WHY ZIMBABWE MUST NOT BE HELPED

Nigerian President Umaru Yar Adua and Caretaker South African President Kgalema Mothlante have called for the donor community to rally to the aid of Zimbabwe

Sadc spent the good part of 2007 thrashing out a Mugabe political rescue plan after he was humiliated into runner up at the March 29 polls by Morgan Richard Tsvangirai
Now SADC who brokered the Mugabe rescue package by giving assurances that they were ready and waiting to assist Zimbabwe turn around its waning economic misfortunes.

Now Zimbabwe is ready and has already knocked on SADC doors to remind the leaders of their pledged obligations to finance the turnaround efforts, encouraged by the SADC promise to marshal efforts to raise the necessary funds.

More worryingly is the fact that the SADC response is premised on securing donations from sources outside their control.

The chances of failure are high when due consideration is taken of the likely sources of such funds and their public concerns about certain political misbehaviors by Zimbabwe which are not favourable to securing of international support of the nature the country seeks.

When those sentiments reverberate in Africa as they do in Europe as connectafrica discloses hereunder we must be really frightened of likely prospects of failure by SADC.
Posted on February 25, 2009
By connectafrica

Nigeria’s president has asked fellow African nations to lend a helping hand to failing South African state, Zimbabwe. President Yar Adua believes this to be critical to the renaissance of the Zimbabwean economy.

A straight forward sceptic’s reaction to this Macedonian call will be to scornfully ask the Nigerian president if nearly all African countries do not need help. From Somalia, DRC to Sudan there is a genuine need for a Marshall Plan intervention for the continent. The World Bank reports nearly 70% of the world’s poorest nations are in Africa.

However Zimbabwe doesn’t need either Nigeria or Africa’s help. In the 1970’s when pan Africanism was the elixir, the fiends were the British and the West; the continent’s freedom fighters trudged jungles, valleys and hills in a bid to oust the colonialists. Robert Mugabe unfortunately 29 years after his country’s independence is the bogeyman of his country’s political and economic woes.

Succinctly spinning his home-made labyrinth, Mugabe in the guise of nationalism threw out white farmers, entrenched himself as life-president of the nation-maiming, detaining or killing his opponents. His antecedent since 1990 when Bishop Desmond Tutu believed he should have stepped down are gruesome-remarkable when you realize Mugabe was once a progenitor of Pan-Africanism.

Then, in the same breath was he mentioned with Jomo Kenyatta, Kenneth Kaunda, and Julius Nyerere. But now in the dungeons of muck and obscenity, a bedfellow he languishes with the likes of Idi Amin, Emperor Bokassa, Mobotu Sese Seko, Sani Abacha etc.

The truth is Robert Mugabe at 85 is an elder statesman and perhaps the oldest of all the leaders in the continent that’s why the southern African regional body needed nearly a year to make him sign a foxy sharing power pact with Morgan Tsvangirai-skewed more to Mugabe’s favour.

When it was once suggested that the AU try to ease him out of office, Mugabe had derided the remaining 51 African leaders saying they couldn’t even stand a chance to oust him forcefully.

And he is right; the bogus African union is made up of bureaucrats, cowards, hecklers and hypocrites.

That’s why in more than a dozen African countries, unrest is the default state of affairs. Al-shabab, the Islamist terrorist group responsible for railroading Somalia, recently killed 11 AU peacekeepers and has threatened further attacks on the AU force referring to them as invaders-though the country’s president is an Islamist.

Only a handful of African nations are involved in the peacekeeping operation in Somalia. Yar’ Adua may play the advocate but his foreign affairs spokesman, Ojo Maduekwe isn’t even interested in discussing the inclusion of Nigerian troops in Somalia, saying that we are not ready for the body bags.

Mugabe accuses the West of the debilitating conditions that have eclipsed Africa’s one-time food basket. However Mugabe and his aides have continued to flourish despite international sanctions while his country’s beggarly population is rapidly withering away to the harshest economic climate and a stubborn cholera epidemic.

Two months ago it was Mugabe’s wife painting Hong Kong red. This week it’s the sickening attempt of Zimbabwe’s VP Joyce Mujuru to sell DRC gold to a foreign firm through her Spanish daughter. The Mujuru’s own more than substantial investments in several African countries.

Zimbabwe deserves neither aid nor support until President Mugabe starts to respect the rule of law-obedience to court rulings, free all activists, return all stolen funds, and conduct credible elections.

Nigeria and the rest of the continent should ape ex UN scribe, Kofi Annan’s strong stance on Kenya where he has threatened to turn in an envelope to the ICC – the envelope contains 10 names responsible for the deaths of at least 600 and the displacement of more than 300,000 following riots after Kenya’s General election - if by march 1st a probe panel isn’t set up to investigate the killings. Enough of the surreptitious rule of thumb-let’s sweep it under the carpet- that has long crippled development in the continent.

aghogho, CONNECTAFRICA

Tsvangirai and Mutambara take it in turns to pulverise and unmask Mugabe’s invincibility armour

President Mugabe centre being reduced to size by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangrai Top left and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara Bottom right

Slowly but surely Zimbabweans are watching the dismantling of the Mugabe mystique as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara take it in turns to unmask the aura of invincibility that Mugabe has assumed for more than half a century uncontested leadership of both country and Zanu PF.

Deluded in the comfort of unquestioned rule by decree for nearly 3 decades, President Mugabe must be wondering what it is he has done or not done to deserve the indignity of having to contend with a crop of politicians young enough to be his children tearing into his repute and directives.

Having legitimised his continued hegemony on the political space through the SADC and AU inspired Inclusive Government that saved him from a catastrophic defeat in the March 29, 2008 Presidential election, Mugabe must have felt he was back in undisputed control of the country’s politics.

Ever since the Global political agreement between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations was signed on 15 September 2008 Mugabe and his Zanu PF acolytes have experimented with numerous initiatives to show they are still in sole charge the country without much success.

The first of those initiatives was 27 June 2008 when Mugabe participated in a Presidential runoff election in which he proclaimed himself winner by a landslide 85% of the valid vote.

The experiment collapsed ignominiously when he attended the 30 June African Union (AU) summit in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt as the summit’s newest Head of State.

The other Heads refused to endorse his headship and he returned to the country with his tail under his knees burdened by the weight of the AU resolution for him to form an inclusive government if he wanted their unconditional support and camaraderie.

Severely wounded by this embarrassing episode President Mugabe pleaded with then South Africa President Thabo Mbeki to revive the mediated SADC dialogue he had unilaterally suspended in preference of reasserting his authority through the March elections that ended in his embarrassing defeat.

Mugabe‘s prayers for salvation were answered when on 21 July 2008 then South African President Thabo Mbeki presided over the signing of a tripartite Memorandum Understanding (MoU) by Professor Arthur Mutambara, Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe.

Therein the competing political leadership trio committed their respective political formations to negotiating an Inclusive Government in place of one that could not be consummated after the defeat of Mugabe in the March elections was set aside by the silent Military Coup staged by Zimbabwe’s Military Commanders under the Joint Operations Command (JOC).

Protracted negations ensued the signing of the MoU with Mugabe attempting to retain control of all the levers of power he had lost control of and the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai trying to unseat him while Arthur Mutambara was focussed on regaining political relevance lost by his MDC faction due to humiliating defeats suffered by its leadership in the march Parliamentary, Senatorial and Local Authority elections.

The negotiations nearly collapsed when Mugabe attempted to hold onto the draconian powers that underpinned his leadership of the country prior to March 2008.

In August 2008 multi faceted experiments were set up by Zanu PF to test possibilities of retaining exclusive power by stalling SADC mediated negotiations for power sharing.
First the Military Junta instructed the Registrar General not to renew his Tsvangirai’s passport which had been used up to ensure he would not travel outside the country to countries they believed were sponsoring his party’s regime change agenda.

Over 1500 MDC supporters remained in detention over trumped up political violence cases committed in the run up to the 27 June Presidential runoff election that had been internationally discredited.

By 11 August Zanu PF had forged alliances with the rebel MDC faction led by Mutambara in attempts to neutralise Tsvangirai’s demands for equitable distribution of power between him and Mugabe before the Inclusive government could be consummated.

The power sharing talks collapsed on 12 August as a consequence of this alliance which buoyed Mugabe into believing he could form a partially inclusive government with Prof Mutambara and excluding the detested Tsvangirai.

On 15 August SADC Heads of State convened an emergency meeting to find ways of resolving issues that had led to the collapse of the negotiations for an inclusive government.

