Tsvangirai takes MDC into inclusive government

Zimbabwe Information Centre Inc, Australia, Feb 13, 2009

The new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, led his party into the �inclusive government� to save his country from total collapse and unpredictable chaos, after he had demonstrated clearly that it was Mugabe�s regime which was the obstacle to change, and after obtaining more guarantees from the governments of Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania that they would try to ensure that the new government worked. According to reports of the SADC Summit on January 26, 2009, Mugabe was clearly told that he had wrecked his country and that the formula of the �inclusive government� was there to provide him with a dignified exit. The Summit agreed to the MDC�s five concerns, but refused to budge on their unworkable formula of November 2008 that control of the police and the army must be shared between MDC and ZANU-PF.

This problem is only somewhat allayed by the proposed National Security Council, an MDC idea which SADC endorsed. It appears that the MDC Bill has been severely changed by Mugabe�s side before it reached parliament this week.

The new Prime Minister has two priorities � democratization and stabilization. Democratisation means media reform, the renewal of the Human Rights, Electoral and Constitutional Commissions, and the start of a process of national healing, truth and justice. Stabilisation means providing emergency food without political strings, reopening the schools and hospitals, tackling the cholera epidemic by measures to fix the water and sewerage systems. The Reserve Bank will be urgently reformed.

South Africa and Botswana have offered to pay the salaries of public servants, including the police and army, for the first three months, to enable this first phase of recovery. MDC hopes that there will be a demonstration effect and that after those first months the broader international community will be ready to provide substantial additional help.

The MDC view is that this is a transition to enable a genuine constitutional reform process, leading to new elections � free and fair � as soon as 18 months to two years. After that, the expectation is that Mugabe would be gone and that there would be a legitimate government with the confidence of the people.

While it is plain to any observer that Zimbabwe is collapsed already, with 95% unemployment and no local currency in use, inflation measured in millions of percent, ZANU-PF members and their youth militias have a lot to lose from democratic change, and will oppose it. MDC will be striving to divide and weaken this opposition, and already there is a psychological impact from the rapid moves of the last three weeks. However, the continued detention and torture of over 40 MDC and human rights activists, despite undertakings from Mugabe that they would be released before Wednesdays swearing in ceremony, demonstrates that the path ahead will be blocked in many ways. In fact, there is every chance that the �inclusive� government will not work and MDC may have to walk away.

Police and militia violence against the people continues and is widespread.

Despite criticism of the compromise from many quarters, Tsvangirai and the MDC have enthusiastic support from the mass of the people, as well demonstrated when 40,000 came to the Harare stadium on Wednesday to celebrate Tsvangirai�s inauguration.

The MDC cabinet appointments include just two women, and one of these is Theresa Makone, who is widely regarded in MDC as imposed on the Women�s Assembly and not representing their interests. Tendai Bit, the MDC Secretary-General, initially refused to be a minister, but has now taken on the tough job of finance. It is a big challenge for MDC to stay united and its ministers to be effective in these first weeks and possibly months, as they come up against blockages from the ZANU-PF side.

Full Tsvangirai MDC cabinet list

Corrected 10 February, 2009

1. Finance:                                                                    Tendai Biti

2. Home Affairs (co-shared with Zanu PF)                         Giles Mutsekwa

3. Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs:                      Advocate Eric Matinenga

4. Economic Planning and Investment Promotion:             Elton Mangoma

5. Energy and Power Development:                                 Engineer Elias Mudzuri

6. Health and Child Welfare:                                            Dr Henry Madzorera

7. Labour and Social Welfare:                                         Paurina Mpariwa

8. Water Resources Development and Management:         Abednigo Bhebhe

9. Public Services:                                                         Theresa Makone

10. State Enterprise and Parastatals:                              Eddie Cross

11. Science and Technology Development:                       Professor Henry Dzinotyiwei

12. Information Communication Technology:                     Nelson Chamisa

13. Public Works:                                                          Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro

14. National Housing and Social Amenities:                     Fidelis Mhashu

Deputy Ministers

1. Defence:        Tichaona Mudzingwa

2. Agriculture:    Roy Bennett

3. Justice:         Jessie Majome

Pending

4. Foreign Affairs:

5. Local Government:

6. Women's Affairs:

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGU Forum Update

On 11 February 2009, Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as Zimbabwe's Prime Minister persuant to a power sharing deal signed on 15 September 2008.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the swearing-in of Prime Minister Tsvangirai and implored the new Government to immediately address the economic and humanitarian crises in the country, including the current cholera epidemic. The full text of the statement is available on the following un website:

http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3706

Today 12 February 2009, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a press statement in which the High Commissioner Navi Pillay said she hoped the establishment of Zimbabwe's new Government of National Unity would result in an immediate effort to restore the rule of law, and expressed continuing concern over the disappearance of opposition officials, the reported use of torture to extract false confessions and infringements of the independence of the judiciary. We attach the statement.

