Harare bans public prayers, marches amid fears of anti-Mugabe protests

Zim Online

Thu 18 May 2006

      HARARE - Zimbabwe police have banned public rallies, marches and
prayer meetings planned for next weekend to mark the government's
controversial home demolition exercise last year, for fear the commemoration
could easily turn into anti-government protests, organisers said on
Wednesday.

      To ensure the commemoration was pre-empted, the police also arrested
several church, civic leaders and individuals leading preparations for
various activities to mark the urban renewal exercise.

      The religious and civic leaders, who were mostly arrested between
Tuesday and Wednesday, were detained for brief periods and released after
strong warning not to proceed with plans to remember the home demolition
exercise.

      The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC) that brings together churches,
human rights groups, opposition parties, labour and students and was
spearheading plans for the planned commemoration said the police ordered the
cancellation of prayer meetings and rallies because they feared the
organisers might turn them into anti-President Robert Mugabe protests.

      "The police have cancelled all our programmes to commemorate the
event. They advised us that we can no longer go ahead because they suspect
we might end up turning commemorations into countrywide anti-Mugabe
protests," CZC advocacy officer Itai Zimunya told ZimOnline.

      Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi said he had not been briefed by
police commanders about the ban on prayers, rallies and public marches.

      But Mohadi virtually endorsed the police action, saying: "Common sense
however dictates that the police should not let events that have a potential
of turning violent or have undesirable political connotations going ahead."

      Zimbabwe has been on edge since main opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai said in March that he would lead supporters of his Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party in mass protests to force Mugabe to give up
power to a transitional government that would pen a new constitution and
organise fresh elections under international supervision.

      Mugabe has warned Tsvangirai against mass action saying the opposition
leader would be "dicing with death" if he ever attempted to instigate a
Ukrainian-style popular revolt in Zimbabwe.

      But Tsvangirai has been undeterred and next weekend begins touring
rural areas - the last bastions of Mugabe's support - to try and win backing
for mass protests from rural communities.

      The CZC had planned to hold a rally next Saturday at Zimbabwe Grounds
in Harare's Highfield working class suburb, as well as public marches in
several towns and cities, where armed soldiers and police last year razed
down thousands of backyard cottages and shantytowns leaving close to a
million people homeless.

      The rally and marches have now been declared illegal by the police,
who also banned another commemorative public meeting that was to take place
in Harare's Mbare working class suburb on Wednesday. Mbare, a stronghold of
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, was one of the
worst affected by the home demolition exercise.

      University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer and fierce Mugabe
critic, John Makumbe, who was to have addressed the Mbare meeting, was
arrested and detained at Harare central police station for hours before
being released.

      In the second largest city of Bulawayo, police ordered the Zimbabwe
Christian Alliance (ZCA) - a coalition of churches in the city - to cancel
prayer meetings and a public march that organisers had said would see at
least 15 000 people march for about five kilometres from Makokoba suburb
into the city centre. Two ZCA pastors, Lucky Moyo and Promise Maneda, who
were leading preparations for the weekend march were arrested by the police
on Tuesday and released later on the same day.

      ZCA spokesman Hussein Sibanda however said the marches and prayer
meetings would go ahead because the police ban was illegal, adding that the
church organisation was working on an urgent application to the High Court
to request the court to bar the police from interfering with the march or
prayer meeting.

      The police have also summoned women rights activist Jenni Williams and
Zimbabwe Progressive Teachers' Union secretary general Raymond Majongwe whom
they want to question in connection with the planned commemoration of the
home demolition exercise.

      "Yes they (police) want to talk to me but they have not indicated what
they want," Majongwe said. Williams could not be immediately reached to
confirm whether she had met the police.

      Bulawayo Catholic Archbishop and also a fierce Mugabe critic, Pius
Ncube said the police had also wanted to speak to him but could not because
he had been away.

      "They (the police) cancelled planned marches to commemorate Operation
Murambatsvina. They also quizzed a number of church leaders whom they
suspect of having links with the event. They couldn't talk to me because I
was away," Ncube said.

      Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions secretary general Wellington
Chibhebhe said the police raided the union's offices in the cities of Gweru
and Chinhoyi offices and demanded workers at the offices to say whether the
ZCTU was involved in plans to commemorate the home demolitions.

      "They interrogated our office people there to find out about their
involvement in pending mass action and the commemorations of Operation
Murambatsvina (home demolition). The offices are now operational," Chibhebhe
said.

      The home demolition campaign that began in May and ended in July last
year left at least 700 000 without shelter or means of livelihood after the
police bulldozers pulled down shantytowns and informal business kiosks in an
exercise defended by Mugabe as necessary to smash crime and keep Zimbabwe's
cities beautiful.

      Western nations, the local opposition, human rights groups and
churches roundly condemned the home demolition exercise with UN envoy Anna
Tibaijuka, who spent two weeks in Zimbabwe probing the urban renewal
exercise, saying in a report that the clean-up exercise not only violated
human rights but also possibly breached international law.

      Tibaijuka said in addition to making nearly a million people homeless,
the clean-up exercise also indirectly affected another 2.4 million people.

      The Zimbabwe government rejected the UN report, saying Tibaijuka was
under pressure from Western governments to produce a negative report that
would tarnish Mugabe and his government's image. - ZimOnline

NGO says Harare has set up new holding camp for the homeless

Zim Online

Thu 18 May 2006

      HARARE - The National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations
(NANGO) on Wednesday said the government had set up a new holding camp at
Melfort Farm about 40km east of Harare to house thousands of homeless people
rounded up in the capital.

      Fambai Ndirande, an advocacy officer with NANGO, said the more than 10
000 people who were rounded up in Harare over the past few weeks were being
fed on vegetables and other foodstuffs seized from street vendors in the
city.

      "We have information that the vagrants are being kept at Melford Farm.
This is a new holding camp.

      "But right now we don't know how many people are staying at the farm
as their cases have not been properly documented. We also don't know their
needs as the civic society," said Ndirande.

      Contacted for comment on the matter, police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena
declined to reveal where those who were rounded up were being kept. He also
said there was nothing new about the latest removals.

      "Since independence we have been clearing the streets of vagrants.
There is nothing unusual about the operation," said Bvudzijena.

      The latest crackdown on vendors and the homeless comes exactly a year
after the government launched a similar clean-up campaign that left at least
700 000 people homeless, according to a report by United Nations envoy Anna
Tibaijuka.

      Meanwhile, the police in Masvingo town, about 265km south of Harare,
on Wednesday fought running battles with street vendors in a clean-up blitz
reminiscent of last year's widely condemned exercise.

      At least 500 vendors, who include some elderly women, were arrested
during the skirmishes as police on horseback patrolled the streets in a show
of force in what the vendors said was a clean-up exercise ahead of a visit
to the town by Vice-President Joice Mujuru this week.

      But there was drama in the streets as a group of elderly women
stripped off their clothes in a bid to dissuade the police from arresting
them.

      Police spokesman in Masvingo, Inspector Charles Munhungeyi, said the
clean-up campaign had nothing to do with Mujuru's visit.

      "The clean up exercise is continuing and has nothing to do with the
vice-president's visit," he said. - ZimOnline

Rights groups demand action against repression in Zimbabwe

Zim Online

Thu 18 May 2006

      JOHANNESBURG - Representatives of international and South African
human rights groups and political parties on Wednesday condemned worsening
human rights violations in Zimbabwe and called on the international
community and President Thabo Mbeki's government to take a "principled
position against repression in Zimbabwe".

      The one-day conference to review the Zimbabwe crisis as well as
commemorate a controversial home demolition exercise by President Robert
Mugabe's government last year  was organised by the Centre for the Study of
Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), South African Girl Child Alliance
(SAGCA) and Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (ZSF).

      South Africa's ruling African National Congress Party, South African
Communist Party, opposition Democratic Alliance party, South Africa Students
Congress and several civic society groups from Zimbabwe attended the
conference.

      The Johannesburg conference took place as the Zimbabwe government on
Wednesday banned prayers and meetings that were planned countrywide to mark
the home demolition campaign, saying the commemoration could end turning
into mass protests against President Robert Mugabe.

      Addressing the conference, CSVR official Richard Smith said it was
time Mbeki called off his "quiet diplomacy" policy towards Harare and took
more robust action to end repression in the troubled southern African
country.

      Smith said: "We condemn in strongest possible terms the new wave of
repression that has been unleashed in Zimbabwe .. the arrest and torture of
Zimbabwean students must not be allowed to go unchallenged."

      United States President George Bush and most Western leaders consider
Mbeki the point-man on Zimbabwe but the South African President has
frustrated human rights groups by refusing to publicly censure Mugabe saying
"megaphone diplomacy" will not work and also insisting only Zimbabweans
could solve their political problems.

      ANC official Xolisa Mawela told the conference that in future,
organisers of such gatherings should ensure that the Harare authorities were
also in attendance to defend themselves.

      "There is usually a danger of listening to one side of the storry and
I would like to propose that next time, we bring all the concerned parties
so as to avoid some of the unfounded claims (of human rights violations),"
said Mawela. - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe labour leaders fight to stop deportation of foreign delegates

Zim Online

Thu 18 May 2006

      HARARE - Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) leaders yesterday
filed an urgent application to the High Court seeking the court to bar the
government from deporting foreign delegates coming to attend the union's
congress which begins tomorrow.

      Immigration authorities on Wednesday deported two Norwegian union
officials, Nina Mjoberg and Alice Siame, while a Congress of South African
Trade (COSATU) official Jani Mhlangu was also denied entry into Zimbabwe.

      ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibhebhe said the deportations took
place even after Labour Minister Nicholas Goche had assured the union that
its foreign allies would be allowed into the country for the congress.

      "We have just filed a general application to stop the government from
further deporting our visitors," said Chibhebhe, adding that the ZCTU was
"extremely disappointed" with the actions of the Zimbabwean authorities who
he said had been given a full list of all invited foreign delegates.

      Contacted for comment, Zimbabwe Labour Minister Nicholas Goche said he
was not aware of any foreign trade union officials who had been deported and
said they would be no reason for such action if the officials have not
breached immigration laws.

      "Why should they be deported if they have followed proper channels and
immigration regulations," said Goche.

      The Harare authorities have in the past denied entry to foreign trade
unionists whom they accuse of working hand in hand with the ZCTU to
undermine the government's authority.

      The government accuses the ZCTU, a strong ally of the main opposition
Movement for Democratic Change party, of pushing a political agenda to oust
Mugabe from power.

      Two separate delegations from the Congress of South African Trade
Unions have also been kicked out of Zimbabwe over the past two years. -
ZimOnline

South Africa says concerned over worsening Zimbabwe crisis

Zim Online

Thu 18 May 2006

      JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's deputy foreign affairs minister Azziz
Pahad on Wednesday expressed concern over the deepening economic crisis in
Zimbabwe which has seen thousands of people fleeing the country in droves.

      Addressing the media yesterday, Pahad said the South African
government remained concerned over the six-year old crisis that has seen
inflation breaching the 1 000 percent barrier.

      "We have been concerned about the deteriorating economic situation (in
Zimbabwe), where inflation has now reached 1 000 percent, and the
predictions are it can get worse.

      "We remain concerned not only about the effects on the people of
Zimbabwe, but the effect on the region as a whole, because Zimbabwe is an
important player," said Pahad.

      Zimbabwe is in the grip of a severe six-year old economic crisis
marked by rampant inflation, food shortages and high unemployment levels.
The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change and major
Western governments blame the crisis on repression and bad policies by
President Robert Mugabe.

      Pahad said the South African embassy in Harare had reported an
increase in the number of people seeking visas to come to South Africa where
an estimated two million Zimbabweans are already staying as illegal
immigrants.

      "By any standards this is high - even if it's not as much as this, it
is high. Our own missions in Zimbabwe are reporting that they are having
increasing numbers of people seeking visas to come to South Africa," Pahad
said.

      South African President Thabo Mbeki has consistently refused to
publicly condemn Mugabe over human rights abuses and failure to uphold
democracy over the past six years preferring to pursue a policy of "quiet
diplomacy" towards the Harare authorities. - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe police ban churches from marking home demolition campaign

Zim Online

Wed 17 May 2006

      BULAWAYO - Police in Zimbabwe's second largest city of Bulawayo have
banned churches in the city from holding a march and a prayer meeting to
commemorate a home demolition exercise by the government last year that the
United Nations said left at least 700 000 people homeless.

      Two pastors of the Zimbabwean Christian Alliance (ZCA) that brings
together all churches in the city were on Tuesday summoned by the police and
ordered to cancel the planned procession that would have seen 15 000 people
marching from Bulawayo's Makokoba working class suburb into the city centre
about five kilometers away.

      The two Pastors Lucky Moyo and Promise Maneda were released on the
same day.

      Under the government's draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA),
Zimbabweans are banned from gathering in groups of more than three people to
discuss politics or to hold political demonstrations without first seeking
permission from the police.

      But churches and professional are not required to obtain approval from
the police before gathering in public.

      ZCA spokesman Hussein Sibanda said the marches and prayer meeting
would go ahead because it was illegal for the police to use the POSA to ban
the planned events. He also said the church alliance's lawyers could file an
urgent application at the High Court requesting the court to bar the police
from interfering with the march or payer meeting.

      "The procession will go ahead .. under POSA, churches should not be
barred from embarking in peaceful processions and conducting prayers, our
lawyers are preparing our case and before the end of the day we will file
papers with the High Court challenging the police decision," Sibanda said.

      According to Sibanda, the police had initially given permission for
the march and prayer meeting to go ahead but later changed their minds
citing political reasons which they did not elaborate.

      Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was not immediately available for
comment on the matter.

      But the police on Wednesday morning also arrested University of
Zimbabwe (UZ) political science lecturer and fierce critic of President
Robert Mugabe's government, John Makumbe, who was involved in organising
events to mark the home demolition campaign in Harare.

      Makumbe, who is being held at the Harare central police station's
notorious law and order section, had by midday not yet been charged.

      Civic society groups and journalists on Tuesday began commemorating
the home destruction campaign by touring various suburbs and areas where
police bulldozers last year demolished backyard cottages and shantytowns in
an exercise defended by Mugabe as necessary to smash crime and keep
Zimbabwe's cities and towns beautiful.

      Western nations, the local opposition, human rights groups and
churches roundly condemned the home demolition exercise with UN envoy Anna
Tibaijuka, who spent two weeks in Zimbabwe probing the urban renewal
exercise, saying in a report that the clean-up exercise not only violated
human rights but also possibly breached international law.

