Mines Minister Obert Mpofu told Parliament that neither the police nor the military had been responsible for any deaths at the Chiadzwa diamond fields.
But Home Affairs co-Minister Giles Mutsekwa asked why it had taken five days to remove dead bodies from the cells of the Mutare remand prison, a situation which had been exposed by MDC treasurer Roy Bennett.
Mpofu admitted that a military operation had cleared the area of panners but refuted that violence had been used.
Movement for Democratic Change legislators said Mpofu’s argument was ludicrous as both the media and non-governmental organisations had reported that the police and the military were behind the deaths of several hundreds of panners.
Mutsekwa said city morgues had refused to accept any more bodies from the prison because they were full.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE264, ZIMBABWEAN PARLIAMENT’S PRIORITIES AND NEXT STEPS
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C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 000264
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STATE PASS TO USAID FOR J. HARMON AND L. DOBBINS
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE GAVIN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2018
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWEAN PARLIAMENT’S PRIORITIES AND NEXT STEPS
Classified By: CDA Katherine Dhanani for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
——-
SUMMARY
——-
¶1. (C) Speaker of the House of Assembly Lovemore Moyo met
with polecon chief and poloff on March 25, 2009 and discussed
Parliament’s next steps, legislative priorities, and role in
promoting reform. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara addressed Parliament for the first time and
candidly discussed his views of the new government,
Zimbabwe’s plight, and domestic and international
responsibilities to achieve recovery.
¶2. (SBU) Parliament is also beginning to assume its role in
evaluating government policy as cabinet ministers responded
to public questions, including several on recent human rights
abuses. END SUMMARY.
—————————-
Parliament Building Capacity
—————————-
¶3. (C) Moyo told us that Parliament was moving forward with
establishing all the necessary legislative structures that
would enable the House of Assembly (HOA) to carry out its
legislative agenda. Most importantly, the instrumental
Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) was established on
March 18. The SROC is responsible for formulating policies
regarding the administration of Parliament, approving
Parliament’s budget, and, in conjunction with the Speaker,
establishing the portfolio committees that shadow and monitor
the performance of governmental ministries. The SROC and
Speaker will also set up the powerful Parliamentary Legal
Committee that evaluates the constitutionality of any bill
introduced into Parliament.
¶4. (C) Moyo said that he planned to establish a Select Committee
on the Constitution by mid April that will be charged with
initiating the process of creating a new constitution. With
respect to Commissions, and as prescribed by Amendment 19, he
said he was working with the SROC to establish the functions
of and provide for the appointments to the Zimbabwe Media
Commission; to provide for the appointment of a chair of the
Electoral Commission; and to provide for appointments of
members of the Anti-Corruption Commission.
——————————–
New Constitution is Top Priority
——————————–
¶5. (C) Speaker Moyo made clear that his top priority was
putting into motion the legislative process that would lead
to a new constitution. While the Inter-Party Political
Agreement signed in September 2008 laid out an 18-month
timeline, Moyo suspected the process would take longer. The
delay would be the result of lack of resources and the need
to ensure that all stakeholders were included in a
“people-driven Constitution.”
¶6. (C) Potential delays in establishing a new constitution
would likely push back elections, as the State would be
unable to finance an election immediately after holding a
nationwide constitutional referendum. Additionally, an audit
of the voters roll in conformance with the new constitution
Qof the voters roll in conformance with the new constitution
would be necessary.
¶7. (C) Moyo emphasized that his primary goal was
institutional reform and “deZANUfication” of society,
including a cleansing of the police and military, which would
take time. He believed that a period of peace and stability
to accomplish this was more important than holding elections
in the near term.
————————
Parliament’s Reform Role
————————
¶8. (C) When pressed that the international community was
looking to Parliament to generally promote reform and
specifically repeal restrictive pieces of legislation such as
the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), Moyo
replied that his priority was beginning the constitutional
review process and then standing up the Commissions. AIPPA
and POSA were not immediate priorities. With regard to POSA,
he said that the problem was not so much with the Act, which
was superior to the South African equivalent, but with
arbitrary and unlawful enforcement by police. As to AIPPA,
it could be improved with amendment; a complete rewrite
wasn’t necessary. He went on to explain that legislative
reforms would have to come from Cabinet.
