ZIM NOTES 11-30-2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000924 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 11-30-2009 -------------- ¶1. SUMMARY -------------- Topics of the week: Zuma Sending Negotiating Team to Harare... South African Investment Treaty Signing Today... Bennett Trial Limps on as Gwezere Languishes in Prison... Gono Not Formally Joining ZANU-PF... Prosecutor Gets Promotion Instead of Jail Time... Obama Honors WOZA... 2010 Budget to be Presented on December 2... BP & Shell Deal Stopped on Account of Indigenization Law... Tourism Up in Zimbabwe? -------------- On the Political and Social Front -------------- ¶2. Zuma Sending Negotiating Team to Harare... South African President and SADC-appointed facilitator, Jacob Zuma, is sending a three-person negotiating team to Harare on November 27 to further negotiations on outstanding political issues between the three GPA party signatories. The team is led by Charles Nqacula, a political adviser to Zuma and a former defense minister. It also includes Mac Maharaj, a former minister of transport and hero of South Africa's anti-Apartheid struggle, and former ambassador and presidential foreign policy adviser Lindiwe Zulu. Negotiators for the three parties began meeting this week, but the late start and the fact that ZANU-PF is unlikely to agree to concessions until after the ZANU-PF Congress, set to conclude on December 18, make it highly doubtful that negotiations will conclude within the 30 days set by SADC at the Troika Summit in Maputo. ¶3. South African Investment Treaty Signing Today... Zimbabwe and South Africa plan to sign a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement on November 27 that the GOZ sees as a step toward rebuilding investor confidence with its large southern neighbor. However, the BIPPA is contentious because it fails to offer any redress to nearly 250 South African farmers whose land was expropriated under land reform, and therefore, according to the Commercial Farmers Union, would contravene the SADC Tribunal ruling invalidating Zimbabwean farm seizures as discriminatory. In an effort to stave off or influence the signing, resident South African farmer Louis Fick brought an urgent order to court in South Africa on November 26 seeking that South Africa honor its SADC ruling obligations. The North Gauteng High Court issued a ruling ordering the South African government to honor the SADC ruling that upheld the rights of a group of Zimbabwean farmers. ¶4. Bennett Trial Limps on as Gwezere Languishes in Prison... The trial of MDC-T Treasurer General and Deputy Agriculture Minister-designate Roy Bennett limped on this week as the first three witnesses failed to produce any evidence linking him to terrorism, insurrection and insurgency charges. However, the prosecution is undeterred and intends on calling ten more witnesses. Meanwhile, MDC Transport Manager Pascal Gwezere is languishing in remand prison as prosecutors decide whether to appeal the bail granted him on November 20. Gwezere was abducted by state security Qgranted him on November 20. Gwezere was abducted by state security agents on October 27 and is charged with stealing arms from an armory in Harare. The prison authorities continue to deny him medical treatment for injuries he allegedly suffered from torture by state security agents. ¶5. Gono Not Formally Joining ZANU-PF... Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono will not be adding the title of ZANU-PF Manicaland Provincial Finance Secretary to his resume, according to the State press. Gono was put forward as a nominee for the position, but HARARE 00000924 002 OF 003 apparently turned down the nomination as it would contradict the apolitical nature of his RBZ role and because of his "enormous national commitments." Gono has long maintained the fiction that he is not a ZANU-PF political supporter. Rumors that Gono had accepted the party position fueled speculation that he might step down as governor to focus on a political career. Prosecutor Gets Promotion Instead of Jail Time... State prosecutor Andrew Kumire was recently promoted to area public prosecutor despite his conviction for contempt of court last month by magistrate Chiwoniso Mutongi. Kumire was sentenced to five days in prison for his disrespectful behavior during the trial of human rights lawyer Alec Muchadehama in October, but managed to avoid serving any time. Mutongi -- one of few female magistrates -- has since resigned from the bench, citing interference, harassment, and abuse by prosecutors. ¶6. Obama Honors WOZA... President Obama hosted the awards ceremony for the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation's annual Human Rights Award at the White House on Monday. In his remarks, the President referred to Robert Mugabe as a "dictator" -- a point many here immediately noticed. The RFK award to Magodonga Mahlangu and Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) comes with a $30,000 grant and technical and legal support. Since WOZA's founding in 2003, 3,000 of it's 75,000 members have been arrested while conducting peaceful protests across Zimbabwe. See President Obama's remarks online at: www.youtube.com -------------- On the Economic and Business Front -------------- ¶7. 2010 Budget to be Presented on December 2... Finance Minister Tendai Biti will present the 2010 budget in Parliament on December 2, according to Ministry of Finance officials. We have not had many reliable indications of what the new budget will bring. The main question is how well Biti will control growth of the public-sector wage bill. We will also look for moves to simplify taxes on mining, with a view to raising more revenue from the sector. ¶8. BP & Shell Deal Stopped on Account of Indigenization Law... According to a report in Business Day (November 24),Zimbabwean authorities have thwarted Engen's and KenolKobil's bid to acquire BP and Shell's fuel assets in Zimbabwe on account of the Indigenization Act which prescribes that black Zimbabweans own at least 51 percent of all businesses in the country. While BP and Shell's Communications and External Affairs Manager admitted that stakeholders held high level meetings recently, he professed ignorance about what was discussed. ¶9. Tourism Up in Zimbabwe? According to figures released at a South African tourism conference this week, visits to Zimbabwe have bounced back sharply as 362,000 tourists visited the country since the launch of the unity government in February, compared with 100,000 for all of last year. Those visits translated into 2009 Q100,000 for all of last year. Those visits translated into 2009 tourism revenue of US$100 million. Zimbabwe Council of Tourism President Emmanuel Fundira attributed the bounce in revenues to the country's relative stability since the launch of the inclusive government in February. Shingi Munyenza, the CEO of leading local hotelier African Sun, told the conference that Zimbabwean hotels have been running at 70% of capacity lately. -------------- Quote of the Week -------------- ¶10. "Ladies and gentlemen let me categorically state that the AG's office is highly competent, independent and shall continue to uphold and apply the laws of the country without fear or favour." -- Attorney General Johannes Tomana's public remarks as the guest of honor at a police parade on November 26. HARARE 00000924 003 OF 003 RAY