Zim Independent
Local
Thursday, 15 May 2008 21:51
YEAR on year inflation for the month of
March surged to 355 000% from
the February figure of 165 000% as prices rose
on the back of increased
money supply to finance the 2008 harmonised
elections.
Top government sources said the inflation
figures for March had
initially been projected at 406 000%, but were still
being computed as the
Central Statistical Office (CSO) continues to fiddle
with the consumer
basket.
"The CSO were instructed last month
to change the consumer basket. The
basket is forever changing." said one
Ministry of Finance official. "It
remains uncertain whether the go ahead
will be given to them to release the
figures."
Food and
non-alcoholic beverages continued to be the major drivers of
inflation in
March.
No figures were provided for month-on-month inflation
figures for
March nor for money supply growth since December last
year.
"They are still busy doing that," the official said. "When
they come
up with a new basket, they are told to dump certain products and
substitute
them with cheaper ones. However, they will soon run out of
cheaper products
to use."
The CSO acting director, Moffat
Nyoni, confirmed that the CSO had been
having difficulty in coming up with a
stable consumer basket.
"We have the method and the formulae,"
Nyoni said. "It is what you
feed into the formulae. We have just too many
gaps and we find the data
available somewhat troubling."
Nyoni
said the CSO had not computed substantive inflation data for the
months of
February, March and April owing to these challenges.
"The more data
we have, the more investigations we conduct, the more
confident we become,"
Nyoni said.
"However, when we consider the data that we have, we
just don’t feel
confident releasing inflation figures."
However, the CSO projection, sources said, has placed inflation for
May at
over 1 200 000% if the trend continues.
Nyoni would not confirm
these developments.
"I am not aware of that. We have not even
computed inflation for these
past months," he said.
The figures
come at a time the RBZ has introduced higher denomination
bearer cheques
notes to counter the adverse effects of inflation.
The central bank
introduced the $500 million bearer cheques for the
public and the $5
billion, $25 billion, $50 billion agro-cheques for
farmers. The new notes
come hardly two weeks after the introduction of the
$250 million bearer
cheques.
Economist John Robertson said the acceleration of the
year-on-year
inflation rate reflected the compounded effect of prices that
were rising
every week.
"Prior to this, prices used to double
once a month, then they doubled
twice a month and now they are doubling
every week," Robertson said. "It is
a compounding effect causing the rate to
accelerate tremendously."
The CSO last released inflation figures
in January when the
year-on-year rate was 100 580,2%. Prior to that, the
year on year inflation
rate for December was 66 212,3%.
By Kuda
Chikwanda
Zim Independent
Local
Thursday, 15 May 2008 22:35
PRESIDENT Robert
Mugabe’s close allies are opposed to the looming
presidential run-off which
they fear will fuel political violence and
economic
disintegration.
Information to hand shows Mugabe’s associates have
advised that the
potentially explosive run-off should be avoided to pave way
for a negotiated
political settlement.
The run-off date is due
to be announced today. Sources said it could
be in June, although electoral
authorities have indicated it should be held
within 90 days from May 2. The
MDC said yesterday it would not accept the
run-off delay.
Independent MP Jonathan Moyo is challenging the run-off delay in court
today.
The sources said Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono has
advised Mugabe
that it would be better to avoid the run-off and settle for
talks.
They said Gono made a case to Mugabe last month that this
would
prevent a further assault on the economy and limit the
meltdown.
Gono’s position was at variance with that of the Joint
Operations
Command (JOC) who want Mugabe to fight on.
Zimbabwe
Defence Forces chief General Constantine Chiwenga, Police
Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, Prisons Commissioner retired
Major-General Paradzayi Zimondi, Army Chief of Staff Major-General Martin
Chedondo and Brigadier-General David Sigauke have said they would not accept
opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai if he wins.
The
generals’ position is shared by Zanu PF senior politburo member
Emmerson
Mnangagwa who is Mugabe’s chief strategist for the run-off.
Mnangagwa’s rivals in the camp led by retired army commander General
Solomon
Mujuru want Mugabe to quit, not enter the run-off. They started
their
campaign well before the elections.
Regional leaders, led by South
African President Thabo Mbeki, are said
to be pushing for a negotiated
solution or government of national unity, but
Mugabe and his clique of
hardliners are resisting this.
Mbeki is said to be of the view that
a run-off would not resolve the
country’s deepening problems but worsen
them.
The sources said after the March 29 elections, the service
chiefs told
Mugabe to dig in but close advisors like Gono suggested a
negotiated
settlement.
Zanu PF sent out feelers to the MDC
through Nicholas Goche, but talks
quickly collapsed as the two parties were
poles apart.
Tsvangirai has confirmed this, although Zanu PF claims
the MDC
approached it first.
It is understood Gono wrote for
Mugabe a detailed document arguing his
case. He is said to have also argued
that the run-off would drain whatever
resources government has
left.
Sources said government — which has no usable foreign
currency — needs
about US$60 million to fund the run-off.
Government is currently unable to import essentials due to chronic
forex
shortages.
The campaign matter was discussed at his party’s
politburo meeting on
Wednesday and will be raised at today’s key central
committee meeting. Zanu
PF is likely to use the central committee to launch
Mugabe’s campaign.
Tsvangirai is expected to return home today
after more than a month in
self-imposed exile in Botswana and South Africa
from where he visited a
number of leaders in the region and across the
continent in search of a
breakthrough to current problems.
He
is expected to address his party caucus of MPs and senators in
Harare which
started meeting yesterday.
Gono said in a local weekly last week he
was convinced “scorched earth
policies” during the run-off would not achieve
anything, except further
damage the economy and social fabric. He said
unless parties exercised
restraint during the run-off, “there may be no
Zimbabwean economy to talk
about”. He said political violence would only
fuel divisions.
Gono, believed to be considering resigning due to
political
interference in his job, said if not carefully managed the run-off
would
“spell disaster for the economy”.
His view is said to be
shared by a number of senior Zanu PF officials,
except those in the
Mnangagwa faction, who think the run-off would leave the
country in
political and economic ruin.
Asked about his advice to Mugabe, Gono
said: I’m not a superintendent
or advisor in politics, but in the financial
sector”. He said in any case he
does not discuss his briefings with Mugabe
in the media.
He denied he was considering resigning. “That’s just
a perception, I
have heard that story a hundred times before,” he said. “I
will do my job
given to me by my principals at any given time. Right now I’m
still there,
but I won’t last a day longer than my principals want me
to.”
It is said Gono still has political ambitions which he wants
to pursue
after his term has expired in December. “Don’t compartmentalise or
regiment
me into politics. After this I can be a farmer, businessman,
banker,
lecturer or even a tea boy,” he said.
Some in the
security establishment believe Mugabe should not contest
the run-off because
he is likely to lose and exit in a humiliating fashion.
They think
alarms bells were loud enough in the first round and he
should quit to avoid
an embarrassing crushing.
By Dumisani Muleya
Zim Independent
Local
Thursday, 15 May 2008 22:28
SOUTH African President
Thabo Mbeki last week confronted President
Robert Mugabe on post-election
violence after a probe team he sent to
Zimbabwe uncovered shocking evidence
of largely state-sponsored brutality
against opposition supporters in rural
areas.
Sources told the Zimbabwe Independent that Mbeki raised
"great
concern" about the violence when he met Mugabe in Harare last Friday
afternoon soon after receiving a brief on political violence from the
investigators.
Mbeki was appointed by Sadc last year to
facilitate dialogue between
Zanu PF and the opposition MDC. The sources said
the head of the probe team
made up of ex-army generals, Lieutenant-General
Gilbert Lebeko Ramano, met
Mbeki for several hours and told him they had
uncovered evidence of brutal
violence against the opposition.
Ramano, the source added, told Mbeki that in a few cases members of
the
Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC were also involved in counter-violence.
The generals during their investigations met government, Zanu PF and
opposition officials, civil society and other stakeholders. They also saw
victims of the political violence, some of them with lacerations, scars and
broken limbs.
The team reportedly declined to entertain police
chief Augustine
Chihuri’s attempt to give them a colonial context of the
situation obtaining
in the country. Chihuri, the sources added, was reminded
by the generals
that their mandate in Zimbabwe was to probe current
political violence.
Mbeki, the sources said, was shown some of the
evidence of the
violence and was reportedly shaken.
"After the
briefing with the generals at the South African ambassador’s
residence,
Mbeki met Mugabe at State House for three hours and raised
concern about the
violence," one of the sources said. "Mbeki reportedly told
Mugabe that a
run-off in an atmosphere of violence would produce a disputed
result.
Mugabe, the sources said, agreed with Mbeki that the
violence should
be brought to an end, but tried to convince the South
African leader that
MDC youths were provoking his party
members.
Since the Mugabe/Mbeki meeting, the Zimbabwe government
and Zanu PF
have been issuing statements deploring violence.
Police in Masvingo this week said they had dismantled political bases
in the
province that were being used to unleash violence, while Zanu PF in
Mashonaland Central launched an anti-violence campaign.
On
Wednesday Zanu PF’s politburo met in the capital and also condemned
violence. The source said Mbeki was convinced that a run-off could not take
place in the tense climate.
Last week, his special envoy on
Zimbabwe, Kingsley Mamabolo, also said
the environment in Zimbabwe was not
conducive for the run-off now expected
about or after July 31.
On Wednesday Sadc — which is expected to monitor the run-off — said
the
political environment was not yet suited for a free and fair
second-round
poll.
“We can’t say the playing ground is safe or will be fair, but
we are
there to create a conducive environment for everybody to be
confident,” Sadc
executive secretary Tomaz Salomao said.
Sadc
is expected to hold an extraordinary meeting on Zimbabwe soon.
Political violence intensified in Zimbabwe after the Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission (ZEC) confirmed on May 2 that Mugabe and Zanu PF had
lost to the
MDC and Tsvangirai in the March 29 poll.
The sources said Mugabe
told Mbeki during their meeting that the
run-off would be delayed because
ZEC needed funds to replenish election
materials, among other
logistics.
Mugabe reportedly told the South African leader that ZEC
wanted to
delay the run-off by at least six months.
“Mbeki
pledged to mobilise funds for the run-off,” another source
said.
By Constantine Chimakure
Zim Independent
Local
Thursday, 15 May 2008 21:36
PROMINENT lawyer and MDC
MP-elect for Buhera West, Advocate Eric
Matinenga, has filed an urgent High
Court application seeking an order to
bar Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander
Constantine Chiwenga from deploying
soldiers whom he accuses of harassing
villagers in his constituency.
Chiwenga is being sued in
his capacity as Commander of the Zimbabwe
Defence Forces.
The
army has denied involvement in the violence that has gripped the
country
since the elections in March.
Matinenga said he was prompted to
make the application after "certain
disturbances" by soldiers in his
constituency. Matinenga said it was common
cause that the country was at
peace with no internal or external threats to
it.
"In my humble
submission, it is the duty of the Zimbabwe Republic
Police to keep law and
order," Matinenga said in the court papers.
"In circumstances where
perhaps the Zimbabwe Republic Police fails to
do so, members of the army are
invited to assist the Zimbabwe Republic
Police.
The police have
not called upon the military authority to assist in
law enforcement in
Buhera West. The Zimbabwe National Army is in full
control and is harassing
civilians for the simple reason that they voted for
the MDC and not Zanu
PF."
He said the disturbances were being caused by members of the
Zimbabwe
Defence Forces who were presently deployed in his
constituency.
"Soon after the announcement of the parliamentary
election (results)
by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, I received numerous
reports of army
units harassing the civilian population, mainly by assaults
and in some
cases kidnapping. The victims are all defenceless members of the
MDC."
Matinenga said a senior army officer identified only as Major
Svosve
was behind the army terror campaign in the constituency.
Svosve, Matinenga alleged, was involved in a recent kidnapping and
detention
of an MDC youth leader for three days.
"I was shocked at the extent
to which members of the MDC were being
harassed, humiliated and beaten by
members of the army," he said.
An MDC councillor, the lawyer
averred, was subjected to the "most
humiliating and horrific experience" at
the behest of the army.
The MDC legislator said he expected
soldiers to be professional and
apolitical.
"It is common cause
that in terms of the constitution and indeed in
terms of the Defence Act,
members of the Zimbabwe National Army are supposed
to be professional and be
apolitical," Matinenga said.
He alleged that some "drunken" members
of the army were reportedly
forcing villagers to attend campaign meetings
for Mugabe ahead of the
presidential election run-off.
"This
(army being apolitical) is certainly not the case in Buhera
where members of
the army are taking it upon themselves to campaign and
promote the political
interests of Zanu PF while at the same time denouncing
and beating up
members of the MDC party," he said.
Last month, Svosve allegedly
stopped the lawyer and his supporters
from celebrating his victory in the
Zanu PF stronghold.
Matinenga claimed the army called a meeting at
Mutasa on May 4 but he
did not attend for fear of a confrontation with
Svosve whom he had clashed
with at the aborted victory celebrations.
Matinenga defeated Tapiwa Zengeya
of Zanu PF in the March 29
polls.
Matinenga also accused the army of misusing government
resources to
further political aims.
"Taxpayers’ resources are
being used against civilians and for the
furtherance of a particular
political party’s agenda," he said.
He also warned that the conduct
of army personnel in Buhera posed
"serious danger" to villagers if the High
Court failed to intervene.
Matinenga’s lawyer, Chris Mhike, in his
certificate of urgency argued
that: "The assaults, harassment and
humiliation appear to be ongoing and are
in fact on the increase. For this
reason, this Honourable Court has to
intervene by making an important
judicial pronouncement that defines the
constitutional functions of the
defence forces in case they have forgotten."
By Bernard
Mpofu
Zim Independent
Local
Thursday, 15 May 2008 21:33
THE army has admitted that
it has deployed soldiers on the ground but
has denied that the deployments
are part of a wider plan to intimidate
people into voting for President
Robert Mugabe in the second round of the
presidential
poll.
Mugabe faces MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai in a
run-off that should be
after July 31.
Reports from various
parts of the country have suggested that army
personnel have been deployed
to ensure that voters are intimidated into
voting for the 84-year-old Zanu
PF candidate seeking to turn the tables on
his bitter rival,
Tsvangirai.
In response to questions fielded by the Zimbabwe
Independent last
week, ZNA spokesperson, Major Alphios Makotore said that
the high visibility
of army personnel on the ground should not be
"misconstrued as a commitment
to political violence" on the part of the
defence forces.
He said the deployment of soldiers was part of the
ZNA’s operational
commitments that are in pursuit of community assistance
programmes by the
army.
"These operational commitments, as
cited above, naturally result in
increased visibility of soldiers and
officers in the communities they will
be operating in.
