Arthur Mutambara Zimbabwe

MEET Arthur Mutambara Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe

2015-02-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

Arthur Guseni Oliver Mutambara (born 25 May 1966^[1]) is a Zimbabwean politician. He became the President of the Movement for Democratic Change-Mutambara faction (MDC) in February 2006.^[2] He has worked as the Managing Director and CEO of Africa Technology and Business Institute since September 2003.^[1] Under a September 2008 power-sharing agreement, Mutambara became Deputy Prime Minister on 11 February 2009.

Arthur Mutambara is a former student leader who is now recognized as one of Africa's most prominent scientists.

Fifteen years ago, at the University of Zimbabwe, he led the student opposition to the ruling Zanu PF.

According to records at the university, he was a brilliant engineering student, who won every scholarship he applied for.

After completing his doctorate at Britain's Oxford University he went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and became professor at several other universities in the United States. Unlike many African academics, Mutambara was always determined to return to Africa.

Over the weekend he arrived back in Zimbabwe from Johannesburg where he heads up an African scientific institution for talks with leaders of one faction of the MDC. Some in this faction want him to make himself available as a candidate for the top job, as president.

Late Monday he confirmed his re-entry into Zimbabwe politics, and said he hoped the enthusiasm of a new leadership which he said was untainted by current disagreements, would make unification of the two factions of the MDC possible.

According to the MDC's constitution any one of the 12 provinces would have to nominate him and authorised delegates to the party's congress next Sunday will vote for a new president.

Should he get the necessary nomination, and win the vote, analysts say his political past, intellectual prowess and reputation as a leader, would do much to revive Zimbabwe's stalled opposition politics and could lead to the two factions re-uniting.

The faction of the MDC lead by party president Morgan Tsvangirai declined to comment on Mutambara's sudden re-entry into Zimbabwe's opposition political scenario.

Tsvangirai's faction is holding its congress next month, but he is certain to be the only candidate for the top job.

The MDC split last October over adherence to the party's constitution.

Tsvangirai said that even though a narrow majority of party executives voted to participate in the first ever elections for a senate last November, the MDC should not take part.

Most of the MDC's top leaders rebelled against him, saying he had defied the party's constitution.

The party split into two factions with both declaring themselves to be authentic.

Below is Arthur Mutambara's full CV

Professor ARTHUR G. O. MUTAMBARA, PhD
Managing Director and CEO, Africa Technology & Business Institute (ATBI), Sandton, South Africa

BORN: 25th May 1966

CAREER SUMMARY

Managing director of Africa Technology & Business Institute (ATBI) and Professor of Operations Management at UNISA SBL. Former Standard Bank Director (Payments) with responsibilities in 17 African countries. Research Scientist and Professor of Robotics and Mechatronics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and NASA, with business experience and skills as a Management Consultant with McKinsey & Company. Professor of Business Strategy at Kellogg Business School, USA.

High technology expert and leader, global strategy specialist, and an entrepreneur who advises senior managers and business leaders of global companies. Community leader, public intellectual and activist, extensively involved in socio-economic-political issues in both the U.S. and Africa. An author of three Engineering books and 27 refereed journal papers. A Rhodes Scholar, with an MSc (Computer Engineering) and a PhD (Robotics & Mechatronics) from Oxford University, UK; and a BSc (Hon) (Electrical Engineering) from UZ.

EXPERIENCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

AFRICA TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS INSTITUTE (ATBI) September 2003 to present: Managing Director and CEO

Providing leadership, strategic vision, and management to a world class professional services firm. Key activities include:

Technology and management related research, training, education, advisory services, and thought leadership to corporates and public institutions in Africa. Leveraging African business case studies, cutting edge technology, and consultancy world best practice. Areas of Expertise: Payment systems, banking growth strategy in Africa, branding and strategy, Automation, Mechatronics

STANDARD BANK, JOHANNESBURG SA, Jan 2002 to October 2003: Director, Stanbic Bank (Payments)

Developing SBSA strategy and vision. Executing Payments (cash, EFT, EAP, cards, mobile) strategy in seventeen African countries. Member of a team of SBSA directors (Clean Slate) who drafted the Stanbic Bank growth strategy into Africa, and supervised its implementation. Member of SBSA CEO’s director’s committee on SBSA strategy and values.

McKINSEY & COMPANY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA; Management Consultant

Provide strategic advice to senior managers and business leaders of top USA companies

* Industry Sectors: High Technology, Telecommunications, Automotive Assembly, Electrical Power/Natural Gas, Manufacturing, Financial Institutions, and Pharmaceutical and Medical Products.

* Functional Expertise: Technology Management, Corporate Strategy, Global Strategy, Corporate Finance, Post-Merger Management, Business Building, and Operations Strategy and Effectiveness

• Telecom company (Fortune 100) Corporate strategy, Growth study; impact: 20% increase in revenues

• Hi-Tech company (Fortune 500) M&A/ Change of Ownership; impact: smooth and effective transition

• Insurance company (Fortune 100) Corporate strategy-Business unit strategy: 25% increase in new business

• Banking and Securities (Fortune 100) Global strategy-business unit strategy: creation of new products

• Hi-Tech company (Fortune 500) operations and marketing: 30% increase in sales

• Chicago Public School Systems, review of teaching effectiveness

• Internal knowledge management: The value proposition for global outsourcing of call centers

• Chicago Public School Systems, review of teaching and learning effectiveness (work in progress)

• Sustainable Profitable Growth (insurance practice): designed innovative risk management products

• Business Building (High Tech): Developed a complete semester set of lectures for Kellogg Business School

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, 1999-2000

Engineering research & teaching, publication of books and journal papers, MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department.

Associate Professor, 1999-2001

Established and supervised teaching and research activities in the fields of sensor fusion, and robotics.

• Managed graduate controls and mechatronics laboratories, including budgets, grant proposals and hiring

• Taught undergraduate classes in feedback control systems, and computer system architecture.

• Taught graduate classes in nonlinear control systems, and advanced robotics.

• Presented graduate research seminars in multisensor fusion and decentralized estimation and control.

• Chaired and participated in academic committees.
Visiting Research Scientist, 1999-2001

Carried out research activities, wrote research proposals, managed research grants in the fields of

decentralized estimation, multisensor fusion, and modular robotics.

• Managed a $1, 500,000 NASA research grant, and a $200,000 NSF grant

• Research into wheeled mobile robots, decentralized communication in scalable flight formation.

• Research into mechatronic design methodology, and modular robots.

• Supervised Masters and PhD research students in the areas of decentralized estimation and sensor fusion.

Author, 1999-2001

Wrote sixteen refereed journal papers in the areas of Decentralized Estimation, Distributed Control, Sensor Fusion, Modular Robotics, and Mechatronics. Authored three Electrical Engineering books that are widely used in Engineering Graduate Schools, including MIT:

•Decentralized Estimation and Control for Multisensor Systems, February 1998

•Design and Analysis of Control Systems, June 1999

•Mechatronics and Robotics: Design and Applications, December 2003

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY (THE ROBOTICS INSTITUTE), PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, 1998

Advanced robotics research, seminar series, and NASA/ARL research grant proposal with the CMU Robotics Institute.

Visiting Research Scientist, 1998

Carried out research activities, wrote research proposals, managed research grants in field robotics,

multisensor fusion, and modular robotics.

• Managed a $200,000 NASA/ARL research grant

• Research into experimental unmanned vehicles (XUV), their communication and supervised autonomy.

• Research into mechatronic design methodology, and modular robots.

• Supervised Masters and PhD research students in the areas of wheeled mobile robotics.

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA), 1996-1997

Visiting Research Scientist, NASA John Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, 1997

• Presented graduate research seminars in multisensor fusion and decentralized estimation and control.

• Research into supervisory expert systems, decentralized control.

Visiting Research Fellow, NASA (JPL), Pasadena, California, 1996

• Research into modular wheeled mobile robots, the Mars Rover project.

• Research into multisensor fusion, and decentralized control.

• Drafted a $150,000 research proposal to NASA (modular robots)

FAMU-FSU COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA, 1995-1997

Teaching undergraduates and graduates, engineering research activities, research publication in the Mechanical Department.

Assistant Professor, 1995-1997

Established and supervised teaching and research activities in control systems, mechatronics and robotics.

• Managed a $400,000 NASA research grant, and a $200,000 NSF grant

• Taught undergraduate classes in feedback control systems, and introduction to robotics and Mechatronics.

• Taught graduate classes in nonlinear control systems, and advanced robotics.

• Presented graduate research seminars in multisensor fusion and decentralized estimation and control.

• Supervised undergraduate and graduate controls and mechatronics laboratories.

• Chaired and participated in academic committees.

• Research into wheeled mobile robots, decentralized communication in scalable flight formation.

• Research into mechatronic design methodology, and modular robots.

• Supervised Masters and PhD research students in the areas of decentralized estimation and sensor fusion.

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

Rhodes Scholarship, Recipient, Zimbabwe (1991). Selection committee member: Florida (2000), Illinois (2001-02)

Fulbright Fellowship, Awarded, 1991

Public Lectures, Numerous (socio-economic) presentations in the US, Zimbabwe, and South Africa (1995-2001)

Africa Technology and Science Strategy (ATSS), Founder and President

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Elected Member, 1994

Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE), Elected Member, 1995

British Computer Society (BCS), Elected Member, 1996

National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Student advisor, FAMU-FSU 1996-7

US National Science Foundation, and the Robotics Review Panel Committee member, 1996-2002

EDUCATION

McKINSEY & COMPANY, USA, 2001

Mini-Master of Business Administration (MMBA), March 2001, Corporate Finance, Strategy, and Microeconomics

OXFORD UNIVERSITY, OXFORD, UK, 1991-1995

Doctor of Philosophy, March 1995, Robotics and Mechatronics

Master of Science, October 1992, Electrical Engineering/Computer Engineering

UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE, HARARE, ZIMBABWE, 1987-1990

Bachelor of Science (Honors), December 1990, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

IMMIGRATION STATUS: Zimbabwean citizen with U.S.A. and RSA permanent residence.

US Embassy Wiki Leaks on Zimbabwe by Ambassador Christopher W. Dell

2010-11-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

Date 2007-07-13 10:04:00

Source Embassy Harare

Classification CONFIDENTIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 000638

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR P, AF, AND AF/S FOR MOZENA AND HILL,
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B.
PITTMAN AND B. LEO; USAID FOR M. COPSON AND E. LOKEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2017
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ZI
SUBJECT: The End is Nigh

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

1. (C) Having said my piece repeatedly over the last three years,
I won't offer a lengthy prescription for our Zimbabwe
policy. My views can be stated very simply as stay the
course and prepare for change. Our policy is working and it's
helping to drive change here. What is required is simply the grit,
determination and focus to see this through. Then, when the changes
finally come we must be ready to move quickly to help consolidate
the new dispensation.

THE SITUATION

2. (C) Robert Mugabe has survived for so long because he is more
clever and more ruthless than any other politician in
Zimbabwe. To give the devil his due, he is a brilliant
tactitian and has long thrived on his ability to abruptly
change the rules of the game, radicalize the political
dynamic and force everyone else to react to his agenda.
However, he is fundamentally hampered by several factors:
his ego and belief in his own infallibility; his obsessive
focus on the past as a justification for everything in the
present and future; his deep ignorance on economic issues
(coupled with the belief that his 18 doctorates give him
the authority to suspend the laws of economics, including
supply and demand); and his essentially short-term,
tactical style.

3. (C) While his tactical skills have kept him in power for 27
years, over the last seven this has only been achieved by a
series of populist, but destructive and ultimately
self-defeating moves. In reaction to losing the 2000
referendum on the constitution, a vengeful Mugabe unleashed
his QGreen BombersQ to commit land reform and in the
process he destroyed ZimbabweQs agricultural sector, once the
bedrock of the economy. While thousands of white farmers
saw their properties seized, hundreds of thousands of black
Zimbabweans lost their livelihoods and were reduced to utter
poverty. In 2005, having been forced to steal victory by
manipulating the results of an election he lost, Mugabe
lashed out again, punishing the urban populace by launching
Operation Murambatsvina. The result was wholesale
destruction of the informal sector, on which as much as
70-80 percent of urban dwellers had depended, and the
uprooting of 700,000 Zimbabweans. The current inflationary
cycle really began with Murambatsvina, as rents and prices
grew in response to a decrease in supply.

4. (C) And now, faced with the hyperinflationary consequences
of his ruinous fiscal policies and growing reliance on the
printing press to keep his government running, Mugabe has
launched Operation Slash Prices. This has once again given
him a very temporary boost in popularity (especially among
the police, who have led the looting of retail outlets and
now seem well positioned to take a leading role in the
black market economy) at the cost of terrible damage to the
country and people. Many small grocery and shop owners,
traders, etc., will be wiped out; the shelves are
increasingly bare; hunger, fear, and tension are growing;
fuel has disappeared. When the shelves are still empty
this time next week, the popular appeal of the price roll
back will evaporate and the government simply doesnQt have
the resources to replace the entire private commercial
sector and keep Zimbabweans fed. It may attempt to do so
by printing more money, adding even more inflationary
pressure on a system already reeling from the GOZQs
quasi-fiscal lunacy combined with the price impact of
pervasive shortages. The increasingly worthless Zim dollar
is likely to collapse as a unit of trade in the near
future, depriving the GOZ of its last economic tool other
than sheer thuggery and theft of othersQ assets.

5. (C) With all this in view, IQm convinced the end is not

HARARE 00000638 002 OF 004

far off for the Mugabe regime. Of course, my predecessors
and many other observers have all said the same thing, and
yet Mugabe is still with us. I think this time could prove
different, however, because for the first time the
president is under intensifying pressure simultaneously on
the economic, political and international fronts. In the
past, he could always play one of these off against the
other, using economic moves to counter political pressure
or playing the old colonial/race/imperialist themes to buy
himself breathing room regionally and internationally. But
he is running out of options and in the swirling gases of
the new Zimbabwean constellation that is starting to form,
the economic, political and international pressures are
concentrating on Mugabe himself. Our ZANU-PF contacts are
virtually unanimous in saying reform is desperately needed,
but won't happen while the Old Man is there, and therefore
he must go (finding the courage to make that happen is
another matter, however, but even that may be coming closer).
This is not some sudden awakening on the road to
Damascus, but a reflection of the pain even party insiders
increasingly feel over the economic meltdown. We also get
regular, albeit anecdotal, reports of angry and
increasingly open mutterings against Mugabe even in ZANU-PF's
traditional rural bastions. Beginning in March, the
other SADC leaders finally recognized (in the wake of the
terrible beatings of March 11 and the international outcry
that followed Q another self-inflicted wound for Mugabe)
that Zimbabwe is a problem they need to address. Thabo
Mbeki appears committed to a successful mediation and is
reportedly increasingly irritated with MugabeQs efforts to
manipulate him or blow him off altogether. If Mugabe
judges that he still commands all he surveys by virtue of
being the elder statesman on the scene, he may be
committing yet another serious blunder. Finally, one does
well to recall that the only serious civil disturbances
here in a decade came in 1998 over bread shortages, showing
that even the famously passive Shona people have their
limits. The terror and oppression of the
intervening years have cowed people, but itQs anyoneQs guess
whether their fear or their anger will win out in the end.

WHAT WILL THE END LOOK LIKE?

6. (C) This is the big, unanswerable question. One thing
at least is certain, Mugabe will not wake up one morning a
changed man, resolved to set right all he has wrought. He
will not go quietly nor without a fight. He will cling to
power at all costs and the costs be damned, he deserves to
rule by virtue of the liberation struggle and land reform and
the people of Zimbabwe have let him down by failing to
appreciate this, thus he neednQt worry about their
well-being. The only scenario in which he might agree to
go with a modicum of good grace is one in which he
concludes that the only way to end his days a free man is
by leaving State House. I judge that he is still a long
way from this conclusion and will fight on for now.

