| The ZIMBABWE Situation | Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe - may peace, truth and justice prevail. |
ZIMBABWE'S economy is set to plunge into deeper crisis because of President Robert Mugabe's ignorance of basic economic fundamentals in favour of political expediency, the Movement For Democratic Change said this week.
Giving its outlook on the
economy at a media briefing this week, the MDC said the downturn in the economy
in 2002 would be between 10% and 12%, while export receipts would fall below
US$1,5 billion resulting in more food imports.
"The economy will not improve as all the sectors continue to register
negative levels of growth," said the MDC shadow minister of finance Tapiwa
Mashakada. "The government's desire to serve the interests of its political
ambitions will result in severe crisis."
The MDC said a decline in investment, low interest rates, high inflationary
rates, a high unemployment level, the decline in productive sectors and
withdrawal of donor support were some of the major detriments to the economy.
"The recent reduction in a number of key interest rates by the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Finance will simply excarcerbate inflationary
pressures throughout the economy," Mashakada said. "In addition they continue to
be a serious disincentive to savings and contribute a major new form of informal
taxation.
"The outlook for the economy in the face of continued decline in all economic
sectors remains dismal. Many banks are now over extended with debt of
questionable quality and fears exist of a serious crash in these markets if the
situation is not managed carefully," he said.
Mashakada said exchange rates continued to be held at artificially low levels
and this had a serious effect on the economy, adding that the country's gross
domestic product, which now exceeded US$10 billion, posed a threat to achieving
economic growth in the next five years. The decline in export activity would
trigger shortages of imported items and drive up the price of the Zimbabwe
dollar on parallel market.
IT seems like it was eons ago when he had the whole world at his feet, yet it was only a few years ago. Then, world leaders beat a path to his door, it was prestigious to have him attend your international conference, and universities all over the world felt proud to confer honorary degrees on him.
People spoke with reverence about his principles, his intellect and what a
breath of fresh air he was to an Africa blighted with corrupt, murderous
strongmen. That was the Robert Mugabe of newly independent Zimbabwe.
All that is in the past, a distant memory.
The face now is usually grimaced or contorted with rage at some new slight
from the many imagined enemies, and the preoccupation is no longer accomplishing
anything, but ensuring that the snowballing number of opponents are thwarted by
any means necessary.
Where once he would be mobbed by admirers wherever he went, now he is a
lonely, isolated figure. There remain a few genuine diehard loyalists, but many
members of the inner circle are simply mercenaries, there not because of a
belief in any particular cause but because it provides protection from the
demons of their past, or for other self-serving reasons.
Further afield, he laments the loss of support of his neighbours.
The silent code of the neighbourhood is that you do not openly criticise your
neighbour, but the signs of waning support and disapproval are clear for all to
see.
The neighbours no longer come to visit, and they spend a lot of time
whispering about him behind his back. He is a dominant, feared figure; so in his
presence they make sympathetic noises, but even he can tell they have little
conviction.
He is in such a warped world of his own that he is genuinely hurt and angry
that the world is disgusted at his insisting on bringing about necessary change
by destroying all the old, including the good, instead of rising to the
challenge of building on it to create the new like a hero should. While his
neighbours stroke his ego to his face, behind his back they work tirelessly to
use the destruction he is causing to their benefit.
Used to being respected and the centre of attention, he is deeply stung and
wounded by his new status as an outcast. He travels far and wide for new
friends, but those who now offer "friendship" do so at a very high price.
That price includes many of his most precious assets, ironically the very
ones he claims to be causing upheaval to restore; as well as licence for the
friends to do as they wish in his home. Where once he was admired for the
calibre of the company he used to keep, now he sadly has to scrape the bottom of
the barrel for associates.
Those new "friends" keep him humiliatingly at arm's length to make it clear
to him that the "friendship" is not based on equality, and can be withdrawn to
his detriment at any moment. He is hurt and resentful of this, but is so
cornered and lacking in options that there is little he can do about it.
He spends day and night in tirades against those across the river who wronged
him and his neighbourhood many years ago. He spends his considerable energy and
intellect on moaning about past events that are beyond his power to change,
instead of focusing them on getting on with solving present day problems.
The pride and fortitude that made him such a considerable force against those
who kept the neighbourhood down for so long, and for which his community once so
revered him, are now the instruments of his own destruction. He is in deep
trouble in every sense, but is too proud to admit it.
