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Hot Seat interview with Arthur Mutambara: ZANU PF and MDC-T grandstanding on elections
Violet Gonda, SW Radio Africa
May 07, 2010

http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/hotseat110510.htm

Violet Gonda: My guest on the programme Hot Seat is Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who maintains Zimbabwe is not ready for elections in 2011. He is being accused of trying to prolong his stay in government after he contradicted statements by both ZANU PF and MDC-T, who insist elections should be held next year. First Professor Mutambara talks about the death of four of his colleagues in the MDC-M, including Secretary for Lands and deputy spokesperson Renson Gasela, who were killed recently in a road accident, tragic deaths that have further exposed the conditions of our roads and the breakdown of the rule of law in Zimbabwe .

Arthur Mutambara: You know the death of Gasela was a major loss to our party and to the country. Gasela was such a person who was so talented in his field of agriculture. He was such a unifier who was respected across the political divide, ZANU PF, MDC-T and our party were all very respectful of Gasela, that is the nature of the person of Gasela. In terms of his skills, even in Cabinet, although he was not a member of Cabinet, our discussions on agriculture, and our discussions on the drought were influenced by Gasela's thinking and Gasela's wisdom. For example there's an idea he's been pushing for a two-year budget plan for agriculture, where you plan for two years, you raise your resources and inputs for two years so that you have a two-year roll over budget for agriculture. It was a Gasela idea I took to Cabinet and which Made, the Minister for Agriculture is going to use. That was the nature of the influence and ability of Gasela. It was a major loss to us as a Party, a major loss to the country. And also as you know we lost another two people Lyson Mlambo and Mai Gumbo so it was a major disaster but we soldier on and say rest in peace Gasela, rest in peace Gumbo, and rest in peace Mlambo. We should continue with the struggle to unite the people of Zimbabwe , we must continue with the struggle to bring about an economic dispensation that improves the quality of the lives of the people of Zimbabwe . That is what Gasela would have wanted and that is what we are going to continue to push for in our country.

Gonda: Many people we have talked to have also said that Mr Gasela was respected across the party divide and going with what you have just said just now that we must continue the struggle to unite the people of Zimbabwe, many have also been saying that judging from what they saw at the funerals of Gasela and others that, most of your supporters, even from the Tsvangirai led MDC, they attended these funerals and some people are saying isn't it time that the two MDC formations joined forces and reunited because they feel that together you've got a stronger chance of bringing about a democratic Zimbabwe? How do you respond to those people?

Mutambara: We can be united without being uniform; we can be united without belonging to one political party. Multiple political parties create competition, multiple political parties create innovation and thinking, so we must work together on the common objectives, we must work together to bring about a new Zimbabwe and in doing so we can be united without being uniform so there is a case for the different political parties to exist in our country but we can always close ranks and work together towards a common objective. ZAPU and ZANU were two separate political parties in the '70s but they fought together and got 1980 as a result jointly so there's nothing that says for change to come it can only come from one political party or one political formation. But however having said that, we are open to dialogue, we are open to discussions to say what is the best way of emancipating the people of Zimbabwe, what is the best way of bringing democracy to Zimbabwe, what is the best way of creating an economic environment where the conditions of our people are improved? So we continue to talk with our colleagues from the MDC-T, we are working together very well in the inclusive government; we are going to continue on the journey in which Gasela was a big and very successful soldier.

Gonda: And talking about improving the conditions for the people in Zimbabwe, I spoke to your colleague Education Minister David Coltart last week about Mr Gasela's tragic accident and he basically said that it shows the breakdown of the rule of law on roads, where someone has had a vehicle break down without lights and have not bothered to put warning triangles or other warning signals. And many observers say that there are people driving with no licenses in Zimbabwe and because of a destroyed economy, drivers don't have money to maintain their vehicles and the police are not enforcing traffic regulations and the roads are also bad. Now as the Deputy Prime Minister, what can you say about the situations on the roads where many, many people have died in recent months?

