
What Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana's ministry has failed to appreciate is
that
this approach has never succeeded in fooling the masses and blinding
them to
the realities on the ground. More significantly, regardless of how
keen
officials are to believe their own propaganda, these deceptive media
blitzes
never make problems go away.
The propaganda onslaught that
accompanied the first few years of the
government's land reform programme,
which was haphazardly implemented on the
basis of random farm invasions
failed spectacularly to convince the general
public. During these violent
confrontations some white farmers were attacked
and in some extreme cases
some lost their lives. By any standards, this did
not represent a sound
moral or legal basis for the success of the otherwise
noble and necessary
exercise to redress historical injustices and
imbalances. It was inevitable
that the disruptions would lead to chaos and
curtail productivity on the
farms.
However, because the government did not want the general public to
know that
its land re-distribution approach had been disastrous, it did its
utmost to
portray the exact opposite of what was happening on the ground.
State-controlled radio and television were awash with catchy, danceable and
festive jingles celebrating the success of the revolutionary
initiative.
These were repeated on radio and television ad nauseam 24 hours a
day with
super-imposed images and montages of either lush green crops,
particularly
maize or overjoyed peasants celebrating bountiful yields. Radio
listeners
and television viewers were bombarded with slogans such as
Sendekera Mwana
Wevhu or Our land is Our Economy. A corresponding version of
the propaganda
campaign saturated state-controlled newspapers.
As
everyone knows, the whole effort was however, a complete waste of time
and
resources because the bumper yields extolled in the radio and television
jingles and newspaper advertisements existed only in these media. Out in the
real world the people were grappling with unprecedented shortages and had to
spend long hours in endless queues in the desperate hope of accessing basic
commodities and foodstuffs. As it eventually emerged, the more there was for
the government to hide about the chaotic situation on the farms, the more
shrill its propaganda became.
Similarly, the "happy hour" type of music
the Anti-Monopolies and
Anti-Corruption Ministry has chosen for its radio
and television campaign
betrays a lack of seriousness and sincerity. The
jingles, if they can be
characterised as such, are about petty
income-generating activities such as
those of unemployed and starving youths
acting as touts at border posts.
They eke out an existence by asking for
tips from tourists in exchange for
helping the visitors to avoid the red
tape and long delays common at these
dilapidated and inefficient
facilities.
Another of the images accompanying the new music is about
corruption at
passport offices where once again applicants opt to pay bribes
to beat the
snail's pace at which things are done. This, of course is
corruption but it
is by no means the big-time version that Mangwana and his
ministry are
tiptoeing around. I refer to the category that involves the
abuse of
facilities or dispensations and plunder of national resources and
wealth
that should benefit all Zimbabweans.
This is corruption that
involves powerful individuals whose positions afford
them access to national
resources, facilities and dispensations that
ordinary people do not have.
Moreover, this is the type of big-shot
corruption that can bring the country
to its knees. It is telling that
Mangwana's ministry has chosen to ignore
public sector corruption in favour
of focusing exclusively on the activities
of petty criminals.
The timing of the ministry's misdirected advertising
campaign cannot escape
notice coming as it does after a report by a
parliamentary portfolio
committee opened a can of worms about the pillaging
that has been going on
at state iron and steel producing company, ZISCO.
That is the sort of
plunder that should send culprits behind bars because
they are stealing from
the rest of the population.
The same goes for the
bigwigs who have abused the Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle
housing scheme and the
subsidised agricultural inputs facility. No less than
the head of state
himself has talked about how the above facilities have
been massively
abused. He has repeatedly warned that those guilty of
multiple farm
ownership would be dealt with. Why has Mangwana's ministry not
followed
up?
When the responsible ministry fails to act on such self-evident
corruption
and steers clear of it even in its supposed anti-corruption media
crusade,
cynics like me begin to wonder whether there is much more being
hidden by
resorting to these diversionary tactics.
It cannot be denied
that the deterioration in the state of national
institutions and their
ability to deliver services to the populace can only
be attributed to
corruption and mismanagement by public officials. And yet
since the
launching of the government's anti-graft crusade a few years ago,
only
suspected wrongdoers from the private sector have been netted.
These have
included officials from the banking and finance sector as well as
businesspeople accused of hoarding, overcharging and infringing foreign
exchange control regulations. Those nabbed from the higher echelons of
government and the ruling party can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
In fact, looking at the extensive public sector rot, it is ridiculous to
suggest that it is the result of the activities of former finance minister
Chris Kuruneri, the only person nabbed from the higher echelons of
government. To add insult to injury, Kuruneri languished in detention for
mishandling personal funds and not pillaging from national
coffers.
