THE 1873 NETWORK – RESPONDING TO ALLEGATIONS ABOUT THE POWER OF ZANU-PF TO BENEFIT BUSINESS Mushana Murefu 3. You state “We also need to respect those who have joined the party by desisting from trying to create a story when there is none to be so created.” Respect only follows were facts are given and you can appreciate no story is created from thin air. What we give you here is the perception by an ordinary citizen who in most cases lacks the actual facts. It is therefore your role in this context to set the record straight. This is why the question was asked and now a new story is born, that you were never a ZANU-PF member. 4. You state “I am sure you will agree that any organization that fits into the ZANU-PF mould necessarily requires financing for its programs. The party survives from both member dues plus fundraising activities. The party also solicits for donations from the public and business. I personally have not donated any money but companies in which I was associated with did make donations when requested to assist specific programs. I am sure you will agree with me that the assistance provided to ZANU-PF is no different to the same assistance provided to other non-governmental organizations. I do not believe that this is an allegation for it is factual that donations have been made and this can be confirmed by ZANU-PF.” Mr Mawere this is where the lines become blurred. Are you telling me that ZANU-PF received financial assistance from companies in which you were associated with, without your consent? Which programs were these companies assisting? I’m as a business person you appreciate that when non-governmental organisations offer aid to developing countries its mostly because they want something in return. Usually it’s to promote some sort of ideology or extend their influence. What was the agenda behind the donations made to a political party by companies associated with you? Did during this period of association any one of the companies give donations to other political parties in Zimbabwe? Any assistance given to a political party often comes with strings attached. I do not even need to dwell in deeper on this one. Like • Reply • 31 December 2014 at 19:42 RESPONSE 1. With respect to my request for you to respect the members of ZANU-PF who joined voluntarily, you responded as follows: “Respect only follows were facts are given and you can appreciate no story is created from thin air. What we give you here is the perception by an ordinary citizen who in most cases lacks the actual facts. It is therefore your role in this context to set the record straight. This is why the question was asked and now a new story is born, that you were never a ZANU-PF member.” 2. I am sure that you will agree that if the information so generously ventilated comes from thin air as you allege then the alleger is compelled to provide the basis of the allegation even if turns out to be thin air. 3. In this case, you do not seem to suffer any obligation to support your own version. It would have made sense prior to accepting my version to establish from the only authentic source, ZANU-PF secretariat, whether I am or was a member of the party during the specific period that your interest is concerned about. The failure to do is to tantamount to turning the constitution around as it now left for the accused to prove his innocence instead of you proving your version. I played no part in the origination of the allegation and would have expected you to follow through with your line of thinking. 4. I should like to think that if my association with ZANU-PF was irrelevant to the premise of your argument that it pays to be a member of the ruling party more so if one is engaged in business, you would not have bothered to assert that I was a member. 5. The moment that we surrender to the whims of the public, however, defined to justify that which undermines the rights of others we will have descended into anarchy. It is obvious that if I was never involved in business, my alleged political association would not be relevant. In this case, it would appear that you find it justifiable to subject me to some kind of kangaroo court in which I am expected to exonerate myself when other citizens are not subjected to the same treatment. This indeed is unfortunate. 6. It should never be the role of the accused to set any record straight but it should be the responsibility of anyone who wishes to make allegations to verify such allegations before making any utterances. 7. In this case, it would appear as if at one stage I had claimed to be a member of ZANU-PF. If this was the case, then surely you should have pointed out the instances in which I had claimed to be what I am now denying. 8. I dispute your assertion that a new story is born by me denying that I was never a member of ZANU-PF. For your information, this is not the first time the question has been raised and also this is not the first time I have denied that I was ever a member of ZANU-PF. In the premises, without new facts, it is factually incorrect to suggest that a new story is born for one cannot give birth to a new baby if there was never a baby in the first instance. 9. With respect to my response to your questions about donations and ZANU-PF financing, you commented as follows: “Mr Mawere this is where the lines become blurred. Are you telling me that ZANU-PF received financial assistance from companies in which you were associated with, without your consent? 10. I am sure you will agree that donations to an NGO like ZANU-PF are what they are. I am sure that the mischief is your question is self-evident to deserve a comment. What is at issue remains your allegation that a causal and linear relationship existed or does exist between monetary donations and corporate benefits for you will then ask a relevant but associated question why one would part with funds if there is no benefit to be gained? 11. In the case of SMM, it would appear that I could only have knowledge after the acquisition was done and not certainly before the transaction’s closing. In this case, this disposes of the first question raised by Zhuwao whether the acquisition was supported by a corrupt guarantee. For this to hold, one would need to make the assumption that the said donations were paid after the event but as part of a corrupt scheme. This link would be tenuous and indirect. 12. What we are then left with are the facts and circumstances of each and every donation made to ZANU-PF. I am sure you will agree that ZANU-PF’s ideology is primarily against business. Members of the party are promoted on the basis of pretending that they do not like money. 13. However, when the party has meetings including conferences and congresses at all levels of the party, the need for financing is self-evident as the party delegates need to be transported, fed and housed. In addition, funds are also required for T-shirts and other branded items. 