I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Eddie Cross. Much of the time I find his optimism entirely frustrating. However this week he lays bare the litany of abuse that Zimbabwe is experiencing courtesy of Mugabe and his cabal and reminds us that “what we need is not power sharing – that is the least of our worries, its simply a government that will work and start to get the country stable and onto the pathway to recovery.” Read Eddie’s article below . . .

All the debates taking place regarding the SADC sponsored talks to bring about an agreement to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe center on the issue of political power. In fact that may be the most important issue to some, but its not the main issue at all. The main point of the talks is to secure a workable solution to our economic, political and social crisis.

The basic facts that underlie the crisis is that we have a military Junta running the country that cannot be overthrown by violence or armed insurrection, the political leadership has lost control of the State to this Junta and is now totally discredited, was in fact defeated at the last election but refuses to leave office, spurred on by the Junta.

The regime has totally mismanaged the economy and now it teeters on the edge of disintegration and collapse. This morning the RTGS rate for the local currency was hovering about 5000 to 1USD. This dramatic collapse in a few days points to a number of other forces at work – the flight of capital, the reckless creation of money by the Reserve Bank and the severe shortage of cash with which to make daily transactions.

The collapse of the dollar by 700 per cent since the new currency was issued a month ago, means that while there might have been enough cash to meet needs at that time, the availability of cash notes has simply been decimated by inflation – I would guess that we probably only have the equivalent of US$5 million in cash in circulation in new notes – a drop in the ocean when we probably need US$3 billion. When you think that the new currency cost us Euro 35 million to print – now it has a face value of only US$5 million and next week probably half that again.

Our economy is literally teetering on the edge of collapse – the major retail stores are empty and unable to finance their operations. Parastatals cannot pay their staff let alone other costs. The urban councils are without fuel, chemicals, spares and tyres for vehicles. Their administrations are no longer able to produce accounts or manage their finances. The basic needs of life are not available or unaffordable – the great majority of the population is seriously considering flight to the nearest country they can go to under any conditions.

The government must be in dire straights – they can create money by simply passing credits from the Reserve Bank to local financial institutions that will then pay out salaries to the civil service and the armed forces – if they can get in the door of a bank and then along a queue perhaps 500 to a
1000 people long. When they get there they are paid out in small amounts
(maximum Z$500 worth US10 cents today) and in coins, old bank notes and bearer bonds.

The parallel market – always an immediate and accurate indicator of real market conditions will no longer accept the old currencies for their deals – only the new notes and these are now as scarce as hen’s teeth. In December the regime is committed to withdrawing the old notes from circulation – and then what? No wonder Gono wants to retire when his contract comes up for renewal in November.

And then there is the social and humanitarian crisis. Half our population has no food and no means of earning a living. They must be given their entire requirements for survival. Our hospitals and clinics are run down and dirty, they have no drugs and no blankets and few staff. If you are admitted to a State run facility you must provide everything you need, even food and any medical supplies you might require.

Our State run schools have just opened – 70 000 teachers short of their establishment. Hostels have no food, students no books or writing materials. Teachers cannot even pay for transport to school. Buildings are dilapidated and in most school rooms there are no lights. Children come to school hungry and cannot study because they simply do not get enough food at home.

I was at a meeting of our City Council yesterday – the head of the Cities medical services told us she couldn’t dig graves fast enough to bury the dead. She said they could not get labour to clean the streets or handle waste or dig graves. This situation is repeated across the whole country – the City Engineer said they have 4 days chlorine left in stock, after that, we drink unpurified water, 1,3 million people at risk.

We have the shortest life expectancy in the world, the highest ratio of orphans to population in the world, staggering infant and maternal mortality rates. In a country where we once had one of the fastest growing populations in the world – our death rates from all causes is now so high that our population is shrinking rapidly. In line with this, our economy has also shrunk – every year since 1998 and will decline again this year by at least 10 per cent.

So what we need is not power sharing – that is the least of our worries, its simply a government that will work and start to get the country stable and onto the pathway to recovery. For that we need the following: -

A return to a democratic government that is accountable to the people.

New leadership that is honest, capable and caring.

A government team that will work together and put the country first.

