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An uneasy calm

Steve Price in Harare

November 28, 2004

Harare Sports Club seems such an incongruous place to be at the centre of a
highly controversial tour. Near the heart of the city, it is nevertheless
lined by trees and situated in peaceful surroundings. The predominant colour
is green, the light green of a beautifully maintained outfield and the dark
green of the trees both inside and outside the ground. There was an air of
tranquillity as Duncan Fletcher oversaw the England team training on the
outfield yesterday.

The tour that England faced with much trepidation has so far been totally
uneventful. Andy Walpole, the team's media liaison officer, and members of
the press contingent whose dilemma had almost caused a last-minute
abandonment, confirmed that the only unusual aspect so far was the heavy
media attention they had received. There had been no demonstrations, no
excessive security, no hostility from anybody they had met, and the only
sign of discontent was some graffiti on a wall advising them to go home.

But appearances can be deceptive. The immediate parallel that springs to
mind is South Africa during the apartheid years. There, the opulent white
areas were a world apart from the real life in Soweto, and it was easily
possible to visit that country without encountering any evidence of the
latter's existence. Here in Zimbabwe, a visitor unaware of the plight of
this beleaguered country can still come and go, in certain areas only, and
leave the country under the impression that there is little wrong.

But there is always another side of the coin. Just across the road, in fact.
The main entrance to the club overlooks the high walls of State House, the
personal dwelling place of Robert Mugabe, the ruler who continues to hold on
to power against the will of the people and seems prepared to destroy his
entire country so as to maintain that power. Unwary visitors wandering down
the wrong side of that street have had traumatic experiences at the hands of
the president's security guards who patrol the area with itchy fingers on
automatic weapons. The England team have been worried about the possibility
of Mugabe meeting them and wanting to shake hands with them. They need not
worry. There is a frightened little man hiding behind those walls, terrified
as to what might happen to him should he lose power, and he will never dare
venture anywhere he might be seen by ordinary Zimbabweans.

It does not do to take the comparison with apartheid South Africa too far.
Sport played its part in toppling apartheid, even though it took more than
20 years of boycotts to achieve its objective. No amount of sporting
boycotts would have any significant effect on the Mugabe regime. A refusal
by England to tour would have been a totally futile gesture politically.
But, as Andy Flower has pointed out, the presence of England will once again
bring the plight of this unhappy country under the world spotlight. Mugabe
would prefer it to be forgotten, as was communist Albania for so many years.

Robin Brown, the groundsman and the the man accused of deliberately
sabotaging the pitch when Sri Lanka bowled the new-look Zimbabwe team out
for 35 last April, is none too pleased by the changed programme, whereby the
Harare matches will be played on Sunday and Wednesday instead of Friday and
Sunday. A good cook cannot readily delay the moment his creations emerge
from the oven by a few hours when it is half-ready, and expectant mothers
are seriously inconvenienced if requested to hold on for a couple of days.
Similarly Brown's pitches were prepared with the original dates in mind, and
the delay will not see them at their best. They will be slightly overbaked,
and he estimates 250 rather than 300 will be a winning score. As long as
there is no more sabotage ...

And so, under beautifully warm, sunny skies, England trained, and later in
the day, so did Zimbabwe. England looked like a well-oiled machine,
established in its regimen and looking impressive. Zimbabwe appeared a
reasonable club side, not altogether used to heavy practice but deciding to
give it a good shot anyway, with some laughs along the way. There was not
the intensity of the Australians, but neither was there the laxity that the
West Indians have shown at times. The traditional fabulous Zimbabwean
fielding was not much in evidence. A team of callow youths will face
England.

Yet there is one factor that could make this match much closer than would
appear likely on paper. England are basically playing under protest; they do
not want to be there. Zimbabwe are fired with enthusiasm and eager to go,
while England are simply eager to go home. One cannot expect the best
possible performance from a team that does not want to be there, while a
large dose of enthusiasm can cover a mass of inexperience and give a large
rise to limited ability.

It is very much a David and Goliath confrontation - except that this time
David does not possess any artillery unknown to his opponent. Goliath should
still win easily, but they might find David an awkward little customer in
the process. And behind the scenes, Mugabe's thugs continue to seek out
supporters of the opposition, children continue to starve and the country's
economy continues in freefall as the government tries in the only ways it
knows how to regain its long-lost support from the masses.

