Pay up or Zimbabwe deal fails, warns Biti

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Trust me or risk a coup, pleads finance minister
Australia channels cash through aid organisations

Alex Duval Smith in Cape Town
The Guardian, Friday 13 March 2009

Zimbabwe's finance minister gave warning yesterday that the country's
power-sharing government will fail, with potentially disastrous
consequences, unless international donors urgently inject cash into its
treasury.

Tendai Biti welcomed Australia's move to boost humanitarian spending by
£4.7m but said donations channelled through international aid agencies would
not save the transitional government that was sworn in last month. The
finance minister, who is also secretary general of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), said: "If we fail, the consequences will be dire,
such as a military coup or civil unrest."

Donors said their engagement depended on democratic progress. But he said:
"Our capacity to deliver is linked to economic stability and we need help.
It cannot be a chicken and egg situation; there has to be a chicken, or an
egg, first."

Biti needs to meet a civil service salary bill - including the politically
crucial police and army - of up to £35m a month out of a seriously depleted
exchequer in an economy where inflation runs into millions of per cent. He
said: "I am the treasury, I am the chancellor of the exchequer, trust me. I
guarantee money paid to the treasury will be correctly spent."

When MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister on 11
February he promised to pay salaries in hard currency. His government has so
far given a £70 bonus to all civil servants.

Tsvangirai, whose wife, Susan, died in a car accident on 6 March and was
buried on Wednesday, has temporarily handed over to the MDC deputy prime
minister, Thokozani Khupe. He is resting in South Africa with his six
children and close family after accepting a private invitation from
President Kgalema Motlanthe.

On Wednesday, Australia became the first donor country to announce an
increase in humanitarian aid - split between the British Department for
International Development and the UN children's fund, Unicef - since the
transitional government was sworn in. Diplomats said other countries would
soon follow suit, starting with Sweden, which will next week announce £7m
for a UN fundraising effort for the Red Cross. Britain, which spends £45m a
year, has yet to announce any new initiatives.

Teams from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank are in Zimbabwe to
study "how to resume relations" with a country with IMF arrears of £90m.
Yesterday at an IMF conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzanian president Jakaya
Kikwete said: "The economy is almost in freefall. All of us have to lend a
hand."

Donor countries are to meet in Washington on 20 March. A European diplomat
in Harare said donors' focus was on finding ways to increase aid while
circumventing elements in President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party who want
to divert the money. The diplomat said: "Some of the humanitarian aid money
is already earmarked for supplementing health workers' salaries. We are now
looking at how to do the same with teachers' pay."

Biti recently asked regional counterparts for $2bn (£1.4bn) over the next 10
months but was told first to sack central bank governor Gideon Gono, whose
policies were blamed for the hyperinflation.

No easy answer to question of foreign aid for Zimbabwe

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

March 13, 2009

Bronwen Maddox, World Briefing
Australia has given Britain and other opponents of Robert Mugabe a tough
decision. Should they join it in sending aid to the new Government, a pact
between Mugabe and the opposition? In doing so, they might give it
legitimacy. Should they continue to withhold help, for fear that it would
prolong Mugabe's rule?

There is no easy answer - and no single answer which could apply to every
country. If they all followed Australia's example, the flow of resources
might indeed prop up Mugabe. But if only a few did so, then there is a
chance that some of the money will reach the people it is intended to help,
without significantly helping the President who has dragged his country to
famine and cholera.

The picture is muddied, too, by Mugabe's words of commiseration with Morgan
Tsvangirai over the loss of his wife in a car crash (accidental, it seems).
Even more striking, Tsvangirai's son appeared to welcome Mugabe's words as a
genuine expression of sympathy. Given the President's brutality and agility
in clinging to power, it is a reasonable fear that he will turn recent
events to his advantage, undermining Tsvangirai with tactical condolences
for the tragedy, while making the most of Australian aid.

All the same, the Mugabe years must be drawing to a close. Yes, his exit has
been forecast many times before, but Zimbabwe's collapse cannot go on
forever. The best justification for the Australian aid is that it is a
humane gesture, which will have some impact on the victims of hunger and
disease, while doing little to prolong Mugabe's tenure, however long that
turns out to be.

The easy decision was the one that Australia made months ago: to send aid to
cholera victims through aid agencies. But Tsvangirai's
move to join a national unity Government with Mugabe gave other countries a
difficult choice. Britain issued a statement, dripping with scepticism, not
quite wishing the new alliance ill, but arguing that it did nothing to
dispel problems that Mugabe has brought.

That is still true. There is no hopeful course for Zimbabwe that includes a
place for Mugabe. There is good reason, based on his actions since he first
offered Tsvangirai a role (a concession he took months to make, even though
the Opposition won more votes) to doubt that he intends to share real power.

So outside help should remain limited. Tsvangirai has talked about needing
$5 billion to counter hyperinflation and 90 per cent unemployment. That will
prove an underestimate. But other countries should not get close to those
sums while Mugabe's intentions are in doubt - as they must be.

