Dangerous MDC-M fundamentalism

Professor Welshman Ncube a fundamendalist?

After reading the transcript of Professor Welshman Ncube with Violet Gonda of SW Radio Africa I was convinced more than ever before that Professor Ncube is a dangerous fundamentalist who has been elevated to the leadership of our country thanks to the Global Political agreement.

There is the frightening arrogance in his belief that the political doctrine of the MDC-M should be implemented literally, without interpretation or adaptation that runs through the entire interview that I shudder to think would result in if he and his party were ever going to be elected to majority party status in our country.

Professor Ncube was at the centre of the reasons why the MDC split into two on 12 October 2005 and in the interview he sheds more light as to why the split was inevitable given his passion for self righteousness and obsession with self image.

First he argued that his Party name is MDC and not MDC-M as it is widely referred to in media coverage because there is no party registered as such in Zimbabwe and he is accurate about that.

The media use the prefixes of the surnames of the party leadership in the MDC to distinguish between the MDC splinter formations rather than in the strictest sense of their legally registered names.

Under normal circumstances a senior official in Prof Ncube’s capacity would not raise such trivialities in an interview where he was being examined on his party position towards contentious issue from the GPA but because he is a fanatical nitpicker he had to unsettle the interviewer with the objection to a party name he had hitherto never raised in previous interviews with any other media house he has given interviews to and been referred to as representing the MDC-M.

Fundamentalists are generally offended by trivial issues which they defend with disproportionate overzealousness with disastrous consequences in many instances.

But it was his summation of why the party he belongs to settled on who to assign to Ministerial responsibilities that exposed the fundamentalist views that drive his party.

“Well Violet, that’s illogical. The question of who this party deploys to government is an exclusive prerogative of this party.

It cannot be said because this one was elected, this was unelected – we have an obligation to deploy this or that person. On the contrary we have deployed Moses Mzila Ndlovu, David Coltart, and Tapela – all of whom were elected. We have deployed only so-called unelected people who are the senior leaders of the party and even that for good cause.

You are not going to go around buying our Members of Parliament who work with you and expect us to then deploy them into government.

And we did that quite deliberately and we were being asked to deploy people who were already working for another political party and we are not imbeciles, we will not do that and we’ll never do that.

We will deploy people who will stand by, defend the party, die for the party and will not deploy turncoats who can be bought overnight,” he declared.

In essence therefore it does not matter to the party who its grassroots supporters would want to represent them in government but rather who the party leadership believes will stand by, defend and die for the party under whatever circumstances and there is no better barometer to measure that level of loyalty than seniority within the party.

Frightening indeed!

When later in the interview he was confronted by the interviewer with accurate information about perceptions widely held in relation to his party’s alliances with Zanu PF he forcefully stated;

”I’m tempted not to dignify that rubbish with an answer. You have just been saying right now – passionately defending your right of your freedom of expression, freedom of the media to exist and to hold views and to allow people to propagate their views through their media as freely as they want to and you were very passionate just a few minutes ago – and surely you must be equally passionate about our right as a party to hold views which are different from MDC-T and which are different from yours and which are different from civil society and which are different from those of Zanu-PF, and therefore we don’t exist for the purpose of agreeing with this or that particular party.

And therefore when we disagree with the favourite party of some interest you can label us whatever you wish and we wouldn’t care a hoot. We take our position on the basis of our party policies and on the basis of our principles and we hold no brief for Zanu-PF. We disagree in a lot of ways, too many ways with Zanu-PF to be even considered as a party, which bids for Zanu-PF.

Just as much as we disagree in terms in particular of the practices of the MDC-T, fundamentally disagree with them in many ways and it’s our right to do so. The fact that we do disagree with them does not make us Zanu-PF.”

This was after he had earlier disclosed that his party position is to oppose the positions in MDC-T to avoid reinventing Zanu PF within that party and not because of shortcomings in its popular message of pledges to
the nation.

“So it’s quite simple as far as we are concerned and the principle issue is you cannot disagree with Tsvangirai and his party. All of us exist to serve them, if you don’t serve them you will be perceived in a negative way, if you jump at the top of the highest mountain and say Tsvangirai is God, you will be worshipped by the media and civil society – that is the bottom line and indeed you should be worried if you are a true democrat.

You shall be worried and indeed not just worried, you shall be truly afraid because you have a culture, you have a party, you have a civil society which is a mirror image of Zanu-PF in its behaviour, in its treatment of dissenting voices – because you believe that the positions you have taken are an eternal truth. Who dares challenge an eternal truth?” in his own words.

But the people are not frightened of Tsvangirai and the MDC he leads and they do not have reason to other than if they are persuaded by the likes of Professor Ncube.

On the contrary they are afraid of Professor Ncube’s fundamentalist views and his arrogant disposition towards anyone who dares tells him that he may be leading his party in the wrong direction by opposing popular ideas for nothing else other than that they are making a political opponent with the electorate.

Ideas will never be popular unless they carry perceived benefits for the electorate and the electorate has wised up to phoney promises from politicians that it will not be easily led up the garden path as Professor Ncube and his party discovered after 29 March 2008.

On the outstanding issues from the GPA Professor Ncube exposed bare the fears that are widely held that these negotiations are much ado about nothing.

His admission that all issues before the negotiators arise from the GPA which is the acronym for Global Political Agreement signed between Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC-M political parties to manage the Presidential elections stalemate that emerged after the harmonized elections in March 2008 makes the current effort a waste of critically short time to move the country forward.

The same people who negotiated the GPA and initialed each and every clause in it are being asked to revise their agreement because of implementation misgivings by one party to the agreement –Zanu PF.

The issues in dispute are complimentary and implementation of what was initially agreed is seen as a means with which to address all the concerns but not by the original negotiators and subscribers and the nation wonders why that should be the case.

According to Professor Moyo the outstanding issues are outstanding because they have not been fully implemented as per the GPA and the reasons for that is because the parties mistrust each other in that if demands from the MDC-T arte fully implemented before the concerns from Zanu PF are addressed there are no guarantees that Zanu PF concerns will be addressed.

It is an absurd way of viewing issues because there is a cause and effect process that must instruct the priority of implementation of the agreement.

As Gonda put it and the Professor conceded;

“But don’t you realise that you can or you may discuss the issue of the external radio stations until you are blue in the face but nothing is going to happen because the creation of some of these radio stations such as ours had nothing to do with politicians and you have no authority to ask for the radio stations to close down. And secondly we all know that this is a Zanu-PF pre-condition – the closing down of these external radio stations – you can’t close down things you don’t like – isn’t that what it all means, isn’t this what democracy is about?”

The same question can be posed in respect of the unfulfilled clauses in the GPA. Logic demands that subscribers implement all the aspects of the agreement that are within their control before moving onto those aspects of the agreement that require foreign concessions.

But no Zanu PF wants foreign concessions before full internal implementation of what it agreed, agrees and knows is necessary to be done internally to move the country forward.

That is why SADC set a 30 day deadline for resolution because the internal issues do not need hours to agree and implement as they have already been agreed to but are being deliberately delayed implementation as bargaining chips by Zanu PF with Professor Ncube’s implied consent in complicity.

People however know pretty well why Professor Ncube has been compromised by the coalition government. He has no chance of winning an election and returning to government in a ministerial capacity in elections to end the coalition and that is why he would rather see the outstanding issues drag on while he secures a job.

In a country where jobs are 80% in short supply we are tempted to empathise with him but the best chance he has os securing long term employment lies somewhere in a government that is internationally free to transact for the good of the nation and the current coalition government lacks that credibility.

A final word on the so called party sellouts he loathes for working in collusion with MDC-T as opposed to his preference for an alliance with Zanu PF during the elections of Speaker of Parliament.

The looming by elections challenge from the MP’s the MDC-M recalled from Parliament will not be good for the MDC-M as its candidates will be humiliated by the same renegades it dispensed with exposing the deep craters in the party leadership vision and philosophy.

GNU prefects are coming

PM Morgan Tsvangirai, DPM Arthur Mutambara and President Robert Mugabe seen here shaking hands in affirmation of having willingly signed the GPA they are now at loggerheads over full implementation.

Zanu PF nonchalantly dismissed the 15 to 30 day deadline that Sadc imposed on subscribers to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) to comprehensively address all outstanding GPA issues declaring that Sadc was not the Party’s headmaster who could punish it if it failed to meet the deadline.

