Biti's proposal to cut budgetary allocations, Mugabe loses it

President Robert Mugabe this week flew into a frightening rage and launched vicious attacks against Finance Minister Tendai Biti at a special cabinet. The meeting on Thursday had been called to discuss the fiscal policy review to be presented in parliament on Tuesday revealed Timeslive.

Briefings by cabinet ministers showed that Mugabe was outraged by Biti's proposals to cut budgetary allocations to several ministries and departments, including sensitive areas such as defence, police, intelligence, prisons, war veterans, foreign affairs, international travels and "special services".

"We have never seen anything like that. I don't know even how to express it to you. It was scary. The president was furious, enraged, I mean very angry in other words," a senior cabinet minister said. "What had angered him was that Biti proposed cuts in critical areas, mainly relating to security.

"I think the president and his Zanu-PF ministers, who were also all over Biti, interpreted that as a political strategy and a plot to weaken the security establishment."

Another minister said: "It was bad and terrifying. That's all I can say, ask others."

Officials said Mugabe, describing the minister as a "young man", threatened to take "swift and decisive measures" against Biti, whom he accused of "going too far". They said Mugabe was supported by ministers whose portfolios were affected and other senior officials, including Vice-President Joyce Mujuru, Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi.

Others who joined in the fray were MDC-T ministers Nelson Chamisa (Information, Communication Technology), Theresa Makone (Home Affairs), Tapiwa Mashakada (Economic Development) and Industry and Trade Minister Welshman Ncube (MDC-N).

"None of the ministers supported Biti because they also had their own grievances against him, mainly that he had refused to fund their supplementary budget requests and other issues," an official said.

"So Biti was fighting a lone battle and the meeting had to be adjourned, but not before he was told to go and revise his proposals."

Biti presented a report on the fiscal policy outlining the economic situation and future prospects, indicating that Treasury was broke and struggling to fund the $2.7-billion budget.

He said there were challenges inhibiting economic recovery and growth which included a hostile political environment, policy inconsistencies, low revenues and limited fiscal space, among other problems.

"Biti's report was hard-hitting, and, given the rising political tensions between him and the president, especially over the issue of civil servants' salaries, that ignited the situation," a minister said. "The two have clashed many times before in cabinet but on Thursday it was frightening. To begin with, it was a shouting match between the two but the situation later degenerated into a fracas when ministers from all the three parties joined the fight."

Biti was said to have finally retreated, terrified. He fuelled the situation by maintaining there would be no supplementary budget to cover civil servants' salary increases.

In fact, one Zanu-PF minister accused Biti of proposing cuts in line with "advice given to by International Monetary Fund economists and experts who recently visited the country to assess the economic situation".

Biti last week told parliament there would be no supplementary budget this year. He said the economy did not have the capacity to fund any extra budget requirements since he was already struggling to raise money to finance the budget.

Biti said there would be a $500-million budget deficit arising from the January salary increments, purchase of grain and the constitution-making process.