FinGaz
Chris Muronzi Staff
Reporter
Minister sucked into yet another scandal
POLICE are investigating
possible fraud surrounding the purchase by the
Zimbabwe United Passenger
Company (Zupco) of a top of the range vehicle for
Local Government Minister
Ignatius Chombo at a cost of US$77 000.
Investigations by The Financial
Gazette have revealed how Chombo is said to
have ordered Zupco to pay for
the purchase of a SUV, a top of the range
Toyota Landcruiser 100 Sahara V8,
for his personal use.
Documents and correspondence in our possession, backed
by copies of cheques
made out to CBZ Bank by Zupco, show how Chombo, whose
ministry oversees the
operations of the parastatal, ordered acting Zupco
chief executive officer,
Godfrey Mawarura to authorise the issuing of a
cheque for close to $7.2
billion (old currency).
On January 6 this year
Zupco issued a cheque for $7.175 billion, a copy of
which has been obtained
by this paper, payable to CBZ treasury. It was
signed by Zupco finance
director Gwinyai Chikowore.
Although correspondence a month later says this
payment was "an advance to
the ministry", other evidence gathered from
various sources indicates that
the amount was in fact, in payment for the
purchase of US$77 000 from the
bank, at the ruling exchange rate at the
time, which was the quoted price of
the vehicle.
Motor City Toyota, a
Harare car dealer, had won the tender to supply the
vehicle but, according
to sources, Chombo insisted that he could not wait
the three months it would
take to receive the car. He therefore identified
another city car dealer,
Motor Centre, owned by businessman Ajit Patel,
which quoted US$55 000 as the
price of the vehicle.
The ongoing police investigations focus on why payment
for the vehicle was
not adjusted accordingly when Motor Centre quoted a
lower price. The
ministry insists that the vehicle was acquired for US$77
000, when it only
cost US$55 000.
"We want to know why the extra US$22
000 was paid, and who was paid," one
source said.
The Financial Gazette's
police sources say CID detectives have questioned
Patel in connection with
the sale of the vehicle. Patel's son, who
identified himself only as Hemel
when this paper visited the dealership last
week, declined to comment on the
matter.
Investigators are also concerned that Chombo may not have followed
laid down
procedures for such procurement by government ministries. Chombo
was
actively involved in identifying the vehicle and payment for its
purchase, a
task that should be left to the State Procurement Board
(SPB).
Police have also come into possession of a letter from Chikowore,
dated
February 13, to the Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Local
Government,
Public Works, and Urban Development, in which the Zupco finance
director
acknowledges reimbursement of the "advance", but demands interest
of $90
million from the ministry. According to Chikowore's letter, which was
copied
to Mawarura, the ministry would pay a meagre interest of 18 percent
per
month.
"We acknowledge with thanks the cheque for ZW$7 175 160.18
which was
advanced by Zupco to the Ministry. As per our agreement, the
advance carried
interest calculated at a rate of 18 percent. Unfortunately
the interest
portion still remains outstanding," said Chikowore.
Police
say it is irregular for a parastatal to advance any such amounts to
its
parent ministry, and suspect this refers to the US$77 000 paid for the
car.
It is also not clear why Chombo would have sought the funds from
Zupco just
a month after his ministry had been allocated its annual
budget.
Two weeks ago, Chombo confirmed a visit by police to his offices, but
said
he was unaware of the purpose of their visit. He could not be reached
for
comment this week.
The new allegations swirling around Chombo add
another chapter to a string
of scandals that have hit Zupco in recent
months.
On Monday, acting Zupco chairperson, Chipo Dyanda, was arrested and
charged
with corruption after The Financial Gazette reported in June how she
had
authorised the payment by Zupco of $8 billion in the old currency to
meet
the legal fees of jailed former board chairman Charles
Nherera.
Chombo took the stand in the Nherera trial, during which the
presiding
magistrate expressed doubt over the credibility of his testimony
and asked
police to deepen investigations into the bribery scandal, which
was exposed
by this paper last year.
Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena
has denied knowledge of the latest
investigations. Mawarura refused to
comment on the matter while Chikowore
was said to be in a meeting.
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube
Wrath of
'law' descends on ZCTU as...
ZANU PF intends to use its two-thirds
Parliamentary majority to effect a
"regime change" at the influential
Zimbabwe of Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU), which plans to intensify its
protests against the government.
Information obtained by The Financial
Gazette indicates that ZANU PF
Mashonaland West MPs Leo Mugabe and Daniel
Mackenzie Ncube, have jointly
given notice of their intention to move a
motion in Parliament calling for
changes to the ZCTU leadership, on the
pretext of the findings of a
government appointed investigator that alleged
fraud at the umbrella labour
body.
The report alleges that there were
financial irregularities in the affairs
of the ZCTU, especially pertaining
to its foreign currency dealings, charges
which resulted in Secretary
General Wellington Chibhebhe and other senior
ZCTU officials being taken to
court.
Mugabe and Ncube, legislators for Makonde and Kariba respectively, now
plan
to call upon Nicholas Goche, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and
Social Welfare, to evoke section 120, subsections 3 (b) ii of the relevant
act to facilitate the appointment of new leadership at the ZCTU.
Under
that section of the Labour Act, Goche is entitled to dismiss
representatives
of a labour union found guilty in a court of law of misusing
union
funds.
The two legislators had planned to move the motion last week, but
could not
do so after Parliament adjourned until October 31.
The two
legislators claim to be "shocked" at what they say is the ZCTU's
"unconstitutional" salary payments to its president, Lovemore Matombo, and
want the house to "condemn the ZCTU leadership for unethical business
practices with vital business services and the non-remittance of Pay as You
Earn for its employees," according to documents seen by The Financial
Gazette.
"The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)
should
bring to book all the people involved," Mugabe and Ncube say.
They
also want ZCTU trustees sacked by the union to be reinstated with
immediately.
"The new look ZCTU should concentrate on its core business
of representing
the workers rather than stayawys that have failed to address
bread and
butter issues in this country; and the new look ZCTU should play
their part
in the National Economic Development Priority Programme (NEDPP)
in order to
turn around the
economy," says the legislators'
motion.
The ZCTU has reacted angrily to the planned motion. Mlamuleli
Sibanda, the
ZCTU spokesman, said after the government had failed in its
previous
attempts to crush the labour body, it was now asking Parliament to
act on
issues that were still to be decided by the courts.
"After
realising that the report produced by the government-appointed
investigator
into allegations of misadministration does not hold water, it
now turns to
Parliament to crush the trade union," said Sibanda. "While the
ZCTU has
nothing to hide, it is perturbed at how Parliament could stoop so
low as to
debate an issue that is before the courts. We believe this is sub
judice,
and an attempt by the government to continue tarnishing the image of
the
ZCTU. What will happen if the ZCTU is cleared on the allegations?"
FinGaz
Zhean Gwaze Staff Reporter
THE government has increased the
allowances of civil servants by 400 percent
amid indications that government
workers will be awarded salary increments
proper at year-end.
But
analysts fear that the increments could further inflate the government's
wage bill, impacting negatively on the cash-strapped treasury's total
expenditure and affect its ability to meet other pressing
commitments.
The government's soaring wage bill has been blamed for
Zimbabwe's runaway
inflation, which rose to 1 023,3 percent in
September.
Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa recently said employment costs in
the
public service during the first eight months of the year amounted to
$56,5
billion, against targeted wage expenditure of $28,4
billion.
However, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), has
dismissed
the new allowances, describing them as paltry.
The 123 000
teachers employed by the government constitute 70 percent of the
country's
civil service.
Housing allowances for teachers rose to $16 000 from $4 000,
while transport
allowances are now set at $32 000 from $5 000. The new
allowances are higher
than civil servants' salaries. The minimum civil
service salary is $23 000
while the maximum stands at $39 000.
