Zim Independent
THE opposition Movement for Democratic Change
agreed to support Zanu
PF's constitutional amendment after an agreement on a
new constitution and
changes to repressive legislation, it has
emerged.
The MDC took the risky political decision after assurances
from South
African President Thabo Mbeki - facilitator of talks between Zanu
PF and the
MDC - two weeks ago that their concerns would be
addressed.
Mbeki met with MDC leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara in
Pretoria for private briefings on the weekend of September
15/16 before the
second reading of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment
(No 18) Bill on
September 17.
Sources said Mbeki promised the
MDC leaders that he would guarantee
the new draft constitution which has
largely been agreed between the two
parties, although its finer details and
implementation are still subject to
negotiation.
They said
Mbeki spoke to President Mugabe by phone during the same
weekend and secured
guarantees of co-operation on the next phase of the
talks. Tsvangirai and
Mutambara had met before seeing Mbeki to coordinate
their position.
Tsvangirai is said to have admitted political risk was
inherent in the step
they were about to take. Other MDC leaders also agreed
it was a risky but
necessary adventure.
The next stage of the talks - where the MDC
expects to wring
significant concessions compared to the piecemeal
compromises it has got so
far - will deal with the process of introducing
the new constitution and
amendment of repressive legislation.
The final draft constitution is said to have emerged from a series of
initial drafts which were scrutinised by senior lawyers who include former
Law Society president Sternford Moyo, Selby Hwacha, Harrison Nkomo and
Nokuthula Moyo. The draft is largely based on the government-sponsored
document rejected by voters at a referendum in 2000. It has elements from
the National Constitutional Assembly and the 2003/2004 proposals by Zanu PF
and MDC negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Welshman Ncube.
The
sources said if the final draft is ultimately adopted by the two
negotiating
parties by October 30, it would then be taken to the party
leaders and
structures in November and to parliament in December. After that
the draft
would be kept ready for introduction after the elections in March.
The
sources said the coming polls would be held under the current Lancaster
House constitution as modified by Amendment No 18 and the new one would come
into effect on an agreed date after the elections.
The MDC was
also lured into supporting the amendment last week as it
saw the prospects
of getting repressive legislation amended or repealed.
Ncube told
parliament last week that after the passage of Amendment
18, the negotiating
teams would move on to tackle the new constitution, the
Electoral Act, the
Public Order & Security Act, the Access to Information &
Protection
of Privacy Act, and sanctions.
"They are on the agenda and we will
deal with them," Ncube said. "We
hope that we will find each other around
all these issues. When we come back
to this House we will come back with a
package which includes resolution of
all these issues. That is our
hope."
The sources said some of the laws which would be reviewed
during talks
are the Local Government Act to align it with the constitution
on holding
joint elections and the Traditional Leaders Act on the role of
chiefs whom
the MDC complain are partisan.
It was on that
basis, the sources said, that Mbeki persuaded the MDC
to back Zanu PF's
constitutional amendments in parliament last week. It is
said Mbeki assured
the MDC that if they supported the reforms, Mugabe would
in return make
significant concessions.
Although the date of the elections is
still up for negotiation, Zanu
PF is pushing for polls in March. The MDC
wants elections postponed to June
but lawyers say this would only be
possible if a new constitution comes into
effect.
Zim Independent
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe has intensified his hostility towards the Zanu
PF faction led
by the influential retired army commander General Solomon
Mujuru ahead of
his party's potentially explosive extraordinary congress in
December, it has
been heard.
This came amid reports Mugabe's spokesman George
Charamba, now
functioning more like a political spin-doctor than a speech
writer, has
given a sensational off-the-record briefing to state media
editors which has
ruffled the feathers of senior Zanu PF and government
officials.
Charamba is understood to have recently made revealing
remarks about
Zanu PF factionalism and political infighting and looming army
threats over
elections.
Sources said Charamba wanted to keep
editors clued up on current
affairs in view of the ruling party congress and
elections in March next
year. Charamba was unavailable for comment
yesterday.
But the sources said his briefing, which had an
anti-Mujuru slant,
indicated Mugabe's growing hostility towards the faction.
The Mujuru camp,
which dominates the Zanu PF politburo, central committee
and cabinet, wants
to force Mugabe out at congress.
The camp
has been vigorously campaigning for him to go since last
December when it
blocked his plan to extend his term by two more years to
2010 at a party
conference in Goromonzi. The faction also led resistance to
the campaign
earlier this year to endorse Mugabe at a central committee
meeting on March
30 as the Zanu PF candidate. This has forced Mugabe to call
for the
extraordinary congress to seek endorsement.
The sources said
Mugabe's strategy at the moment is to dismantle
Mujuru's dominance in party
structures packed with their supporters
following the 2004 Tsholotsho
fallout in which Emmerson Mnangagwa, a Zanu PF
member, and his faction, were
openly accused of trying to oust Mugabe via a
palace coup. Mugabe was
aligned to the Mujuru faction and decisively pushed
for Joice Mujuru to come
in as vice-president. He even suggested at the 2004
congress she would be
his successor.
However, Mugabe clashed with the Mujuru faction
head-on in February
after he accused the group of trying to oust him. After
that Mugabe then
aligned himself with the Mnangagwa faction.
The sources said Charamba confirmed this.
It is said he directed
that the government-controlled media must give
publicity to the Mnangagwa
camp by interviewing people like war veterans
leader Jabulani Sibanda.
Afterwards, Sibanda, who was fired from Zanu PF
over the Tsholotsho saga but
has now returned through the back door, had an
extensive interview in the
state-run Sunday Mail.
The sources said Charamba noted that Mugabe
now preferred Mnangagwa as
his successor and if Mnangagwa played his cards
right he could come in.
They said that Charamba further indicated
the state media must not
give any media coverage to the Mujuru faction and
if they were to feature on
the news pages or airwaves, it must be negative
publicity.
They said Charamba also said the party and government
structures such
as cabinet were generally divided into three groups, one
supporting Mugabe,
the other behind Mujuru, and a few neutrals. He said Zanu
PF now has a group
of people acting neutral but who could not be trusted.
This group includes
officials like Elliot Manyika, Nicholas Goche and
Saviour Kasukuwere.
"Political loners" such as Zanu PF chairman
John Nkomo and party
administration secretary Didymus Mutasa must be left
alone, he reportedly
said. It was noted Charamba's immediate boss,
Information minister
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, should be avoided because Mugabe
does not fully trust
him. However, he said Ndlovu must not be told about
this as he would deny
it.
Last week Brigadier General David
Sigauke was quoted as saying at a
graduation ceremony at 22 Infantry
Battalion in Mudzi District the army
would first use the ballot and if
necessary the barrel of the gun to defend
government. This was widely
interpreted as a coup threat.
Two weeks ago Herald columnist
Nathaniel Manheru, named by former
Information minister Jonathan Moyo as
Charamba, said congress would need to
"secure its leader".
He
said Zanu PF had a "British-run faction which has been seeking to
worm
itself to influence". "It is a faction which is greedy, anti-nation, a
bit
daft, without structures, but well-heeled and quite white at its core,"
Manheru said before warning Mugabe's backers were moving relentlessly to
counter and reduce the influence of the faction, thought to be the Mujuru
camp.
Zim Independent
Constantine Chimakure
RETIRED army general Vitalis Zvinavashe
recently accused Zanu PF and
government leaders of lying on political and
economic developments in the
country, saying Zimbabwe will not come out of
the woods if its rulers are
dishonest.
Impeccable sources in
the ruling party said Zvinavashe told the
politburo on September 5 that
Zimbabwe's greatest undoing was its untruthful
leaders.
The
former war veteran reportedly said the biggest problem was that
Zanu PF and
government leaders now believed their own lies.
Zvinavashe, the
sources said, blasted party and government leaders
over the July price blitz
that saw wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers
forced to reduce prices of
goods and services by half.
The price war resulted in acute
shortages of mainly basic commodities
and a marked rise in black market
trading.
Zvinavashe, a member of the powerful politburo chaired by
President
Robert Mugabe, reportedly said government lied that the blitz
would see
prices of goods and service going down.
"Speaking in
Shona, Zvinavashe said on the contrary, prices of goods
and services were
now way beyond the reach of the majority of people. He
called Zanu PF
officials liars," one of the sources said.
The Gutu senator
reportedly accused the party and government of also
lying that the current
political and economic crisis was a result of
declared and undeclared
sanctions by the United States, Britain and its
allies in the European
Union.
He reportedly said it was also a lie by the government that
the
opposition MDC was a stooge of the West.
He reportedly said
Zimbabwe's problems were a result of lying, poor
planning and implementation
of unsound policies by government.
"The former army general said
for Zimbabwe to overcome its problems,
its leaders should stop deceiving the
people and tell the truth. He said
once the truth is known, the country will
be able to find solutions to the
current crisis," another source
said.
Zvinavashe, the sources said, was supported by another
retired army
general, Solomon Mujuru, who reportedly told Mugabe that he was
being fed
lies that he intended to topple him.
Mujuru
reportedly said people who were not honest and truthful
surrounded
Mugabe.Mujuru was quoted as saying: "Chef, people lie to you.
They come to
you and say I want to topple you."
Mujuru reportedly leads one of
the two Zanu PF camps fighting to
succeed Mugabe. Rural and Social Amenities
minister Emmerson Mnangagwa heads
the other faction.
Zvinavashe
reportedly belongs to the Mujuru camp.
He recently implored the
government to stop financing new farmers,
especially those allocated land
under the A2 model (commercial farming),
arguing they applied for land and
were allocated after claiming they had
their own resources.
Zim Independent
Augustine Mukaro
THE opposition MDC is yet to wring any
meaningful concessions from
Zanu PF in the on-going Sadc-initiated talks
despite embracing
Constitutional Amendment No 18 Bill as a step towards
resolving the
political impasse and the economic crisis in the
country.
The only breakthrough for the MDC so far was to bring Zanu
PF to the
negotiating table.
Critics and civil groups this week
questioned the opposition's
commitment to changing the status quo following
its endorsement of the
amendment.
The groups wanted to know
what the opposition party was doing to
ensure that people would not be
harassed and tortured by Zanu PF's youth
militia in the run-up to the
elections. They questioned whether the
amendment would force Zanu PF to
observe the rule of law, or stop the abuse
of food aid by traditional
leaders as a way of swaying the vote in its
favour.
Civil
groups also pointed out that the moving of presidential
appointees from the
House of Assembly would not dilute President Robert
Mugabe's grip on power
or his ability to influence the voting process.
The opposition has
however argued that their action was based on the
commitment to South Africa
President Thabo Mbeki-mediated talks and by
agreeing to Amendment 18, the
opposition had paved the way for the
likelihood of a new
constitution.
It argues that all the outstanding concerns would be
addressed in the
ongoing discussions around the electoral laws, repressive
laws, media laws
and the political environment.
The MDC said it
had concurred with Amendment No 18 because Zanu PF had
agreed that there
would be no more appointments to the House of Assembly as
all members will
now be directly elected.
"The presidential appointees have been a
thorn in the flesh as it gave
the incumbent president a head start of 30
unelected MPs before the
elections have even begun," the MDC Mutambara
formation said in a statement.
"These have now been whittled down to five
only in the senate. More
importantly, the management of elections will now
be conducted by the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission from start to finish,
dealing a heavy blow to
Zanu PF's rigging mechanism which relied heavily on
(Tobaiwa) Mudede."
It said it was not a new phenomenon that a
president is elected by
parliament to complete the tenure of an elected one
in the event of a
resignation or for some other reason. The British and the
Americans have
similar provisions with the South Africans electing their
president in
parliament.
