The Sunday Mail
The Zhuwao Brief continues with the theme of sustainable natural resources management this week. We ventilate and explore further the value proposition of tree and forest resources. This week, the Zhuwao Brief will touch on the various corridors that make up this value proposition.
By Patrick Zhuwao
However, I hope that comrades and colleagues will allow me to make an unfortunate, but necessary, diversion from this important socio-economic conversation to address a rather regrettable development that is unfolding within our Zimbabwean body politic.
Our preoccupation, as Zimbabweans, with political scheming and machinations has reached such ludicrous levels that some of our senior public officials are failing to show leadership.
Let me illustrate by way of an example.
The largest concentration of senior public officials is found within the complex that houses Mukwati, Kaguvi and Chaminuka buildings. These senior public officials constantly navigate and negotiate the multitude of potholes that lead to their offices.
They have failed to show leadership in just organising themselves to have these small stretches of road repaired.
I shudder.
I am tempted to speculate that matters of political intrigue are diverting attention from the core deliverables of senior public officials. I have been subjected to such scheming by being placed in a formation referred to as Generation 40 or G40.
Having to deal with such political mischief designed to malign me would inevitably result in my failing to pay full attention to my responsibility of chairing the board of the Forestry Commission. I suspect that this applies to everyone being maligned in any form.
I have, therefore, chosen to tackle this nonsense head on and expose this foolish and idiotic regime-change tactic of attempting to sow division by creating a fictional faction within Zanu-PF under the moniker of G40 or Generation 40. It is necessary to stop this drivel forthwith so that senior public officials focus on delivering to the nation.
The fictional so-called G40 formation has been the subject of some delusional regime-change agents masquerading as journalists. I have had to respond to this issue primarily because some senior Zanu-PF official asked me about the matter.
What astounded me most was this senior Zanu-PF official’s attempt to incredulously lend credence to “information” that they claimed to have sourced from the opposition media.
What utter nonsense and hogwash.
Colleagues and comrades will recall how last year Rugare Gumbo attempted to disingenuously label some of us, Zanu-PF members, who stood by His Excellency President Robert Mugabe as the gang of four. His characterisation also found expression in the rantings of Temba Mliswa when he sought to portray that Zanu-PF was being taken over by what he referred to as gangsters in an attempt to justify his forays with the CIA operative Eric Little.
The putschist Gamatox cabal sort to divert attention from their nefarious agenda through the creation of a fictitious gang of four. The introduction of this fictional so-called G40 has hallmarks of the classic regime change tactics of attempting to divert attention and also alienate supporters of President Mugabe from him.
What makes the whole issue rather unfortunate is that some senior Zanu-PF members are seeking to provide traction to this treacherous notion. I suspect that those senior Zanu-PF members pushing this regime change tactic have histories, like Rugare Gumbo, that indicate that they have not been 100 percent behind President Mugabe.
Can these senior members of Zanu-PF proudly claim that they stood solidly behind President Mugabe during both the Tsholotsho debacle in 2004 and the attempted Gamatox coup of 2014?
If they were found wanting in 2004, can they claim to have done anything to atone for their sins and misdemeanours since then? How have these senior Zanu-PF members shown their full support for and loyalty to President Mugabe through their actions in support of the vision and agenda set by the President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF?
To what extent do these senior Zanu-PF members still continue to fan issues of succession despite Congress having pronounced itself on the matter?
As I stand here, I can claim that I was 100 percent with President Mugabe in 2004 as the Tsholotsho debacle unfolded.
During the 2013 election campaign, I attended all but one of the President’s star rallies despite being denied logistical support by Didymus Mutasa who was Secretary for Administration then. I accompanied the President to his campaign rallies more than any other Politburo member.
During the height of the Gamatox cabal’s putschist agenda in 2013, I alerted the Party and nation of their machinations towards a palace coup. Despite attempts to impose a gag order on several Party members, including myself, I persisted in ventilating the issue of factionalism and its divisive nature. In the run up to Congress, I proposed and pushed for the institutionalisation of a unitary centre of power within Zanu-PF. I went to the archives and undusted Clause 4 of the Unity Accord which provides for the President to appoint his deputies and thus obviate the creation of multiple centres of power.
