Four soldiers die in Chiadzwa but.....

The State owned Herald has announced the death of four members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) deployed in the Marange diamond fields.

For a publication that has for ages refused and or failed to publish statistics of Zimbabwe military expeditions casualities to sddenly spring up and disclose the surprise yet welcome data is most refreshing and must be encouraged.


Two of the soldiers were shot dead by unknown assailants while the other two died after a drunken brawl between an officer and a private manning one of the several roadlocks in the diamond fields area where the Army and Central Inteligence Officers were deployed to restore law and order following a diamond rush by approximately 20 000 fortune seekers.

There are allegations that nearly 80 of these were gunned down by the security agents and several thousand others were tortured by the ZNA operatives by being forced to cover up the craters that were dug by the fortune hunters.
MKD spokesman denford Magora recently disclosed that the 80 corpses are now interred in 37 shallow mass graves at the Chitungwiza Unil “L” cemetery.

We hope the new culture of openness about military casualties in their operations will lead to the state controlled media attoning for its past secretive and selective disclosures and lead it to disclose the actual numbers of ZNA casualties during the Mozambique and DRC interventions.

Further to that the medis could also publish the details of actual numbers of casualities of the Gukurahundi, Murambatsvina, Price wars and Electoral violence.

Any country that refuses to disclose statistical data of its military operations casualities alienates the military establishments from the populace it is supposed to serve and creates reasonable grounds speculative accusations of violations of human rights which may well have been justified by threats to national soveregnty and peaceful order of the state.

MDC mounts pressure for Gono and Tomana to step aside

Unilaterally appointed RBZ Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana are both from Zanu PF and unfit for the positions they hold

Several battlefronts have been opened to have the impediment to national progress caused by the unilateral appointments of Dr Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana as Reserve Bank Governor and Attorney General relieved by repudiation of the irregular appointments.

The two appointments have been singled out as the remaining outstanding issues at variance with full implementation of the Global Political Agreement signed on 15 September 2008 that resulted in the coalition government formed on 13 February 2009.

President Mugabe unilaterally renewed Dr Gono’s tenure as RBZ governor and promoted Johannes Tomana to AG in October and November 2008 respectively notwithstanding that he had entered into an agreement with Morgan Tsvangirai and Professor Arthur Mutambara representing Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC-M to form a coalition government wherein senior political appointments would be subject to agreement between the trio.

The other two principals have taken exception to the appointments and are demanding that they be repudiated as they were made in violation of the agreement.

President Mugabe has maintained that the appointment are fait accompli and need no further dwelling on thereby creating a stalemate on the matter.

In the absence of a definitive clause in the GPA outlining what constitutes a deadlock and how it will be referred to arbitration there has been unimaginative and outrageous suggestions in media that only the coalition government can unanimously declare a deadlock and thus refer the issue to arbitration.
But that suggestion flies in the face of common law practice. The Coalition government cannot seek arbitration within itself.

The position is simply that only disputes that will arise in the coalition government between any of the subscribers to the GPA in respect of interpretation of the agreement by the parties is possible of reference to arbitration by SADC and or AU who were agreed upon as guarantors of the agreement.

It is incomprehensible that the coalition government would be aggrieved of itself to the extent of seeking SADC or AU arbitration. The absurdity is so fundamental it is amazing how it can ever be suggested by reasonable people.

There will never arise a situation where the coalition government is at variance with itself to the point of necessitating external adjudication.

It is therefore absurd for anyone to suggest that any dispute reference to Sadc must be by consensus of the parties involved.

Rather in any agreement an aggrieved party has recourse to judicial and quasi judicial redress of its grievances and in this case either Zanu PF or MDC-M or MDC-T individually, jointly or severally have open access to refer any matter they feel has been stalled by disagreements between them and thus needing third party binding rulings to be disposed.

This is the first course of action that MDC-T and MDC-M have jointly agreed to take to address the disputed appointments which Zanu PF claims were legally above board and need no further scrutiny while the aggrieved hold otherwise.

Clearly SADC as guarantors need to be involved because the dispute is clear cut and needs the guarantors’ ruling as to which party or parties are interpreting the 15 September agreement in so far as it relates to the disputed two senior political appointments in the coalition government.

Sadly the dispute has been reduced to personalities of the incumbents when the crux of the dispute is whether or not President Mugabe was entitled to fill the positions with individuals he had not discussed and agreed with Premier Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara as per the agreement upon which the coalition government is premised.

Because these are political positions within the government it was always evident that there would arise political conflicts in who ultimately lands them.
That is why there is so much politicking around the appointments.

The MDC-M and T wants the politically influential positions entrusted to someone they are comfortable would enhance the soiled fiscal and judicial reputation of the country to attract favourable international reputation for the country.

Zanu PF wants the post in the hands of trusted cadres whom they can manipulate to push through some political initiatives that have hitherto been condemned internationally as being violations of human rights but that the party considers were at the centre of its struggle against colonialism.

For Zanu PF anything condemned by former colonial masters as being against humanity is seen as an attempt on their part to retain control over internal affairs of Zimbabwe which impinges on national sovereignty in an unacceptable manner while within the MDC safeguarding national sovereignty is possible without violating human rights.

The political battlefront has sucked in traditional powerbases of the political formations in the coalition government.

Zanu PF has fallen back on its military establishments support while the MDC has gone back to its grassroots for support.

Several MDC rallies are being staged countrywide where the appointments are being sold to the electorate as being ultra vires the spirit and letter of the GPA and must be rescinded. In addition to that the MDC has received a boost from the international community particularly the vocal Western democracies that are demanding the rescission of the disputed appointments and cessation of land reform hostilities before considering aid packages for the country’s economic turnaround.

By selling Gono and Tomana as impediments to the flow of international aid and Zanu PF and its military backers declaring support for the impediments to remain in place MDC is damaging the political image of Zanu PF within the electorate which is wallowing in abject poverty because of the lack of international support.

Zanu PF has in the past done a good job of telling unsuspecting Zimbabweans that their poverty is inscribed by the sanctions that the MDC asked for and the MDC is now saying to the same people the sanctions Zanu PF were alleging were requested by the MDC are in fact a Zanu PF request as they are appointing thieves like Dr Gono and human rights violators like Johannes Tomana and military commanders to gate keeping positions that should allow aid to flow in to scare away those with the ability to help the country recover lost economic glory.

The message is making the electorate very angry with Zanu PF and the increased impatience with Mugabe’s overdue retirement and succession plans within Zanu PF meetings is informed by the knowledge of the public sentiment towards the party by its structures on the ground.

There is a feeling within the party that with each day that passes and there are these negative stalemates in the coalition that the MDC is exploiting the party will be walloped in elections over irrelevant and disposable political lightweights like Tomana and Gono who have very little to lose from the demise of Zanu PF.

Within MDC-M are murmurs of discontent with the party leadership that are being fuelled by suspended legislators and Secretary of Defence Job Sikhala’s public onslaught on the party leadership over his personal grievances within the party.
Professor Mutambara is widely being seen to be complying with advice from George Charamba to relieve leaders of the revolt against Paul Themba Nyathi’s bid for Parliamentary Speakership.

The situation is not helped by the fact that the smaller faction of the coalition government is in a quandary over where to find a Parliamentary seat for Deputy party leader Gibson Sibanda who has technically ceased to be a Minister after failing to secure a seat within three months of his appointment.

The legislators from whom he can secure a seat are all too aware that they are being targeted for dismissal from the party to accommodate Gibson Sibanda and they do not like it a bit given that they were overlooked for Ministerial appointment despite their electability on which the faction leadership rode to political relevance in the coalition government.

To distance himself from Charamba’s advice while executing it to the letter Professor Mutambara has decided to stand resolute with Tsvangirai on Gono and Tomana’s appointments and that is bad news for the duo.

The political pressure has been telling as it has forced the Military cabal that has long been known to be against Tsvangirai’s involvement with governance to confirm what has always been suspected that Dr Gono was clandestinely financing their ruthless campaign for Zanu PF.

By telling the nation that Dr Gono was the only person acceptable to Military Commanders as the permanent head of the RBZ they have soiled his tattered image further and exposed him to the vagaries of political factionalism that is rife within Zanu PF.
T
he vocal vote of confidence from the Military establishments has certainly irked Emmerson Mnangagwa and Solomon Mujuru who have hitherto claimed the lion’s share of Military command confidence within the Zanu PF hierarchy.

Dr Gono must be prepared for sharper daggers to be planted in his back by supporters of these influential Zanu PF drivers.