The Council of the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier SOLANA congratulated the new Prime Minister and hoped that this could mark the beginning of a new era for Zimbabwe, provided the government he will be heading is given the necessary authority and opportunity to do its job. The full statement is available via the following link; http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/declarations/106008.pdf

Also on 11 February 2009, the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary, David Miliband issued a statement in which he acknowledged that Tsvangirai's appointment offered the possibility of a change for the better with the Prime Minister. He reiterated that the Prime Minister and his team would need to be given the room to lead change, not least from ZANU (PF) and its leadership. The full statement can be viewed via the following link;

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/latest-news/?view=PressS&id=13462857

<http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/latest-news/?view=PressS&id=13462857>

Amidst the pomp and fare associated with the celebrations, 8 Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) activists and their 2 lawyers were in police detention. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Project Lawyers Roselyn Hanzi and Tawanda Zhuwarara were caught in the crossfire of indiscriminate arrests carried out by the Zimbabwean Police arising from a demonstration outside Parliament building in Harare by WOZA and were arrested by unidentified members of the ZRP on 10 February 2009 as they were returning to their office (situated next to the Parliament building) after lunch. They spent 2 nights in police custody and have now been released on free bail and ordered to return to court for trial on 4 March 2009. We attach a Human Rights Defenders Alert issued by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights on the issue on 12 February 2009.

At the same time, at least 30 civil society actors and political party activists remain in prison facing charges of banditry. Our member organisation, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Zimbabwe) issued an alert advising that detained abductee, Jestina Mukoko was today 12 February 2009, finally admitted to a private hospital following Harare Magistrate Gloria Takundwa's order compelling the prison officers to take her there for admission. This was a forth order in the matter with previous orders having been disobeyed. The alert can be accessed via the following link;

http://www.misazim.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=452&Itemid=1

<http://www.misazim.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=452&Itemid=1>

--

International Liaison Office

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum

56-64 Leonard Street

London, EC2A 4LT

UK

Tel: +44-(0)20-7065-0945

Email: zimhrforum@... and IntLO@... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has been in existence since January 1998. The Forum consists of 16 Zimbabwean human rights organisations.  The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum operates a Research and Documentation Unit and offers legal services through the Public Interest Unit from the Headquarters in Harare, in addition to the information service that is offered internationally from the International Liaison Office.  For more details consult our webpage http://www.hrforumzim.com

From The Times (UK), 12 February

Morgan Tsvangirai given a hero's welcome after being sworn in

Martin Fletcher and Jan Raath in Harare

After a decade of bloodshed, sacrifice and suffering, Zimbabweans erupted in joy and jubilation - emotions almost extinct after 29 years of President Mugabe's misrule - as Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as Prime Minister yesterday. Hours after the ceremony that broke Mr Mugabe's long monopoly on power a huge and euphoric throng poured into a stadium in Harare to hail the man to whom they are looking - perhaps prematurely - for liberation from so much hunger, violence and repression. They sang, danced and brazenly flaunted the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) hats and T-shirts that they would have kept well hidden before yesterday. They roared their approval as Mr Tsvangirai promised the food, jobs and political freedoms that they have been denied for a generation.

"For too long our people's hopes for a bright and prosperous future have been betrayed," he declared, in a speech that was a stinging indictment of Mr Mugabe's disastrous record. "Instead of hope their days have been filled with starvation, disease and fear. A culture of entitlement and impunity has brought our nation to the brink of a dark abyss. This must end today." The huge, exuberant rally offered a stark contrast to the joyless ceremony at State House hours earlier, where Mr Mugabe had sourly administered the oath of office to the man whom his thugs have repeatedly beaten, imprisoned and attempted to assassinate. It was an electric but icy encounter. The two men never smiled, barely looked at each other and exchanged only the briefest of handshakes. Grace Mugabe, the President's wife - who vowed during last year's disputed elections that Mr Tsvangirai would "never step [sic] foot in State House" - pointedly shook the hands of his two deputies after they were sworn in but not the new Prime Minister's.

