Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.

Zimbabwe Ruling Majority Defeats Motion to Stop Home Demolitions
Parliament Questions Wed 6 July - Murambatsvina & children transport problem
MDC says 2002 ballot boxes tampered with
Mbeki 'to change tack' on Zim
'Govt never used quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe'
Zimbabwe Opposition Says Ruling Party Obstructing Election Appeal
Mate of Mugabe, a True-Blue Brit, Eyes Bank And Mine
SA deputy president visits Zimbabwe
Exiled farmers sow seeds of change in Nigeria
'Zimbabweans will not starve'
Government directive may stop Zimbabwe tour
Defeating Mugabe: MDC Must Become More Militant
Human rights campaigner Judith Todd says Mugabe must be forced into exile
Fuel shortages hit Zimbabwe tobacco sales
Forced eviction - a policy of oppression
'Mugabe ordered killing of wife's lover'
Women harassed
MDC demands Mudede be thrown behind bars
Government seeks ways to replace bearer cheques
"Stoppez les" . "ils sont les voleurs de la Repubblique"

VOA

      Zimbabwe Ruling Majority Defeats Motion to Stop Home Demolitions
      By Patience Rusere
      Washington
      12 July 2005

Zimbabwean parliamentarians of the ruling Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front, which secured a two-thirds majority in March general
elections that the opposition has contested, Tuesday defeated an opposition
motion to end the government's controversial slum-clearance and resettlement
drive.

Opposition spokesman Paul Themba-Nyathi issued a sharply worded statement
accusing members of the ruling majority of voting against their consciences
and prolonging the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans.

"They know the truth but are afraid to speak out," Mr. Themba-Nyathi said.
"As a result of their selfish vote the suffering of the people will
continue."

Mr. Themba-Nyathi's comments echoed those made by former ZANU-PF central
committee member Pearson Mbalekwa, who resigned from the party July 2. He
maintains that most ZANU-PF politicians oppose the demolition and
resettlement program, but remain silent due to a culture of fear and
intimidation in their party.

Reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe caught up with Mr.
Mbalekwa, asking him first if reports he had gone into hiding were true.

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----- Original Message -----

From:Trudy Stevenson

Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 6:49 AM

Subject: Parliament Questions Wed 6 July - Murambatsvina & children transport problem

HANSARD Wednesday 6 July 2005

ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE

Effects of Operation Murambatsvina

1. Mrs LGB STEVENSON asked the Minister of local Government, Public Works and Urban Development to:

a) provide the House with the minutes of the meeting held by the Commission running Harare during which it resolved to implement “Operation Murambatsvina”;

b) explain why alternative housing, factory shells and market stalls were not constructed before destroying people’s homes and livelihoods;

c) explain why vendors with valid licences trading at authorized market places erected by the City of Harare using ratepayers’ money were arrested and their goods confiscated;

d) inform the House the number of people who have been removed from their so-called illegal houses and where those people are now living;

e) inform the House whether stands at Hatcliffe Extension site-and-service scheme funded by the World Bank will be reallocated, the criteria that would be used for selection of the new beneficiaries, or whether the scheme would now be used for a purpose other than low-cost housing.

THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: I would like to thank the Hon. Member for this multifaceted question.

a) The clean-up Programme is a national programme encompassing the whole country. As such, decisions regarding the implementation of the programme have been taken at Central Government level and not by individual local authorities.

In general, though, local authorities have welcomed the initiative and have said as much.

The Chairperson of the Commission running the affairs of the City of Harare has publicly indicated her support for this long overdue operation.

b) As I have already indicated to the nation, alternative housing and factory shells and market stalls are being provided.

It must be noted though that prior to the commencement of the operation, factory shells in a number of urban councils stood vacant as did many market shells nationwide with potential users of these facilities electing to use pavements andstreets for their various activities.

c) It is conceded that there may have been excesses on the ground. This is regretted and corrective action has been taken as appropriate.

d) Given the magnitude of the operation and the fact that the operation is still on-going, it is not possible to talk figures at this stage.

The requisite statistical information is being compiled and appropriate action taken thereon. As a result, this is a very fluid situation.

Those who require assistance are being rendered such assistance at Transit Camps where the latest figure stood no more than 2 000 households.

e) Residents of Hatcliffe Extension have already been offered alternative residential stands. Regrettably, for reasons best known to some of them, they seem reluctant to take up the offer Government has made to them.

It is intended to re-plan the area so that it is in keeping with the major uses of its geographical setting. This is in keeping with Town Planning practice the world over.

Mr Speaker, in conclusion: the Clean up Operation is about

· Order

· Cleanliness

· Public health

· Human decency and dignity

· Self-respect

· Decency

· Acceptable housing standards

· Discipline

· Compliance with the law and by-laws

· National peace and stability

· Ridding the country of criminality, corruption and unethical behaviour.

We stand at the threshold of creating decent housing and work spaces for our people. To this end, we urge all patriotic Zimbabweans to join hands with Government.

Mrs STEVENSON: The Hon. Minister says that the people from Hatcliffe Extension are not going to be relocated at Hatcliffe Extension. My question is, he says it is going to be re-planned for something else. I would like to point out to the Minister that Hatcliffe One is a high density area. Could the Minister explain why people are not going to be settled in the extended high density area? Why has it suddenly been considered geographically unsuitable when ten years ago this area was laid out as a site-and-service scheme? A lot of donor funding went into providing water mains and sewage works for low cost housing. What is the rationale for the sudden change?

:Dr CHOMBO: I do not want the House to be confused and be derailed from what is supposed to be a noble cause. The Hon. Member, I have accused her in this House of mangling and placing people on that squatter camp. It is our duty and moral right to make sure that those 1 200 people who were put there because they have been put in that awkward place, are gie stands. The government has made its obligation and has given each and everyone of them and it is assisting each and every member to build.

The issue she is talking about does not arise because government is going to provide water, sewer and roads wherever they are going. The people are better served by following the government programme. When you look also at the planning of that general area, there is our Major Research Centre. Major Research Centres for any country are very secure areas where you do not allow any other person to have easy access into. We are also going to put the professors at the center within that general vicinity.

Secondly, there is a police boarding school situated in the area. The teachers from that boarding school will be given houses there so that they are near their institution. Zimbabwe Open University, our largest institution with25 000 students on their register, is situated in the area and they are also going to benefit in that area so that they can work nearer where their institution is located. ! 200, whose names were published last Saturday, have been re-located to Hopley and they are extremely very happy except a few who were carried to that place last week on Monday by the Hon member and stage managed for the chairman to see. Those are unhappy.

……….

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

…

Mr MZILA NLDOVU: Hon Minister, you have already used part of that money to build two model houses on privatrely owned land in White Cliff. Do you want to tell us that the government has a policy of erecting illegal structures on illegal properties when the High court has issued an Order prohibiting to carry on with the process?

Mr MURERWA: I find it difficult, Madam Speaker, to believe as the hon member alleges that the Ministry of Housing would have done that. The Hon members are aware that government has a housing policy – (An Hon member – which government?) – The Zimbabwean government, your government, ahs a housing policy to provide decent housing for its citizens. Resources have been made available for this purpose and clearly the Ministry is just doing its job and I think we should appreciate what they are doing.

…….

MRS MISIHAIRABWI-MUSHONGA: My question is directed to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs . In light of the fact that a lot of people are currently living outside with no accommodation and given the fact that government intends to build houses after some time – is government intending to put up an international appeal to ensure that we get some humanitarian aid in the form of tents and food?

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (MR MATSHALAGA); The question should be directed ot the Minister of Local Government. With refrence to the question of international aid, the question should be directed to the Minister of Finance.

Mrs STEVENSON:

My question is directed to the Minister of Educatin Sports and Culture. In view of the enormous transport difficulties the country has been going through for a long time, passengers, including children, now have to wait for long hours for their buses, particularly when going home at night. Can the Minsiter inform the House what policy has been put in place to make sure that the children are protected and are not subject to dangerous situations where they get home late at night or not at all?

THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE (MR CHIGWEDERE)

My answer is – those children who are traveling long distances in the first palce went against our regulations. We made it very clear from the outset that we are going to encourage and enforce zoning in schools. This means children around Highfield must be enrolled in schools in Highfield. Children in Mabvuku should also be enrolled in schools in Mabvuku.

If a child is traveling from Mabvuku to Chitungwiza or Mufakose – one, that is a minority. Two, those children have gone against our regulations. If they suffer, the fault is entirely theirs because we made provision for all of them. There is no way a child can fail to get a place in Mabvuku if the child lives in Mabvuku.

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Zim Online

MDC says 2002 ballot boxes tampered with
Wed 13 July 2005

      HARARE - Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party today said ballot materials used in the March 2002 presidential
election whose results party leader Morgan Tsvangirai is challenging were
tampered with.

