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

      Inflation shoots past 200 percent mark

      Staff Reporter
      2/13/03 3:45:46 AM (GMT +2)

      ZIMBABWE'S annualised rate of inflation breezed past the 200 percent
mark last month, rising 9.2 percentage points to 208.1 percent, according to
figures from the Central Statistical Office (CSO).

      Statistics released by the CSO this week show that the consumer price
index, which reached 198.9 percent in the year to December 2002, was last
month driven by the rising cost of vegetables, meat, beverages, household
goods and confectionery.

      The CSO said rentals recorded the highest increase of 34.4 percent
from December while clothing and footwear rose 10.8 percent.

      Month on month inflation increased by 9.9 percent between December and
January, with food prices accounting for 3.3 percentage points and non-food
prices 6.6 percentage points.

      Analysts said inflation's rate of increase had eased slightly compared
to November and December, attributing this to the fact that the CSO based
its calculations on prices set by the government, which has imposed a
blanket freeze on the prices of most commodities.

      Inflation jumped 31.3 percentage points from 144.2 in October to 175.5
in November and 23.4 percentage points to 198.9 percent in December,
compared to the 9.2 percentage point rise in January.

      But the analysts said Zimbabwe was likely to see bigger hikes in the
next few months because of the country's worsening economic crisis as well
as food and other commodity shortages.

      Shortages have contributed to high prices by spawning a thriving black
market where most products are easily available.

      "The sustainability is still not clear given fundamental bottlenecks
on the ground, especially the drought, which will put a shock on the
availability of agro raw materials in the mainstream manufacturing sector,"
said an analyst with Intermarket Holdings.

      "The government will have to grapple with an impending drought that
will affect production and ultimately the prices," the analyst added.

      Consultant economist John Robertson said the CSO's inflation figures
were also misleading because the controlled prices used to calculate the CPI
did not reflect the real cost of goods.

      Prices paid by consumers are in most cases significantly above 100
percent of those set by the Ministry of Industry.

      The International Monetary Fund has forecast that Zimbabwe's rate of
inflation will reach 500 percent before the end of this year, which is
expected to worsen the operating environment of local companies.

      Zimbabwean firms have already been hit hard by the country's economic
crisis, with several expected to shut down in 2003, worsening unemployment
that is estimated at more than 70 percent.
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FinGaz

      US$81m Harare airport gathers dust

      By Farai Mutsaka Senior Reporter
      2/13/03 1:55:14 AM (GMT +2)

      ABOUT a dozen neatly dressed women huddle in a corner of the Harare
International Airport, occasionally casting an eye out for elusive
customers. The sales women at the posh and well-stocked shops that line the
US$81 million terminal are not really expecting to do any business today.

      Maria, who declines to give her surname but works in a shop selling
African curios, glances around the empty and silent departure lounge and
fears she might soon be out of a job.

      As she watches the maintenance staff clean already spotless floors for
the upteenth time, she tells the Financial Gazette: "We might just have to
close the shop.

      "We used to do much better in the past but the situation has become
difficult. Very few customers are coming our way now. As you can see, there
is no activity here."

      In fact, business is so slow at the airport that an Internet café
opened to cater for travellers is cashing in on the patronage of employees
at the terminal, who literally have nothing to do all day.

      The Internet café proprietor, Alexios Matenga, disclosed: "We make at
least $26 000 a day and that is not bad. The main reason why we are doing
well is that unlike other businesses here, our clients are mainly local
people.

      "Those who work here are the ones who use our services most of the
time."

      Built amid controversy after charges of corruption and kickbacks, the
Harare International Airport was officially opened in April last year amid
pomp and ceremony and touted as the "natural gateway to southern Africa".

      Construction of the airport, which was built on the site of a smaller
terminal, began at a time the tourism industry was one of the fastest
growing sectors in Zimbabwe.

      Passengers passing through Harare International Airport were forecast
to swell from around 1.6 million in 1997 to 2.28 million by 2005 and 2.64
million in 2010.

      But by the time the airport was officially opened last year, foreign
tourist arrival figures had plummeted because of Zimbabwe's worsening image
as an unsafe destination.

      The often violent occupation of white-owned farms by war veterans and
other ruling ZANU PF supporters in 2000 and the political violence that has
accompanied elections in the past three years combined to scare away many
tourists.

      As a result, 2002 statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of
Zimbabwe (CAAZ), which runs the airport for the government, showed that only
1.3 million people, or about 50 percent of the 2.5 million passengers
expected to utilise the new airport, were actually arriving and departing at
the terminal.

      This was less than the 1.6 million that had in 1997 gone through the
older and smaller airport that was replaced.

      In addition, according to CAAZ figures from last year, only about 30
percent of the people visiting the terminal were actually passengers, with
the remaining 70 percent accompanying friends or relatives to bid farewell.

      The impact of the decline in foreign tourist arrivals, which have
fallen by over 50 percent in the past three years, has been devastating to
the businesses that set up shop at the new terminal in anticipation of a
surge in travellers.

      Enterprises operating from the airport include beauty shops, Internet
cafes, banks, car hire companies, a kiosk selling magazines, newspapers and
snacks and shops specialising in the Zimbabwean curios and ethnic clothing
that appeal to tourists.

      Most look deserted as employees idly pass the time.

      "When tourists were still interested in coming to Zimbabwe, we were
able to make a lot of money," Maria told the Financial Gazette.

      "There are not many tourists that are coming into the country at the
moment and that has affected our business.

      "This place is always deserted. Do you see anyone yourself?" she added
as she dusted a spotless curio for the third time.

      Analysts this week said apart from the decline in security conscious
tourists, businesses at the Harare International terminal were also the
victims of Zimbabwe's economic crisis, which has forced more than 400
companies to close in the past three years.

      Skyrocketing inflation, which reached 198.9 percent in the year to
December 2002 and has forced up operating costs, as well as severe foreign
currency shortages have forced at least 19 international carriers out of
Zimbabwe.

      According to CAAZ, only 14 of the 35 airlines that used to land in
Zimbabwe still fly into Harare International.

      Most no longer have offices at the terminal, driven away by high
landing costs and the country's hard currency squeeze.

      "The airport is suffering from what the country is suffering from,"
said economic consultant John Robertson.

      "We have become a laughing stock and no one wants to come to Zimbabwe.
Local flights have also become too infrequent and too expensive. It's a
terrible tragedy."

      But according to David Chawota, CAAZ deputy director-general, the
authority has kicked off a campaign to entice back international carriers.

      "The strategy includes offering airlines incentives aimed at reducing
their operational costs, such as free landing, free parking and competitive
aviation fuel charges," Chawota said.

      But until Zimbabwe comes to grips with the fundamental causes of its
worst economic crisis in 22 years, employees at the new terminal fear the
only significant activity they will continue to see will be on the nights
Zimbabweans, leaving the country in search of better opportunities, fly out.

      A large number of Zimbabwean professionals regularly fly out of Harare
International Airport in search of work in other countries, especially the
United Kingdom.

