SADCtrader offers SMEs free online platform
by Business reporter
07/05/2010 00:00:00
A
FREE online advertising platform has been launched to take advantage of the recent surge in continental internet penetration and help boost trade in the southern Africa region. The internet has helped transform business across the world but Africa missed out on the so-called dot.com revolution due to low internet penetration levels.
However the promoters of a new free online advertising platform,
SADCtrader.com say with Africa’s internet usage growth topping 1 800 percent in the last ten years, the continent is now experiencing its own internet revolution.
SADCtrader.com offers a free platform for private and business to business commercial interaction covering all the 15 countries in the SADC region, from Angola to Zimbabwe.
“The project was inspired by a sense of frustration caused by lack of information on how to do business in developing economies. Information on products and services as well as producers and service providers is not readily available, which is a stifling bottleneck to trade,” SADCtrader.com marketing manager Douglas Tobaiwa said.
The project offers what could be a crucial marketing platform for informal traders and the small-to- medium scale enterprise sector (SMEs) which now contributes significantly to gross domestic product growth in regional economies.
SMEs growth in Africa is generally constrained by the lack of exposure and the unavailability of information resulting in businesses failing to realize their full potential.
“Users can advertise goods and services for free and they can also use the site to find anything including a job, a date or a holiday. You can search adverts in all sections using keywords, category or price using a powerful quick search tool or by location using the map,” Tobaiwa said.
Companies can also list for free on the site’s online directory which allows them to provide key information for customers such as websites and contact details.
“They can also give a brief description of their products and services which makes it a very effective means of advertising to the entire region and the world at large,” Tobaiwa added.
Free advert uploading: http://www.sadctrader.com/selLoc/selectLoc.html
Free online directory listing: http://www.sadctrader.com/submitdirlink/0/0.html
Tobaiwa can be reached at: info@sadctrader.com
Labels: ADVERTISING, ICT, SADC, SADCTrader
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Econet to spend $300m on network expansion
by
07/05/2010 00:00:00
ECONET Wireless Chief Executive, Douglas Mboweni says the mobile phone operator will spend $300 million this year to expand its voice and data services as it targets more rapid growth. "The bulk of investments will go into expanding our infrastructure for both data and voice," Mboweni told Reuters.
Mboweni said that Econet, which competes with Telecel Zimbabwe and the state-owned NetOne, will fund the improvements through a combination of loans, internal cash and vendor financing.
The company will also continue to add subscribers, as Zimbabwe's mobile penetration remains low at about 40 percent, Mboweni added. Econet currently has 4 million subscribers, or 73 percent of the market, up from 1.2 million last year.
"We believe that for as long as the penetration in Zimbabwe is below that of our regional peers, there is plenty of opportunity to get a healthy return from further investment," Mboweni said, adding that Econet had no immediate plans to seek foreign shareholding.
The introduction of multi-currencies in 2009 has helped Econet's operations and the company has grown to become the biggest counter on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) by market capitalisation.
Zimbabwe's economy grew for the first time in a decade last year but businesses still struggle to access credit from overseas. Econet, however, was able to secure foreign financing through its South Africa-based parent company, Econet Wireless Group (EWG).
The company's earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and armotisation (EBITDA) for the year ending February 2010 stood at $179 million.
Revenues jumped to $362.7 million, up from $87.9 million the previous year.
Labels: DOUGLAS MBOWENI, ECONET, ICT
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Malema: I will not be silence
by Gilbert Nyambabvu
07/05/2010 00:00:00
CONTROVERSIAL ANC youth leader, Julius Malema has hit back at his critics insisting he will not be silenced and reiterated that while the youth body was an integral part of the broader liberation movement, it was also an autonomous institution. Addressing the ANC’s Young Women’s Assembly on Friday, Malema warned opponents against attempts to “liquidate the ANC Youth League (and) destroy its leadership”.
The youth league chief put a few noses in the ANC hierarchy out of joint last month when he dabbled into Zimbabwean politics to support President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party and dismissed the MDC as an imperial proxy.
He also chucked a BBC reporter out of a press conference and faced accusations of fanning racism after he continued to sing the liberation song “shoot the Boer”.
The antics prompted an angry statement from President Jacob Zuma who said leaders needed to “think before speaking” adding that the ANC Youth League was not an independent organisation.
However, during his Friday address, Malema begged to differ.
He said: “The ANC Youth League is an integral part of the ANC, but an autonomous organisation. It does many things, which some will not be comfortable with the older generation (sic).
“Many generations before us defended the autonomy of the ANC Youth League and we owe it upon these generations to protect and defend the autonomy of the ANC Youth League."
The youth leader, who has been hauled before the party’s disciplinary committee, further criticised attempts by the ANC leadership to silence him.
“When Nelson Mandela called for armed struggle, it was not (the) policy of the ANC. The leadership of the ANC did not seek to muzzle him and stop him from saying what he had to say.
“There are many things that were said and done by various leaders and generations of the ANC, but they were never silenced through threats of suspension and expulsion from the ANC,” he said.
Malema also reiterated the Youth League’s commitment to the nationalisation of the country’s mines saying while South Africa boasted some of the world’s largest mineral reserves the majority of the population was yet to benefit from the resources.
“People can go around the world to make assurances that Mines will not be nationalised, yet the reality of the situation is that nationalisation of Mines is currently on the agenda of the ANC,” he said.
Labels: ANC YOUTH LEAGUE, JULIUS MALEMA, NATIONALISATION
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Malawi should learn from UK election – law expert
By Nyasa Times
Published: May 6, 2010
The election of a new government in Britain, should serve as a lesson, to African countries including Malawi, on how to conduct elections, in a democratic dispensation, a law expert at the University of Malawi, Edge Kanyongolo, has said Kanyongolo, who is the associate professor of Law, at Chancellor College, a constituent college of the University of Malawi in Zomba told Capital Radio that government needed to change its stand on denying the opposition the use of state broadcasters, in an election.
He said Malawi should open up the public media, TV Malawi and MBC radio to nurture the country’s democracy.
Kanyongolo, who is also the dean of the faculty of law, said the process by which the UK polls had been prepared, the actual polling and the aftermath, should serve as lessons to Malawi, on how the government could level the playing field, for all players to participate.
According to him, letting the opposition use state resources, creates a fair environment, as voters are provided with enough information, on the policies and agendas of the various political parties.
Labels: EDGE KANYONGOLO, ELECTIONS
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COMMENT - From the OTI funded UK based studios of SW Radio Africa. SW Radio Africa is funded by the USAID's 'Office Of Transition Initiatives'. The OTI is or has also been active to support opposition in Yugoslavia and Venezuela.
(1) USAID is quote: "USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State."
(2) The US Secretary of State is of course Hillary Clinton.
Makumbe says MDC-T must address issue of internal violence
May 7, 2010
BROADCAST: APRIL 30, 2010
On SW Radio Africa’s HotSeat, political analyst Professor John Makumbe analysis the alleged infighting in the MDC -T. Violence broke out in MDC Headquarters two weeks ago when rowdy youths reportedly confronted the party’s Director General, Toendepi Shonhe and took his car. Speculation is rife that the incident was a result of power struggles within the MDC-T leadership ahead of next year’s party congress. Is Secretary General Tendai Biti trying to upstage President Morgan Tsvangirai? Are these ‘power struggles’ a result of disagreements over strategies and tactics, or a mere smear campaign by ZANU PF?
VIOLET GONDA: My guest on the Hot Seat programme is political analyst, Professor John Makumbe with his analysis of the alleged in-fighting in the MDC. Violence broke out at Harvest House, MDC Headquarters in Harare a fortnight ago when a group of youths allegedly attacked the Party’s Director General Toendepi Shonhe and took his car. It is reported that MDC youths also assaulted three private investigators who had been called in to investigate the disturbances. Speculation is rife that the incident was a result of the power struggles within the MDC. Professor Makumbe, what is your understanding of what is going on in the MDC? Are there power struggles?
JOHN MAKUMBE: There are always power struggles in every Party, because people are people – they like power, they enjoy power and once they are in certain positions, they aspire for higher positions, so there’s a real possibility that there may be power struggles in the MDC. We are waiting to hear what the report, which should be released today will be saying.
GONDA: Well I was talking to some of the MDC people who were speaking on condition of anonymity and they were saying that they didn’t think that the report would be coming out this week because the committee investigating these disturbances was still interviewing people. But even if the report does not come out right away, what is your understanding of what exactly is happening because there are some people who are saying there are rivalries between the Secretary General, Tendai Biti and the President Morgan Tsvangirai?
MAKUMBE: I have heard those rumours also but it’s very difficult Violet to go by way of rumours. In this country, rumour mongering is an industry and you can be led up the garden path really by believing rumours. But I think that it is really very unlikely that Tendai Biti would be wanting to push Morgan Tsvangirai out before there is a Congress. I think their Congress is due next year or is it later this year, I don’t remember. And then at the Congress, anyone not just Tendai Biti but all the others are free to contest if Morgan Tsvangirai wants to stand again. But I have seen very little or anything that actually is credible in terms of saying Tendai Biti is undermining Morgan Tsvangirai or Morgan Tsvangirai is undermining Tendai Biti. I suspect very strongly that a lot of that is coming from the Central Intelligence Organisation and then there are also elements within the MDC who are influenced by it and the rumour mongering really spreading all kinds of innuendos about the relationship between Biti and Morgan. For starters I know very well that Morgan would not hesitate to take the matter to the National Executive Council of the MDC if he thought that Tendai Biti was undermining him.
GONDA: But I’ve been trying to get MDC officials to talk on the record about these reports of in-fighting but it’s a problem getting people to go on record. What is the sensitivity with this issue?