"…This
presence of troops in persuit of community assistance should
never be
misconstrued as commitment to political activities," said Makotore.
"As
clearly spelt out in the Defence Act, the ZNA is an apolitical army
which
should never be used to further political aspirations of any
individual
political party."
He cited Operation Maguta/ Inala, Garikayi/
Hlalani Kuhle, Outreach
Malaria Control and Cholera Campaign, and disaster
relief programmes to the
Muzarabani community as some of the projects
undertaken by the army as part
of its community service
programme.
Responding to reports that the army was on high alert,
he said the ZNA
was in a position of readiness for any eventuality that
might arise in cases
of an escalation of violence beyond civilian
control.
"As regard to the state of readiness of the army, we would
like to
reiterate that the army has the onerous responsibility of ensuring
security
and safety of Zimbabwe and its citizens. At any given time, the
army has to
observe certain states of readiness which makes it operationally
possible to
carry out duties efficiently without any compromises to national
sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence," he said.
Since the announcement of the March 29 general election results,
reports
from the MDC suggest that state security agents and Zanu PF militia
have
killed 32 of the party’s supporters, while thousands of families have
been
displaced countryside.
By Nkululeko Sibanda
Zim Independent
Local
Thursday, 15 May 2008 21:12
FORMER Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH)
boss, Henry Muradzikwa,
was this week fired for defying an order by
Information and Publicity
minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu and permanent secretary
George Charamba to deny
positive coverage to the MDC on either radio or
television.
Muradzikwa was shown the exit on Wednesday
after close to two years at
the helm of the country’s sole national
broadcaster.
Sources told the Zimbabwe Independent this week that
broadcast
journalist and Zanu PF apologist Happison Muchechetere was
expected to take
over from Muradzikwa.
The sources said
Muradzikwa had openly defied Ndlovu and Charamba’s
orders arguing that he
only took instructions from the ZBH board chaired by
Zimbabwe Newspapers
chief executive officer Justin Mutasa.
Muradzikwa, the sources
said, was instructed to enforce a media
blackout on the MDC, as well as bar
the party from placing advertisements
with the national
broadcaster.
At a meeting held at Pockets Hill, the ZBH
headquarters, a fortnight
ago, Ndlovu ordered ZBC not to give the MDC
positive coverage until after
the presidential election run-off between
President Robert Mugabe and the
opposition’s Morgan Tsvangirai.
Ndlovu, the sources added, also barred the flighting of MDC
advertisements
on either television or radio. Muradzikwa, however, the
sources said, was of
a different opinion and said he would seek clearance
from the ZBH board for
him to implement Ndlovu’s directive.
"He told them that since he
was employed by the board, he would seek
the board’s indulgence in executing
the said orders," one of the sources at
ZBH said.
"They tried
to pressure him into submission but he stood his ground
and repelled the
pressure."
The sources said Ndlovu and Charamba felt they had been
undermined by
Muradzikwa’s stance and they instructed Mutasa’s board to get
rid of the
former editor of the Sunday Mail and editor-in-chief of the
country’s news
agency Ziana.
The sources said a host of
allegations have now been lined up against
Muradzikwa.
He
stands accused, among other things, of "wining and dining" with
forces
working against Zanu PF and Mugabe.
His sin, sources said, was that
he allegedly gave independent
presidential candidate Simba Makoni "red
carpet reception" when he came to
ZBC-TV for a recording on his election
campaign.
Muradzikwa, the sources added, was also accused of
failing to use
television and radio to effectively campaign for Mugabe.
Muradzikwa, the
sources added, was also accused of financial
impropriety.
Yesterday, the former University of Zimbabwe lecturer
said he was not
given any reason as to why he was fired except to be
informed that "the
shareholder has lost confidence in you".
"There was no specific reason why I was fired," Muradzikwa said.
"It’s only the part of the letter which says the shareholder had lost
confidence in me that probably says something about the reasons of my
dismissal."
He refuted allegations that he was responsible for
Zanu PF’s loss in
the elections, saying he stuck to the Broadcasting
Services Act schedules
that govern the operations of the state broadcaster
during elections.
"I religiously stuck to the statutes governing
our operations as a
broadcaster as given in the amended Broadcasting
Services of Zimbabwe Act.
Nobody had the right to instruct me on how to act
as this was outside law,"
Muradzikwa argued.
"We all made sure
that we stuck to the laws and I believe I was right
in that
approach."
He flatly denied financial impropriety during his tenure
at ZBH.
Meanwhile, Zanu PF has set up an information and publicity
production
team to spearhead President Mugabe’s presidential election
run-off campaign.
Mugabe will square up against the MDC’s
Tsvangirai in the run-off
expected on or before July 31.
Sources in the ruling party said Patrick Chinamasa would chair the
committee, which is also made up of Information and Publicity deputy
minister Bright Matonga, former ZBC chief executive officer Chris
Mutsvangwa, and radio and television personalities Hugo Ribatika and Tichafa
Matambanadzo, among others.
"The Chinamasa committee will be
responsible for producing Mugabe’s
campaign jingles, posters and T-shirts,
among others," one of the sources
said. "It will also be responsible for
crafting Mugabe’s campaign manifesto
in the run-off."
The
sources said the committee took over from the one that was jointly
chaired
by Zanu PF secretary for information and publicity Nathan
Shamuyarira and
Information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, which spearheaded
the March 29
harmonised elections campaign.
The Shamuyarira-Ndlovu committee
comprised members drawn from the
information departments of Zanu PF and the
government.
The party’s theme for the run-off is "100 percent
Empowerment: Total
Independence."
Zim Independent
Local
Thursday, 15 May 2008 20:51
THE attack on villagers at Mapondera in
Chiweshe communal lands in
Mashonaland Central early last week left the
community traumatised. Six
people were reportedly killed while scores were
injured in the village
bloodbath, a microcosm of escalating post-election
violence gripping the
country.
"They grabbed me, threw me
to the ground and stripped me naked," said
Fungisai Dofo (28) as he narrated
his ordeal to the Zimbabwe Independent
from his hospital bed, an hour before
he died on Saturday. "As if possessed
by evil spirits, they started beating
me up and in the process one of them
crushed my testicles with his
boot."
Harare-based lawyer Shepherd Mushonga, a newly-elected MDC
MP in the
neighbouring Mazowe South constituency, in an interview this week
said he
helped to bury six party activists murdered last week.
"I helped to bury all of them. It was an excruciating experience.
Villagers
were shocked and they are currently living as prisoners of fear.
The
killings were systematic and brutal," Mushonga said.
"The villagers
were rounded up, they had their hands and legs tied up
with wires and their
private parts tied with cables."
Dofo was one of the six people
killed in the village. He died at
Howard Hospital which is teeming with
injured victims of the raid on the
village. At least 50 people were injured
in the sweeping attack by a group
of alleged state agents on May
5.
Those who died include Wilson Emmanuel (34), Tapiwa Meda, Joseph
Madzuramhende (29), Jeffy Jemedze and Alex Chiriseri (53).
There was no confirmation of Madzuramende and Meda's deaths.
Police
spokesman Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka last night said he
was not aware
of any reported deaths in the area.
"Honestly speaking, there has
not been any reported deaths in the
area," said Mandipaka. "If there are any
such incidents, they are reported
to us and investigated." He said he was
checking with the relevant police
station to find out if there were any
deaths reported in the area.
Asked how many incidents of political
violence had resulted in deaths,
Mandipaka could not provide any figures and
disputed MDC statistics which by
yesterday showed that 40 people had died as
a result of political violence.
"There is nothing like that; you
can quote me on that. Let them
continue with their figures," he
said.
The Independent is in possession of a postmortem report by Dr
HS
Mukungunugwa, a government doctor who examined Chiriseri at Concession
Hospital on May 9. The postmortem, requested by Assistant Inspector
Masikati, says the deceased had "fractured left 8th rib, swollen genitals,
assault marks and bruises on the chest.
"As a result of the
foregoing examination, I’m of the opinion that the
cause of death was
multiple body injuries due to severe assault," the report
says.
The report was requested by a policeman at ZRP Chombira Station on May
9.
Emmanuel died at the Avenues Clinic in Harare after four
days in the
intensive care unit.
His nephew Bernard Pungwe
narrates. "They called us to a night meeting
last week on Monday and we
initially thought it was going to be a normal
gathering but it turned out to
be horrific.
"They rounded up people from three villages and said
they wanted to
re-educate us about the history of Zanu PF and the liberation
struggle. When
we were there, they started calling out names of people they
wanted to come
up front. Emmanuel was among them. They said the victims must
confess they
voted for the MDC. When the three men refused to say anything
they were
taken into the dark away from the crowd.
"Next we
heard the whips and screams. Every time someone screamed hard
the chairman
of the meeting would stop his lecture and say: ‘Listen to the
traitors, they
are dying’."
Jemedze died at the Avenues Clinic.
"He
had been badly beaten and his testicles were swollen. He was
beaten with
sticks and barbed wire," an eyewitness said.
Dofo, an opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activist,
told the Independent he was
viciously attacked by Zanu PF militants
allegedly alligned to the party’s MP
for Mazowe North, retired Major Cairo
Mhandu.
Efforts to talk
to Mhandu the whole week failed. MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai routed Mugabe
in the presidential election first round. The
second round is due in August.
However, a wave of political violence is
rocking the country ahead of the
run-off.
Dofo said the brutal assault by the menacing political
gang left him
shaken. "I was walking along the road coming from my field at
around 6pm on
Monday (May 5)," he said.
Four men confronted me
and started asking political questions. They
took me to a mountain nearby
where they beat me to the ground, stripped me
naked and assaulted me until I
passed out. They beat me with a blunt object
and stones," he
said.
"One of them had a pistol, so each time I tried to scream for
help he
would threaten to shoot me. They beat me up as if I was an animal.
They
wanted me to ‘confess’ that I had voted for the MDC during the recent
elections."
After talking for about 30 minutes, Dofo started
groaning with pain
and shifting agonisingly on his tiny hospital bed with
blood-tainted sheets.
At that point the nurses ordered us out.
People left in the ward said
they heard Dofo speak to his wife his last
words: “Listen Melody, they have
killed me for nothing, these Zanu PF
people, just because I’m MDC. I am
dying, take care of our
kid.”
After a short while Melody came out of the hospital ward
wailing. It
was clear Dofo had gone. A nurse confirmed he was dead. His
family members
and relatives were devastated.
Villagers were
beaten with barbed wire tied to sticks, gun butts and
blunt objects at
Chaona business centre.
Some suffered broken legs, arms and severe
body injuries. Women were
whipped on their backs and sustained deep
cuts.
They had to undergo skin-grafting treatment.
There is a reign of terror in the rural areas.
The MDC claims 40
people have so far been killed in
politically-motivated violence, but
government denies the reports. The
international community has expressed
outrage at the violence.
The US State Department Bureau for
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour
said last week there was a “campaign of
terror” in Zimbabwe.
”In the aftermath of the March 29 elections,
Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF
has unleashed a wave of political violence designed
to cow opposition
members and supporters into submission and deter them from
voting during the
run-off election,” it said.
“Soldiers,
police, war veterans and youth militia loyal to the ruling
party have been
deployed in rural areas throughout Zimbabwe to
systematically intimidate
voters through killings, beatings, looting of
property, burning of homes and
public humiliation.
“Women, children and the elderly have not been
spared. Civil society
groups, particularly those involved in election
monitoring, and humanitarian
organisations charged with providing
desperately needed food assistance also
have been targeted.”
It
said over 700 documented victims have received medical treatment
for
post-election violence-related injuries, while 200 have been
hospitalised
and required surgical procedures.
“Many more victims are
undocumented and there are increasing reports
that government authorities
are preventing victims from accessing medical
treatment,” it said. “At least
18 deaths have been confirmed.
Victims have suffered severe
beatings, fractured bones and severe
burns.
Hundreds of
opposition supporters have fled their homes in fear. Homes
and businesses
throughout rural areas have been burned and cattle and other
livestock
slaughtered. At least 6 735 persons have been displaced.”
Human
Rights Watch last week accused the army of spreading a “reign of
terror”,
but the army dissociated itself with the ongoing violence.
Government spokesmen have been spinning yarns in a bid to cover up the
bloody trail of violence.
Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa
recently said the MDC was “lying”
that Zanu PF was behind political violence
and challenged it to produce
evidence to back its claims.
“They
are lying about that to please their Western handlers and want
to use it to
appeal for international intervention,” he said.
MDC spokesman
Nelson Chamisa hit back: “Chinamasa is lying through his
teeth to the whole
world. He knows the truth. Violence has reached alarming
levels and his
party is behind it.”
South African President Thabo Mbeki last
Friday visited Zimbabwe to
meet Mugabe over the issue of violence as
international pressure mounted on
him to put a stop to it.
A
South African team of retired senior officers led by retired Lt Gen
Gilbert
Ramano has unearthed shocking evidence of violence engulfing the
countryside.
The team briefed Mbeki on the dire situation
before his tense meeting
with Mugabe last week.
Mbeki was
understood to have been horrified by the briefing. His envoy
on Zimbabwe,
Kingsley Mamabolo, said last week there was violence in the
country and the
run-off could not take place in a climate of fear.
After Mbeki’s
visit government started climbing down, saying political
bases and
structures of violence by “main parties” had been dismantled. The
Zanu PF
politburo which hardly ever condemns violence came out on May 14
calling for
a cessation of political hostilities.
Southern African Development
Community (Sadc) executive secretary
Tomaz Salomao said this week conditions
for a free and fair poll currently
did not exist.
Zimbabwe,
currently reeling from a protracted political and economic
crisis and
rapidly becoming an Orwellian society, has a long history of
political
violence mainly associated with elections.
Mugabe has said he has
“degrees in violence”, while his former
Information minister Nathan
Shamuyarira has said “Zanu PF has a long and
successful history of
violence”.
By Dumisani Muleya and Shakeman Mugari
Zim Independent
Business
Thursday, 15 May 2008 20:32
GOVERNMENT is in a
quandary over what to do with huge debts it is owed
by farmers who benefited
from the farm mechanisation programme following the
changes to the exchange
rate, businessdigest can reveal.
The Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe liberalised the foreign exchange rate
policy, a move which
immediately pushed the rate two weeks ago from US$1:$30
000 to US$1:$210
million. Beneficiary farmers under the farm mechanisation
programme were
supposed to pay for the farm equipment at the old rate of $30
000 for one US
dollar.
However, the rate changed before the RBZ — through its
fiscal
absorption arm, Fiscorp — could invoice the farmers for the tractors
since
the exercise began last year.
Farmers are now supposed to
pay their debts using the new interbank
rate but this has caused
consternation in government circles.
