Mugabe, Tsvangirai agree of elections

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday conceded that harmonised elections should be held using the current Constitution if the envisaged new Constitution is rejected in a referendum, the State media reported.

President Mugabe has since indicated that elections will be held this year, with or without a new Constitution.

Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday, PM Tsvangirai said: "If the draft Constitution is rejected, we will fall back to the Lancaster House Constitution.

"My attitude is that we have wasted too much effort and time in this process and hopefully, as I am told by the management committee, areas of conflict are minimal.

"I am told there is disagreement on the issue of dual citizenship and devolution and I hope a position will be found to accommodate them."

The draft Constitution is yet to be finalised due to continuous haggling by parties in the inclusive Government.

Issues stalling the process include devolution, dual citizenship and the death penalty.

PM Tsvangirai said if the "necessary reforms" are completed, money had to be found to hold elections this year.

"If there is no money, we have to find a way. The funds have to be available," he said.

The PM's remarks contradict statements by MDC-T secretary-general and Finance Minister Mr Tendai Biti recently that Government had no money to fund elections this year.

Minister Biti said Treasury had only budgeted for the referendum and national census to be held later this year.

Mr Tsvangirai said MDC-T's pre-poll demands were not "a pie in the sky."

He said he will continue lobbying Sadc to ensure the demands are met.

PM Tsvangirai could not say what his party would do if President Mugabe called for general elections without implementation of the reforms his party is asking for.

"My party will make a decision, but it is premature to say my party will do this if President Mugabe calls for elections. We expect the President to respect the Constitution and the election roadmap agreed by the negotiators.

"If he proceeds to call for elections unilaterally, we will take a position depending on the prevailing circumstances," he said.

PM Tsvangirai attacked the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme, barely four days after endorsing the process during his question time in the Senate.

Last Thursday, he described the empowerment drive as a noble programme meant to bring blacks into the mainstream economy following decades of marginalisation.He said blacks had for long been regarded as workers with the country's resources under the control of the white minority.

"The indigenisation policy was put in place for Zimbabweans to be able to participate in businesses because for many years businesses were owned by whites and blacks were just workers," he said.

"The indigenisation policy is meant for people to be free because if you do not own means of production, you remain workers."

PM Tsvangirai said financial institutions should also be involved in the programme by lending money to indigenous people so that they can buy shares in companies.

But yesterday, the MDC-T leader claimed the process affected many sectors.

He said the Ministry of Investment Promotion was not serving any purpose because Government was undermining investment through the indigenisation policy.

"The indigenisation policy continues to affect many sectors of the economy and the mixed messages have not helped matters.

"To this end, I am convening a special Council of Ministers meeting tomorrow to deal with this issue in the presence of all ministers that have been affected. The fact is that you cannot have a Ministry of Investment Promotion while at the same time appearing to have adopted a policy that does not in any way promote investment in the country," he said.

PM Tsvangirai said Government had also come up with a drought mitigation strategy following reports that about a third of the country's crop was a write-off.

He said the Government was putting in place mechanisms to ensure people were assisted to get food.