By Levi Mhaka
Phone text messages and emails being circulated among many Zimbabweans are describing the political situation as follows: The two major soccer teams, Dynamos and CAPS United, are playing a cup match at the National Sports Stadium. By the end of the match, the score board is reading 4-0 in favour of CAPS at the end of the match. The match officials, commissioners, special guests and fans are satisfied with the peaceful environment that has prevailed during the match.
Supporters of the winning team are then told not to celebrate until the match results are announced on Sports News on both radio and TV. Before they are announced, the nation realises that the losing team is meeting the national football association (ZIFA) by itself. Later the losing team issues public statements that the football association should simply announce a draw and therefore there a need for a rematch.
We are then told that it is only ZIFA that should announce results and soon after that Dynamos tells us that the captain for CAPS team wants to be the Vice Captain of Dynamos.
(Bhora rotambwa kuNational Sports Stadium pakati pe Dembare neMakepekepe. Makepekepe wins 4-0 kobva kwanzi imbomirai kufara kusvika mawona Sports news pa ZTV neparadio. Zvonzi vakuru veDynamos vamboita meeting nevakuru veZifa kumaoffice avo. Kwozobuda pa ZTV zvichinzi yaita zero zero and there is supposed to be a rematch. Mozonzwa kuti referee nema linesmen acho vasungwa. Kuita here ikoko?Pave paya, zvavekunzi Captain weCAPS United ari kuchemera kuita Vice Captain weDembare. Manje so!!)
In the State-owned Herald newspaper front page story on Wednesday, April 9, 2008, ZANU PF has claimed that MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai has “begged” to become the Vice President of Zimbabwe “in a government of national unity after being told by his advisors that a possible run-off with President Mugabe was not in his best interests”.
One wonders how MDC can approach ZANU PF for possible talks for a coalition government when results have not been released at the behest of ZANU PF and when all the indications are that ZANU PF will lose in a peaceful and fair electoral re-run or runoff.
In a marginally won election, the winner must approach the losing party to form a coalition government. ZANU PF is not the winner and currently there is no winner without results having been made public!
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s (ZEC) lawyer, George Chikumbirike made a submission in the High Court on Wednesday, April 9, 2008, that releasing presidential results is "dangerous”. Why it is dangerous, he did not elaborate.
From the information slowly filtering into the public domain, the danger is that people will get to know the extent to which Robert Mugabe got far less than the combined votes of ZANU PF candidates for House of Assembly (HA) or Senate. A lot of people who voted for ZANU PF legislative (HA or Senate) and local authority candidates, did not necessarily vote for Robert Mugabe to become president. They voted for either Morgan Tsvangirai or Simba Makoni.
A constituency based results for the presidential election will clearly show this view. It is wrong to use the parliamentary results as a basis to make people expect a re-run or run-off.
This is the level of embarrassment that ZANU PF cannot stomach being made a public matter.
ZANU PF’s strategy is to render the release of results useless and meaningless by focusing on the very insignificant anomalies as a result of the arithmetic work of its thoroughly vetted ZEC election officials, most of whom are employees or informers of CIO. All these arrests are stage managed because if ZANU PF is the complainant, then it had access to the results on its own. Statements being made by ZANU PF prove beyond reasonable doubt that it had receipt of the actual results by itself by coercing ZEC.
If there were simple arithmetic errors, they would have been corrected by going back to the source document – the results form for each polling station. It becomes a logistical/administrative matter rather than to conclude that the behaviour by election officials was driven by a criminal intent.
The full accounting for ballot boxes and ballot papers was done at polling station level collectively by representatives of contesting parties, observers and election officials. Signatures were appended to the forms that clearly showed the serial numbers of the ballot papers used, spoiled and remained. Such polling station records were brought together to constitute the total for each ward; and likewise all the wards at one constituency centre.
All the current ZANU PF efforts are bereft of legal guidance because the pronouncements and actions forced on ZEC defy the procedural requirements in the constitution and electoral law.
As ZANU PF make wide claims about Tsvangirai, some people have been named as emissaries for Tsvangirai. Let us look at who the people are.
Elton Mangoma is the MDC's Deputy Treasurer General. He is said to have generally supported the party financially. A Chartered Accountant by profession, he is the owner of a beneficiary of cheap RBZ loan funds through his company, Mowpower, which is involved in manufacturing of lawn mowers.
Mangoma is the managing Director for Corporate Excellence and a former partner with Kudenga & Co, an accounting firm until end of 1999. he served in various capacities for Delta Corporation since 1987 until 1992. He rose from being a Financial Manager of Delta's subsidiary, Chibuku Breweries, to become Group Finance Director. Earlier, in the early 1980s, he worked with Ian Makone at Agricultural Finance Corporation - AFC (now Agribank) as a Financial Manager
Ian Makone is a member of the MDC's National Executive Committee. He is the National Director for Elections and Special Advisor to the MDC President. He is a former chairman of the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) now Agribank, and thus his connection with Mangoma goes back in time.
Joe Mutizwa is the chief executive officer of Delta Corporation. He is a founding director of Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG), a banking institution created by the RBZ out of remains of some indigenous banks Gono caused to close. He is also a trustee of the obscure Simon Vengai Muzenda Scholarship Foundation. In June 2007, Mutizwa was one of beneficiaries of the RBZ funded farm mechanisation programme.
As written by a correspondent of the Zimbabwe Times in January 2008, Gono forged close links with Delta Corporation's Joe Mutizwa, in a bid to wrest control of the industrial conglomerate from SABMiller. Mutizwa is alleged to have received funding from Gono to take up a horticultural project at Kintyre Estates, along Bulawayo road. The Ruwa-based Delta's subsidiary, Mega Pak Pvt Ltd, was one of the beneficiaries of the RBZ cheap funds named 'BACOSSI" by receiving US$1 million, which was the largest chunk of the foreign currency portion.
As it turns out, Gono had a meeting with Joe Mutizwa as a way of discussing the political dynamics as information filtered that ZANU PF was loosing the elections. Gono mooted an idea of sounding up to MDC for talks to protect their personal business interests and the political career of Gono as a ‘unifier” for the two political sides.
Mutizwa then contacted his former subordinate, Mangoma, for a social chat and made indications for a possible coalition talks between the two parties, without making explicit who was driving the initiative. Mangoma in turn contacted Makone, Tsvangirai's advisor. This personal contacts was then leaked to the foreign media on April 1, 2008 as if there are talks between ZANU PF and MDC. It is still not known if Makone played ball by talking to Tsvangirai but it is possible that Makone might have not known where it was coming from. He could have ben surprised when the foreign media went into frency about it.
What is background to all these manipulations and machinations?
The ZANU PF Electoral ‘A’ Team was created to become the ‘War Cabinet’ and deliver a win to the party. Reporting to only President Mugabe and unaccountable to the ZANU PF Politburo, the core group consisted of Elliot Manyika, the party's Secretary for Commissariat; Patrick Chinamasa, then Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs; Gideon Gono, the RBZ Governor and the main electoral funder; George Charamba, the Presidential Spokesman and Permanent Secretary for Information and Publicity, and the 'Editor-in-Chief' of government owned mass media. The party's information and publicity department was made redundant by this ultra-nationalist cabal, whose personalised agenda is being driven dressed as anti-colonial/anti-imperialist.
To give semblance of the security establishment factor, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander, Constantine Chiwenga was brought into the political game. Chiwenga wants to protect his own business interests and his wife, Jocelyn, who attacked Tsvangirai in August 2007, without having been unprovoked.
