the independent
News
Analysis by Augustine Mukaro
AN acute shortage of essential inputs, lack of
funding and continued uncertainty in the agriculture sector could undermine
output in the coming 2006/7 cropping season.
Indications from firms that
supply basic inputs ranging from chemicals, fertilisers, tillage and funds show
limited stocks with only two months left to Zimbabwe’s summer cropping season.
The shortages have been major characteristics of the past six seasons
since the inception of the often-disruptive land reform programme. Production in
all facets of agriculture has plummeted, dragging the economy down with it.
Agricultural experts estimate production to have fallen by 70% since the
2000 land invasions.
Officials at Sable Chemicals, an ammonium nitrate
fertiliser-producing company, said farmers should brace themselves for severely
reduced fertiliser supplies this season following the damage to one of the
transformers at the company’s plant near Kwekwe.
“It took about six
months to install a replacement, implying that there was no production,” an
official said.
“This means that a large proportion of the national
fertiliser requirement will have to be imported.”
The fertiliser
industry needs US$41,5 million for the next season. Out of this only US$2
million translating to a mere 5% of requirements has been secured, according to
secretary for Agriculture and Lands, Simon Pazvakavambwa.
Pazvakavambwa
told a special parliamentary committee on Tuesday that at least 36 550 tonnes of
hybrid maize seed and 7 860 tonnes of open pollinated varieties to cover 1, 8
million hectares was available for the 2006/7 season.
The Sable Chemicals
official said the company continued to be hamstrung by “iniquitous pricing
policies” which have all but stopped any effective repairs and maintenance and
refurbishment of the plant, necessary to improve output.
Planting a
hectare of maize crop requires around 300 kilogramme of compound D fertiliser
and a similar amount of ammonium nitrate fertiliser.
Analysts said
besides the scarcity of the inputs, government’s policy inconsistencies and farm
invasions had further jeopardised efforts to revive the country’s agricultural
sector. Policy inconsistencies have eroded hopes of gaining investor confidence.
“Variations in policy and authorities’ statements make the environment
very unpredictable and difficult for an investor to commit resources without
guarantees for the future or even recovery of seed capital,” one analyst
said
“The confusion and uncertainty has put virtually all farmers — newly
resettled and or the remaining white commercial — into anxiety instead of
production mode. The worst enemy to increased productivity remains the lack of
security of tenure in the agricultural sector where farmers are evicted on a
daily basis.”
Farmers’ organisations said lack of inputs could be a major
impediment this season.
“There are many, many challenges. Farmers have
been selling their produce but when they go to fertiliser companies or crop
chemical companies, there is nothing to buy,” a Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers
Union official said.
Government ministers last week told the agriculture
parliamentary portfolio committee that the 2006/7 season looked bleak in the
light of looming shortages of fertiliser and tillage units.
Agriculture
minister Joseph Made for the first time since the launch of the land reform
programme last week admitted before the parliamentary committee that the country
faced a shortage of fertiliser and farmers were worried by lack of
finance.
“The seed houses are ready... Seed is already being distributed
in the market but the fertiliser side is the biggest challenge,” Made said,
citing equipment failure at Sable Chemicals.
Made said this would force
Zimbabwe, which has suffered chronic foreign currency shortages during a
six-year-old economic recession, to import a large portion of the nation’s
fertiliser requirements.
Water and Infrastructure Development minister
Munacho Mutezo said the state arm, the District Development Fund (DDF) that
offers tillage to poor farmers for a nominal fee, had been hit by a breakdown of
equipment.
“We have not re-capitalised DDF for a long time,” Mutezo said.
“They have not been buying new equipment. They have also not been
adequately maintaining equipment because they do not charge rates that enable
them to recover their costs.”
Critics charge that government’s skewed
policies and failure to address basic problems have brought the
agriculture-driven economy to its knees, making it almost impossible to motivate
people to increase production, especially for the 2006/07 season.
One
displaced farmers said rebuilding and revival of agriculture could only take
place when the relevant fundamentals were in place. At the moment not one of
these fundamentals exists.
“The rule of law does not prevail in the
commercial farming areas, only the writ of the land committees and the war
veterans has any force,” the farmer said.
“The Green Bombers (party
youth militia) still maintain their menacing presence and are answerable only to
themselves. Perpetrators of violence and murderers are still on the prowl, free
to murder with impunity,” the farmer said.
He said to create something of
value in this anarchic environment was inviting the looters to
strike.
“How can any self-respecting man put down roots and begin the
arduous toil of building a business while such bloodcurdling threats are ever
present?”
Agricultural experts said land was stock in capital and could
only be used to access funds upon provision of proof that one was indeed the
holder of title, and that proof takes the form of formal documents.
Most farmers have not yet put permanent structures on their properties
as evidenced by the prevalence of pole-and-dagga huts in resettlement areas.
Other beneficiaries are still to move on to their properties, as they do not
have offer letters. Those who have relocated find it hard to embark on long-term
developments either due to fear that they might be moved out or lack of
resources, as they cannot borrow on the holdings.
Analysts say
investment in the agriculture sector was made impossible by the enactment of
Constitutional Amendment 17, which nationalised all land in
Zimbabwe.
“All land in Zimbabwe is now state land, which undermines
property rights and discourage any meaningful investment in agriculture,” one
analyst said, adding: “In this age of free market and open economy, Zimbabwe is
regressing by adopting frightening characteristics of the discredited closed
economy.
