Former Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

AS Zimbabwe this week marks 20 years since “Black Friday”, which was caused by politically driven economic imprudence, the southern African country’s economy continues to be afflicted by political and economic heedlessness.
On Tuesday, Zimbabwe marked the 20th anniversary of the “Black Friday”, November 14 1997, the day when the local stock market fell 46 percent and the country’s currency lost 72 percent in value against the US dollar. This event is widely regarded as a precursor of the country’s subsequent economic calamity.
Analysts and commentators have specifically blamed the war veteran’s compensation fund as the major trigger to the economic meltdown associated with the “Black Friday”.
On August 27, 1997, government agreed to pay veterans a tax-free monthly pension and a one-off payment of ZW$50 000 equivalent to US$1 315 at the time. The unbudgeted massive payout, which came after a series of street protests by the war veterans, was not an economically prudent move. Government was blinded by the need to appease the war veterans and its decision lacked consideration of the economic implications.
The 1997, economic heedlessness associated with the war veterans fund has continued to show its face in government decisions over the past 20 years. For example, while Zimbabwe was facing one of its worst economic crisis since independence in 1980 at that time, government was busy spending millions of dollars each month on a war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The country’s army was holed up in the DRC jungles from 1998 to 2002. Zimbabwe does not share a common boundary with the DRC, and was under no strategic threat from the war in that country.
The unbudgeted expenditure in the war veteran’s payout and the country’s participation in the war in DRC resulted in cuts in financial aid by multilateral organisations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In 1999, government cut ties with the IMF and the World Bank, after the IMF reportedly refused to sanction a £33 million balance of payments loan because of concerns over Zimbabwe’s involvement in the DRC war.
In 2000, the Government of Zimbabwe condoned the illegal and violent invasion of former white-owned commercial farms by not discouraging it. The invasions took place a few days after a new constitution proposal was rejected in a referendum. The proposed constitution would have empowered government to acquire land compulsorily without compensation.
The resultant fast-track land reform programme ushered in a disorderly land distribution exercise which disrupted commercial agriculture in the country and further complicated the economic situation. The ruling party at the time had a sufficiently large majority in Parliament to pass any constitutional amendment to facilitate an orderly land distribution exercise that would not have disrupted the economy. This would, however, have taken time which the ruling party did not have as political tensions were rising with the main opposition political party the Movement for Democratic Change growing in stature.
Since those dark days, the ZANU-PF-led administration’s conduct has been replete with serious fiscal imprudence exhibiting evidence of populism.
In yet another example of government needlessness, in April 2015, the then minister of finance Patrick Chinamasa, announced a two-year suspension of civil servants’ bonuses in a move aimed at meeting the IMF’s demands under the Staff Monitored Programme. Barely a week later, President Robert Mugabe dismissed the minister’s pronouncement. Even though Chinamasa later announced the same two year suspension of civil servants’ bonuses in his September 2016 Mid-Term Fiscal policy Review, the initial reversal of the bonuses suspension points to the same populist economic imprudence that has plagued government administration in Zimbabwe for 20 years.
Analysts and commentators continue to bemoan government’s fiscal imprudence. The recent surge in inflation has been attributed to increased money supply as a result of increasing domestic credit through treasury bills (TBs). Domestic credit recorded an annual increase of 21,10 percent, from $6 978,7 million in May 2016 to $8 451,4 million in May 2017. The growth was largely due to expansion in net credit to Government for the purposes of financing the growing fiscal deficit. A considerable portion of the TBs were issued to finance government recurrent expenditure which again is characteristic of the economic heedlessness seen over the past 20 years.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma

SOUTHERN African Development Community (SADC) chairman, South African President Jacob Zuma expressed “great concern” over the unfolding political situation in Zimbabwe and called for “calm and restraint”.
He also hoped that developments in Zimbabwe “would not lead to unconstitutional change of government as that would be contrary to both SADC and African Union positions”.
Zuma urged the Government of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) to resolve the political impasse amicably, while imploring the ZDF to maintain peace and security in the country.
Following this statement, Zuma, said he would be sending special envoys to Zimbabwe and Angola — the current SADC chair of the organ of peace and security — in light of the unfolding situation in Zimbabwe. 
Zuma would send the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the Minister of State Security, Bongani Bongo to Zimbabwe to meet with President Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwean Defence Force. 
Zuma added he had spoken to Mugabe earlier yesterday. He said Mugabe had indicated that he was “confined to his home but said that he was fine.”
South Africa was also in contact with the ZDF.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

President Robert Mugabe

ZIMBABWEANS, long resigned to the inevitability of President Robert Mugabe’s seemingly interminable rule, woke up to the surreal promise of imminent change delivered by a most unlikely source  the military.
True, many had retired on Tuesday wearied by a surfeit of social fuelled reports and images reports of unusual troop movements around Harare. But not many would have placed bets on waking up to news of a dramatic military intervention.
Those anticipating some drama had gone to bed deflated, after a reported late night press conference by the military did not materialise.
However, a pre-dawn televised address by major general Sibusiso Moyo sent tremors across the nation, and beyond, snapping drowsy Zimbabweans into the rude realisation that an event of seismic proportions had taken place.
Mugabe and his family, the expressionless general said, were “safe and sound and their security is guaranteed”.
The military was only targeting criminal elements around the president, he added.
“What the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is doing is to pacify a degenerating political‚ social and economic situation in our country which if not addressed may result in violent conflict,” Moyo said.
Normalcy would be restored once the military had completed its mission, he said.
But this was no coup.
“ We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover of government,” the statement said.
No coup. So what is it? Zimbabweans who woke up to the sight of armoured vehicles and army trucks blocking access to Parliament and Munhumutapa Building — which houses the president’s offices ­— wondered.
There was no smell of gunpowder in the air.
As the morning wore on, citizens could be seen walking past the deployed soldiers and their menacing ordnance and equipment. Life WAS going on, almost normally.
State radio and television was repeatedly playing war-time music, only interrupted by the hourly re-broadcast of the military’s statement.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper, which had led with ‘ZANU-PF unfazed by Chiwenga’ in the morning, put out a second edition late afternoon, recasting: ‘No military takeover’ with a file picture showing a beaming Chiwenga and three military chiefs in celebratory mood.
Major retail chains such as OK Zimbabwe, TM Pick n’ Pay, Choppies and other businesses were operating normally, but there was palpable tension and apprehension in the air as citizens pondered what the immediate future holds.
By the end of day yesterday, the heavy army presence on Harare streets had been scaled down as the uniformed forces moved their armoured vehicles to parking bays.
Amid the tension, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association called for Mugabe’s ouster both from government and the ruling party.
The press conference room was packed to the rafters with both journalists and former liberation war freedom fighters.
The war veterans, once a key pillar on which Mugabe built his political power, urged individuals, businesses and “all the political parties in Zimbabwe to support a return to normalcy in the country and to avoid any violent inclinations”.

Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa

Time-line of events that  have shaken Zimbabwe

ON November 15, 2017, Zimbabwe’s protracted political crisis escalated to unprecedented levels as the country’s military took effective control of government.
Below is a time-line of the fast-moving events of the past fortnight, which have culminated in this week’s seismic developments:
November 4:  Addressing a rally in Bulawayo, President Robert Mugabe threatened to fire his Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa after his wife, Grace, was booed while delivering her speech.
“We are denigrated and insulted in the name of Mnangagwa. Did I make a mistake in appointing him as my deputy?” Mugabe asked.
“If I made a mistake by appointing Mnangagwa… tell me. I will drop him as early as tomorrow. We are not afraid of anyone. We can decide even here,” he said.
November 5: Addressing members of indigenous apostolic sects during the “Super Sunday” rally in Harare, Grace Mugabe said Mnangagwa and his lieutenants, accused of fanning divisions within Zanu-PF, must be expelled before the party’s Extraordinary Congress to be held in December.
“The snake must be hit on the head. We must deal with the real snake behind the factions and discord in the party. We are going for the Congress as a united party. Women who are involved in the Lacoste project, I say to you, ‘you are dead’. Chipanga, those youths who are aligned to Lacoste are gone. They must all be dropped before the Congress,” she said.
November 6: Mugabe dismisses Mnangagwa from government, accusing the former vice president of disloyalty.
“It had become evident that his conduct in the discharge of his duties had become inconsistent with his official responsibilities. The Vice President has consistently and persistently exhibited traits of disloyalty, disrespect, deceitfulness and unreliability.
“He has also demonstrated little probity in the execution of his duties,” Information Minister Simon Khaya Moyo said in a statement announcing Mnangagwa’s axing.
November 8: Mnangagwa says he has fled into exile, fearing for his life, and vows to lead the charge to topple Mugabe in a matter of weeks.
“I will fight tooth and nail against those making a mockery against Zanu-PF founding principles, ethos and values,” he said
“You and your cohorts will instead leave Zanu-PF by the will of the people and this we will do in the coming few weeks as Zimbabweans in general now require new and progressive leadership that is not resident in the past and refuses to accept change,” Mnangagwa said in a five-page statement.
November 13: In an unprecedented statement by the military, which has staunchly supported Mugabe’s rule since independence, Army chief General Constantino Chiwenga warned the military would not hesitate to “step in” to quell the instability in the ruling party. The general also called on Mugabe to “stop” the purges of war veterans from the ruling ZANU-PF party.
“We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in,” Chiwenga told journalists at Harare’s King George VI military headquarters in an unprecedented intervention.
November 14: ZANU-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo gives the party’s response to Chiwenga’s statement, describing the general’s comments as “treasonous” and “clearly calculated to disturb national peace and stability”.
November 15: Unsusual troop movements, including army trucks and armoured fighting vehicles (AVF), are reported in and around the capital.
November 16: The army takes control of state broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). In an early morning broadcast, Major General Sibusiso Moyo announces that “the situation in our country has moved to another level.”
“Firstly‚ we wish to assure the nation that His Excellency‚ The President‚ of the Republic of Zimbabwe‚ Head of State and Government and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces‚ Cde R.G Mugabe and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed. We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.
As soon as we have accomplished our mission we expect that the situation will return to normalcy.”
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander, Constantino Chiwenga

THE People’s Republic of China yesterday said there were no discussions about a military takeover of government when Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander, Constantino Chiwenga visited the Asian country last week.
The statement by the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs dispelled rumours for a Chinese backed transition in the country.
Chiwenga was in China last week, where he met Chinese defence minister, Chang Wanquan, the same period when, back in Zimbabwe, Harare slipped into turmoil after President Robert Mugabe fired his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa following a fallout over the 93-yer old president’s succession.
Chinese defence ministry pictures showed Chiwenga and the Chinese minister in military uniform, shaking hands.
Other officers from both countries sat opposite each other, holding a meeting at the People’s Liberation Army headquarters in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
A few hours after the Zimbabwe Defence Forces took control of the national broadcaster and announced plans “to restore normalcy” in the country. China said it had held normal meetings with Chiwenga.
China is one of only a few major countries still maintaining close diplomatic ties with President Robert Mugabe’s regime.
The world’s second largest economy said it was closely watching the unfolding situation in the country and called upon authorities in Zimbabwe to “properly handle their internal affairs”, according to a report by The Guardian, a major publication in the United Kingdom.
It quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, as saying the meeting was a normal military exchange, where Wanquan “later expressed a willingness to promote relations with Zimbabwe”.
Shuang said Chiwenga had not briefed China on plans to seize power.
“I can only tell you that his visit to China this time was a normal military exchange, mutually agreed upon by China and Zimbabwe,” Shuang was quoted as saying during a daily media briefing in Beijing.
“As a country that is friendly with Zimbabwe, we are paying close attention to developments of the situation in Zimbabwe. Maintaining peaceful and stable development accords with the fundamental interests of Zimbabwe and regional countries, and is the common desire of the international community. We hope the relevant parties in Zimbabwe appropriately handle their internal matters,” the Chinese minister was quoted as saying.
The intervention by the military, which maintains it has not taken over government comes amid a bitter battle between a group of ruling party politicians, led by Mugabe’s wife Grace, and another group aligned to the fired Mnangagwa over who will succeed Mugabe, who turns 94 years in February, and has ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years.
Mnangagwa, a former spy chief with strong support within Zimbabwe’s armed forces, was unceremoniously fired last week.
His fallout with Mugabe, who accused him of attempting to usurp power, dramatically opened the road to power for Grace, who had recently hinted at succeeding her husband.
The country’s Finance Minister, Ignatius Chombo, who is a key member of Grace’s G40 faction, was said to be among at least three Cabinet ministers detained in the surprise military crackdown early yesterday.
The military insisted its action was not a coup, saying “as soon as our mission is accomplished the situation will come to normalcy”.
“We urge you to remain calm and limit unnecessary movement. However, we encourage those who are employed and those with essential business in the city to continue their normal activities as usual,” said the military.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