      The election, condemned by Southern African Development Community
parliamentarians and Western governments as flawed and undemocratic, was won
by President Robert Mugabe by more than 400 000 votes. But Tsvangirai
rejected Mugabe's re-election victory, petitioning the High Court to
overturn the poll result alleging he was cheated of victory.

      The poll petition, which under Zimbabwe's Electoral Act should have
been heard as a matter of urgency, is still bogged down at the courts
forcing Tsvangirai to appeal this week to the country's highest court, the
Supreme Court, to intervene and take over the matter saying he is no longer
confident of finding justice from the High Court.

      MDC legal affairs secretary David Coltart told journalists in Harare
that the party did not have details of how ballot boxes and papers were
tampered with at the High Court where they are being kept.

      "We are not sure how these ballots could have been tampered with . . .
but according to the Mirror newspaper, the police have said they are
preparing a docket on the matter," Coltart said.

      The local Mirror daily paper reported today that unknown people broke
into the court storeroom and forced open ballot boxes, mixed up ballot
papers from various constituencies and tore some of the papers that could
offer crucial evidence for Tsvangirai to prove Mugabe won by fraud.

      The paper quoted a police spokesman saying investigations had begun
into the strange break in, the first of its kind at the secure court rooms
in decades.

      Prior to the ballot boxes and papers being moved to the court
storerooms, state Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede, who was in charge of the
disputed presidential election, had stubbornly held on to the voting
materials defying seven court orders to surrender them to the court where
the MDC could inspect them.

      He only surrendered the balloting materials after the court fined him
Z$5 million after it found him in contempt of court for repeatedly
disobeying orders to surrender the materials.

      Tsvangirai's lawyers say an audit of the ballot papers would reveal
that Mudede, a well-known Mugabe loyalist, cooked up figures to secure
victory for the Zimbabwean leader.

      Inspection of the ballot boxes and papers from Rushinga constituency
in Mugabe's Mashonaland Central province stronghold was called off earlier
this week after Mudede's officials brought in seven extra boxes for the
constituency from the five that they had earlier said were all the boxes
from Rushinga.

      Tsvangirai's laywers called off the ballot inspection to consult their
client for further instruction following the sudden increase in the number
of ballot boxes.

      Coltart also lamented delays in the resolution of 39 court petitions
filed by MDC candidates five years ago challenging the victory of ruling
ZANU PF party candidates in the 2000 parliamentary election.

      The petitions, now of academic importance since another general
election was held last March, are still bogged down either at the High Court
or Supreme Court.

      "It is a real possibility that we can even get to 2008 without the
cases being resolved which just goes to show how compromised our judiciary
is," said Coltart, himself a lawyer. - ZimOnline

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News24

Mbeki 'to change tack' on Zim
13/07/2005 16:33 - (SA)

Harare - President Thabo Mbeki has decided that quiet diplomacy toward
Zimbabwe has failed and is ready to opt for a new strategy to help end the
political crisis engulfing the neighbouring country, said Zimbabwe's
opposition leader on Wednesday.

"I think what President Mbeki can do and which he assured me he was going to
do, was to change tack, to change strategy around how to influence the
course of events in Zimbabwe," said Morgan Tsvangirai.

"He is going to find new strategies. He recognises that the quiet diplomacy
has not produced the requisite result and therefore he cannot continue to
operate in the same manner he has been operating for the last three years,"
said the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change.

Tsvangirai was responding to a question on whether he had an idea of the
reason behind the lightning visit to Harare on Tuesday by South Africa's
deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Helping to 'synchronise' policies

"I am not privy to information about her visit... (but) I am sure these are
some of the initiatives that are taking place, but I don't know the full
details," he said.

Mlambo-Ngcuka flew in on Tuesday afternoon for talks with President Robert
Mugabe and his deputy, Joyce Mujuru, and said she had come to help
"synchronise" Pretoria's policies with Harare.

"I was getting a global understanding of the challenges, and we are
challenged," she said, without giving details.

State media reported this week that Mugabe had rejected pressure from fellow
African leaders to re-start talks with the opposition. The talks stalled
three years ago.

Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba was quoted by The Herald newspaper as
saying that the ruling Zanu-PF party would restrict its contacts with the
opposition to parliament.

Tsvangirai sounded upbeat about the prospect of Mbeki taking on a greater
role to end the politial and economic crises in Zimbabwe.

"President Mbeki has a role to play in the solution of the Zimbabwe crises,
but has failed to do so in the past three years through quiet diplomacy
because he believed strongly he could persuade President Robert Mugabe to
see that he was facing a precipice.

Must negotiate his way out

"The problem is not with President Mbeki, the problem is in Zimbabwe with
President Mugabe," said Tsvangirai.

He said Mugabe needed to "realise that he has put the country in a
cul-de-sac and that he needs to negotiate himself out of an irreconcilable
corner".

Zimbabwe is in the throes of economic and political crises with unemployment
hovering at more than 70%, severe shortages of fuel and food and
hyperinflation that is rendering the national currency worthless.

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SABC

'Govt never used quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe'

July 13, 2005, 20:45

President Thabo Mbeki's office says is unmoved by assertions that he is to
abandon what has been labelled as his approach of quiet diplomacy toward
Zimbabwe. Bheki Khumalo, Mbeki's spokesperson, says Mbeki has never
classified his approach towards Zimbabwe as quiet.

Khumalo says the President has been arguing consistently that Zimbabweans
must deal with challenges facing them. Mbeki has been under pressure from
some G8 countries to condemn Mugabe's razing of shantytowns, which has left
thousands homeless.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the Zimbabwean opposition leader, earlier said Mbeki was
ready to opt for a new strategy to help the end the crisis in Zimbabwe. The
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader says Mbeki acknowledged at talks
between the two men in Pretoria last week that quiet diplomacy had not
produced required results.

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VOA

      Zimbabwe Opposition Says Ruling Party Obstructing Election Appeal
      By Tendai Maphosa
      Harare
      13 July 2005

Zimbabwe's main opposition party says the ruling party is thwarting its
legal efforts to prove that President Robert Mugabe lost the 2002
presidential election to Morgan Tsvangirai.

The Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, disputes the result of the 2002
presidential election, saying it was rigged and that voters were subjected
to threats and violence.

According to MDC spokesperson for legal affairs David Coltart the party is
following the legal process of dealing with such complaints, but getting
justice is proving to be an uphill task.

Speaking to journalists in Harare, Mr. Coltart said the Registrar General's
office failed to bring all ballot boxes to its Harare offices soon after the
poll as required by law.

It took a series of court orders, starting in September 2002 and culminating
in a contempt of court charge against the Registrar General earlier this
year, before he partially complied, Mr. Coltart said.

The high court gave the Registrar General 10 days to comply, but until
Monday some ballot boxes were nowhere in sight. Then an extra seven boxes
from the first constituency to be investigated suddenly surfaced. The seals
on the boxes were broken.

Mr. Coltart said MDC attempts to take pictures of the boxes to use as
evidence in court failed.

"Both the representatives of the civil division of the Attorney General's
Office and the legal representatives of Mr. Robert Mugabe objected to us
taking photographs, and it is on that basis and the fact that we now have
these extra ballot boxes that caused us to abandon the process [of
photographing the boxes] pending a further application that will have to be
brought before the high court," he said.

Mr. Mugabe's legal team could not be reached for comment.

The MDC has filed with the Supreme Court to nullify President Mugabe's 2002
re-election and is also challenging some results of the March parliamentary
poll.

But because the party abandoned the challenges of the 2000 parliamentary
elections before the courts addressed them earlier this year, some people
feel that the challenges are an exercise in futility.

The MDC's Mr. Coltart disagrees.

"The bringing of these cases underlines, underscores, the illegitimacy of
this regime; shows that these are not frivolous arguments that we have
raised, that they are based in fact," he said. "It politically reinforces
our contention that this is in fact an illegitimate regime and that the only
way of resolving the crisis in Zimbabwe is by restoring legitimacy."

Mr. Coltart said this legitimacy can only be reached by holding fresh
presidential and parliamentary elections that comply with Zimbabwean law and
are open to local and international scrutiny."

Party President Morgan Tsvangirai also attended the press conference. He
addressed the issue of the role of South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, who
has come under criticism for keeping silent on the Zimbabwean crisis. Mr.
Tsvangirai recently met with Mr. Mbeki.

"The problem is not with President Mbeki, the problem is in Zimbabwe with
President Mugabe, and that if President Mugabe realizes that he has put the
country in a cul-de-sac and that he needs to negotiate himself out of an
irreconcilable corner I think we will continue shouting at President Mbeki
without necessarily solving the problem," he said. "I think what President
Mbeki can do, which he assured me he is going to do is to change tack, to
change strategy around how to influence the course of events in Zimbabwe."

Mr. Tsvangirai did not give any details of the South African president's new
approach to help resolve the Zimbabwe crisis.

