The greatest risk in life is to risk nothing

Yesterday I visited a friend at her house and was struck by the words about risk that she had hanging on her living-room wall. As I read through the words I couldn't help crushing every sentence in my mind. Below I will write what was written on the wall hanging in bold letters and then write how I crushed every point in italics.

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
Well, so what, fools have a lot of fun and are very cheerful. I would rather appear like a fool than be serious all the time. I will laugh when ever I feel like.

To weep is to risk being called sentimental.
I see nothing wrong with being called sentimental. Weeping shows that I am not heartless and besides crying has a soothing effect that helps me to feel better.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement
Involvement is good, it makes my humanity come out. I want to reach out and get involved with others. No man is an island.

To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self.
I want to show my true self to the world, I want to be known for who I am, so I will expose my feelings. Have never been one for putting up appearances.

To place your ideas and your dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naive.
They can call me any adjective or name they want but that won't silence me, I will continue to have my voice and thoughts heard.

To hope is to risk despair
Without hope how would I be able to carry on with life. Without hope I might start thinking that life is not worth living, so I will continue hoping and if I despair later on it will be for a short time before I start hoping for something else again.

To try is to risk failure.
But then if I don't try how will I ever know if I can or can not do it? It is through trying that I learn to succeed.

To trust is to risk disappointment and feeling betrayed.
I would rather trust than be paranoid about everyone and everything. And when in love, trusting the one you love is a must otherwise the love will be incomplete.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.
It is better to have loved and not be loved in return than not to have loved at all. Besides love just happens whether we like it or not and as long as we are alive we can't run away from love.

To live is to risk dying
So would you rather not live just because you don't want to take risks? I choose to live and take all the risks that come with living.

There is no way you can live without taking risks. The greatest risk in life is to risk nothing. Of course, by not risking you can avoid suffering and sorrow, but you simply won't be able to learn, feel, change and grow, love and live if you don't take risks. Chained by your certitudes you forfeit your freedom because only the person who is not afraid to take risks is truly free. The humanity in humans is a result of taking the risk to reach out to other fellow humans, taking the risk to express yourself mentally and emotionally, taking the risk to go on living against all odds.

The time to show love with actions is now.

We are always putting things off for tomorrow, especially with people whom we love. We always postpone showing love with actions and rarely do we say, "I love you," to the one we love when the courting stage is over and he/she has declared his/her love and we are together in a relationship. In our minds we will be saying, "It's foolish for me to tell her/him I love her/him, she/he knows it." Even if she/he knows it, reassuring her/him everyday will enhance those love feelings. No one ever gets tired of being told that they are loved. Imagine how happy you would feel if every morning you pick up your coffee cup you find a little note underneath it that says, "You're incredible". Or imagine how special you would feel if you get a card, not on your birthday, not on Valentine's day, not on Mother's day or Father's day, that says, "My life is so much richer because you are in it." I don't know why we tend to postpone showing our love with actions like these. What if tomorrow never comes because we die or he/she dies? We will then live with regrets for postponing showing our love with actions when we still had the chance to do so. Losing a loved one is a hard way to learn that love is lived in the now. The time to say to him/her, "You're important to me, sometimes I don't say it, but you are. My life would be empty without you," is now. The time to reach out to him/her and live a permanent mark in his/her heart is now. The time to pour your heart out in person, in an email, in a letter, on Skype, Gmail Chat, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live, cellphone SMS message or in a phone call is now, for love is lived in the present and too important an emotion to waste by postponing saying it or acting it to tomorrow. Loving relationships depend upon everday open, honest, beautiful and intimate communication that makes the two of you continue to feel connected in mind, body and soul.

Let me end this Sunday article with these thought-provoking words.
I would rather have one little rose given to me when I am alive, than to have the choicest flowers, put on top of my casket. I would rather have a pleasant word in love said to me now when I am alive than a love-filled eulogy said at my graveside when my heart is still and my life has ceased to be. I would rather have loving smiles now from all those who love me, than love tears shed round my casket, when to this world I bid adieu. Show me love now when I am alive and bring me all your flowers now with love smiles on your faces and loving words to top it all. I want and need that love shown to me and said to me now, when I am dead it won't be of any use to me.

Zimbabwe: Espionage and the tattered economy

In my last article I mentioned how the RBZ governor, Gideon Gono orchestrated the specifying of a number of prominent and competent business people during the years 2003 and 2004, soon after he was appointed RBZ governor. I also mentioned how by so doing he sabotaged Zimbabwe's economy because these competent business people that he frustrated to the extend that they fled the country and left their businesses at the mercy of his economic terrorist fangs where making such a big positive contribution to Zimbabwe's economy to the extend that the effects of the ZIDERA bill of 2001 sanctions were not being felt in the country. Gideon Gono and Patrick Chinamasa were the judge and jury in all the cases of these business people most of whom were being accused of externalising foreign currency and causing the enormous foreign currency shortage that had hit the country. No Commission of Inquiry to investigate what Gideon Gono and Patrick Chinamasa where accusing these business people of was set, it was up to these two men to do whatever they pleased with the lives and businesses of these competent professional business people. In most cases soon after the owners of the businesses had fled the country, Gideon Gono, Patrick Chinamasa and their fellow ZANU-PF cronies would seize or buy shares in those businesses at prices far below the market price. That was corruption, injustice and unfairness at its best. To make matters worse not even one reporter in the country had the courage or thought of interviewing these business people to hear their side of the story or investigate the cases further, they all printed Gono's lies about what he was alleging to be the economic crimes that these business people had committed. So like sheep most of the Zimbabwean population after reading the lies in the media concerning these cases cheered Gono on and congratulated him for a job well done not knowing that actually what they were cheering him on was his economic terrorist activities of getting rid of all competent business people in the country so that he is left with no impediment to his goal of tearing the Zimbabwean economy to tatters.