Furious Sadc Chief Mediator (the headmaster) on Zimbabwe and South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has had to put together a team of three of his top aides (the prefects) to pay the truant Zimbabwe political protagonists a visit before the end of next week and whip them into line before he personally comes for an inspection in loco in the dormitory country ravaged by political malfeasances of Zanu PF.

The South African Presidential team includes the President’s political advisor Charles Nqakula, special envoy Mac Maharaj and international relations adviser Lindiwe Zulu.

There is no chance Zanu PF will detain and deport them in similar fashion to how they handled the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture Mr. Mafred Nowack on 28October 2009.

President Zuma’s prefects will no doubt be fully updated about the numerous acts of disregard of critical GPA articles by Zanu PF including among other things the illegal persecution of;

Jestina Mukoko and 17 others, Ghandhi Mudzingwa and three others, Pascal Gwezere and Farai Muyambwa

Rickson Kaseke, Norbert Dhokotera, Tongai Jack, Amiri Njawara, TereraiTsvakwi and Daniel Koroni and 15 other MDC-T Bindura activists convicted by Zanu PF Magistrate Chakanyuka

MDC Legislators Thamsanga Mahlangu (Nkulumane), Evelyn Masaiti (Dzivarasekwa), Blessing Chebundo (Kwekwe Central),Eliah Jembere (Epworth), Pearson Mungofa (Highfield East), Bedwin Nyaude (Bindura South), Mathias Mlambo (Chipinge East) and Trevor Saruwaka (Mutasa Central), Stewart Garadhi, (Chinhoyi) Ernest Mudavanhu (Zaka North) Ransome Makamure (Gutu East) Reggie Moyo (Luveve ), Albert Mhlanga, (Pumula) Takalani Matibe, (Chegutu West) Pishai Muchauraya (Makoni South) Senator Tichaona Mudzingwa (Non Constituency) Lynnette Karenyi (Chimanimani West), Shuwa Mudiwa (Mutare West), Meki Makuyana (Chipinge South) Hega Shoko (Bikita West), Edmore Marima (Bikita East), Tichaona Maradza (Masvingo West), Hamandishe Maramwidze (Gutu North) Shuah Mudiwa (Mutare West) " and Senator Roy Bennett (non Constituency).

The prefects will certainly want to know how many of these arrested alleged criminals have been brought to justice and with what results from the government that is prosecuting them.

It will be embarrassing for Zanu PF to defend the continued employment of an Attorney General (AG) who is at the centre of these arrests and selective persecution of MDC-T supporters.

The fact that appointments of Provincial Governors, the AG and the (RBZ) Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor were unilaterally effected by President Mugabe after signing of the GPA will not escape the eagle eyes of the prefects.

They will want full explanations from the Zanu PF subscribers to the GPA as to how the appointments in dispute fit into the letter and spirit of the GPA.
They will also want to find out what has happened to the names recommended to the President for appointment to the Media, Electoral and Human Rights Commissions and what progress if any these commissions have made to date to free the airwaves and encourage Pirate radio stations to operate from within the country.

They would also be interested to know why the Constitution making process has been deferred to 2010 and how that fits in with the GPA provisions.

They will not forget to enquire into the reasons why nominated MDC Provincial Governors, Ambassadors and the Deputy Agriculture Minister has not been sworn in or posted to date and to what extent such delays are in compliance with the GPA.

More importantly they would want to know what positive action the government has taken to ameliorate the reasons why the Zanu PF leadership has been slapped with the illegal sanctions which information they can use to help the government unshackle itself from the bondage of the sanctions.

With regard to the parallel government structures allegedly set up by the Premier the prefects would want to know why the premier’s staff are not on the State establishment nine months after their appointment by the Premier and why the Premier does not have direct access to the President and has to book appointments with him via the Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda or Information and Publicity Secretary George Charamba.

They will want to know how such arrangement promotes mutual trust requisite for smooth operation of the coalition government.

The prefects will brook no nonsense about the scapegoating that has been employed by the major protagonists in the coalition government and will demand realistic and concrete measures they will take to overcome all the outstanding issues from their agreement on 15 September 2008 and the addendum by SADC on 27 January 2009.

Both parties must be ready for some roasting from the Mediator’s prefects and will not be allowed to delay the GNU momentum any longer as ramifications of the failure of the government have serious bearing on Southern Africa as it prepares TO HOST THE Soccer World Cup in six month’s time and political stability in the region is a critical ingredient for the success of the showcase.

The headmaster appears to have taken his first move towards asserting his authority and grandstanding will not help the cause of whoever takes to it.

Reality check time for Zimbabwe diasporans

The villagers at Chisheche Township near Gutu Mission can now afford to sit around bar counters and watch TV together while drowning their sorrows in the famous brown bottles of lager


It is no exaggeration that many displaced Zimbabweans of the past two decades will need shock therapy when eventually they decide to return to their home country.

There is incongruence between the hopes and aspirations of the diasporans and those that remained and bore the wrath of Zanu PF impunity that the displaced must come to terms with.

Zimbabwe today is a totally different country from what it was in January this year going back to 2000.

This reality is lost to most of the diasporans whose expectations have been pegged way above what can be achieved by the coalition government.

No wonder there are reverberating echoes of discontent from writings of those in the diaspora.


The diasporans expected the entry of the MDC into government to yield positive and fundamental changes to the manner in which the government operates in specific areas that caused them to gap it which have not materialized.

On the contrary the people who remained in the country had high expectations that the entry of the MDC into the coalition would halt the plummeting living conditions they were subjected to and they have not been disappointed.

Zimbabwe diasporans left the country to seek refuge against economic hardships and political vandalism they were subjected to by a ruthless Zanu PF regime and they found immediate comfort for both wherever they settled and much more.

The plummeting economic conditions in the country placed diasporans at such an economic advantage over their remaining counterparts in that the forex remittances they were making fetched astronomical monetary value from a Zimbabwe currency in free fall.

They could afford to buy properties that they would never imagine owning in a lifetime working in Zimbabwe.

Due to hyperinflation a mortgage loan on any property within Zimbabwe would reduce to a Diasporan’s quarter monthly income within a period of 18 to 24 months and many who had a vision to return back to their home country whenever the political situation improved exploited that window and invested heavily in lavish properties.

The problem many faced was finding reliable relatives to identify the opportunities and manage the investments and many lost vast sums they intended to be invested for their future comfort on returning to their home country.

Even the reputed financial institutions in the country were no longer reliable to manage the remittances of diasporans and they misappropriated the funds to fund Zanu PF’s political lifeline at the expense of the very people the party had haunted out of the country.

Despite these investments many diasporans are still reluctant to return to their home country notwithstanding the political developments that have ushered the coalition government and by and large halted the economic morass by the multicurrency use intervention.

Increasingly the diasporans who had become used to remitting less than a tenth of their incomes to sustain the economic needs for entire Clans’ of relatives in the country are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain the lifestyles they had become reputed for sustaining by relatives.

The arrest on inflation by the coalition government that they now have to meet the same obligations they had taken on with real currencies and that is not easy for them to manage.

While the economic stabilization has brought relief and hope within the country it has brought misery and increased diasporans’ financial obligations to a point where they now have to trim down their beneficiaries in Zimbabwe to the closest family and risk alienating that nucleus family unit from the Clan that used to benefit from it.

But for diasporans the most disappointing development or non development in the country is to do with the rule of law.

There are too many reports of Zanu PF aligned officials and committing serious crimes against perceived or real MDC-T officials and supporters alike.

The diasporans blame continued impunity on the MDC because they had hoped that its entry into government would translate into an immediate stop of Zanu PF impunity.

The commercial farmers are still being evicted by continued invasions and Court actions ironically by a government supposedly headed by the MDC Prime Minister and deputies and they do not understand why that should be tolerated.

MDC-T Ministers, MP’s and activists are still being abducted by state security agents, detained without charge, tortured, denied opportunities to enjoy bail conditions whenever the courts intervene and grant them bail and then acquitted when they are eventually brought to trial over alleged offences for which they were violated in this manner.