The
increases followed a recent announcement by President Robert Mugabe at a
Gweru rally that civil servants would get new allowances and that Finance
Minister Herbert Murerwa would cater for salary increments in the 2007
budget, expected to be announced next month.
PTUZ president Raymond
Majongwe said the latest development demonstrates to
the world that that
there is no negotiating forum for civil servants but
that salaries are
determined by President Mugabe and Murerwa.
He however said teachers had
written to the government demanding a basic
salary of no less than $280 000,
housing allowances of $80 000 and $50 000
for transport. He said these
figures would only cover the first three months
of next year due to
inflation.
"Ultimately what the President should see is that these moneys are
anomalous. We believe teachers must continue putting pressure, and it's only
through the streets that we can win our freedom. If we do not get it,
schools might not open in January next year," he said.
Teachers' and
civil servants' representatives normally negotiate for wage
increases
through the Joint Negotiating Council and had forwarded proposals
for wages
above the Poverty Datum line, pegged at nearly $140 000 by the
Central
Statistical Office (CSO).
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Chief Political
Reporter
THE Public Service Commission (PSC) has suspended members of an
audit team
that compiled a damning report detailing how Higher Education
Permanent
Secretary Washington Mbizvo allocated himself seven government
cars,
including one his wife's private use.
In what ministry
officials suspect to be an attempted cover-up, the PSC has
accused the chief
internal auditor, Moses Mupondiri, and two other members
of the team,
Richard Muduwa and Paul Manyuwa, of fabricating allegations
against Mbizvo,
a charge the auditors have vehemently denied.
The audit team's report,
released last October, also contained evidence of
ghost workers on the
ministry's payroll.
The team uncovered the unauthorized procurement of
vehicles.
But the PSC permanent secretary C Chigwamba, wrote to Mpondiri,
Muduwa and
Manyuwa on September 14 suspending them until 14
December.
"The reasons for your suspension are that your continued attendance
at work
or continued performance of duties might be conducive to further
instances
of misconduct and seriously impair the proper administration of
the
ministry," Chigwamba said.
And in a separate letter extending
Mupondiri's suspension, Chigwamba said
the chief internal auditor had a case
to answer as his team had "shown
disrespect and contempt to the person of
the Secretary of Higher and
Tertiary Education."
The PSC also accuses the
audit team of leaking details of the alleged scam
to The Financial
Gazette.
"(You) violated the Official Secrets Act when you disclosed
classified or
confidential information relating to Ministry issues.
An
article in The Financial Gazette edition of 27 October 2005-2 November
2005
quoted you as
the source of information pertaining to vehicle procurement in
the ministry.
"You made a false report and accusations against the head of
the ministry in
your special audit investigation report dated 6 October 2005
that he
employed relatives as ghost workers in NETFUND without the
Commission's
authority. Together with Mr Manyuwa, you falsely accused the
head of the
Ministry of allocating a government vehicle to his spouse and
that the Head
of the Ministry appropriated for himself seven vehicles. You
also accused
the Head of the Ministry of instructing the Transport Officer,
Mr Mudzamiri
to repair vehicle GHTE 20 at a private garage."
The
Financial Gazette's revelations on the scandal prompted the Central
Investigations Department (CID) to open a probe into the financial affairs
of the ministry.
Stung by the probe, Mbizvo took out full-page
advertisements in the
government controlled newspapers, flatly denying the
allegations.
But this week, the internal auditor and his team hit back,
accusing the PSC
of trying to suppress their probe into graft at the
ministry.
"It is appalling and disgusting of you to consider audit
findings/observations as allegations," said Mupondiri. "At the time of the
audit, the Head of the Ministry had seven vehicles. At the time we carried
out the audit, Mapasure P, a ghost worker, was driving for the permanent
secretary. Whether the Head of the Ministry later took away the 820-170N
from his wife and started to park it at the Government Complex, that is a
corrective measure which is working in favour of the efficiency of the Audit
department.
"Whether the Head of Ministry later gave the other five
vehicles to other
departments and individuals, that is corrective action,
which should be
understood to mean that the Audit really observed the truth.
Whether the
ghost workers were made to disappear from the ministry, that is
not
important but that at the time of the audit there were more than six
ghost
workers at the ministry."
Manyumwa said the team had confirmed that
the car used by Mbizvo's wife was
indeed "always parked Metropolitan Bank",
her place of work.
And according to Muduwa, a vehicle master register had
confirmed that Mbizvo
had been in possession of seven vehicles at the time
of the probe.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda Senior Business
Reporter
VICE President Joice Mujuru wined and dined over 100
businesspeople at her
Chisipite home last week, in what was seen by her
guests as an attempt to
calm tempers after a government crackdown on
business.
The Financial Gazette understands that Mujuru personally
invited the
businesspeople - together with their spouses - to a banquet at
her home last
Saturday, where only one minister, Science and Technology
Minister Olivia
Muchena, turned up.
A source described the meeting as
"informal".
At the "top table", the sources said, were the Vice President,
her husband,
Solomon, and her family.
Said a guest: "Just anybody and
everybody in business was there; that is
business across the board. We saw
people we have not seen in years. People
were quite surprised and said we
should do this more often."
is logical to deal with her (Mujuru)," the source
added.
Mujuru is the chairperson of the National Economic Revival Council
(NERC),
which monitors and coordinates the National Economic Development
Priority
Programme (NEDPP), a public-private sector partnership aimed at
reviving
Zimbabwe's fatigued economy.
But despite the assurances from
Mujuru, which were the second inside two
months, the clampdown on businesses
still continued only days after Mujuru's
pledge, with a new crackdown on
Bulawayo businesses.
Arrests and harassment of businesspeople, for long under
the protection of
the ruling party because of some of them funding Zanu PF,
have become
routine in Zimbabwe in recent months. Industrialists warn that
the latest
onslaught on businesses could dampen optimism in the
NEDPP.
"It is very unfortunate that they (government) are pursuing a wrong
agenda.
The relationship and trust that has been created since the inception
of the
NEDPP is now being undermined," said an industrialist who refused to
be
named saying he is not authorised to speak on behalf of
industry.
No speeches were read, but Mujuru (Joice) is said to have
stressed that it
was crucial to meet business regularly.
"She said we
were just getting to know each other and let us reduce tension.
People were
very happy as there was no agenda," said another source.
One leading
industrialist who attended the meeting said the tormented
business community
had unanimously agreed to engage Mujuru as she appeared
open to industry's
concerns.
"We just have to deal with people who influence events. It [item
ends here -
ed.]
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Chief Political
Reporter
THE ruling ZANU PF and the main camp of the opposition Movement
for
Democratic Change (MDC) square up in the Kadoma mayoral elections and 59
district council polls on Saturday, amid charges that the police have denied
the opposition permission to hold a single rally in the Mashonaland West
town.
A total of 322 MDC rallies have either been cancelled or
disrupted, the
opposition claimed. The MDC yesterday accused police of
complicity in the
cancellation of the rallies, especially in Kadoma where
incumbent mayor Fani
Phiri of ZANU PF faces a stiff challenge from Jonas
Ndenda of the MDC.
Although ZANU PF national political commissioner Elliot
Manyika said voters
were free to vote for candidates of their choice in both
the Kadoma mayoral
poll and district council elections being held
concurrently, Nelson Chamisa,
the MDC spokesman, alleged that his party's
supporters were being subjected
to violence by ZANU PF militias.
Chamisa
said the MDC had been denied permission by the police and the Kadoma
Town
Council to hold campaign rallies or meetings in the past weeks.
Twenty-five
MDC supporters were arrested this week for putting up campaign
posters.
