Back to Index
Back to the Top
Back to Index

Govt to impose forex controls

Dumisani Ndlela
THE government is moving closer to imposing strict controls on the country’s embattled foreign currency market, with cabinet expected to go through proposals from the Minister of Finance on Tuesday. This comes amid reports the country had defaulted on a debt due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The government, which generates no foreign currency from its own business, is in a critical state as the private sector now preferred to dispose of its foreign receipts on the parallel market.

The reported default signifies the mounting of the country’s foreign currency woes as the government tried to keep its account with the IMF current, choosing rather to default on other foreign debt repayments including those to the World Bank which are already in arrears.

Debt repayments to the IMF have hitherto been given priority status since international investors and donors take their cue from the IMF’s credit rating on a country.

This rating is based on the country’s ability to service its debt with the Bretton Woods institution.

Sources said there may have been a strong political feeling that it was useless to continue repaying debts to the IMF if the institution was not going to change its stance on Zimbabwe.

“The feeling is that we’ve already lost; it’s not a win-win situation,” said a source closely following the issue.

“The government feels that it makes no sense to continue paying the IMF when we don’t have the currency and if we are not going to receive anything from them it would be better to channel the money to more urgent commitments.”

The IMF has refused to give Zimbabwe fresh assistance to prop up its ailing balance-of-payme-nts position. A stand-by agreement signed between the country and the IMF collapsed just a month after being approved in August 1999, resulting in a flight of international capital from major donors and investors.

Sources said cabinet was expected to study proposals on the exchange rate situation at its next meeting. But economists warned against a return to a fixed exchange rate system just because the government was becoming increasingly frustrated with free market practices.

President Mugabe’s statement this week in a television broadcast represented the strongest cue as to the direction of the country’s foreign currency market, sources said.

Sources said Reserve Bank governor Leonard Tsumba and Finance Minister Simba Makoni have been meeting regularly to consider the market’s views on the way forward.

They have since come up with a position, sources said, and this would be tabled before cabinet by Makoni at the Tuesday cabinet meeting.
“A fixed exchange rate system is coming but people are pinning hopes on developments at the tobacco auction floors,” a market source said. “They hope the government will wait to consider inflows from the auction floors first. If there is no improvement on the forex inflow, they will fix the dollar.”
The source said Mugabe’s sentiments on the foreign exchange market were likely to prevail at the next cabinet meeting, but cabinet was likely to hold a decision to fix the rate until the floors run for a week or month.
Mugabe said this week the government would, sooner or later, be forced to direct that all foreign currency be expended with government approval as exporters were diverting receipts to the parallel market.
He said the parallel market was enjoying heavy support from the commercial banks.

Sources said the government was apparently worried that it was not getting much of the foreign currency that was coming into the country to help it meet commitments it considered to be of “national interest”.

These commitments include payment of salaries and services at the country’s foreign missions.
Back to the Top
Back to Index

Independence hitches irk Nkomo

Dumisani Muleya/Brian Hungwe/Busani Bafana
GOVERNMENT is livid about the hitches encountered during this week’s 21st Independence anniversary celebrations, particularly in Harare and Bulawayo where the communication systems failed.

Home Affairs minister John Nkomo said he was waiting for a national report on the commemorations before appropriate measures are taken against those responsible for the failures which Zanu PF regards as sabotage.

Nkomo was particularly riled by the failure of the public address system in Bulawayo which forced him to resort to an antiquated loud hailer which was barely audible even to those near him.

“That was the work of saboteurs,” Nkomo told the Zimbabwe Independent in Bulawayo.

“Nobody wanted to take responsibility for the problem. I will be talking to the chairman of the (celebrations) committee. It’s not fair on the people who came to this important event,” he said.

Government invested a lot of money, time and energy in organising the event. It spent the whole week vigorously trying to stir nationalist sentiment as the celebrations approached.

Normal programming in the electronic media was suspended as state radio and television stations were saturated with revolutionary propaganda and turgid documentaries.the country were round-ed up and forced to prepare, North Korean-style, for the national celebrations. The whole plan apparently was to puff up the president’s waning image.

Introductory remarks by officials at the National Sports Stadium confirm that. Mugabe was introduced as “a man who on the basis of principle is prepared to sacrifice himself for the good of the country”.

But organisers of the Bulawayo celebrations blamed Professor Jonathan Moyo’s Department of Information and Publicity in the President’s Office for its failure to secure a public address system for the occasion.

The department’s public address system for Bulawayo was damaged last month and had not been replaced.

Bulawayo Independence organising committee chair, acting mayor David Ndlovu, denied responsibility for the fiasco while Information department officials also tried to wriggle off the hook.

“It was their responsibility (Information department) to hire a system for the Bulawayo celebrations,” Ndlovu said. “We told them at a meeting that they will need to hire a system and their representative never came back to us,” he said.

Presidential spokesman George Charamba, clearly irritated by questions as to what went wrong, proved unhelpful.

“There was a power failure in Harare. You know that it’s Zesa’s responsibility. That was a different problem from that of Bulawayo. If you have already spoken to Minister Nkomo why are you phoning me? You just want to waste my time,” he fumed.

Charamba claimed the organisation of the event had nothing to do with his department.

A member of the Bulawayo organising committee however said the Information department should “stop being a nuisance because it was involved”.
Nkomo said he was anxious to know what exactly went wrong.

“I’m waiting for an explanation (from Bulawayo). Everybody was professing ignorance about what was going on. All those people who were there became stupefied because they did not know what was happening.”

In Harare the chaotic celebrations encountered a 30-minute power cut that left President Mugabe temporarily voiceless. The sound system failed as Reverend Noah Pashapa appealed to God to bless independent Zimbabwe.

Officials scampered around as electricity engineers made frantic efforts to restore power. In the interim, entertainers were summoned to keep the subdued crowds awake. When the power finally came back on, the announcer suggested that saboteurs were at work.

The youths were charged for “conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace”, the MDC said.

“Some were subjected to brutal attacks by police officers who used clenched fists and baton sticks...The youths were packed in groups of 33 in one cell designed to accommodate six people,” the opposition claimed.
Police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Bothwell Mugariri said that the arrested people had contravened a section of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

Mugariri said the red cards were likely to offend “other people” resulting in violence.

“These were Independence celebrations, there was no need for one to bring a red card,” he said. Mugariri said there was no problem for Zanu PF supporters to bring their party symbols since “their president was going to make an address”.
Back to the Top
Back to Index
TWENTY-ONE years on and Independence celebrations seem tawdry. The self-satisfied elite who have grown rich on the pickings of a once prosperous nation preside jealously over what remains. But apart from the rent-a-crowds obliged to listen to hours of lies and excuses from their “leaders” in return for a soccer match, there is no evident enthusiasm for what Zimbabwe has become.

Why should there be? With schools churning out youths destined for unemployment or exile and healthcare in a state of advanced decay, even the much-trumpeted gains of the 1980s are a distant memory.

Those responsible for having betrayed the promise of 1980 appear defiant, determined to inflict further damage in order to punish critics — real and imagined — and ensure only their “children” inherit the spoils.
Paranoia has replaced policy, slogans have replaced delivery, and a spurious nationalism has replaced the national ideals of 1980.

Where Zimbabwe once offered the prospect of a prosperous non-racial democracy, it is now universally perceived as a prostrate basket case governed by a gang of thieves who openly espouse racism. In the last 10 years we have been overtaken by Botswana, Namibia, and Mauritius in terms of per capita GDP. Only Mozambique lags behind us and it is rapidly catching up!

Zimbabweans are told land is an effective substitute for a successful economy. Scratching at the surface, without infrastructure or guidance, they are expected to provide what a century of investment and agricultural progress once produced. They are likely to be cruelly disabused.

We have taken our self-sufficiency in food for granted over the past 21 years. This year we shall be able to weigh the cost of undermining commercial farming. Production will be down between 20-30% according to Sadc’s Early Warning Unit and the CFU. Maize will have to be imported. And big forex earners like tobacco will see diminished receipts.

That means fuel and power will be harder to procure. No lenders will be prepared to help so long as anarchy prevails. President Mugabe’s claim to be fighting British colonialism, the centre-piece of his address on Wednesday, is regarded by most Zimbabweans as a rather pathetic throwback to an earlier era when he enjoyed some popularity.

As an excuse for the corruption, violence and downright misrule of his regime it sounds like a stuck record. Britain has said repeatedly it is prepared to provide funding and mobilise international support for land reform. But it has to be a programme that is lawful, transparent and aimed at poverty alleviation, not one that compounds Zimbabwe’s decline.

The fact is Mugabe and his cronies are directly responsible for the mess this country is in. They have misused, lost and squandered the country’s rich resources and are now looking for somebody to blame.

Everybody seems to know this except Mugabe himself who appears to inhabit a fictional country lost in time. At the opening of the new airport building last week he imagined that all the tourists were flying back!

Even his inner circle are repeating his mantras without any real conviction. The more sensible ones are conspicuous by their silence.
His decision to stand for re-election shows what little faith he has in his bankrupt party.

The president says he values national unity, yet his policies have done more to divide Zimbabweans than even Ian Smith’s government managed to do. But while he holds the rural poor captive, demography is not on his side. The young, flooding into the cities, know why they are poor and unemployed. And they know why his friends are rich and powerful.

The latest broadcasting restrictions are designed to prevent these inconvenient truths from spreading. Mugabe rules by repression, much as Smith did. Significantly he resorts to the same legislation. But in many respects his regime has become more brutal.

Last week lawyers seeking to learn the fate of witnesses who have been intimidated for signing electoral petitions which the opposition has brought to court, were savagely attacked in the presence of police officers and then beaten again by policemen at a police station when they attempted to lodge a complaint. In between the beatings they were given a lecture by the senior police officer present on what happens to people who support the opposition.

Not only did the government attempt to block the petitions from coming to court last year, it launched a vicious campaign this year against the judiciary when it upheld the right of appeal. It has also attacked the press whose reports have exposed it for the terrorist organisation it has become.

The number of businesses closing because they have been driven to the wall by a hostile economic environment now number hundreds this year alone. Over 400 closed last year. Zanu PF’s decision to unleash war veterans against business owners will simply deter all future investment and contribute to the legions of the unemployed.

Mugabe and his inner circle have much to answer for. They are the victims, not of external powers as they like to pretend, but of their own greed and lust for power. That is the real tragedy as we marked Independence Day this week. Our Independence has been stolen and abused. The culprits remain at large — for the time being. At least we know who they are.
Back to the Top
Back to Index

Cutting Edge

David Coltart
ALMOST a year ago, just after the first horrendous politically motivated murders of MDC activists and farmers had occurred, I sent out a “message of hope”. In it I posed the question whether there was any hope for Zimbabwe or whether it was simply destined to an inevitable slide into anarchy. One year on Zimbabweans are still faced with the same question.

Violence is a consequence of Zanu PF’s fear of losing the presidential election. Zanu PF is a party that uses the facade of democracy when it feels secure but will increasingly resort to violence when it feels threatened.

The increased violence we have witnessed throughout the country in the last few months is the best possible indicator of Zanu PF’s sense of alarm. Indeed I have been amazed to see how widespread the violence has been: even in areas like Muzarabani, where I thought the MDC was relatively weak, we have seen violence which indicates that even there Zanu PF feels threatened.

Violence did not work last year as much as Zanu PF hoped it would. Despite the violence, MDC won 57 seats countrywide. This shows that whilst Zanu PF can employ violence successfully in by-elections, it cannot deliver it “effectively” enough countrywide to win.

Secondly Zanu PF has not been able to deliver on its threats to deliver further violence if people did not vote for it. For example Gukurahundi 2 was threatened against the people of Matabeleland if they did not vote for Zanu PF. It did not happen and indeed cannot happen again, and that fact has been noted, not just by the people of Matabeleland, but also by the entire nation. Thirdly, violence has backfired and created enormous problems for Zanu PF which in itself has created an entirely new reason for hope.

