Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: ‘Using AirZim will pose logistical problems for ED’ – The Standard March 24, 2019

The big interview BY XOLISANI NCUBE

Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet responsible for presidential communications, George Charamba (GC), has said President Emmerson Mnangagwa will continue to use hired private jets for his travels for as long as the national airline Air Zimbabwe, does not have aeroplanes that are reliable enough to fly him. Charamba said this yesterday in a wide-ranging interview with our Senior Reporter, Xolisani Ncube (XN), where he also spoke about other controversies surrounding Mnangagwa’s recent actions. Below are excerpts from the interview.

XN: We understand that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has today left the country for Angola. What is his mission in Angola?

GC: Yes, the president left for Angola this morning. He is due to return home late today. It’s a fly-in fly-out situation due to serious commitments here at home. As you know, we have a day set aside in the Sadc region to commemorate the Cuito Cuanavale battle, fought in the Angolan province of Cuando Cubango in 1988, between the Angolan army, aided by Cuban forces, and the invading troops of the former apartheid regime in South Africa. The Angolan government has been pushing that we declare this day a Southern African Liberation Day. The invitation came over the weekend and it was presented to the president on Monday during the usual Monday briefings. But because we have the disaster that befell us and the declaration of the two days of national mourning, the president decided to make it a fly-in fly-out scenario. He has to show support at the meeting in Angola as well as remain cognisant of the fact that we have pressing issues at home. He has to be here for tomorrow’s (today’s) prayer day as well as attend to the rescue efforts in Chimanimani.

XN: Many people have complained that the president is flying too much using hired expensive luxurious private jets for all his foreign trips. Who is footing the bill?

GC: (laughs) … You ask me who is footing the bill for the president? Well, who is flying in this case? The president right, so who do you want to foot the bill? It is government because he is not travelling for his personal business. This is what international engagements come with. We would want to be part of the global village and we have to carry the cost. I often hear people say this and that, but if we want that global presence, the state has to meet the cost that this comes along with.
If I was to talk about the recent trip to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and you look at the benefits of that trip, the opportunities alone that came with that trip, surely the costs are way less than the results we reaped from the trip. If you were to look at the business opportunities for the country created thereof, indeed you could see that this was a necessary expenditure by the state. The assistance coming from there, the energy business deals and so on and so forth, you will appreciate that it was a necessary cost.

XN: Many people have been complaining that it does not make sense for the president to be hiring an aircraft from as far as Dubai for him to fly from Harare to Bulawayo. In fact, some have said it is like hiring a tax from Gweru to go to the airport from the city centre. What do you say about that?

GC: Again you have to understand how the aviation industry works. For starters, we have to appreciate that we do not have a national airline with an adequate fleet to service both the presidential trips and its commercial needs. Then coming to the Bulawayo issue, the aircraft you are talking about came in on Thursday and has been here preparing to take the president to South Africa for the Sadc Solidarity Conference on Western Sahara, scheduled for 25-26 March 2019 in Pretoria. So it had to take the president to Bulawayo since it was here already and it did so at the same charge that it had billed the state to take the president to South Africa. We booked the aircraft to be here until it brings back the president from the summit on Tuesday.

If you were going to check, the aircraft is currently at the tarmac of the domestic flights and it is cheaper than to hire the aircraft on the day when the president wants to fly out. Let me pre-empt you. I know you would want to ask why not use scheduled flights for the president. Here is the tricky issue. One, it is very risky to do that for both the president and the airline. In this case, we are talking of a national airline which has one aircraft to service all its routes. If the president was to use a scheduled flight, it means that all the luggage in that flight will be opened and subjected to search by our security system. This inconveniences the reputation of the airline and the passengers. Also the passengers themselves will have to be subjected to those security systems and this definitely will lead in some people leaving the airline and it loses business. Also when the president is flying, he would fly in the business class and no one will be allowed there. Just imagine you as a reporter you are supposed to fly to South Africa and you have bought your business class ticket and just because the president has joined the flight, you will have to move to the economy class and this will definitely lead to some people abandoning the airline. Remember the aviation business works on a patronage system and losing one customer is a big blow which no airline would risk. So we look at all those factors and if you are to look at the opportunity costs, you are bound to agree with us that hiring an aircraft for the president is much better than going through all those challenges.

