LONDON (Reuters) - England's cricketers are to issue a
statement saying they are opposed to playing their opening World Cup match in
Zimbabwe, according to newspaper reports. A Sunday Telegraph report says
that the England players have deep-seated concerns about the behaviour of
Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe's government which has attracted worldwide
criticism for its controversial land reform policies. The statement is
expected to underline that the players feel they have been given no choice
but to play the match as employees of the England and Wales Cricket Board
(ECB). The International Cricket Council (ICC), of which the ECB is a member,
said on Friday there were "no safety and security reasons to relocate
matches scheduled to be played in Zimbabwe" although it would continue to
monitor the situation before the start of the tournament on February
9. The ICC has stressed that it does not feel qualified to make a
political judgement about Zimbabwe, although the British government has
called for the ECB to boycott fixtures in Zimbabwe. England's players are
said to be concerned about their personal safety -- particularly after
receiving anonymous letters at their Sydney hotel earlier this week
threatening violence if they travel to Zimbabwe for the World Cup. In a
report in the Sunday Times, ECB chairman David Morgan said the players have
been placed in a moral dilemma. "The players are sympathetic to the plight of
the Zimbabwean people," he said. "In the last week the pressure has built on
them and they are examining their consciences. "They are uncertain about
playing cricket in Zimbabwe in the current environment, but I would be
surprised if anyone refuses to go."
Geoffrey Nyarota, an
award-winning Zimbabwean journalist and former editor of the independent
Daily News, has been awarded the Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in
the US.
The Nieman Fellowship, which seeks to elevate and promote
journalism, runs from August to June. Nyarota required a special dispensation
to enter now.
Nyarota, 52, expressed delight at receiving the
fellowship. He is set to leave for the US next week.
"I am happy,
especially as it comes at a time when I have been forsaken by my own people,"
he said. Nyarota was sacked as editor of the Daily News late last month for
allegedly siding with workers, who had embarked on a strike that paralysed
operations and led to the paper not being printed for 10 days.
He
had been at the helm of the paper since its establishment in 1999. During his
stint as editor , Nyarota gained a reputation as an outspoken and fearless
critic of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF government.
The
government accused the paper of being an opposition mouthpiece and threatened
to shut it down. Nyarota remained defiant, although he and his reporters were
arrested numerous times and the paper's printing press and offices were
bombed.
A leading policy think-tank in
South Africa has warned of violence and the potential collapse of the
Zimbabwean economy in six months if nothing is done to resolve the political
situation in that country.
A report by the South African Institute of
International Affairs says Zimbabwe is facing its worst problems in decades,
leading to the economy being carried by unsustainable factors.
The
report says government interventions have created many distortions in the
economy - including a burgeoning foreign exchange market and a black market
with nine different exchange rates.
The report was compiled by the
institute last month, after conducting a study on Zimbabwe for nearly three
months.
The report says while the population suffers abject poverty
and food shortages, President Robert Mugabe's government ministers, officials
and members of the ruling party are getting even richer.
The
report warns that if Mugabe fails to act to get the economy back on course
soon there is an increasing risk of massive unrest that could spill over into
the whole Southern African Development Community region.
South Africa
and President Thabo Mbeki in particular take a pounding for their
quiet-diplomacy approach to normalising the situation.
A prominent Zimbabwean
opposition politician who went into exile this week has voiced his anger at
the South African government's apparent support for President Robert
Mugabe.
Speaking in Britain, where he is in hiding, Tafadzwa Musekiwa,
the Movement for Democratic Change MP for the Harare constituency of Zengeza,
says he is dismayed by President Thabo Mbeki's move from "quiet diplomacy" to
support for Mugabe.
MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube has also
criticised the ANC for not being "an honest and neutral broker" on
Zimbabwe.
Musekiwa, a former students' representative council
president of the University of Zimbabwe, shot to prominence after being
elected as an opposition MP in 2000. Since then he has been the subject of
police attention.
He was accused of making death threats to
Information Minister Jonathan Moyo over the phone, and last year he was
denied permission to attend his father's funeral.
While on holiday
in Britain this month he was warned that he was on a hit list of MDC
activists - and, on advice, decided to stay.
Speaking near London
this week, Musekiwa said that Zimbabweans were disillusioned with Mbeki.
"They thought they had a brother down south, but now they have an enemy, they
have two enemies - Thabo and Robert.
"That is what people are saying
in the bars and in the streets."
He accuses the South African
government of making a sudden U-turn to support Mugabe.
"In a
blatant manner the 'quiet diplomacy' has turned into a megaphone of support
for the regime which everyone views as illegitimate. It was a strong shift
from an arbiter to a conspirator.
"I am really shocked that Thabo
Mbeki is behaving as if he is the vice-president of Zimbabwe.
"I
am not calling for sanctions, but I believe that South Africa can pull the
plug on Zimbabwe. As far as I am concerned, Mbeki is aiding the crisis in
Zimbabwe."
Musekiwa hopes that his exile will be temporary, because
in his opinion Mugabe will be out of power within months.
"The
last kicks of a dying horse," he says. "You never know which one he will
kick, but as we move to a new Zimbabwe we have to minimise casualties and
make maximum gains."
His friend and fellow MP, Job Sikhala, was
detained last week and claimed that he had been tortured while in
detention.
Opposition leaders are intimidated, Musekiwa says, because
of the politicisation of the police, the Central Intelligence Organisation,
the army and even the judiciary in Zimbabwe.
"This must be a
phase; this must be the last time Zimbabweans experience anything of this
sort."
Zimbabwe's opposition face arrest and torture as the World
Cup draws closer
Paul Harris in Harare Sunday January 26, 2003 The
Observer
They came in the dead of night. Job Sikhala was woken by a phone
call from a neighbour warning that vehicles were approaching his home shortly
before 4am. Sikhala knew he was in danger: as an opposition MP with
Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change, he was a prime target for Robert
Mugabe's secret police. Yet the politician had made precautions. Snatching
up a few possessions from his room, Sikhala hurried to the cellar and the
secret tunnel he had built under his home. He escaped. But Mugabe's spies are
everywhere in Zimbabwe today. Sikhala was picked up by police at a hotel
later that day. His nightmare was about to begin. He was taken to Harare
Central Police station before being put on an unmarked minibus and driven for
an hour. Blindfolded and terrified, Sikhala was led down three flights of
stairs by his police guards. He could see nothing and his interrogators would
not tell him where he was. But Sikhala knew what awaited him. In Zimbabwe,
those arrested in the middle of the night always expect the worst. 'I knew it
was a torture chamber. I knew something terrible was about to happen,' he
said. The secret police beat him on the soles of his feet with wooden sticks.
