Christianity today
Food for Votes
Aid agencies fight starvation,
Mugabe's brutal politics in Zimbabwe
By Ecumenical News International,
Harare, with additional reporting by CT
staff | posted
12/18/2002
Christian leaders are openly denouncing Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe
for placing millions at risk of starvation for the
sake of partisan
politics.
Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube has
lambasted the government for
barring the Britain-based Catholic Fund for
Overseas Development from
providing 1,000 metric tons of corn for Bulawayo
and Masvingo. The
archbishop said that in late October Mugabe's ruling party
traded food for
votes during the Insiza district election for a seat in the
national
parliament.
"The government is using food as a weapon," Ncube
said. "They want people to
be hungry so that they conform."
A month
earlier, Zimbabwe's Roman Catholic bishops had urged the government
to
"quickly depoliticize" the procurement and distribution of food. The
main
governing body of the Lutheran World Federation has denounced "any use
of
humanitarian assistance as a political tool."
Aid agencies are in a
delicate situation. To feed the hungry, they must
avoid provoking the
government. The government has full control of where and
how aid is
distributed, and officials have taken as long as three years to
process an
aid application.
In October, Mugabe lashed out at charities and
international aid agencies
for "meddling with our national affairs." He
banned Save the Children from
distributing food aid in one district. In
November, the United Nations World
Food Program pulled out of Insiza,
charging that its food aid was going only
to Mugabe's supporters.
Aid
agencies say government officials have allowed black veterans of
the
country's 1970s liberation war to take over white-owned farms. The
conflict
has taken farmland out of production, making the famine worse. The
U.S.
Agency for International Development says 6 million of the nation's
11.3
million people could starve. USAID's Andrew Natsios said sending aid
to
nongovernmental agencies and "church groups" is essential to save
lives.
World Relief President Clive Calver called Zimbabwe's situation
"ghastly"
after a visit last fall.
"This famine facing Zimbabwe is the
worst one seen in years," Calver said.
"This one dwarfs the Ethiopian and
Sudanese famines."
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January 2003, Vol. 47, No. 1, Page 29
New24
Zimbabwe CPI soars 175.5%
Harare - Zimbabwe's
consumer price index (CPI) rose by a record 175.5% in
the year to November as
the country's economy continued to crumble, figures
from the Central
Statistical Office (CSO) showed on Wednesday.
The CSO said the increase,
which compared with a 144.2% rise in October, was
mainly due to higher prices
for meat, beverages, bread, fruits and
vegetables.
Zimbabwe is
grappling with its worst economic crisis since it gained
independence from
Britain in 1980, including a severe food shortage that has
left nearly half
its 14 million people facing starvation.
The country's annual inflation
rate has been rising steadily since breaching
the 100% mark in November 2001,
and some private economists say it might
climb to 400% by the end of next
year.
MSNBC
Zimbabwe economy plunges, anger rises on fuel crisis
By Cris
Chinaka
HARARE, Dec. 18 - A fuel shortage in Zimbabwe has plunged the
economy deeper
into crisis and heightened political anger against President
Robert Mugabe's
government, analysts and the opposition said on
Wednesday.
The two-week shortage has nearly paralysed the southern
African
country's public transport system and forced many struggling
companies to
scale down operations at a time when they normally cash-in on
festive season
shoppers.
State media reported on Wednesday that
diesel and paraffin -- mainly
used by poor urban families for cooking -- had
run out at many service
stations. Motorists are spending nights in queues at
the few service
stations with fuel.
News of the deepening fuel
crisis coincided with an official release
that Zimbabwe's annual inflation
has jumped to a record 175.5 percent mainly
over increases in food
prices.
''What is emerging all around us in this country is a picture
of
extreme managerial incompetence and the government must be
extremely
embarrassed by what we are all seeing here,'' said private
economic
consultant John Robertson.
Mugabe's government remained
silent on the crisis on Wednesday
despite opposition demands for an
explanation.
But official sources said the president's advisers were
huddled in
meetings to try to find a solution to the fuel crisis that has
left the
public seething with anger.
''People are very angry with
everything going on,'' Morgan
Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition
Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), told reporters on Wednesday.