Mutambara: We need a broader and holistic approach to this challenge. We need a broader and sophisticated analysis. One of the major things we must do as a country is to come up with what we call an Accident Mitigation Strategy; what are the major causes of accidents on our roads? Let us understand those causes. What can we do to minimise the occurrence of accidents on our roads? We need to do this and establish a National Accident Mitigation Strategy, that's number one effort we need to do. The second one has to be; what is the accident response mechanism in our country? In most of these accidents you find the police take three hours, five hours to respond, the Fire Brigade three hours, five hours to respond, what is their argument? We have no petrol, we've got no diesel, we can't move. Why can't we as a nation put in resources, put in analysis, put in a strategy that says in the event of an accident occurring on our roads, what is the response? How do we respond? How do we capacitate the police so that they can react in ten minutes, in five minutes? How do we capacitate the Fire Brigade to make sure they do respond timeously to an accident? But the major project is the first one, an Accident Mitigation Strategy that does a thorough analysis of the causes of these accidents and then say how do we minimise, how do we eliminate, how do we make sure that the occurrences are minimised and we must carry out these two projects as a government and make sure that we reduce the occurrence of these problems on our roads.

Gonda: How seriously are you as government taking this issue? Why hasn't there been an Accident Mitigation Strategy by now with all the accidents that we've seen in Zimbabwe ?

Mutambara: I think that has been an oversight on our part and what I'm committing myself to as Deputy Prime Minister is to work with the Minister of Transport and the entire Cabinet to see how we can put into place these two systems, the Mitigation Plan and the Response Mechanisms. So that we can never completely eliminate accidents but we can minimise their occurrences, we can minimise the impact of the accident, because it's one thing to have an accident but another thing when people die from the accident. If there was an effective response system in our country, most of the people are dying on our roads could have been saved, but we are going to work on it and we shall overcome.

Gonda: When Professor, because people who are listening to this interview will be shocked to know that you are only thinking about it now. Why hasn't this been happening before?

Mutambara: Well you know it's been talked about as you know there's a gap between idea and implementation, there's a gap between an idea and execution. Some of these ideas have been thought about, plans have been worked out but there has been a gap towards execution. So what we intend to do now is to close that gap and say let us walk the talk, let us have an implementation matrix so that these ideas, these philosophies are put into action. And what we are going to do is refine the ideas, refine the strategies and execute.

Gonda: Moving on to a different issue, you were quoted last week reiterating your position that there won't be elections next year, in 2011, and this is in complete contrast to what your partners in government, ZANU PF and the Tsvangirai-led MDC are saying because they have come out saying there will be elections held next year. So what exactly is your position?

Mutambara: Let me start by saying that our party is prepared for elections whenever they are called. If they are called this year, if they are called next year, we are working very hard as a party to be ready. "Zvinonzi garai makagadzirira hamuzivi musi nenguva". That is our philosophy. Having said that we are being very practical and realistic in analysing the possibility of an election for next year. The message for Zimbabwe, the message for political parties is very simple: "Musakanganwe chezuro nehope". We are in the inclusive government because we had problems with our election in 2008. We had inconclusive elections, to be polite and so we were forced into this arrangement because the results of the elections were challenged by the loser, so the key mandate of the inclusive government is the creation of conditions for free and fair elections. So the debate in Zimbabwe should never be, when is the next election?, that is the wrong question. The question in Zimbabwe should be, what is the calibre and quality of our next election?, that is the conversation we must have and when you do that conversation you realise that it is not possible by next year to have a new constitution adopted and have that constitution having taken root in our society. It is difficult to achieve national healing and carry out the media reforms we want to do, the electoral reforms, the political reforms, the economic reforms won't be fully completed by next year. So we are saying that it is prudent and important for us to ensure that we work very hard collectively to create conditions for free and fair elections.

Now, when ZANU PF says they want elections next year, they're grandstanding because in any case, if you look at the polls that are out there, they will never win a free and fair election, so what election do they want next year? So we get very curious when people from ZANU are grandstanding on an election. On the Tsvangirai side, they say they want an election next year and they put a caveat, but we want peacekeeping forces. Now either you are ready for elections or you are not and the Americans responded very interestingly, they said that is a very foolish idea, there'll be no peacekeepers coming to Zimbabwe , and I quote. Now here is the position we are putting across, there'll be no peacekeepers coming from the UN, there'll be no peacekeepers coming from the AU, there'll be no peacekeepers coming from SADC, there'll be no peacekeepers coming from South Africa, the only peacekeepers we are going to have in our election are ourselves as the people of Zimbabwe. The peacekeepers we are going to have in this country are the new constitution, national healing, media reforms, electoral reforms, political reforms and economic reforms. If you carry out those six things in the country, those are the peacekeepers that will allow our free and fair elections to take place.

So when Tsvangirai and MDC-T grandstand about the elections next year and have this caveat of saying, we want peacekeepers, it clearly shows that they are not ready, they know the conditions next year will not allow for a free and fair election.

