Information Strategy Will Ease Public Bond Note Panic

By Bernard Bwoni

A pronouncement about the introduction of anything that the public associate with having any resemblance to the domestic currency in Zimbabwe is understandably a painful and anxiety-provoking process. The concern stems from events from that period before 2009 when things spiralled out of control with hyperinflation and shortages. The proposal by the RBZ to introduce new bond notes into circulation is a noble idea being overwhelmed by an avoidable mistrust and uncertain that could easily have been soothed by the availability of adequate and accurate information. 

The bond notes are not the problem, the idea behind is proper and will potentially attend to some of the difficulties relating to cash shortages affecting the country.  It is positive that there are discussions (although mostly panicky reactions which some are referring to as a public backlash) on the proposal to introduce the bond notes. This negative public reaction is a simple case of fear, lack of trust and confidence, and this points to a lack of information. 

The pronouncement of the proposal is coming at a time when the country is facing serious cash shortages and a number of other economic hardships. There is very limited cash in banks, there is severely reduced forex inflows owing to reduced exports and unrestricted imports into the country. The persistent banking crises point to an unstable demand and supply of money in the financial system; and a multi-currency system that is impacting on the capacity of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to conduct monetary policy. The announcement is coming at a time of crisis and is in response to a crisis. 

In time of crises, public reassurances through education and information is very important to lessen fears and doubts. Transparency and immediacy are two crucial elements of this strategy to manage the public reactions. In this day of the internet, crisis situations are often framed by social media and media coverage, which means that reporters (and the public on social media) are typically the first audience considered. The advantages of the internet are many and one of them is the capacity to communicate in direct ways with intended audience.  The information campaign should start there.

The pronouncement by the RBZ Governor has brought about mixed reactions from the public, at home and abroad. Ideally it would have been helpful to take the critical first steps required for such a major announcement to reassure the public, to ensure that the bond notes were going to be perceived as stable by all stakeholders from the public, business and regional and international parties. 

It is unhelpful that social media and other media sources are awash with mixed interpretations of the proposal. There are headlines calling the move a ‘reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar by stealth’. There are alarmist headlines that these are similar to the ‘Bearer Cheques’ and some saying that the country was heading back to the period of hyperinflation. 

The Reserve Bank could have gone on a charm offensive right from the start to build a bank of goodwill with the public. There is more value in having online platforms on social media, newspapers and hotlines to provide information, explanations and clarifications to the public and to the world. It is still not too late to coordinate this public awareness and information strategy in collaboration with representatives from the country’s business sector, financial sector and members of the general public. It good to note that CZI has been forthcoming with encouraging the public to embrace the proposed bond notes as they will boost internal trade and help ease the cash shortage currently affecting the country.

The panic or what is being termed public backlash is being influenced by a lack of the accurate information or the information not being instantly available. The information campaign is about confidence in the proposed notes and instilling confidence in the public. Clarity and consistency will put to rest the public’s fear and mistrust and help build confidence. Armed with the right information or having easy access to the right information, public reactions are likely to be less dramatic. 

The public education and information campaign should ideally have started on the pronouncement day or even earlier. Terms and meanings needed to be defined and clarified instantly. The introduction is a key and critical national process and information and education make for easier public uptake. There could be leaflets and/or adverts explaining what the bond notes are, their value and what guarantees their value and how they are going to operate alongside the currencies already in use in the country. 

There should also be clear explanatory notes in a very plain and easy to understand format. There should be a central platform to ask questions and get information. There should be a hotline set up to answer niggling queries that continue to circulate unanswered on the streets, on social media and in local and international media sources. 

The public is currently relying on very limited, uncoordinated and mostly not very accurate information. Inaccurate information in the sense that news headlines at home and abroad are screaming of the return of the Zimbabwe dollar when in fact that is not true. In critical times like these, the public requires correct and consistent information and reassurances.  The many different and disjointed versions of the pronouncement that are doing rounds everywhere will only increase the panic and uncertainty.

The RBZ Governor Dr Mangudya admitted that the policy pronouncement could have been communicated better and rightly so. During a press conference in Harare on Friday 6^th May 2016, the Governor did answer some questions and provided some clarification with authority. He described the proposal as a ‘$200 million economic stimulus to stimulate local production and exports’. He also pointed out that the move to split export proceeds in US dollar, SA rand and euros was meant to remove concentration risk caused by consumer overreliance on US dollar over other currencies in circulation in the multicurrency system. 