At the end of the summit they authorised Mugabe to carry out his experiment of forming an partially inclusive government with the Mutambara MDC faction by convening Parliament and proceeding on that basis.

A spate of bombings that looked controlled and stage-managed were reported at police stations and on railway lines and bridges in what the MDC led by Tsvangirai said was a prelude to a plan aimed at eliminating its leadership through trumped up charges of committing acts of banditry.

On 25 August Mugabe convened Parliament hoping the alliance he had forged with Mutambara would vindicate his belief that he could form a partially inclusive Government with the support of the MDC faction Members of Parliament (MP’s) provided the alliance secured Parliament Speakership in a parliament where the MDC dominated it by one extra MP.

Despite vigorous denials of the alliance by Mutambara and his faction Zanu PF withheld fielding a Parliamentary Speaker contestant and whipped its MP’s to support the candidature of Paul Themba Nyathi putting to rest the speculation about the alliance.

Professor Mutambara with a paltry 10 MP’s in the 210 Chamber could not have put up a Parliamentary speaker contestant with any hope of winning against an MDC and Zanu PF fielding. When Zanu PF did not contest it confirmed why Mutambara had fielded Paul Themba Nyathi against MDC-T’s Lovemore Moyo.

Mugabe’s 3rd major experiment bombed out when Moyo defeated Nyathi for the Parliamentary Speakership and the following day Mugabe suffered the humiliating experience of opening an MDC controlled Parliament.

The MDC Parliamentarians did not make it any easier for him as they jeered and heckled him throughout his speech and made him very uncomfortable.

If Mugabe was convinced that he had outmanoeuvred partners to the MoU and was set to reclaim his undisputed political superiority that had been dented by the March defeat events in parliament on 26 August convinced him otherwise and he was back to the SADC mediation table in a hurry after that humiliating experience.

Within three weeks he had conceded power to Tsvangirai and the compromise was final agreed upon on 11 September 2008, where Mugabe retained the Presidency, Tsvangirai secured the Premiership and Mutambara the Deputy Premiership, all with Executive powers., the newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister has come back with guns blazing after he was publicly berated by President Mugabe on television Thursday.

Having been forced to concede more powers to his opponents than he anticipated Mugabe sought to experiment retrieving some of the powers by instructing Patrick Chinamasa to significantly alter the agreement reached on 11 September in Zanu PF’s favour behind the backs of the other subscribers to the MoU.

It nearly paid off when the alterations were in the document publicly signed by the subscribers on 15 September, but for the eagle eyes of scrutinisers in the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai the alterations were flagged and annulled leaving Chinamasa embarrassingly exposed as the agreement fraudster.

For the fourth time Mugabe and Zanu PF’s experiment of means with which to retain exclusive power had been foiled.

As soon as the GPA was signed Mugabe was off to the United Nations Assembly meeting in the United States of America instead of attending to the requirements of the GPA he had just signed.

As a consequence of his deliberate dereliction of responsibilities assigned to him the designated Prime Minister and his deputies could not take up government responsibilities because the constitutional framework allowing them to do so had been left in abeyance.

Leaving this crucial requirement in abeyance was itself a fifth experiment by Mugabe and Zanu PF to see if they could exercise exclusive power despite the agreement.

The convening of Parliament before consummation of the Inclusive Government had actually benefited his Party as Mugabe had unilaterally appointed 10 of his acolytes to become Provincial Governors which would not have been the case had he consummated the Inclusive Government as soon as agreement to its formation on 15 September 2008 was endorsed.

The time buying strategy has become central to Mugabe and Zanu PF strategies to salvage power that is now pouring through his fingers.

It allowed him to hold out for a co- Minister of home Affairs thereby creating one more position for his loosing acolytes and a further 5 Minister of State positions that saw Cabinet balloon from 31 GPA agreed portfolios to 42 and 15 Deputy Ministers increasing to 19. In addition to those Unconstitutional addendums to the GPA it allowed Mugabe to reappoint Gideon Gono as Reserve Bank Governor and elevate Johannes Tomana to Attorney General.

Mugabe was also afforded time to kidnap and detain opposing political activists and use them as power bargaining chips to a point where he now has no less than 43 priced ones in the custody of the Zimbabwe Prisons.

The impunity by Mugabe appears to have reached a dead end if events in the past week are anything to go by.

The MDC MP’s have outperformed the octogenarian MP’s Mugabe entrusted with making waves in the Inclusive Government.

Mugabe has been forced to terminate the appointments of the 10 Provincial Governors.

The irregular appointments of Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana have returned to haunt him and have pushed him to the defensive wall.

The arrest and detention of political and Civic Society is causing him nightmarish nights.

To divert pressure he instructed Chief Secretary to his office and Cabinet to unilaterally announce reassignment and deployment of 34 Zanu PF acolytes as permanent Secretaries of the 41 Ministries in the Inclusive Government.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai promptly nullified the deployment which he rightly declared unconstitutional as his office had not agreed them with the Presidency before they were made as dictated by article 20.1.7 of the eight Schedule of the country’s Constitution.

Worse Mugabe’s trusted AG Johannes Tomana appears to be causing Mugabe further headaches by correctly invoking legal clauses that keep detainees behind bars but increases public and international discontent and mistrust of Zanu PF.

Dr Gono’s irregular appointment for a second term as Reserve Bank Governor is no less burdening for the Zimbabwe president under siege.

Deputy PM Professor Mutambara teamed with Finance Minister Tendai Biti to rubbish the Reserve Bank Governor’s recent Monetary policy statement and the Budget presented by Zanu PF Junta Acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa. Him of the foiled GPA fraudulent of 15 September 2008.

Mugabe says Mutambara is inexperienced and thus prone to error but we know that in the inclusive Government Mugabe’s experience is matched to the minute by Mutambara’s experience and the former’s experience of rule by decree is not of any use in an Inclusive Government.

More pertinently Mugabe argues that appointments by the illegitimate Junta regime that has made way for the Inclusive Government made binding commitments for the Inclusive Government which is politically mischievous given that he has not carried on with the Junta Cabinet appointments that endorsed them.

By dissolving the Junta Cabinet Mugabe acknowledged its illegitimacy and has no option but to admit the appointments he made on advice from the illegitimate Junta structures and Cabinet must be equally reviewed and accepted or nullified as the new dispensation assess them.

Mutambara says Mugabe is entitled to personal views but those must be separated from inclusive government views.

In any event it is not accurate for Mugabe to say the Budget presented to Parliament by Chinamasa cannot be revised or reversed because that is the responsibility of Parliament and as far as we know Parliament has not debated and passed that budget.

What will Mugabe do if Parliament refuses to pass the budget?

This is the reason why we must salute the dilution of Mugabe’s presidential powers. It is no longer a case of what he says goes. Rather he is now required to defend his personal likes and dislikes and be guided by the majority view.

And about time too.

MDC National Executive deliberates on the inclusive government

Minister of Information Technology and MDC National Secretary for Information and Publicity Nelson Chamisa
27th February 2009 -
MDC Information and publicity department

The MDC National Executive today met at the party’s headquarters Harvest House and deliberated upon the report from President Morgan Tsvangirai on the progress, challenges and obstacles in the life and health of the inclusive government.

The party took note and registers concern on the following;

A). Political prisoners;

The party urges the inclusive government to immediately and efficaciously address the release of all political prisoners in line with the agreement by the three principals of the political parties in the inclusive government.

B). Appointment of permanent secretaries and ambassadors;

The party notes that the appointment of permanent secretaries did not comply with the provisions of the constitution. The party stresses the urgency and desirability of the resolution of this matter in line with the letter and spirit of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

C). Farm disruptions;

The National Executive also noted with concern fresh farm disruptions which are affecting production and stability on the farms. The MDC therefore urges the inclusive government to immediately intervene to stop disruptions in order to enhance productivity on all farms.

D). Provincial governors;

The party took note of the progress made on the issue of provincial governors in terms of the adoption of allocation formula. The MDC calls for timeous and immediate swearing in of these provincial governors to complete the formation of governors.

E). Senior government appointments;

The appointments of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor and Attorney General (AG) remain an outstanding issue in line with the resolutions of SADC.


The party therefore notes with concern the delay in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement and calls on these things to be resolved with immediate effect.

While the party appreciates the progress made within two weeks, we note with concern the delay and gaps in the realization of the Global Political Agreement.

F). Size of government;

The MDC national executive views the new cabinet as too big and heavy for the country.

In this regard, the MDC National Executive restated the party’s commitment to a small but efficient cabinet to enhance accountability and fiscal prudence.


