Weekly Agenda
By Mziwandile Ndlovu
31 December 2010
As per tradition at the end of the year, the Weekly Agenda conducts an in-depth review of the performance of the executive and other critical state instruments. The score card measures the work achieved by individual cabinet ministers and measures them on a scale of 1 to 10.
ECONOMIC CLUSTER
Finance (B-)
This year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti continued to exude the impressive work rate be exhibited last year that has come to be his trademark. It was an eventful year for him as he tried to continue with efforts to receive the economy.
Minister Biti used his energy and knack for aggression to try to force Mines Minister Obert Mpofu to account for proceeds from the sale of diamonds at the Chiadzwa fields though to no avail. Still walking the tightrope with his “We eat what we gather†policy, Minister Biti continued showing signs of prudence. Inflation has not waivered much and there has been no drastic change on the interest rate front and his mid-term fiscal policy review was relatively well received. He is riding on a crest of success after delivering a relatively sound budget for 2011 which managed to raise the tax free threshold and give civil servants a 100% bonus. He should also be credited with conducting a series of thorough consultations for the 2011 budget in just about every province. His dynamism and courage has seen him trying to rally a multi-party movement to get the budget passed by parliament.
On the downside, Biti has failed to make headway into getting hold of the proceeds of the Chiadzwa diamond fields. After trying to promote local businesses by banning the importation of animals and animal products in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, he had to climb down on the pronouncement on seeing local industry’s glaring inability to deliver. It also appears that he is not winning the battle on compelling companies to use fiscalized tax registers as there is fierce resistance to the move.
Also on the Ministers desk for 2011 is how to ensure that a common currency prevails in the country so that consumers in the Southern part of the country are not short-changed. While the Minister has announced that he has engaged the US government to supply coins to Zimbabwe, critics feel that he has gone against common logic of joining the Rand Monetary Union. In probably his blunder of the year, the Minister told a budget consultative meeting in Bulawayo that his Ministry would not release any information to show how much each province contributes to treasury and, in return, how much the state spends in each province.
Industry and Commerce (C)
Minister Welshman Ncube had a lacklustre year due to various reasons. Many would say that there is little that a minister can do to revive an economy when it is under sanctions and there is little foreign direct investment. What can be said about Ncube is that he made the right noises and appeared in the right place but little can be said about any improvements. There is no doubt that he has brilliant ideas on how to revive industry and he also attended and convened a couple of conferences to articulate these ideas. We never saw crisp policy pronouncements or any moves to promulgate legislation on the industry front as other Ministers were doing.  Many also feel that most of Ndube’s time this year was taken up by party politics. He was more concerned with positioning himself as his party’s next leader and fighting an onslaught on his party by the MDC. We look forward to a better year from him, at least before the end of the all inclusive government.
Economic Planning, Investment Promotion and Development (D)
This ministry, needless to say, has suffered from the Prime Minister’s cabinet reshuffle. The initial incumbent Elton Mangoma, who has since moved to Energy, also appears to have had an ordinary year, if not worse. A Minister in this portfolio is expected to run with the mandate of soliciting investment and also making policy pronouncements to come up with innovate ways to promote investment and to market the country as a viable investment destination. Sadly, we did not see this from Mangoma until his departure. The new incumbent Tapiwa Mashakada should be given time to begin to settle into his Ministry. He is also widely respected in economic issues but has taken rather too long to start making the right noises and make his presence felt.
THE SOCIAL CLUSTER
Education, Sport, Arts and Culture (A-)
Minister David Coltart remains arguably the best performing Minister as far as indicators are concerned. Consolidating the work he did last year, he bought more stability to the education sector. Indicators showed that 2010 has actually been the best academic year in a decade. There were significantly less resignations by teachers this year and there were less disruptions of the academic calendar by way of industrial action. The text book initiative remains the most successful policy of the ministry. Textbooks are currently being delivered to 700 schools a week and the ministry has now achieved 1:1 student: textbook ratio. The minister’s energy also saw him gracing numerous arts and cultural activities to give moral support. Even though it was a bad year for sport, the ministry has called for another inquiry into the match fixing scandal that rocked local sport and has denounced the practice.