      Tibaijuka said in addition to making nearly a million people homeless,
the clean-up exercise also indirectly affected another 2.4 million people.

      The Zimbabwe government rejected the UN report, saying Tibaijuka was
under pressure from Western governments to produce a negative report that
would tarnish Mugabe and his government's image. - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe police arrest fierce Mugabe critic

Zim Online

Wed 17 May 2006

      HARARE - Zimbabwe police on Wednesday arrested a University of
Zimbabwe (UZ) political science lecturer and fierce critic of President
Robert Mugabe's government, John Makumbe.

      Makumbe, who was picked from the university grounds early in the
morning, is being held at the Harare central police station's notorious law
and order section, where detainees have often complained of being beaten up
and tortured.

      The UZ lecturer told ZimOnline by mobile phone that by late morning no
charges had yet been preferred against him. He however said he suspected
that his arrest may be linked to yesterday's commemoration by civic society
groups of the government's controversial home demolition last year that the
United Nations (UN) said left at least 700 000 people homeless.

      "They (police) just told me that they wanted to have a chat with me,"
said Makumbe. "They have not laid any charges yet but they are preparing for
the so-called chat. I think this has to do with my participation in the
preparations for the commemoration of Operation Murambatsvina (home
demolition exercise)."

      Civic society groups and journalists yesterday marked the home
destruction campaign by touring various suburbs and areas where police
bulldozers demolished backyard cottages and shantytowns in an exercise
defended by Mugabe as necessary to smash crime and keep Zimbabwe's cities
and towns beautiful.

      Western nations, the local opposition, human rights groups and
churches roundly condemned the home demolition exercise with UN envoy Anna
Tibaijuka, who spent two weeks in Zimbabwe probing the urban renewal
exercise, saying in a report that the clean-up exercise not only violated
human rights but also possibly breached international law.

      Tibaijuka said in addition to making nearly a million people homeless,
the clean-up exercise also indirectly affected another 2.4 million people.

      The Zimbabwe government rejected the UN report, saying Tibaijuka was
under pressure from Western governments to produce a negative report that
would tarnish Mugabe and his government's image. - ZimOnline

Journalists barred from visiting victims of clean-up exercise

Zim Online

Wed 17 May 2006

      HARARE - A group of 60 journalists were on Tuesday barred from touring
Hopley Farm holding camp on the outskirts of Harare to check on conditions
for hundreds of people who were displaced during last year's controversial
government clean-up exercise.

      The journalists were touring the camp as part of activities organised
by the National Association of Non-Governmental Organanisations (NANGO) in
remembrance of the controversial clean-up exercise.

      A senior Social Welfare officer at the farm, Ezekiel Mpande told the
journalists that they could not proceed with their tour as they first needed
clearance from the army which he said was in charge of the camp.

      "It's unfortunate we cannot allow you to proceed without the clearance
of Colonel Gwanetsa who is the top official here.

      "It is an army project so protocol requires that you get the go-ahead
from Colonel Gwanetsa," said Mpande.

      Zimbabwean civic groups on Tuesday began commemorating last year's
controversial urban renewal exercise by President Robert Mugabe's government
that left at least 700 000 homeless and directly affected another 2.4
million people, according to a United Nations report.

      The campaign was roundly criticised by Western governments, the
opposition, churches and human rights groups as a violation of the rights of
the poor.

      Mugabe and his government have however defended the exercise saying it
was necessary to smash crime and restore the beauty of cities and towns. -
ZimOnline

Maize availability at critical level in south

 FEWS NET Monthly Report for Zimbabwe covering the period Feb 2006 to Mar 2006.

ZIMBABWE Food Security Update March 2006

ALERT STATUS: NO ALERT WATCH WARNING EMERGENCY

 

Summary and implications

The cost of living in Zimbabwe continued to rise at an alarming rate.  The annual rate of inflation scaled new heights to the unprecedented level of 913.6 percent in March 2006.  Between February and March 2006 the national average Food Poverty Line for a family of five increased by 14 percent to Z$10.3 million.  At the same time the official March 2006 minimum monthly wage rate for an industrial worker (proxy for a urban head of household) and a farm worker (proxy for a rural head of household) remained at Z$5.5 million and below Z$1 million, respectively. 

National maize availability improved with the start of the green and early dried 2005/6 harvest.  In response, towards the end of March, in most monitored markets grain prices declined.  Availability of maize, sorghum and millets was more critical in the southern half of the country, where grain and maize prices remained comparatively higher. 

As of March 31, 2006, commercial and food aid imports into Zimbabwe closed about 93 percent of the initial national maize deficit, which was estimated at about 1,066,000 MT for the 2005/6 consumption year.  However, poor in-country maize distribution significantly reduced the potential benefit of this food to poor and food insecure households.  In addition, although no statistics are available, the prevalence of Zimbabwean-produced maize meal for sale in Mozambique and Zambia indicates that a significant percentage of these commercial imports was re-exported. 

Seasonal calendar

FULL-SIZE IMAGE

Current hazard summary

• Shortage and high price of maize in the southern districts of the country.  
• High annual inflation, measured in March 2006 at 913.6 percent, which has further eroded purchasing power.
• Projected maize deficit for 2006/07 consumption year.

Food security summary

Commercial and food aid maize imports from South Africa to Zimbabwe continued in February and March 2006.  According to the South African Grain Information Services (SAGIS), 114,292 MT of maize were exported to Zimbabwe between February 10 and March 31, 2006, bringing the cumulative official maize exports to Zimbabwe to 993,472 MT for the period April 2, 2005 to March 31, 2006.  This represents about 93 percent of the total maize gap estimated at the beginning of the 2005/6 consumption year (Figure 1).  Nevertheless sub-national maize availability in Zimbabwe was poor throughout the year because transport problems and poor management disrupted its distribution within the country.  Also, the presence of stocks of Zimbabwean maize meal brands in shops in Zambia and Mozambique throughout the consumption year points to illegal siphoning of the imported maize to neighboring countries. 

Figure 1: National level maize availability, March 31, 2006

FULL-SIZE IMAGE

 
Source: SAGIS and Ministry of Finance-Zimbabwe

Food aid by humanitarian organizations continued to make an important contribution to food that was consumed by rural households in March 2006.  Over sixty percent of the total rural population in 52 of the 59 rural districts in Zimbabwe received at least 10kg of maize or an acceptable substitute in March.  While food assistance to vulnerable households was scheduled to stop in April 2006 because of the increased contribution of the 2005/06 agricultural season's harvest to food supplies, special programmes like school feeding and therapeutic feeding will continue, though at a reduced level.

Cost of living continues to rise

The annual rate of inflation for March 2006 reached the unprecedented level of 913.6 percent, as measured by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), 131.6 percentage points higher than in February (782.0 percent) and 113.6 percentage points higher than Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe projected peak for annual inflation this year.  Consequently, the total consumption poverty line (TCPL, the level of minimum expenditure required to purchase the basic food and non-food items) for a family of five rose by over 1,000 percent since March 2005 to about Z$31 million.  Over the same period the national Food Poverty Line (FPL) increased by 920 percent to Z$10.3 million (Figure 2).  The TCPL for March was lowest in Mashonaland East and highest in Bulawayo Province.

Figure 2: Annual rate of inflation compared to the minimum wage rate of a low-income earner, indexed on the Food Poverty Line

FULL-SIZE IMAGE

 
Source: CSO, ZCTU

The rise in the cost of living pushed more households into poverty.  A teacher's salary for March 2006 could barely cover the FPL and just 27 percent of the TCPL.  The situation is worse for low income earners such as industrial workers and farm workers being paid minimum wages.

The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) monitors a basket for a low income urban household of six, which stood at Z$34 million in March, up from Z$28 million in February.  The value of the basket in March 2006 was 1,548 percent higher than it was a year ago, but the minimum industrial monthly wage rate rose about 630 percent to just Z$5.5 million in the same period.  The continued erosion of purchasing power exerted enormous pressure on poor urban households, resulting in increased practice of undesirable coping strategies.  Despite heavy-handed policing by the Municipal Police, illegal vending is on the rise in urban centers, including along major streets in both high density and low density residential areas.  Street kids who had been taken off the streets by Operation Murambatsvina have repopulated the city centers once more. 

Furthermore the water and sanitation conditions of most urban areas continued to cause concern.  Interruptions to the clean piped water supply are frequent.  Sewage pipe bursts are common, and refuse collections are irregular.  This poses a serious health hazard.

Maize availability remains critical in the southern districts

Maize availability, though improving, remained tight in monitored markets such as Zvishavane, Chiredzi, Masvingo and Bulawayo, where maize prices were well above the Z$30,000/kg mark (Figure 3).  The 2005/06 maize production prospects in the farming areas that supply these markets are generally poor.  In the first week of March, the reported maize grain prices were highest (around Z$68,000/kg) in Bulawayo and lowest (Z$28,000/kg) in Zaka and Bindura.  Generally, prices in the monitored markets decreased over the month, and in the third week of March, Chiredzi market had one of the highest maize prices, Z$58,000/kg and the lowest, $20,000/kg, was in Mutare.  A rising trend in Ngundu, south of Masvingo town is worrying.  Ngundu market was already amongst those with the highest prices in the second week, and prices increased even more later in the month.

Prices fell mainly due to improved prospects of the 2005/06 harvest in areas that supply the markets.  Since the maize crop in the fields was almost ready for harvesting, and farmers are certain of their production, they released onto the markets stocks from the gardens and last season's harvest.  The Mutare market showed the most dramatic drop in maize prices during the month; the maize price at the end of the month was nearly half of what it was at the beginning of the month.  Here not only did maize meal supply improve but relative demand for the grain dropped significantly as urban households turn to the available maize meal and their limited 2005/06 agricultural season's harvests from urban farming.

Figure 3: Maize Grain Prices in Selected Markets: March 2006

FULL-SIZE IMAGE

Source: WFP

Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET)

More Zimbabweans seeking entry into SA

Business Day

Sapa

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN increasing number of Zimbabwean citizens are applying for permits to
enter into SA, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said today.

Pahad said government was concerned about the effects of the deteriorating
economic situation in Zimbabwe, where inflation has now reached 1000%.

"We remain concerned not only about the effects on the people of Zimbabwe,
but the effect on the region as a whole, because Zimbabwe is an important
player," he said at a media briefing in Parliament.

It was a major problem for SA because, according to reports, there were two
million "undocumented" Zimbabweans in SA.

"By any standards this is high - even if it's not as much as this, it is
high. Our own missions in Zimbabwe are reporting that they are having
increasing numbers of people seeking visas to come to SA."

SA continued to interact with the Zanu-PF government as well as opposition
groupings in Zimbabwe on both a political and economic level.

"The Minister of Finance (Trevor Manuel) and SA Reserve Bank governor (Tito
Mboweni) are in constant touch with their counterparts (in Zimbabwe), going
beyond the earlier request for $1,2bn assistance, taking into context the
whole problem economically and politically."

Hardships continued to grow for Zimbabwe's people, Pahad said.

However, SA remained "committed to our view that we can only contribute with
other countries in the world to create a climate within which the
Zimbabweans can solve their problems. There is nothing we can impose on
them".

The UN was discussing the possibility of a visit by Secretary General Kofi
Annan.

"We look forward to getting more information on this. One assumes he won't
come unless he sees some prospects of a breakthrough," Pahad said.

Harare's last independent judge flees to NZ

Stuff, New  Zealand

18 May 2006
By KENT ATKINSON

A Zimbabwean judge who fled imprisonment in Zimbabwe after being convicted
of corruption is reported to have taken refuge in New Zealand.

Benjamin Paradza skipped Zimbabwe last January - after he was convicted, but
before being sentenced for attempted corruption - and was later sentenced to
two years in absentia by Justice Simpson Mtambanengwe.

The British Mail on Sunday newspaper reported Mr Paradza's asylum
application was rejected by Britain, even though his supporters, had put
together a STG40 000 ($NZ122,000) university fellowship fund for him.

Paradza then moved to New Zealand where he was immediately granted refuge,
the newspaper said.

Similarly, a state newspaper in the Zimbabwe capital of Harare, the Herald,
reported the United Nations Commission on Human Rights had to have
facilitated Paradza's move to New Zealand.

Government spokesman George Charamba said the move smacked of "hypocrisy on
the part of British government."

"It is a false drama, after all, that Britain has refused Paradza asylum,"
Charamba told The Herald.

"What's the difference between Britain and New Zealand anyway? Besides that
it's a known fact that New Zealand is part of the British establishment. So
really, Britain has not refused him asylum. It has simply relocated him to
one of its overseas territories."

In Wellington, a spokeswoman for the Department of Labour said: " The
Immigration Act has special provisions for confidentiality of information
around refugee claimants." She said the act porevented the department from
commenting on individual refugees.

Britain rejects Paradza's asylum claim

New Zimbabwe

By Lebo Nkatazo
Last updated: 05/17/2006 10:30:34
A ZIMBABWEAN judge who fled jail in Zimbabwe after a graft conviction has
won refuge in New Zealand after being rebuffed by Britain, reports said.

Paradza skipped Zimbabwe last January after he was convicted, but before
sentence, with corruptly attempting to influence two other judges to release
the passport of his safari hunting business partner.

Paradza was later sentenced to two years in absentia by Justice Simpson
Mtambanengwe, a retired judge of Harare's High Court and now judge on the
Namibian Supreme Court.

According to the British Mail on Sunday newspaper, Paradza's asylum
application was rejected by Britain.

Paradza's supporters, the Mail reported, put together a £40 000 university
fellowship fund, but still he would not be allowed to stay forcing him to
move to New Zealand where he was immediately granted refuge.

A despairing Paradza told the Mail: "I feel let down by Tony Blair. The
British government put my safety in danger. As soon as I got out of
Zimbabwe, I went to the British High Commission in Pretoria and told them I
was on the run from (President) Mugabe, but they would not help.

"I had a home and a job to go to in London, I wouldn't have been a burden on
taxpayers."

Kate Hoey, a Labour MP and leading critic of President Robert Mugabe said:
"Tony Blair says he wants to stand up to (President) Mugabe, but he did
nothing for this . . . judge. It is rank hypocrisy and another example of
what is wrong at the Home Office."

Although Paradza was convicted of corruption, he has argued that he was a
victim of the Zimbabwe government's attempt to turn judges into "pliant
servants".

Arnold Tsunga, the director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said:
"Paradza has been used to demonstrate to other members on the bench that if
you don't toe the line, if you don't comply with the political leadership,
then you will not receive protection."

