MKD spokesman forced to eat humble pie by Tsvangirai

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Barely a month later embarrassed Magora admits;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prime Minister announces senior appointments in his office

Chief Spokesman James Maridadi

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

SENIOR APPOINTMENTS

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

Prime Minister Tsvangirai's Statement on Outstanding GPA Issues

Zimbabwe Premier Morgan Tsvangirai


Members of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ministerial Mandates

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

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

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

Roy Bennett

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

Deadlock

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Constitution making process

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

Media reforms

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How ironic?

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

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

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

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

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

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

MDC resolves to escalate disputed issues to SADC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MDC National Council must seriously examine coalition marriage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GMB hamstrung by past corruption

GMB General Manager Retired Police Assistant Commissioner Albert Mandizha

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The common thread linking politicians

Prof Arthur Mutambara accused of the same leadership traits afflicting Mugabe by top ally Job Sikhala

There is a common thread linking Robert Mugabe, Ndabaningi Sithole, Eddison Zvobgo, Edgar Tekere, Welshman Ncube, Arthur Mutambara and Job Sikhala that emerges from the whingeing by Job Sikhala from his current tussling with MDC-M leadership.

If the truth be said it is a thread that links all of us but that some of us are better at severing at material times than the disgraced former St Marys MDC legislator and Mugabe.

What causes most of us to join and actively participate in organised institutions are shared interests that the institutions set out as objects of its incorporation.

Religious objects group and bind worshippers together. They however differ on strategy to attain objects of worship and split on those considerations to become separate entities with similar objectives but different methodologies of attaining the same outcome.

The need to brand compels groups to choose names, emblems and slogans that distinguish them as unique entities yet ideologically they may not be different after all.

Ownership of the brand becomes a serious conflict point should modalities to attain set objectives at some point vary within the membership.

Job Sikhala a self confessed founder member of the MDC has become a victim of brand proprietorship to the same extent as Robert Mugabe, Ndabaningi Sithole, Edgar Tekere, Eddison Zvobgo, Welshman Ncube and Arthur Mutambara are to their organisations.

They are all fundamentalists who are prepared to do anything necessary to retain ownership of a brand name.

Ownership is a common thread that runs through us all because of economic fundamentals that demand that we can only survive at peace with our conscience if we use what we own to sustain the kind of lives we enjoy.

The struggle for ownership is at the core of all human endeavours and because it is not easy to attain ownership it is that much more difficult to relinquish ownership when changed circumstances demand us to.

Many of us are capable of smooth transition and adaptation to changed circumstances and do so without anyone noticing it but not fundamentalists.

Ownership somehow transforms us into defensive ogres that are prepared to die for a cause.

It bestows on us as loyalist a sense of subservience and a compulsion to act in defence of a concept, emblem, belief and norm in such a manner that when we do so we are in many instances unconscious of whatever is happening around that may or may not be to our advantage to explore.

When Robert Mugabe took over leadership of Zanu in Exile he became a Zanu PF fundamentalist. He assumed ownership of the Zanu PF brand name to the same extent his real name totem and clan name identifies him.

Zanu founding member the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole was a Zanu brand convert and when Mugabe returned to contest the 1980 independence elections under the Zanu banner the two servants of a brand name clashed with each claiming exclusive ownership of the brand name.

Unlike company names, property and product rights whose ownership can be protected by registered patents and trademarks names of people and voluntary organisations are sadly left exposed to copycatting without recourse to legal protection.

The dispute over the Zanu brand ownership was taken to court and the court ruled that neither claimant had exclusive and protected right of ownership of the brand name resulting in Zanu appearing on the 1980 ballot paper twice with the one led by Mugabe adding PF to distinguish itself from that led by Sithole which later added Ndonga to the prefix.

Founding subscriber members of a brand name find it most difficult to distance themselves from a brand especially one that has succeeded in generating goodwill within communities in which it operates.

When Jonathan Moyo ruffled Eddison Zvobgo by implying that he was more Zanu PF than those of Zvobgo’s ilk the Zanu PF founder member promptly reminded him that he was a “Johnny come by lately” to the brand with absolutely no powers to eject him from the party regardless of whatever it is he was alleged to have breached.

