China renews relationship with Zimbabwe

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

 

China's Foreign Minister arrives in Zimbabwe on Thursday amid talk of a controversial deal that could see it take control of the country's vast platinum reserves in return for a multi-billion dollar cash injection.

Mr Mugabe built a strong personal relatinoship with China Photo: AFP

By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg and Peter Foster in Beijing 8:06AM GMT 10 Feb 2011

Yang Jiechi's visit represents warming relations between the two countries after China distanced itself when a violent crackdown by President Robert Mugabe over disputed elections in 2008 soured the investment climate.

But there have been suggestions in the local media that Mr Yang will not get a friendly reception from all quarters.

A reported agreement that could see China hand over as much as $10 billion in loans in return for access to Zimbabwe's platinum and revenue from its diamond fields has caused a row among government officials, one of whom dismissed it as a "raw deal".

There are fears that it could cause further tension between Zimbabwe's fragile coalition partners, President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.

China has a long-standing relationship with Zanu PF but it is the MDC's Tendai Biti who now controls the Treasury and is said to be unsure about the deal.

China's Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Xin Shunkang, said Mr Yang's two-day visit, which follows a visit by Chinese politburo member Wang Gang last summer, was to "show our support to Zimbabwe’s justified requests at international arena and exploit and expand our mutually beneficial co-operation."

"We are confident that after Minister Yang’s visit, Sino-Zimbabwe relations will be uplifted to a higher level," he told journalists in Harare.

China is a long-time ally of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe. It supported his guerilla war before independence in 1980 with military training and arms, stuck by the country despite it becoming a pariah state in the West and deployed its UN Security Council veto to block sanctions against his regime in 2008.

In the last four years, it has provided more than half a billion dollars in direct aid for schools, clinics and transport infrastructure in a bid to stabilise a country that sits at a strategically vital point between China’s two largest investments in Africa – Angola and South Africa.

Mr Mugabe has assiduously courted Chinese investment, launching a Look East policy in 2005, and in recent years China has been welcomed in its bid to capitalise on Zimbabwe's rich resources, which include coal, methane gas, platinum, chrome, copper, nickel and gold.

But China's investment has until now been limited because of concerns over Zimbabwe's stability after land seizures and hyperinflation plummeted the country into destitution.

Professor He Wenping, an Africa specialist with the government-sponsored Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said the new Chinese investment activity in Zimbabwe reflected the improvement in the investment climate.

"China has long had strong relations with Zimbabwe, but in recent years, as everyone knows, the country has been in some turmoil. Now that situation has changed, China is adapting its policy accordingly," she said.

Prof He added that China would negotiate with both sides of Zimbabwe’s coalition as it sought deepen its economic ties. "China is taking advantage of the improved political situation," she added, "but it is not the only investor eying up Zimbabwe, others are too, including from Europe and the Arab world. Zimbabwe is an opportunity for everyone."

Diplomats in Harare suggest that China's relationship is still with Zanu PF rather than the MDC, which yesterday could not say whether either Mr Tsvangirai or Mr Biti would be meeting with Mr Yang.

Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for the MDC, was recently quoted as being dismissive of Zanu PF's courting of Chinese businessmen.

"It’s not a government-to-government relationship, but a Zanu PF-China relationship," he told Zimbabwe's NewsDay. "These relations have consequences considering Zanu PF is a sunset party and the sun shall set on its allies."′′

Dr Martyn Davies, an expert on China-Africa relations and CEO of Frontier Advisory, said China would be careful to engage both parties on such a major deal. "It's not in their interests to do some transaction which in two years or maybe even sooner would have to be restructured if there's a change in Zimbabwe's political arrangement," he said.

What does China want from Zimbabwe?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

 

Zimbabwe has claimed that China is ready to pour $10 billion (£6.2 billion) into its ailing economy. If the figure is true, what might Beijing want in return?

China's Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi Photo: REUTERS

By Malcolm Moore, Shanghai 8:13AM GMT 10 Feb 2011

When Yang Jiechi arrives in Harare on Thursday, for the first visit by a Chinese Foreign minister in a decade, he is almost certain to be bearing gifts.

After almost three years in which China has publicly shied away from Zimbabwe, there are signs that Beijing has its eyes, once again, on the country’s rich mineral reserves.

Since the deadly elections in 2008, which forced Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president, to form a “unity” government with his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai, relations have cooled while Chinese officials hedged their bets over the country’s leadership and squirmed in the fierce glare of international condemnation.

“China gets embarrassed when embarrassing details become public,” said Philip Barclay, a former British diplomat in Harare and the author of Zimbabwe, Years of Hope and Despair.

“And the Chinese weapons shipment which arrived in 2008, just at the time when violence broke out around the Zimbabwean elections, was very embarrassing. They really did not like that,” he added.

On Thursday, however, Mr Yang is likely to start negotiations over a significant injection of Chinese investment.

According to Tapiwa Mashakada, the Zimbabwean Economic planning minister, Mr Yang may be carrying with him as much as $10 billion of investment from Beijing.

“We have met with officials from China Development Bank and they have said they are willing to invest up to $10 billion,” he said, at a business conference in Harare earlier this month.

“The Chinese are looking into mining development, that is exploration and exploitation, agriculture, infrastructure development and information communication technology,” added Mr Mashakada, a member of Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change party.

Previous rumours suggested, however, that the money on the table is actually a $3 billion loan from China’s Export-Import (Exim) Bank. Both sums dwarf previous Chinese investments in Zimbabwe, and Mr Mashakada’s claim represents more than twice the value of ZImbabwe’s entire economy last year, and more than all other Chinese direct investments in Africa in 2009 put together.

“It is a pie-in-the-sky figure,” said Mr Barclay. “It is much larger than previous Chinese investments and when they do invest money, the Chinese expect concrete benefits, usually closely linked to concessions,” he added.

More likely are targeted deals, perhaps for Zimbabwe’s platinum and zinc mines. Zimbabwe has the second-largest reserves of platinum in the world after South Africa.

Details of the Exim bank deal reported in Zimbabwe’s respected “Independent” newspaper cite documents proposing a “master-loan facility” aimed at resuscitating Zimbabwe’s struggling economy after years of hyperinflation and disastrous government policies.

In return, China reportedly wants control over platinum deposits currently owned by the Zimbabwean government in the Selous and Northfields concession covering 68 square miles and valued at between $30 billion to $40 billion.

More controversially, China may also have its eyes on the Marange diamond fields in Chiadzwa. In late 2008 the Zimbabwean military is alleged to have seized control of the fields, shooting illegal miners from helicopter gunships.

Currently, a small proportion of the diamonds from this vast mine are certified by the Kimberley Process to avoid being tagged as “blood” diamonds, but a much greater quantity is thought to be bought up by dubious traders with profits flowing to Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF.

China already mines one alluvial diamond concession at Chiadzwa in partnership with the government under the banner of Anjin Investments. There have also been rumours that China may be involved in further illegal mining activities, but they have never been confirmed.

In addition, some Chinese investment could flow into agriculture. China imports a significant quantity of tobacco from Zimbabwe, and may have one eye on a future source of food for its growing middle class.

Around 5,000 Chinese workers live in Zimbabwe, and the two countries have a relationship stretching back to the founding of Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF, whose Marxist revolution was partly funded by Beijing. Over the years, China has found it easy to do business with a country that was run along similar lines, with Zanu-PF's politburo making unilateral decisions.

It is not clear if dealing with the unity government and Mr Tsvangirai's MDC party will be to Beijing's taste, but for Zimbabwe there seems little option.

“The MDC will send China warm and fuzzy messages too,” said Mr Barclay. “Although the investment from China is not a particularly good fit, the Chinese are the only investors out there. There was a small delegation from Germany in 2010, but they backed off.”

China in Zimbabwe: what does it mean for Robert Mugabe?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

As China's Foreign Minister arrives in Zimbabwe on Thursday, all eyes will
be on how the country's fragile coalition government deals with overtures
from the historic ally of President Robert Mugabe.

By Aislinn Laing, and Peta Thornycroft in Johannesburg 6:30AM GMT 10 Feb
2011

With talk of Chinese money on the table in exchange for ZImbabwean
resources, it is time for Tendai Biti, the country’s Finance minister and
member of Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, to
step into the spotlight.

If he negotiates a deal with China that is mutually palatable, he could
forge a personal connection with Zimbabwe's most powerful backer and
potentially warm Chinese relations with the MDC.

But if he is seen to be mortgaging the country's resources to a foreign
power, his standing will fall at home ahead of a possible election this year
or next.

And if, as the rumours suggest, he sends China packing over concerns about
an imperfect deal, he could cause considerable damage not only to his own
relationship with the Chinese, but to the standing of the entire nation in
Beijing’s eyes.

In the past, such deals would have been negotiated directly with Mr Mugabe,
and indeed Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Foreign minister, is due to visit the
president.

There are also suggestions that China has started to build a close
relationship with Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is widely tipped as Mr Mugabe’s
successor inside his Zanu PF party.

Mr Mnangagwa, who currently serves as Defence minister and a member of the
powerful Joint Operations Command which advises Mr Mugabe, received his
military training in China. In July 2009, he also led a delegation of Zanu
PF members invited to Beijing by the Chinese Communist party.

Some commentators in Zimbabwe fear that if Mr Biti, who is believed to
currently be in Rwanda, gives Mr Yang the brush-off, China could lose faith
in the MDC and fall back on its traditional relationship with Zanu PF.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Mr Tsvangirai was unable to confirm that the
prime minister, and leader of the MDC, would be meeting Mr Yang either.

