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