The unpalatable fact is that the Republic of Zimbabwe is virtually bankrupt. As at December 1, 2008, Zimbabwe’s external debt stood at US$ 5,255 billion, with a current account balance of – US$597 million. As at May 31, 2009, Zimbabwe owed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) US$138 million and the World Bank US$676 million.
As at April 30, 2009, Zimbabwe owed the African Development Bank US$438 million. These statistics are startling and there is, therefore, an urgent need to interrogate Zimbabwe’s debt crisis and firstly ascertain how such a colossal debt was incurred and then strategise the way forward as to how this debt crisis is to be resolved.
Put alternatively, the legitimacy or lack of it, of Zimbabwe’s debt has to be placed under the microscope if our country is to avoid being perpetually placed under a debt trap.
The main thrust of this paper is therefore to attempt to provide an objective analysis of Zimbabwe’s debt situation and then to propagate the need to have an apolitical, scientific and objective debt audit as a way of charting a new dispensation regarding how the debt crisis has to be handled henceforth.
Odious debts are defined as those debts, incurred by the State, which debts are not for the needs or interest of the State but merely to strengthen the State’s despotic power as well as to repress the population that fights against despotism. The legal doctrine of odious debts is essentially derived from the writings of Alexander Nahum Sack, the world’s pre-eminent legal scholar on public debts.
Sack authored two major works on the obligations of successor states and these are: “THE EFFECTS OF STATE TRANSFORMATIONS ON THEIR PUBLIC DEBTS AND OTHER FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS” and “THE SUCCESSION OF THE PUBLIC DEBTS OF THE STATE.”
The doctrine of odious debts is not per se favourable to the interests of emerging economies and also to the developing countries (hitherto contemptuously referred to as the Third World.)
This is so because the doctrine of odious debts was created to further the interests of international finance by limiting the ability of governments to repudiate debts. Under this doctrine, three conditions must be present before a State can repudiate a debt:
i) the debt must have been incurred without the consent of the people of the State;
ii) the debt cannot have benefited the public in that State and;
iii) the tenderer must have been aware of these two conditions.
The overwhelming majority of the developing world’s foreign debts are odious in law. Being part of the developing world, Zimbabwe is thus inevitably caught up in this odious debts fiasco. My earlier humble submission was that Zimbabwe is bankrupt. This is mainly so because Zimbabwe has no capacity to service the afore-mentioned debt. In his inaugural address after being sworn into office on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 , Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai advised the nation that the inclusive government’s main priority was to heal the broken economy and supply food to the hungry millions of Zimbabweans. He stated that: “For too long, our people’s hopes for a bright and prosperous future have been betrayed. Instead of hope, their days have been filled with starvation, disease and fear. A culture of entitlement and impunity has brought our nation to the brink of a dark abyss. This must end today.” It is, without doubt, obvious that Prime Minister Tsvangirai was acutely aware of the state of despair, poverty, destitution and hopelessness that prevailed throughout the Zimbabwean society immediately prior to the formation of the inclusive government in February, 2009. At its formation in February, 2009, the inclusive government inherited approximately US$ 4,7 billion external debts owed to bilateral, multilateral and commercial creditors.
This paper adopts the view that by the time the inclusive government was formed, Zimbabwe was virtually a failed State. The de facto government had ceased to operate as a normal functional authority. The economic challenges facing the country were such that the de facto government was clearly unable to meet essential State obligations such as the payment of civil servants’ salaries as well as the general running of public institutions such as government ministries, public schools and public hospitals. Zimbabwe’s economic collapse is not to be solely located in and restricted to the ineptitude, corruption and misgovernance of the previous government coupled with the chaotic and violent “land reform” program that began in earnest in February, 2000.
There is a combination of several factors that eventually led to Zimbabwe becoming a failed state by the time the inclusive government was formed in February, 2009.The reasons behind Zimbabwe’s economic decline are numerous, complex and historical. The general assumption that the land distribution program that gained momentum from the year 2000 is the sole reason for the country’s economic decline and food insecurity is flatly inaccurate.
According to a study by the Trans Africa Forum, there are several factors that brought about Zimbabwe’s economic collapse. In a Congressional Testimony to the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health on Thursday, May 7, 2009 submitted by Nicole C. Lee, Esq; the Executive Director of the Trans Africa Forum, many political economists identify Zimbabwe’s unresolved structural weaknesses and systematic inequality built into the apartheid -like system constructed by the Rhodesian settlers as the primary root cause. A South African-based scholar, Patrick Bond, points to the related crises of Rhodesia’s “over-consumption” of the early 1970s.Analysts agree that at the time of Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980,the country’s economy was skewed, for example:
i) The entire national economy was designed to support the maintenance and enrichment of a small white minority. At independence in 1980, fewer than 7000 white farmers each owned, on average, more than 100 times the land available to the average African peasant.;
ii) Industry, mining and the manufacturing sector were in the hands of multinational corporations and the white settler economy:
iii) The majority of the population had been systematically excluded from the pool of skilled labour as well as the formal economy through a variety of legal and abusive measures.
In present-day Zimbabwe, economic distortions continue. Mining, manufacturing and most industry remain in the hands of external corporations, the white minority and a small clique of black indigenous Zimbabweans.
Zimbabwe is at the crossroads. The country is caught up in a debt trap. Zimbabwe is burdened by both short and long-term external debts that inevitably militate against the inclusive government’s concerted efforts to jump-start the economy. Zimbabwe has no choice but to adopt the modern approach to international relations; which approach essentially dictates that developing countries should be given a platform where they can challenge the legitimacy of their debts to creditors with a view to ensuring that their development is not stifled by otherwise odious and/or illegitimate debts which militate against sustainable development.
The inclusive government should come out clearly in the open and join the global voice that seeks the establishment of an international debt arbitration mechanism. The Zimbabwe government should promptly utilize the doctrine of odious debts by establishing a judicial debt arbitration panel, preferably composed of respected and eminent Zimbabwean and international jurists.
This panel would then invite creditors to submit claims, including documentation that the loans were indeed used in the interests of the Zimbabwean people and, not, in the words of the US Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolforito, “to buy weapons and to build palaces and to build instruments of repression.” It is pointless to take the alternative route of going to the Paris Club. The Paris Club is composed of die-hard capitalists whose major interest is to remain the world’s economic giants at the expense of the developing world. Put bluntly, the Paris Club will never push the agenda of developing and highly-indebted countries.
The Paris Club is an informal grouping of the world’s largest creditor nations. This club uses Western taxpayer dollars to rescue misplaced loans by public lenders. Zimbabwe should never approach the Paris Club; at least before establishing the legitimacy or otherwise of its colossal external debt. Recent news reports are to the effect that France is mulling the possibility of cancelling Zimbabwe’s debt to that country which is in the region of €400 million. This is a very encouraging starting point.
The World Bank’s article of agreement imposes a fiduciary duty on the bank to ensure that the proceeds of any loan are used only for the purposes for which the loan is granted. If the World Bank breaches this fiduciary duty it should be held liable and the debtor nation must be entitled to challenge the odious debt at international law.
In his paper: “CRIMINAL DEBT IN THE INDONESIA CONTEXT”, Northwestern University Professor Jeffrey Winters provides shocking insight into the World Bank’s weak supervisory practices. Winters presents overwhelming evidence that the World Bank breached its fiduciary duty to Indonesia by granting loans which, it knew, would be used for corrupt purposes. As a result, Indonesian legislators have since asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to write off the country’s foreign debts, including those to other donors recommended by the IMF.
The Indonesian government had a foreign debt of around US$67 billion as at July 13, 2001. The breach of its fiduciary duty by the World Bank is ordinarily a legal basis to challenge the legitimacy of the debts. The hurdle to be encountered by the inclusive government in Zimbabwe is to prove that the lending institutions knew or ought to have known that the funds would not be used in the interest of the people but solely for the benefit of the ruling regime’s members in their personal capacities.
A classic scenario on odious debts is demonstrated when officials are indicted on corruption charges relating to funds from the multilateral lending institutions. Examples are cases like CROWN v HAHMEYER INTERNATIONAL CIMBA where a Lesotho senior public servant was bribed to influence his decision on a major construction project undertaken by the appellant corporation.
There was ”reasonably sufficient” evidence to indicate that Acres International engaged in a corrupt practice by paying monies to Mr. Mosupha Sole to influence him in connection with the work performed by Acres International for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
This trial is important because it may open the door for the government of Lesotho to challenge the legitimacy of loans tainted by corruption. Another case involves an action by the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal to strike out a lawsuit against the Kenyan government over a contract after it discovered that the contract had been secured illegally through a US$2 million bribe paid to the former President Daniel Arap Moi.
Although the complainant alleges that the payment was a “personal donation” made to Mr. Moi for public purposes, the ICSID tribunal ruled that this constituted a breach of international public policy as well as both English and Kenyan public policy. Mr. Ali, the complainant, could, therefore, not turn to a legal body as a means to enforce his rights secured through a breach of international public policy or in the tribunal’s words, he could not “found a cause of action on an immoral or illegal act.”
The tribunal ruled that “claims based on contracts of corruption or on contracts obtained by corruption cannot be upheld by this arbitral tribunal.” As aptly noted by Jeffy King of the Canadian Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL), the tribunal’s ruling is an important one for the global campaign and “adds to precedent such as the Tinoco Arbitration (1924) and numerous international conventions in clarifying that contracts for personal enrichment, or those procured by bribery, are against international public policy and are thus, unenforceable.”