An unnamed senior Asian diplomat told South Africa's Sunday Times that Mr
Biti has confirmed talks are on but China's push for a large share of
Zimbabwe's resources had strained relations.

"Discussions have been going on for a while now, but Zimbabwe is very
unhappy with China over this issue," the diplomat said.

"Biti thinks the Chinese want to rip off Zimbabwe because they know the
country is broke and would not in their view refuse that amount of money. He
is really disturbed and troubled by the deal. He thinks it is a scam."

A senior member of the MDC insisted the party had no issue in dealing with
China, despite its historical links to Mr Mugabe's Zanu PF, provided it was
on its own terms.

"We do business with all who want to have a mutual partnership and
relationship, even in China, but we have observed with a lot of concern that
a partnership between Zanu PF and certain people in China doesn't
necessarily benefit the Zimbabwean people," he said.

"From a party point of view, we will promote any partnership that benefits
the people of Zimbabwe in times of development, in terms of growth, in terms
of investment transfers.

"We have never said we face West or East, we want to make sure that we build
bridges with partners wherever in the world they may be and whatever their
position in the past might have been."

Matthew McDonald, a researcher with the Centre of Chinese Studies at South
Africa's Stellenbosch University, suggested that Mr Biti’s tentative
approach to the deal may be part of a strategy to reassure other investors
about the credibility of the Zimbabwean government.

"You have some situations in Africa where governments are not particularly
accountable to the population and might do deals because they are expedient
to the elite in government," he said.

"Tendai Biti may be thinking a little broader. [His behaviour] suggests
there's an accountability there that people might not think exists in
Zimbabwe and that could encourage further investment."

However, another MDC source said the party still viewed China's intentions
with suspicion and he was sceptical about "billion dollar deals" which had,
in the past, failed to materialise.

"I don't sense a warming of relations between the MDC and China. The Chinese
are not favourite sons here but we are going to have to deal with them
whether we like it or not," he said.

However, he said Mr Biti would not commit to a deal that was so
unfavourable. Reports suggest the current terms would give China access to
$40 billion worth of platinum for a mere $3 billion.

But said it was unlikely Mr Biti would commit to the deal under its present
terms - reported to be $3bn in return for $40's worth of platinum and access
to diamond revenues.

"Our economy is recovering rapidly and we are not that desperate that we are
going to prostitute ourselves," he said. "However, the Chinese know full
well that the MDC is likely to be the next government so they have to
negotiate."

A diplomatic source in Harare said that the Chinese started making tentative
overtures to the MDC more than a year ago.

"Three years ago, the Chinese never went to any MDC events, they were Zanu
PF and that was it," he said. "In the last 18 months, they suddenly appeared
and seemed to be giving it a little more attention.

"The dynamic of this visit will be interesting. You would expect the
minister of finance to be involved if talks about such loans happen but I
wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't."

Dr Martyn Davies, an expert on China in Africa and chief executive of
Frontier Advisory, an emerging markets consultancy firm, said Chinese
interest, and its attitude to the MDC, would be governed by pragmatism.

"The Chinese do see Zimbabwe as being rather high in political risk but
nevertheless there is a lot of private capital going in, largely focused on
the mining sector. Regardless of who's in charge, those commodities remain
in the ground and China has the resources, the willingness to invest and the
ability to extract them."

He confirmed that China is keen to “develop a broader relationship” with the
MDC. “It is definitely not in China’s interests to do some transaction which
would have to be restructured in two years time because of a change in
Zimbabwean politics,” he said.

Confusion over GNU future

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Staff Reporter
Thursday, 10 February 2011 18:47

HARARE - Confusion surrounds the future of Zimbabwe’s troubled inclusive
government with reports that the life of the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) will reach two years on Friday without major developments on the
political front.

Zanu PF’s President Robert Mugabe insists that the GPA, which brought about
the inclusive government, expires on11 February  while Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says the lifespan of the
arrangement will continue until elections are held.

The Daily News understands that the principals of the GPA are due to meet
soon to map the way forward and clear the air on the confusion.

The GPA is silent on what happens when the GPA expires but notes that it
would be reviewed from time to time.

MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa yesterday said as far as he was concerned,
the inclusive government would continue until such a time when the
constitutional process is over and a clear road map for elections is in
place.

“It will not expire. That is rubbish – the GPA does not have a best before
date,” said Chamisa without elaborating.

But Zanu PF has been insisting that the GPA expires on Friday and after
that, they claim Mugabe will take over as president without other partners
from the two MDC formations.

It is against this background that Zanu PF youths have been unleashing
violence on the people especially in Harare claiming that the inclusive
government is coming to an end.

Government insiders yesterday told the Daily News that the principals will
meet anytime soon to announce that the GPA is still ongoing until after
elections. The period by which the GPA will be extended was not made
available on Thursday.

“The GPA will obviously get another lifespan because there are many things
that need to be settled. There is the issue of elections which has not been
concluded because there is a constitutional process which has not been
completed.

“Secondly, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African
Union who are the guarantors to the GPA still want the GPA to continue until
after the elections. But before the elections, they want a road map which
will lead to free and fair polls,” said the insider.

Tsvangirai told the Daily News last week that while the inclusive government
had made some progress, there were still some areas which needed full
implementation.

He said when the life of the GPA is extended, the principals would push for
the full implementation of the 23 outstanding issues.

Madhuku clarifies confusion over GPA timetable

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
10 February 2011

The chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Dr Lovemore
Madhuku, has clarified the confusion over the timetable for ending the
coalition government, telling SW Radio Africa no deadline was set in the
agreement.

‘There is a maximum deadline which is 28 June 2013. The agreement in terms
of creating the Inclusive Government cannot go beyond the term of the office
of the President. So the President took oath of office on 29 June 2008 and
it’s a 5 year term which ends 28 June 2013,” Madhuku said.

War vets leader Joseph Chinotimba this week claimed the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) must not be extended when it ‘expires’. He even suggested it
ends on Friday, 11th February. Madhuku however said ‘there is no minimum
period. What you have in the agreement is that at the end of the
constitution making process, they agreed they will review the agreement.”

Outside this agreement Madhuku said was a political understanding that the
constitution making process would take 2 years to complete, and all the
parties in the coalition sold the agreement to their supporters as a 2 year
government.

“MDC was keen to convince its supporters that it won’t be swallowed by ZANU
PF so it had agreed to this political talk of 2 years. ZANU PF also
benefited from talking about 2 years and now they no longer want the
agreement and want to go back to some election.”

Turning to talk of elections this year Madhuku said anything was possible.
He said even if a constitutional referendum was held this year, there was no
guarantee people will vote in favour of it. “If the politicians want an
election they can get it any time. They are not bound and there is no legal
requirement for a new constitution before elections.”

He said all it would take is an agreement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. If
both could not agree, the GPA would collapse and Mugabe could use the old
constitution to call for elections.

Ncube backs down

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Reagan Mashavave
Thursday, 10 February 2011 19:27

HARARE - The smaller Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has relented in
their bid to oust Arthur Mutambara as deputy Prime Minister following
President Robert Mugabe’s refusal to swear in Welshman Ncube to the same
position.

The MDC  announced on Thursday  that it has  had fired Mutambara  from the
party for his defiance in clinging to his government post and his alleged
alliance with Mugabe’s Zanu PF party.

This announcement, made by the party’s secretary-general Priscillah
Misihairabwi- Mushonga comes a day after Mutambara declared himself leader
of the fractious party and announced that he had expelled Ncube.

Misihairambwi-Mushonga told journalists that Mugabe told Ncube, during
meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday that he would not allow Mutambara to be
removed from his post.

“President Mugabe told president Ncube that he doesn’t want (to appoint
Ncube). President Mugabe said  “You can go and tell your national council
that I, Robert Mugabe don’t want to,” Misihairambwi said.

“We understand the position of President Mugabe to mean that it is not going
to happen that our president is going to be the Deputy Prime Minister; that
President Mugabe has once again violated the GPA and he will continue to
violate the GPA.”

Misihairambwi said her party resolved not to pursue the appointment of Ncube
as the new Deputy Prime Minister as they believe what Mugabe says carries
the day.

“We know that President Mugabe has done this before, we know he promised
that if Roy Bennett was acquitted he would be sworn in as the Deputy
Minister. We know that has not happened,” she said.

Misihairambwi said the MDC has written to South African facilitators and are
pushing for the Global Political Agreement to be amended so that Mutambara
officially represents Zanu PF as he has been representing the interests of
Mugabe’s party of late.

“We understand this to be a Zanu PF project and therefore  as a serious
political party…we refuse to be diverted in following a fight that is
unnecessary…we are concentrating in rebuilding the party,” she said.

The MDC accused Mutambara of working hand in glove with Mugabe’s Zanu PF in
keeping his government job.

Mutambara has vowed to remain as the Deputy Prime Minister and said he
remains the principal of the MDC in the unity government.

Mutambara now represents Zanu PF: MDC

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

10/02/2011 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

ARTHUR Mutambara’s membership of the MDC was revoked at an emergency meeting
of the party’s national council on Thursday, but the party resolved to let
him stay on as Deputy Prime Minister in the unity government, but not on its
ticket.

The MDC said it took the position after President Robert Mugabe told the
party’s newly-elected leader Welshman Ncube “in no uncertain terms” on
Tuesday that he would not swear him in as Deputy Prime Minister.

Now the MDC says it considers Mutambara a Zanu PF member, and would be
seeking an amendment to the 2008 power sharing pact, known as the Global
Political Agreement, to reflect that.