Bailed Roy Bennett tells of horror conditions in Mugabe jail

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

March 13, 2009

Jan Raath in Mutare
Roy Bennett, one of the right-hand men of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai - and an implacable opponent of President Mugabe - walked out of
a squalid Zimbabwean jail yesterday.

The 51-year-old Deputy Agriculture Minister-designate was arrested a month
ago - as Mr Mugabe was swearing in the Government's power-sharing Cabinet -
on allegations of "banditry, sabotage and insurgency".

Emerging from the gates of Mutare remand prison and struggling to hold back
tears yesterday, he said that his incarceration had been "a harrowing
experience".

He said: "I would not wish it on my worst enemy. There are people there who
look worse than the photographs of prisoners in Dachau and Auschwitz. They
get a handful of sadza [thick maizemeal porridge] and water with salt. Five
people died while I was there, and their bodies were collected after four or
five days. There are people there who have been awaiting trial for three
years."

Mr Bennett shared a small excrement-covered cell with 12 other men. "It
breaks my heart when I think of them," he said, adding that those
responsible for the repression and ruin of the country over the past decade
should "go on their knees and beg forgiveness" from God. However, he also
urged Zimbabwe's new coalition Government to forget the past and work
together to rebuild the shattered nation. "Conditions in that jail are
brought about by hate. I bear no malice. In my heart, all I can do is move
forward to build the country. If we don't forgive, and there isn't a spirit
of forgiveness, we are going nowhere.
"There are people who don't want right to prevail, and want to keep
believing that they have the power to do anything. But they are few and
their time is near the end."

Despite twice being granted bail by courts, state prosecutors - acting on
instructions from Mr Mugabe's most senior officials - ensured that Mr
Bennett remained in prison by appealing against the rulings to release him.
Finally, on Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld the earlier bail rulings and
ordered Mr Bennett's release.

Observers said that the decision was almost certainly influenced by Mr
Mugabe, and represented a growing realisation that the country's political
environment was changing more rapidly than expected.

Mr Bennett is hated by the top echelon of Mr Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party,
particularly the powerful coterie of military men close to the President,
because he is a former white farmer and an ex-member of the Rhodesian
security forces - and because he is popular with many black Zimbabweans. His
command of the Shona language and knowledge of their customs means that they
regard him as one of their own. The demeanour of the guards at the prison,
which is close to Zimbabwe's eastern border with Mozambique, was a testament
to how fast the mood in the country is evolving. One of them told me
excitedly when I arrived at the gates: "Mr Bennett is getting out today.
Yes, we are happy."

Last week another guard asked officials of Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change, who had taken Mr Bennett disinfectant to clean the cell,
and some food, for 18 "Free Roy" T-shirts. "Ten for the day guards, and
eight for the night guards," he said.

Supporters of the Prime Minister's party, many of them wearing similar
T-shirts, kept up a steady chorus of singing outside the rickety gates.

When prison officers lowered the flag outside the prison to mark a national
day of mourning for a veteran Zanu (PF) official, the crowd chanted: "Susan,
Susan, Susan" in honour of Mr Tsvangirai's wife, who was killed in a car
crash a week ago.

After his release, Mr Bennett telephoned his wife Heather, in South Africa
before leaving Mutare in a vehicle heading towards Mr Tsvangirai's rural
home in the southeast of the country, where he planned to pay his respects
to the grieving Prime Minister.

Attorneys for Freed Zimbabwe Cabinet Nominee Launch Next Step in his Legal Defense

http://www.voanews.com



By Howard Lesser
Washington, DC
13 March 2009

Zimbabwe officials have complied with a supreme court order granting freedom
on five thousand US dollars bail to opposition lawmaker Roy Bennett. The
prominent politician, who is designated to serve as the country's deputy
agriculture minister, must report to police three times a week and surrender
his passport and deeds to his real estate.  He may not leave the country,
but is free to meet with colleagues and plan his legal strategy to have
weapons and terrorism charges against him thrown out. Analyst Briggs Bomba
of the Washington, DC lobbying group Africa Action explains that Bennett's
release means Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will most likely get his way
and have Roy Bennett sworn in to the cabinet as soon as his legal worries
are put behind him.

"I think he is going to assume his duties. I think he's going to be sworn in
to that position (deputy agriculture minister) because that is the choice
the MDC (opposition Movement for Democratic Change) has made, and according
to the global political agreement, the MDC has the right to deploy the
people that they choose for this government. There have been attempts to
frustrate him, but as we have seen, with him being out of jail now, sooner
rather than later, he is going to be sworn in and assume his duties," said
Bomba, who was an activist during his early student days in Zimbabwe before
attending university here in the United States.

Bennett was arrested February 13, two days after Zimbabwe's new unity
government took office, and like many other opposition politicians who have
been jailed in the former ruling ZANU-PF's crackdowns on dissidents, Bennett
is hoping to see the charges against him dismissed by the courts.

"We've also known that cases such as Bennett's in the past, they always end
up getting thrown out. A number of people, including Tendai Biti and Morgan
Tsvangirai himself have been charged with treason or such charges and they
have all been thrown out. And I see more or less the same thing happening
with Bennett's case," says Briggs Bomba.