Chiwenga, like all the other senior military officials, have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the RBZ funded farm mechanisation programme, while their spouses have received cheap funds for their small businesses. Chiwenga’s wife owns Zimsafe, a company in the business of manufacturing protective clothing and a recipient of lucrative ZDF contracts.
Anyone who would disagree with the approached and tactics of the 'A' Team was to be branded as against the electoral victory of President Robert Mugabe and actually was seen as a "Simba Makoni sympathiser". This is the same basis now being used to deal with Henry Muradzikwa, the ZBC Chief Executive Officer, who was implementing the electoral law requirements. A media survey released during the campaign period in actual fact exposed the extent to which ZBC was biased against the opposition. How Muradzikwa is now said to have been biased against ZANU PF is laughable.
The Electoral ‘A” Team created the campaign message and used RBZ staffers and funds to make the necessary payments for both ZEC and the ZANU PF costs.
This team manipulated and held Mugabe hostage and caused the release of concocted electoral survey by a CIO-aligned political scientist at the University of Zimbabwe, Dr. Joseph Kurebwa, who “predicted” that Mugabe was to win marginally.
From ignoring the economic realities on the ground, the ZANU PF electoral campaign team resoundingly delivered a loss to Mugabe because one cannot deliver an anti-colonial message to a population desperately seeking for a basic survival according to the Maslow hierarchy of needs. If there is a re-run or run-off, ZANU PF will still lose. Since it has recalled its violent machinery, the MDC should not participate.
The latest ZANU PF gimmick is to create a fake a document detailing alleged transitional arrangements from the office of the MDC Secretary General, Tendai Biti. The RBZ being taken over by Germans and the other lies being peddled by the Herald were produced by the CIO’s counter-intelligence department based in Harare suburb of Highlands and uploaded on the CIO online “research” organization called Global Analysis (http://www.glob.co.zw/) run from Mt. Pleasant in Harare. There is no meaningful research work on the site apart from articles uplifted from the Herald (especially the ones written by Caesar Zvayi and Mabasa Sasa), Sunday Mail and New African magazine and other foreign sites.
Desperately trying to survive from an electoral defeat, ZANU PF is getting dirtier and murkier. The Chinamasa-led self-created committee as become the de facto Cabinet and will continue to mislead Mugabe, the nation, region and the world. They will continue to be in denial and talk about everything JUST to illegally stay longer in power.
We are dealing with a very belligerant person of Robert Mugabe. The High Court judgement on April 14, 2008 will likely order the release of results. ZEC will likely claim that they were ready early in the week to release but were being held due to the court process instituted by MDC and will then release them. They are likely to be the doctored version because the arithmetic has been completed without the presence of contesting parties since the dismantling of the command centre mid-week.
As MDC contests the doctored results, ZANU PF will focus on the runoff which the MDC will ill advisely boycott.
Meanwhile the violent and rigging machinery has been sharpened and oiled....
Friday, April 11, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Herald Lying at the Behest of Gono
By Levi Mhaka
On Monday 7 April 2008, the State-owned Herald newspaper had a front page story entitled "Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai Plans to Give Control of RBZ to Germans". It made me laugh and felt pity for the editorial team at the newspaper.
In the story, the newspaper alleged that the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, "intends to give control of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to German agents for up to one year in the event that he becomes State President."
The newspaper also claimed that Tsvangirai "also plans to change commanders of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Commissioner-General of Police, Director-General of the Central Intelligence Organisation, the Chief Justice and Permanent Secretary for Finance, among other high-ranking officials."
As a sign of desperation of the incumbent RBZ Governor, Gono, he has been funding the State-owned media using loan funds meant for the intervention on the supply side of basic commodities. He is literary running the public media together with George Charamba, the Presidential Spokesman and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Publicity, as reckless propaganda outfits. The Herald has failed to subject many of its political stories using journalistic standards of truthfulness, accuracy, balance and fairness.
The newspaper went on to allege that the MDC's "transitional plan includes a restructuring of the RBZ that will see at least two agents from Germany's central bank playing key roles at the institution. The delivery of the central bank to the Germans will be among Tsvangirai's first directives in the event that he becomes President. Under the scheme, Tsvangirai will first relieve present Governor Dr Gideon Gono of his duties, appoint one of his deputies as acting boss and rope in the Germans to "advise" him."
As we wait for the High Court to make a ruling on the release of presidential and local authority election results, readers must be careful that we shall be seeing a lot more of these rabid levels of lying by people trying to protect themselves from the looming political changes.
One wonders why those who said they cannot salute Morgan Tsvangirai should not retire or resign on assumption of duty by a new government. What about one who had been running the only factory in Zimbabwe runnnning for 24 hours printing money to sponsor a partisan electoral venture? Core business of a central business has been abandoned. Why would a sane government allow such a person with distorted understanding of the central bank's role in an economy remain in office? This is the same person who has reduced the central bank into becoming a department in the President's office.
There is so much panic that we shall be seeing through pre-emptive lies in the State-owned media as the collective effort of Mugabe, Charamba, Gono, Elliot Manyika and the losing member of parliament, Patrick Chinamasa, further sink the economy by their shortsightedness, to protect their jobs.
The lying was in a higher gear on Tuesday 8 April 2008, when the same newspaper alleged that Tsvangirai has failed to secure the support of the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC for an opposition bloc that will have simple majority in the house of asembly.
This allegation defies reason. Let us look at it from another angle. Between the two parties (ZANU PF and MDC-Tsvangirai), who can receive votes from the voters who voted for Mutambara-led MDC? Alternatively, who would the person who voted for Mutambara-led MDC choose between the two choices - ZANU PF and MDC-Tsvangirai? Majority of the votes for the two MDCs and Simba Makoni have been derived from "as long its not ZANU PF" because of the economic conditions.
If Mutambara had wanted to work with ZANU PF from the onset, he should not have supported Makoni's candidature against ZANU PF. If he has a parliamentary pact with ZANU PF, it would mean ZANU PF controls simple majority in the House of Assembly together with the 10 parliamentarians from his faction. That is not being progressive!
From a gut feeling, one can easily tell that the 'natural' alliance for the Mutambara faction will be Simba Makoni as yet unlaunched political party.
On Monday 7 April 2008, the State-owned Herald newspaper had a front page story entitled "Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai Plans to Give Control of RBZ to Germans". It made me laugh and felt pity for the editorial team at the newspaper.
In the story, the newspaper alleged that the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, "intends to give control of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to German agents for up to one year in the event that he becomes State President."
The newspaper also claimed that Tsvangirai "also plans to change commanders of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Commissioner-General of Police, Director-General of the Central Intelligence Organisation, the Chief Justice and Permanent Secretary for Finance, among other high-ranking officials."
As a sign of desperation of the incumbent RBZ Governor, Gono, he has been funding the State-owned media using loan funds meant for the intervention on the supply side of basic commodities. He is literary running the public media together with George Charamba, the Presidential Spokesman and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Publicity, as reckless propaganda outfits. The Herald has failed to subject many of its political stories using journalistic standards of truthfulness, accuracy, balance and fairness.
The newspaper went on to allege that the MDC's "transitional plan includes a restructuring of the RBZ that will see at least two agents from Germany's central bank playing key roles at the institution. The delivery of the central bank to the Germans will be among Tsvangirai's first directives in the event that he becomes President. Under the scheme, Tsvangirai will first relieve present Governor Dr Gideon Gono of his duties, appoint one of his deputies as acting boss and rope in the Germans to "advise" him."
