SIGNS OF INDEPENDENCE IN ZIMBABWE'S PARLIAMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 000205

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AF/S FOR S. HILL
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC ZI
SUBJECT: SIGNS OF INDEPENDENCE IN ZIMBABWE'S PARLIAMENT

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

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Summary
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1. (C) Ruling party and opposition legislators in
Parliament's 14 portfolio committees have demonstrated a
growing willingness to challenge executive authority. The
MPs have worked to conduct bipartisan public hearings,
question ministers, and produce reports critical of the GOZ.
This new-found independence has prompted a backlash from some
ministers, but to date the MPs appear undaunted. Outside of
the committees, Parliament remains a poor check on executive
authority. U.S. assistance, via a USAID project, has helped
the committees to be more bipartisan and independent and
should be continued and expanded to encourage improvements in
Parliament as a whole. End Summary.

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Committees Find Independence
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2. (C) John Makamure, the director of the USG-funded
parliamentary support project implemented by the State
University of New York (SUNY),told poloff on February 26
that chairpersons of the 14 portfolio committees, from both
sides of the aisle, had gradually begun to assert their
authority against government ministers. The committees,
which roughly shadow the various ministries, had held public
hearings, conducted fact-finding missions, questioned
ministers, analyzed draft legislation, and produced
hard-hitting reports.


3. (C) Makamure noted three examples in particular:
criticism from Lazarus Dokora (ZANU-PF MP for Rushinga and
recently named Deputy Minister of Higher Education) of the
draconian NGO Bill that was almost enacted in 2004;
ex-Agriculture Committee Chairman Walter Mzembi,s (ZANU-PF
MP for Masvingo South and recently named Deputy Minister of
Water Resources) reports over the past few years on poor
state of agricultural preparedness; and Communication and
Transport Committee Chairman Leo Mugabe's (ZANU-PF MP for
Makonde) public hearings last year that resulted in a
redrafting of a bill that would have allowed the GOZ to
monitor all forms of communication.


4. (C) Makamure said that Mzembi's elevation to the cabinet
was a blow to parliamentary independence. The SUNY director
said Mzembi was not the first outspoken committee chair to be
silenced by inclusion in the Cabinet; Webster Shamu was
similarly critical before he was named to Cabinet in 2004.
However, while Mzembi's elevation was a setback, Makamure
expressed confidence that someone new would emerge to fill
the void. To this end, Makamure said that acting-chairman of
the agriculture committee George Chimombe, a chief from
Manicaland, had performed well to date.


5. (C) Makamure said the committees had taken the
unprecedented step of calling ministers to testify and
grilling them on policy failures. Executive branch officials
who have ignored committee summons have been censored. Not
only had ministers been called to testify, but committees had
begun to call them to task regarding discrepancies in their
testimony. Last November, for instace, Parliament began
impeachment proceedings against Industry and Trade Minister
Mpofu for allegedly lying in testimony he gave to a committee
investigating the fate of moribund state-owned steel company,
ZISCO Steel.

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6. (C) Makamure said the politicians' desire to be seen as
serving their constituents and as national leaders had led
many to embrace the oversight role. For instance, in the
past ZANU-PF MPs typically relied on plenary speeches
praising Robert Mugabe as the only vehicle to get their names
in the media. Now, however, ZANU-PF chairpersons and even
average MPs were increasingly gaining media attention though
public hearings on popular topics, such as local service
delivery and gender equality.


7. (C) In addition, Makamure said the drive for greater
independence was also aided by the increased expertise of
MPs. For example, Budget Committee Chairman David Butau
(ZANU-PF MP for Guruve North) was a qualified economist and
Mzembi owned a farming equipment supply company. In fact,
many ZANU-PF MPs, especially those elected since 2000, were
business-owners who had been personally affected by the GOZ's
economic mismanagement and wanted to improve business
conditions.


8. (C) Echoing Makamure's comments, MDC Chief Whip Innocent
Gonese (MP for Mutare Central) told poloff that ZANU-PF MPs
in the portfolio committees seemed to relish their oversight
role. While the MPs remained committed to the ruling party,
Gonese said that these MPs also recognized that they
represented a branch of government separate from the
executive and thus had an important role to play. Gonese
noted that while the executive might not accept all
recommendations from the committees, the ministries did take
on board many of the suggestions, in part due to public
pressure created by committee hearings.