      But Maria laughs scornfully when asked if such activity brings
business. Most of the people milling around on such days would be relatives
accompanying passengers, she pointed out.

      "The place will be packed, but it will be full of Zimbabweans who can'
t even afford a burger," she said bitterly.

      "You find one person being accompanied by 20 people and they will be
moving all over the place touching our things and complaining how expensive
they are. They don't buy anything."

      But analysts pointed out that most of the goods in the airport shops
were priced well above ordinary Zimbabweans as businesses attempted to
recoup their losses by raising prices.

      Robertson said: "Their prices are very high. They are trying to make
up for the lost business by charging high prices. You can't even buy sweets
or chocolate there. I guess they just sit there and wonder what to do
because there are no customers."

      An employee at an airport beauty shop, who identified herself only as
Charity, added:

      "Most locals can't afford the prices we charge here because we target
foreigners and locals don't seem prepared to spend a fortune on their
beauty. Things are better when there is a Luanda or Nairobi flight because
they bring in some business.

      "The problem is that although they bring foreigners prepared to spend,
the flights are only once a week."
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FinGaz

      $3bln missing from FNBS

      By MacDonald Dzirutwe Business News Editor
      2/13/03 3:44:45 AM (GMT +2)

      AT LEAST $3 billion could be unaccounted for at First National
Building Society (FNBS), whose temporary closure last week is expected by
analysts to hit hardest on depositors as well as investor and public
confidence in Zimbabwe's banking sector.

      Officials in the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), who spoke to the
Financial Gazette on condition they were not named, said there were
indications as early as last October that the building society was facing
problems.

      They said the central bank had moved in for an impromptu onsite
inspection in November and inspectors found that there were irregularities
in the company's accounts and that it was not financially sound.

      The Reserve Bank officials said an analysis of the building society's
accounts had revealed a discrepancy of around $3 billion between the funds
that were supposed to be in the accounts and the money that was actually
available.

      They however said it was not possible to say at this time how the
money was moved out of the building society, by who and how it had been
used.

      The central bank officials said investigations might reveal that
misconduct at the company involved more than just the two FNBS directors
already brought before the courts on allegations of defrauding the building
society of close to $1 billion.

      A central bank official said: "We believe that about $3 billion is
still not accounted for but there is the curator who has been appointed to
look into all these things."

      The Reserve Bank has appointed a curator to manage the affairs of the
building society for the next six months.

      The central bank official added: "What could be of concern is that the
bank (RBZ) was aware of improper handling of funds at FNBS, but that there
was a slow reaction to the whole thing, which has also raised the question
of the bank's effectiveness in its monitoring of institutions."

      The Reserve Bank this week however denied that it had delayed taking
action on the building society and also would not disclose the outcome of
its November onsite investigations.

      In a written response to questions from the Financial Gazette, the
central bank also would not indicate how much money could be missing from
FNBS' accounts.

      The RBZ said in its response: "It is not true that the RBZ did not
move fast enough to correct the noted problems. In the normal course of
onsite examinations and offsite analysis of returns, the RBZ discovers
operational deficiencies by banking institutions from time to time.

      "When this happens, the RBZ takes prompt corrective action in terms of
a whole range of measures listed under Section 48 of the Banking Act,
Chapter 24.20 of 2000.

      "Details of the actual findings on a particular banking institution
remain confidential between the RBZ and the subject bank. The exact figure
cannot be ascertained now as investigations are still in progress."

      Banking industry executives this week said several financial
institutions exposed to FNBS were believed to have quickly moved to sever
ties with the building society at the end of November when they realised it
could be in trouble.

      The executives said FNBS bankers, the Jewel Bank, had last December
helped to secure funds from the central bank to bail out the building
society and help it to pay depositors, but this had still failed to save the
financial institution.

      Money market dealers told the Financial Gazette that the banks were
tipped off to the financial unsoundness of FNBS by its constant forays into
the market in search of short-term funds to cover its liquidity position.

      "When you see someone offering higher rates than the market is
offering, you begin to ask why they are doing that, and this is what FNBS
was doing," a dealer with a local stockbroking firm said.

      "Initially we didn't suspect anything but when they continued with
these unsustainable rates, the market became very suspicious and this is
when the news about the problems leaked and dealers moved fast to recover
their money and avoid exposure."

      Banking officials said measures taken by financial institution last
year to distance themselves from FNBS would limit the impact of the building
society's collapse on other banks.

      But analysts said the worst impact of the building society's problems
would be felt by depositors, who were caught unawares by FNBS' closure last
week.

      They said the FNBS debacle would further knock confidence in
locally-owned banks.

      Century Bank economist David Mupamhadze noted: "This has opened a sad
chapter in the history of indigenous banks. It affects investor confidence
in the local banks.

      "Their (local financial institutions') reputation is at stake. This
will have a contagion effect on the locally owned financial institutions."

      The analysts said the FNBS saga also cast doubt on the central bank's
ability to effectively monitor Zimbabwe's financial sector, which has grown
in recent years because of the increased participation of indigenous
players.

      "The problems could have been avoided if there was proper monitoring
by the RBZ," said First Mutual Life fund manager Nyasha Chasakara.

      Mupamhadze added: "Some banks could just become irresponsible knowing
fully well that the RBZ will bail them out. This is what the RBZ should work
to stop."

      Consultant economist John Robertson said investors in the building
society, who include the government and some parastatals, would be the
hardest hit.

      He said: "It seems the big businesses are still tied up with the
traditional banks and there seems to be no exposure to the building society'
s problems."

      "But for government, parastatals and depositors the risk element is
very high."
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FinGaz

      Zimbabwe counts costs of England match cancellation


      2/13/03 3:45:09 AM (GMT +2)

      THE Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) has begun counting the millions of
dollars it will lose after its cricket team's World Cup match against
England scheduled for today was called off.

      The game was scheduled for Harare, but was called off on Tuesday
following a lengthy battle of wills between the International Cricket
Council (ICC) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

      "We've only just started to add up how much money will go down the
drain, but it runs into millions and millions of Zimbabwe dollars and
millions of US dollars," Vince Hogg, the managing director of the ZCU, said
yesterday.

      "For a start, we've had to pay a 100 percent cancellation fee for all
the hotel rooms we booked."

      Hogg declined to say how many rooms had been reserved. A room at the
hotel where the England squad and their supporters would have stayed costs
US$130 a night.

      "We had a 44-seater bus laid on to transport the supporters from the
airport, and a lot of auxilliary transport as well," Hogg said.

      Hogg said it was also too late to cancel catering and security
arrangements for the match, and that those costs would also have to be borne
by the ZCU.

      He was uncertain whether people who had tickets for the game would be
able to use them for another match or would be reimbursed.

      "It's an ICC match, and we're waiting for direction from them," Hogg
said.

      Matters relating to the Zimbabwe against England fixture will now
return to the tournament's technical committee for a second time. It will
decide either to switch the game to South Africa, cancel it altogether and
share out the points or award a victory to Zimbabwe by default.