“How can a “mafikizolo” (Johnny come by lately) decree that he can eject me from the party that I founded and he joined? I founded Zanu PF and will die Zanu PF. I own Zanu PF because the party is me and I am the party so it is not possible for anyone to eject me from the party.” He responded after the furore his mad relay athletes’ analogy had caused in the party.

Another of Zanu PF’s founding fathers Edgar Tekere was victim of numerous attempts to gag him by threats to dismiss him from the party. Like Zvobgo his response to suspensions and insults from Zanu PF insiders was that they were incompetent of taking the Zanu spirit in him from him regardless of whatever they did to abuse him because he owned the party from inception and unlike most of his detractors who joined the party he never joined it.

When it was the turn of the MDC to deal with conflicting strategies to achieve the founding objects of the party that had been severely derailed by the reversal of the party’s 2000 electoral inroads in Zanu PF domains through violence and rigging founding subscribers to the party formation split into two with one group aligning itself to leadership by Secretary General Welshman Ncube and the other remaining loyal to Founding President Morgan Tsvangirai.

The ownership of the brand name MDC generated such intense acrimony that public trading of political punches using the foulest language became the norm rather than the exception among former allies with the objective of wrestling power from Zanu PF but different thinking about the best method to do so.

Tsvangirai being a slave of the brand name as much as his new adversaries would not budge to calls and attempts to eject him from membership and leadership of the party he founded and likewise Welshman Ncube so once again two MDC parties emerged from the dispute over brand ownership.

The two entities were driven by the desire to tap into the goodwill of the MDC name at election time.

Among Ncube’s most vocal and vile supporters were Trudy Stevenson, Gift Chimanikire, Paul Themba Nyathi, Priscilla Misihairambwi a, Job Sikhala and later on David Coltart.

There was no shortage of retaliatory whiplash from Tsvangirai’s followers led by Nelson Chamisa and Tendai Biti.

National leadership problems dogged the breakaway faction led by Welshman Ncube resulting in them settling for Arthur Mutambara.

The robotics professor who is a fundamentalist of Student Political Activism took the battle for ownership of the MDC brand to seasoned Tsvangirai and made catastrophic errors when he picked on Tsvangirai for ridicule at one time claiming he was a more seasoned politician than Tsvangirai whom he labelled “a strategically incompetent political midget.”

Professor Mutambara is as much an ownership freak as the MDC founders and wanted to re-brand the breakaway faction with a name and emblem that bore his signature but met resistance from powerful stalwarts in the faction who would not hear any such nonsense about the MDC brand being soiled.

The breakaway suffered humiliating defections back to the Tsvangirai led MDC by senior officials after being humiliated in test of strength by elections and by the time the harmonised elections were held was desperate to seek shelter from its former leader who had rebuild a more formidable national political entity with a real chance of upstaging Zanu PF.

But they were greedy and wanted to reap where they had not sown resulting in the collapse of attempted coalition alliances and the faction suffering humiliating defeats to Tsvangirai wherever they felt they had the best chances of upstaging his party.

Numerous appeals had been made for the faction to disband and reunite with Tsvangirai’s main wing unconditionally but they refused alleging they were democratic and could not work under Tsvangirai who they claimed was more dictatorial than Mugabe.

Now the very problems they alleged were hallmarks of Tsvangirai’s leadership have returned to haunt Job Sikhala who was the most vocal detractor of Tsvangirai to have missed out of an accommodation in the coalition government.

The temptation is to label Sikhala a bad loser given the timing of his outbursts about leadership bankruptcy in the Mutambara led faction but Mutambara has irritated many Zimbabweans by pursuing a divisive opposition politics that he was not prepared to stand up to when it mattered most.

Mutambara chickened out of the Presidential election at the last minute and urged his backers to deliver their votes to a self confessed Zanu PF fundamentalist Dr Simba Makoni.

After his preferred candidate crashed to a humiliating defeat Mutambara was back with Tsvangirai whom he had despised as a political midget but when the runoff failed to materialise due to violence Mutambara never voiced concern about he was at it again negotiating his losers back into positions of power and influence in the coalition government that emerged from SADC mediated bargaining which saw him personally landing the prestigious deputy Premiership.

