The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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Farm Workers, Urban Vulnerable Need to Be Assisted, Report


UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

January 31, 2003
Posted to the web January 31, 2003

Johannesburg

NGOs and humanitarian actors have highlighted the need to include displaced
farm workers in emergency relief programmes in Zimbabwe. They also pointed
out the need to include urban areas in nutrition assessments - as urbanites
struggle to cope amid food shortages and a failing economy.

Aid agencies estimate that 7.2 million Zimbabweans are in need of food aid
to survive, due to food shortages brought on mainly by drought and the
government's fast-track land reform programme.

In its latest Humanitarian Situation Report, the UN Relief and Recovery Unit
(RRU) based in the capital Harare, said that the role of NGOs in responding
to the current humanitarian crisis was also highlighted during UN Special
Envoy James T. Morris' mission to the country (23-25 January).

Morris informed a donors meeting that around one million people in urban
areas are in dire need of food and that "more humanitarian support is
required by the former commercial farm workers".

The report said NGO registration had been improved, allowing for World Food
Programme (WFP) implementing partners to increase from four to 12. However,
more partners were still needed.

The addition of three Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) NGOs (Spain, Holland
and Belgium), which were expected to be registered soon, would assist with
non-food humanitarian responses to the crisis.

The report said "some NGOs noted that despite the vulnerability assessments,
farm workers have not been included in the main assistance programming".

"Indications are that farm workers are more vulnerable than the communal
population, which is now receiving WFP assistance. There was a suggestion
that vulnerability assessments need to cover the commercial farming areas
(for both the ex-farm workers and the newly resettled) and identify the most
affected [and] in need of humanitarian food assistance," the RRU noted.

The Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe (FCTZ) reported that they have
completed a national survey on farm workers, the results of which would be
shared shortly. The FCTZ indicated that it was providing general feeding to
100,000 beneficiaries in four provinces.

"NGOs stressed the need for information, particularly on nutritional levels.
More information on urban vulnerability and nutrition should be collected.
There are increased HIV/AIDS related deaths that have been observed
particularly in the farm worker households. It was suggested that there is
need to inter-relate nutrition and HIV/AIDS in programme design and
implementation," the RRU added.

During his visit, Morris was briefed by the UN country team (UNCT) on the
level of vulnerability to food insecurity, which was "increasing at an
astonishing rate", in urban areas of Zimbabwe.

"Market distortions, growing unemployment, a thriving parallel market for
basic commodities and the skyrocketing inflation rate have aggravated [the]
vulnerability of urban populations. As coping strategies, vulnerable groups
have become highly mobile moving from high-density housing to backyard
shacks and peri-urban settlements," the UNCT told Morris.

The RRU reported that in response, WFP had initiated a round table
discussion with representatives of government, Harare City Council, donors
and stakeholders. The intention being to prioritise the most vulnerable
groups in Harare.

A pilot intervention project is to begin in five high-density areas in
Harare.
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Sydney Morning Herald

Foreign governments funding protesters, Zimbabwe claims
February 1 2003

Cape Town: Zimbabwe has reportedly accused foreign governments of funding
groups aiming to disrupt World Cup matches. The Cape Times reported that
Zimbabwe's consul general, Godfrey Dzvario, told South Africa's foreign
affairs committee this week that opposition to the fixtures was "purely a
political onslaught" by the British and Australian governments.

Zimbabwe is scheduled to host six World Cup games, including matches
involving England and Australia. The British and Australian governments have
urged that matches to be moved from Zimbabwe because of safety and political
issues. New Zealand has asked that its team's match in Kenya be transferred.

"They have not just been voicing their opinion, they have taken steps," the
paper quoted Dzvario as saying. "We are aware that a lot of money, £39,000
[$110,000] for example, was given to organisations to fund their activities
in disrupting the cricket matches."

Opposition groups are planning pro-democracy demonstrations during the World
Cup and Zimbabwe police accused them of trying to force a change of venue
for the six games.

England players have appealed for the games to be moved because of safety
fears and Australia's players have said they are increasingly worried about
playing in Zimbabwe.


Dzvario said Zimbabwe would protect the general public and spectators as
well as the players.

Meanwhile, West Indies captain Carl Hooper said cup hosts South Africa
should not underestimate his improving team, which arrived on Thursday.

"[South African captain] Shaun Pollock will realise that there is not a big
gap between our two sides," he told reporters. "I believe we can go all the
way, otherwise we wouldn't be here."

South Africa and the West Indies meet in the opening match of the tournament
in Cape Town on February 9.

The previous time they met, in the Champions Trophy in Colombo in September,
South Africa won by two wickets. "We should have won that game," Hooper
said.

The West Indies gained momentum for the World Cup on their tour to India in
November and December, when they lost the Test series 2-0 but bounced back
to win the one-day series 4-3. Hooper said, however, that the improvement in
results against South Africa since the humiliating tour of 1998-99 had been
more instrumental in the West Indian resurgence.

"The last time we played South Africa in South Africa [in 1998-99] we were
thumped [5-0 in the Test series and 6-1 in the one-day internationals],"
Hooper said. "Since then we've played them in the Caribbean [in 2000-01],
and things went well for us. We turned it around then and showed we can
compete against the best in the world."

South Africa won the Test series 2-1 and prevailed 5-2 in the limited-overs
games.

