The Herbert Murerwa Wikileaks cables

Herbert Murerwa has been one of the longest serving members of President Robert Mugabe’s government. He has served as a civil servant, then as a diplomat and finally as a minister. The Harvard-educated Murerwa, who has been Minister of Finance more than once, has been variously described as decent but ineffective and “too much of a gentleman”. There are more than 50 Wikileaks cables on him. Here is the first batch.

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Botswana on the defensive

Botswana was put on the defensive when the Zimbabwean government accused it of harbouring training camps for the Movement for Democratic Change and lodged a petition with the Southern African Development Community to investigate the issue.

(18 VIEWS)

Why Mugabe arrested MDC activists

The United States embassy in Harare said there were two primary motives behind government’s arrests of several Movement for Democratic Change and civic activists in December 2008, including MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s special assistant Gandi Mudzingwa.

(21 VIEWS)

Why there was no progress

The Zimbabwean government devalued its currency from Z$55 to Z$824 to the greenback in 2003, eliminated most indirect export taxes, reduced its fuel subsidy from 88 to 24 percent and began to negotiate dollarized energy tariffs but there was still no hint of economic revival.

(18 VIEWS)

Murerwa said he disliked price controls

Former Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Joseph Sullivan that he disliked price controls and hoped that with the help of other moderates within the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front he could push for more reforms.

(12 VIEWS)