      The mood at Harare Sports Club yesterday was subdued as work crews
removed banks of seating and dismantled hospitality enclosures that had been
erected for what would have been the biggest occasion of the Zimbabwean
summer.

      Box owners said they would open their premises and entertain guests
regardless of the match being cancelled.

      Instead of watching Zimbabwe versus England, they will be able to see
the home team practising for the rest of the tournament. - Reuter
(1,000,000.00 ZWD Zimbabwe Dollars = 18,034.27 USD United States Dollars - Ed)
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FinGaz

      Govt flys Cuban docs for US$644 000

      Staff Reporter
      2/13/03 1:50:21 AM (GMT +2)

      THE cash-strapped government this week chartered an Air Zimbabwe
Boeing 767 that could cost it more than US$644 000 to ferry doctors and
medical specialists to Zimbabwe, which continues to lose poorly paid health
professionals to other countries, it was learnt this week.

      Officials at the national airliner said the plane left Harare on
Tuesday morning carrying Cuban doctors and medical specialists returning
home and was expected to fly back with another load of health personnel.

      "The plane left on Tuesday with more than 105 doctors and medical
experts and we are expecting it to come back by Friday," an official told
the Financial Gazette.

      "We are told that it will be coming back with more people, but we have
not been told how many there will be. The process is expensive for the
government because Air Zimbabwe is now selling its tickets using the United
States dollar."

      The official said on routes that the national airliner does not
normally service, chartered flights had to be paid for in foreign currency.

      On the Harare-Havana route, a single return ticket costs US$3 500 or
$192 500 at the official exchange rate of $55 to US$1. At a parallel market
rate of $1 600, a single ticket would cost $5.6 million.

      Air Zimbabwe officials said the government would be charged for each
passenger carried on the charter flight and would also have to pay a
separate charter fee.

      Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa yesterday told
the Financial Gazette that the Air Zimbabwe Boeing 767, which has the
capacity to carry 193 passengers, left Harare with 117 Cuban doctors and
would return with 74 others.

      This would cost the ministry US$644 000, excluding the charter fee.

      Parirenyatwa said: "Yes it is true we chartered the plane to go and
collect 74 medical specialist from there (Cuba).

      "The plane left with 117 Cuban doctors yesterday (Tuesday), when it
comes back, it will bring those 74 specialists. The returning doctors were
supposed to go back in October last year but we postponed the trip."

      It was not clear whether the Ministry of Health, which is said to have
lost 32 health professionals in the past four months, would pay for the
charter from funds allocated to it in the 2003 national budget or where it
would secure forex for the charter.

      Zimbabwe is facing a critical hard cash crisis that has adversely
affected fuel and food imports.

      The Health Ministry was given $73 billion in the 2003 budget, which
constitutes 18.7 percent of total budgetary allocation. The ministry faces a
potentially devastating strike over pay, only a few months after health
personnel downed tools over the same problem.

      Dwindling funds have resulted in the deterioration of health services,
with nurses, doctors and other medical personnel leaving the country almost
every month in search of better pay and working conditions.

      Zimbabwe is also critically short of drugs because of severe foreign
currency shortages
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FinGaz

      Amani Trust resumes operations

      Staff Reporter
      2/13/03 1:53:30 AM (GMT +2)

      AMANI Trust, a human rights non-governmental organisation (NGO)
involved in the rehabilitation of victims of political violence, has resumed
full operations after closing its offices last year, it was learnt this
week.

      The organisation, which closed its doors to the public after several
run-ins with the government, provides medical assistance, counseling and
shelter to Zimbabweans subjected to and displaced by politically motivated
violence.

      Sources who attended a meeting of Amani Trust's senior officials last
Tuesday said the organisation had resolved to operate fully, although its
offices in the central business district of Harare would remain closed.

      After closing its doors to the public, the NGO scaled down its
operations and was dealing only with critical cases.

      The sources however said after the Tuesday meeting, the organisation
would now be taking all cases referred to it and would operate from a secret
location after receiving threats that its old offices would be bombed.

      "It was decided that the organisation should continue operating. All
stakeholders have been informed about the decision and it's business as
usual," said a source.

      "The new location will remain a secret for now because of security
concerns. The threats to bomb the organisation are being taken very
seriously," the source added.

      Amani Trust director Frances Lovemore was however noncommittal about
the NGO's future.

      She told the Financial Gazette: "We are trying to operate so that we
continue to provide medical care. We just have to keep a low profile because
we don't want to invite any kind of trouble."

      Since the 2000 parliamentary elections, Amani Trust has come under
fire from the government, which accuses it of harboring and promoting
anti-government activists.

      The NGO denies the charges and says its services are available to all
Zimbabweans affected by political violence, regardless of political
affiliation.

      Surveys by human rights groups have however found that most victims of
political violence are supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, the main rival of the ruling ZANU PF.
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News24

Treason trial in secret session
12/02/2003 16:30  - (SA)

Harare - The trial of Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on
treason charges was held behind closed doors Wednesday after the government
said some evidence by the main state witness would endanger national
security.

Judge Paddington Garwe made the unusual decision to allow the main state
witness, Canada-based political consultant Ari Ben Menashe, to be questioned
in a closed door session.

Public disclosures are rarely forbidden in criminal trials in Zimbabwe.

The move appeared to be a compromise ruling by the judge who was navigating
between the government's demands for a gag order on Ben Menashe's work for
them and defence attorneys' request to question the witness further on the
nature of his business dealings with the government.

By not accepting the government's gag order outright, the judge's compromise
ruling allowed Bizos to question Ben Menashe on what the government insisted
was confidential and demand the court force him to answer or face contempt
charges, lawyers said.

Lead defence attorney George Bizos has repeatedly accused Ben Menashe of
lying and being evasive in his open testimony on the nature of his work
while under contract for the Zimbabwe government.

He has argued that Ben Menashe was paid to entrap the opposition leader and
senior opposition officials Welshman Ncube and Renson Gasela. The three deny
treason charges that they plotted to kill President Robert Mugabe ahead of
presidential elections last year.

Security Minister Nicholas Goche said on Monday that Ben Menashe should not
be questioned on what work he did for the government and money he received
for it, claiming such testimony was secret.

Garwe said it was within his powers to declare some evidence be heard behind
closed doors.

"I believe justice would be achieved by this approach. The evidence in
camera shall not be disclosed by anyone," he said.

Ben Menashe has testified Tsvangirai hired him to help kill Mugabe.

The opposition politicians deny the treason charges, saying Ben Menashe
framed them. They could face the death penalty if convicted.

Received money from government

The charges are based on a grainy 4-hour video that was secretly recorded
during a meeting between Tsvangirai and Ben Menashe in Montreal on December
4, 2001.

In the first week of the trial Ben Menashe testified he was to receive US$1
million from the Zimbabwean government and was given a US$100 000 payment
when he signed a consulting contract on January 10, 2002, two weeks after he
gave the video to the government.