It is not just raining but pouring for Dr Gono

Exposed Junta Financier in chief now implanted at the RBZ to maintain the status quo Gideon Gono aka Your Governor

No professionally qualified and competent practitioner can accept to be toyed around with to the extent imposed Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono is accepting at present.

Only a hard core politician would accept ridicule of the nature “Your Governor” as he prefers to call himself Dr Gono has been subjected to ever since the coalition government became a reality.

Your governor has become so confused he does not even know which institution employs him or the purpose he is supposed to serve.

Having accepted a contract extension from the deposed Junta in October 2008 after the illegal regime had long capitulated its hegemony to the coalition government on 15 September 2008 Dr Gono is now in the invidious position of trying to please a three headed master at the helm of the coalition government.

And your governor is simply at loss as to how to achieve such a challenging feat yet he has no option but to hang in there and let time and events beyond his control determine his fate.

The under qualified central bank chief- widely speculated to have conferred himself a doctorate he never successfully studied for and attained at any known reputable higher learning institute- when he was handpicked to chair the University of Zimbabwe Council by President Mugabe, Gideon Gono is finding the going tough in the coalition government.

He has distinguished himself as the professional banker who succumbed to politics in dramatic fashion leaving him totally exposed as an under cooked financial expert unworthy of professional repute and trust other than for professional short circuiting and availability for political manipulation.

The central bank governor who holds the distinction of presiding over fiscal policies that wiped out national currency value to a point where it was not worth the paper on which it was printed and cheaper to use as toilet paper than a toilet paper roll on a supermarket shelf has been at the centre of acrimony that is stalling coalition government initiatives progress.

Not that he personally has any personal clout or stamina to derail government initiatives but because he has willingly accepted to be used as a gatekeeper for forces notoriously indifferent to national progress through a coalition government but warmly receptive of national regression under exclusive Zanu PF misrule.

Zimbabweans whose lifetime savings were in their majority, devalued to nothing by your governor’s warped fiscal policies want him as far away from State financial management as can possibly be achieved.

But elite Zanu PF zealots whose political relevance has been solely dependent on exploiting professional weaknesses in the central bank’s supremo desire nothing less than the extension and consolidation of the unchecked powers of your governor to sustain their personal egos through nefarious self enrichment programmes they had easily secured from the central bank at the expense of all else in the nation of nearly 13million citizens the majority of whom are refugees exiled to the diaspora by harsh economic environment in the country.

Appointed Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa who became the final Junta Acting Finance Minister and holds the distinction of being the longest serving Minister who has never won an election came out guns blazing in support of your governor at the funeral of your governor’s late brother in Buhera on 26 May 2008.

Chinamasa speaking mainly in the vernacular Shona language reportedly told mourners gathered at the Gono homestead that:

"We should not throw stones at each other. We are unnecessarily wasting time arguing with each other because of Dr Gono’s position at the central bank.

That should not pre-occupy us. If Dr Gono did anything to ensure the country succeeds he did it on our instructions.

There is no programme that he implemented at the central bank without our green light for him to implement the programme.

The signatures of all those who served as Ministers of Finance since Dr Gono took over as governor are there to confirm that he did everything with our blessings and authority.”

As if there was anyone doubting that? That is exactly the reason why Zimbabweans are in their majority clamouring for your governor’s immediate removal from the central bank.

His job is not to implement political directives by successive Ministers of Finance but rather to advise the entire Government on best practice financial management that sustain the economy through financial prudency.

By willingly implementing political directives that whittled individual and corporate savings to nothing and impoverished the nation your governor only proved that he was the wrong gatekeeper for national savings and cannot be trusted with that responsibility anymore.

Chinamasa went on to disclose the real reason why he was willing to put up his life in defence of your governor’s indefensible incompetency.

"So there is no one who can accuse Dr Gono of any impropriety without accusing those who signed authorising to act as he did.

Nobody can dismiss Gono before he has dismissed us who authorised him to act as he did.

Anyone continuing to demand that Gono be relieved of his position as the central bank chief is indirectly demanding for Zanu PF to be relieved of its participation in the coalition government which will not happen.

I want to assure Dr Gono that he is not alone in this fight. I say so because under these pressures he may feel deserted by those that hitherto assigned him the responsibilities to act as he did. This feeling of alienation can be compounded by the misfortune of the death of his brother at a time when some people are baying for his dismissal from the central bank.

I would like to personally confirm that I authorised Dr Gono to do things to save the Government during sanctions," he said.

Really? So it was Chinamasa who was advising the Reserve Bank governor to plunder and pillage our forex accounts, buy Zanu PF apologists farm implements and groceries, raid our supermarkets and steal products to sell in the black market, pay black market forex racketeers, pay Zanu PF hoodlums to kill, maim, rape, steal our property to force us to vote for Mugabe against our wishes.

Is it any wonder why we did not vote for his parliamentary candidature?

"Sanctions immobilised us to a point that our newly found partners in the coalition government are now privately conceding that our Junta regime was manned by lionhearted men and women to survive the debilitating effect they had," he added.

We agreed the GPA that sanctions must be uplifted and now we are speaking with one voice on the matter.

What is now bothering and disturbing me is that someone will stand up and demand that Dr Gono’s appointment as central bank governor is an outstanding issue without mentioning the more compelling sanctions issue. Why are you not speaking about it?

Why are you not speaking about that as an outstanding issue?

It is a big outstanding issue.The sanctions were imposed to counter land reforms, but then we have fixed the imposers because we agreed with the MDC that land reform is irreversible," he answered himself.

If the sanctions imposers have been fixed by Zanu PF agreeing with MDC that land reforms are not reversible that should do it then in respect of countering the sanctions should it not?

The issue can’t still be outstanding if it has been agreed upon. It is a fact that the agreement on the irreversibility of land reforms between Zanu PF and the MDC was not the appropriate instrument to use to compel imposers to lift the sanctions as evidenced by them remaining in force to date.

It means therefore that the diagnosis that sanctions were imposed to counter land reforms was inaccurately premised on the belief that the imposers were being urged to impose the sanctions because the MDC was opposed to land reforms and as soon as they endorsed land reform the sanctions will fall away which has not happened.

Instead the imposers are adamant that the Zimbabwe government is yet to address international concerns about selective application of the rule of law, failure to uphold fundamental human rights, lack of political tolerance in the country, media gagging and placement of trust in discredited financial managers like Dr Gono to enable it to reconsider the sanctions.

Chinamasa is not in the mould of politicians to see through these obstacles to the lifting of sanctions and for Dr Gono to respond to his support by pledging to remain in his post at the central bank in defiance of loud calls for his stepping aside reduces him to the unprofessional level that Chinamasa is reputed for.

And who was there to echo Chinamasa’s support for Gono? The military commanders without any known knowledge of financial management were there handy to give professional support for the embattled governor who was humbled by the outpourings of the militant professional support for his unprofessional financial misconduct.

Said Air Vice Marshal Henry Muchena, representing military service chiefs at the burial;

"Despite the loss of a brother and misguided calls from those demanding for you to go, Dr Gono should know that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces were solidly behind you.

Gideon has not baulked at the prospect of financing the land reform war which we are finalising and will shortly be moving onto the economic war.

We request those that are not part of the land reform struggle to stand aside and watch and grumble in silence while we and Gideon prosecute the war to its logical conclusion.

If you try to interfere by removing some of our fighters we will defend them.
Let us and Gideon Gono fight on so that we will leave you the freed land where you can shout your obscenities from without hindrance.

We have vowed on the graves of our departed liberators that the struggle would continue until the country was totally free and will not depart from those vows.

Our only plea to Zimbabweans is that those without the stomach for the struggle must desist from acting as detractors of the fighters. When we took up arms against the colonists there were many who refused to join us and likewise when we invaded commercial farms. It is not a crime for anyone to refuse to join us in the next stage of the struggle.

But when a person educated to become a lawyer without paying a single cent other than riding on the blood and sweat of those liberators who perished at Chimoio stands up to demand Gono’s dismissal we are bound to question his parentage and motives.

We kindly beg you the politicians and your learned children who benefited from the spilt blood to leave State institutions alone as they execute their mandates.

When you are politicking we do not interfere. When we prosecute our mandates from the people we now hear toddlers speaking evil about our independence as a nation. Leave Gideon Gono alone as he works for the people.

If you try to separate him from the struggle we will be left with no option but to deny you the opportunity when we should not be insubordinate to your commands."

Clearly Dr Gono is a military project at the central bank whose sole purpose is to finance clandestine military activities outside government policy and he is comfortable with that.

