From The Star (SA), 23 August
Basildon Peta
Zimbabwean
political parties are reportedly plotting, scheming and, in some
cases,
bribing and threatening to try to win the powerful post of Speaker of
Parliament when President Robert Mugabe convenes the body on Monday. With
the March 29 polls having produced a hung parliament in which Morgan
Tsvangirai's MDC controls 100 seats, Zanu PF 99 and a faction of the MDC led
by Arthur Mutambara 10 seats, no single political formation can win the
Speaker's post without the support of another. Although the MDC should have
been sure of the position because its two factions are formally in a
coalition still and together command an outright majority of 110 seats, that
now seems unlikely because of the persistent squabbling between the two
factions. Despite having only 10 seats, Mutambara's faction has fielded its
own candidate, former parliamentarian Paul Temba Nyathi, for the Speaker's
post. Sources say this is because of the support the Mutambara faction hopes
to get from Zanu PF, with whom it has established common ground in the talks
being mediated by President Thabo Mbeki. And Zanu PF wants to keep the
Speakership away from Tsvangirai. However, other sources say Zanu PF will
field its own candidate and hope to get Mutambara's support. "We're in
marathon meetings this weekend to map the way forward," said one
source.
The MDC is planning to field its party chairman Lovemore Moyo as
its
candidate for the Speakership. Tsvangirai's formation is deeply worried
by
the continued threats against its MPs. It believes Mugabe has maintained
a
reign of terror on some of them to ensure they don't report for Parliament
on Monday. That would mean the MDC loses the Speakership by default despite
having won the largest bloc of MPs. Several MPs-elect from Tsvangirai's side
including Misheck Shoko, Heya Shoko, Piniel Denga, Eliah Jembere, are still
in hiding after Zimbabwean police announced on state radio it wanted to have
them arrested for "inciting violence". Nevertheless, the party has asked
them to report for parliament. MDC senior official Eddie Cross said several
MPs from his southern region have been threatened by state security agents
ahead of Monday. Mugabe's agents are said to have approached at least 10 MDC
MPs and offered them farms, vehicles, cabinet posts and other perks if they
drop their support for Tsvangirai. It seems that Mugabe is employing divide
and rule tactics to weaken Tsvangirai and force him to sign a power-sharing
deal.
The Observer,
Sunday August 24 2008
Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party could lose out on both the
speaker and deputy
speaker positions when the Zimbabwean parliament is
reopened tomorrow,
despite its majority in the lower house.
In the 29
March parliamentary elections, the MDC won 100 seats, against
Zanu-PF's 99.
Ten seats went to a faction of the MDC led by academic Arthur
Mutambara and
one went to independent candidate Jonathan Moyo.
National Constitutional
Assembly chairman Lovemore Madhuku said the failure
by the MDC to produce a
joint candidate had opened the door for a potential
deal between Mutambara's
MDC and the ruling party. 'If Zanu steals the
speaker's position from us,
the people of Zimbabwe will ... judge Mugabe
extremely harshly,' said Tendai
Biti, the secretary general of MDC.
Alex Duval Smith
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008
20:52
Paul Themba Nyathi of the Arthur Mutambara-led Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) has emerged as the strongest candidate for the
powerful post of
Speaker in the Seventh Parliament which convenes
tomorrow.
Zanu PF has proposed John Nkomo for the
post.
Nyathi, who is a war veteran and former MP for Gwanda, is
said to be
more acceptable to Zanu PF because of his background in the
liberation
struggle and is also winning support from MPs from the rival
MDC-T.
The small faction of the MDC, which won 10 seats during the
March 29
harmonised elections, is seen as a potential power broker in the
hung
parliament as both Zanu PF and the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC cannot
individually win contests in the house without its support.
Both Zanu PF and MDC-T have remained mum on their choice for the
speaker's
post, arguing that they do not want to expose their strategies.
The
group appears to have overcome problems caused by some of its MPs
who were
reportedly threatening to go along with their colleagues in the
MDC-T who
are likely to nominate Matobo North legislator Lovemore Moyo for
the
post.
Nyathi has also reportedly received backing from MPs aligned
to former
MDC-T women's assembly chairperson Lucia Matibenga who views Moyo
as a
Tsvangirai ally.
Matibenga fell out with Tsvangirai last
year after the latter
allegedly pushed for Theresa Makone's elevation to the
helm of the women's
assembly. The group aligned to Matibenga was last week
reportedly lobbying
heavily for Nyathi to spite Tsvangirai and
Moyo.
On Wednesday, Mutambara's faction convened a national council
meeting
to caucus on the election of the speaker, where the 10 MPs are said
to have
distanced themselves from media reports that they wanted to vote
with the
main MDC in parliament.
Welshman Ncube, the faction's
secretary general, said the council
deliberated extensively on the issue
which appeared in the media alleging
that some of the party's MPs had
attacked the party leadership on
allegations that they (the leadership) had
signed a sell-out deal to form a
government with Zanu PF without the MDC led
by Morgan Tsvangirai.
He said: "The council noted the denials of
the Members of Parliament
repudiating and disassociating themselves from
statements attributed to them
in the media."
The post of
speaker is one of the issues being discussed under the
ongoing power-sharing
talks between Zanu PF and the MDC factions.
Zanu PF and Mutambara's
MDC have reached an agreement on the way
forward following weeks of
negotiations and they are waiting for Tsvangirai
to make up his
mind.
But there were signs of serious divisions in the main MDC
after
Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti issued conflicting statements on President
Mugabe's
decision to convene parliament.
Tsvangirai initially
said the MDC had no problem with the move only to
backtrack after Biti said
it was a "repudiation" of the memorandum of
understanding that set the terms
and timeframe for the talks.
"Nyathi is going to capitalise on the
confusion in the MDC and with
the backing of Zanu PF MPs, he is going to
sail through," said an MDC
insider. "Although there are still some MPs from
his faction who feel they
were not consulted on the choice for speaker, they
are not likely to
influence the election in a significant way."
By Kholwani Nyathi
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008
20:32
PERVASIVE fear, suspicion and general mistrust still hound
villagers
who suffered political violence by Zanu PF youth militias after
President
Robert Mugabe's defeat in the March election.
Memories of savage killings, torture and intimidation are still fresh
in
their minds.
Many are still nursing deep wounds inflicted on them
by neighbours for
voting against Mugabe in favour of MDC leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Villagers still treat strangers and even their
neighbours with
outright suspicion.
"I don't discuss politics
with anyone even my friends because I don't
know how these talks will end,"
said an elderly Chiweshe villager, who
cannot named for security
reasons.
"If the talks break down, the killers may come back and
wipe us out."
The villagers in Chaona in Chiweshe district of
Mashonaland Central
saw several suspected MDC supporters
killed.
Some lost limbs, homes and livestock to their
neighbours.
While there appears to be, generally, a commitment from
members of the
public to reconcile and co-exist in some parts of the
country, there is
still suspicion between victims and perpetrators of
violence.
These views emerged during recent interactions with
villagers from
different parts of the country. The villagers said there had
been a
significant decline in political violence.
"A number of
people who had fled the village are now back," said
Nathaniel Zhou, who said
he was from Chitekete in Gokwe North.
"There are still a few
pockets of enmity here and there, but
generally, we are living together as
one people. We have forgiven each other
as brothers."
Even a
Gokwe-based pastor acknowledges the challenges of co-existence.
"We
have had some very complex scenarios where the clashes were
between members
of our church. Getting them to attend services together is
now a challenge.
We have engaged community members, in collaboration with
other churches and
some civil society organisations. While in most cases a
great deal has been
achieved, we have had some people vowing never to live
"nema chinja" (MDC
supporters)," said the Pastor, who asked not to be
identified.
Another victim of political violence from Zaka in Masvingo province,
who can
only be identified as Norman, said living in the same village with
the
killers of his best friend, Krison Mbano, was a nightmare.
Mbano
together with Washington Nyamwa were killed after an MDC
district office was
doused with petrol and set alight by known Zanu PF
supporters in
June.
"They can't look into my eye for they know what they did. I
feel I am
betraying my friend by letting them roam around," he said. "They
should face
justice. I can't forgive them."
Other victims of
Mugabe's scorched earth policy have not returned to
their homes despite the
two MDCs and Zanu PF signing a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) on July 21,
which, among other things, called for the
cessation of political
violence.
The parties called "upon all our supporters and members
and any organs
and structures under the direction and control of our
respective parties to
stop the perpetration of violence in any
form".
They also called on people who were displaced when Mugabe
embarked on
his campaign to ensure victory on June 27 to return home. The
84-year-old
leader contested alone after Tsvangirai withdrew from the race
citing
excessive violence against his supporters and officials by Mugabe's
loyalists, mostly youth militias, self-styled war veterans and state
security agents.
Hundreds of MDC officials and supporters have
not returned to their
homes fearing retribution from militias loyal to the
fist-waving president.
The MDC last week said its supporters,
including elected legislators
and councillors, were still in hiding as rogue
Zanu PF elements continued to
terrorise them, especially in rural areas, a
direct violation of the talks
and the MoU.
MDC director of
information, Luke Tamborinyoka, said although
political violence had
generally subsided, there were still areas where
youth militias were
terrorising opposition supporters and even preventing
them from returning to
their homes.
He said the most volatile areas included Mutoko and
Murehwa in
Mashonaland East, Makoni and Buhera in Manicaland, and Gokwe in
the
Midlands.
The MDC cited more than 2 000 detentions, over
200 000 internally
displaced, and in excess of 10 000 of its supporters
injured and maimed as a
result of Zanu PF-orchestrated
violence.
At least 5 000 MDC supporters, mainly polling agents and
council
candidates, are thought to be missing or unaccounted
for.
Some 10 MPs-elect and councillors, said Tamborinyoka, were
still in
hiding or could not access their areas.
"In some
areas, the situation is still very tense and some people are
still coming to
our offices looking for their missing relatives and
friends," he
said.
The MDC said some 125 opposition activists had died since the
March 29
harmonised elections.
The MDC spokesman for
Manicaland, Pishai Muchauraya, said self-styled
war veterans were still
waging a violent campaign against his party
supporters in the
province.
Muchauraya said Buhera South was the worst affected area
as the war
veterans were "terrorising the area and brutalising our
supporters".
MDC MP-elect for Buhera South, Naison Nemadziva,
remains in hiding in
Mutare, after threats to his life.