However, Ben Menashe said he was not working for the government during the
time he met with Tsvangirai. He said the money was payment for him to
produce and air four short Zimbabwe-friendly films in North America as well
as to win export orders and circulate newsletters on political and cultural
life in the country.

He refused to give details of his accounts and the work he actually did
before receiving a total of US$400 000 from the government.

Tsvangirai was charged with treason two weeks before he ran against Mugabe
in the presidential election. He narrowly lost the vote, which independent
observers said was swayed by political violence and vote rigging.

Bizos said he would prove Ben Menashe was a fraudster and "unmitigated liar"
who meddled in foreign elections and reneged on deals to supply food to
developing nations after he was paid.

Ben Menashe, 51, who claims to have been a former Israeli intelligence
agent, was acquitted by a US federal jury in 1990 of charges he illegally
arranged a US$36 million deal to sell US-made military cargo planes to Iran
in exchange for the release of four American hostages in the Middle East.

Israel denied he was connected to intelligence work but said he served for a
brief period as a junior clerk in its civil service. - Sapa-AP
IOL

Zimbabwe judge overrules government gag order

      February 12 2003 at 01:06PM
      Reuters


Harare - A Zimbabwean judge overruled a government gag order against a key
prosecution witness on Wednesday in the treason trial of opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai, President Robert Mugabe's main political opponent.

But details of the star witness's contract with the government would be
revealed behind closed doors, the judge said.

The gag order has held up the landmark trial of Tsvangirai and two officials
of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who may face the death sentence
for treason if convicted of plotting to assassinate Mugabe. The three deny
the charges.

State Security Minister Nicholas Goche issued a certificate ordering the
main prosecution witness, Canadian political consultant Ari Ben-Menashe,
from giving the court details of his contract with the government, citing
national security concerns.

      'The accused are facing serious charges'
Judge Paddington Garwe rejected the order. But he said Ben-Menashe would be
asked to reveal the terms of his contract behind closed doors, and the
details would not be published.

"My view is that the court is not obliged to accept at face value the
certificate. I am satisfied that in appropriate cases the court can make
inquiries and order proceedings to be held in camera (in private)," Garwe
told the court.

"The accused are facing serious charges. Having come this far and the
documents having been submitted I believe the proceedings, in the manner I
have suggested, can go on," he added. "The evidence given in camera shall
not be publicly disclosed by any person."

Last week Ben-Menashe refused to answer defence questions about work he did
for the government for a $100 000 payment, citing a confidentiality clause
in the year-old contract.

Garwe adjourned the hearing and ordered out members of the public,
journalists and foreign diplomats from Britain and other Western countries
who have been closely following a trial regarded as a test of judicial
independence in Zimbabwe.

Britain has led demands for stiff sanctions on Mugabe, accusing him of
rigging his re-election last March and of compounding food shortages
affecting half his 14 million people by seizing white-owned farms.

The issue has split the Commonwealth, with Nigeria and South Africa opposing
the hard-line stance of Britain and Australia.

Tsvangirai and his co-accused say the plot to assassinate Mugabe was set up
by the government to discredit the MDC ahead of its challenge against Mugabe
in the March 2002 elections.

Ben-Menashe has shown the court a video recording of a meeting where he says
Tsvangirai discussed "eliminating" Mugabe.
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The Daily News

      State paid $21m to Ben-Menashe

      2/12/2003 7:21:33 AM (GMT +2)


      By Lloyd Mudiwa

      ARI BEN-MENASHE, the State's main witness in the high treason trial of
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and two senior opposition party officials, was
paid nearly US$390 000 (about Z$21 450 000 at the official exchange rate) at
the height of a severe foreign currency shortage, for work he appears not to
have done.

      Ben-Menashe's Canada-based political consultancy firm, Dickens &
Madson, was even eligible for a US$20 000 performance bonus at the
conclusion of the contract period.

      At that stage it was hoped that the consultancy work would have
spruced up Zimbabwe's image from a pariah state.

      This is revealed in a one-year renewable contract entered into by
Ben-Menashe for his company and the government of Zimbabwe represented by
Elisha Muzonzini, the then
      director-general of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), on 10
January 2002.

      Although Ben-Menashe has testified in the High Court that he has
received about US$400 000 (about Z$22 million) from the government, he did
not say whether his consultancy was awarded a bonus.

      Under cross-examination by lawyers representing Tsvangirai, his
secretary-general Welshman Ncube, and Renson Gasela, the party's shadow
minister for agriculture, Ben-Menashe declined to say what work he had done
under the contract.

      His refusal to disclose the nature of the work undertaken has brought
the contract to the centre of a dispute between the State and the defence.

      The defence wanted Ben-Menashe to testify on the contract, saying the
agreement was a guise to pay the Israeli a reward for trapping their clients
in November 2001 so they could be charged with high treason, an offence
attracting the death penalty.

      But Nicholas Goche, the Minister of State for National Security, under
whose ministry the CIO falls, and the prosecution, did not want Ben-Menashe
to be cross-examined on the nature of the contract, saying this would
prejudice national security.

      They said testifying on the document, produced as an exhibit by the
State, would neutralise the work done by Ben-Menashe's company.

      The contract's purpose was for Dickens & Madson to render public
relations services for Zimbabwe through publicising in the United States and
the European Union and any other country, the government's policies and
activities.

      Zimbabwe, reads the contract, would also enlist the experience,
expertise and contacts of the consultancy to help alert investors to
opportunities in the country.

      Dickens & Madson would lobby among Western governments and
international organisations for the creation of policies favourable to
Zimbabwe and the elimination or prevention of policies unfavourable to the
country.

      To achieve this, Dickens & Madson was granted discretion to act on
behalf of Zimbabwe, but subject always to specific instructions from the
government. The government would co-operate fully with the consultancy by
promptly furnishing all requested information, reads the agreement.

      The contract sets minimum performance targets for Dickens & Madson.
      These include the airing on international broadcasters of a 20-minute
Zimbabwe-friendly programme four times a year.

      In addition, there was to be periodic publishing and circulation of
newsletters promoting cultural, political, scientific, trade and economic
relations with Zimbabwe to targeted individuals and organisations.

      On Friday last week, Ben-Menashe declined to disclose what films he
had aired on Zimbabwe, prompting the defence to apply for an order
compelling him to comply or risk imprisonment.

      Dickens & Madson would also be required to arrange meetings between
the governments of Zimbabwe and the US and the American business community,
under the agreement.
      The company had to demonstrate the business or investment they
attracted and Zimbabwean exports they promoted during the period.

      The firm, says the agreement, was supposed to propose to the
government how it could restructure the country's economy.

      Success would be measured on how Zimbabwe would be generally perceived
at the end of the contract.
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The Daily News

      Ruling on Menashe today

      2/12/2003 7:23:59 AM (GMT +2)


      By Fanuel Jongwe

      THE High Court will today make a ruling on whether or not Ari
Ben-Menashe, the key State witness in the treason trial of Morgan
Tsvangirai, the opposition MDC leader accused of plotting to assassinate
President Mugabe and topple the government, should be cross-examined on his
contract with the government.

