SOUTH Africa - thrust at the centre
of resolving the Zimbabwe crisis - has been asked to ratchet up pressure on
President Robert Mugabe to retire before his current term ends in 2008 and
allow for a smooth transition involving the country's key political
parties.
In a report released in Brussels on June 7, the
International Crisis Group (ICG) said the "quiet diplomacy" used by South
Africa, the country seen to have the greatest influence on Harare, had
failed and new strategies were necessary to arrest the deepening crisis
across the Limpopo. ICG said Pretoria should flex its muscle in the
African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council and the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) organ on politics, defence and security to
press the Zimbabwean leader to set a date for his retirement. The
organisation said apart from setting a date for the President's retirement,
ZANU PF should also initiate discussion with the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) and the international community on the parameters of an orderly
transition, including the holding of new and joint presidential and
parliamentary elections monitored by the United Nations. It added that
ZANU PF needed to demonstrate restraint in the exercise of its two-thirds
majority and the concomitant power to amend the constitution and launch a
process of legislative revision or repeal of draconian acts muzzling the
media and freedoms. Recent history, however, indicates the ICG could be
barking up the wrong tree as the AU and SADC have scarcely been able to
pressure President Mugabe and have actually stood by the Zimbabwean leader
as evidenced by their endorsement of the March 31 elections described by the
United States and the European Union as flawed. It is also unlikely
that South Africa, which is Zimbabwe's biggest trading partner, would take
heed of ICG's recommendations and abandon its "quiet diplomacy".
President Thabo Mbeki has fought hard in the past to ensure Zimbabwe
remained part of the international community. The South African leader was
against the country's suspension from the Commonwealth and last year
condoned Harare's decision to deport a delegation of the South African
Congress of Trade Unions (COSATU), which the Harare authorities said had
sneaked into the country illegally. COSATU is an ally of the African
National Congress. Made up of influential personalities in global
capital and politics, the ICG, with its headquarters in Brussels, describes
itself as an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation with
over 110 staff members on five continents, working through field-based
analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly
conflict. Chris Patten, former governor of Hong Kong before its
handover to China in 1997 and a past European Commissioner for External
Relations, chairs ICG, while former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans
is president and chief executive officer. Other notable members of
the ICG executive board, which also includes former heads of state and
government, are hedge fund guru George Soros, a high-ranking ANC official
and former South African High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Cheryl
Carolus, former US national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, former
NATO supreme allied commander Wesley Clark, former president of the
Philippines Fidel V. Ramos, former Organisation of African Unity
secretary-general Salim Ahmed Salim, former president of Mexico Ernesto
Zedillo and former US senate majority leader George Mitchell. "He
(President Mugabe) cannot be taken at his word that he will leave in 2008,
and that is a very long time to wait for a country suffering as much as
Zimbabwe is. Regional and other international actors should push for a
credible earlier date," said ICG in a document titled "Post-Election
Zimbabwe: What next?" The thrust of the report ties in with British
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's call yesterday, ahead of a conference on
Iraq, that African leaders should put pressure on President Mugabe following
his government's violent eviction of urban dwellers deemed to have illegally
settled themselves in towns across the country. Straw said:
"Bluntly, unless and until African leaders as a whole recognise what is
going on and take action, not only to condemn it but to deal with it, we are
likely to be in for many more months of this kind of tyranny until Mugabe
moves aside." ZANU PF chairman John Nkomo was quick to dismiss the
report yesterday, saying President Mugabe, who will be turning 84 in
February 2008, "will retire as and when he feels like", and that Harare
would not be told by anybody how to run its affairs. President
Mugabe, who has been at the helm of the government since independence -
first as Prime Minister for seven years and later as the country's first
executive President - has said he will retire at the expiry of his sixth
term of office in 2008. There is, however, growing concern among
President Mugabe's peers that factionalism besetting his party, spurred by
the desire of powerful figures to position themselves for the succession
fight, could be a recipe for disastrous fissures within ZANU PF and the
country. A taste of the bloodletting that could come was provided by a
bitter ZANU PF congress held in December last year which almost split the
ruling party along ethnic lines and threatened its victory in the March
elections. "Mugabe's would-be successors within ZANU PF know their
country cannot afford indefinite isolation. In particular, the US, the EU
and the international financial institutions should make it clear that there
will be no end to targeted sanctions, no prospect of substantial aid and no
resumption of normal relations unless there are real changes, not only in
the names at the top of government structures but in governance," said the
ICG. "Indeed, they should signal that in the absence of such changes, ZANU
PF leaders run the risk of stronger measures that may grow out of close
investigation of such policies as their misuse of food aid for political
purposes and the general looting of the economy." Only last week,
the EU extended and expanded sanctions targeted at senior ruling party and
government officials. While Bheki Khumalo, the spokesman for President
Mbeki could not be reached for comment yesterday, ZANU PF national chairman
Nkomo said the report was just one of the many attempts made to exert
pressure on President Mugabe to quit. "President Mugabe has gone
through all these things even before our liberation. He has been called
names, incarcerated and we don't believe it (retirement) is something that
should preoccupy us. What should preoccupy us is doing the right things for
our people," Nkomo, who was recently appointed Speaker of Parliament, said.
"President Mugabe has stood firm on matters of principle and has not shifted
hence ZANU PF has retained his leadership. These people want to keep us
harassed in the hope that he will retire." Deputy Information Minister
Bright Matonga reiterated the government's position that President Mugabe
would see his full term through, despite rumours about his failing health
and a deepening economic and political crisis. "The issue of the
President's retirement is not on the agenda at all. President Mugabe's term
expires in 2008. We don't have a crisis in our government, we are a country
under illegal sanctions from the west and no one will tell us what to do in
our country especially on issues concerning our sovereignty. It is only the
people who can do it. "We have a lot of people putting pressure on
South Africa, but we have a good relationship with South Africa and we
cannot see them being dragged into this," Matonga said.
FORMER information
minister Jonathan Moyo this week played up the confusion within ZANU PF,
saying President Robert Mugabe's close lieutenants were busy setting booby
traps for each other as the succession battle hots up.