In
Makoni South, said Muchauraya, Chief Chiduku was demanding a $50
fine from
all MDC supporters in Ward 28 for what he called "over-excitement"
after the
March elections.
"Anyone who does not pay that money will be
evicted from all villages
under Chief Chiduku," said
Muchauraya.
Chief Chiduku could not be reached for comment. He is a
prominent Zanu
PF stalwart, appointed to the Senate by Mugabe in
2005.
Zanu PF spokesperson Nathan Shamuyarira was also not
available for
comment.
By Caiphas Chimhete & Vusumuzi
Sifile
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008
20:48
A Chegutu family is living by the roadside after it was evicted
from
its farm - its home for the past 28 years.
Chegutu
tobacco farmer, Kobus Joubert, together with his wife, Mariana
and their 18
workers are staying in the open after being thrown out of the
farm by Felix
Pambukani, a latest beneficiary of government's land reform
programme.
Another family, which sought refuge at the Jouberts,
the Steyns, are
among the homeless.
"We received an eviction
order on the 15th of this month and the
deputy sheriff came on the same
evening and told us to move out," Joubert
said.
During the day,
they sit gloomily by the roadside in the company of
eight of their workers,
who say they are obliged to support the man who has
been like a father to
them. Twelve others reportedly spend the day loitering
at the farm compound
and the two groups switch posts at night.
Pambukani has allegedly
told some of the employees that he will retain
them as his workers and has
promised to give them all the good things they
think they will miss after
the Jouberts' departure.
"Some of us were born on Scotsdale Farm
and only know it to be our
home," a long-faced employee said. "Mr Joubert is
the only employer we have
ever known and we are very close to him because of
his treatment and
assistance given to us over the years".
The
family, with its property which includes tractors, trucks,
refrigerators,
stoves, wardrobes, pots, plates, clothes and beds is camped
by the highway.
While motorists gaze through the windows as they pass by,
others pull-up to
enquire if there is an auction on site.
They cook in the open and
sleep there at night. Neighbours have been
kind enough to allow them to use
their bathrooms and toilet facilities.
On Saturday last week, their
pregnant daughter, together with her
husband and two children visited and
spent the day with them in the open,
with hardly any cheer to mark a typical
family gathering.
A former president of the Tobacco Farmers
Association, Joubert says
his sorrows began on June 24 when 19 men, led by
the self-proclaimed and
controversial war veteran Gilbert Moyo, came to his
farm and told him they
were giving him 30 minutes to
vacate.
"He stole my pick-up, 385 litres of diesel,
slaughtered my sheep and
all my wife's chickens to feed his people," Joubert
said. "They stayed on
the farm but were ordered out on June
27."
Moyo and his group allegedly returned after the 27th
but police and
the Zanu PF councillors in the district intervened and drove
him out.
Shaken by the events, Joubert says he sought
assistance from some
government officials but had to leave for three
weeks.
He cut short his absence after he was notified that
Pambukani had
occupied the farm.
In court documents
filed at the Chegutu magistrates' court, Pambukani
says he expected Joubert
to vacate the farm on February 4, 2008 as he was
now the lawful owner of the
farm after the government allocated it to him.
"(Joubert)
is making my occupation of the farm and the farm house
impossible.......He
has no right whatsoever to deny me such occupation as I
am the person who
was legitimately offered the farm," he said. "I have been
denied the use and
enjoyment of the property by (him) in circumstances of
pure contempt of the
law and invalid challenge too the government's Land
Reform
Programme......the farming season is approaching and I want to start
preparations for serious farming.....".
He further
alleges that he has sought the assistance of police and the
ministry of
lands "without joy" and is therefore taking the matter to the
courts.
Joubert is also challenging the occupation of
his farm, alleging that
he has a 2003 delisting for Section 8 on which
Pambukani is basing his
arguments.
By Jennifer Dube
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008
20:38
THE lid on the power-sharing agreement between Zanu PF and
the MDC was
blown off yesterday as a leaked document revealed for the first
time that
President Robert Mugabe would have remained both as head of State
and head
of government in a new arrangement sanctioned by Sadc
leaders.
The regional leaders, led by South African President
Thabo Mbeki,
reportedly pressured MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai to sign "the
deal", and
after failing to do so, gave Mugabe the go-ahead to convene
parliament.
Their blessing, which allows Mugabe to preside over the
opening of
parliament on Tuesday, ran contrary to the spirit and letter of
the
Memorandum of Understanding signed by the negotiating
parties.
Both parties pledged the convening of parliament would
only be done
through consensus.
Leaked documents and
information gathered from various sources show
that the unsuccessful deal,
far from ensuring a changing political landscape
favouring Tsvangirai who
polled the most votes in March 29 elections, would
have entrenched Mugabe's
grip on power.
The documents show this 50-50 power arrangement was
clearly in favour
of Mugabe who would remain Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces and head
of government as well as head of state.
Tsvangirai refused to sign the agreement nearly two weeks ago in order
to
"reflect and consult".
Sources have revealed that top among
Tsvangirai's worries was
paragraph 2 of the document titled Role of the
Prime Minister.
While the paragraph stipulated that the prime
minister would carry the
responsibility to oversee the formulation of
policies by the Cabinet, it
also spelt out that Tsvangirai would not be the
man in charge - he would
only be "a Member of the Cabinet and its Deputy
Chairperson".
This arrangement left Mugabe, in accordance with the
Zimbabwe
constitution, as the head of Cabinet.
To make matters
worse for Tsvangirai, who had insisted that he heads
the cabinet, according
paragraph 11 he would "report regularly to the
president".
Sources say Tsvangirai is said to have strongly disagreed with such a
provision that would have left him without adequate authority to engineer
economic recovery and overcome repression.
Tsvangirai would
find himself undermined if his authority is not spelt
out because if things
go wrong, he would be blamed.
Tsvangirai also could not discipline
ministers under such an
arrangement, as he could only "make recommendations
on such disciplinary
measures as may be necessary."
The
president and the prime minister, say the documents - confirmed as
authentic
by different sources close to the talks - "will agree on the
allocation of
ministries between them for the purpose of day-to-day
supervision".
That also meant that Tsvangirai would not be in
effective charge of
government.
The president, our sources
said, would retain broad powers to declare
a state of emergency, declare war
or make peace and to grant amnesty.
Mugabe would also retain
control of the Joint Operations Command (JOC)
which would remain in place,
save for a change in name. Tsvangirai would
play second fiddle to
Mugabe.
"The prime minister shall serve as a member of the
National Security
Council and this will ensure his participation in
deliberations on matters
of national security and operations pertaining
thereto," say the documents.
Sources say Tsvangirai decided to take
time to reflect on such an
arrangement after failing to ensure that Mugabe
would take a back seat in
governance issues.
"Tsvangirai wanted
an additional paragraph that would have effectively
made the president
(Mugabe) ceremonial," said the source.
"The other negotiators
however turned down his request, arguing that
this was a 50-50 power-sharing
deal."
Sources close to the talks said yesterday under that
agreement,
Tsvangirai felt he would be more a senior minister in Mugabe's
cabinet than
a prime minister.
"He noticed that Mugabe remained
the head of the chain of command in
cabinet, so why should he agree to be
prime minister under these
circumstances? A prime minister should simply be
in charge," said a source.
Another source said Tsvangirai had hoped
that both the prime minister
and president's powers would be drawn from a
transitional constitution but
was dismayed after noting that Mugabe would
remain with his old sweeping
powers intact.
Tsvangirai would in
that situation find himself undermined at every
turn.
By Walter
Marwizi & Vusumuzi Sifile
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008
19:47
A Masvingo man who was annoyed by seeing President Robert Mugabe
on
television and likened him to a female reproductive organ last week
appeared
in court facing charges of undermining the authority of or
insulting the
president.
Pinas Magago (35) appeared
before a Masvingo magistrate, Learnmore
Mapiye Mpandasekwa, who remanded him
to September 24 on $200 bail.
Prosecutor Takunda Chikwati told the
court that on August 17 this
year, Magago who was drinking beer at Chevron
Hotel was debating with other
revellers about the political situation in the
country when President Mugabe
appeared on TV during Newshour.
On seeing Mugabe on TV Magago, who blamed the ageing leader for
running down
the country, was so annoyed he uttered the unprintable words in
Shona.
This did not go down well with a lot of Zanu PF
activists who usually
enjoy their drinks at the hotel owned by the late
veteran politician Eddison
Zvobgo. Incensed by Magago's remarks, the
supporters reported him to the
police, leading to his arrest.
He was immediately detained at Masvingo central police station for
three
days.
Cases of people arrested after insulting the president have
been on
the increase in Masvingo. Last year over six people were arrested
after
making remarks deemed by the law to be insulting to the
president.
One of them, Selestine Jengeta, a teacher at Victoria
High School, who
wished Mugabe dead when he appeared on TV while he was in a
police bar had
his cased referred to the Supreme court after he appealed
over the judgment
in the matter.
By Godfrey Mutimba
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday,
23 August 2008 19:45
EVEN as the political parties are locked in talks
to hammer out a
settlement that will usher in a new dispensation, there is
no let up, it
seems, in the government's hostility towards the private media
and the
climate of repression.
Police on Thursday
detained the Midlands reporter of The Standard
after she took pictures of a
huge crowd - including police and soldiers in
uniform - jostling to buy
basic commodities.
Rutendo Mawere was arrested by a plain-clothes
policewoman, who
identified herself as Million, outside a shop which was
selling cooking oil
and laundry soap. A near-riot occurred after members of
the public
complained that soldiers and police officers were jumping the
queue.
Ordinary shoppers complained that it had become a trend that
wherever
the much-sought-after basic commodities were sold, police and
military
officers were always the first.
"They benefited from
the recently introduced Bacossi programme and, if
any shop is raided for
'overcharging', the goods are sold at the police camp
and they are given
first preference," shouted a disgruntled buyer who had
queued for hours with
nothing to show for his endurance.
"At any shop that takes delivery
of basic commodities, they do not
queue like the rest of us. Where do they
put all these things? They should
also give us a chance to buy. We all need
to survive."
Mawere was taken to Gweru Central Police Station where she
was
interrogated by officers from the Law and Order section.
She said the police asked her why she had taken the pictures. When she
told
them that she is a practising journalist, they demanded her
accreditation
card, which she produced.
Then she was accused of taking pictures
of the soldiers and police
officers so she could write a story that they
"always loot basic
commodities".
