• Harare's bishop moves to take over diocese
• Remain resolute in implementing Government policies: Murerwa
• Leon queries Harare talks
• Urban Intervention taking shape
• Commission blocks damning Zim report
• Budget criminal - Biti
• CFU boss lashes out at govt
• Govt in efforts to save mining sector
• Struggles stall war vets congress
• Succession saga could blight talks prospects
• Zim gets nod to sell stake in Petrozim
• Zim defies Sadc election protocol
• New constitution answer to Zim crisis - NCA
• MDC seeks ban on military poll involvement
• MZWT squanders $500 million
• Sadc challenged to tackle Zim crisis
• Talks: Zim can learn from SA
• Zanu PF playing game of deception
• Defective hammer cannot crack the nut
• Why whine to dine with a kangaroo?
• MP Chapfika exposed
• RBZ admits failure on cash
• IndependentProperty - RBZ calls in 'law enforcement agents'
• Food stocks begin to decline
• Future doomed so long as Mugabe remains
• 'We have no links with the British'
• Governance issue at heart of Zim woes
• People first
• President's score no more than zero

The report, which should have been released in October last year, was
supposed to be published at the 33rd session of the commission in Niamey,
Niger in May this year but the commissioners claimed there was not enough
time to consider it.

African diplomats close to the commission this week said the report condemns
President Mugabe and his regime for human rights abuses.

Reports on Zimbabwe's human rights record from Amnesty International and
Human Rights Watch have been rejected by African states who accuse the two
of Western bias.

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO forum chairman Albert Musarurwa on Wednesday said
publication of the report was overdue.

"At the moment we doubt if the report will be made public at the 34th
session of the commission in Banjul, Gambia in October," said Musarurwa.

Diplomats this week said the failure to table the report was part of a wider
cover-up strategy by the AU which is lobbying the Commonwealth to re-admit
Zimbabwe in the club in Abuja in December. Condemnation by fellow Africans
through the commission would bolster the Commonwealth's argument that
Zimbabwe should remain suspended from its councils, one diplomat said.

The AU fact-finding mission visited Zimbabwe in 2001 to probe human rights
abuses and left with huge volumes of evidence mainly from civic society.

Musarurwa said the delay in publishing the report stemmed from the
protectionist mode of African heads of state.

"The AU has become a trade union of leaders who want to protect each other.
This is a cancer that will be with us for a long time," he said.

African rights activists are putting pressure on the commission to make
public results of the probe ahead of the Abuja Commonwealth meeting in
December.

An African Civil Society Consultation meeting on Zimbabwe attended by
activists from Africa and Europe in Gaborone, Botswana from August 5 to 6
implored the commission to release the report.

"The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights should make its report
on the fact-finding mission public at its next session in October 2003,"
activists said in a communiqué after the consultation.

"The commission should then consider its mission report together with
submissions of civil society organisations and decide in line with Article
58 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights that a situation of
serious and massive violations of human rights exists in Zimbabwe and bring
this to the attention of the chairperson of the African Union and further,
make recommendations on immediate steps to be taken by the Zimbabwean
government to end the human rights violations," they said.

"A sum of $311 billion is needed to meet additional cost of the job
evaluation," Finance minister Herbert Murerwa told parliament yesterday.

Murerwa avoided key issues of interest rates and galloping inflation which
analysts forecast will reach 1 000% by the end of the year.

"The additional spending will result in a budget deficit of $301 billion
(7,3% of GDP) against the original $230 billion (11,5%) announced in
November last year," said Murerwa.

MDC shadow Finance minister Tendai Biti said the budget was criminal and a
seal of approval for government's profligacy.

"It's a criminal budget that is meant to legimatise government's fiscal
indiscipline," said Biti. "They have found a proper way to strip state
assets before their exit," said Biti.

Murerwa said nothing about the low interest rate which have discouraged
savings and fuelled speculative consumer spending.

"Domestic debt will definitely skyrocket as borrowing has become the major
source of funds for a government facing imminent collapse," said Biti
yesterday.

An economic analyst with a local bank said the budget was the hallmark of
poor governance.

"As long as Murerwa said nothing about interest rates and inflation his
budget is a disaster. The budget will push inflation further up," he said.

"Stability in the agricultural sector can only be created by addressing
fundamental issues such as the rule of law and winning back investor
confidence," Taylor-Freeme said in an interview with the Zimbabwe
Independent this week.

"Everybody, including the government, is avoiding these fundamental issues.
Unless serious action is taken, there will be a total collapse of the
economy."

Taylor-Freeme said he was concerned with the lack of urgency by government
to restore stability in the farming setor.

"Crop forecasts for next season are already indicating another decline from
this year's figures which were declared the worst ever. There is no doubt
that Zimbabwe will be forced to rely on donor goodwill for a couple of
years," he said.

"My message to farmers and all stakeholders involved in the land question is
to take conflict out of the situation and everything will move forward," he
said.

Taylor-Freeme said CFU members were keen to get back into farming and use
the vital infrastructure that is sitting idle.

"We have a massive food import programme. There is agricultural
infrastructure sitting idle such as irrigation schemes, tobacco facilities
and greenhouses.

"Small-scale farmers who legitimately bought their farms have joined the CFU
and we are helping them with the necessary skills.

"The small-scale farmers are currently the major producers of cotton and
other cereals in the country," said Taylor-Freeme.

Chamber of Mines chief executive David Murangari confirmed the meeting but
would not disclose details saying they were confidential.

"We met but we made an undertaking not to reveal the details of the
meeting," he said. "The issues we discussed are sensitive and we won't
disclose them."

However, sources close to the talks said Chindori-Chininga and mining
executives had discussed measures to save the key economic sector from
danger.

The meeting focused on the government's policies on the mining sector, the
exchange rate, the foreign currency crisis, fuel and power shortages and
spiralling inflation.

Zimbabwe's mining sector shrank 7,1% last year, and the situation is
expected to get worse this year.

A number of mines have either closed down or reduced operations while new
projects have been put on hold.

