CNN
HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -- Zimbabweans were reminded on Tuesday
that
there is only one certainty in their lives. Prices are running wild and
there is nothing they can do about it.
The latest bad news came from
Mozambique, where an International Monetary
Fund official projected the
southern African country's year-on-year
inflation could reach over 100,000
percent by year end.
Zimbabweans know life is getting tougher. For them, it's
just a matter of
bracing for more misery and uncertainty every time they are
hit with new
inflation figures.
"Things are already very bad. I
cannot readily find sugar, salt, milk, beef
and a lot other things. I spend
many days running around, scrounging to get
these basics, so obviously I
cannot relate to any suggestion that life is
going to get harder," said a
30-year-old clothing salesman in Harare.
"How am I expected to relate to
such futuristic figures without imagining
that such horrendous hardships
will mean death for us," he told a Reuters
correspondent, a wary eye darting
to see if anybody was listening to the
conversation.
Like many
others, he fears any criticism of President Robert Mugabe could be
risky as
security forces crack down on dissent.
Grim reality
Thousands of
miles away in Maputo, Abdoulaye Bio Tchane, director of the
IMF's Africa
department, expressed concerns in an interview with Reuters
that Zimbabwe's
inflation rate could climb above 100,000 percent by the end
of the
year.
Deeper hardships were beyond the imagination of many Zimbabweans,
struggling
to cope with empty shelves at stores amid severe shortages of
basic
foodstuffs and other vital goods.
Many urban residents are also
struggling with water, electricity and
transport shortages in a country once
viewed as southern Africa's
breadbasket.
Broken sewage pipes have
left almost an unbearable stench around some poor
housing estates. High
unemployment and rising poverty have broken many
Zimbabweans. All this,
officially under an inflation rate of over 4,500
percent.
Zimbabwe's
central bank said it will issue higher denominated bank notes on
Wednesday
to help consumers cope with hyperinflation ravaging the country.
But
previous measures designed to rescue the economy failed to raise spirits
on
Zimbabwe's streets. Henry, a Harare newspaper vendor, said his family has
not been able to buy any bread in the past week.
"There is very
little bread in the shops, and I am sure bread and all the
other things will
be very, very expensive by the end of the year," he said
when asked about
the IMF's bleak inflation prediction.
"I don't know what the actual costs
will be but I know that I, and the
majority of people here, will not be able
to afford them."
Political and economic analysts see no end in sight to
the economic crisis
pressuring Mugabe, who remains defiant, accusing
opponents and Western
powers of plotting to oust him.
"What is very
clear is that the government blitz [on prices] has just pushed
the black
market deeper into the ground, emptying shelves and making things
more
expensive, feeding the inflation spiral," John Robertson, a leading
Zimbabwean economic consultant and commentator told Reuters.
The Seattle Times
By ANGUS SHAW
The Associated Press
HARARE, Zimbabwe - The
central bank unveiled a new 200,000 Zimbabwe dollar
note today, double the
face value of what had been the highest denomination
bill in a country where
bundles of notes are needed for the simplest
transactions.
The
Reserve Bank said in a statement circulation of the new 200,000 Zimbabwe
dollar bill from Wednesday was for "convenience" in business and individual
transactions.
The bill is worth $13 at the official exchange rate or
$1 at the dominant
illegal black market rate. With five bills a Zimbabwean
millionaire can buy
a handful of scarce food items.
Runaway inflation
has led to bundles of bills being needed for routine
purchases. Few
businesses or even government departments, including the tax
office, accept
checks. They demand cash or same-day bank-to-bank transfers,
for fear the
value of the currency will plummet even further before checks
can
clear.
Zimbabwe is in its worst economic crisis since independence from
Britain in
1980, blamed largely on disruptions in the agriculture-based
economy in the
former regional breadbasket after the often violent seizures
of thousands of
white-owned commercial farms began in 2000.
Last
August, the central bank slashed three zeros from the currency and
issued
new notes, saying the old cash had become unmanageable and
computerized
accounting and regular electronic calculators were unable to
cope with the
number of digits in routine transactions.
Since then, official inflation
has trebled to 4,500 percent, the highest in
the world. Independent finance
houses estimate real inflation closer to
9,000 percent.
A government
edict to slash all prices last month in a bid to curb inflation
has left
shelves across the country bare of corn meal, meat, eggs, milk and
other
staples.
Acute gasoline shortages have crippled transport and commuter
services. The
price of gas has been slashed to half the cost of importing
it.
At least 5,000 businessmen, including some of the country's top
corporate
directors, managers and street vendors have been arrested, briefly
held and
fined for failing to obey the June 26 price cut edict.
Business Day
31 July 2007
Norman
Reynolds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
economic lunacy of Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe is more than just
price fixing. It is another round of what the international community has
failed to name, perhaps because to name it would require action. The
officially created disaster in Zimbabwe is the longest-running genocide
affecting the greatest number of any people for more than half a century.
The latest attempt to ordain the economy is yet another demonstration of
power and arrogance exercised at whatever the cost to the citizens of
Zimbabwe.
Until now, it was mainly Zimbabweans that were baffled by
the officially
stoked inflation ruining them and the country. Now, with the
official decree
to halve prices, the whole world must be aghast. Where can
such determinist
lunacy come from?
I was an economist in Zimbabwe
after independence in 1980. Much was
achieved - by small and big farmers, in
education, health, tourism,
community wildlife, housing and much else. What
was not allowed to succeed
was any discipline over budgets and macroeconomic
policy, and any programme
that might strengthen the autonomy of the rural
population - Mugabe's vote
bank, which he sought to patronise and
control.
Zimbabwe inherited a high "structural" inflation after the
15 years of
sanctions against Ian Smith's regime. During that long period of
sanctions,
import substitution raised the number of manufactured goods from
about 500
to more than 2300. This caused inferior goods at high prices to be
circulated, passing on increased prices, greater inefficiency and poor
service: that is, structural inflation.
The Zanu (PF) government
was immediately besieged by "friends" pushing their
agendas and seeking to
gain influence. One way to do the latter was to
appeal to the known
idiosyncrasies of Mugabe. As a Marxist-Leninist, he
believed that economic
decisions could be made at the centre; that all key
information could be
known officially.
A parallel was India's First Five Year Plan, in the
1950s, which followed
the Russian model of directing the commanding heights
of the economy. That
centrist behaviour suited the predominant class of
economic planners - the
educated priestly caste, the Brahmins. Planning
sought to "ordain" the
economy. So too with Mugabe. T he method appealed to
his large intellectual
arrogance. And, no doubt, since he is Catholic, to
his observation of papal
decrees.
The first post-independence
"commission" after 1980 in Zim- babwe dealt with
wages, prices and labour
conditions. Its chairman developed an economic
vision that played to
Mugabe's preference - the ordination of the economy.
It pictured the major
move of migrant worker families into towns, thereby
releasing much land for
those left behind. This was to be done by a single
ordination: minimum wages
for the many lower level workers were to be
doubled by presidential
signature. Then, workers could afford better
housing, greater cash costs for
food, travel, etc, to maintain families in
town. This was done by edict and
was followed within a year by a further 50%
increase.