"We have not been allowed to hold even house meetings. Police
cancelled
twelve meetings which were intended to be house meetings while the
town
council has refused us permission to use their public halls and
grounds,"
charged Chamisa. "We suspect that ZANU PF wants resettled people
in Nyimo
resettlement area on the outskirts of Kadoma to vote because their
candidate
is not campaigning in town but in these resettlement
areas."
Manyika told a press conference in Harare that the ruling party had
done its
homework and was not bothered by allegations of violence by the
opposition.
Tsvangirai has spent the past two weeks drumming up support for
his party in
the rural areas together with other national executive members.
"The regime
burnt down the homes of our candidates in Buhera, Mutoko, Mudzi
and Gokwe.
It has denied food to people suspected to be sympathetic to the
MDC cause
and hounded out of their homes hundreds of our supports in and
around the
country."
National police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena, could
not immediately comment
on the alleged police complicity in the cancellation
of MDC rallies.
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Chief Political Reporter
2
'O' Levels and you're ready to march
THE Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA),
hard-hit by desertions mainly by privates
due to poor salaries, has embarked
on a massive recruitment drive in which
it is now reportedly accepting
school-leavers with only two ordinary level
passes.
Although army
spokesman Simon Tsatsi stressed yesterday the entrance
requirements had not
been adjusted, he said the army would be "flexible
enough" according to the
"circumstances of the time".
Sources said that about 1 500 recruits had gone
AWOL ( absent without
official leave) in the past 10 months, and military
police had worked flat
out to try to trace the renegades, most of whom are
reported to have fled to
Botswana and South Africa.
The Financial Gazette
understands that the army recruitment exercise started
two weeks ago in
Matabeleland, with two teams from One Brigade in Bulawayo
undertaking a
recruitment drive in Tsholotsho, Insiza, Hwange, Nkayi,
Lupane, Binga in
Matabeleland North and Beitbridge, Beitbridge, Gwanda,
Matobo, Mbalabala and
Plumtree in Matabeleland South.
The selection teams, according to sources,
accepted youths with a minimum
two O-Levels, minimum weight of 60 kg,
minimum height of 1.6 metres and aged
between 18 and 24 years. "National
youth service graduates will also be
considered," reads part of an army
in-house advertisement.
Tsatsi confirmed that a massive recruitment exercise
was currently underway,
but denied that the army's recruitment policy had
changed to accommodate
cadets with minimal secondary education.
"The Army
recruitment policy has not changed. The army still adheres to the
basic
entry requirements of five Ordinary level subjects. However, the Army
reserves the right to be flexible enough so as to be able to change its
recruitment policy requirements as it sees fit. This is primarily determined
by the circumstances of the time," said Tsatsi.
The ZNA spokesperson said
the recruitment exercise, which sources said had
also been necessitated by
the impending retirement of almost a quarter of
soldiers nearing the
retirement age of 55 next year, was routine to fill the
resulting vacancies
as well as those created by deaths and natural wastage.
He did not give
target figures although sources place the number of new
recruits to be
enlisted into the army at 3500.
"The deserters constitute a very
insignificant number to warrant any serious
concern by the organization," he
said, dismissing as an exaggeration the
figure of 1 500 soldiers that are
said to have absconded.
FinGaz
Charles Rukuni Bureau
Chief
Ex-ZANU PF strongman Nkala rails at Zimbabweans
BULAWAYO -
Zimbabweans are "useless people" who have allowed ZANU PF to ruin
the
country, says former ZANU PF strongman Enos Nkala.
And he claims the
country has been surrendered to a secret Zezuru clique.
Speaking to reporters
at his Bulawayo home on Tuesday, an evidently bitter
Nkala said: "Zimbabwe
is full of useless people. They have allowed Mugabe to
lie to them and
humiliate them. He has been humiliating our women and
children. He has
humiliated trade unionists and ululated about this. For God's
sake, the
people of this country are cowards."
But when it comes to respect for human
rights, Nkala himself is not a saint
either. According to "Breaking the
Silence", a report that chronicles the
disturbances in Matabeleland in the
1980s, Nkala's inflammatory remarks at a
rally in November 1980 helped spark
the Entumbane disturbances of 1980-81
that saw scores of civilians in the
Bulawayo suburb killed.
When he was appointed Home Affairs Minister, Nkala
used the police as his
own "personal agency". At one point he threatened to
wipe out the ZAPU
leadership, telling the nation: "We want to wipe out the
ZAPU leadership.
You've only seen the warning lights. We haven't reached
full blast . . . the
murderous organisation and its murderous leadership
must be hit so hard that
it doesn't feel obliged to do the things it has
been doing."
He even made remarks to ZAPU supporters that showed he believed
in what he
today accuses President Mugabe of doing: "ZANU PF rules this
country and
anyone who disputes that is a dissident and should be dealt
with." But Nkala
says he is ready to face any challenge.
Portraying
himself as a hero, Nkala said he was prepared to "stand alone
against
Mugabe."
"I am calling on Mugabe to go, and go quickly. He should go now
before the
situation consumes him. We have to resurrect this country. We
have to
reconstruct this country, but without Mugabe."
Nkala said he was
speaking out because he was not a coward. It was time
someone, especially
someone with liberation credentials such as his, spoke
up against
President's Mugabe's misrule, he said.
"There is a saying that cowards die
many times before their death. I am not
a coward. It is my considered view
that I should stand up and be counted
among those who are opposed to this
ruthless dictatorship," he said.
Continued Nkala: "Time has come for the
people of Zimbabwe to stand up and
be counted in opposition to this ruthless
tyranny. I am prepared to stand
alone against Mugabe but if there are others
who want to join me, let them
come." He declined to elaborate under what
platform he would operate.
Nkala went on to echo recent remarks by Vice
President Joseph Msika, in
which no names were mentioned, that the history
of the liberation struggle
had been distorted.
"President Mugabe talks,
imagines and believes that he and he alone brought
about the freedom of
Zimbabwe. He believes that some of us were sleeping at
home with our wives
while he was fighting. This nonsense must come to an
end. In terms of entry
into politics, he is a baby and I challenge him to
deny this," Nkala
said.
Nkala served separately as Finance, Defence and Home Affairs minister.
He
was sacked from government in 1989 after being implicated in the
Willowvale
car scandal in which senior government officials used their
positions to
obtain discounted vehicles and sell them at inflated
prices.
Nkala, however, said the source of his bitterness was not his
sacking; he
was bitter about the economic decline and what he termed
President Mugabe's
"Group of 26" that was destroying the country.
"I am
bitter because I am hungry. There is no mealie meal in Bulawayo as we
speak.
I am bitter because there is no fuel. I am bitter because I have no
electricity," he said.
Nkala said President Mugabe had gone astray when
he started enlarging his
government to accommodate his cronies, especially
from his Zezuru group. He
claimed that Zimbabwe had recorded its highest
economic growth during the
time he was Finance Minister, but that he had
disagreed with then Prime
Minister Mugabe over his move to enlarge his
cabinet.
Nkala said President Mugabe had run down the country because he did
not
listen to his cabinet colleagues but to an inner cabinet called the
Group of
26, which was composed of people from the President's Zezuru
clan.
"This group reports directly to Robert Mugabe. It includes Zezuru
judges,
senior Zezuru army officers and some senior Zezuru CIO. It is the
policy-making body. It recommends the dismissal of ministers and appointment
of ministers who are amenable to Mugabe remaining in power. I am prepared to
elaborate on this and defend my position should someone challenge this,"
Nkala said.
"I spent the prime of my life fighting against Ian Smith's
regime and we
emerged victorious. I am now ready to face Mugabe. He is a
very eloquent
speaker, but I don't think he is brave." Nkala said because of
his eloquence
President Mugabe had managed to lie to Zimbabweans and the
international
community that Zimbabweans were suffering because of
sanctions.