7. (C) The optimal outcome, of course, and the only one that
doesnQt bring with it a huge risk of violence and conflict, is
a genuinely free and fair election, under international
supervision. The Mbeki mediation offers the best, albeit
very slim, hope of getting there. However, as Pretoria
grows more and more worried about the chaos to its north
and President MbekiQs patience with MugabeQs antics wears
thin, the prospects for serious South African engagement
may be growing. Thus, this effort deserves all the support
and backing we can muster. Less attractive is the idea of
a South African-brokered transitional arrangement or
government of national unity. Mbeki has always favored
stability and in his mind this means a ZANU-PF-led GNU, with
perhaps a few MDC additions. This solution is more likely
to prolong than resolve the crisis and we must guard
against letting Pretoria dictate an outcome which

HARARE 00000638 003 OF 004

perpetuates the status quo at the expense of real change
and reform.

8. (C) The other scenarios are all less attractive: a popular
uprising would inevitably entail a bloodbath, even if it
were ultimately successful; MugabeQs sudden, unexpected
death would set off a stampede for power among ZANU-PF
heavy weights; a palace coup, whether initiated within
ZANU-PF or from the military - in which Mugabe is removed,
killed, exiled or otherwise disposed of, could well devolve
into open conflict between the contending successors. Similarly,
some form of "constitutional coup" i.e., a change at the top
engineered within the framework of ZANU-PFQs "legitimate"
structures could well prove to be merely the opening bell
in a prolonged power struggle. None of the players is
likely to go quietly into the night without giving everything
they have, including calling on
their supporters in the security services. Moreover, experience
elsewhere would suggest that whoever comes out on top
initially will struggle, and more than likely fail, to halt
the economic collapse. Thus, there is a good prospect of
not one but a series of rapid-fire Qtransitions,Q until
some new, stable dispensation is reached.

9. (C) The final, and probably worst, possibility is that Mugabe
concludes he can settle for ruling over a rump Zimbabwe,
maintaining control over Harare and the Mashona heartland,
the critical forces of the National Reserve Force and CIO
and a few key assets Q gold, diamonds, platinum and Air
Zimbabwe to fund the good times. Under this scenario the
rest of the country, in one of the comradeQs favorite
phrases, could Qgo hang,Q leaving it to the international
community to stave off the worst humanitarian consequences.

WHAT OF THE OPPOSITION?

10. (C) ZimbabweQs opposition is far from ideal and I leave
convinced that had we had different partners we could have
achieved more already. But you have to play the hand youQre dealt.
With that in mind, the current leadership has little executive
experience and will require massive hand holding and assistance
should they ever come to power.

11. (C) Morgan Tsvangarai is a brave, committed man and, by and
large, a democrat. He is also the only player on the scene
right now with real star quality and the ability to rally
the masses. But Tsvangarai is also a flawed figure, not
readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable
judgment in selecting those around him. He is the indispensable
element for opposition success, but possibly an albatross around
t heir necks once in power. In short, he is a kind of Lech Walesa
character: Zimbabwe needs him, but should not rely on his executive
abilities to lead the country's recovery. Arthur Mutambara is young
and ambitious, attracted to radical, anti-western rhetoric and
smart as a whip. But, in many respects heQs a light-weight
who has spent too much time reading U.S. campaign messaging
manuals and too little thinking about the real issues. Welshman
Ncube has proven to be a deeply divisive
and destructive player in the opposition ranks and the
sooner he is pushed off the stage, the better. But he is
useful to many, including the regime and South Africa, so
is probably a cross to be borne for some time yet. The
prospects for healing the rift within the MDC seem dim,
which is a totally unnecessary self-inflicted wound on
their part this time. With few exceptions Q Tendayi Biti,
Nelson Chamisa Q the talent is thin below the top ranks.
The great saving grace of the opposition is likely to be
found in the diaspora. Most of ZimbabweQs best
professionals, entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, etc.,
have fled the country. They are the oppositionQs natural
allies and it is encouraging to see signs, particularly in
South Africa and the UK, that these people are talking,

HARARE 00000638 004 OF 004

sharing ideas, developing plans and thinking together about
future recovery.

12. (C) Unfortunately, among the MDCQs flaws is its inability to
work more effectively with the rest of civil society. The
blame for this can be shared on both sides (many civil
society groups, like the NCA, are single-issue focused and
take the overall dynamic in unhelpful directions; others,
like WOZA, insist on going it alone as a matter of
principle), but ultimately it falls to the MDC as the
largest and the only true political party, to show the
way. Once again, however, these are natural allies and
they have more reason to work together than fight against each
other.

STAYING THE COURSE, PREPARING FOR CHANGE

13. (C) If I am right and change is in the offing, we need to
step up our preparations. The work done over the last year on
transition planning has been extremely useful, both for
stimulating a fresh look at our own assumptions and plans
and for forging a common approach among the traditional
donor community. But the process has lagged since the
meetings in March in London and should be re-energized. It is
encouraging in this respect that USAID Washington has
engaged the Mission here in discussing how we would use
additional resources in response to a genuinely
reform-minded government . I hope this will continue and
the good work done so far will survive the usual
bloodletting of the budget process.

14. (C) The official media has had a field day recently whooping
that "Dell leaves Zimbabwe a failed man". That's not quite
how it looks from here. I believe that the firm
U.S. stance, the willingness to speak out and stand up,
have contributed to the accelerating pace of change.
Mugabe and his henchman are like bullies everywhere: if
they can intimidate you they will. But ther're not used to
someone standing up to them and fighting back. It catches them
off guard and that's when they make mistakes. The howls of protest
over critical statements from Washington or negative coverage
on CNN are the clearest proof of how this hurts them. Ditto
the squeals over Qillegal sanctions.Q In addition, the regime
has become so used to calling the shots and dictating the
pace that the merest stumble panics them. Many local
observers have noted that Mugabe is panicked and
desperate about hyperinflation at the moment, and hence heQs
making mistakes. Possibly fatal mistakes. We need to
keep the pressure on in order to keep Mugabe off his game
and on his back foot, relying on his own shortcomings to do
him in. Equally important is an active U.S. leadership
role in the international community. The UK is ham-strung
by its colonial past and domestic politics, thus, letting them
set the pace alone merely limits our effectiveness. The EU is
divided between the hard north and its soft southern
underbelly. The Africans are only now beginning to find
their voice. Rock solid partners like Australia donQt
pack enough punch to step out front and the UN is a
non-player. Thus it falls to the U.S., once again, to take
the lead, to say and do the hard things and to set the agenda.
Hundreds, maybe thousands, of ordinary Zimbabweans of all
kinds have told me that our clear, forthright stance has
given them hope and the courage to hang on. By this regimeQs
standards, acting in the interests of the people may indeed be
considered a failure. But I believe that the opposite is true,
and that we can be justifiably proud that in Zimbabwe we have
helped advance the PresidentQs freedom Agenda. The people of
this country know it and recognize it and that is the true
touchstone of our success here.

DELL

Destination

VZCZCXRO1711
PP RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0638/01 1941004
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 131004Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1696
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 1648
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 1516
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1652
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0228
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0918
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 1281
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1708
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 4125
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1478
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 2142
RUEPGBA/CDR USEUCOM INTEL VAIHINGEN GE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1869
.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/28/world/20101128-cables-viewer.html#report/cables-07HARARE638

Arthur Mutambara 2030 Vision

2010-01-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

Zimbabwe: No More Conditions - Mutambara

2009-12-18T04:51:00.000-08:00

Harare — Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara on Monday challenged Western countries to stop putting conditions on Zimbabwe before providing assistance.
DPM Mutambara said this after meeting the new US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Charles Aaron Ray who claimed that sanctions were not 100 percent targeted at all sectors of Zimbabwe's economy.

In an interview after receiving Ambassador Ray at his Munhumutapa office, DPM Mutambara said Zimbabweans should be given space to decide their destiny.
"Zimbabweans want to emphasise to the world that there should be no conditions attached so as to force the country into taking whatever decisions. The future of our country lies in our hands, the world or United States of America should not give us conditions on what we should do.
"We are only credible to the world when we become true to ourselves," he said.
Progress and all reforms, he said, must take place simultaneously as the country strived to develop the economy.
Prof Mutambara said the country's universal call and behaviour would make the world revisit its stance on Zimbabwe. He said the core responsibility of rectifying the nation was in the hands of Zimbabweans.
Ambassador Ray said his country was prepared to work with Zimbabwe on improving trade and that "restrictive" measures were not 100 percent or universal to cause any harm to Zimbabwe.
"There are some 'restrictions' of course, but they are not 100 percent or universal. Zimbabwe needs to do its task of rectifying other critical issues like human rights and rule of law. We are looking at all 'restrictive' measures and see their validity. The Government of Zimbabwe through parliament has a major role to play," he said.
The United States of America representatives have maintained the same stance that the illegal sanctions imposed on the country had nothing to do with the problems that were affecting Zimbabweans.
Copyright © 2009 The Herald. All rights reserved.

Arthur Mutambara dismisses West interference in internal affairs

2009-12-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.chinaview.cn/ 2009-12-06 07:25:58 Print

HARARE, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe will not benefit from the "patronizing" and "ignorant" meddling of foreigners who know nothing about the real situation in the country, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has said.

Mutambara was quoted by Saturday's The Herald as saying that Zimbabwe was better guided by Sadc and the African Union, and that Zimbabweans have the last say on the way forward politically.

Although the inclusive government had a two-year lifespan, from September 2008 to September 2010, there was room to keep the arrangement in place if conditions on the ground so required, he said.

"There are two major reasons why there is scepticism (about the inclusive government by Western countries), one of them is sheer ignorance and arrogance on the part of the West.

"In my opinion, the starting point is to remove ignorance and to remove arrogance on the part of the West vis-a-vis what's good for Africa," he said.

"So we, for example in this inclusive government, we are guided by SADC member countries, they said 'do it in your country's national interest'. Once they advise us to do that, we cannot succeed if we go up against them. So the greatest influence over the future of Zimbabwean politics lies not with the intervention of Western governments, but rather lies with Africa and the will of the African people," he said.

Mutambara said Zimbabweans were best placed to know their needs, adding that the inclusive government was the best alternative at the moment for the governance of the country.

He also said the problems Zimbabwe was facing were not insurmountable. "Our people are experiencing a new reality. Yes, there are problems, yes there are challenges, but they are not insurmountable.

On elections, he said while the GPA said they should be held within two years of the signing of the agreement, what was more important was the creation of conditions so that the poll outcome would not be disputed.

Editor: Anne Tang

Rabbi Shmuley Interview with Arthur Mutambara - Deputy PM of Zimbabwe

2009-12-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

Lying at the heart of southcentral Africa, Zimbabwe sits between the Zambezi River to the North and Limpopo River to the South. A country ravaged by HIV Aids, political unrest, unemployment, poverty and food shortages, Zimbabwe undoubtedly has a long and difficult road ahead if it is to reclaim its former status as "the bread-basket of Africa". President Robert Mugabe's policy of land redistribution, where white farmers were forcefully and violently removed from their lands, the many charges of human rights abuses as well as accusations of election tampering resulted in the country's expulsion from the Commonwealth nations in 2002. The regime has seen much bloodshed in Zimbabwe and has been met with widespread international condemnation over the past ten years.

With the World Health Organization citing the life expectancy of Zimbabweans as 34 for males and 37 for females, an inflation rate reaching a quarter of a billion per cent at its peak in July of last year and the continued rule of Robert Mugabe, it might be easy to dismiss Zimbabwe as a lost cause. However, there are some some signs of change and improvement, providing hope for the country's future.

During his recent trip to Zimbabwe, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach had the opportunity to speak with MDC-M leader and recently sworn in deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara discussing with him the three-party government solution, the role of the west in African politics and the steps being taken to bring about a brighter, safer future for Zimbabwe

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach - Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, can you tell us about how Zimbabwe is changing?

Arthur Mutambara: Right now we are presented with a unique opportunity for Zimbabwe because Zimbabweans have decided to work together. For the past 10 years we have had acrimony and despair in our country so after the inconclusive elections of '08 we decided the best way to move forward was to go into government together.

The first product of this new situation is political stability as all three major political parties of Zimbabwe form a working government, giving us an opportunity to build a shared vision. Secondly, although we have experienced terrible economical circumstances in the past, the inflation rate is now at just three per cent which shows macro-economic stability is coming back into our country,that is a major change. Thirdly, the quality of life is beginning to improve. Goods are now available in the shops, capitalisation of in the industries is improving, but there is still a challenge in terms of disposable incomes. So now the focus is on trying to create jobs and build the economy, that is the third layer of change: economic growth and development, but it is still a work in progress. The major one is number four: our brand as a country, ie what we are known for. We are known for censorship, for arresting our journalists, but we are making moves to change that now. It is important that Zimbabwe becomes known as a safe destination for investment, we also want to be known as a safe destination for tourism. In other words we are pushing what we call a hexagon of branding: tourism, trade/investment, culture, people, governance in each of those six areas we are trying to create a competitive identity for our country, we are trying to make Zimbabwe a globally competitive economy.

RS- Would you say that some of the scepticism towards Zimbabwe on the part of the international community, the worry that the young leaders are not being heard or perhaps will be neutralised within a national unity government, is misplaced?

AM: There are two major reasons why there is scepticism: one of them is sheer ignorance and arrogance on the part of the west, I went to Oxford- I taught at MIT, I'm a Rhodes Scholar. I think it's fair to say that I know better than Obama what is good for Zimbabwe, that I know better than Hillary Clinton what is good for Zimbabwe. So it is very arrogant and patronising for Hillary or Obama to prescribe what is best for Zimbabwe without talking to me first. In my opinion, the starting point is to remove ignorance and to remove arrogance on the part of the west visa vi what's good for Africa. We as Zimbabweans, are the best analysts, and the best scholars on the subject called Zimbabwe. So when I say, in the short term there is no alternative to working together, that there is no alternative to an inclusive arrangement I believe that the West i.e. the Americans and the British, should respect that. There is also a second reason which I will to in a moment, but in my opinion the issue of respect is the really the major one. If they, the political leaders of the west, were more reflective and decided to sit down and talk to me in this manner: "you are a young leader, a Rhodes scholar, you taught at MIT, you are smarter than me, tell me what's going on" because I am- ya (laughs) .

The second reason for scepticism is our own fault. We do have outstanding issues on our agreement, we are still doing things in the country that undermine confidence and credibility, so there are certainly some challenges but they are not insurmountable. However those challenges do undermine our credibility, those problems on our farms, the problems with the agreement, the problems with our media damages our credibility and so people become sceptical. So that can be consider positive scepticism because it is due to our own misdemeanors and faults. That is reason number two, reason number one is arrogance and ignorance but there are also good reasons why people should be sceptical. The most important thing to remember now is that we have no alternative, we have no plan B- all of us: Tsvangirai, Mugabe, myself, are stuck with each other in the short run. This inclusive government must work. And how will it work? By creating a new constitution, creating national healing, recovering the economy, making political reforms and media reforms, so that we can create conditions for a free and fair election next time.

RS: So is it fair to say you are confident that this unity government, and the input that you and Morgan Tsvangirai are bringing to it, is not only giving your respective parties a voice but is also bringing about change?

AM: Absolutely, it is creating fundamental change, political stability, economical stability, we are opening up the media, our people want us to stay in this government. Our people are experiencing a new reality. Yes there are problems, yes there are challenges but they are not insurmountable. On the main, in general, we are making progress, and the progress is towards a new Zimbabwe.

RS: The perception of Zimbabwe is one of a government which is inaccessible and one where Zimbabwe has become synonymous with political intimidation. Do you believe that also is changing?

AM: You see this is brings us back to the issue of our our brand as a country; it takes a long time to build a reputation and quite a second to destroy it. What we have done in the past is destroy our own reputation, we used to be the bread basket of Southern Africa, now we are the basket case. We used to be the model of reconciliation in the country, now we are known for intimidation, violence and so on. So we are now going back to our old brand position, to our competitive identity. We are now recasting ourselves as a nation of inclusiveness, as a nation of harmony, as a nation of reconciliation, we need to recreate it because it has been destroyed over the past ten years. We are moving there slowly but surely, but we have take a bit of time to build that brand position.

