Categories: Stories

Made scuttled US$30 million tobacco deal

Agriculture Minister Joseph Made scuttled a US$30 million tobacco deal when he announced that the government was reconstituting the Agricultural Marketing Authority which purchased all the country’s tobacco until 1994.

The announcement is said to have scared off an international financier who was prepared to lend US$30 million against future tobacco earnings as it was seen as nationalisation of tobacco sales.

 

Full cable:


Viewing cable 03HARARE2140, Rare Public Rift Among GOZ Ministries

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

03HARARE2140

2003-10-28 12:26

2011-08-30 01:44

UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Embassy Harare

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

 

281226Z Oct 03

UNCLAS HARARE 002140

 

SIPDIS

 

SENSITIVE

 

STATE FOR AF/S

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JFRAZER

USDOC FOR 2037 DIEMOND

TREASURY FOR OREN WYCHE-SHAW

PASS USTR FLORIZELLE LISER

STATE PASS USAID FOR MARJORIE COPSON

 

E. O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: ECON EINV PGOV ZI

SUBJECT: Rare Public Rift Among GOZ Ministries

 

 

1. (SBU) Summary: Disagreement among moderates and

hardliners has spilled into public fora, a rare and

refreshing occurrence in this insular government. End

summary.

 

2. (SBU) Over the past year, the GOZ’s media and more

militant ministers have increasingly castigated the GOZ’s

economic team for mismanagement. Pusillanimous Reserve

Bank (RBZ) and Finance Ministry officials have

consistently ignored this public thrashing. Recently,

however, one official decided to strike back.

 

Interventionist Proposals Spook Lender

————————————–

3. (SBU) On October 10, the State-run Herald led with

Agriculture Minister Joseph Made’s plan to reconstitute

the defunct Agricultural Marketing Authority, a

parastatal that purchased all Zimbabwean tobacco until

1994. The timing could not have been worse. Apparently,

Made’s remarks boosted Zimbabwe’s already-stratospheric

risk factor, scaring off an international financier

prepared to lend US$30 million against future tobacco

earnings. When Made subsequently lashed out at the RBZ

for failing to release the funds for inputs for resettled

farmers – the Herald’s October 21 lead story – Deputy

Finance Minister Chris Kuruneri fought back. He told the

Business Tribune that it was Made’s, not RBZ’s, fault

that the US$30 deal fell through, since the lender backed

out only because Made proposed nationalizing tobacco

purchases. Kuruneri has publicly called upon Made to

clarify his position.

 

4. (SBU) An RBZ director told us Kuruneri’s rebuke of

Made lifted spirits on the central bank’s sullen staff.

However, the RBZ director said Kuruneri may not embolden

many others on the economic team to speak out. Outgoing

RBZ Governor Leonard Tsumba left his post as a “beaten

man” and the Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa is “too

much of a gentleman.”

 

Comment

——-

5. (SBU) It seems RBZ and Finance officials will

continue to belittle self-defeating economic policies in

private – but refuse to admit the Emperor has no clothes

in public.

 

Sullivan

(25 VIEWS)

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

ZiG loses steam, falls against US dollar for five consecutive days

The Zimbabwe Gold fell against the United States dollar for five consecutive days from Monday…

November 22, 2024

Indian think tank says Starlink is a wolf in sheep’s clothing

An Indian think tank has described Starlink, a satellite internet service provider which recently entered…

November 18, 2024

ZiG firms against US dollar for 10 days running but people still do not have confidence in the currency

Zimbabwe’s new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), firmed against the United States dollars for 10…

November 16, 2024

Zimbabwe among the top countries with the widest gap between the rich and poor

Zimbabwe is among the top 30 countries in the world with the widest gap between…

November 14, 2024

Can the ZiG sustain its rally against the US dollar?

Zimbabwe’s battered currency, the Zimbabwe Gold, which was under attack until the central bank devalued…

November 10, 2024

Will Mnangagwa go against the trend in the region?

Plans by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front to push President Emmerson Mnangagwa to…

October 22, 2024