Whereas in 1996 the mining sector contributed 4,5% to gross domestic product
(GDP), the industry's GDP contribution dropped to 3,9% in 2001 and 1,45%
last year.

Zimbabwe's GDP is about US$3,7 billion, two-thirds what it was in 1998 when
it stood at US$5,4 billion. The economy contracted 11,9% last year and is
expected to shrink by 7,2% this year.

The sector's foreign exchange earnings capacity has also fallen from more
than 30% of total net proceeds in recent years to 25%.

Minerals that recorded decreases in volumes last year include gold, black
granite, coal, chromate, cobalt, graphite, iron ore, iron pyrites, lithium
minerals, magnesite and nickel.

Zimbabwe produces base metals, platinum group metals, industrial metal and
energy minerals. It has diamond and coal-bed methane reserves.

But gold production has been the worst affected due to the support price
scheme that always lags operating costs, creating cash-flow problems for
producers.

The shortage of foreign currency and the inefficiency of the gold pool
facility set up to help companies acquire inputs have hit production.

Gold production is expected to tumble another 27,6% to 11 tonnes this year -
reach its lowest level in 23 years.

"The congress had been scheduled for the first week of July. I can't say now
whether it could be held before the (Zanu PF) conference (in December)
because we still have to sit down and organise as well as decide on dates."

But the issue of President Robert Mugabe's successor in Zanu PF has added a
whole new dimension to the staging of the congress.

"Indeed, the succession issue is a thorn in the flesh," said Mhlanga.

"People are fighting over the issue, with some having already formed
campaign teams.

"But we are going to come up with the association's recommendations for
submission to the president and the party (Zanu PF)," he said.

He said the congress had been postponed several times due to the instability
in the country.

"We had stayaways and some political tension. However, we are still planning
to hold the congress," he said.

The ruling party will be holding a national congress next year at which a
new leadership will be chosen. It is generally believed President Mugabe's
successor will be chosen at the congress.

War veterans have become a factor in the contentious issue of choosing
Mugabe's successor, with aspiring candidates already using the former
combatants to campaign for them in the lower ranks of the party.

War veterans sources said Zanu PF heavyweights had developed a direct
interest in the affairs of the war veterans grouping.

"It is not at all the issue of lack of funds. The party made a commitment to
bankroll the congress long back," a source said.

"We were supposed to elect a new leadership. However, there are bigwigs
within the party who want the status quo to persist," he said.

Mhlanga admitted the staging of the war veterans congress could open a can
of worms.

"The congress can divide the association. It happened after the one held in
Umzingwane (1998) when chaos erupted as people fought over the outcome,"
said Mhlanga.

Patrick Nyaruwata has been acting war veterans chairman since the death of
Chenjerai Hunzvi in 2001 and a substantive chairman was supposed to be
elected at this year's congress.

A faction within the ruling party wants the top post to be given to Mugabe
as a life chairman, whilst another wants Nyaruwata to stay on.

This has widened the rift over the issue in the already divided Zanu PF.
Ruling party hawks are said to be fiercely resisting dialogue. The division
over talks were manifested during the party's recent politburo meeting, the
sources said.

While Mnangagwa and his allies wanted dialogue, die-hards like Zanu PF
deputy spokesman Jonathan Moyo were trying to derail the talks through the
state media.

Moyo has always advertised his hostility to Mnangagwa and talks through the
government-controlled press that now seems ranged against movers of
dialogue.

When reports filtered in February that Mnangagwa and Zimbabwe Defence Forces
commander General Vitalis Zvinavashe wanted to strike a power-sharing deal
with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Moyo reacted with anger, insinuating the
two were "coup plotters and electoral cowards".

Moyo's animosity towards Mnangagwa has a long record. Writing in the
Zimbabwe Independent on June 28 1996, Moyo said Mnangagwa should not be
allowed to become president because of his involvement in the Matabeleland
atrocities in the 1980s.

However, Mnangagwa's allies are pushing for talks with the MDC. These
include Zanu PF head of delegation to last year's collapsed talks Patrick
Chinamasa, secretary for security in the politburo, Nicholas Goche,
secretary for the commissariat, Elliot Manyika and MP Saviour Kasukuwere.

Goche is seen as Mnangagwa's key ally in the state security apparatus
together with Manyika and Kasukuwere who also have intelligence backgrounds.

Mnangagwa, State Security min-ister during the 1980s, is seen as wielding
vast influence in the Central Intelligence Organisation and the army.

It is thought he wants to use this clout to launch an assault on power.

Justice minister Chinamasa is understood to be Mnangagwa's associate as he
worked under him when the former was attorney-general and the latter Justice
minister.

Chinamasa, Goche, Manyika and Kasukuwere - who all initiated the current
talks - are talking to the MDC team led by party secretary-general Welshman
Ncube. The MDC group also includes deputy secretary-general Gift
Chimanikire, spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi and MP Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga.

Sources said the Zanu PF officials were anxious to see a negotiated
settlement to facilitate Mnangagwa's take over bid.

"Mnangagwa's foot soldiers are pushing hard for talks with the MDC because
they think this will lead to a negotiated deal that will propel him to
power," a source said.

"The idea is that Mnangagwa or his agent will emerge as the head of the
transitional authority that will organise new elections and during that
period consolidate his grip by recruiting some moderate opposition members
into his plans before taking over."

Industry sources this week said Lonrho had told government at a recent
meeting that it was willing to divest from the pipeline so long as it was
paid what was due to it. Noczim, whose creditworthiness has continued to
plummet in the face of increased indebtedness, cannot raise the required sum
to pay off Lonrho.

Noczim is saddled with huge debts to Libyan Arab Bank (US$43 million),
Tamoil (US$67 million), Independent Petroleum Group of Kuwait (US$65
million) and Engen of South Africa (US$25 million).

Two months ago, the government agreed with a Tamoil delegation to Zimbabwe
that the total value of the pipeline was US$60 million. The remaining
sticking point in the transfer of 25% of the shareholding to the Libyans was
the go-ahead from Lonrho who are divesting from Zimbabwe's mining and
manufacturing industries.