As we wait for the High Court to make a ruling on the release of presidential and local authority election results, readers must be careful that we shall be seeing a lot more of these rabid levels of lying by people trying to protect themselves from the looming political changes.
One wonders why those who said they cannot salute Morgan Tsvangirai should not retire or resign on assumption of duty by a new government. What about one who had been running the only factory in Zimbabwe runnnning for 24 hours printing money to sponsor a partisan electoral venture? Core business of a central business has been abandoned. Why would a sane government allow such a person with distorted understanding of the central bank's role in an economy remain in office? This is the same person who has reduced the central bank into becoming a department in the President's office.
There is so much panic that we shall be seeing through pre-emptive lies in the State-owned media as the collective effort of Mugabe, Charamba, Gono, Elliot Manyika and the losing member of parliament, Patrick Chinamasa, further sink the economy by their shortsightedness, to protect their jobs.
The lying was in a higher gear on Tuesday 8 April 2008, when the same newspaper alleged that Tsvangirai has failed to secure the support of the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC for an opposition bloc that will have simple majority in the house of asembly.
This allegation defies reason. Let us look at it from another angle. Between the two parties (ZANU PF and MDC-Tsvangirai), who can receive votes from the voters who voted for Mutambara-led MDC? Alternatively, who would the person who voted for Mutambara-led MDC choose between the two choices - ZANU PF and MDC-Tsvangirai? Majority of the votes for the two MDCs and Simba Makoni have been derived from "as long its not ZANU PF" because of the economic conditions.
If Mutambara had wanted to work with ZANU PF from the onset, he should not have supported Makoni's candidature against ZANU PF. If he has a parliamentary pact with ZANU PF, it would mean ZANU PF controls simple majority in the House of Assembly together with the 10 parliamentarians from his faction. That is not being progressive!
From a gut feeling, one can easily tell that the 'natural' alliance for the Mutambara faction will be Simba Makoni as yet unlaunched political party.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
A Constitutional Crisis has been Created in Zimbabwe
By Levi Mhaka
April 3, 2008
THE tenure of office of the President of Zimbabwe is stipulated by Section 29 of the Constitution which states that “the President shall continue in office until the person elected as President at the next election of President enters office.”
President Robert Mugabe has ensured that the results of the presidential election are not announced, to give him and colleagues in Zanu-PF time to work behind the scenes preparing for a re-run after the release of the presidential election results.
Vice Presidents are a type of minister, albeit a senior one. Their tenure, arising out of general and presidential elections, together with that of ministers and deputy ministers, is provided for under section 31E (1) (c) of the Constitution.
Firstly, it was unconstitutional for President Robert Mugabe to have dissolved the Cabinet on March 27, 2008 two days before election day because according to section 31E (1) of the Constitution, the tenure of “the office of a Vice-President, Minister or Deputy Minister shall become vacant:
(a) if the President removes him from office; or
(b) if he resigns his office by notice in writing addressed and delivered to
the President; or
(c) upon the assumption of office of a new President.”
None of these three instances above applied when Mugabe "fired" his vice presidents, ministers and deputy ministers by dissolving the Cabinet.
Secondly, in trying to fill in the ministerial vacuum, the public pronouncements by the former ministers and deputy ministers (like Bright Matonga) are illegal and mischievous. A former ambassador to China, Chris Mutsvangwa, who lost in the Norton constituency, has been pontificating as the government spokesman.
Thirdly, the country has had no Cabinet since March 27, 2008 until the presidential election results have been announced. If there is to be a re-run, there will not be a Cabinet for the next 21 days (at a minimum) during which the election will be held.
This means the president is currently running the country by himself and together with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, Gideon Gono, the Presidential spokesman, George Charamba (aka Nathaniel Manheru and "Editor-in-Chief" of Zimbabwe Newspapers Ltd and ZTV News), some excitable bureaucrats and senior securocrats, plus a few loud-mouthed Zanu-PF functionaries.
In the absence of a Parliament to hold him accountable, Mugabe is busy working on his political survival and protection of his legacy. The executive institutional functions of the State of Zimbabwe as provided for by section 31H (1) of the Constitution have irretrievably been broken down since “the executive authority of Zimbabwe shall vest in the President and, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, may be exercised by him directly or through the Cabinet, a Vice-President, a Minister or a Deputy Minister.”
Related to this section 31 H (5) stipulates that “in the exercise of his functions the President shall act on the advice of the Cabinet, except in cases where he is required by this Constitution or any other law to act on the advice of any other person or authority…”
Meanwhile, information now available is that it was allegedly the RBZ Governor Gideon Gono who created an impression to international media that there are talks currently going on between Zanu-PF and MDC because he wanted to test the Zanu-PF establishment.
He is actually now shuffling between the two sides to create a ground for an amicable handover of power to the MDC, while protecting Robert Mugabe and calming the security establishment.
Gono is not being sincere because he has more to protect about himself, personal gains and his tenure. The MDC and Simba Makoni aptly exposed his level of economic sabotage and abuse of public resources by fully bankrolling the Mugabe regime in the just ended election.
Meanwhile, the Zanu-PF propaganda machinery is now busy creating an impression that the previous white landowners are back in the country and are visiting “their farms". Britain and the USA are not making it any better by their official pronouncements on the elections. The government of Britain even went further by deciding for the new Zimbabwean government to rejoin the British Commonwealth, as if that alone will solve our many economic problems.
We must not harden Mugabe's position when he is already out. If it can, the MDC must tell Britian, the EU and the USA to keep quiet for their own good and that of the people of Zimbabwe.
This is the time to be very calm and cautious about Robert Mugabe because he is like a suicidal bomber in our midst. Engage him carefully! The Zanu-PF propaganda machinery wants to continue with its election campaign message in which they cast the MDC as Western stooges.
Today's Herald had a story “exposing" the British hand, not that of the people of Zimbabwe, in the winning of the elections by the MDC.
We must be calm as we wait for the results because Mugabe can create and sponsor chaos to find a reason and an excuse to hold on to power.
Update: Following the publication of this article on the Zimbabwe Times news website, Caretaker President Robert Mugabe renewed the tenure of the Cabinet until the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) has done the needful. The government press statement has not indicated whether this has been gazetted as required by law. Welcome to the a country of absolute illegality and illegitimacy! (10/04/2008)
April 3, 2008
THE tenure of office of the President of Zimbabwe is stipulated by Section 29 of the Constitution which states that “the President shall continue in office until the person elected as President at the next election of President enters office.”
President Robert Mugabe has ensured that the results of the presidential election are not announced, to give him and colleagues in Zanu-PF time to work behind the scenes preparing for a re-run after the release of the presidential election results.
Vice Presidents are a type of minister, albeit a senior one. Their tenure, arising out of general and presidential elections, together with that of ministers and deputy ministers, is provided for under section 31E (1) (c) of the Constitution.
Firstly, it was unconstitutional for President Robert Mugabe to have dissolved the Cabinet on March 27, 2008 two days before election day because according to section 31E (1) of the Constitution, the tenure of “the office of a Vice-President, Minister or Deputy Minister shall become vacant:
(a) if the President removes him from office; or
(b) if he resigns his office by notice in writing addressed and delivered to
the President; or
(c) upon the assumption of office of a new President.”
None of these three instances above applied when Mugabe "fired" his vice presidents, ministers and deputy ministers by dissolving the Cabinet.