MAKUMBE: Well largely people usually don’t want to go on record because sometimes what they are saying is not borne out by evidence; it’s not really true, it’s not really happening. Sometimes they are really pushing a rumour they heard somewhere and they don’t want to be, they don’t want it to be attributed to them, but I think if there was clear evidence that there is a power struggle between Tendai Biti and Morgan Tsvangirai, it would be evident and anybody speaking about it would actually be willing to say – yeh, put my name to that.
[There has been a running battle between Tendai Biti and Morgan Tsvangirai over the (typically neoliberal but electorially extremely unpopular) wage freeze for civil servants. Does 'political analyst' John Makumbe ascribe that to the CIO too? - MrK]
GONDA: A statement issued by the MDC on Friday accuses ZANU PF of embarking on a smear campaign and they said that this is to malign Morgan Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti by alleging that they are involved in a non-existent power struggle. But Professor Makumbe, to what extent is this just a mere smear campaign?
MAKUMBE: Robert Mugabe got into the Government of National Unity for one purpose and one purpose only – to destroy the MDC. And so his puppets, his running dogs have the responsibility of manufacturing anything and everything possible to cause the MDC to break down. Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF know very well that Morgan Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti are the lynch pins of the MDC-Tsvangirai and so the best way of destroying the MDC-Tsvangirai is to place these two against each other. Whether it is imagined or real I really can’t say at this stage but I personally suspect that there is no truth whatsoever in the allegations that Tendai Biti is trying to upstage Morgan Tsvangirai and vice versa. It is fiction.
[John Makumbe is not 'a political analyst', but an MDC spin doctor. - MrK]
GONDA: Well some observers say that there are some disagreements over strategies and tactics between those in the MDC leadership in terms of how to solve this crisis in the unity government and of course in Zimbabwe.
MAKUMBE: Oh I agree entirely and these have been with the MDC since its formation, in fact at one stage on the 12th of October 2005, the differences resulted in the split of the MDC with the Mutambara and Ncube group going their way and the mainstream MDC remaining with Tendai Biti and Morgan Tsvangirai. So yes, there are differences in methodology of how to resolve the crisis but these differences have never escalated within the MDC leadership to the level where there are really struggles for positions as is alleged at the moment. But there are people who would like to take that history of 12th of October 2005 and say, this is now recurring but now between Biti and Morgan Tsvangirai and I still think that differences in how do you proceed, what’s the best methodology of removing a dictator
[Through elections? - MrK]
have always been within the MDC because it is essentially a movement of various fingers, various people with various views. Very different from ZANU PF which has a dictator; whatever he says goes. In the MDC, people actually discuss issues and when they disagree, then the people of weak minds take those disagreements to mean that, therefore these people are actually fighting for power, and it is fiction.
GONDA: Some of the MDC supporters are saying that the MDC is acquiescing too much to ZANU PF and are now unable to provide a forceful alternative for Zimbabweans. Do you agree with this?
MAKUMBE: I don’t agree with that. I don’t think there is anything on the horizon other than the MDC as an alternative to ZANU PF. I don’t agree that the MDC is acquiescing too much; when the Iranian President came visiting, the MDC literally boycotted him, Morgan himself went on a regional trip and that’s not acquiescing. And the MDC have to observe a certain modicum of behaviour – not only in parliament but also in government. So there are certain things they must do lest even Jacob Zuma will say no minister of a government behaves in this manner and, the SADC itself, will find the MDC to be the spoiler of the Global Political Agreement. As things are now, everybody knows it is ZANU PF which is the spoiler but the MDC have to beat their time, they have to compromise because the Government of National Unity is a compromise and their objective for this compromise, the new constitution must be written, new elections must be held and a new government, a straight government from one party will then emerge and you will not observe those if you don’t at least compromise, give and take here and there.
GONDA: How do you respond to others who say that important decisions are still being made without consultation by ZANU PF?
MAKUMBE: I think it is correct. It is correct that there are decisions being made by ZANU PF without so much as a ‘by your leave’ from the MDC and those, the MDC have placed on the agenda as outstanding issues. Not only that but also the issue of Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment and also the recently gazetted, again, legislation on fuel procurement, all those are being added onto the list by the MDC. But if people think that the MDC should therefore throw up and walk out – walk out to where? To 2008? Walk out from what? From the current stability in the country, from the current pseudo peace, the false peace that is prevailing in the country because we know there is still violence, there is still farm invasions and there are still very serious problems.
But where we were in 2008 is very different from where we are now. True the MDC have to put their wheel to the shoulder, they have to continue to light the fires and let ZANU PF run around putting them out. I think they are not doing enough of that, they should do more, but again there is a certain modicum which they have to observe lest the whole GNU collapses.
GONDA: And there are many who believe that Mugabe will never give in to the MDC’s demands and that these negotiations are going to go on forever. So what happens then? Do they just continue with these endless talks? What’s the way forward on this?
MAKUMBE: That is true – Mugabe will never give in. He knows if he gives in and he goes out of power he will be heading for The Hague, that is true but eventually, even a dictator really faces doomsday eventually. The way forward for Zimbabwe is for the MDC to continue to hold that democratic space which they have in government until a constitution is written, until elections are held, until the results of those elections – and I’m not saying we will not have a repeat of 2008 where Mugabe loses but stays put and refuses to go – let that happen again and the whole world will know who the spoiler is and the whole world will know how to deal with a dictator and even the MDC will wake up to the realisation that a dictator cannot be removed from office through democratic means.
GONDA: Going back to the issue of the violence or the disturbances that took place at the MDC Headquarters, the MDC said in their latest statement about this that the disturbances were to do with administrative issues which the leadership is currently seized with and the culprits have since been suspended and investigations are underway. We all know that Parties do have internal tensions and we have plenty of examples showing how ZANU PF uses violence to control situations, but a Party that has based its principles on using non-violent means to achieve its objectives has the MDC really addressed the issue of internal violence? When you hear that Party youths are dealing with grievances by attacking the Director General of the Party, and this has happened before where senior Party officials were assaulted by rowdy youths?
MAKUMBE: No this is an issue that is a product of the culture created in Zimbabwe by ZANU PF. All of us Zimbabweans are violent in nature, that’s our nature, that’s our culture. We are bred, born and bred in a violent culture, to think that because the youth in MDC are in MDC therefore they are not violent is really fiction. So that issue still needs to be addressed and I doubt the MDC were doing their best to address the issue of violence by suspending and eventually they may actually expel the violent youths. But I think it needs more work, it needs a lot of work to be done but it is not typical of MDC youth to be violent, it is typical for Zimbabweans to be violent whether they are in ZANU PF or MDC. What the MDC has done to pursue peaceful means of replacing a dictator needs to be interrogated needs to be questioned – will it work? We have evidence that it has so far failed to work. Is it possible that it will work next time or is it possible that the MDC might be brought to the realisation that the only way that a dictator can be removed from power is through force and therefore, rather than discourage violence within its own ranks, the MDC should direct that violence, not at its own leadership but at the supporters of ZANU PF. That also hasn’t been attended to and needs to be attended to.
And I don’t really think that the Party was very wise when they joined the Government of National Unity to remove both the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General from the Party and put them in government. One of the Secretary Generals should have stayed at Harvest House in charge of the administration, in charge of the running of Harvest House, the Headquarters of the MDC and this didn’t happen and there’s been considerable corruption going on at Harvest House and the youth are rebelling because they see some of this corruption going on. But the Party leadership, the Secretary General, the President, the Deputy are not even there, they are now in charge of the nation and so the youth have been forced to take matters into their hands and that’s very unfortunate.
GONDA: And what about issues to do with setting up independent investigation committees because many people say the Parties always set up these committees but nothing concrete ever comes out or is publicised about the findings?
MAKUMBE: I totally agree with independent commissions or committees of enquiry. I don’t really see how anyone in MDC, if there is factionalism in the MDC, I don’t see how anyone in the Party cannot be aligned to one faction or the other. I don’t see how you then select a committee to investigate an issue within the MDC and you select that committee from members of the MDC. It would be wise and transparent to appoint people who are not members of the MDC who therefore, cannot be accused of being aligned to one of the groups or one of the factions or the other.
GONDA: So these commissions in your view, should they still have a few members from the Party or it has be hundred per cent independent? The reason I’m asking this is because the latest committee that is investigating the disturbances that took place at Harvest House, I understand comprises of some MDC officials, including Seiso Moyo who is the MP for Nketa and the Deputy Minister of Justice Jesse Majome and one or two other members of the MDC. Should they still be involved in a committee like this because others will say they are too junior also to be investigating issues that involve senior party leaders? What can you say about that?
MAKUMBE: I agree, I agree, not only are they junior but because they are members of the MDC they have a faction which they will be supporting if there’s factionalism in the MDC and so you are going to end up with a report which is either biased in one direction or the other. But I personally believe that these committees of enquiry should be entirely independent and the MDC cannot claim that they couldn’t find anyone in Zimbabwe who could actually be a member of such a committee who is totally not aligned to either ZANU PF or the MDC or one of the factions in the MDC-M or one of the factions in the MDC-T. It’s not true, they need to have transparency and they need to deal with issues as they come, For junior members to investigate senior members is always risky especially when a Party is now in government because what comes out of these reports can determine whether an individual continues to be in Cabinet or maybe relieved of their duties or will be appointed into Cabinet next time or will be overlooked. It is really tricky. In politics there are no permanent friends, there are no permanent enemies, there are only permanent interests.
GONDA: And I remember the last time we spoke you also said the same thing about the need for the MDC to set up an independent committee to investigate the allegations of corruption in their UK Chapter and I understand that a committee has been set up and it will be in the UK this weekend. But again, the composition of this committee comprises mostly of people who are in the Party, for example Minister Sipepa Nkomo, MP Thabitha Khumalo and the Finance Director of the Party, Rumbidzai Nyamayemombe.