Hooper said Brian Lara had recovered from injury. "He's back to full fitness
and ready to go."
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IOL

Didiza's views on Zim hurt SA, says DA

      January 31 2003 at 03:19PM

Agriculture minister Thoko Didiza's views about the land reform in Zimbabwe
undermined farmers' confidence in South Africa's own land restitution
process, the Democratic Alliance said on Friday.

"Didiza's statement that the violent chaos accompanying the unconstitutional
land grab in Zimbabwe is merely challenged by some administrative
shortcomings defies belief, and cannot inspire the necessary confidence in
South Africa's own policy of land reform," DA agriculture and land affairs
spokesperson Andries Botha said.

Didiza returned from Zimbabwe on Thursday after a two-day visit, accompanied
by representatives of Agri SA and the National African Farmers' Union, to
assess progress in land reform.

She told reporters after her return that the Zimbabwean government had
admitted some "administrative errors" in the land reform process.

These included instances where farmers who had more than one farm before
were left with no land at all, despite the government's policy that they
should have at least one farm.

Other examples of administrative irregularities included instances where two
prospective new land owners were allocated the same farm, and where
applicants for land were allowed to settle on that land, only to find out
later that the farm had been allocated to someone else.

"The government and the commercial farmers have started discussions to
correct the administrative irregularities," she said.

They would also discuss how to deal with foreign farmers who had invested in
Zimbabwe, including some from South Africa, Didiza said.

According to Botha, Didiza seemed unconcerned with the plight of hundreds of
thousands of dispersed agricultural workers in Zimbabwe, as well as the loss
of thousands of experienced farmers and South African investors. These
events had played a significant role in the collapse of food production in
the country.

      the nationals of various other countries enjoy full protection.

"Not a single South African agricultural investor in Zimbabwe has enjoyed
any assistance whatsoever from the South African government. This is in
stark contrast to the nationals of various other countries who enjoy full
protection.

"The only way Didiza can dig herself and the government out of this hole of
their own making is by insisting on the protection of South African
interests in Zimbabwe."

The parliamentary portfolio committee on agriculture should launch an
immediate and unbiased investigation in Zimbabwe, and Didiza should then act
on the findings of that probe, Botha said.

He said the Zimbabwean consul-general had already agreed to facilitate such
a visit, which would include members of the South African media. - Sapa
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From The New York Times, 31 January

African food shortages ending everywhere except in Zimbabwe

By Rachel L. Swarns

Johannesburg, Jan 30 - The United Nations says the number of hungry people
is rising in Zimbabwe even as food shortages ease in other parts of southern
Africa. A huge food distribution program in this region, whose agriculture
has been battered by drought and floods, has prevented mass starvation, the
United Nations says. Bad weather has dampened hopes for a quick recovery in
Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho, but officials predict good harvests in
Malawi and Zambia in coming months. The World Food Program believes the
worst is over for most countries and plans to start reducing its presence
here in June. Officials remain disheartened, however, by the worsening
situation in Zimbabwe, where inadequate rainfall and poor government
policies have left growing numbers hungry. The United Nations reported this
month that the number of people in need of emergency food aid in Zimbabwe
had jumped to 7.2 million in December, up from about 6.7 million in August.
"A serious humanitarian disaster has been averted," James Morris, head of
the World Food Program, said this week after touring the region for seven
days. "Food has been put in place over the last several months in such a way
that mass starvation and death has not occurred. We're seeing significant
progress in Malawi and Zambia. We don't have that same optimism in
Zimbabwe."


Zimbabwe's government has evicted almost all the white commercial farmers
and handed their land to blacks in an effort to win popular support and to
rectify historic inequalities in land ownership. The legacy of British
colonialism was that a tiny white minority owned more than half of the
fertile land. The production of corn - the country's staple food - plunged
by nearly 70 percent last year, the United Nations says. People wait in long
lines for bread and cornmeal. The hungry include nearly a million current
and former commercial farm workers who are struggling to survive without
jobs. Western governments have accused officials of using food as a weapon.
Officials say the government is only allowing its supporters to buy cheap
government grain while opposition supporters go hungry. A few incidents of
politicization occurred last year in the distribution of relief aid, but the
United Nations said those problems were rare and isolated. Problems with the
government's own supply of food are believed to be more widespread.


The United Nations has offered to monitor the government's distribution of
its own food to verify the government's claims that it is impartial. Most
political analysts doubt that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe will agree
to independent scrutiny, but Mr. Morris said the president did not reject
the idea. "I raised this issue with President Mugabe," Mr. Morris said. "It
seemed to me there was some interest in continuing the conversation. My
sense is that they're terribly concerned about their image." Zimbabwe's
government, which says it is doing all it can, has struggled to import grain
because of severe shortages of foreign currency in the collapsing economy.
But a recent survey by relief agencies raised questions about whether the
government was buying enough food to ease the crisis. It showed that 40
percent of communities visited for the survey said grain was not available
or was rarely available from government distribution sites.
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From WFP, 31 December 2002

WFP assessment of Zimbabwean migrants in RSA’s Limpopo Province

Dates: 29-31 December 2002

Place: Limpopo Province border zone

Classified info: no

Main findings/conclusions of mission/conference/seminar:

  • The majority of migrants are young Zimbabweans of mostly employable age (18-30) although Home Affairs staff on the South African side report that there has been a marked increase in arrests of "border jumpers" in the 11 – 18 years cohort.
  • Most migrants came from towns, and the primary reason cited for their crossing into South Africa was economic - a search for employment - fleeing a Zimbabwe where jobs are scarce and food short.
  • Because of deportations and persistent attempts by deportees to enter South Africa, short- and medium-term trends are not clear, although local farmers report increases in numbers coming from Zimbabwe to look for work on their farms over the past year.
  • Deportations of Zimbabweans illegally in South Africa are often circular, i.e., a person deported today will attempt re-entry tomorrow. The Army, which patrols the border zone and arrests illegals it encounters, and the Police, which arrests illegals deeper in the interior, as well as personnel of the Ministry of Home Affairs, broadly acknowledge that deportations are a small fraction of those actually crossing. Most months see in the order of 1,000 local deportees.
  • Local respondents claim that hundreds of people illegally cross the border daily. The border is porous, allowing people to cross at many points, and especially further west towards the Botswana border where there is no border fencing installed. The economic migrants issue has already become tri-national, as reliable observers report that Zimbabweans are attempting entry into South Africa via Botswana in large numbers.
  • Economic migrants without family or social links in South Africa often find their condition deteriorating rapidly, so that many end up as beggars or as criminals.
  • Some of these migrants have come long distances on foot, and upon arrival in South Africa, may go several days without food. Local residents recount that some of this number are fainting from hunger on doorsteps 115 km from the border, in the area of the town of Louis Trichardt. Security guards and fellow migrants at the municipal dump in Louis Trichardt report scores to hundreds of Zimbabwean migrants clandestinely resident at the dump and its vicinity, scavenging recyclable materials and consuming still-edible food items they may come across.
  • An estimated 50,000 Zimbabweans, both men and women, are currently employed on first-line farms along the South African side of the border. However, with South Africa planning on instituting a minimum-wage rates of 650 Rand/month for all residents to go into effect in March 2003, with a fine of 40,000 Rand for employment of illegal aliens, and with a tightening of immigration allowances also scheduled at that time, farmers acknowledge that they will have to down-staff.
  • The implication of the further deterioration of the Zimbabwe economy combined with the prospect of another drought is an increased flow of economic migrants from Zimbabwe into South Africa. In anticipation of possible influxes from the north, South African authorities are increasing patrols along their side of the border.
  • Expectations on the South African side are that when Zimbabweans households realize, toward February and March, that their harvest will again fail, numbers seeking to cross the border will dramatically increase.
  • Existing South African and Zimbabwean border administrative support capabilities (immigration and customs) would be strained in the event of a large-scale movement south. Formal staging areas in Zimbabwe are not large enough to accommodate any significant numbers, either on foot or via vehicle.
  • Beitbridge would quickly develop into major choke point for southbound traffic, which could force the allocation of portions of the northbound bridge capability – both vehicular and pedestrian – to relieve the congestion. This would quickly and severely reduce the effectiveness of this route as a logistics line of communication (LOC) for movement of food and other relief items from South Africa into Zimbabwe.
  • In the absence of a massive, coordinated, and efficient forward-movement transportation operation, the large, flat areas adjacent to the Beitbridge on the South African side could end up becoming a de-facto refugee camp.
  • The continuing drought increases the probability that the Limpopo river, still utterly dry at the time of the mission, will not fill this year. Individuals attempting to "border jump" will seek alternative crossing sites along it. This in turn will further complicate efforts to channel migrants away from the border, and into areas where support/transportation resources are available.

Important lessons for RIACSO:

Three scenarios are possible:

  1. The numbers seeking to cross into South Africa do not increase significantly, but due to a lack of food at home, the condition of people on arrival is low.
  2. Numbers not only increase substantially, but entire households, including young children, will move. This will severely tax South African authorities, since detention capacity now is limited to city jails and the Lindela Detention Camp in Gauteng Province.
  3. Numbers increase dramatically, and because of fuel shortages, most walk for days before reaching the border. The condition of the young and elderly is particularly acute. Rather than permitting passage across the border, South African authorities fortify the troops and police presence, rendering the border relatively impermeable. Such a situation would require humanitarian intervention on the Zimbabwean side, with the establishment of formal camps and feeding centers.

Suggestions for RIACSO/inter-agency follow up actions:

The Mission recommends that ODJ/OCHA contact Dr. Mandele, the South African Home Affairs official charged with refugee affairs, to clarify what may be possible to accomplish on the South African side were Scenario 2 or 3 to occur.

(RIACSO is the UN Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Support Office)
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From The Guardian (UK), 31 January

England dismay at Harare go-ahead

Paul Kelso

The England squad last night expressed its "significant disappointment"
after the International Cricket Council ruled that their controversial World
Cup match in Zimbabwe should go ahead as scheduled. The players'
representatives, the Professional Cricketers' Association, will today meet
with lawyers to examine the legal ramifications of the game proceeding in
Harare next month, including the question of whether the ICC has a duty of
care to the squad. Yesterday the ICC executive board confirmed for the
second time in a week that the February 13 game should take place, leaving
Nasser Hussain's squad with the central role in deciding the row that has
divided English cricket. If the England and Wales Cricket Board is unable to
persuade the World Cup technical committee to move the match after it
assumes responsibility for decision-making on Sunday, the players will be
left with an onerous choice. They can ignore the "grave reservations" they
expressed earlier this week and play, or defy their employers and their
contracts by refusing.