Moyo, a
strident defender of President Mugabe and the ruling ZANU PF in the past
five years until his sacking from government earlier this year, said the
ruling party's old guard lacked the capacity to deal with the succession
issue, which has become a hot potato. President Mugabe has hinted at
retirement in 2008, but has refused to anoint his successor. "ZANU
PF's old guard are unable to deal with this issue openly. As a result, a lot
of games are being played by the old guard, setting booby traps for one
another," Moyo said. "ZANU PF is a sunset party not only because of the hot
succession issue but also because it has been in power for much too long and
desperately needs to re-invent itself in order to catch up with the rest of
society and the world," he added. Moyo said despite ZANU PF's much
celebrated increased majority in parliament, an economy which is on its
knees remains the party's biggest challenge. ZANU PF, which has
ruled Zimbabwe for the past 25 years, won 78 seats out of the contested 120
seats in the widely disputed March parliamentary poll. Moyo stood as an
independent in that election and won the Tsholotsho seat. "But ZANU
PF does not know what to do with its huge majority because it does not know
how or why it got it," he said. "What was it for? For what policy programme
after the elections." ZANU PF spokesperson Nathan Shamuyarira refused
to comment. President Mugabe sacked the former government spin-doctor
last year after he chose to stand as an independent candidate in his home
constituency, Tsholotsho in the March elections. Moyo had also been
linked to a faction within the ruling party which suffered a body blow in
the run-up to the ZANU PF congress held in December last year. The
succession issue in ZANU PF, which threatened to split the party ahead of
its December 2004 congress, is expected to reach boiling point as 2008
approaches. The former government spin-doctor - who became a hate
figure for opposition groups for his abrasive style of politics - has
previously clashed with ZANU PF gurus, John Nkomo, Dumiso Dabengwa and
Nathan Shamuyarira among others and has instituted defamation proceedings
against Nkomo and Dabengwa. Moyo has hinted he would side with the
opposition MDC in parliament. "I am there to support issues of
development against a barbaric and retrogressive government," Moyo
said. "This is an inhumane, barbaric demolition of properties belonging
to the weak and poor in our society, who have been left homeless, jobless,
penniless and hopeless under a clean up slogan which is actually an
unmitigated mess up that has been badly formulated, badly implemented and
badly communicated," Moyo said.
THE Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) has intervened to end the long-running $95 billion debt
dispute between government-controlled energy firms Hwange Colliery Company
and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).
Inside
sources revealed this week that the central bank, which is pushing for
quasi-state and parastatal reforms, had cancelled Hwange's debt under the
productive sector facility, against the $95 billion the colliery was owed by
power utility ZESA. Corporate tempers between the companies ran high
last year over the debt, with ZESA threatening to sue Hwange for defamation
over disclosure to the media of matters pertaining to the debt. The
government wholly owns ZESA, while holding a 40 percent interest in the
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange-listed Hwange and, in
turn, dominating the board largely made up of government officials.
While John Nkala, the marketing and public relations manager at Hwange,
could neither confirm nor deny the issue, saying he was bound by a mutual
accord signed last year between the two companies, ZESA corporate affairs
director Obert Nyatanga, confirmed the development. "We cleared our
debt to Hwange through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. We have also paid for
the May supplies and continue settling our debts," said
Nyatanga.
STOCKS sank
deeper this week as more investors ditched shares for the money market,
where real interest rates have turned positive for the first time in three
years, while the Zimbabwe dollar touched fresh lows at the formal currency
market.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) surprised the market by
letting the Zimbabwe dollar slip nearly 7 percent against the benchmark US
dollar to below the new diaspora rate. The Zimdollar sank to $9
499.51 at Monday's auction, below the $9 000 diaspora rate set only last
month. Speculation swirled around the market that the central bank
could let the Zimdollar slide to $12 000 by the end of this month, but there
has been no official word on the speculation. On the stock market,
the main industrial index opened the week down 1.7 percent and the losses
spilt into Tuesday, shares falling 1.89 percent Tuesday to 2 689 211.21
points in light volumes. There was firm support for two $200 billion
Treasury Bills issued by the central bank as the week opened, allotted at an
average 150 percent, setting an upward course for investment rates.
A raft of largely flat earnings reports for companies with March year-ends
has failed to lift shares from the damage brought by last month's rate hike,
with companies having to report into an already bearish market. "There
is very little out there that could help the shares go up in any big way, at
least not in the short term. As long as the money market can guarantee
positive returns, there will not be too many people willing to take the risk
on the ZSE," a fund manager said yesterday. However, more bullish
analysts maintain that the ZSE will recover soon, forecasting inflation to
rise above money market rates within the next quarter. Financials
traded sideways with the wider market, discounting news of share
consolidations by two key banks, Kingdom Financial Holdings Limited and FBC
Holdings. However, NMB continued to take punishment from the market for a
huge annual loss for 2004. Although the bank had prepared the market
for poor results, investors have been unnerved by NMB's admission that its
future is now down to a planned rights offer and talks with a still to be
named white knight. Kingdom yesterday opened $8 above its Tuesday close
of $87 as the market continued to react warmly to the financial
institution's planned 10-to-1 stock consolidation. Kingdom has recently
lagged behind most of its banking peers in earnings and share price, and its
share plan is an attempt by management to shore up the bank's
share. FBC Holdings was down a dollar to $54 Tuesday and opened flat
yesterday after the bank proposed a 5-to-1 share consolidation and a share
buyback in a strategy to cut a share overhang and boost its share
price. FBCH has made several acquisitions over the past two years,
buying Southern African Reinsurance (SARE) and the Zimbabwe Building Society
(ZBS). The acquisitions have expanded FBCH's revenue streams, but the issue
of new shares for those buys has combined with weak share prices to attract
increased speculative trade in FBCH stock.
ZBH loses out on potential foreign currency
earnings
Audrey Chitsika 6/23/2005 8:04:38 AM (GMT
+2)
STATE broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH),
has lost out on potential foreign currency earnings after producers of a
lucrative annual regional football tournament deemed its outside broadcast
(OB) vans obsolete.