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Mate of Mugabe, a True-Blue Brit, Eyes Bank And Mine

Business Day (Johannesburg)

July 13, 2005
Posted to the web July 13, 2005

Dumisani Muleya
Johannesburg

BRITISH tycoon and key Zanu (PF) financier Nicholas van Hoogstraten is close
to taking control of Zimbabwe's leading coal producer, Wankie Colliery and
leading bank National Merchant Bank (NMB).

Like most Zimbabwean companies, Wankie's performance has been hit hard by
foreign currency shortages, worn-out equipment, acute fuel shortages and an
unreliable freight carrier, the National Railways of Zimbabwe.

Wankie Colliery, listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), the JSE and
the London Stock Exchange, is majority owned by the Zimbabwean government.

It is expected to float a Z$1trillion rights issue this month to raise funds
for recapitalisation.

The Zimbabwean government said it would raise its equity by injecting
Z$400bn into the company, while the Z$600bn remainder will come from other
shareholders, including Van Hoogstraten.

The company's shareholders have already pledged to follow their rights
during the offer.

The Zimbabwean government owns 39,49% in Wankie. Van Hoogstraten is the
second-largest shareholder with 31,69% through Edwards Nominees and Messina
Investments. The other major investor is London Register.

Van Hoogstraten, who had a manslaughter conviction in Britain quashed
recently after he had served one year of a 10-year jail term, was once
regarded as Britain's youngest millionaire.

He has large farming estates in Zimbabwe, which his long-time friend
President Robert Mugabe spared from seizures during his chaotic land reform
programme.

He is also a major property tycoon in the UK.

The former Royal Navy officer is believed to have plush homes in Barbados,
Bahamas; St Lucia; Florida in the US; Cannes; Zimbabwe; and Britain, where
he owns the imposing Hamilton Palace in Sussex.

Van Hoogstraten is said to have also acquired a significant stake in the
ZSE-listed NMB through the UK-based Messina Investments and Palisades. The
latest NMB share register shows that Van Hoogstraten's Messina Investments
is the fifth-largest shareholder in the bank with 8,62%. Holdings of his
other companies are 9,75% by Palisades and 1,51% by Edwards Nominees.

This brings his total equity to 19,88%, making him the single largest
shareholder in the bank.

Old Mutual Life Assurance is the second-largest shareholder with 16,38%.
Cornerstone Trust and Alsace Trust, the third major shareholders, are owned
by former NMB directors James Mushore, Julius Makoni, Otto Chekeche and
Francis Zimuto, who fled Zimbabwe for Britain last year during Mugabe's
sweeping anticorruption crackdown in the financial sector.

Several bank executives left the country to escape arrest during the
tumultuous period in the financial sector. At least seven banks and dozens
of asset management firms closed after a liquidity crisis.

Many businessmen, including former finance minister Chris Kuruneri, were
arrested in connection with taking money out of the country and black market
dealings.

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Mail and Guardian

      SA deputy president visits Zimbabwe

      Harare, Zimbabwe

      13 July 2005 12:05

            South Africa's new Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka,
made a four-hour visit to Zimbabwe on Tuesday for talks with President
Robert Mugabe and his deputy that she said will help Pretoria "synchronise"
its policies with Harare.

            Making her first official trip to Zimbabwe since her appointment
three weeks ago by President Thabo Mbeki, Mlambo-Ngcuka said she held
"longer" talks with her Zimbabwean counterpart, Joyce Mujuru.

            "I came to consult my colleague, so that we can synchronise some
of the things that we would like to do," she said without elaborating.

            "I was getting a global understanding of the challenges, and we
are challenged," she added.

            Asked whether South Africa is preparing to provide aid to
Zimbabwe, where the United Nations estimates that four million people out of
13-million are in need of food relief, Mlambo-Ngcuka said: "There has always
been a coordinated approach to assisting Zimbabwe."

            On her first visit to Harare, Mlambo-Ngcuka was accompanied by
South Africa's Deputy Minister of Finance, Jabu Moleketi.

            The visit came amid mounting pressure on South Africa to press
Zimbabwe to halt a nearly two-month demolitions campaign that has left
hundreds of thousands homeless.

            South Africa has refrained from criticising Harare over the
campaign, saying it is awaiting the findings of a report by a UN envoy. --
Sapa-AFP

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IOL

Exiled farmers sow seeds of change in Nigeria
          July 13 2005 at 03:41PM

      Abuja - Exiled white Zimbabwean farmers have begun sowing their first
crops in Nigeria, where they hope to settle for good after losing their
farms due to President Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform programme.

      Nigeria invited the Zimbabweans to resettle last year in the western
state of Kwara to encourage large-scale commercial farming in Africa's most
populous country, which is rich in fertile land but imports large quantities
of food.

      Alan Jack, leader of the group of 13 farmers, said they had begun
sowing maize and soya beans on 1 500 hectares of land. They plan to bring in
2 000 head of dairy cattle as well as a poultry broiler for meat and an
incubator for eggs.

      "It's going fine... We think we can stay here forever," Jack said by
telephone from his new farm on Wednesday.

      Hundreds of white Zimbabwean farmers have left since Mugabe began
redistributing white-owned farms to landless blacks in 2000. The policy has
ravaged Zimbabwe's agriculture and the one-time bread-basket of Southern
Africa now relies on food aid.

      Nigeria, with 140 million inhabitants and a wealth of fertile lands,
has the potential for commercial agriculture but poor infrastructure, red
tape and corruption have hampered development in the sector as in most parts
of the economy.

      Successive governments have neglected agriculture, instead focusing on
oil which is the country's lifeline.

      In Kwara, each Zimbabwean farmer has been allocated 1 000 hectares of
land on a 25-year lease. Jack said the Zimbabweans had recruited about 2 000
people from nearby villages.

      "They have no skills so we're having to teach them everything," he
said, adding that the majority of local people had been very welcoming
towards the Zimbabwean farmers.

      "We had two or three incidents with a few troublemakers but we've got
over that now," he said.

      The governor of Kwara state, Bukola Saraki, showed support for the
Zimbabwean farmers at a launch party for the planting season. "This is a
win-win project for everyone," he said.

      Funding has come partly from the state government and partly from
private sources, though Jack said banks which had initially offered loans
had yet to come up with any money. He said earlier this year total
investment in the projects would be around $15-million to 20-million
(between R100-million and R130-million).

      Saraki said Kwara state would continue to support the farmers by
supplying seeds and fertiliser.

      The farmers, who started the operation from scratch, are still in the
process of building houses. "One or two are complete and the others are in
various stages of construction," said Jack.

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News24

'Zimbabweans will not starve'
13/07/2005 14:52 - (SA)

Harare - Zimbabwe said on Wednesday it has obtained enough food imports from
neighbouring countries to stave off the risk of critical shortages.

United Nations experts had said up to four million Zimbabweans were at risk
of starvation and some feared shortages would be worse because of the
government's widening eviction and demolition campaign.

However, the head of the government's grain marketing board told state radio
on Wednesday the government had secured imports of 1.8 million metric tons
of maize.

Samuel Muvuti, the head of the grain marketing board, did not say whether
the food was already in the country or awaiting shipment.

Agriculture in a bad state

Agricultural production has crashed since President Robert Mugabe began
seizing 5 000 white-owned farms in February 2000. Less than 400 000 tons of
maize has been harvested this year despite Mugabe's predictions before March
31 elections of a bumper 2.4 million metric ton crop.

Speaking in a rural area last Saturday, Mugabe repeated that the country had
enough food to feed itself and "Zimbabweans would not starve".

South African deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who held talks on
Tuesday with Mugabe, told state media on departure her one-day trip was
aimed at finding out what Zimbabwe "needs to overcome the economic
challenges it is facing". She did not mention food or fuel, both critical
items at present. Some filling stations have had no diesel or gasoline for
over a month.

The state-owned Herald newspaper played down her meeting with Mugabe on
Wednesday and said she had come for talks with her Zimbabwean counterpart,
vice-president Joyce Mujuru.

No talks with opposition

Mugabe's official spokesperson George Charamba denied on Tuesday that Mugabe
would hold talks with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on the country's
political and economic crisis. Charamba said Nigerian President Olusegun
Obasanjo had tried to persuade Mugabe to hold such talks.

Attempts by opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) legislators to
condemn Mugabe's "Operation Murambatsvina", or drive out filth, which has
left up to 300 000 urban poor homeless in midwinter cold, were crushed on
Tuesday when the ruling Zanu-PF party defeated a parliamentary motion of
censure by 55 votes to 33.

The MDC alleges a deliberate campaign to drive disaffected urban voters back
to rural areas where they can be intimidated by denial of access to food.

The state broadcaster said on Wednesday since the operation began,
commodities such as maize meal, sugar and cooking oil have been resurfacing.
It said shortages in the commodities had been worsened by black market
dealers.

