http://www.independent.co.uk/
Despite Zimbabwe's
President agreeing to share cabinet posts with the
opposition, a sense of
mistrust still exists. By Raymond Whitaker
Sunday, 21 September
2008
Berison Bvirivindi, a street vendor, thought the peace deal
signed by
Zimbabwe's leaders last week meant it was safe to wear a T-shirt
showing
support for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). He
ended up
in hospital.
Still in severe pain from his injuries, Mr
Bvirivindi said he had been
seized at his stall in Harare's Road Port bus
station by a gang from Robert
Mugabe's Zanu-PF youth militia - the same
thugs who terrorised Zimbabweans
earlier this year to such an extent that
the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai,
quit the second round of a presidential
election he was leading to spare his
followers further
violence.
"They told me that they were going to continue attacking MDC
supporters
until Robert Mugabe tells them to stop and acknowledge Morgan
Tsvangirai's
role as Prime Minister," said Mr Bvirivindi in his hospital
bed. But the
84-year-old President has said no such thing in public since he
signed last
Monday's accord, and talks this weekend on how cabinet jobs
should be shared
out were deadlocked.
Zimbabwe and the international
community are waiting to see whether Mr
Mugabe meant what he said when he
agreed to yield some of his power for the
first time in his 28-year rule. Mr
Tsvangirai's trump card is that foreign
donors will not stump up the money
the country desperately needs unless he
is seen to be in charge on a
day-to-day basis, as the peace deal provides.
The world has never seen
such rampant inflation - while even the government
admits to 11 million per
cent a year, independent economists estimate the
actual rate is 40 million
per cent. Last month the central bank cut 10 zeros
off the currency, so that
Z$10billion became Z$1. But the new dollar has
already fallen by nine-tenths
against the US dollar.
However, Mr Mugabe and Zanu-PF have shown little
concern over the economic
collapse. At the signing ceremony only Mr
Tsvangirai spoke of the future,
while Mr Mugabe railed at his familiar
scapegoats for the country's
problems: Britain and the US. At a meeting of
Zanu-PF's Politburo he
described the party's defeat in the March
parliamentary elections as a
"humiliation". Because the party had been
divided, it lost, and "this is
what we now have to deal with".
That
was as close as the President came to talking of co-operation with the
MDC,
but he assured his supporters that he would still be in the "driving
seat",
and told them to be ready to win the next election. So far, the
government
has refused to cede any of the ministries the MDC had understood
it would
gain, including Finance, Foreign Affairs and the Interior, which
controls
the police.
"The mood among government supporters is one of uneasy
acceptance of the
deal," said a human rights monitor. "Most Zimbabweans are
cautiously
hopeful, but nervous. There is a real sense of mistrust. People
feel they
have been here before, remembering how Mr Mugabe formed an
alliance in the
1980s with a previous opposition leader, Joshua Nkomo, and
then sidelined
him."
The peace deal gives Zanu-PF 15 cabinet seats,
to 13 for Mr Tsvangirai and
three for a breakaway faction of the MDC headed
by Arthur Mutambara, who
will become one of two deputy prime ministers.
Unless the two men work
together, Mr Mugabe will have the upper hand. This,
and the unwieldy
structure of the peace deal, could give Zanu-PF the
opportunity to create a
parallel government, said the rights monitor, "and
implement a Plan B to
regain control of the rural areas through
intimidation".
Reports in state media claim some Zanu-PF supporters have
been arrested and
charged with political violence, and party officials in
some areas are said
to have told followers and the local police to maintain
calm. But thousands
of Zanu-PF youth militia members and "war veterans"
remain in the torture
camps set up during the election campaign, and can
only support themselves
with what they can extort from the local population.
Intimidation is still
widespread, and there are occasional eruptions of
violence.
In Mbare, a "high-density suburb" of Harare, Zanu-PF youth
members attacked
suspected MDC supporters on Friday, and the homes of two
MDC councillors
were reported to have been destroyed. Youths were said to
have disrupted the
distribution of food at schools, telling aid workers to
stop until Mr Mugabe
gave permission for them to continue. In the past,
Zanu-PF has controlled
aid handouts to ensure they went only to party
followers, and foreign NGOs
were barred from operating during the election
period.
Last week the Red Cross began distributing 383 tons of supplies
to 24,000
people in 10 provinces, but other agencies are only beginning to
resume
work. According to a UN study published last week, two million
Zimbabweans
already need food aid, and the figure may rise to five million -
half the
population remaining in the country - with the failure of this
year's
harvest.
Rather than a struggle for power between the MDC and
Zanu-PF, the worst
threat to Zimbabwe could be an internal war in the former
ruling party.
According to some sources, last week's violence in Mbare and
other areas of
the capital was perpetrated by a Zanu-PF faction whose leader
failed to
secure nomination for a vice-presidency, and was aimed at
discrediting the
peace pact. Former guerrillas in Matabeleland, the region
crushed by Mr
Mugabe in the early 1980s, are also threatening armed violence
unless their
Zapu party, forcibly merged into Zanu-PF more than 25 years
ago, is allowed
to resume an independent existence.
Reporting by
Simon Muchemwa and Simba Rushwaya in Harare
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-09-21-how-morgan-lost-out
MANDY ROSSOUW AND JASON MOYO - Sep 21 2008 00:00
A
hard look at Zimbabwe's settlement agreement shows that MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai succeeded in winning none of the demands he initially insisted
were deal breakers.
On paper the agreement looks fair enough. It
splits executive authority
between Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe and even
gives the former -- long the
nemesis of the security forces -- a seat on the
newly formed National
Security Council (NSC), intended to replace the much
feared Joint Operations
Command.
While Tsvangirai initially demanded
the right to chair Cabinet, the
agreement now gives him the post of deputy
chairperson.
He wanted the majority of Cabinet ministries, but the
agreement gives
Zanu-PF 15 Cabinet seats, Tsvangirai's faction 13 and Arthur
Mutambara's MDC
splinter faction three.
Mugabe's major concession was
that, for most of his functions, he must work
on the advice of Cabinet or
Tsvangirai -- but nothing compels him to take
their advice. Mugabealso
chairs the NSC, retaining full control of the army,
with the right to grant
pardons and suspend sentences.
He may even dissolve Parliament if he
wants to, but must "consult" the prime
minister.
The agreement
remains vague about what will happen to rank-and-file Zanu-PF
members who
ran amok in communities displacing and killing people.
For his meagre
slice of the executive pie Tsvangirai is left with all the
work. He runs
government and therefore inherits a bankrupt and corrupt
system built on
cronyism and illegal foreign currency trading.
His success will be
acutely measurable in terms of the inflation rate,
growth rate, value of the
currency, foreign investment and donor funding.
Failure to put Zimbabwe
on the course to fiscal stability will be there for
all to see.
It is
his first go at power and, with an eye on the next elections, he will
be
anxious to appear competent at running government.
In contrast the only
thing Mugabe needs to do is ensure political stability,
a less daunting
task.
The deal acknowledges that the core problem which set off
Zimbabwe's
downward spiral was Mugabe's seizure of white farmland, which was
then
distributed to war veterans and his cronies.
The status quo will
persist with the duty of compensation imposed on
Britain. A land commission
will audit ownership, ostensibly to guard against
multiple farm
ownership.
Justifying the arrangement Tsvangirai said this week he does
not support the
wholesale return of land to white farmers. "Land should not
be about white
farmers or black farmers," he said.
The wholesale
return of white farmers would meet with stiff resistance from
the estimated
400 000 families and war veterans resettled on formerly
white-held
land.
One major coup is the prominence the agreement gives to women's
rights.
It states that women should have equal access to land and
representation at
Cabinet level.
A mechanism is to be set up to
advise the authorities on how to achieve
"national healing".
Given
that the agreement skirts the issue of perpetrators of violence --
assigning "joint liability" for the violence -- this may be the only
opportunity for victims to confront the horrors of the Mugabe
era.
Tsvangirai resisted pressure to prosecute Mugabe, but he has not
ruled out
the prosecution of lower-level perpetrators of
violence.
Tsvangirai said: "I don't think Mugabe himself, as a person,
can be held
accountable. But there are various levels of institutional
violence that
have taken place and I'm sure we'll be able to look at
that."
A referendum on a new Constitution will be held in 18 months and
this will
be the true test of the commitment of the ruling party to the
deal.
After Mugabe lost the constitutional referendum of 2000 he
unleashed the
full power of the state to ensure Zimbabweans did not defy him
again.
A national youth-training programme is also provided for,
presumably to keep
the violent youth militia occupied.
The only
provision on the media, which Mugabe has subjected to stringent
curbs, is a
clause requiring the closure of radio stations funded by foreign
governments.
Although it says all applications for media licences
must be "processed
immediately", the agreement does not explicitly guarantee
the unfettered
operation of the media.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4536
September 20, 2008
HARARE,
(RadioVop) - A Harare magistrate on Tuesday issued a warrant of
arrest for
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Gideon Gono and Deputy
Minister of
Information and Publicity, Bright Matonga, after they failed to
attend a
corruption trial.
Matonga was supposed to appear in court as the accused
in an ongoing trial,
while Gono and an official from his office, Fortune
Chasi, were supposed to
testify.
Matonga is facing corruption charges
arising from his alleged misconduct
during his tenure as chief executive
officer of the Zimbabwe United
Passenger Company (ZUPCO, where he is said to
have demanded US$2 000 per bus
delivered by Gift Investments director,
Jayesh Shah.
Harare magistrate, Morgan Nemadire, issued a warrant of
arrest against the
three after law officer, Chifarai Dube, from the Attorney
General's Office,
applied for the arrest of the officials.
Matonga's
lawyer, Wilson Manase of Manase & Manase legal practitioners,
attended
the court hearing but failed to explain Matonga's whereabouts.
This is
the first time a serving deputy minister has been issued with a
warrant of
arrest.
Gono, who could not be reached for comment, is understood to be
in Morocco
where he was reportedly negotiating for farming inputs for the
coming rain
season.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4527#more-4527
September 20,
2008
By Our Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has rejected the deal signed in
Harare on
Monday saying it will produce a flawed government which does not
reflect the
will of the people of Zimbabwe.
The rejection could be the first of a
series of rejections of the deal
signed by President Robert Mugabe
representing Zanu-PF and his main
political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai leader
of the MDC. Arthur Mutambara, the
leader of a breakaway faction of the MDC
was also a signatory.
Civil society has, since the signing of the
agreement, been watching from
the sidelines while analysing the contents of
the document.
Speaking to the Zimbabwe Times Saturday evening, Wellington
Chibhebhe, the
secretary-general of the ZCTU said the union's general
council which met
yesterday resolved to reject the deal in its
entirety.