“We are moving completely in the opposite direction. Land the
world over is not owned by the state but by individuals and companies with
leases and title deeds, which gives the land market
value.”
Last year Gono advocated a “carrot and stick command agriculture” whereby
only highly performing farmers benefit from government support so as to revive
the country’s food self-sufficiency. Under the arrangement, the new investors,
or skilled former operators would be given special dispensation and guarantees
of uninterrupted productive tenure of 5-10 years, backed by a resolute fight
against any disruptions on the farms by the relevant arms of government.
the independent
Clemence
Manyukwe
JUSTICE minister Patrick Chinamasa faces a defining moment on Monday
after the state closed its case this week with a plea for conviction, saying the
verdict had a bearing on the administration of justice in Zimbabwe.
The
state’s submissions seek to rebut an attempt by Chinamasa to cloud the charges
against him by introducing political dimensions to the trial.
“The
accused was not brought before this court to answer allegations that he joined
Zanu PF youth wing in 1963.
The accused is not here to explain how as a
Zanu PF candidate he ended up being elected or appointed into the Rhodesian
senate in 1975,” the state said in its closing submissions.
It said
Chinamasa had brought up political issues to cloud matters and confuse the
court.
The state submitted that it was also important to stress that
Chinamasa was not in court to answer “politically-motivated charges” such as his
involvement in the Tsholotsho saga or his defection from Zanu PF to become a
Rhodesian senator in the 1970s. He was in court, the state said, because he had
attempted to defeat the course of justice by trying to influence
witnesses.
Chinamasa is accused of putting pressure on James Kaunye to
withdraw charges against National Security minister Didymus Mutasa’s supporters,
in the second case of an alleged attempt to defeat the course of justice
levelled against him in his career as Justice minister.
As reported by
the Zimbabwe Independent on July 30 2004, former Administrative Court Judge
President Michael Majuru claimed the minister put him under pressure to rule
against the Daily News’ bid to be re-registered.
Chinamasa denies the
allegations.
The state, in its closing submissions, said Chinamasa
promised Kaunye he would rescue him from attempted murder charges he was facing.
“For sure, the witness (Kaunye) was not convicted despite the credible
evidence led by the state,” it said, adding that Kaunye had been able to
corroborate his story regarding Chinamasa’s overtures whereas Chinamasa had
failed to do so.
It said contrary to Chinamasa’s allegations that he was
“caught in a crossfire” in a war between Kaunye and Mutasa, the key state
witness (Kaunye) had proved otherwise.
Despite Chinamasa’s claims of bad
blood between Kaunye and Mutasa and their earlier rivalry, Kaunye had campaigned
for Mutasa in Makoni North in the 2005 poll and had pushed for the minister’s
appointment as war veterans patron in the same area. Neither of them attended
the Tsholotsho meeting.
The state, led by a prominent prosecutor, Levison
Chikafu, also said there were inconsistencies in Chinamasa’s warned and
cautioned statement — at one stage claiming that Kaunye and Mutasa were fighting
and on the other claiming that they ate from the same plate.
It said
Chinamasa had failed to adequately explain the reason why he had approached
Kaunye or corroborate the alleged hatred between Kaunye and Mutasa.
“I
conclude by submitting that the failure by the accused to call Didymus Mutasa
and the war veterans who allegedly made complaints against James Kaunye clearly
shows that the accused is hiding the truth. I humbly submit that it would be
misdirection if this court accepts accused’s version without some
corroboration,” the state submitted.
It added that Chinamasa lied that he
had approached Kaunye to discuss party issues because if that was the case he
would not have instructed his aide, an intelligence officer who has ruling party
links, to leave the vehicle where the conversation took place.
The state
further added that if Chinamasa had been an upright citizen, as he claimed, he
would not have become involved in a scuffle with former MDC MP Roy Bennett in
parliament. It said that magistrates who recused themselves from the trial had
set a bad precedent.
the independent
Shakeman
Mugari
THE wrangle over fuel pricing intensified this week with revelations
that oil companies are selling the commodity at inflated prices after receiving
foreign currency from local banks.
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono has
called it fraud and threatened to intervene. Government is understood to be
drawing up plans for price controls.
Experts however warned that a return
to price controls would likely cripple the formal sector and feed into the black
market where petrol sells for as high as $680 a litre.
Dealers have
been resisting selling fuel at the gazetted prices of $320 (diesel) and $335
(petrol) agreed with government two weeks ago arguing that they are not getting
cheap foreign currency from the Reserve Bank at the official exchange rate of
$250 to the US dollar. They argued that the gazetted prices were not viable
because they were compelled to source foreign currency from the parallel market
where the United States dollar fetches between $600-$700.
They have
continued to sell their fuel at prices of between $620-$680 despite the
agreement with government to sell at $320 and $335.
It emerged this week
that a number of companies are getting foreign currency at the official rate but
still sell fuel at the parallel market rate. Banks which are holding foreign
currency on behalf of exporters have been allocating part of the funds to fuel
importers at the official rate of $250 to the greenback.
Sources said
some filling stations were also getting fuel from Noczim for on-sale at agreed
dealer prices of $244 for diesel and $257 for petrol. This was however diverted
to the black market where margins are much higher, prompting government to warn
of a return to controls.