Zanu PF is panicking and that is why we are experiencing increased violence countrywide. Bizarre as it is, in the use of violence there is hope.

Had violence commenced earlier than it did, the MDC may never have got off the ground, but fortunately the MDC horse had already bolted. Despite the violence, the beatings of MDC MPs and supporters, the arrest of MDC leaders, the grenade attack on the MDC offices, the withholding of finances, the Political Parties (Finance) Act, the searches at MDC offices and at the homes of MDC leaders, the lack of coverage on radio and TV, the propaganda war waged against the MDC, the loss of Bikita West and Marondera West, the inability of MDC MPs to block oppressive legislation in parliament and despite all the various efforts of Zanu PF to crush the MDC, the fact remains that the MDC is far stronger now than it was a year ago.

Not only has the horse bolted, but it has now strengthened and bred! A few weeks ago I was privileged to go to an MDC policy planning retreat in the Matopos. I came away feeling absolutely exhilarated because of the sense of unity under Morgan Tsvangirai and Gibson Sibanda’s leadership, the sense of unity of purpose from the entire leadership and the sense that the MDC had really come of age and was now ready to govern — none of which could be said last year.

In stark contrast in the Zanu PF camp all we see is increased division in their ranks, purges and shattered promises (the so-called technocrats including Simba Makoni et al have not delivered and have in fact compounded the problems Zimbabwe is facing). Zanu PF has only two things to offer Zimbabwe: violence and economic collapse.

Last year the MDC was campaigning from ground zero. It had no seats, no infrastructure, no credibility as a viable party either locally or
internationally. From ground zero it won 57 seats. A year on it has 56 seats, an infrastructure countrywide and is recognised locally and internationally (the ANC is now talking to us). In other words in the run-up to the presidential election we start from an entirely different level — we now have a powerful springboard to mount an even more effective presidential election campaign than we did in the parliamentary election.

International opinion against the Mugabe regime has hardened dramatically. Ironically most of the hardening of opinion has not been the work of the MDC but of Mugabe, Jonathan Moyo and the rest of those within Zanu PF who are committed to holding on to power using any means.

Had Zanu PF left the MDC alone, not bombed the Daily News, not threatened the judiciary, not expelled foreign journalists, not sought to undermine the CFU, not passed the Broadcasting Act, I doubt very much whether the Commonwealth, EU and others would have paid much attention to Zimbabwe. Most of those who were ambivalent, or neutral, or disinterested last year are now acutely aware of the problems and determined more than ever before to do something.

Zanu PF is increasingly divided. First we saw the eradication of most of Zanu PF’s moderates in its primary elections, something which caused those former Zanu PF MPs to form their own new political grouping. Then we saw immediately after the election the alienation of much of the old guard in the appointment of Mugabe’s new cabinet.

In the past few months we have seen the purging of more moderate leaders at provincial level and their replacement by war veterans.
In essence what has happened is that the party’s support base has been whittled down to its core, namely the war veterans, and even then not all of them, only the radical element.

Mugabe has surrounded himself with a few hardline war veterans and ambitious politicians who are beholden to him and who do not have the ability to win any constituency in their own right. But in the process Mugabe has seriously alienated whole swathes of Zanu PF supporters.

These divisions are increasingly obvious to us in parliament. Recently we were subjected to the spectacle of the present Minister of Justice, Patrick Chinamasa (one of those appointed MPs), heckling a former Minister of Justice (and Zanu PF’s brightest brain in parliament by a long shot), Eddison Zvobgo when the latter criticised the broadcasting regulations as being unconstitutional.

And in many of the parliamentary committees we see growing evidence of Zanu PF MPs (elected ones that is) who are increasingly disillusioned with the course being taken by their leadership. But there is one further and major division within Zanu PF which was not a factor in the parliamentary election, and that is over their choice of their presidential candidate.

In fact it is a no win situation for Zanu PF because unlike the overwhelming consensus within the MDC regarding the Tsvangirai/Sibanda ticket, it does not matter who is chosen to represent Zanu PF — whatever the choice it will not be supported by some significant segment of the party.

Mugabe or Mnangagwa will not get support in Matabeleland, parts of Masvingo and Manicaland. Makoni will not get support from Mnangagwa and from areas outside Manicaland and so on. And the divisions within Zanu PF can only grow; this is not a party which has a reputation for arriving at a consensus through rational debate, it has always had a leadership which has bludgeoned its way ahead.

We are in the majority because 52% of voters in June voted for change despite the violence, intimidation and rigging. Since then the economy has spiralled down further and Zanu PF has not delivered on a whole range of issues.

Countrywide we are seeing ever greater numbers of people attending MDC meetings. Recently Morgan Tsvangirai addressed huge meetings, attended by tens of thousands of people (not Jonathan Moyo figures but those assessed by the media!) at venues as far flung as Buhera, Maphisa, Tsholotsho, St Marys and Bulawayo.

Last year I observed that “if the majority of Zimbabweans agreed with the violence and Mugabe’s tactics we would be in trouble” and that there was only “a tiny, rabid and, increasingly deranged, minority” directing the mayhem. Rural people have noted that Zanu PF has been unable to “deliver on its promise” to retaliate against entire constituencies who voted against it.

Gukurahundi 2 has not happened against the people of Matabeleland or Manicaland or urban dwellers. Yes there has been violence directed against some of these constituencies but the vast majority of those who voted MDC have not been affected by it.

And as I have said before, the drift of political thought in Zimbabwe has always been urban to rural, not vice versa. The rural populations who voted for Zanu PF last year have much more food for thought come the presidential election. The process of change is unstoppable even in the face of massive violence.

There are many in our midst who are tired after over a year of violence and “wicked schemes”. There are many who feel they cannot wait until the end of March next year (when the presidential election must be held by). There are many who believe that the best solution is to take the law into their own hands.

There are many who believe that only a call to arms will work in dislodging this murderous regime from power. The encouragement is that just as the consequences of evil rule is inevitable, so too is the promise that if we patiently commit ourselves to grinding out this hardship peacefully through the ballot before we know it this entire wicked bunch will be swept away. Their day is indeed coming.

Zanu PF has created the ultimate Catch 22 for itself. In sowing what it thought would be the seeds of destruction of the opposition and in blending the land issue with violence, Zanu PF has done severe damage to the economy. As a result Zanu PF now cannot deliver on the land issue without forfeiting its violence strategy because the international community will not fund this illegality.

And yet Zanu PF cannot afford to suspend its violence partly because it is irreversible (dead people cannot be brought back to life and the legal consequences for the murderers will not go away) and partly because it knows that without the use of violence the presidential election will be lost overwhelmingly.

The undermining of the judiciary and its ongoing subversion linked with the Swanepoel/Bredenkamp “initiative” is undoubtedly Zanu PF’s desired way of wriggling out of its predicament. For if it can get the judiciary to look the other way in the face of breaches of both the Land Acquisition Act and the criminal law and get the CFU to give Zanu PF a “clean bill of health”, Zanu PF believes it can get the international community on board, fund the land programme, get some semblance of order back to the productive sector and yet continue to oppress the MDC and its supporters.

I am convinced that Mugabe and his henchmen will use whatever means they deem necessary to cling to power. This is, after all, an end game for them: they have everything to lose. They know that if they lose not only will their corrupt activities be exposed but they will also have to face the legal consequences of their violent 21-year tenure of power.

In these circumstances what can we do? I am aware of the one school of thought promoted by the Bredenkamps of this world and also by some in the business sector — that a Zanu PF victory in the presidential election will be the best way out so that the violence can stop and life can get back to normal. In fact it has been reported back to me that some in this camp are even predicting and promoting a Zanu PF victory. It is a seductive line of thinking but is fatally flawed in the following respects.

It ignores the overwhelming desire of the vast majority of poor black Zimbabweans for fundamental change and, perhaps more importantly, the now deeply rooted anger against Zanu PF and its hierarchy.

It assumes that the vast majority will just accept a flawed electoral process and the prospect of a further 21 years of violent, corrupt and despotic rule. This thinking betrays how out of touch the Bredenkamps of Zimbabwe and other whites are with the deeply held feelings of poor black Zimbabweans. It is the same thinking that led Rhodesians to believe in 1980, ironically, that Zanu PF could never win an overall majority then.

In the last few years Zimbabwe has experienced an unprecedented brain drain. It is a serious mistake to think that this is confined to the white community. The cream of our black professionals have left the country. The reality is that what is a brain drain trickle now, will become a flood in the event of a Zanu PF victory. Furthermore if Zanu PF wins the presidential election very few of our professionals, who have left, will see any hope for the future and they will not return as we desperately need them to.

The way ahead then is not to entertain naive thoughts about a “middle road” or a “reformed Zanu PF”. There is no middle road and no prospect of a reformed Zanu PF — it is violent and corrupt to the core. Likewise any thoughts that the rich may have that they can ride the storm and ignore the reality of what is going on around them.

The only way ahead is to commit ourselves to getting through this final tough lap on the road to democracy without compromising our principles. We can be very proud of those Zimbabweans who have stood up to evil in the past year. Looking back we can see that MDC members, leaders and parliamentarians, the trade unions, the judiciary, farmers and poor rural and high-density dwellers have stood firm.

Now is the time for everyone to stand up for what is right. No one promises that it will be easy but if we love this country and want a future in it for ourselves, our children and our grand children, we have no choice.

l Coltart is the MP for Bulawayo South.
Back to the Top
Back to Index

Muckraker


WHAT have Zimbabweans done to deserve a vice-president for life? We are already plagued by a president who refuses to go. But at least he has some claim to being elected, even if it was a long time ago.
Joseph Msika, on the other hand, ducked the polls last June because he knew what the outcome would be.

Now he says he will cling to office, together with Mugabe and Muze-nda, because they want to ensure the country is left in safe hands.

“Many of you have been saying we must now go,” he admonished supporters in Mt Darwin. “You have been saying we as leaders are old. Who is old here? You must not push us to go. We will go when our time comes.”

In other countries leaders’ terms are determined by constitutions and democratic verdicts. Here they inform voters how long they intend to stay in power!

Borrowing the lyrics from singer Steve Makoni’s Handiende, Msika declared: “Handiende, handiende! Ndinogarira vana vangu (I will not go, I will not go. I will stay for the sake of my children).”

Which children are these? The legions of streetkids who have no future because of Zanu PF? The children of farm workers who have been dispossessed by land seizures? Or the tens of thousands of youths in the townships who cannot find work because Zanu PF’s disastrous economic policies have condemned them to a life of unemployment?

When is somebody going to tell the three old delinquents that their time is up? That you need more than thuggery and claims of “sellouts” plotting against you to win the nation’s confidence.

Who did the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe hire to do their public relations for the opening of the new Harare airport terminal last Thursday? CAAZ took out huge full-page ads in the press to mark the opening. But they seemed to be rather confused in places.

The publicity material told us that Central African Airways operated for 21 years “following the independence of Malawi and Zambia”. In fact it operated for 21 years prior to the independence of Malawi and Zambia.

The new airport was necessitated by an increase of 300% in passenger flows “during the peak years” after Independence, the publicity material claims. But it omits to tell us how the figures today compare with those “peak years”. Zanu PF’s scorched earth policies have seen most airlines abandoning Harare. What is the point of coming here when there is no fuel and no tourists to bring?

Mugabe says he is the “best hope” for his party. But the deserted airport says it all. Indeed, perhaps a suitable name for the new terminal would be Mugabe’s Last White Elephant.

Some people may benefit, however. Muckraker gathers that tenders for running shops in the cavernous terminal building are being handed out with the customary absence of transparency.