However, after nearly an hour, the
police led by Assistant Inspector
Mudzawa, released Mawere without
charge.
Davison Maruziva, the Editor of The Standard described the
conduct of
the police as "most unfortunate and totally unnecessary". He said
the arrest
demonstrated the hostility of the law-enforcement agents towards
journalists
from the private media.
"The arrest just goes to
show there is no let up in the police
harassment of our journalists,"
Maruziva said. "It is ironic that this
should be taking place against the
backdrop of the talks by the major
political parties in the
country."
The regional chairperson of the National Association of
Non-Governmental Organisations, Peter Muchengeti, condemned the arrest,
which he said showed the continued harassment of journalists.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008
19:41
Army commanders who led President Robert Mugabe's violent
re-election
campaign have taken delivery of all-terrain luxury vehicles at a
time when
millions of Zimbabweans face starvation.
Sources say the army chiefs were recently allocated brand new
all-terrain
twin-cab Toyota Hilux Vigos as official vehicles to add to their
ever
increasing fleet of luxury cars. The 4 X 4 vehicles, worth more than
US$30
000, are similar to the ones recently allocated to High Court judges
by the
Reserve Bank.
"Mugabe is rewarding the army chiefs who stood by him
in his greatest
hour of need after he suffered a humiliating defeat in the
first round of
voting on March 29," an army source said.
Top
security chiefs pledged their undying loyalty to Mugabe and even
threatened
to prevent MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, from taking power if he
defeated
Mugabe in the elections.
Soldiers played a decisive role in
ensuring Mugabe won the vote by
establishing torture camps throughout the
country.
They allegedly commanded ruling party militias who led a
sustained
campaign of intimidation and harassment against the rural
electorate, which
eventually forced Tsvangirai to pull out of the June 27
presidential
election run-off.
Zimbabwe Defence Forces
Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga,
reacted angrily when contacted for
comment about the latest purchase of
luxury vehicles by the
army.
He said he did not "comment on army issues in the press"
before
switching off his mobile phone.
A fortnight ago Mugabe
rewarded members of the powerful Joint
Operations Command (JOC), who were
fingered in the pre-election violence
that left over 100 MDC supporters dead
and thousands displaced.
Retired brigadier generals, Happyton
Bonyongwe, Paradzai Zimondi and
Richard Ruwodo all received medals for their
contribution to Mugabe's June
27 election victory.
Bonyongwe
who is the director of the Central Intelligence Organisation
and Zimondi who
heads the prison service both sit on the JOC.
JOC, which also
includes Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri and
Air Marshall Perrence
Shiri, is headed by Chiwenga.
By Nqobani Ndlovu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23
August 2008 19:39
Teacher training colleges have lowered the
requirements for
prospective student teachers to compensate for a sustained
lack of interest
in the profession, senior officials confirmed last
week.
This comes amid reports that 14 000 teachers have
left the profession
since January due to poor remuneration and deteriorating
conditions of
service.
Teachers earn less than $1 200 a month,
which is just enough to buy
five loaves of bread.
Educationists
fear the lowering of entry qualifications at the
institutions would further
compound the crisis in the country's schools
already grappling with falling
standards on many fronts.
One of the hardest hit institutions is
the United College of Education
(UCE) in Bulawayo, which trains primary
school teachers.
Primary school teacher training colleges normally
require five "O"
Level passes including Mathematics and English but the
institutions are said
to be willing to recruit those without the two
subjects.
The institutions are also forgoing the pre-selection
interviews.
UCE's acting principal, Sipho Moyo, said the new
recruitment
directives were a serious cause for concern.
He
warned that some colleges might even be forced to close down
because of the
poor response from school leavers.
"Of current concern to the
college administration is the apparent drop
in the enrolment figures over
the last two years," he said.
"In order to meet the numbers, the
college has dropped the requirement
for interviews for prospective
students," he said. "The sudden reversal in
the quest for education and
training is something that has to be looked at
urgently otherwise colleges
will become white elephants."
The college's intake for this year
dropped from 350 students to less
than 200.
Raymond Majongwe,
the Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ)
secretary general who
said over 14 000 quit the profession in eight months,
acknowledged the drop
in enrollment figures at colleges because of low
salaries.
"We
continue to lose teachers at an alarming rate but the government
continues
to turn a blind eye to the crisis," he said.
He said although there
was no conclusive survey on staff levels, the
estimates of over 14 000
teachers who left the profession could be an
understatement.
"And this has also resulted in most people shying away from joining
the
education sector because of low salaries, forcing colleges to relax
entry
requirements thereby compromising standards," Majongwe said.
Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere was not immediately available for
comment.
Zimbabwe is facing a severe shortage of teachers who
continue to leave
the country in droves in protest over poor pay and working
conditions.
The country now employs 1ess than 110 000 teachers when
it requires at
least 200 000.
By Nqobani Ndlovu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008
19:37
IT'S 4:30pm and Tendai Moyo, a mother of two, hurriedly packs her
hand
bag ready to knock off from work. Seeing her packing her precious
purse, one
could be forgiven for thinking she is rushing off to catch a lift
home.
But Moyo, who is an accounts clerk, has to venture
into the woodlands,
where she fetches firewood because parts of Masvingo
have gone for the past
two months without electricity.
Without
firewood she will not be able to prepare supper for her
daughters aged eight
and four years old, and husband.
This is the plight of many working
people in the country's urban
settlements who have virtually been reduced to
villagers by the country's
sole power utility Zesa.
Urban
residents in various parts of the country have endured more than
three
months without electricity as Zesa has intensified its
load-shedding.
In many parts of the country, electricity is
switched off early in the
morning, usually around 4am only to be restored at
midnight. This is the
time when most people would have gone to
sleep.
"Zesa does not follow its own load-shedding timetable. They
want to
turn us into witches who work at night," said Dorcas Munyoro of Glen
View.
But Zesa public relations manager Fullard Gwasira blamed the
power
outages on shortages of coal supplies to Hwange Power Station, the
country's
main power generating station.
"Zesa Holdings would
like to advise its valued customers that the
load-shedding currently being
witnessed countrywide is due to generation
constraints at Hwange Power
Station emanating from shortages of sufficient
coal," he said. 'The station
is currently generating 120MW from one Unit out
of a possible
500MW."
He said the situation was set to improve as the power
utility had
started receiving coal supplies.
But Masvingo
residents, like others in smaller towns, believe Zesa is
discriminating
against them as they have gone for longer periods without
power.
Gwasira, however, dismissed these allegations, saying:
"There is no
truth in that. The truth is that load-shedding is done in a
fair and
transparent manner. . . We are not in any manner favouring any city
or
individuals."
Consumers have complained that the extended
power cuts mean more
financial strain on a people already grappling with a
long list of expenses
on a daily basis.
In Harare's Mabelreign
surburb residents said they were buying
firewood and charcoal as
alternatives and these were expensive. Most
firewood dealers are charging
$20 for three pieces of firewood.
Power cuts are not only affecting
domestic consumers. The retail and
manufacturing sectors have not been
spared either.
Workers say they spend the whole day "sun bathing"
and get lower wages
when the month ends as they can only earn a salary they
worked for.
In Harare's Glen View, a Satellite Polyclinic, which
has a maternity
ward that caters for neighbouring suburbs like Glen Norah
and Budiriro, is
perhaps the worst hit.
Women in labour are
asked to bring candles and some have complained
about the conditions in
which they have had to deliver.
Zesa said it did not prioritise
clinics. Last February, a woman gave
birth at the entrance to the clinic
after nurses allegedly ignored her,
saying the unlit maternity ward had
become a hazard for them.
Obert Sibanda, the new president of the
Zimbabwe National Chamber of
Commerce, said his organisation was concerned
about the negative impact of
the continuing power outages.
"The
power cuts are affecting production but we hope Zesa will soon
resolve the
problem as promised," he said.
Sibanda said although it had become
necessary for most businesses to
use generators as an alternative, this was
very costly.
"We have also heard about government's intention to
levy generators
but we are yet to see the statutory instrument for us to
assess the likely
impact given that using generators is already costly
without the levy," he
said.
By Godfrey Mutimba & Sandra
Mandizvidza
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008
19:35
Hunger stalks the sixth edition of the annual National Youth
Games
which were officially opened in Gweru on Monday, The Standard can
report.
Athletes representing the Midlands province, who spoke
on condition
of anonymity told The Standard that since getting into
camp for the
games two weeks ago they have been surviving on a
very
skimpy diet.
They said the meals comprised mostly sadza and boiled
cabbage, but
that the situation worsened over the weekend as they reportedly
only had
porridge for breakfast, with no lunch or supper.
"For
Saturday and Sunday we only had porridge in the morning," said
one of the
athletes, speaking on behalf of the others.
"We are staying at
Regina Mundi and most of the food is prepared here
at the polytechnic so we
were just told that food would come but we never
got to eat
anything."
Sports and Recreation Commission information officer
Shadrec Williams
would not take any questions about budget issues referring
The Standard to
one Nyakotyo, said to be in charge of finance. He could not
be reached for
comment
However, sources closer to the
organisers told The Standard that there
were problems regarding the
provision of food for the participants as
funding was inadequate. The
sources said the ever-rising cost of food
compounded the
problem.
The sources said besides food shortage, the organisers
were also
having to grapple with transport and accommodation
problems.
They said the organisers had drawn up a budget of US$4
000 with half
of the amount supposed to be raised by the Local Organising
Committee, and
the remainder being raised from affiliation fees paid by the
10
participating provinces.
Although the sources could not give
the exact amount that was
ultimately raised they said it was about half of
the target, which left the
games under-funded.
The games which
were supposed to be officially opened by the
Vice-President, Joice Mujuru,
were opened by the Midlands Province Governor
Cephas Msipa.
Youths aged between 14 and 19 are eligible to take part in the games,
which
comprise eight disciplines including basketball, boxing and soccer.
Last
year's games were held i the Matabeleland North town of
Hwange.
The Sports and Recreation Commission inaugurated the games
in 2003
with the stated objective of identifying and developing sports
talent among
youths.
By Rutendo Mawere
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August
2008 19:14
ZIMBABWE requires external support from multilateral
financial
institutions to stabilise its recovery, an economist with the
World Bank
said last week.
Zimbabwe has been in arrears
with the International Monetary Fund,
World Bank and the African Development
Bank since 1999 and owes the three
institutions a staggering US$1.2
billion.