He explains that Bennett's legal team may even avoid raising deliberations
over their client's guilt or innocence entirely by challenging the premises
of the court's bail order.

"What normally happens in situations like this is that one goes back to
apply for a relaxation of bail conditions. But because of the very weak
nature of the state's case against Bennett, I even foresee his legal time
going to actually apply to refuse bail completely. So that's how he may end
up getting off if he is able to win a case of refusing to be put on bail and
refusing to be put on remand completely, and the state will be forced to
proceed maybe by way that some of these conditions will be completely
relaxed," Bomba indicated.

As the unity government observed the anniversary of its first month in
office this week, the Africa Action consultant argued that the outgoing
government's jailing of Bennett constituted a holdover remnant of the
divisiveness Zimbabwe had known for the past several years, which will
hopefully contrast sharply with the shape of things to come.

"I think the detention of Roy Bennett himself simply reflected the serious
tensions and factionalism within ZANU-PF, where one hard-liner faction
wanted to do everything in its strength to undermine the inclusive
government, they never calculated the MDC joining the government in the
first place," he said.

Although he says it is too soon to tell if the new power-sharing arrangement
is making a difference, Briggs Bomba says that beyond the typical chaotic
conditions that most often accompany the installation of a new government,
Zimbabweans are starting to notice some significant changes in the way their
society has begun to snap out of it tumultuous stranglehold.

"Schools were completely closed. Teachers had been on strike for over a
year. Now you are beginning to see a lot of those teachers going back to
work and their students beginning to go back to school.  The same as well
with workers in the health sector. And we've also started to see even
indications that there may be some form of international financial support
coming in," he said.

Australia has just launched a $10 million grant to help Harare fight off its
menacing cholera epidemic and transform water delivery structures.  Bomba
recommends that US policymakers, who are still withholding country aid while
they review the progress being made by the new government, move away from
their longstanding strategy of targeted sanctions to a policy of targeted
support for the new government.

Zim govt to implement "people-driven" constitutional reforms

http://www.zimonline.co.za



       by Simplicious Chirinda Friday 13 March 2009

BUHERA - Zimbabwe's new unity government will engage on a "people-driven"
process to write a new and democratic constitution for the country,
according to Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga.

Matinenga, who did not say when exactly the constitution making process
would begin only saying it was due to start "soon", said the new
constitution would lay firm legal foundations to ensure that future
elections will be free and fair

"The new constitution that we want to make is a constitution for all the
people of Zimbabwe not individuals," said Matinenga, who was speaking during
the Wednesday burial of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's wife.

"The constitution which we are engaging in is a constitution you must
produce (and) which must in process and content embrace all Zimbabweans.
Everyone must participate in the process by offering their views," said
Matinenga.

Under the power-sharing agreement signed by President Robert Mugabe,
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara the three political
rivals have agreed to review Zimbabwe's constitution to ensure the country
has a new and democratic governance charter.

But civic society led by the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) pressure
group have accused political leaders of seeking to impose a new constitution
on the country.

The NCA, which in 2000 successfully mobilised voters to reject a government
draft constitution that would have entrenched Mugabe's powers, has promised
to lead Zimbabweans in protests against a constitution written by Mugabe's
ZANU PF party and the Tsvangirai/Mutambara-led MDC formations.

Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler Britain drafted the country's present
constitution with some input from former liberation movements but with no
consultation of citizens.

Many political analysts trace the country's governance crisis to the
independence constitution that was written more as a ceasefire document
between nationalist guerillas and the white colonial government they were
fighting against rather than a charter for good governance and democracy. -
ZimOnline

Zimbabwean Government Plans Charm Offensive In Europe Seeking Aid

http://www.voanews.com


By Blessing Zulu
Washington
12 March 2009

Officials of the national unity government that has been in power in
Zimbabwe for one month now say they will be reaching out to Western
governments, particularly in Europe, to request expanded development aid to
stabilize the economy and meet urgent social needs.

The initiative by the government of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,
co-executive with head of state President Robert Mugabe, follows the
announcement by Australia that it will widen aid to Harare beyond the purely
humanitarian domain, breaking ranks with the United States and Britain which
have said provision of development aid hinges on clear evidence of reform.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Canberra wants to "support efforts by
[Tsvangirai] to bring sustainable and long-term improvements to the lives of
Zimbabweans."

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete on Thursday urged the international
community to take a larger financial role in helping the Harare government
reconstruct the country.

Finance Ministry sources told VOA that the country needs some US$100 million
a month to meet operational expenses, half of that for payroll, with
receipts a mere US$10 million.

They added that the ministries of health and education need infusions of
US$700 million and US$450 million, respectively, to return operations to a
normal level.

Government sources said ministers have approached U.S. Ambassador James
McGee and European envoys asking that their governments lift sanctions
against the president, his inner circle and firms considered to have
supported to Mr. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party.

International relations expert David Monyae told VOA reporter Blessing Zulu
that Harare must implement wide and deep reform to be welcomed back into the
fold.