¶9. (U) Under Zimbabwe’s government, in order to introduce a
“public bill” )- a bill that affects the interests of
Zimbabweans at large — the appropriate government ministry
typically raises the bill for discussion in Cabinet. Upon
gaining assent in Cabinet, the bill is drafted and introduced
into Parliament. Parliament then evaluates the legality of
the bill, makes any necessary amendments, and votes on it in
both the HOA and Senate. Upon achieving a simple majority in
both houses, it is then returned to the President for his
signature. Once signed it becomes an “Act,” is published,
and enters into law.
¶10. (C) Moyo conceded that parliamentarians could
independently introduce a private member’s bill reforming or
repealing AIPPA and POSA, but this held several
disadvantages. Foremost, if passed by Parliament it would
risk not being signed by President Mugabe because it would
not have had the benefit of consensus building within the
executive. Secondarily, the cost of the bill (primarily
printing) would have to be borne by an individual MP rather
than the government.
—————————-
Ministers Discuss Hot Topics
—————————-
¶11. (C) Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara gave his
first speech to Parliament as an ex officio member of the
HOA. His speech was characteristically blunt and forthright
as he discussed a range of issues including last year’s
elections, the new government, Zimbabwe’s plight, the need
for assistance and sanctions. He referred to the March 2008
presidential election as being inconclusive and dismissed the
June 2008 run-off as “not anelection, but a farce.” He
called for multi-party solutions that reflected the new
reality of an inclusive government, and said that reform of
AIPPA and POSA was a priority. Mutambara also stressed that
Zimbabwe must rebrand itself as a country, after forming an
Zimbabwe must rebrand itself as a country, after forming an
international reputation for violence, corruption, and
suffering. Farm invasions must stop because they deterred
donor nations from assisting Zimbabwe.
¶12. (C) While the state media highlighted that Mutambara
called for the lifting of restrictive measures and referred
to U.S. President Obama’s extension of sanctions for an
additional year as based on “ignorance and arrogance,” in
reality his comments were more tempered. Mutambara first
said there were two types of sanctions: Those imposed on
Zimbabwe by itself and those imposed by others. The first
type included disregard for the rule of law, violence against
fellow Zimbabweans, corruption, and failed policies.
Zimbabweans had the authority to lift these sanctions
themselves; then the international community would lift
external sanctions.
¶13. (C) The March 25 plenary session of Parliament’s HOA
also marked the reintroduction of question time, where MPs
ask policy questions of ministers. For some of the
questions, ministers are given advance notice and read
prepared statements. Several of the questions referred to
human rights abuses including violence in the Chiadzwa
diamond fields and inhumane conditions in Zimbabwe’s prisons.
¶14. (C) Obert Mpofu, the minister of Mines and Mining
Development and a ZANU-PF and Mugabe loyalist, in response to
a question on Chiadzwa, stated that neither the police nor
the military had been responsible for any deaths in the
diamond fields. While Mpofu acknowledged that a military
operation had cleared the area of panners, he refuted that
violence had been used. The MDC half of Parliament responded
that his argument was ludicrous as both the independent press
and NGO groups have reported that the police and military are
behind the deaths of several hundred panners.
¶15. (C) Mpofu’s assertion was undermined by Home Affairs
Minister Giles Mutsekwa of the MDC-T who was asked why it had
taken five days to remove dead bodies from the cells of
Mutare Remand Prison — a situation that had come to light
from statements by formerly incarcerated MDC official, Roy
Bennett. Mutsekwa responded that the city morgues had
refused to accept any more bodies from the prison because
they were full. Unstated was that this was likely due to the
violence in nearby Chiadzwa.
——-
COMMENT
——-
¶16. (C) It appears likely that international community
expectations for swift action by Parliament on specific
measures will not be met. Parliament has its own priorities,
chiefly constitutional reform, and this will be a lengthy
process. High-profile issues such as POSA and AIPPA are of
lesser priority and will be dependent upon consensus within
Cabinet. Nevertheless, Parliament will play an ongoing role
in holding government accountable through oversight by
portfolio committees and through questioning of ministers in
Parliament.
¶17. (C) Of crucial importance in the short term is the
establishment of the Media Commission to open up media space
by allowing the introduction, for example, of independent
weekly newspapers and the legal presence of international
journalists. Moyo indicated he would move forward with this
in April; we will follow this issue closely. In the
meantime, however, international journalists accompanying
Ministers from Norway and Denmark had no difficulty obtaining
visas and accreditation–once they paid the steep $1,500
visas and accreditation–once they paid the steep $1,500
temporary accreditation fee. END COMMENT.
DHANANI
(29 VIEWS)