      Justice Paddington Garwe, the Judge President, indicated so yesterday
after he thrice postponed a ruling. This followed an application by the
defence against a certificate issued by the State barring them from
cross-examining Ben-Menashe on the contract in question.

      The defence wants to question Ben-Menashe, the head of a
Canadian-based political consultancy firm, Dickens & Madson, on his dealings
with the government.

      Justice Garwe had been expected yesterday morning to deliver his
ruling on whether the certificate issued by Nicholas Goche, the Minister of
State for National Security, on Monday, should be admitted or disregarded as
evidence.

      The certificate, submitted to the court by the Deputy
Attorney-General, Bharat Patel, seeks to protect Ben-Menashe from disclosing
details of the agreement between his firm and the Zimbabwean government.

      As the accused and others following the proceedings waited expectantly
for the court to resume, the judge's clerk announced around midday, that the
ruling would be made at 3pm.

      The clerk returned in the afternoon to announce that the judge was
working on the ruling and that he would deliver the ruling before the courts
closed for the day.

      That was not to be as a court orderly later announced that the court
would only resume today for the expected ruling.

      Goche said the disclosure of details of the contract would
"prejudicially affect the security of the State".

      On Friday, Ben-Menashe, who has been described as a fraudster by the
defence lawyers, declined to reveal the work he had done as part of his deal
with the government, citing client confidentiality.

      Advocate George Bizos, leading the defence team, said the issuance of
the certificate was "an unconstitutional attempt by the Executive to
interfere with Your Lordship's traditional functions".

      Advocate Chris Andersen, assisting Bizos, said by preventing
Ben-Menashe from answering questions, the State was violating Section 18 (9)
of the Constitution which entitles an accused person to a fair trial.

      Under the agreement with the Zimbabwean government, Dickens & Madson,
headed by Ben-Menashe, was contracted to air on international broadcasters,
a 20-minute Zimbabwe-friendly programme four times a year.

      The company was also expected to facilitate meetings between the
governments of Zimbabwe and the United States and members of the business
community, and to promote the export of Zimbabwean goods to the US and
European Union countries.
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STATEMENT BY TONY LEON MP

LEADER OF THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE

“MBEKI HAS ABANDONED MULTILATERALISM ON ZIMBABWE”

 

Release: immediate - Monday 10th February 2003

South Africa has abandoned the Commonwealth’s multilateral mechanism for dealing with the crisis in Zimbabwe, without even bothering to go through the motions of considering the case on its merits.

 

We understand that on Saturday, 8 February 2003, a teleconference between President’s Mbeki and Obasanjo and Prime Minister John Howard has led to the African duo informing their Australian counter-part that suspension of Zimbabwe from the Councils of the Commonwealth should be lifted. Furthermore, we understand that South Africa has declined to have a further meeting of the troika to finalise this matter.

 

This effectively means that by not waiting for the report from the Commonwealth Secretary General on whether or not the situation in Zimbabwe has improved, the Presidents of South Africa and Nigeria have simply decided to scrap the whole process which they were mandated by the Commonwealth to complete. Perhaps they have decided to sabotage this process because they knew that any such report would show the situation in Zimbabwe has got worse. That would have been embarrassing in the extreme for South Africa as it resolutely refuses to censure President Mugabe.

 

We believe that South Africa has committed a historic mistake. The message we send is: Illegal acts pay and undemocratic behaviour is rewarded. Just as the leader of the Zimbabwean opposition is on trial for his life, South Africa lifts the pressure on his chief persecutor. South Africa’s and Nigeria’s rush to judgment on this matter will further entrench the perception that we are simply involved in a misplaced exercise of african nationalist solidarity without regard to the principles of either NEPAD or the AU, or even the Harare Declaration of the Commonwealth.

 

How can we make any sense in our call for the United States to be guided by multilateralism in respect of the crisis over Iraq, when we have broken the spirit of multilateralism of the Commonwealth?

 

I call on President Mbeki to show leadership and take the resolute and brave action which we are entitled to demand of our government and which the world has come to expect, but is not receiving, from post-apartheid, democratic South Africa.

 

FOR INFORMATION:  JAMES LORIMER 083 677-6582

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www.SaveZimbabwe.com


Zimbabwe Group Welcome Dutch Government Statement on Zimbabwe Match


The "Save Zimbabwe" campaign today welcomed reports that Dutch Foreign
Ministry
spokesman Bart Jochems had said that his Government would prefer the Dutch
team
not to play in Zimbabwe, but expressed sorrow and disappointment that
members
of the Dutch team appear to remain committed to the fixture.

"Save Zimbabwe" Chief Spokesman, Ephraim Tapa said : "The Dutch team say
that
they are athletes, not politicians. But they are human beings too, and they
cannot
ignore the death and suffering taking place around them as they play their
game
of cricket".

The "Save Zimbabwe" campaign is offering red armbands to all players to wear
as a gesture of compassion and sympathy for the horrors being suffered by
the
Zimbabwean people.  Mr Tapa said : "If the Dutch team do play in Zimbabwe,
we
ask them to deny Mugabe and his henchmen the public relations triumph that
their
attendance would bring him. Wear these armbands to let the Zimbabwean people
know that cricketers may be athletes, but they have not forgotten their
human
responsibilities either"

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Mark Pursey  - ph: +44 (0)7796954105
Helen Campbell - ph: +44 (0)7768283145

or both on +44 20 7939 7939

Notes to Editors:

1. The "Save Zimbabwe" campaign is a non-partisan international initiative,
with
broad-based support drawn both from political parties and community groups.
It
was launched during the African Union meeting in Durban in 2002 and is
designed
to restore democracy, human rights and legitimate government to Zimbabwe.
The
holding of early, free and fair elections, under full and proper
international
supervision, is a key objective of the campaign.
2. The "Save Zimbabwe" campaign website address is www.SaveZimbabwe.com
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The Daily News

      Judge turns down MDC application

      2/12/2003 7:10:06 AM (GMT +2)


      Chief Reporter

      JUSTICE Susan Mavangira last Friday threw out an urgent application by
two MDC MPs to hold an inter-constituency rally at Chibuku Stadium in
Chitungwiza.

      Advocate Charles Selemani, instructed by Maganga and Muzenda, told The
Daily News yesterday that Mavangira said the application which they filed in
the High Court on Friday for an order for the police to allow the rally to
proceed as scheduled the following day, was not urgent.

      Job Sikhala, the MP for St Mary's and Ben Tumbare-Mutasa, MP for Seke,
had notified Chitungwiza district police of their intention to hold the
rally which was turned down under Section 26 (1) of the draconian Public
Order and Security Order.

      Through Selemani, Sikhala said the Act does not envisage a situation
where the police decline or grant permission, but merely acknowledge receipt
of the notification and make contingency plans to avert any possible breach
of the peace.