In Washington, meanwhile, U.S. State Department Acting Spokesman Robert Wood
said the American position has not changed - Harare must meet international
standards on human rights and the rule of law, among other points, and
institute broad economic reforms for the U.S. government to consider
development as opposed to humanitarian aid.

In Mudzi, shortages of fuel and medicine compound challenges of tackling cholera epidemic

Source: Oxfam

Date: 12 Mar 2009

by Coco McCabe

The letters on the printed warning were small, but the string of exclamation
points that followed shouted with alarm: "Cholera outbreak!!!!!!!!!!"

Tacked to the outside wall of a government office building in Zimbabwe, the
warning served notice to all who could read English that Mudzi district is
in the throes of a major public health crisis. Like wildfire, hot spots of
cholera-a waterborne diarrheal disease that can kill quickly if not treated
properly-continued to erupt in late January in this rural northeast region
on the border with Mozambique. I heard about the spikes-and the challenge of
stopping their spread-at the morning meetings at Kotwa hospital, where aid
groups and government health officials gather to coordinate each day's
attack on the disease. Oxfam and its local partner, Single Parents
Widow(er)s Support Network, or SPWSnet, are among those responding to the
crisis.

Fanning out from the hospital grounds, a small team of nurses, water
engineers, and public health promoters hit the road each day, traveling up
to two hours to reach the more remote areas where people need everything
from clean water to basic information about cholera prevention. And they
return each night-sometimes long after dark-to prepare their reports for the
next morning.

The news they deliver, along with their statistics, is often unsettling:
Reports of people drinking from a stream in which others are washing dirty
clothes and dishes; shortages of oral rehydration salts and disinfectant; an
ox cart toting a patient who died before reaching a clinic. All of it paints
a picture of a country crippled by hyperinflation and failing water and
sanitation systems. In Mudzi, less than a third of the households have
access to proper latrines, according to one estimate.

Already cholera has sickened close to 85,000 people across Zimbabwe, killing
more than 3,900 of them as of Feb. 6. The World Health Organization has
called it one of the largest outbreaks ever recorded. And Mudzi, poor and
far from central areas of commerce and government activity, has been one of
the hardest-hit districts.

Fist bumps replace hand shakes

Here, in Mudzi, fear of the disease is palpable. Fist bumps have replaced
handshakes as people worry that palm-to-palm contact could transmit cholera.
Some people are even afraid to eat, though of course they must, one man
tells me.

"We are not settled," says the man, Wonderful Nyatsuto, as he helps a
SPWSnet engineer repair a deep well, known as a bore hole, about a mile and
a half from his home. About 15 people in his village have contracted the
disease, he says, and a third of those have died. Cases of cholera started
to erupt when people began fetching their water from a nearby river after
the bore hole stopped functioning. Across Mudzi, many of the region's
600-plus boreholes no longer work and communities are too poor to repair
them. But without a supply of clean water, residents face a growing danger
from the disease.

"We are trying to maintain the rules they tell us," Nyatsuto adds. "Boil
water. Clean hands before you eat. Clean the toilet."

Still, in a region where many locals supplement their meager incomes by
panning for gold in a network of streams and drink the contaminated water as
they labor, people are continuing to get sick.

But getting to a clinic is no easy matter. Functioning ones are few and far
between. Some have no medicines. Others have no medical equipment. And so
sick people trudge great distances to get the care they need. Roads are
rough, sometimes barely more than tracks through the bush, cars are scarce,
and fuel is both dear and hard to find-even for aid workers who have access
to outside resources to buy what they need. Sometimes, aid groups have to
send vehicles all the way back to Harare, the capital, a two-and-a-half hour
drive from the Kotwa hospital, to scrounge for a small supply of fuel that
they can port back to keep their trucks in Mudzi running.

A clinic in Makaha

One day in late January, 49 patients packed a clinic in Makaha, a ward in
Mudzi where cases of cholera were suddenly spiking. A series of tents and
one dimly lit concrete room served as wards for people stretched out, limp
and mostly silent, on cholera cots-beds with large holes cut in the middle
beneath which buckets are placed.

Snaking between the tents and the out buildings was a narrow path of mud
bricks powdered, here and there, with flecks of white-the remnants of the
dried lime-chloride used to disinfect contaminated surfaces. Mixed with
water, a jug of it sat at the exit of the clinic, a reminder to all visitors
to give their hands a thorough dousing.

As she finished hosing down an empty cot with the chloride solution, a
nurse, her face flat with exhaustion, described some of the misery she had
witnessed in the last few days. A mother, six months pregnant and very sick
with cholera had managed to get herself to the clinic only to lose her baby.
The next day, her husband arrived with their five-year-old son whom he had
carried more than 16 kilometers from their home in search of help. Weak with
cholera, the boy had died en route. And now the husband was gravely ill,
too. The nurse was uncertain whether he would survive.