A cost built-up mechanism for fuel agreed
between government and oil marketers shows that the new prices allow for a
profit margin that will enable companies to break even. Calculations used show
that if imported at the current official exchange rate, the landing price for
fuel is $181,50 and $179 per litre for diesel and petrol respectively. If they
get fuel from Noczim, the handover price is $244 (diesel) and $257 (petrol). The
total cost is between $267 and $280 per litre.
According to the
calculations, a dealer will have a profit margin of 10,4% per litre. The
calculations take into account financing costs, duties, carbon tax, pipeline
costs and a road levy of 5%. The gazetted prices also take into account costs of
handling the product, storage and secondary transport costs. Gono confirmed to
the Zimbabwe Independent that the central bank could be forced to intervene
because dealers were acting in bad faith.
“There is clear fraud, we
might be forced to intervene. That cannot be tolerated,” Gono said. “We know
some companies that are getting money from banks at the official market rate but
still sell it at inflated prices. We are now considering monitoring the foreign
currency allocations. They must account for every cent they get.”
Sources said government was already working on a plan to monitor and
control fuel prices. They said the Ministry of Energy and Power Development had
started working on a document to be presented to cabinet in which it proposes
stern measure against fuel dealers engaged in unscrupulous transactions at the
expense of consumers.
“They are now working with the National Economic
Development Priority Programme’s taskforce on energy to reintroduce price
controls,” said a source who attended one of the meetings where the idea was
mooted.
The taskforce is made up of officials from the President’s
Office, army, ministry officials and the police.
“One of the
recommendations is that we withdraw the licences if they continue like that,”
the source said. The taskforce will brief the cabinet on the proposals in the
next two weeks, which is expected to make a decision thereafter.
“That
decision won’t be difficult to push because government is already infuriated by
reports that some farmers have failed to deliver grain because of the high fuel
costs,” he said. “The thinking in government is that they are sabotaging the
economy.”
Zimbabwe has been experiencing fuel shortages since the
economic crisis started after the government sanctioned land invasions which
have destroyed the commercial agricultural sector — the main source of foreign
currency.
the independent
Augustine Mukaro
GOVERNMENT has appealed for an
additional US$257 million in humanitarian aid to staunch the deterioration in
essential health and education services and to cushion vulnerable groups, as the
country slips into further economic turmoil.
The upgraded request was
realised during a mid-term review of the government’s massive US$277 million
2006 Consolidated Appeal launched in December 2005 that identified new areas of
need and increased demands in health and education.
The reviewed appeal
dated July 18, 2006 will now run into 2007.
An appeal document, seen by
the Zimbabwe Independent, shows that, although priority needs remain unchanged
from the 2006 Consolidated Appeal, there have been increased needs in the health
sector where efforts to improve and support basic services and respond to
epidemic outbreaks are high.
“The humanitarian challenges involving
vulnerable groups continue to be of great concern in Zimbabwe,” the appeal
says.
“A large proportion of the country’s population is considered
vulnerable, including orphans or single parented children, people living with
HIV and Aids, the chronically ill, people with severe disabilities, refugees,
food-insecure communities, ex-farm workers and victims of Operation
Murambatsvina,” the appeal notes.
The appeal estimates that 4,2 million
people fall within the targeted group in need of urgent assistance.
“The
humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is further impacted by a continuing economic
decline with inflation reaching 1,193.5% in May 2006. Shortages in foreign
exchange, and high unemployment and negative growth, add to the vulnerability
and suffering of the population,” the appeal says.
“Hyperinflation has
also resulted in increased operational costs for humanitarian programmes
resulting in fewer people receiving the required assistance.”
The appeal
predicted further deterioration as government policies fail to turn the economy
around.
“It is believed that the humanitarian situation is likely to
continue to deteriorate in 2006, particularly due to the steady decline of the
economy, which will have an adverse effect for already vulnerable populations.”
the independent
Loughty Dube
JUNIOR police officers say they are not happy with the
$250 000 they received as allowances from the RBZ for their role in Project
Sunrise, alleging that they were ripped off by their seniors.
Officers who
took part in the 21-day exercise, to man roadblocks and search for excess cash,
were promised $20 000 in daily allowances but these were allegedly reduced to
$15 000 under unexplained circumstances.
They claimed they were to be paid a
total of $420 000 at the rate of $20 000 a day but now expect to receive $315
000 for their role in the nationwide currency blitz launched on July 31 by RBZ
governor Gideon Gono to mop up bearer cheques that were being used outside the
formal banking system.
Police in Bulawayo were last Monday paid the initial
$250 000 and were expected to get the balance by the end of this
week.
Officers who spoke to the Zimbabwe Independent this week said when the
exercise began most senior officers were reluctant to participate.
When they
realised that there were huge dividends to be paid they allegedly forced junior
police officers to return to camp to create vacancies for senior officers, most
of them above the rank of assistant inspector.
The junior officers spoke of
nepotism and favouritism in the late appointment of additional police details.
They alleged those ordered to return to their stations were replaced by
relatives of senior officers, some of them recalled from leave.
"Some senior
police officers were included on the operational staff list at the eleventh hour
to give them an opportunity to make money," a junior officer who was part of the
exercise in Bulawayo said
"The reason given was that the senior officers were
enforcing discipline among junior officers manning roadblocks."
Police
spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena, confirmed that junior
police officers were paid less than what they were promised because the police
force had the discretion to decide what to pay officers depending on the
exercise they were carrying out.
"The police officers are not employed by the
RBZ, and even if they get involved in any exercise, it is the discretion of the
organisation (ZRP) to decide what to pay them depending on the amount allocated
to the exercise," Bvudzijena said.
