GPA principals blast sanctions
By Hebert Zharare recently in DAR-ES-SALAAM, Tanza
THE three leaders of the inclusive Government unanimously told the 20th World Economic Forum on Africa in Tanzania on Thursday that no significant economic growth will be realised in Zimbabwe if illegal Western sanctions are not immediately lifted.
In his address to the WEF on Africa,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who was leading a team of Zimbabwean business executives,
said the West should only be guided by what Zimbabweans said.
He said Zimbabwe was safe for investment and business should not fear the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and its accompanying regulations.
"It does not make sense that some people from the same Government are not able to travel to some countries at the same time because of sanctions. Such a stance is not an endorsement of what we are trying to do in Zimbabwe. You must get guidance from what we are saying, not from what you believe or think about us," PM Tsvangirai said.
President Mugabe — who was in Dar-es-Salaam to attend a summit of Southern African liberation parties — was not billed to address the forum. However, WEF founder and executive chairman Mr Klaus Schawab invited him to address the gathering.
The President’s arrival caused quite a stir as businesspeople and the media jostled to get a chance to speak to him.
Addressing the forum, President Mugabe said among all the countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, the Americans were the most honest because they made it clear that their embargoes went beyond personalities as they also blocked financial assistance.
He lambasted those who claimed the sanctions were targeted at Zanu-PF alone.
"Zimbabwean industries are driven by European technologies and the sanctions mean all these companies will not function," he said.
Britain internationalised its bilateral dispute with Zimbabwe over land, leading to the EU imposing the illegal embargo.
Responding to a question from a British journalist on the effects of the sanctions, President Mugabe said Air Force of Zimbabwe Hawk fighter jets, bought from Britain at the former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s recommendation, were grounded because of the sanctions.
In his address, Deputy PM Arthur Mutambara said: "Assume that the sanctions are targeted, but the impact is still felt on the whole country. The sanctions must go today in total. We do not need them."
PM Tsvangirai defended the indigenisation law saying it had been misconstrued as a tool to nationalise foreign-owned companies. He said there was a lot of "hot air that had been blowing about indigenisation".
"Economic empowerment of the country’s citizens does not mean nationalisation of companies.
"We have the framework which sets the thresholds sector by sector," he said.
PM Tsvangirai said some Western investors were afraid of non-existent threats.
He made a comparison with Kenya, saying progress in Zimbabwe was more impressive, yet the West was pumping millions of dollars into the East African country.
"There are greater risks in Kenya than in Zimbabwe. How do you explain that? Capital must be bold and not behave like cowards," he said.
DPM Mutambara concurred and invited investors to flock to Zimbabwe.
President Mugabe told the delegates that for over a century, the British ruled the country and siphoned its resources and it was time indigenous people had a shot at improving themselves.
"Investors should come with the spirit of sharing with our people. We are not chasing away some investors, we are only asking for a fair share of the investment.
"In our view, a fair share of 49 percent is good enough," he said.
President Mugabe chronicled Zimbabwe’s history and said the idea of working together was not new.
He explained how Patriotic Front parties worked together before 1980 and how former Rhodesians were incorporated at independence.
"It was not difficult to reach out when the idea of the inclusive Government was discussed.
"In fact, working with other people did not start yesterday; it is ingrained in our parties. After the recommendations of Sadc we started discussing and discovering each other.
"In the beginning, we did not trust each other at all, we thought we would kill each other but it’s all over now.
"Yes, we have political differences, but we have this alliance," he said.
PM Tsvangirai said his differences with President Mugabe were once "legendary".
"Once the Sadc facilitation work began, we realised that there is no winner in a losing team.
"We declared peace and Zimbabweans supported it. This inclusive Government is not fragile; when we differ, we differ respectfully," he said.
Responding to Africa Sun chief executive officer Mr Shingi Munyeza — who wanted clarification on when Zimbabwe would have elections — PM Tsvangirai said it was premature to stage a poll.
"We have deliberately avoided announcing the dates for elections because we do not want the country to be in election mode again.
"We do not want to pit the election mood against national healing mood. We have some processes such as the constitution-making that are yet to be completed.
"When time comes, a date will be set through consensus. The important thing is that the inclusive Government is working and policies and decisions are being made by consensus," he said.
Labels: DAR ES SALAAM, GLOBAL POLITICAL AGREEMENT, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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Amend Urban Councils Act
IN the last few months, some councillors in the Harare City Council have been in the news almost everyday where they have been embroiled in cases of illegally grabbing houses from tenants. As a result, the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Ignatius Chombo instituted a commission of inquiry into the illegal evictions.
We are glad that the team investigating the evictions of residents from council properties has recommended an immediate end to all expulsions by municipal officials and councillors.
The probe team has also called for disciplinary action against all those who flouted council regulations to acquire the houses.
However, before any action is taken the minister has set up another board of inquiry to give the accused an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
We await the outcome of that inquiry as well. We, however, feel what has been happening in the city council is tantamount to corruption.
All those senior officials who have been sanctioning the evictions should also face the music. It’s a fact that a councillor on his own cannot process the eviction paper work.
All unprocedural property allocations to councillors and officials should be reversed and evicted residents should retain possession of the houses pending an audit of all council rented accommodation.
Once completed, the process should leave the local authority in a position to carry out its functions in accordance with the dictates of the Urban Councils Act.
It is also in this context that we agree with the investigating team that the Urban Councils Act should be amended to introduce minimum educational and property qualifications for all aspiring councillors. This would help fight whatever corruption is being contemplated.
The Government on its part, has shown its seriousness to nip this scourge in the bud by not only setting up a ministry specifically geared to fight corruption but has also set up an anti-corruption commission.
Admittedly, the ministry and the commission, on their own cannot deal with the scourge unless those in leadership positions are made accountable through strict adherence to a code of ethics.
While the constitution should be the first place to stipulate a code on leaders, the current constitution is silent on the behaviour expected of councillors and all other leaders as most of the sections simply outline titles, tenure and duties of office bearers.
Several countries in the Sadc region have incorporated leadership codes in their constitutions. Zimbabwean society, for all its conservatism is too lenient with morally reprehensible behaviour by some in leadership, yet in the morally liberal so-called Western democracies that accept all manner of abominable behaviour, leaders may even lose their seats over things like adultery.