''Zimbabwe is now a nation where everything is in short supply
except
violence, misery, disease and death,'' he said. Tsvangirai lost to
Mugabe in
presidential elections in March which the MDC and some Western
governments
called fraudulent.
LIBYAN DEAL FALLS APART
On
Monday, the official Herald newspaper said Zimbabwe's efforts to
salvage a
fuel supply deal with a Libyan oil company had failed after a week
of talks
with the state-owned National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM), the
country's
sole oil procurement agency.
Last week, the Herald also accused NOCZIM
officials of corruption and
sabotage in their handling of the fuel crisis.
NOCZIM and ministry of energy
officials have not commented.
Fuel
supplies have been erratic since 1999 due to a foreign currency
squeeze,
which has also left the country short of other basic items such as
bread,
cooking oil, sugar and salt.
Mugabe blames his problems on domestic
and foreign opponents whom he
says are trying to overthrow him for seizing
white-owned farms for
redistribution to landless blacks.
Mugabe has
also accused oil foreign firms with retail outlets in
Zimbabwe of
profiteering at the expense of the state by not importing their
own
fuel.
Zimbabwe is grappling with its worst economic crisis since it
gained
independence from Britain in 1980, including a severe food shortage
that has
left nearly half its 14 million people facing starvation.
Wednesday, 18
December, 2002, 17:44 GMT
Mugabe rival rejects 'plot'
The distribution of food aid is being
politicised
Zimbabwe's opposition leader has refused to meet President
Robert Mugabe to discuss the political and economic crisis.
Morgan Tsvangirai says that an "unholy alliance" of Britain, South Africa and
Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party is trying to set up such a meeting.
We
will never be used to prop up this dying regime
Morgan
Tsvangirai
|
But Mr Tsvangirai
insists that Mr Mugabe must resign as the first part of any solution to
Zimbabwe's problems.
This must be followed by the establishment of a transitional government to
organise free and fair elections, he said.
He also demanded that the authorities stop using food aid as a political
weapon.
Up to six million people - half of the population - face starvation and
western countries, human rights groups and the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) say that MDC activists are being barred from receiving
food aid.
'Illegitimate'
Former colonial power Britain and regional strongman South Africa are key
players in the Zimbabwe crisis.
Mr Mugabe accuses Britain of plotting to oust him, while the MDC wants South
Africa to take stronger action against the Zimbabwe authorities.
Tsvangirai says the March election was
rigged |
"I am reliably informed that Mugabe is prepared to meet with me somewhere
outside the country to discuss his problems," Mr Tsvangirai told a meeting of
MDC MPs in Harare.
"The Anglo-South African plan will fail to take off if it remains predicated
on the desire to legitimise the illegitimate Mugabe regime. We will never be
used to prop up this dying regime," he said.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office neither confirmed nor denied the
claims that it was trying to organise a meeting between the bitter political
rivals.
But he did tell BBC News Online that "dialogue is the only way of getting a
lasting solution" and that this was what the Commonwealth was currently
attempting to pursue.
'Mugabe stooge'
From Mr Tsvangirai's speech, it appears that the plan would involve Mr Mugabe
resigning and being replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Speaker of Parliament.
On Tuesday, Mr Mnangagwa was warmly received at the congress of South
Africa's ruling African National Congress.
Mugabe blames Britain for Zimbabwe's
problems |
"If Mugabe is to step down today, nothing will change as long as the
fundamentals that brought this country to where it is remain unresolved.
"We are ready to confront the Mugabe stooge at home and show him the way," Mr
Tsvangirai said.
Government spokesman George Charamba told the French news agency, AFP, that
the comments were a "silly attempt to reposition the MDC".
Mr Mugabe accuses the MDC of being a front for Britain and white farmers.
A spokesman for the South African High Commission told AFP that he was not
aware of any plan to organise a meeting.
'Land revolution'
The MDC leader says that Mr Mugabe rigged the March election and that
opposition activists continue to be attacked and tortured for their political
beliefs.
Mr Mugabe has previously said that he will not leave power until he has
finished his "land revolution" of redistributing farms from whites to blacks.
Just a few hundred white farmers now remain on their land.