MAKUMBE: No it is not an independent committee and therefore it will not do a good job. It is going to be aligned one way or the other and it is going to doctor whatever it finds out in terms of its own preferences or the preferences and interests of its members or a combination thereof. And so in my view, I think we are again going to end up with a report about the UK fraudulent activities that is again questionable, that report could be disputed and therefore we will still see the MDC will not actually get to the bottom of the problem and when you don’t get to the bottom of the problem, those problems are likely to recur, it’s just as simple as that.
GONDA: And a final word Professor Makumbe.
MAKUMBE: I think there is nothing on the horizon. There is no way the MDC should get out of the unity government at the moment. They must stay in there, they must fight, from both within and without. Zimbabwe is too precious to be surrendered to ZANU PF and Robert Mugabe forever. The fight must go on and it must take all fronts, not only one front.
GONDA: Thank you very much Professor John Makumbe for participating on the programme Hot Seat.
MAKUMBE: My pleasure always Violet.
Feedback can be sent to violet@swradioafrica.com
Labels: INTERVIEW, JOHN MAKUMBE, MDC VIOLENCE, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, VIOLET GONDA
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Mugabe defends indigenisation at forum
By Our Correspondent
May 6, 2010
HARARE – President Robert Mugabe made a surprise showing at Africa’s biggest business meeting on Thursday in Dar es Salaam,Tanzania, where he defended the government’s controversial indigenization law.
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai travelled on separate flights to the Tanzanian capital. The MDC issued a statement on Wednesday suggesting the two would attend separate meetings, with Tsvangirai attending the World Economic Forum for Africa, while Mugabe would attend a meeting on combating neo-colonialism.
However, Mugabe turned up at the economic forum where he told delegates that Zimbabwe’s indigenisation law, which requires foreign companies to cede at least 51 percent of their equity to locals in a lopsided dollarized economy was not contradictory or dangerously pretentious as reported by the Western media.
Tsvangirai, who was at the same podium with Mugabe, listened as the Zanu-PF leader vehemently defended the recently promulgated Indigenization and Empowerment Act.
Tsvangirai is on record as speaking against the law, saying it would scare off investors. The MDC was quoted as saying the law was still under discussion within the fragile power-sharing government. But Mugabe remained bullish.
“The proposed law will not deter investors,” he said.
“We want to empower our people economically, to have a stake in the economy. Our people remain poor. We want to see our people share in the ownership of resources.
“While people have said the legislation will drive away investors. We say no.”
“Companies have been forthcoming I don’t think it’s a painful thing for them. Forty-nine percent is a lot.”
One investment analyst said the indigenization law sadly revealed the ineptitude of vacuous economic policies.
“Fewer would be convinced that an almost bankrupt country, recently on the verge of an economic implosion and barely admitted into the international community for failure to pay its obligations would need to prioritise an equalization law under the guise of indigenous empowerment,” said Lance Mambondiani of Coronation Financial Services.
“The benefits of a South African-style BEE empowerment law are unquestionable but Zimbabwe does not have the economic stability that our neighbours had when they implemented theirs.”
Almost 30 years after independence, the Zimbabwean economy was not exactly emblematic of white domination, he said. The critical question was whether it was the right time to introduce the law in light of the obvious limitations and disintermediation an economy still recovering from a state of near collapse, Mambondiani said.
The problem with the indigenization law soon after a controversial land grab which resulted in chaotic violations of property rights and multiple farm ownership by the elite, he said, was that the outcome was unlikely to be different.
“An independent indigenization commission constituted by industry experts should be set up to manage implementation and monitor compliance,” said Mambondiani.
“The threshold for companies that fall within the bill could also be raised to avoid bureaucratic bungling and the concentration of power into the central government.”
He suggested that some sensitive or capital intensive sectors such as banking would perhaps be exempt; a blanket application would be unsustainable.
Much like the land reform program, not many would argue against the importance of the indigenization bill. The devil, however, could be in its implementation, he said.
Labels: INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), MUGABE
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Govt backtracks on Zisco privatisation
by
06/05/2010 00:00:00
INDUSTRY and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube says the coalition government has nixed a planned part-privatisation of the struggling Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Ziscosteel) because the bidding firms are "too big".
The government had announced plans to significantly reduce its majority interest in the Redcliff-based company, attracting immediate interest from Indian firms Jindal Steel and ArcellorMittal -- the latter pursuing its bid through a South African subsidiary.
But Minister Ncube announced on Thursday that President Robert Mugabe had rejected the bids because the two companies were too big to invest in ZISCO.
"That is the feeling of the presidency, as strange as that might seem," Ncube said. "The feeling is that we are a small country and we will have problems with a big multilateral company. The thinking is that we need a medium-sized investor for ZISCO."
The announcement caught the two short-listed companies, and foreign investors at large, by surprise with ArcellorMittal saying it was yet to be formal advised of the development.
Ziscosteel, which has the capacity to produce one million tonnes of steel annually, has been idle for years, saddled by debts of more than US$300 million and lack of working capital.
Analysts say the company, once the biggest integrated steelworks in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa, probably needs up to a billion dollars to retire debilitating debts and fund a restart of production.
The coalition government announced upon assuming office that it would accelerate the disposal of a number of state-owned firms to raise money for the fiscus.
Zisco becomes the second company after mobile company NetOne to betaken off the list of companies targeted for privatization.
Finance minister Tendai Biti recently announced that sections of the coalition cabinet were not comfortable with the intended privatisation of NetOne because it was a “potential cash cow for the government”.
Labels: MDC, NEOLIBERALISM, PRIVATISATION, WELSHMAN NCUBE, ZISCO
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Mukonoweshuro slams ‘super minister’ Biti
by Gilbert Nyambabvu
07/05/2010 00:00:00
PUBLIC services minister Eliphas Mukonoweshuro has slammed Finance Minister Tendai Biti accusing his MDC-T colleague of behaving like a “super minister” and causing “unnecessary anxiety” over public sector pay.
This comes as the row within the MDC-T over civil servants salaries appears to be escalating after Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai publicly stated that Biti’s announcement of a public sector wage freeze was not government policy.
“I would like to state unequivocally that the Prime Minister has spoken most definitely and conclusively on the issue of civil service remuneration. There is no Government policy to freeze civil service salaries at present.
“That is the position of the Government, which at the moment is cast in stone. The Prime Minister therefore, lucidly pronounced Government policy on the issue, and that is the last word,” Mukonoweshuro stated in a statement released on Thursday.
Biti stated in an economic performance update presented on the 16th of April that government would “maintain a cap on the current wage bill” citing constrained revenue flows and lower than expected donor support.
The position was contradicted by Prime Minister Tsvangirai who told a May Day rally that this was not “government policy”.
But Biti stuck to his guns reiterating that the government’s wage bill, which averages 70 percent of overall revenues, was economically unsustainable and needed to be reduced.
Meanwhile Mukonoweshuro has weighed-in on the side of Tsvangirai and also appeared to take umbrage at Biti’s apparent encroachment into his purview. He warned his colleague that "government did not operate on the basis of super ministers”.
“All issues pertaining to the Ministry of Public Service i.e. remuneration issues, conditions of service, human resources policy and management, etc, are the responsibility and central mandate of the responsible minister and no one else,” Mukonoweshuro said.
“This Government does not operate on the basis of ‘Super Ministers’ who may frequently arrogate to themselves responsibilities that are neither in their present province of competence nor designated mandate.”
Public sector workers who presently earn between US$165 and US$250 per month have been pushing for a review and went on a job action at the start of the year demanding up to US$600.
Mukonoweshuro conceded that the present salaries levels were inadequate adding government was looking at ways of improving the situation.
“As the responsible minister mandated to superintend and administer all issues assigned to the Ministry of the Public Service portfolio, I would like to state that the Government is actively seeking ways and strategies to improve civil service remuneration.
“Government has indicated that civil service salaries are at a level that does not constitute a living wage based on the principle of a fair day’s work for a fair day’s wage,” the minister said.
Labels: ELIPHAS MUKONOWESHURO, SALARIES, TENDAI BITI
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War vets approach Biti over pensions
by
06/05/2010 00:00:00
FINANCE Minister Tendai Biti on Thursday promised war veterans regular payments of their pensions after a holding a meeting with the ex-fighters who are also demanding that the monthly allowances be increased from US$50 to US$600.
The war veterans, led Joseph Chinotimba, went to Biti's office demanding that the government resume payment their monthly allowances which were cut off last year due to lack of funds in government coffers. Biti urged patience insisting the government did not have the resources to offer the demanded increase.
"Our economy is not yet performing. We need to wait a bit," the minister said describing the meeting as 'friendly'. Chinotimba said his members were not looking for a fight with Biti but wanted to discuss ways of alleviating the suffering of the former liberation fighters.
"He is an MDC (Biti), I am Zanu (PF) but he is in the GNU (Government of National Unity) so he deals with everyone, we did not come here to fight Biti, what we want is money," Chinotimba said.
In a letter addressed to the minister, the war veterans said they were wallowing in poverty adding efforts to clarify the issue with the Ministry of Defence’s Department of War Veterans Affairs had not been successful.
“It is disappointing to note that despite numerous efforts to get these monies, nothing fruitful has come out.
“The ministry that is responsible for administering these funds has openly and clearly pointed out that they have not received any allocations from the Ministry of Finance, the ministry you head,” the letter read in part.
The war veterans said they were also angered by the fact that while they failed to access their money, Minister Biti had made allocations to the ministries of Housing and Social Amenities as well as that for Information Communication Technology.
“War veterans are suffering and they are being taken for granted by these people. So we are saying we should act now before we die of hunger. What is housing and ITC when the comrades are hungry?” Chinotimba asked.
