Mail and Guardian
Fanuel Jongwe | Harare, Zimbabwe
07 March
2008 03:30
European Union member states and the United States
have been
excluded from a list of observers who will be invited to monitor
the March
29 general elections in Zimbabwe, the government announced on
Friday.
Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said a number
of
regional bodies, such as the African Union, would be asked to oversee the
joint presidential and parliamentary elections on March
29.
So, too, would representatives from allies of President
Robert
Mugabe's regime such as China, Iran and Venezuela.
However, the only European country that had been invited to send
monitors
was Russia, while the Commonwealth was also left off the invitation
list.
"Clearly, those who believe that the only free and
fair election
is where the opposition wins, have been excluded since the
ruling party,
Zanu-PF, is poised to score yet another triumph," Mumbengegwi
was quoted in
the state-run Herald newspaper as telling a gathering of
diplomats.
The US and EU both imposed sanctions on Mugabe and
his inner
circle after they alleged that he had rigged his re-election in
2002.
Mugabe pulled his country out of the Commonwealth in
December
2003 after the organisation of predominantly former British
colonies
announced plans to extend Zimbabwe's suspension imposed after the
presidential polls.
The main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC)
deplored what it said was a biased selection of
observer groups for the
latest election.
"This shows the
government has a lot to hide," MDC secretary for
legal affairs Innocent
Gonese said.
"If everything was being done in a fair and
transparent manner,
there would be no need to exclude other countries. Those
who have been
invited will hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil and
endorse a flawed
election."
Similar criticism came from
the Law Society of Zimbabwe, which
said the exclusion of Western monitors
highlighted the democratic deficit.
"If our systems are as
democratic as we claim, why should the
government want to shy away from
international spotlight," said the
society's secretary general, Chris
Mhike.
"It's not surprising, but it's
disappointing."
Mugabe has frequently accused the West of
bankrolling the MDC
and of seeking regime change in
Zimbabwe.
In an interview on the eve of his 84th birthday
last month,
Mugabe said he saw no reason why countries such as the US should
monitor the
ballot as Zimbabwe had never been invited to monitor elections
for the White
House.
The EU was also barred from observed
the country's last
presidential elections in 2002.
Mugabe, who is seeking a sixth term in office after leading the
Southern
African nation since independence from Britain in 1980, has since
sought
closer ties with Asia as part of a "Look East" policy.
As
well as China, Mumbengegwi said India, Malaysia and Indonesia
would all be
welcome to oversee the ballot. Other countries also invited to
send monitors
include Brazil, Nicaragua and Libya.
Among African countries
on the invite list are Kenya and
Nigeria, both of whom have staged elections
in the last year, which were
criticised as flawed.
Regional bodies invited to send observer missions include the
Southern
African Development Community, the Economic Community of West
African States
and the Pan African Parliament.
Mugabe faces challenges for
the presidency from both the MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai and from his
former finance minister, Simba Makoni.
Memorandum
Meanwhile, an outbreak of violence in Zimbabwe is a
possibility
if the current situation in that country does not change, angry
protesters
said in Pretoria on Friday.
"If things don't
change, don't be alarmed of a situation like
[that] of Kenya," said Sox
Shitohwero, vice-chairperson of the Zimbabwean
Civic
Society.
Shitohwero was speaking outside the Zimbabwean High
Commission,
where protesters delivered a memorandum calling for free and
fair elections.
However, the approximately 300 protesters
were angered after no
one from the commission came out to receive the
memorandum.
The protesters, some Zimbabwean nationals, as
well as members of
the South African Communist Party threw their placards
and pieces of paper
on the pavement outside the
commission.
Earlier on Friday, protesters handed over
memoranda to the
Kenyan and Swazi high commissions.
The
march was organised by the Congress of South African Trade
Unions.
The protesters called for the return of all Swazi
exiles and
that international observers be allowed to monitor the election
in Zimbabwe.
The group called on the Kenyan government to
allow for
political, economic and social transformation within the country.
-- AFP,
Sapa
By Peta
Thornycroft
It will be a whole lot easier for Simba Makoni to
govern Zimbabwe without a
political party to support him in parliament than
to win the election on
March 29.
Should he win - and there are no
opinion polls to comfort analysts into
reliable predictions - he will not be
troubled because he doesn't have a
political party, and he might not even
have a majority of sympathetic MP's
in parliament.
Under the
present constitution with its 18 gruesome amendments Makoni would
have
enormous powers.
President Robert Mugabe carefully and strategically
has added so much to the
original powers of the president that he only needs
parliament to change the
constitution, make new laws and pass the
budget.
He already appoints the judges, all provincial governors,
all senior civil
servants, the head of the electoral commission, the men who
accredit or ban
journalists and newspapers etc. etc.
There are no
checks and balances in the constitution, no independent
institutions, such
as a human rights commission. Zimbabwe's constitution is
a hard right wing
set of controls which dictate every aspect of life,
including the price of
bread.
If Mugabe now, or who ever comes later, can't find enough
laws to rule, he
can in an emergency, fall back on the handy Presidential
Powers Temporary
Measures Act, which allows rule by presidential decree,
in six month
tranches.
At the last presidential election,
Movement for Democratic Change lawyers
representing Morgan Tsvangirai were
in court appealing one of Mugabe's
electoral decrees 12 hours before polls
opened.
The present constitution is an abortion, but it may just turn
out to be
useful to Makoni should he do what seems unimaginable and that is
to rid
Zimbabwe of the unbearable burden of Mugabe's destructive
rule.
Makon would have to unravel, dump or ignore some appalling laws
intially,
and may even have to deal with some unrest if Mugabe's wounded
vanity is not
carefully managed.
He will also have to move in on
the central bank where most day to day power
lies.
The present
incumbent, Gideon Gono's term of office only expires in October
and nothing
can be done about the mad, multiple exchange rates and hugely
inflationary
currency printing until he has been dispatched and the bank
returned to its
traditional role.
There are also a few dozen "independent" MP's,
senators, largely from old
Zanu PF, the one which brought Zimbabwe to
independence and who will provide
a rump of support for Makoni, if they win
their seats.
Makoni also has support from the opposition MDC faction
led by Arthur
Mutambara. Mutambara's party will probably win most seats in
the
legislature in second city, Bulawayo. His candidates and some put
forward by
Makoni from the reformist wing of Zanu PF, in rural areas in the
two
Matabeleland provinces, will probably win a chunk of parliamentary
seats.
The MDC faction led by founding president Morgan Tsvangirai,
which will
probably win all the Harare seats and seems to be attracting
large numbers
to its rallies in other urban areas, including in the heart of
Zanu PF
strongholds, will also assist him in parliament.
There
will be some Zanu PF MP's in parliament who may have been elected on
the
party ticket but when the chips are down, will support Makoni in
parliament
when necessary.
So his rule, if he wins, will be easy. His problem
remains how to get there
and its not going to a walkover as his rhetoric
would suggest.
Many ordinary voters in urban areas who traditionally
support the MDC are
genuinely anxious that Makoni is a "stalking horse for
Mugabe.
Zanu PF's violent political history, its long control of the
massively
partisan daily press and all radio and TV have produced a
population,
especially in urban areas which depends on informal information,
much of it
rumour.
Some of the rumours are deliberately put abou,
such as some of those about
Makoni being a stalking
horse.
Unfortunately for Makoni, some in Tsvangirai's well-heeled
faction,
including those who still supported Zanu PF unti the 2000
elections, are
spreading the stalking horse point. Or are looking for dirt
with which to
taint Makoni.
Rumours however, have their good
points too. Last Sunday the best of the
day was that vice president Joice
Mujuru had locked up her husband, former
army commander Solomon Mujuru to
prevent him attending Makoni's Harare
rally.
Anyone predicting
Makoni's support or lack of in rural areas is relying on
urban chit chat
among the chattering classes, a far journey from the heavily
populated
communal areas where 60 percent of voters live.
These are Mugabe's
strongholds, but all over the country in these areas,
people are suffering
unprecedented hardships. Makoni went into Mashonaland
East for a drive
through campaign two weeks ago and he was mobbed. That
however is a Mujuru
stronghold, and Mujuru is, whatever he might say in
public, supporting
Makoni.
How will he do in Mugabe' s home province, Mashonaland
West, or
Mashonaland Central, or in the most populous province,
Masvingo?
How will he manage if Mugabe thinks he needs to cheat? As
he cheated in
2002? There are many, many ways he can do it and never be
caught, and the
courts can delay any electoral challenges almost
indefinitely.
Indications from Masvingo at least are that some
headmen, paid by Mugabe to
be loyal, have broken ranks, but are encouraging
peasants to vote for
Tsvangirai, not Makoni.
Brian Raftopoulos
said this week that if Mugabe lost the presidential poll,
it would be less
traumatic for Zimbabweans if Makoni emerged as the winner,
rather than
Tsvangirai: "Mugabe has said since 2000 that Morgan Tsvangirai
will never
rule Zimbabwe. There has been no reason to believe he has
changed that
position. So the acrimony, a possible fight back and the
responses from
state and maybe even from the army, would be stronger
against a Tsvangirai
victory."
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
07 March, 2008
The Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) report
that they are concerned about
their security after they received information
that suggests the police may
attempt to arrest WOZA leaders and detain them
until after the elections.
Coordinator Jenni Williams said reliable sources
informed them that all
uniformed police were recently briefed on the
activities of WOZA, and it was
resolved that the key leaders should be
arrested at the next possible
opportunity.
Williams said they have
noticed increased surveillance on their officials
and members. They believe
they are being closely monitored and are concerned
about their
security.
Williams explained that WOZA has the capacity to mobilise
protests and
government does not want them around in case some politicians
are planning a
"Kenya style" reaction after the elections. The idea is to
keep WOZA leaders
out of the way until after the polls.