His torturers took it in turns as they demanded details of how the MDC works
and what plans it had for the coming months. Then they tied an electric
wire around a toe on each foot and electrocuted him, burning his flesh. 'They
did that for 10 minutes and one of them said "You haven't even
started talking",' Sikhala said. Wires were attached to his penis and
testicles. The current was turned on. Another wire was clipped to his tongue.
They shouted the same questions, over and over. What was the MDC doing? Who
were its supporters? Why was he with them? He tried to answer them, but
could barely speak. Another wire was attached to his left ear and more shocks
sent down the cables. Then one of the torturers urinated on him. 'At that
moment I urinated myself also. Then they made me wriggle in it and said I had
to pretend to swim,' Sikhala said. 'I had given up life. Whatever the
outcome, I had given my life to God at that point. I cried about never seeing
my two kids again. Would they know that their father had been killed by these
people? That I had died in this way?' He was vaguely aware of his
torturers talking about drowning him in a nearby reservoir. They drove him
back to Harare police station, where he was charged with plotting against the
state. As soon as he was released, supporters took him away to a secret
location for hospital treatment. Sikhala's arrest and torture was only one of
dozens in recent weeks. A huge and brutal crack down is underway, aimed at
crushing any form of opposition to the regime of President Robert Mugabe and
his ruling Zanu-PF party. The reason is simple: in a few weeks' time Zimbabwe
will host six international matches of the Cricket World Cup. The event will
provide a perfect opportunity for Mugabe to present a sanitised view of
Zimbabwean life to the world. But the event will also attract scores of
foreign journalists, who are currently banned from entering Zimbabwe. Mugabe
is determined that by the time they get here the opposition will be in no
condition to create trouble. The main focus of the crackdown is the MDC,
whose leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, goes on trial for treason next month. In the
past three weeks MDC activists, councillors, MPs and sympathisers have been
arrested and jailed. Some, like youth leader Fanuel Tsvangirai, are missing.
One MP, Tafadzwa Musekiwa, has fled abroad. BUT IT IS not just the MDC. So
desperate is the ruling party to ensure that the cricket matches pass off
peacefully that any form of opposition is ruthlessly crushed. Zanu-PF's
youth wing, the so-called Green Bombers, have been sent into opposition areas
to terrorise and intimidate the locals. They have set up camps and any whiff
of dissent is dealt with brutally. Journalists have been beaten and the sight
of a white face - especially that of a foreign journalist - is an invitation
to arrest and torture. Even as police were preparing Sikhala's arrest on 14
January, four activists for the Combined Harare Residents Association were
being tortured by the Green Bombers, named for the green uniforms they wear.
The four were touring the crowded township of Kuwadzana on a
'familiarisation' trip ahead of a by-election there, which the CHRA wants to
ensure is fair and open. But their presence was too much for the Green
Bombers. They were frogmarched into a militia base, one of four that have
been set up in Kuwadzana. 'There was no lighting and it was getting dark. I
heard one of them call the police and he told the others that the cops had
said they could "work" on us first and they would come over later,' Barnabas
Mangodza, one of the victims, said. The 'work' soon began. Some of the
youths scrolled through the address books on the group's mobile phones and
found numbers for MDC activists. One of the militia said: 'Now we are going
to beat you. Who is going to be first?' Mangodza stood up. Eight people held
him while six others hit him with whips, sticks and their fists. Similar
treatment was meted out to the other three: Jameson Gazirayi, Joseph Rose and
Richard Mudehwe. The ordeal lasted two hours. Finally, the police came and
the Green Bombers left. Despite their wounds, Mangodza and the others were
arrested and fined Z$5,000 (£55). Their crime was 'behaviour likely to
disturb the peace'. Zimbabwe is a country gone mad. A stolen election last
March and the disastrous confiscation of the country's white-owned commercial
farms have triggered complete economic collapse. Starved of foreign
currency and in the grip of 500 per cent hyper-inflation, all basic
commodities have run out. In the cities people queue for entire days to get
fuel, bread, salt and cooking oil. The countryside is the worst off. Drought
has gripped the land, withering crops and killing cattle. An estimated seven
million people are facing starvation in a country that used to be an exporter
of food. But the ruling elite still prosper. Inflation has created two
economies. Those with foreign currency can afford anything. Those without can
afford nothing. Both Mugabe and his reviled Information Minister Jonathan
Moyo recently travelled abroad to buy their own supplies. Mugabe flew first
class to Singapore, returning with 15 boxes of goods. Moyo travelled to South
Africa by convoy, where he loaded up with canned food, rice, sugar and bread.
The hypocrisy has shocked many. 'Don't send us cricketers, send us
food,' Wilfrid Mhanda, head of the Zimbabwe Liberators Platform and a former
black liberation fighter who now opposes the government, said. 'When the
English cricketers come here they will do just as Mugabe does. They will eat
and drink well, while we are starving.' For most Zimbabweans - 70 per cent
of whom are unemployed - life is spent in a desperate search for enough to
eat. Yet even in buying food, Mugabe's grip on power is tight. Zanu
politicians are given food to distribute. Party cards must be shown to
receive it. The Green Bombers loot shops of food, which they sell for a
profit. In Chitungwiza, their actions sparked ugly riots two weeks ago. There
are now 1,500 of the militia in the township, which has an MDC mayor. More
are coming. The son of one local councillor was injured so badly he was taken
to hospital - because he wore an MDC T-shirt. 'The Green Bombers made him try
and eat his own shirt,' the councillor, who was afraid to give his name,
said. The MDC is reeling under the pressure, but plans are still being drawn
up for protests inside and outside the six matches to be played. The
Government is gearing up too. It has set up a special police taskforce to
crush any dissent near the games. 'We will be in full force,' police
commissioner Augustine Chihuri said last week. But amid the chaos and
violence there are signs of hope. Zimbabweans can turn the tide. One such is
Chitungwiza shopkeeper Lloyd Moyo, 28. The Green Bombers had stolen so much
bread that he stopped selling it. But local people begged him to carry on.