Key to this, the scheduled flight will have to change its time to suit the president. This is dangerous for any airline. Talking about the Bulawayo trip and the idea that the president could have used a scheduled flight, it meant that he would need to divert the Harare-Johannesburg route to go via Bulawayo, do you think people were going to agree to that? So really let us be realistic when we discuss some of these issues.

XN: But surely the opportunity cost for taking an aircraft from Dubai for $200 000 to take the president to Bulawayo does not make sense?

GC: Well, on the figure that is the creation of the media. It is someone who created that figure in the newsroom and decided to make it real. I have said this, the aircraft has been here in preparation for the Monday trip to South Africa and the trip to Bulawayo did not matter at all. No extra charge whatsoever.

XN: So the president flew to Angola using the same aircraft, the one for the SA trip or he used our local Air Zimbabwe?

GC: The president went to Angola using a small aircraft, hence I am here, because of the nature of the visit. Let me hasten to say we are dealing with a man who is trying by all means to cut costs. Believe you me, this man is serious about cost-cutting. He is very serious to an extent that today he compromised his security. He trimmed down the delegation and opted to use a smaller aircraft so that it becomes cheap and affordable. Imagine, he went to Angola leaving behind even his press secretary and his security. Who does that? I have been in government for years and I know what I mean when I say he means business when it comes to cost-cutting. This is a touch-down touch-up situation.
XN: So the state had to hire another aircraft for the president which is smaller than the one we have?

GC: I think he used a small executive jet that has been availed by a well-wisher for use by the president in attending to the disaster that befell us. This jet could not be used to go to Mutare because of the state of our aerodrome, so now it has been used to fly to Angola.

XN: So you mean the Airbus from Dubai has been here for five or so days and we are paying for it while it is here? Does that make economic sense?

GC: If you were to talk to people in the aviation industry, you will realise that it would be cheaper to book an aircraft for long days because it comes with a discount. Also you have to understand that this business and its charges are determined by when you book, is it at its peak or not, so all those issues come into play. From the transport economics perspective, booking the aircraft here for days could be cheaper than making short-notice bookings.

XN: Would you mind sharing how much we are paying for its stay here?

GC: I don’t have the figures and I know the agenda you are pushing, it’s an assumption premised on wrong information. Let me tell you something. Airlines that are in the business of hiring out executive or VVIP aircraft are normally not busy. I know you want to say the aircraft has been here since Thursday to Tuesday and try to calculate the figure based on those assumptions you have been peddling that are false anyway. The issue you have to understand is that the aviation industry is very complicated. The charge is determined by the demand of the aircraft. If it is off-peak, definitely it would be cheaper and those who are in the business of engaging these airlines know that.

XN: So for how long are we going to be hiring private jets for the president, Cde Charamba?

GC: Until such a time we have a presidential jet or a functioning national airline with a fleet of aircraft. At the moment, our economy cannot sustain the purchase of a presidential jet. Imagine what would happen if the president decides to get a presidential jet. Definitely it would cause an uproar. So until such a time when our economy can sustain the purchase of a presidential jet or we have a national airline with many aircraft, we shall always resort to hiring of private jets. The idea to buy a presidential jet is part of our plans in the long to medium-term, but for now, our economy cannot allow us to do that.

XN: You have explained well on the presidential jet and why the state hires, how about the VPs (vice-presidents), why not use scheduled flights? We have seen them being flown using hired private planes, at whose cost?

GC: This is part of conditions of service for the top three. Even ministers, if their conditions of service stipulate that they should be airlifted whenever they need medical attention at the expense of the state, it must be done. Even top civil servants, if their benefits include airlifting, there is nothing that we can do to change that, it is in their contracts.

XN: I understand well on the need to airlift them when they are in need of medical attention, how about when they are travelling for government business, a trip which cannot be booked within time, why do they use private jets and still who foots the bill?

GC: Well, I don’t know that part, do you have an example when such a thing happened?

XN: When VP Chiwenga was travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo for the inauguration of the new president there, he took a private jet.

GC: As I said on the president issue, it comes down to circumstances. In this case, we do not have a direct flight to the DRC and if we were going to use scheduled flights, it meant that the VP was to fly to South Africa and connect from there. The security risks at play here are so huge and also the time factor. Again it meant that we were going to disturb the business class of the airline and this is something that has issues with many airlines. Look at the event he was attending, it was an inauguration, something to do with international relations. Remember as well, this inauguration was organised within a short period of time and the VP had to represent the country within that short time.