Williams said
WOZA previously received conflicting information that suggests
the police
have been instructed not to arrest or beat WOZA members until
further
notice. This seemed likely because there has been a reduction in the
number
of WOZA arrests since October last year. The outspoken activist said
they
are not sure what the state is planning.
Williams referred to their
5-year record of conducting peaceful
demonstrations to explain why they
should not be considered a threat. She
said anyone that wants to get them
out of the way for the elections must be
planning to provoke violence or to
do something at the polls that would
warrant a violent reaction from the
people. "We can only be considered a
threat by someone who wants to cling
onto power", said the defiant Williams.
SW Radio Africa
Zimbabwe news
The Telegraph
7 March 2008
Letters
Sir - The muddled approach to a ban on Zimbabwean
sportsmen (report, March
5) reflects the Government's general confusion over
handling Robert Mugabe.
Last December, there was a furore over the EU
decision to invite Mugabe to
its EU-Africa summit in Lisbon, in spite of an
EU ban on the dictator
travelling to EU countries.
At that time, the
Government seemed to share widespread outrage, and Gordon
Brown refused to
attend a summit with Mugabe in attendance. It now turns out
that he did
nothing to stop him.
Portugal was required to notify the Council of
Ministers of its wish to
obtain an exemption from the ban for Mugabe. Under
the rules, other EU
countries could then raise an
objection.
Correspondence that I have just had with the council in
Brussels reveals
that, when Portugal duly notified its intention, the
Government didn't lift
a finger. No country objected.
As expected,
Mugabe used his attendance at the summit as a demonstration of
his
international legitimacy to both domestic and wider African opinion.
He
exploits international sporting events in the same way. No wonder he has
remained in power for 28 years and that other African governments have
little hesitation in supporting him.
On March 29, Zimbabwe goes to
the polls. There is just an outside chance
that its long-suffering people
may recover their squandered freedom.
But this fudging Government will
deserve few thanks.
Geoffrey Van Orden MEP (Con), Chelmsford, Essex
New York Times
By
BARRY BEARAK
Published: March 7, 2008
HARARE, Zimbabwe - Robert G. Mugabe
has run this country for so long that
his presence is like some common
particulate in the air, taken in with every
breath. Gladys Sithole can
barely recall a Zimbabwe without him, this
inescapable "old man," as she
calls him, with godlike powers and
all-too-human failings.
Supporters
of Simba Makoni, who was a finance minister under President
Robert Mugabe
but is now running against him.
A mother of three, Ms. Sithole was once a
bookkeeper in a dry cleaning
store, but jobs like that have mostly vanished.
She is a street peddler now
in a collapsed society, where a surreal annual
inflation rate of 100,000
percent speedily melts money into nothing, and
essential commodities are so
scarce that bars of soap are sliced up to be
sold by the chunk and cooking
oil is traded by the tablespoon.
A
presidential election is scheduled here for March 29, and Ms. Sithole said
she hoped this time Mr. Mugabe would finally lose. Now 84, he is a former
guerrilla fighter who has led the nation since independence in 1980. "Mugabe
was a hero of the liberation struggle, sure," she said. "But now there is an
even bigger struggle, the struggle to survive, and he is killing
us."
She may conceivably get her wish. Mr. Mugabe is burdened not only by
Zimbabwe's persevering misery, but also by two formidable rivals. One is
Morgan Tsvangirai, a well-known opponent with trade union support; he won 42
percent of the official vote in 2002, when inflation was a mere 139 percent.
The other is Simba Makoni, a onetime cabinet member backed by influential
figures in the governing party itself; these dissidents are no longer
willing to wait for Mr. Mugabe's death to initiate the
succession.
Could this actually be the end for one of the world's most
enduring and
complicated political figures, by most accounts a ruthless,
vengeful man,
revered and reviled, who has presided over one of Africa's
most epic
economic debacles? If Mr. Mugabe did somehow lose, would he
withdraw
quietly? Would disputed elections propel Zimbabwe, like Kenya, into
chaos
and killing?
"With the vote split three ways, I don't think
Mugabe can win without a
runoff, and in a runoff there's no reasonable way
he would get a majority of
the votes," said Sydney Masamvu, a senior analyst
for the International
Crisis Group, a nonprofit organization that seeks to
prevent deadly
conflicts.
But this assessment presumes a fair
election, and in Zimbabwe those who cast
the votes are not nearly as
important as those who count them. It is widely
believed by election
observers that Mr. Mugabe stole the contest in 2002.
This makes the
inclusion of Mr. Makoni, 57, intriguing. He was the nation's
finance
minister from 2000 to 2002 and served in the politburo of the
governing
ZANU-PF party - the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic
Front - until
being drummed out last month for his rebellious run for the
presidency.
Though only a few senior party members have endorsed Mr.
Makoni publicly,
some analysts say he has the tacit allegiance of several in
the military and
intelligence hierarchy, the same types Mr. Mugabe has
relied upon for
trickery at the polls. Some wonder whether phony ballots
might now be more
equitably apportioned.
"Makoni arises from the
discontent within ZANU-PF, so the system is now
divided against itself,"
said Jonah Gokova, a leader of the Christian
Alliance, a collection of
civic-minded religious groups. "Some suggest that
if rigging goes on, it
will be for Makoni rather than Mugabe."
The campaigning has just begun in
this nation of fertile plateaus, its
northwest tip the site of spectacular
Victoria Falls. For an octogenarian,
Mr. Mugabe does not lack vigor.
Jut-jawed, fists clenched, he appears quite
fit in his finely tailored
suits. His speeches may ramble but they also
sting.
He calls his
opponents witches and charlatans and tools of the West. He
refers to Mr.
Makoni as a prostitute without customers, and since the
government controls
most of Zimbabwe's media, these remarks are repeated
until they seem
liturgical.
Mr. Mugabe may live grandly in a 25-bedroom mansion in the
suburbs of
Harare, but he knows most of his compatriots barely eat a meal a
day. Last
week, he tried to pacify the restive army rank and file with a
windfall pay
raise. Crowds at ZANU-PF rallies are often rewarded for their
attendance
with cornmeal and sugar, dietary staples that have become
precious in the
denuded grocery stores.
But these sops are secondary
to Mr. Mugabe's more muscular stratagems. In
past elections, youth brigades
were set loose on political opponents, and
such patterns of intimidation
continue. Two weeks ago, nine members of the
Progressive Teachers Union -
perceived to support Mr. Tsvangirai and his
Movement for Democratic Change -
said they were dragooned from the streets
and beaten with lead pipes in a
ZANU-PF building.
"Only an idiot would believe Mugabe won't win the
election, and by 'win' I
mean 'steal,' " said Raymond Majongwe, the union's
secretary general, still
nursing a bruise above his left eye that he said
was inflicted with a Coke
bottle.
Mr. Makoni began campaigning only
in late February, delayed by mysterious
logistical hitches: the company
contracted to print his fliers oddly out of
paper, the drivers he had hired
unable to find gas. These problems could
have been caused by gremlins at the
behest of Mr. Mugabe - or simply have
been forlorn facts of life in a
capsized economy.
In an interview Mr. Makoni came across as more cautious
than cavalier, the
career civil servant that his curriculum vitae indicates.
A chemist educated
in Britain, he worked in Zimbabwe's agriculture and
energy ministries before
spending a decade as executive secretary of the
Southern African Development
Community, a regional bloc of nations. He seems
to not want to vanquish the
ZANU-PF so much as inherit it.
"The
government, for all its ills, is not short on good ideas," he said.
"The
ideas haven't been implemented correctly."
Mr. Tsvangirai calls Mr.
Makoni "old wine in a new bottle," and other
critics wonder why his voice
was unheard publicly while he took part in a
government that, among other
actions condemned internationally, bulldozed
the homes of 1.5 million slum
dwellers in 2005.
"I expressed my views" to the president, Mr. Makoni
said defensively. But,
he said: "Most times, he just disregarded me, and
this didn't happen to me
only. It happened to others who expressed their
differences."
Before Zimbabwe was an economic basket case it was a
regional breadbasket.
But in 2000, the Mugabe government began seizing
white-owned commercial
farms, and while that might have struck a blow
against the country's
colonial past, it also sent the economy into free
fall.
If elected, Mr. Makoni would not return those farms. Rather, he
said, he
would mete out the property among average people instead of
dispensing it to
ZANU-PF cronies, as is the case now. "There is enough land
to be distributed
equitably and fairly, just as the official policy
says."
His motivation: "I've seen the pain of the people."
That
suffering is hard to miss. Nearly half the nation is malnourished,
according
to the World Food Program. Major hospitals have stopped doing
surgery for
lack of anesthesia. Inflation makes a fool's game of hard work
and
frugality.
On Jan. 18, Zimbabwe's reserve bank put a $10 million bill
into general
circulation, a maroon-tinged piece of paper with a sketch of
water gushing
through a dam that might well have symbolized the escaping
value of the note
itself. Worth enough at the time to buy a chicken, it now
will barely buy a
few eggs, with a value of about 40
cents.
Zimbabwe's inflation is officially computed with a dizzying
accumulation of
zeros that offers little clue to the distress it inflicts.
John Robertson,
an economist, said the new note was losing value at 70
Zimbabwean dollars a
minute. Cash earned must quickly be converted into cash
spent; only
marketable goods and foreign money hold their
value.
"You've got to be a genius to keep the numbers in your head," said
Osca
Murefu, 27, one of hundreds of illegal money changers openly doing
business
in Harare.
Some 3 million of Zimbabwe's population of 13
million have left the country,
and the money and merchandise they send home
provide the only stability
against the country's vertiginous
breakdown.
Mr. Murefu buys that remitted foreign cash with the Zimbabwean
dollars he
collects from two sources: merchants who by law must sell their
goods in
local currency and the flailing government itself, which is
disastrously
printing oodles of new money to pay its own debts.
Ms.