"There should not be any confusion
over the week's events in
parliament," the statement said. "We are on a war
for democracy. Don't be
confused about what happened in parliament. It's a
process to ensure there
are free and fair elections to fight it out and
defeat Mugabe. Don't get any
illusions. It is not the time for celebrations;
it's time to fight the
democratic war in Zimbabwe."
However,
civic organisations such as the National Constitutional
Assembly and Crisis
Coalition of Zimbabwe argued that there was nowhere in
the amendment where
it was stated that there would be an independent
electoral
commission.
They further argued that Mugabe still has power to
appoint 15
senators, not five as claimed by the MDC. Apart from that, 18
chiefs would
be in the senate and are known to be loyal to
Mugabe.
The civic organisations also questioned where a president
elected by
parliament sitting as an electoral college would draw his or her
legitimacy
from.
The only route, the organisations argued,
would be a new people-driven
constitution.
Below were the MDC's
demands for the Sadc talks:
* The need to put a stop to
political violence and intimidation in
order to create favourable conditions
for proper negotiations and for
elections;
* The need for a new
constitutional order prior to elections;
* The need to ensure that
all Zimbabweans over 18 can exercise their
right to vote;
* The
need for impartial and transparent management of electoral
processes;
* The need for a full audit of all the electoral
processes at all key
stages;
* The need to ensure a speedy and
impartial resolution of electoral
disputes and complaints;
*
The need for impartial policing during the elections;
* The need to
restore the right of political parties to hold peaceful
meetings and
rallies;
* The need to prevent political abuse by the military, the
intelligence agencies and the youth militia:
* The need to
prevent political abuse of the powers of traditional
leaders: The need to
prevent political abuse of food aid;
* The need to ensure the full
realisation of media freedom for both
public and private media and for
political parties to have equitable access
to the public media:
* The need for extensive and credible observation of elections;*l The
need
for election agents and monitors to have free access to polling
stations at
all times during voting and counting;
* The need to prevent
political parties from abusing state resources
for campaigning.
Zim Independent
Lucia Makamure
TENDAI is a first year law
student at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ)
and, like many first year
students, she is coming to Harare for the first
time and has high hopes of
pursuing her studies and later securing a job
with a prestigious law
firm.
Her dream is however shattered when she gets to the
university and
finds all the halls of residence under lock and key with
instructions from
the authorities that there will be no campus residence for
students.
With no relatives willing to take her in and no money to
find
alternative accommodation in Harare, the poor girl has no choice but to
go
back to her rural home in Guruve.
Tendai's sad tale is just
one of the many heart-breaking stories UZ
students have to tell after the
authorities at the institution shut down all
the eight halls of residence at
the campus.
When the Zimbabwe Independent visited the campus, all
the halls were
locked with the main dining hall, which was gutted by fire in
April, still
not repaired.
Students said the crisis was likely
to force a number of them to drop
out of their studies.
"The
situation here is terrible as some of us are commuting from
Marondera daily
only to find no lecturers around," said a male student who
insisted on
anonymity.
The university has an estimated 600 lecturers instead of
the required
1 200 because of poor salaries and living
conditions.
Another student said he would soon drop out of his
studies as his
parents cannot afford to pay his transport
costs.
"Commuter omnibuses are charging $100 000 per trip, which
means that
on average I need $400 000 every day for transport," the student
said.
Students coming from Chitungwiza, Mabvuku and Ruwa need at
least $3
million weekly for transport.
A female student only
identified as Ruth said her landlord in Mt
Pleasant was making maximum
profits from students' predicament.
"I am paying $5 million for a
room I am sharing with seven other
students and there are about 10 male
students who are paying money to sleep
on the verandah at the same house,"
said Ruth.
However, the parents of these students, as is the case
with most
Zimbabweans, live well below the poverty datum line.
Masimba Nyamanhindi of the Students Solidarity Trust said the
accommodation
crisis needs urgent attention as most of the students have
been forced to
live in conditions that are not conducive for learning.
"There are
students who are spending the night in public places like
night clubs and
railway stations, and we have received reports that some of
them are being
abused," said Nyamanhindi.
The eight halls of residence, with a
carrying capacity of 4 500
students plus an additional 1 000 squatting, were
closed in July this year
after the students held a demonstration against a
$1 million top up fee to
cover catering services for the extended
semester.
The semester was extended by a month following a
six-month strike by
lecturers that disrupted the learning process between
February and June.
Disabled students have also been hit by the
accommodation crisis. The
coordinator of the UZ Disability Resource Centre,
Booker Chiparaushe, has
appealed to wellwishers and stakeholders to
intervene.
All students were affected by what they have described
as a ferocious
decision by Professor Nyagura, the vice-chancellor, to evict
all students
from campus residence.
The UZ administration has
instructed 17 visually impaired students who
are currently staying at
Georgette Hostel along Kwame Nkrumah to relocate to
Montrose Hostel at
Number 7 Five Avenue in the city centre.
The plight of the other 53
physically-challenged students has been
ignored.
According to
the University Support Group for blind students, the
spiralling
accommodation crisis at the UZ has worsened the situation of
physically-challenged and visually-impaired students.
"The
decision to evict all students from the halls of residence has
exacerbated
the plight of the physically-challenged and visually-impaired
students," the
group said.
The group said it was traumatising for
visually-challenged students to
negotiate their way from their hostel to
Mbuya Nehanda Street to board
commuter omnibuses to campus.
Currently, only three out of the 17 students have canes to use. Canes
are
literally the eyes for the visually-challenged.
UZ Students
Representative Council (SRC) President Lovemore Chinoputsa
and Secretary for
Legal Affairs Fortune Chamba were last week picked up by
university security
officers for leading a demonstration against the July 9
evictions.
The students said the demonstration was a last
resort after other
remedies had failed.
Zim Independent
Orirando Manwere
THE decision by the two opposition
MDC formations to adopt the
Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No 18 Bill in
Parliament last week under
the Sadc-brokered talks has ruptured the once
united opposition and civic
society on the best modus operandi to unseat the
ruling Zanu PF government.
The rift in finding a lasting solution
to the Zimbabwean crisis
emerged at a public political forum on Tuesday
night when National
Constitutional Assembly chairperson Lovemore Madhuku
called for mass action
against the government while MDC (Tsvangirai
formation) secretary-general
Tendai Biti said the ongoing dialogue should be
given a chance.
The forum was held at a city hotel under the New
Zimbabwe Lecture
Series to discuss the topic "Fighting Authoritarianism
Through Democratic
Means".
In his no-holds-barred presentation,
Madhuku said it was impossible to
unseat Zanu PF through democratic
processes like elections and dialogue and
the only practical way to achieve
regime change was through popular mass
action.
He took a swipe
at the MDC for its decision on the constitutional
amendments adding that his
organisation and other civic groups would
continue to mobilise the masses to
resist continued repression by going out
on the streets.
"That's my prescription, that's what I believe. We are quite clear in
our
criticism of the position taken by MDC. We are all genuine in our
endeavours
to fight Zanu PF but we have different approaches. The spirit is
to
interchange ideas but we believe we need to combine our forces. We must
organise people to revolt. It does not matter we are beaten.
However, Biti said there was need to give dialogue a chance and it was
too
early and unfair for civic society to accuse MDC of selling out.
He
said MDC had resolved at its last congress that dialogue would be
one of the
processes it would also use to seek a solution to the Zimbabwean
crisis.
"The objective is the same. It does not matter it's
through democratic
resistance, stay aways, final push or Pretoria. We all
have a common
objective and the position we took on the amendment must be
understood in
that context.
"In any case, we are very clear on
what we will do should Zanu PF
renege on issues agreed upon in the on going
talks. We will not participate
in the elections and we will resort to what
we previously agreed on -DRC -
democratic resistance.
"So you
must understand where I am coming from. Even our vice
president Thokozani
Khupe was very clear on our position in Parliament. We
have not abandoned
our principles and values," he said.
University of Zimbabwe
political analyst Eldred Masunungure said hopes
of any effective resistance
by Zimbabweans were weakened by the submissive
nature of the populace due to
previous experiences like the Gukurahundi and
use of oppressive state
apparatus.
He said Zimbabweans were generally weak and as a result
any meaningful
resistance required total mobilisation and coordination by
the leaders.
Zim Independent
PRESIDENT Robert
Mugabe on Wednesday reacted angrily to US President
George W Bush, accusing
him of "rank hypocrisy" for criticising the Zimbabwe
government as
"tyrannical" and its policies as "an assault on its people".
Bush
had said in his address to the United Nations General Assembly
that
Zimbabwe's ordinary citizens suffer under a tyrannical regime where
government has cracked down on peaceful calls for reform, and forced
millions to flee their homeland.
He said the behaviour of the
Mugabe administration was an assault on
its people and an affront to the
principles of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
Bush
called on the UN to insist on change in Harare.
In reaction, Mugabe
in his address said Bush could not lecture him on
human rights when his
hands were "dripping with innocent blood" of many
nationalities.
"His hands drip with innocent blood of many
nationalities," Mugabe
said in his speech to the General Assembly. "He kills
in Iraq. He kills in
Afghanistan. And this is supposed to be our master on
human rights?"
He said Bush imprisoned and tortured people in Abu
Ghraib prison in
Iraq and at Guantanamo, the US military prison in Cuba
where al Qaeda
suspects are held. He also accused Bush of having secret
torture chambers in
Europe.
"At that concentration camp,
international law does not apply," Mugabe
said of Guantanano
Bay.
"Only Bush's laws apply. America is primarily responsible for
rewriting core tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We seem
all guilty for 9/11," a reference to the terrorist bombing of the US on
September 11, 2001.
Mugabe said Bush and his ally, former
British Prime Minister Tony
Blair, "rode roughshod" over the United Nations
when they went to war in
Iraq, and that Bush was now asking the world body
to expand its role in
Iraq.
"Mr Bush thinks he stands above all
structures of governance whether
national or international. Almighty Bush is
now coming back to the UN for a
rescue package because his nose is bloodied.
Yet he dares to lecture us on
tyranny," Mugabe said.
Mugabe
accused Britain and the United States of negating weaker states'
sovereignties by controlling their resources and making them mere chattels
and minders of transnational interests.
"In my country and
other sister states in Southern Africa, the most
visible form of control has
been over land despoiled from us from the onset
of British colonialism," he
said. "That control largely persists although
firmly challenged in Zimbabwe,
thereby triggering the stand-off between us
and Britain supported by the US
and Australia."
He also accused the West of having gone on a
relentless campaign of
destabilising and vilifying Zimbabwe.
"They have sponsored surrogate forces to challenge lawful authority in
my
country," Mugabe said. "They seek regime change, placing themselves in
the
role of the Zimbabwean people in whose collective will democracy places
the
right to define and change regimes."
He said the West were
outsiders and should not author any regime
change.
"We do not
interfere with their systems in America and Britain," he
said.
Mugabe paid tribute to the Sadc-initiated talks.
"In that vein, I
wish to express my country's gratitude to President
Thabo Mbeki of South
Africa who, on behalf of Sadc, successfully facilitated
the dialogue between
the ruling party and the opposition parties, which
yielded the agreement
that has now resulted in the constitutional provisions
being finally
adopted. Consequently, we will be holding multiple democratic
elections in
March 2008," Mugabe said.
Zimbabwe is grappling with the world's
highest inflation rate of more
than 6 000%, shortages of foreign currency,
fuel and food and rocketing
unemployment that has left 85% of the population
jobless and unable to buy
basic foodstuffs. - Staff Writer.
