Indefatigable Zimbabwe Prime Minister setting a blistering pace for his subordinates.Could the hand of God be at play?
The Coalition Government of Zimbabwe has started its second week in office with a bang.
In a direct about turn from the lackadaisical approach that characterised its first week in office the coalition regime appears to have been inspired and energised by the zeal of the Prime Minister during his first week in office.
The initiative is beginning to confirm the belief of the Prime Minister in its...
irreversibility.
Positive and inspiring developments have emerged from the Prime Minister’s Office, Finance, Education, Health and Child Welfare, Information and Publicity and Labour and Social Welfare Ministries.
The first positives emerged jointly from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance when they came good on the promise to pay Civil Servants cash forex allowances to all Civil Servants by the end of February 2009.
Most Zimbabwean Civil servants received their first ever legally earned US$ 100.00 and all of them received the same amount against the pessimistic verdict that was widely passed when the promise was made a week earlier by the prime minister during his inauguration speech.
This was to be followed by the reactivation of trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) albeit in forex. Trading on the ZSE had been suspended for three months after hyperinflation went off radar and the Junta regime had turned a blind eye.
Then there were the exploratory meetings between the PM and all Ministers but mainly with Defence and Security Ministers where they pledged their loyalty and allegiance to the position of Prime Minister and its incumbent as well as committing themselves to upholding the rule of law and promotion of national healing.
Another important benchmark was set when the PM met leadership of the striking Teachers and reached an understanding with them as to what needs to be done for them to return to work.
It appears the Ministers of Health and Information and Publicity did not need the Premier’s assistance as they professionally resolved a year old Health professions strike and convinced participants to return to work while George Charamba aka Nathaniel Manheru was forced to discontinue the notorious Nathaniel Manheru rabble rousing column from the Herald.
The week ended with the Prime Minister and his Finance and Foreign Affairs Ministers in South Africa begging bowl in hand seeking financial assistance for reconstruction of the country’s ravaged economic and social infrastructure.
These positives of the first week of the Coalition Government were trivialised by the continued detention of political activists arrested by the preceding Junta regime and the arrest and detention of designated Deputy Minister of Agriculture Roy Bennett on the day the Coalition cabinet was sworn into office.
Added to that stain was the delayed announcement of provisional Governors at a time when the Cabinet Ministerial contingent was increased by Ministers of State appointed outside the provisions of the GPA and Constitutional Amendment No 19.
Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono activated phase 1 of his power retention strategy in response to the movements in the Ministry of Finance that in his opinion are aimed at undermining his position and authority.
He aimed cheap shots at the Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and chided then to keep their hands off the monetary policy he announced in January lest their politicking cloud business certainty.
It was always coming but Zimbabweans had no kind words for Dr Gono’s public flexing of political muscle they disagree he still wields to the extent he had in the Junta where he was the defacto Prime Minister disguised as Reserve Bank Governor.
The standoff between the Reserve Bank Governor and the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister on the one side dampened any hopes the positive developments the Zimbabweans had witnessed from the Coalition Government as it rekindled memories of the destructive polarised politics that were channelled into the initiative.
The President’s Birthday bash and the MDC 10th anniversary celebrations over the weekend provided the tonic for government to enter the second week of its formation at the encouraging galloping pace witnessed on 23 February 2009.
Government referral hospitals in Harare resumed operations after nurses and doctors, including specialists, returned to work following assurances by the Government that their conditions of service would be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In their own words medical professionals back at work at Parirenyatwa Hospital after several months on strike were quoted by the State media as having stated "We agreed that since the hospital is now getting assistance from well-wishers we can now return to work but others are not coming. Some doctors on call are not turning up when there is an emergency so it is now an individual decision,"
Government announced having struck a deal with teaching professions Trade Unions namely the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) for their members to return to work by March 2 to allow the resumption of normal classes for the 2009 education calendar.
The deal includes that all schools would be fully functional by March 9, teachers who left the service over the past two years are free to resume duties without fear of recrimination, March salaries for teachers would be set through a negotiated process that would aim to match their Zimbabwe Teachers’ salaries with those paid to teachers in the region, the contentious the 2008 educational year would not be revisited and that the 2009 educational year be slightly adjusted in the second and third terms to make up for lost learning time between 13 January and 9 March when schools failed to open due to disputes between the Junta government and Teaching Unions.
It turns out that the Prime Minister did not only secure adequate funding to guarantee payment of forex allowances for Civil Servants in February but has also received pledges of US$100 per month half of which has been earmarked for Civil Servants’ salaries, for the next six months totalling US$600 million from International donor agencies. Sweden's Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Stan Rylander reportedly confirmed the pledge.
"The donor community has pledged US$100 million a month for the next six months, while assessing whether it was viable to assist the inclusive Government with long term development aid," said Rylander.
The PM has reportedly secured the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) commitment to have a regional Finance Ministers meeting within a week to forge a rescue plan for Zimbabwe, from his begging talks in Cape Town with President Kgalema Motlanthe on Friday. No figures have yet been disclosed but the PM presented a US$5billion rescue fund deficit estimate to the South African President.
Not to be outdone in his area of expertise Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono disclosed that on his part he has secured around US$500million credit line for the country from “Cooperating regional and international financiers on the back of his recent fiscal policy liberalization without disclosing the cooperating partners’ identity.
For a one week old government to achieve such phenomenal financing targets for a country that hitherto could not afford to secure any international support and relied on printing money to raise forex is a most encouraging start.
No wonder the Army personnel are reportedly up in arms against their Commanders who are reportedly still undecided on whether or not to back the Coalition Government.
The Central Intelligence Organisation that is usually the first to see the evidence of the pledges has apparently broken ranks with the Junta resistance and its Commander has directed his subordinates to back the Coalition Government.
The problem remains the pockets of resistance led by President Mugabe who can see that power is slipping through their fingers.
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