Sithole, the former bookkeeper, does not exactly understand what has
befallen her country. She knows only that 90 percent of the jobs are gone,
that everyone's savings have been swallowed by inflation, that each house
has its own story of personal apocalypse.
In her own woeful tale, she
arises each morning to be on the road by 4,
carrying 15 buns in a plastic
bag, buns that the bakery has "topped up" to a
price of $800,000 apiece and
she hopes to sell for a simple $1 million.
That early, the air is cool
and dark, but there is no shortage of spectral
shapes in the moonlight.
Those lucky enough to still have jobs are walking
their way from Harare's
outskirts to its hub, their incomes too tiny to
afford bus fare but their
hunger so big they will perhaps part with the cost
of a bun.
"This is
what Robert Mugabe has done to us, turned us into a nation of
peddlers and
beggars," she said flatly, allowing her thoughts to then wander
off into the
future. "If he remains, we will just die."
OhMyNews
Army Chief Pledges Loyalty to
Mugabe
Qhubani
Moyo
Published 2008-03-07 18:21 (KST)
HARARE - Zimbabwe's army commander, General Constantine Chiwenga has
pledged
the army's' undying loyalty to President Robert Mugabe even if he
loses the
March 29 presidential elections, dismissing other presidential
aspirants as
'sellouts' out to reverse the gains of independence.
Chiwenga, in
chilling comments ahead of the harmonised elections, said
the army would not
recognize a government led by President Mugabe's
challengers -- opposition
leader, Morgan Tsvangirai and Mugabe's former
ally, Simba Makoni -- should
they win the presidential elections because
they were agents of the
West.
Chiwenga's comments come on the back of indications that
hundreds of
soldiers have been deployed into the rural areas, the ruling
Zanu PF party
stronghold, ahead of the elections in an apparent effort to
coerce the rural
population to vote for him and his party
candidates.
Army officers in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) told
OhmyNews that
the soldiers were instructed to take gratuitous leave and go
to their rural
homes in order to assist in campaigning for the ruling Zanu
PF party.
Soldiers have played a decisive role in ensuring Mugabe
wins the vote
in the past two elections through establishing "bases" in
rural areas where
they have led party militia as coercing agents to
intimidate and harass the
rural electorate.
"Those deployed
were reminded that the hefty salary increments they
were paid last month
were part of the deal to campaign for the President,"
said one army officer
based at One Commando Barracks in Harare.
The government last month
unexpectedly increased soldier's salaries
with the lowest ranked receiving
Z$1.3 billion from $300 million. Senior
officers were paid more according to
rank.
Zimbabwe holds joint elections on March 29 to elect a new
president
and representatives of the senate, council and house of assembly.
President
Mugabe seeks a sixth term of office.
The deployment
of soldiers in rural areas comes hard on the heels of
reports that the
government has also pulled all plugs to improve the diet in
all army
barracks which were reportedly experiencing food shortages,
subjecting army
personnel to a monotonous diet of beans and cabbage.
OhmyNews
established that the soldiers are now served surprise
sumptuous meals of
rice, chicken among other niceties at army barracks these
days, a departure
from the daily diet of sadza and beans which soldiers used
to complain
about.
Army spokesperson, Colonel Samuel Tsatsi referred OhmyNews
to General
Chiwenga when contacted for comment. General Chiwenga did not
confirm nor
deny the allegations but went on to pledge the army's undying
loyalty to
Mugabe when contacted for comment.
"Elections are
coming and the army will not support and salute
sellouts and agents of the
West before, during and after the presidential
elections other than
President Mugabe who has sacrificed a lot for the
country," said General
Chiwenga in a telephone interview.
General Chiwenga's comments
follow those made by the head of the
Zimbabwe Prison Services who was quoted
telling a gathering of prison
officers in the country's capital, Harare,
that a loss for President Mugabe
in the presidential poll will be a betrayal
to the ruling Zanu-PF party
which brought independence to the nation in
1980.
In the 2002 presidential elections, army chief, General
Fidelis
Zvinavashe also warned that the army would not salute opposition
candidate,
Tsvangirai should he win the presidential poll as he had no
liberation war
credentials.
Zimbabwe's security forces are
credited with keeping President Mugabe
in power by constantly crushing any
dissent to his rule.
President Mugabe has in return pampered police
chiefs, army chiefs and
other security organ's chiefs with inviting
incentives like farms and top of
the range vehicles to ensure their undying
loyalty to him.
Opposition parties have accused Mugabe of rigging
the vote in past
elections using the armed forces, among other government
agencies, to retain
power, but Zanu PF has denied manipulating the vote in
its favour.
The Star, SA
Rallies disrupted
and candidates arrested
March 07, 2008 Edition 1
Basildon
Peta
Marvellous Khumalo, a parliamentary candidate for the Movement for
Democratic Change, has been in jail since February 28. Police had arrested
him over unspecified charges linked to political violence.
When he
appeared in court last week, a magistrate sent him back to jail
until March
18.
By the time parliamentary elections are held on March 29, says the
MDC,
Khumalo would have had no time to campaign for his constituency
seat.
This will hand an easy victory to President Robert Mugabe's
Zanu-PF.
Even if he is released on March 18, that would give him only a
week or so to
engage in intensive campaigning before the polls.
MDC
spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka is adamant that all the charges against
Khumalo are trumped up.
Khumalo was arrested after he tried to
conduct a door- to-door election
campaign. But the police insist that the
unspecified charges against him
will stand.
Khumalo's predicament
highlights the many obstacles strewn in the paths of
opposition candidates
taking on Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF.
If they try to campaign aggressively,
they risk arrest. If they try to hold
rallies, particularly in urban areas,
they risk violence from marauding
Zanu-PF militias. If they try to seek
legal recourse, they face a hostile
judiciary.
Even though amendments
to the draconian Public Order and Security Act were
aimed at making
campaigning much easier, Tamborinyoka claims, the opposite
has
happened.
"It is simply not true that the situation regarding our
campaigning has
drastically improved from past elections. In fact, such talk
is
irresponsible," he says.
"The odds are heavily stacked against us
. It is not easy to be an
opposition candidate in Zimbabwe," adds
Tamborinyoka.
The opposition is hampered by a shortage of
resources.
While Zanu-PF candidates are getting state assistance, from
vehicles to
scarce fuel, the opposition have to make do with little or
nothing.
The state oil supplier, the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, is
supplying
only Zanu-PF candidates.
"There is no fuel. There is no
paper, so we can't print pamphlets. There is
no electricity, so we can't
hold late-night rallies in halls and similar
facilities," Tamborinyoka
points out.
The state monopoly on broadcasting is a major headache for
the opposition.
The launch of Zanu-PF's manifesto in Harare was covered
extensively. But MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai's well-attended rallies are
yet to feature on
television and radio news, not to mention the activities
of other opposition
candidates.
By Mary Revesai
Last updated: 03/07/2008 23:23:01
I
WAS sitting at a table at one of Harare’s sidewalk cafes last weekend trying to
absorb the full impact of the South African newspaper, the Saturday Star’s
banner headline screaming “Z$3 000 000 000 000”across five columns below its
masthead when something heart-rending happened.
A young disabled man I had not seen approaching my table tapped on my shoulder and asked politely whether he could finish the cold drink I was sipping. It was early evening and he said nothing had crossed his lips the whole day.
He explained that he used to keep body and soul together by scavenging in garbage bins but now even hotels and takeaway outlets were no longer throwing away anything worth retrieving. This is apparently because their cash-strapped clients now also eat every morsel on their plates and even grind down the chicken bones.
Compassion and outrage flooded me simultaneously. I felt no Zimbabwean should be reduced to this level of degradation in a country that has enough for all, if a small band of greedy, corrupt and self-interested individuals were not holding everyone to ransom.
After giving the young man $20 million to buy himself something, I went back to the front page of the South African weekly. Below its unusual headline of a three followed by 12 zeroes was a strap explaining: “This is the price for Mugabe to party, while his people starve.”
My encounter with the disabled young man made me more acutely aware of the incongruousness and insensitivity of spending $3 trillion on the lavish bash held in the border town of Beitbridge last weekend to celebrate the 84th birthday of Zimbabwe’s head of state, Robert Mugabe.
The event is organised every year under the banner of the North Korean-style 21st February Movement, an organisation dedicated to promoting Mugabe as a cult figure.
The staging of these lavish festivities was particularly cruel and arrogant this year because ordinary people are facing unprecedented economic challenges. The case of the young man referred to above demonstrates graphically how the plight of ordinary people in Zimbabwe can no longer be thought of in terms of mere statistics giving a rough idea of what is going on.
Behind the numbers, which are shocking in themselves
are millions of flesh and blood human beings who have been robbed of dignity in
the land of their birth. This ugly reality can no longer be denied. It is
obvious to everyone except to the one person who needs to be upset and bothered
by it the most: the man who has governed the country for the last 28
years.
This year is not the first time Mugabe has demonstrated extreme
arrogance and insensitivity. Following his government’s spur of the moment and
inhuman demolition of abodes which rendered one million people homeless and
displaced a further two million under Operation Murambatsvina in 2005, Mugabe
did not pause for a minute to consider the full impact of this cruel and madcap
action.
Instead, he went on the warpath, wasting vast amounts
of national resources to mount a vitriolic and belligerent propaganda offensive
replete with conspiracy theories about plots to effect regime change in
Zimbabwe.
Almost three years later, the Zimbabwean government is yet to
deliver the decent houses it claimed it would build under Operation
Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle to the victims of its cruel demolition spree.
After triggering unprecedented human suffering and
misery under Operation Murambatsvina, any normal head of state would have paused
to take stock of the situation and to consider why the action had sparked such
an outcry both at home and internationally.
But without even missing a
heartbeat, Mugabe proceeded as if nothing had happened and instead blamed
everybody else but himself for the uncalled for commission of such a crime
against humanity. The following February, he marked his 82nd birthday with
lavish festivities as usual.