President Robert Mugabe

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe, confined by the military to his private residence since Tuesday night, is expected to hand over power imminently to his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is believed to be planning a transitional government which will include the opposition.
Mnangagwa is expected to form a transitional government that would rule for five years, after which the country would hold elections, highly placed sources said. His mandate, according to the military plan, would include restoring the rule of law and stabilise the economy.
The fierce battle to succeed the 93-year old president came to a head on Wednesday, when the military effectively seized control of government and launched a crackdown on what it described as “criminals around” Mugabe.
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) took over state broadcaster, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) to announce, early yesterday morning, its unprecedented intervention in civilian affairs.
“We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover of government. What the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is doing is to pacify a degenerating political‚ social and economic situation in our country which if not addressed may result in violent conflict,” the military said in a statement read on state television by major general Sibusiso Moyo.
“To the generality of the people of Zimbabwe…our wish is that you enjoy your rights and freedoms and that we return our country to a dispensation that allows for investment‚ development and prosperity that we all fought for and for which many of our citizens paid the supreme sacrifice.”
The statement opened with assurances that Mugabe — whom it referred to using his full title — and his family were “safe and sound and their security is guaranteed”.
Mugabe, who chaired Cabinet on Tuesday and has not been seen in public since the military’s announcement, was expected to make a public statement on Wednesday.
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, who chairs the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc, said he had spoken to Mugabe.
“President Zuma spoke to President Robert Mugabe earlier today, who indicated that he was confined to his home but said that he was fine,” Zuma’s office said in a statement which added that South Africa was sending two envoys to Zimbabwe.
The special envoys will first meet the army and Mugabe, before engaging political parties in the country for a possible inclusive government, said a source.
“They (the military) don’t want to embarrass him by going through a coup,” a source familiar with discussions within the army said.
“There is a suggestion that they could retain him as an honorary leader of the party,” he said. “They want to create a new paradigm that you don’t chase anyone from a party formed by many people, most of them now departed.”
On a day of high drama, several top ruling party, government and security officials were reported to have been arrested or fled.
The escalation of tensions followed a bellicose statement by ZDF commander, Constantino Chiwenga, on Monday, which telegraphed the military’s intention to intervene decisively in the ongoing battle to succeed Mugabe.
In an equally belligerent reposte on Tuesday, ZANU-PF accused Chiwenga of “treasonable conduct”.
Sources said while the military leaders had watched succession-linked purges in the ruling party with trepidation, they had been unnerved by indications that the culling could soon be extended to their ranks.
“(Grace Mugabe and her allies) wanted to purge the security service and put loyalists in key positions. The generals were infuriated,” the source said.
All military officers from the rank of colonel going up had been asked to submit their curriculum vitaes, the source added, in a move which was interpreted as a precursor to the purge.

Former vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa

State security officers from the rank of district intelligence officers were also to submit their CVs, said the source.
As speculation mounted that China, where Chiwenga was last week, might have given its blessing to the seismic developments in Zimbabwe, Beijing issued a statement on Wednesday, saying the general’s visit to Beijing had nothing to do with the military’s dramatic intervention in Harare.
Chiwenga last week flew to China where he met Chinese defence minister, Chang Wanquan, on Friday. Sources said the visit had not been scheduled but was hastily arranged to court Chinese support for the military’s plans in Zimbabwe.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, this week insisted Chiwenga’s visit “was a normal military exchange mutually agreed upon by China and Zimbabwe”.
But sources were adamant that Chiwenga had briefed the Chinese of “trouble in the ruling party and “threats to Chinese interests”. They said the visit was not pre-planned but had been brought about by the sackings.
The Chinese have invested heavily in Zimbabwe’s mining and energy sectors, as well as several other areas of the economy. They have joint venture projects with the military in most of their local projects.
Several Cabinet ministers and top civil servants accused by the army of being “criminals around (Mugabe)” allegedly “committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country” were arrested on Tuesday.
Several others were said to be on the run, according to sources.
Those arrested include Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, who ranks fourth in the ZANU-PF hierarchy, who was reportedly taken into custody on Tuesday night after soldiers overran security at his residence. ZANU-PF youth leader Kudzi Chipanga, who made a public statement early on Tuesday rebuking Chiwenga, was also reported to be in military custody.
Sources said yesterday that in the event that Mugabe refused to officially surrender power to Mnangagwa, the army was working on a plan under which Parliament would be called to pass a vote of no confidence on the President.
Alternatively, they were contemplating a move under which they would move to impeach him for undermining the Constitution.
The two options would have grave consequences for Mugabe, who was, however expected to accept a “smooth handover of power to ED (Mnangagwa)”, said the source, a senior member of the country’s State security establishment.
The Financial Gazette is reliably informed that Mnangagwa flew back into the country on Tuesday night and was already preparing to form an inclusive government that would rope in former vice president Joice Mujuru, who was also sacked from both government and ZANU-PF in 2014.
“The parties have been asked to prepare position papers ahead of the visit by Zuma’s envoy. Morgan Tsvangirai will present on behalf of his coalition, while Mujuru will present on behalf of her coalition,” said a source.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

Protesters gather calling for Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to step down [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]

Saturday’s rally in Harare, the capital, is backed by the army, which seized power on Wednesday.

The mood at Zimbabwe Grounds, where speeches took place, was celebratory.

The site is symbolic. In 1980, around 200,000 people gathered at Zimbabwe Grounds to welcome Mugabe from exile after the liberation war from white-minority rule.

Crowds there on Saturday cheered: “Chiwenga, lead the war to remove Mugabe”, referring to General Constantino Chiwenga, who had warned of military intervention before the takeover.

Protesters are attempting to reach State House, but presidential guards have blocked access.

Al Jazeera witnessed a general telling crowds to go home and not to proceed “because we will finish the job”.

A demonstration is also taking place at City Hall in Bulawayo, the second city.

Florence Mguni, a 59-year-old who went to train in Mozambique as a liberation fighter at the age of 15, travelled overnight from Bulawayo in the hope of witnessing Mugabe’s departure.

She told Al Jazeera that as a war veteran, she demands Mugabe’s immediate resignation because his leadership has done little for her.

“We went to fight in the war, I was taught how to hold a gun as a young girl, but today Zimbabwe is free and I am poor. I’m a widow and my children aren’t in school because I can’t always afford to pay their fees,” she said.

Roads and mobile networks were jammed because of the large crowds as demonstrators raised banners with slogans such as: “Go, go, our general!”, “Enough is enough – Mugabe must go” and “Leadership is not sexually transmitted” – a reference to First Lady Grace Mugabe, who is widely believed to be eyeing the vice presidency.

Thousands turned out to join Saturday’s rally, which was called for by the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association and backed by the army [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]

Some protesters hugged and cheered soldiers, as helicopters circled above the capital.

Tapiwa Magidi, a 32-year-old geologist, said Mugabe should resign because the 93-year-old leader was not serving young people.

“We are a lost generation. Most of the young people in this country were born after independence, but we are now grown and we don’t have much,” he told Al Jazeera. “We can’t get jobs, we have to live at home with our parents and we can’t even afford to get married.”

Tapiwa Tavaziva, a 32-year-old financial adviser who had left Zimbabwe for the US, said: “I spent 12 years out of this country because of Mugabe and the situation in this country. He’s been responsible for so many things that have happened to people in their personal lives, he broken up so many homes, family structures are broken and we don’t have what we used to because he (Mugabe) loves power.

“He has to go.”

‘A show of people’s force’

Zimbabwe has been in turmoil since early Wednesday, when the armed forces seized power and placed Mugabe – who leads the Zanu-PF party, under house arrest.

March organiser Chris Mutsvangwa, head of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, said the protest against the president is not a Zanu-PF affair, but “a show of people’s force” against Mugabe’s 37-year rule.