The 13-member ICC board met by teleconference yesterday to consider an
independent assessment of security arrangements in Zimbabwe from the risk
analysts Kroll Associates. Kroll's report endorsed the tournament security
plan, giving the ECB chairman David Morgan little hope of winning support
for a motion to reschedule the match. After deciding not to seek a move
yesterday the ECB's attention will now shift to lobbying the six members of
the technical committee. In the light of the Kroll findings, however, hope
of a tidy resolution to this crisis is fading. Neither was the ECB's cause
helped by the executive board's reaction to a New Zealand request to shift
their match against Kenya from Nairobi. Despite claiming to have evidence of
a credible threat to the safety of the players, the New Zealand board was
heavily defeated in a motion to move the match. Even Australia, a presumed
ally of England and New Zealand on the question of player security, opposed
it. England joined New Zealand in supporting the motion and Holland
abstained.


Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC and a member of the technical
committee, confirmed that England will be able to present a case for
shifting their match on safety and security grounds. But his assessment of
the Kroll report as "categorical" in its endorsement of existing security
arrangements indicates the scale of the task. Faced with a losing battle
yesterday - ECB sources said there was "implacable and overwhelming" support
for the report's conclusions - Morgan focused on the need for the ICC to
take collective responsibility for the consequences of staging the match in
Harare, and urged them to keep security under review. The ECB is convinced
that the match will be a focus for protests against Robert Mugabe's
government, and that a violent reaction from the authorities is likely to
greet them. Morgan told the ICC board: "If there are significant security
and safety problems, it will blight the whole 2003 World Cup with an
indelible stain. If, in the next few days and weeks, there is a discernible
deterioration in safety and security surrounding particular matches then
decisions must be urgently reviewed and, if necessary, matches moved."


Australia and Holland joined the ECB in raising concerns over security, but
Morgan did not press for a motion. "Given there was no request for any games
to be moved from Zimbabwe, the board was not called on to make a decision,"
said Speed. Displaying the pragmatism that has characterised his approach to
this bruising row, Speed said that while Zimbabwe is one of many "dangerous
places" in the world, the players would be adequately protected. "It's not
as if they are backpackers going on their holidays," he said. "These are
cricketers who are used to the highest levels of security and that will
happen."
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Daily News

      All not well, says CFU

      1/31/2003 3:54:48 PM (GMT +2)


      Farming Editor

      THE Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) says government's claims that all
things are well between the two parties are misleading because farm
evictions continue countrywide and no equipment deal had been struck.

      Serious food shortages are expected this year because the majority of
commercial farmers, most of whom have irrigation facilities, have been
forced off their land as part of the government's land reform programme.
Drought in the past two years will also worsen the food security situation.

      The new farmers have admitted this year that they would not be able to
feed the nation because of input shortages and drought. CFU president, Colin
Cloete said in an interview more farmers out of the less than 800 currently
farming were being evicted everyday despite claims by the government that
evicted farmers were going back on their land.
      Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement Minister, Dr Joseph Made has
in recent weeks portrayed to the world that relations between the government
and the CFU were improving although the CFU says what is happening on the
ground is contrary to his claims.

      Cloete said out of the 4 500 CFU members, between 600 and 800 farmers
had remained, in most cases co-existing with settlers.

      Cloete said: "A lot of farmers are being evicted and in our meetings
with the Minister we are asking him why? It is not true that commercial
farmers who had been forced off their land are back on the farms."

      Cloete said the CFU had not pledged to release equipment valued at $30
billion as what was claimed by Made in the sate media. "The Minister only
urged us to appeal to our members to sell equipment to new farmers. We have
not struck a deal with the government. Made himself came up with the figure
of $30 billion,"Cloete said.

      Asked if farmers would release the equipment, Cloete said, it was up
to individual members to sell their equipment. This week Made also told the
State media that the government had assured commercial farmers interested in
continuing with their farming operations that they would get back on their
land.

      "It is news to me that the government is approaching commercial
farmers to go back on their land," Cloete said, adding that it would be too
late for reinstated commercial farmers to contribute to food security this
year.

      "I have heard reports that some farmers are being approached in
Makonde and in any case, equipment has been vandalised and most farmers are
now living in towns. To start all over, will require a lot of money," he
said.

      While Made seems to claim that all is well between the farmers and the
CFU, Cloete himself, who represents farmers, is not farming.

      "My eviction notice expired last year and I am not farming as I am
restricted only to my homestead," Cloete said. Cloete owns one farm in
Chegutu. While he is allowed live in his farmhouse in Chegutu, the majority
of commercial farmers have been forced off their homesteads and now live in
towns or have left the country.
      Cloete said while the government had promised that no commercial
farmer would be left without land, the majority of commercial farmers, had
been forced off their land despite owning one farm.

      About 1 000 commercial farmers, out of the 2 900 issued with eviction
notices which expired in August last year, were single farm owners.
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SABC
 
 
Archbishop invited to mediate in Zimbabwe
January 31, 2003, 19:00
  

Archbishop Ndungane says the problems of Zimbabwe are not insurmountable

Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President, has invited Njongonkulu Ndungane, the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, to play a mediating role - possibly between Britain and Zimbabwe - to resolve that country's economic and political problems. Ndungane returned to South Africa today after meeting Mugabe in Harare.

"I'm very hopeful ... it opens a new window," Ndungane told reporters at Johannesburg International Airport en route from Zimbabwe to Cape Town, where he is based. He was accompanied by Molefe Tsele, the South African Council of Churches general secretary.