MDC secretary general Priscilla Misihairabwi, speaking after the party’s
national council voted by a two thirds majority to expel Mutambara, said
they would be writing to South African President Jacob Zuma – the
regionally-appointed mediator in Zimbabwe – to seek the amendment.

“We are now saying given Mugabe’s stance, they [Zanu PF] can have that
position that was allocated to us, so that Mutambara becomes their Deputy
Prime Minister,” Misihairabwi said.

Misihairabwi said they would not be seeking to occupy the deputy premiership
and would now focus on rebuilding their party and preparing for elections.

"We want to give Arthur the position that he so desperately wants and
hopefully we will have less public fights than we are having because we know
its driven by him wanting to be Deputy Prime Minister. He said it to me
personally."

The GPA, signed in September 2008, allocated Zanu PF the presidency and two
vice presidents; the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC the premiership and a deputy
premiership and the Mutambara-led MDC a deputy premiership.

The parties also allocated ministerial portfolios to reflect the March 2008
general election vote share, with Zanu PF getting 15, Tsvangirai's MDC 13
and the Mutambara MDC three.

But with all the MDC's three ministers -- Ncube, Misihairabwi and David
Coltart -- at Thursday's national council meeting, the party says Mutambara
will not speak for it in government.

Only on Wednesday, Mutambara had tried to pre-empt his expulsion by
purporting to fire Ncube. But it was immediately pointed out that he has no
such authority under the party's constitution.

Mutambara, who led the party since 2006, resisted attempts to move him over
and make him Minister for Regional Integration, with Ncube replacing him as
Deputy Prime Minister.

The robotics professor claimed that as a signatory to the GPA, his position
was guaranteed and he should be allowed to stay on for the life of the unity
government.

Political parties locked in dispute over voters roll

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
10 February 2011

Party negotiators from ZANU PF and the MDC formations are expected to meet
next week to attempt to resolve issues about the voters roll, which is
outdated and distorted.

The parties have in principal agreed to a new voters roll, in anticipation
of a fresh poll, but disputes have emerged over how the new register will be
compiled.

A highly placed source in government told us the MDC-T are demanding a
biometric (electronic) voters roll. The MDC-T is also pushing for a ward
based voters rolls, while ZANU PF is advocating for polling station-specific
rolls.

‘The danger with using a polling station register is that it makes it easy
for perpetrators of violence to identify and target perceived political
opponents,’ our source said.

The chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), Justice Simpson
Mtambanengwe, said the electoral body has started the process of cleaning up
the voters’ roll and it would take three months.

ZEC said they had started working with the Registrar General’s office to
ensure that the voters roll is in order, in time for the referendum.

A report published last month by the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network
(ZESN), a pro-democracy non-governmental organization, showed that 27
percent of the names listed on the current voters’ roll are of dead people.

ZESN has also called for a new register of voters to be prepared before any
elections can take place, after its inspection of the roll revealed that
2,344 people registered were aged between 101 and 110 years old, while nine
others were born between 1890 and 1900.

As part of electoral reforms called for in the Global Political Agreement,
Cabinet has discussed the issue of the voters roll. But following disputes
over its format, it was decided party negotiators were best suited to deal
with it, according to our source. But he went on to say it was not yet clear
how ZEC were going to clean up the voters roll, when the issue was still in
dispute.

‘What is in dispute is the methodology to be used in coming up with a new
voters roll. So if the ZEC chairman is saying they are cleaning it up,
perhaps they’re starting afresh. Mutambanengwe’s language is not clear but I
think by next week everything should be clearer,’ our source added.

Views across the board have backed the MDC-T’s call for a biometric roll.
Biometric voter registration has software that captures citizens’ data,
including fingerprints and a digital photograph, directly in the field. The
biometric system is also known for doing away with multiple registrations
and voting, because it can easily detect duplicates.

US says alarmed by Zimbabwe political violence

http://af.reuters.com/

Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:18am GMT

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

HARARE (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday condemned a recent spate of
violence in Zimbabwe and blamed President Robert Mugabe's party for the
attacks, which are heightening tensions ahead of possible elections this
year.

There has been a spate of clashes between Mugabe's ZANU-PF and Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which has
left a dozen people injured in the past two weeks, with a ZANU-PF mob
looting shops in Harare this week.

"The United States is alarmed by, and condemns, the recent spate of
political violence perpetrated by youths and opportunists affiliated with
elements of ZANU-PF," the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

MDC members have warned unity government partner and rival Mugabe to drop
his ZANU-PF party's plans for an early election, saying the poll could lead
to a bloodbath.

Mugabe, 87 later this month, and Tsvangirai were forced into a coalition
government two years ago after a disputed poll in 2008 which led to mass
violence, a flood of refugees into South Africa and a deeper economic crisis
in the resource-rich state.

State media have been reporting that the tenure of the shaky coalition ends
on Friday, its two-year anniversary.

Mugabe has proposed a referendum on a new constitution and a general
election by June - two years ahead of schedule, although ZANU-PF spokesman
Rugare Gumbo told the Financial Gazette: "Basically, we are toying around
with dates around August".

The MDC first suggested early elections to break deadlocks in the coalition,
but says the climate is now not right. It is demanding political reforms
before any vote.

While ZANU-PF and MDC trade blame, the U.S. Embassy in Harare said all the
parties should renounce violence and urged the police to enforce the law
without bias.

"We commend the restraint shown by those victimized or affected by these
assaults in not responding with violence."

The level of political violence, which had dropped over the last two years,
is on the rise again with talk of the election.

Tsvangirai says ZANU-PF militants, led by war veterans, are targeting MDC
structures and accuses the police of taking sides with ZANU-PF.

A police spokesman said this week the MDC was responsible for the violence
while portraying police as victims.

Zanu (PF) Threatens To Bomb MDC Office

http://www.radiovop.com/

10/02/2011 16:06:00
Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font

Chimanimani, February 10 2011- Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) workers
at the party’s district offices in Chimanimani are living in fear after Zanu
(PF) women’s league Manicaland provincial chairperson, Jane Knight
threatened to bomb the offices which are owned by a local white businessman
and MDC official, Dirgit Kidd.

Knight who is also aspiring to be a member of parliament for the
constituency allegedly issued the threats during a Zanu (PF) rally held at
Ngangu secondary school recently to solicit the so called sanction
signatures from the party’s members.

The meeting was also attended by Zanu (PF) local senator, Monica Mutsvangwa.

“Knight said the MDC‘s offices should be destroyed because they are owned by
a white family who supports the MDC. Knight also urged the party’s youths to
invade Kidd’s sawmill. Knight said the Kidd family should be out of the
district by the end of March this year,” said a highly placed source who
attended the meeting.

Kidd’s wife who is popularly known as mbuya Kidd in the area is the MDC
Manicaland provincial Secretary for Social Welfare.

Pardon Maguta, the MDC coordinator for Chimanimani district said the party
is taking Knight’s threats seriously.

“We are really worried about what Knight said at the Zanu (PF) meeting .What
is more worrying is that during the past few days unfamiliar people have
been milling around our offices. If anything happens to us people like
Knight should accountable,” said Maguta.

Kidd confirmed the threats to take over the family‘s properties in
Chimanimani. “Knight and Mutsvangwa want Zanu (PF) militias to take over our
buildings. They revealed their intentions to grab our properties and banish
us from the area during a meeting they held at the Ngangu secondary school.
My advice to these two ladies is that instead of urging militias to destroy
what we have built over the last 28 years , they should be on the forefront
of encouraging their party youths to work hard.” said Kidd.

The Kidd family settled in Chimanimani in 1982. They have been working
closely with Roy Bennett, a former legislator whose coffee farm in the area
was also invaded, to develop the area through a number of community
programmes.

Radio VOP was unable to get a comment from Mutsvangwa and Knight.

Soldiers major rights abusers: report

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Chengetai Zvauya
Thursday, 10 February 2011 17:40

HARARE - Zimbabwe’s security forces have been cited as the major abusers of
human rights in the country, especially the abuse of local population in
diamond mining areas.

A report on trafficking in persons and human rights abuses, done by the
United States Foreign Affairs officer, Desiree Suo, lists soldiers among the
major culprits of violations and abuse.

The report says government does not fully comply with set minimum standards
on the elimination of trafficking and human rights abuses.

“The government of Zimbabwe did not record or release information on the
number of trafficking investigations, prosecutions, or convictions it
pursued in the last year,” Suo said.

‘‘We have reports of abuses of the human rights in the diamond areas by
soldiers; we recommend that the security forces cease the use of local
populations for forced diamond mining.”

She recommended that the offenders and violators of human rights be
prosecuted.

Human trafficking is not a crime according to Zimbabwe law, and police do
not note whether or not related crimes such as child prostitution involve
elements of trafficking.

There is no recorded case of conviction of the offenders, with members of
the security forces forcing men and young boys to perform hard labour in
diamond mines.

Zimbabwe is ranked in Tier 3 in the survey carried out by the USA in Africa
on countries that abuse human rights. The severity of abuses is classified
in tiers.

Tier 3 is for countries that have been assessed as not meeting the minimum
standards and not making a significant effort to improve their human rights
record.

Zimbabwe battled to get the sale of its diamonds certified by the Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), after reports of human rights abuses in
the Chiadzwa diamond field.

Government denies the involvement of soldiers in abusing  human rights in
the Marange mines arguing that the soldiers were guarding and protecting the
diamond fields.

Security agents have been fingered in various incidents of abuse since
Zimbabwe discovered diamonds in Marange in 2007.

Human rights groups have lobbied the international community to put pressure
on the KPCS not to sanction the sale of the gems mined in Marange because of
the perceived abuses by the military and other organs of the state security.