The result
was a massive jump in the already high inflation rate as there
was little
ability to double, or more, local production of basic goods to
meet the
increased wages. Imports rose sharply for consumption goods as
against the
much needed capital goods to rebuild the economy. The result,
for labour,
was a once-off bonanza that, for seven years, led to annual wage
increases
being below the inflation rate - falling real wages - to redress
the
imbalances created by this absurd artificial attempt to boost wages by
decree. The very high inflation that resulted damaged savings and pensions,
hurting mainly those with fixed incomes. Very few families moved into the
towns as housing, schooling and other services cannot be increased as
quickly as a wage increase can be "ordained".
The next "gift" by
a Zanu (PF) professor of economics "friend" was an even
more absurd proposal
that cabinet adopted without reference to bureaucracy.
Faced with a near
run-away inflation, a small piece of paper was given to a
silver-tongued
minister to read out in cabinet. It stated a complete
economic untruth but
appealed to the "ordination" urges of Mugabe. It simply
reminded cabinet
that Zimbabwe was a sovereign state and that, therefore, it
could and should
introduce a "price freeze" and that such a price freeze
could be in
perpetuity. "Banish inflation!"
In Zimbabwe, imports and exports form
more than 60% of gross domestic
product (GDP). It is a hugely open economy,
with most prices determined by
the world economy. In the US and the European
Union, imports and exports
form only about 12% and 13% of GDP. In SA, a more
primary producer, they
form more than 32% of GDP. Unless the Zimbabwe
economy is first "closed off"
to the world, few prices can be set
administratively.
It took a huge effort by the economic departments,
business and others to
slowly unravel the "price freeze" without ever doing
so publicly or
politically. Some companies, under the still-ruling sanctions
regime, had
just received price increases and foreign exchange to run their
businesses.
They were in the pound seats. Others found themselves at the end
of the
queue, with no foreign exchange and "old" prices that meant
operational
losses.
The price freeze was broken in 1983 by a
desperate Zimbabwe Breweries. It
had been waiting for some time for a price
increase to be approved. It had
just made a whopping profit on the back of
the vast ordained wage increases.
As a result, it had the biggest proposed
capital investment ever by any
company in Zimbabwe. Suddenly, it could only
see inflation and frozen prices
eat that nest egg away. Unless something
changed, the price freeze would
bring beer production to a standstill within
a year.
The MD was a school friend. We still talked. He became an
emotional wreck as
the breweries sank into mounting losses. Finally, we met.
I explained that
this mess was not going to go away quickly. My only
suggestion was to play
the "game". I advised: "Dry up three small towns
before the next long
weekend." The breweries did. The following Tuesday it
received a price
increase. The price freeze was effectively
over.
Today, driving all production underground or ending it
altogether by halving
prices is yet another "ordination" of the economy. It
raises vital questions
about governance and about the daily social and
economic rights of citizens
. There has to be another way of establishing
social and economic security
beyond political democracy.
Dr
Reynolds is a development economist.
Sky News
By Emma Hurd
Africa
correspondent
Updated: 09:49, Tuesday July 31, 2007
Vigilantes have
launched their own campaign to stop thousands of
impoverished Zimbabweans
crossing the border illegally into South Africa.
The influx is fuelled by
poverty and desperation.
But some in South Africa are so alarmed by their
government's apparent
failure to prevent the wave of illegal immigration
that they are taking
action themselves.
Sky News joined a group of
white farmers as they patrolled the border
between Africa's richest nation -
and a country on the brink of collapse.
The men, who are using vehicles
designed for game hunting to track down
illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe,
are the self declared enforcers of South
Africa's immigration
laws.
"They are coming into our land, breaking our fences and killing our
animals,
we can't afford it, and the security forces are doing nothing so we
have to
act," Andre Nienaber told me.
It's not long before they
identify their first prey. A group of about eight
men and women are
wandering by the roadside, they scatter as soon as the
farmers stop to
question them, and the white men jump out of their pick up
trucks to give
chase.
The men are too fast for them, but they corner one of the women.
She looks
terrified as they drive one of the trucks towards her, pinning her
against a
fence.
Her hands are bound with a plastic tie and, together
with her friend she's
loaded into the back of the pick up. One of the
farmers warns them not to
try to run away again: "If you do there'll be
trouble," he said.
As the hunt goes on the women, crouching on the floor of
the truck, tell me
they had come to South Africa to try to find work so they
can support their
children back home in Zimbabwe.
"I have four
children and she has two," Fungai Makoni said.
Further down the road, the
farmers spot another group. This time they
meekly climb into the back of
another pick up, without even attempting to
escape. They had been walking
for two days.
"We had to leave", Tacaran Mkundele said, his exhaustion
obvious. "In
Zimbabwe we cannot survive. The bread costs 55 thousand
bucks."
Inflation is now close to 5 thousand per cent in Zimbabwe,
fuelling the rush
over the border. The farmers are collecting scores of
Zimbabweans every day
and no one seems to question their authority - even
when they demand to see
the identification of some black South Africans who
just happen to be
walking near the border.
"What would you say to
those people who say you're just a bunch of
vigilantes?" I asked Gideon
Meiring, the leader of the farmers' patrol.
"No one dares say that", he told
me leaning against a pick up truck full of
his passive captives. "If they
are honest people should get down on their
knees and thank us."
The
police, accused by the farmers of doing little to stem the flood of
illegal
Zimbabweans, seem to have little choice but to co-operate with the
operation.
They collect the captives and take them to holding centres
ready for
deportation.
Among them we found Joas Mande, 61. Like the
others, his hands were bound
and his eyes reflected the despair of a father
who would be returning to his
family empty handed.
"I have two sons
who want to go to University," he told me. "Now there will
be no-one to
support them. I have failed."
Most of the Zimbabweans said the situation
in their homeland was so bad that
they had no choice but to try to sneak
into South Africa again.
But the farmers will be looking for them. South
Africa is already home to an
estimated three million illegal immigrants from
Zimbabwe and they say the
country has to put its own interests first.
UN Integrated
Regional Information Networks
31 July 2007
Posted to the web 31 July
2007
Musina
Bulk traders have been flocking to South Africa for
months to buy groceries
for resale in Zimbabwe, but now a rapidly growing
number of individual
shoppers are arriving to stock up on essentials in
Musina, about 13km from
the border, in South Africa's Limpopo
Province.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe launched "Operation Reduce
Prices" in
late June in an attempt to cap escalating prices as businesses
tried to
cushion themselves against the world's highest inflation rate by
forcing
retailers to slash their prices by 50 percent.
This has
resulted in empty shop shelves and widespread shortages of basic
commodities, and the International Monetary Fund has warned that Zimbabwe's
year-on-year inflation rate could reach over 100,000 percent by the end of
2007.
The biggest supermarket in Musina, Spar, has seen an increase
in turnover of
between 50 percent and 70 percent in July, manager Pieter
Koekemoer told
IRIN.