By distinguishing between the acts of the Kenyan President and those of the Republic of Kenya, the ruling contributes an important precedent to the odious debts jurisprudence.
The decision by the World Bank-established tribunal upheld the principle that the President of Kenya was acting as an agent of the state and thus, his actions are automatically deemed to be the acts of Kenya. This decision thus, dissolves the fiction that a head of state is capable of binding the state to any sort of contract.
In July 2000, the Argentine Federal Court set out a landmark ruling that is supposed to have far-reaching repercussions for odious debt campaigners worldwide. The court held that a substantial portion of Argentina’s foreign debt is rooted in fraudulent and illegitimate loans abused during the military period.
In his decision, Judge Jorge Ballestro held that many loans to Argentina were part of “a damaging economic policy that forced Argentina to its knees through various methods….and which tended to benefit and support private companies- national and foreign-to the detriment of society and state companies.” Judge Ballestro’s ruling puts blame on the shoulders of corrupt civil servants as well as international financial institutions such as the IMF.
In his speech to the International Jubilee 2000 Conference in Bamako, Mali, debt activist Alejandro Olmos Gaona, argues that the court’s decision exposes how international creditors helped ensure that money lent to Argentina was not used in the interest of the state. As such, the court’s ruling is an invaluable resource for campaigners in other countries who are trying to challenge the legality of their own odious debts.
It is, therefore, imperative for the inclusive government in Zimbabwe to urgently institute a debt audit as suggested in this paper. It would be pointless for the inclusive government to move around with a begging bowl, asking for about US$8, 2 billion to jump-start Zimbabwe’s comatose economy whilst remaining deafeningly silent about the need to interrogate the country’s colossal external debt.
Zimbabwe should not honour any debts that have not been properly audited and proved to be lawful and legitimate. Honouring debts that are clearly odious will be the inclusive government’s kiss of death.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
The inclusive government is the only game in town
That Zimbabwe is not yet fully democratised is beyond debate.The road to a fully democratic Republic of Zimbabwe has been and still remains long and arduous.It will be total folly for anyone to think that we have completed the democratisation agenda in Zimbabwe.If anything,Zimbabwe is at the crossroads.Our destiny is in our own hands; to make or break our motherland.
The struggle to liberate Zimbabwe from racist colonial bondage was not for the faint-hearted.In similar measure,the struggle to democratise Zimbabwe is anything but a stroll in the park.It is a process and not an event.Thus,for anyone to imagine that we can just wake up one morning and find Zimbabwe fully democratised is an exercise in futility.
In simple parlance,it is called day-dreaming.From around 1890 when a group of fortune-hunters masquerading as the Pioneer Column invaded Zimbabwe,this country has had the misfortune of being governed by very repressive and intolerant regimes.In this context,therefore,Wednseday February 11,2009 marked a defining and historic moment in the political history of Zimbabwe.
This is so because on that day,the present inclusive government was formed.From that day onwards,Zimbabwe will never be the same again.In my humble opinion,the formation of the inclusive government inevitably marked the beginning of the end of totalitarianism in our country.
It is simply unthinkable to imagine that Zimbabweans will ever allow any single person to wield so much executive State power as was the case prior to the formation of the inclusive government. Put alternatively,I cannot envisage a situation where Zimbabweans will ever accept to be governed in a despotic,imperial and authoritarian manner by anyone for that matter.
The inclusive government,if recent scientific surveys are anything to go by,has the support of about 80% of the people of Zimbabwe.This simply means that the majority of the people,both living in Zimbabwe and in the Diaspora,support the concept of the inclusive government.
This support is borne out of the realisation that there was no other viable alternative to the inclusive government at this juncture in the political history of our country.I am not doing a public relations brief for the inclusive government.I am merely stating a fact.And in most cases, facts are pretty stubborn.Every right-thinking person knows that the MDC, under the leadership of Morgan Richard Tsvangirai,won the harmonised elections on March 29, 2008.
Morgan Tsvangirai won the Presidential election and this is the main reason why it took the thoroughly discredited Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) five weeks to formally announce the results of the Presidential election.This inordinate delay was unprecedented in the history of elections on the whole of the African continent.It was a first and indeed,it deserves to be recorded in the Guinness Book of world records! It is not my intention to whip up political emotions.
I am simply relating the cold,hard fact concerning the pathetic and embarrassing performance of the ZEC.Surely,if the ZANU(PF) candidate had won the the Presidential election on March 29, 2008, the ZEC would have have proceeded at supersonic speed to announce the results.
The biased,partisan and incompetent conduct of the ZEC in the manner in which they handled the Presidential election of March 29, 2008 clearly shows that Zimbabwe is not yet a fully democratic nation.A democratic country does not wait for five weeks to know the results of an election where less than three (3) million voters have cast their vote.A country in which elections are run by a partisan and militarised organ is not a democratic country.
Basic democratic tenets dictate that the winner of a free and fair Presidential election should proceed to form the next government.That should have been the case in Zimbabwe but we all know what happened between March and June 2008.Zimbabwe ended up having an inclusive government in February 2009 because democracy had failed to be respected.The inclusive government is not what the voters voted for on March 29, 2008; the last credible election held in Zimbabwe.
My support for the inclusive government is not a manifestation of my dislike for true democratic tenets.
My support for this unique form of government is simply informed by the fact that post June, 2008,this is the only viable type of government that can take Zimbabwe further on the democratisation route.Yes; the inclusive government is a very painful compromise on the part of Morgan Tsvangirai who clearly won the elections on March 29, 2009.But then we have to look at the bigger picture.
We were forced to share power with ZANU (PF) not because that is what the voters decided on March 29, 2009.We were compelled to enter into a marriage of convenience with ZANU (PF) because that was the only peaceful alternative that the MDC had after the electoral losers refused to hand over power after losing a free and fair election.
The decision to get into the inclusive government was thus necessitated by the need to save Zimbabwe from total collapse.It was a statesman- like decision that was taken by Morgan Tsvangirai and the leadership of the MDC.
Cognisance should always be taken of the fact that the inclusive government is and indeed, should be a transitional arrangement.Those of us who dream that the inclusive government should last forever are obviously thinking selfishly.They will, no doubt, be disappointed; sooner rather than later.
The people of Zimbabwe are keen to choose their leaders through democratic,free and fair elections.They want elections and not boardroom manoeuvres to determine who should govern them.In fact,the people detest the idea of having electoral losers governing them.Hence,the paramount need to move with speed to ensure that a new people-driven constitution is crafted and put to the people via a referendum.We cannot afford to wait a day longer.
Already,it is apparent that the inclusive government is facing tremendous challenges in trying to convince a sceptical world that this unique experiment in governance can work.The people should promptly be given another free and fair opportunity to decide who should govern them.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s recent visit abroad has shown the level of skepticism that is out there concerning the inclusive government.
As long as there is no evidence of genuine power-sharing the people will be very difficult to convince.When the democratisation agenda is being sabotaged at every turn the people get very worried.When the rule of law continues to be bastardised the people continue to be traumatised.When clearly innocent people such as Toendepi Shonhe and Alec Muchadehama are arrested and detained on trumped up charges we all get very concerned.
When thoroughly discredited politicians such as Jonathan Moyo start launching scathing attacks on the person and office of the Prime Minister it becomes crystal clear that the beast of political thuggery and totalitarianism has not yet been tamed.Indeed,we should tread carefully.The democratisation route in Zimbabwe is full of booby traps.There are vultures out there.Men and women without a conscience.Unprincipled people who are prepared to defend the indefencable.Pathetic and greedy monsters who will do anything for money.Shame on these people.
We should remain vigilant as a people.We should learn to distuingish between genuine patriots who love Zimbabwe and political prostitutes and turn-coats who are invariably driven by selfish motives in whatever they do in their lives.These characters will always change their colours like a chameleon.Today, they will champion the enactment of draconian laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act(AIPPA).
Tomorrow, they will pretend to be democrats and hoodwink the MDC into failing to field a candidate in Tsholotsho North constituency.Comrades,we allowed a lethal snake to invade our household.We should never be this tackless in future elections.A snake is a snake.It always remains lethal.
The inclusive government deserves our support because it takes us further on our democratisation agenda.It is a major step forward instead of backwards.Yes;the inclusive government is littered with imperfections.But then that is the price that Zimbabwe has to pay for failing to respect the results of the Presidential election that was held on March 29, 2008.The inclusive government is certainly not a full loaf.But then, half a loaf is better than nothing.
The struggle to liberate Zimbabwe from racist colonial bondage was not for the faint-hearted.In similar measure,the struggle to democratise Zimbabwe is anything but a stroll in the park.It is a process and not an event.Thus,for anyone to imagine that we can just wake up one morning and find Zimbabwe fully democratised is an exercise in futility.
In simple parlance,it is called day-dreaming.From around 1890 when a group of fortune-hunters masquerading as the Pioneer Column invaded Zimbabwe,this country has had the misfortune of being governed by very repressive and intolerant regimes.In this context,therefore,Wednseday February 11,2009 marked a defining and historic moment in the political history of Zimbabwe.
This is so because on that day,the present inclusive government was formed.From that day onwards,Zimbabwe will never be the same again.In my humble opinion,the formation of the inclusive government inevitably marked the beginning of the end of totalitarianism in our country.