But the disruption to agriculture has worsened the food shortages and
contributed to the economic meltdown.
Inflation is currently running at 175%, while unemployment is also at a
record high.
Zimbabweans are faced with a daily struggle to obtain basic commodities such
as petrol, bread, sugar and the staple food, mealie meal.
ZIMBABWE: Backlash against ZANU-PF youth militia
[This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
HARARE, 18
December (IRIN) - The "Green Bombers", clad in their trademark green fatigues
and red or green berets with the Zimbabwean flag on their shirts, have become a
common but fearsome sight, particularly in Harare, Chitungwiza and Bulawayo.
After the arrival of a sugar delivery van, a group of 10 young men
wielding whips and batons storm a supermarket in the high-density suburb of Glen
Norah. The sight of them causes people queuing outside the shop to
flee.
They are the ZANU-PF militia, popularly known as "Green
Bombers".
The young men then approach the shop manager, who they accuse
of overpricing commodities, and order him to load the sugar into a waiting
truck. Police stand and watch as the shop manager is harassed.
The truck
is then driven to a secluded area near the suburb where the sugar, about 500 kg,
is shared out among the youths.
This scenario has become all too common
in parts of Zimbabwe, say civil society commentators.
The militias
allegedly sell the looted commodities on the parallel market for more than
double the official price.
Graduates of the Border Gezi National Training
Centre, in Mashonaland Central's Mount Darwin area, the militias have gained
notoriety due to their propensity for violence.
GENESIS OF
MILITIA
Formed in 2002, the youth training programme was the brainchild
of the late Border Gezi, who was then the ZANU-PF national commissar and
Minister of Gender, Youth Development and Employment Creation, the ministry
under which the programme falls.
Speaking on national television
recently, the director of the youth training programme, David Munyoro, said the
programme was meant to promote discipline among the youth. Trainees were taught
entrepreneurial skills such as carpentry, metal fabrication and building for
purposes of self-help, he said.
David Chimhini, the director of the
Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (Zimcet),has dismissed Munyoro's statement.
"What discipline is the government talking about when the products of
the training exercise loot, assault and rape?" he asked.
The pioneer
training centre located in Gezi's home area, Mount Darwin in the northeast, has
seen hundreds of youths join the programme.
They have been lured by the
government's promises of jobs after the six-week training stint, with a
certificate of attendance being a prerequisite to join the army or the
police.
Other training points have since been set up at Kamativi in
Matebeleland North, Mushagashe in Masvingo, Guyu in Matebeleland South, with the
latest addition being Dadaya in the Midlands.
The Minister of Gender,
Youth Development and Employment Creation, Elliot Manyika, announced the
government's intention to open 35 other training centres countrywide.
Some of the graduates of the training centres often go back to their
places of origin where they are tasked with the training of other youths.
ACTIVITIES
In Mashonaland Central, the youths from the nearby
Border Gezi training centre are reported to be intimidating remaining white
farmers in a bid to drive them off their land.
A local privately owned
daily newspaper reported that one Johan Muller, the owner of Silver Oak farm in
Beatrice, 90-km west of Harare, was recently smeared with cow dung and soaked in
a muddy pool of water for staying on his farm - which had not been designated
for acquisition in the state's land reform programme.
The youth brigades
have earned themselves notoriety for looting shops under the guise of enforcing
the government's price controls, while imposing unofficial curfews in areas
perceived to be opposition strongholds.
"These youths are further
tarnishing the image of the government by engaging in daylight robbery. They are
taking advantage of the current economic problems to rob us," said shop owner
Joseph Zivanai.
He was finding it difficult to operate since the youths
regularly accused him of overpricing basic commodities so they could
'confiscate' his goods.
CRITICISM
Human rights organisations and
analysts have criticised the youth training programme.
"The graduates
are a notorious symbol of ZANU-PF's intimidatory tactics," Chimhini told
IRIN.
He said the proliferation of the militias across the country had
instilled fear in the electorate and believed this could have a negative effect
ahead of next year's parliamentary by-elections.
The government has also
been criticised for spending money on an "extravagant" programme when the
country was struggling with its worst economic crisis since independence.