G). New Constitution-

The MDC notes the national consensus on the desirability and need for a new constitution. The party therefore urges the inclusive government to put in place a framework that would allow for a people driven constitution to be in place. The party also urges the inclusive government to ensure that the process of coming up with a new constitution takes on board all citizens and key stakeholders to make sure that it is beyond reproach and contestation.

h) The need for a paradigm shift;

The MDC calls on all Zimbabweans and office holders in public institutions to be in sync with the inclusive government arrangement.


MDC Information and publicity department.

MDC asserts itself in bastion of Zanu PF support

President Mugabe set to host Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at his 85th Birthday Celebration in Chinhoyi. Will the Military Commanders be there to celebrate and salute them?

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will attend the 21st February Movement celebrations of President Mugabe’s birthday.

This sounds like the most outrageous political brinkmanship on the part of the MDC leader whose party has been at the centre of discrediting the event in all its 10 years of existence.

Questions are being raised about the credibility of the MDC if its leader decides to attend an event it has rubbished as unnecessarily stupendous in economically ravaged Zimbabwe.

The Prime Minister’s office has justified the acceptance of the invitation to the fete on the following basis;

"He was invited and he is attending. It's courteous on (the part of) his party and it's in the spirit of national unity," Tsvangirai's spokesperson James Maridadi said.

Indeed it is courteous to accept Presidential invitations and advantageous to project a semblance of cohesion within the Coalition Government through simultaneous public parading the two most powerful drivers of the initiative.

But is that the real reason why Tsvangirai has accepted the invitation or could there be other underlying political reasons that have been conveniently withheld from the public?

During the March 2008 elections the MDC managed to garner only 12 of the 63 Parliamentary seats in the combined Mashonaland Provinces.

Its performance in the Senatorial segment of the election was equally bad when it only managed to secure 1 of the combined 18 seats allocated to the three Mashonaland Provinces.

Mugabe outpolled Tsvangirai in all the Mashonaland Provinces in the Presidential section of the said election.

The recent upsurge in violent invasion of commercial farmlands is mainly restricted to the Mashonaland Provinces.

The Mashonaland Provinces have been by far the most difficult for the Prime Minister and his MDC party to campaign and make political inroads into because of the 21st February Movement and Border Gezi youths roadblocks.

The President’s birthday celebrations present the Prime Minister an real opportunity to charm the doubting Mugabe youth supporters at the centre of political thuggery against his MDC supporters.

The opportunity of not just free but also authoritative access to the Mashonaland youth electorate that will be bussed into Chinhoyi for the Presidential Birthday party was too good a political opportunity for Tsvangirai and his party to miss.

Secondly the opportunity for the Prime Minister to be able to deliver his message on the illegality of the current upsurge in commercial farm invasions in the province and its ramifications to the Government’s economic turnaround programme were too compelling for the Prime minister to let slip through his fingers.

The opportunity for the Prime Minister to show his newly found authority over those in the Security Ministries who are leading nefarious pockets of resistance to his ascendancy to power and show their misinformed supporters that they will salute him and disarm them of their invincibility is a relished political opportunity the President’s birthday celebrations presents.

They commanders have to make a choice between attending the celebrations which will compel them to acknowledge the premier’s presence or boycott the occasion which may reflect negatively on their loyalty to President Mugabe.

It places the Military Commanders in a no win situation doesn’t it?
There is the price to pay for this political brinkmanship on the part of the Premier. His unforgiving followers who have been at the receiving end of Zanu PF thuggery for over a decade will be absolutely devastated to see their leader feasting with the President on behalf of whose entrenchment in power they were violated.

The economic hardship they face and the obvious whipping of dissent emotions within his Party by detractors will always be considerations the Premier will be on the lookout for.

But he knows as well as his detractors know that the long term survival of his party lies in its ability to attract support from those that were misled into believing he was a puppet of the West and Britain and there are none worse than those in the Mashonaland Provinces where fortuitously the Presidential Birthday fete will be staged.

It is this ability on the part of the Premier to identify opportunities to connect with a captive political audience that has seen him grow the MDC into political heavyweight.

It is unlikely the Premier will not be allowed to deliver a public birthday wish to the President and he is likely to exploit that opportunity to endear himself to President Mugabe’s most ardent supporters.

What will that mean to Zanu PF’s political monopoly in Mashonaland?

The meaning of the new political dispensation in Zimbabwe

Professor Jonathan Moyo bottom left; Tendai Biti Zimbabwe Finance Minister centre and David Coltart Education Minister

By Professor Jonathan Moyo

NewZimbabwe.com

Wednesday, February 18:

WHAT is the meaning of the new political dispensation in Zimbabwe made possible by the formation of the inclusive government?

Just in case my conclusion gets lost in my argument, let me point out now that there are seven considerations that define the meaning of the new political dispensation which are, therefore, the conclusion of my presentation.
In the first place, the new political dispensation means that President Robert Mugabe has rather shrewdly managed to win back political legitimacy which he lost on March 29, 2008, and failed to get in the controversial presidential runoff election on June 27, 2008.

Prior to this, President Mugabe only had legal legitimacy which was in danger of being overpowered by his political illegitimacy which arose from the fact that he came second to Morgan Tsvangirai on March 29, 2008, and that the results of the June 27, 2008, presidential runoff election were widely condemned as politically illegitimate whatever its legal merits.

Now, thanks to the new political dispensation, Mugabe is sitting pretty as both head of State and head of government.

Second, the new political dispensation means that the “sellout” or “puppet” stigma attached to Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC since 1999 will now fall away. Already, some elements of the public media who used to routinely label Tsvangirai a British puppet and a sell-out are now calling him “Comrade Tsvangirai”. Times have indeed changed.

This serves to remind all of us of the anthropological truth that it is unwise to judge the promise of a child by the prejudice or stupidity of its parents. As such, while British and American parenting of the MDC cannot be objectively denied, the new political dispensation gives the MDC a golden opportunity to outgrow that awful parentage by becoming truly nationalist.

Third, the new political dispensation means that Zimbabwe now has three ruling parties, although one of the three — MDC M — is not really a party in the traditional or strict sense.

This development has the potential to enhance multiparty politics and mutual tolerance in the country as there is no chance in heaven of having the three parties in government merging to become one party. The fact that the three ruling parties in the inclusive government have no chance of merging means that the political landscape in the country is likely to see major political realignments including the emergence of a credible alternative political movement which will embrace progressive elements from across the political divide.

Fourth, the new political dispensation means that the polarisation that has characterised our country’s national politics in recent years will significantly subside with the real possibility of disappearing altogether. The polarisation had contributed to the underdevelopment of public discourse and the impoverishment of public policies. Now there is new space for real discussion and real debate of real issues at local, provincial and national levels.

Fifth, the new political dispensation means that the Anglo-American led international consensus that had solidly developed against Zimbabwe will most likely collapse. In any event, there will now be significant divisions in the international community over Zimbabwe and those divisions are going to benefit the inclusive government.

SADC, and in particular South Africa, will emerge as the leading international voice on Zimbabwe with Britain and America taking backseats from which they would still be able to make mischief but not in the megaphone manner of the past.

Sixth, the new political dispensation means that while the historic 2000 land reform process is now firmly irreversible, as affirmed by the September 15, 2008, Interparty Agreement that led to the formation of the inclusive government, there is now a real danger that the new black political and economic elite, the majority of whom are in the MDC, will use the excuse of underutilised land on the back of the ongoing economic liberalisation to dispossess peasants and the urban poor who are now on the land but who are struggling to fully or even partially utilise it due to economic factors beyond their control.

In other words, the new political dispensation means that we should brace ourselves up for new land invasions initially against the remaining white farmers, as is already happening, and later against the newly resettled farmers who will be opportunistically accused of not utilising the land allocated to them during the height of the Third Chimurenga.

Seventh, the new political dispensation means that either Zanu PF — which still holds the levers of power — has outfoxed the MDC which is now in Zanu PF’s mouth ready to go down its stomach, or that the MDC-T is now poised to destroy Zanu PF from within the government given that the strength of Zanu PF over the last decade or so has moved away from its long dead party structures to government departments and ministries. The fact that government ministries and departments are now shared by Zanu PF and the two MDC factions spells looming doom for Zanu PF which was already suffering from growing civil service defiance.

Given the above conclusion of my presentation, let me now proffer the argument. In order to appreciate the full meaning of the new political dispensation, we must distinguish between the September 15, 2008, “Global” Interparty Agreement and the inclusive government formed on the fateful day of Friday, February 13, 2009.