President Robert Mugabe and his supporters have accused the West of
attempting to frustrate the country’s efforts to generate money from the
sale of diamonds.

Mugabe maintains that the diamonds are clean and it’s the West’s ploy to
extend its anti-Zimbabwe stance.

The 86-year-old  leader and members of his inner circle are currently under
travel and banking restrictions in Europe and the US.

Meanwhile, the US government has said it is alarmed by, and condemns, the
recent spate of political violence perpetrated by youths and opportunists
affiliated with elements of Zanu PF.

“Such unlawful actions violate the Global Political Agreement and
demonstrate that the undermining of the rule of law has not changed
fundamentally.

“We commend the restraint shown by those victimised or affected by these
assaults in not responding with violence. The US calls on all parties to
sincerely renounce violence as a political tool and for the law enforcement
community to uphold the rule of law without partisan bias,” it said in a
statement.

ROHR condemns ongoing political violence

MDC Official Held Under Siege

http://www.radiovop.com/

10/02/2011 11:39:00
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Hurungwe, February 10, 2011 - Zanu (PF) hired villagers here have besieged a
business premise of an Movement for Democratic Change official, destroying
his property and demanding for his eviction.

Jonh Dhindiwe is MDC-T treasurer for Hurungwe north and operates a business
in which he provides truck drivers with parking space if they want to rest.
The truck inn is popular with long distance truck drivers going to Zambia,
Malawi, Tanzania and DRC coming from South Africa.

For the past three days hired villagers including women and youths have been
holding all night vigils at the premises demanding for Dhindiwe's eviction.
They destroyed a crèche, dip tanks for livestock, and invaded one of his
offices for use by one Boniface Nhanhana who is claiming he wants to build a
hospital. The demonstrators also disconnected power lines and cables.

Nhanhana confirmed to Radio VOP that council had approved his proposal to
build a hospital, saying villagers calling for Dhindiwe's head supported the
idea. This is despite that there is a nearby council clinic. When asked why
electricity cables were disconnected and why the demonstrators were not
respecting the court order not to interfere with Dhindiwe's property, he
said: "Dhindiwe is MDC and we do not want him here''.

A villager alleged that a local Zanu (PF) councillor for ward 7, Jonathan
Matesanwa, was demanding parking fees from the truck drivers who use
Dhindiwe's facilities and pocketing the money.

Dhindiwe told Radio VOP, ''I was looking forward to see police taking action
against the suspects because I have a court protection order barring anyone
to evict me from these premises. I have title deeds for all these. Instead
police are instructing drivers not to park here as they used to do''.

A junior police officer at nearby Makuti police station said their hands
were tied and could not do anything.
''What is being done is criminal and there is a political hand behind it
all. We can not do anything against Zanu (PF) supporters as we risk being
fired.''

There was no immediate comment from police and council as their phones went
unanswered.

Operation Murambatsvina Victims Threaten To Grab Houses

http://www.radiovop.com/

10/02/2011 11:38:00
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Bulawayo, February 10, 2011 - More than 150 Bulawayo families who are
Operation Murambatsvina victims have threatened to grab houses built for
them under Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle by force because the government
has not lived up to its promise for the past five years.
Operation Murambatsvina (Clean Up) which was implemented in 2005 resulted in
government destroying people's houses in an exercise which was condemned by
the international community. These Operation Murambatsvina victims were
dumped in old and squalid Sidojiwe flats located in Belmont industrial area.
Although the government build the victims houses under Operation Garikai,
Hlalani Kuhle (Live well), the houses were snatched by top Zanu (PF)
officials and their relatives. “We are tired of fake promises from
government, I think it’s high time we should move in and grab these
Operation Hlalani Kuhle houses. Nobody here, absolutely nobody benefited
from these Operation Hlalani Kuhle houses. It's only top officials from the
previous government who benefited,” said John Dlamini Vice Chairperson of
Sidojiwe Residents Association told Radio VOP on Wednesday Dlamini pointed
out the MDC-T led Bulawayo City Council should not be blamed for corruption
that rocked Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle project in the city as the
previous Zanu (PF) government controlled the project. Contacted for comment,
Giles Mutsekwa the current National Housing Minister condemned corruption in
the allocation of Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle houses saying he will soon
start taking stock of the project and fish out those top Zanu (PF) officials
who have benefited. “This is really sad, I really sympathise with Sidojiwe
Flats residents. Operation Garikai houses was meant for the victims of
Operation Murambatsvina and I don’t see the reasons why these previous
government officials allocated houses to themselves living families to
suffer like this,” said Mutsekwa Mutsekwa added that after taking stock of
Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle houses he will official hand them over to
city and town councils countrywide, which in turn will allocate them to
Operation Murambatsvina victims.

Parirenyatwa Hospital Runs Out Of Water

http://www.radiovop.com

10/02/2011 16:03:00

Harare, February 10, 2011 - Water cuts at one of Harare's biggest referral
hospitals, Parirenyatwa, has affected operations since Monday.

Parirenyatwa Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Zigora, confirmed the
lack of water.

“It’s true that we are having water cuts, but the problem has nothing to do
with local authorities. We are currently refurbishing the hospital and the
project is affecting our water supply that's all what I can say. We are
tired of talking to the media over this issue because I have been phoned by
three other journalists before and cannot continue talking about the same
issue. Thank you I am driving, “he said before terminating the call.

A visit by Radio VOP at the hospital on Thursday revealed that some of the
patients requiring X-ray examinations were yet to be attended to since the
beginning of this week.

Godfrey Mundoza said his grandmother who had been admitted at the hospital
on Monday was still waiting to be X-rayed. "The doctors are saying the x-ray
machines need water to operate."

“I have to take my son to a private hospital who has some stomach
complications and waiting for a surgical operation,” said Joyce Manjoro of
Highlands.

Vice President Ordered To Pay US$ 5000 To Jonathan Moyo

http://www.radiovop.com

10/02/2011 18:10:00

Bulawayo, February 10, 2011- High Court Judge Francis Bere has ordered
Zimbabwe Vice President, John Nkomo to pay former information Minister and
Zanu (PF) politburo member, Jonathan Moyo US$5000 in damages.

Moyo filed a two billion Zimbabwe dollar lawsuit against Nkomo in 2006
saying that Nkomo allegedly told the party’s provincial coordinating
committee (PCC) in Matabeleland North that Moyo had plotted a coup against
President Robert Mugabe and the presidium.

Nkomo’s statement stemmed from a meeting allegedly organised and funded by
Moyo at Dinyane High School in Tsholotsho in 2005, now referred to as the
“Tsholotsho Declaration.”

Passing judgment in Bulawayo High Court on Thursday afternoon Justice Bere
said he was satisfied that the Tsholotsho meeting organised by Moyo was just
a mere public meeting not a meeting to organise a coup as Nkomo said

“The fact that there were state security agents and some top government
ministers at this meeting there is no way the meeting can be regarded as a
smart coup,” he said.

Justice Francis Bere deferred this judgment indefinitely in 2006 to enable
him to prepare his ruling.

Moyo who was absent during the passing of the judgment and was being
represented by his lawyer Job Sibanda of Sibanda and Partners while Nkomo
who was present in court was being represented by Harare lawyer Francis
Chirimuuta.

Mugabe Birth Day Donations Controversy Continues

http://www.radiovop.com/

10/02/2011 16:10:00

Harare, February 10, 2011 - The unruly Zanu (PF) youths, who recently set
Harare on fire, are now asking innocent school children to donate US$1 each
for President Robert Mugabe's 87th birthday bash, Radio VOP can exclusively
reveal.

"We were told that each child must donate US$1 without fail," a headmaster
told Radio VOP in an exclusive interview. "We are now worried because they
(youths) said they were still debating how much each headmaster should
donate to the lavish bash."

The headmaster, looking extremely worried, told Radio VIOP that there was a
new directive from the disgruntled youths that no child should be "sent away
even if they do not pay school fees or levies" as stipulated by the Ministry
of Primary and Secondary Education led by David Coltart of the MDC.

"We were also told to stop asking children for school fees if they have not
paid," the headmaster said. "This is only days after we were told that there
should be three days set aside for teaching and two days set apart for party
information. The issue and situation is now getting out of hand."

He said the situation at most schools was extremely depressing in Zimbabwe
right now.

Zimbabwe has one of the best literacy rate records in Africa but analysts
are worried that this impressive record could soon be thrown out of the
window if the youths are allowed to continue terrorising teachers and
headmasters.

Mugabe’s party demands polls amid violence

http://www.nation.co.ke

By KITSEPILE NYATHI NATION Correspondent
Posted Thursday, February 10 2011 at 19:33

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party wants the country to hold
elections by August despite strong opposition to an early poll.

The announcement on the eve of the second anniversary of the unity
government formed by Mr Mugabe and his opponents to end a decade old
political and economic crisis is likely to further worsen the rising tension
in the southern African country.

Harare’s three governing parties are supposed to meet anytime soon and
review the progress made by the coalition in terms of a 2008 power sharing
agreement.

President Mugabe has indicated that he does not want to extend the lifespan
of the coalition although there are indications that he would be forced to
give it another six months to allow for the completion of a new constitution
and preparations for a credible poll.

Zanu PF spokesman Mr Rugare Gumbo told the weekly Financial Gazette on
Thursday that the elections would certainly be held this year.

Meanwhile, the United States on Thursday expressed alarm at new violence in
Zimbabwe, accusing President Robert Mugabe’s party of carrying out the
attacks ahead of possible elections this year.