Sources told The Financial Gazette this
week that the producers of the Confederation of Southern African Football
Federations (COSAFA) tournament rejected the use of ZBH's OB vans because
they have virtually disintegrated. "The OB vans are pretty much in
shambles. The biggest problem is that the equipment is old and most of it is
in a state of disrepair," said the source. Producers of the COSAFA
tournament, sponsored by South African Breweries through its Castle lager
brand, had intended to hire ZBH's equipment to cover local and regional
matches under the tournament's changed format but after inspecting the OB
vans, decided the equipment was antiquated. ZBH, which has long
been plagued by problems relating to obsolete and inadequate equipment, has
recently entered into partnership with the Iranian government, which has
offered technical assistance and recently undertook to digitalise the state
broadcaster. "There have been internal discussions to see whether the
Iranian deal should also be directed at the OB facilities but at the moment,
there are more urgent matters that need to be tackled. It will take sometime
before these OB vans are upgraded or new ones bought," said the
source. ZBH has two OB vans, one stationed in Harare and another in
Bulawayo, but due to frequent breakdowns, part of the equipment in the
Bulawayo OB van has had to be brought to Harare to augment the 8-camera OB
van based in the capital. Asked to comment, Zimbabwe Television
chief executive Susan Makore, said: "I don't know anything about that. All I
can say is that our vehicles are in use." Josephine Zulu, head of
Sportnet, declined to comment, saying she did not deal with matters
involving equipment. ZBH has, along with many other parastatals, failed
to operate viably, a situation which has left the broadcaster lagging behind
other modern broadcasters in the region. The broadcaster frequently
airs free but lengthy live state and ruling party events, while eschewing
advertising revenue from some potential advertisers deemed to be politically
incorrect.
Rejected constitution would have blocked
evictions
Nelson Banya 6/23/2005 8:05:11 AM (GMT
+2)
WHOLESALE evictions of mainly urban denizens by the government
of Zimbabwe, which have created a humanitarian crisis and drawn widespread
local and international condemnation would have been declared
unconstitutional under the rejected 1999 draft constitution, masterminded by
the ruling ZANU PF.
The draft constitution, over which the ZANU
PF government received an unprecedented thumbs- down in a February 2000
referendum, had, among other freedoms, provided for protection against
arbitrary evictions, in line with the South African constitution, widely
lauded as one of the most liberal in emerging democracies. Whereas
the declaration of rights in Chapter 3 of the Lancaster House constitution
currently in force is largely silent on social and economic rights, the
draft constitution sought to provide for the protection of the weaker and
poorer sections of the community. "A law may not permit anyone to be
evicted from their home, or to have their home demolished, unless an order
of court, made after consideration of all the relevant circumstances, has
authorised the eviction or demolition," chapter 3, part 2 section 58 of the
draft constitution reads. With such a provision in place, the hundreds
of thousands of people rendered homeless overnight through precipitous
government action would have stood the chance of at least buying
time. A precedent exists in neighbouring South Africa-the highly
publicised Grootboom housing ruling. Section 26(3) of the South
African constitution provides: No-one may be evicted from their home,
or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after
considering all the relevant circumstances. No legislation may permit
arbitrary evictions. This constitutional provision gave rise to the
enactment of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction From an Unlawful Occupation
of Land Act (PIE) that regulates the rights enjoyed by land owners and
occupiers (who do not have consent to reside on land) in an urban
context. Western Cape lawyer and provincial co-ordinator of the South
African Human Rights Commission, Ashraf Mahomed, who has also represented
residents affected by evictions, contends that the Grootboom case raised the
question of whether section 26 of the South African constitution (and
possibly what would have been section 58 of the Zimbabwean constitution)
imposes a duty on the state to provide temporary housing or shelter to
persons in desperate need. "This precedent-setting housing case
inevitably began to chart a new course for the judiciary in South Africa as
it sought to give substantive meaning to the socio-economic rights in the
Constitution. "It allows for the evolution of constitutional thinking
that impacts on the economic and social disparities between the rich and the
poor. However, the extent to which individuals can rely on the judgment to
obtain individual relief when faced with situations of homelessness is still
an open question," Mahomed wrote in a review of the landmark
ruling. Mahomed was a member of the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) team
that represented a group of Capetonians- 83 families of Valhalla Park, Cape
Town, who, according to the lawyers, were living in intolerable
circumstances or were truly homeless (two of them had been living in motor
cars). At the time (2002), the waiting list for state-funded housing in
Cape Town was approximately 10 years, and increasing. Consultants to the
City of Cape Town identified a vacant piece of land in Valhalla Park as a
possible site for 'infill' housing. However, because of financial
constraints, the municipality signaled it would only be able to give it
consideration in two years' time. The 83 families from Valhalla Park then
occupied the open space in the face of opposition from the council.
Their lawyers contended that the homes they built there were built in a
"well organised manner." The council applied to the High Court for an
order for the eviction of the occupants of the land and the demolition of
their homes. It contended that the provisions of the law (PIE) were not
applicable to this situation and sought to invoke common law
remedies. Alternatively, they argued that if the Act was applicable,
the Council was entitled to urgent interim relief under section 5 of the
Act. In the further alternative, they argued that if the Council was not
entitled to relief under section 5 of the Act, then a declaration should be
made that the relevant provisions of the Act are unconstitutional.
The residents opposed this application, and brought a counter-application
for an order declaring that the Council's housing policy failed to comply
with its constitutional obligations as set out by the Constitutional Court
in the Grootboom case. The basis of this counter-claim was that the
municipality had, at the time of the legal battle, still not made special
provision for truly desperate or homeless people, despite the Grootboom
judgment handed down in October 2000. Instead, the residents argued, council
continued to insist that they must simply wait their turn on the housing
waiting list. The counter-application raised major issues of
significance that include questions relating to: the housing list and the
efficacy thereof; integrated development planning processes; the rapid
release of land; the state's obligations in respect of people living in
intolerable conditions; and the state's positive obligation in respect of
people who are homeless and landless. On July 7 2003, Justice
Selwyn Selikowitz of the Cape High Court dismissed the application for
eviction with costs and granted the residents' counter-application with
costs. The Court declared that the housing programme of the City of
Cape Town failed to comply with its constitutional and statutory obligations
in that it did not make short-term provision or any form of relief for
people in Valhalla Park who were in a crisis or in a desperate
situation. Council also failed to give adequate priority and resources
to the needs of the people in Valhalla Park who had no access to a place
where they may lawfully live. In the allocation of housing, it failed to
give any or adequate regard to relevant factors other than the length of
time an applicant for housing has been on the waiting list, and in
particular did not have regard to the degree and extent of the need of the
applicants.
