Zim coalition faces paralysis: Analysts

By Tafadzwa Mutasa

Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government could be headed for paralysis, threatening to slide the country back into crisis if no quick solution is found to end Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC’s boycott of coalition partner ZANU PF, analysts said.

The unity government last week suffered its biggest crisis yet when the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party boycotted all cooperation with President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party, blaming the veteran leader’s obstinacy for failing to fulfil last year’s political agreement and the slow pace of democratic reforms.

Tsvangirai is drumming up support among regional leaders to try to exert pressure on the 85-year-old Mugabe to replace Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono, Attorney General Johannes Tomana and appoint new provincial governors as well as swear-in Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister.

But political analysts said Mugabe was likely to dig in for now, prolonging the impasse which could ultimately paralyse government operations and erode any little progress the country had made towards economic recovery.

“If this situation persists, we will be moving into a parallel government situation because we would have a gridlock as it were,” said John Makumbe, a University of Zimbabwe analyst sympathetic to the MDC.

“You can get governmental paralysis because you have different institutions that will be are pulling in different directions,” Makumbe said.

Analysts said state institutions like parastatals could fall victim to the current impasse, with both ZANU PF and the MDC which have at least a Cabinet minister or deputy in each ministry seeking to influence entities under their ministries.

But the big test for the unity government could be the fate of the 2010 national budget, which is scheduled to be presented by Finance Minister Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary general next month.

Zimbabwe’s budget formulation process starts with the Finance Minister receiving requests from all government ministries and he and his lieutenants in the ministry would come up with a draft that is discussed by the Cabinet committee on finance.

After crafting a final draft, the budget is taken to Mugabe, and to Tsvangirai following the formation of the unity government, after which it would be tabled before Parliament for debate.

But legal experts say there is no law that requires Biti to take the budget to the Head of State.

If the MDC continues its disengagement, Biti could proceed to craft his own budget but it could be shot down in Parliament by ZANU PF but if it sails in the Lower House of Assembly, it could be blocked in the Senate where ZANU PF is guaranteed the support of chiefs.

“But then Zimbabweans will blame ZANU PF if the budget fails to pass because of their actions, it is so eagerly awaited by the country,” Makumbe said.

The analysts said if Biti failed to present the budget, ZANU PF would be quick to blame the MDC for holding the country hostage and undermining the unity government.

The 2010 budget will be followed keenly in the country, especially by farmers and civil servants and abroad by key donors who have been pressing Zimbabwe to quickly implement economic reforms that are crucial to sustaining recovery.

Analysts warned that if the MDC’s move did not yield any pressure from SADC, it could prove a costly gamble and the party could lose any leverage over ZANU PF.

Mugabe could in future make unilateral decisions to frustrate Tsvangirai and drive the former opposition party from government.

“If this situation prolongs then when push comes to shove we will see who has got more leverage over the other,” Eldred Masunungure, a leading Zimbabwe political commentator said.

“But I see a situation where SADC will be forced to somehow act and try to broker a compromise between Mugabe and Tsvangirai to put the unity government back on track and I do not see the administration in imminent danger of collapse.”

EU meets Mugabe to ease tension with Zimbabwe

Failure of Coalition Meeting Raises Stakes in Harare

By Dumisani Muleya

Johannesburg — A CRUCIAL meeting of Zimbabwe’s political leaders over a number of divisive issues threatening to wreck the inclusive government failed to take place yesterday amid a growing rift within the ruling coalition.

Zuma is expected to visit Zimbabwe on August 27 to open the annual Harare Agricultural Show, although his main mission will be resolving political problems buffeting the inclusive government.

President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara were expected to meet yesterday to tackle a series of issues unresolved since the power-sharing government was set up after bitter, protracted talks. The meeting failed due to Mutambara’s absence.

Tsvangirai’s spokesman James Maridadi said only Mugabe and Tsvangirai met but they did not discuss the “outstanding political issues” as expected.

Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara were expected to deal with matters that have kept them at loggerheads since the formation of the unity government in February.