"The council was not happy about the manner at which the deal
was arrived at
by the three principals to the Zimbabwean crisis. The
council's major
concern was over the process that gave birth to the deal,
starting from the
initial negotiations that were done under the guidance of
South African
president, Thabo Mbeki," said Chibhebhe.
He said the
flawed process had given birth to a flawed government which
"hardly"
reflects the will of the people of Zimbabwe who cast their vote on
March 29,
2008 and voted overwhelmingly for MDC leader, Tsvangirai.
"The people's
will is not reflected in that temporary government. That was a
boardroom
agreement which negates the will of Zimbabweans. It was the
feeling of the
council that should there be a deadlock in an election as the
situation we
found ourselves in after March 29, Zimbabweans would then
decide their fate
through a neutral, free and fair election and not through
these boardroom
agreements," Chibhebhe added.
Asked about the ZCTU's next move given that
the deal had already been
signed, Chibhebhe said the ZCTU would demand an
audience with the
prime-minister-designate (Tsvangirai) where he would then
explain, in
detail, the reasons that led the MDC to sign the
deal.
"As far as the ZCTU is concerned, that deal is invalid and there is
need to
respect the will of the people'" said Chibhebhe. "The general
council of the
ZCTU has agreed to call on the MDC leadership to come and
explain to it (the
general council), how that deal was reached
at.
"Our position as stated is that we reject the deal and we will, at
that
meeting make clear, our reservations over the deal. We want them to
explain
clearly the contents of the deal and also examine the repercussions
of that
deal as they see it."
He said the meeting should take place
by September 27.
"We believe that we have to push for the interests of
the workers and if the
workers' interests are not taken care of in that
deal, which is the will of
the workers as per the outcome of the March 29
election, then there is a
problem that we need to tackle before we move
forward," he said.
Currently, there is a deadlock in the talks regards
the allocation of
ministries between Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC. The MDC
alleges Zanu-PF
has a take-all attitude that it says is bound to lead to the
collapse of the
talks.
http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=847583
Rowan Philp Published:Sep 20, 2008
Mugabe
tries to snatch all the top ministries for his party after agreeing -
six
days ago - to share them
Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal is creaking - after
just one week.
Since being announced to fanfare on Monday:
a..
Long-serving dictator President Robert Mugabe has reneged on an
agreement
that the parties share key ministries, and deadlocked the process
by
demanding all six of the top portfolios;
a.. Hardliners in Mugabe's
Zanu-PF party have refused to back the deal,
arguing that it cedes too much
ground to the Movement for Democratic Change;
and
a.. International
donors have refused to fork out much-needed emergency aid,
despite an MDC
delegation to Washington this week which appealed for the new
government to
be trusted.
And the deal has been thrown into even more jeopardy, with Mugabe
- who
cancelled and stalled a series of vital coalition meetings this week -
jetting off to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. This
has delayed talks for another week.
Daniel Shumba, president of
Zimbabwe's minority United People's Party, told
the Sunday Times : "Mugabe
has fooled everyone again. Officials within the
European Union have told me
this agreement is a non-event; they do not see
it as power sharing. It is
undemocratic, so it cannot last."
In terms of the deal, Mugabe remains
president with overwhelming executive
power, including the right to make
war, declare martial law and dissolve
parliament, while Tsvangirai becomes
prime minister. Arthur Mutambara is one
of Tsvangirai's
deputies.
Mugabe and Zanu-PF - which have already secured
control of the departments
of justice and defence - are now demanding
responsibility for finance,
foreign affairs, local government and home
affairs, which includes the
police.
Tsvangirai is understood to
be insisting on control of at least two of these
key
portfolios.
Welshman Ncube, negotiator for the Mutambara faction of
the MDC, confirmed
on Friday that the talks had deadlocked over Zanu-PF's
demand for control of
all of the key portfolios.
He said it had thus
far been agreed that:
a.. Tsvangirai would control the "second-tier"
portfolios of labour; health;
transport; communications; economic
development; science and technology; and
constitutional
development;
a.. Mugabe would be responsible for defence; justice and -
most likely -
agriculture; and
a.. Mutambara would be in charge of
industry and international trade and
education at school level.
The issue
has now been referred to the negotiators.
But even more
alarmingly for the MDC is Zanu-PF's resistance to the deal
itself.
Hardliners are unhappy that they will have to report to Tsvangirai,
their
fiercest opponent in the recent controversial elections. More than
half of
the 64 Zanu-PF ministers, deputy ministers and provincial governors
also
stand to lose their positions under the agreement.
"There is war in
the party over this sell-out agreement. Hardly anybody,
besides the
president and his negotiators, supports the agreement with the
MDC," said a
senior Zanu-PF member. "Why should we accept a deal that strips
us of almost
everything - posts, benefits and influence? We don't want it.
After all,
Tsvangirai's handlers in the West have already said they won't
support
it."
Zanu-PF luminaries, including Mugabe's deputies Joseph Msika and
Joyce
Mujuru, are also disgruntled about the deal, which sidelines
them.
A second heated Zanu-PF meeting on Wednesday forced
Mugabe to react
publicly.
"If you had won your seats in March we
would not be facing this
humiliation," he told party
officials.
Also opposed are Zimbabwe's powerful
security chiefs.
"The army commanders don't want this agreement," a
source said. "Mugabe has
problems on all fronts. He is now trying to manage
it by refusing to give in
to Tsvangirai's demands for powerful
ministries."
Meanwhile, a delegation from the new Zimbabwe coalition
travelled to the US
to convince state department officials that the new
government could be
trusted with funding and that emergency aid must be
delivered because
"people are now literally starving".
But donors
were said to be adopting an unenthusiastic "wait and see"
attitude.
MDC negotiator Tendai Biti warned that "on its own, even
5-billion in cash
right now would achieve nothing - it all depends on Zanu",
and said treason
charges against him remained "and will probably be used in
an effort to
blackmail me into going along with Zanu decisions".
But,
despite the scepticism on all fronts, Ncube was optimistic a solution
could
be found. He insisted the deal was "not in crisis, at least not
yet".
"But certainly, if I was in Mugabe's position, I would not be going
off to
the UN when there is a priority of getting the country on its feet
again;
the problem now is this interruption," he
said.
a.. Zimbabwe rivals to share
power
Highlights Of the Agreement
a.. Executive power
vests in the president, the prime minister and the
president's cabinet -
which puts Mugabe fully in charge;
a.. Morgan Tsvangirai will be prime
minister and "leader of government
business", charged with formulating
policy, chairing a council of ministers
and serving as Mugabe's deputy in
cabinet;
a.. Mugabe's existing deputy presidents are the big losers -
having their
powers reduced to virtual ceremonial roles - while two new
prime ministers,
including MDC-faction leader Arthur Mutambara, will have
executive
functions;
a.. On the question of how to compensate white
farmers kicked off their
farms, the parties agreed that "the primary
obligation of compensating
former landowners for land acquired rests on the
former colonial power
(Britain)";
a.. Far from any amnesty agreement,
the deal surprisingly takes a hard line
on election violence, saying: "The
government shall apply the laws fully and
impartially in bringing all
perpetrators of politically motivated violence
to book.";
a.. Despite
repeated references to rights regardless of race, gender,
ethnicity,
religion, and political affiliation, there is no reference to
"sexual
orientation" in the 30-page document, suggesting no remedy to Mugabe's
anti-gay position;
a.. A new joint monitoring and implementation
committee (Jomic) must
urgently set up a national economic council; a land
audit - to see who owns
which farms, and which are productive; a mechanism
for getting a massive
foreign aid package via the African Union; a plan to
attract and repatriate
skilled Zimbabwean expatriates and exiles; and a
select committee to
complete a draft constitution. - Rowan Philp
http://www.nehandaradio.com
21 September 2008
By Msekiwa
Makwanya
THE Government of National Unity being formed by Zanu PF and the
two
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations will, in essence, be
change
managers. Zimbabweans have suffered for so long and probably become
so
disillusioned that it might take time for them to appreciate real
prospects
of change.
In management change people look for quick
returns in order to win over
cynics and sceptics and build on their quick
wins to convince followers that
they can do it. However, media and
communication will be the key to the
change we seek.
Most failures in
change management are grounded in people's emotional
attitudes to change,
which are not necessarily rational which is why
communication is extremely
important.
It is therefore vital for the new government to address the
issue of
communication and information through a thoroughly professional
manner so
that Zimbabweans are on the same page and can buy into the change
agenda.
Every voice matters and it comes with the territory in a GNU
because without
adequate communication there won't be unity of purpose and
common vision.
People will pull in different directions, support individual
leaders or
players in the team.
It was such a shame that while those
of us in the Diaspora could watch the
proceedings of the signing ceremony
live on BBC and Sky channels on
September 15, 2008 some Zimbabweans did not
even know that there was such a
historic occasion going on.
It is
also possible that details of the agreement will remain scant because
not
enough care was taken to ensure information filters down to the remotest
of
our villages and is translated into indigenous languages to enable every
Zimbabwean to understand what was agreed upon. There is still an opportunity
for the new government to re-run the proceedings of what happened at Rainbow
Towers in Harare.
Media practitioners, some of whom are imbedded in
party politics, may need
reorientation so that our change efforts as
Zimbabweans are articulated
satisfactorily at all times. This will include
areas where the new inclusive
government will be failing and areas where
they succeed and where the
responsibility for outcomes
lie.
Point-scoring and partisan support for individual players is one
thing that
we need to guard against as Zimbabweans but accountability should
be the
cornerstone of the new beginning. It is important to avoid declaring
victory
too soon even if we need to secure short-term wins in order to
inspire the
people.
The quick wins that the new government could
achieve include issues that may
not need resources but just political good
will. Such issues include,
opening up the media which is part of the
agreement signed between Zanu PF
and the MDC formations.
The media
can promote a battle of ideas if run professionally and it is
important for
community development. In the past our politics has been
focusing too much
on individuals and personalities. Local newspapers and
community radio
stations will help to build vibrant communities from which
change should
actually start in the first place, otherwise the change agenda
will only
cater for the elite.
The new inclusive government can win over the
Diaspora by a stroke of a pen
by simply changing the law to allow the
Diaspora to enjoy dual citizenship
which is the case with most democratic
countries like South Africa or United
Kingdom, and even Nigeria that
understand we are now global citizens or
transnational citizens.
The
new government is therefore encouraged to quickly communicate its vision
through the appropriate media for respective audiences in the rural, urban
areas and even the Diaspora.
There should be no room for spin because
it will simply make people despair.
So, may the work begin!
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-09-21-zimbabweans-must-reclaim-their-streets
PERCY ZVOMUYA | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Sep
21 2008 06:00
Following the power-sharing agreement between the two
factions of Zimbabwe's
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Zanu-PF, the
Mail & Guardian spoke
to commentators, analysts, activists, business
people and NGOs about their
expectations and fears.
