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RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2221
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RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1969
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 000192 
 
AF/S FOR B. WALCH 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN 
COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM ECON ZI
 
SUBJECT: ZIM NOTES 03-06-2009 
 
----------- 
¶1.  SUMMARY 
----------- 
 
Topics of the week: 
 
- Pressure Rises on Gono... 
- Tsvangirai Urges West to Move Towards Lifting of Sanctions... 
- Cabinet Reveals Loyalties and Priorities... 
- Permanent Secretaries to Go? 
- NGO Report Exposes Diamond Industry and Abuses... 
- PM Tsvangirai Skips Party and Mugabe Reaffirms Land Reform... 
- Mukoko Out, Bennett Still In... 
- Cholera Update... 
- USAID adds US$2.2m to Health Interventions... 
- ZIMSEC Begins Marking 2008 Exams... 
- UZ Fees Reduced... 
- Civil Servants Get U.S. Dollar Allowances... 
- Food Security Update... 
- Food Security Update Continued... 
- Tobacco Production Dropping... 
- Cost of Food Continues to Fall... 
- Prices Tumble on Stock Exchange... 
- Zimbabwe Dollar Steady on the Parallel Market... 
 
----------------------------- 
On the Political/Social Front 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Pressure Rises on Gono... Finance Minister Tendai Biti escalated 
pressure on Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono by 
demanding his ouster in a Cabinet meeting this week.  Biti argued 
that important donor nations such as the U.S. and the UK would not 
fund a recovery while Gono remained at the helm of the Reserve Bank. 
 Mugabe, however, shows no inclination to fire his loyal banker who 
has been the lynchpin to ZANU-PF currency manipulation and 
corruption schemes, and knows where the ZANU-PF skeletons are 
buried...  See Harare 184. 
 
¶3.  Tsvangirai Urges West to Move Towards Lifting of Sanctions... PM 
Tsvangirai made his inaugural address to Parliament on March 4 where 
he urged the international community to observe Zimbabwe's efforts 
and progress and move towards a lifting of sanctions.  (The Herald 
on its front page trumpeted Tsvangirai as calling for the West to 
lift sanctions.)  He also called for national healing, media freedom 
and an end to political violence.  On the same day, President Obama 
renewed the U.S.'s targeted financial sanctions against Zimbabwe for 
at least one additional year.  The full text of Tsvangirai's speech 
is available on his newly-launched website, 
http://www.zimbabweprimeminister.org/ 
 
¶4.  Cabinet Reveals Loyalties and Priorities... The MDC and ZANU-PF 
picks for cabinet seats reflect both Mugabe's and Tsangirai's 
priorities and strategies.  See Harare 180. 
 
 
¶5.  Permanent Secretaries to Go?  On February 24, President Mugabe 
unilaterally appointed permanent secretaries - the leading 
bureaucrats in each ministry that can make or break a minister's 
ability to make things happen.  PM Tsvangirai and Deputy PM Arthur 
Mutambara protested the action, averring that the Interparty 
Political Agreement and Amendment 19 required consultation and 
agreement.  Mugabe responded that he had the power to make the 
appointments.  Nevertheless, after a meeting with Tsvangirai and 
Mutambara, all permanent secretaries were asked to submit their CVs 
to Tsvangirai on the 27th in what may be a retreat by Mugabe. 
 
¶6.  NGO Report Exposes Diamond Industry and Abuses... NGO 
Q6.  NGO Report Exposes Diamond Industry and Abuses... NGO 
Partnership Africa Canada released a report on March 4 on human 
rights abuses surrounding Zimbabwe's diamond fields.  The report 
 
HARARE 00000192  002 OF 004 
 
 
calls on the Kimberley Process to suspend Zimbabwe until it can 
ensure Zimbabwe's diamonds are all mined and processed under a 
controlled system. For the full report, see: http://www.pacweb.org 
/e/images/stories/documents/18_zimbabwe 
-diamonds_march09-eng.pdf 
 
