The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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Daily News

      Massive street demos planned

      5/19/03 7:28:23 AM (GMT +2)

      By Farai Mutsaka Chief Reporter

      ZIMBABWE'S major civic organisations and the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) have begun planning a combined mass action that will
kick off in the middle of June and is aimed at forcing President Robert
Mugabe to step down to pave the way for a transitional government, The Daily
News has established.

      The mass action, to take the form of street demonstrations, will
involve the MDC, the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition, Transparency International-Zimbabwe (TIZ) and the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).

      NCA spokesman Douglas Mwonzora yesterday confirmed that there were
plans by the five organisations to stage a "massive" mass action to force
Mugabe out.

      Gift Chimanikire, the MDC deputy secretary-general, also confirmed
that his party was working with other civic groups to force Mugabe out.

      "Yes, we are working with a number of partners, but I feel very
uncomfortable to discuss the strategies because you should know that we are
dealing with a rogue regime. We won't get anywhere if we start talking about
our strategies in public," he said.

      The MDC was yesterday distributing flyers thanking the public for
participating in a two-day job stayaway in March and telling them to prepare
for the "final push" in efforts to intensify pressure on Mugabe's
government.

      Armed police are yesterday said to have fired shots into the air in
Harare's Warren Park suburb when they intercepted MDC activists distributing
the flyers.

      Mwonzora said the proposed mass action was aimed at forcing Mugabe to
amend the Constitution to make provisions for a transitional government. The
transitional government, Mwonzora said, would be mandated with organising
fresh elections.

      "We have come to the conclusion that Mugabe is the major obstacle to
constitutional reform, so he has to pave way for a more level-headed person
to take over. We are co-ordinating with the MDC, the ZCTU, Crisis and TIZ to
organise a mass action that will force government to at least make
constitutional provisions to make it possible for the establishment of a
transitional authority," he told The Daily News.

      The ZCTU, TIZ and Crisis in Zimbabwe leadership could not be reached
for comment yesterday.

      But Mwonzora said they had taken part in a meeting last week where
strategies for the mass action were mapped out.

      The ZCTU has been urging the public to stock up on food, saying it
intended to call for an indefinite mass action to force the government to
improve the living conditions of workers.

      A stayaway called by the labour umbrella body last month shut down
most of industry and commerce as the ZCTU pressed for the reversal of a fuel
price hike of up to 309 percent.

      The NCA has held several demonstrations to pressure the government to
draft a new constitution. But the government has said that the drafting of a
new constitution is not a priority.

      Mwonzora said: "The mass action will not be limited to a stayaway. It
might also take the form of positive demonstrations in the cities. What we
realise is that although we might have different agendas, we share a common
problem and that is why we have been co-ordinating to remove that common
problem.

      "The mass action should at the end yield direct results. We will need
a firm commitment that the government will immediately begin to work on the
constitutional amendments. The mass action should be held in mid-June up
until our demands are met."

      Meanwhile, MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai told a rally in Masvingo
yesterday that his party was now prioritising street protests over work
stayaways in an attempt to press Mugabe to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis. He
said: "We want you this time to go out into the streets. If you remain
indoors, Mugabe will think everything is okay."
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Daily News

      Government still to gazette new salaries

      5/19/03 7:37:20 AM (GMT +2)

      Staff Reporter

      THE government has yet to gazette minimum wages it announced last
month, delaying implementation of new salaries at a time workers have been
hit by the escalating cost of living, it was learnt last week.

      The government announced on 24 April that it had agreed with business,
under the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF), on new minimum wages ranging
from $23 070 to $47 696, to cushion workers against price increases.

      Those in industry, commerce and mining were to be paid $47 696 per
month while workers in the agriculture sector were to get $23 070. Those in
the agro and horticulture sectors would receive $42 168 a month.

      The announcement was made during a work stayaway organised by the
country's labour watchdog, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU),
which brought most of industry and commerce to a halt for three days.

      ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo said the government's failure to
gazette the new minimum wages had made it difficult for his organisation's
affiliates to engage employers over new salaries. He said unions were being
hampered by the fact that the new minimum wages were not yet legally
binding.

      Matombo accused the government of "politicking and trying to fool the
people into believing that they have the concerns of the workers at heart".

      "It is difficult for the government recommendations to be implemented
in the absence of a legal instrument. There is need for a statutory
instrument to support the new government measures," he said.

      The ZCTU president added: "In any case, the government does not want
to legislate its proposals because most people in key positions in the
government are employers and they would not want to pay those salaries. They
own hotels, shops and farms. In their own right, they are both employees and
exploiters."

      But Lancester Museka, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, yesterday said it was up to
National Employment Councils to force employers to pay minimum wages.

      He said: "Legal instruments to force employers to pay minimum wages
come out of National Employment Councils.

      "All the employees who may not be receiving the minimum wages now
could only mean that the trade union and employer organisations in the
respective industries have not reached an agreement in the spirit of the TNF
statement.''

      The pro-government Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU) also
said it was the responsibility of unions to negotiate with employers.

      Joseph Chinotimba, the vice president of the ZFTU said: "The
government made its own recommendations and set standards for minimum wages
for each sector of the economy, but unions were supposed to negotiate with
the employers.

      "Now that the employers have failed to meet our expectations, we have
appealed to the government to pass a law that forces compliance,'' he said.

      Chinotimba said his union had failed to convince farmers to award
their workers $23 070 a month.

      But Matombo argued that minimum wages could not be discussed at
sectoral level because they were a national issue.

      He said even if some employers were to comply with the salaries
proposed by the government, "the ZCTU would push for a minimum wage of $125
000 per month because this is the realistic figure".

      Workers have been hit hard by Zimbabwe's worsening economic crisis,
under which rampant inflation has forced up the cost of living beyond the
reach of most people.
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Daily News

Leader Page

      Iron fist will fail

      5/19/03 7:28:56 AM (GMT +2)

      THE government of Zimbabwe has yet again contrived to make an
international spectacle of itself with its ill-advised and unlawful
deportation of Guardian journalist Andrew Meldrum.

      The veteran journalist was last week declared a prohibited immigrant,
allegedly for "writing bad stories about Zimbabwe", and bundled out of
Harare on Friday night.

      This was despite a High Court ruling last July declaring him a bona
fide resident of Zimbabwe, and an order issued by the court on Friday
barring his deportation and ordering his release.

      Meldrum becomes one in a long list of foreign and local journalists
who have fallen victim to the government's worsening intolerance of
criticism and views that do not conform to its own skewed idea of the
situation in Zimbabwe.

      He has also become only one of hundreds of people in this country
whose rights to freedom of expression and assembly have been trampled on as
the ruling ZANU PF attempts to stamp down on rising dissatisfaction with its
rule.

      It is tragic for the nation that the government fails to realise, or
simply does not care, that its iron-fisted response to its citizens'
attempts to express basic rights that they are guaranteed by the
Constitution is fuelling the tension it prefers, ostrich-like, not to see.

      Far from stamping out criticism or dissent through its heavy-handed
methods, the government has merely made Zimbabweans more determined to
express their growing unhappiness with the impact of the country's economic
crisis. A crisis that is widely blamed on the government's own discredited
policies.

      Through its deportation of Meldrum, President Robert Mugabe's regime
has merely added to the list of journalists who are determined to tell the
true story of Zimbabwe, even if they have to do it from beyond the country's
borders.

      The government's crude actions will not silence Meldrum or other
journalists. Just as they have not silenced the thousands of Zimbabweans who
are increasingly determined to speak out despite harsh legislation designed
to frighten them into keeping quiet even though their suffering has become
unbearable.

      For most people, remaining silent is no longer an option as they daily
struggle to put food on the table.

      It has even become a struggle for them to travel to work to earn money
to buy the expensive and scarce food they need to feed children they
increasingly cannot afford to clothe or send to school.

      Silence is no longer an option for Zimbabweans who have to live in
fear of persecution for holding different views or exercising their right to
belong to the party of their choice.

      The government should clearly be concerning itself with getting to
grips with the economic meltdown that is causing so much suffering to its
people and cleaning up an image that has been tarnished in the eyes of the
civilised world.

      It cannot do this by inviting international criticism and ridicule for
flouting court rulings and trampling on the basic rights of Zimbabweans.

      Meldrum's deportation has already drawn fire from the international
community, with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw calling it "petty and
vindictive", and a United States state department official pointing out that
it "reflects ongoing erosion of basic rights and the rule of law".

      Foreign investors and international multilateral agencies that have
already washed their hands of Zimbabwe will also not look kindly on this
latest demonstration of the government's utter contempt for the rule of law.

      Zimbabweans are a patient lot, but their patience is not infinite. It
is to be hoped that the government realises that most people have now
reached the end of their tether and should not be tried too far.
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Daily News

      Journalists not a mere arm of government

      5/19/03 7:29:48 AM (GMT +2)

      By C Javaraza

      The editor of New African magazine wrote in the issue of March 2002
No. 405 that it was time African journalists in Africa started behaving like
the "fourth estate of the realm".

      Baffour Ankomah describes the fourth estate of the realm as the fourth
arm of the government.

      While in agreement with Ankomah that the media occupy a very important
place in nation building anywhere in the world, I do not think that this can
best be done through peddling lies, publishing falsehoods and misinforming
the general public.

