Zim
Independent
Rhodes Scholars announced
SUBJECT to
confirmation by the Rhodes Trustees, the Rhodes Scholarship
Committee for
Zimbabwe has nominated Julie Taylor and John Cameron as the
Rhodes Scholars
for Zimbabwe for the year 2002.
Julie was educated at Chisipite School,
Harare, to "O" Level in which
examination she obtained 9As. After obtaining
an International Baccalaureate
she proceeded to Cambridge University to read
for the archeology and
anthropology tripos obtaining a first class degree
with distinction.
John was educated at St George's College, where he
obtained 7 As at "O"
Level and 3 As at "A" Level.
John proceeded
to Cambridge University where he obtained a BA in Classics
and an M Phil in
Theology. He was the leader of the College Christian Union,
rowed for his
college and was a trialist for the Cambridge "Blues" boat. He
intends reading
for a doctorate in theology.
DLL
Morgan,
Secretary,
Selection
Committee.
Zim Independent
2003 inflation to reach
282%
Staff writer
THE Economist Intelligence Unit has forecast
inflation will rise to 281,7%
in 2003 from an average 131,6% this
year.
The EIU also forecast GDP to contract by 8,8% in 2003 after a
decline
estimated at 12,1%. No respite was foreseen in 2004, with the
economy
forecast to shrink by 4,4%.
The value of the Zimbabwe dollar
on the parallel market could also be pushed
as low as $4 000-$5 000:US$1 by
the end of 2003 as exports continue to dry
up, the unit added.
In its
latest report on Zimbabwe, the EIU said price controls - at least on
the
official measure - would keep a cap on the rate spiralling.
"The monthly
rate of increase since June 2002 indicates that annual average
inflation of
400-500% is now possible in 2003 ... However, owing to the
introduction of
widespread price controls in November 2002 such extreme
rates may be
avoided."
But the EIU added that even if there was a recovery in
agriculture,
inflation would remain in triple digits in 2004 at 176,8%
because of the
high base of the consumer price index in 2003.
Turning
to growth, the EIU said the economy would continue contracting
during the
outlook period, resulting in six years of declining real GDP.
"The
decline has been led by the contraction in the agricultural sector,
which we
expect to have shrunk by 21% in 2002, owing to the disruption
caused by the
fast-track land reform programme, drought and Aids," the
report
said.
"Although the decline in agriculture will slow down to 7% in 2003,
a
substantial downturn in other economic sectors is forecast as the
knock-on
effects of the chaos in the commercial farming sector feed through
to the
rest of the economy.
"In addition, the growing shortages of
foreign currency and fuel against a
background of triple digit inflation will
make it an extremely difficult
economic climate for companies and mines to
operate in. As a result, most
will scale down their operations and shed
labour and we expect real GDP to
contract by 8,8% in 2003," the report
said.
The EIU noted that real GDP has shrunk by more than 25% over the
past four
years, but the decline would slow somewhat in 2004.
"This is
because many firms will already have scaled down their
operations
substantially. There may also be some limited recovery in the
agricultural
sector as small-scale farmers eventually begin to start maize
production.
We are therefore forecasting that real GDP will contract by
4,7% in 2004."
Having held up relatively well in 2002, owing to high gold
prices and a
reasonable tobacco crop, the EIU said Zimbabwe's
foreign-exchange earnings
were expected to decline sharply from US$1,6
billion in 2002 to only US$1,2
billion by 2004 as tobacco exports collapse
and gold exports declined.
"Tourism receipts will remain stagnant and
foreign aid inflows will be
limited to humanitarian support," the EIU
said.
"Overall, we expect that the current account deficit was only US$79
million
(4,1% of GDP) in 2002, but it is forecast to widen to US$110 million
in 2003
(5,9% of GDP). The deficit will then narrow to US$77 million (2,8% of
GDP)
in 2004, because of lower food imports and a more general contraction
in
demand for imports owing to the shortage of foreign
exchange."
Zim
Independent
Business
Indigenisation leads the way in 2002
Staff Writer
THE Zimbabwean economic and
financial landscape has changed
fundamentally this past year, and the one
thing that stands out - apart from
the government's budget decision last
month to control FCAs - is the
indigenisation of the
economy.
Other major themes running
through the local corporate world this year
have been continued unbundling to
unlock shareholder value and greater
attempts to externalise
earnings.
Notwithstanding all the
negatives that have effected corporate
Zimbabwe, companies had managed to -
at least up to the Budget - produce
earnings that outpaced annual inflation,
currently at 175,5%.
Indigenisation
gathered pace after the election. Some of the companies
which have seen their
shareholdings change hands over the past six months
include fresh produce and
citrus group Interfresh, leisure operator Zimsun,
retailer and manufacturer
Tedco, pork products group Colcom, transport
operator Clan, SeedCo, plough
manufacturer Zimplow and asset management
group
Tetrad.
Interfin Merchant Bank led the way
in using the government's low
interest rate regime to orchestrate a number of
shareholder changes. The
formula was simple - use low interest rates to buy
equity and let inflation
do the rest. Within a year, the initial investment
should have more than
covered the value of assets
acquired.
But they did not bargain on the
government's move to effectively
acquire FCAs, which analysts say will kill
the productive sector. The RBZ is
still yet to announce just what rate
exporters will get for their 50%
balance. In spite of being offered five
percent concessionary interest
rates, business says there is little incentive
to export or invest in
productive
capacity.
The ZSE remains depressed and
corporate work has dried up. Only days
before the Budget on November 11,
Industrials and Minings both hit all-time
highs of 130 899,59 and 11 181,20,
respectively. They would have beaten
inflation over the past year if they had
held on to these gains.
The second most
outstanding feature in the economy this year was the
continued use of
unbundling as a catalyst to unlock shareholder
value.
The final piece of Delta that was
to be unbundled came out of the
company on April 3 - Pelhams - while TZI spun
off Art, which started trading
at $19 on June 24 and promptly shot up to $50.
TZI expects to distribute
another 90 million Art shares to shareholders this
year, and is considering
what options it has with Strategis. THZ also broke
up into three separate
groups - Steelnet, General Beltings and Turnall - but
the listing of the
three was less than impressive in a depressed post-Budget
market.