Secondly, in trying to fill in the ministerial vacuum, the public pronouncements by the former ministers and deputy ministers (like Bright Matonga) are illegal and mischievous. A former ambassador to China, Chris Mutsvangwa, who lost in the Norton constituency, has been pontificating as the government spokesman.
Thirdly, the country has had no Cabinet since March 27, 2008 until the presidential election results have been announced. If there is to be a re-run, there will not be a Cabinet for the next 21 days (at a minimum) during which the election will be held.
This means the president is currently running the country by himself and together with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, Gideon Gono, the Presidential spokesman, George Charamba (aka Nathaniel Manheru and "Editor-in-Chief" of Zimbabwe Newspapers Ltd and ZTV News), some excitable bureaucrats and senior securocrats, plus a few loud-mouthed Zanu-PF functionaries.
In the absence of a Parliament to hold him accountable, Mugabe is busy working on his political survival and protection of his legacy. The executive institutional functions of the State of Zimbabwe as provided for by section 31H (1) of the Constitution have irretrievably been broken down since “the executive authority of Zimbabwe shall vest in the President and, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, may be exercised by him directly or through the Cabinet, a Vice-President, a Minister or a Deputy Minister.”
Related to this section 31 H (5) stipulates that “in the exercise of his functions the President shall act on the advice of the Cabinet, except in cases where he is required by this Constitution or any other law to act on the advice of any other person or authority…”
Meanwhile, information now available is that it was allegedly the RBZ Governor Gideon Gono who created an impression to international media that there are talks currently going on between Zanu-PF and MDC because he wanted to test the Zanu-PF establishment.
He is actually now shuffling between the two sides to create a ground for an amicable handover of power to the MDC, while protecting Robert Mugabe and calming the security establishment.
Gono is not being sincere because he has more to protect about himself, personal gains and his tenure. The MDC and Simba Makoni aptly exposed his level of economic sabotage and abuse of public resources by fully bankrolling the Mugabe regime in the just ended election.
Meanwhile, the Zanu-PF propaganda machinery is now busy creating an impression that the previous white landowners are back in the country and are visiting “their farms". Britain and the USA are not making it any better by their official pronouncements on the elections. The government of Britain even went further by deciding for the new Zimbabwean government to rejoin the British Commonwealth, as if that alone will solve our many economic problems.
We must not harden Mugabe's position when he is already out. If it can, the MDC must tell Britian, the EU and the USA to keep quiet for their own good and that of the people of Zimbabwe.
This is the time to be very calm and cautious about Robert Mugabe because he is like a suicidal bomber in our midst. Engage him carefully! The Zanu-PF propaganda machinery wants to continue with its election campaign message in which they cast the MDC as Western stooges.
Today's Herald had a story “exposing" the British hand, not that of the people of Zimbabwe, in the winning of the elections by the MDC.
We must be calm as we wait for the results because Mugabe can create and sponsor chaos to find a reason and an excuse to hold on to power.
Update: Following the publication of this article on the Zimbabwe Times news website, Caretaker President Robert Mugabe renewed the tenure of the Cabinet until the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) has done the needful. The government press statement has not indicated whether this has been gazetted as required by law. Welcome to the a country of absolute illegality and illegitimacy! (10/04/2008)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Mugabe vs Makoni - The Guilty Accusing Others
By Levi Mhaka
Published on March 12, 2008
Zimbabwea's ambassador to South Africa, Simon Khaya Moyo, has issued a statement complaining that a "virulent and vicious" smear campaign is being waged against Zimbabwe over the list of observers invited to witness the country's elections on March 29.
Ambassador Moyo has been reported by South African media to have said the campaign is being driven by the West and certain sections of the South African media.He further claimed that the country's detractors are "trumpeting British falsehoods" about the election process.
"It is therefore disheartening, but not surprising, that certain sections of the media, unfortunately including the South African Broadcasting Corporation, have chosen to ignore the facts ... on the ground. We are now [aware] that whatever good and positive happens in Zimbabwe can never pass as newsworthy as long as such stories do not fit into the well-known and publicly acknowledged broad agenda of 'regime change'," Ambassador Moyo said.
What one finds ridiculous is that Ambassador Moyo is raising dust about a conduct which Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF is directed against Simba Makoni at every opportunity during the campaign.
One wonders if he has been reading the State-owned Herald newspaper.
ZANU PF and its presidential candidate, Robert Mugabe are engaged in a "virulent and vicious" smear campaign is being waged against Zimbabwe over Simba Makoni's candidature.
"It is therefore disheartening, but not surprising, that ZANU PF, unfortunately including President Mugabe, have chosen to ignore the facts ... on the ground."We are now [aware] that whatever good and positive has been done and is being said by Simba Makoni can never pass as newsworthy as long as such stories do not fit into the well-known and publicly acknowledged broad agenda of 'smear campaign," Ambassador Moyo should have said.
Makoni has constitutional right as a citizen of Zimbabwe under the electoral laws to contest. ZANU PF and its electoral candidates must respect that. The mandate to rule the country is derived from the people, let the people decide on March 29, 2008.
The ZANU PF conduct of criminalising and a State-inspired negative public media coverage Simba Makoni's candidature deserves condemnation of the worst kind by fair-minded observers.
Published on March 12, 2008
Zimbabwea's ambassador to South Africa, Simon Khaya Moyo, has issued a statement complaining that a "virulent and vicious" smear campaign is being waged against Zimbabwe over the list of observers invited to witness the country's elections on March 29.
Ambassador Moyo has been reported by South African media to have said the campaign is being driven by the West and certain sections of the South African media.He further claimed that the country's detractors are "trumpeting British falsehoods" about the election process.
"It is therefore disheartening, but not surprising, that certain sections of the media, unfortunately including the South African Broadcasting Corporation, have chosen to ignore the facts ... on the ground. We are now [aware] that whatever good and positive happens in Zimbabwe can never pass as newsworthy as long as such stories do not fit into the well-known and publicly acknowledged broad agenda of 'regime change'," Ambassador Moyo said.
What one finds ridiculous is that Ambassador Moyo is raising dust about a conduct which Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF is directed against Simba Makoni at every opportunity during the campaign.
One wonders if he has been reading the State-owned Herald newspaper.
ZANU PF and its presidential candidate, Robert Mugabe are engaged in a "virulent and vicious" smear campaign is being waged against Zimbabwe over Simba Makoni's candidature.
"It is therefore disheartening, but not surprising, that ZANU PF, unfortunately including President Mugabe, have chosen to ignore the facts ... on the ground."We are now [aware] that whatever good and positive has been done and is being said by Simba Makoni can never pass as newsworthy as long as such stories do not fit into the well-known and publicly acknowledged broad agenda of 'smear campaign," Ambassador Moyo should have said.
Makoni has constitutional right as a citizen of Zimbabwe under the electoral laws to contest. ZANU PF and its electoral candidates must respect that. The mandate to rule the country is derived from the people, let the people decide on March 29, 2008.
The ZANU PF conduct of criminalising and a State-inspired negative public media coverage Simba Makoni's candidature deserves condemnation of the worst kind by fair-minded observers.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Mugabe Electoral Campaign Desperate, Overstretched and Weakening
By Levi Mhaka
Published on March 8, 2008
Barack Hussein Obama on Wednesday said he was not ready to change his style of campaigning just yet. "Look, they (the Hillary Clinton Campaign Team) have run a pretty negative campaign over the last couple of weeks. I have said consistently that we do things differently. It's worked for us so far and you know I’m not gonna do things that I'm not comfortable doing and I want to make sure that we stay focused on the issues".