      Only through thorough research and accurate reporting can the masses
know exactly what is happening and which side they choose to be on. But for
Ankomah to think that nation building can only be achieved through reporting
pro-government news, also means that his perception of African journalists'
reporting is biased towards those of the West.

      Ernest Bevin (British Foreign Secretary 1945-51) said: "Why bother to
muzzle sheep?"

      Ankomah describes his ideal journalist in the British media as being
obedient, tame, stupid, even unable to bite or bark, thus likening them to
sheep.

      Ankomah feels that "from time to time, the media may attack certain
government policies or expose certain government wrongdoings and corruption"
. I wonder what he meant about time to time.

      As I see it, the media can attack the government and its policies any
time that it feels there is a reason for the public to know of any
wrongdoing, even if it means doing so every day - not telling lies or
half-truths, but simply telling it like it is.

      Here at home, Ankomah's sheep are the State media reporters. How else
does he expect the independent media to report when the government itself
gives them the material to report on?

      The Herald never reports anything positive about the opposition
neither do they point out the faults of the bullying party or, more aptly,
the ruining party. The government media is engaged in institutionalised
mendacity - cheating the people with outright lies.

      "Following the Flag" is following the government's lead in policy
matters, seeking to glorify them even if they are bad.

      For instance, the land policy which the government has adopted should
have had the support of the media even when the way the land was being
acquired and distributed was haphazard. Talk about hoodwinking.

      Ankomah's opinion is that the media must "help the government to
control the masses by acting as a sieve between the state and the citizenry"
.

      The people are just allowed enough information to think that they are
part of the government but the bulk of it being hidden from them.

      Anyone in their right mind who read the story in The Herald headlined
"President Mugabe speaks on MDC petition" can see that it has passed through
a very fine sieve.

      The State media gives the people the very obvious, insignificant and
useless information. Knowledge is power.

      By giving the people full, adequate and accurate information, the
independent media is also empowering them to make decisions on their
destiny.

      In the same issue of New African, Ankomah's real world includes
Britain, the United States and France. If his perceptions of the real world
are so biased then he is a lost soul.

      Living in Europe for 15 years does not necessarily make him one of
them.

      There is a Shona saying: "Gunguwo nyangwe rikashamba sei idema
chete" - literally translated: No matter how much a crow cleanses itself, it
will still remain black.'

      If he was in his motherland and seeing how much the public is being
deceived by the state, maybe he would take a stand against it, or maybe he
would be silenced one way or another into being a Reuben Barwe.

      Ankomah's visit to Zimbabwe came hard on the heels of his article in
New African.

      Is it not surprising that after writing such glorifying pro-Mugabe
stuff in the article we find him in our backyard? Was it purely coincidental
or was he invited?

      It is also interesting to note that with his way of thinking and his
view, he was interviewed by none other than Zanu PF apologist, Supa
Mandiwanzira.

      Please, Ankomah, what should be and what is are different things.

      Journalists worth their salt cannot take a pro-government stand while
the country rots just because they want to be the fourth estate of the
realm.

      C Jaravaza is a social commentator
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Daily News

      Cooking oil shortages open up sector to smaller players

      5/19/03 7:22:57 AM (GMT +2)

      By Colleen Gwari Business Reporter

      SHORTAGES of cooking oil have created opportunities for emerging
medium-sized companies, which are slowly challenging the monopoly of
Zimbabwe's established cooking oil manufacturers.

      A snap survey by The Business Daily last week showed that the new
players were entrenching themselves in urban high-density suburbs, growth
points and rural areas.

      Though their turnover is much lower than that of larger, established
manufacturers, representatives of the new entrants said their profit margins
were high.

      Some of the small operators said they were realising profit margins of
well over 100 percent.

      They attributed their success to severe shortages of basic
commodities, including cooking oil, which are partly blamed on a sharp
decline in agricultural output.

      Analysts say production on farms has fallen by more than 50 percent in
the past two years because of drought and the government's disruptive land
reform programme.

      The drop in output has affected manufacturers, including cooking oil
producers, who rely on the farming sector for their inputs. Producers have
also been hard hit by State-imposed price controls, which threaten the
viability of most manufacturers and has forced them to reduce output.

      The resulting shortage of basic commodities has created a thriving
black market where prices are sometimes more than 10 times those gazetted by
the government.

      Analysts said price controls had led to reduced production from
established companies, paving the way for the smaller players.

      Keen to break into the market, the emerging cooking oil manufacturers
are pegging their prices at lower levels than those charged by larger
players.

      For instance, a 750ml bottle of cooking oil retails for around $2 200
in most shops, a little less than the price gazetted for one litre of
cooking oil.

      Smaller manufacturers, however, sell 750ml of cooking oil at slightly
above $1 000.

      They can afford to lower their prices to attract customers because
they have no packaging costs. Consumers are asked to bring their own
containers.

      Escalating production costs are, however, still a problem because of
rampant inflation, officials with emerging cooking oil manufacturers said.

      The companies also have to import most of their raw materials - which
include cotton, soyabean and sunflower seed - and have to buy their foreign
currency on the more expensive parallel market to pay for the imported
inputs.

      Manufacturers have also been hit hard by Zimbabwe's fuel crisis and
power rationing, but an official with a manufacturer in Norton said his
company had more than doubled its turnover in the past year, despite the
problems.

      The official said: "Despite the challenges, we employ an average 20
people permanently. Depending on the nature and quantum of work to be
accomplished in a given period, we frequently hire casual workers."

      Donald Gwisai, chairman of Banwax Enterprises in Harare, said demand
for his company's products was so high that it had difficulty fully
servicing its customers.

      This was especially so at month-ends and during holidays, he said.

      Gwisai told The Business Daily: "Certainly we are wrestling with
established companies, but we have managed to take away a significant market
share."

      The firm has also ventured into stockfeed manufacturing and is
expanding by opening branches in Masvingo and Mozambique.
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Daily News

      Zimbabwe needs $16,4bn to fight foot-and-mouth

      5/19/03 7:23:48 AM (GMT +2)

      Business Reporter

      ZIMBABWE needs to spend up to US$20 million (about Z$16,48 billion) in
the next two years to combat the deadly foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease, which
has cost the country its lucrative beef exports, according to a report by
the Cattle Producers' Association (CPA).

      The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) is battling to control
FMD, but its efforts are being hampered by the illegal movement of cattle in
areas that have been branded FMD zones.

      According to the CPA report, the disease has also been worsened by the
movement of cattle from areas that have been worst hit by drought to those
that have better pastureland.
      Sales of cattle to raise money to purchase food have also resulted in
the illegal movement of cattle.

      "The DVS is experiencing difficulty in controlling the spread of FMD
due to the increased movement of cattle.

      "There is therefore a need to vaccinate increased numbers of cattle in
sensitive areas against FMD, with forex requirements over two years of
US$15-20 million," the report said.

      The FMD vaccines have to be imported, but it is unlikely that the
Zimbabwe government will be able to raise the hard cash required because it
is already battling to find forex for fuel and electricity imports.

      The Food and Agriculture Organisation has made an appeal for US$4
million to help fight FMD in Zimbabwe, but is still to receive a response
from international donors.

      Zimbabwe stopped exports of chilled boneless beef to the European
Union (EU) market in August 2001 because of the disease. The country had a
beef quota of 9 000 tonnes in the EU.

      The CPA said the commercial cattle beef herd had declined from a high
of 436 000 in 2000 to below 200 000 by the end of last year.

      Besides a massive destocking exercise that reached its peak last year,
the CPA said the industry had also been hit by shortages of stockfeeds.

      Grain shortages, a result of the drought in the past agriculture
season and reduced output from the commercial farming sector, have been
blamed for the acute shortage of stockfeeds.

      "The Cattle Producers' Association believes that the level of
destocking reached its peak in 2002 as the pressure on commercial farms in
the form of harassment, extortion and evictions intensified," the CPA said.

      "It is estimated that by year-end 2002 the total commercial beef herd
had fallen below 200 000 head."
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Feature

      Will it dawn on Mugabe to quit for failure?

      5/19/03 7:40:42 AM (GMT +2)

      By Cyprian Muketiwa Ndawana

      AS the ZANU PF government continues to tread lightly on the prevailing
socio-economic hardships, the nation has waited in vain and with bated
breath for a twist of sobriety to dawn on President Robert Mugabe.

      With each day that passes, the populace anticipates that he will
realise, most probably with a jolt, just how turbulent the times have
become.

      The Mugabe reign is now characterised by gloom and despair as opposed
to love and cheer. With the government digging its heels deep and gritting
its teeth in political intolerance, and the cost of living ballooning beyond
reach, there honestly is absolutely nothing to smile about.

      Anyone who subscribes to the belief that the government will claw from
the quagmire is as out of touch with basics as one who argues that Genesis
is the last book in the Bible.

      The government, in its desperate bid to cling on to power at any cost,
committed a host of political miscalculations that resulted in the wrecking
of the country.

      The country now needs a complete engine overhaul, thorough
panel-beating and spray-painting to be back on track. Needless to mention
that Mugabe does not have the prowess to perform the repairs, nor does he
have the menial skills to pass on the tools to those undertaking the repair
works.

      With all due respect, the best he can do is to surrender the keys and
find himself a quiet place where he will not even hear the noise emanating
from the repairs.

      The politics of survival that is being practised by the ZANU PF
government is as ruinous as that of an eye for an eye. It leaves everyone
blind. It is extremely cold-hearted for the government to defer owning up to
the prevailing hardships since they are a by-product of its skewed policies.

