The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.

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The latest refugees from Mugabe's lawless Zimbabwe - hundreds of elephants

Wildlife experts in Zambia fear flight from poachers is damaging crops and
property

Michael Durham in Mosi-o-Tunya National Park, Zambia
Monday December 29, 2003
The Guardian

Hundreds of wild elephants are the latest refugees from violence and
disorder in Robert Mugabe's crisis-torn Zimbabwe. The animals are fleeing
the country by wading across the Zambezi river to escape being shot or
trapped by so-called "war veterans" and illegal hunters.
Game wardens in Zambia say record numbers of elephants are crossing the
Zambezi, which forms the border between the two countries, to avoid being
poached by armed gangs in Zimbabwe.

"Elephants are quite intelligent and can communicate. They know they are
safer on this side of the river," said one game warden.

The exodus is an indication of the devastation facing wildlife in Zimbabwe,
where animals are said to be at risk of indiscriminate slaughter in reserves
and former privately owned game parks.

With the breakdown of law and order, animals of all kinds are reportedly
being poached on a massive scale for ivory and even for food.

At Mosi-o-Tunya National Park, on the Zambian side of the Zambezi river near
Victoria Falls, elephants are crossing the river daily. Wildlife experts say
the movement is much larger than the normal seasonal emigration and is
causing a serious problem for Zambian authorities. There are so many
elephants trapped in a small area that serious damage is being caused to the
environment.

About 200 elephants are thought to be living in the small national park,
close to the city of Livingstone, an area more used to a population of about
50. The elephants are stripping the bush of foliage and knocking down trees,
and there are conflicts between the wild elephants and farmers. Elephants
killed two local villagers in the park this year.

Marianthy Noble, Zambia representative of the UK-based David Shepherd
Wildlife Foundation, said: "Lawlessness in Zimbabwe is definitely a factor
in driving more elephants into Zambia and causing a problem here. If an
elephant is shot, others will leave the area for safety. Elephants can
communicate over up to seven miles - and they never forget.

"Until recently Zimbabwe had an excellent record for wildlife conservation
and some of the best game parks in the world. But with land redistribution,
some of the best game parks have been settled or invaded by people with no
experience of wildlife management at all. Game is being systematically wiped
out by local people shooting and setting snares. It's lawlessness."

According to reports, game hunters from South Africa are taking advantage of
the breakdown in law and order to buy hunting licences in the former
conservancies, allowing them to shoot anything that moves. In other cases,
villagers are reported to be killing wildlife "for fun".

Zimbabweans living on the Zambia side of the border are cagey about
discussing wildlife in Zimbabwe for fear of repercussions for relatives and
business associates still inside the country. However, Andy, a white
Zimbabwean working for a Zambia safari lodge, said: "Everybody knows there
is illegal hunting in Zimbabwe on a massive scale. Wildlife is being wiped
out. That is why the elephants are coming across.

"In some areas, there are so many snares set that animals caught in them are
just being left to rot. National parks are issuing illegal hunting licences
without knowing how much game there is."

Another safari lodge employee near Victoria Falls said: "There are certainly
more elephants arriving. From time to time, we have heard shooting at night
from the Zimbabwe side. There is only one explanation - poaching."

The head of the Zambian Wildlife Authority (Zawa), Hapenga Kabeta, said he
had been assured that Zimbabwean wildlife authorities were implementing
"appropriate wildlife management" and providing good leadership in
conservation issues. He blamed the exodus on drought and overpopulation.

He said reports on the internet that up to 80% of Zimbabwe's wild elephants
had been slaughtered were without foundation. However, he acknowledged there
might be a problem on Zimbabwe's private game parks, where land
redistribution meant new owners "may not have the skills" and wildlife could
be at risk.

Experts acknowledge that the influx of elephants into the tiny Mosi-o-Tunya
park is presenting a problem for Zambian authorities. The park is hemmed in
by houses and farms and smallholders have blamed the elephants for damage to
fruit trees and property.

Simasiku Pumulo, who farms 200 hectares of maize, millet, vegetables and
fruit in the Sinde co-operative on the edge of Livingstone, said wild
elephants regularly visited his land to eat what they could find.

