Movement for Democratic Change secretary general Tendai Biti filed a US$500 000 defamation suit against The Herald for claiming that he was plotting to oust Morgan Tsvangirai as party president.
One of the reporters, Mabasa Sasa, said The Herald had refused to retract the story on the basis that Biti wanted both the retraction and the US$500 000.
“We still stand by our stories and we will meet him in court,” said Sasa.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE99, ZIM NOTES 02-09-2009
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 |
VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHSB #0099/01 0400901
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090901Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4012
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2191
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2611
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2733
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1213
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2002
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2358
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2782
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5210
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1903
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
UNCLAS HARARE 000099
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B.PITTMAN
TREASURY FOR D. PETERS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN
COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM ECON ZI
SUBJECT: ZIM NOTES 02-09-2009
———–
¶1. SUMMARY
———–
Topics of the week:
– MDC Prepares to Enter Government…
– MDC-T’s Biti Appears to Face Charges…
– … And Sues The Herald for Defamation…
– USAID Driver Denied Bail…
– No Progress in Other Court Cases…
– Cholera Still Ravaging Zimbabwe…
– Anglican Church Calls for Mugabe to Step Down…
– Students Protest…
– Judge Sues First Lady to Retain Stolen Farm…
– Journalist Wins Award, Speaks at Syracuse University…
– Latest Monetary Policy Embraces Market Liberalization, Mostly…
– High Telecom Charges to Be Reviewed Downward…
– Fall In US Dollar Prices Set to Reverse…
– Missed Opportunity in Maize Production…
– Tobacco Production Decline Also Continues…
———————————
¶2. Price Movements-Exchange Rate
and Selected products
———————————
The interbank exchange rate depreciated from Z$20:US$1(NOTE:
revalued Z$ following the removal of 12 zeros on February 9, 2009
END NOTE)to Z$28.54:US$ in four days this week.
The parallel rate for cash ranged from Z$3-5:US$1 for small notes,
to Z$40-50:US$ for large notes
—————————–
On the Political/Social Front
——————————
¶3. MDC Prepares to Enter Government… MDC president Morgan
Tsvangirai made clear this week that he will be inaugurated as prime
minister on February 11. Amendment 19 was passed unanimously in
both the House of Assembly and Senate on Thursday. The parties are
close to agreement on the allocation of governors. The Joint
Monitoring and Implementation Committee, composed of representatives
of all three parties, has agreed that all abductees should be
released on bail. Tsvangirai is confident this will happen before
February 11. See Harare 79, 85, and 91.
¶4. MDC-T’s Biti Appears to Face Charges… Tendai Biti, MDC- T
Secretary General appeared in a lower court on February 5 regarding
charges of treason and making statements likely to cause public
disorder in connection with a document he allegedly authored in
March 2008. On February 6, the magistrate removed the case from
remand – essentially removing it from the list of cases to be tried.
The State retains the option to bring the case to a trial through a
court summons, which is unlikely.
¶5. … And Sues The Herald for Defamation… Biti has filed a
US$500,000 defamation suit against the government-controlled Herald
newspaper based on a series of articles claiming Biti is plotting to
oust Morgan Tsvangirai as party president. One of the accused
reporters, Mabasa Sasa, told PAS that The Herald refused to retract
the story on the basis that Biti wanted both the retraction and the
US$500,000. “We still stand by our stories and we will meet him in
court,” said Sasa. On January 24 The Herald published a story
stating that Biti had denied the allegations and dismissed two
stories published in the Herald as false. No date has been set for
the hearing.
¶6. USAID Driver Denied Bail… The bail hearing for Frank
Muchirahondo, the USAID driver wrongfully arrested on January 22 on
charges of attempted murder of Air Marshal Shiri, took place on
February 5 after two postponements. The prosecution argued Frank
should be denied bail because he was a flight risk due to
overwhelming evidence, severity of the charge, and because he was
caught trying to “sneak out” of the country. On February 6, the
judge denied Frank bail. The embassy continues to work for his
exoneration through a number of political channels. A USAID USDH
employee visits Frank daily to bring him food and water and to
provide him with moral support while demonstrating to authorities
that his case and safety is being watched very closely.
¶7. No Progress in Other Court Cases… Jestina Mukoko and other
abductees again appeared in the High Court this week, seeking bail
while their constitutional case is pending in the Supreme Court.
Justice Alphus Chitanyunke ruled that since Mukoko had not yet been
charged in court, she could not be granted bail. Mukoko and others
abductees are due to appear in a lower court on February 9. The MDC
has called for their release, but has not made it a condition for
entering government.
¶8. Cholera Still Ravaging Zimbabwe… With nearly 68,000 cases and
3,371 deaths as of February 5, cholera continues to wrack
communities across Zimbabwe. Although cholera cases continued to
increase, the number of cholera deaths remained stable, decreasing
the overall fatality rate from 5.0 to 3.9 percent. Cumulative cases
now exceed WHO’s earlier worst-case projection of 60,000 cases,
prompting a new projection, now ranging from 81,000 to 115,000
cases. Upcoming seasonal floods have the potential to exacerbate
the outbreak, which could continue for several months. See Harare
¶86.