Yes, it is true that I will be turning 48 in three weeks’ time. It is an accident of birth that I am within my 40s. The mere fact of my age does not qualify me as a succession schemer. My record of actions in support of President Mugabe indicates that the succession debate is antithetical to me.
I have stood steadfast with President Mugabe much more than some of these members who are older and ostensibly more senior to me. Talk of G40 is being propagated by the lunatic fringe. That is enough about ideologically vacuous idiots and charlatans.
The major danger of these conceptually bereft conversations is that they detract from the national agenda for sustainable socio-economic transformation. Let us get back to unpacking the value of our tree and forest resources.
The value of tree and forest resources
Tree and forest resources supply products and services that are essential to the well-being and livelihoods of households and communities. Some products provide for basic needs such as food, shelter and health, whilst some products act as subsidies to other sectors such as industry and agriculture.
Households depend on a mix of activities in order to meet their livelihood needs. Some of these activities include harvesting products from tree and forest resources for direct consumption, using the tree and forest products as direct inputs (for example in carving), and utilising tree and forest products as indirect inputs (for example browse material for livestock).
The value proposition for tree and forest resources needs to actively take note of the fact that 70 percent of Zimbabwe’s population resides in rural areas and engages in agricultural activities. Notwithstanding this, however, the mix of activities that households engage in for their livelihoods depends on socio-economic and biophysical factors.
Tree and forest resources are the primary source of energy in the form of firewood considering that the 2012 National Census reports that 62 percent of households use firewood for cooking. There are other important products derived from tree and forest resources which include poles and structural timber for construction, timber for tool handles and household utensils, food and medicines, leaf litter, grazing and browsing.
Tree and forest resources also provide a service role in controlling soil erosion, maintaining soil fertility, modifying hydrological cycles, and providing shade and protection from the elements. The service role of tree and forest resources also extends to their hosting of a variety of food sources such as mopane worms, bees for honey, and mushrooms, amongst others.
The Forestry Commission has recognised that woodland management that is practiced in the context of indigenous agriculture and livelihoods provision is substantially different from classical Western models of agriculture and forestry which created an artificial distinction.
Tree and forest resources are inextricably linked to cropping and livestock management systems.
Chesa Forestry Research Station conducted research into the socio-economic potential of acacias in Ntabazinduna. An eight hectare field trial demonstrated the nitrogen fixing capacity of the acacia tree. During the formative years of the trials, inter-cropping with maize provided substantially high yields.
As the acacias grew bigger, the canopy precluded inter-cropping. However, the acacias matured to a point where they were able to provide browse for livestock.
The value proposition of the tree and forestry resources needs to be institutionalised in such a manner that tree and forest resources become amenable to the Campfire concept (Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources). Already, our communities have tremendous knowledge about the taxonomy, ecology, silviculture and uses of our tree and forest resources.
As Zimbabwe, we have built up a superlative body of knowledge on what is required to transform our society and economy sustainably. God has granted Zimbabwe a diverse range of natural resource endowments. President Mugabe continues to provide visionary and fearless leadership.
We have the ingredients for an empowered society and a growing economy.
However, we need to ensure that some of our political leaders focus on the tasks that they have been given by President Mugabe. This drivel of creating conspiracies that are divisive is stupid and nonsensical. It is the hallmark of the incompetent to divert attention from what they are supposed to deliver.
I, for one, have been tasked with chairing the board of the Forestry Commission. I must be held accountable for ensuring that tree and forest resources are deployed for an empowered society and a growing economy. What is your responsibility? What are you accountable for? Icho!
- Patrick Zhuwao is the Chair of Zhuwao Institute, an economics, development and research think tank focused on integrating socio-political dimensions into business and economic decision-making, particularly strategic planning.
- He can be reached at [email protected]
