Enter Stage Right
Perpetrating misery
By Christopher Coyle
web
posted July 12, 2004
With much of the world's present focus concerning
Africa concentrated on the
Darfur region in the Sudan, other senseless
tragedies that are also
occurring on the continent are seemingly given less
notice. One such example
is the ever-quickening economic collapse of Zimbabwe
under president Robert
Mugabe, a man who is proposing even more reckless and
disastrous policies
for a country he is desperately trying to keep under his
tyrannical rule.
Following in the footsteps of other wildly successful
economies such as the
former Soviet Union, Mao's China, Cuba, and North
Korea, Mr. Mugabe now
wishes to finalize his "land reform" program by
nationalizing all land in
the country and thereby abolishing private
property. His original plan
called for the confiscation of all private land
(without compensation) and
the leasing it back to the citizens with the
proceeds obviously going to Mr.
Mugabe's state coffers. Backtracking slightly
on this, the new plan calls
for the nationalization only of the land taken
through the land reform
program, yet this slightly scaled back socialization
of Zimbabwe will still
only hasten the destruction of what was once a
breadbasket of the continent.
The land reform program, which took its
current shape in 2000, involved the
appropriation of Zimbabwe's 4,000
white-owned farms and the eviction of its
white owners in order to
redistribute the land to the native black
population to rectify the theft of
lands taken by English colonizers in the
late 19th century. Despite whatever
injustices that took place in the past,
the effects of the current policy
have been only to impoverish this once
prosperous land and its people, both
black and white. The process itself has
been a bloody one with scores of
white farm owners and their black workers
having been beaten up or even
murdered in some cases. Though 200,000 blacks
have received land from this
program, they have been hard pressed to obtain
loans from the government
agricultural bank to purchase to supplies they
need to farm the land. The
revocation of ownership will do nothing to help
them obtain loans from any
private sources. Furthermore, much of the prime
farm land has gone, not to
poor blacks, but to the ruling ZANU-PF party
leaders and supporters in a
blatant example of government cronyism, who lack
the knowledge or ability to
utilize the land efficiently, resulting in
fallow fields devoid of
crops.
Now with the nationalization of all confiscated white-owned farmed
land, the
blatant intentions of Mr. Mugabe can readily be seen, if they were
not
already. The land reform program, under the pretenses to help poor,
black
Zimbabweans, was only one step by the leader of Zimbabwe to maintain
his own
power and shore up his financial troubles at all costs, regardless of
the
pain and suffering which ordinary Zimbabweans must go through in
the
process. Just as he has used food as a political weapon in order
in
influence elections (as well as endless intimidation of the those
supporting
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change), land can now enter
the realm
of political patronage to a more effective degree than
before.
And there is no denying the costs of such a politicization of
society.
Hundreds of thousands of black farm laborers employed by white farm
owners
have been thrown out of work at a time when more than half of the
population
is unemployed. Inflation is rampant, running at over 400 percent.
In order
to combat this inflation, the government implemented price controls
on basic
food stuffs, discouraging the growing of corn, the essential food
for
survival in the country, in favor of tobacco, which was itself once a
prime
export from the country, but has been stifled with the demise of
property
rights in the country.
The obvious result of such a misguided
policy has been massive shortages,
which has culminated in the making of a
humanitarian crisis. Over the past
two years, half the population has had to
rely of imported food aid in order
to survive. Yet this year, miraculously,
Mr. Mugabe has declared that there
is no need for any humanitarian food aid.
This is despite the fact that
farmers this year were unable to increase the
planting of wheat compared to
last year's already low harvest, which in
itself comes no where close to
meeting the country's needs. The United
Nations believes that about 5
million Zimbabweans will need aid next
year.
The Zimbabwe economy shows all the symptoms of a runaway, also
known as a
crack-up, boom, the final stages of a complete monetary and
economic
collapse, if they do not turn away from their massive credit
expansion and
transition to complete socialism. Direct foreign investment,
which reached
over $400 million in 1998, is now virtually naught. Investors
are racing to
invest in any real assets they can as hyperinflation and
artificially
depressed interest rates decreases demand for currency, which in
itself is
extremely overvalued by decree in its exchange rate with the
dollar. Others,
including the highly productive white farmers now without
farm land, are
racing out of the country to the delight of Zimbabwe's
neighbors.
Agriculture is not alone in feeling the effects of Harare's
disastrous
economic policies. Industry in general is declining as fast as
farm yields;
businesses, especially those who are not supportive of the
ruling party,
find bankruptcy has their only option. National output and real
incomes are
falling as the national government struggles with large budget
deficits of
its own making.
Thus is the story, one sadly repeated too
many times, of a once prospering
country thriving under market-oriented
reforms crashing into the ground
under the foot of a dictator bent on
strengthening the grip of his own power
at the expense of the people. It just
provides further evidence, if it is
still needed, of socialism as a destroyer
of economies and the people living
in them, yet a successful creator of
government oppression with the means of
lording other those people. What is
depressing is the fact that this
suffering is entirely unnecessary. What is
frightening is the fact that
America (or anyone else for that matter), if it
follows Zimbabwe's example
of turning its back on free markets, private
property, and economic law, can
just as easily follow the same path towards
economic destruction.