The sources said if government fails to raise the US$30 million to pay off
Lonrho, the Libyans would swoop on the shareholding to gain a controlling
stake. Tamoil would like to acquire the shareholding to form a joint venture
company, Tamoil-Zimbabwe.

It has also been learnt that Lonrho would like the government to clarify the
results of multinational company, Engen's bid for part of Noczim's
shareholding in Petrozim. The sources said Lonrho could cede its
shareholding to Engen who are already established here.

l Meanwhile, fuel marketers have started moving fuel from direct imports
through the pipeline as government procrastinates on a new fuel policy.

The sources said Noczim was handling fuel on behalf of the marketers from
Beira in Mozambique to storage tanks at Msasa.

Multinational companies are allegedly watching from the sidelines in
anticipation of a new energy policy.

The pipeline has in the past been used to move fuel imported by government
through Noczim. Private players normally use road tankers, which are more
expensive.

The sources said the use of the pipeline should cut costs for the marketers,
which is expected to lower the price of the commodity to consumers.
Marketers currently sell fuel at between $1 500 and $2 000 a litre through a
coupon system.

Speaking at an election reporting workshop in Kariba last week, Zimbabwe
Election Support Network (ZESN) chairman Reginald Matchaba-Hove castigated
flawed electoral processes in Zimbabwe which he said were responsible for
political instability in the country.

Matchaba-Hove said any country that held elections that were not free and
fair created grounds for political instability that sometimes led to armed
conflict.

"If you look at countries like Tanzania and Lesotho, the events unfolding
there are a result of flawed electoral processes that are leading to
instability and Zimbabwe is not an exception," Matchaba-Hove said.

He said Zimbabwe, as a country that was quick to denounce anything from the
West, should at least be seen to be adhering to the Sadc protocol because it
was African.

"Zimbabwe must comply with basic Sadc election protocol standards because
those standards are not set in Britain, the US or in Europe but were set as
guidelines and adopted by leaders in southern Africa," Matchaba-Hove said.

As a result of flawed electoral processes, Matchaba-Hove said, African
countries would never enjoy political stability.

"The 1998 elections in Lesotho were highly-contested and almost led to civil
war. This was largely due to a very seriously flawed electoral process that
left the opposition opting for non-electoral and unorthodox means of
political expression.

"In Zambia the 2001 presidential, parliamentary and local government
elections were also marred by irregularities. In our own country Zimbabwe
the parliamentary and presidential elections of June 2000 and March 2002
respectively were seriously flawed," Matchaba-Hove said.

He said this had resulted in political instability and several court
challenges by the opposition MDC.

Matchaba-Hove said Zimbabwe was the only country in the Sadc that did not
have an independent electoral commission and allowed the military to run
elections.

"Apart from Swaziland, which is a monarchy, Zimbabwe is the only country in
the Sadc that does not have an independent electoral commission.

People in the Electoral Supervisory Commission are mostly from the military
and that is unacceptable," he said.

Madhuku said a new constitution could resolve the crisis because it would
introduce fundamental reforms while settling contested political issues.

He said it would allow President Robert Mugabe to leave office with dignity,
address the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)'s call for new
elections and usher in a democratic dispensation.

"This is the only way out of this situation because it will give Mugabe a
safe exit and afford the MDC a chance to contest the election on an even
playing field," Madhuku said. "The constitutional avenue could provide a
solution to our problems."

Madhuku said the way forward was to come up with a stakeholders' technical
com-mittee to study the rejected governme-nt-sponsored Const-itutional
Commiss-ion's and the NCA's draft constitutions to produce a "consensus
document that will be subjected to public debate before being adopted by a
stakeholders' conference".

A referendum could be held, if necessary, to endorse the new constitution.

"This may or may not need a transitional government," Madhuku said.

"What is needed are organised structures to ensure that the process is
democratic and the outcome reflects the popular will."

However, sources said current efforts by Zanu PF and other players to come
up with a new constitution faced serious hurdles.

They said an array of transitional issues that must be dealt with during
this process stand in the way of a new constitution.

The major stumbling block is Mugabe's immunity from prosecution for human
rights abuses. Issues of truth, reconciliation, justice, amnesty and healing
are also hindrances.

Other obstacles to this constitutional formula are growing calls for
Mugabe's regime to be held to account for corruption and the stripping of
state assets.

If a deal was to be struck with Zanu PF, the MDC would want a transitional
executive authority (TEA) to manage the interim period before fresh
elections were held, sources said.

TEA would also have a mandate to make state assets registers and audits,
control the distribution of state resources, expenditures, and ultimately
arrange fresh elections.

These issues would have to be articulated and contained in a founding
document of the negotiated settlement that must be binding and irreversible.

But Zanu PF, which plans to introduce the constitutional issue when talks
with the MDC resume, wants constitutional reform to deal with Mugabe's
immunity and asset-stripping now so that its leaders are protected after
power.

The MDC however, wants an interim constitution that would address issues
relating to electoral law reforms before a final constitution is agreed.

In documents filed in court yesterday, the MDC, through its director of
elections Remus Makuwaza, argued that the appointment of police, army and
intelligence details to the ESC was illegal according to the Constitution of
Zimbabwe and the Electoral Act.

The MDC is being represented in the case by Bryant Elliot of Gill Godlonton
& Gerrans.

The application cites as first, second and third respondents the ESC, chief
elections officer Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba and Justice minister
Patrick Chinamasa.

"The secondment of members of the Zimbabwe National Army, including the
second respondent, the police force and the Central Intelligence
Organisation to the staff of the first respondent (the ESC) is illegal and
has not force or effect," Makuwaza said in his affidavit.

"The second respondent (Nyikayaramba) is a brigadier in the Zimbabwe
National Army which is a very high ranking member of the army. At the same
time he purports to be the chief elections officer of the first respondent
(the ESC)."

The application comes just a week before the holding of two by-elections in
Makonde and Harare Central and local government elections on August 30 and
31.

Makuwaza said the military, the police and intelligence agents were not
civil servants and as such should not be part of the ESC staff. Section 11
(1) of the Electoral Act stipulates that personnel to be assigned to the ESC
should be civil servants. He said the definition of a civil servant as set
out in Section 113 of the Constitution disqualified the army, the police and
the CIO from staffing the ESC.