"Sometimes they come at night and break down the trees just across from the
front door. It is terrifying, you cannot go out," he said.

"The elephants destroy the maize and dig up vegetables... If you plant five
acres of maize, the elephants usually eat four of them. To put so much work
into growing food for the elephants is very annoying - I believe they should
be culled."

Park authorities are considering how to solve the problem without resorting
to a cull, which would be unpopular with wildlife experts and tourists.
Under present Zambian law, elephants cannot be shot - although the
government will reintroduce hunting next year.

One possible solution is to open up an elephant "corridor" to encourage the
animals to migrate 124 miles north to a larger national park at Kafue, where
elephants are in short supply.
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Independent (UK)

Tories call for ban on cricket tour of Zimbabwe
By Ben Russell, Political Correspondent
29 December 2003


Jack Straw was under pressure yesterday to veto England's planned cricket
tour of Zimbabwe next autumn amid concern that the trip would endorse the
regime of President Robert Mugabe.

Michael Ancram, the shadow Foreign Secretary, urged Mr Straw to intervene to
prevent a repeat of the "shambles" before England pulled out of a match in
Harare during the Cricket World Cup.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has pledged to take a final decision
about the planned tour at the end of February. Tim Lamb, the ECB chairman,
has already conceded the board will have to balance political and moral as
well as sporting considerations when deciding on the tour.

But any decision to go ahead would meet with fierce opposition because Mr
Mugabe has removed Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth.

Mr Ancram said in his letter to the Foreign Secretary: "Is there not now a
strong case for a more hands-on approach from the British Government in
advising the ECB?

"I understand that the ECB has put off a decision on the tour until as late
as February or March next year. Would it not be better for the Government to
take a lead and put a stop to this tour now rather than risk a repeat of the
shambles surrounding last year's World Cup."

Derek Wyatt, the Labour chairman of the Commons all-party Zimbabwe group,
said: "We are seeing the Commonwealth Secretary General on 6 January and
then we will have an idea of how the land lies. After that we plan to see
Tim Lamb in the New Year. We will tell him not to go.

"It would be mad for them to go. They would be crazy to go. As [former South
African president Nelson] Mandela said, no sport in an abnormal society.
Eight million people are dying. We should not not prop up this regime."
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The Star

      Namibian land threat fuels fears of another Zimbabwe
      December 29, 2003

      By Martin Boer

      Okahandja, Namibia - Impoverished black farmers and labourers in
Namibia have warned they will start invading the country's mostly
white-owned commercial farms next month.

      The Namibian government has been quick to condemn the threats, but
many white farmers fear parallels with the violent land seizures that have
plunged neighbouring Zimbabwe into crisis.

      Those who imagine otherwise are engaging in wishful thinking,
according to one of them, Martin Wucher, whose family has raised cattle in
the abundant countryside of central Namibia for nearly a century.

      "They just hope it doesn't happen," said Wucher
            "Farmworkers, farmers can't live without each other"
      .

      Land is a charged issue in Namibia, where whites make up less than a
tenth of the 1,8-million people and about 4 200 white farmers own half the
agricultural land.

      Namibia was first ruled by Germany, then South Africa.

      Blacks couldn't own land until the mid-1980s, and most of those
working it today still can't afford to buy it.

      Since Namibia became independent in 1990, the government has sought to
restore equality in land ownership through its "willing seller, willing
buyer" programme.

      The state, which gets first refusal on any agricultural property up
for sale, has bought 124 farms covering more than 680 000 hectares and
reallocated them for free to more than 9 000 needy Namibians.

      The target set in 2000 was to redistribute 9-million hectares in five
years.

      But more than 200 000 landless Namibians still await resettlement.
They include blacks driven off their land under South African rule and farm
labourers who never owned land of their own.

      To make matters worse, the new owners of redistributed farms tend to
employ fewer workers, forcing more people off the land, according to the
Legal Assistance Centre, based in Windhoek.

      Alfred Angula, general secretary of the Namibia Farm Workers Union,
claims there are thousands of underused commercial farms not up for sale
that could accommodate its members.


      The union is particularly concerned about workers who live on the
farms where they work. When they lose their jobs, they also lose their
homes.

