The Zimbabwean
BY WILF MBANGA JOHANNESBURG - For
the first time in five years, President
Robert Mugabe, has grudgingly
admitted that his hate-driven and often
violent land seizures, corruption
and thievocracy have spawned unprecedented
food shortages in Zimbabwe. Once
the breadbasket of Southern Africa,
Zimbabwe has become dependent on food
aid to feed the starving masses, who
now include even those who are
employed. Mugabe, increasingly isolated and
living in a world of make
believe, has vehemently denied that the food
shortages were a direct
consequence of his chaotic land redistribution
exercise - mostly to his
cronies. He has always blamed the weather and
imaginary economic sanctions
from western countries, especially Britain and
the United States. But in a
startling admission, at his party's recent
annual Congress in this semi-arid
south western part of the country, Mugabe
admitted to a select gathering of
the party faithful that lack of proper
planning, corruption, lawlessness on
farms and theft of irrigation
equipment, machinery and other vital
infrastructure had destroyed the
nation's once-vibrant agricultural
industry. "All this translates into low
production and food insecurity,"
said the aging dictator. However, he was
unrepentant about the land grab to
which he resorted in 2000 when faced with
his first serious challenge by the
then newly-formed Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC). At that time,
marauding gangs of unruly 'war veterans'
accompanied by unemployed youths
were sent to drive out commercial, mainly
white, farmers, who were suspected
of bank-rolling the opposition. "We still
have people in need of land. We
have to stop vandalisation (sic) of farms.
All irrigation badly needs to be
rehabilitated," he implored his party
lieutenants, many of whom have been
accused of blatantly stealing billions
of dollars worth of equipment from
the dispossessed farmers. Unfortunately,
this sudden admission of reality
does not extend to Operation Murambatsvina,
where Mugabe's government has
been accused by several UN officials of
deliberately rendering more than 700
000 urban dwellers (mainly MDC
supporters) homeless. He also used the
Congress platform to accuse UN
emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland of
lying about the state of the
humanitarian disaster currently facing millions
of Zimbabweans.
The Zimbabwean
BY TERERAI KARIMAKWENDA The struggle in Zimbabwe for true
independence and
democracy has so far been a fragmented effort that has
failed to gain
momentum and public support enough to dislodge the government
of Robert
Mugabe. The major players are well-known and their trials and
tribulations
well-documented. But that is where it usually ends. And ZANU-PF
continues to
run the show, dictating not only domestic policy but
international response.
They decide who feeds people and who gets fed, who
gets treatment for HIV
and who dies without it, and most recently who leaves
the country and who
stays. The combined power of all the independent
stakeholders has never been
tested, and the level of suffering in Zimbabwe
now demands unity more than
ever. In that respect, MDC president Morgan
Tsvangirai's recent call for a
united front to fight dictatorship is right
on point. Speaking at a press
conference at the MDC Harvest House
headquarters, Tsvangirai said: "The
challenge before us is to rally the
nation, rally the people and rally the
international community to help end
the current crisis." These words should
not fall on deaf ears, and they need
to be followed up by strong decisive
action that shows clearly that the
people now really mean what they say.
Previous campaigns have had no
threatening effect on ZANU-PF. In fact they
were quite laughable in Mugabe's
eyes. We have seen stayaways where people
stayed at work, demonstrations
where only dozens took to the streets and
demolitions where hundreds of
armed soldiers forced an entire country to
destroy their own homes. It
almost sounds insane, but that has been the
genius of ZANU-PF, using fear to
divide, conquer and demolish. The fact is
the ruling party does not have
enough resources to deal with disturbances in
several towns all at once.
They can barely bring a few hundred prisoners to
court as it is due to fuel
shortages. Food shortages are causing soldiers to
be sent home, and power
and water rationing have been critical issues for
the government. Robert
Mugabe's Achille's heal is no secret. And Tsvangirai
has finally exposed it.
Tsvangirai said: "May I call on the leadership of
civil society to join
hands with the MDC and assume positions at the
forefront of this struggle."
Imagine Lovemore Madhuku of The NCA walking
Jenni Williams of WOZA,
Archbishop Pius Ncube, Lovemore Matombo and
Wellington Chibebe of the ZCTU,
and representatives of Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch and The
United Nations. Mugabe would be
mad to shoot any of them should they show up
at his doorstep with thousands
of Zimbabweans behind them. That is a
powerful image. And to reduce fear,
analysts have suggested that soldiers
and the police be offered amnesty
after Mugabe if they stand with the
people. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa
told us on Monday that the struggle is
bigger than any single institution,
and Zimbabweans everywhere have the
responsibility to disentangle this
dictatorship. Chamisa said Zimbabweans
are ready and so are the leaders. He
explained how a plan was already in
place and the party was meeting with
officials from various organisations
including The Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions and the Zimbabwe National
Students Union (ZINASU). Unity is a
powerful force, and whoever said United
We Stand had obviously seen it in
action. So now that Tsvangirai has said
it, what will he do next? - SW Radio
Africa
The Zimbabwean
LONDON - The All Party
Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe, United Network of
Detained Zimbabweasn
(UNDZ) and the Refugee Council have added their voices
to the recent call by
the Ugandan-born Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu,
and other church
leaders, for the British government to address the growing
problem of
destitution among asylum seekers, and to allow those who can to
work.
