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(HERALD) Assist in economic recovery, Tsvangirai tells donors

Assist in economic recovery, Tsvangirai tells donors

THE inclusive Government is grateful to the donor community that continues to help in addressing the humanitarian crisis in the country, but there is need for the donors to go a step further and assist in efforts to revive the economy, Prime Minister Tsvangirai has said.

Speaking here yesterday during the ministerial retreat, PM Tsvangirai said the enormous challenges facing Zimbabwe meant that there was need for international support.

"We are grateful for the recent commitments by the donor community to continue assisting the State in dealing with the ongoing humanitarian crisis, but we also need them to engage with us on our economic recovery programme," he said.

On Wednesday the Prime Minister said the inclusive Government had done everything possible to reform all sectors of the economy in the short space of time it has been in office and one wondered what else it was supposed to do to please Western donors.

He was responding to assertions by a group of 17 "like-minded" Western donor countries, which met recently in the United States and pledged to assist Zimbabwe on condition that "it (the inclusive Government) demonstrates its commitment to reform".

Yesterday, he added that the donor community and multilateral institutions were looking at the rule of law as one of the essential conditions that must be met before they fully engage with the inclusive Government.

"The other key benchmark that will inspire confidence, not just amongst donors but amongst Zimbabweans as a whole, is evidence that all the parties are adhering to the GPA (Global Political Agreement).

"This entails clear evidence that we are bound and guided by the GPA and that there is no faction-driven parallel process that serves to perpetuate the culture of entitlement and impunity," he said.

He said in the inclusive Government, executive authority "rests with the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet".

The PM said outstanding issues under the GPA should be resolved by the President and Vice Presidents, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

"This body will meet in the coming week to address the outstanding issues which include, but are not limited to, the swearing-in of provincial governors, the appointment of the Governor of the Reserve Bank and the Attorney-General, the appointment of permanent secretaries and ambassadors and the ongoing land disputes and disruption of agricultural activities.

"The clarity of the GPA and the Constitution mean that if we abide by their letter and spirit,

these issues can be resolved immediately. In doing so, we will prove to the international community that we are genuine and serious about restoring Zimbabwe to its rightful place in the family of nations," said the PM.

He said the paths and futures of all people across the political divide "are now united by the GPA".

He said he was aware that the Government was limited in its operations by time and resources.

"On a practical level, our objective this weekend is to obtain a commonality of interests among all ministers and heads of ministries as to the key issues on which we need to focus in order to successfully implement both the GPA and the Short-Term Emergency Recovery Programme.

"The majority of the commitments and objectives in both of these documents require activities that cut across various ministries and, thus, we must understand these relationships in order to successfully implement them.

"In this, each ministry must understand fully their role in the implementation of the GPA and STERP, such that each can play their part positively in this team that we are building.

"By the end of the weekend, as Government, we will have agreed on the common objectives of this administration and we will have developed a concrete plan for the coming 100 days to ensure timely and efficient implementation. These objectives will be directed at creating the Zimbabwe we want and that the people of Zimbabwe deserve.

"Each ministry will identify its own outputs in line with these objectives and will present a clear understanding on the internal and external resources available to it and those that are needed to be sourced externally in the form of funding and technical skills.

"From the work of the individual ministries, a composite document of action plans will be developed to guide us in the implementation of the GPA and STERP," said the PM.

Earlier yesterday, there was a review of the economic, social, rights and interests, security and infrastructure clusters.

Later in the day, there was group work involving ministers, deputy ministers and permanent secretaries in a session dubbed "Getting to Know Each Other".

Both sessions were closed to the media.

Labels: DONORS, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI

posted by MrK @ 4:34 AM