President Mugabe and Premier Tsvangirai now actively addressing issues threatening the coalition government
Before the SADC troika met on 5 November and resolved that the subscribers to the Zimbabwe Global Political Agreement must forthwith apply themselves to resolving the outstanding issues that had resulted in the MDC-T resorting to a partial pullout to emphasise the importance of it attached to the resolution of the issues we had been fed a nauseating overdose of Zanu PF mantra to the effect that there are no more outstanding issues to talk about from the implementation of the GPA.But in a short 45 day period after the Mozambique meeting of the SADC Troika...
we now have the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet announcing the appointment of three critical Commissions whose interviews had been concluded in September but outcomes had been kept under wraps in the office of the octogenarian Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.
The GPA principals have agreed on the names of Commissioners to serve on the Human Rights, Media and Independent Electoral Commissions and announced them as follows;
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] 8 Members: Daniel Chigaru, Geoff Feltoe, Theophilus Gambe, Joyce Kazembe, Petty Makoni, Sibongile Ndhlovu, Bessie Nhandara, Mukuni Nyathi
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission [ZHRC] 8 Members: Kwanele Jirira, Carol Khombe, Joseph Kurebwa, Jacob Mudenda, Elasto Mugwadi, Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, Neseni Nomathemba, Ellen Sithole.
Zimbabwe Media Commission [ZMC] Chairperson Godfrey Majonga, Deputy Chairperson Nqubile Nyathi and 7 other members: Lawton Hikwa, Miriam Madziwa, Chris Mhike, Millicent Mombeshora, Henry Muradzikwa, Chris Mutsvangwa, Matthew Takaona.
But perhaps as MDC-T’s Elton Mangoma sheepishly told the nation in justifying the ongoing negotiating process this is because during the initial negotiations that led to the GPA there was agreement in principle on what the coalition government had to achieve but not on the how it will do so which is now what justifies the ongoing negotiations.
We can only hope that as the negotiators deal with the how part of the GPA they will also not forget to address the when, why, where and by who aspect so critical in holding performers accountable for successful performance.
But then lest we get carried away was this announcement not an outstanding announcement from the GPA when Zanu PF was dishing out the lies that President Mugabe had lived by his part in the agreement and it was now left to the MDC-T to fulfill its obligations to have sanctions lifted, dismantle pirate radio stations and as an offshoot dismantle parallel government structures in the Premier’s office?
And for it to happen so soon as the blind folded Zanu PF Congress had just resolved that;
“On the GPA and the Inclusive Government
Congress has noted that the Inclusive Government brings the Party into partnership with ideologically incompatible MDC Formations from which it must extricate itself in order to retain its mantle as the only dominant and ascendant political party that is truly representative and determined to safeguard the aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe.
Congress, therefore:
Castigates the continuance of the illegal declared and undeclared Western sanctions which remain a paramount and decisive outstanding issue in the Inter-Party dialogue on which the nation must speak with one voice and challenges the MDC Formations to undergo fundamental mind frame change (KUCHINJA PFUNGWA) in calling for their immediate and unconditional removal.
Expresses confidence that the new Facilitation Team will continue with the same diligence, patience and understanding that the Zimbabwe issue has delicate, sensitive and fundamental concerns on both sides that cannot be resolved overnight.
Instructs Mugabe and negotiators to ensure that all outstanding issues, once agreed, must be implemented concurrently.
This means there should be no movement on the concerns of the MDC Formations without corresponding and simultaneous redress of Zanu PF’s concerns such as the illegal Western sanctions, Western Funded pirate radio broadcasts and Western interference in Zimbabwe’s internal politics through the funding of parallel government structures and the sponsoring of political activities of NGOs as a force multiplier for the MDC Formations.
Negotiators should not countenance introduction or inclusion of provisions or agreements which seek to reverse or undermine the gains of the Liberation Struggle.
Congress instructs the party to signals that it will reject any outcome of the Constitution-making process that is not home grown.
An acceptable outcome would be a Constitution made by Zimbabweans for Zimbabwe, which entrenches the ethos and gains of the Liberation Struggle and is not the product of any external interference.
No foreigners, individual, corporate or national in whatever capacity they may from time to time find themselves involved in aspects of Zimbabwe’s bilateral dispute with Britain, have the right to dictate or impose a Constitutional order on Zimbabwe.
Declares that Security Forces an inalienable right of every sovereign state, and more so Zimbabwe’s
Security Forces are a product of the National Liberation Struggle, and therefore belong to the people and are mandated to defend the country’s territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty. Zanu PF, as the Party of revolution and the people’s vanguard, shall not allow the Security Forces of Zimbabwe to be the subject of any negotiation for a so called ‘security sector reform’ that is based on patent misrepresentations of Zimbabwe’s heroic history and for the mere purpose of weakening the state so that it can be easily overthrown.