Immigration Minister Tony McNulty MP last week suggested that support
was
available for unsuccessful asylum seekers who could not return home, and
that government policy was not responsible for making people destitute. But
Labour MP, Kate Hoey, said: "There are Zimbabweans I know personally who
have been reduced to destitution within the past few weeks even though they
have skills we really need in this country such as teaching and nursing. We
can't send them back to Mugabe's tyranny, so it is common sense they should
be allowed to work for their living." The Refugee Council is campaigning
this winter to end destitution for asylum seekers, and is calling on the
government to allow those who can to work. Maeve Sherlock, Chief Executive
of the Refugee Council said: "It is inexcusable that we are still forcing
vulnerable people into destitution. It is even worse that many of these
people have valuable skills and talents that could benefit both the UK
economy and society. If people are unable to return home, they should be
properly supported and offered the opportunity to work." Harris Nyatsanza, a
secondary school Geography teacher from Zimbabwe who has been refused
asylum, said: "Asylum seekers would love to work and support themselves
whilst waiting for decision on their cases. We don't want to be a burden on
the economy or the state, that's the simple argument we are making. If the
state is finding it difficult to support us then give us the right to work
and support ourselves." The Chair of the UNDZ, Noble Sibanda, said: "The
lengthy asylum process is deskilling most of us. We are highly trained
professionals who the media portray as lazy, we can be self sufficient and
relieve the state of the burden of feeding us and housing us." - For further
info, please contact UNDZ - Noble Sibanda 07904132448 or Harris Nyastanza on
07917331136.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE The
University of Zimbabwe's Student Representative Council has
dissociated
itself from statements made by an unknown individual purporting
to be the
vice president who denounced UN envoy Jan Egeland on ZBC's
Newshour. "He was
interviewed for 10 minutes. We would like to assure the
nation and all
concerned that the statements are part of government's cheap
propaganda. The
students from UZ are in full support of the Tibaijuka report
and the
findings of Mr Egeland. We have been affected by the operation and
at no
time did our vice president make such unfounded statements. We are
therefore
seeking a public apology from the ZBC because the statements are
defamatory," said secretary general of the SRC, Mfundo Mlilo, in a recent
statement.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Leo Mugabe, the
chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee
on Transport and
Communications, has announced that the Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe
BAZ would soon be summoned to appear before the
committee to explain why it
had not invited applications for community radio
stations three years after
the enabling legislation came into force and also
on the need to open the
airwaves, according to a recent MISA report.
Meanwhile, Professor Jonathan
Moyo, former Minister of Information and
Publicity, reportedly failed to
appear before the same committee and Leo
Mugabe said his team intended to
probe Moyo on the operations of Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Holdings and the Media
and Information Commission during his
tenure as Minister of Information.
Misa further reports that retired Chief
Justice Anthony Gubbay has been
selected to chair an independent labour
panel to determine the suspension of
Dr Ibbo Mandaza, founding CEO and
editor-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Mirror
Newspapers Group (ZMNG), publishers
of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror.
Mandaza alleges that his ouster is
being engineered by the Central
Intelligence Organisation following its
acquisition of the majority
shareholding in the publishing company.
The Zimbabwean
BY STANFORD MUKASA WASHINGTON - The
recent visit to Zimbabwe by the United
Nations envoy, Jan Egeland, has
highlighted one fact: Time has come to bring
Robert Mugabe and Zanu (PF) to
the International Criminal Court of Justice.
Zimbabweans in Diaspora, the
international community and the Security
Council must now take the first
proactive steps towards prosecuting Mugabe.
The international community must
lobby the Security Council to act
immediately after it has heard the report
from Egeland. The charge against
Mugabe is simple and evidence is ample.
