Zanu (PF) undermines PMs effort

Tsvangirai, who takes his reengagement campaign to the United Kingdom this week, has already been to the Netherlands, United States, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Belgium.

While Tsvangirais entourage claimed major victories on the diplomatic

front, analysts said the real benchmark of success or lack of it

could only be the amount of money the trip raised or pledges of

economic aid it generated.

Although the trip opened up lines of communication between Harare and

Washington and Brussels, what really counts at the end of

the day is that nothing substantial in terms of economic support

emerged out of all the meetings the Prime Minister and his entourage

had with the world leaders, observed an analyst with a Harare-based

financial institution.

(Xhead) Political reforms

Save for pledges Of humanitarian aid to the tune of about US$135

million, the donor nations dug in on their demands for political

reforms in Harare as a precondition for supporting the countrys

economic recovery programme.

While praising Tsvangirais courage in the face of insurmountable

challenges, the rich nations demanded faster movement in the

implementation of the power-sharing deal between the Zimbabwean

Premier and President Robert Mugabe, particularly improvement of the

countrys human rights record.

The unresolved issue of the incumbency of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

(RBZ) governor Gideon Gono played an important role in influencing the

decision by the West to deny Zimbabwe economic support.

In an apparent show of no confidence in Gono, all the countries that

Tsvangirai has visited so far have insisted that their aid would bypass the government

financial system and would be channelled through the United Nations,

World Bank and non-governmental organisations.

The RBZ chief, whose reappointment by Mugabe last November is at the

centre of a dispute between Zanu (PF) and Tsvangirais MDC, is

credited with single-handedly ruining Zimbabwes once robust economy

through his populist policies.

(Xhead) Ball in Harares court

Masvingo State University lecturer Takavafira Zhou said the West had

effectively thrown the ball back to Zimbabwes feuding political

parties and their regional partners to resolve the outstanding

power-sharing issues before any aid is forthcoming.

What has come out clearly is that the West is saying that substantial

assistance depends on performance of the inclusive government. The

challenge, therefore, is for the government to urgently act on the

outstanding issues from the Global Political Agreement and ensure

there is more than a cosmetic improvement in conditions in Zimbabwe,

Zhou told the Zimbabwean on Sunday.

Besides Gonos unilateral appointment, other GPA issues still to be

resolved by Zanu (PF) and the MDC include the irregular appointment of

Attorney General Johannes Tomana and the failure by Mugabe to swear in

new provincial governors and ambassadors as agreed in May with

Tsvangirai.

Without economic aid, Zimbabwes coalition government is expected to

find the going tough.

Its plight would particularly be worsened by an impending strike by

civil servants who are clamouring for a review of their US$100 monthly

allowances and the payment of proper salaries.

The usually docile Public Service Association (PSA), an umbrella body

of the countrys civil servants, has given Public Service Minister

Eliphas Mukonoweshuro until the end of June to meet their demands or

they call for a strike.

(Xhead) Set up for failure

Both Zhou and University of Zimbabwe political scientist John Makumbe,

however, believed that Zanu (PF) had sent Tsvangirai on a mission

impossible to spite the prime minister and pit him against his

supporters abroad and at home.

They have set him up for failure, observed Makumbe last week.

Added Zhou: Zanu (PF) wants to pit Tsvangirai against the West so

that they would say he has failed yet they are forgetting to do some

introspection to see what triggered the country problems in the first

place.

Although Zimbabwes economy has stabilised since the beginning of the

year, it urgent requires up to US$18 billion to restore it to its

pre-2000 buoyancy.

Government needs at least US$100 million monthly just to be able to

meet the current civil service allowance of US$100, and much more to

pay proper salaries it promised to introduce into the public service

from July.

The key manufacturing and mining sectors are operating at below 20

percent of their capacity, thanks to the populist and largely

vindictive policies pursued by Gono since 2003.

Despite these challenges, Makumbe believes the failure to raise money

for its economic programmes would not endanger the life of the

coalition government.

It (the coalition) will stand but will continue to be limping until

such as time as there is proper economic support, he said.