      Selemani said: "No reason was given for the refusal to allow the rally
to proceed."
      In his application for a certificate of urgency, Selemani said: "If
the application is not granted, then it will be a sad day not only for the
people of Chitungwiza, but for all Zimbabweans, as it amounts to excessive
interference in and with the exercise and enjoyment of the constitutionally
guaranteed and universally acclaimed political rights and civil liberties of
the people and the discharge of the constitutional mandate of the Members of
Parliament."

      In an opposing affidavit, Webster Gotora, the officer commanding
Chitungwiza, said permission was not granted because they did not have
adequate manpower because of deployments to the Cricket World Cup which
kicked off in Harare on Monday.

      "Most of the police manpower has already been committed to duties
which have to do with the hosting of the Cricket World Cup," Gotora said.
"Other personnel have been committed to the maintenance of law and order in
Kuwadzana and Highfield constituencies where by-elections are pending.

      "Other police officers have been assigned to maintain roadblocks in
and around Harare."

      Earlier, Sikhala said members of his constituency had the right to
congregate, associate, assemble, impart, receive and exchange ideas as
enshrined in the Constitution.

      He said: "Financial resources amounting to at least $500 000 in
posters and transport among other things, had been expended in anticipation
of the assembly of the great people of St Mary's, Zengeza, Seke and
Chitungwiza constituencies."
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From: "Trudy Stevenson" <trudy@zol.co.zw>
Subject: Thanks - I'm OK!
 Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 15:07:22 +0200

Thanks to all of you who phoned, mailed and sent messages re my arrest on
Monday.  I am fine, I was allowed to go around 4.45 pm from Central to find
a copy of a document...which I have unfortunately failed to find.  My lawyer
informed them of this yesterday morning Tuesday, and I have heard nothing
more.

I was well treated, except being transported in the back of an open
landrover in the rain to Central from Borrowdale - and one very unpleasant
guy in Law & Order who told me I would be charged with murder!  "Yes, you
are murdering the Zimbabwean people by stopping tourists and cricketers
coming here"...etc!

I understand that all the others involved have had no problems.
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ZIMBABWE: FAO to provide vaccines to fight FMD

JOHANNESBURG, 12 February (IRIN) - Zimbabwe will receive a consignment of 340,000 vaccines from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as part of efforts to control the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) which has dealt a severe blow to the country's livestock industry.

Recently the government's veterinary department pleaded for help to buy vaccines as the country did not have enough foreign currency to do so.

However, while the Netherlands-sponsored delivery will provide some relief from the crisis, the FAO has warned that it will only cover 10 percent of the up to 3.4 million doses needed to vaccinate all the animals at risk of contracting the disease.

"The priority now is for vaccines and for logistical support like vehicles to move the vaccines around the country and people need to be sensitised to the need to control the disease," Mario Samaja, FAO emergency operations director for Zimbabwe told IRIN.

Besides vaccine, support was also needed in other areas, he said.

"There is contact between domestic livestock and wild animals which acts as a reservoir for the disease and there are logistical difficulties in controlling the spread of the disease tied into the general problems the country is facing, like a lack of petrol," Samaja noted.

Stuart Hargreaves, director of Zimbabwe's veterinary services said his department would prioritise by administering the vaccines to dairy herds in Chipinge in the east of the country and protecting communal areas where there have been infections.

"It's just a stopgap but it's better than nothing," he said.

Commenting on an allegation by Botswana MP James Maruatona that Zimbabwe "had done nothing" to control the spread of the highly contagious disease and its spillover into Botswana, Hargreaves said: "People must be very cautious before accusations are made."

He said laboratory analysis had shown that a previous outbreak that had been blamed on Zimbabwe had been a different strain to that detected in Botswana.

Zimbabwe suspended beef exports to the European Union and the United States in 2001 but still exports to some southern African countries and Libya.

Drought, smuggling, and the sale of cattle by commercial farmers who lost their land under the government's land redistribution programme has resulted in a marked reduction in the national herd.

[ENDS]

IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 880-4633
Fax: +27 11 447-5472
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za
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ZIMBABWE: Focus on anticipated huge cereal deficit

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]


JOHANNESBURG, 12 February (IRIN) - Indications are that the March/April harvest will not bring the hoped for relief to Zimbabwe's hungry millions - meaning that aid agencies will have to extend their feeding programmes well into the post-harvest months.

Most UN agencies, NGOs and other organisations responding to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe had programmed their interventions to last through to March this year. However, forecasts of a "huge deficit" of cereal foods will necessitate extended operations to avoid a "potentially disastrous situation", Save the Children Fund's (SCF) Chris McIvor told IRIN.

Aid agencies estimated that over seven million Zimbabweans, more than half the population, would require food aid through March this year.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) warned in its latest food security report for Zimbabwe, released on Tuesday, that the government and NGO community needed to start planning for continued food aid, non-food aid and food imports for the 2003/04 consumption year.

This reinforced a similar warning in a recent humanitarian situation report by the UN Relief and Recovery Unit in Harare, which said the government of Zimbabwe had estimated "a deficit of 1.093 million mt for the 2003/2004 marketing year". 

The report noted that "an important humanitarian consideration by stakeholders is the issue of resource availability and mobilisation for such a huge food deficit. This has to be programmed in time to avert the crisis".

The 2003/04 cereal crop deficit is blamed on below average rainfall during the key planting months of November and December 2002, slow distribution of agricultural inputs, a shortage of fertiliser and the late arrival of imported seed for planting.

While noting that the deficit projections so far were still speculative, McIvor said: "It's clear to us that we're looking at a very bad season in some parts of the country, like in Binga [Matabeleland North] which received significantly less than 50 percent rainfall - it's an area where you need 100 percent rainfall just to get a barely adequate harvest. This, combined with shortages of inputs and draught animals, means you are looking at a difficult and potentially disastrous situation."

SCF is one of several NGOs conducting food aid distributions and other humanitarian interventions in Zimbabwe.

A spokesman for the British Department for International Development (DFID) said agencies were already planning for the worst.

"The figures [available] now are extremely speculative. But from the figures we do have and the inferences you can draw from them, things do not look good for Zimbabwe. We expect that feeding will simply have to continue unreduced in some parts of the country [post-harvest when food aid should not normally be needed]. Which parts and how it's going to be done, is something the WFP [World Food Programme] is starting to plan for," the spokesman said.

WFP spokesman Luis Clemens told IRIN there was not doubt that the next harvest would realise a "significant drop in production", however, he noted that it was still too early to make accurate predictions.

The DFID spokesman added that the impact of another poor harvest on people who had already undergone "a punishing year" would be severe. "People are very much weakened by HIV/AIDS, households do not have the capacity [to cope], they are physically weaker than a year ago," the spokesman noted.

