Sokwanele Newsletter : ZIG Watch - Issue 1

Sokwanele - Enough is Enough - Zimbabwe
PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY

Issue 1 : International Human Rights Day 2008
Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch: 10/12/2008

Today countries across the world are celebrating Human Rights Day, the anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948.

The term "human rights" refers to the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. They include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression and equality before the law. They also include social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to food, work, education and culture.

In Zimbabwe, these basic rights and freedoms have not only been denied to the people under the Mugabe regime, but the level of repression, state-sponsored violence and subversion of the ends of justice has reached unprecedented proportions.

During recent weeks, the cholera epidemic, symptomatic of a gravely failed state, has claimed the lives of around 600 people, although aid agencies believe it could be significantly higher. The head of the UN Children's Fund in Zimbabwe reports that the number of cholera cases could rise to 60 000 in the coming weeks.

Despite escalating levels of starvation countrywide, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has only managed to raise enough money to feed 3.7 million Zimbabweans instead of the 4.2 million in dire need of food aid. In January, this number will have soared to over 5.1 million.

Despite the massive humanitarian crisis, the Global Political Agreement signed by Zimbabwean leaders on 15 September, has brought no relief and the power-sharing stand-off continues. The Mugabe regime remains intent on retaining power through control of the armed forces, its traditional power base.

Politically motivated violence, perpetrated by the ruling party against opposition members and supporters continues, with widespread reports of torture, looting, assault, abductions and rape.

At the end of November, Jestina Mukoko, executive director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), warned they had received reports that some of the regime's 2000 militia bases, many used as torture bases, were being remanned. Ms Mukoko was abducted from her home on Wednesday 3 December by plain clothed security agents, believed to be members of the Central Intelligence Organisation, and is still missing. On 8 December, two additional ZPP officers were abducted.

The ZPP, which has played a crucial role in monitoring and documenting politically motivated violence, reported 750 incidents of harassment and intimidation, mainly against MDC loyalists, during September, 323 more than in August. The ZPP has been building an archive of crimes that could be crucial in prosecuting perpetrators of human rights abuses in the future.

The Role of Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch

Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch is tracking articles and reports which provide examples of violations of the agreement between the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu PF) and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Formations.

Signed on 15 September in Harare, the agreement comprises 25 "Articles" and lists the points of agreement reached under each.

Commitments made in the preamble include:

• Dedicating ourselves to putting our people and the country first by arresting the fall in living standards and reversing the decline of the economy.
• Building a society free of violence, intimidation, hatred, patronage, corruption and founded on justice, fairness, openness, transparency, dignity and equality.

The examples we have selected for this issue demonstrate the ongoing, flagrant violations of the agreement by Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF. The regime has also capitalised on flaws in the agreement, notably the fact that it did not specify who would draft Constitution Amendment No. 19, which was subsequently drafted without consultation by Zanu PF.

Detailed breakdown of breaches on the Global Political Agreement, by clauses per article, available at www.sokwanele.com/zigwatch

Zimbabwe says drafting law on unity government
Reuters: 18/11/2008

Zanu PF government says it will go ahead to draft a constitutional amendment and form a cabinet despite disagreement of the MDC parties to the negotiations. The MDC resolved not to endorse the inclusive government document until all the outstanding issues had been agreed by all parties.

• Article II: Declaration of Commitment
• Article VII: Promotion of Equality, National Healing, Cohesion and Unity
• Article VIII: Respect for National Institutions and Events
• Article XVII: Legislative Agenda Priorities

Bill Watch 46 of 21st November 08
Veritas: 21/11/2008

Veritas respond to Sikhanyiso Ndlovu’s claim that “A Bill cannot go to Parliament if it is not approved by Cabinet" and that the new constitution would have to be presented and steered through Parliament by the new MDC-T Minister responsible for constitutional affairs. Veritas note that "there is no constitutional or legal requirement for prior Cabinet approval of a Bill before it goes to Parliament". They point out that "According to the Constitution [Schedule 4, paragraph 1] “any member of Parliament may introduce any Bill” [subject to a further provision stating that only a Vice-President, Minister or Deputy Minister can introduce “a money Bill” into Parliament]. Veritas also note that the "GPA specifies only one Ministerial appointment before the introduction of Constitution Amendment No. 19. Article 20.1.3 (j): [The Pre sident] “shall pursuant to this agreement, appoint the Prime Minister pending the enactment of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No 19.” They conclude, "If Zanu PF stick to this line – that the Ministers and Cabinet have to be appointed before the Bill is taken to Parliament – it would lead to another impasse”.