Christopher Coyle is the president of The Liberty
Coalition at the
University of Virginia.
The Telegraph
ZCU donation shocks Carlisle
By Charles
Randall
(Filed: 12/07/2004)
With Zimbabwean cricket in deep
financial crisis, Stuart Carlisle, the
captain of the country's rebel
players, expressed amazement yesterday at the
decision by the game's
authorities in Harare to donate £1,000 to the
national bodybuilding and
weightlifting association.
The money, ZW$10 million, will allow the
Mr and Ms Iron Man contest to go
ahead as planned in Harare, according to a
report in The Herald newspaper on
Saturday.
Carlisle said: "I find
that very strange, as the Zimbabwe Cricket Union so
often talk about a
shortage of money.''
The national league has been scrapped recently and
funding assistance for
the Zimbabwean players' association has been
consistently refused.
Nearly all the 25 or so cricket grounds in the
countryside around Harare
have been closed or allowed to decay, with Harare
South - a beautiful venue
familiar to international touring sides - the most
notable casualty.
The final group of Zimbabwe players are due to fly into
London today to
start their short fund-raising tour under the banner of Red
Lions, with the
first match against Lashings, an evening game at Wimbledon,
confirmed for
Wednesday.
Carlisle and the players' lawyer, Chris
Venturas, have an important date at
Lord's next week, a meeting with Malcolm
Speed, the chief executive of the
International Cricket Council. The ICC gave
the ZCU 14 days to start a
process for sorting out the players' grievances or
face international
arbitration. With that term due to expire, Carlisle has a
chance to present
his case for wider justice against what the 15 rebel
players see as racism
and political bias.
Carlisle and several players
still hope to return to play for Zimbabwe.
"Playing international cricket is
still the No 1 prize, but it's hard to say
how many players would return as a
few now have overseas contracts,'' he
said.
Clive Field, a Red Lions
organiser, said: "We have chosen England as the
destination for our inaugural
tour because we have many friends and fans
there gained from our past touring
experiences."
The Red Lions are due to visit Wimbledon, King's College
Wimbledon, Stowe
School, Blossomfields in Birmingham, Cuckfield and possibly
Weybridge.
Former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam is set to become the
first foreigner
to coach a domestic Indian team.
Punjab have announced
Alam, 62, will be their full-time coach next season,
subject to visa
clearance.
A former leg-spinning all-rounder, Alam was born in India
before the
partition of the two countries and speaks the same language as his
new
team's players. He coached the Pakistan team who triumphed in the 1992
World
Cup in Australia and takes up his new post in September.
Straits Times
Labour force to lose 28m
GENEVA - About 28 million
working people will have died from Aids by the end
of next year, holding back
economic growth and putting a massive strain on
other workers in some of the
world's poorest nations.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) said
yesterday that by 2015, the
number of deaths since the start of the Aids
epidemic will have climbed to
74 million.
Sub-Saharan Africa as a
whole will have lost 12 per cent of its workforce to
the disease by 2015,
based on current infection rates, the ILO said.
Zimbabwe, the worst-affected
country, is expected to have lost 40 per cent
of its labour force in that
time.
The 99-page ILO report, HIV/Aids and Work, says the disease has
infected
36.5 million people who would normally be making a contribution to
their
nations' economies. -- AP
The Herald
Chimbetu, war vets in farm ownership wrangle
Herald
Reporter
POPULAR sungura musician Simon Chimbetu is embroiled in a farm
ownership
wrangle with two war veterans in Chegutu.
The dispute has
now been taken to the High Court as the war veterans are
seeking the eviction
of the musician.
Doddington Farm in Chegutu, which measures more than 400
hectares, is at the
centre of the controversy.
Cde Joseph Chivurugwi
and Cde Bigo Jambwa, the two ex-fighters, are in
possession of offer letters
signed by the then Minister of Lands,
Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Cde
Joseph Made, while Chimbetu was
authorised to run the farm on a caretaker
basis until the property was
required for resettlement.
According to
the letter issued to Chimbetu in April last year, the lease can
be terminated
at any time within a month's notice if the property is not
properly looked
after or if it is needed for any other developments for the
benefit of the
ministry or the community.
But the offer has since been
withdrawn.
In withdrawing the letter, the chief lands officer in the now
reconstituted
Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Rural Resettlement, a Mr E
Makaza,
indicated that the purpose for which Chimbetu had been issued the
letter was
to enable him to use the tobacco barns at the farm for curing his
crop, a
claim Chimbetu has not disputed.
Mr Makaza wrote to the
district lands officer, a Mr H. Kandemiri, to
withdraw the offer to pave way
for Cdes Jambwa and Chivurugwi who, he said,
had been officially allocated
the plot which encompassed a farmhouse and the
entire infrastructure on the
farm.
Cde Chivurugwi has sought and obtained a court order to evict
Chimbetu,
while Cde Jambwa has already instituted legal proceedings against
the
musician in the High Court.
Cde Jambwa was allocated subdivision
8, while Cde Chivurugwi was apportioned
subdivision 9 on the plot.