He did well to ease some of the public fears and anxieties, but that has not stopped the social media frenzy that is being stimulated by misconceptions arising from lack of accurate information and the right education campaign. The public information and education campaign needs to be broken to bare basics for easy of understanding, needs to be easily and readily available so that people are not accessing made-up sensational online information. It needs to be visible, like a simple Facebook page managed by RBZ giving precise and accurate information instantly. It could even be a telephone hotline, a Twitter account or even a WhatsApp forum of some sort. It needs to be creative to be able to manage people’s expectations and anxieties to avoid breakdown in communication.

The questions that are posed by people on social media or on the street are genuine questions. These are questions about how such an introduction of the notes is going to affect their lives. They are not trivial questions at all and with a good education and information strategy these can be effectively managed and to some degree help reduce the distress and alarm that is being created by the pronouncement.

Some of the frequently being asked questions:

Where else in the world has this been done and has it been successful?

• Are bond notes a currency or not?
• How did the RBZ determine the value of the bond notes?
• If these bond notes are backed by a US$200 million facility from AfreximBank, why not just inject the actual US$200 million into the system?
• What happens when the US$200 million is finished?
• Why not back the notes with a Gold Trust?
• Will the bond notes be redeemable at the bank?
• What happens if we all want to redeem our US dollars?
• What happens if I want to travel outside to go and buy things for resale in Zimbabwe? Can I take the bond notes outside or do I need to exchange them?
• Will I have the option to request to receive US dollars when I want withdraw money?
• What measures are in place to counter the emergency of the dreaded black market?
• Is the US$200 million free? If not, then we are adding more onto our huge debt then?
• What guarantee is there that only US$200 million worth of bond coins will be injected into the system?
• If the US$200 million bond injection constitutes to less than 3% of the money that will be injected, how is this going to ease the cash problems? Where is the other 97% going to come from?
• What happens if someone accidentally prints more than the initial US$200 million of the bond notes?

The information that the public currently have or is accessing from social media or the street is mixed and there are also varying interpretations of the above questions. To some the above questions might seem like minor questions but to many that is what is causing the anxiety and panic. These are some of the many questions that are being asked and the outcome is that of the public engaging with and exchanging disjointed and at times inaccurate information. This is where that public education and awareness campaign should take shape. That central platform, that one-stop shop for information and clarification of the proposal to introduce bond notes. Some of the questions have been addressed better than others. Some of the answers and explanations will need to be broken even further to the barest of basics for clarity sake.

The introduction of the bond notes as Dr Mangudya said, the public “should trust that we also know what we are doing, and that we believe that Zimbabwe needs to transform and that this economy needs stimulation, export and production, so where there is no production, the economy will not do well, so we want to ensure that there is production”. Dr Mangudya has been responding to some of the public questions with clarity and this education and awareness campaign needs to be cascaded down into laymen terms. This is the idea behind an information and awareness strategy to reduce the negative publicity that such a noble proposal is receiving.

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Cde Bernard Bwoni is the Vice Secretary for Admin for ZANU PF UK. He writes in his own capacity.

Challenges Faced in Establishing a Foreign Party Branch – The U.K Experience

The Nick Mangwana Interview by ZANU PF Patriots Group

MODERATOR: CDE M CHIONDEGWA  (ZPF PATRIOTS INFORMATION SUPREMO)

………………………………………………………………

INFORMATION SUPREMO will be lead moderator.Commander Nick; for the record and in brief, who is Nick Mangwana and how did you end up in politics in general and ZANU PF in particular?

ZANU PF UK Chairman; Cde Nick Mangwana

COMMANDER NICK: Nick Mangwana is a Patriotic Zimbabwean. A father of 2 adult children. A husband of 1. Hailing from Masvingo. Grew partly in Mashwest. Worked in Zim. Has been nvolved ZANU PF actively from 1995. Been in the UK for 17 years. Regarding how it started really, is that I was campaigning for a family member who for disqualified from an election on the usual political technicals. We agreed I had to stand. I wasn't disqualified. That's how it started. A family member who for political reasons was unfairly disqualified. Then in the UK felt the Zimbabwean story was being told from a skewed angle. There was no representation of the real Zimbabwean story.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: OK. So in other words you got into it by default?

