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 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶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. -------------- Committees Find Independence -------------- ¶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. HARARE 00000205 002 OF 004 ¶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. -------------- Bipartisanship As Well -------------- ¶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. -------------- But Backlash Growing -------------- HARARE 00000205 003 OF 004 ¶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. -------------- And Parliament as a Whole Remains Quiescent -------------- ¶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. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶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 HARARE 00000205 004 OF 004 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