The Herald last week carried an opinion piece headed “Let’s not open old wounds”. It was a full frontal attack on MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai for visiting the graves in Matabeleland of those killed during the Gukurahundi era.

“Analysts” were quoted warning against “disturbing the peace the country has enjoyed since Independence”.

And who were these “analysts”? Well one turned out to be Jonathan Moyo saying Tsvangirai was “fulfilling a white agenda”. This became a convoluted rant against Tsvangirai for following “white liberals” who had supported the liberation struggle “in the hope that it would flop”!

The logic of this rather contradictory position was not fully explained but it seems the MDC are “terrified that nationalist leaders have remained united after the Unity Accord”.

Another “analyst” cited was Dr Godfrey Chikowore, a UZ lecturer in international relations, who has been quoted before in the Herald as supporting Zanu PF’s agenda. He said “the implications of stirring up emotional issues would be costly and the government should not allow that to happen”.

“People should not try to drive the country back into anarchy using the philosophy of dividing people, which was used by colonialists,” he declared.

What is remarkable in all this is the way it completely ignores what the people of Matabeleland had to say about the Unity Accord at the last election. They voted as one against Zanu PF politicians hanging on to the accord as a political lifeline.

Not a single Zanu PF leader survived the electoral landslide in that part of the country last June. And the accord’s most vocal beneficiaries such as Joseph Msika and John Nkomo didn’t dare stand for election because they knew what would happen. They owe their positions instead to President Mugabe’s patronage.

The Herald and its “analysts” completely ignored this popular verdict and instead stuck doggedly to a cynical power-sharing arrangement that voters have consigned to the dustbin of history.

As for “driving the country back into anarchy”, exactly who has been doing that very successfully over the past year?

Let’s be clear on this. The Herald and its ministerial manipulators are only worried about “opening old wounds” when doing so might expose Zanu PF as a murderous party with something to hide. Last week war veterans were warning the people of Tsholotsho of a return to the Gukurahundi if they turned out to welcome Tsvangirai. And the Herald carried a feature just recently showing black people being hanged by settlers in the first Chimurenga.

Zanu PF is evidently only too happy to open old wounds when it suits its agenda. It just doesn’t want to open those that may prove embarrassing at the polls.

We were interested to see how the government’s public relations machine is engaging in downright lies to claim that the region is expressing solidarity with Zimbabwe over land reform. Tanzania’s President Benjamin Mkapa was quoted last week as urging the international community to help find a lasting solution to the land dispute. Mkapa said the issue “must be handled carefully in the interests of all stakeholders”.

Is that what is happening now? Is it being handled “carefully”, and are stakeholders being consulted?

Joseph Made is on record as refusing to speak to the CFU. What has the government’s response been to the UNDP?

Regional leaders are very anxious not to be seen attacking Harare. But their public pronouncements that Zimbabwe needs to patch up relations with the international community and find common ground inside the country are clearly not an endorsement of the current scenario.

“Several other countries, including some from Europe,” the Herald told us, “have come out in full support of the government’s unwavering stance on the land redistribution programme.” This includes neighbouring South Africa, the paper said.

Really? Which European countries support the government’s land programme? If they mean France we would like the opportunity to put it to the French embassy that the government claims they support the current lawlessness. As for South Africa, President Mbeki said last October that Zimbabwe’s land invasions were “wrong” and would never be allowed to happen in South Africa. What could be clearer than that?

We have repeatedly warned in this column of strange little groups masquerading as part of civil society which suddenly spring to life when Zanu PF needs allies in its struggle against the opposition.

Last week two “reverends” with a history of support for Zanu PF’s agenda launched a broadside against the National Constitutional Assemby over its management of donor funds. The “Rev” Johannes Ndanga of the Afrika Dialogue said there was a need to investigate the organisation in the wake of “numerous allegations” being levelled against it by affiliated bodies.

The “Rev” Noah Pashapa, who heads something called Concerned Christians, joined in the attack saying the NCA should open its books to the public.

This would seem fair enough. It is important for the NCA to demonstrate maximum transparency. But what we were not told in the story was that Ndanga and Pashapa have an axe to grind. They are not independent commentators. Pashapa, it will be recalled, advised voters last year to say “Yes” to a constitutional blueprint that had been extensively doctored by President Mugabe and his ministers to incorporate their agenda at the expense of what the public had said in the commission’s outreach campaign.

Ndanga’s Afrika Dialogue is an undisguised co-religionist of Zanu PF. Its chief spokesman is “Professor” Tafataona Mahoso. We have never heard Ndanga or Mahoso calling for an investigation into the billions of dollars that go missing every year in state corruption and misallocation of public funds.

The public rejected Pashapa, Ndanga and Mahoso’s advice in the referendum. Like so many ruling party supporters, they are as bitter as hell with the NCA and MDC for having spurned their pernicious policies. That is why we can safely assume they are not in the least bit concerned with a democratic constitution but with helping their friends in government get their own back.

The “numerous allegations” against the NCA almost certainly come from the same people. As for the unprincipled position of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, this shouldn’t surprise us at all. It is headed by known allies of President Mugabe.

Anglican Bishop Jonathan Siyachitema collaborated in heading the constitutional commission when he had no mandate to do so. And his successor Norbert Kunonga, who it is alleged actively canvassed for his own candidacy in the recent elections for Anglican bishop of Harare, last week slammed the phone down on a journalist who had asked him if it was true that he had strongly opposed a church initiative to commemorate the death last Easter of David Stevens and other victims of Zanu PF violence.

When the chapter of this period is written, it will be recorded that the churches — the Anglicans, Baptists and ZCC in particular — collaborated with evil to block the march of justice and democracy.

The Zimbabwe Mirror appears to have ruffled some ministerial feathers with its story that Zanu PF was planning to amend the constitution in order to appoint a prime minister. This seemingly innocuous (and far from new) story excited a torrent of invective from Jonathan Moyo who raved about “unethical conduct” and newspapers driven by “malice”.

The avalanche of bile descending upon the Mirror emanated from a statement by Zanu PF’s Deputy Secretary for Information and Publicity. While the author’s trademark style was immediately evident to all, only in paragraph four was he identified when what seems like an accidental “said Prof Moyo” slipped into the copy.

“This is yet another telling and shameful example of how some sections of the media have sunk to the bottom of unethical and unprofessional conduct through story creation and event inventing driven by sponsored malice,” the statement said.

“The fiction behind the story is made worse by the preposterous speculation that the so-called proposal to amend the constitution is allegedly designed to position the Speaker of parliament, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, to succeed President Mugabe.

“It now appears,” the statement went on, “that there are some media circles that are competing to write and publish false stories of this (sort) and enough is enough.”

There was absolutely no need to amend the constitution in order to have a prime minister if that were deemed necessary, the statement said. It fulminated against the Mirror for claiming that the politburo had weekly meetings and pointed out there was no meeting last Wednesday, as suggested by the paper.

What explains this extraordinary outburst? The Mirror’s story fell well within the realm of legitimate speculation. It is not the first time Mnangagwa’s name has been cited in connection with the PM’s post. Then again, so has Moyo’s. None of this amounts to heresy. A simple line saying the government had no plans to appoint a prime minister would have been sufficient.

The Mirror must have touched a raw nerve to warrant a response that was as off the wall as this one. Here is a paper whose editorial policy, judging by its response to the Kabila boycott, is about as close to Zanu PF as it is possible to get. It denounces the MDC on a weekly basis. Yet it is treated to a fire-and-brimstone rave that is usually reserved for the genuinely independent press.

An example of this was provided on Tuesday when Moyo reacted to a story in the Daily News that Msika had begged Edgar Tekere to return to the Zanu PF fold. The professor, whose statements are showing growing signs of dementia, described the paper as a “British propaganda mouthpiece”. He managed to get the label “counter-revolutionaries” into the statement together with “Rhodesian activists”, “oppositional press”, and “British masters”.

Then there was “hogwash” and “outrageous”, not to mention “preposterous”, a description perhaps better applied to his own increasingly incontinent emissions. Moyo claimed that people are now going around saying; “Stop lying like the Daily News”.

Are they? Have you heard anybody saying that? Or are they saying with reference to a particularly far-fetched claim: “That sounds like a Moyo”!

Having released what he clearly thought was a particularly barbed dart at the Daily News, Moyo asked: “Need we say more?”

Unfortunately he probably will.
Back to the Top
Back to Index
COMMERCIAL  FARMERS'  UNION
Land Invasions and Security Update
Thursday 19 April 2001
  
REGIONAL REPORTS:
 
Mashonaland Central
Mazowe - On Makay Farm 1000 head of cattle have been removed from the paddocks, labour chased from repairing fences, and police failed to respond.
Centenary - After workers had left to play football at another venue, invaders entered the compound and assaulted the women and children, some of whom were taken to hospital for treatment.
 
Mashonaland West North
Trelawney - A delegation arriving at Dulwich in a police vehicle, informed the owner that 76 families were to be settled on that farm on 20th April.
Doma - On Monday 9 members from Agritex arrived on Riversdale and The Glen to peg arable land for settlement of 25 people.  One illegal occupier has ploughed +/- 20 ha on Riversdale to plant sugar beans and refused to isolate it from the adjoining grazing with a fence, telling the farmer to return to England.
 
Mashonaland West South
Norton - Two more Section 8's have been issued.  On Parklands invaders intend to use half the irrigation to grow 400 hectares of wheat.  They are armed with AK47's.  On Serui Source police have failed to react to the chopping of gum plantations for the  construction of huts in the lands.  There appears to be movement onto farms that have not been invaded before, or listed, and pegging is ongoing.
Chegutu - Prevention of land prep for wheat occurred on Tiverton on Tuesday. 
 
Mashonaland East
Bromley/Ruwa/ Enterprise  - Section 7 Orders have been delivered to Chinyika, R/E of Belvadore and Northfield. The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare visited farms on the Mutoko Road.
Marondera - Land invaders have removed all of the cattle from Gwaai Farm.  They prevented the planting of flowers and proceeded to plant their own crops instead.
Macheke/Virginia - A number of cattle were slaughtered over the weekend. War vet Matsatsi ordered farmers to allow the workers to help themselves to meat to be consumed at Independence Celebrations. Two  farmers provided their labour with meat as well as transport. The labourers returned saying that they had been instructed to collect another cow.  One of the tractor drivers who had been told to return home before dark due to lack of lights on the vehicle, was detained until after dark.
Wedza - A reaction team was deployed to investigate gunshots on Rapako Farm.
Three individuals were arrested on Fells for theft of citrus. On Alpha Farm a cow was shot but recovered and handed over to the farm labour for Independence celebrations.  An attempted theft was foiled on Lifton farm.  On Poltimore Farm old houses are being reconstructed as invaders return to the farm.   A mountain bike was stolen from Liliefontein but was later recovered in Village 2. Investigations continue.  Two maize thieves were arrested on Torre Farm.  3 weapons were stolen from Lustleigh Farm yesterday and investigations are in progress.  Three individuals were arrested on Bolton farm for theft of citrus.
 
 
 
OTHER
Today's Herald story, "Witch-hunt ends in tragedy" covers a story about a Shamva commercial farmer and his workers who beat two farm workers to death after a witch doctor implicated them in theft.  The story is essentially accurate but the farmer in question is a non-member indigenous farmer.  There will be communication with the Provincial police spokesperson to rectify the inevitable misinterpretation that this was a white commercial farmer.
PRESENTATION ON WEMBLEY COLLEGE, GREYTOWN, S.A.

