The Zimbabwe Situation

IOL

December 25 2007 at 04:18PM

By Nelson Banya

Harare - Zimbabwean banks on Tuesday failed to heed pleas to remain
open from shoppers desperate for cash, dampening already bleak Christmas
festivities in the economically devastated nation.

Banks, which had been ordered to extend their hours in the weeks
leading up to Christmas as a result of a run on banknotes, were closed on
Christmas Day contrary to earlier announcements. That left scores of
customers empty-handed.

Long, winding queues could be seen at the few automated cash machines
dispensing banknotes in central Harare.

"I was hoping to find a shorter queue since it's Christmas, but it
seems everyone has come out," said Tawanda Moyo, a teacher who was trying to
get money for his traditional holiday trip from the capital to a rural part
of the country.

"After a year in which the struggle to survive got harder, one
expected to rest through Christmas, not to be queueing for hours," Moyo
added.

The southern African nation is grappling with a deep economic crisis,
marked by inflation of more than 8 000 percent, high unemployment and
poverty, and chronic shortages of food, fuel, foreign exchange and, now
banknotes.

Zimbabwe's central bank has responded to the cash crunch by issuing
high-value notes in ZIM$750 000 (about $6 or R42 at the official exchange
rate but just $0.12 on the black market), ZIM$500 000 and ZIM$250 000
denominations.

State media reported on Monday that the central bank had injected an
additional ZIM$20-trillion ($667-million at the official exchange rate and
about $10-million on the black market) into circulation.

Before introducing the new notes, central bank Governor Gideon Gono
said Zimbabwe had ZIM$$67-trillion in circulation, although only
ZIM$2-trillion was in the formal economy.

The black market has flourished in step with the deepening economic
crisis, which many critics blame on mismanagement by President Robert
Mugabe's government.

Mugabe, 83 and in power since independence from Britain in 1980,
blames the economic problems on sabotage by Western powers who he says are
opposed to his drive to seize and redistribute thousands of white-owned
farms.

Zimbabwe's Divided Opposition Discusses Coalition For 2008 Elections

VOA

By Ntungamili Nkomo
Washington DC
25 December 2007

Officials of both factions of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic
Change said the rival formations will pursue discussions early next year as
to a coalition to increase MDC chances of success in national elections
called for March.

But they dismissed reports that the opposition will attempt to reunite the
MDC, which divided in late 2005, saying the two formations will remain
separate entities.

Senior official Samuel Sipepa Nkomo of the MDC grouping led by Morgan
Tsvangirai explained the coalition approach to reporter Ntungamili Nkomo.

Deputy spokesman Abednico Bhebhe of the Arthur Mutambara formation confirmed
his party backs the coalition strategy which will be refined in the coming
weeks.

Zimbabwe Emergency Rooms Close As Resident Doctors Strike Over Wages

VOA

By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
24 December 2007

Casualty departments at the four main Zimbabwean government hospitals in
Harare and the second city of Bulawayo have closed due to a strike by 350
junior residents, while sources said the government has not yet responded to
the walkout.

Outpatient departments at Bulawayo's Mpilo and United Bulawayo hospitals
were reported to have closed last week after junior doctors refused to work
citing inadequate accommodation facilities and poor salaries.

Some nurses in the public health system were also reported to be staying
away from work citing a lack of money for transport. The nurses submitted a
strike notice to the government on December 5, but it was unclear if a full
strike was in progress.

Hospital Doctors Association President Amon Siveregi told reporter Carole
Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that doctors who submitted a
notice of intention to strike on Dec. 1 have set up a team to handle
emergencies.

But the rest of the residents from Harare Hospital and Parirenyatwa Hospital
in the capital and Mpilo Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals in Bulawayo
have walked out protesting a cut in monthly pay from Z$55 million to Z$27
million, sources said.

A two-litre Mazoe Orange Crush drink costs $9 million at OK Supermarket

Gov't Avails Cheap Fuel

The Herald (Harare) Published by the government of Zimbabwe

25 December 2007
Posted to the web 25 December 2007

Harare

GOVERNMENT has provided some filling stations in and around Harare with
cheap fuel for the benefit of motorists wishing to travel during the festive
season.

The fuel is being sold for $78 500 per litre and motorists are allowed a
maximum of 30 litres each.

The Herald yesterday visited Engen Service Station in Mbare where some
motorists were already accessing the fuel.

There was a long winding queue that was being controlled by the police.

A manager at the service station, Mrs Tichafara Dzuda, said they received
the fuel from Noczim on Sunday.