COMMANDER NICK: In the beginning I was just being a good brother who was supporting a family member. I was a member of the party but had no desire to be active but the political sensibility was awakened because of an injustice. But that was 21 years ago. Everything that has followed was

now based on consciousness.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Noted.Commander Mangwana UK ZANU PF District or  branch (correct us there) is one of the best or is touted by some as arguably the best organised Districts of the diaspora branches, could you walk us through how this was managed and how you have been able to maintain it vibrant for so long?

COMMANDER NICK: Thank you. Firstly there was no ZANU PF activity in the open because of the hostile foreign relations between our countries. There were so many lies being told I'm the media. There were ZANU PF supporters underground of course. The only really active member was Prof George Shire who has lived in the UK since the early 70s. We were aware of how victimised he was after appearing on TV defending the land reform and elections. It was bad. So some of us used to come to Zimbabwe during elections and land the party our support but only spoke ZANU PF politics with like-minded people. But with the Conservative Gvt coming into power we decided to change tactics. By then a lot of Zimbabweans had naturalised in the UK so the threat to them was minimal. We differed with some of our Cdes who thought were being reckless by coming out in the open. But we felt there was nothing to lose. We could ask the gvt and they could only say No. We sought mandates from the party in Harare and that proved to be a monumental challenge as well. There

was dysfunction.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Cld you perhaps highlight the challenges you faced in attaining the mandate?

COMMANDER NICK: Like all initiatives there were some who jumped in withtheir agenda. We were proceeding according to a Blueprint we had done so we were meticulous but others just wanted to just be out there with no plan.

Challenges:????People at HQ had different interests and there was no harmony and there was no point person to deal with. We were under External Relatjons, Admin, Commissariat and even Science and Technology. Therefore with so many point persons factions are automatic result. Then the Diaspora is a unique group. They love initiatives. They come in hordes for their selfish agendum.

So we ended up with a couple ZANU PF-UKs.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: So how did you over come all these challenges?

COMMANDER NICK: It was now a question of who had the people, who had worthy one objectives and of course who had the party history. We had all the above and initially the HQ let us

runs like that until the right outfit emerged because of consistency Others fizzled out as they had just jumped on an initiative without a clue on the vision. The branding of the structure was also key. On the first place it is is who had applied to the British for permission. They asked for our personal details including addressees and other sensitive info. Others Chickened out. We braved it.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Interesting....you mentioned the issue of factions but some may argue that factions are a way of politics and perhaps it was coz of them that you became resolute eventually came out tops.

COMMANDER NICK: Yes. They come with the territory. The genuine will always overcome the counterfeit. Our next agenda was to take the British head on, on the Sanctions.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: What was their reaction n how much success did you score there?

COMMANDER NICK: This was a mammoth task considering our then. Positions on both the party totem pole and the fact that there was an embassy albeit scared to even visit the Foreign and Commonwealth office. We scored very good successes. Firstly once we had set up meetings with the British and gave the OPC our Agenda, we were summonsed to Harare for briefing.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Impressive, you dared to tread where angels feared and yet you were not fools were you?

COMMANDER NICK: We met up with the Chief Sec and the Perm Sec for Foreign and we got our briefing from Chaminuka, then from VaMutasa and when we eventually came back we were really primed. So the talks started obviously very much under wraps though I have to admit we got the British Ambassador's attention by giving a "vuvuzela" speech on ZBC so by the time the talks started they were annoyed. Reports were given to the right people and the incremental reduction of sanctions started. On the media which is where our major battle was fought to win the hearts and arguments as well as the hearts and minds. We built alliances with Ben TV, Arise TV, Vox TV where we ran programmes under the banner Focus on Zimbabwe. This is what made the Zims in the UK and Europe aware that ZANU PF was operational on the ground. That became the major Commissariat job because our membership was built on the back of that. We also did radio programmes.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: This was obviously not an overnight event I suppose? Also who funded all this for it seems a lot of finance was required n a lot of up n down was involved.