Callisto
Jokonya
President of the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries
There is now a clear understanding between the politicians;
they are walking
towards the same goal. We think the deal will bring peace
and oneness to the
country. The foundation for our onward march has been
established and, as
business, we are grateful.
Business is
about global trading and global relationships. We have to
emphasise our
relationships with the outside world. We hope this deal means
the outside
world will look at us differently, in a positive way. We have
been given an
opportunity to start afresh. We expect the deal to bring in
new investors
and visitors. Hopefully we will be able to go into
partnerships with
international investors. We hope international lines of
credit will be
opened and we hope the country will be able to access donor
finance. This
will address the shocking levels of poverty here.
We hope to be
able to attract our people who live abroad. We have lost more
than two
million skilled people and this explains why our businesses have
been
operating at below capacity. We won't just invite them to come back,
but we
will create the conditions necessary for them to return. They want to
come
back; some of them have been phoning us.
We will push for the right
policies and we will be able to pay competitive
salaries. We hope the two
principals are fully committed to this agreement.
It has taken them this
long to come to an agreement, so we hope they are
serious. We also need to
address the pain our people experienced and
institute a healing process in
which we forgive each other as a nation.
Business should take
leadership and tell the government what to do. It
should be able to
respectfully tell government what works and what doesn't.
We shouldn't wait
for government to tell us what to do. We should tell them,
we should move
away from the culture of fear; this has happened in the past.
We shouldn't
shy away from telling government the truth.
Amanda
Atwood
Civil rights activist based in Zimbabwe
I'll start by
asking Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai to gather as many
members of our
police force as possible in our biggest stadium. I want
citizens to join
them and I want the leaders of this country to encourage a
change of
behaviour. [We will demand] an end to corruption and bribery in
the force,
an end to demanding free rides on public transport, and most
importantly, an
end to the excessive abuse of power that members of the
police force use to
subjugate fellow Zimbabweans.
Next on my wish list is a vibrant
collaboration between civil society
organisations, bringing us the biggest
peace march that Zimbabwe has ever
seen. I'd like this to happen so that
Zimbabweans can reclaim their streets
and laugh in the face of that big
stick of fear that has been wielded over
us for so long. Besides which, we
need to test this current cosmetic
embracing of democracy that Zanu-PF is
crowing about.
Top of my wish list is that our politicians commit
to a national truth and
reconciliation process. And we need this to happen
soon. Even if the money
starts rolling in, it will not erase the deep pain
of the abuses committed
under the Mugabe regime. The future of our country
is as much rooted in
justice and accountability as [it is in] economic
recovery. Both will be
hard to achieve but one cannot happen without the
other. Unless this deal
includes bringing the perpetrators to book, it won't
sit very well at all.
Misa-Zimbabwe
Media-freedom
lobby
We appeal to the incoming inclusive government to prioritise the
transformation of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) from a state
broadcaster into a truly independent public service broadcaster that serves
the citizens impartially.
ZBC should be run by an independent
board representative of civil society,
the media, churches, labour and the
business community, among others. This
will cushion the institution from
falling into the helms of political and
economic interests that compromise
its public service mandate.
We call for an immediate cessation of
the arrest, harassment and torture of
all journalists and media houses
reporting on Zimbabwe [and] the granting of
permission to all media houses
(both foreign and local) to cover the
political situation as it
unfolds.
We also call for the suspension and subsequent repealing
of all repressive
media legislation; in particular, the Access to
Information and Protection
of Privacy Act, the Public Order and Security
Act, the Broadcasting Services
Act and the Interception of Communications
Act.
Ian Scoones
Fellow at the Institute of Development
Studies at the University of Sussex,
Britain, and member of the Livelihoods
after Land Reform in Southern Africa
team
The long-awaited political
agreement in Zimbabwe is to be welcomed. After
years of political impasse
and economic instability, there is a potential
for a new start. But an
informed debate on the future is urgently needed.
There has
certainly been substantial damage done to the basic infrastructure
of
commercial agriculture. There has also been significant new investment --
almost all of it private, individual efforts. New settlers have cleared
land, built homes, purchased farm equipment and invested in
livestock.
Revitalising agriculture will be a major priority for
the new government,
and any strategy must recognise the particular
challenges of smallholder,
mixed farming. New support must be careful not to
undermine the diversified
entrepreneurialism that has emerged in recent
years.
Let us hope that the new government -- with support from
the donor
community -- will take notice of these realities on the ground.
Much needs
to be done: economic and political stability, combined with
focused
investment in agriculture, is urgently needed. With sensitive
support, a
positive spiral can emerge which builds on the redistributive
gains of land
reform and the real potentials of small-scale agriculture to
be the motor of
economic growth and regeneration.
Ian Scoones, Challenges the myths about Zimbabwean agriculture and land reform
15 September 2008http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
19:39
CONCERN mounted yesterday that the power-sharing agreement,
hamstrung
by a deadlock over the allocation of cabinet ministries, faced
another
threat after the African National Congress (ANC) asked the mediator
Thabo
Mbeki to resign as President of South Africa.
The
decision, described in South Africa as a political "earthquake",
came as
negotiators for Zanu PF and the MDC prepared to seek Mbeki's help in
resolving a deadlock reached over the allocation of ministries last
week.
Their principals - President Robert Mugabe, Prime
Minister-designate
Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister-designate,
Professor Arthur
Mutambara - failed to agree on how to share the ministries
on Thursday,
dampening hopes that the politicians would start working
together to resolve
the country's political and economic
crisis.
Among the contentious ministries were those of Defence,
Home Affairs,
Information, and Finance.
Haile Menkerios, the UN
Assistant Secretary General for Political
Affairs said in New York on Friday
the parties would turn to Mbeki for help
to solve the issue which he
described as a "snag" and a "hiccup".
Menkerios made the comments
shortly after he briefed members of the
Security Council on the deal seen as
the best way to solve Zimbabwe's
political and economic crisis.
He said the deal was a "delicate compromise" and admitted it would not
be
easy to implement it.
He was, however, optimistic that a
breakthrough would be found with
Mbeki's assistance.
Reports
from South Africa yesterday appeared to dampen such hopes.
Officials from
the negotiating parties, who spoke on condition of anonymity
for fear of
jeopardising the talks, feared yesterday that Mbeki might not
have time this
week to attend to Harare matters when he was facing the
biggest crisis of
his political career.
They also doubted whether Mbeki, who has
brought together the warring
parties after promising to mobilise resources
needed to rescue the Zimbabwe
economy, could remain an effective mediator if
he was no longer in charge of
the powerful Southern African
country.
Mbeki last week set up a special team led by the
departments of
Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and National Treasury which had
started working
with other Sadc nations an emergency farm rescue plan. At
the signing
ceremony, Mbeki said it was imperative that Zimbabwe was
assisted with
inputs before the rainy season, which is only weeks
away.
But these plans would be difficult to implement if Mbeki is
no longer
a Sadc leader.
Officials in the MDC-T, however,
downplayed the impact of Mbeki's
removal from office yesterday. In their
view Mbeki's departure would only be
bad news for Mugabe.
ANC
President Jacob Zuma, who is expected to succeed Mbeki, has been
openly
critical of Mugabe, and is unlikely to follow a "softly softly"
approach
that Mbeki pursued in dealing with the Zimbabwean leader.
Sources
said that Zuma had assured Tsvangirai that he supported the
"cause for
democracy". This was after Tsvangirai embarked on a diplomatic
offensive
after the March 29 elections. At one point Zuma is understood to
have
advised Tsvangirai not to rush into a Government of National Unity with
Mugabe, preferring to put pressure on Mugabe to hold fresh free and fair
elections.
Unlike Mbeki, who has pursued quiet diplomacy, Zuma
heavily criticised
Mugabe when results of the March elections were
delayed.
At the time of going to press, it remained unclear whether
Mbeki would
resign or not, but recently he had said he would follow the
wishes of the
ruling ANC.
By Walter Marwizi
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
19:36
IT'S almost a month after schools opened for the third term, but
Gudyanga Primary School resembles an abandoned cluster of buildings in a war
zone.
There are neither pupils nor teachers in the
dilapidated classrooms,
littered with broken chairs and
benches.
Doors and windowpanes are also broken while the walls have
gaping
cracks.
The peeling cement floors are dusty -
indications that they were last
cleaned several months ago.
This is not a scene from Somalia, far away from Zimbabwe. This a
supposedly
a modern school near the diamond-rich mining area of Chiadzwa in
Marange
district of Manicaland.
"This school never really opened this term
because most of the
teachers and pupils are mining diamonds in Chiadzwa,"
said one female
teacher, who requested not to be identified.
Gudyanga is not the only school that has been affected by the "diamond
rush". Several others remain shut.
Education officials who
spoke to The Standard last week said more than
three-quarters of schools in
Marange, Buhera and Chimanimani districts
failed to open this term because
teachers had swapped "chalk for the
crowbar," in their search for
diamonds.
They said in some schools only the headmasters, a few
teachers and
pupils turned up on the opening day. But as days passed by, the
few school
children who had turned up also stopped coming to
school.
"We hear teachers are meeting up with our pupils there
(Chiadzwa) and
they actually show them the safe routes to the fields. It's
no longer a
teacher-student relationship," said a senior education official
based in
Mutare. "They are now like colleagues and it is not good for our
education."
In the few schools that managed to open, teachers take
turns to go to
the diamonds fields.
"We have situations here
where a teacher takes three or four classes a
day because he or she would be
standing in for colleagues in Chiadzwa. After
a week or so, he would also go
leaving his class with another teacher,"
explained a teacher at Chakohwa
Primary School.
Hunger, which is pervasive in most parts of the
country, also affected
school attendance in Manicaland, where most
households failed to harvest
enough for their family needs.
Other than mining diamonds, teachers and pupils like other members of
the
communities in which they live, spend most of their time gathering wild
fruits such as mauyu and chakata to supplement their food.
The
on-going countrywide strike organised by the militant Progressive
Teachers'
Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) to protest against poor salaries and
allowances has
worsened attendance.
PTUZ national co-ordinator Oswald Madziwa
estimated that 90% of
teachers in the country were on strike earning poor
salaries and allowances.
For a long time, Madziwa said, the
government had been taking teachers
for granted while other professionals
were being rewarded accordingly.
Teachers, who earn on average $1
200 (US$35), are demanding a monthly
salary and allowances equivalent to
US$1 200 ($48 000) for them to return to
the classroom.
"The
strike has given teachers a chance to do other things like
diamond mining.
They cannot just sit idly when their families go hungry,"
Madziwa
said.
The education sector has faced disruptions during the past
eight years
because of recurrent strikes by teachers demanding better
remuneration.
Towards every major election during the past eight years and
at the height
of land invasions in 2000, teachers were chased away from
schools by Zanu PF
militia, who accused them of supporting the MDC, leaving
the pupils and
students in the cold.
The government never
raised a finger.