It's a pity that Mugabe and the country's intelligence network who could have stopped him all trusted Gono and Chinamasa so much that they didn't suspect that they were economic hitmen on a misson, sent forth by God knows who. It's also sad to note that up to now Mugabe still trusts these two men. Even more pitiful and sad is the fact that these two men are not the only ones trusted by Mugabe whose actions revealed that they were on a mission to destroy Zimbabwe one way or the other. One such man is Jonathan Moyo who together with Patrick Chinamasa again drafted the POSA and AIPPA bills in 2003 and 2004 which with the help of the police officially killed human rights in Zimbabwe. Then there is Ignatius Chombo who is notorious for Operation Murambatsvina which made headlines all over the world in 2005 because of the inhumanness and cruelty it portrayed. Recently, soon after the GNU had been conceived, Themba Mliswa joined in the list of economic hitmen by instigating a fresh start of commercial farm invasions targeting the few white commercial farmers that were protected by SADC and still farming in the country . The actions of these men that I have mentioned, namely Jonathan Moyo, Patrick Chinamasa, Ignatius Chombo and Themba Mliswa had the effect of proving to the whole world that human rights were being abused and there was no rule of law in Zimbabwe which is what the ZIDERA bill lists as the reason why they can not allow lines of credit to be opened for Zimbabwe. For that reason I am sure you now understand why I am calling these men economic terrorists terrorising their own country.





Let me end this article by philosophising about this issue.
A nation's success depends on the character of its people. A nation's success is not even dependent on the armed forces or intelligence security of the nation only or its President or Prime Minister alone because if the character of some of its people is such that they work against the development of their own nation then that country won't succeed.
Zimbabweans should learn from the people of ancient China, who sought protection from the barbaric hordes from the north by erecting the Great Wall of China. It was too high to scale, too thick to tear down and too long to go around, yet during the first 100 years of the wall's existance, China was invaded three times. How was the security breached? The enemies simply bribed the gatekeepers and then marched easily through the gate. The fatal flow in China's security lay in spending its wealth to build a wall but paying much less to build the character of its gatekeepers.

CAN THE CHARACTER OF ALL ZIMBABWE'S GATEKEEPERS BE TRUSTED? ARE THEY ALL WORKING TOWARDS THE ONE AIM OF POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ZIMBABWE?

Zimbabwe: Gideon Gono's criminal and corrupt deeds out in the open

On the 25th of May 2009, Mugabe said this defending Gideon Gono's stay as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, " He is not a thief, he has done no wrong. Prove the wrong he has done, that's the crime he is alleged to have committed -- that he stood by this man Robert Mugabe, who must collapse so that there is regime change."
On the 31st of May 2009, soon after that myopic and paranoid outburst by Mugabe, Gilbert Muponda who used to own the company ENG CAPITAL in Zimbabwe and made numerous headlines in Zimbabwe during the years 2003 and 2004 when Gideon Gono (who had just been appointed RBZ governor)was accusing him of sabotaging Zimbabwe's economy, at long last decided to speak out and let us know his side of the story. He wrote a letter to Mugabe telling him of Gideon Gono's criminal and corrupt deeds concerning ENG CAPITAL Z$35billion worth of shares that Gideon Gono grabbed for himself for only
Z$2,9billion thereby prejudicing ENG CAPITAL creditors, investors and contributories of at least Z$32,1 billion back then in 2004 when a billion Zimbabwean dollars was equivalent to millions of US dollars. You can read for yourself the letter that Gilbert Muponda wrote to Mugabe on the URL link below.
http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/opin/090531gm.asp?sector=ECON&year=0&range_start=1

After reading through it I came to the conclusion that Gideon Gono started sabotaging the Zimbabwean economy right from day one when he was appointed governor of RBZ. To quote Gilbert Muponda's own words which are very true, "Using the Anti-Graft mantra RBZ Governor Gideon Gono devised an unjust self enrichment scheme targeting business leaders, arresting, harassing, intimidating, exiling and black mailing Zimbabwean entrepreneurs whose businesses were causing an economic growth in Zimbabwe." If that is not sabotaging Zimbabwe's economy, then what is? ENG CAPITAL was doing well, it had a market value of US$ 175 million, just before Gono descended on it with his economic sabotaging fangs and liquidated it. Gilbert Muponda explained clearly what he meant by Gideon Gono's unjust self-enrichment schemes, for those of you who are lazy to go to the URL I provided let me copy and paste for you what he said.

I will briefly describe for you one specific example about what I mean by unjust self-enrichment schemes .I am sure you were told that ENG CAPITAL had many cars, and these cars were the only assets that ENG had. The correct and accurate facts are that ENG was a Group of Companies, which Companies had Directors, Managers and employees and the cars were for the use of these members of staff who ran the various companies which made up ENG CAPITAL.

