Goche said MDC could have put up a frog and people would have voted for it

Deputy Foreign Minister Nicholas Goche said rural people had voted for land while those in urban areas had voted for jobs in the 2000 parliamentary elections which the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front almost lost winning only 62 seats against the Movement for Democratic Change’s 57.

Goche said the MDC could have “put up a frog” in the urban areas and would still have won against the ruling ZANU-PF.

Goche said though it was good to have other voices in parliament. It was now up to the MDC to prove whether its members could articulate their policies to help alleviate the people’s suffering.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 00HARARE3652, DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TIGHT-LIPPED

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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

051411Z Jul 00

CONFIDENTIAL     PTQ7488

PAGE 01       HARARE 03652 01 OF 03 051408Z

ACTION AF-00

INFO LOG-00   NP-00   AID-00   ACQ-00   CIAE-00 SMEC-00 INL-01

DINT-00 DODE-00 DOEE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00   EB-00

EUR-00   FAAE-00 FBIE-00 VC-00   H-01     TEDE-00 INR-00

IO-00   LAB-01   L-00     VCE-00   AC-01   NSAE-00 OIC-02

OMB-01   OPIC-01 PA-00   PM-00   PRS-00   ACE-00   P-00

SP-00   STR-00   TRSE-00 USIE-00 PMB-00   DSCC-00 PRM-01

DRL-02   G-00     NFAT-00 SAS-00     /011W

——————6A65E4 051408Z /38

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6517

INFO AMEMBASSY PRETORIA

AMEMBASSY LONDON

AMEMBASSY PARIS

NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 003652

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF A/S SUSAN RICE, DAS SCHNEIDMAN

AF/S RENDER, BOOTH, FAULK

NSC FOR SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR AFRICA GAYLE SMITH

LONDON FOR PFLAUMER

PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS

CONFIDENTIAL

PAGE 02       HARARE 03652 01 OF 03 051408Z

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/00

TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINS PINR KDEM ZI

SUBJECT: DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TIGHT-LIPPED

ABOUT NEW CABINET APPOINTMENTS

CLASSIFIED BY POLITICAL OFFICER MAKILA JAMES, REASONS

1.5 B/D.

REFTEL: A) HARARE 3165, B) HARARE 02961

¶1. (C) SUMMARY: DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

NICHOLAS GOCHE WAS TIGHT-LIPPED OVER POSSIBLE CABINET

CHANGES IN A JULY 3 CONVERSATION WITH THE AMBASSADOR.

GOCHE, HOWEVER, NOTED THAT IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR THE

PRESIDENT TO REAPPOINT THOSE MEMBERS WHOM THE PUBLIC

REJECTED IN THE RECENT PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS. THE

MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE (MDC) WILL NOT BE INVITED

INTO THE CABINET, GOCHE SAID. THE GOVERNMENT AND

COMMERCIAL FARMERS UNION (CFU) HAVE COME TO AN AGREEMENT

“IN PRINCIPLE” FOR THE ACQUISITION WITHOUT COMPENSATION

OF ALMOST ALL THE 804 PUBLICIZED PROPERTIES, ACCORDING

TO GOCHE. WAR VETERANS WILL REMAIN ON THE OCCUPIED

FARMS FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. END SUMMARY.

¶2. (C) ON JULY 3 THE AMBASSADOR, ACCOMPANIED BY POLOFF,

CALLED ON THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

NICHOLAS GOCHE, FOR A POST-PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

ASSESSMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT. GOCHE WAS IN A LESS

COMBATIVE MOOD THAN WHEN THE AMBASSADOR LAST SAW HIM ON

JUNE 12, TO DELIVER A JOINT DEMARCHE WITH OTHER HEADS

CONFIDENTIAL

PAGE 03       HARARE 03652 01 OF 03 051408Z

OF MISSIONS TO CONDEMN POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND CALL FOR A

HALT TO IT IN THE COUNTRY (REFTEL A). GOCHE PLAYED OFF

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MDC’S 57 SEAT WIN TO ZANU-PF’S

62 IN THE JUNE 24 AND 25 VOTE, NOTING “THE RURAL AREAS

VOTED FOR LAND AND THE URBAN AREAS VOTED FOR JOBS.

CONCEDING THAT HIGH URBAN UNEMPLOYMENT LOST THE ELECTION

IN THOSE AREAS FOR ZANU-PF GOCHE, SAID THE MDC COULD

HAVE “PUT UP A FROG” IN THOSE AREAS AND STILL WOULD HAVE

WON AGAINST THE RULING PARTY. NEVERTHELESS, THE DEPUTY

MINISTER SAID IT’S GOOD OTHER VOICES ARE IN PARLIAMENT;

NOW THE MDC HAS TO PROVE WHETHER ITS MEMBERS CAN

ARTICULATE THEIR POLICIES TO HELP ALLEVIATE THE PEOPLE’S

SUFFERING.

¶3. (C) IN RESPONSE TO THE AMBASSADOR’S QUESTIONS ABOUT

POSSIBLE NEW FACES IN THE CABINET, THE DEPUTY MINISTER

BECAME TIGHT-LIPPED. GOCHE FLAT OUT REFUSED TO SHARE

ANY OF THE RULING PARTY’S THINKING, WHICH CAME OUT OF

THE EXTRAORDINARY TWO-DAY POLITBURO MEETING ON JUNE 28

AND 30. GOCHE SAID IT WAS A SHAME THAT THE PARTY LOST

CERTAIN PARLIAMENTARY SEATS CURRENTLY HELD BY CABINET

MEMBERS SUCH AS, MINES, ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM

MINISTER, SIMON KHAYA MOYO, MINISTER OF STATE IN THE

VICE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE, SITHEMBISO GLADYS NYONI, AND

MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS, DUMISO DABENGWA. ONE UNIQUE

CASE FOR THE PRESIDENT TO CONSIDER WILL BE THE

REAPPOINTMENT OF THE ONLY REMAINING WHITE MEMBER OF HIS

CABINET, MINISTER OF HEALTH AND CHILD WELFARE, TIMOTHY

STAMPS. STAMPS RAN ON THE ZANU-PF TICKET AT THE PRIMARY

STAGE AND WAS DEFEATED. THE HEALTH MINISTER REMAINED IN

THE CABINET AFTER THE PRIMARIES AND WAS NOT ELIGIBLE TO

CONFIDENTIAL

PAGE 04       HARARE 03652 01 OF 03 051408Z

CONTEST IN THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS FOR ZANU-PF.

CONSEQUENTLY STAMPS HAS NEVER “FACED THE PEOPLE” AND

TECHNICALLY HAS NOT BEEN REJECTED BY THEM, SO MUGABE

COULD REAPPOINT HIM WITH LESS DIFFICULTY THAN THOSE THE

PEOPLE VOTED OUT, GOCHE ADDED. THE DEPUTY MINISTER

DISMISSED THE IDEA OF THE MDC BEING OFFERED ANY

POSITIONS IN THE CABINET.

¶4. (C) ECHOING MUGABE’S TELEVISED CNN INTERVIEW OF A

FEW DAYS BEFORE, GOCHE SAID THE MDC COULD NOT BE BROUGHT

INTO THE GOVERNMENT AS ITS MEMBERS WERE UNKNOWN

QUANTITIES, AND THAT THERE HAD BEEN NO UNITY GOVERNMENT

TALKS AT THIS STAGE. MOREOVER, GOCHE SAID THE MDC WOULD

NOT ACCEPT

(11 VIEWS)