MDC Government novices must wake up to reality

Attorney General Johannes Tomana with his political ponnies Left Ghandi Mudzingwa and Right Jetina Mukoko

Events unfolding in the coalition government of Zimbabwe seem to suggest that unless something as dramatic as the MDC resolution to pull out its president Morgan Tsvangirai from the 27 June 2008 sham Presidential runoff election, Zimbabweans are poised to endure another 5 years of Mugabe mischief and misrule.

Nothing demonstrates that better than the re-detention of alleged MDC bandits and insurgents who had been... granted bail by the High and or Supreme Courts after enduring several months’ detention incommunicado only to be brought to court after SADC applied intense pressure on Mugabe to clear the detention obstacle that was inhibiting consummation of the agreed coalition government.

After signing the Global Political Agreement (GPA) on 15 September 2008 Mugabe having achieved the SADC regional and AU continental legitimacy that had failed to materialise following his “landslide” victory in the 27 June presidential runoff election Mugabe instructed his staff to neatly shelve the agreement and unsure it remained well dusted and is never brought back into his in-tray.

He had read it thoroughly and memorised it and tasked his hatchet man in Zanu PF to do a thorough job of exploiting every single loophole in the agreement to regroup the scattered party following humiliating losses in all segments of the March harmonised elections.

Basking in the glory of the safety net the congregation of SADC Heads of State had provided for his disputed Presidency of the impoverished country Mugabe assembled a massive 52 member entourage for the UN General Assembly meeting in the USA.

The GPA required of him to formalise the agreed appointment of Morgan Tsvangirai, Arthur Mutambara and Thokozani Khupe as Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers respectively together with two other persons of his choice from Zanu PF as Vice Presidents as a first step in implementing the deal to form a coalition government brokered by SADC.

He left Tsvangirai, Khupe and Mutambara clutching thin air as his two nominees for Vice Presidents were already on the government payroll while the trio were not.

He also left strict instructions with then security Minister Didymus Mutasa to work out a strategy that would ensure that on his return the outstanding issue from the negotiations relating to appointments of Provincial Governors, Permanent Secretaries, Ambassadors and other Senior Civil Servants would be relegated to the periphery of implementation steps for the coalition government.

Mutasa obliged by ensuring that on his return he Mugabe found contracts of employment ready for signature in respect of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono-contract extension by a further 5 years and Attorney General Johannes Tomana’s promotion from Deputy Attorney General .

Not only did Mutasa craft the insidious appointments to provoke anger in the MDC but he also had a strategy to coerce the MDC into positions without meaningful roles by detaining some of the party’s activists over allegations of them having been involved in recruiting and or receiving military training in neighbouring Botswana with the intention to topple the Junta regime that had staged a silent coup after the March harmonised election.

In addition to that Professor Jonathan Moyo had been instructed to ensure the MDC had a handful of worries by filing a petition in the High Court against the election of Lovemore Moyo as Speaker of Parliament.

Tsvangirai himself had been slapped a travel ban by the Junta after it instructed Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede not to renew his used up passport unless he agreed to form the coalition government as a none executive Premier.

The return of Mugabe coincided with the first abductions of MDC and Civil Society Activists as well as the Appointment of Dr Gono and Johannes Tomana and Joice Mujuru and Joseph Msika as RBZ Governor, AG and VP’s respectively.

Mugabe, who by now was working with the patched up Lancaster House Constitution as his bible, and not the GPA, simply refused to swear in the Premier and his deputies arguing that there was no Constitutional provision allowing him to do so.

This was at a critical time when negotiations on allotment of ministries were in progress and Zanu PF wanted all Ministries that would enable it to continue with unchecked impunity if need be.

When the plans failed to coerce the MDC leader agree to the Zanu PF demands and the matter was referred to SADC for mediation, the dossier on Insurgency and Banditry Mutasa and Chinamasa were working on was tabled before SADC as justification for ZANU PF demanding charge of all security related Ministries as well as the Finance portfolio.

Mugabe piled on the pressure by gazetting Ministerial allotments in accordance with Zanu PF demands at a time he was being accused of have unilaterally appointed Gono, Tomana and Provincial Governors from Zanu PF loyalists in contravention of the spirit and letter of the GPA resulting in the dispute being escalated to SADC mediation.

Instead of SADC pushing Mugabe to abide by the terms of the GPA and swear in the Premier and his deputies they were forced to address the Ministry allotment dispute and aided Mugabe‘s breaches to the GPA by approving co-ministering of the Home Affairs.

By ruling in favour of co-ministering of the Home Affairs portfolio SADC as guarantors of the GPA set a dangerous precedent that the 15 September agreement was open to renegotiation and panel beating and thus not binding. The act alone increased Ministers from the 31 agreed upon on 15 September to 33.

If was after that eyebrow raising SADC resolution that Mugabe bragged that even though his Zanu PF party had lost elections it was still in the driving seat of power.

Mugabe had found and exploited a weakness in the MDC fallback position in the GPA guarantor and ruthlessly exploited it leaving the MDC exposed and in doubt of the relevance and impartiality of the guarantor.