      With the full knowledge that commercial agriculture was the country's
prime foreign currency earner, the government, in a bid to appease and lure
the rural electorate, embarked on a hysterical programme of unseating those
who made good of the farms.

      Today, tiny pole-and-mud huts, thorns and thistles abound where crops
used to grow, hence the shortage of foreign currency.

      Fuel supplies were flowing well under the system that allowed the then
five fuel companies to import fuel. There was once a time when there was a
glut, prompting service station attendants to clean windscreens in a bid to
win customers.

      All this soon became a thing of the past with the introduction of the
National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, a government wholly-owned company that
became known more for corrupt practices than fuel procurement.

      Skewed government policies have wreaked havoc in the transport sector.
Revelations that the lives that were lost in railway accidents could have
been avoided if the powers-that-be had acted with diligence on the
technocrats' recommendations are strong enough evidence to haul the
government to court to answer for culpable homicide.

      While the railway service has lost all claims to safety, reliability
and dependability, the road service is in a worse off predicament.

      Impromptu promises of duelising highways are echoed each time a major
accident occurs, but are never followed up with action.

      The state of most roads is crying for attention yet the government is
deaf to the cries and blind to the deplorable conditions.

      Air transport has not been spared either. Aviation rules are
compromised with the latest confirmation that an Air Zimbabwe plane from
London had an emergency landing in Lusaka after running dangerously low on
fuel.

      In the airline industry, it is known that passengers are booked into
Air Zimbabwe as a last resort due to fears of being inconvenienced by
schedule changes.

      Amid all these glaring problems, the government treads lightly on the
effects of its shortcomings. The shortages of basic foodstuffs that the
government blames on "unscrupulous manufacturers who want to exploit the
masses" quickly comes to mind.

      As the disruptions on commercial farms took place, at no point did the
government ever pose to think that it had pronounced the death sentence on
all food-processing companies by disrupting the source of raw materials.

      If ever there was an award for skewed decisions, the one made by the
government, that of leapfrogging Zambia to fight in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), would lift the
      trophy.

      Despite being unbudgeted for, as was the case with the $50 000 paid to
each war veteran in 1997, heavy financial, material and human resources
were, in the style of the biblical sower, indiscriminately scattered in the
DRC war. Up to now, the balance sheet, if ever it was done, has not yet been
made public.

      With a Cabinet as large as an orchestra, Mugabe has failed to tighten
the nuts and bolts of the government, resulting in the wrecking of the
country.

      The Professor, whose tongue has never known rest ever since he was
hand-picked in 2000, has caused more burns and blisters than those he wanted
to soothe - his propaganda is too cheap to hoodwink even the nutty of the
nuttiest.

      He has made a shoddy job of covering the cracks and whitewashing the
patches of the crumbling regime.

      When he gloated over the foreign currency that was to be generated
from the Miss Malaika contest, the solar eclipse and the hosting of some
cricket matches, the Professor spoke as if these one-off events were a
lasting supply source of foreign currency, yet they were not. The events
came and went, but foreign currency shortages continue in their intensity to
haunt the nation.

      With the nationwide teachers' strike underway, coming against the
backdrop of other problems needing urgent attention, for Mugabe governing
the country is now an exercise in futility.

      It is, therefore, not asking too much of him to take immediate and
full responsibility for the failures than to continue to compound the
populace's woes with more of his public displays of belligerence and
obsession.

      There is consensus that due to his intransigence, Mugabe committed the
grievous error of mistaking the headlamp of an oncoming train for light at
the end of the tunnel. Hence the head-on collusion that wrecked the economy.

      It is my fervent hope and prayer that the long-awaited sobriety dawns
on him now as the brunt of his shortcomings is too burdensome to bear.

      Cyprian Muketiwa Ndawana writes on social and political issues
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Pension Fund Savings Now Very Little As Inflation Rate Continues to Gallop
Upwards

Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)

COLUMN
May 18, 2003
Posted to the web May 19, 2003

Vince Musewe


Given the ever increasing rate of inflation and job mobility, it is most
probable that your pension fund savings will merely be able to buy you
newspapers

To at least maintain the purchasing power of your savings, you would have
had to at least match the double-digit inflation return which is highly
unlikely. When your fund manager invests your savings, he must invest at
least 45% in prescribed assets which are effectively the very low interest
bearing government securities


Your fund manager then has only 55% to invest elsewhere, this could be in
equities or properties. In order to diversify risk, she cannot invest in
only a few companies but several companies across the stock exchange and
must also still hold some cash in case there are some big withdrawals from
the fund

Let's say she holds 10% in cash. So effectively she must invest 55% in
instruments where returns are way below inflation and only 45% in equities
or property. To beat inflation, your fund manager must take more risk and
invest your fund in select companies that she is almost sure will give
better returns than cash. But as we all know, there are no guarantees at
all! It is therefore very tough to be a fund manager in such a situation

It is most probable that your fund manage cannot beat inflation with the
total returns of your fund and there goes your life savings! Remember, as
you get older you need more medicines and so on and you have to have
adequate funds for day-to-day living too

Added to this is the fact that people hardly work for one company in their
life time and as they job hop, they withdraw from one pension fund to
another and most people do the natural thing, cash in on a third of their
money as allowed by the law, and then put the remainder in a preservation
account. But do investments in a preservation account beat inflation? I
doubt

The dilemma is that, the returns you are earning now on your current fund
will not be enough to fund your retirement costs and any funds you might
have put aside are also not probably earning decent returns. This means that
everyone is getting poorer and poorer. You may say, save more, but in our
environment who can save more where most employees are battling to survive?

The implications of this are that, the economy has been systematically
destroyed right through to your pension fund savings. Even if you are
employed, you are actually getting poorer everyday you wake up to go to
work. If you are unemployed, you are in big trouble since jobs are not
increasing at all, and if you are a pensioner, you cannot manage

The stress that comes from surviving in such an environment means that the
average life expectation of Zimbabweans is further reduced besides the
impact of Aids

The above is what the current government has delivered to all Zimbabweans
after a mere 23 years in power. It is really not about land any more, is it?
Its about our life expectancy, its about being alive or dead

I do not think that many of us have seriously considered the negative impact
the current government has had on our lives. The future is no longer what it
used to be 10 or so years ago. Even in they go, the serious damage has been
done to our national psyche and this will take forever to repair

The obvious reaction to the above is that you either maximize your earnings
now or leave the country if you can, its about life choices not patriotism

This same dilemma is faced not only by employees but by companies too

Companies that choose to relocate are making a choice about staying
operative or staying and going out of business. Expecting them to stick
around as a sign of patriotism is naïve

Patriotism for what-the patriotism of poverty is based on those who have no
choice but to endure it

Quote of the week Every clique is a refuge for incompetence. It fosters
corruption and disloyalty, it begets cowardice, and consequently is a burden
upon and a drawback to the progress of the country. Its instincts and
actions are those of the pack.-Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, Chinese revolutionary
leader

* Vince Musewe is an independent consultant and co-author of the book "A
Trustee's Guide To Investment Management" and may be contacted on
pensions36@hotmail.com
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CZI Urges State to Mend Relations With IMF,World Bank

Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)

May 18, 2003
Posted to the web May 19, 2003

Kumbirai Mafunda


THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has once again reiterated the
need for the government to lure back multilateral development partners that
can help to drag Zimbabwe out of its present economic quagmire

At a breakfast meeting in Harare to evaluate progress achieved under the
National Economic Recovery Programme (NERP), one after the other of the
chief executives underlined to the Cabinet ministers present that the
country can not rise out of the current economic morass without the
assistance of the international community



Cabinet ministers present at the meeting included Finance and Economic
Development Minister Herbert Murerwa, Energy's Amos Midzi and Lands,
Agriculture and Rural Resettlement Minister Joseph Made, among others

Zimbabwe has alienated most of the international community and key
international monetary bodies and the price it has paid has been the serious
foreign currency squeeze that has hounded the country during the last two
years

"There has to be a macroeconomic solution that normalises our relations with
multilateral lenders. We cannot be disengaged from the international
community and we can't be lone rangers. The sooner we realise and come to
terms with that the better," said Delta chief executive, Joe Mutizwa

Delta, which recently increased the prices of its 300-ml and 1-litre soft
drinks to $300 and $900 respectively, has been reeling under severe foreign
currency shortages to import maize, glass bottles and carbon dioxide

Mutizwa told the ministers to disengage themselves from the "I-know-it-all"
attitude and consult the business community that he said was bountiful with
expertise in drawing up recovery programmes

Farm invasions spearheaded by ruling party loyalists, the pursuance of
irrational economic policies and the wholesale abandonment of the rule of
law, have destroyed Zimbabwe's credit rating resulting in the termination of
numerous lines of credit to the southern African country

Dairiboard Zimbabwe chief executive Anthony Mandiwanza said the resumption
of aid from the international community would augment business efforts to
generate foreign currency

"We need to move away from a mode of denial to a mode of acceptance. We
can't rescucitate this economy without international support. Our suppliers
now require us to pay cash upfront so we need to open lines of credit. We
cannot continue cheating ourselves," said Mandiwanza

Shingi Mutasa, TA Holdings' executive chairman, also said Zimbabwe could not
continue to isolate itself from the international financial institutions
that are controlled by the Western economies

Reacting to the concerns of the business executives, Murerwa said his
government was working with multilateral lenders as evidenced by his visit
to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings in
Washington last month

"It is essential to engage the IMF and World Bank. Last month we had a good
discussion with their executives and we remain ready to engage them,"
Murerwa said

Analysts however say the Bretton Wood institutions, who are controlled by
the United States and other powerful Western interests, would only return to
Zimbabwe once the political crisis in the country has been solved.
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JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE COMPENSATION COMMUNIQUÉ - May 19, 2003

Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet: www.justiceforagriculture.com

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

COMPENSATION COMMUNIQUÉ

As promised herewith the summary of our very successful compensation
meeting held at Art Farm on Thursday 15th May 2003 for the farmers who were
unable to attend.

