SIMBA MAKONI - ZIMBABWE'S ROARING LION!

By Joseph Winter - BBC News website.

Simba Makoni, a senior member of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party, has announced he is to challenge Robert Mugabe for president.

Could Simba Makoni put a smile back on Zimbabweans' faces? With a PhD in chemistry, his supporters say he has the magic formula to reverse Zimbabwe's economic collapse and end its political stalemate. The mild-mannered, jovial man has long been seen as a possible compromise candidate, with backers both in Zanu-PF, as well as plenty of admirers in the opposition. He has variously been described as a moderniser, a technocrat and a "young turk".

Opposition MP Priscilla Misihairabwi told the BBC News website that Mr Makoni was very courageous to publicly challenge Mr Mugabe from within the system. He could be living up to his name, Simba, which means lion in Swahili. Ms Misihairabwi also says that Mr Makoni is a man of principles. The then finance minister stood up to President Robert Mugabe over economic policy in 2002 and was sacked for his trouble.

Mr Makoni's supporters note that he has a good understanding of orthodox economics and he comes from the party which delivered independence from Britain in 1980 and which does not want to relinquish power. He could appeal to those voters who are desperate for some improvement in their daily lives but do not quite trust the opposition.

His soft tone could also help heal the country's bitter divisions and end the years of political lambast and name-calling. But his critics dismiss him as a political lightweight within his party and say he will struggle to compete against Mr Mugabe, who will be his main opponent in the March elections. He was brought in as finance minister in 2000 to restore relations with donors and the business community but failed to change Mr Mugabe's policies. He was sacked 18 months later after calling for a devaluation of the currency to try and boost exports.

Mr Mugabe said those who wanted a devaluation were "economic saboteurs". Mr Makoni responded by cheerfully introducing himself as "Saboteur". But until he announced his candidature for the elections, he remained a member of Zanu-PF's policy-making body, the politburo and so must share some of the blame for the country's economic woes.

He nevertheless tried his best to distance himself from the crisis.

"Let me confirm that I share the agony and anguish of all citizens over the extreme hardships that we all have endured for nearly 10 years now," he said.

SIMBA MAKONI
Zanu-PF moderniser
1980: Named deputy minister aged 30
2002: Sacked as finance minister after argument with Mugabe
2002: Went to South Africa
Possible support of Zanu-PF heavyweight Solomon Mujuru
Trained chemist

And despite saying he would have preferred to stand as a Zanu-PF candidate, he strongly criticised its leaders. "I also share the widely-held view that these hardships are a result of failure of national leadership and that change at that level is a pre-requisite for change at other levels of national endeavour." But he is believed to have the backing of Zanu-PF heavyweight Solomon Mujuru, whose wife Joyce is vice-president.

Zimbabwean political analyst John Makumbe said that if the former army chief is indeed backing Mr Makoni, then the Zanu-PF vote would be split in the 29 March election - boosting the chances of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which is also fielding two candidates.

"This is a significant development," he said. "We are beginning to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel." At just 57, he comes from a different generation to the octogenarians currently running the country and its ruling party. While the party old-guard were fighting the 1970s guerrilla war of independence, Mr Makoni was studying chemistry in Britain. But he also found time to represent Zanu in Europe and clearly made an impression.

When the first post-independence government was formed, he was appointed deputy minister of agriculture at just 30. Over the next four years he served as minister of energy and of youth before abruptly leaving government. "He was too hot to handle," one long-time associate told the BBC. "He was too clever and too young for the older members of the party. They wanted him out of the way."

Mr Makoni went on to become Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community, (SADC), a job which he says required "a fine balance between high principles and pragmatism".

Ms Misihairabwi says that Mr Makoni is also untainted by allegations of corruption or scandal. "He is very approachable and ready to laugh - unlike Mugabe," she said. "There is a real excitement about this but whether that will translate into votes is another question."
BBC NEWS REPORT.