Parastatals and ministries struggling to remain
afloat were obliged to spend large sums of money on advertisements in newspapers
and on television literally swooning at the feet of the Dear Leader. What a
difference it would have made if Mugabe had forgone the extravagant feasting and
adulation, and directed that the same resources be earmarked for feeding the
needy.
This year’s bash was held in an environment where inflation has
now hit the 100 000 percent mark although economic experts believe even this is
a very conservative estimate. Any normal leader who still remembered why he was
in power would have thought twice about parading such extravagance amid the
deprivation and suffering pervasive throughout the land.
Unemployment has hit record levels; the majority of the people live below the poverty datum line and can no longer afford or access the basics of modern existence. Most national institutions have been ruined and bankrupted and now exist only in name – they are no longer of service to the people of Zimbabwe.
But this did not stop one of Mugabe’s bootlickers from gloating about the obscene partying in Beitbridge that took place on the same day I came face to face with the disabled young man who was reduced to begging to have a sip of my drink and approaching many other patrons of the open air café begging for morsels of whatever they were having to assuage his hunger.
The Saturday Star quoted the Zanu PF secretary for youth, Absolom Sikhosana, as boasting: “The commemorations should also make a powerful statement that Zimbabwe is as vibrant as ever despite the suffering being caused by illegal sanctions imposed on the country by Britain and its allies.”
Experts say the true level of inflation is nearer the 1,5 million percent mark that was predicted by former United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell during his tour of duty. But it will be remembered that Dell was verbally abused, made cannon fodder by the public media and even harassed by the police for giving this projection and for having the nerve to point out that no government in history had ever survived in such a hyperinflationary environment.
Instead of looking at these realities for its own benefit and that of the populace, the government of President Robert Mugabe went into overdrive in a misguided attempt to prove the former American envoy wrong.
This is when the regime embarked on the illogical
price blitz last year under which it decreed that the prices of all goods should
be slashed by half regardless of the consequences. The result was a
disappearance of basic commodities from the shelves and a skyrocketing of prices
to levels three or four times higher than before this incomprehensible
intervention.
The question now is how long the people of Zimbabwe can
continue to endure such undisguised sadism. A government led by a more humane
leader would have taken advantage of Dell’s insights to quietly embark on
remedial action but alas, Mugabe’s response was driven by vindictiveness and the
need for self preservation.
But as the events unfolding after Simba Makoni’s decision to stand as an independent in this month’s elections show, Mugabe’s arrogance, insensitivity and imperviousness to the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe could very well prove his undoing. His unfathomable cruelty could very well be a case of pride going before a fall as predicted in the book of Proverbs in the Bible.
Mary Revesai is a New Zimbabwe.com columnist and writes from Harare
By Tichaona Sibanda
7 March
2008
The Congress of South African Trade Unions on Friday described the
regime in
the country as 'arrogant' after officials from the Zimbabwe
embassy in
Pretoria refused to receive a petition from
protesters.
Hundreds of demonstrators led by COSATU officials walked from
President
Thabo Mbeki's offices at the Union buildings to the embassy to
demand that
elections in Zimbabwe be held under free and fair
conditions.
Bongani Masuku, COSATU's international relations officer said
they were
infuriated by the behaviour of officials from the embassy who
refused to
come out and listen to the grievances of Zimbabweans in South
Africa.
'We had a petition that contained our demands to the government
of Zimbabwe,
but no one came out to receive it. So we threw it over the gate
as a sign of
our disgust towards the government,' Masuku said.
He
added; 'It was a display of naked arrogance of the highest order.'
The
SADC bloc also came under fire from COSATU for allowing Mugabe to
manipulate
the electoral system in the country.
'We have SADC guidelines that each
country is supposed to follow in an
election, but the government in Zimbabwe
blatantly deviates from the norms
and the regional body never does a thing
to condemn such actions,' Masuku
added.
COSATU urged SADC to stop
being accommodative to the machinations and
manipulative tendencies of
Mugabe. It said Mugabe should allow a free
multiparty electoral contest on
the basis of universally acclaimed
democratic principles and standards, as
set out in various international
protocols.
Masuku said they have
noted in recent weeks that the crisis in Zimbabwe has
scaled new heights,
where it has become the norm for police to arrest and
harass opposition
activists.
Masuku added, 'The government of Zimbabwe is stopping at
nothing to crush
the resistance of opposition parties, civil society
organisations and the
trade unions and ruthlessly trample on human
rights.'
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
zimbabwejournalists.com
7th Mar 2008 13:59 GMT
By a
Correspondent
BULAWAYO - Kenyan-born Zanu PF praise-singer, Ngugi Wa
Mirii has launched a
surprise attack on farmers who benefitted from
President Robert Mugabe's
land grab, claiming they are lazy.
An
author and playwright, Wa Mirii had no kind words for newly resettled
farmers, most of whom generally stand accused of letting their farms lie
fallow while the government spends scarce foreign currency to import
food.
Wa Mirii is a self-styled Pan Africanist and regular guest on
national
television where he features in a government propaganda programme
National
Agenda together with other Zanu PF apologists - Tafataona Mahoso,
Sheunesu
Mpepereki, Vimbai Chivaura and Claude Mararike.
"They are
not tilling the land that they were given for free," he told
journalists
attending a workshop on Election Reporting at a local hotel here
this
week.
"The farmers are so unwilling to work that the government has from
time to
time to come up with radio and television jingles to encourage them
to use
the land productively."
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(ZEC) organised the workshop for
journalists based in Midlands and
Matabeleland regions.
As Wa Mirii took potshots at the farmers, ZEC
deputy chairperson and
ZANU -PF supporter, who attended the one-day
workshop, Joyce Kazembe
appeared surprised but was clearly at pains to look
composed.
But Wa Mirii is not alone in his criticism of the new
farmers.
Independent analysts say less than half of the 4 324 farms seized
from white
farmers since 2000 are productive.
A study, conducted by
President Mugabe's former chief secretary, Charles
Utete also says calls for
more work on farms.
Utete, furthermore, unearthed several cases of
multiple farm ownership.
This week, independent presidential aspirant, Simba
Makoni said if elected,
one of his first tasks would be to implement the
recommendations of the
Utete report, especially on multiple farm ownership
and repossessing idle
land.
Wa Mirii said in Kenya every farm owner
bought the land that they have and
for him, it is surprising for Zimbabweans
who got the land for free, to fail
to use it productively.
"In Kenya,
every person who owns land bought it," he continued.
"No one was given a
square metre of land for free, so when I see people who
got large pieces of
land for free but fail to produce, I ask myself, 'What
is going
on?'"
Coming from a person who settled in Zimbabwe in 1982 and given
refugee
status by President Mugabe after he was flushed out of Kenya by
former
leader, Daniel Arap Moi, the criticism was quite surprising, but it
also
cricually shows how observers, including Zanu PF eulogists see how the
land
reforms appear to be backfiring.
"In Kenya, there is so much
hunger for land that people till strips of land
on road sides. And the
people produce quite well. I will give you one
example - Do you know that
Kenya produces more milk than South Africa, yet
South Africa is more
advanced? Kenyans drink more milk than any other
nationalities in
Africa."
Financial Times
By David
Stevenson
Published: March 5 2008 19:15 | Last updated: March 5 2008
19:15
One of the more surprising investment statistics of last year was
that the
Zimbab- wean stock market was the best performing in the world: up
12,000
per cent over 12 months. Surprising that is, until you remember that
these
returns reflect hyper-inflation. In real terms, the local market has
been
flat for the past three years - although that, in itself, is a minor
miracle
given the country's economic disasters.
According to Tony
Hawkins at the University of Zimbabwe, there has been a 51
per cent fall in
agricultural output between 2000 and 2007, a 47 per cent
fall in industrial
output, and a 35 per cent fall in resources output. Over
the same period,
GDP per capita has fallen back by more than 40 per cent. At
the same time,
inflation has risen to near the 100,000 per cent mark. The UN
World Food
Programme estimates that 4.2m Zimbabweans - a third of the
population - will
face serious food shortages in early 2008.
Not surprisingly, the reaction
of most emerging-
markets investors has been to run as far away as possible.
Consequently,
foreign direct investment collapsed from more than $400m in
1998 to $30m in
2006. Even the International Finance Corporation reported
that Zimbabwe is
one of the worst countries in the world to do business in,
partly because of
legislation aimed at imposing at least 51 per cent
''indigenous ownership''
of businesses.
In these circumstances, it's
hard not to disagree with Slim Feriani,
managing director of Progressive
Asset Management who runs its frontier
markets fund, when he declared that
"at present Zim represents one of the
most contrarian bets a global investor
can make". Still it's one that
Feriani and many others are quietly making,
in small but noticeable ways. He
says: "Our pan-African managers are almost
unanimous that Zim will offer
huge opportunities when things start to turn
around."
This contrarian view is backed by researchers at Australian bank
Macquarie.
In a recent report on Zimbabwe, they spelled out three scenarios
for the
future. The "best" scenario - at 60 per cent probability - sees a
transfer
of power from president Mugabe to a successor, possibly Simba
Makoni, and
reform within the ruling Zanu PF party. The "boring" scenario -
with 30 per
cent probability - is an indefinite stalemate and no stock
market recovery.
And the "bedlam" scenario - with 10 per cent probability -
involves collapse
of governance, regional contagion and
devastation.
If you agree that the best scenario is likely, you can start
to consider the
unique nature of the Zimbabwean market: it comprises
commercial survivors.
They have shown themselves to have "good business
models, nimble management
and cash-generative businesses with low capex
needs and pricing power", says
one analyst. What's more, they are dirt
cheap. Some are now trading at just
10 per cent of replacement
value.
One big investor that buys into this value-investing story is
Lonrho. Last
year, it raised $60m and set up a separate investment and
trading vehicle
called LonZim, headed by Lonrho CEO David
Lenigas.
