(TALKZIMBABWE) Talks undermining inclusive Govt

Talks undermining inclusive Govt
Prof Jonathan Moyo - Talks undermining inclusive Govt
Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:55:00 +0000

AS Zimbabweans reflect on Wednesday’s Budget speech by Finance Minister Tendai Biti, which contained some arguably progressive measures that were delivered with an unprecedentedly positive oral tone that smacked of a palpably new spirit of collective government responsibility, while confining the usual divisive acrimony to the fine print, it is a pity that the same spirit has thus far eluded the resolution of the so-called outstanding GPA issues whose number is now a staggering 27 to the detriment of the coalition government and national stability.

Although its allocative framework was fundamentally flawed because of its hostile approach to land reform, and its glaring failure to acknowledge the devastating impact of the illegal American and European economic sanctions that have ravaged the livelihoods of ordinary people while incapacitating government and the business sector, Biti’s budget sentiment was nevertheless constructive.

With President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in co-operative attendance, Biti’s 2010 Budget Statement was presented in an affirmative manner and congenial atmosphere that would leave a visitor from Mars in total disbelief upon learning that Biti’s MDC-T party had disengaged only a few weeks ago from the same government that formulated Wednesday’s promising Budget, and that Zanu PF and the two MDC formations in government are currently embroiled in divisive and even dangerous GPA negotiations which threaten the survival of the coalition government ahead of 2010.

In the interest of transparency and good governance, the people of Zimbabwe and their regional, African and international well-wishers need to know that all does not seem to be well in the ongoing GPA negotiations.

There can be no other conclusion given that what were originally six alleged outstanding GPA issues have now ballooned to 27 such that the agenda of the deadlocked negotiations stands as follows:

1. Swearing in of Roy Bennett

2. Appointment of provincial governors

3. Appointment of (a) Johannes Tomana as Attorney-General and (b) Gideon Gono as Reserve Bank Governor

4. Sanctions

5. Media: (a) pirate radio stations, (b) hate speech and (c) bias in the media

6. Rule of law issues and State organs and institutions

7. Review of ministerial allocations

8. Land issues: (a) land audit and (b) tenure systems

9. Electoral vacancies

10. Framework of Government: (a) chairing of Cabinet, (b) Cabinet and Council of Ministers rules, (c) ministerial mandates, (d) transport arrangements for the principals, (e) staff and security of principals, (f) vote and budget and (g) communication among the principals

11. Parallel government

12. External interference

13. National Economic Council

14. Constitutional Commissions

15. National Heroes

16. National Security Issues: (a) security sector reform and (b) compliance with the National Security Council Act

17. Respect of national institutions and events

18. Role of and reform of the public and private media

19. Role of and position of the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity (George Charamba)

20. Constitutional Amendment Number 19

21. Allocation of ambassadors

22. Interference with the right of freedom of assembly and association

23. Role and funding of NGOs

24. Multi-Donor Trust Fund

25. Politicisation of humanitarian food assistance

26. Selective funding of elements/ministries by donors

27. Electoral amendments

Within the ongoing negotiations, the first six items outlined above were what the three parties in the coalition government considered to be the so-called outstanding issues while the first three of those issues led to the disengagement from government by the MDC-T in October and the holding of the SADC summit of the Troika on Politics, Defence and Security in Maputo last month.

This means that there are now 21 new outstanding issues which are also supposed to be outstanding GPA matters that are expected to be resolved by the negotiating teams from Zanu PF and the two MDC formations, with the assistance of the new facilitating team from South Africa that has replaced former South African President Thabo Mbeki.

There are three reasons why this situation is not right and should be stopped dead in its tracks.

First, the fact that the very same teams that negotiated the GPA before it was signed on September 15, 2008, are once again back negotiating an agenda with 27 items is scandalous and unacceptable. It would be most unfortunate if this fact was made possible by the summit of the SADC Troika on Politics, Defence and Security that met last month in Maputo after which the MDC-T ended its ill-advised and ill-fated disengagement from the coalition government.

The ongoing negotiations are a blatant violation of Articles XXII which set up the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) and XXIII which established a Review Committee to "ensure full and proper implementation of the letter and spirit" of the GPA. Why are these two important GPA committees not being allowed to do their job?

Second, and related to the first reason, the fact that the original negotiating teams have been reconstituted to effectively reopen the GPA with 27 issues on the agenda is tantamount to undermining and subverting the signed GPA itself. Those, especially in America and Europe, and indeed in the MDC-T, who keep talking about the need for the full implementation of the GPA must realise and understand that the GPA cannot be fully implemented by undermining its internal processes and instruments.

Jomic and the Review Committee established in terms of Articles XXII and XXIII of the GPA are clearly being undermined through the recalling of the original GPA negotiating teams to deal with 27 agenda items of which 26 are new and not even mentioned in the GPA as outstanding issues. It boggles the mind to imagine how SADC has allowed this anomaly to take root.

Third, and above everything else, it is a matter of grave concern that 21 of the new issues that have been falsely added as outstanding GPA issues not only undermine the GPA itself, but they also subvert the coalition government formed on February 13 this year in terms of the GPA.

A cursory examination of the agenda issues outlined above being negotiated by the teams from Zanu PF and the two MDC formations, from the seventh bullet downwards, clearly shows that those are issues that must in reality and policy be dealt with by the coalition government itself.

For example, why should the teams that negotiated the GPA before it was signed on September 15, 2008, now review ministerial allocations? Is Constitutional Amendment Number 19 not clear about how ministerial appointments are to be made and if so, why is that the business of the original GPA negotiators when Constitutional Amendment Number 19 was passed into law by Parliament?

Why should original GPA negotiators deal with the framework of government when that is established in terms of the Constitution? The same goes for land issues and national heroes among many other issues including those relating to the media. Are these policy and legislative matters for the original GPA negotiators or for the government of the day?

What is the purpose of having a government if important policy and legislative matters such as the new 21 issues on the agenda of the ongoing GPA negotiations outlined above are to be handled by teams from political parties that negotiated a signed agreement whose purpose was to set up that very same government?

It should go without saying that the most critical point of the GPA negotiations before September 15, 2008, was to set up a coalition government and to establish the principles and framework of that government.

Once formed, that government must get on with the business of governing the country in terms of the laws of the land and the Constitution without reopening the original negotiations as is now happening with the apparent but most unfortunate Sadc blessing.

The fact that the GPA discourse on the so-called outstanding issues now has an agenda with 27 items demonstrates beyond any doubt that the time has come for Zimbabweans to demand an end to negotiations and a start to the serious business of governing the country in the national interest.

This is because, as can be readily gleaned from the 27 agenda items before the negotiators from Zanu PF and the two MDC formations, the outstanding issues can only be addressed by the unity government that was formed on February 13 in terms of the September 15, 2008, Global Political Agreement.

With Wednesday’s Budget presentation by Minister Biti as a case in point, the time has now come to let the GPA government, led by President Robert Mugabe, to do its job in accordance with the GPA and under the laws and Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Anything else is just mumbo jumbo.

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*Professor Jonathan Moyo is MP for Tsholotsho North and is a member of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party.