He dismissed alleged cases of favouritism
and nepotism saying the amounts they received were fair considering that more
police details were deployed than the number budgeted for.
"The allowances
had to be reduced to cater for everyone," Bvdzijena added.
"And we cannot
compromise policing in order to please police details. We do that even at
football matches where we send more personnel than paid for when we feel that
effective policing should be done by a larger number."
the independent
Loughty
Dube
THE Zimbabwe Republic Police is still providing round the clock security
at the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo’s home in Bulawayo, seven years after
the death of the veteran nationalist, it was discovered this week.
The Nkomo
family had proposed to turn the Pelandaba house into a museum chronicling the
life of the late nationalist but has now opted for the Matsheumhlophe home.
The Matsheumhlophe house will be turned into a fully-fledged museum under
the Department of National Museums and Monuments. Relics such as the late
Nkomo’s army uniforms, watches, graduation gowns, photos and other artifacts
will be displayed
The Nkomo family this week set up a board of trustees to
oversee the setting up of the project and appointed President Robert Mugabe as
the patron.
The other members of the board are Simon Khaya Moyo, Zimbabwe’s
ambassador to South Africa, Tourism minister Francis Nhema, Higher Education
deputy minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, Harare lawyer, Bob Stumbles, and businessman
Herbert Nkala.
An armed policeman was guarding the house when the Zimbabwe
Independent visited this week.
Neighbours said none of Nkomo’s close
relatives stay at the house.
Police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner
Wayne Bvudzijena, could not shed light on the matter referring questions to the
Ministry of Information and Publicity.
"Issues involving the presidency are
best dealt with by the Ministry of Information. They are most suited to comment
on such matters, not the police," Bvudzijena said.
When contacted,
Information and publicity deputy minister, Bright Matonga, said he did not have
facts on the matter as he was attending a funeral.
"The late Vice-President
Nkomo is a national institution in his own right. Should that end on his death
or should we just abandon him just like that?" Matonga asked before promising to
look at the security arrangements.
Efforts to contact Nkomo’s daughter
Thandiwe proved fruitless by the time of going to press.
the independent
Comment
THERE
was a significant development at the recent Sadc summit in Lesotho which few if
any of the media covering the event picked up. President Mugabe was denied a
platform for his customary theatrics.
Mugabe’s supporters constantly remind
us of his "triumph" at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg in 2002 where he was cheered by NGO activists at the same time that
then US Secretary of State Colin Powell was booed.
Admittedly, the activists
were more concerned with denouncing the US than they were with endorsing Zanu
PF’s depredations. But it enabled Mugabe to bask in a false glory.
Over the
years since then there have been fewer and fewer opportunities to repeat the
performance. The following year he withdrew Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth in a
fit of pique over the organisation’s insistence that he adhere to the 1991
Harare Declaration on governance.
That episode was also significant in that
an important international body, comprising many previous allies, refused to
indulge his rule-breaking. Mugabe had been desperate for Zimbabwe to remain a
member. But hell hath no fury like a despot scorned and he now pretends he
didn’t want to be a member anyway!
Every year in September he rushes to
attend the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting in New York because of the
podium it is obliged to provide to heads of state but audiences there seem to
have cooled to his ardour. Other demagogues from Venezuela and Bolivia have more
appeal in their statement of the anti-American case and they have caused less
harm to their own citizens.
Even the AU seems less enthusiastic about having
Zimbabwe’s cantankerous leader in their midst at regular intervals.
The
state media has openly lamented being jilted by Col Muammar Gaddafi. And
officials are clearly irritated by Zimbabwe’s omission from the rollcall of
those praised for bringing the DRC to democratic fruition.
The Maseru meeting
was therefore significant for what was not said rather than what was. Yes,
Zimbabwe might have been absent from the formal agenda, which enabled ministers
to mislead gullible reporters, but Aziz Pahad inconveniently reminded the South
African press last week that it was the subject of a closed meeting of heads of
state and foreign ministers. In their public statements officials suggest they
are looking for ways to rescue Zimbabwe from "this situation in which we find
ourselves".
Their frustration is palpable. But they remain reluctant to
grasp the nettle of governance. Instead they express relief that the authorities
in Harare have been able to put in place new electoral arrangements in line with
the Mauritius protocol, whatever the shortcomings of those measures.
For the
present Mugabe’s position resembles that of the elephant in the living room:
nobody can remember how it got there; and they certainly don’t know how to get
it out.
So the nation and the region are resigned to a 2008 exit — 2010 is
unthinkable — in the hope that some change is better than no change at all.
Nobody seriously believes Joice Mujuru is capable of taking the reins of
office without challenge. But her succession does open a door to change.
The
worst aspect of Zanu PF’s rule between now and then is the deception that it is
dealing with the myriad problems its misrule has spawned. Operation Sunrise is
just one of a raft of measures to hoodwink the public into thinking the ruling
party is capable of providing solutions to our problems. It manifestly is
capable of no more than papering over the cracks.
Inflation is not coming
down. It is just rising slightly less rapidly. Land seizures continue unabated.
The public power utility that can’t even supply electricity to the capital has
announced that it is diversifying into tobacco farming. The toxic business
climate is meanwhile closing companies and driving off investors.
There is
no turnaround. And those businesspeople pretending that there is light at the
end of this particular tunnel are part of the problem.
It is time they spoke
out on what is needed in terms of national leadership.