We therefore call on the powers-that-be to take this opportunity and incorporate into the yet-to-be written constitution a clause for accountability for all those aspiring for public office especially our councillors.
That can help deal with the rot in our councils.
Labels: COUNCILS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, URBAN COUNCILS ACT (ZIMBABWE)
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Mining firm, community forge sound ties
By Michael Chideme recently in Chimanimani
MOST companies engaged in high-value minerals mining would cause the mass eviction of local communities to create their own fiefdoms.
The situation is completely different with the joint venture between the Development Trust of Zimbabwe and Russian company OZGEO, which has established an opencast alluvial gold mine in the Tsvingwe area of Mutare River Valley near Penhalonga.
The company is also prospecting for diamonds along Haroni River in Mutekesanwa Village under Chief Chikukwa in Chimanimani.
In Mutare, the company employs around 350 people while in Chimanimani 20 people have so far been employed with plans afoot to increase the workforce once full-scale mining begins.
Zimbabweans who underwent mining training in Russia have found a home with the company as they find it easy to communicate and relate.
Mr Yevgeniy Protopopov, the company’s chief mining engineer, says: "We want to always have and maintain good relations with the locals because they are the owners of the land.
"We also want to create employment for the locals. If they stay near us, the better for the company."
The communities on their part are happy with the company’s operations in both Mutare and Chimanimani.
Tsvingwe Residents’ Association deputy chairman Mr Daniel Mahlanganise says, "They are repairing our roads, building bridges, assisting our local school and capacitating the local police with fuel and at times repair of vehicles.
"The company assists during national events by supplying fuel and transport to carry locals to celebration centres."
He said the mining project was empowering communities under headmen Murahwa, Zengeni, Nyamukwarara and Chikanga, who all fall under Chief Mutasa.
The entry of the joint venture company has boosted employment levels in the communities, especially with timber companies laying off staff and making people redundant.
Headman Gideon Murahwa said DTZ-OZGEO was doing its bit to help the communities.
"Most of the people employed here are locals. The company trained the locals to operate the heavy machinery. Our people have also learnt skills that will better their lives. We are happy with the company," he said.
He said the community and the company were assisting each other in reclaiming the land dug-up during past mining operations.
People are now farming on the reclaimed land.
A director with DTZ-OZGEO, Mr Ismail Shillaev, says the company had constructed a pipeline to feed Tsvingwe following severe water shortages in the area."
He said the company puts emphasis on further training people who have building, carpentry, engineering and welding experience, among other specialist trades.
"Zimbabwe has very nice people. They are ready to learn. Our specialists from Russia teach the locals to use this specialised mining machinery," he said.
Mr Protopopov says operations in Chimanimani are still at the exploration stage.
However, this has not stopped the company from involving itself in community projects.
He says should the need to move families arise, the Chimanimani Rural District Council would be consulted with full compensation paid.
"We however want the people near us," he insists.
A local villager Mr Kenias Matokoza adds: "We have no problems with the company. As you can see our farming operations have not been disturbed. We work side by side."
The formation of the joint venture company is the brainchild of the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo whose vision was the development and empowerment of local communities.
He personally led a delegation to Russia to invite them to partner Zimbabweans to exploit natural resources for the benefit of locals.
President Mugabe is the company’s patron while Vice President John Nkomo is the company’s vice president.
Labels: MINING
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Bananas in the Land of Albion!
WHO says time is linear? Who says mothers are born before their children? Or that mothers are older than their children? Look at what is happening to our "mother" Britain! They might take long to answer but, hey, the gods are just, finally. Let us replay events to March 2008.
That fateful year Zimbabwe — the colonial child — held polls whose results were inconclusive and therefore disharmonious in ways that baffled and buffeted her body-politic. MDC-T dominated the Lower House; Zanu (PF) dominated the Upper House. Overall, Zanu (PF) had a commanding lead in Parliament. Morgan Tsvangirai enjoyed an early lead in March.
Robert Mugabe trailed in this early phase of a drawn out story. None won the presidential vote, setting the stage for a bruising run-off, founded on the 50 percent + 1 formulae which our legal brains had so cleverly inserted, arguably without the premonition that one day, one year soon, this numeral "1" would both settle and scuttle the presidency of this country.
Indeed, without the premonition that this one numeral would create a structure sui generis, a structure called the Inclusive Government so rich in numberless headaches. I am not interested with these headaches though. These we have suffered already, curing some of them, thinking with them.
I am interested in how this quandary was received abroad, especially by our "mother", Britain, apparently without a foreboding that one day the mother would suffer a similar fate, two short years later.
Hung referendum?
The result was decried and called names. The President was execrated for authoring a political nonesuch. The word run-off appeared to come from a Shona dictionary to describe the political shenanigans of a tin-pot dictator. But where are we today? We have the same result in the land of haughty Albion! Unbelievable!
You mean to tell me that the impeccable electoral system of smart Britain can also yield a result comparable to the electoral deformities of "autocratic" and "rigging" infantile Zimbabwe? No, no, no! The sun never sets in Britain — that precious atom that gave a lasting spark to a benighted world, as Ian Douglas Smith would care to say repeatedly, face beaming with Scottish pride!
How can Britain’s celestial standards yield so grossly imperfect an outcome comparable if not worse than that from lowly brutes we all are in the white of their eyes? Far worse because in the case of Zimbabwe, our law provided a way out of the quandary, namely through something we called a run-off.
For Albion, poor Albion, the only way out, in the absence of an inclusive Government — yes, Inclusive Government we started here well before she knew how to spell it — is to propose reforms to the electoral law which will then be put to the British people by way of a referendum. And the British being the same weird, weird British, could very well give you another hung referendum to bolster the hung parliament and the no-government situation that exists presently.
Don’t forget this oldest monarchy still hugs a draft constitution that has been hanging for centuries: across kings and queens, between and beyond wars and revolutions, between and beyond faiths.
The Pot and the kettle
Brown finds himself meriting the very harsh judgement he so easily and generously gave Robert Mugabe, his bete noire. He is still found in No.10 Downing Street, the morning and much after the vote he lost, the legitimacy he so fondly foists on other nations which he himself cannot now uphold.
He has been beaten, but without a constitutional recourse to a run-off, which is what makes his position remarkably parlous. He demands "a part" in Government, in the process making nonsense of the British Will that has wrenched him from that Government.