The
two war veterans have accused Chimbetu of frustrating their efforts to
occupy
the farm. Chimbetu has allegedly refused to relinquish ownership to
make way
for them.
They have also argued that their herd of cattle, numbering more
than 60,
together with some other assets belonging to them were not safe at
the farm
as Chimbetu's workers have not allowed them to either set foot at
the farm
or exercise ownership of the farm.
The war veterans also
contended that Chimbetu has another farm, Dendera,
that he had allegedly
abandoned.
When contacted, Chimbetu admitted that he had no offer letter
for the farm,
but insisted that it would not make any commercial sense for
him to
immediately cease farming activities on the property in light of
the
investments he has made.
"Imagine I have borrowed $100 million
from Agribank (the Agricultural
Development Bank of Zimbabwe) to develop the
property and right now I have
planted 48 hectares of tobacco and I am
currently harvesting maize covering
more than 120 hectare. Furthermore, I am
rearing more than 300 cattle at the
farm," said Chimbetu.
"What I am
saying to these two fellow war veterans is that they are my
brothers and I am
prepared to share with them because we waged the Third
Chimurenga together
with them in the district, so I don't see why we should
fight.
"I was
actually surprised to see them coming with the offer letters to my
farm
because I was also waiting for the offer letter for the same
property."
Chimbetu said he had already offered Dendera Farm, which he
jointly owns
with other people, for resettlement purposes.
"I am not
objecting to sharing with the two if they are seriously looking
for land. In
fact, I did not take it as an anomaly for me not to have an
offer letter
because many people, especially my fellow war veterans, do not
have those
documents because we know very well that they might take long to
be
processed."
High Court judge Justice Antonia Guvava issued an order in
respect of Cde
Chivurugwi against Chimbetu. The order says Chimbetu should
stop farming
activities at the property.
The musician, however,
indicated that he was prepared to leave if his
continued stay at the farm
amounted to a breach of the law, but said he
should be allowed to wind off
his business.
In his letter to the director of lands in the ministry
filed as part of the
court record, Cde Jambwa complained that Chimbetu had
refused to vacate the
farm.
He said upon receiving the offer letter,
he had transported his 26 cattle,
farm equipment, 400 litres of diesel, 1 500
kilogrammes of maize seed, 1 000
kg of sorghum and 50 kg of rapoko and three
tonnes of fertiliser to the
farm.
"When I was preparing to plough the
land, Mr Chimbetu then hired some farm
workers, including some political
hooligans, to stop my preparations," said
Cde Jambwa in the letter.
Press Journal, Florida
Press Journal editorial: Weep for
Zimbabwe
Socialistic dictator running African nation into the
ground
July 12, 2004
Robert Mugabe seems determined that the
country he leads, Zimbabwe, will die
a slow-motion death.
After
running the once-prosperous African nation's economy into the ground,
Mugabe
has decided to put the finishing touches on its ruin with a loopy
scheme to
nationalize all farmland. Private ownership of land will
be
abolished.
An edict to confiscate land from white commercial
farmers, who accounted for
most of Zimbabwe's agricultural exports, has now
expanded to seize property
from everybody. That should make a bad situation
worse, much worse. Once a
food exporter, Zimbabwe now grows only half the
food it needs. Now it is
unlikely to grow even that.
Thanks to
Mugabe's dictatorial mismanagement and socialist schemes,
Zimbabwe's
once-vital mining and manufacturing sectors are moribund,
unemployment is
rampant, foreign investment and aid nil and its currency
virtually
worthless.
In confiscating white-owned land, Mugabe turned over the best
of it to his
cronies, who have proved incapable of farming it, and the rest
to small
farmers who are unable to farm it because they cannot afford to buy
seed,
fertilizer, fuel and farm machinery. And without clear title to their
land,
they are unable to borrow.
The latest scheme, which envisions no
compensation for land nationalized,
calls for the farmers to be issued
99-year leases, which the government
feels will be collateral enough for
lenders. This dismissal of the rights of
private property ensures that
Zimbabwe's entrepreneurs will be unable to
raise capital.
But even if
lenders trusted the Mugabe government, which they don't, "The
banks aren't
going to lend to an individual against a lease that belongs to
the state," a
local economist told the Associated Press. "It doesn't work
that way. You
can't borrow on the strength of something you don't own."
The Mugabe
government's explanation for the economic disaster is a plot by
the white
nations to restore colonialism. That argument was bogus when it
was first
made and is laughable now. If anything, Mugabe has probably made
colonialism
seem a desirable alternative to his people.
July 12,
2004
~~~ Newsletter 050
~~~
Join hands
We are in desperate need of another politics. But it is no longer the
politics of the clenched fist, the power of the punch. Ours is the politics of
interlaced fingers, a politics that develops when the "I" and the "You" come
together as "We", when people clasp their hands, warm palms touching, fingers
woven together, to build a rebellion that deeply interconnects us. A rebellion
of relationships that embrace differences, a rebellion that desires to share
rather than to take power.