COMPENSATION - THE FULL STORY

HELD AT ART FARM ON 15 MAY 2003 AT 10.00AM

PRESENT Alan Burl - Alan Burl is a well-known farmer from the Marondera
area and served as President of the CFU from 1988 till 1992.  Alan has
served with distinction on various other committees and is a well respected
personality in the farming world.  Alan will be the chairman of the
meeting.

Louis Bennet - Louis Bennet is a retired Lawyer with Kantor and Immerman.
Louis will address the meeting on the legal aspects of compensation and
reflect on the history of land tenure leading up to the present situation.

Alan Higgins - Allan Higgins is a valuator with Redfern and Mullet and is
standing in for the chairman of the Valuators Consortium.  Allan will
address the issues around valuation of Land and Improvements.

Andy Laing - Andy Laing is a loss assessor from Bulawayo and runs his own
firm Losscon.  Andy will deal with the issue of Consequential Loss or Other
Disturbance Loss or Other Losses.  Andy was involved in the setting up of
the original Loss Document.

David Scott - David Scott is currently a Senior Partner with Price
Waterhouse Coopers.  He is also the current president of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants in Zimbabwe.  David will explain the role of
accountants and auditors and the procedures that will be implemented.

Kerry Kay - Kerry Kay is a well known farmer's wife, HIV/AIDS Project
Manager and Family Therapy and Traumatized Child Counselor.  Kerry will
speak on the necessity of dealing with the gross human rights violations
perpetrated against the farmers, farm workers and all their families.

340 Farmers

The meeting was called to order and everyone welcomed by the Chairman Mr
Alan Burl who introduced the speakers.

Tim Neill opened the meeting with a reading and a prayer.

THE LAW AND COMPENSATION - Louis Bennet
We all know that the law is an `Ass', but in Zimbabwe with no Rule of Law
it has become like a `Drunken Donkey from Darwendale'.

Against that background let me briefly comment on where I believe farmers
stand in regard to:
1. Compensation for land and improvements
2. Compensation for consequential losses
3. Position re: Prescription or otherwise of compensation claim

COMPENSATION
In my view, the legal position as to who is liable to compensate for the
farmers land, improvements thereon and consequential losses is governed,
inter alia, by whether the amendments to the Land Acquisition Act are legal
or not. Here you will know that those amendments under the Quinnell case
have been challenged on the basis that they are unconstitutional and
therefore of no force or effect. That challenge is presently before the
Supreme Court, which sitting as a Constitutional Court will in due course
make a decision. This issue has been pending for some time with the delay
having both advantage and disadvantage. The advantage being that until a
judgment is handed down, farmers can continue to raise this constitutional
issue as an argument in support of a suspension or cancellation of any
Section 8 Order that they receive.

Returning to the issue of compensation, if the Supreme Court under its
Chief Justice, Godfrey Chidyausiku, directs that the amendments are legal
and constitutional, then the provisions for compensation of agricultural
land required for resettlement purposes must follow the Land Acquisition
Act and in particular Sections 29A, 29B, 29D and Parts I and II of the
Schedule to Section 29C.

Section 29A deals with the establishment of the Compensation Committee made
up of the Secretary of the Ministry responsible for Lands, the Secretary
responsible for Justice, the Secretary for the Ministry responsible for
Finance, the Director of Agricultural, Technical and extension services,
the Chief Land Officer, the Chief Government Valuation Officer and not more
than 5 other members appointed by the Minister.

Section 29B lays down the procedure for assessing compensation, which only
relates to the improvements and not the land. A designated Valuation
Officer is required, as soon as possible after a Preliminary Notice
(Section 5 (1)) has been published to prepare a preliminary estimate of the
compensation payable for improvements and transmit this preliminary
assessment to the Compensation Committee. On receipt of the preliminary
assessment of compensation, the Compensation Committee after carrying out
such further investigations as it considers necessary, shall without delay:-

i. Prepare its own estimate of the compensation payable and,

ii. Given written notification of its estimate to every person who is
entitled to be paid compensation in respect of the acquisition concerned
and,

iii. Inviting such person if he disputes the Compensation Committee's
estimate, to submit, in such manner and within such reasonable time as the
Compensation Committee may specify, any representations, whether in the
form of claim for compensation or otherwise that the person may wish to
make in regard to the Compensation Committee's estimate of compensation
payable to him.

iv. After considering any representation submitted the Compensation
Committee will fix the compensation payable for improvements and the person
shall be advised thereof in writing.

I am not aware of this procedure being followed and very little if any,
notice has been taken by Government of its own law. What usually happens is
that an advert is put in the media asking for certain farm owners to attend
at the office of the Ministry of Lands. A ridiculously small offer is made
without any valuation or information as to how the figure is arrived at,
with the farmer being required to accept the offer on condition that he
hands over his title deeds and receives payment if and when the Government
is in a position to pay.

The principles regarding assessment of compensation in terms of the Land
Acquisition Act for improvements on or to agricultural land required for
resettlement purposes is set out in Part 1 of the Schedule to Section 29 C.
There are 9 paragraphs to that Schedule dealing with: the condition of the
improvements, the quality of the building construction, grazing veld,
containing dams, dips, spray-races and fencing, irrigated land, perennial
or plantation crops, tobacco curing facilities, boundary fencing,
electrical installations etc.

Whatever compensation is offered must be with the approval of the Minister
responsible for Finance provided that:-

a) At least one quarter of the compensation payable shall be paid at the
time the property is acquired or within a reasonable time thereafter;

b) A further one-quarter of the compensation payable shall be paid within
two years after the land concerned was acquired.

c) The balance of the compensation payable shall be paid within five years
after the land concerned was acquired.

Compensation payable in terms of subsection (1) of Section 29 C shall not
extend to compensation for loss suffered or expense incurred by the owner
or occupier of the agricultural land arising out;

· The removal or eviction of the owner or occupier from the land; or

· His inability to conduct any activity on the land concerned, whether as a
result of a notice in terms of Section 5 or otherwise:

· Any other circumstances incidental to the acquisition of the land
concerned.

Therefore if the amendments to the Act are legal there is no claim for
consequential losses and the farmer is virtually restricted to whatever the
Compensation Committee chooses to offer and which will then be paid over
the five-year period.

In addition, with regard to compensation for the land itself, Section 29
(C) of the Land Acquisition Amendment Act provides that compensation shall
be payable for the land where an adequate fund for that purpose is
established in accordance with subsection 1 of Section 16 A of the
Constitution. In that amendment to the Constitution the Mugabe Government
declared that as the indigenous people were `unjustifiably dispossessed' of
the land by the former colonial power, the Zimbabwe Government has no
obligation to compensate for the land, but if the former colonial power (UK
Government) establishes a compensation fund for the land then the Zimbabwe
Government will make payment of compensation from that fund subject on the
principles regarding compensation assessment as set out in Part II of the
aforesaid Schedule. This means that if at any time the UK Government makes
funds available for land compensation then the Zimbabwe Government will
require the compensation to be paid first to it, before it gives any
compensation to the farmer.

On the other hand if the Supreme Court decides that the amendments to the
Land Acquisition Act are unconstitutional then the Government of Zimbabwe's
actions in taking over the farms and driving off the registered owners of
the property would in law be regarded as an unlawful act from which the
injured party, the farmer, would be entitled at common law to claim damages
for all losses suffered including the land, improvements thereon and
consequential losses, which are not too distant, provided all reasonable
steps were taken to mitigate any of these losses.

At this stage, as I see the position, until the Supreme Court makes a
decision in the Quinnell Case we seem to be in a `limbo' situation or legal
vacuum. Therefore, it would be prudent for farmers to prepare their claims
for compensation both in respect of land and the improvements thereon and
also all the consequential losses they have suffered. There is no guarantee
that compensation will be paid but unless they have prepared and
established their claims by means of valuations of their fixed assets and
confirmed their consequential losses, then the possibility of receiving any
compensation at some time in the future, even if it is the distant future,
will not be successful. Many farmers I am aware, have already arranged for
the title deeds of their farms to be placed in safe keeping outside
Zimbabwe in the hope that at some time in the future they will be able to
prove that they owned the land so as to establish their right to
compensation. The issue then arises as to the amount of the claim for that
compensation. It is for this purpose that JAG has established a valuation
database, which hopefully the CFU will support so as to have all or a
majority of farmers, log onto this database with valuations of their farms
and the improvements thereon together with the basis for and the amounts of
the farmers' consequential losses so as to create a critical mass of
farmers reflecting the total amount of compensation necessary and to be
claimed.

Is anyone liable to pay compensation to the farmers other than under the
valueless provisions of the Land Acquisition Act?