LonZim's initial focus will be on property. At launch, Lenigas
noted that
"commercial property is cheap as chips, the infrastructure in
Harare is
fantastic but it's fire-sale prices". Tourism will probably become
another
focus. In addition to the potential offered by game parks, LonZim is
investing in Zimbabweans' favourite holiday destination - Beria in
Mozambique - picking up two hotels with more than 1.5km of prime beach
front. But the big long-term play, says Lenigas, is to build a huge
industrial company, spanning sectors such as printing, transport,
construction and telecoms. He believes that if Zimbabwe can recover "you're
going to see a very large inflow of capital into the country" - as happened
to Vietnam.
So when might this happen? Even Lenigas admits that
things are set to get
much worse. He says: "Are we at the bottom of the
curve? Absolutely not. But
we're not scared of getting involved. The best
time to invest is at the
bottom of the curve and we see plenty of good deals
at good prices." This
may not be so easy. UK investors may be beaten to
market by the Chinese.
Already, Zimasco Consolidated Enterprises, the
holding company for Zimbabwe's
largest ferrochrome producer, has been
snapped up by Sinosteel.
On balance I think Zimbabwe may be worth a small
long-term bet. LonZim is
the simplest way in, as it's listed in London. You
might also want to take a
closer look at the resources sector - Zimbabwe has
large gold, diamond, coal
and natural gas deposits. Mwana Africa is also
rated by Lenigas, even though
it has hit political trouble over its
investments in Congo's mining sector.
Impala Patinum might be worth
researching, because of its Zimplats
subsidiary.
Personally, I think
mobile phones will be the really clever play, as market
penetration is at
only 40 per cent of the adult population, less than half
the level in South
Africa. One company worth watching is Econet Wireless,
which is listed on
the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. It runs the largest GSM
network in the country,
with a 67 per cent market share. Investors just need
the inflation and the
anarchy to end soon.
adventurous@ft.com
The Sowetan
Bill Saidi
07 March
2008
In the midst of the 2000 parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe, the
optimists - perennial and occasional - huddled in corners, contemplating a
victory for the opposition party.
The voters' turnout had
been spectacular. All indications were that this was
irrefutable evidence of
the then fledgling Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) thumping of the
behemoth that was Zanu-PF.
President Robert Mugabe's party had won every
election since 1980, except
the referendum that had preceded the 2000
elections.
In that plebiscite, it had been trounced by the opposition,
then in the
guise of the National Constitutional Assembly, led by the same
Morgan
Tsvangirai, now leading the MDC.
But there were realists among
the optimists: with Zanu-PF nothing was to be
taken for granted. It wasn't
called ndeyeropa for nothing.
Loosely translated, this portrayed it as
the party born out of the bloodshed
of the liberation struggle.
So,
as surely as the Victoria Falls remain the most magnificent tourist
attraction, Zanu-PF turned the tables against the MDC - winning the
elections comfortably.
In 2008, the optimists are at it again: they
predict a rout for Mugabe in
the three-horse presidential race. Left to
themselves, Tsvangirai and Simba
Makoni, would not go into the run-off
daggers-drawn. There would be a
gentlemen's agreement: whoever topped the
polls would invite the other to
form a coalition government.
This is
where the plot thickens: is this a dream too far? Are the optimists
so
intoxicated with the nectar of their hopes that they are ignoring
reality?
Zanu-PF has done everything to retain power for 28 years. As
some wags have
put it, rather colourfully, the party has thrown, not only
the kitchen sink
into the fray, but the kitchen itself.
That is how
desperate the party has been to retain power. Whether this is
born out of a
genuine desire to keep "the best party in government" or for
other, less
savoury reasons - such as holding on to the loot - nobody is
prepared to
hazard a guess.
There has never been a three-horse race in the
presidential contest before.
It is being assumed that since even Zanu-PF
has never confronted this
conundrum, the party probably has no sure-fire
rigging mechanism for it.
Apart from the party's capacity to play what
some people might call
"electoral" footsie with the figures, there is also
the danger of apathy.
Yet there is a feeling abroad that the prospect of
Mugabe's defeat has
brought such delicious visions of paradise to the poor
folk from Hwange to
Hurungwe, they seem determined to walk, crawl, swim or
fly to the polling
stations.
Mugabe has promised more ploughs,
tractors, combine harvesters and other
new-fangled farm implements if his
party wins.
But many villagers must remember the same promises were made
after the land
reform programme.
The real beneficiaries were Mugabe's
own colleagues in the Zanu-PF
hierarchy. Some have acquired more than two of
the thriving commercial
farms.
Although such allegations have been
made by Makoni, a man with a huge axe to
grind against Mugabe, the people
are inclined to believe him - because
Mugabe himself has made similar
allegations, although he restricted the
numbers to two or three
farms.
Credibility may be Mugabe's ultimate Achilles heel.
Even
the villagers now believe that without him in charge of their lives,
things
might turn out to be the paradise he promised them in 1980.
a.. Bill
Saidi is deputy editor at The Standard in Zimbabwe.
FROM THE ZIMBABWE VIGIL
Dear Supporters
The Vigil's plans for our
mock election on Saturday 29th March are
progressing. Briefly there will be
two media events outside the Embassy,
the first at 11.00 and the second at
15.00, both featuring the Mugabe mask
we used at the Lisbon summit last
December and the giant plastic ballot box
we have used at successive
elections. Fungayi will reprise his celebrated
Lisbon Mugabe and Patson
(with West End experience behind him!) will feature
in one of the Zimbabwe
uniforms we have acquired. All Zimbabweans and
sympathisers are welcome
whatever their political persuasion. We are holding
a meeting after the
Vigil on Saturday 15th March for all those who want to
help with the
event.
A reminder that this Saturday there is the rally for Dignity and
Democracy
for Zimbabwe in Trafalgar Square from 12 - 1.30 pm followed by the
Vgil at 2
pm. For more details, check: www.actsa.org.
Vigil co-ordinators
The
Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place
every
Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of
human
rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in
October
2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair
elections
are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
06
March 2008
South Africa will send an observer mission
with 54 members drawn from
government, the parliament, the political
opposition and civil society to
Zimbabwe to watch elections on March 29, a
spokesman for the South Africa
Department of Foreign Affairs
said.
South Africa previously observed elections in Zimbabwe
independently, but
Foreign Affairs Department spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said
the group,
scheduled to leave for Zimbabwe on March 20, would operate under
the
auspices of the Southern African Development Community rather than as a
stand-alone bilateral delegation.
SADC says its observer mission of
about 80 officials form the region is due
in Harare on Sunday. The regional
grouping expects to have around 150
observer delegates in place before the
country's presidential, house, senate
and local elections.
Political
analyst Farai Maguwu told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's
Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that by observing the elections under the SADC banner,
South Africa
appears to be aiming to avoid a repeat of the controversy
generated when it
endorsed the outcome of the 2005 general elections,
particularly following
President Thabo Mbeki's failure - according to most
observers - to mediate a
crisis solution.
The Mercury, SA
March
07, 2008 Edition 1
JOHANNESBURG: Zimbabwe's national incomes and
pricing commission had
approved a 400% increase in hospitality industry
rates, the state-controlled
Herald said yesterday.
The commission was
trying to stop unstructured price increases, the
newspaper said.
The
new rates meant that the cost of breakfast in five- and four-star hotels
in
Harare would rise to Z$220 million (R57 640) from Z$55 million and the
same
meal at hotels in resort areas from Z$264 million (R69 170) from Z$66
million, the report said. A single room in a five-star hotel would cost
Z$280 million (R73 360).
The move was made after it was found
that the hotels had been charging
astronomical rates, the report
said.
It was also in line with the expected boost to tourism during the
2010 World
Cup. - Sapa
Nehanda Radio
07 March
2008
The MDC parliamentary candidate for St Mary's, Marvelous Khumalo who
was
arrested last Friday for carrying out a door to door campaign in the
area
was on Tuesday remanded in custody to 18 March.
He appeared at
the Chitungwiza Magistrates' Courts facing charges of public
violence in a
calculated move by the regime to hamper his imminent victory
in the
constituency.
Khumalo and eight other MDC activists who include three
council candidates
were remanded to 18 March after they were denied bail on
the flimsy grounds
that their release would endanger public
safety.
The court's ruling gives Khumalo only 10 days of election
campaigning in his
constituency, assuming he succeeds in his second bail
application. Khumalo
and his team did not harm anyone. They were on a
peaceful door-to-door
campaign which apparently irked Zanu
PF.
Fearing the popularity of Khumalo's campaign in the area, Zanu PF's
council
candidate in St Mary's, Charles Nota, called in the police to have
the group
arrested. Two members of Khumalo's campaign group received serious
injuries
from police beatings whilst in custody.
Our lawyer, Alec
Muchandehama, has since filed an urgent High Court
application seeking an
urgent release of Khumalo and his campaign team. He
told the court that the
arrest of Khumalo and his colleagues is politically
motivated by the regime
to curtail his campaign.
The MDC believes that Khumalo's arrest on
trumped up charges of public
charges is, 'a planned move meant to curtail an
imminent and inevitable MDC
victory at the polls on 29 March. This cannot be
a free and fair election
when our candidates across the country continue to
be beaten up, harassed
and arrested for no apparent reason,' a statement
said.
Since the launch of the election campaign this month, several MDC
candidates
and supporters have faced brutality from the police, state
security and Zanu
PF arrests and assaults in a move meant to cow the
electorate ahead of the
watershed plebiscite.
The MDC believes that
no amount of brutality, arrests and intimidation will
stand between the
people of Zimbabwe and their vision of a new Zimbabwe and
a new beginning.
'The people will win the next election. Zanu PF is running
scared. The
regime is cornered.'
'Despite the obstacles from a panicking regime, the
people of St Mary's
remain resolute and unwavering in their desire for a New
Zimbabwe. They
people of St Mary's remain committed to the MDC because it is
the only party
that can bring about the change they trust,' the statement
added.