Unbundled last year, Astra
Industries was the top performer on the ZSE
with a massive gain of 2757,1%.
Apex, Mashonaland Holdings and Cairns were
also demerger beneficiaries and
among the top 10 performers - shoring up the
broking world's belief in the
practice.
Probably the third tenet of
activity by companies this year was the
move to externalise or dollarise part
of their turnover to shore up earnings
from a shrinking domestic economy. Few
companies on the bourse have not
announced plans to move into the region or
increase their level of exports
to a higher percentage of turnover. Innscor
Africa has been a notable
achiever in this area, announcing plans to roll-out
it's On The Run
convenience stores at 216 ExxonMobil forecourts throughout
Africa.
Another notable feature this year
has been the failed mergers. Cottco
announced it was considering a merger
with TSL, but this was called off
after the Budget so that the two could
investigate the implications of the
new operating environment. Innscor also
canned its proposed take-over of CFI
Holdings after a disagreement over
valuations, although analysts say the
synergies between the two are still
strong and they do not rule out a merger
in the
future.
The only success was with TA
Holdings' subsidiary Zimnat and
Intermarket. TA shareholders are expected to
meet today to approve a scheme
whereby they take 23% of Intermarket in
exchange for 100% of Zimnat Life and
54,63% of Zimnat Lion. Details of a full
Intermarket listing are still
pending.
Companies now also have to grapple with price controls. CFI and ZSR
managed
to offset the overall effect with increased their spread of
interests but
companies such as SeedCo, Dairibord and Circle Cement were
unable to. OK
Zimbabwe CEO Willard Zireva told analysts recently that the
future with price
controls was "bleak" as seen by the disappearance off the
shelves of many
necessities, especially since the price freeze on
November
15.
But prices are not
controlled for clothing retailers - Edgars and
Truworths - and alcohol
producers - Delta and Afdis - which have reported
excellent results and all
have had share price performances in the top half
of the ZSE board this year.
Truworths is number five on the list, but this
is due to expectations of a
share split. Cigarette producer BAT did not have
a fantastic year at number
45, but it has been one of the better
post-budget
performers.
NicozDiamond
was the first IPO of the year and interest in the merged
insurer was strong
ahead of the listing in October. The counter - offered at
$2,80 - hit the
board at $3,90 and settled at $3,30. The bear market has not
been kind and
Nicoz Diamond is currently languishing at
$2,85.
Shareholders have also given the
go-ahead for Fidelity Life to be
demerged from Zimre, which is expected to
happen in the new year.
Business has also
grudgingly had a change of heart when it comes to
supporting the government's
agrarian reforms. Agro-industrial companies
really had no choice. Faced with
a shortage of inputs into their factories
next year and a hostile government,
Delta, CFI, Ariston and SeedCo all came
up with plans to finance the new
farmers.
Other companies such as PG
Industries took advantage of the new
economic environment. Spending by
Zimbabwean expatriates and new farmers
helped PG report a 192% rise in
historical attributable profit in the six
months to September and the group
said it was considering avenues to provide
a facility for Zimbabweans outside
the country to build them houses while
paying directly to the company. PG
also had a $5 billion standing agreement
with the government to construct
houses for the newly-resettled farmers.
PG's chief executive, Gerald Mujaji, said the new environment and
"streetwise
Zimbabweans" had "changed the whole matrix of the housing
industry". Murray
& Roberts' performance also debunked a few myths about the
"depressed"
construction industry.
While tourists by
and large continue to avoid Zimbabwe, a leaner
Zimsun reported its first
profit in nearly three years and resumed dividend
payments. CEO Shingi
Munyeza said the group recorded losses of $150 million
between April to June,
in the wake of the presidential election, but the
situation changed in the
period that followed and Zimsun produced a profit
of $892,6 million in the
six months to September. However, in those six
months, foreign arrivals were
still down by 42% in the six months to
September at 35 447 and volumes had to
be sustained by the domestic market.
Zimsun will have completed the
rebuilding of Elephant Hills in March and has
opened its Archipelago Sun
resort in Vilanculos. Rainbow Tourism Group has
just started a $180 million
rebranding exercise together with its French
partner
Accor.
Meikles Africa's Zimbabwean hotels
managed to remain profitable, in
spite of low occupancy, but it was the
group's Cape Grace Hotel that had an
outstanding performance. In the six
months to September, attributable profit
rose by 191% to $2,034 billion and
trading since the period has been even
more impressive, according to
management.
Elsewhere, banks and financial
institutions accounted for six of the
top 10 worst performers on the stock
market after stunning earnings last
year. This was due in part to a
proliferation of operators in the sector but
mainly to fears - misplaced or
otherwise - about government controls
over
forex.
Dual-listed shares - with
the exception of Old Mutual - were all in
top half of performances on the ZSE
as the parallel market rate slid.
Brokers were left scratching their heads as
to why Old Mutual has failed to
hold on to gains
made.
In spite of good results and
bringing its foreign debt onshore, Econet
had another dire year as political
risk continued to weigh on the share
price. Network problems did not help
either and created a pool of
irate
customers.
The Mining Index had
its best run in years in the period leading up to
the Budget - thanks mainly
to a rejuvenated Bindura, which showed the
favourable impact of parallel
market rates on its earnings. They quadrupled
over the
year.
In addition to production increases
by platinum producers Zimplats and
Mimosa, businessdigest also revealed that
Anglo American Zimbabwe has
started preliminary work to evaluate the
possibility of mining chrome along
the length of the Great Dyke through its
subsidiary Zimbabwe Alloys.
Mining
specialists said that given the length of the Dyke, reserves
were in a way
limitless and could last for many decades, possibly hundreds
of
years.
There was also a bit of scandal on
the ZSE after the bourse's
committee recommended the deregistration of
Continental Securities' brokers
Bruce Eeson and Edwin Gumbo for "bringing the
exchange into disrepute". A
decision is still pending from Banking and Stock
Exchange Registrar Manett
Mpofu. TZI also became the butt of broker anger
after coming out with two
trading updates within a six-week period which
appeared to contradict each
other.
The
business community mourned the deaths of Radar chairman Chris
Schofield - a
fierce critic of government's economic policies - and David
Zamchiya, the
chairman of Barclays Bank.