~ From the book
'We Are Everywhere'
If you have
any problem when registering to vote, please email us the details so that we can
make sure to compile a list of irregularities - news@zvakwana.org
Zvakwana mailing list
So many of our subscribers have
written to us asking to be sent some occasional newsletters. Sometimes other
people ask for their friends or colleagues to also get a copy of the Zvakwana
newsletter. If you don't want just send an email with Unsubscribe in the subject
line. Thanking you.
African Union slams abuses in Zimbabwe
The African
Union has lambasted President Robert Mugabe's government for flagrant human
rights abuses. It is Africa's most damning condemnation of Zimbabwe yet. A
report adopted by the AU executive council on Saturday slams the government for
the arrests and torture of opposition members of parliament and human rights
lawyers, the arrests of journalists, the stifling of freedom of expression and
clampdowns on other civil liberties. This is the harshest criticism Mugabe has
had to bear from his continental peers. The report was adopted by the AU's
executive council, which comprises foreign ministers of the 53 member states,
despite strong opposition from Zimbabwe. Email your support and ask for a copy
of the report to
KonareAO@africa-union.org or au-visionmission@Africa-union.org
mugabe's motorcade forced to change course
We are sending a big pom pom to zvakawana activists who were very
busy along Josiah Tongogara Avenue towards the National Sports Centre just
before Independence Day. There was so much street art reminding the small
dictator that his best before date has expired that his outriders made sure to
guide him by way of a different route. However even in the grounds and around
the turnstiles Get UP! Stand UP! messages could be seen so it was impossible for
him to ignore these loud and clear warnings. Of course it is not surprising that
the embattled authorities have used some paint to cover over this signage but
Zvakwana activists will be keeping them busy all over the cities in the months
to come. While we are speaking of this ever-increasing Zvakwana signage on the
streets of our cities we ask the mushrooming tribe of Zvakwana activists to
respect private property. Please don't be putting your messages there but rather
aim for municipal and government places. State House durawalls might be a bit
dangerous at this time though.
WOZA
- participatory democracy, jambanja and love
Anyone remember that
Zimbabwe place with that dictator mugabe who was chasing away all those white
farmers? Used to be front page news in the corporate media until their
event-focused, despair-mongering pens moved on to Iraq. All that suffering in
Zimbabwe was quickly shoved to the bottom corner of page 12. So has all the
repression ended then? No, it's actually increased with Zimbabweans living in an
unofficial state of emergency. So is it the revolutionary robert mugabe and his
party fighting against greedy white farmers? Not exactly. Land needed to be
radically redistributed but the ruling party zanu pf ministers and fat cats are
grabbing all the best farms. And perhaps the corporate media forgot to tell you
that for every white farmer killed about 20 black opposition supporters are
murdered too. So what does the resistance look like? Well, the resistance has
taken all sorts of guises but by far the most revolutionary and fun are the
grassroots groups. One such group is WOZA (Women Of Zimbabwe Arise), a network
of community women that is action-focused while maintaining a healthy distrust
of hierarchies. The ghetto women who built the network had had enough of seeing
people given positions of power and then abusing them so they nurtured a network
with a spontaneous spirit and a decentralised structure. No membership cards are
necessary to be part of WOZA, all you need according to Jenni Williams, one of
the fiery WOZA founders, are "two of these" - two breasts! WOZA has organised an
avalanche of 'jambanja' (direct action) against the mugabe regime, from
demonstrations against repressive security laws to actions against inflation.
Recently, WOZA women organised an action on World Refugee Day to protest against
Zimbabweans forced into being refugees by a violent state. 33 were arrested in
the southern city of Bulawayo with a dozen more women adamantly making their way
to the police station, arguing that they should be arrested in solidarity with
their comrades! Slowly but surely grassroots groups like WOZA are spinning webs
of freedom with their irresistible ideas of participatory democracy, jambanja
and love.
- article submitted to Zvakwana newsletter
Get
UP! and Stand UP! for women's dignity
For many of us who listen to
the radio, watch TV and read the press often you must have noticed the way women
are depicted in music videos, adverts, stories and songs. This has had a
negative impact on the efforts we are putting in fighting gender disparities as
the women's movement. Women's nude bodies have been used to advertise computers
and tyres, women have been called all sorts of names in songs, stories, etc. One
of the songs I have heard is one that goes 'bhebhi rangu toy yangu, toy, toy,
bhebhi rangu toy yangu.' I am sure most of you have heard other worse songs,
read bad stories, and seen bad adverts. I f you haven't I would encourage you to
read the papers, listen to songs by such people as Maskiri, Extra large and
Rocqui. Also follow studio 263 and adverts that come out on TV and even those in
the print media. Are there any songs, adverts, stories, or suchlike that you
have seen or heard that you find derogatory? What do you have to say about
these? What strategies do you think we can employ to bring about changes in the
media concerning their portrayal of women? Email Cleo at Women's Action Group cndlovu@wag.org.zw
Our youth is our future
Zvakwana is pleased to
share with you that we have made several hundred copies of the contentious
documentary by Panorama about the youth militia camps in Zimbabwe. This is a
no-holds barred graphic documentary that includes some interviews with youth
that have undergone training by zanu pf. Our street activists have distributed
these videos into public places including schools, clinics, police stations and
fast food places thereby making sure we all know what is what.