“The United States is alarmed by, and condemns, the recent spate of
political violence perpetrated by youths and opportunists affiliated with
elements of ZANU-PF,” the US embassy in Harare said in a statement.

Floods could herald humanitarian disaster

http://english.pravda.ru

10.02.2011

Where is this story? Massive rainfall across swathes of Southern Africa,
affecting no less than ten countries in the region, has placed enormous
pressure on the food supply, meaning that in the near future shortages could
become a reality placing lives at risk. The international community must act
now before it is too late.

The rainy season visits Southern Africa every year, coinciding with the
European winter. The current season is halfway through and rivers in
Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe
are at serious risk of flooding, while the cyclone season is set to peak
this week.

Cindy Holleman, the FAO Regional Emergency Coordinator for Southern Africa,
launches the alert in declarations on the FAO official site: "Food
insecurity levels are already critical in the affected areas of some of
these countries and floods will only further worsen the ability of poor
farmers to cope and feed their families in the coming months".

Storms and floods have already killed 123 people in the region; the list of
countries affected includes the above-mentioned countries and Angola,
Madagascar and Malawi. Thousands of hectares of agricultural lands have been
destroyed by torrential rains and floods across these countries and there is
a great risk of the damage increasing, according to FAO.

In Lesotho, around 60 per cent of the harvest has been lost in the worst
affected areas, while 4,700 heads of livestock have been lost; Mozambique's
southern and central regions have issued a red alert due to the fact that
the large rivers are already swollen and a state of disaster has been
declared in parts of South Africa, where thousands of hectares of crop land
have been devastated.

FAO is setting up control and early warning systems to check the evolution
in the main rivers and to assess the effect on the crops and communities,
providing technical advice for governments in the region on preparedness and
measures to prevent the spread of disease. The UNO is preparing to provide
timely assistance with the delivery of quality seeds and methods to restore
agriculture after the rainy season is over.

An increased shortage of food from this region comes at a time when food
prices are already inflated to historic levels, creating a trend which
promises to push them up even higher.

Sources: UNO, FAO

Timofei Belov

Pravda.Ru

Israeli firm to buy Zim gold mills

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Tobias Manyuchi     Thursday 10 February 2011

HARARE – Zimbabwe gold refiner Fidelity Printers and Refiners has agreed to
sell more than 100 of its gold milling and refining plants to Israeli-based
firm Slash Wood Private Limited for an undisclosed amount.

Deputy Mines Minister Gift Chimanikire said that Slash Wood has been awarded
the tender to takeover the plants dotted across the southern African country
that was a major gold producer before seeing output tumbling because of a
severe economic crisis over the past decade that made it difficult for
miners to open new ventures or maintain existing ones.

Chimankire said: “Slash Wood was awarded the tender to acquire the custom
milling plants which are spread throughout the country.”

The deputy minister was unable to say how much Slash Wood would pay for the
custom milling and refining plants that are valued at close to US$50 000
each.

“I am not privy to the total cost of the milling plants but they are worth
quite a lot,” he said, adding the government would ensure that the
transaction complied with Zimbabwe’s economic indigenisation regulations.

In terms of the indigenisation laws, foreign investors would be beginning
2015 banned from owning more than 49 percent of equity in local firms with a
minimum asset value of US$500 000.

Fidelity opted to sell the plants following the London Bullion Market
Association (LBMA)’s decision to revoke the Zimbabwean refiner’s license to
refine gold because of the country’s declining production levels.

In terms of the LBMA requirements, the license could only be restored when
Fidelity achieved a net value of almost US$15 million while Zimbabwean
annual gold output shoots to about 28 tonnes annually.

Last year, Zimbabwe produced about eight tonnes of gold and expectations are
high that it would double the amount this year.

Chimanikire said since the LBMA revoked Fidelity's license, Zimbabwe has
been sending its gold to South Africa for refining. -- ZimOnline

Zim’s impressive progress against HIV

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Edward Jones     Thursday 10 February 2011

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s HIV prevalence rate has plummeted over the last decade
out of fear of infection and mass social change, scientists said, a rare
piece of good news for a country that has been torn by strife and economic
crisis for more than a decade.

Zimbabwe experienced an economic implosion from 1997, largely blamed on
President Robert Mugabe’s policies and researchers say the poor economic
situation drove down the number of concurrent partners a man could have, due
to constraints on the wallet.

According to a study by British researchers, which was published in the
journal PLoS Medicine, Zimbabwe's epidemic was one of the biggest in the
world until the rate of people infected with HIV almost halved, from 29
percent of the population in 1997 to 16 percent in 2007.

United Nations data shows the rate fell again to 13.75 percent last year.

Zimbabweans had primarily been motivated to change their sexual behaviour
because of increased awareness about AIDS deaths which heightened their
fears of catching the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes it,
according to the research.

"The HIV epidemic is still very large, with more than one in 10 adults
infected today," said Timothy Hallett of Imperial College, London, who
worked on the study.

"We hope that Zimbabwe and other countries in southern Africa can learn from
these lessons and strengthen programs to drive infections down even
further."

Simon Gregson, also from Imperial College, and a senior investigator on the
study, said that given continuing high HIV/AIDS infection rates in many
sub-Saharan African countries, it was important to understand why the
disease had taken such a dramatic downturn in Zimbabwe.

"Very few other countries around the world have seen reductions in HIV
infection, and of all African nations, Zimbabwe was thought least likely to
see such a turnaround," he said.

The drop in the HIV/AIDS infection rate come on the backdrop of economic
difficulties, which in other countries has put pressure on women to engage
in prostitution and higher infections.

For Zimbabwe, the drop has almost been miraculous, with very few people
having access to live prolonging anti-retroviral drugs.

AIDS experts say that while there have been dramatic gains in the
availability of AIDS drugs in poor countries in recent years, the fight
against the disease, which is most often transmitted through sex, will never
be won unless prevention efforts can be made more effective.

While anti-retroviral drugs prolong life of infected patients there is no
cure and nearly 30 million people have died of HIV-related causes since the
disease first emerged in the 1980s.

The Imperial College researchers found that in Zimbabwe, a change in
attitudes towards numbers of sexual partners was helped by HIV/AIDS
prevention programmes, which were reinforced through mass media, church
leaders and employers. -- ZimOnline

President Mugabe Talking Too Much and Day Dreaming- Tsvangirai

http://www.radiovop.com/

10/02/2011 11:43:00

Harare, February 10, 2011 - President Robert Mugabe is talking too much
about the elections and is causing alarm and despondency, says Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC-T) President and Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Morgan
Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai told the MDC-T newsletter, The Changing Times, that President
Mugabe should shut up and not cause alarm and despondence to innocent
Zimbabweans.

He said the date for the forthcoming elections had not been discussed and
yet Mugabe continued to talk about them as if they had been finalised.

He said Zanu (PF) had prematurely thrust itself into a violent election
campaign mode following careless utterances by its leadership, including
President Mugabe, who is the Zanu (PF) President.

"President Robert Mugabe continues to needlessly cause alarm and despondency
by pretending to be oblivious to the fact that this is a coalition
government," Tsvangirai said.

"The President and the Prime Minister now share executive authority and one
cannot act exclusively in making executive decisions," he said.

Mugabe has gone ahead to appoint ambassadors and governors without
consulting Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai has protested against these appointments
to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and gone to court but
nothing has been reversed yet.

Tsvangirai said he regrets Mugabe's calls for an early poll as such
utterances merely caused needless anxiety, alarm and despondency and
political uncertainty in Zimbabwe.

He dismissed President Mugabe's claims and posturing as "day dreaming",
saying the reform process as defined by the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
should determine the election date.

"No one, at this stage, can single-handedly call for elections unless there
is a unilateral abandonment of the GPA," Tsvangirai, said. "No one wants to
slide back to 2008 where the nation forced people to starve and where the
people's verdict was suppressed. After all, those elections were not
credible."

Meanwhile the United States embassy in Harare has condemned political
violence which is being orchestrated by  Mugabe's Zanu (PF) supporters which
has gripped the country displacing hundreds of MDC supporters.

The embassy said violence was against the GPA, an agreement which formed the
unity government of Mugabe and Tsvangirai. Violence erupted in the country
after Mugabe told his party at the Zanu (PF) conference last December that
elections might be held anytime soon.

The MDC has blamed Zanu (PF) for beating up their supporters across the
country. The MDC says thousands of their supporters have fled their homes to
safe houses after they were violently forced out of their houses.

Zimbabwe has been experiencing violence towards and at election time
prominently in the last decade as Zanu (PF) fights for its political
survival after the coming in of the MDC into the political fold in 1999.

The US embassy called on all political parties to denounce violence and for
the police to arrest violence perpetrators.

"The United States is alarmed by, and condemns, the recent spate of
political violence perpetrated by youths and opportunists affiliated with
elements of Zanu (PF).  Such unlawful actions violate the Global Political
Agreement and demonstrate that the undermining of the rule of law has not
changed fundamentally," the US embassy said.

"We commend the restraint shown by those victimized or affected by these
assaults in not responding with violence.  The U.S. calls on all parties to
sincerely renounce violence as a political tool and for the law enforcement
community to uphold the rule of law without partisan bias."

The US embassy statement comes just days after the British embassy slammed
violence in the country saying it is sad that two years after the formation
of the unity government the country is still experiencing violence.

“It is this sort of unchecked violence – ignored by the police- and not
imaginary sanctions, which does untold damage to Zimbabwe’s reputation
abroad and makes it harder for real friends such as the United Kingdom to
help attract investment the country so badly needs,” British ambassador,
Mark Canning said.