WEMBLEY COLLEGE
Wembley College is a new school which was established in Greytown in the Natal Midlands of South Africa, some five odd years ago. It offers a Cambridge qualification commencing at grade 1 and ending with A levels and/or HIGCSE. Classes are limited to a maximum of 25 pupils per class and sport and cultural activities are regarded as priorities. Being a new school they are in the process of building up numbers and would like to do a recruitment drive in Zimbabwe. Accordingly the schools Headmaster, Mr. Ian Corbishley will be in Harare on Tuesday the 24th April to give a presentation to any interested parents. He tentatively intends to give a presentation at about 12.00 p.m. on this day at a venue still to be decided upon. Please contact Mr. Corbishley at 00 27 33 4132677 or email john.odendaal@pannar.co.zw should you like to attend or arrange an appointment to meet him.
Back to the Top
Back to Index
A MESSAGE OF HOPE FOR ZIMBABWE
 - ONE YEAR ON

Almost a year ago, just after the first horrendous politically motivated
murders of MDC activists and farmers had occurred, I sent out a "Message
of Hope". In it I posed the question whether there was any hope for Zimbabwe
or whether it was simply destined to an inevitable slide into anarchy.  One
year on Zimbabweans are still faced with the same question. Last year I
answered the question by giving six reasons why there was still hope. One
year on it is necessary to revisit those reasons and to give further reasons
 why there is still hope for Zimbabwe.
 
1. The violence is a consequence of ZANU(PF)'s fear of losing the election.

 Last year I warned of a long, hard and rocky road we had to travel in our
 journey to achieve democracy. Very few Zimbabweans appreciated just how
hard that road would be, especially those Zimbabweans living in the north
and east of the country who had never experienced the true nature of ZANU(PF)
as those from Matabeleland had in the 1980s. We all now know the real
ZANU(PF) - it is a party that uses the facade of democracy when it feels
secure but which will increasingly resort to violence when it feels
threatened.

 Last year I said that the increased ferocity of the violence was in itself
 sign of hope because, ironically, that in itself was the surest sign of
what ZANU(PF) itself thought of its chances of winning, or, more accurately,
of losing. Nothing has changed and the increased violence we have witnessed
 throughout the country in the last few months is the best possible
indicator of ZANU(PF)'s sense of alarm. Indeed I have been amazed to see how
 widespread the violence has been: even in areas like Muzarabani, where I
 thought the MDC was relatively weak, we have seen violence which indicates
 that even there ZANU(PF) feels under threat.

 But there are several aspects regarding violence that one could not say
 confidently this time last year. The first is that violence did not work
 last year as ZANU(PF) hoped it would. Despite the violence the MDC won 57
 seats countrywide. Whilst ZANU(PF) can employ violence successfully in by
 elections it cannot deliver it "effectively" enough countrywide to win.
 Secondly ZANU(PF) has not been able to deliver on its threats to deliver
 further violence if people did not vote for them. For example Gukurahundi
 was threatened against the people of Matabeleland if they did not vote for
 ZANU(PF). It did not happen and indeed cannot happen again, and that fact
has been noted, not just by the people of Matabeland, but also by the
entire nation. Thirdly, the violence has backfired and created enormous
problems for ZANU(PF) which in itself has created an entirely new reason for
hope (see below!)

ZANU(PF) is panicking and that is why we are experiencing increased violence
 countrywide. Bizarre as it is, in the use of violence there is hope.

 2. The MDC horse has already bolted

 Last year I wrote about the fact that had violence commenced earlier than
it did the MDC may never have got off the ground, but that fortunately the
MDC had horse had already bolted. One year on that holds even truer. Despite
the violence, the beatings of MDC MPs and supporters, the arrest of MDC
leaders, the grenade attack on the MDC offices, the withholding of finances,
the Political Parties Finance Act, the searches at MDC offices and at the
homes of MDC leaders, the lack of coverage on radio and TV, the propaganda
war waged against the MDC, the loss of Bikita West and Marondera West, the
 inability of MDC MPs to block oppressive legislation in Parliament and
 despite all the various efforts of ZANU(PF) to crush the MDC, the fact
 remains that the MDC is far stronger now than it was a year ago.

 Not only has the horse bolted but it has now strengthened and bred! A few
 weeks ago I was privileged to go to an MDC policy planning retreat in the
 Matopos. I came away feeling absolutely exhilarated because of the sense
of unity under Morgan Tsvangirai and Gibson Sibanda's leadership, the sense
of a unity of purpose from the entire leadership and the sense that the MDC
had really come of age and was now ready to govern - none of which could be
said last year. In stark contrast in the ZANU(PF) camp all we see is
increased division in their ranks, purges, shattered promises (the so called
 technocrats including Makoni et al have not delivered and have in fact
 compounded the problems Zimbabwe is facing) and only two things to offer
 Zimbabwe: violence and  economic collapse.

 But there is a further important fact to consider. Last year the MDC was
 campaigning from ground zero. It had no seats, no infrastructure, no
 credibility as a viable party either locally or internationally. From
ground zero it won 57 seats. A year on it has 56 seats, an infrastructure
 countrywide and is recognised locally and internationally (the ANC is now
 talking to us). In other words in the run up to the Presidential election
we start from an entirely different level - we now have a powerful
springboard to mount an even more effective Presidential election campaign
than we did in the Parliamentary election.

 3. The penny has finally dropped in the international community's mind

 Last year I wrote that after many years in the "political wilderness",
after many years of our warnings about the true nature of the Mugabe regime
 falling on deaf ears, there was for the first time "massive antipathy
 towards Mugabe". One year on how much more so is the case. Indeed at
 Christmas I wrote about this and even since then it is astonishing how
 international opinion against the Mugabe regime has hardened dramatically.
 Ironically most of the hardening of opinion has not been the work of the
MDC but of Mugabe, Jonathan Moyo and the rest of those within ZANU(PF) who
are committed to holding on to power using any means. Had ZANU(PF) left the
MDC alone, not bombed the Daily News, not threatened the Judiciary, not
expelled foreign journalists, not sought to undermine the CFU, not passed
the
 Broadcast Act I doubt very much whether the Commonwealth, EU and others
 would have paid much attention to Zimbabwe. The fact remains that one year
 on most of those who were ambivalent, or neutral, or disinterested, last
 year are now acutely aware of the problems and determined, more than ever
 before, to do something. Last year ZANU(PF) could take comfort in the fact
 that the Commonwealth, the ANC and others were prepared to turn a blind
eye to rampant human rights abuses perpetrated by ZANU(PF). That is no
longer
 the case.

 If any proof is needed of this change one need look no further than the
 recently passed Political Parties Finance Act which seeks to ban foreign
 funding of political parties. That Act is an admission by ZANU(PF) that
the MDC is now recognised and supported by the international community and,
 almost just as importantly, that it is now viewed as a pariah party that
has no prospect of attracting international support as it has done up until
now.
 Indeed  the Political Parties Finance Act contains a very important
message to those in Zimbabwe who are still ZANU(PF) apologists, or who
believe that a ZANU(PF) victory is inevitable (and therefore should not be
opposed) :the Act is an admission that a ZANU(PF) government no longer has
the ability to attract international support, not just for its own funding
but also for the country at large. This is a theme I shall come back to at
the end.

 4. ZANU(PF) is increasingly divided

 Last year I spoke of the dangerous tactic employed by Mugabe in using the
 likes of Hitler Hunzvi to campaign and of the fact that that was likely to
 divide ZANU(PF). I said that thinking people within ZANU(PF) knew that
 Mugabe's strategy would devastate the economy and I asked the question as
to how long "sane people" would stay on board the ZANU(PF) ship. It has been
 astonishing to observe how Mugabe has divided and whittled down the
support base of ZANU(PF) in just one year.

 First we saw the eradication most of ZANU(PF)'s moderates in its primary
 elections, something which has caused those former ZANU(PF) MPs to form
 their own new political grouping. Then we saw immediately after the
election the alienation of much of the old guard in the appointment of
Mugabe's new cabinet. In the past few months we have seen the purging of
more moderate leaders at Provincial level and their replacement by war
veterans. In essence what has happened is that the party's support base has
been
whittled down to its core, namely the war veterans, and even then not all of
them, only the radical element. Mugabe has surrounded himself with a few
hard-line war veterans and ambitious politicians who are beholden to him and
who do not have the ability to win any constituency in their own right. But
in the process Mugabe has seriously alienated whole swathes of ZANU(PF)
supporters.

 These divisions are increasingly obvious to us in Parliament. Recently we
 were subjected the spectacle of the present Minister of Justice, Chinamasa
 (one of those appointed MPs) heckling a former Minister of Justice (and
 ZANU(PF)'s brightest brain in Parliament by a long shot), Zvobgo when the
 latter criticised the Broadcasting regulations as being unconstitutional.
And in many of the Parliamentary select Committees we see growing evidence
 of ZANU(PF) MPs (elected ones that is) who are increasingly disillusioned
 with the course being taken by their leadership. I chair the Parliamentary
 Justice Committee (which has a majority of ZANU(PF) members) and I have
been intrigued to note the unanimity of thought on most issues. My MDC
colleagues who sit on other committees report similar developments in their
committees.

 These divisions will have catastrophic consequences for whoever is the
 ZANU(PF) candidate in the Presidential election. Parliamentary (single
 constituency) elections are often won because of the enthusiasm or
personal popularity of the individual candidate. Because an individual's own
 political career is at stake a person competing for a Parliamentary seat
 will work hard to ensure that he wins. Likewise voters will often vote for
 an individual even if they don't particularly like the party he or she
 represents. And there is the rub for ZANU(PF): for in alienating the old
 guard, in disenchanting newly elected ZANU(PF) MPs, by relying on war
 veterans to do their violent campaigning many who worked for and voted for
a ZANU(PF) victory in the Parliamentary elections will not do so in the
 Presidential elections.

 But there is one further, and major division, within ZANU(PF) which was
not a factor in the Parliamentary elections and that is over their choice of
 their Presidential candidate/ticket. In fact it is a no win situation for
 ZANU(PF) because unlike the overwhelming consensus within the MDC
regarding the Tsvangirai/Sibanda ticket, it does not matter who is chosen to
represent ZANU(PF) - every choice will not be supported by some significant
segment of the party. Mugabe or Mnangagwa will not get support in
Matabeleland,Zvobgo areas and Manicaland. Makoni will not get support from
Mnangagwa and from areas outside Manicaland and so on. And the divisions
within ZANU(PF) can only grow; this is not a party which has a reputation
for arriving at a consensus through rational debate, it has always had a
leadership which has bludgeoned its way ahead.

 5. We are in the majority

 Last year I said that "despite all the violence and intimidation the fact
 remains that the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans want change". One
year on nothing has altered. Indeed if anything poor people and rural people
want change even more now. 52% of voters in June voted for change despite
the
 violence, intimidation and rigging. Since then the economy has spiralled
 down further and ZANU(PF) has not delivered on a whole range of issues.

 Countrywide we are seeing ever greater numbers of people attending MDC
 meetings. Recently Morgan Tsvangirai has addressed huge meetings, attended
 by tens of thousands of people (not Jonathan Moyo figures but those
assessed by the media!) at venues as far flung as Buhera, Maphisa,
Tsholotsho, St Marys and Bulawayo. On a more modest level my last
constituency report back meeting in Bulawayo was packed to overflowing, in
fact I had the largest attendance ever at that particular venue, even bigger
than any meeting held in the run up to the election last year. My
Parliamentary colleagues report similar support throughout the country.

 I am also struck by the intensity of working class people when they
approach me in the street or speak to me at check-out counters at the
supermarkets. They are clearly more determined than ever to effect change.
In fact I have frequently observed at recent meetings that the crisis of
confidence problem in Zimbabwe is very much a white and middle class
phenomenon, for there appears to be no such crisis amongst poor black people
who know what has to be done and who are quietly preparing for the time to
go and vote.