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 7 March
Mail & Guardian reporter
On a wall outside a
crumbling school in rural Gokwe, central Zimbabwe, a
battle is being fought.
A youth is pasting a Morgan Tsvangirai poster over
graffiti, written in
bright orange paint, proclaiming: "Good morning
Makoni." A few years ago,
this would have been a job done under cover of
darkness, and hurriedly,
without the patience the meticulous pro-Makoni
graffiti artist must have
had. But this is close to midday on a Monday, and
a volunteer for Simba
Makoni has left his car to tackle his MDC rival. They
haggle over this spot,
which is a prize location, as it faces a bus stop.
There's a handshake and a
joke, and a deal is struck; the MDC activist will
take the rest of his
posters elsewhere. Not long ago, both activists would
have had to be either
really brave or really foolish to show their support
publicly, let alone
campaign for anyone other than President Robert Mugabe.
But in this election
campaign Mugabe's opponents are surprised at the ground
he has allowed them
in his rural strongholds.
Over the past two weeks, Tsvangirai and
Makoni have campaigned in three
Mashonaland provinces previously
inaccessible to the opposition. On the
weekend, Tsvangirai, looking to
target rural areas that hold the bulk of
voters, chose Mashonaland Central
to hold the first in a series of planned
rallies. And on Tuesday Makoni
followed up last week's tour of Mashonaland
East, which has handed Zanu PF
some of its biggest wins, by taking his
campaign into Mashonaland West,
Mugabe's home province. "We were surprised
that we have been allowed into
areas we have never been in before," a senior
Makoni aide said this week.
"We want to continue pushing the line, see how
far we can really go before
we start getting the roadblocks." But while some
avenues are surprisingly
clear, many more are littered with the usual ruling
party
obstacles.
George Sibotshiwe, Tsvangirai's spokesman, said supporters
travelling to the
Mashonaland Central rally had to endure intimidation from
Zanu PF activists.
And at Juru, a centre in Mashonaland East, an MDC rally
was stopped
altogether after police sealed off the venue. On Tuesday, the
MDC lodged a
complaint with the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC), which
runs elections,
protesting at what it said was increasing state harassment
of its candidates
and supporters across the countryside. Sunday brought some
of the starkest
evidence of how difficult it remains for the opposition,
when police stormed
the stage to stop Makoni in mid-sentence while he
addressed a rally in
Harare, saying his one-hour allocation was up. The ZEC
has said it will
investigate the incident, but few expect the commission to
chastise the
police, as police chief Augustine Chihuri is part of the Zanu
PF campaign.
Back in Gokwe, the Makoni volunteer arrives at a
friend's store, a small,
struggling operation that sells liquor and a few
groceries, mostly imported
from South Africa. Rundown as the store is, it
stands like an island in the
midst of deprivation, and people sit on the
porch for hours, talking. The
owner, known here only as Moyo, is a former
history teacher. He tells of
how, eight years ago, he fled from his teaching
post in San-yati,
Mashonaland West, after he was attacked by Zanu PF
activists who accused him
of urging his students to support the MDC. Coming
back home to help run his
family grocery store in Gokwe was not without its
risks. During the campaign
for the 2005 general election the store was
looted by people who accused him
of selling maize meal to customers without
"party cards". Today, although
tensions at this rural outpost are heating
up, he is surprised at how openly
the opposition is
organising.
"I never thought I would see the day when a person with
an MDC T-shirt could
walk in here and leave without both of us getting into
trouble," Moyo says.
"People sit on my stoep and talk; they talk about
Makoni, about Tsvangirai.
They talk about how hard things are, and about
Mugabe." On Monday, the talk
inside the store was about the defection to
Makoni's campaign of Dumiso
Dabengwa, a Zanu PF politburo member, and
whether or not this would hurt
Mugabe. So, does all this surprising
political freedom mean that Zanu PF
meant it when, at South African-mediated
talks with the MDC, it pledged to
open the space to its opponents? The
cynicism is biting. "No, of course
not," says the Makoni supporter. "Mugabe
always has some kind of plan. We
all have to be careful showing our faces
here."
7th March 2008 - MDC Pressroom
HARARE----Edson
Muwengwa, an MDC council candidate in Rushinga has been missing since
15 February in what the MDC and the Muwengwa family fear is an
abduction following several deaths threats and an attempt on his life
by Zanu PF supporters.
Muwengwa, of Kasika Village, was last
seen on 15 February when he went to file his nomination papers at
Rushinga council offices where the nomination court for council
candidates was sitting.
Efforts by Muwengwa and the MDC
leadership in the province to locate his efforts have been in vain.
This has also been hampered by the lack of action by the police who
have not taken any action to follow on the leads that have been
supplied.
Information gathered by the MDC’s Information and
Publicity Department reveals that several Zanu PF members led by Shingi
Runhare went to Muwengwa’s house on 12 February, three days before the
nomination court, and threatened Muwengwa’s young brother to be shown
where his brother slept at night.
Fearing for his life the
brother showed them the room. During the same night some yet to be
identified people came and destroyed Muwengwa’s house and looted his
property. Muwengwa escaped unhurt during the attack.
The next
day Runhare ordered every person in Ward 20 to attend a Zanu PF rally,
where he told the gathering Zanu PF was going to “fix” Muwengwa. Two of
Muwengwa relatives; Chengai and Zivanai Chapenya, were assaulted in
front of the gathering as the two were accused of supporting Muwengwa’s
election bid.
After these threats on his life, Muwengwa was last
seen after filing his nomination papers. Efforts by the MDC and his
family to trace his whereabouts have been in vain.
The police
have also not been forthcoming although three reports have been made to
the ZRP in connection with disappearance of Muwengwa, twice at Chitange
Police Base and one at Rushinga Police Station.
This confirms
once again, that we are headed for another bloody election. The leopard
has not changed its spots. Various reports of intimidation, arrests and
violence against MDC members continue to be received from across the
provinces.
In Mashonaland West province, The MDC candidate for
Magunje constituency, Mr. Timothy Mutsunge, was arrested on Monday 4
March 2008 with 17 others for sticking posters and distributing fliers
at Magunje growth point. The group included 10 innocent citizens who
had received fliers from Mutsunge and 8 MDC activists. Reports suggest
that 22 police officers clad in riot gear descended on Mutsunge who had
attracted a large crowd and they proceeded to arrest anyone who had in
his possession any MDC materials.
It is suspected that the
Officer in Charge for Magunje known as Ruzungunde is working together
with the ZANU-PF candidate for the constituency Franco Ndambakuwa to
frustrate MDC campaigns. Ndambakuwa reportedly threatened Mutsunge with
assault, murder and arson if he continued campaigning for President
Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC.
Mutsunge was only released on
$100 million bail on Thursday after his attorney from Muchineripi and
Associates intervened. He was also ordered to report thrice a week at
Magunje Police station. Only 3 people were released since it was
difficult to raise the $100 million set as bail for each of the
accused. 15 people remain in custody.
MDC Information and Publicity Department
Zim Independent
Friday, 07 March 2008 08:38
ZIMBAWE suffered real losses of US$448,5
million in the gold sector
last year due to a slump in production which was
worsened by low support
prices and electricity shortages.
The
central bank's failure to pay for gold deliveries on time also
contributed
to the massive losses.
Zimbabwe only managed to produce seven
tonnes last year, which earned
US$155,5 million.
The 2007
production figure is in stark contrast to 1999's all time
high of 27 114 kg
which at today's prices would have earned Zimbabwe a total
of US$604
million, according to Chamber of Mines Zimbabwe chief executive
officer
Joseph Malaba.
"Production for 2007 in volume terms was only 7 017
kg. This
represents a decline of 20 097 kg over a nine year period," Malaba
said.
"If the country had been producing at 1999 levels the country
could
have earned US$604 million compared to the current US$155,5 million
for
2007."
Gold output declined by 38% last year from 10,9
tonnes in 2006 to 6,8
tonnes in 2007.
Malaba said the
international weighted average gold price for 2007 was
US$692,89 an ounce
while Zimbabwe's weighted annual price, based on
production figures, was
US$684,87 an ounce.
The central bank has also kept the lip on the
support prices by
reviewing it quarterly at a time when international
bullion prices are
firming.
The Chamber of Mines Zimbabwe could
not immediately quantify losses
arising from erratic electricity supplies
but said the problem had affected
virtually all mining
companies.
"The power crisis has affected all mineral producers
significantly.
There are mines that have experienced flooding principally
because of
electricity supply constraints. Such operations deserve special
mention
whenever the electricity issue is discussed. Information on lost
production
in man hours for the gold industry is not currently at hand,"
Malaba said.
One of the worst affected has been Metallon Gold which
51% of Zimbabwe's
total gold.
Two out of Metallon's five gold
mines have experienced flooding, due
to electricity shortages.
"The number of pumps we bought is far less than the number we require.
The
mine is still flooded," a source at the mine said.
Zimbabwe has
tumbled down the rankings of Africa's top gold producing
countries since the
economic and political crisis set in almost ten years
ago.
Currently, Zimbabwe is tenth in the ranking of Africa's top gold
producers.
However, in 1999 when production was at its peak, Zimbabwe was in
third
position after South Africa and Ghana.
The firming international
prices of gold have not benefited the mining
sector because of the fixed
exchange controls. .
The price of gold reached new highs last week
as it rose to US$953,60
an ounce before falling to US$926,40 an ounce on the
back of a decision by
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which plans to
sell more than 3000
tonnes of gold.
The increase has been
attributed to gold trekking the rising price of
oil which hit the US$100 a
barrel mark two weeks ago.
Meanwhile businessdigest understands
that the central bank is yet to
pay for gold deliveries since October last
year.
Most exporting companies are also yet to receive their
foreign
currency from the central bank.