"This is a lie. The sanctions are against Mugabe and his
bootlickers. It
prevents them from travelling to Europe. If the economy has
suffered because
of these sanctions, is he the economy? Is he and his
bootlickers the
economy?"
Asked how he would do this, Nkala said a
warrior does not disclose all his
weapons to his enemy. And as a parting
shot he quipped: "You don't provoke a
great man before you are ready to
fight."
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube and
Nkululeko Sibanda
ZANU PF national chairman John Nkomo has deplored
comments on the
Gukurahundi massacres attributed to ZANU PF spokesman Nathan
Shamuyarira,
amid indications that the controversial remarks have opened old
wounds and
sparked outrage within party structures in
Matabeleland.
Shamuyarira was quoted in a press report about three weeks
ago as saying the
actions of the North Korea-trained Five Brigade that
massacred thousands of
civilians in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces
during political
disturbances in the 1980s were "not regrettable as they
(the Brigade) were
doing a job to protect the people."
"It was because
the dissidents were killing people that Gukurahundi went to
correct the
situation and protect the people," a weekly newspaper quoted the
ruling
party's information and publicity chief as saying.
"We killed vana Gwesela in
my own province in Mashonaland West, in Sanyati.
We killed him because he
played havoc. In Matabeleland, they killed the
Shona-speaking teachers; it's
not true to say the Ndebeles were the only
victims. Europeans in Mat South
fled their farms and went to hide in the
city."
Shamuyarira appears to
have underestimated the gravity of his comments. In
the latest issue of the
ZANU PF mouthpiece, The Voice, Nkomo launched a
thinly veiled attack on what
he describes as "professional purveyors of
politics of division and
disunity."
Writing in his column, From the Chairman's Desk, Nkomo appears to
blast the
remarks attributed to Shamuyarira, calling them reckless
utterances meant to
promote questionable agendas.
"It has become apparent
that some within our ranks have become professional
purveyors of the
politics of division and disunity. Going by reckless
utterances attributed
to them in the media, one wonders what their intrinsic
agenda is."
Nkomo
describes the remarks as "blanket unsavoury statements targeting
specific
ethnic groups," saying what was questionable was the intent of the
"hate
speeches".
"This phenomenon (of hate speech) is not confined to individuals
alone but
seems to be slowly permeating our body politic and our everyday
discourse.
Of late we have witnessed arrogant and insulting remarks
targeting a whole
ethnic group. We wait to see what action, if any, will be
taken against
these political miscreants," says Nkomo. "Let it be made clear
that we are
all Zimbabweans and those who think they are more equal than
others are
digging graves with their own teeth."
Nkomo was not available
for further comment yesterday.
But ruling party insiders told The Financial
Gazette that the ZANU PF
provinces of Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South
were sending a protest
letter to Nkomo, which they want considered for
possible discussion at the
next politburo meeting on Wednesday.
"We are
greatly disturbed by such utterances," said a politburo member,
speaking on
condition he was not named. "Provincial chairpersons in the
region are
coordinating a complaint to the national chairman but we believe
it should
not be Matabeleland alone but the whole country."
Other senior party
officials in the region said it was disappointing that
while party officials
in Matabeleland had worked overtime to regain ground
ZANU PF had lost to the
main opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), Shamuyarira was
"throwing spanners in the works."
The MDC made a clean sweep of parliamentary
seats in up to 90 percent of
Matabeleland - including Bulawayo - in the 2000
general election, but the
ruling party has been steadily making in-roads
into the MDC's strongholds,
winning a number of wards in the recent Bulawayo
council polls.
Sources say ZANU PF officials and supporters in Matabeleland
have approached
Nkomo over Shamuyarira's remarks, demanding that the ruling
party come out
with an official position on the atrocities, which human
rights groups say
left up to 20 000 civilians dead.
"The comments were
made in the same week that Shamuyarira said the next
presidential elections
would be held concurrently with the parliamentary
elections in 2010. He
denied this in our last politburo meeting, but not his
remarks on
Gukurahundi. So it means he stands by his words. So we want him
to come
clear and clean hence the letter to Nkomo," added a politburo
member.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda and Zhean
Gwaze
STATE Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, who is in charge of
resettlement,
has ruled out giving back any land to former commercial white
farmers, in
remarks that sharply contradicted the pronouncements of a fellow
minister
and plunged the government's already chaotic land reform programme
into even
murkier waters.
Mutasa this week told The Financial Gazette
that the government will not
allocate farms to dispossessed white farmers,
200 of whom had submitted
applications to be allocated land.
"We are
taking land from white people, and then the same white people are
applying
for land. So which land are they applying for?"
Mutasa's utterances are at
variance with those made recently by his
subordinate, Flora Buka, the
Minister of State for Special Affairs
Responsible for Land, Land Reform and
Resettlement, who a fortnight ago told
an agricultural conference in South
Africa that the government was
considering allocating land to former white
farmers.
"As regards white commercial farmers, there are some who have
indicated that
they would want to continue farming," Buka said. "Their
applications are
being considered. If they are willing to stay, that is also
going to be
considered. Also, the amount of land they have is also going to
be
considered."
Mutasa's declarations are also inconsistent with the
recent actions of his
own ministry, which earlier this year invited white
farmers to apply for
offer letters.
The Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU),
which represents the interests of
mainly Zimbabwe's white commercial
farmers, said between 900 and 1 000
farmers have applied for A2 farms since
government embarked on the "fast
track" land reform programme in
2000.
Prospects for white farmers' return to the land looked even bleaker
last
week as farmer groups reported that ZANU PF loyalists had forced more
than
100 farmers to cancel their harvesting and cropping, with the start of
the
summer planting season looming.
The CFU said the government was aware
of the situation on the ground as the
union constantly engaged the
authorities to map out a way forward and
restore sanity to the sector, once
the economy's backbone.
"We are constantly in negotiations with all
stakeholders and we are in the
process of developing a recovery programme.
We have also engaged the
international community of which some are willing
to pledge support if the
situation calms down," a CFU official said.
If
passed, a pending Land Bill, which is still before the senate, could see
most of the white farmers facing criminal charges punishable either by a
fine, a custodial sentence of up to two years or both.
Zimbabwe defends
the land seizures as necessary to correct a historical
imbalance that
reserved the best land for whites while cramping blacks on
poor, sandy
soils. But critics blame a large part of the severe food
shortages seen over
the past six years on the chaotic manner of the
government's land
redistribution exercise.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda
Senior Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE'S manufacturers are still choking under
an unprecedented economic
crisis despite the launch six months ago of a
grand economic plan, the
National Economic Development Priority Programme
(NEDPP) to kick-start the
country's battered economy.
Although the
government has set up a number of rescue funds such as the
Small to Medium
Enterprises Revolving Fund and the Distressed Companies Fund
aimed at
reviving closed firms and support troubled companies with cheap
loans,
manufacturers told The Financial Gazette this week that enterprises
are
still labouring under rising production costs which are compelling them
to
downsize operations and at times put production on hold.
Both Marah
Hativagone, the president of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of
Commerce
(ZNCC) and Callisto Jokonya, the president of the Confederation of
Zimbabwe
Industries (CZI) blamed Zimbabwe's runaway inflation, which at 1
023.3
percent is the highest in the world, and a host of other tribulations
ranging from critical shortages of foreign currency, intermittent power
outages to the high cost of borrowing funds from banks.
"Many companies
are terribly affected. The situation is not too good," said
Hativagone, who
also heads CodChem, a beverages concentrates manufacturer
which has
operations in the southern African region.
Hativagone said the small to
medium enterprises were the worst affected by
the seven-year-old crisis as
rescue funds promised by the government have
not been released.
"The
economic situation is volatile and SMEs are most affected. They have no
one
to lean on. I have not heard of SMEs getting money. We don't understand
why
the government doesn't want to release the money. It sounds like paying
lip
service."