Mugabe is responsible for some of
the most horrendous crimes against
humanity as defined by the United
Nations. Virtually all international
reports on Zimbabwe, including those of
Mugabe's regime, have given
consistent factual information and statistics
that point to a country that
is in a free fall, a country whose social,
political, economic, health, and
agricultural systems have all but
collapsed. Democracy and the rule of law
are outlawed by the increasingly
panicky and unstable Mugabe regime that is
even afraid and suspicious of its
own shadow. These are clearly signs of a
dysfunctional Mugabe. Like a
naughty school boy, he has had the gall to use
graffiti language to insult
the very same people who are trying to help him
out of the mess he has
created. He once called British prime minister a
Blair toilet and used the
word lice to refer to US secretary of state
Condoleeza Rice. Now he has
condemned UN envoy Egeland by saying his Swedish
background makes it
difficult for Egeland to understand English! Mugabe has
consistently used
the international forums he has attended as a pulpit to
preach the gospel of
hatred and clich? politics. He has lambasted the West
for no justifiable
reason. Talk of biting the hand that feeds you! Those are
visible signs of a
decaying and criminal mind of Mugabe. In less than 10
years, the number of
Zimbabweans officially classified as poor has doubled
to 80 percent of the
country's population. In others words eight out of
every 10 Zimbabweans are
absolutely poor. There is no more middle class in
Zimbabwe. It is now a
country of very rich few and masses living in abject
poverty. Mugabe's
mismanagement of the country and the economy has set
Zimbabwe back 50 years.
Life in Zimbabwe is exactly what it used to be in
1950s. Human rights abuse,
sanctioned by Mugabe, is the order of the day in
Zimbabwe. Human rights
organizations monitoring the situation on the ground
report continued
harassment and violence, even though it has declined
somewhat, against
opposition supporters. Freedom of speech and the press are
a non- existent
luxury. Elections are routinely rigged to the extent that it
is now
practically impossible to defeat Mugabe through the ballot box. For a
long
time he refused to allow the United Nations to launch an international
appeal to help the poor, starving and homeless Zimbabweans. He only relented
to humanitarian assistance for the poor because he suddenly discovered that
he and his cronies stood to drum up some business. When Mugabe eventually
agreed to the offer to build homes for the homeless his vice president,
Joyce Mujuru, had reportedly seized a brick- making company. What kind of
cruelty and evil has possessed Mugabe's senile mind to deny homeless people
the right to be sheltered in tents? The reason is purely economic. Mugabe
knows he cannot generate a viable business from prefabricated tents. None of
his companies has foreign exchange to start manufacturing the tents. The map
of Africa today is undergoing a major transformation under new winds of
change. Democracy, basic human rights and the freedom of the press are being
embraced in many parts of Africa. All of Zimbabwe's neighbors are a visible
evidence of a new democratic culture that is gaining roots. Yet Zimbabwe
under Mugabe remains the odd man out, refusing to change with the time and
stubbornly balking at the notion of democracy, the rule of law and basic
human rights. Mugabe has clearly violated a cardinal tenet of the UN
charter. It is time for the Security Council to act decisively on Mugabe. He
and his cronies must be brought before the International Criminal Court of
Justice. They will of course not come voluntarily. But they can be tried in
absentia. Let the world note that Zimbabwe is being ruled by criminals.
The Zimbabwean
So, the government has started
confiscating the passports of Zimbabweans who
dare to raise a voice of
criticism. This is an outrageous infringement of
individuals' rights to
freedom of movement Curtailing people's right to
freedom of movement will
not solve the problems created by the Mugabe
regime. The fact that the first
person to have his passport seized is none
other than Trevor Ncube sends a
chilling message to any would-be purveyor of
an alternative view on what is
happening in Zimbabwe today. Ncube, of
course, is the publisher of The
Independent and The Standard - the only
local, independent newspapers still
surviving in the country. He also
publishes the Mail & Guardian from
Johannesburg where he normally resides.
Ncube has never been convicted of
any offence. He is a law-abiding citizen.
He provides much-needed jobs to
hundreds of Zimbabwean workers. He pays his
taxes to the government. His
only crime is that he beams a light into the
information-starved darkness of
21st century Zimbabwe. Like most patriotic
Zimbabweans, Ncube can see his
country being wrecked by a greedy, wicked
bunch of power-crazed geriatrics.
Raising his voice in protest has cost him
and all those inside the country
who are desperate for accurate
information and independent, informed
commentary - most dearly. The second
person to have his passport seized was
Paul Themba Nyathi (former MDC
secretary for information) whose crime is
that he does not belong to Zanu
(PF). We condemn this heavy-handedness in
dealing with dissenting
viewpoints. The two men are now virtually prisoners
in a Zimbabwe-wide
prison. In the case of Ncube, he is consequently unable
to go about his
legitimate business as a publisher which entailed frequent
commuter trips
between his Johannesburg and Harare offices. If the intended
message is to
silence critics of Zanu (PF)'s misrule, our response is
simply: We are not
afraid. 'Give me liver' - Mugabe They came to Esigodini.