Diasporans do not take kindly to the MDC co Home Affairs Minister and the MDC Prime Ministered government allowing itself to be compromised by being made accessories to the prosecution and persecution its core supporters and seemingly doing nothing to distance itself from the abhorrent actions than claim that the union is working well only to announce partial disengagements and re-engagements all in one breath.

For diasporans the MDC-T in particular appears to have been compromised by its involvement in the coalition government to a point where it has completely lost its head.

They argue that the policy shift and inconsistencies in the party behaviour are indicative of the party’s lack of vision and a workable alternative way of democratizing the country’s governance.

On the contrary Zimbabweans within the country are resolutely behind the same party diasporans view as having sold out to Zanu PF and are urging the MDC-T leadership to hang in the coalition government and slug it out with Zanu PF despite the negatives all appreciate are in place and working against the party.

The reason is not difficult to see as they are weighing the benefits they have derived against the deprivations that are resulting from the resistance in the coalition government and finding them to outweigh the deprivations.

The opposite is exactly true for diasporans whose disadvantages far outweigh benefits derived from the coalition government.

The problem the diasporans face in attempting to address the unpalatable aspects of the coalition government is that they are not well organized and courageous enough to confront the system head on.

Their only hope was to do so through MDC-T which for all intends and purposes appear to have abandoned them and are pursuing agendas the diasporans do not value and or understand.

The MDC-T on its part feels let down by diasporans who do not seem to appreciate what it is doing to consolidate the gains of its electoral victories in March 2008.

The MDC wants to resolve the plight of diasporans and its locally based grassroots via a holistic programme of action that is anchored in the positions it bargained for in the GPA.

Simply put the MDC –T is not unduly concerned with sporadic and uncoordinated criticism from exiled Zimbabweans ahead of the needs of its locally based grassroots supporters.

The belief is that if it addresses the plight of locals the diasporans will find it more lucrative to return home than stay in exile.

The party expects its sympathizers in the diaspora to lead the economic turnaround project by organizing themselves into viable investment syndicates to create employment in their home country but the diasporans many of whom have been abused into menial tasks have no clue what to do to compliment the internal efforts in their home country.

Most want the MDC-T led coalition government to create employment opportunities for them that will guarantee their incomes at the same level they are currently enjoying wherever they are which absolutely stupid.

Diasporans who want to return to their country of origin must take advantage of the low salaries and set up costs currently obtaining to start small enterprises that will create employment and generate wealth for the country rather than expect a bankrupt government creating employment opportunities for them.

Those that lack business acumen and want to be Civil servants must be prepared to drastically lower their salary expectations and use their expertise to facilitate economic turnaround in the country to realise improved incomes.

Emmerson Mnangagwa so little to show for strenuous effort

Emmerson Mnangagwa right and trusted advisor Professor Jonathan Moyo facing uphill task to retain relevance in Zanu PF

Emmerson Mnangagwa’s political life in Zanu PF has been characterised with lethargic failure at the last hurdle in similar fashion to the history of the Zimbabwe men’s National soccer team.

Here is the men that was entrusted with transforming the allegiances of the notoriously Rhodesia Front compromised Central Intelligence Office into the subservient and most dreaded Zanu PF military intelligence unit now masquerading as the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to show how well thought of and trusted he was within Zanu PF at the attainment of Independence from colonial rule.

Even now he still holds the all too powerful position of Minister of Defence in the coalition government the first Ministry Zanu PF declared was to be under the stewardship of a minister nominated by the party.

But it’s not all gold that glitters when it comes to Mnangagwa’s political career in Zanu PF.


One touted the heir apparent to Robert Mugabe as the President of Zanu PF following the elimination of pretenders Edgar Tekere, the late Dr. Edison Zvobgo, Kumbirai Kangai and Dr Simba Makoni due to a combination of alcoholism, exhibited cowardice to challenge Mugabe for the top post in the party, corrupt tendencies and immaturity of all and some of the early favourites.

Mnangagwa enjoyed unrivalled opportunity to succeed Mugabe until a certain motor mouth Professor with an unequalled reputation for political turn coating advised him on how to get there resulting in the still birth of the infamous Thsolotsho declaration.

Mnangagwa must rue the day he ever trusted Professor Jonathan Moyo as his political misfortunes seem to increase whenever he listens to the highly regarded political scientist.

Professor Moyo’s reputation defies all logic like the Dream Team Warriors under Reinard Fabisch who remain highly regarded despite failing to win any trophies and or reaching final stages of any major international competition.

He has been making preposterous postulations about the fortunes of the country’s major political parties and when the outcomes failed to materialize he would not explore why but rather embark on a sycophantic attack of the party leadership that in his opinion failed his wayward postulations.

His return to Zanu PF to advise Mnangagwa on how to position himself as the next Zanu PF President has ended in misery of similar magnitude to Thsolotsho debacle that he had promised to atone for to Mnangagwa.

After the Tsholotsho declaration Mnangagwa who was gunning for the second vice Presidency of the party of geriatrics which he lost to Joice Mujuru was consoled with a demotion to rural Housing Minister by a disappointed Mugabe who does not take kindly to open challenges to his leadership of the party.

Professor Moyo was unceremoniously booted out of the Party and relieved of his all powerful position in government as Minister of Information and Publicity forcing him to revolt and contest elections as an Independent and won leaving Zanu PF with egg all over its face.

Mnangagwa mounted a fervent comeback campaign without the disgraced Professor and managed to piece together his tattered political career through leading the vicious Presidential runoff election campaign with Patrick Chinamasa who was his confidante during the Thsolotsho debacle and had been defeated in Parliamentary elections for Makoni Central by an MDC-T political novice the late John Nyamande who had been exiled in the UK for 7 years before the March 2008 elections.

Mnangagwa was this time handsomely rewarded with promotion to Defence Minister and for his troubles Chinamasa retained the Justice Ministry in the coalition government.

Professor Moyo who had banked on an MDC –T electoral victory to bounce back into the government was left in limbo when the vicious Presidential runoff campaign resulted in a farcical outcome as the MDC-T withdrew leading contender Morgan Tsvangirai from the race at the last minute citing conditions that were not conducive for a credible election that Mnangagwa and Chinamasa aided by the Military Commanders had masterminded.

The promotion gave him traction in the succession battles within Zanu PF and he moved swiftly to take advantage of strained relations between vice President Joice Mujuru and President Mugabe over the failed bid by the latter to extent his Presidential term to 2010 without facing a programmed and Constitutional election contest in 2008.

Suddenly there was buzz that Mnangagwa had reasserted himself as lead contender to succeed Mugabe when he retires as Zanu PF President after the coalition government term elapses within the GPA provisions.

That buzz was supported by the party’s restructuring exercises where party functionaries sympathetic to Mnangagwa seemed to be securing positions ahead of those sympathetic to VP Mujuru whose husband is the unrivalled kingmaker in Zanu PF.

Although this time around like in 2005 there was a contest for the 2nd Vice Presidency of Zanu PPF following the death of VP Joseph Msika, the contest was restricted to former Zapu members in tandem with the coerced 1987unity accord between Zanu PF and PF Zapu that resulted in the party being known as Zanu PF as it is today.

Still Mnangagwa had an opportunity to back a replacement VP who would create space for him to realise his not so transparent ambition to succeed Mugabe.

Mnangagwa like many other seasoned politicians within and outside Zanu PF knew that party Chairman John Nkomo was the most strategically positioned candidate to replace the late Msika and he moved to cement relationships with the Chairman provided the Chairman would also back him up on his preferred to succeed him.

It was all going smoothly until Professor Moyo jumped onto the rollercoaster and strained Mnangagwa’s relationship with Nkomo.

For strategic reasons Nkomo did not signal his displeasure at the Mnangagwa/Moyo alliance but worked behind the scenes to ensure a chairman other than one preferred by Mnangagwa and Moyo would succeed him in the likely event he was nominated for the Vice Presidency of the Party.

It did not make sense that while Mnangagwa was making overtures in support of Nkomo’s Presidency his strongholds of Masvingo and the Midlands Provinces were not openly supporting that bid and were instead rooting for Oppah Muchinguri to oust Joice Mujuru from the Vice Presidency and supporting Nkomo’s competitors for the other Vice Presidency spot reserved for former ZAPU cadres.

When nominations eventually were returned by the provinces it turned out that Mnangagwa and his astute advisor professor Moyo had been routed.