It is simply unthinkable to imagine that Zimbabweans will ever allow any single person to wield so much executive State power as was the case prior to the formation of the inclusive government. Put alternatively,I cannot envisage a situation where Zimbabweans will ever accept to be governed in a despotic,imperial and authoritarian manner by anyone for that matter.
The inclusive government,if recent scientific surveys are anything to go by,has the support of about 80% of the people of Zimbabwe.This simply means that the majority of the people,both living in Zimbabwe and in the Diaspora,support the concept of the inclusive government.
This support is borne out of the realisation that there was no other viable alternative to the inclusive government at this juncture in the political history of our country.I am not doing a public relations brief for the inclusive government.I am merely stating a fact.And in most cases, facts are pretty stubborn.Every right-thinking person knows that the MDC, under the leadership of Morgan Richard Tsvangirai,won the harmonised elections on March 29, 2008.
Morgan Tsvangirai won the Presidential election and this is the main reason why it took the thoroughly discredited Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) five weeks to formally announce the results of the Presidential election.This inordinate delay was unprecedented in the history of elections on the whole of the African continent.It was a first and indeed,it deserves to be recorded in the Guinness Book of world records! It is not my intention to whip up political emotions.
I am simply relating the cold,hard fact concerning the pathetic and embarrassing performance of the ZEC.Surely,if the ZANU(PF) candidate had won the the Presidential election on March 29, 2008, the ZEC would have have proceeded at supersonic speed to announce the results.
The biased,partisan and incompetent conduct of the ZEC in the manner in which they handled the Presidential election of March 29, 2008 clearly shows that Zimbabwe is not yet a fully democratic nation.A democratic country does not wait for five weeks to know the results of an election where less than three (3) million voters have cast their vote.A country in which elections are run by a partisan and militarised organ is not a democratic country.
Basic democratic tenets dictate that the winner of a free and fair Presidential election should proceed to form the next government.That should have been the case in Zimbabwe but we all know what happened between March and June 2008.Zimbabwe ended up having an inclusive government in February 2009 because democracy had failed to be respected.The inclusive government is not what the voters voted for on March 29, 2008; the last credible election held in Zimbabwe.
My support for the inclusive government is not a manifestation of my dislike for true democratic tenets.
My support for this unique form of government is simply informed by the fact that post June, 2008,this is the only viable type of government that can take Zimbabwe further on the democratisation route.Yes; the inclusive government is a very painful compromise on the part of Morgan Tsvangirai who clearly won the elections on March 29, 2009.But then we have to look at the bigger picture.
We were forced to share power with ZANU (PF) not because that is what the voters decided on March 29, 2009.We were compelled to enter into a marriage of convenience with ZANU (PF) because that was the only peaceful alternative that the MDC had after the electoral losers refused to hand over power after losing a free and fair election.
The decision to get into the inclusive government was thus necessitated by the need to save Zimbabwe from total collapse.It was a statesman- like decision that was taken by Morgan Tsvangirai and the leadership of the MDC.
Cognisance should always be taken of the fact that the inclusive government is and indeed, should be a transitional arrangement.Those of us who dream that the inclusive government should last forever are obviously thinking selfishly.They will, no doubt, be disappointed; sooner rather than later.
The people of Zimbabwe are keen to choose their leaders through democratic,free and fair elections.They want elections and not boardroom manoeuvres to determine who should govern them.In fact,the people detest the idea of having electoral losers governing them.Hence,the paramount need to move with speed to ensure that a new people-driven constitution is crafted and put to the people via a referendum.We cannot afford to wait a day longer.
Already,it is apparent that the inclusive government is facing tremendous challenges in trying to convince a sceptical world that this unique experiment in governance can work.The people should promptly be given another free and fair opportunity to decide who should govern them.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s recent visit abroad has shown the level of skepticism that is out there concerning the inclusive government.
As long as there is no evidence of genuine power-sharing the people will be very difficult to convince.When the democratisation agenda is being sabotaged at every turn the people get very worried.When the rule of law continues to be bastardised the people continue to be traumatised.When clearly innocent people such as Toendepi Shonhe and Alec Muchadehama are arrested and detained on trumped up charges we all get very concerned.
When thoroughly discredited politicians such as Jonathan Moyo start launching scathing attacks on the person and office of the Prime Minister it becomes crystal clear that the beast of political thuggery and totalitarianism has not yet been tamed.Indeed,we should tread carefully.The democratisation route in Zimbabwe is full of booby traps.There are vultures out there.Men and women without a conscience.Unprincipled people who are prepared to defend the indefencable.Pathetic and greedy monsters who will do anything for money.Shame on these people.
We should remain vigilant as a people.We should learn to distuingish between genuine patriots who love Zimbabwe and political prostitutes and turn-coats who are invariably driven by selfish motives in whatever they do in their lives.These characters will always change their colours like a chameleon.Today, they will champion the enactment of draconian laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act(AIPPA).
Tomorrow, they will pretend to be democrats and hoodwink the MDC into failing to field a candidate in Tsholotsho North constituency.Comrades,we allowed a lethal snake to invade our household.We should never be this tackless in future elections.A snake is a snake.It always remains lethal.
The inclusive government deserves our support because it takes us further on our democratisation agenda.It is a major step forward instead of backwards.Yes;the inclusive government is littered with imperfections.But then that is the price that Zimbabwe has to pay for failing to respect the results of the Presidential election that was held on March 29, 2008.The inclusive government is certainly not a full loaf.But then, half a loaf is better than nothing.
Tsvangirai is not Mugabe’s errands boy
Reports in both the local State-controlled print and electronic media have deliberately distorted the main thrust and purpose of Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s official trip overseas.
A false and clearly malicious impression is being created to form the opinion that PM Tsvangirai has been mandated by Robert Mugabe to travel to Europe and the United States of America to specifically call for the lifting of ” sanctions” that the MDC had purportedly called for in the first instance.
The rabid and pathetic propaganda doesn’t end there.A desperate and wicked attempt is made to denigrate both the person and the office of the Prime Minister.
It is this type of dangerous and myopic approach to news dissemination that will ultimately prove to be the most lethal poison to the institution that we call the inclusive government in Zimbabwe.In its front page story on Tuesday, June 9, 2009,The Herald newspaper reports that PM Tsvangirai was in the Netherlands on a brief from Mugabe and Cabinet to call for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Whilst I am not a cabinet minister and I am therefore not privy to the deliberations of Cabinet,I have every reason to challenge the allegation that Mugabe and Cabinet have mandated PM Tsvangirai to travel abroad to call for the lifting of ”sanctions”.
I have conversed with a number of Cabinet ministers and none of them was able to give legitimacy and credibility to The Herald story that I am referring to herein.In short,therefore,The Herald story is deliberately distorting the main purpose of the PM’s current visit overseas.
I am not surprised by the die-hard attitude that still prevails in certain quarters of the State-controlled media.Most of those people who had made it a career to be ZANU(PF) praise-singers are still in control at both Zimpapers and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings.
With the greatest of respect to some of these people; they lack basic intelligence and foresight.They are still wearing their parochial blinkers and they seem not to be aware that wherever you go in Zimbabwe today,things are in change mode.These unfortunate people,for some pathetically sad reason,seem to still think that Mugabe is solely in charge and that Tsvangirai is just an errand boy.
These delusional characters still believe that somehow, both Mugabe and ZANU(PF) will manage to re-invent themselves and make themselves popular again amongst the majority of Zimbabweans; both within the country and in the Diaspora.They can dream on.I have stated it before and I will repeat it here and now; Mugabe and ZANU(PF) are yesterday’s people ; they cannot and will never win any genuinely free and fair election in Zimbabwe now and in the future.
The MDC, ably led by Morgan Tsvangirai,buried ZANU(PF) at the polls during the harmonised elections that were held in Zimbabwe on March 29,2008.From then onwards,ZANU(PF) is mortally and fatally wounded.This is a party that is hopelessly faction-ridden to such an extent that the centre can clearly no longer hold.I sometimes wonder how many parties are within ZANU(PF)!
The several factions in ZANU(PF) make it very difficult to imagine how this party can live to successfully contest another election against a formidable party such as the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
Put in its proper context,therefore,the desperate attempt by the ZANU(PF) spin doctors at the State-controlled media to paint PM Tsvangirai as a weak appendage of the inclusive government clearly has got no takers.
The global political agreement(GPA) marked the beginning of the end of Mugabe’s imperial Presidency.Section 20.1.1 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No) 19 states that ” The Executive Authority of the Inclusive Government shall vest in,and be shared among the President,the Prime Minister and the Cabinet,as provided for in this Constitution and legislation.” Surely,for any right-thinking person to therefore think that PM Tsvangirai is Mugabe’s errand boy clearly boggles the mind!
That there is a crying and urgent need for a serious paradigm shift within the State-controlled media cannot be over-emphasised.Infact,Zimbabwe doesnot need a State-controlled media.
What we need,urgently,is a responsible and professional public media that will truly articulate and tell the true Zimbabwe story without fear or favour.A partisan,corrupt,inefficient and lazy State-controlled media is a dangerous and lethal poison to the institution of the inclusive government.
Going forward,it may be necessary to wean off some these propagandists from the State-controlled media since they are working at a tangent to the project to rebuild and re-brand Zimbabwe.I am not advocating retribution.I do not believe in the primitive notion of an eye for an eye since that will obviuosly leave all of us blind.
All I am stating is that if certain individuals at the State-controlled media cannot embrace the new political dispensation in Zimbabwe then they should do the honourable thing and proceed to resign.