Zim Independent
Constantine Chimakure/Augustine Mukaro
ZANU PF's restructuring
exercise in Bindura failed to take off after
its national political
commissar, Elliot Manyika, allegedly tried to
influence the outcome of the
elections.
Impeccable sources in Bindura said riot police had to be
called after
party members alleged that Manyika wanted to impose leaders in
Chipadze
district.
This is not the first time that Manyika was
accused of interfering
with the ongoing Zanu PF restructuring. Earlier this
year, the minister
without portfolio failed to oversee the restructuring of
Bulawayo and
Masvingo provincial executive committees.
During
the Masvingo restructuring exercise, former provincial governor
Josaya
Hungwe and Chivi North MP Enita Maziriri were allegedly assaulted for
backing Paul Mangwana as chairman. Manyika was understood to favour Mangwana
ahead of the eventual winner, Alex Mudavanhu.
In the latest
accusations, Manyika, the sources said, failed twice
this month to have
people loyal to him and his faction which is campaigning
for the continued
stay in power of President Robert Mugabe, elected into the
Chipadze
district.
Manyika, deputy Youth Development minister Saviour
Kasukuwere and
Labour minister Nicholas Goche reportedly belong to a camp
opposed to
Vice-President Joice Mujuru's presidential plans.
The sources said the restructuring of Chipadze district was abandoned
on
September 16 and 23 at Tendai Hall after party members alleged that
Manyika
had paid officials who formed the electoral college.
Members of the
party's six branches in Bindura make up the electoral
college to elect
district committee executives.
The aborted exercise was presided
over by youth leader Moses Tore.
"After the complaints, some
members of the electoral college confirmed
having received money from
Manyika, leading to the abandonment of the
restructuring exercise," one of
the sources said.
The source said Manyika - who represents Bindura
in the House of
Assembly -- wanted to retain the seat at all costs and
needed the district
committee to be in his pocket before Zanu PF's primary
elections.
Manyika's hold on the seat is reportedly under threat
from Provincial
Governor Ephraim Masawi and war veteran Monica
Mavhunga.
"The district executive is very influential in the
election of
parliamentary candidates. Manyika wants the executive to be
under his
control to facilitate easy re-election as the party's
parliamentary
candidate next year," the source said.
During the
September 16 fiasco, the sources said, it was alleged that
Manyika summoned
to Harare some members of the branches (names supplied) and
gave them money
to influence the outcome.
As a result of the allegations, the
Police Internal Security
Intelligence (PISI) reportedly investigated the
allegations.
"The PISI probe was for security purposes. Six members
of the various
branches had their statements recorded by police," another
source said.
Mashonaland Central police spokesperson Michael
Munyikwa said he was
not aware of the PISI investigations of
Manyika.
"I have checked with Bindura police (urban) and I am told
they have no
reports of such a case," Munyikwa said.
Last
Sunday, the sources said, members of the party complained that
most members
of the electoral college had been suspended unprocedurally from
the party to
bar them from voting. Among those suspended are three Bindura
town
councillors, Dorcas Chitimbe, Edmore Magasa and one Chirimangombe.
Others
are George Goriati, Max Manokori, Dixton Wadi and Eliza Longa.
"Manyika and his colleagues want Felix Masumbe and his group to lead
the
district and they have deliberately suspended people they think will not
support their cause," a senior party official in the province
said.
The official said on Sunday, Tore was taken to task by party
members
and he allegedly confessed that he was under pressure from Manyika
to make
sure that only people loyal to him are in the district
executive.
"The party members wanted to assault Tore and the riot
police had to
move in to save him," the official added.
Repeated efforts to get a comment from Manyika throughout the week
were in
vain as he was not reachable on his mobile phone.
Zim Independent
Jesilyn Dendere
A ZIMBABWE National Water
Authority (Zinwa) senior official was last
week assaulted by Marimba police
officers for allegedly conducting a media
tour of burst water pipes without
police clearance.
Nicholas Mukarakati, Zinwa's spokesperson, was
allegedly beaten up by
two officers in the presence of several local
journalists after he was
accused of contravening provisions of the Public
Order and Security Act
(Posa) by moving around with more than three
people.
One of the journalists who witnessed the assault said the
officers
demanded to know what Mukarakati and the journalists were doing as
a
"crowd".
The incident took place when the scribes were
shooting pictures
outside Marimba Police Station.
Mukarakati
confirmed the officers assaulted him.
"Journalists were taking
photographs while some were having soft
drinks when the police officers
arrived and started harassing them,"
Mukarakati said. "I realised that
something was wrong and I moved closer to
find out what was going on. The
police officers asked me if I was the head
of the delegation and I answered
- no. I told them I was a public relations
officer with Zinwa. That is when
the started beating me up."
The Zinwa official said he was told
that under Posa it was illegal to
have such a large crowd and not have a
police clearance.
Mukarakati said they were initially supposed to
conduct the media tour
with Munacho Mutezo, the Minister of State for Water
Resources and
Infrastructural Development, but the minister was later
summoned to attend a
parliamentary session.
"Whenever we have a
media tour with the minister, we never seek a
police clearance, so I was
quite surprised," said Mukarakati. Mukarakati
later filed an assault report
at the same station - RRB 0138008.
This week, police spokesperson
Oliver Mandipaka could not give a
comment on the matter, saying he had not
yet received any report on the
alleged incident.
Zim Independent
Loughty
Dube/Pindai Dube
FISSURES have widened in the ruling Zanu PF
with senior officials
clashing over the role of former party provincial
chairman and war veterans
leader, Jabulani Sibanda, in campaigning for
President Mugabe.
Sibanda, who was fired from Zanu PF for taking
part in the ill-fated
Dinyane meeting in Tsholotsho in 2004, has of late
been playing a leading
role in party functions and activities.
Sibanda this week said he was brought back into the party by President
Mugabe. He said he was doing a national duty in campaigning for
Mugabe.
"I was recommended back by President Mugabe. So I am still
the
national leader of the war veterans association and a member of Zanu
PF,"
Sibanda said.
Zanu PF national chairman, John Nkomo,
however said Sibanda was still
suspended from the party. He said Sibanda
should stop organising
demonstrations in the name of the party.
"Sibanda should stop organising unsanctioned national demonstrations
without
the party leadership's knowledge because Zanu PF is led by people
who are
war veterans themselves," Nkomo said.
He said Sibanda remained
suspended until the party issues a directive
to the contrary.
Sibanda was fired from the party and relieved of his duties as
national war
veterans association leader after a three-member team led
retired army
general Solomon Mujuru dissolved the national leadership
structures.
The team that was tasked by President Mugabe to
reform the war
veterans association was composed of former combatants and
politburo members
Dumiso Dabengwa, Mujuru and the late Josiah
Tungamirai.
Sibanda's reemergence has riled senior politburo
members in the
province. He has lately assumed a leading role in campaigning
for President
Mugabe's re-election bid in next year's harmonised
parliamentary and
presidential elections.
He has been
organising countrywide marches to drum up support for
President Mugabe's
re-election.
Politburo members in Matabeleland who masterminded
Sibanda's downfall
are livid that he has been brought back into the
forefront of party politics
by President Mugabe and war veteran leaders from
other provinces despite his
being expelled from the party.
It
has also emerged that the war veterans leadership in Bulawayo
refused to
undertake the marches after disagreements over Sibanda's
involvement.
But at a provincial meeting addressed by national
party chairman
Nkomo, Bulawayo provincial spokesman, Effort Nkomo said the
province will
not join other provinces in endorsing President
Mugabe.
"Bulawayo is a disciplined province and Zanu PF as a party
has a
system where provinces are called upon to have nominations for any
posts and
that communication has not come to us yet. When it finally does,
we will
respond accordingly," Effort Nkomo said at the meeting.
However, in the last few weeks Zanu PF officials have been treating
Sibanda
as a bonafide leader of the war veterans association after he led
war
veterans in solidarity marches for Mugabe in Harare, Masvingo and in
Lupane.
"Zanu PF is in turmoil and politburo members from the
province are
seeking an audience with President Mugabe to discuss Sibanda,"
said a
source.
"Most of them feel they are being undermined
since they are the ones
who recommended that Sibanda be dismissed from the
party."
The sources however said divisions in the province will
boil over when
the issue of the party's candidate comes up for discussion at
the Zanu PF
special congress in December.
The Zanu PF special
congress is expected to choose a presidential
candidate as it is believed
that President Mugabe might step down in line
with outcomes of negotiations
taking place in Pretoria between the
opposition MDC and Zanu PF.
Zim Independent
Loughty Dube/Lungile
Zulu
THE chairman of Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust (MZWT),
Dumiso
Dabengwa, has for the first time revealed that the organisation has
no funds
and that there is no government support to take the project
forward.
The MZWT is the management arm of the Matabeleland Zambezi
Water
Project (MZWP), an ambitious project to pipe water from the Zambezi
River to
arid Matabeleland provinces. The government has in the past said it
has
taken over the implementation and funding of the entire project. The
revelations by Dabengwa reflect its insincerity on the whole
project.
Dabengwa this week told a meeting convened by
international donor
agencies to discuss the water problems currently
affecting Bulawayo that the
MZWT has no funds to implement the project in
the near future and appealed
for funding from international donor
agencies.
"MZWT has no money at the moment," said
Dabengwa.
"We are appealing for funds from all NGOs to chip in and
help save our
project as the government also does not have any money to do
so," he said.
"We are in dire need of 300 000 tonnes of cement to
complete the dam
wall at the Gwayi-Shangani dam. We still do not have a dam
wall and the
contractors have left the site," Dabengwa said.
Donor agencies that attended the meeting included Christian Care, the
Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Canadian International
Development Agency, Unicef and the Fund for International
Development.
Zim Independent
Shakeman
Mugari
THE Minister of Indigenisation and Empowerment, Paul
Mangwana, says
foreign companies that are not happy with the indigenisation
law which was
passed by parliament this week can pack their bags and
go.
Parliament this week passed the Indigenisation and Empowerment
Bill
that will compel foreign companies to sell 51% to locals. The Bill is
now
awaiting President Robert Mugabe's approval to become law.
The move triggered fears in the market that it will scare away
potential
investors as well as force the few remaining foreign companies to
leave.
Analysts say the law will further damage investor
confidence which has
already hit rock-bottom because of government policy
flip-flops and failure
to respect property rights.
Mangwana
however says he is unmoved by these concerns. He says he does
not care if
the foreign companies leave. "If they don't want (the law) they
can go. We
don't care," Mangwana said.
"If they feel that we went into the
bush (liberation war) for them to
enjoy our wealth then they can leave. We
are talking about the total
liberation of this country. I have no apologies
for that."
"They can leave now," said Mangwana. Business people are
concerned
that the Bill gives the responsible minister sweeping
powers.
The minister has the power to review, approve or reject all
proposed
transactions. The minister will also have sweeping powers to cancel
the
operating licences of companies that fail to comply with the stipulated
shareholding structure. Mangwana said these powers are necessary to move the
indigenisation process.
"What is wrong with those powers? Why
should a minister oversee such a
process and not have real
powers?"
Mangwana said non-black people who want to benefit from
the
indigenisation programme should prove that they were disadvantaged by
the
colonial regime..
"In other words they should prove that
they did not benefit from the
(Ian) Smith regime," he said.
Asked what criteria government would use to determine who benefited
from the
Smith regime, Mangwana said it was clear that every non-black
person was not
the real victim of colonialism in Zimbabwe.
"There were laws
specifically targeting blacks and that is a fact. It
cannot be disputed."
Asked whether this might not turn out to be a grabbing
contest like land
reform, Mangwana said he was convinced that the
indigenisation process "will
be as successful as the land redistribution
exercise".