• Article II: Declaration of Commitment
• Article XI: Rule of Law, Respect for the Constitution and Other Law

Robert Mugabe demands right to cancel Zimbabwe power-sharing deal
Telegraph, The (UK): 25/11/2008

According to a copy of Zanu-PF party's draft of the constitutional amendment, obtained by The Telegraph, section 5 of clause 115 of the new constitution, as proposed by Zanu-PF, states that any deal could be cancelled if "the President is satisfied that the circumstances are such that the continuance of the Interparty Political Agreement is no longer possible for any reason." Mr Mugabe would simply have to issue a proclamation and all the changes brought in by power-sharing would be cancelled, including Morgan Tsvangirai's prime ministership, with the country reverting to an executive presidency. The Telegraph also reported that the MDC was a lso attempting to put its own spin on the constitutional changes. In its proposal it effectively seeks to re-open the power-sharing negotiations by increasing the authority of the Council of Ministers, which will be made up of all the cabinet members, the prime minister and his deputies, but exclude the president: Mr Mugabe. "The Cabinet, and every member thereof, shall comply with any directions or recommendations given to it or him, as the case may be, by the Council of Ministers". Analysts who have compared the two drafts say they are so far apart that agreement is highly unlikely. "It will take a miracle," said one.

• Article II: Declaration of Commitment

MDC formally rejects SADC proposal
Zimbabwe Times, The (ZW): 14/11/2008

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has formally rejected a recent ruling by regional leaders that compelled both Zanu PF and the MDC to share responsibility over the Ministry of Home Affairs and form an all inclusive government forthwith. An SADC Heads of States Extra Ordinary Summit held on November 9th rubber-stamped an earlier ruling by its Organ on Politics, Defence and Security in Harare last month that the rival parties must jointly control the Home Affairs Ministry. But the MDC says SADC continues to ignore its principal concerns by focusing on the Home Affairs Ministry, when it is only one of the issues that have stalled the controversial September 15 agreement. MDC Deputy President Thokozani Khupe told journalists that her party has resolved not to participate in any new government until all its concerns have been addressed.

• Article II: Declaration of Commitment

Ndlovu bans coverage of PF-Zapu revival
Zimbabwe Times, The (ZW): 11/11/2008

Current 'Minister of Information' imposes censorship on information concerning reformation of ZAPU, the political group absorbed by Zanu PF in 1987 unity agreement but now planning to break away from Zanu PF. Reporters state they wished to present balanced coverage but the 'minister' refused.

• Article VII: Promotion of Equality, National Healing, Cohesion and Unity
• Article X: Free Political Activity
• Article XIX: Freedom of Expression and Communication

Police ban MDC rallies because of cholera
Zimbabwe Times, The (ZW): 21/11/2008

Police in Harare have barred the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) from holding two rallies that were scheduled for this weekend. They cited the outbreak of the deadly cholera disease in the capital city and an alleged failure by the MDC to provide the police with stationery.

• Article XI: Rule of Law, Respect for the Constitution and Other Laws
• Article XII: Freedom of Assembly and Association
• Article VIII: Respect for National Institutions and Event

Military warn ZCTU over protests
Zimbabwe Times, The (ZW): 02/12/2008

Zimbabwe’s security forces vowed Tuesday night (2nd December) to crush against demonstrations planned for Wednesday against the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called for peaceful protests against debilitating limits on bank withdrawals. The Zimbabwe Defence Forces, which include the army, air force and the police, gave warning that the military would not be an idle observer during the mass action planned by the ZCTU and other key civil society organisations.

• Article X: Free Political Activity
• Article XII: Freedom of Assembly and Association
• Article XVIII: Security of Persons and Prevention Of Violence

Civic leaders arrested in Zimbabwe
SW Radio Africa (ZW): 03/12/2008

Riot police have used force to break up peaceful protests by the ZCTU in Harare (3 December). They have also clamped down hard on another demonstration by doctors and nurses. Various abductions have also been reported. Jestina Mukoko, a former ZBC television personality and director of the human rights group the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), was abducted from her house in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) Secretary General Raymond Majongwe and six others have been arrested. An SABC correspondent is also reported to have been briefly detained. The Congress of South African Trade Unions hav e confirmed that Enock Paradzayi, a Coordinator with the PTUZ, was picked up by Central Intelligence Operatives. So was Wellington Chibebe (Secretary General) and Lovemore Matombo (President), Tonderai Nyahunzvi, Canwell Muchadya, Hillarious Ruyi, Cde Tarumbira and Joseph Chuma. Ten people in Harare were heavily assaulted by the police. In Gweru more than 25 people have been arrested. In Zvishavane town 6 people were arrested.