I am a member of the Parliament of Zimbabwe’s Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) and I am very pleased to note that we are moving at supersonic speed to ensure that the new Zimbabwe Media Commission is set up as a matter of urgency.
At our last meeting held in Harare on Monday, June 1, 2009 I was quite pleased when Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara forcefully argued that the first constitutional commission to be set up should be the Zimbabwe Media Commission.
He argued that even the present constitution-making process can be thrown into serious jeopardy if we fail to urgently appoint the Zimbabwe Media Commission.I totally associate myself with DPM Mutambara’s sentiments on this issue.Surely,Zimbabwe needs a new media regime if we are to move forward as a nation.The days of media hangmen such as those located in the now defunct Media and Information Commission (MIC) led by one Tafataona Mahoso should be placed in the dustbin of history because that is precisely where they belong.
The Zimbabwe Media Commission,according to Section 100P of the Constitution of Zimbabwe,has five(5) main functions and these are:
-to uphold and develop freedom of the press;and
-to promote and enforce good practice and ethics in the press,print and electronic media,and broadcasting;and
-to ensure that the people of Zimbabwe have equitable and wide access to information; and
-to ensure the equitable use and development of all indigenous languages spoken in Zimbabwe; and
-to exercise any other functions that may be conferred or imposed on the Commission by or under an Act of Parliament.
Thus,the important role of the Zimbabwe Media Commission in the democratisation agenda cannot be over-emphasised.As long as both the mainstream and privately-owned media remain polarised Zimbabwe will remain stuck in stagnation.It doesnt make any sense to have only one local television station( that is State-controlled) almost three decades after independence.
This makes us a laughing stock both in Africa and globally.For now,both Zimpapers and ZBH should simply accept that like him or hate him,PM Tsvangirai is the prime mover and shacker in Zimbabwe’s present political discourse.He is the man of the moment.He is presently overseas not as Mugabe’s errand boy but as the legitimate and hugely popular Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe.This is the cold hard fact that the propagandists at both Zimpapers and ZBH should quickly learn to live with.
A false and clearly malicious impression is being created to form the opinion that PM Tsvangirai has been mandated by Robert Mugabe to travel to Europe and the United States of America to specifically call for the lifting of ” sanctions” that the MDC had purportedly called for in the first instance.
The rabid and pathetic propaganda doesn’t end there.A desperate and wicked attempt is made to denigrate both the person and the office of the Prime Minister.
It is this type of dangerous and myopic approach to news dissemination that will ultimately prove to be the most lethal poison to the institution that we call the inclusive government in Zimbabwe.In its front page story on Tuesday, June 9, 2009,The Herald newspaper reports that PM Tsvangirai was in the Netherlands on a brief from Mugabe and Cabinet to call for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Whilst I am not a cabinet minister and I am therefore not privy to the deliberations of Cabinet,I have every reason to challenge the allegation that Mugabe and Cabinet have mandated PM Tsvangirai to travel abroad to call for the lifting of ”sanctions”.
I have conversed with a number of Cabinet ministers and none of them was able to give legitimacy and credibility to The Herald story that I am referring to herein.In short,therefore,The Herald story is deliberately distorting the main purpose of the PM’s current visit overseas.
I am not surprised by the die-hard attitude that still prevails in certain quarters of the State-controlled media.Most of those people who had made it a career to be ZANU(PF) praise-singers are still in control at both Zimpapers and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings.
With the greatest of respect to some of these people; they lack basic intelligence and foresight.They are still wearing their parochial blinkers and they seem not to be aware that wherever you go in Zimbabwe today,things are in change mode.These unfortunate people,for some pathetically sad reason,seem to still think that Mugabe is solely in charge and that Tsvangirai is just an errand boy.
These delusional characters still believe that somehow, both Mugabe and ZANU(PF) will manage to re-invent themselves and make themselves popular again amongst the majority of Zimbabweans; both within the country and in the Diaspora.They can dream on.I have stated it before and I will repeat it here and now; Mugabe and ZANU(PF) are yesterday’s people ; they cannot and will never win any genuinely free and fair election in Zimbabwe now and in the future.
The MDC, ably led by Morgan Tsvangirai,buried ZANU(PF) at the polls during the harmonised elections that were held in Zimbabwe on March 29,2008.From then onwards,ZANU(PF) is mortally and fatally wounded.This is a party that is hopelessly faction-ridden to such an extent that the centre can clearly no longer hold.I sometimes wonder how many parties are within ZANU(PF)!
The several factions in ZANU(PF) make it very difficult to imagine how this party can live to successfully contest another election against a formidable party such as the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
Put in its proper context,therefore,the desperate attempt by the ZANU(PF) spin doctors at the State-controlled media to paint PM Tsvangirai as a weak appendage of the inclusive government clearly has got no takers.
The global political agreement(GPA) marked the beginning of the end of Mugabe’s imperial Presidency.Section 20.1.1 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No) 19 states that ” The Executive Authority of the Inclusive Government shall vest in,and be shared among the President,the Prime Minister and the Cabinet,as provided for in this Constitution and legislation.” Surely,for any right-thinking person to therefore think that PM Tsvangirai is Mugabe’s errand boy clearly boggles the mind!
That there is a crying and urgent need for a serious paradigm shift within the State-controlled media cannot be over-emphasised.Infact,Zimbabwe doesnot need a State-controlled media.
What we need,urgently,is a responsible and professional public media that will truly articulate and tell the true Zimbabwe story without fear or favour.A partisan,corrupt,inefficient and lazy State-controlled media is a dangerous and lethal poison to the institution of the inclusive government.
Going forward,it may be necessary to wean off some these propagandists from the State-controlled media since they are working at a tangent to the project to rebuild and re-brand Zimbabwe.I am not advocating retribution.I do not believe in the primitive notion of an eye for an eye since that will obviuosly leave all of us blind.
All I am stating is that if certain individuals at the State-controlled media cannot embrace the new political dispensation in Zimbabwe then they should do the honourable thing and proceed to resign.
I am a member of the Parliament of Zimbabwe’s Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) and I am very pleased to note that we are moving at supersonic speed to ensure that the new Zimbabwe Media Commission is set up as a matter of urgency.
At our last meeting held in Harare on Monday, June 1, 2009 I was quite pleased when Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara forcefully argued that the first constitutional commission to be set up should be the Zimbabwe Media Commission.
He argued that even the present constitution-making process can be thrown into serious jeopardy if we fail to urgently appoint the Zimbabwe Media Commission.I totally associate myself with DPM Mutambara’s sentiments on this issue.Surely,Zimbabwe needs a new media regime if we are to move forward as a nation.The days of media hangmen such as those located in the now defunct Media and Information Commission (MIC) led by one Tafataona Mahoso should be placed in the dustbin of history because that is precisely where they belong.
The Zimbabwe Media Commission,according to Section 100P of the Constitution of Zimbabwe,has five(5) main functions and these are:
-to uphold and develop freedom of the press;and
-to promote and enforce good practice and ethics in the press,print and electronic media,and broadcasting;and
-to ensure that the people of Zimbabwe have equitable and wide access to information; and
-to ensure the equitable use and development of all indigenous languages spoken in Zimbabwe; and
-to exercise any other functions that may be conferred or imposed on the Commission by or under an Act of Parliament.
Thus,the important role of the Zimbabwe Media Commission in the democratisation agenda cannot be over-emphasised.As long as both the mainstream and privately-owned media remain polarised Zimbabwe will remain stuck in stagnation.It doesnt make any sense to have only one local television station( that is State-controlled) almost three decades after independence.
This makes us a laughing stock both in Africa and globally.For now,both Zimpapers and ZBH should simply accept that like him or hate him,PM Tsvangirai is the prime mover and shacker in Zimbabwe’s present political discourse.He is the man of the moment.He is presently overseas not as Mugabe’s errand boy but as the legitimate and hugely popular Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe.This is the cold hard fact that the propagandists at both Zimpapers and ZBH should quickly learn to live with.
Zimbabwe needs a Strong and Independent Parliament
The legislature is one of the three pillars of the State.The other pillars are the executive and the judiciary.Put simply,the doctrine of separation of powers essentially entails that each of the three pillars of the State should be independent from the other if real and substantive democracy is to be observed.It,therefore,follows that the true tenets of democracy are severely compromised in countries where one of the arms of the State,in most cases the executive,becomes super-strong and domineering at the expense of the other arms of the State.
Typically,in most if not all totalitarian States,the executive arm is very powerful and it literally relegates the legislature and the judiciary to subsidiary roles where they become weak appendages of the executive.
Proceeding on the assumption that Zimbabwe should not be a totalitarian State,it naturally follows,therefore,that we need a strong and independent legislature as well as an independent judiciary that is always ready to dispense justice without fear or favour.Anything short of this is clearly not acceptable.
I make no apology in stating that since independence in 1980,Zimbabwe’s parliamentary system has not developed to an acceptable level inasfar as modern democratic tenets are concerned.Invariably.parliament has been virtually dominated by one political party to such an extent that most pieces of legislation,no matter how controversial,such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act( AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security Act( POSA) have been rail-roaded through parliament with relative ease and comfort.
It is my considered view that a parliament that is exclusively dominated by one political party is never good for democracy.
Alternative viewpoints are always healthy in order to nurture,develop and sustain a genuine democracy.
For democracy to thrive,there is always a need to have a vibrant opposition in parliament that is able to play a genuine oversight role over the activities of the executive.