His mandates come from the people through the military commanders and not through the people’s elected representatives in the legislature and the executive.

If Air Vice Marshal Henry Muchena was not openly declaring a treasonous military coup financed and coordinated by Dr Gono, which the coalition government executive is incapable of suppressing, he would by now have been arrested together with Dr Gono to answer how he envisaged refusing government orders for the termination of Dr Gono’s contract to be effected.

For Dr Gono and Justice Minister to be associated with this kind of militancy against the coalition government and the Head of State and coalition government Principals to remain silent and inactive against such blatant threat of military impunity indicates how far we are from democratising the state.

Unless these loose cannons in the military are brought in check it is highly unlikely that the coalition government will succeed in declared efforts to democratise the state governance within the agreed 2 year period.

But the threat is not new in any respect. The late army Commander General Zvinavashe made it in 2001 in a live national television broadcast and it has been repeated at various fora by Brigadier Chedondo, General Chiwenga, Retired Brigadier Zimondi, Air Marshall Perence Shiri and Emmerson Mnangagwa and Patrick Chinamasa to name but a few vocal Zanu PF and militant detractors of democratic governance.

Now they have been joined by Mashonaland Central governor Advocate Dinha who had this to say to the nation;

“People of Mashonaland Central unreservedly support you Dr Gono.

We are aware that some of the ring leading sellouts now baying for your head were at the forefront of benefiting from your programmes at the central bank.
We saw them at Bak Storage in front of queues to receive free tractors from the central bank.

They are shameless Zanu PF members who must be reminded that comradeship extents to supporting colleagues in trying times.

Let’s be all-weather friends.

Especially those from our party Zanu PF. We as a party benefited immensely from the Reserve Bank. But today we are wallowing in luxury and forming unholy alliances with people outside our party with the sole intention of backstab the very person we benefited from.”

Need we say more?

Gono was not appointed to serve the nation but to maintain the Zanu PF benefits flowing to the selected privileged party members and sustain the party’s the military projects which are not in any way ordinary people friendly.

And Trevor Manhanga himself an immense beneficiary of Zanu PF patronage agrees and adds that the only way to realise national healing is to allow Dr Gono to continue his unchecked reign at the central bank.

What a load of rubbish?

And for Dr Gono to then respond and assure the nation that “calls for his departure were not causing him sleepless nights,” confirms his insensitivity and unsuitability for the job at the central bank that he occupies.

More critically it is an issue that JOMIC must take up with the principals and forthwith refer to SADC for immediate arbitration as it is evidence that the letter and spirit of the GPA is under threat from a group of militia led and financed by Dr Gono using credit lines opened for the country’s economic turnaround.

If such decisive action is not taken now, it will rear its ugly head at the planned elections with disastrous consequences to the critical objective of returning the country to democratic governance.

Pity Dr Gono it never rains does it. Now you have allowed yourself to be exposed as the Junta’s favourite successor to Mugabe and sharper blades will be waiting for your exposed backside.

Another one slips through the net for Tomana

AG Johannes Tomana lost the persecution case against Advocate Eric Matinenga right

Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs Minister Advocate Eric Matinenga a priced catch in Mugabe’s unrelenting politics of legal persecution of senior MDC officials must rank as one of the latest big catch that went away for Mugabe.

From 31 May 2008 Matinenga... spent several months behind the Zimbabwe prison bars accused of inciting residents in his Buhera south constituency to commit acts of political violence against Zanu PF supporters after prosecutors opposed the granting of bail on account he had committed serious offences and would interfere with investigations and witnesses if granted bail.

But the persecution came to a dead end when Manicaland Regional Magistrate, Hlekani Mwayera presiding over the matter ruled as was widely expected that the State (read here Attorney General Johannes Tomana) had failed to substantiate accusations levelled against the legislator and discharged him to full freedom.

The Mutare Magistrate left prosecutors ruing the one that went away like a fisherman after losing a landed catch.

In a related matter Murambinda Magistrate Tendai Mahwe acquitted 11 MDC members who were accused of torching property belonging to ZANU-PF supporters at the time Premier Morgan Tsvangirai's wife, Susan who had passed away in a tragic and suspicious accident was being laid to rest in Buhera.

It appears even the small catch is hard to keep in Johannes Tomana’s leaky keep net for political prisoners whose only crime is opposition to Zanu PF politics and misrule.

The 11 were exonerated of any wrongdoing by all the witnesses leaving one wondering why they were ever arrested to the extent of being brought to court on charges no witness had ever testified to.

Magistrate Mahwe convicted six other individuals and sentenced them to 36 months in prison with six months suspended and another 12 months suspended on condition that the individuals compensate the complainants as consolation for Tomana’s persecution efforts.

The convictions will do little to satisfy Tomana and may very well have been because the accused lacked proper defence representation as the crime for which they were convicted was widely reported to have been a retaliatory measure they took after minority Zanu PF hooligans had gone on a rampage beating up elderly and juvenile villagers who had been left exposed after the vigilant youths that normally shielded them had gone for the funeral.

It’s like a fisherman left with tadpoles in his keep net after the big catch slips through a hole in the net.

Gideon Gono is here to stay: President Mugabe

Zanu PF financial Henchman Dr Gideon Gono and impressed master President Mugabe


The temptation to speak in absolutes is a politicking technique most seasoned politicians find difficult to resist in a public show of their political muscle.

Ian Smith the notorious Rhodesian rebel leader whose unilateral declaration of independence delayed our freedom from colonial bondage by a decade and half infamously declared that the country would never realise black majority rule in his lifetime let alone in a thousand years.

Within 15 years of so authoritatively decreeing his regime was deposed and replaced by a black dominated regime which not only retired him from active politics but also condemned him to a political nonentity till his death in November 2007.

Lately it has been President Mugabe who has been issuing political decrees with reckless abandon none of which he has really managed to keep in force.

When in 1999 the MDC took him up on his 1987challenge for the ZCTU to re-constitute itself as a political party so that he could deal with the members in a political manner he had used to silence other political competitors in the country he declared that the MDC would never win an election during his lifetime.

Hardly a year after its formation the MDC won a shocking 57 of the 120 contested parliamentary seats and then only because there was widespread violence and ballot tempering by the elections commission and Zanu PF.

After recovering from the 2000 parliamentary electoral setback and the 2001 Presidential election that he scrapped through thanks to a compromised electoral process Mugabe decreed that the MDC was an enemy of the State which he would work to ensure is eradicated.

In the 2005 parliamentary elections Mugabe and his Zanu PF party recovered from the 2000 setback and consolidated his hegemony by fast tracking a raft of legislative statutes through parliament with the aim of consolidating power.

He castigated the MDC leader as a Western puppet for the illegal regime change agenda and decreed that sanctions imposed on Zanu PF leadership would achieve nothing as the country was united behind his leadership and would overcome the challenges of the targeted travel bans on his lieutenants.

Hardly two years down the line he was admitting that the sanctions were the single most important impediment for his government to deliver at expected levels.
Still he maintained that the MDC leader was the conduit being used by western imperialists to sabotage his government but he would never allow the MDC a sniff at the power during his lifetime.

Haalume was the in slogan among his supporters.

In March 2008 Mugabe was humiliated in presidential elections by the so called puppet MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and spent 35 days pondering what to do with the defeat until he secured military backing to retain power.

The declaration that the MDC would never win elections in Zimbabwe during his lifetime had gone up in smoke and with it numerous declarations he had made about his relations with the MDC and the rest of the world.

All the contentious issues he had bottled up and declared not negotiable like the Constitution making process, the sharing of power with political opponents, planned land reforms, democratisation of governance, upholding of human rights and the rule of law returned to haunt him in defeat and he was forced to the negotiating table to regain lost leadership legitimacy.

Now that he has regained legitimacy through a flawed political settlement presided over by Sadc he is back in the comfort zone and making outrageous declarations about how the government will operate.

Ever since 15 September 2008 when President Mugabe signed away fundamental chunks of his draconian powers in the tripartite political settlement that formed the coalition government on 13 February 2009 President Mugabe has been trying to project an image that says nothing has changed in the powers he commands without much success.

He unilaterally appointed 10 Provincial governors from his Zanu PF party ranks despite agreeing to sharing power with coalition partners from the MDC and has been forced to relinquish six of the positions to the partners.

He tried to grab all the ministries that he felt were of material consequence to exercising power but was forced to relinquish some critical functions to the MDC which are turning out to be serious threats to his political relevance as they deliver on social and economic expectations of the majority.

