All the Wikileaks cables on Zimbabwe

901-Managing a business in Mugabe’s shadow

This was the title of a cable dispatched by United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell on 28 September 2004. But though he had talked to seven prominent Zimbabwean businessmen, the cable did not say much about how they were doing business except that they were pressing for balance of payment support.

902-Gono called Mugabe on speakerphone for CFU president

Central bank governor Gideon Gono, who was a long standing member of the Commercial Farmers Union, called President Robert Mugabe on his speakerphone so that he and CFU president Doug Taylor-Freeme could brainstorm with Mugabe the revival of the country’s agriculture.

903-Dabengwa, Lesabe knew Jonathan Moyo was finished in ZANU-PF

Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front politburo members from Matabeleland Dumiso Dabengwa and Tenjiwe Lesabe knew after the Tsholotsho debacle that Jonathan Moyo was finished in ZANU-PF.

904-MDC MPs admit support for party is more of opposition to ZANU-PF

Movement for Democratic Change Members of Parliament from Matabeleland- Moses Mzila-Ncube, Thokozani Khupe and Abednico Bhebhe- together with members of civil society told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell just before the 2005 parliamentary elections that the MDC was going to win in Matabeleland but added that support for the party stemmed primarily from opposition to the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front more than the appeal of any MDC platform.

905-Moyo stands as an independent and is fired from ZANU-PF

Defiant Information Minister Jonathan Moyo stood as an independent candidate for Tsholotsho after the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front said it had reserved the seat for a woman candidate and was immediately fired from the party and from cabinet.

906-How Zimbabwe implemented SADC guidelines on elections in 2005

The pre-election environment for the 2005 parliamentary elections was improved considerably over the run-ups to the parliamentary elections of 2000 or the presidential election of 2002, according to a cable by the United States embassy that has been released by Wikileaks.

907-MDC MPs on why Mugabe was more tolerant in 2005

President Robert Mugabe was more tolerant of the Movement for Democratic Change during the run-up to the 2005 elections because either he had a plan of ensuring that the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front would win without resorting to violence or he wanted the MDC to win because he had no clear successor.

908-Government more receptive to criticism from business than MDC

The government was more receptive to criticism from the business sector than from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change because the business sector was seen as apolitical, United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell said.

909-Why US was interested in Mutare

Mutare was an export hub to the United States according to figures that were given to United States embassy officials by the chief executives of three companies there.

910-Moyo says ZANU-PF is a party of tribalists with no direction

Former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front was a spent force. It was a party of tribalists with no direction.

911-Who is Auntie Blair?

President Robert Mugabe’s campaign against British Prime Minister Tony Blair- the anti-Blair campaign- was so ineffective that many rural constituents had started asking: “Just who is this Auntie Blair?” former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo told a visiting United States delegation.

912-Bulawayo mayor says MDC would win 70 seats “if it fails completely”

Bulawayo mayor Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube was so optimistic that the Movement for Democratic Change would sweep the 2005 elections that he said it would win at least 80 of the 120 seats nationally, or “70, if we fail completely”.

913-MDC robbed again

That was the general feeling as it emerged that the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, which was supposed to be in for a surprise in the 2005 parliamentary election, had garnered 59 percent of the vote and was heading for a two-thirds majority.

914-Gono optimistic about growth in 2005

Central bank governor Gideon Gono predicted that Zimbabwe’s economy which had been on the decline for nearly seven years would grow by 3.5 percent to 5 percent boosted by tobacco production which he said would grow by 150 percent.

915-Mobil battles with corrupt ministers and briefcase operators

Fuel companies including multinationals, ExxonMobil, were benefitting from the cheap money that was being provided by central bank governor Gideon Gono and were even making a profit though they had to battle with corrupt ministers and briefcase operators.

916-ZANU-PF surprises everyone including itself

The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front surprised everyone in the 2005 parliamentary elections including itself when it won 78 of the 120 contested seats garnering a two-thirds majority which enabled it to change even the country’s constitution.