The inclusive government in Zimbabwe gives us a unique parliamentary set-up where we virtually do not have an opposition in parliament save for the lone voice of one Jonathan Moyo.Whether or not the unique parliamentary set-up that is presently obtaining in Zimbabwe is good for democracy is neither here nor there.Suffice to state that a parliament should always strive to have a strong and fearless opposition voice.
Parliament has basically three main functions and these are to legislate,to play a representational role to the people who vote legislators into office and also to play an oversight role over the activities of the executive arm of the State.
A parliament that fails to effectively carry out any of these three main functions is therefore a serious impediment to the development of democracy.A parliament that merely rubberstamps the actions and decisions of the executive is a catalyst towards the development of a dictatorship.
Zimbabwe doesnot need a dictatorship.What we need is a robust,independent and well-funded parliament that will genuinely play a decisive role in the democratisation agenda in Zimbabwe.I am a legislator in the seventh parliament of Zimbabwe that was voted into office on March 29,2008.
My experience so far has been anything but rosy.We have a parliament that is so severely underfunded that it is unable to hold parliamentary sittings that are long.In most cases,parliament just sits for a few days and/or hours before a long adjournment is announced.
For all the months that I have been a member of parliament,the legistative agenda has been virtually non-existent.Only a few pieces of legislation have been dealt with so far in both houses of parliament.For the avoidance of doubt,I will itemise the few pieces of legislation that parliament has dealt with to date.
These are the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No.19 Act,the Zimbabwe National Security Council Act,the Finance Act and the Appropriation Act.New pieces of legislation to enhance Zimbabwe’s democratisation agenda have simply not been forth-coming from the inclusive government.
Here is hoping that when parliament resumes sitting on June 16,2009 we are going to be kept busy by dealing with new pieces of legislation as envisaged in the global political agreement (GPA) that was solemnised on September 15,2008 in Harare.
I am very mindful of the prevailing economic and financial challenges that are being faced by our country.I am also acutely aware of the fact that the inclusive government is cash-strapped and that it has to attend to many competing interests.
Be that as it may,I humbly urge the inclusive government to take note of the debilitating poverty and destitution that is afflicting the majority of our parliamentarians.
Most of them cannot even afford to buy a single meal in the hotels in which they are booked during parliamentary sessions.Parliament normally pays for bed and breakfast only and the individual legislators have to take care of the other meals.
Lest I am misunderstood by the readers;I am not by any stretch of the imagination suggesting that legislators are a special breed of
Zimbabweans who deserve to be pampered.
No.All I am stating is that it is dehumanising and utterly humiliating for honourable members of parliament to be seen stashing bread rolls in their handbags during breakfast so that they can cater for their next meal! In similar measure,it is an unmitigated embarassment for an honourable member of parliament to tour his/her constituency using public transport simply because the Treasury has not made available the requisite funds to purchase motor vehicles for parliamentarians.
I have nothing but absolute respect for our Minister of Finance and on some occassions,I have personally appealed to him to urgently do something about the plight of our parliamentarians if the legislature is to remain a useful and relevant arm of the state in the New Zimbabwe that we are all so keen on building.
On our own part as legislators,I also humbly urge my fellow legislators not to be cry babies.We should not expect to earn a living by getting into parliament.First and foremost,being a parliamentarian is a public duty; to serve Zimbabwe and not to have Zimbabwe serve you.You will be terribly disappointed if you think that you will get rich by simply getting into parliament.
We should endeavour to be enterprising and thus,ensure that we have some decent and honest sources of income other than the US$100 allowance that we are getting from parliament every month.For those of my collegues who saw wisdom in grabbing motor vehicles that were recently doled out to them by the Reserve Bank,I humbly urge them to interrogate their consciences and ascertain whether they did the right thing for themselves and for the institution of parliament.Whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with legislators being allocated vehicles,I am strongly of the view that proper procedures ought and must be followed if we are to maintain and uphold the dignity of the institution of parliament.Comrades,greed will never take us anywhere.
As a parting shot,I wish to reiterate that a weak and compromised parliament is the anti-thesis of democracy.
Typically,in most if not all totalitarian States,the executive arm is very powerful and it literally relegates the legislature and the judiciary to subsidiary roles where they become weak appendages of the executive.
Proceeding on the assumption that Zimbabwe should not be a totalitarian State,it naturally follows,therefore,that we need a strong and independent legislature as well as an independent judiciary that is always ready to dispense justice without fear or favour.Anything short of this is clearly not acceptable.
I make no apology in stating that since independence in 1980,Zimbabwe’s parliamentary system has not developed to an acceptable level inasfar as modern democratic tenets are concerned.Invariably.parliament has been virtually dominated by one political party to such an extent that most pieces of legislation,no matter how controversial,such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act( AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security Act( POSA) have been rail-roaded through parliament with relative ease and comfort.
It is my considered view that a parliament that is exclusively dominated by one political party is never good for democracy.
Alternative viewpoints are always healthy in order to nurture,develop and sustain a genuine democracy.
For democracy to thrive,there is always a need to have a vibrant opposition in parliament that is able to play a genuine oversight role over the activities of the executive.
The inclusive government in Zimbabwe gives us a unique parliamentary set-up where we virtually do not have an opposition in parliament save for the lone voice of one Jonathan Moyo.Whether or not the unique parliamentary set-up that is presently obtaining in Zimbabwe is good for democracy is neither here nor there.Suffice to state that a parliament should always strive to have a strong and fearless opposition voice.
Parliament has basically three main functions and these are to legislate,to play a representational role to the people who vote legislators into office and also to play an oversight role over the activities of the executive arm of the State.
A parliament that fails to effectively carry out any of these three main functions is therefore a serious impediment to the development of democracy.A parliament that merely rubberstamps the actions and decisions of the executive is a catalyst towards the development of a dictatorship.
Zimbabwe doesnot need a dictatorship.What we need is a robust,independent and well-funded parliament that will genuinely play a decisive role in the democratisation agenda in Zimbabwe.I am a legislator in the seventh parliament of Zimbabwe that was voted into office on March 29,2008.
My experience so far has been anything but rosy.We have a parliament that is so severely underfunded that it is unable to hold parliamentary sittings that are long.In most cases,parliament just sits for a few days and/or hours before a long adjournment is announced.
For all the months that I have been a member of parliament,the legistative agenda has been virtually non-existent.Only a few pieces of legislation have been dealt with so far in both houses of parliament.For the avoidance of doubt,I will itemise the few pieces of legislation that parliament has dealt with to date.
These are the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No.19 Act,the Zimbabwe National Security Council Act,the Finance Act and the Appropriation Act.New pieces of legislation to enhance Zimbabwe’s democratisation agenda have simply not been forth-coming from the inclusive government.
Here is hoping that when parliament resumes sitting on June 16,2009 we are going to be kept busy by dealing with new pieces of legislation as envisaged in the global political agreement (GPA) that was solemnised on September 15,2008 in Harare.
I am very mindful of the prevailing economic and financial challenges that are being faced by our country.I am also acutely aware of the fact that the inclusive government is cash-strapped and that it has to attend to many competing interests.
Be that as it may,I humbly urge the inclusive government to take note of the debilitating poverty and destitution that is afflicting the majority of our parliamentarians.
Most of them cannot even afford to buy a single meal in the hotels in which they are booked during parliamentary sessions.Parliament normally pays for bed and breakfast only and the individual legislators have to take care of the other meals.
Lest I am misunderstood by the readers;I am not by any stretch of the imagination suggesting that legislators are a special breed of
Zimbabweans who deserve to be pampered.
No.All I am stating is that it is dehumanising and utterly humiliating for honourable members of parliament to be seen stashing bread rolls in their handbags during breakfast so that they can cater for their next meal! In similar measure,it is an unmitigated embarassment for an honourable member of parliament to tour his/her constituency using public transport simply because the Treasury has not made available the requisite funds to purchase motor vehicles for parliamentarians.
I have nothing but absolute respect for our Minister of Finance and on some occassions,I have personally appealed to him to urgently do something about the plight of our parliamentarians if the legislature is to remain a useful and relevant arm of the state in the New Zimbabwe that we are all so keen on building.
On our own part as legislators,I also humbly urge my fellow legislators not to be cry babies.We should not expect to earn a living by getting into parliament.First and foremost,being a parliamentarian is a public duty; to serve Zimbabwe and not to have Zimbabwe serve you.You will be terribly disappointed if you think that you will get rich by simply getting into parliament.
We should endeavour to be enterprising and thus,ensure that we have some decent and honest sources of income other than the US$100 allowance that we are getting from parliament every month.For those of my collegues who saw wisdom in grabbing motor vehicles that were recently doled out to them by the Reserve Bank,I humbly urge them to interrogate their consciences and ascertain whether they did the right thing for themselves and for the institution of parliament.Whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with legislators being allocated vehicles,I am strongly of the view that proper procedures ought and must be followed if we are to maintain and uphold the dignity of the institution of parliament.Comrades,greed will never take us anywhere.
As a parting shot,I wish to reiterate that a weak and compromised parliament is the anti-thesis of democracy.
New Zimbabwe constitution might have to be negotiated: Gutu
Clemence Manyukwe, Political Editor
In this conversation, our Political Editor, Clemence Manyukwe (CM) speaks to Deputy Justice and Legal Affairs Minister and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) Senator for Chisipite, Obert Gutu (OG), on the government’s legislative agenda and his working relationship with Patrick Chinamasa (the Justice Minister) as well as the chaotic constitutional outreach process. Herein the excerpts: CM: What have been your experiences since joining government in June this year?
