ZANU PF ‘seeking legitimacy’ through sanctions case

The last two on the EU sanctions list: Robert and Grace Mugabe

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
17 June 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

ZANU PF has stepped up its efforts in seeking international legitimacy, by trying to secure a court ruling that declares the European Union (EU) targeted restrictive measures as ‘illegal’.

The party’s case against the EU, which it filed in 2012, is finally underway despite the Brussels based leadership bloc already removing the majority of its restrictions against the ZANU PF regime.

Robert Mugabe and his wife are the only two members of the regime who remain targeted with travel and financial restrictions, after the EU removed the bulk of the measures earlier this year. This is in spite of the flawed elections in Zimbabwe last July, as well as a lack of reforms that the EU had previously stipulated were needed before its ‘sanctions’ policy would be reviewed.

ZANU PF’s court case, which got underway at the General Court of the European Union last Tuesday in Luxembourg, now seeks to have the measures declared illegal, with the party arguing that the ‘sanctions’ were imposed without any legal basis. The party’s lawyers are arguing that it was only the UN Security Council that had the power to impose ‘sanctions’ on a member country.

Oral hearing of the case is set to continue for the next two weeks before a decision is handed down later in the year.

Observers say ZANU PF is trying to absolve itself of the financial ruin Zimbabwe is facing, with the party maintaining that international ‘sanctions’ are to blame for the dire state of the economy.

The measures, and those which still remain imposed by Australia and the US, have been repeatedly blamed for Zimbabwe’s current economic crisis despite the fact that it was only individuals and individual entities that were specifically targeted.

Wilbert Mukori, the spokesperson of the Zimbabwe Social Democrats group, said the court case has “no merit.” But he told SW Radio Africa that the EU itself has helped ZANU PF in this legitimacy drive, by actively seeking re-engagement.

“This re-engagement undermines the position of other countries who say that since the rigged elections last year, sanctions should remain,” Mukori said.

He also expressed concern that there is no attempt to hold the ZANU PF regime to account for past atrocities that led to the targeted sanctions being imposed. He said that the selfish interests of some EU member states meant that Mugabe and his “dictatorship” were being allowed to “carry on as normal.”

“The EU is giving the Mugabe regime the encouragement on carry on with human rights abuses and corruption. We have reached a point where corruption is rampant and looting has reached shocking levels. And that is the root cause of the economic collapse,” Mukori said.

Meanwhile, civil society members debated the ‘sanctions’ issue during a think tank discussion on the state of the Zimbabwe’s economy on Tuesday, with some civil leaders saying the targeted measures were “counter productive.”

James Muzondidya from the Zimbabwe Institute argued that the economy cannot be revived if targeted sanctions remain, saying the presence of the measures maintains a view of “instability.” He argued that because the sanctions have been “ineffective in effecting change,” they are “pointless in maintaining.”

The EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Aldo Dell’Arricia also gave his opinion on the matter, insisting it was the country’s massive international debt, not ‘sanctions’, that was stopping the government from receiving new loans. He also insisted that the targeted measures imposed by the EU were legal.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter

Marange diamond region hit by ‘panic and uncertainty’

Alluvial diamond field in Marange

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
18 June 2014

Published by SW Radio Africa

The government’s plan to consolidate control of the Marange diamond region is said to have created a ‘panic’ situation, with mining investors, employers and workers uncertain about the future.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa in March this year announced plans to reduce the current number of mining firms in Chiadzwa to just one. This was followed by a threat by Mines Minister Walter Chidhakwa, to shut down all operations at the diamonds fields, where millions of dollars in ‘missing’ diamond revenue remains unaccounted for. He said that the government was losing diamond revenue through “cartels,” and that shutting down all mining at the alluvial fields was better than this continued revenue loss.

No further action has been taken since these threats which, according to a local research group, have left people ‘panicking’.

James Mupfumi, the acting director of the Centre for Research and Development (CRD) told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that the government’s plans have created ‘uncertainty’. He said a direct result of this was the “arbitrary slashing of salaries” by the Mbada Diamonds firm, which has cut the pay of its workforce by 50%. The company has cited ‘low production’ as the reason for the salary cut.

Mbada is the latest of the seven firms operational at Chiadzwa to make changes with a direct impact on its workers. Recently, the Anjin diamond mine sent part of its workforce on forced leave, while workers at other mines have reported not getting paid for months.

“Because of that quietness and darkness over what is happening, we are hearing of companies downsizing, companies sending workers home without salaries. There is panic, there is uncertainty and nobody knows what is happening,” Mupfumi said.

He added: “We are also hearing that some investors and shareholders are pulling out the mining equipment at night and taking it to Mozambique, while people from the military are coming into the mining fields, also under cover of darkness.”

Mupfumi explained that the local community has been bearing the brunt of the confusion, with an increase in illicit activity being reported at the mines.

“The fact that the mining firms haven’t been paying the workers means there are more organised syndicates bringing in more illegal panners. And the response has been brutal. We’ve met with people who have been victimised and beaten after being accused of being panners by the security. So it has worsened the lives of already poverty stricken people who have not benefited from the diamonds ever,” Mupfumi said.

The speculation meanwhile about the true intentions of the government’s Chiadzwa consolidation plan has been rife, amid reports that steps are being taken to hand over control to the Mugabe family-linked Mbada firm.

According to a recent report by Africa Confidential, Mbada is set to be the “last miner standing” and would ultimately be a joint venture with the ZANU PF government.

“But we hear that the biggest private share may already be in the process of transferring to President Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace Mugabe,” Africa Confidential reported.

Africa Confidential said that “Grace and her three children, rather than the President, are the beneficiaries of a 50% stake in Mbada,” according to two independent sources from the financial sector and an airline official who has worked with the President’s new son-in-law, Simba Chikore.

Minister Chidhakwa, allegedly a nephew of Robert Mugabe’s, is also reportedly leading the plans to put Mbada in control, after being placed in the Ministry “to secure the [Mugabe] family’s interests.”

The CRD’s Mupfumi meanwhile said that the ZANU PF “patronage system” has been at play in the diamond fields ever since the gems were discovered, and nothing will improve until there is a strong outcry from the public and civil society.

“I don’t think the government is sincere is stamping out corruption, because it boils down to political will to change things. For years the shareholding of the mines have been parceled out to senior members of ZANU PF and the army, and we haven’t seen any positive impact of diamond mining on the communities. And that is not going to change while the patronage system is working,” Mupfumi said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or follow on Twitter