The signs of collapse are all around him, but he insists that everything is
just fine, it is the evil enemies who are trying to convince his people that
what they see and experience everyday is simply an illusion.
His desperate, frightened hangers-on and disgruntled groups from all over the
world who enjoy his message of protest and defiance assure him that his joining
them in being an outcast is romantic and sexy, and he derives some shallow
comfort from this for the few days that they stop by to visit, before they rush
back to the comforts of their homes or adopted countries.
He has enjoyed good health and has lived a long, eventful life. In the sunset
of his life, he has sadly deprived himself of the time to reminisce and savour
that privileged life. There is so much anger, hunger and despair in the land
that he stands the tragic risk of his legacy being regarded as more the decline,
hate and destruction of the later years, than the sacrifice, inspiration and
promise of the earlier years.
That is the pitiful story of a fallen hero.
Chido Makunike,
Harare.
NOW that the deadline for the fast-track land reform is upon us, the focus is once again on pledges made when the programme began. President Robert Mugabe said he would consider retiring after he had seen the land returned to its rightful owners, the blacks. Now it looks like he wants to sit through the balance of his term as his departure would necessitate another presidential election. It is persuasive to think that he will use this time to groom a successor.
President Daniel arap Moi
of Kenya is trying hard to convince his party to accept his anointed one, Uhuru
Kenyatta, a move which has seen two other party members throwing their
candidature into the fray, in the process splitting Kanu. Mugabe will obviously
want to avoid such squabbles as they will weaken the party in the face of a
Movement for Democratic Change onslaught.
The Zambian debacle where the chosen successor has turned against his
appointer will provide useful guidelines on what not to do. Mugabe will want to
avoid one who will most likely turn against him, or divide the party.
He is searching for one who will not do a "de Klerk on Botha" ie, dismantle
Zanu PF hegemony. The successor will need time to get acclimatised to the
Cubans, Malaysians and Libyans. The choice is made more difficult here because
there is no Mugabe old enough to do a "Joseph Kabila" in Zimbabwe.
Useful pointers can be gleaned from the appointment of cabinet over the last
years. There was no clear formula until after 1987 when the dictates of the
Unity Accord became an issue. Outside Edgar Tekere, all others have resigned
rather than be fired - barring those who died in office. Until the advent of
Jonathan Moyo, there has been no clear favourite among the new blood and there
is none among the old blood. Those that float names like Emmerson Mnangagwa are
just speculating as he is not allowed to behave in the same manner Moyo is
doing.
That there is an internal struggle for power is part and parcel of politics.
What is impossible to ascertain is the outcome. This begs the question whether
the centre will hold long enough to push the appointed successor down the
throats of others or whether the internal struggles will force the centre to
accept their outcome. Will those that have challenged Mugabe recently have any
chance, eg Simba Makoni on devaluation? Party strongmen like Solomon Mujuru and
Mnangagwa are dangerous as they are not predictable and will most probably be
their own bosses.
On the other hand, younger members lack the liberation war credentials
necessary for them to be acceptable to the war veterans constituency.
The war veterans' stake in internal party affairs has increased tremendously
in the last few years such that they can no longer be ignored. Furthermore, they
have uncouth methods of getting their own way if they are not heeded.
This leaves the party in exactly the same position that Mozambique's Frelimo
found itself after the death of Samora Machel. Joachim Chissano, if you like,
emerged from the blue to take over. This is what will happen in Zimbabwe as
well. The successor or the victor in the internal struggle is likely to emerge
from the blind side to facilitate cohesion within the party.
This person will not emerge from Masvingo due to the bitter and acrimonious
intra-party relations there. The person will not come from Matabeleland as they
are a minority in the party and are divided amongst themselves. With Harare
province in disarray, factional fighting in the Mashonaland provinces is likely
to weaken them singly and collectively.
This will leave Manicaland as the compromise province but with a dearth of
possible candidates. Could it be there is someone outside the country who will
be acceptable to all - a Bernard Chidzero of sorts?
As Zimbabwe slides towards dictatorship, there is a strong possibility of the
armed forces producing a candidate. Indeed, we have witnessed the elevation of
the "retired brigade" into the civil ranks. They have maintained a lower profile
in party affairs than others like Elliot Manyika. Whoever wins this poisoned
chalice must, for his survival's sake, be amenable to the armed forces,
especially their commanders.