      Commercial farm owners concede it's a legal grey area.

      "We supply them with houses," said Helmut Fortsch, chairperson of the
Agricultural Employers Association. "But after they have been laid off, how
do they stay on, and under what conditions?"

      Angula said talks with the Namibia Agricultural Union, an umbrella
group representing commercial farmers, had been a "total failure" and that
if there was no deal next month, labourers would start invading farms.

      The government says it won't tolerate illegal occupations. However,
Lands Minister Hifikepunye Pohamba concedes that reform has been too slow.

      "This is because the willing buyer may have money to buy, but if there
is no willing seller, you will still have the money."

      Pohamba said many of the properties offered to the government were not
suitable for farming and had been rejected.

      Wucher, like most Namibian whites, is of German descent. His family
has owned Bergquell farm since 1904.

      His great-uncle purchased the first of what would grow to 9 000ha when
he came to Namibia with the German army. There are now 700 cattle grazing
the land.

      The farm employs six workers who live on the property, with 14
dependants.

      "We can't work without them, and they can't live without us," Wucher
said.

      While many labourers live in shacks, Wucher pays more than double the
minimum wage and has helped his employees to buy homes in nearby Okahandja,
65km from Windhoek.

      One man in his 60s, who has worked for the family since he was a
teenager, now owns two houses in town that he rents out to supplement his
income.

      Wucher argues against chopping up farms, saying that big is better in
the modern agricultural world.

      Simion Nikongo, a welder working on a white-owned farm north-east of
Windhoek, sees it differently.

      "This land is important to us as Namibians. "It would be better if
farms were distributed to many different people." - Sapa-AP.

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The Star

      Zim calls on SA help in Ebola scare
      December 29, 2003

        By Jillian Green

      Zimbabwean health officials have requested help from South African
microbiologists to investigate a suspected Ebola virus case at Victoria
Falls.

      But a virologist at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in
Johannesburg, Dr Lucille Bloemberg, said the institute had yet to receive
any specimens. The institute would be responsible for determining whether
the specimens carried the virus.

      "Although details are very sketchy at present, on the information
available to us, this does not sound like the Ebola virus.

      "If and when the specimens arrive, then we will do the tests. Until
then we should not make a huge issue out of this," Bloem-berg said.

      Media reports quoted Zimbabwean Health Minister David Parirenyatwa as
saying that an Angolan cross-border trader had died of Ebola fever.

      Parirenyatwa said he had asked South African laboratories to help
confirm the suspected virus, and specimens had been sent to be assessed.

      The trader had crossed into Zimbabwe after travelling from Angola
through Namibia and Botswana.

      He was admitted to Victoria Falls government hospital on Christmas Eve
and died the following day, hospital authorities told the state-controlled
Sunday Mail.


      Parirenyatwa stressed that the case was still only suspected, not
confirmed. Efforts had been made to isolate the victim, and hospital staff
had been put on alert for possible subsidiary infections.

      The alert puts extra pressure on Zimbabwe's health system, which is
already on the point of paralysis due to a two-month strike by junior
doctors and nurses, protesting against pay and conditions.

      Understaffed and ill-equipped wards are also flooded with patients
suffering from HIV-related conditions.

      Ebola, spread by contact with body fluids, is mostly fatal and there
is, as yet, no cure.

      Earlier this year, the disease claimed the lives of dozens in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

      Symptoms include high temperature, bleeding and liquefaction of
internal body organs. The disease is believed to originate among apes in
equatorial forests and may be spread to humans by the bushmeat trade. -
Sapa-DPA.
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New Zimbabwe

Poll: Zimbabweans say Mugabe insane

By Mduduzi Mathuthu
29/12/03
A newzimbabwe.com survey of 2605 Zimbabweans from across the world shows 82
percent of them think President Mugabe has lost his senses and an
astonishing 75 percent would back a precision military strike if that would
remove him from power.

In a sign of the growing desperation among Zimbabweans tired with the
recalcitrant leader's 24-year domination of power in the southern African
country, 47 percent of those polled said they would like to see opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai replacing Mugabe.

