Maravi

(STICKY) (TALKZIMBABWE) World Bank admits funding Tsvangirai's office

COMMENT - The MDC are Quislings and sellouts, there to overthrow the Zimbabwean government and open Zimbabwe's mines up to western corporate capital. They have no economic plan of their own that is different from the IMF/World Bank. They are more corrupt than ZANU-PF. And they can only operate in Zimbabwe, because Zimbabwe is a democracy - they are the parliamentary opposition, after all. When the people of Zimbabwe are exposed the facts about the MDC (the central place in creating sanctions, their membership, their corruption), they will never get another vote again.

World Bank admits funding Tsvangirai's office
Philip Murombedzi
Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:39:00 +0000

PM Morgan Tsvangirai and US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office at the White House June 12, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama extended sanctions against Zimbabwe by "another year" when he came into power.

THE World Bank has made an unusual confession that they are secretly making extra payments to the Office of the Prime Minister which have not been approved by government. The payments are used by the PM's office to pay civil servants over and above their government salaries.

The revelation was first made public by former Information Minister and now independent legislator for Tsholotsho North, Professor Jonathan Moyo.

Prof Moyo revealed that PM Morgan Tsvangirai was making secret payments to civil servants who worked in his office salaries of up to US$7,000 a month when most civil servants earn a paltry US$150 a month.

Dr Mungai Lenneiye of the World Bank office in Zimbabwe confirmed that the payments were indeed being made through the multilateral lending agent.

Dr Lenneiye was asked by public broadcaster ZBC on Monday September 14 2009 to explain why the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the full name of the bank, was being used to pay salaries to partisan political civil servants for one party in the inclusive Government of Zimbabwe.

Dr Lenneiye said there was "no problem" with such payments being made to the Office of the Prime Minister. This is despite the fact the payments are not approved by Cabinet and have not been made through the Public Service Commission.

If leaders of other parties in the inclusive Government are interested in having their favourite civil servants access and feed from the same slush funds, they should apply for the access, said Dr Lenneiye.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Gorden Moyo also revealed in an interview with a UK based Zimbabwean radio station that the office of the PM was indeed receiving funds from the World Bank to supplement the salaries of civil servants in that office.

Although this is illegal in Zimbabwe, Moyo defended the move saying the civil servants were getting the money as part of a Government scheme with the World Bank.

"It is a scheme of Government . . . we are getting resources through a scheme of technical assistants (sic) through the World Bank. These people are being paid through the World Bank," Minister Moyo said.

Dr Lenneiye's statement is, however, in contradiction to Minister Moyo. Such a scheme does not exist and is not part of any initiative of the inclusive Government.

The payments seem to be confined to the PM's office only.

Dr Lenneiye's confession, contradicts a statement made by MDC-T legislator, Senator Obert Gutu who wrote an article saying: "For the benefit of the readership, let me categorically state that the Prime Minister’s Office has got a small professional bureaucracy that earns the same salary as every civil servant."

Senator Gutu’s statement strikes a discordant note with Minister Moyo, whom many would say is better informed about affairs in the PM’s Office than the legislator.

Prof Jonathan Moyo charged that MDC-T was attempting to set up a parallel Government with the aid of donor funds.

He said: "Some of these (staff) are working on the Prime Minister’s partisan newsletter and are reportedly being paid some US$700 a week while their co-ordinator, Andrew Chadwick, and other directors — such as a well-known lady lawyer who left a high-paying job at Artherstone and Cook to join the Prime Minister’s legal team — are earning at least US$7 000" a month.

In a recent article, Prof Moyo commented that the "Prime Minister's Office is too bloated, with a hierarchy that is full of loquacious cronies and incompetent relatives all together numbering some 16 officers who are either principal directors or directors assisted by a host of part-time sidekicks most of whom receive scandalous top up salaries ranging from US$700 to US$7 000.

"The Prime Minister’s Office includes the following principal directors who are playing double roles: Lazarus Muriritirwa (Policy Implementation); Andrew Chadwick (Communications); Denis Murira (Public Affairs); Valentine Cinemane (Special Projects-whatever that means); Martin Rupiya (Security) and Norman Sachikonye.

"Below these principal directors are directors who are in charge of ministerial clusters and who therefore shadow the entire GPA Government and these include Moses Chundu (Economic Affairs); Rose Zigomo (Rights and Interests); Abisha Nyanguwo (Social Affairs); Ghandi Mudzingwa (Infrastructure) and Emmanuel Chimwanda (Security). Also in the hierarchy are James Maridadi (Spokesperson of the Prime Minister); Sabelo Gatsheni Ndlovu (Personal Assistant to Minister of State Godern Moyo in the Prime Minister's Office); Dumiso Matshazi who is a director manning the Bulawayo offices of the Prime Minister and Jacob Mafume who was recently moved from the United States Embassy to coordinate and link the Prime Minister’s Office, Usaid and the parallel government with the activities of over 2 300 NGOs in close liaison with Xolani Zitha, who used to work with Mafume at Zimbabwe Crisis Coalition (created and funded by Usaid) and who has now been deployed as a Personal Assistant in the Office of Lovemore Moyo in Parliament. Zitha and Mafume are specifically supposed to represent the interests of Usaid and other donors in the now controversial constitution-making process at risk of derailment," added Moyo.

The World bank revelation, according to analysts, is evidence that the U.S. and UK are trying to effect regime change in Zimbabwe by funding a parallel government in Zimbabwe.

The World Bank, in real terms, is an institution firmly under the control of the U.S. government which negotiates, with the governments of other major capitalist powers, the policies to be followed within the World Bank, and under its leadership.

The U.S. is the largest shareholder in the World Bank and the most influential member country. U.S. support for, pressure on, and criticisms of the Bank have been central to its growth and the evolution of its policies, programmes, and practices.

U.S.'s illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe effected through the so-called Zimbabwe Democracy Recovery Act (ZDERA) imposes restrictions on international financial institutions like the WB on trading with Zimbabwe.

Labels: COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, JONATHAN MOYO, MDC, MDC CORRUPTION, NEOCOLONIALISM, World Bank

posted by MrK @ 5:42 PM