William Gerald Lumumba Mutumanje – popularly known as Acie Lumumba, an activist who was expelled as the Zanu-PF youth leader, said the rally was a “send-off” for Mugabe as he encouraged people to march.

Activist pastor Evan Mawarire described the event as “a momentous occasion” and an opportunity for a “fresh start” to advance democratic change.

Mawarire has previously faced charges of undermining the president and trying to overthrow an elected government by calling on Zimbabweans to protest against spiralling economic and political problems.

Marches have also been called for in parts of South Africa, the UK and the US – countries that millions of Zimbabweans migrated to in search of safety and better living, as various economic and political crises at home have left more than 70 percent living below the national poverty line.

Mugabe has ‘lost control’

All 10 of ZANU-PF’s provincial structures have passed a motion of no-confidence against Mugabe and called on him to step down as the ruling party’s first secretary.

Zanu PF’s 10 Provincial Coordinating Committees (PCC) said the leader had “lost control of the party and government business due to incapacitation stemming from his advanced age”.

The provincial branches’ move was carried by Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster, ZBC, which was seized by the army as part of its takeover on Wednesday.

If Mugabe fails to resign on Saturday, the party says it will convene a special committee meeting on Sunday in which the Zanu-PF Central Committee will consider the provincial resolutions to recall Mugabe.

Newspaper billboards are seen in Harare on Saturday [Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters]

The Zimbabwean president appeared in public on Friday – the first time since the army’s takeover on Wednesday – attending a university graduation ceremony in Harare.

Zimbabwe’s military has said it was engaging in talks with Mugabe, promising an outcome soon.

“[Mugabe] knows this not a game,” independent parliamentarian Temba Mliswa told Al Jazeera.

As a legislator, he said he would start the process to put forward a motion to pass a vote of no confidence.

There was a celebratory mood at Saturday’s events [Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters]

“If he refuses to leave we will start a motion to pass a vote of no confidence in his presidency when parliament sits again on Tuesday.”

Regional dignitaries from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are expected to meet on Sunday in an extraordinary session to discuss the Zimbabwe situation in neighbouring Botswana, where the SADC headquarters is located.

While the region’s leaders have been silent on Mugabe’s fate, Botswana’s President Ian Khama has openly called for the elderly veteran to step down.

Follow Tendai Marima on Twitter: @i_amten

A man carries a poster calling for Mugabe to step down [Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters]

www.aljazeera.com

ZANU PF’s special Central committee has removed President Robert Mugabe as party leader and first secretary following an extraordinary Central Committe session this afternoon.

The party has appointed former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa as interim president of the ruling party.  The Central Committee is the highest decision making body in Zanu PF.

MORE TO FOLLOW

ZANU PF on Monday notified President Robert Mugabe of the party’s decision to recall him from the position of president and first secretary of the party, spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo has said.

The party held a special meeting on Sunday where Mugabe was removed as leader of ZANU-PF, with Emmerson Mnangagwa named as his interim replacement. 

In a televised address on Sunday night, Mugabe said he would preside over ZANU-PF’s congress which starts in under a month.

On Monday afternoon following a meeting of its members of Parliament, ZANU-PF told its chief whip Lovemore Matuke  to initiate impeachment proceedings. 

In another twist, Mugabe, who has been largely confined to his private Borrowdale residence by the military since its takeover of the country last Tuesday, called for a meeting of his Cabinet, according to a statement by his chief secretary, Misheck Sibanda.

Most members of that Cabinet, are part of the ZANU-PF central committee meeting that dismissed Mugabe as party head.

Also, in a now deleted tweet higher education minister Professor Jonathan Moyo,  said he was safe out of the country, along with fellow ministers Kasukuwere, Hlongwane, Zhuwao, Paddy Zhanda and over 50 ZANU-PF MPs and officials. – The Source

Former vice president Emerson Mnangagwa.

OUSTED vice president has warned Robert Mugabe to respect public opinion and step down after claiming there was a plot to ‘eliminate’ him. 

Emmerson ‘Crocodile’ Mnangagwa said he would only return home when his security was assured and has turned down an invitation to meet Mugabe.

Mnangagwa, who is widely expected to take over after Mr Mugabe is removed, said the country had ‘spoken with one voice’ and that the 93-year-old should step down so that Zimbabwe can ‘move forward’.

He also claimed that shortly after his dismissal as Mugabe’s deputy, he was warned by security personnel ‘who are friendly to me’ that plans ‘were underfoot to eliminate me once arrested and taken to a police station. It was in my security interest to leave the country immediately’.

It comes as it emerged that the despot has been left isolated and humiliated after his demands for ministers to attend his weekly cabinet meeting were dismissed.

It came after the party secretary, Simon Khaya, told reporters that Mr Mugabe had been formally notified of Zanu-PF’s decision to impeach him. 

Mnangagwa said that he remained outside the country for his own safety, despite reports that he had already returned to Zimbabwe.

‘Mugabe made contact with me and invited me to return home for a discussion on the current political events in the nation, he said.

‘I told the President that I would not return home now until I am satisfied of my personal security.’

He added: ‘I told the President that the current political and constitutional crisis in the country is not a matter between him and myself but between the people of Zimbabwe and President Mugabe.’

An ally of Mr Mugabe hit back by taunting the army, claiming that he had safely fled the country along with 50 other members of the G40 group of Grace Mugabe’s allies.

President Mugabe is refusing to resign.

Jonathan Moyo, the higher education minister, was thought to have been arrested when the army seized control.

Yesterday, the head of the army, Commander General Constantino Chiwenga, said Mr Mugabe and Mr Mnangagwa were going to meet ‘soon’.

The two men have not met since Mr Mnangagwa was sacked by Mr Mugabe in an attempt to clear the way for his wife, Grace, to succeed him.

The impeachment process was due to be put into action in parliament today and is expected to last at least until Thursday.

Opposition politicians are due to meet today to decide whether they will join the Zanu-PF in supporting the impeachment motion in parliament.

Yesterday, several senior opposition ministers said they would boycott the vote in retaliation for the Zanu-PF boasting that it did not need their help.

But a prominent critic of Mugabe, pastor Patrick Mugadza, warned that they would lose public support if they played politics with the issue.

Christopher Mutsvangwa, the chairman of the war veterans’ association, invited Zimbabweans to take to the streets in support of the impeachment today.

Yesterday, activists were drawing up plans to march on the dictator’s Blue Roof mansion as they continued to mobilise grassroots networks to keep up the pressure on the 93-year-old dictator.

If the protest goes ahead, it will be an unprecedented demonstration of confidence by a population that has been oppressed for almost 40 years.

The Blue Roof estate has always been heavily protected by the security services and even photographing it is forbidden in Zimbabwe’s constitution on pain of imprisonment.

On Saturday, Mr Mutsvangwa told MailOnline that he army had threatened to withdraw protection from Blue Roof and allow Mr Mugabe to be lynched.

But in a statement yesterday, he said that legal attempts were underway to declare the military takeover a ‘lawful and justified’ action intended to defend the constitution.