"It's
not factual to say that the land reform has been a failure," he
said.
He said the empowerment programme will be designed along
the same
lines as the land reform.
"In the land reform we had
the A1 and A2 programmes. That is the same
process we will use. There will
be a programme for those rich Zimbabweans
who already have money to buy
shares from foreign companies. There will also
be a plan for the common
people who will be able to borrow from government
to buy the shares," said
Mangwana.
Companies already listed on the stock exchange will not
be spared
either, said Mangwana.
"Listed companies will have to
comply. We are not going to have a
situation where blacks are used as fronts
for foreign investors. Every
transaction will be investigated to make sure
it fits into the policy."
Zim Independent
Paul Nyakazeya
BRITISH Airways (BA)'s decision to pull out of
the Harare route will
cost Zimbabwe US$2 080 000 worth of revenue per year
in handling and landing
fees. BA announced its decision last week to pull
out after 75 years of
service, citing viability problems.
The
move is a financial blow to National Handling Services (NHS),
which handles
the luggage of all airlines that land in Zimbabwe.
It will also hit
the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) which
relies on landing and
parking charges.
Information to hand shows that NHS and CAAZ were
making a combined
US$40 000 from BA every week, a figure which translates to
US$2 080 000 a
year.
The charges include passenger services,
parking, entry and exit
charges and Maximum All up Weight
(MAUW).
A total of 18 international airlines have left the country
since the
economic crisis started 10 years ago.
The
international airlines that have left Zimbabwe include Lufthansa,
Qantas,
Austrian Airlines, Swissair, Air India, Air France and TAP Air
Portugal.
African airlines that are no longer coming to Harare
include Egyptair,
Air Mauritius, Linhas Aereas de Mocambique, Air Namibia,
Royal Swazi
Airlines and Air Seychelles. Air Tanzania, Ghana Airways, Air
Uganda, and
Air Cameroon have also pulled out of the route.
Although BA said the route was making losses, aviation sources said
the
decision was reached after the airline clashed with the government.
Government refused to allow the airline to remit its earnings to the
UK. The
deteriorating diplomatic relations between Zimbabwe and Britain
could have
also contributed to BA's decision, the sources said.
BA's area
commercial manager for South East and West Africa, Steven
Harrison, denied
the airline pulled out because of a dispute over foreign
currency
remittances. He said BA had pulled out because of "commercial"
reasons.
"The route has been making a considerable loss over
the past few
years. We operate in a highly competitive global market and
cannot afford to
sustain these losses on the Harare route any longer,"
Harrison said.
Aviation sources however maintained that the Harare-London
route had been
profitable for BA.
"We have worked hard to try
to improve the profitability of the route
over the past few years but,
although revenues have increased, our passenger
volumes have reduced and our
costs have spiralled. The economic situation in
Zimbabwe has contributed to
a decline in market demand," said Harrison.
BA first threatened to
pull out of Zimbabwe in 2000 when it
temporarily cut its service to Harare
relocating to Lusaka following
political clashes in the run up to the June
parliamentary election.
The following year the then BA general
manager, Peter Best, announced
that they were contemplating pulling out of
Zimbabwe following the
government's refusal to allow the airline to remit
its earnings to the UK.
BA will however continue to have a presence
in Harare through its
franchise partner, Comair, which operates a daily
service between Harare and
Johannesburg, and between Victoria Falls and
Johannesburg.
Customers that had made bookings for flights after
October 28 will be
rebooked to alternative flights or given refunds.
Zim Independent
Paul
Nyakazeya
FORMER Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive, Oscar
Madombwe, is in
trouble with the Minister of Transport and Communications
Chris Mushohwe
after he produced an adverse report on the planes that
government wanted to
buy from Russia.
Government is currently
negotiating to buy Russia's Ilyushin and
Tupolev planes. According to
information to hand, Madombwe, who was expected
to be appointed substantive
chief executive after acting on two occasions,
fell out with Mushohwe after
compiling a report which discouraged government
from buying planes from
Russia.
Madombwe is understood to have told the government in the
report that
it was better to buy from reputable plane makers. He said
Russian planes had
a history of technical problems, something which will
cost Air Zimbabwe a
lot of money in the long run. Sources said the report
angered Mushohwe who
has been pushing for the Russian deal since last
December.
Leo Mugabe, the chairman of the parliamentary portfolio
committee on
Transport and Communications this week alleged that Madombwe
had been sent
on forced leave.
"I don't know what they are
doing to him but Madombwe has not been
coming to work for sometime now. Our
investigations show that he might be on
forced leave," Mugabe said in an
interview yesterday.
"We as a parliamentary committee have
communicated the issue to the
ministry and we hope the matter will be
addressed soon. We cannot have
professionals being victimised like that,
especially when we already have a
human resources problem in this
country."
Madombwe referred all questions to Air Zimbabwe board
chairman, Mike
Bimha and Mushohwe.
"I do not know where that is
coming from. The best person to talk to
is the minister or the (Air
Zimbabwe) board chairman," Madombwe said.
Mushohwe was said to be
in Canada attending a International Civil
Aviation Authority
conference.
Businessdigest understands that he is scheduled to fly
to Russia from
Canada next week where he will team up with Air Zimbabwe
chief executive
Peter Chikumba to finalise the Russian planes
deal.
Bimha said he was not able to comment on the adverse report
that got
Madombwe into trouble. He however said Madombwe was not on forced
leave.
"He is on leave and not fired," said Bimha. Sources said
Mushohwe
asked Madombwe to do an evaluation of the deal and to assess the
technical
capabilities of the Russian planes. Mushohwe said he needed the
report to
make an informed decision before going into the deal to buy the
planes.
The source said Madombwe's report expressed serious
misgivings over
the planned US$381,8 million deal. He raised concerns about
the quality of
the planes, adding the planes were well known for their
technical faults and
failures.
"An upset Mushohwe insisted that
the deal would go through because he
had already made the decision to buy
the planes. He said Madombwe's report
would not be allowed to stand in the
way of such a lucrative deal," said a
source close to the
minister.
According to details of the deal Air Zimbabwe will get
three IL 96-400
P for passengers and two IL-96-400 M for cargo. The planes
will be delivered
as soon as Zimbabwe government makes a 30% cash down
payment which
translates to US$114,5 million. The remaining 70% will be in
the form of a
loan.
Deliveries will start next year from the
Voronezh Aircraft
Construction Company (Vaco) plant once the final deal is
signed.
The deal will be financed by Ilyushin Finance Co, one of
two state run
Russian companies involved in the domestic aircraft
construction and sales
programmes.
The Independent reported
earlier this year that Zimbabwe's plans to
buy the planes had run into
problems amid bribery allegations involving
US$25 million.
Aviation sources said Mushohwe and Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono
last
year left Russia in a huff after a dispute erupted during negotiations.
The
problem had started after the Russians demanded that Zimbabwe must pay
in
advance a "commission" of US$25 million which was to be shared equally
among
political and business "chefs" in Moscow and Harare to facilitate the
deal.
Zim Independent
Orirando Manwere
THE proposed introduction of ward voters'
rolls in next year's
harmonised elections requires a fresh registration
exercise and massive
financial, human and material resources, supported by
an effective public
awareness campaign, all of which may entail postponing
the elections to
avoid chaos, analysts have said.
The analysts
said while the use of ward voters' rolls was the
practical way to ensure
that the electorate voted for councillors in their
wards, together with the
legislative and presidential candidates, the new
system could see the
majority of the electorate failing to exercise their
right as specific ward
rolls were not yet in place while the delimitation
exercise hadn't even
started.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), which will be
mandated to
carry out voter registration and the delimitation of
constituencies in terms
of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No 18
Bill, is expected to come up
with 60 new parliamentary and 10 senatorial
constituencies respectively, and
new boundaries for urban and rural council
wards.
Under the Bill, parliamentary constituencies will be
increased from
150 to 210 while the senate's directly elected members go up
from 50 to 60
with six senators per province.
Presenting agreed
committee stage amendments of the Bill to parliament
last week, Justice
minister Patrick Chinamasa said: "The commission (ZEC),
in determining the
limits of House of Assembly constituencies, be empowered
to ensure that no
local authority ward falls into two or more House of
Assembly
constituencies.
"The point to note here is that we are introducing
with this change a
ward voters roll, a ward-specific voters roll. In other
words, a voter can
only vote in the ward in which he or she is resident and
registered to
vote."
University of Zimbabwe political analyst
Eldred Masunungure said in an
interview last week that while voters could
have registered for the polls in
their constituencies - enabling them to
elect legislative and presidential
candidates - the introduction of ward
voters rolls meant that they could
only vote for candidates from specific
wards.
"This will obviously require fresh registration to ensure
that people
vote for councillors where they stay. Such rolls with specific
information
on where one stays are not there yet," he said.
"Given the timeframe within which the elections are supposed to take
place
and the fact that delimitation has not yet started, this will
inconvenience
the electorate. The introduction of ward voter rolls would
need an extension
of the voter registration exercise, coupled with a massive
voter education
campaign," Masunungure said.
"It is against this background that I
feel there is nothing
significant in the adoption of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe Amendment No 18
Bill by Zanu PF and the MDC."
Masunungure said issues in the amendment were peripheral. He said the
fundamental issue was the constitution itself and the setting up of credible
electoral institutions and a fresh voters' roll.
"The voters'
register is a very vital area and that must be
investigated," he said. "The
current voters' roll is full of ineligible
people - ghost voters - and under
such circumstances the outcome of
elections cannot be deemed legitimate.
This is an issue the MDC should be
alert to. There should be an audit of the
voters roll by all parties."
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network
(Zesn) concurred that the
introduction of ward voters rolls would require a
deliberate registration
exercise as new boundaries of wards and
constituencies were necessary.
Tsungai Kokerai, a Zesn official,
said her organisation had also noted
with concern the logistical problems
which would arise from the introduction
of ward voters rolls and was in the
process of formulating recommendations
for the authorities.
"That is one of the issues we have identified and we are going to make
our
submissions once the Bill becomes law," said Kokerai. "At the moment I
cannot comment much on the issue since the Bill is not yet law. But I agree
that it's an issue that needs to be addressed and we will make our
submissions on that once the Bill is signed into law," she
said.
The senate approved the Bill this week. It is now awaiting
President
Robert Mugabe's assent before it becomes law.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Harare teacher who said he has
been a
polling officer over the years, said the voters' roll was arranged in
alphabetical order and so long as one was registered, their names would
appear and one should be allowed to vote.
He however noted that
the
proposed system would entail a potential voter having to be
ascertained whether he stays in a particular ward to be eligible to vote for
a councillor.
"There can be a number of wards within one
constituency," said the
teacher. "In the past, one would go to any polling
station within a
constituency and cast their vote for a parliamentary
candidate. Under the
proposed system, it means one will have to go to
polling stations under a
particular ward to vote for a
councilor.
"Given the fact that the harmonised elections will be
held in one day,
I foresee a situation where most people will opt to vote
for parliamentary
and presidential candidates whose names appear in the
usual voters' roll,"
he said.
"Although the name may appear in
a roll at ward level, there would be
need for verification on whether a
potential voter is resident in that ward.
So there could be need for a
specific voter registration exercise to ensure
residents are on specific
ward voters rolls and I do not think this is
feasible given the time left
before the elections, unless they are
postponed."
He said the
extension of the mobile voter registration exercise
announced by the ZEC
should be targeted at specific wards to help build up
the envisaged ward
voters' rolls.
The teacher added that this could be achieved with
the provision of
adequate human, financial and material
resources.
He emphasised the need for a vigorous voter education
campaign
involving all stakeholders to expedite the exercise, adding that
registration venues should be increased in the wards and stay open till late
to cater for the working class.