The answer to the above is somewhat difficulty, but I believe that Zimbabwe
commercial farmers have lost their farms, homes, their present and future
livelihoods by the current actions of the Government of Zimbabwe and
possibly the past actions of the former colonial power namely the
Government of the UK.

There is no doubt that the Government of Zimbabwe is the actual present day
perpetrator of the loss and trauma suffered by the farmers, their families
and also the farm workers.

However, on what basis could Mugabe when he amended the Constitution in
April 2000 declare that the `Government of Zimbabwe has no obligation to
compensate the white farmers for the land because the former colonial power
(the Government of the United Kingdom) had `unjustifiably dispossessed' the
indigenous people of their land?' That amendment goes on to provide that
unless the former colonial power establishes an adequate compensation fund
for the land, then Government of Zimbabwe has no obligation to compensate
the farmers therefore.

The historical background of the land situation in Zimbabwe could perhaps
place the present UK Government under a moral if not legal obligation to
compensate for the actions of previous British Imperial Governments
because:

· In the 1890s, the land was possibly first taken by stealth and not
conquest but in any event never paid for.

· In 1923 the sale of that land by the British Government for 2 million
pounds to the white settlers.

· After both world wars in 1919 and 1945 the British Government including
even a labour Government of encouraged white settlers to come to the
Southern Rhodesia and make their permanent homes including farms in this
country.

· After independence in 1980, in accordance with some arrangement at
Lancaster, the British Government without its present conditions of "The
Rule of Law, Transparency etc" did make grants to the Zimbabwean Government
to purchase from farmers on a willing seller/willing buyer basis, farming
properties. Has the UK Government reneged on this arrangement by moving the
goal post with its new requirements re: Rule of Law etc?

These historical facts cannot be disputed and hopefully if correctly
presented could bring about the possibility of compensation from the UK
Government and/or international donors. Again even for such a compensation
approach to be made the farmers' representatives must have figures for
compensation claimed based on valuations etc to establish the losses
suffered by farmers.

It is known that those Asians, who were chased from Uganda, but who
retained their Title Deeds and had valuations supporting their compensation
claims did eventually receive external compensation. I know that this took
a long time but the world has moved on and the Zimbabwe crisis is very much
in the forefront of human rights abuses and hopefully it won't take over 20
years before compensation is forthcoming.

PRESCRIPTION
I wish to deal shortly with the issue of prescription. Section 15 (d) of
the Prescription Act Chapter 8:11 states that "the period of prescription
of a debt shall be - except where any enactment provides otherwise, three
years in the case of any other debt". Generally prescription begins to run
as soon as the debt is due but prescription is delayed inter alia if the
debtor is outside Zimbabwe, which may be the case if the debtor is the UK
Government.

Why I raise the question of prescription is because it could be argued that
farmers must bring any action for compensation within three years of
service of a Section 5 (1) Notice/publication or Section 8 or only after
confirmation of an acquisition order made in terms of Section 7. I am
inclined to the view that the prescription period commences from the
service of the Section 8 Order unless that has been suspended or set aside
by the High Court. I must stress however that there are conflicting legal
views on this issue.

However, prescription can be interrupted by the issue of legal process
claiming compensation before the expiry of the prescription period.
Moreover, a debt shall not be deemed due until the creditor becomes aware
of the identity of the debtor and of the facts with which the debt arises.
At this stage a farmer could argue that he is not aware of whether the
debtor is the Government of Zimbabwe or the Government of the UK, or both
of them, the one paying the other to be absolved.

Nevertheless, I repeat, before any claim for compensation can be made, it
is essential for the farmer to be able to prove, through a valuation of his
farm and improvements thereon coupled with established and accepted facts
of any consequential losses that a full claim for compensation may be
instituted.

That is why farmers must obtain valuations of their farms and establish
their consequential losses with this information available for inclusion in
the database.

I hope the above comments will be of some help but should you require any
further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

CONSEQUENTIAL LOSSES & AUDITING - David Scott

Mr Scott is currently a senior partner with Price Waterhouse Coopers, as
well as being the current president of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in Zimbabwe. His involvement with the loss document is to
assist farmers and give advice with regards to what is required of them and
his company could assist with the distribution of compensation if and when
the time comes, be it at a national or international level.

GENERAL ISSUES

The project must be cohesive and focused with as many people participating
as possible.  The document should be holistic in its approach and should
present a complete scenario in every respect.  The integrity of the
document is fundamental and must be transparent and accurate, factual yet
simple to follow and very importantly, readable, as this document is likely
to be read by people from outside Zimbabwe.  The format of the document
needs to be standardized, but will obviously be specific to your particular
case.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Where possible use professionals.  In compiling your information.
Historical information is the place to start, but in calculating a loss of
profits/earnings a base should be established e.g.  this is where I was
financially, this was my base.  To give credibility to your document, use
professionals and get them to write their assistance to the document.
Accountants, auditors and tax consultants are especially useful in
assisting when trying to establish figures as to what the various
components in the losses have been incurred.  Records are needed to back up
your claim as well as affidavits.  Valuations should be complete in every
respect regarding details of the property itself e.g. the fact that it
might border a commercial transport route/road will affect the valuation.

In conclusion, Mr Scott said that although the document looks overwhelming,
it's not that difficult to complete, it just takes the commitment and
willpower to do it.  In this respect he encouraged all farmers to do so.

CONSEQUENTIAL, DISTURBANCE & OTHER LOSSES - Andy Laing

Mr Laing is a loss assessor from Bulawayo and runs his own firm Losscon.
He was involved in the setting up of the original Loss Document.

He said that intimidating though the document may seem, the objective is to
encourage farmers to come on board as it is very worthwhile, empowering and
has a very sobering effect on those who perpetrated the losses by breaking
the law.

When establishing your losses they should be broken down into the following
categories:- Land and Improvements, Loss of Profits, Moveable Assets,
Consequential Losses, Relocation Costs and Human Rights Abuse in the Diary
of Events.

In order that you end up with a credible document you need to:

Quantify your losses - Give a $ value on everything in the document.  Base
it on the US$ rate at the time.

Verify your losses - Prove it e.g. photographs, financial statements,
affidavits.

Mitigate your losses - Reduce your losses as best as you can, i.e. if you
have oranges to market, it is your duty to try and sell them despite the
fact that you may do so at a loss.

Moveable Property e.g. household effects, farm equipment etc. - whilst
these are in your possession they are not part of the claim however should
you have to leave tomorrow with a suitcase and leave it all behind it
does - therefore it should be covered in your document.  To value get to
your current replacement cost, depreciate it for age and adjust condition
and then you have a net value.  Where things don't depreciate (e.g.
teaspoons!) then use the replacement cost.

CONSEQUENTIAL LOSSES

These are a complicated issue but a basic definition would be any indirect
losses which result from illegal acts e.g. crops having to be abandoned
half way through the season, relocation costs medical costs, legal costs
etc.  If SI6 payments were extorted this could also be construed as a
consequential loss.  Forced sale of equipment at reduced values etc. and
anything else that has had to be put onto the market.  The same rule
applies here as with everything else in the document - quantify, verify &
mitigate.

Again don't be intimidated by the document - but take it one step at a time
and get it done as it empowers you and is to your benefit to get it done.

LAND & IMPROVEMENTS - Alan Higgins

Mr Higgins is currently with Redfern and Mullet as a valuator and he is
standing in for the Chairman of the Valuators Consortium.  There are 7
firms involved in the valuation consortium all with international
experience.  Their objective is to set up a viable database to assist with
claims for compensation for land and permanent improvements.  The farmers'
support is integral to the success of and to give credibility to the
exercise.  Obviously circumstances can change at any time and you can be
removed/added etc. to the database.  Where it's impossible to get onto the
farms, the valuators can determine the value of the property as well as the
value of the destruction that may have taken place since your departure.
When valuations are undertaken, these are done on the basis of full
production and not as they may be now.  A market value approach is what is
likely to be required by the international community.

FARM LABOUR AND HUMAN RIGHTS - Kerry Kay

Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of Genocide.

We need to bear in mind that acts of Genocide need not necessarily kill or
cause the death of members of a group:- e.g. farmers and workers, Matabele,
opposition etc.

Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as
such:-

· Killing members of the group, which includes direct killing and actions
causing death.

· Causing serious bodily or mental harm, which includes inflicting trauma
on members of the group, through widespread torture, rape, sexual violence,
forced or coerced use of drugs, and mutilation.

· Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to
bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part and includes a
deliberate deprivation of resources needed for the group's physical
survival, such as clean water, food, clothing, shelter or medical services.

· Deprivation of the means to sustain life can be imposed through
confiscation of harvests, blockade of foodstuffs, detention in camps,
forcible relocation.

These have been clearly demonstrated by the state-sponsored INVASIONS,
EVICTIONS, LOOTING.

YOUR EMOTIONS
How have the events of the past four years affected farming families?

· FEELING POWERLESS, HELPLESS, SHATTERED and HOPELESS? That's hardly
surprising !
So what can you do?

· You can EMPOWER yourself by taking POSITIVE ACTION and in so doing
HELPING yourself, your farm workers, and the FUTURE GENERATION.

HOW?
So what can you do and how do you do it?

USE THE JAG LOSS DOCUMENT TO SEEK JUSTICE AND RESTITUTION FOR YOUR TRAUMA
AND YOUR LOSSES AND THOSE OF YOUR FARMWORKERS

EVALUATING YOUR TRAUMA
How do we evaluate Trauma for purposes of documentation and compensation?