Mangwana's music cannot disguise the extent of the rot in the public
sector.
It only confirms that as has been the case in the past, the media
campaign
is a smokescreen designed to detract attention from the chefs'
venality and
greed which the head of state and the monetary authorities have
deplored.
This approach will only give struggling Zimbabweans corruption
fatigue
rather than relief that would come with an honest determination to
tackle
the scourge.
FinGaz
Mavis Makuni Own
Correspondent
UNITED Kingdom-based human rights watchdog, Minority Rights
Group
International, has deplored the failure of the United Nations and the
international community to recognise signs of ethnic tensions in the Darfur
region of Western Sudan in time to avert the genocide and mass displacement
of the population that eventually unfolded.
It is estimated that
since the upheavals began in 2001, 300 000 people have
perished and about a
third of the population has been displaced. Minority
Rights Group
International has published a report criticising the UN for
failing to learn
anything from the Rwanda genocide of 1994 when almost one
million people
were massacred and another two million sought refuge in Zaire
and other
countries. The international community failed to respond urgently
to avert
the tragedy despite being alerted of its imminence.
The UN is now said to
have an early warning system in place but how
effectively and urgently this
contingency plan can be implemented depends on
a number of factors. The most
crucial is that the world body has to get the
consent of the national
government - usually the instigator of the
atrocities - to intervene in such
conflicts. The Sudanese government, which
is widely seen as the sponsor of
the Janjaweed militias which have subjected
black Africans to a reign of
terror, has played hide-and-seek with the
international community and
continental bodies such as the African Union
since the atrocities began five
years ago. Its subterfuge has included
making false pledges to disarm the
Janjaweed militias in compliance with a
2004 United Nations Security Council
resolution. Khartoum's failure to act
was despite the fact that United
Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, had
described the situation in Darfur
as the worst humanitarian crisis in the
world. During that period, some
observers were already describing the
atrocities in Darfur as outright
genocide.
Despite a growing international outcry, Sudanese president, Omar
al-Bashir
ordered a ban on UN humanitarian operations in Dafur in June this
year after
accusing the world body of offering a seat on its helicopter to a
rebel
leader opposed to a peace deal. In suspending the work of the UN,
al-Bashir
demonstrated his lack of concern for the interests and welfare of
the
people. He used the helicopter incident as an excuse to justify his
government's intransigence, which ultimately boils down to his personal
hunger for power.
In the same month, the Sudanese leader displayed more
defiance when he
opposed the deployment of international peacekeeping troops
to take over
from the ineffective 7 000-strong contingent deployed by the
African Union.
In an irrational outburst, al-Bashir claimed he was against
the move because
he did not want his country to be re-colonised. He was
quoted as saying,
"Sudan, which was the first country south of the Sahara to
gain
independence, cannot now be the first country to be
re-colonised."
Al-Bashir's vow that there would be no international military
intervention
in Darfur as long as he was in power is proof of his
government's
determination to pursue narrow sectional agendas instead of
catering for the
aspirations of the people of Sudan as a whole.
There
have been instances in the past when the UN and the international
community
have either looked the other way or been overwhelmed by inertia
while
millions of people were massacred or tortured. However, there have
been
other occasions when governments guilty of gross human rights abuses
and
repressive practices have, like the al-Bashir regime, done their utmost
to
block moves to rescue endangered populations.
In its damning report on the
UN's failure to read the danger signs in
Darfur, Minority Rights Group
International lists a number of clues that
should have sent alarm bells
ringing for the UN and the international
community. These include escalating
human rights violations in the region
and the removal of Sudan from the
watch-list of the UN's Commission on Human
Rights.
It would seem that
unless the UN and the international community can crack
the puzzle of how
African governments react to accusations of human rights
violations in their
countries, rescue will always arrive late for affected
populations. The
standard reaction of rulers in Africa to any suggestions of
human rights
abuses and lack of democratic governance is flat denial even if
the evidence
is as high as Mount Kilimanjaro. They indignantly attribute any
negative
perceptions of their governance to mischief by imperialistic
foreign
interests bent on effecting regime change.
