• JAG Open Letters Forum No. 175
• Hospitals Hit Hard By Strike
• UNESCO Director-General deplores situation of Zimbabwe's Daily news
• Call for Mechanisms to Plug Foreign Currency Leakages
• Banks to Raise $20bn for Purchase of Grain
• Lessons to be learnt in tale of two economies
• Donnelly Meets Senior Zanu-Pf Officials
• Outgoing Asst. Secretary Kansteiner Tours Africa in Final Briefing
• Tekere roped into succession battle
• Nurses win 800% pay hike
• Mugabe's silence fuels rumour mill
• WCC urges govt to probe human rights abuses
• New water strategies urged to reduce crisis in Harare
• ANZ ruling set to affect media cases
• WFP warns of food aid crisis

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

October 30, 2003
Posted to the web October 30, 2003

Harare

Mbulawa Shiri grimaced on Thursday as he lay on a hospital bed at
Parirenyatwa Hospital, Zimbabwe's largest referal health facility. He was
involved in a car accident on Sunday and thinks he broke both his legs.

He did not know for sure, because a strike by doctors meant he had not been
attended to and his relatives were frantically trying to raise Zim $2
million (US $2,400 at the official rate, US $400 on the black market) to
send him to a private hospital.

Zimbabwe's doctors went on strike on Thursday last week, demanding salaries
of Zim $30 million a month (US $36,000 at the official rate and $6,000 at
the black market rate) - a collosal increase from their current Zim $4
million to Zim $5 million (US $6,000/US $1,000) a year. The doctors argue
that such a hike was needed to keep pace with inflation in a country where
the black market sets the real cost of living.

On Monday the doctors were joined on strike by nurses, who demanded a review
of their salaries. They were left out of a recently concluded Public Service
Commission job evaluation exercise which sought to match professionals'
salaries with their qualifications, work load and experience. Nurses earn
between Zim $260,000 to Zim $800,000 a month depending on their posts.

Hospitals Doctors Association president Phibion Manyanga, who spent the
whole of Tuesday locked in a meeting with health minister David
Parirenyatwa, said the health professionals were ready to return to work,
but only if they received a written government assurance that they would be
awarded the salary rise.

This is at least the third time this year doctors have gone on strike over
pay.

Parirenyatwa reportedly said the government could not afford the
"unrealistic, black market salaries" demanded by the medical staff, and
responded to the strike on Wednesday by ordering doctors and nurses from the
uniformed service into the public hospitals.

"We are certainly putting up emergency measures in place to take care of the
situation. This is our country and these are our people who are suffering,"
Parirenyatwa told the Bulawayo Chronicle.

However, a nurse at Parirenyatwa Hospital, who asked not to be named, told
IRIN that the presence of military medical personnel had made little impact.

"The armed forces, like the government, does not have a full complement of
medical teams and we have seen only one or two nurses from the army," said
the nurse.

"The only people who have been of assistance are student nurses and senior
nursing staff who are not allowed to go on strike. Spanish-speaking Cuban
doctors and their French-speaking counterparts from the Democratic Republic
of Congo are also battling to attend to the few emmergency cases which are
being admitted," she added.

Public relations manager at Parirenyatwa Hospital, Jane Dadzi, confirmed
that only senior nursing students and nurse aides were attending to
patients. "We have one doctor at the casualty department who is attending to
emmergency cases. Some people visiting the outpatients department are being
turned away as they all cannot be attended to by the staff present because
of the strike by doctors and nurses," she told the state-controlled Herald
newspaper.

Zimbabwe's health service, once among the best in the region, has been laid
low by the country's deep economic crisis, which has robbed it of adequate
funding and experienced personnel.

            30-10-2003 5:00 pm UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura
today expressed his concern over the situation of Zimbabwe's Daily News, and
deplored the arrest of its directors.

            “I am deeply concerned about the situation of The Daily News,”
said the Director-General. "The constant charges and arrests of directors
and journalists, as well as the administrative interference of the country's
only independent daily, appear to be aimed at closing it down for good. But
muzzling the press cripples a country's development and prosperity. Freedom
of expression and freedom of the press are the driving forces behind
democratic processes."

            Founded four years ago, The Daily News was shut down on
September 12 after the Supreme Court ruled that the paper was published
illegally because it had not obtained an operating license from the Media
and Information Commission (MIC). This latter was set up under the
information law of March 2002, which is considered anti-constitutional by
The Daily News.

            On Friday, October 24, Zimbabwe’s Administrative Court ordered
the MIC to deliver a license to The Daily News within a month. Nonetheless,
the next day, the daily reappeared on the news-stands. Eighteen of the
newspapers’ journalists were immediately arrested but quickly released. Five
directors were charged with “illegal publishing” and “obstruction of
 justice” and then arrested.