Makuwaza said members of the uniformed forces and the intelligence were
biased towards the ruling party as they worked under instruction.

"These people are taught to obey orders without question," said Makuwaza.
"In a democracy such people should not be involved in the process of
elections."

The $500 million allocation is the largest amount government has injected
into the water project since the launch of the trust in 1998. The project is
forecast to cost $30 billion.

Rural Resources and Water Development minister Joyce Mujuru confirmed at a
meeting of traditional and political leaders in Bulawayo last weekend that
the MZWT had exhausted its allocation and that her ministry had applied for
more funds from the government.

"Most of the funds the MZWT was allocated for the project this year have
been spent and we have already applied for an additional $1,5 billion in the
supplementary budget," Mujuru said.

The supplementary budget was presented to parliament yesterday. There was no
specific mention of the MZWT.

Mujuru said the $500m was spent on constructing a 12-km access road and
houses to accommodate workers at the project site.

Sources close to the operations of the MZWT told the Independent most of the
$500 million allocated to the trust was spent on general administration work
while spending on the actual project was minimal.

"The bulk of the money was used to finance trips by senior MZWT staff to
Malaysia," said the source. MZWT chairman Dumiso Dabengwa said he would only
discuss the MZWT issue next week.

Bulawayo executive mayor Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube said council had no
information on developments at the MZWT.

"Council, which is supposed to be the main implementer of the project, is
not aware of any developments at the moment," said Ndabeni-Ncube.

"The government and the MZWT are the people who know best what is going on."

The government, through the MZWT and a Malaysian company, Zimmal, have
pledged to finance the whole project to pipe water from the Zambezi River to
the city of Bulawayo, 450 km away.

But the future of the project is still uncertain as nothing has been done
despite numerous promises that work would start soon.

Amnesty wrote a letter to South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is
involved in efforts to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis, incoming Sadc chair
President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, outgoing chair President Eduardo dos
Santos of Angola and chairman of the Sadc organ on politics, defence and
security, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, urging them to ensure Sadc dealt
with the crisis in Zimbabwe. Chissano was in the country last week to assess
the situation.

However, Sadc leaders, who last confronted the Zimbabwe crisis head-on
during their 2001 summit in Blantyre, Malawi are likely to dodge the problem
again.

Sadc executive secretary Prega Ramsamy has already indicated that the
Zimbabwe issue will not feature during the Dar es Salaam meeting starting on
August 25. Addressing journalists this week in Tanzania's commercial capital
where the summit will be held, Ramsamy claimed the organ on politics,
defence and security was dealing with the problem.

South Africa is said to be spearheading efforts to ensure Zimbabwe is not
discussed in public gatherings in line with its ineffective "quiet
diplomacy".

It is understood Pretoria - which is now flexing its muscle across the
continent - suppressed the Zimbabwe issue during the African Union summit in
Maputo last month. There is speculation that it will also prevent the
Zimbabwe question being discussed at the Commonwealth meeting in Nigeria in
December.

Zimbabwe Economics Society president Lovemore Kadenge and Zimbabwe National
Chamber of Commerce policy and advocacy manager James Jowa blasted Chapfika,
saying he was overlooking the fact that the RBZ was "not autonomous and its
hands are tied by government".

Kadenge, an economic consultant, said Chapfika seems unaware that he is
indirectly also calling for Finance and Economic Development minister
Herbert Murerwa's head.

Jowa, on the other hand, pointed out that government was simply "passing the
buck on the cash crisis because they are trying to exonerate themselves from
their economic mismanagement".

Chapfika and Zanu PF MP for Murewa North Victor Chitongo on Tuesday
recommended to parliament that all RBZ bosses be sacked because they had
failed Zimbabwe.

In their contributions to debate on President Robert Mugabe's parliamentary
address, the two legislators said the RBZ needed new brains.

"These are issues that are dealt with by the Minister of Finance and
Economic Development, Dr Herbert Murerwa," Kadenge said in an interview.

"It is surprising and disheartening to have such statements coming from the
honourable MP who chairs parliament's Finance Committee which deals directly
with the issues raised. Is Chapfika, therefore, saying that he has failed to
do his job too?"

Jowa said: "Government has mismanaged the economy and is now just trying to
exonerate itself. The RBZ governor is just a stooge. He gets directives from
government which should take the blame for the current cash crisis."

Chitongo, a journalist, and Chapfika, a banker, are prominent
businessmen-turned-politicians with a strong influence in Mashonaland East.

Chapfika said the RBZ's Monitoring and Supervisory Department had done
government a "disservice and required re-orientation on critical economic
fundamentals".

In a follow-up interview on the issue yesterday, Chapfika told
businessdigest that while he was chairman of parliament's Finance Committee,
he could not do the work of the RBZ.

"We are very unhappy about their performance," he said.

"I was not scolding them at all but si-mply telling them that they needed to
pull up their socks. They are always complaining and saying that their hands
are tied. Tied by whom?"

Chapfika was executive director of the collapsed Universal Merchant Bank of
Zimbabwe Ltd (Unibank) where, Jowa and Kadenge point out, "critical economic
fundamentals were thrown out of the window".

Unibank, launched amid much pomp and fanfare in Harare and Bulawayo, was the
second indigenous financial disaster in Zimbabwe after the collapse of Roger
Boka's United Merchant Bank (UMB).

Tycoon Boka's UMB sent the country's banking sector into turmoil when it
issued fake Cold Storage Commission (CSC) Bills worth billions of dollars to
unsuspecting institutions.

When the scandal was unearthed, Boka's generous facility, which had become a
"take-away for the who is who in Zimbabwe" was shut down immediately.

CFX Merchant Bank Ltd (CFX) then snapped up Unibank in April 2002 after
"gross inefficiency and financial mismanagement had been unraveled at the
institution".

In its audited financial statement for the year ended December 31 2002, CFX
said it had taken over an "accumulated loss of nearly $800 million from
Universal Merchant Bank Zimbabwe Ltd".