OG: I was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs on June 22 2010 and was duly sworn in on June 24 2010. Before that, I had been a practising lawyer all my life since leaving law school in the mid 1980s. I was the senior and founding partner at Gutu & Chikowero Attorneys-at-Law; with chambers in Harare and Chivhu.
Coming from a private law practice background, joining government was an interesting proposition. I was used to running a very busy law practice and essentially, I am the kind of person who wants to be kept busy all the time. In fact, my family members frequently complain that I am a workaholic. But then, that’s who I am! I make sure that I keep myself busy at the ministry and since I am dealing with legal issues most of the time, I don’t feel that I am lost.
The law has been my life and the law is my first passion. I have now settled down well in my new assignment and I am confident that I will be equal to the task.
CM: Initially, you were left out of the inclusive government; why do you think you were picked up for inclusion during the reshuffle by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai?
OG: That question is better answered by my bosses. I am an honest and obedient servant of the people; I am a servant of my party and above all I respect my leadership; whichever way you look at it, I am a party functionary and the party decides when, where and how to deploy me.
CM: What is your working relationship like with Minister Chinamasa?
OG: I enjoy peaceful co-existence with Minister Chinamasa. He minds his own business and I also mind mine. As and when it is necessary, we meet and co-operate in whatever we are supposed to do in order to effectively discharge our ministry’s core mandates. We are not enemies and we need not be enemies. After all, both of us are honourable members of the legal profession. I trust we have mutual respect and that’s the way it should be.
CM: Is it true that sometimes permanent secretaries and ZANU-PF ministers collude to withdraw some vital information from ministers or deputy ministers from the MDC formations?
OG: It is very difficult to tell. You know, sometimes perception becomes reality. I am on a national assignment as the Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs and I am guided by national interests in whatever I do at the ministry.
I am not on a mission to antagonise anyone and so far, I haven’t clashed with my minister and/ or the permanent secretary. I have told both gentlemen that I am at the ministry to discharge my national responsibilities and to date, I will be lying if I say that I am being sidelined.
CM: The legislative agenda; where are we?
OG: There is a packed legislative agenda as you know. It’s a pity that Parliament has hardly sat this year mainly because of the constitution outreach programme. There are plus or minus 40 bills that are being worked upon and right now, these bills are at various stages.
The Attorney-General’s Office Bill, the Electoral Amendment Bill and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill will be tabled when Parliament resumes sitting, most probably in October this year.
As a human rights defender myself, I am pleased to note that the democratisation agenda is firmly on course. We are coming out of a deeply polarised political environment, but I perceive myself as a new African; a new African who wants to debunk the myth of Afro-pessimism. I am pretty confident that very soon we will graduate from the politics of machetes and knobkerries to the politics of tolerance, engagement and development. This is what Zimbabwe needs and indeed, this is what all patriotic citizens should strive to achieve.
CM: What are some of the laws in the pipeline and when are they likely to come to Parliament?
OG: I think my answer to the last question has already answered the present question. I trust that when Parliament resumes sitting soon, it shall be kept very busy because various bills will definitely be introduced in the august House. Believe you me, Zimbabwe is on an irreversible democratisation trajectory. Things might be happening slowly, but at least they are happening! Half a loaf is definitely better than nothing.
CM: Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and some members of the force have opposed some clauses suggested for incorporation into our electoral laws. How is the ministry going to manoeuvre?
OG: The Commissioner-General of Police is a citizen of Zimbabwe. As such, he has a democratic right to raise whatever issues he would like to raise; that are pertinent to his office. Whether his views are progressive or not is neither here nor there. Suffice to state that every stakeholder is at liberty to also raise any views and/ or opinions that they might have regarding the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act.
The Ministry is not necessarily obliged to incorporate any views that any citizen might suggest. We adopt a holistic view; in the national interest and certainly not in a narrow and partisan perspective. After all, Zimbabwe is bigger than you and me; indeed, bigger than anybody else for that matter.
CM: Last, there have been disturbances at constitution consultative meetings. As a lawyer, do you think at the end of the process, an ideal document for Zimbabweans will come out?
OG: I have been keenly following events as they unfolded during the COPAC outreach programme. Of course, the programme has been dogged by various problems mostly financial and, in some cases, organisational. Some outreach consultations have been disrupted in both rural and urban areas.
Honestly speaking, I am unable to endorse the outreach programme as having been truly people-driven. My own personal suspicion is that the new constitution, if at all we are going to have one, is going to be negotiated; much in the same manner as the negotiations for the Global Political Agreement.
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/national-report/5663-new-zim-constitution-might-have-to-be-negotiated-gutu.html
In this conversation, our Political Editor, Clemence Manyukwe (CM) speaks to Deputy Justice and Legal Affairs Minister and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) Senator for Chisipite, Obert Gutu (OG), on the government’s legislative agenda and his working relationship with Patrick Chinamasa (the Justice Minister) as well as the chaotic constitutional outreach process. Herein the excerpts: CM: What have been your experiences since joining government in June this year?
OG: I was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs on June 22 2010 and was duly sworn in on June 24 2010. Before that, I had been a practising lawyer all my life since leaving law school in the mid 1980s. I was the senior and founding partner at Gutu & Chikowero Attorneys-at-Law; with chambers in Harare and Chivhu.
Coming from a private law practice background, joining government was an interesting proposition. I was used to running a very busy law practice and essentially, I am the kind of person who wants to be kept busy all the time. In fact, my family members frequently complain that I am a workaholic. But then, that’s who I am! I make sure that I keep myself busy at the ministry and since I am dealing with legal issues most of the time, I don’t feel that I am lost.
The law has been my life and the law is my first passion. I have now settled down well in my new assignment and I am confident that I will be equal to the task.
CM: Initially, you were left out of the inclusive government; why do you think you were picked up for inclusion during the reshuffle by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai?
OG: That question is better answered by my bosses. I am an honest and obedient servant of the people; I am a servant of my party and above all I respect my leadership; whichever way you look at it, I am a party functionary and the party decides when, where and how to deploy me.
CM: What is your working relationship like with Minister Chinamasa?
OG: I enjoy peaceful co-existence with Minister Chinamasa. He minds his own business and I also mind mine. As and when it is necessary, we meet and co-operate in whatever we are supposed to do in order to effectively discharge our ministry’s core mandates. We are not enemies and we need not be enemies. After all, both of us are honourable members of the legal profession. I trust we have mutual respect and that’s the way it should be.
CM: Is it true that sometimes permanent secretaries and ZANU-PF ministers collude to withdraw some vital information from ministers or deputy ministers from the MDC formations?
OG: It is very difficult to tell. You know, sometimes perception becomes reality. I am on a national assignment as the Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs and I am guided by national interests in whatever I do at the ministry.
I am not on a mission to antagonise anyone and so far, I haven’t clashed with my minister and/ or the permanent secretary. I have told both gentlemen that I am at the ministry to discharge my national responsibilities and to date, I will be lying if I say that I am being sidelined.
CM: The legislative agenda; where are we?
OG: There is a packed legislative agenda as you know. It’s a pity that Parliament has hardly sat this year mainly because of the constitution outreach programme. There are plus or minus 40 bills that are being worked upon and right now, these bills are at various stages.
The Attorney-General’s Office Bill, the Electoral Amendment Bill and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill will be tabled when Parliament resumes sitting, most probably in October this year.
As a human rights defender myself, I am pleased to note that the democratisation agenda is firmly on course. We are coming out of a deeply polarised political environment, but I perceive myself as a new African; a new African who wants to debunk the myth of Afro-pessimism. I am pretty confident that very soon we will graduate from the politics of machetes and knobkerries to the politics of tolerance, engagement and development. This is what Zimbabwe needs and indeed, this is what all patriotic citizens should strive to achieve.
CM: What are some of the laws in the pipeline and when are they likely to come to Parliament?
OG: I think my answer to the last question has already answered the present question. I trust that when Parliament resumes sitting soon, it shall be kept very busy because various bills will definitely be introduced in the august House. Believe you me, Zimbabwe is on an irreversible democratisation trajectory. Things might be happening slowly, but at least they are happening! Half a loaf is definitely better than nothing.
CM: Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and some members of the force have opposed some clauses suggested for incorporation into our electoral laws. How is the ministry going to manoeuvre?
OG: The Commissioner-General of Police is a citizen of Zimbabwe. As such, he has a democratic right to raise whatever issues he would like to raise; that are pertinent to his office. Whether his views are progressive or not is neither here nor there. Suffice to state that every stakeholder is at liberty to also raise any views and/ or opinions that they might have regarding the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act.
The Ministry is not necessarily obliged to incorporate any views that any citizen might suggest. We adopt a holistic view; in the national interest and certainly not in a narrow and partisan perspective. After all, Zimbabwe is bigger than you and me; indeed, bigger than anybody else for that matter.
CM: Last, there have been disturbances at constitution consultative meetings. As a lawyer, do you think at the end of the process, an ideal document for Zimbabweans will come out?
OG: I have been keenly following events as they unfolded during the COPAC outreach programme. Of course, the programme has been dogged by various problems mostly financial and, in some cases, organisational. Some outreach consultations have been disrupted in both rural and urban areas.
Honestly speaking, I am unable to endorse the outreach programme as having been truly people-driven. My own personal suspicion is that the new constitution, if at all we are going to have one, is going to be negotiated; much in the same manner as the negotiations for the Global Political Agreement.