Tsvangirai recently held talks in Johannesburg with Zuma about the issues in dispute. Zuma said he would contact Mugabe and Sadc leaders about the matters.

The issues still in dispute concern the appointment of provincial governors, positions of the Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Attorney- General Johannes Tomana, the swearing-in and prosecution of Deputy Agriculture Minister Roy Bennett, the arrests and jailing of a number of Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MPs and a series of policy issues.

However, the decision-making Zanu (PF) politburo said after a meeting last week Mugabe should not give in to MDC demands because “we already compromised on many issues”.

“The constant reference by the MDC to outstanding matters therefore baffles us,” Zanu (PF) spokesman Ephraim Masawi said. “It is now six months since the formation of the inclusive government and Zanu (PF) leaders, as well as their families are still inhibited from visiting Europe and the US.” Masawi said Tsvangirai and his party must first remove “sanctions” instead of complaining about “trivial issues”.

Addressing a rally in Mutare at the weekend, he said continued failure to address the controversial issues was a clear sign some people were trying to undermine the coalition.

“If we are all serious about this government, why is it that we still have outstanding issues six months after the consummation of the inclusive government? It means someone, somewhere is not committed.”

Tsvangirai said the issues had to be resolved because “no sane person would like Zimbabwe to slide back to the period of last year — even those in Zanu (PF)”.

Tsvangirai warned Mugabe to stop taking him for granted because his party had won elections last year. He said the MDC was forced in to talks due to political violence.

“We won the election. We want to build credible, professional and non- partisan state institutions. We should democratise the country and create conditions conducive for a free and fair election,” he said.

“This country needs healing but those who committed political crimes must ask for forgiveness from their victims,” he said.

“The only way forward is this route. The greatest beneficiaries are the people of Zimbabwe.

“We want to create an atmosphere where those who have been defeated in elections humbly hand over power to winners,” Tsvangirai said.

Tsvangirai warned Mugabe to stop taking him granted because his Movement for Democratic Change did win the elections last year.

A new beginning in Zimbabwe?

By David Smith in Harare

Six months on from the agreement by Mugabe and Tsvangirai to swallow their differences, the country is at a crossroads.

Schools and hospitals returning to life. Food in the supermarkets and queues at the tills. Investors flying in and refugees coming home. Independent newspapers due for launch and international media broadcasting openly. Book fairs, poetry slams and jazz festivals drawing crowds. A president and prime minister laughing together as they call for national healing. This is Zimbabwe in August 2009.

Politically motivated beatings turning families against themselves. Villagers bartering chickens in the absence of a new currency. MPs, lawyers, journalists and students under arrest. Corruption rampant and another cholera outbreak predicted. A president rebuilding his tools of oppression and a prime minister said to be in danger of assassination. This, too, is Zimbabwe in August 2009.

Six months after Robert Mugabe and his arch-rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, publicly swallowed their enmity and tried to speak with one voice, southern Africa’s problem country is still a contradictory and confusing place. “We are at a fork [in the road],” said Tendai Biti, Tsvangirai’s most powerful lieutenant. “Going left could be going towards a new Zimbabwe. Going right could be doing a cul-de-sac and going back to square zero.”

At the centre of the intrigue is the game of political chess between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who describes it as “the only game in town” if Zimbabwe is to survive. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader believes there is no alternative to the power sharing agreement salvaged from last year’s general election. Robbed of victory at the ballot box, Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister in February in a compromise that allowed Mugabe to extend his 29-year rule.

It has been trench warfare ever since between the MDC, which runs ministries such as education and health, and Mugabe’s Zanu-PF, which still controls the army, police and judiciary. “It’s purely a marriage of convenience,” said one Harare residents’ activist. “Don’t expect any babies soon.”

The results were summarised by a regional newspaper as the good, the bad and the ugly. Perversely, the unity government was blessed in inheriting a country at a nadir after eight years of degradation, meaning that almost anything it tried would represent improvement. Hyperinflation of 89.7 sextillion per cent had killed the Zimbabwean dollar, but the adoption of the US dollar and some prudent policies have since helped stabilise the economy, forecast to grow 3.7% this year.