Britain is losing a war. Britain is losing an economy. Britain has long lost its vaunted glory abroad. Above all, it still cannot find a leader, even in peacetime. Brown cannot be that leader, this man, this poor politician who never won premiership, preferring the comfort of borrowed robes, or robbing the electorate as he now seeks to do so clumsily.
It recalls a rather naughty point made by one Richard Dowden of the Royal African Society, itself a colonial relic. Commenting on strained relations between the Labour Government and Zimbabwe, Dowden suggested the Labour Government messed up Britain’s overseas interests precisely because it is a party of workers who have never owned anything whether at home or abroad.
Democracy’s headaches
So let Britain know today that democracy can create real governance headaches. Not because it is being implemented by Robert Mugabe or some such Third World leader, but because it itself expresses human imperfections. Voters can be fickle; democracy, which simplifies political decisions to paper, boxes and numerals, can create real imbroglios for democracy-eager societies.
And when that happens, both societies and leaders have the same set of questions to answer. Today Britain has puzzled itself, vexed its own mind, with un-telegenic Blair as the trigger and pretext. Instead of that haughty, self-righteous step Britain is so wont to as it steps roughshod over we the small nations, let her move with appropriate hesitancy, crying out for assistance in breaking the present impasse.
Sadc is on stand-by, ready to deploy former President Mbeki, for an appropriate package, the same way Sadc deployed Ramaphosa in resolving the IRA issue. But we, the children of a lesser god, have heard Britain very loudly and clearly as she proclaims her credo for Government: she deserves "a strong and decisive" Government, able to get her out of her present economic mess. Do we deserve any less, we Zimbabweans? Maybe we do, we the blest children of the mother country now on slippery banana rind. Oh Albion, vast Albion!
The curse of long apartheid
As I write this piece, Julius Malema has been hauled before a disciplinary committee of the African National Congress (ANC). He has also been booked for a lynching before the Human Rights Commission of South Africa. While the first action is internal to the ANC, the second one is being pushed for by an Afrikaner Brotherhood, itself a throwback to the apartheid days. Both actions are pregnant, even though one does not see much by way of focused debate in the media.
On balance, the debate has either been irrational and hate-filled, or overflowing with maudlin sentimentality. For the former part, Malema is a buffoon; for the later part, he is a second Jesus on the crucifix. I doubt that he is either of those two things. In any case, to focus on Malema is to miss what is at stake.
Afrikaner Forum?
Little has been said about the judge who presided over the case. Little, too, has been said about AfriForum as if to suggest this organisation is a god from the machine.
Yet the complainant, the plaintiff, the judge and the judgement are all rooted in South Africa’s history and contemporary struggles.
Who is AfriForum and why have the media been most reluctant to perforate the veil that shrouds it? How is it an African Forum? Which Africans? How does Zimbabwe come into this whole equation? Or is this a matter down South, too down South, to bother those of us living up the river?
Staging a play without Hamlet
Just a little probing tells us AfriForum is an all-white rights focused group, which first shoots to prominence over the land question in Zimbabwe. This is the organisation that sought and succeeded in registering with the South Africa legal system some strange judgement passed in Namibia a year or two ago, which pretended to settle a land dispute in Zimbabwe, and claimed to do so in the name of Sadc.
A group of embittered white settlers, historically privileged by racist settler Rhodesia, launched a class action with the so-called Sadc Tribunal, which sought to have Zimbabwe’s land reform programme set aside on grounds of a racist contravention of the Sadc Treaty. This phoney tribunal, which came into being ahead of the mating and wedding season, apparently granted the relief sought by the white farmers who hoped such a judgement would open the floodgates and drown the whole land reform programme.
Expectedly the Zimbabwe Government ignored the decision, which vainly sought sanctity from juridical aura while attacking the very soul of our struggle. It dawned on both the Tribunal and the farmers that they had vainly sought to stage Hamlet without the main character. Who would bell the cat?
Who would enforce such a silly judgement whose locale is a whole sovereign state inhabited by a people who had gone to war for the recovery and delivery of that same asset which this tribunal sought to restore to an occupying race?
The long apartheid
AfriForum then arises to seek the registration of this judgement in all Sadc countries, starting with South Africa, so that Sadc governments are then forced to enforce this wrong-headed judgement, principally by seizing Zimbabwe’s assets abroad as compensation to the settlers who never bought the land from the natives at the start of it all.
The idea is to send a clear message to African governments — principally those of South Africa and Namibia — that you dare tamper with settler-derived white "rights" and privileges, you are in for a long, frenetic haul, at home and abroad. The idea is to confront the liberation ethos through a broad regional front. Indeed, the idea is to harness post-struggle African governments for the enforcement of settler rights, against impoverished African masses.
The great divide and the small song
Now the same white interests have employed exactly the same vehicle to attack a facet of the resistance culture of a liberation movement. The contestation has thus been broadened beyond the real economy, beyond the control of real assets to the cultural economy of our resistance.
We are likely to see efforts to domesticate into many other Sadc jurisdictions this apartheid judgement on a liberation song. But why would the all-powerful whites of South Africa fear a mere song? Just read their Press to find a clue. Here is the askari-driven, white-owned Sunday Times of South Africa:
‘There is evidence across our society that the spirit of reconciliation that characterised the transfer of power is wearing thin in a country still divided by one of the world’s widest wealth gaps.
" Leaders as senior as Jacob Zuma, and as junior as ANC Youth League leader, Julius Malema, need to acknowledge that the unity of this nation is critical to its democratic success and should not be negligently put at risk . . . In as much as we celebrate the centrality of freedom of expression in our constitution, we do need to exercise our freedoms with due care and responsibility. If we fail to do this, we can only undo that which we have worked so hard to build — a young nation which is committed to protecting and celebrating the diversity of its people’s cultures."
This editorial comment of April 4, 2010 brings out the real reason behind the court action. Against the ever widening gulf between races and classes, South Africa’s social balance is so tenuous that even some little song will upset it. And the solution is not to address the race and class divide; it is to ban songs, which may recall past struggles, which in reality are present struggles.
A long apartheid is matched by a long liberation struggle, yes, struggle far longer than Mandela, the rainbow or 2010. Icho!
nathaniel.manheru *** zimpapers.co.zw
Labels: AFRIFORUM, JULIUS MALEMA
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Malema: I will not be silenced
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
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COMMENT - He forgot how to mention how much money he was paid not to tax the mines.