They promised to protect him from the militia. So far, they have. Standing in
front of his ramshackle grocery store, Moyo raised a brave voice of
challenge. 'I am not afraid,' he said. Behind him, stapled to a wall, was a
photograph of him taken on the day his shop opened. Above it was a proud
handwritten message. 'Life is full of problems,' it read. 'But we shall have
victory in the end.'
JAMES Morris, the UN special envoy
for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, yesterday dressed down the
state-controlled daily, The Herald saying it had peddled "100% lies", in
yesterday's front-page lead story.
Morris
who says his deep-seated concern for the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe
should be accurately reflected, told journalists, diplomats and government
officials at a press conference, that he was shocked to see The Herald
publish a story purporting that he had accepted the irreversibility of the
land reform exercise. Morris, a special envoy of UN secretary general Koffi
Annan, is visiting Zimbabwe to assess the humanitarian situation as part of
his tour of Africa.
Morris said The
Herald's lead story entitled: 'Help New Farmers: UN Special Envoy',
constituted a gross misrepresentation of what he had said when addressing
journalists on Friday afternoon.
According
to The Herald report, Tim (sic) Morris, had accepted the irreversibility of
the land reform exercise and had urged humanitarian agencies working in
Zimbabwe to provide farmers with water and
inputs.
Said Morris yesterday: "The
comments in The Herald were 100% lies. I did not comment as The Herald
purportedly reports in its front page story today (yesterday). I did not
accept that the land reform process was irreversible as they (The Herald),
quote me as saying. It was gross misrepresentation of the worst form. "What I
did say was that the future of Zimbabwe depended on the success of a robust
agro-based economy.
It is also
embarrassing that The Herald repeatedly quoted me as 'Tim Morris' when my
real name is James Morris. Ironically, I have a 36-year-old son called Tim
who will probably be attributed to The Herald's utterances, not myself!"
Morris said, drawing roaring laughter from the
audience.
Disappointed with this kind of
gutter reporting, Morris said he had since written a letter to the editor of
The Herald, a copy of which is in the possession of The Standard, stressing
his concern over the humanitarian crisis in
Zimbabwe.
Reads part of the letter: " I am
writing to correct the misrepresentation in the 25 January edition of The
Herald of the substance of my meetings with the government of ZimbabweSI
particularly stressed the importance of reaching former commercial farm
workers, as well as vulnerable populations in resettlement lands, and those
living in urban areas. This takes into account serious concerns on the
deteriorating food security throughout the
country."
Zimbabwe is in the throes of a
crippling food shortage which threatens over seven million of the country's
11,6 million people. Mugabe's chaotic land reforms are being held responsible
for the hardships being experienced in the
country.
Morris' visit to Zimbabwe is part
of a tour of Africa to reassess the humanitarian situation. Already, he has
been to Ethiopia and is expected to visit three other drought-hit countries:
Lesotho, Malawi and Zambia.
On Friday, he
met Mugabe at State House to review the current responses to the Zimbabwean
crisis and follow up on the findings of his first mission in September last
year.
Said Morris: "I have discussed with
Mugabe and the foreign minister (Stan Mudenge) on six occasions over the
issue of political interference in the distribution of food, and they have
both accepted that there is need for change to boost international
confidence.
"The UN will soon start
working with the government to monitor the distribution of food," Morris
said.
Gvt keeps lid on damning
land report By Chengetai
Zvauya
THE ministry of state responsible
for Land Reform has produced a damning land audit report which highlights the
systematic looting of prime farms by senior government officials and Zanu PF
cronies, The Standard has learnt.
The
explosive report is a culmination of a land audit exercise carried out by the
ministry to assess the status and ownership of farms acquired under the
controversial land reform programme.
Highly placed government sources told The Standard yesterday that Flora Buka,
the minister of state for Land Reform, was sitting on the damning report,
which should have been presented to President Mugabe by
now.
They said senior government officials
and politburo members were among several influential people implicated in the
looting of prime farms by Zanu PF cronies, at the expense of the landless
people.
"The report authenticates reports
that government officials and Zanu PF cronies have corruptly awarded
themselves more than one farm in various provinces. Names of several top
government officials, army, police and CIO officers and many others are
appearing in several provinces. In short, the report paints a classic picture
of looting that has characterised the affairs of the party over the years,"
said the source.
The ministry started
auditing farms in October last year and completed the exercise in early
December after touring all the provinces.
Contacted for comment, Buka admitted that there were problems associated with
the talked about land reform exercise which saw thousands of white farmers
being driven off their land.
"We are in
the finalisation phase of the report and we are going to publish it soon. It
has some problems but we are not at liberty to discuss them with the press
now,'' she said.
So far, government claims
to have resettled over 300 000 families under the A1 model scheme as well as
about 51 000 others under the A2 model scheme. Most of these A2 model farmers
did not take up their pieces of land.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary portfolio committee on land and agriculture has
also started making field visits to resettled farms to assess the ownership
status and level of production on the farms in the wake of reports that most
of the new farmers have deserted their plots.
Truly there are none so
blind... americannotes By Ken
Mufuka
I FEAR for my country. It is not
that the Zimbabwean leadership is ignorant of history. It is that they think
they are immune to history. The end game seems to be finally closing in on
Brother Gabriel Mugabe.
My e-mail is
buzzing with Zimbabwean news. A friend bought two pick-up truck tyres for
Z$42 000 in December 2000. This week, he wrote me to say that he went back
for two more and they were priced at Z$175 000 each. When beef cattle prices
have jumped from Z$37 000 last December to Z$ 200 000, those of us who have
read our history know that the end is near for the regime. It means that the
money has effectively been killed. I can confidently tell you what will
happen to us; we are ripe for
recolonisation.
First, let me refer to the
end game. I have said that for the last 20 years, in the African context, it
is not the opposition that needs watching-it is the economy, stupid! Within
the economy one needs to watch two things; the value of money and
unemployment.