Mr Mugabe's body language gave the lie to his rhetoric. "I offer my hand of friendship and co-operation, warm co-operation and solidarity in the service of our great country Zimbabwe," he told the small, invited audience. "If yesterday we were adversaries ... today we stand in unity. It's a victory for Zimbabwe." Just as the event at the stadium was in effect an MDC victory rally, so the inauguration was stage-managed by Zanu PF to demonstrate that Mr Mugabe was still in charge. The generals who enforce Mr Mugabe's violent rule stayed away so that they would not have to salute the new Prime Minister and state-controlled television and radio failed to broadcast his inaugural speech. The invocation was delivered by Nolbert Kunonga, the former Bishop of Harare, who is known as "Mr Mugabe's bishop" and who was defrocked by the Anglican Church. Thokozani Khupe, an MDC stalwart sworn in as one of Mr Tsvangirai's two deputies, offered a gesture of defiance when she took the oath with the fingers of her uplifted hand splayed outwards in an MDC salute.

Though subdued at the inauguration, Mr Tsvangirai came alive at the subsequent rally and made promises that startled Western observers. In an attempt to win over the disgruntled security forces he pledged that all soldiers and policemen, as well as teachers and health workers, would be paid in foreign currency from the end of this month. In return he asked that all striking public sector workers return to their desks and all schools reopen on Monday. Western diplomats said that they had no idea where the bankrupt Treasury would find the funds. "We are opening a new chapter for our country," Mr Tsvangirai said, as he appealed for national healing and identified his three priorities as democratisation, ending the humanitarian crisis and stabilising the economy.

He vowed to create a country free of political violence - "the knobkerrie [club] in the back of the head must end today". He promised a Zimbabwe where people could associate and express themselves freely "without fear of reprisal or repression". He pledged a land "where jobs are available for those who wish to work, food is available for those who are hungry, and where we are united by our respect for the rights and dignity of our fellow citizens". He promised to restore a free media, the rule of law and Zimbabwe's devastated agricultural sector. Mr Tsvangirai will face an immense task keeping those promises, given the enormity of Zimbabwe's problems. Seventy per cent of the population depend on international food aid, 94 per cent are unemployed, the country is ravaged by cholera, its currency has been destroyed by hyperinflation and its industries and farms are moribund. "We will need help from the international community, and I ask them to engage with us to rebuild our nation," Mr Tsvangirai said.

The West is very wary of providing finance to rebuild Zimbabwe while Mr Mugabe remains in office, and for all Mr Tsvangirai's bold rhetoric it was clear that the President remains a huge obstacle to reform. The fate of 30 political detainees has become a litmus test of Mr Mugabe's true intentions. Mr Tsvangirai had made their release a condition of him entering the unity Government but last night they remained behind bars. David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, issued a cautious statement saying that Mr Tsvangirai's appointment offered "the possibility of a change for the better". He said that the delivery of international reconstruction aid would depend on the unity government immediately releasing the detainees and demonstrating a commitment to economic stabilisation, restoring the rule of law, respecting human rights, repealing repressive legislation and holding timely and free elections.

From The Cape Argus (SA), 12 February

Fears of Zanu PF crackdown as Tsvangirai is sworn in as PM

Arrest warrant rumours surround MDC stalwart Roy Bennett

Foreign Service

Harare - Tens of thousands of opposition supporters cheered their new prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai at a rally after he had been sworn in yesterday, hopeful of a new era. But fears soon began growing that a crackdown by Zanu PF had begun. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) treasurer general Roy Bennett, who had returned from exile in South Africa last week and was due to be sworn in as deputy agriculture minister tomorrow did not turn up for the swearing-in ceremony at State House in Harare yesterday. Reliable sources in Harare say several of his old haunts in the city have been visited by state security agents and some of his colleagues say they believe there is a warrant out for his arrest. Bennett fled to South Africa a few years ago, accused of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe by force. He returned recently after Tsvangirai had been given a guarantee he would not be arrested.

Yesterday prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said that once again, prison authorities had disobeyed a court order to take ailing opposition detainees, who were kidnapped mostly in December and claim to have been tortured, to a doctor of their own choice before a court appearance today. One MDC Member of Parliament was outraged when he learned that Bennett was in danger of arrest and said that he would consult his colleagues about whether they should submit to being sworn in tomorrow if a colleague was about to be arrested. Yesterday's swearing-in ceremony for Tsvangirai as prime minister and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a smaller MDC faction, as deputy prime minister, was businesslike and less formal than the usual top events at State House. MDC supporters applauded loudly when Tsvangirai was sworn in. On the streets of Harare, however, people were disappointed because the event disappeared from the screens of the country's only TV channel, run by the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, just as the police band began playing the national anthem.