Directs all Party members and organs to fully participate in the constitution making process in order to prevent it from being hijacked by those who wish to effect regime change or to undermine the gains of the Liberation Struggle,” shows how critical the Zanu PF Congress is in directing party policies and programmes.
This bunch of beneficiaries of Mugabe’s largesse with little or no influence whatsoever on the direction of the party which resides with security forces they purport to own and control was never consulted when Mugabe was forced to negotiate the GPA and will not be of material consequence in directing the party when it comes to the GPA and the coalition government.
The good thing about is they know how ineffective they are in matters related to the GPA because their President reminded them that they are a disjointed lot on factional lines and are only kept together by his largesse.
That is why he has scoffed their GPA resolutions and announced a new Electoral Commission to replace the one he arm twisted to declare a Presidential runoff election after his routing at the hands of Morgan Tsvangirai in the initial March 29 segment of the harmonized election.
The parasites attending the Zanu PF Congress blindly ordered their President and
Negotiators to extricate their party from its relationship with the MDC formations in the coalition government and Mugabe stoked their pleasure by announcing he is ready for fresh elections because the coalition government had outlived its usefulness.
He did not tell his captive fools that he will not commit any such foolishness of extricating himself from the political arrangement that legitimizes his tenure of office and condemn his party into political oblivion.
Because of their advanced ages the Zanu PF Congress delegates can be pardoned for exhibiting bouts of amnesia commensurate with their ages.
They have not only forgotten that Mugabe is only a President of the coalition government and the minute he dismantles that government he will revert to the illegitimacy that haunted him over the period April 2008 to 12 February 2009.
But Mugabe has not forgotten the pain of illegitimacy and is aware where his problems in the coalition government are being coordinated from.
Sadly his blind followers missed his hint when he went on the offensive against
MDC-T Secretary General and Finance Minister Tendai Biti who vowed when he took appointment that he would be no one’s junior partner in the coalition government.
Mugabe has had long enough to realize that Finance Minister Biti is a sore in the Zanu PF politics of patronage and corruption.
He accused the Minister of scuttling the Party’s renowned inputs for political allegiance programmes by refusing to release the IMF drawing rights for the party functionaries he has allocated farms to squander on luxurious lifestyles they had become accustomed to.
The few who got his message are now pushing that the finance Minister is responsible for cash shortages in Banks forgetting that they have hitherto insisted that the Governor of the Reserve Bank whom they endorse is responsible for fiscal management and has been caught napping.
The same congress resolved that the disputed appointments of Provincial Governors, the Reserve Bank Governor and Attorney General were historically justified and should not be revisited by the Party negotiators and in any event whatever will be agreed upon which they obviously had no clue they directed that implementation be done simultaneously when all the party wishes were attained.
They will be disappointed with the appointment of Commissioners ahead of their wishes of the shutting down of pirate radio stations, the lifting of sanctions and the dismantling of so called parallel government structures in the Premier’s office if at all they will realize that it has happened in utter disregard of their resolutions.
And it appears they are in for more surprises after the same people they barred from negotiating further concessions have agreed to meet again and thrash out the remaining outstanding issues that had hitherto been dismissed as non issues.
Despite prolonged delays in posting the MDC nominated Ambassadors to their work stations it appears the game is up as the Registrar General has confirmed issuing the Diplomatic Passports for the designate Ambassadors and it can only be a matter of weeks before they are dispatched to their stations.
The real work that remains is for Legislators to work on giving the appointed commissions real teeth to deal with political misdemeanors.
Apart from the Electoral Commission that is regulated by the Electoral Act the other two Commissions have no legal framework in which to operate and enforce compliance and this must be addressed with speed before they are manipulated and abused.
It is not enough that they are established in terms of Constitutional Amendment No 19 because there is need to give them an enabling Act which will guide their operations and close loopholes that can be exploited to mislead them politically.
Even the electoral Act needs to be tightened up to close the loose language that allowed the previous Commission to delay announcement of results in order to find means and ways to manipulate them.
Equally important is the need to set specific deadlines on when after receipt of returns from polling stations the Chief elections Officer must announce the results as given and leave contestants to resort to the Electoral Courts to dispute figures returned from constituency registrars.
Parliament must never allow the situation where Patrick Chinamasa usurped its power to amend the Act through a statutory instrument to recur.
While we welcome the appointment of the Commissions we implore Legislators to be alert to these loopholes and close them well in advance of the conclusion of the constitution making process such that by the time elections are staged there will be no room for Commissioners to be abused by the President, Justice Minister and or the Military Commanders as happened after the March 2008 elections.
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