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New Zealand Herald

Government directive may stop Zimbabwe tour

NZ Cricket's Martin Snedden talks to the media yesterday as former Zimbabwe cricketer Henry Olonga looks on. Picture / Simon Baker

14.07.05

By Helen Tunnah

The Black Caps tour to Zimbabwe may yet be abandoned after the Government indicated it would issue the cricketers with an instruction that they should not go.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff is to seek urgent advice from the International Cricket Council about whether such a political directive would be enough to let New Zealand Cricket cancel the tour without facing financial penalties.

He said if it was, that was "precisely what we'll do".

"It will put the onus on New Zealand Cricket to make a genuine decision about the ethics of touring."

NZ Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden would not comment yesterday on his organisation's likely response to what would be seen as a Government or parliamentary order.

However, it is understood NZ Cricket would feel under an obligation to obey it.

Although the position of the ICC on government directives is stated in their rules, and has been raised by the Green Party, the Government has rejected calls to simply tell the cricketers not to go, citing advice from officials that only legal action could stop the tour.

Mr Goff's toughened stance came after the ICC chairman Ehsan Mani yesterday released a letter to the Government saying it was up to politicians, and not the cricket body, to stop the tour.

"It is also recognised that governments will, from time to time, elect to use sporting sanctions as a tool in their foreign policy programmes," Mr Mani said.

"Our members accept and respect that where this clear directive is given by a national government, the obligations of the FTP (future tours programme) will not apply."

It was not clear last night if the Government would announce a policy banning sporting contact with Zimbabwe which would meet the ICC requirements as set out by Mr Mani, and a motion passed in Parliament is more likely.

Governments have in the past avoided banning New Zealand teams going overseas, including during the international boycott of apartheid South Africa.

However, intense pressure was applied by former Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon on New Zealand athletes not to go to the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and most did not.

Political parties have already agreed to a parliamentary motion condemning the human rights abuses under Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, but Mr Goff suggested that the motion could be strengthened to tell the cricket team MPs wanted the tour called off.

"I'm very happy to say there should be a sporting sanction against Zimbabwe if that relieves New Zealand Cricket of the obligation of going there or facing terrible financial penalties."

Green Party co-leader Rod Donald, who has led the campaign against the tour, said the ICC letter should spell the end of the tour.

He said the ICC had made it clear it recognised the rights of a government to impose sporting sanctions.

Mr Donald and former Zimbabwe cricketer Henry Olonga yesterday met Mr Snedden at NZ Cricket headquarters in Christchurch, ahead of an anti-tour rally in Auckland on Saturday.

Olonga said he would take no pleasure in seeing the Black Caps miss out on an international tour.

"From my perspective, it's not like I will be rejoicing if the tour gets called off - I'm a bit torn."

The ICC rules

* Matches can be cancelled because of any action taken by a government.

* Such action, in this case a 'clear directive' or sporting sanction, needs to make it 'impossible' or illegal for the Black Caps to tour.

* If the ICC accepts the Black Caps cannot tour, and the games cannot be rescheduled, no compensation would be paid.

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Global Politician

Defeating Mugabe: MDC Must Become More Militant
Jan Lamprecht - 7/13/2005
Zimbabwe MP Roy Bennett, who punched another MP affiliated with President
Robert Mugabe's Zanu(PF) Party and went to jail for it, recently said that
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change "lacks aggression" in their
fight against Mugabe. This is exactly what I have been saying for years. The
MDC had many golden opportunities to achieve victory, but somehow they
manage to squander it. Most importantly, the MDC think they can hold a few
news conferences, organize a couple of strikes and Mugabe will be on his
knees, begging them for their terms of surrender. What nonsense! The MDC
needs to turn itself into a militant organization, or at least create an
armed wing. If they follow a strategy of creating a secret armed wing, yet
distancing themselves officially from it, they could actually have something
going here. There are millions of Zimbabweans outside Zimbabwe - thanks to
Mugabe. An armed wing could be created anywhere which is far from Mugabe's
CIO. An armed wing could be created in Britain, Europe, Australia or the
USA.

The Black Zimbabweans I dealt with some years ago told me that there were
certain senior persons in the MDC who supported military action. They even
named a few for me. But I never had contact with them, so I cannot vouch for
the accuracy of this claim.

On the other hand, I also saw some Black anti-Mugabe activists lining their
own pockets, including the money they stole from me, which I donated to them
for some specific purposes! That destroyed my interest in ever helping them
ever again.

At the time when I worked with the opposition, I raised the issue that
Mugabe would use his intelligence to penetrate the MDC, put traitors and
cause infighting and problems, as well as possibly even take over of the
political party. We did wonder if Mugabe could break up the MDC from within.
I thought it was a very serious concern.

I have also been wondering if the "doves" of the MDC, who never want to
oppose Mugabe in any way that actually matters, aren't themselves Mugabe
plants who are trying to prevent an MDC victory?

Will the MDC ever beat Mugabe? I honestly can't see it if they continue with
their current tactics. Mugabe will finish them off bit by bit, until there's
nothing left.

Iff the MDC does fall apart, we can learn some things from it:

1) It will still show that there is a viable opposition to Mugabe. There are
millions of unhappy, angry people out there who want the dictatorship gone.

2) Maybe somebody should form a new political party, but one which is much
more militant and aggressive, or which plays both sides of the spectrum -
i.e. the Political, on the one hand, and a separate armed wing which plays
the military hand - and the two would be disconnected from each other.

3) Zimbabwe needs is a man brave enough to stand up and face Mugabe's
bullets - and Roy Bennett has proven himself to be a man who can do that.
Bennett would be a fiery leader who could lead from the front and achieve
amazing things.

Bennett is right - all this pussy-footing with Mugabe must come to an end,
and the dictator must be taken down, regardless of the ferocity of the
resultant war. This is the only way to get Mugabe out. Mugabe will rig every
election - he has proven many times that he's not interested in Democracy,
and therefore the only logical recourse now is military force. The world
would cheer Zimbabweans if they brought down the dictator and established a
democracy. The current regime is crumbling, and its only remaining support
comes from the ANC in South Africa.

In my view, if the Zimbabweans have the will to take on Mugabe, and the ANC
comes riding in on its horse to save that old tyrant, then South Africans
should organize a resistance against our own government here, so as to
undermine their support for the undemocratic, unlawful dictatorship in
Zimbabwe. Make no mistake of it - Mugabe is extremely unpopular in South
Africa, even among the Black masses. Mugabe and Mbeki cannot hold both
fronts.

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Human rights campaigner Judith Todd says Mugabe must be forced into
exile

Full text:

Transcript of "Hotseat" with Violet Gonda of SW Radio Africa talking to
Judith Todd and Professor Stanford Mukasa broadcast on July 12th 2005

Violet: International pressure is mounting against Robert Mugabe. The
latest news is that he has agreed to hold talks with the leader of the
opposition Morgan Tsvangirai after pressure from Nigerian President
Olesegun Obasanjo. But, Zimbabweans are sceptical about Mugabe's
sincerity in entering talks with the MDC, especially since it's not the
first time that he has agreed to hold talks, only to change his mind
later. What is even more worrying is that people in Zimbabwe's
political leadership seem to know nothing about Mugabe agreeing when I
contacted them.   ZANU Officials refused to comment and William Bango,
Tsvangirai's personal assistant, said it's improper and immature for
Tsvangirai to comment now as he has not had any contact with the
Nigerian leader since the announcement was made. So, to debate the
issues in the programme 'Hotseat', we have political commentator
Professor Stanford Mukasa and Judith Todd, a long time human rights
campaigner and daughter of former Rhodesian Prime Minister, the late Sir
Garfield Todd. I first asked Professor Mukasa to comment about the fact
that no one in Zimbabwe seems to be talking about the talks.

Professor Mukasa: well, in the first place I am surprised that the
personal assistant to the President of the MDC says they have not heard
anything about what appears to have been widely publicised news, namely
that Obasanjo, Nigerian President, has managed to get Mugabe to agree to
talks with the MDC. So at this point, whether the talks are on or not
on remains to be addressed. However, we believe that there might be
some basis to the fact that the talks are underway - some preparations
for talks are underway.   Now, if we can go a step further, and assuming
that there will be talks, I think at this point many Zimbabweans are
likely to be sceptical about the outcome of such talks. Mugabe, right
now is deeply entrenched in his ways. There is no turning back for him.
He is about three years away from retirement and he does not see, I
don't think he is in a position or mood to compromise or to enter into
any talks. Remember, he has previously agreed to talk with the MDC, but
he cancelled that at the last minute. So, I don't see anything right
now that would make Mugabe - he might agree to the talks, but I don't
see him conceding much. He is close to his retirement now, he is 81
years old. It's not like he is just starting in politics, but he is
just about to exit the political scene.

Violet: Right, now Judith do you agree with Professor Mukasa who says
that it seems like we've been here before with this issue of talks?
What is your reading of the situation.