Monica Makonyonga, who recently
re-located to Dzivaresekwa in Harare
from Bulawayo, said she wanted to
re-register now that the exercise had been
extended.
"It's
always easier to register during mobile exercises than going to
the
registrar's offices especially when you go to work. If there are mobile
units, one can register during weekends at the various venues," said
Makonyonga, who had registered in Babourfields in Bulawayo.
Zesn acknowledged that there was a lot of movement of people from one
place
to another which could result in some not being able to vote.
The
ZEC recently announced that it would extend the mobile voter
registration
exercise but it has not yet re-deployed staff or publicised the
venues and
times.
Efforts to get clarification on how the ZEC would come up
with the
proposed ward voters rolls and handle related issues were fruitless
at the
time of going to press despite submission of written questions to the
commission.
Zim Independent
APPARENTLY
the price monitoring task force has wrought havoc on
business like the
government did on the farms.
We are now left with empty shelves and
a thriving black market! Bread,
which is going to be completely unavailable
within the next few days is
being sold in tuck shops for $200 000 per
loaf.
Cigarettes are going for $500 000 per packet and $5 million
per
carton, eggs $1,5 million per tray, and a 2kg packet of chicken pieces
is
going for $2 million.
Amazingly when you phone producers
(the likes of Suncrest, Irvines
etc), they have no chickens or
eggs.
I presume the chickens were "told" to stop laying eggs until
the task
force allows the price of eggs to be increased. I guess there must
be
millions of chickens running around as none have been culled since the
raids
on shops by the task force.
The cows too must have had
strict instructions not to produce milk
until the price of milk, cheese,
butter etc is increased.
Poor cows must be suffering badly carrying
so much milk in their
udders!
I also find it amazing that the
cigarette producers are "catching up
on their exports" hence the
non-availability of cigarettes on the local
market.
We read
wonderful tales about large herds of beef cattle being bred in
the New
Farmer magazine. Where then is all the top quality beef?
On June 5
I had lunch at Coimbra Restaurant, the chicken and chips
were $490 000. On
June 23, the same dish was the same price, $490 000 and
yesterday I had the
same dish and, guess what, it now costs $1 200 000.
Despite three
calls to the task force this restaurant remains
untouched, maybe it belongs
to someone in a position of authority!
I was unfortunate to be at
Makro the day Madam Chiwenga threw her toys
out and verbally attacked the
MDC leader. She is a true Zanu PF supporter
and stands for everything Zanu
PF is famous for - violence and racism!
What else can I say but to
endure yet another day in "paradise" with
very little else to "beef"
about!
Z Chibaya
Harare.
Zim Independent
Jacob Rukweza
THE decision by the MDC to endorse
the controversial Constitutional
Amendment (No 18) Bill has sparked a volley
of hysterical outrage from civic
society in Zimbabwe.
The
misunderstanding arises from the MDC's acceptance of the
constitutional
amendment or its perceived failure to object to the passage
of the
amendment.
The NCA, which leads the chorus of condemnation of the
constitutional
amendment, has accused the MDC of selling out.
The embittered NCA insists that as a matter of principle the MDC
should have
rejected piecemeal amendments to the current constitution.
The
frenzied condemnation of the MDC's position on the constitutional
amendment
by the NCA and a coterie of civic groups would be understandable
in the
context of the opposition's pronounced departure from the principle
of a new
constitution as a foundation for good governance.
But so far the
MDC has not said anything to the effect that it has
abandoned the agenda of
a new constitution for Zimbabwe.
Morgan Tsvangirai has told party
members in particular and Zimbabweans
in general, that the MDC remains loyal
to the founding objectives of
building a democratic and prosperous country
premised on a new constitution
as the bedrock of a new order.
The question is, is it not too early for the NCA and its bandwagon of
civic
groups to wax hysterical and to condemn the recent constitutional
concession
while discounting the direction and outcome of the inter-party
talks? The
MDC must be allowed to move on.
The inter-party talks between Zanu
PF and the MDC - which are far from
being concluded - are multifaceted and
not singularly centred around
Constitutional Amendment No 18 which, in any
case, had already been
unilaterally tabled in parliament by Zanu
PF.
The fact that the ruling party enjoys a two-thirds majority in
parliament clearly means that the amendment could still have passed anyway
and with even worse provisions had the MDC not contributed, albeit
minimally.
It may be wrong at this stage for civic society to
condemn the MDC and
accuse it of selling out without bothering to recognise
the context within
which the MDC is making these obviously critical
concessions.
It must be understood by civic leaders from the onset
that the MDC is
a political party and not a pressure group in pursuit of a
singular
objective like the NCA.
The MDC unlike the NCA has a
fastidious membership to which it must
answer periodically during election
time pertaining to the broader agenda of
representative
governance.
While the NCA has no fixed schedule in its pursuit of a
new
constitution, the MDC has a defined schedule fixed by existing laws and
legitimate expectations. As things stand the MDC will be expected to account
to its membership in the harmonised election slated for March next year
while the NCA may afford to clamour for a new constitution without being
answerable in any plebiscite.
It appears that sabre-rattling
civic groups were expecting the MDC to
adopt an intransigent attitude in its
approach to the current national
crisis. In the absence of tact the MDC may
risk being overtaken by political
events.
Realising the
futility of combative obduracy it should be clear to all
by now that the MDC
needs the talks as much as the ruling party. Because,
while the talks are
meant to address the plague of illegitimacy for Zanu PF,
they are creating a
realistic alternative and a tenable avenue towards a new
Zimbabwe for the
MDC.
However, while Zanu PF had several extra-democratic
alternatives in
its pursuit of the power retention agenda, the alternatives
are limited for
the fragmented MDC.
Confrontational engagements
between the MDC, civic society, and trade
unions on one hand and the Zanu PF
government on the other have clearly
failed to achieve the desired results
in the past.
Intermittent street protests by the NCA, Woza, Crisis
Coalition, the
Law Society and others have failed to achieve fundamental
objectives.
Besides sustaining their nuisance value, the protests have only
served to
maintain the visibility of such pressure groups while further
exposing
activists to obvious brutality by the regime with fatal
ramifications in
some cases.
The MDC's final push in June 2003
did not do much to enhance the
ordinary people's struggle for a new and
democratic Zimbabwe.
Last week's stayaway called by the ZCTU has
proved beyond any
reasonable doubt that at the moment confrontation with the
Zanu PF
government will not do anything to improve the situation of the
suffering
masses. Unfortunately Zimbabweans have shown that they are not yet
ready to
take political risks.
The MDC has awakened to this
realisation and the civic movement should
allow the opposition party to move
away from the captive and futile strategy
of confrontation to
dialogue.
Justifiably, Zimbabwe's civic society which has been
humiliated,
brutalised and maligned by the Zanu PF regime is apparently in a
vindictive
mode and looking for an opportunity to humiliate Zanu PF in order
to get
even with the autocracy. It is becoming palpable that the NCA and
elements
in the civic movement were viewing the Sadc-mediated inter-party
talks as a
rare opportunity to humiliate Zanu PF by wanting the MDC to make
a new
constitution the alpha and the omega of the inter-party
talks.
But those who have followed the Zanu PF pattern of thinking
will
concur that it is wishful thinking if not foolhardy for anyone to
realistically believe that the ruling party will agree to the polemical
demand for a new constitution before elections in March 2008. The
implications of that demand are too glaring for Zanu PF to
ignore.
Belligerent grandstanding as a tactic to wring set
concessions has
worked with limited success in addressing delicate political
questions of
the day. It may be necessary to briefly take civic society
leaders back to
the process of the negotiated constitutional deal between
the Patriotic
Front and the Rhodesian Front which brought about Zimbabwe's
Independence in
1980. The Patriotic Front went to Lancaster House in 1979
with the critical
demands including the immediate return of farm land to the
black majority
and securing one man one vote for the black Africans before
free and fair
elections in 1980.
But when the negotiations were
finally concluded on December 21, 1979
the Patriotic Front got free and fair
elections, the one man one vote
concession but not the land.
The Lancaster House Constitution made it categorically clear that the
land
question would not be addressed until after 1990 - 10 years after
Independence. Knowing well that they were not winning the war (never mind
claims to the contrary) the Patriotic Front took the necessary political
risk and endorsed the Lancaster House Constitution. Fortunately, the
Patriotic Front did not have vociferous civic society allies or a
sophisticated membership to accuse them of selling out on the land
issue.
In those circumstances, embracing the seemingly deceitful
Lancaster
House Constitution and the raft of attendant agreements was the
best way
forward for the battle-weary Patriotic Front.
It is
important for the MDC and civic society groups to manage the
current fallout
carefully and avoid the trap that results in democratic
allies fighting
themselves instead of fighting the Zanu PF dictatorship.
The NCA
makes very scathing claims while attacking the MDC and
insinuating that the
MDC is out of touch with ordinary Zimbabweans.
The statement by the
NCA has two worrying features. First it exposes a
salient and disquieting
belief within the NCA that they are the only genuine
evangelists of
constitutional reform because of the mere fact that they
identify themselves
as a constitutional assembly.
Second, the declaration by the NCA
that the claim by one of the MDC
formations that it is closer to the people
is hollow and is meant to smuggle
into the fray the mischievous impression
that the NCA is comparatively
better connected with ordinary Zimbabweans and
therefore more representative
than the MDC.
In their quarrel
with the MDC civic groups should not make impulsive
decisions and reckless
utterances that may have the ramifications of
polarising the strategic
alliance of democratic forces under the umbrella of
the Save Zimbabwe
Campaign as we approach the inevitable 2008 elections.
While
criticising the MDC for its
occasional blunders, civic leaders must be
informed by both history
and current developments. But when the talks are
concluded the long
suffering Zimbabweans will be there to judge the MDC on
the basis of the
final outcome.
* Jacob Rukweza is a sub-editor
at the Zimbabwe Independent.
Zim Independent
By
Tanonoka Joseph Whande
CIRCUS maestros Barnum and Bailey
couldn't have dished out better
entertainment. The greatest show on earth
runs in Zimbabwe's politics and
parliament.
Go ahead, count the
skeletons. It's all part of the grotesque act
because, you see, Zimbabwe's
parliamentary circus plays with skulls not
balloons.
And these
parliamentarians, supposed custodians of our democracy, are
the authors of
the current tragicomedy. They appease a dictatorship instead
of clipping its
despotic wings.
MPs from both sides of the political divide are on
the Zimbabwean
stage and are the ones cheering the audience. They are
mistaking activity
for accomplishments.
Our parliamentarians
were elected to represent the people's views yet,
as has become clear, they
just attend parliament to assure their salaries.
Morgan
Tsvangirai's mission, as leader of the opposition, was to
topple Robert
Mugabe, albeit constitutionally, to restore democracy. And the
people gave
him the necessary support.
Several times, Tsvangirai was physically
battered for his efforts. The
so-called "war veterans" were the first to
have a go at him.
With the intensity of swarming bees, they beat
him to a pulp as he sat
helplessly behind his desk. But Zimbabweans were
soon to discover that
Tsvangirai had more guts than one can find on an
abattoir's floor.
People almost thanked God.
A lot
then happened and some of his supporters and assistants died
horrific
deaths, like being burnt alive inside locked vehicles.
We remember
all too well the farmers who were killed for their farms
and for showing an
interest in the possibility of a change of government.
We remember
much too well the hundreds of citizens who were beaten up,
abused and killed
because they supported Tsvangirai. Thousands, both black
and white, lost
their homes, their property and lives.
Dogs were set on our
children at colleges, with some disappearing and
others dying
mysteriously.