The Interparty Agreement was without doubt a good thing for Zimbabwe as there was really no better alternative. As such, the Interparty Agreement was, as it still is, inherently good.

However, the same cannot be said about the inclusive government without qualification. We have to judge the inclusive government on two accounts: First as to whether the Cabinet choices made by the three “principal leaders” were sound to the point of inspiring confidence and second, in terms of how the new Cabinet will work or perform.

In all fairness we can begin to make lasting conclusions about the work or performance of the new Cabinet only after 100 days even though we know it does not have that much time. The country is in dire straits and the public expects well thought-out and decisive action as a matter of urgency.

This means that the only judgement we can confidently pass now is about the soundness of the choices made in the selection of the Cabinet members for the inclusive government.

In this regard, it is important to note that the implementation of the September 15, 2008, Interparty Agreement has thus far been a contest for positions in government. Initially, before the signing of the September 15 deal, the battle was over which party would get which ministries. After the deal, the battle shifted to a contest over which individual would get which ministry. Throughout this whole process, there has been no contest of ideas, no contest of ideology and no contest over policy.
In a word, the whole affair has thus far been about jobs for the boys or girls.

Indeed, it is striking to observe that all of the negotiators in the Interparty Dialogue basically negotiated and assured high ranking positions for themselves and even when some of them are clearly not suitable or qualified for the positions they grabbed. This does not inspire national confidence, rather, it breeds cynicism against the inclusive government.

The highlight of this contest has been the Cabinet choices. Although there are some notable exceptions, the vast majority of the choices by the leaders of the three ruling parties are poor and misplaced not least because they have been driven by considerations of patronage and cheap politics than anything else important or relevant.

Let us briefly consider each of the three cases beginning with the Cabinet choices made by MDC-M.

If we were to judge MDC M by its cabinet choices, and if we were to do so without any prejudice, then we would have to conclude that this is a pretentious party that has never existed in point of fact on the ground. It’s a stillborn party run by upstarts who are either ignorant of or confused by politics.

This party has no chance of ever coming into political life not least because its leaders used or even abused the Interparty negotiations to secure themselves high ranking positions in government via the backdoor as they have no electoral mandate of their own. Politics is never about oneself. It is always about the people.

As such, and given the fragile sensitivities of the leaders of the MDC-M, the little said about their hopeless cabinet deployments the better, save to marvel at the fact that David Coltart, who is otherwise a good man, was allocated a portfolio that is way above his technical and cultural competence, let alone his relevant experience.

How about Zanu PF? When the former sole ruling party is judged by its latest cabinet deployments, and the rather comical manner in which those deployments were made, then it is hard to avoid the conclusion that this is now a dead party just waiting to be buried. I believe that burial will be at the next polls whenever they are held. In the meantime, Zanu PF will remain dead in our midst.

Zanu PF’s cabinet choices leave it with a problem of relevance: with no new blood injected into the inclusive govt, where will the renewal of the party come from given that the little that remained of the party’s influence was government based which government is now inclusive of the two MDC factions?

President Mugabe’s Cabinet choices disappointed many in and outside Zanu PF who expected a better panel. On August 26, 2008, at a luncheon given by the Ministry of Local Government following the opening of the first session of the seventh Parliament, President Mugabe described his last Cabinet as “the worst in history”.

If the leader of a ruling party says, “My Cabinet is the worst in history”, then you judge his next Cabinet choices rationally you would expect that leader to get rid of that worst cabinet without even thinking twice about it. But not if that leader is Mugabe. He seems to have a fixation with mediocrity which he never hesitates to reward at every opportunity.

President Mugabe’s Cabinet choices in the inclusive government are drawn from the same deadwood which made up his last cabinet which he said was the worst in history. At least seven of his 15 Cabinet ministers have been returned to their previous portfolios. While President Mugabe has the right to make his choices, the one fact that cries out loud is that his choices are very disappointing and they never ever seem to serve any useful part or national purpose beside the President’s self-preservation.

Zimbabwe is in desperate need for institutional renewal. But, alas, President Mugabe does not seem to have understood after all his years in office that one effective way of renewing national institutions is by giving them new and energetic leadership. At every point in national affairs, the old must be mixed with the young or the new.

If there is anyone in Zanu PF who believes that Mugabe’s Cabinet choices in the inclusive government have a capacity to swallow the MDC-T, then they are joking because deadwood cannot swallow anything. Why put deadwood at the deep end of things at this critical time in the life of our nation?

I have a serious problem with President Mugabe’s Cabinet deployments because I thought its interest is renewal and Mugabe had an opportunity to signal not only to Zanu PF rank and file but also to the nation that it has a future and not to continue presenting its tired and now irrelevant past.

Then we have the MDC-T’s Cabinet choices. If we judge Tsvangirai’s Cabinet selection, how his choices were made, then the inevitable conclusion is that Tsvangirai’s MDC is now a terminally wounded party waiting to die and its death might very well be pronounced at the next poll, but I am unable to say at the moment when its burial might occur.

MDC-T’s cabinet choices have left it with a number of very serious problems. The choices have clearly been driven by considerations of patronage just like is done in Zanu PF and this has blunted the MDC-T’s criticism of Zanu PF patronage. People expected change from Tsvangirai but his Cabinet choices sent a very clear message that he is cut from the same cloth with Mugabe.

There has been a rather unnecessary dimension of the MDC T’s cabinet deployments that smacks of provocation by bringing back Rhodesians or people with Rhodesian connections into the government.

In a situation such as we have in Zimbabwe today, leaders have to make hard choices taking into account the country’s sensitivities. Indeed, in politics you don’t just do things to spite people especially when you are dealing with volatile interests of a historical nature. You use the opportunity to calm nerves and not to stir up trouble.

If you look at what is happening to Roy Bennett, starting with his appointment as deputy minister of agriculture and going into his subsequent arrest, it invites a lot of questions as to why. Is this a legal issue? Or is it a political matter? If it is political, what could be provoking it?

On my part, I would not have expected any political leader 29 years after our independence to provoke a situation by appointing someone who served in the Rhodesian army or British South Africa Police to the Cabinet. That is rather bizarre. Yes, you can appoint a white person but not one who was in the Rhodesian army or police. That’s bad politics and it does not indicate the emergence of a new Zimbabwe but takes us right into the dark past and brings back horrible memories.

Then there is Tsvangirai’s deployment of Tendai Biti to the Ministry of Finance which is very cynical and even dangerous. While we should give Biti the benefit of the doubt, he certainly is the wrong person for the job. Biti belongs to a trio of financial ministers who should not have been -- and these include Enos Nkala and Samuel Mumbengegwi with Biti at the bottom of that terrible trio. Each time we have had these kinds of misplaced and inappropriate deployments of ministers of finance, the results have been utterly disastrous.

For example, Biti’s decree last week, made at a press conference, directing commercial banks to convert savings accounts into forex accounts was very shocking and it signalled the kind of unacceptable finance minister he will be. Banks are not managed by the Minister of Finance but there is no reason to expect Biti to know that, just as there is no reason to expect him to know that he does not manage public servants and yet he saw no problem announcing procedures of how civil servants were to be paid in the absence of the public service commission or the minister responsible for the public service.

The video of Biti’s first press conference as minister of finance needs to be studied and used by future ministers of finance as an example of what not to do. After announcing that they had the money to pay civil servants 100 US dollars monthly allowances in cash, Biti was asked by the media where the forex was coming from given that the government is technically bankrupt.

His answer was shocking and unbefitting of a serious minister of finance. He said “Takiya-kiya (we have played around)”. Honestly, how opaque can one get? The new minister of finance should not be surprised if henceforth he finds himself called Tendai “Takiyakiya” Biti. In the meantime, the finance minister needs to know that the nation still wants to know where the money came from and how it being accounted for.

For the avoidance of doubt, the issue is not about Biti personally. It is about whether he is qualified to be Minister of Finance. Do people know and appreciate that he is a senior member of the MDC-T leadership? Yes. Does he deserve a senior position in the inclusive government? Yes. Is that position the Ministry of Finance? No. It’s a loud No, No! No yesterday, no today and no tomorrow.

Putting the Biti issue aside, the MDC-T’s cabinet deployment left it with a very serious “Zezuru” problem as it does not have ministers representing any constituency in Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East. This is a whole region with a huge concentration of national voters. How does Tsvangirai expect to rule Zimbabwe without it?