State reveals reason for the abolition of windfall tax
Saturday, May 8, 2010, 9:09
A Government official has revealed the underlying reason behind Government’s decision to scrap off the windfall tax in the mining sector.
Deputy Minister in the ministry of Mines, Boniface Nkata says if Government had continued to charge windfall tax on excess profits in the mining sector amid the Global financial crisis the affairs of the country would have become ungovernable.
He said the pulling out of most foreign mining firms from the mines created a lot of job losses which created tension in the country which, he stressed, was almost going to lead to a vote of no confidence by the Zambians in the incumbent Government.
In an overheard conversation with fellow government official, Mr Nkhata explained that government had predicted a situation where people would have been up against government because of the loss of jobs and thereby advantaging the opposition over the ruling party.
[So non-taxation of the mines, in effect Zambian poverty, comes down to political expediency? - MrK]
He said that the opposition parties had also contributed to inciting people to rise against Government.
He said that Government feared a situation where an early election would be called because of failure by Government to Govern the Country through its strategic revenue earner the mines.
Mr Nkhata said that after the abolition of the windfall tax, Government has been able to restore jobs that were lost following the closure of most mines.
He added that the issue of windfall tax raises so much dust and disturbances in the Governance of the country and that Government would not consider re-introducing it.
QFM
Labels: BONIFACE NKHATA, CORRUPTION, WINDFALL TAX
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GPA principals blast sanctions
By Hebert Zharare recently in DAR-ES-SALAAM, Tanza
THE three leaders of the inclusive Government unanimously told the 20th World Economic Forum on Africa in Tanzania on Thursday that no significant economic growth will be realised in Zimbabwe if illegal Western sanctions are not immediately lifted.
In his address to the WEF on Africa, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who was leading a team of Zimbabwean business executives, said
the West should only be guided by what Zimbabweans said.
He said Zimbabwe was safe for investment and business should not fear the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and its accompanying regulations.
"It does not make sense that some people from the same Government are not able to travel to some countries at the same time because of sanctions. Such a stance is not an endorsement of what we are trying to do in Zimbabwe. You must get guidance from what we are saying, not from what you believe or think about us," PM Tsvangirai said.
President Mugabe — who was in Dar-es-Salaam to attend a summit of Southern African liberation parties — was not billed to address the forum.
However, WEF founder and executive chairman Mr Klaus Schawab invited him to address the gathering.
The President’s arrival caused quite a stir as businesspeople and the media jostled to get a chance to speak to him.
Addressing the forum, President Mugabe said among all the countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, the Americans were the most honest because they made it clear that their embargoes went beyond personalities as they also blocked financial assistance.
He lambasted those who claimed the sanctions were targeted at Zanu-PF alone.
"Zimbabwean industries are driven by European technologies and the sanctions mean all these companies will not function," he said.
Britain internationalised its bilateral dispute with Zimbabwe over land, leading to the EU imposing the illegal embargo.
Responding to a question from a British journalist on the effects of the sanctions, President Mugabe said Air Force of Zimbabwe Hawk fighter jets, bought from Britain at the former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s recommendation, were grounded because of the sanctions.
In his address, Deputy PM Arthur Mutambara said: "Assume that the sanctions are targeted, but the impact is still felt on the whole country. The sanctions must go today in total. We do not need them."
PM Tsvangirai defended the indigenisation law saying it had been misconstrued as a tool to nationalise foreign-owned companies.
He said there was a lot of "hot air that had been blowing about indigenisation".
"Economic empowerment of the country’s citizens does not mean nationalisation of companies.
"We have the framework which sets the thresholds sector by sector," he said.
PM Tsvangirai said some Western investors were afraid of non-existent threats.
He made a comparison with Kenya, saying progress in Zimbabwe was more impressive, yet the West was pumping millions of dollars into the East African country.
"There are greater risks in Kenya than in Zimbabwe. How do you explain that? Capital must be bold and not behave like cowards," he said.
DPM Mutambara concurred and invited investors to flock to Zimbabwe.
President Mugabe told the delegates that for over a century, the British ruled the country and siphoned its resources and it was time indigenous people had a shot at improving themselves.
"Investors should come with the spirit of sharing with our people. We are not chasing away some investors, we are only asking for a fair share of the investment.
"In our view, a fair share of 49 percent is good enough," he said.
President Mugabe chronicled Zimbabwe’s history and said the idea of working together was not new.
He explained how Patriotic Front parties worked together before 1980 and how former Rhodesians were incorporated at independence.
"It was not difficult to reach out when the idea of the inclusive Government was discussed.
"In fact, working with other people did not start yesterday; it is ingrained in our parties. After the recommendations of Sadc we started discussing and discovering each other.
"In the beginning, we did not trust each other at all, we thought we would kill each other but it’s all over now.
"Yes, we have political differences, but we have this alliance," he said.
PM Tsvangirai said his differences with President Mugabe were once "legendary".
"Once the Sadc facilitation work began, we realised that there is no winner in a losing team.
"We declared peace and Zimbabweans supported it. This inclusive Government is not fragile; when we differ, we differ respectfully," he said.
Responding to Africa Sun chief executive officer Mr Shingi Munyeza — who wanted clarification on when Zimbabwe would have elections — PM Tsvangirai said it was premature to stage a poll.
"We have deliberately avoided announcing the dates for elections because we do not want the country to be in election mode again.
"We do not want to pit the election mood against national healing mood. We have some processes such as the constitution-making that are yet to be completed.
"When time comes, a date will be set through consensus. The important thing is that the inclusive Government is working and policies and decisions are being made by consensus," he said.
The 20th WEF on Africa ran under the theme "Rethinking Africa’s Growth Strategy".
Over 1 000 political leaders and business executives from 85 countries met to seek ways of attracting investment in Africa.
Labels: GLOBAL POLITICAL AGREEMENT, SANCTIONS, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, ZDERA
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Scramble for Africa
KARABO KEEPILE | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - May 07 2010 10:56
The United States said this week it is trying to promote a new type of trade, where Africa will add more value to its own raw materials, and that processed products -- whether they are fruit juices or clothes -- can go not only to the US duty free but also to the rest of the world.