¶7.  PM Tsvangirai Skips Party and Mugabe Reaffirms Land Reform... 
After Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai failed to attend President 
Mugabe's 85th birthday party on February 28, the government 
mouthpiece The Herald took the unusual step of running a front page 
clarification that Tsvangirai didn't attend "upon realizing it is a 
party program.  It is not a snub."  Mugabe used the occasion to 
reaffirm his commitment to land redistribution and to call on the 
remaining white farmers to leave.  On Tuesday the High Court ruled 
that the SADC tribunal's decision that over 70 white farmers could 
keep their seized property was illegal.  On Thursday evening, the 
president of the Senate, Edna Madzongwe and a group of 20 supporters 
went to one of the farms, brandishing a copy of The Herald's report 
on the decision.  Madzongwe demanded that work at the farm cease 
immediately. 
 
 
¶8.  Mukoko Out, Bennett Still In... Deputy Agriculture 
Minister-designate Roy Bennett is still in a Mutare prison, due to a 
decision by Supreme Court Judge Paddington Garwe to allow the State 
to appeal a previous High Court ruling granting bail.  The MDC 
accused Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Attorney General 
Johannes Tomana of unlawfully blocking Bennett's release. 
Separately, of the 32 people abducted at the end of 2008, 16 are now 
out on bail, 6 remain in custody pending hearings on Friday March 6, 
1 escaped, and 9 are still missing.  Importantly, human rights 
defender Jestina Mukoko was granted bail on Monday March 2. Nine of 
those on bail had to pay a whopping (by Zimbabwe standards) US$600 
for their release. See Harare 182. 
 
¶9.  Cholera Update... With deaths exceeding 4,000 out of about 
88,000 cases, cholera still ravages Zimbabwe.  The UN World Health 
Organization reports an overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 4.5 
percent, and its revised "worst-case scenario" shows the epidemic 
peaking between 81,000 and 115,000 cases.  Since CFR peaked at 5.7 
percent on January 21, WHO has reported a continuing decline at 
treatment centers, likely due to improved case management and 
programs emphasizing early treatment. 
 
¶10.  USAID adds US$2.2m to Health Interventions... In addition to 
its HIV/AIDS assistance, USAID this week released an additional 
US$2.2 million for health programs in Zimbabwe.  UNICEF received 
US$300,000 for its measles vaccination campaign and John Snow 
International received US$1.7 million to expand the capacity of the 
national medical supply logistics system, ensuring that drugs and 
commodities are properly coordinated, managed, and distributed.  Two 
hundred thousand will be spent on anti-malarial spraying.  These 
programs will help shore up the rapidly deteriorating health 
Qprograms will help shore up the rapidly deteriorating health 
infrastructure. 
 
¶11.  ZIMSEC Begins Marking 2008 Exams... The Zimbabwe Secondary 
Examination Council (ZIMSEC) began grading 2008 national exams this 
week after the Ministry of Education appealed to the RBZ for over 
US$4 million to pay for transportation, lodging, food, and stipends 
for test graders.  June 2008 results that were supposed to be 
available last August were released on Tuesday, and November 2008 
exam results, which were supposed to be available by January, will 
be ready by the start of April.  Students cannot proceed to the next 
level of schooling without passing national examinations. 
 
¶12.  UZ Fees Reduced... After the University of Zimbabwe Vice 
Chancellor announced that second semester fees would range from 
US$1,000-1,800, Minister of Higher Education Mudenge went into a 
rage and cut them to US$200-600.  He further claimed that no student 
would be turned away for inability to pay, but instead would be 
 
HARARE 00000192  003 OF 004 
 
 
encouraged to join a "cadetship" program, bonding the student to the 
GOZ in exchange for fees.  The Zimbabwe National Student Union 
(ZINASU) continues to condemn any forex fees, asserting that an 
education should be free for those who cannot afford it. 
 