Dr John Panzer, who manages the group of economists
responsible for
economic analysis in 12 countries in Southern Africa, told
the Just Business
forum on Thursday that external support would help finance
the rebuilding of
physical and human capital. He said external support was
critical in
softening fiscal adjustments during stabilisation. Zimbabwe has
been
financing its budgets since the drying up of balance of payment support
in
1999.
"External support adds credibility and hence enhances
likelihood of
success of a stabilisation programme," he said. Thursday's
Forum, organised
by the American Business Association of Zimbabwe drew
participants from
strategists in business; potential foreign investors and
political leaders
with an array of local and international
speakers.
Panzer said the country needed to demonstrate a readiness
to re-engage
the multilateral institutions.
"The country needs
to demonstrate readiness and willingness to work
with us. Readiness
interpreted as macro-stabilisation and sound development
policy to achieve
economic and social development under good governance," he
said.
"There is nothing to suggest that if Zimbabwe
demonstrates readiness
support would not be forthcoming."
Panzer said multilateral institutions could only move forward if
arrears
were cleared, adding that Zimbabwe's debt was not sustainable and
would
require debt restructuring and forgiveness.
Although there was a
provision for debt forgiveness among poor
countries, Zimbabwe did not belong
to the group and this posed new
challenges.
"Zimbabwe has to be
brought into the club. The club is an expensive
club," he said.
The World Bank economist proposed a reform of the monetary policy and
debt
service after arrears have been cleared but said the international
community
would come in a supportive role. Zimbabwe has been critical of
policies
"imposed" by foreigners.
Panzer said the success of stabilisation
and speed of recovery "will
depend on commitment to policy reform and
consistency in implementation".
Asked to comment of the
government's "Look East" policy, Panzer said
the policy of the country need
to look North, South, East and West for
comparative advantages.
"If looking East means I am not going to reform economy, good
governance . .
. then that policy is bad," he said. "If looking East is to
bypass quality
of economic management, then it is a bad policy."
By Ndamu
Sandu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August
2008 19:09
FOR the first time since the inception of the Travel Expo in
1982,
this year's edition of the annual tourism and travel fair will be
graced by
exhibitors from non-African countries.
Bulawayo will host this year's re-branded Sanganai World Travel and
Tourism
Africa Fair from October 15-19.
Karikoga Kaseke, Zimbabwe Tourism
Authority CEO told Standardbusiness
that 13 non-African countries would
bring exhibitors for the October travel
and tourism showcase.
"Thirteen non-African countries will bring exhibitors," Kaseke said.
"But it
does not mean that there will be 13 exhibitors as each country will
bring in
more than one exhibitor."
The ZTA boss said the 13 non-African
countries bringing in exhibitors
included Brazil, South Korea, UK, Germany
and France among others.
ZTA had targeted 400 local exhibitors and
50 international exhibitors.
"Five hundred and eighteen exhibitors have
already booked space compared to
130 exhibitors last year," he
said.
Kaseke said the fair had attracted buyers from 53 countries
including
Europe. Last year 70 international buyers from European countries,
particularly the United Kingdom, withdrew their participation from the
travel and tourism fair "for political reasons".
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008 18:35
THERE is a saying that I often heard
from elders in my days of youth.
They used to say, "Kufa kwemuJoni kamba
haivharwi" when someone important
failed to turn up for an event or
something that was anticipated didn't
happen.
I have no
clue about the origin of that saying but I suspect it has
something to do
with the colonial experience. I am told it literally means
that the death of
an officer does not necessarily mean that all business
must cease. More
generally, it is that the failure of one thing does not
necessarily mean
that everything else has failed.
I am reminded of this old saying,
as I observe the developments on the
Zimbabwean political scene and in
particular Zanu PF's decision, apparently
supported by Sadc, to convene
Parliament, notwithstanding that the talks
have yet to yield a meaningful
result.
The MDC has gone some way to gain fluency in the difficult
and complex
language of African politics and given the circumstances of
Zimbabwe,
African leaders have found it increasingly difficult to ignore
Morgan
Tsvangirai and his party. But it is repeating the obvious to say that
one
should avoid total faith in the African leaders because many of them
have
too many skeletons in their own cupboards.
Sadc was only
going to be a key player in the heat of the tragic
circumstances of
Zimbabwe's elections from March to June. Time, being of the
essence, was
always going to be the enemy in the long run. Because, sure
enough, the more
the dispute dragged on, the less there would be the world's
attention and
consequently the less the pressure on the African leaders, to
"do something"
about Zimbabwe, to borrow the ubiquitous phrase whenever
Zimbabwe is
mentioned.
As it happens, the Beijing Olympics and the
Russia-Georgia conflict
have robbed Zimbabwe of its prime slot in the global
media. Indeed, in the
order of priorities, the worry of global leaders is
over Georgia and Russia's
actions and less about Africa. Zimbabwe is lucky
to get the few seconds on
prime time news. And with less media attention,
African leaders tend to
return to familiar type, which is why Sadc's
lackadaisical approach to
Zimbabwe is hardly surprising.
Sadc's
failure so far to resolve the Zimbabwean problem is testament
to its youth
and inexperience. It simply lacks the cojones to confront the
likes of
President Robert Mugabe. There was always going to come a time when
Sadc
would be ready to take a quick-fix deal. It's hardly surprising,
therefore,
that Sadc appears to have largely endorsed the deal on the table,
contrary
to the expectations of Tsvangirai and his faction of the MDC. It is
unlikely
that Sadc will return soon to consider the matter and it now
appears that
pressure will be exerted on Tsvangirai to agree,
notwithstanding his
concerns, however genuine they may be.
For Mugabe, Sadc could not
have delivered a better gift. For months,
he has suffered the ignominy of
being the outcast, shunned by his erstwhile
comrades bar President Thabo
Mbeki. At some point, even his old
battle-hardened comrade, Angola's
President Eduardo dos Santos appeared to
have deserted him in his hour of
need. But, it now appears, he took the
opportunity over the weekend to argue
his case and convince them that what
he was presenting to his political
nemesis was reasonable under the
circumstances.
For Sadc to
agree that it may be necessary to convene Parliament is a
significant step
in that it symbolically acknowledges Mugabe's presidency -
after all it is
he who will preside over the opening of the legislative
body. That process
had been suspended in order to deal with the
power-sharing issues and, in
the process, Mugabe's legitimacy. Yet, as is
common cause, Mugabe's
presidency is at the core of the talks.
It was thought that
pressure from Sadc, even in the form of the
dreaded sanctions would be more
effective to bring Zanu PF into line. That
prospect was, for the opposition,
more likely at the height of the disquiet
over the chaotic elections. But in
the aftermath of the recent Sadc Summit,
that now seems very unlikely.
Mugabe appears to have managed to put off that
very uncomfortable pressure
point. And that, too, is the opposition's loss
in this game of high
stakes.
Zanu PF was desperate not to form a government at its
greatest point
of weakness after the elections. Its main option was to seek
some
accommodation with the MDC, and use the MDC as a "Juice-Card", that is,
in
the language of mobile telephony, to secure some much-needed credit to
run
for another few years. If that failed, the sub-option was to endeavour
to be
seen as being conciliatory and willing to work with the opposition.
That, at
least it hoped, would show its reasonable side.
svangirai's reluctance to sign is a result of fear of being used as
Mugabe's
"Juice-Card". But given Sadc's current stance, Zanu PF appears to
have
managed to persuade its erstwhile comrades that it is being reasonable
in
trying to accommodate the opposition. The pressure from Sadc, it now
appears, is on the MDC to agree, however messy the deal is.
On
its part the MDC's options are rather limited. It may be right to
refuse to
be used as a "Juice Card" by Zanu PF if the power-sharing
agreement is
hollow but it has to acknowledge that it has failed through
legal means to
remove Zanu PF from power. The MDC does not appear to have
the facility or
will to front a popular revolt. This closure of options is
why the MDC has
agreed to talk to Zanu PF otherwise it would use other
methods.
For my part, I think it is futile to think that Zanu PF was ever going
to
commit political hara-kiri on the negotiating table, when it went to such
great and, quite frankly, despicable lengths, to cling on in the first
place. There is, perhaps, need for some reality check on the part of the
opposition, recognising its strengths and limitations and appreciate that
what it would get through negotiations was always going to be far short of
what it could get through a total revolutionary victory.
The
other option often touted by some people is the so-called "tongai
tione"
stance; in other words, for the MDC to stand aside and let Zanu PF
govern in
self-destruct mode. To their credit, of late, the MDC leaders have
shown
none of this boycott approach to politics. They know it may provide
fodder
for popular rhetoric but they also realise that the talks are their
most
viable option at this delicate stage. They have consistently shown a
willingness to engage in order to resolve the differences. It has been
argued previously in these pages that entry into government will have its
positives and negatives and the challenge upon the MDC is to make sure that
the positives outweigh the negatives.
Crucially, they know that
failures in their march to power are
consequent upon Zanu PF's exclusive
control of the state apparatus, from the
media, finance, the security forces
and importantly, the electoral
machinery. What they need to consider is
whether entry into government would
lend them some influence and, possibly,
control over these structures. Are
they likely to succeed in the next
election whilst they remain outside
government or will their chances be
better when they can counter Zanu PF's
influence in the state machinery? If
they remain outside, what will have
changed in the next five years in terms
of Zanu PF's strategies if it
retains exclusive control of the state
machinery? These are questions the
MDC needs to consider its decision-making
process.
For my part, I do not think the MDC has to enter
government on the
basis that it will create any miraculous changes in the
next five years. It
won't have the capacity to do that; not even the
promised billions will
deliver those changes. Rather I have always viewed
MDC's entry into
government in strategic terms. I am convinced that total
control will never
be delivered by Zanu PF on the negotiating table.
Remaining on the outside
will simply perpetuate more of the
same.
There is not going to be total change at this stage, no, not
even the
"tongai tione" approach can deliver that total control in the end -
it
simply postpones some form of accommodation between the parties. The main
reason for the opposition to enter the ranks of government is strategic,
with an eye on the next phase of elections. Perhaps by then, if it stays
clean, it might have neutralised some of Zanu PF's influence in the state
machinery.
By Alex Magaisa: based at Kent Law School, The
University of Kent. He
can be contacted at a.t.magaisa@kent.ac.uk
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008
18:29
THIS year's Harare Agricultural Show, which opens tomorrow,
should
have been a historic one, one that would have been a
watershed.