So what we are simply saying is, if you force an election on the country next year, you are having an election under June 27 2008 conditions and you know what that means to our people. And also when you talk elections, when you are in an election mode, you undermine the work towards a new constitution, you undermine the work towards national healing, and you undermine the work towards electoral reform. Why would people work on a constitution together when they are already campaigning? Why would people concentrate on national healing when they are already campaigning? How can people work together on electoral reforms when they are in election mode? So we are saying the election talk is undermining the work towards a new constitution, the election talk is undermining the work towards national healing. We must work on that mandate for creating conditions for free and fair elections. So all we are saying, for all intents and purposes we don't see the conditions being achieved by next year. Let us do the work that is required to ensure that we can have an election where the losers of the elections, accept the results and the democratic government which will then be formed after a free and fair election.

Gonda: The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, ZESN, says that this new government, your government, has made no efforts to improve electoral conditions and many observers say that what you are saying is all talk and no action. How do you respond to this?

Mutambara: In fact the ZESN agree with me; they are saying that not enough work has been done by government to guarantee a free and fair election and that is exactly my story. We've got to do more work to make sure that constitution is adopted and that constitution takes root in our country.

Gonda: But Professor, that's the question that people are asking, why is it government is doing nothing right now, you've been in place for more than a year now, why is there no action?

Mutambara: The word 'nothing' I think is too strong a word. The issue is government is slow, the government is sluggish, government must do more and that is why I'm saying my partners in government must stop this nonsensical talk of elections and do reparation of the terrain, they must talk about the constitution, they must talk about national healing, they must talk about electoral reforms, making sure that the election in Zimbabwe, the Electoral Commission is in action. The Zimbabwe Media Commission is in action, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission is in action, that is what we should be concentrating on as opposed to pontificating about possible elections next year. So the word nothing is too strong, a fair statement is that we are slow, we are sluggish, and we are not focused. And I'm trying to get everyone in government focused on the mandate of this inclusive government which is the mandate to create conditions for free and fair elections. So that's what I said earlier on, the question in Zimbabwe is not when are the next elections, the question in Zimbabwe should be what is the calibre, what is the quality of the next elections. Remember in 2000 there was an election and we were robbed, there was an election in '02, the people of Zimbabwe were robbed, in '08 there was an election, and the people were robbed. So the issue is not, when is the next election, the issue is what is the calibre, what is the quality of the next election. We must concentrate on the agenda of the conditions so that we can achieve this by working together. When we talk elections next year, we are getting our people agitated and our people become mobilised against each other and you can't carry out the constitution making process properly, you can't do national healing and you can't make much progress.

Gonda: When you say the people are not focused, where is the focus of the people in government right now?

Mutambara: Well we sometimes bicker unnecessarily; sometimes we concentrate on issues that are peripheral to the core mandate of the inclusive government. So we hope that everyone in the inclusive government will concentrate on the reforms of the economy, reforms of the politics, and reforms of our society. We are slow, we are sluggish but I'm sure we will get this work done if we put national interest before self-interest. And I must say that the inclusive government is the only show in town and slowly but surely everyone is now realising the importance of making it a successful framework in our country.

Gonda: The Zimbabwe Vigil in the UK says that you want the elections delayed and not held next year because you are unelected and want to maintain your position. How would you respond to them?

Mutambara: We dismiss that with the contempt that it deserves. That is a nonsensical position by ignorant people. As I said at the beginning our party is ready for elections whenever they are called but we are also realistic and practical in saying, remember the mandate of the inclusive government, remember why the inclusive government was formed in the first place. It was because of an inconclusive election, it was because of an election whose results were challenged, so before we go into the next elections we must make sure that we have created conditions under which the elections will be held and the losers won't challenge the outcome. The losers will congratulate the winners and the winners will form a legitimate and democratic government in our country. So it's not about what we want as a party, it's about what the people want in the country. The people of Zimbabwe , also another dimension, they would want to see an improvement of the conditions in the country because when you have violence in the elections it is ordinary people who are killed and vandalised so the people would want to make sure they are protected, they also want to see improvements in the economy. So we are not speaking because of our fear of an election, we are speaking because we are cognisant of the motivation and history behind the inclusive government and we are driven by the national interest. Even if we do not win in those elections, all we want those elections is that they are free and fair and the winners form a legitimate and democratic government.

It's also folly and foolish to say you are ready for an election next year and then you talk about peacekeepers when you know they're not coming. So all we are saying is let us work on our peacekeepers so that when we have our elections they are reasonably free and fair.