Analysts and scholars blame the current crisis in
education on the
government's abdication of duty to provide for the welfare
of teachers and
its failure to prioritise education.
At the
country's independence in 1980, President Robert Mugabe's
government offered
free education with a pledge for "Education for All by
the Year 2000" but
that target has been missed. Now needy students, who used
to get assistance
from the Basic Education Assistance Module, a school-fee
waiver programme,
now pay fees in foreign currency, groceries and livestock.
Many are
out of school and could soon be counted as illiterate.
Analysts
estimate that the literacy rate will drop from one of the
world's highest to
just 40 or 50%.
PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said
Zimbabwe was basking in
the success of independence and the hard work of
former education ministers
such Dzingai Mutumbuka and Fay
Chung.
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) national president
Tendai
Chikowore also bemoaned the collapse of education system in the
country.
Teachers, she said, earned very little and could not
withdraw their
"peanuts" from the banks. The central bank recently increased
the withdrawal
limit from $500 to $1 000, but is still
insignificant.
"The education system has broken down. Teachers have
no capacity to
perform. To be honest with you our literacy rate will soon
fall to
unimaginable levels," said Chikowore, who is also the chairperson of
the
APEX Council, a body that represents all civil servants in the
country.
Outgoing Minister of Education Aeneas Chigwedere was not
available for
comment.
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20
September 2008 19:33
FURTHER evidence of the international
community's desire for Zimbabwe
to form a new Cabinet and speedily embark on
a recovery programme came from
the African Development Bank and the World
Bank on Friday.
The announcement came as the United
Nations and other organisations
rushed to provide basic life-saving aid to
millions of Zimbabweans and
urgently need additional funds.
The
African Development Bank and the World Bank said in a joint
statement that
the power-sharing agreement signed between Zanu PF and the
two MDC
formations represented a potential opportunity for Zimbabwe.
"The
African Development Bank and the World Bank Group welcome the
power-sharing
agreement signed on Monday in Harare," the two institutions
said, "as a
potential opportunity for Zimbabwe to begin to deal with its
mounting
economic, social and governance problems.
"We also look forward to
a demonstration that it can form the basis
for tackling the most urgent
human needs, especially of vulnerable women,
youth and children, such as
those arising from hyper-inflation and the food
and fuel
crisis."
The two financial institutions said as concrete progress
on the ground
was made, they would be "ready to join other development
partners in
exploring an appropriate programme of technical and, as
appropriate,
financial assistance".
ADB Chief, Donald Kaberuka
was in the country a week before last
Monday's agreement and said although
Zimbabwe was in arrears to the
institution, the bank was prepared to
urgently put together a US$1 billion
fund for Zimbabwe's recovery
project.
The joint statement comes a day after the British
government said it
would support Zimbabwe if the new government of national
unity took
rebuilding the nation seriously.
The British Foreign
Secretary, David Miliband said on Thursday the
British government welcomed
"the prospect of a turn in the tide of suffering
in Zimbabwe".
Miliband said he hoped Monday's agreement would help Zimbabwe to chart
a new
course towards economic recovery and political stability.
If the
new government took the issue of rebuilding the country as a
matter of
urgency, Miliband said, Britain and the rest of the international
community
would be quick to provide support.
Canada on Monday said the deal
could begin a new era of political,
economic and social recovery in Zimbabwe
and urged all members of the new
government to work together to implement
the genuine changes needed to
improve the lives of Zimbabweans.
Canada's position came 10 days after it imposed targeted sanctions on
President Mugabe, government and Zanu PF officials. These sanctions will
remain in effect until the Zimbabwe has demonstrated positive shifts in
policy that build confidence and create the conditions necessary for
improvements in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of
law.
In New York, the United Nations and other organisations were
fast-tracking efforts to provide basic life-saving aid to millions of
Zimbabweans following the political settlement and urgently needed
additional funds, according to the UN News Service.
"This is a
critical moment, which comes immediately after the peaceful
resolution of
the political stalemate in Zimbabwe and the lifting of the
restrictions on
field operations of non-governmental organisations (NGOs),"
UN Emergency
Relief Co-ordinator John Holmes said in a statement.
"Already, NGOs
and UN agencies are re-establishing operations to
provide basic life-saving
assistance and expect to reach nearly 3 million
people across the country by
October," he said. "During this period when
humanitarian needs are
particularly acute, we - the United Nations, the
Government of Zimbabwe, the
humanitarian and development communities and
regional countries - must work
more closely than ever to ensure that these
needs are met."
Zimbabwe suspended all field operations by NGOs, often the UN's main
implementing partners in delivering aid, on June 4, in the run-up to
presidential election run-off that precipitated the political crisis, now
resolved, it is hoped, through a power-sharing agreement.
The
2008 Consolidated Humanitarian Appeal for Zimbabwe is currently
funded at
60% of the $394 million required. Critically under-funded sectors
include
emergency agriculture and education. Funding in health, water and
sanitation
also remains low.
"This is worrying at a time when the people of
Zimbabwe urgently need
food, seeds, fertilizers and essential drugs, among
so many other
priorities," Holmes said. "While the humanitarian community
must urgently
step up immediate interventions, I call on the donor community
to step up
its funding in parallel, particularly to priority sectors and
projects."
The Government, he said, must also ensure safe,
unfettered access by
the humanitarian community as it undertakes its
critical work. "For our
part, we will continue close co-operation with the
government of Zimbabwe,
regional countries and organisations as well as
development partners to
support humanitarian efforts and recovery
initiatives," he said.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
19:31
The state on Tuesday withdrew charges against a civic society
activist
Peter Muchengeti, who has been facing charges of communicating
falsehoods
before plea, when he appeared before Gweru magistrate Irvine
Mhlanga on
Tuesday.
Appearing for the state prosecutor
Katharine Chisvo told Mhlanga that
the state was withdrawing the case
against Muchengeti who is also the
regional chairman of the National
Association of Non-governmental
Organisations in the Midlands, due to lack
of evidence.
The charge against Muchengeti arose from comments that
he allegedly
made to the Voice of America Radio (Studio 7) through its
reporter Patience
Rusere. The state had alleged the statement was "wholly
false" in stating
that there was a discovery of six bodies at Matshekandumba
Village at the
30-kilometre peg along the Gweru-Kwekwe Road.
Following the accusation, police on July 18 raided ZIMCET offices in
Gweru,
taking Muchengeti into custody for three days, and also confiscating
office
equipment including computers. The case received wide publicity in
the state
media with police spokesperson alleging that Muchengeti had also
been found
with broadcasting equipment.
On his initial remand hearing,
Muchengeti, through his lawyers told
the court that he had been subjected to
inhuman treatment and tortured while
in custody. Magistrate Rosa Takuva had
ordered the state to investigate the
allegation and report to the
court.
But, during Tuesday's hearing, the state, through prosecutor
Chisvo,
told the court that they did not have any report on the alleged
torture.
Muchengeti, however, said he had instructed his lawyer
Reginald
Chidawanyika of Chitere, Chidawanyika and Partners to institute a
civil suit
against state security agents and the Ministry of Home Affairs
for the
torture he suffered at the hands of the police.
By
Rutendo Mawere
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20
September 2008 19:26
House of Assembly Speaker, Lovemore Moyo, says the
landmark deal
between the ruling Zanu PF and the opposition MDC is a victory
for
Matabeleland because most high ranking officials in the new government
hailing from the region will derive their mandate from the
electorate.
Speaking at a meeting organised by Bulawayo
Agenda, Moyo, who is also
national chairman for the main MDC, said the new
dispensation provided a
"window of opportunity for the region".
"For the first time in a very long time Matabeleland is going is have
senior
leadership in government that is chosen by the people rather than
presidential appointees and I think we should celebrate that," he
said.
Since independence, President Robert Mugabe has struggled to
perform a
balancing act to accommodate the region in his successive
governments amid
cries of deliberate marginalisation.
Following
the emergence of the MDC on the political scene Mugabe, in a
desperate
effort to pacify the region, resorted to directly appointing to
government
former PF Zapu leaders who would have lost in elections.
The new
configuration will see an unprecedented number of
representatives who won
constituencies in Matabeleland occupying senior
posts in the executive arm
of government. Thokozani Khuphe, the deputy prime
minister-designate as well
as Moyo as the Speaker of Parliament and his
deputy, Nomalanga Khumalo hail
from the Western region.
There is also Vice-President Joseph Msika
and Naison Ndlovu, the
deputy president of the Senate.
"It is
now our challenge for us to work in order to create a conducive
environment
for the people of Matabeleland to prosper," Moyo said. "Our
problem is that
we have been failing to locate ourselves in the national
context and as a
result we have been feeding on crumbs from the national
cake.
"I for one am clear as to the reason why I am there and I am informed
by a
background where I saw relatives and friends being massacred for being
Ndebele."
The demands for compensation of victims of
Gukurahundi and a
deliberate policy to compensate for the loss of
development as a result of
the post-independence conflict are some of the
issues the new government
will be expected to address, civic leaders who
attended the briefing said.
"Our advantage is that we are now much
cleverer than those who joined
hands with President Mugabe at independence,"
Moyo said. "The problem with
our PF Zapu elders is that they never came back
to consult us, the people."
Jethro Mpofu, a losing parliamentary
candidate for the Arthur
Mutambara-led MDC counselled the leaders from the
region to form a
non-partisan caucus to effectively address the myriad of
challenges facing
the provinces.
"We come from a region that
has suffered a lot," he said, "and
therefore it should not be a matter of
MDC-Tsvangirai, MDC-Mutambara or Zanu
PF."
Moyo also allayed
fears the coalition agreement will suffer the same
fate as the Unity Accord
saying this time the African Union (AU) and the
Southern African Development
Community had undertaken to act as guarantors.
By Kholwani
Nyathi
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20
September 2008 19:20
A wave of panic is sweeping through resettlement
areas following the
signing of the power-sharing agreement between Zanu PF
and the MDC factions,
with a number of "new farmers" reportedly preparing
for their "eviction".
The farmers' fears have reportedly
been stoked by Zanu PF politicians
opposed to the deal that will see a
number of President Robert Mugabe's
close associates losing their positions
in government.
MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, now the Prime
Minister-designate, has
been vilified by Zanu PF for allegedly working with
the former white
commercial farmers to reverse the land reform
programme.
In Matabeleland, the most affected constituencies have
been identified
as Umguza, Insiza North and Gwanda South, where new farmers
were blackmailed
into voting for Zanu PF candidates with threats that
electing MDC
representatives would see a reversal of the land reform
programme.
"We don't know what will happen to us after the signing
of that
agreement," a plot holder at Silverstream Farm in Umguza said. "But
there
are strong sentiments that President Mugabe sold out to the
British."
A flurry of meetings was held in Umguza constituency on
the outskirts
of Bulawayo as news of the deal signed on Monday began
filtering through.