Guilty though the English visitors may feel, they can do nothing to
influence that situation. The best they can do is aim to give Mugabe's
cricket team - as it virtually is now, although the current players are not
to blame for this - the biggest hiding they can muster.

© Wisden Cricinfo Ltd
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BBC

      Positives off the field for Zimbabwe

             By Jonathan Agnew
            BBC cricket correspondent

      Although a rather rusty England won the opening one-day international,
the day was a triumph for cricket in Zimbabwe.

      At least 3,000 supporters revelled in the sunshine, creating a festive
atmosphere while, behind the stands, children of all races happily played
games of cricket together.

      There were no political intrusions of any kind - no banners or chants,
and certainly no signs of a potentially awkward visit by the Zimbabwe
Cricket patron Robert Mugabe.

      All of this occurred with barely discernible security presence.

      Seventy percent of the crowd was black, which is remarkable when you
consider that even club cricket in Zimbabwe 20 years ago was almost entirely
whites-only.

      The young Zimbabwean team tried their best but, clearly, the gulf
between them and an established international team remains, and this could
yet affect their Test status.

      At one stage they were 90-5, and had they not been rescued by a stand
of 82 between Elton Chigumbura and Dion Ebrahim, they might have been
skittled.

      England's bowling was a little erratic - hardly surprising given their
lack of cricket since the season ended in September.

      But Darren Gough picked up three wickets, and Alex Wharf and Ashley
Giles two each as Zimbabwe were dismissed in the final over of their innings
for 195.

      This slow pitch was not to Vikram Solanki's liking at all - he needs
the ball coming on to the bat in order to play his wristy strokes.

      But any hopes Tatenda Taibu's young side had of causing an upset were
snuffed out by Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan, who added 111 for the second
wicket.

      Both gave chances along the way, and soon after Vaughan pulled Stuart
Matsikenyeri to deep midwicket, Andrew Strauss was caught and bowled by the
same bowler.

      So this was the acid test for Bell, who scored a half-century in his
first Test innings last summer, and now began his one-day international
career with another.

      But when Kevin Pietersen joined him, England needed exactly 50 to win
from 15 overs, and the game needed to be finished off.

      Unfortunately Bell gave it away on 75 when he edged Taylor to the
wicket-keeper.

      In the next over, Collingwood was run out for a duck when he failed to
respond to Pietersen's call.

      Another wicket might have made it interesting.

      But Pietersen and Geraint Jones batted sensibly until Pietersen
thumped a boundary straight down the ground to give England victory with
fourteen balls to spare.

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News24

Zim disgusted with lion-eaters
28/11/2004 14:39  - (SA)

Harare - Villagers in Zimbabwe have aroused official distaste by eating a
male lion shot by game rangers for raiding livestock.

Many Zimbabweans believe rogue lions are possessed by the angry spirits of
ancestors and are sent to punish communities for breaking traditional
taboos.

But the government discourages the consumption of man-eating carnivores,
which are frequently old or diseased.

The lion was killed in the Muzarabani area, 200km north of Zimbabwe's
capital, after a six-month rampage on cattle and goat by a marauding pride,
reported The Sunday Mail newspaper, a government mouthpiece.

A witness described the animal as "huge" and said villagers begged the local
authorities to be given the carcass: "A few lucky individuals got to have a
piece or two - some said they had eaten the meat in the belief that they
would get lion-like bravery and strength."

A senior official at Zimbabwe's Parks and Wildlife Management Authority
turned up his nose at the account.

"Never in my life have I been told of any man eating that which has the
potential to eat human flesh, save for the crocodile tail, which is a
world-renowned delicacy," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper. "We do
not encourage them to eat such meat. Our policy is that we offer (local
people) only the carcasses of herbivores such as elephants."

One of the diners was unrepentant: "It ate our animals so it is only fair we
eat it, too," he told the newspaper.

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Daily News online edition

      Zimbabweans denounce Mbeki*s betrayal

      Date: 29-Nov, 2004

      PRETORIA - Zimbabweans abroad have strongly condemned South Africa for
blocking the condemnation of Zimbabwe by a United Nations committee saying
such an action shows that President Thabo Mbeki's government supports the
repressive and authoritarian regime in Zimbabwe.

      Human rights lawyer, Gabriel Shumba told Daily News Online that time
for being diplomatic with South Africa in the "face of such betrayal" was
over and Zimbabweans must start looking to other regions for solutions to
the crisis at home.