Gonda: So Professor, when you talk about no peacekeepers coming from outside the country, does this also include no observers, international observers and have you actually discussed this as government, about the peacekeepers?

Mutambara: What we are emphasising is that, you know that if there are no reforms in the country, if there's no new constitution in the country, if there's no national healing in the country and you force an election in the country it will be an election under a ZANU PF hegemony, which ZANU PF hegemony will not allow peacekeepers to come into the country and in any case, the Americans responded, an American observer said no, no, the Prime Minister is getting excited and unreasonable, there'll be no peacekeepers. The Americans themselves said that, it's not practical, it's not realistic. So we want to emphasise that you know our country, the election in 2000, in '02, in '05, in '08 there were no peacekeepers, what makes you think that you can now have peacekeepers in '08 without reforms? So what we are trying to say is let's stop the grandstanding and the pretence and say let's work together on the mandate of the inclusive government and create our own peacekeepers which are much more realistic and much more within our ambit, within our control which is a national constitution which is adopted and allowed to take root in our country, national healing which is successful and effective, media reforms where we have two new newspapers that are independent, three TV stations, five radio stations, five peacekeepers who will allow for free and fair elections. The Electoral Commission which has been formed, chaired by Mutambanengwe must carry out the reforms that are tangible and on the ground. The Human Rights Commission under Reg Austin must do its work and fix the terrain around human rights. The Anti-Corruption Commission which we are going to launch very soon must do its work. The political reforms, the economic reforms must take place and take root in our society. These are the conditions that will allow for free and fair elections.

That is why we are saying let us do the work first and also remember once we start saying elections next year, how do you expect people to do national healing? Why would people participate in national healing when they are going to an election next year? How do people cooperate and work on the constitution together when they are in election mode. Electioneering and election grandstanding damages reform agenda and undermines our progress towards the creation of conditions for free and fair elections. As a party, we are prepared for elections if they are done tomorrow, we are building our structures, we are ready for the election anytime but we are saying it is folly and foolish for the opposition to be agitating for an election which they are not ready for. Ready means there are no reforms and when Tsvangirai says he wants peacekeepers at the elections, he is saying to you, I am not ready but he's grandstanding when he says he is ready for elections next year. Let us all work together and reform our terrain. The reason we are in the inclusive government is because the elections in '08 were fraudulent, were problematic, and were challenged by the losers. If we rush into another one, we are repeating the cycle within our country.

Gonda: Now Professor, critics of the power sharing government actually say that this is an unelected government and does not reflect the will of the people. You have actually said in this interview that both ZANU PF and the MDC led by Tsvangirai are not ready for elections and are merely grandstanding when they say that they want elections next year. You have also said that the government is slow and sluggish which critics will say this shows that it's not in the best interests of those in government to hold elections as soon as possible. There is still 94% unemployment, there's no electricity in the country, there's no water, and people want change. You have groups like ZCTU and WOZA saying that there is no national healing in the eyes of Zimbabweans, and it's well documented that there are problems with the constitution making process, so how long will it take to have the necessary reforms and hold elections?

Mutambara: There is nothing you have said that is new. There is nothing that those experts have said that is original. All these matters we are aware of. All these matters we were aware of them when we created the inclusive government. The inclusive government, the Global Political Agreement was a major compromise, a flawed arrangement but however unfortunately for us, it is the only solution, the only alternative we have in the country in the short run. Yes it's unelected, yes it's undemocratic, that's why we want to make sure the next election has integrity, the next election is free and fair so that the government in Zimbabwe is formed by elected people who are legitimate not an arrangement like we do have in the country . . .

Gonda: Yes but Professor, the question is how long . . .

Mutambara: . . . listen I'll answer that later, let us work together to create conditions to make sure that next time around we are not forced to negotiate power, we are not forced to come up with an arrangement which is undemocratic. How long? There's an upper limit, this inclusive government cannot go beyond 2013, it is unconstitutional, the parliament elected in 2008 and in 2013, the Presidency which is contested as in 2013, the upper limit, the upper outward limit is 2013 but we can be able to fix the terrain, do the work maybe in 2012, maybe even in 2011 but emphasis should be, not when is next election? The emphasis should be what is the calibre and quality of our next election? We must work very fast, we are very slow, we are very sluggish. If we work very hard, maybe by the end of 2012 but whatever happens we can't go beyond 2013. But all the problems you are talking about we are aware of this.