The farmers, most of them war veterans, also
demanded that farm
implements that were lying idle at the district council's
offices should be
distributed immediately before the new government takes
office.
On Friday they had summoned Ennety Sithole, the district
administrator, to one of their meetings but she reportedly turned them down
saying the issue of implements was "political".
Sithole was not
immediately available for comment. The constituency
has already witnessed an
upsurge in land disputes after Obert Mpofu, the
area MP tried to boot out
Zanu PF officials who had campaigned for Simba
Makoni ahead of the March 29
elections.
Another war veteran, who said he was allocated a plot on
the outskirts
of Gwanda, said many of his colleagues had visited their old
homes to see if
they could be rebuilt in case they were
evicted.
"There are also those who were responsible for setting up
torture
bases in the run-up to the presidential election run-off," he said.
"They
think Mugabe has delivered them to their enemies."
Last
week, Mugabe implored members of the Zanu PF central committee to
explain to
the ruling party's supporters what the agreement entails. The
signatories,
among other things agreed that the land reform programme was
irreversible
but called for an audit to identify multiple farm owners.
By
Kholwani Nyathi
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
19:18
THE National Economic Consultative Forum (NECF) will lobby the
proposed inclusive government to overhaul the central bank's decision to
allow business to sell their goods in foreign currency, The Standard has
heard.
Central bank governor Gideon Gono (pictured)
recently announced that 1
000 retailers and 200 wholesalers would be allowed
to sell goods in foreign
currency, ostensibly to help improve availability
of goods on the market.
He said the bold measures taken by the
central bank would "if embraced
in full and with positivity, enhance our
preparations for the 2010 World Cup
in South Africa".
The
governor was quick to hit out at "perpetual critics who would be
quick to
condemn the intervention as unsustainable".
However, NECF
spokesperson Nhlanhla Masuku said Gono's moves failed to
protect the
consumers.
He said the NECF had suggested the creation of foreign
currency-denominated shopping zones in Harare and Bulawayo, among other
places.
He said they had proposed Westgate, High Glen and
Chitungwiza shopping
centres in Harare, and Bulawayo Centre and Nkulumane in
Bulawayo.
"We did not advocate for 1 000 licences. That will create
monitoring
problems," Masuku said. "We had proposed creation of ring-fenced
zones which
will be easy to monitor and as the owners of the idea, we are
going to lobby
the new government for our model."
Masuku said
this was meant to encourage people who normally travel to
South Africa,
Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique to shop locally instead, thus
improving
foreign currency inflows into the formal channels and also benefit
domestic
tourism.
Masuku said under the NECF's proposal, all shops at a mall
would be
allowed to sell their goods in foreign currency for ease of
monitoring which
would not be possible under Gono's random system which
Masuku said was
likely to be taken up by big supermarkets.
"Under that (Gono's) system, some goods will continue in short supply
as
there will be no incentive for people to avail them," he said. "Our
system
would have also made it easier that we do regional benchmarking -
comparing
prices on a regional basis - and telling the people and
authorities if there
is any overcharging."
Masuku said the NECF also hoped the new
government would restore
confidence to both local and external investors,
something which would give
an impetus to quick economic
recovery.
He also said his organisation had in the past year
compiled several
position papers on how to improve various economic sectors
including
agriculture, fertilizer industry and the energy
sector.
"As people who champion dialogue, we are very happy that
national
dialogue has resulted in a deal that will pave way for a new
Cabinet",
Masuku said." We hope the Cabinet will be consumers of work done
by our
taskforces."
Masuku said the NECF was happy that Zanu PF
and MDCs had agreed to
conduct a land audit aimed at eliminating multiple
farm ownership and
restoring productivity.
He also said his
organisation welcomed the creation of the Ministry of
Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) and hoped it will be given
necessary
support to improve the country's ICTs sector to world class
standards.
"We also have a media taskforce and are thus very
happy that our
leaders agreed on opening up the airwaves," Masuku
said.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
19:16
THE management of the Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers) Group was
left
with egg on their face after a Harare court thwarted the company's bid
to
evict its workers from a company block of flats.
The
Zimpapers Pension Fund dragged eight of the company's employees to
court in
an attempt to force them to vacate Jorosa and Cambridge Flats in
the Avenues
area and Avondale, respectively. Both premises are owned by the
Pension
Fund, of which all Zimpapers employees are contributors.
On May 15,
the workers were each served with a "Notice to Vacate". The
notice, served
by Zimpapers Pension Fund Lawyers Muzangaza, Mandaza and
Tomana said the
workers' occupation of the properties was "clearly
unlawful".
And in her founding affidavit in court, Zimpapers Pension Fund
manager,
Egiphah Kusangaya-Mahomva said the workers' "occupancy of the
premises in
question was in terms of a lease agreement that expired on May
31, 2007, but
was then extended. . . to April 30, 2008. . ."
But dismissing the
application for a summary judgement on the matter
recently, Harare
magistrate Never Katiyo ruled that the matter had material
disputes of
facts.
"He noted that there is a relationship of employer and
employee and of
the institutions involved," said the workers' lawyer, Rogers
Matsikidze, of
Donsa-Nkomo Legal Practice. "The workers contribute to the
pension Fund
which owns and administers the premises."
Matsikidze, who has handled a number of cases involving media
practitioners
and their employers this year, said the workers were now free
to continue
staying at the flats.
"We are waiting to see if the company will
take any action. The
workers are still Zimpapers' employees and are still
reporting for work,"
Matsikidze said. "It is also inhumane for the company
to evict the workers
when they know with their earnings they cannot afford
alternative
accommodation."
Most homeowners in urban areas are
charging rentals in foreign
currency.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008 19:13
THE
deputy Minister of Agriculture, David Chapfika, was heckled and
dressed down
by chiefs after he expressed surprise that there was hunger in
the rural
areas.
The chiefs were attending a chiefs' council annual
conference in
Bulawayo over a week ago where Chapfika said the government
was importing
food to feed starving Zimbabweans.
He said the
government had imported 221 000 tonnes of maize last year
and was expecting
880 000 tonnes which had been paid for. Chapfika further
said that the
country was receiving between 10 000 and 25 000 tonnes of
maize a week
against a requirement of 35 000 tonnes.
However, these figures
failed to impress the chiefs, who stay in the
rural areas where the majority
scrounge for food. They dismissed his
statement saying it was a tired lie
and smacked of an overbearing approach
by government officials towards the
dire food situation in the country.
"There is hunger out there and
the tonnes you are talking about are
not reaching the people. There is
hunger in the rural areas as there is no
food but perhaps there is no hunger
at your homes," said an angry Chief
Chiweshe. "Ministers are not going to
the ground to see what is happening,
but only come to read prepared speeches
about the food situation."
The chiefs also stopped short of telling
President Robert Mugabe that
a ban on aid organisations had worsened the
food situation when they told
the 84-year-old leader that hunger among
villagers had worsened since June.
Prior to the June 27
presidential election run-off, the government
banned the food agencies from
conducting their humanitarian activities,
thereby sparking an international
outcry. Following the international
outcry, Mugabe lifted the ban on aid
agencies but put stringent requirements
in place for registration of the
NGOs before they could be allowed to resume
operations.
"Villagers are now starving in the rural areas and unless something is
done
urgently, villagers might die of hunger because there is just no food.
There
is absolutely nothing. There is serious hunger out there," Chief
Charumbira,
the president of the Zimbabwe council of chiefs, said.
Aid
agencies, whose work was disrupted by the ban on their operations
in June,
estimate that about four million Zimbabweans are in need of
assistance.
After three months the government lifted the ban,
but analysts have
said that a number of food aid organisations might fail to
distribute food
to hungry Zimbabweans because they have to be screened by
the chiefs first
before resuming operations in the chiefs' areas of
jurisdiction. They also
have to submit information about their operations,
failure of which could
result in de-registration.
By Nqobani
Ndlovu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
19:12
Justin Mutasa, the chief executive of the state controlled
Zimpapers
group has suspended pending dismissal an editor of one of the
stable's
publications for allegedly writing falsehoods against President
Robert
Mugabe.
Bhekinkosi Ncube, the editor of the
Bulawayo based vernacular weekly
paper Umthunywa, was initially barred from
entering the company's premises
at the beginning of last month after he was
accused of "writing falsehoods
against the head of state and Zanu
PF".
"The suspension letter, which was very brief and does not
state the
length of the suspension or the specific charges against him,
stated that he
was being suspended with immediate effect without pay for
writing false
hoods against the head of the state and Zanu PF," said a
source.
"He was also accused of moonlighting for a hostile news
website that
has constantly exposed corruption and mismanagement at the
Bulawayo branch."
In a strange twist to the case, on Monday Ncube
was reportedly handed
two letters dated the same day, one informing him that
he had been
reinstated to his position without any loss of benefits with
effect from 15
September.
Another informed him that he had been
suspended without pay with
immediate effect pending a disciplinary
hearing.
This time he was accused of moonlighting for a hostile
website using
his personal email.
The general manager for the
branch, Sithembile Ncube refused to
comment on the matter and referred
questions to "the chief".
However, repeated efforts to get a
comment from Mutasa who also chairs
the ZBC board of governors were
fruitless.
Ncube was also unavailable as his company issued mobile
phone was
unreachable but fellow workmates confirmed that he had not been
reporting
for work for the past two weeks.
They expressed fears
his suspension was part of wider plans to
persecute state journalists who
were perceived to be anti-establishment.
"No one is in the picture
about his suspension," said one of the
journalists. "We understand the
government was not happy with his decision
to publish a full page picture of
MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai with a
headline saying "Walile ukusayini (He
refused to sign)."
The paper had reported about a deadlock in the
power-sharing talks
between the MDC and Zanu PF more than three weeks
ago.
Last year, Ncube and Sikhumbuzo Moyo, a sports reporter were
summoned
by the provincial Joint Operations Command (JOC) after the paper
published a
story very critical of Matabeleland North governor, Sithokozile
Mathuthu.
The provincial JOC is made up of the governor and
heads of the Central
Intelligence Organisation, the army, police and
prisons.
Ncube reportedly refused to apologise for the story
despite repeated
threats by the CIO.
Several ZBC
journalists are also fighting impending retrenchment after
they were accused
of contributing to Mugabe's dismissal performance in the
March elections
where he came second behind Tsvangirai.
By Kholwani Nyathi
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
18:12
AS they waited for the signing of the historic power-sharing deal
between their party and the two MDC formations at the Rainbow Towers Harare
International Conference Centre last Monday, most Zanu PF officials appeared
not as jovial as they usually are at important state
gatherings.
Despite the signing being a milestone in the
history of Zimbabwe, most
Zanu PF officials appeared unsettled by the deal.
A number of them could be
seen staring into space, palms resting on their
chins, as if wondering what
the future holds for them.