An MDC official said that tax returns to the treasury had risen from $4m (£2.39m) a month in January to $60-70m now, still some way short of the $120m needed to run the country. Among foreign donors, Britain alone is providing $100m of targeted aid this year. Supermarket shelves that were once bare are stocked high again, though 94% unemployment means many people cannot afford to shop.

Some 2.8m pupils are back at school as teachers finally receive a monthly wage, albeit just $100-$165 to work in crumbling classrooms. Zimbabwe University came back to life last week after six months in darkness. Hospitals and clinics are functioning again, with doctors and nurses back at work.

But the revival comes with caveats. About 70% of the population does not have access to clean water and the cholera outbreak that killed more than 4,000 people is widely predicted to return with the rainy season towards the end of the year. The decay of agriculture appears to be slowing but farm invasions continue. Some villagers are forced to barter to survive because the US dollar is so rare.

The law of unintended consequences has brought another threat to Zimbabwe’s streets. Residents of Harare speak of rising crime, particularly armed robberies and carjackings. They blame army deserters, who have training and weapons, or returning refugees who have “learned the tricks” from crime capitals such as Johannesburg. The malaise in the banking system – cash machines are defunct and credit cards useless – forces people to hoard US dollars in their homes.

Raymond Majongwe, general secretary of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, said: “Every other day you hear of a robbery and a shoot-out. In South Africa, you can be sure that the victim has a gun and a lot will fire back. Here the victims are not psychologically prepared, so it is a walk in the park. We don’t want to see the violence in South Africa going on in Zimbabwe. We must deal with it decisively once and for all.”

A national “corruption pandemic” is also deepening, according to the watchdog Transparency International Zimbabwe. Mary-Jane Ncube, its executive director, said that bribery was widespread in the police and law courts, MPs of both sides were implicated in corrupt land deals, and payments intended for teachers and nurses were being rerouted via “ghost workers” to Zanu-PF militias. “There is no one who is not on the take. The unity government is making no difference.”

Nor should the headline victories in the economy and public sector be mistaken for political reform. Last month, Mugabe and Tsvangirai presented a harmonious façade as they called for a South African-style process of national healing and reconciliation. Behind the scenes, however, the fight is ugly and, in the words of one activist, “Mugabe still holds the reins to the right horses”.

Last year, an election year, there were 203 politically inspired murders, according to figures compiled for the MDC. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum gives the more conservative estimate of 107. In the first six months of this year, the MDC says, there have been 30 such deaths, most from injuries sustained last year. The forum puts this year’s death toll at one.

And yet a steady flow of reports of assaults and intimidation continues. Zanu-PF strongholds assert that MDC supporters are not welcome and that the unity government is a Harare phenomenon they do not recognise. There are conflicts within families: Ebba Katiyo, an MDC activist, said she survived an axe attack by a Zanu-PF gang led by her own uncle.

Kennedy Mhuri, 39, a teacher, was accused of denouncing Mugabe to his pupils at a primary school in the town of Kwekwe in Midlands province. He said that the local Zanu-PF leadership planned to break down his door in the middle of the night and abduct him. He fled and has been on the run ever since.

“At first I panicked,” he said. “I walked for 20km to avoid public transport so no one would see me. I am now dodging from city to city and constantly looking over my shoulder. I’m sure they won’t stop until they get me. Then I don’t know what they’d do. They’ll torture me until I accept I actually did what they say I did. These people can do anything, including taking people’s lives.”

The leadership is not immune. Tendai Biti, the finance minister praised for choking off Zanu-PF’s sources of funding, received a live bullet in the post and his gardener was beaten up outside his gate. Many Zimbabweans still find it hard to believe that the March car crash that hurt Tsvangirai and killed his wife was a mere accident, even though Tsvangirai himself has described it as such.

Media reform is also one step forward, one step back. The BBC and CNN have been allowed back into the country and there are slow moves to license two daily independent newspapers. But the state-owned Herald continues to pour bile on the MDC.