Judith Todd: I'm enormously relieved to hear Professor Mukasa talking as
he is one of the few people who is looking at reality in the face. You
know, we've just got to face the facts, as we are talking at this moment
people are dying in Zimbabwe; the only thing we don't know is in what
numbers are they dying. I'm afraid that Presidents Obasanjo and Mbeki
have left it too late and there are only two things that they can do to
practically alter and rescue the tragedy that Zimbabwe is in. Number
one is to offer asylum to Mugabe and number two is to immediately
concentrate on getting aid quickly to the brutalised people of Zimbabwe.
If Mugabe is allowed to stay in power until the end of this year we know
now that 25% of the people who are just alive now in Zimbabwe, our
population, will be dead. So now is the time not to be taken off down
these old tracks again, as Professor Mukasa says. We have to face up to
reality, and one way forward is of course Mugabe won't budge but we can
start the process of plea bargaining with the people upon whom his
support he rests. From the smallest, like the captive Minister of Home
Affairs, Kembo Mohadi, to the Kingmaker; Soloman Mujuru. We have to act
now and get Mugabe out of the way - no talks.

Violet: But still, how can we do that? Because I'll go back to the same
issue that we are talking about, you know, that African leaders seem to
think they can drag Mugabe to a room and force him to talk, but still,
how can we even force ZANU PF to do the things that you are calling for
Judith, because is it not the case that no one can force Mugabe to make
any concessions?

Judith Todd: Someone needs to start spelling out and keep spelling out
what is facing President Mugabe and his accomplices inexorably, and that
is that they are already on the way to prosecution for crimes against
humanity. We need to get the UN and the Commonwealth to start spelling
this out, day after day, every meeting. I mean they are almost on their
knees now. But the problem is; it doesn't really matter what happens to
them. What matters is the people who are dying now in Zimbabwe.

Violet: Do you agree Professor Mukasa? Should we not waste our time
talking about talks and get these other international groups to put
pressure on Mugabe to be offered asylum elsewhere? What do you think?

Professor Mukasa: Yes, I agree, I do agree. But, I see some pressure
coming on to Mugabe to accept or agree to talks. Whether or not that
would be a waste of time or not, I like to think that it would most
likely be a waste of time. Because the way I see it happening is that
if Mugabe agrees to talks with the MDC he will be negotiating to impose
his own programme for exiting the corridors of political power. We now
know that some documents that have been leaked, that Mugabe's plan is
continue in power until 2008 and at that point, hand over power to Joyce
Mujuru and give Joyce Mujuru some time to consolidate her position in
power until the year 2010. So I think the plan is to combine both the
Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Now, yes, I agree that
ultimately it is a waste of time because Mugabe just sees his own way,
he sees what he wants; he doesn't see other people's points of view,
that has been his nature for the past 25 years and we know that the
leopard does not change his spots. But, what I would say is just for
the purposes of recording history, one should give him an opportunity.
If he should agree to come to the conference table then some demands
should be placed on him there and then. But then the talks should not be
a replacement of other things that Judith Todd has talked about. Let
there be a multi- faceted, a multi-pronged assault on Mugabe. If is
going to be talks, if is going to be pressure from the international
community, if it is going to be persuasion from his close friends like
Dos Santos and the former president of Mozambique, that's fine. If it
is going to be a group of eminent persons like Nelson Mandela, Desmond
Tutu. Let there be a multi-faceted, a multi-pronged assault on him. One
of those blows, if I may put it that way, is likely to land on the
target. But I do certainly agree that at this point it is simply too
late. He has so much blood on his hands, he has committed so many
crimes, really he is a criminal and he does not really deserve to be
negotiating the future of the country that he has so callously
destroyed. I mean you have got the lives of people that have been
destroyed.   But, at this point, if he should say I am ready to talk,
well, give him the chance to do so. It reminds me of De Klerk, towards
the end of apartheid days, very few people thought that De Klerk might
be willing to talk. Or John Vorster during the Ian Smith regime who
surprised everybody by bringing pressure on the Ian Smith regime. So,
they can, sometimes, in history, be those rare occasions where some of
the worst dictators, at the very last minute, sort of see the light.

Violet: Judith what do you think ? Some say the international community
wants to see a government of national unity in Zimbabwe and let's say
the two parties meet and go to the negotiating table, is a power sharing
government the solution if that happens, if the two parties meet?

Judith Todd: I think if we were lucky enough, or unfortunate enough to
be at, for example the Caledonia Transit Camp tonight, they would say
'please may we have some food and some water and some hope, will you
please stop this man extinguishing the very last spark of life that we
have'. And, talks will kill people. I agree with the Professor, there
should be a multi, multi pronged assault on the evil regime in Zimbabwe,
but for God's sake, no more constitutional conferences, no more quiet
diplomacy, for once let's start thinking about the people who are dying
at the hands of Mugabe and ZANU PF and try and save those lives.

Violet: So how can we make the world sit and listen?

Judith Todd: Oh it's happening already. I mean what's been happening
the last month is dramatic compared to the last year. For example
tonight, on South African television, I've been watching. Alright, it's
only a few seconds but it's better than nothing. The delegation of
religious leaders who are in Zimbabwe right now, talking about their
horror of what they are finding. It is beginning. It is beginning to
be impossible for President Mbeki etc to any longer conceal what is
happening in Zimbabwe.

Violet: And. Professor Mukasa, many Zimbabweans actually say that Mbeki
has betrayed the people of Zimbabwe and that South Africans actually
have everything in their power to bring Mugabe and his henchmen by
whatever means it takes, including embargoes on fuel and power, and
loans from the bank. Do you agree with this?

Professor Mukasa: Yes certainly. Mbeki has certainly let down the
people of Zimbabwe. Why? Because of his reverence to Mugabe. For some
reason he tends to equate Mugabe with the likes of Nelson Mandela and
Walter Sisulu. So what he sees in Mugabe is a freedom fighter, a
nationalist who bought independence to Zimbabwe, he doesn't see anything
else. That's all he sees in Mugabe. With all this evidence surrounding
him, he just doesn't see anything else, that's all he sees. The same
thing with the New York based African American group called the
September Movement, they say Mugabe right or wrong, we will support him
no matter what it takes. So there is this fanatical, this obsession
with Mugabe's record. For some reason they don't seem to get it that
Mugabe has over stayed his presence in Zimbabwe, he has over cashed that
glamour and glory that he gained in the liberation days. The most
astounding thing was when Joshua Nkomo had to flee; in a free Zimbabwe,
in and independent Zimbabwe, he had to flee! When the former liberation
war hero, Garfield Todd was treated in such a callous manner, when
Judith Todd was treated just like trash. I mean, people for their
illustrious history in the struggle for independence. Here are people
who stood by the Zimbabweans, and now they are told 'you are not a
citizen, you cannot vote'. So you can see Mugabe has long deviated from
that traditional virtue of being a nationalist leader. Mbeki does not
see all those things. Mbeki simply says, and this is the same situation
with other African leaders, they say 'well, whether he has done right
or wrong he is still a leader, we still respect him on that basis and we
are not going to look at anything else'. So this is where we are, and
quite frankly, to keep on harping on at the African leaders to say you
must do something about Mugabe, sometimes I feel like it's just a waste
of time.

Violet: And talking about what people can do, now, Judith you're a
campaigner for human rights and I understand that you are actually going
to New Zealand to expose what is happening in Zimbabwe. Can you tell us
a bit more about this?

Judith Todd: Yes I can. I was invited to speak to the Press Club of Cape
Town last week which I did and I gave them what I thought was a fairly
simple speech, but they were staggered by things which apparently people
don't know. For example, there is no historical reality in the ANC
saying that they've got a long history with ZANU PF. They haven't. The
ANC stood with ZAPU and Joshua Nkomo and Mugabe and ZANU stood with PAC.
Well, just little things like that really startled people, because it
undermines the whole thesis of ANC support for Mugabe etc. Anyway,
after that speech, which apparently then circulated, I got an invitation
from New Zealand, where Henry Olonga should now have arrived, to combine
with him in standing against the proposed New Zealand Cricket Tour to
Zimbabwe. You know that this - this, we can call him now I think, a mass
murderer, Robert Mugabe, is actually patron of Zimbabwe cricket. And
so, I am happily going there to do what I was actually doing almost 40
years ago with Dennis Brutus. We were in New Zealand together then
campaigning against the New Zealand Rugby side touring apartheid South
Africa . What has changed between now and then, is that we now have an
ANC government in South Africa which came to power with the help of
things like sanctions against apartheid South Africa. And we find them
now saying that sport and politics don't mix and that we should treat
evil regimes, like Mugabe's regime, quietly. Anyway, some of us,
fortunately Professor Mukasa included, and Henry Olonga included do not
see it like that. We don't think that evil is altered by the complexion
of someone. So I will continue doing what I can.

Violet: We have had several international tournaments, including
cricket tournaments postponed. But it seems these do not actually stop
Mugabe. What impact do you think stopping this tournament would have on
Mugabe? And, also, the rest of the world? What action exactly must be
demanded from the rest of the outside world?