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/national-report/5663-new-zim-constitution-might-have-to-be-negotiated-gutu.html
Like it or not, the MDC is the only game in town!
Political parties and, indeed, business and other social organisations should
learn a very good lesson from the history of the dinosaur. Simply put, the
lesson is adapt or die!
Some liberation movements in Africa have successfully managed to adapt to the
ever changing political dynamics in the global geo-political architecture and as
a result, these liberation movements have survived and continue to be very
popular to this date.
A snug example of such a liberation movement is Chama Chama Pinduzi (CCP) of
Tanzania.
The magic behind the continued popularity and electoral success of this party is
very simple.
CCP has managed, over the decades, to continually adapt and re-invent its
leadership in tandem with the prevailing geo-political trends.
On this note, I have no choice but to pay glowing tribute to the founding father
of the Tanzanian nation; the late great Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
Mwalimu Nyerere, for all his other shortcomings on the economic planning front,
was a visionary and selfless leader who appreciated that the revolution should
not be tied to personalities but to issues.
When it became apparent to him that he had done his best to lead Tanzania, he
selflessly and patriotically announced that he was voluntarily stepping down and
that someone younger and more energetic was to take over the controls at CCP
and, hence, the presidency of the country.
That historic decision by Nyerere was a defining moment in the history of
Tanzanian politics.
Once Nyerere had set a good precedent to show that political leadership change
can be effected peacefully and within the best interests of the nation, it
became very easy for CCP to continue to be adaptive and, thus, to frequently but
peacefully change its leadership.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that CCP will achieve another landslide
victory in the national elections set to take place next month.
Unlike CCP, Zanu PF has dismally failed to move with the times and, thus, to be
adaptive and reform its commandist style of leadership as time moved on.
At independence in April 1980, Zanu PF was essentially a liberation movement
with an armed wing called the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (Zanla).
It was not a political party in the conventional sense of the definition of a
political party.
This was a liberation movement that was used to a top-down commandist style of
administering its affairs.
Unfortunately, the Zanu PF of 1980 is essentially the Zanu PF of 2010 with the
same style of commandist “Big Man” syndrome where political power is
invariably concentrated in the hands of one person.
While this commandist style of leadership might have been necessary to execute
the war of liberation, it doesn’t cut in modern-day politics.
Modern-day politics, just like modern-day business, is highly sophisticated,
evolutionary and pragmatic.
In contemporary politics, the people are more interested in bread and butter
issues, eg, whether the government will be able to provide an investor-friendly
environment, whether the government will be able to provide infrastructure such
as roads, bridges, schools, hospitals etc.
Today’s electorate is also more concerned about curbing corruption in both the
public and private sectors rather than being bombarded with sickening propaganda
about how “evil” the imperialists are and how the so-called “illegal
sanctions” imposed by the West have crippled Zimbabwe’s economy.
Indeed, today’s electorate, even in the rural areas, has access to alternative
media that gives them more balanced and accurate information about events taking
place in their country.
Thus, it is entirely worthless and, indeed, self-defeating for the Zanu
PF-controlled print and electronic media to, ad nauseam, continue to tell people
about who is “in charge” of the country.
The people know that Zanu PF did not volunteer to share power with the MDC in
the inclusive government.
The people know that Zanu PF was beaten, hands down, by the MDC led by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai during the harmonised elections that were held on
March 29, 2008.
The people of Zimbabwe clearly know who won the presidential elections on March
29, 2008.
The people of Zimbabwe are not stupid and, therefore, they should not be taken
for granted.
The MDC led by PM Tsvangirai is a very young but extremely vibrant political
party.
It has managed to survive a crude and brutal physical clampdown by Zanu PF since
its formation in 1999.
Denied any space to openly campaign and, thus, freely reach out to the
electorate, the MDC has still managed to outperform and outmanoeuvre Zanu PF
where it matters most, ie, by winning the battle for the minds and hearts of the
majority of the people of Zimbabwe.
In a short 11 years since its formation, the MDC has outsmarted Zanu PF and it
has emerged as the biggest and most popular political party in Zimbabwe by the
sheer size of its support base throughout the length and breadth of Zimbabwe.
The thousands of people who thronged the Gokwe grounds on Saturday, September
11, 2010 to celebrate 11 years of the formation of the MDC bear testimony to the
breathtaking and increasing popularity of the MDC.
Those thousands of people were not bussed and/or force-marched to attend the
celebrations of the biggest political party in Zimbabwe.
They came willingly and they used their own resources to do so.
They came in their masses and in their thousands because they know that the
salvation of Zimbabwe lies in the hands of the MDC and no other political party.
The people have spoken; and they will continue to speak. Zanu PF will never win
a free and fair election in Zimbabwe now or in the foreseeable future.
Political turncoats and unprincipled opportunists will continue to shout down
the MDC. We expect these miserable souls to continue doing so because they have
nothing else viable to do with their lives.
They are a small group of losers and no-hopers who, apparently, have to continue
to sing for their supper.
Like it or not, the MDC is the only game in town!
Obert Gutu is an MDC-T National Information and Publicity Committee member,
Senator for Chisipite and Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs and this
article was originally published in the News Day.
learn a very good lesson from the history of the dinosaur. Simply put, the
lesson is adapt or die!
Some liberation movements in Africa have successfully managed to adapt to the
ever changing political dynamics in the global geo-political architecture and as
a result, these liberation movements have survived and continue to be very
popular to this date.
A snug example of such a liberation movement is Chama Chama Pinduzi (CCP) of
Tanzania.
The magic behind the continued popularity and electoral success of this party is
very simple.
CCP has managed, over the decades, to continually adapt and re-invent its
leadership in tandem with the prevailing geo-political trends.
On this note, I have no choice but to pay glowing tribute to the founding father
of the Tanzanian nation; the late great Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
Mwalimu Nyerere, for all his other shortcomings on the economic planning front,
was a visionary and selfless leader who appreciated that the revolution should
not be tied to personalities but to issues.
When it became apparent to him that he had done his best to lead Tanzania, he
selflessly and patriotically announced that he was voluntarily stepping down and
that someone younger and more energetic was to take over the controls at CCP
and, hence, the presidency of the country.
That historic decision by Nyerere was a defining moment in the history of
Tanzanian politics.
Once Nyerere had set a good precedent to show that political leadership change
can be effected peacefully and within the best interests of the nation, it
became very easy for CCP to continue to be adaptive and, thus, to frequently but
peacefully change its leadership.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that CCP will achieve another landslide
victory in the national elections set to take place next month.
Unlike CCP, Zanu PF has dismally failed to move with the times and, thus, to be
adaptive and reform its commandist style of leadership as time moved on.
At independence in April 1980, Zanu PF was essentially a liberation movement
with an armed wing called the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (Zanla).
It was not a political party in the conventional sense of the definition of a
political party.
This was a liberation movement that was used to a top-down commandist style of
administering its affairs.
Unfortunately, the Zanu PF of 1980 is essentially the Zanu PF of 2010 with the
same style of commandist “Big Man” syndrome where political power is
invariably concentrated in the hands of one person.
While this commandist style of leadership might have been necessary to execute
the war of liberation, it doesn’t cut in modern-day politics.
Modern-day politics, just like modern-day business, is highly sophisticated,
evolutionary and pragmatic.
In contemporary politics, the people are more interested in bread and butter
issues, eg, whether the government will be able to provide an investor-friendly
environment, whether the government will be able to provide infrastructure such
as roads, bridges, schools, hospitals etc.
Today’s electorate is also more concerned about curbing corruption in both the
public and private sectors rather than being bombarded with sickening propaganda
about how “evil” the imperialists are and how the so-called “illegal
sanctions” imposed by the West have crippled Zimbabwe’s economy.
Indeed, today’s electorate, even in the rural areas, has access to alternative
media that gives them more balanced and accurate information about events taking
place in their country.
Thus, it is entirely worthless and, indeed, self-defeating for the Zanu
PF-controlled print and electronic media to, ad nauseam, continue to tell people
about who is “in charge” of the country.
The people know that Zanu PF did not volunteer to share power with the MDC in
the inclusive government.
The people know that Zanu PF was beaten, hands down, by the MDC led by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai during the harmonised elections that were held on
March 29, 2008.
The people of Zimbabwe clearly know who won the presidential elections on March
29, 2008.
The people of Zimbabwe are not stupid and, therefore, they should not be taken
for granted.
The MDC led by PM Tsvangirai is a very young but extremely vibrant political
party.
It has managed to survive a crude and brutal physical clampdown by Zanu PF since
its formation in 1999.
Denied any space to openly campaign and, thus, freely reach out to the
electorate, the MDC has still managed to outperform and outmanoeuvre Zanu PF
where it matters most, ie, by winning the battle for the minds and hearts of the
majority of the people of Zimbabwe.
In a short 11 years since its formation, the MDC has outsmarted Zanu PF and it
has emerged as the biggest and most popular political party in Zimbabwe by the
sheer size of its support base throughout the length and breadth of Zimbabwe.
The thousands of people who thronged the Gokwe grounds on Saturday, September
11, 2010 to celebrate 11 years of the formation of the MDC bear testimony to the
breathtaking and increasing popularity of the MDC.
Those thousands of people were not bussed and/or force-marched to attend the
celebrations of the biggest political party in Zimbabwe.
They came willingly and they used their own resources to do so.
They came in their masses and in their thousands because they know that the
salvation of Zimbabwe lies in the hands of the MDC and no other political party.
