Govt denies militarising state, goal is economic rescue

The Zimbabwean government has defended using security and intelligence personnel to oversee the revival of the economy, described as the fastest shrinking in the world outside of a war zone. Last month local media reported that a new economic and food security revival body, known as the Zimbabwe National Security Council (ZNSC), which includes officials from the Central Intelligence Organisation, the army, police, prison services and the Registrar-General's office, had been set up to oversee and enhance the capacity of ministries. "There is nothing sinister with involving security force personnel in areas like the economy and food security: the government is doing what is best for Zimbabwe. Any complaints to the contrary are only meant to rubbish a genuine economic revival and food security programme," Obert Mpofu, the minister of industry and international trade, told IRIN. Henri Boschoff, a military analyst at the Institute for Security Studies, an African think-tank, said the Zimbabwean government's decision to involve the security services in governance was two-pronged. "It helps to stem any chance of a revolt from within its ranks by taking control and keeping those in authority informed, but the security forces with their trained personnel will also provide much needed leadership and management capacity to drive each sector." The ZNSC, headed by President Robert Mugabe, is a key component of a National Economic Development Priority Plan, comprising sub-committees responsible for various issues such as mobilising foreign exchange and tourism, restructuring public enterprises, and managing local authorities and food security, according to the Zimbabwe Independent, a privately owned newspaper. Zimbabwe has been grappling with food shortages for the past four years, mainly due to erratic weather conditions and the impact of the chaotic fast-track land reform programme on the agricultural sector. A current inflation rate of more than 900 percent is proving a considerable hurdle, while the lack of foreign currency has affected the country's capacity to import even basic requirements such as fuel, fertiliser and medicines. The sub-committee responsible for mobilising foreign exchange has reportedly been asked to raise a minimum of US $2.5 billion in three months, beginning from March. Contrary to popular opinion that the flurry of stopgap measures indicated a slide into total economic collapse, the sub-committees would enable government to stay in touch with all the key sectors of the economy, said Mpofu. He denied there had been a militarisation of basic government functions. Didymus Mutasa, minister of national security, said the deployment of security personnel to civilian ministries was to ensure that "things move"; the government needed to closely monitor the performance of all sectors of the economy to ensure that the goal of recovery was met.