Paradza was arrested in February 2003 in his chambers, a month after he had
ordered police to release former Harare MDC mayor, Elias Mudzuri, and 21
others following their arrest in Mabvuku at a ratepayers' meeting.

Paradza was subsequently freed from prison where he shared a cell with 15
others on $30 000 bail and asked to surrender his passport. In the other
judgments considered not favorable to the government, Paradza overturned a
government notice evicting 54 white Zimbabwean farmers from their farms.

He also ordered the government to issue a passport to Judith Todd, a leading
Zimbabwean human rights activist, although the Supreme Court later ruled
against Todd's favor.

Mutambara softens stance on Tsvangirai

      May 17, 2006

      By Tagu Mkwenyani

      Harare (AND) ARTHUR Mutambara, the leader of the breakaway faction of
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) appears to be softening his stance
towards Morgan Tsvangirai.

      Tsvangirai heads the main MDC faction, which commands the greatest
support in Zimbabwe. Both the two factions lock horns in Budiriro
constituency this week in a by election. Speaking to SWRadio, Mutambara who
has been attacking Tsvangirai ever since he accepted the Presidency of the
pro-senate faction said he was not his enemy but his brother.

      Said Mutambara: "We are here to pursue strategy to get Mugabe out of
power and take over the country and run the country for the benefit of all
Zimbabweans. We are here not to fight Morgan Tsvangirai. Morgan Tsvangirai
is our brother, we are here to work with him to bring about change in
Zimbabwe. " He added: "We do not take Morgan Tsvangirai as an enemy, he is a
brother; he is a soldier.

      But what we are saying is we must have principles and values in the
fight against Mugabe." Tsvangirai has however refused to be involved in a
war of words with the Professor of Robotics, preferring to go around the
country where he has drawn big crowds to his rallies.

      Zimbabwe Bureau

43 ZCTU congress delegates to be deported

      By Lance Guma
      17 May 2006

      43 international delegates to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU) 19-20 May congress are set to be deported after 4 others were kicked
out on Wednesday. Jan Mahlangu (COSATU), Nina Mjoberg (LO Norway), Alice
Siame (Zambia) and another trade unionist from Swaziland were kicked out by
immigration officials under instructions from the labour ministry. Siame was
taken from her hotel Tuesday evening by Central Intelligence Operatives and
dumped at the departure lounge at the Harare International Airport. Mjoberg,
Mahlangu and the Swazi official were barred from entering the country
altogether.

      The ZCTU responded by filing an urgent chamber application in the High
Court in the morning but the appointed judge, Justice Ben Hlatshwayo, had
still not sat down to hear the matter by the time Newsreel went on air. The
Deputy Information Officer for the ZCTU Last Tarabuku says they anticipate
more deportations to follow as over 43 delegates are expected in the country
to observe and contribute to their congress. 'By the time you go on air the
figures will have changed, since the delegates are arriving on different
flights,' he said.

      The labour body says it is surprised by government's actions given
that they had spoken to the Ministry of labour and submitted names of
international guests who had confirmed attendance to the congress. 'The
Minister of labour had agreed in principle that no visitor will be deported,'
Tarabuku explained. The government and the labour union have been on a
collision course ever since the ZCTU managed to lobby the Congress of South
African Trade Unions (COSATU) into picketing the border over human rights
abuses in the country. Several trade unionists from neighbouring countries
and abroad have been deported over the last few months with the labour
ministry insisting it will vet all the visitors.

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Dead bodies on the roads; IMF or what?

zimbabwejournalists.com

      By Bill Saidi

      YOU see them, crouched on the roofs of passenger coaches on every
train traversing the length and breadth of India.
      The coaches are as crowded as the coaches of the National Railways of
Zimbabwe (NRZ) coaches; a family of three, mother, father and child, spent
the journey from Harare to Bulawayo in the lavatory - or so we were told by
a regular passenger on those trains.
      In India, which I first visited in 1978, these unfortunate citizens
quite often have their revenge on the government, which is largely to blame
for the crowded trains.
      Come election time and they vote them out of office or show their
disgust by reducing the number of MPs the ruling party can send to the Lower
House.
      In Zimbabwe, in the 26 years of our independence, people disgusted
with the crowded trains, the crowded death traps that are the commuter buses
and even the long-distance buses, were able to extract their revenge in
2000 - when they kicked out 57 Zanu PF MPs.
      Zimbabwe is not, of course, India, which gained its independence from
the British in 1947.  By comparison, however, India is a greater democracy
than Zimbabwe.  Since independence it has changed governments many times,
although the party of Jawaharlal Pandit Nehru, the Congress Party, has won
most elections.
      India has always fascinated me. This is not related to the fact that,
growing up in the Old Bricks of Harare township in the 1940s, one of my best
friends was an Indian boy, whose name we pronounced phonetically in Shona as
"Jenderekati". I am certain in Gujarati, which I believe was his native
tongue, it was pronounced differently.
      His parents ran a huge vegetable garden on the banks of the Mukuvisi
river. Our house was nearby and it was almost inevitable that we would
interact. On my first visit to India, I thought of this boy, wondering if
there was any chance at all that he had become an MP or even a cabinet
minister. He was about my age.
      I didn't have his family name and would have been stupid to use
Jenderekati as a starting point.
      India has had a blood-spattered history since 1947. Apart from the
conflicts generated by religion, there were assassinations, the first being
that of the founder of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi,
      Indira Gandhi, Nehru's daughter, was assassinated when she was prime
minister, as was her son Rajiv, a one-time prime minister as well. Her other
son, Sanjay, died in a plane  crash.
      What most people admire about India is that, in spite of its size, its
huge population and its many religions it has still managed to remain as
democratic as many other nations in Asia.
      Pakistan, for instance, was ruled by soldiers at one time and is today
still ruled by a soldier in civilian disguise, Musharaf. The country faced a
real crisis of identity when civil war broke out in the east, which later
broke off to become Bangladesh, with the slogan Jai Bangla!
      Yet India remains a stable democracy, with elections guaranteed to
throw up a new administration almost all the time.
      The Indian people are no less proud of their independence than
Zimbabweans who, unfortunately, have had little opportunity to change their
government in any election since 1980.
      As I said, the only time they almost had their wish granted was in
2000. After that, laws were promulgated which, it would now seem, ensure
that that "near-thing" will not happen again - the Public Order and Security
Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA).
      In the absence of a regular daily media - radio, TV, newspapers -
which compete with the government's garbage of propaganda, there is no
chance for the people to obtain information other than that churned out by
the predictably sycophant state media.
      For instance, it is amazing that the recent deaths in road accidents
have not been linked to the dangerous state of the economy.
       There is, for a start, the fuel crisis. There is inflation which, at
1 000 percent is the highest in the Sadc region, perhaps in the world.
      In these anomalous circumstances, something has "got to give", as the
song goes. The economy is terminally ill and the symptoms include the fatal
accidents.
      In one instance, the driver and conductor of an ill-fated
long-distance bus were seen drinking by the passengers, from the beginning
of the journey in Mbare, Harare, until the accident after Gweru, near
Shangani.
      The only reason everybody on the bus didn't rebuke the crew or even
decide to get off the bus in protest is the pervasive sense of fatalism
gripping the people today. Everything is being left into the hands of the
Almighty. People are convinced they themselves can do nothing to alter their
situation, which is essentially why we differ from the people of India.
      The Indians know who is responsible and they know how to get their
revenge - they kick them at election time.
      . There is a by-election in Harare's Budiriro constituency this
weekend. The MDC has two faction candidates standing against the one Zanu PF
man. Clearly, if everything follows the law of averages, the ruling party
candidate will win, as a result of the split MDC vote.
      There are reports that Zanu PF is frightened of losing what they
believe has been transformed by the MDC into a safe seat for them, although
Budiriro was won in 2000 and 2005 by the opposition.
      At the time of writing, there were persistent reports of Zanu PF
voters being "bused in" from a rural area near Harare to swell the ruling
party's vote in Budiriro. Apparently, Morgan Tsvangirai's recent rally in
the constituency seemed to have convinced Zanu PF that, even with the split
in the party, the MDC would still retain the seat.
      If the voters took up the example of the Indians, they would display
their disgust with Zanu PF, not only over the dead bodies in the road
accidents, but over the rising cost of living, the declining state of the
health delivery system, the life expectancy, now 33 years, and the nightmare
of Operation Murambatsvina and its aftermath.
      In the end, the question to be asked is whether all these events are
not related to IMF - It's Mugabe's Fault.
      Hosea Chipanga, a singer who didn't perform previously in a manner to
suit the sobriquet "Mugabe praise-singer" emerged in his true colours last
month, doing a ditty in which he blamed Mugabe for none of the problems
terrorizing ordinary people today, including the corruption indulged in by
the people closest to him.
      Chipanga earned Mugabe's loud and public praise, being singled out for
mention by the President at a public meeting.
      If Mugabe is not to blame for the Zimbabwe mess, who is the culprit?
His cabinet  ministers, his party or his supporters?
      If that is the case, then doesn't it occur to people like Chipanga,
that we actually don't need a president? All these people can steal from us,
with impunity, without any remorse because nobody was elected to watch over
them, to monitor their performance and throw them out if they are stealing
from the people.
      Mugabe himself has disclosed this publicly, that some of the  people
he appointed are stealing from the government  and not performing to
expectations.
      The question people like Chipanga ought to ask is why Mugabe doesn't
act against them. Until then, all some of us can say is It's Mugabe's Fault.

UZ lecturer attacks 'quiet' Mbeki

zimbabwejournalists.com

      By Magugu Nyathi

      JOHANNESBURG - University lecturer Brian Raftopoulos has accused South
Africa President Thabo Mbeki, regarded as key player in Zimbabwe's crisis,
of condoning human rights abuses by President Robert  Mugabe's regime.
      He dismissed Mbeki's 'quiet diplomacy', saying South Africa continued
to defend Mugabe's appalling human rights abuses and record.
      Raftopoulos, a prominent Zimbabwe scholar and lecturer at the
University of Zimbabwe, was speaking at a public meeting organized to launch
the release of the Action for Conflict Transformation research project
entitled 'Public Participation, Policy Processes and Violent Conflict:
Responsive and Responsible Governance in South Africa', and to commemorate
Operation Murambatsvina.
      "The SA government, opposite to what people say it has been doing
quite diplomacy,  has been involved actively and in support of the Harare
régime Sadly, revolutionary solidarity between South African President Mbeki
and the Zimbabwean dictator has trumped any notions of human rights or
economic sanity," he said.
      "The South Africa government continues to support and defend Zimbabwe
government human rights abuses at Africa Union and United Nations."
      The Zimbabwean government, regarded as one of the four countries in
the world  under dictatorship, has enjoyed support from fellow African
countries in the name of African brotherhood. This camaraderie emanates from
the Pan Africanist concept of "not to criticizing your brother in the
presence of an enemy."
      Speaking at the same function, former student leader and human rights
activist, Briggs Bomba said, Zimbabwe is now in a state of emergency and a
defacto state hence a need of a second wave of resistance from the civic
society organizations like the WOZA and anti poverty protesters
      "In politics, Zimbabwe is in a state of emergency with draconian laws
such as the AIPPA, POSA, NGO Bill and economy inflation operating at
frightening levels such 1042% - the highest ever in the world for a country
which is not at war- followed by Iraq with 40%. Hence a need to unleash a
second phase of resistance like what WOZA is doing"
      "Harare has embarked on criminal activities with impunity like the
arrest and detention of 73 primary school children recently in Bulawayo
which is not only a violation of international child law by a violation of
Zimbabwean law. For the first time in History of Zimbabwe students have been
remanded in custody. Surely the social reproduction is under threat
therefore civil society is fundamental as electoral process has failed,"
Briggs said.

Government urged to reveal extent of Cholera threat

      By Tichaona Sibanda
      17 May 2006

      There is growing concern about the ongoing threat of cholera that has
already killed close to 50 people in the country since February this year,
amid concerns government could be suppressing information on the deadly
disease.

      Dr Henry Madzorere, secretary for Health in the MDC led by Morgan
Tsvangirai, said the first line of defence against the fast spreading
disease is to warn people of the impending danger that is coming their way.
This entails government releasing solid statistics about the numbers who
have died or been affected and the general movement of the disease.

      'We've just had an explosive outburst of the disease in many parts of
the country now and it would be useful for government to keep track of the
disease, but as it is now we see it is spreading all over the country. A lot
can be done without hiding anything on cholera,' Madzorere said.

      Authorities in the country have blamed the outbreak on the poor
quality of drinking water. Cholera is an acute, diarrhoeal illness caused by
infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The infection
is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes it can be severe.
Approximately one in 15 infected persons have a severe case, which is
characterized by profuse watery diarrhoea, vomiting and leg cramps. In these
persons rapid loss of body fluids leads to dehydration and shock. Without
treatment, death can occur within hours.

      The latest deaths from cholera were in Kachuta, a rural district in
northern Zimbabwe. Food is being blamed for the spread of the cholera there
after a man reportedly ate a contaminated fish. Sudden large outbreaks are
usually caused by a contaminated water supply.

      Madzorere said when cholera occurs in an unprepared community
case-fatality rates may be as high as 50%, usually because there are no
facilities for treatment or because treatment is given too late. In contrast
he said a well-organized response in a country with a well established
diarrhoeal disease control programme can limit the case fatality rate to
less than 5%.

      He added that when cholera appears in a community it is essential to
ensure three things: hygienic disposal of human faeces, an adequate supply
of safe drinking water, and good food hygiene. Effective food hygiene
measures include cooking food thoroughly and eating it while still hot,
preventing cooked foods from being contaminated by contact with raw foods
including water and ice, contaminated surfaces or flies; and avoiding raw
fruits or vegetables unless they are first peeled. Washing hands after using
the bathroom and particularly before contact with food or drinking water is
equally important.

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

'Mugabe Highway' gets hacked

News24

17/05/2006 18:50  - (SA)

Blantyre - A group armed with machetes destroyed a concrete road marker for
Malawi's new "Robert Mugabe Highway" on Wednesday, just weeks after it was
opened.

The naming of the road after the Zimbabwean president was met with a barrage
of criticism from human rights groups.

Police spokesperson Willie Mwaluka said a group of about 20 people, armed
with large knives, hacked the concrete road sign honouring Mugabe after
overpowering the police officers guarding it.

Mwaluka said: "The people were said to have been carrying panga knives. They
overpowered the two officers guarding the plaque and beat them up before
destroying it."

Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika officially renamed the road - a key
trade link to Mozambique - after Mugabe this month, despite criticism from
local human rights groups that the gesture would be seen as an endorsement
of the Zimbabwean leader's policies.