Tyrannical leaders get away with
unspeakable atrocities for too long because
they have a powerful accomplice
in the form of the African Union. The
continental body should lead the away
in recognising and quelling conflict
situations in Africa before they become
international crises. Instead, the
AU continues to be hamstrung by its
adherence to the questionable policy of
"non-interference in the internal
affairs" of member states. As genocide,
ethnic cleansing, civil war,
torture, persecution of opponents, lawlessness
and human rights violations
within a country are always internal matters,
the AU gives itself very
little scope to identify "African solutions to
African problems" as its
rhetoric suggests. The AU's complicity with tyrants
is one of the main
reasons why international intervention often comes after
too many Africans
have been massacred, maimed, tortured, displaced and
dehumanised.
FinGaz
Comment
IT is an old
journalistic taboo for scribes to comment on legal cases,
particularly those
already before the courts.
Such cases are sub judice, which means they
are still being discussed in a
court of law. This therefore makes it illegal
for anyone to talk about them
in the media. There are times however when it
is next to impossible not to
break the taboo.
Just as well the horrific
politically-motivated murder of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC)
activists, Talent Mabika and Tichaona Chiminya
allegedly by a Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) officer, Joseph Mwale
and his accomplices is
not yet before the courts. We and indeed many
Zimbabweans, have a lot to say
about it, probably because of the time it has
taken to bring the suspects to
book.
The two opposition party members met their tragic deaths in 2000 at the
height of political battling which spawned zealotry, intolerance and hatred
for political opponents and ultimately internal tensions. Chiminya and
Mabika were petrol-bombed in Buhera North where the MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai
contested the seat against ZANU PF's Kenneth Manyonda. The latter won the
constituency. But Tsvangirai disputed the outcome and challenged it in
court. The High Court nullified the result citing intimidation and
violence.
Not only that but Mwale and Kainos Tom Zimunya were named in
Tsvangirai's
High Court challenge as the murderers of Chiminya and Mabika.
But the
suspects were never arraigned before the courts for this alleged
callous
disregard for human life and the feelings of others. They have, up
to this
day - an unbelievable seven years down the line - continued to enjoy
their
freedom yet they are accused of no less a crime than murder.
True,
it goes without saying that Mwale and Zimunya are not the only alleged
political zealots that literally got away with murder. Many more political
attack dogs that have caused untold suffering among the people who now have
permanent physical and emotional scars, through an orgy of violence,
intimidation and systematic bullying of political opponents - a major reason
why since 2000, Zimbabwe has not had untainted, indisputably free and
universal elections - have gone scot-free. But that does not make it
right.
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves and
under a
just God cannot long retain it, as once observed by Abraham Lincoln.
Why
then, are those that have denied others their inviolable right to
organise
on the basis of their political convictions, allowed to enjoy the
same right
themselves?
Critics point to political protection. And not
without reason. This implies
that justice in Zimbabwe is after all not blind
and that there is the
absence of basic rights and freedoms in the country,
making its democracy
nothing but a comouflage. Otherwise, how does
government ensure that all are
equal before the law, people obey laws and
that punishment is meted out to
those people who break the law, if the
criminal justice system is twisted to
protect the politically influential
and well-connected as seems to be the
case in the as-yet-to-be finalised
murder case of Chiminya and Mabika? Or
are we not all, whatever our station
in life - rich or poor, coloured or
white - liable to punishment in the
courts for breaches of the law?
Some would say, who are Chiminya and Mabika?
Nonentities they might have
been. But in the final analysis, it is the
attitude towards the common ruck
of folk that should be used to judge how
moral or immoral a policy is. For
crying out loud! It is the rights of these
common people, which no one
remembers when a system crumbles that should be
a yardstick with which to
measure the qualities and values of a country's
justice system.
This is why the inertia and laxity in this case, which should
be blamed
squarely on the political system, is causing harm to the
legitimate
expectations from the general citizenry. People look up to the
courts for
protection and guidance. But in this case, the courts have for a
long time
been denied the duty to develop jurisprudence by making certain
pronouncements and setting a precedent that will assist the future conduct
of elections and the conduct of interested parties in political
discourse.
In any case, a person must not suffer undue anxiety. Thus cases
must be
finalised within a reasonable time to enable people to move on as it
brings
psychological rest, in this case, not only to the dependents of the
murder
victims who must seek and get compensation but also to the alleged
perpetrators themselves. Those who said justice delayed is justice denied
were not wrong. That statement still holds true today as it did centuries
ago. It is against this background that we sincerely hope that the Attorney
General's office, which is now reportedly aggressively pursuing the
Chiminya/Mabika case, will see to it that justice is done.
