She asked the panel to look first at the
period of “great uncertainty and great danger” in the next 20 days until the
scheduled run-off presidential election.
Tendai Biti, Secretary-General, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
Zimbabwe, said reconstruction and rehabilitation would happen sooner rather
than later, but only once the political crisis has been resolved. He
described Zimbabwe as a failed state, but also a predatory state because of
violence he blamed on the Mugabe government. The current violence, with 60
people killed and 1,000 displaced, means the regime is sending a message to
the region and the world that it does not care and will not respect life,
the rule of law or the will of its people.
He said the MDC is ready for dialogue, but there can be no government of
national unity “between democrats and despots”. Although it is preparing
reluctantly for the run-off election, it believes that President Robert
Mugabe wants to win the election at any cost, and then control subsequent
negotiations from a position of power.
Simba H. Makoni, Managing Director, Makonsult, Zimbabwe, a candidate in the
first round of presidential elections, explained his argument for the
postponement of the run-off election and the formation of a government of
national unity. He said an election cannot be held when conditions,
particularly in rural areas, are “hell on earth”, when the leadership is
assaulting the people and there is no semblance of conditions for a free and
fair election reflecting the will of the people. In these conditions neither
President Mugabe nor his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai would be able to form an
effective government.
He stated a transitional government of national unity should take over and
strengthen democracy until the country has the resources to conduct an
election with free campaigning by all parties and a free vote by the people.
Nigel Chanakira, Group Chief Executive Officer, Kingdom Meikles Africa,
Zimbabwe, said that while macroeconomic conditions in Zimbabwe defy all
logic, there are business opportunities in the chaos and these opportunities
will multiply rapidly after a political resolution. He proposed a ten-point
plan for Zimbabwe, including international dialogue, governance and
constitutional reform, donor and investor conferences and the engagement of
multilateral institutions, including the Southern African Development
Community (SADC).
Collen Gwiyo, Vice-Chair, Crisis Coalition, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU), opposed a postponement of the presidential election, but did
favour dialogue between Mugabe and Tsvangirai which he said Mugabe has so
far refused. Gwiyo blamed the “politics of exclusivity” in which the ruling
Zanu-PF party believes one belongs to the party or does not exist. This
attitude has undermined national debate and dialogue.
Asked where economic reconstruction would happen fastest, Chanakira said
that in an economy functioning at between 5-15% of potential output, almost
every sector would become an engine for growth. Makoni said the recovery
would be started by tourism, as the quickest growth area. Agriculture could
start recovering within a season, a manufacturing revival could be
kick-started within nine to 15 months, while a recovery in the resources
industry would take longer.
world economic forum
Post published in: News