Just about everyone wished for a change of
government.
Tsvangirai soldiered on, making some questionable
decisions along the
way. Although it is now obvious that there were some
traitors waiting for a
chance to rock the party, he must take the blame
because he could have
handled the issue better.
Earlier this
year, Mugabe's people had another go at him again.
Tsvangirai's puffed-up
face was plastered on television screens across the
world. The leader of the
opposition was paraded in front of the world in a
torn shirt and with
bleeding scars on his head.
We were shown the bloodied face of
Nelson Chamisa, one of our legally
elected Members of Parliament. He could
hardly talk and almost died. A Mack
truck could not have caused such damage;
these could have been Mugabe's
self-confessed "degrees in violence" on
display.
Then a veteran cameraman was abducted and murdered for
allegedly
filming the victims.
Very shameful
indeed!
People continue to be abused. Expensive mediation talks
continue to be
hosted outside Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, the country
is gearing up for parliamentary and
presidential elections.
Whichever way one looks at it; it is all an effort to give people a
chance
to change or renew their government's mandate.
Yet people are still
being abused and starved or killed for supporting
not only an opposition
party but a rival faction within Zanu PF itself.
The mediation
talks are being held ostensibly to level the political
playing
field.
But, truly, it is Tsvangirai who, more than anyone else,
stands to
benefit from all these efforts. He is even the peripheral
beneficiary of all
this mayhem.
Last week Tsvangirai instructed
his party's MPs to vote for a
constitutional amendment that allows Mugabe to
anoint his own successor.
To me, it was like reading a book with
the last chapter removed.
Tsvangirai now instructs MPs, whom people
voted into parliament, to
acquiesce to a Bill that denies the people of
Zimbabwe the right to choose
their own candidate. Many people were beaten
up, starved and killed for
supporting the MDC legislators from both factions
but managed to support
them well enough to get them into
parliament.
Because I have a curious oppression of spirit, I have
questions that
arise from feelings.
To me now, the MDC behaves
like a dog chasing a car and, as soon as it
catches it, does not know what
to do with it.
I am honestly burdened with frank curiosity. Given
the current
scenario, can Tsvangirai please tell me what the split within
the party was
all about? May you enlighten me on why you let many
Zimbabweans who
supported both factions get killed?
Survivors
bear physical testimony as to how far they can go to fetch
democracy. Now
the MDC tells them it is fine to give Mugabe parliamentary
approval to
short-circuit democracy and to let him choose his own successor.
Take a little time and think, Mr Tsvangirai; you are about to become
guiltier than sin.
Meanwhile, as these ringmasters monkey
around the circus-ring, the
"owner" of the circus is doing his funny bit
too.
Mugabe is reported to have demanded from Sadc, of all
quarters,
immunity from prosecution should he choose to retire. Not only
that, he
wants a guarantee that the monetary wealth and personal assets,
like land
and houses, that he accumulated not be taken away.
Zanu PF took over and ruined the country. From economic and political
survivors, Mugabe wants immunity from prosecution for crimes committed but
whose responsibility he does not acknowledge.
It is very easy
to give Mugabe what he is asking for. All we need to
do is calculate how
much he earned during his entire term as head of state.
In other
words, Mr President, no chance of such guarantees. Anyone who
says "yes"
they can guarantee you this, even if it is your own hand-picked
successor,
will be lying, unless, of course, you choose Thabo Mbeki to
succeed
you.
And immunity from prosecution is not possible either. Who is
in a
position to offer Mugabe a guarantee of immunity from prosecution? Only
the
people who were wronged. Not Gordon Brown. Not the EU. Not Mbeki. Not
even
the MDC. It is only the Zimbabwean people.
Mugabe,
Tsvangirai and company, the future is in clay since it can be
moulded to our
intentions. The past, our history, is cast in iron and that
is why Mugabe is
having trouble with the phoney "history" he has been trying
to feed to our
schoolchildren.
As for Tsvangirai, misunderstanding breeds
distrust; you owe people an
explanation and pronto. As a leader, you are
accountable to the people.
* Tanonoka Joseph Whande is a
Botswana-based Zimbabwean writer.
Zim Independent
Comment
AFTER watching television footage of clean-shaven monks in Burma
marching up
and down the streets of Rangoon in the last two weeks, many in
Zimbabwe
cannot help but muse at the prospects of the country's impoverished
citizens
following suit to pressure President Mugabe's government to reform.
National Constitutional Assembly chair Lovemore Madhuku should at
least be
wondering why Zimbabweans stay at home when he calls for
"jambanja".
The Buddhist monks numbering more than 10 000, some
shouting
"Democracy, democracy," have since August 19 been demonstrating
against the
Burmese junta.
This week junta supporters and
police started attacking demonstrators
and imposed a curfew in major urban
areas. Militias were also driving around
Rangoon warning lay-people wanting
to join the demonstrators that "action"
would be taken against anybody who
continued to support the demonstrations,
news agency reports said. They
announced a 9 pm-to-5 am curfew in Rangoon
and Mandalay, Burma's two largest
cities, and said gatherings of five or
more people were banned, setting the
stage for confrontation if the monks
continue to protest, the reports
said.
Remember war veterans here threatening to take the law into
their own
hands whenever the opposition and other pro-democracy groupings
try to take
to the streets to demonstrate against the Zanu PF government.
This is just
one of the similarities. There are more. Burma and Zimbabwe
both have
governments which do not hesitate to unleash the military on
unarmed
civilians to protect the tenure of the incumbent. The two
governments have
kept a tight rein on the press and stand accused of
promoting bone-head
policies which have resulted in their respective
economies plummeting and
all human development indices heading
south.
Burma and Zimbabwe have gained a notoriety for being pariah
states.
The similarities however do not make the means of achieving
democratic
change in the two countries uniform. Burmese monks for over a
month managed
to express their disgust at the junta until the army and the
police beat
them to the ground this week. It can be said that the
demonstration showed a
measure of organisational aptitude on the part of the
monks but it is also
clear that the government there exercised a measure of
restraint.
These two aspects do not exist in Zimbabwe. Civic groups
including
students, the National Constitutional Assembly and the Zimbabwe
Congress of
Trade Unions, whose leaders have sometimes shown a willingness
to take on
Zanu PF on the streets, have not exhibited the ability to rally
people
around a cause. Greater organisational ability is required in
Zimbabwe where
the government has given law enforcers a free rein to strike
fear into the
hearts of unarmed citizens. This is amply shown in the way
small
demonstrations by the NCA have been brutally suppressed by state
brutes who
have recruited in their ranks Zanu PF militias and war
veterans.
We have always said there is need for a change in
strategy to engage
the regime. But Madhuku was this week clinging to the
same old script. On
Tuesday at a public meeting in Harare, he was haranguing
the nation to go
onto the streets because he believes the dialogue between
government and the
opposition is not the way to go. And not many will heed
the call and take to
the streets like the monks in Burma. By marching on the
streets of Rangoon
and other urban centres in Burma in large numbers, they
not only
demonstrated a national resolve but also the strategy to achieve
their ends.
This is a critical point for Madhuku to ponder. Fruits
of militancy
must be visible for this stratagem to work. Almost 20 years ago
a huge
demonstration in Burma left thousands dead. There was loud
international
condemnation of the junta which has however held on. Compare
this with the
small NCA demonstrations which have resulted in broken bones
and serious
injuries to members and sympathisers.
There is no
hope in Madhuku's plan as long as the demonstrations fail
to move the
struggle for a new constitution forward. The challenge before
Madhuku and
the NCA is how to popularise their cause which has no
instruments to fight
its adversaries. At the moment Madhuku's strategy has
become as predictable
as the riot police's reaction to his placard-waving
supporters. No march of
the monks here yet.
Zim Independent
Editor's Memo
By Dumisani Muleya
THE main opposition MDC's
decision last week to support Zanu PF's
constitutional amendment proposal
designed to ensure President Robert Mugabe's
political survival has been
greeted with suspicion in diplomatic circles and
outrage within civil
society.
MDC critics say the party has either started a slow
process of
committing political suicide or has succumbed to a negotiated
surrender.
The National Constitutional Assembly has described the
MDC resolution
as an "act of treachery". Others are using abrasive terms
like sell-outs to
describe the MDC leadership.
In self-defence,
MDC leaders are scrambling to explain their decision
which has not found any
purchase within its constituencies, except in Zanu
PF and Sadc circles. Zanu
PF MPs have been celebrating the move. Mugabe
alluded to it in his United
Nations General Assembly address on Wednesday,
expressing gratitude to South
African President Thabo Mbeki for facilitating
the deal. This has raised
more misgivings about the whole process. Questions
abound on whether or not
Mugabe has set a trap for the MDC or the MDC has
ensnared
Mugabe?
MDC leaders have used different phrases in their bid to
justify their
decision. Morgan Tsvangirai said it was a "necessary political
risk", Arthur
Mutambara said it was a "political gamble", Thokozani Khupe
said it was a
"confidence building measure", Welshman Ncube said the
decision was meant
"for us to find each other", while Gibson Sibanda said
"we are in the
process of making history".
Last week's decision
was particularly strange after the MDC rejected
the 2000 draft constitution,
now the basis of ongoing constitutional reform
talks.
Mugabe
seems willing to negotiate even though he is still strong,
largely because
of irritating resistance by the MDC and civil society, but
he may well be
doing so to bargain the opposition into surrender.
Negotiations are
tempting, but grave dangers always lurk in them. It
may be that Mugabe feels
genuinely threatened by the MDC and wants talks to
salvage residual control.
But the MDC cannot be seen to be helping him to
achieve his goal. The MDC
must be wary of traps that may deliberately be
built into a negotiation
process.
While trying to justify themselves, MDC leaders' remarks
also betray
the distrust and anxiety shown by their critics. None of them is
confident
about their "step in the dark", as Ncube put it in parliament, but
they have
to put on a brave face before their party to appear as if they are
providing
leadership in a difficult situation. Mugabe is also doing the same
in a way
as he buckles under mounting pressure to reform or quit now. That
is the art
of politics, especially the chameleon politics of deception,
providing
different faces to different audiences to win them over or at
least survive.
It is very easy to understand how Zanu PF benefits
from the
Constitutional Amendment (Number 18) Bill, but difficult to
appreciate how
the MDC gains.
Mugabe has got what he wanted:
harmonised polls in one day to ensure
his re-election; vast expansion of
parliament to increase rural
constituencies; appointment of 10 provincial
governors to senate and five
extra senators; delineating of constituencies
by the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) which he appoints (the current
ZEC chairman is retired
Brigadier General George Chiweshe, the very same
person the MDC accused of
gerrymandering before the 2005 elections when he
was the chair of the
Delimitation Commission) and most importantly
legitimacy. The MDC has
legitimised Mugabe's self-preservation
project.
By contrast, the MDC is happy that Mugabe will no longer
appoint MPs
to the Lower House. Currently Mugabe appoints 10 provincial
governors and 12
non-constituency MPs to the Lower House. There are also
eight chiefs. This
means Zanu PF effectively has 30 unelected
legislators.
However, nothing has really changed because Zanu PF
will still have 10
governors, five appointed senators and 18 chiefs in the
senate, which is
part of parliament.
What is the electoral
utility of these piecemeal amendments to the
MDC? How will the amendment
help the MDC to deal with gerrymandering in all
its different forms -
stacking, packing and cracking? The same people in the
mould of Elbridge
Gerry are still running the elections. Nothing has
changed.
