Zim Online
Tuesday 17 October
2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe's army has
embarked on a "crisis recruitment"
exercise to replace thousands of loyal
but ageing troops who are due for
retirement sometime next year, ZimOnline
has learnt.
Authoritative sources within the army told ZimOnline
yesterday
that the majority of soldiers who joined the army at independence
in 1980
will be up for retirement by the end of next year after reaching the
mandatory retirement age of 55.
In addition to the loss
of soldiers due to retirement, the army
has been rocked by massive
desertions over the past few years as soldiers
and police officers quit in
protest over poor pay and working conditions.
The sources
said the recruitment exercise, which is being done
in three phases, is
targeting youths from President Robert Mugabe's ruling
ZANU PF party
strongholds of Mashonaland East, Central and West provinces.
They said apart from losing the bulk of his trusted soldiers,
the majority
of who were veterans of the country's 1970s liberation war,
Mugabe was in
urgent need of a "loyalist core team" to deal with rising
threats to his
rule.
Zimbabwe has remained on knife-edge since March when
the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party led by Morgan
Tsvangirai threatened to roll out street protests against Mugabe over
worsening economic hardships in the country.
The source,
who refused to be named for fear of victimisation
told ZimOnline: "The first
phase would target about 3 500 ordinary soldiers
between now and
December.
"The second phase would involve a massive
recruitment of officer
cadets, followed by rapid promotions to senior
positions of officers who
joined after independence but have exhibited an
unquestionable sense of
loyalty to Mugabe and ZANU PF."
He added: "The exercise has been given extreme urgency and
importance. Apart
from the fact that many war veterans would be retiring,
the army has been
struggling to meet its posted strength which should stand
at 40
000."
The sources said Mugabe had instructed his commanders
to ensure
that the replacements were of unquestionable loyalty to his
party.
"The recruitment will deliberately target youths who
have
undergone the government's national youth service programme and are
from the
three Mashonaland provinces, particularly Mashonaland Central and
Mashonaland West because these are ZANU PF strongholds," said the
source.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Defence Minister
Sydney
Sekeramayi defended the recruitment exercise insisting there was
nothing
amiss.
"There is nothing sinister about the
recruitment because even in
your organisation, you replace people with
people. Army recruitment is
always above board.
"But
worldwide whether it's in the United States or in Zimbabwe,
the army or any
security arm has to be loyal to the establishment. That is
the
essence."
Mugabe, battling a severe economic recession which
has seen
inflation shooting beyond 1 000 percent, has over the past few
years
increasingly relied on the support of the army to crush rising
discontent
against his 26-year old rule. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 17 October 2006
HARARE - At the stroke of a pen, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
governor
Gideon Gono, last week threw Sally Hungwe into a serious quandary.
Hungwe, a 52-year old mother of five, has for the past two years been
receiving cash from relatives dotted around the globe through money transfer
agencies in Harare.
The powerful British pound and Canadian
dollar have virtually kept
alive her huge extended family here. On a good
month, she says she would get
a whopping Z$1 million to bankroll the
family's needs around the country.
Through instructions relayed
over her mobile phone, Hungwe would get
directions on how to disperse the
cash to impoverished relatives in Harare
and her rural home in
Masvingo.
Last week, this lifeline appeared seriously
threatened.
"They are a hell lot of people that I support with the
money from the
Diaspora," said Hungwe who quit her vending job in 2003 after
three of her
children left for the UK and Canada.
"We were
assured of a reliable source of income, Now I don't' know
what to do and
where I will get the resources to support such a large pool
of
people.
"There are no jobs; it was the only source of our income,
which
allowed us to put food on the table," said Hungwe.
Gono
last week banned sixteen Money Transfer Agencies (MTAs) accusing
them of
channeling funds received from the diaspora to the parallel market
where
rates are better than those offered by the government.
The MTAs
were established in 2004 to enable non-resident Zimbabweans
to remit cash
back home through official channels.
The RBZ chief, tasked by
President Robert Mugabe to turn around the
fortunes of the country's anaemic
economy, said the cancellation of the
transfer licences was meant to shore
up the economy in its seventh straight
year of recession.
But
Hungwe is not alone in her predicament.
Scores of journalists
rendered jobless after the government shut down
four private newspapers over
the past three years have also been dealt a
body blow by the closure of the
money transfer agencies.
The journalists have virtually survived by
hawking their services to
foreign news media that paid them through money
transfer agencies.
"I have no options at the moment but I hope and
pray we will find ways
of beating the system," said a crestfallen journalist
who was once employed
at the banned Daily News.
"Beating the
system" is what these journalists and thousands of other
Zimbabweans will
certainly need as Gono embarks on a spirited crusade to
bring the economy
back on the rails.
Ernest Mudzengi, a political activist based in
Harare, said
Zimbabweans, resourceful as they are, will find ways out of
this temporary
setback.
"The Diaspora dollars will continue
trickling into the country using
other channels because that is the only
lifeline for most Zimbabweans.
"If it means going to neighbouring
countries to collect the money,
Zimbabweans will do it because there are no
jobs here," said Mudzengi.
The cancellation of the licences,
described by analysts as Gono's
"ambush economics", caught most agencies by
surprise fuelling fears that
some agencies will go underground and continue
feeding the parallel market.
Zimbabwe is in the throes of a
seven-year old economic crisis most
critics blame on mismanagement by
Mugabe. The economic crisis has manifested
itself in runaway inflation which
stands at 1 023.3 percent, 70 percent
unemployment and massive shortages of
fuel, food and foreign currency.
Mugabe denies mismanaging the
economy blaming the crisis on sabotage
by Western countries after he seized
white farms for redistribution to
landless blacks six years
ago.
But until she finds a way of "beating" the system, Hungwe and
thousands of other Zimbabweans are in mourning over the drying of this vital
pipeline. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 17 October
2006
MASVINGO - A Zimbabwe deputy
government minister is under
investigation for alleged poaching in the giant
Gonarezhou National park and
Save Conservancies in the lowveld, ZimOnline
has learnt.