RS: So back to your relationship to the west, you feel that the American position is one of dictating to you whether or not you should work with president Mugabe, and your feeling is that they really don't understand the situation and that they need to sit with you and hear what you have to say. Did you think that Obama in particular would be willing to talk to you?

AM: Well he's inexperienced so I think he's very careful. He doesn't want to rock the boat too much, and yet what we want to see is leadership and creativity. What we are saying in our environment, given our previous election, there is no alternative to an arrangement of accommodation. When we achieve the reforms we need to achieve we can prepare ourselves for a free and fair election, with that election then producing a legitimate government.

RS: Do you have a timetable for the next election?

AM: Two years is the time frame in the agreement for a referendum, two years starting from September last year. If we are not ready we can extend that time period. What is important is to create conditions for freedom and fairness. So if after two years we are not ready then we will say "let us do more work". Remember that in Zimbabwe the question is not"when is next election?" For the past ten years we have had elections which were not free and fair and we have no clear answers as to why that was. The issue in Zimbabwe is the calibre and the quality of the election. So the right question is how and when can we make sure that Zimbabwe has a fair and free election. The 2000 elections where problematic, 2002 there were issues, 2005, 2008 also issues- so elections are not the answer. Creating circumstances for a free and fair election is the answer.

RS: So do you feel you, Tsvangirai and Mugabe have a good working relationship? As a triumvirate?

AM: We have no choice, but we have a working relationship. We are doing this for our people, we are doing this because it is in the national interest, we are doing this because it is the African solution. We might not like each other, because we are coming from three different directions, but unfortunately for us, our individual fortunes are intertwined and inseparable at this juncture. That is why it is foolish of the Americans to say, pull out of the government and have the election, they are being unwise, because if we did have the election it would be unfree and unfair and another victory for Mugabe. Myself and Tsvangirai must hold on in there, work on a new constitution, work on the separation of powers, work on national healing work on political and media reforms. So that next time around we can get the free and fair election in which Mugabe might loose. So do we have a nice working relationship? Not necessarily- but we do have a functional relationship.

RS: And the Americans aren't prepared to hear this?

AM: Perhaps, perhaps not, but now the most important thing is the African dimension, this is very important, to be influential in Africa you must be with African opinion. What do I mean about African opinion? SADC (Southern African Development Community) and AU (the African Union).These are the African institutions, if you can't convince them to move then you have to move with them because otherwise you'll be ineffective. America cannot have a foreign policy position that is opposed to SADC or the AU and succeed. So we for example in this inclusive government were guided by SADC member countries, they said " do it it's in your country's national interest". Once they advise us to do that we cannot succeed if we go up against them. So the greatest influence over the future of Zimbabwean politics lies not with the intervention of western governments but rather lies with Africa and the will of the African people.

(c) http://blog.beliefnet.com/

Respect national heroes: Mutambara

2009-11-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

Herald Reporters

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara yesterday urged Zimbabweans to respect national heroes and the sacrifices they made to liberate the country regardless of their different beliefs and political affiliations.

DPM Mutambara said this in the House of Assembly while contributing to a motion moved by Chakari legislator Zachariah Ziyambi for the House to convey its condolences to the family of the late Senator and national hero, Cde Richard Hove.

"Richard Hove is a hero for all Zimbabweans and political parties. We must celebrate the lives of those that sacrificed for us to be here. We must come with things that we share and we should never question the essence and importance of the liberation struggle," he said.

He also urged the nation to have a shared value system.

"I am here to salute those who fought for this country, we should have a shared value system, a shared history so that the history is for all of us. We must stand on the shoulders of the gallant Zanla and Zipra fighters who liberated this country," DPM Mutambara said.

Moving the motion, Cde Ziyambi described Cde Hove as a dedicated nationalist who never swayed in his principles.

"He was a forthright person who never wavered on issues of principle. He was really a patriotic professional and public servant," said Cde Ziyambi.

Cde Hove died in August this year and was buried at the National Heroes Acre.

DPM Mutambara said the inclusive Government was the only viable option for the country to resolve the challenges it is facing.

DPM Mutambara, who was the leader of the House during the question and answer session, said the parties in the inclusive Government would sink or swim together.

"Our options outside the inclusive Government are very little. We are working together and we are going to address all the outstanding issues," he said.

DPM Mutambara urged everyone to work together for the betterment of the country.

"Let’s be serious and work together, we are going to sink or swim together," he said.

The DPM said the Sadc Troika Summit in Mozambique last week following MDC-T’s "disengagement" from the inclusive Government had once again shown that dialogue was the only way to resolve disputes.

He said it was necessary that the inclusive Government work on economic recovery, a new constitution and national healing before any election is held.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is alleged to have violated the Global Political Agreement when he led his party in boycotting the burial of the late national hero Cde Misheck Chando last month.

The Prime Minister chose to play golf at Ruwa Country Club as the nation mourned the late freedom fighter.

Political commentators yesterday said PM Tsvangirai should have attended the burial as prescribed by Article VIII of the Global Political Agreement.

According to the GPA all Zimbabweans, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, political affiliation and religion should respect and observe "national programmes and events" in the interests of forging a common vision for Zimbabwe.

Speaking to The Herald yesterday, an observer said PM Tsvangirai’s actions were in gross violation of the GPA.

"As a principal and signatory to the Agreement, PM Tsvangirai was in violation for leading his party in the boycott.

"And the fact that he even decided to play golf is in serious violation of the GPA. Jomic should look at these gross violations of the Agreement," the observer said.

Arthur Mutambara World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow - The Leadership Zimbabwe and Africa Needs

2009-11-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

Zimbabwe's Number 1 Man Arthur Mutambara on BBC Hard Talk

2009-11-10T21:08:00.000-08:00

Mutambara Key is Saving Zimbabwe's Power-Sharing Government

2009-10-29T09:09:00.003-07:00

Can Mutambara save Zimbabwe's power-sharing government?

Zimbabwe's Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara portrayed himself as a mediator while decrying the obstinance of President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer
and a correspondent

from the October 27, 2009 edition

Johannesburg, South Africa; and Harare, Zimbabwe - For the second week running, President Robert Mugabe's coalition partners – the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) – have boycotted cabinet meetings. It's the latest sign that the country's fragile power-sharing agreement could collapse.
But this doesn't mean that Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has the government all to itself. Arthur Mutambara, the country's deputy prime minister and leader of a smaller faction of the MDC, and other members of his party attended cabinet meetings this week in a bid to hold the so-called Government of National Unity together.
Mr. Mutambara this week portrayed himself as a mediator, while heaping criticism on both Mugabe and his own fellow opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, for their obstinance.
"Tsvangirai should not have [disengaged from the unity government] since we need to fight Mugabe from within," Mutambara told reporters on Sunday. As for Mugabe, Mutambara said, "If the [coalition government] collapses, we are telling Mugabe that he will be like a rebel leader and not president of the country. I have told him to shape up or ship out and I am still maintaining that."
Those are tough words for a man whose party performed poorly in the March 2008 elections, and today controls only three out of 31 cabinet seats. While Mr. Mutambara has managed to organize a Monday meeting between Tsvangirai and Mugabe – a meeting that served only to drive the two leaders further apart – political observers say that Mutambara's short track record reveals a volatile, opportunistic man with limited clout.
"Arthur Mutambara has neither the gravitas nor the support in the country and in the parliament to play a useful mediating role between Mugabe and Tsvangirai," says Marian Tupy, a Zimbabwe expert at the Cato Institute in Washington. "He's fundamentally volatile and even people within his own faction are incredibly disappointed in his performance as deputy prime minister so far."

Unity government down, but not out

That Zimbabwe's coalition government is in trouble is not surprising, says Judy Smith-Höhn, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Tshwane (Pretoria). The generals who controlled much of the day-to-day running of Zimbabwe's government were not brought into the negotiating process and so they can play a role as potential spoilers if they feel threatened by political change, she says. In a further sign that Mugabe's party does not take the opposition seriously, Zimbabwe's National Security Council, its top decision-making body on security issues, has only officially met once in the past eight months. "I don't think that the ZANU-PF has changed tactics since September, when it signed the agreement," says Ms. Smith-Höhn. "They are doing the same thing they did before."
That said, Smith-Höhn believes that outside pressure – particularly from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – combined with internal pressure from moderate politicians on both sides can still push the fractious coalition government back together.
Since beginning his boycott Tsvangirai has met with several regional leaders, among them South African President Jacob Zuma, Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila, who is the current chairman of the SADC. But it doesn't appear that those meetings have borne much fruit for the embattled MDC leader. The SADC's security committee is due to meet in Harare on Thursday.

Why Mutambara may not have enough sway

While Tsvangirai was trying to drum up regional support, Mutambara told a press conference last week that he was mediating between Mugabe and Tsvangirai to bring normalcy to the inclusive government, and that his "MDC-M" faction would attempt to bring the larger, more powerful "MDC-T" back into the unity government.
"We are in the middle of ZANU-PF and MDC-T," said Mutambara. "We will use this position to make sure that we encourage dialogue between these two major political parties in the country. We will use this position to push for the national interest and for mitigating differences."
University of Zimbabwe political scientist John Makumbe says Mutambara's efforts to mediate in the crisis are unlikely to succeed, because he does not have the political clout to sway Tsvangirai or Mugabe.
"He will not be effective. Not at all, because he is just a small pin standing between two giants with differing political interests," said Mr. Makumbe. Mutambara was wasting his effort trying to convince Mugabe, Makumbe added, because Mugabe has been resisting pressure from both the SADC and the African Union (AU), who are the guarantors of the agreement.
Simon Badza, another University of Zimbabwe political commentator, added that the future of the inclusive government will be determined more by ZANU-PF and MDC-T's "strategic interests" than Mutambara. "I think Mutambara is an opportunist and he thrives on crisis in the government of national unity," said Badza. "He is not a big factor in the inclusive government."
• Our reporter in Harare could not be named due to security concerns.

Mutambara Attacks Jonathan Moyo and George Charamba for feeding the nation with lies

2009-10-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

Masvingo, October 26, 2009 - Deputy Prime Minister and the leader of the smaller faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Arthur Mutambara on Sunday attacked the permanent secretary in the ministry of Media, Information and Publicity, George Charamba and Tsholotsho North legislator Jonathan Moyo for ‘continuously feeding the nation with lies’.

Addressing his supporters at Mucheke Hall in Masvingo, Mutambara said: “It is very embarrassing that Charamba- a civil servant together with Jonathan Moyo are continuously feeding the country with lies. If you buy The Herald or listen to ZBC, do not expect anything besides lies and propaganda," he said. “We do not want Zanu PF to dominate in the state media, we also want to be heard, and we want Tsvangirai to be heard. All of us demands a fair share in the state media, not lies. These gentlemen have taken people for granted."

“As a party, we are calling for more players in the media; we want Daily News and News Day as soon as possible. We do not want what ishappening,” said Mutambara. “Zimbabweans do not deserve to continue to be punished with biased media. The people deserve plurality and diversity. What is happening is poisonous and uncalled for.”

Turning to the outstanding issues affecting the inclusive government, Mutambara said Prime Minister and the leader of the main faction of MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai was right to demand that the issues be solved as a matter of urgency.

However, he was quick to warn Tsvangirai that if he pulled out of government, President Robert Mugabe would take the opportunity to push everything to his own advantage. “I understand Tsvangirai’s demands - his demands are very genuine but we want to warn him to be very careful. Though Mugabe knows that he will be a rebel leader without us, he will take that opportunity to push everything to his favour. We will end up crying.

“We know that its Mugabe who is dragging feet in implementing the outstanding issues. A lot of things are yet to be resolved; the issue of provincial governors, Bennett’s issue, Gono and Tomana must go. We are not fools, we want to bring Mugabe and tell him the truth in his face.." said Mutambara.

Tsvangirai's faction said they would not engage with Zanu PF on all matter pertaining to the inclusive government until oustanding issues are resolved. Among the outstanding issues are the swearing in of MDC's treasurer general and deputy minister of Agriculture designate, Roy Bennett, who is facing terrorism charges, the appointments of Attorney General Johannes Tomana and Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and governors. However Mugabe, denied, there were any outstanding issues, saying the only thing left was for MDC to resolve the issue of western sanctions, which were stalling economic and political progress.

Asked why his ministers were still going to cabinet meetings when they respected Tsvangirai’s demands, Mutambara said this was to block Mugabe and his ministers to come up with ‘disastrous’ decisions.

Mutambara said Zimbabweans had him to thank for holding together the inclusive government. “Had it not been me, this inclusive government could have collapsed long ago. I am their mediator. I am the only one who can make Mugabe and Tsvangirai to come together now. I am going to have a meeting with Tsvangirai on Monday morning before we meet Mugabe in the afternoon,” he said.

Mutambara was accompanied by his deputy Gibson Sibanda, Secretary general Professor Welshman Ncube and Minister of Regional Integration and International Co-operation Pricilla Misihairambwi –Mushonga.
(C) RadioVOP

Morgan TSvangirayi Sells Out

2009-10-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

MORGAN Tsvangirai’s protest over “outstanding issues” in the unity government is a selfish strop over “jobs for the boys and girls” and not policies that can deliver real change for Zimbabweans, Simba Makoni said on Thursday.
Makoni, leader of the Mavambo-Kusile opposition party, said “instead of fighting for posts that will expand government and burden the struggling Zimbabwean taxpayer, Prime Minister Tsvangirai should be fighting President Mugabe over policy matters that can improve the economic fortunes of the country and the well-being of citizens.”
“Whereas Zanu PF has acted in bad faith throughout the life of the Inclusive Government,” Makoni said, “the MDC-T itself has also acted in a manner that does not inspire confidence in their ability to rise above the problems bedevilling Zimbabwe.”
Tsvangirai announced on Friday last week his party was disengaging from the government until “outstanding issues” in a power sharing pact signed with President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party are addressed.
The dispute is mainly over the posts of Attorney General and Reserve Bank governor – both appointments made by President Mugabe without consulting Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, the other signatories to the pact.
Tsvangirai’s MDC also wants its representatives sent to foreign embassies, take up governors’ posts as become ministerial permanent secretaries.
Further, the MDC wants prosecutors to drop what it says are “trumped up” charges against its elected representatives and a deputy ministerial nominee, Roy Bennett, whose terrorism trial begins on November 7.
In a statement, Makoni expressed surprise at Tsvangirai’s move after “insisting at every opportunity that everything is well”.
He added: “This went on even as the Prime Minister’s MPs, Deputy Minister of Agriculture-designate and MDC-T supporters were persecuted and harassed all over the country. Yet, now the Prime Minister says ‘in this period, we have seen a complete lack of paradigm shift on the part of Zanu PF’.
“Everyone could see this, even as the Prime Minister told the world ‘Mugabe is indispensable and irreplaceable’.
“On careful examination, it emerges that the reasons for the MDC-T disengagement from Zanu PF have nothing to do with delivering real change to the people of Zimbabwe. The fight is about the MDC-T being allowed a bigger share of public sector jobs, motor cars, travel allowances and good living.”

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara talks to SW Radio Africa's Violet Gonda in the second and final part of a two-part interview:

2009-10-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

October 16, 2009
VIOLET GONDA: This is the 2nd of a two-part Hot Seat interview with Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara. Since the interview there have been major problems in the progress of the unity government, with the re-arrest of the MDC-T’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate, Roy Bennett. So before playing you the second part of the discussion, here is a recent chat I had with Professor Mutambara, about this current crisis in the coalition government.

ARTHUR MUTAMBARA: This is quite a sad development. The charges against Roy Bennett have no basis at all. They are politically motivated and the refusal by Mugabe to appoint Roy Bennett as Deputy Minister of Agriculture is unacceptable. Why – because every Zimbabwean is innocent unless you’re proven guilty. When I was appointed Deputy Prime Minister myself, I was in the Court system. I’m still in the Court system; I’m in the Supreme Court right now. When the Minister of Finance Tendai Biti was appointed minister he was in the Court system being charged with treason.

The Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was charged and convicted but was never removed from his position as Minister, so there’s no precedence in the country where you refuse to appoint a minister because of charges being preferred against them. But more importantly, there’s no basis whatsoever for the charges against Roy Bennett. Now what is even more upsetting is the fact that they now indict him and lock him up just to spite all of us.

So we are very angry, we are very disappointed and tomorrow morning we are going to have a meeting between myself, Tsvangirai and Mugabe to try and address these matters. These are the issues I’ve been referring to in my conversation with you and at every point we have to negotiate and at every point we are fighting and this is one of the reasons why I say that we are now in conflict and we are fighting, but we are going to be able to resolve it, hopefully amicably and effectively.

GONDA: Some sources in the MDC-Tsvangirai, in fact in the Prime Minister’s Office said that the MDC will disengage from contact and deliberation with Zanu-PF in the inclusive government until all outstanding issues plaguing the coalition government are resolved and the catalyst was the arrest of Roy Bennett. It is understood that the MDC is not going to pull out of this government and will continue to run its ministries but will disengage from Cabinet and the Council of Ministers and suspend any forums with Zanu-PF. Is this something your party will support?

MUTAMBARA: But I think this is early days; I was in a meeting with the Prime Minister this afternoon, we had consultations and discussions. This is work in progress and I think we haven’t finished our consultations so it’s premature for us to announce our decision. Even Prime Minister Tsvangirai hasn’t announced his position. As I indicated, we are going to have a crisis meeting tomorrow, the President, the Prime Minister and myself are going to sit down and talk about this subject, so I think for now let us wait and see the outcome of our consultations and our discussions. But we are very angry, we are very disappointed but we also want to do considered action where we analyse the effectiveness of our actions. So it’s premature for me to outline our response.

GONDA: The Prime Minister’s spokesperson, James Maridadi is quoted in the media saying that Mr Tsvangirai had requested an emergency meeting with Robert Mugabe and the Justice minister but all lines of communication were shut and Mugabe was refusing. Do you know anything about this?

MUTAMBARA: This is why I am now intervening, this is why I am now involved and I’m organising, I’m setting up a meeting of the three leaders for tomorrow so this is work in progress but our position is that we must meet as the signatories to the GPA and be able to sit down and discuss this matter before we take our different positions. So this is work in progress and I hope that the three of us will be able to meet tomorrow to consider these actions.

GONDA: Surely, if this impasse continues, how mature are we as people if the country is being held to ransom on the basis of disputes over issues like Gideon Gono, Johannes Tomana and Roy Bennett.

MUTAMBARA: Yes but remember we had a discussion about this and we said that Zimbabweans must realise that they must think about national interest, they must be mature as you are saying, they must reach out to each other, they must think deeper and realise that any of these shenanigans are undermining the progress of our country. We are destroying our own nationhood; we are destroying our own credibility and destroying people’s confidence in us. So I hope that we will be able to be mature enough across the board, stop any grandstanding, sit down as mature Zimbabweans and craft a way forward. This is national interest time and Zimbabweans must work together and realise that they will sink or swim together.

GONDA: Coming back to the issue of Roy Bennett, what are your thoughts on this? Do you think it was proper, given the sensitivities around the issue of land for Roy Bennett to be picked as Deputy Agricultural Minister for the MDC?

MUTAMBARA: That is Tsvangirai’s prerogative. No one has that prerogative. Mugabe, Mutambara have no business deciding who becomes Deputy Minister of Agriculture. In the Agreement, every leader has the right to suggest whoever they want so there is no space for Mugabe or Mutambara to have a view on who Tsvangirai appoints. That’s his prerogative.

GONDA: But Mugabe insists that he will not swear in … (interrupted)

MUTAMBARA: Because he is wrong, that’s what I say, his understanding is mistaken, and he is wrong by putting this nonsense about charges. At law you are innocent unless proven guilty. There are ministers who were charged and convicted and were never fired. I am in government and yet I’m in the Courts, Biti was appointed when he had treason charges against him. There’s no precedence for this action that says be cleared before I appoint you. It’s baseless.

GONDA: So when you are with Robert Mugabe, what do you tell him and what does he say when you tell him these issues?

MUTAMBARA: Yeh but we had that discussion last time and I explained to you that we are very clear in explaining that every leader in this government is a product of the GPA. He is President of the country because of the GPA. Without the GPA, without the inclusive government he is not President of Zimbabwe. If he understands that, that defines our bargaining power.

GONDA: But it appears that he is not understanding that because he continues to… (interrupted)

MUTAMBARA: So why don’t we talk about that a bit later, after we’ve had our conversation tomorrow. It’s said that we continue to have these problems, these shenanigans on the side of Zanu. We wish Zanu could understand sooner than later that they need this inclusive government as much as we do. I hope sooner than later all Zimbabweans will understand the efficacy and importance of this inclusive government insofar as it’s a platform to create conditions for free and fair elections so that next time around our elections can produce a government, not this arranged marriage, this dysfunctional and undemocratic government we have in Zimbabwe.

GONDA: A day after the interview was conducted, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai announced his party’s ‘disengagement’ from ZANU PF, who he described as dishonest, unreliable and unrepentant. The Prime Minister said while the MDC will remain in government, they are going to disengage from Zanu PF, and in particular from Cabinet and the Council of Ministers, until there is the full resolution of all outstanding issues and the complete implementation of the GPA. Is this the end of the inclusive government as we know it? We will bring you more on this particular issue next week.

Now we will hear the rest of the interview with Professor Mutambara that was conducted last week. The Deputy Prime Minister recently told the BBC’s HardTalk programme that the travel ban on ZANU PF leaders like Patrick Chinamasa and Emmerson Mnangagwa is a ban on Morgan Tsvangirai. How logical is that position?

MUTAMBARA: Ah, I’m surprised you picked that one. Let’s start with the whole Mutambara position on sanctions. The starting point on sanctions is that charity begins at home. Why were sanctions imposed in the first place? We must answer that question as Zimbabweans. Secondly, are there things that we are doing in our country which we control, which are tantamount to imposing sanctions on ourselves? Let us address these sanctions we are imposing upon ourselves. What are those sanctions? The failure to implement the GPA – that is a sanction against Zimbabwe. The material we are seeing in the media, the problems we are finding in the media, the issues on our farms, the issues in our courts – that is a type of sanction against the people of Zimbabwe. The biggest imposer of sanctions on Zimbabweans are the people of Zimbabwe, in particular their own government of which I’m Deputy Prime Minister. So I am saying the first port of call on sanctions is the removal of the internal sanctions we are imposing upon our people.

Part two – the external sanctions – when you talk about removing the external sanctions you must make sure you are credible. How credible are you when you say remove sanctions on Zimbabwe when you yourself are imposing sanctions on the people of Zimbabwe. That is my discourse. So after I have said I’m guilty as charged, as Mutambara I’m imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe, I’m going to work on removing the sanctions I’m imposing upon my people then I’m now qualified to say as I try to do the right thing please help me help myself. Please give me a fighting chance.

It is only within this context that I then say to America, to Britain, to Europe please help Zimbabwe help itself by removing the sanctions you’ve imposed upon companies and organisations in the country, by removing the targeted sanctions you have imposed on individuals. But remember it is only after we have accepted our own culpability in terms of the creation of conditions leading to sanctions and secondly, accepted our responsibility in terms of imposing sanctions today. We are imposing sanctions today. So if we own up and are prepared to remove our own sanctions then we have the capability and legitimacy to ask others to remove their sanctions.

Now let me talk about the element you have raised. What I’m saying is that after we have done the right thing or are trying to do the right thing, let us understand the meaning of these sanctions. We are trying to fix the economy, we are trying to help our people, and the sanctions were put in place to support Morgan Tsvangirai. They were put in place to support Mutambara. They were put in place to support the democratic forces. The democratic forces are now in government. Biti is trying to fix the economy, we are trying to run the country so the sanctions are now working against us as the drivers of economic recovery in our country, as the drivers of change in our country. Another analogy: the Zanu-PF ministers are now members of Team Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai is Prime Minister of the entire government including Zanu-PF ministers - so when you put impediments and sanctions on those individual members effectively you are putting those measures against the captain of the team. It doesn’t make sense if you love the captain.

GONDA: But Professor…

MUTAMBARA: Let me finish this, give me a second, I’m finishing now. If you love the captain, if you want the captain to succeed you can’t justify putting sanctions against his players. But remember please, this discourse, this argument by Mutambara to say America and Europe must remove sanctions is different from Mugabe’s position. I am completely different from Mugabe because I accept that we are imposing sanctions on our own people. I say the first thing to do, the first port of call is home, charity begins at home, and if you do not address the sanctions you are imposing upon yourself, you have no credibility whatsoever when you say sanctions must go. So the Mutambara position is very different from the Mugabe position.

GONDA: OK, but I just wanted to go back to two points that you made, one about the sanctions on the individuals and then also the sanctions that you want the western countries to remove, the sanctions that are imposed on the people of Zimbabwe the country. I spoke to one of your colleagues, Gorden Moyo and he says there are no sanctions that affect the country.

MUTAMBARA: Yah, that talk must stop and this is what damages our standing as well. We must be credible people. Look at ZEDERA, read ZEDERA, you can read it on your own time – those are sanctions against companies in our country, those are sanctions against organisations in our country, those are sanctions that are affecting the lives of our people. So I think we must be honourable in the opposition as well, this notion of restrictive measures huh? That’s a nonsensical phrase. Sanctions are sanctions are sanctions! And we must be credible people and be able to own up and say there are sanctions imposed upon our people, they are hurting our people, there are sanctions imposed upon individuals but now they don’t make sense because those individuals are now team mates, they are now colleagues.

GONDA: How did those…

MUTAMBARA: Let me emphasise this argument. You can’t be half pregnant Violet. Either you are pregnant or you are not pregnant. Either you work with Mugabe or you are not. Once we got into this government Violet, we got pregnant, not half pregnant.

GONDA: But still Professor, how do those sanctions actually hurt the economy? And also on the individuals, you say the west must remove sanctions on Zanu-PF individuals, should these individuals who are responsible for the murder of scores of people and the displacement of tens of thousands be forgiven just like that?

MUTAMBARA: No you see it is a tricky one, should De Klerk have been forgiven by Mandela? The white South Africans did more damage on South Africa than Mugabe has done on the country. We have forgiven the Brits for slavery and colonialism. If Zanu and Mugabe do the right thing by the country we can work with them. Huh? And we can find a way if you now talk about it, restorative justice, he’s now talking about victim based justice, we can discuss all those things but don’t raise the bar to an extent that Mugabe can’t be forgiven when you can forgive De Klerk. Huh?

GONDA: But surely Professor, surely this new Zimbabwe will not work if there’s not some kind of repentance?

MUTAMBARA: That’s why I emphasise the issue of restorative justice, victim based justice, we can discuss the content of our healing programme…

GONDA: Yes but are these people in Zanu-PF repentant? Have they shown any sorrow, remorse since the formation of the unity government?

MUTAMBARA: I think this is work in progress, this is work in progress. What I was emphasising was a very practical thing. If your reservations are that strong, then we should not be in this government. If we are saying President Mugabe, Minister Mnangagwa, Minister Chinamasa, these are now colleagues, we are in the same government. It’s put up or shut up. If you feel that these people are unrepentant, they must go to The Hague, get out of this government, there is no point in being in this government.

I am saying that by signing that Agreement, by going in this Agreement, it was a major compromise. We became fully pregnant, not half pregnant which means you give up on something so we’ve got to work together but, however, I share your concern about whether there is repentance and whether there is progress. That is why I was emphasising the internal dimension, but let’s not overplay the Mugabe dimension as if Zimbabweans can’t forgive each other and work together, they can do that. We just need to work harder on it and make sure that we work. But let me just emphasise that I’m not on the same page with Mugabe on these sanctions. My view is very different. I start by attacking myself, I start by saying my government is imposing sanctions on my people, I must do something about that. Only after I have done that am I credible in asking for others to help me help myself and give me a fighting chance.

GONDA: Now Professor…

MUTAMBARA: But when you talk about sanctions, when you have ZEDERA, when you have targeted sanctions against individuals, it also affects your ability to borrow money, it damages the brand of the country so the economic activities in the country are affected by this whole image of sanctions. And there are companies, Zimbabwean companies that are listed in ZEDERA. ZEDERA is about sanctions, yah? Let us, as the opposition, let us stop this child’s play of saying restrictive measures, there are no sanctions. When we do that we lose our credibility, we become as bad as the other side.

GONDA: Now let’s talk about you for a minute here.

MUTAMBARA: Sure.

GONDA: You’ve confused many Zimbabweans especially since joining the unity government because one minute you are seen as being Robert Mugabe’s biggest supporter and then the next minute his harshest critic. Where do you really stand?

MUTAMBARA: Yah, I think because our people are slow thinkers, they don’t apply their minds. I’ve been very consistent, I’ve been very clear from the beginning about what I stand for. My struggle in Zimbabwe is about 22 years old. I don’t know many people who were fighting Mugabe 22 years ago, yah? Twenty years ago this time I was actually in prison, huh? This is 1989, October, October 8 I was inside Mugabe’s jails. I don’t know how many Zimbabweans were in jail in 1989, yah? So my record of opposing what is wrong in our country is very clear. Morgan Tsvangirai when he was arrested for the first time, go and check your records, he was arrested because he wrote a letter to the Herald defending me and Munyaradzi Gwisai. That is Morgan Tsvangirai’s first arrest, yah? Go and check your records - arrested on the 6th of October 1989 - that is Mutambara. I’m the foundation of this struggle. I’ve been in this fight before many people were but I don’t use that against anyone.

So consistency has been my second name. What you need to do is that I am not beholden to Tsvangirai, I am not beholden to Mugabe, I am beholden to Zimbabwe and I’m beholden to what makes sense in our country. I’m beholden to the national interest. And this, if you look through my work for the past 22 years, you’ll see that consistency in pursuit of the national interest. Right now I am working very well with the Prime Minister, no problems, we are working very well, I’m his Deputy and we are building the country but I also reserve the right to take positions that are in the national interest and where there have been disagreements, we do, you know, explain them. We are working very well with the Prime Minister, we are working very well to try to make sure that we deliver the change that Zimbabweans are looking for. It’s a hard struggle, it was never going to be easy, it was never going to be a walk in the park. The struggle continues.

GONDA: Can you respond to Dr Simba Makoni’s stab…

MUTAMBARA: Who is Simba Makoni?

GONDA: Can I finish? Can you respond to his stab at your party calling you MDC-PF?

MUTAMBARA: (laughs) Well you know, I’m a national leader, I’m above petty talk so I’ll let him speak that language but I respect Dr Makoni, he was a great Finance Minister, a Secretary to SADC, you know I backed him in the last elections and so he is a Zimbabwean patriot. I rise above the fray, I’m a soldier for justice and as a national leader I don’t involve myself in petty squabbles.

GONDA: But why do you think there is this misconception out there that you support Mugabe?

MUTAMBARA: Why don’t you review what I’ve said tonight. Do I support Mugabe?

GONDA: Well I’m asking…(interrupted)

MUTAMBARA: I rest my case, thank you very much, I rest my case.

GONDA: But Professor, observers doubt your credibility… (interrupted)

MUTAMBARA: Observers who are dull and incoherent.

GONDA: I hadn’t finished, because observers doubt your credibility as a leader especially since you were not elected by the people so how will you ever become the people’s choice?