Africa may have a wealth of natural resources but these are typically sold for a pittance, while finished products are sold at a massive profit internationally. In addition, African countries that attempt to export processed and manufactured products find themselves having to contend with additional duties.
Diamonds, for example, are shipped from Botswana to India for cutting and polishing and cotton is shipped from West African countries all over the world where it is made into textiles and clothes.
South Africa is one of the few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that already has a wide variety of value-added products, like fridges, fruit juices, seafood and wines.
"Some other countries -- while they accept your raw commodities duty free -- as soon as you start adding value to it then the duties are put in place," said Florizelle Liser, assistant US trade representative for Africa at a round-table discussion in Johannesburg this week.
Liser, who has extensive background in trade negotiations in Africa, has already met with South Africa's business community, including producers of cars, chemicals and other products that are being exported to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). AGOA gives South Africa and other countries in the region duty-free entry into the United States for certain manufactured and processed goods.
South Africa and the US signed a bilateral agreement in April to establish a forum where a range of issues, including trade, could be discussed.
Last untapped market
Liser was in town to meet with government officials as well as the private sector.
"Many of us see Africa's more than 680 000 000 people as the last untapped market," she said.
Labels: NEOCOLONIALISM
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Rupiah’s jaundiced thoughts on NGOs
By The Post
Sat 08 May 2010, 04:10 CAT
It is clear that Rupiah Banda does not really understand and appreciate the nature, character and role of non-governmental organisations in our country and on our continent.
Rupiah seems to be troubled by the feeling that most non-governmental organisations in Africa were formed for political causes. He is also troubled by non-governmental organisations’ criticism of “serving heads of state”. And he finds this to be retrogressive for Africa.
George Bush, former president of the United States, once described the wide array of non-governmental organisations in the United States as “a thousand points of light”. The metaphor could also serve for the diversity, or pluralism, of democratic societies everywhere.
The voices of democracy include those of the government, its political supporters and opposition, of course. But they are joined by the voices of non-governmental organisations – the labour unions, organised interest groups, community associations, the news media, scholars and critics, religious leaders and writers, small businesses and large corporations, churches and schools.
All these groups are free to raise their voices and participate in the democratic political process, whether locally or internationally. In this way, democratic politics acts as a filter through which the vocal demands of a diverse populace pass on the way to becoming public policy.
As another United States former president Jimmy Carter once said, “The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself – always changing, infinity in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity.”
Clearly, whatever type of society we want to build, if it has to be enduring, has to be democratic. Even Marxists, who have been portrayed as not believing in democracy, believe that there is no lasting alternative.
Right from its foundation by its fathers, Karl Marx and Frederich Engels, scientific socialist thought as always been deeply rooted in democractic and supremely humanistic ideas. In the manifesto of the Communist Party, Marx and Engels state quite strongly that the first task of the working class and its party is to “win the battle of democracy”.
Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Republic, also strongly emphasised that, “Whoever wants to reach socialism by any other party than that of political democracy will inevitably arrive at conclusions that are absurd and reactionary both in the economic and political sense.” Lenin further added: “It would be a radical mistake to think that the struggle for democracy was capable of diverting the proletariat from the socialist revolution or of hiding or overshadowing it, etc.
On the contrary, in the same way as there can be no victorious socialism that does not practice full democracy, so the proletariat cannot prepare for full victory over the bourgeoisie without an all-round, consistent and revolutionary struggle for democracy.”
However, it is important to realise that democracies make several assumptions about human nature. One is that, given the chance, people are generally capable of governing themselves in a manner that is fair and free. Another is that any society comprises a great diversity of interests and individuals who deserve to have their voices heard and their views respected. As a result, one thing is true of all healthy democracies: they are noisy.
If one looks at things this way, it is not possible for one to fail to understand why we have non-governmental organisations for every aspect of our lives, political and otherwise.
Therefore, politics per se, is not a preserve of political parties only. Every organisation, every institution can participate, in its own way, in the political life of society. And without this participation, democracy will begin to weaken. Without the life blood of citizen action through non-governmental organisations of all types, democracy is an impossibility.
Listening to Rupiah and judging things by what he is saying, it is clear to us that the two most decisive factors affecting the future consolidation and expansion of democracy in our country and on the continent will be economic development and political leadership. We say this because economic development makes democracy possible and political leadership makes it real.
Non-governmental organisations provide a good check on government and at the same time help to bring government much closer to the people. Democracy, in whatever form, is a system founded on the deeply held belief that government is best when its potential for abuse is curbed, and when it is held as close to the people as possible.
The work of non-governmental organisations is not retrogressive as Rupiah wants us to believe. The work of non-governmental organisations actually strengthens government and democracy.
Tyrants and dictators like Rupiah have a common apprehension about having non-governmental organisations every day questioning their decisions and actions and criticising their statements and deeds. To them this weakens government and undermines them in the eyes of the people, reducing their chances of being re-elected.
This view is fundamentally wrong: democracies require that their governments be limited, not that they be weak. And to paraphrase Lenin, we would say that “without representative institutions, democracy cannot be conceived of, much less proletarian democracy”. And Lenin further said that socialism, or rather democracy, is a system in which the group should know how to handle state problems.
Viewed over a long course of history, democracies do indeed appear fragile. But they have demonstrated remarkable resilience over time, and have shown that with the commitment of their citizens they can overcome severe economic hardship, reconcile social and ethnic division, and, when necessary, prevail in time of war. It is these things that tyrants like Rupiah fear or hate that give democracy its resilience.
The process of debate, dissent and compromise that intolerant elements like Rupiah point to as weaknesses are, in fact, democracy’s underlying strength. Certainly, no one has ever accused democracy’s of being particularly efficient in their deliberations: democratic decision making can be messy, grueling and time-consuming process.
But in the end, a government resting upon the consent of the governed can speak and act with confidence and authority lacking in a regime whose power is perched uneasily on the narrow edge of force, manipulation, deceit and corruption. Coalition building, and not coercion, is the essence of democratic action.
It teaches interest groups to negotiate with others, to compromise and to work within the constitutional system. By working to establish coalition, groups with differences learn how to argue peaceably, how to pursue their goals in a democratic manner and ultimately how to live in a world of diversity.