Higher and Tertiary Education (J)
Minister Dr. Stan Mudenge continues to be the weakest link in the executive as he is doing virtually no work to talk about. For a couple of years now, his health has been the subject of rife speculation and it only makes sense that President Robert Mugabe should rest this man, whose better days are clearly behind him. It appears the President does not recognise how strategic higher education is by keeping Mudenge there. It is not a surprise that there is no leadership from the centre in this sector and institutions of higher learning are operating wily nily. They charge the fees that they deem fit with no monitoring from the ministry. There has been no serious effort also to take advantage of the relative economic stability to lure some academic exiles. It appears Mudenge’s frail health only enables him to attend graduation ceremonies which he also struggles to do. This ministry, needless to say, is in need of a leader in the calibre of Senator Coltart.
Local Government and Rural Development (F)
Minister Ignatius Chombo spent the better part of his year fighting personal battles and not doing the employer’s business. He exerted more energy into fighting to ensure that his estranged wife gets as little property as possible in their protracted divorce proceedings. This domestic dispute brought to the public agenda his stinking wealth that raised questions about how he acquired it. He had to endure a storm of critics who insinuated that he used his official position to convine with municipal officials to acquire properties in all parts of the country. Sadly, his principal President Mugabe did not call him to account.
On the work front, he did not do much save for going around the country presiding over the installation of traditional leaders. He also caused a lot of controversy as he pushed to exercise his constitutional right to appoint special-interest councillors which was widely viewed as a politically motivated move. He was also a pain in the neck for MDC-M who wanted defecting councillors to also relinquish their council seats. Chombo refused to do this, as the current local government legislation empowers only the Minister to dismiss councillors.
Health and Child Welfare (C)
The usually media-shy Dr. Henry Madzorera had a reasonable satisfactory year. He showed some energy and innovation despite the absence of funding for many projects the ministry could have carried out. He consistently tried to energise the health sector for the better part of the year saying that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are achievable though efforts will obviously be adversely affected by lack of funding. He also maintained viable links with institutions such as the National Aids Council (NAC) which donated some vehicles to the ministry for AIDS alleviation programmes.
Madzorera also led initiatives such as securing the support of the Global Fund for the retention of health workers. The Voluntary Testing programme, of which the Ministry is a major stakeholder, recorded a 100% increase. The Ministry has also played a crucial role in publicising the Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) programme. We are looking forward to a better year.
Youth, Indigenisation and Empowerment (D)
Minister Saviour Kasukuwere quoted a lot of controversy in the earlier part of the year as he tried to rush through his controversial Indigenisation Bill regulations meant to give indigenous people 51% of all firms in the country. The move came under serious fire as people across the political divide and the general public condemned the move as it would adversely affect Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). So antagonising were his overtures that at one point, diplomats walked out of a meeting at which he attacked their countries’ ownership of companies in the country.
Not much happened on the Youth side save for attempts to reform the National Youth Policy of Zimbabwe. Somehow he managed to source funding from the UNDP and get the buy-in of a cross section of players in the youth sector. The process began on a positive note with the appointment of a credible academic to lead the process but soon ran into chaos as a result of allegations of bussing ZANU PF youths to the meetings by the Minister. There were reports of civil society functionaries walking out of meetings after being heckled for the king of presentations they made. It appears the process has been put on ice, at least for now.
Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development (F)
Minister Dr. Olivia Muchena had a dismal year by any standards. She is a strong Mugabe ally and continues to buy her cabinet stay on this strength. She invested some of her energy in supposedly fighting for the participation of women in the constitution-making process. She was also involved in a power tussle with Oppah Muchinguri within the ZANU PF Women’s League. Not much can be said of her work in her cabinet portfolio.