When Unibank was swallowed by CFX, all directors, including Chapfika,
resigned and shareholders appointed new management who immediately chalked
up $1,9 billion in profit.

The company has continued to grow ever since.

Government announced that a new $500 note would replace the existing one at
the end of September.

Individuals and organisations holding Zimbabwean currency outside the
country's borders were given until this Sunday to return the notes.

"As of now, it is not feasible, however, to determine in precise terms, how
much of the existing $500 notes have been returned to the banking system
since money constantly flows in and out of the system," Chikaura told
businessdigest in a written response to questions this week.

The shortage of cash, a first of its nature in the history of the financial
services sector, has negatively affected confidence and service delivery in
the sector.

Long queues are now the order of the day at banks and building societies
countrywide especially in Harare and Bulawayo where customers begin waiting
for their cash from as early as 5am to get sums as little as $5 000 - the
equivalent of five loaves of bread.

VIP customers accustomed to receiving $100 000 in cash daily while sipping
coffee or tea have now had their allocation cut to a mere $10 000 per visit.

Breast-feeding mothers and riot police, standing side by side, either
awaiting cash or, in the case of the latter, crowd trouble, have now become
a norm in Harare's First Street Mall where the majority of the financial
institutions are located.

"The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has continued to inject cash into the
economy," Chikaura said. "In addition the bank has also issued $5 billion
worth of Zimbabwe dollar travellers cheques, since their introduction on
August 8. Notwithstanding these injections, the cash situation in the
economy, however, still remains tight, but this situation is expected to
ease as the new measures announced by government are implemented."

Bankers and politicians have lambasted the RBZ saying the central bank had
waited too long before trying to solve the cash fiasco.

They said, furthermore, the traveller's cheque system had been introduced
haphazardly without merchants and customers knowing exactly how to utilise
the facility.

Prominent banker and financial consultant Andy Hodges said more education
was needed before the cheques were dished out to the unsuspecting public.

He said the merchants were surprised about the decision because they were
facing problems especially as regards change.

"How does one change a customer with a $100 000 cheque wanting to buy goods
worth $40 000?" he asked. "This system might cause more problems than it is
solving. There should have been more education on how to use the cheques."

Trust Holdings Ltd chairman Tichaendepi Masaya, whose group's net profit for
the period ended June 30 stood at a whooping $15,1 billion, said it was
imperative for "authorities" and industry players to urgently put in place
measures to overcome this crisis, and avert "serious dislocation of economic
activity".

Chikaura said: "Parallel markets for foreign exchange develop whenever
demand outstrips supply, particularly if the official price does not respond
accordingly. Through various exchange control measures and directives, the
Reserve Bank has continued to intensify monitoring and surveillance of all
foreign exchange transactions by authorised dealers, to ensure that foreign
exchange receipts from export of goods and services flow through official
channels, and that the foreign exchange earned is fully accounted for. These
efforts are also aimed at eradicating banks' involvement in parallel market
activities."

The RBZ boss said as regards parallel market activities that take place
between individuals outside the banking system, it should be understood that
prosecution of such individuals was a collective responsibility involving
all the "law enforcement agents".

He said these agents included the ZRP, National Economic Conduct
Inspectorate (NECI), and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra).

"The long-term solution to the problem of foreign exchange shortages and the
parallel market, however, lies in the implementation of a consistent and
comprehensive set of macroeconomic policies, aimed primarily at promoting
export growth, so as to ensure that the economy, realises adequate foreign
exchange," Chikaura told businessdigest.

He said speculators had taken advantage of the resultant crippling foreign
exchange shortages to continuously depreciate the exchange rate, for
desperate importers utilising the parallel market.

Last week businessdigest revealed that thousands of landlords were
requesting United States dollars for their designer properties in the plush
northern suburbs of Highlands, Mt Pleasant, Borrowdale, Gun Hill and
Helensvale. Rentals were going for between US$300 and US$1 000 monthly.

While government has pegged the US greenback at $824 against the Zimbabwe
dollar on the parallel market it is going for as much as $3 500, making the
landlords monthly millionaires.

Estate agents interviewed confirmed that the landlords wanted "United States
dollars only" and preferred diplomats for their mansions.

Diplomats are extremely popular as tenants because they pay for their
accommodation in foreign currency and in full annually.

Some of the landlords are advertising requesting six months rentals in
advance for their properties in what has been described as "maximum
profiteering at the shortest possible time".

Landlords living abroad, Zimbabwean politicians and business executives who
have access to foreign currency own most of these designer properties, some
of which are fitted with elevators.

"The Zimbabwe dollar is the legal tender in the country and, as such, all
payments must be made in local currency," Chikaura told businessdigest this
week in a written response seeking clarification on the issue.

"A dispensation was, however, given to hotels and other tourist specialist
services to receive payment in foreign currency."

The RBZ boss said this measure had become necessary to improve convenience
for Zimbabwe's visitors, while at the same time encouraging foreign exchange
inflows.

"Requiring payments for rentals, properties or other goods and services in
United States dollars is, however, illegal," Chikaura said. "Again,
collective action by both the bank and other law enforcement agents is
critical, in dealing with this problem."

The Estate Agents Council had pointed out that it could not deal with the
sensitive issue since it was the responsibility of the RBZ to collect
foreign currency in the country.

The property market has became a hive of activity in Zimbabwe because of the
country's hyperinflationary environment. Inflation continues to shoot
through the roof monthly and has gone from about 200% in January this year
to 399,5% for July. Individuals and corporates including blue-chip counters
listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange are now eyeing the property sector to
hedge against inflation and add value for their shareholders.

Companies that have decided to enter the property market include Mashonaland
Holdings Ltd, Zimsun leisure group, First Mutual Life Society of Zimbabwe
and NicozDiamond.

Individuals, on the other hand, are building designer mansions some of which
are the envy of mega stars living in Hollywood, US.

The donors said food scarcities would especially affect the poorest
households who could not afford the priced inflation on inputs, and widening
income inequality in the rural areas.

A Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Food Security Network (Fosenet),
says in its assessment of the food situation in Zimbabwe for the period
ending July that while nearly a quarter of households had more than a
month's food supply in May, this had fallen to 14% by July.

Fosenet involves 24 NGOs that collectively cover all districts of Zimbabwe
and all types of communities.

Its members subscribe that food distribution in Zimbabwe must be based on a
platform of ethical principles derived from international humanitarian law.

The NGO said the monitoring for July was drawn from 142 monitoring reports
from 50 districts from all provinces of Zimbabwe.

"The improvement of food availability from local harvests has begun to
plateau in July, forewarning future shortages in late 2003," Fosenet said in
its report released this week. "Initial indicators suggest that food
shortages may cover half of districts in the country. Many districts report
that food needs are likely to be severe by October."

Zimbabwe is facing an acute food shortage caused by the controversial
fast-track land resettlement programme where thousands of peasants were
given pieces of land by government in a move meant to try and solve the
sensitive land problem in the country.

However, some of these individuals have not farmed on their land mainly
because they cannot afford inputs, are not trained in agriculture, and in
some cases, the land was unsuitable for farming.

Fosenet said after some improvement of household stocks in March to May,
stocks were now beginning to decline again.

"While nearly a quarter of households had more than one month's food supply
in May, this had fallen to 14% by July," the organanisation said.

"Districts reporting no improvement or worsening situations are clustered in
Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, and Manicaland. These are provinces
where chronic food scarcities have been reported since 2002."

The organisation said an increasing number of individuals were reported to
be moving between districts to secure food.

Although movement had become a critical survival strategy, it was also an
increasingly costly and time-consuming one, the organisation said, with 86%
of districts reporting transport difficulties in July compared to 42% in May
this year.

"Households currently face severe constraints in accessing seed and
fertiliser which will affect 2003 planting if not addressed," the
organisation warned. "In five provinces all districts reported that seed was
not available and in two provinces all districts reported that fertiliser
was not available.

Prices of seed and fertiliser have increased since May by over 100% in
formal and parallel markets. About a third of households report that they
have no access to tillage or draught power. Matabeleland North and South are
particularly disadvantaged."

The report said while support for these inputs was critical for production
in the 2003/4 season, no reports were made of such inputs being organised.

Why is it that not one of these erudite people ever mentions the real reason
for the economic meltdown, a reason well understood by most tuckshop owners,
gardeners and domestic workers? Are they blinded by their own science, or is
the truth too frightening to speak aloud?

We all know that President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF are the problem, and
that our economic problems will never, and can never, be solved until they
are removed. We all know that Mugabe's policies have brought ruination and
starvation to the nation. Consider these facts, which again we all know.

The purpose of the land grab was to achieve the following objectives:

lCompromise the judiciary by making most of them receivers of stolen goods -
other people's property;

lCompromise the police and armed forces in the same way;

lReward loyal party cadres with the opportunity to loot the property and
sell the produce of others;

lDelude the povo and unemployable into believing they were getting something
for nothing; and

Hit back at white farmers for their perceived support of the rule of law and
good governance in the form of the MDC.

It was never about agrarian reform or extension, it was never about food
supply, it was never about effective land utilisation and it was never about
the alleviation of poverty. It was only a bandit's method of rewarding his
gang to ensure their continued support.

So agriculture did not just die, it was deliberately killed in order to
achieve a totally different objective. Tourism did not just die, it was also
killed more or less by accident as a bye blow of the programme to intimidate
the masses through naked violence, carried out in a large part by the
state-sponsored Green Bombers and war veterans. Remember that the late
Chenjerai Hunzvi said he was answerable only to Mugabe? And didn't Joseph

Chinotimba say more or less the same thing?

That probably eliminated our two main sources of foreign exchange.

Next in the cycle of destruction we had really stupid price controls which
devastated commerce and industry and at the same time gave the fat cats a
wonderful and continuing opportunity to fleece the entire nation. Now we
have a government that is withdrawing notes supposedly in order to ease the
shortage of folding money!

These financial analysts also say we need billions in aid in order to
resurrect agriculture. The only reason we need these billions is because our
agricultural economy has been deliberately destroyed. No country in its
right mind is going to donate billions to the same people who carried out
the destruction. The world may be crazy, but it's not yet that crazy. The
only time we'll get any meaningful aid is when the culprits have been
removed and a credible government has replaced them.

So, to all those financial pundits I say: "Put away your textbooks, put away
your mbanje-flavoured dreams and see reality. There is at present one, and
only one solution to financial problems, and that is to get rid of Mugabe.

That is what you should be thinking of 24 hours a day. You really know in
your hearts that until then the slide into oblivion will only accelerate -
there is no technical, financial, policy or other solution. Have the courage
to say so. Until our own "Weapon of Mass Destruction" is removed, we will
have no hope of a future.

Charles Frizell,

Germany.

ZADHR is a non-political professional association of doctors, with other
health workers having associate status. To date, ZADHR has approximately 130
members from all branches of the medical profession working throughout the
country.

The primary objective of the association is to uphold the principles of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which the government of Zimbabwe is
a signatory.

ZADHR will respond to human rights violations including organised violence
perpetrated by any group, political or not, in power or in opposition.

ZADHR is also concerned with issues of equity and rights to healthcare in
relation to HIV/Aids. ZADHR has had no interaction of any kind with the
British government or the British High Commission.

The Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, has been
fully informed about the objectives and activities of the association.

Dr D M Gwatidzo,

ZADHR chairman,

Harare.

      THIS beautiful and productive country has been plunged into crises
that no one could have imagined only three years ago.

      When the fuel shortage started in 1999, we were told it was a passing
phase. Numerous deals were put in place. They all collapsed. At the moment
the government has no idea how cars are moving.

      It is often said that some managers make things happen, others watch
things happen while another lot wonder what happened.

      This government is wondering what is happening. Let us take sugar for
example.

      Zimbabwe still exports sugar. There is enough of it in the Lowveld. So
why has there been a shortage for over two years now?