Environment and Tourism Minister Francis Nhema confirmed
the probe
telling ZimOnline yesterday that a special taskforce on tourism
which was
set up by the government was already in the lowveld probing the
allegations.
"My ministry is investigating allegations of poaching
by top
government officials including a deputy minister in Gonarezhou and
Save
Valley conservancies," said Nhema.
The minister however
refused to divulge the name of the deputy
minister implicated in the
poaching activities.
A spokesman for the National Parks, Retired
Major Edward Mbewe said:
"Poaching in our national parks has always been a
challenge and we have
since engaged the help of the army to control the
illegal practice."
Several endangered animal species such as the
black rhino have been
found dead in sanctuaries over the past two months
amid reports that senior
army and police officials were behind the illegal
hunting activities.
The Department of National Parks and Wildlife,
in charge of national
parks in the country, has found it hard to contain
poaching in national
parks.
For example, three suspected
poachers were seriously injured in a
shoot-out with parks officials in
Gonarezhou national park last week. The
three are still detained at Chiredzi
district hospital where they are under
police guard.
Poaching
has been rife in Zimbabwe since landless villagers began
invading - with the
government's tacit approval - white-owned farms six
years ago.
There have also been widespread reports of illegal and uncontrolled
trophy
hunting on former white-owned conservancies now controlled by
powerful
government and ruling ZANU PF party politicians.
The government
however denies that politicians are illegally hunting
game and insists it
still has poaching under control. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 17 October
2006
BULAWAYO - At least 20 students from
Hillside Teachers College in
Bulawayo who were sitting for their final exams
were last week ordered out
of examination halls by college authorities for
non-payment of fees.
Sources at the college said yesterday that some of
the affected
students ended up selling their few possessions such as clothes
and blankets
to raise the outstanding fees which ranged between $6 000 and
$30 000.
The college authorities, led the acting principal, a Mr
Moyo, were
said to have gone from one examination hall to the other sniffing
out
students who had not paid the fees.
"We tried to negotiate
with the college so that we could be allowed to
write the examinations and
have them withhold our results till we paid. But
they would not
budge.
"Now our careers have been shattered after having been here
for the
past two years. But the government insists that no student should be
expelled from school for non-payment of fees," said one student who missed
her exams.
Contacted for comment, Hillside Teachers College
principal, Elkanah
Dube refused to comment saying he does not speak to the
press over the
phone.
"Put your questions in writing and fax
them to me. I do not speak to
reporters over the phone," he said before
hanging up.
The Zimbabwe government earlier this year hiked fees at
universities
and colleges by more than 100 percent. The increase torched
violent protests
by students at campuses around the country. -
ZimOnline
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
16 October 2006
11:00
A senior Zimbabwean judge has rapped local courts for
inefficiency after he found 10 suspects languishing for up to nine years in
jail while awaiting trial or sentencing, a state-run daily said on
Monday.
"This is quite embarrassing and disturbing," Justice
Makarau was
quoted as saying by the Herald, after visiting Harare Central
Prison where
the 10 inmates complained about their incarceration without
either trial or
sentencing.
"We have no excuse for this
delay. Such a delay is clearly
inordinate as this infringes upon the
accused's constitutional rights which
we are supposed to uphold. We should
take full blame for this ordeal."
The prisoners include a man
who was convicted of murder in May
2000 by a judge who retired in 2003
without passing sentence and another
awaiting trial after being remanded in
custody for murder in 1997.
Bryford Njovu, a Zambian citizen,
has been stuck in jail since
2001 as he awaits trial for car
theft.
George Mutimbanyoka, a chief superintendent at
Harare's second
largest jail, meanwhile listed several problems including
shortages of
water, a lack of soap and detergents and lice-infested
blankets.
Scores of prisoners are awaiting trial or
sentencing in
Zimbabwe's jails due to a huge judicial backlog. Prisoners
often suffer from
water-borne diseases and skin infections in the
overpopulated jails. Two
weeks ago a leading soccer player died in a Harare
prison where he was
serving a jail term for rape.
In some
cases prison authorities fail to transport inmates to
court for trial
because of fuel shortages that have gripped the country,
where the economy
is in a meltdown with four-digit inflation.
The justice
ministry has also been hit by a staff exodus as
magistrates and prosecutors
have left for private jobs or gone overseas. -
Sapa-AFP
zimbabwejournalists.com
By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE -
Zimbabwe has contracted suppliers to import 565,000 tonnes of
maize next
year from South Africa and Zambia to boost its stocks, official
media
reported on Monday, after years of shortages blamed on drought and
government land reforms.
"Zimbabwe will next year import 85,000
tonnes of maize from Zambia to
augment local production," the Bulawayo-based
Chronicle newspaper said,
quoting Grain Marketing Board (GMB) logistics
manager Nick Gukwa.
"The country will also import another 480,000
tonnes of maize from
South Africa, which has always been a traditional
source of grain in times
of drought," the paper added.
"The
quantities are for deals that have been concluded, but they can
still be
revised upwards or downwards depending on the prevailing situation
at that
time," Gukwa was quoted as saying in reference to the 565,000 tonnes
to be
brought in by private suppliers.
Zimbabwe has not given maize
import figures in the last few years but
central bank governor Gideon Gono
said early this year that the country
spend $135 million buying maize in
2005.
GMB officias could not be reached for comment on
Monday.
Critics blame the food shortages that Zimbabwe has faced
since 2001 on
a combination of drought and the impact on production of
President Robert
Mugabe's controversial seizures of white-owned land for
redistribution to
blacks.
GMB officials have previously said
the country faced food shortages
because of a severe fuel crunch that has
prevented farmers from delivering
maize to the state grain
agency.
The southern African nation has forecast a
1.8-million-tonne maize
harvest this year, with half of it expected to be
sold to the GMB, the
country's sole distributor of the staple
crop.