Then, as if this is not enough, there is the Matabeleland question. The MDC T has only two cabinet ministers (if you discount Gorden Moyo who is a minister of state in the Prime Minister’s office with no budget of his own) from there and yet that is the region that was supposed to give the MDC-T a “South-South” foundation.

Zanu PF used to do far better than this even when it did not enjoy support in Matabeleland. The manner in which Tsvangirai made the Matabeleland appointments, such as first appointing and then dropping Eddie Cross and Abednico Bhebhe, made a bad situation worse. It showed that Tsvangirai does not have the necessary political spine to stand by his decisions. He is given to collapsing under pressure.

Attempts to justify MDC T’s Matabeleland deployments on grounds that Speaker Lovermore Moyo and Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe come from the region have not held much water because, unlike Cabinet ministers who have national budgets and work across the country, the two occupy roles that are largely ceremonial and do not have much of anything to do with the allocation and distribution of resources.

The widespread feeling in Matabeleland is that the region is tired of ceremonial politicians who have nothing to do with how the limited Zimbabwean national cake is divided.

If the truth can be told about the MDC-T cabinet deployments without fear or favour, it is that they are disproportionately dominated by one ethnic group in a manner that is detrimental to national cohesion and balance.

Now, given the foregoing, will a government with these origins succeed? I think that is indeed possible, although its success will depend on whether the Government will be able to inspire national and international confidence. The ability of the government to inspire that confidence will depend on how it will handle six toxic issues:

¶ Transforming Cabinet into an interparty caucus whose decisions will be binding on the respective party causes in Parliament in a manner that would strengthen and ensure collective responsibility.

¶ The need to move away from making populist directives to making and implementing considered policies. There is an urgent need for Cabinet to become a policy making institution as opposed to a directives issuing body. Statements like “Cabinet has directed this or that” need to be a thing of the past and yet this will not be easy to achieve let alone do as the three parties and their ministers try to outdo each in a hopeless competition for public attention.

¶ Turning around the Zimbabwean economy without burdening the cost of that recovery on peasants and the urban poor who have been battered beyond coping with the economic meltdown.

Judging by the provisions of the recent budget and the reforms arising from the latest monetary policy statement, there is a real and present danger that the new government might purse the now roundly discredited IMF and World Bank policies in the hope of being seen as “reasonable” by some international and even local interests still stuck in the costly past.

¶ The removal of illegal economic sanctions within 100 days of the life of the inclusive government. So far, the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, and the Minister of Finance Tendai Biti, have refrained from calling for the removal of these devastating sanctions which have been falsely presented as targeted at some individuals when they are actually against Zimbabwe itself.

The fact that the British government just announced an 18 month programme to get its remaining senior citizens to leave Zimbabwe raises very serious doubts about whether the illegal sanctions will be removed. If the sanctions are not lifted, it is hard to see how the inclusive government will survive.

¶ Bringing political finality to Zimbabwe’s now irreversible land tenure system: This issue will not be resolved unless and until former white farmers now off the land are fairly and adequately compensated for their losses.

¶ The question whether the new constitution that should be enacted as part of the September 15 Interparty Agreement will be a participatory and people-driven process or whether it will be driven by the three parties in the inclusive government.

Unless the Interparty Agreement collapses prematurely well ahead of the life of the seventh Parliament, the next national election will be a referendum on the new constitution. The three parties will either take one unified position in support of the draft new constitution (the so called Kariba draft) or they will take different positions on the draft and campaign against each other in the referendum as happened between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga in Kenya.

Whatever the case, the next real opposition in Zimbabwe is likely to emerge from the process of the making of the new constitution and will mature from the referendum to the general election.

Otherwise the real question is whether the inclusive government will survive or succeed and for how long. Now that they are in, it will be difficult if not impossible for any of the three ruling parties to pullout of the inclusive government without suffering fatal consequences. They’ve all taken the poison and they are damned if they are in and damned if they are out.

What emerged from all this is that the MDC-M dreams that the inclusive government will give it an opportunity for a rebirth as a way out of its stillborn status while Zanu PF hopes that the inclusive government will enable it to do a Lazarus and rise from the dead in the next election to rule Zimbabwe again and alone. On its part the MDC-T imagines that the inclusive government will heal its otherwise terminal wound and empower it to “dribble” Zanu PF out of power.

As such, the three ruling parties do not see failure of the inclusive government as an option. Yet success will be very difficult to achieve because of the six toxic issues outlined above which will be tricky to manage.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai pours scorn on alleged Mugabe selection and deployment of Permanent Secretaries.

• 
  Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai miffed by purported unconstitutional appointments of Permanent Secretaries in the blotted Coalition Government
  A storm is brewing in the Coalition Government with potential to implode and scuttle the promising start of the recently constituted administration of the country.
  
  Prime Minister Tsvangirai has been forced to fire broadsides at elements in the Civil Service bent on scuttling the Coalition Government initiative.
  
  In a statement released by the Prime Minister at his Munhumutapa offices this morning, the Premier...
  commended the efforts of the newly appointed Cabinet in driving government effort to address the multifaceted challenges it faces.
  
  “Firstly, I would like to commend the Ministers for the work they have been doing in the very short time that they have been in office,” he stated and added
  
  “They have managed to begin to address some of the many issues facing the country and I am encouraged by the open and constructive debates within Cabinet and the Council of Ministers.
  
  In particular, I would like to recognise the efforts of the Ministries of Health, Education and Finance. The latter has mobilised funds that have enabled this government to pay the first round of allowances to the civil service, particularly the army, police and teachers.”
  
  On his part he disclosed that he has kept the initiative guarantors in SADC of the progress taking place and that our Ministers are today meeting with regional SADC Finance Ministers concerning the Zimbabwe recovery programme.
  
  He then took the opportunity to highlight the immediate threats to the Coalition Government which he identified as;
  
   The outstanding appointment of Senior Government Officials, such as Permanent Secretariesand Ambassadors
   The disputed appointment of the Governor of the Reserve Bank and the Attorney General
   The outstanding appointment of Provincial Governors.

He further highlighted that in addition to these outstanding issues the government faces serious challenges from pockets of resistance to upholding the rule of law.

“Most significantly, the rule of law continues to be flouted by some sectors of the community and this must stop immediately,” the Prime Minister disclosed adding;

“In particular, a new wave of disruptions of farming operations, in contravention of the Memorandum of Understanding, is undermining our ability to revive our agricultural sector and restore investor confidence. “

He warned the deviants that he had ordered that the full force of the law will soon descend on them.

“I have tasked the Ministers of Home Affairs, Giles Mutsekwa and Kembo Mohadi, to bring the full weight of the law down on the perpetrators who continue to act within a culture of impunity and entitlement. No person in Zimbabwe is above the law."

On the burning issue of the despicable continued detention of Political and Civic Society activists the Premier rather startlingly disclosed that subscriber principals to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) upon which the current government was contrived had agreed that all detainees in that category must be released on bail.

“With respect to detainees, the Principals to the Global Political Agreement, namely myself, President Mugabe and Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara, last week agreed that all political detainees who have been formally charged with a crime should be released on bail and those that have not been charged should be released unconditionally.

This has not yet happened,” he said rather ominously

“Indeed, rather than allowing the judicial process to take its course with regard to the granting of bail, the Attorney General’s office is wilfully obstructing the release of all detainees by abusing the appeal process and this must stop forthwith.”

It remains to be seen if the Attorney General will oblige with the order given the President Mugabe, while intimating that he will extent clemency to the detainees if they are convicted, appears to favour the detentions subsisting until Court judgement day whereupon he will set aside convictions and extent his prerogative of mercy so that the detainees will forever remain indebted to him for their freedom.

The rationality of the President may seem misplaced to most of his opponents but to him and his adherents it serves as an opportunity for the President to not only drive home that he remains the most powerful politician in the country but also to portray him as a caring leader who pardons not just his supporters but also opponents alike.

The attendant avoidable costs in the process preferred by the President and the reality that his Pardon will be of no consequent value to the detainees who will have languished in detention for periods equivalent to prison terms for the allegations they face is to him neither here nor there.

It is not unreasonable to predict that the Attorney General who recently disclosed his pride in being a member of the Zanu PF supporters of the President will take a cue from the president’s attitude towards the case and proceed with the unwarranted prosecutions and aim to achieve convictions to gratify the President with the opportunity to exercise clemency.

The Prime minister appears determined not to allow that sort of cynical interference with the rule of law to perpetuate and that sets the stage for a dogfight between the Premier and the Premier where the President will be a front row spectator.

