Mugabe took plane leaving London passengers stranded

President Robert Mugabe and his 59-member delegation are reported to have taken an Air Zimbabwe plane to attend the Copenhagen climate change summit leaving passengers planning to travel to London to fend for themselves.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had planned to attend the summit with his own 19-member delegation, but pulled out at the last minute.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 09HARARE996, ZIM NOTES 12-21-2009

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VZCZCXRO1593

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DE RUEHSB #0996/01 3550925

ZNR UUUUU ZZH

R 210925Z DEC 09

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5252

INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 3224

RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3335

RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1759

RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2593

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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC

RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE

RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000996

AF/S FOR B. WALCH

ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU

ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR

STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND J. HARMON

COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN

SIPDIS

E.O.12958: N/A

TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM ECON ZI

SUBJECT: ZIM NOTES 12-21-2009

———–

¶1. SUMMARY

———–

Potential Progress on Negotiations?

No Surprises at ZANU-PF Congress…

Moyo Rises from the Ashes…

Journalists Seek Nullification of ZUJ Election…

Mugabe Commandeers Plane to Deliver Climate Rant…

Central Bank Law on Hold…

Food Markets Still Balkanized…

Australia Boosts Assistance to Agricultural Sector…

Tobacco Farmers Start Drawing on Bank Facility…

Bindura Nickel Corporation to Resume Operations…

———————————

On the Political and Social Front

———————————-

¶2. Multiple local news outlets reported this week that the six

party negotiators have agreed on 15 of 21 contentious issues that

one or more of the parties believe are undermining the inclusive

government. Resolved issues apparently include unspecified media

reforms, “pirate” radio stations such as VOA that are broadcast into

Zimbabwe, and a land audit. Remaining unresolved issues include the

appointments of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney

General Johannes Tomana, the refusal to swear in Roy Bennett as

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, and the division of governorships.

These issues are likely to be referred to the three principals,

Mugabe, Tsvangirai, and Mutambara, though the negotiators intend on

meeting throughout the upcoming weekend.

¶3. ZANU-PF concluded its five-year Congress on December 12 by

reelecting President Robert Mugabe to another term, as well as

completing the appointments of Joice Mujuru and John Nkomo as Vice

Presidents, and Simon Khaya Moyo as Party Chairman. Though rumors

abounded, no challenges arose from the estimated 5,000 delegates

attending the Harare-based event. The party attempted to use the

Congress to quell party discontent, while blaming western sanctions

and the MDC for ZANU-PF’s poor performance in the 2008 elections.

Several published resolutions sought to encourage President Jacob

Zuma’s South African facilitation team to adopt a more patient and

ZANU-PF friendly approach. Mugabe also raised the possibility of

holding elections earlier than anticipated and warned the MDC not to

interfere with the security forces. See Harare 976.

¶4. Controversial politician Jonathan Moyo completed his

phoenix-like return to the good graces of ZANU-PF by being elected

into the party’s Central Committee at the recently-concluded

Congress, and may soon land a position in the party’s top echelon,

the politburo. Moyo won his Tsholotsho seat running as an

independent in 2008, though some of his constituents will no doubt

be surprised to find they are now residents of a ZANU-PF

constituency. Moyo had been banished from the party through his

involvement in the failed Tsholotsho incident in 2004 where he was

central in efforts to elevate Emmerson Mnangagwa’s succession

prospects.

¶5. December 17, two correspondents of VOA Studio 7 for Zimbabwe —

Godwin Mangudya and Frank Chikowore — and two other freelance

QGodwin Mangudya and Frank Chikowore — and two other freelance

journalists launched a court application seeking to nullify results

of a recent election held by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists. The

election, whose venue was kept secret to most journalists until the

day of the election, elevated Dumisani Sibanda, the news editor of

the government-controlled weekly, The Sunday News, to President, and

former President Mathew Takaona to a consultant position. Mangudya,

who planned to throw his hat in the ring, is seeking an order to

void the election on grounds that the process was biased.

HARARE 00000996 002 OF 002

¶6. Mugabe and his 59-member delegation left this week to attend the

Copenhagen climate change summit where he attacked the West for

environmental hypocrisy. The group took an Air Zimbabwe plane,

leaving passengers planning to travel to London to fend for

themselves. PM Tsvangirai had planned on attending the summit with

his own 19-member delegation, but pulled out at the last minute.

Mugabe’s group includes his wife Grace who enjoys her overseas

shopping opportunities and once famously said in response to a

question on her expensive footwear, “I have very narrow feet so I

only wear Ferragamo.”

———————————–

On the Economic and Business Front

———————————-

¶7. The Herald reports that the Senate has deferred debate on

amendments to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe law. The paper says

ZANU-PF senators want to make changes to the bill. Finance Minister

Biti has also told us he fears the legislation is stalled for now.

See Harare 987.

¶8. On the road recently with USAID consultants, we saw that rural

food markets are still creaky despite the abolition of the Grain

Marketing Board’s monopoly. Remote rural markets are not integrated

due to poor road and telecommunications infrastructure, which makes

them largely inaccessible. A village with food surplus may co-exist

next to another village that has a food deficit. So for now it seems

food aid to deficit areas need not have a negative effect on

production in the food surplus areas. Better communication

infrastructure — for instance, roads and cell-phone towers — would

be a good way to get markets working, if only the GOZ had the money.

¶9. Australia announced it was donating US$4.4 million to Zimbabwe

through the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund — an Africa-wide

initiative led by the UK and the Netherlands — to boost Zimbabwe’s

rural economy by establishing seed distribution businesses and

enable small loans to farmers. The assistance marks an effort by

Australia to move beyond short-term relief to Zimbabwe.

¶10. According to the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB),

small-scale tobacco growers have started drawing on a US$2.3 million

facility offered by the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe to purchase

fertilizers and chemicals. The facility is scheduled to assist 3,500

tobacco farmers. The TIMB identifies the main problem as being the

slow pace at which fertilizer companies push their product onto the

market. Outgrower schemes set up by tobacco companies deliver inputs

to at least three times as many farmers, and they have had more

success than the TIMB at procuring fertilizer.

¶11. Once the country’s largest producer of nickel, BNC suspended

operations more than a year ago. But now the mine is set to re-open

following an upturn in nickel prices and stability in the local

economy. Bindura’s parent company, Mwana Africa, said in a statement

accompanying its half-year results that operations can be restarted

Qaccompanying its half-year results that operations can be restarted

with very limited capital expenditure.

—————–

Quote of the Week

—————–

¶12. “The elections are not very far off, the inclusive government

was given a short life, 18 months, 24 months, and so the remaining

part of its life is very short.”

— An excerpt from President Robert Mugabe’s closing remarks at the

ZANU-PF Congress on December 12.

RAY

(26 VIEWS)