      South Africa blocked on Wednesday a motion at the UN by western
countries to condemn Zimbabwe and Sudan for gross human rights violations.

      "South Africa has betrayed the trust that the Zimbabwean population
has bestowed on its leadership and every Zimbabwean feels disillusioned by
such a betrayal," said Shumba.

      He said Mbeki has kept quiet while thousands of Zimbabweans were being
tortured by Mugabe but was quick to act when action was about to be taken
against Harare.

      "Mbeki is awfully dishonest when it comes to dealing with the
Zimbabwean crisis," said Shumba adding that Mbeki had in the past told
United States' President George Bush that he was trying his best to resolve
the Zimbabwean crisis when in fact he is colluding with Mugabe to violate
the human rights of Zimbabweans.

      He said in view of the stance taken by Mbeki's government, Zimbabweans
must look beyond South Africa for assistance in bringing normalcy to the
country. Shumba said Zimbabweans in South Africa support the proposed
blockade by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) of Zimbabwe's
borders.

      COSATU secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi last week said COSATU would
mobilise southern African trade unions in the next few weeks to march to
Zimbabwean embassies in their respective countries and blockade borders with
Zimbabwe.

      The US-based Association of Zimbabweans Abroad condemned the action by
South Africa and said they viewed it as a "stain on the rich African culture
which is rooted in respect for life."

      "This association calls upon the United Nations General Assembly
president and United Nations secretary-general, to establish a UN
fact-finding mission to determine the extent and impact of the political
crisis in Zimbabwe," the association said in a statement.
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Daily News online edition

      Mbeki*s stock rises while Mugabe*s seems to sink

      Date: 29-Nov, 2004

      By Munodii Kunzwa

      THE African Union asked President Thabo Mbeki to mediate in the Ivory
Coast civil strife. He gladly accepted. Soon, the South African leader was
seen huddled with the combatants at conference tables.

      Mbeki does have problems back home. Some of his people feel he shouldn't
be globe-trotting while unemployment and poverty rise back home. Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, no slouch in getting up leaders' noses - whoever they are -
spoke of poverty among the majority, ten years after the end of apartheid.

      Then there is Jacob Zuma, Mbeki's No.2, and the ANC's designated
successor as president. He is in deep legal trouble, and not for the first
time either.

      But Mbeki's problems with the opposition parties are not serious. Tony
Leon's party keeps sniping at the ANC heels, but it has a long way to go
before anybody sees it in power.

      But Mbeki must be particularly pleased at the near-RIP state of his
party's pre-independence rival, the Pan African Congress of Azania.

      If the PAC, founded by the charismatic Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, had
won the 1994 democratic elections, South Africa would be called Azania.

      The PAC has faded into the political mist around Table Mountain. It
makes the odd appearance in support of its war-time ally, Robert Mugabe's
Zanu PF. On the land reform programme, the PAC was raucously supportive of
Mugabe.

      It criticised Mbeki for not being as forceful as Mugabe, who seemed to
justify even the murders during the 2000 land invasions. Recently, the PAC
came out against the Congress of South African Trade Unions' (Cosatu)
campaign against Mugabe.

      Mbeki did too but not as scurrilously as the PAC. But on the SA
political scene, the PAC hardly counts for much. Since 1994, it has not
performed well in any elections. For the record, during the struggle, the
PAC was allied to Mugabe's old Zanu while the ANC fought side by side with
Joshua Nkomo's Zapu.

      On the African front, some commentators have suggested that Mbeki's
support for Mugabe may be influenced by his fear of a backlash in favour of
the PAC, if he treated the Zimbabwe leader as Botswana's Festus Mogae treats
him: not exactly like a political leper, but

      as someone about whom you say nice things only if it is absolutely
unavoidable.

      But Mbeki's problems are nothing compared with Mugabe's. Nobody has
asked him to mediate in any dispute recently. His international stature -
except among diehard Africanists who tend to be adherents of the autocratic
style of African leadership forged by the likes of Mobutu, Bokassa, Idi Amin
and Equatorial Guinea's Macias Nguema - has plummeted

      The Herald carried a story suggesting someone had proposed Mugabe as a
mediator in the Saharawi dispute, which involves Morocco, Algeria and Spain.
Then someone dropped a bombshell on the newspaper: what numskull had made
such a weird suggestion? asked the Moroccans, not in those exact words.