They feasted
disgustingly for three days, while the rest of the country
starved. They
passed meaningless resolutions. And they went back to the
bright city lights
to continue terrorizing people into submission. Some 3
000 Zanu (PF)
delegates at the party's annual conference at Mzingwane high
school in
Matabelaland South reportedly slaughtered and consumed 50 cattle,
five
buffalo, 11 kudu, 17 impala and five reedbuck. "I don't want steak
give me
liver," President Mugabe is reported to have demanded. The party
faithful
and their tyrannical rulers spent their energies criticizing the
UN, which
is trying to give humanitarian relief to those made homeless by
government
actions. They insulted UN envoy Jan Egeland and planned further
restrictions
on the operations of NGOs. The ruling party Congress
demonstrated one thing:
when it comes to solving problems or generating
original and constructive
ideas on the way forward for the beleaguered
country, Zanu (PF) is brain
dead.
The Zimbabwean
EDITOR - The assertion that
Zimbabweans living abroad are spineless is a
total misconception, hence it
cannot go unchallenged. I am outraged. Be it
political or economic, their
motives to go abroad are justified. It must be
realized that failure to
overthrow the government is not largely due to the
people's fear but the
management of civic groups, which is characterised by
chaos and
individualism. Leaders of NCA,WOZA, ZCTU and others lack the knack
to guide,
inspire and mobilise masses to take to the streets and manifest
their
disobedience to the evil dictatorship. With the absence of leadership,
people have begun to despair. They need to continue with their lives. Their
families need to be fed, clothed and educated. People cannot waste their
precious time waiting to be persistently taken for a ride by political
imposters. From one dimension, this argument takes us back to the era of the
struggle against colonialism. Should we say those who exiled themselves to
neighbouring countries during the liberation war were too afraid or
spineless to face the colonial regime? My answer is a resounding "no." It is
well-documented that POSA and AIPPA have reduced political and private media
space making it difficult to operate from Zimbabwe. It is easier to plan and
strategise once outside the country. We still love our country and have the
spirit to see Mugabe removed from power. JAY ZAT, Johannesburg
The Zimbabwean
An encouraging start has been
made. One only has to look at countries like
Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, which
have been military dictatorships for a
generation and more, and yet have now
clawed their way back to democracy.
South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique,
Namibia the list is growing of those
countries which can claim to be
relatively, and increasingly, democratic.
Contrary to the African stereotype
of oppression of women, some countries
have made significant advances in the
field of gender empowerment. Liberia
recently elected Africas first woman
president. South Africa has a woman
vice president and so does my own
country, Zimbabwe. Nigerias female
minister of finance is highly respected
internationally not just a pretty
face for cosmetic purposes. Many civic
society groups are headed by bright,
highly educated, women. And we all know
damn well that when women get behind
an organisation, things move. Several
African countries have signed up to
Nepad - the new initiative spearheaded
by South Africas President Thabo
Mbeki. This entails a voluntary submission
to peer review. Nepad is not
without its own problems but it is founded on
noble principles and is a
step in the right direction. I think it would be
appropriate at this
juncture to address the spirit of Africa I use the
word spirit to embrace
where we have come from, what has formed us and what
motivates us. Once
again, it is important to resist the temptation to
generalise. I am aware
that in this space I can do no more than paint a
general picture with broad
brush strokes. Having qualified my comments, let
me say that we Africans are
by and large a sunny-natured people -
gregarious, warm-hearted, generous,
friendly and kind. God smiled on Africa
he gave it a warm sun and a warm
heart. He also made it incredibly
beautiful with tropical forests, mighty
rivers, huge expanses of grassland
where countless herds of magnificent
beasts roam free, as well as mountains
and deserts. From snow-capped Mount
Kilimanjaro to the shimmering Namib
desert, Africa has everything. Golden
beaches ring its shores from Cape Town
all the way up to Somalia. Above all,
God gave Africa treasures below the
earth. Gold, silver, tin, iron, nickel,
diamonds, uranium, platinum even
oil. Africa has it. Little wonder the
colonialists coveted it. Despite these
riches, people are the most important
thing for us. The family unit is
terribly important in all African cultures.
We have not yet abandoned the
community and replaced it with the modular
family unit as the western world
has. Old people in Africa are highly
respected and cared for within the
bosom of the community until they die. We
dont have old-age homes in Africa
where they are shunted off to die alone.
Similarly with un-planned babies
and orphans they are absorbed seamlessly
into the community, loved and fed
by the extended family at large. Not
dumped in institutions. The western
world has the internet a wonderful
thing indeed. They also have television
the opium of their children.