Some quarters in government
are now pushing for the farmers to pay as
little as $2 billion for a tractor
that costs US$40 000 on the open market.
Other government officials
are understood to be pushing for a total
write-off of the debt as they argue
that most farmers will not be able to
pay the new prices which have been
pushed up by the movement in the exchange
rate.
They want the
programme to be treated like a national project which
government undertook
to help farmers.
This proposal is tied, of course, to political
support for the
government.
Whichever route is taken,
government is set to endure a staggering
loss which would run into
quadrillions of dollars, at the new interbank
rates, for the equipment which
includes tractors, combine harvesters,
planters, hay bailers, dumper trucks
and disc harrowers.
Over 2 725 tractors, 105 combine harvesters,
466 planters and 210 hay
bailers were disbursed under the three phases of
the mechanisation
programme.
Inquiries to Fiscorp, the company
responsible for collecting the
loans, revealed the glaring anomalies
surrounding the equipment.
Farmers have been given different
explanations on the payment system.
Others have been told that they
should wait for the central bank’s
announcement on what price they should
pay while others have been told to
come and pay what they owe at the
previous exchange rate of $30 000.
"They (Fiscorp) told me to just
come and pay what is on the
agreement," said a farmer who got a tractor
under the programme.
However, most farmers were never invoiced nor
are they aware of what
they are supposed to pay.
MDC
agricultural secretary Renson Gasela who also received a Case
International
tractor said he had not been invoiced and that his attempt to
be appraised
by Fiscorp on the extent of his debt had proved to be
fruitless.
"I checked with the RBZ sometime ago how much was
due but I was not
told," Gasela said yesterday.
"I have not
been invoiced but I have been informed that other
beneficiary farmers have
been paying as little as $2 billion for each
tractor they
received."
The RBZ said it was not aware of any such developments
which it
described as false.
"That is bullsh**t. That is trash,
there is nothing like that," said
Munyaradzi Kereke, special advisor to RBZ
governor Gideon Gono.
"You can print it but you know the
consequences."
However, senior government and ruling party
officials dominate the
list of beneficiaries who have not yet paid for their
farm equipment.
They include former deputy speaker of parliament
and Zanu PF bigwig
Kumbirai Kangai, Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi,
Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment minister Paul Mangwana and Registrar
General Tobaiwa
Mudede.
The list also includes Foreign Affairs
deputy minister Reuben
Marumahoko, deputy minister for Industry and
International Trade, Phineas
Chiota and former GMB boss Samuel
Muvhuti.
By Kuda Chikwanda
Zim Independent
Business
Thursday, 15 May 2008 20:28
RECENTLY the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe made some notable policy changes
as far as the exchange rate
determination is concerned.
For almost a decade, the
Zimbabwean economy has been operating under
various fixed exchange rate
regimes.
The recent changes suggest that the authorities might have
realised
the negative effects of fixed exchange rates, hence a shift to a
market-oriented determination of the exchange rate. Basically, the RBZ has
floated the Zimbabwean dollar.
Whether it will entirely
eliminate the parallel market, remains to be
seen. One thing to note though
is that there is still a huge appetite for
foreign currency, which is not
necessarily addressed by the RBZ priority
list, and consequently that
unsatisfied demand may still provide a platform
for a parallel
market.
What for instance will happen to people that require
foreign currency
to pay for the pay-per-view TV subscriptions?
Given the demand for foreign currency in the market it is highly
unlikely
that those who apply for funds to go for holidays or shopping trips
will be
considered.
In evaluating the exchange rate policy shift, it is
perhaps prudent to
analyse the rationale often advanced by multilateral
agencies such as the
IMF and others, when advocating market-based exchange
rate systems.
Zimbabwe is a developing country and such a policy
can have a positive
impact on our balance of payments position.
The logic is that by floating the exchange rate, you create a
mechanism
through which a current account balance of payments position in
disequilibrium will eventually be restored to equilibrium.
A
balance of payments deficit caused by a decrease in the demand for
Zimbabwean exports, will lead to a shortage of foreign currency. The fall in
the value of the Zimbabwean dollar causes the price of Zimbabwean exports to
decrease in hard currency terms and the price of foreign imports to increase
in Zimbabwe dollar terms.
Consequently, the demand for
Zimbabwean exports increases and the
demand for imported goods
decreases.
The deficit shrinks and the balance of payments returns
to
equilibrium. All things being equal, this in turn will help domestic
industry to compete freely and can translate into increased production
(assuming of course that price controls are lifted).
Thus, the
Zimbabwean government and the RBZ need not worry about
having to manage
their balance of payments
situation. If they allow the exchange rate to
fluctuate freely any
disequilibrium will automatically be restored to
equilibrium. The attention
of government can then be focused on achieving
other broad objectives such
as inflation reduction, employment creation,
economic growth and poverty
reduction.
Given that the
Zimbabwean economy has been influenced to a large
extent by the parallel
market for too long, the recent policy changes will
likely benefit the
economy in allocating the scarce resource efficiently.
Zimbabweans
in the Diaspora can now eliminate the risk of sending
money through bogus
money transfer agencies.
There are also potential negatives
associated with the recent policy
shift. Firstly, the relaxation of the
exchange rate controls, besides
shocking the economy, may increase
inflationary pressures. Although a
depreciating currency will help our
country’s exporting sector, the cost of
imports will invariably rise, also
leading to cost push inflationary
pressures. Those people and companies
whose livelihoods or operations rely
on the consumption of goods with high
import content will experience
difficulties.
For companies with
external liabilities denominated in foreign
currencies, the exchange rate
depreciation will have a negative effect on
their balance sheets as they
will experience both economic and transaction
exposure. The associated
reduction in net worth for the affected companies
will result in an increase
in the risk premium on borrowing.
All in all the central bank must
be commended for the bold move to
float the exchange rate. However, unless
this is complemented by other
reforms such as addressing budget deficits,
limiting usage of seigniorage
which results in unsustainable currency
emissions as reflected by the growth
of money supply, and elimination of the
disastrous policy of price controls,
then the benefits of the reforms may
not be felt.
In addition, as Zimbabweans we must accept that our
efforts will have
to be complemented by an injection of foreign exchange
somewhere, for this
economy to be kick-started onto a recovery
path.
Anything short of that, the economy will simply experience
continued
depreciation in foreign exchange rates. For at the heart of our
economic
challenges lies the supply issues, even of foreign currency, which
need to
be addressed.
Zim Independent
Business
Thursday, 15 May 2008 20:21
TENSION is rising between
the business community and the National
Incomes and Pricing Commission
(NIPC) following the recent increase in the
prices of basic commodities
after the liberalisation of the foreign currency
exchange rate
policy.
Businesses are arguing that the NIPC is no longer
relevant because the
prices of basic commodities are now being decided using
the exchange rate on
the new interbank market.
They say that
NIPC should not interfere with the pricing of basic
commodities because they
have no control over the exchange rate on the open
market.
This
week Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Callisto
Jokonya said
price controls were no longer relevant as they are hurting
business and
consumers as well.
"It has to be dynamic and move with the exchange
rate; if the exchange
rate goes up on a daily basis, prices must also change
daily," Jokonya said.
The NIPC is angry that businesses have
reviewed their prices without
approval.
They insist that they
are still relevant in the economy because their
businesses might take
advantage of the situation to profiteer.
"It is unnecessary for
businesspeople to effect new prices as no one
has incurred the costs that
they are claiming to have because banks have not
started selling foreign
currency," said NIPC chairman Godwills Masimirembwa.
This week,
prices of most basic goods shot up as they reacted to the
new liberalised
exchange rate market which was announced by the central bank
two weeks
ago.
For instance the price of a loaf of bread went up to $170
million from
$80 million; a packet of milk now costs $160 million, up from
$80 million.
For a 2kg of sugar, one has to fork out $480 million,
from $48
million.
On the parallel market a 2kg packet of sugar
was this week going for
$600 million.
A 12kg packet of potatoes
was going for $2 bliion, up from $1 billion
last week.
A
2-litre bottle of fruit juice which was previously $200 million is
now at
$800 million.
Masimirembwa accused businesspeople of taking
advantage of the new
system to increase prices.
According to
Masimirembwa, one company has applied to price a 2 litre
bottle of cooking
oil at $2 billion.
Last week, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce
president, Marah
Hativagone, said prices would go up in response to the
liberalisation of the
exchange rate.
"Obviously the prices will
go up, at the same time the NIPC will be
breathing down our necks, it is not
good for any economy," Hativagone said.
She said inflation is
likely to get to 1 000 000% soon, saying there
is need for the central bank
to take additional steps to correct the
exchange rate before the situation
gets out of hand.
A manager with a local supermarket said prices
were going up with each
delivery.
"I’m not sure why it has been
like this but almost all our suppliers
have hiked prices and likewise, we
have also increased prices," said the
manager.
"We ordered ten
tonnes of sugar only to be told that we have to top up
the money because
what we had paid is only enough to cover three tonnes."
An economic
analyst with a local merchant bank said the escalation of
prices is not a
new phenomenon and is not in any way related to the
liberalisation of the
foreign exchange rate.
He said the price hikes could be attributed
to the election aftermath
which saw growth in terms of money
supply.
"In as much as liberalisation has taken place, it is
insignificant to
attribute price increases to the freeing of the exchange
rate market; it can
only be said so if the price increases are unprecedented
of which some could
have been hiked to match the product import
parity."
Businesspeople who spoke to businessdigest said though the
price
increases have resulted in the availability of most basics that had
disappeared from the shelves, they were afraid that the NIPC might come
after them or worse still a price blitz could occur.
"Goods are
returning to the shelves but we are hoping that
Masimirembwa does not invade
our shelves because reducing the prices will
result in hoarding and
promotion of the parallel market," said another
supermarket
manager.
Analysts said the exchange rate coupled with daily events
happening
within the economy was the cause of the escalating prices of basic
goods and
services.
"When factors affecting inflation are put
into totality, it leads to
expectational pricing; people tend to
overdramatise their pricing system,"
said Witness Chinyama, an economic
analyst with Kingdom Bank.
He said due to the fact that there was
less production taking place,
the normal chain of manufacturer to retailer
through the wholesaler had been
distorted with many middlemen coming,
putting their own mark up resulting in
the escalation of
prices.
"The depreciation of the Zimbabwean dollar against other
major
currencies and asset pricing inflation could be another factor
contributing
to the increase in prices."
By Jeslyn
Dendere
Zim Independent
Business
Thursday, 15 May 2008 20:18
THE changes in the
foreign exchange system and the movement in the
rate means that companies
have to review prices everyday.
At the moment trends show
that companies are changing their prices in
line with the movement in the
exchange rate.
This has however clashed with the National Incomes
and Pricing
Commission (NIPC)’s demands that prices should have a shelf life
of three
months. Tensions are already running high. Business reporter,
Jesilyn
Dendere spoke to Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI)
president,
Calisto Jokonya about the issue.
Dendere:
What is the current relationship between CZI and the NIPC? We
hear the
relations are frosty because businesses are changing their prices
in line
with the movement of the exchange rate, which is contrary to the
demands of
the NIPC.
Jokonya: We don’t have a personal vendetta with the NIPC,
we have
never had any, we just don’t agree on price controls because they
don’t
protect the consumer or the producer.
Dendere: What is
the relevance of price controls in light of the
changes in the exchange
rate?
Jokonya: Personally, I think they dont work because they
actually harm
the consumer. It forces the consumer to buy what they don’t
want simply
because it is cheap. The consumer should be allowed to have a
choice but all
the same it is the law, we have to work around the
law.
The most important thing is that price controls must be
proactive in
the sense that they should take into account all costs
incurred. They have
to be dynamic and move with the exchange rate. If the
exchange rate goes up
on a daily basis, prices must also change daily. If it
lags behind the
foreign exchange rate, it ceases to be relevant. If it
doesn’t take this
into account making it practical becomes
difficult.
Dendere: From what you are saying business will be happy
to see the
NIPC dismantled. The problem is that government still wants them
to
continue. So what should the NIPC do to remain relevant?
Jokonya: What they need to do is to always approve pricing formulas so
that
companies will apply in formulaic manner as and when the exchange rate
moves
up, and then it makes it more feasible. That was our understanding
when the
NIPC came on board that they would approve pricing formulas.
In
that respect they have to let the system function.
Dendere: But
they are not doing that. They are setting prices. The
problem is that they
can’t match the changes because of the exchange rate
movement. Why do you
think they should continue to be around?
Jokonya: The NIPC is an
act of parliament so any changes have to be
made in parliament but at the
moment there is no parliament or any
presidential power to instill changes
or repeal the act. This is a
parliament issue but parliament is not sitting.
As law abiding citizens we
have to stick to the law as it is.
Dendere: How will the changes in the foreign currency exchange
policies
affect businesses?
Jokonya: It is going to enhance business because
now businesspeople
can go out there and look for foreign currency without
going to the black
market, that’s the way to do business in any economic
environment. It is
happening the world over.
In a way it
encourages people to work hard and at the same time
promoting a formal way
of doing business. It also eliminates indiscipline
which is something that
we don’t want in the business community. The black
market was illegal. At
least now, it won’t be a crime for one to be found
with foreign currency in
their pocket
Dendere: Have any changes been noted within companies
since the
inception of the willing buyer, willing seller
system?
Jokonya: Though it is still too early to come up with a
conclusion,
yes changes are beginning to show as evidenced by the queues in
banks with
businesspeople selling and buying foreign currency, the parallel
market
dealers have not been as active.
Dendere: How has
business responded to the new $300 trillion SPPC
Mitigation Fund. Other
analysts have argued that it is not enough to cover
the damage caused by the
adverse effects of price controls.
Jokonya: It is not damage as
such and money is never enough. From my
own understanding, the fund was put
in place to help the vulnerable (poor),
instead of subsidising everybody. It
should be for those who cannot afford.
It will mainly help those who are in
the food industry so as to increase
production and revive the
economy.
Dendere: NIPC says businesspeople have distorted the
monetary
statement to suit their drive to have price controls removed — is
this how
business has interpreted the statement, have you as business called
for the
removal of price controls?
Jokonya: The statement is
very clear to everybody, the governor made a
suggestion and gave advice to
the NIPC that they should accommodate changes
that are occurring and NIPC
has got to take cognisance of all factors in
their pricing
system.
As far as the central bank is concerned, the NIPC should
accommodate
all the dynamics of what is happening in the economy at the
moment.
NIPC has to accept that things are changing, accept that
foreign
currency is a key component in production and that its rate is
changing
daily. We are not saying it be abolished, it is governed by an act
of
parliament, it is law we cannot dispute that. What we are saying is they
need to realise that there are changes coming into the act. It requires
dynamism from all sectors.