COMMANDER NICK: No. It wasn't overnight but it was Mao's serious activity. We had a show on to every Wednesday. On Vox it was every other Thursday. These programmes were basically to defend the policies of our party and explain he historical context of how we came to be where we are especially on land. We funded these. The interest in Zimbabwe by both the world and

Zimbabweans meant that our programmes were funded by advertisers sought by the stations themselves. This was pre and post 2013 election. That interest of course has waned off.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Who were with you in all this? I m talking of your team,who stood shoulder to shoulder with you in defence of the party? And on the funding, like really? You funded all that instead of the party?

COMMANDER NICK: There was a lot of wining and dining of executives but at the end of the day the Pan Africanist agenda was the core competent in our pitch. We have never received a penny from the party. We have actually given HQ money instead Our Slogan "None But Ourselves" is one we live.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: This is indeed a challenge Commander Mangwana.

COMMANDER NICK: The UK comrades are convicted. Almost religious style to the mission that's called Zimbabwe.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: You keep saying we, meaning it wasn't a one man operation right?

COMMANDER NICK: We pay for all our trips for functions and briefings remember Cde. It was never and is never a one man mission. Yes I am the face of it but there are committed comrades around me. I carry the vision but we are a great team. It's not about me and should never be about me. You see the numbers that pays its own tickets to come for Congresses and Conferences.

At Congress 17 people came.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: So having a team that compliments your efforts has been of great help isn't it?

COMMANDER NICK: It is a great help. No one man band ever plays all the tunes.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: 17? That a very high number isn't it? Considering the distance travelled?

COMMANDER NICK: It is high. These are people that are paid by the day and if they miss work they are not paid. They then pay their tickets and everything else So yes, I am humbled to be leading this team. Our Sec for Admin is in Russia as we speak. He is now managing Manyuchi and there is a fight. He was already sending me pictures of Zims he has met there who are interested in forming a ZANU PF chapter there. And of course we launched in Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Commander Mangwana. You spoke of the Congress n I understand the UK Branch was not also spared of the pre-n post Congress upheavals....You lost quite a number of your executive including of note Tichatonga Mwanawevhu or Mutyambizi who was your PC. How did you survive this n how hv you reorganised after this?

COMMANDER NICK: The people that fell by the way side are those that took factional positions. Our philosophy is to remain under the constitution of the party. If there is something we don't like, have no doubt, we will say it. But we will remain loyal. We are not blind followers. We see the shenanigans. They demoralise our Cdes. But we are not interested in sub-groups aka factions. It doesn't mean we don't have sympathetic positions as individuals.  If we play factional games we are finished. But we are not blind followers.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: So your survival as a team was based on remaining rooted on the party constitution? Have you restructured or you simply did gap filling after the betrayal by your Cdes?

COMMANDER NICK: So even though we worked very well with both Shamu and Mutasa but when they fell we remained. We have structured our branches around. When it comes to having elections at the centre we were initially stopped by security for obvious reasons. We were initially due to have elections on the 28th of August 2015 but with the U.K. being considered the biggest national security to Zimbabwe the establishment is keen to have a big hand on who is at the helm. In between I was appointed the party rep in Europe. That gave us the impetus to set up all these structures around Europe. Once the electronic cards have been issued then it's now down to Commissariat where we go

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Interesting.....You have a lot of territory in terms of Area being from

England, Wales, Scotland n Ireland, how do you manage to bring all the individuals together? We won't ask you to delve into the security issues obviously but wld like to simply hear how you overcome the territorial problems n also the security issues in your structures....vis-a-vis penetration by hostiles?

COMMANDER NICK: We travel but we have slowed down on the roadshows. We had been asked by the OPC to popularise Zim Asset.There used to be massive interest in the roadshows. Now you talk of Zim Asset and you turn yourself into a diaspora joke. Most of the people that came from other parties somehow went to other parties. We had for example Tino Chinyoka. He stayed with us for over 2 years. Then pulled out an MDC card recently and started trying to get Sabina Mugabe exhumed from the Heroes Acre and also trying to impeach the President.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: ??????but he had been within the Structure or what?

COMMANDER NICK: Then we have had offers of sponsorship from a couple of whites and we advised them to sponsor the HQ. Other than that we work very closely with the embassy and

security agencies from the State. He was in one of our branches yes. But not in the UK leadership. (http://nehandaradio.com/2016/01/18/lawyer-and-mpsue-mugabe-over-national-heroes-selection/)

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Thank you for that clarification. Commander Mangwana, is it still disadvantageous to claim ties with ZANU PF in the UK or indeed Europe?