Eddie Cross, policy co-ordinator for the MDC, said: “We never thought this would be anything but a fight. We’ve certainly not been disappointed.” He rejected the criticism, coming from the MDC’s own ranks, that Tsvangirai has been seduced by office and is firmly under Mugabe’s thumb. “This is an immensely strong man. The loss of his wife and grandson [also killed in an accident] hit him like a poleaxe but he’s picked up the pieces. He has incredible resilience.”

But it is 85-year-old Mugabe who has recently taken to reminding the population that he is still “head of state and government”, “commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe defence forces” and now “supreme leader” of Zanu-PF. The hope that he will go quietly appears wishful thinking. Raymond Majongwe said: “The most important thing Tsvangirai has realised is that Mugabe is part of the solution. Anyone who thinks that the problem can be resolved without Mugabe is a dreamer.”

Some observers believe it is in the interests of both protagonists to delay the constitution making process, and therefore the next election, for as long as possible. Another divisive ballot could plunge the country back into anarchy and reverse the unity government’s fragile gains.

“If you were to have an election in the near future, it would be the same disaster as last time,” said one diplomat. “This is bigger than Mugabe now. Zanu-PF and the MDC have a common interest in rebuilding the economy. And there’s a lot to be said for the view that there are worse figures than Mugabe in Zanu-PF.”

Few would dare to predict a winner in the elaborate chess game between Zimbabwe’s rival kings. For now, it seems, the best anyone can hope for is a stalemate.

David Smith is the Guardian’s Africa correspondent

Source: Guardian
Published date:Sunday 09 August 2009

Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch

Source: Sokwanele

Click on the chart to enlarge: The chart above depicts a breakdown of breaches, by party, since the start of the ZIG Watch project. The vertical marker (grey) marks the date when MDC-T and MDC politicians were sworn in and assumed their respective roles alongside Zanu-PF in a power-sharing government. The breaches are recorded by daily monitoring of media reports. The counts therefore have to be viewed in the context of a repressive media environment, and as an indicator of total breaches rather than a comprehensive picture. It is likely to be an underestimate. For full details on each recorded breach, please visit http://www.sokwanele.com/zigwatch

The month of May closed on another low, as the unrelenting assault on democratic space in Zimbabwe took its toll. In broad terms, breaches logged in the May – June period fell into the following categories:

• Violent and unconstitutional invasions and seizures of property and farms,
• Harassment and deprivation of freedom of individuals through contrived arrests on spurious charges,
• Wanton politically motivated violence,
• The deprivation of the rights to freedom of speech and association, and
• Deliberate misinformation by senior public figures.

Statistics on our website indicate that responsibility for 87% of these breaches are attributable to Zanu PF.

The media shock of the month was the publication of video footage of police instructors violently beating helpless recruits at Morris Depot police training camp in Harare. The aim of the sadistic beatings of the recruits by their own instructors is yet to be established. The culture of violence promoted and perpetuated by Zanu PF has long reached epidemic proportions. Corroborating this, an article published in mid-June details the growth in the use of violence and intimidation by the uniformed forces and Zanu PF supporters in Masvingo, Muzarabani, Mberengwa, Chililmanzi, Mutoko, Cashel, Shamva, Dombashawa, Marondera, Odzi and Mudzi. Further instances of violence were recorded in articles detailing the violent disruption of peaceful demonstrations by activist groups – notably Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) – during the month.

The most recorded theme during the month was the ongoing – and escalating – issue of farm invasions. The most prominent story catalogued the events on Mount Carmel farm in Chegutu, where Zanu PF stalwart Nathan Shamuyarira is still attempting to illegally seize the land, property, produce and livelihoods of the farm owner, Mike Campbell, his family and their workers. The illegality of this and other actions by Zanu PF and its supporters was highlighted for the whole world to see when the SADC Tribunal, a new human rights court sitting in Windhoek, Namibia, held the Government of Zimbabwe in contempt of a previous ruling by the same court.