¶9. Anglican Church Calls for Mugabe to Step Down… Anglican
leaders meeting in Egypt issued a statement expressing “horror” at
the continued crisis in Zimbabwe. They further called on Mugabe to
step down and on church leaders across Africa to meet with African
politicians to draw attention to the plight of the Zimbabwean
people.
¶10. Students Protest… Following an announcement that students at
the University of Zimbabwe had just one week to come up with US$400
for exam fees, students launched a protest on February 3 that
quickly spread to a nearby residential area. 80 riot police arrived
on the scene, arresting and beating students. 60 were arrested and
10 were injured, including one with a broken finger.
¶11. Judge Sues First Lady to Retain Stolen Farm… The First Lady
has reportedly grabbed a farm occupied by High Court Judge Ben
Hlatshwayo for her son from her first marriage. Hlatshwayo himself
first seized the farm in 2002 from a white family, despite a court
order preventing him from doing so. According to press reports,
Qorder preventing him from doing so. According to press reports,
Hlatshwayo is now trying to fight the seizure in court.
¶12. Journalist Wins Award, Speaks at Syracuse University…
Zimbabwean journalist Frank Chikowore, who was arrested in 2008 for
“practicing journalism” without proper accreditation, was honored
with the 2009 Tully Center Free Speech Award at Syracuse University.
The other award went to the New York Times’ Barry Bearak, who was
also arrested in Zimbabwe in 2008 for “presenting himself as a
journalist.” Bearak also lacked government-required accreditation.
Chikowore stunned students with his stories of the dangers of
practicing independent journalism in Zimbabwe.
———————————-
On the Economic and Business Front
———————————-
¶13. Latest Monetary Policy Embraces Market Liberalization,
Mostly… Reserve Bank Governor Gono announced the liberalization of
the foreign exchange market and the dropping of another 12 zeros off
the local currency in his Monetary Policy Statement on February 3.
Worryingly, and contrary to utterances about respect for property
rights, he revoked with immediate effect the contractual agreements
with platinum and diamond companies that allow them to maintain
their earnings offshore, and he appeared to leave the door ajar to
resume off-budget spending. The decision to leave the Zimbabwe
dollar in circulation is futile in light of the public’s loss of
confidence in the currency. Sovereign debt figures indicate that
without substantial balance of payments support, Zimbabwe’s reforms
will not succeed. See Harare 77.
¶14. High Telecom Charges to Be Reviewed Downward… Following the
permission to charge clients in foreign currency, most mobile phone
service providers imposed exorbitant charges as high as US35 cents
per minute. A Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) official indicated this week that the rates will
be reviewed downward in view of the public outcry and the budget
proposal to reduce value added tax on airtime from 22.5% to 15%.
¶15. Fall In US Dollar Prices Set to Reverse… The recent falling
trend in the price of most commodities appears to have reversed
itself since the budget presentation on January 29, 2009. Retailers
have begun to ratchet up prices in line with the increase in
restocking costs that they anticipate as the government seeks to
augment revenues by raising taxes on imported commodities including
some basics.
¶16. Missed Opportunity in Maize Production… Commercial Farmer’s
Union (CFU) grains expert George Hutchison told us this year’s maize
production could have been higher than his estimate of 800,000 MT,
had the targeted area of 1.2 million ha been planted and supplied
with the right inputs in a timely manner. The FAO’s Agriculture
Coordination Working Group reported on January 29 that about 890,000
ha of maize were planted. Rainfall has been normal to above normal
across the country since mid December, and evenly distributed.
Hutchison estimates maize demand of 1.6 million tons this year,
including for stock feed, and believes the country will have to
import some 800,000 MT.
¶17. Tobacco Production Decline Also Continues… Figures from the
Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board indicate that tobacco
production will dip a further 10% this year due to the shrinkage in
total area planted. The Reserve Bank reported that tobacco exports
earned the country US$204 million last year.
—————————
Economic Tidbit of the Week
—————————
¶18. While the hard-currency price of bread is steady at US$1, in
local currency terms it moved from around Z$10 to Z$200 (new values)
following the recent economic policy announcements, implying a
Qfollowing the recent economic policy announcements, implying a
massive 95% depreciation of the local unit in a week.
—————–
Quote of the Week
—————–
¶19. “We are asking for the international community to support this
agreement, support this Government without equivocation and help us
try to salvage our country. It is not for Britain or America to
judge our agreement. Your job as America or Britain is to support
what we try to do. All the skeptics must now shut up and support
what Zimbabweans want. Listen to us as Zimbabweans.” — Arthur
Mutambara, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland on January 31.
MCGEE
(31 VIEWS)