XN: So you are suggesting that when the VPs are going for scheduled trips they are supposed to use the normal system like ministers and others?

GC: Oh yes, that is the case.

XN: Lastly, when the president flew to Mutare and Chimanimani we saw a picture of a private helicopter delivering luxurious sofas to be used at the interface with victims of Cyclone Idai, what was the logic behind the act?

GC: (laughs) Did you verify that indeed that picture was from Zimbabwe? Did you verify that indeed the sofas were there in Chimanimani as is being alleged?

XN: There is a picture of a jet that supposedly delivered the sofas behind VP Chiwenga and from that point, one makes an easy conclusion thereof.

GC: You are a senior journalist and I expect better from you. Did you verify that indeed the picture you are referring to is authentic and the said act happened? Well, yes, we had a number of private jets that were there when the president visited Cyclone Idai victims, but let me say this: I was there too. At no point did we have a jet delivering the said sofas. The private jets that were there had no capacity to carry the said sofas. We had jets with a capacity to carry only four people. This is the reason we did not bother ourselves to respond to the lies peddled by people with ulterior motives.

XN: Thank you very much.

GC: Most welcome.

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Source: Mnangagwa keeps private jet on standby | The Standard (Local News)

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has hired a luxurious private jet for over a week despite growing concerns over his profligate spending, it has been revealed.

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba told The Standard in an exclusive interview yesterday that the Airbus A318-100, which flew seven hours and 16 minutes from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday to be in position in Harare before Mnangagwa’s flight to Bulawayo on Thursday, remained in the country ahead of another foreign trip by Mnangagwa to South Africa tomorrow.

“Then coming to the Bulawayo issue, the aircraft you are talking about came in on Thursday and has been here preparing to take the president to South Africa for the Sadc Solidarity Conference on Western Sahara, scheduled for 25-26 March 2019 in Pretoria,” Charamba said.

“We booked the aircraft to be here until it brings back the president from the summit on Tuesday. If you were going to check, the aircraft is currently at the tarmac of the domestic flights and it is cheaper to hire the aircraft for days than to hire it on the day when the president wants to fly out.”

Since he took over through a military-assisted process in 2017, Mnangagwa has projected himself as a simple leader who wants to cut costs, but instead he has often used hired private jets for most of his foreign trips.

Last week he had to use a hired jet for a local trip to Bulawayo where he met civil society members, raising questions on his sincerity to tackle public expenditure.

Charamba said his boss was committed to costcutting and his officials were feeling the pinch.

“Let me pre-empt you; I know you would want to ask why not use scheduled flights for the president. Here is the tricky issue. One, it is very risky to do that for both the president and the airline. In this case, we are talking of a national airline which has one aircraft to service all its routes. If the president was to use a scheduled flight, it means that all the luggage in that flight will be opened and subjected to search by our security systems,” he said.

‘This inconveniences the reputation of the airline and the passengers. Also the passengers themselves will have to be subjected to those security systems and this definitely will lead in some people leaving the airline and it loses business. Also when the president is flying, he would fly in the business class and no one will be allowed there.”

Charamba added: “Just imagine you as a reporter you are supposed to fly to South Africa and you have bought your business class ticket and just because the president has joined the flight, you will have to move to the economy class. This will definitely lead to some people abandoning the airline. Remember the aviation business works on a patronage system and losing one customer is a big blow, which no airline would risk.”

“So we look at all those factors and if you are to look at the opportunity cost, you are bound to agree with us that hiring an aircraft for the president is much better than going through all those challenges. Key to this, the scheduled flight will have to change its time to suit the president. This is dangerous for any airline. Talking about the Bulawayo trip and the idea that the president could have used a scheduled flight, it meant that he would need to divert the Harare-Johannesburg route to go via Bulawayo. Do you think people were going to agree to that? So really let us be realistic when we discuss some of these issues,” Charamba said.

The deputy chief secretary also defended the use of private jets by Vice-Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi and other senior government officials whenever they fall ill, saying it was part of their conditions of service.