"Yesterday (Sunday) we received 30 000 litres of petrol from the Government
to help people during the festive season. We are selling it for $78 500 per
litre and each vehicle can only access 30 litres. No containers are
allowed," she said.

Mrs Dzuda said they will be selling only 10 000 litres a day in line with a
Government directive.

"We are also expecting a consignment of about 30 000 litres of diesel
anytime soon, which will also be sold to motorists and bus companies," said
Mrs Dzuda.

Details of other service stations dispensing the same fuel facility could
not be immediately established, as efforts to contact Noczim officials were
fruitless.

Meanwhile, cash shortages persisted yesterday, dampening the Christmas mood
for most people in Harare as they spent hours queueing in banking halls
while those who managed to get some cash were battling to get transport to
their rural homes at Mbare Musika.

Long winding queues were the order of the day at banks in central Harare and
suburban shopping centres.

This was despite the fact that the Reserve Bank had injected $20 trillion
into the market. But some economists said this was too low given the high
inflation and escalating prices.

Some people were at their banks as early as 3am but had not got any cash by
midday.

People urged the central bank to pump more money into the market to enable
them to buy groceries for the festive season.

Some said they failed to travel to their respective rural homes because of
the cash shortages while others urged the RBZ to review the maximum daily
cash withdrawals from the current $50 million to $100 million.

"I came here yesterday (Sunday) and withdrew $50 million. I bought a few
items that included clothes for my child and the money is finished. I am
here again today trying to make another withdrawal," said Mr Constantine
Gambe, who was in the queue at the Barclays Bank First Street branch.

Retailers increased prices soon after the introduction of the $500 000 and
$750 000 denominations.

A two-litre Mazoe Orange Crush drink, which was going for about $4 million
last week, now costs $9 million at OK Supermarket along First Street.

A kilogramme of pork in the same shop costs nearly $9 million.

"The maximum cash withdrawal is now very insignificant. We need at least
$100 million to buy a few groceries for the Christmas holiday. We also need
to prepare for other things like school fees and uniforms," said Mrs Mildred
Chizanga, interviewed at Stanbic Bank, Samora Machel Avenue branch.

She said she withdrew $49,5 million on Saturday but it ran out at the
weekend, forcing her to join the queue again yesterday.

"I only managed to buy some chickens and a few groceries," added Mrs
Chizanga.

Some people expressed disgruntlement at the behaviour of some building
societies, notably Beverley and CABS branches, where civil servants were
allegedly being given priority over other customers.

Cash deposits remained low. A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority official
interviewed at one of the banks in the city confirmed cash deposits were not
forthcoming.

"No cash deposits have been made so far. The few who have done so have been
depositing $10 000 bearer cheques and not the $200 000 notes," the official
said.

Across town, prospective travellers waited patiently for buses at Mbare
Musika bus terminus.

Travellers to some destinations had been cleared by late afternoon, after
buses plying their routes had managed to get diesel.

Private cars and lorries came to the rescue of people travelling to Masvingo
and other destinations along the way.

Currency Transactions Of Zimbabwe NGOs Under Central Bank Scrutiny

VOA

By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
25 December 2007

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which has declared war on the "cash barons" it
says are to blame acute shortages of bank notes, is also looking into the
foreign exchange dealings of nongovernmental organizations, NGO sources said
Tuesday.

Sources at a number of non-governmental organizations said the central bank
has given them instructions on how to report their hard currency dealings.

Spokesman Fambai Ngirande of the National Association of Non-Governmental
Organizations told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that the central bank has long suspected that NGOs deal on the parallel
currency market.

Zimbabwe children fend for themselves

Monday, December 24, 2007

With Zimbabwe's inflation out of control and about 80% of its workforce unemployed, thousands of its citizens are crossing into South Africa illegally to find work. Many of them are children who make that journey by themselves. Gretchen Wilson reports.

AMY SCOTT: We've been following the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy. Right now Zimbabweans are lining up at banks, desperate to exchange their currency before it becomes worthless on December 31st. Some might argue that's already happened. The inflation rate is an estimated 40,000 percent, though Zimbabwe says it can't give an official figure. There aren't enough goods left in the shops to make price comparisons. About 80 percent of the workforce is unemployed. Thousands of Zimbabweans cross into South Africa illegally to find work. And as Gretchen Wilson reports from the South African border, many children make that journey by themselves.

GRETCHEN WILSON: The sun's just coming up over this small town. Semi-trucks drive through Main Street, coming from Zimbabwe's border. And in the gray light, you can see people on street corners -- leaning over garbage cans. They're picking through the trash.