As if that was not insulting enough Mutambara selected election losers for all ministerial positions allotted to his faction and left the 10 elected MP’s on whose back he claimed leadership legitimacy to be included in the coalition government in the cold.

Because Mutambara chose to reward election rejects ahead of the electable members of his faction he created grounds for Job Sikhala to expect similar rewards and if not as happened get back at him with accusations we are now hearing.

Of course Job Sikhala will refute any accusations of sour grape politicking but he suffers the same culpability he accuses Mutambara of in this debacle.

While he claims he is free at last from the political leadership debauchery by Mutambara and his group of what he now calls Mugabe and by extension Zanu PF zealots masquerading as MDC democrats, he is far from that freedom.

That Mutambara and his faction are a Zanu PF sponsored political project is nothing new to most Zimbabweans opposed to Zanu PF. The only novelty being it coming from a senior faction leader albeit at the unfortunate time he has been targeted for party discipline.

But Sikhala is consistent in one thing. He says Both Tsvangirai and Mutambara have betrayed the founding objectives of the MDC founding document by coalescing with Mugabe and Zanu PF in government as if nothing happened to the parties at the hands of Zanu PF impunity which he was victim of for a decade.

While he maybe right in that assessment he fails the democracy test when he threatens that he will die an MDC member because he founded the party and guests invited to lead the party (by him and other founding members because of their lack of self confidence in their leadership capabilities we guess), like Mutambara have no right to whip him into line if he errs.

That is what is wrong with Mugabe, Zvobgo, Tekere, Ncube, Mutambara and a host of other brand fundamentalists’.

A political party is evidence of common political beliefs held by those that subscribe to the party be they founder members of invited converts.

To claim that because one managed to hold the views and courageously sold them to unite a critical mass of subscribers he/she is immune to standing disciplinary measures when he breaches standing rules because of the status of being a founder member is absurd political autocracy.

Political ideals are commonly owned and must be exercised in groups that subscribe to self regulation by the party code of conduct. Those that do not subscribe to the code must dissociate themselves with the brand rather than create brand confusion like Mugabe, Ncube and Mutambara are known to have done with Sikhala’s unqualified support in the past.

Tomana exposes Zimbabwe judicial impotence and deserves the sack

Zanu PF compromised Zimbabwe AG Johannes Tomana

Whenever there is talk about the State detaining or refusing to abide by judicial orders against it Zimbabweans can now safely replace “the State” with Robert Mugabe, Patrick Chinamasa, Johannes Tomana and Augustine Chihuri or their official capacities namely the President, Minister of Justice, Attorney General and Police Commissioner General.

So instead of stating “In the matter of the State vs. Ghandi Mudzingwa, Christopher Dhlamini and Shadreck Manyere” the accurate description of the matter for proper citation should be “In the matter The President, Minister of Justice, Attorney General and Police Commissioner General (PCG)[State] vs. Ghandi Mudzingwa, Christopher Dhlamini and Shadreck Manyere.”

The later citation identifies the parties with the precision that is lacking in the first because the word State used in general carries different and varied meanings that include the Nation of Zimbabwe in relation to its geographic boundaries and nationals therein or the Government of Zimbabwe including all its pillars of power namely the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature as well as quasi governmental institutions such as Local Authorities, Parastatals and Commissions that exercise government power in specialised areas on behalf of the representative capacity of Government.

This ambiguity inherent in the former citation has caused other democracies to cite criminal litigation cases qualitatively as “The State prosecution Services vs. The Accused in their individual names or collectively.

The bungling in the case in which Jestina Mukoko and 15 others (collective citation) have been abducted and detained incommunicado for between 3 and 4 months before being brought to Court against a maximum stipulation that anyone arrested by the State must be brought to Court within 48 hours of the arrest has served to clarify the matter for the ordinary Zimbabweans.

It is not in dispute that the accused were abducted, detained and tortured by the State’s Central Intelligence Operatives (CIO) and by extension the State.

When however they appeared before the Court for remand hearings the State’s Police Officer’s (read Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri) swore before the Court that he had only took the accused into custody the previous day and thus had not breached the right of the accused to be brought to Court within 48 hours of their arrest.