We had a very interesting session in Tanzania with President Mugabe, Tsvangirai and myself on the platform and the business community and investors and we showcased, that look we have problems in the country but we are determined to solve them. We explained that we are determined to own our problems and not scapegoat or accuse foreigners, we are prepared to work towards a fully and complete implementation of the GPA and work on the economy. Coalition governments Violet, were never meant to be. Look at England right now, the markets are in tatters, the markets are jittering now because of a possibility of a hung parliament. A hung parliament will mean for example the Labour, the Conservative party, and the Lib Dems are in the same government. They are worried because such a government is slow and sluggish. Can you imagine ours, our coalition government involve people who were killing and jailing each other two years ago. Two years ago this time, I was coming out of jail in Harare to go the World Economic Forum; Morgan Tsvangirai was running away from a problematic run-off and hiding in the Dutch Embassy; Tendai Biti had treason trials around his neck. Today Tendai Biti is Minister of Finance, Morgan Tsvangirai is Prime Minister, I'm Deputy Prime Minister. This is the context in which you must appraise the performance or lack of it of the inclusive government. We have made mistakes, we have had failures in the inclusive government, we are determined to solve and address our failures.

Gonda: The Research and Advocacy Unit in Zimbabwe says, as you have also said that there has been little compliance with fundamental aspects of the GPA relating to democracy and the rule of law but it went further to say that the GPA is honoured more by the breech than observance and that the current stalemate will persist until new national elections take place and it says it is not possible to set any certain timescale for elections but it is most likely that the timing for elections will be decided by ZANU PF unilaterally at a moment most suitable to itself. Do you think this is going to be a ZANU PF call - when elections should be held?

Mutambara: The decision as to when the elections are going to happen will be a collective decision of the three political parties, a collective decision of parliament. The GPA says go and craft a new constitution, go through a referendum, adopt the constitution in parliament and then sit down as the leadership, as three parties and decide whether the conditions in the country allow for free and fair elections and this is why I'm saying to you, if you follow that process we are going to come to a situation whereby we must address whether those six items I described to you are done. If they are not done and we are still within 2013, we must do more work to make sure we create the conditions for free and fair elections. It won't be a ZANU PF decision, it will be an inclusive government decision, it will be a decision of parliament. When we have a violent election it's not the leaders who die, its ordinary people who get their heads chopped, and its ordinary people who get killed in the rural areas. The people of Zimbabwe are sick and tired of violence and fraudulent elections. What they want is a free and fair election and the least we can do as leaders is to create conditions for that to happen.

Gonda: So how are you as the two MDC formations addressing the problem of being junior partners in this coalition government because many feel that you are allowing ZANU PF to make unilateral decisions in government?

Mutambara: It's tough Violet, it's very tough. Remember what we say, this was a compromise agreement, this is why it took two years from 2007 before the elections to after the elections to negotiate this arrangement. It was a flawed arrangement; it was biased against us, the former opposition. It was not a walk in the park but after negotiations, after pressure from SADC, from the AU, from the South Africans, after pressures from the national interest we went into a compromise arrangement and in that compromise arrangement, there are areas where ZANU PF have more influence than us, there are areas where ZANU PF can do things without consultation. It's a war, it's a war of attrition. In a coalition government such as ours, we are fighting every day on every issue, we are slow, we are sluggish, we seek to do better. What I can say to you is, for our own different reasons, we are determined to make it a success. That's why I wish you were here in Dar es Salaam where we had a platform with the three leaders and we spoke to the investors with one voice, we spoke to the people of the world with one voice and we are determined to work hard to improve on our performance and be able to deliver on the promises of the Global Political Agreement, deliver on the promises of the inclusive government. It was never meant to be easy but we will try our best.

Gonda: And the status of the talks?

Mutambara: Well where we are now Violet, we got the report as the principals from our negotiators, they have their agreement now as negotiators, the principals are now studying the document. Once we get back from Dar es Salaam to Harare we will sit down as three principals and endorse those areas where there is agreement amongst our negotiators, agree on an implementation matrix, when is it going to be done, who is going to do it, milestones and measures, what has been agreed is going to be put into action by the three principals. Where there's disagreement, we are going to find a way of engaging each other to see whether we can find each other and find answers. If we fail to find answers on the issues that are in disagreement, we have to agree on a process of resolution, a mechanism of resolving those areas and that is what we are going to do when we get back to Harare.

Gonda: But as one of the principals, can you at least tell Zimbabweans what you have agreed upon and the critical outstanding issues?