Below is a brief ENG Group Structure:

ENG HOLDINGS GROUP STRUCTURE

- SUBSIDIARIES
- ENG CAPITAL INVESTMENTS PVT LTD
- ENG ASSET MANAGEMENT PVT LTD
- ENG REAL ESTATE
- ENG NOMINEES PVT LTD
- ENG PRIVATE EQUITY (PVT) LTD
- ENG CAPITAL ADVISORY SERVICES
- ENG STRUCTURED FINANCE

ADDITIONAL MAJOR ASSETS OWNED:

- Century Bank Holdings (now CFX bank)
- Leasing Company of Zimbabwe, Century Asset Managers)
- Century Discount House
- Hybri Micro-Finance Institution
- Care Insurance PVT LTD
- RestCel Insurance PVT LTD
- Amalgamated Health Services ? (Harare West Hospital )
- 15% of OK Zimbabwe Limited
- 15% of Zimplow Holdings Limited
- 20% Medtech Holdings Limited
- Hornet Re-Insurance PVT LTD
- Pearl Pension Fund Management
- 25 % Clan Holdings Limited
- 25 % Zimbabwe News Papers Group - Zimpapers Limited
- Allied Conveyor Belts PVT LTD
- River Drilling PVT LTD
- Real Estate including (Anastasia Court, Belgravia House, Thaine Building)
- Various Listed ZSE Listed shares
- Treasury Bills
- GMB Bills
- Cargill Commercial Paper
- $ 4 billion - Alliance Capital Debenture (representing 123 million First Mutual Life shares)
- 23 Million First Mutual Life shares

ENG Group was liquidated and managed to repay its creditors.

ENG assets above included a parcel of more than 600 million Century Financial Holdings ( Now CFX BANK) of these 600 million we were able to track 309 Million Shares sold to Network Investments and Kwangwari Enterprises which are investment vehicles in which Gono reportedly has interests. The 309 Century Financial Holdings Limited Million shares in question were sold through Fidelity Stock brokers on or around May 13, 2004. Within the same week an announcement was then made that CFX Bank was taking over Century Holdings. The shares were sold to Gono’s reported consortium for Z$2,9 billion when ENG had spent $35 billion to accumulate the shares, thereby prejudicing ENG, Creditors, Investors and contributories of at least Z$32,1 billion.

As ENG contributory and shareholder, I wrote to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Chief Executive Mr Emmanuel Munyukwi asking for an investigation because we had agreed with the majority of creditors that the shares should not be sold but rather swapped with creditors and investors instead of selling them at an unreasonable price. But the 309 Century /CFX Financial Holdings million shares were somehow clandestinely sold and that transaction enabled CFX Bank to take over Century Holdings Limited.

This allowed the reverse listing of CFX Bank on to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Without those 309 Century Holdings Limited million shares owned by ENG the CFX/Century merger would have never happened. Gono and his proxies became the new controlling shareholder of the new merged bank. Is this by design or accident, Gono then forced out the Mr Sean Maloney who had helped to put together the transaction. Mr Sean Maloney had to leave the country under unclear circumstances. Part of the same shares snatched From ENG were later transferred to Premier Bank Financial Holdings which is reportedly owned by Governor Gono.

ENG directors and contributories asked the high court to set aside the sale of the shares and the matter action is still before the courts in Harare. We asked Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Committee to investigate. They refused. We asked the brokers for the identity of the buyer of our shares. They refused. The brokers indicated they were under serious pressure from individuals they couldn’t identify to maintain total secrecy on the identity of the buyer. Within a few days of raising the challenge of the CFX/Century shares Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa specified me without affording me a hearing or an enquiry as required by the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The was specification at the instigation of Governor Gono .The specification was meant to harass, cow, intimidate and silence me from raising further complaint and challenges regarding ENG assets specifically these 309 million shares in CFX Financial Holdings.

Since the ENG shares in Century /CFX Bank Financial Holdings were irregularly transferred the Bank ownership remains in dispute. The ENG shareholders and contributories filed and sought a high court order to stop the transfer of the shares until the dispute had been resolved. The shares were still clandestinely transferred despite the pending high court application to resolve the dispute. After filing for this order My Lawyer the late Oscar Ziweni was also specified by the Minister of Justice and threatened, harassed and intimidated until he went into hiding. However the point remains ENG shareholders and contributories still lay claim to these shares and stake in Century/ CFX BANK which were looted by Governor Gono.

A few individuals directly involved in the illegal sale of the ENG shares in Century later confessed that the beneficiary of the transaction was Governor Gono. Cde President the description of the actions above constitutes unacceptable behavior by the Governor of the Reserve Bank. The transactions clearly show corrupt behaviour which when repeated at a massive scale as done by Governor Gono can bring down a country’s Economy. This is a significant part of what killed Zimbabwe’s Economy. I am sure other business people will have their stories to tell and many will have common features with what I have described above. This will be difficult to prove without a forensic audit of Independent Commission of Enquiry. And this will only be possible if Governor Gono is gracefully asked to recuse himself or go on paid leave whilst this is done. As a scholar of modern corporate Governance practices I believe the Governor will find this acceptable.

As you may probably recall Barbican Bank, Trust Bank and Royal Bank experienced a liquidity crisis similar to what Century /CFX Bank experienced during the same period. Barbican Bank, Trust Bank and Royal bank were then taken over and amalgamated to form Zimbabwe Amalgamated Bank (ZABG). Even though Century /CFX Bank faced the same situation it was not merged into ZABG. The reason was that Governor Gono was now the new controlling Shareholder and he was protecting his self-interests. Century /CFX Bank was placed into temporary curatorship only to reopen a few months with RBZ pumping huge amounts of money to protect Governor Gono’s new investment?. Your Excellency this is corruption. This is how the country goes down the drain.