            “I praise the October 24 ruling handed down by the
Administrative Court of Zimbabwe and can only regret that it was followed by
more charges and arrests”, said Koïchiro Matsuura. He added: “I'm especially
sensitive to the plight of this newspaper, which was founded by Geoffrey
Nyarota, a Zimbabwean journalist to whom I personally handed the
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 2002.”

            In January this year, Geoffrey Nyarota, who has repeatedly been
arrested and charged in his country, was awarded the prestigious Nieman
Fellowship for journalism at Harvard University.

            Some 40 journalists have been charged and four foreign
correspondents expelled from Zimbabwe since the beginning of 2002.

The Herald (Harare)

October 31, 2003
Posted to the web October 30, 2003

Harare

THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has been urged to come up with effective
monitoring mechanisms aimed at sealing foreign currency leakage in the hotel
industry.

The chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and
Economic Planning, Mr David Chapfika, said the mechanism would increase the
country's foreign currency reserves.

He said small hotels in the country had received a sudden surge in tourist
arrivals.

Mr Chapfika said some of the hotels were not remitting foreign earnings to
the central bank.

"There has been a sizeable number of tourists from the region who have been
visiting the country and are staying in three-star or less hotels," said Mr
Chapfika.

"The Reserve Bank need to come up with effective mechanisms like those
introduced in other sectors like hunting to harness the little foreign
currency being earned by these hotels.

"The small amounts, if reconciled and remitted to the central bank, would go
some way in adding to the bank's shrinking foreign currency reserves."

The central bank recently introduced a policy that makes it mandatory for
all tour operators to declare their foreign currency earnings.

It is also a condition that all foreign tourists should settle their hotel
and lodge rentals in foreign currency.

The visitors to the country are allowed to retain their foreign currency
while staying in the country and settle the hotel fees in foreign currency.

However, there is rising concern that some hotels might be failing to
forward their foreign currency earnings to the RBZ as required by law.

Ms Violet Rukande, spokesperson for Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe,
denied that hotels were failing to remit foreign currency to the RBZ.

She said: "We have had no reports or complaints from the central bank to
that effect. We understand all hotels have been forwarding their foreign
currency.

"Besides, hotels are allowed to retain some of the money they earn from
occupations as some accounts have to be settled in foreign exchange."

However, the RBZ has of late been active in following up on foreign currency
dealings by financial institutions.

This led to the suspension of the NMB Bank from trading in foreign currency
for an effective twelve months amid allegations that the financial
institution was involved in illegal dealings.

The NMB Bank has since denied the allegations and has reportedly approached
the central bank to have its foreign currency licence returned.

The central bank has also introduced a number of measures aimed at
harnessing foreign currency and ensure accountability of foreign currency
earnings from sectors such as the transport, horticulture, tourism and
hunting.

The Herald (Harare)

October 31, 2003
Posted to the web October 31, 2003

Harare

A CONSORTIUM of banks, led by the Jewel Bank, is on the market to raise $20
billion through grain bills to finance the purchase of grain from local
farmers and international markets.

This move is expected to boost the country's food supplies.

The seven indigenous banks are floating a grain bill tender which carries
attractive features such as a 90-day tenor and discounted interest rates.
The Government is the guarantor and the grain bills have a liquid asset
status to lure more investors.

"GMB intends to raise funds through a grain bill issue to finance the
purchase of grain locally and from international markets," the Jewel Bank,
which is the lead advisor, said in a statement.

This follows the signing of a $226 billion deal last month by the Grain
Marketing Board and seven local indigenous banks which include the Jewel
Bank, Metropolitan, African Banking Corporation, Interfin Merchant, Syfrets
Corporate and Merchant Bank, Trust Bank and First Bank.

The money will be used to purchase mainly maize and wheat during the
2003/2004 season.

The Jewel Bank is tasked with mobilising resources and coordinate the
participating banks in raising and administering the money raised.

This development has been hailed by analysts as a milestone in the bid to
turnaround the Grain Marketing Board since it had, over the past few years,
fuelled side marketing because of its failure to offer competitive prices to
farmers.

Zimbabwe is reeling under the effects of two consecutive droughts which have
left the country with very limited grain reserves.

The issuance of grain bills is part of the aggressive campaign to
resuscitate parastatals which are facing serious operational constraints.

Another parastatal that has benefited from the issuance of short-term bills
is the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe through the petrofin bills issued by
Syfrets.

The agriculture sector has also benefited from the bills which have been
issued in the form of short-term agro-bills and long term agri-bonds.