Judith Todd: Actions from the outside world: start proceedings
immediately against Mugabe and his accomplices on the grounds of crimes
against humanity. Number two, coming back to what impact the
cancellation of the New Zealand cricket tour would have, as you know,
our country now is in complete darkness. The regime there is able to
conceal news of most kinds from most people. One thing they would not
be able to conceal is the non-arrival of the cricket team..

Violet: And Professor Mukasa, what action must be demanded of the
outside world?

Professor Mukasa: I think the international community must treat Mugabe
as a terrorist; as a criminal. The way they treated Slobodan, they way
they treated Pol Pot's regime, the way they treated Idi Amin's regime.
That is where Mugabe belongs and there should be an increase in what I
call targeted sanctions. Just barring Mugabe and his cabinet Ministers
from coming to Europe or to North America does not mean that Mugabe does
not do business. He has got friends, he has got relatives who are doing
business for him. So, to deal with Mugabe you must also get to the
roots; his friends, his relatives and all those people who are
associated with Mugabe. Two, there must be an international campaign
against purchasing produce from these seized commercial farms. Many of
these ZANU PF officials who have grabbed those farms, like the coffee
from Bennett's farm, they are now selling it and they are making money
out of it and the international community should not be part that. So
the targeted sanctions must be expanded and extended. Here I call upon
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora; if you find any goods, any produce that
comes from Zimbabwe, you must alert the community, you must alert the
owners of the shop and tell them that these goods are stolen goods and
you are trading in stolen goods. So, there must be a concerted effort,
not just by the international community, but by the Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora to isolate Mugabe.   We are planning right now a major campaign
against Mugabe when he comes to New York in September. What we are
planning to do is to collect as many pictures about the atrocities that
Mugabe has committed and we are going to blitz the United Nations, send
them to every delegate at the United Nations and say this man that you
are giving a red carpet welcome to, this is what he has done to his own
people. In as far as stopping the tournaments or cricket tours to
Zimbabwe, yes, they by themselves may not stop Mugabe, but we have got a
saying in Shona that is astunya arwa, what it means is that no matter
the small contribution you have made; it is a contribution towards the
liberation struggle. You know not one act will stop him. The
campaigns going on in South Africa, the Vigil taking place outside the
Zimbabwean High Commission in London, all of those are small isolated
acts of defiance they will continue to have an impact on Zimbabwe.

Violet: We are talking here about the international community, but we
also need to realise that people inside Zimbabwe have also got that
responsibility to do something. Now, it's understood that people at
home and abroad are thoroughly fed up with Mugabe, how can the MDC take
advantage of this situation Judith?

Judith Todd: I think frankly at the moment people in Zimbabwe have to
concentrate on trying to keep alive. Therefore I think the
responsibility on the rest of and what the Professor calls the Diaspora
becomes very, very great. We've often underestimated the cunning of
Mugabe and his accomplices. At a stroke he has done away with the
possibility of urban uprising which was very, very much on the cards.
And we must recognise that the situation now is very different to what
it was under Smith. Under Smith we had friends around us, we had Zambia
we had Tanzania and we had Mozambique from which we could act; we do not
any longer. So we have to refer to international bodies now to start
these international processes of law against these criminals.

Violet: And, Professor, a final word?

Professor Mukasa: Yes, I know Zimbabweans are under tremendous pressure
inside Zimbabwe, but I still have hope having seen what happened in
Kurgistan, having seen what happened in Ukraine, in Haiti, in Colombia
and Brazil and all those others, where people, some of them even poorer
than Zimbabweans said 'no, I cannot take this any more'. I know it's a
bit idealistic to talk about mass uprising, it's a bit idealistic to
talk about mass protests, but if we could get just one thousand people
onto the streets, if we could do that maybe that could go a long way in
showing Mugabe. Mugabe has done everything to provoke people and at this
point if that can happen, if the MDC can try to mobilise people into a
concerted mass action. In other words, I don't want to give up on the
mass action. I still believe, although the economic conditions as
terrible as they are, I still believe that the people of Zimbabwe have
the energy, have the motivation to rise against this. I know people
will be killed and I know the fear is very real and I know not many
people will be ready to stand up and do what Lovemore Madhuku and his
courageous group and do what the Women of Zimbabwe Arise have been
doing. But, if we can look at the Women of Zimbabwe Arise and if we can
look at Lovemore Madhuku's group as a point of inspiration as a pointer
to what people can actually do. If we can look at the supporters of Roy
Bennett at Chimanimani, if we can look at how they were able to stand up
against some of the most evil, most vile soldiers armed to the teeth -
the fact that they were able to stand up against them, those are points
of resistance that I'm hoping should inspire all of us.

Violet: Well, thank you very much Judith Todd and Professor Mukasa

Professor Mukasa: Thank you very much and good bye

Judith Todd: Thank you everyone.

ENDS

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Reuters

Fuel shortages hit Zimbabwe tobacco sales
Wed Jul 13, 2005 4:01 PM GMT
By Lucia Mutikani

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's tobacco sales have plunged as farmers struggle
to deliver their crop to auctions because of an acute shortage of fuel,
industry officials said on Wednesday, further jeopardising the country's
economic recovery prospects.

Tobacco is one of Zimbabwe's major foreign currency earners, accounting for
about a third of the country's earnings, but production has dropped sharply
in the past four years -- largely blamed on government seizures of
white-owned farms for resettlement by landless blacks.

During its heyday as the world's second-largest tobacco exporter, tobacco
earned the country as much as $400 million. Export earnings declined to
$130.2 million last year from just over $201 million in 2003.

Zimbabwe -- already facing foreign exchange shortages, high inflation and
more than 70 percent unemployment -- is experiencing its worst fuel crisis
in years with petrol stations going dry for weeks, grounding public
transport and hitting an industrial sector already operating well below
capacity.

Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF) marketing manager Lodwin Gatsi told Reuters:
"Deliveries have slowed down to about a quarter of potential sales. On
Monday, we sold 100,000 kg. If things were normal we would have sold four
times as much."

He said the TSF had secured fuel supplies, resulting in some improvement in
deliveries.

"Unless things change in terms of diesel supply we will need to go back to
the authorities for more supplies," he said.

Since the start of the auction season in April, tobacco exports have brought
in $56.7 million. Depending on the fuel situation, the auction session is
scheduled to end in late August or early September.

"Our target for sales this year is 80 million kg. So far we have received 39
million kg and the auction season is almost through," said Gatsi.

Tobacco sales totalled 69 million kgs last year. Tobacco production has
plunged from 236 million kgs in 2000. Gatsi said that due to low prices
farmers withheld their crop when the season started in April, but they had
improved and could reach the $2/kg level.

On Tuesday, the price was around $1.84/kg, still lower than the $1.98/kg
fetched during the same period last year.

The decline in tobacco sales volumes comes at a time when the government is
pushing to revive an economy which has suffered six years of recession.

The government is trying to use agriculture to spearhead the recovery, but a
poor harvest due to a late season drought has forced the central bank to
revise growth estimates for this year.

Growth is now expected to average between 2 and 2.5 percent this year from
previous estimates of 3 and 5 percent. But analysts reckon these estimates
are too optimistic, given the persistent fuel and foreign currency
shortages.

Zimbabwe is reeling from its worst economic crisis since independence from
Britain in 1980, blamed on Mugabe's policies. Mugabe says the economy is a
victim of sabotage by opponents opposed to his farm seizures.

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Source: Minority Rights Group International (MRG)

Date: 12 Jul 2005

Zimbabwe: Forced eviction - a policy of oppression
Outrage over the Zimbabwean Government's forced eviction and destruction of
the homes of thousands of families has rightly caused international
condemnation and led to renewed calls for sanctions. But, as MRG points out,
forced eviction has long been a policy of choice employed by government to
deal with minorities and opposition groups, or those communities simply in
the way of its development plans. Forced eviction is all too often carried
out with impunity in the name of clearing 'illegal' settlements and
activities, progress and development, and even national security.

Forced eviction has devastated the lives of individuals, families and whole
communities and can cause massive trauma and psychological and emotional
distress. It does not only takes away homes, it often leads to loss of
employment or livelihood, and has major implications for economic, social
and cultural rights. The examples below demonstrate how forced eviction has
been used, ironically even by the UK government, in pursuit of wider policy
goals or as punishment against communities or opposition groups. At an
extreme level forced eviction can be judged to constitute 'deportation' or
'forcible transfer of population' which are now well established as 'crimes
against humanity' under international customary law.

Elaborating on Article 11.1 (Right to adequate housing) of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in General Comment
No.7, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) usefully
expands on the issue of "forced eviction" and its prohibition under all but
exceptional circumstances as allowed by law. It states that:

The term "forced evictions" as used throughout this general comment is
defined as the permanent or temporary removal against their will of
individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which
they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of
legal or other protection. The prohibition on forced evictions does not,
however, apply to evictions carried out by force in accordance with the law
and in conformity with the provisions of the International Covenants on
Human Rights.