The GMB said last month only 400,000 tonnes had been
delivered to its
depots. The selling season traditionally ends in September
when farmers
start preparing for the next crop.
Aid agencies
have cast doubt on the official crop forecast and have
warned of another
food deficit in the country this year, saying a lack of
seed and fertiliser,
among other things, had undermined production in the
last summer cropping
season.
The U.N. World Food Programme said last week 1.4 million
Zimbabweans
would need food aid in the next six months despite improved
agricultural
output last season.
The country is battling a deep
recession marked by world record
inflation of 1,200 percent, unemployment
above 70 percent and shortages of
foreign currency, fuel and
food.
Critics say blacks who benefited from the land reform
programme have
been largely ill-equipped to fully utilise the land, leaving
Zimbabwe --
once southern Africa's bread-basket -- struggling to feed
itself.
Mugabe has defended the land seizures as necessary to
redress colonial
imbalances, which left 70 percent of Zimbabwe's best land
in the hands of a
small number of white commercial farmers.
Reuters
Reuters
Mon Oct 16, 2006 5:59 PM GMT
By Gershwin Wanneburg
JOHANNESBURG
(Reuters) - News of potential maize exports of close to 500,000
tonnes would
normally be welcomed in the South African market, which has
been struggling
to find buyers for its pricey maize.
But reports that Zimbabwe will
import 480,000 tonnes are unlikely to cause
much of a stir, with questions
around whether South Africa's struggling
neighbour can raise the cash for
the transaction, traders said on Monday.
Zimbabwe's political troubles
have led to its isolation from the West and
triggered a bruising economic
crisis, highlighted by inflation of over 1,000
percent and a crippling
foreign exchange shortage.
The news is also overshadowed by other factors
driving the local market at
the moment -- the exchange rate, weather and
U.S. prices.
"It's just a question of whether payment can be secured...
We've seen this
in the past. They issue a lot of contracts yet when it comes
to payments
they renege," one Johannesburg trader said.
Zimbabwe has
contracted suppliers to import 565,000 tonnes of maize next
year from South
Africa and Zambia to boost its stocks, official media
reported on
Monday.
Zimbabwe's agricultural output has been hit by years of drought
and the
flight of scores of the most productive white commercial farmers,
many of
whose land was violently seized by the government to give to
blacks.
But traders said it was hardly surprising that Zimbabwe may seek
grain from
South Africa, which frequently produces more than enough to feed
itself,
especially after the U.N. said last week 1.4 million Zimbabweans
will need
food aid in the next six months.
"I don't think that's
terribly big news. They have been net importers from
us for some time," a
second trader said.
"You can't say it's going to have no effect ... but I
think it's been in the
market. At the end of the day, the U.N. will probably
also come in and pay
for a lot of it."
South Africa's stocks climbed
to 6.15 million tonnes at the end of August,
up from 5.30 million tonnes up
to July, the South African Grain Information
Service (SAGIS) said last
month.
The country is expected to produce over 6 million tonnes of maize
this past
season, putting it on target to meet domestic annual demand of
roughly 8
million tonnes.
That position has helped push prices down
for several weeks.
The most liquid December maize contract has tumbled
about 3.5 percent since
late August, when it emerged that stocks were higher
than previously
thought.
December futures eased 3 rand lower to 1,290
rand a tonne on Monday, backing
further off a peak of nearly 1,500 rand a
tonne in July sparked at the time
by supply worries.
South Africa's
comparatively high prices have put off many offshore buyers
this season and
regional customers have been hard to come by as neighbours
like Zambia and
Malawi enjoy healthy harvests.
Mail and Guardian
Godwin
Gandu
16 October 2006 09:08
The
Zimbabwean government's efforts to lure back skilled labour
that has left
for greener pastures is doomed to failure given the skewed
economic
environment, which forced them to flee the country in the first
place,
economists have warned.
President Robert Mugabe recently
appointed a six-member team
headed by Public Service Commission chair
Mariyawanda Nzuwah to scout for
talent in the sectors most affected by the
skills drain, particularly
medicine, mining, engineering and education. "We
are creating a website .
and the website would be explaining to Zimbabweans
and other people outside
that 'come to Zimbabwe, the country is kicking and
alive'," says higher
education secretary Washington
Mbizvo.
"I believe the effort is doomed to failure even
before they
begin," says Eric Bloch, an economic consultant and adviser to
the
Zimbabwean Reserve Bank. "We can't even keep the skilled ones we have
here.
How can we attract more?" he said.
According to the
Zimbabwean Reserve Bank's estimates, a quarter
of Zimbabwe's 12-million
people are living outside the country. Of the three
million Zimbabweans
abroad, the majority left after the 2000 farm seizures
that threw the
economy into a tailspin. The effects of the economic meltdown
continue to
date: the manufacturing sector has shrunk by 75% while the
economy has
contracted by 40% in the past six years.
Zimbabwe's inflation
rate remains the highest in the world,
enough to frighten "both investors"
and "skilled labour wishing to relocate
here", said
Bloch.
Mugabe attacked Zimbabweans living in the diaspora at
the
Zanu-PF annual conference in 2003. He said they were being reduced to
slaves
"scrubbing the backs of elderly whites in
Britain".
Among the many professionals leaving the country
are nurses,
psychiatrists and radiologists. An audit to determine the
devastating effect
of the brain drain is now under way, as the government
takes stock of the
negative impact of the crisis.
The
government audit team comprises officials from the ministry
of foreign
affairs, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, the Employers
Confederation of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean Central Bank. "We are looking
for critical areas [in which skills are lacking] so that we can negotiate
for scholarships for people to go and get training," Mbizvo told a daily
newspaper in Harare this week.
"We want to bring back the
manpower into the country to offer
expertise on a short-term basis in fields
like medicine, mining, education,
engineering and others," he said. Mbizvo
added that a scouting team had been
dispatched to Nigeria, China and Cuba,
while the government was also
recalling retired lecturers to come and
lecture at local universities.
