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Change Your Life! |
New cabinet for Zimbabwe |
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News
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July 17, 2000
HARARE (AP) - President Robert Mugabe has appointed 19 ministers to his Cabinet, cutting the number of ministers by eight, state radio reported. All new ministers announced in the report Saturday evening are members of Mugabe's ruling party, which won a slim majority in the June 24-25 parliamentary elections. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change won 57 of 120 contested seats, and a small party won one seat. The previous parliament included three opposition delegates. Mugabe made no announcements regarding deputy ministers and provincial governors. Besides 27 ministers, the previous government included 22 deputy ministers and eight provincial governors. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has demanded the Cabinet be reduced to a maximum of 20 members. Mugabe has previously reappointed two vice presidents, bringing the number of Cabinet-members announced so far to 21. Simba Makoni, a former executive secretary of the Southern African Development Community, was appointed finance minister. Mugabe fired Makoni two years ago from the management of state-owned Zimbabwe Newspaper Company after he tried to tone down anti-white rhetoric by fiercely Mugabe-loyalist editors. Makoni is now a respected private businessman. As finance minister, he'll face the challenging task of bringing Zimbabwe's near-bankrupt economy back on track. Chenjerai Hunzvi, leader of a militant war veterans' group who is leading the occupations of more than 1,600 white-owned farms, did not receive a portfolio. |