Elaborating further on the broader human rights implications of forced
eviction, the CESCR states that:

The practice of forced evictions is widespread and affects persons in both
developed and developing countries. Owing to the interrelationship and
interdependency which exist among all human rights, forced evictions
frequently violate other human rights. Thus, while manifestly breaching the
rights enshrined in the Covenant, the practice of forced evictions may also
result in violations of civil and political rights, such as the right to
life, the right to security of the person, the right to non-interference
with privacy, family and home and the right to the peaceful enjoyment of
possessions.

http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(symbol)/CESCR+General+Comment+7.En?OpenDocument

In early 2005, thousands of Ogoni and members of other minority communities
were evicted from their homes in a Port Harcourt shantytown. The Rivers
State government and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) are accused by the
communities of demolishing their waterfront homes to facilitate planned oil
company expansion. The community was evicted and the homes demolished
without adequate notice or compensation. Some residents have suffered a
second displacement since they were living in the shantytown following
earlier destruction of their village homes due to military activities in
Ogoni territories. Many had been resident in the shanty-town for over 10
years. Ogoni rights groups state that residents have been left to fend for
themselves and have been forced to move to other shantytowns or return to
villages where their future is uncertain.

http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=363

The Ilois people from the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean claim their
right to return to the island of Diego Garcia and for compensation for their
enforced exile. The Ilois were forcibly relocated to Mauritius and the
Seychelles in the 1960s and early 70s when the British government leased the
island to the USA for 50 years and it was subsequently turned into a
military base. Many of the islanders were left destitute and discriminated
against by their removal from their homes, and had to wait for seven years
before the British government granted them any financial assistance to
resettle. However, the islanders took hope from a November 2000 High Court
decision that declared their removal from the island illegal and granted
them the right to full British citizenship, opening the way to their current
international legal actions. Some have subsequently travelled to Britain
only to find themselves caught in a cycle of temporary accommodation, lack
of money and inability to find employment.

http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=321

The Endorois Community have lived for centuries around the Lake Bogoria
region of Kenya. In the 1970s, the Government of Kenya, without effectively
consulting the Community, gazetted the Community's traditional lands for the
purposes of creating a game reserve. The Community were told by the
Government to vacate the land and were forced to move. Not only were the
Community's property rights violated by the eviction, but spiritual,
cultural and economic ties to the land were severed. The Endorois people's
health, livelihood, religion and culture are all intimately connected with
their traditional land, as grazing lands, sacred religious sites and plants
used for traditional medicine are all situated around the shores of Lake
Bogoria. In the creation of the game reserve, and the forced eviction of the
Endorois, the Government disregarded national law, Constitutional provisions
and importantly, numerous African Charter Articles, including the right to
property, free disposition of natural resources, the right to religion, the
right to cultural life and the right to development.

http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=282

Roma communities in Europe have often been victims of forced evictions.
Approximately eighty families living in different parts of Patras in Greece,
for example, were subjected to forced evictions and demolition of their
homes or threatened with evictions. The homes of Roma families living in
Riganokampos were destroyed on 29 August 2001. Thirty-five families of Roma,
who were Albanian migrants, were evicted from their homes in the same area
in August 2004. Both evictions were described as 'cleaning operations'.
While in the second case, two families of Roma of Greek origin, living next
to the Albanian Roma, were given compensation in order to transfer their
sheds to a neighbouring plot of land; no such arrangements were made with
the Roma who had migrated from Albania, even though they were legal
residents in Greece. Matters related to the very serious state of race
relations in Patras have repeatedly been brought to the attention of the
Greek authorities by domestic and international organisations.

http://www.minorityrights.org/International/int_stat_detail.asp?ID=97

A landmark Indian legal case regarding forced evictions was brought in
Maharashtra by poor pavement and slum dwellers who were forcibly evicted
from their shelters without compensation by Bombay Municipal Corporation.
Under India's domestic legislation (and contrary to international human
rights law), rights such as food and shelter are not considered as
'Fundamental Rights' but rather 'Directive Principles', which are not
considered enforceable in the courts. However, the Indian High Court
established that the eviction threatened the pavement dwellers' ability to
earn even a subsistence living and therefore to feed and clothe themselves
and their families and thus that adequate shelter was a necessary
precondition for the fundamental right to life. It was therefore judged
illegal to deprive individuals of even basic shelter without adequate
compensation or restitution.

Sources of further information:

Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)
http://www.cohre.org

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New Zimbabwe

'Mugabe ordered killing of wife's lover'

By Mduduzi Mathuthu
Last updated: 07/13/2005 19:31:26
PETER Pamire, the black empowerment advocate was killed by the Central
Intelligence Organisation's hit squads over an affair with President Robert
Mugabe's wife, Grace -- one of the hitmen involved in his murder reveals
today.

Pamire's death in a freak car accident in 1996 has never been solved.

Government doctors said he died as a result of an accident caused by a small
ditch which sent his Pajero 4-wheel drive rolling several times before
hitting a tree. He was driving towards his Borrowdale home.

However, experts from Mitsubishi, manufacturers of Pajero dismissed both
conclusions by police that the accident had either been caused by a broken
break pipe or the small ditch on Addington Lane where the crash happened.

The agent -- referred to here as Agent K -- arrived in Britain last month
after quitting the intelligence services.

He told New Zimbabwe.com: "I couldn't live with the fact that I was party to
a murder of an innocent man directly authorised by President Mugabe. I am
doing this for posterity."

Agent K has offered to testify via video link if the inquiry into Pamire's
death is re-opened.

After New Zimbabwe.com handed Pamire's brother, Ignatius, a dossier of our
sensational interview with Mugabe's man, he said: "So many lies have been
told about my brother's death and this man (Agent K) could be the missing
link to getting justice for my brother."

Talking exclusively to New Zimbabwe.com, Agent K revealed:

. A fellow black empowerment guru had told President Mugabe that his wife
was dating Pamire.

. Pamire's wife was offered $4,5 million for revealing Pamire's itinerary,
which she declined.

. President Mugabe personally authorised the CIO to "deal" with Pamire, a
euphemism for "kill" in intelligence circles.

. Pamire was actually SHOT, contrary to what the police and doctors claimed
at his inquest.

He said: "Peter had been dating Mrs Mugabe for a while and it was his friend
X (fellow black empowerment activist) who went and told Mugabe of the news.
At the time, X was working for the CIO and had attended several workshops in
Bindura with us.

"Following the disclosure, President Mugabe called a high level intelligence
meeting and ordered that Pamire should be dealt with. It was clear he meant
we must kill Pamire.

"From that point, I was part of a special team sent to kill Pamire.
Initially, we were first going to interview him and so we went to his
offices on Five Avenue but he only spoke to us via intercom. He wouldn't let
us in and we left."

A few weeks later, the CIO learnt Pamire was to leave for South Africa on
business and approached his wife for his itinerary. They offered her $4,2
million for the information, which she declined.

"But she did tell us when Pamire was returning," revealed agent K. "On the
day Pamire touched down at the airport, we were there. I was driving a Mazda
626 Executive and we had another Isuzu Twin Cab.

"Pamire's wife was there and as they left, we trailed Pamire as the wife
went a separate route, apparently to go to a 'baby shower'.

"We trailed Pamire onto Addington Lane and a colleague, Lewis Mucheke, who
was sitting on the front passenger side, pulled his gun and shot Pamire. The
Pajero rolled, rolled and rolled before hitting a tree.

"The CIO HQ, meanwhile, rang the ambulance services to tell them no vehicle
was to be sent to the scene of the accident until the go-ahead was given.
That allowed us to cover our tracks. Nathan Shamuyarira (jnr), another
agent, took a rod and traced the path of the bullet which had gone in from
just under the back neck up to just under the eye.

"That rod effectively removed any impression Pamire had been shot. Usually,
post mortems where the CIO is responsible for the death of an individual are
carried out by doctors who work for the CIO, and will generally give a false
account of the circumstances under which an individual died."

His account of Pamire wearing "blue jeans, a black jacket and a T-Shirt
written Zambezi," has been passed as true by Pamire's family.

Agent K says they sped off from the scene, their mission accomplished and
sure Pamire had died.

Pamire's brother, Ignatius, said: "When my brother died, I was probably the
last person to know. Our relatives in the rural areas knew before I did,
although I was in Harare at the time and could have easily rushed to Peter's
aid. It smacks of a deliberate attempt to keep me in the dark.

"It is clear something happened to my brother, and there was a time delay to
ensure no-one knew what had happened until my brother had been placed in a
fridge at the mortuary."

Agent K has quit the CIO and fled to the UK.

Our dossier is available to the Zimbabwe government and Pamire's family.
Agent K will testify on camera, if required.