"They won't come back, they
are earning foreign exchange," Bloch
told the M&G. "They will have to
earn an equivalent of that amount, with
their salaries being adjusted
regularly in line with inflation. If that's
not the case, then there is no
incentive for them to come back," he said.
The health sector,
which has been the hardest hit by the exodus
of skills, is currently being
manned by a skeleton staff, with close to 70%
of medical specialists having
left the country. Currently, 90% of junior
doctors trained by the University
of Zimbabwe medical school leave the
country less than four years after
graduating.
"The economy has come to a halt, nobody wants to
invest or work
in this environment," says Dr Christopher Musonga, an
orthopedist, and
University of Zimbabwe medical school lecturer. "I don't
see any
professionals coming back. I am writing recommendations every week
for
junior doctors that are leaving."
Mushonga sees "no
light at the end of the tunnel" as people take
into consideration other
factors such as human rights violations and the
absence of the rule of law
before they invest or take the chance of
accepting work in
Zimbabwe.
Mushonga told the M&G that many doctors and
nurses "can't afford
to buy a house, a car, feed their families or save
money". He says that in
his area of speciality, there are just three
remaining doctors to service
the whole country.
Would you
return home?
"It is always an option because my family and
husband are up
there, but this will depend on two issues, that of governance
and the
economy. The inflation is quite bad and I would want to live in a
stable
economy and where there is good governance. Otherwise, if things
become
normal I would go back."
Nina, 20s, female,
insurance brokerage
"We are waiting for regime change and the
return of law and
order. I would want to go back to a place where my voice
is heard and my
vote counts for something. I don't feel I am taken seriously
as an
individual. They don't listen to us so we will continue living away
from
home."
Raymond, 30s, male, chartered
accountant
By
Violet Gonda
16 October 2006
Timothy Mubhawu, the MDC
Member of Parliament for Mabvuku, has been
suspended from the Tsvangirai MDC
as a result of chauvinistic statements he
made in parliament two weeks ago.
MDC officials told us that the suspension
was not only about the primitive
comments he made in parliament but also to
do with the violence that broke
out in his constituency in July.
A commission of inquiry
investigating the violence noted that there
are serious conflicts in Mabvuku
between the MP and the District. The MDC
leadership has now dissolved the
entire district and Mubhawu has been barred
from interfering with party
structures there.
Mubhawu also sparked a furore when he said it is
against God's
principles that men and women are equal," during a
parliamentary debate on
the Domestic Violence Bill.
The Women's
Coalition held street protests against the MP and the
Women's Assembly from
the Tsvangirai MDC found Mubhawu's statements "quite
outrageous" and at
cross purpose with the party policy on the bill.
The party's
Secretary General Tendai Biti, Chief Whip Innocent Gonese
and Deputy
President Thokozani Khupe had spoken in parliament supporting the
bill which
they said was long overdue. But Mubhawu said; "I stand here
representing God
Almighty. Women are not equal to men. It is a dangerous
Bill and let it be
known in Zimbabwe that the right, privilege and status of
men is gone. I
stand here alone and say this bill should not be passed in
this House. It is
a diabolic Bill. Our powers are being usurped in daylight
in this
House."
Pastor Lawrence Berejena from the Pentecostal Assemblies
Church in
Harare disagreed with Mubhawu's statements saying; " God sees us
as human
beings, as his children. When the bible talks of uniqueness it
doesn't talk
about only men being unique. I am the head of my wife but it
doesn't mean we
are not equal in the eyes of God."
The
opposition party said Mubhawu's statement was completely at
variance with
party policy and a very serious breech of discipline on a key
issue. The
party's supreme decision making body, the National Council, made
a unanimous
decision to suspend the Mabvuku MP from all positions in the
party and to
put his case to the National Disciplinary Committee for
consideration. It's
reported that he may well be expelled from the Party as
a
result.
Meanwhile there has been mixed reactions to this saga. One
Zimbabwean
man speaking on condition of anonymity said; " Mubhawu should
have been
censured by his party but to suspend him pending expulsion is
outrageous.
This is against the bedrock of democratic debate because it is
tantamount to
discrimination against men's rights to articulate themselves
and over
protection for women."
He added: "This is not victory
for women and by suspending him it's
also against democracy. If women want
to debate this issue they must debate
it in public because the majority of
the people who suspended Mubhawu in the
National Council are
men."
Another man asked; "What happens to a person's right to free
speech
and freedom of participation? I don't support his statement, it was
stupid
and ignorant, it was illogical and has no basis in fact or in
scripture and
that alone should tell you that it should have been debated
publicly in
parliament."
But other people who spoke to SW Radio
Africa felt Mabhuwu's
statements were extreme and that he should be heavily
censured for it. One
SWRA listener said it is as serious as saying, "Blacks
are not equal to
whites."
Another observer noted: "It serves
him right. You can't say that kind
of thing these days, that women are
inferior to men. This is the worst thing
that can ever be said about women
especially as women have played a
frontline role to get the MDC where it is
today."
Analysts said even though the pro-democracy movement is
fighting
against the Robert Mugabe regime they should also fight against all
forms of
discrimination which includes racism and
sexism.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By Tererai Karimakwenda
16 October
2006
A symposium on sport hunting organised by Safari Club
International
attracted a large gathering at the London Zoo on Friday,
including safari
operators, hunters and government officials from Zimbabwe,
who are accused
of ignoring the illegal killing of endangered species.
Several experts made
presentations promoting hunting as a sport and its
supposed benefits to the
local communities. But there seemed to be a veil of
secrecy surrounding the
involvement of government officials in the safari
business, the illegal
seizure of private game reserves and abusive practices
that are causing much
damage to the environment.