MUTAMBARA: Well just watch this space, just watch this space. By the way, there’s no leader who was elected to their position in the government. The President is a product of the GPA, the Prime Minister is a product of the GPA, and the Deputy Prime Minister is a product of the GPA. We are all creatures of negotiations. That is not democracy Violet. What we want to do is to make sure next time around we go to an election, those that win the election are able to form an elected legitimate government. That’s why we are very keen to create conditions in the country for free and fair elections. But however… (interrupted)

GONDA: But I’m not understanding when you say that someone like Morgan Tsvangirai was not elected. Wasn’t he elected by his people and then also in the elections last year… (interrupted)

MUTAMBARA: No, no, no you are getting technical here. There were no elections for Prime Minister. And by the way… (interrupted)

GONDA: No, no but there were elections, there were Presidential elections last year and he actually won the first round of that election and that’s why… (interrupted)

MUTAMBARA: Let me go on, you must remember that there are three political parties in this arrangement and there were negotiations and the negotiations decided that Mr Mugabe would be the President, and that Mr Tsvangirai would be the Prime Minister and yours truly would be Deputy Prime Minister. I did not impose myself. So go and ask the negotiators, go and ask vaTsvangirai, go and ask vaMugabe how I came around to become Deputy Prime Minister.

But let me emphasise this, we are working together in the national interest and we are playing our role and if you are informed by the way, you will realise that there will be no Agreement between Zanu-PF and MDC-T if my party wasn’t involved. We are the critical players in bringing MDC-T and Zanu together. We are the critical glue that fashioned that Agreement. Without Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairambwi Mushonga, there would be no Agreement in Zimbabwe. Right now in Cabinet we are critical players as ministers in this government. So you underestimate our role at your own peril and also as a function of your ignorance. We are the creators of the GPA in Zimbabwe. My party is the creator of that GPA. Go and check with Mbeki, and go and check with the negotiators.

GONDA: So do you still think that Morgan Tsvangirai is a political midget?

MUTAMBARA: (laughs) This is politics now. I don’t know where that is coming from. He is the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, we are working together very well, I have no complaints and so we are determined to work together in the national interest. So I will not dignify discussions about things that tend to divide us, we will not dignify discussions around the differences. We want to amplify areas of agreement. There are many areas of agreement and we are working very well together, thank you very much.

GONDA: Yes but Professor, you made that comment that’s why I was asking. You said…

MUTAMBARA: Yah and I’m saying that those are the things that divide us, right? And why is that of interest to you? Why don’t you just marvel that Tsvangirai and Mutambara are working together in the inclusive government and are driving the Zimbabwe agenda effectively. That should be your song. Go and celebrate that and forget about the other stuff that is divisive.

GONDA: No, but that’s why we need to clear the air because these are some of the things you have said before and it will be nice to know if you still believe in those things…

MUTAMBARA: (laughs)There’s no…

GONDA: …that’s why I was asking.

MUTAMBARA: There’s no air to be cleared Violet. We are working very well with the Prime Minister. We are working under very difficult circumstances but we are trying our best and we hope that we shall overcome. It’s not easy and by the way, all the questions you are asking us are very critical and very valid but we knew that going into this government is going to be tough but working together as three political parties we will be able to save our country.

GONDA: And of course, one of your members, Job Sikhala said your party has lost direction under your leadership. What’s your response to that?

MUTAMBARA: (chuckles) Again, I think, why don’t you stay on course and concentrate on the national agenda? We’ve nothing against Sikhala, I’m sure he, we wish him well in his political career but I have no interest in discussing irrelevant matters, I’m on the national agenda and the national interest but I think we are democrats. We are also believers in discipline, we are also believers in team spirit, we are also a believer in collective and shared values and so we respect the differences with Sikhala. We wish him well and we don’t have anything against him.

GONDA: And what is the latest on your VP, your Vice President Gibson Sibanda’s position as Minister as by law he should not be a Minister.

MUTAMBARA: Yah, the three political parties and three principals in particular are working out an arrangement to resolve that matter so his work continues without any problems but we will regularise his appointment so that it is within the constitutional framework of our country. But he is doing splendid work with Sekai Holland and John Nkomo so what is important is the content of the agenda, what is important is the content of the work and Sibanda is on top of his work and is being productive. That’s what we care about for now.

GONDA: How do you respond to people who say how can the Vice President of the party not have a Cabinet position, a secured Cabinet position while juniors have been given Cabinet positions?

MUTAMBARA: I think that’s a discussion for the party, that’s a discussion for the leadership of the party and when they make decisions they don’t have to explain their decisions to non-members. So members of the party are clear on how we made our decisions and Mr Sibanda himself is very clear on how we made our decisions and so we have no problems, we are marching forward.

GONDA: And a final word.

MUTAMBARA: I’m appealing to the Zimbabwean in Mugabe, I’m appealing to the Zimbabwean in Tsvangirai, I’m appealing to the Zimbabwean in Mutambara and the Zimbabwean in all of us to say let us work together in the short run, let us suspend partisan interest in the short run and make sure that we do the right thing for our country. In particular let us work together to create conditions for free and fair elections, so that come next election, elected people are able to form a legitimate government, not this arrangement which is undemocratic which is running Zimbabwe. The future belongs to a proper democracy where an election is able to deliver a government.

GONDA: Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara speaking to us on the programme Hot Seat. Thank you very much.

MUTAMBARA: Thank you very much for this opportunity to share with your listeners.

Feedback can be sent to violet@swradioafrica.com

Morgan Tsvangirai Cancels Cabinet Meeting to Resolve Roy Bennett Issue

2009-10-15T06:29:00.000-07:00

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai called off a cabinet meeting Thursday after a magistrate's court detained top aide Roy Bennett ahead of his trial on terrorism charges, officials said.
"The Prime Minister has suspended the council of ministers meeting and any government appointments until the Bennett issue is resolved," an official in the prime minister's office told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Roy Bennett, Tsvangirai's pick as deputy agriculture minister, was sent back to jail to stand trial Monday in a ruling his party said was a serious attack on the credibility of the inclusive government.

The Movement for Democratic Change party treasurer, accused of possessing arms for the purposes of banditry, terrorism and inciting acts of insurgency, had been free on bail since March. He had been arrested on February 13, the day the unity government was sworn in.
His renewed detention has cast fresh clouds on the challenges facing the eight month partnership of Tsvangirai with long-time rival President Robert Mugabe amid claims of a crackdown on MDC supporters and disputes over key posts.

Minister of State in Tsvangirai's office Gorden Moyo told AFP Thursday's cabinet meeting was cancelled as the prime minister had to attend to matters linked to the unity pact but did not give details.
"The council of ministers meeting which was supposed to be held today has been cancelled because the chairman, who is also the PM, had other pressing issues which relate to the global political agreement which he had to personally attend to and address," he said.

Bennett, a feisty white former coffee farmer whose land was expropriated under Mugabe's land reforms, was arrested on his return from South Africa to join Tsvangirai's government.
He had fled to the neighbouring country in 2006 after being implicated in an alleged plot to kill the veteran leader, for which he stands trial on Monday.

His lawyers said they are planning to appeal to the High Court to have him released on bail once again. The MDC on Wednesday accused Mugabe's Zanu PF of being behind Bennett's indictment and detention.

"Zanu PF has invented yet another technicality to have him detained without trial on trumped-up charges of banditry and terrorism," the party said in a statement.

"The banditry charges are trumped-up and they poison the letter and spirit of the inclusive government" and the unity deal, it added.

The two former rivals formed the unity government in February nearly a year after disputed polls plunged Zimbabwe into deeper economic and political chaos. - AFP

Roy Bennett Indicted. Jailed in Zimbabwe

2009-10-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

A MUTARE court on Wednesday ordered the detention of Roy Bennett, a senior official in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party, and ruled he should stand trial on terrorism charges.

"He has been indicted. The natural consequence is he will be in custody until he makes a bail application in the High Court," state prosecutor Chris Mutangadura told Reuters.

Prosecutors applied for the indictment of the former Chimanimani MP on Tuesday, which was opposed by his lawyers.

Bennett's detention is likely to raise renewed tension between Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe. The two old foes set up a power-sharing government in February after disputed elections in 2008.

Bennett is a key ally of Movement for Democratic Change leader Tsvangirai, and the party's nominee for Deputy Agriculture Minister. He was arrested on February 13, as the new cabinet was sworn in.

The charges against Bennett are linked to a cache of weapons found in the eastern border town of Mutare. Peter Hitschmann, a former Rhodesian soldier and arms dealer, was arrested in March 2006 and charged with treason after prosecutors said he plotted to kill President Robert Mugabe.

A court cleared Hitschmann of treason in July 2007 but found him guilty of illegal arms possession. He was jailed for three years.

Bennett is accused of providing Hitschmann with money for the procurement of 26 grenades, 12 rifles and other weapons.

Prosecutors say Bennett incited Hitschmann to use the weapons to knock down a microwave link situated at a kopje along Melfort-Bromley Loop Road.

Hitschmann used a mobile phone disabling devices to block phone signals and to blow up anti-riot water cannon trucks used by police, it is alleged.

Prosecutors say they will call 12 witnesses, but Hitschmann – now released from prison -- has said he will not testify against Bennett.

The MDC, meanwhile, says prosecutors are not ready for a trial and simply want to prolong the legal process and provide Mugabe with an excuse to refuse top swear-in Bennett. Mugabe has said Bennett must first prove his innocence in court.

Bennett’s indictment, the MDC says, “means that his trial in the High Court would only commence sometime next year as the High Court calendar is already full until February 2010.”

“It is also clear that contrary to the submissions made by the State … the State does not at this stage have evidence to carry out a prosecution against Bennett. The indictment is therefore a malicious ploy by the Attorney General’s office to keep his criminal charges pending thereby denying him opportunity to be sworn in as the deputy Agriculture Minister.”

Story from : NEWZIMBABWE.COM NEWS:

Published On: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:14 PM GMT

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news/news.aspx?newsID=1161

© New Zimbabwe News

Bennett's Trial Delayed As Prosecutors Fail To Arrive

2009-10-14T06:27:00.000-07:00

Mutare, October 13, 2009 – The trial of Roy Bennett, Zimbabwe’s deputy agriculture minister designate, failed to kick on time on Tuesday after officials from the Attorney General’s office failed to pitch up for unknown reasons.

Bennett’s defence lawyers led by Beatrice Mtetwa, immediately applied to have the case thrown out on that basis but the application was thrown out by the presiding magistrate, Lucy Mungwari. The trial is now expected to start later on Tuesday.

Mtetwa argued that if Bennett had failed to appear in court the court would have issued a warrant of arrest therefore it was important for the court to also reprimand the State by dismissing the case.

She argued the AG’s office had not furnished the court with proper reasons for their failure to be at the court on time thereby undermining the court system. Mtetwa said the court must stamp its authority by sending a clear message to law officers that they should take the court seriously.

However, the magistrate ruled that while she was in agreement with Mtetwa she was giving the State the benefit of doubt saying: “There is no worry in waiting until they come at 2:15 pm.”

Bennett (52), also MDC Treasurer general, and close ally to MDC leader and the country’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, was arrested in February this year on charges of possessing weapons for the purposes of insurgency and banditry.

The failure by the prosecution team to arrive in time for the trial has heightened speculation that the State is not ready to proceed with the case due to lack of witnesses.

Mtetwa was assisted by human rights lawyers Trust Maanda and Blessing Nyamaropa.

Maanda had indicated on Monday that they would apply for a refusal of further remand for Bennett as the state had failed to furnish him with indictment papers.

The MDC believes the charges against one of its founding legislators are trumped up. Bennett once served a one year jail term for assaulting justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa in parliament.

Following charges of terrorism, he fled the country to seek asylum in South Africa in 2006 after the police quizzed him over the discovery an arms cache at a house belonging to Mike Peter Hirschman, an arms dealer.

Bennett returned to the country early this year after he had been advised by some MDC officials it was now safe to come back home.

He was on February 13 this year seized by the police and some intelligence officers at the Charles Prince Airport as he was just about to fly back to South Africa to visit his family. He spent a month at Mutare remand prison amid frantic attempts by his lawyers and the MDC to have him released.