• Article X: Free Political Activity
• Article XI: Rule of Law, Respect for the Constitution and Other Laws
• Article XII: Freedom of Assembly and Association
• Article XVIII: Security of Persons and Prevention Of Violence

Incommunicado detentions, lack of respect FOR PRE-TRIAL RIGHTS AND COURT ORDERS must cease forthwith!
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR): 20/11/2008

Between 30 October and 1 November 2008, members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) selectively and arbitrarily arrested Fidelis Chiramba, Concilia Chinanzvavana, Pieta Kaseke and her two-year-old daughter, and nine other MDC supporters and activists in Mashonaland West. When lawyers attempted to access their clients, they were wilfully denied access. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) noted that "This unlawful conduct makes a mockery of Article 11.1 of the September 2008 “Global Political Agreement” signed by the political parties urging everyone - including the police - to respect the rule of law and fundamental human rights."

• Article II: Declaration of Commitment
• Article XI: Rule of Law, Respect for the Constitution and Other Laws
• Article VIII: Respect for National Institutions and Events
• Article XVIII: Security of Persons and Prevention Of Violence

Mugabe tries to hide cholera death toll
Times, The (UK): 23/11/2008

Last Friday [21 November] the World Health Organisation confirmed that 294 had died so far. Deteriorating sewerage systems and declining supplies of clean water have been blamed. The aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières said 1.4m were at risk. Thousands may die. The government, which claims that 44 have perished, says it has contained the spread of the disease and sufferers are receiving proper treatment. At the Beatrice Road infectious diseases hospital in Harare, security guards and administrators have been told to keep all visitors out – in an attempt to stop the epidemic being publicised.

• Article XVI: Humanitarian and Food Assistance
• Article XIX: Freedom of Expression and Communication

‘Journalism in Zimbabwe risky, dangerous’
Zim Online (ZW): 17/11/2008

Journalism in Zimbabwe remains a risky and dangerous operation inviting criminal prosecution except for a privileged few who work for government-owned media, according to the independent Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ). The MMPZ told the ongoing 44th sessions of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights that Zimbabwe’s media landscape remains severely restricted. A power-sharing agreement between Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF party and the opposition MDC – while acknowledging the need for a free and diverse media environment – had done little to improve the situation and was silent on the need to repeal repressive government media laws, the MMPZ said. “Journalists continue to be harassed, arrested and prosecuted under the country’s repressive media laws..."

• Article VII: Promotion of Equality, National Healing, Cohesion and Unity
• Article XIX: Freedom of Expression and Communication

The madness that is Zimbabwe
Independent Online (RSA): 14/11/2008

Police stopped Doug Taylor-Freeme, one of the largest food producers, from planting his maize crop nearly two weeks ago. Meanwhile the UN's World Food Programme and partners scrabble to overcome Mugabe's reluctance to allow them to distribute emergency food aid to five million people. Taylor-Freeme’s new maize crop could produce Zimbabwe's staple food for tens of thousands of people in less than six months. The farm is wanted by ‘Chief’ Nemakonde, a strong supporter of Mugabe, who has already taken over five formerly white-owned farms. They are derelict and abandoned, so now the chief wants Taylor-Freeme's Romsey, the last of the white commercial farms in the Makonde South district. All Nemakonde's previous crops have failed. "On Wednesday I was told by the commanding officer for Mashonaland West, Moses Chihuri, that he wo uld ignore the high court order I was awarded in March ordering the chief off the land," Taylor-Freeme said.

• Article III: Restoration of Economic Stability and Growth
• Article V: Land Question
• Article XI: Rule of Law, Respect for the Constitution and Other Law

We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression!

Homeless Cup players seek asylum

http://www.timesoftheinternet.com

MELBOURNE, Dec. 9 (UPI) --
The entire Zimbabwean and Afghan soccer teams competing in the Homeless
World Cup in Melbourne have applied for asylum in Australia.

At least one Kenyan player disappeared soon after his arrival in Australia
and may be planning to stay illegally, the Melbourne Herald Sun reported.

The competition brings together teams from around the world made up entirely
of homeless people. The tournament was won by Afghanistan, which defeated
Russia 5-4 in the final.

Both the Afghan and Zimbabwean teams are no longer in the lodgings they were
assigned for the tournament. The eight Afghan players and the seven on the
Zimbabwean team held visas good for 21 days after entrance.

The Immigration Department confirmed it had received 15 applications for
asylum from Homeless Cup players.

The teams come from two of the most troubled countries in the world.
Zimbabwe's economy has collapsed and a cholera epidemic has killed hundreds
of people in the African nation, while violence has recently increased in
Afghanistan.