      One of their top officials had held talks with Mugabe in Harare.
Certainly, he had not made such a request. Other people, overseas, in
Africa, but particularly in Zimbabwe, were intrigued by this storm in a
foreign teacup.

      In the past, The Herald has carried sickeningly sycophantic stories
about Mugabe, some times just stopping short of saying he glows with the
same incandescent light as God's. Typically, the paper did not carry an
apology or a retraction.

      Typically, nobody brought against the paper any charges of publishing
a falsehood, as stipulated in the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act (AIPPA).

      If anybody had really asked Mugabe to mediate in any dispute, even on
the periphery of outer space, the government media would have done a 30-page
supplement on how Mugabe was in great demand as a conciliator in all the
problems of the world, including a tiff between an Eskimo and his wife on
the size of their igloo, now that they have twins.

      Nobody can really recall when Mugabe was last asked to mediate in any
dispute. So far, he has confined his counsel to newly-married couples. The
government flagship had got it wrong over Mugabe's emergence as a statesman
worthy of an invitation to mediate in a ticklish political drama.

      If it had been accurate, the report would have unleashed a flood of
Mugabe hit songs, one of which would have proposed him for the Nobel Peace
Prize.

      The reality is starkly against Mugabe. Morgan Tsvangirai's acquittal
on that incredibly botched treason charge was translated by many neutral
observers into a failed and rather ingenuous attempt by Mugabe to get rid of
his chief political rival.

      The pretrial hype had been as crude as the inflammatory anti-MDC
speeches after Learnmore Jongwe had allegedly killed his wife with a kitchen
knife. To Zanu PF, Tsvangirai was as guilty as hell and would be executed.
Some of Zanu PF's starry-eyed foreign supporters hoped that would be the end
of a hiccup in the rise of Zimbabwe as another bastion of Marxism-Leninism -
or at least, another dictatorship, if not of the proletariat, then certainly
of one who believed absolutely in the power of terror as an instrument of
governance. Judge Paddington Garwe, previously thought to be an
unreconstituted Zanu PF zealot, may have made his judgment with little
thought of the dire consequences to himself personally. But this would be
unimaginable. Most judges in Zimbabwe today know, from the experience of
their colleagues, that you don't mess with Zanu PF and get away with it.
Since the former Chief Justice, Anthony Gubbay, was forced into early
retirement, the atmosphere on the Bench has been almost frigid. Judges have
fled the country. So have lawyers. So far, nothing untoward has happened to
Garwe. As Zimbabwe lurches towards the March parliamentary elections, Mugabe
must surely reflect on his final place in the political history of Southern
Africa. Joachim Chissano, Sam Nujoma, Bakhili Muluzi, Kenneth Kaunda,
Frederick Chiluba, Nelson Mandela, Benjamin Mkapa, Julius Nyerere, Daniel
arap Moi, Mohamed Siad Barre, Lauren Kabila, Jerry Rawlings, Sani Abacha:
Mugabe has been president while these men were in power. But all of them are
not in power today. Some died in office or in exile, others were defeated in
elections. Thabo Mbeki, so far, is not seeking a third term. His party may
have wished for him to lead the country again, but people must have reminded
him of Nelson Mandela's historic one-term presidency. Mandela himself might
have persuaded Mbeki not to be the arch-typical African dictator, seeking to
hold on to power until kingdom come. Mbeki's stature has improved enormously
on the continent and in the world. It has not rivalled Mandela's by any
means, but most people don't mention his gaffe on HIV/Aids in the early part
of his tenure. All of which might embolden him to be more assertive in his
handling of Mugabe and Zimbabwe's problems. His meeting with Tsvangirai in
South Africa could not have pleased Mugabe. But he would have been the odd
man out if he had not met Tsvangirai, after his acquittal on the treason
charge. Mbeki may not have received from Tsvangirai the sort of the
Zimbabwean political truth to suddenly transform him into another Mogae. But
it may have been just enough to eliminate from his political calculations
any chance the PAC could benefit from a more assertive stance from him
against Mugabe. He must know by now that his international stature could
rise even higher if he was seen as cutting Mugabe down to size.
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IOL

Zim's children left to fight Aids alone
          November 28 2004 at 03:17PM

      By Sarah Crowe

      Lavender Mbika is as lovely as her name - a bright-eyed, fresh-faced
14-year-old.