Mutambara: Yah I would love to do that Violet, but remember we are trying to protect the integrity of the process. What I can simply say is that the majority of matters have been agreed upon, what is remaining is operationalising those areas. Some areas of disagreement are still there and we need to find a way of unlocking them, the three of us, where we fail we agree on a mechanism of resolution. I can't go into the details of the matters at the moment but we are going to publish the report from the negotiators officially, we are going to publish our views and our positions when we meet as the three principals.

But we are determined to resolve this matter and by the way, these so-called outstanding matters are not government breaking matters. We have agreed on the critical matters. For example, we have spent a long time talking about elections; the creation of conditions for free and fair elections does not depend on Roy Bennett. If Roy Bennett becomes Deputy Minister for Agriculture, how does that make the next election free and fair? If Tomana is to leave office today, how does that make the election next time free and fair? If Gono was to leave office tomorrow, how does that create conditions for free and fair elections?

I'm emphasising that, Zimbabweans, we have areas of disagreement; Zimbabweans, we have outstanding issues. We are concerned about them, we are going to solve them but at the same time, please pay attention to the areas of agreement, please pay attention to the areas that will help us create conditions for a free and fair election. We have done the Commissions, we are working on the constitution, we are working on national healing, we are working on the economy, these are areas of agreement. Let us emphasise areas of agreement and de-emphasise areas of contention and disagreement.

Gonda: But Professor this is my point exactly, it's very difficult for Zimbabweans to concentrate on areas of agreement because they don't know what you have agreed on in government. One minute you hear that the MDC does not agree with the indigenisation regulations, then the next minute you hear ZANU PF saying 'we are going ahead with the indigenisation policy', so that's just an example.

Mutambara: Don't mix issues, don't mix issues, don't mix issues, don't mix issues. I'll come to the issue you've just raised. I was speaking of the GPA, it's a question of time, we're back in Harare next week, we'll announce the report from the negotiators, we'll announce areas of agreement, we'll announce areas of disagreement, we'll announce mechanism of resolution. Coming to indigenisation, there is no disagreement in government, we've been very poor managers, we've been very poor PR persons, we've done poor packaging, poor branding of this subject. We are on the same page in Cabinet. We have had our debates. The Minister responsible is Minister Kasukuwere; he's the only official spokesperson of the government on this subject. When he speaks he must speak the collective message of the government and the collective message of the government is this one, we have come up with changes to the original instrument and guidelines presented to the media. We are going to adopt the changes and we are going to announce them to the world and we are going to work better on managing and packaging this policy. Economic empowerment is not new, it is done in India, it is done in America, it is done in South Africa.

What we've done is a problem of timing, it has come at a point when we are trying to attract investors, it is come at a time when we are coming out of ten years of stagnation of our economy, so there's a timing problem, there's a packaging issue but as the government, there is no disquiet, we've been poor communicators and we have managed it now, we now insisting on one spokesperson but that spokesperson should speak the collective message of Cabinet.

And we apologise for the poor communication in the past, but today, the three of us in Dar es Salaam were able to speak from the same page and we are going to try and do the same back home in Zimbabwe and beyond that. And also as Zimbabweans, we are saying let us be open minded, let us look at the Act itself, is the Act a good law or a ad law? If it is a bad law, let us have the changes, and we go through the process of changing the Act. If the instrument and the guidelines are flawed, let's look at the changes and suggestions and come up with better guidelines and better instruments but more significantly, let us be clever about this, let us manage it better, let us market it better, let us package it better because our major problem right now has been the poor communication around the subject, the politicisation of the subject. We must rise above partisan aspirations and think about economic empowerment in a rational, logical and economic manner.

Gonda: And as government what is the status of wages for State workers because one minute we hear Finance Minister saying they have been frozen and then the next minute the Prime Minister is reported saying that there are no wage freezes? So what is happening as far as government is concerned on this issue?

Mutambara: That is another example where we say guilty as charged. We are poor communicators, we are sending conflicting messages, there's no message discipline, we must get our act right, so what I'll do is I will not add petrol to the fire, I'll simply say when we get back home, we're going to sit down in Cabinet, harmonise ourselves and make sure we communicate the same message to our people. It is one of those areas where we have growing pains, where we don't seem to have mastered the notion of message discipline, the notion of effective communication. So all I can say to you is that we are going to address that matter in Cabinet and be able to communicate one message. For example we can have a press conference where the Prime Minister is there, the Minister of Finance is there and they say the same thing. This is how we are going to manage this little misunderstanding.

Gonda: Professor Arthur Mutambara thank you very much for participating on the programme Hot Seat.

Mutambara: Thank you very much Violet.

Feedback can be sent to violet@swradioafrica.com

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