Mo, 30, said he had come to Musina to buy
groceries for his family and
friends in Zimbabwe. He wrote their names on
the plastic bags as he packed
them into his pick-up truck, saying that the
cost of fuel, import duty and a
South African visitor's visa were a small
price to pay.
Bulk traders
Some bulk traders use a medium-size
delivery vehicle and often supply formal
shops, but now no longer want to
supply them because price controls make it
unprofitable. With more
individual shoppers also crossing the border to buy
food for themselves,
bulk business is declining.
"The bulk trade at my shop has gone down 40
percent in the past two weeks,"
said Jason Rana; 95 percent of his clientele
are Zimbabwean traders buying
large quantities.
Bulk trade is
expected to slow even further after a new regulation comes
into effect on 1
August. According to the Zimbabwean embassy in South
Africa, there will not
be a complete ban on cross-border trade, but a permit
for importing bulk
foodstuffs for resale will have to be obtained from
Zimbabwe's Ministry of
Industry, and will not be as easy to get as a
visitor's
permit.
Waiting for jobs
Besides the shoppers and traders,
thousands of Zimbabweans who have crossed
the border illegally wait around
Musina in the hope of finding a job to pay
their fare to bigger South
African cities further south.
According to Bertus Schutte, who manages
the labour force on Maswiri Farm,
about 20km north of Musina, more and more
Zimbabweans come looking for work
every day. He said they left as soon as
they could, and about fifty
labourers went to cities like Johannesburg and
Pretoria each week.
Peter, 20, and Kudzai, 18, from a village in Masvingo
Province in southern
Zimbabwe, crossed into South Africa illegally near the
Beitbridge border
post two weeks ago and have since been waiting for jobs at
Maswiri.
They plan to seek work in Johannesburg, where friends of theirs
already have
jobs in construction. It is estimated that there are close to
three million
Zimbabweans in South Africa, mostly illegally.
Neither
Peter nor Kudzai has a passport, and they do not see the point of
going to
one of the refugee reception offices run by South Africa's Home
Affairs
Department, which deals with immigration, to ask for asylum.
"They know
they will be sent back immediately, because the authorities see
all of them
as economic refugees. So, coming in illegally or on a visitor's
permit and
staying, is the only option," Jacob Matakanye of the Musina Legal
Advice
Office, an organisation that helps immigrants in the region, told
IRIN.
No tsunami
There are no official figures on the rate of
influx of illegal Zimbabweans
into South Africa, but in the past few weeks
local media and the South
African opposition party, Democratic Alliance,
have been reporting a rising
tide of Zimbabwean immigrants.
The
International Organization for Migration (IOM), which runs a reception
and
support centre in Beitbridge providing assistance to migrants returning
from
South Africa, reported that 16,500 Zimbabweans were sent home in June,
and
the figures for July were expected to be the same.
"There is no sudden
'tsunami' of people being deported," said Nick van der
Vijver of IOM. "These
figures ... represent the number of Zimbabweans
deported, and say nothing
about the number of people leaving Zimbabwe."
He said the story of a wave
of Zimbabweans coming [to South Africa] in the
last few weeks seemed an
exaggeration, considering the number of deportees
had remained relatively
stable.
Gabriel Shumba, of the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF), estimated
that 5,000
people legally crossed the border every day, 3,000 of whom
remained in South
Africa. Illegally, he guessed, about 7,000 were crossing
the border daily.
Shumba expected these numbers to increase as Zimbabwe's
parliamentary and
presidential elections, scheduled for March 2008, drew
nearer. "Violence has
always been stepped up before elections," he said.
"Besides, hunger will
also drive many people to South Africa."
[ This
report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
By Tichaona
Sibanda
31 July 2007
A senior officer with the Zimbabwe Republic
Police was last week dismissed
from the force, allegedly after it was
discovered she had 'links' with the
MDC. It still remains unclear how she is
involved with the opposition party.
There are reports however that this is a
message from Police Commissioner
Augustine Chihuri that any MDC sympathisers
within the the force would not
be tolerated.
Assistant Commissioner
Kudzai Sibusiso Ndawana was practising as a dentist
at Morris Depot training
school. She had to be forcibly dragged out of her
official residence at
Chikurubi support unit base by fellow armed colleagues
after refusing to
leave. Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Oliver
Mandipaka confirmed
Ndawana's dismissal and the subsequent withdrawal of her
housing and vehicle
benefits.
Initial reports say Ndawana had resisted vacating the house after
an
internal investigation linked her to the MDC. The high ranking officer
from
the police medical corps also had her official Peugeot 406 taken
away.
Former Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Chawora said it is clear from
reports
that the reaction from Chihuri was very heavy handed.
'If it
is true they fired her for her links with the MDC then Chihuri and
almost
half the police force should be dismissed for being card carrying
members of
Zanu (PF),' Chawora said.
According to Chawora, serving police officers are
barred from active
politics although they are allowed to vote in any
election. This means a
serving officer can privately be a member of a chosen
political party but
cannot articulate party views in public.
'Chihuri
is on record telling the nation that he was a staunch Zanu (PF)
cadre. Army
generals are also on record saying they would never salute a
President
without war credentials. This effectively means they are pro-Zanu
(PF), so
its clear the laws are being selectively applied in the security
services,'
Chawora added.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By Lance Guma
31 July
2007.
As more information emerges from the tragedy that struck along
Harare's
airport road last week it turns out that it was one university
student
Tafirenyika Magwidi, and 2 other men, who were murdered by unknown
assailants. The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) on Monday issued a
statement saying 3 students were caught up in the suspected ambush but
Sidney Chisi, a youth leader in the Youth Initiative for Democracy in
Zimbabwe, was able to shed more light on the incident on Tuesday.
In an
interview with Newsreel he revealed how the naked body of Magwidi, a
Humanities student at the University of Zimbabwe, was found between the
Catholic University in Hatfield and the One Commando army barracks on the
other side of the road. The same complex also houses the 2 Brigade
headquarters. Chisi explained how a variety of factors connived to sentence
Magwidi and the other two to a brutal death. He says the eviction of over
4000 UZ students from campus, the crackdown on the business sectors which
has created transport shortages, and the perennial power cuts, all created
the environment that led to the murders.
The group decided to walk
after failing to secure transport and Magwidi in
particular was in temporary
accommodation in Hatfield after being evicted
from the UZ campus halls. It's
also thought power cuts made the entire area
very dark and easy to operate
in for those who attacked them. Chisi says the
same area has seen a dramatic
increase in the number of muggings. He says
the number of 'street kids' and
people struggling to survive the economic
collapse is fuelling high crime
levels. He also blamed commuter omnibus
drivers for conniving with robbers
operating in the area.
A post-mortem conducted has now revealed Magwidi was
'hit by a strong
object.' His mother, a cross border trader, was busy
selling her wares in
Namibia at the time her son was killed. She is said to
be deeply distraught.