Critics argue that the money being used to train the youths could be channelled
towards social services instead.
"We should not even be toying with the
idea of a national youth service programme. Instead, the money that is being
used in the project should go to fund health [care] and schools. In any case,
what is it that they are being taught there that cannot be taught in schools?"
asked Brian Raftopoulous, chairman of civil society group Crisis in Zimbabwe.
The budget allocation for the programme was increased from ZW $418
million (US $7.7 million at the official rate) last year to more than ZW $2
billion (US $37 million at the official rate) this year.
The government
proposed the idea of youth national service in 1989, when the economy was still
sound, but it was only two years ago during the emergence of real political
opposition to ZANU-PF, that the plan was implemented.
BACKLASH
The
ripple effect of violence, commentators say, is already evident in the manner in
which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has reacted to the
beatings and torture allegedly carried out by the militias.
"In my
constituency, there is a watertight mechanism to counter the Green Bombers. I
have a security team of young men and women who have managed to chase the
militias away as soon as they are reported in the constituency," said MDC Member
of Parliament (MP) for St Mary's in Chitungwiza, Job Sikhala.
He also
accused the Border Gezi youths of looting and theft.
There was an outcry
recently, particularly among the independent media, after reports that products
of the ruling party's youth service were being given first preference in the
enrolment of journalism students at Harare Polytechnic's media school.
DISAPPOINTMENT
One recent graduate of the Border Gezi centre
recounted his time at the centre. The graduate, who cannot be named for fear of
victimisation, has since joined the police force.
"There is hardly
anything to eat there. In the morning we would be given a large spoon of
porridge and an egg, followed by another spoonful of beans in the afternoon.
Supper was also comprised of beans and we considered ourselves lucky if we could
get sadza [a dry maize porridge] once in a while," he said.
He recalled
how trainees would be woken up early in the morning and forced to go to
newspaper vending points to seize and burn copies of privately owned newspapers
critical of the government.
Recruits were made to chant revolutionary
songs and denounce the MDC as a puppet of the
West.
[ENDS]
IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 880-4633
Fax: +27 11
447-5472
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za
Morgan Tsvangirai addresses
MDC parliamentarians, Harare, 18 December 2002
A relentless and vicious war
is being waged by the rogue Mugabe regime against the entire Zimbabwe nation and
society. Zimbabwe is now a nation where everything is in short supply except
violence, misery, disease and death.
The shortage of fuel has reached levels, which can
never be tolerated any further. The country is grinding to a halt. The regime is
in an advanced state of decay and its total collapse is
inevitable.
The state of the nation and the facts on the ground
speak for themselves, even Mugabe’s patron Muammar Gaddafi has abandoned his
bankrupt client. In the eyes of Gaddafi, Mugabe is no longer a puppet worthy of
support.
This government since 1998 has known the affairs at
Noczim. It does not make sense for this old man to start to blame his corrupt
officials today. In fact, we understand the Libyans, while accepting to be paid
in local currency, they are charging their fuel at the black market rate. So
what is the advantage of such an arrangement?
In short, Mugabe must accept that he has failed. He
must resign. Mugabe is aware that the end of his regime is near. As a temporary
ruse to buy time Mugabe has now embarked on a new desperate diplomatic
initiative to save his illegitimate regime from inevitable collapse. This will
be his fourth diplomatic gamble.
Immediately after the
fraudulent March 2002 presidential election, three diplomatic initiatives
emerged, all targeted at the resolution of the crisis of governance in
Zimbabwe.
You will recall that
presidents Bakili Muluzi of Malawi and Joachim Chissano of Mozambique tried to
put together what we saw as a “fishing expedition” to persuade us to recognise
Mugabe’s fraud.
The two regarded our
principled stand as the usual murmurings of opposition political parties in
Africa. As a result, the initiative never took off the
ground.
We noted that the most
important aspect of this failed initiative was that it perceived any resolution
of the crisis of governance in Zimbabwe as conceivable and achievable only if
there was an unequivocal recognition by the MDC that the Mugabe regime was the
government of the day. That we shall never accept.