The
MDC has only gained in symbolic terms, not real concessions. The
talks may
eventually spin out of Zanu PF's control but Mugabe knows this and
he must
be hedging his bets. The MDC is hoping that by showing good faith in
talks
and supporting the Zanu PF plan, the ruling party will reciprocate by
making
an array of substantial concessions on a new constitution and
repressive
legislation. But there is no guarantee at all. What is the MDC's
contingency
plan? Withdrawal from talks, election boycott or what?
This is a
risky adventure. It's like navigating angry seas in a
corroded and creaky
vessel.
Zim Independent
Candid Comment
By Joram Nyathi
I ARGUED recently that the
problem with Zimbabwean politics is that
ideas are rejected for who proposes
them than for their substance. I didn't
know that confirmation of this
observation would come in such a dramatic
fashion, from senior officials of
the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).
It all had
to do with the MDC's sudden volte-face on Constitutional
Amendment Number 18
Bill. In explaining the decision, secretary-general in
the Arthur Mutambara
faction, Welshman Ncube, told parliament last week: "We
believe that we
cannot continue to conduct politics for the sake of
politics. We believe
that we must begin to conduct our politics in the
service of the people,
otherwise it is meaningless."
Why would a political party with
ambitions to form the next government
conduct politics for its own sake? Why
would a party with clear policies and
alternative propositions to reverse
the current economic slide engage in
something meaningless while potential
voters suffer? It would appear the
overriding quest has always been to see
the back of President Robert Mugabe
and Zanu PF, and hope that things will
sort themselves out.
The MDC is not selling us usable policies for
economic recovery or
employment creation. Nor is it selling us a vision of a
new Zimbabwe which
should appeal even to the self-interest of those who now
support Zanu PF.
The result is self-evident. There is no people-content in
opposition
discourse despite calls for a people-driven constitution. It is
classical
protest politics sustained by people's disenchantment with Zanu
PF's
economic failures rather than an economic blueprint or political
dispensation significantly different from Zanu PF's politics of violence,
corruption and patronage.
I believe the reason our political
discourse is so shallow is because
we focus on individual party leaders
rather than look for sustainable party
programmes. We have failed to learn
anything from opposition parties in
mature democracies in Europe and the
United States where the party sells
policies, not just a candidate. In
Africa opposition means being negative
about everything proposed by the
sitting government and dreaming up the
worst nightmares about the country
for the media.
This leads logically to "politics for the sake of
politics". Which is
to say the MDC has been engaged in this idle pursuit for
the past eight
years and is now beginning to sense signs of fatigue,
frustration, cynicism
and disenchantment among Zimbabweans who have watched
with dismay as the
party leadership lurched from one strategic blunder to
another.
The result of such politics was summed up by another MDC
official at
the same event. Morgan Tsvangirai's deputy, Thokozani Khupe,
said the MDC
emerged out of the current crisis because Zanu PF's nationalist
politics had
become "exhausted".
It is a telling phrase, except
that the irony is lost on the speaker.
Politics for its own sake is bound to
get exhausted as has happened to the
MDC's. Meanwhile Zanu PF keeps on
inventing new projects to retain power.
Now the MDC has decided to
change, but gone to the other extreme to
endorse Mugabe's candidacy and an
expanded senate next year when everybody
expected them to persuade Zanu PF
MPs to oppose both.
The implications of that haste decision are
staggering. Mugabe has got
everything he ever wanted, which he probably
would not have got so easily
from a Zanu PF special congress in December.
The MDC has legally helped
Mugabe resolve a succession conundrum he was
finding hard to resolve
politically in Zanu PF. It has also legitimised the
constituency
gerrymandering. Yet there is no evident benefit to the MDC,
unless its
leadership knows of an imminent supervening event which it wanted
to preempt
or to capitalise on.
Ncube said he had spent time
with both Mutambara and Tsvangirai, where
the latter is said to have
observed that "there is no such thing as a
risk-free political decision".
Again the irony begs for attention. This is
more than an ordinary political
risk. It is political suicide for the MDC,
unless it has a secret deal with
Mugabe's chosen successor.
The only positive is that at least for
the first time in eight years
Zimbabweans are able to talk to themselves
politically.
Then there is the contentious matter of the president
appointing
people to the senate. Ncube said this was now immaterial. "The
person who
wins the presidential race has the right to constitute the
government of the
day from the day of his or her election. Whereas when the
elections were not
synchronised, you could have a scenario where one
political party could win
a parliamentary election whilst the presidency is
in the hands of another
party," Ncube told parliament.
This
fortuitous conclusion is derived from an assumption which cannot
be
supported by logic. It reduces everything to Mugabe or Tsvangirai and
cannot
separate the party from its leadership and is easily amenable to
charges of
rigging when one party fails to win both parliament and the
presidency.
The point it misses is that there are people who
support Zanu PF
programmes like the land reform and indigenisation but
believe these have
been mishandled under President Mugabe's stewardship.
Conversely, there are
people who will vote for Tsvangirai to spite Mugabe,
but it doesn't follow
that they will support all MDC candidates. The same
applies to Zanu PF. It's
not a Tsvangirai and MDC or nothing proposition.
The fallout with Save
Zimbabwe Campaign may be a disaster for the MDC if not
properly handled.
What happens if Tsvangirai gets 1 500 000 votes,
President Mugabe 800
000, the MDC wins 60 seats and Zanu PF 120 seats? Can
Tsvangirai form a
functional government when it cannot pass a single law in
parliament?
This is not casuistry. It simply doesn't add
up.
Zim Independent
MuckRaker
YOU have to hand it to the state media; their
imagination is always a
reliable substitute for facts.
The
Herald's Bulawayo bureau last week reported that "Portugal" had
"blasted"
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his "double standards and
hypocrisy".
This, if true, would have represented a rather
serious falling out
between Britain and its oldest ally. But, reading
further down, it soon
became clear that the writer had taken the views of a
Portuguese MEP to be
those of the Portuguese government. It was the
equivalent of Tendai Biti
attacking Levi Mwanawasa for behaving like a jelly
and being reported as
"Zimbabwe blasts Zambia".
Mind you,
Mwanawasa is giving good reason for journalists to report
him as spineless.
He changes his mind every week. First he said Zimbabwe was
like the sinking
Titanic. Then he said the country's problems were
exaggerated. And now he
says he won't attend the Lisbon summit if President
Mugabe is
excluded.
We can be sure he will have something else to say next
week.
Are Zambians proud of this rather pathetic specimen? We would
love to
have seen him whimpering "but I didn't mean that Mr President" as
Mugabe
excoriated him at the Sadc summit in Lusaka.
What use is
a head of state who bears the impression of the last
person to have sat on
him? We have no doubt Brown is planning a fitting
response. But nobody seems
to have addressed the central question here: why
shouldn't the British prime
minister stay away from Lisbon if he finds
Mugabe's presence uncongenial?
Isn't that his right?
As for the Portuguese, they will soon find
their summit has become the
circus Brown predicted. There are already signs
of that.
When we had former Mozambican president Joaquim
Chissano jetting in to
"throw his weight behind the president".
This is the same Chissano who was told to get lost the last time he
arrived
here to offer his advice. It seems he's learnt his lesson and will
from now
on only say what he is required to say.
And we are intrigued by
President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal. He was
due to jet in ahead of the
Lusaka summit but mysteriously pulled out at the
last minute. We have no
doubt why. Last week he said a solution to Zimbabwe's
problems could not be
engineered by Thabo Mbeki alone. Other African leaders
should be
involved.
This would have been unwelcome news to Mbeki. The two
have been
conducting a very public spat over Nepad, Mbeki's pet project
which Wade
believes is going nowhere. The Zimbabwean authorities were
understandably
reluctant to afford Wade a platform to have a go at Mbeki
when he had been
so helpful of late!
Meanwhile, Muckraker
is trying to fathom why the Herald's Bulawayo
Bureau is being commissioned
to produce virulently anti-British and
anti-reform stories. What is wrong
with the Herald's political staff? We can't
believe they are insufficiently
pliant!
We liked the way the Herald held back Australian ambassador
John
Sheppard's letter to the editor so Caesar Zvayi could craft a response.
Can't
the paper simply publish a letter without having to carry a venomous
reply?
The accompanying pic was captioned "Western ambassadors
picket the
Harare Magistrates Court in support of MDC activists". We liked
the
suggestion that diplomats doing their duty to follow events in Zimbabwe
are
represented by the state media as "picketing" the courts. What's wrong
with
"attended"?
At least this time the Herald confined itself
to using the collective
"Western ambassadors". The last time the paper tried
to name them it got
them horribly mixed up!
The same caption
was carried on the Home Affairs' website for several
months with all the
same mistakes despite our attempts to point out the
errors.
Nicholas Goche says Zanu PF will want to raise the issue of "pirate"
radio
stations that are "demonising the government" in the next phase of
discussions with the MDC.
Let's hope the MDC points out to him
that ZBC "demonises" the
opposition in just about every news bulletin. What
is he doing about the
partisan and unprofessional service the public get
from their broadcaster?
It is also as boring as hell which is why
Zimbabweans switch off in their
thousands.
If the government
could remove its clumsy hand from Pockets Hill,
respect the Supreme Court
ruling removing ZBC's monopoly and give the people
a choice of what to
watch, then the reason why "pirate" broadcasters exist
would be
removed.
Goche also seems to share the naïve view of many in his
party that the
MDC can have sanctions removed. This will not happen until
those countries
imposing sanctions are convinced there has been a change in
the political
climate in Zimbabwe.
Why, for instance, has the
person who attacked Nelson Chamisa with an
iron bar and stole his computer
at Harare airport not been brought to
justice? Why have those officers who
assaulted Morgan Tsvangirai, William
Bango, Sekai Holland and others not
been prosecuted?
Goche and sympathisers such as Dr Leonard Kapungu
must understand that
sanctions were imposed in response to state violence.
Zanu PF will need to
demonstrate a change of attitude and end the culture of
impunity that allows
people like Joseph Mwale to walk free.
If,
by the way, it is true that Mwale is serving in the Zimbabwe
embassy in
Lusaka then we should demand an explanation from the Zambian
authorities.
Hiding refugees from justice in Zimbabwe is not sound
diplomatic practice
although it may tell us a bit about the usefulness of
Sadc!
We expect there were a few heads rolling around on the floor in the
Herald
newsroom on Tuesday morning when the editor saw the heading on the
paper's
opinion page. As if it wasn't bad enough having Stephen Maimbodei
writing
about "sitting" arrangements, the subs then used this malapropism
for their
heading: "Of handshakes, sitting arrangements".
You don't have to
be semi-literate to write political diatribes in the
state media. It just
helps!
BBC have recently provided a good example of why we
urgently need a
professional broadcaster. They have been running a poll on
their web page
(http://www.zbcnewsnet.co.zw). It runs as
follows:
Who do you blame for the current shortages?
1. Manufacturers
2. Retailers
3. The black
market
4. Western sanctions
What happened to Option 5
- the government?
Isn't it amazing? The choice most people would
want to make is
withheld from them amidst the deceit that it is someone
else's fault. For
the record, results so far suggest viewers blame the black
market for their
woes (43%) while only 6% blamed retailers.
The
one thing we need more than anything else in the current
inter-party talks
is an honest public broadcaster. Will the MDC please draw
a line in the sand
and stop their orgy of self-congratulation. There is work
to do. In
particular we want to know the fate of Posa and Aippa.
It was
interesting to note an article in Sunday's Standard pointing
out that some
80% of goods on supermarket shelves were of South African
origin. Even the
most cursory tour of one's local supermarket reveals the
extent of the South
African invasion. Tins of tuna, butter, beer, cereals,
tinned fruit, fresh
fruit, wine, and orange crush occupy space once
dominated by Mazoe,
Willards, and Dairibord.