The RBZ in September unveiled a $16 billion revolving fund that it
said
would be accessed by SMEs operating at growth points and rural and
urban
areas at concessionary interest rates of 70 percent per annum.
The
ZNCC boss said bigger enterprises have had to suspend crucial projects
because of the high cost of borrowing money.
"Even though they have not
closed down they are shelving projects especially
those with imported
inputs."
Jokonya, who heads Imperial Refrigeration and whose organisation
represents
the larger industrialists, said though the CZI is still
collecting data on
the status of manufacturers, most companies are being
weighed down by hard
currency and power shortages.
"We are on a downward
trend. Things are not picking up yet and there are
still challenges. The
question of foreign currency is a key challenge and
there is a downward
trend because of power, fuel and foreign currency
shortages," said
Jokonya.
As a result, Jokonya said, most manufacturers who have had to source
fuel
and foreign currency on the black market where dealers and traders are
charging exorbitant prices are downsizing operations. Dealers are quoting
the US dollar for over $1 500 on the parallel market while a litre of diesel
and petrol costs $2 000.
"Production has come down and we are eating into
reserves so the balance
sheets have come down," Jokonya said.
The NEDPP
was launched in April as the panacea to Harare's seven-year-old
economic
crisis. But manufacturers say they are yet to derive benefits from
the
programme.
Industrialists also blame the prevailing high interest rates for
pushing up
the cost of doing business in the country and inhibiting most
companies from
borrowing to fund operations.
Zimbabwe is grappling with
serious energy constraints caused by the drying
up of foreign currency to
import electricity and buy fuel.
Recently, Mutare-based timber producer
Border Timbers Limited (BTL) has
retrenched more than 100 workers due to
diminishing timber supplies
following the torching of its timber plantations
by supporters loyal to the
ruling ZANU PF party. At the same time
construction giant Murray&Roberts has
already closed four of its
branches owing to a reduced order book.
Although the CZI did not report on
the number of companies that shut down in
2005, it instead said Zimbabwe's
manufacturing sector had lost 42 percent of
its labour force in the last two
years as companies closed down or
downscaled operations due to the sustained
economic meltdown.
In its State of the Manufacturing Sector report which
measures manufacturing
sector performance and released in February, CZI said
the few remaining
workers have had their hours severely reduced because of
capacity
underutilisation. According to the CZI, more than 750 companies
closed shop
between 2000 and 2004.
FinGaz
Mavis
Makuni
THE fact that the truth comes out in unexpected ways was amply
demonstrated
recently when Acting Information and Publicity Minister
Munyaradzi Paul
Mangwana addressed journalists on the subject of media
regulation at the
Quill Club in Harare a fortnight ago.
It was at
this meeting that the acting minister chose to take a sarcastic
dig at
journalists, particularly those in the private media with his cruel
taunt
about there being "paupers" in the profession. Mangwana must have
momentarily forgotten that in addition to being the victims of the general
pauperisation that the entire populace has suffered as a result of skewed
government policies and priorities, corruption and mismanagement of the
economy, the journalistic fraternity has been a specifically targeted
group.
Hundreds of media practitioners were rendered redundant as a direct
result
of the actions of one of Mangwana's predecessors, Jonathan Moyo. As
will be
recalled, the learned professor single handedly changed the face of
journalism in Zimbabwe during his four-year reign as chief government
propagandist when he embarked on a political cleansing exercise to ensure
that only those prepared to toe the ZANU PF line kept their jobs in public
media organisations.
Mangwana cannot have forgotten this little detail
plus the fact the closure
of newspapers by the Media and Information
Commission under the provisions
of the roundly condemned Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA) has exacerbated the
situation. Moyo now regularly attacks the
official "doctoring" of
information and slanting of events to suit the
government's own purposes and
agendas, suggesting he has seen the error of
his old ways. But despite
sacrificing Moyo at the altar of expediency when
those in government need a
scapegoat to blame for the continuing chaos at
public media organisations,
particularly the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings,
Mangwana has done nothing
to improve things.
When he was appointed to hold fort at the Information and
Publicity Ministry
following the death of the incumbent minister, Tichaona
Jokonya, he raised
false hopes by pledging that he would implement the
changes the late
minister had envisaged. A few weeks ago, Mangwana was
singing a different
tune when he declared that the changes to be implemented
at ZBH were now
about "corporate governance" rather than ensuring that
people were appointed
to professional positions on merit regardless of their
political
orientation.
At the Quill Club Mangwana complained bitterly
about the negative coverage
the government gets in the private press. He
claimed that one day an
independent newspaper carried negative stories about
the government from
page one to 45 - a questionable perception to anyone who
knows the
configuration of the publication he was referring to, which
includes
advertisements, supplements, leisure and sports sections.
But
even if this were not an exaggeration Mangwana and his government
colleagues
should ask themselves honestly what positive things there are to
say about
government amid such unprecedented confusion, chaos and the
unnecessary
misery and hardships the people are forced to bear. Things are
so bad all
round that ruling party propagandists and spin-doctors now expect
the
provision of services and execution of tasks routinely expected of a
government to be regarded as outstanding achievements to be given banner
headlines in the press.
By accusing journalists of being unpatriotic for
reporting the truth,
Mangwana and his ruling party colleagues are suggesting
that the
government's mountains of sins must be swept under the carpet. This
must be
done for the sole purpose of protecting the interests and egos of
the
corrupt, greedy and inefficient in government so that they can continue
to
indulge in these abuses and excesses in peace.
Noise is the technical
term used to refer to what happens when more messages
are forced along a
conveyer belt than it can accommodate. Going by this
definition, Zimbabweans
live in a very noisy society because of the
government's determination to
force deceptive and spurious propaganda and
subterfuge down their throats as
a substitute for transparency and
accountability. The good thing is that
after a while people who live in such
a society learn how not to listen or
to disbelieve what they hear when the
powerful and well connected try to
characterise their greedy and corrupt
"get rich" machinations as patriotism
and progress.
In Zimbabwe the process of public communication has been badly
debased
because most officials have a vested interest in the emasculation of
the
media. The official reaction to the can of worms that was opened by the
hearings conducted by various portfolio committees bears this out. Officials
who must be behind the disappearance of the report on the looting of ZISCO
have not questioned the veracity of the allegations made about the
involvement of the powerful and influential in the pillaging, they simply
want everything to be swept under the carpet.
As the government's
information expert, Mangwana must advise his colleagues
against this
hypocritical approach simply because it is not sustainable. Of
late, despite
its best efforts, the government has failed to muzzle elements
within its
own ranks who have become vociferous in questioning the
appropriateness of
initiatives such as the "Look East Policy." This policy
was once touted as
the panacea for all Zimbabwe's problems but is incredibly
now being
condemned by members of the politburo.
They have described it as a
dispensation that has given the Chinese
government an excuse to dump
substandard goods into the country while
sending quality merchandise to
Zimbabwe's declared enemies, Europe and the
Americas.
So much for
Zimbabwe's attempt to teach the industrialised nations which
have condemned
its human rights record a lesson by looking East to the
Chinese, who are
evidently looking West themselves for long-term trade
links!
And despite
their strident public posturing against the West, some
government officials
also privately look west for quality. A Sunday paper
reported last weekend
how Minister Mangwana lost US$36 000 in the process of
trying to covertly
import a tractor from hated George Bush's country. Fumed
the acting
information minister, "This is what we have always been saying .
. . that
these sanctions are not really smart sanctions. They are trade and
economic
sanctions against the people of Zimbabwe and it is hurting the
nation. I
wanted to help feed the nation."