The effects of long term stress are difficult to quantify and in many cases
to identify.

The trauma did not stop at the eviction stage - the trauma is continuing as
a result of being deprived of :-

· Your home
· Your assets
· Your income
· Your profession
· Your pension
· Your right to protection by law enforcement agencies "sorry it's
political".

COMPENSATION
Who will do the Trauma evaluation and how will it be calculated?

COMPENSATION for TRAUMA will be evaluated by Psychologists and Doctors who
specialize in assessing Victims of Violence and Torture, arrest, detention,
interrogation.

Your DIARY of EVENTS, affidavits, medical reports etc. will be scrutinized
by these Professionals and compensation will be calculated as a percentage
of your overall losses.

Below is a good example of an affidavit from Heather Laurie for use in your
loss document:-
AFFIDAVIT

I, the undersigned ......  National ID No.: ......
of ......  Farm, Marondera, situate in the District of ...... Zimbabwe,
now temporarily resident at ......  do hereby make oath and swear that:-

1. I was born in ........, Zimbabwe, on ...... since then I have resided
in Marondera, .....  District, Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe as
follows:-
Birth to .....  on my father's farm known as .....
To .....  on my own farm known as .....  until sold owing
To ill health.
 .....  To .....  on .....  Farm, title to which is held by .....
(Private) Limited under Deeds Registry Number .....and in which Company,
incorporated in Zimbabwe, myself and my son .....  are the sole
shareholders.

2. I am entitled exclusively to a Zimbabwean passport.

3. My sole professional qualification is the .....  diploma in Agriculture
from the .....  Agricultural College, conferred in .....

4. My sole working experience is farm business management and farm
management practice.

5. My share in .....  farm (Private) Limited's immovable assets represents
my sole immovable assets anywhere in the world.

6. By authority given to the (Member of Parliament?) for the .....
constituency in the city of ....., (name of "new owner"), by the Minister
of Agriculture, I was evicted from my home and the farm on .....

7. To date no compensation has been paid for the farm, nor has Comrade
..... Paid for all the Company's moveable assets retained by him/her.

8. No executive action by law enforcement agents has followed the High
Court of Zimbabwe's ruling given on .....  that the Section 8 Order issued
by the Ministry of Agriculture to acquire .....  Farm (Private) Limited on
.....is invalid. (Case Number HC .....  refers, the Honourable .....
Presiding).

9. This affidavit is sworn to prove that the action of the only government
to whose Protection I am entitled has:-

· Deprived me of my only home,
· Deprived me of my assets,
· Deprived me of my income,
· Deprived me of my only profession,
· Deprived me of my pension,
· Left me without recourse to the law enforcement agents beyond the rulings
of the High Court of Zimbabwe and that its action has been taken at a time
in my life and state of health which precludes any change of to my
profession and chance to seek alternative gainful employment.

SWORN TO at HARARE before me : .....

This .....  day of ....., 2003.

THE JAG LOSS DOCUMENT
Which is a holistic document includes CONSEQUENTIAL LOSSES as well as Land
and Improvements.

This is where the basic Human Rights violations perpetrated against the
farmer's, their workers and all their families can be documented, evaluated
and eventually compensated.

This is vital, not just in the interests of the farming community but all
those Zimbabweans who have suffered extreme trauma (and in some cases
death) at the hands of the regime, remembering those who have died such as
martin Olds, David Stevens, Chiminya and the many others - their deaths
must not have been in vain.

WHY THE DELAY?!
Why the delay in starting or completing the Loss Doc?!

What is holding some farmer's back ?

· Denial - battling to face the reality of losing their home and everything
they have worked for all their life.

· Workload involved in completing the Loss Doc.

· Not believing that compensation will be forthcoming.

PROCRASTINATION IS THE THIEF OF TIME!!

FARM WORKERS
The farm workers a you all know have no safety net - they were not included
in the resettlement plan, many of them do not have kumusha in Zimbabwe,
they have been labelled as the enemy and like it or not were forced into
being retrenched.

FARM WORKERS LOSSES.

· From Feb. 2000 list of names/ID numbers of all permanent (and seasonal)
workers

· SI6 details

· Affidavits from individuals to back up claims

· Medical reports

· List of workers material losses

· All backed up by your Diary of Events

· NB. This is NOT a percentage of the Farmer's compensation - it is what
the workers have lost.

Their trauma compensation will be calculated exactly the same as the
farmer's i.e. a percentage of:- LOSS OF INCOME, HOME, PERSONAL ITEMS, THEIR
RELOCATION etc.

AMANI TRUST STUDY
From a study of Internally Displaced Persons from Commercial Farms in
Zimbabwe, 2002:-

Percentage prevalence of psychological disorders in various populations in
Zimbabwe:-

· Farm workers - 80%
· War vets (during the war) - 72%
· Mozambican refugees - 61%

The lifestyle farmer's and the farm worker's have been subjected to at the
hands of the regime over the past four years is what trauma experts term
"living in a zone of high war stress".

A situation in which the likelihood of witnessing death, serious injury,
and violence is highly probable and which leads to trauma disorders.

CATHARSIS
Working on and completing the JAG Loss Document is a catharsis, it enables
you to look your losses, pain, anger and trauma in the face, research it,
document it and finally lodge it for compensation. In doing so it will
enable you to move on, remembering that all is not lost.

We love our country and that is why THE TRUTH IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR BECAUSE
THE TRUTH ALWAYS PREVAILS OVER EVIL.

Mr Burl thanked all participants and stressed the importance of working
together i.e. JAG, CFU etc.  This needs to be a combined effort not
independent.  In his opinion the JAG document is the most comprehensive
document he's seen when compared to others he's seen., but from his
statistics 3 - 4% of farmers had filled out the JAG loss document compared
with 30-40% who had filled out the CFU one page document.  Acceptance of
the two bodies of one Loss Document would be beneficial to everyone.  He
suggested that implementing a team of people from each district to be
trained by professionals to compile loss documents might expedite the
completion of documents - these people would sign confidentiality
agreements and the service provided would be paid for separately.

QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION

Q. We are confused by all the seemingly different databases we need to `get
onto' - which one should we be concentrating on?
A. Mr Burl responded that the basic plan is to produce a single document,
which will be easier, with a team of dedicated people helping to compile it.

Q. If one's son has lost his farming career would his loss of income and
expenses involved in trying to find other employment be considered a
consequential loss?
A. Mr Scott responded that any loss in whatever form should be construed as
a consequential loss.  The Loss document represents what you, your family,
managers and farm labourers have lost and their claims should be submitted
via your loss document.

Q. If a farm has no Section 8 (or it's been nullified), and you are still
evicted is there a basis to claim?  If the new farmers are being "financed"
can I sue?
A. Mr Bennet responded that the first action to take would be against
whoever has evicted you.  Then seek proof of financing as well as proof
that the financiers are aware that they are financing someone who has
perpetrated a criminal act.  This imperative to form the nexus (link).
Once you have established this, institute a combined lawsuit - against the
farmer and the financier who has acquiesced their criminal act.  You are
not wasting your time claiming.

Q. There are lots of farmers who aren't listed but Agritex have pegged.
How do we set the prescription period of 3 years?
A. Mr Bennet responded that this is where your diary of events comes into
play and is most important.  Legally once someone commits an unlawful act
this is the date the prescription period should begin.  In the case of
settlers coming onto the farm and settling, legal action should have been
implemented and summons issued to remove them.

Q. Many farmers with Sections 5 and 8 have managed to get them overturned
but circumstances on the farm and the likelihood of having to abandon crops
midway etc. has prevented them from returning and carrying on with
operations.  How then can losses be proved in light of the fact that
legally there's apparently nothing to stop them from going back?
A. Mr Bennet responded that again this is where your diary of events comes
in and you should be able to support the facts with affidavits etc. to
prove that although in theory you can return, circumstances on the ground
prevent you from doing so.

Q. Consequential Losses worry me immensely - do we have to start suing
individually, everyone from the war vets upwards?
A. There's nothing preventing you from instituting individual lawsuits to
obtain eviction orders etc.  In the event you win your lawsuit you may not
get the money you are suing for, but it will serve as proof of the
illegality of the situation.  If you do recover damages from a lawsuit,
then a credit would have to be shown on your loss document.

Q. Farmer/miner told by Lands Committee to hand over keys to his home,
workshop etc. and to vacate his residence.  He handed his keys to ZRP for
safekeeping who gave them to the Lands Committee.  His Security Guards were
chased away and his safe was broken into and gold and other valuables were
stolen, as well as cattle.  Despite seeking the courts assistance and
winning his court case ZRP refused to assist him and he was told to get out
of the Police Station.  Does his mining rights supersede his farming
rights?  Does he sue government, the DA, ZRP etc. as he has had no Section
8?
A. Mr Bennet said that unfortunately although lawyers can direct, they can't
protect you from lawlessness.  The provisions of the Mines Act provides
that mine claims don't fall under the Land Acquisition Act.  You need to
seek an order to evict the illegal settlers and then claim damages from
them, then get all this documentation into your loss document to show what's
been suffered.  You are well within your rights to sue whichever Ministry
is involved.

