Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Zimbabwe's inclusive Cabinet a total failure?

Zimbabwe's inclusive Cabinet a total failure?
Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:52:00 +0000

ONE year on, Zimbabwe’s inclusive Government Ministers are more interested in amassing wealth, perks and political posturing and have so far neglected their ministries to the detriment of ordinary Zimbabweans. More often than not, Ministers are traveling abroad on supposedly government business and yet results of all this shuttling are at a near nil.

Many of the ministers are also involved in political squabbles within their parties or with opposing party members. What have Zimbabwe’s ministers yielded during this part year?

Morgan Tsvangirai - Prime Minister
As the Chief Minister in President Mugabe’s cabinet, Tsvangirai leads his Ministers in failure. He spent more time engaging in political squabbles with Zanu PF, and travelling abroad on party business. His promise to pay civil servants a decent salary still remains a promise. His official tour yielded nothing and many believe he is sabotaging the recovery process in order to come up on top come election time. He is yet to say the word sanctions and denounce them.
Verdict 0/10

Arthur Mutambara - Deputy Prime Minister
The Deputy Prime Minister while very educated has been caught with his foot in his mouth a few times. With his intelligence he should be bringing leadership and direction that the PM lacks. Unfortunately, his progress is hampered by lack of support from the other MDC, which sees him as an obstacle to their power ambitions. Overall his ideas are sound and practical.
Verdict 7/10

Thokozani Khupe - Deputy Prime Minister
The former train ticket clerk has moved up in society but she lacks the depth needed for her office. There is a need for her to brush up on her public speaking especially when addressing foreign dignitaries. On the overall she is good window dressing but this does not translate into productivity on her official capacity.
Verdict 1/10

Tendai Biti - Minister of Finance
The Minister of finance has failed to articulate the fundamentals of Zimbabwe’s economy and the needs of Zimbabweans. His arrogance and know it all attitude will be his downfall. Awarded a dubious Africa’s Best Finance Minister by an equally dubious Western Group no one has heard of Biti’s budget rewarded political allies but did not address civil servant salaries, was lacking in terms of agricultural sector funding, could not even provide money for cloud seeding, lacked priority and failed to consult stakeholders. He seems more interested in dislodging RBZ Governor Gono.
Verdict 2/10

David Coltart - Minister of Education, Sport and Culture
Coltart bit more than he could chew in terms of exams and the day to day running of schools. Teachers have been on a perpetual strike since he became minister. He has had to ask parents to give teachers incentives as he has failed to bring relief in terms of salaries. His continued bugling at Zimsec has seen delays in marking of exams, and the very late release of results. Grade 7 results are a shame and rural schools have borne the brunt of the minister’s failure, as parents do not have to subsidize teachers in rural areas.
Verdict 2/10

Elias Mudzuri - Minister of Energy and Power Development
The erratic supply of electricity by ZESA, lack of customer service and continued fraud and extortion by ZESA employees’ leads one to believe that Mudzuri has no idea as to what his job is. ZESA employees are among some of the highest paid and yet their service is the worst right after that of Harare City Council. Consumers’ reports on faults are ignored unless ZESA employees are given bribes. One wonders where ZESA gets its meter readings because its meter readers are non-existent on the ground.
Verdict 3/10

Eliphas Mukonoweshuro - Minister of Public Service
Civil servants are some of the poorest people in Zimbabwe. Their Minister was last heard of when he was sworn in, he has made no efforts to address their needs, and instead he has taken a backseat approach to his employees needs. The so called audit proved just how inadequate he is, not only did the audit fail to prove the claims of ghost workers it instead frustrated and inconvenienced civil servants. The dignity of civil servants is in the rubbish bin and all their minister does is zoom around in his E240 Mercedes Benz.
Verdict 0/10

Elton Mangoma - Minister of Economic Planning and Investment
Mangoma sounds very intelligent on TV and in the newspaper but we are yet to hear of the investments that he has attracted to the country. Mangoma is instead at the forefront of alienating the few investors that others within the government are attracting. The look West approach that his political party has been advocating for which he has tried to implement has failed because of the current indigenization laws that do not allow the grab everything tactics of western corporations.
Verdict 2/10

Giles Mutsekwa and Kembo Mohadi - Ministers of Home Affairs
Where does one begin when it comes to the ministry of Home Affairs? The police in Zimbabwe are some of the most corrupt world over. It has become a common occurrence for police officers to be given bribes at roadblocks, at police stations, for the correct amount a docket can disappear or a prisoner can be released by mistake. The registrar’s office and passport office are a haven for corrupt practices where for the right amount one can get an authentic forged birth certificate and passport.
Verdict 1/10

Henry Madzorera - Minister of Health and Child Welfare
It has become expensive to be sick in Zimbabwe. While hospitals and clinics are open the important question remains “how many people can afford hospital charges?” while donors have provided medications, equipment and even supplemented salaries many people are dying in their homes because treatment at hospitals is beyond their reach. Madzorera has done nothing to address the plight of the consumer of his service in this case: the patient.
Verdict 2/10