Mr Mugabe was no longer able to defend the interests of the nation as his wife and her associates, known as the G40 group, had gradually taken over the levers of power, Mr Mutsvangwa said.

Anti-Mugabe leaders are concerned that the takeover is seen as a legitimate operation and not a military coup. Many states would not recognise a government installed by an armed uprising as it would may provide a precedent that would destabilise the region.

Church leaders announced an open-air prayer meeting in central Harare today and encouraged Mr Mugabe to attend, though this seems unlikely.

Examinations at the University of Zimbabwe were abandoned yesterday after students demanded that Mr Mugabe be removed as university Chancellor and his wife be stripped of her doctorate.

Yesterday, the 93-year old former Zambian president, Kenneth Kaunda, touched down in Zimbabwe on a private jet to convince his fellow nonagenarian to step down. – dailymail.co.uk

President Mugabe has resigned after 37 years in power.

ZIMBABWE’S President Robert Mugabe has resigned, parliament speaker Jacob Mudenda has said.

A letter from  Mugabe said that the decision was voluntary and that he had made it to allow a smooth transition of power.

The surprise announcement halted an impeachment hearing that had begun against him.

Lawmakers roared in jubilation and people have begun celebrating in the streets.

Mugabe had previously refused to resign despite last week’s military takeover and days of protests.

The letter did not mention who would take over from Mugabe.

The constitution says it should be the current vice-president, Phelekezela Mphoko, a supporter of Grace Mugabe, Mugabe’s wife.

Mudenda said moves were under way to ensure a new leader could take over by late on Wednesday.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Mr Mugabe’s resignation “provides Zimbabwe with an opportunity to forge a new path free of the oppression that characterised his rule”.

She said that Britain, “as Zimbabwe’s oldest friend”, will do all it can to support free and fair elections and the rebuilding of the Zimbabwean economy.

Robert Mugabe has been in power since independence in 1980. Mr Mugabe has won elections, but over the past 15 years these have been marred by violence against political opponents.

He has presided over a deepening economic crisis in Zimbabwe, where people are on average 15% poorer now than they were in 1980.

“I am the happiest person under the sun right now, because I always believed that Mugabe was going to step down in my lifetime and it has happened,” human rights activist Linda Masarira told the BBC.

“And now going forward it’s time for the opposition to reorganise and ensure that we will have a government that cares for the people. And everyone has to be included.

What triggered the moves to oust him was his dismissal of Emmerson Mnangagwa as vice-president two weeks ago.

That decision was seen by many as clearing the way for Grace Mugabe to succeed her husband as leader. It riled the military leadership, who stepped in and put Mugabe under house arrest.   – bbc.com

There whereabouts of Higher and Tertiary Education Minister, Jonathan Moyo are unknown.

THE Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has called on the authorities to uphold the constitutional rights of senior government officials, including ministers, reportedly taken into custody by the military during its intervention last week.
The officials, believed to include Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo and Kudzi Chipanga, leader of the ZANU-PF youth wing, were taken into military custody as the army announced a crackdown on “criminal elements” around former President Robert Mugabe.
The military has not confirmed holding the officials, although Chipanga made a late night appearance on state television last week to apologise to the army chiefs for a statement in which he accused them of treason.
Mugabe resigned this week under pressure from the military and ZANU-PF, ending his 37 year stranglehold on power.
“The ZLHR has noted with apprehension and concern some disconcerting media reports that, during Operation Restore Legacy, there may be some arrests and detention of people following the announcement made by major general Sibusiso Moyo on 15 November 2017,” ZLHR said in a statement.
“In the event that the arrests have indeed been made, ZLHR hereby reminds the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) of their obligation to ensure full compliance with the constitutional guarantees protecting human rights and the rule of law.”
Higher and Tertiary Education Minister, Jonathan Moyo and Local Government Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, some of Mugabe’s staunchest supporters towards the end of his rule, were reportedly under siege at the former president’s private residence.
They are believed to have been allowed to leave as part of a deal negotiated by Mugabe and the military.
With no information on the detention coming from official military sources, speculation and divergent reports on the whereabouts of various officials were rife.
At a time when Moyo and Kasukuwere were reported to be hunkered down with the Mugabes, some reports suggested they had been “fished out” and taken into military custody.
“Moyo and Kasukuwere were at Mbalabala Barracks near Esigodini after they were fished out from Mugabe’s (Blue Roof) private residence where they had sought refuge,” said one source.
“It appears Mugabe negotiated for them to be allowed to go outside the country because there were seen leaving the country for South Africa on Monday. Chombo is being held at the King George V1 Baracks (which has since been renamed Josiah Magama Tongogara Barracks) but is likely to be released after the dust has settled down. Remember, he was the secretary for administration for ZANU-PF, a very strategic position. So, the army didn’t want him to disturb the process and decided to keep him,” the source added.
Another source said: “They (Moyo and Kasukuwere) are in Mozambique. Yesterday they were seen travelling from Tete Airport to Maputo. I am sure Mugabe negotiated for their release from the military.”
Other sources, however, told The Financial Gazette yesterday Moyo and Kasukuwere were still detained at an army barrack in Harare.
“There are still in the custody of the army. Reports that they have gone outside the country are not true,” said the source.
While other Cabinet ministers were arrested by the army, others just disappeared, including second vice president Phelekezela Mphoko (who never returned from a trip to Japan), Arts and Culture Minister, Makhosini Hlongwane (said to be in Mozambique), while Tourism and Hospitality deputy Minister, Annastancia Ndhlovu is said to be intending to seek asylum in Germany.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Walter Muzembi, is said to be in South Africa.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