But instead there will be the same old tired and
defiant rhetoric that
is only remarkable for its refusal to accept the
reality of the sector's
precipitous decline.
For those with
longer memories, no amount of blame can wish away the
self-evident truth
that this year's show will be a sickly shadow of its
former self. This is
even reflected in the absence of regional dignitaries
officiating at the
event.
It is a bit embarrassing for anyone to preside over an event
while
fully aware the sector in question is on its knees and the host
country is
going to have to require international assistance, even though it
is in
denial.
As many as five million Zimbabweans will require
food aid to see them
through to March next year - thanks to the government's
disastrous handling
of its chaotic so-called land reform
programme.
The show takes place before the onset of the farming
season and a
political settlement ahead of the show would have set the stage
for a
remarkable take-off.
But it is up to history to record
whether failure to secure a binding
political settlement ranks among the
catalogue of Zimbabwe's innumerable
missed opportunities.
There
are several undertakings by the government on its support for
farmers which,
while long on promises, have fallen woefully short on
implementation.
One example will illustrate the perception by
farmers of a farrago of
unfulfilled commitments: the majority of the
small-scale farmers were
exhorted to grow cash crops, among them tobacco.
However, a visit to the
tobacco sales floors around the capital will reveal
the sorry state in which
the farmers find themselves after a season of
back-breaking work in order to
produce tobacco, which the government so
badly requires to raise more
foreign currency to pay for its unquenchable
avarice.
The Reserve Bank tried to do something ostensibly to ease
the plight
of the farmers just before the June 27 presidential election
run-off, but we
are now the wiser as to its intentions then. The bank was
more concerned
about paying off the farmers so they would return to their
constituencies
and vote for President Robert Mugabe. But once they had
played their part in
the result, they were forgotten, hence the scenes at
the various auction
floors.
Not only are the small-scale
farmers having to live in appalling
condition while waiting to be paid for
their tobacco, they are wasting
valuable time that could be better spent in
preparations for the next
agricultural season. But even more worrying are
allegations the farmers
raise - missing tobacco bales, under-invoicing of
the weight of the crop
delivered and transport charges that leave the
farmers with absolutely
nothing after delivering their tobacco. It is a
massive rip-off, which
anyone genuinely interested in empowering the farmers
and providing
incentives for them to grow more of the crop would have acted
on to stop the
day-light robbery.
And the question begs: where
are the unions representing these
farmers? Have they been completely
suborned? Why are they not fighting for a
better deal for their members?
Where is the central bank and government
officials who misled these farmers
into growing a crop that gives the
producers so many headaches and so few
returns?
Here again we see the collapse of one of the nation's most
profitable
industries. And the ruling party still refuses to let go and let
somebody
else have a chance to put things right.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Tsvangirai Holds Key To Resolving Zim Crisis
Saturday, 23 August 2008
18:42
IN my discussions with patriotic Zimbabweans across the globe
there is
a very strong view that if Morgan Tsvangirai's signature is the one
that
will save the country, then he should be accorded the power that is
commensurate with the power of his signature.
The power
of Tsvangirai's signature comes with responsibility and
therefore requires
necessary say in the major decisions in the government
that will obtain in
Zimbabwe because the people should be able to measure
his contribution. Any
performance is measured against the job description
and specification.
Tsvangirai appears to be asking for the clarity of his
role in the
Government of National Unity which is necessary to avoid
unnecessary
conflict in a situation where tension will be inevitable in any
change
process because people are resistant to change.
The idea of a
ceremonial role is understandably viewed as insult by
both President Robert
Mugabe and Tsvangirai because you do not fight an
election to have a
ceremonial role. People do not elect leaders to have a
ceremonial role. In a
situation that Zimbabwe finds itself since March 29
2008 it makes sense for
Zanu PF and the MDC to share power 50-50.
Professor Arthur
Mutambara of the smaller MDC formation has been a
subject of serious
criticism for tipping the balance of power in favour of
Zanu PF, and
misusing his king-making position. Zimbabweans would hope that
Mutambara has
good reasons for his decisions. Mutambara lives among
Zimbabweans and it is
the mark of a transformational leader to listen to the
people who follow
him/her otherwise you start facing accusations of being
arrogant and out of
touch with reality.
For a person of Mutambara's intellect, who has
researched on rocket
science, it should be easy to ascertain the people's
wishes and feelings.
Change is about people's feelings and emotions and if
you cannot connect
with people then there will be no buy in and
change.
Tsvangirai has been referring to the March 29 election as a
better
measure of ascertaining the people's feelings. In that election he
was ahead
and the power of Tsvangirai's signature is understandably derived
from that
election. President Mugabe had told the nation in the period
leading to the
run-off that the pen will never defeat the gun. In the
on-going talks
between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations, it is clear that
the pen and the
gun should co-exist to save the country. In any case, it was
the signatures
of President Mugabe, the late Dr Nkomo and Ian D Smith and
even Bishop Abel
Muzorewa at Lancaster House, which brought the Independence
of Zimbabwe.
It is a truism that Zimbabwe will not move forward
without Tsvangirai's
signature. So does it mean that Tsvangirai is under
pressure to save
Zimbabwe with the power of signature? It looks like a
Messiah-moment for
Tsvangirai and with it, will come serious criticism if
things go wrong and
praise and even worship if he gets it
right.
The question for Tsvangirai is, does he go into the theatre
without
enough tools or go in and ask for the tools once he is inside?
Tsvangirai
should not under-estimate his power even without all the tools he
wants. His
presence in the theatre will make a difference to the lives of
the people of
Zimbabwe much more than he might imagine. It will take his
creativity,
imagination and initiative. It cannot be disputed that
Tsvangirai's role in
the future government should reflect the power of his
signature.
Musekiwa Makwanya
United
Kingdom
------------
Not Fooled Anymore
Saturday,
23 August 2008 18:41
I am shocked by the level of disrespect exhibited
by the Zanu PF
propaganda machinery towards the majority of ordinary
Zimbabweans.
For some reason, Zanu PF and the government's
spin doctors still
labour under the mistaken belief that they can at any
time win our minds,
hearts and votes with any story notwithstanding its
persuasive value.
There are attempts to hoodwink citizens of this
country into believing
that Zanu PF is a Messiah of anti-colonialism. Claims
that Zanu PF is an
agent of "sovereignty" and nationalism are as misleading
as they are worn
out rhetoric.
It is clear that President
Robert Mugabe subverted the will of the
people of Zimbabwe and by his
rhetoric and that of his acolytes they seek to
divert the attention of the
masses from bread and butter issues - issues of
change.
Zanu PF
is prepared to negate the values that drove thousands of young
men and
women, sons and daughters of the soil into the bush during the
struggle for
independence in search of democratic values such as the right
to
vote.
Zanu PF and its leadership were prepared to incite violence
and chaos
so they could continue in power. But rhetoric and lies will not
improve our
stone-age social services, medieval economy and international
isolation.
Mugabe's behaviour will only sink us deeper and deeper into the
abyss of
poverty and isolation.
Zvamunoda S
Hondo
Harare
------------------
Zesa Workers
Involved In Vandalism
Saturday, 23 August 2008 18:39
ON Monday
August 18 we had load-shedding, which we accept, but there
is even worse
load-shedding.
The power goes off at 6am and comes on at
11.30pm. Sometimes it does
not even come on at all. We have to constantly
raise the Call Centre on
704236 - and sometimes we eventually get power
around 2am.
On Wednesday, August 20, around 9.30pm we saw that the
street lights
had come on but the houses didn't have power. We then called
the
above-mentioned number to explain the problem.
This is not
the first time this problem has occurred. The Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply
Authority is well aware of the problem and they have a
range of ready
explanations - either the wire has fallen out of the
sub-station box or they
don't have fuses.
I then got a report number and called at 3pm to
find out if they had
attended to the problem. It was a different story: the
sub-station had being
vandalized and they could not help.
I
asked to speak to the manager, but he is never in his office. The
Call
Centre people are rude, and don't have any respect for how they should
talk
to their customers.
Rumour has it that some Zesa technicians are
removing parts from
sub-stations and being paid US$20 to US$50 per house to
replace the missing
components so that power can be restored. This
allegation is supported by
the fact that they (Zesa technicians) are the
only ones with knowledge of
where the fuses and wires are placed in
sub-station boxes otherwise an
ordinary person would get electrocuted if
they tampered with the wires.
Zesa should offcially respond to
these claims because it is important
that we make the public aware of what
is going on and what the authority is
doing to address the concerns of the
long-suffering electricity consumers as
a result of the apparent
indifference of the people at Zesa.
Residents
Hillside / Eastlea / Braeside
Harare
-------------
Exposing The Shameless Hypocrisy Of
Zimbabwe's Rulers
Saturday, 23 August 2008 18:37
SINCE
independence, the policies of Zimbabwe's rulers have been
informed more by a
burning desire to get recognition and glory as
world-renowned statesmen,
rather than the will to advance the interests of
citizens.
The world-acclaimed policy of national
reconciliation proclaimed in
1980, was the first sign of the Zimbabwe
rulers' priorities. Without doubt,
the policy of reconciliation was noble in
the circumstances to provide a
foundation for nation building. However, it
was aimed more at getting
Zimbabwe's rulers a place in history as statesmen
than advancing the cause
of Zimbabweans.
To show that the
policy of reconciliation was more of a publicity
stunt than a gesture aimed
at nation-building, the triumphant black rulers
only extended the olive
branch to whites and not to fellow blacks. As a
result, the new black rulers
did not find it worth their while to reconcile
with their black war-era
adversaries like Ndabaningi Sithole, Henry
Hamadziripi, Bishop Abel Muzorewa
and Dzinashe Machingura. Sithole and
Hamadziripi were not forgiven even in
death as they were denied an
opportunity to be buried at the hallowed
Heroes' Acre.
Having announced their presence on the world stage
with the
self-serving policy of national reconciliation, the Zimbabwe
leaders
proceeded to put in place the physical infrastructure necessary for
them to
play out their glory-seeking foreign policy. They built the Harare
Sheraton
Hotel - a white elephant in a sea of poverty - to host world
leaders and
international talk shops. Soon after the completion of the
Sheraton prestige
project, the Zimbabwean leaders hosted the Non-Aligned
Movement, in keeping
with their desire to enhance their standing in the
international community.