If the Attorney general wins he will keep his job and the premier’s authority in government will be severely undermined. Conversely if the he fails to gain the convictions that will give the president the opportunity to exercise clemency the Attorney General will most likely loose his esteemed position in government and President Mugabe will not shed a single tear over his unceremonious departure.

The Attorney General’s departure may even come sooner than the final prosecutions of the detainees are done.

The ominous warning from the Premier that;

“This government will not allow a parallel force within its structures or any unconstitutional or unilateral actions which serve to impede progress,” must be taken seriously by the Attorney General.

Unlike most of us the premier appears unperturbed by those resisting his ascendancy to power and their sources of power.

He has swiftly moved to reverse the Dr Misheck Sibanda announced purported unilateral reassignments and appointments of Permanent Secretaries by President Mugabe it terms of article 20.1.7 of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of Zimbabwe by declaring;

“Yesterday’s announcement of the appointment of Permanent Secretaries is in contravention of both the Global Political Agreement and the Constitution of Zimbabwe which is very clear with regard to Senior Government Appointments.

No civil servant has the authority to make such appointments or announcements; therefore the announcement of the Permanent Secretaries has no force of law and is therefore null and void.

The Permanent Secretaries who were in position as of September 15th will remain in post in an acting capacity until the matter is resolved.”

In the GPA which forms the entirety of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution introduced by the unopposed passage of Constitutional Amendment No 19, the President cannot unilaterally appoint or reshuffle occupants of senior Government Positions and the examples therein are Permanent Secretaries and Ambassadors.

To constitutionally do so the President must abide by the contents of Article 20.1.7 of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of Zimbabwe this inter alia states;

“The Parties agree that with respect to occupants of senior Government Positions, such as Permanent Secretaries and Ambassadors, the leadership in Government, comprising the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers, will consult and agree on such prior to their appointment.”

President Mugabe has never respected that article of the Constitution and the Premier seems to have gathered enough momentum to confront him over those signalling imminent threats to the continued tenure of office of the Governor of the Reserve Bank, The Attorney General, all Permanent Secretaries and Ambassadors, State Commissioners, Judges, Heads of Parastatals and State owned Companies and Military Chiefs.

It remains to be seen if Dr Sibanda’s announcement of Permanent Secretaries has stirred a hornet’s nest.

Coalition Government gets into the groove

Indefatigable Zimbabwe Prime Minister setting a blistering pace for his subordinates.Could the hand of God be at play?





The Coalition Government of Zimbabwe has started its second week in office with a bang.

In a direct about turn from the lackadaisical approach that characterised its first week in office the coalition regime appears to have been inspired and energised by the zeal of the Prime Minister during his first week in office.

The initiative is beginning to confirm the belief of the Prime Minister in its...

irreversibility.

Positive and inspiring developments have emerged from the Prime Minister’s Office, Finance, Education, Health and Child Welfare, Information and Publicity and Labour and Social Welfare Ministries.

The first positives emerged jointly from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance when they came good on the promise to pay Civil Servants cash forex allowances to all Civil Servants by the end of February 2009.

Most Zimbabwean Civil servants received their first ever legally earned US$ 100.00 and all of them received the same amount against the pessimistic verdict that was widely passed when the promise was made a week earlier by the prime minister during his inauguration speech.

This was to be followed by the reactivation of trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) albeit in forex. Trading on the ZSE had been suspended for three months after hyperinflation went off radar and the Junta regime had turned a blind eye.

Then there were the exploratory meetings between the PM and all Ministers but mainly with Defence and Security Ministers where they pledged their loyalty and allegiance to the position of Prime Minister and its incumbent as well as committing themselves to upholding the rule of law and promotion of national healing.

Another important benchmark was set when the PM met leadership of the striking Teachers and reached an understanding with them as to what needs to be done for them to return to work.

It appears the Ministers of Health and Information and Publicity did not need the Premier’s assistance as they professionally resolved a year old Health professions strike and convinced participants to return to work while George Charamba aka Nathaniel Manheru was forced to discontinue the notorious Nathaniel Manheru rabble rousing column from the Herald.

The week ended with the Prime Minister and his Finance and Foreign Affairs Ministers in South Africa begging bowl in hand seeking financial assistance for reconstruction of the country’s ravaged economic and social infrastructure.

These positives of the first week of the Coalition Government were trivialised by the continued detention of political activists arrested by the preceding Junta regime and the arrest and detention of designated Deputy Minister of Agriculture Roy Bennett on the day the Coalition cabinet was sworn into office.

Added to that stain was the delayed announcement of provisional Governors at a time when the Cabinet Ministerial contingent was increased by Ministers of State appointed outside the provisions of the GPA and Constitutional Amendment No 19.

Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono activated phase 1 of his power retention strategy in response to the movements in the Ministry of Finance that in his opinion are aimed at undermining his position and authority.

He aimed cheap shots at the Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and chided then to keep their hands off the monetary policy he announced in January lest their politicking cloud business certainty.

It was always coming but Zimbabweans had no kind words for Dr Gono’s public flexing of political muscle they disagree he still wields to the extent he had in the Junta where he was the defacto Prime Minister disguised as Reserve Bank Governor.

The standoff between the Reserve Bank Governor and the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister on the one side dampened any hopes the positive developments the Zimbabweans had witnessed from the Coalition Government as it rekindled memories of the destructive polarised politics that were channelled into the initiative.

The President’s Birthday bash and the MDC 10th anniversary celebrations over the weekend provided the tonic for government to enter the second week of its formation at the encouraging galloping pace witnessed on 23 February 2009.

 Government referral hospitals in Harare resumed operations after nurses and doctors, including specialists, returned to work following assurances by the Government that their conditions of service would be addressed as a matter of urgency.

 In their own words medical professionals back at work at Parirenyatwa Hospital after several months on strike were quoted by the State media as having stated "We agreed that since the hospital is now getting assistance from well-wishers we can now return to work but others are not coming. Some doctors on call are not turning up when there is an emergency so it is now an individual decision,"

 Government announced having struck a deal with teaching professions Trade Unions namely the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) for their members to return to work by March 2 to allow the resumption of normal classes for the 2009 education calendar.

 The deal includes that all schools would be fully functional by March 9, teachers who left the service over the past two years are free to resume duties without fear of recrimination, March salaries for teachers would be set through a negotiated process that would aim to match their Zimbabwe Teachers’ salaries with those paid to teachers in the region, the contentious the 2008 educational year would not be revisited and that the 2009 educational year be slightly adjusted in the second and third terms to make up for lost learning time between 13 January and 9 March when schools failed to open due to disputes between the Junta government and Teaching Unions.

 It turns out that the Prime Minister did not only secure adequate funding to guarantee payment of forex allowances for Civil Servants in February but has also received pledges of US$100 per month half of which has been earmarked for Civil Servants’ salaries, for the next six months totalling US$600 million from International donor agencies. Sweden's Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Stan Rylander reportedly confirmed the pledge.

"The donor community has pledged US$100 million a month for the next six months, while assessing whether it was viable to assist the inclusive Government with long term development aid," said Rylander.

 The PM has reportedly secured the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) commitment to have a regional Finance Ministers meeting within a week to forge a rescue plan for Zimbabwe, from his begging talks in Cape Town with President Kgalema Motlanthe on Friday. No figures have yet been disclosed but the PM presented a US$5billion rescue fund deficit estimate to the South African President.

 Not to be outdone in his area of expertise Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono disclosed that on his part he has secured around US$500million credit line for the country from “Cooperating regional and international financiers on the back of his recent fiscal policy liberalization without disclosing the cooperating partners’ identity.

For a one week old government to achieve such phenomenal financing targets for a country that hitherto could not afford to secure any international support and relied on printing money to raise forex is a most encouraging start.

No wonder the Army personnel are reportedly up in arms against their Commanders who are reportedly still undecided on whether or not to back the Coalition Government.

The Central Intelligence Organisation that is usually the first to see the evidence of the pledges has apparently broken ranks with the Junta resistance and its Commander has directed his subordinates to back the Coalition Government.

The problem remains the pockets of resistance led by President Mugabe who can see that power is slipping through their fingers.

Govt, teachers reach deal

Published by the Government of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Education Sports and Culture Minister Sen David Coltart resolved the Teacher strike predecessor Aeneas Chigwedere failed to resolve over 1year in one week
Herald Reporter

GOVERNMENT yesterday struck a deal with teacher organisations the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association for their members to return to work by March 2 to allow the resumption of normal classes for the 2009 education calendar.