It is no
secret that war veterans, under orders from top government
officials, have
taken over protected areas and some national parks where a
lucrative and
reckless business in sport hunting is thriving. Foreigners
seeking to kill
rare species of animals like the black rhino are taking
advantage of the
lawlessness in the country and offering large sums of money
to these corrupt
officials.
Susie Watts of the Humane Society International attended
the hunting
symposium Friday and is a strong critic of hunting as a sport.
She said she
supports the shooting of animals, but only with a camera. Watts
said
Zimbabwe authorities should restructure the tourism industry because it
was
a lot more profitable in its hey day than hunting, which is riddled with
corruption. The sport makes Zimbabwe about US$10 million a year, but before
tourism crashed visitors brought in about US$300 million a
year.
Watts criticised the Safari Club International for ignoring
the facts
on the ground in Zimbabwe. She said: "They know what war veterans
are doing.
They know that politicians are benefiting and they know the black
rhino is
being decimated." But instead of backing off from this
unsustainable
situation Watts said they are praising the Zimbabwe government
for
experimenting with handguns, trying out dogs and bows and arrows. She
said
the majority of the hunters are coming from Europe and North
America.
Barbara Maas from Care For The Wild is also strongly
opposed to the
killing of animals for sport. She stressed that hunting was
once the sport
of rich aristocrats during colonial times and this abuse of
Africa must not
be allowed to continue. She said Zimbabweans need to be
self-regulating and
should take a stand and choose not to accept money to
destroy their own
country.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Letter From America
With Professor Stanford Mukasa
16
October 2006
The directive to the South African Broadcasting Corporation to
black
out progressive Zimbabwean intellectuals known to be critical of the
Mugabe
regime represents the latest outrage in South African president Thabo
Mbeki's
efforts to prop up Mugabe.
This attempt to control the
press marks a black spot in South Africa's
post-apartheid democracy and
freedom of the press, both of which have won
the country international
acclaim.
The fact that SABC is financed by the South African
government should
not be an excuse to control the broadcast
medium.
The logic must simply be that South Africa believes in the
public's
right to know. This is pillar of the freedom of the
press.
South Africa's funding of the SABC must be based on this
important
commitment to the fundamental principle that South Africans have a
right to
know and to be exposed to a variety and diversity of opinions on
any
subject - whether it is national, regional or
international.
If the South African government feels a piece of
information threatens
the national security of the state and the nation let
this be decided in a
court of law.
Futile attempts by SABC to
seek a court order to remove this story
from the online edition of the Mail
and Guardian merely expose the
glistening ignorance of whoever is in
authority about the role, rights and
obligations of the mass
media.
It was to the courts' credit that this complaint from SABC
was thrown
out with the utmost contempt it deserved. It is also glaring
evidence that
whoever is in charge at the SABC has inadequate, if any at
all,
professional journalistic credentials for the position.
SABC must never be part of the South African government's information
machinery but must be a beacon of inspiration to all that the government can
fund a broadcast medium and still uphold the right of the journalists
working for the institution to interview whomever they want as long as this
is guided by the professional principles of journalism in determining what
is newsworthy as well as in the public interest.
The South
African government has its own information departmental
structures. Within
those structures the government can determine who or who
cannot be quoted.
That is understood because those structures are an
integral part of the
administration.
It is clearly in South Africa's public interest for
journalists at the
SABC to interview individuals who will expose the public
to a diversity of
opinions.
But this act of censorship - for
that is what it amounts to - is not
an isolated development. It appears to
fall logically and squarely within
the policy framework of President Mbeki's
policy and attitude towards
Zimbabwe. Mbeki has repeatedly and consistently
been a strong supporter of
Mugabe. He has resisted any pleas and requests
from the opposition movement
in Zimbabwe to use his economic and diplomatic
influence to bring pressure
to bear on the Mugabe regime. Mbeki's strategy
of quiet diplomacy was
ostensibly to negotiate behind the limelight with
Mugabe and other
stakeholders for a solution to the Zimbabwean
crisis.
But that policy proved to be a waste of time. It bore no
fruits.
Nothing of any significance ever came out of it. Mbeki's argument
that his
policy had yielded at one time some signed agreement from ZANU PF
and MDC on
the way forward was denied by both ZANU and MDC.
In
other cases Mbeki has blocked any attempts to condemn Mugabe at
international meetings, notably the United Nations Human Rights
Commission.
Mbeki's so-called quiet diplomacy was seen more as a
quiet conspiracy
than a real effort at resolving the crisis in
Zimbabwe.
The most amazing contradiction on Mbeki's
collaborationist policy on
Zimbabwe is that South Africa is reeling under a
heavy influx of Zimbabwean
refugees estimated to number about three million.
One would expect Mbeki to
play a leading role in resolving the situation in
Zimbabwe, bearing in mind
that it would also help South Africa and the SADC
region.
The directive to the SABC to block individuals who have
been outspoken
on Mugabe speaks volumes of how ridiculously far Mbeki will
go to protect
Mugabe.
There can be no doubt that this decision
to block critics of Mugabe
was taken at the highest level in the Mbeki
administration. It fit hand in
the glove with Mbeki's policy on Zimbabwe. It
could not have been an
isolated policy position taken by some junior level
manager.
It comes as no surprise that Mbeki, who was once billed
the point man
on Zimbabwe some years ago, has now faded into a distant
memory. Nobody
takes him seriously anymore on the Zimbabwean crisis. The
international
spotlight has faded on Mbeki as the key to resolving the
Zimbabwean crisis.
Tragically Mbeki's policy on Mugabe has become a
model for the SADC
leaders who have now defined their roles as that of
protecting and
cheerleading Mugabe who has the distinctive reputation for
being the
curmudgeon of the Zimbabwean crisis.
However the
civil society in South Africa and the SADC region are not
as supportive of
Mugabe as the region's presidents. South African trade
unions church
leaders, notably Bishop Desmond Tutu, and academics have
unequivocally
condemned Mugabe.