 Last year I observed that "if the majority of Zimbabweans agreed with the
 violence and Mugabe's tactics we would be in trouble" and that there was
 only "a tiny, rabid and, increasingly deranged, minority" directing the
 mayhem". That has been borne out by the facts: recently I asked the CFU to
 tell me how many people they estimated were in occupation of commercial
 farms, the reply was approximately 25000 people, nowhere near the ZANU(PF)
 propaganda that 50000 families were in occupation. 25000 people is half of
 one Parliamentary constituency to put the number in perspective. And many
of those have been threatened or lured with false promises to occupy. In
other words of the over 7 million people who live in the rural areas only
some 25000 have benefited from what is the pivot of the ZANU(PF) election
 campaign. The rest have seen bus fares soar in price, along with the
 increase in the price of all basic necessities and the crumbling of state
 services all around them. That is why MDC rallies in the rural areas are
 attracting more people than ever before.

 Finally, and as I alluded to earlier, rural people have noted that
ZANU(PF) has been unable to "deliver on its promise" to retaliate against
entire constituencies who voted against it. Gukurahundi 2 has not happened
against the people of Matabeleland or Manicaland or urban dwellers. Yes
there has been violence directed against some of these constituencies but
the vast
 majority of those who voted MDC have not been affected by it. And as I
have said before the drift of political thought in Zimbabwe has always been
urban to rural not vice versa. The rural populations who voted for ZANU(PF)
last year have much more food for thought come the Presidential elections.
The process of change is unstoppable even in the face of massive violence.
The majority I spoke about a year ago has grown.

6. There is ancient wisdom which provides hope

 Last year I wrote about the inevitable consequences for rulers who violate
 God's fundamental principles of governance. I quoted Isaiah 1:31 which
 speaks of how mighty men become tinder and their own works become the
spark of their own destruction.

 In the past few months at many meetings and in Parliament I have quoted
 Psalm 7: 14-16 and those words bare repeating today :

 "He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to
 disillusionment. He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he
has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down
on his own head."

 That is just what has happened in the past year. Mugabe and his henchmen
 have sown the seeds of their own destruction. As I pointed out above in
 seeking to destroy the opposition in all its many forms by bombing the
Daily News, attacking the Judiciary and so on ZANU(PF) have incurred the
wrath of the international community, have strengthened the resolve of those
in opposition and have irredeemably weakened their own position.

 Last year I spoke of the historical precedents which make these words,
 written thousands of years ago, a reality. One year on I am more convicted
 than ever of the stunning truth of this ancient wisdom. The evidence is
 before our very eyes.

 But there is yet more ancient wisdom which is particularly pertinent at
this stage of our Nation's history:

 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
 do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out
 their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret -
it only leads to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in
the Lord will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no
more; though you look for them they will not be found.
 The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them;
 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
 for he knows their day is coming."       Psalm 37: 7-13

 There are many in our midst who are tired after over a year of violence
and "wicked schemes". There are many who feel they cannot wait until the end
of March next year (when the Presidential election must held by). There are
 many who believe that the best solution is to take the law into their own
 hands. There are many who believe that only a call to arms will work in
 dislodging this murderous regime from power. These words speak very
 powerfully to all those who fit into any of the abovementioned categories.

 The encouragement is that just as the consequences of evil rule is
 inevitable so too is the promise that if we patiently commit ourselves to
 grinding out this hardship peacefully through the ballot before we know it
 this entire wicked bunch will be swept away. Their day is indeed coming.

 Which leads me to the seventh reason for hope, not mentioned last year.

 7. ZANU(PF) has created the ultimate catch 22 for itself.

 In sowing what it thought would be the seeds of destruction of the
 opposition and in blending the land issue with violence, ZANU(PF) has done
 severe damage to the economy and has incurred the wrath of the
international community. As a result ZANU(PF)  now cannot deliver on the
land issue without forfeiting its violence strategy because the
international
community will not fund this illegality. And yet ZANU(PF) cannot afford to
suspend its violence partly because it is irreversible (dead people cannot
be brought back to life and the legal consequences for the murderers will
not go
away)and partly because it knows that without the use of violence the
 Presidential election will be lost overwhelmingly.

 They are left with three options:

 a) To continue with their present policies unabated but that will mean
they have even less capacity to deliver on the land issue and will incur the
 wrath of increasing sectors of the international community;

 b) To suspend the violence and to proceed with the land programme within
the confines of the law, with the consequences mentioned above;

 c) To continue the oppression but get key sectors of Zimbabwean society,
 such as the Judiciary and the CFU to negotiate and to turn a blind eye to
 systematic violence perpetrated against other sectors of society, thus
 securing the international assistance they require to deliver on the
pillar of their election campaign, namely land - in other words to have
their cake and eat it.

 The only way out of the catch 22 created by the first two options is by
 means of the third option. The undermining of the Judiciary and its
ongoing subversion linked with the Swanepoel/Bredenkamp "initiative" is
undoubtedly ZANU(PF)'s desired way of  wriggling out of its predicament. For
if it can get the Judiciary to look the other way in the face of breaches of
both the Land Acquisition Act and the criminal law and get the CFU to give
ZANU(PF) a "clean bill of health", ZANU(PF) believes it can get the
international community on board, fund the land programme, get some
semblance of order back to the productive sector and yet continue to oppress
the MDC and its supporters.

 Fortunately ZANU(PF) has misjudged the naivety of the international
 community and the resilience of many sectors of Zimbabwean society
including the Judiciary and the farming community. And in that lies hope
because ZANU(PF) now have to face the catch 22 square on and there is no way
out for them: they will have to confine themselves to the first two options
and both are extremely perilous courses of action for them.

 The way ahead

Last year I ended by stressing that whilst striking an optimistic note it
was important to remember that violence and human rights abuses would
continue and indeed escalate as ZANU(PF) became more desperate. Nothing
has changed and I am under no illusions whatsoever that Mugabe and henchmen
will use whatever means they deem necessary to cling to power. This is,
after all, an end game for them: they have everything to lose. They know that if
 they lose not only will their corrupt activities be exposed but they will
 also have to face the legal consequences of their violent 21 year tenure
of power.

 In these circumstances what can we do? I am aware of the one school of
 thought promoted by the Bredenkamps of this world and also by some in the
 business sector: that is that a ZANU(PF) victory in the Presidential
 election will be the best way out so that the violence can stop and life
can get back to normal. In fact it has been reported back to me that some in
 this camp are even predicting and promoting a ZANU(PF) victory. It is a
 seductive line of thinking but is fatally flawed in the following
respects.

a) It ignores the overwhelming desire of the vast majority of poor black
 Zimbabweans for fundamental change and, perhaps more importantly, the now
 deeply rooted anger against ZANU(PF) and its hierarchy. It assumes that
the vast majority will just accept a flawed electoral process and the
prospect of a further 21 years of violent, corrupt and despotic rule. This
thinking betrays how out of touch the Bredenkamps of Zimbabwe and other
whites are with the deeply held feelings of poor black Zimbabweans. It is
the same thinking that led Rhodesians to believe in 1980, ironically, that
ZANU(PF) could never win an overall majority then. I personally cannot claim
to be an expert in the feelings of poor black Zimbabweans; I can only
comment with authority on what I see and hear in the high density suburbs in
my constituency and what I hear from my MDC colleagues. But I believe that I
am much better in touch with the reality of what is going on on the ground
than people who are almost completely untouched by the devastating
consequences of Zimbabwe's economic meltdown.

b) It ignores the new reality in world politics. The world will simply not
 look the other way this time. The thinking is that once the Presidential
 elections are over and ZANU(PF) has won, sane policies will be implemented
 by the new ZANU(PF) President and the world will simply forgive and
forget. There is no longer any cold war and there is no motivation to turn a
blind eye to massive human rights violations. The nations which truly count
in the world, the nations which have the power to open the IMF and World
Banktaps, will simply not cooperate until there is a full restoration of the
rule of law, and that means not just a peaceful and lawful land reform
programme but also the bringing to book of all those responsible for murder. Those who
 believe that if the land issue is resolved in isolation, funds will flow
to Zimbabwe are woefully mistaken.

c) It ignores the depressing reality of middle class thinking in Zimbabwe.
 In the last few years Zimbabwe has experienced an unprecedented brain
drain. It is a serious mistake to think that this is confined to the white
 community. The cream of our black professionals have left the country. The
 reality is that what is a brain drain trickle  now, will become a flood in
 the event of a ZANU(PF) victory. Furthermore if ZANU(PF) wins the
 Presidential election very few of our  professionals, who have left, will
 see any hope for the future and they will not return as we desperately
need them to. The point is that those who advocate the expedient route of a
 ZANU(PF) victory ignore the reality that if that happens, Zimbabwe as we
 know it today, even in its depressed and chaotic state,  will be utterly
 destroyed and the rich who are promoting this thinking will be left as
tiny islands in a sea of desolation. This is not a threat: it is simply a
 predictable consequence.

 The way ahead then is not to entertain naive thoughts about a "middle
road" or a "reformed ZANU(PF)". There is no middle road and no prospect of a
 reformed ZANU(PF) - it is violent and corrupt to the core. Likewise any
 thoughts that the rich may have that they can ride the storm and ignore
the reality of what is going on around them.

 The only way ahead is to commit ourselves to getting through this final
 tough lap on the road to democracy without compromising our principles. We
 can be very proud of those Zimbabweans who have stood up to evil in the
past year. Looking back we can see that MDC members, leaders and
 Parliamentarians, the Trade Unions, the Judiciary,  farmers and poor rural
 and high density dwellers have stood firm. Now is the time for everyone to
 stand up for what is right. No one promises that it will be easy but if we
 love this country and want a future in it for ourselves, our children and
 our grand children, we have no choice. However together, in all the
 wonderful meaning of that word, rich and poor, black and white, Shona and
 Ndebele, urban and rural, we will complete the change to a better life for
 all. The power to do so is truly in our hands.

 David Coltart MP
 Bulawayo South
 Movement for Democratic Change
 16th April 2001.

 Please note that the views expressed in this message are my own and do not
 necessarily reflect the views of the MDC

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MDC Support (Southern Region), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phone: +26391241156 / 7 or +26391244699
E-mail : mdcmatsup@gatorzw.com OR 241157@ecoweb.co.zw
Fundraising Details:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MDC SUPPORT (Southern Region) FUND - Make cheques payable to Matilda Trust, and send to P.O. Box 9400, Hillside, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (clearly endorsed "Support ") or deposit into Barclays Bank, Main Street Branch (2307), Bulawayo - account number 1996379.
For transparency and accountability, please advise this office of deposits to enable us to receipt accordingly.
VICTIMS OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE FUND - as above, but clearly endorse cheques for "Victims Fund"
SOUTH AFRICA - One of the Party’s approved Fundraisers is Laurel Zurnamer, who is contactable on +27214473570 or on cellphone +27832921407.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VISIT THE MDC WEBSITE AT www.mdczimbabwe.com !! ALSO LOOK IN AT the (all-new) ZimNews website at www.zwnews.com and the ZimToday website at www.zimtoday.com for news, views and pertinent information! To subscribe to the MDC central mailing list, EITHER sign up via the MDC website's Home page, OR send a blank e-mail to mdcmail-subscribe@listbot.com. FOR UP-TO-DATE INTERNATIONAL PRESS INFORMATION on the situation in Zimbabwe, subscribe to ZimNews at ironhorse@onetel.net.uk .
Back to the Top
Back to Index
THE MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE MORGAN
TSVANGIRAI ON THE OCCASION OF ZIMBABWE'S 21ST ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE.

(Harare April 18, 2001)

My fellow Zimbabweans; congratulations on the occasion of the 21st
anniversary of our independence. Sadly this has to go down as one of the
most depressing moments in our history. The aspirations of the war of
liberation remain unfulfilled. Instead your health care, security,
education for yourselves and your children, your job and your home stand
threatened.

Since the beginning of the crisis that is afflicting Zimbabwe, both urban
and farm workers, their families, the communal people and indeed farmers
and both established and emergent businesses have shouldered an immense
burden. This burden we have together carried with courage and focus. All
Zimbabweans want change for a better life.