The
Privatisation Agency of Zimbabwe came nowhere close to its $41
billion target
for the year, and has subsequently put the privatisation of
Net*One and
Tel*One on ice. In spite of the debacle over the privatisation
of the former
Astra group of companies - the government has appealed against
the High
Court's decision to announce the winner - PAZ managed to off-load
and
recapitalise pharmaceuticals group Caps and has recently announced
the
proposed sale of the Zimbabwe Building Society. The government is
also
expected to sell its 19% stake in Finhold - the umbrella company
for
Syfrets, Zimbank and Scotfin - in the New
Year
Zim
Independent - Editor's Memo
Running on empty
Iden
WetherellWHAT a miserable Christmas this promises to be with chronic fuel
and food
shortages.
I feel a bit schizophrenic over the petrol crisis.
Obviously I want to be
able to drive around. And so do others whose quality
of life has been
affected by not being able to get out to see friends or
family. This is
particularly sad at Christmas when families want to be
together.
On the other hand it may need something like this to
concentrate minds.
Zimbabweans are constantly referred to by foreigners as a
docile lot. They
are happy to have elections stolen from them, ignore bare
supermarket
shelves, and seem content to sit in kilometer-long petrol queues.
In any
other country of the world - except perhaps Burma - this would have
led to
protests. Ask Hugo Chavez! Can you imagine a government in the
developed
world surviving with this record?
But in Zimbabwe we tell
each other how terrible it is and then rejoin the
petrol queues!
Where
there is anger it seems to be directed at each other. My particular
complaint
is garage owners who fail to organise proper lines for fuel. As a
result taxi
drivers barge in. For people who have waited hours for service
there can be
nothing more maddening than these
ill-disciplined
queue-jumpers.
Needless to say, the police are
invisible when they are needed. In
Chitungwiza last Saturday afternoon a
garage which was experiencing mounting
unrest in chaotic petrol queues called
the police for help. They sent two
officers!
It doesn't seem President
Mugabe is able to do much either. He has this
habit of pretending he is not
really president and thinking aloud about
where responsibility should lie.
Needless to say it is never with him! ("I
don't understand why there are fuel
problems in the country.")
We reported last week on the Tamoil mission
that was here for 10 days to
find a way out of the mess. They wanted a deal
that would ensconce them in
the oil supply and distribution sector. They
would also of course have
wanted a realistic price for the product at the
pumps. This, we calculate,
would be about $450/litre. The inflationary
ramifications of that would be
too ghastly to contemplate. But thanks to
government meddling and Noczim's
long career of muddle we may soon have to
bite that particular bullet.
Many readers have expressed amazement at the
way the official press, once
the government ran out of excuses, blamed Noczim
for the shortage as if the
president and his ministers lived on another
planet. Minister Amos Midzi's
refusal until Wednesday to comment on an issue
where he bears direct
responsibility is testimony to the lack of
accountability we have in this
country. This is the same person who was
reportedly relieved of his duties
as Zanu PF Harare province chair because,
it was said, his executive wasn't
performing up to scratch. He is then given
one of the most demanding jobs in
government!
Despite assurances that
the Libyans are prepared to help, I understand they
are hopping mad about
Zimbabwe's failure to meet assurances given to them on
investment and
pricing, not to mention persistent defaults on payment. The
government should
consider adapting Dale Carnegie's famous programme: How
not to win friends
and influence people!
Apart from the fuel shortage and food prices, the
other thing everybody is
complaining about is Econet's "service". Econet's
general manager, customer
services and billing, John Pattison, appears to
think indignant customers
should contact him rather than write letters to the
press (Independent,
November 29). He evidently doesn't understand how the
world works.
The public have every right to be dissatisfied with Econet
and to express
their frustration publicly. The company's failure to provide
an acceptable
service, while continuing to charge for one, has gone on for a
tad too long.
We are reassured to hear that Econet has not released any
new lines beyond
its carrying capacity of 140 000 which was reached in June.
But the network
upgrade doesn't appear to have made a difference. It is still
almost
impossible to get an 091 number during the working day and "network
busy"
signals on a Monday to Thursday are now as bad as a Friday when
Econet
barely functions.
Public disappointment is acute because civil
society supported Strive
Masiyiwa's company after his valiant battle for a
licence in the courts.
They were also impressed when Econet staff declined to
help government with
its snooping.
But now it's payback time. We want
a service that works, not expansion
dependent upon supplies from Sweden.
Masiyiwa, I gather, is divesting from
his media holdings to concentrate on
the core business of telecoms. In the
meantime Econet should not expect the
public to remain silent at what they
regard as a betrayal.
Wake up
Econet. Value your customers. And no replies to this until you've
done
something people actually notice!
Finally, I would like to thank the many
people who have called or written to
congratulate me on my "International
Editor of the Year" award which I
recently received in New York. I was
touched by the messages from readers,
colleagues in other media, and people
around the world who saw it on the
Internet or heard it on SABC's The Editors
programme. I thank you all for
your kind thoughts and hope the award has
raised awareness of the sorry
condition this country finds itself in. Here's
wishing you whatever
happiness you can extract from this Christmas. We shall
not be appearing
next Friday but will be back the week after (January
3).
Thursday, 19 December, 2002, 17:36 GMT
Opposition hits out at ICC
Mugabe is the patron of Zimbabwe
cricket
Opposition leaders in Zimbabwe have condemned world
cricket's governing body for sanctioning the staging of Cricket World Cup
matches in their country.
The International Cricket Council have given the go ahead for six games to be
staged in Zimbabwe - three in Harare and three in Bulawayo - next February and
March.
But the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has called for a sporting
boycott of the country to protest at the policies of president Robert Mugabe.
"By agreeing to stage the World Cup in Zimbabwe, despite the humanitarian
crisis and unprecedented levels of institutionalised violence, the ICC are
sending a callous message to the people of Zimbabwe," said spokesman Paul Themba
Nyathi.
"Given the situation in Zimbabwe, to suggest that sport and politics must be
treated separately is ludicrous; in the current context they are inter-linked.
"The ICC decision will directly assist Mugabe's efforts to disguise the
horrifying reality of the crisis in Zimbabwe."
The MDC is now urging individual players to "follow their consciences" and
refuse to travel to Zimbabwe.