You will further recall that
South Africa and Nigeria then came up with a strategy, conceived in the shadow
of the Commonwealth Troika Initiative. The strategy suffered because of critical
strategic differences on the way forward. South Africa was interested in the
management of the Zimbabwean crisis, not its resolution. Pretoria saw a
government of national unity as a solution. This was in a bid to legitimise
Mugabe at all costs.
In pursuit of this objective, over the past
eight months, several high-ranking South Africa government and ANC officials
have made public statements and embarked on diplomatic activities which,
cumulatively are specifically intended to blunt the modest international
pressure which seeks to make Mugabe account for his brutal misrule. They have
turned their so-called quiet diplomacy into noisy approval of the regime at any
international meeting at which the Zimbabwe crisis comes under discussion.
They have routinely called
for an end to the isolation of the illegitimate regime and the lifting of
targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies.
In fact, South Africa has become part of the
Zimbabwe problem because its actions are worsening the crisis. Pretoria’s policy
has effectively cast serious doubt on the role of President Thabo Mbeki as an
honest broker in the rapidly deteriorating situation and the deepening
humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe today.
The South African government
has succumbed to Mugabe’s blackmail and threats to plunge the region into a
mess. To appease him, they have embarked on an international safari to campaign
for Robert Mugabe’s regime.
Pretoria is free to pursue its own agenda. But
it must realise that Zimbabweans can never be fooled anymore. Open expressions
of solidarity with Zanu PF and Mugabe will never resolve the crisis of
governance in Zimbabwe today.
The paralysis displayed by
the Obasanjo-Mbeki initiative was carried into and re-emerged in the subsequent
deliberations and decisions of the Commonwealth Troika.
These initiatives, however,
lack a common focus because they were purely a reflection of a variegated
understanding of the nature, magnitude and depth of the crisis facing this
nation.
Mugabe and his embattled
regime were unclear of the likely regional and international reaction to this
grand theft or how to respond to possible hostility and further strangulation
from within and beyond our borders.
The validation, it must be
said, of the stolen election result by the observer missions of Nigeria and
South Africa gave Mugabe some temporary breaking space. Remember, these two
countries are key members of the Commonwealth Troika on
Zimbabwe.
Because of the depth of the
crisis, the little oxygen offered to Mugabe soon ran out, making the resolution
of the Zimbabwe crisis even more protracted.
No single regional and
international strategy to engage or confront Mugabe dominated the stage since
then. To a large extent these three initiatives cancelled each other or at least
neutralised each other, giving the regime further ammunition to mount a
repressive machinery against the people and to devise new strategies to crush
the broad forces of democracy led by the MDC.
Now that the Troika is set
to review its position on Zimbabwe in a few months time, we have begun to
witness a number of unsettling developments with regards to the way
forward.
Mugabe is making overtures
to all in a bid to sneak out of the current squeeze. In public, he attacks the
British.
But, while we all queue for
scarce commodities here, Mugabe is now getting his essential supplies and basic
groceries including beef, bread and milk from London.
Politically, he is sending
signals to both Pretoria and Whitehall in a completely different tone and
language.
At the same time, a cabal
within Zanu PF, working with some businessmen, have hatched a plan to protect
Mugabe and his regime, for political convenience, through a further
militarisation of Zimbabwe.
One Colonel Lionel Dyke and
his business associates are being used to promote an agenda that seeks to
legitimise the rogue regime. The names
of Emmerson Mnangagwa and General Zvinavashe keep on coming up in this dirty
plan which we are told was endorsed by ZANU PF, the British and the South
Africans.
We are therefore confronted
with this unholy and strange Triple Alliance designed to neutralise the
sovereign wishes of the people of Zimbabwe.
The cutting edge of the
diabolical onslaught is supposed to come in the form of a summit between Robert
Mugabe and myself.
I am reliably informed that
Mugabe is prepared to meet with me somewhere outside the country to discuss his
problems.
I want to state clearly and
unequivocally that such a summit will remain a pie in the sky unless Mugabe
stops the politicisation of food; opens up the country to free political
activity; stops the brutalisation of political opponents and commits himself to
a dialogue agenda which sets out the conditions for future
discussions.