COMMANDER NICK: There are still others trying to get us deported. Clearly we can't get farms after what happened to our Cde, Dr Nyatsuro. He is one of our comrades and under that kind

of spotlight. It shows it's not yet a walk on the park. Having said that, everything that can be thrown at us has been. So really there is no more appetite for fighting us. There is currently an online petition to get us banned. If it gets 100k signatures then it will be a parliamentary motion. I don't know how many signature there are now.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: But wld they really succeed at that n what countermeasures against that have you put up?

COMMANDER NICK: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/120585. I just checked. A paltry 403 signatures. So if in more than 2 months they have this pathetic traction it's not going to even get 10k

We meet with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and we always put out these issues on the agenda. We still talking about the return of the "Skulls". So this has no legs .forgive the expression but it surely is a fart in the wind.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Tinotenda. Commander Mangwana, closer home, our SA district wc

from my view shld b a province has been buffeted by numerous problems n they are always extending the begging bowl, what advice can you give the leadership n how can they cover the vast territory they have?

COMMANDER NICK: I am too far placed to have a nuanced grasp of their issues but resources seem to at the centre. Forgive me if I am wrong. I think they need a war chest first. Focus on fundraising activities and be the epitome of transparency. Once the money is there and the

governance of that has integrity then you take away this distraction. Hoping there won't be fights over that too. We are on the same page regarding the 11th province. They know we ran into problems when their internecine struggles played out in front of the other 10 chairpersons and the NPC. They have to bury the pettiness and focus on the big agenda. I would like to know they believe they are in

existence. What is the chapter out to achieve. What are their objectives? Because without that there will be power struggles. But when leadership is about responsibilities then a few would want it.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Any suggestions on how they can raise funds seeing indeed it is their barne n they wld rather ask the party to fund them instead of the other way?

COMMANDER NICK: Vangakundwa namapositori?Dinner dances. There is a lot people can do it raise money. They know their social context better than I would. But they have a lot of party inclined business people there. They have a business breakfast with a top speaker or dinner. People pay top rand to attend that.

INFORMATION SUPREMO: As a person who has weathered several storms yourself starting with not being welcome to 4 subgrps n then factional desertion n still came out tops....what or how

do you suggest they do this?

COMMANDER NICK: I am not sure what their biggest problem is. Is it money or factionalism or the dreaded Tribalism? It is difficult to prescribe solutions without that but I would suggest they actually have a conference which they invite leadership from Zimbabwe. Us their comrades and we

all speak on different issues and on the agenda they put the things that bedevil their chapter. Normally from there harmony will start. Just organising this, true leadership will emerge. People gravitate towards a leadership that makes personal sacrifices for the cause. Leaders that benefit the agenda and not from it. Because those with single minded determination to make the structure a success will refuse to be distracted by secondary issues. I am sure some of you saw the insults and derision we had to endure from our so-called comrades. But we had to ignore that and focus on the

big picture. And being a Friday ....

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Thank you Commander Mangwana.....but allow a few

minutes of questions from the floor before you escape... Cdes....the floor is open...for questions or comments

COMMANDER NICK: Sure

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Only for 15 mins then we let Commander Mangwana go

enjoy his Friday

COMMANDER NICK: Thank you Sekuru- Cde Mandaza, go on. Cde Brian from SA

Cde Gift? Well...

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Kana SA District isina mubvunzo. Ok.....I see typing.

COMMANDER MANDAZA: Thank you for your honety.  Our greatest challenge is of people seeking to position themselves on factional lines? Secondly because of our distance from home some of our leaders have a take on The behaviour of some of us in the diaspora. Everyone has someone whom he knows and has said something.This has a negative flow of work. How have you dealt with such issues if ever you encountered them?

CDE BRIAN: Uhm i do not have a question but would like to take this opportunity to show our revolutionary love for all the support you have been giving us since the first day we thought of having a branch here in Cape Town...Thank you commander!! Ooh this just got into my mind, shall there be a time that we will have our own inter District meeting or conferences yeve Diaspora?!...

COMMANDER NICK: Thank you Cde Mandaza. That sounds familiar. It takes the leadership at home to resolve. This is definitely where one centre of power mantra works.

COMMANDER MANDAZA: As much as we are close home our communication channel has not been top notch to ensure that we are abreast with the goings on in the party. How have you ensured that you have updated information regarding party positions and policies as well as programs.