ENG CAPITAL is not the only company that Gideon Gono targeted in his self-enrichment schemes during that time, the list of victimised business people is very long and as I read through the last section of Gilbert Muponda's letter I couldn't help but cry. This is the first time I have cried because of some issue other than the pains of love so my crying about it is worth writing about. I cried because I felt angry with myself and the rest of the Zimbabwean population for believing what the Gono-controlled media in Zimbabwe was saying about ENG CAPITAL and cheering on Gideon Gono back then in 2003 and 2004 while he harassed our fellow Zimbabwean business people whose positive contribution to the Zimbabwean economy was actually making the effect of the ZIDERA bill sanctions unnoticeable. If all those Zimbabwean business people that Gideon Gono harassed and caused to flee their businesses as well as flee the country had continued doing business in Zimbabwe I am very sure that the Zimbabwean economy would never have become so tattered and torn. The lesson learnt is never believe what the media says unless you know the true facts of the story and never believe one side of the story. I have copy and pasted the part of Gilbert Muponda's letter that made me cry with the hope that you too will realise what fools Gideon Gono made us and cry along with me.

The list of victimized businesspeople is rather long but it includes such luminaries as Dr Makoni, Mutumwa Mawere, James Mushore, Emmanuel Fundira, Otto Chekeche, Godfrey Jowa, Norman Sachikonye, Victor Chando, Durajadi Simba, Jeffrey Muzwimbi, William Nyemba, Nicholas Vingirai, Mthuli Ncube, Francis Zimuto , James Makamba, David Butau, Minister Chris Kuruneri, Nyevero Hlupo, Chris Goromonzi,John Moxon and many more. Mr President all these men above are true patriots who chose to set up businesses in their own country instead of neighbouring countries where they had similar opportunities and incentives. Is this normal to see a whole generation of entrepreneurs scandalized and lose all credibility and all at the same time all based on accusations raised and directed by one man? A lot of these individuals have been forced to settle in other countries where they are working, creating jobs and help build neighbouring economies whilst Zimbabwe is in desperate need for such skills and services.

This list includes some of the most gifted Bankers and Business people of our lifetime. It includes The Founders of the first Indigenous Merchant Bank, It Includes the founders of the first Discount House, It includes the first Black Entrepreneurs to form and list their own Financial Institution in Zimbabwe. All these men Your Excellency have been haunted out of the country, embarrassed and disgraced due to the vindictiveness of Governor Gono as he pursued long discredited economic policies. When such experienced and skilled business people are haunted out of their businesses and out of the country the impact is long term. Factories close, production is reduced, shortages become widespread and prices keep rising till hyper inflation becomes order of the day.

During the 1980s and 1990s the Government ran the much-vaunted Education for All campaign. That campaign produced millions of graduates. Including me. It is sad today that a majority of those products are today working and serving other nations whilst Zimbabwe is in desperate need of their skills and services. More than 80% of my former classmates at National University of Science and Technology are now based outside Zimbabwe.

Cde President other countries protect and support their business people and entrepreneurs. They give them incentives to remain, stay and be based in their country of birth. In the USA there are individuals like Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and many others. They live in America and if they were to re-locate else where I am certain the American Government will do everything it can to re-attract them. They do this because they know Entrepreneurs create jobs, provide services and make the economy prosper. In 2006 The richest Chinese man was the then 37 year old Wong Kwong Yu of Gome Appliances. Wong Kwong Yu has an estimated $2.3 billion US dollars in assets according to the Forbes business magazine. China has 108 other billionaires. And they all live in and operate from China. These are some of the people who have helped China become such an Economic powerhouse. The world over its rare for any country to be developed by foreigners in the absence of a vibrant local entrepreneurial community. Whilst Zimbabwe may look east its also important that it looks inside for its own business people and entrepreneurs. Under the direction of Governor Gono Zimbabwe lost too many talented individuals who are needed to revive the economy. It is therefore imperative that the RBZ be reformed and Governor Gono be re-deployed away from the Central Bank which must play.

The Media and those close to you tried to create impressions that ENG was brief case company premised on Financial Engineering and Financial gymnastics and creating money from thin air without real economic activity. This is false. I will clarify this by bringing to your attention 2 companies, which were part of the ENG Capital Group. ENG included River Drilling PVT LTD specialized in locating under ground rivers and water bodies. Its main activity was to locate such water bodies and bore hole drilling through out the country. This included drilling boreholes for schools and rural district councils. Allied Conveyor Belts was involved in manufacturing, servicing and installation of conveyor belts and elevators. At the time of ENG’s closure the Company was in the process of negotiating the refurbishment of all the Conveyor belts and systems at Hwange Colliery Company Limited. In addition it was finalizing an conveyor belt system export order worth US $ 2.8 million from an Angolan firm. It is clear a misleading impression was created that ENG specialized in cars or non-economic activities and these businesses I am highlighting were ignored and downplayed to try and create justification for the closure of ENG CAPITAL whilst ENG assets were stripped and looted as earlier described above.

I hope the above will give an indication of why the RBZ must be reformed and during that reform individuals like Governor Gono must gracefully be retired or redeployed. The above case about the ENG shares in Century / CFX Financial Holdings show how corrupt the Governor is. Your Excellency your reputation and legacy is on the line. Cde President you cannot be seen to be defending and protecting a corrupt man like Governor Gono. I am sure other cases of his corrupt behaviour will be brought to your attention since you have asked people to show you the Governor’s criminal and corrupt deeds.

After reading through this economic sabotage by Gideon Gono and remembering how around the same years, 2003 and 2004, Jonathan Moyo and Patrick Chinamasa drafted the POSA and AIPPA bills which consolidated no rule of law in Zimbabwe that the ZIDERA bill of 2001 had quoted as the reason for economic sanctions towards Zimbabwe, would I be wrong in suspecting that these three men are probably working as economic terrorists in their own countries. Excuse me if I am wrong, my thoughts must be a result of reading too many Robert Ludlum espionage novels.