Mugabe set a jarring note by having his favourite cleric, the renegade former Anglican bishop of Harare, Nolbert Kunonga, conduct the prayers. Prime minister Tsvangirai, beaming widely and, with his wife Susan beside him, hugged old enemies from Zanu PF after he was sworn in. Afterwards, the largest crowd yet seen in Harare gathered at the Glamis Stadium within the Harare Showgrounds to welcome the new prime minister. At least 50 000 cheered wildly when he called on all public servants to be at work on Monday: "From the end of this month every health worker, every teacher, every soldier, every policeman will be paid in foreign currency," he declared. All retail goods are now sold in rands or US dollars. At least 90% of government schools are closed because teachers can no longer afford transport to work. But in the crowd, Godfrey Majongwe, president of the Progressive Teachers' Union, was sceptical about Tsvangirai's bold promise. "It is a great day, but of course the teachers are not going back to work on Monday. How much will they be paid? There are too many outstanding issues here, it will not just be solved like this."

Tsvangirai noted that his inauguration was happening 19 years to the day after Nelson Mandela walked free from Victor Verster prison. "But former president Mandela's release did not signify the end of his people's struggle for democracy," Tsvangirai cautioned. "Only with the courageous effort and compromise by all parties was a peaceful transition finally possible. "With the formation of this transitional government, President Mugabe, Professor Mut-ambara and I have pledged, in the sight of God, to deliver to the nation a new political dispensation. This is our promise to you, to our children and to the future generations of Zimbabweans. This is the debt that we owe to our liberation heroes and our democratic heroes who paid the ultimate price so that we could all live together, free from fear, hunger and poverty." An unemployed textile worker in the crowd, Tapera Zhombe, said: "We have hope now. Morgan said workers haven't got enough to eat every day and cannot get to work. "That is right. The company I worked for closed down and we are battling every single day to find food to eat. Today was a great day, Morgan is prime minister and Mugabe is old and will go soon; we will not bother about Mugabe any more."

From The Independent (UK), 12 February

Tsvangirai tackles his toughest challenge

Zimbabwe's new Prime Minister 'has 10 days to prove himself' against Mugabe inner circle, as more activists arrested

By Daniel Howden, Africa Correspondent

Linda Moyo celebrated the swearing in of Zimbabwe's historic unity government yesterday behind bars at Harare central police station. The young activist was one of 10 women arrested on the eve of the unveiling of the new government for attempting to exercise their right to protest. Fellow activists said she had wanted to test whether or not things in her country had really changed. Hers was added to the long list of names that Morgan Tsvangirai, who took his oath of office as Prime Minister, has demanded be released. The arbitrary arrests acted as a reminder that Mr Tsvangirai faces the toughest political assignment in the world. According to one member of the new unity cabinet, speaking on condition of anonymity, the Prime Minister's success or failure could be clear within 10 days.

The first litmus test will be the sacking of Gideon Gono, the man who has bankrolled the Mugabe regime from his post as head of the central bank. "Clearly he's got to go," said the source. "Otherwise there will be no coherence on the economy and the international community won't give us the time of day." Mr Gono is one of the main figures blamed for the hyperinflation that has rendered Zimbabwe's currency worthless. With unemployment running at 94 per cent and many public servants on strike for a living wage, Zimbabwe needs a massive injection of foreign aid. But few, if any, countries will be willing to commit funds without a clear change of the guard. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said increased aid would "depend on the new government's actions". The Zimbabwe cabinet source said he expected Mr Gono would be fired early next week along with the attorney general. There would be serious consequences, he said, if it doesn't happen in that timeframe. "Clearly we've got to move very fast. If we don't pay the army next week then we're in big trouble," he added.

After the swearing in, Mr Tsvangirai pledged to swiftly pay civil servants in foreign currency to "get the country back to work". Other key demands from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) include the release of political prisoners and an immediate "end to land invasions and restoration of the rule of law". While many within the MDC remain sceptical over the future of the unity government, others have been reassured by the intervention of South Africa's caretaker President, Kgalema Motlanthe. "The chances have been increased by a more proactive South Africa. Without Motlanthe we wouldn't be at this point," said an MDC source. Mr Tsvangirai won more votes than Mr Mugabe in the presidential poll last March despite widespread intimidation, and his MDC won a majority of seats in parliament. Mr Mugabe's response was to unleash the security forces in a campaign of intimidation and murder that left hundreds dead. The violence compelled Mr Tsvangirai to withdraw from the presidential run-off and Mr Mugabe's unopposed re-election was dismissed as illegitimate by the EU and African observers.