In 1997, following massive strikes by the war veterans, the government was forced to dish out ZW$50 000 to every former combatant for their role in the liberation of the country. In addition they were receiving monthly allowances and school fees for their children.
However the authorities have failed to sustain the monthly payments as the economy struggles to recover from years of decline.
Public sector workers have also been quite restive but treasury officials insist the economy is not generating enough funds to allow a significant review of salaries with the government wage bill said to be taking more than 70 percent of revenues.
The problem has been worsened by the unavailability of credit lines needed to boost activity in the productive sectors and the reluctance of western donors to provide substantive support to the country’s coalition government.
Labels: JOSEPH CHINOTIMBA, PENSIONERS, TENDAI BITI, WAR VETERANS
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Fr Bwalya reports threats by William Banda to police
By George Chellah
Fri 07 May 2010, 04:00 CAT
CHANGE Life Zambia executive director Father Frank Bwalya yesterday reported MMD Lusaka Province chairperson William Banda to the police for threatening violence. In an interview, Fr Bwalya said he has reasons to believe that William’s threats on his life are real.
“Today Thursday, around 13:00 hours I have reported Mr William Banda, Lusaka Province MMD chairperson to Lusaka Central police for threatening violence against me,” Fr Bwalya said.
“I reported to the officer-in-charge Assistant Superintendent B. Namangolwa. Mr Namangolwa delegated detective sergeant Nyambe Lubasi to take the statement and I am going back on Monday at 14:00 hours to be briefed on the way forward.”
Fr Bwalya said he was praying that the police would arrest William and allow the due process of the law to take its course.
“It’s not the first time that Mr William Banda and other MMD cadres have threatened to beat me or kill me for commenting on public issues. This time, however, I have decided to report because I have reasons to believe that their threats on my life are real,” Fr Bwalya said.
“After seeing the violence perpetrated by the MMD in Mufumbwe and the knowledge that in fact Mr William Banda and other UNIP cadres nearly killed that great son of Zambia and Africa the late Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, who is also the father to our current finance deputy minister Chileshe Kapwepwe. I am living in fear that these guys, particularly Mr William Banda, mean business.”
Fr Bwalya said he was an innocent citizen who should enjoy constitutional freedoms, among them freedom of expression, assembly and freedom to associate.
“Mr William Banda’s threats are at the same time aimed at stopping me from exercising these my freedoms. I think this amounts to a serious violation of my rights and freedoms and it is therefore my prayer that the courts of law will determine the legality of Mr William Banda’s threats aimed at stopping me from distributing red cards in Lusaka Province,” Fr Bwalya said.
“I also pray that once Mr William Banda is brought to book, other people in Zambia who are in the same way intimidating others and threatening violence will be deterred. Finally, I appeal to President Rupiah Banda to stop the behaviour of propagating hate speeches against me because the action is inciting overzealous cadres like Mr William Banda to engage in extra-judicial activities such as the threats on my life.”
Fr Bwalya vowed to continue with his campaign.
“Despite the threats on my life, I am going to continue playing my role as ‘John the Baptist’ regardless of threats from ‘Herod’ to behead me,” he said.
Fr Bwalya dismissed claims that he wants to join the MMD.
“Regarding the propaganda originated by Mr William Banda that I had sent emissaries seeking to join the MMD, I want the public to know how I look at the MMD. Though knowing that the people of Zambia cannot buy that kind of rubbish, I wish to have it on record that I consider the MMD as a smelling corpse to which only a tick will attach itself,” Fr Bwalya said.
Recently, William Banda warned of stern action against Fr Bwalya if he attempts to extend the Red Card Campaign to Lusaka.
Labels: DEATH THREATS, FRANK BWALYA, WILLIAM BANDA
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Buying votes with council houses
By The Post
Fri 07 May 2010, 04:00 CAT
There is nothing which makes people more appreciative of a government, at both local and central level, than that it should be able to
deliver services.
It is the task of our government to give millions of Zambians an essential piece of dignity in their lives – the dignity that comes from having a solid roof over your head, running water and other services in an established community.
These are the goals every responsible government should set itself to achieve. We say this because for us, democracy means that governments are closely linked the people and devote themselves entirely to working and struggling for the people and the people’s interests.
Unlike in the past where we were gatherers and hunters, today’s man can’t survive without government, whether local or central, providing essential services. Modern man needs clean water, proper sanitation, well-maintained roads and other communication infrastructure, education and health. These are things that should concern every good government.
And every good government tries to provide these services and its performance is measured by how far it goes in quantitatively and qualitatively providing the services. And indeed this is what people want the government for; this is what citizens elect leaders for.
We should always bear in mind that our people are not interested in mere ideas, for the things in one’s head. They are interested in winning material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children.
And this is why they see politics, whether at local or central level, as an area of great importance for promoting development and community among all, as a way of building up society for the common good. Clearly, the government is the instrument by which people cooperate together to achieve the common good. An authority is needed, whether at the local or central level, to guide the energies of all towards of the common good.
But it shouldn’t be forgotten that the ways in which we achieve our goals are bound by context, changing with circumstances even while remaining steadfast in our commitment to our vision. And the mark of a good leader is the ability to understand the context in which they are operating and act accordingly. If this is not done, serious problems are likely to arise.
There are things that can be done out of political expedience but there are others that can only be done out of principle. Sometimes there is a danger of politicians doing crazy things in an attempt to redeem their declining political fortunes. We saw this in Zimbabwe over the land invasions.
It is very difficult to convince anyone that those land invasions were a matter of principle and not of temporal political strategy to revive ZANU-PF’s declining popularity among the masses of the Zimbabwean people. When ZANU-PF’s popularity was at its height, the land question was handled very differently and in a very casual manner. But for fear of losing elections, people were encouraged to invade white-owned farms.
This was a desperate act. It led to uncontrollable lawlessness and anarchy. No one can deny the fact that there was an injustice, an inequality that needed to be addressed or resolved. But the method that was chosen departed from the moral and rational standards that had propelled that nation since its independence in 1980.
Yes, the land issue in Zimbabwe needed to be addressed and will have to be addressed now or in the future. But not in the way that it was being addressed. Clearly, that method of trying to redistribute land has lamentably failed and nearly sacrificed Zimbabwe’s independence on the altar of political expedience.
A fissure for the recolonisation of Zimbabwe and imperialism capitalised on it to try and plant a totally pro-imperialist regime in that country. And in trying to resist this, the liberators of that country had to resort to more intolerant and repressive methods. There is even a belief among many people in the world, that they had to rig elections to stay in power.
That’s how desperate they had become. In the process, their prestige locally and internationally was damaged. However, credit has to be given to them for the tenacity with which for over 12 years they managed to defend their independence.
But all that could have been avoided if the right methods had been adopted, and the right things done at the right time. Zimbabwe will never be the same again. And a lot of effort is now needed for the country to get back on the rails and restore its battered international image.
This is what happens to a country when principles are sacrificed on the altar of political expedience; this is what happens when values are lost.
But there is a sort of a chain of events here. For if good ideas foster other good ideas, bad things can foster, on the other hand, other bad things.
The leaders of that heroic country and people made enormous mistakes and unleashed a process that was self-destructive for democracy and for economic progress. If you start a process in which all of a country’s values begin to be destroyed, that process is very negative. It’s a matter not of the analysis or criticism of problems, but of the destruction and negation of all the values, the merits and history of Zimbabwe.
Probably nobody in the leadership of ZANU-PF envisaged or could conceive that they would find themselves in the situation they are in today, or were in yesterday. We don’t believe that Robert Mugabe and many of the other men who initiated that process had that intention to put Zimbabwe where it is today.
They did make enormous mistakes by failing to foresee the consequences of what they were doing and by not doing the right thing to reach the goals and purposes they proclaimed – which, of course, were necessary and legitimate. Many of the strategic and tactical mistakes that were made were viewed, out of desperation, as the correct way of doing things.
Then, when all those negative tendencies were unleashed, opportunistic elements were also introduced, plus all of the elements that wittingly acted to destroy Zimbabwe’s independence and its economy. Naturally, the imperialist world and their local allies in MDC helped to destroy Zimbabwe and hoped for a regime change.
We have given the Zimbabwean example at length. But this is not the subject of this editorial comment. We are merely trying to show an example of what using wrong methods to achieve good goals can do to a country.
Our concern today is Rupiah Banda’s pronouncement over the sale of council flats and houses on the Copperbelt to recharge the flat political batteries of his party and himself. Nobody can deny the fact that our people need housing, and decent housing for that matter, and other services required in an organised society.
But these services will not be provided by promising to give away council houses at give-away prices and encouraging the tenants to stop paying rentals and rates to the councils. These are the major sources of income for the councils and they need this money for them to be able to provide the many needed social services.
And accusing the councils being run by the opposition of corruption is not fair. While corruption should be fought with all the tenacity one can marshal, there is need for honesty and fairness. All councils in Zambia are plugged by similar problems, including corruption. If there is corruption in any council, let those involved in it be arrested and prosecuted.
But we don’t think Rupiah is interested in fighting corruption. If he was, he wouldn’t today be seen in the company of a corrupt man like Frederick Chiluba. Today Rupiah is defending Chiluba’s corruption but at the same time wants to tell the Zambian people he is against corruption in opposition-led councils.
It is not prudent to try and bring down councils that are run by the opposition simply to win next year’s elections.
What we are trying to say is that correct methods must be found to deal with all the problems, including that of housing, facing our towns and cities instead of introducing anarchy just to appease a few people and gain their support and votes.
Noble goals have to be accompanied by noble methods and sentiments. There is nothing noble in the methods Rupiah is trying to use to win the support of the people occupying council houses on the Copperbelt. What Rupiah is introducing is nothing but veritable chaos that needs to be stopped.
