The Insider

The United States was in a quandary after it failed to stop Zimbabwe becoming chair of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and Environment Minister Francis Nhema had to chair the 16^th meeting.

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The United States embassy in Harare viewed the 2008 election victory by the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change as something that would have far-reaching implications as the two were going to control the House of Assembly.

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The presidential delegation to the United Nations general assembly for 2007, or at least the one that was published in the diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks, was much smaller and only had seven names including his wife Grace.

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Claims for compensation for properties of United States citizens targeted for compulsory acquisition by the government had risen to eight by mid 2007, according to the embassy in Harare.

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The reunification of the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change that had been brokered by the two secretary generals, Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube, collapsed over the issue of allocation of constituencies in Bulawayo.

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Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee less than two months before the 2008 elections that the party was broke. It needed US$10 million to run its country-wide campaign.

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The Movement for Democratic Change said it would not be possible to enter into an agreement with the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or to have free and fair elections until at least six conditions were met.

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Though he first worked as a diplomat, Francis Nhema was better known as the founder of the Zimbabwe Building Society, a financial institution that provided housing loans to the poorest sectors of the community. He was a darling with the media until things started going wrong at ZBS. But he survived the scandal to become a minister in President Robert Mugabe’s government. His appointment was viewed more as a way of appeasing the family of former vice-President Joshua Nkomo, who had died a year before Nhema’s appointment, as Nhema was married to Nkomo’s daughter. Despite his mediocre performance, Nhema has remained in cabinet up to today. There are 25 Wikileaks cables on him. Here they are.

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Environment and Tourism Minister Francis Nhema asked United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell to persuade Washington to allow Zimbabwe to continue hunting its elephant because unlike its northern colleague Kenya, its conservation campaign has resulted in the country having more elephants than it could carry.

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The European Union opposed the Southern African Development Community’s nomination of Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister Francis Nhema to chair the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development five years ago.

(56 VIEWS)