News / National
'Zim government has no money for by-elections,' says Biti
05 Sep 2012 at 05:48hrs | Views
THE ZIMBABWE GOVERNMENT is mobilising money to pay civil servants bonuses and fund agriculture, making it impossible for Treasury to fund by-elections this year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said.
He told The Herald that there were priority areas that needed funding besides elections.
Government, he said, had not budgeted for by-elections this year.
"There are two conflicting issues which are affordability of by-elections versus respect of the court order when we had not budgeted for them.
"At the present moment, our major challenge is bonuses and the 2012/2013 agricultural season. To make matters worse, our August figures (revenue collection) are down by US$24 million.
"We have just spent US$3 million for the urgent restocking in Matabeleland region. We have also paid US$10 million to seed and fertiliser companies that we owe about US$48 million. Our budgetary pressure is very acute."
Minister Biti said if by-elections were to be held in the three Matabeleland constituencies in line with the court order, Government would compromise and fund the polls.
"However, if they are to be held in all the (28) vacant constituencies, then it is financially impossible.
"About US$60 million will be required for all those vacant constituencies because it is more of a national election because the constituencies are scattered throughout the country.
"This also means that it is financially impossible to have general elections this year," he said.
Instead, the minister said, Government was focusing on the referendum after allocating about US$25 million for the census.
By-elections, he said, were down the Government priority line.
Minister Biti, however, told the nation only two months ago that Government had set aside a chest of US$100 million for national elections.
The funds, the Minister said in an interview with our sister paper the Sunday Mail in July, were part of the US$500 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation, which the country received from the International Monetary Fund to mitigate the effects of the global financial crisis in 2009.
Government agreed to bank the money as a contingency plan for the impending polls.
Legal experts, however, said it would be unconstitutional to hold by-elections in three constituencies only regardless of the fact that the court judgment specifically dealt with the three constituencies.
"The President is bound to comply with the order, which in principle should be for all the vacant constituencies though failure to hold them in other constituencies will not constitute contempt of court," said University of Zimbabwe law lecturer Professor Lovemore Madhuku.
"If the President only calls for by-elections in those three constituencies, he will be in serious violation of the Constitution.
"Although the court was dealing with three constituencies, the net effect of the judgment was to tell the President that he is acting unlawfully by not calling for by-elections in all vacant constituencies."
Prof Madhuku said if by-elections could not be held, then general elections were supposed to be held.
Director for Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Ms Irene Petras said by-elections were supposed to be held in all the vacant constituencies in compliance with the Constitution.
"In terms of the law, by-elections should be held in all the vacant constituencies. The responsibility is on the President to set the date for by-elections.
"On the issue of resources, Government can approach the court and express their challenges. They will then have to wait for the court to make a decision," Ms Petras said.
The Supreme Court recently upheld a Bulawayo High Court decision that by-elections be held in the three Matabeleland constituencies.
This was after three former legislators who lost their seats following their expulsion from the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC, Mr Abednico Bhebhe (Nkayi South), Mr Njabuliso Mguni (Bulilima East) and Mr Norman Mpofu (Lupane East) instituted court action.
They declared their interest to contest for the constituencies as independent candidates.
In its judgment, the court ruled that by-elections were to be held despite Government's submission that there was no money for the exercise.
The President was given up to October 1 to proclaim dates for the by-elections.
MDC argues that the three former legislators were ineligible to stand in the by-elections if they were to be held because of the moratorium among the parties in Government that they would not contest each other.
The trio is now in the MDC-T structures.
However, Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo and MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai said the moratorium had expired and the parties were supposed to contest each other.
He told The Herald that there were priority areas that needed funding besides elections.
Government, he said, had not budgeted for by-elections this year.
"There are two conflicting issues which are affordability of by-elections versus respect of the court order when we had not budgeted for them.
"At the present moment, our major challenge is bonuses and the 2012/2013 agricultural season. To make matters worse, our August figures (revenue collection) are down by US$24 million.
"We have just spent US$3 million for the urgent restocking in Matabeleland region. We have also paid US$10 million to seed and fertiliser companies that we owe about US$48 million. Our budgetary pressure is very acute."
Minister Biti said if by-elections were to be held in the three Matabeleland constituencies in line with the court order, Government would compromise and fund the polls.
"However, if they are to be held in all the (28) vacant constituencies, then it is financially impossible.
"About US$60 million will be required for all those vacant constituencies because it is more of a national election because the constituencies are scattered throughout the country.
"This also means that it is financially impossible to have general elections this year," he said.
Instead, the minister said, Government was focusing on the referendum after allocating about US$25 million for the census.
By-elections, he said, were down the Government priority line.
Minister Biti, however, told the nation only two months ago that Government had set aside a chest of US$100 million for national elections.
The funds, the Minister said in an interview with our sister paper the Sunday Mail in July, were part of the US$500 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation, which the country received from the International Monetary Fund to mitigate the effects of the global financial crisis in 2009.
Government agreed to bank the money as a contingency plan for the impending polls.
"The President is bound to comply with the order, which in principle should be for all the vacant constituencies though failure to hold them in other constituencies will not constitute contempt of court," said University of Zimbabwe law lecturer Professor Lovemore Madhuku.
"If the President only calls for by-elections in those three constituencies, he will be in serious violation of the Constitution.
"Although the court was dealing with three constituencies, the net effect of the judgment was to tell the President that he is acting unlawfully by not calling for by-elections in all vacant constituencies."
Prof Madhuku said if by-elections could not be held, then general elections were supposed to be held.
Director for Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Ms Irene Petras said by-elections were supposed to be held in all the vacant constituencies in compliance with the Constitution.
"In terms of the law, by-elections should be held in all the vacant constituencies. The responsibility is on the President to set the date for by-elections.
"On the issue of resources, Government can approach the court and express their challenges. They will then have to wait for the court to make a decision," Ms Petras said.
The Supreme Court recently upheld a Bulawayo High Court decision that by-elections be held in the three Matabeleland constituencies.
This was after three former legislators who lost their seats following their expulsion from the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC, Mr Abednico Bhebhe (Nkayi South), Mr Njabuliso Mguni (Bulilima East) and Mr Norman Mpofu (Lupane East) instituted court action.
They declared their interest to contest for the constituencies as independent candidates.
In its judgment, the court ruled that by-elections were to be held despite Government's submission that there was no money for the exercise.
The President was given up to October 1 to proclaim dates for the by-elections.
MDC argues that the three former legislators were ineligible to stand in the by-elections if they were to be held because of the moratorium among the parties in Government that they would not contest each other.
The trio is now in the MDC-T structures.
However, Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo and MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai said the moratorium had expired and the parties were supposed to contest each other.
Source - TH
