George Charamba faces chop
President Robert Mugabe’s Spokesman George Charamba could face the chop under a new formula to allocate the Permanent secretary positions. Under the same formula which was used to allocate deputy ministerial positions if the Minister belongs to ZANU PF the MDC will appoint the Permanent secretary and vice versa.
Charamba is the Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Publicity whose Minister is Webster Shamu from ZANU PF.
News of Charamba’s departure would likely be treated with joy within the MDC ranks as he has already ruffled feathers in the all inclusive government.
Sources allege that Charamba colluded with Cabinet secretary Misheck Sibanda firstly to try and clandestinely swear in more ministers than originally agreed by the parties. Charamba reportedly masterminded the unilateral appointment of permanent secretaries in violation of power-sharing agreement.
Charamba is also accused of trying to wrestle control of the telecommunications department from the Ministry of Communications to fall under the Ministry of Information & Publicity.
Last week at the Net One headquarters Shamu reportedly told Communications Minister Nelson Chamisa to seek an audience with Charamba to resolve the dramatic conflict between Media, Information and Publicity and Information & Communications Technology over the telecommunications sector.
Shamu reportedly admitted that telecommunications was clearly outside his Jurisdiction but said he was following instructions. He further stated that he was tired of being used when there was so much work to do in his own ministry.
Another well placed source in the Ministry of Information has revealed that Charamba,who is also Mugabe’s speechwriter advised the president to assert his authority in a speech delivered on his birthday in which he vowed to seize more farms.
Charamba’s actions have prompted a senior Prime Minister’s aide to call for his resignation as his actions are threatening the unity government, “The prime minister and his deputy are going to tell Mugabe that if he is genuinely interested in an inclusive government, he has to either transfer the civil servants to less influential jobs or fire them. Last week, the prime minister spoke about the need for the country to stop land invasions, only for Mugabe to come out in public and say land invasions would continue,” said the aide.
“As long as Mugabe listens to these civil servants, who happen to be his advisers, then we are going nowhere with the unity government. “Mugabe’s language at his birthday bash is clear testimony that he is being used by some unscrupulous people who are against change in government,” the aide said.
Last week Charamba was forced to drop his weekly column written under the pseudonym ‘Nathaniel Manheru’ in The Herald after he learnt that Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) – established under the framework of the inclusive Government was going to issue an statement demanding that the column and all other ‘biased and inflammatory reporting’ to stop.
Posted by Simba Dzvairo
on March 3, 2009. Filed under Local News.
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