And when
President Robert Mugabe took to the podium, he did not - as
he usually does
at such national events - make a special mention of
politburo and central
committee members, let alone Vice-Presidents Joseph
Msika and Joice Mujuru.
And as if to add insult to injury, Southern Africa
Development Community
(Sadc) executive secretary Tomaz Salamao did not
invite Msika, Mujuru and
other top Zanu PF officials to pose for photographs
with the three
principals and the negotiating teams, and dignitaries from 12
Sadc
countries.
On Monday, they had no option but to listen,
attentively, to
opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara,
quite a major
climb down from their usual barrages and attacks of them in
state media
outlets.
Asked why he appeared not at ease, an
outgoing minister requesting
anonymity, summed up the feeling among his
colleagues, saying: "This is no
playing matter. It's a tricky situation for
all of us. As you know, there
were about 64 of us in the last cabinet. In
terms of the deal, only 30 or so
of us will be appointed in Cabinet. What is
worse is that a number of
sitting ministers lost their parliamentary seats.
As it stands now, only a
few individuals are guaranteed a position in the
new Cabinet, probably the
Vice-Presidents, whose positions are determined at
the party congress."
In terms of the power sharing deal signed on
Monday, Zanu PF will have
15 ministers, eight deputy ministers, and five
provincial governors in
Cabinet. This means about half of the outgoing crop
of ministers will not be
re-appointed.
A number of heavyweights
have already been dropped from their
positions as Provincial Governors. Some
ministers, who are still clinging on
to their offices despite losing their
parliamentary seats, are also set to
follow suit when the deal is
implemented.
The Standard understands there have been massive
flare-ups in recent
Zanu PF meetings, with officials seeking an explanation
from Mugabe and the
negotiators on how certain compromises were made.
Officials are also said to
be trying hard to outsmart each other in every
opportunity they get to draw
Mugabe's attention.
As a result,
Mugabe is understood to have spent the better part of
Tuesday and Wednesday
trying to contain a potentially explosive situation in
the Politburo and
Central Committee.
As a result, Mugabe failed to make it on time
for a meeting with
Tsvangirai and Mutambara to discuss the allocation of
ministries. That
meeting was initially supposed to be on Tuesday, but was
postponed to
Wednesday, and later, Thursday.
"There are some in
the party who feel the President conceded too much
to the MDC. Although he
is still in charge, the party's influence in
government has been extensively
eroded," said the official.
Within minutes after the signing,
violence broke out between MDC and
Zanu PF supporters. The situation only
calmed after the intervention of riot
police. The violence, it was noted,
was an indication that ordinary
supporters of both Zanu PF and the MDC were
not yet fully conversant with
the contents of the deal.
On
Wednesday, Mugabe acknowledged there was still need for party
leaders to
educate their supporters on the agreement.
"It is the
responsibility of you in the leadership to explain the
contents and meaning
of the agreement to all our people," Mugabe said. "We
therefore urge you to
do the best you can to understand the document. Go out
and explain to the
people kumusha (in the communities). There are people who
are yearning to
understand how it is going to work now that our opponents
yesterday are now
our partners today."
By Vusumuzi Sifile
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008 19:00
THE signing of the power-sharing agreement by the country's principal
political figures last week raised hopes of economic recovery but analysts
caution that without a credible reform plan, Zimbabwe will continue sinking
into the abyss.
On Monday President Robert Mugabe,
Prime Minister-designate Morgan
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime
Minister-designate Professor Arthur Mutambara
appended their signatures to a
power-sharing deal for the formation of an
all-inclusive
government.
Analysts say the allocation of ministries will
determine whether
Zimbabwe will halt the economic decline. Already the
parties are bogged down
on the allocation of ministries with Zanu PF
insisting that the Ministry of
Finance - key to the country's revival plans
- should remain in their hands.
Analysts say for the economy to get
back on track there is need to
boost production on farms.
"We
need production in agriculture," said John Robertson, an
independent
economist.
Robertson said large-scale commercial farmers displaced
needed to be
retained to boost production.
"The agreement says
there is no change in the land policy which means
that we will continue
importing food," he said.
The agreement, signed on Monday, states
that a land audit would be
carried out to weed out multiple farmer owners, a
development Robertson said
may take two years to complete while agriculture
continued declining. He
says the agreement defends the land policy instead
of trying to arrest the
problems in agriculture.
"If you deny
the cause of the problem, then you are going nowhere," he
said.
A daunting task facing the new administration is how to service the
foreign
debt Zimbabwe owes the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and
the
African Development Bank and analysts say only debt cancellation will
help
stabilise the economy.
The IMF on Monday signalled their intention
to work with Zimbabwe if
it provides a comprehensive policy
package.
". . .We stand ready to discuss with the new authorities
their
policies to stabilize the economy, improve social conditions, and
reduce
poverty. I encourage the government to take steps to show clear
commitment
to a new policy direction and to seek the support of the
international
community," Dominique Strauss Kahn, IMF managing director
said.
Dr John Panzer, an economist with the World Bank told a
business
conference last month that Zimbabwe needs external support in
softening
fiscal adjustments during stabilisation. "External support adds
credibility
and hence enhances likelihood of success of a stabilisation
programme."
Debt cancellation has in the past helped countries
coming from an
economic crisis pick up the pieces.
The 1953
London Agreement reduced Germany's debts. Germany's pre-war
debt amounted to
22.6 billion reichmarks including interest while its
postwar debt was
estimated at 16.2 billion reichmarks. These debts were
reduced to 7.5
billion reichmarks and 7 billion reichmarks respectively.
Robertson
believes debt cancellation is a reward for bad behaviour.
"I don't
believe we deserve to have debt cancellation. It is a reward
for bad
behaviour," he said.
Boosting investor confidence would be a tough
hurdle, analysts warned.
They said while the international community has
embraced the power-sharing
agreement, they will adopt a wait and see
attitude.
"There won't be a flood of donors pouring in money into
the country.
Investors want assurance that their money will be safe," a
banker said on
Friday.
Legislations such as the Indigenisation
and Economic Empowerment Act
have rattled investors. Amendments to the Mines
and Minerals Act are still
pending and analysts warn that investors in the
mining sector will wait for
the amendments before they can pour in money
into the capital intensive
industry.
Analysts say parastatals
need to discard their dependency syndrome and
prepare for
privatisation.
Ever wondered of a child that needs breastfeeding
even at 28 years?
This aptly describes the condition of parastatals which
require
spoon-feeding every day.
Despite programmes set up by
the central bank to avail cheap funds for
them, conditions have not improved
as inefficiency continues unabated.
The success of former
parastatals, such as Dairibord, that went
through the privatisation mill
should entice the government to privatise
some of the state enterprises,
analysts say.
By Ndamu Sandu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
18:57
Prospects of another failed agriculture season are mounting
following
indications that fertilizer companies will not be able to satisfy
demand due
to shortage of key inputs.
Among the reasons
for the failure is the shortage of foreign currency
needed by fertilizer
companies to import raw materials for producing
fertilizer.
Zimbabwe has consistently failed to produce enough maize to satisfy
local
demand since the turn of the millennium because of perennial failures
to
secure inputs such as seed, chemicals and fertilizer ahead of the farming
seasons.
Rugare Gumbo, the outgoing Minister of Agriculture,
told The Standard
that the fast approaching planting season might not be
different from
previous ones because there would be a shortfall of more than
15 000 tonnes.
He said a myriad of challenges, which he blamed on
the worsening
economic problems in the country, would hamper companies from
producing
enough fertilizer.
The companies would only be able to
produce 12 000 tonnes out of the
targeted 30 000 tonnes, despite receiving
US$13 million from the central
bank, specifically for fertilizer production,
ahead of the farming season.
But agriculture experts actually put
the nations' requirements in
excess of 50 000 tonnes during each farming
season.
"The fertilizer manufacturing companies who have indicated
that they
are facing numerous challenges have failed to meet the target of
30 000
tonnes since they have only produced about 12 000 tonnes," he said.
"The
government will be forced to import."
Renson Gasela, a
senior official in the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC
formation, who is a former
manager of the Grain Marketing Board, said the
huge shortfall was indicative
of repetitive poor planning on the part of
government.
"What
this shows is that the government does not learn from its past
mistakes of
poor planning ahead of farming seasons," he said. "This results
in food
shortages, with the government resorting to the blame game every
time."
The 2000 chaotic land reform programme that saw landless
blacks taking
over prime farming land from commercial farmers has seen
agriculture
production plummeting because of the farmers' lack of expertise
and having
to always contend with an acute shortage of inputs.
Millions of people especially in rural areas are surviving on food
imports
and handouts from aid agencies that President Robert Mugabe accuses
of using
food as a bait to push starving Zimbabweans to rebel against his
government.
Mugabe has defended the land reform programme
saying it was necessary
to right historical injustices.
He
blames food shortages on droughts, while experts cite poor planning
on the
part of government ahead of each and every farming season.
By
Nqobani Ndlovu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
18:54
THE Supreme Court has ruled that Zimbabwean born businessman,
Mutumwa
Mawere, whom the State wants to investigate for allegedly
externalising
funds -is not a fugitive from justice in a landmark ruling
that deflates the
government's bid to prosecute the
businessman.
In a ruling, Justice Misheck Cheda, assisted
by Justices Elizabeth
Gwaunza and Paddington Garwe, said Mawere was not a
fugitive from justice
and therefore should use the justice system for his
protection. However,
Cheda dismissed Mawere's appeal for the Supreme Court
to set aside his
specification on the grounds that it had no
merit.
Cheda said there was no evidence to show that Mawere
deliberately put
himself beyond the reach of the law.
"There is
no evidence to show that he intended to go into hiding when
he left
Zimbabwe," he said.
"It may well be that he was aware of some
unlawful acts on his part
when he left Zimbabwe, but there is no evidence to
link his departure from
Zimbabwe with the acts that led to his
specification."
Cheda ruled that for the court to hold that Mawere
is a fugitive from
justice, "it would have to be shown that he left Zimbabwe
with the intention
to flee and deliberately put himself beyond the
jurisdiction of this court
to avoid any legal action that might be brought
up against him, or that he
is hiding within the jurisdiction of
Zimbabwe".
"The appellant was specified when he was already a
citizen of the
Republic of South Africa. I therefore cannot hold that the
appellant falls
under the category of a fugitive from justice," Cheda
said.
Cheda said that "the fact that an attempt was made to arrest
and bring
him to Zimbabwe and that he is now avoiding coming to Zimbabwe
does not make
him a fugitive from justice".
"No person can be
compelled to leave his country of residence and
citizenship in order to go
and subject himself to the jurisdiction of
another country to face any legal
action in that country," Cheda said.
Following his specification by
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa in
2004, Mawere sought High Court
intervention to set aside the specification.