“This is part of conditions of service for the top three. Even ministers, if their conditions of service stipulate that they should be airlifted whenever they need medical attention at the expense of the state, it must be done. Even top civil servants, if their benefits include airlifting, there is nothing that we can do to change that, it is in their contracts,” Charamba said.

He, however, said if it was not an emergency, VPs and ministers should use scheduled flights as long as that does not compromise their safety and the country’s international image.

The post Mnangagwa keeps private jet on standby appeared first on The Standard.

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Source: MDC congress preps on course | Daily News

PREPARATIONS for the MDC congress due in May are well on course with ward congresses being held countrywide this weekend.

This follows the completion of branch congresses.
MDC organising secretary Amos Chibaya told the Daily News on Sunday yesterday that the 20-year-old opposition party hopes to proceed to district congresses from March 29 to 31 – a process than would then lead into provincial congresses from April 7 to 16, starting with Matabeleland South Province.

Once the provincial congresses are concluded, the regional executives will then nominate candidates to positions in the national executive of the party, including those that will run for the presidency.

“The process so far has gone on peacefully and without incident. Notwithstanding misleading press reports of chaos, our congress is living true  to the democratic culture and character as encapsulated in chapter 4 of the MDC constitution,” said Chibaya.

“Our congress to be held on 24-26 May will be a festival of ideas. It will prioritise propositions and not positions. So far, the people across the country continue to elect leaders of their choice at various levels and our congress process is well on course”.
At the eagerly-anticipated congress, a new party leadership will be chosen.

It is the first congress to be held without MDC’s revered founding president, Morgan Tsvangirai, who died early last year after losing his valiant battle against cancer of the colon.

The party’s charismatic leader, Nelson Chamisa – who lost to President Emmerson Mnangagwa in last year’s historic elections — could face competition from either Elias Mudzuri or respected secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora at the gathering.

The congress preparations are dogged by allegations of structure manipulation by rival factions that are gunning for top positions within the country’s largest opposition party.

Intense jostling for positions ahead of the much-awaited congress is escalating, resulting in the ongoing MDC restructuring being mired in chaos.

The race for positions is getting hotter and bitterer by the day, amid damaging allegations that some senior MDC officials are creating dodgy structures along factional lines to further their interests.

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Source: Zim debt should be audited | Daily News

ZIMBABWE should not rush to pay its external debts until an official audit has been done to ascertain the validity of the arrears, a local pressure group has said.

The southern African country is reeling from a US$18 billion debt, with nearly US$9 billion being owed to external creditors, and government has committed to repay some of the loans to international lenders by the end of this year.

However, Janet Zhou, the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (Zimcodd) executive director, said there was need to establish the country’s total debt, which dates back to pre-independence days, and the reasons for borrowing before it is cleared.

“We are calling for an official debt audit so as to come up with a true picture of the debt stock and to know who is owed and how much is owed. The audit should consider all relevant legal, political and economic factors, which have led to the accumulation of illegitimate and odious debt in this country,” she said.

“The audit commission must also consider social and environmental damages to the local populations caused by debt. Debts which are found to be illegitimate must not be paid. Debts which are legitimate must be reimbursed,” she said.

The latest development also comes at a time Treasury has confirmed that it is undertaking an audit to ascertain the Zimbabwean government’s debt and will present the findings to Parliament soon.
Information gathered by The Daily News on Sunday shows that the country inherited at least a US$700 million debt from Rhodesia, which was accrued by the Ian Smith-led government when it was under international sanctions.

Economic analyst Francis Mukora said only US$2,5 billion of Zimbabwe’s debt, which emanated from construction work at Hwange Power Station in the 1990s as well as legacy issues from the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP), had traceable origins while the rest is odious.

Odious debts are defined as those debts incurred by the state which are not for the needs or interest of the state but merely to strengthen the state’s despotic power as well as to repress the population that fights against despotism.

“This money will be repaid by Zimbabwean citizens one way or another unless it is somehow written off. Basically, we and our children will pay it. If we have to pay back the loan with interest surely we ought to know why we are paying it and we ought to know what the terms of agreement for these loans were,” he said.
Mukora also indicated that there was also need to know the terms under which these loans were taken.

“If the money was not used for the purposes it was taken or if it was privatised, it must be recovered and used to pay back the debt. Only money that was genuinely taken and used for the designated purposes should be repaid by the people of Zimbabwe. It is criminal to divert such huge sums of money for whatever reason, and those seen to be doing this should be made accountable,” he added.

