The Financial Gazette

Ray Ndlovu, Staff Reporter

BULAWAYO — A four-day working visit by a European Union (EU) delegation to the second city, which ends today, has put ZANU-PF in a tight corner as it attempts to gain the Matabeleland vote ahead of make-or-break elections to be held this year or in 2013.
Led by Ambassador Aldo Dell’ Ariccia, the EU delegation is hoping to get an appreciation of the problems affecting not only Bulawayo, but the rest of the Matabeleland region.
But before it even sets a foot in the region, a war of words erupted over its mission. The ZANU-PF side of the inclusive government was not happy with the visit, citing the diplomatic dispute between Harare and Brussels.
ZANU-PF has a long-standing dispute with the EU and the United States over sanctions it placed on President Robert Mugabe and more than 200 members of his inner circle between 2001 and 2003, citing alleged human rights violations and flawed electoral processes. Although, the EU-imposed sanctions are set for a review next week, no new position is expected to be adopted by the bloc, in what would further extend hostilities between the 27-member bloc and ZANU-PF.
At the same time, ZANU-PF is accused of presiding over the marginalisation of the three Matabeleland provinces — Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South.
As a result of the discontentment in Matabeleland, ZANU-PF has struggled to secure any meaningful support in the three provinces. Currently, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai enjoys wider support in the region, followed by Professor Welshman Ncube’s MDC.
With elections beckoning, ZANU-PF and its rivals have been trying hard to be seen to be doing something for the people of the region.
The visit by the EU delegation has, however, made people in Bulawayo and its hinterland debate whether ZANU-PF is serious about uplifting the region. While the EU delegation is promising to partner the region in development, ZANU-PF believes there could be a catch somewhere.
But while civic society leaders and the business community were excited about the visit, the push by the EU into the region ahead of a do-or-die election expected this year is being perceived by observers as a slap in the face for ZANU-PF’s election campaign, often laced with anti-sanctions rhetoric.
Spurning the gesture by the EU, as advocated last week by the Governor and Resident Minister for Bulawayo, Cain Mathema, has further entrenched the perception that ZANU-PF does not care about the economic marginalisation of the Matabeleland province.
The visit saw the EU donating medical supplies to health institutions, among them Magwegwe Clinic and also rolling out support programmes in collaboration with the Bulawayo City Council.
The EU delegation’s visit comes at a time when the city is battling widespread de-industrialisation and company closures.
A US$40 million fund earmarked to spearhead recovery of Bulawayo industries has been fraught with political bickering and delays in its disbursement, which has seen the fund first unveiled in October last year still yet to be disbursed four months later.
Bulawayo companies have also treaded cautiously on reports that 58 firms had been short-listed as possible recipients of the fund, saying it could actually be months before the funds were released.
The Financial Gazette last week revealed that the metropolitan governor for Bulawayo was set for a show-down with the EU delegation and had vowed to snub it.
“What are they coming to Bulawayo for...Bulawayo’s economy is dead because of the sanctions they imposed on us...Why are they coming in particular to Matabeleland of all the areas in Zimbabwe”, said Mathema.
Nhlanhla Dube, the spokesperson for one of the smaller factions of the MDC, said an extension of the sanctions by the EU would give ZANU-PF an excuse not to fulfil the Global Political Agreement.
Dube added further; “There has been a logjam in the unity government, which has been heightened by ZANU-PF’s call for elections with or without a new constitution. All this inflammatory talk makes the likelihood of sanctions being lifted near impossible”.
Political analyst, Effie Ncube, said, “After 32 years of rule, Matabeleland has borne the brunt of a deliberate policy of marginalisation at the hands of ZANU-PF”.
But with the advent of the unity government in February 2009 between President Mugabe, Prime Minister  Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, the slow pace  in solving Matabeleland’s woes, has also cast the spotlight on the MDC-T leadership, which enjoys widespread support.