The 82-year-old Mugabe is widely honoured in Africa as one of the giants of
the continent's liberation struggle, but his record as Zimbabwe's leader
since its 1980 independence has been more problematic.

He has clamped down on both Zimbabwe's political opposition and the media.

His critics also say his policy of seizing white-owned farms to give to
landless blacks is a major reason for the economic crisis currently gripping
Zimbabwe.

The crisis has left millions vulnerable to hunger, disease and poverty in
the country.

Special Vigil to mark the Anniversary of the Start of Murambatsvina

JAG Open Letter Forum no 419

Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the subject line.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter 1 - Eddie Cross

The Beginning of Winter

The 15th of May is generally regarded as the start of winter here in
Zimbabwe. In Matabeleland we can expect frost any time from this date and
right now the weather is just out of this world - clear blue skies, crisp
mornings and brilliant moonlit nights. Most people do not appreciate that we
on the highveld of Africa often have days when the temperature will drop to
well below zero - frozen bird baths and garden hoses. But apart from that it
bears little resemblance to winter in the north.

For Zanu PF this past week has shown many signs that this is going to be a
long winter for them. Perhaps their last winter?

First they suddenly postponed the publication of the inflation data for
April. We all knew why - as expected, it went over the barrier of 1000 per
cent per annum. In fact in April the month on month inflation was 21 per
cent. Most of us think that the real inflation rate is much higher, I wonder
if they are still using the controlled prices for goods that are supposed to
be under price control for example?

Then suddenly interest rates fell dramatically in the markets - on Monday
they were over 300 per cent per annum, Friday it was difficult to place
money at any interest - the overnight rate was a paltry 5 per cent. This is
a sure indication that government is not borrowing money to meet its
obligations - it is just printing it. If that is true, then we have only
seen the start of the inflation storm - very rough weather ahead.

We then heard from the SADC Secretariat in Gaborone. The "melt down in
Zimbabwe" was "damaging the prospects" of a whole raft of SADC initiatives -
a Customs Union, a standardized currency for the region, harmonized
inflation and macro economic policies among others. Where have these guys
been all these years - I would have thought that these were prima facie
implications of Mugabe's policies and that the region should have recognized
that a long time ago.

Botswana has a foot and mouth outbreak in the border area next to Zimbabwe
and is vaccinating 100 000 head of cattle and closing of a significant part
of the country for the delivery of cattle for slaughter at its export
factory in Lobatse in the south west of the country. The problem came from
Zimbabwe where discipline and control in the cattle industry has been eroded
by lawlessness and theft. Can anyone imagine any other sort of outcome of
such a situation?

Just 6 weeks ago I was told a story by a businessman who operates in
Beitbridge. He said that a group of about 60 adults and a few children tried
to cross the Limpopo below the bridge. During the crossing a woman with a
baby was washed downstream and lost - her baby was snatched from her as she
was washed away and carried to safety on the South African side. There a
debate ensured - what to do? The mother was no doubt dead - drowned in the
river, which was in flood. They were on their way to an uncertain future in
South African slums and shanties, they still faced the threat of being found
and deported by the South African army or police. Eventually it was
decided - the baby was thrown back into the river to meet the same fate as
its mother. I have no reason to doubt this story - its source was a mature
man who has lived in the area all his life. What it reveals is the growing
desperation of people in Zimbabwe as they seek to flee the hardships of a
collapsing economy and a repressive regime.

With hundreds of thousands of people fleeing south, the South African
authorities are just starting to appreciate what the implications are for
their own country. Zimbabweans and other foreign nationals who are in the
country illegally have become the backbone of a criminal element that saw 18
700 murders in South Africa last year. Armed robberies and hijackings are
endemic. Men with families displaced and starving in Zimbabwe will kill you
for your cell phone if this is what it takes to make a few Rand to send
home. Men who will callously throw a baby into the Limpopo and then walk on
into South Africa are capable of anything.

The current Secretary General of the UN also gave Zanu PF no comfort. In a
major interview with the Observer in the UK he said that he was ashamed of
much of the leadership in Africa. He also said that there was no longer any
safe hiding place for leaders who commit atrocities and genocide anywhere in
the world. He called on Africans to put their house in order and give the
continent some hope for the future.

This past week we were ranked as number 5 in the list of least free
countries in the world. Every week we seem to break new ground - the lowest
life expectancy in Africa among other accolades for Zanu PF rule.

Finally, the worst nightmare of Zanu PF is starting to happen. The people
are just beginning to make their demands known. Every day there are
demonstrations - students, women from WOZA, the members of the NCA. Many are
arrested and they promptly go back onto the street. Next Saturday the
Churches across the whole country are going to march in a series of parades
to remembers and stand in unity with those displaced by Murambatsvina in
2005. You will recall that Zanu PF launched this campaign on the 18th May
2005 - just in time to catch the coldest time of the year. Hundreds of
thousands have died in the past year - victims of a calculated political act
designed purely to protect the regime from the consequences of their own
misgovernance.

Civil rights leaders are now calling for a massive combined effort to get
our people out on the streets to demand that those in power step aside and
allow others to take over and get the country back on its feet. Again the SG
of the UN stepped in - he is engaged in an urgent exercise the media
claimed, to persuade Mr. Mugabe that it is time to go - and then to arrange
a transition back to sanity very similar to the one being demanded by the
MDC.

The regime is still brash and arrogant on the surface. Underneath they are
simply terrified. It was fascinating to read Jonathan Moyo's disclosures the
other day that in every election since 2000, the Zanu PF leadership has been
terrified of a defeat. I can well recall the discussions at the airport in
Harare with the late President Kabila in 2002, when we were right in the
middle of the presidential elections. They were talking about what to do if
Zanu was defeated. Well this time its for real - no rigging this time round,
just a straight fight - a small frightened band of aging ogres against the
rest of us. I once said to Ian Smith in 1973 that he couldn't win a war
against his own people and the rest of the world. This is still true.

Eddie Cross
14th May 2006

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter 2

Dear JAG

South Africa's foreign policy, or perhaps lack there of, over the gross
human rights abuses in Zimbabwe is probably a pretty good hint that the
worst is still to come in SA - the ideal which the ANC likes to imbue as an
ultimate Democracy in the New South Africa.

Interestingly, the Cape Times (under a previous regime in 1985) published an
article by Michael Hartnack from Harare. It is a report based on an
interview with Alan Savory. The fact that Savory read the situation twenty
one years ago is almost as painful as reading about Robert Mugabe's excesses
in his very own private gulag of about 12 million inmates - "Gulag
Zimbabwe" - worsening on a daily basis.

It reads: "Savory fears that any initiatives by Mr. Mugabe to abrogate the
constitution will unleash an anti -Zimbabwe campaign in the Western press
which will do the country enormous damage." 5.9.1985.

Hopefully Savory merely predicted the worst-case scenario but did not
condone it, and Mugabe did not get the idea from him. However, Mugabe does
appear to love his personal gulag with all the power it bestows upon him,
but blames the Western press for blighting his record over a mere 20 000
civilian atrocities he planned and authorised at the time, and Mr. Mbeki
obviously supports him wholeheartedly.

Western Defector.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter 3

Dear JAG

It is hardly surprising that Mr Walker has not received a response to his
letter to various Australian authorities regarding the "plight of white
Zimbabweans". The plight of a few thousand wealthy farmers is nothing in
comparison to the million people left homeless by Murambatsvino or the
million farm workers left homeless and jobless by the zanu cronies
decimating the country. And the 4 million Zimbabweans living in exile? And
the 5 million who are jobless because of zanu's greed? Does he ignore these
facts because he's only spoken to whites?

To suggest that the main problem in Zimbabwe is the problems besetting white
farmers is blinkered racism of the worst kind and such a letter is not
worthy of a response from anyone in authority.

Yours sincerely

Zimbabwean in exile

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter 4 - Cathy Buckle

Dear Family and Friends,

Life has become so difficult in Zimbabwe that the daily struggle for
survival is all consuming in these early weeks of winter. Every day now the
electricity goes off, sometimes it's just for an hour, but mostly the cuts
last for three to four hours in the evening and sometimes in the early
morning too. On one grinding day this week the power went off for two long
stretches leaving homes, institutions and businesses sitting on their hands
for ten hours, barely able to function. People have taken to cooking their
evening meal in the middle of the day, doing their ironing in the middle of
the night and getting up long before sunrise to boil the kettle, have a bath

and cook breakfast before the power goes off at 6am. Even worse though, is
the fact that when the power comes back on, we all heave a sigh of grateful
relief when we should be phoning, emailing and writing letters of complaint
to the electricity authority.  Zimbabwe has huge coalmines at Hwange,
massive hydro electricity from Lake Kariba and the potential for more solar
power than we could use and yet our homes, schools and businesses are in the
dark this winter. Our silent acceptance of the situation is almost as bad as
the power cuts themselves.

In a supermarket this week I watched half a dozen people standing staring
sullenly at a closed door and wondered what was happening. A few more people
joined them until maybe 20 men and women stood together in a group. No one
talked or moved, they all just stood, staring intently at a closed door.
After a while a woman wearing a white dustcoat emerged pushing a shopping
trolley, which contained 10 bags of maize meal. There was a scramble, almost
a scrum, and the first ten people to get to the trolley each grabbed a
10-kilogram bag and headed for the check out counters. That was a pretty
shocking sight, seeing the scramble, the grabbing and the desperation for
staple food, but it wasn't as shocking as the woman in the white coat who
stood back and laughed at the people who were struggling to get to the food.
I watched for a while longer. The woman in the white coat pushed her trolley
back behind the door, more people gathered and waited and then the whole
thing happened all over again. This time the woman in the white coat had
been joined by two male employees. They were obviously not there to help
either their colleague or the customers as they too just stood back and
laughed. When I got to the check out counter the teller was also laughing at
the food scrambling which had almost bought the whole supermarket to a
standstill. I asked the teller why on earth they didn't just put out all the
bags of maize meal on the shelf or at least get people to queue. For sure
someone was going to get hurt but the teller just shrugged and his boredom
with the situation and lack of empathy was palpable.  It is almost
impossible to understand why people don't complain when things like this are
happening but it seems survival is the only thing that matters now. Food is
more important than freedom, than fairness, than principles and even more
important than dignity.

And while people begin scrambling for food before winter has really even
taken hold, and when food from summer cropping should be plentiful, (but
isn't) the protests in Zimbabwe are increasing. In the last fortnight 185
WOZA activists, including 73 children, were arrested for protesting about
unaffordable education. 19 students from Bindura University were arrested
for protesting over tuition fees and 48 NCA activists were arrested for
protesting over the dire need for constitutional changes. The week ended
with the news that inflation has reached 4 digits and now stands at 1042%. I
cannot take that figure in and do not know how we will survive and so I
stand outside in the winter sun, the sky is gorgeous and blue and the grass
yellow and golden - this at least does not change. Until next week,

love cathy Copyright cathy buckle 13 May 2006
http://africantears.netfirms.com My books "African Tears" and "Beyond
Tears" are available from: orders@africabookcentre.com

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Letter 5 - Stuart

Please correct me if I am wrong, it was Zanu-pf who helped organise the MDC
mayor of Harare to be booted out of office due to failure or lack of proper
management? Harare is in such a pitiful state now more than ever; one should
start thinking of taking residence in the old Great Zimbabwe ruins, as there
is probably less chance of contracting diseases etc. So Zanu-pf why are you
so quiet about the commission (Zanu-PF) running Harare into the ground? It
is worse now that it has ever been yet you keep your mouths shut. Harare
voted MDC and you took their Mayor away on the grounds of mismanagement. If
this is the case the whole lot of you in Zanu need to step down as the
Country is in a sorry state. Don't blame the west for your faults. When
things were going well 10-12 years ago you never praised the west instead
you were quite happy receiving all their aid and business. Now its all bad
and you point your  fingers at everyone but yourselves. You wanted
independence which is a good thing now you must accept independent
responsibility for your dismal failure and theft of the country from the
Zimbabwean people who voted you out!

Stuart (again)

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Letter 6 - Nigel Saunders

Dear JAG,

We should have a name and shame campaign of all the recent 'applicants' to
the re-invasions of our farms and homes. The absolute hypocrisy of these
short sighted and gullible fools, leaves one wondering what are they really
like. To do this to a community they once enjoyed, laughed with and worked
to develop, the envy of African farming, and now to cheat your fellow farmer
by lending credibility to this 'hog-wash' regime and the morally defunct
CFU. You have spat in the face of every displaced farmer! To the person who
dares to lease back our stolen farm,  -watch your back!

Nigel Saunders.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of
the submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice for
Agriculture.

Homeless residents wait in the cold as housing project stalls

The Mercury

      May 17, 2006

      By Stella Mapenzauswa

      Harare: Remia Sangano has no illusions about the three-roomed brick
house she used to live in, but it was home and she misses it.

      "It was tiny, we had no electricity, but it was the nicest house I
have ever lived in. Certainly a lot better than this," she says, pointing to
the house Zimbabwe's authorities are building for her - as yet just a
roofless little room.

      Sangano's home in the Porta Farm settlement on the outskirts of
Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, was knocked down as part of President Robert
Mugabe's fiercely criticised operation launched last May.

      A year later, Sangano and her four grandchildren, whose parents died
of Aids, live under a plastic tent, still waiting to move into the
replacement house promised under a state rebuilding exercise that critics
say is taking too long.

      "It looks like we will be spending a second winter out in the cold,"
she said. She was speaking on Hopley Estate, where the Zimbabwean Army is
building houses for those left homeless by last year's operation, which the
government dubbed Murambatsvina, the local Shona word for "reject filth".

      The United Nations says about 700 000 people lost their homes or their
livelihoods when the police bulldozed slums.

      The demolitions were believed to be a political campaign against the
largely urban supporters of the main opposition party, the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).

      Zimbabwe, once one of Africa's most promising economies, is sinking
deeper into economic crisis with inflation above 1 000%, food and fuel
shortages and unemployment.

      The economic crisis has crippled the rebuilding exercise - known as
Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle, or Live Well - as bricks and other materials have
become scarce and expensive.

      Rights groups say the bulk of those left homeless last year are still
without permanent housing.

      Criticism

      Criticism over the snail-paced rehousing scheme, especially in Harare,
has come even from ruling Zanu-PF party officials who backed Mugabe's
government over the crackdown, despite widespread condemnation at home and
abroad.