"The fact that we were invited to get involved in the negotiations is a step in the right direction," the archbishop said. "According to me, the problems of Zimbabwe are not insurmountable," Ndungane said.

Mugabe had told them that in his view, the root cause of the current problems was the fact that Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, had reneged on certain agreements regarding compensation for land used for reform that his predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major, had made.

Ndungane to contact Archbishop of Canterbury
Because Mugabe cited Britain, Ndungane said, his first step would be to contact his British counterpart, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to convey the president's views to him. Ndungane would also seek a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki to discuss the matter with him. "What we want to do is to get in touch with all the stakeholders."

Tsele said the food shortage in Zimbabwe was the reason they went to see Mugabe in the first place.

Ndungane said: "We have been inundated with letters requesting us to do something about Zimbabwe."

Although Zimbabwe was not in his jurisdiction, he decided to go there to, for a start, listen to what Mugabe had to say. "The first thing I decided to do was to meet the president, to hear from the horse's mouth, so to speak."

Mugabe had granted them a two-and-a-half hour audience. During the meeting, they raised the question of the political control over food aid, Tsele said. Mugabe had told them the World Food Programme (WFP) had recently established a structure including 12 non-governmental organisations to monitor the situation. "There is a sensitivity that where people are hungry ... it is immoral to withhold food."

He believed the structure could work, Tsele said.

Tsele and Ndungane had also asked ministers of the church on the ground to inform of any instances where people in need of food aid were asked to produce a party membership card first. So far, reports of such instances were just hear-say, Tsele said.

Mugabe was very relaxed during their meeting, he said. "He does not deny there is a problem."

Mugabe had also said he was open to a diversity of political parties in his country, Ndungane said. The archbishop said he would eventually meet all the different stakeholders in an effort to move towards a peaceful, stable Zimbabwe. "Watch this space as it unfolds."

To solve the problems, would require creative, open minds, Ndungane said. "My belief is that if we as South Africa could solve our problems, Zimbabwe can do so too." - Sapa
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One Wonders!

Dear Family and Friends,

I, along with 11 million others living in Zimbabwe, was desperately
searching either for food or petrol. There was none of the latter so I spent
my Friday morning trudging from shop to shop and after three hours
gratefully clutched 2 loaves of bread I had finally tracked down for 4 times
the official price. I know I should not buy food on the black market but
principles pale into insignificance when you have a hungry child to feed.
This is the face of life in Zimbabwe today and yet the English Cricket Board
are still debating whether or not it is right to come and play cricket here
and are worrying about who will pay them compensation if they don't come.  I
wonder if the ICC know that it is illegal for 5 or more people to hold a
meeting in Zimbabwe without police permission?  I wonder if they care while
they stay in our 5 star hotels, we can't even buy food on the black market
without first producing cards proving we support the ruling party. I am sure
that both the ICC and the cricket players themselves know all of this but
they say they are surely a sporting body and not a political one.  It was OK
for them to boycott sport in apartheid South Africa and Ian Smith's Rhodesia
but not in Zimbabwe now. White people oppressing blacks was wrong, now it is
black people oppressing black people, it is apparently OK. The ICC have
shown who the real racists are here. Their hypocrisy and racism is
disgusting and nauseating. The South African Minister of Labour visited
Zimbabwe and declared that South Africa had a lot to learn from us. If I was
a South African I'd either be picketing parliament right now or packing my
bags. We have: 175% inflation; 70% unemployment; Zimbabwe has completely run
out of petrol so if one hears of any to be had (probably unpaid for from SA)
5 kilometre queues form and there is no bread, milk,maize, sugar, flour or
cooking oil to buy. One dozen eggs cost R66.00 and 4 loo rolls cost R70 now.
6.8 million Zimbabweans are facing starvation, 2 million of our citizens
have been forced to leave the country, one person dies every 5 minutes from
aids related malnutrition, inflation is at 175% and yet the world is in an
uproar about 6 cricket matches. Cricket doesn't really seem appropriate does
it?  State House is next door to the grounds where the World Cup Cricket
matches are to be played. One of my friends was on the way to the cricket
grounds, took a wrong turn and did a U turn near State House. His car was
surrounded by armed men, everything was pulled out of his car, he was
interrogated, taken behind a wall where he was knocked down and kicked in
his head. 5hrs later he got home exhausted in shock and his ear drum had
ruptured.  I finally tracked down some very expensive vegetable seeds in a
butchery but my shock at their price was overshadowed by the sight in front
of me.  Sitting in a supermarket trolley was a cow's head - eyes, ears,horns
and fur in tact. I made a point of expressing my disgust to the owner of the
shop who simply shrugged his shoulders.  Zimbabwe has slipped into a
contagious epidemic of moral decline where no one cares, no one complains
and everyone just shrugs their shoulders. There no gas which means there are
month long backlogs of bodies waiting to be cremated at the morgues where
gas fired ovens are used.  The chronic shortage of fuel means there are very
few delivery vehicles. The supermarket shelves are getting emptier by the
day. In our small town this month our only commercial veterinary surgery
closes down, our only private dentist has closed, two of our private doctors
have announced that they are leaving, one headmaster has already left and
another leaves before winter. A 100 year old town is on its very last legs.
I thank you for helping me spread the word about my two books: African Tears
and Beyond Tears, which are both, still the only eye witness accounts to
have been written about Zimbabwe's horrors since 2000.  I hope I am able to
send this letter now and that you are able to receive it because Zimbabwe's
entire email system collapsed this week.