The Hidden Story with Dewa Mavhinga

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

TS: Hello Zimbabwe and welcome to this week’s edition of The Hidden Story.
My name is Tichaona Sibanda and I have two gentlemen as my guests on the
programme today. We are of course looking at the wave of unrest in north
Africa and analyse what that means for the African continent.

I have on the panel, Dewa Mavhinga the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition regional
director, based in Johannesburg and Job Sikhala, the former St Mary’s MDC MP
and now president of the break away MDC99. Gentlemen, welcome to the
programme.

Dewa Mavhinga and Job Sikhala: Thank you

Tichaona

Now I’ll start off with you Dewa, you were in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the
African Union summit as events in Egypt were unfolding. Do you think
President Hosni Mubarak’s offer to stand down will cause shockwaves right
across the African continent because until recently, the regime in Egypt
seemed pretty much rock solid?

Dewa

Absolutely Tichaona, events in Egypt are sending a clear message that
authoritarian rule is out of fashion and that no matter how much you may
oppress the people, once the fear is gone there is no going back and that
really the whole of Africa is in transition so it is a clear message to old
dictatorships across Africa that their time is up.

Tichaona

Now, let me turn to you Job Sikhala, you are in Zimbabwe and I’m sure people
there have been following these events. Do you think Robert Mugabe and his
henchmen are worried by what is happening in north Africa?

Sikhala

Definitely, any dictator would be worried because there are quite a number
of synonymous things between what the situation in Egypt and also the same
situation that was prevailing in Tunisia together with that that was
mitigating here in Zimbabwe. The first thing that you have to understand is
that these dictatorships have been people who have been claiming electoral
victory with such massive electoral mandate to the extent that, the internal
systems of government have been dominated by these people.

The first thing is that Tunisia and Egypt entered into farce elections
recently; four months down the line Ben Ali was overthrown after having been
said to have won more than 98% of the total vote in Tunisia. The same
applies when Hosni Mubarak had elections late last year, he won by over 98%.
However these were falsified victories and a falsified victory is also
synonymous with Robert Mugabe here – that is when dictators claim victory
when the people no longer like them.

So basically the message is very clear, ZANU PF is shaken, it is
intensifying its violence machinery, it is militarising the countryside, it
is unleashing its militia, it is intimidating almost everybody and at the
present moment as I am speaking today, the whole country is engulfed in very
serious violence all over the country.

Tichaona: Dewa – your take on this one?

Dewa

I agree absolutely with Job on the point that really electoral processes
have been hi-jacked in Africa by these dictators who pretend in terms of a
tokenistic approach to democracy but because of the suffering that is caused
by these authoritarian regimes. It’s inevitable that the people will rise
and the good thing that is telling about the stories of Tunisia and Egypt is
that the security forces, the army and the police, are on the side of the
people and this is where really now we must turn our focus to in Zimbabwe.
That is really what we need, a leadership, a political leadership that
serves the people of Zimbabwe.

Tichaona

Job, do you think the loud and clear message from north Africa is that
despotic or authoritarian dispensations in Africa as a whole and beyond are
destined to disappear sooner rather than later?

Sikhala

Definitely there are many people who have overstayed in power in Africa,
especially being led by one Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and also being followed
by Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, the same applies and followed by our own
dictator here in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe. Then comes little dictators like
Ben Ali who have been 23 years in power and also we must not forget the rise
to power by Omar Bongo and his son in Gabon and basically also in Togo when
the late president’s son also took over. So specifically in Africa the
message is now very clear that there is a lot of boiling anger.

For example in our own country Robert Mugabe will intimidate people like
what he did during the June 2008 run-off elections and think that the two
million people who voted, are people who voted for him but beneath the
hearts and minds of these people there is boiling anger, that this boiling
anger is continuously being suppressed but the moment when it explodes,
definitely all dictators will regret the time when the boiling anger, which
accumulates after a long time, explode. When it will come to them,
definitely there will be a situation where they will not, when they will
lose even the support of their own military henchmen. That has happened in
Tunisia and also in Egypt so specifically the message is very clear, that
our own situation currently in Zimbabwe is that the people of Zimbabwe are
seated on deep-seated anger.

They are very angry about Mugabe’s dictatorship for the past 31 years, they
cannot tolerate him any more, he can intimidate them, he can beat them up,
he can kill them but however you can realise that in Tunisia more than 500
people died, in Egypt so far about 260 people are reported to have died, so
specifically when the time comes everything will explode in the face of the
dictatorship and they will not be able to stop it. And however and also
another optional, the other optional route which I think the people of
Zimbabwe will one day take is that Mugabe, who is so in charge of his
military henchmen, believes that the securocrats will continue to protect
his dictatorship, but I will say that as time goes on, if this anger
continues to accumulate, the people of Zimbabwe will not hesitate to even
engage in military insurrection against Mugabe’s dictatorship. They will
also take his own personal route, they will stun him at his own game as I am
realising their mood and when we are talking to the people in the streets at
the present moment, they are so bitter and angry and full of anger, anything
can happen.

Tichaona

The massive outpouring of utter disdain for the dictatorial regimes in
Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan and Egypt is indicative of the fact that the people
of these troubled countries are now conscious of their rights and freedoms.
In Zimbabwe we still have AIPPA and POSA, two draconian pieces of
legislation that have been used by the ZANU PF regime to crack down on
political opponents. These laws need to be repealed, and Dewa the message to
all leaders of these regimes around the world is loud and clear – change or
you’ll be changed. Is this right?

Dewa

Absolutely the demands that have been made by the people of Tunisia and
Egypt are clear. They demand reforms and they demand a new leadership. The
challenge that we have had which is characteristic of all dictatorships is
that they do not want to leave power. In Zimbabwe one of the key problems
that we must grapple with is that it appears that president Mugabe who has
been in power for the last 30 years and who turns 87 years this month does
not have a clear succession plan in the party and in government and as such
that is really a dynamite situation that it’s a ticking time bomb. What we
need is leadership renewal. This is why in Egypt despite all offers for
belated reforms; the people kept demanding that Mubarak must go. Calls have
been made in Zimbabwe, from within ZANU PF and outside that Mugabe must go
and it is clear that if we do not have reforms which reforms should have
taken place under the auspices of the GPA, those calls will return and will
be higher and really the fate of Ben Ali, Mubarak may not be dissimilar to
that that may befall other dictators in Africa.

Tichaona

Job before events in north Africa, it was said African nations are immune to
events that happen outside their borders, partly because Africans are so
docile, do not read and are not very sensitive to information but because
Mubarak has been overwhelmed, has this strengthened the resolve of many
Africans across the continent that it is possible to move a dictator and
that Tunisian and Egyptian experience was not a one-off, leaving many
guessing who is next?

Sikhala

That’s why you will realise that the revolutions that are currently taking
place in north Africa are spreading like cancer. There is no doubt that many
dictators to Africa and those people who have been stealing elections in
their various countries are currently being shaken by the events that have
taken place in those two countries. There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that
African dictators, even other dictators who are governing through a
falsified view of democracy while in actual fact they are dictators who are
rigging elections in their various countries are worried. They are also
being surprised and being shaken by the spread of the revolution in north
Africa. You have to understand that even when the revolution was taking
place in eastern Europe, during the period of the collapse of the cold war
in the early 1990s, constitutions have been overthrown like what happened in
Tunisia, the constitution was overthrown. The language of the revolution is
that it has no oppressive legislation that will govern a revolution. A
revolution is a wind that will overthrow even constitutions and restore
people power. That is the difference, the different view which the
progressive forces are seeing and those who view from the angle of
dictatorship. The truth of the matter is that no matter what kind of
oppressive legislation might be put in place there is no any country with
oppressive legislation like Egypt where Mubarak would even ban opposition
political parties from participating in the electoral processes where change
is inevitable. Look at what is happening today, millions and millions are
gathering at the liberation square, demanding their rights and their
independence and this will happen all over Africa. This is a new wave of the
revolution synonymous with what happened during the period when communism,
when communistic dictatorships were collapsing in the eastern Europe in the
period of the cold war.

Tichaona

Job I know you are a victim of police brutality in Zimbabwe; the Egyptian
experience has also shown how useless security measures can become if a
people are determined. It renders ineffective efforts made to strengthen
riot police forces in anticipation of demonstrations. We have seen this
countless times in Zimbabwe. The protesters in Cairo have unmasked the
potentially empty threat that lies in the show of bravado that it typical of
the state machinery which may collapse or flee when stood up to. There’s no
doubt that guns, tanks and other hardware can become instantly useless
against a mass of people who are determined to free themselves from the
bondage of despots.

Sikhala

It’s very true brother Tichaona Sibanda. When people decide they need
change, there is nothing that can stand in the way of people power. It has
been witnessed in Egypt that even tanks themselves are also assisting the
masses of Egypt for them to be free from the jaws and yoke of the
dictatorship. That will happen when the people are demanding their rights.
It’s only a matter of time when dictators even in southern Africa, we still
have two remaining dangerous dictators in dos Santos and Robert Mugabe.
Their regimes are plagued with loot, plunder, corruption and take the
national resources as is their personal resources. If you go to Angola and
ask the Angolans, they will tell you that among the 60 richest billionaires
in Angola, they are all generals and on top is dos Santos. If you ask
Zimbabweans they will tell you that the richest man at the present moment as
we speak today is Mugabe who can afford to go and buy a mansion on the
seaside of Malaysia. They will tell you that he has accumulated wealth and
he has been presiding over the most corrupt regime and the people of
Zimbabwe are angry. There is nothing that will stop people power. People
power is a weapon that will never stop. Even countries with nuclear weapons,
even an army of over five hundred thousand, like the Egyptian is, are now
saying to the people you are correct, your demonstrations are justified, so
you fight on, we are not going to descend on you. It is not long before
Mugabe realises that the game is up.