It is time the country
started to fashion a dictator-less future, for only then will the turnaround
become real.
the independent
Clemence
Manyukwe
FORMER Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander and Zanu PF’s Gutu senator,
Vitalis Zvinavashe, on Tuesday lambasted government for not addressing the issue
of food security blaming lack of preparedness for hunger that is stalking the
nation.
He also criticised government for imposing price controls on grain
at a hearing before the National Economic Development Priority Programme (NEDPP)
taskforce on agriculture co-ordination, input supply and food
security.
Zvinavashe took secretaries for Agriculture and Industry and
International Trade Simon Pazvakavambwa and retired Col Christian Katsande to
task when they appeared before the committee in their capacity as
co-chairpersons of the NEDPP taskforce asking: "What independence is that when
people are hungry 26 years on?" he asked.
"It is the system. We say we are
now independent, independent with no food. Go back to historical structures.
Open the archives and see how they used to do it," the tough-talking former
commander said.
He added: "They are saying we are going to have a good
harvest, but there is no diesel. Should there be an agricultural Bible of Ten
commandments on what must be done?" said Zvinavashe.
He said as government
had withdrawn support for A2 farmers, the farmers must negotiate on an
individual basis with financial institutions. But he said government must not
impose price controls on their produce.
"The A2 farmer will be responsible
100%, so where does the government come in to say the price is this? You cannot
control what I produce. Which maths, which dictionary is that?" Zvinavashe
added.
Zvinavashe said not everybody should venture into farming. Agriculture
should be left to those who are willing and able.
He also wondered whether
government finds advantages in importing food judging by its handling of the
agricultural sector.
Senator Zvinavashe said this after Katsande indicated
that government would import fertiliser as the local industry was unable to meet
national requirements.
"I foresee that, maybe there is too much advantage in
importing. I do not know what language to use," Zvinavashe added.
Last week
during an agriculture committee meeting, Zvinavashe clashed with National
Security minister Didymus Mutasa over the issue of compensating white farmers,
saying ordinary taxpayers must not be made to pay for properties acquired by
individuals who should meet the compensation costs.
Committee’s chairperson
and Zanu PF’s Masvingo South MP, Walter Mzembi, lamented the fragmentation
because of three ministries — all involved in agricultural activities.
"There
is too much fragmentation and that is a worrying feature of our planning,"
Mzembi said.
Last week during a budget and finance committee hearing with
Finance minister Herbert Murerwa, Mzembi disputed the accuracy of government’s
forecasts, such as 23% growth in agriculture.
"Remember when you (Murerwa)
came to the committee with Minister (Rugare) Gumbo you gave us an 80 000-mark
for wheat. We told you that we had 45 000 hectares and today we hear of 57 000
hectares. Combine that with the claim that agriculture will grow by 23%. I
shudder to think what baseline government is using," Mzembi said.
the independent
Ray
Matikinye/Augustine Mukaro
SECRET talks are underway among opposition parties
to forge an alliance to field one candidate in the 2008 presidential poll in a
bid to end Zanu PF’s 26-year rule.
Although the parties are keeping the finer
details under wraps sources said the idea of a single candidate was part of the
proposed broad alliance — the National Patriotic Front — set to bring together
opposition parties and civic organisations.
Tsholotsho MP Jonathan Moyo
confirmed that there were talks around fielding a single candidate if the
alliance materialises.
"It would be prudent to field one candidate in the
presidential election due in 2008," Moyo said. "It’s a national expectation, in
fact that was even the unspoken sentiment of the (Christian Alliance-sponsored)
meeting."
Moyo said the need for a single candidate backed by all groups had
been precipitated by the split in the MDC, succession wars in Zanu PF and
government’s failure to reverse the economic meltdown.
Although Moyo could
not be drawn into giving indications on possible candidates, it is understood
the NPF would be formed around Morgan Tsvangirai who is expected to be backed by
Arthur Mutambara as his deputy.
Others backing the idea are United People’s
Party president Daniel Shumba, Zapu Federal Party president Paul Siwela, and
Wurayayi Zembe of the Democratic Party.
Jameson Timba, who is closely
involved in liaison work for the Tsvangirai group, could neither deny nor
confirm the claims.
"Premature announcements are likely to scuttle the
process. There is a danger in talking about the progress made so far in the
national interest," Timba said on Wednesday.
Conflicting reports have created
confusion among opposition supporters who now doubt whether the rift between
Tsvangirai and Mutambara’s factions can be mended.
Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, deputy secretary-general of Mutambara’s group, on Monday
disputed media reports of unity talks in the opposition movement.
"The Arthur
Mutambara-led MDC has neither approached nor participated in any unity talks
with the Morgan Tsvangirai group," she said in a terse statement.
She said
unity among opposition political forces should be based on the founding
principles of non-violence, transparency, zero tolerance for corruption and
respect for democratic collective decision-making.
Sources in the Tsvangirai
camp said there had been extensive exchanges between the two
sides.
Accusations of violence and violations of the party’s constitution
could prove a major hurdle to immediate unity between the two camps.
The MDC
split over these key principles last October.
Opposition supporters had
invested hope in a recent meeting under the auspices of the Christian Alliance’s
Save Zimbabwe Convention that appeared to herald an era where Tsvangirai could
bring his much-needed mass appeal and grass roots presence while Mutambara could
infuse youthful ambition, intelligence and idealism into the new opposition
partnership, observers say.
