ZIM NOTES 08-14-2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000660 AF/S FOR B. WALCH ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND J. HARMON COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN SIPDIS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM ECON ZI SUBJECT: ZIM NOTES 08-14-2009 -------------- ¶1. SUMMARY -------------- Topics of the week: - MDC and Outstanding Issues... - New Doctor's Strike a Blow to Healthcare Efforts... - Tsvangirai Saluted by Defense Chiefs?... - MDC-M Pressures Speaker to Ban MPs... - Secretary Clinton Blames Leadership for Zim Collapse... - ILO Investigation Begins... - UMass Revokes Mugabe's Honorary Degree... - Investors Assured of Security of Tenure in - Zimbabwe's Mining Sector... - Exports Decline... - Dollarization Slows Bank Lending... - Grain Shortages Predicted By September 2009... - Competition Forces the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) to Improve Service... -------------- On the Political/Social Front -------------- ¶2. MDC and Outstanding Issues... A meeting on August 13 between principals President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara failed to make progress on outstanding Global Political Agreement issues, principally the appointments of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana, and the failure to swear in Roy Bennett as Deputy Minister of Agriculture. Tsvangirai will raise these issues at a ministerial retreat the weekend of August 22. He then plans to urge South African president Jacob Zuma to exert pressure on Mugabe when Zuma visits Zimbabwe for an agricultural show on August 27. Tsvangirai will also attempt to visit a number of SADC capitals in anticipation of the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government in Kinshasa from September 2 to September 8. Tsvangirai and MDC-T are increasingly concerned about Tomana, who they blame for the selective prosecution of MDC-T MPs, and they may be willing to strike a deal with Mugabe whereby Gono would remain in office and Tomana would go. ¶3. New Doctor's Strike a Blow to Healthcare Efforts... Doctors at major hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo began boycotting work on August 12 to press the cash-strapped government for pay increases. The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association that represents all state doctors wants them paid a salary of US$1,000 per month plus a US$500 allowance compared to the US$390 (US$220 of which comes from a British relief agency) that they earn now. The association has threatened to extend the strike to all state hospitals across the country if their demands are not met. ¶4. Tsvangirai Saluted by Defense Chiefs?... Air Force commander Perence Shiri and National Army commander Phillip Sibanda appeared on Tuesday to break ranks with fellow top commanders by saluting Tsvangirai during the Defense Forces Day ceremony. This potential thawing of the frosty relationship between the military and the MDC may come in response to last week's first meeting of the National Security Council, of which Tsvangirai is a member. However, some reports have suggested that the salute was actually directed at retired General Solomon Mujuru who was seated near Tsvangirai, while Qretired General Solomon Mujuru who was seated near Tsvangirai, while other reports suggest it was merely part of a handshake. ¶5. MDC-M Pressures Speaker to Ban MPs... Welshman Ncube, the Secretary General of the MDC-M, issued an ultimatum calling on Parliamentary Speaker Lovemore Moyo to ban the three MPs that the MDC-M leaderhip has expelled from the party for indiscipline. Ncube told a news conference in Harare on August 13 that if the Speaker fails to declare the House of Assembly seats vacant, the HARARE 00000660 002 OF 003 party will refer the matter to judicial authorities on corruption grounds. The three MPs have been highly critical of party leaders including Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who they accuse of siding with ZANU-PF in the inclusive government. ¶6. Secretary Clinton Blames Leadership for Zim Collapse... During a visit to South Africa where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed President Jacob Zuma on assuming a more forward role in promoting African democracy, Clinton blamed the huge number of Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa on leadership failures in Harare. Meanwhile, President Mugabe used this week's burial service for the late VP Msika as an opportunity to continue blaming the West for Zimbabwe's woes. ¶7. ILO Investigation Begins... A delegation appointed by the International Labor Organization (ILO) arrived this week to begin an official investigation into a 2006 incident in which labor leaders were brutally assaulted by police after staging protests against the government. Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) Secretary General Wellington Chibebe and others suffered permanent injuries from the beatings. The findings will be presented in Geneva later this year. ¶8. UMass Revokes Mugabe's Honorary Degree... In a move without precedent in the University of Massachusetts' 145 year history, the school is revoking an honorary degree bestowed upon President Mugabe in 1986. Mugabe was awarded the honorary Doctorate of Laws degree for his "exemplary devotion to social justice." The revocation follows similar moves taken by Michigan State and the UK's Edinburgh University last year. -------------- On the Economic and Business Front -------------- ¶9. Investors Assured of Security of Tenure in Zimbabwe's Mining Sector... At the fifth annual mining conference held in Johannesburg last week, investors quizzed the Minister of Mines and Mining Development over security of tenure and indigenization. According to an economist at the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines, the Minister told the conference that the Mining Bill that proposed 51 percent shareholding was being revised and would be made more investor friendly. The Chamber of Mines proposes lower local equity thresholds commensurate with Zimbabweans' ability to finance the purchase. ¶10. Exports Decline... Official data from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe shows that the country's total exports declined by 38 percent from US$752 million in the first six months of 2008 to US$476 million during the corresponding period of 2009. Much of the fall was caused by a combination of a poor local operating environment and the global financial crisis that reduced demand for Zimbabwe's products abroad. The mining sector accounted for 44 percent of total exports and tobacco accounted for 26 percent while manufactured exports accounted for only 14 percent. ¶11. Dollarization Slows Bank Lending... Reserve Bank data also Q11. Dollarization Slows Bank Lending... Reserve Bank data also show that Zimbabwe's banks have significantly scaled back their lending following the demise of the Zim dollar. The banks' average loan-to-deposit ratio in the second quarter of the year was just 36 percent, down from 62 percent during the same period in 2008. The regional average is 79 percent. Local bankers say one reason for the slower pace of lending is that the interbank market disappeared along with the Zim dollar due to the local scarcity of widely accepted USD-denominated securities to serve as collateral. Another reason, according to the bankers, is that deposits in the banking system now turn over more rapidly than before. These two factors have made lending an even riskier proposition for banks. ¶12. Grain Shortages Predicted By September 2009... The National HARARE 00000660 003 OF 003 Early Warning Unit (NEWU) said that the majority of the households in its June survey are currently able to subsist from their own grain production, though these stocks are only expected to last until September/October 2009. The other sources of consumed grain identified in the survey were derived from casual labor, with less than one percent of the sampled areas indicating food aid and remittances as major sources of grain. ¶13. Competition Forces the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) to Improve Service... Following the liberalization of grain marketing, the government owned GMB improved service delivery by paying farmers early on a "first come-first served" basis. As of the end of July, the parastatal had paid out US$3 million to farmers for grain deliveries. Since June 2009, the GMB has been dispatching inputs to its depots around the country to enable farmers to prepare for the coming cropping season early, although the take up by farmers is reportedly disappointing. -------------- Quote of the Week -------------- ¶14. "Gentle firmness in the face of anger and intellectual approach to matters which inflame the emotions of others are hallmarks of quiet integrity." -- University of Massachusetts President David Knapp's description of President Mugabe in 1986 after presenting him with an honorary degree. DHANANI