The development came as the Government presented a US$458 million budget to the donor community for the education sector.
Addressing a Press conference in Harare yesterday, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, said the money was for six months.

"The budget we presented to UNICEF and the donor community is US$458 million for March 1 up to the end of August," he said.

Minister Coltart also agreed on a number of key issues with the teachers’ representatives.

He said the ministry and the unions agreed that all teachers should report for duty by March 2 and that "all schools would be fully functional by March 9".

It was also agreed to grant amnesty to teachers who left the service over the past two years for economic reasons.

Minister Coltart said he had fruitful discussions with UNICEF, United Nations agencies and other donors with interest in the education sector.

It was agreed that the amount of the March salaries would be reached through negotiations.

The long run, the intention is to match their salaries with those paid to teachers in the region.

The Government admitted that the February salaries for teachers were inadequate and agreed to improve their conditions of service.

The ministry and the unions agreed that the 2008 educational year would not be revisited.

There were calls from some quarters to consider 2008 a wasted year and to have it revisited.

Instead, the ministry and the unions agreed to slight adjustments to the 2009 school calendar.

The second term will begin earlier on May 5 (Tuesday) instead of May 12.

The third term will begin on September 2 (Wednesday) instead of September 8. There would be no changes to the first term.

The meeting between Minister Coltart, his deputy Lazarus Dokora and representatives of the unions was held in a warm atmosphere.

PTUZ was represented by Mr Raymond Majongwe while Ms Tendai Chikowore represented Zimta.

Central hospitals resume operations

Former Heath Minister David Parirenyatwa happy to have forced Health Professionals out of the Zimbabwe hospitals
Herald Reporter

CENTRAL hospitals in Harare have resumed operations after nurses and doctors, including specialists, returned to work following assurances by the Government that their conditions of service would be addressed as a matter of urgency.

However, both Parirenyatwa and Harare central hospitals were admitting a limited number of patients and most wards were still closed.

When The Herald visited Harare Central Hospital yesterday, health personnel at the institution could not hide their joy...

as they were patiently waiting for their monthly allowance from donors.

However, the paediatric section at the Children’s Hospital is one of the departments that has not been opened yet due to vandalism during the hospital closure.

The Children’s Hospital, located within Harare Central Hospital, is the largest children’s hospital in the country.

Without providing much information on the state of the institution, Harare Central Hospital’s public relations officer Mrs Monica Mukotsanjera said while the hospital had started treating patients, it was not yet operating to its normal capacity.

Some specialist doctors who spoke to The Herald at Parirenyatwa Hospital said they agreed to return to work a fortnight ago but some have not been coming.

"We agreed that since the hospital is now getting assistance from well-wishers we can now return to work but others are not coming. Some doctors on call are not turning up when there is an emergency so it is now an individual decision," said one doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Specialist doctors downed tools last year demanding a review of their working conditions such as repairing of equipment and provision of drugs and sundries.

While health professionals have welcomed the allowances in foreign currency by the donor community, they lamented the huge disparity with those given to senior professionals.

The allowances have seen nurses going home with at least US$60 while doctors are getting as much as US$500 on top of their monthly salaries.

Miss Tsitsi Singizi, spokesperson for United Nations Children’s Fund (providing allowances for health workers) earlier on said they arrived at the figures basing on Government salary scale.

However, the health professionals were of the view that donors should not differentiate the allowances but pay them uniformly.

Unicef said it has adequate funds for all health workers and they will be paid to those who report for work.

Meanwhile, health workers have also received US$100 worth of vouchers across the board in allowances paid by the Government.

The vouchers are redeemable at selected banks.

Zimbabwe leadership dislocation?

On The ball: Right Honourable PM Morgan Tsvangirai could do with a little help from fence sitters in his Cabinet
Evidently the coalition government in Zimbabwe has caught the economically ravaged country’s polarised and socially disjointed populace unawares.

Despite the formation of the government taking 7 months to constitute, there is evidence that the political leadership and the generality of the populace is still in a state of limbo as to how to respond to the initiative.

The coalition government is such a dramatic shift from the benchmark government formation experiences in Independent Zimbabwe.

Because all established benchmarks have been significantly altered, most opinion leaders who were used to making fairly accurate predictive analyses of expected deliverables from government have been forced..

to pause and establish new benchmarks.

The reckless have already pronounced the coalition government still born while the opportunists have claimed the opposition mantle notwithstanding that they are neither formally or legally constituted as such nor are they practically equipped and capable of leading credible opposition to the coalition government.

Many others have been rendered irrelevant after failing to realise and gear themselves for the magnitude of change that a coalition government represented.

Yet others have been placed in insidious positions where they are not sure if they are in opposition to the coalition government or there is no coalition government for them to oppose or support. The same people in this category are equally in the lowest quartile of confidence in the coalition government.

The disjointed response to the coalition government is most pronounced in displaced Zimbabweans across the Global Village who are torn between settlement in countries they had sought refuge from political and economic abuse by the successive Zanu PF regimes.

Coalition Government Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu has not issued a single statement to give the nation and indication of what the government is up to despite numerous developments in the coalition government causing apprehension among the generality of the populace.

He is in leadership paralysis. If wasn’t he would by now have announced government policy in so far as it relates to the outstanding issues that nearly failed consummation of the Coalition Government.

The Nation wants to know the direction the coalition Government is taking on the appointment of Provincial Governors, the case of detained political and civic activists, the disputed appointment of the Reserve Bank Governor, Attorney General, Ambassadors, Commissioners and the unconstitutional increase of Ministers from 31 to 41 and Deputy Ministers from 15 to 20, the government vision on how to revive the economy and plans for the Constitution making process and its time frame.

They also desperately want to know the official government position in relation to opening of schools, rehabilitation of the Health delivery system, restoration of clean and safe water supplies, restoration of dependable electricity supplies and specifics of the official currency and the underlying monetary policies.

There are many others in media occupations and its customers who would be grateful to know the policies of the coalition government of freedom of expression.

Alas the Information Minister is conspicuous by his silence at a time the nation needs Government reassurances the most.

His Deputy Jameson Timba has shown awareness of the anxieties and indicated he will cause media reforms pronto. Will Shamu support him or not.

The Prime Minister has been on the ball since his appointment but his bloated team seems to be waiting for someone to prod them onto the field and we regret that by the time they do their captain will be worn out and overwhelmed by the portent opponents he has been tackling with the assistance of less than 5% of his team on the pitch.

Did Shamu canvass for the post of government spokesman to keep a lid on information dissemination or is he still waiting for the President to tell him what to tell the nation?

Attempting to mix water and oil is surely an exercise in futility.
As if Shamu’s dumbness is not enough void for the nation to ponder over, Information and Publicity Secretary George Charamba aka Nathaniel Manheru has recoiled into his shell by announcing he is now going to concentrate on the Arts pastime instead of the dissemination of information we pay him for.

The nation wants official government information dissemination to be boisterous and proactive. If those tasked with the role go into hibernation the nation cannot be faulted for concluding that they are in the coalition to circumvent it and must make way for patriots to execute the GPA mandates.

So far only the PM, Deputy PM Prof Mutambara, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, Information Communications Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa, Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and Information and Publicity Deputy Minister Jameson Timba, Education Minister David Coltart, Minister of State in the PM’s Office Sekayi Holland and Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi seem conscious of the need to carry the populace with them through the early reconstruction phase our country is going through.

Where are the rest of them? If the Information and Publicity Secretary goes to the Arts and his Minister remains dumb the chances are someone will step in to fill the void they create and it is not surprising that Tsvangirai, Mutambara, Biti, Mumbengegwi, Chamisa, Holland, Timba, Gono and Maridadi are gravitating towards that.

There are bound to be conflicting statements coming out of such diversity in Government information management which could undermine its shaky start which was beginning to gain momentum from the indefatigable efforts of the Prime Minister.

We believe the PM is being unnecessary overworked and must start prodding the fence-sitters among his bloated team to start earning their salaries by bucking up their ideas and putting themselves to national use.

Proper information management is an absolute pre-requisite for the coalition government to overcome residual resistance to its manifestation.

Professor Jonathan Moyo and Dr Simba Makoni have found political breathing space.

They are now the “vanguard of opposition politics” to the coalition regime. May the Lord Almighty have mercy on vandalised Zimbabweans!

Here are two academic supremacists Zanu PF rejects teaming up to present an opposition front to the policies they actively formulated nurtured and forcibly imposed upon us. What are we to expect from these perennial failures.

Absolutely nothing other than political hot air! Not then when they were in charge, not now when they are in splendid political isolation and irrelevance, maybe not ever if they do not embrace the changes engulfing them.