Mugabe whose nomination for the Presidency was forgone given the fear that grips his potential challengers to stand against him within the party was nominated uncontested by the 10 provinces and is duly elected and just awaiting ratification of party congress in December.

Joice Mujuru was nominated by 8 of the 10 provinces while Muchinguri got the support of one province Masvingo and the remaining province, Midlands played the wait and see game before announcing whom it would back between Mujuru and Muchinguri for VP as well as the John Nkomo, and Didymus Mutasa contest for the other vacant VP position.

In the aftermath of the returns from other provinces it is unlikely the Midlands will want to swim against the tide and even if it did Mnangagwa and his advisors have the onerous task of changing attitudes between now and the mid December congress of the party for them to secure the election of the nominees put by Masvingo, Midlands and Manicaland provinces out of the 10 provinces.

It does not help matters that the three opposing provinces are not backing the same candidates and will need to converge on a single candidate first before going out to seek protest votes from provinces supporting the leading contestants if at all they will not be forced to withdraw the nominations before the congress convenes.

It may not explode right away but Mnangagwa must be seething with anger at the curse to his political career of associating with Professor Jonathan Moyo.

Rumours that Professor Moyo has been earmarked for the powerful position of National Commissar may also fail to materialize if Nkomo and Mujuru team up against Mnangagwa and vent their anger on Moyo who is not a favourite of the likely VP’s.

Mnangagwa must know that what goes around comes around or as it is more succinctly put in Shona “Chisi hachiyeri musi wacharimwa.”

Those dreadful acts he led and coordinated in the vicious Presidential runoff election for the sole purpose of ingratiating himself with Mugabe are going to be negatively rewarded by the very party he worked so hard to sustain but using uncouth methods.

Prime Minister Right Honourable Tsvangirai on outstanding GPA issues

Right Honourable Morgan Tsvangirai the Zimbabwe Premier explains the MDC's position in respect of the GPA issues

Prime Minister Tsvangirai: "We are working as an inclusive Government. It must reflect both in our character and in our communication."


Clearing the deck
The Head of Government, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (PM) speaks in detail to the PM Newsletter about last week's SADC Troika Summit in Maputo, Mozambique and the 30-day ultimatum set for the fulfilment of all outstanding issues.

Q: Prime Minister, you have been telling readers that you expect this Government to work but there have been some problems. Can you highlight the current status of the administration?

PM: The main hallmark of the crisis in Government came about as a result of the disengagement by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) from any executive forum with ZANU PF.

This was precipitated not by an individual but by accumulation of frustrations over the last nine months especially with regards to the fulfilment of the SADC Communiqué of 27 January and the Global Political Agreement (GPA). But to emphasize that, it was exacerbated by the violence against our members, the combination of abductions, arrest of Roy Bennett and of civil society activists, so we felt very strongly that we had to draw the line.

Over the last nine months we had been concentrating on Government delivery rather than on ensuring that the conditions of the letter and spirit of the GPA were fulfilled. The Troika Ministerial mission then came to Zimbabwe following our disengagement, interviewed various political actors in the country and produced a report which was subject for consideration by the extra-ordinary summit of the Troika in Maputo.

Fundamentally the conclusion of the Troika's report was that whilst Government seems to have made progress on a number of key areas of delivery, the GPA had a lot of things that had not been implemented. Of course in response Mr Mugabe said that his party felt that they were the only side that was giving so much and unless there is reciprocity on the question of restrictive measures they cannot do anything further.

We as the MDC believed that the issue was about implementation and not negotiation.

If the process has to gather momentum they must start from the basis that all the conditions of the GPA are fulfilled and of course the (Arthur) Mutambara group had to play in between and suggested that all grievances have to be resolved to the benefit of all the parties.

Q: We are talking to you after the SADC Troika summit, would you kindly unpack the Communiqué for the benefit of the readers? What does it mean?
PM: What SADC resolved was that first and foremost if we have to resolve these issues there must not be any precondition for the resolution of the outstanding issues and for re-engagement.

That's why we announced that we were suspending our disengagement to allow the SADC resolution to be tested and the issues resolved. I think it's important that having lived in the inclusive Government for nine months we can as well be patient for 30 days to ensure that all these issues are resolved once and for all.

The preoccupation of the MDC is to ensure that the concept of the inclusive Government is strengthened rather than undermined. As far as we are concerned we are giving the SADC resolution a chance to resolve the issues in the 30 day period so that we concentrate on the Government Work Programme.
Q: There is scepticism that your partners ZANU PF might take longer than 30 days to resolve these issues. How practical is this time frame given that it has already taken a year to fully implement the GPA?
PM: It's not up to MDC or ZANU PF to choose what to do.

The parties have been tasked by the resolution that in the first fifteen days they have to sit down and go through everything that is affecting the smooth running of the inclusive Government including the outstanding issues.

So it's not by choice. It's by the resolution of SADC that both parties are bound by that resolution to ensure that they fulfil that resolution.

After 15 days the facilitator (The Republic of South Africa) will come and evaluate what has been implemented, what has been agreed and what has not been agreed. Surely I think that both MDC and ZANU PF do not want to find themselves wanting after 15 days to say that nothing has happened. It will be an insult to SADC and their own commitment as parties.
Q: What next if the Troika resolution is ignored and the SADC timeframe lapses without any concrete action?
PM: There is always an option. If the MDC is not happy and if there is no fulfillment of the GPA in 30 days, nothing will stop us calling for an extra-ordinary summit of SADC which I think will be foolhardy for anyone to call for an extra ordinary summit when we have an opportunity of resolving all these issues in 30 days.
Q: Since the SADC meeting, have you talked to Mr Mugabe, informally or otherwise? Has there been any movement?
PM: Not yet for the simple reason that Mr Mugabe left Maputo for Egypt and I have only been back in the office today. So we hope that at the earliest opportunity we will meet, perhaps in the first session of Cabinet this week.
Q: Do you think the unavailability of Mr Mugabe could cause delays in meeting the 15 day deadline set by SADC?
PM: No, it doesn't stop the process. The parties to the Agreement are supposed to meet this week. They do not need the Principals to direct them. They sit on their own and hammer out the issues.
Q: The current stand-off seems to contradict your previous description of your working relationship with Mr Mugabe as ‘cordial'. How would you describe your working relationship now?
PM: I'm sure that Mr Mugabe will say we have a working relationship. But if it is a working relationship that works to the advantage of one party against the other, it's no longer mutual.

The gap in the implementation of the spirit and letter of the GPA tells it all. Of course you can sit down and talk, but talking is cheap until you are able deliver and it is delivery that has affected the relationship.
Q: Do you think it's enough for you and Mr Mugabe to enjoy a cordial working relationship when supporters on the ground are still fighting?
PM: This is the paradox we have to deal with. Various layers of our political parties must appreciate that we are in a new political dispensation. It's no use to retreat into your compartment and have the same combative attitude towards other parties.

We are working as an inclusive Government. It must reflect both in our character and in our communication. That's why my biggest disappointment with the state media in which they are actually on a super drive to apportion blame and success.

That's not how the inclusive Government should communicate. The inclusive Government must reflect that inclusivity that there are parties working to contribute to the success of the administration. It's very unfortunate that this should continue to be reflected in the state media.
Q: Media space has not opened up since the formation of the transitional Government. What happened to the ZMC, which we hear you agreed on the candidates long back?
PM: We have agreed on the composition of the Zimbabwe Media Commission, the chairperson and deputy, what is only left is to announce the commissioners. We want to ensure that all these commissions are announced in time so that they can do their work.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission interviews were carried out and we have to agree on the appointments. Once these commissions have been appointed they can start working including of course open up the media space.
Q: Still on the public media, they have identified sanctions and pirate radio stations, parallel government as some of the issues you have to deal with? And there are claims that you told a European Union delegation that came to Zimbabwe not to remove sanctions?
PM: I can't respond to the state media's obsession with sanctions because I'm sure that anyone who was in Maputo will tell you that there were various issues around the lack of implementation of the GPA and of course restrictive measures was part of that discussion.

But I must underline that Morgan Tsvangirai is not personally accountable neither is the MDC as a party accountable for the removal of sanctions. This issue in terms of the GPA is a collective responsibility. Zimbabwe's isolation is a collective responsibility.

It should not be apportioned to any particular party, let us approach it from that angle.

