Movement for Democratic Change leader and Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai who had been living in Botswana said he would be returning home in January 2009 and meet with President Robert Mugabe.
Tsvangirai said that the resolution of outstanding issues between ZANU-PF and the MDC was a condition for MDC passage of Amendment 19 and entry into a government with ZANU-PF.
The issues included:
- equitable allocation of ministries,
- allocation of half of the 10 governorship positions to MDC,
- joint control of the national security council,
- equitable allocation of ambassadors and permanent secretaries,
- rescission of the appointments of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana,
- and an end to political abductions and a full accounting of those abducted.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE47, ZIM NOTES 01-16-2009
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|
Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO0323
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0047/01 0200723
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200723Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3946
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2170
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2564
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2686
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1177
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1955
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2310
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2735
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5163
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1850
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000047
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B.PITTMAN
TREASURY FOR D. PETERS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN
COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN
SIPDIS
E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM ECON ZI
SUBJECT: ZIM NOTES 01-16-2009
———–
¶1. SUMMARY
———–
Topics of the week:
– Tsvangirai to Return, Meet Mugabe…
– Conviction Threatens to Expel MDC MP from Parliament…
– Still no Resolution on Court Cases…
– SADC Tribunal Wrong Says Zimbabwean Supreme Court Justice…
– Schools Opening or Not?
– New Report on Zim Crisis…
– Harare’s Water Woes Continue…
– Reserve Bank Introduces New Notes…
– Harare Declared World’s Priciest City for Foreigners…
– Health Workers Allowed To Open FCAs…
– Dollarization Widens…
– World Bank Mission Reports on Private Sector…
———————————
¶2. Price Movements-Exchange Rate
and Selected products
———————————
Parallel rate for cash shot up to Z$400 billion:US$1
Check rate rose to Z$35 quadrillion:US$1 against inter-bank average
of Z$15.33 million:US$1
Bread on the parallel market went up to Z$400 billion
Sugar shot up to Z$800 billion/2kg
Petrol and diesel rose to Z$480 billion/liter
—————————–
On the Political/Social Front
—————————–
¶3. Tsvangirai to Return, Meet Mugabe… MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai told a press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday that
he will return to Harare this weekend, chair a meeting of the MDC
National Executive, and meet with Zimbabwean president Mugabe.
Tsvangirai made clear that resolution of outstanding issues between
ZANU-PF and the MDC was a condition for MDC passage of Amendment 19
and entry into a government with ZANU-PF. These issues include
equitable allocation of ministries, allocation of half of the 10
governorship postions to MDC, joint control of the national security
council, equitable allocation of ambassadors and permanent
secretaries, rescission of the appointments of Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana,
and an end to political abduction and a full accounting of those
abducted. At this point, it is unlikely ZANU-PF will accede to the
MDC’s demands. See Harare 38.
¶4. Conviction Threatens to Expel MDC MP from Parliament… A
Zimbabwean magistrate convicted an MDC-T MP of forging four
signatures nominating her to contest the Chimanimani West
constituency seat in last March’s parliamentary elections. Lynette
Karenyi won the seat by beating out a ZANU-PF candidate, but she now
faces expulsion according to portions of the Zimbabwe Electoral Act
cited by the magistrate. The MDC-T plans to appeal the ruling in an
effort to maintain its slim plurality in the closely-contested House
of Assembly. Speaker of the House Lovemore Moyo stated Karenyi would
remain in her seat, as Parliament would determine her eligibility to
sit. Separately, on January 14 Zimbabwean police detained Meki
Makuyana, the MDC MP for Chipinge South in Manicaland. No formal
charges have yet been brought against Makuyana. See Harare 40.
¶5. Still no Resolution on Court Cases… Of the 18 abductees who
first appeared in court on Christmas Eve, all except two-year-old
Nigel Mutemagau remain in custody, pending numerous court hearings
HARARE 00000047 002 OF 003
in which the State continues to stall. On January 15, the State
admitted three other abduction victims – Lloyd Tarumbwa, Terry
Musona and Fanny Tembo – are in “police protective custody.”
Abductee Bothwell Pasipamire (never brought to court) escaped to
South Africa this week and gave details of his detention, including
torture, at a press conference. Separately, the MDC mayor of Bindura
was charged this week with making death threats against a police
officer. Sources tell us the mayor and two others are under
investigation for the alleged assassination of Elliot Manyika and
alleged assassination attempt of Air Marshall Perence Shiri.
