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Meeting with Mr. Tsvangirai & ultimatum to RBZ on cash withdrawals
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
September 29, 2008

Meeting with Mr Tsvangirai:

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) General Council met with Mr Morgan Tsvangirai on Saturday 27 September 2008 seeking an explanation on the contentious issues on the agreement between the MDC and Zanu PF. The ZCTU had raised the following issues in the agreement:

That the agreement:

• Is a far cry from the ZCTU expectations and that it is an outcome of a flawed process.
• Is all about power sharing between Zanu PF and MDC, leaving out primary causes of the dispute which created the current political and economic impasse prevailing in the country.
• Was not all-inclusive as the civic society and other interest groups was not given an opportunity to participate. The exclusion of such critical sectors as labour, and the secretive manner in which issues were discussed, do not give credence to the deal.
• Creates a government that is in itself not a transitional government but a structure incorporating losers;
• Is not about the welfare of the ordinary people, but a political settlement by the elite;
• Is full of Zanu PF rhetoric, like that of sanctions and land, that are far divorced from reality;
• Does not provide power-sharing, rather it creates a ceremonial Prime Minister and an Executive President. It is the ZCTU contention that power involves making and implementing decisions, and this is all vested in the Executive President.
• Gives the Prime Minister a supervisory role of government business, and the Prime Minister is at the mercy of the President;
• Was a rushed document only meant for political accommodation of the MDC in an "inclusive" government;
• Is not clear on the issue of national healing and therefore it gives rise to a government of national impunity as expressly seen in the preamble that does not recognise the sacrifices made by Zimbabweans in their fight for democracy after independence in 1980, including the disturbances that took place in Matebeland prior to the Unity Accord of 1987 and the government sponsored Murambatsvina (clean up) of 2005 that left over 700 000 people homeless;
• Preserves and consolidates the power of the incumbent President, and that Zanu PF has veto power in all issues;
• Instead of reducing the number of Ministries to 15 as previously expressed, is an economic disaster for the country as it provides an octopus structure and a blotted government of more than 60 ministers and therefore does not help the ordinary people. In fact, the agreement creates a predatory State instead of a developmental state;
• Is silent on the issue of corruption
• Removes the concept of tripartism, relegating everything to the so-called National Economic Council, and also making political parties major players of the council.
• Makes a mockery of the Constitution making process by advocating for a Parliamentary Select Committee that will be responsible for the drafting of a new constitution. The ZCTU believes that this is a top bottom approach to Constitutional making process;
• Does not lead to a free and fair elections

After a briefing from Mr Tsvangirai, it was agreed there were some differences and some issues would be subject to further discussion. Mr Tsvangiari made it clear that this was not the best he hoped for, but a compromise agreement. In other words, the working methods of the new government is left to the behest of the President. It behoves to the MDC to prove that they will meet the people's expectations.

The General Council therefore resolved to maintain its earlier position that:

• The agreement is far cry from the ZCTU expectations as it is an outcome of a flawed process. From a labour point of view, the agreement is not acceptable. Any country must be governed by a democratically elected government and the current arrangement means that the people would be led by an unelected government for the next five years
• The ZCTU views the arrangement as a temporary structure that denies Zimbabweans the right to put in place a government through a democratic process which includes a people driven constitutional making process
• The ZCTU will view the "new government" structure as a temporary (stop gap) measure and will engage it as such, in all its dealings with this "government" in the absence of an elected government
• The ZCTU maintains its earlier position on the need for a Neutral Transitional Authority as the panacea to the current electoral dispute. However, if the present arrangement is to continue, it must be a transitional arrangement that will lead to a free and fair election under a new, people driven constitution

On ZCTU's ultimatum to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on cash withdrawals

As you might be aware The ZCTU General Council met on Saturday 20, September 2008 and gave the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) a seven day ultimatum to address the current deepening cash crisis affecting the generality of Zimbabwean workers.

This followed concerns that ordinary Zimbabweans, particularly workers, were finding it difficult to access their hard earned money from the bank.

Following moves by the RBZ to resolve the issue, the General Council noted the response by the Governor of the RBZ and that although it is not enough, it goes some way in alleviating the suffering of workers.

To this end, the Mass Action penciled for 1st of October has been deferred while we assess, in consultation with our structures, the impact of the RBZ move to increase the daily maximum withdrawal from $1 000 to $20 000.

The General council also expressed its dismay at the move by the RBZ to allow shops to sell products in forex as this will seriously affect the ordinary people who have no access to foreign currency. The ZCTU reserves the right to take action as it may deem necessary.

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