A PICTURE of President Robert Mugabe
leaving the highest office in the land at the expiry of his current term is
one that raises a number of issues about Zimbabwe's future after one of
Africa's longest serving leaders.
President Mugabe, undoubtedly the
glue that binds the fractious ruling ZANU PF party, has in recent years
hinted at retiring in 2008 after a hectic political career spanning over
two-and-a-half decades at the helm but las steadfastly refused to anoint his
heir apparent. The veteran nationalist, who became the darling of
European and western states for his policy of reconciliation at independence
in 1980 before being downgraded to villain after endorsing the violent land
seizures, had at one point opened the succession issue for
discussion. He had to kill the debate, which he opened in April 2003,
later in the year after it had caused serious rifts within ZANU PF, a party
now eager to use its disputed two-thirds majority to prepare a safe
retirement passage for President Mugabe. Analysts said while
internecine conflict within ZANU PF and its protracted feud with the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) might have prolonged the
ageing Zimbabwean leader's stay in power, the time has now come to revisit
the succession debate. They said while President Mugabe might still
want to pull the strings behind the scenes, contrary to his public
posturing, there was no denying that pressing economic issues would
influence the selection of the next officer bearer. Zimbabwe's
once-robust economy has sunk deeper into the woods, weighed down by its poor
international record that has triggered a flight of capital to neighbouring
economies. The malaise took a turn for the worse after the
International Monetary Fund withdrew balance of payments support in the late
1990s, ushering in the worst economic crisis ever to visit the southern
African economy. Eric Bloch, a Bulawayo-based analyst who believes
Zimbabwe should go backwards to the early 1980s when it used to have a prime
minister and a ceremonial President said whoever takes-over from President
Mugabe should refocus the people to ensure they work for the common good of
the country. The officer bearer, the chartered accountant said, should
also mend the widening gap between Zimbabwe and the international community,
which Harare argues is a form of punishment for redistributing land from the
white minority to the landless majority blacks. "We need someone
who is prepared to put the economy ahead of political ideologies," he
said. Political commentator John Makumbe said Zimbabweans should elect
a younger president for the high-pressure job who appreciates divergent
views from across the political divide. "It would be dangerous to
have a political demagogue who says politics is everything . . . politics
should be responsive to economic dictates. While politics can be played as a
game, the economy operates strictly on the truth," said the University of
Zimbabwe lecturer. Bloch said the next leader should also work towards
the recovery of agriculture where tobacco production, which used to be the
country's single largest foreign exchange earner, has dropped from a record
220 million kgs to 60 million kgs last year. He said the incumbent
should also be prepared to act tough on the bloated Cabinet and introduce
proper fiscal controls to rein in perennial budget deficits fueling the
inflation scourge. "Our next President should be a combination of
things - a politician, a technocrat, a humanitarian and diplomat," he
said. The succession issue is considered a hot potato within the ruling
party. Just a few years ago, it was taboo to even think about succeeding the
Zimbabwean leader, reviled by the west and Europe for allegedly trampling on
human rights. A number of ZANU PF bigwigs who dared stick their
necks out in the past were made to pay huge political prices for speaking
their minds. Former ZANU PF secretary for administration Edgar Tekere
is wallowing in the political wilderness after he was expelled from the
party in 1989 for exposing the ruling party's plans to impose a one-party
system that was to entrench President Mugabe's rule. In 1998 former
Masvingo legislator Dzikamai Mavhaire, who has since bounced back into the
provincial party structures, earned the President's verbal venom when he
suggested that it was time he called it a day. Despite being protected
by of Parliamentary immunities and privileges, the vocal Mavhaire was hauled
before the party disciplinary committee and slapped with a two-year
suspension. The late Eddison Zvobgo, who had said he would contest for
the top job in the event President Mugabe stepped down, was also sidelined
from the party and government. At the time of his death, he was still to be
summoned before the party's disciplinary committee on charges that he
refused to campaign for President Mugabe in the 2002 Presidential
election. The only time President Mugabe has come close to demystifying
the issue about his successor was when he laid down the criteria for his
successor in August last year, which virtually shuts out most of the young
Turks. "I look at the individual who will appeal to the people and
who the people would have chosen naturally as having the qualities of a
leader. We must have honest leaders. That comes first," he was quoted
saying. "One, naturally with a political record in the struggle, one who
cherishes the objectives and principles of ZANU PF, who is people oriented
and knowledgeable in other ways." A number of names have been
thrown into the ring as possible successors to President Mugabe. These
include Vice-President Joyce Mujuru, Speaker of Parliament John Nkomo and
former ZANU PF secretary for administration Emmerson Mnangagwa. Of
late the names of Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, Defence Minister Sydney
Sekeramayi and former finance minister Simba Makoni have also been touted
among dark horses that could spring up surprises. Makumbe however, says
President Mugabe is unlikely to leave in 2008, adding the ruling ZANU PF was
busy putting measures in place to ensure the veteran politician continues in
office until 2010. "He (President Mugabe) is not known for refusing
such requests . . . Mugabe cannot change the life of parliament to less than
five years, but can change the presidential term as long as it is an
increase in the number of years. He has in the past jokingly siad he will
rule until he gets to 100 years," he said. Makumbe said while
Mujuru might be the front-runner in the succession race, the country's first
woman vice-president was likely to face resistance from the ZANU PF
leadership, which believes in a patriarchal system that militates against
female leaders. "I cannot rule out Sekeramayi, Makoni and even retired
general Solomon Mujuru himself or Mnangagwa although I think he (Mnangagwa)
is politically damaged, but people in politics are known to come back from
the grave," said Makumbe. A study by the Brussels-based
International Crisis Group warns that Zimbabwe faces greater chaos and
violence as President Mugabe's era draws to a close unless the international
community starts planning for a peaceful transition to democracy.