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Bipartisanship As Well
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9. (C) Makamure said the political sparring common to
plenary sessions of Parliament was absent from the internal
workings of the portfolio committees, where ruling party and
opposition MPs often made common cause against ministers
perceived to be failing. Additionally, Makamure said that
the factional split within the opposition was not evident in
Parliament as MDC members from both factions continued to
work together. (N.B. ZANU-PF MPs chair nine portfolio
committees, including the influential budget, defense, and
agriculture committees. Meanwhile, MDC MPs chair the
remaining five, including the all-important Parliamentary
Legal Committee, which weighs the constitutionality of all
draft bills.)


10. (C) However, despite common cause made between MPs of
both parties within committees, Gonese and ZANU-PF MP Charles
Majange (MP for Chivi South) separately told poloff that
unity did not extend beyond committee doors. Once on the
floor of Parliament, no ruling party MP would think about
siding with the opposition. The ruling party whip would
ensure that MPs toed the party line, and failure to adhere to
these instructions would be political suicide, according to
Majange. Gonese added that Zimbabwe's constitution gave
political parties the right to eject dissident MPs from their
elected seats. Debate in the general body of Parliament
remained politically charged, with legislators from both
sides hurling abuse at each other.

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But Backlash Growing
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11. (C) Majange, who is a member of the Parliamentary Legal
Committee and the Budget Committee, told poloff that the
ability to call ministers to testify had given the committees
teeth and that ministers had become more engaged with
Parliament through their testimony. However, he said there
was a growing backlash from ministers. Makamure said the
same, noting that criticism from ZANU-PF chairpersons had
prompted several Cabinet officials, including
then-Agriculture Minister Made, Industry Minister Mpofu, and
Reserve Bank Governor Gono to complain to Mugabe in January
that the ruling party chairpersons were interfering with
executive authority.


12. (C) Makamure said Mugabe had then tasked Justice
Minister Chinamasa, as leader of parliamentary affairs, to
summon the chairpersons and present the ministers' concerns.
Majange and Makamure both said the chairs held their ground
in the meeting, and that ZANU-PF Chief Whip Jorum Gumbo (MP
for Mberengwe West) offered a stinging defense of committee
independence. Mzembi, whose criticism triggered Made's ire,
recited from the GOZ-approved parliamentary reform guidelines
that created the committees as a defense for his committee's
outspoken reports.

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And Parliament as a Whole Remains Quiescent
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13. (C) Outside of the committees, however, parliamentary
business has dropped off dramatically. Comparatively few
bills have been introduced in the past year and the pace of
addressing those that have has been slow. In the absence of
bills, Makamure said that MPs in the past would introduce
motions on topical issues, but that even these initiatives
had been virtually absent in recent months. Parliamentary
staffers have remarked that legislators appear content with
"going through the motions."


14. (C) Makamure said budget shortfalls had reached critical
levels and were contributing to Parliament's malaise.
Parliament had even run out of toner to print documents.
Pro-Senate MDC MP for Nkayi Abendico Bhebhe told poloff on
February 19 that the pace of inflation had outstripped the
travel allowances given to MPs residing outside of Harare and
that many MPs were now reducing their time spent at
Parliament, rather than cover their accommodation costs out
of their own pockets.


15. (C) Gonese said Parliament's special fuel facility had
run dry, leaving him to scramble to find fuel to return to
his eastern Zimbabwe home. Echoing these sentiments,
Makamure noted that MPs were increasingly concentrating on
personal and business priorities, rather than public service.
Majange conceded that his salary was equivalent to 75
British pounds per month, using the parallel exchange rate,
less than half what his wife, who works as a nurse in London,
earns in one day.

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Comment
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16. (C) It was to be expected that MDC parliamentarians
would embrace the committee structure, but it has also
encouraged ruling party backbenchers to become more vocal,
and even outright critical of GOZ policies. No doubt some of
this new-found independence among ZANU-PF MPs is an attempt
at personal aggrandizement and an expression of ZANU-PF
intra-party divides. That said, the committees have also

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created a safe environment for ruling party moderates to gain
footing and push for reforms within the party. A striking
example of the kind of cross-aisle comity that has been
created was a recent Embassy-hosted reception for
parliamentarians where ZANU-PF, MDC, and independent MPs
joked, debated, and drank with the Ambassador in a relaxed
atmosphere that transcended the Zimbabwe's bitter political
divide. Continued USG support to the institution of
Parliament, via the SUNY program, is sorely needed to help
support the committees increasing independence and
bipartisanship and to expand those gains into Parliament as a
whole.
DELL