PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday delivered a speech in Harare at a special Council of Ministers to adopt the 2012 Government Work Programme (GWP), saying key priorities for the current administration remain the need to promote economic growth and ensure food security.

Constantine Chimakure

ATTORNEY-General Johannes Tomana last week made startling pronouncements that once again give credence to questions about his professionalism and competence as the country’s chief law officer.

Itai Masuku

ONCE again the issue of energy has taken its rightful place in terms of public debate. At the Independent Dialogue Series held in the capital yesterday, a volley of questions were fired at Energy minister Elton Mangoma on where the country is in terms of electrical power generation.

RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono this week gave several local banks failing to meet their minimum capital requirements effectively two months to comply or face closure.

Constantine Chimakure

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF have been on a campaign to stampede the country into an election this year despite dismally failing to fulfil the Global Political Agreement they voluntarily signed in 2008.

Itai Masuku

IN his monetary statement this week, Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono outlined a number of measures that the central bank would undertake in order to manage or contain risk in the financial sector. One couldn’t agree with him more.

THAT Zimbabwean companies are struggling owing to tight liquidity conditions in the country has been evident on the market since the adoption of multi currencies three years ago. A quick glance at public companies’ financial statements shows how they have been forced to accept expensive short-term borrowings. Earnings are eroded by finance charges; Rio Zim, RTG, Cairns etc. The list is long.

Constantine Chimakure

ZANU PF never ceases to amaze! At its politburo meeting on Wednesday, the party once again exhibited its resistance to the full consummation of the global political agreement (GPA) by insisting that elections be held this year with or without a new constitution.

Itai Masuku

THE strike by civil servants implies a very unnerving underlying possibility; that the inflation figures produced in this country may be out of kilter with the real cost of living.

THE long-awaited inquest into the suspicious fiery death of one of the country’s most decorated soldiers and liberation war hero General Solomon Mujuru finally began at the Harare Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Constantine Chimakure

SOME analysts have over the past two months postulated that parties in the wobbly inclusive government will this year opt to renegotiate the Global Political Agreement (GPA) to strengthen the coalition, rather than go for early polls with or without a new constitution and necessary reforms.

Itai Masuku

A VERY curious statement emerged from the presidential spokesperson early in the year that most ministers were away in January and this was normal.
Said George Charamba: “When the president goes on leave, everyone takes advantage of his absence to go for a break, including the vice-presidents.”  Even the prime minister took advantage of the situation and in colloquial parlance went awol.

A CONSTITUTION is supposed to be an identity of the very society it serves and one of its fundamental objectives is to strengthen civil unity by creating a communal framework of rules of the game.

Constantine Chimakure

BESIDES ensuring the resolution of the worsening political cacophony in the inclusive government, more attention should be paid to the retrieval of our national airline, Air Zimbabwe, from the precipice.

Itai Masuku

INFORMATION emerging on the state of one of Zimbabwe’s best known manufacturing firms, Cairns, makes sad reading. Indeed, the state of affairs at Cairns may just be the tip of the iceberg.

DESPITE Zimbabwe’s comparative advantage in mineral resource endowment and more than a century of mining, the levels of mineral beneficiation have been low as the country has largely remained a net exporter of raw materials.

Constantine Chimakure

ON Tuesday Zimbabweans woke to news that leaders of the three parties in the wobbly inclusive government will next month hold nation-wide rallies to preach political tolerance and peace ahead of elections either this year or 2013, as a follow up to an anti-violence conference held in Harare in November last year. This was too good a story to believe!

Itai Masuku

NOT that one believes in this, but it would take a very talented crystal ball-gazer to predict what’s in store for the economic year ahead of us. We have heard it all before, the economy is to grow by in excess of 9%, mining is to lead the recovery, tourism is likely to grow phenomenally, agriculture is set to recover, etc.

WHAT is proverbially known in Zimbabwe as January Disease may be a useful indicator of the health of the economy. More correctly, January disease is actually January withdrawal syndrome. The real disease is December Disease, or put in another way, December madness.

THE role of Zimbabwe’s Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) is increasingly coming in for criticism due to its failure to ensure that the three parties in the inclusive government (IG) fully implement the power-sharing pact.