"The post-election situation may seem like business as usual, but Mugabe's
era is ending. Both ZANU PF and the opposition MDC now face existential
challenges," Peter Kagwanja, South Africa project director of International
Crisis Group says in the report. "The ageing of the old and the conflicting
ambitions of the would-be new ZANU PF chieftains, as well as the growing
frustration of what now has been a remarkably non-violent opposition ensure
that change of some kind is coming soon. Unless Zimbabwe's friends get busy
and get together, it is all too possible it will be violent and chaotic," he
says.
INFLATION could turn
sharply higher over the coming months, economists warn, as they weigh the
impact of last month's rate hike against a feared boom in
credit.
Figures for May released by the Central Statistical Office
last Tuesday showed inflation at 144.4 percent, up 15.3 percentage points
year-on-year, the broadest recent advance in price hikes since a 24.1
percentage point rise took inflation to an all-time high of 622.8 percent in
January 2004. Month-on-month inflation rose 13.1 percent in May,
just a percentage point short of January's 14.1 percent rise. The
central bank had apparently anticipated a rise, but perhaps not the
magnitude. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono last month
gave a muted outlook on inflation in the immediate term, but still remained
bravely bullish for the long term. The RBZ is looking to slow inflation
down to between 50 and 80 percent by December, still a tough task despite it
being a downgraded forecast from the previous 20-35 percent.
Despite the RBZ's optimism, many say the target will become that much harder
to hit if central bank does not immediately put a check on money supply
growth. The RBZ has predicted that monetary expansion will halve from
178 percent in January to 90 percent by the end of this year. This
week, the government was scheduled to announce a plan to hand out $1
trillion to people left homeless by "Operation Restore Order", a promise
that should alert RBZ to just where the inflationary hazards lie going
forward. "Government will obviously borrow to honour this latest
act of appeasement," one observer noted this week. State domestic debt is
already up four-fold this year at $10 trillion. Economists say
government borrowing has been a strong driver of inflation this year, and
the RBZ is under pressure to tighten its purse strings and curb the abuse of
a raft of facilities for cheap lending. It is understood the RBZ has
frequently yielded to government pressure to hand over funds held for
liquidity management. On one recent occasion, a money market player has told
The Financial Gazette, the government asked the RBZ to convert $2.7 trillion
worth of two-year treasury bills (TBs) issued for money market purposes into
ordinary TBs, at 70 percent, to fund state spending. This meant the
liquidity that had already been mopped up made its way back onto the market,
and the RBZ had to tie it up again in fresh TBs. Last month, Gono
agreed that restraining money supply would be key to taming
inflation. "Successful reduction of inflation to low and stable levels
demands that, over the medium to long term, the country's money supply
aggregates grow at levels that are consistent with real economic activity,"
Gono said. Raising the key bank rate 65 percentage points to 160
percent, Gono said the hike had come "on the back of the high upside risk on
inflation envisaged over the outlook period". Gono's rate hike won
widespread market support, but analysts said the intended impact of curbing
speculative buying of assets would be offset by the effects of uncontrolled
credit expansion. The RBZ, the analysts said, should therefore back the
rate cut with restraint in its policy of handing out cash to parastatals and
councils under its strategy to save them from collapse. The RBZ
last week began raising the $10 trillion it pledged for parastatal
reform. It is widely feared that state enterprises, debt-laden and
crippled by inefficiency, may use the funds to pay off debts instead of
boosting production as intended. Several firms have been accused in
the past of abusing the productive sector facility (PSF), a fund introduced
by the RBZ to provide cheap funding to manufacturers. However, other firms
have said in their financials that the PSF had protected them from
potentially damaging finance charges. The RBZ will begin calling back
PSF funds next Thursday. The RBZ had funded the PSF from an increase in
bank statutory reserves, looking to mop up excess liquidity and curtail
speculative activity. However, the same cash found its way back onto the
market as the central bank has used those reserves to supply concessionary
lending to troubled firms.
EDITOR - When Operation Murambatsvina began most of us
thought that at last the government had decided to heed the international
community's calls for it to restore order and the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
But alas, this was not to be.
Once again, the governement has
plunged into a disaster that is likely to take years to sort out. Surely,
there must be something wrong with the people advising the
government. The whole issue of "illegal structures" has been blown out
of proportion once again, just like the seizure of farms yester year. It is
hard to believe that the government has reached the extent of forcing people
to demolish tuckshops that are within their own yards knowing fully well
that these are their only means of survival - this a stomach-churning
catastrophe! Surely the people of Zimbabwe need to think long and
loud about this. Is it sheer arrogance on the part of government or is it
that Zimbabweans have been too submissive and in the process emboldened the
government to do whatever it likes with them? Surely a whole nation
cannot be turned into refugees overnight. Only last year the government was
on the forefront of encouraging people to venture into self-help projects,
but just as the people thought they had escaped the poverty trap, they
suddenly find themselves on the receiving end from the same people that had
encouraged them to build the shacks in the first place. This is
really disgusting, especially this coming at a time when the government is
trying to rally Zimbabweans behind its economic turnaround
programme. Zimbabweans in the diapora, meanwhile should be prepared
to chip in with the much needed help to alleviate the suffering of common
people. I should like to apologise to the generality of Zimbabweans and your
readers for my choice of words in this article but there is no other way to
describe what this government is doing to its own people other than "evil".
Where is the UN at this hour when it is needed most? Time is not on
Zimbabweans' side as some are threatened with starvation and exposure to the
elements. Zimbabwe might not hae oil, but it surely has the most
precious of things - life!
EDITOR - Our beautiful country is being ground to a
pulp.
Why? Could someone please explain to all of us Zimbabweans
and the concerned world what the agenda is? I am sure the people of
Zimbabwe have a right to know, especially since they are the ones who are
paying taxes to keep the government where it is. Come on Zimbabweans. it's
time to wake up know. I am sure the government would not treat a foreigner
as badly as this. Stay strong fellow Zimbabweans as we are with you all
the time.
Translators Italians have one funny
saying which, when translated, means a translator is a traitor.