When extrapolated upon, the present deficit projections were "very frightening, which is why we need to have a proper and transparent system to respond, this is a major challenge for everyone [government and NGOs]. This is a very unusual sort of crisis, it's not a simple emergency. [It was complicated by] fuel shortages, forex shortages, rail rolling stock [deterioration] etc. It's very hard to plan effectively, which is why we need everyone to cooperate. And people are starting to meet and plan and think about this," the DFID spokesman said.

McIvor, meanwhile, underlined the erosion of household coping mechanisms.

"We just released a nutrition survey done in Binga ... [and] while we haven't seen a significant rise in malnutrition, which is reassuring, the evidence we are getting points to a reduction in people's ability to cope.

"People have divested themselves of most of their assets, prices of livestock have plummeted, because people are selling their cattle and goats. So the assets that people have are severely depleted, more kids are out of school and they are spending more time trying to find wild foods, in some cases wild foods are not being prepared adequately and children are having to be hospitalised. All of these factors - which point to the fact that we are facing another year of drought and a reduced harvest - mean that people's ability to cope is severely compromised," McIvor said.

Awareness of the impact of macro-economic circumstances on the humanitarian crisis was also key, McIvor added.

The FEWS NET report said: "Maize production is expected to be about 800,000 mt, leaving a 900,000 mt deficit for the 2003/04 marketing year. [But] the government's capacity to fill this gap through imports is limited by the foreign currency shortage. This shortage is exacerbated by poor tobacco earnings, which are expected to be at their lowest level in 10 years. 

"At sub-national level, based on the development of crops and the rainfall season so far, there are already strong indications that most households in the southern and central districts of the country, some of which have experienced four consecutive years of poor harvests and have had their coping mechanisms exhausted, will have serious food security problems in the coming year."

The report also noted that "shortages of basic consumer goods, which started in February 2002, only seem to be worsening. Included on this list of scarce items are: sugar, cooking oil, maize, maize meal, milk, beef, bread and transport."

In addition, a number of manufacturing companies have closed down, relocated to neighbouring countries or scaled back operations since the government introduced more price controls in November 2002.

McIvor noted the importance of keeping the world informed that "behind the statistics are lives that need to be saved", to ensure that the donor response would be adequate.

"If food needs are not met, then the collapse into severe levels of malnutrition could take place very quickly. The message is this: there's every reason to be more worried and there are no grounds for complacency," he warned.

[ENDS]

IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 880-4633
Fax: +27 11 447-5472
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za
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The Daily News

      MDC alleges biased food distribution

      2/12/2003 7:17:47 AM (GMT +2)


      From Oscar Nkala in Bulawayo

      THE Member of Parliament for Tsholotsho, Mtoliki Sibanda, has accused
war veterans and national service youths in Tsholotsho of hijacking the food
distribution programme in the district to deny food to suspected MDC
supporters.

      Sibanda said 45 villagers in the constituency's ward 5 appeared on a
list of people to be denied food.

      He alleged that a senior war veteran and the chairman of the Zanu PF
district co-ordinating committee were behind the drive to bar opposition
party supporters from receiving food.

      Sibanda said: "The problem is not limited to Ward 5. Wards 1, 7, 9 and
15 are facing the
      same problems. People are starving and the district food task force,
led by the acting district administrator, Frederick Mbila, is doing nothing
to stop that discrimination.
      Mtoliki alleged all councillors criticised Mbila's handling of the
maize distribution process complaining that they were not advised about
maize-meal deliveries.

      "Mbila simply does not co-ordinate his activities with any of the
relevant leaders except war veterans and national service youths.
      "My view is that councillors should be consulted whenever maize-meal
or grain is being distributed in their areas to ensure equity and
transparency."

      He said some wards in the constituency had complained that the youths
and war veterans forced two households to share one bucket of grain.

      Livingstone Mashengele, the chairman of the provincial food task
force, dismissed the allegations but promised to find out from Mbila.

      "I don't know how that can be done because there are so many
departments involved in the food task force.

      "So, it would be surprising for all of them to fail to see such
glaring irregularities. But our position is that nobody should be starved
for whatever reason. The MP should come and report such incidents to us so
that we take action," he said.

      Meanwhile, the Tsholotsho Rural District Council has given the
Brethren-In-Christ Church permission to distribute food to orphans, widows
and the elderly in the Pumula and Pelandaba areas of the district.

      The resolution says the distribution should be done in liaison with
area councillors, and calls on the church to ensure that the communities are
covered without segregation.
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The Daily News

      Kuwait offers 90 tonnes of maize-meal

      2/12/2003 7:19:33 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      THE Kuwait government has offered to give Zimbabwe a consignment of
approximately 90 tonnes of maize-meal.

      In a Press release yesterday, Zaid Al Sherida, the Kuwait Ambassador
to Zimbabwe, said the first consignment of about 10 tonnes would land in
Harare on 21 February and thereafter, a supply aircraft would be received at
15-day intervals with approximately 10 tonnes of relief food, until the
consignment of 90 tonnes is delivered.

      "We are pleased to announce that through the Kuwait Red Crescent
Society we are prepared to help the people of Zimbabwe in this time of
hardship.

      "We are aware of the devastating effects that the drought is having on
the productive sector, and that the basic foods are in very short supply
which has resulted in a lot of suffering to the people of Zimbabwe," Sherida
said.

      He said since there had been a long and friendly relationship between
Zimbabwe and Kuwait, it worried them as a nation to see Zimbabweans
suffering. They have decided to help the country during this time of need.

      "As the State of Kuwait prepares to celebrate its National and
Liberation Day, it remembers the courageous stance taken by its sister
countries and their stance alongside Kuwait in the pursuance of the rights
and security of its people. The Republic of Zimbabwe is foremost among these
countries," he said.

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The Daily News

      Riot police disperse food queues

      2/12/2003 7:12:45 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporters

      BATON-wielding riot police intensified dispersing people queueing for
basic commodities on Monday in Highfield and the city centre as the
government struggled to paint a picture of tranquillity to the visiting
Cricket World Cup teams and foreign journalists covering the tournament in
Harare.

      At Machipisa shopping centre there was a heavy presence of the police
who harassed groups of people.

      Tinarwo Musosa of Highfield said: "We cannot buy bread here because
the police said queues are causing disorder at the shopping centre."

      Mildred Zimuko from Glen Norah said on Saturday the police with the
help of ruling Zanu PF youths beat up people queuing for maize-meal.

      A worker at one supermarket confirmed that police started beating up
people in Highfield on Friday.

      The police in Harare on Saturday ordered the closure of all fuel
stations along Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Road, which leads from the Harare
International Airport into the city centre.

      This was an apparent bid to deceive the arriving Cricket World Cup
teams about the fuel crisis in the country.

      The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said they were disturbed
by the spurious move to impress visitors, more so when some workers have to
take some time off work to hunt for food and fuel.

      Wellington Chibhebhe, ZCTU's secretary-general, on Monday said: "Over
the days leading to the commencement of the International Cricket World Cup,
the police have been chasing away people from fuel, bread and mealie-meal
queues which are the order of the day all over the country."