Definitely, it is neither the minister's
failure to import a Massey Ferguson
tractor nor the forfeiture of his
foreign currency that is hurting ordinary
Zimbabweans. What has impoverished
the masses is that people like Mangwana,
who presides over two ministerial
portfolios, still find enough time to
dabble in activities involving feeding
the nation which should be left to
full-time farmers. Mangwana should not
expect to be taken seriously when he
publicly rails against journalists for
not being patriotic while privately
engaging in unpatriotic behaviour
himself, by desiring goods from the West.
FinGaz
Comment
IS the land reform
initiative, which is at the core of the myriad problems
of present day
Zimbabwe ranging from concerns over law and order, violence,
adverse
publicity, donor standoff, country risk to low foreign direct
investment,
among others, over?
That is the sixty-four-thousand dollar question,
given the sharply
conflicting signals coming from senior government
officials who are not
singing from the same songsheet.
Government says
the compulsory acquisition of land that has seen thousands
of families
scattered to the four winds is over but in the same breath, says
the widely
condemned exercise, which was undertaken with total disregard for
affordability and the country's implementation capacity, is an ongoing
process, meaning it is far from over. A case in point is that of Vice
President Joice Mujuru and State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa who issued
contradictory statements over the same issue in the last fortnight.
"We
are taking our farms. Who said reform is over. We have just taken a
little
part of the land," Mutasa told The Financial Gazette last week,
giving the
impression that the recent spate of disruptive farm invasions was
indeed
sanctioned by the government.
"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," Mujuru told
300 international guests attending the recent
tourism expo.
Admittedly, there is no point raking over the ashes. But it is
the same
Mutasa who almost a year ago reportedly said that all white farmers
should
be booted off their properties, unashamedly claiming that "they are
similar
to the filth that was in the streets before Murambatsvina". To the
neutral
observer, the import of what Mutasa said was that government was now
practising the lowest form of bigotry and prejudice - racism. It took Vice
President Joseph Msika to try to take the sting from Mutasa's statement when
he told a Zimbabwe Farmers' Union Congress in Bulawayo early this year that
white farmers should not be removed from their farms purely on the basis of
the colour of their skin because the land reform programme was based on the
principle of one-man-one-farm, adding that "our policy is not to drive
whites out of their farms". But the damage had already been done.
How
self-contradictory can a government be? Can anyone still not understand
why
Zimbabwe is in Queer Street especially when the intransigent government
does
not seem to realise that disregard of procedural matters is alien to
law-based states? With the economy coming apart at the seams against a
backcloth of inexorable international pressure for Zimbabwe to conform, this
is the kind of policy inconsistency that the country needs as much as its
citizens need holes in their heads.
Suffice to say that it is because of
such glaring policy contradictions
coming from the government that Zimbabwe
is no longer taken seriously by the
broader international community with
which it pretends to be seeking a
deeper rapprochement. And it stands to
reason that under such circumstances
the country's desperate plans to
re-integrate into the community of nations
from which it is ostracised are a
bit like rearranging the deckchairs on the
Titanic.
Yet turning the
economy around by attracting infrastructural investment,
seen by many as the
lifebelt of the economy and re-integrating the country
into the
international community would be as easy as taking candy from a
baby if only
the government was not torn between principle and expediency.
But the
Zimbabwean government has turned this into something akin to a
crossword
puzzle with only half the clues and no black squares!
Inconsistent and
contradictory policy pronouncements cast a pall over
Zimbabwe's commitment
to mend fences with the international community. And
under such
circumstances, a return to a normal relationship with foreign
investors will
be difficult and lengthy, giving another twist to the screws
on the economy.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that
circumspect investors
who have understandably adopted a wait-and-see
attitude, find it
increasingly difficult to deal with inconsistencies in
government policy.
For example, the government is scaring investors with the
bogeyman of
uncertainty by creating the impression that agreements such as
the bilateral
investment protection agreements that were inadvertently
adversely affected
by the land reform and are yet to be regularised are not
worth the paper
they are written on.
Financial Gazette
(Harare)
ANALYSIS
October 25, 2006
Posted to the web October 26,
2006
Harare
The Central Bank Governor yesterday shocked banks by
extending the tenor of
its debt instruments to 7 years, barely a fortnight
after they were cornered
into accepting a tenor of at least 5 years. Come
Monday, 30 October 2006,
financial institutions are required to have
increased their holding
thresholds of the 5-Year Financial Sector
Stabilisation Bond (FSSB) using
their balance sheet as at 30 September 2006,
as follows: commercial banks =
15%, merchant banks = 12.5%, finance houses =
10%, building societies = 10%,
discount houses = 10%, asset management
companies = 7.5%. You will remember
that the previous holding thresholds as
at Monday, 16 October 2006, are as
follows: commercial banks = 10%, merchant
banks = 7.5%, finance houses = 5%,
building societies = 5%, discount houses
= 5%, and asset management
companies = 2.5%. The features of the bond are
still the same as before: (a)
collateral asset for accommodation purposes;
(b) annual coupon rate is
variable as follows: Year 1 = 500%, Year 2 = 250%,
Year 3 = 100%, Year 4 =
25%, Year 5 = 10%.
According to the Governor,
he has been encouraged to top-up the holding
thresholds by (a) the huge
success of the first batch of the 5-Year FSSB in
locking away surplus
liquidity for longer periods, (b) the full support that
the Central Bank
received from financial institutions with respect to
meeting the deadline
for complying with their prescribed holding thresholds,
(c) representations
by a number of bank and non-bank institutions to extend
the window for the
instrument so they could subscribe more as well as
broadening it for direct
participation by other sectors of the economy, and
(d) the need to contain
the projected high levels of liquidity on the money
during the months of
November and December, which militates against low
inflation
objective.
In addition to the increase in the holding thresholds for the
5-Year FSSB,
the Central Bank, in a bid to sterilize the projected high
future liquidity,
introduced the 7-Year Economic Stabilisation Bond (ESB)
with the following
holding thresholds: commercial banks = 20%, merchant
banks = 17.5%, finance
houses = 15%, building societies = 15%, discount
houses = 15%, and asset
management companies = 12.5%. The ESB's coupon rates
are as follows: Year 1
= 550%, Year 2 = 350%, Year 3 = 150%, Year 4 = 75%,
Year 5 = 50%, Year = 25,
Year = 10%. These holding thresholds are based on
the balance sheet as at 31
October 2006 and financial institutions are
required to comply the increased
thresholds by Friday, 17 November
2006.
Although the tenders for the Stabilisation Bonds have until now,
been
limited to financial institutions, with effect from 1 November 2006,
they
will be opened to other non-bank and provident funds, insurance
companies,
life mutuals, corporate bodies, individuals and other interested
institutions to subscribe to the Bonds. The Central Bank will from time to
time announce offer terms and conditions for the Bonds in the Press.
Furthermore, the Central Bank advised financial institutions that it would
continue to closely monitor liquidity and other developments on the money
market so as to take appropriate corrective and pre-emptive measures through
fine-tuning existing monetary policies and implement additional measures
designed to respond to and/or pre-empt anticipated adverse developments,
whenever necessary.
These measures shows the seriousness and urgency
with which the monetary
authorities are treating the current economic
problems especially inflation
through attacking some of its causes such as
speculation. By channelling
banks to subscribe into its long-term debt
instruments, the Central Bank is
slowly clearing the uncertainty that
existed in the financial markets. This
is because they now know that the
minimum investment period for everybody
going forward should be at least
five years. The challenge is now for banks
to reorient the mindset of their
investing clients into similar time
horizons probably starting with six
months to a year. Initially they will
face resistance from their investing
clients but will eventually prevail
provided that they act in unison. This
is very crucial if the Central Bank
objectives are to be
achieved.