No details regarding the identity or cause of death of
the other two victims
have come out yet, except that they died from their
injuries a day after the
attack. A fourth man is in a coma and battling to
survive in the intensive
care unit of a local hospital. Magwidi was buried
at his rural homestead in
Mhondoro on Tuesday, with a service held at St
Josephs Roman Catholic Church
in Hatfield the previous day.
ZINASU
president Promise Mkwananzi meanwhile blamed the Zanu PF regime for
the
murders saying they created the situation that led to the tragedy. He
refused to rule out political motives in the murder saying criminals were
not known to kill people and take their belongings as happened in this case.
The students are currently trying to get the Vice Chancellor arrested for
defying a High Court order setting aside the eviction of over 4000 students.
Mkwananzi said the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights are working on the case
and they hoped something would happen soon.
SW Radio Africa
Zimbabwe news
Mineweb
Sources
in Zimbabwe say Robert Mugabe's Government has entered into a deal
with
Libya and Iran to procure fuel supplies against future deliveries of
gold
and diamonds.
Author: Africa Correspondent
Posted: Tuesday , 31 Jul
2007
Zimbabwe's isolated President Robert Mugabe, who last week
reaffirmed the
government's bid to assume full control of the country's
minerals and mining
sector, has mortgaged the country's diamond and gold
resources to Libya and
Iran for the procurement of bulk fuel supplies,
Mineweb can report.
Sources within government revealed Tuesday that the
Zimbabwean government
had struck a deal with unnamed partners in Libya and
Iran for the
procurement of bulk oil in exchange for diamonds and
gold.
The unnamed partners, the sources said, have links and connections
with the
governments of Libya and Iran.
"Our government has made a
deal with some partners in Iran and Libya for the
procurement of oil but
this will be in exchange for gold and diamonds," said
the source, speaking
strictly on conditions of anonymity.
This, the source said, is why the
government has made a fuss about going it
alone in mining diamonds at the
Marange diamond fields. About a month ago,
media reports indicated that
Zimbabwe's information and publicity minister,
Dr Sikanyiso Ndlovu had said
government would not seek partners to mine
diamonds. Consequently, the
Zimbabwe government declined a US$ 200 million
German investment in the
mining of the Marange diamonds.
Following this development, the
government then mandated the Minerals and
Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe
(MMCZ) to mine the diamonds at Marange.
The Central Bank head, Dr Gideon
Gono slammed the MMCZ in his Monetary
Policy presentation. He said the
parastatal had no capacity to mine the
diamonds at Marange.
The fuel,
which will be procured through diamonds and gold is now at Feruka,
the
sources said, adding: "It is quite a huge amount of fuel that it will
last
for a long time should the deal stand".
Last year, unconfirmed reports
indicated that Mugabe had made a deal with a
Libyan firm for the importation
of fuel to bail out the country's ever-
squabble dogged fuel
sector.
Observers and analysts said the move to hedge the country's
mineral
resources could be "Mugabe's latest self cushioning antic ahead of
next
year's harmonised presidential, parliamentary and local government
polls"
scheduled for March.
Mugabe is known for his survival antics,
especially ahead of elections,
which could prove a landmark in the history
of the mineral-rich Southern
African nation. The fuel, observers and sources
maintained, will be used in
Mugabe's Zanu PF campaigns for next year's
polls.
Zimbabwe is currently in the throes of a fuel crisis, which has
culminated
in 24-hour long queues at service stations.
Efforts to get
a comment from Zimbabwean officials proved fruitless as there
was no-one
willing to speak out officially, on the issue.
New Zimbabwe
By
Mutumwa Mawere
Last updated: 07/31/2007 12:37:16
THE significance of the
acquittal of Dr Chris Kuruneri as was the acquittal
of James Makamba and
others has one again gone unnoticed particularly in
respect of the
constitutional order obtaining in the Zimbabwe of today.
Key questions
need to be asked and answered on the kind of Zimbabwe we want
and what kind
of values should inform it. What kind of constitutional order
would allow a
citizen to be deprived of his human and property rights on
trumped up
charges with impunity on the part of the perpetrators?
Is it the kind of
Zimbabwe that the national democratic revolution was
founded upon and
successfully prosecuted? Why has the opposition been silent
on these
atrocities and vocal on others?
With the acquittal of Kuruneri, the
opposition is conspicuous by its silence
as President Thabo Mbeki proceeds
with his mandate by warning on Sunday that
elections in Zimbabwe next year
must be "free and fair" and produce a
government legitimate in the eyes of
the people of the devastated nation
while no mention was made of the
complete breakdown of the rule of law and
political morality that should
inform any democratic society as is evident
in the handling of this landmark
case
If a government can get away with constructively undermining the
rights of
citizens how can rational minds expect any fair play on election
issues?
Here you have a cabinet minister in President Mugabe's government
being
arrested and spending 15 months in remand prison and a further two
years
under house arrest on allegations of externalisation, a charge
invented by
the Governor of the RBZ, Gideon Gono, when he was appointed in
2003 to
position himself as an action man determined to rid Zimbabwe of an
economic
disease that has so far not found a doctor.
Apart from the
emotional and psychological aspect of the senseless
sterilisation of a
brilliant mind, the battle between Kuruneri and the State
he accepted to
serve as minister has cost him dearly. He had to hire five
lawyers and
appear before seven judges and three magistrates before being
finally
acquitted.
After this ordeal, the State led by President Mugabe who has
of late styled
himself as a corruption buster failed to sustain its case and
as expected,
no-one is to be punished for the abuse. In fact, President
Mugabe is
expected to run for another term during which more victims like
Kuruneri are
likely to suffer the same fate with no hope of justice or
accountability on
the part of the state.
The position taken by
Kuruneri from the beginning of his ordeal has not
changed i.e. that Zimbabwe
had no jurisdiction over free funds available to
an individual and used to
acquire offshore assets. The acquittal of Kuruneri
has left him only facing
punishment for illegally possessing a Canadian
passport, an offence for
which he has already been convicted on his own plea
of guilt.
The
real trouble for Kuruneri had nothing to do with his dual citizenship
but
that a South African newspaper, the Sunday Times, broke the story that
he
was the owner of a seaside mansion in Cape Town, South Africa, that was
alleged to have cost about 30 million South African rands.
If
Kuruneri, like most of Mugabe's cabinet ministers as well as
businesspersons, had decided to hide his investment, there is no doubt that
he would still be a minister. Unfortunately, honesty in Zimbabwe attracts a
high cost.
What have been missing in the Kuruneri's story are the
real lessons from
this tragedy.
When a cabinet minister in a
government that proclaims to be nationalistic
and pro-poor decides to invest
his money in offshore assets and elects to
keep a Canadian citizenship fully
knowing the consequences, then you must
know that there is something
fundamentally wrong about the system.
Kuruneri was smart enough to know
that Zimbabwean citizenship has been
devalued to such an extent that it
really means nothing to citizens if after
27 years of independence they have
become poorer than at independence. If
the investment climate in Zimbabwe
has been made hostile by bad policies,
then even Mugabe's ministers would
only be smart enough to know that their
investments are more secure in
countries with stable economic environments
and that respect the rule of
law.