The National Sports Stadium was yet
another prestige project meant to
give the spotlight-crazy Zimbabwe
leadership a place to hold national events
from which to pontificate to the
bemused masses in their impressive English.
The annual Heroes' Day
commemorations are only a platform for an
opportunity to showcase their
oratory and posture as the world's most daring
leaders who can fire
broadsides at the world's western leaders with
(reckless?) abandon.
Zimbabwe's ruling elite's actions since independence
clearly show that
genuinely remembering the gallant fallen and living heroes
has never been
one of its priorities.
Since independence, they have been obsessed
with pursuing a
glory-seeking foreign policy to almost the total exclusion
of advancing the
interest of the liberation war heroes living and departed
whose sacrifices
brought them to power in the first place. The leaders are
more interested in
"dealing a telling blow to that intransigent and
incorrigible racism" ahead
of improving the lot of their black
people.
While the country's leadership annually pontificates at the
obscenely
opulent Heroes' Acre on Heroes' Day, there are still a lot of
fallen war
heroes who lie in unmarked graves in and outside the country. A
group of
concerned war veterans going by the name, Fallen Heroes: The
Exhumers is
literally scavenging in the bush using their bare hands in
search of the
remains of their comrades, with no state support
whatsoever.
While the country's leaders use the occasion to
remember the fallen
heroes to fire more broadsides against imperialists, Mai
Tapiwa in Mberengwa
at Chegato wonders how and when she will ever get to see
where her brother
Cde Zvandasara lies buried, more than thirty years after
he left for the
liberation war. Mbuya Jura in Rusape has given up hope of
ever knowing how
her beloved son Tendai perished in the war and where his
remains lie.
Mainini MaDube in Mberengwa at Chavengwa is resigned to the
fact that her
wish to know where the remains of her war veteran brother
Abraham lie, will
never be granted in her life time.
But the
concerns of these peasants must be subordinated to and come
second to the
selfish leaders even if it means Zimbabweans will be reduced
to beggars and
economic refugees all over the world as a result.
The much-hyped
land reform when it finally came was motivated more by
the leaders' desire
to vicariously deal a blow against the British through
grabbing their white
kith and kin's farms, than a genuine desire to empower
black
Zimbabweans.
Zimbabwe's current leaders cannot be counted among
genuine and sincere
African heroes who dedicated their lives to improving
the lives of the
Africans at home and in the Diaspora. These genuine and
sincere African
freedom fighters are people like Nelson Mandela, Kwame
Nkrumah, Thomas
Sankara, Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Martin Luther King
Junior, Malcolm
X, Oliver Tambo, Dedan Kimathi, Bob Marley, and Marcus
Garvey.
Zimbabwean leaders are merely a bunch of shameless
power-obsessed,
self-important, hypocrites who opportunistically use the
cloak of
Pan-Africanism to camouflage their selfish interests. They are more
interested in caressing their monstrous egos than improving the lot of the
citizenry of Zimbabwe.
Kudakwashe Marazanye
Harare
---------------
Thestandard Sms
Saturday, 23
August 2008 18:44
Shame on Zesa
THE Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority should be ashamed of the
shoddy service it is
giving to consumers. Why doesn't the whole bunch of
under-performers resign?
They should be ashamed that they wake up and inform
their families that they
are going to work - what work when for the greater
part of the time
consumers have no electricity? They should pay the money
they owe Hwange
Colliery Company so that they can receive more coal
supplies. This is how
Zanu PF has destroyed this country. They waste money
congratulating
President Robert Mugabe for winning a disputed poll. How does
this help the
ordinary people? What are Zanu PF's priorities?- Shameless.
Strange
logic
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority fails to provide
power and I
buy a generator as an alternative, but now I am being told to
pay a levy in
US dollars in a country that says it's illegal to deal in
foreign currency,
or for property owners and shops to charge in American
dollars. - Tatambura.
Trap for Morgan
AS Morgan
Tsvangirai's ability to lead will come under the microscope
for the
transitional period of the agreement, he needs to negotiate for real
power.
This is because Zanu PF would love to make sure he fails as prime
minister
and becomes unelectable. - Oskido.
******
INSTEAD of
bank queues being a thing of the past, I think Dr Gideon
Gono, the Governor
of the Reserve Bank, should be made a thing of the
past. -
Futurist.
COULD you please ask Dr Gideon Gono where the $500
notes are? Carrying
and counting coins has become a nightmare. -
Stumped.
Why Mugabe must go
THE gravity of the
economic and social problems in Zimbabwe should
motivate President Robert
Mugabe to transfer most executive powers to Morgan
Tsvangirai. He has had
them for 28 years and hence the problems we have.-
Chikomana.
Makoni for RBZ chief
DR Simba Makoni was a victim of the so-called
political commentators
who cannot read the mood of the nation and pushed him
to challenge for the
presidency. He is a much better alternative for the
Reserve Bank Governor
though. - Real commentator.
******
SO President Robert Mugabe says he won the election run-off.
But what
does it help us if most of the time we are in the dark, while they
waste
diesel ferrying Zanu PF supporters to rallies, yet at the same there
is no
money to purchase oil for power transformers. - N'anga.
Where's the diesel n'anga?
COULD The Standard please update us on
what has happened to the diesel
n'anga? If you do publish an updated article
on the matter please could you
accompany it with pictures of government
ministers bare foot. I still cannot
get over the sight of the ministers
being duped by a primary school
dropout.- Bewitched.
******
ZIMBABWEANS went through hell this year because a few
individuals were
fighting to be elected so they could earn a salary of
US$56. If we are
serious, we should not be trying so hard to be the laughing
stock of the
world as if we don't have anything better to do. Just imagine
the time,
energy and resources that were spent just to earn US$56 a month. -
Baffled.
Lift NGOs ban
THE government should swallow
its pride and allow non-governmental
organisations to resume their
humanitarian activities. People are dying of
hunger. In Bikita villagers are
resorting to wild plants and fruits. -
Pre-Civilisation.
No
more Zanu PF tricks
I would like to say to the Minister of Justice,
Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa, that misinforming people
does not
pay because people are much wiser than the politicians think. We
are aware
that Zanu PF is messing up the talks. Morgan Tsvangirai is not
asking for
favours from President Robert Mugabe. He is not going to sign a
flawed deal
until Zanu PF gets its act together. Tsvangirai won the March 29
election
and therefore deserves respect. People no longer watch ZBC news.
They search
for information from credible sources and are exchanging it as
it is. There
will be no deal until Zanu PF starts playing ball. - Zimuto,
Harare.
******
ZANU PF has proved to all and sundry
that it cannot give up power
through the ballot box. No one in SADC can
sweet talk the party out of
office, so what's next for Zimbabwe? -
Eric.
******
PUTTING the country first must not imply
that the MDC accepts token
posts offered by Zanu PF. They won't fulfill the
people's wishes. They won
the vote.- Hope, Kadoma.
******
THIS nation needs God-fearing leaders. We don't need leaders
who are
advised by dodgy clergymen. These leaders must know God. -
Prophet.
Kuwadzana black-out
IN Kuwadzana III and IV,
we are experiencing serious power cuts. Can
Zesa care to explain to its
consumers because among the consumers affected
is a clinic? -
Act.
******
THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority
could be pumping untreated water
to domestic consumers in Kadoma. This is
because there is an outbreak of
diarrhoea in the town. I think this is
scandalous. - Gurundoro.
Sadc shields failure
THE
Zimbabwe crisis as adjudicated by Sadc has been nauseating to the
intellect
and very unpleasant self-destruction by Africans as they
simple-mindedly
applied their Kenya blunder, which sadly, they were still
mistakenly
celebrating as a democratic achievement. The Sadc leaders met to
find modern
ways of accommodating dictatorship in modern African political
culture
founded on the mistaken belief of the sanctity of the African Union
at all
costs. - Chirandu.
******
SADC only needs to
engage one of the political parties and convince it
that it needs not
manufacture its popularity after a 30-year record of
dismal failure in
providing the nation with basics of life, and that the
same party leadership
isn't indispensable. - Citizen.
If SADC cannot solve such
issues as the crisis in Zimbabwe, why are
they wasting resources grouping?
President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa
should be held accountable for the
continued suffering of Zimbabweans. -
Harry, Harare.
The
majority of Zimbabweans know that parastatals have for years been
draining
the fiscus and wasting taxpayers' money, which has led to the
decline in the
performance of state-owned companies that take the record in
loss-making
mismanagement and incompetence. Why should a route that does not
generate
revenue continue to be serviced? They say insanity is where a
person
continues to repeat the same things hoping to achieve a different
result. -
I'm sane.
http://www.thetimes.co.za/
Wisani Wa Ka Ngobeni Published:Aug
24,
2008
Parastatal
PetroSA is dishing out oil deals to a consortium that includes
foreign
businessmen who have been fingered by the United Nations (UN) as
fronts for
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Thamer Al Shanfari
and his associates in the now defunct Oryx Natural
Resources are founding
shareholders of the local company, Middle East South
Africa Energy
(Mesa).
But it has now emerged that the UN has accused Oryx Natural
Resources of
plundering in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and
diverting the
proceeds to the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) and to
Mugabe.
In addition, the US government last month issued an executive
order banning
its nationals or companies from doing business with Oryx or Al
Shanfari - a
listing the London-based businessman intends
challenging.
Announcing the ban, US president George W Bush ordered that
assets of the
individuals and entities identified as fronting for Mugabe
that are within
US jurisdiction be frozen. "Additionally, US persons are
prohibited from
conducting financial or commercial transactions with the
individual or
entities," he said.
Thabo Mabaso, spokesman for
PetroSA, on Friday confirmed that the state oil
company was doing business
with Mesa, but said PetroSA was not aware of the
allegations of fronting for
Mugabe against anyone involved with the company.
He said Mesa has been
registered as a vendor with PetroSA and that it had
been awarded a contract
for an 8-million deal in January this year.
Before this Mesa had landed a
R1.2- billion deal from PetroSA. Mesa had
scooped a contract to supply
PetroSA with 30000 tons of oil condensate a
month over two years.
The
deal ended in 2006.
Al Shanfari and his associates hold their
stake in Mesa through a
Mauritius-based company, Pegasus. They initially
held 49% of Mesa, along
with South African companies Kovacs Investments
(20%), Lithemba Investments
(10%) and Chomulunga African (21%). Chomulunga
has since withdrawn from
Mesa.