I was at the University of
Jamaica (1971-73) when Prime Minister, Michael Manley, partly nationalised
the sugar cane fields belonging to Tate and Lyle. Water channels continued to
flow through the lush green cane fields except that the new brother farmers
were seen standing by the roadside selling two pieces of cane sugar. Behind
them were empty uncultivated former cane fields. Even dyed-in-the- wool
nationalists like myself began to wonder whether the brother farmers would
not have been better off working for Tate and
Lyle.
Manley, an economics graduate of the
London School of Economics, raised the taxes of the four American bauxite
companies from an annual U$55 million to U$250 million. Huge numbers of NP
(National Party) supporters were employed as street cleaners and it seemed
that money was flowing everywhere. The imperialists reacted quickly by
killing the Jamaican dollar, which went from par with the U$ to 45:1US$
dollar.
All prices of imported goods
jumped by that percentage and by the end of three years, of the 11 professors
in my department, nine had left for the US. Over half a million Jamaicans
fled the island's economic ruin in those three
years.
This tragedy is now being replayed
in Zimbabwe. The denial by Brother Mugabe of his impending exile does not
surprise me. General Mobutu and General Kongolo (his deputy) swore they would
never leave the Congo while in fact as Kongolo spoke, his wife almost fell
into the Congo River in an attempt to catch an escape
boat.
As for Mobutu, the Americans were
frantic after France and Belgium had refused him asylum even though his U$40
billion was there. Colonel Mengistu, too, said he was going to Kenya to
consult President Arap Moi when in fact the Americans had arranged a safe
haven for him in Zimbabwe.
There are
plenty of examples of what will happen to us after Brother Mugabe's exile.
The brother is not paranoid in suspecting that the British are plotting his
imminent demise. The British foreign secretary has admitted some knowledge of
it. Former US national security advisor, Anthony Lake, has admitted that the
US has a division at the CIA whose job is to eliminate foreign leaders. A
'kill Saddam plan' went wrong in 1995.
Zimbabwe, like Iraq, will be paying for the stupidities of its leaders for a
long time. In 1991, United Nations Resolution 661 set aside 30 cents from
each dollar of sold oil so it could go into a secret compensation fund. Only
five percent goes to humanitarian aid. Nearly 200 nations have some claim for
compensation. The compensation fund employs 240 highly paid and high flying
staff members and is housed in Geneva. There are several companies seeking
compensation. Any money due for payment, if delayed, accrues
interest.
One can imagine 4 200 white
settlers in Zimbabwe putting forward their claims to the new compensation
fund under the United Nations. All loans from the International fund and
World Bank will be disbursed on condition that compensation is paid out first
to former settlers. Interest will accrue as from the day of confiscation of
property. These claims will be secretly handled. Our country will be
mortgaged for at least 100 years.This is what happened to
Uganda.
There will also be a right for
settlers to return and reclaim their former properties. This has already
happened in Mozambique. In Iraq, of the U$10 billion oil sales per year, $5,9
goes back to that country, but the 661 committee must approve all purchases.
The remainder of the money goes to Committee 661 for disbursement to secret
claimants.
DESPITE the incessant attacks and
open hostility displayed by Ignatius Chombo, the minister of Local
Government, Public Works and National Housing, towards opposition-led town
councils, MDC mayors say no amount of intimidation or threats from the Zanu
PF government will force them out
of office.
The mayors, who have been
turned into objects of ridicule in the state-controlled media, this week
urged the Zanu PF government to come to terms with the reality that they had
been chosen by the people and therefore noone else had the power to remove
them.
Speaking in separate interviews with
The Standard, the mayors of Bulawayo, Chitungwiza and Chegutu who have been
vilified by government, said no amount of intimidation would deter them from
the democratic mandate they were given to serve the residents of their
respective towns.
Since last year, Chombo
has been on the warpath against the MDC mayors in an attempt to kick them out
of office. He has, for example, handpicked his own committees to "assist" the
mayors-who are already backed by their elected councillors-to run the affairs
of their cities and has issued countless directives to reverse decisions by
the opposition councils.
Only two weeks
ago, Harare mayor, Elias Mudzuri, was arrested while addressing residents of
Mabvuku on the water crisis. Mudzuri spent the weekend in a cell at the
Harare Central police station.
Japhet
Ndabeni-Ncube, the executive mayor of Bulawayo, slammed the police for
detaining Mudzuri saying the arrest epitomised the impunity with which the
government dealt with opposition-led
councils.
He said: "We (mayors) do not
need to seek the authority of anybody, not even the police, when addressing
our residents on issues that are genuinely in their interest. We believe that
Mudzuri was lawfully justified in holding a civic meeting with his residents
and did not need to inform the police.
"It is a shame that the police see political connotations in all gatherings
and treat everything concerning the MDC in a heavy-handed manner. We,
however, refuse to be cowed, and will continue serving the people who chose
us, in the best possible manner."
Ndabeni-Ncube said it was disturbing that since he and three of
his counterparts had been elected into office, the government had
hatched multiple plots to curtail their
operations.
"It raises eyebrows that
Chombo has now seen it necessary to appoint governors and committees to
preside over our operations when things have been otherwise for the past 22
years. He should realise that for us to thrive, there should be no
interference and the government should follow the constitutional guidelines
that already exist," he said.
Misheck
Shoko, the mayor of Chitungwiza, said Chombo's crackdown on the opposition
mayors through the appointment of commissions and governors, and his loud and
crude heckling in the state-controlled media, were proof of his sinister
motives.
He said: "Chombo's disregard for
us is not even veiled; it is clear for all to see. He wants to shift our
attention from the welfare of the residents we
serve.
"We believe the arrest of Mudzuri
had Zanu PF blessing, but they should know that proper governance and
transparency call for constant consultation with the people. Mudzuri was
justified in meeting with his residents to discuss their
grievances.
Chegutu mayor, Blessing
Dhlakama, who last year survived two attempts on his life, accused Chombo of
fomenting confusion and corruption within his town
council.
He said: "The town council has
been running for quite some time without adequate representation as only six
councillors out of the mandatory 11 are participating in the running of
affairs.