      "We thought by now we would have about 200 houses ready for
occupation. For example in (the central city) Gweru two-thirds of the houses
constructed are now occupied. What is stalling completion of the houses in
Harare?" asked Zanu-PF MP Margaret Zinyemba during a tour of building sites.

      Col Kallisto Gwanetsa, the army officer in charge of the Hopley
project, says his team has set up more than 1 000 housing structures but
only about 200 are near completion.

      "The problem is that there was no infrastructure in place when we
came. We struggled to buy bricks because of rising costs. We ended up
deciding to mould our own bricks," says Gwanetsa.

      The MDC says the delays add weight to its contention that the
programme was badly planned. "We are not against the clean-up exercise per
se, but what we are saying is that the government should have built new
houses first, before demolishing the old ones. The whole thing was done in
reverse," said Innocent Gonese, an opposition MP who sits on a parliamentary
committee on housing.

      Critics also say some government officials have hijacked the exercise,
snapping up houses meant for the homeless.

      "These people have lost hope and pray that the government allocates
them land to build their houses," says the Combined Harare Residents'
Association. - Reuters

Working towards Zimbabwean diaspora conference

New Zimbabwe

      DANIEL FORTUNE MOLOKELE: THE VIRTUAL NATION

     By Daniel Fortune Molokele
      Last updated: 05/17/2006 07:12:33
      TOWARDS the end of last year, I told myself that in line with my
election as the founding Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Diaspora CSOs Forum, I
would during the course of the next year visit some key countries with
thriving Zimbabwean communities.

      These included among others, Botswana, Namibia, Canada, United States,
Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

      This was not merely because I had developed a new affinity towards
transforming myself into some new Gulliver or Vasco da Gama. Neither was it
because I had found sudden inspiration from Robert Mugabe's awesome flight
record! But the thought was borne out of the mere fact that I was so excited
by the new forum's concept and wished to see more or less similar platforms
evolve all over the Zimbabwean Diaspora communities around the world.

      However, even more compelling as a decisive influence was the crucial
fact that the main agenda of the new forum in its first year would be its
plans to host the first ever global Zimbabwean Diaspora International
Conference. It is anticipated that the historic event will be held in
Johannesburg, South Africa in April 2007.

      The Diaspora conference will seek to create a global platform that
will discuss both the short and long term role of the millions of
Zimbabweans now living outside the country.

      Prior to the global conference in April 2007, the forum plans to host
two major preparatory conferences in Johannesburg. The first one will be
held in June 2006 and will be attended by delegates mainly from the
Zimbabwean institutions and organizations that are based in South Africa.

      The second conference will be held in October 2006 and will be also
attended by delegates from the local South African institutions and
organizations that have shown a vested interest in helping to resolve the
crisis situation affecting the Zimbabwean nation.

      The Diaspora conference will seek to create a global platform that
will discuss both the short and long term role of the millions of
Zimbabweans now living outside the country. Some of the major outcomes of
the conference include the following:

      * The setting up of a global forum and leadership for all Zimbabwean
institutions and organizations that are based in the Diaspora. The global
will also have national and continental chapters all over the Diaspora.

      * The adoption of a visionary policy document that will help to define
the role of the Diaspora in the political and socio-economic development of
Zimbabwe from both a long term and short term perspective.

      * A critical and thorough analysis of both the opportunities and
challenges that are affecting Zimbabweans now living in the Diaspora

      This process is meant to benefit the people of Zimbabwe back at home.
A well organized and co-ordinated Diaspora is most likely to make strategic
interventions on both the political and socio-economic development of
Zimbabwe.

      At a secondary level, this process will also help to address some of
the main challenges and opportunities affecting the Zimbabwean Diaspora at a
global level. It is anticipated that a visionary document and a global
network of leaders/representatives will be set up so as to ensure that the
Diaspora becomes a more articulated and united community.

      At a tertiary level, both the Zimbabwean government and the
governments of host countries will also be able to derive a starting point
in terms of policy development initiatives and also active engagement of the
Diaspora through its elected leaders/representatives.

      In terms of sustainability, the process is going to continue beyond
2007. It is anticipated that regular global conferences shall be held in
different countries continually. It is further proposed that the next global
conference will be held in April 2009. As such another big city may be in
the United Kingdom, Canada or United States might then successfully bid to
host the next conference.

      But why am I writing about all this stuff? The reason for that is
simple. The forum has resolved that for the global conference to be a huge
success we need to identify key national networks to help us identify the
key issues and more importantly, the most credible delegates we can possible
get.

      I am therefore appealing to all the readers all over the Diaspora to
write back to me and recommend the groups they are familiar with in their
respective regions or countries. I will be more grateful if any of the
leaders of the networks reached out to me and offered their hand of support
in a global partnership. The point is that we all need each other?s
experiences in order to make this process a success for the good of our
beautiful country, Zimbabwe.

      The good news I have is that I have been invited as one of the global
delegates to the International Press Institute annual world congress. The
big event will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the end of this month.

      I will be in the UK as from 25th May to 31st May. I will be even
prepared to extend the duration of my stay in the UK so at to further the
democratic cause for a new Zimbabwe.

      Daniel Molokele is a Zimbabwean Human Rights Lawyer who is based in
Johannesburg. He can be contacted at zimvirtualnation@yahoo.com

Zimbabwe: the fear of tomorrow

New Zimbabwe

By Bekithemba Mhlanga
Last updated: 05/17/2006 06:18:21
THREE unrelated but interconnected issues came to light in the past few
weeks which for any Zimbabwean refugee would have made them sit up and
consider their actions going forward.

First was the predictable announcement that inflation in Zimbabwe had
officially breached the 1000% level.

The second was the report by Professor Tony Hawkins on the state of the
economy and its future prospects. Hawkins' paper entitled Still Standing
visited more vividly than has previously been done the baffling question of
an economy in decay but not toppling over.

Dead Men Walking would have been a more appropriate title.

The third was the report published in the USA on a post crisis solution to
Zimbabwe's problems

With regards to the 1000%+ inflation, for some time exiled Zimbabweans have
considered themselves too far away to be affected by the policies and
actions of Zanu PF content with typical swimming pool golf course
perspectives of the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Most have sought and found sanctuary and comfort in a favourable social
situation in exile and used the parallel exchange rate as collateral against
the economic decay in Zimbabwe.

However of late, the exchange rate has been stuck at levels that now many
will agree has been a good transmitter of the inflation in Zimbabwe to the
streets of London, Melbourne, Brisbane, Dallas and many others. In the past,
a £100 would have provided for a full basket of goods to feed a family of
four over a month. Now that £100 leaves that family living below the poverty
datum line. The only way that this can be offset is to double the amount
that is sent home. Herein lies the difficulty of this situation.

While prices and income change in three and four figure digits in Zimbabwe,
most of those in exile know that prices and incomes change only by marginal
amounts. This double life cannot continue to be sustained. This level of
inflation is not likely to be a figure of fun for long with Zimbabweans
offshore, it will be a figure of derision among many as has been the case
with a host of other factors. When the level hits 1500% we will have a good
idea of what this is all about.

As if that was not enough, the extensive report on the severity and depth of
the rot in Zimbabwe as outlined by Prof Tony Hawkins will give even the most
hardened of refugees goose pimples. Picture this: if you see ten people of
working age you can be assured that only one of them is hanging on to their
job. Nine have no jobs and no hope of landing a job soon. Among the nine,
three are probably HIV positive and most likely four of them have orphans
under their care or are supposed to caring for orphans. In all probability,
they know a child who has dropped out of school, a neighbour in desperate
need of clothes and medical care.

Read that report carefully and you will reach the conclusion that those nine
people could not have wished for the end to this to come sooner. It is most
likely that all those ten people know someone in the United Kingdom,
Australia, South Africa or New Zealand that they would like to turn to for
help. Now just think of how many pounds or US dollars this person can afford
every month. My guess is not much.

The third factor is the report looking at what will happen in post crisis
Zimbabwe. Probably of interest to the refugees is how they can start to
mobilise and prepare for the future. This could be making contacts and
networks to lay the foundation for a Zimbabwe Trust Fund. The need for
international intervention to move Zimbabwe out of this grave is not in
doubt. What should worry the refugees is whether the international response
will be favourable, fast and sufficient. Recent experiences is that this
will not be the case.

Unlike Mugabe's comrades in arms in Angola and Venezuela and Nigeria we do
not have a product or resource that will generate quick cash to dig us out
of this hole. More pointedly is the fact that the immigration status of many
in exile will change dramatically in the event of changes in Zimbabwe. How
prepared many will be for the return or the situation they will have to deal
with is difficult to say.

I have referred to people outside Zimbabwe in this article deliberately
either as being in exile or refugees because this is precisely what we are
(thank you Priscilla Misihairabwi for pointing this out). Stripped down of
all posturing, pretensions and beliefs we are where we are because we fled
persecution by the Mugabe regime. Whether this was psychical, social,
economic or mental persecution -- is a discussion for another day.

For so long refugees have flagged up their perceived economic power and
geographic distance as buffers to the troubles in Zimbabwe. This may have
been a viable short term strategy but clearly in the long term it is neither
viable nor reasonable.

In little groups, where we stay, at work, in pubs or churches, it's time now
to plan and implement how we translate economic power into political power.
Is there a way of dealing with problems at village and ward levels back
home? This could be micro projects at schools or hospitals. On the
international front, do your bit to win friends and influence people to
support the creation of a better Zimbabwe now and in the future.

This may not be easy, but this is a not a time to agonise but organise.

Bekithemba Mhlanga is a Zimbabwean journalist and writes from West Sussex,
England. Contact Mhlanga on bekithemba68@yahoo.com

One year on, Zimbabwean families reel under the effects of Operation Murambatsvina

zimbabwejournalists.com

      By Margaret Chinowaita

      ONE YEAR after the devastating Operation Murambatsvina or Operation
Restore Order of Drive Out Trash, depending on where you are standing, some
people affected are still living in the open and many are yet to recover
from its effects.

      The operation came with great speed and ferocity that it was likened
to a Tsunami. A few months before the Zimbabwe operation, an Asian tsunami
had claimed lives after the natural phenomenon wrecked havoc and left many
without shelter, broken lives, broken families with a bleak future. Many in
Zimbabwe felt the same way when the Zimbabwean mad-made tsunami hit their
doorsteps, their livelihoods, their jobs taken away in an instant flush with
some who had built mansions on land given to them under the controversial
land reform programme, losing out as well.

      Women and children undoubtedly the most affected due to their weak
economic and social standing are reeling under the conditions thrust upon
them by the government. Yesterday, as a way of commemorating a year after
the Operation was launched, a group of 60 journalists toured the residential
areas that suffered in Harare. They discovered the victims who include
children and particularly orphans, in a sorry state.

      It is disconcerting to note that the situation of the people who were
rendered homeless by the Operation Murambatsvina is still so bad a year
after the exercise took place. This serves to show how devastating the
exercise was so much that the government's attempt at making amends through
yet another Operation, dubbed Garikai, "Live well" did not make any
significant change at all. The have been claims of corruption with some of
the houses constructed for the affected being given to people with links to
those in the corridors of power.

      The Government's target of completing 20 000 housing units by August
30, 2005 and its pledge to sink Zd$3 trillion into building houses has
proved to be a mere political gimmick. What the journalists saw on the
ground is disheartening to say the least.

      The United Nations Special Envoy, Anna Tibaijuka in the executive
summary of her report on the operation noted that: "Operation Restore Order
took place at a time of persistent budget deficits, triple-digit inflation,
critical food and fuel shortages and chronic shortages of foreign currency.
It was implemented in a highly polarized political climate characterized by
mistrust, fear and a lack of dialogue between Government and local
authorities, and between the former and civil society. There is no doubt
therefore that the preliminary assessment contained in this report
constitutes but a partial picture of the far reaching and long-term social,
economic, political and institutional consequences."

      The effects of the operation on women and children have been far
reaching affecting their well being in every aspect. Children dropped out of
school and some were able to secure places in the areas where their parents
or guardians relocated to while some are still out of school to date.

      Most women relied on the informal sector for their livelihoods but
since the operation they have been living them without any means of economic
power. These women were not only responsible for sending their children to
school, subsidizing their husband's earnings, taking care of their extended
families and related issues. Many are struggling to come back to where they
were before. And the situation is made worse with revelations that the
government is currently holding an extra 10 000 people said to be ready for
"deportation" back to their rural communities.  The government claims its
main motivation was to clean up the cities that were fast becoming havens
for criminals. The opposition and human rights activists beg to differ. They
think the government was retaliating against the urban voters who supported
the opposition MDC in the March 2005 parliamentary elections.

      Even if motivated by a desire to ensure a semblance of order in the
chaotic manifestations of rapid urbanization and rising poverty
characteristic of African Cities, as Tibaijuka noted in her report,
nonetheless Operation Restore Order turned out to be a disastrous venture
based on a set of colonial-era laws and policies that were used as a tool of
segregation and social exclusion.

      Exactly a year on, the people of Zimbabwe are lamenting the government
to take notice of the victims of the operation and provide the promised
housing units and an enabling environment for them to live well in the
country. Their cry: Make Operation Garikai a reality!

No Zim return for Streak

Sky News

Excerpt from

By Rob Lancaster -  Created on 17 May 2006

I was surprised to hear that Kevin Curran - the Zimbabwe coach - is coming
to England to try to persuade a few of us to play international cricket
again.

He'll have to be some talker, because that is a tough task he's taken on.

Maybe, just maybe, he'll manage to persuade a couple of the guys playing
club cricket over here - the likes of Tatenda Taibu - back to Zimbabwe, but
his chances of talking anyone playing county cricket back are somewhere
between slim and non-existent.

I'd be surprised if anyone goes back. All I can say is that he hasn't
contacted me yet. I guess he knows already what my answer would be.

I think Curran's trip is just a last, desperate effort to give the ICC some
hope to cling on to. It just shows how desperate Zimbabwe cricket is now.

After the whitewash at the hands of the West Indies, the ICC must be on the
brink of stepping in and suspending Zimbabwe's Test or One-Day International
status. I hadn't even heard of some of the Zimbabwe team in the series
against West Indies.

It's only five months since I retired, so that really shouldn't be the case.
I couldn't even watch much of it.

Banks Rue Breach of Basel Rules

Business Day (Johannesburg)

COLUMN
May 17, 2006
Posted to the web May 17, 2006

Dumisani Muleya
Johannesburg

THE latest media reports that Zimbabwe's top banks have lurched into a new
roller-coaster performance -- coming soon after the 2003-04 crisis which
resulted in 10 banks closing shop -- could send powerful shock waves through
the country's already derelict economy.