Clearly, democracy is not a set of revealed, unchanging truths, but the mechanism by which, through the clash and compromise of ideas, individuals and institutions, the people can, however imperfectly, reach for the truth. A democratic society needs the commitment of citizens who accept the inevitability of conflict as well as the necessity of tolerance. As Nelson Mandela once observed: “If criticism is valid, it must be made.”
There is no need to fear criticism. Politicians who fear criticism are only those who are worried about being undermined by honest criticism. We say this because “no matter how hard its adversary – falsehood – may try to overwhelm it, truth refuses to yield”.
In fact, where there is more democracy, more information is available to the public for them to make more informed judgments about what is being said or done.
In this way,š no individual or institution, or indeed government, can be brought down by falsehoods, malicious criticism or attacks. This being the case why should Rupiah fear criticism from non-governmental organisations? What is it that he has done that cannot be explained and defended with facts and honest arguments?
It is clear that Rupiah’s thinking on non-governmental organisations is jaundiced, is twisted and needs some straightening.
Labels: NGOs, RUPIAH BANDA
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Rupiah faces criticism for attacking NGOs in Dar-es-salaam
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sat 08 May 2010, 04:00 CAT
THE Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) yesterday described President Rupiah Banda’s statement that most African Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are formed for political causes, as dwarfed thinking.
And treasurer for the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) in Zambia, Fr Godfrey Bwalya has asked President Banda to apologise to Zambians and the rest of Africa over his statement that Europeans knew how retarded Africans are in terms of education.
Reacting to President Banda’s assertion during a debate at the just-ended World Economic Forum (WEF) in Dar-Es-salaam, Tanzania, that NGOs in Africa were all the time fighting governments under the guise of democracy, Habasonda said the statement was embarrassing to Zambia.
“It is very unfortunate that President Banda had to make this statement in a foreign country where many people attended and really made himself appear as though Zambian leaders do not understand the role of civil society and so we are very disappointed here in Zambia that our President could make such pronouncements,” Habasonda said.
“And now we understand why civil society organisations are being harassed because he thinks we all exist for a political cause when in fact, he knows what the NGOs do in this country.”
Habasonda said if President Banda were to ban NGOs operating in Zambia, he would note the difference.
“We find the remarks really off key and rather embarrassing to make in such a forum. The people who escorted President Banda should really have advised him before he made that statement because it just reflects on his dwarfed understanding of the whole concept,” Habasonda said.
“I think that the whole speech is an antithesis of what Zambia’s image pretends to be abroad.”
Habasonda said President Banda should not think that just because his government had NGOs it was ‘sponsoring’, the entire civil society was like that.
President Banda said during the debate that most NGOs in Africa were formed for political causes. He said being an old man, he was tolerant to this but that it was not all old leaders on the continent that were like him.
And Fr Mpundu said President Banda’s statement that Europeans knew how retarded Africans’ education was demeaning to Africans.
“The first impression to me was, was he misquoted or it is true? How can a leader try to position us at that level to be retarded people?” Fr Mpundu asked. “I think the President needs to apologise to the Zambian and African people.”
Fr Mpundu said there were many Zambians in the Diaspora who wondered how they would be perceived given President Banda’s statement.
Fr Mpundu also reminded President Banda to be careful so he does not make negative statements against NGOs.
President Banda was yesterday quoted in the Times of Zambia as having asked international and local NGOs in Africa to desist from unnecessarily criticising governments.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Dar-Es-Salaam, President Banda said it was retrogressive for Africa that numerous NGOs were all the times attacking serving heads of state.
The panel discussion was titled, “Africa: Towards One Voice?”
President Banda appeared on a panel discussion together with African Development Bank (ADB) president Donald Kaberuka, Tanzanian Prime Minister Ali Shein, South African Minister of Water and Energy Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica and United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General Asha Migiro.
He also told panelists that since he became President, leaders of NGOs had attacked him on many occasions but despite the attacks, he had maintained high levels of tolerance.
Labels: DAR ES SALAAM, NGOs, RUPIAH BANDA, SACCORD
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Katele denies alleging that a Dutch institute is funding PF
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sat 08 May 2010, 04:10 CAT
MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba yesterday denied ever alleging that the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) has special funding for campaigns for the opposition Patriotic Front (PF).
And PF president Michael Sata has warned that PF lawyers would challenge any individual that made allegations that NIMD was bankrolling the party.
Meanwhile, Sata has written to The Netherlands Ambassador to Zambia Harry Molenaar, over President Rupiah Banda’s allegations that NIMD was funding the PF to bring about regime change in Zambia.
When contacted to comment on NIMD’s denial of secretly bankrolling the PF, following his and President Banda’s claims that they had information that the institute was funding the PF, Kalumba said he never alleged that NIMD was funding the PF.
“My statement? I made a statement? I had said that? In which media?” asked Kalumba but this reporter told him Reuters published a story headlined: ‘Zambia accuses Netherlands of funding opposition’.
However, Kalumba maintained his denial.
“No sir, I think we should take things very carefully. I had said, ‘the allegations against the NIMD, which were made by a civil society organisation is a matter of concern to us but as MMD we will like The Netherlands to stick to their position’.”
Kalumba said he had even defined the two programmes the NIMD was carrying out under the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID).
“In fact, I have just had a response from the NIMD on your report and they have said, ‘we have not said anything to the effect that this issue is between NIMD and the MMD. Sorry, this is about ZCID and the NIMD. Don’t make it big, let us be factual. I was responding to the story by Mr Gregory Chifire leader of Committee of Citizens who brought that to my attention and it was publicised and I said ‘if that is true then it will be of concern’.”
Asked about his position now that NIMD had denied funding the PF, Kalumba said: “As far as the NIMD is concerned, we have agreed that this matter should be dealt with outside the media and that is our position.”
A Reuters story headlined: “Zambia accuses Netherlands of funding opposition” published on Wednesday stated, “Zambia's ruling party has accused the Netherlands of financing the main opposition party, a charge that threatens to raise tensions with donors who froze funding for AIDS and other health programmes last year amid concerns about corruption.
“Katele Kalumba, national secretary of the ruling MMD party, said the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) was bankrolling the Patriotic Front (PF), whose leader, Michael Sata, poses a major threat to President Rupiah Banda in an election due next year.”
Kalumba was quoted by Reuters as saying: “There is information that they have special funding dedicated to the agenda of our colleagues, the PF.”