A basic agreement to bring about these conditions that is acceptable to our development partners who are essential to the stabilisation and recovery process.

Today the SADC leadership is in Lusaka at the funeral of the late President of Zambia. Mbeki will almost certainly use this occasion to get a consensus on what is the next step in the SADC/Zimbabwe process. He then travels to Harare to hold talks with the three principals and will try to get agreement on a final deal. Any agreement that does not meet the simple criteria listed above will simply not work. It will not be worth the paper it is written on. Mbeki must know this; it may not be acceptable to the Mugabe group or to Mutambara but it is the only way forward.

During the run-off election campaigning period in Zimbabwe, a Zanu PF politician addressing a rally in the country told the gathering of elderly people and school children that a pen cannot simply remove the government or Uncle Bob from State House. The threat of violence was heavy in his voice.

Then on July 21, 2008 the Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Principals.

The Parties involved in the signing were Zanu PF, the two MDC formations led by Morgan Tsvangirai and by Arthur Mutambara respectively.

However as I commute to and from work people are wondering what really is going on behind the scenes since there’s no publicity on what it is about these talks about talks except when they are deadlocked and will resume again on such and such a day. Crazy.

What surprises most is that the very pen that was once accused of not being able to make things better in Zimbabwe is now being used by Zanu PF for the signing. More so, the so-called talks are deadlocked because of one ‘Principal’s’ signature not being there.

As Zimbabweans we are so confused by this MoU.  Whether its still the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ or the MoM, the ‘Memorandum of Misunderstanding’.

I am worried. I am worried that, caught up in the throes of the fight for power sharing, we will compromise the principle of justice and reparations. I am worried that we will turn the real deaths, torture and dismemberment of real people into mere statistics to be read out on Heroes Day for years to come. I am worried that the real stories of real 74 year old men in Gokwe whose limbs have been broken, by design, for daring to father children who grew up to be opposition activists, will disappear; that the stories of real grandmothers who have succumbed to injuries from real beating by real hordes of real youths sent by a real political machinery to spread fear and rob people of their dignity will be but a distant memory.

I am worried that we will achieve peace but not justice. I am worried that weary of all this crap, we are now preparing to favour expediency over conviction. I look at the Simon Wiesental Centre that has given some measure of justice to the Jewish people. I look at the truth and reconciliation commission of South Africa that has given some measure of closure to the people of South Africa and then I look at the struggle for “‘power sharing” in Zimbabwe and I worry.

How can you share power with the people who, by design, not in a civil war, but by cold, calculated planning terrorised an entire nation just because they lost an election? What manner of pragmatism is this that achieves results for an elite and leaves gaping wounds seared into the memories of thousands upon thousands of Zimbabwean citizens whose sole crime was to exercise their right to choose? Have the chosen ones taken this very real choice with very real consequences in vain?

Justice where art thou? Conviction, have you fled our hearts as we savour the prospect of wood paneled offices? Shall we pay for this later and start the cycle all over again? Who, in “this moment of controversy” shall remain true to what we stand for?

“Truth above power, nation above government!”

If all goes according to plan, the Members of Parliament who were elected in March will be sworn in today, and Parliament will open tomorrow. At five months after the fact, it’s tempting to think “finally,” with a sigh of relief that Zimbabwe’s legislature is kicking into gear at last.

But there’s the small problem of the 21 July Memorandum of Understanding, and this clause in particular:

The Parties shall not, during the subsistence of the Dialogue, take any decisions or measures that have a bearing on the agenda of the Dialogue, save by consensus. Such decisions or measures include, but are not limited to the convening of Parliament or the formation of a new government.

When we asked subscribers what they thought of Parliament opening this week, despite this provision in the MoU, many urged the MDC to boycott Parliament, abandon the talks, and go the route of civil disobedience. Others, however, were sceptical of this as a viable approach, and urged the MDC to go along with the opening of Parliament and let pressure mount on Mugabe from outside the country.

I’ve pasted below what Tsvangirai is being asked to concede to. As Prime Minister, Tsvangirai would be responsible for implementing the policies of a Cabinet he had not himself solely appointed. He and Mugabe would have to agree on the composition of Cabinet – and if they disagreed? It’s unclear how that deadlock would be broken. Tsvangirai would be able to recommend disciplinary measures – but not necessarily enact them. He could advise the President on appointments, but it would be Mugabe who made the final decision.