In the final analysis, the next leader of Zanu PF is going to be a compromise
figure between the various competing interests which include the mafikizolos,
the armed forces (to guarantee Mugabe's personal safety), the old guard, the
young Turks (the Philip Chiyangwas, Saviour Kasukuweres and others), the ethnic
balance between Zezuru, Ndebele, Karanga and Manyika, the war veterans, the
third force (Makoni, Oppah Muchinguri and others), regional and international
acceptability (ANC, Frelimo, MPLA, Swapo, etc).
Altogether this is a downright mess any sensible person would want to avoid.
I deliberately ignore academics as they do not hold sway in Zanu PF. In fact
there is none to write about.
Ratifying protocols we won't respect
THE third session of the
Fifth Parliament was officially opened on July 23, but since this was presided
over by Robert Mugabe, MDC naturally decided not to attend the function.
However, we are adamant that we recognise the institution of parliament as
one of the three pillars of democratic government, and that it should be
empowered to act as a check to the other two, judiciary and executive -
especially the executive. It is for this reason that we have resolved to attend
normal parliamentary sessions, and to continue with our
committee work, despite contradictory reports even in the independent press.
Back to the opening: we caucused and agreed on a walkout as a more effective
strategy than just remaining absent, as opposed to a mere lack of appearance.
Moreover, we decided to wear black or dark colours to signify our mourning for
democracy and for the institution of parliament which is so clearly in intensive
care, if not already dead.
Zanu PF was expecting us to boycott but strangely, on the day itself, they
did not seem surprised to see us there, suggesting prior knowledge. When we
marched in, they took up both sides of the benches, and spread themselves out so
that when we entered the chamber, we could not have accessed our seats even if
we had wanted to! Not only that - the cameras were pointing away from us, mostly
operated by types in military uniform.
They had no intention of showing the opposition, and sure enough, people
relying on ZTV had no idea that we marched out and did not attend the opening
ceremony. Meanwhile, a helicopter circled overhead, gun at the ready, in case we
should cause any upset.
We caught snatches of Mugabe's speech - it said nothing new, except to
declare that devaluation is sinister and moreover, it is dead in Zimbabwe. He
intends replacing heads of independent schools with civil servants (to Zanunise
them), and says parliament will be asked to ratify the ILO Convention on Freedom
of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise! What kind of
make-believe world do we live in?
At our press conference afterwards to explain the walkout, the unanswered
question was - are the women wearing black because of Rutendo Jongwe?
The "Jongwe tragedy" has undoubtedly been the story of the month, painful to
everyone remotely involved. When ZTV news was interrupted by a "special news
item just released" that "a woman has been attacked at Learnmore Jongwe's home"
we all thought it was a domestic worker or visitor. When I joined two colleagues
to go to the clinic to try and establish the truth and give our support to the
suffering woman, we were still unclear what had really happened.
However, it soon became apparent that Rutendo was very ill indeed and
unlikely to survive - she had had 10 pints of blood already. We thought perhaps
Learnmore had been framed, that it was a Zanu PF plot and they might even have
kidnapped him so that we would never know the truth. We were soon disabused of
that wild notion when Learnmore himself admitted killing Rutendo, insisting that
she had provoked him.
We were deeply upset. We attended Rutendo's funeral at her home to give
support, and when we returned with Gibson Sibanda (Vice President and Leader of
the Opposition), our Chief Whip and other MPs, her mother was inconsolable - but
appreciative.
We, women MPs could not attend her burial, as we were committed to a workshop
on the role of women in peace-building in Zimbabwe: ironic timing. Obviously the
Jongwe issue and domestic violence in general were added to discussions
originally intended to focus on political violence, and feelings were high.
We, therefore, missed Simba Makoni's presentation of the supplementary budget
of $ 62,6 billion - but it appears that it was pretty much a rubber-stamp job,
in any case. Mention of Zimdollars generally elicits hollow laughter, these days
- it's not considered serious. How he retains any self-respect when his requests
to devalue and allow the farmers to farm in peace go unheeded is beyond me. I am
convinced that the state of our economy was a major contributory factor to
Bernard Chidzero's death.
"The continuing contraction of the economy is caused by the drought, foreign
currency shortages, rising costs of production, and prices of goods and services
and relatively low and eroding personal incomes." No mention of the real cause -
Zanu PF's disastrous so-called fast track land reform programme. He blithely
talks of average inflation being 116% - not mentioning what that means to
ordinary citizens, especially pensioners who are in dire straits as their
pension is worth nothing at all - the state has stolen it.