Read full report here

GNU on the rocks

By Brian Mangwende

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai – fresh from a lukewarm overseas trip to drum up material and financial support for the cash-strapped inclusive government – is under immense pressure from his inner cabal to pull out of the coalition if ZANU-PF remains intransigent about resolving niggling issues plaguing the transitional arrangement.

Government Ministers aligned to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) dropped the clearest hint so far that the marriage between the country’s main political parties was headed for the rocks barely five months after it was solemnised when they boycotted a Cabinet session on Monday that had been brought forward by 24 hours.

Apparently, the MDC-T Ministers were peeved by what they saw as President Robert Mugabe’s reluctance to afford Tsvangirai the opportunity to chair Cabinet on the usual Tuesday – the day his rival left the capital for Sirte, Libya to attend an ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU).

Cabinet, the country’s administrative authority, normally sits on Tuesdays.
The Global Political Agreement (GPA), which the three parties appended their signatures on, states that the premier is the deputy chair of Cabinet, meaning Tsvangirai can superintend over its deliberations in the absence of the President.
This interpretation has its shortcomings though since there will always be an acting President in the absence of the Head of State with full mandate to carry out all the functions of the incumbent.

The boycott has, however, exposed pent up emotions in the MDC-T, which is getting agitated over the slow pace in implementing the GPA signed in September last year.
ZANU-PF and the two MDC factions have largely been haggling over the appointments of senior government officials with no end in sight to the bickering.

The MDC-T blames hardliners within President Mugabe’s party of stalling progress on the GPA. But ZANU-PF national chairman John Nkomo hit back this week saying the MDC-T was not being open-minded about the issues.

Nkomo said: “There are also hardliners in the MDC. How do you identify a hardliner? Is one a hardliner by being principled and committed?”

Insiders in the premier’s office told The Financial Gazette this week that the MDC-T leader is under pressure from local, regional and international partners to ditch the power-sharing agreement over ZANU-PF’s reluctance to fully implement the pact seen as the only practical solution to the country’s socio-political and economic logjam.

Upon his return from Europe and the United States on Monday, Prime Minister Tsvangirai plunged into the vortex of simmering frustrations within the MDC-T’s alliance partners who want the party to serve ZANU-PF and the smaller faction of the MDC headed by Arthur Mutambara with divorce papers.

For the first time since the formation of the inclusive government in February, Tsvangirai has been forced to float the idea of disengaging from the pact by the party’s partners.

All along, the former trade unionist had put on a brave face, assuring the nation and the world at large that the situation in Zimbabwe was under control.

“No one is tied up to this agreement. There is an opportunity for divorce,” Tsvangirai said on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister said the international community had expressed reservations over the coalition and asked why after five months the parties had not implemented the GPA, giving credence to the pressure he is under.

“As such, the concerns of the international community are legitimate and the three political parties as signatories to the GPA, and particularly leaders of those parties, must take responsibility for the failure to implement fully the obligations we have signed up to,” he said.

MDC-T insiders said the premier might convene an extraordinary meeting of the National Council, the highest decision-making body in the party, this month for direction.

“You see, we are with the people on the ground and the Prime Minister is just the commander. We decide when and how to pull out not him,” said an MDC-T insider.
“The temperature is high in the rank and file of the MDC-T to pull out of this government because ZANU-PF is not being sincere. They are throwing spanners left right and centre.”

Civic society organisations, which have been fighting in the MDC-T’s corner since its formation in 1999, are already up in arms with the inclusive government. Led by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, the civic society is holding a consultative meeting this weekend to call for the official boycott of the constitution-making process, which is one of the key mandates of the inclusive government.

As part of the GPA, the three parties to the power-sharing agreement are expected to come up with a people-driven constitution within 18 months to pave the way for the conduct of free and fair elections.

ZANU-PF and the MDC-T are at loggerheads over the constitution-making process.
ZANU-PF would want the Kariba Draft, crafted in a boat in Kariba, to be th e reference point in arriving at the new constitution while the MDC-T is adamant that the supreme law of the country should borrow from various other documents available, including input from the people.

MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa confirmed pressure on the party’s leadership yesterday.
“There is pressure from everywhere,” he said.

“Most issues are still contestable. Not one commission is in place, the land audit is not yet done, the Security Council has not yet met, senior soldiers continue to refuse to salute the Prime Minister, there are no media reforms, JOMIC (the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee) is now comatose, our members continue to be arrested, I mean we cannot continue living in the past. There is also pressure from the diplomatic community to see real action and tangible reforms on the ground otherwise what’s the point of sticking around when one party remains intransigent?”

In a clear sign that the MDC-T leadership and party members are exasperated by ZANU- PF’s alleged antics, Tsvangirai’s deputy Thokozani Khupe said on Monday:
“For a long time the MDC has made issue of the unequivocal lack of paradigm shift on the part of ZANU-PF as an actor in the transitional government. For a long time we have remained the polite and subservient upholders of the GPA against clear evidence of the absence of a reliable and honest partner.”

Harrison Mudzuri, the MDC-T Zaka Central lawmaker reportedly attacked the premier at the weekend, accusing him of turning a blind eye to alleged continued human rights violations in the first such public confrontation on Tsvangirai by a senior member of his party.

“Our Prime Minister and party leader is just pretending that things are right in the country when nothing has changed,” Mudzuri was quoted telling the media.
McDonald Lewanika, the coordinator of Crisis Coalition, said the dispute between the political parties could only be resolved through the guarantors to the GPA – the Southern African Development Community and the AU.

“If they (ZANU-PF and the two MDC formations) fail to resolve these outstanding issues through the guarantors to the GPA, then they should agree to part ways amicably. If there is evidence of deliberate mischief, then the MDC-T can pull out,” Lewanika said. Financial Gazette

Teachers say GNU has failed to deliver

By Owen Chikari

MASVINGO – The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe PTUZ yesterday attacked the inclusive government saying it has failed to deliver, resulting in people losing faith in it.

Addressing journalists at a press club discussion organised by the Media Institute of Southern Africa here PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou said Zimbabweans had never had  a government which has failed to deliver like the inclusive government.

Zhou, who described the inclusive government as a marriage of convenience between the two MDC parties and Zanu-PF, said the generality of Zimbabweans are still suffering while workers have been reduced to beggars.

“Never in the history of this country have we had a government which has failed to deliver like this one”, said Zhou.

“Workers are relying on allowances only which are not even enough to meet their basic needs while violence and suffering is continuing in the countryside”.

“Giving USD100 a month to professionals is a mockery and we are saying that they have failed to deliver”.

“The government cannot say it does not have money when it can afford to pay ghost workers like members of the national youth service”.

“We thought after 100 days in office the inclusive government should have been seen trying to improve the lives of the people but instead the living standards are deteriorating in the country”.

Zhou said political violence was continuing in the countryside with some teachers having fled their schools .

“As I speak now we have teachers who have been chased away from their schools by Zanu-PF supporters”.

He said parties in the inclusive government were pretending that all was well when people were still suffering.

The PTUZ boss said he had never met a minister who lacks basic public service knowledge like Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro.

Mukonoweshuro is the minister of public service who among other things should be responsible for the welfare of the entire civil service.

“I think the MDC-T should have given minister Mukonoweshuro a different ministry because he has failed to address the needs of the Zimbabwean workers”, said Zhou.

“In discussions we have had with minister Mukonoweshuro it appears he does not even know how the civil service operates”.

Mukonoweshuro could not be reached for comment yesterday. However the minister is on record as saying he will soon improve remuneration for government workers once the situation improves financially.

He also said that the government had embarked on an audit of civil servants in order not to continue to pay ghost workers

Irvin Dzingirai Zanu-PF legislator for Chivi south who also attended the discussion differed with Zhou saying that enough strides had been made by the inclusive government to ensure that there is peace in the country.

“What we need is peace and normalcy in the country and these have been achieved by the inclusive government,” said Dzingirai.