A colleague from one staid Sunday publication at the weekend thought he was
being resourceful by appointing himself to the dubious post of "public
interpreter" with the intention of interpreting the meaning of one of CZ's
recent articles. Yes, once in a while CZ exercises his right to speak with a
folded tongue and someone thought they could come handy to unravel the
riddle and in the end . . . guess what the fellow achieved? Advertising the
dangerous levels of his own ignorance! So CZ has become an institution
of some sort, hasn't he? Otherwise what would explain all this fuss about
some barren journo colleagues making it their business to try to interpret
things that are clearly way above their heads . . . moreso when they choose
to read paragraphs from bottom to top and from right to left . . . obviously
they won't decipher anything to justify their self-styled roles as public
interpreters! For the record, the army tortured Mark Chavunduka and Ray
Choto in 1999 after a story about a putative coup attempt. The marriage
incident that the scatter-brained colleague referred to involved other
journalists from another newsroom altogether several years previously. It is
also important to note that Mark and Ray were not "allegedly tortured", they
were actually tortured and the state has since compensated them.
Can one be considered difficult if they were to wonder what else in the
story cannot tote up? Hopefully, the "analysts" and "commentators"
quoted in the masterpiece are not his own creations . . . like Diedrich
Knickerbocker's Rip van Winkle, Ruth Rendell's Chief Inspector Wexford or
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Detective Sherlock Holmes. Here is what we
mean: Suppose Pius Ncube demanded to know the "one analyst" who said he is
praying and fasting for the worst to happen to the Great Uncle, would this
creative journo be at liberty to name him or her? If he were to be asked to
bring those dubious "analysts" in the flesh, would he able to do so . . .
and even get them to repeat the tripe they were curiously quoted as
saying? The long and short of the matter is that the whole article was
based on imaginations going haywire. Period! Small wonder why the
publication in question will need all other papers to close shop first
before it can be considered a paper of record! This is CZ's Notebook.
Take extra care. cznotebook@yahoo.co.uk
Zisco's Hwange debt balloons to massive $110
billion
Chris Muronzi 6/23/2005 8:08:14 AM (GMT
+2)
PERENNIAL loss-maker Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company's (Zisco)
debt to listed mining giant Hwange Colliery Company (HCC) has ballooned to
over $110 billion amid reports that the company has been failing to service
its debt since last year.
Inside sources this week told The
Financial Gazette that Zisco, which was ditched by Shougang International
Trade and Engineering Corporation of China in a deal that would have seen
the injection of a US$200 million lifeline in working capital, is under
pressure from HCC to retire its debt. Zisco, whose production output
has dipped to rock bottom levels, has entered into a pre-financing deal with
its customers, a move the company says will boost production. HCC
marketing and public relations manager John Nkala could not be drawn into
commenting on the issue but confirmed that his company was owed billions of
dollars by its major customers. Parastatals like the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and Ziscosteel, are some of its major
customers. "I am not in a position to comment on those issues," said
Nkala. Inside sources in the colliery company however, indicated that
the Zisco debt issue has been the subject of heated debate in recent
weeks. Should the HCC continue to charge interest on the debt, fears
are that it could reach unsustainable levels judging by Zisco's cash
position. Zisco boss Gabriel Masanga also refused to comment on the
debt issue. Last year, Hwange was embroiled in another dispute with
power utility ZESA, prompting ministerial intervention. The failure, by
state-owned energy and industrial enterprises to pay for coal supplies has
seen Hwange - 40 percent controlled by government - failing to live up to
its potential. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe denied Zisco concessionary
funding under its productive sector funding (PSF) facility last year after
the steel producer's books were found to be in poor shape. Turnaround
efforts at the company have failed to take place despite strong
recommendations from government that the management and board of the
state-owned firm be fired to facilitate its swift transformation back to
profitability. Zisco needs about 1200 tonnes of coal a day although it
is operating at below 50 percent capacity. When fully operational, the steel
giant can take up to 2 000 tonnes of coal in the same period. The
steel giant has the capacity to produce one million tonnes of steel annually
but has lost some of its markets in East Africa and Europe.
ZIMBABWE'S business
sector, wallowing in misery as output continues to plunge, is bracing for a
massive 600 percent tariff hike by the national power utility, the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).
Industry players said business
executives had become jittery amid reports that ZESA approached government
seeking approval to hike tariffs by nearly 600 percent. Analysts
said this would deal a death blow to industry, particularly the
manufacturing sector, whose capacity has been reduced to 40 percent. A
myriad of problems ranging from fuel to foreign currency shortages and
sky-rocketing production costs are wreaking havoc on some companies'
operations threatening the survival of the country's industry which is
already on its knees. Although no official comment could be
obtained from ZESA, sources said the financially-handicapped parastatal was
battling to make up for its poor cash flows by coming up with "economic"
tariffs. Analysts however, said raising tariffs by such a margin could
prove disastrous to industry and the general public. The mining
industry, a heavy consumer of energy, could be hard-hit by such a massive
tariff hike, at time when it is already reeling under rising production
costs and foreign currency shortages. Analysts also said hiking the
prices of energy could trigger another flurry of prices increases, further
reducing consumer spending and worsening the plight of ordinary
Zimbabweans. With inflation currently at 144.4 percent and rising, any
hike in the price of energy might fuel inflationary pressures. Analysts have
forecast inflation to cap the year at around 200 percent.
Inflation, which topped 622 percent at the beginning of 2004, has long been
considered the country's number one enemy. Zimbabwe National Chamber of
Commerce (ZNCC) president Luxon Zembe said a hike in power charges would
trigger fresh price increases. Electricity is a major cost factor in
production. ZESA has previously highlighted that it is facing critical
shortages of foreign currency and was currently sub-levying rates due to
pressure from both industry and government. The government dithered
on an earlier proposal from ZESA to hike tariffs by 150 percent early this
year. ZESA has also been facing constraints in maintaining transmission and
distribution networks. The authority, which has failed to attract
meaningful investment in its power generation plants, is still using
antiquated equipment resulting in frequent breakdowns and unreliable power
supplies. Industry has on the other hand levelled accusations of
malfeasance against ZESA citing debilitating power cuts. "A 600
percent energy hike would result in a massive increase in operating costs
and this will be factored in to the consumers," Zembe said. "This would
actually worsen not only the plight of consumers but industry as well which
is operating at around 30 percent," he said. Zembe said his
organisation had written to ZESA seeking clarification, but had not received
any response.