Meanwhile, Zhou said while her organisation was prepared to campaign for a debt cancellation, Zimbabwean citizens should rise up and refuse to pay back the loans until a full accounting of what the country is paying for and how much interest is accruing on those loans is given.

“As we take stock in terms of how we have gotten to where we are in terms of the debt question, let us be aware that government violated section 300 of the Constitution, which sets limits on state borrowings, public debt and state guarantees.

“Section 61(a-b) of the Public Finance Management Act, which stipulates that the aggregate amount that may be borrowed in any financial year shall not exceed 30 percent of the general government revenue in the previous year has always been violated,” she said.

Zhou noted that in 2018, government’s overdraft with the central bank stood at US$2,3 billion against the statutory limit of US$762,8 million as set by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act.

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Source: Open letter to the President | Daily News

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s admission that he is the one who authorised the deployment of soldiers to quell street protests on August 1, 2018 and in January this year was brave but leaves neutrals confused.

Following the July 30, 2018 elections, protests broke out in Harare on August 1 and at least six innocent civilians were killed.

This caused international uproar and drew worldwide criticism after the army used brutal force to deal with unarmed protesters — something Mnangagwa’s predecessor and long-time ruler Robert Mugabe had not done in the 37 years of his dictatorship.

Many were left asking who could have taken such a drastic decision with conspiracy theories pointing an accusing finger at retired army general and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.
And that line of thinking was buttressed when Mnangagwa appointed a Commission of Inquiry to probe the events of August 1, 2018 as he sought to mend the country’ battered world standing.

Another army deployment would be repeated in January this year following a Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions-backed stay-away, killing 16 people in cold blood. Again, Mnangagwa did not own up to the killings.

Then out of the blue, the president admits he knew everything and worse still gives a very plausible reason why that was done.
He further announces government is set to capacitate the police so they can be able to deal with demonstrations without the help of the army in the future.

But then, my question is; is it proper to break something so you can fix it? Why engage in all those costly processes when there is a clear way of solving a problem? Why did the Kgalema Motlanthe Commission chew scarce foreign currency when you could have just told the nation the truth?
Mnangagwa could have just explained himself clearly immediately after the shooting incidents and apologised to the nation and those affected for the excesses.

Probably, he wanted to find out who had called for the demonstrations because a lot of high-ranking MDC officials and civic leaders have already been arrested or convicted for inciting violence, especially after the January protests. Mr President, you cannot continue to live and do things the same way as the old dispensation and expect different results.

Just recently, it was revealed Mnangagwa was engaging a top United States public relations company to spruce up the country’s image — something I still do not agree with.

The solutions are right by your side, sir. I even hear murmurs from the corridors of power to the effect that re-engagement efforts with Washington and the removal of sanctions do not necessarily mean dancing according to the whims of the US.

Why then spend money on something that cannot be bought? One’s character cannot be changed by what people think — it is shaped by deeds. If you are a reformer, it will all be clear at some stage that you are indeed pushing the reform agenda.

No-one should be doing that for you. You have a chance of implementing reforms the way you like and you have the resources to create the kind of image that you want. Whatever government is doing must be seen to reflect the tenets of democracy and the aspirations of the Second Republic that you preach. Your supporters must start realising you are also human and can also make errors of judgment.

When you rose to power you clearly stated that you will listen to constructive criticism and in this case, I will kindly say “you got it all wrong, Mr President”.
In the wake of Cyclone Idai and your travelling to Dubai and reports you had to cut the trip short — one wonders, “why did you have to make the trip in the first place?”

And on your return, rush to install a ceremonial minister for Harare before acting on the devastating cyclone?
You have a busy schedule and it’s prudent that those around you arrange your undertakings in such a way that people are able to differentiate you from Mugabe.

You do not have to endear yourself with the West per-se, but the moment leaders align themselves with the masses and provide sound leadership — everything falls into place.
The austerity for prosperity gospel must be practised by you and your Cabinet such that we all have a feel of what it means to suffer for future benefits.

Foreign trips must be arranged in such a way they do not continue to bleed the already depleted State resources.
You clearly hold the aces, Mr President and you can easily make-or-break this nation.

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