Posted by 
The military top brass, working in cahoots with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono, have attempted to frame Finance Minister Tendai Biti for treason, authoritative MDC, government and intelligence sources have confirmed.The plot is widely seen as either a stalling tactic or retaliation for Biti’s probe into US$45m missing from the central bank, Biti’s investigation uncovered scandal at the RBZ, including the revelation that, between December and August, Gono siphoned off US$45m from the RBZ. The money had been a statutory reserve meant to provide financial cover to banks in trouble.
Gono claims the money was used to bankroll the troubled airline, Air Zimbabwe, to pay presidential scholarships and to finance diplomatic missions. This was at a time, however, when the RBZ had failed to provide funding for salaries for the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, pensions, communications and courier services.
Biti presented a full report on this plunder to Mugabe last week. Another report has been sent to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.Biti confirmed that US$45m had indeed been “stolen” from the RBZ.
“It’s economic kleptocracy,” he said.
An investigation by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) technical team also corroborated Biti’s findings, and said Gono had stolen US$45.5m from the RBZ.“The RBZ has used foreign reserve assets to fund its operating expenses, withdrawals of foreign currency amounts and debt service, as well as payments on behalf of the government,” the damning IMF report stated. “The total value of fund outflows is reported to have been US$45.5 million between end-December 2008 and end-August. The RBZ also accumulated US$40.3 million in arrears on operating expenses during the first nine months of 2009.”
Gono came out guns blazing, and co-ordinated a response to what he saw as Biti’s continued effort to embarrass him. In a desperate bid to forestall the exposure, there was a contrived plot, hatched by the Joint Operations Command, which continues to meet illegally, and Gono, to frame Biti, our source said.
On Tuesday it was heard that the plot against Biti involved 20 AK-47 rifles, reportedly missing from the highly-secured Pomona army barracks in Borrowdale.
Authoritative sources said this week the operation was botched after armed police hurriedly raided Biti’s Chisipite home two weeks ago, before the weapons had been planted. The search uncovered nothing. There was now a manhunt for the 12 soldiers who have disappeared with the weapons without planting them at Biti’s home.
It was believed some low-key MDC officials received cash inducements in exchange for information on Biti’s properties.
“The long history of Zanu (PF) planting weapons and pressing charges of treason are age-old, tired tactics of the Zanu (PF) dictatorship, but they must know that this is a serious attack on our movement and we will not back down,” Biti said then. Now MDC Transport Manager, Pascal Gwezere, has been abducted and jailed in connection with the missing weapons.
Sources, however, say it is close to impossible to steal anything from the high-security One Engineers Support Regiment Armoury, from where the 20 Ak-47 rifles are said to have been stolen.
Tensions
Biti vowed that no amount of harassment or threats would make him back down.
“The real loss that this country has suffered is 10 years of economic mismanagement, economic chicanery and economic kleptocracy,” he said. “It will take us 10 years to achieve the GDP that we had in 1996 and this is at a cost of anything between US$15bn and US$45bn.”
Over the past few years, Biti has been jailed and beaten by President Mugabe’s security forces. But despite still trying to deal with the trauma of those experiences, he has resolutely effected central bank reforms and has been credited with ending hyperinflation and reining in Gono, accused of wrecking the economy through quasi-fiscal activities.
The latest spat comes amid heightened tensions between Gono and Biti. The central bank chief has claimed his boss was stalling the distribution of US$510m received from the International Monetary Fund in August.
Gono has tried to claim credit for winning the funds, which form part of a global scheme that the IMF offered to all of its members, but the IMF has said the funds are under the control of the Finance Ministry. Biti is insisting that the funds will only be distributed once the national budget, expected to be presented this month, has been approved by parliament.
The MDC insists it wants the RBZ governor, a close ally of President Mugabe, replaced by an impartial candidate. This was one of the issues central to the ongoing talks that saw the MDC disengaging from government on October 16. And Biti has consistently rebutted attacks by Gono, including accusations earlier this year that Honey and Blankenberg, the leading Harare legal firm in which the Minister of Finance, is a senior partner, had externalised more than US$1m in foreign currency, allegedly in contravention of exchange control regulations.
Many of Gono’s critics in the banking sector were hounded out of the country after similar allegations were levelled against them by Gono. Biti and his law firm rubbished the allegations and challenged Gono to prove it.
Additional Reporting: The Zimbabwean
Now they will use beautiful women to pull the MDC down. Educated beautiful women will do strange things to MDC. The MDC will be destroyed the Samson way. Womenisers beware!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
In the first photograph, is that Amai Biti with Tindo here, or is she an exchange student, aid worker, MDC activist an adopted child? Somebody tell me please? She looks awfully afraid and tense.