Western children spend hours every day in
front of the television being
entertained. In Africa, most children still
make their own toys. Communal
entertainment takes the form of storytelling
and ballad singing by the
tribal elders. The living history of the family is
passed on from one
generation to another in this way. Poetry is important
too each family,
clan and tribe has its own repertoire of praise songs
which constitute our
literary heritage. As with the western world, love has
always been at the
core of our poetry and literature. Music and dance are
terribly important to
us too. We sing and dance when we are happy. We sing
and dance when we are
sad. When a child is born, when he gets married and
when he dies we sing
and dance. We even sing and dance when we plant our
crops and when we reap.
Modern jazz has its roots in African music. Weve
been rapping for years.
People think it is modern but my grandfather was a
rapper. Nowadays when
one thinks of rap music one thinks of Eminem and snoop
dog. All these modern
stars have done is gone into a recording studio and
had a massive
corporation behind them selling the music. My grandfathers
rap was confined
to his village, where he enthralled his 23 wives, 50
children and couple of
hundred subjects around the fire. In conclusion, may
I encourage you not to
forget the story of Tsuro and Kamba. The race is not
finished yet. And when
you look at Kamba do not pity him for his heavy load
and his slow speed, but
look rather at his courage, his endurance and his
perseverance. Look beneath
the shell to his spirit and applaud him in your
hearts. - Excerpts from an
address to the Another Africa conference held
recently at Tilburg
University, The Netherlands.
The Zimbabwean
BY HERBERT CHIKOSI ZIMUTO -
Farmers in Zimuto, Masvingo province are up in
arms against the government
following the issuing of rotten and expired seed
maize and sorghum, throwing
into disarray the regime's last ditch attempt to
push-start the agricultural
sector which is teetering on the brink of total
collapse, The most affected
are farmers from ward one and two who, with the
help of GMB loans, managed
to get seeds on loan, which they would pay back
after selling their produce.
According to an official from AREX who spoke to
this reporter about 110
tonnes of seed maize and 220 tonnes sorghum were
affected. The official
indicated that farmers were now blaming AREX, but the
problem rested with
the supplier, ARDA. Asked whether the seeds where stored
well the farmers
indicated that they took all the necessary precautionary
measures and were
shellshocked to discover that the seeds went to rot. What
is suspected is
that ARDA just took seed from silos, painted them with
chemicals and packed
them and when farmers saw the paint, the best before
date and certifications
on the bags they were not alarmed.
The Zimbabwean
LONDON - Bishop
Christopher Hollis of Portsmouth, chairman of the
International Affairs
Committee of the English Bishops' Conference,
accompanied by Dr David Ryall,
of the same committee, and Bishop John Roston
of Sheffield, chairman of
CAFOD, are on a visit to Zimbabwe to find out
about the situation. They
joined the Sunday congregations in St Peter's
Mbare at Mass, met the parish
council executive and took a look around
"cleaned up" Mbare. The also went
to Gweru, Bulawayo and Hwange where they
met the Zimbabwe Bishops'
Conference. Bishop William of Stockholm, Sweden,
representing the European
Bishops' Conference, is also in the country for
the same purpose. - Jesuit
Communications
The Zimbabwean
BY LITANY BIRD Dear Family
and Friends, Zimbabwe's ruling party has been
holding its annual congress
this week and watching some of the coverage on
television made for
staggering viewing. By any standards Zimbabwe is a
country in dire trouble.
Inflation, which began the year at 134% is again
completely out of control
and presently at over 400%. Life expectancy
continues to plummet and is now
just over 30 years. Unemployment is well
over 70%, almost a quarter of our
population are eating food provided by
international donors and the number
of people in need grows by the week.
With these dreadful facts and figures
you would think that our ruling party
would have more than enough to worry
and talk about at their annual
congress. The posters adorning the walls of
the now well-known enormous
white tent were damning. The slogans were not
about the economy, early
death, hunger or inflation. They were the same old
deflectory attacks, just
as they have been since Zanu (PF) first realised
they had lost popular
support when they were defeated in the constitutional
referendum in 2000.
"Mr Bush, how about New Orleans!" "MDC beating about the
Bush." "Mr Blair,
how about Brixton?" "Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall and
Blairs horses
couldn't put the MDC together again." So while the party which
has governed
Zimbabwe for 25 years finds it fitting to focus its energies on
attacking
the world, ordinary Zimbabweans have been looking to more pressing
issues.