Syfrets led other banks in raising about $60 billion for the procurement of
equipment for A2 farmers.

      By Reuters

      What good is a modern financial system if it attracts mostly so-called
hot money that can flee your country at the touch of a button?

      Are liquid capital markets needed if you're attracting huge amounts of
foreign direct investment (FDI) - solid cash that can sink deep into the
economy?

      A tale of two so-called emerging markets - the Czech Republic and
South Africa - illustrates starkly different experiences, and suggests that
a big bourse and lively debt market may not always pave the road to
prosperity.

      "Yes, South Africa has a great set of financial markets but what is
there to back it up in the real economy," asks Razia Khan, an economist with
Standard Chartered in London.

      The government's monetary and fiscal policies have been aimed at
attracting FDI to create badly needed jobs. The results have been
disappointing.

      Estimates vary, but all point to tepid FDI inflows.

      According to the UN's 2003 World Investment Report, South Africa
attracted just short of $800 million in FDI in 2002 - behind five other
African countries.

      BusinessMap, a Johannesburg-based think-tank, estimates that South
Africa's FDI inflows between 1994 and 2002 averaged about $2.4 billion a
year.

      Portfolio flows have often been bigger. Portfolio investment swung
from an outflow of R6.5 billion in the first quarter of this year to an
inflow of R22.4 billion in the second.

      The average daily turnover on the bond market is R40 billion and the
rand is the second most heavily traded in the emerging market world.

      It has a world-class bourse boasting global mining, paper and brewing
giants.

      But the liquidity and openness of its financial markets have proved a
double-edged sword, with the inward and outward swings contributing to
extreme exchange rate volatility.

      Lumped - some say unfairly - into the emerging market category, its
portfolio fortunes can reverse course quickly if there is a crisis in
far-off Russia or Brazil.

      The rand crashed in 2001 to an historic low of R13.85 to the dollars,
but added 40 percent in 2002 and has gained 23 percent this year- driven in
part by short-term investors in search of a high yield.

      Mining companies say the rand's impact on their profits means they may
have to cut jobs.

      The experience in Prague has been quite different. Since the fall of
the Iron Curtain in 1989, the Czech Republic has become emerging Europe's
premier destination for foreign investors, who have poured in more than $36
billion since 1990, according to the central bank
      .

      Foreign investment currently accounts for 10 percent of gross domestic
product in the Czech Republic. The country, which attracted more FDI than
any other emerging European nation last year - about $10 billion - ranked
19th worldwide in the UN survey.

      While the Prague bourse has foundered - from trading about 2 000
issues at its mid-1990s peak to just a handful these days - investors refer
to the country's economic and political stability and the highly skilled
labour force.

      "You have a very big component of the South African labour force which
is not very well skilled, whereas the large majority of the Czech labour
force is better educated," says Jens Nordvig, an analyst at Goldman Sachs.

      Regulation is also a factor. The Czech government aggressively markets
a far-reaching investment incentives programme.

      Also, greenfield investments in the Czech Republic are usually
financed by the mother company's access to capital abroad, taking away the
need to use the Czech capital market for transactions.

      "In South Africa, there are several reasons why investors have been
shy, but in particular there are capital controls," Nordvig added.

      "That is always a problem for foreign investors. There's some
uncertainty as to how able they will be to get their funds out of the
country."

      The Czech Republic, which is due to join the European Union next May,
is superbly poised between affluent western Europe and the emerging
economies of the east.

      South Africa is surrounded by small economies and the largest,
Zimbabwe, is in a state of collapse. And its list of social ills - including
poverty and Aids - is a big deterrent to investors.

      The government hopes the macroeconomic and fiscal stability it has
imposed - at considerable pain - will lure foreign investors to set up shop
and create jobs.

      "We need higher rates of growth to attract FDI," says Reg Rumney of
BusinessMap. South Africa's economy has grown at an average rate of 2.7
percent a year since 1994.

      But this is a circular issue, with some analysts arguing that growth
will pick up only when FDI does.

      This could prompt a rethink of policy after next year's general
election, including more expansionary fiscal policies.

The Herald (Harare)

October 31, 2003
Posted to the web October 30, 2003

Harare

The British High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, Mr Brian Donnelly, and a senior
British government official, Mr Andrew Lloyd, yesterday met senior Zanu-PF
officials in Harare.

Mr Donnelly and Mr Lloyd met Zanu-PF National Chairman Cde John Nkomo and
the party's Secretary for External Affairs, Cde Didymus Mutasa, at the
Zanu-PF headquarters.

