Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met central bank governor Gideon Gono to convince him to step down after a heated debate in cabinet that he should be investigated for the central bank debt.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, backed by several Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front ministers from the Mujuru faction, called for an investigation into Gono’s malfeasance at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe which had accumulated a debt of US$1.2 billion.
The move was, however, thwarted by other ZANU-PF ministers who argued that Biti was essentially trying to investigate President Robert Mugabe.
Biti’s effort failed.
The Movement for Democratic Change’s next move was to get the House of Assembly to authorise a committee to investigate Gono.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE356, ZIM NOTES 04-30-2009
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|
Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO7181
RR RUEHJO
DE RUEHSB #0356/01 1201551
ZNR UUUUU ZZHZDF
R 301551Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4429
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2275
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2796
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2915
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1360
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2180
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2545
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2963
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5404
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2089
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000356
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 04-30-2009
HARARE 00000356 001.2 OF 003
———–
¶1. SUMMARY
———–
Topics of the week:
– Continuing Stalemate…
– Farm Invasions Decreasing…
– MDC Targets Gono…
– Teachers Pledge to Strike…
– The Herald Attacks Eddie Cross…
– U.S. Volunteer Surgical Team Arrives…
– HIFA Enlightens Harare Again…
– Dutch Farmers Win Legal Battle over Farm Seizures…
– Sugar Crop Falls Further; no Exports to U.S….
– Food Prices Continue To Fall…
– Dollarization Sees Return Of Credit Facilities…
– Enthusiastic Response to Counterfeit Detection Training…
—————————–
On the Political/Social Front
——————————
¶2. Continuing Stalemate… Principals Robert Mugabe, Morgan
Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara have met five times in the last two
weeks to deal with outstanding issues. While agreement has
reportedly been reached on appointment of governors, permanent
secretaries, and ambassadors, a number of important issues remain
unresolved. These include: continuance in office of Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana
who were appointed by Mugabe in violation of the September 15
Inter-Party Agreement; the stripping by Mugabe of portfolios from
Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nelson
Chamisa; refusal of Mugabe to swear in Roy Bennett as Deputy
Minister of Agriculture; continuing farm invasions and disruptions;
and the re-arrest of three MDC officials after a judge had ordered
them released on bail.
¶3. Tsvangirai’s honeymoon period is coming to an end and there is
growing impatience on the part of MDC officials and civil society to
move ahead. The lead editorial in this week’s Zimbabwe Independent
read, “Progress on reforms much too slow.” At an MDC ministerial
caucus last week, a number of ministers, led by Chamisa, called on
Tsvangirai to become more active in seeking resolution of these
issues. MDC sources have told us that if no significant progress is
made at the next principals meeting on Monday, Tsvangirai will hold
a press conference to place the blame on Mugabe and will then appeal
to SADC and the AU, as guarantors of the Agreement, to address
Mugabe’s intransigence.
¶4. Farm Invasions Decreasing… Trevor Gifford, president of the
Commercial Farmers’ Union, told the Ambassador today that farm
invasions and disruptions, while continuing, have significantly
decreased. Gifford also said he learned that Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara, who led a ministerial delegation last week to
investigate the problem, tabled a report in Cabinet this week that
forcefully described the problem and placed responsibility on the
police for failing to deal with unlawful activity by those seeking
to take over farms or disrupt farm activities. Cabinet, which acts
by consensus, refused to take action to attempt to end these
unlawful activities and referred the matter to the principals.
¶5. MDC Targets Gono… In last week’s cabinet meeting, Minister of
Q5. MDC Targets Gono… In last week’s cabinet meeting, Minister of
Finance Tendai Biti, backed by several ZANU-PF ministers allied to
the Mujuru faction, reportedly called for an investigation into
Gono’s malfeasance at the RBZ. Other ZANU-PF ministers countered
that Biti was essentially trying to investigate Mugabe. After
heated argument, Biti’s effort failed. Separately, Tsvangirai met
with Gono to attempt to convince him to step down. The MDC’s next
step will be to have the House of Assembly authorize a committee
HARARE 00000356 002.2 OF 003
investigation of Gono.
¶6. Teachers Pledge to Strike… At their 28th national congress
over the weekend, Zimbabwe’s largest and mainstream teachers’ union,
ZIMTA, pledged that given no progress in their remuneration they
would not return to work for the opening of the second school term
on May 5. Civil servants, including teachers, continue to be paid a
monthly US$100 allowance, which ZIMTA states is insufficient for
teachers even to pay their own children’s school fees. Minister of
Education David Coltart responded with a vague statement that he was
working on a package for them, but he has not announced any
specifics or confirmation of funding to make a raise a reality.