The kind of President that Zimbabweans want

Today I was having conversation with some African foreigners and the conversation suddenly turned to the economic and political situation in Zimbabwe. The foreigners were of the opinion that the economic and political demise Zimbabweans find themselves in is because they don't know what they want because if they did they would do something about the big zero in their country. Ever the patriotic citizen I of course took it upon myself to correct that wrong perception of Zimbabweans that some foreigners have. I told them that Zimbabweans do know what they want but their only problem is that they do not aggressively join hands and call out with one voice to get what they want. It was then that the idea of writing this article stating clearly the kind of President that Zimbabweans want came to mind so that it comes out clearly that even though we have this big zero in our Presidential leadership it is not what we want and we do know exactly what we want. Not that my aims are modest for I hope to affect not only what people know but how they think, at least in terms of the images people have in their minds as they look at Zimbabweans from a distance. This effort at an overall interpretation, tentative as it is, has been stimulated by the difficulties I find with the interpretations of foreigners. I hope to sharpen a confrontation of basic issues, provoke disagreement over the matters of interpretation and make manifest the underlying assumptions of different perceptions.

Zimbabweans want a President that will represent them to the outside world as the peace-loving and dignified people that they are, so it is imperative that the President be well-groomed with the right etiquette and knows the right diplomatic language and tactics to use when interacting with others on his level as well as with anyone he comes into contact with. Mugabe's rhetoric hate speeches towards the British and the Americans or anyone who disagrees with his principles, policies, political ideology or actions does not have the support of most Zimbabweans, in fact he embarrasses most Zimbabweans with such behavior. We don't expect words like idiot, go hang, etc, to be uttered publicly by a President, such undiplomatic words are not a true representation of our Zimbabwean culture which condemns hate speech. There is always a polite alternative way of expressing how one disagrees or has a different opinion from another person without resorting to foul language. Talking about diplomacy, remember how Tsvangirai's undiplomatic utterances undermining SADC and the AU and preferring to deal with the EU and the UN when it was trying to resolve the GNU formation problems resulted in him loosing respect and credibility among most African leaders. This goes to show the importance of diplomacy in a President..

Zimbabweans want a President who recognizes the importance of an excellent education system for all Zimbabwean children who in future are going to be responsible for developing the nation after all the adults of today are long gone. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF government destroyed the educational system of Zimbabwe and then send their children abroad to study as did Jerry Rawlings of Ghana when he and his ministers sent their children to Europe and America to study after destroying one of the best educational systems in the world. If Tsvangirai and Mutambara want the majority of Zimbabweans to vote for them in the next elections then they have got to use this opportunity as PM and deputy PM of the GNU to ensure that the standard of education in Zimbabwe is raised high to its former level or even to a higher level than before.

Zimbabweans want a President who makes the development of an excellent and affordable health system a priority because the lives of Zimbabweans depend on it. We must have a President who will see the importance of financing the health infrastructure needs of Zimbabwe and prioritize it. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF government destroyed the efficient health infrastructure that they inherited from Smith's government such that when he and his elite cronies fall ill they travel overseas for medical treatment. It's sad to say that such behavior is typical of most African leaders, who have no trust in the health infrastructures in their own countries , yet they are the ones who have the responsibility to build the health infrastructures in their own countries to high competence levels. Gnassingbe Eyadema after ruling Togo for more than 3 decades could not built the country's health infrastructure and died when he was being rushed to Europe for medical treatment. The same can be said of Omar Bongo who was President of Gabon for 42 years during which time he did absolutely nothing about the health infrastructure in his country which had one of the world's highest infant mortality rates. When his late wife Edith fell ill he had to fly her to France for medical treatment and he himself died in Spain this year where he had gone to receive medical treatment. Zimbabweans expect Tsvangirai, Mutambara and their MDC ministers who are in the Zimbabwean GNU government to rebuild the health infrastructure to very high competence levels such that they themselves will have confidence in receiving medical treatment in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabweans want a President who is not preoccupied with how to enrich himself and his children, grandchildren & relatives. We want a President who does not think only about the future of his children & great grand children, we need one who thinks about how the great grand children of the entire nation of Zimbabwe will fare in future. We don't want a President who is more concerned about how to get rich than how to lift the Zimbabwean citizens from poverty. We don't want a President who is more interested in votes than the responsibilities that go with the votes. There is an IMF report which shows that last year, 2008, Mugabe and his elite ZANU-PF cronies through the RBZ governor, Gideon Gono, got subsidized directed lending, subsidized provision of equipment and fertilizers and allocation of foreign exchange at subsidized exchange rates. Besides monetization, these activities were financed by surrender requirements on export proceeds, the retention of foreign exchange earnings of the gold and agricultural sectors in excess of mandatory surrender requirements, a freeze of most foreign currency deposits, external borrowing, and purchases of foreign exchange at the parallel market. After enriching themselves corruptly like this the ordinary Zimbabweans were left languishing in poverty, hunger and cholera and told to tighten their belts and embrace economic hardships with open arms. As Zimbabweans were dying of hunger Mugabe repatriated a lot of US dollars to banks in Hong Kong and bought a three storied mansion for his daughter Bona in Hong Kong. Such behavior shows how Mugabe and his cronies are only concerned about themselves and their families and relatives and don't give a damn about the welfare of all the other Zimbabweans. Zimbabweans expect Tsvangirai, Mutambara and their MDC ministers in the GNU to put the interests of Zimbabweans above their own interests and never to indulge in corrupt activities. In this 21st Century we need a President who will not collude and connive with Swiss Banks and banks in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Austria, France, Britain, Jersey Island, US and a host of offshore banks in the Caribbean and the Pacific to cheat their poor countries as Mobutu of Zaire; Lansana Conte of Guinea; Eyadema of Togo; and a number of dictators and tyrants such as Omar Bongo of Gabon; Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea; Dos Santos of Angola; Denis Sassou- Nguesso of Congo; Paul Biya of Cameroon; Arap Moi of Kenya; Jerry Rawlings of Ghana; Ibrahim Babadjinda of Nigeria and a number of sitting and ex-presidents in Africa did to their countries thereby surrendering their people to the altar of poverty. These African Presidents paid lip service to fighting corruption and then turned to loot the treasuries of their countries and Zimbabweans don't want such a President in their country.

