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Newly-inaugurated Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has pledged to pay health workers, teachers, soldiers, police officers and civil service professionals in foreign currency from the end of this month. In return, he has asked that schools be re-opened and civil servants return to their desks by next Monday.
In the text of his inaugural address, released by his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) after he was sworn in on Wednesday, Tsvangirai said his top priorities were:
- establishing democracy in Zimbabwe,
- curbing the cholera outbreak and delivering food aid on a non-partisan basis; and
- ebuilding the economy.
But he said that to deal with the country’s humanitarian crisis, the new unity government had first to address the plight of civil servants.
“Our public service has ground to a halt as many of our patriotic government employees can no longer afford to eat, let alone pay for transport to their place of work,” he said. “Hard currency salaries will enable people to go to work, to feed their families and to survive until such time that we can begin to sustain ourselves as a country.”
Tsvangirai also said the unity government would scrap duties on food imports, introduce incentives to rebuild the local food industry and move towards restoring self-sufficiency in food production.
He addressed concerns among his supporters at the continued detention of opposition activists by saying that “while I will not interfere in the judicial process, I will make it a priority to ensure that the law is upheld and that the justice system deals with their cases in a fair, equitable and transparent manner in the shortest possible time frame…”
He promised to observe “a clear distinction between the party and the state” and appealed to supporters of both the MDC and President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF “to recognize the legitimacy and contribution of the other party to our nation's history and… future and work together to restore our pride in our people and our country.” He cautioned that it would take “time, commitment and unity of purpose” to rebuild the country.
Read the full text: Inauguration Speech of the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
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This is progress, but at a price. Tsvangirai is taking a huge risk by joining with Mugabe, but if it brings a better life to the people in the long run, it will be worth it.
I am a humble observer, and my satire piece basically says that Mugabe hasn't really changed and can't be trusted, but the MDC have suffered and will continue to suffer until he is gone. In the meantime they are very brave to have continued their struggle:
http://thestupidtimes.blogspot.com/2009/02/tsvangirai-broken-in-as-zimbabwe s-pm.html
It's simple, pay the doctors, teachers and civil servants in foreign currency but do not pay the soldiers, CIO/JOC operatives and police in foreign currency!
MDC-T has NO responsibility to find foreign currency for Ministries it does not control! Let ZANU-PF/Mugabe cannibalize their own foreign currency holdings to protect themselves!
ZANU-PF/Mugabe sought to relegate MDC-T to inferior "partner" status by designating the "important" Ministries to themselves! Let them search for foreign currency on their own! Let's see where this foreign currency comes from! Will SA give ZANU-PF/Mugabe the foreign currency to buy the loyalty of the armed forces of Green Bombers?
Ministries MDC-T has no control over should look to their ZANU-PF/Mugabe benefactors to pay them in foreign currency! Now that Biti is the Finance Minister, how long do you think Mugabe and his cronies will continue to be able to raid the treasury? How long will Comrade Gono continue to print worthless money when everyone is dealing in Dollars and Rand?
How will the judiciary react now that their "rulings" are subject to review from the very people they were told by ZANU-PF/Mugabe to incarcerate? Where did the plasma TVs and SUVs come from, who paid for them? Are the judges financially beholden to ZANU-PF/Mugabe? All of this will come out in the end.........
When Biti finishes his forensic audit of the treasury, the WORLD will know how ZANU-PF/Mugabe has raped the people of ZImbabwe!
MDC-T agreed to join a Government where they were not given executive authority despite the vote of the people! They should force ZANU-PF to look after their own Ministries - where will the money come from?
I hope such "financing" becomes a public record............
Julhman, I still think you would be a much better president than Bob. You speak with total fairness and integrity May God bless you.
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Tak. Never ever ever and I mean never, call me stupid. When you call me that you call God that and you call judgement on yourself. And by the way, I'm a zimbo through and through. I was born in Zim and live in Zim and Zim lives in me.
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