Clean-up should extend to environmental
protection
Allen Choruma 6/23/2005
9:36:36 AM (GMT +2)
THE current clean-up operation code
named "Operation Restore Order" should be extended to include environmental
protection and conservation.
Despite having some of
the most comprehensive environmental protection laws and regulations on the
African continent, Zimbabwe has not done its utmost when it comes to
environmental protection and conservation. The level of environmental damage
is alarming to an extent that corrective measures should be taken before the
situation deteriorates even further. I have highlighted below some of the
major environmental degradation issues based on my personal
observations. Deforestation In
Zimbabwe most forests have simply vanished and the risk of aridness is very
high. What are left in most parts of the country are clear patches of land
where one can even see the colour of the soil from a distance. This is
typical to both rural and urban areas. In urban areas, for
example, the once preserved green belts have vanished, paving way for
housing and industrial developments. Urban citizens have also contributed
their part by clearing vast tracts of land for illegal cultivation. One
needs to drive through the hilly areas of Warren Hills, Warren Park and New
Marimba Park in Mufakose to witness the extent of deforestation in urban
Harare. The once forested hills in these areas now stand bare and
desolate. Siltation Most rivers and
tributaries around the country are filled with mounds of sand and loose
stones. Only trickles of water can be observed right in the middle of what
once upon a time used to be big rivers. The major causes of siltation are:
deforestation, river bed cultivation, overgrazing, illegal gold panning and
so on. During the summer season rain simply washes all the top soil and
deposits it in the rivers, turning them into sand baths. The Save River, for
example, is one of the most heavily silted rivers in Zimbabwe. The river has
sand dunes from its catchment area in Mashonaland East province all the way
to the Mozambican border as it heads to the Indian Ocean. This has impacted
negatively on acquatic life and vegetation along
rivers. Atmospheric pollution
Atmospheric (air) pollution has reached alarming levels in urban and
peripheral urban areas. During morning and evening commuting thick clouds of
smoke and smog can be seen covering the highways, industrial sites and even
some residential urban areas. The major culprits are automobiles, especially
trucks and commuter omnibuses, factories, industrial plants and thermal
power stations. Members of the public have also been causing a lot of air
pollution due to fires and burning of refuse in
neighbourhoods. The cement factories are some of the most
visible major pollutants in urban areas. One wonders if they have emission
licences, considering the possible effects of their emissions on the quality
of ambient air. A visit to Mabvuku in Harare and Cement Side in Bulawayo
bears testimony of how serious the air pollution is. The cement dust belched
from the dirty factory chimneys have turned the green vegetation dusty white
and destroyed a lot of vegetation. The air pollution from these factories is
so extensive that it poses a serious health hazard to the people working and
living around them. Water
pollution Most of our rivers and dams have been turned into
dumping areas by some chemical companies. Some chemical plants have simply
resorted to discharging their waste into our rivers and dams. Manyame and
Mukuvisi rivers within the Greater Harare environs have been reported in the
media countless times as victims of water pollution mostly from chemical
factories, raw sewerage discharges and also from illegal activities which
include dumping of refuse by members of the public.
Refuse dumps Open refuse dumps are now a common site in
urban areas. People have resorted to wanton dumping of refuse in open spaces
as a result of the local authorities' ineptitude to collect refuse. Open
refuse dumps set up by local authorities pose serious environmental
pollution problems, not to mention the stench emitted. These refuse dumps
are also a serious health hazard as some are located in the proximity of
residential areas. The Warren Hills open refuse dump in Harare is an
example. Environmental protection is not the responsibility
of government alone. In this article I will highlight the role that the
government and companies (including parastatals) should play in
environmental protection. Govt and local
authorities The government should take the leading role in
championing environmental protection and conservation by mobilising its
resources and other apparatus to enforce compliance with existing laws and
regulations on environmental protection. The Environmental Management Act
Chapter 20:27, is a very comprehensive piece of environmental legislation.
The Act provides for the sustainable management of natural resources and
protection of the environment, the prevention of pollution and environmental
degradation, among other things. The government,
through the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, should strictly enforce
provisions of the Act as part of the clean-up
operation. The minister, in terms of section 133 of the
said Act, should by statutory instrument assign to local authorities' i.e.
urban councils and rural district councils some functions under the Act for
the purpose of managing the environment within their areas of
jurisdiction. Environmental courts To
demonstrate its seriousness on environmental protection, the government
should consider setting up Environmental Courts in each province. These
would be specialised courts which would prosecute environmental violations.
Apart from speeding up prosecutions of violators, the courts would also act
as a deterrent to would-be offenders. Good corporate
governance Companies, including parastatals and state
enterprises, should recognise that their activities in one way or the other
have an impact on the environment. Where possible,
companies should exceed the minimum standard of environmental protection
enshrined in the Environmental Management Act and other legislation.
Regulatory authorities like the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange should go a step
further to check if listed companies are indeed complying with environmental
laws. Good corporate governance requires companies to
publish Environmental Policy Statements which provide a framework for
developing and reviewing environmental objectives and policies. The key
environmental protection issues to be covered in such statements relate to
environmental management policies and procedures which include the
following: recycling of waste, use of energy saving equipment, clean energy
investments i.e. low carbon use, use of renewable resources i.e. geothermal,
solar and wind, use of hybrid low carbon emission vehicles (transport
companies), reduction of green house gas emissions and so
on. Company or listing laws should require companies to
publish Environmental Protection Statements as a matter of good corporate
governance. Companies which exceed a certain threshold in terms of turnover
and market capitalisation should be made to comply with the Zimbabwe
Standard Association SAZ ISO 14001: 1996. This environmental management
system specification is intended to provide organisations with elements of
an effective environmental management system which can be integrated with
other management requirements to assist an organisation meet its
environmental and corporate goals. In conclusion,
environmental management should form part and parcel of the current clean-up
operation and all stakeholders should all take part in the environment
clean-up exercise. --- Allen M. Choruma is an independent
researcher and writer on corporate governance. He can be contacted on
e-mail: allenc17@juno.com
THE
government's nationwide demolition spree, euphemistically code-named
Operation Restore Order or Murambatsvina, has continued to be the dominant
story in the local press.
