US ambassador said Gono was increasingly acting as de facto Prime Minister

United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell said after the February 2007 cabinet reshuffle, central bank governor Gideon Gono was increasingly acting as the de facto Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.

The reshuffle was cosmetic with only Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa losing his job while Agriculture Minister Joseph Made was demoted.

Dell said the firing of Murerwa was a victory for Gono while the replacement of Made with Rugare Gumbo was a consolation for Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“By far the most important change is Murerwa’s firing, primarily because it highlights just how much influence Gono now has with Mugabe,” Dell said in a cable dispatched on 7 February 2007.

“Believing that he has Mugabe’s endorsement to pursue a ‘social contract’ as laid out in his recent Monetary Policy Statement, Gono is increasingly acting as the de facto prime minister and firing Murerwa removes one bitter rival from the equation.”

Full cable:

Viewing cable 07HARARE102, MUGABE RESHUFFLES HIS CABINET–GONO TRIUMPHANT,

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TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ZI

SUBJECT: MUGABE RESHUFFLES HIS CABINET–GONO TRIUMPHANT,

SUCCESSION POLITICS IN FULL-CRY

REF: HARARE 00080

Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell under Section 1.4 b/d

——-

Summary

——-

¶1. (U) Summary. In what the MDC spokesperson termed as

“rearranging the deck of a sinking Titanic,” President Mugabe

yesterday carried out a long-expected cabinet reshuffle.

With the exception of the sacking of Minister of Finance

Minister Herbert Murerwa and the replacement of Minister of

Agriculture Joseph Made, there were no major changes.

Murerwa was the only minister dropped (Made was demoted).

Three new ministers were appointed (one to replace Murerwa,

one to assume an open position, and one as head of a new

ministry) and four others were re-assigned. End Summary.

———–

The Changes

———–

¶2. (SBU) The most significant change was the replacement of

Murerwa by Samuel Mumbengegwi, formerly Minister of State for

Indigenisation and Empowerment. Murerwa had long been at

loggerheads with Reserve Bank Governor Gideon, a close ally

of Mugabe. Mumbengegwi is the brother of Foreign Minister

Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and, like his brother, is considered

close to Mugabe. The Mumbengegwis belong to the Mukaranga

ethnic group, as does Emmerson Mnangagwa, and this move may

have been an attempt by Mugabe to build support from the

Mnangagwa faction. It also signals Gono’s continuing

ascendency as he had long battled with the departed Murerwa

for control of economic policy. Mumbengegwi is considered a

non-entity, unlikely to challenge Gono’s de facto control

over all aspects of the economy.

¶3. (U) Rugare Gumbo, formerly Minister of Economic

Development, replaced Joseph Made as Minister of Agriculture.

Made became Minister of State Agricultural Engineering and

Mechanisation. Much criticism had been leveled at Made as

Minister of Agriculture for falsification of production

statistics which made food distribution difficult, for misuse

of agricultural subsidies, and more generally for presiding

over the rapid decline of Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector.

There’s a certain irony in placing Made in charge of

agricultural engineering and mechanization at a time when his

policies as minister have led to an accelerating return to

hand-held tools as the principal means of farming. In

transferring him, Mugabe may have agreed with the Commercial

Farmers Union which thought him corrupt and incompetent.

Gumbo, a prominent war veteran who is extremely loyal to

Mugabe (and who is also a Mukaranga), seems unlikely to

pursue a more sensible approach to agriculture, and Mugabe’s

failure to promote the competent and pragmatic Sylveste Nguni

from vice-minister to minister is another clear indication

Mugabe is not serious about changing course. Nguni was,

however, promoted into the cabinet as Minister for Economic

Development. He is also a Mukaranga.

——-

Comment

——-

¶4. (C) Comment: The reshuffle is largely cosmetic, as have

been other recent cabinet reshuffles. Reportedly, few

HARARE 00000102 002 OF 002

individuals outside the cabinet are interested in

appointments, knowing that it would lead to their placement

on ours and the EU,s sanctions lists. By far the most

important change is Murerwa’s firing, primarily because it

highlights just how much influence Gono now has with Mugabe.

Believing that he has Mugabe’s endorsement to pursue a

“social contract” as laid out in his recent Monetary Policy

Statement (Ref), Gono is increasingly acting as the de facto

prime minister and firing Murerwa removes one bitter rival

from the equation. Murerwa was also increasingly aligned with

the Mujuru faction within ZANU-PF, so this is also likely to

be a move to curb their growing power base. In addition,

although Murerwa was no ball of fire, he had managed to

convince the IMF Article IV team during their December visit

that he was at least sincere about the need for reforms. End

Comment.

DELL

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