It is up to all of us to Get UP! and Stand UP! Information is a
right!
What
lessons are we teaching our children?
Are we teaching them that
old game of roll over and play dead? It is quite mind blowing to imagine at
times 1000 people (parents and children) arriving at school for the start of the
term and then they are turned away by sometimes as few as two zanu republic
police officers. What's up people? Wasn't this a very good opportunity to exert
some people power? Everyone is always saying "ah its up to those over there"
what-what to get onto the streets. Meanwhile at the start of term all private
schools should have immediately been turned into centres of resistance. There on
site at schools there is an art room: make placards. There is a sports centre:
blow whistles. There is a kitchen: make food. Can you imagine what a sight it
would have been to see Zimbabweans asserting their rights. Education is a human
right. This isn't about whether you belong to the MDC or zanu. Its about uniting
as parents for the sake of your children's future. Isn't it time we stopped
complaining about Mbeki's quiet diplomacy if we can't set our own example? Let's
also not forget that zanu chefs are educating their children in prestigious
colleges in those western countries that they love to bad mouth in the press.
Even baba chatunga supports that private school in Borrowdale where they
imported the sand for the playpit! Email zvakwana your views on civil
disobedience news@zvakwana.org
Win a
free subscription!
Zvakwana is offering 10 free subscriptions to either The Worker
(ZCTU) or The Standard newspapers. All you have to do is look at this picture
(you must be connected to the internet or visit www.zvakwana.org)
and tell us what you think Morgan Tsvangirai has seen. Please make sure to email us your postal address and which
newspaper you like along with your answer.
Gono Enters
Zimbabwe's Murky Political Waters
Gideon Gono, the Reserve Bank Governor of Zimbabwe while being upbeat about
his recent campaigns to sell the Homelink programme in the United
Kingdom, United States of America and South Africa has entered Zimbabwe's dirty
political games following the disruption of the Homelink meeting by
Zimbabweans. The Homelink programme was designed to lure Zimbabweans
abroad to use official channels to repatriate their foreign currency back home.
According to Gono, Zimbabweans in the Diaspora would get favourable rates for
their money. The programme is meant to facilitate foreign currency inflows into
the country thus facilitating economic growth, Gono told Zimbabweans abroad. It
should be noted that Gono failed to answer legitimate inquiries by Zimbabweans
abroad. Zimbabweans wanted
Gono to explain why the government was asking for money from people it drove out
of the country through political violence and economic instability. They
also wanted to know why the government was only interested in their money and
not their right to vote, which have been stripped away. While Gono thinks he is
dealing with an economic question, he should note that the economic regeneration
of any country is inseparable from its political regeneration. The two are
intertwined. On Tuesday, Gono issued a statement claiming that his programme has
been successful but failed to disclose to the nation the governance and
legitimacy questions he was asked by his audiences abroad. The situation
worsened in South Africa when Zimbabweans successfully disrupted his meeting.
What should be noted is that while Gono's intentions to revive the economy are
benevolent, he should understand that as long as he is perceived to be a
messenger of the government, the opponents of the establishment would
concertedly frustrate his efforts. Gono should make a clear distinction between
his programmes and those of a government whose human rights record and electoral
manipulations have became a great concern among civilised democracies. If he
fails then he should be prepared to defend the government's political culture of
intolerance, disrespect of the rule of law and the continuous onslaught against
Zimbabweans' fundamental freedoms including the right to live.
From Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition
And to add salt
to injury, he sends his messenger to ask me to send my money to bankroll his
regime when its policies drove me to exile!
- Joshua Rusere, a Zimbabwean, who
disrupted a meeting in Johannesburg called by gideon gono governor of the
Zimbabwe Reserve Bank, to persuade Zimbabweans to send money to relatives back
home
Artists for change!
There are so many of these
advertising boards going up here and there and everywhere. Zvakwana is calling
upon those young, and also at times even older artists in advertising agencies
around the country to send us some Get UP! Stand UP! art. And we will be
distributing it all over the show. Send us your slogans and send us your ideas
rolling over in your imagination by writing to news@zvakwana.org But even on
your own you can make a difference, get yourself some chalk or some pens and
make your Zvakwana mark around the towns.
Zvakwana is everywhere
So of course people from all
over the countryside as well as over the borders have been chasing us by email
to find out what we think about that policeman chihuri looking here and there
for us. The truth of the matter is that Zvakwana is everywhere. Zvakwana is on
the lips of the majority of people who are enough with this tired old regime. We
want new ideas, not old excuses. We want to live in dignity and with respect.
Zany zanu cannot
see something before their eyes because they are power blind and it takes the
wise to see Zvakwana inhaling and living. Zvakwana is everywhere, in the dark it
gives light and in the morning it comes with the coolest breeze and in the
streets it greets the down trodden faces. They always ask themselves difficult
questions but Zvakwana enjoys ubiquity and we are too together to be divided.
Zvakwana is in the heart but it manifests itself to those possessing the spirit
of discernment. I am Zvakwana, you are too, as long as you feel kuti "Zvakwana".