Cde Mutasa said the purpose of the meeting was to introduce Mr Lloyd to
Zimbabwe and to inform the Zimba-bwean authorities of his presence in the
country. He said it was evident the British were open to dialogue with
Zanu-PF with a view to ending the dispute between the two countries.

Cde Mutasa said the party expressed concern over the conduct of the British,
whom it accused of being biased against Zanu-PF and the Government.

He said Zanu-PF indicated to the British its willingness to revive old ties
with solidarity groups and political parties that supported the country's
liberation cause.

Cde Mutasa said the party exposed the British hypocrisy when it pointed to
the two that Mr Lloyd, a government official, was free to visit Zimbabwe yet
Zimbabwean Government officials were barred from visiting Britain.

"We criticised them that they are free to come here when they bar us from
doing the same to their country," he said.

Cde Mutasa said it was also pointed to the British that their economic
sanctions were hurting the economy and that they were quick to blame
Government for the mess.

"We are victims of their sanctions yet they blame us for the mess," he said.

Zanu-PF Deputy Secretary for Information and Publicity Professor Jonathan
Moyo said it was good that the British realised there was a ruling party in
the country.

"It is good to notice that the British realise there is a ruling party in
Zimbabwe and remember where it is located," said Prof Moyo.

No comment could be obtained from the British High Commission.

United States Department of State (Washington, DC)

October 30, 2003
Posted to the web October 31, 2003

Charles W. Corey
Washington, DC

Optimistic on Sudan and Côte d'Ivoire, less so on Zimbabwe

"Don't let the momentum die. You've got good momentum. You've got the
potential to reach the finish line. Stay the course and get it done."

Assistant Secretary of State Walter H. Kansteiner III made that
recommendation October 28 when asked what advice he would give the
participants in the Sudanese peace process. Kansteiner was briefing
reporters at the State Department on his two-and-a-half-year term as
assistant secretary of state for African affairs as he prepared to return to
the private sector.

"All reports and my conversations with both parties are that the
post-Ramadan discussions will be the final discussions," he said of the
Sudan talks, with "the real final push" being in December, "wrapping up what
remains in power sharing, wealth sharing and the three conflict areas.

"I am optimistic," Kansteiner told the reporters assembled for his final
briefing. "I think they can do it ... ."

Kansteiner referred questions about what steps Sudan should take to be
removed from the U.S. list of nations supporting terrorism to the office of
the U.S. coordinator for counter-terrorism, J.Cofer Black, but reminded his
audience that the United States actually has six different types of economic
sanctions in force against Sudan right now.

"Congress has mandated some, some are [from] the Executive Branch, so we're
going to have to go through all of those and look at what the criteria are,
why they were placed on it, and what is necessary for them to be lifted.
And, in fact, the Africa Bureau here at State, Treasury [and others involved
in] the interagency process are starting to look at all six different sets
of sanctions."

Responding to questions on Zimbabwe, Kansteiner said: "I regret that the
people of Zimbabwe still do not have a voice. The body politic is still
being very effectively muffled ... . I think the people of Zimbabwe have
suffered enough economically, politically, from a human rights point of
view. It's a tragic place, and so I feel a great empathy for them."

Asked if outside pressure is the answer to bring about meaningful change in
Zimbabwe, Kansteiner responded: "Absolutely ... . It needs to be a
combination of carrots [incentives] and sticks [punishments] for all
players. There needs to be support for the civil society that is hanging on
by a thread, because it's that civil society from whence Zimbabwe will, in
fact, flourish again someday. And I am convinced ... they will flourish
again."

Zimbabwe is "a great country," Kansteiner said, adding: "The people of
Zimbabwe are capable, wonderful people that desire freedom, and someday they
will get it."

Asked if he has been disappointed that Zimbabwe's neighbors have not taken a
tougher line against the Mugabe government, Kansteiner said: "I think the
neighbors have recognized the problem, and I suppose that's the first step.
You know, you have to acknowledge that there is a problem before you can
start effectively dealing with it."

It has taken a long time for Zimbabwe's neighbors to acknowledge their
problem with Zimbabwe, he said, but now "there is a recognition that this is
a country in the midst of their neighborhood that is highly problematic."

Zimbabwe, he reminded reporters, is a country with no independent press, a
justice system "that is manipulated against certain individuals," food
shortages, and 78 percent unemployment. With those dire conditions, he said,
"it is a country on the brink of disaster.

"So it's not only problematic for the Zimbabweans, but it is truly
problematic for the region. Because if you have a country sitting in the
middle of a region with these dramatic and drastic problems, the spillover
effect is there."

When asked if tougher sanctions should be levied against the Mugabe
government, Kansteiner responded: "Not necessarily. I think the smart
sanctions that we have in place right now have sent the signal, have done
the ostracizing, and have done the isolation. The world knows where we
stand, as far as Robert Mugabe and his cronies. So, no, I'm not sure that
additional sanctions is the answer."