To the matter at hand, well varume I told you before, tiri pa-tight for as long as Tsvangi is at the steering wheel. He was very foolishly suckered into this GNU nonsense, Gushungo desperately needed Tsvangi than the latter needed the former, if Morgaz had foresight and a finite degree of intelligence he ought to have waited out. A lot of people say, the nation was suffering and this was the opportunity for healing, my kinsmen; if you believe that you are hopelessly blind and impressionable. I mean, the nation was already suffering immensely, there was no more suffering we could endure more than we already had. It was foolishness of monumental proportion to believe that a) ZANU was willing to honestly and genuinely change for the benefit of the nation, when clearly they themselves had brought the nation from it’s knees and into the carcus it is today, b) there would be any reforms of any kind, without at least retiring some unsavoury figures in key positions.
The parliamentary “majority” that MDC-T holds does not cause Bob any sleepless nights, hence this Biti, and the Bennett saga, all designed to undermine the votes in parliament, preferrably in Gushungo’s favour. So okay we cannot get rid of some of the decrepids in ZANU, but the overly politicised armed forces commanders, Mudede, and most of all Gono should pensioned at whatever cost, given the necessary immunity to keep them happy, and told to get lost. If Tsvangi cannot influence that, at parliamentary or at the negotiating table we are doomed. But then again the negotiating table is chaired by equally incompetent and impotent spineless men.
I am afraid we are still lost in the wilderness, but unlike the Israelites as they left Egypt, there is no pillar of fire in the front to lead us, pitiful, not even a candle.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Now it comes to light why Biti received a bullet in the mail.
Like somebody else commented elsewhere on this website “Evil shall not prevail over good”.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Shaina wo…..yango kunerima! shaina! All the people who love zimbabwe go to youtube and listen to the song by Alexio-Shaina…….im telling you guys you will be very touched at the same time you will have hope.
Thank you George. embedded video attached. ( Ed )
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
What is happening says a lot about Mugabe and ZANU-PF.They have become over fattened greedy pigs with no conscience and dignity at all. I bet they do not sleep at night as they are busy scheming in the dark on ways to fraudlently stay in power through murder,rape,torture,violence and robbery.
SANITY WILL PREVAIL no matter how long you can delay it the inevitable will come to fruition.HITLER,POL POT,STALIN,IDI AMIN etc they all tried it but to no avail.MUGABE and his cronies are staring down to the barrels of demise and your time is neigh….the democratic forces are gathering around the walls of Jericho and the walls of despotism and kleptocracy are going to fall.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
dino wa dadi, the sad thing though is you continue to put faith in loosers who have been trying for the past decade and still failing. Simply pointing to Bob’s shortfalls is not what will remove him. You need real strategists and not these boys and girls in MDC who are given solutions from 10000 miles which will have been tested on a computer simulator as if they cant see the issues on the ground themselves.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Sorry guys but eff the politics, is Biti doing the nasty with that white missus?
-Vakuru Chaivo-
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Thank you so much Mr Edtor for posting the song its an inspiration to many
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
George Charamba a.k.a Vakuru Chaivo, you seem to miss your good old days before it hit you. You should instead advise your minister of finance to be careful of women and girls. Tell him you are always scratching.
And Abel, are you sure you are sane? How many times should you be told that Mugabe is the loser? You seem to call MDC-T losers who lack planning..sure? Is it that you believe what you write or you just write and feel sorry for yourself. Mugabe had to resort to the most stupid methods to avoid a re-run which he had cheated to get. He was beaten hands down in the first round..Tsvangirai got 57% of the votes. Then Chiweshe was commanded by JOC to stop announcing results…a full month. The soldiers were expecting MDC to riot for the results. They failed to get that. They later wittled down the numbers so that there is a re-run. But they knew Mugabe will lose worse. So they had to kill, rape, burn people alive, impound Tsvangirai’s bus and other campaign material, bar MDC-T from visiting certain areas while they had access to every corner of the country. Until up to a few days before elections, it was still clear Mugabe would lose. Then they unleashed the Border Gezi animals to go near every polling station to record people who voted and check their ink. And Abel says..MDC-T are losers. Sorry my friend, you need examination of your brain because it has since stopped thinking. Just tell us that Mugabe staged a coup which is correct. But dont praise such criminal things like coups and call them cleverness. Evereyone knows that there was a coup in Zimbabwe in 2008 June.
I can Assure you Shephered That Vakuru Chaivo is NOT George Charamba. (Editor)
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Oh my. Please Editor, he sounds like one. Look at the English, Shakespearan English that George is fond of. Could Vakuru be a “write alike?”