FinGaz
No Holds Barred with Gondo
Gushungo
IN other civilised societies where corruption is not endemic,
the social
security of vast social groups is guaranteed and the rights of
individuals
are not trampled upon, HIV and AIDS, for which there is no cure,
is no
longer considered the killer disease that it was when it was first
discovered in the early 1980s.
HIV and AIDS-related deaths have
slowed down significantly. So have the
figures of people having HIV and
AIDS-related health problems. Thanks to
palliative treatment offered through
Anti-Retroviral Drugs (ARVs), people
with HIV and AIDS are leading
productive lives again.
But in Zimbabwe, where an estimated 1.8 million out
of an estimated
population of 13 million are living with HIV and AIDS,
people are still
dropping like flies. And there is probably no single family
that has not yet
buried one of their own, struck down by the dreaded disease
against a
background of official claims of unlimited access to
ARVs.
True, the ARVs are locally available. But their availability does not
translate into accessibility by those who need them most. The reality on the
ground is of course far more complex. Thus Zimbabwe remains a society
ravaged by HIV and AIDS as can be seen through the high mortality
rate.
And so what started off as whispered complaints is growing into a deep
well
of disenchantment with the way the distribution of these
life-prolonging
drugs is being administered. The in-demand drugs are
disappearing between
departure point and their intended destination - the
poor and vulnerable
groups, who need the ARVs most. Subsequently, accusing
fingers have
inevitably been pointed at government officials, known for
their insidiously
corrupting influence.
Government does not say it. But
it would seem to me that eligibility for
access to these life-saving drugs
is discretionary, which makes it open to
abuse. With corruption so endemic
in Zimbabwe, impropriety was always
inevitable in the distribution of the
wonder drugs. It is in the nature of
the beast.
Thus thousands of HIV and
AIDS sufferers are being denied access to the
ARVs. A heart-rending report
in The Standard this week said between 300 000
and 600 000 people are in
urgent need of the ARVs. And yet only an estimated
40 000 are accessing the
drugs in both the private and public sectors. It
would not be far-fetched to
say that the drugs are ending up in the hands of
the exceedingly wealthy who
do not need government assistance in accessing
the drugs in the first place.
I am talking here of influential politicians,
their kin and
cronies.
Admittedly, HIV and AIDS is not a problem of the rich, poor, black,
white or
those living a life of prostitution and ignominy. It cuts across a
wide
cross section of the community. Be that as it may, Zimbabwe needs to
pay
special attention to the most vulnerable group - those living under
horrifying poverty.
This group, within which HIV and AIDS is most
prevalent, lives below the
bread line and constitutes the majority of the
population. They live in
grinding poverty, miseries of unemployment and
nightmarish living
conditions, thanks to a battered economy that refuses to
shift out of low
gear.
It is this impoverished group which, despite
Zimbabwe's HIV and AIDS
awareness campaign, is still coming to terms with
the enormity of the
problem and are thus at high risk, that need government
assistance most
because they can hardly afford to buy the ARVs on their own.
The drugs are
horrendously expensive for these people which makes it a
matter. literally,
of life and death.
If this is so, how does it happen
that Zimbabwe, which has imposed a
pay-as-you-go AIDS levy on the country's
overburdened taxpayers calculated
at three percent of the equally heavy
pay-as-you-earn income tax,
dishonourably fails to cater for the ARVs needs
of its poor? How
irresponsible can a government be? How much does the
government collect
through the National AIDS Council from this levy per
year? Where is all the
money going? Why, in the interest of openness,
transparency and
accountability are there no audited accounts?
Of course
such openness has always been frowned upon and challenged by
entrenched
political and business elites, who are prickly about public
scrutiny. But
without audited accounts for the NAC, there is always fertile
ground for
corruption and the well-founded suspicion that the use of public
funds meant
to be channelled towards the fight against HIV and AIDS is
skewed in favour
of certain interests that have nothing to do with the
scourge of the
disease?
Such transparency is critical, not only because the barriers of
secrecy over
the use of public funds are chipped away but also because the
issue of
morality and efficiency will always arise. And what's more, without
transparency there would be no accountability. The faulty reasoning
displayed by one of the NAC officials as can be seen through his specious
and spurious argument that the NAC, through which the government collects
the AIDS levy, has nothing to do with the money it gives out for the
procurement of ARVs, is a case in point. So, why should such an issue of
legitimate public concern be kept under wraps?
Lest I am misunderstood.