President Robert Mugabe

WORLD powers yesterday welcomed ousted former president Robert Mugabe’s abrupt departure late on Tuesday with overtures for assistance to the country, but urged the incoming administration to implement democratic reforms.
Mugabe relinquished power following a week of drama and suspense in which the army seized the national broadcaster, drove tankers to key institutions and sealed off his private mansion, as pressure mounted on the long time ruler to quit.
Statements by China, Britain and the United States of America came after Mugabe’s reign dramatically ended when he tendered his resignation to Parliament.
His resignation came as legislators gathered to impeach him in a rare bipartisan effort.
The military seized power after Mugabe sacked his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, but maintained its loyalty to a man widely seen as a dictator in the west, but still considered a liberator by many in Africa.
Mngangagwa is due to be inaugurated as Mugabe’s successor on Friday.
China, one of only a few powers with strong diplomatic, economic and political ties with Zimbabwe, wished Mugabe well but emphasised the need to resolve problems internally.
“China respects Mr Mugabe’s decision to resign,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang.
Kang acknowledged Mugabe’s “historic contribution to Zimbabwe’s independence and liberation”.
“He remains a good friend of the Chinese people,” Kang Lu told a daily press briefing in Beijing.
The US and Britain had called for free elections, but Kang said China would not interfere with Zimbabwe’s internal affairs. The Chinese had stood with Mugabe’s government during Western economic sanctions from 2000, with major Chinese firms investing in a range of industries including into diamond mines.
A Chinese firm said three months ago that it planned to invest $2 billion to revive operations of a major steel firm that collapsed in 2008.
In 2008, China vetoed a proposed UN resolution to impose an arms embargo on Zimbabwe.
In Harare, the United States embassy said Mugabe’s departure marked a “historical moment”.
It said the country’s new administration must push through reforms.
“We congratulate all Zimbabweans who raised their voices and stated peacefully and clearly that the time for change was overdue,” the embassy said.
“Zimbabwe has an historic opportunity to set itself on a new path. Through that process, the United States urges unwavering respect for the rule of law and for established democratic practices. Whatever short-term arrangements the government may establish, the path forward must lead to free, fair, and inclusive elections, in which the people of Zimbabwe are free to assemble peacefully without undue interference and to voice their opinions without fear, choose their own leaders,” it added.
The UK’s foreign affairs secretary Boris Johnson indicated that Zimbabwe could be invited back into the Commonwealth.
Zimbabwe was suspended from Commonwealth in 2002 after a presidential election which was widely viewed as being seriously flawed.
Johnson was responding to a question in the House of Commons.
“He (the Member of Parliament who posed the question) rightly sets out what I think would be a fine and noble aspiration, both for the Commonwealth and for Zimbabwe. But of course, I must caution him that several steps need to be gone through before that can happen. There must be free and fair elections next year, it then falls to Zimbabwe to apply to the Commonwealth Secretariat and then to make clear to the Commonwealth and to the world that Zimbabwe fulfils the criteria on human rights, on rule of law, on democracy..,” said Johnson.
“The immediate priority is to ensure that Zimbabwe has a legitimate government, appointed through free and fair elections in accordance with the constitution,” he added.
He spoke as Prime Minister Theresa May said Mugabe’s ouster gave Zimbabwe the chance “to forge a new path free of the oppression that characterised” Mugabe’s rule.
“In recent days, we have seen the desire of the Zimbabwean people for free and fair elections and the opportunity to rebuild the country’s economy under a legitimate government,” said May.
The African Union (AU) also welcomed Mugabe’s departure.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May

“The African Union welcomes the decision by President Mugabe to step down from his position as Head of State following a lifetime of service to the Zimbabwean nation,” said AU commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.
“President Mugabe will be remembered as a fearless pan-Africanist liberation fighter, and the father of the independent Zimbabwean nation,” he said in a statement released late on Tuesday. “The African Union recognises that the Zimbabwean people have expressed their will that there should be a peaceful transfer of power in a manner that secures the democratic future of their country,” the statement said.
“President Mugabe’s decision to resign paves the way for a transition process, owned and led by the sovereign people of Zimbabwe.”
The European Union (EU) applauded Mugabe for “listening” to the people’s demands for him to retire but reiterated the importance of reviewing democratic deficiencies in the country, as it looked forward to a better future.
“The decision made by president Mugabe to stand down shows that he has listened to the people’s voices,” said the EU.
“An orderly and irreversible transition towards genuinely democratic elections is our shared objective. The consolidation of the constitutional order and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms are key. It is important now that an inclusive dialogue is established that respects the aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe for a more prosperous and democratic future, and which encourages the acceleration of key reforms. The EU stands ready to accompany this process in cooperation with the African Union and SADC, and to assist the Zimbabwean people with all instruments at its disposal in order to meet that objective,” added the statement.
SADC stands for the Southern African Development Community, a regional bloc in which Zimbabwe is a member.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

Former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa

FORMER Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be sworn in as Zimbabwe’s president tomorrow in the capital, replacing Robert Mugabe who resigned on Tuesday under pressure from the ruling ZANU-PF and the military.
Mnangagwa, 75, who was nominated by ZANU-PF’s central committee on Sunday to take over from Mugabe, already has work cut out for him as he is expected to halt a significant decline in the country’s economic, social and political conditions emanating from years of mismanagement and pervasive corruption.
“Accordingly, Parliament has informed the Chief Secretary to the office of the President and Cabinet of the nomination of Cde Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as the nominee in order for him to make the necessary administrative arrangements for the taking of oath of President as provided for in section 94 as read with the Third Schedule of the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda said yesterday.
Mnangagwa’s appointment as Zimbabwe’s second executive president marks a dramatic turnaround after he was fired from government and ZANU-PF by Mugabe early this month for allegedly plotting to oust the now resigned leaders. The veteran politician, once close to Mugabe, subsequently fled into exile saying he feared for his life.
Mnangagwa’s dismissal precipitated an unprecedented intrusion into Zimbabwe’s politics by the military, which last week placed Mugabe and his family under house arrest.
The move triggered popular protest and open revolt by ZANU-PF, which removed Mugabe from his position as party leader and ordered him to resign as state president or face impeachment in Parliament.
After a week-long stand-off, the 93 year old Mugabe resigned on Tuesday as Parliament began impeachment proceedings, ending his nearly four decades in power.
Until last week’s dramatic events, Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s sole leader since independence in 1980, had appeared on course for another five-year term ahead of next year’s elections.
Mugabe’s critics accuse him of mismanaging Zimbabwe’s economy, once one of Africa’s most promising, but which now has high levels of unemployment and the unenviable record of having this century’s worst hyperinflation crisis.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

Former president Robert Mugabe

AS Parliament’s bell chimed, calling lawmakers to take their seats on what was to turn out to be an historic Tuesday, National Assembly Speaker strained his ears to take a telephone call.
Outside Parliament building, on Harare’s Nelson Mandela Avenue, hundreds of dancing and drum-beating citizens had gathered to demonstrate their support for unprecedented impeachment proceedings against President Robert Mugabe (pictured).
Just over two months ago, on September 17, Mugabe had officially opened the current session of Parliament, with supporters cheering as he slowly went about the ceremony, which still has a strong colonial flavour.
It was 1353 hours in Harare. As excited legislators’ feet shuffled on the Parliament floor, Mudenda answered a call that would change the course of Zimbabwe’s history.
President Robert Mugabe, Mudenda’s leader in the ZANU-PF Politburo, was on the other end of the line. He was calling to inform Mudenda, in terms of constitutional provisions, about his intention to resign.
Doorstepped by The Financial Gazette yesterday as he announced that ZANU-PF had nominated former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa to replace Mugabe as state president, Mudenda refused to reveal what exactly the former president had told him in the momentous telephone conversation.
“I can’t tell you what I discussed with the former President on the phone, it is confidential,” Mudenda said.
He also refused to be drawn to disclose how Mugabe had sounded.
After the call, Mudenda, proceeded to the House floor, keeping a poker face as he presided over the commencement of impeachment proceedings.
The Speaker, an advocate, outlined the steps to impeachment, giving nothing away.
About 300 parliamentarians, three times the design capacity of the Westminster-inspired chamber, then resolved to adjourn and resume proceedings at 1630 hours at the more spacious Harare International Conference Centre on the edges of the central business district. Mugabe has held court here innumerable times over the past three decades.
About an hour into the debate, Mudenda stood up to read out a note handed to him by Justice Minister Happyton Bonyongwe.
“The Honourable Jacob Mudenda…” he began, his voice’s echo cutting through the palpable anticipation in the makeshift chamber.
“Notice of resignation…” he ventured to continue, but was interrupted by a loud roar as delirious lawmakers erupted.
Just like that. Mugabe, one of the last breed of Africa’s mythical “big men”, had left the stage. 

Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Constantino Chiwenga centre, former President Robert Mugabe right and Minister of Justice Happyton Bonyongwe.

Mugabe’s dramatic exit: A timeline

FOLLOWING days of fast-moving events, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, Robert Mugabe, resigned on Tuesday under pressure from his party and the military, capping an extraordinary week and bringing widespread relief to a nation on the edge.
Below is a timeline of the past week’s dramatic developments:

Nov. 16: TWO days after the military announced its unprecedented intervention in civilian affairs, effectively placing Mugabe under house arrest, capturing several ministers and seizing control of the state broadcaster, Mugabe is photographed smiling and shaking hands with the army commander at the State House. It is announced that the military had opened negotiations with the president. The army insists it has not taken over government.

Nov. 17: The army, which continues to recognise Mugabe as president and commander-in-chief, allows him to make his first public appearance since being placed under house arrest. He appears at a university graduation ceremony to polite applause. Meanwhile, the ruling ZANU-PF’s provincial structures hold meetings to begin the process of removing Mugabe from his position as party president, while expelling his wife and her closest political allies.

Nov. 18: Thousands of people pour onto the streets of Harare and Bulawayo in anti-Mugabe protests, which are replicated in several global capitals where the country’s citizens have taken residency. During the peaceful demonstrations, which would normally have been forcefully suppressed by the police, protestors show overwhelming support for the military, with many posing for pictures with soldiers manning armoured tanks.

Nov. 19: The ruling party’s Central Committee holds a special session which resolves to remove Mugabe as party leader. The party tells him to step aside as president by noon the next day, or face impeachment in Parliament. In a late Sunday night speech on national television, Mugabe appears to dig in and does not announce his resignation as widely anticipated. Disregarding the ZANU-PF resolution earlier in the day, Mugabe says he will preside over the party’s Congress, slated for December.

Nov. 20: In an evening press conference, Zimbabwe Defence Forces chief, General Constantino Chiwenga reveals that Mugabe had made contact with former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose ouster on November 6 had precipitated the standoff between the president and the military. The two men would soon meet to deliberate on the crisis, the general said. The ZANU-PF Parliamentary caucus meets to plot the impeachment process, announcing it had mustered the requisite numbers and cross-party support.

Nov. 21: In a statement issued from an undisclosed location, Mnangagwa, said he was not willing to meet Mugabe as he feared for his life. Mnangagwa called on Mugabe to resign or face humiliation. As lawmakers gather in Parliament, Mugabe puts through a lunch-time call to National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda, signalling his intention to resign. A joint sitting of Parliament’s two houses convenes at a Harare hotel to being the impeachment process. Before the action commences, Mudenda reads out Mugabe’s resignation letter, triggering wild scenes in the chamber and across the country. Global news networks carry images of delirious Zimbabweans, both inside and outside the country, celebrating the end of Mugabe’s 37 year rule.

Nov.22: National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda announces that ZANU-PF had chosen Mnangagwa to replace Mugabe. Mnangagwa is due to be sworn in on Friday, the Speaker announced.
Mnangagwa jets in from South Africa, where he met President Jacob Zuma earlier on Wednesday.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

Market capitalisation yesterday stood at $9,5 billion while market turnover amounted to $12,4 million.

THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) has lost nearly $6 billion since a military operation that forced former President Robert Mugabe to resign on Tuesday, with analysts saying investors were responding positively to prospects of macroeconomic stability.
ZSE market capitalisation peaked at $15,2 billion on November 14, the day before the military announced its intervention, but had come off to $9,5 billion yesterday. The industrial index shed 37,48 percent since Thursday last week to close at 329,63 points yesterday.
Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s sole leader since independence in 1980, is set to be succeeded by long-time ally-turned rival and former deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa is expected to be sworn in as president tomorrow.
The market, however, awaits Mnangagwa’s Cabinet choices, amid suggestions it might not include opposition figures as initially indicated.
Addressing party supporters last evening following his return to the country, Mnangagwa promised to prioritise the economy.
“We want to grow our economy. We want jobs, jobs, jobs in our country. We need the co-operation of our region and friends from outside Africa,” Mnangagwa told cheering supporters at the ZANU-PF headquarters in the capital.
The market losses, which halted a year-long bull run, could signal expectations of the economy returning to normalcy after resurgent inflation forced Zimbabweans to seek safe haven investments to dodge an erosion of value, analysts said.
Analysts have pointed to disparities between the Old Mutual share price in London and Harare, where it has recently traded at five times the LSE price, as evidence of unrealistic valuations in Zimbabwe.
“It’s to do with speculation,” said economist, Trust Chikohora, explaining the decline on the stock market.
“People have been hit with a euphoria that things are going to improve,”
Another economist, Persistence Gwanyanya, agreed.
“There is renewed hope for economic improvement,” he said.
Gwanyanya said speculation that a new regime would result in improvement in the cash situation “could be the major reason for the withdrawal of investors from the stock market”. 
Events leading to Mugabe’s exit had materially improved the prospect of a change in leadership and the re-opening of foreign capital inflows, Dubai-based Exotix Capital analyst, Hasnain Malik, wrote in a note this week.
“Falling local share prices are, until the Old Mutual Implied Rate approaches zero, a reflection of increasing macroeconomic optimism,” Malik wrote.
Zimbabwe is currently going through its worst post-dollarisation crisis, characterised by resurgent inflation and cash shortages that have resulted in depositors failing to withdraw money from banks.
A US dollar-dominated hard currency economy crumbled late last year after money printing by government, which introduced bond notes in November to ease a cash shortage, replaced US dollar bank balances, resulting in foreign currency shortages.
The bull run on the ZSE had been driven largely by depositors with huge cash holdings in banks which they could not easily convert into hard currency.
The market recorded massive losses this week, sustaining losses that started on Wednesday last week after the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) seized power to stop what generals described as a degenerating social, economic and political situation.
During the 12 months to November 14, the day before the start of the military operation, the industrial index had gained 331,48 percent, the best performance globally.
The bull run was driven by deteriorating confidence in the broader economy. Over the past 12 months, there has been a strong causal relationship between the worsening of the economic situation in the country and increased interest in equities.
The bull run climaxed in September and October when the market was rallying hell-for-leather even when the country’s economic problems were worsening.
From late-September to mid-October the ZSE market capitalisation gained more than $4 billion.
The market’s surge amid economic turmoil was as a result of investors’ desire to hedge against inflation following a bad experience during a 2008 hyperinflationary crisis under which many lost their savings.
Between 2004 and 2008, the country experienced considerable economic hardships, with severe foreign exchange shortages and hyperinflation.
“My expectation is that this trend will continue for a while as the stock market was overvalued and not driven by economic fundamentals but by cash challenges in the economy,” said Gwanyanya.
He pointed out, however, that the long term trend would depend on the ability of the new government to formulate and implement policies that promote investment and growth.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, is sworn in as president in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

ZIMBABWE’S new president Emmerson Mnangagwa has praised Robert Mugabe in – vowing to defend the constitution in front of tens of thousands of people at the National Stadium in Harare.

Acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

ZIMBABWE’S President Emmerson Mnangagwa has named Patrick Chinamasa acting finance minister until a new cabinet is appointed, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet has said.

Chinamasa was moved from the finance ministry in former president Robert Mugabe’s last cabinet reshuffle last month and was shunted to the newly created cyber security ministry.

In a statement on Monday evening, Misheck Sibanda also said President Mnangagwa had also appointed Simbarashe Mbengwegwi to the ministry of foreign affairs, which he was heading before he was moved to the macro-economic planning and investment promotion portfolio in last month’s reshuffle. – The Source

President Emmerson Mnangagwa

NEWLY installed Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa says his administration will be leaner to cut costs and improve efficiency.

Meeting with heads of ministries at the State House, Mnangagwa also said there would be no retrenchment of government’s 298,000 strong workforce which accounts for 97 percent of expenditure in basic pay.

Former president Robert Mugabe’s last government had 29 ministers, 10 provincial ministers and three ministers of State. It also had 25 deputy ministers and 24 permanent secretaries.

“I am currently in the process of putting together a new government structure, which should be essentially be leaner,” he said.

“No one will be laid off, except those who have reached the retirement age. Those whose ministerial posts will be abolished will be re-skilled and reassigned to other areas in the public service,” he added..

Mnangagwa the rebuilding of the economy was ‘urgent and imperative.’

“Our people have endured economic hardships for over two decades and now expect this new government to turn things around within the shortest time possible,” he said.

“Let us take advantage of the positive optimism among our people, ushered in by this current dispensation and do our best. This huge weight of expectations from the populace should bid us to shun all the laissez faire approach to our work and instead, endeavour to adopt a high performance work ethic.”

He added:“My government will have no tolerance for bureaucratic slothfulness, which is quick to brandish procedures as an excuse for stalling service delivery to citizens, investors and other stakeholders.” – The Source

China’s assistant foreign affairs minister, Chen Xiaodong.

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday met China’s assistant foreign affairs minister, Chen Xiaodong, dispatched as a special envoy by Beijing days after Zimbabwe’s new leader assumed office.
Although details of the meeting were not immediately available, multiple government sources this week indicated that China had expressed its willingness to support Zimbabwe’s reconstruction under Mnangagwa, an avowed admirer of the Chinese economic system.
Beijing has emerged as one of Zimbabwe’s most important economic partners, but ties had grown a little frosty during former president Robert Mugabe’s last years, with China growing frustrated by Harare’s inability to service its debts.
Zimbabwe’s relations with Britain, meanwhile, have been fraught since 2000, when Whitehall spearheaded sanctions against the Mugabe government over allegations of election violence and fraud as well as violent land seizures.
Mnangagwa has undertaken to mend Zimbabwe’s relations with the international community.
The Chinese envoy’s visit follows last week’s trip to Harare by the United Kingdom’s Africa Minister, Rory Stewart.
The UK minister met Mnangagwa after his inauguration as president last Friday. Stewart also met several opposition and civil society figures.
Upon his return to the UK, Stewart expressed hope for the mending of relations between Britain and her former colony.
“We’re now at a situation in Zimbabwe where there could be an opportunity for progress, so I went to listen and to learn,” Stewart said in a statement issued by the FCO.
“If we’re patient and if we’re careful, this can be a moment of change where Zimbabwe becomes the country its people and its many international friends want it to be.”
Stewart’s visit followed last week’s statement by Theresa May, saying Mugabe’s exit presents an opportunity for Zimbabwe to “forge a new path”.
May also offered Zimbabwe unspecified support.
Yesterday, British foreign secretary Boris Jsohnson weighed in, tweeting along with a picture with Zimbabwean diplomat Tadeous Chifamba: “Encouraging discussion with Zimbabwean delegation at the #AUEUSummit. They are committed to building on the positive momentum of (the) last few weeks and to take the democratic path to prosperity and stability.”
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

Former economic planning minister, Tapiwa Mashakada

ECONOMIC analysts say the best way for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to attract serious and long-term investment into the country is to scrap the controversial indigenisation law that has scared away foreign investors.
Analysts who spoke to The Financial Gazette this week urged the new leader — who replaced long time ruler Robert Mugabe — to be pragmatic by repealing the law that is viewed by foreign investors as a smash and grab piece of legislation.
The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which came into effect in March 2008, requires that locals control at least a 51 percent stake in businesses.
Economist John Robertson said the law should be repealed without delay.
“The indigenisation laws arrested development. By passing an Act of Parliament empowering government to demand the surrender of assets in the form of company shares, government was trying to legalise theft,” Robertson said this week.
“Far from empowering indigenous Zimbabweans, this Act destroyed thousands of jobs and removed the prospects of finding employment for perhaps hundreds of thousands more. As this was done in the hope that some people would get shares for nothing. It was selfish, short-sighted and destructive.
“The Act achieved nothing useful at all, but it effectively isolated Zimbabwe from any prospect of benefiting from technological and other business developments that are taking place all over the world.”
Tapiwa Mashakada, who was minister of economic planning and investment promotion during the inclusive government that ran between 2009 and 2013, said the Indigenisation Act has no place in a modern society.
“(We should) scrap that law. It is outdated and not necessary in this day and age of globalisation. Zimbabwe must truly be open for business so government has to open the one-stop-shop without any further ado for purposes of investment facilitation. The ease of doing business must be deepened.”
Zimbabwe, which is known internationally for violently taking away land from former white commercial farmers, is struggling with perception issues and one sure way of calming the nerves of investors is to repeal the law.
In his inaugural speech, Mnangagwa indicated readiness to put in place policies that would make the country an attractive destination for foreign capital.
“The fabulous natural resources we have must now be exploited for national good through mutually gainful partnerships with international investors whose presence in our midst must be valued and secured,” he said.
“The bottom line is an economy which is back on its feet and in which a variety of players make choices and fulfil roles without doubts and in an environment shorn of fickle policy shifts and unpredictability,” Mnangagwa added.
Two years ago, when Mnangagwa was on a visit to China, he granted an interview to that country’s television channel CCTV in which he appeared to be keenly aware of the sources of Zimbabwe’s economic woes.
“In fact, capital will go where it finds comfort, so we need to do that, create an ease of doing business environment. We have to see how we can create an investment environment which will attract the flow of capital,” Mnangagwa said in July 2015.
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