An official at the
central bank said it was highly unlikely that the
companies will get their
money anytime soon.The delay in the release of
funds is now threatening the
viability of the few exporting companies that
are still operating.--Kuda
Chikwanda
Zim Independent
Friday, 07 March 2008 08:30
THE National Incomes and Pricing Commission
(NIPC) wants all hotels
and tourism service providers to charge lower rates
for government and local
authorities.
NIPC chairman, Godwills
Masimirembwa, told tourism operators at a
meeting this week that they must
start working on the modalities of the new
pricing system that will result
in a permanent discount for the government
and local
authorities.
The directive means that the general public will pay
more for
accommodation and meals in hotels than government
employees.
Although the discount rate has not yet been announced
businessdigest
understands that the NIPC wants the government prices to be
20% lower that
those paid by the public.
The intervals for
reviewing the two prices are also different.
While the public rate
will be reviewed every two weeks the government
prices will only change
after a month.
Parastatals will not enjoy the benefit of the new
system.
Masimirembwa made the directive after hotels and tourism
service
providers increased their charges without NIPC
approval.
Masimirembwa told businessdigest yesterday that the NIPC
wanted the
system to start operating as soon as the modalities are
completed.
"Yes that is what we want because we have to make it
clear that hotels
are not necessarily a luxury. There are others who come
into hotels because
they are on business. Here we are talking government and
local authorities,"
Masimirembwa said.
"Government and local
authorities must not be treated like any person
who comes into a hotel to
seek an experience."
The Tuesday meeting was convened to deal with
the pricing issue after
hotels increased their rates without approval from
the NIPC.
Hotels increased their prices arguing that the NIPC was
not responsive
to its request for an urgent review.
The NIPC
has been dragging its feet on the pricing issue for the past
three month
arguing that the prices that they approved last November had not
expired.
The meeting was attended by officials from the NIPC,
Zimbabwe Tourism
Authority (ZTA) and the Tourism Council of
Zimbabwe.
Masimirembwa said the new pricing system was meant to
"show the
difference between people coming into hotels for an experience and
those
that are doing so out of necessity". According to the plan the
discount will
apply to all hotels including those with five
stars.
Tourism stakeholders who attended the meeting told
businessdigest that
although the directive was bad for their businesses they
had agreed to
implement the system as a goodwill gesture to the
government.
"This was a rescue plan. The NIPC wanted to push for
the arrest of
some hotel bosses. We had to do something," said an official
with a local
hotel group.
Stakeholders said the new pricing
systems will create distortions in
the tourism market. They said the move
showed that government was using its
policies to protect
itself.
"They put in price controls saying it was meant to protect
the public
but the new directive shows that government only wants to protect
itself,"
said a senior executive with a local hotel group.
By
yesterday players in the hotel industry were still trying to come
up with a
structure that can be used to implement the system.
Hotels are yet
to decide on the kind of documentation that will be
required for government
officials to be eligible for the discount.
There are also fears in
the tourism sector that the system might be
open to abuse.
For
instance it is unclear how hotels will treat government official
who are on
an election campaign.
There are also concerns in the sector that
the 400% price review
approved by NIPC might not be enough for most hotels
to remain viable.
The NIPC said the new rate for a five star hotel
is $280 million per
room but experts in the sector said it costs more than
$400 million to
prepare the room for a guest.
Discussions for
another price review will continue today.--Shakeman
Mugari
Zim Independent
Friday,
07 March 2008 08:21
AIR Zimbabwe customers will now have to pay more in
foreign currency
after the troubled national airline last week introduced a
special levy for
fuel on its charges.
According to documents
seen by Businessdigest, the fuel levy, which
was effective February 29, will
be incorporated under departure tax.
This means that a passenger
flying to China will have to pay US$110
($2,53 billion on the parallel
market) for the fuel levy on top of the
departure tax of US$12. The fuel
levy to China is the same for both business
and economy class.
A traveller to England will pay a fuel levy of US$111 on top of the
US$179
departure tax in business class. Those flying in economy class will
pay
US$110 on top of the US$100 departure fee.
A person flying to South
Africa will pay a fuel levy of US$90 in
addition to the US$41 for both the
economy and business class.
A fuel levy of US$29 is paid for both
business and economy class to
Dubai on top of the US$90 departure tax. The
fuel levy to Singapore cost
US$124 from US$14 for both business and economy
class.
Insiders said the national airline last week decided to
charge the
fuel levy in foreign currency after failing to obtain foreign
currency to
meet fuel and other operational costs.
The new
charges are being effected at a time when the country is
facing serious
foreign currency shortages.
About 80% of Air Zimbabwe's costs are
in foreign currency, but the
national airline said it was only managing
about 20% of the requirements.
Air Zimbabwe had been experiencing
flight delays and cancellations due
to the shortage of Jet A1 fuel,
equipment constraints and crew shortages.
The cancellation and
delays has cost Air Zimbabwe billions of dollars
in accommodation and food
for the affected people.
Air Zimbabwe introduced the fuel levy
after incurring huge costs when
they resorted to importing Jet A1 fuel from
neighbouring countries since
January 4.
The new fuel supplies
from neighbouring countries were augmenting
those from BP Shell and Total,
which have exclusive rights for the provision
of Jet A1 fuel in the
country.
Air Zimbabwe requires 600 000 litres of Jet A1 fuel a week
for its
fleet of two Boeing 767-200ER, three Boeing 737-200ADV and three
Modern Ark
60 from China. The airline needs about US$100 million for
recapitalisation.--Paul Nyakazeya
Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the
subject
line.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
JAG
My congratulations to Ben Freeth and his article in this addition - I
will
certainly add my support where ever I can - please pass this on to
him.
Also pass on to him that the sooner some outside, Western or
Eastern,
Government very slowly introduces to the various African Governments
that
us "Indigenous Whites" are, actually, very good people and the more
that
is done to acknowledge us, by the Indigenous Blacks, the more
acceptable
we will become.
Regards
Brian
Hayes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
JAG
It has been a while since I have put pen to paper, but life here in
Aus
has not been easy.
I do need to correct a point Ben makes ' The
ninety percent have left
because they could not see a future for themselves
here.'
Most farmers like myself were forced off our land, and had no
means of
survival. WE HAD NO OPTION BUT TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE A LIVING, BE IT
IN
AUS OR WHERE EVER. THERE WERE NO OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE LIKE
MYSELF
IN ZIM. I FOR ONE TRIED AND STAYED TILL I WAS BOOTED! IT WAS NOT A
CASE
OF THE FUTURE, BUT SURVIVAL PLEASE REMEMBER THAT.
IT IS NO SECRET
THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF ZIMBABWEANS NOW DESTITUTE,
AND HERE IN AUS IT IS
DIFFICULT WITH MOST EX ZIMS WORKING JUST TO FEED
THE FAMILY. HOWEVER VERY FEW
ARE FOLLOWING THEIR CHOSEN PROFESSION, LIFE
IS NOT EASY NO MATTER WHAT ONE
MIGHT HEAR.
The fact that we now live abroad, does not mean we have lost
interest or
forgotten Zim. We are as dedicated as everyone in seeking just
settlement.
It
is gratifying to see us all at last trying to pull
together, because quite
frankly it is the only way we will win the battle. I
have always promoted
the bigger picture, and through my involvement in
AgricAfrica will continue
to do so.
I for one never thought that at my
age in life I would commute to
work. [The equivalent of Cape Town to Lusaka.]
The work is challenging,
but interesting, and for those who do not know the
Northern Territory of
Aus is pioneering stuff.
I wish all our
dedicated leaders of this battle all the best, and let's
hope and pray we are
now close to some sort of resolve.
Regards Vernon
Nicolle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
JAG
Perhaps it is timely to remind readers of the honesty of
Government's
intentions.
In the Minutes of the last Congress that the
then Commercial Farmers Union
President John Brown chaired in August 1990,
our friend, The Minister of
Agriculture, the late Witness Mangwende stated
the following:-
"I have stated there is no intention to grab anybody's
land. We know the
hectarage we are talking about is going to be achieved
without the necessity
of removing one farmer from his land. The CFU President
did raise the issue
of the Derelict Land Board that it has not worked as
efficiently as it could
have done because we do know there is derelict land
in some of the areas."
It seems that the intention was to make the area
of derelict land increase.
Anthony
Swire-Thompson
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
07 March, 2008
The musical campaign aimed at encouraging
Zimbabweans to vote in the
elections on March 29th hits South Africa over
the weekend. Organised by the
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition under the 'Rock
the Vote' banner, this creative
method of voter education has brought
Zimbabwean musicians together for a
series of peaceful concerts with a
serious message.
Nickson Nyikadzino, who helped coordinate the concert
that will be in
Johannesburg on Sunday, said they hope to motivate
Zimbabweans living in
South Africa to go home and vote. He added that those
who cannot go should
at least encourage their relatives at home to make sure
they vote. The
enthusiastic activist explained that this election was
crucial because the
prospects for change are great.
The artists to be
featured on Sunday include Sandra Ndebele, Knox, Snipper,
Sam Mtukudzi,
Willom Tight and the dance troupe Mambokadzi. Nyikadzino
described them as
ambassadors for voter education in Zimbabwe. He said they
have done so many
shows that they are now incorporating messages about the
rights and
responsibilities of voters in their songs.
"Rock The Vote" was initially
supposed to attract the youth of Zimbabwe in
order to teach them about their
rights and responsibilities as citizens. But
the concept was changed when
they realized that many adults were also coming
to enjoy the music. "We are
bringing back hope. We have tried to demystify
rigging and we use the
campaign as a confidence building measure. We want
people to have faith in
the elections again," said Nyikadzino.
As South Africa is currently home
to millions of Zimbabweans who have fled
from persecution and poverty at the
hands of the Mugabe regime, the Crisis
Coalition hopes to influence as many
of them as possible to return home to
vote on March 29th.