But the High Court dismissed
his application in 2005 leaving the businessman
to appeal to the Supreme
Court.
In his argument, Chinamasa as the respondent said the appeal
should be
dismissed on the grounds that Mawere had no locus standi to appear
before
the court after being specified and as such had not obtained
authority of
the investigator to launch an appeal. Chinamasa further argued
that Mawere
was a fugitive from justice.
Mawere told
Standardbusiness the Supreme Court ruling was not
unexpected "as I have
always held that how can a person who voluntarily
acquired a foreign
citizenship be considered to be a fugitive".
"The word fugitive was
invented to lend legitimacy to the draconian
and unlawful confiscation
actions taken by the government of Zimbabwe
against me," he said. "It is
difficult to imagine that after four years of
being called a fugitive and my
assets being taken over, the Supreme Court
now finds that after all it would
be wrong for me to be called a fugitive."
By Ndamu Sandu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
18:49
MY discussion today is focused more on the cash withdrawal limits
or
restrictions of access to one's own cash and its impact on
productivity.
Most countries have such limits based on some
formulae that enable
account holders to have reasonable access to their
deposits.
Such restrictions enable the account holders to access
enough of their
cash requirements in most cases that they may not return to
demand more for
some time because the limits provide meaningful cash for
use. Under current
limits one can hardly afford a loaf of bread selling at
over $600 at the
beginning of the week.
In our beloved nation
however, the restrictions have become so
unreasonable that it is now
tantamount to stealing from depositors and the
implications on productivity
cannot go unmentioned. The theft is such that
the poor workers who are
heavily taxed already are unable to utilize their
earnings while they still
have value. Limiting withdrawals to Z$1 000 or
US$2 at mid-week street rates
has meant that the un-demanded deposits are
available for investment to the
benefit of the banks who hold the deposits
for longer periods.
So the banks have so much of the poor worker's deposit to use for
their
investments. Such investments should earn interests that should be
passed on
to the workers or depositor. Unfortunately the interest is lower
than
inflation in some cases and secondly the same banks take back any
interest
passed on to the depositor through bank charges. So the workers who
are the
largest depositors in a largely informal economy through the
deposits of
their wages are the net losers.
Going back to the issue of
productivity, I have said in previous
articles that any policy should not
harm the very strategies we seek to
promote. The latest estimates on
manufacturing sectors' capacity utilization
of below 20% is cause for
concern to all who care. At these capacity levels
we cannot overemphasize
the need to improve productivity. To do so,
industries undoubtedly need all
resources necessary to raise such
productivity. One such critical resource
is the people. While the nation and
industry mourns the loss of critical
skills to the Diaspora, it is
imperative that the remaining skills are well
looked after. To my knowledge
most firms are trying their best to look after
the few remaining skills. In
my view they are constantly let down by policy
makers who seem to be the
"drunkards" themselves.
Restricting
withdrawals is tantamount to creating a nation of poor
citizens. According
to the United Nations the poorest citizen probably
unemployed and living on
government social welfare should live on US$1 a
day. These are citizens who
obviously cannot afford to deposit any monies
because they do not even
qualify to open bank accounts.
In Zimbabwe, we are faced with a
situation where workers who have been
paid more that US$1 a day by their
caring employers are forced to live on a
dollar a day through the ink of the
policy maker. Their hard-earned salaries
have been eroded while they look on
like a mother who has just lost her baby
to a flooded river. Just imagine an
employee who earns just $10 000. He or
she needs to visit the bank 10 times
or 10 days to withdraw it. It therefore
means that every day he is supposed
to be at work he must share time between
the bank and the
workplace.
Companies have lost valuable time as a result of workers
who request
time away to try and retrieve their deposits and in some
instances spending
hours on long queues to get two dollars.
When they return to the work they are exhausted and hungry that they
cannot
concentrate but instead start to think of how they are going to raise
money
for bus fare the following morning back to work.
As employers,
there is little that can be done about the situation as
they realise the
predicament in which the workers find themselves in. They
can only
sympathise and allow the workers time to go to the bank every day.
I can' t imagine how industries are expected to support national
policy when
workers including decision makers like CEOs spend hours in
banking queues to
withdraw two dollars. Just imagine a CEO or board chairman
spending
decision-making time at that 500m-long ATM queue to withdraw two
dollars.
It's pathetic and defies logic.
I mourn the expenses that companies
incur just because of this
thoughtless restriction on one's personal
earnings. I have spoken about lost
decision-making time of senior managers
and CEOs which is a huge cost, the
lost productivity time by workers, less
attention and effort as a result of
exhaustion from bank queues etc need
mention.
Some companies are helping their workers by offering
transport to and
from their banks. One simple calculation showed that the
cost of fuel for
the mode of transport offered was more than the total
amount withdrawn by
the employees so helped. Just imagine the costs of your
manager driving a
company maintained vehicle to the bank to withdraw two
dollars.
Add all these costs to the economy and you will appreciate
why we
cannot get this economy right. Certainly most companies factor these
costs
to their pricing formulas and the resultant effect should not surprise
authors of such untenable policies.
By Edward Chisi is a
Human Resources Practitioner and a part-time
lecturer in Human Resources
Management at the University of Zimbabwe's MBA
Programme.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
18:26
NOW that the deal has been signed amid pomp and ceremony, it is
appropriate to attempt some assessment of its
workability.
It is not easy to pick a spot from which to
commence so I shall take
advantage of the questions that have been posed by
readers of this column as
they seek to "unpack the deal", excuse the
cliché.
Let me start, however, by saying that the easiest thing to
do with a
document of this nature is to criticise it and, no doubt, there
will be many
criticisms. But the flaws in the document are not unexpected.
It is a
product of political compromise, a rather messy compromise at that,
therefore, it was never going to be easy on the eye. But it has to work and
here we do not just criticise but try to offer some ideas on how it might
achieve its purpose. The interest here is in the provisions appertaining to
the governmental framework as stated in Article XX of the
Agreement.
The provisions are the bare bones of this new creature
and if truth be
told, skeletons are not exactly a pretty sight, whatever the
time of day.
Paragraph 20.1.1 of the Agreement provides that
executive authority
shall be shared among the President, Prime Minister and
the Cabinet, subject
to the Constitution. This and other provisions that
follow do not clearly
demarcate the boundaries of executive authority,
particularly between the
President and the Prime Minister and there is scope
for duplication of
authority and duties.
Nevertheless, there is
a crucial proviso in this paragraph, which
states that in exercising
executive authority, the Parties must have regard
to the "principles and
spirit" underlying the Agreement to form the
Inclusive Government. This is
very important because it creates a second
compliance-tier beyond the
Constitution, so that when exercising executive
authority, the President,
Prime Minister and their senior Cabinet
counterparts do not simply resort to
a legalistic interpretation of the
Constitution but must, at all times,
attempt to uphold the values underlying
the Agreement. This is more about
political will than strict legal
interpretation of the provisions conferring
powers.
The provisions relating to the exercise of executive
authority clearly
present the classic case of a legal labyrinth and
negotiating a path will
require large amounts of political will on the part
of the Parties to make
sure the Agreement bears fruit. It is important to
consider the power
exercised by the President and Prime Minister in respect
of the two bodies
formed under this agreement: the Cabinet and the Council
of Ministers
("Council").
In terms of Paragraph 20.1.3(a) of
the Agreement the President is the
head of the Cabinet whilst per Paragraph
20.1.4(a) the Prime Minister is his
deputy head. The Prime Minister is also
the head of the Council. Therefore,
whilst the PM sits in both bodies, the
President sits only in the Cabinet.
The structure of these two bodies does
not present a good sight and there is
potential for duplication and probably
clashes of authority and duties. It
is clearly a product of compromise in
respect of sharing executive authority
between the President and the
PM.
Whilst the agreement does not specify which of the two bodies
takes
precedence between the Cabinet and the Council, it seems to me that in
effect the Council is no more than a "special committee" of the Cabinet. It
is notable that the Council comprises of all members of the Cabinet and that
the Council effectively reports to Cabinet, so in some cases (if not all)
there could be a bizarre scenario whereby Cabinet effectively reports to
itself. They are effectively the same animal, by different names. A lot will
depend on the practicalities, such as which of the two bodies meets more
frequently and whether in fact the Cabinet will simply rubber-stamp
decisions or recommendations of the Council. Given that the Council will
comprise of both Zanu PF and MDC members, chances that the President could
later veto the decisions of Council, in his capacity as overall supervisor
may be remote but of course, cannot be ruled out.
To avoid the
clashes, this is how the new system might work: If I were
to use an analogy
from corporate organisations, the Council is more like the
management board
of a company which is in charge of the day-to-day
management of government
business under the direct supervision of the
Managing Director, in this
case, the Prime Minister. The Cabinet on the
other hand is like the Board of
Directors, meeting periodically under the
supervision of the Chairman, i.e.
the President and his vice-presidents who,
to take the analogy further, are
effectively non-executive directors. If
understood in that way, it would
seem that the Prime Minister has direct
charge of running government and the
President oversees this work in a
supervisory capacity.
It is
not clear what the Vice-Presidents will do given that the powers
that they
would normally have exercised are now effectively with the PM.
Even if they
were to stand in for the President in his absence, it is not
clear why the
country needs two of them. This plainly is a product of
political
appeasement.
There are a number of provisions where the President
is required to
exercise his authority in "consultation" with or on the
"advice" of the PM
or cabinet. It is important to note that this does not
mean that the
President must follow the advice or information given during
consultation.
He can consult or get advice but ignore it in the end. The
Agreement makes
no provision for the President to give reasons for his
decision for ignoring
the advice or consultation. This is not right. A more
robust provision would
have been to require the President to at least
provide reasons - in my view
that would give greater effect to the idea of
co-operation and transparency.
This cannot now be changed but when the new
Constitution is discussed, this
is an issue that might require some
consideration.
There is Para. 20.1.2(f) which requires that Cabinet
decisions be by
"consensus". I am not sure what the current practice of
Cabinet is in
respect of decision-making but it seems to me onerous that
decisions be
taken by consensus. With 31 ministers and diverse and
controversial matters
they have to deal with, there will be inevitable
differences. It makes
almost redundant the idea of "collective
responsibility" also mentioned in
that clause. The idea of collective
responsibility is that even if you
disagreed with your cabinet colleagues
and voted against a majority decision
you nevertheless take responsibility
for it as a member of cabinet or you
resign. It is probably a small and
inconsequential worry on my part but this
requirement for consensus as
opposed to simply a majority decision could be
stumbling block in
decision-making.
This brings us back to an issue touched on in last
week's column,
namely the making of decisions in the informal sphere of
political party
organisations. Our recent political history has shown that
crucial policy
decisions are often made in this informal sphere, e.g. the
Zanu PF Politburo
or Central Committee as opposed to the formal sphere of
government.