Another issue that is very critical is that these measures are
only
targeting banks not the owners of the money, depositors, as these can
withdraw their money at will and deposit it into other banks or buy assets
for speculative purposes. In this regard the Central Bank should introduce
such long-dated paper to the depositing public especially current account
holders by locking a certain percentage, say 10%, of their deposits into
these bonds. This should limit the ability of these people to abuse their
money through speculation. It's possible that such a measure could lead to
financial dis-intermediation as people will keep a large proportion of their
money outside the banking sector so as to avoid such measures but I am
confident that our able Central Bank Governor will come up with mitigatory
measures like more currency changes.
In the case of banks the
introduction of these bonds requires them to manage
their liquidity very
carefully because liquidity risk will now rise
especially during the period
after the maturity of the CPI-linked bonds, six
months and one-year Treasury
bills. Judging by what we are seeing and the
Central Bank's seriousness with
the Government's domestic restructuring
exercise, future maturities will be
thrown far into the future through these
Stabilisation Bonds. Who knows,
they may be thrown into future for ten years
or more. This is because the
Government seriously need to reduce its
domestic debt, as the Budget Deficit
is one of the major inflation drivers.
Speculators need to be nipped in the
bud. We cannot wait for foreign funding
to implement such measures because
we know such help will not come anywhere!
money supply
(c) holding
thresholds according to balance sheet size as at 30 September
2006 as
follows: commercial banks = 10%, merchant banks = 7.5%, finance
houses = 5%,
building societies = 5%, discount houses = 5%, and asset
management
companies = 2.5%.
red intrIn a sign that shows that the monetary
authorities are serious in
implementing the Government's domestic debt
restructuring exercise, the
Central Bank that introduced the 2-year Treasury
bill last week on 10
October 2006 patiently waited for six days to get banks
to buy the paper.
Since its introduction last week banks have been rejecting
the paper as
there has been a home for excess funds through the 5-year
financial sector
stabilization bond whose take up date was Monday, 16
October 2006. In fact,
reflecting the movement of funds from banks to the
central bank, the money
market closed short to the tune of Z$10.8 billion on
Monday (16/10/06), a
move that saw short-term interest rates firming to
between 150-250% for
30-90 days from last week's levels of between 30-90%
for the same tenor.
However, since then the market has eased as it closed
down by only Z$2.7
billion on Tuesday (18/10/06) and was expected to close
significantly up by
Z$10.8 billion on Wednesday (18/10/06) due to the
continued Treasury bill
maturities. As a result, interest rates have
softened again to their
previous levels. This is because of the absence of a
home for excess
liquidity. This is the reason why the Central Bank has cast
its net for the
past week. It knew that banks would soon come for the 2-year
paper otherwise
their surplus funds would be taken for nothing for between
90-270 days. And
true to the RBZ's expectation, banks showed a lukewarm
support for the
2-year paper yesterday as total bids amounted to Z$20
million. The Central
Bank, however, having waited for six days, was not in a
hurry for their
money as it rejected the 400% that the banks
wanted.
This means that the Central Bank, like is the case with other
tenors, wants
a lower rate on the 2-year paper. Given that it is prepared to
pay 250%
during the second year of the 5-year financial stabilisation bond,
probably
banks should consider approaching the Central Bank with offers
around those
levels. Obviously these are not good rates as it is highly
unlikely that
inflation would have fallen to those levels by end of next
year but half a
loaf is better than nothing, as their surplus money will be
taken for
nothing if they do not find an alternative home for
it.
Meanwhile, reflecting the softening of interest rates due to the
easing of
the market as noted above, the equity market seems to be coming
back, at
least for now. Having increased to an all-time high of 488026.69 on
6
October 2006, the equity market lost steam during the week under review
after the Central Bank increased the accommodation rate to between 500-600%
for secured and unsecured borrowing, respectively from between 300-350%.
This should force banks to hike their lending rates to customers.
Furthermore, the central bank introduced a 5-year stabilisation bond that it
said was meant to strengthen the medium to long-term asset position of
banks. Whatever the reason for the introduction of the bond, its effect is
an outflow of liquidity from the money market. As already noted, the bond
caused a significant outflow of liquidity from the market on 16 October. The
resultant firming of rates saw the Industrial Index falling by 14.63% to
411780.38 during the week to 16 October while the Mining Index fell by
12.37% to 187276.64 during the same period. The Industrial Index reached a
13-day low of 387172.65 on Tuesday (17/10/06) while the Mining Index fell to
a 16-day low of 181714.46 on the same day. As already noted, the easing of
the money market since then following the passing of the 5-year bond
payments, has seen the market coming up again, as the Industrial Index
gained by 3.7% on Wednesday (18/10/06) to 401495.81 while the Mining Index
gained by 1.5% to 401495.81.
Going forward, it is very important to
watch the maturity profile of
Treasury bills, OMO bills and the CPI-linked
bond. The information at hand
indicates that Treasury and OMO bills worth
Z$104.5 billion will mature this
October. This explains the current excess
liquidity conditions on the money
market despite the outflow of money
through the 5-year bond. In November and
December the maturities for these
papers will fall to Z$28.0 billion and
Z$3.4 billion, respectively. This
does not mean that the market will be dry,
as the CPI-linked bond will start
to mature on 9 November. It is, therefore,
imperative to know its amount as
this will help to have a clue on the likely
future behaviour of money market
rates. Right now it is safe to say that the
negative real interest rates
shown in the table below favour non-interest
bearing investments such as
equities and properties.
Zim does not have much to offer
EDITOR - I would like to
comment on a letter written by "Lost Hope in ZANU
PF" from the UK. This was
in response to a letter written by "Very
Zimbabwean" also in the UK. It is
interesting to note that the two letters,
including this one, were written
by people in the diaspora.
Most people have emigrated to foreign countries
not because that's what they
wanted, but for better opportunities and a
better life for their families
and children. It's no bed of rose however and
those who are there will tell
you it's a tall order to survive in the
diaspora, but people have no choice.
Simply put, Zimbabwe does not have
anything to offer for many ordinary
Zimbabweans. There are no jobs, business
opportunities, and no signs of a
bright future for our children. So I would
ask "Very Zimbabwean" to withdraw
his/her statement that the future is
bright for Zimbabwe. Who does he think
will rescue Zimbabwe from the
political meltdown it started to go through
when Mugabe took over power in
1980?
I do not think "Very Zimbabwean" has a clear idea of what is happenning
in
Zimbabwe or he is one of those who have become economic refugees like
many
others with expired visas and can no longer travel home and see for
themselves what's happenning on the ground.
"Very Zimbabwean" feels that
way because of the racial overtones that he
might experience everyday and
only gets solace from the fact that, at least,
he is Zimbabwean. This lad
should think twice before putting pen to paper.
It will take quite a long
time to return Zimbabwe to where it was in the
1980s.
Those who were old
enough will remember that when we blacks took over,
Zimbabwe's dollar was
equal to the pound. The US$ could not compare to the
Zim$. If you make a
comparison and check the exchange rate of the Zim$ to
major currencies, as
well as the inflation rate, I would think "Very
Zimbabwean" would guess how
long it will take Zimbabwe to recover.
Working together and realising our
mistakes and potential as well as
limitations and capabilities as leaders is
the only way to rescue
Zimbabweans and Zimbabwe as our
motherland.
Eddie Kwaramba
Canada
-------
Stop being a nice guy,
Mhlauri
EDITOR - This is in response to In(Sufficient)
Kwashira regarding the
criticisms heaped on Charles Mhlauri after the
Warriors' defeat in Malawi.
There are a number of reasons why Mhlauri is
being blamed. First, Mhlauri
(just like you) is on record saying the South
African league is inferior to
ours. However to everyone's (except you, him
and a few hangers-on) surprise
Mhlauri picks the bulk of the players from
there. Is that not contradictory
enough?
Secondly, Mhlauri picks players
who are benchwarmers. Is it Zifa that picks
these players or Mhlauri
himself? Added to that, Mhlauri has made countless
trips to SA to "assess
our SA-based players". If indeed these trips are
being productively used,
Mhlauri should know who to pick and who not to.