Kuruneri's affairs were put on the spotlight. Police opened
investigations
into how he got money to finance the construction of his
personal property
and sought to establish whether he did not break foreign
exchange
regulations in the process.
Following the newspaper article in
South Africa, Kuruneri was then arrested
on April 24, 2004, and was
initially charged with externalising US$1,082
million, 34 000 British pounds
and 30 000 euros. The figures were later
revised to US$582 000, R5,2
million, 37 371 British pounds and 30 000 euros.
I have no doubt that
Kuruneri at first must have been confused by what was
to follow and had
befallen him and would naturally have thought that it was
a big
joke.
He first made a bail application on April 30, 2004, naively
thinking that
any reasonable judge would dismiss the allegations.As
expected, Justice Ben
Hlatshwayo who has not been known for diligence and
fairness, dismissed the
application on May 12, 2007, saying there was a high
likelihood that
Kuruneri would abscond.
He then took his case to the
Supreme Court on May 17, but Justice Elizabeth
Gwaunza referred the case
back to the High Court on June 4, 2007, after
Kuruneri's lawyers failed to
follow appeal procedures.
Gwaunza later dismissed the appeal, saying
Kuruneri could abscond if granted
bail as he had vast resources outside the
country which he could use to
sustain himself. Kuruneri made eight
unsuccessful bail applications during a
15-month stint in remand prison and
at one time offered assets worth $15
billion (old value) to be freed on
bail.
It was only on his ninth attempt, that he was granted bail by Chief
Justice
Godfrey Chidyausiku on July 27, 2005, under stringent conditions. He
was
ordered to pay $50 million (old value), to surrender the title deeds for
his
farm in Mazowe, to transfer R1,3 million held in an offshore account
into
his local CBZ account and to remain under house arrest. He also
surrendered
his travel documents.
Kuruneri appeared before the
following judges and magistrates in his long
journey to freedom: Cremah
Chipere, Omega Mugumbate, John Koto and Justices
Ben Hlatshwayo, Elizabeth
Gwaunza, Chinembiri Bhunu, Lawrence Kamocha,
Charles Hungwe, Godfrey
Chidyausiku and Susan Mavangira.
If anyone had confidence in the
independence of the judiciary after 27 years
of independence, the Kuruneri
case is pregnant with lessons. Kuruneri's
lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, had
this to say: "Personally, I am very pleased
with this outcome. This is
victory for justice."
However, is this really a victory of justice or
victory of the barbarians
masquerading as government officers? How can this
represent a victory for
justice when an innocent man can be condemned by the
executive with no
protection of the courts or parliament and then serve time
on remand and
endure the humiliation that Kuruneri had to go through for
exercising his
rights?
What is shocking is that the contenders for
power in the confused Zimbabwean
environment have not been concerned about
Kuruneri because he is Zanu PF. In
the pursuit of political expediency,
justice is seen in political terms and
this has now become acceptable as the
norm in Zimbabwe even by the
opposition.
It was only natural that
Kuruneri had to fight his own battle with no
assistance from the so-called
human rights groups or even the Law Society.
He remains accused of having
dual citizenship, a crime that is laughable for
people who know Kuruneri
well. You can give Kuruneri as many citizenships as
you want, but you can
never take the Zimbabweanship in him.
No-one is leading a movement to
scrap any laws that would make it a criminal
offence to hold dual
citizenship when the policies of the government have
gone a long way in
devaluing the meaning of what it means to be a citizen.
When you observe
Zimbabweans in their numbers electing to be governed by
other people, then
surely it follows that the citizenship law is obsolete
and has ceased to
serve any national purpose.
As President Mbeki continues with the
election agenda, it must be obvious to
many that the real deal has nothing
to do with elections. If the prevailing
Zimbabwean constitutional order
fails to produce checks and balances as has
been evident in not only
Kuruneri's matter but other matters where the
government has targeted
individuals for political expediency, then it must
be obvious that Zimbabwe
has sunk so low that maintaining the status quo
will not resolve the
crisis.
With the Kuruneri outcome, one would expect any rational
incumbent President
to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the
conduct of the law
enforcement agencies as well as the RBZ in what appears
to be politically
motivated cases that are being prosecuted at the cost of
the nation as well
as the victims.
Mawere is a New Zimbabwe.com
columnist. He lives in exile in South Africa
after his businesses in
Zimbabwe were expropriated by the government,
including his flagship
Shabanie Mashaba Mines
Zim Online
Tuesday 31 July 2007
By Justin Muponda
HARARE - Zimbabwe's opposition party has severely
weakened its bid to
unseat President Robert Mugabe in next year's national
elections following
the breakdown in unity talks between two rival factions
of the party,
analysts said.
The opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) has come closest
to removing Mugabe from power but
the party has been severely weakened by
internal divisions and a carefully
orchestrated government crackdown on its
structures.
Supporters
of the opposition party were hoping that a split in its
leadership ranks in
2004 would be resolved before next year's presidential
and parliamentary
elections, but the smaller breakaway faction led by
academic Arthur
Mutambara said at the weekend it was going it alone and
questioned Morgan
Tsvangirai's leadership credentials.
Mutambara said his party will
field its own candidates in next year's
elections.
"It is very
unfortunate because in an authoritarian system such as
ours, we need all the
democratic forces working together," John Makumbe, a
senior lecturer at the
University of Zimbabwe's political science department
said.
"The dictator is obviously clapping his hands because it is to his
advantage
that they present a divided front. The opposition is now fighting
on more
fronts than just one, and it limits their capacity to mobilise
against ZANU
PF," added Makumbe.
Zimbabwe will hold a key presidential and
parliamentary vote, which
both opposition formations say they will contest
but only if there are
guarantees the elections will be free and
fair.
The MDC says Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since
independence in
1980, has won past elections through fraudulent means, a
charge Mugabe
denies. The opposition party also says the country's economic
and political
turmoil has its roots in the flawed polls.
Political analysts said the breakdown in unity talks could discourage
MDC
supporters from going to the polls next year, handing Mugabe an easy
victory.
"They have disappointed many people in Zimbabwe and
outside and they
(MDC) are unlikely to succeed in dethroning Mugabe," said
Eldred
Masunungure, a University of Zimbabwe political scientist and leading
political commentator.
The analysts feared the sharp rift among
the opposition factions could
filter into the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) sponsored
talks between Mugabe's ZANU PF and the
opposition.
SADC in March this year tasked South Africa's President
Thabo Mbeki to
broker talks between the MDC and ZANU PF in a bid to end an
eight-year
economic and political crisis that is already being felt in the
region.
Zimbabwe's inflation has sailed to around 5 000 percent
although
private economists put it at double that figure while shortages of
food,
fuel and foreign currency have devastated the southern African country
of 13
million people.
Mugabe's government, desperate to secure
the elusive urban vote since
2000, has ordered a price freeze on all
commodities to bring relief to
suffering consumers.
But while
consumers have welcomed the lower prices, basic commodities
like maize-meal,
milk, meat, sugar and bread have all disappeared from
supermarket
shelves.