Interview: Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara

2009-10-13T08:55:00.000-07:00

by: Violet Gonda

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara was a guest on SW Radio Africa's Hot Seat programme. In this first of a two-part interview, Mutambara talks about the progress and challenges facing the power sharing government:
Broadcast: October 9, 2009
VIOLET GONDA: We welcome Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara on the programme Hot Seat. Welcome on the programme Professor.
ARTHUR MUTAMBARA: Thank you very much for this opportunity Violet to share with your listeners.
GONDA: Thank you. Now let’s start with your thoughts or getting your thoughts on the progress of the inclusive government. How are things going?
MUTAMBARA: I think on balance we are making some progress. I must start by saying that when we evaluate the progress we must understand where the country was this time last year. This time last year our Minister of Finance was being charged with treason, I was in the court system myself, we’re just coming out of the farcical run-off, and the economy was in complete melt-down. And so today we have dollarised, our inflation is down to 3% from half a trillion per cent, we have brought about political stability in the country where the three major parties are working together, there is now economic stability of sorts and we are now working on economic growth and development. We have an economic recovery plan, we are working on a medium term plan, we are working on a national vision for the country, we are re-branding our country, we are working on a national constitution and we are working on national healing. So those are the positive aspects.
On the negative side, we have not fully implemented the GPA, there are outstanding issues on The Global Political Agreement, there are issues on our farms where there are fresh farm invasions in the country, there are people invading the conservancies in the country destroying agro-industries. There are challenges around the media, the State media is biased against the former opposition leaders like myself, Tsvangirai and others, so media reforms are very slow, the constitutional process is moving but not as fast as we would want it to do and many other issues that are outstanding but let me say that our view is that these challenges are expected, they are growing pains, there are teething problems and we hope that we should gather the political will across the political divide to resolve these matters.
GONDA: Are there really just teething problems because you were reported recently saying that the two MDC formations have no power to stop these continued abuses of power by Zanu-PF and that the MDC parties have no control in the unity government. Can you confirm this?
MUTAMBARA: Yah well, you know we must always remember that the Agreement was a compromise arrangement. It was an Agreement which was tilted in the favour of Zanu-PF. So going in, if you look at the debates we had on Home Affairs, the debates we had on sharing of cabinet, the debates we had on the top ten ministries, on balance the Agreement was a major compromise for us coming from the opposition. So we expected to have problems and challenges.
So what I was saying in that remark was to dramatise that in this coalition arrangement we are coming from three different directions, we have to negotiate and sometimes fight on every issue and sometimes we coming from the former opposition do not win. I was just giving an honest statement that the things we want done sometimes are not done. For example we are saying we want a complete moratorium on land acquisition, we want to move away from land acquisition to land use and we have not succeeded in carrying out that programme.
So I was expressing my frustration and the frustrations of others we work with in terms of us not being able to achieve what we want. But that does not mean that we have failed and the government has collapsed. We must continue to engage with each other we must continue talking to each other and I hope in this conversation with you we can do some scenario analysis of what it means for the collapse of the government, what it means to pull out of the government and I think, I’ve seen a lot of comment and discussions, there’s not been any robust discussions of these scenarios, a short analysis of the scenarios and I hope you and I will be able to do that discourse tonight.
GONDA: I was actually going to ask that, because last week I spoke to Tendai Dumbutshena who is a Zimbabwean journalist and commentator who is based in South Africa and he was saying or he believes that the MDC should pull out of the inclusive government and he said Zanu-PF is totally devoid of fairness or good faith and that you are just wasting your time. He also…
MUTAMBARA: Yah I read that interview, there is nothing new, there is nothing of value and people like Tendai must go back home and be part of the struggle as opposed to pontificating over the radio with you. We need soldiers on the ground and he must become a soldier on the ground. Let…
GONDA: So are you saying, before you go on, are you saying that people in the Diaspora have no right to talk about the situation in the country…
MUTAMBARA: There have a right to talk but also they must put their money where their mouth is. We are speaking from the trenches. But let me analyse the work for you here. No, no, no you have a role to play but I’m saying that let’s not do too much talking, let us see more of action as well, and I’m encouraging the Diaspora to be active in particular Tendai to come back home and do some fighting from the ground.
GONDA: But the same can be said about the MDC, that there is too much talking…
MUTAMBARA: OK let me analyse, that’s fine, but I’m just encouraging all of us to do some work on the ground but you are entitled to speak. Now let’s look at the pull out. You pull out and do what? OK you pull out and then you hope that the regime of Robert Mugabe will collapse and then you walk into office without a fight. Of course you know that is not going to happen. You pull out and wait for the next election. OK what kind of election do you think you are going to get after pulling out? You know and on the Mugabe side you allowed the government to collapse and do what? Mugabe must realise that he is President of Zimbabwe because of the GPA. Without the GPA Mugabe is not President of Zimbabwe. Mugabe and Zanu-PF cannot run the country on their own. The sooner they realise this the better. Evidence - they waited from June 27th 2008 to 11th February 2009 without forming a government which shows that they could not form a legitimate government on their own. Havafanhiri kukanganwa chezuro nehope.
The reason why they waited from June 27th 2008 to 11th February was because they had no legitimacy to form a government on their own. They must play ball, they must do the right things, they must make sure that they engage us and they reach out to us so that we save this marriage. We must make sure that in this marriage, our co-business, our co-agenda is the creation of conditions for free and fair elections, new constitution, national healing, media reforms, political reforms, economic recovery, economic stabilisation, so that next time around our elections are able to deliver a government.
Our elections last year were inconclusive and if we pull out of this government without fixing the electoral space, levelling the political field we are going to go through another disgraceful election and that is not progress. And Zanu must understand this as well, that they cannot run that country on their own and no-one in SADC and no-one in the AU would tolerate that. So we are stuck, Violet, with each other. We’ve got to find a way to put national interest before self interest which means Mugabe must stop these activities we are seeing in the media where boards are being fraudulently appointed and the issues that are outstanding on the GPA must be fixed and the nonsense on our farms must stop forthwith. In other words, I am saying, yes we have challenges but we must find it within ourselves as Zimbabweans to craft an answer, to craft an understanding, in the short run we have to work together. No-one, Tsvangirai, Mugabe, Mutambara, no-one has a viable Plan B.
GONDA: You know critics of the coalition government also say like what you said earlier on - about commentators who are speaking from outside the country that there’s just too much talk and no action - so you’ve outlined all these problems that you are facing in the coalition government but how are you going to enforce this change? As you said decisions are being made unilaterally by Zanu-PF, how are you going to force Zanu-PF to be fair?
MUTAMBARA: Yah that’s a very good question Violet. I think the starting point is the realisation by all of us that we need each other. It’s a realisation by all of us that no one of the three political parties can run the country on their own at the moment and the only way forward is finding an accommodation among ourselves. I think it’s a mindset we need to build, a mindset that we need to embrace among the three of us. We need to move away from grandstanding and negotiating in the media to serious negotiations quietly and emphasising those areas of agreement, emphasising those elements that unite the Zimbabwean people, emphasising the importance of the common shared value system, the common shared vision of our country. We must find those areas of agreement and amplify them.
Now, how do we get progress? I think we get progress by Number One; understanding that for this government to be credible, Violet, we must implement what we agreed upon. No-one was forced to sign that GPA. We signed that GPA out of our own volition, so when we renege on these agreements and these positions we are undermining the credibility of ourselves as a people; we are undermining the credibility of this government. We are destroying the confidence that people have in this government. How can I convince an investor to come to Zimbabwe when I cannot keep my own agreement with myself? How can I say to an investor, come to Zimbabwe, I will respect my agreement with you when I can’t keep my own agreement with myself?
The starting point is to say the GPA, the Agreement we signed on the 15th September must be implemented without variation and without equivocation. Secondly we must make sure that the State media becomes a proper public media which is non-partisan, which is above parties. We can’t have the current situation where the Herald and ZBC are used by Zanu-PF to attack former members of the opposition, to attack the Prime Minister, to attack the Minister of Finance and many other people in this government. That is unacceptable.
We must be inclusive at every point, we must consult the Prime Minister, consult the President and make sure that the spirit and letter of the Agreement is lived up to. And more importantly, we must quickly work on this new constitution to make sure that the fundamental law in our country is democratic and people driven. And we must work on national healing so that we can say – never again in Zimbabwe should Zimbabweans victimise each other over political affiliation. You can’t question my patriotism because I belong to a different political party. So it is a tough question you are asking me Violet but I think it can be done, it can be solved if we all realise that we need each other. Yes we have differences, yes we might not like each other’s political dispositions but in this arrangement, in this short run, in the penultimate, we are going to sink or swim together.
GONDA: With all due respect, what you are saying is all rhetoric because people already know these things - about the Kariba Draft, how Zanu-PF has said that they will use the Kariba Draft as the reference point and I understand both MDCs are not happy with this and yet this was a unilateral decision made by Zanu-PF. The media reforms, the Boards that you’ve talked about and issues of investor confidence – people already know about these things. So the question is; what are you doing as the principals in this power sharing government? When you sit as the three principals, what do you say to Robert Mugabe when clearly he’s violating the Global Political Agreement?
MUTAMBARA: The starting point is to make sure that he understands in no uncertain terms that he is President of Zimbabwe because of the GPA. Without the GPA he is not President of Zimbabwe. If he understands that, then we can have progress. Now the constitution you refer to, that’s another point of disagreement, a point of conflict. But however we are saying again let’s keep talking, let’s keep discussing and accommodation. The Kariba Draft is just one document; there are many other documents in the country. As we write our constitution we must have a doctrine that says – we the people shall write our own constitution – not we the major political parties. So there must be a way to reaching out to people who are not in government, who are not in the three political parties, there must be a way of reaching out to civic society, to the churches, to the labour movement, to industry.
A constitution by definition is a national consensus document. Everyone in Zimbabwe must respect and buy in to the constitution - that is the desire. We don’t want to win a referendum by 70% or 80% we want a referendum which is won by 99%, by 100% which means we remove the need of a new constitution from our political discourses in campaigns. We must make sure that we find a way of accommodating the three parties, those outside the parties the three of them and those who are in civil society. So I think the disagreements you have outlined on Kariba are correct but they do not mean that we cannot find a way of accommodating each other but more importantly accommodating Zimbabwe. The Kariba Draft can be used for example to unlock areas of disagreement between the three political parties, but Zimbabwe is bigger than the three political parties. Zimbabwe must be given an opportunity to craft a constitution which all Zimbabweans will be able to say this is our constitution – the way the Americans defend their constitution is what we seek to see in our own country.
GONDA: There are some who say the two MDC parties seem to be the only ones who are willing to compromise in this set up. Critics say you seem to be giving this impression that you do not have a plan to get out of this cycle of compromise and appeasement and they ask what happens if the next election result is contested and you have a similar situation like we have today?
MUTAMBARA: So first and foremost you are right on the money in terms of the next election. We must make sure that next election is measurably free and fair. That’s why we emphasise remaining in this arrangement in so far as we can work on levelling the political field because if we don’t solve the challenges around the elections we’ll be back to square one after the next one. So on the elections for example, the question is not when is the next election – that is the wrong question – the question is what kind of election are we going to have next time around and what are we doing to make sure we achieve that type of election.
In terms of compromise – no we are not compromising all the time. For example on the Zimpapers Board, on the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe Board, we have said those are null and void, the Minister was misdirected, the procedure was illegal and a farce. We don’t recognise those structures, we are going to reverse those structures.
On land we don’t want and we don’t endorse the current invasions happening in Conservancies, we don’t endorse the harassment of people in the courts at the moment and we are saying we are taking positions, we might not be effective in terms of getting what we want but we are not going along, we are not taking anything lying down.
We are taking a position of condemning the specification of Meikles for example. You know the individual companies, individuals are being violated, we are taking a position of principle and we are doing so within cabinet, we are doing so within the threesome and so our presence in cabinet, our presence in government is part of the struggle and we are fighting a good struggle. Yes we are not winning all the time but I think that we must keep up the fight and we must not compromise on fundamental matters, more so when it comes to issues that are important in terms of creating a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe.
GONDA: So there has to be some kind of a timeline to this and on the issue of the Media Commission for example, when are the Media Commission appointments going to be formalised?
MUTAMBARA: In fact last week the Prime Minister and the President sat and finalised that Zimbabwe Media Commission. So it’s a question of announcing it now, so the agreement has been struck on the Zimbabwe Media Commission, it’s a question of that being announced. What we are saying must be reversed is this illegal and un-procedural appointment of the Board of Zimpapers and the Board of the BAZ. But the Media Commission Violet has gone through the SROC, gone to the President. The President and the Prime Minister have looked at those things and have agreed. It’s a question of the announcement. But we are not happy about the way the media, the State media is operating in the country, in particular the Herald and the ZBC. We want to make sure the ZBC becomes a proper public broadcaster, not a partisan instrument of propaganda. We want to make sure the Herald becomes a national public newspaper not an instrument of attacking members of the government of national unity. So this is work in progress.
GONDA: But Professor Mutambara, still on the issue of the Media Commission, it’s reported that George Charamba, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Publicity actually revealed at a media conference in Harare this week that the Media Commission will only be announced or set up when all other commissions like the Anti-corruption Commission, the Human Rights and the Electoral commissions are actually formed, is this correct?
MUTAMBARA: Yah that is not correct and these are the individuals who are damaging the standing of the government by speaking out of turn and by speaking without authority. We do not take that very kindly. He has no authority to speak as he has done and I’ll not dignify him with a response save to say he is not qualified to speak in that way and he is incorrect. He is a civil servant but he is behaving like a political commissar which is a travesty of justice in our country.
GONDA: You say he is not qualified to speak but to a large extent George Charamba has played a huge role in changing certain things that you would have agreed as the three political parties. One of the allegations is that he was one of the people who also helped set up the controversial Media Boards that were announced by the Minister of Information recently.
MUTAMBARA: That’s the point I’m making precisely, I’m not saying that he’s not playing a role, but we are saying that we do not approve of his activities as an inclusive government and as Deputy Prime Minister and as Prime Minister we take a strong exception to these quasi-political activities that a civil servant is carrying out. But anyway we will deal with that at the right forum but we don’t approve of those activities.

GONDA: How are you going to deal with that?

MUTAMBARA: Well in cabinet, in the threesome, we got to keep talking, we got to find a way of doing what is right for the country. As I said at the beginning, what is important is for all Zimbabweans and for all the leaders to understand that this is national interest time. This is about Zimbabwe, it’s about how we can salvage our economy, how we can grow our economy and how we can build our democracy. It was never going to be easy. It was a compromise Agreement, it was tilted in favour of Zanu-PF, we’ve said this before, we have said it when we were walking in and so we are not surprised by these challenges but we are saying let us take them in our stride but let us not start contemplating moves that we have not analysed in terms of their consequences. Let us keep working so that we can do the right thing for our people.
Remember we signed the Global Political Agreement to resolve the challenges being faced by our people. We did this for the people of Zimbabwe. We did not do this for ourselves. We did this because of the guidance and advice from SADC and the AU and you cannot succeed in a struggle in Africa without African support so we need to remain within the framework of the SADC and the AU activities and we need to make sure that we do whatever we can to save our people.

GONDA: But when are we going to see movement from SADC?

MUTAMBARA: I think you can check with them to see exactly how they are going to move but you know after the meeting in the DRC, the matter was taken to the Troika. But let me emphasise that we should not be going for grandstanding; we must be going for solutions. We must not be going for scoring points or humiliating each other but rather going for compromise. Compromise is not a bad thing if it’s done on both sides. So I think that even SADC, even the AU as we try to resolve the Zimbabwean situation, let us be more concerned about solutions than grandstanding and scoring points. And I’m sure if we do that at SADC level, at our level in the country we’ll be able to achieve some results.
GONDA: There are some who are saying you are trying to prolong what should be a temporary arrangement and you are saying that the coalition government should run for at least five years. Is this just hearsay?
MUTAMBARA: Yes, no that’s not correct, I’ve never, let me explain my position. My position is very clear and it has been distorted. There’s nothing in the GPA that says the government will run for two years. What it says in the GPA is that we are going to work on a new constitution, once the constitution has been adopted through a referendum we are going to sit down and then say are we ready to go into an election? Now this question is very important by the way. Remember the discussion we had a couple of minutes ago – there’s no point in going into an election which you know is going to be fraudulent, which you know the official losers are going to challenge, which you know is going to be unfree and unfair - because if you do that you are going to go back to where we were on March 29th last year.
So the discussion we must have in the country is what kind of election are we going to get next time, not when is the next election. We had elections in 2000 that were problematic, in 2002 they were problematic, and I’m being polite by using the word problematic, in 2008 – problematic. Now, so an election in itself is not the answer to our challenges. It is the nature and the calibre of that election, so what we can try and do in this arrangement, in this marriage, is to make sure we work on the quality and calibre of our next election. So meaning that we must be more concerned about the content and character of our next election as opposed to when does it take place.
So what I was emphasising that after the referendum, if we do our referendum in two years and it is adopted, we hope that by those two years we will have done our national healing, recovered our economy, reformed the media, political reforms and our country will be ready for an election. That is the best case scenario – that we are ready for a proper free and fair election in two years time. If we are not ready it would be folly to go through an election like we had in 2008 because we are going to be back to where we were last year. That is the position.
There is no desire, there is no aspiration on my part to extend this arrangement more than is necessary. But I’m a pragmatist and I’m a national leader and leadership is about making unpopular decisions popular. Leadership is about leading from the front. Let us not subject this country to another fraudulent and farcical election – that would be a travesty of justice in our country. Let us be concerned about the quality and calibre of our next election – that is the question.
GONDA: Next week we bring you the concluding interview with the Deputy Prime Minister, where he says he believes targeted sanctions against individuals in ZANU PF should be removed. Should individuals responsible for the murder of hundreds and the torture and displacement of hundreds of thousands be removed from sanctions? Where does the Deputy Prime Minister actually stand as he appears to flip flop from being Mugabe's biggest supporter and then the next minute his harshest critic? Many observers also doubt Mutambara's credibility as a leader, as he was not elected by the people. How will he ever become the people's choice, and does he still believe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is a 'political midget?'

Feedback can be sent to violet@swradioafrica.com

Tsvangirai: Lift Sanctions on Zimbabwe

2009-10-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has called on western countries to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe to reward progress made under a power sharing government formed with rival, President Robert Mugabe, in February.

Tsvangirai also wants western countries to resume budgetary support for the country which is coming out of a decade-long political and economic crisis.

Speaking to journalists at his Strathaven home in Harare after acknowledging receipt of two international awards he won last week, Tsvangirai said the only way Zimbabwe would move forward was for donor countries to provide balance of payment support and to do away with sanctions, which he referred to as “restrictive measures.”

Tsvangirai said: “The thing is that people must recognise and reward progress. I think there’s no dispute in everyone’s assessment that there is progress being made by the inclusive government in Zimbabwe, therefore it must be rewarded.

“How do we reward it? We have to reward by moving away from just humanitarian aid. We need to move towards economic growth, development aid and to ensure to it that any restriction that is there is removed.

“Not that I’m going to dictate to anyone, but just to say this is how you can reward progress. Remove any obstacle towards the progress we are making.”

Donor countries have withheld developmental aid to Zimbabwe, insisting on more “political reforms” and restoration of order on commercial farms where the few remaining white farmers say they are under siege from Mugabe's supporters. Zimbabwe has set a target of US$10 billion to restore social services, boost industry and kick-start economic recovery.

Most western countries have committed humanitarian aid to the country, while maintaining sanctions which President Robert Mugabe says scare away potential investors and prevent the country from accessing international lines of credit. Mugabe says claims by those countries that the sanctions are “targeted” are a smokescreen.

In a related development, one of Zimbabwe’s two Home Affairs Ministers Giles Mutsekwa – a senior member of Tsvangirai’s MDC – described the sanctions on Zimbabwe as “illegal” in an address to the 78th General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organisation in Singapore on Monday.

Mutsekwa said the Zimbabwe Republic Police had “steadfastly maintained its integrity in the ferocity of machinations of the detractors determined to collapse the country”, and commended the force for “demonstrating the necessary operational acumen and strength to navigate the choppy waters of policing in an environment where the illegal sanctions have decimated the organisation’s capacity to fulfill its constitutional obligation of maintaining law and order."