Tsvangirai is 20 points ahead of former finance minister Simba Makoni who
polled 27 percent of the vote, with Strive Masiyiwa a distant third with 13
percent of the vote. Mugabe's two trusted allies, Speaker of Parliament
Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF chairman John Nkomo, both touted as his
likely successors fared badly with Nkomo coming a poor fourth with five
percent of the vote. Even motor-mouthed Zanu PF die-hard, Shuvai Mahoso came
ahead of Mnangagwa with 3 percent, with the latter scoring a poor two
points.

We asked our readers to vote in the polls supervised by Pollhost.com. In one
poll - conducted through the newzimbabwe.com website - we asked if our
readers thought President Mugabe had lost his senses. An amazing 82 percent
of the respondents thought he had lost his senses big time, 11 percent
thought he was a victim of racist meddling while only five percent trust him
and think he is still sane.

President Mugabe's ratings have gone down since the beginning of the often
violent land grabs in 1997 and dramatic changes in the judiciary system
which have been closely followed by the introduction of draconian
legislation designed to punish his opponents.

Acute food shortages which are blamed on the chaotic land redistribution
programme and poor government planning have left half the country's
population facing starvation and President Mugabe's opponents and food
relief agencies put the blame squarely at his feet.

Newzimbabwe.com stressed that the results of the surveys are not scientific
but are certainly indicative of the prevailing mood among Zimbabweans, most
certainly those who have access to computers and have a basic free access to
information and average intellectual awareness. The website which is
Zimbabwe's only 24-hour rolling news site targets all Zimbabweans and is not
affiliated to a particular group or political party.

While most surveys in recent months have all reflected growing
disenchantment at President Mugabe's administration fed mostly by the
worsening economic situation in the country, his officials will be alarmed
that 76 percent favour a military strike aimed at eliminating him.

Only 19 percent said they would never back a military strike on Mugabe while
three percent were unsure.

The survey results were collected in the same week that American soldiers
smoked out former Iraq tyrant Saddam Hussein from a tiny hole where he was
holed up near his home town of Tikrit, a far cry from his plush palaces
which became the symbol of his power.

The survey was conducted barely a month after a hitherto unknown group
calling itself the Zimbabwe Freedom Movement surfaced in a pre-recorded
tape, vowing to assassinate Mugabe. The group said they were weighing
several options, including downing a passenger plane or helicopter ferrying
the President.

The government said the group was sponsored by Zimbabwe's former colonial
masters Britain, a claim swiftly dismissed by the British government's
Minister for Africa Chris Mullin who said while they had been approached for
funding by a group seeking to carry out similar action, they had been told
the British government would only support peaceful means of political change
in Zimbabwe.

We also wanted to know how our readers would like to see the back of
President Mugabe, if indeed they do. A respectable fraction of 18 percent of
Zimbabweans say they would give him a chance to call for a free and fair
election. But there is still a high figure of 63 percent who don't care how
he exits and would prefer to see his back by any means, while 10 percent say
there is no need for him to leave office.

President Mugabe was last elected in March 2002 in a hotly-disputed ballot
in which he sailed to victory with a 400 000 margin - the smallest since
independence. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has filed papers
at the High Court contesting his victory, alleging rampant voter
intimidation, rigging and stuffed postal votes.

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Business Day

Boot Mugabe out

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There must be something about politicians which gives them some sort of
ability to ignore the real issues of a particular situation and to
concentrate on the irrelevant when it suits them. Frank Chikane's recent
article, Setting record straight on Zimbabwe policy (December 24), is a case
in point.
The current situation in Zimbabwe has long since reached the ultimate in
crisis levels rule of law no longer exists for the government, the judiciary
has been reduced to mere puppets of the state, human rights abuses and
violations are the order of the day and the entire economic structure has
been completely destroyed. Why? Because of the greed and obsession with
power of President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe came to power just over 20 years ago and immediately obliterated
about 20000 of his potential political opponents not whites but black fellow
countrymen the Matabele in the Bulawayo area.

The "land distribution" scheme, which has seen white commercial farmers
evicted by Mugabe's thugs, was nothing more than a well-orchestrated
smokescreen to hide the atrocities that were and still are being perpetrated
against Mugabe's political opponents.