      Of the 16 children in the small "nutrition garden" in Zvishavane, in
Zimbabwe's Midlands - funded by the European Union's humanitarian aid
department - Mbika is one of the few who still has a mother.

      The other little ones, sad-looking, have latched on to her.
            Children should not be held ransom to politics - Festo Kavaishe,
UN Children's Fund

      It is a stark study in contrasts. While Mbika smiles brightly for the
camera, eager to be photographed, the others clutch at her skirts, shying
away from the camera.

      The light in their eyes have gone out.

      These are just a few of Zimbabwe's almost one million Aids orphans.
They are living proof that the country, like many of its neighbours, is now
in the death phase of the pandemic.

      Mbika's father was somebody significant once - fairly high up in the
military until he died "after a long illness", leaving his daughter to be
added to the growing list of orphans.

      Already the number of children in Zimbabwe who have lost a parent is
estimated at 1,3 million, with 980 000 of them left without any parent
because of Aids - this, out of a total population of 5,8 million children,
or more than 10 percent of the total population of 11,6 million. The UN
Children's Fund estimates that by 2010, this number is expected to be as
high as one in five children.

      Orphans in Zimbabwe survive by only the most tenuous thread.

      The all-embracing extended African family has withered and all but
collapsed under the strain of the crisis.

      Relatives prey on children once their parents are gone and teenage
girls are most exposed to sexual abuse, early pregnancy and HIV.

      Young mothers are dying at a greater rate and 10 years earlier than
men, leaving an exaggerated vacuum in a society that has become used to
absent fathers.

      Every home seems to have taken in an orphan or 10. These care-givers,
mostly women, are the true backbone of this society.

      Enia Phiri is one of them, and does what she can to care for the many
orphans around her - but she knows she can never replace a real mother.

      "To be a child without a mother is the worst, worst thing," she says.

      "The way people speak to them is not loving, like a mother. They say,
'do this, do that'. The orphans are not happy, like other children."

      To keep some semblance of home life intact, and to give orphans some
power over their fragile lives community-based interventions that are funded
by the European Union's humanitarian aid department, have worked best. This
has helped build a network of community and NGOs in 27 districts of the
country, which aims to reach 30 000 children.

      Some of the initiatives are nutrition gardens, where the children -
some no higher than the vegetables - learn to cultivate and sell the
produce.

      "Things have really changed now with the garden," says Mbika. "We can
buy books and pens for school. The orphans are benefiting because we now get
washing soap and sometimes cooking oil."

      It doesn't go far though. Mbika, as the treasurer, keeps the books and
knows it has made ZIM$17 000 (about R17) so far.

      With the country in the throes of an economic crisis, this only gives
them enough to buy some pencils and exercise books - a pencil costs about
ZIM$500 (about 50c) and ZIM$2 000 (about R2) buys one exercise book.

      Not far from the Mbika and her fellow orphans is another 14-year-old,
Precious Phiri, and her 11-year-old brother, Learnmore.

      Since their parents died some years ago, the two children have lived
alone. With no money for school fees, their days are spent surviving -
fetching water, cleaning, cooking - with the help of Red Cross women.

      Learnmore has the yellowed eyes of someone who has lived alone too
long; a haunted, unloved look.

      Since their parents died they had struggled together in a run-down hut
that needed re-thatching. Now, at least, they have a good solid roof over
their heads - part of a project to rehabilitate housing - and a new latrine.

      But with the rising cost of education, Learnmore has little chance of
living up to the name his parents gave him. School fees, uniforms and books
have made schooling something he and his sister cannot afford.

      Zimbabwean education was once the pride of Africa, but gains made
since independence in 1980 have been wiped out by the multiple onslaught of
HIV/ Aids, the orphan crisis, economic erosion and the effects of successive
years of drought and hunger.

      By 2001, at least one in four teachers was infected by HIV, and United
Nations studies show that school enrolment dropped from 86 to 63 percent in
2002, and 25 percent fewer children now complete primary school.

      Girls are dropping out in greater numbers because they are the ones
who stay at home to care for sick relatives or are forced into early
marriage.

      The Zimbabwean government does have a scheme to help orphans remain in
school, the Basic Education Assistance Module, or Beam, but few are able to
gain access to it.

      The government is also one of the first in the region to approve a
national plan of action for orphans and other vulnerable children.

