Reserve Bank governor writes Mugabe in appeal to save Zimbabwe

By Tererai Karimakwenda
14 December 2005

The Zim Online news site has reported being shown a confidential memo on Tuesday, written by Zimbabwe’s central bank governor Gideon Gono, in which he tells Robert Mugabe that the country is headed for "catastrophe" next year unless he acts urgently to stop farm invasions and allow farmers to grow food. Gono has been very vocal about farm invasions in recent months, describing government officials taking farms illegally as criminals that should be prosecuted. And Mugabe himself blasted farm grabbers at the ruling party’s Annual Congress last weekend, saying there is no room in the party for them.

According to ZimOnline, Gono passionately pleads with Mugabe to intervene, and warns that failure to grow enough food this farming season would come back to haunt him and his government. We asked Daniel Molokela of ZimOnline about the authenticity of the letter, and he said the site goes through a rigorous process of checking facts before publishing.

Asked whether he thinks Mugabe did not know the situation described in Gono’s message, Molokela said Mugabe’s rantings at the Congress indicate that he is now deeply concerned about agriculture. He said their policy for the last 5 years has been to just take the land, but now the focus has shifted to what is happening on that land, and the new farmers are going to have to prove they are producing. Molokela believes agriculture minister Joseph Made is also under fire for his lacklustre performance. The Gono letter suggests to Mugabe that he deal with Made, who is seen as having failed to provide seeds, fertilizer and other farm inputs before the rains came last month.

So is Zimbabwe finally to see some progress in agriculture? Molokela said food production has become a survival issue for Mugabe. He has no choice now, he said, and it will all depend on the availability of resources and the logistics of prioritising. Molokela said Mugabe is facing other concerns, such as the restless army and security forces, and it may be difficult for him to manage them all. But he believes the agriculture minister needs to be shaken, otherwise he may be gone.