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The Daily News

      The woes of shopping in Zimbabwe

      2/12/2003 7:25:14 AM (GMT +2)


      By Dr Levee Kadenge

      My children had a good laugh at me and my wife a few days ago.

      We had driven to High Glen shopping centre in Harare for provisions
and come back frustrated because we could not get what we wanted to buy.

      Their advice was simple: "Walk to the Machipisa open-air shopping
centre in Highfield and get everything," my daughter Chiedza suggested.

      Upon further probing my son Munyaradzi had this to say: "Walk with mum
to Machipisa. Go into OK Supermarket. Take a shopping basket or a trolley,
depending on what quantities you want to buy. Leave the shop and go outside
with your empty shopping basket.

      "Right from the entrance of the shop you will come across everything
you need from shoe polish to bread and whatever other groceries you need.
      "You will face several problems, though. The first is you have to have
a sharp memory.
      "You need to know whom you got what from and to whom you'll give what
change.
      "You also have to have very good bargaining skills. As a preacher,
dad, you can accomplish that easily," he said.

      Gosh! The shopping woes in Zimbabwe are unbelievable! That is what is
going on outside most of our shopping centres in Zimbabwe.

      Perhaps those who are high up in authority might not know what is
happening on
      on the ground. It is actually a nightmare. You cannot budget for
anything these days.
      The prices outside are so high. Imagine a loaf of bread costs $60 in
the shop but costs $300 in the street.

      When there is bread outside the shop you must know that there is no
bread inside the shop. This translates to 500 percent inflation. What
business ethics are these?
      We run a creche at our local church in Lusaka, Highfield. Every
morning a young man comes there with a black plastic bag full of bread. The
creche teachers have informed me that he sells bread at $200 per loaf and
they buy it. This is a daily routine, at seven loaves per day.

      One day Chiedza went to buy drinks. She was told that they had run
out. The tuckshop owner advised her to come back after 15 minutes and check
if her order had been
      delivered, as had been promised by another vendor.

      She was told that drinks there were $80 per 300ml bottle. When she
went back 15 minutes later she was told that the price had gone up. She paid
$100 per bottle instead.
      The problem is that government controls the prices. It is alleged that
when goods come into the shops they are there only briefly in the evening.

      The following morning there is nothing in these shops. What you then
see are these enterprising vendors with their wares outside the shops.

      One sees no end to these shopping escapades, which leave you more
frustrated at the end, rather than enjoying a well-deserved shopping trip.

      Zimbabwe our land of milk and honey smells of decay and people are
scrounging for almost anything on the market.

      What wrong have we done MaZimbabwe to be reduced to law-breakers who
buy illegally priced goods?

      The law says those black market prices are not permitted but we find
ourselves going there with our trolleys all the time.

      Gone are the days when South Africans used to cross the border with
our margarine and Mazoe Orange Crush, which was the best in the world. We
who grew up several years ago know that Zimbabwe used to produce the best of
everything.

      Now the "born-frees" including all my children only hear about those
good old days from our tales of yesteryear.

      But in Shona they say: Matakadya kare haanyengedze mwana. (Yesterday's
meal cannot satisfy today's hunger). You cannot please a child by saying we
used to have it nice so do not worry. Zimbabwe has some of the most educated
citizens in the world.

      Now Europe and America are reaping the benefits of our fine education
system, thanks to the British.
      I am aware we are not in good books with the British of late because
of their refusal to condone what they regard as an unfair redistribution of
land.

      Our hope lies in restoring our relationship with Britain soon so that
we benefit from each other. They have a lot to learn from us and we also
need their moral and financial support.

      Let me sign off so that I can go and join a petrol queue. But before I
go and look for petrol, my children are telling me that eggs are now $100
each. This was the price of a crate of eggs a few months ago.
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FinGaz

Comment

      None but ourselves


      2/13/03 1:46:58 AM (GMT +2)

      OMINOUS reports that next month's Commonwealth troika meeting on
Zimbabwe might be cancelled, allowing the country's suspension from the club
of former British colonies to lapse, demonstrates once again the limitations
of an external solution to the Zimbabwe crisis.

      Despite earlier denials that a March meeting of the
Australia-Nigeria-South Africa troika on Zimbabwe was no longer on the
cards, the African members of the troika seem to be now firmly urging not
only cancellation of the meeting, but the lifting of Zimbabwe's 12-month
suspension from the Commonwealth.

      It is quite clear that neither Nigeria nor South Africa are willing to
break ranks with most of their African counterparts by explicitly
threatening President Robert Mugabe with isolation from the rest of the
continent, despite evidence of the suffering his government's policies have
inflicted on Zimbabweans.

      As Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told journalists in Pretoria
at the weekend, Zimbabwe's neighbours are happy to maintain their kid glove
treatment of Mugabe, which allows them to "remain constructively engaged"
with the government.

      But as long as African leaders continue to publicly pussyfoot around
issues, their ability to press the Zimbabwean leadership to abandon its
ruinous policies is severely eroded and the already desperate situation in
the country will continue to deteriorate.

      Indeed, even as reports suggest that Mugabe has pledged to review laws
that undermine public and Press freedoms, several opposition party members
and civic leaders have been arrested and harassed in the past week through
these very laws.

      Far from softening its policies as Obasanjo is said to have requested
during his meeting with Mugabe last week, the ruling ZANU PF seems
determined to crack down on any signs of dissent as it attempts to hoodwink
the world during the cricket games into believing the situation in Zimbabwe
is normal.

      The police this week quashed protests by civil rights activists, while
some bar and restaurant owners in Harare claim they have been warned to shut
down during cricket World Cup matches to prevent fans boycotting field
matches from watching games on pub television sets.

      In addition, some sports fans who attended Zimbabwe's game against
Namibia on Monday say they were forced by the police to throw their copies
of the Daily News in bins provided for the purpose, with even pages torn
from the newspaper not being allowed on the grounds.

      No explanation was given for this unprecedented action.

      The implications on the region's economy and credibility of continued
solidarity with ZANU PF do not need repeating.

      But for ordinary Zimbabweans, faced with an economy on its last legs,
worsening repression and increased food insecurity, the implications are
even more tragic.

      The inability of African leaders to set the country on a different
path to the destructive road it seems headed should be a sign to Zimbabweans
that they cannot afford to bury their heads in the sand and leave the
protection of their own interests to others.

      As shown by the recent debacle over the renewal of European Union (EU)
smart sanctions, and the EU's struggle in the past to effectively implement
these measures, the international community can only do so much to liberate
Zimbabwe from its present hardships.

      Zimbabweans are struggling through an economically trying and
politically repressive phase, nevertheless that does not mean they can
abdicate their responsibilities by prioritising survival at the expense of
the nation's future.

      They cannot be cowed by worsening poverty and their own fear of a
regime that is slowly eroding their rights and freedoms.

      Ultimately, only Zimbabweans can hold ZANU PF accountable for its
mismanagement of the economy, food security and the erosion of the rule of
law that has forced many people to live in fear.
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