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Women harassed

      By Tichaona Sibanda
      13 July 2005

      Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena has denied a story we've been
carrying on our website that some members of the police force were harassing
women wearing trousers and mini-skirts. We have managed to confirm that the
story is true and have spoken to one of the victims in Bulawayo.

      Priscilla Dube of Emakhandeni said this practice has been happening
and she was herself told 'to go and dress up' when police officers in
Emakhandeni saw her wearing jeans.

      Dube said the same officers also ordered a boy walking in a street to
tuck in his shirt, and told another lady who was in a mini-skirt to go back
home and dress properly.

      On Monday our correspondent Themba Nkosi had told us that police were
harassing and beating up women wearing trousers and mini-skirts in Plumtree
during operation murambatsvina.

      This was however strongly denied by Assistant Commissioner Bvudzijena
who is well known for refusing to take any questions from SW Radio Africa.

      The self-styled 'comical Ali' of the ZRP instead issued a stunning
rebuttal by proclaiming 'The Zimbabwe Republic Police does not have a
culture of assaulting people. Instead, the organisation has nurtured a
respect for human rights.

      This is contrary to what Priscilla Dube told us when the so-called
officers from an 'organisation that has nurtured a respect for human rights'
abused her human rights for wearing trousers!

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

MDC demands Mudede be thrown behind bars

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Jul-14

THE MDC has demanded that Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede should be
imprisoned for "deliberately violating High Court conditions regarding the
surrendering of the hotly disputed 2002 Presidential ballot boxes".
This follows the surrender of ballot boxes for Rushinga constituency on
Tuesday, way after the deadline set for the boxes to have been lodged with
the High Court in Harare.
The party's secretary for legal affairs, David Coltart, told a news
conference at the party's headquarters in Harare yesterday that Mudede
should be imprisoned immediately for contempt of court.
The High Court had in May found Mudede in contempt of court for failure to
surrender ballot boxes for all constituencies, in defiance of seven court
orders.
The RG was slapped with a two-month wholly suspended jail term on condition
that all the voting materials were brought in within 10 days. The court also
fined him $5 million.
Coltart said in the interest of justice, Mudede's suspended jail term must
automatically come into effect.
Party president Morgan Tsvangirai also addressed the same press conference.
"From the above, it is abundantly clear that the Registrar-General in his
personal capacity has not fulfilled the condition as set out in the High
Court order in case No. HC 879/ 03 that he brings to Harare the entire
Presidential ballot boxes within 10 days of the date of service of the order
on him.
"It is confirmed that the order was served on him on 8 June 2005. Since
then, the 10-day period stipulated in the order has long since expired.
Consequently, the suspended sentence as set out above in the High Court Case
No 879/03 automatically comes into effect," Coltart said.
He added that they were also disturbed to receive communication from the
High Court to the effect that the Rushinga boxes were brought to the court
already open.
On allegations of an alleged break-in at the court and subsequent tampering
with voting materials, Coltart said it was hard to imagine how that could
happen considering the security at the High Court.
Yesterday, Mudede refused to comment, referring all questions to the
Attorney-General's Office. The State lawyers could not be reached.
"That involves court issues, so talk to my lawyers. Even if I have an
answer, I cannot talk because that would be sub judice," said Mudede.
Turning to a constitutional appeal the MDC lodged in the Supreme Court over
the Presidential petition on Tuesday, Coltart said this was because the High
Court was failing to finalise the issue, in breach of the applicant's
rights.
The petition was filed in 2002 after President Mugabe emerged winner by over
400 000 votes.
"There is no more serious a case than a challenge to the election of a
President. It is the most serious case our courts can consider and the
electorate should know," said Coltart.
He also complained that the High Court had not given them reasons for
dismissing their bid to have the results nullified, after only hearing legal
arguments.
He said the reasons were key for purposes of appealling.
He also defended the appeals in the Supreme Court by MDC losing candidates
in the March general elections pending finalisation of the constitutional
matter challenging the criteria used to appoint Electoral Court judges.
Tsvangirai said although they were searching for a legal solution to the
petitions, they were being met with political obstacles.
On recent outbursts by former Chimanimani legislator Roy Bennett that the
opposition had been hijacked, Tsvangirai said that could only come from a
frustrated person.
He said Bennett was probably frustrated after coming from a one-year jail
term, imposed by Parliament for assaulting justice minister Patrick
Chinamasa, only to discover that "change had not come as expected".
Although there had been contacts with the presidents of Nigeria and South
Africa over the problems in Zimbabwe and a possible way out of that
quagmire, Tsvangirai said there were no plans yet for talks with the
government.

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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Government seeks ways to replace bearer cheques

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Jul-14

THE government is consulting widely with relevant stakeholders on how to
replace bearer cheques with bank notes, the deputy Minister of Finance,
David Chapfika, said yesterday.
He told Parliament that the final decision on the issue would be based on
"economic fundamentals."
"At this stage consultations are underway to assess the need for any such
change," Chapfika said during a question and answer session.
He was replying independent Tsholotsho MP Jonathan Moyo who had questioned
the validity of the bearer cheques in circulation considering that they
expired on December 31 2004.
The former information minister also wanted to know when $10 000 and $20 000
notes will be introduced "to avoid problems associated with the temporary
life of bearer cheques."
However, Chapfika said the expiry date was not an issue since it had been
extended to the end of the year through provisions of the Finance Act. On
another issue, the Deputy Minister of Youth Development and Employment
Creation, Saviour Kasukuwere, said to date more than 18 000 youths had
graduated from the national youth training service since its launch five
years ago.
The programme began soon after the 2000 general elections and was championed
by the late minister Border Gezi.
"It has created a pool of highly respected workers who are in demand in both
the private and public sector. to date it has produced 18 475 graduates,"
Kasukuwere said.
Of these "Green Bombers", he said 2 217 were from Harare, 1 939 (Bulawayo)
and 2 105 (Manicaland,) adding the majority have secured jobs. Kasukuwere
was responding to questions from MDC Kuwadzana MP, Nelson Chamisa.
The opposition party's national youth chairman wanted to know whether the
programmes would be continued considering the country's precarious financial
state.
Chamisa also wanted to know why the youths were being "indoctrinated with
Zanu PF history." He also challenged Kasukuwere to spell out the benefits of
the programme to the nation.
Kasukuwere denied that the national youth service nearly collapsed due to
inadequate funding dismissing the assertions as "unfounded".

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"Stoppez les" . "ils sont les voleurs de la Repubblique"

When Awadi, a Senegalese hip hop singer, sang the song "Stoppez les" .
"ils sont les voleurs de la Repubblique" (Stop them, they are the thieves
of the Republic) at the concert he's held at the Seven Art Theatre in Harare
few weeks ago, I thought he was quite brave to sing it, thinking it was
addressed particularly to Zimbabwe's case. But in reality his is a song
that could be sang almost anywhere in Africa because it could relate to the
many current situations in the various African countries.

When we ask ourselves how come South Africa, the African Union, SADC or, for
that matter, any African Country do not condemn (interfering would be to
much of a big word) the acts of the Zimbabwean Government in the last five
years, the basic matters of ethics and integrity come up. I have for the
past few years voraciously read and followed any article, report or
documentary concerning Zimbabwe and apart from seeing the criticisms of the
"horrible West", civil societies and churches (some of them), I have rarely
(Botswana is the only country in the region that I recall having sometimes
said something) seen any negative comments from Africa.

Is it not a shame that a Country that used to have one of the African
richest economies has managed become a basket case in just five years? It
doesn't matter that 3 or 4 African Countries have benefited from the loss of
Zimbabwe, having had their agricultural productions increased immensely
thanks to a bunch of the same hated "white" Zimbabweans who according to
Mugabe are the main reason for Zimbabwe's problems? Why is it that racism
is only considered if it's white against black but not the other way round?
Can any of you imagine if one day Europe starts kicking out all the Africans
because of the color of their skins?

Africans have always an answer to that: "COLONIALISM", how many more decades
do Africans think that such excuse can be used for? Until Africa refuses to
recognize the Zimbabwean tragedy there is absolutely no hope for a brighter
future in the whole continent.

Africans should simply be proud of who they are, of their own origins and of
their own past and look at anyone else from the same level with the only aim
to go forward. Africa is the richest continent in earth, with its
underground and agricultural resources, the only assistance they need is the
technical one to get things going, but most of all, what Africa needs are
leaders who put the people before themselves, not forgetting ethics and
integrity!

Africa doesn't need Ministers driving the most expensive Mercedes and
Land-Cruisers. Africa doesn't need to be represented by Rolex wearing
Ministers who's last worry is the one concerning its people. No action more
than Mugabe's Murambatsvina one, is more explicit to demonstrate how much
the President has his people welfare at hearth. Since he thinks his people
"deserve better" he destroys their homes, their bodies and their spirit
reducing them into beggars. Half of the people you come across in Harare
these days look like zombies. I cry every single day for Zimbabwe. African
leaders where are you when it comes to defending your own people from evil?

S.O.

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