Whether government schools will open next week remains anyone’s
guess.
¶7. The Herald Attacks Eddie Cross… After publishing a letter by
MDC-T MP Eddie Cross critical of its coverage of the U.S. and UK
ambassadors, The Herald began what a senior editor told us would be
a series of attack articles on the MP. Today’s vitriolic piece
leads with “Cross: Bitter and irrelevant.” Cross had criticized a
vicious attack by The Herald on Ambassadors McGee and Pocock in last
week’s paper. The Herald, surprisingly, published Cross’ letter,
which accused the newspaper of a lack of professionalism and
flagrant violation of provisions of the Global Political Agreement.
“When we are through with Cross, he will really be cross,” the
senior editor told us.
¶8. U.S. Volunteer Surgical Team Arrives… The U.S.-based
volunteer medical team, Operation of Hope, arrived in Harare this
week to provide another round of free surgical services to correct
cleft and lip palate deformities. The group will conduct operations
until May 16 at Harare’s private St. Anne’s Hospital. This is the
team’s fifth visit to Zimbabwe. The group last visited in October
2008, when it was forced to relocate to St. Anne’s from Harare
Hospital Children’s Ward due to inadequate facilities at the
government institution.
¶9. HIFA Enlightens Harare Again… The 10th anniversary edition of
the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) opened this
week under the theme “Enligh10ment.” The six-day festival features
hundreds of shows by dozens of artists from all over the world.
Once again, the festival is providing a platform for discussion of
contentious issues, as well as entertainment. For example, the
opening show directly attacked the political violence plaguing
Zimbabwe, including displaying the names of every person killed
since March 2008. Other shows tackle abuse of Zimbabwean migrants
in South Africa and land reform. The U.S. Embassy is represented by
the Rhythm Road tour of jazz quartet, Helen Sung & NuGenerations.
———————————–
On the Economic and Business Front
———————————-
¶10. Dutch Farmers Win Legal Battle over Farm Seizures… Following
a six-year battle between 13 Dutch farmers and the GOZ, the
International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes
QInternational Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes
(ICSID) sitting in Paris ruled in the farmers’ favor. In its
decision of April 22, the Center ruled that the GOZ broke a
bilateral investment agreement with The Netherlands by seizing the
farms without providing just compensation. The ICSID awarded the
farmers more than 14 million pounds sterling (about US$21 million
which includes interest) in compensation. Whether the ruling could
lead to the seizure of GOZ assets overseas is not yet clear.
¶11. Sugar Crop Falls Further; no Exports to U.S…. Zimbabwe Sugar
Sales informed us that it would not supply its raw sugar under
favorable tariff-rate quotas (TRQ) to the U.S. for the 2008/09
period due to the shrinking crop size. The crop will fall to
286,000 MT this year, according to the sugar company, almost 6%
HARARE 00000356 003 OF 003
below last year’s production. The decline is due to the overall
state of the economy, price controls on sugar in the local market,
unavailability of inputs, electric power shedding, and rail and road
transport bottlenecks. Zimbabwe earned US$16.7 million in sugar
exports to the U.S. in 2006 and US$5.8 million in 2007, according to
the U.S. Department of Commerce’s TradeStatsExpress.
¶12. Food Prices Continue To Fall… An independent survey showed
that food prices fell by 2.4% in April.
¶13. Dollarization Sees Return Of Credit Facilities… The
improvement in the retail business environment ushered in by
dollarization has also brought about the return of credit facilities
which had been suspended in 2007 following the introduction of price
controls and hyperinflation. Most leading retailers are now
offering credit facilities with generous terms like a 25% deposit,
interest free, and three months to pay.
¶14. Enthusiastic Response to Counterfeit Detection Training… The
United States Secret Service (USSS) Attach and Special Investigator
from Embassy Pretoria provided training this week in Harare to
members of the American Business Association of Zimbabwe and the
Bankers Association of Zimbabwe on the security features of valid
U.S. denominations. Due to overwhelming interest and the recent
legalization of the use of the USD, the USSS team intends to return
to conduct additional sessions. Training the business community and
maintaining relationships is essential for Post to track the
prevalence of counterfeit U.S. currency, as the police do not report
counterfeit currency usage to the Embassy.
MCGEE
(20 VIEWS)