917-Jokonya a breath of fresh air after Jonathan Moyo

New Information Minister Tichaona Jokonya was a breath of fresh air after his “clever but shrill and vitriolic predecessor” Jonathan Moyo, United States embassy officials said.

918-Mugabe, rumoured to be dead, opens parliament

President Robert Mugabe, who had been rumoured to be ill or dead, officially opened Parliament on 9 June lambasting the United States for its “shameless refusal” to join international consensus in accepting the results of the March elections in which his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front had won a two-thirds majority.

919-US considered adding Jonathan Moyo’s daughters on sanctions list

The United States embassy in Harare recommended that Washington should add Jonathan Moyo’s three daughters onto their sanctions list more than four months after Moyo had been expelled from the government and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front.

920-Jonathan Moyo becomes part of a Third Force

A former Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front legislator Pearson Mbalekwa, who had just resigned from ZANU-PF, told United States embassy officials that top politicians from ZANU-PF including former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo were planning to launch a Third Force to challenge the two major parties ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change.

921-Pressure on white farmers boiling

The vice-president of the Commercial Farmers Union Christopher Hawgood told United States embassy officials that pressure on white farmers was intense in October and November because government officials wanted to seize farms after crops were already in the ground.

922-Gono has killed Bindura- general manager

Central bank governor Gideon Gono had killed Bindura Nickel Corporation by increasing import duty over 100-fold and raising electricity rates, the general manager Ranganai Chinamatira said in 2004.

923-ZANU-PF uses parliamentary majority to amend constitution

The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front used its two-thirds parliamentary majority to change the constitution to allow it to legally acquire all land, create a senate and revoke passports of its opponents.

924-Tsvangirai says MDC leaders stage arrests to show courage

It’s out. Movement for Democratic Change leaders, and those from civil society, deliberately get arrested in order to demonstrate courage and leadership to their benefactors and supporters.

925-Zvobgo says Mugabe’s departure will trigger uncertainty, national relief

Eddison Zvobgo Jnr, one of the political players in Masvingo, said seven years ago that the departure of President Robert Mugabe could spell the end of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front but at the same time it would bring an overwhelming sense of national relief.

926-US view on the ZANU-PF succession battle

With the decline of the Movement for Democratic Change since the March 2005 elections the United States embassy seemed to be focussing on the succession battles within the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front.

927-Jonathan Moyo says both ZANU-PF and MDC are in disarray

Tsholotsho legislator Jonathan Moyo said both the Movement for Democratic Change and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front had been significantly weakened since the March 2005 elections though ZANU-PF had won a two-thirds majority.

928-Gono promises floating exchange rate

Central bank governor Gideon Gono promised a visiting International Monetary Fund team that Zimbabwe would have market-determined exchange and interest rates by September 2005, which was almost a year away.

929-Murerwa forecast growth in 2005

Acting Finance Minister Hebert Murerwa forecast a 3.5 to 5 percent growth and inflation of between 30-50 percent, more or less echoing what central bank governor Gideon Gono had said in his monetary statement.

930-Mudzingwa says Tsvangirai won’t compromise

Movement for Democratic Change secretary for presidential affairs Gandhi Mudzingwa said party leader Morgan Tsvangirai was going to stand his ground in the intra-party conflict over participating in the senate elections even if this meant driving the party’s current Ndebele leadership away.

931-Mbalekwa says Jonathan Moyo is in the executive of UPM

The United People’s Movement’s only visible member Pearson Mbalekwa said independent legislator for Tsholotsho Jonathan Moyo and former Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front chairman for Masvingo Daniel Shumba were on the party’s national executive but he did not name the other members.

932-Mugabe rigid, defiant, isolated

President Robert Mugabe was a lonely leader who was increasingly alienated from a world over which he had dwindling influence and more distorted perceptions.

933-Shumba forms political party

Former Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front provincial chairman for Masvingo Daniel Shumba formed his own political party called the United People’s Party on 24 June 2006.

934-Death of Jokonya a sign that old generation is leaving the scene

The United States embassy in Harare said the death of Information Minister Tichaona Jokonya on 21 June 2006 literally and symbolically reinforced the message that ZANU-PF’s older generation was leaving the scene and President Robert Mugabe was even more isolated.