Q. We challenged our Sections 5 and 8 in the High Court and they were
nullified, so will we qualify for compensation?
A. Mr Burl said that although he couldn't say whether you qualify or not
and that there was no guarantee of compensation, what is important is to
have a record and qualify your reasons for not going back to the farm.  Mr
Scott reiterated the importance of getting this class action together now
otherwise you have no chance at all.  By completing your JAG Loss Document
you keep the doors open.  (Mr Worsley-Worswick said that the next flagship
case after Quinnell is the Rule of law case - JAG are gathering affidavits
now - proof of breakdown of Rule of Law also pertains to the Quinnell case
as does the illegal implementation of the amended Labour Relations Act
pertaining to SI6 retrenchment package.

Q. We live in a country ruled by rot.  We try to go to Court but in most
cases the presiding judges are political appointees.  What about suing
political parties on an international level as was the case of Dave Steven's
widow?
A. Mr Burl pointed out that the purpose of this meeting was not to
establish who to sue but to make sure your ready and prepared to sue! Again
complete your loss document and you can start thinking about suing!

Q. How much time have we got to submit the JAG Loss Document?
A. The quicker the better, but make sure it is done well.

Q. Can there be a standard value set out for claims with particular
reference to household goods e.g. T.V., fridge etc.
A. It's not practical as prices of goods have/are so varied, so invoices,
receipts etc. are needed.  Again use the professionals and in this case
specifically, insurance people.

Q. I completed my Loss Document and submitted it in August 2002.  I need to
update it - how do I go about doing that?
A. There must be provision for an annex at the end of the Loss Document.

Q. What will be needed from the compilers of the JAG Loss Document is to
have amounts set at US$ at the rate that year otherwise it will mess up the
credibility of the other Loss Documents.
A. Mr Scott responded that you have to use the official rate that was
applicable at that time.  Mr Higgs warned farmers to be careful as they
won't
be paid over and above what it's worth, so your integrity when doing
your document is paramount.

Q. How far forward do you have to look to evaluate consequential losses?
A. Mr Scott said a 5 year period, however it should be determined according
to your age, income etc.  Many people have lost everything e.g. pensions
etc. and are too mature to make a new plan now.

Q. The valuation done on our property had to be the official rate of that
day.
A. Mr Higgins said that you have to apply the same principles years later.
All valuations are done on a US$ basis.  Stick to the official rate, the
US$ doesn't change much.  All database information and valuations are in
US$'s

Q. Re; validation - is a statement from one's accountant or auditors
suffice or should invoices be sought to prove values?
A. Mr Laing said that provided they stamp it, it should be okay.  Mr Scott
said that financial statements prepared for banks are historical, what
should be attained is the discounted and adjusted replacement cost, not
historical costs, therefore you need physical records of what you own to
establish the current replacement costs.

Q. How similar are valuations done by the different parts of the Consortium?
A. There has been confusion between firms, but now all firms are working
together and working on one database and to one format.

Q. Is there commonality of documents between JAG and CFU?  Having already
paid one organization, can't we get them free of charge?
A. Mrs Kay said that $25 000 wasn't too much to pay considering the immense
amount of work that has gone into JAG's very comprehensive document and
database back up.  She said that CFU document is entirely different in that
it seeks only collective information.  This was attested to by Mr Davidson
of the CFU who stated that the CFU was not in this market.  Mr Burl said
that the CFU have done no work on a Loss Document but hopefully especially
if tasked by the farmers, JAG and the CFU can work together.

Q. I had my farm valued by the Consortium at a cost of $750 000.  When I
queried this it was reduced but I still receive bills?
A. Mr Higgins said that you have to take this up with the individual firm
you dealt with to resolve this, but in the meantime you need to pay your
registration fee to the Consortium to get onto the database.  Mr Bennet
asked Mr Higgins to explain their charges and in response Mr Higgins said
that the Valuation Consortium charges were $23 000 for registration, an
additional $60 000 - $63 000 verification fee if the farm has not been
valued.  If compensation is achieved then they will receive a percentage
(3.15%) of the value of the land and improvement compensated.

Mr Bennet queried the JAG costs and asked what farmers got in return for
their investment.  JAG membership is $25 000 annually, and an additional
$10 000 to lodge your Loss Document.  JAG is not a union and is funded
purely by donations and membership.  JAG brokered the Valuators Consortium
and has initiated various Legal cases in support of the compensation issue.
JAG provides free advice, support and strategy not only for litigation but
also for a holistic approach to restitution/implementation which also
includes publicity, lobbying and advocacy.

CFU charge according to your turnover with a minimum annual subscription of
$28000.  Should the idea of setting up teams of individuals to compile Loss
Documents be implemented this will be a separate cost to be paid by the
farmer over and above all other charges.

Q. Many farms registered after 1981 have the legal stamp of Government on
them.
A. Mr Bennet pointed out the Certificate of No Present Interest, explaining
that they can in fact show an interest at a later date.

Mr Burl thanked everyone for their attendance and asked for a show of hands
to ascertain acceptance of the JAG Loss Claim Document and show support for
a joint JAG/CFU way forward - this was unanimous.

Ben Freeth closed the meeting with a prayer.
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oneworld.net

Lawyers Committee calls upon G8 Leaders to Act on Zimbabwe

On May 16, 2003, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights sent a letter to
each of the G8 heads of state, prior to their Summit at Evian, France from
June 1 to 3, 2003. The letter raises concerns about the implementation of
the G8's Africa Action Plan in light of the ongoing human rights violations
being committed in Zimbabwe. In the letter, the Lawyers Committee urges the
G8 members to ensure that the current crisis in Zimbabwe receives sufficient
attention at the Summit in Evian. The letter points out that resolution of
the crisis in Zimbabwe is not only a legal and moral imperative, but
fundamental to the successful implementation of the G8's Africa Action Plan
and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

The letter states in part:"The crisis in Zimbabwe is a litmus test for the
efficacy of your discussions. The situation in Zimbabwe starkly contradicts
the principles contained in NEPAD and supported by the Africa Action Plan.
Moreover, Zimbabwean civil society groups are routinely being persecuted,
which hampers their efforts to promote respect for human rights and the rule
of law. Many crises of poverty, disease, armed conflict, and denial of
democracy and human rights continue to plague Africa and fundamentally
undermine efforts to achieve sustainable development. Combating such crises
requires effective, co-ordinated strategies among African states and
supported by the international community. The current situation in Zimbabwe
is one such crisis, the details of which are well-documented by local and
international organizations. Since your June 2002 meeting, the situation in
Zimbabwe has further deteriorated, and it is largely the black population
that is targeted for abuse. Serious human rights violations committed by the
government and its agents continue to receive insufficient attention both
within the region and internationally. Efforts to end the crisis must
involve the combined efforts of governments and civil society groups in
Africa which are encouraged by the G8. Fundamental human rights issues must
be addressed, including bringing an end to political violence, arbitrary
detention and torture, restoring full freedom of expression and association,
ensuring the independence of the judiciary, and combating impunity for human
rights abuses."
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Hoovers

Letter: The Zimbabwe tour this summer shames English cricket

May 19, 2003 6:24am


Sir: Permitting the Zimbabwe cricket team to tour England this summer is a
gross error of judgement by Tim Lamb and the English County Cricket Board.
They have abdicated their moral responsibility to uphold the good name of
cricket and the noble values that the game represents.

By allowing a team that has been "politically vetted" and whose patron is
Robert Mugabe to tour England, the ECB have tarnished the good name of
English cricket. The very fact that Mugabe is patron of the Zimbabwe Cricket
Union renders the cricketers touring here as inadvertent ambassadors of an
insidious and illegitimate regime. The tour therefore misleadingly suggests
that things are normal in Zimbabwe.

Things are far from normal in Zimbabwe: state sponsored violence is
ubiquitous, opposition MPs are harassed, beaten and tortured, basic
democratic rights have been subverted whilst a politically induced
humanitarian crisis has left over seven million in desperate need of food
aid.

It was in protest against the crisis in Zimbabwe that the courageous
Zimbabwean cricketers, Henry Olonga and Andy Flower, wore black armbands
during the Cricket world cup in Zimbabwe. They sacrificed their
international careers for the sake of democracy in Zimbabwe.

It is a pity that the ECB has not demonstrated similar moral resolve. By
putting profit before principle the ECB is saying to the millions suffering
in Zimbabwe "we do not care". What a sad day indeed for cricket. That is why
we shall be participating in a peaceful protest at the test match on
Thursday, 22 May.

DEREK WYATT MP

(Sittingbourne and Sheppey, Lab)

CAROLINE SPELMAN MP

(Meriden, Con)

WIN GRIFFITHS MP

(Bridgend, Lab)

PETER PIKE MP

(Burnley, Lab)

KATE HOEY MP

(Vauxhall, Lab)

HUGH BAYLEY MP

(City of York, Lab)

House of Commons

Publication: The Independent
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Reuters

      19 May 2003 19:20:39 GMT
      Security chief says had information on Mugabe plot

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

HARARE, May 19 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's secret service chief told a court on
Monday his organisation took seriously claims opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai was plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe because it had had
similar information.

Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and two
senior party colleagues are on trial for allegedly plotting to kill Mugabe.
If convicted they could face the death penalty.

The treason charges against the three hinge on a videotape of a meeting in
Canada between political consultant Ari Ben-Menashe and Tsvangirai, who
allegedly discussed Mugabe's "elimination". The tape was recorded just
before Ben-Menashe's firm signed a consultancy contract with the Zimbabwe
government.