Their take is the coalition government has ballooned into a bloated bureaucracy of unimaginable proportions in our bankrupt country.

They are the architects of the bankruptcy in our country. For years in charge they actively created the bloated bureaucracy culture they now would like us to believe they are opposed to. It is totally incomprehensible from these morally bereft architects of the malaise the coalition government is grappling with.

This is not to say Zimbabweans are comfortable with the bloated bureaucracy at the top of the coalition government. Hell no. Merely that Moyo and Makoni have no moral fibre or capacity to defend the nation against structures they created in the first place.

They created the positions of Minister of State in the President’s Office and the Provincial Governorships that are now being exploited by their former colleagues to create unnecessary positions for unelectable and incompetent charlatans.

Prof Moyo went overboard by declaring the Cabinet Ministerial appointments by the three parties in the coalition government unsuitable.

He accurately observed that the Zanu PF leader had retained faith in the same people he had told the nation were the worst performers he had ever worked with and cannot be faulted on that.

But for him to single out the appointment of Tendai Biti and Roy Bennett by the MDC leader as inappropriate casts a long shadow over his objectivity.

He has already recklessly ranked the appointment of Biti in the category of “inappropriate” Finance Ministers Enos Nkala and lately Samuel Mumbengegwi.

He leaves us no option but to conclude that to his mind, other previous appointments to the Finance Ministry were appropriate and effective. This leads us to track them back and ask in what way?

Here they are all of them dismal failures Enos Nkala (1980-1983) Dr Tichaendepi Masaya (1984-1985) Dr Bernard Chidzero (1985-1995) Emmerson Mnangagwa acting (1995-1996) Dr Herbert Murerwa (1996-2000) Dr Simba Makoni (2000-2002)Dr Herbert Murerwa (August 2002 to February 2004) Dr Christopher Kureneri (February 2004-April 26, 2004)Herbert Murerwa (April 26, 2004 to February 6, 2007) Samuel Mumbengegwi (February 6, 2007- March 2008 Caretaker April 2008-December 2008) Patrick Chinamasa (January 2009-12 February 2009)

The worst of these were obviously Enos Nkala, Dr Makoni, Dr Kuruneri and Dr Mumbengegwi. To rank Biti in that category a week after his appointment is the most reckless type of political mischief exercised by Prof Moyo.

In tandem with that well developed trait of his Prof Moyo who is obsessed with attacking the Prime Minister described his assignment of Roy Bennett to deputize in the Ministry of Agriculture as a racially provocative inappropriate appointment. All because Bennett is a White Commercial farmer who was severely prejudiced by the chaotic Land reforms of 2001 that Prof Moyo celebrated in song and dance while Zanu PF hooligans racially murdered commercial farmers.

He lynched Professor Mutambara for assigning Coltart to the Ministry of Education because he is White and therefore incompetent to articulate national culture assigned to that Ministry.

But Zimbabwe is a multi cultural and racial society no single person is capable of articulating and promoting without participation of the custodians of the multi-cultures which is not beyond Coltart’s capability to effect.

It is this sort of myopic thinking that fooled him into the misguided 100% Zimbabwean component of electronic publishing which has denied the populace balanced media coverage to date.

Dr Simbarashe Mumbengegwi’s enthusiasm to move the coalition forward while commendable is rendered ineffective by his fixation in the past.

He seriously believes the removal of targeted sanctions is a pre-requisite for the success of the coalition government when it is not.

May we suggest that he focuses on what caused the sanctions to be imposed and attack that line as a means to appealing for the lifting of sanctions not the stupid appeals he has made and the Parliamentary motion from Zanu PF he obviously subscribes to.

All that is required of him is to denounce illegal detention of political competitors on trumped up political allegations, giving assurances that the country has turned a new leaf in its politics and will apply laws firmly and fairly at the same time it will respect fundamental human rights in the GPA and Constitution.

In addition to that he must define a foreign policy devoid of racial hatred with guarantees on Foreign investors’ property rights and corrupt free fair economic commission that does not compromise national sovereignty.

It will not move his cause a millimetre to lament sanctions in Parliament or anywhere he finds opportunity to do so when the causes for the punitive actions are there for everyone to see.

Illegal detentions of political opponents, unbridled racial discrimination, disrespect of legal orders, unjustified and illegal expansion of government structures, disrespect of written political agreements, media restrictions and generally deprivation of basic fundamental rights to the populace are what needs to be addressed for sanctions to fall away automatically.

And Madam Holland must know that she is there to serve Zimbabwe interests ahead of New Zealand interests. While efforts to sell the coalition government to sceptics are commendable there are too many Zimbabweans who are in the dark about this project.

She could do them a great service if she asserts herself on ZTV and ZBH media to tell them what she told the New Zealanders recently.

In that regard we cannot help but applaud Deputy Minister Jameson Timba for keeping his eyes on the ball and silencing the acerbic Nathaniel Manheru rabble rousing column. There is no need whatsoever for such hatred to be institutionalised in State media.

We can only urge him to move with speed to ensure the GPA clauses on media deregulation are realised. Credit for that will go to Minister Shamu and Zimbabweans at large.

What does Gono think he is doing accusing his principals of causing fiscal confusion as if he had created any such order in Zimbabwe?

After all the chaos he has caused which at face value appears to require US$5 billion to bridge if not more, how dare he disclose that a US$500 million line of credit should inhibit government efforts to secure the required US$5 billion or more.

In any event why was he silent about this line of credit and for what purpose did he intent to use it without the knowledge of his principals.

We shall take the liberty here and now to remind Dr Gono that he personally declared that he won’t stay in office a minute longer than it pleases his principal and his current Minister and Principal was not satisfied with him before arriving at the Ministry, is not impressed with him now he is in charge and yet he is still in office.

Biti should do the nation a favour and continue to refuse to accept to work with this moronic Governor of the Reserve bank who has become law unto himself in our country.

For 6 years he has systematically dismantled our economy and its time he must be stopped.

To Prof Mutambara we say sit on Dr Gono and make his unwanted stay as miserable as can be possible if he remains insolent. He is at the centre of our troubles and we will eulogise the day the economic scourge is uprooted from our midst. How can a custodian of monetary policy celebrate printing money as an economic policy and then blame nonexistent sanctions for hyper inflation and get away with that?

Dr Gono’s tenure at the Exchequer is the worst form of sanctions for ordinary Zimbabweans. Relieve us of the burden of carrying this excessively heavy burden.

The hue and cry over the blotted government must be put into perspective.

The excess baggage is not the recently appointed Ministers of State. No.

The real excess baggage in the coalition is the persons that wormed themselves into the coalition government after we had rejected them at the polls.

President -Robert Mugabe, Vice President- Joseph Msika, Deputy Prime Minister -Professor Arthur Mutambara, Minister of State President’s Office -John Nkomo, Minister of State Deputy Prime Minister’s Office-Gibson Sibanda, Minister of Justice –Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Industry and Commerce - Welshman Ncube, Regional Integration and International Trade- Priscilla Misihairambwi, Agriculture - Joseph Made, Foreign Affairs - Simbarashe Mumbengegwi Minister of State Prime Minister’s Office- Gordon Moyo Deputy Minister of Public Works — Aguy Georgias and to be appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture-Roy Bennett.

These are the 13names that have bloated the Government. They had to be accommodated after failing to contest elections or having contested elections and lost.

These are for all intends and purposes the people inappropriately appointed to Cabinet positions and certainly not Tendai Biti, David Coltart and the Zanu PF octogenarians who were appointed on account the people in their constituencies have faith in their abilities despite Mugabe’s thinking and assessment to the contrary.

Displeasure must be directed at Mugabe’s appointment after his infamous rejection at the March 2008 presidential polls.

It is President Mugabe who is, in the eyes of the Zimbabweans incompetent to lead them and not his appointees.

Let us learn for once to call a Spade a Spade.

And finally we must focus on the Prime Minister. His gingerly approach to the problems is what is required of all key men and women in this government.

We expect him to remain visible in every facet of our governance but we must at this early stage sound a warning to him that he must seriously consider asking his Functional Heads to take on responsibilities and become accountable for their portfolios.

It is not very encouraging that Kembo Mohadi, Giles Mutsekwa and Patrick Chinamasa have not said anything about detainees under their Ministries’ jurisdiction.

Equally disheartening is Advocate Matinenga and Paurina Mupariwa’s silence on burning issues pertaining to their Ministries where the greatest immediate positives can be derived by the government.