The Court amazingly believed him and remanded the accused in custody without inquiring into the whereabouts of the accused for the past 3-4 months despite defence allegations with proof the accused were in State custody and thus were improperly before the Court for remand.

The implication of the Remand Court’s decision is that CIO’s are not the State in criminal Prosecutions and thus whatever time they unlawfully deprive a citizen of his/her freedom has no bearing in Court proceedings thereafter initiated by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) who are, in criminal prosecution the only recognised law enforcement agency with powers to detain anyone on behalf of the State.

That is a most absurd reality Attorney General Johannes Tomana has not bothered to explain before rushing to exonerate himself of any wrong in the current debacle involving the same accused persons.

The outrageous court decision to order the detention of the accused as if they had just been arrested triggered numerous Court Applications in the Magistrates, high and Supreme Courts of Zimbabwe.

Then it was generally held that the Junta regime fronted by an unelected Robert Mugabe was the State acting in common purpose against people it believed were in the process of preparing to commit acts of terrorism ,banditry and insurgency against a “LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT” despite that there was no defacto elected government at the time they were arrested.

After conception of the coalition government, there was intense haggling in the Executive wing of the government between the Presidency and the Premiership over the detainees fate wherein the President maintained that due process of the law must take its course for the detainees to regain their freedom while the Premiership argued that incarcerations in custody were not legal due process but political persecution of the accused because of the nature of allegations against them.

The argument was that not only were the charges against the spirit of coalition governance given that they were raised by a defunct administration but they were retributive because the government they intended to topple was no longer of illegal toppling as it was defunct but its residual elements in the coalition were after revenge which revenge agenda lacked consensus in the new order.

In any event it was argued that due process of the law could not only be satisfied if the accused were incarcerated for long periods pending trial as the same process could be satisfied if the accused were admitted to bail pending trial which eventually prevailed but not without reluctance from State Prosecution Services who seemed to be under directives to oppose bail applications of the accused from the Presidency and the PCG.

Having been admitted to bail and strictly abided by the conditions attendant to admission the accused were brought to court and indicted to trial on 4 June 2009 i.e. a month after indictment.

Prosecution services who were forced to drop spurious section 121 of the Criminal Procedures and Evidence Act (CPEA) objections to admission to bail of the accused by Executive political interventions of the Presidency and Premiership through the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) of the ruling coalition, sought to use the opportunity presented by the indictment process to re-detain the accused to please the presidency which grudgingly consented to the initial admissions to bail.

Timely reminders to the presiding Magistrate Catherine Chimhanda and the State Prosecution Services that the bail conditions extended to the accused were not independent Court rulings per se but rather politically directed compliances by the Court that should extend into the indictment period before trial were opposed by the overzealous Prosecution Services on instructions from the Minister of Justice and The Attorney General who is the coalition government’s principal law officer.

Despite the opposition to bail extension being legal correct and impossible of legally turning down the net effect of re-detaining the activists now by the coalition government was so outrageous as it implied the MDC to which most of the detainees belong was infact endorsing that the accused had indeed attempted to overthrow the Mugabe led Junta using military means and such an admission would have been self incriminating for the MDC.

Naturally the MDC Party with an impeccable record of peaceful political indulgence vehemently protested and condemned the latest re-detentions and went on to pressure the coalition government Presidency to abide by initially agreed bail conditions for the accused or face the collapse of the coalition government.

The MDC pressure was ratcheted up by regional, continental and international condemnation of the detentions of the activists in Prisons recently exposed by a South African Television documentary and Deputy Minister of Agriculture Roy Bennett as hell holes of hunger, disease and starvation.

The activists only spent a night in detention and were released the following day following “negotiations” between the AG and Defence Attorneys for the accused that convinced Tomana to accept re-admission to bail conditions that applied to the accused activists prior to indictment procedures the previous day.

Poor Magistrate Catherine Chimhanda without any judicial independence on the matter whatsoever was humiliated when she was compelled to reschedule cases to accommodate the urgent re-hearing of the activists’ case which she had correctly said was beyond legal competence to challenge her detention order.

After less than a five minute appearance she legally and competently reversed and quashed her previous ruling and admitted the activists’ to their previous bail conditions and 2 hours later they were all released from the notorious Chikurubi Prison where the 73 year old Fidelis Chiramba alleged he was short supplied blankets and water.