Zimbabwe needs a humanitarian President who respects human rights by adhering to the tenets of democracy and all its freedoms like Khama of Botswana. A President who relinquishes power freely like Nelson Mandela, Rawlings and John Kuffour, not Presidents who panel beat the constitution so that it has no limit to the number of terms that a President can serve and has no age limit so that they stay in power until they die like what Gnassingbé Eyadéma of Togo did.
Not the likes of Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Mugabe of Zimbabwe whose recent election results where not a true representation of the citizens' votes. Africa has a lot of Presidents who are very undemocratic, corrupt, kleptocratic and have dictatorial tendencies not only in Zimbabwe but also in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Congo, Angola, Libya, Sudan and Chad, these Presidents should not be emulated. Tsvangirai and Mutambara must make sure that a new democratic constitution is drafted with the participation of all Zimbabweans and its bill passed in Zimbabwe so that all the tenets of democracy and its freedoms can be fully practised in Zimbabwe with the support of the constitution. This new constitution should not be based on the Kariba draft which gives the President too much power which a dictator President can then abuse.

Zimbabweans want a President who is committed to building excellent infrastructures in Zimbabwe, in schools, hospitals, roads, airports, rail lines, telecommunication, manufacturing and processing industries, silos and irrigation facilities using the latest technologies in the market so that the country can compete in the global village. South Africa is one country in Africa whose infrastructure is counted among the best in the world and it continues to upgrade its infrastructure every year. The economic competition for markets in the global village requires a President who will strategise and implement concrete and sound economic and social policies that are long lasting, result oriented and are attractive to both local and foreign investors. Policies that can help lift millions of Zimbabwean citizens from poverty, diseases and illiteracy. Policies that enable Zimbabwean citizens to experience their Zimbabwean dream in their own country so as to curb the brain drain. What the Zimbabwean GNU should appreciate is that no matter how good their economic and social policies might be if they are not supported by the rule of law and respect of human freedoms then those policies will count for nothing. As long as commercial farmers continue to be violently and forcibly evicted from farms and opposition members are abducted and jailed unjustly the country will continue to be regarded as unfriendly and a risk to investors. As long as the Zimbabwean constitution is not amended so that it becomes fully democratic then all the good policies the GNU government comes up with will count for nothing. As long as corruption remains a cancer which is not being treated by chemotherapy it will continue to eat away every positive achievement in the country and cancel it to zero.

Zimbabweans want a President who has the vision to convert the huge amounts of natural resources in the continent into processed goods that can be sold globally and enable the country to be self-reliant and move away from the dependency trap. Zimbabwe is home to a lot of natural resources and human resources that needs to be tapped so that it produces end products that can make the country look to the West and East not for donor funding but for win-win trade deals that benefit everyone in the country. Zimbabwe is home to a lot of rivers, lakes and dams and yet water supply cuts are an everyday experience, why when efficient water supply networks can be built all over the country? The value of these rivers and lakes to agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, commerce, power generation and household use cannot be overemphasised. Zimbabwe experiences sunny and windy weather through out the year except for just a few days and yet it has to buy electricity from other countries, why when it can convert solar energy to electricity or use the wind to turn wind turbines that generate electricity? Zimbabwe has got a lot of mines with huge amounts of precious minerals and yet the money the country gets from selling those minerals only benefits a few elite families like the Mujurus who have made Chiyadzwa diamond mine their private territory. Zimbabwe has got very rich soil that can feed all sorts of crops and yet those who took over commercial farms from white farmers are failing to produce enough crops to feed the whole nation, and yet most rural families are relying on Western donors for food. Zimbabweans need a President who will make sure that all the country's resources are fully utilised to benefit everyone in the country and eliminate poverty in the country. We can no longer afford to remain poor in the abundance of natural resources.

Zimbabwe's Presidential leadership as well as its economic, political and social situation has been mocked and laughed at for so long and it is about time we change that. In the next elections, whenever that is let us rise up in great numbers and use the ballot to demand excellent Presidential leadership and accountability in our country Zimbabwe. Let us vote for the candidate who can put back our country on the path to economic prosperity and back on the world map as a country full of integrity and competence in all fields. Prior to the elections, during the campaigning period let us ask the election candidates all the questions that will reveal the kind of leaders that they are so that we make informed decisions about the right candidate to choose. It will be great if ZBC allocates them a slot where the candidates can debate important issues and to take questions from viewers so that we ask them all the questions that some journalists are afraid to ask. Let us use the ballot to vote for a Zimbabwean President based on merit rather than tribal or party affiliation. We must make sure that in the next elections Zimbabwe becomes free from Presidential leadership incompetence and corrupt, weak, ineffective and despotic rule.

