Maravi

(HERALD) Biti at loggerheads with entire Govt

Biti at loggerheads with entire Govt
Sunday, 12 June 2011 22:58
By Tendai Mugabe

FINANCE Minister Tendai Biti is at loggerheads with the entire Government amid reports that he defies directives and pledges loyalty to the International Monetary Fund which recently crafted the controversial Diamond Revenue Bill. Minister Biti is viewed as a tough minister in MDC-T circles who can challenge anyone in Government, including President Mugabe.

However, investigations by The Herald this week showed that the "super minister" is an object of multilateral institutions such as the IMF to which he devotes his allegiance.

The international lending institution has already described Mr Biti as the best finance minister in Africa because of his anti-people policies. Recently, Minister Biti claimed that he had crafted the Diamond Revenue Bill to ensure transparency in the flow of diamond funds.

However, a confidential letter written by Mr Brian Desmond Crozier to Minister Biti last month showed that the Finance Minister was not the author of the Bill as he was a mere recipient of wholesale instructions from the IMF.

Mr Crozier is a former legal drafting director in the Attorney-General's Office and also worked as a public prosecutor and legal advisor in the Rhodesian Government.

In his letter, Mr Crozier said he amended the Diamond Revenue Bill following a request from Minister Biti, but carefully taking cognisance of comments made by the IMF Head of Mission regarding the Bill.

A close look on the amendments showed that Minister Biti wanted to usurp Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu's powers and relegate him to a mere bystander in the selling off the country's precious stones.

"Thank you for your letter of the 26th April, 2011, in connection with the above Bill (Diamond Revenue Bill). I attach a further (third) draft of the Bill in which I have added the provisions you requested. I have also taken into account the comments made by the chief of the IMF mission.

"I have altered the definition of "minister" as you requested and have made consequential changes to other clauses where the word minister is used," reads part of Mr Crozier's letter to Minister Biti.

According to Mr Crozier's new amendments, the word "minister" should mean Minister of Finance or any other Minister to whom the President may from time to time, assign the administration of the Act.

Making reference to clause three of the Bill, which deals with the rights to alluvial diamonds, Mr Crozier noted: "The IMF chief of Mission suggested that this clause was unnecessary since both the constitution and the Mines and Minerals Act vest all minerals, and the right to exploit minerals, in the State."

A senior Government official said what irked Minister Biti's Cabinet counterparts was that the Bill did not follow the proper procedures, which they said was tantamount to subverting Government portfolio arrangements.

"When you want to craft a law in Government you develop principals of the Bill that you then forward to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation that is chaired by Minister (Patrick) Chinamasa.

"The committee will debate the principles and make amendments where it sees fit and when it is satisfied, it will give you a certificate to craft the first Bill.

"The Bill is then drafted by the AG's office in compliance with the principles set by the Minister and recommendations made by the Cabinet Committee on Legislation.

"After drafting, the Bill is again taken to Cabinet where it is subjected to further debating and if Cabinet is satisfied, Minister Chinamasa will then write to Parliament and submit the Bill where it will queue for first reading. Parliament has its own committees that debate the Bill to check whether there is no conflict with the constitution.

"All these processes were not followed in this Diamond Revenue Bill, a clear indication that it is not prompted by Government or any of its policies but personal interests," said a senior Government official.

One Cabinet Minister said: "The fact that this Bill is referenced to the IMF is enough evidence to show that Minister Biti is playing to the interests of the country's enemy. It is clear that he is taking orders from a constituency that is outside the realm of the State.

"I think it will be difficult for Minister Biti and his MDC-T to refute the puppetry tag that is always attached to them. What is more baffling is that even President Mugabe and Prime Minister (Morgan) Tsvangirai listen to Cabinet but Minister Biti took it upon himself to do what he wants in Government," he said.

Efforts to get a comment from Minister Biti were fruitless yesterday as his phone was not reachable.

Labels: IMF, NEOCOLONIALISM, NEOLIBERALISM, TENDAI BITI

posted by MrK @ 5:58 PM