But Richard Bevan of England's Professional Cricketers' Association had
inidcated that he believes such a protest is unlikely.
"The players are aware of the serious issues in Zimbabwe," he said
"But at the end of the day, the guys are professional cricketers, they are
contracted to the (England and Wales Cricket) Board, and if the Board says
'We're playing in Zimbabwe, the guys will be playing."
Zimbabwe Cricket Union president Peter Chingoka praised the ICC for resisting
poltical pressure on them.
"For us, this is a very professional approach and we are happy that
professionalism has won the day over those who were trying to get emotional and
to drag politics into the game.
"We are delighted for Zimbabwe and for Africa and our co-hosting is going to
help the game tremendously both in this country and on the continent," he said.
Court Told of Whites Colony Plan
The
Nation (Nairobi)
December 19, 2002
Posted to the web December 19,
2002
Nairobi
A colony of white farmers escaping from Zimbabwe is
being established in
Trans Nzoia, a Nairobi court was told.
This was
allegedly being done by a company owned by a director of Mount
Elgon
Orchards, Mr Robert Anderson, who, it was claimed, has vowed to buy
farms
owned by Kenyans in the area to ensure the process succeeded.
Mr Justice
David Rimita heard that Mr Anderson had deposited Sh95.25 billion
with the
Central Bank to acquire farms in Trans Nzoia for the purpose.
The judge
was hearing an application filed by Mrs Sophie Mogaka who was
granted an
injunction restraining National Bank of Kenya from transferring a
350 acre
family farm registered in the name of her husband, Tom.
She accuses the
bank of illegally and fraudulently selling her matrimonial
property, Moraa
Farm in Kaptega, Trans Nzoia District to Mount Elgon
Orchards through Mr
Anderson.
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
December 9th -
December 15th 2002
Weekly update 2002-46
CONTENTS
1.
GENERAL COMMENT
2. FUEL SHORTAGES
3. ZANU PF CONFERENCE
1. General comment
The just ended sixth ZANU PF
national people's conference held in Chinhoyi amply demonstrated how the ruling
party has blatantly converted the public media into its own self-serving
propaganda tool. So overwhelming was the public media's pro-ZANU PF coverage of
the conference that it raised ethical questions about the public media's
impartiality in dealing with issues of national importance. Admittedly, ZANU PF
is the ruling party, but that is no excuse for the public media to saturate its
audiences and viewers with biased and patronizing ZANU PF propaganda. For
example, ZTV accorded one hour and 10 minutes (39%) of the total time allocated
to the week's 8pm bulletins (excluding the business and sports segments) to the
party conference in Chinhoyi during the week. In addition, all ZBC stations
dropped some of their afternoon programmes to make way for hours of live
coverage of the event. ZTV (15/12, 9pm) also carried a
30-minute special
programme on the conference. This generosity gives ZANU PF, which has its own
paper in which to state its policies, unparalleled privilege over other
political parties in selling its ideologies to the electorate. It is this
slavish subservience to the ruling party that has compromised ZBC 's integrity
as a public broadcaster and justifies calls to have the organisation run by an
independent board appointed by Parliament and not by an individual minister, who
is a member of the ruling party's supreme decision making body. The public media
was also guilty of censoring incidents of politically motivated violence during
the week. In fact, those who have no access to the private media are likely to
have the false impression that the country is peaceful. But this week The Daily
News reported five incidents of political violence involving ZANU PF youths, war
veterans, and the police. The police confirmed two of the incidents, while two
others were not confirmed by the police. In the other story the police were
reportedly "not immediately available" but the paper managed to get confirmation
from other government officials. In all cases, the victims were members of the
public including perceived MDC supporters. SW Radio Africa carried seven reports
related to political violence in the monitored bulletins. Of these, six were on
recent incidents of violence, while the other was a report on the discovery of
skeletons of four MDC supporters in a dip tank in Nkayi. ZANU PF supporters, war
veterans and the police were named as perpetrators of the violence in four of
the reports, while members of the public and MDC supporters were the alleged
victims. The rest reported on violence perpetrated by ZANU PF supporters against
their colleagues.
2. Fuel shortages
The public media's coverage of the
fuel shortages must have left its audiences utterly confused through its
unsubstantiated and bewildering explanations for the crisis. In fact, so
determined was the public media in trying to absolve government from any blame
for the crisis that they ended up providing their audiences with contradictory
explanations for the causes of the shortage. They initially attributed the
shortage to technical problems, but later reported that "corruption" within the
National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) was causing the shortage. The
Chronicle ignored this important story. However, the private media duly explored
the reasons for the shortage more thoroughly. In their initial reports, The
Herald and ZTV (11/12) quoted deputy minister of energy, Reuben Marumahoko,
reassuring the nation that the fuel situation would improve by the end of the
week. He was quoted as having said, "The shortages are a result of technical
problems which were being experienced with the Beira pipeline" adding "pumping
only started yesterday (Tuesday, 10/12)". There was no elaboration on the nature
of the technical problems. Instead, ZBC (ZTV & 3FM, 12/12, 8pm & Radio
Zimbabwe, 14/12, 6am) came up with a myriad of other unsubstantiated reasons for
the fuel shortages. In its reports, ZBC alleged that the shortages were a result
of "corruption, underhand dealings and misadministration (sic) within NOCZIM
working in consent with officials from Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development". The public broadcaster also
accused the NOCZIM officials of trying to create a parallel market for fuel "in
an attempt to cripple the economy since the government has taken concrete steps
to wipe out the foreign currency parallel market". ZBC, in the same bulletins,
further quoted unnamed sources within NOCZIM as having said: "NOCZIM was blamed
for procuring fuel from companies which demand forex instead of using Tamoil
from Libya". There was no information on the alleged companies from which NOCZIM
had chosen to buy fuel for cash, nor did it explain fully why NOCZIM was doing
that. ZTV, in the same bulletin, dismissed reports that NOCZIM had no foreign
currency to honour the Tamoil deal saying "the other cash accounts are being
paid for highlighting the parastatal's reluctance to promote the credit
facility". It did not clarify which accounts it was referring to. Rather, it
alleged that while NOCZIM had claimed that British agents were frustrating the
Tamoil deal, "available information. suggests that such agents are working in
tandem with NOCZIM, the Reserve Bank and the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development officials opposed to the Tamoil deal". No comment was accessed from
NOCZIM, nor did it provide a shred of evidence to support this alarming
allegation. ZBC also insinuated that the shortages were linked to the MDC and
quoted unnamed commentators as having said: "NOCZIM owes Zimbabweans an
explanation over the sinister coincidence of the fuel shortage in the festive
season and claims by the opposition MDC and its affiliates that December was
D-day for mass action including stayaways". To give a veil of credibility to its
reports, ZTV reported that it had failed to get comment from NOCZIM officials
and the energy minister, Amos Midzi who reportedly said he would comment the
following day (13/12). However, no further attempts were made to get comment
from Midzi who was shown on television at the ZANU PF conference in Chinhoyi. In
fact, Midzi refused to give government's explanation in any of the media,
although The Sunday News (15/12) quoted him merely stating that "Government had
increased supplies to indigenous garages", as if that alone would solve the
crisis. The Herald (13/12, 14/12) also laid the blame at NOCZIM's door. The
paper accused the parastatal of "pushing for cash deals with other international
companies so as to profit from illegal foreign currency transactions", an
accusation repeated in The Sunday News' (15/12) editorial comment. NOCZIM
officials were castigated for allegedly wanting to profiteer at the expense of
the nation and were accused of seeking "ad hoc arrangements" that would "condemn
Zimbabwe to permanent fuel shortages". Without providing any evidence to support
these claims, the paper quoted an unnamed source further accusing NOCZIM of
using "the old trick of starving the market" to force a price increase.