The fact that SA has a neighbour where millions of people face starvation as
a result of the brutal and callous manner in which it is governed seems a
matter of complete indifference to our government.

The real issue is whether or not our government cares about the atrocities
and human rights abuses being perpetrated by Mugabe's government and whether
it is concerned about Zimbabwe's starving millions.

If so, what action is President Thabo Mbeki going to take? Is he going to
talk softly and politely to Mugabe and ask him to please desist from such
unsavoury practices?

The citizens of Zimbabwe are on their own. If they want to get their country
back from the current level of insanity, they are going to have to get rid
of Mugabe. Certainly they can forget about any help from SA.

Rob Davis

Durban
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Business Day

Time is running out for SA's quiet' diplomacy

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Growing pressure on Pretoria to show how it can mediate end to Zimbabwe's
crisis
SOUTH African churches and trade unions have recently made clear their
intense displeasure over SA's policy of quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe.
Church leaders have gone so far as to say the policy raises questions about
government's morality.

The Group of Eight (G-8) industrial countries could also soon show
dissatisfaction over the policy, after having given it some time, and many
African and developing nations are not prepared to show solidarity on the
issue any more.

In the next few weeks quiet diplomacy could be given its last chance by the
international community, now that Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu (PF) has dropped
preconditions for talks with the main opposition party, the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).

However, if there is no distinct progress at the talks, all bets will be off
and the pressure will be on Pretoria to step in and broker a deal.

SA's government could find itself severely at odds with the church and its
trade union allies on a vital policy in an election year if there is not
success in brokering a deal, or no shift to a tougher stance on Zimbabwe.
And the postapartheid stock of international goodwill and diplomatic
credibility could be at stake next year if there are attempts to buy time
for quiet diplomacy.

Time is no longer on President Thabo Mbeki's side. Buying time in Zimbabwe
in the hope of a settlement makes the future there look increasingly messy.
There is talk of civil uprising, coups d'état, and warlordism. The country
faces long-term economic damage, and famine looms.

Although time is not on his side, Mbeki has reduced diplomatic tools at his
disposal to bring about a settlement. Having stridently protested against
Zimbabwe's continued exclusion from the Commonwealth, and having stood next
to President Robert Mugabe at Harare airport earlier this month, Mbeki
cannot easily abandon quiet diplomacy for graduated pressure.

That would involve rhetoric and forthright condemnations of human rights
abuses and the stolen election, followed by "smart sanctions" to restrict
the travel and business of the ruling Zanu (PF) elite.

As Mugabe is likely to understand that SA's policy cannot be easily
abandoned, threats to bring in graduated pressure could lack credibility. If
Mugabe is convinced it is now or never for a deal that entails his
resignation and ultimately a free and fair election, the answer has to be
yes, the policy is working.

But quiet diplomacy has always widened Mugabe's options to say no to talks,
no to early retirement, and no to an early election. He may want to buy time
with talks and try to go for the end of his term in 2008, while ensuring his
successor can lead the party and win an election.

What can be done within the confines of quiet diplomacy is limited. But
Mugabe can be warned that SA is paying a high cost for its policy. And SA
can also work hard to re-establish its honest broker position with the MDC.

It is very probably on the basis that plans would be in place for a
successor to Mugabe by the time of the Zanu (PF) party conference earlier
this month, that the G-8 gave SA time for its policy to work. But the
conference has come and gone with no sign of an apparent successor.

In mid-June, at the World Econo- mic Forum's southern African summit in
Durban, Mbeki kindled hope there would be a settlement in Zimbabwe within a
year. And on his visit to SA in July, US President George Bush said he
accepted SA was the "point man" on Zimbabwe.

Judging from an article by US Secretary of State Colin Powell in the New
York Times a few days ahead of the visit, the inclination of the US
administration was to push SA far harder on Zimbabwe. That the US and G-8
have not recently issued public criticism over SA's stance is an indication
they accept, for now, that SA is doing its best. But what if by next June
there is no progress?

Should this be the case it is hard to list or quantify what may be lost for
SA, but overall good relations with the G-8 could be in jeopardy.

A great deal stems from SA's overall good relations internationally, partly
predicated on SA's role as a stabilising force in the region. SA has an easy
opening in G-8 capitals, which has allowed it to gain valuable endorsements
of its continental recovery plan, the New Partnership for Africa's
Development.