Asked about Liberia and its former president, Charles Taylor, Kansteiner
said: "Every day that Charles Taylor is out of Liberia, his influence wanes.
And now, with the new transitional government that's been installed, the
ability to leverage from outside is diminished that much more. So my angst
about him literally drops every day."

But Kansteiner cautioned "That doesn't mean ... that we don't need to watch
him. We need to watch him like a hawk. And we've discussed that with the
Nigerians -- they need to watch him too."

Kansteiner agreed with an earlier suggestion that had been made by the
president of the new transitional government of Liberia that Taylor should
"face up" to the indictment issued by the United Nations tribunal in Sierra
Leone. "It's time for Charles Taylor to face the charges that have been
brought against him."

On Cote d'Ivoire, Kansteiner noted that the combatants in the West African
country have a cease-fire, a peace agreement, and a plan. "It's now in the
implementation [stage], and if the political leaders of that country can
hold the course, stick to the plan," he predicted, "that country's going to
be okay."

The assistant secretary was asked about AGOA 3 and if the collapse of the
World Trade Organization talks in Cancun would result in retaliation against
the Africans and adversely affect the legislation's passage in the U.S.
Congress.

The outcome of the talks, he said, was "disappointing for everybody,
particularly, the African countries," but quickly added, "As far as
retaliation, no, I have not heard that at all, and I would not expect that
AGOA 3 would be influenced by that.

"I think there is a wide recognition within this capital, in all sectors of
our government -- legislative and executive -- that AGOA has been really a
plus for all sides, for Africa as well as us. So I suspect that AGOA 3
[legislation] is going to be just fine."

Asked to assess Libya's influence in Africa, Kansteiner said: "I see a
Libyan interest in sub-Saharan Africa. I see their influence waxing and
waning at times; sometimes they become more interested ... . But, in
general, I see a lessening of involvement on a problematic basis."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information
Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Former Finance minister Simba Makoni, Zanu PF secretary for ex-ternal
affairs Didymus Mutasa, andprovincial governor Oppah Muchi-nguri are all
being touted as Ma-nicaland's candidates for high office.

Makoni is earmarked for presi-dent, while both Mutasa and Mu-chinguri have
set their eyes on the vice-presidency if Makoni fails.

They have the support of regional bigwigs like Zanu PF secretary for legal
affairs Patrick Chinamasa and MPs Kenneth Manyonda and Saviour Kasukuwere,
who is close to Tekere.

Efforts to recruit Tekere have been underway for some time. A delegation led
by provincial party chair Mark Madiro, which included Victoria Chitepo,
Munacho Mutezo, Shadreck Chipanga, Freddy Kanzama, and Robert Gumbo, met
Tekere in Mutare on May 30 to officially invite him back.

Follow-up meetings have been held since.

It is understood Zanu PF heavyweights like Nathan Shamuyarira were initially
opposed to Tekere's return arguing he was a renegade. But they later changed
their minds after being reminded that there were a number of one-time
defectors in the party.

Tekere told the Zimbabwe Independent this week he was keen to bounce back
into Zanu PF which he described as "my party". Although Mutasa last week
announced Tekere had been readmitted, the volatile maverick said it was not
yet official.

"I want to go back to my party. I say my party because I was one of the
founder members of Zanu PF. The party was formed in Gweru where other
nationalists and I had created a solid powerbase. Its first congress was
held in Munhumutapa Hall in Gweru and I eventually became its chairman in
the area," Tekere said.

"Zanu PF flows in my blood and it's my natural home."

On the Masvingo conference that could provide fireworks over the Mugabe
succession, Tekere said he was waiting for the opportune moment to start
being actively involved.

"After consulting, being properly briefed, reorienting or, if you like,
rehabilitating myself, I will plunge headlong into those issues," he said.
"These are matters I would like to participate in at meetings, behind the
scenes and everywhere."

Zanu PF cliques are meanwhile busy consolidating their positions ahead of
the ruling party's Masvingo conference to catapult their chosen candidates
to power. Zanu PF chair John Nkomo, secretary for administration Emmerson
Mnangagwa, and Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi are said to be working
with select coteries of followers ahead of the conference.

Members of the recently disbanded succession committee are also said to be
working on the issue, although less openly. While the succession issue may
be successfully suppressed on the official agenda its looming presence will
be seen in stances taken and resolutions adopted.

Former army commander General Solomon Mujuru, retired Air Marshal Josiah
Tungamirai and politburo heavyweight Dumiso Dabengwa are said to be working
together. The three want to block Mnangagwa's rise to power. Mnangagwa is
considered Mugabe's anointed successor.