Would you sign?

Role of the Prime Minister

1. Cabinet is the organ of state that carries the principal responsibility of formulating and implementing the government policies agreed to in the Global Agreement. The Executive Authority of the Inclusive Government resides in the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
2. The Prime Minister is a member of Cabinet and its Deputy Chairperson. In that regard he carries the responsibility to oversee the formulation of policies by the Cabinet.
3. The Prime Minister must ensure that all the policies so formulated are implemented in accordance with the programme developed by the Ministries and agreed to in Cabinet.
4. In overseeing the implementation of the agreed policies, the Prime Minister must ensure that the state has sufficient resources and appropriate operational capacity to carry out its functions effectively. Accordingly, the Prime Minister will necessarily have to ensure that all state organs are geared towards the implementation of the policies of the inclusive government.
5. The President and the Prime Minister will agree on the allocation of Ministries between them for the purpose of day-to-day supervision.
6. The Prime Minister must ensure that the legislation necessary to enable government to carry out its functions is in place. In this regard, he carries the responsibility of conducting the business of Government in Parliament.
7. The Prime Minister also advises the President on key appointments the President is required to make under and in terms of the Constitution or any Act of Parliament.
8. The Prime Minister can make recommendations on such disciplinary measures as may be necessary
9. The Prime Minister shall serve as a member of the National Security Council and this will ensure his participation in deliberations on matters of national security and operations pertaining thereto.
10. As the work of the Inclusive Government evolves, the President or Cabinet may assign such additional functions as are necessary further to enhance the work of the inclusive government.
11. The Prime Minister shall report regularly to the President.

Rejoice Ngwenya shares with Kubatana his take on the power plays between Mutambara, Mugabe and Tsvangirayi. In the realm of big boy (or bully boy) politics in Zimbabwe, may the best man win . . .

I do not know as much of Ancient Roman war strategy as I do about Tshaka Zulu’s short stabbing spear and assegai tactics. However, my limited encounter with Prussian and Babylonian siege techniques in the biblical era reveals an amazing tendency for desperate citizens to turn on one another when vital life-support systems have been blockaded. It is human tendency that when the enemy is untouchable, expend one’s anger on the nearest object, even if the object is one’s friend.

Such is the dilemma in which Movement for Democratic Change [MDC] break-away formation leader Professor Arthur Mutambara is in.  For some reason or other, Zimbabwe’s opposition body politic is defined, or rather seen through a Morgan Tsvangirayi prism of excellence. Political integrity, continuity, courage, consistence and persistence can only receive a popular vote of confidence if it confines itself within the Tsvangirayi school of thought.

There are several reasons  for this paradox, one of which is that between 1998 and now, Tsvangirayi has been elevated to a symbol of resistance against Robert Mugabe’s tyrannical rule. Much like in Gene Healey’s “The Cult of the Presidency”, once gullible society sets on a dangerous path of hero worshiping, the leader himself begins to feel and act infallible. This is the curse of mankind. It becomes more dangerous when, like with Woodrow Wilson and Robert Mugabe, such authority assumes uncontrolled military adventurism.

The other is Mutambara’s routine frolic into the murky waters of demagoguery.  Come to think of it, politics is really more words than action. As a signal tune of differentiating himself from Tsvangirayi’s puppet-of-the-west tag, Mutambara has bent over backwards to show that he is a Pan Africanist who can define his own space without Western leverage. This has been necessary. The African Unity [AU] and Southern African Development Community [SADC] have of late assumed a mettle of credibility when it comes to resolution of the Zimbabwe crisis. Since they have been, for want of a better term, contaminated with Mugabe’s anti-imperialism euphoria, African leaders, especially Thabo Mbeki, have developed a soft spot for Mutambara, much to the chagrin of pro-Tsvangirayi extremists. Whether it is by coincidence or design, Mutambara’s anti-West demagoguery has now been interpreted as an extension of Mugabe’s symphony.