935-Moyo disappointed by Mnangagwa’s lack of courage

Former Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo told former journalist Sydney Masamvu that he was disappointed by Emmerson Mnangagwa’s lack of political courage and skill and believed that he would be outplayed by the Mujurus.

936-Coltart says the goal is to unseat ZANU-PF in any way possible

Movement for Democratic Change legislator David Coltart told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell that though he favoured enacting a new constitution and then conducting internationally-supervised, free and fair elections, the ultimate goal was to unseat ZANU-PF in any way possible.

937-Make a plan-that’s how Zimbabweans survived the crisis

Former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo summed it up all. The government of Zimbabwe had normalised the abnormal. Zimbabweans took up the challenge. To survive, you had to make a plan.

938-Gono shocked by IMF analysis of 2005 budget

Central bank governor Gideon Gono said he was shocked by the International Monetary Fund’s analysis of Zimbabwe’s 2005 after the IMF team said inflation would exceed 200 percent and the budget deficit would be around 10.5 percent.

939-Mugabe didn’t want to be seen as bowing to US pressure

President Robert Mugabe was not happy with the non-governmental organisations bill and wanted to send it back to Parliament but he could not do so because of the heavy criticism the bill had received from the United States government.

940-Gono pleads with Dell for 90 minutes

Central bank governor Gideon Gono, claiming to be a messenger of President Robert Mugabe, pleaded with United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell for 90 minutes that Zimbabwe wanted better relations with the United States.

941-Zimbabwean company says it may have to pass Disney job because of exchange rate

A Zimbabwean company which had furnished 1 300 rooms for Disney’s Animal Kingdom said it had been offered another job to furnish 1 600 hotel rooms but it might have to pass the job because it could not do it at the current exchange rate.

942-CFU president prefers a moderate ZANU-PF to an MDC government

Commercial Farmers Union president Doug Taylor-Freeme told United States embassy officials that he preferred a moderate Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front government to a Movement for Democratic Change one.

943-Gono says fast track land reform is over

Central bank governor Gideon Gono said on 27 January 2005 the fast track land reform programme was over and the government would have “zero tolerance for disruptive activities on land”.

944-Gono literally tells private sector- fend for yourselves

The Zimbabwe dollar depreciated by at least 20 percent to trade at between Z$10 500 and Z$11 000 to the greenback two weeks after central bank governor Gideon Gono’s monetary policy statement in which he had not adjusted the diaspora rate because he had literally told the private sector- “fend for yourselves”.

945-IMF plays into ZANU-PF’s hands

The International Monetary Fund’s postponement of a decision on Zimbabwe’s compulsory withdrawal played into the hands of the Zimbabwean government because it was portrayed in the government-owned media as a vote of confidence in the country’s home-grown economic turnaround efforts.

946-US truck company sales drop by 90 percent

Sales of new and used truck by US company Tyco dropped by 90 percent from 1999 to 2004 the company’s general manager John Stuart said.

947-Gono says hands off to parallel market dealers

Central bank governor Gideon Gono instructed his exchange control chief O.C. Masiiwa not to pursue high profile parallel market traders in the run up to the March 2005 elections because he feared that this could divide the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front because the traders were well-connected members of ZANU-PF.

948-Mugabe thought the NGO bill was part of the Tsholotsho plot!

A confidante of President Robert Mugabe, Father Fidelis Mukonori, told United States embassy officials that Mugabe had decided not to sign the non-governmental orgnisations bill in its current form because he thought it was part of the Tsholotsho plot.

949-Business says there is no hope until Mugabe is gone

A number of business leaders, way back in 2005, said they saw no hope for Zimbabwe until President Robert Mugabe was gone because they did not believe that any cabinet under Mugabe would enact more reasonable exchange rate or land reform policies.

950-Currency auction allows Gono to concentrate power in his hands

The foreign currency auction system introduced by central bank governor Gideon Gono to stem the parallel market had failed to do so but instead it had allowed Gono to concentrate economic power in his hands.

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