The people have spoken; and they will continue to speak. Zanu PF will never win
a free and fair election in Zimbabwe now or in the foreseeable future.
Political turncoats and unprincipled opportunists will continue to shout down
the MDC. We expect these miserable souls to continue doing so because they have
nothing else viable to do with their lives.
They are a small group of losers and no-hopers who, apparently, have to continue
to sing for their supper.
Like it or not, the MDC is the only game in town!
Obert Gutu is an MDC-T National Information and Publicity Committee member,
Senator for Chisipite and Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs and this
article was originally published in the News Day.
Justice delivery system must be impartial -Hon Senator Obert Gutu
Wednesday, 07 July 2010 06:42
Harare
The new deputy minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Hon. Obert Gutu, has pledged to turn around the rogue image of the country’s justice delivery system into a dignified, respected and envied establishment. Speaking exclusively to The Changing Times, Hon. Gutu said although he was not promising “manna from Heaven”, he would strive to make sure that there was a return to the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe has been dogged by serious abuse of human rights pointedly by State security agents against people who are perceived to be in opposition to Zanu PF. Citing an example of the ongoing persecution of human rights defender, Farai Maguwu, a diamond researcher who documented the army’s atrocities in the Chiadzwa diamond fields, Hon. Gutu said he would be meeting his colleague in the ministry, Patrick Chinamasa this week, to discuss the continued harassment of Maguwu.
Maguwu is the executive director of the Mutare-based Centre for Research and Development Trust who was arrested last month on trumped up charges of publishing and communicating statements prejudicial to the State. His arrest followed his report on the human rights abuses taking place at the diamond rich Chiadzwa, where villagers are being assaulted and displaced by the State security agents, in an operation that has seen mineral wealth blatantly looted by Zanu PF chefs.
“I don’t want to be seen as someone who is interfering with the judiciary system in the country but Maguwu’s case is agonising,” Hon Gutu told The Changing Times. “It is not fair for an average person who is not a criminal to be denied bail. “As a result I want to make sure that the justice delivery system is not only functional but that we also respect the rule of law,” he said.
Hon. Gutu was appointed deputy minister by MDC President and Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai two weeks ago. He replaces Hon. Jessie Majome who is now the deputy minister of Women, Gender and Community Development. Hon. Gutu is also the senator for Chisipite in Harare. In the MDC he seats in the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Information and Publicity committees.
A trained and well-experienced lawyer by profession, Hon. Gutu was born in Gutu, Masvingo province in 1962. He joined the legal profession in 1987 as law officer in the ministry that he is now heading after completing his studies at the University of Zimbabwe.Since then he has held several positions in the legal field and was until his appointment two weeks ago running his own successful law firm, Gutu and Chikowero Attorneys in Harare.Senator Gutu is married Tendai and the couple has two daughters Enia and Kudzanayi.
Hon. Gutu categorically emphasised that he would ensure that there was fairness in the justice system. “I held a meeting last week with my principal, Prime Minister Tsvangirai and he made it clear to me that I should take steps in ensuring that we have a fair justice system in Zimbabwe,” he said.
He said Zimbabwe was in the right direction as far as the democratisation agenda was concerened. He gave examples of the media reforms that are now in place and the proposed sweeping legislative changes to the Electoral Act, which will, among other things, ensure presidential election results are released in five days, averting a situation where poll results are mothballed as happened in the 2008 March vote won by the MDC president Hon Tsvangirai.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was not willing to announce that Zanu PF’s Robert Mugabe had been defeated by President Tsvangirai. “The amended Act will make running and monitoring elections very easy as voting will be ward based. Therefore there will be no double dipping whereby one person votes more than once,” he said.
During his term of office, Hon.Gutu plans to have the Chief Magistrate’s office being weaned off from the ministry to the Judiciary Service Commission. This will see magistrates practising more impartially and having their appalling working conditions improved.Currently the Justice and Legal Affairs ministry has 11 divisions. These are; the Attorney-General’s office, Civil, Criminal, Legal Drafting, Policy and Research, the Chief Magistrate’s Office, Law Development Commission, Registrar of Deeds and Companies, Prisons, Public Protector and the Registrar of the High Court.
Commenting on the deplorable conditions of the prisons, Hon. Gutu said he would soon be visiting all prisons across the country to get first hand information on what the situation was like in order to make sure that the prison system is transformed and rehabilitated. “During my recent visit to Chikurubi Maximum Prison as a member of the Parliamentary thematic committee on Human Rights, I was not happy with the situation that I saw as the prisoners were going hungry due to lack of food and this among other issues has to be redressed.
“I am not saying a prison should be a hotel but it should meet basic dignities not produce hardcore criminals,” he said. Hon. Gutu said he would be meeting with all heads of departments in his ministry to implore them not to be aligned to any political party and be impartial in the discharge of their duties. The Attorney-General, Johannes Tomana in 2008 openly declared in the Zanu PF-run The Herald newspaper that he was a Zanu PF supporter.
“That is what we want to debunk. Government offices are not political offices,” Hon Gutu said. “We need to create a system that is seen to be impartial, fast and efficient,” he said.
Harare
The new deputy minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Hon. Obert Gutu, has pledged to turn around the rogue image of the country’s justice delivery system into a dignified, respected and envied establishment. Speaking exclusively to The Changing Times, Hon. Gutu said although he was not promising “manna from Heaven”, he would strive to make sure that there was a return to the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe has been dogged by serious abuse of human rights pointedly by State security agents against people who are perceived to be in opposition to Zanu PF. Citing an example of the ongoing persecution of human rights defender, Farai Maguwu, a diamond researcher who documented the army’s atrocities in the Chiadzwa diamond fields, Hon. Gutu said he would be meeting his colleague in the ministry, Patrick Chinamasa this week, to discuss the continued harassment of Maguwu.
Maguwu is the executive director of the Mutare-based Centre for Research and Development Trust who was arrested last month on trumped up charges of publishing and communicating statements prejudicial to the State. His arrest followed his report on the human rights abuses taking place at the diamond rich Chiadzwa, where villagers are being assaulted and displaced by the State security agents, in an operation that has seen mineral wealth blatantly looted by Zanu PF chefs.
“I don’t want to be seen as someone who is interfering with the judiciary system in the country but Maguwu’s case is agonising,” Hon Gutu told The Changing Times. “It is not fair for an average person who is not a criminal to be denied bail. “As a result I want to make sure that the justice delivery system is not only functional but that we also respect the rule of law,” he said.
Hon. Gutu was appointed deputy minister by MDC President and Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai two weeks ago. He replaces Hon. Jessie Majome who is now the deputy minister of Women, Gender and Community Development. Hon. Gutu is also the senator for Chisipite in Harare. In the MDC he seats in the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Information and Publicity committees.
A trained and well-experienced lawyer by profession, Hon. Gutu was born in Gutu, Masvingo province in 1962. He joined the legal profession in 1987 as law officer in the ministry that he is now heading after completing his studies at the University of Zimbabwe.Since then he has held several positions in the legal field and was until his appointment two weeks ago running his own successful law firm, Gutu and Chikowero Attorneys in Harare.Senator Gutu is married Tendai and the couple has two daughters Enia and Kudzanayi.
Hon. Gutu categorically emphasised that he would ensure that there was fairness in the justice system. “I held a meeting last week with my principal, Prime Minister Tsvangirai and he made it clear to me that I should take steps in ensuring that we have a fair justice system in Zimbabwe,” he said.
He said Zimbabwe was in the right direction as far as the democratisation agenda was concerened. He gave examples of the media reforms that are now in place and the proposed sweeping legislative changes to the Electoral Act, which will, among other things, ensure presidential election results are released in five days, averting a situation where poll results are mothballed as happened in the 2008 March vote won by the MDC president Hon Tsvangirai.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was not willing to announce that Zanu PF’s Robert Mugabe had been defeated by President Tsvangirai. “The amended Act will make running and monitoring elections very easy as voting will be ward based. Therefore there will be no double dipping whereby one person votes more than once,” he said.
During his term of office, Hon.Gutu plans to have the Chief Magistrate’s office being weaned off from the ministry to the Judiciary Service Commission. This will see magistrates practising more impartially and having their appalling working conditions improved.Currently the Justice and Legal Affairs ministry has 11 divisions. These are; the Attorney-General’s office, Civil, Criminal, Legal Drafting, Policy and Research, the Chief Magistrate’s Office, Law Development Commission, Registrar of Deeds and Companies, Prisons, Public Protector and the Registrar of the High Court.
Commenting on the deplorable conditions of the prisons, Hon. Gutu said he would soon be visiting all prisons across the country to get first hand information on what the situation was like in order to make sure that the prison system is transformed and rehabilitated. “During my recent visit to Chikurubi Maximum Prison as a member of the Parliamentary thematic committee on Human Rights, I was not happy with the situation that I saw as the prisoners were going hungry due to lack of food and this among other issues has to be redressed.
“I am not saying a prison should be a hotel but it should meet basic dignities not produce hardcore criminals,” he said. Hon. Gutu said he would be meeting with all heads of departments in his ministry to implore them not to be aligned to any political party and be impartial in the discharge of their duties. The Attorney-General, Johannes Tomana in 2008 openly declared in the Zanu PF-run The Herald newspaper that he was a Zanu PF supporter.
“That is what we want to debunk. Government offices are not political offices,” Hon Gutu said. “We need to create a system that is seen to be impartial, fast and efficient,” he said.
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