“We have a national healing process whereby the principals of the three parties in the inclusive government are determined to see Zimbabweans living in peace”.

The MDC issued a statement on Saturday to say Zanu-PF militia had gone on a rampage on Tuesday, beating up suspected MDC supporters in the Manoti area of Gokwe, in the Midlands.

“This wave of violence comes ahead of the 10th anniversary celebratory rally lined up for tomorrow in Midlands North at the Gokwe centre,” the statement said.

“MDC views this as an attempt by Zanu-PF to intimidate MDC supporters from attending the celebratory rally marking its 10th year in existence.” – Zimbabwe Times

Christian students say Zimbabwe’s unity government is failing

Tsvangirai heckled in London

Zimbabwe’s Government of National (Dis)Unity

By Kenneth Mawomo

Zimbabwe’s government of national unity is well past its first 100 days in office now, but the level of mistrust and disharmony is ever swelling no matter what the principal signatories to the global political agreement would want us to believe.

The fact that the agreement is yet to be implemented in its entirety provides ample justification for its label as a marriage of convenience in which different players are pursuing different agendas most of which are anything but, national.  Events that followed its inauguration, which continue to hog the limelight, vindicate sworn critics’ doubts over the efficacy of such a union.

Relief

People from all walks of life expressed mixed feelings when President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF agreed to form a unity government early this year with the two MDC formations led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.

In particular, the long suffering ordinary people were relieved that the worst could be over.  For them, this was the only way out of politically motivated violence perpetrated by Robert Mugabe’s rag tag army of war veterans, youth militias, the army, police and the central intelligence operatives.  They viewed the unity government as the only way for a return of basic commodities to the shelves of shops and supermarkets.  In deed it was the only viable route to sanity, normalcy and a return to the rule of law.

While basic commodities are now available and inflation has drastically gone down from over 231 million per cent in October 2008 to minus 3.1 percent in February 2009 after the abandonment of the local currency as legal tender, significant change is yet to come though.  Not everyone in this government is acting in good faith.  Sincerity is not an attribute that can be remotely associated with the operations of this government.

Unity of Purpose

Normal governments are guided by the principle of collective responsibility in pursuance of a common agenda.  There is very little that we have witnessed so far that resembles a ‘government of national unity’.

To call the present authority in Zimbabwe a government of national unity is an unfortunate but unavoidable misnomer of our time. There is virtually no unity of purpose because the agendas being pursued are not national in character.  Political posturing and manoeuvring are the order of the day as politicians from the irretrievable ZANU PF sinking ship pay attention to survival instincts rather than prudence.

Selfish Agendas

President Robert Mugabe’s involvement in the unity of government has nothing to do with people’s well-being.  It has a lot to do with a selfish personal agenda to perpetuate his stranglehold on power in order to avoid being held accountable for past atrocities and crimes against humanity.

He has the Matebeleland Gukurahundi massacres to content with.  Add to that the orgy of state sponsored violence since 2000 that has led to abductions, torture and deaths of hundreds of innocent people and displacements of millions into the diaspora.  Mugabe has also presided over a shambolic land reform programme never mind its merits.

Economic Ruin

The vindictive manner in which land was grabbed from white commercial farmers and parcelled out to party loyalists with little interest or knowledge of large scale farming, has laid fallow vast tracts of once productive land leading to food shortages, hunger and starvation throughout the country.  Sanctions aside, Mugabe’s populist policies have turned a former bread basket of Southern Africa into an empty begging bowel.

Single handed, he has presided over the systematic destruction of the fundamental pillars of a once robust economy with impunity and without the aid of famine or war.  The list is endless.  This makes Mugabe so paranoid that he can’t even trust his shadow.  He sees enemies everywhere.  He cannot just wish the past away because he knows one day the chickens will come home to roost.  No wonder why the succession debate in his Party was a still-birth.  He is so deluded with power to the point of self indulgence.