Under siege and Zanu PF compromised Attorney General says he is surprised that when his office adhered to the law and exceeded Court expectations there are people who are bastardising his office for complicity in the cynical re-detention of the activists and their swift re-admission to previous bail conditions attendant to each of them.

Much like Electoral Supervisory Commission Chairman Justice Chiweshe justifying failure by his officers to count 4 million Presidential ballots and announce results over 35 days when Mugabe was trailing Tsvangirai after the 29 March election but counting a similar number of ballots and announcing the 27 June runoff election within 48 hours including installing Mugabe to the thrown when he was left a lonely contestant in the race after Tsvangirai withdrew at the last minute but his name appeared on the ballot paper.

It is exactly this kind of mischief that makes Tomana a disgusting AG.

Here is a Principal State Prosecutor who from 2000 has been protecting the notorious CIO alleged murderer of Chiminya and Mabika having the temerity to crow about swiftly detaining for 5 months, innocent MDC political activists over allegations of attempting to topple a defunct Junta regime by insurgency and banditry actions.

When they were granted bail by the Courts he did everything in his power to keep them in detention only capitulating to political pressure to admit them to bail.

The AG blames the Defence attorneys of complicating admission to bail of their clients which his office was not initially opposed to but had to oppose as a matter of principle to show that the defence lawyers were incompetent as he got the decision to detain accused endorsed by the court and having conveyed the message showed his muscle by reversing the detention order through negotiations with the same lawyers whom he had reduced to size.

Hardly the stuff one would expect from a man of such responsible status in Zimbabwe.

Why would a well meaning AG use people he genuinely believes are good candidates for admission to bail punish the same people with detention orders simply because they have incompetent representation.

Are these people worthy anything to Tomana? Is there any wonder why the nation is unanimous that he must be relieved of the AG’s post?

Because of his ego the National Media Reform conference is now in jeopardy.

International donors and investors who the country is desperately trying to woe are having a re-think about coming to the country’s aid. Political temperatures which were subsiding have been ignited and ultimatums are flying around.

Surely the country deserves people with better judgement of implications of their ego satisfying indulgences.

This is what Zanu PF zealot Jonathan moyo did not see when he came out in full support of Tomana's irregular elevation to AG.

How independent is a judiciary that rubberstamps political decisions and pass them for court determinations as Catherine Chimhanda has been forced to do in this matter?

Mugabe carves in to intense pressure over re-detention of political opponents.

The incredible duo Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa (right) and compromised Attoney General Johannes Tomana cooked the humble pie for Mugabe

Arrogant Zimbabwean octogenarian Zimbabwe President has been forced to eat humble pie over the ill-conceived attempt to re-detain 16 MDC and Civil Society activists after one of his compromised Magistrate ruled in favour of their re-detention following their being formally charged over banditry and insurgency allegations against the Junta.

In a move roundly condemned throughout Zimbabwe and throughout the world, 16 detainees who were abducted by Central Intelligence Officers (CIO) between October and December 2008 and held incommunicado for months until they were released between February and March 2009 following consummation of the coalition government, were ordered back into detention by a Harare Magistrate on 5 May 2009.

Overzealous Justice Minister unelected Zanu PF Senator Patrick Chinamasa and Attorney General Johannes Tomana, a self confessed Zanu PF adherent, completely misread the political mood in the country over selective application of laws against MDC supporters when he sought to please the President by invoking a clause in the Criminal Evidence and Procedures Act requiring re-detention of anyone released on bail before being charged when charges are ultimately charged.

The barrage of criticism the aged Zimbabwe President received when news of the detention broke out surprised even the most ardent of his closed circuit supporters and advisors as some of it bordered on withdrawal of recognition of his presidency of the country regionally, continentally and internationally.

Not that Mugabe has ever cared for international reaction to his controversial presidency of the coalition government but the reality that the re-detentions had pulverised his AU and SADC armour made him act swiftly to release the 16 activists.

Chinamasa was summoned pronto to clean up the political mess he and Tomana had caused and duly complied by requesting Tomana to pretend to negotiate with defence attorneys for the immediate re-admission to bail for the 16 activists.

