Published by the government of Zimbabwe
6 December 2008
editorial
Harare — THE progressive review of cash withdrawal limits effected by the Reserve Bank this week in the wake of the cordial meeting held with the ZCTU leadership should teach us all the merits of dialogue over confrontation.
ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo, secretary-general Wellington Chibebe and deputy secretary general Gideon Shoko met RBZ Governor Dr Gideon Gono last week to discuss problems facing workers.
It is important to note that the ZCTU leaders engaged the central bank after the stayaway they had called to press for the removal of cash withdrawal limits flopped.
But when they opted for dialogue, the labour leaders ended up exchanging ideas and proposals that culminated in the progressive cash reviews made this week.
The cash withdrawal limit was hiked from a paltry $500 000 a day to $100 million a week, and will be reviewed to $500 million next Friday. From December 19, in time for the festive season, workers will be allowed to withdraw $10 billion a week upon production of their pay slip.
And as of January 12, the time many workers will be reeling from "the January disease" -- that is the effects of overspending during the festive season -- they will be allowed to withdraw their full net salaries.
The ZCTU leaders would never have got such reviews from the streets.
To this end, we urge all other sectors of society to commit to dialogue over confrontation.
The enormity of the challenges to be overcome requires collective efforts even among belligerents, for even though we may have different viewpoints, it is only through dialogue that we can identify the supreme view which can be translated into policy for the betterment of the nation.
To this end we, urge the ZCTU leaders to foster that spirit of engagement and resuscitate the Tripartite Negotiating Forum, which has been the missing link in the ongoing spirit of national engagement.
We feel duty-bound to counsel our brothers and sisters in the National Constitutional Assembly to follow the lead set by the ZCTU instead of engaging in senseless demonstrations that serve no other purpose.
The NCA has never held a successful demonstration in its 10 years of existence and should now give a chance to constructive dialogue with the organisations mandated to tackle such matters, the three parliamentary parties that are set to tackle the issue in Parliament.
The issue of a new Constitution is covered in the broad-based agreement signed between Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations on September 15, and a working paper, the Kariba Draft, which came as an annexture to the agreement, already exists.
The NCA can put forward its proposals for consideration.
But the NCA leaders must know that it is the three parliamentary parties that, just like the ZCTU, have legitimate, identifiable constituents, which should drive the process.
We also take this opportunity to urge MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai to end needless posturing and buy into the process leading to the envisaged inclusive Government.
The problems confronting the nation cannot be resolved by needless globetrotting or pontificating in Western capitals; they can only be solved if we all sit together as Zimbabweans. Once again, we stress the importance of using the institutional forums at our disposal to debate, dialogue and solve our problems as Zimbabweans.
No one else can do this for us, neither the US, UK, Botswana nor the UN can bring this consensus, for these outsiders have their own agendas at variance with our national question.
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No one else can do this for us, neither the US, UK, Botswana nor the UN can bring this consensus, for these outsiders have their own agendas at variance with our national question. BUT as failures with a failed government we now need the input of other countries. Botswana is part of an African solution as Mugabe once said. In any case without the other countries you mention which we rely on their currencies for trade, Zillions in RBZ are hopeless so we need those countries. That is a simple prerequisite for our survival in this global village. Mugabe mourns… [Read Full Text]