Press reports say the five biggest commercial banks in Zimbabwe are facing a
new crisis due to costly treasury bill portfolios that could wipe out their
accumulated capital, with dreadful ripple effects across the economy.

While the looming crisis threatens the entire banking sector, the top five
commercial banks -- Standard Chartered, Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe,
Barclays Bank, Stanbic Bank and Zimbabwe Banking Corporation -- were said to
be haemorrhaging most from a raft of central bank policies which could
precipitate bank failures. The five banks control about 90% of all deposits
in the financial services sector.

The holding of huge treasury bill portfolios -- most of which have yields of
about 350% at a time when banks are financing their positions at 800%
through the central bank's overnight accommodation facility -- poses a major
threat to the banks. The five banks are borrowing more than Z$1-trillion
daily and incurring daily interest expenses of more than Z$20,5bn -- a
position that is clearly unsustainable.

The overnight accommodation rate is 800%, the interbank rate 94,2%, and
treasury bill yields 350%.

This situation has created a distortion in the market because the treasury
bill yield is so much lower than the rate of the overnight accommodation.
This structural aberration is made worse by the statutory reserves being
higher than what banks are allowed to retain from deposits -- which creates
a mismatch in the balance sheets.

Zimbabwe was hit by a spate of bank closures in 2003-04, largely triggered
by liquidity problems. The bank failures left companies and individuals in
dire straits and aggravated Zimbabwe's economic problems. But major banks
recovered and recorded good profits last year before the emergence of the
current crisis.

When the earlier banking crisis first broke out, the central bank moved in
to arrest the situation through financial bale-outs, but soon found itself
entangled in legal and political wrangles with some of the closed banks.

Shareholders of most of the failed banks complained about "political
regulation" and "unfair practices" by the authorities. They accused the
Reserve Bank of not following established Basel committee on banking
supervision rules. The Basel committee II rules deal with minimum capital
requirements, supervisory review, and market discipline to promote greater
stability in the financial system.

Marking the 10th anniversary of the Basel regulations in 1998, former US
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said bank governors should adhere to
established banking regulations to ensure they were not judged harshly by
history for driving banks and economies into the ground.

"If we follow these basic prescriptions (Basel II), I suspect that history
will look favourably on our attempts at crafting regulatory policy," he
said.

But Zimbabwe's local monetary authorities argued their measures were
designed to save the banking sector from collapse by minimising liquidity
and operational risks, mismanagement, corruption and incompetence -- all of
which were rampant in the system. They say their moves succeeded in
preventing a run on banks that could have set off a chain of bankruptcies
and deepened economic recession.

Banks are highly susceptible to different forms of risk that usually trigger
occasional systemic crises. Risks include liquidity risk (the risk that many
depositors will request withdrawals beyond available funds), credit risk
(the risk that those that owe money to banks may not repay it), and
interest-rate risk (the risk that the bank will become unprofitable if
rising interest rates force it to pay relatively more on its deposits than
it receives on its loans), among others.

Banking crises have happened throughout history when one or more risks rock
a banking sector. Prominent examples include the US savings and loan crisis
in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Japanese banking crisis during the 1990s,
bank runs during the Great Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s in the US
and Europe, and, in Africa, the recent liquidation of 25 banks by the
Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Bankers Association of Zimbabwe recently warned of imminent bank
collapses unless urgent preventive steps were taken. It said its
macro-economic analysis revealed a looming danger. Against this background,
Zimbabwe should guard against possible bank failures that could drive the
final nail into its economic coffin.

Muleya is Harare correspondent and Zimbabwe Independent news editor.

'Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights' appeals to African Commission

 

      May 17, 2006

      By Nothando Zainab Migogo

      Johannesburg (AND) The human rights organisation has, today, submitted
letters to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights highlighting
the various forms of human rights abuses rampant in Zimbabwe today.

      The letters address, amongst other things, the plight of human rights
defenders, political detainees and the dehumanising effects of Operation
Murambatsvina, and request the Commission to use its powers and mandate to
compel the Zimbabwean government to commit to the widely accepted human
rights norms and standards as enshrined in the African Charter as well as
the United Nations Declaration.

      The organisation has appealed to the Commission to:

      - Recommend that the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in
Africa encourage the Government of Zimbabwe to explain its continued
repression and publicly commit itself to ceasing such conduct in its efforts
to suppress growing dissent;

      - Compel Zimbabwe to honour its obligations to ensure the enjoyment of
economic, social and cultural rights by Zimbabweans in terms of the African
Charter and to domesticate, without delay, the provisions of the African
Charter that relate to economic, social and cultural rights;

      - Urge the Government of Zimbabwe to uphold judicial pronouncements in
practice especially in the case of detainee human rights defenders;

      - Refrain from the practice of detaining minor children with their
mothers in cases where non custodial measures would suffice;

      - Refrain from the practice of institutionalizing the denial of access
to treatment of detainees especially the terminally ill;

      - Take note of the fact that the humanitarian crisis relating to the
victims of Operation Murambatsvina subsists;

      - Take note that the need for a fact-finding visit by the Special
Rapporteur remains and thereby the need to renew the mandate of the Special
Rappateur on internally displaced persons;

      - Urge the Government of Zimbabwe to ensure the prosecution or other
lawful measures as against known perpetrators of violations against victims
of Operation Murambatsvina so that Government efforts in Operation 'Better
Life' are not derailed;

      - Urge the Government of Zimbabwe to ensure that Operation 'Better
Life' prioritizes victims of Operation Murambatsvina ahead of state
functionaries in the allocation of houses, aid and other public resources;

      - Halt all and any fresh evictions in the absence of suitable
alternatives for those that would be affected.

      Johannesburg Bureau

Painting Africa with the corruptor's brush

Business in Africa

Staff reporter
Published: 17-MAY-06

The reputations of such African countries as Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe and,
increasingly, South Africa, amongst many others, continue to take a
battering internationally through runaway corruption that governments seem
incapable of confronting. They are regularly listed by watchdog Transparency
International as amongst the world's worst offenders.

Tragically for Africa, a constant stream of bad publicity around the worst
offenders paints the entire region as corrupt and a high investment risk and
diverts critically needed direct foreign investment to other developing
areas of the globe. While Africans are undeniably culpable, "it takes two to
make a bribe," and that calls for a multifaceted examination of the issue,
say an increasing number of researchers.

There are many reasons for the persistence of corruption in Africa, ranging
from debilitating poverty to the authoritarian legacy of colonialism, which
Africa's despotic leaders have been all to happy to accept as their own.

The sad fact is that the lack of progress in this fight may signal another,
less palatable, reality - that corruption might be here to stay.

Professor John Mukum Mbaku of Cameroon and a world authority on corruption
in Africa makes the point that given the incentive system provided by
existing rules, legal strategies and other forms of corruption, cleanups are
unlikely to be effective.

"It does not take advanced training in economics to know that corruption is
an inefficient method of allocating resources that also creates market
uncertainty galore," he says. "But corruption also has certain positive
benefits. Corrupt practices are flexible and highly responsive to an
uncertain political landscape and an often ossified bureaucratic structure.
Corruption also bows to the reality that even mid-level public servants are
supporting numerous extended family members, and that civil service salaries
are inadequate to satisfy the many demands on a salaried official."

Corruption was not invented in Africa, nor is it unique to Africa. The
reality is that corruption exists in Africa because the conditions are right
for it to exist and until those conditions significantly change, it is
likely to continue more or less unabated. This does not excuse the
reprehensible and dishonest leaders and public officials in Africa who make
no attempt to discharge their duties with integrity and equanimity. But even
a token effort would be better than doing nothing.

"The resilience of corruption in the face of attempts to stamp it out is
testament to intractability of the problem, and the history that brought
Africa to this state of affairs," argues the Foreign Policy Association.

Carolin Shlippe of Development Gateway says that it's now generally agreed
that poor governance and corruption are major factors that undermine a
country's economic and social progress. "Corruption not only stifles
economic growth in society as a whole, but also tends to affect the poor
disproportionately by increasing the price for public services and
restricting poor people's access to essential services such as water,
education and health care," she says.

If Africa is to have a well-functioning public sector, there needs to be a
paradigm shift in how to analyse and build state capacity, maintains
Shlippe. "Specifically, African governments and their partners should move
from a narrow focus on organisational, technocratic, and public management
approaches to a broader perspective that incorporates both the political
dynamics and the institutional rules of the game within which public
organisations operate."

Shift in international attitudes

The former speaker of the South African parliament, Frene Ginwala, sees
encouraging signs that the international community is beginning to
re-examine the entire question of third world corruption. Until recently,
noted Ginwala, the tendency in the North was to bemoan corruption in Africa
and other developing regions, but to virtually ignore the role of those
abroad who give out bribes, launder corrupt proceeds or otherwise undermine
the integrity of public institutions. "In fact," she says, "bribes have
often been considered 'a legitimate business expense and have been
tax-deductible in many industrialised countries. She wants instead a more
accurate and even-handed portrayal of the problem.

"Let's be honest," she counsels, "and admit that there are two parties to
the transaction, the giver and the recipient, the corrupt businessman or
company, and the equally corrupt politician or official."

Africa's anti-corruption campaigners must also contend with external players
who invariably perpetuate and aggravate the problem. Foreign partners of
corrupt African officials are usually beyond judicial reach, while efforts
in Africa to recover embezzled funds diverted into foreign accounts have
often run up against the problem of banking secrecy.

Because of such external influences and obstacles, Africa's anti-corruption
efforts can make only limited headway on their own, argue Transparency
International and other organizations. Gradually, the international
community has come to acknowledge the problem.

Since the early 1990s, as Africa has moved more forcefully toward improved
management of public resources and institutions, the need to actively
counter corruption has taken an increasingly prominent place on many reform
agendas. Democracy activists, the media, political leaders, entrepreneurs
and others have strongly condemned the malady, noting that it not only
drains scarce state resources, but also hampers efforts at broader economic
and social development.

Africa is not alone

Corruption scandals in Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the US and
countries other testify to the fact that corruption is a worldwide
phenomenon. In Africa, the poorest continent, the effects of dishonesty,
especially at the top, have been especially harmful. In some African
countries corruption is so pervasive that even the most basic public
services have been crippled and virtually no financing remains for public
investment. Corrupt officials and their external partners drain the
continent of billions of dollars and siphon them into secret foreign bank
accounts. This accounts for a loss of capital estimated at close to $150bn
each year. The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reckons
former leader Sese Seko Mobuto diverted around $8bn to foreign bank
accounts, businesses and property.

Even in less extreme cases, corruption inflates government expenditure.
Economists say corruption-infested investment or development projects will
cost around 15 percent more because of bribes, sales 'commissions' and the
direct diversion of funds.

"It is the citizen in developing countries who bears the cost of bribery,"
says Ginwala, "These penalties mount up directly through the increased costs
of government procurement contracts, consumer products or economic
infrastructure in the host country, and indirectly through loss of state
revenue which the developing state can ill afford."

In recent years, an increasing number of African countries have been taking
more resolute action to stem such losses. One factor has been the rise in
political pluralism and public accountability, since opposition parties,
independent newspapers, and other avenues for public expression make it
harder to cover up high-level corruption or avoid action against officials
suspected of misdeeds.

A variety of measures and institutions have been introduced to facilitate
corrective action, including special investigative and audit commissions,
codes of conduct that seek to prevent a casual blending of public duties and
private business, and mandatory disclosures of officials' assets, to make it
harder to use public positions for self-enrichment.

For many in the fight against corruption, a win situation would be simply to
contain it. Others believe it can be beaten back, inch by inch. And that
depends on the resources available to take into battle and, most critically,
that is the will of Africa's leaders.

Commission to Restore EU-Zim Relations

The Herald (Harare)

May 16, 2006
Posted to the web May 16, 2006

Bulawayo

THE European Commission is engaged in dialogue with Government that might
result in the normalisation of relations between the European Union and
Zimbabwe, the head of the EC delegation in Zimbabwe, Mr Xavier Marchal said
in Bulawayo yesterday.

He said this while addressing representatives of non-governmental
organisations, local authorities and other stakeholders in Matabeleland. The
EC is the implementing agency of EU programmes. Mr Marchal said his
organisation was committed to ensuring that normal relations between EU and
Zimbabwe were restored. "We all know that relations between the European
Union and Zimbabwe are strained at a political level for a number of
reasons," he said.

The EU was sucked into a bilateral dispute between one of its member states,
Britain, and her former colony Zimbabwe over the land redistribution
programme, resulting in the continental union imposing sanctions on the
Southern African nation. Early this year, the EU renewed the sanctions. Mr
Marchal said as a result of differences between Zimbabwe and the EU there
were "restrictions" between the two in some areas of co-operation with the
partial suspension of co-operation assistance under the European Development
Fund. "Trade relations have not been suspended as well as co-operation that
has direct impact on society. "We have seen the redirecting of financial
resources towards activities with a direct benefit to the people such as
food security and humanitarian assistance. In spite of the restrictions, we
remain the first donor in Zimbabwe and spent 70 million euros in programmes
in this country last year," he said.

Mr Marchal said there was need for the EU and Zimbabwe to normalise their
relations. "We are involved in political discussions and we hope we will
soon be able to establish the full co-operation between Zimbabwe and the EU.
"At the commission, there is dialogue and engagement on the issues where we
are disagreeing and on the issues that we would want to see addressed and
concluded so that there is no reason at all to restrict co-operation with
Zimbabwe,"he said. Last week in Harare, the diplomat made similar sentiments
during the Europe Day commemoration. Mr Marchal yesterday expressed the hope
that Zimbabwe would have resolved her differences with the EU in time for
the disbursements under the European Development Fund 10 upon the expiry of
the current programme in 2008. "We do not want to tie the future to the
present," he said. The EDF 10 programme scheduled to run from 2008 to 2030
is expected to have a global budget of 22,7 billion Euros.

Mr Marchal's stance is seen as a positive response to President Mugabe's
statement on "building bridges" that will pave way for dialogue that would
mend Zimbabwe's relations with Britain and other bodies such as the EU which
had launched a political onslaught on Harare over the land programme.

Hwange Colliery, NRZ Strike Deal

The Herald (Harare)

May 16, 2006
Posted to the web May 16, 2006

New Ziana
Harare

THE Hwange Colliery Company and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) have
struck a deal to rehabilitate railway lines across the country in a bid to
improve rail transport for tobacco farmers, an official has said. Hwange
Colliery sales and logistics manager Mr Mandla Mangena, said the company had
imported spare parts including bulldozers, drillers, and coal haulers from
the Asian market.