Behind her, on a shelf, stood a plastic barrel-a mini storage tank for the
mixture of oral rehydration salts that were helping to keep the clinic's
patients alive. But the barrel had barely two inches of liquid left in
it-nowhere near enough to sustain all those who desperately needed the
sugar-and-salt mixture. And there was no more solution anywhere else in the
clinic. Fortunately, we had a small supply of rehydration packets in our
Oxfam truck and immediately gave them to the nurse. But that's not all she
needed. The clinic had just two doses left of ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic
used to treat a variety of bacterial infections including severe cases of
diarrhea.

Beyond the tents, was the observation area-a patch of dirt in the shade of a
large tree. Here, patients waiting to be admitted slumped on the ground and
those who had improved continued to rest before making the journey home.
Outside the gate to the clinic, family members huddled around small cooking
fires, the smoke curling around them. They were preparing food for the
patients inside-a kindness that was also a cause of concern to nurses who
feared cholera could soon sweep through the family support network.

Haunted by hunger

Compounding the challenge of treating cholera is the widespread hunger many
people in Zimbabwe are now confronting in the months leading up to the next
harvest. Hunger has left people weak and more vulnerable to the disease.

The World Food Program plans to feed more than five million people in
February, the greatest number in a single month since 2002. But because more
people need food, the program is reducing ration size so that it can stretch
its stocks far enough to accommodate everyone.

For some families, even coming up with the basics to fight cholera-such as
sugar for a rehydration solution-can be daunting. Dutchman Matika tells of
having to borrow sugar from a neighbor to make his wife the solution when
she came down with cholera. As he speaks, two of his young sons listen
intently, their hair tinged with orange-a sign of malnutrition. With 11
children and three wives in his household, Matika says mealie meal-a local
staple-is in short supply.

"When you walk around, you see it," says an aid worker about the
malnutrition that has followed on the heels of several poor harvests and
that's affecting people most acutely in the interior of the country. "Poppy
tummies. That's one of the very clear indications. It's mainly in kids. And
you get wasting away in adults."

But this year, in Mudzi, there are signs the next harvest may be better.
While there is never enough fertilizer to guarantee robust crops, the rains
during the current wet season have been unusually plentiful. Where corn and
sorghum, millet and ground nuts have been planted, green shoots
abound-slivers of hope for the future.

More Than 700 Teachers Stranded: PTUZ

http://www.radiovop.com

MASVINGO, March 12 2009 - The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ) has expressed concern over the late posting of teachers to their
respective stations by the provincial offices.

The provincial offices have not yet accepted the teachers, who were
given amnesty by the Ministry of Education.

Mwenezi is the most affected district with at least 500 teachers still
loitering in town waiting to be re-posted to their stations.

"We are very worried because the Ministry of Education is taking long
to implement its policies. In the meeting, which we held with the Minister,
we agreed that all teachers who left the profession after 2007 should go
back to work.

"Teachers who rushed to come back from South Africa together with
those who were here, continue to flock to provincial offices but up to now
they are not yet admitted back in the profession.

"The Provincial Education Director (PMD) is saying she has not yet
received any instruction to take the teachers back," said Munyaradzi Chauke,
PTUZ provincial coordinator.

However the PMD, Clara Dube said she only acts according to
instructions from a higher office.

"I wait for formal instructions from my superiors. Of course the media
reported that we should be accepting these teachers but the media is not my
boss," said Ms Dube.

Ms Dube said she was not aware of the actual figures of teachers who
are stranded.

Chauke said after realising that there was no progress in the posting
of teachers back to their stations, his offices approached permanent
secretary of Ministry of Education, Dr Steven Mahere who promised that all
issues will be resolved by Monday next week.

RadioVOP was informed that there is only one qualified teacher at
Budirirai Secondary School in Mwenezi. Some schools in Mwenezi are failing
to conduct normal lessons due to critical staff shortages.

War veterans wage war over property

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=13349

March 12, 2009

By Owen Chikari

MASVINGO - The leadership wrangle of the Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans
Association in Masvingo took a new twist this week when ousted provincial
chairman, Isaiah Muzenda, refused to hand over to the new executive property
belonging to the organisation.

Muzenda says he is still in charge.

He was ousted by Tranos Huruba in elections held last year. On Thursday,
Muzenda refused to recognise the new leadership and vowed not to return any
property belonging to the organisation.

The property in Muzenda's possession includes office equipment and
furniture. A prime possession is a Mitsubishi pick-up truck which was
allocated to the former freedom fighters to campaign for President Robert
Mugabe in Masvingo during the campaign for the presidential election runoff
held on June 27, 2008.

"I do not recognise the elections that brought Huruba into power," Muzenda
said defiantly. "The elections were bogus and therefore null and void.

"I am still the chairman and in control of the organisation here in
Masvingo. Huruba is just campaigning and we are going to meet on election
day.

"I am not going to return any property to anyone until proper elections are
held and I will seek re-election."

Huruba claims on the other hand that he is the legitimate provincial
chairman.

"I won the elections," he said. "It is very unfortunate for anyone to dream
of being still in control.

"We will engage the services of the police to recover all the property that
is still in the former chairman's possession."

The rift between the former freedom fighters here has spilled over into the
arena of the main Zanu-PF provincial leadership, where two clear factions
have emerged.