The litany of decreased productivity projections is startling: Agriculture
down 24,6%, mining down 4,1%, manufacturing down 11,9%, electricity and water
down 4,7%, construction down 10% and distribution and hotels down 12%. Of the
$62,6 billion he asked for, only $8,5 billion is for agricultural inputs for the
resettled farmers, but an astounding $35 billion is required to support the
tobacco farmers. In normal times, it was the tobacco farmers who supported the
rest of us!
Despite the Order Paper informing me that the House had adjourned to August
6, I discovered too late that it had in fact sat on July 30, to formally approve
the supplementary budget and ratify the Sadc Pan African Parliament Protocol.
The latter gave MDC the opportunity to point out the difficulties in having a
parliament of countries accepting very different practices of democracy and
governance - in other words dictatorship, military rule, kingdoms, etc, and the
hypocrisy of signing protocols when we and other nations do the very opposite of
what we agree to do.
The protocol was ratified, in the end - but one still wonders how realistic
it is, or how relevant to us in Zimbabwe at present. Time will tell whether the
African Union and the Pan African Parliament will find the guts and the teeth to
deal with member states which go astray as badly as we have done.
Now parliament really is in recess until September 10 - so poor Francis Nhema
is not able to do a publicity stunt with his Environmental Management Bill just
in time for the Jo'burg Summit on Sustainable Development.
| Soldiers flee to Botswana | |
|
8/23/02 9:44:20 AM (GMT +2) |
|
By Pedzisai Ruhanya Chief Reporter CAPTAIN Ernest
Moyowangu Chuma, missing from duty for five months, is reportedly being
held in Botswana to which he fled from interrogation by Zimbabwean army
intelligence officers for his alleged support for the opposition MDC
party. Chuma is said to have
sought refuge at the United Nations-run Dukwe refugee camp near
Francistown, where he joined two other Zimbabwean soldiers who had skipped
the country for the same reason. Chuma bolted to Botswana after the March
presidential election. He found Corporals Irvine Ndou and Peter Kwanele
Ntini in the same camp. They too said they had fled the constant
interrogation by the military intelligence officers for supporting the
MDC. One of Chuma’s relatives on Wednesday said the family had heard that
he was in Botswana, but they feared for his safety. The relative, who was
reluctant to give details and referred all questions to the army, said
officials in Botswana transferred Chuma from Dukwe refugee camp to a state
prison in Francistown. |
| SA intervenes in Zimbabwe land grab crisis | |
|
8/23/02 9:20:34 AM (GMT +2) |
|
Reuter CAPE TOWN – South
Africa intervened on behalf of its citizens caught up in Zimbabwe’s
controversial land grab on Wednesday. But the move was not enough to
silence critics of President Thabo Mbeki who say his lack of action on the
Zimbabwe crisis is a key factor behind the rand’s slide to a 15-week low
of 10,95 to the United States dollar. President Mugabe has
ordered 2 900 white farmers to hand over their land for redistribution to
blacks, but the majority have ignored the 8 August deadline. Around 200
white farmers, including two South Africans, have been arrested in the
last week for defying eviction orders. South African Foreign Ministry
spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said the country’s High Commissioner in Harare
had been in touch with the Zimbabwe Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. “The
South African High Commissioner has made representations to the Zimbabwe
Foreign Ministry regarding six farms owned by South Africans in Zimbabwe
and earmarked for redistribution,” he said. Mamoepa declined to elaborate
or say whether Pretoria was asking for an exemption from the land reform
drive. |
| Libyan spy says Zanu PF got $225m | |
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8/23/02 9:49:39 AM (GMT +2) |
|
Chief Reporter Story: ZANU PF
received over $225 million in the early 1990s in foreign funding from
Libya, according to papers before the High Court. This is despite the
ruling party’s rantings against opposition parties receiving foreign
funding as undermining national sovereignty. The disclosures are
in a letter written on 16 April 2002 by the deported Libyan spy Yousef
Murgham to President Mugabe, relating how he helped build Zanu PF-Libyan
government links. Murgham’s letter is part of his defence against his
deportation last week on allegations that he had compromised national