Labels: CORRUPTION, NEOCOLONIALISM, RUPIAH BANDA
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Banda’s pronouncements reduce Copperbelt councils’ revenue
By Namatama Mundia
Fri 07 May 2010, 04:00 CAT
COUNCILS in the Copperbelt Province are having difficulty collecting rates and rentals because
tenants are refusing to pay following President Rupiah Banda’s recent pronouncements.
The town clerks from five Copperbelt councils that include Kitwe, Ndola, Chingola, Luanshya and Mufulira complained to the parliamentary committee on local governance, housing and chiefs’ affairs on Wednesday that their work had been made difficult by the recent pronouncements such as the directive to stop bailiffs from seizing property of defaulters and the sale of Itawa Flats in Ndola.
Late last month during his media briefing in Kitwe, President Banda said he could not understand the criteria used by councils to evaluate the properties which were bought under the empowerment policy in 1996. President Banda said:
“One wonders whether this is not a calculated political move by the PF councils to create a wedge between the people and their government. Some house owners who failed to pay the increased rates have even had their household goods such as TV sets, furniture and other such items confiscated by councils, depriving them of their conform. This is unacceptable and I advise all those citizens affected to report such incidents so that we can deal with these people.”
But Mufulira town clerk Charles Mwandila told the parliamentary committee that the several pronouncements had adversely affected the running of the council. He said it was very difficult for councils to operate without political will.
“It is important to guard against such pronouncements because people are refusing to pay…some members of the public are even demanding for refunds,” Mwandila said.
Mwandila revealed that Mufulira Municipal Council is owed about K9 billion by various corporate and individual debtors.
At this point, committee acting chairperson Mwimba Malama, who is Patriotic Front Mfuwe member of parliament, observed that Mufulira was not the first council to complain that the statement by President Banda had affected the operations of local authorities and advised the councils to follow what the law stipulates.
“Some statements can be mere statements but it’s important that you follow the law. Sometimes some people say certain things to gain political support,” he said.
And Ndola town clerk Charity Mpande said people have developed a negative perception towards paying their rates and rentals from the time President Banda made his statement.
She said the collection efficiency of rentals have gone down in the past few weeks because residents did not have a good regard for the local authority following President Banda’s directive to sell council houses.
“We have laws in place. The ratings Act, premises Act and those laws are the tools we use but when these laws are thrown away, it’s very difficult manage the councils,” Mpande said.
She said Ndola City Council has since stopped the issuance of warrant of distress to defaulters because of the impression which President Banda caused. Mpande urged Itawa Flats tenants to ensure that they settle their rentals in full before purchasing the flats.
She said Ndola Council was owed about K31.3 billion as at December 2008 by various debtors while the local authority had unpaid creditors amounting to about K19 billion during the same period.
And Kitwe town clerk Ali Simwinga made the same observation when he appeared before the committee.
Simwinga, whose council was owed a sum of K27.8 billion by various corporate and individual debtors, said measures put in place to collect the money had been thrown off balance by numerous political pronouncements.
Simwinga submitted that his council had since 2004 tried to come up with strong measures to ensure that all collectible revenues were collected.
“Realistic targets for debt collectors had been set after the new valuation roll and bailiffs had been engaged to force debtors into paying promptly. However, these measures have constantly been thrown off balance by numerous negative political pronouncements such as the one stopping the council from engaging bailiffs as well as the ministerial directives such as the one in 2007 requiring the council to give a 50 percent rebate on all outstanding owner rates debts and a further five percent discount for those paying in full,” he said.
Simwinga said the effects of such pronouncements have been to disadvantage the council.
Chingola and Luanshya town clerks Patrick Telishi and Andrew Mwanakulanga also told the committee that the political statements had affected their operations.
However, committee members said the issues raised by the local authorities would be directed to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing for response.
Recently, former president Frederick Chiluba told tenants at Ndola’s Itawa Flats that they should give President Banda a vote in next year’s elections.
Chiluba, who was accompanied by his wife Regina, former MMD provincial chairman Terrence Findlay, MMD Ndola district vice publicity secretary Alex Mubanga popularly known as Shimpundu pankoloko, told the tenants that if they voted for PF-UPND Pact leaders, they would never see development in the nation.
And on February 14, 2010 in Ndola, President Banda accused PF-UPND-controlled councils of stealing billions of kwacha from property rates and levies without providing services such as roads.
“I have listened to your cries, you tenants of Itawa Flats and the Chinese Housing Complex in Ndola, especially that the council has been stealing billions of kwacha without providing services. Why charge you more when you stay in houses that are cracking thus putting your lives in danger?”
President Banda asked. “But they will not steal anymore since they are not in government and soon we shall be moving to Kitwe because similar incidents are happening and we shall thoroughly audit them to find out how much they collect as rates from the mines without doing roads.”
Labels: COUNCILS, HOUSING, RUPIAH BANDA
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Nawakwi ‘congratulates’ Rupiah for making Kabwela a hero
By Patson Chilemba
Fri 07 May 2010, 04:50 CAT
FDD president Edith Nawakwi yesterday mockingly congratulated President Rupiah Banda for making Post news editor Chansa Kabwela a hero. Commenting on Kabwela’s awards by United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia, Nawakwi said Kabwela’s Most Courageous Journalist award was for women carrying placentas in their buckets.
Nawakwi said what President Banda perceived bad when he ordered the prosecution of Kabwela for highlighting the plight of a woman who delivered outside the hospital due to the strike in the health sector then, had now turned good towards Kabwela, the women and the nation in general.
“You see heroes are not born, heroes are made by politicians. And we thank the President for making one of ours a brave woman. He could have just ignored those pictures, we would never have heard about heroism of one young lady, but thanks to the politicians, they make martyrs and heroes out of my sisters, ladies like Kabwela,” Nawakwi said.
“So for me I want to congratulate the President for making my sister a hero, and we really accept the award and thank UNESCO for the recognition because you are talking of the world over, and we will never have heard about a brave young lady Chansa Kabwela.”
Nawakwi said as a result of President Banda’s conduct, Kabwela was now known world over.
“So if you ask me about how the President should be feeling, I think that he must be proud that he made Chansa Kabwela a hero to the extent that we are now recognised. I am sure that when you google, it will be Zambia, Chansa Kabwela,” she said.
Nawakwi said Kabwela tried to save a woman who needed special attention when the government was not paying any.
“So that award is an award to the Zambian suffering woman in labour, without a bed, an award to a child who is being born on the floor. It is an award to the women of Zambia who are carrying placentas in the buckets,” Nawakwi said. “But more so it is an indictment on the health system of this Republic to the fact that the President did recognise that there is a problem to the extent that he wanted to hide it.”
Kabwela recently scooped the two awards in the national media freedom prize for this year.
And Nawakwi said Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chalwe Mchenga would be to blame if she were killed because of his duplicity and double-standard approach towards ensuring justice in the nation.
Nawakwi condemned Mchenga’s duplicity on the handling of the justice system in the country. She said some cases received express attention while others took long.
Nawakwi said it was surprising that Mchenga usually took long to direct the prosecution of cases involving those in the ruling party while directives were express when it came to those critical of government.
She expressed surprise that MMD Solwezi-Central member of parliament Watson Lumba’s case was now in court but Mchenga was still sitting on her case where the MMD cadres threatened to gang-rape her.
“That is total duplicity and complicity on the part of Mchenga. We have gone to school, we respect certain professionals.
Those who have joined careers we want to give them opportunity to exploit their potential, but he has forgotten that he is a lawyer, and should he be out of that office, where will he work?” Nawakwi asked.
“We are all expressing misgivings. The day I am murdered, Mchenga will be squarely responsible…but say to Kabwela well done, and we should send a congratulatory card to the President for making us known on the map.”
Nawakwi said the MMD were trying desperately to have the seats they lost in North Western Province vacant so that they could go back for by-elections.
“But when you call the ambulance in the night, they say they have no fuel…but people are interested in by-elections more than their own people,” said Nawakwi.
Labels: CHALWE MCHENGA, CHANSA KABWELA, DEATH THREATS, EDITH NAWAKWI, RUPIAH BANDA, WOMEN
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‘Withdrawal of funding has affected RDA’
By Ernest Chanda and Mwala Kalaluka
Fri 07 May 2010, 03:40 CAT
ROAD Development Agency (RDA) director Erasmus Chilundika yesterday told the parliamentary committee on estimates that the withdrawal of donor funding to the road sector has affected the rate at which the agency can perform.
Responding to a question from Kabwata Patriotic Front (PF) parliamentarian Given Lubinda who wanted to know why the Auditor General’s report on the road sector presented to President Rupiah Banda has not yet been presented to Parliament and if it were true that the contents of the report had led to donors withdrawing funding from the sector, Chilundika admitted that there were errors highlighted in the report.
The committee is chaired by Bweengwa UPND parliamentarian Highvie Hamududu.
“With regard to the standoff with the cooperating partners, you will recall that a number of cooperating partners had issued statements in the press where they were saying that they had suspended funding to the road sector until the issues that had been raised by Auditor General are resolved.
Now where we are the audit is complete, the draft final has been submitted to the ministry, we have reacted to it. And we are expecting that this document will be presented to the parliamentary public accounts committee as the law requires. And it’s only really after that that we will be in greater position to be able to speak into the details of that audit,” Chilundika submitted.
“But what we are doing now, because we are a sector that requires a lot of resources and the absence of donor funding is affecting the rate at which we are able to undertake works. You will recall Honourable members of parliament that we did mention in our presentation of the budget the other year and last year that we are working with the EU in Central Province and North Western Province by way of sector budget support.