Muzenda has the backing of politburo member Dzikamai Mavhaire and Tourism
Minister Walter Muzembi among others, while in the Huruba corner Higher and
Tertiary Education Minister Stan Mudenge and former Masvingo governor Josaya
Hungwe, also among others, are lending him crucial support.

Sources within Zanu-PF say the rift has become so serious that even the
functioning of the provincial executive is now marred by the irrevocable
spectre of factionalism.

Huruba is the Member of Parliament for Chivi North. To Muzenda's advantage,
Huruba is one of the Zanu-PF and MDC parliamentarians whose names have been
linked to widespread abuse of farming inputs.

Muzenda has been chairman of the war veterans in Masvingo for the past seven
years. He has problems of his own with the law. He currently faces 18 counts
of kidnapping in which he allegedly tied villagers to trees for two days on
his farm.

He accused them of chopping trees down and stealing wood from the farm. He
is currently out of custody on free bail.

In Masvingo Province Zanu-PF has a tradition of officials who refuse
point-blank to vacate office after they lose elections.

Former provincial chairman Retired Major Alex Mudavanhu refused to hand over
a party Isuzu Vigo to the new executive claiming that it was part of his
severance package.

Zanu-PF eventually sought police assistance to effect a forceful recovery
after the retired major vowed to shoot anyone attempting to seize the
cherished vehicle from him.

Mourning thousands overwhelm village

UK firm to help Zim regain top tourism destination status

http://www.zimonline.co.za

     

            by Andrew Moyo Friday 13 March 2009

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has appointed the British-based
World Travel Group (WTG) to help spruce up Zimbabwe's tainted image abroad
as part of efforts to revive the country's once booming tourism sector.

Tsvangirai met WTG executives in Harare two weeks ago to thrash out
strategies to re-brand Zimbabwe as one of the world's top destinations in a
deal that government sources estimated to cost the country millions of
dollars in hard cash.

Under the deal, which will involve the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and the
Ministry of Hospitality and Tourism, the Prime Minister agreed to have WTG
embark on massive marketing campaign to promote Zimbabwe in tourism source
markets and among potential investors across the world.

"We are committed to re-branding the country," Tsvangirai told the WTG
executives.

"We are aware of the bad image and we want to correct that. We want to be
part of the global community. We want you to be our ambassadors. We want you
to tell everyone that we are ready to do business."

WTG chief executive Graham Cook boasted that his company had contacts at 22
000 newspapers and 300 television stations across the world, some of which
he said could be roped in to help tell the Zimbabwean story.

"I am suggesting for your country a project called "Digital Paradise", to
make sure you are connected across the world digitally, on WIFI and WIMAX
and so on. We will get investors back here, we will get people like Bill
Gates take an interest into Zimbabwe," Cook said.

He added: "We are connected to 22 000 newspapers and over 300 television
stations across the world, so this will help tell the Zimbabwe story. What
you need is not to communicate with your own people, but to the outside
world."

Tourism was one of Zimbabwe's fastest growing sectors before political
violence that has accompanied elections in the country since 2000, violent
farm invasions and a host of other problems derailed the industry.

Arrivals plunged from 2.5 million in 1999 to only 200 000 last year as
tourists and investors alike continued to shun the southern African country.

The formation of a government of national unity by President Robert Mugabe
and his long time rival Tsvangirai has raised hopes the political crisis
will dissipate and allow the economy to pick up again and with it the
tourism sector. - ZimOnline

Coventry memorial service announced for Susan Tsvangirai

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/8931

By staff writers
12 Mar 2009

A UK service will be held in memory of Susan Tsvangirai, the wife of
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, on Saturday 14 March 2009 at
Coventry Methodist Central Hall at 1.30 pm.

The service is being arranged by Zimbabwean congregations in the UK and will
be attended by a number of Mrs Tsvangirai's relatives currently living in
the Britain.

Susan Tsvangirai was killed in a car crash on Friday 6 March 2009. President
Robert Mugabe shocked and offended many by initially calling the accident
"the hand of God", but he attended the main memorial service for her in her
homeland.

Described as "a deeply religious woman", Mrs Tsvangirai's Christian faith
motivated her to get involved with many service projects for the poor and
for those living with HIV and AIDS.

Some 30,000 people converged at the Glamis stadium, in Harare, on 10 March
to bid farewell to Amai Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai.

During the service at the Methodist Church in Harare's Mabelreign suburb,
President Mugabe told mourners that the government would fund the funeral.

Morgan Tsvangirai, who was injured in the crash, made only brief remarks,
thanking the mourners for their support.

"I want to thank you for showing your love to us. Let us celebrate her
existence as God's gift to me," he said.

The 85-year-old Mugabe, the prime minister's former arch enemy, said
everything would be done to make sure Tsvangirai returned to work soon.

Referring to Mrs Tsvangirai, he said he had heard that she supported her
husband's work and was a good mother to her children.

Zimbabwe's month-old unity government faces a mountain of problems related
to the country's economic meltdown after years of mismanagement - and also
to systematic human rights abuses.