This week the United Nations Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Jan
Egeland
concluded a five day visit to Zimbabwe and saw first hand the
dramatically
deteriorating situation in the country. His observations and
comments were
not about nursery rhymes or Humpty Dumpty and will hopefully
again cause the
world to look to the dreadful conditions of so many people
in Zimbabwe. In
the course of his visit Mr Egeland offered Mr Mugabe tents
from the UN for
the estimated 700 000 people whose homes were destroyed by
the bulldozers of
the Zimbabwean government's Operation Murambatsvina in mid
winter. The offer
was declined. According to the Herald newspaper, President
Mugabe told the
UN envoy that: "We are not a tent's people... We believe in
houses." Mr
Egeland criticized the governments rejection of tents saying:
"If they are
good enough for people in Europe and the United States who have
lost their
houses, why are they not good enough for Zimbabwe?" The situation
in
Zimbabwe is neither nursery rhyme nor fairy story but the grim picture of
real people struggling endlessly from one day the next just to survive.
Until next week, ndini shamwari yenyu.
The Zimbabwean
EDITOR - It has been reported
that Australia has placed Eric Bloch, Ian
Kind, Zed Koudanaris and Tom Brown
on their sanctions list - for their deep
fascination and involvement with
Zanu (PF)? The report also indicated that
Mr. Gono's children - Praise,
Pride and Passion are all in Melbourne,
somehow. The Australian Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Mr. Alexander Downer is
extremely professional. He has
proved to have a complete understanding of
the government human rights
abuses in Zimbabwe and to take the lead with
appropriate action. The
inclusion of "Zanu friendlies" on sanctions lists is
true working
accountability in practice and a gentle reminder to those who
are supporting
the Zanu genocide machine but have not "got their name in the
paper" just
yet. JL ROBINSON, Australia
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The
intolerably unprofessional bias and distortions of the
government-controlled
media could were graphically expressed by Financial
Gazette columnist Mavis
Makuni last week. She accused the
government-controlled media of
"breath-taking hypocrisy and double
standards" in their recent coverage of
political violence within the
opposition MDC. Further evidence of this was
the government media's
censorship of the arrest of civic leaders during
processions to commemorate
World Aids Day and 16 Days of Activism Against
Gender Violence in Harare
recently. They ignored the 24-hour detention of
five members of civic
society who were arrested during the march. The
private Press also missed
the story, although The Standard (4/12) briefly
reported on a related arrest
in Seke. Through a picture caption of Aids and
gender activists, the weekly
revealed that the police had "pounced" on 150
women, accusing them of
breaching the draconian Public Order and Security
Act by "marching without a
police permit". The chairperson of the
Association of Women's Clubs in Seke,
Winnie Manyere, and a photographer
covering the event were reportedly "taken
in for questioning". But no more
information was provided. The media's
failure to cover such incidents
adequately is a clear dereliction of
journalistic duty and allows the
authorities to get away with unlawful and
unreasonable acts of harassment,
including the arrest and detention of
individuals, without being called to
account publicly. There can be nothing
more alarming than a media that
allows this impunity to flourish. The
official media's blind praise for
every government policy as the panacea to
Zimbabwe's haemorrhaging economy
was illustrated by their passive coverage
of the $123, 9 trillion 2006
budget proposal. Instead of critically
examining the proposed budget, almost
all the 68 stories the government
media carried on the subject (ZBH [45] and
official Press [23])
simplistically used the widening of tax bands to exalt
the budget, which
they projected as a reflection of government's commitment
to easing the
burden of the workers and resuscitating the economy. Before
Finance Minister
Herbert Murerwa presented his statement, the government
media carried 13
stories imploring him to draw up measures to halt the
country's continued
economic meltdown and increase workers' incomes. The
Chronicle (1/12), for
example, urged Murerwa to heed the workers' calls for
lower taxes with a
"people-oriented budget" that would improve "people's
lives and businesses".
The Herald of the same day echoed these views. And
when the budget was
announced, ZBH (1/12, evening bulletins) hailed Murerwa
for increasing
non-taxable income saying the development showed that
government had
considered "the plight of workers and the general populace"
as "employees"
would now use the money "to acquire assets as well as prepare
for the
festive season" (ZTV, 1 & 2/12, 8pm) and Spot FM (2/12, 1pm). To
give the
budget the approval of the business community, ZTV (1/12, 8pm)
reported
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Luxon Zembe and
analyst
Nyasha Chasakara as having described the budget as a "positive
instrument"
that is "critical in addressing fundamental issues and promoting
economic
growth". No attempt was made to conduct a comparative analysis with
the
previous budget. Neither did ZBH discuss how the authorities would
finance
the budget considering the reduction in taxes, one of government's
main
sources of revenue. The government media's reluctance to expose
confusion
and contradictions in government's policy formulations was
reflected by
their suffocation of Murerwa's condemnation of the new spate of
farm
invasions. A cursory reference only appeared in the context of comments
made
by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Pattison Sithole
in
The Herald (2/12). In contrast, the private media's 22 stories were
inquisitive and balanced Murerwa's perspective of the country's economic
outlook with independent analysis. These media noted that contrary to the
minister's positive projections of economic growth, the reality pointed to
further decline. The Zimbabwe Independent (2/12), for example, quoted ICAZ
dismissing Murerwa's forecasts saying his projected growth in the
agricultural sector was based on an expected "increase in production of
maize by 33 percent and cotton by 26 percent" but ignored "forecast losses
of tobacco production by 30 percent and little likelihood of growth in the
dairy, beef, sugar, citrus, tea, coffee and other agricultural sectors." His
projected "upturn in tourism", added ICAZ, was "unlikely to materialise,
unless Zimbabwe demonstrates unmitigated enforcement of law and order".