"One councillor, ele-cted on the
MDC ticket, has been suspended for unclear reasons and barred from council
business even though the High Court had ruled in his favour. I have alerted
Chombo but he seems unfazed by the deteriorating situation. It is surprising
that the government has taken so long to arrange by-elections to fill the
vacant posts."
Dhlakama said Chombo's
"deafening silence" on the Chegutu council's woes were promoting confusion
and corruption.
"Because Chombo has
remained silent on what the Zanu PF councillors are doing in Chegutu, he is
equally guilty, " he said.
"We are not
afraid to say the truth and to advocate for justice. I am confident that the
Chegutu residents are supportive of us and are aware of the people who are
causing the rot in their town."
Alois
Chaimiti, the mayor of Masvingo who has not had problems with Zanu PF after
being accepted by Vice President Simon Muzenda, said for the sake of
progress, Zanu PF and the MDC had to work
together.
He said: "We should all look
beyond political lines and work together for the people who chose us. We need
to improve communication between ourselves and be considerate of the
people."
WAR veterans leader, Joseph
Chinotimba, who last week donated three tonnes of maize meal to some
disadvantaged Highfield residents, has all but confirmed his desire to stand
as the candidate for the ruling party in the forthcoming parliamentary
by-election.
The self proclaimed
commander-in-chief of the farm invasions, admitted in an interview with The
Standard that he had a "vested interest" in the constituency which became
vacant following the expulsion of Munyaradzi Gwisai from the
MDC.
Asked why he was suddenly so
concerned about the welfare of the residents of Highfield, Chinotimba said:
"Wouldn't you want me to be an MP yourself? After all, any black Pan
Africanist would support me. I am free to contest in the Highfield poll if
the residents want me to do so. I even have a more legitimate reason to run
in the race because I own properties in
the constituency."
While making his
donation, Chinotimba claimed to have harvested the maize at his Hwatakayi
Farm in Mazowe.
Many people, however,
questioned how he was able to have any meaningful harvest at this
time.
Said one GMB official who refused to
be named for fear of victimisation: "Under the new regulations designed by
government last year, every farmer has to declare his or her produce within
two weeks of the harvest. We have not heard anything concerning Chinotimba's
harvest and as a matter of fact, there are very few farmers who have had any
harvests this season."
Paul
Themba-Nyathi, the MDC spokesman, said: "It boggles the mind how Chinotimba
could have acquired such a harvest at this time of the year when the whole
country is facing starvation. It is not only criminal but it demonstrates the
extent to which Zanu PF is steeped in lawlessness and unscrupulous activity.
However, the people of Zimbabwe and Highfield in particular, are not fools
and Chinotimba is set for a rude awakening come election
time."
While Chinotimba is making forays
into Highfield with food and sewing machines, his colleague David Mutasa, who
is the official Zanu PF candidate for Kuwadzana, is continuing to sell mealie
meal at concessionary prices
to residents.
Thousands of Kuwadzana
residents swarm Mutasa's Tassa supermarket at Kuwadzana 5's "Home Industries"
to purchase mealie meal which is being sold at $500 per 10kg pack and comes
with a loaf of bread and a cabbage. A similar bag of mealie meal costs $3 500
on the black market.
Every Friday and
Saturday, in anticipation of food, hungry residents form a kilometre long
queue that snakes through Kuwadzana 4 and Kuwadzana 5 high density
suburbs.
Said Albert Mutembo, who had
lined up for the scarce commodity on Friday: "This is a clear strategy by
Zanu PF to use food to win the hearts of the urban voters. We have no choice
but to queue at Mutasa's shop because our families are staring starvation in
the face. We are, however, aware that once the elections are over, this
honeymoon will also be over."
Mutasa will
square up with Nelson Chamisa of the MDC in
the by-election.
Bulawayo Council may
abandon capital projects By Cynthia
Mahwite
BULAWAYO-The Bulawayo City Council
may be forced abandon its capital projects after government's failure to
respond to its request to grant it powers to borrow $2,6 billion from the
corporate market.
Bulawayo executive mayor
Japhet Ndabeni Ncube confirmed to The Standard that the ministry of Local
Government had still not responded to their budget proposals presented last
December.
Said Ncube: "Local Government
has not responded to our capital budget proposals presented to them last
December," said Ncube.
"We would have
expected them to have responded by now so we could start to effect the
capital budget for the year. The lack of response from Local Government means
as council, we don't have powers to borrow and our proposed plans remain
proposals unless we are granted borrowing
powers."
Ncube said government's failure
to respond to their request to grant council borrowing powers would lead to
the collapse of sectors essential to the city's
up-keep.
"We are faced with a situation
where our clinics, fire section and council sectors are on the verge of
collapse due to lack of resources, but we are doing our best to keep them
intact with the little that we have."
"The
government has to review our proposal hastily and grant us the powers we seek
or we will have to operate without the capital budget like we did last
year."
He said Council was currently
banking on the tax budget in which current taxes and rates had been hiked in
the hope that these would assist in the fight against the imminent collapse
of the city.
"With past experience in
budget drafts, we have created a budget that is not apologetic to Bulawayo
citizens, but one that is hard and corrective," the mayor
said.
Bulawayo citizens will this year
have to battle with increased tariff costs due to the 145% increment
stipulated by Council in this year's
budget.
Tariff hikes came last year, after
Council failed to borrow money on the parallel market due to government's
failure to grant the Bulawayo City Council borrowing powers, a move that saw
the deterioration of the health, welfare and housing sectors in the
city.
The executive mayor said the 2002
capital budget had never been effected due to government's failure to respond
to their proposal.
"The 2002 capital
budget was never effected because government sat on our proposal. All we need
is the government's approval and then we can borrow on the corporate market,"
he said.
The mayor's call has been for
government to review Council proposals with immediate effect to enable the
inflow of funds to boost the deficit currently being faced by the Council in
the administration of the city's needs.
Mudzuri treads where
Tsvangirai fears newsfocus By Walter
Marwizi
A VISIBLY troubled old man almost
fell down on his knees when a vicious policeman grabbed his tiny hairy hand
as he tried to get past the entrance of Mabvuku police station in Harare, two
weeks ago.
