THE ZIMBABWEAN CABINET: PERSONAL LOYALTY KEY TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000180 SIPDIS AF/S FOR B. WALCH DRL FOR N. WILETT ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE GAVIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ASEC ZI SUBJECT: THE ZIMBABWEAN CABINET: PERSONAL LOYALTY KEY TO PICKS REF: HARARE 162 Classified By: Ambassador James D. McGee for reason 1.4 (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) President Mugabe filled his ministerial selections by primarily rewarding loyalty to himself, and secondarily maintaining ethnic representation amongst Shona tribes, and, in keeping with the 1987 Unity Accords, Ndebeles. Mugabe was challenged in findin sufficient positions for a number of high-level ZANU-PF stakeholders demanding inclusion in the Cabinet, and pressed successfully for a further expansion of what has now become a grossly bloated government (Ref). ¶2. (SBU) Prime Minister Tsvangirai also heavily weighted personal loyalty in his picks, although he made an effort to include technocrats. After largely snubbing Matabeleland in his initial selections, Tsvangirai was forced to reshuffle some picks to accommodate Ndebele candidates. END SUMMARY. -------------- Loyalty Primary Determinant in Mugabe Picks -------------- ¶3. (C) President Mugabe's ministerial selections reflect a decision-making process in which he foremost rewarded personal loyalty, and secondarily maintained traditional ethnic balances within the party. Mugabe last year had famously referred to the previous Cabinet as his worst in 28 years, and yet he chose many of those same officials again. Political analyst John Makumbe argued that this was a strong indication that Mugabe was prepared once again to reward loyalty over competence. ¶4. (C) According to discussions with Makumbe and parliamentary advisor John Makamure, of the 22 ministerial positions assigned to ZANU-PF, only six were awarded to the rival ZANU-PF successor camps led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, and Solomon and Joyce Mujuru. Besides Mnangagwa himself (Defense),nominees to his camp included Walter Mzembi (Tourism and Hospitality Industry),Stan Mudenge (Higher and Tertiary Education),and the late addition of Flora Bukha (Minister of State in Vice President Msika's Office). The Mujurus were particularly disregarded and only managed to get Herbert Murerwa positioned as Minister of Lands and Rural �00A;Resettlement and Sydney Sekeramayi as Minister of State for National Security. Makumbe suspected that excluded former Minister of Health David Parirenyatwa was a Mujuru supporter. ¶5. (SBU) The remaining 16 ZANU-PF ministers, including most of the important ministries, were all awarded to long-time Mugabe supporters and recycled previous Cabinet ministers such as Patrick Chinamasa (Justice and Legal Affairs), Ignatius Chombo (Local Government),Nicholas Goche (Transport and Infrastructural Development),Saviour Kasukuwere (Youth Development, Indigenization, and Empowerment),Joseph Made (Agriculture),Obert Mpofu (Mines and Mining Development), Simbarashe Mumbengegwi (Foreign Affairs),and Webster Shamu (Media, Information, and Publicity). Q(Media, Information, and Publicity). -------------- Unity Accords and Ethnicity a Factor -------------- ¶6. (C) In keeping with the Unity Accords practice of awarding some ministries to representatives from Matabeleland, Mugabe nominated Kembo Mohadi (co-chair Home HARARE 00000180 002 OF 003 Affairs),Obert Mpofu (Mines and Mining Development),and Sithembiso Nyoni (Small and Medium Enterprises). All of these individuals are loyal to Mugabe despite being Ndebele. Makumbe said that they had been "bought a long time ago." ¶7. (SBU) While Zezurus (Mugabe's Shona ethnicity) made up the largest tribal bloc on the ZANU-PF slate, Mugabe also appeared to make an effort to create some balance by including Manicas, and Karangas. This has been a long-standing Mugabe strategy to maintain widespread Shona support. -------------- -------------- When the Music Stopped, Mugabe Asked for More Chairs -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Mugabe's selection process was constrained by a reduction in ZANU-PF ministerial slots from 30 in the previous Cabinet, to only 15 under the Interparty Political Agreement signed last September. This was then expanded to 19 to accommodate three Cabinet-level ministers of state and a co-minister of Home Affairs. Mugabe then lobbied successfully for an additional three ministers of state who hold ministerial rank, but