Tichaona

Dewa, although popular uprisings are not new in world politics, it is the
manner in which people have treated the two governments that has excited the
lovers of democracy in Africa. Analysts think that this is just the
beginning of a new wave of revolutions that will sweep across the world not
just the African continent targeting authoritarian governments. Do you think
that, once set in motion, people power is unstoppable even in Zimbabwe?

Dewa

Absolutely but I must caution that the constitution of Zimbabwe has two
sectors that may militate against an uprising. One is that, faced with
difficulties, millions of Zimbabweans have left the country so that has been
a valve to release pressure and apply pressure on South Africa. The other
challenges have been that Mugabe has been giving tokenistic reforms to
Zimbabweans and he has brought on board opposition forces under the sham
agreement of this so-called power sharing government. So that also deflates
a bit of pressure. So if there is clarity from the opposition forces that
these reforms are not acceptable and there is a demand that without adequate
reforms there can be no election, this would galvanise the people of
Zimbabwe into the relevant action that would be unstoppable until victory is
ours.

Tichaona

Job, Jonathan Moyo argues that Zimbabwe can never experience events such as
those in north Africa because land has been given to the masses and that
government has begun empowering the black people but I think he’s missing
the point because the protestors are out in the streets against
unemployment, corruption, freedom of speech, they want justice and the rule
of law, besides, how many suffering Zimbabweans have benefited from ZANU PF’s
controversial land redistribution programme?

Sikhala

Any normal Zimbabwean who will take politicians, illusionary politicians
like Jonathan Moyo seriously and even the comments that they make, that
person would need a psychological analysis because specifically people like
Jonathan Moyo, he has been prostituting from one end to another in our
national political equation. So a person like me will never give any
audience to whatever Jonathan Moyo would say. I would simply laugh and say
no this is a person who has been prostituting himself in politics for a long
time so I can’t listen to him. The truth of the matter is that 96% of
Zimbabweans as we speak today are scrounging from hand to mouth. They are
not able to have a decent meal a day in their household. I want to agree
with Mavhinga what he has said that you know the sham agreement which was
entered into by those people who have prostituted themselves to Robert
Mugabe has not been able to produce political reforms, the fundamental
political reforms every Zimbabwean was yearning for, every Zimbabwean was
expecting serious democratic reforms that will open up political space for
the country but if you would realise up to this hour there is only one
broadcasting authority in Zimbabwe and the voices of the majority and the
voice of reason is still shut out.

Anybody who will try to have any reasonable argument in this country is
labelled an enemy and they must be attacked. We have been expecting these
reforms to be introduced through this so-called GNU but specifically at this
present moment there is nothing that has advanced. Not the nonsense which
Jonathan Moyo is saying that the majority of people have benefitted, how
many people have been resettled in the commercial farms? They’ve only been
taken by the military chefs, they have been taken by Mugabe’s henchmen – no
ordinary citizen or an ordinary villager gained anything through that
so-called land reform programme. It’s absolutely nonsense, these are the
illusions of Jonathan Moyo. The land we will see, when the people of
Zimbabwe try to reclaim their power and authority you’ll realise that he is
lost and daydreaming.

Tichaona

Added to that Job, Thabo Mbeki began negotiations between ZANU PF and MDC
soon after the disputed presidential election of 2002, it has been a sorry
saga of delays, secrecy, purported agreements and nothing actually settled.
In such a scenario, we must ask the question – who profits - certainly not
the ordinary people of Zimbabwe?

Sikhala

No that’s very true my brother Tichaona Sibanda. The people who have
benefited in this GNU are the only individuals who have been able to live in
the comforts of Mercedes Benz cars. Those who have been able to be allocated
houses in the leafy northern suburbs of Harare and they’ve forgotten about
the people. There has never been a strong push for political reform in this
country for the past two years and we as Zimbabweans especially myself I’m
so disappointed that these people who have entered into Mugabe’s gravy
train, have not been able to why the people of Zimbabwe have suffered for so
long. They sit in agreement with the ZANU PF mandarins who tell them that we
will never accept anybody to rule this country through a ball point pen that’s
worth less than 50 cents. It is clear that Zimbabweans are demanding a lot
of reforms, I would think that the people of Zimbabwe, one day will be able
to rise and the first thing that we must do, there must be a small
leadership of people who are brave and committed who will be able to
sacrifice even their own lives, even if they become the first victims like
the Tunisian vendor who burned himself to death to ignite the peoples’
revolution. We must get one Zimbabwean, one single Zimbabwean who is brave
enough for him to say the people of Zimbabwe cannot accept this nonsense any
more from Robert Mugabe, why don’t we rise? In Egypt the uprising that has
now escalated to over a million people has been started by only 200 people
who have been brave and committed for days and for a revolution in Egypt. If
you will ask a person, a reformist and activists like Mavhinga, you will get
that he is prepared, to work with other comrades and cadres to demand their
rights in this country. It’s only a matter of time before the democratic
forces in this country start to coordinate amongst themselves to demand
people’s rights.

Tichaona

Dewa, Job has just thrown a challenge to you.

Dewa

Absolutely Tichaona, what we need to look at as Zimbabweans is that we must
move away from our comfort zone. If you look at the events in Tunisia and
Egypt it had to come from within, it was up to the people of that country to
demand their rights. They are not given on a silver platter, there will be
no invitation from anyone to invite us to claim our rights so really I agree
absolutely with Job that we must now demand our rights and claim our place.
People are suffering, things are not easy in Zimbabwe, civil servants are
suffering but it’s not because Zimbabwe is a poor country. Zimbabwe is very
rich, it has got diamonds, it has got platinum, it has got all those
resources that today are benefiting an elite few who are politically well
connected, who are around president Mugabe. So what we are saying is that we
are demanding an equitable sharing of the wealth of Zimbabwe and that if we
continue to live in our own cocoons of false security we will not achieve
the desired results. The young people of Zimbabwe must begin to think for
themselves what kind of Zimbabwe they want to see and must begin to
articulate those aspirations and demand that they become a reality. We
should not expect South Africa to fight for us, we should not expect Thabo
Mbeki to do us any favours but we must now begin to come together as a
people and say enough is enough.

Tichaona

Unfortunately Job Sikhala and Dewa Mavhinga time is not on our side today
but I must just thank you so much for taking your time to talk to us on our
programme The Hidden Story.

Dewa: Most welcome Tichaona thanks.

Sikhala : Thank you very much, thank you.

2 years on: the balance of power in Zimbabwe

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

10/02/2011 00:00:00
    by Alex T. Magaisa

(This if the first of two parts of a paper analysing the balance of power in
Zimbabwe two years after the inception of the Inclusive Government in 2009)

A FEW years ago, I carried out an analysis of the balance of power in
Zimbabwean politics. A universally accepted source of political power in a
democratic society is the people. The proposition is that society organises
itself so that it confers power to some among their number to perform the
duties of government.

In return for conceding that power, the rest of society expects protection,
stability and an environment in which they can maximise their potential.
Those who earn the power to govern therefore carry certain responsibilities
to society.  They are in a position of trust, entrusted as they are with the
power of government. It is what Locke referred to as the “social contract” –
an arrangement between the governors and the governed.

In modern democratic politics such a contract is negotiated through
elections, which negotiations are renewed after a set period.  Through the
election process, society can assess the performance of the governors and
decide whether or not to give them power to continue in office. This means
power can be conferred through an election or removed and transferred from
one set of governors to another depending on their ability to convince
society that they are the best to deliver on its aspirations.

Having observed Zimbabwean politics for some time, it was apparent that
elections were not serving this purpose. There were critical barriers to the
effectiveness of the election as a mechanism through which society could
negotiate its ‘social contract’ with its governors. It occurred to me that
somewhere along the line something had happened to affect this ‘contract’ so
that the election process had become ineffective.

The efficacy of the people as a source of power had therefore been weakened
and subordinated to other sources. It prompted me to search for other
sources of power. Many questions, including the following, called for
consideration:

What is it that enables governors to retain power to govern, the absence of
power from the people notwithstanding? Where else do they draw their power
from, if not from the people through an election process? Importantly, what
obstacles must power from the people negotiate to become an effective source
of power?

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This is by no means a redundant exercise. It is important because it gives
some perspective on the challenges in the way of achieving a democratic
society in which it can be said that power truly derives from the people.
Identifying the sources of power demonstrates the impediments to realising
power normally derived from the people. Without a better understanding of
these sources of power, the election process will likely remain an exercise
in futility.

There is only one exception, which is that power drawn from the people could
be achieved otherwise than through the election process, as we have recently
seen in Tunisia and the on-going unrest in Egypt, but even this has to be
seen within the broader context of the sources of power that we discuss here
and the attendant risks.
Structures of Power

In a previous work, I adapted to the domestic context Susan Strange’s model
of ‘structural power’ in the international political economy.  Strange
referred to two kinds of power namely, relational power and structural
power, the first referring to the power to influence others in their conduct
and the second signifying the power to shape and determine how things are
done within a given context.

Those who hold structural power determine the institutional structures,
rules, etc according to and within which others operate. In short, they are
agenda-setter and controllers of ways in which things are done. Four sources
from which structural power is drawn were identified: Production, Finance,
Security and Knowledge.

After analysing the political players in Zimbabwe, the conclusion was that
Zanu PF’s strength lay in the fact that compared to other political players,
it was better placed to draw power deriving from each of these key sources.
The fact that it possessed an enormous amount of structural power meant that
it was able to determine the way things were done – including more
critically, the way elections are held and generally the rules within which
all others must operate.