The idea of an AIDS levy was a noble one. The devil
lies in the utilisation
of public funds so collected and the distribution of
essential drugs bought
using those funds. Hence the public outrage sparked
by the issue. Despite
the hue and cry it would seem though that government,
which has been
commended for its broader HIV and AIDS programmes, has taken
a cavalier
attitude to the problems of the non-availability of the
life-saving ARVs to
the poor.
This has tended to expose the good and the bad of the government's
HIV and
AIDS policies. All it means is that government is yet to realise
that the
success of its HIV and AIDS awareness campaign will not only be
measured in
terms of its ability to get across the education message but
also in making
available critical drugs that reduce deaths related to HIV
and AIDS, failure
of which, its effort might sink entirely.
Blaming Mhlauri for Malawi debacle senseless
EDITOR - I would
like to express my views concerning the recent attacks on
Warriors coach
Charles Mhlauri for the team's loss to the Flames of Malawi.
First, to blame
the coach especially him alone would be a travesty of
justice. People should
be factual, realistic and give a balanced analysis of
the results. It was
before our very eyes when the Warriors only trained as a
full squad on
Wednesday, a day before they travelled. It was also before our
very own eyes
when ZIFA sat back on their comfortable chairs, ignored the
FIFA slots for
international friendlies and hoped that things would sort
themselves out and
a win was inevitable.
What day-dreaming when our opponents were busy training
in Denmark. Besides
that, most of the guys we call professionals are based
in South Africa in a
league that many agree is far inferior to ours and to
add to that most of
them are not commanding first team jerseys at their
respective clubs.
Yet after all this and having all this in mind, someone
still has the
audacity to blame Mhlauri for the loss - what a misguided and
paralysed
analysis. How do you expect the coach to work out combinations and
identify
a team's weaknesses at such a short notice? How can a nation with a
serious
intention of qualifying for AFCON 2008 have such shameful
preparations and
expect miracles to happen on the field of
play?
Hopefully in future the gods at 53 Livingstone Avenue will wake up and
put
their house in order and start making sure that what has to be done is
done
in time.
Sufficient Kwashira
Harare
--------
Why is
Chombo still there?
EDITOR - The goverment must provide clean
water for everybody in the
country. The idea of increasing water rates is
absurd. Do you want people to
end up drinking dirty water?
It was
supposed to be Health for All by 2000, but as our water is not
managed
carefully, it will Health for All by 2020. The government must take
full
responsibilty for providing clean water to everybody regardless of
their
political affiliation.
I don't understand why Local Government Minister
Ignatius Chombo is still in
office because service delivery continues to
deteriorate under his
not-so-watchful eye.
This country carries out a
census on a regular basis, and obviously this is
done so that the government
can plan accordingly, and it is disgusting for
Chombo to say that the
problems in Harare were caused by a sudden influx of
people.
It just
shows that Chombo is incapable of doing his job and he is just in
office so
that he can feather his nest. I urge you, Mr Chombo to resign with
immediate
effect.
Jackson Moyo
Harare
--------
Mugabe statement was a
mockery of liberty
EDITOR - From Geoff Nyarota's column
(Saying of the Week: "We cannot have a
situation where people decide to sit
in places not allowed and when the
police remove them, they say no. We can't
have that, that is a revolt to the
system. Vamwe vaakuchema kuti takarohwa,
ehe unodashurwa. (Now some of them
are crying, saying they were beaten up.
Yes, you will be severely
assaulted.) When the police say move, move. If you
don't move, you invite
the police to use force." - President Mugabe
commenting on the vicious
assault of ZCTU leaders and MDC officials by the
police on Wednesday,
September 13.
He was addressing embassy staff in
Cairo en route from Havana and New York
to Harare. (The Herald).
While
indeed, no one wants to compare the former Rhodesia to modern times
for fear
of retarding progress, one must laugh at the irony when the leader
of the
"liberated Zimbabwe" makes such a mockery of what liberty is.
How can the
leader of a country support police brutality, after he came in
power with
the promise of freedom never seen under white rule? Justice will
prevail.
Political Engineer
Germany
------------
Attacks on
Mubhawu unjustified
EDITOR - The current onslaught by the public
media and women's organisations
on MDC Mabvuku legislator Timothy Mubhawu
can not go unchallenged. The
attacks are not only sensational but
personal.
I strongly feel that what Mubhawu said is not criminal as these
organisations would want to hoodwink the nation to believe. The
Parliamentary Privileges and Immunities Act allows legislators to freely
express themselves in the august House. That is what parliamentary democracy
entails. To say the Domestic Violence Bill is diabolical and should not be
passed does not mean the Mabvuku legislator does not respect women, hates
them or condones their rape, murder or abuse.