Now those monies have dried up and yet there’s a lot of need in those two provinces where they committed to work with us. We’ve looked at the audit heads and we have developed what we are calling corrective actions to be undertaken. We do value the audit findings; like any institution there are systemic failures and those issues we are addressing them by way of those corrective actions. And we hope that we should be able to discuss this matter and bring it to a conclusion.”
And former works and supply permanent secretary Lieutenant Colonel Bizwayo Nkunika said his recent removal from office had nothing to do with recommendations made in the donor-induced financial audit report on the road sector.
Lt Col Nkunika in an interview described his removal from the ministry as a normal reshuffle.
“It’s just time up. I have been there Ministry of Works and Supply for eight years and we normally are shuffled around. I do not see anything strange in this,” said Lt Col Nkunika yesterday when asked if his removal was connected to the road sector audit. “As far I am concerned I do not see anything strange in this.”
When told that there were further assertions that he asked to be removed so that he focuses on his political interests in Lundazi, Lt Col Nkunika responded in the negative.
But sources said Lt Col Nkunika left in order to get into active politics.
“He wants to go into politics because even the issue of new permanent secretary Watson Ng’ambi going in as PS we knew it by January,” the source said. “He Lt Col Nkunika was even in Mufumbwe with the President. He is still trying to warm up his seat in Lundazi.”
However, the source said it would be speculative to connect Lt Col Nkunika’s exit from the Ministry to the donor-induced audit in the road sector.
“People are just speculating because the report has not been released. It is still with State House and it has not yet been released,” the source said.
The Auditor General’s office last year constituted a team of auditors to probe concerns by the donor community on the K1.5 trillion over-procurement of projects by the Road Development Agency (RDA) in 2008.
Donors funding the road sector queried the Road Development Agency (RDA) to substantiate why it over-procured projects by more than K1 trillion in the 2008 annual work plan and a partial halt of donor funding to the road sector was effected awaiting the RDA’s explanation.
Lt Col Nkunika, who was still in office then, said the above over-procurement query was in a way a misunderstanding of the process of procurement.
Labels: ERASMUS CHILUNDIKA, GIVEN LUBINDA, HIGHVIE HAMUDUDU, INFRASTRUCTURE, RDA
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Rupiah should take blame for Mufumbwe violence, says Sondashi
By Patson Chilemba
Fri 07 May 2010, 03:10 CAT
LUSAKA lawyer Ludwig Sondashi yesterday said the recent violence prior and during the Mufumbwe parliamentary by-election should squarely be blamed on President Rupiah Banda and the MMD.
And Sondashi asked the government to be truthful by telling the nation that Vice-President George Kunda was unwell. Addressing the press at his office, Sondashi said the President held too much power such that he could get away with anything.
“The person who should bear the blame is the President. You know the reason why, because if you say that the Inspector General was running away from the cadres...my answer is that he was probably running away from the cadres because even MMD had brought cadres...and probably that bringing these cadres to Mufumbwe was allowed by the President, and since taking of these cadres to Mufumbwe was organised by the President, now you think he can stand up against the cadres?” Sondashi asked.
“He is fearing. This is what I am telling you. As a reporter you must change to appreciate the facts as they are. That man cannot stand against the head of state.”
Sondashi said it was theory to think that some people were appointed to serve the public.
“Some of you have never even worked in high office, so you don't know, but I am telling you that this is how it works. You may not agree with me, but one day you will agree,” he said.
Sondashi said institutions that were supposed to rescue the situation like the Electoral Commission of Zambia were toothless because they could not stand up to the President.
He said people had always complained about the operations of the ECZ but to no avail.
However, Sondashi said the two consecutive parliamentary by-election loses in North Western Province by the MMD showed that the people in the country wanted change.
On what critics view as express directives by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chalwe Mchenga to prosecute Solwezi-Central member of parliament Watson Lumba, Sondashi said the double standards towards the delivery of justice by Mchenga was regrettable.
“The earlier learning of lawyers is that lawyers are friends of the poor. That is how we learnt law ourselves. But what is happening with lawyers of recent days is that they are losing these beautiful spiritual principles of defending the people who are trampled by the most powerful executive,” Sondashi said.
“But in the context of what I am saying what do you expect because DPP is directly working for the President? Even the President calls him to say 'don't do this', what do you expect? It's the system and it's the President. This is the President bringing his head out in all these matters. If you examine properly you will see the head of the President at the door of that problem.
This is what is happening. Let us remove a President from being a politician, from being a governor. The President must be head of state. If you put a Prime Minister, a Prime Minister will be controlled by Parliament because they are at par. But Parliament is answerable to the President."
On the government’s announcement that Vice-President Kunda had gone to South Africa for medical review, Sondashi responded: “I am surprised that government is not telling the truth because I think that our brother is sick. They should just come out to say that the Vice-President is ill so that people can know the truth. Why should they beat about the bush?”
Labels: BY-ELECTIONS, LUDWIG SONDASHI, MMD, POLITICAL VIOLENCE
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COMMENT - I am completely against foreign funding of political parties. However, considering how the MMD wants to rely on 'donors' for so much of the country's activities, and considering that this particular funding would be open to all parties (and it had better be), I don't think this reflects on the PF alone. It would put the MMD on a higher moral pedestal if they too were completely honest about the sources of their political funds. The
NIMD board seems to be truly multi-party. However, I still don't like this kind of activity.
Dutch institute denies funding PF campaigns
By Chibaula Silwamba
Fri 07 May 2010, 04:00 CAT
NETHERLANDS Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) has dismissed President Rupiah Banda and MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba’s allegations that the Dutch firm is funding Patriotic Front (PF) campaigns to effect regime change in Zambia.
In a telephone interview from The Hague in The Netherlands and responding to an e-mail press query, NIMD spokesperson Maarten van den Berg said it was not true that his organisation was funding the PF.
He said in Zambia, NIMD provides support to political parties on a fully inclusive and strictly impartial basis.
“With support of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), Zambia’s political parties have founded the Zambian Centre for Inter-party Dialogue (ZCID), which is instrumental in creating political consensus on democratic reforms.
NIMD also supports the institutional development of political parties in Zambia,” Van den Berg said. “NIMD provides this support on a fully inclusive and strictly impartial basis: all parliamentary parties are eligible for support, whether in government or in the opposition. The allocation of funding is based on modalities determined by ZCID. NIMD respects these modalities.”
He said this year, no political party in Zambia had received any funds from NIMD.
The records indicate that the MMD, PF, and Ben Mwila’s National Democratic Focus (NDF) received the same funding last year, contrary to President Banda and Dr Kalumba’s statements.
“In 2009, the amounts received by the parties under individual contracts with NIMD are as follows: UNIP 14,285 euro about K85 million, NDF 14,285 euro about K85 million, ULP 12,931 euro about K78 million due to underspending, PF 14,285 euro about K85 million, MMD 14,285 euro about K85 million, and FDD no contract signed in 2009,” Van den Berg explained.
“These amounts have been verified by a chartered accountant. In 2010, no contracts have been signed by NIMD and the political parties. Consequently, none of the parties has received any funds from NIMD in 2010.”
Van den Berg said NIMD was an impartial facilitator of interparty dialogue in Zambia.
“NIMD and ZCID are currently discussing matters relating the partnership, which we hope will be resolved in a few weeks,” said Van den Berg.
The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) is a democracy assistance organisation of political parties in the Netherlands for political parties in young democracies. NIMD supports joint initiatives of political parties to improve the functioning of democracy in their country.
Founded in 2000 by seven Dutch parties across the political spectrum, NIMD currently works with more than 150 political parties from 17 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe.
On Tuesday, President Banda told NIMD to effect regime change in Netherlands and not Zambia.
“I know it; that is nonsense, they have got their country. They know that if they want to change the regime, let them go to their country and do so,” President Banda said.
“But we have no proof of that. I have heard too. Find out a little more, dig deeper; we can’t accuse people of something for which we have no proof. But I have heard that there is something like that going on.”
Dr Kalumba accused the NIMD of opening a separate account to bankroll the campaigns for the PF ahead of the 2011 elections.
The PF has denied receiving funding from NIMD for campaigns.
Labels: NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE FOR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY, PF
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CSOs demand inquiry into Mufumbwe violence
By Moses Kuwema and Felix Kashweka
Fri 07 May 2010, 03:20 CAT
THREE Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have demanded that President Rupiah Banda sets up an independent enquiry into the violence that led to loss of life and property in Mufumbwe.
In a joint statement by the Anti-voter Apathy Project (AVAP), Southern African Center for Constructive of Resolutions of Disputes (SACCORD) and Caritas Zambia, the three CSOs also demanded that the enquiry should also look at the allegations of the usage of police uniforms by unauthorised persons.
Caritas Zambia head of justice and peace Milimo Mwiba who read the statement on behalf of the organisations said the enquiry should comprise various stakeholders including those who were not directly involved in the electoral process.
”We believe that the police cannot be left to investigate the process alone as they were part of the violence. The police and the intelligence systems should take responsibility for the lapse of security in Mufumbwe. The political parties should publicly renounce violence and begin to build peace constituencies in their structures,” Mwiba said.
Mwiba said with the 2011 elections underway and if no concrete measures were put in place, the country would be laying a dangerous foundation.
She urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to bring all stakeholders together to find a solution to the potential violence before the 2011 elections.
“The ECZ should also be categorical in condemning traditional leaders who deliberately violated the law by siding with political parties during elections. It was saddening to note that political and traditional leaders used divisive methods to attract attention and voters.
One such example was the demotion of headman Tahameya of Matushi by chief Chizela of the Kaonde people of Mufumbwe for allegedly supporting the opposition UPND and that he was not Kaonde.
There were also reports that all Chokwes were threatened to be repatriated to Angola and their land confiscated if they voted for the opposition. This was a serious case of intimidation,” Mwiba said.