Dendere: NIPC says businesspeople
are taking advantage of the new
foreign currency exchange rate system to
hike and apply for ridiculous price
increases.
Jokonya: That is
a misinterpretation of what is happening in the
economy at the moment. Does
the NIPC agree that the foreign exchange rate is
changing daily? If they are
aware, what do they expect business to do. In a
way, it is a suggestion that
business is the enemy.
They should not ignore issues to do with
viability in the production
cycle. Business has to remain viable at the same
time observing the law.
Business cannot afford to run at a loss in this
economy.
Zim Independent
Business
Thursday, 15 May 2008 20:12
PRICES of goods and
services have increased dramatically following the
liberalisation of the
foreign currency exchange policy.
The business community
now feels there is no need for price controls
and that the National Incomes
and Pricing Commission (NIPC) is no longer
relevant because cost build-ups
will be transparent and justified. Business
reporter Kuda Chikwanda spoke to
the NIPC chairman Godwills Masimirembwa
about their new
role.
Chikwanda: How does the NIPC operate following the
liberalisation of
the foreign currency market? Is there justification for
continued use of
price controls?
Masimirembwa: There have been
suggestions from government that the
NIPC should concentrate on the three
controlled and 16 monitored products. I
firmly believe that the NIPC still
has a key role to play. There is even
acknowledgement by the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) that the NIPC should
continue to play the role of controlling
and monitoring these goods. It is
the form and nature of our role which
needs to be looked at as regards the
exchange rate.
Chikwanda:
Is business justified in describing price controls as
unnecessary in the new
dispensation?
Masimirembwa: I think that business leaders have
distorted the first
quarter Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) to suit their
bid to have price
controls removed. It is clear that the RBZ governor Dr
Gideon Gono
acknowledged the implications of the NIPC in respect of the
controlled
goods.
Dr Gono accepts there is a role for the NIPC
and it is wrong for the
business community to say the liberalisation of the
exchange rate means
price controls are removed and that the NIPC no longer
has a role to play.
Personally, I feel they need to look at why the NIPC was
formed. By and
large from the 1990s until last year in 2007, market forces
ruled.
But the parallel market was not stable and was pushing
prices up,
which then saw government intervening through the price blitz.
The cause of
intervention was the failure of market forces because they had
failed to
stabilise causing consumers to suffer. The NIPC was brought in to
ensure
goods and services are priced according to scientific
methods.
Chikwanda: You have railed against businesses for turning
to the
parallel market to meet their needs after the RBZ failed to meet
their
demands. How do you expect businesses to remain operational given your
demands and expectations?
Masimirembwa: The survival of
businesses is not our only concern. The
survival they talk about has to be
looked at in the totality of the context.
Businesses have to survive as well
as workers too. The NIPC was brought in
to bring sanity in the
market.
We said to industry, you can’t abandon good corporate
governance, for
the sake of survival. In other words, corporates can’t stand
and say they
deliberately disobeyed the laws of Zimbabwe, went to the
parallel market for
survival and thus expect the consumers to bear the brunt
of brutal market
forces.
Chikwanda: Is the NIPC still
interested in controlling the prices of
goods and commodities despite clear
indications that the cost build-ups are
genuine and transparent and
inclusive of interbank charges for foreign
exchange?
Masimirembwa: Dr Gono highlighted the priority areas for foreign
currency.
However, I must dutifully point out that liberalisation is not
complete as
banks are not yet selling foreign currency.
The RBZ is yet to come
up with a priority list on the foreign currency
to be sold. Applications
coming up now are purely speculative as no one has
incurred the costs of
buying foreign currency at interbank rates. As such,
any applications we
get, we are looking at them as if they have been buying
foreign currency on
the parallel market. We want proof of foreign currency
purchases.
Chikwanda: The RBZ set up the Strategic Products
Price Controls
Mitigation Fund to make up for the adverse effects of price
controls which
it said infringed on producer viability. Is there no
contradiction between
your justifications for price controls as you try to
hide behind anti-price
control RBZ?
Masimirembwa: Businesses
still need assistance and distortions will
always arise. If a company
accesses the Basic Commodities Supply Side
Intervention (Bacossi) facility,
it enjoys certain advantages than
businesses that haven’t benefited from
this facility. It is still absolutely
necessary to supervise some sectors of
the economy. By the same token, we
also have to guarantee food security. It
is also my view that the official
exchange rate of US$1:$30 000 has not been
abolished.
The NIPC is proceeding from the basis that the RBZ
recognized the 3+16
products as priority items in terms of pricing and the
implication for food
security. That is why Bacossi and the Agricultural
Sector Productivity
Enhancement Facility (Aspef) are
continuing.
Food security demands that government ensures that
basic commodities,
whether imported or not, are not unilaterally increased
on the basis of a
cost build-up based on the interbank rate.
Chikwanda: It seems you are desperately seeking your mandate and new
terms
of reference from the RBZ in defining what the NIPC is supposed to do
in
this new dispensation.
Masimirembwa: Not at all. Our scope of
functions is much broader than
merely pricing. The NIPC deals with hoarding,
shortages of commodities,
especially in this environment and other
unscrupulous practices such as
where a retailer forces someone to buy a
basic commodity together with
another product whose line is not moving. We
also look at the impact of wage
and salary increments on production costs
and act as a point of reference
for National Employment Councils in wage
negotiations.
Chikwanda: The NIPC has been accused of fuelling of
scarcities through
imposition of ridiculously low prices. Businesses believe
that these low
prices you impose have brought on artificial demand and
promoted hoarding.
Masimirembwa: What the business community is
saying is that it prefers
products and commodities to be unaffordable while
appearing on shelves. The
reason why people are flocking to buy products
outside the country is
because they are much cheaper. The NIPC is saying on
a broader perspective
the question is why are businesses not producing? I
want to give an example
of the sugar industry. Production is adequate for
the nation but where is
the sugar? It is being hoarded by business people?
The mindset that business
has does not augur well with us.
Chikwanda: I thought people go to neighbouring countries to buy things
they
can’t find here.
Masimirembwa: Yes but people also look at the
prices. The prices here
are very high. The business people here go beyond
pegging their prices at
parallel market rates. They multiply the rates in
anticipation of future
rate changes.
Chikwanda: How is that
their problem when we all know that the rate is
not stable at all? It
changes everyday.
Masimirembwa: It is their problem. Look at a
normal TV set for
example. The price they are selling for here is many times
what it costs in
Botswana. They are multiplying by huge percentages. It’s
speculative.
Chikwanda: That makes you irrelevant in this case
because you have no
control over the interbank rate.
Masimirembwa: Well but what can we do? We can’t do anything about it.
The
rate is moving too fast. The rate has almost doubled since the
introduction
of the interbank system because the banks are battling to stay
ahead of the
parallel market. Prices are galloping because of that.
Chikwanda:
But significant market risks exist that have deterred
foreign capital from
coming here. Of concern has been failure by government
to guarantee security
from unwarranted takeover.
Masimirembwa: At the same time,
Zimbabwean balance sheets are being
used to support foreign operations. Why
are they not disinvesting from
Zimbabwe? Are they prepared to disinvest? No,
because Zimbabwe is a sound
economic destination.
Chikwanda:
There have been reports that the NIPC is being used as a
political tool to
not only attack businesses owned by opposition MDC members
but also Zanu PF
politicians who have fallen out of favour with the
leadership? How true is
this?
Masimirembwa: Nothing can be further from the truth. The NIPC
inspectorate fights unscrupulous business practices and hoarding, and will
target anyone guilty of this. Our message to business leaders is that if you
are caught, don’t cry foul. There are no sacred cows and we will be harder
on chefs and leaders as they are supposed to lead by example.
Zim Independent
Opinion
Thursday, 15 May 2008 19:32
A WIN by President Robert Mugabe in the
anticipated presidential
election run-off against the MDC’s Morgan
Tsvangirai will render the country
ungovernable given that there is now has
a hung parliament, analysts have
said.
The analysts
said in a hung parliament there would be two
possibilities for Mugabe if he
were to cling on to power — form a coalition
government or dissolve
parliament.
In legislative language, a hung parliament is one in
which no one
political party has an outright majority.
This
situation is normal in many legislatures with proportional
representation
such as Germany or Italy which allow for parliamentary
coalitions to obtain
a majority, or in legislatures with strong regional
parties.
According to the results of the March 29 elections, no party won an
absolute
majority in either the House of Assembly or Senate.
In the House of
Assembly, the Tsvangirai-led MDC won 99 seats, Zanu PF
97 and the other MDC
headed by Arthur Mutambara 10. Another seat went to
independent candidate
Jonathan Moyo, who was backed in the polls by the
MDC-Tsvangirai.
The two MDC factions have since entered a
legislative pact and now
have a combined 110 seats against Zanu PF’s 97.
Moyo is reportedly part to
the agreement. In the senate, the combined MDC
and Zanu PF are tied with 30
seats each and it is the result of the
presidential run-off that would
decide which party will control the
chamber.
The analysts argued that it will be the outstanding 33
senate seats
that will be crucial to both Mugabe and
Tsvangirai.
Whoever wins the run-off will have the power to appoint
10 provincial
governors and five other non-constituency senators. The other
18 seats would
be occupied by traditional chiefs.
"Traditional
chiefs have over the years been loyal to Mugabe and
whatever the outcome of
the run-off we expect them to back Zanu PF,"
political scientist Michael
Mhike said. "That means if Tsvangirai wins he
will have 45 seats in the
Senate and Mugabe 48. If you combine the Senate
and House of Assembly seats,
the MDC would end up with 155 seats and Zanu PF
145."
Mhike
said in the unlikely event that Mugabe romps to victory, Zanu PF
would have
63 seats in the Senate against the MDC’s 30. If the House of
Assembly and
the Senate seats were combined Mugabe would have 160 seats and
the MDC
140.
"In that scenario, Mugabe will have the majority in both
houses
combined but will not be able to pass laws because the MDC will be
controlling the House of Assembly, and he will be in charge of the Senate,"
Mhike explained.
He argued that even if Tsvangirai wins, he
would not be able to pass
laws in the Senate as Zanu PF would be in the
majority.
"We have a hung parliament and in such a situation there
is need for
cooperation between the parties in parliament. If there is no
cooperation,
then the country will be ungovernable," Mhike
added.
A Zimbabwean lawyer based abroad, Alex Magaisa, last week
said if
Mugabe wins the run-off, he might use his victory to deal with his
succession problem in Zanu PF.
He argued that since he would
have a majority of 160 parliamentarians
in both the Senate and the House of
Assembly he will resign to pave way for
the two houses to sit as an
electoral college to elect his successor.
"The new provision is
important because the political party that has a
majority of
parliamentarians who constitute the electoral college will
determine the
next president," wrote Magaisa in a weekly newspaper. "This is
where the
combined parliament becomes acutely relevant."
He said the 33
remaining senate seats were crucial because they offer
"a great opportunity
for Zanu PF to roll out its succession plan and perhaps
find a way for
Mugabe to extricate himself from the mess on his own terms."
University of Zimbabwe political science professor Eldred Masunungure
said a
Mugabe victory would render the country ungovernable.
"There is no
way Mugabe can rule when his party is a minority in
parliament," Masunungure
said. "He will be in office, but he will not be in
power and will not rule
effectively in such a scenario and a government he
will create will be
dysfunctional."
He argued that the only option for Mugabe would be
to dissolve
parliament and call for fresh elections hoping he would win the
polls.
"President Mugabe’s choices are limited, but he can dissolve
parliament and call for fresh elections in the hope that he will garner more
seats than the opposition," Masunungure argued.
The analysts
argued that it would be impossible for Mugabe to push new
legislation
through parliament, as the MDC would not assent to any Bill in
the House of
Assembly.
Moreover, the analysts argued that the MDC could refuse
to pass
Money/Finance Bills and this would be tantamount to a vote of no
confidence
in the president and government, which must culminate in the
dissolution of
parliament.
"If President Mugabe has to pass
laws such as the Finance Bill and if
parliament rejects it, then it would be
difficult to rule the country in
parliament’s current state," Masunungure
averred.
Even one of Mugabe’s confidants, Reserve Bank governor
Gideon Gono,
last week said the legislative impasse would result in
retrogressive tugs of
war in parliament and suggested that there should be a
pre-run-off pact
between the MDC and Zanu PF that puts the interests of the
country first. He
warned that the attendant hung parliament was such that no
individual
political party could easily transmit the interests of voters
through
legislation "without having to go through the inevitable process of
winning
favour and support from the other parties."
"The risk
is, therefore, that critical pieces of progressive
legislation, may suffer
needless blockades on the altars of political
expediency, whilst the
business and effectiveness of governance is seriously
compromised," Gono
said.
"In the likely ‘stop-go-mode’ it is not far-fetched to
postulate the
possibility of the legislative arms failing to pass national
budgets,
supplementary budgets and other emergency funding programmes, which
would
throw the country into serious governance problems, resulting in more
pressure on the central bank as ministries would naturally fail to discharge
their duties without financial resources."
The RBZ czar
suggested that consideration be given to the
establishment of a "mutually
binding pre-run-off pact" spelling out the
expected behaviour of both the
MDC and Zanu PF regardless of who emerges the
victor in the second
round.
Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma emphasised that the passage
of
legislation required the participation of both the Senate and the House
of
Assembly.
"Thus, in terms of Paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to
the Constitution, any
Bill, except Money/Finance Bill, can originate in
either house and, subject
to the Constitution," Zvoma said in a recent
analysis of the bicameral
parliament, "each house is free to make any
amendments to any Bill that
comes before it.
By Constantine
Chimakure
Zim Independent
Comment
Thursday, 15 May 2008 19:27
IN his
2008 first quarter Monetary Policy Statement, the governor of
the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Gideon Gono deplored Zimbabwe’s failure
to implement
a social contract with conviction and constructiveness,
perceiving so doing
to be a prerequisite of a comprehensive economic
recovery.
He said: "As monetary authorities, our hearts
are heavy at the
realisation that well over 16 months down the road since we
first advocated
the urgent adoption of a social contract in early 2007, this
virtuous path
has not been fully followed through.
Had we
collectively shown maturity, tolerance and a burning desire for
a better
Zimbabwe through the adoption of the social contract, we would not
be having
today’s widespread shortages of basic commodities and other
economic ills
afflicting us."
He justly contended that had a social contract been
pursued with
determination "our inflation level would have by now receded to
single-digit", and that "by now we would not be suffering from the scourge
of price controls". He stated that, in contradistinction "we allowed
sectoral and personal bravados and selfish interests to rule the day and now
we are paying the price, and it is a very heavy one indeed.