With love,

Cathy Buckle  January 2003.
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The Age

Al-Qaeda active in Zimbabwe: report
Saturday 1 February 2003, 08:30AM

Zimbabwe, the site of Australia's first World Cup cricket match, is home to
an active Al-Qaeda cell planning attacks on Westerners, a report warns.

The Daily Telegraph said a US Government report detailed a plan by Tablik
Ja'maat, an Al-Qaeda-linked group of militant extremists, to attack US
targets in Zimbabwe if war is declared on Iraq.

Australia is set to play in Bulawayo against Zimbabwe on Feb 24, although
debate is continuing over the fixture because of the deteriorating political
and economic situation in the country.

Zimbabwe and Kenya are sub-hosts of the tournament, with South Africa the
host country.

Other attacks would take place in Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey,
South Africa and Israel, the report stated.


©2003 AAP
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US State Department

       
      31 January 2003
      Harvard Scholar Says "Regime Change Must Occur" in Zimbabwe
(R. Rotberg discusses R. Mugabe's leadership at USIP) (670)
By Jessica Allen
Washington File Staff Writer


Washington -- Robert Rotberg, Harvard University scholar and President
of the World Peace Foundation, has termed Zimbabwe a "man-made
disaster" and called for "regime change" as the most likely way to
pull the nation back from the brink of catastrophe.

In his January 29 remarks at the United States Institute for Peace
(USIP), Rotberg said the southern African nation had deteriorated ever
since President Robert Mugabe came to power 20 years ago. The scholar,
who recently returned from a trip to southern Africa, reminded his
audience that Zimbabwe once had "the greatest economy in Africa with
the most advanced human resource capability on the continent." He also
credited it with previously being the "food basket of Africa."

But Zimbabwe's "glorious legacy ended," Rotberg said, after several
years of Mugabe's assault on the economic, legal and political
institutions that had underpinned his nation's prosperity, which
compared well to the poverty of much of the rest of sub-Saharan
Africa. He also mentioned that "the school and hospital systems have
collapsed, and that "of the 11 million [HIV/AIDs] orphans in Africa, 2
million of them are in Zimbabwe."

The scholar, who also serves as director of the Conflict Resolution
Program at Harvard University, laid blame squarely on Mugabe, whom he
said was "Zimbabwe's largest problem."

The question, Rotberg said, is "How much longer can Zimbabwe continue
to deteriorate under the rule of a wild-eyed despot." He provided the
answer himself, saying, "Regime change is necessary."

On an optimistic note, the scholar said, "There is still hope for
Zimbabwe. There is rule of law and there are still judges who persist
in evaluating things according to the common law. Despite the fact
that the rule of the jungle is operating, there are still honest
people doing work in the legal field." In addition, "Zimbabwe's
physical infrastructure remains strong, which can be a great benefit
to the nation."

But despite his optimism, Rotbert saw little hope for change in
Zimbabwe while Mugabe remained in power. And he pointed out to his
audience, which included Assistant Secretary of State for African
Affairs Walter Kansteiner, that Mugabe has an extremely low approval
rating among his people. "No one in Zimbabwe buys the leader's
rhetoric."

[Research conducted by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa
affirms the expert's claims. Despite winning a presidential election
last year, that many observers roundly condemned as not free or fair,
recent polls have shown that less than half of Zimbabweans support
Mugabe.]

Rotberg then provided possible scenarios for Mugabe's removal from
power and Zimbabwe's return to "her former glory.

"The easiest way for Mugabe to be removed is by death or exile," said
Rotberg. "If this were to occur the international community would hold
supervised elections, and if a fair, democratic government takes
power, there is still enough time for the economy to recover."

Another option posed by the World Peace Foundation President consists
of the opposition asserting its own power, and forcing Mugbe out. As
for a general insurrection or revolution by the people of Zimbabwe,
this option is "unlikely," according to Rotberg, who stated, "The
tired masses [of Zimbabwe] are too hungry, too fearful, jobless, and
lack strong leadership" to mount such a potentially violent
initiative.

"Zimbabwe's problems are not only hurting Zimbabwe", they are also
hurting its neighbors," declared the speaker. "Over 20,000 people per
day flee across the borders of Zimbabwe into the safety of other
nations."

From his recent trip to the region, Rotberg said that one neighbor,
South Africa, was sending a message, and the message was, "Zimbabwe is
effectively starving its own people." Botswana has spoken publicly
against "Mugabe's atrocious behavior," he added.

In conclusion, Rotberg stressed, "the longer Mugabe remains in power
the worse the nation becomes," and for a brighter future, "regime
change must occur."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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US State Department

31 January 2003
African Scholar Suggests Political Options for Mugabe's Zimbabwe
(Sithole tells USIP panel he favors early elections) (650)
By Kelly Machinchick
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington - The government in Zimbabwe must be changed, said Masipula
Sithole, a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and a
Professor of Political Science at the University of Zimbabwe.

Sithole offered several options for the removal of President Mugabe
during a January 29 briefing at the United States Institute of Peace
(USIP), a human rights-oriented non-governmental organization (NGO)
chartered by the United States Congress.