"You can't get into the police
station; not until our superiors are through with the mayor. The police
station is out of bounds to anyone, whatever the case, until our superiors
have finished dealing with Mudzuri," said the policeman as he blocked the old
man who pleaded to be allowed in.
Shaking
his head in disbelief, the old man who sensed danger, turned his back on the
police station, heading back home without reporting that thieves had
ransacked his home, stealing all his belongings a few
hours before.
He wondered what was
special about the Mudzuri case that a whole police station had to be closed
to the public. And he was not the only one to be denied access to the police
station that day.
Several people of
various ages, including our reporter, were disappointed when told that as
long as Harare mayor, Elias Mudzuri, was still at the station, they would
never be allowed inside.
The ZRP feared
Mudzuri's supporters would besiege the station and cause a riot. Earlier on,
scores of anti-riot policemen had stormed into Mabvuku Hall where they
savagely manhandled the mayor who had been addressing the residents. They
tore his shirt as they tried to bundle him into a Defender truck, in full
view of over 500 residents who had also been placed under
arrest.
Such was the heavy- handedness
with which the Zanu PF regime dealt with Harare's first citizen, who, it now
appears, is now the prime target of Zanu PF's hate
campaign.
As MDC president, Morgan
Tsvangirai, spends most of his time at Harvest House giving interviews mainly
to the international press and meeting diplomats these days, the Zanu PF
repressive machinery has shifted its guns away from him to
Mudzuri.
Zanu PF insiders say since the
MDC leader, who is facing a treason charge arising from a discredited plot
exposed by former Israeli secret agent, Ari Ben Menashe, is no longer
considered the threat he was before the March presidential elections, which
leaves the mayor in the firing line.
The
mayor, who got into office less than a year ago, is now a towering figure in
the struggle against Zanu PF repression and is fast emerging as the major
symbol of resistance against an increasingly dictatorial
regime.
Unlike Tsvangirai who seems
unwilling to burn his fingers while confronting the government, Mudzuri has
shown a clear determination to take the government head on, fully aware of
the existence of draconian pieces of legislation such as the Public Order and
Security Act (POSA), which make it illegal for meetings to be held without
police approval.
Despite being ham-strung
by official shackles put in place by Ignatius Chombo, the minister of local
government and national housing, which include a committee appointed to
"assist" him to run council affairs and countless ministerial directives that
threaten to make his council ineffective, Mudzuri has not thrown in the
towel.
Against all odds, he has warded off
Chombo's undue interference, whipped into line untouchable workers such as
war vets leader, Joseph Chinotimba, launched investigations into corruption
and at the same time, improved the city's crumbling
infrastructure.
This has not endeared him
to the ruling party which had all but run down the city in the past two
decades.
The arrest of Mudzuri came about
three months after government had embarked on a sustained propaganda campaign
spearheaded by the state media, which sought to rubbish Mudzuri as a corrupt
and incompetent administrator. Acres of space and prime television time have
been dedicated to discrediting the mayor who was elected through a popular
vote.
Undeterred by this, Mudzuri has
ventured out of the comfort of his multi-million dollar mayor's parlour to
counter Zanu PF propaganda in the high density
suburbs.
And it was one of these
excursions which earned the mayor a weekend in a filthy cell at the Harare
Central police station.
He told The
Standard last week: "The experience was an eye-opener for me. If anything, it
made me more resolute. "Residents don't expect me to just sit in the office,
they elected me to address issues that affect them...I know the state
machinery is working against me. This includes the police, ZBC, The Herald,
The Sunday Mail and minister Chombo and his officials, but I am not
deterred."
While Mudzuri is increasingly
becoming a pain in the neck of the repressive Zanu PF regime, Tsvangirai, who
is yet to take any bold step to mobilise people against the government, is
slowly losing respect among many people who feel the time has come to throw
off the yoke of Zanu PF oppression.
One
of them is Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the National Constitutional
Assembly, who has organised several unsuccessful mass actions to topple the
regime.
On Wednesday, Tsvangirai described
his efforts as reckless.
Said Madhuku: "I
feel let down by Tsvangirai. Since March last year, we have been waiting for
him to call for mass action. He has not lived up to our expectations. Now,
when we try to do something to help the situation, he describes our actions
as reckless. It is himself who is being reckless and irresponsible. In fact I
am beginning to misunderstand him."
William Bango, Tsvangirai's spokesman, however says: "Not short of turning
the president into another Savimbi, Tsvangirai is doing the best he can under
the circumstances. He holds several meetings with diplomats and business
leaders. He reports twice to the police-every Monday and Wednesday-and at the
same time, has a tight schedule. In the past week alone, he travelled to
Chipinge, Mutare, Masvingo and Kwekwe, among other towns, and was back in
Harare on Monday to report to the police. The kind of mass action Madhuku is
talking about is fine but it needs to be well organised. If people are not
organised they are bound to fail."
GOVERNMENT is trying to arm twist
the International Monetary Fund into deferring a surveillance meeting on
Zimbabwe because its house is not in order, Standard Business
understands.
A high-powered IMF delegation
headed by Doris Ross which was scheduled to arrive in Harare on Tuesday for
the routine Article IV consultations in early February, could now jet into
the country in late February.
"The IMF
resident director had a meeting this morning (Friday) with officers of the
finance ministry. These guys are not ready with the figures and policies,"
said a source close to the arrangements of the
meeting.
At the beginning of the month,
finance and economic development minister, Herbert Murerwa, told Standard
Business that the IMF would visit Zimbabwe in early February for the
scheduled consultative talks.
Article IV
consultations are held yearly between the IMF and its member countries, their
purpose being to review policies of fiscal
prudence.
When the meetings take place,
the IMF team will hold meetings with officials from government, the ministry
of finance, the Reserve Bank and civil society so as to scrutinise the
country's macroeconomic policies.
The
scrutiny will last about two weeks and will cover a wide range of issues
including aid flows and debt.
Upon return,
the team will be required to compile a report for presentation to the IMF
board which will then produce a report of the mission's findings, a report
which will be expected to help in the decision about whether or not
Zimbabwe's voting rights should be suspended given that it has defaulted on
its financial obligations to the financial
institution.
Analysts observe that the
government is slowly realising that it can't exist without international aid
thus it could be trying to paint a good picture of itself following the
adoption of a declaration of non-cooperation and the suspension of technical
assistance.