Zimbabwe: Tendai Biti is doing a good job as the Minister of Finance

I believe in giving credit were credit is due and in this article I am giving it to Tendai Biti, the Minister of Finance. Some of you readers might be wondering why I am giving him credit when you can't see anything tangible that he has done so far. What he has done so far might not be felt now by the ordinary men on the ground but in the long run it will be felt. The tattered and torn economy that Tendai Biti inherited from his predecessor can not be rebuilt overnight, it has got to be rebuilt precept by precept one day at a time until it reaches the level which can be felt by the ordinary men on the ground. Tendai Biti has started rebuilding the economy and is being successful though not at the rate that can be felt because of some constraints beyond his control. Let me tell you exactly some of the work he has been doing behind the scenes and the results of that work.

Let me point out to you that the relations between Zimbabwe and the IMF had become so bad because Zimbabwe had been in continuous arrears to the IMF since February 2001 and had the only case of protracted arrears to the PRGF-ESF Trust, which amounted to about US$133 million. The remedial measures that had been imposed on Zimbabwe with respect to these arrears were the suspension of technical assistance; the removal of Zimbabwe from the list of PRGF-ESF-eligible countries and the declaration of noncooperation.
Soon after Tendai Biti was sworn into office he set out to have a good relationship with the IMF. He requested for an IMF team to come into the country to conduct consultation discussions with them concerning the country's economic prospects and policies as well as make a review of Zimbabwe's economic situation. The IMF team led by Vitaliy Kramarenko, Mission Chief for Zimbabwe, came into the country from the 9th to the 24th of March and met with Tendai Biti and other senior officials, as well as representatives of civil society and the financial, business, academic, and diplomatic communities. At the conclusion of the visit Vitaliy Kramarenko issued a press release about his assessment. Of interest to me at this point in time in this article is what he revealed concerning the economic environment in Zimbabwe in 2008, the year that most Zimbabweans suffered like paupers. This is what he said,

In 2008, quasi-fiscal activities undertaken by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) increased in the context of weak RBZ governance. They are estimated at US$1.1 billion (36 percent of GDP) in 2008, and included election-related expenses, transfers to parastatals, subsidized directed lending, subsidized provision of equipment and fertilizers to farmers, and allocation of foreign exchange at subsidized exchange rates. Besides monetization, these activities were financed by surrender requirements on export proceeds, the retention of foreign exchange earnings of the gold and agricultural sectors in excess of mandatory surrender requirements, a freeze of most foreign currency deposits, external borrowing, and purchases of foreign exchange at the parallel market exchange rates. These large operations unrelated to central banking core activities were conducted in the context of weak oversight of RBZ operations. Key governance weaknesses include lack of enforcement of the RBZ Act’s accountability requirements and noncompliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards.
The central government’s revenue and expenditure effectively collapsed in 2008. With economic decline and hyperinflation eroding the real value of accrued tax liabilities, budget revenue fell from almost US$1 billion (25 percent of GDP) in 2005 to US$133 million (4 percent of GDP) in 2008. Expenditure shrank from about US$1.4 billion (37 percent of GDP) in 2005 to US$258 million (8 percent of GDP) in 2008 causing an almost complete collapse in the provision of public services, including a significant reduction in electricity generation capacity, collapse of water supply, and major disruptions in railway services.

This confirms what I said in a previous article entitled, "Zimbabwe: A nation held at ransom by three men", that Gideon Gono is the man who caused Zimbabweans to suffer at such pathetic levels in 2008. This part of the report will also give you a complete picture of just how bad the economy was when Tendai Biti became the Minister of Finance.
Vitaliy Kramarenko then made the following conclusion, "The short-term macroeconomic outlook is uncertain. The government’s short-term emergency recovery program and the revised 2009 budget contain a number of important macroeconomic and structural policy commitments which, if fully implemented and supported by donor assistance, could lay the foundation for a private sector-led economic recovery in a low-inflation environment. However, there are significant downside risks to the economic recovery due to potential policy reversals."

Soon after the IMF team had assessed the economic situation in Zimbabwe and made a report, the IMF Executive Board made a decision to lift the suspension of Fund technical assistance to Zimbabwe in targeted areas as requested by Tendai Biti and his team. So effective from May 4, 2009, IMF technical assistance could now be provided to Zimbabwe in the areas of (i) tax policy and administration; (ii) payments systems; (iii) lender-of-last-resort operations and banking supervision; and (iv) central banking governance and accounting. The IMF Executive Board said, "In taking this decision, they took into account the following improvements in Zimbabwe,
1.There has been a significant improvement in Zimbabwe’s cooperation on
economic policies to address its arrears problems since the Executive Board reviewed
Zimbabwe’s overdue obligations last January.
2.The Zimbabwe authorities have expressed their commitment to improve
cooperation on payments to the Fund.
3.The government’s forward-looking policy intentions are sound, but their success
mainly depends on the authorities’ ability to sustain political commitment and to
strengthen technical capacity.
4. Zimbabwe has severe capacity constraints in the Fund’s core areas of expertise and so the IMF's Technical Assistance will help alleviate those constraints.
Using Vitaliy Kramarenko's report concerning his findings in Zimbabwe, the IMF Executive Board then made their own assessment and gave advice about what needs to be done for Zimbabwe to have economic growth. You can read that assessment on the following link, http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2009/pn0953.htm

Recently, from the 22nd of June 2009 to the 30th of June 2009 the IMF team headed by Mission Chief for Zimbabwe, Vitaliy Kramarenko came to Zimbabwe to evaluate the economic performance in the country as well as to review progress in implementing the government’s Short-Term Emergency Recovery Program, and to discuss the forthcoming mid-year revision of the 2009 budget and the underlying macroeconomic outlook. When they were done they made the following press release statement.