We
allowed political expediency to override the virtues of a noble
programme
which was meant to deliver a better Zimbabwe for all Zimbabweans."
In particular, with great forthrightness, he said: "Events over the
past
years, and more so over the past few months and recent weeks, have
clearly
shown that it is not just naïve, but utter folly, to separate the
economy
from the politics of the day."
Pursuant to these forcefully
expressed views, he submitted that what
therefore "is needed is a radical
political maturity by all Zimbabweans, and
an audacious policy shift" by all
social partners in Zimbabwe to break away
from the shackling "business as
usual" mindset, and appealed to "all
stakeholders, comprising government,
labour, business and civil society to
put Zimbabwe first and go back to the
negotiation table for the
establishment of a mutually agreed and
implementable social contract."
To reinforce his contentions (the
validity of which cannot credibly be
disputed), RBZ published a supplement
to the Monetary Policy Statement,
detailing "The role of social contracts in
macro-economic stabilisation and
achievement of national
cohesion".
It noted that a social contract is an agreement by all
stakeholders
which, in the case of Zimbabwe, should be targeted at inflation
reduction,
macroeconomic stability, recovery and growth. In particular, the
social
contract would be "underpinned by several protocols, prominent of
which is
the Incomes and Prices Stabilisation Protocol." The objectives of
those
protocols would primarily be:
*Management of prices and
incomes movement;
*Promotion of macroeconomic stability, economic
recovery and
sustainable socio-economic development;
*Ensuring
that price restraining measures have regard for cost factor
developments;
*Improvement in productivity levels and enhanced
production capacity
utilisation;
*Employment
creation;
*Skills development, retention and
attraction;
*Attraction of local and foreign
investment;
*Ensuring availability of foreign currency within
formal system, for
all legitimate transactions, with reduced exchange rate
price distortions;
*Driving export growth, with assured exporter
viability;
*Reduction of smuggling and "other
leakages";
*Restoration of foreign lines of credit.
The focus upon a substantive social contract, which is one that all
stakeholders "buy into" without reservation, and with unqualified conviction
and determination, is not an exercise into hypothesis, without
foundation.
Over the past 80 years, almost every recovery of
economies that had
been horrendously decimated had a cornerstone of a social
contract. Such
contracts have been the foundations of the economic
recoveries of
innumerable countries.
Thus, Gono was proposing
recourse to a tried and proven vehicle to
restore Zimbabwe’s economic
wellbeing.
The examples of success driven by social contracts are
very many. They
include Germany’s Weimar Republic which, from 1922 to 1924,
suffered
inflation exceeding 800 billion% (which makes Zimbabwe’s horrific
hyperinflation seem insignificant!). After it, admittedly belatedly,
resorted to a comprehensive social contract, inflation fell to single digit
levels within less than three years.
In the 1970s, Israel and
Italy suffered gargantuan economic declines,
characterised by immense
inflation, vast reductions of Gross Domestic
Product to negative levels,
enormous state funding deficits, surging
unemployment, and collapsed value
of currency.
The same circumstances pertained in the 1980s in
Brazil, Bolivia and
Ireland, and in Argentina and the Czech Republic in the
1990s, to name but a
few of many countries that have, over the last 30 years
grossly mismanaged
their economies, but where the maturity of stakeholders
was such that they
collaborated with real intent to reverse the economic
ills, and who
subordinated political and other aspirations to the overriding
need to
achieve economic recovery and remove the ongoing suffering of the
majority
of the populations of their countries.
Zimbabwe’s
economy will not enjoy real recovery until government,
business and labour
have a real willingness to work together, and to place
national interest
before their own.
First and foremost, the National Incomes and
Pricing Commission must
be dissolved, and price controls by the state
discontinued, save for wholly
strategic, basic commodities and, instead, the
contracting parties must
agree to a total freeze of all prices, salaries and
wages, and governmental
imposts, save and except for adjustment when
necessary in response to
factors exogenous of Zimbabwe.
Concurrently, there must be effective measures to restore productivity
in
all economic sectors, with especial focus upon agriculture, manufacturing
and mining.
Real emphasis is needed upon creating an investment
conducive and
facilitative environment, and upon restoration of harmonious,
cordial
international relations.
Of equally great importance is
that there be determined efforts to
reduce and contain governmental
expenditures.
Until these measures are unhesitatingly pursued,
through the medium of
a social contract, the economy’s continuing decline is
inevitable.
Zim Independent
Comment
Thursday, 15 May 2008 19:22
A
RATHER confused message coming from The Post in Zambia. Just as
thousands of
Zimbabweans are suffering a terrible onslaught from Zanu PF as
punishment
for voting for the opposition, the newspaper publishes an
editorial
attacking the MDC for its Western links.
Opposition leaders
had every right to campaign to remove President
Mugabe, the editorial said,
"but it’s treacherous for them to do so on the
back of national
failure".
So let’s get this straight: if Mugabe’s disastrous
policies and
populist posturing have brought the country to a state of
collapse, it is
"treacherous" to say so?
This is the sort of
misplaced nationalist nonsense that has
contributed to the structural
failure of states like Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Instead of responding ourselves
lest we be accused of harbouring an
imperialist agenda, let’s provide space
for the Progressive Teachers Union
of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), an affiliate of the
ZCTU, which last weekend took out
full-page advertisements to acquaint the
public with the plight of teachers
in outlying areas who have been the
targets of Mugabe’s thugs.
"We are very disappointed by the manner
in which our African brothers
and sisters have handled the Zimbabwean
crisis," the PTUZ said. "Zimbabweans
are made of flesh and blood; they do
not need Westerners to tell them that
they are being beaten. Sadc and the AU
must stop chasing the shadow of the
imperialist ghost and listen to what the
majority of Zimbabweans are saying.
When our nationalist leaders say they
are reclaiming land from the white
minority we take it that the land is
needed for farming and not to bury us
when we die of hunger and politically
motivated violence."
Equally confused is Patrick Chinamasa who
says government will not
invite Western observers to monitor the
presidential run-off unless
sanctions are removed.
First of
all, what is a ruling-party official doing setting the rules
for an
electoral contest in which their leader is a player? This is once
again a
case of the candidate becoming the referee. Secondly, according to
the Sadc
Mauritius protocol on elections, it should be the function of the
electoral
commission to determine which observers it wants to invite, not
the regime
which has an interest in securing a favourable coverage.
The
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has already proved itself deeply
compromised.
By allowing Chinamasa to arrogate to government the role of
setting rules,
imposing conditions and handpicking observers, the commission
is further
abdicating responsibility for the conduct of the run-off.
Already
we have seen a Zimbabwean editor arrested for carrying
opinions by an
opposition leader that are deemed prejudicial to the state
and to judges,
even though those opinions form part of the public discourse.
And trade
union leaders are incarcerated for criticising the regime on
Workers Day,
May 1. They were denied bail when there was no danger of them
absconding.
Chinamasa has previously said we have the right to
criticise judges
but that was when the judiciary was considered hostile to
Zanu PF’s
machinations!
Foreign journalists have been
prosecuted for covering the first round
without accreditation even though
Aippa was amended after inter-party talks
to remove provisions on compulsory
accreditation.
Everywhere there is evidence of state intrusion
which will intensify
now Mugabe is seen as vulnerable to defeat. The small
clique around him that
believe he was deprived of victory by a Western plot
and MDC manipulation
now want to make sure they control the electoral
process more effectively.
As for sanctions, it does not appear to
have dawned on Chinamasa that
there will be no change there until the state
puts a stop to violence.
Sanctions were imposed in response to the violence
and electoral
manipulation that surrounded elections in 2000 and 2002. Now
the state has
unleashed the same dogs of war, it thinks the West will simply
fold its arms
and watch.
That will not happen. International
opinion is appalled by reports
from organisations such as the Zimbabwe
Association of Doctors for Human
Rights which have documented the terrible
injuries people have suffered for
daring to oppose Zanu PF or because
members of their families dared to vote
against the ruling
party.
Journalists in the state media seem unable to report
facts on the
ground without spinning the story so it is unrecognisable
alongside the
original version.
The visit by US ambassador
James McGee and other diplomats to a
hospital in Chiweshe on Tuesday
provides a good example. Here is the Reuters
version: "The United States
condemned Zimbabwe’s government on Tuesday for
its ‘harassment’ of the US
ambassador and other diplomats questioned by
police after visiting
post-election violence victims at a hospital.
"The diplomats were
on their way back from visiting a rural hospital
to see victims of
post-election violence. They were also held up at the
hospital and
questioned by security officials over their reasons for being
there…".
Now compare that to what the Herald said: "Yesterday
(Tuesday)
Ambassador McGee wanted to travel to Centenary in Mashonaland
Central
province where he intended to visit hospitals that MDC-T claimed
were
treating the party’s supporters who were allegedly assaulted by Zanu PF
and
government agents. He however was stopped at a roadblock near Glendale
where
police asked him to produce a note from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
confirming his journey and actions."
Wouldn’t an
ordinary reader conclude from this that McGee was on his
way to Centenary
when he was stopped at Glendale and prevented from
proceeding any further?
In fact he spent some time at Mvurwi District
Hospital and Howard Mission
Hospital in Chiweshe and was able to film the
extent of the injuries
inflicted on MDC supporters. It was a useful trip.
But he was stopped, along
with the other diplomats, on his return journey.
There was then an
altercation with the police and others that lasted for
about one hour and 20
minutes during which threats were reportedly made
against a US
diplomat.
But the Herald was so busy injecting George Charamba’s
opinions and
implicating "hired journalists" in the story that it omitted to
actually
relate what happened. The Herald chose not to mention for instance
that
McGee was accompanied by envoys from Britain, the European Union,
Japan, the
Netherlands and Tanzania.
How useful is a newspaper
that can’t even tell its readers what
happened?
Still on
the subject of wayward journalism, we were interested to note
that Tafataona
Mahoso continues to claim that up to 1 000 "former Rhodesian
white farmers"
returned to Zimbabwe in March 2008 and celebrated the MDC’s
"fraudulently
announced victory" as having terminated African land
reclamation.
This fictional episode was contained in the fake
document Tendai Biti
was accused of authoring before his lawyers wrote to
the Herald. Mahoso
continues to circulate the claim in the Sunday Mail even
though he provides
no evidence.
We are sure he would not want
to be accused of circulating an
unverified report. So we await the evidence
that between 750 and 1 000
"former Rhodesian white farmers" returned to the
country in March.
By the way, if they are formerly white, what
colour are they now? And
who counted them?
The Sunday Mail
carried full-page ads last weekend from Air Zimbabwe
to promote their
Chinese MA60 planes on the occasion of their third
anniversary as part of
the AirZim fleet.
These planes have not enjoyed a universally
acclaimed reputation. But
they have been embraced by some of AirZim’s
regular customers including
Pastors Tom and Bonnie Deuschle and our
columnist Eric Bloch.
Bloch says while the MA60 is not without
fault, "its deficiencies are
not of magnitude or major substance". Phew,
that’s OK then.
Bloch drew attention to the unstable access stairs
but the airline
says the problem has been resolved. Then there is the
vibration and engine
noise. But this only affects passengers in the front
rows. Bloch says he
always books a seat in the back row where there is less
noise.
"Not only do I thereby avoid the vibration and noise," he
says, "but I
am then seated closest to the bar, the loo, the exit and the
wonderful air
hostesses. (What more can one want?)"
We hope
Eric will be careful about using the exit when in flight. And
those
"wonderful" air hostesses should be left alone to get on with their
work.
Meanwhile, one’s confidence is hardly helped by the
blessing pastors
Tom and Bonnie gave the zhing-zhong planes. But at least
they are spending
their money on congratulating AirZim instead of handing it
over to the
president, which is when we last took issue with
them!
A number of readers have called and written to express
their horror
over conditions on Friedawill Farm near Chinhoyi where deputy
Reserve Bank
governor Edward Mashiringwana was reported to have seized the
farm while the
owner was absent and refused to allow the NSPCA to provide
food or water to
the animals. This had led pigs, demented by thirst and
hunger, to consume
their young.
It is extraordinary that at
every monetary policy review Gideon Gono
deplores the arbitrary seizure of
farms as being bad both for agricultural
productivity and investor
confidence.
Then his deputy in a case widely reported seizes a farm
and proceeds
to behave with extraordinary cruelty to the
livestock.
The farm’s owners had a court order barring
Mashiringwana from
occupying the property.
So here we have
contempt of court, disruption of production, and
cruelty to livestock. What
impression will that make on Gono’s investment
drive? What has the governor
got to say?
Meanwhile, Gono must stop making a noise about
sanctions. Why should
donors and others be expected to help such a lawless
state when his own
staff are implicated?
The International
Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has described as
"laughable" claims by a
senior Zimbabwean government official that the arms
shipment carried by a
Chinese ship had made its way into this country, The
Namibian
reports.
The ITF, along with many other international trade unions
and civil
society, actively campaigned that the ship, An Yue Jiang, be
forbidden to
offload the weapons ordered by the Zimbabwean government at
regional
harbours. It left Luanda on Tuesday last week after it was allowed
to refuel
and the ITF said by late Friday morning the ship was approximately
120
nautical miles off the coast of Namibia.
So who was the
joker identified by the ITF as making them laugh with
his claims that the
cargo had already reached Harare?
Bright Matonga of course. He
often makes us laugh as well. We don’t
doubt that the regime is making
strenuous efforts to obtain the weaponry on
board. But if we had to choose
between Not-so and the ITF it would be a
no-brainer. Not-so is a comic of
note. The ITF is a serious outfit.
Muckraker’s message to Not-so:
The next time your government boots out
Cosatu members, try to think of the
consequences. What goes around comes
around.
The same goes
for journalists. How many enemies has this regime made
over the past few
years? Just as a matter of interest, has it made any
friends? Has it pursued
Dale Carnegie’s policy of winning friends and
influencing people? Not by the
look of it.
Its only friends seem to be dubious columnists such as
Canada-based
Stephen Gowans who is evidently prepared to countenance the
assaults on MDC
supporters and salute Zanu PF’s decision to fight the
MDC.
Can you imagine somebody sitting in the comfort of Canada
warmly
approving what he describes as Zanu PF’s policy of "turmoil,
disruption and
fighting"? No wonder all Zanu PF’s friends turn out to be
foreign or
foreign-based.
Gowans, Peter Mavunga and Reason
Wafawarova can’t stand the heat in
the Zimbabwean kitchen so they pursue
their undergraduate anti-imperialist
struggle from the safety of those
countries they purport to hate. What
hypocrites!
We liked
the following paragraph from the semi-literate The Voice
newspaper. It
followed the release of the election results.
