Zambia impresses World Bank

Zambia has made remarkable progress in the public sector reforms and doing business index according to a latest World Bank report released early September. The Southern African country ranked 100th out of 181 countries globally. It has now moved 16 steps up as against last year’s 116th position.The World Bank representative Kapil Kapool attributed the improvement to the streamlining of the Patents and Companies Registration Office and the computerization of various institutions that facilitate businesses in the country.He noted that most institutions have improved and reduced their time of operations such as issuing of licenses and registration of companies despite their system of operations remaining the same. However, he said that there is need for Zambia to strive towards reducing the time and costs of exporting and importing goods into the country especially at border posts.“The delays in exporting and importing goods out and into the country impacts negatively on the competitiveness of both exporters and importers respectively,” Kapool asserted.

Niger Delta: Vice chancellor abducted

Kidnappers linked to the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) have abducted Professor Barineme Fakae, Vice Chancellor of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt. He was abducted on his way back from Bunu-Bangha community in Khana local government.The kidnap of the Professor comes barely 24 hours after the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta had issued threat to oil companies in the area to quit or face what they called hurricane Barbarossa attack on them and retaliate on persons close to government for the assault on them.MEND also claimed to have launched an offensive on oil installations Sunday night at Alakiri destroying facilities and killed unknown number of people there.They were bearing their anger against the recent exchange of gun fire between it and the joint military task force[JTF] who had engage a faction of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta[MEND for attacking officers who were on routine patrol of the water ways to stern recurrent piracy and other criminal acts.MEND spokes person Gbomo Jomo said the body holds the government responsible for the attack at such peace time and said it would not be intimidated by such attacks. He said that its fighters destroyed oil flow stations at Soku Gas plant, Chevron platform at Kula and a major crude trunk pipeline at Nembe in Bayelsa, gun boats, killed and injured soldiers in the attack.He said the attack would continue until the Federal government appreciate that the solution to peace in Niger delta was the pursuit of justice, respect and dialogue.The Ijaw National Congress President, professor Kimse Koko said the organization was disturbed by the JTF’s activities and called for its disbanding as it has not helped to restore the much desire peace in the region.JTF spokes man Lieutenant Colonel Saqir Musa said the tack force was on a routine patrol on the waterways when its men were attacked and it responded with superior force in a full scale aerial and marine attack on MEND positions and other hideout in Ijaw communities.Saqir said his men were attacked on Saturday at Elom Tombia where their aircraft was on routine hovering surveillance and reconnaissance and would sustain the action.The Rivers State government press secretary, Blessing Wikina, said government would not be cowed by threats from MEND and assured the people to go about their normal duties as the security agencies are equal to the tack and are rising to the challenge to contain their excesses.On September 9th , the state police command had swung into swift interception to foil the kidnap of the Mayor of Port Harcourt who was picked up from his residence in Diobu. Six gun men escaped with gun wounds in that incidence.It also rescued Comfi, the wife of a national Assembly lawmaker Olaka NWorgu. She was abducted from her hotel suit in Port Harcourt and taken to Tombia where she was rescued by the police.The escalation of violence in the area by militant rebels this year has crippled oil supplies from Nigeria which exports about two million barrels per day.The loss of high quality crude from the world’s eighth largest producer of oil has continued to push oil prices to record high of one forty seven dollars per barrel in July.