Parliament and Cabinet have traditionally operated to
rubber-stamp those
decisions. This has created a partisan and negative
political culture that
could affect and undermine the efforts of the
Inclusive Government.
Of course, Zanu PF will no longer have the
monopoly of power given
that it does not have control of Parliament or
Cabinet. Nevertheless, this
only exacerbates the problem, especially if Zanu
PF continues to resort to
the informal sphere and the two MDC formations
also resort to their
respective National Executive Councils. If they all
resort to their
different informal spheres, the Inclusive Government could
be relegated to a
secondary forum which will simply
become
a battleground. This could also affect the otherwise noble
institution of
the National Economic Council created under Article III of
the Agreement and
indeed Council and Cabinet.
Political parties should, of course,
remain independent because we
certainly do not want to go down the
treacherous road of the one-party state
and democracy requires that
political constituencies be consulted. But it is
necessary to bear in mind
that the success of the fragile Inclusive
Government requires higher levels
of cooperation, compromise and goodwill on
the part of all parties. The
leaders and their parties may benefit from a
crush course in studying the
political systems of those countries across the
world that work on the basis
of similarly coalition or Inclusive
Governments - they might learn a thing
or two on what to do and what not to
do in the relationship between
political organisations and central
government.
This coalition
arrangement has been described variously as an attempt
to mix oil and water.
There are clearly differences between the ideological
bases of the Parties.
The difference in tone and substance of the leaders'
acceptance speeches at
the signing ceremony were indicative of the different
schools of thought
followed by the organisations they represent. Morgan
Tsvangirai and
Professor Arthur Mutambara talked about hope and the future
but President
Robert Mugabe seemed rooted in an, admittedly, bitter colonial
past. No
doubt, the country cannot ignore the gravity of history, but it is
also
necessary to look to the future and possibilities that it offers. One
hopes
that those speeches are not the harbingers of a difficult future
because in
all likelihood, if someone tries to build bridges with external
partners,
especially in the West, there is always the risk that another will
set fire
on them.
There has been criticism and rightly so, that the
government is too
large, given our dire economic circumstances. It is
notable that in order to
give effect to this compromise, there will be an
additional 12 appointees to
Parliament - nine senators (Para. 20.1.7(b)) and
three (albeit non-voting)
MPs in the House of Assembly (Para. 20.1.6(5)).
Not only will it be
expensive to sustain, the efficiency of government could
be affected by its
cumbersome structure. The "jobs for the boys and girls"
impression this
creates only perpetuates the culture of political indulgence
and appeasement
that Zimbabwe should be steering away from.
This should not be about who deserves what post but who can deliver an
efficient service to revive the economy. As it happens, luxury vehicle
dealers must be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of new orders.
Our new leaders may want to read the bit about Thomas Sankara, then a young
leader who upon assuming power in Burkina Faso, decided that the days of
conspicuous consumption were over and ministers were allocated only the
modest of vehicles. It would be a pleasant surprise for Zimbabweans if the
new government is prepared to eschew the luxury of previous
governments.
This analysis focuses on a small but important part of
the Agreement.
There are many other positives to be taken from this and many
other
negatives. We shall in future try to assess the other parts, again not
just
to criticise but to see how this can work. I, for one and readers of
this
column may recall, have not doubted that the solution to the impasse
always
lay in some form of negotiated settlement. It was not the most ideal
but it
was realistic path given our circumstances. As has been written
before, if
we cannot get what we like, we have to like what we can get. But
it has to
work. We must make it work. If our leaders take an overly
legalistic view of
the Agreement, it will most likely fail. More important
is the context of
the Agreement, in whose spirit and principles the powers
should be
exercised. Unilateral action or behaving like loose canons, as has
been the
case in previous years, will only cause great
hardship.
Alex T. Magaisa is based at Kent Law School, University
of Kent and
can be reached at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
18:23
FOR 28 years, the country was run by one man and one party
-Robert
Mugabe and Zanu PF.
It would be uncharitable
not to credit the duo with some achievements,
few as they may
be.
In the beginning, their vision was uncluttered by the later
preoccupation with self-aggrandisement. I wonder if even Mugabe himself
remembers what huge crowds he drew every time he called for a rally in
Rufaro Stadium, before the National Sports Stadium was built.
In the new millennium, he needed the army, the police and the Green
Bombers
to launch an intensive, two-day campaign of sustained intimidation
and
violence to attract anybody to a rally, perhaps two days later.
In
the end, no leader can depend on the support of the people unless
they make
a deliberate, concentrated effort to earn their total trust.
Mugabe and Zanu
PF squandered all this loyalty through an arrogant,
self-absorbed and
corrupt administration.
During the very last days of their reign,
when even they recognised
the unmistakable signals of their demise, they
resorted to cold-blooded
murder.
They must be living in a
fool's paradise if they believe nobody will
ask them for an
accounting.
Mugabe and Zanu PF were not peculiar to Zimbabwe. They
are not
distinguishable from many other regimes on the continent which
preyed on the
people's loyalty to brutalise them and fleece them of their
dignity, apart
from their livelihood and their capacity for self-respect as
worthy citizens
of every God's creation.
If they were not
turned into political eunuchs, then they were most
certainly reduced to no
more than a bunch of zombies.
Unfortunately, this human frailty -
the capacity to be ruthless
towards others, the ability to use others as
cannon fodder and the tendency
to find justification in cold-blooded murder
- can be visited upon this land
again.
The change that can
sustain the people's faith in the promises of the
new leaders has to be
visible and not a hazy mist in the distance.
How this will be
achieved is going to take the new players' sustained
dedication. Any signs
of flagging energy should be loudly condemned.
It may be an unfair
generalisation to say everything Mugabe and Zanu
PF touched after 1987
turned to mud, but for the purpose of emphasising the
need for eagle-eyed
caution against sluggish commitment the exaggeration may
be
justified.
There is a real danger that many of the younger people
among the new
leaders may have no models to inspire them, except Mugabe and
his Zanu PF
coterie.
Some may have only heard of Benjanin
Burombo, Charles Mzingeli,
Herbert Chitepo, Noel Mukono, Masotsha Ndlovu,
Josiah Chinamano, James
Chikerema, George Nyandoro, Edward Ndlovu and many
others.
Still others may have heard of them only in the Zanu PF
context, which
customarily highlights the exploits of a certain breed of
leader, mostly
those who meet the approval of their version of The Great
Leader.
It is important for them to recognise that the struggle did
not start
with Mugabe or the Zanu which broke off from Zapu and was led by
Ndabaningi
Sithole, another forgotten hero mentioned only at irregular
intervals
Neither Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti nor Thoko Khupe
have held
leadership positions at this lofty level. So, they too would be
advised to
set their sights low, to step gingerly among the booby traps laid
along
their path by their enemies. There will be many of them, some
disguised as
innocuous aids to their success.
The first task
will be to revise the concept of heroism. The second is
to focus on the
struggle to reverse the disastrous policies pursued by Zanu
PF since
1980.
The promised Western development aid may not be immediately
available.
The West's credit crunch has wreaked havoc on the
economy.
Both the United States and Britain have been battered by
an
unprecedented wave of bank collapses. Their central banks have had to
commit
enormous amounts of state funds to prop up these banks, generating
political
controversy which may affect, for instance, the outcome of the US
presidential election in November.
The delay in the flow of
much-needed aid could result in upheavals in
Zimbabwe, whose people have
placed so much faith in the architects of
change, to halt their plunge down
an abyss of Nothingness. . .
This could be a trying time for the
new leaders. Zanu PF has made few
sacrifices to help the poor. With the
country's inflation the highest in the
world, they continued to gorge
themselves on imported victuals, not even
offering to cut their pay in half
to buy "goodies" for the poor at
Christmas.
Did Mugabe offer to
cut his pay or fuel bill by half so more ordinary
people could travel more
regularly to their rural homes?
Mugabe and Zanu PF displayed
leadership so eminently forgettable, it
is not worth emulating.
saidib@standard.co.zw
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 20 September 2008
18:20
ZIMBABWE'S case to the international community for support for
its
recovery programme would have been strengthened enormously if President
Robert Mugabe travelled to the United Nations General Assembly in New York
this week after announcement of the new Cabinet of the Government of
National Unity (GNU).
He would have been able to inform
the world community that not only
had the three political parties agreed to
work together, but that a team to
drive the recovery programme had been put
in place and a specific plan to
execute the recovery was already at
hand.
Instead, he will brief world leaders that assembling a GNU is
still a
work in progress.
It is to be hoped that Mugabe will
not squander an opportunity to
rally world support to Zimbabwe's cause by
pursuing the course he took at
the United Nations Food and Agricultural
Organisation Summit in Rome, Italy,
at the beginning of June this year.
There, instead of seizing the occasion
to appeal for food aid, the
government decided to ban the humanitarian
activities of non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) involved in providing
food, anti-retroviral drugs and
other medical assistance to the most
vulnerable sections of the
population.
By its own admission, the government does not have
adequate resources
to import food to meet the shortfall in local production.
And even if it
did, it does not have the fuel or the trucks required to
ensure those who
are worst affected because of the inadequate availability
of food, receive
the assistance before the onset of the rains, when moving
the food aid would
be doubly difficult because of the unnavigable terrain
and areas cut off by
flooded rivers.
The international
community has reacted cautiously to last Monday's
agreement between the
three main political parties. The guarded approach is
guided by scepticism
prompted by Zanu PF's record of broken commitments.
It is for this
reason that Mugabe should have travelled to the UN
General Assembly to
confound his sceptics by proving that not only had he
and his party agreed
to a political settlement but that they had already
started on the major
task of reconstructing the country's infrastructure and
the economy, for
which international support is crucial.
The immediate task of the
new administration is to ensure that food is
available to the majority of
Zimbabweans trapped in the rural areas without
anything to survive on after
almost four months, which followed the
government's ban on activities of
NGOs.
The next five months are critical because most household food
stocks
are at their lowest. Already there are reports of children dropping
out of
school due to hunger as families are unable to properly feed
them.
The power-sharing agreement signed on Monday last week
recognises the
need for Zimbabweans displaced during the run up to the March
29 harmonised
elections and June 27 presidential election run-off to receive
state
assistance to meet their immediate humanitarian needs to enable them
to
return and settle in their original homes.
While the
agreement also says that Zanu PF and the MDC are gravely
concerned by the
displacement of scores of people after the elections as a
result of
politically-motivated violence, for the displaced persons, their
safe return
home, compensation, resettlement, provision of food, assistance
in the form
of seed packs and enjoyment of the full protection of the law
are the issues
that matter most.
While Mugabe should seize the opportunity
presented by the gathering
of world leaders at the UN General Assembly to
appeal for assistance for
Zimbabwe's recovery, once again the country could
fail to mount a strong
case. Absolutely the last thing the world wants to
hear are the defiant
mantras of yesteryear.