"This means that a
run-off is scheduled between President Mugabe who
scored 43,2% and puppet
Morgan Tsvangirai who got 47,9%".
In other words the people of
Zimbabwe voted for a puppet and rejected
the authentic voice of the nation.
Time to dissolve the ungrateful people!
We were also interested to
note the worry in ruling-party circles,
reflected in The Voice, that the
MDC’s democratic resistance committees were
being armed.
What
is their worry exactly? That MDC supporters might actually resist
the
vicious bullies who have been unleashed against them? We can’t have
that.
And have you noticed how the Herald characterises violent farm
occupations
as war veterans "visiting" farmers to "discuss" land issues?
In a
front-page story on Tuesday the Herald told us police in Masvingo
were
dismantling "political bases" set up by "some parties" in the
province.
Now if those "some parties" had been MDC, can you imagine
the Herald
omitting to say so?
Also of interest this week
was an editorial in the Sunday Times on the
subject of the in-fighting at
the SABC where CEO Dali Mpofu suspended news
chief Snuki Zikalala and was
then himself suspended by the board. Parliament’s
communications committee
in turn passed a vote of no confidence in the
board.
This all
relates to rivalries at the top of the ANC.
"This messy state of
affairs shows the danger of the ruling party
deploying its activists to run
important state institutions which are meant
to be independent and serve the
people of South Africa," the editorial said.
"Besides undermining the
independence of institutions of democracy, this
ensures that the
institutions suffer when the activists fall out of favour."
This
has resonance for our own situation where state officials are
attempting to
subvert ZBC and Zimpapers for their own partisan purposes.
These are
institutions that are meant to serve all Zimbabweans, not just a
discredited
ruling clique that long ago lost the nation’s trust.
Just as South
Africa’s head of state is losing ground in the struggle
for hearts and
minds, so Zimbabwe’s unpopular leader is desperate to cling
to every source
of power.
At ZBC this week CEO Henry Muradzikwa was apparently
fired for not
parroting the Zanu PF line hard enough. A new political
commissar is moving
in at Pockets Hill.
But those who are
prepared to be suborned at ZBC, Zimpapers and
elsewhere should take note of
the fate that awaits their South African
counterparts. A parliamentary
select committee on communications is flexing
its muscles.
Zimbabweans have had enough of partisan news control designed solely
to prop
up a fading dictatorship. They want to see professional standards
restored
and those responsible for deliberately misleading them held to
account.
There can be no Nuremberg defence here. They may be "only following
orders"
but that won’t help them to escape popular judgement and the
judgement of
their peers.
Zim Independent
Comment
Thursday, 15 May 2008 19:19
VIOLENCE against
Zimbabweans and other foreigners flared up in
Johannesburg’s Alexandra
Township on Sunday as locals used whips and guns to
attack foreign-born
residents on Sunday.
Wire reports said two immigrants were
killed and 40 others were sent
to hospital after the attack. Several women
were raped.
The governing African National Congress this week
slammed the
xenophobia calling on South African nationals to treat the
violence as hate
crimes. In a statement this week the Congress of South
African Trade Unions
(Cosatu) attributed the xenophobia to "intolerable
levels of poverty,
unemployment, crime, and the shortage of housing in poor
communities".
It is true that unemployment and mounting poverty
among South Africans
at the bottom of the economic ladder have provoked
fears of the competition
that better educated and experienced migrants can
represent.
Latest figures from Statistics South Africa show that
unemployment in
the country is considered high at 23% as of September last
year. With an
estimated three million illegal immigrants in South Africa,
competition for
space and resources is a key causative factor of
xenophobia.
But then the phenomenon should not be viewed in the
context of running
battles in the townships and illegal settlements.
Xenophobia has also been
viewed in the context of Zimbabweans and other
nationalities who are
repatriated or those in holding camps waiting to be
sent back home.
The danger with this view is that it negates other
subtleties in the
debate around the subject. A report by the United Nations
Human Rights
Commission Special Rapporteur on racism, discrimination and
xenophobia in
South Africa in 1998 cautioned against forced repatriation of
immigrants.
"The repatriation of illegal persons to their own
countries is clearly
an ineffective means of dealing with illegal
immigration. The measure is
purely a short-term one which takes no account
of regional economic
disturbances, economic factors being the main cause of
immigration into
South Africa," the report said.
This was
before the influx of Zimbabweans illegally crossing the
Limpopo into South
Africa in search of employment and fleeing persecution at
home. This
recommendation by the UN has resultantly been mothballed.
The
enforcement of immigration laws in South Africa in many instances
presupposes that Zimbabweans there are illegal immigrants who should be
screened at every opportunity hence it is not surprising for a professional
to be stopped by a policeman on the street and asked to produce a passport.
This manner of dealing with the immigration problems appear to disregard the
fact that South Africa requires Zimbabwean skills and no amount of
xenophobia can erase this phenomenon.
Recent research has shown
that South Africa, despite its high
unemployment stats, still lacks crucial
skills. The research says the
fast-growing information technology sector has
at least 70 000 vacancies,
which should reach 114 900 by 2009. The education
sector is also expected to
face a shortage of up to 35 000 teachers by 2008,
while more than 5 000
expatriate engineers are required in the energy
sector. More engineers and
artisans are required in South Africa to build
infrastructure for the 2010
soccer World Cup.
The South African
government could be worried that rising xenophobia
and related violence
against foreigners could hurt its ability to attract
skills. But at the same
time it has to address an immigration problem that
is growing bigger as the
crisis in Zimbabwe deepens.
This is a difficult balancing act for a
country whose cash registers
are filled with monies brought in by foreign
traders daily.
"South Africa would not be the centre for
continental trade if it was
not for the influence of the immigrants. The
retail sector is expanding
because of the large volume of continental
customers arriving daily," said
Jacob van Garderen, a researcher with the
Refugee and Migrant Project of
South African Lawyers for Human
Rights.
Like most countries in this invidious position, South
Africa will at
the end of the day welcome useful immigrants who assume the
glorified
collective name of expatriates and be less generous when dealing
with the
less useful ones — the economic refugees.
In European
countries immigrants were welcomed with open arms to do
certain menial work
which the locals held in contempt. The immigrants mainly
from Eastern Europe
have become part of the society and are respected in
their own right for
their industry. One thinks of the Poles in Britain.
Can Zimbabweans
who are prepared to work on farms in South Africa and
Botswana be recognised
in the same light?
Perhaps yes, because immigrants into this
country from Zambia, Malawi
and Mozambique 50 years ago came in to do
not-so-glorious jobs on the farms,
in municipalities as cleaners and others
worked as domestic servants. They
were accepted here because they were
willing to do these jobs which locals
were disparaged.
The tide
has turned on the Zimbabweans and our professionals are today
prepared to
scrub floors and tend gardens across the borders. We have gone
the full
circle because of the crisis at home.
Zim Independent
Comment
Thursday, 15 May 2008 18:46
I AM
not voting in the presidential run-off, regardless of when it’s
going to be.
It’s a conscientious objection.
Though legally mandatory, the
proposed run-off is a charade which I
cannot persuade my conscience to
justify.
If it were within my power, this is one election I would
urge
Zimbabweans to boycott for its utter uselessness to national wellbeing.
It
is heartless and downright dishonourable to traumatise Zimbabweans with
another election for the hollow pleasure of two politicians.
The MDC leadership, which is quick to accuse everyone who disagrees
with it
of buying a lifeline for President Mugabe, says it will participate
in the
run-off "under certain conditions" when one would have expected a
more
robust response. What could be more blatantly contrived to give Zanu PF
and
Mugabe a lifeline than another senseless election in an economy already
wrecked by years of policy failures and trade sanctions?
I also
object because the outcome of that election won’t resolve the
current
political deadlock even if the MDC brought observers and monitors
from
Venus. If they are being forced to take part in the election because of
a
legal technicality — the 50% plus vote — it is because they refused to put
the interests of the nation first on March 29.
Even if we
agreed that President Mugabe has become unelectable, I
believe either party
could easily have won the synchronised March elections
if their two leaders
were more concerned with people’s wellbeing. The basis
of the contest was
the same — land.
From the point of national empowerment, Zanu PF’s
position on land and
indigenisation is unassailable. On the other hand,
using neoclassical,
liberal economic indicators such as inflation,
unemployment, food shortages,
industrial capacity underutilisation and the
corruption which has
accompanied the land reform process, the MDC could have
turned the tables by
exposing how Zanu PF had failed to execute a noble
programme.
Instead, the MDC unduly prioritised dealing with
multiple farm owners
and those involved in the mechanisation programme,
further hardening
attitudes among beneficiaries. (Who said multiple farm
ownership was a crime
and was it a Zanu PF invention?)
So what
caused a run-off election?
Mugabe rejected leadership renewal in
his party. So you have a
peculiar situation where people voted for a Zanu PF
MP but rejected its
leader. Morgan Tsvangirai allowed himself to be fooled
by power-brokers in
his inner circle who told him he was so popular there
was no need to "make
every vote count".
People’s calls for a
united front were spurned and now both parties
want the same brutalised
electorate to make another sacrifice in a contest
which could have been
settled with finality on March 29.
The debate is not whether Mugabe
would have accepted the result if
Tsvangirai had won by the legal margin.
Nobody says he will accept defeat in
a run-off. The point is that the debate
would be less complicated: a
president who lost an election but won’t
relinquish power versus an
opposition leader who won with the requisite
margin but is being denied
power.
For all practical purposes,
Tsvangirai won. Yet technically he didn’t
and by the same token Mugabe is
legally the president until the outcome of
the run-off resolves the impasse.
Unity by the MDC now is too late.
From their stupefied reaction to
the election debacle, Mugabe has made
up his mind that they are confused and
is not going on anybody’s else terms.
Which is really my point,
that an election run-off won’t solve our
political, and by extension, the
economic crisis.
Political leaders must sit down and talk. Given
the position the MDC
and its backers have adopted and that of President
Mugabe and his advisors,
neither will accept the result. The outcome of any
run-off will be of no
more than historical significance.
The
dialogue need not be confined to the Thabo Mbeki mediation effort.
Whatever
its outcome, it must never have the whiff of having been engineered
and
imposed by outsiders. It is our primary duty to lay the foundations of
the
Zimbabwe we want.
Why am I calling for a national boycott of the
run-off? So that the
voter turnout is so low both men will be ashamed to
claim victory.
The run-off has a few unpalatable possibilities.
People are persuaded
to vote with a few broken limbs here and
there.
A few dead bodies are not beyond the "minimum force"
necessary to make
people see the light. Mugabe wins and the MDC protests.
It’s business as
usual until Zanu PF resolves its succession issue. The
crisis deepens while
overfed politicians bicker.
The other
scenario: "Safe" urbanites believe rural folk have been
"emboldened by the
beatings" and so Tsvangirai will win with a crushing
margin. Let’s accept
the possibility that he wins. Mugabe protests and tells
Tsvangirai to go and
rule over the Bamangwato tribe. How does the MDC react?
Exactly as now — the
hallmark of bewildered paralysis which has allowed Zanu
PF to recover from a
staggering defeat.
Enter the African Union fronted by Sadc. It
pushes for dialogue to
wring out a win-win situation. The MDC cries foul;
Zanu PF set the terms.
Another interminable process begins all over
again.
Then the international community, led by Britain and the
United States
with their high-pitched diplomacy. (Their propensity to cry
earlier and
louder than the aggrieved has not helped the MDC deal
effectively with the
soiled image of its conception.)
Mugabe
tells them to go hang. Anybody who tells you US and British
diplomacy still
has an unqualified influence in the region, let alone in
Zimbabwe, beyond
newspaper headlines, is ignorant of the change dynamics
which have occurred
in North-South relations since 2000.
Zim Independent
Comment
Thursday, 15 May 2008 18:37
PRESIDENT
Mwanawasa is President Mugabe’s latest target of insult and,
understandably,
his government is not amused by this latest act of
provocation by the
Zimbabwean authorities.
This week Patrick Chinamasa opened
up on Mwanawasa who is also Sadc
chair for failing to parrot the Zimbabwean
refrain that the West must lift
sanctions on Zimbabwe.
"We have
not heard him calling for the lifting of sanctions," said
Chinamasa. "We
have been adversely affected by the sanctions as they are
creating an uneven
field of play."
The bluster against Mwanawasa was then followed by
a cartoon in the
state paper, the Herald, on Wednesday mocking the Sadc
chair as having been
mum on sanctions, withholding relief maize, deporting
Zimbabwean traders,
and toeing the British line on Zimbabwe. Mwanawasa has
not exactly been the
flavour of the month from a Zanu PF point of view since
his attempt to
mediate in the Zimbabwean crisis last month. By calling a
special summit on
Zimbabwe, Mwanawasa crossed swords with the Zanu PF
government which expects
regional leaders to cheer it on at every
turn.
When Mwanawasa described Zimbabwe as a sinking Titanic a year
ago,
pressure was exerted on him to recant the statement.
But
regional leaders’ perceptions of the government of President
Mugabe are
changing and this resonated in the Zambian government’s reaction
to the
attacks on their leader as reflected in the Times of Zambia this
week.
Chief government spokesperson, Mike Mulongoti, in an
interview with
the newspaper, said Zimbabwe should quickly resolve its
problems by holding
free and fair elections before talking about the lifting
of sanctions.
He said it was surprising that the Zimbabwean
government had allowed
the Herald to heap abuse on President Mwanawasa and
at the same time ask him
to assist the country.
"The
Zimbabweans need to exercise humility and show decency because
they cannot
insult President Mwanawasa and at the same time ask him to help
them because
as Sadc chair he has done what he can."
Mulongoti said Zimbabweans
should hold elections and whoever emerges
the winner would then address the
sanctions issue because to talk about
sanctions now may be premature. He
said President Mwanawasa from the outset
had done everything possible to
help resolve the problems in Zimbabwe and
the entire world was watching the
situation.
"It is surprising that Mr Chinamasa, the man who lost an
election is
very vocal and bitter," he said.
The latest episode
is of immense significance as it points to a new
course in regional
diplomacy with regards the Zimbabwean issue.
It is no longer
business as usual for President Mugabe.
The defeat of Zanu PF in
House of Assembly elections and President
Mugabe in the presidential poll —
albeit with Morgan Tsvangirai failing to
garner an absolute majority — means
our dear leader is no longer regarded as
the formidable political force his
handlers still want us to believe he is.
He will now find it difficult to
recruit regional leaders to fight in his
corner in the contrived duels with
the United States and Britain.
The Sadc heads who only last year at
a summit in Tanzania resolved
that sanctions should be lifted have remained
quiet on the subject.