security. Meanwhile, Justice Susan Mavhangira yesterday reserved judgment
in the case. According Murgham’s letter, he arranged a meeting between
Mugabe and Nathan Shamuyarira, the Zanu PF secretary for information, and
a Libyan, Mussa Kosa, in Windhoek on 21 March 1990. Following the meeting,
Libya contributed US$100 000 (Z$5,5million) to Zanu PF’s presidential
election campaign for that year. |
| Chinotimba evicts farmer | |
|
8/23/02 9:50:30 AM (GMT +2) |
|
By Precious Shumba and Angela Makamure JOSEPH Chinotimba,
a war veteran leader and the vice-president of the Zimbabwe Federation of
Trade Unions, yesterday led several youths to evict Vincent Schultz from
his farm in Banket. Chinotimba works
full-time for the Harare City Council. He led the violent land invasions
in 2000 as a self-styled commander of the exercise. “It is no longer his
farm,” Chinotimba said yesterday. “The farm now belongs to the black
people. Whites in this country should go back to their country. These land
evictions will continue. The whites should know that by now.” He said he
only visited the farm to facilitate the payment of gratuities to the
workers. Schultz claimed that Chinotimba was hired by Bright Matonga, the
chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company, who has
taken over the farm. |
| British nationals denied entry into Zimbabwe | |
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8/23/02 9:53:06 AM (GMT +2) |
|
From Sandra Mujokoro in Bulawayo Five British
nationals were denied entry into Zimbabwe in what could signal the
beginning of retaliatory measures against targeted personal sanctions and
travel bans slapped against President Mugabe and senior government and
ruling Zanu PF party officials. Last week, Stan Mudenge, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, told the State media the government was finalising measures to be taken against individuals in Britain and the European Union in retaliation against the sanctions imposed on Mugabe and members of his inner circle. Two British nationals were barred from entering the country upon arrival at Harare International Airport on 8 August, one on 11 August, another on 15 August, while the fifth was deported last weekend. But the British High Commission declined to disclose the names of the citizens and why they had been denied entry. Diane Corner, the British Deputy High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, said it was Harare’s responsibility to disclose the reasons behind the decision to bar entry to the Britons. “The Zimbabwean authorities are responsible for regulating the entry into Zimbabwe of all non-Zimbabwean nationals including British nationals. “It would not be right for us to speculate on the reasons,” said Corner. |
| Why the new farmers can’t move onto the land | |
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8/23/02 9:56:38 AM (GMT +2) |
|
Leader Page Story: August is
the busiest month for most serious farmers, as they prepare to harvest
their winter crop, plan the summer season and finalise negotiations with
the banks. Companies record an
increase in orders and deliveries for spares, implements, seed and
fertiliser. The picture is radically different this year. All farmers, old
and new, are nervous about the future. Nearly 3 000 whites were, or are
about, to be pushed off their land. They are harried daily. Those who
should replace them have yet to come to terms with their unexpected
responsibilities. The reason for their reluctance is simple: poverty.
Unless a newly-acquired plot includes a farmhouse, none of them possess
the wherewithal nor the energy to clear up new lands, build a home and
throw anything into the ground. Most are government officials and a few
are middle-class urban professionals struggling to meet their day-to-day
commitments. Some are battling to service their mortgages with building
societies. They are the least prepared group to take on fresh projects in
agriculture. |
| What is needed to bring truly sustainable development to Africa | |
|
8/23/02 9:58:30 AM (GMT +2) |
|
By Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane When world leaders
assemble for a United Nations conference in Johannesburg from today,
global attention will focus on Africa – its progress, ambitions, and
needs. While the primary
focus of the World Summit on Sustainable Development may be the
environment, the gathering will also provide an excellent opportunity to
discuss what is needed to bring truly sustainable development – in the
fullest sense of that term – to Africa. The continent’s needs are immense.