COMMANDER NICK: One day I went to HQ, I was given a pile of letters coming from different people through different HQ officials. A big Indaba was held at HQ and they said thatall party communications have to be done through Mangwana either way. Everyone who was meddling

with the U.K. Was read the riot act on that day. That established the course. All most all the letters were not only divisive, they were full of nonsense. The leadership has to be supported by the mother party. Otherwise you end up serving narrow interests of people at HQ. Writing a good report articulating the State of the Party in SA to HQ for the PB can help. Regarding information flow from HQ you have to be proactive. Establish relationships, work the corridors. Make yourselves relevant to the party. Not a burden to it. So we furnish reports of what we are up to and what our vision is.

Making yourself relevant is making the party need you and want  you to exist but adding value to it

INFORMATION SUPREMO: Commander Mangwana. Thank you for availing yourself on a day most of us are relieving ourselves of our weekly stress to take us thru your journey as UK District.

At this juncture I wld like to formally release you n declare this PT officially over.....Thank you Patriots for being such a great audience. 

COMMANDER NICK: Thank you cdes for having me. Sorry for the long answers. Enjoy the weekend. Regarding ZIMRA - Power to the people ??????

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Introduction of Bond Notes in Zimbabwe : MP Mukupe Interview

Hon T Mukupe

The following interviewed was extracted from the ZANU PF blog soon after the Reserve Bank Governor had announced the coming in of bond notes so as to ease cash shortages in the market. Cde Bernard Bwoni [BB], who is the ZANU PF UK Branch Vice Sec for Administration interviewed Hon Terrence Mukupe [TM] a Professional Banker, MP for Harare East and Member of Parliamentary Committee on   Finance.

BB- Cde Mukupe welcome. What benefits are we going to derive from the coming in of notes in the market?

TM-Thank you for having me. Firstly I must state that the Governor has categorically denied that the Zim Dollar has returned. He stated that bond notes with denominations of$5, $10 and $20 are to be introduced, Well the truth of the matter is that the Zim Dollar is back with another name pegged to the $US at parity.

I must state that I am a staunch proponent of the return of the Zim dollar as if its correctly introduced it would be good for our country, key question is now the time, I don’t think so. The question being posed is the bond notes going to hold that value at parity with the US$?

BB-What strategies has Dr Mangudya put in place to allay fears and avoid panic?

TM- Let's get back to basics a currency is a promise to honor a payment. Because currencies are promise to pay, there has to be an underlying security that gives people confidence in the currency. What the reserve bank is proposing is that they grace a $200m facility that will use to back the bond notes.

The $200m facility from Afreximbank is too little to offer as a guarantee to back the bond notes.

What the Governor is trying to do is to dedollarise the economy by forcing citizens to use bond notes and rands. So for clarity the bond notes will only be printed within this $200 million facility?

The expectation is that they should not breach the $200m mark but the Governor was silent on that.

He said the $200 million facility shall also be used to discount trade related paper in order to provide liquidity for business trading operations.

So we now wonder whether the usage of the $200m shall be publicly made available if it has multiple uses.

BB-Maximum cash allowed to be taken outside the country has been revised downwards to $1 000, Euro 1 000 and R20 000 from the previous $5 000 of the challenges we have faced has been a liquidity, an room for quantitative easing (to address these) and what would be impact of a breach of the $200 million facility?

TM-Back to basics the problem we have in this country is that we have the strongest currency in Africa, every country around us wants the dollar from us. Every country in SADC is dumping goods on consignment and taking the dollar out,a complete depolarization would stop this dumping of goods into the country.

Should we force citizens to hold rands or should we incentivize those that trade in rands? Incentives are always better than foisted situations.

BB- Foisted situations lead to black markets. So what safeguards are there against emergency of a black market?

TM- We might end up recreating a parallel market for cash sales as well as foreign remittances into the USD. Allow free conversions of currencies; introduce punitive measures for holding USD such as zero interest and market rates for Rands and the Euro.

The Governor has not announced any measures of preventing the parallel market other than remedies available at law.

The Governor does not have a time-frame for the introduction of the bond notes as they are still at the design stage but possibly in the next two months. Clearly they have rushed to the mill without having harvested the grain. Just two final questions from me, how do envisage the public is going to react? When it comes to cash machines, is it going to be both USD  and bond notes one can withdraw or one of the two.