So for example, because it possesses high levels of power drawn from the
security structure, it could decide, if it so wished to ignore the results
of the election. That would be too blatant so the next best option was it
could manage the election process to suit its needs and expectations. At the
time I was sceptical about the outcome of the 2008 elections principally
because I doubted the effectiveness of the election process conferring power
in the face of these other sources of power.

As it happened, the 2008 elections were a failure in so far as allowing the
people to confer power on their choice of the governors was concerned. What
we saw in 2008 was confirmation of the power drawn from other sources
overriding power otherwise drawn from the people through an election
process. The result was the compromise encapsulated in the Global Political
Agreement of September 2009 and the unity government that commenced
operations in February 2009.

Given my scepticism over the election, the limits of power from the people
otherwise than through the election and the cul-de-sac that the country had
reached, I joined the ranks of those who initially backed the coalition
government. It was not what the people wanted but it was the least they
could have under the circumstances. My own view was that it was a window of
opportunity to affect the balance of power by the erstwhile opposition but
only if they were able to gain some space to draw power from the identified
sources: production, security, knowledge and finance structures. Two years
after the commencement of the unity government, it is pertinent to assess
the extent to which power dynamics have changed, if at all.
I will do so by assessing the issues under the sources of power from which
structural power is drawn.

The Production Structure

The argument here is that power is vested in those who control the means of
production. This of course has to be a viable production system. Perhaps the
most contested means of production from which power is drawn is the land. It
has been the case for many years but none more so that in the last decade
when the Zanu PF government instigated the Fast Track Land Reform Programme
(FTLRP) during which land was forcibly taken away from the majority of the
white commercial farmers had occupied the country’s most productive land
since the colonial times. Although the success or failure of the land reform
programme remains a point of debate, it is evident from the food deficit
that the country has faced in the last decade (from a previous position of
food surplus in most years since independence)  is indicative of the general
malaise in the food production structures.

Taking land from the white farmers was justified as redressing colonial
wrongs, but against the background of our model, one cannot avoid the
observation that white farmers and their productive business were a key part
of the production structure. To the extent that this production structure
provided a source of power, contests over the land question can also be seen
as contests between political players over access to this power.

White farmers were seen to be resisting Zanu PF’s land reforms and aligning
themselves to the MDC, the new political force challenging Zanu PF’s power.
To the extent that the white farmers were seen as supporting the MDC, it is
arguable that Zanu PF saw this as diminishing hold that they had on power
drawn from the production structure. The MDC was perceived to be drawing
financial support from the white farmers and to that extent, drawing power
from the production structure. Therefore, to the extent that the white
farmers represented a critical part of the production structure, the forced
evictions from the land can be seen as a tool to weaken the opposition.

The effect of price controls, whilst designed to cushion the general public
against effects of hyperinflation, were also a means of controlling the
power vested in the economic players that derived from their role as
producers or agents of service and goods’ provision. Leaving prices to
market forces would have meant exposing the public to inevitable price hikes
and therefore increasing the levels of discontent against the government
which the public inevitably holds responsible.

Similarly, in recent years there has been much debate around the
indigenisation of commercial business in Zimbabwe. Much of the debate has
centred on the requirement that 51% of companies ought to be owned by an
indigenous Zimbabwean, as defined in the relevant law. This follows a
similar pattern to the land reforms where again the indigenisation agenda
was the dominant justification. In effect, this is an effort to gain greater
control of the means of production, from which power is derived.

The biggest source of power from this structure in more recent years
however, has been in mining and mineral wealth in particular the recent
diamond finds in the Marange alluvial diamond fields.  Zanu PF has again
emerged as the foremost winner in the race for the extraction and trade of
diamonds muscling out commercial players such as Africa Consolidated
Resources Ltd that had laid prior claim to the fields.

The MDC and others do not seem to have any clue as to what exactly is
happening in Marange and its diamonds. The international debate over the
status of the Marange diamonds, i.e. whether or not they are ‘Blood Diamonds’
whose trade must not be sanctioned under the Kimberly Process is testimony
to attempts to neutralise the power otherwise drawn by Zanu PF from the
production and trade of diamonds. No doubt, diamonds have played an
influential role in changing the power dynamics by providing to Zanu PF the
financial resources that had dwindled over the years.

The problem however, is that despite gaining greater control of the means of
production, apart from the diamond production, has yielded little power to
Zanu PF simply because there is very limited production for example in
agriculture and industry. Nevertheless, the fact that no one else among the
political players has control of the means of production in the way that
Zanu PF does means that relatively speaking, by comparison, they draw less
power from this source.
The Knowledge Structure

The proposition in regard to knowledge is that power vests in those who
control knowledge within a given society - knowledge being broadly defined
to include any information – media, academic, research material etc. The
most relevant for present purposes is information gathered, produced and
disseminated by the media but it is worth noting that control over knowledge
is also evident in academic and research bodies that include universities,
colleges, curricula and examination bodies. Control can be seen not only in
what is produced to the public but through strategic appointments with a
view to ensuring control of what those bodies produce, teach and disseminate
to the wider public.

Most academics often call for protection under the banner of “academic
freedom”, essentially representing the freedom that members of the academy
should have in pursuing their work. Much of the post-independence debate
over academic freedom in the face of encroachments by the state began
seriously in the early 1990s with the significant amendments to the law
providing for the University of Zimbabwe. The infamous University of
Zimbabwe (Amendment) Act, 1990 was seen as marking significant erosion of
academic freedom – a clear sign then of attempts to control the knowledge
structure. Complaints that history taught in Zimbabwean schools takes a bias
towards the Zanu PF world view are indicative of the challenge against Zanu
PF’s dominance  over the knowledge-generating institutions enabling it to
determine what and how can be taught in the wider academy.

As stated already, the crucial form of knowledge at the centre of
contestation is information generated by and through media. Learning from
the colonial government, Zanu PF has kept tight control over both the print
and broadcast media since independence. The Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) is probably the most infamous piece of
legislation enacted to control the media. It signifies the intention to
control the ‘who, why and how’ questions on the production of information
for the public dissemination.

By controlling the media, one is able to control what people get, how they
get it, the time they get it and the extent to which the information reaches
them. It has often been the case that those outside Zimbabwe have greater
access to information about what is happening in different parts country
largely because for locals those in control of the state media which had a
near monopoly on the daily production of information, have been able to
control and censor information transmitted internally. The closure of the
Daily News and its subsequent demise in 2003 was indicative of the
determination to control power emanating from the knowledge structure.

The international media were for years banned precisely because Zanu PF was
unimpressed by what it felt to be biased coverage towards the opposition or
at the very least, against its interests.

However, even before the GNU in 2009, Zanu PF has struggled to retain
undiluted power from this structure mainly due to the influence of new
technology. The internet, electronic mail and in more recent years the
proliferation of users of social networking forums such as Facebook,
Twitter, etc has reduced the information barriers that previously existed.
Zimbabweans across the world can share information produced in various media
in an instant.

Current events in the North African region where demonstrations in Egypt and
Tunisia have been organised through and around social networking forums such
as Facebook illustrate the impact of technology in the political arena. A
number of Zimbabwean politicians have also embraced social media in order to
communicate with the wider public but indications are that this reach is
limited to those based abroad or the local public that has access to new
technology. To those who have access to such media, no amount of legislative
control can affect their ability to communicate, share information in the
forms and ways they want.

The September 2008 GPA contained undertakings to reform the media. During
the life of the unity government a few changes have emerged including more
fundamentally a more inclusive process of appointing members of the Zimbabwe
Media Commission, a constitutional body which regulates the media. Although
the composition dilutes the formerly exclusive influence of Zanu PF, its
remit does not seem to extend to the electronic media. Therefore, although
some private newspapers have been licensed and a new daily (Newsday) has
since come into the market, practical challenges have led to slow growth in
the private media industry. In addition, barriers to the international media
have been lifted.

The MDC has tried to counter this and draw some power from the knowledge
structure through the Prime Ministers newsletter but it is competing against
long standing institutions and brands that still dominate media space.  The
growth of so-called ‘pirate radio stations’ such as Studio 7 (broadcast
though the Voice of America), SW Radio Africa from London, Voice of the
People from South Africa and others demonstrates attempts at diluting Zanu
PF’s power drawn from the knowledge structure.

These are efforts targeted towards disseminating other information to the
public, beyond the information broadcast through the state radio and
television. The public has been resisting the state media dominance by
exploiting new technology to access international broadcast services from
South Africa and beyond.  All but a few homes that do not have official
satellite transmission, have little boxes, called ‘Wiztechs’ or similar that
enable them to access regional and international media. This is citizen
participation in diluting power drawn from the knowledge structure.

The proliferation of news websites has been a greater source of information
and debate on Zimbabwean politics but again like all internet-based media
and social networking forums, the reach is limited to those who have access
to such technology. This means the greater majority of the Zimbabwean public
residing in the rural areas have very limited independent sources of
information besides the electronic media which is still predominantly
controlled by Zanu PF. State media still dominates media space and remains
inclined towards Zanu PF.
Like production, Zanu PF’s retains the lion’s share of power drawn from the
knowledge structure.

Magaisa is based at the University of Kent, Kent Law School. Contact him:
wamagaisa@kent.ac.uk

(Tomorrow we consider the next two sources of power, namely the Finance
Structure and more importantly, the Security Structure)

Police Quiz Internally Displaced People,Disband Meeting and Arrest Resident