UNHCR has created refugee 'crisis' in Joburg: Government

http://www.citizen.co.za

Published: 12/03/2009 20:09:34

Kenichi Serino

JOHANNESBURG - The UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) has created a
refugee crisis in Johannesburg, the government said on Thursday.

Since February, the UNHCR has been providing transport for thousands of
Zimbabwean refugees to come to Johannesburg -- without informing the
authorities -- said the spokesman for provincial department of local
government Themba Sepotokele.

"It isn't right, at all right for Sthe UNHCRÆ to bring these people into the
city."

"They should have had the decency to communicate to the city Stheir plansÆ,"
said Sepotokele.

Many of the refugees who have arrived in Johannesburg are congregating
around the Central Methodist Church, which has long been a haven for
Zimbabwean refugees. According to its Bishop, Paul Verryn, the church is at
capacity and as many as 2,000 more Zimbabweans are living on the streets in
its vicinity.

The large numbers of refugees have created problems for local businesses as
well as a potential humanitarian and health "crisis".

"If they had communicated to the city we would not be having this crisis,"
said Sepotokele.

The UNHCR, for its part, denies responsibility for the situation.

Zimbabwean refugees in Musina, who had their papers but not the funds to
travel further into South Africa were provided only with transport.

"The SMusinaÆ municipality asked us to facilitate their travel," said UNHCR
Regional Representative for Southern Africa Sanda Kimbimbi.

"But we have never been telling anyone to go to the Central Methodist
Church, or Johannesburg, or Gauteng."

Kimbimbi maintains that the Musina refugees came to Johannesburg in search
of jobs, and would have travelled there, perhaps by more dangerous means,
regardless of the UNHCR's help.

"We cannot be held responsible for this situation. I'm sorry, we cannot,"
said Kimbimbi.

He added that while many come to cities because they hope for jobs, most
will be disappointed.

The UNHCR representative in Musina, Bruno Geddo, acknowledges that the job
market in Johannesburg is already "saturated".

Kimbimbi believes that the concentration of Musina refugees will begin to
lessen.

"After a few tough weeks of living tough on the streets of Jo'burg, maybe
they will reconsider SstayingÆ."

"They might return to Zimbabwe," said Kimbimbi.

The UNHCR, Gauteng MEC for local government Qedani Mahlangu, the city of
Johannesburg, and department of Home Affairs will meet to discuss the
situation on Friday. It's unclear what the outcome will be.

"Let's acknowledge one thing," says Sepotokele, "This shall not be the
problem of Johannesburg. This shall not be the problem of Gauteng. This is a
country-wide problem."

Kimbimbi has spoken to his counterpart in Musina, Geddo, and asked that no
more refugees be given transport at this time. He said that if the
government asked that no more refugees be given transport to Johannesburg he
will acquiesce.

However, in the short-term, there are thousands of Zimbabwean refugees who
would not be encouraged to return to Musina. Geddo said their staying there
was untenable.

"An act of solidarity could be turned into an act of hostility," he said.

But if Friday's meeting results in the local and provincial government
deciding that it cannot accommodate these numbers of refugees from Musina,
it is unclear what the solution will be.

"That, I cannot answer," said Kimbimbi.

- Sapa

Evicting refugees spreads epidemic

http://www.mg.co.za

NOSIMILO NDLOVU | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Mar 13 2009 06:00

Humanitarian organisations assisting Zimbabwean refugees in Musina have
warned that the closure of the showground -- a large open field near the
border where 3 000 to 4 000 Zimbabweans queue to apply for asylum and seek
refuge at night -- could worsen the spread of cholera and other diseases.

Jacob Matakanye, director for the Musina legal advice office, said "It was
easy for us to access the refugees and help them when they were at the
showground; it was better because they were organised and could be
controlled, unlike now when they are scattered all over and left loose."

Last week the Department of Home Affairs in Musina removed refugees from the
showground and ordered all supportive activities to stop. Humanitarian
organisations including Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Save the Children, Musina legal advice
office and various local churches had been providing food, clean drinking
water, access to healthcare and legal advice to Zimbabwean nationals.

As the health system in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate, more Zimbabweans
are coming to South Africa to seek medical care. Upon arrival in South
Africa they go to the Refugee Reception Office at the showground to apply
for asylum. However, due to long queues, they often wait for weeks, and even
months, to get their asylum papers. With no papers and nowhere to go they
stay at the open field at the showground.

MSF field coordinator Sara Hjalmarsson said they have been seeing at least 2
000 Zimbabwean refugees a month at their mobile clinics at the showground,
including a lot of women who have been raped while crossing the border. They
are also treating a high number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases,
HIV, tuberculosis, diarrhoea and pregnant women.

Nyaradzo Maphumo (23) came to the showground in January when she was nine
months pregnant. "Most clinics are not working in Zimbabwe. Those that are
have no equipment; you have to have at least R5 000 and bring your own
equipment, such as towels, bandages, gloves and staff for stitching, then
they can provide you service to give birth," explains Maphumo.

