Simmering rift between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga leaves Zimbabwe ‘open for chaos’; What next for Zimbabwe's opposition?
Today’s Headlines:
Mnangagwa says he freed Biti, after Zambia’s ‘illegal’ deportation
US renews sanctions on Zimbabwe
Simmering rift between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga leaves Zimbabwe ‘open for chaos’
What next for Zimbabwe's opposition?
Zim Railways increase cargo freight
Four bidders eye stake in state-owned Netone
Mnangagwa says he freed Biti, after Zambia’s ‘illegal’ deportation (NewZimbabwe, VoA, BBC, TimesLive, NewZimbabwe, The Zimbabwe Mail, US Department of State, The Zimbabwe Mail)
MDC Alliance co-leader Tendai Biti appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court yesterday facing charges of inciting violence and unlawfully declaring his coalition partner, Nelson Chamisa, the winner of the presidential election last month. Hours earlier, Biti had been deported from Zambia, in defiance of a court order saying that he should stay. He was ordered to pay $5,000 bail, surrender his passport and title deeds to his Harare home as well as to report twice daily to police.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa later tweeted that he had ordered Biti’s release, leading to questions over the independence of the judiciary.
The UN and the US government are deeply unimpressed with Zimbabwe and Zambia’s actions. The US says it is now reviewing some aspects of its cooperation with Zambia, and President Donald Trump extended sanctions against Zimbabwe for another year. Given the strong global response to this case and Mnangagwa’s bid to normalise relations with key powers, Biti is likely to be set free even though he may indeed have broken the law in declaring Chamisa the winner of the elections.
US renews sanctions on Zimbabwe (ZBC, The Zimbabwe Mail, NewsDay)
US President Donald Trump yesterday extended economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, in place since 2001, after signing the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018 into law. The US state department said on Thursday it was “ gravely concerned by credible reports of numerous detentions, beatings, and other abuses of Zimbabweans over the past week, particularly targeting opposition activists” and that Zambia chose to hand Biti back to Zimbabwean authorities.
The US said it would reconsider its policy on Zimbabwe if it held free, fair and credible elections, but that optimism has been dashed. “Zimbabwe had a historic opportunity to move the country toward a brighter future for all its citizens, an electoral process marred by violence that does not respect constitutional rights and procedures is not a step toward that future,” the state department said.
Simmering rift between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga leaves Zimbabwe ‘open for chaos’ (The Economist, Zimbabwe Independent)
Mnangagwa’s “control over his own party remains fragile,” writes The Economist, explaining that “the so-called G40 faction, associated with Grace Mugabe, Robert’s second wife, remains influential, well funded and keen for Mr Mnangagwa to fail.” The new cohort of MPs may not be loyal to Mnangagwa, according to the British weekly, which also points to a rift between Mnangagwa and his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga, who ran last November’s coup and is thought to have ordered the violent post-election crackdown.
According to the Zimbabwe Independent, an independent investigation into the deployment of the army in the streets of Harare will set Mnanagagwa on a collision course with Chiwenga. The paper cites an off the record briefing with a high profile security boss who said the investigation suggests Mnangagwa did not deploy the army himself, so “will bring him into direct confrontation with Chiwenga.”
Reports of disharmony between the President and Vice President continue to emerge. Mnangagwa hoped the election would give him legitimacy beyond November’s coup, and lessen Chiwenga’s influence as kingmaker. The next few months will be telling - but there is also speculation that Chiwenga sees himself as next in line after Mnangagwa’s term in office.
What next for Zimbabwe's opposition? (Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy)
The MDC “should seek a unity government before it’s too late,” journalist Evans Simbarashe Zininga wrote in Foreign Policy yesterday, like after the 2008 elections when, in the wake of widespread violence, Morgan Tsvangirai sacrificed his dream of becoming president and reached a compromise with Robert Mugabe to save civilian lives. “For the sake of Zimbabwe’s people, someone in the opposition needs to make a similar decision today,” Zininga says.
The problem is that the MDC Alliance may not have the leverage that Tsvangirai did 10 years ago. For Al Jazeera, Chipo Dendere calls on the MDC to start preparing now to do better in the next elections, saying that the opposition “must unite and create a brand that resonates with both urban and rural voters.”
Emmerson Mnangagwa has little appetite for a government of national unity, saying he won the elections outright. The courts will rule on that in the coming days - almost certainly in his favour.
Nelson Chamisa turned in an impressive performance just months after taking over as opposition leader from the late Morgan Tsvangirai, who died at the start of this year. If he can build on this campaign, and unite the opposition further, he could create the momentum needed to beat Zanu-PF when the next elections come around. A more likely scenario, however, is that the Zimbabwean opposition will remain fractured, as it has tended to be in the past.
NRZ increases cargo freight (NewZimbabwe)
The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) moved 856,476 tonnes of cargo from April to June this year, up from 754,404 tonnes in the same period last year.
Capacity constraints over the past 17 years had curtailed the NRZ’s ability to move cargo, but a $400 million agreement it signed with the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group (DIDG) and Transnet Consortium in October last year has enabled the parastatal to take lease of some rolling stock ahead of a recapitalisation agreement that will allow it to buy its own equipment.
The NRZ is slowly emerging from the doldrums but the economy has to recover and grow first, before there is enough cargo for the bulk transporter to be back on the rails on a more sustainable basis.
Four bidders eye stake in state-owned Netone (Zimbabwe Independent)
Four foreign firms have expressed an interest in buying a 45%-50% stake in Zimbabwe’s state-owned mobile network operator, Netone, the country’s second biggest operator. The firms include a South African telecommunication giant, a Lebanese consortium and an Abu Dhabi based firm, according to the Zimbabwe Independent. Inside sources reveal that the investors are willing to clear the troubled state owned entity’s debt and inject fresh capital to revive the company’s operations.
Netone is rocked by governance issues following an ongoing battle between the Minister of information and Communication Technology, Supa Mandiwanzira and Netone chief executive Lazarus Muchenje, who is currently suspended - as detailed in yesterday’s Zimbabwe Daily Briefing. International experience suggests telcos do better under private ownership, and Netone’s continued operation is vital to avoid an effective monopoly in Zimbabwe for Econet.
Tweet of the Day:
Journos already waiting for @nelsonchamisa's A-Team of lawyers to come and file their #ZimDecides2018 presidential election challenge at the #ConCourt.
I suppose they have up to 12 midnight to file so it might be a long wait.