Tsvangirai won a human rights award and a lifetime achievement award in Spain last Thursday.

The International Bar Association awarded him with their human rights award in recognition of his efforts to advance the cause of human rights in Zimbabwe, while the Spanish Foundation Cristobal Gabarron awarded him with the International Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 for his fight for peace and democracy.

“This is the recognition of the struggle of the Zimbabwean people for those democratic ideals that every human being would fight for. To me the rightful recipients are the people of Zimbabwe for their continued struggle,” Tsvangirai said.

Tsvangirai had also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, which was won by US President Barack Obama.

Story from : NEWZIMBABWE.COM NEWS:
Published On: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 4:50 AM GMT
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news/news.aspx?newsID=1150
© New Zimbabwe News

Zimbabwe sanctions 'must be lifted'

2009-10-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/8295519.stm

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change is sharing power with President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party.

From the start, the coalition government has struggled with disagreements and animosity.

Arthur Mutambara is Zimbabwe's deputy prime minister. Stephen Sackur asked him if power-sharing could rescue Zimbabwe from political and economic crisis, and whether sanctions should be lifted immediately.

Robert Mugabe on CNN

2009-09-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Editor's note: The following is a transcript of Christiane Amanpour's interview with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, his first interview with a Western television network in several years. It took place on September 24 in New York, one day before Mugabe was to address the United Nations.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: And here to address the United Nations, President Mugabe joins me now in the studio. So welcome to this program. Thank you for coming in.

ROBERT MUGABE, PRESIDENT, ZIMBABWE: Thank you.

AMANPOUR: What are you going to ask? Are you going to ask President Obama to lift the sanctions that are imposed?

MUGABE: Not really. I haven't come here for President Obama to address the United States alone. I've come here to address the General Assembly, which is part of the United Nations' structures. And we are entitled to discuss matters that affect us in the global environment and the matters that affect us in a particular way as Zimbabwe. And this is what I'm going to do.

AMANPOUR: So you -- but you obviously are calling for sanctions to be lifted.

MUGABE: Yes, that -- that I will do, certainly. The sanctions are unjustified, illegal, and they are meant for regime change, to address that illegal principle.

AMANPOUR: You say for regime change, but it all really is about trying to get the political situation stabilized. And for the last year, you've been in so-called power-sharing agreement with the leader of the opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai. What does power-sharing to you mean? Many people say that it's in name only right now.

MUGABE: No. It is really power-sharing. And that power-sharing is encapsulated in an agreement we call the global political agreement. And this was arrived at through the facilitation that we got from South Africa, and specifically through the facilitation by former President Thabo Mbeki.

AMANPOUR: The problem, though, is, Mr. President, that many people are saying that you're still -- and your party -- is trying to sort of reduce the MDC majority or their officials in parliament. There are MPs who are being arrested. They're being charged with alleged crimes to prevent them from being able to take office. Why is this still happening?

MUGABE: First, may I make this quite clear, that the global political agreement was arrived at after a series of meetings which involved not just ZANU-PF, as represented by myself and our negotiators, and numbered (ph) also between ZANU-PF and the MDC, as represented by Tsvangirai and Professor Chambara (ph) and their negotiators.

AMANPOUR: Right.

MUGABE: And these -- these provisions in the global agreement were reached after very strenuous discussions had taken place.

AMANPOUR: Right. But the question really is...

MUGABE: And so they were not -- they were not forced upon us. We -- we came to...

AMANPOUR: No, but the question really is...

MUGABE: We came to them deliberately.

AMANPOUR: All right. So why then...

MUGABE: We arrived at them deliberately.

AMANPOUR: All right. So if you say you arrived at them deliberately, why then are their MPs and officials still being harassed?

MUGABE: Because the issue of those who have been arrested is a different matter altogether. Some of them had committed crimes before the global agreement, crimes such as rape and kidnapping. You couldn't -- you couldn't let people who have committed such crimes get away with it merely because there is a global agreement.

AMANPOUR: Has Roy Bennett committed a crime? Why is he not being sworn in?

MUGABE: Roy Bennett has been charged, and on the face of it the charges are very serious. But I'm told -- and I'm told this by the leader of the MDC -- that the prosecution is addressing (ph) no evidence. There are no witnesses. And I've said, if there are no witnesses, the prosecution will arrive at a time when they will say so. Watch Mugabe speak out on power-sharing »

AMANPOUR: So charged with what?

MUGABE: But let's not read that for them. Let them read that conclusion on their own.

AMANPOUR: Do you think that he will -- do you think that he will be appointed?

MUGABE: I have -- yes, yes, yes, if he's acquitted, he will be appointed.

AMANPOUR: But charged with what?

MUGABE: Charged with -- with having, you know, tried to put -- I think he was found responsible for -- that's the allegation. The allegation is that he's responsible for organizing arms of war against Zimbabwe...

AMANPOUR: Well, we'll obviously have to ask him about that, but...

MUGABE: ... and -- and -- and that this -- these are the charges that are being made on the face of them.

AMANPOUR: Well...

MUGABE: But if the prosecution cannot prove that, in fact, he did so, that, in fact, he's guilty of, you know, trying to organize, you know...

AMANPOUR: Mr. Mugabe, that's certainly the first I'm hearing of it, and we will, obviously, put that to them. But can I say this? There are a lot of people -- and you heard in that report -- who considered you an African hero back in 1980, that you came and -- some of my own friends, Rhodesians, some of the people I've worked with who were in the Rhodesian army, then became journalists in Rhodesia were stunned by the conciliatory nature and the addresses that you gave back in 1980...

MUGABE: Yes.

AMANPOUR: ... and describe how, for 10 years, your policies led to prosperity, led to successes in mining and agriculture, and all sorts of things, and then, over the last 10 years, things have really gone south in a big and bad way. Why is it that that's happened?

MUGABE: Over the -- over the last 10 years...

AMANPOUR: No, no, since land reform. And -- and remember that the presidents of Mozambique and Tanzania, when you took the country to liberation, said to you that you have the jewel of Africa in your hands, now look after it. Watch Mugabe speak on land reform »

MUGABE: Yes, we are looking...

AMANPOUR: Did you look after it?

MUGABE: Yes, in a very great way. Over the last 10 years, we have had ZIDERA, the sanctions imposed on us by -- by the United States, plus sanctions imposed upon us by the European Union, over the last 10 years.

AMANPOUR: Right, but they were specifically targeted sanctions...

MUGABE: No.

AMANPOUR: ... against individuals, not against the trade or development.

MUGABE: Zimbabwe -- no, no, no, no. The United States' sanctions on us are real sanctions, economic sanctions. Have you looked at that? Look at them, and you'll satisfy yourselves that they prevent companies from having any dealings with us.

AMANPOUR: But they're very, very specifically targeted.

MUGABE: They prevent any -- any -- they prevent any financial institutions...

AMANPOUR: But how do you account...

MUGABE: ... also from having any relations with us.

AMANPOUR: ... for these incredible statistics, where, since you took over, life expectancy has dropped, manufacturing has fallen...

MUGABE: But I'm just telling you -- I'm just telling you...

AMANPOUR: ... 1 in 14 people are malnourished...

MUGABE: I'm just telling you the reasons. It's because of sanctions mainly.

AMANPOUR: But everybody says it's not because of sanctions. It's because of mismanagement.

MUGABE: Not everybody says so.

AMANPOUR: Most people do. Most independent observers say that.

MUGABE: In Zimbabwe -- it's not true.

AMANPOUR: How to get out of this now? How to get out of this? Do you think -- for instance, right now...

MUGABE: The sanctions -- sanctions must be lifted. And we should have no interference from outside. The continued imperialistic interference in our affairs is affecting the country, obviously.

AMANPOUR: I would like to play one sound bite by a neighbor of yours, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who said the following.

[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: He's destroyed a wonderful country, a country that used to be a breadbasket. It has now become a basket case itself. But I think now, I mean, that the world must say, "Look, you -- you -- you have been responsible with your cohorts, you have been responsible for gross violations and you are going to face indictment in -- in the Hague, unless you step down.

[END VIDEO CLIP]

AMANPOUR: How do you respond to that, first that you've taken the breadbasket of Africa into a basket case?

MUGABE: No, it's not a basket case at all. Last -- last year, we managed to grow enough food for ourselves. We are not a basket case anymore.

AMANPOUR: One in fourteen people are called malnourished.

MUGABE: No, no, no, no...

AMANPOUR: Your country is practically dependent on humanitarian aid.

MUGABE: ... just now -- you're not talking of the present.

AMANPOUR: I know things have got slightly better in the last year...

MUGABE: They have got much better in terms of food.

AMANPOUR: ... but it's still like a war zone.

MUGABE: People have grown enough food for themselves. We have had years, continuous, successive years of drought. Don't forget that. And in addition...

AMANPOUR: I've seen the drought figures. I've got all the statistics here.

MUGABE: ...sanctions, as well...

AMANPOUR: Yes.

MUGABE: ...and combine the effects of drought with the effects of sanctions, and what do you get?

AMANPOUR: Well, and the effect of what many people are saying is the land reform that really created this huge discrepancy in your ability to farm.

MUGABE: The land...

AMANPOUR: We're going to go to a break, and we'll talk about that when we come back, all right?

MUGABE: Yes, but the land reform is the best thing that could ever have happened.

AMANPOUR: The best thing?

MUGABE: Yes, that could ever have happened to an African country.

AMANPOUR: We will talk about it in a second.

MUGABE: It has to do with national sovereignty.

AMANPOUR: OK. Let's talk about it in a second.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]

MUGABE: I will never, never, never, never surrender. Zimbabwe is mine. I am an Zimbabwean. Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe never for the British. Britain for the British.

[END VIDEO CLIP]

AMANPOUR: Is that just political rally rhetoric or -- or did you mean that? What did you mean?

MUGABE: That Zimbabwe belongs to the Zimbabwean people.

AMANPOUR: Right. Do you consider...

MUGABE: Pure and simple.

AMANPOUR: ... and everybody believes that?

MUGABE: Yes. All people believe it.

AMANPOUR: So do you consider white Zimbabweans to be Zimbabweans?

MUGABE: Those who are naturalized and have citizenship, yes.

AMANPOUR: Those who've been living there for years and years and years?

MUGABE: But historically...

AMANPOUR: Right.

MUGABE: ... historically, they have a debt.

AMANPOUR: The people who -- contributing to farming -- historically they have a debt to pay?

MUGABE: Yes, yes, their land. They -- they occupied the land illegally. They seized the land from our people.

AMANPOUR: Look...

MUGABE: And therefore, the process of reform, land reform, involved their handing -- having to hand over the land. We agreed upon this with the British, by the way.

AMANPOUR: Some 80 percent of that land was acquired after you took office, some of the farmland, and with the very certificates that mean government approval. Why are these people being hounded out of the country? Why are they being...

MUGABE: They are not -- they are not being hounded.

AMANPOUR: ... hounded off their land, then?

MUGABE: No, no, no, they're not being hounded out of the country at all.

AMANPOUR: We've just done reports about it.

MUGABE: Those who are in industry and manufacturing and mining are not being...

AMANPOUR: The farmers I'm talking about. Why is that...

MUGABE: ... are not being affected.

AMANPOUR: ... wonderful farmland and why are they being...

MUGABE: What are you talking about? We are getting land from them, and that's all. They're not being hounded out of the country, not at all.

AMANPOUR: They're being hounded off their land.

MUGABE: (inaudible) their land.

AMANPOUR: It's not theirs?

MUGABE: Our -- our land.

AMANPOUR: Even though they bought it, even though they bought it with the certificates of approval from the government?

MUGABE: But haven't you heard of the Lancaster House discussions and the agreement with the British government? Because they are British settlers; originally they have been British settlers. And we agreed at Lancaster House that there would be land reform.

AMANPOUR: But they're citizens. But they're citizens, aren't they? And isn't this farming disaster contributing to your...

MUGABE: Citizens by colonization, seizing land from the original people, indigenous people of the country.

AMANPOUR: But how did that all go so wrong?

MUGABE: You approve of that?

AMANPOUR: How did that all go so wrong? Because when you came in, you -- it was -- it was about reconciliation.

MUGABE: They knew about it. They knew we had this program of land acquisition and land reform. They knew about it.

AMANPOUR: But what about the blacks, then?

MUGABE: And the British knew about it.

AMANPOUR: OK. Let's -- let's talk about the black farm workers whose houses and shanty houses, who work on these farms, they're being bulldozed in an operation that was called "Drive Out the Rubbish"? These are black Zimbabweans.

MUGABE: No, no, there -- there was no -- no operation of that nature. That's...

AMANPOUR: But -- well, how come they're being driven off and their shanty houses...

MUGABE: Who?

AMANPOUR: The farm workers.

MUGABE: No, you're mistaken about the mrabanshina program, which had to do with slums, getting rid of slums, not getting rid of farm -- farm workers. It had nothing to do with farm workers at all.

Farm workers, by the way, were to be given three choices. One, they could remain on the farm under the new owner and continue working on the farm. Two, if they were alien...

AMANPOUR: The accusation was that they were opposition.

MUGABE: Let -- let -- let me -- no, if they were alien -- and most of them from Mozambique and -- and -- and Zambia, they could choose to go home, in which case we would discuss the package that they deserved.

Three, they could decide to leave the farm and go elsewhere. And also, to -- if they wanted to -- to get resettled, we could resettle them...

AMANPOUR: Mr. Mugabe...

MUGABE: ... under our program of resettling.

AMANPOUR: The fact is, though, that the country has pretty much plunged into a pretty dysfunctional state by all international indicators.

MUGABE: No.

AMANPOUR: My question is, do you regret that some 4 million people have left in the last three to five years?

MUGABE: I don't know about those numbers.

AMANPOUR: But do you regret -- because these are the brain drain, these are the people who've helped make Zimbabwe the success that it was?

MUGABE: Because of the economic situation...

AMANPOUR: OK.

MUGABE: ... people are bound to leave any country. And they have not just left my country. They have left other countries, as well, to go to Britain, Australia, and -- and other places.

AMANPOUR: Let me ask you a question about...

MUGABE: And at the moment, they are coming back home, anyway.

AMANPOUR: Let me ask you a question. We'll move on from this, and we'll ask you a question about -- you heard what Archbishop Desmond Tutu said.

MUGABE: That's nonsense. It's just devilish talk.

AMANPOUR: Devilish talk?

MUGABE: Yes. Yes.

AMANPOUR: Do you -- do you...

MUGABE: He doesn't know what he's talking about, the little man.

AMANPOUR: The little man? He's a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

MUGABE: Oh, come on.

AMANPOUR: He's a liberation fighter, too.

MUGABE: What -- what liberation?

AMANPOUR: South Africa.

MUGABE: No, of course, you don't know what -- what he -- what his status in the ANC amounts to.

AMANPOUR: Can I ask you a question about Nelson Mandela?

MUGABE: He's a great man, that one, yes.

AMANPOUR: Nelson Mandela has got so much of the attention for being the great liberator of -- of Africa.

MUGABE: Yes.

AMANPOUR: You did it earlier. Do you sometimes wish that you had got as much attention?

MUGABE: President Mandela is President Mandela, and Robert Mugabe is Robert Mugabe. Look at him in his own circumstances, and that's it. If you damn him, well and good, but I know my people have great praise for me. I know the African people think -- think very highly of me.

AMANPOUR: Are you...

MUGABE: And that -- that satisfies me.

AMANPOUR: It does?

MUGABE: Yes.

AMANPOUR: Even though you lost these elections?

MUGABE: Which elections?

AMANPOUR: The last ones.

MUGABE: No, we didn't lose the elections at all.

AMANPOUR: But that's why you're going into a power-sharing group. Look...

MUGABE: Come on.

AMANPOUR: ... we can -- we can argue about this. But my question is this: Why is it so difficult to leave power in a reasonable way when you're up, instead of waiting until it gets to this stage?

MUGABE: You don't leave power when imperialists dictate that you leave.

AMANPOUR: No -- no imperialist. You are the president.