The government, in its desperation for self-preservation has, through its
various structures and functionaries, (including state apparatus),
subjected all to sustained acts of intimidation, arson, torture, rape and
even murder. There has been massive destruction of property, disruption of
income generation projects and business. As a result Zimbabwe stands
polarised along party, racial and social lines.

I am convinced that all Zimbabweans want to see landmark change in our
country - change that will deliver a better life for all. We all seek
change that will lead us all into economic prosperity, sustainable racial
as well as social equity and political stability. A change that will
deliver health, security to all, education for our children, financial
security, more jobs and home ownership.

To this end MDC from its inception has always recognised that the existing
imbalance in the racial landholding is obscene. The MDC also recognises
the existence of the racial inequity in among others, industry, commerce
as well as the service sectors. As the only social democratic party in the
country we also note with concern unacceptable incomes gap in general and
the high incidence of poverty and dependence amongst the communal
dwellers. However, change in land and economic distribution and
utilisation in Zimbabwe must be based on a sustainable programme. Our land
reform programme will complete that change and deliver a better life for
us all.

The MDC land reform will not only focus on redistribution but will also
include empowerment through title deeds to both the resettled and communal
land holders, transformation of subsistence farming into viable commercial
units, the provision of infrastructure, services and availing finance to
these units.
I am aware that feelings of uncertainty, anxiety and at times despondency
in the nation are high. We must unite and give strength and reassurance to
all Zimbabweans. Good will triumph over evil as long as we stay strong and
committed to change.

This sad situation calls for a united effort in dealing with the problems
we face. It calls for all of us to desist from being ordinary Zimbabweans.
Each one of us must feel moved and duty bound to bring about change to
this situation. Zimbabweans have to put Zimbabwe first. Our country must
come first before loyalty to political parties. We have to think about the
future of this country and our children. We can achieve this if we focus
on national values. These are freedom, justice, social welfare and the
well being of all Zimbabweans to pursue these values.

All Zimbabweans must push for a people driven constitution, which will
form the basis of good governance and distribution of national resources.

We at the Movement for Democratic Change are committed to working together
with you to complete the change. Together we can turn the fortunes of the
economy and deliver jobs, security, health care, and education for our
children to enjoy a better life. There was never a time when the people
needed to be more united than now. Attempts to polarise the nation now
must be resisted. Together we will complete the change for a better life.

Once again Amhlope! Makorokoto! Congratulations

Back to the Top
Back to Index

From The Star (SA), 20 April

Mugabe gets 25 percent pay rise

Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe received a backdated 25 percent pay raise on Friday. An official government notice said Mugabe's combined salary and allowances, backdated to January 1, were increased to Z$1,6-million a year, up from about Z$1,3-million. The average income of ordinary Zimbabweans has declined in recent years to about Z$15 000 Zimbabwe a year. About 70 percent of Zimbabwe's 12,5-million people live below the international poverty line. Zimbabwe is suffering its worst economic crisis since independence in 1980. Inflation has reached 70 percent and more than half the eligible work force is unemployed. Mugabe's presidential salary is untaxed and he also receives a housing allowance of Z$196 000 a year. Mugabe lives in an official state-owned residence but has commissioned the building of a private mansion in northern Harare at a cost of more than Z$50-million. The salaries of Mugabe and top officials were doubled in 1999 soon after doctors and other government employees were awarded 30 percent raises after a series of bruising public-service strikes.

From The Financial Gazette, 19 April

Company Chiefs Flee War Vets

Harare - Two Pakistani businessmen with investments worth more than $200 million in Zimbabwe have fled the country as widening attacks on businesses by the governing ZANU PF party's war veterans begin to take their toll, it was established this week. A source at Leno Trading, a registered company that has been operating more than 60 emergency taxis that ply Harare township routes, said the firm's chief executive Imran Choudray had fled back to Pakistan following an attack on his home and the grounding of his business. Choudray's partner, another Pakistani businessman only known as Choukat, has also fled Zimbabwe but his where-abouts are unknown.

The two businessmen have invested more than $200 million in a commuter taxi transport business since their application was approved by the Zimbabwe Investment Centre in 1992. They had both since acquired Zimbabwean citizenship. Leno Trading has been embroiled in a labour dispute with some workers who were sacked after going on an illegal strike last October. Although the workers lost their case in court, they appealed to the Harare chapter of the war veterans' association which immediately impounded the whole fleet and grounded it at the ZANU PF head office in Harare's Rotten Row.

Mediation efforts which at some stage involved former ZANU PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa seemed to have solved the problems when Leno was forced and agreed to pay the sacked workers at total of $450 000. A copy of the agreement drafted by ZANU PF and signed by the workers as well as Leno and the ruling party shown to this paper shows that the workers were divided into four categories. It is not clear how ZANU PF devised the categories but those from the first to the third categories were paid varying sums of around $15 000 each, with the lowest getting $2 000, while those in the fourth category were told to report back to work. According to the ZANU PF-brokered agreement, the sacked workers on getting paid would cease all claims against Leno.

Two weeks ago, the dispute resurfaced when the same group of workers approached the new war veterans' executive led by Mike Madiro. The Madiro executive is alleged to have told the workers that the money they were given by Leno as compensation was too little and immediately assembled some youths who ground to a halt all operations of the company. It was not possible this week to get comment from Madiro or his deputy, Chris Pasipamire, who is said to be heading new pay talks between the war veterans and Leno. Some of the sacked workers then invaded Choudray's home in Harare's Avondale, where they beat up his domestic workers and vandalised property. The businessman and his family, fearing for their lives, immediately took a plane out of Zimbabwe to an unknown destination but are now suspected to have returned to Pakistan. Efforts to contact Choudray for comment failed this week.

Meanwhile 34 of the minibuses that were grounded at the ZANU PF head office have now been dumped at Harare Central Police Station after it was discovered that they had all been vandalised and were several parts missing. All the minibuses at the police station have their tyres slashed. Sources within Leno say the company is about to fold because its owners believe that the situation in Zimbabwe has become untenable and might be exploring the possibility of transferring the remainder of their resources to some neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) says it has asked its regions to compile a report on the effect on business of the harassment of its members by a faction of war veterans led by Chenjerai Hunzvi. ZNCC president Danny Dube said although no particular case had been brought to his attention, the business organisation had decided to ask its regional offices to compile a report on the extent of the harassment and is still waiting for a response. In the past few months, several Zimbabwean companies have been invaded and managers assaulted by the veterans, who are increasingly taking over the role of trade unions in the run-up to crucial presidential elections due next year. The invasions, which follow those of private farms across the country last year by the veterans, have coincided with disclosures by Hunzvi that ZANU PF is setting up "mobilisation bases" in all urban constituencies to back President Robert Mugabe's presidential campaign. Hunzvi said the bases would staffed by the veterans, who last year led a reign of terror against Zimbabweans living and working in rural areas, including farmers and their workers, ahead of the landmark June general election narrowly won by ZANU PF.

From The Star (SA), 20 April

Zimbabwe re-introduces price support for gold

Harare - Zimbabwe's government will once again guarantee a floor price for gold in a bid to prop up ailing mines and secure desperately needed foreign currency, said a government statement on Friday. "Government is fully aware of the viability problems that are currently facing the gold mining industry," said the statement from the president's office. "Gold production peaked at 25 203 150kg in 1999 but the projected 2001 figures show a decline of about 21 percent to approximately 20 015 100kg. If this trend is not arrested, the importance of gold as one of the prime foreign currency earners is likely to continue decreasing," it said.

The floor price will be pegged at R2 781,73 per kilogram, compared to the current trading price of about $264, said the statement. The new scheme means the government will pay out the difference between its floor price and the world price to gold producers, but in Zimbabwean dollars rather than United States dollars. The official exchange rate has been pegged at Z$55 to $1 since October, but the unofficial parallel rate has soared to about Z$115. Producers still have to import critical supplies in foreign currency, which they are forced to source from the parallel market because of a severe shortage of foreign exchange in Zimbabwe. The government only allows gold producers to keep 20 percent of its foreign currency earnings. Inflation, currently about 57 percent, has also raised operating costs. Several of the nation's gold mines, including one of the largest, Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Limited (Falgold), have suspended mining operations due to the harsh economic conditions.

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 20 April

Zim close to fuel deal

Zimbabwe is close to signing a fuel deal with US financial institutions but National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) officials first want to terminate the monopoly that Kuwaiti company Independent Petroleum Company has enjoyed over the past two years, the Zimbabwe Independent heard yesterday. Sources in the fuel industry said Zimbabwe was keen to negotiate new fuel deals in anticipation of foreign currency inflows from tobacco receipts. The tobacco auction floors open on Tuesday. The sources said two more facilities, one involving the French, were likely to be concluded before June.

The sources said the deal with the Americans should see the banks providing an advance loan which should be enough to provide Zimbabwe with at least four months supply of fuel. The government would guarantee the loan. The sources refused to provide the names of the banks saying this would scuttle negotiations. The facility would be available for six months at the end of which Noczim would be required to pay back the money in full plus interest. The issue of revising the IPG contract is being dealt with by the Office of the President which was instrumental in the negotiation of the initial agreement with the Kuwaitis.

"Noczim is keen to return to the old situation where it could procure fuel from anyone," a source said. "IPG is not being dumped completely but it will have to be competitive if it is to continue supplying fuel to Zimbabwe." IPG’s supply deal has often been regarded as a sweetheart deal between the suppliers and the Office of the President due to high charges that are built into the price of the commodity. As a result of the numerous levies, Zimbabwe now has the most expensive fuel in the region. Last month Mines and Energy minister Sydney Sekeramayi told parliament that IPG fuel was expensive because of levies charged to cover the high risk factor of doing business with Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, three local banks - Standard Chartered, Stanbic and Barclays Bank – have made available US$4,3 million for the purchase of 15 million litres of IPG fuel which was either locked in the pipeline between Feruka and Harare or in storage tanks in Mutare. The forex was made available at the official rate.

From The Daily News, 20 April

Mugabe warns Chief Chiweshe's assailants

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has threatened unspecified action against people who beat up Chief Chiweshe in Centenary last Sunday. Speaking to about 30 000 people celebrating Zimbabwe's independence at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Wednesday, he said beating up a traditional leader was anathema in Zimbabwe. "It has never happened before," he said. The attack was blamed on MDC supporters. Chief Chiweshe was accused of leading the disruption of the burial of Ndoga Mupesa, an MDC member in Chiweshe last week. Mugabe said: "I want to warn the people responsible for assaulting the chief that they are going to get it . . ." Two MDC members have been arrested while Zanu PF supporters in Centenary have already started attacking members of the opposition party in apparent retaliation for the assault on Chiweshe. Mugabe's speech, delayed by one hour after a power failure at a substation near Warren Hills Golf Club, covered the land resettlement programme, the Aids scourge and the DRC war.

In Bulawayo, David Ndlovu, the acting mayor, accused the government of giving priority to Matabeleland North independence celebrations at the expense of those in Bulawayo. He said the celebrations in the city were poorly organised. About 8 000 people, mostly children, turned up at White City Stadium. There was no entertainment. In attendance were Dumiso Dabengwa, former Minister of Home Affairs, John Nkomo, the Zanu PF national chairman and former MPs Sikhanyiso Ndlovu and Sithembiso Nyoni. In Gweru, about 7 000 people celebrated at Mkoba Stadium, among them MDC and Zanu PF MPs. Midlands governor, Cephas Msipa, read Mugabe's speech. In Mutare, about 25 000 people reportedly crammed Sakubva Stadium for the celebrations. Manicaland governor, Oppah Muchinguri, read the speech. Some farmers in Marondera and Raffingora said their workers were forced to attend the celebrations. A tractor carrying farm workers at Nyagambe farm in Marondera was ordered back to collect more people. "They said the people were not enough," said a worker. The celebrations were held at Marondera's North Club, taken over by war veterans.