Poverty is endemic, with nearly half the population in sub-Saharan Africa
living on less than US$1 (Z$55) per day, and almost four-fifths living on
less than US$2 per day. Life expectancy is less than 50 years, due in
large part to armed conflicts, the Aids epidemic, and inadequate health
care and social services. |
| Farm evictions – a sad chapter in the country’s history | |
|
8/23/02 9:06:42 AM (GMT +2) |
|
A View from Matopos By Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu Story: AT the time
of writing, some white farmers were appearing in various courts in
Zimbabwe to answer charges of defying a government order for them to leave
their farms by 10 August 2002 as part of the country’s land acquisition
and redistribution programme. They decided to defy
the law mainly for two reasons: they each have one farm and, therefore,
meet the stipulations of the government’s one-farmer, one-farm policy;
they bought the farms after Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, having first
written to the government to find out whether or not the government would
require the farms for resettlement purposes. The government’s response was
that it would not need those farms. Some of the farmers are Zimbabweans by
birth, and are as constitutionally entitled to own property in this
country as any Zimbabwean, whatever their ethnic origin or skin
pigmentation – black, white, yellow or otherwise. |
Third world charities reacted angrily last night to a Tory demand for all Western aid to Africa to be tied to President Robert Mugabe's removal from power in Zimbabwe. They said the move, when the south of the continent faced its worst famine for a decade, would inflict extra suffering on some of the world's poorest people.
Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory leader, and Michael Ancram, the shadow Foreign Secretary, have backed a link between aid and action against the Mugabe regime.
Their call followed the revelation that Tony Blair will be speaking on 2 September at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, only an hour before President Mugabe's address.
Mr Ancram said yesterday: "Money for investment in Africa through the New Partnership for Africa's Development, which is supposed to be tied to good governance in Africa, must now relate to seeing a change in the government of Zimbabwe."
But Judith Melby, of Christian Aid, said: "There are millions of people suffering from floods and droughts. These are the people we are trying to help.
"If you look at people really suffering in neighbouring countries like Mozambique, Zambia and Angola, there's no justification for penalising them." In a joint statement, Save the Children and Oxfam condemned any suggestion that the recently agreed programme of help for Africa should be made "hostage to the unfolding situation in Zimbabwe".
Brendan Paddy, of Save the Children, said: "You cannot make Western approval of the way African countries are run a precondition of aid."
Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, denounced the Tory plan as "particularly ill-considered". He said: "Not only would it hinder attempts to isolate Mugabe, but its cruel effect would be to punish the whole of Africa for the sins of one man. It would push back the prospects for a continent which has suffered for so long from hunger, mismanagement and disease."
* Mr Mugabe sacked his cabinet yesterday and said he would spend the weekend forming a new "government team". No reason was given.
From The Star (SA), 22 August
Time to get tough on Zimbabwe, says Mbeki
By John Battersby
President Thabo Mbeki has acknowledged the need for a "vigorous" response to the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. His admission on Thursday came amid growing diplomatic and political pressure on South Africa to take tougher action against land seizures mounted ahead of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. "I intend discussing with the Prime Minister (of Australia, John Howard) ... the challenges facing the Commonwealth. "I agree with Mr Howard that the troika of the Commonwealth needs to address vigorously the present state of affairs in Zimbabwe," Mbeki said. The Commonwealth troika of Australia, South Africa and Nigeria agreed to suspend Zimbabwe from participation in Commonwealth affairs following its flawed election in March this year.
Mbeki's intervention comes amid fears in political and diplomatic circles that President Robert Mugabe, who is scheduled to attend the summit, would attempt to hijack the agenda by putting his government's case for illegal land seizures on the table. While Mugabe's attendance is a United Nations matter, as the summit is being held under the auspices of the UN, there are fears that his presence could divert attention from the agenda and dominate media coverage. Mbeki's remarks were backed up in a statement issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs calling for land reforms to be carried out according to the rule of law and a tough statement by Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni, who insisted that Zimbabwe-style land seizures could never happen in South Africa. "We are not Zimbabwe. We believe in property rights. We believe in the importance of the rule of law," Mboweni said. He strongly urged financial markets not to judge South Africa by the way the Zimbabwean government handled its land-reform programme. "As far as I am aware, nothing of the sort will happen here," Mboweni said.
Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon accused Mbeki of being "in dereliction of his duty" by failing to speak out against state-sponsored lawlessness in Zimbabwe. "The markets advise that our currency is being hit and attacked by mounting concern over Zimbabwe's eviction of white farmers and the absence of condemnation by South African authorities," Leon said in a statement. The department of foreign affairs earlier in the week issued a statement stressing that the SA high commission in Harare was assisting the South Africans concerned "in terms of the consular services that are provided to all South Africans arrested abroad". It said the government had also approached the Zimbabwean Foreign Ministry regarding the listing of six farms owned by South Africans that were earmarked for resettlement. The statement also reiterated that any land reforms in Zimbabwe should take place according to "the rule of law, respect for the Zimbabwean constitution and due process". It hinted at a shift closer to an international consensus on Zimbabwe but stopped short of embracing sanctions.