He unilaterally appointed the RBZ Governor, the Attorney General and Permanent Secretaries without consulting coalition partners and has been humiliated by the contest that ensued over the appointments resulting in him spending months to convince his partners on permanent Secretaries appointments but not without conceding that they would not be expected to work on partisan political affiliation persuasions.

The matter of the RBZ governor and the AG are now embarrassingly before SADC for arbitration and it says a lot about the power the President still wields if he cannot independently guarantee that whatever appointment he approves will not invite arbitration and or contestation from the partners in the coalition government.

In a humiliating attempt to pre-empt the outcome of the disputed Reserve Bank Governor’s illegal appointment from the Sadc arbitration process he has been forced to declare that the incumbent Dr Gideon Gono is not going anywhere.

But the MD is fully aware of the political weaknesses of Mugabe and Zanu PF in the coalition government and is pressing ahead with the arbitration process.

At the micro level the MDC is using influential Finance Minister Tendai Biti to push for reforms at the central bank that will severely curtail the governor’s draconian powers and reduce his ability to prop up the waning fortunes of Zanu PF.

And haven’t we had the never ever declarations before from President Mugabe only to witness him do the exact opposite under intense political pressure from the MDC.

Both Gideon Gono and Mugabe are on their way out of power and influence whether or not they like it. If Mugabe wants to sink together with his personal banker and confidante so be it.

President’s mythical powers to decline senior government workers’ resignations.

President Mugabe has absolutely no legal means with which to stop anyone resigning from the Public Service

For many long suffering Zimbabweans, any misfortune that visits hard-line Zanu PF supporters and or leaders is an occasion that calls for spontaneous celebrations notwithstanding that they will not directly realise any marginal reprieve from their suffering as a consequence of the unfortunate event.

It all started when maverick Zanu PF political commissar Border Gezi died in a road traffic accident in April 2001 having mesmerised the populace with his dance routine at Zanu PF gatherings in support of the land invasions.


The news of his death sparked spontaneous private binge drinking parties within opposition MDC supporters who had been targets of the notorious National Youth Service trainees under the late commissar’s Ministry who had caused untold suffering through torture, rape, assaults and general impunity against perceived or real opponents of the Zanu PF regime.

When the late Harare Provincial Zanu PF spokesperson William Nhara died following his brief arrest and incarceration over allegations of illegal diamond dealings and externalisation of forex charges, the private partying celebrating his death were barely disguised throughout the country.

But it was the death of Border Gezi’s successor as Zanu PF National Commissar Elliot Manyika that really sparked open and unrestrained celebrations throughout the country whose cultural norms are starkly against such behaviour during bereavement to a neighbour let alone a national leader conferred Hero status.

The nation had barely gone through the private giggling about the deportation of Zanu PF children who were studying in Australia notable among them Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri’s son Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono’s children.

The deportations were so painful for Chihuri and Gono they have never really forgiven Premier Morgan Tsvangirai for them as they strongly believe he had a hand in motivating the premature termination of the luxurious and reputable courses their siblings were pursuing.

Tsvangirai denies any part in motivating the deportations and claims it was by mere coincidence that he was on the same plane in which the deported children were bundled as he was returning home from an official visit to the country on behalf of his MDC party business which had nothing to do with the deported children.

It is doubtful that Chihuri and Gono will ever buy into that explanation and find it in their vindictive minds to forgive the Premier for a crime he genuinely did not have a part to play as the deportations were a Civic Society campaign launched and coordinated by Zimdaily.

I sometimes wonder what would happen if one day the nation would wake up to the news of the resignation/retirement let alone death of President Robert Mugabe.

President Mugabe being an elderly grandpa does not take kindly to anyone who talks about his departure from political leadership let alone death.

He tapped vocal cleric Archbishop Pius Ncube and exposed him badly in a choreographed set up sexual romp with a CIO operative’s divorcee after the cleric had disclosed he was praying for the President’s death.

Pius Ncube has not uttered a single word against the President ever since he went through the nasty experience.

All the same I think if Mugabe was to announce his retirement and or resignation, Zanu PF would most obviously decline the dear leader permission to resign and or retire let alone die at this time when the party and nation are in turmoil.

Whichever route he leaves political leadership of the country President Mugabe’s demise will trigger month-long celebrations throughout the country and the entire world.

President Mugabe has created more enemies than friends during his hegemony on Zimbabwe politics and his departure will torch celebrations across the political divide in the country.

It will be a day many Zimbabweans have yearned for decades but that never seems to materialise even when all pointers were to its imminence.

Other than the departure of President Mugabe, the other departures likely to torch wild celebrations are those of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, Attorney General Johannes Tomana, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, Military Commanders Augustine Chihuri, Paradzai Zimondi, Constantine Chiwenga, Perence Shiri and Happyton Bonyongwe.

If anyone of these ruthless Zanu PF Zealots should tender his resignation, it is likely we will hear that President Mugabe has refused to accept the resignation.

Most of these are way past prescribed retirement ages in their occupations therefore retirement is not an available option for them to leave office at least as of now.
That leaves death as the only option that could rid us of these menacing despots.

Sadly most of them look to be in such good health sudden death other than accidental or assassination is unlikely to intervene in favour of the many who wish them away by whatever means but like me do not have the courage to take responsibility for eliminating them through death.

But it is on the subject of the resignation and or retirement that I fail to understand why whoever is keeping them in service should not act to force them out unless he is deriving benefits from associating with these hard hearted people.

So often we hear rumours that so and so have personally tendered his resignation but the President has declined it.

Is there any legitimate ground upon which the President can decline anyone from resigning from the government or is it just a myth most of us have bought into without giving it serious thought.

Former Industry and Commerce Minister Nkosana Moyo left the country before faxing through his resignation notice to the president and in so doing gave credence to the myth that once appointed a Minister or to any other position of national importance by the president resignation is impossible unless the president accepts it or decrees it.

But that is all crass.

Every appointment in government is a contractual appointment that is done after agreement is reached between the job incumbent and the State and in all instances the contract stipulates the terms governing termination of the contract by either party.

Unless Zimbabwe government appointments are contracts for slavery it is hard to fathom how it then becomes impossible for the employee to invoke the separation clause of his /her employment contract.

For the record president Mugabe or any other employer’s representative for that matter does not have legal power to decline any notice of resignation and or withdrawal from state service duly served upon him by any member of his political party and or any employee serving in the Zimbabwe government at his pleasure.

At the best the president’s power is limited to persuading whoever notifies him of the intention to resign at a time he feels inconvenient for the smooth operation of state business or for political expediency to reconsider the tendered notice and withdraw it.

If the employee is adamant there is absolutely no power to compel the employee to continue serving the State against his/her wish.

If however the employee wishes to resign without serving the prescribed period of notice the principal has the right to decline such a request as he deems fit but even then he cannot compel the employee to report for duty.

At the very best the president can only take legal action to force the employee to pay the state the equivalent of what he /she would benefit from the state during the prescribed period which he would otherwise be required to serve notice but even then most rational employers will not enforce that as it will be too costly and in any event most employees would simply fail to purchase the notice period at the same time they will not be in possession of assets which if attached will offset the indebtedness.

In Zimbabwe the minimum notice period to be served by any employee is three calendar months.

The period of notice varies from contract to contract depending on the terms agreed on appointment but nothing can preclude the state demanding the prescribed three months notice be served to avoid a claw-back suit.

So for any of the detested incumbents in influential positions to flog that they are being compelled to work for the state against their wish is totally dishonest mischief of the worst order.

MKD spokesman forced to eat humble pie by Tsvangirai

Senior premiership appointee Ghandhi Mudzingwa has been under legal persecution for the better part of his political career

Motor-mouth MKD spokesman Denford Magora must be wondering why it is he ever gets it so wrong when it comes to predicting the fate of Morgan Tsvangirai in the coalition government.

The problem dates back to the date when he teamed up with Dr Simba Makoni with the hope of promoting the Zanu PF long serving Politburo member into the President of Zimbabwe with just 58 days remaining for the harmonised election in March 2008 remaining for the campaign.

Dr Makoni was trounced into a distant 3rd place behind Tsvangirai and Mugabe in that order much to Magora’s dismay and chagrin.


Ever since that embarrassing loss Magora has embarked on a personal vendetta to discredit Tsvangirai at every turn possible with numerous predictions of the end of the Premier’s political career and relevance.

Most of his predictions have failed to materialise and he has been forced to revise them and revise them without getting anywhere nearer the outcome.