The other thing on radio stations is that once the ZMC is in place you make the parallel market irrelevant.

On the EU delegation, that's an obsession, a pre-occupation that the state media has. The problem with propaganda is that you say it so often and you end up believing it yourself.

And that's what they are doing. They have said so many lies that even those who write it do not believe what they are writing about so who am I to give them credibility.

It's just a figment of their imagination.
Q: There seems to be continued disregard for the rule of law especially in the farming community by senior security personnel, what is your take on that?
PM: These are the issues that are all subject to us looking at them in terms of the GPA.

The rule of law issue is a very important aspect of the Agreement. Let the parties deal with it.

We want a framework, a timeline to deal with all issues and you cannot be selective and say this issue is more important than all the other issues.

All issues are as equally important as those that are contained in the GPA to create the necessary peace and stability.
Q: To what extent is the current stand off as well as the renewed cases of violence and hostility affecting your efforts to deliver?
PM: As long as there is instability, as long as there is violence against Zimbabweans, it affects the credibility of this inclusive Government.

We cannot be held accountable for the actions of national institutions when they become errant.

We have to rein in on those errant individuals who are acting outside the law. It affects our credibility, it affects the confidence, nationally and internationally as an inclusive Government. It affects our credibility as leaders.
Q: You have been heading the Government since February, can you describe how it has been for Zimbabwe since you started heading the Government? What major achievements have you made?
PM: Well, I cannot blow my own trumpet. Ask Zimbabweans, surely there is ample proof that they would like to see this Government continue to deliver to their needs.

I'm sure there is positive reception as to the actions taken by the inclusive Government. I can assure you that the majority of Zimbabweans are having much better lives than they were ten months ago.
Q: What have you not achieved that you would have wanted to achieve by now?
PM: I'm disappointed at the slow pace of implementation of the GPA and evidence on our actions demonstrates that. We cannot continue to procrastinate on these issues, it just becomes frustrating.

We do not want to become frustrated on things that we have agreed.

Let us be frustrated by things that are out of our control but we cannot make complaints about things within our control.
Q: There seems to be uncertainty partly because of the problems in the transitional Government, what would you say to assure the business community and the generality of Zimbabweans?
PM: The worst thing you can ever have in a country is lack of hope.

The decision by the MDC to disengage was to deal with these issues and the re-engagement creates the necessary hope and confidence that will allow business to look forward. What I can say is that this process has to be consolidated.

We remove all doubt, we create conditions for business confidence and international investment and anything that undermines that drive is against the interests of Zimbabweans. So to me taking the people's interests first means that we have to deal with these outstanding issues so that people cannot raise doubt about the commitment of the inclusive Government to the rule of law, democracy, progress and security of persons.
Q: Prime Minister Tsvangirai, has anyone come to you, ordinary people or business people, to say we are concerned with what is happening and have you given them any assurances?
PM: Yes, yes, I've had so many meetings with civil society, the business community and so many ordinary Zimbabweans.

I've even had personal calls and the outcry is todzekerazve here kuya, zvauyazve here zvakare. That has been the greatest concern.

I have told them that the action that we took as MDC was to clear the deck so that when we take off we do not raise doubt. When people want to put their money in this country they must be assured that this process is strong, irreversible and that is able to create the confidence that is necessary. The better we do it now than to do it two years down the line.

John Nyamande laid to rest

The late Makoni Central MP John Nyamande has been laid to rest in his rural Rusape home area.

The funeral was attended by the entire MDC leadership and thousands of shocked mourners following the sudden death of the legislator in a horrific car crash at the 25 kilometer peg along the Harare Mutare road at approximately 2am on Saturday 7 November 2009.

Prime Minister Right Honourable Morgan Tsvangirai used the occasion of the funeral of the MP they adoringly referred to as the Giant slayer after he defeated Patrick Chinamasa in the March Parliamentary elections to appeal to the nation for peaceful co-existence between people of divergent and sometimes opposing political views.

Patrick Chinamasa who was defeated by the late Nyamande attended the funeral to pay his last respects for the departed MP who was his cousin.

President Mugabe and Deputy Premier Mutambara were conspicuous by their absence from the funeral of a colleague in parliament.

Only last week the state owned Herald newspaper and usual Zanu PF propagandists were making nauseating noises about the Premier having failed to attend the funeral of Zanu PF Senator Chando whom the party declared its national hero but they are muted about the non attendance of the President to a sitting MP’s funeral.

When next they declare another party hero a national hero they should not be surprised if MDC MPS and the Premier do not turn up because that is the relationship they are promoting by not even sending condolences or attending funerals of non Zanu PF MP’s and senior officials.

Hon Nyamande was as much an MDC hero and freedom fighter as Senator Chando was a Zanu PF hero and freedom fighter and the mere fact that Zanu PF has built a shrine where it buries its eminent heroes that the MDC has not managed to build does not change that.


And here is the rest of it.

Welshman Ncube and the semantics of outstanding GPA issues

Hatirebwi Nathaniel Masikati

Jomic Co-Chairman Professor Welshman Ncube obsessed with the trivia and delussional over the GPA outstanding issues.


Jomic co-chairman from the MDC-M Professor Welshman Ncube would like us to believe that there are no longer any outstanding issues concerned with the GPA.
“Everything in the GPA has been talked about at different levels and at different platforms. It therefore does not make sense for people to say there are outstanding issues in the agreement.

People need to understand the terminology. The fact that there are disagreements or that the other part maybe slow in the implementation does not make an issue outstanding.

What remains of the GPA is the full implementation and Jomic is there to deal with all the problematic areas of the agreement which is exactly what we are doing,” he reportedly told one pro Zanu PF website recently.

Prof Ncube may not now it but he has a very bad reputation as an arrogant and holier than thou political tribalist with very limited constituent support let alone national support.

That is why he was resoundingly defeated by MDC-T vice President now Deputy Premier Thokozani Khupe in the March 2008 elections.

He is reported to have specifically demanded to contest Khupe specifically to show MDC-T President and current Premier Morgan Tsvangirai that he had remained with the chuff of the Matabeleland following the 12 October 2005 split of the Party that he masterminded.

He was humiliated and has never forgiven MDC-T for that.

That is why he is going at a tangent by alleging there are no GPA outstanding issues but rather disagreements emanating from the GPA that remain to be sorted out.

The GPA was signed and sealed on 15 September 2008 and thus became the benchmark upon which the formation of the inclusive government and its achievements or failures will be measured and evaluated.

When reference is made to outstanding GPA issues it is in respect of the clauses in the agreement that have still to be implemented.

Professor Ncube must surely understand that there is no difference between what he calls “disagreements or that the other part maybe slow in the implementation” and what the entire nation regards as outstanding issues from the GPA.

It is sad when a person occupying such a senior position in Jomic as does Prof Ncube resorts to lecturing the nation on trivia of semantics instead of dealing with the real issues that Jomic was established to monitor.

The GPA is a signed political agreement between Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC political Parties wherein they agreed to form a coalition government in place of the one that could not be formed following the March 2008 elections due to interventions that have been dealt with sufficiently enough to make them common cause and thus not form the basis of this piece.

In agreeing to form the coalition government the GPA subscribers made certain specific undertakings to the nation on what the coalition government was to do in order to restore the supremacy of the electorate in determining who should or should not be in government.

It is no exaggeration to say that the GPA was breached on the very date it was signed when President Mugabe deliberately failed and or refused swear in the Premier and his deputies there and then to formalise the start of the formation of the coalition government.

Because of that refusal or failure, action to form the coalition government was stalled until 11 February 2009 and this only because SADC had decreed a timeline for the subscribers to follow if they expected its support.

Outstanding issue the unilateral appointment of Dr Gono
Even then the formation process was not completed and remains incomplete to date with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture nominee still to be sworn into office and the Provincial governors and positions of Reserve Bank Governor and Attorney General still to be filled by the coalition government as agreed in the GPA and at the subsequent SADC summit on 26-27 January 2009.

Professor Welshman Ncube says there are disputes over these issues in the formation of the coalition government that Jomic is dealing with but that does not make them outstanding GPA issues which does not make sense.

For the ordinary Zimbabwean whose vote counted for nothing in the formation of the current government the question is was there agreement between MDC-T, MDC and Zanu PF to form a coalition government in which each party would nominate a certain number of Ministers and Deputies for appointment as such by the President and if so was that done to the letter of the agreement or as alternatively renegotiated and agreed upon by the GPA subscribers?

