Msika talked and lived the truth
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By Prof. Jonathan Moyo
A ZIMBABWEANS nurse their profound grief on the passing away of Vice-President Joseph Wilfred Msika and ponder over the significance of his lifetime of struggle ahead of his befitting burial at the National Heroes Acre on Monday, the abiding wisdom that death cancels everything but truth must be reverberating in the hearts and minds of those who worked with or knew him as the contagious embodiment of the truth in politics.
The late Vice President Msika was so irrepressibly committed to the truth as an expression of intergenerational leadership that he personified it. He talked and lived the truth with all the associated consequences. There is nobody who worked with or under him, no matter how old or young, who did not experience or suffer the impact of Vice President Msika’s quest for truth.
It is for this reason that, as a man of the truth, he was without doubt the conscience of the nation. He was a leader of immense stature and a very ordinary person at one and the same time. He connected with such ordinary pursuits as boxing and football in ways that are yet to be told.
A ZIMBABWEANS nurse their profound grief on the passing away of Vice-President Joseph Wilfred Msika and ponder over the significance of his lifetime of struggle ahead of his befitting burial at the National Heroes Acre on Monday, the abiding wisdom that death cancels everything but truth must be reverberating in the hearts and minds of those who worked with or knew him as the contagious embodiment of the truth in politics.
The late Vice President Msika was so irrepressibly committed to the truth as an expression of intergenerational leadership that he personified it. He talked and lived the truth with all the associated consequences. There is nobody who worked with or under him, no matter how old or young, who did not experience or suffer the impact of Vice President Msika’s quest for truth.
It is for this reason that, as a man of the truth, he was without doubt the conscience of the nation. He was a leader of immense stature and a very ordinary person at one and the same time. He connected with such ordinary pursuits as boxing and football in ways that are yet to be told.
MDC-T claims on cabinet leaks absurd
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By Prof. Jonathan Moyo
SENSATIONAL weekend media reports alleging that the MDC-T is outraged by what it claims are damaging leaks to the press of cabinet papers in advance of their formal discussion in the highest policymaking body of the State raise worrying questions about the apparent dishonourable conduct of some Cabinet Ministers and about the continued lack of collective purpose and direction for the sake of the struggling masses in the inclusive government almost six months after its formation.
The cabinet documents that are alleged to have suffered damaging leaks this week are (1) Comments and Suggested Alterations on the Cabinet Handbook from the Prime Minister’s Office and (2) the draft Information and Communication Technology Bill from Minister Nelson Chamisa’s office.
SENSATIONAL weekend media reports alleging that the MDC-T is outraged by what it claims are damaging leaks to the press of cabinet papers in advance of their formal discussion in the highest policymaking body of the State raise worrying questions about the apparent dishonourable conduct of some Cabinet Ministers and about the continued lack of collective purpose and direction for the sake of the struggling masses in the inclusive government almost six months after its formation.
The cabinet documents that are alleged to have suffered damaging leaks this week are (1) Comments and Suggested Alterations on the Cabinet Handbook from the Prime Minister’s Office and (2) the draft Information and Communication Technology Bill from Minister Nelson Chamisa’s office.
Biti’s ‘kiya-kiya’ performance treacherous
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By Professor Jonathan Moyo, MP
AS leaders of various sectors of the economy and other pundits lined up last week to offer their perfunctory statements hailing embattled Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s mid-term budget review delivered in Parliament on Thursday in a sitting whose attendance was unusually poor for the important occasion,
it was instructive to observe that none of them dared comment on the sub-text of the minister’s review which was more telling than his text.
Perhaps the reason why some commentators have taken a safe approach in their assessment of the mid-term budget is because they feared that the sub-text of Minister Biti’s speech was so manifestly treacherous, inflammatory and smacked of a sinister agenda.
But playing it safe for the sake of keeping the peace in a fragile political environment is not good enough when the beneficiary of that approach does not himself care about setting the place on fire. Principles of good governance and accountability — about which Minister Biti’s MDC-T party makes a lot of endless noise — requires that Government officials, especially ministers of finance who are the custodians of public funds, are subjected to the strictest scrutiny for what they officially say or do in the name of the public, particularly where tax dollars are concerned.
It is against this backdrop that the sub-text of Minister Biti’s mid-term budget speech, which was truly a "kiya-kiya" performance, should not be left without scrutiny. Indeed, even his market-based text which has been hailed by some sections of the economy, with the notable exception of trade unions, did not live up to the expectations of the wider community, not least because it was sterile, unimaginative and predictable.
AS leaders of various sectors of the economy and other pundits lined up last week to offer their perfunctory statements hailing embattled Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s mid-term budget review delivered in Parliament on Thursday in a sitting whose attendance was unusually poor for the important occasion,
it was instructive to observe that none of them dared comment on the sub-text of the minister’s review which was more telling than his text.