Zimbabwe's outstanding arrears
to the lending institution surged to US$190 million in December against the
backdrop of an initiation of a procedure on the suspension of the country's
voting and related rights in the fund, by the Bretton Woods
institution.
On Thursday, Murerwa told
Standard Business that the talks would not be held in early February as there
were a number of issues which had to be sorted out. "We are talking to the
IMF on an ideal date which will be around the end of February. It is always
by mutual agreement that we meet. So we are working on agreeing on a mutually
acceptable time when we can be flexible enough to engage the IMF fully,"
Murerwa said.
Gerry Johnson, the IMF's
resident director at first maintained that the delegation would arrive on
Tuesday in preparation for meetings in early February but the following day,
he was not so sure: "We had a telephone conversation with officials from the
ministry on a possible change of mission dates and have a bit more time to
prepare for discussions," he told Standard Business
.
Zimbabwe is gripped by a deepening
economic meltdown dramatised by a flawed exchange rate, food deficits and
severe foreign currency shortages since attaining independence 23 years ago.
In protest at government's ceaseless appetite for keeping loose strings on
the public purse and its gross human rights violations, the IMF and the World
Bank severed balance of payments support in 1999 thus aggravating the
country's hard currency crisis.
THE
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will outline and sell its alternative
economic recovery plan to the visiting IMF delegation whenever it
arrives.
Said Tendai Biti, the party's
secretary for economic affairs: "We will be meeting the IMF so we can give
them an update and balance sheet on the status quo, our own views of an
immediate short term stabilisation programme and our alternatives to the
current chaos being made by Robert Mugabe,"
said Biti.
Apart from meeting Harare
authorities and opposition officials, the Bretton Woods delegation is also
expected to meet representatives of business and
labour.
It however remains unclear when
the meetings will actually take place. All efforts to obtain a firm response
from IMF headquarters in Washington, were fruitless.
WANKIE Colliery Company has failed
to meet the demand for coal due to the lack of foreign currency needed for
repairs and maintenance of mining equipment. This has led to a fall in
production to about 50% of mining and delivery
capacity.
In a statement, the company
confirmed most of its mine equipment and machinery was down and in need of
extensive repair. This could be done in three to four months if foreign
currency is available. The heavy equipment includes front-end loaders, coal
haulers, haul trucks, drills and various support
machinery.
Eighty-five to 95% of Wankie's
coal is extracted from the open cast mine using the dragline that is
currently in need of repair and requires spares and special lubricants
obtainable externally outside the country.
Foreign currency unavailability has also affected the acquisition
of explosives, conveyor belting and tyres. "Maintenance of static plant
to deliver coal to the processing department and the Hwange power station
has also been affected", reads part of the
statement.
"The HPS plant, which is
operated by the Zimbabwe Power Services, has suffered and this has led to
nationwide domestic power cuts."
The
company also continues to suffer from transport and delivery problems. The
National Railways of Zimbabwe, which is supposed to supply 150 rail wagons
daily, is undersupplying at 55% of the agreed figure. The company has had to
resort to costly road transport which can only transport peas grade coal.
Currently, 45% of the coal product is carried by
road.
Industry has felt the impact of the
colliery's problems with companies such as the Zimbabwe Sugar Refinery
intermittently ceasing production, citing the unavailability of coal which is
required for the refinery's furnaces .
However the colliery says it is set to get its operations back on track as it
is has made progress towards accessing cheap foreign currency with the help
of unnamed institutions. It hopes to begin its rehabilitation programme that
will see production targets and demand being met, according to the
statement.
THE MDC is overhauling its
economic blueprint in response to the further dislocation of the country's
economy since the formulation of its economic recovery and stabilisation plan
crafted two years ago, Tapiwa Mashakada, the MDC shadow finance minister,
told Standard Business that his party has since the beginning of this month
started amending and realigning its programme, factoring in the further
derailment of economic fundamentals.
In
2001, the MDC crafted its Bold Realistic Innovative Development Growth and
Employment Strategy, commonly known as BRIDGE, which has not been implemented
following Mugabe's contested election victory last
year.
Despite the applause the document
received from economic analysts as a panacea to the country's economic
crisis, government has ignored it and has instead crafted and flirted with
economic programmes which analysts contend are not even worth the paper they
are written on.
"Since the beginning of
January, we have been revising BRIDGE to capture the fast deterioration of
the economy. We are also amending our macroeconomic models to take into
account this accelerating economic decay which we had underestimated," said
Mashakada.
The principal objectives of the
MDC's economic plan are creating jobs, eliminating poverty, stabilising
prices, stabilise the exchange rate by adopting a managed float of the dollar
and bringing back the international support required to deal with the debt
crisis and foreign
exchange instability.
Since the
formulation of BRIDGE, the country's foreign currency earning capacity has
deteriorated with exports falling from US$1,7 billion in 2001 to US$1,4
billion last year, as the country continues on an economic free fall coupled
with shortages of basic commodities and
essential services.
Inflation has
soared to 198,9% amidst deteriorating public finances and an overvalued
exchange rate.
IT has always
been hard for Zimbabweans to admit that they can learn anything from South
Africa because there is little love lost between the two countries. But now
is not the time to put pride (if we still have any) before
pragmatism.
The lessons we need to learn
come from Soweto and the countless impoverished and oppressed South African
townships that brought the apartheid regime to a shuddering halt in 1994.
Those are the sort of struggles that are relevant to Zimbabwe
today.
Zanu PF believes it can retain its
stranglehold on power by using 70s style tactics. The old guard, incapable of
anything resembling progressive thought and devoid of imagination, believes
that what won the liberation war will work against the opposition. This, of
course, is absurd.
The key point that
needs to be made is that the tables have turned. The situation is now very
different. Gaining power by using legitimate violence is one thing, using
violence to maintain power quite another. And if Zanu PF does not believe
that, it simply needs to knock on Ian Smith's door and ask how successful he
was when he used oppression and strong-arm tactics to lock people out. In
short, Zanu PF is using reverse logic and that means it will
fail.
This, of course, does not translate
into the fact that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) are using logic either. Sadly, they are not.