Lately he has been keeping a scoreboard of Mugabe’s triumph on Tsvangirai over contentious issues within the coalition government and by last night his scoreboard was reading 3:0 in favour of Mugabe.

The first score line in favour of Mugabe was in respect of the disputed appointment of Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana as RBZ governor and Attorney General respectively which Magora awarded to Mugabe stating that the octogenarian Zanu PF leader had read the Riot Act to Finance Minister Tendai Biti and forced him to publicly declare friendship with Gono.

Magora said even Tsvangirai would not support his nominee for Finance Minister in a Cabinet meeting when the Minister raised the Reserve Bank reform agenda in Cabinet because the Premier had been cut to size and knew the appointment of Dr Gono was beyond his capability to reverse.

But as he maintains the score at 3:0 in Mugabe’s favour he admits that the coalition principals have declared a deadlock on the Gono Tomana appointments and they have been referred to SADC for arbitration meaning there is no winner as of now on this one at least.

But that would be a dramatic admission that the MKD spokesman got it wrong when he initially awarded the result to Mugabe so he now says he predicted that the matter would only be referred to SADC with approval of the three principals yet only a day before he declared that outstanding issues will remain outstanding sine die.

The next score line he awarded Mugabe was over disputed reconfiguration of the ICT Ministry which he termed the “disembowelment of Nelson Chamisa”- the MDC nominated Minister as if he was the Ministry.

“There really is no other way to put it: Robert Mugabe today essentially, gutting his ministry into a shell and hiving off Telephone and cellphone companies and their regulatory bodies to a ZANU PF heavyweight minister.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is being systematically cut down to size by President Robert Mugabe,” the MKD spokesman wrote with cynical glee on 10 April 2009.

“He himself (Mugabe) decided to take the Department of Communications away from Nelson Chamisa, the MDC minister of Information and Communication Technology.

In essence, by taking this bit away from him, Mugabe has taken TelOne, the phone company, Netone, the cellphone company and the regulating bodies for the communication industry out of the ambit of the MDC.

Which means that Nelson Chamisa is now a minister in charge of shops that sell cellphones, phone shops and computer shops. Even the matter of the Internet has now been taken out of his hands,” he further declared.

So it was now 2:0 in favour of Mugabe in terms of the crucial disputes in the coalition government.

At that point I took it upon myself to remind Magora not to celebrate crossing the river before getting to it and reminded him the matter was very much being debated by the coalition principals.

Barely a month later embarrassed Magora admits;

“Nelson Chamisa has been given back control over the cellphone companies and ZIMPOST, but ZANU PF has retained control of the Interception of Communications mandate, which leaves them free to spy on everyone from the Prime Minister downwards. Interception of Communications was the real reason Mugabe grabbed the ministry from Chamisa, which means he has got what he wanted, after all.”

Don’t say we did not tell you that he who laughs last will have the longest and more lasting pleasure over this matter Mr Magora and indeed as we promised we are rubbing it in your pained conscience.

If anything at this point the score line is revised to 1:0 in favour of Tsvangirai and a stalemate on the first issue.

The score line was upped to 3:0 in favour of Mugabe when it was announced the unilateral appointments of Permanent Secretaries of Ministries have been adopted without variation.

Indeed that has been the case but it is not Mugabe that has won but rather Tsvangirai.

The fact that the appointments are now in terms of Constitutional amendment number 19 and have been approved by the principals of the coalition government is a big plus for all the principals as now the Secretaries are aware that they are not accountable to Mugabe alone for the continued subsistence of their tenures of office but to all the principals.

An additional plus to Tsvangirai is that it has been agreed that the confirmed secretaries will be apolitical in their execution of duties in tandem with their qualifications as professionals worthy of the jobs they hold.

It is a weapon Tsvangirai will use against them when they are tempted to fall back into the unprofessional zone of partisan politicking in decision making.

Even with those advantages and the appointment of Principal Directors and Directors in the Premier’s office we will give the score line to Mugabe and now please Magora by saying it is 1:1 and a stalemate in favour of Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

But there is more to Tsvangirai’s favour that we must credit him with.

Mugabe is now left with 4 Provincial Governors from the 10 he had which Magora had declared would remain an outstanding contentious issue but has now modified to say swearing in will take until kingdom come to be done by Mugabe. Score 2:1 and a stalemate for Tsvangirai.

Roy Bennett will take up his appointment as Deputy Agriculture Minister notwithstanding that Magora had declared that he would never be sworn into office by Mugabe who had already declared that the MDC nominee was facing serious criminal charges for which he will never be acquitted by his courts. Score line 3:1and a stalemate for Tsvangirai.

Foreign reporters are now free to practice journalism in Zimbabwe without harassment from the disbanded Media Information Commission which has been made redundant from January 2009. Score sheet now reads 4:1 and a stalemate for Tsvangirai.

Mugabe has lost grip on 5 Ambassadorial positions forthwith and more nominees by the MDC are to be trained and posted as and when vacancies arise. Score sheet reads 5:1 and a stalemate for Tsvangirai.

Clearly the Premier has momentum going in his favour in the contentious issues and will emerge more influential than MKD would like to accept.

Prime Minister announces senior appointments in his office

Chief Spokesman James Maridadi

The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe has announced appointments of Senior personnel in his office and his nominees for provincial governors as hereunder;

SENIOR APPOINTMENTS

Secretary to the PM and Council of Ministers: Mr Ian Makone
Principal Director DPM Mutambara’s Office: Professor Paul Mavima
Principal Director DPM Khupe’s Office: Mrs. Thandiwe Nhlabangana
Principal Director Minister of State Gorden Moyo’s Office: Dr. Sabelo Gatsheni Ndhlovu
Chief Spokesperson to the Prime Minister: James Maridadi
PRINCIPAL DIRECTORS IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
Policy Implementation: Lazarus Muriritirwa
Communication: Andrew Chadwick
Public Affairs: Denis Murira
Special Projects: Valentine Sinemane
Finance and Administration: Norman Sachikonye
PRINCIPAL DIRECTORS IN CHARGE OF CLUSTERS
Security: Dr. Martin Rupiya
Economics: Moses Chundu
Rights and Interest: Ms Rose Zigomo
Social: Abisha Nyanguwo
Infrastructure: Ghandi Mudzingwa
DIRECTORS
Security: Emmanuel Chimwanda
PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS
HARARE METROPOLITAN: Senator James Makore
BULAWAYO METROPOLITAN: Hon. Seiso Moyo
MASVINGO: Ms. Lucia Matibenga
MATEBELELAND NORTH: Hon. Tose Sansole
MANICALAND: Mr. Julius Magaramombe

Prime Minister Tsvangirai's Statement on Outstanding GPA Issues

Zimbabwe Premier Morgan Tsvangirai


Members of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen;

Since the formation of the inclusive government on the 13th of February 2009, the Principals of the three political parties have met on several occasions in an attempt to resolve the implementation of the outstanding issues that were agreed in the Global Political Agreement and during the SADC mediated negotiations. This has been a slow and frustrating process, however, we have been able to reach an understanding on a number of issues, which are:

Provincial Governors
In accordance with the formula agreed between the negotiators for the respective parties, namely, 5 for MDC-T, 4 for ZANU PF and 1 for MDC-M, the Provincial Governors will be sworn in at the soonest opportunity.

In addition, the Principals decided that the six governors whose tenure is to be terminated as a result of this agreement will be paid an agreed compensation. The nominees for Governors for the MDC-T will be distributed at the end of this press conference.

Permanent Secretaries
The six-member Cabinet Executive Committee, consisting of the President and his two deputies, the Prime Minister and his two deputies, convened to consider the appointment of Permanent Secretaries. This was in fulfillment of Article 21.7 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Amendment No. 19.

I am pleased to announce that we have reached agreement on these appointments. We went through each one of the persons proposed and satisfied ourselves that they were suitable in terms of experience and qualifications.

We do not believe that civil servants should be appointed on a partisan basis, so there will be no civil servant from the MDC or ZANU-PF. Any civil servant who participates in partisan politics will have no place in our public service, and I urge the Minister of Public Service to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to that effect.
Ambassadors
It was agreed that the MDC will submit names of individuals to be trained for Ambassadorial appointments. At the same time, an audit will be conducted to identify potential openings for new Ambassadors.

These new appointments will be filled using a formula to be agreed upon. In the meantime, there are five Ambassadorial posts vacant which will be filled by the two MDC formations in the following ration, MDC-T, 4, MDC-M, 1.

Ministerial Mandates

The Principals agreed that the functions of the communications portfolio will be shared among the three Ministries: the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, the Ministry of Media Information and Publicity and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.