Reports of intensifying power struggles in Zanu PF come as South African
President Thabo Mbeki's office maintained there would be a solution to the
current Zimbabwe crisis by June next year, the deadline set by Mbeki.

Mbeki's spokesman Bheki Khumalo said this week: "We don't see any reason why
the June deadline cannot be met."

Nurses embarked on their industrial action on Monday, joining junior and
middle-level doctors who went on an indefinite strike last Thursday
demanding a monthly salary of $30 million.

Analysts said the deal could provoke discontent among other civil servants
whose salaries have failed to keep up with inflation. It is also regarded as
unsustainable in terms of government's health budget.

Parirenyatwa yesterday refused to comment on the agreement he had reached
with the nurses.

"I need to negotiate quietly with my health professionals and I do not need
to do it through the press," he said.

"Nurses were demanding a salary of not less than $3 million a month," said a
source privy to the discussions.

"A compromise was reached and we finally settled for a figure of $1,6
million a month and this does not include allowances such as housing and
transport which will be added later. This will be backdated to October as
the money is expected to be paid on November 23," said the source.

Zina acting president Oslinah Tagutanazvo refused to comment on the figure
that they had agreed on.

"We have reached an understanding with the minister but it is too early to
comment," said Tagutanazvo

Before the hefty increase nurses were getting a basic salary of $195 000a
month, including allowances.

On Monday hospital officials in Bulawayo, Mutare and Chitungwiza were forced
to discharge patients from wards.

Hospital Doctors Association pre-sident Phibion Manyanga yesterday said
doctors would remain on strike.

"We will meet today to map the way forward," he said.

"The minister must put a reasonable figure on the table and give us a
written commitment. We also recommend that the salary be reviewed
periodically," he said.

Some senior doctors who are deal-ing with emergencies said they might join
their colleagues if the minister does not respond to their demands.

"The minister is effectively saying doctors are useless," one senior doctor
said

"We were surprised that the minister quickly agreed on a figure of $1,6
million with the nurses but has remained mum on the doctors who were the
first to down tools. We cannot continue to be overburdened," he said.

Some said he had suffered a mild stroke, others referred to food poisoning.
There have been longstanding reports of prostate cancer and heart ailments.

What is clear is that Mugabe has become the victim of another sort of
scare - information that he cannot control which situates him as a helpless
victim of circumstances.

International media on Monday reported that Mugabe had been flown on a SAAF
plane from Manyame airbase to the Waterkloof base in Pretoria from where he
was transported to a local clinic. A South African radio station interviewed
analyst Jean-Jacques Cornish who cited intelligence sources as the basis of
the report.

Zimbabwe's Office of the President at first declined to comment, treating
inquiries with its customary disdain, while South African officials said
they were "not aware" of Mugabe's presence in South Africa.

That lack of clarity only fuelled the rumours. Eventually, on Tuesday,
Zimbabwe's High Commissioner to South Africa Simon Khaya Moyo issued a
statement saying such reports were "hogwash" - the product of "wishful
thinking". Mugabe was alive and well, he said, and presiding over Tuesday
afternoon's routine cabinet meeting.

By that time Mugabe's motorcade could be seen parked outside his Munhumutapa
Building offices.

The situation had been compounded by Information minister Jonathan Moyo's
unusual silence. It seems there was a complete paralysis among Mugabe's
spin-doctors who appeared reluctant or unwilling to douse the blazing
speculative bush-fire.

After their embarrassing public relations gaffe last month over
Vice-President Simon Muzenda's health in which they claimed he was "on his
way to recovery", the assumption gained ground from their silence that
Mugabe was not "on his way to recovery".

Whentheydideventually comment,presidential spokesman George Charamba
resorted to claims of an unnamed "locally-based Western diplomat" who was
allegedly spreading the rumour of Mugabe's ill-health as a reprisal for
government's land reform programme. But it was Mugabe's presence at a
cultural conference in Victoria Falls on Wednesday that helped more than any
official statement to quash rumours that he was bed-ridden.

Yesterday he pitched up at 9.15am at the Zanu PF headquarters accompanied by
the usual motorcade for an all-day politburo meeting, indicating he is not
down and out - just yet.

But he has certainly been the victim of an inept public relations machine.

The truth of Mugabe's health aside, it would appear the president and his
government are now being managed by events, instead of managing them.

Mugabe seems defenceless as shifting political sands threaten to engulf him.
The health reports were in part the product of a lack of public confidence
in official statements and the view that Mugabe's political end is nigh, one
way or another. In a sense SK Moyo was right: the rumours are a product of
wishful thinking.