Obviously if the answer is yes then the issue has been resolved but if the answer is to the contrary then the issue remains outstanding. It is that simple really but Prof Ncube wants us to believe that if any of the issues has not been implemented because of a later day dispute among the GPA subscribers then that issue is not outstanding but as he puts it issues of “disagreements or that the other part maybe slow in the implementation,” whatever that means.

Going by Professor Ncube’s warped reasoning an issue becomes outstanding in the GPA if it has not been included in the agreement but not if it has been included but never implemented which is outrageous.

The GPA was not signed to be archived but to guide the implementation process of the coalition government formation and its resolution of issues that failed the formation of a government following the March 2008 elections.

In that respect therefore there are several issues that remain for the subscribers to the GPA to attend to and ensure they have been implemented as agreed by the parties.

In the GPA it was agreed that parties would form a coalition government that would work towards achieving economic stabilization and turnaround, national healing and reconciliation, the democratization of the country’s political processes and facilitation of humanitarian aid and access thereof.

To achieve these broad objectives the coalition government agreed to take certain specific actions which actions have been in some instances varied and or neglected altogether making them outstanding from the GPA.

We have in mind the swearing in of Ministers and their deputies that was agreed to be completed by 13 February 2009 but is yet to be completed.

The review of appointments of Provincial Governors, the Reserve Bank Governor, the Attorney General and other Senior Government officers such as Ambassadors by the coalition government which is yet to be realised.

Chief Persecutor Johaness Tomana Zanu PF AG
The cessation of politically motivated hostilities, land invasions, selective application of laws, retraining of law enforcement agencies and restoration of political freedoms including the freeing of airwaves, appointment of the Parliamentary Standing Rules and orders Committee, the Electoral, the Anticorruption, the Media Commission and the Human Rights commissions.

Surely Professor Ncube would be in the know of what has happened to these agreements and why some have yet to be realised.

In addition to that we ask Prof Ncube what has happened to the National healing and reconciliation process and who has been healed or reconciled by it?

Why is the State media still preaching hate against the MDC-T and why are only MDC-T activists and MP’s being arrested, prosecuted and acquitted of the charges if the charges are substantive?

Why is the Constitution making process behind the agreed schedule and what is Jomic doing to ensure this extremely important issue does not lapse into the category of outstanding issues?
Brigadier Mujaji leading later day farm invasions and evictions despite the signing of the GPA

Why are farmers being evicted from their farms and sentenced to prison terms for refusing to vacate their premises?

Why is the MDC-T being asked to cause the lifting of targeted sanctions when it was a tripartite agreement to work towards the upliftment of those measures and to what extent has the other parties complied with the reasons that caused the imposition of the sanctions other than mere grandstanding and verbal condemnation of the measures?

We must also ask Professor Ncube why the so called pirate radio stations are the responsibility of the MDC-T alone to shut down when Zanu PF and MDC-M are using the same stations in equal measure by granting them interviews to spread their messages while the MDC-T is not allowed space in National broadcasting media to air its views at the same level as Zanu PF is if at all.

We do not expect Prof Ncube to compel respect for the Premier but he must be honest when it comes to the disrespect he has been accorded by the Zanu PF MPs, the Military Commanders and the President. What is Jomic’s position with regard to the behaviour of the military chiefs in refusing to salute and even meet with the Premier in the National Security Council?

And more what has the Jomic co-chairman to say about the statements from Didymus Mutasa, Bright Matonga, and Ephraim Masawi and Webster Shamu alleging that the Premier and his party a harlots in the Zanu PF government that is mistakenly referred to as the government of national unity?

As co-chairman of the body tasked to monitor compliance with the spirit and letter of the GPA during implementation what is Prof Ncube’s take on these inconsistencies. Are they disputed issues or outstanding compliance issues?

There must be some rational explanation for all these inconsistencies with what was agreed that Prof Ncube as the Jomic co-chair must give to the nation other than that they are simply in dispute among the subscribers.

Why should they be in dispute at implementation when they were not in dispute at the negotiation table and were agreed upon and signed for by all subscribers?

Now we hear that the MDC-T is being accused of setting up parallel government structures in the Premier’s office with workers therein being paid more than any other Civil Servant yet their salaries must be coming from the Salary Service Bureau that pays all Civil Servants.

Who is authorizing the higher pay rates for these Civil Servants in the Premier’s Office and by what authority is he doing that?

Professor Ncube must know that Jomic is there to deal with deviations from the GPA and the fact that there is disagreement with what the parties agreed is an indicator of what is outstanding or not.

John Nyamande the MDC-T MP for Makoni Central is no more.

The late John Nyamande MP (Makoni Central)


He died this morning in a car crash with a stationery Mazda T 35 vehicle opposite Thornicroft Primary School just after Ruwa towards Mutare.
MDC officials are at the scene of the crash to salvage the former legislator’s vehicle and possessions.

The T35 has already been removed and the driver of the truck who survived the crash has been taken to Parirenyatwa hospital for treatment.
The accident occurred at approximately 2.00 am as the legislator was driving back to his constituency.

The late Nyamande defeated Zanu PF’s Patrick Chinamasa in the March 2008 elections to secure the Makoni Central Party seat for the MDC-T.

He will remembered in the UK for the sterling work he did as Interim Provincial chairman following the dissolution of the Tapa led UK&I provincial executive that had become errand and insubordinate to the National Executive Council and the Party’s National leadership.

Our condolences and deep sympathy go to the widow and children of the late MP who are still in the UK.

SADC Troika corners Mugabe over Roy Bennett, Johannes Tomana and Gideon Gono

Get back to serious business and resolve the outstanding issues to unshackle sanctions

The Sadc Troika summit meeting in Maputo on 5 November 2009 has left President Mugabe in a sticky spot over breaches of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

It is evident that the evasive tactics Zanu PF and President Mugabe have employed to evade accountability on unfulfilled GPA issues came to nothing at the Maputo meeting despite the elaborate planning that the party had done to dupe the Troika.

It is no exaggeration that President Mugabe was literally frog marched to the SADC meeting he had tried to avert by the decision of the MDC-T to partially disengage from the coalition government in protest to delays in implementing certain clauses of the GPA that aid weight to its effectiveness in the government.

President Mugabe and Zanu PF were effectively employing the, agree and do nothing else tactic, to avoid a walkout from the coalition by the MDC-T while denying the party any space to play a meaningful role in shaping government policies.

Going into the Troika meeting President Mugabe and Zanu PF had prepared to mislead the Sadc Troika into believing that the coalition government was well on course in implementing the GPA provisions and there was no need for the regional bloc to worry.
To back that up he had evidence of a government he had formed as directed by the Sadc summit of 26-27 January 2009.

In addition to that he had evidence that Constitutional Amendment No 19 was passed unanimously as directed by Sadc and government Ministries were shared as endorsed by Sadc and operational.

More, he had evidence that the coalition government principals had agreed in principle on the allocation of Provincial Governors, constituted the Parliamentary Standing Rules and Orders Committee which in turn had constituted the Constitution Making Sub-Committee and had already interviewed and recommended candidates for Appointment to the Electoral Commission, the Human rights Commission and the Media Commission and was just left with interviews for the Anticorruption Commission.

Despite all this President Mugabe and Zanu PF were disappointed that the travel sanctions imposed on Zanu PF members of the coalition government remained in place as if nothing had happened and pirate radio stations based in America and Britain were still broadcasting into the country illegally and the MDC-T in particular was hesitant or unwilling to forcefully speak out against these sanctions and illegal acts despite agreeing to campaign against these violations.

The Troika accepted all these impressive signs of progress in the coalition government and recorded its pleasure with the positives and displeasure with the continued sanctions on Zimbabwe.

In the past that would buy Mugabe and his Zanu PF the time he needed to delay ceding power he had agreed to cede to coalition partners and allow him and his party to act as they pleased as if they never signed agreements with the coalition government partners to share power.

Not this time though. Sadc wanted to know to what extent its January resolutions had been fully implemented by the Zimbabwe government.

It turned out that despite claims to the contrary President Mugabe had refused to comply with the requirement to swear an MDC-T nominee for Deputy Minister and thus failed to fully implement resolution 7 (iii) of the Sadc summit of 26-27 January 2009 and they wanted that complied with to the letter.