The new venture comes just as the main precedent for Zimbabwe's deal � Kenya's power-sharing administration � is in danger of falling apart. The Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the President Mwai Kibaki, who like Mr Mugabe was accused of election-rigging, have failed to establish an effective administration. The east African nation recently declared a national emergency due to famine; there are chronic fuel shortages and analysts have warned that corruption is spiralling out of control. The starting point for Zimbabwe is far worse than it was for Kenya a year ago. It has had its worst harvest since independence and a cholera epidemic has killed 3,500 people. Mr Mugabe's inner circle still controls the military and the police, and hundreds of political prisoners languish in jail. Jenni Williams, founder of the women's activist group Woza, whose members, including Ms Moyo, were arrested on Tuesday, said the women were facing "intensive questioning for hours" while the politicians were at the swearing-in. "This is a government for politicians, not for people," she said. Ms Moyo, seven other Woza activists and two female lawyers had still not been charged or released last night. "They cannot get a conviction so this is just harassment," added Ms Williams.

From The Times (UK), 11 February

Morgan Tsvangirai sworn in as Zimbabwean PM

Philippe Naughton

The former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe today, joining President Mugabe in a unity government after a decade spent trying to force him from power. Mr Tsvangirai�s decision to bring his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) into the government has raised doubts overseas and sparked fierce debate within his own party, many of whose members consider it to be an historic mistake. Scores of government and MDC officials gathered with diplomats under a white tent on the lawn of Mr Mugabe�s State House offices for the swearing in. The former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who mediated in the power-sharing talks, was also on hand along with President Guezuba of Mozambique and King Mswati III of Swaziland. After the swearing-in, Mr Tsvangirai was set to head to a stadium to address his supporters, a speech that will celebrate but also need to reassure. The former union leader is all too aware of the concerns that he, like earlier Mugabe rivals, could be swallowed into the long-ruling Zanu PF party without changing the course of a nation that is by any measure disintegrating. "The sceptics must understand why we have done this and what is the best course of action to address the questions and challenges of transition in this political environment," he said on the eve of his swearing-in. "We have made this decision and we made it without being forced. We want our colleagues in the country and outside the country to approach it from that perspective. It is our decision. Let history be the judge of this decision," he said.

His swearing-in caps nearly a year of turmoil that began last March when Mr Tsvangirai won a first-round presidential vote that was greeted with nationwide political violence, mostly against his supporters. Hoping to end the unrest that left at least 180 dead, Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off and left Mr Mugabe to claim a one-sided victory denounced as a sham overseas. South Africa brokered the unity deal, which was signed on September 15 but stalled amid protracted talks on how to divide cabinet posts and share control of the security forces. Those concerns were finally addressed when the parties agreed to name co-ministers to home affairs, which oversees the police, and to create a new National Security Council that will allow all parties control of the security forces. But analysts question how such an arrangement can work with the 84-year-old Mr Mugabe, who has ruled since independence in 1980 and who just recently declared that "Zimbabwe is mine." "Tsvangirai�s swearing-in symbolises a new era for the people of Zimbabwe," said Daniel Makina, a political analyst at the University of South Africa. "Whether the inclusive government will be a success or not is another matter." The challenges facing Zimbabwe would daunt even the most experienced of administrators. More than half the population needs emergency food aid and unemployment is at 94 per cent. Public hospitals are closed, with doctors and nurses unpaid, exacerbating a health crisis in a nation where 1.3 million people have HIV and cholera has hit nearly 70,000 people since August, killing about 3,400.

From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 10 February

Morgan Tsvangirai appoints Zimbabwe cabinet

By Sebastien Berger Southern Africa Correspondent

Morgan Tsvangirai is set to be sworn in as Zimbabwe's prime minister on Wednesday but doubts have been raised about the chances of a functioning power-sharing government after the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change appointed a series of ministers loathed by Zanu PF.

Tendai Biti, a top lawyer widely regarded as incorruptible and one of the MDC's leading lights, was made minister of finance, and will have to try to rebuild an economy shattered by Mr Mugabe's misrule. Only days ago Mr Biti had spurious treason charges against him, which could have carried the death penalty, dropped by a court order. The change in his fortunes illustrates both the radical nature of the MDC's entry to government, and the challenges it will face in making it work. In his new post Mr Biti will come up against Gideon Gono, the governor of the reserve bank whose unorthodox approach to basic economics has seen the country spiral into the world's second-highest hyperinflation ever, according to independent specialists, and rendered the Zimbabwe dollar worthless. Mr Gono, though, has retained his position by making himself indispensable to Mr Mugabe, and his control of the purse strings has enabled him to build up a substantial patronage network of his own, making him one of the most powerful men in the country. The contest between the two for control over economic policy will be key in determining whether Zimbabwe can recover any time soon from its financial disaster.