----------------------------------- 
On the Economic and Business Front 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶13.  Civil Servants Get U.S. Dollar Allowances...  The GOZ began 
paying government employees a US$100 monthly allowance in February 
in the form of vouchers to top up their (worthless) Zim dollar 
salaries.  Putting the brakes on abuse of the voucher printing 
press, controlled by RBZ Governor Gono, Finance Minister Biti 
announced that starting this month the GOZ would pay allowances 
directly into employees' bank accounts.  Not all civil servants got 
their vouchers and some banks could not pay out the full value for 
lack of foreign exchange.  See Harare 183. 
 
¶14.  Food Security Update... USAID's Famine Early Warning Systems 
Network reported greater food availability in February 2009 than in 
January 2009 due to increased imports by commercial operators and 
humanitarian agencies.  These groups plan to assist close to 7 
million people this month, up from aound 5 million in December 
¶2008.  Zimbabwe's population may have decreased from 11.6 million at 
the time of the 2002 census figure, to only 8 or 9 million 
currently.  For the full report, see: http://www.fews.net 
/docs/Publications/Zimbabwe_2009_ 
02%20final.pdf. 
 
¶15.  Food Security Update Continued... A January 2009 Zimbabwe 
Vulnerability Assessment Committee urban assessment showed that 33 
percent of urban households were food insecure compared to 24 
percent in November 2006. Surprisingly, the proportion of urban 
household reporting income from remittances fell from 28 to 19 
percent.  In spite of all difficulties, 64 percent of urban 
households (30 percent of food insecure ones) support other 
households financially or with food.  For the full report, see: 
http://ochaonline.un.org/OchaLinkClick. 
aspx?link=ocha&docId=1106327. 
 
¶16.  Tobacco Production Dropping... Zimbabwe's publicly-listed 
tobacco company TSL forecast 2008/09 production at between 35-40 
million kg, although a report in The Herald (03/05/09) stated that 
output will decline by 50 percent on last year's figure of 45 
million kg.  The crop was adversely affected by input shortages and 
sub-economic prices in 2008. 
 
¶17.  Cost of Food Continues to Fall... The EU Delegation estimated 
that the cost of its 18-item low-income food basket for a family of 
six fell by 3 percent on the week from US$220 to US$213.  On a 
related note, mobile network provider Econet is running a promotion 
that effectively reduces rates by 20 percent to increase usage. 
 
¶18.  Prices Tumble on Stock Exchange... Trading on the Zimbabwe 
Stock Exchange remains volatile as the market continues to look for 
the true value of shares in foreign currency terms.  Although 
volumes have risen since the Exchange re-opened, the market 
Qvolumes have risen since the Exchange re-opened, the market 
capitalization of most counters has declined significantly.  The 
proposed introduction of two more levies by the Securities 
Commission will raise transaction costs and discourage foreign 
investment. 
 
 
¶19.  Zimbabwe Dollar Steady on the Parallel Market... The Zimbabwe 
dollar has held steady at Z$6 trillion (Z$6 revalued) against the 
U.S. dollar since the introduction of foreign exchange licensed 
shops in October 2008, confirming the currency's demise  as a medium 
of transaction.  Oddly, only the old Z$50 billion note remains in 
use, but solely by commuter bus operators who had been holding onto 
 
HARARE 00000192  004 OF 004 
 
 
the notes when demand for the local currency collapsed. 
 
----------------- 
Quote of the Week 
----------------- 
 
¶20.  "I am still in control and hold executive authority, so nothing 
much has changed." -- President Robert Mugabe, addressing a crowd of 
2,000 at his 85th birthday party in Chinhoyi on February 28. 
 
¶21.  "Brutal suppression, wanton arrests and political persecution 
impede our ability to rebuild our economy... I therefore urge the 
international community to recognize our efforts and to note 
progress in this regard, and to match our progress by moving toward 
the removal of restrictive measures." -- Prime Minister Morgan 
Tsvangirai, addressing Parliament on March 4. 
 
 
MCGEE