Simba Makoni has had a similar approach and so far he has not changed it despite the indecent use of words by President Robert Mugabe.
Three events have been used to drive President Robert Mugabe’s candidature - the dubious ‘Million Men’ March; the ZANU PF extraordinary congress that used a wrong clause of the constitution for endorsement; and launch of a bankrupt manifesto, whose copies cannot even be readily available, because of the different strategic approach between the ruling party’s information and publicity department and that of government.
With so much pressure arising out of Dr. Simba Makoni’s declaration as an independent candidate, Mugabe’s campaign has resorted to insults and uses the usual chief scapegoat, Britain, to protect his position.
One wonders how, to ordinary person, would Britain be responsible for the shortage of basic commodities; endless power and water cuts; escalating of prices; endless strikes by teachers; doctors and nurses; shortage of medical supplies in hospitals; cash shortages; a high level of people choosing to become economic refugees in the neighbouring countries especially South Africa and Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and the shrinking of the industrial and commercial capacity; and low productivity in the farms after what they consider as a successful land reform.
For lack of depth in dealing with all these challenges created by bad and unsound economic policies, Mugabe and ZANU PF candidates and officials have resorted to sloganeering – especially the oft repeated slogan "Zimbabwe will never be a colony again", which was coined by Prof. Jonathan Moyo, the former Minister of Information and Publicity.
The ruling party has no functioning website nor a formalised campaign team except for the use of Elliot Manyika, a politburo member responsible for the Commissariat (akin to the Organising Secretary) and George Charamba, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Publicity and the President’s press secretary. Manyika is also a candidate for Bindura North in Mashonaland Central Province and all he could do well is to sing during rallies, arrogantly neglecting the campaigning required for his constituency.
Charamba, a civil servant, is alleged to be working full time for ZANU PF loosely organised campaign team with Caesar Zvayi, the political editor of the Herald newspaper and his subordinate, Mabasa Sasa, while being funded allegedly by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Gideon Gono. Zvayi and Sasa have been writing highly partisan articles attacking Simba Makoni or promoting the candidature of Robert Mugabe.
There have been secretive fundraising efforts by the ruling party’s department of finance and its Treasurer-General, David Karimanzira, was reported in the Herald newspaper that the party requires more than ZW$300 billion (US$8,571) for the elections. Given the shrinkage of the economy, local companies are hard pressed to donate anything, and thus one can only guess that its well wisher is the RBZ and China.
Just imagine during the electioneering there was no mentioning of Simba Makoni, Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC opposition party. All hypothesise if the Western countries that have disagreed with Mugabe are not also mentioned. Would there be any need of an election? Would there be anything left for ZANU PF and its candidates to say?
Even if Mugabe was a sole candidate, he stlll needed a popular endorsement in the election. What would he say if he had no opposing candidate?
If there are no insults to make, no donations of computers and sewing machines and promises not backed by funding aspects, to make that come only during election time, Mugabe would be a better candidate to dialogue with on his record.
A local economist was quoted by a weekly newspaper that eight years in a row of negative growth, for the ruling party it will be ‘vote us into power and we will finish you off’. He said no government, having brought down such economic misery on the people, cannot with good conscience, stand in front of the people with a straight face and say: Vote for us. To do what? To inflict more damage on the economy, on the people?
"It’s the economy, stupid".
Published on March 8, 2008
Barack Hussein Obama on Wednesday said he was not ready to change his style of campaigning just yet. "Look, they (the Hillary Clinton Campaign Team) have run a pretty negative campaign over the last couple of weeks. I have said consistently that we do things differently. It's worked for us so far and you know I’m not gonna do things that I'm not comfortable doing and I want to make sure that we stay focused on the issues".
Simba Makoni has had a similar approach and so far he has not changed it despite the indecent use of words by President Robert Mugabe.
Three events have been used to drive President Robert Mugabe’s candidature - the dubious ‘Million Men’ March; the ZANU PF extraordinary congress that used a wrong clause of the constitution for endorsement; and launch of a bankrupt manifesto, whose copies cannot even be readily available, because of the different strategic approach between the ruling party’s information and publicity department and that of government.
With so much pressure arising out of Dr. Simba Makoni’s declaration as an independent candidate, Mugabe’s campaign has resorted to insults and uses the usual chief scapegoat, Britain, to protect his position.
One wonders how, to ordinary person, would Britain be responsible for the shortage of basic commodities; endless power and water cuts; escalating of prices; endless strikes by teachers; doctors and nurses; shortage of medical supplies in hospitals; cash shortages; a high level of people choosing to become economic refugees in the neighbouring countries especially South Africa and Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and the shrinking of the industrial and commercial capacity; and low productivity in the farms after what they consider as a successful land reform.
For lack of depth in dealing with all these challenges created by bad and unsound economic policies, Mugabe and ZANU PF candidates and officials have resorted to sloganeering – especially the oft repeated slogan "Zimbabwe will never be a colony again", which was coined by Prof. Jonathan Moyo, the former Minister of Information and Publicity.
The ruling party has no functioning website nor a formalised campaign team except for the use of Elliot Manyika, a politburo member responsible for the Commissariat (akin to the Organising Secretary) and George Charamba, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Publicity and the President’s press secretary. Manyika is also a candidate for Bindura North in Mashonaland Central Province and all he could do well is to sing during rallies, arrogantly neglecting the campaigning required for his constituency.
Charamba, a civil servant, is alleged to be working full time for ZANU PF loosely organised campaign team with Caesar Zvayi, the political editor of the Herald newspaper and his subordinate, Mabasa Sasa, while being funded allegedly by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Gideon Gono. Zvayi and Sasa have been writing highly partisan articles attacking Simba Makoni or promoting the candidature of Robert Mugabe.
There have been secretive fundraising efforts by the ruling party’s department of finance and its Treasurer-General, David Karimanzira, was reported in the Herald newspaper that the party requires more than ZW$300 billion (US$8,571) for the elections. Given the shrinkage of the economy, local companies are hard pressed to donate anything, and thus one can only guess that its well wisher is the RBZ and China.
Just imagine during the electioneering there was no mentioning of Simba Makoni, Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC opposition party. All hypothesise if the Western countries that have disagreed with Mugabe are not also mentioned. Would there be any need of an election? Would there be anything left for ZANU PF and its candidates to say?
Even if Mugabe was a sole candidate, he stlll needed a popular endorsement in the election. What would he say if he had no opposing candidate?
If there are no insults to make, no donations of computers and sewing machines and promises not backed by funding aspects, to make that come only during election time, Mugabe would be a better candidate to dialogue with on his record.
A local economist was quoted by a weekly newspaper that eight years in a row of negative growth, for the ruling party it will be ‘vote us into power and we will finish you off’. He said no government, having brought down such economic misery on the people, cannot with good conscience, stand in front of the people with a straight face and say: Vote for us. To do what? To inflict more damage on the economy, on the people?
"It’s the economy, stupid".
ZANU PF is a Political Party Full of Liars and Hypocrites
By Levi Mhaka
Published on March 6, 2008
On Friday, February 29, 2008, Joseph Msika, the ZANU PF Vice President had no decent words for presidential aspirant Simba Makoni, just like his boss Robert Mugabe, who cannot present himself in a campaign without insulting rivals. Msika attacked Simba Makoni for having been associated with him in the media. In his attacks, Msika should have simply directed his anger to the media. One wonders why he would insult Simba Makoni as if Makoni owns the media in Zimbabwe or as if Makoni had made a statement associating himself with Msika.