Perhaps the reason why some commentators have taken a safe approach in their assessment of the mid-term budget is because they feared that the sub-text of Minister Biti’s speech was so manifestly treacherous, inflammatory and smacked of a sinister agenda.
But playing it safe for the sake of keeping the peace in a fragile political environment is not good enough when the beneficiary of that approach does not himself care about setting the place on fire. Principles of good governance and accountability — about which Minister Biti’s MDC-T party makes a lot of endless noise — requires that Government officials, especially ministers of finance who are the custodians of public funds, are subjected to the strictest scrutiny for what they officially say or do in the name of the public, particularly where tax dollars are concerned.
It is against this backdrop that the sub-text of Minister Biti’s mid-term budget speech, which was truly a "kiya-kiya" performance, should not be left without scrutiny. Indeed, even his market-based text which has been hailed by some sections of the economy, with the notable exception of trade unions, did not live up to the expectations of the wider community, not least because it was sterile, unimaginative and predictable.
100 days of failure
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By Prof. Jonathan Moyo
IF there is one development that has raised troubling questions about the seriousness of the coalition government which completes its critical 100 days in office on Saturday next week, it is Wednesday’s launch by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Vice-President Joice Mujuru of what they unconvincingly presented as the government’s 100-day action plan. What action plan?
Curiously, Wednesday’s launch of the purported 100-day action plan came 90 days since the formation of the coalition government and 45 days since the launch of STERP, which some in the government say is an economic recovery plan while others in the same government say is an emergency recovery plan, as if the words economic and emergency mean one and the same thing.
Even more curiously, the latest launch was done 38 days since the wasteful Victoria Falls cabinet retreat during which the 100-day action plan was crafted while the Prime Minister, his two Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers, their deputies along with permanent secretaries, sought to get to know each other through horse and helicopter riding and boat cruising when most Zimbabweans were failing to make ends meet.
IF there is one development that has raised troubling questions about the seriousness of the coalition government which completes its critical 100 days in office on Saturday next week, it is Wednesday’s launch by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Vice-President Joice Mujuru of what they unconvincingly presented as the government’s 100-day action plan. What action plan?
Curiously, Wednesday’s launch of the purported 100-day action plan came 90 days since the formation of the coalition government and 45 days since the launch of STERP, which some in the government say is an economic recovery plan while others in the same government say is an emergency recovery plan, as if the words economic and emergency mean one and the same thing.
Even more curiously, the latest launch was done 38 days since the wasteful Victoria Falls cabinet retreat during which the 100-day action plan was crafted while the Prime Minister, his two Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers, their deputies along with permanent secretaries, sought to get to know each other through horse and helicopter riding and boat cruising when most Zimbabweans were failing to make ends meet.
Parliament must not lead making of a new constitution
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By Prof. Jonathan Moyo
IS IT proper or acceptable for the current hung parliament to be the key institution to spearhead the making of a new democratic constitution under which Zimbabwe will be governed well into the unknown future?
The answer is an emphatic no.
There are four reasons that should be carefully considered to understand why the decision to use Parliament as the vehicle for making a new constitution for the country is fatally flawed and they are the following:
IS IT proper or acceptable for the current hung parliament to be the key institution to spearhead the making of a new democratic constitution under which Zimbabwe will be governed well into the unknown future?
The answer is an emphatic no.
There are four reasons that should be carefully considered to understand why the decision to use Parliament as the vehicle for making a new constitution for the country is fatally flawed and they are the following:
- Because it is necessarily a product of the temporary electoral choices that depend on the political winds, interests and prejudices of the moment, parliament is by definition not inclusive enough to represent, articulate or defend the broad and permanent interests of society that must define the pillars of any democratic and enduring constitution.
- The coalition government formed on February 13 is not yet in a position to play a cohesive national role in the making of a new constitution for the country, not only because it still has to resolve outstanding issues around its formation, which could lead to its premature collapse if not carefully handled, but also because Zanu PF and the two MDC formations are yet to find a common public interest agenda to define the coalition government beyond partisan interests.
Who is funding Vic Falls retreat?
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By Prof. Jonathan Moyo
WHAT is the cost of the coalition government's retreat or even treat that started Friday and runs for the entire weekend in Victoria Falls and who is footing the bill?.
This question has become both urgent and important against the background of growing public interest in a number of high profile and high budget so-called summits that some government ministers have been hosting
under murky circumstances at five star hotels across the country.
Over the last month there have been well-funded and highly publicised summits on water, women and youth, tourism along with ministerial dinners in such sectors as science and technology among others.
WHAT is the cost of the coalition government's retreat or even treat that started Friday and runs for the entire weekend in Victoria Falls and who is footing the bill?.
This question has become both urgent and important against the background of growing public interest in a number of high profile and high budget so-called summits that some government ministers have been hosting
under murky circumstances at five star hotels across the country.
Over the last month there have been well-funded and highly publicised summits on water, women and youth, tourism along with ministerial dinners in such sectors as science and technology among others.