There is, therefore, a wealth of goodwill towards
Zimbabweans from the
SADC civil society. They also have a great potential
for resource support
for the struggle for democracy in
Zimbabwe.
The opposition movement in Zimbabwe needs to cultivate a
regional
strategy with the civic society groups in the region. Just this
last week
one of the South African trade unions was talking tough on Mugabe.
They
planned discuss strategies like refusing to carry goods into Zimbabwe.
COSATU once talked about blocking the movement of goods between Zimbabwe and
South Africa.
The new strategy for international and regional
intervention now calls
for the mobilization of civil society groups. The
opposition movement in
Zimbabwe must take the extra step to reach out to
these civic society
groups.
Let there be a regional and
international convention of civic society
groups to discuss a strategies on
how they can be involved in the onslaught
against Mugabe.
Workers in the region in particular have a stake in what happens to
their
counterparts in Zimbabwe. The region's economies are so interdependent
that
what happens in one country inevitably affects workers and masses in
other
countries. It is therefore out of self interest that regional trade
unions
must, as a matter of urgency convene a regional and international
conference
to deal specifically with Zimbabwe and how they can be involved.
The problem in Zimbabwe has for too long been left in the hands of
politicians and the leadership. Both are too comfortable in their positions
to see the urgency of resolving the Zimbabwean crisis. They do not sleep on
the streets. They are not unemployed. They do not suffer food and consumer
shortages. They have no problems with education and health. They have no
problems with foreign currency or containing it. They can travel anywhere in
the world and have resources to buy whatever they need for themselves and
their families. Life is one long and unending luxury for them.
Mbeki becomes the Pied Piper of this leadership style that appears to
reward
the affluent Mugabe at the expense of the suffering masses.
While
life for these leaders and politicians is a bed of roses it is a
bed of
thorns and rocks for the workers and the masses in Zimbabwe in
particular
and the region in general. The Zimbabwean workers and masses face
an uphill
struggle each day to survive to the end of the day. They have no
break from
this endless misery and suffering.
The motivation for change lies
in the masses and workers rather than
governments and ruling party
officials. This is the compelling reason why
civic society in Zimbabwe and
the regional must take up the cudgel to
confront Mugabe.
And
the new clarion call has to be regime change, not reform.
Involving Mugabe
and top ZANU PF officials in the resolution of the crisis
would only lead to
a camouflaging of the root dynamics of the problem and
the blanket amnesties
for officials who have committed unspeakable crimes
against
humanity.
These twin evils of simplistic regime reform and amnesty
will only
lead to a perpetuation and smoke screening of crimes against
humanity by the
existing regime.
SW Radio Africa
Zimbabwe news
[This report
does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
HARARE
, 16 Oct 2006 (IRIN) - An order by the office of Zimbabwe's
attorney-general
(AG) for the immediate arrest of a government agent
implicated in the murder
of two political opponents six years ago is being
met with scepticism by the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
In the run-up to the
2000 parliamentary elections, Joseph Mwale, a Central
Intelligence
Organisation operative, was witnessed by scores of people
petrol-bombing a
car carrying three MDC activists. The driver of MDC leader
Morgan
Tsvangirai, Talent Mabika, and Tichaona Chiminya were burnt to death,
but
Sanderson Makombe managed to escape and has since fled to the United
Kingdom.
The killings in Tsvangirai's parliamentary constituency of
Buhera, in
Manicaland Province on the Mozambican border, came shortly before
the most
closely contested elections since Zimbabwe gained independence 20
years
earlier. The MDC, less than six months old at the time and in many
ways at
the zenith of its popularity, snatched nearly half the country's
constituencies from President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party. MDC
support has waned since those elections and internal wrangling split the
party last year. The parliamentary election was condemned by many monitoring
groups as not free or fair.
Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for the MDC
faction led by Tsvangirai, told IRIN
that Mwale would not have committed the
very public murders at a rural
shopping centre unless he had been guaranteed
some form of government
protection.
"We have always said that the
political violence that we have had in
Zimbabwe since the 1980s was not
inter-party or intra-party, it is state
sponsored. Some of the people who
have committed some of the most diabolical
acts of brutality have found
sanctuary in, and are being protected by,
ZANU-PF. While we may appreciate
that some sections of society are doing the
best they can to ensure that
justice is done, we believe justice will not be
done."
Mwale was
promoted in the wake of the 2000 elections and was recently
awarded a prime
farm in the eastern part of the country, despite repeated
calls by
international and local human rights organisations for his arrest.
"To
expect justice to be delivered in this case is missing the mark. This is
a
charade designed to hoodwink the international community into believing
that
the rule of law is back in Zimbabwe, which is totally untrue," Chamisa
said.
Local media reported that Levison Chikafu, of the Manicaland
AG's office,
had written to the province's police chief, setting a deadline
of 6 October
for him to produce Mwale's docket. "The accused is facing a
charge of murder
which was committed in the year 2000. The docket was
referred to your office
with instructions that you arrest Joseph Mwale and
bring him for initial
remand. To date, we have not received any information
pertaining to the
progress made by your office. I need to go through the
docket, with a view
of taking up the matter with my superiors," the letter
reportedly said.
Otto Saki, of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, told
IRIN the AG's order
had not come as a surprise. "The order from the AG's
office to arrest Mwale
is designed to enable the government representative
to tell the world that
they are addressing human violations," and was viewed
as part of a broader
public relations strategy ahead of the 40th session of
the African
Commission on Human and People's Rights in Gambia next
month.
"For now, all that we have heard about the Mwale case are
statements - we
are yet to see their sincerity," Saki said. "He is a person
who was living
within the country's borders, and could have been arrested a
long time ago
if the government was committed. We will only believe them
when he is
wearing the prison garb."