Now a diminishing number of African and developing countries openly favour
SA's policy of quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe, and are unwilling to waste
diplomatic capital by speaking out in its favour.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, Commonwealth heads of government
chairman, rejected Mo zambican President Joacquim Chis- sano's accusation
that the decision to continue Zimbabwe's suspension was "undemocratic".

And apart from the statement from Southern African Development Community
members challenging the decision, there was silence from developing
countries on the issue.

However, it is domestic sources of pressure on the policy from the church,
the trade unions, and potentially the Communist Party that government may
find most troubling. Former Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu and
Johannesburg church leaders have issued a stinging rebuke to government.

Trade union federation Cosatu is also outraged, saying it stands ready to
blockade the SA-Zimbabwe border if asked to do so by unions in Zimbabwe.
While the African National Congress is certain to win the election,
disagreement within the tripartite alliance could keep voters away from the
polls.

SA's quiet diplomacy policy on Zimbabwe is under more domestic and
international pressure than ever before and the pressure has only just begun
in earnest.

Katzenellenbogen is international affairs editor.
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The Herald

Some areas go without electricity

Herald Reporter
SOME families in the Sentosa suburb of Harare have gone for the past two
days without electricity while in parts of Ruwa, ZimRe Park and Gutu people
had a dark Christmas after experiencing similar problems.

Some residents said the urgency in solving consumer’s problems was lacking
at the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority offices throughout the country
and officials were taking advantage of consumers’ patience.

Mr Valani Bhila told The Herald yesterday that despite reporting the case to
Zesa they were only given verbal assurances that the problem would be
rectified.

"We told them of our problem but they did not come, we can’t be happy with
our families when the situation is like this," said Mr Bhila.

He said meat in his fridges worth about $600 000 was rotting as a result of
the power failure.

"It is a shame that we have to search for firewood to do our cooking
although we live in Harare," said a distraught Mr Bhilla.

An elderly couple that was also affected said Zesa was letting them down.

The couple said it has become common for Zesa to ignore calls for
electricity faults particularly during the holidays.

Residents of Ruwa and some parts of ZimRe Park were also thrown into
darkness after thieves stole electricity cables.

"We went for three days without electricity and when the fun was over there
was the power," said a Ruwa resident.

In Gutu-Mpandawana and outlying areas consumers spent the Christmas without
power while Zesa vehicles were seen driving up and down almost aimlessly.

"There has been no thunderstorm, there have been no rains and it is
particularly bad for people to fail to get power on a day like this," said
one businessman.

Zesa has of late been failing to cope with the faults which they have blamed
on ageing installations. Electricity pylons fell in Mtoko a few days before
Christmas and the growth point of 17 000 people and other areas like
Nyamapanda, Kotwa and others along the highway leading to Malawi through
Mozambique were plunged into darkness.

Efforts to get comment from Zesa were fruitless.
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The Herald

Police, VID under fire

By Rex Mphisa and Freeman Razemba
ZIMBABWEANS have blamed the police, transport operators and the Vehicle
Inspection Department (VID) for the rise in carnage on the country’s roads.

This comes amid reports that the holiday death toll has risen to 51.

Most Zimbabweans felt police should come down hard on potential offenders
and move away from their relaxed approach.

Vehicle examiners needed to be more strict without any leniency since their
relaxation cost the country scores of lives.

Transport operators were blamed for releasing defective vehicles, putting
the lives of their passengers at risk.

Many people interviewed by The Herald said if police blamed most of the
accidents to drunken driving they (police) were shooting themselves in the
foot because they should by now have kept that under check.

Police yesterday reported another four deaths, bringing to 51 the number of
people killed so far this festive season.

Some 381 others were injured in 424 accidents reported countrywide between
December 20 and yesterday.

Police spokesman Inspector Andrew Phiri said four people were killed on
Saturday afternoon and yesterday morning.Of the four, two were killed in
Masvingo, one in Harare and one in Mashonaland West.

"We are not talking about something new here, it’s the same problem year-in
year-out and what are we saying is, it’s not enough to talk about the cause
and not arrest it?" said one motorist whose car was hit by a drunken driver.