Of late Mugabe has withdrawn from the public eye. But whenever he emerges,
like last Friday at a graduation ceremony at Bindura University and on
Saturday at a wedding at his Zvimba rural home, he looks tired and burnt
out - and sometimes visibly angry.

Mugabe's health has been a subject of speculation for years now. It has been
reported previously that he has sought medical attention in Spain and Cuba,
among other countries. He has been rumoured to have been receiving medical
aid in Far Eastern countries where he now goes on holiday.

There were reports of him seeking medical treatment in January this year
when he visited Thailand and Singapore during his annual break.

Last month, Zimbabwean ambassador to Cuba Jevan Maseko was forced to issue a
denial after press reports said Mugabe would proceed from Havana where he
was attending an environmental conference to Iran for treatment.

However, there has been anecdotal evidence that Mugabe might not be so well
after all. The clearest example of this was two years ago when he collapsed
during a visit to Malaysia.

Judging by circumstances, it would appear Mugabe might be ailing but the
problem is how to distinguish fact from fiction. The dividing line is
blurred, unhelped by a public relations office that is at war with the
media.

One thing is certain though - these events show his power is rapidly eroding
and he is more exposed to challenge than ever before as contenders for power
sense his waning grip. Health scares will not go away so long as public
perceptions see him as "walking wounded".

"The WCC is deeply concerned at the deteriorating law and order situation in
Zimbabwe," Weiderud said. "During the year 2003, there has been an
unprecedented increase in incidents of police harassment and brutality
against human rights defenders and members of the judiciary.

"The most recent of such incidents took place on the night of October 12,
when Beatrice Mtetwa, a renowned human rights lawyer, was assaulted by the
personnel of the Zimbabwe Republic Police at Borrowdale police station. The
case of Mtetwa is not an isolated incident of police excesses.

There have been several such incidents resulting in grave and serious human
rights violations of human rights defenders," he said.

The letter also mentioned Gabriel Shumba who was a victim of police
brutality in January, Justice Benjamin Paradza (February), Alec Muchadehama
(March), and Reginald Chidawanyika (June), among others.

Mtetwa, who is also a director of the Zimbabwe Independent, was assaulted by
police who accused her of being drunk after she was a victim of carjackers.

The WCC is a worldwide grouping of Protestant churches.

The central committee of the WCC, which met in Geneva in September this
year, condemned repression in Zimbabwe.

"We share the pain and suffering of the people of Zimbabwe as a result of
escalating violence and repression of fundamental human rights by the state
and groups encouraged and supported by the government," the WCC said.

"The violence, intimidation, unlawful arrest and torture perpetrated by the
police, ruling-party militia and other agents must come to an end," it said.

The WCC said the Zimbabwe government should restore the rule of law as a
matter of urgency.

"We urge your government to take immediate steps to restore the rule of law
and put an end to arbitrary arrests, torture and killings," the WCC said

The NGO said traditional solutions have focused on large interventions such
as construction of a new dam - but the money and the resources are simply
not there and plans to address the problem have been overshadowed by all the
other crises confronting Zimbabwe.

At the beginning of the month Harare was gripped by a serious water crisis.
Daily demand of 700 megalitres a day has far overtaken the city's pumping
capacity of 580 megalitres. Areas east of the city, which are highest and
furthest from the pumping stations, went for extended periods without water.

Disrupted supplies and low pressure are likely to spread in all areas of
greater Harare.

The solution being proposed by E Africa has been successfully implemented in
many cities around the world. A good example cited is Durban, South Africa,
where through an integrated approach, the city managed to supply an
additional 600 000 households without having to build a dam - an expensive
option for Harare. The city provided each household with a plastic water
tank which was trickle-supplied at night during periods of low water usage.

The NGO said the city managed to meet its commitment to supply the
additional households. Peak demand was spread because more water was now
being used at night. This avoided the build up of pressure and consequent
leakage in the system.

Vandalism of the water system was reduced because of increased public access
to water. The problem became the solution. In working towards a similar
solution for Harare, industry in particular can make significant
interventions by assisting the city manage pressure build ups and consequent
leakage, spread peak demand and reduce overall consumption and wastage of
water.

Phillip Chigumira, MD of Cairns Foods, sees immediate economic benefits in
reducing the company's water consumption.

"We reduced our water consumption by recycling it within the plant and
immediately were able to reduce coal consumption also," Chigumira said.

"When we sent heated water down the drain we were also wasting expensive
energy," he said.