Mesa's chief executive Bongani Raziya
confirmed that Pegasus owned a stake
in Mesa. However, he said he was not
aware of its partners' alleged
activities in the DRC.
Raziya said his
company has nothing to do with Mugabe or his regime. "I know
that Pegasus
was supplying oil in the DRC," he said.
Al Shanfari - through his
London-based lawyers, The Khan Partnership - on
Friday said he had resigned
from Oryx in December 2002 and "have not been to
Zimbabwe since
then".
He added: "I have no wish to be associated with those who support
the Mugabe
regime." He said his inclusion on the US list of entities and
people
associated with Mugabe had damaged his reputation. He added that his
lawyers
were applying to have his name cleared, and that this included court
action.
All individuals or companies mentioned in the US order were given 30
days to
show why they should not be listed.
Meanwhile, it has been
established that Al Shanfari's business associates in
Oryx included former
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Khalifa and Issa Al Kawari, the
former Information
Minister of Qatar. Al Shanfari is now embroiled in a
bitter row with Khalifa
and Al Kawari over his 30% shareholding in Pegasus.
Other Shareholders in
Oryx are Kamal Khalfan, who is the honorary consul of
the Sultanate of Oman
in Zimbabwe.
Neither of these three businessmen are listed in the US
executive order.
However, Khalfan, who maintains a close relationship
with Mugabe, only last
month facilitated the donation of Z1-trillion to a
charitable trust
belonging to Mugabe's wife, Grace.
Khalfan chairs
the richest horse racing event in Zimbabwe, the Republic Cup,
of which
Mugabe is the patron. According to recent reports in the Zimbabwean
government-owned newspaper, the Herald, the Republic Cup Trust last month
also donated money to another unnamed trust nominated by Mugabe.
In
2002 the UN reported that the DRC's then president, Laurent Kabila,
granted
Zimbabwe a 2-billion diamond concession in the DRC to compensate it
for
having provided military support.
The Telegraph
By Dominic White
Last
Updated: 9:26pm BST 23/08/2008
WPP, the world's second largest
advertising company, has quietly offloaded
its interest in a Zimbabwean
agency involved in President Robert Mugabe's
re-election
campaign.
The 25 per cent stake in Imago Young & Rubicam was sold by
WPP last month
for just $1 to the majority shareholder, Sharon Mugabe, who
is also chief
executive.
WPP, run by chief executive Sir Martin
Sorrell, had been assured that she
was no relation to the
president.
As part of the deal, Imago Young & Rubicam is changing its
name to remove
all references to Young & Rubicam and associated brands.
Y&R is one of the
most powerful agencies in Sorrell's global
empire.
The sale followed revelations in June that Imago was advising
President
Mugabe on advertising for his re-election campaign, which was
blighted by
allegations of violence, intimidation and
vote-rigging.
British companies have come under fire for remaining in the
country and the
British Government has suggested they could be forced to
leave. A growing
number of Western companies are pulling out, including
Shell. Tesco has said
it will no longer source food from
Zimbabwe.
Barclays, Standard Chartered and the mining corporations Anglo
American and
Rio Tinto have all so far decided to stay.
In June WPP
distanced itself from Imago Young & Rubicam, saying it had "no
legal
control" of the business, and that it shared "the world's outrage at
what is
happening" in Zimbabwe.
WPP added: "This could never happen with our
knowledge or approval and we
investigated the situation as a matter of
urgency."
Last week it emerged that Zimbabwe's inflation rate had surged
to 11.2m per
cent in June.
Some observers fear that Mugabe is
planning "corporate seizures" similar to
his land grab of white farms eight
years ago, which helped precipitate its
descent into economic chaos.
http://www.independent.co.uk
IoS revelations force
ministers to campaign for voluntary scheme to prevent
'silent complicity' in
Mugabe's regime
By Brian Brady, Whitehall Editor
Sunday, 24 August
2008
Ministers mounted a secret campaign to persuade huge British
firms to adopt
"an ethical approach" to their investments in Zimbabwe, amid
concerns that
some could be "silently complicit" in Robert Mugabe's reign of
terror,
documents obtained by The Independent on Sunday have
revealed.
A clutch of internal Foreign Office (FCO) emails lay bare the
Government's
deepening fears over the damage 16 companies trading with the
pariah state
could do to Britain's reputation as it struggled to defuse the
crisis over
Mr Mugabe's "stolen election".
But they also demonstrate
how ministers were powerless to control the firms,
including Barclays, Shell
and BP, by persuading them to sign up to a
voluntary agreement to uphold
human rights in Zimbabwe. The FCO last night
confirmed that ministers had
failed to thrash out an "optional ethical code"
with investors.
The
Prime Minister's hard-line stance on Mr Mugabe, urging firms not to
"prop
up" the regime, was undermined by a series of revelations about the
billions
of pounds British firms still had invested in Zimbabwe. The IoS
also
revealed that seven MPs owned significant shareholdings in companies
trading
in the country.
The documents, obtained under Freedom of Information
legislation, disclose
that FCO officials and the Cabinet Office were under
intense pressure to
respond to the public mood and find a way to exert some
"leverage" on the
firms. An internal email last month revealed that the IoS
revelations in
particular had intensified the pressure on ministers
attempting to resolve
the crisis.
"There is a lot of public interest
in additional measures against the regime
in Zimbabwe," the memo, from 1
July stated. "One angle is financial, centred
on current Zimbabwean
legislation that requires banks to surrender part of
their foreign currency
to the government - see coverage inter alia in The
Independent on Sunday
yesterday.
"We discussed this at this morning's Whitehall Zimbabwe crisis
meeting."
Another email between senior FCO officials on the same day
said: "We're
looking into how UK businesses with links to Zimbabwe can help.
How can we
encourage an ethical approach from British Businesses (inc banks
or their
subsidiaries) trading in /with Zimbabwe? What leverage do we have
over the
behaviour of British businesses, and how can we apply it most
effectively?"
However, the response pointed out that only nation states,
not corporations,
were bound by international human rights legislation. The
email continued:
"It is to be hoped that UK companies are not directly
complicit or
beneficially complicit in human rights abuses. Some may however
be silently
complicit by failing to raise the question of systematic or
continuous human
rights violations in their interactions with the
appropriate authorities.
"For example, inaction or acceptance by
companies of systematic
discrimination in employment law against particular
groups (which in the
context of Zimbabwe might be interpreted as those
opposed to Mugabe)."
The departments came up with a proposed voluntary
code comprising seven key
principles that they hoped British firms would
agree to outlaw in their
dealings with Zimbabwe. But the code, including an
obligation to oppose
human rights abuses and discrimination, failed to gain
support from the
firms.
John Hilary, executive director of the
charity War on Want, said the
Government had been "misguided" to expect that
a voluntary code would work.
"Hoping that companies would abide by an
optional code flies in the face of
experience, and the Government should
know that that is the case," he said.
A spokesman for Barclays said the
bank had abided by sanctions against
Zimbabwe. He added: "We have been there
for the best part of 100 years and a
lot of people depend on us, for their
food, if nothing else."
http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com
24th
Aug 2008 00:53 GMT
By a
Correspondent
ZIMBABWE'S doctors went on strike yesterday and aid
officials warned of an
impending humanitarian crisis that could see at least
5-million people
facing chronic food shortages because of one of the worst
harvests on
record.
Doctors at government hospitals went on strike
over pay and teachers
threatened to begin a work stoppage shortly, union
officials said.
"All doctors at all the country's referral hospitals are
on strike," Amon
Siveregi, chairman of the Zimbabwe Medical Doctors'
Association, said in an
interview in Harare yesterday.
"We are
negotiating with government, but can't yet disclose our demands
because of a
confidentiality clause in our dealings."
In the run-up to Zimbabwe's
general election on March 29, the state granted
public servants wage hikes.
Reports at the time said some doctors were also
given cars.
Crisis in
Zimbabwe, a coalition of Harare-based humanitarian organisations,
described
Zimbabwe's hospitals as "death halls" in a report this month.
It blamed
"acute shortages" of drugs and equipment and poor salaries for
health
professionals.
The Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe said yesterday
it was
considering calling a strike. The tension comes as Zimbabwe's
official rate
of inflation hit an annual 11,2-million percent this month.
Kingdom Bank, a
unit of Kingdom Meikles Africa and the country's
second-biggest local
lender, estimated the rate to be closer to 50-million
percent.
"The 448% increase on basic salary and the 900% transport-
allowance
increase are basically a high-sounding nothing," the teachers
union
spokesman, Takavafira Zhou, said from Harare.
"It falls far
short of our demands for the equivalent of US$800." A teacher's
monthly
salary is not enough to buy a 10kg sack of maize meal, which could
feed a
small family for a week. Reports of a looming humanitarian crisis
intensified this week.
President Robert Mugabe banned humanitarian
agencies from distributing food
in Zimbabwe in the run-up to the March
election, accusing them of backing
the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).
The UK's Daily Telegraph said on Wednesday that the country
had had its
worst summer harvest for decades and 5-million people, or nearly
half the
population, were expected to need food before the next harvest in
April.
An unnamed official from a humanitarian organisation was quoted as
saying
the agency had received many reports of an increase in malnourished
children.
Community centres were now gathering grounds for people
without food. A
business owner in Bulawayo told his MDC representative that
an unofficial
food distribution system among workers and locals was
collapsing because
food was more scarce.
Former MDC MP Renson Gasela
was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph
report: "This ban is appalling
and disgraceful and is a violation of the
memorandum of understanding
(between ruling Zanu PF and MDC). No country in
the world should be allowed
to stop food from reaching people in need."
World Food Programme food aid
destined for Zimbabwe is going stale in
warehouses in SA, the report said.
Separately, the MDC said it would hold a
memorial service for its slain
national youth assembly secretary on Saturday
in Harare.
Tonderai
Ndira's mutilated remains were found a week after he was abducted
from his
home by suspected state security agents in the early hours of May
13. -
Business Day/Own Correspondent
A veteran US foreign correspondent
argues it's dictators such as Mugabe who
try to inspire guilt in Western
leaders. Their people just call for help
Keith Richburg
The
Observer,
Sunday August 24 2008
On the streets of Kinshasa years ago,
during a protest against the
then-dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, I remember
someone in the crowd cornering
me, an American reporter, and demanding to
know why the United States had
not sent troops to intervene. 'You took out
Duvalier! You took out Marcos,'
he said, referring to deposed dictators in
Haiti and the Philippines. 'Why
not here?' It was a question that I heard
often over the years, in East
Timor and Rangoon, in Malawi and Cameroon. It
was usually posed by people
who felt they had no other recourse against a
repressive regime.