"This fight (between MDC factions) will be taken to the
ongoing
mediation led by Mbeki. It is surely going to set back the mediation
process
further and it will leave Mbeki very disappointed," Makumbe, a
staunch
critic of Mugabe's government, said.
"It will be a
matter of personality clashes and ZANU PF will walk away
the winner," he
said.
Analysts said Mugabe, a wily and cunning politician, who has
outfoxed
opponents in the past would be quick to exploit the split to
maximum
advantage when the country goes to the polls next
March.
The analysts said if the two MDC formations contested next
year's
elections separately they were likely to divide the vote but added
that if
one of the factions boycotted, the other was likely to participate,
almost
assuring ZANU PF an easy victory.
Mugabe, at 83 years is
fit for his age and has indicated he will
contest in the elections scheduled
for next March. If he wins he would have
ruled the country for 33 years,
making him one of the longest serving
statesmen in Africa.
"What I see happening is that Mugabe will only need one of the
factions to
participate to make sure that next year's elections look
legitimate," noted
Masunungure. "So one might boycott only for the other to
participate and
ZANU PF only needs one faction and will say the election was
free and
fair."
Mugabe denies charges that he has presided over Zimbabwe's
economic
meltdown that has left eight in 10 people without a formal job and
instead
says former colonial ruler Britain has led a hostile Western
campaign
against Harare to punish it for seizing white-owned farms to give
to
landless blacks.
The veteran leader says the land was stolen
by white colonialists and
was the key reason for waging a bloody war of
liberation in the 1970s. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 31 July 2007
By
Hendricks Chizhanje
HARARE - Zimbabwean police on Monday said they had so
far arrested at least
6 200 business executives and managers for defying a
government directive to
roll back prices to mid-June levels.
Police
spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka said the business managers, most of
whom have
been fined and released, were arrested for pricing their goods
beyond the
government stipulated prices.
"The main charges are those of overpricing.
We are vigorously clamping down
on those who are still defying the
government's directives on prices," said
Mandipaka.
At least 33
business managers were due to appear in court yesterday for
defying the
directives on prices.
The Harare authorities launched the blitz on prices
late last month after
they accused business leaders of working with their
Western enemies to hike
prices of basic goods in an attempt foment rebellion
against the government.
President Robert Mugabe has rejected appeals by
the business community to
reverse the government order that has seen hungry
Zimbabweans sweep away all
basic goods from shop shelves with business
leaders saying they cannot
afford to restock after they were forced to sell
at a loss.
Economic analysts have warned that the crackdown, code-named
Operation
Dzikisa Mutengo, could bring Zimbabwe's struggling economy to its
knees in a
matter of weeks. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 31 July
2007
By Nqobizitha Khumalo
BULAWAYO - A Zimbabwean white farmer has filed an urgent High Court
application demanding the release of three vehicles and an unspecified
amount of ivory that were confiscated by the police when they evicted her
from her property last week.
Margaret Joubert, together with
her ailing 83-year old mother, Ellen
Maud Dolphin, were evicted at gunpoint
by heavily armed police officers from
her Portwe Estates Farm in Inyathi, in
Matabeleland North province.
Joubert also wants the police to
release several computers that were
also forcibly taken away from the
farm.
Joubert's lawyer, Josphat Tshuma, confirmed yesterday that he
has
filed papers at the Bulawayo High Court seeking the release of the
vehicles
and the other equipment.
"Police have no right to hang
onto the equipment and in the first
place they are not supposed to be at the
farm, papers were filed at the
Bulawayo High Court last week on Friday,"
Tshuma said.
Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena could not be
reached for comment
on the matter yesterday. The police have however in the
past defied High
Court orders to vacate Portwe Estates.
Joubert
said the police had seized three elephant tusks that she was
keeping inside
her farmhouse. She said the ivory was cleared by the
Department of Parks and
National Wildlife and there was no need for the
police to keep
it.
"I have instructed my lawyer to institute legal action against
the
police and he has already filed an urgent High Court application for the
release of my property which includes three vehicles, three elephant tusks
and computers," said Joubert.
The police last week forcibly
evicted the Joubert family as well as
their farm workers and the farm
manager Lovemore Muzenda as the long running
dispute over the property
entered its fourth month.
The police invaded Portwe Farm last March
and declared that the farm
now belonged to the law enforcement agency. They
chased away foreign
tourists who were at the safari lodge on the farm and
seized keys to all
buildings at the farm.
President Robert
Mugabe's government has over the past seven years
chased away about 90
percent of the country's 4 500 white farmers plunging
the southern African
country into acute food shortages. - ZimOnline
VOA
By Irwin Chifera, Thomas Chiripasi, Patience Rusere and
Safari Njema
Harare & Washington
30 July
2007
Hopes among some Zimbabweans that the opposition
Movement for Democratic
Change might mend the fault line between its two
factions have been dashed
with the declaration by Arthur Mutambara, rival to
MDC founding president
Morgan Tsvangirai, that he intends to present himself
as a candidate in the
2008 presidential election.
At the same time,
Mutambara told journalists at a news conference in Harare
over the weekend
that his MDC faction was pulling out of the Save Zimbabwe
Campaign which had
provided a venue for cooperation by the two opposition
formations. Mutambara
charged that the Save Zimbabwe Campaign was supporting
Tsvangirai, who has
announced he will challenge the incumbent President
Robert
Mugabe.
Correspondent Irwin Chifera of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
reported.
Responding obliquely in a campaign speech on Sunday, Tsvangirai
said
democratic forces must work together to dislodge Mr. Mugabe and the
ruling
party in 2008.
Correspondent Thomas Chiripasi reported from
Harare's Kuwadzana section.
Commented Tsvangirai spokesman Nelson
Chamisa: "We believe in unity of
purpose and we hope people will realize
that the enemy is Mugabe and not
Tsvangirai."
Mutambara's decision to
enter the presidential field in next year's election
is likely to benefit
Mr. Mugabe and the ruling party, said democracy and
governance program
director Peter Kagwanja of the Human Science Research
Council in South
Africa.
Kagwanja told reporter Patience Rusere that the move could also
undercut the
crisis negotiation talks being mediated by South African
President Thabo
Mbeki.
As campaigning for the March 2008 elections
picks up, key issues are
emerging as respective party leaders address
supporters, reported Safari
Njema.
Zimbabwe Today
As medical
facilities decay, as equipment breaks and is not replaced, what
hope for
those who must have treatment?
There are many ways to die in Robert
Mugabe's Zimbabwe today, starvation,
riot, a visit from your friendly
neighbourhood policeman... But one of the
saddest now threatens a group of
people already suffering from a life
threatening disease.
They are
patients with renal failure. In the past there have been sufficient
dialysis
machines in the country to cope with demand, even though patients
often had
to supply their own equipment and fluids bought for them by kind
family
members in South Africa.
But now, like so much of the infrastructure
of this country, the machines
have begun to fail. Last week the machine at
Bulawayo's Mpilo Central
Hospital broke down. This left one functioning
machine in the country, here
at the Parirenyatwa hospital in
Harare.