President Mugabe’s explanation for non compliance that the nominee he did not swear in was facing serious criminal allegations was rubbished by the Troika which insisted that it was not in the spirit and letter of the GPA and in any event the accused was yet to be tried and convicted or exonerated of the alleged criminal offences and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

It was in that sense that the Troika ordered the coalition government principals to go back home and comply with its resolution No 7 (iii) on 26-27 January 2009 which states that;

“The Ministers and Deputy Ministers shall be sworn in by 13 February 2009, which will conclude the formation of the Inclusive Government.”

It was made clear that as long as one or more nominees remain excluded from the swearing into the coalition government then formation of the Inclusive Government was still an outstanding issue that the principals must address as directed by Sadc and this time within 15 days and no later than after 30 days.

Mugabe’s eyes nearly popped out with rage at this directive because he had no intention of swearing in Roy Bennett as Deputy Minister of Agriculture for which he was nominated by the MDC-T. Now he has 30 days to comply or face the wrath of Sadc and he is not amused with that.

Next SADC wanted to know what has become of its resolution No 7 (VI) in the same January meeting that reads;

“The appointment of the Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney General will be dealt with by the Inclusive government after its formation.”

President Mugabe explained that the positions had been filled prior to the formation of the Inclusive Government and the contracts of the incumbents could not be terminated without the government incurring substantial damages and in any event the incumbents were the best qualified for the jobs and therefore there was no need for the Inclusive government to revisit the appointments of the incumbents.

The Troika reminded President Mugabe that the Inclusive government he now leads has every right to appoint the persons it feels are best qualified and competent to run these key positions but is not obliged to work with appointees of a previous regime unless there is consensus about their suitability to work in the new order.

No prize for guessing President Mugabe’s response to that but at the end of the day he was given no more that 30 days in which to comply with Sadc resolution No 7(vi) in letter and spirit and he was not amused.

The Troika tightened screws on President Mugabe by demanding to know why the agreements reached by the Principals were not being transformed into action in respect of appointments of Provincial Governors, Ambassadors, Commissioners yet Permanent Secretaries who outnumber these appointments were confirmed with minimum farce?

His frivolous and vexatious excuses that he was busy and still scrutinizing the recommendations were dismissed by the Troika and he once again was directed to ensure these and any other outstanding issues stemming from the GPA that were out of implementation times set were swiftly brought up to date and certainly no later than 30 days after the Troika meeting.

In light of these developments the MDC-T was ordered to rescind its decision to partially boycott the Inclusive government and duly complied on condition Zanu PF lived by the Sadc orders on outstanding implementation issues within the prescribed period.

The troika obliged by appointing South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma to closely monitor the progress in the Inclusive Government and make recommendations to it to expedite the implementation processes.

That is the fix Zanu PF and Mugabe is now in which it must shrug off somehow if it is to remain in breach as it intended to perpetually be.

It is not going to be as easy as it was before the Troika meeting and now the MDC-T has set the agenda for implementation of the GPA clauses in ways President Mugabe and his party had always sought to dominate the Inclusive government processes.

Demystifying the SADC mediation process in Zimbabwe

They can't agree on critical issues these coalition government principals in zimbabwe now they have to appear before a reinforced SADC Troika for panelbeating


There is apparent confusion and or genuine misunderstanding in Zimbabwe in respect of the role the regional bloc should execute its influence in Zimbabwe.

Basically Sadc is a political and economic cooperation union of Southern African countries that aims at promoting Social, political and economic cooperation in the region.

To do so Sadc uses persuasion and conciliation as opposed to physical cohesion to ensure its members live within acceptable norms.

The Sadc Supreme Council which equates to the Non Executive Board of Directors in a company comprises of Heads of State of member States and like in companies its sole responsibility is to give directions on any areas of interest between member states.

The day to day execution of the policies and procedures of the SADC are the responsibility of the Secretariat headed by Dr Tomaz Augusto Salomão which is the current Secretary General a position with similar powers to those carried by the position of Chief Executive in a company.

The Chairmanship of the SADC supreme council rotates among the various Heads of State every six months.

The Chairman has no extraordinary executive powers to compel any member state to behave as he deems fit from his interpretation of Sadc protocols but he holds immense powers of persuasion in that he uses the grouping to threaten punitive measures against errand member states.

That is why Sadc guaranteed the Zimbabwe GPA. It relies on power of the consensus in the grouping to bear on any errand member state and modify behaviours.

Sadc like any other company is divided into strategic business units the most commonly known of which is the organ on politics, Defence and Politics which is commonly referred to as the Sadc Troika.

The dispute in Zimbabwe has been escalated to the SADC executive for mediation. It is a reference of the dispute to Dr Tomaz Augusto Salomão’s team and he has decided that the best way to deal with the grievances before him is to table them before the Troika.

Zambia Mozambique and Swaziland are the current members of the Troika and have been invited to deal with the Zimbabwe disputes in Maputo starting Friday 6 November 2009.

Since Sadc has no military unit to force its members to comply with agreements when disputes arise in member States in areas where Sadc is directly involved as is the case with the Zimbabwe GPA, the grouping taps into its strategic business units to cobble out an acceptable resolution for the challenges brought before it.

Zimbabweans expect SADC to decree certain courses of action to resolve the Zimbabwe impasse but if that was to happen, it would need a force to enforce compliance which SADC does not have at present.

At best what can be expected from the planned Sadc Troika meeting in Maputo is persuasion of President Mugabe to implement forthwith the agreements so far reached by the coalition government principals and that includes the swearing in of Roy Bennett, The appointment of Provincial Governors in the ratio MDC-T 5 Zanu PF 4 and MDC-MM 1, The appointment of recommended Human Rights, Media and Electoral commissioners, the reversal of Dr Gono and Johannes Tomana’s appointments and or the renegotiation of their appointment to find a consensus.

The MDC-T in particular will most likely be compelled to take a leading role in campaigning for the lifting of travel bans imposed on Zanu PF members of the coalition government.

The MDC-T has no problem with doing that if Zanu PF shows total commitment to the GPA by reining in its errant hardliners and it ceases all forms of hostilities they are currently directing towards MDC members and sympathizers alike.

Because of the seriousness of the threat to the continuation of the Zimbabwe coalition government the SADC secretary general has considered it expedient at this juncture to bolster the Troika with the inclusion of the current Sadc Chairman DRC President Joseph Kabila and immediate past chairman South Africa President Jacob Zuma.

Dr Tomaz Augusto Salomão appears to have received intelligence that this meeting will be no stroll in the park for the Troika and wants to ensure success at the first attempt by bringing in top guns Zuma and Kabila whom both President Mugabe and Premier Tsvangirai know they must respect if they are to get their way in Sadc should the issues remain unresolved and are to be escalated to the SADC supreme body.

What this means is that the long awaited mediation of the Zimbabwe GPA problems by Sadc as guarantour of first instance, has started in earnest following the threat posed by the MDC-T disengagement that has been in force over the past 3 weeks.

This preliminary stage will be crucial in managing tension and conflict within the tottering Zimbabwe government and who knows with the inclusion of the top guns invited to the Troika may surprise the nation by finding an amicable resolution of the thorny issues that have dragged for 9 months after the consummation of the government.

The acquittal of the Chinotimba mobile thief Thamsanga Mahlangu

Deputy Minister of youth Development Hon Thamsanga Mahlangu. He is no Cellphone thief after all the court has ruled.

From the arrest and labeling of Premier Tsvangirai to Mahlangu it is all political-judicial persecution of political foes sanctioned by the octogenarian Sadc imposed on our country as President after he was vanquished in the March 2008 Presidential elections he staged and managed singlehandedly.

Premier Morgan Tsvangirai defeated Robert Mugabe in the March 2008 Presidential election and Mugabe has in his cynical ways admitted to that effect now that his tail is up after SADC aided him in restoring his legitimacy as President.

When negotiations for power sharing were stalling over Zanu PF hard-liners’ accusations that he had away too much power to the Premier the Sadc imposed President of Zimbabwe rebuked his critics by reminding them that Zanu PF lost elections to the MDC-T and was in a negotiating position only because of his initiative to reclaim the Presidency he had lost militantly.