BB-That is positive.

TM-Positive as long as the rand becomes less volatile; it appears to have been stabilizing.The ATMs have the capability to dispense both the bond and the USD, I envisage initial resistance but as always the citizenry will eventually warm to the bond notes as long add they are not flooded.

My take is we knew this was coming last year when Min Chinamasa said they would be no money for bonuses. At that point in time we needed to create the bond notes and not wait for when the wheels have come off.

Bond notes = how to effectively tax the nation. The 200 million is simply an introductory confidence booster.  After a while that won't matter - the bond notes can be printed as demanded by the economy. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and whoever else has a say just have to be reasonable about the quantities they throw into circulation. The bond notes are a mechanism for us cover the budget deficit period.

We have a $322m budget deficit, so if the notes are accepted it will go a long way in normalizing our economy. It’s about being reasonable with the introduction of the notes and to keep within the limits. Only eat what you have killed.

BB- Hon Mukupe what can be done to derive consumer and trade confidence given that Hon Dr Mangudya has not given enough on the policy to manage the multi currency after the introduction of the bonded notes?  What incentives are there for a foreign investor who invests in US dollar only for his money to be converted to a Bond note?

TM: Dr Mangudya has to assure the nation that they will be disciplined in the issuance of the bond notes and that every note issued will be fully accounted for and properly backed. That way consumers and traders will have confidence in the bond notes.

END OF INTERVIEW

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The interviewer : Cde Bernard Bwoni; VC for Admin; ZANU PF UK

Zimbabwe Independence: Indeed So Far So Good

 By Farai Muvuti

A Happy Independence Day to all fellow Zimbabweans. This day signifies a journey of continued courage as exemplified by the generation that carried the gun and thwarted the Rhodesian forces. On this very day, we celebrate with pride that very victory that gave birth to this great nation. However, like any journey we have had our fair share of ups and downs and still have an uphill road to struggle with as a nation. But it is important to judge these ups and downs by understanding them through the lens of this day by asking ourselves important questions. Such as, "what did it take for us to get to where we are and why it occurred in the manner that it did?"  Perhaps wrestling with these questions will grant us a holistic comprehension of our journey so far.

The struggle for this great land was not only waged in the bushes of the Frontline States and Zimbabwe but also within the corridors of the American Congress and British parliament - there was no consensus on the issue of our liberation. It is important to note this in order for us to interrogate our current relations with the countries in question. For instance, The Carter administration faced a lot of opposition within congress regarding the issue of our independence, some senators even proposed the lifting of Rhodesian sanctions which were in part leverage for the Patriotic Front. It is no secret that one of the characters that vehemently opposed our independence was the late Senator Jesse Helms. This Senator is important to remember as this article will further explain the character's importance later on.

In Britain, the conservatives also faced internal opposition and took progressive forces within government and the British people. Nonetheless, the need to safeguard British interests was echoed and further pursued in the tenets prescribed to our liberators within the Lancaster House Agreement. You may be wondering why this is of any importance and how it presses on today's issues.Well, gentle reader, it is important to look at our history not from a prism of the past but as an evolution of interconnected events. To put it simply, we must not only see what is in black and white but also analyse the intangibles that led to the crafting of the Lancaster House Agreement which subsequently led to our independence.

The culmination of the events we have witnessed in the last two decades was introduced by the agreement at Lancaster House. One would argue that land remained an issue because of the constraints placed on our leadership by the 1979agreement. Its agenda was to end white rule in former Rhodesia, and Britain's betrayal of the promises it made to ensure a settlement. From the beginning, Nkomo said that returning the land to the majority was central to their cause: "What will be the future of the people's land?" he asked the British.

It is common knowledge that Margaret Thatcher's government was largely interested in protecting the property rights of the white minority. Her foreign secretary, Lord Carrington, insisted Zimbabwe's new constitution include a 10-year bar on the forcible redistribution of the farms. Our leadership rigorously rejected that principle but were dissuaded by a promise from the UK to raise hundreds of millions of pounds for long-term land reform. As history has it, the Brits reneged on the agreement violating an international treaty they had vowed to honour.  Our government responded with the fast track land reform that has since seen over 300 000 families resettled (J. and Smart, T. 2012)

The first land reform of its kind in Africa that has opened the eyes of many on the continent. Our country overturned what many perceived to be impossible and restored the dignity of its people.