Spokesperson for the Mutambara camp, Gabriel
Chaibva, said he saw no major problems in forging a united front as long as "the
other side puts national interest before self".
"As long as there is
commitment to uphold democratic principles and respect for the constitution,
together with other founding principles of the MDC, I see no problems in
uniting," Chaibva said.
He said colleagues in the Tsvangirai-led camp should
accept leadership responsibilities, collective decision-making as well as
respect for divergent views among party members.
"Serious politicians should
know that the more the political parties that come together the better for
efforts to confront Zanu PF," he said.
"Leaders should stop the arrogance of
adopting a Big Brother mentality," he added.
Tsvangirai’s camp spokesman
Nelson Chamisa said while his party would work with others to forge a united
front to challenge Zanu PF, which he described as "our common enemy", there was
no way his camp would join a new grouping.
the independent
Augustine
Mukaro
RACKETEERING and extortion have become rampant in the agricultural
sector as Zanu PF bigwigs and other beneficiaries of the land reform make
billions of dollars from unauthorised leases to the few remaining white
commercial farmers.
Justice for Agriculture chairman John Worswick said
the majority of farmers still on the land and producing had managed to do so by
entering partnership deals with powerful politicians in the Zanu PF
leadership.
The new farmers with offer letters allow the commercial
farmer to continue production on condition they share the proceeds.
“We
understand that partnerships with influential people have become rampant in the
agricultural sector as farmers become desperate to hang on to their properties,”
Worswick said in an interview this week.
“The deals are a closely
guarded secret making it difficult to expose the culprits. We condemn such
illicit deals because they undermine efforts to rebuild agriculture on a
comprehensible tenure system and prejudice the original farmer of his
compensation.”
Worswick said conservancies were the worst affected
although the practice had since spread to cropping, cattle ranching and dairy
ventures. A Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) executive who refused to be named
for fear of reprisals said partnership deals, ceding farms to influential people
and paying protection fees, were a countrywide phenomenon.
“Most of the
operating farms have entered private arrangements with the local leadership to
remain operating,” the executive said.
“The arrangements range from
paying settlers for grazing pastures or entering partnerships with the land
beneficiary. If it wasn’t for such arrangements no white commercial farmers
would still be farming.”
He said the CFU leadership was also involved,
resulting in some of them expanding their business operations.
In a
report after a recent tour of the eastern Lowveld, Lands, Agriculture,
Resettlement and Water Development parliamentary portfolio committee chairman
Walter Mzembi said some newly resettled farmers had ceded their plots to former
white owners.
“The Lowveld scenario was a microcosm of the wider
national picture in which senior ruling party and government officials seized
farms only to rent them out,” the report said.
One such set-up was at
Wajere Farm in Kwekwe where the owner was initially allocated 20 hectares of the
acquired farm, but proceeded to develop a working relationship with the new
beneficiaries and managed to get back 120 hectares. He was however booted out
later.
In the Selous area, settlers are understood to have made fortunes,
charging farmers for harvesting hay from their pieces of land.
At Chikore
farm in Masvingo, provincial war veterans leader Isaiah Muzenda and his
colleagues struck a deal with the Buchan family to block Higher Education
minister Stan Mudenge from taking over the property.
Mudenge has since
been given an offer letter and occupied the farm, forcing the Buchan family to
leave the country. As part of the original agreement, the war veterans were to
block Mudenge from moving on to Chikore and in return they would benefit from
the Buchans’ expertise in horticulture.
The sub-leasing of farms
directly violates the goals of the land reform programme.
The farm
leasing racket first emerged in 2003 with Zanu PF heavyweights and more than 600
A2 farm beneficiaries renting out seized farms to FSI Agricom, an agro-processor
that was owned by South Africa-based mogul Mutumwa Mawere.
Some of the
high profile people who ceded their farms then included former Zanu PF
Mashonaland West chairman Philip Chiyangwa and Zesa boss Sydney Gata.
the independent
Clemence Manyukwe
SUPREME Court judge Justice Wilson Sandura passed a
dissenting judgement in a constitutional case brought before the court by former
MDC MP for Chimanimani Roy Bennett when he was still behind bars on contempt of
parliament charges.
Sandura differed with Chief Justice Godfrey
Chidyausiku while other judges, Justice Luke Malaba, Maphios Cheda and Elizabeth
Gwaunza, concurred with the head of the judiciary to dismiss Bennett’s
application for an early release.
The MDC national treasurer, who was
sentenced to a year in prison in October 2004 for shoving Justice minister
Patrick Chinamasa in parliament, made the constitutional appeal on four
grounds.
Bennett argued that the punishment imposed on him constituted an
inhuman and degrading penalty in violation of Section 15 of the Constitution and
that provisions of the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act used
to incarcerate him were ultra vires the Constitution. Bennett, now living in
exile, also argued that he was discriminated against on race and political
grounds as well as that his right to a fair hearing by an impartial and
independent court were violated as Zanu PF members were biased against
him.
In a judgement made available to the Zimbabwe Independent on Monday,
Chidyausiku said if the Supreme Court had dealt with the matter it would not
have imposed a one-year sentence, but still dismissed the appeal saying: “In my
view the punishment imposed in this case, though severe, is not grossly
disproportionate to the offence.”
However, Justice Sandura said: “I have
read the judgement prepared by Chidyausiku CJ, but respectfully disagree with
it.”
The Supreme Court judge said of all the arguments raised he would
have disposed of the matter by determining the main issue — whether the sentence
imposed on Bennett was unconstitutional.