Specifically, The Ministry of Information Communication Technology will retain its responsibility over the Posts and Telecommunications Act, Potraz, Telone, Netone and ZimPost;

The Ministry of Media Information and Publicity will oversee the Broadcasting Act and Transmedia; and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development will be responsible for the Interception of Communications Act.

Roy Bennett

The three principals have agreed that Roy Bennett will be sworn in as Deputy Minister of Agriculture before or on the day of swearing in of the Provincial Governors.

Deadlock

Ladies and Gentlemen, there are two key issues on which the Principals failed to reach agreement.

These are the appointments of the Governor of the Reserve Bank and the Attorney General. The Global Political Agreement, which was signed on September 15th 2008, states in section 20.1.7 that:

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

The Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney General are senior government appointments and yet, in breach of the Memorandum of Understanding, the GPA and the Reserve Bank Act, Gideon Gono was reappointed on 26th November 2008.

The Attorney General, Johannes Tomana was appointed by President Mugabe on 17th December 2008, again in breach of the MOU and the GPA. In light of this, and the fact that there is a deadlock on the status of the two individuals in question, the Principals, with the support of our parties, will now refer this matter to SADC as the guarantors of the GPA.

We trust that SADC will deal with this matter with the urgency that it requires.
In addition, we remain concerned about the continued violations of the rule of law, in particular, some of our citizens taking the law into their own hands with respect to the land reform programme.

While the above issues represent obstacles to the full implementation of the GPA, I think that it is also important that we recognize that progress has been made and continues to be made with respect to rebuilding Zimbabwe and having a positive impact on the lives of the people.

Constitution making process

In particular, I am pleased to announce that the constitutional process is gathering momentum and that we are seeing significant improvements in media freedoms in the country.

Media reforms

The recent media conference recommended that AIPPA be repealed and that the ZBC and Zimpapers be transformed into genuine public media as opposed to state media.

In light of this, it should also be noted that as of January 11th, 2008, as a result of Amendments to AIPPA, the Media and Information Commission ceased to exist.

Therefore, there is presently no legal obligation for foreign or local journalists, media houses or news agencies to apply for accreditation until the Media Commission is established and a new framework put in place.

The Standing Rules and Orders Committee of parliament is in the process of ensuring that the media commission is put in place as soon as possible to facilitate the opening up of the media space.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in conclusion, I would like to emphasise that we remain committed to ensure the success of the inclusive Government and call on all parties to demonstrate their commitment to the same by abiding by the letter and spirit of the Global Political Agreement for the good of Zimbabwe and all its citizens.

Source: http://www.zimbabweprimeminister.org/newsroom/statements/statements/126-prime-minister-tsvangirais-statement-on-outstanding-gpa-issues.html
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MKD unravels mystery of Presidential runoff missing MDC activists and Chiyadzwa diamond massacres.

Troubled MKD "leader" Dr Simba Makoni. Will he back his sokesman's claims and take advantage of them to gain waning political relevane?

Mavambo Kusile Dawn spokesman Denford Magora has stumbled upon compelling evidence of the whereabouts of the missing MDC activists and illegal diamond miners widely rumored to have been murdered by the Zanu PF Junta.

An “authoritative” article posted on http://www.denfordmagora.blogspot.com/ titled “Chiyadzwa diamond massacre and June 27 runoff victims buried in Chitungwiza”? claims among other things that the MKD spokesman has it on good authority that the victims have been interred at the Unit “L” cemetery by prisoners on an unspecified date in April this year.

The prisoners who carried out the mass burial of the 85 victims in 37 shallow graves at the cemetery were provided with masks and surgical gloves which they later discarded into another shallow hole that remained uncovered to date and was there for Magora to see when he investigated the allegations of the grisly act.

According to Magora each of the 37 shallow graves contains two or three corpses of the illegal diamond diggers and missing presidential runoff campaign activists from the MDC.

It is not evident how Magora established the facts about the depth of the graves and the identities of the people interred therein as well as the numbers in each grave except that within two days of the burial taking place the cemetery neighbourhood was as he puts it “filled with the stench of rotting human flesh.”

According to the MKD spokesman there are plans to construct a tarred road over the two rows on which the 37 shallow graves are situated in the middle of the cemetery disguised as an access road flanked by graves on either of its verges when it is in reality an intentional cover up of the evidence of the grisly murders.

The MKD spokesman claims he has it on very reliable sources that Mayors of Mutare and Marondera declined requests to have the corpses buried in cemeteries within their jurisdiction and MDC-T members in Chitungwiza’s Unit “L” are now up in arms against their Party appointed Mayor for consenting to the burials taking place in the town.

It is not clear how Mayors have been involved in determining who gets buried where in the cities under the jurisdiction a function normally carried out by the home Affairs ministry which issues burial orders when approached by the bereaved who would have secured burial space through a normal transaction of buying grave space from local authority offices.

The MKD spokesman says he has it on good authority from MDC officials in the area that they fear that among the 85 corpses are the 40 missing party members the State is failing to account for their whereabouts after being abducted by State security agents.

He holds the hope that the MDC will channel its energies to push for an explanation of the incident.

But Doreen Mutemeri in an article titled http://www.nehandaradio.com/zimbabwe/opinionwriters/mutemeri/magora180509.html“Denford Magora the art of extending the truth,” published on 18 May 2009 has some timely warning for those relying on the MKD spokesman’s blog for news from Zimbabwe.

“We all know Simba Makoni is the source of all his ‘so called scoops’. Given the dynamics of last year’s CIO vs Army infighting over Makoni’s presidential aspirations it is pretty clear even for those with half a brain that the Central Intelligence Organisation is providing Magora via Makoni most of these ‘scoops’ from the corridors of power,” she disclosed.

The intention of the disclosures is arm MKD with information to discredit the MDC-T at every turn with half truths and in many instances fabricated lies.

It is hoped the MKD spokesman who says the MDC-T is a toothless appendage in the coalition government bereft of any ideas as to how to run the country’s turnaround programmes through employment creation rather than relying on donations and aid did not have in mind investigation of Unit L cemetery graves as a viable employment creating exercise deserving MDC-T urgent attention.

How about MKD investigating the matter and using the evidence to discredit the incompetent coalition government and thereby gaining real political mileage out of that emotional area for a change.

While at it the MKD has disclosed that the MDC-T National Council marooned Party president Morgan Tsvangirai at the Masvingo meeting on 17 May 2009 and forced him to concede to their request for outstanding GPA issues to be referred to SADC for arbitration forthwith against his wish as to avoid him facing an imminent vote of no confidence on his leadership of the party.

Hitherto the MKD spokesman had indicated that Tsvangirai’s stranglehold on the party leadership was under threat from hardliners pushing for his ouster from the party for his softly softly approach in dealing with Mugabe’s breaches of the GPA clauses.

On the other hand he claims MKD self imposed leader Dr Simba Makoni currently fighting running battles in court with the movement’s national executive council that has seen the launch of the movement into a political party deferred for the third time within a year is in total control of developments in the movement and comfortable to delay the launch a little pending the outcome of the legal dispute.

How ironic?

Tsvangirai is the face of the MDC as much as Dr Makoni is for the MKD except that where Dr Makoni refuses to be guided by the movement’s national council- dictatorial style- Tsvangirai is subservient to the MDC national council consensus and avoids the trauma of political litigation which in the end achieves nothing for the party or movement’s cause.

It is not only Tsvangirai who has the distinction of being the face of a revolution but all revolutionary leaders share the same trait in keeping the cause for which they stand for alive. The only distinction in them is the level of their achievement.

Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Ayatollah Khomeini, Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Robert Mugabe, Dr Joshua Nkomo, Jonas Savimbi and yes General Nkundah of the DRC share the trait but with different adulation.

Remove them from the struggle and the movement dies or recedes into oblivion. The democratic among them choose to groom successors and voluntarily leave office while the autocratic hang on that much longer than their sale by date.

The MKD spokesman must always remember that the esteem with which he holds the MKD leader Dr Simba Makoni is equaled if not exceeded by similar feelings within many MDC supporters and he will not be easily pushed out unless he willfully consents to calls for him to step aside in the interest of the struggle.

If with a year at the helm, Dr Makoni is already proving to be that much harder to oust for his movement’s national council what more of Tsvangirai with 10 years at the helm?

MDC resolves to escalate disputed issues to SADC

Frustrated by the intransigence of Zanu PF the MDC National Council has resolved to escalate the dispute raging in the coalition government to SADC for arbitration.