Msika even went ahead by claiming that he was making the insults in the name of the ZANU PF political leadership of Matebeleland, especailly the National Chairman, John Nkomo and politburo member, Dumiso Dabengwa.
Proving that Msika was lying, the following day on Saturday, Dumiso Dabengwa disassociated himself from Joseph Msika's statement by publicly endorsing Simba Makoni. In his public endorsement, he was joined by a highly respected lawyer and former Speaker of Parliament, Cyril Ndebele.
In his first public statement since Simba Makoni declared himself a presidential candidate, Dabengwa revealed that there has been a general desire in ZANU PF to have President Robert Mugabe take a rest by not having him re-run. This was after an exchange of views between Dabengwa and Patrick Chinamasa, the incumbent Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Ironically, Chinamasa is part of the architects of Mugabe's ZANU PF candidature in the re-election.
On Sunday, the State-owned newspapers had no kind words for Dumiso Dabengwa through the statements of Zanu-PF secretary for education in the Poliburo and also Minister of Information and Publicity, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu; a civil servant who is the permanent secretary in Ndlovu's ministry, George Charamba; Bulawayo Metropolitan provincial Governor, Cde Cain Mathema and Zanu-PF secretary for administration, Cde Dydmus Mutasa.
Dabengwa, said although he wanted a change of leadership he however, respected President Robert Mugabe for the role he played both during the liberation struggle and after independence.
These Zanu-PF luminaries not heavyweights as suggested by the State-owned newspapers, condemned Dabengwa for supporting Dr Simba Makoni's contest as a presidential candidate as if the position is a preserve of Robert Mugabe.Charamba said: "What is Dabengwa worth by way of supporters? He brought none to Zanu-PF, he takes none to the independent. The people of Nkulumane had long rejected him anyway."
This loudly applies to Cain Mathema and Ndlovu, who have been always mere Mugabe appointees who have no grassroots constituencies. Charamba must be reminded that ZANU PF lost majority of legislative (house of assembly and senate) and local authorities seats in the three provinces of Matebeleland - Bulawayo, Matebeleland South and Matebeleland North. Its fair game for Makoni!Mathema then attacked Dabengwa for being a tribalist. If he is a tribalist, why would he work with a Shona, Simba Makoni?
Mathema also made serious allegations insinuating that Dabengwa was sell-out and an agent of the Smith regime just because he has made a democratic choice to support another candidate other than Mugabe. Dabengwa can successfully sue for defamation.
Mathema, whose wife lost the Tsholostho parliamentary seat to an independent and former minister of information and publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyo, said: "They have been in the Politburo for a long time and why did they not raise those issues they say are dirty? They are irresponsible reactionaries. They have been ministers and what did they do for the people? Let them show us what they did. They are the people who have been telling the people that the Government has done nothing for the people of Matabeleland."
This allegation by Mathema must be directed to Matebeleland senior politicians other than Dabengwa only - the late Joshua Nkomo, Joseph Msika and John Nkomo. Apart from Kembo Mohadi, the minister of Home Affairs; Abednigo Ncube, the Deputy Minister of Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; and and Andrew Langa, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, all the ministers, deputy ministers and senior ZANU PF officials from the three provinces of Matebeleland lost their parliamentary seats to MDC. They were only saved by the Mugabe's patronage of appointing non-constituency MPs. They were appointed to "preserve" the ZANU PF Unity Accord without electoral support in thir chosen constituencies.
Is it not intiguing that Joseph Msika, John Nkomo, Cain Mathema are arrogant to be embrassed to lose that they are not contesting the election? they are epecting Mugabe to protect their political careers under the remaining appointed positions of the Constitutional Amendment No. 18.
What did Ndlovu as minister and Mathema as a governor, achieve, respectively? Are they not beneficiaries of Mugabe's patronage? Mathema was appointed to frustrate, take any credit from and overshadow the Bulawayo mayor, Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, because he won on an MDC ticket.
Didymus Mutasa said Dabengwa and Dr Makoni were not qualified to discredit the land reform programme and talk about multiple farm ownership."It's nonsense for them to talk about the multiple farm ownership. I am the Minister of Lands, (Land Reform and Resettlement) and what they are saying is rubbish. They should tell me the cases of multiple ownership and I will deal with them. They are just parroting what other people have been saying," he said.
There has been endless land audits Flora Buka, Charles Utete and many others numbering more than four under Mutasa. The issue of multiple farm ownership has been a thorny one. Mugabe has expressed anger about it. His public statements as reported by the State-owned newspapers can be extracted. Land audits have been carried and reports not published. They were meant to inform the nation about farm ownership patterns following the land redistribution exercise, the level of productivity, etc.
Didymus Mutasa delivered an undated 2007 speech (http://www.lands.gov.zw /speeches/speech%20by%20mutasa .html) in which he said "I am also presented with an opportunity to set the record straight on claims from some quarters that Government is engaged in endless land audits. Those who go to sea with such allegations should know that an audit in any organization is not a once off function but a continuous process to establish what is going on and what corrective measures need to be taken to ensure that implementation is on course. The land audits we are undertaking are no different from financial or organizational audits carried out in the private or public sector. Through the land audits Government will obtain vital data and information on a number of key issues such as plot take-up rates, land allocations to various categories, levels of land utilization and productivity, challenges facing the new farmers etc. It does not require a rocket scientist to grasp the importance of such data and information in land management. Let me advise the nation as I have done before through the press that land audits for both A1 and A2 resettlement programmes will be a continuous exercise to enable us to obtain up-to-date data to effectively manage the land reform programme."
On July 15, 15 2004, the Financial Gazette business newspaper reported: "According to the latest confidential report compiled by Special Affairs Minister John Nkomo's Land Reform Committee, business people connected to ZANU PF have also joined the land reform gravy train, amassing several farms, some measuring 2 000 hectares each. In total, the committee reports, 329 people had multiple farms measuring 55 513 688 hectares. These have continued to cling firmly to several lucrative properties in a clear rebuff to President Mugabe's official one-man-one-farm policy. Reads part of the report: "A total of 329 people have multiple farms measuring 55 513 668 hectares. In excess of 45 000 hectares of land were recovered during this exercise but there continues to be some resistance from high-ranking members of the ruling party and senior government officials to surrender the land. "This resistance and the clandestine manoeuvres have a combined effect of maintaining the status quo on the ground as regards the issue of multiple farm ownership."
"According to the latest audit, there are 249 473 landless people on the Model A1 scheme waiting list and 99 971 on the A2 list.
"The report says double allocations riddled both schemes as the Agriculture Ministry, headed by Joseph Made, then had no computerised data on land parcelled out to beneficiaries.
"President Mugabe has on several occasions pleaded with his Cabinet and other ZANU PF supporters with extra farms to surrender the properties for possible redistribution to deserving landless blacks. It is however important to note that just like two other government-sanctioned audits of the land reform exercise, the latest report is silent on the identities of the 329 people with multiple farms.
"Political commentators this week however expressed fears that the figure of 329 multiple farm owners being provided by the land audit report could be an understatement as a majority of party "chefs" used proxies in registering the properties. They said the government's inaction over the sensitive issue could suggest that there were powerful politicians caught up in the net whom President Mugabe was wary of upsetting by sanctioning their prosecution. "
ZANU PF is a political party full of liars and hypocrites that is desperate. Mugabe and those who have no source of income other than through his continued stay, cannot decently respond to Makoni vision of a sensible and economically-sound Pan-African and nationalist renewal without isolating ourselves from the world. All they do is deliver insults through the public media and use uncouth and negative militaristic language to describe a fellow Zimbabwean!