Not a single one of the internal Zanu PF critics of the iron fisted party leader ever summoned the courage to respond to that admission because they knew that he their criticism had irked their “Supreme Leader” as they now regard him in Zanu PF.

They kept silent because they knew that Mugabe had told them that he did not need the election losers in his party ranks telling him what to do and what not to do as he had better reliable and more effective advisors from the military establishment that had guaranteed his retention of his Presidential Office even after admitting losing elections for the post to Morgan Tsvangirai by a massive 5% points in March 2008.

Instead the humiliated critics vented their bottled anger and desperation against the MDC-T in a desperate attempt to redeem themselves before their Supreme leader.

The Junta axis involving Didymus Mutasa, Patrick Chinamasa, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Nicholas Goche, Saviour Kasukuwere, George Charamba, Gideon Gono and the Military Commanders that Mugabe relies on for power retention strategies devised the judicial persecution strategy aimed at manufacturing crimes of insurgency, banditry and anything that would put the MDC-T and its Civil Society allies leadership into disrepute to strengthen Mugabe’s hand in the coalition government.

The most priced victims of that dirty political initiative were identified as the MDC-T Party President, elected MDC-T Legislators, Top MDC-T Activists, Advisors and Administrators.

Treason charges against MDC-T Secretary General Hon Tendai Biti now the coalition government’s Finance Minister were dropped while impending violent conduct trial of Advocate Eric Matinenga now Legal and Constitutional Affairs Minister was downgraded to a sideshow in order to facilitate the formation of the coalition government that was being stalled by these arrests and abductions of other MDC-T and sympathetic Civil Society activists.

The strategy was to create false confidence within the MDC that Zanu PF had succumbed and was willing to relinquish its hegemony on power over three decades when in effect the strategy was to allow MDC-T to recall its key functionaries strategically located outside the country who were keeping the international community appraised about developments in the country and ensuring the country remained a top agenda for discussion at every material international gathering.

Once inside the country the top externally based activists and MDC-T party functionaries would be easier to manage through the judicial persecution initiative it was reasoned.

That is why Roy Bennett is still facing the banditry and insurgency charges to ensure he does not have a chance in the world to leave the country and initiate programmes that will expose Zanu PF excesses in the coalition government.

Hebson Makuvise who was the Party’s key strategist in Europe has now been recalled and is awaiting posting as Ambassador to Germany but not before he was detained and thoroughly quizzed by State Security Agents for over 48 Hours on his arrival in Zimbabwe to attend the Premier’s inauguration and put under 24/7 surveillance.

One of the reasons why there has been limited movement in the posting of Ambassadors has been to delay Makuvise and other MDC aligned postings in countries that Zanu PF used to mislead through its Ambassadors.

Makuvise nearly missed qualification for consideration as an Ambassador as Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede did everything to frustrate him getting back his Zimbabwean Passport as it had been discovered he had a UK Passport and thus had renounced his Zimbabwean citizenship by taking up dual citizenship.

Intelligence sources with insight to goings on in the Zanu PF wing of the coalition government but discontented with the direction the party wants the country to travel tipped Makuvise of the grand plan to disqualify him from Ambassadorial consideration and he swiftly reclaimed his Zimbabwean citizenship by renouncing the British Citizenship as provided by the Zimbabwe laws.

While he surprised the Registrar and his henchmen with the renunciation papers the Junta axis was thrilled that now they at least could keep Makuvise under leash as any international travel he intended was to be in terms of the Zimbabwe passport which was within their capacity to be withdrawn if need arises for such drastic action.

The same tactic was used to sanction Tsvangirai’s travel plans during negotiations to form the coalition regime and he was put on an emergency travel document plan to restrict him from travelling to Western nations Mugabe and Zanu PF blamed for sponsoring the MDC-T to achieve regime in Zimbabwe.

It was only when Tsvangirai boycotted further discussions with Mugabe and Zanu PF and holed himself in Botswana that SADC intervened and forced the Mugabe fronted Junta to issue the Premier the passport he deserved.

That forced compliance together with other decisions and undertakings by Sadc facilitated the return of Premier Tsvangirai and traction towards implementation of the GPA.

Within Zanu PF though, Tsvangirai was now a highly prized political trophy as they had completed the dossier that was to form the basis of his immediate arrest and detention if ever he and his party opted out of the GPA.

Yet many others in Zanu PF who felt the MDC-T’s entry into government would condemn them to the political dustbin were rooting for an MDC-T refusal to enter the government and create openings or them to be drafted in by President Mugabe.

Both camps were devastated when against all the odds stacked against the MDC-T its National Council resolved to participate in the coalition government.

The Junta strategy could no longer be applied to detain Tsvangirai who was the designated coalition Premier. In like manner the opportunities redundant Zanu PF aspirants were eyeing in government went up in smoke with the MDC-T National Council’s resolution to take up their positions in government.

It was at that juncture that it was resolved to frustrate the MDC-T involvement in government with a concerted judicial persecution initiative which saw over 45 activists and sympathizers abducted and detained incommunicado.

Then the idea was to cause Premier designate Morgan Tsvangirai to re-think his participation in government as he was being personally labeled as treasonous as Jonasi Savimbi,a tag Mutasa and Chinamasa still hold onto despite it having been invalidated by developments that followed the consummation of the government.

MDC-T MP’s were wantonly arrested between September 2008 and March 2009 at the same time Mugabe moved with lightning speed to appoint Provincial Governors, Senators,
The AG and RBZ Governor from within his party ranks to avoid imminent consultations with the Premier that would have been mandatory if appointments were made after affirmation of the Premier.

Little did his advisors realise or more accurately care that the appointments were against the spirit and letter of the GPA that had already been signed and was awaiting implementation.

By making the appointments Mugabe had created a conflict point in relations within the coalition government and the issues are now coming home to roost in the disengagement initiative by the MD-T.

Tendai Biti,(Harare East), Trevor Saruwaka (Mutasa Central), Lynnette Karenyi (Chimanimani West), Shuwa Mudiwa (Mutare West), Meki Makuyana (Chipinge South) and Mathias Mlambo MP for Chipinge East. the party’s treasurer Senator Roy Bennett Roy Bennett, Blessing Chebundo (Kwekwe Central), Eric Matinenga (Buhera North) MP, Reggie Moyo (Luveve ), Thamsanga Mahlangu (Nkulumane) Albert Mhlanga (Pumula) Ghandi Mudzingwa (Premier’s Office), Kisimusi Chris Dhlamini (Director of Security) together with another 40 party activists have been arrested on charges related to violation of National Security, Treason, Banditry, Rape, Electoral Fraud, banditry, insurgency and theft of arms and cell phones.

All the charges are framed by a multidisciplinary crack security team of Central Intelligence, Police and Army intelligence officers.

The team only heeds orders from President Mugabe, Army Commander Constantine Chiwenga, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri and Happyton Bonyongwe the Director of Central Intelligence and Attorney General Johannes Tomana.

That is the reason why all Ministers including Home Affairs Co-Ministers Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutseyekwa are powerless to stop the vindictive actions of this crack team against perceived or real enemies of President Mugabe and Zanu PF.

Most of the cases the team handles are imaginary cases where they have either planted incriminating evidence on a targeted suspect or where Zanu PF has waylaid induced and or provoked its opponents to break the law.

So it was when Deputy Minister Mahlangu was trapped in the theft of a $25.00 Cell Phone from Zanu PF’s notorious commander of farm invasions and questionable War Veteran Joseph Chinotimba.

All the arrests, abductions, incarcerations and judicial persecutions against the MDC-T are nothing more than a well planned Zanu PF political initiative to discredit MDC-T leadership.

It matters not that most cases will fall through on trial in court but in a country where accused persons are generally presumed guilty until proven innocent the intention is clear that the stigma of arrest and humiliation in court appearances will leave lasting aspersions on the minds of the electorate on the caliber of leadership from the MDC-T.

Sadly though the opposite is true in that whichever MDC-T the judiciary persecutes is turned into an overnight hero of the fight for freedom from Zanu PF misrule.

The more the Tomana advised security officers harass the MDC leaders the more faith the electorate has in the victims whom they accept as true liberators without question.

Even where the State secures a conviction on the trumped up charges or on the merits of the cases the generality of the populace remains firmly behind the convicts and or victims.