Attorney-general Johannes Tomana reasserted his legitimacy as the government’s top prosecutor when he responded to criticism from Finance Minister Tendai Biti and Minister of Information Communications Technology Nelson Chamisa who accused him of being “divisive” for refusing to release the passport of Movement for Democratic Change treasurer Roy Bennett.
Tomana was appointed by President Robert Mugabe without consultation with Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara as called for by the Global Political Agreement.
His appointment and that of central bank governor Gideon Gono are some of the sticking points in the GPA which is threatening the inclusive government.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE613, ZIM NOTES 07-24-2009
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
|
Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO8245
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0613/01 2080709
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270709Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4755
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2358
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2957
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3074
RUEHRL/AMEMASSY BERLIN 1503
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2337
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2704
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3122
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5565
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2252
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000613
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND J. HARMON
COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN
SIPDIS
E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM ECON ZI
SUBJECT: ZIM NOTES 07-24-2009
HARARE 00000613 001.2 OF 003
———–
¶1. SUMMARY
———–
Topics of the week:
– Launch of Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation, and
Integration…
– Senate Passes Biti’s Budget…
– MDC Gets Ambassadors…
– Zaka North MP Convicted…
– Civil Servants Get 50% Raise…
– Foul Play in Death of Manicaland MP?
– AG Tomana Refuses to Budge…
– Zimbabwe: Still Failing…
– Month-on-Month Inflation Rises in June…
– Demutualization of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) Begins…
– Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) Repairs Dragline…
– Zimbabwe-South Africa Investment Agreement Soon…
—————————–
On the Political/Social Front
——————————
¶2. Launch of Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation, and
Integration… President Mugabe, Vice-President Tsvangirai, and
Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara, representing their respective
parties, addressed the initial public meeting of the Organ which was
called for by the Global Political Agreement. The launch is
intended to mark the beginning of three days dedicated to national
healing as well as a longer process. Civil society organizations
boycotted the event as they continue to call for an independent body
to investigate human rights abuses and reparations for victims.
¶3. Senate Passes Biti’s Budget… The Senate passed the Finance
and Appropriations Bills, giving legal credence to Finance Minister
Tendai Biti’s budget presented last week. The new bills eliminated
the duty on basic commodities, which will hopefully increase
production, and raised taxes on tobacco, beer, and wine. In
addition, the bills scrapped duties on imported newspapers,
telephones, computers, and printers. Econet wireless has already
announced reduced cellphone prices reflecting the elimination of the
import duty.
¶4. MDC Gets Ambassadors… Hebson Makuvise, who has been named as
one of five new MDC ambassadors, paid a courtesy call on the Charg
on Thursday. A childhood friend of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, Makuvise went into exile in London in 2001 and
represented the MDC in the UK and with Europe. He returned to
Zimbabwe for the first time the day before Tsvangirai’s February
inauguration and was interrogated at the airport for five hours
before being released. Makuvise will be posted to Germany. MDC-T
will also have ambassadorships in Australia, Sudan, and Nigeria;
MDC-M’s sole ambassadorship will be in Senegal. Makuvise also
confirmed that new governors will assume office on September 1.
¶5. Zaka North MP Convicted… Ernest Mudavanhu (MDC-T) was
convicted on July 21 for abusing subsidized farming inputs. Harare
magistrate Olivia Mariga sentenced him to two years in prison, with
six months suspended for good behavior. Mudavanhu filed an appeal
on Thursday. He is the fifth MDC MP convicted of a crime in recent
months. This conviction is the latest in an apparent effort to pick
off MDC members of parliament in preparation for possible
Qoff MDC members of parliament in preparation for possible
by-elections that could increase ZANU-PF’s numbers in parliament.
¶6. Civil Servants Get 50% Raise… Public Service Minister Eliphas
Mukonoweshuro (MDC-T) announced this week that civil servants, who
had threatened to strike over low wages, will now receive monthly
pay averaging US$150, up from the US$100 they have been receiving
since February. They will also again receive health insurance.
HARARE 00000613 002.2 OF 003
Reactions are mixed, with many civil servants and union leaders
continuing to clamor for higher wages.
¶7. Foul Play in Death of Manicaland MP? ZANU-PF’s MP for Mutare
North, Charles Pemhenayi, was buried this week after dying in a car
accident on a rural road in mountainous Nyanga on July 17. After
initially asserting that foul play was not suspected, police now
report that a car sped away when police first arrived on the
accident scene to investigate the deadly crash. The MP’s wife and
son suffered minor injuries in a separate car accident on Tuesday on
their way to Pemhenayi’s funeral.
¶8. AG Tomana Refuses to Budge… In an interview this week,
Attorney General Johannes Tomana reasserted the legitimacy of his
appointment as the government’s top prosecutor. He made the
statements responding to criticism from Finance Minister Tendai Biti
and Minister of Information Communication Technology Nelson Chamisa
who accused Tomana of being “divisive” for refusing to release the
passport of MDC treasurer Roy Bennett. Tomana was appointed by
President Robert Mugabe without consultation with Morgan Tsvangirai
and Arthur Mutambara as called for by the Global Political
Agreement; his presence in the government continues to be a point of
contention with the MDC.
¶9. Zimbabwe: Still Failing… In its annual ranking of failed
states, Foreign Policy Magazine placed Zimbabwe second, just after
Somalia. Zim scored perfect 10s for Human Flight and Economic
Decline. The full list is at: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/
articles/2009/06/22/2009_failed_states_
index_interactive_map_and_rankings.
———————————–
On the Economic and Business Front
———————————-
¶10. Month-on-Month Inflation Rises in June… Following five
months of deflation since January 2009, the country recorded a
month-on-month inflation of 0.6 percent in June primarily due to a
rapid increase in prices of non-food products which rose by 1.45
percent. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages actually fell
by 1.26 percent in June compared to a decline of just 0.84 percent
in May 2009.
¶11. Demutualization of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) Begins…
Following the Finance Minister’s mid-year fiscal policy review
statement on the demutualization of the ZSE, the Chief Executive
Officer of the bourse is now busy producing a document outlining the
processes to be followed in forming a company. He believes that the
ZSE will be demutualized by end of August 2009, thereby unlocking
value by allowing more shareholders to invest on the local bourse.
¶12. Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) Repairs Dragline…
According to a report in the Herald (July 23, 2009), HCCL has
finished some interim repairs to its dragline but more work still
needs to be done to the supporting equipment used together with the
dragline in coal mining. All repair works are expected to be
completed by the third week of August, paving the way for increased
Qcompleted by the third week of August, paving the way for increased
coal output at the company.
¶13. Zimbabwe-South Afric Investment Agreement Soon… At a
breakfast seminar organized by business to discuss the fiscal review
statement, the Minister of Finance assured stakeholders that the
long-awaited Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement with South
Africa would be concluded within a few weeks. Failure to conclude
the agreement has been blamed for the low take-up of investment
opportunities in Zimbabwe by South African businesses who expressed
concern over guarantees on security of investments during a visit in
April 2009.
—————–
HARARE 00000613 003.2 OF 003
Quote of the Week
—————–
¶14. “We are slowly liberating ourselves from the era of economic
fascism and economic hedonism……… We have a duty to rise above
the mediocrity of subjectivities and the sterility of conflict. We
have a duty to ignore the long sulk of godfathers. Zimbabwe is too
valuable a dream to be squandered.” — Finance Minister Tendai Biti,
delivering his mid-term budget statement.
DHANANI
(22 VIEWS)