However, The Herald (14/12) contradicted itself when it acknowledged that fuel
shortages were a result of a lack of foreign currency. The private media
dismissed the public media's attempt to accuse NOCZIM officials for the fuel
shortage and put the blame squarely on government. For example, The Weekend
Tribune (14/12) noted that NOCZIM officials were "government appointees and
employees" and described the accusations as "the height of stupidity", while The
Standard (15/12) said ZANU PF had transformed itself "into a lying machine"
because of the explanations it offers each time there is a crisis. The Weekend
Tribune also observed that private media reports warning of the collapse of the
Libyan fuel deal and fuel shortages, which authorities dismissed as
"sensationalism", have been vindicated. The paper noted that government had
adopted the same attitude over food security earlier this year, telling the
nation that food "was available to feed the nation" when "there are queues for
maize-meal". However, ZBC (ZTV, 14/12, 8pm & Radio Zimbabwe, 15/12, 1pm),
The Sunday Mail and The Sunday News (15/12) reported President Mugabe as
refusing to accept responsibility for the fuel crisis in his address to the ZANU
PF people's national conference in Chinhoyi. Mugabe was quoted saying he did not
"understand why there are fuel problems in the country" as he had personally
sealed a deal with Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi. Just like the public media, he
accused unnamed officials of "offending the Libyans by going to companies that
need foreign currency". The two papers also unquestioningly reported Mugabe's
attempt to shift attention to multi-national oil companies, whom he accused of
profiteering at the expense of his government. The Daily Mirror (12/12) had
earlier pursued this line of argument. It blamed multi-national companies for
not welcoming government's "liberalisation" of the industry, saying they were
"prepared to watch Zimbabwe run dry without lifting a finger to intervene". The
paper however, did not examine the pros and cons of this government policy. The
analysis was only provided by The Business Tribune (12/12) of the same day. It
pointed out that Mugabe's announcement that private companies should import fuel
"has not had any takers because there is no price mechanism to make the
importation of fuel by private players viable". The paper added: "It is not a
secret that the price of fuel is unsustainable, but perhaps, for political
expediency, the status quo will prevail until Prophet Jeremiah intervenes".
Furthermore, The Business Tribune, The Financial Gazette (12/12) and The
Zimbabwe Independent (13/12) quoted unnamed industry sources attributing the
shortage to Zimbabwe's failure to secure foreign currency to pay off its debts
with Libya's Tamoil and other fuel suppliers such as the Independent Petroleum
Group of Kuwait. In fact, the private media have been consistent in revealing
details of the deal since it was signed in September this year. And to its
credit, The Zimbabwe Independent gave more detail on the Tamoil deal by dwelling
on the mechanics of the agreement, highlighting why it was not working.
Meanwhile, The Financial Gazette noted that the fuel shortage "is just one of a
plethora of shortages of essential commodities affecting Zimbabwe". And indeed
the private media was littered with reports on critical shortages of food and
other commodities such as, Hunger fuels marriages and Food aid will be required
until June next year: report, The Daily News (12/12); Bulawayo runs out of soft
drinks, The Daily News, (14/12); Shortage of maize seed delays farmers, The
Daily Mirror (9/12); Bread scandal at Chikurubi, The Daily Mirror (11/10), and
The Financial Gazette (12/12), Govt begins grabbing maize from white farmers.
Even The Herald (12/10), GMB set to impound undeclared grain from commercial
farmers, confirmed private media reports of grain shortages.
