Tsvangirai giving his maiden speech to Parliament said the new
government was working on a multi-faceted and short-term recovery
programme to rescue the battered economy, achieve national healing,
audit the controversial land reform programme and draft a new and
democratic constitution that will lead to fresh elections.
But
University of Zimbabwe (UZ) political scientist Eldred Masunungure said
the targets set by Tsvangirai would be difficult to achieve given the
unity government is due to expire within 18 to 24 months when new
elections should be held.
It's a good and nice shopping list
that reinstates the policy ambitions of the so-called Global Political
Agreement (GPA), said Masunungure.
Tsvangirai's remarks were a
comprehensive statement of where Zimbabwe intended to go after the
forging of the all-inclusive government but implementation of all the
issues expressed by the Prime Minister depended largely on the lifespan
of the new government, said the respected Masunungure.
Most of
the issues he mentioned, except the constitution which has a timeframe,
are timeless. There is no frame indicating when these issues would done
and completed, he said.Â
I don't see how some of these
critical issues can be achieved in two years when there are still
wrangles of overlapping of ministries. The Prime Minister himself is on
record that the government is broke. There is an election in two years
time. President Mugabe has mentioned that elections would be held in
two years, added Masunungure.
An economist with a regional
bank in Harare, who refused to be named, concurred. He said he doubted
Zanu (PF) and the two MDC parties would achieve most of their
objectives for the inclusive government with an election looming.
The
focus will not be rescuing the economy which is desperately crying out
load for salvation but winning the elections, said the economist.
He
added: What Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans need right now are policies that
can instill business confidence and recover the critical sectors such
as agriculture, manufacturing and mining. What Tsvangirai and the MDC
are doing is fire-fighting policies.
Look at the issue of the
US$2 billion the new government is seeking from SA, this money cannot
achieve anything except giving the politicians a breathing space.
However,
Ernest Mudzengi, the national director of the National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA), said he had been excited by Tsvangirai's alluding to
the need for a new people-driven constitution.
One thing that
has impressed me is on the constitution where he mentioned that it
should come from the people and not be imposed on them. It is a marked
departure from previous pronouncement by President Mugabe as well. They
had earlier indicated that they will take the Kariba Draft to the
people for a referendum, said Mudzengi.
It sets the stage for a democratic and live debate on the new constitution, he said.
Takura
Zhangazha, the director of the Media Institution of Southern Africa
Zimbabwe chapter said the media industry had noted Tsvangirai's
promises on media deregulation.
Its commendable that he puts media freedom as a priority but we welcome that with guarded optimism, said Zhangazha.
The
repressive and draconian media laws are still all there. He is not
addressing key issues such as repeal of AIPPA which still requires
journalists to register to operate in Zimbabwe and the BSA which
perpetuates the monopoly of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation,
Zhangazha said.
Useni Sibanda, the coordinator of the Christian
Alliance of Zimbabwe said the church welcomed national healing and
would help in the administration of transitional justice.
South Africa mulls credit line for Zimbabwe
South African government is considering opening a credit line
facility to its crisis hit northern neighbour Zimbabwe, Finance
minister Trevor Manuel announced.
In an Interview with Financial
Mail Manuel published last Friday, he said the credit line facility
made sense since most of the goods needed to restock retail outlets in
Zimbabwe would be sourced from in South Africa.
"We will look at
the credit facility, the FM quoted Manuel as having said. "There is an
old (Reserve Bank) credit line from 1967 that goes back to (Rhodesia’s)
unilateral declaration of independence, and we are exploring using
that."
Newly installed, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has
estimated it needs US$2 billion now to get farms, schools and hospitals
working, and another $5 billion later to fully rebuild the economy.
President
Montlathe’s government has already availed 300 million rand in farm
support to Zimbabwe in a bid to revive its once prosperous'
agricultural sector.Â
Despite the power sharing deal between
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai many
Western donors, remain skeptical about the new unity government saying
they needed to see reforms before they can provide support.
The
United States and the European Union have extended targeted visa and
financial sanctions against Mugabe and members of inner circle.
ZimOnline
Post published in: News