The current reality is that Agriculture is returning to its former output levels. A reality that is developing despite the absence of government subsidies and the hardships presented by climate change issues that the White farmers could contend with through having the private financial infrastructure to do so. However, it can also be argued that the lack of property rights policies have made the new farmers unbankable. Which may be a good point if one ignores the fact that the same land can be re-mortgaged which would lead to a slow reversal of land reform as was the case in Brazil.  So our government was wise to come up with a solution that would still provide the necessary security to the new black farmers while ensuring that the land remains in the hands of its rightful owners. 

The interconnectedness of these events is fundamental for study and research especially for the youth in order to ensure that the gains made so far are protected.  In addition, unveiling the machinations that were crafted to dislodge our liberation victory will help us understand why a landlocked country with only a population of 14 million people is perceived to be “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States"- Obama 2016. It is important for us to not take such a comment lightly considering that it came from a leader of a superpower. We should ask ourselves how that is possible considering our country’s size, geographical location and military spending which is nothing compared to the US.

Let us try to unpack this conundrum by assessing a few historical factors that when compounded with present day events a level of comprehension may arise. Earlier on in this article Senator Jesse Helms was mentioned as one of the conservative voices that fought for this day we celebrate not to come. It is no secret that Ian Smith was very close to Helms and that his aide John Carbaugh was accused by British diplomats of encouraging Smith to "hang on" and take a harder line, implying that there was enough support in the US Senate to lift sanctions without a settlement. Helms also went on to introduce legislation that demanded the immediate lifting of the sanctions against the Rhodesians as negotiations progressed. It is also reported that Helms support for lifting sanctions on Zimbabwe Rhodesia may have been grounded in North Carolina's tobacco traders. These traders would have been the main group benefiting from unilaterally lifting sanctions on tobacco-exporting Zimbabwe Rhodesia. However, Helms efforts were futile and our day of independence did come.

Furthermore, Helms yet again emerges in our country’s continuing story in 2001 by sponsoring the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 the very bill responsible for destabilising the Zimbabwean economy. In fact, the former U.S Assistant Secretary of State, Chester Crocker said it best when he said: “To separate the Zimbabwean people from ZANU we are going to have to make their economy scream and I hope you Senators have the stomach for what you have to do.”  Another equally important point to mention is the involvement of the current candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election Hillary Clinton and the current Vice President Jo Biden who were both co-sponsors of the bill together with Helm. One would argue that Obama’s failure to revoke this bill is in part to do with the relationship he has with the sponsors but that’s an issue for another day.

The two characters introduced above namely Clinton and Biden are also important to critically assess. This is due to their involvement in the intensified militarisation of Africa. This took place when Clinton was Secretary of State and the only place where the US has no military presence in Africa is South Sudan and Zimbabwe. Our country has maintained the fight against imperialism and understood that the aim of AFRICOM was to be used to further US interests in the continent which are not limited to economic and cultural interests. In addition, Zimbabwe has over  the last decade led the debate on the need to reform the UN Security Council, an argument that led to Zimbabwe’s  reengagement of relations with Japan.  Our country  continues to lead Africa, be it through the Look East Policy or the recent Agenda 2063 that focuses on Value Addition and Beneficiation. A policy crafted by the current government.

Although the challenges have had a negative bearing on us and have created conditions that have led to extreme poverty, corruption (both political and corporate), the Elinor drought which has also affected us immensely and global commodity prices are at an all-time low. It is safe to say our challenges are great and it is a struggle for the brave of which we are. This article outlines a number of challenges we have had to endure to get to this very day. A day that created a nation that has continuously led the continent of Africa to reclaim its Pan-African spirit. A country that has big enemies because it chose the hard road of self-determination. This country is Zimbabwe, a land of the brave hearted whose story will be told to generations of Africans in and outside of the continent. The land that did not run away from its Goliath instead chose to face him head on with the armour of principle.Indeed we are proud to call this land our home. It is this very heritage and history that leads one to conclude, "So far so good!".

Happy Birthday, Zimbabwe.

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Farai Muvuti is a Human Sciences Student at Hertfordshire University and is the ZANU PF UK Youth League Political Commissar