From The Star (SA), 18 April

DRC peace shaky after cabinet reshuffle

Kinshasa - The Congo River was closed to traffic at Kinshasa on Monday while troops continued a security operation. The river is the frontier between the DRC and the Republic of Congo and is closed during periods of insecurity. Diplomatic sources reported shooting at the airport and close to one of the presidential palaces on Tuesday. There were rumours that the shooting might have been connected with an attempted coup. A diplomatic source said there might be resistance to the cabinet changes announced at the weekend. The new Information Minister, Kikaya Bin Karubi, advised reporters who contacted him to refer to his predecessor, Dominique Sakombi, who was sacked by President Joseph Kabila in the reshuffle. Sakombi confirmed that a security sweep that started last week was still ongoing. "There are too many armed bandits in town," he said. A presidential guardsman said a faction of the military had been planning to liberate some imprisoned generals who have been detained in connection with the assassination of the late president Laurent Kabila.

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 20 April

Mineral Wealth Incentive For DRC Involvement - UN Report

Harare - The late Congolese leader Laurent Kabila used the vast mineral resources of his country as an incentive to court the support of the Zimbabwean government in his bid to ward off rebels challenging his regime, a United Nations report released this week shows. It also reveals that a joint-venture company linked to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces helped itself to some of the Congo's richest mines. A panel of experts commissioned by the UN Security Council to probe the plunder of resources in the DRC said Zimbabwean companies and decision-makers benefited from the scheme. The report said other allied forces in the DRC - Namibia and Angola - financed their war effort in the Great Lakes region from their defence budgets. "Among all its allies, Zimbabwean companies and some decision-makers have benefited most from this scheme," the report states. The report says Zimbabwe received "interesting" mining concessions in the DRC and Zimbabwean companies, using their influence with the DRC government, developed business partnerships with private companies and parastatals.

"The panel has enough elements and evidence to suggest that the government of the DRC under the late President Kabila gave strong incentives in the form of access, exploitation and management of mineral resources," the report said. "These incentives in turn convinced the Zimbabwean authorities to remain engaged in the DRC. The incentives have however been so important that the whole balance of mining industries is likely to be affected. The question in the region is which course of action will sidelined companies take in the future to guarantee their presence in the mining sector?" the report asks.

Zimbabwean politicians and pro-Zanu PF business people have interests in the mining industry in the Congo but they have often denied their involvement or have refused to explain the nature of the transactions in the DRC. It has always been the contention of the Zimbabwe authorities that the intervention in the DRC had nothing to do with the quest to exploit the mineral wealth of that country. Instead it was portrayed as a legitimate cause to restore the sovereignty of that country. The investigating team had problems obtaining information from the Zimbabwean authorities who were described as "generally uncooperative".

The UN report chronicles Zimbabwe's business ventures in the DRC. Zimbabwe is involved in Sengamines through a private company, Operation Sovereign Legitimacy (Osleg) whose shareholders are army supremo General Vitalis Zvinavashe, former Defence permanent secretary Job Whabira, Onesimo Moyo of the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe and Isiah Ruzengwe of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation. The company entered into a partnership with the late Kabila's company Comiex to form Cosleg. "Through Cosleg, Zimbabwe (Zanu PF) could exploit and market minerals, timber and other resources of the DRC," the report says.

"Reliable sources told the panel that a Zimbabwean delegation headed by the Minister of Justice, Emmerson Mnangagwa, visited the Kasai region to see the various mining concessions given by the late Kabila to Zimbabwe Defence Forces as barter payment for its military support," the report says. The panel heard that the Zimbabweans did not have the financial resources and technical expertise to exploit the mining concessions. Zimbabwe then invited an Oman-based company - Oryx Natural Resources - to offer support. The marriage resulted in the birth of Oryx Zimcon, which then formed another joint venture with Cosleg.

Instead of selecting one of the various mines belonging to Cosleg to start its investment, Oryx Zimcon wanted the best mines which initially belonged to Congolese mining parastatal Miba. "At the request of the ZDF and on the advice of ministers Victor Mpoyo and Mwenze Kongolo, the late president transferred two of Miba's richest concessions - the Kimberlite deposits in Tshibua and alluvial deposits in the Senga Senga River - to Oryx Zimcon. Oryx Zimcon and Cosleg together created Sengamines," the UN report says. The report further states: "The ease with which the Tshibua and Senga Senga River concessions were given to Oryx without due regard of the legal requirements and the preferential treatment given to Oryx show the determination of the former government of the DRC to reward some of its allies."
Back to the Top
Back to Index

From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 20 April

Mugabe moves his shock troops into Harare suburbs

Harare - The spacious house set in a quiet street lined with pine trees appears an unlikely base for a terror campaign. But a notorious henchman of President Mugabe has been installed in a government property in a smart area of Zimbabwe's capital and has begun systematically intimidating the neighbourhood. Joseph Chinotimba, who styles himself "commander in chief of white farm invasions" and is awaiting trial for attempted murder, is a new arrival in Harare's pleasant suburb of Marlborough.

His presence in Loughborough Road is betrayed by the gangs of youths wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Mr Mugabe's face who loiter on street corners near the house they call "base camp". Mr Chinotimba, 48, was an obscure security guard working for Harare city council. But he has become a key figure in the ruling Zanu-PF party. He helped mastermind the violent occupation of more than 1,700 white-owned farms last year. During the parliamentary election campaign, Mr Chinotimba led the shock troops of the Mugabe regime in an onslaught against the opposition MDC that claimed 37 lives and secured a narrow victory for Zanu-PF. Yet the countryside bore the brunt of the intimidation and every seat in Harare fell to the MDC.

Mr Chinotimba owes his sudden prominence to Chenjerai "Hitler" Hunzvi, leader of the War Veterans' Association. The president's chief rabble-rouser ensured that Mr Chinotimba was elected political commissar of Zanu-PF's Harare branch and ordered him to carry the terror campaign against the MDC into the capital. Now Mr Chinotimba has been deployed there and ordered to bring its citizens into line, using the same violent methods, before the presidential election due next year. Marlborough is a racially-mixed area and his new home was once a government orphanage. It is now packed with thuggish henchmen who share his fanatical loyalty to the president.

Judith Moyo, a local resident, described seeing her new neighbours last Sunday at 6am. She said: "I saw about 100 men marching down the road in four ranks. They were chanting Zanu-PF slogans. I was terrified because I know what these guys can do." Mr Chinotimba left his last home after allegedly shooting his next door neighbour, whom he had accused of supporting the MDC, and leaving her seriously injured. Both of his immediate neighbours in Loughborough Road have already fled. Miss Moyo said: "We are all living in fear. We cannot even talk freely in our own homes. We hear Chinotimba's men shouting and chanting all the time. When the presidential election comes, they will be after us. They are starting to rig that election already."

From The Daily News, 19 April

30 village heads defy war vets to attend MDC rallies

Buhera - About village heads and headmen in Buhera South defied threats by war veterans to attend an MDC rally addressed by party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, at which he called for change. The government recently raised traditional leaders’ monthly allowances and promised them other perks, including construction of roads to chiefs’ homesteads. But dozens of village heads and headmen from Buhera South defied intimidation from Zanu PF activists to attend the rallies addressed by Tsvangirai on Tuesday and yesterday.

Among those who attended the meetings at Muzokomba and Manhuru townships near Murambinda growth point was Chief Muzokomba. "This is a positive development," Tsvangirai told The Daily News. "People are being converted, especially the elderly." Tsvangirai observed that village elders had borne the brunt of political violence and intimidation in the run-up to the June parliamentary election and their votes were crucial. "They have the power in their vote to change the leadership," he said. "Mugabe does not hold the destiny of this country in his hands."

Government critics say the new perks for traditional leaders, announced by the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Ignatius Chombo, in Mutare, were designed to gain support for Zanu PF ahead of next year’s presidential poll. Tsvangirai was in Buhera South and Buhera North constituencies held by Kumbirai Kangai and Kenneth Manyonda of Zanu PF respectively. Kangai’s rural home is at Dyarima, about seven kilometres from Manhuru township where Tsvangirai addressed a meeting yesterday.

The traditional leaders’ presence at the gatherings, comes barely three weeks after acting headman Garepi Chirozva of Kandenga area was allegedly stripped of his symbolic badge by ex-combatants who accused him of not urging his people to attend a Zanu PF meeting in the area. Chirozva is the elder brother to Chief Nyashanu. The war veterans still have the badge and the matter is expected to be discussed before local district administration officials on 15 May. Police, fearing clashes between the ruling party’s activists and MDC supporters, maintained a heavy presence at the Muzokomba rally. However, the police were conspicuous by their absence at Manhuru where an alleged war veteran produced a knife and threatened to disrupt the gathering. But he was overpowered by MDC youths and chased away.

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 20 April

Mujuru stalls CIO purge

Former Commander of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), retired General Solomon Mujuru, long believed to be a power broker behind the scenes, has again flexed his muscles to prevent the axing of CIO boss Rtd Brigadier Elisha Muzonzini from the spy agency, the Zimbabwe Independent has learnt. It was Mujuru who recommended to President Mugabe the appointment of both Muzonzini and his deputy, Happyton Bonyongwe, in November 1998 after then director-general Shadreck Chipanga and his deputy Lovemore Mukandi, were fired.

The Independent reported in February that Muzonzini was due to leave the spy agency by the end of March. His removal was reportedly masterminded by the defence forces supremo, General Vitalis Zvinavashe, with the concurrence of Vice-President Simon Muzenda. Zimbabwe’s ambassador to the United Nations, Tichaona Jokonya, had been tipped to take over from Muzonzini. Sources said there had been a clash between Mujuru and Zvinavashe over Muzonzini’s removal, with both wanting to influence the appointments of new CIO directors.

It is understood Mujuru told Mugabe at a meeting last week that the axing of Muzonzini would have serious repercussions for state security and the survival of Zanu PF. Mujuru said Muzonzini had sharpened the intelligence network ahead of the crucial 2002 presidential election. The meeting was reportedly attended by Air Marshal Perence Shiri, Secretary to the Cabinet Charles Utete, Muzonzini and Bonyongwe. Minister of State for Information Jonathan Moyo, whom the Independent understands was also present at the Zimbabwe House meeting, was later asked to excuse himself from the deliberations. Mujuru yesterday denied having anything to do with the matter. He referred the Independent instead to the two CIO directors involved.

However, it is understood Mujuru had been approached by Muzonzini to seek his backing on the impending purge which had targeted the top echelons of the organisation. Mujuru then sought an immediate audience with Mugabe to express his reservations about axing Muzonzini and an accompanying purge at Chaminuka Building, the spy agency’s headquarters. Intelligence sources told the Independent that Mugabe was noncommittal at the meeting. "He just said he had heard their concerns and would look into the matter," a source said.  The sources told the Independent that clandestine operations, masterminded by both Muzonzini and Bonyongwe, were underway in the CIO in preparation for the presidential election. The nature of the preparations were however not clear. It was argued by Mujuru that in the light of the "preparations", Muzonzini should stay. "The presidential election is the most crucial election in the history of the party. The CIO is going to play a pivotal role and Mujuru argued that intelligence officers should not be shuffled like a deck of cards, especially towards the election," the source said.

Minister of State Security Nicholas Goche was reported to be in a marathon of meetings yesterday when the Independent made inquiries about the developments within the CIO. Muzonzini was reportedly out of town and Bonyongwe did not return calls. Contacted for comment, Mujuru said the Independent should seek a comment from the president on the matter. Asked about the meeting over the fate of both Muzonzini and Bonyongwe, Mujuru referred the paper to the two CIO directors saying they would be in a better position to comment. "Ko iniwo ndinopindawo papi ipapa? Handizvizivi (Where do I come in? I know nothing about that"), Mujuru said before switching off his cellphone.