3. ZANU PF conference
If the public media absolved
government in their coverage of the fuel shortage, then they reduced themselves
to ZANU PF megaphones in their reporting of the ruling party's sixth annual
national people's conference held in Chinhoyi during the week. They simply
regurgitated Mugabe's statements and that of other party officials and in some
instances complimented them with editorials that blamed everyone but the
government for the ills afflicting the country, as exemplified by The Sunday
News, MDC made of spineless, violent characters, says President, and its
comment, A conference of ideas. In its comment, the paper rehashed Mugabe's
claim that Zimbabwe's problems were "foreign-sponsored", adding "the only crisis
in the country is the political mischief engineered by Mr. Tony Blair" and
presented government as innocent of the country's economic crisis. Ironically,
The Herald and the Chronicle (12/12) reported Mugabe as rejoicing in Blair's
alleged intervention, saying it was a "blessing in disguise", adding that it had
enabled his government to acquire more land without "taking into account the
feelings of the white farmers". Conversely, The Daily News The, Business Tribune
and The Financial Gazette (12/12), The Zimbabwe Independent, SW Radio Africa
(13/12) and The Standard (15/12) concurred that ZANU PF was largely responsible
for Zimbabwe's crisis and urged the party to focus less on its rhetoric against
the British and try to address the real causes of the problems affecting the
country. They also questioned ZANU PF's ability to solve the country's problems,
which they claimed were created by the ruling party. The Business Tribune
and The Standard eloquently summed up their mood on the conference. They
dismissed it as an empty "talk show" and a "non-event" which had no capacity to
come up with policies that could change the country's fortunes. For example, in
its editorial comment, For how long can Mugabe continue defying fate?, The
Standard said nothing "concrete or tangible" would come out of the conference,
adding "it will be more of the same - rhetoric about British imperialism, Tony
Blair", while the problems in the country continued. Before the conference, ZTV
(9/12, 8pm) quoted ZANU PF secretary for administration Emmerson Mnangagwa
outlining the agenda for the meeting. He said his party would discuss the land
issue, review the state of ZANU PF as a party and the state of the economy. On
the economy, Mnangagwa was quoted as saying the conference would look at the
"entire economic sectors; the mining, industry, the fiscus, monetary policy,
price controls .". SW Radio Africa (12/12) also reported the agenda of the
meeting. In its follow-up, ZBC (11/12, 8pm & 3FM, 12/12, 6am) reported that
"many Zimbabweans are hoping that the ZANU PF conference will come up with
solutions to the country's challenges" and they singled out food shortages,
economic empowerment and the land issue. In the same bulletin, ZBC quoted Mugabe
as having aptly noted that people were asking questions and wanted "to know what
concrete plans and programmes we in the leadership have in place to ensure and
assure their survival during this period of a severe drought". However, the hype
and expectation that ZBC aroused for its audiences was merely met with rhetoric
and the usual vitriol against the West with no clear solutions, as predicted by
the private media. Mugabe stated that Zimbabwe "will recognize. as enemies like
we recognize Britain" countries which wanted to make the bilateral dispute
between Britain and Zimbabwe "their own issue" (The Herald, the Chronicle, and
The Daily News, 14/12). The papers and ZBC (12/12) also quoted him unwittingly
revealing that his land policies were inspired by revenge, saying white
commercial farmers had committed an "unforgivable" sin of supporting the
MDC. This revelation belied earlier government assertions that land
reforms were genuinely undertaken to address colonial imbalances. However, no
media seemed to observe this. Following the public media's coverage of the
conference, it was therefore not surprising that The Sunday Mail (15/12) comment
welcomed the party's conference resolutions and accused civil servants of
failing to implement ZANU PF policies. It gloated over Mugabe's "10-point" plan
on economic revival and claimed that Zimbabwe would overcome its problems
"because of the effect the agricultural programme is expected to have on the
economy", oblivious of the irony that ZANU PF itself had admitted the programme
had been badly administered. While the public media welcomed the resolutions of
the conference the private media maintained that the gathering was a non-event.
Ends
This is the last media update from
the media Monitoring Project until the New Year. Our next update will be done on
January 16th 2003. We wish all our subscribers and readers a stress-free holiday
and a less confrontational
2003.
The MEDIA UPDATE was produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring
Project
Zimbabwe,15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4
703702,
E-mail:
monitors@mweb.co.zw;
monitors@mmpz.org.zwFeel free
to write to MMPZ. We may not able to respond to everything but we
will look
at each message.
For previous MMPZ reports, and more information about the
Project, please
visit our website at
http://www.mmpz.org.zw
Independent (UK)
Basildon Peta: England's naive decision
will bring comfort to Mugabe
20 December 2002
Robert
Mugabe could not have hoped for a better Christmas present. While
the
President of Zimbabwe continues killing opponents and demonstrating
his
disregard for the rule of law, the International Cricket Council
(ICC)
rewards him for his acts of terrorism on his people.
Incredible
as it is, England will now play its World Cup cricket matches in
Zimbabwe
next year.
In Harare, the team will play at a cricket groundthat is a
stone's throw
from Mr Mugabe's plush official residence, Zimbabwe House. A
few kilometres
away in surrounding townships, Mr Mugabe's youth brigades -
the so-called
greenbombers - will most probably be at work. Not only will
they beat
opponents, they will strive to foil any opposition meetings ahead
of two
by-elections expected in the capital at about the same time as the
cricket
World Cup in February 2003.
In rural areas, the greenbombers
may be even busier - raping women and girls
whose parents support the
opposition, and torturing opponents at camps.
It is doubtful Mr Mugabe,
an ardent cricket fan, will attend the England
matches. But while he enjoys
the comforts of Zimbabwe House, I can imagine
what will be going through his
mind. "Another defeat for little Tony Blair,
that gay gangster". But his glee
comes at a cost. Millions of starving
Zimbabweans, whose case might have been
helped by a major international
sports boycott of Zimbabwe, will continue to
live in poverty while the
England cricket players toast their probable
victories.
Many of us who have sought to reverse Zimbabwe's continued
slide into
anarchy and misrule have urged the international community to halt
its
torrent of ineffectual rhetoric and to implement serious steps to rein in
Mr
Mugabe.
But there can be no better illustration that we are
fighting a losing battle
than the ICC's decision to let Zimbabwe proceed as a
host. We might as well
shut our mouths and rest our pens. The ICC's decision
is at best
insensitive, at worst naive.
While popular wisdom states
that sports sanctions alone are inadequate in
reforming repressive regimes,
their moral power is incontestable.
Sports sanctions were effective
against South Africa's apartheid regime.
Their moral power could have been
brought to bear on Mr Mugabe. But not in
the ICC's shameful scheme of
things.
Basildon Peta fled Zimbabwe earlier this
year
MSNBC
Zimbabwe
refuses to discuss Commonwealth suspension
By Cris
Chinaka
HARARE, Dec. 19 - Zimbabwe on Thursday rejected a meeting
with Commonwealth
Secretary-General Don McKinnon to discuss a one-year
suspension from the
group after President Robert Mugabe's controversial
re-election in March.
The 54-nation
Commonwealth, mainly ex-British colonies, stopped short
of full suspension or
imposing sanctions on the southern African
country.
Willard Chiwewe, permanent
secretary in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, said McKinnon's office was
seeking a meeting with the Mugabe
government to discuss the
suspension.
But he said Harare was still
angry over a scathing report by
Commonwealth election observers after the
March poll which said it did not
reflect the will of the people and was held
in a climate of fear.