"Right now the consignment from the Asian market is on its way from
Mozambique. We expect to have the equipment operating at full capacity by
the end of June," he said. He meanwhile said the company was operating at
between 40-50 percent capacity, which was projected to increase to 85
percent around June. Hwange, he said, was facing cashflow problems because
major customers had to pay through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe which then
forwarded the money to the coal producer, which took some time. Mr Mangena
said the rehabilitation of rail would improve service delivery to clients as
the company would supply coal products on time to farmers.

Zimbabwe pulls out of triangular series in Kenya

Zim Online

Thu 18 May 2006

      HARARE - Financial constraints have forced Zimbabwe to pull out of a
triangular series in Kenya, defusing a simmering  political row over the
involvement of Scotland in the tournament.

      Scotland has been under intense pressure from political activists in
the United Kingdom to avoid meeting Zimbabwe in  protest over President
Robert Mugabe's human rights record.

      Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) informed the International Cricket Council that
it was unable to attend the tri-series - pencilled in  for January - because
of financial constraints.

      The Kenya tri-series would have hit hard Zimbabwe's coffers as the
tournament would have come between  Zimbabwe's scheduled tour of Bangladesh
for five one-day internationals at the end of December and another
tri-series  in Harare involving Canada and Bermuda in January.

      "I don't know anything to that effect yet," Chris Chiketa, who was
manning ZC's cricket operations office, said  yesterday. "You might have to
talk to Lovemore Banda about that."

      Banda, the ZC spokesman, is away with the national team in West Indies
that is expected to return on Tuesday.

      Politicians and activists in the United Kingdom have been campaigning
for political sanctions against Zimbabwe,  hoping to put pressure on Mugabe
whose re-election in 2002 was condemned by the West as fraudulent.

      England boycotted their 2003 World Cup fixture against Zimbabwe in
Harare over political reasons. The activists almost  forced England to
abandon their tour of Zimbabwe in December 2004 in protest against Mugabe.

      New Zealand barred Zimbabwe from touring last December over the Mugabe
issue. However, Cricket Scotland's outgoing chief executive Roddy Smith
regretted Zimbabwe's pullout.

      "In all honesty, in pure cricketing terms, I'd rather we were playing
Zimbabwe as well," Smith was quoted in the  international media as saying.

      "They're rated above us, but we feel we could beat them, so it would
be a good chance to defeat one of the Test  nations. And it would have been
in Kenya, so politically I think it would have been okay, whereas if we'd
had been  asked to go to Harare, we know it would have been impossible."

      Meanwhile, Zimbabwe are battling to save their tour to Pakistan set
for September. Pakistan have indicated their unwillingness to host Zimbabwe
for one-dayers only after the latter gave up their Test  status until
February next year.

      The Pakistan Cricket Board cited loss of anticipated television
revenue and other pre-agreed sponsorship deals after  the Test matches were
withdrawn as their reason to cancel the Zimbabwe tour.

      Zimbabwe are currently in the Caribbean where they are involved in a
tri-series involving Canada and Bermuda after  losing their seven-match
one-day series against West Indies. - ZimOnline

Manuel in talks with Zimbabwe

Sunday Times, SA

Wednesday May 17, 2006 15:11 - (SA)

By Donwald Pressly

South Africa's deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad acknowledged that he had
hoped that he would be spared questions about the country's troubled
neighbour Zimbabwe, but confirmed that South Africa's Finance Minister
Trevor Manuel was still in discussion with that country.

Addressing a media conference of the international cluster ministers - which
includes foreign affairs and sport and recreation - the deputy minister made
this remark when asked what his government would do as it was now obvious
that Zimbabwe was economically imploding.

But warming to the topic he noted that reports of 1,000% inflation in that
country "and predictions are that it can get worse... It is difficult to
imagine how it could get worse."

But he said his government remained concerned about this "not only the
effect on the people but on the region as a whole."

He said South Africa continued "to interact" with the Zimbabwean government
and its ruling party, Zanu-PF, to see what contribution it could make. It
had also held discussions with one faction of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change and another with the Morgan Tsvangirai faction was
pending.

The Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Tito Mboweni,
were in discussions with their counterparts in that country which went
"beyond the earlier request (by Zimbabwe) for 1.2 billion dollar donor
assistance". He did not elaborate further.

Describing Zimbabwe as an important player in Sadec - the grouping of
southern African states - he said there were reports that there were two
million undocumented Zimbabweans in South Africa. Even if this figure was
wrong, he acknowledged, that the figures were high.

Pahad also acknowledged that there were "an increasing number of people
seeking visas to come to South Africa" at South Africa's diplomatic mission
in Zimbabwe.

Noting that there had been reports of land invasions - this time "by people"
rather than by government - as well as other reports that farmers could
return to their land on a 99-year lease.

"We are studying all of this," he said, noting that any economic and
political solution would need to come from the Zimbabweans themselves.

"We have been bilaterally and through Sadec and AU (African Union)
structures ... and then further afield in our consultations with the USA and
key countries in Europe ... remain seized with the Zimbabwean situation. We
have always been concerned about the deteriorating economic situation," he
said.

I-Net Bridge

Press release from: Reebok Human Rights Foundation

Reebok to Honor Four Young Courageous Human Rights Champions; 2006 Reebok
Human Rights Award Recipients Celebrated at New York Ceremony

(CSRwire) NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2006--The 2006 Reebok Human
Rights Awards will be presented tonight to four remarkable young heroes who,
against great odds and often at great personal risk, have made significant
contributions to the cause of human rights through non-violent means.

At the Ceremony, which is being held at New York University's Skirball
Center for the Performing Arts, Reebok will honor Li Dan, a leader in the
fight to confront China's AIDS epidemic, Rachel Lloyd, an advocate for
sexually exploited children in the United States, Khurram Parvez, a
courageous voice of peace and human rights in Kashmir, and Otto Saki, a
brave defender of justice in the face of a tyrannical regime in Zimbabwe.

"I have witnessed children becoming homeless. I have watched people dying
painful and gruesome deaths," said Li Dan. "All that despair overwhelmed me,
but ultimately it has also inspired me. Rather than turning my back on this
horrible situation, I want to do everything I can to protect the rights of
people affected by HIV/AIDS in China."

Reebok Human Rights Award recipients, who must be 30 years of age or
younger, receive a $50,000 grant from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation to
help further their work. They also gain the opportunity to participate in
Forefront, an independent non-governmental organization formed by past award
recipients to help each other respond to crises, communicate with the
international community, gain skills and resources and share strategies.

"I see Zimbabwe as a country with so much potential and that's why I've
stayed," said Otto Saki. "I had many opportunities to leave the country, but
the hope I have is that in the long run what we're doing now will prove
vital, and sooner or later we'll be able to live in a country where we're
free to express ourselves without fear. It's only a matter of time."

In 1988, Reebok underwrote Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! World
Concert Tour, which carried messages of freedom and justice to millions of
people in 23 cities on four continents. That same year, Reebok introduced
the Reebok Human Rights Award. To date, 84 recipients from 38 countries have
received the Award.

"Each year I am amazed at the courage of these remarkable young heroes,"
said Paul Harrington, President and CEO of Reebok. "They are truly an
inspiration to all of our employees and Reebok is proud to be able to honor
them with this Award and support their important work."

JAG Classifieds dated 16 May 2006

As a JAG member or JAG Associate member, please send any classified adverts
for publication in this newsletter to:

JAG Classifieds: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw

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1.  For Sale Items
2.  Wanted Items

3.  Accommodation
4.  Recreation

5.  Specialist Services

6.  Pets Corner

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1. OFFERED FOR SALE

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1.1 For Sale (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

1999 Nissan Double Cab, 2.7 diesel, full house, canopy.  One owner, good
condition 190 000km.

Tel. 086 22582 or email benfer@mweb.co.zw

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1.2 For Sale (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

JALAPENO pepper pickle in plastic bags, 250 g net weight. $ 80 000

contact on 091 338573 or e mail gbeam@zol.co.za

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1.3 For Sale (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

Playground equipment and nursery school tables, chairs etc. surplus to
requirements as we have moved to another fully equipped school. Tel 884294
or 011602903 or

E-mail gandami@mweb.co.zw

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1.4 For Sale (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

1992 BEDFORD AWD TRUCK AND TRAILER IN VERY GOOD CONDITION

CAN BE VIEWED AT 23 SARK HSE, BLUFF HILL INDUSTRIAL PARK

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1.5 For Sale (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

Enquiries and offers welcome; please speak to Alec at 086 22302, or 091 257
161

1.    Landcruiser PZ 75, disassembled. +/- 70% complete.

2.    Hunting seat and frame.  Complete.  Tromps 4J

3.    Two Poster car hoist. Complete

4.    10 x 16" used tyres (mostly 750 x 16)

5.    Various Buffalo tractor spares

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1.6 For Sale (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

VICTORIAN BATH, with original feet and taps - $20million

100 LITRE ROOF GEYSER - $70M

150 LITRE DOUBLE ELEMENT NEW ROOF GEYSER - $120M

Please phone 334355 evenings or 091 305 313 anytime.

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1.7 For Sale (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

Office safe, two door, electronic keypad.  $40000000.00   (forty Million)

Phone Teresa Hook 305381, 331970, 331976, 011201744

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1.8 For Sale (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

INGERSOLL RAND TOWED MOBILE AIR COMPRESSOR:-

Air Pressure Capacity - 100 p.s.i

Powered by GM365 4 cylinder Engine (400 hp)

Suitable for rock drilling (for blasting), and other compressed air
functions

Various hose fittings, etc.

CFM = 365

Good working condition

PRICE - Z$ 1.6 billion o.n.c.o.

TOWED 8t PNEUMATIC ROLLER (7 tyres) :-

Very useful for all types of road pavement & hardstanding compaction, etc.
(eagerly sought after by road contractors). Ideal for farm and gravel road
maintenance. Is normally towed behind a standard 90hp tractor (or larger).
Good working condition.

PRICE - Z$ 600 million o.n.c.o.

WIDE SELECTION OF VARIOUS PLUMBING FITTINGS AND PIPES :- details, list and
prices available on request.

Please contact Paul Brown on Hre 755 401/2, 091-754 302, instamac@mweb.co.zw
for further details.

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1.9 For Sale (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

TRAILER. "Tinto Tourer" 6ft steel luggage (not fibre glass) TRAILER with
nose cone and 13 in wheels, in good condition, (new heavy duty springs)
though needing a small welding job. Lights work, but spare wheel was stolen.
Net mass 240kg, gross 550kg Either I can get it fixed and try to find a
spare wheel (155/70/13) and tyre, or I can sell it as it is. It would cost
350 sterling in UK, so I am looking for a sum in the region of ZIM$70
million as it is, or $100 million when fixed.

Tel 079 24272. (no cell) P.O. 454 Marondera.  It can be viewed at Gatehouse,
Carrington Avenue.

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1.10 For Sale (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

 "THE WEAVERY."

Phone your orders to--Anne--011212424 or 332851.

Email  joannew@zol.co.zw

Fax--332851.

SUPER GIFT IDEAS FOR LOCAL OR OVERSEAS FRIENDS AND FAMILY. LIGHT,EASY TO
WASH AND SOMETHING DIFFERENT. WINTER IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!

 Prices.

Small woven bags--$750,000 each.

Large crocheted bags.--$1,800,000 each.

Large woven bags.--$1,500,000 each.

Table Runners.--$1,150,000.

Set of 4 Fringed Table mats + serviettes--$3,400,000.

Fringed mats only(4)---$2,300,000.

Set of 6 Fringed mats+ serviettes--$5,200,000.

Set of 4 Bordered table mats+ serviettes---$4,000,000.

Set of 4 Bordered table mats only---$3,000,000

Set of 6 Bordered mats + serviettes--$6,000,000.

Set of 8 Bordered mats + serviettes---$8,000,000.

2m Throws--$3,800,000.

1m Throw(Baby blanket)--$1,500,000 NEW.

Tea cosy(L)--$800,000.

Tea cosy(m)--$600,000

Tea cosy(s)--$400,000.

Crocheted oven gloves(pair)--$1,500,000.

Cotton(lined)oven gloves(pair)--$900,000.

Aprons--$1,700,000.

Decorated cushion covers--$1,300,000.

Plain cushion covers---$1,100,000.

Scarves(knitted)--$1,600,000. each.

Hand Woven Scarves--$2,000,000 each

Hats(Beanies)--$650,000 each.

Large plain cotton rug--$3,500,000.

Med. plain cotton rug---$2,200,000.

Small plain cotton rug.---$1,400,000.

Cotton Rag Rug--$1,400,000.

Med. plain mohair rug--$2,700,000.

Med.patterned mohair rug.--$3,300,000.

X Large plain mohair rug.--$10,500,000.

Bedspreads-- QS/DB/3/4 and
Single--$6,500,000,/$5,700,000/$5,200,000/$3,500,000.

Duvet Cushions(opens into a
duvet)--$11,000,000(Single).$13,00,000(Double).$15,000,000(Queen).NEW.

Toilet sets--$2,500,000. NEW.

Bath mats---$1,100,000 NEW.

 Wholesale prices available for orders (over 6 of an article) or large
purchases.

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1.11 For Sale (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

Turbo Glass Wolf hull with 150hp motor on modified trailer with flanged
hubs, 140 lit built in tank, aux tank, bilge pump, depth finder, ideal
all-round deck design, ski pole, 2 fishing chairs, great for Kariba.

Samsung microwave oven 1000W

Baikal 12bore shotgun

Homemade compressor on wheels

Dunlop 145x13 tyres (new)

Various items of antique furniture

Bench grinder

Various 1hp & 2hp electric motors

Long aluminium ladder

Various Oregon pine door frames and doors (surplus to renovation)

Various size gas cylinders

Contact Mark on 011416937 or 09-234757

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1.12 Items for Sale (Ad inserted 09/05/06)

SECOND-HAND GOODS FOR SALE

*Single wooden bed*, with headboard, mattress and spare pull-out base
(12 mill)
*Teenager's Work station*, including desk, shelves and small cupboard
(15 mill)
*Pine Dining room suite *with table, 6 chairs and serving table,  (60 mill)
*Wall unit with display cabinet* to match above dining room suite (35 mill)
*Pine book shelf* - small  (6 mill)
*Pine book shelf* - large (10 mill)
*Bench grinder* (ATA), good condition (16 mill)
*Jigsaw* (Black & Decker), good condition (14 mill)
*Power Sander* (Bosch), good condition (30 mill)
*Planer* (Bosch), good condition (30 mill)
email: katie@gekko.co.zw or phone 091252847

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1.13 Items for Sale (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

Assorted Used Saddlery

Bridles, saddles, halters & more

Tel: Shaunagh 011 214 694

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1.14 For Sale (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

Jeep Wrangler 4.0L Sahara

ZW$ 8 Billion

2005 Model

1 owner from new

Only 9500KM

Silver

Hard and Soft tops

4 X 4, Aircon, Airbags and CD player

Call Dave on 091 237 704

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1.15 Humidifier for Sale (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

One humidifier. Make me a reasonable offer; a new one is well in excess of
$100 million

Contact 011 - 204093

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1.16 For Sale (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

PETERHOUSE SCHOOL UNIFORM FOR SALE
Peterhouse Boys school uniform for sale. To fit medium build Form 1 boy.
Items include: Blazer, black longs, white shirts, khaki shirts and shorts,
sports kit, school ties, etc. Also includes black metal trunk and wooden
tuck box. $25 million.
Please phone Katie on 091252847 or email katie@gekko.co.zw

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1.17 Property for Sale (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

General Engineering Factory and Foundry for sale or long lease.  Norton
Industrial site.