MUGABE: No, there is regime change. Haven't you heard of regime change program by Britain and the United States, which is aimed at getting not just Robert Mugabe out of power, but Robert Mugabe and his party out of power? And that naturally means we dig in, remain in our trenches.

AMANPOUR: Are you going to stand for election again?

MUGABE: That will depend on what I decide to do in the future.

AMANPOUR: Can you tell us?

MUGABE: No, not now.

AMANPOUR: Can you imagine running for another election?

MUGABE: I won't tell you that now, I say.

AMANPOUR: Are you afraid, as some have suggested, that one day you might be indicted by the International Criminal Court?

MUGABE: No, I don't care about that, the international -- what they decide is entirely their own affair -- their own affair. I'm concerned about Zimbabwe, and I'm concerned about the lives of the people of Zimbabwe. And don't forget, it was my party which brought democracy into the country. I fought the British. We had to fight the British for democracy for one man, one person, one vote.

AMANPOUR: And that's why people are so disappointed in what happened, because you do get the kudos for having brought that.

MUGABE: But that is still -- that's still the environment.

AMANPOUR: But now people -- and yet this election was so heavily disputed that you have to go into a power-sharing deal.

MUGABE: Well, elections -- elections are...

AMANPOUR: I guess I want to know why -- why to hang on for so long?

MUGABE: Elections -- elections don't go all that smoothly all the time in many countries. That's the situation. Look at what happens elsewhere. They didn't go smoothly here during -- during the first term -- before the first term of -- of office of President Bush. You know what happened in -- in Florida. The 400,000 votes, where did they go? They were stolen by Mr. Bush. And you people said nothing about it.

AMANPOUR: Well, it was very heavily covered, and there's a dispute about the word "stolen." But here's the thing. The power-sharing agreement in Zimbabwe, do you think that that's actually going to be a real power-sharing agreement? I mean, you do control all the heavy-duty ministries, defense, police, mining? Is there going to be real power- sharing? Is it going to get better?

MUGABE: The inclusive government is a real power-sharing arrangement. Don't denigrate it.

AMANPOUR: All right.

MUGABE: We have 14 countries in SADC which are responsible for assisting us in bringing that about and for assisting us also in making it run.

AMANPOUR: All right.

MUGABE: And read what they say. Listen to what they say.

AMANPOUR: All right, Mr. Mugabe. Thank you for coming in. Thank you for talking to us.

MUGABE: Thank you.

credit: CNN

Roy Bennett Zimbabwe Interview

2009-09-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

Roy Bennett third generation Zimbabwean talks about his swearing in by Robert Mugabe

Mutambara proposes a win-win partnership between Zimbabwe & China

2009-09-11T23:13:00.001-07:00

“We are sick and tired of the old model, where China comes to Africa and extracts raw materials and goes back to China,” Arthur Mutambara told Reuters in an interview on Friday. “Now we are not interested in that.”

China is one of the few countries close to the long-embattled Zimbabwe government, but that did not deter Mutambara from challenging Beijing to do more to help development.

“We are not going to produce raw materials in Zimbabwe for China. China will come on our terms as partners,” he said during a trip to China to attend the World Economic Forum in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian..

“We want to manufacture cars with China in Zimbabwe. We want to manufacture computers with China in Zimbabwe.”

China and African nations will gather for their latest summit later this year in Egypt.

While Mutambara does not stand at the front ranks of Africa’s leaders, his strong comments may suggest some of the ambitious expectations that Beijing must address as that summit approaches.

Mutambara leads a faction of the Movement for Democratic Change, the opposition group that has secured a place in Zimbabwe’s government, which is struggling with deep economic malaise, inflation and scant investment.

Zimbabwe has asked the world for help for its devastated economy, and says it needs $10 billion to rebuild dilapidated infrastructure and ease a 90 percent unemployment rate.

Zimbabwe has urged Chinese mining companies to invest in that sector, but Mutambara said his government also wants China to channel investment into building the manufacturing plants that are China’s strength, for products such as catalytic converters and computers, and funding the country’s banks.

“China has a lot of capital,” he said. “We want them to capitalize our banks so we can invest in agriculture.”

Mutambara said Zimbabwe was in talks with Chinese companies on potential manufacturing projects, but he gave no details.

While Beijing has shown more support for Zimbabwe’s government than Western powers, Chinese investors have remained skittish about investing amid the recent unbridled inflation and political turmoil.

Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change in February formed a brittle coalition administration with President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF to end a long-running political crisis and a decade of economic ruin.

As he became a pariah in the West, Mugabe has tried to boost economic ties with Asian countries, especially China.

Beijing and Chinese companies have pledged tens of billions of dollars to Africa in loans and investments, mostly to secure raw materials for the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

China’s trade with the continent has jumped by an average 30 percent a year this decade, reaching nearly $107 billion in 2008.

Tsvangirai said earlier this year that Zimbabwe had secured $950 million in credit from China to help rebuild its economy, but the Zimbabwe Finance Minister later said no such agreement had been reached.

Mutambara: Make 99-Year Leases Bankable

2009-09-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Harare — The land reform programme is irreversible and Government is going to increase its focus on land use as Zimbabwe seeks to reclaim its breadbasket status, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara said last week.

DPM Mutambara made the remarks during a familiarisation tour of various institutions in Mashonaland Central province, including Mt Darwin District Hospital, Mt Darwin Grain Marketing Board, Bindura Provincial Hospital, Freda Rebecca Mine and Bindura University of Science Education.

"The land reform programme is irreversible. Government now has a duty to ensure security of tenure on those who were allocated land," Prof Mutambara said.

The 99-year leases, he said, should now be structured in a way that they become bankable, so that farmers are able to use them as collateral to access loans from banks.

"The financial sector requires restructuring and reorientation so that traditional ways of borrowing are acceptable.

"The ordinary people at farms should be allowed to use traditional property like cattle as collateral.

"We should move away from Western patterns of borrowing in which they demand your house as collateral or other title deeds.

"If I have 100 cattle I should be allowed to use them for borrowing purposes,' DPM Mutambara said.

Prof Mutambara said the current land value was zero when it comes to borrowing, a situation which is acceptable.

"One way of empowering farmers is to make sure their land has collateral value. Farmers should have security of tenure so that the 99-year leases are bankable.

"With the current 99-year leases you can go to the bank.

"We want to liquefy our assets so those assets belonging to poor people are bankable.

"The farmers should be confident that they will be there for the next 10 years or 20 years so that they can develop infrastructure at the farm and fully invest," he said

DPM Mutambara lamented the poor infrastructural development in the country including the unavailability of power and telecommunication services which were paramount to economic development.

"As Government, we need to provide infrastructure. I noticed even hospitals suffer from power cuts here, the generator is not working, and water systems require rehabilitation. Government's major task is to ensure the availability of infrastructure and its affordability," he said.

Copyright © 2009 The Herald. All rights reserved.

Setting conditions for credible elections

2009-09-03T04:07:00.000-07:00

THERE has been a lot of speculation, discussion and questions raised about what transpired at the retreat of the Zimbabwean Cabinet on the 22nd and 23rd of August 2009, in the resort town of Nyanga.

We had a very focused and productive two-day workshop. I made two separate presentations. On the first day, Saturday, my topic was: The Case for Monitoring and Evaluation: Embracing Global Best Practice. This was executed without any hitches. On the second day, Sunday, I presented on: A Review of the Previous Day and an Update of the Rebranding and Shared Vision Efforts. It was during this discussion that there was an unfortunate misunderstanding over one matter.

Let me state clearly and up-front, that, it was never my intention to insult or to offend my colleagues in the inclusive government. I was giving a review of what had been discussed the day before in what is called the Rights and Interests Cluster of Ministries. This is the group of Ministries responsible for the tasks of supervising the crafting of a new people-driven constitution, national healing, media and political reforms.

One of the challenges that the participants in this cluster identified as impeding progress was the lack of political will within the inclusive government. This was identified as a major constraint, which is retarding progress towards the achievement of the targets and goals of this cluster. In reviewing this matter I sought to emphasise the importance of the work and targets of the Ministries in question, and dramatise the categorical imperativeness of their success.

In particular, I was emphasising the importance of political reforms, media reforms, new constitution and national healing. In my review remarks, I indicated that the core outcome of this government is the creation of conditions for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. This is critical so that the outcome of our next polls is not in dispute. We do not want an inconclusive and problematic election whose results are challenged. We must build integrity and legitimacy of our electoral processes so that the losers congratulate the winners and the winners form a legitimate elected government.

Part of the journey to this state of affairs requires successful implementation a national healing and reconciliation programme, crafting of a truly people-driven constitution and the deepening of political and media reforms including transparency and accountability in all electoral processes.

In order to buttress and amplify my argument, I emphasised that it is essential for members of the government and the generality of the people of Zimbabwe to understand the history, background, and hence the mandate of this inclusive government. Vana veZimbabwe hatifaniri kukanganwa chezuro ngehope. (Zimbabweans, we should not fail to address the challenges and conditions of our immediate past because of a temporary reprieve in our circumstances).

This Inclusive Government came into being because our elections in March and June of last year were inconclusive and problematic. We had challenges around our elections. This is common cause. This is the reason why we went into negotiations from June 27 2008 to February 11 this year. There was no government in Zimbabwe from June 27th 2008 to 11th February 2009. Why? This is because all the elections of 2008 did not produce a government.

This is profound. Elections must produce a government. It means in Zimbabwe we have an electoral disease to cure. The solution lies in the creation of conditions for free and fair elections. This has to be a key outcome of this Inclusive Government. This was the context of the discussion in Nyanga.
Where the discomfort arose was when I used the phrase “The election on March 29th 2008 was fraudulent and that on June 27th 2008 was a farce and a nullity.” Well, well, every Zimbabwean knows that this is a true statement. There is agreement that this is the scientific description of those polls. The observers, SADC and the AU came to the same conclusions.

With hindsight, one could say maybe I could have looked for more polite language to express this agreed fact. That is a fair comment, but the import and essence of my message on the need for reforms are not disputable. We are in this inclusive government because of the challenges and problems we had in March and June last year.

If the elections were decisive, a government could have been formed immediately after June 27, 2008. It wasn’t. It was only created after protracted SADC-facilitated dialogue. This means everyone in this inclusive government owes their government position and role to the Global Political Agreement. There is no leader in this government who was elected to their position. We are all products of negotiations. Every one of us in this inclusive government is a creature of the GPA. That is a misnomer. That is not democracy.

What we want is to make sure that we use the opportunity of this arrangement to ensure that next time around we have a proper election and the outcome is not disputed by the losers and Zimbabwe can have a legitimate elected government. Our people deserve nothing less.

This is what I was emphasising in Nyanga. Having said that, it is important that I say we must endeavour to accommodate each other and use measured, inclusive and tolerant language. I will try my best to do so in future. However, there is no space for what I call inappropriate politeness. We must make sure we craft a sustainable basis for a new Zimbabwe, and build a peaceful, prosperous and democratic nation on a solid foundation rooted in the truth and history of our country.

It is clear from the context outlined above, that, the walk-out by Zanu PF ministers was a complete over-reaction. As Shakespeare put it in Hamlet; “(he) doth protest too much, methinks”. This was much ado about nothing. It was unfortunate that they chose to express themselves that way.

However, as I have already conceded, we should all try to use measured language. We must all try to be sensitive and tolerant. We must all create an environment where the three political parties work together smoothly and effectively in the Inclusive government. As DPM, I will try my best to do my part.

However, in the course of deliberations if there is a position stated or an issue invoked which colleagues find objectionable, the process should be to raise a point of order. The speaker can then be asked to explain or retract. We must not intimidate each other with walkouts and boycotts. We must not blackmail each other with threats of walkouts and boycotts.

Walking out of meetings or not attending workshops is not part of democratic practice. What we want in the country is robust but rational disputation as an integral part of our democratic discourse. You don’t achieve that by walking out of a meeting. We must talk to each other and find each other. Yes we must exercise restraint, and use measured diction.

We cannot blackmail each other by saying this group will not attend a meeting if such an individual has a role. That is juvenile. No viable government can proceed on that basis. We must agree to disagree without being disagreeable.

As for Patrick Chinamasa’s charge of“seizing any opportunity granted to you to attack Zanu PF, especially, President Robert Mugabe,” this is news to me. I wonder if this is what I did when I introduced President Mugabe at the launch of STERP, or when I defended and fought for Zanu PF Ministers to get visas to attend the re-engagement dialogue in Europe. Or when I berated President Obama for discriminating against a Zanu PF Minister, or took public positions against targeted sanctions imposed on Zanu PF Ministers; has this evidence been considered as well? I rest my case.

I am not a member of Zanu PF, neither am I a member of MDC-T. I am the President of a separate political party. I am not beholden to either of these major parties. Within the context of rational disputation and democratic discourse, I reserve the right to take positions based on principles and values of my Party, and damn the consequences.

As a national leader, Principal and DPM in the Inclusive Government, I have a duty and obligation to ensure the full and complete consummation of the GPA. I have to make sure the agenda and mandate of the Inclusive Government are successfully executed. I also have to rally and unite people, and bring the different constituencies together in pursuit of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe.

In the process, I will make mistakes. I will learn lessons. However, I will try my best to be a unifier not a divider. I will try my best to build, and not to destroy. In so far as I am concerned, we should all be driven by the national interest. We must subjugate partisan interest to the national interest. Our collective destiny and aspirations must encourage us to tolerate, accommodate and in fact celebrate dissent, difference and diversity. There is dignity in difference.

In all my action I am targeting the task at hand. My job is to make sure that the Inclusive Government delivers on the promise of the GPA. My task is to ensure that Zimbabweans across the political divide work together. We all have to make sure that this government delivers on its agenda.

As one of the three Principals, I must make sure that all the outstanding GPA issues are speedily and amicably resolved. The GPA and the SADC Communiqué of January 27, 2009, must be fully and completely consummated without equivocation or variation. The three political parties through their three leaders signed a GPA out of their own volition. They were not forced.

This GPA was crafted with the assistance and involvement of SADC and AU. It is an excellent example of African solution to African problems. It is a solution by Zimbabwean citizens to their national challenge. Hence, the spirit and the letter of the GPA must be respected.

Let me dramatise the meaning of our failure to fully implement the GPA. How credible am I as the Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe when I say to an investor, “Come and invest your money in Zimbabwe, I am going to respect my agreement with you,” when I cannot keep my own agreement with myself? Who can have confidence in a government that does not respect its own laws and agreements? Where will credibility of such a regime come from?

Furthermore, what does failure to implement the GPA mean to the legitimacy and efficacy of the doctrine of African solutions to African problems? What are the implications to the credibility of SADC and the AU?

So when I speak out on the outstanding GPA issues, the problems on our farms, shenanigans in our courts, violation of human rights, and the slow pace of media and political reforms, I am only doing my job. I am being a responsible leader. I am being a national leader.

Sometimes leadership is about going against the wind, making unpopular decisions popular. The measure and integrity of a leader is defined by where they stand during invidious moments of crisis. I am not driven by partisan or personal interest, but rather by the collective agenda of serving Zimbabwe. This is the urgency of now. The future will take care of itself.

The primary drivers of change in our nation should be the Zimbabweans themselves. We must become the transformation we seek to see in our country. Foreigners can only help us help ourselves. We must all gather the political will and determination to resolve the outstanding issues.

President Zuma and SADC’s role is ostensibly a facilitative one. This is why some of us have been outspoken on the need for convergence on these matters that are separating us. It is actually embarrassing and demeaning that we should be waiting for Zuma or SADC to encourage us to implement things that we agreed to do six months ago. It is a travesty of common cause.

Having said that, it is my hope that the involvement of President Zuma, SADC and AU will spur our sense of patriotism and self-respect so that we can do what is right for our country and in the national interest of our people. The sooner we realise that we are going to sink or swim together the better. We must unite and work together.

Arthur G.O. Mutambara is the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe

Mugabe's United Nations Speech

2009-08-28T15:03:00.001-07:00

Here is the famous Mugabe Speech at the United Nations