''We have
communicated it to him (McKinnon) that we will not engage
him or the
Commonwealth on the basis of a flawed report and as long as he
follows that
track of action,'' Chiwewe said.
In a
56-page report released on Thursday and entitled ''The
Commonwealth and the
Zimbabwe Presidential Election 2002,'' the government
again denied that
Mugabe had used violence and vote rigging to extend his
22-year-old hold on
power.
It said the Commonwealth observer
team was selected to meet Britain's
demands and had issued a report at odds
with other observers from South
Africa, Namibia and Nigeria who said the poll
was legitimate.
Mugabe has said the
Commonwealth observers condemned his re-election
at the behest of former
colonial ruler Britain, which he accuses of
sponsoring his main rival Morgan
Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC).
Chiwewe said it was up to the
troika of Commonwealth leaders on
Zimbabwe -- Australia, Nigeria and South
Africa -- to decide how relations
with Zimbabwe would
proceed.
In October, the troika failed
to agree on tougher sanctions against
Mugabe over his re-election and his
government's seizure of white-owned
farms for redistribution to landless
blacks.
Australia, the only troika
member to argue for tougher action,
pressed ahead with its own travel ban on
Mugabe and his inner circle and
froze their assets. The European Union and
United States have imposed
sanctions as well
Independent (UK)
Derek Wyatt: The cricketing world must
boycott Zimbabwe
By staging World Cup games in Zimbabwe, the ICC is
condoning the actions of
the Mugabe regime
20 December 2002
In
an earlier life, as Barrie Fairhall so elegantly put it in an article,
I
"once played rugby for England". From the 1960s through to the 1980s,
few
rugby players refused a trip to South Africa. John Taylor, the Welsh
and
British Lions flanker was one. In cricket, many more refused, including
Ian
Botham and Viv Richards. Ian felt particularly strongly about not
playing
sport in a country where apartheid was so disgustingly practiced.
Sadly,
that did not stop unofficial tours.
Things happened in rugby in
the mid 1980s which I think have lessons for the
forthcoming Cricket World
Cup, in particular the games to be played in
Zimbabwe, which the
International Cricket Council yesterday ruled could go
ahead. One was a case
heard in the Wellington courts one Saturday morning
where two rugby players,
Paddy Finnigan and Phillip Recordon, brought a case
against the New Zealand
Rugby Football Union. Their belief was that the
NZRFU was acting
unconstitutionally in accepting an invitation to tour South
Africa. As the
Maori members of previous tours to South Africa had had to be
given official
"white"status, it was surprising that the NZRFU was so far
behind its own
public opinion, which wanted the tour cancelled.
The judge, when giving
his verdict, slowly veered each way, but eventually
found against the NZRFU.
Pandemonium broke out. As the decision was passed
back from the court to the
10,000 people waiting outside, the earth shook
with joy.
It is
interesting to note how little this case was reported in the UK media
at the
time. Fortuitously, I was friends with veteran anti-apartheid
campaigner,
Archbishop Trevor Huddleston. I asked him whether the
anti-apartheid movement
would consider setting up a sub-committee comprising
leading sports
journalists such as Ron Pickering, and players such as Peter
Roebuck, Mike
Brearley and myself to advise them on how to use the sports
media to
publicise any campaign to prevent sporting contacts with
South
Africa.
From these discussions was borne the Campaign for Fair
Play; a campaign to
stop the British Lions tour to South Africa in 1986. With
the help and
advice of Neil Kinnock, then leader of the Labour Party, as well
as other
Labour MPs who occasionally doubled as QCs, we built our case on the
twin
pillars of publicity and the threat of legal action.
British
rugby's four home unions had rather flaky constitutions, and we
spotted that
one of the aims of the RFU went something like "to further the
cause of the
game". That was enough for us to mount the challenge. In the
end, the tour
was cancelled. To this day, I do not know why. My guess is
that the four
unions, acting either independently or together, had also
asked their QCs for
an opinion. Anyway, we claimed some of the credit, and I
noticed a tightening
of the aims and objectives in the constitution of rugby
unions across the
world.
Ten years ago I asked Nelson Mandela what sustained him in prison,
and he
replied that it was knowing there was an army of people out there
working to
stop trade and sport and cultural events happening in South
Africa. He
recognised the short-term anguish for his people, but he always
saw the
long-term gain. And what a gain.
Today, I am asking why the
International Cricket Council wants to continue
with its plans to stage games
in next year's World Cup in Zimbabwe. They
should move the games elsewhere.
Today, I am launching version 1.1 of the
Campaign for Fair Play, and I am
calling on all sportsmen and women to write
to the ICC, as well as their own
cricket authorities, to ask them not to
play in Zimbabwe.
My reasons
are simple. Robert Mugabe is running the nastiest regime
imaginable. We
should do all we can to bring his discredited government
down. It's not
asking much. A boycott of any sporting or cultural ties would
be a start. A
boycott of Zimbabwean goods would be another. Pressure on
British Airways not
to fly there and pressure on the City to stop its
banking arrangements would
also help.
But first things first. Zimbabwe needs cash. The only way it
can raise it is
by way of its tourist industry and, indirectly, through the
cost each of us
has to pay for a visa as well as the airport tax. A global
campaign to stop
people going there will hurt him most.
The ICC should
join us and change its mind. By staging World Cup games in
Zimbabwe it is
condoning the actions of the regime. Sport doesn't live in
some bubble,
separate from reality. Sport is the most unifying activity in
any culture.
Look at the impact that the football World Cup had, not just on
Japan and
South Korea, but on the billions of people who watched it. It was
truly
wonderful. Closer to home, Manchester touched our hearts with its
sensational
Commonwealth Games. More countries belong to both the IOC and
Fifa than do
the UNO or the IMF. Come on, ICC, don't bury your head in the
sand; offer
leadership to the sporting world.
This movement will be an all-party
campaign. Already Bob Walter
(Conservative, North Dorset), Nick Harvey
(Liberal Democrat, North Devon),
and Steve Ladyman (Labour, Thanet South)
have joined the campaign and
offered their support. You can join too. Please
e-mail me.
wyattd@parliament.uk
The writer
is the Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, and a member of
the Culture,
Media and Sport Select Committee
Natal
Witness
Minister: Zim land policy was
'correct'
Stellenbosch - The African National Congress considers
the ruling party of
Zimbabwe, Zanu-PF, to be a "progressive" sister
organisation that has taken
the correct direction in dealing with the land
issue, Foreign Affairs
Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on
Thursday.