Following the electorate's indifference to the Senate elections, ZBH
embarked on a campaign to validate the poll, enhance the alleged popularity
of Zanu (PF) and bolster the relevance of the Upper Chamber. As a result,
its 49 stories on the elections and the Senate either myopically celebrated
the party's victory as reflective of the party's growing popularity, or
merely depicted the re-introduction of the Upper House as a milestone in the
country's democratisation. The fact that less than 20% of the electorate had
participated in the election was censored. Nor was there any analysis on the
causes of the unprecedented voter apathy that marred the poll. Rather, in a
bid to portray Zanu (PF) as popular and suffocate the fact that most of the
electorate had snubbed the election, Radio Zimbabwe (28/11, 8am) and ZTV
(28/11, 8pm) passively quoted Policy Implementation Minister Webster Shamu
claiming that "over 80% of Zimbabweans & rejected regionalism,
tribalism,
neo-colonialism by voting resoundingly for the ruling party".
There was no
effort to challenge this shameless attempt to present the
ruling party as an
unparalleled unifying force. - Media Monitoring Project
of Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwean
BY ROSIE
MERCER New research indicates that the existing methodology used
for
counting game could be wildly inaccurate - and figures obtained in this
way
should not be used to substantiate the need to cull game, particularly
elephant in Hwange National Park. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and the
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force estimate the park's current elephant
population to be 50,000 and its carrying capacity is 14,000. In
mid-November, the Herald carried an article in which National Parks said the
elephant population was 75,000 and the park had a carrying capacity of
45,000. Gavin St. Ledger and Sara Lamb, have been researching the elephants
in Hwange for two years - almost entirely self-funded - due to their concern
for this greatest of species. Gavin has always been concerned with the
accuracy of the methodology used in game counting as it was based on the
assumption that elephants drank only once a day at a waterhole. A few months
ago, he experimented with a new technique in game counting - paintballing.
By using different coloured markers at two of the key waterholes in the
Sinimatella area - Nehimba and Shumba - Gavin paintballed five bulls and
five matriarchs at each waterhole (the herd accompanying the matriarch were
not marked due to limited resources and manpower). The table below gives his
results. At Nehimba - elephants were marked orange Orange (returned) Red
(from other waterhole) bulls Cows herd Bulls cows Herd 4 2 7 2 0 0 At Shumba
elephants were marked red Red (returned) Orange (from other waterhole)
bulls Cows herd Bulls cows Herd 4 1 9 1 2 8 An analysis of his results shows
that the methodology of the normal annual game counts would not only have
double counted the adult bulls (6 at Nehimba and 5 at Shumba) and the cows
(2 at Nehimba and 3 at Shumba), but more importantly the large numbers in
the herds accompanying the cows (7 at Nehimba and 17 at Shumba). Whilst this
was a small pilot project, it highlights the extent of potential double
counting through the methodology currently in use, therefore figures
currently being circulated may be seriously flawed. It is true that animals
are dying due to lack of water, but it is the management of the water
resources that needs to be improved alongside undertaking efficient and
accurate game counts. The objective of the National Parks work should be to
address the management of Zimbabwe's natural resources for the benefit of
the animals, the country and its citizens as well as the visitors. Calls for
an elephant cull should therefore be shelved until a more accurate picture
of the elephant population is available. If any reader feels that they could
help support Gavin's work either by donating funds or equipment, please
Email rosie@rosiemercer.wanadoo.co.uk
Copies of Gavin's CDROM "River Road, a
photographic safari of the Middle
Zambezi", can be purchased for ?10 from
Rosie Mercer in Northern Ireland.
This would be a great Christmas present
for those who are homesick for the
bush and a way of assisting The Hwange
Elephant Research Project.