Another important contest will take place at the agriculture ministry, where Mr Tsvangirai installed Roy Bennett, a white farmer who lost his successful coffee plantation to a senior police officer in 2003, as deputy minister. He was arrested and tortured several times, and later served a prison sentence for shoving the then minister of justice Patrick Chinamasa in parliament, before being forced into exile. Aid agencies estimate that more than seven million Zimbabweans need food aid, and Mr Bennett said: "There's a hell of a task ahead." Agriculture is a separate brief from the lands ministry, which has overseen the thin legal veneer Mr Mugabe has tried to apply to the farm seizures, but the appointment highlights the issue of Zimbabwe's white farmers, who were still being targeted this week, days ahead of the coalition taking office. Firstly there will be a land audit, then there will be a land commission," said Mr Bennett. "I'm sure people who have illegally lost their farms will have recourse to the rule of law."

Some of the biggest battles can be expected at the home affairs ministry, control of which was disputed between the two parties and almost led to the collapse of the power-sharing agreement. As the MDC's co-minister in the department Mr Tsvangirai appointed Giles Mutsekwa, a former soldier in the Rhodesian African Rifles, who fought for Ian Smith's regime against Zanu. He went on to join the Zimbabwe National Army, from which he retired with the rank of major, but his role in the war will be a red flag to Mr Mugabe's loyalists. Brian Raftopoulos, a veteran political commentator, said: "Tsvangirai had to balance party loyalists with those who also have capacity and it must have been difficult for him to find enough people with real capacity who can deliver in what is going to be a difficult and new scenario." Sceptics believe Mr Mugabe and Zanu PF will do their utmost to sideline the MDC from within once the government is formed, and according to business sources in Harare the ruling party is showing no signs of changing its behaviour.

Comment from The Times (SA), 11 February

Zimbabwe is caught in a classic Catch-22

The MDC can reform nothing without Western aid. But there will be no aid while Mugabe remains

Martin Fletcher

Today is a momentous day for Zimbabwe, a country all but destroyed by 29 years of increasingly grotesque misrule by Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party. Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, will be sworn in as Prime Minister, paving the way for a "unity" Government in which MDC ministers will serve alongside the very people who have spent the past decade abducting, beating, torturing and killing their fellow activists. Mr Mugabe remains President. The word "unity" is utterly inappropriate. The war will continue, in another form. It will now be "hand-to-hand combat", one MDC insider says, and only one party will survive. The problem is, according to Western officials, it is likely to be Zanu PF. If so, there is no hope for this beautiful, once bountiful country.

Sceptics argue, correctly, that Mr Tsvangirai was forced to join this Government by overwhelming pressure from southern Africa, which lacked the stomach to remove one of the continent's last surviving liberation leaders, despite his clear defeat in elections last year. They say that Mr Tsvangirai has walked into a trap; that Mr Mugabe has no intention of sharing power; that the wily octogenarian will easily outwit him and that the Old Crocodile will corrupt and co-opt MDC politicians with money, Mercedes and mansions. They expect the MDC to be swallowed up by Zanu PF as surely as Joshua Nkomo's Zapu party was when it was forced into a merger in 1987 after the Matabeleland massacres. Mr Tsvangirai will have achieved nothing, they say, except to give the faltering tyrant a lifeline and his regime a veneer of legitimacy that Mr Mugabe will use to erode international sanctions. "It's sad. What have the last ten years of struggle been for?" one asked.

There are plenty of reasons for such scepticism. Mr Mugabe regards Zimbabwe as his personal property and has never been known to compromise in his life. "Zimbabwe is mine," he declared in December. The so-called Global Political Agreement (GPA) is vague, toothless and riddled with ambiguities that offer Zanu PF ample opportunity to thwart MDC initiatives. There is no clear division of power between Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mugabe. Zanu PF retains a large measure of control over the security services, Zimbabwe's final functioning institutions, and the two parties are locked in a bizarre compromise whereby they will jointly run the hotly disputed Home Affairs Ministry, which controls the police. Other contentious issues such as the future of Gideon Gono, the Reserve Bank governor responsible for Zimbabwe's 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (five hextillion) per cent inflation, are left unresolved.