These are undocumented migrants from Zimbabwe, and they're as skittish as stray cats. As they stand up, you can see they're actually -- children. One is a boy I'll call Zack, whose shorts and filthy red T-shirt hang on his frame. He's 13.

ZACK: Oh, we're looking money for food to eat. If we not get a job. I'm looking for job, and money for school. I don't have parents. My parents, they were dead.

In Zimbabwe, poverty, hunger and AIDS have broken down family economies. Children with no other options come to South Africa on their own -- in search of day labor and handouts. In Zack's case, he could no longer afford school fees. So for three weeks he walked from his hometown in Zimbabwe, through the bush, and across the shallow Limpopo River into South Africa. He wasn't alone.

ZACK: I come with my friends.

WILSON: How old are they?

ZACK: Others, they are 9 years, 13, 14.

Every morning, Zack roams parking lots here. He quietly asks strangers if he can weed and water their gardens.

WILSON: How do you ask people for a job?

ZACK: Well, you say: I'm looking for job. Then if he say I don't have, I beg him money for food.

An estimated 1,500 children like Zack cross this border every year. Sarah Crowe is with UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund. She says children come for the same reason adults do -- food and money.

SARAH CROWE: South Africa is the powerhouse of Africa. And with economic degradation in countries around the region -- such as Zimbabwe -- South Africa is a very attractive place to come.

But once they're here, they're extremely vulnerable. They dodge border officials, criminal gangs, child predators and traffickers. Girls are particularly vulnerable to rape and forced prostitution. South African officials routinely deport Zimbabwean adults - but authorities lack the capacity to deal with most of the children. So they're left to roam.

At noon, a 17-year-old I'll call Michael walks from a row of shacks and into town. His parents asked him to leave Zimbabwe a few months ago to become a breadwinner.

MICHAEL: When I come here to South Africa, I was thinking I am going to find some jobs and work for my family -- for my father. But I didn't find work.

He still hopes to become a farm worker here, making $140 a month picking oranges. Meanwhile, he worries for his family.

MICHAEL: Because I don't know what they're doing now. I don't know whether they've got food, I don't know!

The sun is going down over South Africa's main border crossing into Zimbabwe. People here are hustling -- selling food and gas to those about to cross the border. Kids are here too -- hunting for bottles. Children collect plastic bottles from the trash that lines the road. Most adults won't get across the border post without proper documentation. But when kids ask to cross, officials often look the other way.

WILSON: How do you get across the border?

BOY 1: In the bridge.

BOY 2: We say to soldier, I want to go to pick bottle.

WILSON: And the soldier lets you come across?

BOY 2: Yes.

These are the youngest migrants -- 8 and 9 years old. They're crossing international borders and exposing themselves to high risk, just to collect plastic bottles they'll sell for a penny a piece in Zimbabwe.

At the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa, I'm Gretchen Wilson for Marketplace.

Africa must help save Zimbabwe

Daily Nation, Kenya

LETTERS

Publication Date: 12/25/2007 Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is a holder
of numerous academic degrees and has earned international recognition.

For a long time, he was a respected elder and statesman and was
credited for fighting hard to free the southern African country from the
yoke of British colonialism.

His ruling party, Zanu-PF, took over leadership in 1980 from the
British.

President Mugabe became an adorable leader, who many African leaders
even consulted on several issues.

However, President Mugabe changed and became the new face of an
African dictator.

Gradually, he has metamorphosed into a monster who will not even mind
the verdict of the public opinion locally and internationally.

He has presided over plunder of public coffers and his destructive
economic management has made inflation hit an all time high in Zimbabwe.

President Mugabe’s word is law and you disobey it at your own peril.

His opponents have been treated as second-class citizens and often,
their demonstrations are met with wanton misuse of force, resulting in
deaths.

But the question that begs for an answer is: what are the peer African
leaders doing to stop the dictatorship?

South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu criticised his
president Thabo Mbeki for his policy of “quiet diplomacy” towards Mugabe.

Zimbabwe has joined the league of failed states due to the
“see-no-evil” attitude of the fellow African heads of state.

Kenya is known for always being involved in peace missions in war
ravaged nations. Together with the other African nations of goodwill, we
must state our stand and condemn this dictatorship in the strongest terms
possible.

Mugabe must be stopped from ruining the lives of innocent people. He
has even threatened the foreign investors with seizure of their businesses
if they don’t toe the line.

When Bob Marley, the legendary reggae guru, performed during the
Independence Day in Zimbabwe, he preached about Africa unity. We must strive
to ensure the immortal words remain.

MACHARIA WA KIHURO,
Nairobi.

From Bulawayo Morning Mirror

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always
won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but
in the end they always fall, always.

- Mahatma Gandhi -