The coalition government principals have been deliberating on outstanding issues since the government was formed on 13 February 2009 without reaching a substantive
At the centre of the dispute are issues concerning;
 The reversal of unilateral appointments of Provincial Governors by President Mugabe
 The reversal of the unprocedural appointment of Dr Gideon Gono as RBZ Governor for a 2nd term
 The reversal of the unilateral appointment of Johannes Tomana as Attorney General
 The refusal by President Mugabe to swear in Roy Bennett from MDC-T as Deputy Agriculture Minister
 The reversal of unilateral and unprocedural appointments of Permanent Secretaries
 The stalled appointment of Zimbabwe’s Ambassadors to its foreign missions
 Delayed appointments of inclusive heads of Statutory commissions
 Continued systematic persecution of MDC-T activists by the Judiciary and law enforcement system
 Continued fresh commercial farm invasions.

The dispute over unilateral reconfiguration of the ICT Ministry headed by MDC-T’s Nelson Chamisa appears to have been amicably resolved as it is no longer subject of reference to SADC arbitration.

In terms of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that ushered the coalition government following the failed March 2008 electoral process all senior appointments in government must be made after consultation has taken place between the coalition government principals and more specifically between the President and the Premier.

Such appointments were hitherto the prerogative of the President in consultation with various statutory constitutions established for each strategic segment of governance.

After signing the agreement President Mugabe however reneged on the obligation to consult with the Premier designate as he then was and hurriedly appointed 10 provincial governors as well as extending Dr Gono’s tenure of office as Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor and promoting Johannes Tomana as the Attorney General a position that had been vacant for nearly a year since the former incumbent Sobuzah Gula Ndebele was muzzled out after falling out with Zanu PF politicians.

After the Premier was sworn in the President went ahead to unilaterally announce 34 Permanent secretaries of the ministries shared by coalesce appointees prompting the premier to annul the appointments and seek that they be made substantive after consultations between him and the President to establish consensus.

At the same time President Mugabe was unilaterally effecting these unprocedural appointments he was reneging on a mandatory requirement for him to swear in nominees for political office in the coalition government without preconditions.

Instead of swearing in Roy Bennett nominated by MDC-T as the Deputy Agriculture Minister, President Mugabe conceded to a plan for the arrest of Mr Bennett and is now refusing to swear him into office on the pretext that the MDC-T nominee is facing serious allegations of insurgency and banditry which he will not be exonerated of by the courts.

But in so saying President Mugabe has not only reneged on mandatory responsibility to swear in the MDC-T nominee but has seriously flouted due process and convicted Bennett ahead of the courts and even if the courts should convict him on the merits of the case the hand of the president in influencing the conviction will be impossible to hide.

The outstanding disputes are widely considered to be stumbling blocks in efforts to reintegrate Zimbabwe into the family of global nations and attraction of foreign direct investment and or aid desperately needed to revive the country’s battered economy.

The decision by the MDC-T National Council meeting in Masvingo to refer the issues to SADC arbitration is in line with the GPA clauses that require disputes to be resolved through the Joint Implementation and Monitoring Committee (JOMIC) in the first instance failure of which they must be referred to SADC which is the guarantor of the GPA.

While it is the appropriate course to take SADC cannot be relied upon or trusted to abide by the GPA clauses judging by its past determination on the allotment of Ministries dispute where it deliberately breached the GPA by ordering co-ministering of the Home Affairs Ministry and refused to entertain any other suggested power sharing alternatives other than those submitted by Zanu PF.

Now that the party’s supreme decision making organ has resolved to refer the matter to SADC for arbitration it must prepare its structures for any disappointments likely to come from SADC determination.

Whatever the outcome if it is not favourable to the party’s desires as measured against provisions of the GPA the MDC-T must be prepared to accept the verdict and move on or lodge an appeal to the AU as stipulated in the agreement with coalition partners.
The appeal to Sadc is due to be handed in tomorrow according to MDC-T National spokesman and ICT Minister Hon Nelson Chamisa.

The decision is welcome in so far as it moves the stalled resolution of the unwarranted haggling by principals forward but must embarrass the three leaders as they are going to be portrayed as incompetents without national interest at heart.

For how else can leaders who argue over what they agreed in writing and signed up to when it comes to implementing same?

Decisive and democratic leaders vote on contentious issues and follow the outcome of the vote. This is obviously too much to expect from the unelected leaders in Zimbabwe.

MDC National Council must seriously examine coalition marriage

Our national fate cannot be restricted to the whims of these three coalition government principals

The MDC National Council meeting in Masvingo tomorrow has a monumental task at its hands to deal decisively with mounting issues afflicting the coalition government it is party to with Zanu PF.

The government constituted on 13 February 2009 has been cruising on a bumpy road for 3 months and its tyres are wearing out fast and most bolts need tightening and the engine could do with fresh lubrication and clearance of clogged filters as well as a general service and clean up.

It was always evident the coalition had set out on a risky and dangerous mission and needed the strongest men and women to navigate through the uncharted territory it was to travel.

Barely had he put his pen back in the pocket than the Zanu PF signatory of the 15 September 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA) upon which the coalition govern is premised than he disclosed misgivings about the “many issues in the document that both he and the MDC-T leader were at variance with.”

The signing ceremony nearly failed to take off as the MDC-T was unhappy that the power sharing formula had not been agreed upon and this would cause serious implementation headaches for the antagonistic Zimbabwe political formations without the mediation team safety net.

It is that crucial omission in the GPA that has compelled the MDC national Council to convene in Masvingo to chart the way forward regarding its continued association with coalesce partners in the tripartite alliance currently governing the country.

After 8 months of voluntary but closely monitored negations since the signing ceremony of which 3 months have been relatively independent of SADC moderation as they were taking place within the context of the coalition government framework, the power sharing debate rages on and there is little evidence of progress if any has been achieved towards resolution of the sticky issues.

The sticky points in implementing the GPA still remain as they were prior to 15 September 2008;
• Agreement on the allotment of Provincial Governors to coalesce parties;
• Agreement on the acceptable incumbent for the position of Reserve Bank governor;
• Agreement on the acceptable incumbent of the position of Attorney General;
• Agreement on incumbents for positions of Permanent Secretaries of government Ministries;
• Agreement on incumbents for positions of Zimbabwe’s 38 Ambassadors in foreign missions; and
• Agreement on incumbents of positions of Heads of National Commissions and parastatals;

The incumbents in the six categories above are critical drivers of government policy formulation and implementation that were envisaged in the GPA would require consensus of the coalition principals before they could become substantive to ensure smooth operation of the government.

Despite signing the agreement binding him to consult with coalition principals of the other 2 parties’ principals before appointing substantive incumbents of the positions in the 6 categories Zanu PF president Robert Mugabe reneged on the agreement as soon as his contentious claim to the country’s presidency was regularised by the same agreement.

He appointed 10 Provincial Governors from within his Zanu PF party ranks, extended controversial Dr Gideon Gono’s tenure of office by a further 5 years in October 2008, promoted self confessed Zanu PF member Johannes Tomana to Attorney General and announced retention and appointment of 34 Permanent Secretaries from recommendations made by institutions other than those prescribed for him to consult by the GPA.

The impending MDC National Council must determine what course of action to take on these matters.

Their work is cut out in that they either condone the unilateral appointments by President Mugabe, and move on with the process of governing with the support of a hostile secretariat or they reject the appointments, and refer the matter to the GPA guarantors for arbitration.

The matters can no longer be referred to SADC mediation as there is a written agreement on how they will be tackled mediated by the same institution.

Reference of the matter to SADC will be for a declaration as to whether or not the unilateral appointments are in compliance with the GPA articles as prior agreed.

At this juncture it is crucial for MDC-T to ensure that the decision they take will not render their effectiveness in the coalition impotent.

If they condone the appointments they must also be prepared to accept the backlash of the policy implementation decisions of these key personnel and so far it is clear they will not be favourable for the party’s future political fortunes.

Should they decide to condemn the appointments and escalate the dispute to SADC arbitration they must be prepared for the worst given the SADC reputation of siding with Mugabe and Zanu PF in the past and the demoralising effect that will have on its loyal supporters.

There MDC-T National Council meeting will also be hard pressed to deal with other issues that have emerged and or have varied the scope of the agreement that justifies the party’s involvement with the coalition government.