He could not travel for Christmas.

He said during most holidays, police blame accidents on negligence and
drunken driving but had done nothing to arrest the situation.

"There are no breathalysers and very few speed traps on the roads, one
holiday I drove from Harare to Chiredzi and I did not see a single highway
patrol car on the road," he said.

Another motorist said police at roadblocks concentrated on such things like
seat-belts, rear view mirrors, drivers’ licences but never took any drivers
for alcohol tests. They should do this randomly.

Police highway patrol vehicles were at one time equipped with breathalysers
but of late no motorists were summoned to blow the machine.

Some motorists said police concentrated mostly on better-looking foreign
registered vehicles while some locally registered visibly unroadworthy
vehicles were waved on.

Police also had a tendency of not quizzing people driving latest model cars
whom they always addressed as "chefs" and allowed them to pass. They forget
that these are the people who cause most accidents as they are the
drunkards.

One motorist said our roads are always full of unroadworthy motor vehicles.
But the high number of accidents is only recorded during holidays. He said
police must be missing something. It is not the motor vehicle which is the
causer of the accidents but the driver, he said. The state of the drivers
must be checked at every police roadblock. They should not concentrate on
the motor vehicle.

In Chegutu a Herald reporter observed a fully-loaded bus going through a
roadblock despite having a single wheel on one side of its rear axle.

Vehicle examiners were not spared by motorists who accused them of selling
licences and unleashing bad drivers onto the roads.

VID officers, some of whom have been arrested for selling licences, were
also blamed for failing to stamp their authority by being strict on car
examinations.

"If the VID was strict we would not have these cars we see on the roads that
are accidents waiting to happen," said Mr Charge Tsiwo.

Some drivers accused police of accepting bribes and letting loose some
culprits that had the potential of causing accidents.

While Zimbabwe has far very few vehicles as compared to developed countries
in Europe the country’s accident rate was cause for concern.

Police blame most of the accidents to speeding, drunken driving, negligence,
overtaking errors and other human error among others.

Some of the haulage truck drivers are also in the habit of putting objects
such as small tree branches, in the event of a breakdown, at the back of
their vehicles instead of using a red breakdown triangle.

This has however resulted in many unaware motorists, ramming onto the back
of these trucks.

Inspector Phiri said it was an offence for any motorist especially haulage
truck drivers to travel without breakdown triangles.

"Our police officers manning roadblocks should also demand to see these
breakdown triangles from any motorist," he said.

He said those who put the objects in the event of a breakdown should do so
at a safer distance.

"Motorists should then exercise caution when they find these objects," said
Insp Phiri.

But some motorists said police should never allow objects other than
breakdown triangles to be used. Every motorist stopped at a road block
should be asked to produce a breakdwon triangle, they said. It is also the
duty of the police that all motor vehicles have reflectors. Those without
breakdown triangles or reflectors on their motor vehicles should be fined
there and then, they said.

Heavy truck drivers were also accused of bad road behaviour at night during
which they failed to dip their lights or respect drivers of smaller vehicles
that were vulnerable in the event of being involved in accidents with larger
trucks.

Police have been assuring the nation that they are out in full force during
this festive period, to deal ruthlessly with any motorists caught on the
wrong side of the law and those with vehicles that are unroadworthy.

Police have since issued 8 662 tickets to motorists for various offences and
generated more than $251 million.

The highest number of deaths has been recorded in Mashonaland West where 16
people were killed during this period while Masvingo comes second where nine
people were killed. The least is Manicaland, which had one person killed.

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The Herald

We can do without West’s aid: Muchena

Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWE can develop and prosper without the aid of Western count- ries — if
people are united and share a common vision, the Minister of State for
Science and Technology, Dr Olivia Muchena, has said.

Dr Muchena praised Malaysia for raising itself from the economic doldrums
when its relationship with the West had hit its lowest ebb.

"It is totally incredible, but it is possible if people are united with a
common vision," Dr Muchena said on Tuesday at a function for the Information
Kiosk operators drawn from eight districts countrywide held by DC Africa
Interne in Harare.

The operators are graduates of the National Youth Training Service
programme.