No day passes without Simba Makoni this, Simba Makoni that, yet we do not even know why ZANU PF candidates deserve anyone's attention under the current difficult economic circumstances
Published on March 6, 2008
On Friday, February 29, 2008, Joseph Msika, the ZANU PF Vice President had no decent words for presidential aspirant Simba Makoni, just like his boss Robert Mugabe, who cannot present himself in a campaign without insulting rivals. Msika attacked Simba Makoni for having been associated with him in the media. In his attacks, Msika should have simply directed his anger to the media. One wonders why he would insult Simba Makoni as if Makoni owns the media in Zimbabwe or as if Makoni had made a statement associating himself with Msika.
Msika even went ahead by claiming that he was making the insults in the name of the ZANU PF political leadership of Matebeleland, especailly the National Chairman, John Nkomo and politburo member, Dumiso Dabengwa.
Proving that Msika was lying, the following day on Saturday, Dumiso Dabengwa disassociated himself from Joseph Msika's statement by publicly endorsing Simba Makoni. In his public endorsement, he was joined by a highly respected lawyer and former Speaker of Parliament, Cyril Ndebele.
In his first public statement since Simba Makoni declared himself a presidential candidate, Dabengwa revealed that there has been a general desire in ZANU PF to have President Robert Mugabe take a rest by not having him re-run. This was after an exchange of views between Dabengwa and Patrick Chinamasa, the incumbent Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Ironically, Chinamasa is part of the architects of Mugabe's ZANU PF candidature in the re-election.
On Sunday, the State-owned newspapers had no kind words for Dumiso Dabengwa through the statements of Zanu-PF secretary for education in the Poliburo and also Minister of Information and Publicity, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu; a civil servant who is the permanent secretary in Ndlovu's ministry, George Charamba; Bulawayo Metropolitan provincial Governor, Cde Cain Mathema and Zanu-PF secretary for administration, Cde Dydmus Mutasa.
Dabengwa, said although he wanted a change of leadership he however, respected President Robert Mugabe for the role he played both during the liberation struggle and after independence.
These Zanu-PF luminaries not heavyweights as suggested by the State-owned newspapers, condemned Dabengwa for supporting Dr Simba Makoni's contest as a presidential candidate as if the position is a preserve of Robert Mugabe.Charamba said: "What is Dabengwa worth by way of supporters? He brought none to Zanu-PF, he takes none to the independent. The people of Nkulumane had long rejected him anyway."
This loudly applies to Cain Mathema and Ndlovu, who have been always mere Mugabe appointees who have no grassroots constituencies. Charamba must be reminded that ZANU PF lost majority of legislative (house of assembly and senate) and local authorities seats in the three provinces of Matebeleland - Bulawayo, Matebeleland South and Matebeleland North. Its fair game for Makoni!Mathema then attacked Dabengwa for being a tribalist. If he is a tribalist, why would he work with a Shona, Simba Makoni?
Mathema also made serious allegations insinuating that Dabengwa was sell-out and an agent of the Smith regime just because he has made a democratic choice to support another candidate other than Mugabe. Dabengwa can successfully sue for defamation.
Mathema, whose wife lost the Tsholostho parliamentary seat to an independent and former minister of information and publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyo, said: "They have been in the Politburo for a long time and why did they not raise those issues they say are dirty? They are irresponsible reactionaries. They have been ministers and what did they do for the people? Let them show us what they did. They are the people who have been telling the people that the Government has done nothing for the people of Matabeleland."
This allegation by Mathema must be directed to Matebeleland senior politicians other than Dabengwa only - the late Joshua Nkomo, Joseph Msika and John Nkomo. Apart from Kembo Mohadi, the minister of Home Affairs; Abednigo Ncube, the Deputy Minister of Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; and and Andrew Langa, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, all the ministers, deputy ministers and senior ZANU PF officials from the three provinces of Matebeleland lost their parliamentary seats to MDC. They were only saved by the Mugabe's patronage of appointing non-constituency MPs. They were appointed to "preserve" the ZANU PF Unity Accord without electoral support in thir chosen constituencies.
Is it not intiguing that Joseph Msika, John Nkomo, Cain Mathema are arrogant to be embrassed to lose that they are not contesting the election? they are epecting Mugabe to protect their political careers under the remaining appointed positions of the Constitutional Amendment No. 18.
What did Ndlovu as minister and Mathema as a governor, achieve, respectively? Are they not beneficiaries of Mugabe's patronage? Mathema was appointed to frustrate, take any credit from and overshadow the Bulawayo mayor, Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, because he won on an MDC ticket.
Didymus Mutasa said Dabengwa and Dr Makoni were not qualified to discredit the land reform programme and talk about multiple farm ownership."It's nonsense for them to talk about the multiple farm ownership. I am the Minister of Lands, (Land Reform and Resettlement) and what they are saying is rubbish. They should tell me the cases of multiple ownership and I will deal with them. They are just parroting what other people have been saying," he said.
There has been endless land audits Flora Buka, Charles Utete and many others numbering more than four under Mutasa. The issue of multiple farm ownership has been a thorny one. Mugabe has expressed anger about it. His public statements as reported by the State-owned newspapers can be extracted. Land audits have been carried and reports not published. They were meant to inform the nation about farm ownership patterns following the land redistribution exercise, the level of productivity, etc.
Didymus Mutasa delivered an undated 2007 speech (http://www.lands.gov.zw /speeches/speech%20by%20mutasa .html) in which he said "I am also presented with an opportunity to set the record straight on claims from some quarters that Government is engaged in endless land audits. Those who go to sea with such allegations should know that an audit in any organization is not a once off function but a continuous process to establish what is going on and what corrective measures need to be taken to ensure that implementation is on course. The land audits we are undertaking are no different from financial or organizational audits carried out in the private or public sector. Through the land audits Government will obtain vital data and information on a number of key issues such as plot take-up rates, land allocations to various categories, levels of land utilization and productivity, challenges facing the new farmers etc. It does not require a rocket scientist to grasp the importance of such data and information in land management. Let me advise the nation as I have done before through the press that land audits for both A1 and A2 resettlement programmes will be a continuous exercise to enable us to obtain up-to-date data to effectively manage the land reform programme."
On July 15, 15 2004, the Financial Gazette business newspaper reported: "According to the latest confidential report compiled by Special Affairs Minister John Nkomo's Land Reform Committee, business people connected to ZANU PF have also joined the land reform gravy train, amassing several farms, some measuring 2 000 hectares each. In total, the committee reports, 329 people had multiple farms measuring 55 513 688 hectares. These have continued to cling firmly to several lucrative properties in a clear rebuff to President Mugabe's official one-man-one-farm policy. Reads part of the report: "A total of 329 people have multiple farms measuring 55 513 668 hectares. In excess of 45 000 hectares of land were recovered during this exercise but there continues to be some resistance from high-ranking members of the ruling party and senior government officials to surrender the land. "This resistance and the clandestine manoeuvres have a combined effect of maintaining the status quo on the ground as regards the issue of multiple farm ownership."
"According to the latest audit, there are 249 473 landless people on the Model A1 scheme waiting list and 99 971 on the A2 list.
"The report says double allocations riddled both schemes as the Agriculture Ministry, headed by Joseph Made, then had no computerised data on land parcelled out to beneficiaries.