“In the circumstances, I would
have granted the application on the basis that the sentence imposed on Bennett
contravened Section 15(1) of the Constitution, and ordered that Bennett be
released from prison on the day the application was heard, without hearing
submissions on the other constitutional issues raised by him,” said Sandura.
Justice Sandura said parliament ought to have looked at what the former
MP had undergone at the hands of state agents who defied court orders and are
accused of killing some of his employees, leading him “to act in the heat of the
moment and in response to severe provocation”.
Sandura also noted that
the Attorney-General’s office had in its heads of argument conceded that the
sentence was unconstitutional, only to withdraw the assertion at the last minute
in court.
On the other grounds such as the Privileges, Immunities and
Powers of Parliament Act which Bennett raised, Justice Chidyausiku dismissed the
arguments saying even the United Kingdom parliament had identical powers.
Bennett said that he was discriminated against on racial grounds citing
Chinamasa’s comments to the effect that if the former MDC legislator was a black
person he was going to be “ready to forgive and forget”.
the independent
Muckraker
HOW timely it was to have a letter last week from a reader who
recalled that most of our nationalist leaders and many among the current cabinet
had been represented in court in the 1960s and 70s by white lawyers who were
prepared to take on the Smith regime and its draconian legislation.
In his
virulent assault on the Law Society of Zimbabwe Tafataona Mahoso concealed that
inconvenient truth. Which once again illustrates the point that apologists for
this regime are selective in their accounts of the historical record and thrive
on public ignorance.
Ignorance is often a companion of malice. Mahoso may not
know much about the events of an earlier era because he made no known
contribution to the struggle for Independence. Perhaps next time he holds forth
with such conviction he could tell us where he was during those years!
Mahoso
continued his racist crusade against the Law Society of Zimbabwe this week,
which he speciously accuses of defending currency speculation and money
laundering. He is right in saying the LSZ lost a constitutional challenge in
2004 against aspects of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act regarding
corruption and money laundering. What he doesn’t say is why these vices have
continued to flourish when the law is clear. He also doesn’t say who have been
the biggest violators of the law since it was enacted. Apparently they are among
the same diehard patriots who couldn’t abide by their party’s Leadership
Code.
Mahoso also laments that his call in 1999 on government to "declare a
national economic emergency" to "explain the economic crisis" and "to stamp out
corruption" went unheeded. Isn’t he taking himself a tad too seriously? Has
government ever listened to any advice apart from looking for scapegoats for all
its policy blunders?
Another startling revelation was a claim by Mahoso of "a
raging financial warfare" whose major strategy was "the massive internal
devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar" and its revaluation outside the
country.
Who has been responsible for this massive devaluation? We hope he
won’t be telling us this is the work of LSZ saboteurs!
Talking of public
ignorance, we were interested to note the statement by South Africa’s deputy
Foreign minister Aziz Pahad at a parliamentary press briefing last week that the
Zimbabwe crisis had been discussed at a closed session of Sadc heads of state
and foreign ministers at their summit in Lesotho two weeks ago.
Zimbabwe’s
Foreign minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi had told the Herald’s Caesar Zvayi that
Zimbabwe had not been discussed because it was not on the agenda.
Here is a
good example of ministers misleading the public and state journalists assisting
them. But hasn’t it occurred to politicians in denial that sooner of later the
truth will emerge and they will look foolish?
In this connection we should
advise Herbert Murerwa to stop making silly charges of newspapers having "a
political agenda" and "targeting" his "personality".
There was no bad blood
between himself and Gideon Gono, he claimed.
This followed our report last
week which was based on evidence Murerwa gave to the parliamentary portfolio
committee on Finance and Budget in which he was reported as saying he was not
aware of the plan to drop the three zeros on bearer cheques and that there was
no guarantee that they would not return by December. This was all "malicious
fabrication", he claimed. He was fully aware of the initiative, he said.
We
are happy to hear that his relations with the RBZ governor are now cordial. But
the minister has a short memory. He has forgotten the strong differences of
opinion expressed in correspondence relating to Gono published earlier this
year. Was that all "malicious fabrication" as well?
If so, why did he not say
so at the time?
Murerwa could at the same time tell us how, given his inept
management of fiscal policy, he justifies his continued tenure in office. He has
been a disaster as Minister of Finance. During his period at the helm the
country’s economy has sunk to unprecedented depths. His only strategy has been a
supplementary budget that depends upon further borrowing.
What measures has
he taken that have succeeded in reducing borrowing, taming inflation, and
preventing waste? How have his forecasts for agricultural production and GDP
growth worked out?
It’s about time somebody did "target" Murerwa’s
non-existent political personality which has delivered nothing useful to the
country over the past six years of decline.
Unlike some of his more
swaggering colleagues Murerwa is a pleasant and modest fellow. But then again he
has much to be modest about!
Who keeps feeding Caesar Zvayi inaccurate
information every week on the circumstances surrounding Zimbabwe’s withdrawal
from the Commonwealth? On several occasions recently he has been claiming that
the "white Commonwealth" voted for Zimbabwe’s continued suspension while the
rest voted to lift the suspension. Then on August 9 he suggested that John
Howard had "abused" his position as troika chair ahead of the 2003 Chogm by
over-ruling the views of the other two members, Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun
Obasanjo.