I visited the renal unit at the hospital at the weekend and was
shocked by
what I saw - scores of patients, many of them elderly, many from
far away,
waiting patiently for a chance to undergo dialysis.
In
pain, and with swollen limbs and faces, they were clearly aware that
their
prospects are grim. Each dialysis session lasts four hours, and
patients
normally require dialysis three times a week. The queue at the unit
was
long, and growing longer by the hour.
I spoke to one patient, Kenneth
Ncube, from Nkayi in Matabeleland far to the
South. He told me: "I
travelled to Bulawayo to have my dialysis, but I was
told that the machine
at Mpilo had just broken down. Knowing the danger I
was in, I took the train
to Harare, but now we've been told that the machine
here has broken down
too. No-one can tell us when it will be repaired."
I understand that a
lack of foreign currency means the government cannot
afford to import spare
parts for the machines. Desperate doctors and
technicians have resorted to
cannibalising old machines for parts, but this
option is fast running
out.
One doctor at the unit told me: "All we can do is give the patients
pain
killers. The future for these people is very uncertain. Once the urea
and
potassium levels go up, a person can easily suffer a cardiac arrest, and
this can of course lead to death."
Next day I returned to the
hospital, to find the gate to the Renal Unit
sealed, with no-one allowed in.
No-one was prepared to tell me why.
I called Health Minister David
Parirenyatwa for his comments. (The name is
no coincidence. The Parirenyatwa
hospital was named after his father, the
first black Zimbabwean to qualify
as a medical doctor.) I asked him to
comment on the fate of Zimbabwean
kidney patients. This was his statement to
me:
"I do not discuss
these issues in the press, you are in the habit of
fabricating stories. In
any case, this is an issue of national security and
you should send your
questions in writing and copy them to Mutasa (State
Security minister). Make
sure the questions are on official letterheads and
stamped."
It is
probably a good thing that Kenneth Ncube and his fellow sufferers in
that
endless queue will never know or hear the words of comfort and sympathy
offered by their so-called Health Minister.
Posted on Tuesday, 31
July 2007
Agencia de Informacao de
Mocambique (Maputo)
31 July 2007
Posted to the web 31 July
2007
Maputo
The Mozambican police have arrested 131 people (92
Mozambicans and 39
Zimbabwean) for illegal prospection for gold and other
minerals in
Chimanimani, in the central province of Manica, on the border
with Zimbabwe.
The arrests were made during an operation codenamed "leao"
(Lion) launched
to dismantle groups of illegal miners.
The Manica
provincial police commander, Arsenia Massingue, cited in
Tuesday's issue of
the Maputo daily "Noticias", said that, because of poor
security conditions,
two of the Mozambican detainees managed to escape
during the
night.
She said that during the operation, the police seized 24.5 grams
of gold,
750 grams of other minerals, and unspecified quantities of mercury
(used in
panning for gold).
They also seized 55,000 meticais (about
2,200 US dollars) and over 7,000
Zimbabwean dollars (virtually worthless),
along with tools such as shovels,
pickaxes, hoes, machetess and
basins.
500 grams of the drug cannabis was also found in the possession
of the
prospectors.
Massingue added that in order to prevent the
illegal prospectors returning
to the area, a police unit has been stationed
at Chimanimani.
"Noticias" reports that elsewhere in Manica some members
of the police have
turned into criminals. Thus in Guro district a police
corporal, Fernando
Fanheiro, and three others, were caught in possession of
10 head of catt;e
stolen from local farmers. A further three people were
arrested in Mossurize
district for rustling. They were using an obsolete
rifle to threaten the
animals' owners, who were unaware that the gun was not
in working order.
Peoples Daily
21:22, July 31, 2007
An ecological crisis
is looming in the Hwange National Park in
Zimbabwe as animal numbers have
increased sharply, raising fears of a
population crash, The Chronicle
reported on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe last experienced a population
crash during the
devastating drought of 1992 when many animals died at
Gonarezhou National
Park owing to a shortage of food and
water.
Wildlife management experts confirmed to Chronicle
that the
animals'' growing demand for food and water could soon lead to a
population
crash in the Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe''s largest game
reserve and
Africa''s third biggest park.
Those fears
have been raised and it is up to the parties
concerned to see what measures
can be taken. There was a need for immediate
intervention to bring the
situation under control, a wildlife expert was
quoted as
saying.
"If the numbers continue to grow at this rate, we
will have a
situation where food resources will be exhausted and the whole
habitat
destroyed," said the expert.
The expert
emphasized the urgent need for an intervention
strategy. There is need for a
strategic population management through the
manipulation of water points by
way of introducing rotational pumping to
reduce overabundance of animals at
one place and reduce pressure on the
habitat, he said.
According to the reports by the newspaper, there are huge
numbers of
elephants within the park with an alarming birth rate. Large
herds of jumbos
and their calves could be spotted in most parts of the park.
There were more
than 200 elephants drinking water at each watering point.
As
the jumbos drank water, they barred smaller animal species
from nearing the
water holes. Animals such as warthog and, giraffe were seen
milling around,
awaiting their turn.
Due to the increased numbers of
elephants, there is also serious
destruction of
vegetation.
A Parks and Wildlife Management Authority
official confirmed the
fears of a population crash as more animals stampede
for scarce water and
food.
Hwange National Park has 60
artificial watering points. Water is
currently being pumped at only 36
points. More than 15,000 litres of diesel
are needed at Hwange National Park
to run the water engines every month. The
pumping of water is conducted
eight months a year.
Source: Xinhua
The Herald (Harare)
Published by the government of Zimbabwe
31 July 2007
Posted to the web
31 July 2007
Harare
FARMERS have called on power utility Zesa
Holdings to minimise power
disruptions to the farming sector as it was
severely affecting their
irrigation cycles and preparations for the tobacco
season.
Shortages of power have grossly affected wheat growth with most
of the crop
clearly showing signs of moisture stress while preparations and
irrigation
of tobacco seedbeds have been stalled by power
outages.
Although the power utility said it would ensure
uninterrupted power supplies
to farmers, the farming sector says it is still
experiencing severe power
outages which Zesa has, in turn, blamed on
inadequate supply of coal from
Hwange Power Company.
An economist
with the Zimbabwe Farmers' Union said a sizeable hectarage of
the crop would
be a write-off due to irrigation failures caused by
persistent power
cuts.
In an interview with The Herald Business, ZFU vice-president Mr
Edward
Raradza said power interruptions were affecting irrigation for both
wheat
and tobacco dryland crops.
"Although both the winter wheat crop
and tobacco seedbeds have been going on
well, power outages are affecting
irrigation, leading to the crop showing
signs of moisture
stress.
"For the tobacco crop preparations we have not encountered
problems with
inputs but our only worry at the moment remains power for
irrigation. This
is affecting progress on their seedbeds as they rely on
irrigation," he
said.