As a result of improvements in macroeconomic policies, a nascent economic recovery appears to be underway. A more liberal economic environment, price stability, a deepening in financial intermediation, and increased access to foreign credit lines underpinned a pickup in economic activity. The public finances benefited from the recovery in economic activity and consumption. The government matched expenditure to revenue during January-May 2009; and significant increases in budget revenue in recent months have made it possible to start implementing nonwage expenditures in critically important social areas.
To sustain positive economic trends and improve living standards, reform and stabilization efforts need to be stepped up. In particular, the authorities would need to create sufficient fiscal space for nonwage expenditures in social spheres and critical infrastructure, establish workable coordination mechanisms for attracting direct donor financing of priority social programs, improve Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governance, further promote financial intermediation, and strengthen the business climate.
IMF staff will continue to provide policy advice and targeted technical assistance in the context of regular visits. Access to IMF financing would require donor financial support for arrears clearance to official creditors and a sustained track record of sound policies.

This just about sums up the work Tendai Biti is doing to normalise Zimbabwe's relationship with the IMF but that is not the only international financial body he is engaging with, he is doing the same with the World Bank and many other regional financial bodies. At one time he actually went to USA to try and talk to the USA Congressmen who drafted the ZIDERA bill to have it repealed, though he wasn't successful on that mission, he at least tried. The Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti of the ndakiya-kiya fame actually knows what he is doing and is doing his best for Zimbabwe. If I could say the same for everyone in the GNU by now Zimbabwe would have significantly recovered in all areas in a way that ordinary Zimbabweans on the ground can actally feel it. KEEP IT UP TENDAI BITI.

Zimbabwe: A scrutiny of the Kariba Draft constitution

The lives of these poor little Zimbabwean school children who at present are relying on donor handouts have the hope of changing for the better if Zimbabwe comes up with a new democratic constitution that all Zimbabwean citizens participate in drafting.







The Kariba Draft constitution has attracted a lot of controversy in Zimbabwe with most people being against it. I decided to scrutinise the content of the Kariba Draft Constitution with my constitutional law layman's mind, (which happens to represent the way an ordinary Zimbabwean might view it if he/she bothers to do so but unfortunately most prefer to believe what the media says about it without reading it for themselves) and find out for myself its good and bad parts. I refused to join the bandwagon of opposing it just by judging from what the media is saying about it, without reading it for myself because I don't know whose interest the media would be trying to serve. The media has been known to be sometimes infiltrated by power hungry people or agents whose motive is to demonise and destroy so I have learnt not to trust it unless I know for myself the truth of the matter. However my scrutiny revealed that the media that is shouting against the Kariba Draft of the constitution is justified because it has some parts which are very undemocratic and if Zimbabweans allow it to be passed as law without those parts being modified they will be throwing themselves into fire, especially if the person who is elected President turns out to be a dictator like the present incumbent. It is full of loopholes that devious political minds can manipulate to oppress the people. Read the Kariba Draft yourself by going to the link below if Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed on your computer because it is in the PDF format.
http://www.kubatana.net/docs/demgg/kariba_draft_constitution_070930.pdf

Let me save you from reading my constitutional law layman's scrutiny of the Kariba Draft and instead refer you to a trusted link that scrutinised it the way I did but with full knowledge of constitutional law. This link is
http://www.radiovop.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6716&Itemid=758
Go to this link and read through it and you will see for yourself how Tsvangirai and his MDC-T as well as Mutambara and his MDC would be making a very big mistake if they allow this Kariba Draft to go into Parliament (without being democratically modified by all Zimbabwean citizens) and a bill is passed to enact it as the constitution of Zimbabwe. Zanu-PF is notorious for crafting undemocratic bills and passing them as law like they did with POSA and AIPPA but this time round they shouldn't be allowed to have their way and the onus is on Tsvangirai, Mutambara, MDC-T and MDC parliamentarians to stop them.

If not, civil society especially the NCA should mobilise people to peaceful mass action to demonstrate against using the Kariba Draft as the basis for coming up with a new constitution. All Zimbabweans should be given a chance to participate in coming up with a draft of the new constitution and then vote on whether they want the final draft to be passed as law or not and if not state clearly the parts that they want modified. There should be no short cuts when it comes to the constitution making process because the constitution is what makes a country, it is very important for the proper running of a country and its making should be treated with the importance that it deserves. The excuse that the Zimbabwean GNU government is giving for wanting to make shortcuts to the constitution making process by not allowing the full participation of Zimbabwean citizens is that they don't have the money to sponsor the full process. That to me is pure nonsense, a ploy meant to hoodwink Tsvangirai and Mutambara into agreeing to making the shortcuts. True, Zimbabwe has got money problems but that should not be an excuse for something of paramount importance as the making of a constituition because it should be given priority above all else. Need I repeat that a country is defined by its constitution so that you completely understand how important it is and why its making should be given first priority when allocating funds.

Let me digress a bit.
I am happy that Dr. Simba Makoni has finally launched the Mavambo Kusile Dawn (MKD) political party. I was there in the crowd that gathered to see the breaking of the new political dawn in Zimbabwe and as I listened to him giving a speech I could see a vision of a great political leader who has the potential to dish the Zimbabwean dream to all Zimbabwean citizens. A great leader who can not be hoodwinked into making shortcuts in the constitution making process like how Tsvangirai and Mutambara are being hoodwinked. A democratic leader with all the presidential leadership qualities that I mentioned in a recent article about presidential leadership qualities that Zimbabwe needs in its President for it to be able to rise up to its former glory and splendour.