First of all, Howard was in no position to over-rule the other two
members of the troika. Having taken soundings from other states they agreed a
common position and stuck to it. Obasanjo, who had attempted to promote dialogue
in Zimbabwe, became disillusioned with Harare after he was induced to write to
Howard making all sorts of claims that Zimbabwe had changed its ways when, he
soon discovered, it obviously hadn’t. The Zimbabwean authorities for instance
claimed that the mistreatment of Harare MP Job Sikhala in police custody was
being investigated when it wasn’t.
As for the "white" Commonwealth (an
invention of the Zimbabwean official media) determining the issue of further
suspension at Britain’s behest, this would have been rather difficult given the
numbers. In fact a clear majority of members, including states from Africa, the
Caribbean and Pacific, decided that Zimbabwe had not made any significant
progress on governance issues since its original suspension in 2002 and
therefore should not be readmitted.
How could three or four countries
arm-twist 50 others? Zvayi should examine the record before he next gets it
wrong.
We were interested to note that following their takeover of the Mirror
stable, our intelligence community have renamed their papers the Zimbabwe
Newspapers Group (Pvt) Ltd.
This news, revealed on the front page of last
Saturday’s edition, came as a bit of a surprise to us because we thought that
name had already been taken. Perhaps it’s all the same thing to them. Otherwise
how does one explain such a howler?
Last week we referred to the role of the
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority in promoting the Zanu PF government by pretending all
was well with Zimbabwe when it manifestly wasn’t.
A reader has drawn our
attention to a report in the local press that confirms this role. ZTA CEO
Karikoga Kaseke said earlier last month that "as the economy of Zimbabwe
continues to improve, it is expected that tourists from this source (Africa)
will also continue to increase". Many of these "tourists" are of course informal
traders.
Could Cde Kaseke tell us which aspects of the country’s economic
performance have improved in recent months? And where are all these Asian
tourists, currently flooding the country according to the ZTA’s delusional
figures, hiding? Why are they not visible to the rest of us?
One salient
statistic released by the ZTA gave us the real picture. Hotel utilisation has
sunk from 28% in 2005 to 22% while room occupancy has fallen correspondingly
from 38% last year to 32%.
The tourists may be coming here but it doesn’t
look as if they are taking advantage of our facilities. And thanks to the ZTA’s
Operation Murambatsvina in the hospitality sector, they will have difficulty
finding a restaurant that is still open. However, the Great Wall and China
Garden, needless to say, are unaffected!
Zimbabwe has found a good friend in
the east. It was reported at the weekend that the country had signed memorandums
of understanding with four South Korean companies. The deals cover
telecommunications, tourism, manufacturing and agriculture, reported the Sunday
Mail.
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono told the gathering that Zimbabwe had
a lot to learn from South Korea, adding enthusiastically: "We think we have
found the answer to our economic recovery programme and this answer is from
people who are sincere."
At times one can’t help feeling pity for the guy.
The solution to Zimbabwe’s chronic ills of poor governance and corruption can
never come from outside our borders. These are simple problems of bad politics
and leaders who can never get enough of political power. If Gono’s advisors are
not telling him these basic truths then they are doing him a big disservice. He
needs "people who are sincere" around him to understand the true source of our
problems.
Deputy Health minister Edwin Muguti says the solution to the
shortage of doctors in Zimbabwe is to "poach" them from Cuba and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. In a report we published last week, Muguti said Zimbabwe had
existing relations with the two countries through which it could get
doctors.
An alert reader has just reminded us of a recent report in which the
Zimbabwe government was complaining self-righteously against Sadc countries
"poaching" skilled workers from each other. It specifically cited Botswana and
South Africa as being guilty of this practice.
Why are we now trying to poach
doctors from a fellow Sadc country when we should be retaining our own skilled
manpower? Isn’t it embarrassing that we should even be thinking about the DRC as
a source given that it is just recovering from war and we have been enjoying
"peace and tranquility" since Independence 26 years ago, something our leaders
never tire of reminding us?
M-Net’s Carte Blanche a few weeks ago had some
interesting footage of Prime Minister Robert Mugabe speaking on Gukurahundi in
March 1985.
He said: "There may have been one or two untoward incidents but
where are the mass graves they have been talking about?"
This was in response
to the first claims in press reports of atrocities in Matabeleland at the hands
of the Fifth Brigade.
"They tell all sorts of stories of alleged atrocities,"
Mugabe said of the press reports. Kevin Woods, who as part of Mugabe’s close
security unit witnessed scenes of horror after the North-Korean trained brigade
had struck, warned that this was "bad news" and could create international
controversy. Woods ascribed the regime’s refusal to release him, even after
Nelson Mandela’s pleas, to his detailed knowledge of what took place in
Matabeleland in the mid-80s.
Hogarth in the Sunday Times is baffled by the
supine response of Zimbabweans to oppression by President Mugabe’s regime.
"He dismembered the constitution and centralised power," Hogarth points out,
"but they did not revolt. He rigged elections and stacked parliament with
presidential appointees, but they did not revolt. He banned their newspapers and
attacked their printing presses, but they did not revolt.
"He jailed their
leaders and sent others into exile, but they did not revolt. He used warlords to
seize white farms and then seized the same farms from the warlords for party
apparatchiks, but they did not revolt.
"He ruined the economy, drove
inflation up to near 1 000%, but they did not revolt.
"Finally, the
government took all the people’s money away. And the result? They did not
revolt. Which leads Hogarth to a foul thought: May be the people of Zimbabwe
have the country they deserve. No?"