And Sata told Voice of America (VOA) Day Break Africa programme that it was most unfortunate, uncalled for and unwarranted for President Banda to accuse another sovereign state of a lie. He said it was not right, in case there was upheaval in Zambia, for the head of state to accuse The Netherlands that it was funding the people.
“Our lawyers are studying; you see the President like any President of a sovereign state is immuned. We can’t take him to court because the statement came from the President when he was going to Tanzania…we are studying any statement which has come from an individual to go and challenge it in court.” Sata said. “There is no iota of truth for Rupiah Banda to come out in the open and say he has been informed. How can a President survive on rumours? When they are pointing a finger at another sovereign state, they must have evidence.”
Meanwhile, Sata informed Ambassador Molenaar that the PF was surprised to hear about the allegations.
“As Patriotic Front, we were indeed surprised to hear such allegations which are not only untrue but also intended to damage the good working relationship which the PF has enjoyed and maintained with the NIMD through the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue over the years,” stated Sata in his letter to Ambassador Molenaar dated May 6, 2010.
Sata stated that PF greatly appreciated the efforts which The Netherlands was making through the NIMD to promote democracy in Zambia.
“On our part, we would like to assure you that we shall continue to co-operate with your government through NIMD and ZCID to ensure that the institutions of democracy are strengthened in the interest of our people,” stated Sata.
Labels: NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE FOR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY, PF, SATA
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MMD will be embarrassed for involving Chiluba – Mwila
By Kabanda Chulu and Zumani Katasefa in Kitwe
Sat 08 May 2010, 04:20 CAT
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Chipili member of parliament Davies Mwila yesterday said the MMD will be embarrassed for involving Frederick Chiluba in their campaigns since he failed to deliver tangible developmental projects in Luapula Province during his rule.
And MMD Chembe member of parliament Mwansa Mbulakulima has confirmed that politics will be discussed at the developmental meetings but will not be the main subject matter.
Meanwhile, the PF is sending about 200 youths from Lusaka and the Copperbelt to attend the developmental meeting in Mansa.
Commenting on former President Chiluba’s expected launch of President Rupiah Banda’s 2011 election campaigns disguised as developmental meetings in Luapula Province, Mwila said the MMD was scared to approach the people because they have not done anything.
“Even the strategy of using chiefs will not work since people have made up their minds to see change. So involving Chiluba is the worst thing to do because he never brought any tangible structure in the province and people are very annoyed. At least the late Levy Mwanawasa built a bridge across the Luapula River but what has Chiluba done?” asked Mwila.
“However, we are happy that Chiluba is further denting the image of the MMD and the use of chiefs in the campaign activities is a desperate act of a dying horse because PF is getting everything including those seats held by rebel MPs and Ben Mwila’s Nchelenge.”
But Mbulakulima, who is also coordinating the proposed ‘developmental meetings’, said the PF was jittery over a straight-forward issue.
“We are making in-roads in the province. The PF is jittery and I am surprised at the criticism this meeting has attracted. It is a developmental meeting and various meetings are being held across the country and former President Chiluba’s presence will not dent the image of the party because he is still a factor in Zambian politics,” Mbulakulima said. “This meeting should not be politicised.
Of course, politics will be discussed but it will not be the main issue and it is prudent that we meet as MPs, chiefs, former presidents and other stakeholders to discuss development in the province. It is a pity that some people cannot see that this government is carrying out developmental activities in the country.”
Mbulakulima said that PF had realised that MMD was getting stronger in Luapula Province, hence resorting to making unnecessary comments.
“What the PF should know is that whenever government officials meet, politics and development are discussed and now they are jittery because we shall grab even the two seats (Chipili and Mwansabombwe constituencies) they are clinging on to,” said Mbulakulima.
Meanwhile, PF national youth secretary Eric Chanda yesterday said about 200 youths from Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces who hail from Luapula would be sent to attend the developmental meeting.
“I can confirm that we are sending 200 youths from Lusaka and Copperbelt to attend the developmental meeting. This is a very important meeting which our youths should attend and contribute developmental ideas. There are a lot of issues that we need to raise,” Chanda said.
He said it would be wrong for anyone to perceive the PF youths mission to Luapula as political.
“We are not going there to politic. If Dr Chiluba is going there for politics then we’ll also be going there for politics. But our interest is development. We have a lot of youths in Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces who hail from that side (Luapula).
Therefore, it is important for them to go and contribute their developmental ideas. Even Chiluba is going there because that is where he comes from,” Chanda said.
He said Luapula Province was lagging behind in development hence the PF youths should attend and contribute positively.
“Roads are in bad state in Luapula Province. There are so many things which need to be done, so it is important that our youths attended,” he said.
Chanda appealed to the police not to provoke the situation because PF youths were not going there for violence.
Chanda also appealed to the people of Luapula Province not to accept corrupt ideas from selfish leaders who want to be in power through dubious means.
He hoped that the developmental meeting would benefit the people of Luapula positively.
Labels: CHILUBA, DAVIES MWILA, LUAPULA PROVINCE, MMD, PF
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Masebo slams govt’s move to scrap crop levies
By Fridah Zinyama
Sat 08 May 2010, 04:20 CAT
CHONGWE member of parliament Sylvia Masebo has said the councils will collapse due to the government’s decision to scrap the crop levies which had the potential of generating about K16.6 billion for the local authorities.
But Secretary to the Treasury Likolo Ndalamei, who was appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Estimates, said the government would start releasing the money to the councils in this quarter being the start of the crop marketing season.
Meanwhile, Ndalamei said the total revenue and grants for the first quarter amounted to K2.9 trillion and the collection was below the target of K3.6 trillion by K653.9 billion or 18 per cent.
In September 2009, the government abolished the collection of crop levies by the councils due to escalating levels of inefficiency associated with the levy and it was estimated that the councils would lose about K16.6 billion as revenue.
Yesterday, the estimates committee chaired by Bweengwa UPND parliamentarian Highvie Hamududu questioned whether or not the government widely consulted all the stakeholders involved before scrapping the crop levies because the councils which were in farming communities had been negatively affected by the decision.
Masebo, a former local government and housing minister, said 70 per cent of revenue from local authorities in farming communities like Mpongwe, Chongwe and Mkushi came from crop levies and the suspension seriously crippled their operations.
“Some councils raised as much as K325 million from the crop levies but can only raise about K75 million which is inadequate to fully manage this particular council,” she said.