Briefing the media in her capacity as a member of the ANC's
national
executive committee, Dlamini-Zuma said Zanu-PF "may have" made a
mistake in
implementing its programme of land redistribution, but that the
actual
distribution of land is the "correct thing to do".
Dlamini-Zuma
was reporting back to journalists on discussions on
international relations
within the ANC during its national conference.
She said the ANC will
continue to foster relations with progressive
organisations in Africa with a
view to building democracy on the continent.
"For us, yes, Zanu-PF is
progressive for obvious reasons. They are a sister
organisation to the ANC.
We fought colonialism and we fought oppression in
our countries. We liberated
our countries from colonialism and set out to
improve the lives of our people
in our respective countries," Dlamini-Zuma
said in response to
questions.
"Britain abdicated responsibility for the purchasing of land,"
she said,
apparently referring to the Lancaster House agreement struck before
Zimbabwe
achieved independence from Britain in 1980.
Asked whether the
ANC has made plans to cope with the possibility of the
election of new
right-wing governments in neighbouring states, she said the
ANC has already
worked with right-wing governments elsewhere.
She said her government has
worked with all parties that promote peace and
stability.
She noted in
particular, however, that there has been "no need" to invite
the official
opposition in Zimbabwe the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
to the ANC
conference.
Asked if there were plans for President Robert Mugabe to meet
opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai - who believes Mugabe stole the
presidential
election from him - outside of Zimbabwe, she said she had not
heard of any
such plan.
Publish Date: 20 December
2002
ZBC
Government
committed to averting food shortages
20 December
2002
President Robert Mugabe says government is stepping up grain purchases
to
increase food needed by thousands of Zimbabweans facing food
shortages.
In a State of the Nation address to the third sesion of the
fifth parliament
in Harare today, President Mugabe said Zimbabwe is currently
facing
difficulties owing to the devastating drought which has seen stocks of
grain
depleted and many families facing starvation.
He said as at the
sixth of this month, government has used $8.67 billion to
import more than
640 000 tonnes of maize. The maize has since been
distributed to the people
on the basis of numbers and need, while more maize
is still being
sourced.
President Mugabe appealed to the corporate world to complement
government
efforts in making sure that the nation is fed in the face of the
drought
that has hit the Sourthern African region.
He said there is
need for national preparedness in the face of another
drought being forecast
this season.
Cde Mugabe said the issue of price increases and the
availability of basic
commodities has become an issue of national importance.
He called on
government to continue consulting with business and labour to
come up with
solutions.
The President said the question of finding
food for the people also revolves
around the land question and government has
now sucessfully completed the
agrarian reform.
Cde Mugabe said in
recognition of the role agriculture will play in future
food security,
government will continue to increase funds available to the
input
scheme.
He said $1.4 billion will also be made available for irrigation
equipment.
The President said the successful winter maize crop in
Masvingo province
should be taken to other provinces to increase food
security.
He said the nation has paid dearly for engaging in the land
reform, adding
that now that land is in the hands of the people, there is
need to increase
production.
Cde Mugabe said although the country is
facing numerous problems, the
agrarian reforms should be supported by other
schemes to boost small and
medium enterprises and other traditional sectors
such as mining and tourism.
He said $290 million has been disbursed to
various income generating
projects, 61 percent of which are in rural areas
and 51 percent are run by
women.
The President said the mining sector
has been affected by low international
mineral prices but there has been a
notable increase in the application for
exploration in Zimbabwe.
Cde
Mugabe said the tourism sector is improving but there is need for
more
initiatives to complement government's efforts in rejuvenating the
sector.
On rural electrification, he said two bonds worth $7 billion have
been
successfully issued with 1 507 projects now complete under the
expanded
rural electrification programme.
Cde Mugabe said government
has also provided $180 million for housing
development while a further $150
million has been made available for the
servicing of 1 350 stands at growth
points and rural service centres.
The President said AIDS continues to be
the biggest challenge facing the
health sector and urged Zimbabweans to adopt
healthy lifestyles.
He said the brain drain has resulted in the loss of
key health personnel,
especially nurses but government had reintroduced
training is state
certified nurses and other health personnel to normalise
the situation while
other countries such as Cuba have provided medical
personnel.
On the diplomatic front, The President said Britain's
relentless campaign
against Zimbabwe hit a frenzy but was largely
unsuccessful as global
solidarity with Zimbabwe continued to grow.
As
the year comes to an end, President Mugabe urged all Zimbabweans to look
to
the new year with hope and caled on them to participate and offer
solutions
to the challenges the country is facing.
From News24 (SA), 18
December
Now paraffin runs out
Cris
Chinaka
Harare - The 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% 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. 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.
From ZWNEWS, 19 DecemberFinal judgement handed
down
Judge Victor Marrero of the US District Court
of New York has handed down his final judgement in the case brought against Zanu
PF by victims of political violence in the run-up to the June 2000 parliamentary
elections. The plaintiffs in the case - Adella Chiminya Tachiona, Efridah
Pfebve, Elliot Pfebve, Evelyn Masaiti, and Maria Stevens – brought the civil
suit against Robert Mugabe, Stan Mudenge, and other senior leaders of Zanu PF,
as well as against the party itself, under the Alien Tort Claims Act. This Act
allows non-US citizens to seek redress in the US courts for claims originating
outside the US. As with his other decisions in the long-running, and
ground-breaking, case, Judge Marrero’s final judgement is substantial. His
judgement analyses in depth the extent to which the Zimbabwean constitution and
laws were violated by Zanu PF, and found that Zanu PF "systematically hounded
its political opponents through repeated acts of terror and violence" in the
run-up to the 2000 elections. Judge Marrero’s judgement agreed almost entirely
with an earlier recommendation of damages submitted by Magistrate Judge Francis.
The final damages awarded against the defendants total US$71 250 453, comprising
compensatory damages of US$20 250 453, and punitive damages of $51 000 000. This
judgment is now final and enforceable. The rules allow private parties 30 days,
and the Government 60 days, to file any notice of an appeal.