Probably…But I am CERTAIN that VC is who he says he is.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Abel,we need to be patient.You are right that MDC are” little boys and girls”,but what they have done since comming onto the political playing field they have exposed the old poltical paedophile for who he is.Even with ZANU-PF it took them almost 30 years to remove the white minority government and its establishment and they made loads of mistakes which cost lifes. MDC is still learning and surely they will and are getting stronger, never mind the pessimists who keep moaning all time.
Besides MDC will not have ruled Zimbabwe alone if it had been given the opportunity to govern…there would been chaos. Strategists can be made in a day but the wise are for eternity.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Nonsense. Zimbabwe has no true revolutionaries, everyone is scared cold just sending messeges on the internet, and most of you are not even in the country for that matter. Yet you stand tall and pretend to be acclaimed political analysts, trying to draw comments from the public to measure our mood. YOU ARE YET TO SEE WHAT TRUE REVOLUTION IS, JUST WAIT and WATCH, DO NOT SPEAK, YOU WILL SEE, I ASSURE YOU, WITHOUT FEAR.
So we have finally a comment from inside Zimbabwe…Harare no less, …Welcome to the Forum Princeb. (editor)
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Aiwa Shepherd, uir kuposha zhira pano, MDC-T are not losers when it came to the elections, no mate you got it wrong, they are losers because there is no-one taking the lead in decisive decision making, and by that I mean; when it really counts for men to stand up and make some extremely difficult choices, there appear to be nothing but wild stabs in the dark. I will always reiterate, the GNU was complete utter nonsense, does the unity accord with ZAPU ring a bell here? Shepherd tell me then, why are the Ndebele so disenfranchised with ZANU, heh? Did Nkomo not sign something akin to the GNU? Matebeleland never received the promised aid, Mugabe was taken to task screaming and wailing just to get NUST built in Bulawayo, had he had his own way, those poor folks would have received jack.
Look Shepherd, many people have put faith in leaders and have endured long, hard difficult journeys to freedom, so it is not really about being patient, because we are, but what undermines that, the patience and tolerance is boldness, decisiveness, foresight and intelligence. MDC-T have some fairly bright people in their midst, however at the helm it is unfortunate we have poor Morgaz. Look, I am not bothered by his extremely humble intellectual propensity, but do not tell me we are not victims of his otherwise sometimes, arguably exceptionally poor ability to synthesise the situation at hand. Sadly some of the more intelligent individuals are afraid to hold Morgaz to task for some of the imbecilic decisions he has made, my friend, now that is exactly WHERE THEY HAVE LOST. Morgaz has repeatedly steered the ship into the jagged rocks and shores and not the promised land. Before you get carried away, I MOST CERTAINLY AM NOT A ZANU SYMPATHISER, those rabid bastard dogs have ruined our once beautiful nation, not even hyenas, jackals and vultures will give our nation a second glance, let alone pee on it like a dog would.
I am desparately disappointed in Morgaz for signing that GNU crap, I will not speak ill of the dead, but surely did he not realise the same thing happened to Josh Nkomo, if that was not enough; how about Kenya then? ZANU are the antethesis of all things progressive, they would rather burn the house down than allow anyone to rebuild it, all in the name of sovreignty, and all that bollocks. Morgaz should have gathered his people, and told them to brace themselves, but not for violence. Rest assured ZANU would have imploded, they were certainly on the cusp of taking each other out, Mafia style like the “Banana Wars”, (for your own knowledge, google the banana wars to see what I am talking about), yes we would be starting from scratch, but there would be no hinderance but at least a collective and unified spirit and body of people who actually WANT build our country. But we lost, not the election Shepherd, but someone with vision and steel testicles and brilliance to realise that dream, we lost so hopelessly, we have been abandoned to our fate because the rest of the world now think that is what we wanted and are now no longer interested, and Bob Gushungo is smiling all the way to the bank, literally. Saka Shepherd bhururuh wangu, do you still think we have won, and if so, what have we won?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Oh yes by the way, Vakuru Chaivo is on point. Is that white chick Amai Biti? I aint got no problem if she is, hey is that not we are struggling against, to attain the freedom of association, with WHOEVER we want. Saka imi boys dze MDC-T, vanoyenda kuma conference, tell us; is the chick Mrs Biti? Are you misinformed like the poor green bombers and simply do what you are told? Or maybe you are afraid to speak up and out, again like ZANU youth? Koh nhai tell us, asi chii nhai?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Simbimbino at least you said it not me. Even if MDC had got 90% as is claimed, the fact is on the ground they are playing second fiddle to Mugabe. That has always been my point but myopic people like Sheppy dont see it that way. They want to count those number of papers with a cross on MDC in the election box, and if those are the majority then they have won. Not in Africa by boet.That happens in developed countries and we are far from developed. I dont mean to cause alarm and despondency but i believe Zanu pf will not just fold their arms and allow another party to rule without blood being shed, unfortunately MDC-T leadership dont have what it takes to lead such a revolution.They are very scared and the junta is also heavy handed, thats a terrible combination.I think all that can be done is to wait until the junta dies away and a new generation comes. Besides that we will continue to hear empty barks for another quarter century.MDC-T inoteta action so live with it guys.