¶6. SADC Tribunal Wrong Says Zimbabwean Supreme Court Justice… In
a state of the judiciary speech in Bulawayo, Deputy Chief Justice
Luke Malaba declared that the SADC Tribunal lacked jurisdiction in
its November 2008 ruling that 77 white farmers had been
unconstitutionally and unlawfully dispossessed of their farms.
Malaba said that the plaintiffs had not exhausted all legal options
available in Zimbabwe, and therefore should not have had their case
heard before the Tribunal in Windhoek. The SADC Tribunal considered
this point in its ruling, noting that the farmers had filed a
petition with the Zimbabwe Supreme Court in March 2007 and no ruling
had been made.
¶7. Schools Opening or Not? A great deal of uncertainty surrounds
when both government and private schools will open for the new term.
Government schools have been ordered to open on January 27, or two
weeks later than anticipated because of delays in grading last
year’s exams (exam markers are demanding payment in forex) and
uncertainty as to whether the schools will be authorized to accept
school fees in forex. Private schools, which are collecting school
fees in forex and which had planned on opening either this week or
next week, have been told to follow suit, but according to Embassy
sources, a number of them appear intent on bucking the order.
¶8. New Report on Zim Crisis… Physicians for Human Rights released
a damning and thorough report this week on the collapse of the
health care system. See: http://physiciansforhumanrights.org
/library/report-2009-01-13.html
———————————-
On the Economic and Business Front
———————————-
¶9. Harare’s Water Woes Continue… Post has prepared an assessment
of the degradation of Harare’s water infrastructure that has
resulted in water stoppages or intermittent supplies to nearly all
of Harare. Mismanagement by water parastatal ZINWA, lack of
investment, and the departure of many skilled employees are all to
blame for the loss of delivery capacity that is fueling the ongoing
cholera crisis. See Harare 39.
¶10. Reserve Bank Introduces New Notes… The Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) introduced $100 trillion (US$ 250), $50 trillion (US$
125), $20 trillion (US$ 50), and $10 trillion (US$ 25) notes to go
into circulation today starting with the $10 trillion note. Last
week, the RBZ introduced Z$20 billion and Z$50 billion–effective as
of January 12, 2009–to coincide with an increase in the monthly
cash withdrawal limit from Z$10 billion to a full month’s pay with
proof of a January pay slip. The change has resulted in a slow-down
in banking business, further weakening most banks.
¶11. Harare Declared World’s Priciest City for Foreigners… A
London-based human resources organization designated Harare as the
most expensive city in the world for foreigners based on hard
currency prices of a standardized basket of goods. The survey
compared 125 consumer goods and services from 270 different
locations. Angola’s capital Luanda ranked second in the survey,
followed by Tokyo.
HARARE 00000047 003 OF 003
¶12. Health Workers Allowed To Open FCAs… Health workers who are
authorized to earn foreign currency may now open foreign currency
accounts (FCAs) with local banks. The measure is intended to stop
the exodus of skilled workers in the sector. The Ministry of Health
and Child Welfare said it has budgeted US$1.5 million for January
salaries, which are expected to range from US$50 for nurses to
US$850 for doctors, though health workers are demanding more.
¶13. Dollarization Widens… Zimbabwe’s state-owned fixed line
telephone operator TelOne has received authorization to bill clients
in foreign currency beginning in February, 2009. The charges, at
US10 cents per unit plus a fixed rental of US$20, should improve the
parastatal’s viability. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority (ZESA) has expanded the list of clients billed in foreign
currency to include retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers that
are licensed to sell goods and services in foreign currency, as well
as NGOs, embassies, and foreign-funded international organizations.
¶14. World Bank Mission Reports on Private Sector… A World Bank
team visited Zimbabwe from December 9-13, 2008 to identify the
elements of a pre-reengagement work program in private and financial
sector development. The program will be financed by the Multi-Donor
Trust Fund. The team’s assessment by sector of the present
situation, short- and medium-term recovery priorities, and next
steps, is posted on our intranet site under the Political Economic
Documents: http://harare.state.gov/index
.cfm?fuseaction=public.display&id=
a99f72af-b335-4075-a9c7-e51ec133105b
—————–
Quote of the Week
—————–
¶15. At High Court hearings this week dealing with abductions of MDC
members and human rights activists, government legal counsel
referred to escaped MDC member Bothwell Pasipamire as “globetrotting
on an MDC budget.” Pasipamire had been abducted and tortured by
state agents, but managed to escape to South Africa.
MCGEE
(30 VIEWS)