Intervention has been discredited in recent years,
since the American and
British-led invasion of Iraq. But there are still
people clamouring for
someone from outside - usually America or a former
European colonial power -
to come and rescue them.
And any hint at
intervention, like any criticism, is deflected by
authoritarian regimes that
have proven deft at playing 'the colonial card'.
Expressions of concerns for
human rights and democracy are ridiculed as a
modern way for the West to
'subjugate' countries of the south. We have heard
it from Zimbabwe, where
British criticism of Robert Mugabe is routinely
denounced as a new kind of
imperialism.
Coming from the likes of Mugabe and his henchmen, playing
the colonial card
is self-serving justification. And the silence of others
in the region and
the world - of South Africa, in Zimbabwe's case, of the
south east Asian
countries who continue to deal with Burma's military regime
- sometimes
makes it seem as if concern for democracy and human rights are
only European
and American fixations.
That doesn't mean there are not
also real sensitivities involved.
I have to agree with New York Times
columnist Tom Friedman, who observed
several years ago that 'the single most
under-appreciated force in
international relations is humiliation'. For
Africa in particular, most of
which has been independent for more than four
decades, colonialism remains a
source of humiliation and resentment and the
cause of deep-seated
inferiority complexes.
The fact that outside
action has been required so many times over the years
only deepens the
humiliation. French troops have, by one count, intervened
in Africa more
than 45 times between 1960 and 2005. British troops have
intervened in
Africa as well, in places such as Sierra Leone, when rebels
besieged the
capital, Freetown ... American troops have intervened, most
disastrously in
Somalia in the early 1990s.
If it's not a lingering colonial mentality,
ask African critics of such
interventions, then why does France only
intervene in its former colonies?
Why does Britain put so much pressure on
Zimbabwe?
It's tricky, for it's true that Europeans more readily step in
where they
retain residual interest and influence. The interest is not
even-handed, but
determined by history, geography, language and recent
patterns of
immigration. But that doesn't make it wrong.
The British
care about what happens in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria, India and
Pakistan. The
French more closely follow events in the francophonie,
specifically Congo,
Rwanda, Vietnam and Cambodia. And Americans pay more
attention to what
happens in neighbouring Mexico and in the Philippines
(along with places
where it has economic interests).
These spheres of influence are fairly
durable and in many ways necessary.
America, Britain, France and Spain will
continue to exert outsized
influence - cultural, economic, military,
political - on their former
colonies, one-time clients or countries in their
back yard. As long as that
clout is wielded to promote universal principles,
it's not a bad thing.
In fact, people who have no way of standing up for
themselves have come to
expect it. It's one of the lessons I learnt over
nearly two decades as a
foreign correspondent. My first overseas stint came
in 1986 in Haiti, when I
was sent to cover spreading street protests against
the rule of dictator
Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier.
Impoverished
Haiti had a bit of a colonial split personality - colonised by
France and
now part of the francophonie, but on America's doorstep and in
the US sphere
of influence. So it was no surprise that Duvalier was taken
out of
Port-au-Prince airport on an American cargo plane and bound for exile
in the
south of France and Haitians in the streets thanked America and
France.
In Jakarta, it was a Portuguese diplomat, Ana Gomes, who
became the most
high-profile foreign critic of the Indonesian government's
treatment of East
Timor, a former Portuguese colony. And within the EU, at
the UN, before any
forum that would listen, Portugal kept the plight of East
Timor on the
agenda.
Indonesian officials and diplomats always seemed
particularly incensed at
what they considered Portuguese 'interference' in
East Timor. They played
the colonial card, reminding journalists how the
Portuguese in 1975 left
Timor a chaotic mess. In Jakarta's official
narrative - that continues much
to this day - Indonesia had gone to East
Timor to restore stability.
Portugal, however, is hardly a military
might. So it fell to Australia, the
military power of the South Pacific, to
lead the intervention that routed
the militia and provided security in
Timor. At the time of the mayhem in
1999, an American diplomat in Jakarta
predicted this turn of events.
'Australia will have to deal with it,' he
told me. 'It's their Haiti.'
The pattern will persist in international
affairs until countries become
less timid about speaking up about human
rights abuses and atrocities in
their own neighbourhoods and show a
willingness to act to resolve them. That
will take time and a capacity,
militarily and otherwise, that most countries
do not have.
And as
Mugabe appears, once again, to strengthen his grip on power, turning
Zimbabwe into a new Zaire with little public outrage from Africa itself,
Britain will struggle over how to react.
Any action will raise the
criticisms of neocolonialism, imperialism and
racism. Past feelings of guilt
might tempt Western countries to want to
lower their voices and stand on the
sidelines. But the louder voices will
always be the ones from the streets,
just like the ones I heard in Kinshasa
and in Dili and in Rangoon: where are
you? Why don't you help?
· Keith Richburg is now the Washington Post's
New York bureau chief
Comment from Business Day (SA), 23 August
When the police came banging on his door in the early 1990s,
Arthur
Mutambara made his fabled escape through the window of a second-floor
hostel
room. The student movement in Zimbabwe had determinedly resisted
attacks on
academic freedom, growing state authoritarianism and corruption.
Student
leaders were ready targets for the police. A Rhodes scholarship to
Oxford
was a timely intervention after his escape, and the beginning of an
international career. At home, a legend grew as Mutambara gained the
reputation for having been the University of Zimbabwe's most forceful
student council president. Some 15 years later in 2006, he capitalised on
that status and entered politics. So far Mutambara appears to be fighting
the battle of one whose best moments may be behind him. Those who know him
comment on his unbridled ambition and conceit, no doubt fuelled by his
exceptional academic achievements. Scholarship has defined his life from the
time he skipped grades and was promoted to his older sister's class. When
his parents died an uncle took over, putting him though school in Mutare,
Zimbabwe's fourth-largest city on the border with Mozambique.
A
common criticism of Mutambara's politics is that it lacks maturity and is
still defined by student activism. In particular, his attacks on the west
appear to have alienated some of those who had given him the benefit of the
doubt, especially individuals and groups pushing for democracy in Zimbabwe.
However, Mutambara's biggest test will come next week when President Robert
Mugabe reconvenes parliament. This will be the first time MPs meet since the
March 29 elections. Though Mutambara has ruled out a separate deal with Zanu
PF, reports are that his party, a faction that split from the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), has entered an agreement with the ruling party,
allowing it to earn the influential position of speaker. In parliament,
Mutambara's party will have to decide whether to give its 10 swing seats to
Zanu PF or to Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC, with 99 and 100 seats respectively.
It will be ironic if Mutambara gravitates towards his former
nemesis.
Like Simba Makoni's entry into the presidential race in
January, Mutambara's
return to Zimbabwe also elicited suspicion from those
resigned to cynicism
and a distrust of politicians. Many wondered why a
rocket scientist - a
robotics academic, author and one-time Nasa scientist -
would want to gamble
such a dream career for an uncertain and perilous
dabble in opposition
politics. No less uneasy at the 42-year-old's return to
Zimbabwe were
opposition supporters fearful of a Zanu PF plant at a time
when the MDC was
proving adept at surviving a determined onslaught by the
government.
However, Mutambara's chance came when a disagreement over
participation in
the 2005 senate elections caused a split in the MDC.
Largely on the basis of
his Shona roots, he was chosen to lead the breakaway
group, ahead of senior
party members wary that an Ndebele leader would not
receive as much support
from the country's majority Shona speakers. In the
March elections, his
party's support came from the two southern provinces of
Matabeleland. But
several MDC founder members, including the faction's chief
negotiator,
Welshman Ncube, lost their seats.
The Mutambara
faction argues that the power-sharing talks - in which the two
MDC factions
initially held a common position - have surpassed expectations,
yielding a
new position of prime minister with more power than Kenya's Mwai
Kibaki.
Their argument is that Tsvangirai's demand for a single centre of
power is
as unrealistic as it is unattainable. Such statements have bred
suspicion
that the party has caved in and handed Zanu PF a victory. "They
are on the
Zanu PF side of the court and that's very unfortunate," says John
Makumbe of
the University of Zimbabwe's political studies department.
However, there is
talk of a division among the 10 MPs. "It's a do or die, if
we don't
participate (in parliament) we're handing the speakership to Zanu
PF and
this cannot be reversed," says Abednico Bhebhe, an MP in the
Mutambara
faction. Makumbe says Mutambara has added confusion to Zimbabwean
politics,
throwing the country back to pre-1980 factionalism in what is
sometimes
referred as the Muzorewa era. He describes Mutambara as
"egotistic,
self-centred" and prone to "projecting himself above the
clouds".
Yet in his acceptance speech after being elected
president of the MDC
faction in February 2006, Mutambara described
Tsvangirai as a "Zimbabwean
hero" and promised to step down should a new
leadership be elected after
reunification of the two factions. Such
intentions have resulted in only a
loose partnership between the two groups.
Mutambara's party denies having
struck a secret pact with Zanu PF. It says
it does not intend participating
in a Mugabe government. The perceived
closeness to Zanu PF will alienate
public opinion, already hardened by
electoral shortcomings resulting from
the split in the MDC. A hard-hitting
speech that Mutambara gave earlier this
month led some to conclude he was
starting to speak Mugabe's language. Yet
the same rhetoric was apparent when
he was elected president of the faction.
On Zimbabwe's Heroes' Day, he
attacked western diplomacy for its "irritating
ignorance, political
insensitivity, double standards and patronising
arrogance". He asked: "How
does a western country publicly pronounce that
they will not recognise a
government unless it is led by a particular leader
without undermining the
credibility and integrity of that individual?"
Claiming that this
"dishonesty" has damaged the opposition's fight against
dictatorship,
Mutambara said: "Western governments have undermined our
legitimacy,
strengthened our opponents, removed our moral authority, and
ruined our
effectiveness and standing among Africans." Less well known is
that
Mutambara worked in SA briefly as a Standard Bank executive, a post he
left
in unclear circumstances. He has taught at the University of SA. At
present
he is a consultant who shuttles between Harare and Johannesburg,
where he
has a home.