"President Mugabe has on several occasions pleaded with his Cabinet and other ZANU PF supporters with extra farms to surrender the properties for possible redistribution to deserving landless blacks. It is however important to note that just like two other government-sanctioned audits of the land reform exercise, the latest report is silent on the identities of the 329 people with multiple farms.
"Political commentators this week however expressed fears that the figure of 329 multiple farm owners being provided by the land audit report could be an understatement as a majority of party "chefs" used proxies in registering the properties. They said the government's inaction over the sensitive issue could suggest that there were powerful politicians caught up in the net whom President Mugabe was wary of upsetting by sanctioning their prosecution. "
ZANU PF is a political party full of liars and hypocrites that is desperate. Mugabe and those who have no source of income other than through his continued stay, cannot decently respond to Makoni vision of a sensible and economically-sound Pan-African and nationalist renewal without isolating ourselves from the world. All they do is deliver insults through the public media and use uncouth and negative militaristic language to describe a fellow Zimbabwean!
No day passes without Simba Makoni this, Simba Makoni that, yet we do not even know why ZANU PF candidates deserve anyone's attention under the current difficult economic circumstances
The Bankruptcy of Mugabe's Electoral Campaign
By Levi Mhaka
Published on March 5, 2008
A political campaign is an organized effort which to influence the decision making process within a specific group.
Any political campaign is made up of three elements i.e. the message, money, and machine. The message is a concise statement saying why voters should pick a candidate. Fundraising techniques include having the candidate call or meet with large donors, sending direct mail pleas to small donors, and courting interest groups who could end up spending millions on the race if it is significant to their interests. Finally, 'machine' represents human capital, the foot soldiers loyal to the cause, the true believers who will carry the run by volunteer activists. Successful campaigns usually require a campaign manager and some staff members who make strategic and tactical decisions while volunteers and interns canvass door-to-door and make phone calls. Large modern campaigns use all three of the above components to create a successful strategy for victory.
On February 21, 2008, President Robert Mugabe had a birthday interview on ZTV. Among the questions asked by the interviewer was "Why should I vote for you". The very long answer he gave was not good enough to convince his supporters. He then made tasteless, uncouth and vulgar remarks about Simba Makoni. Robert Mugabe is supposedly a family man and statesman for that matter.
Since then, he has been insulting other candidates. If he was a man competing for a woman or a marketer competing for customers he would have failed dismally. ZANU PF has been running full page colour adverts in the newspapers under the Zimpapers stable full of insults, personal attacks and negatives because the party knows that it has a dismal record. Everyday, the Herald and its sister newspapers publish stories quoting some ZANU PF luminaries to make personal attacks on Simba Makoni as if Simba is competing with Robert Mugabe for his wife's (Grace Mugabe) attention. Is Zimbabwe a personal possession?
After Robert Mugabe, the candidate, participated in the liberation struggle against colonialism, led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, 'delivered' land to the people and is now aged 84, what more does he want to deliver? What more can he do when he is past the retirement age by 19 years and will be 89 at the end of his term?
You wonder why his message is not about renewal or fixing the economy. It lacks a proper understanding of the economic challenges faced by the country. Basic commodities shortages, escalating of prices on a weekly basis, unemployment due to the shrinking economy that has led companies to operate unprofitably, reduce productivity and are now shedding off labour or paying uneconomic salaries, and unbelievably a high number of economic refugees in South Africa, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Ironically, as result the South African industry and commerce has benefited considerably from our man-made economic woes.
The questions is "Why should it be just him to lead this country?" ZANU PF's message is that of during the liberation struggle against colonialism. The presidential candidate of the ruling party has not trasformed itself to deal withe post-colonial challenges.
He lacks a culture of selling the message as a marketer. He does even think of himself as a person at the same level with fellow candidates. He is so arrogant!
Mutumwa Mawere wrote "Citizens are understandably angry at the state of the nation and instead of locating the blame at the leader; the tendency has been to blame the party. President Mugabe's world view of politics and the economy has not changed since the liberation struggle and it is evident that nothing will change his philosophy to suggest that Zimbabwe will be visited by a brighter day under his extended stewardship."
The language being used ZANU PF and its presidential candidate is a clear indication of dirty tactics being used against opposing candidates away from the glare of the media and public attention.
Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans deserves better than this dishonourable political behaviour and crassness i.e. so crude and unrefined as to be lacking in discrimination and sensibility.
Published on March 5, 2008
A political campaign is an organized effort which to influence the decision making process within a specific group.
Any political campaign is made up of three elements i.e. the message, money, and machine. The message is a concise statement saying why voters should pick a candidate. Fundraising techniques include having the candidate call or meet with large donors, sending direct mail pleas to small donors, and courting interest groups who could end up spending millions on the race if it is significant to their interests. Finally, 'machine' represents human capital, the foot soldiers loyal to the cause, the true believers who will carry the run by volunteer activists. Successful campaigns usually require a campaign manager and some staff members who make strategic and tactical decisions while volunteers and interns canvass door-to-door and make phone calls. Large modern campaigns use all three of the above components to create a successful strategy for victory.
On February 21, 2008, President Robert Mugabe had a birthday interview on ZTV. Among the questions asked by the interviewer was "Why should I vote for you". The very long answer he gave was not good enough to convince his supporters. He then made tasteless, uncouth and vulgar remarks about Simba Makoni. Robert Mugabe is supposedly a family man and statesman for that matter.
Since then, he has been insulting other candidates. If he was a man competing for a woman or a marketer competing for customers he would have failed dismally. ZANU PF has been running full page colour adverts in the newspapers under the Zimpapers stable full of insults, personal attacks and negatives because the party knows that it has a dismal record. Everyday, the Herald and its sister newspapers publish stories quoting some ZANU PF luminaries to make personal attacks on Simba Makoni as if Simba is competing with Robert Mugabe for his wife's (Grace Mugabe) attention. Is Zimbabwe a personal possession?
After Robert Mugabe, the candidate, participated in the liberation struggle against colonialism, led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, 'delivered' land to the people and is now aged 84, what more does he want to deliver? What more can he do when he is past the retirement age by 19 years and will be 89 at the end of his term?
You wonder why his message is not about renewal or fixing the economy. It lacks a proper understanding of the economic challenges faced by the country. Basic commodities shortages, escalating of prices on a weekly basis, unemployment due to the shrinking economy that has led companies to operate unprofitably, reduce productivity and are now shedding off labour or paying uneconomic salaries, and unbelievably a high number of economic refugees in South Africa, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Ironically, as result the South African industry and commerce has benefited considerably from our man-made economic woes.
The questions is "Why should it be just him to lead this country?" ZANU PF's message is that of during the liberation struggle against colonialism. The presidential candidate of the ruling party has not trasformed itself to deal withe post-colonial challenges.
He lacks a culture of selling the message as a marketer. He does even think of himself as a person at the same level with fellow candidates. He is so arrogant!
Mutumwa Mawere wrote "Citizens are understandably angry at the state of the nation and instead of locating the blame at the leader; the tendency has been to blame the party. President Mugabe's world view of politics and the economy has not changed since the liberation struggle and it is evident that nothing will change his philosophy to suggest that Zimbabwe will be visited by a brighter day under his extended stewardship."
The language being used ZANU PF and its presidential candidate is a clear indication of dirty tactics being used against opposing candidates away from the glare of the media and public attention.
Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans deserves better than this dishonourable political behaviour and crassness i.e. so crude and unrefined as to be lacking in discrimination and sensibility.
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