Keep it up until the regime sleeps in the river of demise.
- Kuda, Zvakwana
subscriber
Nelson Mandela - real big name, right?
We hear you
saying "but I could never be like that." You don't NEED to be like that. You
don't need to give that much time and you don't need to be well known to help
improve your country. The people who lick envelopes once a month, the people who
put stickers on condoms, make Get UP! Stand UP! cds, attend a meeting or
demonstration. The people who send a letter to the junior minister moyo, the
people who sign a petition - these are the people that make a movement
successful. Join Zvakwana today!
Please keep up the good work!
I follow your struggles
and efforts in keeping the light of freedom
burning
in spite of the evil regime that has turned us into
destitutes in
the land of plenty. We are our own
liberators and should never give
up.
- Similo, Zvakwana subscriber
Starting small, growing big
Zvakwana started with
just a few people. Now there are Zvakwana activists all over the country. The
movement is spreading on its own because Zvakwana activists are not waiting for
any leaders to tell us what to do. We all have imagination and a desire to work
for democracy in Zimbabwe. We don't need to wait to be told what to do. You too
can pick up the banner of resistance.
Don't
just hang in there - DO SOMETHING!
It is our country damn it and
somebody has to stand up for it. Somebody has to help put pressure on the
municipality regarding the water cuts, on Zesa regarding the power cuts, on
politicians regarding law and order, human rights and democracy, on cell phone
service providers regarding the poor customer service. In short, we get the
government, the customer service etc we deserve if we create a laissez-faire
attitude through our unwillingness to stand up and reject unacceptable service
or behaviour. Do we not? I have argued before that the problem is not the bad
guys because they are simply being true to self! The problem is the few good men
and women who refuse to be true to self and choose cowardice and convenience
over experience for the sake of peace and quiet. Well it has not worked has it?
On the flight to Bulawayo, I read in the in-flight magazine about Nancy Wake.
Look her up on the internet, I do not have the time and space to tell you about
her except to say her personal contribution to the Nazi demise was immense. You
should read her story and perhaps then we will understand that just like Rosa
Parks, Ghandi and now the Greek team at Euro 2004, every individual must pull
together for the collective's sake and then we will have no reason to debate
whether we stay or not. Make that change in your attitude, hang in there and use
your voice to help improve the situation around you.
- Albert Gumbo,
Harare
Machingura - Singer, Songwriter, Activist
Machingura
is a Zimbabwean mbira player and global justice activist living in Berkeley,
California since 1999. Here is an extract from his song called
Change.
There are rivers
everywhere
Not a drop is there to drink
The gov'ment that sought my
vote
No longer represents me
Public airwaves are
colonized
Freedom of speech demonized
Ignorance and hatred
Are the
seeds they sow
Our taxes buy guns and
missiles
Don't have no money to hire teachers
Forget about schools and
books
We've got prisons and more police
You would not believe it
Mbuya Nehanda
Honestly
CHORUS
But despair not
Ambuya
We are still here Ambuya
Your bones your spirit
Working night
and day
For a world with justice
But no, we won't forget
* Ancestral spirit
"Grandmother" Nehanda. The woman who was her medium in the late nineteenth
century inspired Zimbabwean resistance to European conquest in 1896-97, and was
hanged by the British in 1898. She is famed for her saying that "my bones will
rise again."
|
Watch out for Zvakwana papers on the
streets! |
Zvakwana, Sokwanele, Enough!!
Make sure
you SPEAK OUT - keep discussion alive, keep information flowing.
Please remember Zvakwana
welcomes feedback, ideas and support for actions.
Enough is enough,
Zvakwana, Sokwanele.
Catholic News
Brisbane Commission forges support link with
Zimbabwe
Brisbane's Archdiocesan Justice and Peace Commission has
resolved to give a
helping hand to its sister Commission in Zimbabwe
following a recent
communication.
A media release written on Friday
said the Zimbabwe Commission had told its
Brisbane counterpart of its "great
frustration" in working for justice and
human rights in Zimbabwe. It urges
the Australian Government to continue its
strong opposition to the Zimbabwean
Government's abuses of human rights.
The Brisbane Commission's Executive
Officer Peter Arndt has been attempting
to establish links with the Catholic
Commission of Justice and Peace in
Zimbabwe for over a year and has now
established a line of communication
with the Zimbabwean Commission which will
enable cooperation and support to
be offered from the Brisbane
Archdiocese.
In his communication, the Zimbabwean Commission's National
Director, Alouis
Munyaradzi Chaumba, expressed frustration in meeting the
expectation of many
people that the Church would be the agent of liberation
from the oppressive
practices of the Government of President Robert
Mugabe.
"Mr Chaumba said that the Zimbabwean Commission was finding it
very
difficult to carry out its advocacy and lobbying work," Mr Arndt
said.
"He applauded the Australian Government for its strong stance in
relation to
Zimbabwe and he thanked peace loving people everywhere for their
action and
prayers," he said.
"The Zimbabwean Commission expressed the
hope that more cooperation and
support from us in Brisbane would be
possible," he added.