Masebo said councils would collapse and the government should therefore sit down with the necessary stakeholders to look at the effects of the decision.
“Secretary to the Treasury, you have created problems for yourselves as you have done away with a good source of revenues which would have gone a long way in helping government meet its social obligations like garbage collection, road maintenance for the communities,” Masebo said. “Where are you going to get the resources from to meet these obligation? Already you have stated that you had a deficit for the first quarter.”
Masebo said different councils should have been profiled in order to determine how much each local authority could lose in the event that the crop levies were scrapped.
“This is because councils in farming communities would have lost out more than those in mining areas who do not necessarily grow a lot of crops,” Masebo said.
Hamududu said traders were actually paying the crop levies and not the farmers.
“In actual fact these traders buy crops from the farmers cheaply and the excuse given for scrapping the crop levies was that this would make mealie-meal prices more affordable, a situation which has not yet occurred,” he said.
Hamududu said the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) had undue influence on the government as if they represented all the stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
“With this budget deficit which government is currently experiencing, where are you going to get the money to ensure that councils are given grants to operate efficiently,” he asked.
Hamududu wondered why civil servants had not yet received their salaries.
“Is the delay in salary payment because of lack of funds?” Hamududu asked.
Kawambwa parliamentarian Elizabeth Chitika-Mulobeka said the government was failing to make good on its promise to disburse enough funds to the councils to cover for what they could have generated had the levies not been cancelled.
But Ndalamei said the councils would receive their funds from the government this quarter as they had not received their allocations between January and March.
“We have profiled the councils and each would get how much they would have raised from the crop levies,” he said.
On late payments, Ndalamei said the delay in paying civil servants was not due to lack of money but a payment system failure.
“The Ministry of Finance was undertaking an upgrade to the payment system but underestimated the time it would take to complete the exercise,” said Ndalamei. “All those workers who are under the deduct system would have already gotten their payments on Thursday and the others would have theirs by Friday.”
Labels: COUNCILS, LIKOLO NDALAMEI, SYLVIA MASEBO
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Youths complain of corruption by NRC issuing officers
By Moses Kuwema
Sat 08 May 2010, 04:10 CAT
SOME youths in Munali Constituency have observed that many people might not manage to get their National Registration Cards (NRCs) because of limited manpower and corruption in some cases.
The youths say the few people tasked to issue NRCs may not manage to attend to all the people because there were long queues forming at the centres as early as 04:00 hours and people were being turned away unnecessarily.
One of the youths talked to at Chelstone centre yesterday, Eric Mungani, complained that the process was cumbersome.
“I came here three days ago and the process being used is not good. You first get a form like the way it’s done with passports then afterwards you go back home to fill it and when you do that, you attach photocopies of the your parents’ NRCs, then you come back to stand on the queue,” Mungani explained.
Another youth talked to Annie Mubita complained about the lack of manpower.
“The process is very slow because there is less manpower. I think they should have prepared enough by having more people unlike this because we have a lot of people as you can see from the queues here,” she said.
Mubita said she was not hopeful of getting her NRC because of the way things were moving.
“Another thing that is of concern is the issue of favouritism where we have people who just come for the first time and they are given the NRC. It’s like the people are being paid in order for them to issue NRCs fast,” Mubita said.
She said there was need for the government to set up more mobile registration centres to enable more people get NRCs.
“The way things are, we will have more people who will be unable to get NRCs and they will have to come back another year and I’m sure by then they would be old and it will be difficult for them to get the NRC,” Mubita said.
Felistus Phiri, a parent who took her two children and three other dependents to the registration centre, complained that she has been going to the centre for four days but had not managed to get the NRCs.
“They keep sending us back, telling us ‘come back tomorrow’. My appeal is to the government to pay attention to this because some of us wake up as early as 04:00 hours and they keep sending us back,” she said.
Phiri complained that her three dependants were sent back on the basis that they needed to be accompanied by their parents.
“My young sister’s children were sent back to bring their parents but how is a child going to bring his parents if he or she is an illegitimate child and some of the children don’t even know their parents,” Phiri said.
At Kaunda Square Basic School, some people who were found on the queues accused MMD officials in the constituency of assisting their members to get the NRCs fast.
“They started on Saturday, they are getting papers from MMD members and they are taking them inside fast and they are working with the police who are in charge here,” said one of the complainants who sought anonymity for fear of victimisation.
Labels: NATIONAL REGISTRATION CARDS, YOUTHS
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Nkombo cautions Mangani against abusing his office
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sat 08 May 2010, 04:10 CAT
MAZABUKA Central UPND legislator Gary Nkombo has cautioned home affairs minister Lameck Mangani that Zambians shall punish him when he leaves office if he continues abusing his office to persecute political opponents. Nkombo accused Mangani of ruthlessly targeting perceived opponents of President Rupiah Banda.
“Home affairs minister Mr Lameck Mangani, Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde and President Mr Rupiah Banda are dangerously coming very close to fit the text book definition of the Gestapo agents that wreaked havoc under the dreadful Hitler regime in Germany as he ruthlessly targets those he perceives to be critical of the way they are managing state business and governance,” Nkombo stated on Tuesday.
“I would like to caution you minister that if you continue this abuse, people shall remember to punish you with the same venom when you are no longer holding public office and please do not forget this that whilst human beings come and go, institutions remain and the only thing that is constant in life is change.”
He stated that Mangani should not think that he could jump on a high horse, drunk with ill-gotten power and think he could cower people with divergent views into silence.
“It is extremely ridiculous that this scandalously politically base man masquerading as a public servant can even be allowed to be minister of home affairs, a ministry that is supposed to be in the fore-front of protecting citizens not threatening them with arrests or investigations,” he stated.
“Under Mangani as home minister, no one has been spared of a threat of either an investigation or an arrest as long as they are perceived to be enemies of Banda and this is unacceptable behavior. It must be condemned by a large section of the Zambian community that pay Mangani through tax contributions.”
He stated that Zambians would not remain silent and watch MMD abuse public office at the expense of taxpayers’ money in a bid to shut perceived enemies up.
“They must be warned that the same tactics they are using against the oppositions now will be used against them when the MMD falls in 2011,” stated Nkombo.
Labels: CORRUPTION, GARY NKOMBO, LAMECK MANGANI
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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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