are not attached to a ministry nor have standing in Cabinet; Tsvangirai and Mutambara each received one additional non-Cabinet minister of state. Mugabe used these three slots to recycle senior ZANU-PF officials John Nkomo (Minister of State in the President's Office),Flora Bukha (Minister of State in VP Msika's Office) and Sylvester Nguni (Minister of State in VP Mujuru's Office). -------------- - Morgan Picks a Mix of Insiders and Technocrats -------------- - ¶9. (SBU) Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's selections also appeared to be based primarily on personal loyalty and familiarity as he drew heavily from the MDC-T's National Standing Committee (NST). Five of Tsvangirai's 15 ministers came from the 12 person NST that is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the party. These officials are Tendai Biti (Finance),Nelson Chamisa (Information Communication Technology),Theresa Makone (Public Works), Elton Mangoma (Economic Planning and Investment Promotion), and Elias Mudzuri (Energy and Power Development). ¶10. (C) Makamure and Makumbe believe that some of Tsvangirai's selections were based on the perception that they had the fortitude to challenge ZANU-PF resistance, despite lacking technical or managerial expertise. Biti and Chamisa fall into this group, and have already gamely taken on their ZANU-PF counterparts * ResQR7QYtQ~ower Development),Dr. Henry Madzorera (Health and Child Welfare),Prof. Heneri Dzinotyiwei (Science and Technology),and lawyer Eric Matinenga (Constitutional and QTechnology),and lawyer Eric Matinenga (Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs). ¶12. (SBU) Tsvangirai also favored Manicas in his Cabinet picks - and to a lesser extent Karangas - as eight of his 15 ministers came from Manicaland and Masvingo. (NOTE: Tsvangirai grew up in a Karanga area that is now part of Manicaland and he is considered to have mixed loyalties. END NOTE.) -------------- Morgan Snubs Matabeleland HARARE 00000180 003 OF 003 -------------- ¶13. (C) Tsvangirai may have initially miss-stepped by under-representing Ndebeles in his nominations. He only nominated two ministers from Matabeleland despite that region's strong support in the parliamentary elections of March 2008. One of these was MDC-T MP Eddie Cross and the other was Abednico Bhebhe of the MDC-M faction. Cross told us that Tsvangirai had to convene an impromptu meeting when party leaders from the region reacted angrily to the lack of Ndebeles in his picks. Cross said his ministerial appointment was pulled because, although he was from Matabeleland, he was Caucasian and not Ndebele. ¶14. (SBU) As for Bhebhe, it was widely believed that Tsvangirai selected him as a reward for persuading a majority of the MDC-M MPs to support Lovemore Moyo's successful bid for the seat of Speaker of the House of Assembly. MDC-M President Arthur Mutambara initially acquiesced in the nomination, but other MDC-M leaders subsequently objected and threatened to expel Bhebhe from the party which could have resulted in the loss of his seat. Tsvangirai subsequently withdrew Bhebhe's name. ¶15. (SBU) Attempting to quell his Matabeleland critics, Tsvangirai replaced Cross with Joel Gabbuza (Enterprises and Parastatals) and Bhebhe with Samuel Sipepa Nkomo (Water Resources). Tsvangirai also chose Gordon Moyo from Bulawayo to fill the post of Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office. ¶16. (U) The four MDC-M ministerial posts were filled by senior officials in the party; Secretary General Welshman Ncube (Industry and Commerce) (Ndebele),Deputy Secretary General Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (Regional Integration and International Cooperation) (mixed Shona/Ndebele),and Bulawayo-based senator David Coltart (Education). The additional minister of state slot awarded to the MDC-M was filled by MDC-M Vice President and Senator Gibson Sibanda (Ndebele). -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶17. (C) Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai rewarded personal loyalty and achieved a large degree of ethnic diversity. In doing so, Mugabe recycled the old guard which will do little for ZANU-PF partisans seeking a rejuvenation of the party in order to combat the ncreasingly popular MDC. For his part, Tsvangirai sacrificed technical expertise, but did manage to fill important positions such as Finance and Information Communication Technology with individuals (Tendai Biti and Nelson Chamisa, respectively) who will be tough political combatants. END COMMENT. MCGEE