And SACCORD executive director Lee Habasonda said there was need to be proactive in finding out what exactly led to the violence in Mufumbwe.
“We don’t want a Kenyan or Zimbabwean way to resurface in Zambia…so we will be willing to testify before the enquiry because we were on the ground and saw what happened,” he said.
Habasonda hoped that the CSOs’ demands would be met adding that they made the demands with the assumption that they were dealing with reasonable leaders.
“We plan to formally write to President Banda and we are also going to engage ECZ… we do already have the support from the civil society organisations,” said Habasonda.
The Mufumbwe by-elections were marred with violence and political hooliganism that left three people dead, several injured including parliamentarians and property damaged.
Labels: BY-ELECTIONS, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, RUPIAH BANDA
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Experts urge stop to sugar estates’ expansion
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Wed 05 May 2010, 08:20 CAT
Workers at Nakambala Sugar Estate in Mazabuka inspecting the irrigation system
ZAMBIA Sugar Plc and Consolidated Farming (Kafue Sugar) should not be allowed to undertake any further expansion programmes as this may pose a serious threat on water availability in the Kafue River, a study has suggested.
The Kafue River is the country’s single most important source of irrigation water for sugar production as it accounts for 99.4 per cent of national sugar output.
Illovo Sugar group-owned Zambia Sugar Plc is the largest producer, with Nakambala estate and a mill in Mazabuka with approximately 89.6 per cent of total production while Consolidated Farming Limited (CF) is second, contributing about 9.8 per cent towards national production at its estate and mill in the Kafue flats in Kafue.
The odd one out is little-known Kalungwishi Estates Limited of Kasama accounting for the remaining 0.60 per cent of the sugar production.
Currently, Zambia Sugar Plc produces 357,000 tonnes of sugar every year; Consolidated Farming (Kafue Sugar) 23,000 and Kalungwishi Estates Limited produces 1,400 tonnes per year.
According to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) study of the Sugar Sector in Zambia funded by the European Union, the lower Kafue River Basin is becoming water stressed due to the multiple water users and the regulation of flows at the Itezhi-Tezhi dam.
The report by three consultants Juan Palerm, Tonnis Sierevogel and Munguzwe Hichaambwa revealed that there were indications that water rights already allocated to Zesco and both Zambia Sugar and Consolidated Farming might be exceeding future water availability.
It stated that climate change was also expected to result in lower rainfall and a reduction of the rainy season in Zambia, leading to increased pressure on scarce water resources.
The report stated that the government needed to conduct a comprehensive water balance study of the whole Kafue River Basin and not limit to the flats, to establish a realistic estimate of water availability for any increase in irrigated agricultural activity.
It regretted that the government had not treated the water balance study of Kafue River Basin with the importance it deserves and that a policy promoting further expansion of sugar cane production must address water availability.
“The government needs to conduct a comprehensive water balance study of the whole Kafue River Basin to establish a realistic estimate of water availability for any increase in agricultural production under irrigation,” the report stated.
“The moratorium on the allocation of water rights in the Kafue Flats should be maintained until completion of the water balance study. No new sugar cane expansions or developments should be allowed in the area until it is clear that water will be available.
Development of additional hydropower capacity should be sought in other places other than the present Kafue Gorge hydropower station site. Institutional and capacity building programmes need to be developed and implemented for the new natural water resources monitoring programme.
Institutional and capacity building should be undertaken to ensure effective implementation and operation of the new structures foreseen under the coming National Water Policy like envisage decentralised structures of the Water Resource Management through catchment and sub-catchment administrations, and Water Users Associations.”
Due to the lack of accurate figures on the actual use of water in the Kafue Flats, since 2008, the Water Board has put a moratorium on the allocation of new water rights as the Department of Water Affairs recognises the need for a detailed water balance of the entire Kafue River Basin.
The report criticised the usage of furrow irrigation, the most common irrigation system in most sugar estates as being the least water-efficient.
It supported Zambia Sugar Plc and Consolidated Farming’s recent indications of shifting to centre-pivot irrigation.
The report, however, stated that the expected development of the 750 megawatts Kafue Gorge Lower and the 120 megawatts Itezhi-Tezhi hydropower stations does not provide a threat to the water availability in the Kafue River Basins.
The Kafue River is the country’s most important source of hydropower hosting the 990 megawatts Kafue Gorge Hydropower with projections indicating that the river would be able to produce 1,860 megawatts in the next five years once the Kafue Gorge Lower and the Itezhi-Tezhi hydropower stations come on stream.
The report stated that hydropower potential and capability of the Kafue River was under threat from the effects of climate change, worsened by increased water uptake by agricultural activities in the river basin.
“Projections to 2070 show a slight increase in average rainfall but also a larger inter-annual variability. This would mean that dry years will occur more often, even if rainfall generally increases. Also, an increase in average temperatures of about two degree Celsius for 2010-2070 is expected,” it stated. “The increase in temperatures will be followed by increased evapotranspiration, which will generally decrease water resources.
The combined effects of climate change will probably be less river flows during extreme dry years, which determine the firm power and safe yield of dams…For a time period of five to 10 or even 20 years the effects of climate change is relatively small compared to the natural variation in river flows.
The trends reported, however, further accentuate the potential water availability conflict in the Kafue River and give further motivation of leaving extra margins when allocating water. This scenario would imply the development of hydropower at sites other than the Kafue Gorge. If, however, Zesco would increase its capacity at the Kafue Gorge then part or all of this surplus available water would be absorbed.”
The report stated that there was need to give the Kafue River Basin some relief and consider other water basins in the north of the country such as the Chambeshi and Kalungwishi River basins which have abundant water and are, from a water availability perspective, good options for development.
Both the Chambeshi and Kalungwishi have the potential to sustain large expansions in irrigation and several sites in the Kalungwishi have been identified for their hydropower potential
The report also observed that although the domestic sugar industry had one of the world’s lowest production costs and excellent agro-climatic conditions in the cane growing regions, the sector has weak transport infrastructure and high initial cost of land development.
“…The size of the industry is constrained due to two major weaknesses…the country’s landlocked location - when coupled with poor transport infrastructure, it makes it very expensive to access export markets,” stated the report. “The high initial cost of land development, owing to the need to develop bulk water capacity and in-field irrigation and drainage infrastructure. These weaknesses have prevented the industry from expanding beyond the size of its domestic, regional and preferential export markets.”
The sugar sector makes a strong contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), accounting for around three to four per cent of the national income and also makes an even larger contribution to the national export earnings, corresponding to around six per cent over the last few years.
The sugar industry provides employment for around 11,000 workers, with a total of dependents probably exceeding 75,000.
However, the report stated that the EU’s EBA (Everything But Arms) initiative had presented new market opportunities from 2009, albeit at greatly reduced prices.
“Although sugar prices in the EU will, on average, offer producers a better return than the world sugar market, the reduction in prices presents a considerable challenge if the industry is to exploit fully its potential,” stated the report.
“It will reduce the profitability of current operations, which derive around 11 per cent of their revenue from sales to the EU, the industry incurs considerable social costs associated with provision of education, health and other basic amenities to the employees and the local community, and high cost of land development and accessing export markets means that financial returns from expansion projects are modest in relation to the risks associated with making investments.”
Labels: ENVIRONMENT, SUGAR
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Mugabe, Tsvangirai reassure investors
by
06/05/2010 00:00:00
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe made a surprise showing at Africa's biggest business meeting on Thursday to appeal for investment alongside other members of the country’s fractious coalition government.
The veteran leader dismissed investor worries over new ownership laws which are designed to ensure that black Zimbabweans hold a stake of at least 51 percent in all companies and which have strained the unity government.
"People have said it will drive away investment. We say it won't," Mugabe said at the World Economic Forum for Africa.
"Companies have been forthcoming ... I don't think it's a painful thing for them. Forty-nine percent is a lot," he told reporters.
Mugabe took the stage at the World Economic Forum for Africa with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, an old rival who joined him in a unity government last year, and Arthur Mutambara, the third member of the coalition.
Zimbabwe's economy grew last year for the first time in a decade after the scrapping of a near worthless local currency and the political agreement.
Western countries are withholding aid to push for faster political reform and there has been no major inflow of foreign investment because of the continuing uncertainty over the government and its policies.
"Zimbabwe is ready to do business. If Africa's time has come for investment, then Zimbabwe cannot miss the boat," Tsvangirai said at the meeting, which has highlighted Africa's relatively rapid emergence from the global downturn.
"The political crisis does no longer exist. The country is making progress and it's time that investors started looking at Zimbabwe from a different perspective. So that is the message we have been communicating."
Tsvangirai stressed that discussion was continuing on the empowerment law and its application.
Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai reiterated appeals for an end to Western sanctions targeting the 86-year-old leader and his closest aides. He has ruled since independence in 1980 and is accused by critics of ruining the country.
"It doesn't make sense that people from the same government are not able to travel because of the travel ban," Tsvangirai said.
Labels: MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, MUGABE, NEOLIBERALISM
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SA miner unfazed by indigenization
by
06/05/2010 00:00:00
DIVERSIFIED South African miner, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) says local indigenisation laws will not deter it from investing in Zimbabwe adding talks regarding possible projects are underway with authorities.
The mining group which is owned by South African billionaire oligarch Patrice Motsepe said its planned move into Zimbabwe was however still in its early stages but stated it was not concerned about the planned indigenisation of foreign-owned mining firms.
“Our understanding of the proposed indigenisation is that it will not only involve direct ownership into the foreign-owned companies but will involve different elements of empowerment for local people,” the company said.
Zimbabwe’s empowerment legislation compels foreign-owned companies worth at least US$500 000 to localize 51 percent of their shareholding over a period of five years and critics argue the laws could scare away investors from the capital-starved economy. However ARM announced it was engaged in talks with Zimbabwean authorities aimed at identifying opportunities that would “make sense for the company”.
