New Zimbabwe
By New Zimbabwe Reporter
10 September 2013
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe named a new cabinet on Tuesday after his re-election in July, handing the key finance ministry to a combative political lieutenant with little experience in running a treasury.
In a surprise line-up, Mugabe also appointed two inexperienced officials to head the mining and empowerment portfolios, both at the heart of a push to increase black ownership of the economy by forcing foreign firms to cede majority stakes to locals.
“The cabinet has been reduced from 33 to 26 with 24 ministries,” chief secretary to the cabinet Misheck Sibanda told journalists.
The cabinet retains members of the old guard of Mugabe’s Zanu PF party including those who have served in government since independence in 1980.
The appointments came more than a month after elections on July 31, which ended a shaky power sharing government formed by Mugabe and rival Morgan Tsvangirai four years ago.
Former justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, a lawyer, was named finance minister to succeed Tendai Biti from former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) party.
The new treasury chief’s biggest challenge will be to try to mobilise foreign assistance, despite the western sanctions, for a government which spends 70 percent of its budget on civil servants’ wages.
Long-time defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa – who with vice president Joice Mujuru is a leading candidate to succeed Mugabe as Zanu PF leader – replaced Chinamasa at the justice ministry while former state security minister Sydney Sekeramayi took over defence.
In other key appointments, the veteran leader shifted Saviour Kasukuwere away from the indigenisation portfolio replacing him with former environment minister Francis Nhema while the mines ministry goes to Walter Chidhakwa who takes over from Obert Mpofu.
Jonathan Moyo also returned to a renamed media and broadcasting services ministry despite his defeat in the July elections and earlier strained relationship with the party hierarchy.
The response to the announcement was mixed with analysts saying the impact of individual personalities on policy or the pace of implementation will be limited in a government tightly controlled by Mugabe and Zanu PF party.
Opposition politician and former sports minister David Coltart said some Zanu PF hardliners appeared to have been demoted and welcomed the news.
But economist Eric Bloc said the new government would be “a disaster” if appointments made public so far were anything to go by.
“It’s a disaster,” Bloc said. “None of those announced so far are qualified for the posts. President Mugabe is trying to unite his party without considering the best interests of the country and I am pessimistic about the future.”
Another economic commentator Tony Hawkins, added: “The demotion of Kasukuwere and appointment of Chidhakwa as minister for mines will be seen by the mining industry as positive.
“Both Chidhakwa, a former official in the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, and Nhema are thought likely to take a softer line on indigenisation than their predecessors.
Government officials hope the US and the EU will abolish the remaining “targeted sanctions†against prominent Mugabe aides and state-owned businesses, with Belgium already calling for this in respect of state-owned diamond mining companies.
The World Bank is also keen to see the sanctions go so it can press ahead with an urgently needed debt relief programme for the country. An IMF team is due to visit the country next month.
July’s elections extended Mugabe’s 33-year rule by another five years but long-time rival Tsvangirai rejected the elections as “a sham” and “a massive fraud.”
And, pointing to multiple flaws in the July 31 vote cited by domestic observers, Western governments – especially the United States – have questioned the credibility of the outcome and are considering whether to prolong sanctions against Mugabe.
But the veteran leader has drawn comfort from African observers who endorsed the vote as largely free and orderly. Western observers were barred and Mugabe has told critics to “go hang,” arguing he won fairly.