Cafca has reduced water consumption by 50% with basic good housekeeping
measures. Industry has started forming clusters in Msasa, Graniteside,
Ardbennie, Southerton and Workington where coordinated efforts are made to
reduce consumption and effluent flows and to protect natural and man-made
water systems. Harare and major industrialists have asked E Africa to
encourage cooperation. To this end, a small Water Taskforce has been formed
representing different interests.

With the guidance of the Water Taskforce E Africa has commenced five
initiatives.

The first is to protect the Cleveland Dam catchment area. Harare is built on
the Mukuvisi River which flows from the Cleveland Dam catchment area.
Cleveland Dam was built in 1912 as Harare's first water supply. The
surrounding catchment area is the largest and oldest protected area in
Harare's limits and the most vital. The area is now being attacked by tree
cutting, sand mining and other destructive practices.

An attempt to protect the area by leasing it to a private game park has
largely failed, with most of the land placed in the care of the game park
having been abandoned.

A report just out from the WWF and World Bank, which surveyed 105 cities in
rich and poor nations, states that woodlands are vital to the supply of
clean water and that cities could slash the cost of supplying clean, safe
drinking water simply by protecting and expanding nearby forests.

E Africa is now desperate to protect the Cleveland Dam catchment area as a
healthy ecosystem and public amenity, zoned for different low impact uses.
Every year in September, along with the rest of the world, Zimbabwe engages
in clean up days, organised by E Africa. This year in Harare, the focus was
on the Mukuvisi River.

Residents and industry provided an extraordinary demonstration of commitment
to a cleaner environment by removing literally tonnes of solid waste from
the river banks, including car wrecks, scrap metal, paper and plastic.

"This has inspired ongoing efforts by industry and community groups with the
long- term goal of restoring the river to a healthy ecosystem and a pleasant
public amenity, a green belt extending right through the city," the NGO
said.

The Independent Journalists Association of Zimbabwe (Ijaz) last year filed
an application chal-lenging the constitutionality of the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa).

In the application Ijaz averred that the MIC was not properly constituted.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) last month filed an
application in the High Court seeking a declarata that it was not a media
organisation and should not register with the MIC.

The composition of the MIC was also challenged in that application.

Legal experts this week said the Supreme Court faced two cases, both
challenging the composition and legality of the MIC.

"We will now have two applications to the same court from opposite
directions apparently on the same subject," a lawyer said.

"There is the Ijaz case saying the MIC is not properly constituted and on
the other hand the MIC wants to ask the court to declare it a properly
constituted body," the lawyer said.

Another lawyer said this could see a further delay in the Ijaz case as the
Supreme Court considers the new case.

The lawyer said the Administrative Court's ruling set a good precedent for
the High Court in the Misa case.

MIC chairman Tafataona Mahoso yesterday said his commission would continue
to operate as usual since it was appealing against the ruling.

"The MIC is properly constituted according to the Act and we have appealed
to a higher court for determination," Mahoso said.

He accused the ANZ of not being factual in its claims about the MIC.

"The ANZ was misrepresenting facts about the MIC, we are properly
constituted according to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act," he said.

But the court ruled the MIC "was improperly constituted in terms of the law
and was accordingly unable to lawfully make the decision it made".

The MIC under Aippa should consist of not more than seven members, three of
whom must be nominated by associations of journalists and media houses.

The manner of the appointment of these three members, namely Pascal
Mukondiwa, Jonathan Maphenduka and Aphinos Makoni, has raised questions
which influenced the decision of the court.

Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) president Mathew Takaona in an affidavit
submitted in support of Mahoso's opposing papers in the Misa case said the
three had been nominated by the union after consultation.

Takaona wrote to Informationpermanent secretary George Cha-ramba on May 16
last year recommending Mukondiwa, his former editor at the Sunday Mail. This
was after Charamba had written to Takaona asking for a name. Three days
later Takaona again wrote to Charamba recommending Maphenduka and Makoni.

Members of ZUJ have charged that there was no consultation prior to the
selection of the three.

The warning comes amid reports that donors have given less than a quarter of
what the Zimbabwean government appealed for in July, throwing into disarray
hopes of averting mass starvation in the country.

The WFP initially needed $308 million to feed 6,5 million people throughout
southern Africa for the year to June next year. Out of the regional total,
4,5 million of the people in need of food aid are Zimbabweans.

Diplomatic sources said although donors felt overstretched this year due to
the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan, Liberia and other West African
countries, disgust with President Robert Mugabe's government was also
hurting the appeal.

Sources said donor fatigue over Mugabe's damaging economic and political
policies was hurting the response to the appeal. The WFP said the food
security situation was rapidly deteriorating throughout the country.

"It was noted that both the extent and rate of decline in both household
self-reliance is most likely to increase, while at the same time national
response capacity was decreasing," it said.