"Prior to Mr. Ben-Menashe coming to Zimbabwe, we had received information
from other sources that there was a plot to assassinate the president of
Zimbabwe," prosecution witness Happyton Bonyongwe, director-general of the
Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), told the High Court.

Chief defence lawyer George Bizos objected to Bonyongwe giving details,
saying the information was prejudicial to his clients and could not be
verified.

Bonyongwe confirmed the CIO had given Ben-Menashe's political consultancy a
contract to lobby for the government abroad and had paid him to get video
tape evidence.

"He wanted some financial assistance and a payment was made," Bonyongwe told
the court.

Ben-Menashe, challenged as an unreliable witness by the defence, has said he
taped the meeting solely to get evidence for the government but denied
entrapping Tsvangirai.

The defence says the video was doctored to discredit the MDC, the most
potent challenge to Mugabe's power since he led the country to independence
from Britain in 1980 and as Zimbabwe grapples with its worst political and
economic crisis in decades.

Defence lawyers have also said the words "assassination" and "coup d'etat"
do not appear either on the video tape or on an audio recording of an
earlier meeting between Ben-Menashe and Tsvangirai in London.

Tsvangirai is legally challenging Mugabe's victory in March 2002
presidential elections, which both the opposition and several Western
countries condemned as fraudulent.
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Appointment of 'Africa-Friendly' Amos is Good News for Nepad

Business Day (Johannesburg)

ANALYSIS
May 19, 2003
Posted to the web May 19, 2003

Kuseni Dlamini
Johannesburg

THE appointment of Baroness Valerie Amos as British international
development department secretary, after the resignation of Clare Short last
Monday, is as historic as it is significant.

The department is the modernday version of what used to be the colo-nies
office set up in 1929, when the UK first recognised its "responsibility for
the development of its colonies on a continuing basis". The British
parliament agreed to set aside a sum not exceeding £1m a year for this
purpose.

Amos's budget will be about £4,6bn a year in 2005 as a result of a £1,5bn
increase announced last July. This compares favourably with the market
capitalisation of some of SA's leading firms and the budgets of some poor
African countries.

Amos is the first person from a former British colony (she arrived in the UK
from Guyana at the age of nine) to preside over the department that was
closely associated with the colonial process. More significantly, she joins
another child of the colonies Paul Boateng (treasury secretary and former
member of the UK anti-apartheid movement) as the second senior black person
in the cabinet of Prime Minister Tony Blair.

At the prior Labour Party conference Blair challenged Britons to think about
social mobility, by wondering whether Colin Powell would be in a similarly
senior post if his parents had emigrated to Britain instead of the US.

However, Amos's appointment is important for other reasons, not least
because of her department's significance to Africa. Of overseas aid the
department administers, 75% goes to Africa. Blair elevated the department
head to cabinet level when Labour came to power in 1997. Before that it was
called the overseas development administration and led by the outspoken
Baroness Lynda Chalker of Wallasey, who served under the Thatcher and John
Major Tory administrations.

Short took over from Chalker. She became very popular and outspoken as a
champion of developing and poor countries, and as a critic of Blair's
modernisation some would say Thatcherite project which sought to transform
party and country alike.

The Iraqi War led to Robin Cook's resignation as leader of the House of
Commons. Short called Blair "reckless" and threatened to quit. Blair
undertook to ensure a central role for the United Nations (UN) in rebuilding
post-war Iraq. Short got upset by the marginalisation of the UN in recent US
resolutions supported by Britain.

For Short, it was time to go. For Amos it was time for a big and historic
career move. As minister for Africa, Amos built a good reputation as an
effective and loyal performer for Blair. Unlike the critics of Blair's war
effort, Amos stood by his side and travelled around Africa to rally
countries with seats on the security council.

Later, after the war had begun, she visited SA and Botswana with the message
from Blair that Africa will not be allowed to fall off the world's agenda.
She conveyed Westminster's sympathy and understanding for Pretoria's stance
on Zimbabwe but did not hesitate to say business people she spoke to were
concerned about it.

What, then, does her appointment mean for Africa? First, it means Africa's
position in Westminster is strengthened. As part of Blair's senior team Amos
would want to have a visible and positive effect on Africa's development.
Her integrity should provide a basis for deepening trust between Britain and
developing especially African countries.

Second, Nepad (the New Partnership for Africa's Development) stands to win.
Amos was Blair's special envoy on the Group of Eight-Nepad committee set up
to ensure proper co-ordination of efforts and initiatives.

Her appointment to head the department is therefore good for Nepad the
department is the channel through which the British government supports
Nepad.

Third, Amos has a close affinity to SA. In her previous life as a consultant
she advised Pretoria on the Employment Equity Act, human rights and public
service reform.

However, she will face several challenges in dealing with Africa.

She will need to ensure aid goes not just to those who need it most but
those who most deserve it. This requires distributing aid in a ways that
reward positive behaviour and punish bad behaviour.

She will also need to deal with difficult and quarrelsome African leaders.
Balancing the soft and the hard aspects of her brief will prove to be a
challenge. Also, as department head, she will be responsible for driving the
UK's contribution to meeting the millennium development goals aimed at
halving global poverty by 2015, increasing the development budget and
development assistance as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP).

Last year the UK increased its official development assistance by £1,5bn
which will make it reach 0,4% of GDP by 2005, just below the UN target of
0,7% of GDP for rich nations.

Finally, mobilising the US to increase its official development assistance
contribution as a proportion of its GDP will be another challenge for Amos.
Washington's aid expenditure is less than 0,13% of GDP.

Amos is the right person at the right time for Africa and Blair. Nepad in
particular should benefit from having one of its key supporters in a
strategically significant position.

Mobilising the US to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with Britain and increase
its aid contribution to the level required by the UN and to back Nepad as it
supported the Marshall Plan may well be the acid test for Amos.

Dlamini is currently with Templeton College at Oxford University in the UK.
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cricinfo

      Zim Protests Gather Momentum 19/05/03
    
  Group To Meet At Lord's
     
 A group, who claim to be protesting the death of democracy in
Zimbabwe, have given warning that they will gather outside Lord's on the
first day of the first Test on Thursday.

      The group organisers claim that "a large number of exiled victims of
Robert Mugabe's tyranny" will participate in the protest, which they add
will be peaceful.

      Before gathering at Lord's, the group plans to travel through London
on an open-topped bus. They will stop at the Zimbabwe High Commission to
"hand over a letter to the High Commissioner calling for an end to state
sponsored political violence in Zimbabwe."

      The group appear to have taken the theme of their protest from the
message delivered by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga at the World Cup. Both
players wore armbands during the competition, mourning what they called the
death of democracy in their country.

      Flower and Olonga have subsequently ended their international careers.

      Upon their arrival in England, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union addressed
the media and emphasised its apolitical nature and the legitimacy of its
tour. The union made clear that an interruption of the tour by protests
would be an unjustified act.
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Hoovers
 
Crunch and hope in Zimbabwe

May 19, 2003 3:17pm

The economic facts of life have been spelled out very clearly to President Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwe government. The country, they have been told by local, African and foreign specialists, is on the brink of meltdown; of a descent into long-term chaos.

Tobacco, once the forex mainstay of the country, reached the auction floors here this year. But instead of earnings in the region of $600m the sale of the sorely depleted crop netted just $150m.

By the end of next month, the planting season begins. But most commercial farmers are off the land.

About a third of them have fled Zimbabwe, some to farm in neighbouring Mozambique, others further afield. More than half the original farmers have, however, remained, for the most part staying in temporary accommodation in the cities, in the hope of gaining some redress or being allowed to return to their farms.

They constitute a resource that the government has, for the most part, realised it must deploy if the agricultural sector is to get back on its feet. This sector includes not just the forex earners such as tobacco and horticulture, but also food production.

Much of the livestock has been slaughtered or died as a result of drought, but some herds are still intact. Grazing is also relatively plentiful in most areas.

A high proportion of the farms seized for resettlement are also now deserted. Apart from a few commercial farms seized by members of the governing elite, most of the confiscated property was parcelled out to unemployed urban dwellers who had no experience of farming.

They were also given no training, no inputs or any other assistance. Most have now left the land.

Even politically, it should be possible for the government to re-introduce the originally evicted farmers who remain. This could be done on the grounds that they have proved their merit; that those with a OEcolonialist mentality¹ have left.

Agriculture is important, but Zimbabwe does, in the long term, have a platinum ‹ or pgm ‹ secured economy (<I>Africa Analysis, passim</I>). As we have noted, mining has been little affected by the turmoil of the past year and more.

Platinum group metals seem likely to continue to be in demand and Zimbabwe contains the second largest known deposits in the world after South Africa. Given the dominance of the southern African region in this marketplace and the fact that South Africa¹s Anglo American and Impala Platinum control most production on both sides of the border, the price is unlikely to fall.

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the US have also agreed that aid will be forthcoming if a political settlement can be reached. This, together with debt roll-overs and perhaps some forgiveness will be desperately needed, especially if the industrial sector is to be revived.

Zimbabwe has also lost some 60% of all its registered professionals, ranging from doctors and nurses to engineers and accountants.

Most appear to have established themselves in other countries and are unlikely to return.

However, if action can be taken in the agricultural sector by August and with the income from pgm production and, to a much lesser extent, gold, the country could begin a steady turn-round.

Publication: Africa Analysis

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