Lovemore Madhuku's plucky attempts to keep people at home are praiseworthy,
but misguided. So is the MDC's deafening
silence.
Zimbabweans need focused
leadership and they need heroes. They have neither, for heroes are buried and
no doubt muttering disapprovingly with our ancestors as they watch the
tragedy unfold. They see the MDC squandering a golden opportunity in the face
of disastrous misgovernance in the country at the
moment.
Which brings us back to South
Africa's struggle. The old ANC learnt fast that the struggle needed to be
kept in the townships where it had overwhelming support, unsurpassed local
knowledge and a tactical edge. It did not try and demonstrate in the Pretoria
city centre and much less did it riot in the middle of Cape
Town.
The old ANC put in a tremendous
effort and took its struggle abroad, to Africa, Europe and the United States
in the form of a propaganda war against the Afrikaner regime. The ANC
harnessed public opinion and gained the world's
sympathy.
The MDC has tried do this but
half-heartedly, and in a most amateurish, incoherent and embarrassing way.
Little wonder then that Robert Mugabe and his courtiers continue to beat the
MDC in much of Africa.
We know that the
playing field is uneven, but the point must be made that Morgan Tsvangirai
and his lieutenants have totally failed to take Zanu PF head on. It is in
this context that we have to at least admire and salute Lovemore Madhuku and
Elias Mudzuri. They are not giving up. It is a huge mountain to climb but
they are not standing by and watching Zimbabwe going over the cliff without
doing anything.
Madhuku's spirited fight
in the face of constant failure makes him heads taller than the strange and
currently silent MDC leadership. At least he tries, which is something noone
can accuse Morgan Tsvangirai of doing right
now.
It would appear that the MDC are
sitting back and watching events unfold because they believe the struggle for
justice and 'the second coming' will be won when the economy collapses. It is
true but it does not make it right, and certainly does not inspire and fill
the electorate with hope for better
leadership.
In fact, it makes Zimbabweans
conclude that the MDC leadership is either lazy, cowardly or both. And they
are right. The MDC is a big let down at the moment. We hold no candle for the
MDC at this point in time.
During the
South African struggle, leaders of the ANC's surrogate movements were
themselves on the streets facing the brutality of the regime. They provided
both leadership and, yes, they asked the povo to face the bullets-which the
people did willingly because the leaders faced those bullets too. They did
not mumble excuses, but instead used every opportunity, every funeral, every
incident of abuse and oppression to get on their soap boxes and tell the
entire world, including South Africans, about their struggle against a brutal
and racist regime.
Strange then that
Zimbabweans facing their own brutal and illegitimate regime are not doing the
same. There is little difference, other than colour, between oppressive
leaders the world over. And it is a cruel mistake to excuse oppression
because it happens in Africa against
Africans.
Most Zimbabweans are saddened by
the deep silence from the opposition. More than anything else, Zimbabwe is
looking for heroes to inspire them, for people prepared to suffer alongside
them and for leaders willing to face the constant state terror waged against
them.
If none of that happens, the MDC may
win, but it will win by default when Zanu PF finally implodes-and it will
undeservedly win a disillusioned electorate that sees its new leaders as
cowardly and aloof.
Put bluntly, the MDC
needs to consider very seriously not just offering up a hero or two, but a
martyr too. Until that happens, Zimbabweans will shake their heads and say
what they are saying now of the MDC: "They are
afraid".
CRICKET matches scheduled for next
month in a troubled central African country will go ahead because the world
body governing the sport says it will be safe, Over The Top is amused to
report.
The decision comes after the
troubled central African nation's top cop assured the governing body that
peaceful protests would be allowed to go ahead "if conducted
properly."
OTT believes there has never
been a peaceful protest in the troubled central African country. OTT also
believes that "properly conducted" demonstrations require police permission,
something granted only to supporters of the ruling Zany
party.
Furthermore, OTT predicts this will
be the farce of the decade and that many people will lose lots of money, but
that's OK because they deserve to. Rather less amusing is the fact that
cricketers from around the globe have been assured that they will have plenty
of food and petrol supplied to them during their stay in some of the troubled
central African nation's top hotels.
The fact that such an assurance had to be given indicates a certain callous
hypocrisy on the part of the sport's governing body. It means that cricketers
and their administrators will be sprawling in their five-star hotels, supping
cold beer and eating imported food (there's no other kind) while the rest of
the population sits hungrily in fuel queues wondering how they're going to
feed their families, pay school fees, get to work tomorrow or avoid arrest
and torture-delete inapplicable, if there are
any.
Still, two of the sport's governing
body's top chefs, one Mr Slow and another Levantine gent by the name of Ali
Baba (who no longer needs his 40 thieves because he manages quite well enough
on his own, thank you), were last week pleased to announce that they were
happy with security arrangements in the troubled central African
country.
The security arrangements include
the aforementioned right people have to engage in proper peaceful
protest.
Of course they
do.
Under the troubled central African
nation's vengeful laws, "peaceful protest" is rather vaguely defined. While a
Zany party protest might be allowed to peacefully draw blood with traditional
weapons like pick axes, crow bars and large chunks of pavement, it is most
certainly not peaceful for government's opponents to distribute bits of
paper.
Still, this seemed to please the
South African goblin who, grinning like a monkey at the troubled central
African country's airport last week, informed bewildered journalists that
he'd been reassured by arrangements made by
police.
A quick survey by OTT in the
streets of the capital failed to find a single person who shared the goblin's
faith in the police. Comments were generally too robust for inclusion in a
respectable family newspaper, but someone did point out that the same
grinning South African goblin managed to play both sides against the middle
during the apartheid era in his own country. Extraordinarily, he managed to
both oppose the apartheid government and support the breaking of sporting
sanctions against the same regime.
Still,
OTT can immediately dismiss a rumour running wild through the troubled
central African country. It is cruel and especially unkind to suggest that a
picture carried on the front page of the state-controlled Horrid newspaper
showed not Mr Ali Baba, but an extra from that wonderful cinematic phenomenon
The Lord of the Rings.
OTT must assure his
readers that those who thought it was the creature Golum are mistaken. Golum
was bald. The man in the picture is hirsute, therefore they are either
mistaken or being mischievous.