Labour and Social Services (D)
Minister Paurina Mpariwa also had a lacklustre year. It can be argued accurately that there is not much that a Minister of Labour can do in the absence of a viable industry. She made a critical intervention, however, in rising tendencies by Chinese companies to exploit and ill-treat workers. The Minister ordered the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) to probe the matter. Allegations raised were physical assault, dismissal without giving adequate notice, absence of toilets as well as allegations of women sharing the same toilets. As a result of the Minister’s intervention NSSA suspended operations at the sites until all safety requirements were met. Where fatal accidents occurred, prosecution was recommended. The polarization in the political terrain has also curtailed the Minister’s participation in the largely dysfunctional Tripartite Negotiation Forum (TNF). There is a growing trend in which various employers are opening firms in various parts of the country but making a deliberate effort to send staff to the place of work while marginalising the locals. The Minister should ensure that new laws are promulgated compelling employers to employ locals and also to embark on compulsory community development projects.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE CLUSTER
Energy and Power Development (D)
Such a crucial Ministry in the country was also negatively affected by the Prime Minister’s mid-year cabinet reshuffle. Previous incumbent Eng. Elias Mudzuri was axed in what largely viewed as part of a protracted power play at Harvest House. The Minister was yet to make any impact in leading efforts to rehabilitate transmitters. It may be too early to score the performance of new incumbent Elton Mangoma. He has also taken rather too long to start making proclamations on pressing issues on his desks. There appears to be no political will to whip the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) into line. The power utility has refused with impunity to affect the Tariffs and Competition Commission’s directive to lower their tariffs by 43% despite protracted demonstrations by residents of Bulawayo. The Minister is also mum on what is likely to happen to the utility bills being owed to the power utility by consumers who are apparently unable to pay. If Mangoma is a serious Minister, we must know his prescriptions for these issues at the beginning of the year. We also want to hear what direction is to be taken in alternative power development.
State Enterprises and Parastatals (B)
The Ministry also suffered from the premier’s cabinet reshuffle. The score is only attributed to the current incumbent as not much can be said about previous incumbent Joel Guebuzza Gabuzza’s performance.
Minister Gorden Moyo has fired the right warning shots in the short time that he has taken over the reins. The Minister immediately went on rounds to state entities to conduct a comprehensive audit into their operations. His most notable initiative so far has been the Ministry’s Corporate Governance Framework which he has pushed for so energetically. The new policy is set to bring about better accountability in state entities as it compels state entities to hold Annual General Meetings and submit audited annual financial statements. He has also pushed for Parliament to be able to determine the remuneration of CEOs which have been said to be exorbitant.
Information Communication Technologies (D)
Minister Nelson Chamisa had done well when he took over the portfolio with the way he facilitate the availability and flooding of sim-cards on the market. We also praised his Ministry for their dynamic website but it appears he did not do much this year in his ministerial portfolio. It appears he has given up on his fight with Nicholas Goche for the control of Net-One. It would appear that Chamisa is fully employed by Harvest House as Director of Communications as that is virtually the work he did this year.
Information, Media and Publicity (G)
Minister Webster Shamu is one of the people who are drawing a salary for no work done. There has been no reform what-so-ever to the public media as it remains partisan. In fact, he appears to have intensified his campaign for jingles possibly in preparation for elections next year. We only saw him running around as ZANU PF national commissar.
National Housing and Social Amenities (F)
Not much can be said about either the previous or current incumbents Fidelis Mhashu and Giles Mutsekwa who was also a political casualty of the PM’s mid-term cabinet reshuffle as he was moved from the powerful Home Affairs Ministry. No work to talk about.
Public Service (F)
We are still waiting for the outcome of Minister Eliphas Mukonoweshuro’s public service human capital audit. We have yet to hear prescriptions on how to avoid waste by the payments of ghost workers. He developed some balls this year though as he publicly clashed with Minister of Finance Tendai Biti accusing him of behaving like a super-Minister. He also announced an elaborate loan scheme for civil servants to thunderous applause. We await the outcome as civil servants filled in the forms and are yet to get any response.