Nor has the regime shown the slightest intention of mending its corrupt and violent ways since the GPA was signed last September. Its leaders have continued to imprison MDC activists, harass white farmers, restrict Mr Tsvangirai's movements and enrich themselves at the people's expense. It is far from certain that the country's generals will deign to salute their new Prime Minister after today's ceremony. Curiously some of the MDC's most ardent proponents of unity government agree with much of this. They know that the GPA is deeply flawed, and is far more than Mr Mugabe deserves after using violence to subvert the election, and far less than they deserve. But they argue that they have no option and can no longer stand on the sidelines while Zimbabwe implodes, and that if they are smart, determined and ruthless enough they can destroy the regime. "We can fight and deliver at the same time, which we've never been able to do before," a senior official said.

They argue that the international community can start funnelling aid to some of the 13 ministries - including finance, health, energy and water - that it will control; that control of so many ministries will severely curtail Mr Mugabe's powers of patronage, exacerbating rifts within Zanu PF; and that the MDC can open the books to expose Zanu(PF)'s past misdeeds. MDC insiders also believe that they can use their parliamentary majority to great effect. They will seek to repeal repressive legislation, including that which crippled Zimbabwe's independent media. They can hold officials accountable, including the editors of newspapers which incite hatred and division. The MDC also controls every city council in Zimbabwe, and believes that with Western assistance these can quickly begin restoring water supplies, mending roads and providing other basic services that have largely collapsed. Finally the MDC has in Mr Tsvangirai by far the most popular politician in Zimbabwe, who should now be able to travel freely, attending meetings, addressing rallies and winning airtime as he has never been able to before.

MDC officials talk of a virtuous cycle whereby its support rises as it delivers real improvements, securocrats and civil servants see which way the tide is flowing and cast in their lot with the MDC, and the population becomes increasingly emboldened as Zanu PF crumbles. "A dictator needs fear to stay in power," an official close to Mr Tsvangirai said. "What will happen if we can remove that element of fear?" There is just one problem with the MDC's scenario. It depends crucially on Western aid beginning to flow. Britain, the US and the EU say that this will not happen unless the new Government demonstrates a genuine commitment to reform - a development they find almost inconceivable as long as Mr Mugabe remains President. It is, in short, a classic Catch-22. If the MDC fails to deliver, Zanu PF will be quick to shift the blame from its own lamentable performance.

From Bloomberg, 10 February

Mugabe agrees to concessions in return for regional support

Zimbabwe�s President Robert Mugabe agreed to make concessions to allow the formation of a coalition government in return for support from a regional group that would extend his 28 years in power, said two members of the ruling party�s decision-making body. Mugabe plans to accept conditions set by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, whose leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is due to be sworn in as prime minister tomorrow, the officials, who declined to be identified because they aren�t allowed to speak to the press, said in interviews today. Mugabe plans to allow the MDC to appoint governors to provinces they won in elections in March last year and will let security legislation put forward by the party be enacted.

The 15-nation Southern African Development Community is pushing for a joint government between Mugabe�s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front and the MDC to be formed to try and end an economic crisis that has led to a quarter of Zimbabwe�s population leaving the country and a cholera outbreak spreading to neighboring states. Mugabe has refused to agree to the conditions since talks began after the MDC boycotted a second-round presidential election in June last year. The country has the world�s highest inflation rate, estimated at 231 million percent in July, and has suffered a decade of recession. Mugabe was told by some leaders of the Southern African Development Community, a 15-nation grouping that includes South Africa, that if he made concessions they would support keeping him in the position of president against western pressure for him to step down, the officials from the politburo of Mugabe�s party said. An agreement to form a government was announced on Jan. 27 after a SADC-brokered summit in Pretoria, South Africa.

Zimbabwe�s parliament, where two factions of the MDC have a majority, will today debate a new National Security Bill, the state-controlled Herald newspaper said yesterday. The bill will legalize a council proposed by the MDC to oversee the police, military and intelligence agencies, the Harare-based newspaper said, citing Nicholas Goche, a Zanu PF official, as saying it will "sail through." The same paper said today that governor positions will be negotiated and the head of a joint council between the parties said restrictive media laws, put in place by the government, may be eased in three months. The MDC want oversight of the police and military because they say attacks on their supporters ahead of and after their victory in March parliamentary polls were partly led by members of the police and army. Since the elections at least 100 MDC supporters have been killed and 200,000 people displaced, according to Amnesty International. Patrick Chinamasa, the chief negotiator, for Zanu PF in talks with the MDC didn�t answer calls to his mobile phone or office today. Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for the MDC, said he "couldn�t comment on Zanu PF matters."