New deal gives Zimbabwe hope

Zimbabwe marked a new chapter in history as President Mugabe and the two opposition leaders, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara finally signed the much-awaited power sharing deal on Monday after months of political tension and negotiations. The country is ecstatic with this turning point in politics.Under the deal, Mugabe remains President chairing cabinet and heading defence while Tsvangirai becomes Prime Minister, chairing a council of Ministers and responsible for the day-to-day running of government. The leader of the smaller faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic change (MDC), Mutambara becomes Deputy prime Minister. The term of office for the Unity Government has been pegged at five years instead of Tsvangirai’s proposed two-year during the talks.The three leaders smiled and shook hands to deafening applause from the over 3,000 invited guests who included African Dignitaries such as Tanzania’s Jakaya Kikwete at a colourful signing ceremony held at the Harare International Conference Centre on Monday. “This agreement sees the return of hope to all our lives,” Reuters news agency reported Tsvangirai to have said after the ceremony.Zimbabweans and the international community including the UN have welcomed the deal, brokered by South Africa President Thabo Mbeki. It is seen as the starting point for an economic recovery process as well as a national unifying factor and a political healing process. This follows years of political tension, allegations of human rights abuses by the Mugabe regime as well as a dying economy with an excess of 10 million per cent inflation. It is hoped that the deal would open floodgates for international donor support as well as multi-lateral financial inputs from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and others who had chickened out in the early 2000’s in protest to Mugabe’s rule particularly the violent seizure of white-owned commercial farms.There are, however, concerns on the size of the new Government, which is even bigger than that of a large and economically stable country such as the USA. The ruling Zanu-PF party will have 15 ministers and 80 deputy ministers, while Tsvangirai is to command 13 ministers and six deputies. Mutambara will be in charge of three ministers and a deputy. This is considered a very top-heavy establishment and excessively costly in a poor country like Zimbabwe, struggling to get out of economic doldrums.Analysts say the power-sharing deal is shaky and will require former enemies to put aside their differences and work closely to overcome scepticism, especially from Western powers whose financial support will be vital for recovery, Reuters news agency reported.There is also a lot of duplicity on the Ministerial positions. It is difficult to split the hairs between the following ministries – Science and Technology; Media, information and Publicity and Information Communication technology. These three ministries’ functions are relatively similar swelling the cabinet.The following Ministries are also feared to be duplicating functions – Regional integration and international trade; Economic Planning and Investment Promotion; Small, Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development; Industry and Commerce as well as State Enterprises and Parastals.This duplication could be curtailed by transforming some ministries into agencies or departments. Above all it is pomp and fanfare in Harare and other parts of the country as the news of the deal is received with great joy and celebration, opening a new chapter and direction to the Zimbabwean political, social and economic scenario.

Zimbabweans hail new deal

Zimbabweans have received the news of a new deal between the country’s rivals with pump and pageantry on Monday. They said it should pave the way for a process of economic recovery, national healing and the true beginning of the move towards a democratic, people-driven dispensation in the country.The signing ceremony took place in Harare before regional leaders from Southern Africa, the African Union and representatives of the United Nations among others.“This deal was too long in coming. The leaders should have considered our suffering a long time ago. But this is still a good development. Now the challenge is for all leaders to roll out the promises they have been making on ending this crisis,” said Joseph Ngwenya, one of the country’s few remaining factory workers in Bulawayo’s Donnington Industrial Sites.He said the main priority for the new government should be to rationalize salaries with prices, and make sure that workers return to gainful employment while reviving the previously vibrant small enterprises sector.Mike Hawkins is one of the few white industrialists who have braved the economic decline and repeated threats to seize his business from the militant pro-government indigenous business lobby, the Affirmative Action Group (AAG). He said he hung on because of two reasons.“The first thing is that I am indigenous to this country and therefore have nowhere to go. So I didn’t move. The second thing that kept me going even as I recorded losses year in year out is I believed that this country had the ability to recover and reclaim its honourable position among nations. We are well and truly on the way back there,” said Hawkins. Shop floor worker Sibangilizwe Mthethwa said he has waited for eight years to hear such good news. “I have waited and prayed over and over for this moment. Every Saturday our church held mass for Zimbabwe to heal, and today we have seen it. I expect an improvement in all public services – health, education and in business,” he said.Many rated the leaders of the caretaker government as fairly objective and hoped that they will endeavour to uphold the agreement and keep the country on the path to recovery. However, some believe it is not everything that needs to be forgotten.“The process of nation building involves bitter compromises. But that cannot mean that those who perpetrated some of the gruesome acts of political violence should be forgiven. The scars are too deep and too recent to be washed away. If we can’t get a trial for them then we would better have a truth and reconciliation commission to heal the festering wounds,” says one human rights activist who preferred to be anonymous.In terms of the deal, President Mugabe retains his post, Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC becomes prime minister while Arthur Mutambara becomes deputy prime minister. The parties will also share cabinet posts with the collective MDC taking 16 and President Mugabe ZANU PF taking 15 seats.However all three leaders said in their acceptance speeches that the agreement sealed the wounds of old and that the message should be filtered by the parties to the grassroots that the previously bitter enemies are now best friends.