With only R150 in her pocket, Maphumo decided to come to South Africa and
seek asylum, hoping she could receive her documents in time to get
healthcare for herself and her unborn child. "I stayed at the showground
while I was waiting for the papers because I had nowhere else to go and only
had R50 left after using R100 for transport fare. I went to the MSF mobile
clinic where they helped get my papers and provided me with healthcare until
it was time to give birth and they transferred me to Musina hospital."

Maphumo breathed a sigh of relief when she gave birth to a healthy baby
girl, Diana, a week ago.

In the pouring rain men and women sit around small fires outside the
showground, using small piles of luggage as seating or cushioning for their
backs. Little kids, barely dressed despite the cold weather, walk about,
playing with used condoms they find on the ground. Police patrol the area,
questioning and demanding the refugees to move their possessions -- which
have spilled two centimetres onto the road -- off the road and show some
identification.

Desperate and scared, many refugees make their way to the Musina Legal
Office where they stand in a queue outside and wait for assistants. A white
van stops and piecework for 10 men who can do plumbing is offered. They push
and shove trying to hand in their permits to the employer, desperately
pleading for him to take more. Those left behind walk to nearby townships;
others walk down to the Uniting Reform Church to seek shelter there for a
few days.

Hjalmarsson said MSF are concerned that moving refugees from the showground
forces the refugees to hide, resulting in them being unable to access
healthcare. "All we are asking is for the government to allow us to help the
refugees and provide them with healthcare and other assistance. Kicking
refugees out of the showground with no alternative assistants does not
resolve the problem, but simply relocates it."

Home affairs spokesperson Siobhan McCarthy said the decision to move the
asylum seekers' centre was based on the unhygienic conditions the refugees
were living in, adding that the site was always supposed to be used only as
a temporary arrangement.

Morgan Tsvangirai, don't be discouraged

http://www.businessdayonline.com
Nigeria

Friday, 13 March 2009 00:05 Anonymous

The recent news of the fatal road  mishap that claimed the life of  Susan
Tsvangirai, the charming,  active, empathetic wife of Morgan Tsvangirai,
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe is most shocking and painful. We extend our
condolence first to Morgan Tsvangirai who has lost a wife and heartthrob,
the mother of his six children, and a companion in the struggle to
emancipate the peoples of Zimbabwe. We equally wish Morgan Tsvangirai a
quick recovery from the injuries sustained from the vehicle accident. We
commiserate with the government of Zimbabwe, and all peoples of the country
who have stood firmly behind the cause of liberty epitomised by the
struggles and activities of Morgan Tsvangirai and his late wife.

To Morgan Tsvangirai, a man who has spent a great deal of his life
championing the cause of freedom and democracy in a country traumatised by
dictatorship, we urge him to continue the struggle and remain undaunted by
the loss of his wife. While acknowledging that the passing away of Susan
Tsvangirai is certainly traumatic, especially coming at a time when her
reassuring support and encouragement for her husband is very much needed, we
nevertheless, urge the bereaved Prime Minister not to relent in the struggle
or be discouraged in any way. He should, however, be encouraged by the
yearnings of millions of Zimbabweans for freedom and prosperity, and the
anxious desires of peoples and nations across the globe for a new,
prosperous and stable Zimbabwe.

We need recall that in recent times, Zimbabwe has attracted international
focus. This global focus was provoked by the contested victory of Morgan
Tsvangirai in the last presidential elections of March 29, 2008 and the
breakdown in negotiations between the government of Robert Mugabe, the
ruling party, Zimbabwe African National Union -Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and
Morgan Tsvangirai, the acclaimed winner in the election and his party,
Movement for Democratic Change -Tsvangirai (MDC-T) on the issue of power
sharing. In addition, the massive spread of cholera across the country which
has increasingly claimed the lives of many, the hyper-inflation in the
country, the worthlessness of the Zimbabwean dollar, and the obdurate
posture of the Mugabe government have equally drawn the ire of the
international community. Robert Mugabe who has ruled the country since
Independence in 1980 has shown no willingness to leave office. His continued
hold on power has made Zimbabwe a pariah nation, especially to Western
nations that have strongly opposed his continued leadership of the country.

While it is commendable that the Robert Mugabe government resumed
negotiations with Morgan Tsvangirai and his party, leading to the latter
being sworn in as Prime Minister in February 2009, all is evidently not well
with Zimbabwe. The country should not be allowed to fail. The African Union,
leading statesmen in Africa, and the international community should do all
that is required to ensure that Zimbabwe does not slip into chaos and become
another Somalia. The adverse effect of such national chaos and state failure
on the Zimbabwean peoples, the Southern African sub-region and on the
African continent will be intolerable.

As the people of Zimbabwe grieve over the painful and fatal demise of their
Prime Minister's wife, we urge them to remain resolute in their genuine
cause of seeking freedom, and stand firmly behind the forces of positive
change in the country. They should not be deterred by any loss, intimidation
or setbacks but be comforted that there is surely light at the end of the
tunnel. To Morgan Tsvangirai, we say - this is no time to be discouraged.
The struggle should continue until true democracy is achieved in Zimbabwe.