      This outlines a strategy to help get children into school and make
sure they have better access to health care, nutrition and safe water.

      As costs skyrocket, however, these plans are threatened as donors
become more reluctant to fund President Robert Mugabe's regime.

      "This national plan of action gives us an important roadmap to
accelerate our efforts to make sure that no child is left out," said UN
Children's Fund representative Festo Kavaishe.

      "We know we are only reaching a small number of children. It is
crucial that we act now.

      "Children should not be held ransom to politics, and if we are going
to reverse the HIV prevalence rate, we have to start with these children,
who by being orphaned are the most vulnerable to abuse."

      .....Sarah Crowe visited Zimbabwe recently. She is the United Nations
Children's Fund communications officer for sub-Saharan Africa.

      This article was originally published on page 20 of Tribune on
November 28, 2004
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News24

Zanu-PF congress 'a formality'
28/11/2004 14:39  - (SA)

Harare, Zimbabwe - President Robert Mugabe's ruling party holds its annual
congress this week, but observers of his authoritarian regime say the
meeting is unlikely to produce any dramatic developments like last year's
announcement Zimbabwe was quitting the Commonwealth.

Lovemore Madhuku, chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly, an
umbrella organisation of churches, unions and rights groups pressing for
radical reform, dismissed the four-day Zanu-PF congress beginning on
Wednesday as "just a formality" that will do nothing but give Mugabe a
platform for more anti-white anti-Western rhetoric.

Madhuku said all key decisions had already been taken by Mugabe's 26-member
party "politburo", an elite policy-making body.

Those decisions included the appointment of water affairs minister Joyce
Mujuru as one of Mugabe's two deputies following the death last year of
Vice-President Simon Muzenda, 80.

Mujuru, 49, a former teenage guerrilla with little formal education, will
serve alongside Vice-President Joseph Msika, 81.

Her selection dashes the ambitions of parliamentary Speaker Emmerson
Mnangagwa, 63, who had declared his candidacy to succeed Mugabe at the next
presidential elections in 2008.

Mugabe, 80, has been in power since Britain granted independence in 1980.

The troubled southern African country, once the white-ruled colony of
Rhodesia, is moving toward new parliamentary elections Mugabe says will take
place in March.

Capturing 57 of the 120 elected seats at the last polls in June 2000, Morgan
Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change said it was only
deprived of outright victory by massive rigging and intimidation.

Delegates 'powerless' to influence government policy

University of Zimbabwe lecturer John Makumbe said the 7 000 congress
delegates were powerless to influence government policy.

"Normally, whatever Mugabe says, goes," he said.

The Financial Gazette, owned by a consortium of pro-government businessmen
who include Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono, last week voiced doubts about
the estimated Z$20bn (US$3.2m) cost of staging the event and accommodating
the delegates. It suggested numbers be trimmed back to 5 000. Zimbabwe's 80
000 civil servants have already been called on to contribute from their pay
packets.

In addition to announcing Zimbabwe's exit from the Commonwealth of former
British possessions, Mugabe raged at the last congress in December against
"money seekers" in party ranks, creating a fear-charged atmosphere with
threats of an imminent purge.

In the aftermath, police swooped on several leading political figures
including Finance Minister Christopher Kuruneri. He has been held without
bail for over eight months.

No date has been set for his trial on charges of currency smuggling and
secretly holding dual Canadian citizenship, an offense under Zimbabwe law.
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Zimbabwe Mirror

Mash Central residents call for return of wildlife
Staff Writer

RESIDENTS and tour operators in Mashonaland Central province have blasted
government for failing to ensure the return of wildlife removed from
Mupfurudzi Safari Area by Ian Smith's regime during the liberation struggle
as part of efforts to thwart funding for nationalists fighting to free the
country from imperialist rule.

Animals removed from Mupfurudzi Safari Area, which covers thousands of
hectares in Mashonaland Central, include rhinos and elephants hunted for
their horns and tusks, which fetch high prices on both official markets and
black markets, and have been the major victims of poaching.

The residents called for the return of the animals, saying the move would
augur well with the revival of eco-tourism in the area and in the process
create revenue that could be used for community development whilst creating
employment.

"We want those animals returned to Mupfurudzi Safari area so that tourists
can come and enjoy what the area has to offer. It does not make sense to
cull elephants in Binga and surrounding areas when we can simply relocate
them to Mupfurudzi," said Clemence Maroodza, proprietor of Mupfurudzi Safari
Lodge.