Mugabe’s Illegitimacy

In his view, Tsvangirai is a front for the West, and Britain in particular.  Had it not been for the fact that his one man rerun election contest in June 2008 was condemned by the Southern Africa Development Community and the African Union, not to mention the rest of the world as a sham; Mugabe would not have entertained sharing power.  It all boiled down to the simple issue of legitimacy or rather, the lack of it.  Some political analysts have argued that Mugabe wanted to step down after his defeat in the March 2008 elections but was held back by influential members of the Joint Operations Command who feared that their ill-gotten wealth would not be safe in the hands of an MDC government led by Morgan Tsvangirai.

Stranglehold on Power

While that line of argument has some substance it is not entirely convincing.  It tries to justify the indefensible.  It presents Mugabe as a powerless victim of circumstances being taken advantage of by rogue elements within the military.  Yet in all fairness, the Joint Operations Command is Mugabe’s brain child created to safeguard his firm grip on power.  In other words, this gang of mercenaries is doing precisely what it was created to do, nothing more.  It is operating within its mandate.

Mugabe is a cunning political schemer.  He has surrounded himself with surrogates whom he has allowed to be corrupt beyond redemption.  This is a calculated ploy to silence any discerning voices that might want to challenge his authority.  Added to this, is his well documented politics of patronage that handsomely rewards non-performing but, loyal party cadres with ministerial positions.

Contentious Issues

It is foolhardy at this juncture to be hoodwinked into believing the sincerity of the parties involved to commit themselves to implementing without exception, the Global Political Agreement.  As things stand today, we are unfortunately, miles away from realising that dream.  According to Amnesty International’s report of 29 May 2009, ‘human rights violations targeted at human rights and political activists persist’.

The report urged ‘the new government to rein in state agents and government officials who continue to order human rights violations and to restore the rule of law’.  Mugabe’s unilateral appointment of Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana to positions of Reserve Bank governor and Attorney General respectively, does not help matters either.  Such actions violate the key tenets and spirit of the Global Political Agreement.

If we in deed have a government of national unity, who then is violating human rights?  Who is responsible for the continuation of farm invasions?  Can the principle of collective responsibility apply in the way this government is operating? If the principle does apply, are we then suggesting that Tsvangirai has made a sudden transformation from a human rights campaigner into a tormenter?  If the answer is yes, then where does this leave the ordinary citizen?

We all know Tsvangirai has voiced his concern against unlawful arbitrary arrests and torture of political activists, human rights campaigners, journalists and the public as well as the senseless land grab.  What then is the common agenda for this government?  The simple answer is none.

Mugabe,  in conversation with the Director-General of the
Secret Police (CIO), Happyton Bonyongwe and Commander
of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Constantine Chiwenga

ZANU PF and the MDC are like water and oil the two just don’t mix. They are ideologically miles apart. There is no chemistry.  Period. Morgan Tsvangirai has complained that remnants of the old regime are throwing spanners in the works.  These disgruntled sycophants realise that the success of this government will make it even harder for them to sell ZANU PF to the electorate.  It is also clear to those who feel betrayed by Mugabe that the success of this government is a credit for Tsvangirai.  As it is the unity government benefits the MDC more than it does ZANU PF.  The success of the unity government would stand as hard evidence that the MDC is ready to govern.

Transitional Authority

However, success with the present set up is not guaranteed. The Prime Minister has admitted that people still live in fear.  The big question is; what are they afraid of when we have a government of national unity in place?  In my view, Zimbabwe should not have been saddled with this so called government of national unity because it is a mere window dressing.  There should have been in place a genuine transitional authority with a specific mandate and time frame to hold internationally supervised free and fair elections.  This authority would have been made up of politically non-aligned eminent Zimbabweans guided by the principle of national service and the spirit of goodwill.

Unfortunately, we have to content with an untenable arrangement with no guarantees and clear-cut bench marks.  We are not yet sure when a general election is due.  The real test of character for the current set up will be an election.  That’s when we can, with a degree of certainty, proclaim the existence of a government of national unity.  As of now, things remain pretty much the same because very little has changed. Mind you, leopards are not known to change their spots.  Are they?  Let’s wait and see.- HAT News

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