The message was clear and loud to the MDC that SADC were not interested in the Party exercising its electoral victory mandate but rather in Mugabe retaining political credibility.
Feeble MDC threats of premature termination of the agreement if its activists were not released unconditionally or brought to court and charged were seen for what they were by the seasoned octogenarian Zanu PF leader.

He simply ordered Mutasa to bring the activists to Court and promised to deal with other outstanding and or complaints by the MDC if the party joined him in government without making unreasonable demands for power they did not wield.

The MDC leader who refused to return home after that decision by SADC and was holed up in Botswana claiming he would not return home because his travel documents had expired was promptly issued a passport and by 11 February had been sworn in as Premier together with his two Deputies.

Two days later Cabinet was sworn in but Mugabe who never misses political opportunities had drafted in an extra six Ministers to his Party’s allotment of 15 in the GPA causing commotion at the swearing in ceremony that was only averted when it was agreed to defer swearing in of the Ministers of State to a later date than that reserved for Cabinet Ministers.

He had got his way once again expanding Ministers from 33 to 51 including Provincial Governorships he had already rewarded loosing party loyalists with.

As if that was not enough a breach of the GPA he ordered the arrest of Roy Bennet who had been persuaded to return from exile in South Africa to take up appointment as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and urged his party loyalists to occupy Commercial farms that had survived the invasions that started in 2000.

The whole strategy was and still is to defer resolution of outstanding key appointments that could result in certain impunity operations by his loyalists suffering and reduce his party reorganisation through government structures that he has been abusing ever since he took over leadership of the country in 1980.

Now certain that the MDC has a mountain to climb if it has any thoughts of quitting the coalition Mugabe has revoked the temporary reprieve he had strategically extended to MDC activists and they are all back behind the bars despite that they had been granted bail after the coalition government was consummated.

The reason is to use the detainees as bargaining chips for concessions on the Senior government appointments still in dispute.

But Mugabe may have chewed more than he can swallow this time around because the decision to re-detain the activists has not gone down well with the coalition partners and Civil Society.

Media practitioners have threatened a boycott of the Media reform strategic review retreat pencilled in for this weekend in Kariba while the MDC has announced it is considering convening an emergency meeting of its powerful National Council to deliberate ramifications of Zanu PF procrastinations and deliberate breaches of the GPA.

It could be the trigger of the collapse of the coalition given the lien that issues in contest may be referred to SADC which will not be expected to yield anything positive other than to comply with terms of the GPA when a party considers a pullout.

Instead of referring the matter to SADC the MDC will achieve much more if they take drastic action similar to the presidential runoff withdrawal of its candidate.

Roy Bennett Must simply report for duty at the ministry of Agriculture and take occupancy of the Deputy minister’s office that is currently vacant and if Mugabe sends his hoodlums to eject him that will reflect badly within SADC and the AU.

Bennett’s appointment was finalised when Constitutional Amendment No 19 became law and any attempt to bar him from executing duties he was appointed by the MDC to perform in the coalition government by anyone is illegal.

This is the executive power Tsvangirai wields but is reluctant to put in practice. Mugabe is utilising his powers in Section 31 of the Lancaster House Constitution without fear albeit illegally as the powers have been restricted by CA NO19.

Information Communication Technology Minister must simply issue directives to Heads of Departments under his Ministry to report all facets of its operations to him as he desires or face disciplinary action if they fail to heed the directive.

Home Affairs Minister Giles Mutsekwa must simply order the arrest of farm invaders wherever they are reported to have invaded and detain them until the Attorney General agrees to bring them to Court to explain their conduct.

This business of wanting to verify the legitimacy or otherwise of a person moving into another’s property which has not been purchased by the State is not the best way of demonstrating power bestowed on his position.

How does a person holding title deeds get arrested and the one with a letter of occupation get away with invading titled property?

When Zanu PF releases the arrested invaders clandestinely the MDC minister must also order clandestine release of the activists from his party in detention.

The ministry of Finance must simply stop payments of Provincial Governors, Tomana and Gono’s salaries and withdraw the perks at their disposal until such time their appointments are regularised.

The same treatment should be extended to the Permanent Secretaries and Ambassadors as well as any appointments the GPA stipulates must be by prior negotiation and agreement between the Presidency and the Premiership.

This business of crying while signing cheques to reward ghost workers must stop.

Where there is agreement that the position must be held by a person mutually appointed by the President and Premier, such person must not be paid if either the president or the Premier disputes the appointment.

Mugabe does not sign salary cheques. It is the treasury and the Public service Commission all under MDC Ministerial supervision that is perpetuating illegal contracts in the Public service.

They must refuse to sign cheques payable to these illegal recipients and let Mugabe sign them if he so wishes.

Until such time MDC Ministers learn to exercise their powers as enshrined in legislation and regulations Mugabe will continue to exploit their ignorance and sooner rather than later they will be villains in the eyes of people that have banked faith in their leadership.

Nothing would please Mugabe and Zanu PF better than that.