The coalition government’s continued existence is being severely tested by;
 The relentless persecution of the party’s activists on trivial and vexatious allegations;
 The refusal by the President to swear in Roy Bennett as Deputy minister of Agriculture;
 The sporadic outbursts of violence and commercial farm invasions;
 The disputed Constitution making process;
 The unilateral reconfiguration of the ICT ministry by President Mugabe;
 The failure by the coalition government to secure international reconstruction aid and support;
 The series of insubordinate conduct towards the premier by Military commanders;
 The acceptance embarrassing acceptance of RBZ vehicle donations by its MP’s;
 The possible ramifications of raucous developments in MDC-M to the coalition;
 The plight of the ordinary citizenry following fiscal migration to multi currency usage;
 The National Security council progress report and
 The achievements and failures of the coalition government.

If lasting resolution of the thorny issues is to be achieved there is need for the MDC-T National Council to put aside emotional stress from experiences with the coalition and focus on how to achieve the objectives that drove the party into the coalition.

The MDC grassroots are numerically superior to the Zanu PF and MDC-M supporters yet when it comes to defending beliefs and values they come a cropper to Zanu PF.

With this in mind it is important to decide on a course of action that will not require supporters to go toe to toe on issues in dispute as the MDC supporters will be found wanting.

The best route appears to be for Council to resolve to suspend any further negotiations between the principals of the coalition government and immediate reference of disputed issues at the same time principals must announce those issues they have managed to resolve over the 3 months they have engaged each other to strategise total and compliant implementation of the GPA.

In as much as ultimatums are not helpful unless they can be backed by adequate enforcement measures, decrees on whether or not the coalition will prevail are best left to parties rather than restricted to party principals.

Much as most Zimbabweans wish the coalition well and success it is not a wish they are prepared to back with life and limp if need be.

There are alternatives to achieve the desired outcomes from the coalition government and there is no reason why the country must be held at ransom by a leader whose only claim to legitimacy is an agreement he does not abide by.

GMB hamstrung by past corruption

GMB General Manager Retired Police Assistant Commissioner Albert Mandizha

The State owned Herald newspaper disclosed that the Grain Marketing Board has gone to the market to borrow money after failing to pay farmers who delivered their produce to the parastatal last season.

It is not clear from the report why the GMB has decided to go borrowing to pay for produce delivered to the corrupt and militarised parastatal.

Mr Zvidzai Makwenda the parastatal’sdeputy general manager marketing reportedly told the inaugural Zvimba District Farmers’ Association meeting in Banket on Saturday, that;

"Government has stopped funding our (GMB) operations and we have had to go on the market to borrow money to pay farmers.

We (GMB) have been engaged in positive talks and we expect a positive answer by Wednesday (tomorrow) as we are on the verge of receiving a loan to pay the farmers."

There was absolute silence as to what happened to the produce the farmers delivered to the GMB last season and why the government had stopped funding the most strategic parastatal in the country in respect of food security.

The truth is that the GMB was at the centre of the food politicisation campaign by Zanu PF. The General Manager Albert Mandizha is a former Zimbabwe Republic Police Assistant Commissioner who was strategically appointed for his political correctness within Zanu PF rather than for his management acumen.

The Zimbabwe government has outlawed all trade in agricultural produce by entrepreneurs and monopolised that through the GMB.

Qualified and experienced managers have been systematically replaced by seconded and retired military personnel with little knowledge about business management but total loyalty to Zanu PF.

This gave the Zanu PF regime easy access to directing operations at the parastatal for party causes rather than national interest.

The parastatal that is meant to manage food security reserves for the nation was forced to go into milling, bread making, retailing and import and export of agricultural produce under its monopolistic control.

The country has been in food sufficiency distress for a very long time and everything else including monkeys, droughts, sanctions, the MDC, the British and Americans have been blamed for the problems at the GMB except Zanu PF interference.

Despite the critical role the parastatal plays it has not been featuring high on priorities of the Coalition government because its operations are being reviewed in the holistic objective of economic stabilisation.

The problem at the GMB has always been unbridled corruption driven by partisan political interests of the ruling elite.

Reserve bank Governor Gideon Gono printed so much paper money and availed it to the GMB to import cereals that were inadequate for national demand but most of the money was used to import maize that was then distributed on political partisan lines to loyal chiefs, headmen and Zanu PF councillors who were not charged anything for the produce.

The same fate befell the local produce deliveries to the parastatal.

So awash was the GMB with RBZ printed money the parastatal had no reason to sell the scarce produce in its possession at market rates preferring rather to be Father Christmas with the produce to Zanu PF zealots.

When the coalition government fiscal policies intervened and made it impossible for the RBZ to doll out money to the GMB the out of sorts management at the parastatal found itself laden with a heavy debt to local producers it has no means to repay.

The intake has already been squandered by Zanu PF beneficiaries who paid nothing for it and cannot be followed up to pay up for the grain they received.

Salaries and wages for employees are increasingly becoming difficult to meet as the fat bank balances the GMB used to pay workers with have been run down and in any event the ZW$ currency has been rendered useless for any transaction until the end of the year when with luck it may be revived as an acceptable medium of exchange.

I remember having a slight brush with the Chairman of the Quill Club sometime in October 2008 because I had said the ZW$ was a useless currency being used because Zimbabweans had lost sense of real monetary value to which he responded it was real money because it still enabled him and everyone else to secure goods and services.

I wonder how the chairman of the popular jurno’s club must now be feeling with the wards of ZW$ littering the streets with nobody interested to pick them up.

Back to the GMB, the reason why the parastatal thinks government has abandoned funding its operations is because the RBZ has been incapacitated to credit its accounts with balances from nowhere to enable it to draw cash and source forex on the black market.

Now the parastatal is forced to source funds from financial institutions and will have to repay the loans and interest thereon from produce it expects to attract from the disillusioned farmers it has not paid for the previous season’s deliveries.

The sick joke though is the GMB thinks all farmers are dimwits.

Recently the bankrupt parastatal announced a maize floor price of US$265 per tonne in a bid to lure the farmers it alienated through non payment of last season’s produce delivered to it at the farmers’ expense.

The parastatal is reportedly prepared to pay the “competitive prices” of up to US$300 per tonne to any farmer who delivers 30 or more tonnes of maize to its intake depots countrywide.

Its “unscrupulous” competitors with ready cash are reportedly buying the same maize from the same farmers at US$150 per tonne.

“The failure by GMB to pay farmers on time, coupled with prices that those in the industry viewed as non-competitive, has prompted many farmers to look for alternative grain markets in recent years,” the Herald accurately observed.

The disillusioned farmers now struggling to raise funds to prepare for the next agricultural season without RBZ generous donations are more than happy to accept the lowly US$150 per tonne from the so called unscrupulous buyers who provide transport to ferry their purchases to wherever they want to keep and use them than wait for mouth watering US$265-300 offer by a GMB that is yet to pay them for their previous deliveries to the parastatal and is unwilling or incapable of providing transportation for the deliveries it expects from farmers.

If the GMB had not corruptly donated the 2007/8 intake to Zanu PF politicking and instead sold it to the people it would be having enough working capital to purchase the current season’s crops at no more than what its competitors are offering to the farmers.

Now because of the blind stupidity on the part of its management it is offering a floor price way beyond its means at the same time it is borrowing at a premium to finance outstanding 2007/8 or face a producer delivery boycott and lose out to competitors.

The cost of borrowing will need to be factored into the GMB’s intake disposal costs and drive retail costs through the roof.

But with the country open to use of multiple currencies, the uncompetitive pricing structure for the GMB will drive consumers to import cheaper produce from elsewhere and saddle the parastatal with stocks it will not be able to move to earn the promised repayments to farmers and this time next year the farmers will once again find themselves squirming about non payment for produce they delivered to the GMB.

Mr Makwenda, is reportedly contented that his organisation has so far managed to payout 85 percent of farmers that delivered wheat last year and has only the unpaid remaining 15 percent to worry about.

The remaining 15% yet to be paid delivered 85% of the wheat intake by the GMB and are thus owed 85% of the parastatal’s 2007/8 liabilities and if they withdraw deliveries will cause an 85% deficit to the already insufficient GMB intake.

"The list of farmers who delivered their produce to GMB last year has been forwarded to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, who will work with the Ministry of Finance to clear the debts owed to farmers," he added.

Why should the Reserve bank and the Ministry of finance be involved in clearing debts of a GMB with the monopoly on grain trade?

In any event is it not the same RBZ that recently introduced the Debt-for-Fertilizer Swap Programme to alleviate the plight of farmers yet to be paid by the State monopoly?

We hope this is not another way of rekindling the quasi-fiscal activities at the central bank that have had disastrous consequences of our economy in the past decade.