From The Star (SA), 11 February

Resolve detainee issue soon, SA urges

Peter Fabricius

The South African government has urged Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government to resolve the issue of political prisoners as soon as possible, but does not think the issue should delay the launch of a coalition government due today. Director-general of Foreign Affairs Ayanda Ntsaluba said the holding of political prisoners - most notably prominent activist Jestina Mukoko, who claims to have been severely tortured - should not be an obstacle to the formation of a coalition or unity government "but a means of testing the extent to which the parties are working in unison". "Much as we wish for a speedy release of Jestina and others, we would not want it to impede the formation of the government," Ntsaluba said at a media briefing in Pretoria yesterday. Ntsaluba said Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was due to represent the SA government at the swearing-in ceremony today, as President Kgalema Motlanthe would be in parliament for Finance Minister Trevor Manuel's Budget speech. Former president Thabo Mbeki will attend as the Southern African Development Community's Zimbabwe mediator. Motlanthe would probably go to Zimbabwe on Friday for the swearing-in of the cabinet and the formal launch of the unity government, but these arrangements had not been finalised, Ntsaluba said. He added that the government was investigating press reports that much of the R300-million in agricultural aid which the South African government had sent to Zimbabwe over the last few weeks had been hijacked by officials of Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party.

BILL WATCH SPECIAL

[9th February 2009]

The National Security Council Bill was gazetted this afternoon in a Government Gazette Extraordinary

Constitutional Obstacle to Fast Tracking this Bill

Although there seems to be a general expectation that this Bill will be fast tracked through Parliament tomorrow, there is in fact a constitutional obstacle to this.  According to our Constitution, all Bills [except Constitutional Bills] have to be referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee for examination for consistency with the Constitution.  This has to be done immediately after the first reading of the Bill and the Bill cannot proceed until the Legal Committee gives the go-ahead.  But as yet there is no Parliamentary Legal Committee.  The Legal Committee is appointed by the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders � and this has not yet been set up.  Some members of this Standing Rules and Orders Committee have to be voted for by each House.  But some of the members are ex officio � and these include the Prime Minister and several Ministers � and these have not yet been appointed.  

Content of the Bill

The gazetted Bill differs considerably from the draft Bill which the MDC-T put forward [which Veritas made available 31 January].  Substantive changes have been made.  

Clause 1 Title

Clause 2 Definitions

Clause 3 Composition of the Council

MDC draft � the President, the Prime Minister, the two Vice-Presidents, the two Deputy Prime Ministers, the chairperson of the Public Service Commission, the Ministers of Defence and Home Affairs, and three other Ministers nominated by the parties to the Inter-party Agreement.  

The Bill � the President as chairperson, the two Vice-Presidents, the Prime Minister, the two Deputy Prime Ministers, the Ministers responsible for Finance, the Defence Forces and the Police Force, one Minister nominated by each of the three political parties participating in the Interparty Political Agreement. [These are all members of Cabinet].  In addition to these Cabinet members, the Council includes the Minister of State in the Presidents� Office responsible for National Security, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister [an appointment made by the President], the Commander of the Defence Forces, the Commanders of the Army and Air Force, the Commissioner-General of Police, the Commissioner of Prison and the Director General of the Department of State for National Security.

Comment: this is a much larger Council than MDC envisaged and instead of being fairly evenly balanced according to known party affiliation, it is heavily weighted in favour of declared ZANU-PF supporters.

Clause 4 Functions of the Council

MDC draft � it will be responsible for overseeing the security services and directing their operations.

The Bill � it will be responsible for reviewing national policies on defence, law and order, and recommending or directing appropriate action.

Clause 5  Frequency and Procedures of Meetings

MDC draft � The President or, in his or her absence, the Prime Minister calls the meeting and chairs the meetings.  Council shall meet at least once every two weeks.  Decisions of the Council shall be made with the concurrence of at least five of its members, including the President and the Prime Minister:  Disagreements can be referred to the Cabinet.

The Bill � The President calls the meeting and chairs the meetings [in his absence it would be a Vice President as acting President] � at least once a month.  Decisions by consensus.

Clause 6

MDC Draft � The commanders of the security services shall, notwithstanding any other law �

      (a) report to the Council at such intervals and on such matters as the Council may direct; and

      (b) promptly carry out every lawful order or direction the Council may give them;  and

      (c) fully comply with every lawful decision of the Council that is applicable to their services.

The Bill � omits this clause entirely

Clause 6 in the Bill [Clause 7 in MDC draft] Council�s decisions still valid if there are vacancies on the Council.

Clause 7 in the Bill [Not in MDC draft] The Act will prevail when there are inconsistencies with other Acts.

Clause 8 in the Bill [and MDC Draft] The Act expires on the date the IPA terminates.

[Electronic version of Bill available on request]

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