Late on Monday 16 October the
police had still not arrested Mwale
The Telegraph
Sir - We understand that the host
government for the 2010 World Cup, South
Africa, intends to schedule
international "friendly" games in neighbouring
countries, including
Zimbabwe. We have written to Sepp Blatter, president of
Fifa, drawing his
attention to the Resolution passed by the European
Parliament this
September, supported by elected representatives of 25
nations and all the
major political groups.
Zimbabwe has suffered for many years under the
increasingly tyrannical rule
of Robert Mugabe. His people are subject to
intense political oppression and
persistent human rights abuses, the economy
is in a state of collapse and
more than four million Zimbabweans are in
danger of starvation, subsisting
on international food aid
alone.
International sporting fixtures in Zimbabwe are taken by Mugabe as
endorsement of his regime. Given that the World Cup arrangements are
currently at the planning stage, we are insisting that Fifa make the
necessary representations to the South African government to ensure that no
matches take place in Zimbabwe while the Mugabe regime is in
power.
Geoffrey Van Orden MEP, Conservative Defence
spokesman;
Christopher Heaton-Harris MEP;
Nirj Deva MEP;
Martin
Callanan MEP;
Brussels
The 4th anniversary Vigil was
the biggest gathering we have ever had - and
probably the biggest Zimbabwean
protest ever held in the UK. We had to take
down one of our banners to
accommodate the pulsating crowd - many of them
wearing black armbands to
mourn the death of freedom back home. A heaving
mass of Zimbabweans sang
and danced to 3 drummers. We had supporters from
all over the UK: Ernest
caught the overnight train from Glasgow, Kuchi was
there from South Wales, a
bus load of supporters came from Leicester and
there were large groups from
Liverpool (including Dorcas who made the
journey twice this week),
Manchester, Wolverhampton, Oxford and Milton
Keynes.
Ephraim Tapa,
Chair of the MDC-UK - a member of the Zimbabwe Vigil
Coalition - drew loud
applause when he criticised the South African
government's policy towards
Zimbabwe. He accused them of double standards:
they were besieged by
Zimbabweans seeking refuge and yet were denying that
there was a crisis in
Zimbabwe. "Quiet Diplomacy", he said, "was a sham and
the campaign to
change South Africa's attitude must be our priority". We
were joined by the
Free-Zim Youth who had earlier staged a demonstration
outside South Africa
House just along the road. They carried a coffin
symbolising the death of
democracy in Zimbabwe which we laid at the door of
the Zimbabwe Embassy. We
were overwhelmed by support, including good
friends, such as the Rev Dr.
Martine Stemerick, Tim Finch of the Refugee
Council and Peter Tatchell, who
have tirelessly supported our cause.
The Vigil continued rather later
than usual because many of us went off to
the Vigil pub, the Theodore
Bullfrog, who kindly cleared out "the biggest
pub crawl in the world" so
that we could gather to talk over the 4th
anniversary events and future
action to help Zimbabwe. Ephraim paid tribute
to the Vigil and told
representatives from many branches of the MDC
(Reading, Oxford, Ashford,
Bristol, Wolverhampton, Milton Keynes and others)
who had joined us that we
must roll out the Vigil message "Zimbabweans
demand freedom." He paid
tribute to Rose Benton, one of the Vigil
co-ordinators. She said that the
continuity of the Vigil had galvanised
Zimbabweans and they were now
prepared to take to the streets here to demand
change back home. Rose, in
turn, paid tribute to a fellow Vigil
Co-ordinator, Dumi Tutani, for his
tireless support and to others who have
kept the Vigil going.
It was
good to have with us the deputy chair of the MDC UK, Rodwell Mupungu,
from
Northampton. We were also pleased to welcome back Dainah Dhlamini
after a
time away from the Vigil. Her life has been very difficult because
of the
death of her son, Michael Madondo (also a Vigil supporter) following
a car
accident in December 2005. We all grieve for her. Special thanks to
several people: to Chipo who once again took care of selling our t-shirts
with her usual calm efficiency; to Sue and Yeukai for manning the Vigil
table so patiently (this is the front of the Vigil where we engage a public
who are becoming increasingly sympathetic): to Enock who made sure the Vigil
site was left clean and tidy after the large crowd had left; to Patrick who
generously bought soft drinks for our thirsty supporters and to Hugh who
once again bought pizzas for us all to share.
Finally it was lovely
to have so many children with us.
For this week's Vigil pictures:
http://uk.msnusers.com/ZimbabweVigil/shoebox.msnw.
FOR
THE RECORD: 168 signed the register. NB: there is only one register
and
some people either do not know of it or for personal reasons do not want
their names recorded. We respect their privacy. There are also some
Zimbabweans who gather in the vicinity but are frightened to be photographed
at the Vigil so one assumes that Vigil attendance is more than we record
here.
FOR YOUR DIARY:
Monday, 16th October, 7.30 pm, Central
London Zimbabwe Forum. One of the
Vigil co-ordinators, Rose Benton, will be
talking about the 4 year history
of the Vigil and thoughts about the way
forward. We are at our alternative
venue this week: the Rose and Springbok,
14 Upper St Martins Lane, WC2H 9DL.
Map link: http://makeashorterlink.com/?N2D231EA6.
Nearest tubes: Leicester
Square, Covent Garden.
Vigil
co-ordinator
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London,
takes place
every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross
violations of
human rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The Vigil
which started in
October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored,
free and fair
elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk
Kate Heartfield, The Ottawa
Citizen
Published: Monday, October 16, 2006
Everyone knows we're not
supposed to give money to despots anymore. A new
mantra in foreign aid is
focus: Give money only to governments that can use
it well. Ghana should get
aid but Zimbabwe should not.
It's a simple and correct idea. There is no
way Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe
should get his hands on a penny of my money.
But what about the people of
Zimbabwe? They've got nowhere to live and
little to eat, and refugees are
turning up on the borders.
This is
the dilemma of international development. If some aid goes to waste
in
countries with bad governments, taxpayers in donor countries will be less
willing to fund foreign aid at all. But the very countries where aid is most
necessary -- for security and humanitarian reasons -- are also often the
ones with bad governments.