Contact for Details: 062-2271 until 31st May 2006, 04-333727 and 091413613

Email:  force2@mweb.co.zw

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1.18 For Sale (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

HONDA XR 250 R, trail bike with lights and indicators, 18000km only.  In
near original mint condition.

 Phone:  011610073 for details.

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1.19 For Sale (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

For sale: baby cot, only used 1 month  $10m

Please contact 04 88 21 70 or sodahlon1@yahoo.com

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1.20 For Sale (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

RECENTLY IMPORTED NISSAN SUNNY EX SALOON.  YEAR 2000. FULL HOUSE.  1500 CC.
MAG WHEELS ETC.   SILVER . VERY ECONOMICAL.

CONTACT RICH - 091 237 534 or 086 - 22377 (PM)

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1.21 For Sale (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

Advent baby bottle and food warmer, like new for sale at $6 000 000.00

Baby cot bed, in excellent condition, light brown in colour $20 000 000.00
o.n.c.o.

For the above please contact Bev on 091 244 666

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1.22 Pajero For Sale (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

White 4x4 Nissan Pajero for sale. Please contact 011401177.

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1.23 Oil For Sale (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

Mobil MX 15W40

Mobil HD 85W140

Mobil HD 80W90

Mobil Agricultural

Mobil Outboard Plus

Container size 208 lts

Tel 091 261 075 or email jackal@spaceships.co.uk

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1.24 For Sale (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

2002 Nissan Hardbody D/C (Wolf) 3.0TD, 70000kms, White, Full house, Factory
(Nissan) fitted long range tank.  One owner, excellent condition.

POA

1993 Toyota Starlet 1300, 70000kms, Very good condition, A/C, power
steering, electric windows, central locking.

POA

Please contact John Kelly on (W) 4-301752 or 011208651

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1.25 Fuel For Sale (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

HamCor Fuel
Fuel Procurement & Sales
Guy Hammond & Kiara Cordy
Southern Belle Office
Marineland Harbour
Kariba
Telephone: 091 275 714 or 091 269 330
Fax: 061 3134

PURCHASES OVER 300 LITRES PAYABLE IN HARARE.  ANY PURCHASE BELOW 300 LITRES
MUCH BE PAID IN CASH AT OUR OFFICES IN KARIBA.  NO EXCEPTIONS.

PLEASE ALWAYS ENSURE YOU EMAIL OR TELEPHONE US PRIOR TO PAYING TO VERIFY
THAT YOU ARE USING THE CORRECT BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS

PAYMENT BY ELECTONIC TRANSFER OR CASH DEPOSIT ONLY.  WE CAN ARRANGE TO HAVE
AN AGENT COLLECT CASH FROM YOU IN HARARE, OR ARRANGE A DROP OFF POINT

FUEL CAN BE PAID FOR UP TO 72 HOURS MAXIMUM IN ADVANCE OF CHARTER. YOU
CANNOT PAY FOR FUEL IN EXCESS OF 3 DAYS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE DATE.

WE OPERATE A SKELETAL STAFF OVER THE WEEKEND.  SHOULD YOU REQUIRE FUEL ON A
SATURDAY OR SUNDAY PLEASE ADVISE US IN ADVANCE VIA TELEPHONE OR EMAIL:
kiara@zol.co.zw / guyhammond@zol.co.zw

REGRET - ABSOLUTELY NO CHEQUES

---------------------------------------------------------------

2 WANTED ITEMS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.1 Wanted (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

"Harare Dawn Rotary Club are looking for playground equipment to install at
the Safety Sam Training Centre in Mt. Pleasant, which they were responsible
for
rehabilitating.

If anyone has any equipment they would like to donate or to sell at a
reasonable price please can you let me know by e-mail on hderobeck@mango.zw.

The only type of equipment we do not need is a swing. The reason is that
there is too much danger of children being hit by over-exuberant swingers.

Replies can go to Greg Pozzo at Interprint, 770908.

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2.2 Wanted (Ad inserted 2/5/06)

Wanted

Looking for a maid/cook to work in the Glen Lorne  area.  Must be able to
read and write and have some cooking experience.  Duties also, include
general housework and childminding.  Accommodation is offered and would suit
someone elderly, without any dependants.

Please contact  -  greencroft@zol.co.zw

or phone 499790 or 011409930

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2.3 Wanted (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

WANTED urgently is a Working / Non- Working TV, VCR and Hifi. Cash paid
instantly. Please contact Joel on joelsonwozhi@yahoo.com or leave a message
with Mercy on 011 611 637.

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2.4 Wanted (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

Planning to leave we will buy your T.V or DVD Please give us a call on
741671

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2.5 Wanted (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

Looking for a safari trailer please contact Chris on
chris_louise@earth.co.zw

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2.6 Wanted (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

Looking for a single canoe, please contract T Quail on 011406965 or email
quail@zol.co.zw

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2.7 Wanted (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

Stragglers Cricked Club is desperately requiring a lock up filing cabinet.
Please phone N Quail 011604066, 064-7528 or email quail@zol.co.zw

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2.8 Wanted (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

"Sunflower /cotton seed wanted either for cash on or a toll crushing basis
for stock feed, please call Mr Wallis 023894597 or 495897 or 496829
evenings"

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2.9 Wanted (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

2  - 5 Kg Pecan nuts.  Preferable shelled.

Ph 011 206673 or email   pippa @zol.co.zw

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2.10 Premises Wanted (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

Workshop premises in or around Harare for small company. Please call Graham
or Jenny on 011406023 or 091286657.

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2.11 Wanted (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

Mazda Rustler, or Ford Bantam to swap (with cash adjustment) with Mazda 323
Hatchback, Zim assembled, 1998 model, in good condition, or purchase
outright. Please phone Duncan on 309971, or 011 405 387.

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2.12 Wanted (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

Is there anyone out there with any agricultural handbooks that they no
longer use or want? I require handbooks on any agricultural topic. Please
contact Ian Ross on + 263 (0) 11 628 501 or e-mail me on rossi@hms.co.zw

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2.13 Wanted (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

Glass bottles (150ml to 350ml) with lids.
Call 091 338 573 or e mail gbeam@zol.co.zw

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3 Accommodation Wanted and Offered
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3.1 Home For Sale (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

Total security, retirement home, holiday home or family home: 3 bed roomed
home in small complex within Mount Edgecombe golf estate 2 in Umhlanga,
South Africa 248 m sq.  3 bedrooms main en suite, family bathroom, double
lock up garage, lounge/dining room and kitchen.  Lovely setting, close to
Gateway, La Lucia Mall and the beach!

50% bonds available for non-residents.

Rand 2,050,000.00

Please phone South African cell number 0843938175.

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3.2 House for Rent (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

HOUSE AVAILABLE TO RENT HILLSIDE DAMS BULAWAYO

Lovely home tucked in between the rocks and the trees with a developed
garden, peaceful and picturesque, formerly an author's home.

Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and partly furnished, would prefer tenant to
keep on resident staff, -to look after two cats!

If interested contact Angela Meadows on 091301537 or Bulawayo 245848.

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3.3 House Wanted (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

I am look for a 3 bed roomed house in Mount Pleasant or surrounding areas.
Must have excellent security.  No pool would be preferable.

Please contact Michelle on 091 402 559.

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3.4 Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

"A friend of mine is looking for a very small, modest cottage/flat to rent
for herself and her 2 year old son.  Modest rent, as she is a struggling
single mom.  Please e-mail carol@powerspeed.co.zw or sms 091 264 160."

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3.5 Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

Cottage or small home to rent.  North Eastern suburbs near to Glen Lorne.

Contact Ian Henderson 091241257 or 799410

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3.6 Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

Urgently looking for property to rent in Borrowdale, Glen Lorne or
Ballantyne Park area.

Please contact 091 389 218

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4 RECREATION

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5 SPECIALIST SERVICES

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5.1 (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

EXTRA TUITION FOR O LEVEL ( GCSE)  CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS

Need some help? Private lessons offered.

Phone 442610 or 091609077, or email carolyn@cajj.com

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5.2 (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

NATUREWAYS SAFARIS

TRAIL FILLER & GROUP SPECIAL OFFERS

Odyssey Luxury Backed Up Safaris @ US$80 per person per night

Including all meals, local drinks, luxury camping equipment & services of
Professional Walking & Canoe Guides

Explorer Semi Participatory Canoe Safaris @ US$50 per person per night

Including road transfers from & to Kariba, meals, teas, coffees, cordials &
wine with dinner, equipment & services of Professional Canoe guides

THESE RATES APPLY FOR GROUPS OF 6 PLUS OR TRAIL FILLERS i.e. joining trips
we have already confirmed...

Contact Julie on 333414 (phone / fax) 091 249382 (cell) or
julie@natureways.com

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5.3 (Ad inserted 9/5/06)

G - TECH

- Diesel and plant maintenance
- Site contracting
- Generator and stationary engine installation and maintenance
- Tractors
- Hydraulics.

Contact Graham at gtech@zol.co.zw or call 011 406023, 091 286657, 04 741001,
075 2264

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5.4 (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

1.            COTTAGE @ SUNSHINE MOTOR CLUB FOR SALE - IDEAL FOR WEEKENDS
AND HOLIDAYS

PLEASE PHONE FOR FURTHER DETAILS - 741913.

2.            MOTHERS DAY - WHY NOT CONTACT DAPHNE PITTAWAY - GIFT VOUCHERS
AVAILABLE -

REFLEXOLOGY AND AROMATHERAPY INCORPORATING NEUROMUSCULAR MASSAGE

            PHONE # 04 309444 Cell # 023 894 758.

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5.5 (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

GACHE GACHE LODGE - KARIBA

A wonderful GETAWAY - fishing, birdwatching, game viewing by boat or
vehicle, sundowner (booze) cruises and more.

Book now for the August school hols...

Please help spread the word that we are now fully operational!

Full catering, laundry and teas inclusive in price.

CONTACT: townsend@zol.co.zw  or 011 208 836

Visit our new website! www.gachegache.com

TOUR LEADERS (PVT.) LTD.

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6 PETS CORNER

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6.1 Wanted (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

I am desperately looking for a Toy Pom puppy (5-6 weeks old).
If anyone breeds them please let me know.

E-mail - stodd@zw.safmarine.com
Cell - 011 421 289

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6.2 Home Wanted (Ad inserted 25/04/06)

Please another appeal for white male bull terrier, approx. 4 years desperate
for a kind and loving home Tel Michelle on 884294 or 011602903 or e-mail
gandami@mweb.co.zw

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6.3 Good Home/s Wanted (Ad Inserted 25/04/06)

Julio - 7 year old Tan coloured male Dashchund (pedigree) & Duke - 6 year
old Tan coloured male Dashchund (slight mixed breed with jack russell
somewhere!).  Both are very good natured, love people and loads of
attention.  They both have been nutured and are up-to-date with all
injections etc.  Would prefer if they are taken together as they are big
buddies.  Pictures are available to send via email.

Please contact Marlene on pott@zol.co.zw or telephone 020 - 64007.

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6.4 Homes Wanted (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

Terrier Rescue desperately need homes for the following dogs whose owners
have left the country. 1 male white English Bull Terrier, superb. 3
staffordshire bull terriers, black 1 male 2 bitches and 1 scotty bitch
called Toto. Please help am inundated. E-mail gandami@mweb.co.zw or Tel
Michelle on 884294 or 011602903

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6.5 Dog Meal for Sale  (Ad inserted 2/05/06)

Dog Meal $ 1200000 k per 20 kg bag, please order on 023748599

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6.6 Puppies for Sale (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

7 Beautiful Rotweiller x Great Dane puppies for sale to approved homes. 3
Dogs, 4 Bitches, six weeks old, tails have been docked have been dewormed
and had Parvo jabs,  $10,000,000.00 each.

Phone: 091311531 or 091213888.

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6.7 Wanted (Ad inserted 9/05/06)

"Schnauzer puppy desperately wanted, to replace a much loved pet that has
died.
Please phone 04 443017 or 011 218792."

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6.8 Poodle Pups for Sale (Ad inserted 16/05/06)

5 PURE BREED MALTESE POODLE PUPS FOR SALE

6 Weeks old already had their first set of shots, adorable, looking for very
good homes.

Please contact Gisela on 496561 or 091 322 117

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JAG Hotlines:
+263 (011) 205 374 If you are in trouble or need advice,
 please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
+263 (04) 799 410 Office Lines
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To advertise (JAG Members): Please email classifieds to: jag@mango.zw with
subject "Classifieds".

US court rejects Zim fine appeal

From The Cape Argus (SA), 16 May

The US Supreme Court has refused to consider reinstating a lawsuit that
originally resulted in a $71 million penalty against Zimbabwe's ruling party
for allegedly torturing and killing political opponents. The Bush
administration had urged the judges not to disturb an appeals court ruling
that found the lawsuit by alleged torture victims against President Robert
Mugabe's political party was improperly served on him during a 2000 visit to
New York City. Mugabe did not appear in court to fight the allegations. His
party, Zanu PF, was found guilty in default, and a judge in 2002 decided it
should pay about $20m in compensatory damages and $51m in punitive damages.
The Bush administration appealed that decision to the 2nd US Circuit Court
of Appeals in New York, where it won. Lawyers for the torture victims argued
that the US government should not have been allowed to step in and appeal in
favour of the Zanu PF. Chief Justice John Roberts did not take part in
yesterday's action. His former law firm filed the appeal in the Supreme
Court in Washington.