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Abel. Please take note of the Editors remark at the end of the comment by Princeb and stop trying to pretend that you are within the borders of Zimbabwe when it is a well known fact that you are living in South Africa.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Bobby, we missed you.Is that the best contribution you could come up with after such a lengthy absence? As a matter of fact I am in Afghanistan on a contract here. How is Poland?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Abel. You are no longer worth commenting on as you continue to lie and in my eyes that makes you no different to a thief. When you decide to start admitting to the truth i will reply to your comments but as you remain a South African liar then you stoop lower than a dog and should then recieve the same treatment.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Thank you Mr. Editor for the welcome, its most appreciated.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Simbimbino and Abel seem to just like arguing for the sake of it and sometimes I am tempted not to worry about them but let me put it on record Simbimbino that your analysis of the reasons why MDC-T signed the agreement lacks academic analysis. Tsvangirai was surounded by the whole SADC then led by none other than Mbeki. It was Mbeki and his adviser Frank Chikane who drafted the GNU with approval of Mugabe. It gave Mugabe 80% power and we know it. The MDC-T refused many times to sign. Mbeki then woodwinked SADC that MDC-T is just there to cause problems and not solve problems. They argued that tsvangirai is now a regional rebel like Savimbi who deserve to be eliminated Savimbi style. Without SADC support MDC-T would be nothing because Western countries always rely on neighbouring countries for action. Thats why the Security Council case against Mugabe and his JOC failed due mainly to Mbeki. So the MDC on one hand had to be seen as not being against progress by accepting what they knew was a very bad GNU. They then worked hard to be seen to like it including Tsvangirai getting booed in London. Never think that MDC-T are fools and ZANU(PF) knows it. Behind the closed rooms they tell Obama or Brown the opposite of what they tell the media. Its strategic. MDC-T knew that this GNU will not work but they did not want SADC to blame them for its collapse. Now if you guys are analysts tell me the SADC position. In whose camp are they now. Obviously on MDC-T’s camp. Thats the reality you may scream but thats the truth. After Maputo Mugabe is by himself. The next step is now for MDC-T to force the full compliance with the GNU which would mean executive power being shared between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Cabinet. ZANU(PF) will never accept that and further distancing themselves from SADC. Its a mind game Abel and Simbimbino. You have to understand politics behind personal hatred. Just like the other contributor said, ZANU(PF) started fighting Smith in 1963 with everything including guns. They only managed to “win” in 1979. So fighting a dictator is a process. Moreover MDC-T have no guns against opponents with guns. Mistakes happen and I agree that sometimes MDC-T make mistakes but who doensn’t. The reality is that MDC-T now has local support and just see their many rallies and also has regional support. So why saying Tsvangirai is weak bla bla bla. Its just that you are jealous. Simbimbino, you want to claim you dont support ZANU(PF) and then you address people as “you MDC-T supporters”. Whom are you fooling?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
You will do us all a favour by keeping your trap shut Bobby.You never contribute anything usefull anyway, you behave like some interpol agent trying to track down where a person is as if that has any bearing on the story under discussion, lick your wounds from wherever you may be.
p.s I before e except after C
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Sheppy, If Morgan was forced to sign by SADC and Mbeki like you claim then he is more of a fool than I thought. Who knows what he will be forced to sign when he is the president of Zimbawe.Time will tell whether you Maputo theory is right but I doubt it very much.There is no way SADC will help remove Mugabe who put them into power in the first place, just I dont blame you, wishfull thinking is part of the MDC strategy.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Like i said Abel. No different to a thief and not worthy of a comment.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Hey people please tell me this Abel dude does not come from Zimbabwe because uyangiyanyisa!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
George spit out what you need to say.which facts are you disputing. emulate your collegue Shepherd who lays out his points. Peple like you are place holders or should i say useless gap feelers.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Ohh so George is also Dr Phil? Check your form before you submit a comment and you might save yourself some embarassments.
I remain Abel
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Oh is that how it is Mr Editor? Removing Dr Phil’s comments just like that.Defending people who enjoy changing names and making it appear as if there are many people saying the same thing. How are you now differing with the Junta websites?
Abel…I have not removed any comments on this site for nearly 3 days. I will investigate.(editor)
I have taken steps to prevent a recurrence. My Apologies. (Editor)
Like or Dislike:
0 
0