Mr Arndt said that he had written to Foreign Affairs
Minister, Alexander
Downer, on behalf of the Commission to ask for his
assessment of the current
situation in Zimbabwe and what the Australian
Government was doing to
promote change in the African nation.
The
Commission would also consider at future meetings how it could give
its
sister Commission greater support.
Xinhua
Zimbabwean president calls for protection of country from
aggression
www.chinaview.cn
2004-07-12 04:40:28
HARARE, July 11 (Xinhuanet) --
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
on Sunday called on all members of the
uniformed forces to protecttheir
country from any acts of
aggression.
He made the appeal while officiating at a prize
giving ceremony
for the 2004 President's Medal Shooting Competition held at
the Cleveland
Shooting Range in Harare.
"If circumstances
should arise for the defense and protection of
our sovereignty, it is the
responsibility of all members of the uniformed
forces to ensure that the
nation is protected from any acts of aggression,"
he said.
Mugabe said events such as the Shooting Competition afforded
members of the
uniformed forces an opportunity to sharpen their skills in
weapon
handling.
He said Zimbabwe's foreign policy is aimed at
achieving world
peace and stability in all flash points across the
globe.
He said that his country is capable of protecting its
national
independence and sovereignty at a time when the unipolar world is
failing to
respect international laws and conventions.
"Zimbabwe is a sovereign state, which should continuously enjoy
peace and
stability," he said.
Mugabe said the members of the uniformed
forces have a
responsibility to prevent the abuse of
weapons.
The illegal movement of firearms, which usually found
their way
into hands of seasoned criminals, is of major concern to
peaceloving
citizens and undermined efforts to create a conducive business
environment
in the southern African region, he said.
The
recent ratification of the Southern African Development
Community Protocol on
Firearms, Ammunition and other related materials by
Parliament should come as
a major setback to those unscrupulous elements
peddling firearms in the
region in general and the country at large, he
said.
The
competition began on June 24 and saw a large number of
participants fall by
the way side, leaving 24 finalists.
It is designed to develop a
sense of pride and safety in the use
of firearms by the members of the
uniformed forces. Enditem
Mail and Guardian
Nepad highlights infrastructure needs
Moyiga Nduru
12 July 2004 08:10
"If you see a set of
bright, shining lights at night, it's not a vehicle but
a giraffe that got
stuck in a pothole in the middle of the road. So, watch
out," Zambians used
to joke about the state of their roads a few years ago.
Now the country's
main highways have been tarred, making it easier for
farmers and
businesspeople to transport their crops and goods to market.
With a good
regional road network, Zambia could also export more maize, a
staple food, to
neighbouring countries.
But a considerable number of repairs need to be
done to the roads that link
this Southern African country to Mozambique,
Angola, Tanzania, Malawi and
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The slow
and erratic railway service
between Zambia and Tanzania, Tanzam, also needs a
facelift.
Zambia and Tanzania are too poor to shoulder this burden,
however. For now
then, the responsibility of doing repairs is falling on the
New Partnership
for Africa's Development (Nepad), a blueprint designed by
African leaders to
pull the continent out of poverty.
Nepad founders,
who include South Africa's Thabo Mbeki and his Nigerian
counterpart, Olusegun
Obasanjo, have committed themselves to setting up and
improving
infrastructure across the continent.
They have also identified needs in
the transport, energy, communication
technology, water and sanitation sectors
which should receive attention
first, in this regard.
"I think the
priority should be roads, railways and ports, which are crucial
to Africa's
development. Without them you can't move goods," Kurt Shillinger
of the
Johannesburg-based South African Institute of International Affairs,
said on
Wednesday, July 7. Shillinger specialises in Nepad-related issues.
But he
warned that even improved roads would not accelerate Africa's
development if
the continent's customs and immigration regimes remained out
of
kilter.
"You can have good roads, (but) if you can't move goods around
the region,
then the roads become useless," he argued.
Efforts to
harmonise the customs regimes in the 14-member Southern African
Development
Community (SADC) are underway. But, so far, only South Africa,
Botswana,
Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia have aligned their regulations.
Since it
was adopted in 2001 by the former Organisation of African Unity
(OAU) (now
the African Union, AU), Nepad's biggest challenge has been
raising the money
to finance its ambitions.
The partnership is seeking $64-billion a year
from the Group of Eight (G8)
industrialized nations and other foreign
investors to rebuild Africa -- this
in return for good governance.
But
the G8, which comprises Japan, Russia, France, Germany, Canada,
Italy,
Britain and the United States, seems to be dragging its feet over
funding.
This led a visibly frustrated Obasanjo to tell delegates to the
AU's annual
summit held in Ethiopia, July 6 to 8: "The list of unfulfilled
promises by
our partners is growing longer."
But, says Shillinger, "I
don't think Nepad is doing enough to attract
investment to Africa. Business
people always feel reluctant to invest where
there is corruption, no good
governance and no property rights."
Observers say the seizure of land in
Zimbabwe from 4 500 white commercial
farmers since 2000 has dented Africa's
image as a continent where property
rights are respected.