Let me state here that the
Anglo-South African plan will fail to take off if it remains predicated on the
desire to legitimise the illegitimate Mugabe regime. We will never be used to
prop up this dying regime.
We are told the cabal’s plan
includes a further silencing of critics in its final push to reform Zanu PF and
engage in acts, which are dangerous to the integrity of the SADC region as a
whole.
Let me state here that the ordinary people in
Muzarabani, in Binga, in Gokwe, in Hwange and many other places countrywide, who
are denied food daily, who are denied access to basic freedoms, who have had to
contend with Zanu PF brutality, will never accept a position where their dreams
and their wishes are sold out to a civil-military formation by selfish
opportunists.
We have arrived at a critical
moment in our history. Either we pull forward as a united people or the country
slides further into disarray.
Some say a strong leader is
good for a nation’s stability. Stability is a natural process arising from good
governance and legitimacy. Forced
stability is no stability at all. It is an illusion and people can see through
it.
National leaders derive
their strengths from the people, not from the military or foreign friends. The
world is changing. Gone are the days when it was business as usual simply
because of the presence of a strong dictator at the
helm.
Stability requires
conditions beyond mere economic growth. It needs justice, equity, good
governance, a culture of tolerance, a free Press and an unfettered access to
generic freedoms.
As an oppressed people, we
need to realise that we have a duty to liberate ourselves. We are on our own. We
shall fight for the people’s right to determine their destiny and to reclaim
their sovereignty. There can never be any compromise on the fundamental issue of
people’s power, democracy and freedom.
We know of the attempts to
reform Zanu PF and present a re-arranged set of faces to the world in an effort
to win international legitimacy through the back door.
If Mugabe is to step down
today, nothing will change as long as the fundamentals that brought this country
to where it is remain unresolved.
We are ready to confront the
Mugabe stooge at home and show him the way.
The facts on the ground show
that Zimbabwe’s crisis of governance requires a comprehensive national approach
that embraces the nation’s diversity.
Any initiative on the way
forward which fails to deal with the root cause of the crisis, which fails to
tackle the burning question of legitimacy and which fails to accord free and
fair electoral conditions a priority, is bound to fail.
A lasting solution to the
Zimbabwean problem lies in Zimbabwe. The people know that
solution.
From
the MDC, our position on the way forward remains clear and
unwavering:
· Mugabe
must accept immediate retirement.
· The MDC will
support legislative and constitutional amendments through Parliament to
facilitate the necessary changes for the management of the interim and
transitional arrangements.
· A transitional authority
will be set up and the composition must include representatives from key
Zimbabwean organisations and political parties.
· This authority should hold
office for a limited period and prepare for fresh presidential elections.
· During this time the
transitional authority must work to rebuild trust and put in place a conducive
climate for free political activity.
· Revisit the abandoned
constitutional reform process.
· A priority will be to
overcome the humanitarian crisis facing our country.
There are no short cuts to the
restoration of legitimacy and the people’s democratic rights.
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 9:45 AM
Subject: Scathing attack upon George Bush
My opinion.
On South African television we have just witnessed Nelson Mandela deliver a
scathing attack upon President George Bush for ignoring world opinion and
deliberately wanting to attack Iraq. This verbal attack is obviously aimed at
rebuking the Bush Administration hoping to make them hesitate, knowing the
international respect and support he currently enjoys.
Many people may applaud Nelson Mandela for doing so but from my personal
perspective Nelson Mandela has his priorities wrong - if only he would condemn
the activities of Robert Mugabe with equal vigour and determination - if he did
so he would earn my admiration and respect as a genuine broker - but somehow he
seems totally deaf and blind to the many horrendous atrocities being committed
in Zimbabwe and is totally silent on that issue. Therefore, in my opinion
Nelson Mandela has lost total credibility as a fighter for human rights - he is
artificial and plastic clearly motivated by other considerations.
Business Day
Dlamini-Zuma to visit Zimbabwe to find
solutions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
STELLENBOSCH
Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will soon leave
for Zimbabwe
to continue discussions with her counterparts on what needed to
be done to
seek solutions afflicting SA's neighbour.