Maroodza told the Sunday Mirror that tour operators and lodges were
suffering as the animal population had been depleted to shocking levels that
could not result in guaranteed levels of tourism arrivals in the area.

Maroodza added: " How does government expect tourists to come to these areas
and enjoy eco-tourism when there are no elephants, buffaloes, rhinos and
lions to grace Mupfurudzi Safari area? Our businesses are suffering
exceedingly and yet we are part of the tourism drive targeting tourists. No
attractions such as these animals, no tourists." One villager who declined
to be named castigated the decision by government not to return the animals
that were transported to other parks by the Smith government sometime
between 1973 and 1976.

"They have robbed us of our livelihood. My son was employed at Mupfurudzi
Safari Lodge but because of the ever-declining figures in tourists visiting
the place, the management of the lodge had to dismiss some employees
including my son," said the villager.

The only game found in Mupfurudzi Safari area consists of warthogs,
antelope, ostriches, Kudus, sables and impala, but none of the Big Five
which include buffaloes, rhinos, elephants, lions and leopard.

As of the year 2001, Zimbabwe's elephant population stood at 88 100
elephants, with over half the number being located in Matebeleland North
province where they have wreaked havoc amongst the local populace as their
grazing area continues to diminish.

On the other hand, Mupfurudzi Safari Area has virtually no elephants; a
phenomena that has irked residents and holiday resort operators, who have
complained that their tourism business has suffered as a result.
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Zimbabwe Mirror

Zanu PF MP on the ropes
Kuda Chikwanda

Humanitarian disaster looms in constituency

Zanu PF legislator for Rushinga constituency in Mashonaland Central
province, Lazarus Dokora, who is bidding for re-election to Parliament next
March could have his political ambitions scuttled after villagers in his
constituency accused him of neglecting the constituency following what
appears to be a humanitarian crisis brewing in Rushinga. Serious
disgruntlement by constituents revealed a debilitating water crisis, as
there is no water infrastructural development in most parts of his
constituency, especially the Chesa area.

"MP (Member of Parliament) Dokora has neglected us severely and we are not
happy with this. We are suffering as a result of his inaction and yet he is
supposed to bring our concerns to parliament so that government can act on
our plight," said one villager who declined to be named.

Villagers in the Chiyada area in Chesa, a small scale farming area in
Rushinga, took the Sunday Mirror on a tour of the area last week where it
was confirmed that there were over 30 families within a 10 to 15 kilometre
radius are without access to clean water supplies.

Villagers and livestock alike in the area are dependent on one mud pool in
which they wade knee-deep in efforts to get water for cooking and bathing.

The water is then sifted through the use of sand filters to remove visible
impurities before the poverty-stricken villagers can consume it.

"There have been a number of cholera outbreaks in our area with a lot of
people dying but the water crisis still has not been solved. We have no
option but to drink this grey coloured water which we have to share with
cattle," said Eunice Dhanda, whose homestead is seven kilometres away from
the mud pool.

Exacerbating the crisis is the fact that cattle belonging to villagers have
fallen into the mud pool whilst trying to quench their thirst, with some
sinking and dying before any help can be administered.

"I lost over 30 cattle and I am not happy. How can we be neglected like this
year's after independence when we have an MP representing us? I have not
seen Dokora since the last presidential elections when he was campaigning
for the President and we only get to see him when elections are around the
corner.

"I think it is high time we chose another MP from Zanu PF to represent us,"
said one villager who declined to be named for fear of victimisation.

Besides the serious water problems afflicting Chesa area, a dilapidated road
network and poor educational facilities are serious causes for concerns for
villagers.

The disgruntlement expressed by villagers with Dokora comes at a time when
President Robert Mugabe has castigated sitting legislators for only visiting
the constituency when elections were due.

President Mugabe blasted all MPs who were representing their constituencies
in absentia, saying they should not be offended when they fail to get
re-endorsement to represent the constituency in parliament, as they would
have tarnished the name of the ruling Zanu PF party by failing to address
the needs of their constituents.

This was after it had been noted that there were a number of legislators who
scarcely visited their provinces during their five-year tenure in the
parliament.

Efforts to get a comment from Dokora proved fruitless at the time of going
to press.
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