      Who ever imagined we would be short of our own local currency? The
problems besetting this country have a domino effect. Can we say that this
regime is trying hard to resolve the problems but failing, or can we say
that they have now given up and are bereft of any ideas?

      We in MDC have said that the crises can only be resolved in a holistic
manner. Presently, each minister of the so-called war cabinet is running
round like a decapitated chicken trying to solve the problems besetting his
ministry. The problem is a governance issue, period.

      The purpose of this submission is to warn the nation that unless we
enter into serious dialogue and resolve the governance issue, even if the
country receives sufficient rains in the next four months, there will still
be shortages of food to levels that have never been seen before. The factors
that will contribute to that sorry state of affairs are the following;
shortage of seed, shortage of fertilisers and cost of both seed and
fertilisers. I will now expand.

      There are approximately 800 000 active farmers in the country. These
are mainly communal farmers and those who were properly resettled before the
chaotic land reform.

      These farmers can be relied upon because they have experience, they
are good farmers and they may have their own draught power. If each of these
farmers was to cultivate only two hactares, each would need a minimum 500kg
of compound D, 400kg of AN and 50kg of maize seed.

      At current prices, this translates to $540 000 per farmer. The average
yield for communal farmers is about a tonne per hactare.

      The total production would therefore be 1 600 000 tonnes. If this was
to happen, other farmers would then produce maybe another 600 000 tonnes,
giving us a total of 2 200 000 tonnes, sufficient for one year's
consumption.

      This is easier said than done. Let us look at some facts.

      With 800 000 farmers each tilling 2 ha means 1 600 000 ha. The seed
required would be 40 000 tonnes at $800 000 per tonne equals $32 billion;
compound D 400 000 tonnes at $600 000 per tonne equals $240 billion and AN
320 000 tonnes at $500 000 per tonne equals $160 billion. To finance maize
production for next year, the farmers must raise $432 billion.

      As we have seen above, each farmer must raise $540 000. We know that
there is a shortage of local currency in the country. Communal farmers do
not have cheque accounts. They operate on cash, which is now not available.

      Even if the government was to print money to help farmers with inputs,
I don't believe there is enough printing capacity to produce the volumes of
cash required.

      But this assumes that the inputs are available. We do not have enough
seed in the country. We do not have enough fertilisers either. Any scheme to
revive agriculture should have long been put in place. Farmers should by now
have received the bulk of their inputs. As nothing has been done, nothing of
any significance can be done now.

      Two years ago we produced about 240 000 tonnes of wheat. Last year,
after much hype, only 140 000 tonnes were produced. This year the wheat
which is in the ground will be enough to feed the nation for one month, a
mere 40 000 tonnes.

      Next year there will be no wheat at all.

      What is the solution? The government, in its inherent malfeasance, is
preoccupied with readmission to the Commonwealth in December. It is my
submission that one of the most urgent matters is the growing of food next
year.

      We have only two months at most to put plans together. We have no
fuel, we have no sugar, we have no cooking oil, we have no money, we have no
mealie-meal. The costs of these items if they become available, are
unaffordable.

      The government has asked the World Food Programme for total food aid
this year as they have no money! If this is not abrogation of responsibility
and total admission of failure, then I don't know what is.

      The Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Resettlement is today, so late
in the season, seeking foreign currency to import seed and fertilisers. Who
is going to be responsible for the starvation of the people in this country
next year? Who is planning for the food production for next year? Can we
really say that we have a government that is in charge other than in charge
of violence and repression?

      I go back to my earlier point. The problems of this country cannot be
solved in isolation of the governance issue. We in the MDC have plans that
will address the economic meltdown, not piecemeal, but totally. We have
already developed sub-strategies for each sector.

      In agriculture, we can revive production within the shortest possible
time provided it is part of the overall political solution. The political
solution will bring back the rule of law, readmission into the comity of
nations, access to international finance, return of donors and an
opportunity to negotiate on what to do with our huge foreign debt. We will
also rationalise the land reform to ensure productivity returns.

      Like I said, because nothing has been done up to now, even though the
weather forecasters are predicting a good season, we will embarassingly be
begging for food again next year. What an indictment for a country endowed
with such natural resources.

      In the words of the erudite Pius Wakatama, those who have ears, let
them hear.

      Renson Gasela (MP),

      MDC Shadow Minister of Lands & Agriculture.

The public in general is not comfortable carrying paper that has been
hurriedly printed that nobody immediately recognises at its face value. In
short, the introduction of travellers' cheques as a substitute for the
Zimbabwe currency is not only being rejected but has also created a
monumental public relations disaster for both the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
and the government.

The reasons for this rebuff are not hard to find. The travellers' cheques
were issued as a knee-jerk reaction to a crisis that has been simmering over
a long period without government offering a plausible explanation or
solution. Their sudden introduction was seen as some gimmick to buy time.
Why the sudden inspiration to print some paper and call it money when
government has been watching the problem ballooning without acting?

Why not print proper money if the travellers' cheque itself is as safe to
use as the $500 bill?

An issue that has been raised by members of the public is that the first
cheques issued had a face value of $100 000. Human nature being what it is,
people are bound to be suspicious of parting with their money or goods on
the basis of a piece of paper they are not sure will be honoured by the next
dealer. What if it turns out to be fake and their goods and change have
gone? People are naturally resistant to change, especially unguided change.
This gets more pronounced under a system where everything appears to result
from crisis management.

Like in any other crisis, the hardest hit are the poor. According to the
grapevine, wholesalers and supermarkets will accept your new $100 000
travellers' cheque. The condition is simply that there is no change. The
prices of their goods have either doubled or trebled in the past three
months.

So whatever denomination you take for your shopping they make sure you take
away as few goods as possible to reduce their own exposure to the new
phenomenon. You could accuse them of profiteering, but their answer is
equally cogent: we are taking on a very grave risk and we don't want to lose
our goods for a song. The poor man is caught in a vicious circle. Talk of
Zanu PF putting people first. They are the first in the firing line.

But there are lessons to be learnt from all this. One important lesson
should be that people will resist government imposts of any sort if they are
not consulted. A simple public relations exercise would have helped to
educate people about what the government and the RBZ were trying to do.