Igantius Chombo - Minister of Local Government
Whitehead as he is popularly known has a knack for attracting the wrong attention. Many of the urban councils have been engaging in criminal corrupt activities while short-changing the ratepayers and Minister Chombo has been slow to act. Council workers are some of the highest paid in the country and yet many communities have no clean water, their garbage is never collected. Streets have no lights; the roads have ditches and potholes.
Verdict 5/10

Theresa Makone - Minister of Public Works
Aside for her tour of the National Sports Stadium last year Theresa Makone has not been visible in her ministerial capacity. On the political front the opposite is quite true, she is the First Lady of the MDC Tsvangirai faction. If she spent as much energy attending to her ministerial duty she would be a star but instead she is famous for being one of the drivers of the MDC-T disengagement from government last year.
Verdict 0/10

Nicholas Goche - Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development
Where is the toll gate money? That is what the public wants to know. The state of Zimbabwe’s roads remains a sticking issue. Dualization projects are gathering dust so to speak.
Verdict 3/10

Olivia Muchena - Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development
For a ministry representing over half of Zimbabwe’s population, the Ministry of Gender has made modest gains. Muchena like Makone made more news on her political aspirations and less on her ministerial duties. For a reserved person, it is a wonder why the Mujuru faction pushed for her to be Zanu PF Women’s League Political Commissar, she has not been forth coming on the official platform and now she will under perform at party level.
Verdict 0/10

Nelson Chamisa - Minister of information and Communications Technology
Most people claimed to have no idea what Chamisa does in the government and claim to know him as the MDC spokesperson. It would seem Chamisa has no interaction with the public and many question the relevance of his Ministry.
Verdict 2/10

Walter Mzembi - Minister of Tourism
Mzembi got off with a wrong start but the public supported him when US President Obama mischievously left him out of meetings during the Prime Minister’s tour of the West. Mzembi has shown his understanding of the tourism sector to an extent where he is among the few Ministers who are actually doing something in the government.
Verdict 6/10

Stan Mudenge - Minister of High and Tertiary Education
Mudenge like Coltrat is a highly confused individual and should retire. Students have failed to attend classes, sit for exams and collect results. Colleges are in a shamble and Zimbabweans deserve someone more responsible to address higher education.
Verdict 1/10

Welshman Ncube - Ministry of Industry and Commerce
The man has more brains than several of the other ministers’ put together. It must be quite a challenge working with retards but he is one of the few who have managed to bring some improvement into his ministry. Local products are finding their way on to store shelves all that remains is for our goods to compete with the South African goods that are cheaper.
Verdict 6/10

Joseph Made - Minister of Agriculture
Made is well remembered for his helicopter ride which was the precursor to a disastrous agricultural season some years back. Experience has taught him well and despite the spanners thrown by Finance Minister Tendai Biti, Made tried as much as possible to rally government behind Zimbabwe’s farmers. It is a shame that the forecasted drought will translate badly on his ministry.
Verdict 8/10

Emmerson Mnangagwa - Minister of Defense
The service conditions of Zimbabwe’s defense forces are deplorable. Many believe that the old guard has abandoned the rank and file and as such can no longer relate to the foot soldiers that are the true keepers of security in Zimbabwe. Like their counterparts the defense forces have come up with unorthodox measures in order to survive.
Verdict 2/10

Obert Mpofu - Minister of Mines and Mining Development
Two words “Marange diamonds” the majority of Zimbabweans fail to understand why the government is failing to realize revenue from the Marange fields and yet there is evidence that individuals illegally mining the diamonds have amassed great wealth from diamond trade. Marange diamonds are an answer to Zimbabwean prayers and not for a few select individuals and as such Mpofu has a lot to answer for.
Verdict 1/10

Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga - Minister of Regional Integration and International Cooperation
Possibly the only success story of all the women in Zimbabwe’s Cabinet Minister Misihairabwi-Mushonga suffered the loss of her husband but has persevered in
administering her duties. COMESA and the One Stop Border are some of the projects that fall under her scope and she leaves others wanting as they concentrate on politics and not their official duty.
Verdict 8/10

Eric Matinenga - Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs
Matinenga who stands accused of using his office to further the MDC-T agenda in the constitution-making process received more funds in the budget than more strategic ministries and has succeeded in fermenting polarization among Zimbabweans over the constitution-making process. Besides the constitution-making process he has done nothing else and many have suggested his ministry should be merged with the justice ministry.
Verdict 2/10

Saviour Kasukuwere -Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment
Tyson as he informally known could do much more for the youth of Zimbabwe. The accusations by the MDC-T of partisan awarding of funds and National Youth Service program could have used a stronger defense, which was not forth coming from the ministry.
Verdict 4/10

Joel Gabuza-Gabuza - Minister of State Enterprise and Parastatals
Another man we last heard of during the jostling of posts by the MDC and Zanu PF. When it comes to parastatals all we have is Biti telling Zimbabweans that government need to be selling all state owned companies because they are not being run efficiently. One wonders exactly what Joel Gabuza-Gabuza is doing and why the few resources that government has are wasted on this in name only Ministry.
Verdict 0/10

Labels: GLOBAL POLITICAL AGREEMENT, MDC, NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT, POLITICS

posted by MrK @ 7:35 PM