Responding to a question on
what he meant when he told the African National
Congress (ANC) conference
that SA was ready to assist President Robert
Mugabe's government, President
Thabo Mbeki said Zimbabwe was faced with a
lot of challenges compounded by
drought and food shortages.
"We are interested that these problems are
addressed because they are having
a bad impact on the quality of life of the
people of Zimbabwe. What
solutions do we find, what can be done."
He
said that the ANC has been in contact with the ruling Zanu (PF) and
the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). "The ANC has been
talking
to Zanu (PF) and MDC and naturally the ANC would also be in contact
with all
other political forces around the world that are interested in
Zimbabwe."
Meanwhile, there were roars of approval from conference
delegates yesterday
when a Zanu (PF) observer announced that 11-million
hectares had been
"acquired" in the land grab of the Zimbabwe
government.
The land reform programme has targeted white farms for the
resettlement of
landless black families. Many have, however, characterised it
as simply a
land grab, which has put hundreds of thousands of farmworkers out
of jobs
and on the verge of starvation.
Emerson Mnangagwa, the Zanu
(PF) secretary for administration , said that as
a result of the land reform
330000 families had been resettled and 54000
commercial farmers established
on the acquired land.
"Our party policy is not to drive away white
commercial farmers but to
empower our people and equitably share the
available land. The programme is
intended to right a historical wrong and
return the land to its rightful
owners.
"Those farmers who want to
farm and identify themselves with Zimbabwe, in
word and deed, have a secure
place in Zimbabwe. But we cannot allow colour
to be the basis for privilege
and wealth," Mnangagwa said.
Mnangagwa said that the crime committed by
"comrade Mugabe and Zanu (PF)"
was to "reclaim and repossess our heritage;
land and resources and to
unflinchingly uphold our sovereignty.
"As a
result of the land reform programme that we have undertaken and
accomplished,
the western imperialist press and those allied to it have
taken every
opportunity to demonise comrade president Mugabe and the
leadership of Zanu
(PF)."
He said one of the region's challenges "as we try to build
societies based
on universal democratic values is defining media
responsibility".
Dec 18 2002 07:18:34:000AM Pule Molebeledi and
Wyndham Hartley Business Day
1st Edition
ZIMBABWE: Backlash against ZANU-PF youth militia
[ This report does
not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]
HARARE, 18 Dec 2002 (IRIN) - The "Green Bombers",
clad in their trademark
green fatigues and red or green berets with the
Zimbabwean flag on their
shirts, have become a common but fearsome sight,
particularly in Harare,
Chitungwiza and Bulawayo.
After the arrival of
a sugar delivery van, a group of 10 young men wielding
whips and batons storm
a supermarket in the high-density suburb of Glen
Norah. The sight of them
causes people queuing outside the shop to flee.
They are the ZANU-PF
militia, popularly known as "Green Bombers".
The young men then approach
the shop manager, who they accuse of overpricing
commodities, and order him
to load the sugar into a waiting truck. Police
stand and watch as the shop
manager is harassed.
The truck is then driven to a secluded area near the
suburb where the sugar,
about 500 kg, is shared out among the
youths.
This scenario has become all too common in parts of Zimbabwe, say
civil
society commentators.
The militias allegedly sell the looted
commodities on the parallel market
for more than double the official
price.
Graduates of the Border Gezi National Training Centre, in
Mashonaland
Central's Mount Darwin area, the militias have gained notoriety
due to their
propensity for violence.
GENESIS OF MILITIA
Formed
in 2002, the youth training programme was the brainchild of the late
Border
Gezi, who was then the ZANU-PF national commissar and Minister of
Gender,
Youth Development and Employment Creation, the ministry under which
the
programme falls.
Speaking on national television recently, the director
of the youth training
programme, David Munyoro, said the programme was meant
to promote discipline
among the youth. Trainees were taught entrepreneurial
skills such as
carpentry, metal fabrication and building for purposes of
self-help, he
said.
David Chimhini, the director of the Zimbabwe Civic
Education Trust
(Zimcet),has dismissed Munyoro's statement.
"What
discipline is the government talking about when the products of the
training
exercise loot, assault and rape?" he asked.