They are aware that the targeted sanctions
cannot be lifted by
shouting at the West. The process of undoing the
sanctions starts and ends
with Zimbabweans’ ability to achieve consensus on
key national issues to do
with governance and respect for the rule of law.
Corrective measures cannot
be effected from regional capitals but only from
Harare.
In Tanzania Sadc heads appointed Sadc executive secretary
Tomaz
Salomao to look at the economic situation in Zimbabwe and come up with
proposals on what needs to be done. The process of doing something about the
situation has not moved an inch.
The reason they have not moved
in to help is because there has not
been any movement in
Harare.
From Zanu PF’s latest statements on sanctions, we get a
sense that the
party wants to use the sanctions pretext to hang on to power
for as long as
possible.
We now have state-sponsored NGOs which
have been roped in to push this
line to give impetus to future state action
on sanctions. The latest example
is a group of lawyers who claim to be
promoting justice at a time when other
lawyers are being incarcerated for
doing just that.
Zanu PF has now set new conditions of engagement
with regional leaders
in their quest to mediate in the current crisis. As
pointed out, top of the
agenda for any mediation process will be the lifting
of sanctions — a sure
way to slow down processes necessary for a change of
guard in our politics.
If the region remains consistent on the need for a
settlement in Zimbabwe
before sanctions can be lifted, then Mugabe has
painted himself into another
political corner.
Can We Trust Mbeki To Mediate For Us?
Letters
Thursday, 15
May 2008 19:16
AS any sane Zimbabwean I am anxious to see the speedy
resolution of
the problems bedevilling our beautiful country and as a result
I was
naturally drawn to question current efforts being made towards this
end by
Thabo Mbeki.
In an effort to understand what the
term mediator means I made the
effort to research the definitions of the
term.
One definition describes a mediator as an impartial observer
who
listens to both sides separately and suggests how each side could adjust
its
position to resolve differences.
From another definition a
mediator was described as a person with whom
parties to a dispute meet, in
an effort to have the mediator assist them in
reaching a mutually acceptable
decision.
Unlike an arbitrator, the mediator does not impose a
decision on the
disputants; rather, he attempts to help them find a solution
acceptable to
them.
From these descriptions, one understands
the scope and boundaries of a
mediator’s operations and is in a better
position to make an objective
judgment.
Upon looking at the
descriptions I realised that Mbeki does not
possess, at least from the
mandate given to him, the power to wave a magic
wand and make all our
problems go away.
He does though have a responsibility to be
impartial and to listen and
respond to both sides’ point of view. On that I
find that he is found
wanting.
His recent visits to Harare have
done nothing to show his impartiality
as he made bold declarations that
seemed to favour the point of view of one
party at the expense of
another.
Although he claims that he was misquoted in the "no
crisis" statement,
it is incumbent upon him to project the image of an
impartial mediator. For
his role as a mediator to be effective image is of
the essence and hence for
that to be compromised is a serious point of
concern.
An example being the image Kofi Annan had as an impartial
mediator in
the Kenyan crisis and how expeditiously he worked to resolve it.
Mbeki’s
recent visit to Zanu PF, only one party to the conflict, is yet
another
issue of great concern along with his seemingly aloof nature in
catering for
the concerns for the opposition.
NM,
Harare.
-----------------
Tsvangirai Not A
New Beginning
Letters
Thursday, 15 May 2008 19:14
I’M
a Zimbabwean victim of Robert Mugabe’s brutality enjoying Canada’s
protection since coming here as a political refugee in 2003.
However, I’m sickened by the West’s one-sided coverage of the ongoing
electoral fiasco in Zimbabwe. The unrelenting anti-Mugabe avalanche in the
Western media is clearly an effort to conceal the West’s complicity in
Mugabe’s murderous rule.
Following scattered incursions by
apartheid South Africa-sponsored
rebels in southern Zimbabwe in the early
1980s, Mugabe unleashed his
ruthless, North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade
military unit. The unit
exterminated 20 000 innocent villagers.
Mass disappearances, beatings, gang rapes abound. Hundreds were burned
alive. Some victims were forced to dig their own graves. Some were forced to
sing songs praising Mugabe before being executed.
The
international community neither intervened nor chastised Mugabe.
In 1984
Scotland’s Edinburgh University awarded Mugabe an honorary doctorate
of law
degree.
In 1986 the University of Massachusetts awarded Mugabe the
same
honorary degree. Michigan State University honoured Mugabe in 1990. In
1994,
he became the Knight Commander of the Order of Bath, knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II.
Zimbabwe’s crimes grabbed global headlines only
after the post-1999
killings, which claimed 300 lives from both the MDC and
Zanu PF. But now
these killings included about a dozen white Zimbabweans.
The state had also
started repossessing white-owned farms to give to
landless black peasants.
What’s worse, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of
the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change is also complicit in Mugabe’s
crimes and the continuing
violence in Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai was
a fully subscribed member of Mugabe’s Zanu PF party. He
even held the rank
of "political commissar". He never spoke out. According
to The Independent
(UK) in 2004, he said Mugabe was once "my hero, and the
hero of the
liberation struggle".
The international community is justified in
condemning and isolating
Mugabe, but coddling Tsvangirai is acting
complicit. Tsvangirai is Mugabe in
democratic disguise. In 2005, his veto of
a majority vote in the MDC
National Council supporting participation in
Zimbabwe’s senate elections
split the party.
In July 2006,
politically-appointed thugs brutalised MDC MP, Trudy
Stevenson, with whom I
worked briefly in the 1990s, and left her for dead.
She identified her
attackers as Tsvangirai supporters.
On paper and in the biased
Western media coverage of the Zimbabwe
crisis, things will change, but in
reality they’ll stay the same. While
Mugabe represents the last detour
toward Zimbabwe’s final descent into hell,
Tsvangirai represents a false
beginning.
Obert Madondo,
Toronto.
-----------------
Land Grabs Central To Economic
Decline
Letters
Thursday, 15 May 2008 19:12
I
LISTENED to former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan’s appeal for the
creation of a green revolution in Africa with keen
interest.
He mentioned the importance of having the correct
inputs for the
farmers of Africa. Among the inputs he mentioned fertiliser
and seed but I
believe it would take a lot more for agriculture to
prosper.
After nine years of conservation and extension work in all
of Zimbabwe’s
regions, along with 43 years of farming experience in the
Mazoe Valley, I
venture to suggest that the great success of commercial
agriculture between
the years 1950-2001 are as a result of the following
conditions which were
slowly introduced over the years:
*Secure
tenure of surveyed holdings;
*Correct sized economic units for each
ecological region;
*Adequate infrastructure;
*A ready
supply of low interest short and long term loan finance;
*Adequate
expertise;
*Supplementary irrigation where rainfall is erratic
and;
*Orderly marketing.
If African governments aimed
to incorporate these seven components
into their agricultural policies the
great success that was Zimbabwe could
be repeated elsewhere in
Africa.
After the land grabs starting in 2000 of most of the
commercial farms
in Zimbabwe and ultimately the settlement of people who
lacked farming
experience, a system of command agriculture was
introduced.
Seven years later every aspect of production has
declined. Yields have
spiralled steadily downwards since and the
aforementioned seven components
have been completely ignored or at best been
paid lip service.
The 2007/8 agricultural season was heralded as
the "mother of all
seasons" even though dismal results are again becoming
evident despite the
above average rainfall. The major casualty is the
nation’s main staple food,
maize.
The parlous state of
agriculture in Zimbabwe demonstrates the futility
of applying command
structure elements to an industry that operates best
under free market
conditions. The marketing structure is chaotic and the
black market thrives
at the ordinary consumer’s expense.
Concerned
Observer,
Glendale.
-----------------
Please
Investigate The RBZ
Letters
Thursday, 15 May 2008
19:10
THERE seems to be an unholy pact between your newspaper and the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor wherein you desist from robust
investigations into the conduct of the RBZ as an institution and the Reserve
Bank governor as an individual.
Our roads are awash
with brand new expensive double-cab vehicles
purchased and imported by the
RBZ. Indeed, the Reserve Bank yard in
Mabelreign (along Sherwood Drive) is
full of brand new minibuses and trucks
all allegedly imported by the
RBZ.
Quite obviously, a substantial amount of scarce foreign
currency was
used to import these vehicles.
One would have
expected your reporters to carry out thorough
investigations into the exact
amount of foreign currency that the RBZ used
to purchase these vehicles (and
the origins of the foreign currency).
It is common knowledge that
the country needs to import food as our
acquired farms have not produced
enough to feed the nation (due to the cruel
machinations of the West, we are
told). Why have you not confronted the
governor about his decision to
priorities the purchase of luxury vehicles
when the masses face
starvation?
The manufacturing industry has almost ground to a halt
because the RBZ
has not allocated adequate foreign currency to that
sector.
Our hospitals have been experiencing a chronic shortage of
medicines.
The country does not generate enough foreign currency to import
medical
supplies, and yet the RBZ deems it fit to import brand new
double-cab
vehicles.
For obvious reasons we cannot expect
government newspapers to
investigate these issues.
Your failure
to keep the nation informed about the obscene excesses at
the RBZ can only
adversely affect your credibility in the eyes of the
public.
Thabani Mpofu,
Harare.
-----------------
Mugabe Must Not Lecture Our
Children On Character
Letters
Thursday, 15 May 2008
19:07
AFTER the initial boost to our hopes at the beginning of the vote
counting, the endless delays led me into a state of complete misery as the
defeated president simply put a halt to the announcing of
results.
In last week’s Independent (May 9-15) it was
mentioned that the
run-off — which in reality is not even required — could
be in 12 months
time!
How much more misery can this man inflict
on the people of our
country? It is certainly not his country, as expressed
by the will of the
people. In the same edition it is stated that a "clique
of ruling party
hardliners ... are working... in a bid to ensure he wins the
run-off by fair
means or foul". It is sickening.
The defeated
president hung on in order to entertain school children
the day before
Independence celebrations on April 18 with his pearls of
wisdom.
Reported in the Herald of April 18 was that exhausted
mantra: "Never
shall this country be a colony again..." But what about the
Chinese? What
about the Zanu PF mafioso? Are they not the neo-colonialists
who have
plundered the once prosperous Zimbabwe?
"We can borrow
from other cultures but not British..." said he in his
Saville Row
suit.
"You should show friendship, love for the poor..." Really?
Did you or
your relatives have your houses and businesses smashed by the
xenophobic
debacle called Murambatsvina, sanctioned by this
man?
ZBC reporters such as Reuben Barwe and Judith Makwanya gloated
over
these crimes against humanity — even reporting that the people were
happy to
have their abodes knocked down. Barwe and Makwanya must stand up
and face
their complicity in these crimes against humanity when the time
comes.
" ...and work to unite people…" Gukurahundi. The most
horrific era in
the post-Independence history of Zimbabwe with gross human
rights violations
recorded, implicating many high-up politburo members who
must also be
prosecuted for their crimes against humanity.
"You
should develop a good habit, a good habit that would develop into
a good
character, a good character for a good destiny." Is this the
character that
has created our economic, political and social malaise? Is
the man mad? Has
he ever shown our children a good destiny?
These are the words of a
man bereft of any meaningful or important
ideas. A lost soul to be sure and
not someone who should be lecturing
children on good character and
habit!
Umbrage,
Groombridge,
Harare.
africasia
HARARE, May 16 (AFP)
Senior members of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's ruling party
were to
meet Friday to map out a campaign strategy for a delayed run-off
election
ahead of the expected announcement of the poll's date.
The
central committee of the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF), which normally meets four times a year, was holding a special
session, the first after its veteran leader was beaten at the polls for the
first time.
Mugabe, who at 84 is Africa's oldest leader and has ruled
the former British
colony since independence in 1980, was beaten by
opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai in the disputed first round of polls
held on March 29.
But Tsvangirai, with 47.8 percent of the ballots failed
to garner enough
votes to avoid a run-off.
ZANU-PF sources said
Friday's meeting would examine decisions taken on
Wednesday by the party's
politburo, Mugabe's inner party cabinet.
The country is due to hold the
new round of presidential elections before
the end of July, a near 10-weeks
delay from the originally expected date.
The actual date should be known
by end of the day Friday, according to the
country's electoral
commission.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has
criticised the delay
fearing that it would be used by Mugabe's loyalists to
intensify a campaign
of violence after his first-round defeat. It has urged
southern African
leaders to call an emergency summit to discuss the
crisis.
The ZANU-PF meeting comes a day after the army and police chiefs
met with
local church leaders to discuss the political violence that has
engulfed
parts of the country since the original polling day.
Human
rights groups and the opposition have accused the military of having a
hand
in the violence but the army has denied any links to the attacks that
the
opposition says has claimed more than 30 lives.
According to a report in
state media, police commissioner general Augustine
Chihuri had told the
church leaders that both ZANU-PF and MDC had set up
bases across the
countryside from where violence was being orchestrated, but
police were now
in the process of dismantling them.
The opposition has frequently accused
the police of being partisan when
responding to political violence calls, in
many cases arresting the victims
in place of the perpetrators.
But
Chihuri said the police could only urge parties to desist from violence
as
they were not in control of party structures.
Violence in the country has
escalated since the poll, and human rights body
Amnesty International said
Thursday that Mugabe's supporters were forcibly
recruiting youths to carry
out attacks on suspected opposition supporters.
Seen as a post-colonial
success story in the first decade-and-a-half after
independence, Zimbabwe's
economy has been in freefall since 2000 when Mugabe
embarked on a land
reform programme which saw thousands of white-owned farms
expropriated.
Eighty percent of the workforce is unemployed while the
official inflation
rate in February stood at 165,000 percent -- the highest
in the world.
Reuters
By Cris Chinaka
59 minutes ago
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean security chiefs have urged
church leaders to
help stop rising violence ahead of a delayed run-off
election in which the
opposition hopes to oust President Robert
Mugabe.
Official results showed opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
beat Mugabe in
the disputed March 29 poll, but not by enough votes to avoid
a run-off. The
electoral commission is due to set a date for the second
round on Friday.
The ruling ZANU-PF's policy-setting central committee
will also hold its
first meeting since the March elections, in which the
party lost its
parliamentary majority to the opposition for the first time
since
independence in 1980. The meeting is expected to map out Mugabe's
campaign
strategy.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper said the
government was stepping up
efforts to avoid an escalation of politically
motivated violence ahead of
the second round ballot.
"It is
understood that (defense forces commander) General (Constantine)
Chiwenga
appealed to the church leaders to urge their congregations to work
towards
peace while political parties were also implored to desist from
violence,"
the daily Herald said on Friday.
The MDC blames the government for
violence in which it says 40 of its
members have been killed, scores have
been wounded and more than 1,000 homes
burnt or destroyed in attacks by
gangs wielding whips, axes and clubs.