The Zimbabwean
BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT My
wife and I have just returned from an
unbelievable six-day experience to the
new luxury Safari Circuit of three of
Zambia's National Parks. Relatively
unknown, and for years rarely visited by
international tourists, these parks
have been protected but not developed.
Now John Glendinning's "Star of
Africa" group has built a series of stunning
Safari Lodges and tented camps
in four of Zambia's most prolific wildlife
areas. Each camp is unique in its
concept and offers a diverse choice of
environment and wildlife species
located in prime settings within the
National Parks. Sussi and Chuma lodges,
named after David Livingstone's two
bearers, are situated in an enchanting
riverbank hideaway just 10 minutes
upstream from the Victoria Falls in the
Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. They
overlook a series of rapids and islands
where we saw two groups of vervet
monkeys and several small herds of
elephants. Sussi Lodge is the larger of
the two properties and consists of a
string of 10 exquisite cabins each of
which have been built well off the
ground under the canopy of ebony trees.
They are connected to the main
reception area by a series of board walks
which are several metres above the
ground. Sussi's dining and pool area,
which overlooks the Zambezi, is a
double-storey construction that is
wonderfully relaxing. It's made entirely
from natural materials with a
thatched roof, wooden decks and an infinity
pool that mirrors the colour of
the Zambezi. Over a period of two hours in
the early morning we saw hundreds
of impala, lots of giraffe including
several new-born young and a nice herd
of 15 buffalo. Baboons and vervet
monkeys were common and warthog, zebra and
bushbuck were seen from time to
time. Only two white rhino occur in the
Park, which were introduced from
South Africa. They have 24-hour guards who
safeguard them from poachers.
While we only saw a few elephant and all of
them with small tusks, the
damage to the vegetation was unbelievably high.
Hundreds upon hundreds of
dead trees piled up on the ground and there was
ample evidence that the
elephants were still stripping the bark off large
Albizzia harveyi trees on
the flood plain. While the park can be considered
as a rather "tame" one,
the animals were all easily approached and not
afraid of vehicles. It was a
pleasure to study and photograph animals that
were not running away. A trip
up the Zambezi River late one afternoon was a
real pleasure. From the boat
we could see dozens of animals on the southern
(Zimbabwe) side of the river.
We passed several small groups of hippo and
the occasional elephant. Riding
the rapids was a lovely experience and as
the sun set flocks of guinea fowl
were beginning to roost in the Sausage and
Ebony trees growing on the
northern bank of the mighty Zambezi. Birds seen
in the Mosi-oa-Tunya
National Park included a flock of Marabou storks,
little egrets and Paradise
Fly Catchers and in the Riparian and Syzgium
Forests a wonderful variety of
birds could be seen. We were lucky enough to
see an African Sand Martin, a
Horus swift, two black ducks feeding on some
vegetation matter and a Pel's
fishing owl eating a fish. We spent three days
at Chichele Presidential
Lodge in the South Luangwa National Park. This
elegant Victorian
"Gentleman's" Lodge initially served as a private
residential retreat for
former President of Zambia Dr. Kenneth Kaunda.
Chichele occupies one of
the most breathtaking sites in the entire South
Luangwa National Park. With
its magnificent hilltop position inside one of
Africa's most prolific
game-viewing areas, and Luangwa River, Chichele is
set to become one of the
greatest safari lodges in Africa. Chichele is
surrounded by a great variety
of habitats, including riparian forest, miombo
and Mopane woodland and great
open plains. When I think back of the Luangwa
Valley 40 50 years ago, I
remember hundreds and thousands of large
elephants. Some of the bulls seen
in the 1950's and 1960's carried tusks of
over 100 lbs each side. At one
time there were over 100,000 elephants in the
valley. Today there are not
more than about10,000 left. After years of
poaching almost all the big bulls
have been shot as well as all the black
rhino that once existed there.
However, during our visit small herds and
single elephants were seen every
day. The vegetation looked great and there
was almost no damage to the trees
by elephants and this was quite different
to what it was 20 30 years ago
when the large numbers of elephants caused
considerable damage to the
vegetation. Even though the Luangwa River was
still flowing it was
nevertheless very low and large groups of hippo were
encountered. We counted
75 80 hippo in one group and at least another 5
groups of not less than 50
animals. Puku and impala were everywhere and some
herds of impala consisted
of 70 animals or more. Every time we went out in
the safari vehicle we found
lions. One late afternoon we found four
lionesses which had killed two
impala on the flood plain in front of Puku
Tented Camp. The next day another
five lionesses were seen with two cubs and
on another occasion four young
males were found feeding on a puku male they
had killed. In every case all
the lions were unafraid of vehicles and it was
extremely easy to photograph
them up close. It was a privilege and a thrill
to see Africa at its best.