In his opening remarks, Sithole explained that if we view the role of
government as securing the "good life" for its citizens, not
"destroying it," then, when a government fails to provide life and
liberty, it must be changed. We have reached that stage in Zimbabwe,
he said.

Some options for regime-change are attractive, he said, but others are
not; and some are attractive only to others outside Zimbabwe. "I have
no pretensions. My message is this: the government must be changed."

Sithole then outlined six possibilities for such a change. The first
option: "Recognizing the status quo,"was unsatisfactory, he said. "No
matter how it [Mugabe's rule] came about, legitimately or
illegitimately," recognition is "tantamount to legitimizing the
illegitimate," he said.

Second, Sithole referred to the March 2002 presidential election,
which the State Department said was neither free nor fair. According
to the Zimbabwean professor, many people inside and outside of his
country believe Mugabe had a part in corrupting those results through
intimidation. Sithole proposed rerunning that election, this time
fairly, despite the threat of intimidation by Mugabe and his
supporters.

A better, third option, he said, would be to bring forward the 2008
presidential elections to 2005 to occur concurrently with the
parliamentary elections. "President Mugabe would be 81 in 2005, a
perfectly legitimate reason to retire." Nonetheless, it will be hard
to remove Mugabe from office, because he and his supporters have "dug
in their heels."

For a return to peace and prosperity, Mugabe must be removed from
office, and Sithole euphemistically termed that removal, his fourth
option, as "putting him to sleep... Figuratively, of course!" he
assured his bemused audience. Sithole referred to several other
corrupt African leaders and parties that had been removed from the
political scene by other means, such as Laurent Kabila of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The fifth possible scenario is civil unrest, but Sithole was quick to
point out that this was fraught with danger to all since civil unrest
creates chaos, and often "all hell breaks loose," he said.

The last option involves the military, Sithole said. He believed the
military would support the third and fourth options because it is in
their best interest.

Sithole stressed that convincing Mugabe to accept any of these
scenarios would be a challenge, and dependent on the "skills of the
salesperson," the individual who makes the offer to the president.

"Which option do I prefer? I prefer all of them," he said. However,
according to Sithole, the third and fourth options are the most
promising: to remove Mugabe from power peacefully through the rule of
law in the form of an election. As an avowed pacifist, Sithole would
like Mugabe to vacate the political scene, but peacefully. "Option
one, option two and option five must be rejected in favor of option
three and option four.

"The idea that President Mugabe is unredeemable or won't change is too
deterministic and pessimistic an idea which is often advanced by the
more sanguinary among us," he said.

Should he remain in power, Sithole believes Mugabe will change when
the time is right.

"He did love his country and his people once," Sithole concluded, "He
spent 11 years in prison and five years in exile fighting for his
people. He did love them once. He can love them again."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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US State Department

31 January 2003
Kansteiner, Mubako Agree Zimbabwe Suffers. But Differ on Degree
(Mubako tells USIP panel that problems are "exaggerated") (930)
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Both Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Walter Kansteiner and Zimbabwean Ambassador Simbi Mubako agreed
recently that Zimbabwe is in trouble; even that it is a "man-made"
mess. But they differed over the degree to which the southern African
nation is unraveling economically and politically.

According to Kansteiner, who appeared on a January 29 panel
considering: "What Future for Mugabe's Zimbabwe" at the United States
Institute of Peace (USIP), the once prosperous "breadbasket of Africa"
is experiencing political meltdown right now, not in the future.

[The political/economic downturn in Zimbabwe accelerated two years ago
after President Robert Mugabe instituted controversial agricultural
policies, which resulted in, among other things, the seizure of
thousands of white-owned farms without compensation. Political
opposition has been throttled and Mugabe's winning election last year
was condemned by the State Department as far from free or fair.]

Kansteiner, who as a businessman with the Scowcroft group did business
in Africa before he became a government official, said, "It has been
very hard and difficult for many of us who saw its great promise and
hope in the early 1980s to see Zimbabwe become what it is today. And
what it is today is a country that is experiencing enormous
humanitarian crisis. One, where over one-half the population has to be
fed by outside emergency relief services."

Expanding on what USIP moderator Chester Crocker described as "a very
troubling social, economic and political" downward slide in Zimbabwe,
Kansteiner said, "We [also] see an economic crisis that continues to
build. Hyperinflation is between 300% and 400% and "less than 15% of
the population of Zimbabwe has a job. We are at [an] economic
catastrophe."

These humanitarian and economic factors lead to another conclusion,
Kansteiner said. And that is: "We have a political crisis in Zimbabwe
today." And, "quite frankly," he added, "the Government of Zimbabwe,
I'm afraid, doesn't have a plan" to deal with the crisis.

One thing is certain, the U.S. official said, "It is going to take the
entire body politique of Zimbabwe to figure this one out. I don't
think the government of the day can figure this out themselves."

Asking, "What are the [Zimbabwe's] neighbors doing?" Kansteiner, who
just returned from a trip to the region, said, "The neighbors are
active. They're quiet. They're doing it behind closed doors, but I
believe the neighborhood is active. They certainly are concerned. And
that level of concern for Zimbabwe and about Zimbabwe has increased
significantly just in the last six, seven or eight weeks."

Ambassador Mubako said he "concurred" with Kansteiner's and Crocker's
"characterization of the problems that we are facing in Zimbabwe." But
he added he thought the extent to which they charged his nation had
been damaged was exaggerated.