It did not was as the defence lawyers were already aware Tomana had burnt his fingers and was on a mission to redeem his tattered image so they simply went along with him until he conceded that the detainees be released on bail conditions already admitted prior to the re-detentions.

Magistrate Catherine Chimhanda who had a day before decreed that re-detention of the activists was not contestable was forced to humiliate herself by readmitting all the activists to the same bail conditions that prevailed before they were formally indicted for trial set to begin on 4 June 2009.

Talk about there being no political manipulation of the judiciary by the Zimbabwe political executives?

It was evident the re-detentions had broken the spine of the coalition government and moves had been invoked by the MDC-T to stage a dramatic pull out from the shaky government and leave Mugabe and Mutambara to dry with no prospect of them gaining regional, continental and international recognition and support in turning around the country’s waning economic fortunes.

For all his attempts to retain ultimate power in the coalition government the last thing Mugabe wants is a return to the political seclusion he endured between March 2008 and September 15 of the same year while negotiations for the coalition government were in progress.

He will do everything in his power to retain his legitimacy and as long as the MDC plays their cards right by grabbing those powers ascribed to the party by the 15 September agreement, Mugabe will not want to be seen to be abandoning the agreement and or more importantly, spoiling for the collapse of the coalition by SADC and the AU.

This is why it is important for the MDC Ministers to immediately take advantage of the political weakness exposed of the President and his Party by the activist’s re-detention debacle and move swiftly to resolve the outstanding issues Mugabe has been deliberately dithering on.

The illegal appointment of Provincial Governors by Mugabe does not require any further negotiations but proactive action on the part of the MDC by it announcing the names of the Governors it has assigned to the Provinces it won Parliamentary majority representation in March 2008 and instructing them to assume duties forthwith whether Mugabe swears them in or not because that is what was agreed by the negotiating parties.

The unprocedural appointments of Dr Gono as Reserve Bank Governor and Johannes Tomana as Attorney General demands that the MDC controlled Treasury refuses to pay salaries and benefits of these Ghost Senior Public Servants until their employment statuses have been ratified by the coalition government principals as per the 15 September Global political Agreement.

These are the checks and balancing powers the Premier has at his disposal but which the appointed Ministers are reluctant to apply. As long as they act with the Premier’s consent President Mugabe can’t terminate their contracts as Ministers without terminating the coalition government which he is not prepared to do as it will translate into terminating his legitimacy as the President.

The Appointment of Permanent Secretaries and Ambassadors can be equally addressed with the urgency it deserves if all their perks and salaries are formally suspended by the Treasury pending receipt of appropriate reappointment letters agreed upon by the coalition principals.

The same method can be used to ensure inclusivity at all levels of the Civil Service that the GPA applies.

Payment of Salaries and perks for all affected Heads of Government institutions whose appointments have not been ratified in writing by the Principals must be suspended forthwith until such time the incumbents can supply Treasury with proof that their appointments have been approved by the coalition government principals.

The appropriate way to do that is to give all the affected incumbents including Military Commanders written notice of the treasury’s intention to terminate payment of salaries and benefits to the individual concerned until such time Treasury receives written confirmation of their reappointment by the coalition government.
This is how power is exercised to achieve results in the shortest possible time.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Designate Roy Bennett does not need to be sworn in to start performing his duties. His appointment was formalised by the GPA agreement and swearing in if a formality that can be dispensed with if it is being abused to deny him the right to exercise his powers and perform the duties assigned to him by the coalition government and certainly not the President of Zimbabwe.

Nelson Chamisa must simply get hold of the letter by Dr Misheck Sibanda directing heads of Tel One, Zimpost, NetOne and all parastatals under ICT to report to Minister of Transport Nicholas Goche and write them letters advising them that Dr Sibanda is out of order and has no powers to make such directives and anyone who fails to submit operational reports to him as required will face disciplinary procedures for gross insubordination.

He should copy such letters to the GPA principals, the Chairmen of the Public Service and Parastatals Commissions and Dr Sibanda.

If any of the people supposed to report to him fail to comply he must commence the disciplinary action and dispense with their services.

That is how power is gained and not through requests for power and crying foul whenever power positions are threatened.

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.