Furthermore, do you still
recall what Mhlauri said on the TV programme This
is Football - "I would
rather go hunting with my dogs than someone else's".
That's a very pregnant
statement. I am (just like other disappointed fans)
absolving Zifa of any
blame. It is imperative for the coach to demand these
things from the
national association. Mwana asingachemi anofira mumbereko!
If the demands
fall on deaf ears then the nation will know who to blame.
Did Mhlauri make
public any demands to the national association that we know
of? He has to
stop being a nice gentleman by trying not to ruffle feathers.
Remember
during the days of Fabisch - the man would make a lot of noise
regarding
inadequate training and the players' welfare.
The other reason why Mhlauri is
being criticised is that his team selection
is dubious, biased and lacks
creativity. Everyone understands that Zifa
messes up but if the coach does
not make the necessary noises, we then
conclude the powers- that-be are
doing their job. Until and unless Mhlauri
changes his tactics, team
selection and makes the nation know that he has
insufficient resources at
his disposal, we will continue to slide further
into oblivion.
Remember
"pride goes before a fall". It is my hope that Mhlauri has learnt
that
arrogance and trying to be Mr Nice Guy to Zifa does not pay. This is
the
reason we will criticise you. And as long as Zimbabwe keeps on sliding
on
the Coca Cola rankings we will shout. Mind you, the rankings are based on
scientific data collected over time.
The national team is a national
institution and not a personal
fiefdom.
Senator
Harare
---------
The city is just one big
dustbin!
EDITOR - While efforts to curb littering in the city
are welcome and
commendable, I feel measures to arrest litterbugs which were
initiated by
the Minister of Environment and Tourism do not address the root
cause of the
problem.
It is not always a matter of untidiness for most
individuals but it is just
a symptom of the seemingly incurable disease
caused by the city council that
has failed to collect the garbage at the
stipulated times.
When city council vehicles fail to come and pick up the
litter on time, the
cause is said to be the fuel situation currently
prevailing in our country.
However, when the bins are overflowing with
garbage and members of the
public find nowhere to throw their litter, they
are to be arrested. Why? The
whole city is one big dustbin! Let us look into
the essentials first instead
of just addressing the
symptoms.
Innocent Dube
Bulawayo
------------
MDC fell for ZANU
PF's divisive tactics
EDITOR - I read that Timothy Mubawu had
been suspended from the MDC over the
Domestic Violence Bill. This I must say
looks like immaturity and
dictatorship on the part of the MDC. The man
spoke, as it is written in the
Bible, the word of God that MPs uphold when
they swear on oath to take up
their positions in the House of
Assembly.
Women are to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord, and the
Bible makes
it clear that men ought to treat their wives with respect so
that their
prayers to the Lord will not be hindered. It is clear that God
wants us to
respect each other and not try and equate ourselves to each
other.
What is clear is that the MDC has been outwitted by ZANU PF. How do
you
explain the fact that the remarks made by Mubawu were delivered late on
the
day in the House and by the next day, women's groups had met and agreed
to
demonstrate, printed their placards and obtained police clearance,
coordinated their efforts and were already on the street the next day. This
is amazing organisation and efficiency, or is it?
It is shocking that the
police clearance was arranged for the group so
quickly and the women were
able to harness the resources to demonstrate so
quickly.
Mubawu did not
preach violence or say "Men should beat up their wives". He
just spoke as it
is written in the word of God. If Mubawu is a Christian,
then I urge him not
to worry when his bosses suspend him, for his real boss,
God in heaven is
hapy that he stood for what is in the word.
I think ZANU PF won the day by
forcing the MDC to suspend a party member and
create division. This just
cripples the party further and it is exactly what
ZANU PF wanted.
We
deserve better understanding of enemy tactics than has been shown here.
Tendai Biti said that Mubawu's comments were not consistent with those of
the party, which means that representation in the House of Assembly is now
on party lines, as ZANU PF has been doing instead of members contributing to
debate in their individual capacities first, considering that they all come
from different backgrounds.
That is the only way lawmaking and
deliberation of important bills can be
fruitful.
Ear To the
Ground
Harare
--------
It's commerce's turn
EDITOR -
Commerce and industry sat back and watched while the farmers were
being
persecuted by the government. No-one wanted to stick their necks out
to side
with justice - easier to hide their heads in the sand like
ostriches.
Even when Operation Murambatsvina was underway and ZCTU
officials tortured,
not even the MDC or the churches were prepared to
galvanise into action to
stop the evil. Now it is the turn of the retailers,
and there are no farmers
or flea market traders left to support them.
Retailers are now being
subjected to imprisonment. Very soon the shops will
go bankrupt and then
where will the good people who stood idly by buy their
food?
ZANU PF is a past master at attack through attrition. They started on a
few
farmers and slowly worked their way through to 4 000 and even now are
doing
the next 100 with the rest of the community still keeping
silent.
Until all Zimbabweans learn to stick together and fight this evil
abuse of
power, we will all one day experience the despair, loss and
loneliness the
informal traders, farmers and MDC activists have been
through. Until we do,
we can be sure that everyone will have his/her turn to
experience ZANU PF's
excesses, most probably in jail.
Surely the time is
now overdue for commerce to shut its shops until they can
sell their goods
without fear of jail, industry to close its factories until
they can be
assured of a fair deal, labour and civil servants to stop
working for
meaningless wages, the people to insist on an end to inflation,
opposition
parties and the churches to call for unified action to end ZANU
PF's
arrogance and the police, army and CIO to stop propping up a bankrupt
government for pennies and start being patriotic to their nation, not ZANU
PF.
Evil can only triumph when good men remain silent, so everyone must,
with
one voice, support the next person to call for mass action - or be
prepared
to starve into the grave.
A
McCormick
Harare
--------
Mubawu was right
EDITOR -
I think the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) erred by
suspending
outspoken MP Timothy Mubawu for the utterances he made in
Parliament. There
is nothing wrong with what he said as, according to the
Bible, women can not
be equal to men.
So I don't think he was encouraging domestic violence when
he uttered those
words. I hope the party, in the interests of justice and
democracy, reverses
the decision. One thing which made me happy is that he
respected the party's
decision unlike others we know.
I say to Mubawu,
just hang in there as God will help you. You should not
regret what you said
because you took it from the Bible. The man is the head
of the house but
it's not a licence for him to mentally, physically and
emotionally abuse
women. In some households men are also abused and we
should also take that
into consideration when making judgments. Some men are
also denied their
conjugal rights. What are we going to do about it?
Lovemore
Maseko
Bulawayo
---------
Falsehoods won't change the
truth
EDITOR - The comments by "Lost hope in ZANU PF" cannot
go unchallenged. Your
shameful comparison of Rhodesian sanctions and the
current sanctions is an
act of cowardice that can only be uttered by a
person who is mentally
deranged.
Without making any excuses for ZANU PF,
it should be appreciated that the
time and environment under which the
sanctions were imposed on Rhodesia are
totally different from the current
prevailing conditions. It is this kind of
poor judgment and
misrepresentation of facts that is costing Zimbabwe's
opposition party, MDC,
dearly.
First, the Rhodesian government only had to cater for the less than
300 000
settlers as they had rendered destitute the 10 million black
majority
population. Compared to the current situation where the economy has
to cater
for 13 million people using the same resources as we had then, it
becomes
obvious to the common man the resources will be stretched too
thin.
Secondly, trade between Rhodesia and South Africa and Portugal
increased
during the same period, rendering all sanctions imposed on
Rhodesia useless.
Today we have the Bretton Woods institutions denying
Zimbabwe its deserved
support on balance of payments. So I'd urge you to
first research your
article before you spewing falsehoods in this
paper.
Wilberforce Majaji
United States