14. SMM being a large corporate entity would naturally be targeted by members seeking support. 15. I cannot say that I had knowledge of each and every donation made. You must appreciate the scale of SMM’s operations and the fact that I am only too human to know what I need to know and to leave the rest to the people who have the right to know and the authority to pay. You will appreciate that in terms of bank mandates, only authorized parties are required to instruct the bank to pay. 16. If you had specific transactions requiring confirmation of my state of knowledge, then I can assist by commending on such transactions rather than responding to a general question. 17. With respect to my consent, I am sure you will appreciate that only directors control the administration of a company and as such, no consent was required from me to make any payment to creditors or other parties. 18. You then ask: “Which programs were these companies assisting?” I am sure you will appreciate that it is the party that solicits donations. The programs vary but principally revolve around operational expenses including conferences, workshops and other such programs. 19. You then state that: “I’m sure you as a business person you appreciate that when non-governmental organisations offer aid to developing countries its mostly because they want something in return.” I am not sure whether the example is appropriate for the point you wish to make. It is always the case that donations are by nature free. Even in the case of blood donors, one does not expect a donor of blood to get the kidneys, for example, from the beneficiary. Equally when NGOs give assistance to other less fortunate people, I am sure that they will not prepare a term sheet for such a donation as if it was intended to be a loan. However, a beneficiary that seeks to remain perpetually dependent would frown upon suggestions made by donors from time to time to ensure the sustainability of beneficiaries. I am not aware of any instance where ZANU-PF was required by SMM or anyone for that matter to give up anything in return for a donation. 20. You the state as follows: “Usually it’s to promote some sort of ideology or extend their influence.” I am not sure whether a poor person would worry about ideology rather than food in the stomach. It is only arm-chair revolutionaries who eat three meals a day then proceed to act as if they have the right and authority to represent sovereign poor people. I can see no instance where a generous person would be accused of promoting an ideology when in actual fact if the conditions that create poverty like socialism were not practiced there would be no need for one person to seek to be fed by another’s effort. After 34 years of sovereign existence, we must take responsibility for our own choices and actions. I am not convinced that it would be appropriate to accuse a donor for promoting some sort of ideology or extending its ideology simply extending a helping hand to the people who need the help desperately. No one would be interested to lose money in an endeavor to promote influence. A needy person lacks neither the means to enjoy freedom nor the means to influence anything of value that a donor may allegedly be accused of seeking. 21. Surely, rich people in society have influence and one would understand if donors gave donations to the rich and powerful. On the contrary donors are worry of giving assistance to the rich let alone political actors. 22. You then ask: “What was the agenda behind the donations made to a political party by companies associated with you?” You may not be aware that donations by nature can never be solely motivated by any agenda. In fact, it is the party in need that solicits for donations. You will appreciate that for democracy to work as it is anticipated, strong political institutions are required. In addition, the risk of people like Idi Amin, for example, assuming the role of the Head of State is real if ignorance and financial illiteracy is in existence. Institution building is not a cost-less exercise but the process requires funds and actors. It is often the case that people climb the political ladder based on elections yet in between elections what is required is a continuous investment to improve literacy so that the people who benefit from donations can find their own mechanisms to address their mandates. 23. It is unfortunate that your kind of attitude is exactly why African parties end up having to dip into state coffers to get funds to administer party activities when it should be up to the party’s members to support financially the programs of the party and also it should be a civic duty to assist political actors in getting the resources required to improve their financial and governance literacy. 24. You also ask: “Did during this period of association any one of the companies give donations to other political parties in Zimbabwe?” Indeed, like all other donors, SMM responded to requests and indeed, some of the requests came from schools, other political organisations as well as community-based programs. You will be aware that in the case of schools that occasionally needed roofing sheets and pipes, one would be foolhardy to ask the question of whether the students belonged to this or that party. The requests were treated on their own merits. If you have any proof that the company employed political commissars to ensure that all the assistance was provided to ZANU-PF members then you have the obligation to provide such information. 25. You then comment as follows: “Any assistance given to a political party often comes with strings attached. I do not even need to dwell in deeper on this one.” I am not sure whether you are referring to specific assistance or imagining the basis on which the real world works. I am not aware of any relevant strings that would be attached in relation to support rendered to programs of NGOs. In the case of ZANU-PF, it is my observation that the members are intoxicated with socialist ideas that limit the capability of the members of the party to be business friendly. I am not aware of any donor who finds the ideology of ZANU-PF offensive. However, it is my view that the President genuinely does not know how his subordinates behave when he is not looking. It may be the case that the members of the party at senior levels have an aggregate net worth that may exceed the party’s net worth. 26. It is often the case that Africa’s political actors have the habit of targeting business actors whenever they fail to deliver their own end of the social contract.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 12:26:54 +0000
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