ZANU-PF denies responsibility,
accusing the MDC of unleashing the violence
to discredit
Mugabe.
Neighboring states, including economic powerhouse South Africa,
are
concerned the instability and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe could take
their
toll on them too.
The Herald said police Commissioner-General
Augustine Chihuri told church
leaders on Thursday the police was dismantling
political bases set up by
both ZANU-PF and MDC around the country where acts
of violence had been
committed.
The security chiefs have previously
said they would not allow Tsvangirai and
his MDC to rule the
country.
POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE
The MDC accuses Mugabe of
unleashing his militias in the countryside since
the March elections, both
to punish voters who supported the opposition and
to intimidate them ahead
of the next round of voting.
The opposition says youth brigades, the army
and veterans of a 1970s
independence war have been deployed to galvanize
support for the 84-year-old
Zimbabwean leader and former guerrilla
hero.
The government denies the accusations, and has repeatedly denounced
acts of
violence and called for calm.
The MDC on Thursday called for
an urgent meeting of countries in the region
to avoid "rivers of dead
people." It rejected a delay in the run-off
election announced by the
government, but stopped short of saying Tsvangirai
would only participate if
the timeline was upheld.
Zimbabwe's electoral commission said on
Wednesday the presidential run-off
could be delayed until the end of July --
four months after the original
poll.
The MDC says the run-off should
be held by May 23, in line with laws which
say the vote must be held within
21 days of the election results, which were
announced on May 2.
The
MDC says authorities have banned a rally on Sunday at which Tsvangirai
was
due to kick off his campaign for the run-off. The United States
condemned
the ban.
(Additional reporting by Nelson Banya; Writing by Caroline
Drees; Editing by
Matthew Tostevin)
The Namibian
Friday, May 16, 2008 - Web posted at 8:45:48
GMT
DESMOND TUTU
JOHANNESBURG - Although the Chinese ship that was carrying arms to
Zimbabwe,
the An Yue Jiang, has reportedly turned back, we don't know where
else
President Robert Mugabe's military and paramilitary forces may be
acquiring
weapons.
In light of the escalating violent repression
of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change - and of those whose
support apparently
helped the MDC to prevail in the presidential election,
the results of which
have still not been announced after four weeks - an
international arms
embargo on Zimbabwe is urgently needed.
In
addition, we call on the African Union, with the support of the
United
Nations, to send an investigative mission to Zimbabwe to determine
what
additional measures may be required to carry out the internationally
accepted "responsibility to protect."
The concept of the
"responsibility to protect" was adopted unanimously
by the UN World Summit
in 2005.
Yet, it remains controversial because it is often assumed
that it
implies the use of military force for purposes of humanitarian
intervention.
We believe, as was recognised at the UN World Summit,
that military
force should only be a last resort when needed to prevent or
halt
large-scale loss of life.
The first step is to gather
reliable information so that it is
possible to know what international
measures are required to prevent a
disaster.
In the case of
Zimbabwe, it is extremely difficult to obtain such
information.
Mugabe's regime has systematically shut down independent media,
attacked
independent civil society organisations, denied visas to foreign
journalists, and has arrested and beaten journalists who nevertheless enter
the country.
Foreign observers were present when the voting
took place in Zimbabwe
on March 29, and their presence helped to ensure that
the election itself
was peaceful.
The observers have long since
left the country, however, and the
reports that have filtered out suggest
that in some parts of the country,
Mugabe's opponents are now experiencing a
reign of terror.
The Constitutive Act of the African Union provides
in Article 4 the
"right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant
to a decision of
the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war
crimes,
genocide, and crimes against humanity [as well as a serious threat
to
legitimate order]."
Here too, however, actual military
intervention should only be a last
resort.
In the case of
Zimbabwe, for example, it is possible that sending in
unarmed observers from
other African countries would be sufficient.
Their presence and
ability to provide objective information might
prevent continuation or
further escalation of the violence of the last few
weeks to the point where
it would require military intervention.
Unarmed observers could
also help to ensure that emergency
international food assistance, on which
much of Zimbabwe's population now
depends for survival, is distributed
equitably, without regard to the
political leanings of those requiring
it.
Earlier this year, the African Union, through the good work of
former
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, averted a calamity in Kenya after a
disputed election led to widespread violence.
The danger in
Zimbabwe appears to be comparable.
Once again, the African Union,
with the support of the UN, should
provide the leadership that would
demonstrate that Africa has the capacity
and the will to resolve a great
crisis in a manner that mitigates the
suffering of African
people.
* South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a Nobel Peace
Prize winner.
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Already wielding the big stick, the government has eased economic
restrictions in hope this will buy votes for Robert Mugabe.
By
Happiness Chikudo in Harare (ZCR No. 146, 16-May-08)
As Zimbabweans
continue flocking to the banks to offload foreign currency in
the wake of a
major monetary reform, traders thronged border crossings this
week to import
scarce commodities after the government scrapped duties on
some food
imports.
Analysts are agreed that President Robert Mugabe has introduced
these
economic measures with a view to securing victory for him in the
forthcoming
second round of the presidential election.
In the first
round, held on March 29, Mugabe lost to Morgan Tsvangirai,
leader of the
Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, but election officials
ruled that
neither candidate had won the 50 per cent majority needed for
outright
victory.
On May 16, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced that the
second
round would be held not within the normal 21 days from the date the
first-round result was announced, but instead within 90 days, which means
the deadline is August 12.
ZIMBABWEAN DOLLAR PLUMMETS
For the
past two weeks, the banks and other financial institutions have been
busy as
people rush to exchange foreign currency, especially United States
dollars,
for Zimbabwean money.
Since the Zimbabwean dollar has become increasingly
worthless in recent
years, this was a major turnaround.
It followed
an announcement by Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe,
RBZ, on May 2 that the currency would no longer be traded at a
fixed
rate.
Gono acknowledged that the current exchange-rate mechanism was not
working.
Until that point, the official rate had been held at 30,000 to the
US dollar
since September 2007. Before Gono’s announcement, the Zimbabwean
currency
was trading at upwards of 100 million to one American dollar on the
illegal
black market.
He said the foreign exchange market had to work
properly if the country was
to achieve economic stability and cut inflation.
Year-on-year inflation was
somewhere over 150,000 per cent at the last
count.
The central bank chief noted that over 80 per cent of Zimbabwe’s
imports
were items of crucial importance like machinery and spare parts,
electricity, fuel, chemicals and “other essentials” – in which he presumably
included the major food purchases that have been necessitated by the
collapse of the country’s agriculture.
The immediate result of
freeing up the exchange rate was a massive loss of
value for the Zimbabwean
dollar as it hurtled towards its true market value.
Gono made his
announcement on a Friday, when the rate was still posted as
30,000 to the US
dollar. When trading resumed on Monday, May 5, the official
rate leapt to
nearly 169 million, not thousand, to one.
That meant that all of a
sudden, the authorities had access to significant
amounts of hard currency
that would previously have passed them by. Illegal
currency trading was all
but wiped out as black marketeers struggled to keep
pace with the banks.
People who would previously sold foreign currency on
the black market
because the banks offered such a ridiculously low rate were
now opting for
safer and legal transactions on advantageous terms.
By May 16, one
American dollar was worth 255 million or so of the Zimbabwean
currency.
HIGH IMPORT DUTIES SWEPT AWAY
On May 13, government
spokesman Sikhanyiso Ndlovu announced a second major
policy reversal. Import
duty charges on basic commodities including cooking
oil, rice, salt and
margarine were scrapped with immediate effect until
August 12.
The
90-day suspension was needed in order to ensure there was a “constant
supply
of imported basic commodities that have been augmenting local
supplies”,
said Ndlovu.
He explained that high tariffs, which in some cases reached
100 per cent of
an item’s value, was reducing the amount of goods imported
into Zimbabwe.
Until then, that had seemed to be precisely the point of
punitive duties –
to stop scarce foreign currency going abroad to buy
imports, and to attempt
to reduce a trade deficit caused by the depressed
export capacity of this
unproductive economy.
Basic items like
foodstuffs, soap, toothpaste and washing powder have been
in short supply on
the official market since last July, when Mugabe ordered
all businesses and
industries to cut the prices of goods and services almost
in half. This
crude anti-inflationary measure proved counterproductive as
goods
disappeared from the shelves in panic-buying and shops could not
afford to
restock.
Since the restrictions on acquiring foreign currency curbed the
ability of
commercial firms to buy from abroad, much of what was available
in Zimbabwe
was supplied to markets and street vendors by informal
cross-border traders.
The suspension of customs duties immediately
sparked a stampede to the
borders with neighbouring South Africa,
Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia, as
people used their new freedom to buy
goods abroad either to stock up at home
or to resell as a way of making some
extra income.
POLITICAL CALCULATION
The liberalised economic
environment created by the currency flotation and
this week’s lifting of
customs duties clearly has a political backdrop.
The increased
impoverishment of much of the Zimbabwean population is perhaps
the main
driver of wide-scale public discontent with Mugabe, and the reason
why he
performed so poorly in the March 29 polls. Despite its apparently
iron grip
on the country, his ZANU-PF party was defeated by the MDC in the
parliamentary election, even losing seats regarded as safe.
Now the
security forces and ZANU-PF militias have been deployed in a
campaign of
violence in a bid to break support for the opposition ahead of
the second
round.
The currency and duty measures add a carrot to the stick now being
wielded
by the authorities.
“How do you explain that the waiver on
duty was for three months with effect
from May 12 until [the election
deadline of] August 12?” said a ZANU-PF
insider, speaking on condition of
anomymity. “This date allows the president
to polish his election
machinery.”
Ernest Mudzengi, a political analyst with the National
Constitutional
Assembly, a non-government pressure group, agreed.
“He
has his eyes on the presidential run-off,” he said, referring to Mugabe.
“It
is also an admission by the government of Mugabe that the
command-economy
policies have failed dismally and that the country has not
been able to feed
itself for the past eight years. It is all an election
gimmick to hoodwink
voters as the country braces for a run-off.”
An increased supply of
foreign currency in the banking will allow the
government to import food and
pay Zimbabwe’s neighbours for electricity
supplies, avoiding assuaging
hunger and avoidingembarrassing blackouts in
the midst of a crucial
election. Many regional states have grown impatient
with the government’s
late payment of electricity bills.
Mudzengi suggested that access to
foreign currency would help the
authorities bankroll their election
campaign.
According to John Robertson, an independent economic and
political analyst,
“The government needs foreign currency for a lot of
things, among them to
repay the FCA [foreign currency accounts] of embassies
and international
organisations that were raided by the RBZ before the March
29 elections.”
In his May 2 statement on monetary policy, bank governor
Gono admitted that
for several months, corporate firms, foreign embassies,
non-governmental
organisations and some international organisations had
experienced “delays”
in accessing their foreign currency accounts at the
central bank.
Robertson added, “While the main reason might be to replace
FCA accounts
taken from embassies, gold producers and others, the element of
the
elections cannot be ruled out. The ZEC [Zimbabwe Electoral Commission]
has
already said it is broke. Gono needs to find hard currency for a lot of
things, including running the election and importing food.”
EXTRA
GIFT FOR FARMERS
In his statement, Gono also gave notice that the fourth
phase of the
“mechanisation programme” – which provides farm machinery in
rural areas –
would be unveiled in July. Ahead of the March 29
elections,
Gono used RBZ funds to hand out tractors, ox-drawn ploughs and
other farming
equipment.
ZANU-PF has traditionally drawn its support
from rural voters, while the MDC
was seen as more urban-based – at least
until the recent elections, when it
out-performed the ruling party even on
its home ground.
Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for Tsvangirai’s faction of
the MDC, said the
pledge to unroll the next phase of farm mechanisation
programme “can’t be a
coincidence”.
“It is part of ZANU-PF
vote-buying. We have maintained that Gono has, and is
still, funding
ZANU-PF’s violent campaign. The state security agents beating
up opposition
supporters in the rural areas are paid from RBZ coffers,” he
said, as the
MDC announced that the number of its supporters killed in
election violence
had reached 32 by May 13.
The authorities are clearly calculating that a
combination of intimidation,
well-funded electioneering and sweeteners for
the population will secure a
landslide for Mugabe.
Happyness Chikudo
is the pseudonym of a reporter in Zimbabwe
IOL
May 16 2008 at
02:59PM
Authorities assisting foreign nationals displaced by recent
xenophobic
attacks in Alexandra said on Friday they did not have exact
numbers of how
many people had been affected.
Alexander police
station officer Constable Neria Malefetse said that
well over a thousand
people were seeking refuge at the station on Friday.
On Sunday,
three people were killed and about 60 injured when mostly
foreign nationals
- mainly from Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe - were
attacked.
They were apparently accused of crime and taking jobs from local
people.
Police have arrested more than 50 people for various
crimes,including
rape, murder and robbery.
Those attacked have
been taking shelter at Alexandra's police station
as well as other police
stations in the area.
On Friday, Malefetse said
people were still "coming and going" - so it
was difficult to calculate the
overall number of displaced residents in the
area.
She also
said some people were reluctant to give their names or put
themselves on any
kind of list, so this made collecting statistics
difficult.
Malefetse said it was difficult to keep tabs on people's movements.
"We do get different people every day."
She said some people only
came to the station for safety at night and
then left during the
day.
The police's mandate was to take care of the people and so
they had
not even tried to establish exact numbers.
Malefetse
said some foreign nationals wanted to return home.
Others wanted to
stay because they hoped the situation would subside.
City of
Johannesburg spokesperson Gabu Tugwana said the municipality
also did not
know exactly how many people were displaced.
What they did know was
how many people they were caring for.
However, Tugwana said day and
night numbers were "very different".
In Alexandra about 300 and 400
people were being fed at night, whereas
during the day it was about
215.
At the Bramley police station, there were about 150 people
present
during the day and about 200 at night.
Tugwana said it
was the responsibility of organisations like the Red
Cross or home affairs
to collect the "minute data of the measure of the
problem.
"We
are the supportive structure," he said.
Johannesburg metro police
spokesperson Superintendent Wayne Minnaar
said 23 people had slept in a
Methodist church in Diepsloot on Thursday
night to keep safe.
Red Cross spokesperson Freedom Ngubeni said their register from
Thursday
counted 740 people currently displaced.
She said overall the number
of people displaced was not a thousand but
somewhere in the
hundreds.
Ngubeni said most people wanted to go back home to their
countries of
origin.
"They are tired of this war."
She said the Red Cross really needed help with donations.
Women
needed sanitary towels and the organisation needed blankets.
Anyone
who could assist should contact Mr Mthembu on 011-873-6364. -
Sapa