While Harare
claims the seizures form part of efforts to end racial
imbalances in land
ownership that date back to the colonial era, critics
allege that relatively
little of this land has been given to blacks.
"Whenever foreigners want
to invest they first look at the conditions of
court, the independence of the
judiciary -- and property rights," says
Shillinger.
On June 30, South
African Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel told a gathering
in the capital,
Pretoria, that increased pressure should be brought on the
G8 to meet its
commitments to Africa. The meeting focused on the Commission
for Africa,
recently created by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to advise
him on the
continent.
The Chairman of the Commission, Nick Stern, warned that it
would "want
action plans with specifics, a plan that generates political
will" in order
to provide increased assistance.
On its website, Nepad
says that certain projects financed by the African
Development Bank have
nonetheless gotten underway.
The bank, based in the Ivorian commercial
hub of Abidjan, has funded
programmes worth $372,5-million -- while the World
Bank has spent
$570-million since 2001 on Nepad-related work. The total
budget required to
fund 16 or so infrastructure projects that have been given
priority by Nepad
amounts to $8,1-billion.
These projects include the
West Africa Gas Pipeline project and the West
Africa Power project. The
latter will serve Benin, Burkina Faso, the Ivory
Coast, Ghana and
Togo.
In East Africa, Nepad has embarked on setting up a road network
measuring
5,102 kilometres, which the World Bank has agreed to fund to the
tune of
about $500-million -- this over a three-year period. The European
Union will
also plough $375-million into the project over a five-year period,
according
to Nepad.
In SADC, the DRC, Angola, Namibia, Botswana and
South Africa have formed a
company to develop the Western Power Corridor
Interconnection project. The
five countries have agreed an equity
contribution of 20% to enable the
project, based in the DRC, to get underway.
-- IPS
Cato Institute
Self-inflicted Poverty
by Walter E.
Williams
Walter E. Williams is an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute
and a
nationally syndicated columnist.
Did you learn the United States
is rich because we have bountiful natural
resources? That has to be nonsense.
Africa and South America are probably
the richest continents in natural
resources but are home to the world's most
miserably poor people. On the
other hand, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and
England are poor in natural
resources, but their people are among the
world's richest.
Maybe your
college professor taught that the legacy of colonialism explains
Third World
poverty. That's nonsense as well. Canada was a colony. So were
Australia, New
Zealand and Hong Kong. In fact, the richest country in the
world, the United
States, was once a colony. By contrast, Ethiopia, Liberia,
Tibet, Sikkim,
Nepal and Bhutan were never colonies, but they are home to
the world's
poorest people.
There's no complete explanation why some countries are
affluent while others
are poor, but there are some leads. Rank countries
along a continuum
according to whether they are closer to being free-market
economies or
whether they're closer to socialist or planned economies. Then,
rank
countries by per-capita income. We will find a general, not perfect,
pattern
whereby those countries having a larger free-market sector produce a
higher
standard of living for their citizens than those at the socialist end
of the
continuum.
What is more important is that if we ranked
countries according to how
Freedom House or Amnesty International rates their
human-rights guarantees,
we would see that citizens of countries with market
economies are not only
richer but tend to enjoy a greater measure of
human-rights protections.
While there is no complete explanation for the
correlation between free
markets, higher wealth and human-rights protections,
you can bet the rent
money the correlation is not simply
coincidental.
With but few exceptions, African countries are not free,
and most are basket
cases. My colleague, John Blundell, director of the
London-based Institute
of Economic Affairs, highlights some of this in his
article "Africa's plight
will not end with aid" in the Scotsman on June
14.
Once a food-exporting country, Zimbabwe is on the brink of
starvation. Just
recently, President Robert Mugabe declared he's going to
nationalize all the
farmland. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to
figure out the
consequence will be to exacerbate Zimbabwe's food problems.
Sierra Leone,
rich in minerals, especially diamonds, with highly fertile land
and home to
the best port site in West Africa, has declined into utter
despair. It's a
similar story in nearly all of south-of-Sahara Africa. Its
people are
generally worse off now than they were during colonialism both in
terms of
standard of living and human-rights protections.
John
Blundell says the institutions Westerners take for granted are
entirely
absent in most of Africa. Africans are not incompetent; they're just
like
us. Without the rule of law, private property rights, an
independent
judiciary, limited government and an infrastructure for
basic
transportation, water, electricity and communication, we would also be
a
diseased, broken and starving people.
What can the West do to help?
The worst thing is more foreign aid. For the
most part, foreign aid is
government to government, and as such, it provides
the financial resources
that allow Africa's corrupt regimes to buy military
equipment, pay off
cronies and continue to oppress their people.
It also provides resources
for the leaders to set up "retirement" accounts
in Swiss banks. Even
so-called humanitarian aid in the form of food is often
diverted. Mr.
Blundell reports Mr. Mugabe's thugs rip labels off of wheat
and corn
shipments from the United States and Europe and relabel them as
benevolence
from the dictator.
Most of what Africa needs the West cannot give, and
that's the rule of law,
private property rights, an independent judiciary and
limited government.
The one important way we can help is to lower our trade
barriers.