They are part of a group of 60 youths who were trained to operate Internet
business by DC Africa Internet to empower the youths of Zimbabwe with
technology that would lead to future development in the impending world of
e-commerce and e-communications.

Dr Muchena urged the youths to emulate Malaysia and inspire themselves to
achieve the best in the new technology to improve the nation.

She also commended the Malaysian-based president of the World Assembly of
Youth and chairman of DC Africa Internet, Mr Donald Charumbira, for using
his strategic position to empower and facilitate young people of Zimbabwe to
transform the country into a prosperous nation.

Mr Charumbira said the project had been a success story as DC Africa
Internet had managed to set up InfoKiosks in eight districts.

The kiosks are in Harare, Bindura, Mutare, Marondera, Masvingo, Gokwe,
Chinhoyi, Buhera and Tsholotsho.Mr Charumbira said DC Africa Internet was
expected to cover all the 57 districts in the country by April next year.

"Presently, more than 150 computers have been imported for the programme,"
he said.

Mr Charumbira said in the long run, there would be need for more equipment
and a larger investment into satellite technologies that would provide
instant high-speed connectivity to even the most remote areas of Zimbabwe.

Malaysian deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Muhammad Tajul Ahmad, Mashonaland
East Governor Cde David Karimanzira attended the function
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The Herald

Illegal immigrants go underground

Herald Reporter
ILLEGAL immigrants who had become notorious in Harare’s Avenues area have
gone underground following a swoop by the police to flush out criminals.

Illegal dealing in foreign currency and precious metals, prostitution and
other shady deals had become rife in the Avenues and most people blamed
these on the sudden influx of foreigners from different parts of Africa.

Their arrival had also irked locals who found themselves pushed out of the
heart of Harare by the foreigners who can afford paying rent in foreign
currency now preferred by most property owners.

The immigrants, mostly from the Great Lakes region, West Africa and some
Sadc countries had flooded the Avenues area where they rented flats in
foreign currency.

Locals renting some flats in the area who paid their rentals in the local
currency were being evicted in favour of the foreigners who paid in foreign
currency, particularly in United States dollars.

"The police rounded up most foreign nationals and things are getting back to
normal, we were living in a contradiction with landlords also demanding
rentals in forex from us the locals," said bank teller Mr Edward Moyo who
has lived in the Avenues for the past three years.

Mr Moyo said criminal activities had become rampant in the Avenues.

"Vices like prostitution were also being promoted by the foreigners because
they had ready cash," he said.

Most of the foreigners come to Zimbabwe as refugees but escape from holding
camps with some opening up small businesses in the city.

There are an estimated 10 000 refugees in the country with about 1 000 at
the Waterfalls Transit Centre in Harare awaiting vetting.

Most of the foreigners lived at flats along Samora Machel where they were
also involved in illegal gold buying, changing counterfeit foreign currency
on the parallel market and drug dealing.

The foreign nationals have also been alleged to be duping locals to buy
counterfeit money of both foreign and local currency.

Counterfeit bearer cheques have of late been intercepted in pubs and hotels
in the capital city and it was alleged foreign nationals manufactured them.

A Harare motorist recently lost close to $750 000 after buying petrol mixed
with water from some West African nationals at a hotel in the Avenues area.

Prostitution has also gone out of hand at the hotel where the peddlers rent
rooms for months to entertain locals and mostly foreigners who were reported
to be paying as much as US$50 for a night with the prostitutes.

However, the foreign currency has come at a price for some of the
prostitutes who find themselves having to sleep with a group of foreigners
after being drugged and risking contracting the HIV virus that leads to the
incurable Aids disease.

"It is better that the police continue to clean this area out of the
foreigners because they are sometimes up to no good," said a 24-year-old
prostitute who refused to be identified.

She said her colleague who used to rent a room at the hotel recently went
blind after her client suspected to be of West African origin threw some
unknown acid on her face after they argued about what currency he should
have used to pay her.

"The woman was drugged and had acid thrown into her face following a heated
argument over money. The woman had demanded to be paid a fee for services
rendered in foreign currency.

Panic gripped the capital, particularly the Avenues area a few weeks ago
following the discovery of female human body parts.
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