See what Obert Mpofu and his delinquent
associates have done to our
retail sector. As in commercial agriculture they
have created a desert. This
is what happens when politicians try to
intervene in the market. While
President Mugabe is lecturing us on
sovereignty and independence, South
African exporters have been quick to
take advantage of the chaos wrought by
inept government
regulation.
One of the worst facets of this crisis has been the
absence of bread
and milk. What happened to Zimbabwe's fine dairy herds
which used to keep us
self-sufficient in milk, cheese and butter? What
happened to our beef herds?
Bread has been the dietary cornerstone
of all successful societies. We
used to have a steady supply of flour in
this country, never for one minute
suspecting that an economically
illiterate regime would deprive us of this
basic item by its misconceived
social engineering. Now trucks are returning
from South Africa laden with
loaves for well-heeled consumers like Mpofu and
his ilk.
So
much for sovereignty and independence!
Zim Independent
By Eric Bloch
VERY belatedly, as
has become the norm, the Central Statistical Office
(CSO) finally released
August 2007 inflation data last week.
The delay was undoubtedly not
occasioned by the CSO, but by the
attendant requirement that the Ministry of
Finance authorise the data's
release before any such publication is
made.
It was that requirement which resulted in the April and May
2007
inflation data being withheld from the populace for over two months,
and it
can therefore be argued that the private sector should be grateful to
government that the delays are now somewhat less!
Nevertheless,
the delays are unjustifiable, are highly prejudicial to
commerce, industry
and others, and further destroy government credibility.
But of
greater concern must be that very little reliance can be placed
on the
inflation data in attempting to assess, realistically, price
movements in
Zimbabwe.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), on which the inflation
rates are
calculated, has no foundation in fact, and is not only naught but
a fairy
tale, but that fairy tale can best be described as
grim.
That the CPI and the inflation data drawn therefrom are grim
is
because they very grossly understate realities.
According to
CSO, year-on-year inflation to August, 2007 was 6 592,8%,
and month-on-month
inflation for August was 11,8%.
It is impossible to believe that
there is even one consumer in the
whole of Zimbabwe as would give an iota of
credence to those figures, for
they know full well that the inroads into
their near empty pursues, and into
their fast declining, very minimal
resources, are at a horrendous pace and
to a massively greater extent than
implied by the CSO's inflation rates.
This is due to a number of
facts. First and foremost is that,
unavoidably necessarily, CSO relies upon
the so-called "controlled" prices,
and the movement thereof, to determine
CPI and the underlying inflation
rates.
However, ever since
government, with its demonic, foolhardy,
counter-productive and destructive
price controls of June 26, 2007, drove
almost all goods off the shelves of
the shops throughout Zimbabwe, virtually
no goods are available at the
controlled prices.
To a major extent, the empty shelves are
reflective of reduced
production by manufacturers, who could not afford to
produce goods at costs
higher than the prices at which they were permitted
to sell.
However, the scarcities have been exacerbated by the very
considerable
extent to which informal sector traders commandeer almost all
of the limited
quantities of essential commodities as do reach the shops, in
order
thereafter to sell them in the black market, at very highly inflated
prices,
no controls being enforced upon them.
The black market
has also been fuelled by Zimbabwean commodities which
manufacturers export
to neighbouring territories, thereby enhancing their
prospects of survival,
by realising prices which exceed their costs.
Cross-border traders,
flocking to Francistown, Mussina and
Livingstone, as well as elsewhere,
purchase those commodities, smuggle them
back into Zimbabwe, and then sell
them to consumers so desperate to access
their needs that they will, albeit
reluctantly, pay whatsoever price is
demanded of them.
Thus,
for example, in August the official price of a litre of petrol
was $60 000,
but save for a few privileged individuals and providers of
essential
services, who would access petroleum from Noczim, the motorists at
large
could only source fuel from unofficial markets, with prices in August
ranging from $240 000 to $285 000 per litre and now exceeding $400 000 per
litre!
Thus, the real cost of fuel was at least four times that
which was
used to determine the CPI. The same holds good for almost all
essentials.
Bread, maize-meal, flour, sugar, soap, eggs and almost all else
could not be
obtained from any hypermarket, supermarket, or other
retailer.
Instead, consumers either had to seek fulfillment of
their needs by
traveling crossborder to purchase them, or to purchase their
requirements
from black market sources at uncontrolled prices.
But those uncontrolled prices are not used by CSO to determine CPI,
and
therefore the inflation data calculated therefrom bears no relation to
reality.
According to the CSO data, inflation in transport
costs was only 10,8%
in August, with the increase in fuels and lubricants
being 7,1%.
Any motorists, haulage operators, or other providers of
transport
would view these rates with total disbelief.
Food and
non-alcoholic beverage inflation was allegedly, according to
CSO, 16,5%,
with meat inflation being only 6,3%, and milk, cheese and eggs
having
increased in prices by 7,9%.
But anyone who would have been
fortunate enough to find any meat,
dairy products or eggs knows that the
prices they paid were far above the
controlled prices, and as against costs
prior to the price controls, were
200 to 300% greater.
The CSO
inflation rates are also distorted by its consumer "spending
basket" no
longer being realistically reflective of average consumer
spending.
The CSO's consumer spending basket ascribes 31,9% of
total spending to
food and non-alcoholic beverages, 16,2% to housing, water,
electricity, gas
and other fuels, 15,1% to furniture, household equipment
and maintenance,
9,8% to transport, and the remaining 27% of spending is on
clothing and
footwear, health, alcoholic beverages and tobacco,
communications,
recreation and culture, education, and sundry other
items.
However, the average consumer will claim not to have a
sufficiency of
funding for food, accommodation, utilities, education,
health, and
transport, let alone to spend on anything else.
Therefore, the percentages constituting the spending basket are not
factual
and realistic, and therefore the inflation rates calculated there
from, the
percentages constituting the spending basket are not factual and
realistic,
and therefore the inflation rates calculated by applying that
basket to CPI
are not factually representative.
The harsh fact is that the
majority of Zimbabweans will remain reliant
upon the black, and other
unofficial, markets until such time as scarcities
cease to exist, and that
will only be when government allows market economic
fundamentals, instead of
regimentation and control, to drive the economy.
* By way of a
postscript, some have suggested that an absence of a
response from me to
Muckraker's attack on me in the Independent of September
14, 2007 implies my
concurrence therewith.
The reality is that as Muckraker's vitriolic
criticism is founded upon
a fabricated quotation which in no manner
reflected that which I really
said, and is based upon a gross
misrepresentation of my expressed views, I
have accorded his diatribe
against me the contempt it deserves.
Madhuku has lost the plot
THANK you so much for your very
progressive comment on the Zanu PF-MDC
talks. We need to move this nation
forward beyond the Lovemore Madhuku's of
this world.
Allow me
to congratulate the MDC and Zanu PF on realising that as a
nation we need
each other and we can build a better country for future
generations.
A lot of time has been lost arguing over petty
issues at the expense
of the suffering populace of this country while
Madhuku and now lately
Wellington Chibebe enjoy donor monies. Of what use is
a beautiful
constitution with no government to implement it?
Madhuku has lost the plot, he should join the MDC and Zanu PF or
forever
stay irrelevant to the Zimbabwean situation.
Maybe he is worried
that those he has labelled uneducated have stolen
the limelight from
him.
Givemore Mvhiringi,
mvhiringi@yahoo.co.uk
-------------
MDC leadership is just power-hungry
RECENT developments in
parliament where the MDC endorsed the 18th
Constitutional Amendment Bill
exposed the opposition leadership and left a
lot of Zimbabweans
shocked.
Firstly, the opposition leadership is accepting the
principle of
amending the constitution in parliament as compared to crafting
a new
democratic constitution by the people. This is unacceptable and not
expected
of an opposition that claims to champion democracy in
Zimbabwe.
The MDC leaders were probably promised political
positions and they
are prepared to sacrifice the struggle for a new
constitution in exchange
for personal power. The endorsement of the 18th
amendment by MDC is a clear
sign of betrayal and the people of Zimbabwe
should not turn a blind eye
while they are selling out.
The
claim by the MDC leaders that they are supporting the amendment
for the good
of the country is unfounded. There is nothing good about an
amendment that
gives power to parliament to handpick a president in the
event of the
incumbent leaving office.
It is the duty of ordinary citizens to
decide on the laws that govern
the country and parliament is there to listen
to the will of the people. The
MDC cannot justify supporting an amendment
that increases the number of
parliamentary and senatorial seats given the
state of our economy.
Where does the government intend to get the
money to give to the extra
MPs and senators? The MDC leadership is just
after power and they are
prepared to go out of their way to get power at all
costs.
They are a disgrace to the suffering masses of Zimbabwe who
have been
looking forward to an alternative leadership to emerge from the
opposition.
What happened in parliament is a clear testimony that
there is no
politician worthy to be trusted. Politicians, especially those
in
opposition, are opportunists interested in power not the welfare of the
people. The MDC should not cry foul in next year's elections as it is public
knowledge that they will be rigged.
The MDC should have
advocated a total overhaul of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe as compared to
the piecemeal amendments in parliament.
Madock
Chivasa,
NCA national
spokesperson.
-------------
Thanks Zinwa!
THANKS Zinwa you have just killed any hope of my family surviving.
Your increases of 500% on the fixed charges and over 1 000% on the
water
rates has knocked my monthly bill from $328 000 to $2,5 million for a
mere
23 units.
So my meagre vegetable garden, which was necessary
because I cannot
find or afford shop food, now has to go.
How
can the price control commission allow such a blatantly outrageous
increase
after controlling everything else? Now we know why the fat cats
from
government and Zinwa were smugly grandstanding on ZTV news - it was all
a
big PR exercise ahead of when the inevitable consumer outcry hits.
Bulawayo
residents are right in saying no to Zinwa taking over - Harare
should have
done the same.
Drowning but dry,
Harare.
--------------
Why trees are being cut
IN
an article I read in the Zimind recently, one of your columnists
asked who
was cutting the pine trees along Steppes road. I may have the
answer.
All last week, pine trees were being cut along Beeston
Avenue in
Mandara. Home owners seem to know nothing about this. This week,
they cut
all the pine trees along Hazel Road, off Beeston.
The
crew arrived at our front gate, and announced that they were about
to cut
down all our 50+ year old pine trees, which had been planted by my
mother-in-law, who has lived here for all that time. Luckily she was on
hand, to point out that while the trees are outside our current wall, she
planted them just inside the boundary, and when the surrounding wall was
subsequently put up, it had been placed just inside the trees. In effect,
the trees are still on our property, but outside the perimeter
walling.
Luckily also, my wife was on the ball, and shot off to
Highlands
Municipality office, where she collected a city inspector. He knew
nothing
of this operation, but luckily (again - a lot of luck involved
here), he was
able to point out the boundary pegs, confirming my
mother-in-law's claim,
and our trees were saved.
Whilst we were
dealing with the people who were about to cut the
trees, a steel blue
Mercedes Benz (registration number supplied) arrived. A
man (name supplied)
from Tynwald Sawmill greeted us, and listened to what
the municipal officer
had to say. He was very congenial, and accepted that
these trees were not to
be cut.
A second man, who was driving, did not identify himself,
but told us
he was from the municipality. But the officer we had from
Highlands later
told us he'd never seen the man before, in over 20 years
service with the
City.
As I said, the mood was very congenial,
and non-confrontational, until
I took a photograph of the vehicle,
whereupon, the two men became rather
aggravated, and very unhappy.No threats
were made, but I am a little worried
that there may be some come-back if we
have trodden on the toes of someone
very important.
Dendrophile,
Harare.