It does not necessarily
take a Domestic Violence Bill to stop the murder and
rape of women for
example, as these can still be dealt with under the
country's criminal laws.
By making this point I am not implying that women,
girls and children should
be raped, murdered or abused but it is my view
that government is using
these women's organisations to gain political
mileage.
Am I the only
person who is seeing this unholy alliance between women's
organisations on
one hand and government and the official media on the
other? Why does
government allow demonstrations that are not critical of its
mismanagement
to take place while it criminalises those by the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) and Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) that
protest against
skyrocketing prices of goods and services? I give an example
of WOZA which
usually demonstate against school fees increases and the
increase of bread
price. Are these demonstrations not equally important and
if so why then
does government support one demonstration and criminalises
the other? Is
Woza not standing for women's rights and are these women's
organisation more
women than other women? Do they really stand for women who
are butchered at
homes?
Organisations like Zimbabwe Women Lawyers' Association should wake up
and
smell the coffee. Can they please tell us when they will demonstrate
against
women who were raped and maimed during the run-up to the 2000 and
2002
elections? Can they please tell me if The Herald will publish their
statement if they write to the paper condemning increases in school fees
that are causing hundreds of children including the girl child to drop out
of school? Neither will the official media carry their statement condemning
governnment for economic mismanagent that has spawned massive power cuts,
water shortages among others that are affecting women more.
These women's
organisations are just self-serving and are being used by
governmnet for
political gain. They are missing the bigger picture.
Government is actually
using this Domestic Violence Bill to divide civic
society and turn women's
organisations against the MDC.
I stand by my words: What the Mabvuku MP said
in Parliament is not criminal.
He was merely expressing his opinion. Women's
organisations should leave him
alone because with or without him ZANU PF
will still pass the Domstic
Violence Bill to appease women ahead of the 2008
or is it 2010 presidential
elections.
Edson
Madondo
Harare
------------
Why are you not in
Zimbabwe?
EDITOR - I have read the article by "Very Zimbabwean " in
the UK. I am still
worried why you wrote this letter when you are in the
diaspora.Why have you
failed to be more exemplary by remaining in Zimbabwe
enjoying the fruits of
our independence?
It is a mockery for someone
to suggest that Zimbabwe is going to be on its
feet sometime soon when
history has taught us that this is all fiction when
it comes to most African
nations. I may sound very crazy but the truth hurts
for those who understand
what I am talking about in this context.
Making a comparison of Zimbabwe and
Rhodesia, you can see a vast difference
and I believe that the Robert Mugabe
regime will never be as organised as
the Smith regime.
The Zimbabwean
senate/parliament/ house of assembly or whatever you may call
it has failed
to come up with sensible solutions for the problems our
country is facing.
The whole bunch of government officials have failed to
clearly accept their
failures in as far as our economy is concerned.
I want to take you back to
the 1965 UDI of Ian Smith. Instead of the economy
suffering drastic
recession after the event, it was the other way round.
Sanctions could not
bring down the economy. Can this government do the same?
If the ZANU PF
government has failed to do the same in seven years how can
someone stand up
and say that there is sunlight shining over Zimbabwe when
we cannot see
it?
In Rhodesia it was an issue to leave sewage spilling all over, it was an
issue to leave robbers operating in broad daylight like what is happening
now in Harare, it was an issue for an MP to be involved in clandestine
dealings.
Counting all the positives achieved by the Rhodesian government
at the time,
they are just too many compared to what we are getting from our
own elected
leaders. We may kill each other over who did what during the war
but what we
need to know is that no one on his own fought for this freedom.
We all did
by supporting each other. It was not ZANU PF but it was ZANU PF,
ZAPU, ZANU
Ndonga, and including the general public who fought the
war.
If we agree on the above fact that we worked together for our freedom,
why
can't we give each other a chance to get our country back to
normal?
I do not condone Smith's cruelty but how can a black President boast
about
the beating up of people who are expressing a sensible view concerning
those
suffering from HIV? The same people were protesting the failure by
their own
ministers to run our national institutions properly.
How many
commissions set up by the ZANU PF government have actually achieved
anything? Little if not anything.
So why is someone crying nonsense that
a comparison of Zimbabwe with
Rhodesia is bad? Because that person is
thinking prematurely.
Ladies and gentle I repeat, if Zimbabwe was as good as
we wanted it to be we
were not going to compare it with
Rhodesia.
Lost hope in ZANU PF
UK