Late last year ARM business development chief Dan Simelane said the group was prepared to invest up to US$300 million in Zimbabwe as mining opportunities in the country brightened following dollarisation and the introduction of a raft of liberalisation measures.
"We are looking for PGMs and we are looking for coal. We are in discussion with a number of people in Zimbabwe to see whether there is something we can get on in terms of exploration," Dan Simelane said in September last year.
Meanwhile the company which boasts interests in nickel, coal, iron ore, platinum, chrome and manganese production, said global mining fundamentals, including for platinum group metals and copper, were positive, especially in the short to medium term.
Metals demand is being driven mainly by India and China and this was also supporting higher prices.
“This does create a very favourable environment for investment in mining. We continue to keep an eye out for new opportunities,” the company said.
Labels: INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), PATRICE MOTSEPE
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Returning to Zimbabwe after 4 years, I find a country on the march
by Gilbert Nyambabvu
06/05/2010 00:00:00
When New Zimbabwe.com man Gilbert Nyambabvu left Zimbabwe four years ago, nobody was giving the snake-bitten country a chance as President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF governmment appeared out of its depth to fight the economic meltdown. But a year after the veteran leader was forced to share power, Nyambabvu returns to find a country on the up, although challenges remain:
GLOBAL media attention on Zimbabwe tends to focus almost exclusively on the fragility of the country’s coalition government, the emotive land issue and, lately, the contentious indigenisation programme.
One gets the impression of a kind of socio-economic and political stasis; of a country that may have forced a bottoming-out of the hyper-inflationary mayhem of the last decade and, yet, still contrives to make the same policy mistakes that led to these problems in the first place.
These narrative choices sadly ignore the tremendous progress which has been made since the country’s feuding politicians struck an admittedly imperfect deal to share power following the inconclusive general elections of March 2008.
I recently spent nearly two weeks in Zimbabwe -- travelling between Harare and Bulawayo, rural Lupane, Matopos as well as the resort town of Victoria Falls -- and found the transformation the country has undergone quite incredible.
When I relocated to the United Kingdom nearly four years ago, I left behind a country teetering on the brink of total collapse; a people so wrought by the herculean challenges of just getting through each day that the general sense of hopeless resignation was nearly palpable.
Yet Zimbabwe is changing.
Getting into central Harare from the airport, one immediately gets the impression that sections of the economy - mobile phone companies in particular - are doing pretty well in the dollarized economic environment.
Econet Wireless, NetOne and Telecel billboards fight for pride of place at the airport and along the city’s streets while their advertisements are clearly keeping much of the media industry in business.
Sim cards, which used to be a very precious and expensive little luxury, now cost anything between US$2 and US$10 and the companies are struggling to cope with the increased volume of business resulting in network congestion.
There was little surprise therefore when, during my first week in the country, Econet announced after tax profits of more than US$100 million.
Again, as we drove into central Harare from the airport I was stunned by the number of swanky new Mercedes, BMW and Lexus saloons as well expensive dark-windowed 4x4s that dominate the city’s pot-holed streets. The battered old Mazda 323 or Nissan Sunny sedan is now an odd irregularity.
Indeed, a shiny new stretch Hammer limousine purred by one evening, as we queued to get into the Harare gardens for a HIFA event.
Around the city, shop-shelves were stacked full with imported goods and there was not a queue in sight either for fuel, money or food stuffs.
Most of the people I met - from the multitudes of nouveau riche who spend without a care in the city’s pubs and restaurants, to the mobile phone airtime vendors on street corners - spoke with hope and a cautious optimism about the future.
Venues hosting the annual Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) were packed with locals and pilgrims from countries such as Germany, France, Italy, South Africa and the United Kingdom who said they travel to the country every year for the event.
In Bulawayo, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds were teaming with locals who had paid for a family day out.
I went round Bulawayo’s pubs and beer-halls looking for a Scud or the re-launched ‘Shake-shake’ without any luck. The natives were freely spending worn-out US dollar bills on local lagers and imported beers.
My nostalgic yearning for the Scud was only ministered to by a sympathetic teacher in rural Lupane who said he had returned home from South Africa at the start of the year to go back into teaching.
“I had been in South Africa over the last six or so years doing all sorts of odd jobs. But I decided to come back at the start of the year and found the situation not that bad.
“While the money we get from government is still not enough, one can at least manage to feed their family and enjoy the odd drink,” he told me.
Explanations for this dramatic change differ, depending of course, on the political inclinations of the individual speaking.
An independent journalist based in Bulawayo reckoned it was all due to what he called the “September 15 moment”, when President Robert Mugabe and long-time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai agreed a deal to share power.
“The agreement did not only bring about a modicum of political stability in the country. It also helped improve business confidence,” the scribe averred.
But a banker in Harare said the political deal alone could not have reversed the country’s inexorable economic malaise, and offered what I thought was a more plausible explanation.
“It was dollarisation and the subsequent economic liberalisation measures that made the difference.
“Ditching the Zimbabwe dollar reversed the hyperinflationary trend of the last decade, ensuring a level of stability and predictability in the operating environment that business had not experienced for a long time,” the fellow said.
This, however, begs what should be a very disconcerting question for the ‘proud nationalists’ in President Mugabe’s Zanu PF party.
Surely they must wonder whether they would have been forced to endure the humiliation of supping with ‘imperialist lackeys’ in the MDC had they put aside their ‘sovereign pride’ and ditched the Zimbabwe dollar much earlier.
Again, and perhaps more importantly, couldn’t earlier introduction of multiple currencies have spared ordinary people the untold misery many just barely survived in 2007 and 2008?
Still, not everyone is impressed with the apparent progress or convinced that it can be sustained.
An elderly white journalist who made a living out of peddling the ‘Zimbabwe crisis’ to news agencies in the West ranted at the organisers of HIFA, accusing them of creating the ‘phony impression’ that ‘things are back to normal’.
“Look at all these white people,” he railed, no doubt encouraged by a few too many swigs of Zambezi lager. “They have come from all over the world to have fun in Harare - creating the false impression that there are no problems in this country”.
Problems for the good old chap mean President Mugabe’s stubborn refusal to swear-in Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister or sack attorney general Johannes Tomana and central bank chief Gideon Gono, as well as the lack of movement on media and constitutional reforms.
Such esoteria is, however, above the concerns of some ordinary people whose worries are far more basic.
An elderly female vendor at Mbare Musika in Harare said people were still generally struggling to survive adding power outages and water supply problems continue in the city’s poorer areas.
“While the situation has certainly gotten somewhat better, most people are still battling to survive. Don’t be misled by the flashy cars you see in the city centre. Very few companies are re-employing and most people don’t have jobs,” she said.
“The majority of those lucky enough to be in employment take home no more than US$100 and with rentals for a room averaging about US$30, there isn’t much left for food, utility bills and other basics.
She was also emphatic on the issue whether non-resident Zimbabweans should now return home to help rebuild the country.
“You are better-off staying put where you are. Give it another year or two, if the idea is to come back and look for a job. But of course if you are into deals you can come back because that is how some of these people are getting rich,” she said.
The elderly lady probably had a point. Because, while central Harare looks flash, organisations representing industry and commerce say capacity utilisation remains constrained largely because of the lack of capital.
As a result, there isn’t enough money in circulation -- a problem not helped by sceptical donor countries that won’t help because ‘there is no guarantee President Mugabe will not sack his coalition partners once the funds are made available’.
Again the use of foreign currencies means the country‘s central bank cannot properly massage economic activity through monetary policy measures, let alone replace the worn-out one-US dollar bills.
Zimbabwe appears to be largely a ‘dealer’ economy. And since dealers don’t generally pay tax, the government can’t raise the huge sums needed to repair the country’s damaged roads and other key infrastructure.
“People are generally dealing in diamonds, platinum, used clothes imported from outside the country, mobile phones -- the lot,” a journalist colleague said.
There is also the problem of profiteering. A taxi driver charged me US$30 for the shot hop from Cresta Lodge to Harare Airport. I was later told the fare shouldn’t have been more than $20.
Retailers are also on the take, exploiting the lack of change to make a killing by pushing volumes.
You get into a shop to buy a tablet of bathing soap and are told change is only available in the South African rand – at an exchange rate that benefits the retailer, of course.
Alternatively, you are asked to buy some other product in lieu of your change. Again, they might give you a ‘credit note’ which can be redeemed for more goods but only from that same shop.
The government also needs to reign in the shocking profligacy in some of the country’s local authorities. City and town councils are said to be among the best-paying organisations in the country with salaries taking up between 70 and 80 percent of revenues, leaving almost precious little for service delivery, infrastructure repair and other capital projects.
Thus pot-holes on city roads increase and widen into dangerous craters; rubbish goes uncollected and there is no improvement in water supply and sewer reticulation - particularly in the poorer suburbs.
However, despite the evident challenges, most ordinary people and some business executives are fairly optimistic about the future.
“Yes, we are making what you might refer to as baby-steps, but its progress still,” Ross Kennedy, a tourism executive told me.
He added: “Problems remain, no doubt, but we have turned the corner and I’m sure nobody wants to go back to the chaos of the last few years.”
His views were echoed by a taxi driver in Bulawayo who said while people were not happy with the hybrid political set-up and the unending bickering in the coalition government, most appreciated the relative improvement in the economy.
He told me: “Things are much, much better now. The last few years - particularly 2007 and 2008 - were terribly bad. I am not sure words can adequately express what people went through and I don’t even know how we survived.”
“You see, I am a parent and almost everyday I had to explain to a starving two-year old why there was no food in the house. Nothing could be harder for a parent! But now shops are filled with goods and one can at least put food on the table.”
Labels: GILBERT NYAMBABVU
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