From The Financial Gazette, 19 April

"ZANU PF after me"

Edgar Tekere, the firebrand former secretary-general of ZANU PF, has confirmed that Vice President Joseph Msika invited him to rejoin the governing party at a ceremony in Mount Darwin at the weekend and blasted Information Minister Jonathan Moyo as a liar. Tekere told the Financial Gazette by telephone from his Mutare home yesterday that Msika had indeed "invited and urged me to rejoin ZANU PF", the party he left in a huff in 1988. President Robert Mugabe sacked the former guerrilla leader, at the time ZANU PF’s second most powerful politician, for persistently criticising his policies. Tekere later formed the Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM), an opposition party which made a feeble attempt to dislodge ZANU PF during the 1995 general election. He quit ZUM last year and immediately announced his retirement from active politics. Since then there have been numerous attempts - most of them from senior ZANU PF politicians from his home-land of Manicaland such as Didymus Mutasa - to try to lure him back into the ruling party.

Yesterday Tekere charged that Moyo was a "liar and a mad person" after the minister denied that Msika had invited him to rejoin ZANU PF at the ceremony in Mount Darwin. "Maybe these people in ZANU PF were annoyed that the reports said Msika begged me to rejoin the party," said Tekere. "In fact, it was an invitation and Msika urged me to rejoin, he did not beg me." Speaking in Shona, Tekere said he had seen Moyo’s statement and was convinced that "the minister is mad". He refused to comment further on Msika’s invitation. Msika is reported to have invited Tekere back into the governing party last Saturday saying: "Let’s bury our differences and work together. Look around you, the country you fought for is about to go to the whites." Moyo has denied that Msika ever made such remarks, blasting the Daily News which published the report on the vice president’s speech earlier this week. Msika was not available for comment.

From The Financial Gazette, 19 April

Thousands left stranded at National Sports Stadium

Thousands of people bussed into Harare from nearby towns by the ruling ZANU PF party to attend Wednesday’s main independence celebrations in the capital were left stranded after they failed to get transport back home. ZANU PF hired a fleet of ZUPCO buses to transport people from within Harare and the surrounding towns to attend the independence celebrations addressed by President Robert Mugabe at the National Sports Stadium. After the celebrations in the evening, thousands of people milled around the stadium complaining of lack of transport. Many of the buses which had ferried them to the stadium in the morning were nowhere to be seen.

Stalin Mau-Mau, the ruling party’s information head for Harare province, said yesterday it was possible that some people experienced transportation problems after the event because "there were many people who had to be ferried back to their homes". Mau-Mau, who estimated the crowd at the stadium at 50 000, said however not all the people were ferried to the stadium, saying about half used their own means to attend the celebrations marking Zimbabwe’s 21st independence anniversary. "Hosting a big occasion like that you are bound to have some hiccups and some people might have experienced transport problems back home, but all in all the event was a resounding success," he told the Financial Gazette.

ZANU PF, seeking to bolster the attendance at the celebrations which for years have been boycotted by members of the public, ferried people from Harare’s high-density suburbs, Chitungwiza, Norton, Bindura and other outlying towns. Hundreds of school children were brought in from all the country’s provinces. The organising committee headed by Education Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi ordered the stadium’ s gates to be locked at 1 pm to ensure that many people were seated ahead of Mugabe’s speech and not to come in later to watch a free soccer match, the main attraction of the celebrations. ZANU PF officials alleged sabotage by its enemies after a power failure, common in Zimbabwe these days, forced Mugabe to delay delivery of his speech. After the celebrations, a group of ZANU PF youths stormed the VIP section looking for party officials from Harare province demanding payment of $1 500 allowances which they had been promised.

In Bulawayo, ZANU PF national chairman John Nkomo was embarrassed by the low turnout at the White City Stadium as well as the failure by the organisers of the celebrations to provide a public address system. Party officials at the stadium attributed the chaotic celebrations to acts of sabotage by supporters of the opposition MDC allegedly working for the Bulawayo City Council, which hosted the celebrations. But David Ndlovu, the acting mayor of the city, rejected the charge. "Somebody has to explain what happened but it is wrong to blame my council and officials," he said. "In any case, my council does not provide the public address system, which is the responsibility of the ministry of information. That’s where the buck stops," he added. ZANU PF officials from the Bulawayo province were heard publicly chiding each other about the poor organisation and low attendance. "This is chaotic and heads must roll in the Bulawayo ZANU PF province," said Sainet Dube, a ZANU PF councillor and a member of the celebrations’ organising committee.

From the MDC, 19 April

Red card carriers arrested

On 18 April, at least 189 MDC youths were assaulted and detained overnight without any food by the Zimbabwe Republic Police for carrying red cards in their pockets. They were arrested in the morning as they sought to enter the National Sports Stadium to celebrate Zimbabwe’s independence. This morning they were released upon being forced to sign admission of guilt forms. Their crime was pencilled down as "Conduct likely to provoke the breach of peace". Some were subjected to brutal attacks by police officers, who used clenched fists and baton sticks against the youths while in custody. The youths were packed in groups of 33 per cell which was designed to accommodate only six people. It is significant that this arrest took place on independence day as it underlines the fact that the people of Zimbabwe continue to lose rights to a wide range of freedoms. Has carrying small plastic cards now become a criminal offence?

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 20 April

No Independence celebrations for Olds

As Zimbabweans from all walks of life marked 21 years of Independence on Wednesday, David Olds, whose brother was murdered by war veterans on Independence Day last year, has questioned why he should attend the festivities when government is fighting commercial farmers. Olds’ mother was also shot dead last month. "Why should I go?" asked Olds this week. "We are ‘enemies of the state’ and those were Mr Mugabe’s words. What celebration is there when they killed my brother a year ago on Independence Day?" In Bulawayo, acting executive mayor David Ndlovu kicked off the celebrations calling for whites to play their part in the commemoration of Zimbabwe’s Independence. "We have invited them but if they do not heed the call what can we do?" Ndlovu asked after celebrations at White City stadium attended by about 5 000 people. Nyamandlovu rancher Martin Olds (42) was killed in a shoot-out with armed war veterans on his farm on April 18 last year.

"The land is no longer an issue because government has been offered payment for it," said David Olds. "I am a Zimbabwean and I love my country. The only problem is that I have a white skin and happen to be associated with farming." Olds said the land issue had been so politicised that even if the British government offered payment - in pounds sterling – for the farms, President Mugabe would spurn the offer. "I do not support the MDC or Zanu PF. I am apolitical," said Olds, whose mother Gloria was gunned down at her Nyamandlovu homestead last month.

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 20 April

US court to hear Mugabe case

A New York district court will on Monday hear arguments on why the US should not grant President Robert Mugabe immunity from prosecution in a civil case filed by victims of political violence in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Independent has learnt. The State Department had granted Mugabe immunity on the basis of his being a head of state. The applicants - Elliot Pfebve, Agnes Chiminya, Evelyn Masaiti and Maria Stevens - have argued that the immunity was not valid considering the gravity of the allegations Mugabe was facing in Zimbabwe. Spokesperson for the applicants Topper Whitehead said that their lawyers, Cooper, Carvin and Rosenthal, based in Washington DC, filed the papers and would be arguing the case before Judge Victor Marerro in the southern district of New York. "In response to the US State Department suggestion of immunity, we have prepared a valid and very strong argument on why he (Mugabe) should not be granted immunity from some of the worst political crimes committed in the country," Whitehead said.

Pfebve lost his brother in pre-election violence that characterised the June parliamentary election. He was allegedly killed by Zanu PF supporters in Mt Darwin. Chiminya’s husband, Tichaona, was killed by a petrol bomb allegedly thrown by a CIO operative, identified in the High Court as Joseph Mwale, and a war veteran identified as Cainos Tomu Kitsiyatota Zimunya. Stevens lost her husband, David, a commercial farmer after he was shot and killed by war veterans. Masaiti’s in-laws homestead was burnt to ashes. The applicants are claiming US$45 million from Mugabe as compensation. "These are punitive damages for murder. You cannot put a price on the life of human being," Whitehead said. Stevens told the Independent that the applicants were demanding compensation from Mugabe to help victims of political violence orchestrated in the run-up to last year's parliamentary election.

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 20 April

Zim investments safe, says DRC

The DRC government recently assured Zimbabwean investors in the Kasai province that their businesses were safe and that there would be no riots against Zimbabwean companies in the region. A recent issue of the pro-government French- language newspaper l’Avenir said outgoing DRC Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mwenze Kongolo had given an assurance that the Senga Senga population near Mbuji-Mayi would not rise against Zimbabwe’s exploitation of diamonds in the Kasai Province. Zimbabwe is involved in a joint venture company with the Congolese government to mine diamonds in the mineral-rich province. Apart from diamond mining, there are also Zimbabweans in the retail business in the region.

Kongolo said the mining initiative was meant to develop the South-South co-operation agreement signed between the two countries in December. Sources in the DRC said the politically-charged atmosphere in the Senga Senga area had threatened the exploitation of the diamond reserves by Sengamines - in which Zimbabwe was a partner. Last month the governor of Kasai Oriental province, where the Sengamines deposits were located, Paul Kabongo Misasa, was fired on allegations that he was inciting the Kasaians against Zimbabwe’s involvement in the mining of diamonds in the province. Sources in the DRC said Kabongo Misasa had quarrelled with Senga-mines boss Jean-Charles Okoto Lolakombe, a former foreign affairs minister, with the latter accusing the governor of harbouring anti-Zimbabwe sentiments.

Despite the assurances, analysts said, the tension could remain as the Kasai people had repeatedly complained they had not been benefiting from the exploitation of resources in their region. Last year, Kasaians alleged that Zimbabwean troops in the province were put on full alert to deal with any protest against foreign involvement in the diamond mining sector. There was also the question of the location of the Sengamines headquarters in Kinshasa, which the people of Mbuji-Mayi said was unfair as this entailed the translocation of riches to the capital. Analysts said there was now a real danger that Zimbabwe would become embroiled in the ethnic politics of the DRC. "Beyond the current conflict, the main question deriving from this situation is whether Zimbabwe can sustain diamond operations in such a politically charged environment," Mukeba Lufuluabo, a Congolese analyst based in the United States.
Back to the Top
Back to Index
Dear Friends

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is appealing for financial
contributions to enable the party to effectively campaign for democratic
change in Zimbabwe. The forthcoming Presidential Elections will require
considerable resources and effort from the MDC. The formidable challenges
prevailing in Zimbabwe call for the sustained and committed participation
of all people who value the return to democracy and law and order in
Zimbabwe.

Consider that Zimbabwean politicians have made the following statements:
"Those who support MDC must watch out because death will befall them" -
Mugabe 16/3/2000
"We will move door to door killing like we did Chiminya. I am the minister
responsible for defence therefore I am capable of killing"
- Mahachi 2/6/2000
"Those who do not understand must be beaten until they do understand" -
Mahachi 2/6/2000

The MDC has launched an online donation facility on the official MDC
website www.mdczimbabwe.com. This is a secure and confidential facility.
We respectfully ask you to consider making a donation online in support of
the MDC's initiatives.

The MDC needs your help in advertising that this facility exists. Please
forward this email to anyone you feel may be interested in contributing to
the party.

How can you help?
a. Forward this mail to friends and allies
b. Consider placing an advertisement in relevant publications promoting the
online donation facility
c. Promote the online donation facility on relevant websites
d. Post this mail on noticeboards in workplaces
e. If you work in the media, include this information in an
editorial/article

Thank you for your support.

MDC Support
Enquiries to mdcsupp@mdczimbabwe.com
Guqula Izenzo/Maitiro Chinja

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...."

Back to the Top
Back to Index