And so, at a time when Zimbabwe is about to deliver a political baby, she has, according to anti-Mugabe critics, come too early for MDC. Electronic tongues are wagging in Zimbabwe’s vibrant global websites, mostly against Mutambara who is seen as a spoiler. The vitriol is directed at the professor’s alignment with the rest of Africa – and Mugabe – that Tsvangirayi is asking for too much power. Those in Mutambara’s camp are at pains to remind the world that left to his own devices, Tsvangirayi routinely lapses into Wilsonian autocracy, the main reason why MDC split in the first place. They argue that the cult of leadership reigns supreme at Harvest House [MDC headquarters] where Tsvangirayi can never be seen to err, and if this attitude is brought forward to State House, it will mature into fully fledged national dictatorship.

The last reason is based on pure market politics. Everyone wants to be powerful and for Mutambara, the transition from student activism to national leadership has been swift, though, as some internet sites would want to portray, a short circuit, benefiting from what they term ‘self-cetred opportunism’. Yes, politics is about opportunism. Had Tsvangirayi not exploited an opportunity to be chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly Task Force Committee, he would still be wallowing in monotonous trade union politics. Mugabe himself displaced Joshua Nkomo as the leader of preferred choice in Zimbabwe’s guerrilla war. The fact that Mutambara has not been part of the mainstream struggle against Mugabe is as insignificant as the demand by the Joint Operations Command [JOC] that they will not salute Tsvangirayi because he lacks liberation war credentials. This world is cruel, you snooze, you loose. Tsvangirayi must accept that he is up against intelligent and skimming competition in Mutambara and Mugabe. May the best man, I mean, political baby survive!

Between 14-15 August, the Women’s Trust held a post-election review conference with the theme “Celebrating women’s leadership: Mapping our future.” Over 350 women and several men congregated at the Celebration Centre to share experiences and challenges from the Women Can Do It campaign. Another objective of the gathering was to develop a national strategy for women’s overall involvement in national structures of governance and in the view of ongoing talks, establish a united position concerning women’s expectations and what they would like to see in a new Zimbabwe. The post-election review also focused on the process of lessons learnt and celebrated this first ever successful campaign to empower women in national political processes.

Here are a few of the challenges faced by women candidates:

- Male candidates used political platforms to de-campaign women sometimes using derogatory remarks such as women who delve into politics have failed as wives.

- Lukewarm political party promotion and support of their women candidates. Often constituencies and wards were dictated for them and these were sometimes either the most inaccessible or the opposition stronghold they would obviously not win.

- Women found themselves pitted against opponents who had more financial resources – an aspect that greatly reduced their chances of success. Sometimes they could not afford to hire campaign vehicles or buy beasts with which to feed people at rallies.

- Women vigorously campaigned against other women from their opposition, an aspect that defeated the initial endeavour to empower women in politics, whatever their political dispensation.

- Partisan voter registration and education.

- Limited media exposure and difficulties in mobilizing especially in regard to enabling grassroots women to stand for office.

An overall view shows that violence and lack of resources remain the biggest hurdle women candidates faced.

The Women Can Do It campaign played a crucial but limited role in resource and material mobilization by providing fuel and campaign regalia among other things. The campaign also actively trained all parties’ candidates in public speaking, communication and leadership skills. It also campaigned vigorously at the national level for the recognition of women participants, an aspect that bolstered a lot of women to be emboldened enough to stand for office.

The resultant 14% representation of women in parliament can be directly attributed to the Women Can Do It campaign. As the representative from the MDC-T Women’s Assembly, Evelyn Masaiti put it, the campaign was an eye opener for a lot of women.

The conference challenged women who made it into office to represent the homeless, faceless ordinary citizen on the streets of Zimbabwe and not see this as an opportunity to amass wealth.

However while the few successful candidates indeed had something to celebrate, the majority of ordinary Zimbabwean women have nothing to celebrate. The violence surrounding the elections is still fresh in their minds and the ongoing talks keep hitting a brick wall making the future less and less certain.

A challenge went to the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Hon. Oppah Muchinguri to expand dialogue on the issue of rape and violations of women’s bodies that characterized the elections. There was general consensus that little or nothing is being done to bring justice for victims of this and other kinds of violence.