A senior Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity on Thursday that some countries in the EU felt that the EU should have taken a more considered view on Zimbabwe and not rushed into adopting sanctions. They could have been more flexible in their approach, the diplomat said. Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad, who a few days ago lashed out at opposition parties for exploiting the Zimbabwean dilemma rather than helping to resolve it, undertook on Thursday to follow up stalled negotiations on a bilateral agreement to protect South African investments in Zimbabwe. Earlier this week, Pahad lashed out at the DA in a parliamentary debate for failing to make "a single honest suggestion" on how Zimbabwe could resolve its political and economic crisis. "All you are doing is putting the fear of democracy into the minorities in our country, and therefore you play a very dangerous and subversive role in this sense," Pahad said.
Comment from Business Day (SA), 23 August
Land reform a cover for Zanu war on opposition
RW Johnson
I have spent the past two weeks in Zimbabwe, watching the surreal spectacle of white farmers being arrested, in the middle of a famine, for continuing to try to grow food on their land. When asked how did it come to this, my mind drifts back to 1999 when Morgan Tsvangirai told me that he was planning to launch a new political party to fight President Robert Mugabe. I agreed he could be sure of massive urban support, given his trade union connection, but asked how he planned to extend that into a countryside which was very much under Mugabe's thumb. The workers all go home to rural families, he said: they will spread the word. And so it transpired but of course the job was easiest among the 2-million Zimbabweans, farm workers and their dependants, who lived on white-owned farms. When, in February 2000, Mugabe was defeated by 54% to 46% in his constitutional referendum the humiliated Zanu PF government spoke angrily of how farmers had driven lorry loads of farm workers to vote, implying that the farmers had somehow influenced their workers to vote the same way they had. In fact as everyone knew when, at independence in 1980 the farmers had voted heavily against Mugabe and their workers massively for him, this had also ended all notions of farmers delivering the farm worker vote. But the real point was that the world of the white farm was that part of the countryside which was least under Mugabe's thumb. It was a milieu in which farmers' wives ran schools and charities for AIDS orphans. When famine struck the communal land areas Mugabe would ruthlessly link food handouts to the holding of Zanu PF membership cards but on white farms the farmers ensured workers and their families never starved, without enquiring about their political views. In effect, white farmers created a social umbrella protecting those beneath from the harshness of Zanu PF hegemony. It was inevitable that when an opposition mass movement was launched in the cities it would quickly connect up with the world of the white farm and, as February 2000 showed, the resulting coalition could eject Mugabe from power.
The rest of the world regards Mugabe as a madman but there was in fact a steely rationality in the way he then decided to destroy the world of the white farm. Within weeks the war vet invasions began and the frightful tale of murder, torture and intimidation unfolded. This was all done under the pretence of "land reform" but only those like President Thabo Mbeki who wanted to fool themselves ever believed that. Mugabe had, after all, not bothered much about land reform for 20 years. Vast tracts of land taken over by the state stood empty, but Mugabe made no move to redistribute this land or the land owned by Zanu PF fat cats any more than he was willing to take up white farmers' repeated offers to make more land available for redistribution. Such constructive schemes were besides the point for Mugabe's aim was deliberately destructive: the social milieu of the white farm must be destroyed so that the opposition's coalition could never win. Only this destructive logic can explain why war vets invaded game farms which could never support human settlement, why their first acts were always intimidatory and why they so often destroyed irrigation equipment: their aim was to drive white farmers off the farms, not make them viable settlements in the future. This was also why last week saw Zanu PF in schizoid mood, denouncing some farmers for staying on their farms after August 10 and others for "faking" or "stage-managing" their own evictions. Similarly, Mugabe's bitterest attacks were reserved for Britain, the biggest donor of famine relief. Yet without donor aid, the population could be cut by half. For while Zanu PF and Mbeki have maintained the pretence that the aim of this genocidal policy is to hand land over to a successor class of productive black farmers, the witching hour has struck: with no sign of that class. Without doubt the result will be to turn flourishing farms back into barren bush: already a journey through the Zimbabwean countryside reveals a picture of dilapidation and desolation. The results will be famine not just this year or next but as far ahead as one can see. The fact Mbeki has quite literally gone hand in hand with Mugabe all the way, trumpeting the pretence that this devastation is actually about land reform, sheds a garish light on our president's professed interest in "sustainable development".