The group
admits that many may not be able to because they do not have legal
status in
South Africa, or the financial means to travel home and back. The
elections
this year are largely seen as crucial polls that could finally
remove the
government responsible for destroying the country.
Although "Rock the
Vote" ends in Johannesburg on Sunday, Nyikadzino said
they would continue to
organise smaller events in Zimbabwe. The Sunday
concert will held be at the
Windbrow Theatre, corner Nuggett and Peterson
streets near the Hillbrow
area.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
New Zimbabwe
By Wicky
Moffat
Last updated: 03/07/2008 20:58:11
EVENTS of the last month have
presented Zimbabwe with the best opportunity
to become a true democracy. The
entrance of Simba Makoni into the
presidential race has given a fresh
breadth of life to a nearly dead and
predictable presidential
race.
Obviously, Makoni's entrance is unusual because he does not have a
political
party. But then desperate situations like ours require unusual
means to
untangle. Some have pointed out the disadvantages of his entry and
I would
like to analyse these, one by one.
His main disadvantage as
many will point out, is that he has no political
party. Questions have been
asked about how he will form a government without
his own
party.
While this is true, it also presents Zimbabweans with our best
chance of
becoming a true democracy. An independent president cannot impose
decisions
or force things down our throat as we have seen in the past. He
will have no
choice but to consult with all parties and take a course that
is acceptable
to the majority. In other words, this will be as close to true
democracy as
you can ever get. To help us understand this, I will define
democracy.
The word democracy comes from the Greek word "demokratia",
which means "the
common people rule". Democracy is a form of government
where the population
of a society controls the government. This simple
concept has been
interpreted and applied in various ways throughout history.
Various
mechanisms have been developed through which the people are supposed
to
control the government and these vary from direct democracy to
representative democracy and liberal democracy.
Unfortunately, a vast
majority of countries that call themselves democracies
are not true
democracies according to the above definition. Most of them are
actually
just elected dictatorships. The only country that is quite close to
the
definition of democracy is Switzerland.
So while the absence of a
political party may appear to be a disadvantage
for Makoni, it is actually
an advantage for Zimbabwe. The most endangered
constituent of things large
is the individual. The freedom of the individual
is constrained and crushed
by all things big: big political party, big
government, big business, and
even big religion.
The two greatest enemies of freedom are those who
insist "you must serve
me!" and those who insist "you must be like me".
Makoni, as an independent
candidate, will have to balance these two great
enemies of freedom against
each other and, therefore, the freedom of the
individual will be increased
and preserved.
The consensus government
produced here will, therefore, nurture the personal
responsibility and good
citizenship of each individual. As such, it will be
up to the people of our
country to decide how they want to be ruled, and how
they want to control
their government.
I therefore, believe Makoni when he promises
"re-engagement" and a "people
driven" constitution. These things will happen
because having an independent
candidate is our best chance at true
democracy; parliament will be able to
play its true role and run the country
as dictated by the people. What may
appear to be a weakness in Makoni's
candidacy is actually a strength for
Zimbabwean democracy!
The second
question that many have raised is around the secrecy surrounding
his
backers. Well, Mugabe is not an ordinary enemy and he cannot be
dislodged by
ordinary means. The Makoni strategy has been that of shock and
surprise -
this is the typical guerrilla strategy that was employed during
the
liberation struggle, or more recently, the "sock and awe" concept used
in
Iraq by America.
Most of Makoni's key backers were key military people
during the war and
they know this strategy so well. Remember Makoni had a
meeting with Mugabe
and he sold him a dummy by submitting his CV for a
constituency; but a week
later he came out fighting.
On Thursday last
week, the main head line in the Chronicle was: "Dabengwa
denies links to
Makoni". Two days later, the main headline in the same paper
was "Dabengwa
joins Makoni". It seems the strategy is to take the enemy
unaware, when he
least expects it.
There will be more of these headlines like; "Zvinavashe
raps Makoni" and
"Mujuru dissociates himself from Makoni". But we cannot
read much into the
headlines in the propaganda media, they are just what
they are: propaganda.
Dabengwa's declaration last Saturday shed some
light on the behind the
scenes manoeuvres that have been taking place. The
Standard newspaper quoted
Dabengwa saying: "One such discussion was in Cape
Town, where I met Patrick
Chinamasa and Makoni and we agreed that it had
become urgent to replace the
aging leadership."
This tells us that
Chinamasa is either one of Makoni's backers or at least
he was involved
during the conception stages of the project. This puts
Chinamasa in a tight
situation because the old man will never trust him
again. He will have to
come open soon and support Makoni. Otherwise, how can
he be forgiven again?
Remember he was also implicated in the Tsholotsho plot
and he had to beg for
forgiveness. Surely, he has used up all his "nine"
lives now.
The
Makoni strategy seems to be that of giving the enemy as little time to
hit
back as possible. This is why Solomon Mujuru and others will only
declare
their support closer to March 29. Vice President Joice Mujuru might
not need
to say anything at all. The assumption will be that if her husband
Solomon
Mujuru is with Makoni, so is Joice, unless they are divorced!
It has
taken Makoni years of planning in order to give Mugabe only a month
to hit
back. It's called a "short and sharp programme of action" which
involves
ambushes and systematically phased shock endorsements.
In short, I agree
with those that are questioning Makoni's strategy and lack
of clarity, but
for now, I believe things will become clearer in stages as
we get closer to
the election-day, when the enemy will get the real shock.
The third
question that many have asked is: "Where was he all along". Well,
the answer
to that is very simple: he was in the politburo plotting Mugabe's
downfall.
We all know that Makoni fell out with Mugabe a long time ago.
Dabengwa has
also told us that they were not just seating on their laurels,
they were
plotting.
Jonathan Moyo said many years ago that Zanu PF can only be
destroyed from
within. He will also tell you that such a job cannot be done
overnight. You
have to be patient and cunning; you have to plan and prepare;
you need a
strategy. The best we can do as povo is to join in, widen the
cracks and
dislodge the old man once and for all.
Often, Mugabe
refers to Tsvangirai as Sekaurema because he did not fight the
liberation
struggle. This is exactly the same argument that we are now using
when we
ask Makoni "where was he?" What then can you say to our army
commanders when
they say that they cannot allow anyone who did not go to war
to be President
in our country? We have no moral ground to oppose them. They
are simply
applying the "war credential politics" that we are using to judge
Makoni.
In fact, if we want to talk about people who have fought
against Mugabe, we
can never go past Dabengwa. This man has fought for the
freedom of his
people all his life. Remember he spent five years of his
"prime life" in
Mugabe's jail without trial - far more than any of today's
activists have
suffered. This makes the "where was he" question minute and
irrelevant. He
fought Mugabe with one strategy before, now he is trying
another avenue.
Margaret Dongo is a fighter who invented the "Mugabe's
wives" vocabulary;
Nkosana Moyo resigned after failing to agree with
Mugabe's rogue politics.
These people are all part of Makoni's bandwagon,
but we still ask "where
were they?" Let's get real! Let's judge Makoni and
Dabengwa by what they are
bringing on the table.
The forth question
that I want to tackle is the conspiracy theory which says
Makoni is a Zanu
PF agent. Mugabe can never unleash an agent that could
potentially threaten
himself. Honestly, there is a real possibility that
Makoni could win this
election. If Mugabe wanted to fly a kite, he would use
a real weakling,
someone with no chance of winning at all, just to give face
to his perceived
democracy (Like Towungana).
Mugabe could never unleash Dabengwa to be an
agent. In fact the police and
CIO have put their thrust and energy on
Makoni, giving the MDC some room to
manoeuvre. Makoni's campaign is genuine,
serious and whole hearted. It is a
chance for us to return to a servant-hood
type of leadership rather than
risk the possibility of yet another
dictator.
We have prayed and waited for so many years for an answer to
our problems.
Let us stop and think before we dismiss what could be the
final answer based
on conspiracy theories. If we find ourselves oppressed
after March 29, will
it be because God did not answer our prayers, or
because we failed to
recognise the answer when it came?
The prophet
Elijah, fleeing Israel to escape Jezebel's wrath, doesn't stop
running until
he reaches Beer-sheba. Exhausted and dispirited, he then heads
out into the
mountain to pray for death. A great and strong wind rents the
mountains, and
brakes the rocks into pieces; but the Lord was not in the
wind: and after
the wind an earthquake came; but the Lord was not in the
earthquake: and
after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the
fire: and after the
fire "a still small voice".
We have gone with the wind before, but it got
us nowhere; some of us ran
with the fire, while others ran with the
earthquake, but it did not give us
deliverance. Now it's time for the 'small
still voice', and therein lies the
answer! Often our suffering is not
because God did not answer, but because
we failed to recognise the
answer.
Finally there are those who feel guilty about leaving Morgan
Tsvangirai,
having come this far in the struggle. Tsvangirai has been a
soldier for us,
a brave one for that matter, he is a national hero. He has
stood against one
of the most systematic and autocratic dictatorships on
this planet. We love
him and respect him for that. He will always be dear to
our hearts. But we
are sorry we cannot ignore what is unfolding before
us.
When I was young, I used an ox-drawn cart because that was the only
means of
transport available. But now chitima cherusununguko chauya; we have
to get
on board. Why should I use an ox-drawn cart when the world's fastest
train
is available?
Some of us are liberal democrats, true Zimbabwean
patriots who just want to
see the country prosper. We do not hang on to
personalities, but we pursue
opportunities and principles. In fact an ideal
or win-win situation would
allow the MDC to dominate parliament while Makoni
becomes president. This
means Makoni would have to consult Tsvangirai on
every decision before it
can be passed in parliament.
The end result
will be "Simba kuvanhu"; true democracy comes to Zimbabwe.
This is our best
chance to achieve what they call "separation of powers".
One leader would
control the executive, while the other controls the
legislative branch of
government. This protects democracy and forestalls
tyranny. Maybe our hour
has finally come.
Wicky Moffat is a Zimbabwean based in New Zealand