Afghanistan has an elected government now,
but it's certainly not an easy
country to help. Canada hasn't officially
given up on it's "3D" approach:
defence, diplomacy, development. Nor should
it. Schools are the best weapon
against the Taliban in the long term -- if
we can keep the Taliban from
killing the teachers.
In its latest
report, the Senate security committee calls for foreign aid to
be doubled.
It also questions what Canada is doing with its money in
Afghanistan.
That country gets more of Canada's aid than any other,
but most of it
doesn't seem to be going into the troublesome Kandahar region
(even the
Senate committee has trouble getting detailed answers from the
Canadian
International Development Agency.) Most aid is going through
Afghanistan's
government, which the committee says "has developed a
reputation for some
degree of corruption."
In a section called
"New-Think/Old-think/Dumb-think," the committee blasts
CIDA for ignoring its
own chanting of another foreign-aid mantra:
decentralization, or avoiding
central governments that can't use or won't
use aid well.
The
committee concludes that the Canadian military should deliver Canadian
aid
to Afghanistan until the country is more stable. There are good
arguments
for and against that, but at least it would make Canada's
intentions in
Afghanistan clear, and it would probably be more effective.
The problem
is worse in countries where Canadian boots aren't on the ground.
But if we
ignore the horrors in those countries, we could need to find boots
for a lot
more soldiers. Security is linked to aid because war is linked to
repression, and repression is linked to poverty.
The Zimbabwe,
Myanmar (Burma), North Korea and Belarus regimes show no signs
of reforming
or disappearing anytime soon. Those four countries were named
in a 2005
report of the UN's Millennium Development Project as being
unworthy of
direct aid.
Instead, the report recommends helping people "through NGOs
that can ensure
delivery of services on the ground. Any aid directed through
the government
should be conditional on significant improvements in human
rights and
economic policies."
This is easier said than done.
Dictators are, by definition, adept at
getting in the way and ignoring the
needs of their people. The Global Fund
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria pulled out of Myanmar last year
because the regime's travel
restrictions and other mischief hindered its
work.
Now, Europe and
Australia have created a new fund for fighting those
diseases in Myanmar. It
happens to be called the 3D Fund (the D in this case
stands for
diseases.)
Dr. Chris Beyrer, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins
University, says it is
"highly likely" this 3D Fund will run into the same
problems the Global Fund
did. So, should we do nothing at all? Dr. Beyrer
warns in a report that
Myanmar's rampant disease threatens all of Southeast
Asia, especially as the
regime can't be trusted to report outbreaks. The
Back Pack Health Worker
Team that delivers health care on the Thai-Myanmar
border shows the regime's
figures are grotesque
underestimates.
Government-to-government assistance should be limited to
viable countries --
CIDA has a list of 25. But there are self-serving and
humanitarian reasons
for putting money into awful countries, too. That's
much more difficult. It
requires country-specific strategies to circumvent
the governments.
In Afghanistan, it means using soldiers to deliver aid.
In Myanmar, it means
maintaining Canada's support of the Back Pack Health
Worker Team and other
such groups. I don't know what it means in Zimbabwe or
Belarus.
It's a hard slog, but short of a global campaign of regime
change, it's the
best option we've got.
Kate Heartfield is a member
of the Citizen's editorial board.
E-mail kheartfield@thecitizen.canwest.com
©
The Ottawa Citizen 2006
The Herald
(Harare)
October 16, 2006
Posted to the web October 16,
2006
Harare
CASH-STRAPPED Harare City Council has embarked on a
blitz to recover more
than $4,6 billion owed by residents and other
consumers in unpaid rates and
for services provided.
The outstanding
money, the municipality said, has plunged the council into a
cash flow
crunch and severely affected service delivery.
The blitz will include
massive water disconnections, unleashing debt
collectors and serving court
summons to rein in defaulters.
Council spokesman Mr Percy Toriro said a
schedule of deadlines by which
residents and other consumers should have
paid up had already been drawn up.
He urged those in arrears to pay up to
avoid embarrassment.
"We are embarking on a blitz to recover these
arrears because they have
reached a stage where service delivery is now
severely compromised," said Mr
Toriro.
Council has set October 31
2006 as the deadline for residents staying in the
northern suburbs while
southern suburbs and the central business district
have been given up to
October 27.
All outstanding charges after the due date would, as usual,
result in
disconnection of water supply and this would only be restored upon
payment
of the arrears and the requisite reconnection fee, said Mr
Toriro.
The reconnection fee has now been pegged at $2 300 for domestic
users and $5
750 for commercial entities.
"We want to appeal to
residents to come forward and pay up in the interest
of maintaining good
relations before we implement these measures that would
obviously be
unpopular with residents," said Mr Toriro.
"We have engaged debt
collectors to recover the money and in other cases we
will issue summons. We
will leave no stone unturned in our bid to recover
the
money.
"Service delivery is now coming to a stage where it is now being
compromised
because of these huge amounts we are owed," he added.
He
said it was in the residents' interest to pay up to avoid the legal
battle,
which would obviously bite hard in their pockets.
Mr Toriro said billing
for the September and October 2006 rates has now been
completed and
consumers were expected to start receiving their bills from
tomorrow.
Those who would not have received them by October 27, he
said, should check
their account balances with the revenue collection
division.
Mr Toriro said almost all the districts had delivered bills for
November
2006, which are due on November 7 2006.
However, some
districts were behind schedule and had delivered bills in
varying
schedules.
Glen Norah, hostels and Hatcliffe had delivered bills for
October, while
Glen View had delivered bills for September.
Mr Toriro
said council had also entered into a partnership with banks so
that whenever
consumers visited their financial institutions, they could as
well pay their
bills via e-banking.
"The facility for bill posting through the Internet
is now at an advanced
stage and consumers are being requested to provide
details of their e-mail
addresses to the city's treasury department," he
said.