Most farmers were making use of the remnant
stocks of fertilizer and
chemicals from last year and Mr Raradza hoped more
fertilizers and chemicals
would have been secured.
Tobacco Industry
and Marketing Board acting chief executive Dr Andrew
Matibiri said there was
need to increase power supply to the farming
community given that power was
an integral part of any farming operation.
"We have put our tobacco
target at 70 000 hectares, up from 55 000 achieved
last year, and
preparations for the season are satisfactory.
"As for chemicals and
fertilizers we are using our remnant stocks from last
year but the only
problem has been of power for irrigation.
"Just like the winter wheat
programme, irrigation of tobacco seedbeds is
being affected by power outages
as most dryland tobacco relied heavily on
irrigation water," Dr Matibiri
said.
Agriculture Minister Mr Rugare Gumbo recently said the country
would be
forced import wheat, as there was a likelihood that farmers would
not be
able to meet the country's production target owing to serious power
cuts.
"Due to load shedding, wheat farmers have failed to get enough
electricity
for irrigation purposes. As a result we are going to import
wheat to ensure
that there is enough to meet demand," he
said
Government was looking at ways of increasing power supply to the
farming
sector although the efforts were being hampered by shortages of
foreign
currency.
Farmers said there was need for Zesa to abide by
its schedule on load
shedding to avert problems caused to irrigation
planning schedules and
damage to irrigation equipment. Only 45 000 hectares
have been put under
wheat this season against a target of 76 000
hectares.
Zimbabwe requires about 420 000 metric tonnes of wheat
annually, but has
seen production dropping to below 200 000 tonnes over the
years.
From The Herald (SA), 30 July
By Derrick Spies and Hendrick Mphande
Zimbabweans living in
Walmer township in Port Elizabeth fear they are being
targeted by local
residents after a xenophobic attack against three of their
countrymen this
weekend. Eastern Cape spokesman for the Movement for
Democratic Change,
Roderick Chimombe, said violence against Zimbabweans had
been escalating in
the township over the past two months. "It is clear there
is an element
within the Walmer township that is targeting Zimbabweans. Just
last month
they burnt down the house of Joseph Matasa, which he used to
store the cane
furniture for his business," Chimombe said. He cited another
incident two
months ago in which a Zimbabwean was apparently gunned down in
the
township.
In the latest attack, Takawira Ndaba, Walter Marwendo and
Dellington Savanhu
were attacked and repeatedly stabbed by a group of about
20 men while on
their way home yesterday afternoon. "We had stopped to buy
some meat for a
braai and had just left the shop when they attacked us,"
said Savanhu from
his bed in Provincial Hospital. He was stabbed several
times in his back,
chest and face, and passed out during the attack. His
friends were also
severely beaten, with Ndaba receiving a stab wound just
below the eye and in
his head and Marwendo sustaining numerous stab wounds
to his back. Ndaba was
treated and released from hospital, while Marwendo
was still in intensive
care yesterday.
"I don't know why they
attacked us, I just saw them walking towards us and
then they started
stabbing me," said Savanhu, who was having difficulty
breathing due to a
punctured lung. He said he did not expect to be faced
with violence when he
came to South Africa. "I left Zimbabwe to escape from
the violence, now I'm
being attacked because I'm Zimbabwean." Chimombe said
the attacks against
Zimbabweans needed to be addressed by the police, home
affairs and local
government and that the residents needed to be educated
about xenophobia.
"Many of us are here because of political persecution back
home. We have
left our families and work so that we can survive, and now we
are being
attacked here," he said.
Xenophobia, particularly towards Somalis, has
become a hot issue in
townships throughout Nelson Mandela Bay and was the
flashpoint for riots
that took place in Motherwell at the beginning of the
year. Police spokesman
Ernest Sigobe said Walmer police did not have a
record of the weekend
attack, nor did they fear xenophobic attacks against
Zimbabweans were taking
place. "I have spoken to the director of Walmer
Police station, and he has
assured me there is no evidence to show that
Zimbabweans are being targeted
in the townships," he said. In another
incident linked to xenophobia, a
Somali national has been arrested following
the death of a man over the
weekend. Nicklas Windvogel, 48, died after he
was shot in the stomach
yesterday morning in the Storms River area. A
38-year-old Somali citizen
will appear in court today on a charge of murder.
From Mmegi (Botswana), 30 July
People
of the border villages of Matsiloje and Matshelagabedi have asked for
police
reinforcements and told Vice President Ian Khama that they bear the
brunt of
cross-border crime, perpetrated by illegal immigrants from
Zimbabwe. With
the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) almost ever-present in
Zimbabwe, the people
of Botswana's border villages are in a quandary unique
to the frontier. "The
crime rate is too high in this village," said Kgosi
Oganne Polson at the
Matshelagabedi Kgotla. "I urge you to increase the
number of local police in
our village." Kgosi Polson said the three local
police officers and five
special constables in the village are overstretched
by the ever-increasing
crime in Matshelagabedi, which does not even have a
patrol
vehicle.
He said Zimbabwean cattle rustlers steal their livestock, and
that on the
rare occasion when stolen cattle are recovered, the owners still
lose
because Botswana authorities kill and burn the animals for fear of FMD
infection. Compensation for a destroyed animal is currently P400. Polson
pleaded with Khama to increase the compensation to at least P1,200. On other
issues, Polson complained of delays in drought relief projects, saying the
vice president should "get civil servants responsible for such projects to
pull up their socks." A villager, Baitshenyetsi Lentswe, complained of poor
facilities at the clinic: "We have repeatedly expressed our grievances to
relevant authorities, but to no avail."
Contrary to expectations that
Khama would fully respond to their grievances,
the vice president mainly
noted some developmental changes in the two
villages. He said the two
villages had grown considerably compared with the
last time he was there
when he was still a soldier. "You are better (than
others) because you have
electricity and water," said Khama amid ululations.
He said P1,200
compensation for a destroyed beast was too much; however,
government was
reviewing the issue. The Assistant Minister of Agriculture
Olifant Mfa, who
was in Khama's entourage, agreed with Polson that P400 for
a destroyed
animal was too little, hence the issue was under review. Mfa
said the idea
is not to pay but compensate: "It is true that the money is
not enough but
we feel killing is the best way to control FMD," he said,
much to the
chagrin of farmers.
For his part, the Assistant Minister of Labour and
Home Affairs Gaotlhaetse
Matlhabaphiri said unemployment was a countrywide
concern; hence government
encourages companies at the mines near the
villages to employ locals.
Whereupon the villagers said corruption was rife
at the mines. Without ado,
Matlhabaphiri said a commission of inquiry had
been appointed to investigate
the issue. As in other villages he visited,
Khama donated soccer balls to
the constituency, Tati East. The vice
president said the balls would be used
in a tournament to be facilitated by
the constituency MP Samson Moyo at a
date yet to be set. Prize money for the
tournament is P3,000, P2,000 and
P1,000 for first, second and third place
respectively. Khama visited
Themashanga before going on to Tsamaya where he
was expected to have a
relaxed exchange of views with village elders by the
fireside in the
evening.