Over the last weekend, two Sunday papers
highlighted two aspects of the widely condemned man-made tsunami whose real
objective has not crystallised despite the voluminous official rhetoric that
has exploded since the exercise began. Am I the only one who is
still as confounded as I was on day one as to what the government's real
motives are for inflicting such pain and suffering on its own people?
Hygiene, the search for criminal elements, hoarded goods and foreign
currency and the need to restore the capital city, Harare, to its "Sunshine
city" status were initially given as the reasons for the merciless clampdown
on street vendors and informal traders. However it did not take long
for it to become abundantly clear that government had an endless list of
agendas it needed to pursue in one fell swoop under the all-encompassing
smokescreen of Operation Restore Order/Murambatsvina. What began as
an exercise to spruce up the capital city soon spread to other towns, farms
and rural areas. The operation has also mutated in terms of focus in that
anything can now be targeted - office buildings, flats, backyard garages and
structures that thousands of urban dwellers have called home for
years. The cause of my befuddlement and that of many other concerned
citizens stems from failure to understand why government has to resort to
this heavy-handedness to introduce changes "if these are well thought out
policies designed to improve the lot of those affected. The gross
insensitivity shown so far leaves the people of Zimbabwe wondering whether
they should view any new government initiatives with trepidation because of
the punitive and totalitarian manner in which they are imposed and
implemented. The events of the last few weeks leave me no choice
but to conclude that there are some people with a sadistic streak in
government who get pleasure from humiliating and inflicting maximum pain on
fellow human beings. An official response to a story published in a
Sunday paper last weekend to the effect that the ongoing clean-up exercise
had caused a split within the ruling party gives an idea of what is
considered important. "It's not true, those are lies. We are strongly
united in our efforts to make Zimbabwe a clean and safe environment", roared
Didymus Mutasa, the Minister of State for National Security when asked to
comment on the differences of opinion. The decision to embark on the
exercise had been unanimously taken at cabinet level, Mutasa stressed,
before accusing the publication of "always making noise about the rule of
law and when we use the law you make unnecessary noises." He did
not say which laws he was referring to which obliged the government to
deprive hundreds of thousands of people of their livelihood and then rub
salt into their wounds by demolishing their homes, exposing them to the
elements in the middle of winter. It would be good to know chapter and verse
of these laws that require government officials to be so callous and
hard-hearted in enforcing rules or regulations that we all know are not
written in stone. Mutasa seems to believe that because decisions are
made unanimously in cabinet, that, per se, means they cannot be questioned
or challenged. He needs to be reminded that a government that is responsive
to the needs and aspirations of the people is prepared and required to
listen to opposing views. It should be prepared to revisit and adjust its
own position if its decisions and actions are rejected by the people as
wrong and unjust. Speaking with one voice that results in the
subordinating of the interests and welfare of the people to the
intransigence of an arrogant ruling elite is not something to be proud of as
Mutasa seems to think. It is incredible that the minister thinks any
reasonable person can believe that it is possible for members of the ruling
party to see eye to eye on every issue for 25 years. This is the impression
that Mutasa and other ZANU PF stalwarts want to give when they shout down or
ridicule anyone who hints at any differences of opinion. Instead of
accusing the Sunday paper referred to above of telling lies, Mutasa should
have responded to the statements made by members of his own party in
interviews with the publication. The critics included a politburo member who
described the random destruction of homes and flea markets in the prevailing
economic environment of rampant poverty and unemployment as "absolute
madness." As if to drive home the point that things cannot be as rosy
as Mutasa tried to have the nation believe, another Sunday newspaper carried
a story suggesting that the head of state, President Robert Mugabe, was not
entirely pleased with the way things have gone since Murambatsvina was
launched about a month ago. In particular, he was said to be so irked by the
hard-to-conceal negative effects of the operation that he had tasked
Vice-President Joice Mujuru to follow up on the matter. This
newspaper report indicated that six committees with members drawn from six
ministries would be responsible for tackling various components of the
operation. What I have also found puzzling about these developments is that
the Ministry of Policy Planning and Implementation does not feature
anywhere. One would have thought that formulating people-oriented policies
and overseeing their humane implementation was Cde Webster Shamu's baby.
Where are you when the nation needs you, Cde Shamu?
Bulawayo Churches Resist Pressure to Turn Out
Displaced By Patience Rusere Washington 23 June
2005
Bulawayo churches have staved off attempts by police to move
homeless people in the care of the city's congregations to a new holding
facility at Helensvale farm in Bubi-Umguza - at least until adequate
facilities are established there.
A source close to the
situation said police earlier ordered churches to evacuate those they were
sheltering, but church leaders refused to carry out the order. The churches
eventually agreed with ministerial and provincial officials that they could
continue hosting the homeless until suitable new accommodations were set
up.
About 3,000 people have found shelter in eight church
buildings, church sources in Bulawayo said. Most of these displaced people
originally came from the Ngozi and Killarney squatter camps, from which
police had driven them out.
The Zimbabwe Red Cross and UNICEF
have agreed to provide tents in which the internally displaced can be
sheltered, a Bulawayo churchman said.
Pastor Lucky Moyo of
Bulawayo, a member of the relief committee set up by an alliance of churches
in the city, told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that Bulawayo Governor Cain Mathema and the Department of Social Services
were parties to Thursday's agreement on assistance.
Displaced Families Moved to Holding Camp North of
Bulawayo By Babongile Dlamini Washington 23 June
2005
Studio 7 has learned that authorities moved a number of
former residents of the Killarney squatter camp near Bulawayo to a holding
camp north of the city in the Bubi-Umguza district. Humanitarian sources
said the camp was set up to shelter those made homeless by Operation
Murambatsvina. But officials warned that the facility is only temporary and
not large enough to hold all those needing shelter.
Reporter
Babongile Dlamini of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe filed a report.