The pioneer training centre
located in Gezi's home area, Mount Darwin in the
northeast, has seen hundreds
of youths join the programme.
They have been lured by the government's
promises of jobs after the six-week
training stint, with a certificate of
attendance being a prerequisite to
join the army or the police.
Other
training points have since been set up at Kamativi in Matebeleland
North,
Mushagashe in Masvingo, Guyu in Matebeleland South, with the latest
addition
being Dadaya in the Midlands.
The Minister of Gender, Youth Development
and Employment Creation, Elliot
Manyika, announced the government's intention
to open 35 other training
centres countrywide.
Some of the graduates
of the training centres often go back to their places
of origin where they
are tasked with the training of other youths.
ACTIVITIES
In
Mashonaland Central, the youths from the nearby Border Gezi training
centre
are reported to be intimidating remaining white farmers in a bid to
drive
them off their land.
A local privately owned daily newspaper reported
that one Johan Muller, the
owner of Silver Oak farm in Beatrice, 90-km west
of Harare, was recently
smeared with cow dung and soaked in a muddy pool of
water for staying on his
farm - which had not been designated for acquisition
in the state's land
reform programme.
The youth brigades have earned
themselves notoriety for looting shops under
the guise of enforcing the
government's price controls, while imposing
unofficial curfews in areas
perceived to be opposition strongholds.
"These youths are further
tarnishing the image of the government by engaging
in daylight robbery. They
are taking advantage of the current economic
problems to rob us," said shop
owner Joseph Zivanai.
He was finding it difficult to operate since the
youths regularly accused
him of overpricing basic commodities so they could
'confiscate' his goods.
CRITICISM
Human rights organisations and
analysts have criticised the youth training
programme.
"The graduates
are a notorious symbol of ZANU-PF's intimidatory tactics,"
Chimhini told
IRIN.
He said the proliferation of the militias across the country had
instilled
fear in the electorate and believed this could have a negative
effect ahead
of next year's parliamentary by-elections.
The government
has also been criticised for spending money on an
"extravagant" programme
when the country was struggling with its worst
economic crisis since
independence. Critics argue that the money being used
to train the youths
could be channelled towards social services instead.
"We should not even
be toying with the idea of a national youth service
programme. Instead, the
money that is being used in the project should go to
fund health [care] and
schools. In any case, what is it that they are being
taught there that cannot
be taught in schools?" asked Brian Raftopoulous,
chairman of civil society
group Crisis in Zimbabwe.
The budget allocation for the programme was
increased from ZW $418 million
(US $7.7 million at the official rate) last
year to more than ZW $2 billion
(US $37 million at the official rate) this
year.
The government proposed the idea of youth national service in 1989,
when the
economy was still sound, but it was only two years ago during the
emergence
of real political opposition to ZANU-PF, that the plan was
implemented.
BACKLASH
The ripple effect of violence, commentators
say, is already evident in the
manner in which the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) has
reacted to the beatings and torture allegedly
carried out by the militias.
"In my constituency, there is a watertight
mechanism to counter the Green
Bombers. I have a security team of young men
and women who have managed to
chase the militias away as soon as they are
reported in the constituency,"
said MDC Member of Parliament (MP) for St
Mary's in Chitungwiza, Job
Sikhala.
He also accused the Border Gezi
youths of looting and theft.
There was an outcry recently, particularly
among the independent media,
after reports that products of the ruling
party's youth service were being
given first preference in the enrolment of
journalism students at Harare
Polytechnic's media
school.
DISAPPOINTMENT
One recent graduate of the Border Gezi
centre recounted his time at the
centre. The graduate, who cannot be named
for fear of victimisation, has
since joined the police force.
"There
is hardly anything to eat there. In the morning we would be given a
large
spoon of porridge and an egg, followed by another spoonful of beans in
the
afternoon. Supper was also comprised of beans and we considered
ourselves
lucky if we could get sadza [a dry maize porridge] once in a
while," he
said.
He recalled how trainees would be woken up early in the morning and
forced
to go to newspaper vending points to seize and burn copies of
privately
owned newspapers critical of the government.
Recruits were
made to chant revolutionary songs and denounce the MDC as a
puppet of the
West.