The first target would have been the banks - make them appreciate the
magnitude of the bank note crisis the government was facing, that
travellers' cheques were merely a stop-gap measure while a lasting solution
was being worked out and explain whether commissions would be charged and at
what rate. Banks already understand the dangers of printing money in a
hyperinflationary environment, so the lessons are clear.

Retailers and wholesalers also needed an explanation of what government was
trying to do. They are in business to make a profit, not to solve
government's problems. They need to be persuaded to cooperate with
government, not to be ordered to accept pieces of paper of very dubious
legality.

TV and radio could have been put to good use to educate members of the
public against hoarding money, to report people dealing on the parallel
market and how to use the travellers' cheques in a more economical way.
There is too much ridiculous propaganda like Rambai Makashinga on radio and
TV when what people want to know is when they can expect relief on problems
like cash, fuel and food shortages.

Four years of this kushinga nonsense when people are hungry is too long and
has become a major source of frustration even for government's most ardent
supporters. Rambai Makashinga, whatever that is supposed to mean, seems to
have become an end in itself instead of an exhortation on people to endure a
brief phase of inconvenience while relief is sought. It is especially
irritating when people can't get their own currency and government has taken
leave of absence.

The idea is not to heap blame per se but to point out government's shocking
inco-mpetence and mismanagement. Apart from a few well-connected foreign
currency hucksters, nobody else is reaping any dividend from this mess. The
point must be made, too, that the nation is paying politicians and
profession-als at the Reserve Bank to deal with these fiscal and financial
matters. We get nothing for our taxes.

Thousands of people spend literally days standing in queues to get their own
money when they should be either in their offices or on the shop-floor doing
productive work. This is in addition to spending hours in fuel queues and
outside supermarkets in search of scarce food commodities. There can be no
greater form of economic sabotage than these lost man-hours caused by
government's criminal delinquency.

The biggest problem is, of course, not lack of adequate regulation. It is
simply that government itself has become a bewildered bystander while the
rot runs riot. Why not ad-mit failure and quit with dignity? There will be
nothing to mourn.

"Solidarity" is a word Mugabe finds much comfort in, but those offering it
limit it to verbal support. Libya, Nigeria, South Africa and many other
countries in Africa and beyond cynically offer him their solidarity, but not
one of them is willing to come to the aid of Zimbabwe in the face of its
problems. Mugabe is more pleased by their hypocritical verbal support than
he is bothered by the fact that they all are cultivating closer ties with
the Western countries he claims to be fighting against.

A man of what had once seemed to be exceptionally high calibre, it is
strange that he feels comforted by the solidarity of leaders of mostly
dependent, dysfunctional states. Instead of giving those countries an
example to look up to, he is quite satisfied to have Zimbabwe go down to
their level.

Out of deference to his being one of the last of the surviving African
freedom fighters still in power they are polite to him, but he seems not to
notice that by many of their actions they do not have much respect for him.
He once used to be at the centre of African politics, now he is a sad,
isolated figure who is merely tolerated, finding great comfort in small,
meaningless gestures like being invited to talk shops.

Virtually every time he talks he issues warnings against someone or other.
Warding off increasing opposition has become such a full time job that there
is no time or energy to address mushrooming problems. He has so far
succeeded in avoiding open insurrection, but at great cost to himself. He
remains cloistered in the presidential palace, coming out only rarely under
heavy guard on very carefully controlled occasions.

There are countless laws to shield him from democratic comment and
criticism, fear and harassment are effectively used tools, but still he does
not appear like a relaxed, confident president at peace with himself.

Apart from his own many personal foibles, whatever of his positive legacy
was left is being rapidly used up by the shocking levels of theft, plunder
and other kinds of crookedness by many of his top lieutenants. He is aware
of it, but is now too weak and personally compromised to do anything about
it.

Some ministers and other top aides spend far more time on their personal
enterprises, a lot of them simply confiscated from fellow citizens, than on
affairs of state.

Their government positions are only conduits to getting cheap or free
resources with which to oil their personal activities. This is done so
blatantly it has completely stripped Mugabe of any moral authority. His
authority is now almost entirely from control over the means of force, which
he uses rather effectively, the only skill he has really perfected in his
time in office.

Using that skill, he brutally decimated white farmers as an autonomous power
block challenging him. His well-to-do cronies have benefited
disproportionately from an exercise he claimed was to empower the landless
poor blacks. Along with economic decline that had begun long before, his
method of land redistribution has left in its wake accelerated economic
decline and massive hunger.

The latter is only ameliorated by the food handouts of the same countries he
blames for his international isolation. A cold, unfeeling man, he seems
unmoved by the suffering he has personally caused to millions of
Zimbabweans. His goal of millions of disgruntled people who are too weak and
hungry to challenge him has been achieved, but it may not be for too much
longer.

He has a reservoir of support in parts of Africa and the black world beyond
for his strong anti-white stance, but supporters do not explain the
brutality and great suffering caused to mainly blacks by his racism. He has
succeeded in squandering the potential of Zimbabwe and his own to be a
beacon of economic success and freedom to a tired, depressed Africa. Instead
of raising the stakes of what Africans should expect from independence and
majority rule, he has merely been content to feed on and fuel age-old
resentments without putting food on anybody's table.

It is one reason many of his most vocal supporters do it from the safety and
comfort of Western countries, or NGOs funded by the West! Violence has been
a hallmark of his rule, excused by many of his apologists because by the
standards of the massacres the world has seen in so many African countries,
Mugabe's methods look tame by comparison. This is yet another example of the
low standards in which those who claim to be the strongest Africanists hold
African life.

Mugabe is an absolute disgrace to Zimbabwe and Africa. No amount of
examination of his rule is excessive because of the high hopes of an
enlightened Africa of dignity, peace and prosperity he has failed to live up
to after 23 years at the helm. With as much singular power as he exerts over
so many critical aspects of life and politics, the reversal of Zimbabwe's
plight as just another failed African state is not possible as long as he
remains president. I give him a score of zero.

Chido Makunike is a Harare-based writer