Mubako forthrightly stated: "It is a gross exaggeration to say that
the economy is collapsing or has collapsed. Zimbabwe is not yet
Argentina or Somalia." He reminded his audience, its economy is still
"the second in size and sophistication in southern Africa. We still
have an efficient banking system run by Zimbabweans; a flourishing
stock exchange; a vigorous public and private press, good roads and
enough of other good things."

Acknowledging that Zimbabwe's economy entered "a steep recession"
about four years ago, Mubako said, it was "a man-made crisis
originally caused by our own mismanagement but now fueled and
accelerated by the hostile policies of the Western governments on
which Zimbabwe used to depend."

He said, "The sudden withdrawal of donor funds by Britain, European
countries and the U.S.; the sanctions [such as] the U.S. Democracy
Act, and bad publicity have all impacted adversely on the economy and
made it doubly difficult for [the Zimbabwe] Government's efforts at
recovery."

It is for those reasons, the diplomat said, that Zimbabwe is
experiencing "sever shortages of hard currency, high interest rates
and hyper-inflation, high unemployment and high prices."

While it is true, he said, that the United States and other
international donors had recently provided 300,000 tons of grain to
alleviate the food crisis, the Government of Zimbabwe has at the same
time purchased 700,000 tons of grain to counter the drought he claimed
"occurs every 10 years or so."

Mubako said, Zimbabwe "must have a prudent national food policy and
not overly rely on itinerant foreign experts who have been known to
advise selling off all food stocks in order to save storage costs only
for the drought to find people with empty granaries. We must build
more and bigger dams and expand our irrigation systems so that we can
plan for full crops the whole year around."

Progress could also be made, he said, if there is a "restoration of
international goodwill" toward Zimbabwe.

The "political/diplomatic standoff," the Ambassador said, is also
"again, grossly misunderstood and exaggerated. I would not
characterize this [Mugabe's leadership] as a political crisis. Once
again, because Zimbabwe is not Sierra Leone. It is not the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Cote d'Ivoire or Indonesia."

In comparison, he said, "The Government has a strong majority in
Parliament, 97 to 53; an independent judiciary; a professional army
and police force; a standard constitution with a comprehensive bill of
rights, drafted by the British Government;" all indicative of a
"viable and healthy democracy.

"Zimbabwe's political problems are there," Mubako acknowledged, "But
they have not yet reached crisis proportions."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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Zimbabwe Seeks Investor Help

The Namibian (Windhoek)

January 31, 2003
Posted to the web January 31, 2003

Max Hamata

THE Zimbabwean government has invited international investors to help the
country's economic recovery.

It says it has ended its controversial land reform programme.


Briefing Prime Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab in Windhoek this week, the new
Zimbabwean High Commissioner, Stanislaus Chigwedere, said his government had
completed its land reform programme and now wanted to focus on economic
development.

"Our major challenge is for those resettled black farmers to turn their land
into productive farms. The country is heavily dependent on agriculture and
we are hoping that when we get rain we will still be the breadbasket of
Africa," he added.

He said his government had started discussions with the commercial
agricultural union to put in place a programme of economic recovery.

"All investors are welcome to invest in our agricultural sector," he added.

Gurirab responded that the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
needed to speed up economic regional integration in order to make the region
competitive.

He said Namibia's land reform programme would follow a legal path.

Gurirab said although some Namibian white farmers were "dishonest and
dragging their feet in redistributing land, Namibia will follow the law to
redistribute land".

"We don't want to throw the region into chaos. We want to use the law to
achieve those objectives," he added.
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CNN

England players wait on boycott decision

Posted: Friday January 31, 2003 10:38 AM



LONDON (AP) -- After New Zealand's refusal to play a World Cup game in
Kenya, England's players have nine days to decide whether do the same
against Zimbabwe.

The England and Wales Cricket Board made no protest over the Feb. 13 game in
Harare when the game's world governing body, the International Cricket
Council, met on Thursday.

But the England players are worried that opponents of President Robert
Mugabe's regime could riot and disrupt the game.

Nasser Hussain and his team, having heard the ICC reject their call for the
game to be moved to South Africa, might still boycott the match,
Professional Cricketers' Association spokesman Richard Bevan said Friday.

"All options are open to the players," he said. "Everybody wanted this
fixture to be moved to South Africa."

The ICC has made assurances that security is tight enough for the six games
in Zimbabwe to go ahead, with 433 police officers on duty at each game.

But threats from anti-Mugabe groups to disrupt their game were pushed under
the doors of the England players hotel rooms last week while they were
playing in Australia.

The players are resting at Sun City before moving to their training camp at
Port Elizabeth and have made no comments.

Bevan said his organization and the ECB are in talks to decide on the next
move.

"What we are doing is working with the ECB and (its chief executive) Tim
Lamb is working hard to try to ensure that the right decision is reached,"
he said.

The ICC has said the game could still be moved at short notice if the
security situation deteriorates.

"We have until February 9 to make sure that when we do make the decision it
is the right decision," Bevan said.

Earlier Friday, the New Zealand Cricket board backed its players calls not
to play their Feb. 21 match in Kenya and decided to forfeit the game.

The ICC ruled Thursday that Kenya's games against New Zealand and Sri Lanka
in Nairobi should go ahead despite concerns following last November's
terrorist bombing at a hotel in Mombasa where 15 people, including three
tourists, were killed.
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