Cholera ravages population weak with hunger in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

December 10, 2008

Martin Fletcher in Harare
On the road from Harare to Bulawayo a policeman stopped a motorist at a
checkpoint. "I'm hungry," said the officer. The car was allowed through for
the price of a bag of peanuts.

In Zimbabwe's second city, a warden at the infamous Khami prison recounted
how he and his colleagues stole the inmates' rations to stay alive. Half a
dozen prisoners died each day, he added - if not of outright starvation,
then from illnesses that preyed on their emaciated bodies.

A year ago it was hard to imagine that things could get any worse in this
still beautiful, once bountiful country, but they have. Today they are much,
much worse.

Then millions survived on a bowl of sadza (mealie meal) a day. Today sadza
is a luxury and many survive on wild berries, nuts and edible roots. Then it
was hard to find children suffering from kwashiorkor or marasmus - diseases
caused by severe malnutrition. Today it is easy.

Between a half and two thirds of the population are now entirely dependent
on food aid. Cholera is ravaging a population weak with hunger - wags quip
that cholera is now Zimbabwe's biggest export. Two thousand a week die of
Aids. Time and again you encounter grandmothers raising children because
their parents are dead.
Driving along the highways it is now scarcely possible to tell where
long-displaced farmers cultivated some of the most productive land in
Africa - the wrecked and plundered shells of farmhouses are the only sign.
Instead, every scrap of land in urban areas has been turned into sad little
vegetable patches by a desperate citizenry: the outskirts of Harare look
like a giant allotment. One of the few remaining white farmers told how he
now rings his mango orchards with razor wire to ward off thieves.

The roads are crumbling. More and more children go barefoot. People's
clothes are disintegrating into rags that hang off stick-thin bodies.
Coffins and condoms are the only thriving businesses - or so Zimbabweans
like to joke.

A brief flurry of hope after the Opposition won the elections in March was
crushed when President Mugabe rigged the results. "The joy has gone out of
the people. Now there's just sadness and despair," said a Western doctor.
Ask a Zimbabwean how he is and he will likely reply: "Surviving."

Most hospitals have closed because their staff have gone abroad or given up
working for nothing. In a country that once had a higher literacy rate than
the United States, most schools are shut because the teachers have done the
same. Water and electricity are treats. Public transport has all but ceased
to function. Rubbish is no longer collected. The security services are
practically the only part of the State that still functions, but the lower
ranks are close to mutiny.

The Zimbabwean dollar has been rendered utterly worthless by an inflation
rate that halves its value every 1.3 days. Last Friday, after the Government
raised the daily withdrawal limit from banks, it halved every ten minutes. A
loaf of bread rose from Z$1.5million to Z$20million.

Wherever possible the Zimbabwean dollar has been replaced by other
currencies - the US dollar, the South African rand, even petrol coupons.
Barter is now commonplace: The Times was told of a doctor who accepts beer
tickets at his club, a school that will take chlorine for its swimming pool,
and a mining engineer paid with cyanide.

The lucky few with access to foreign currency still live reasonably, but
they are almost all afflicted by another pervasive Zimbabwean sadness.
Scarcely a family has not fragmented, the younger generations scattered in
search of better prospects. One woman said not one of her twenty nephews and
nieces remained in the country.

Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwean State is like a dead tree, its trunk hollowed out
by termites. One day soon it must surely topple and crash. But when? And
what will be left when it does?

Health clinics overwhelmed by cholera cases in Zimbabwe

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

December 10, 2008

Martin Fletcher in Chitungwiza
The room suddenly fell silent. The local health official momentarily stopped
his briefing of aid workers visiting the cholera treatment centre in
Chitungwiza, a township 20 miles from Harare.

Right outside the open window four labourers in latex gloves were loading a
rigid corpse, trussed up in black plastic sheeting, on to a pick-up truck
that had come to take it away for burial.

It was a sight that reinforced the message of the official dramatically.
Here in Chitungwiza, as in many other communities across Zimbabwe, the
cholera epidemic is overwhelming the skeletal remains of social services.

The corpses of two other victims lay wrapped in blankets in the makeshift
mortuary of the centre, which is in the former maternity unit of the clinic.
Their deaths raised the total in this wretched, densely populated township
to more than 80.

A dozen more people with severe cases lay listlessly on camp beds in the
wards, buckets placed beside their heads and below the cutaway holes beneath
their buttocks.

More than 170 other suspected cases arrived at the centre that day alone,
although how many were suffering from diarrhoea, Aids, malaria or one of the
many other diseases ravaging this broken land it was impossible to say.

Some were sent home with rehydration kits, others lay on benches with drips
feeding into their veins. Sometimes one vomited.

"It's getting worse and worse," said one demoralised nurse, and it was not
hard to see why.

Barely 500 yards from the treatment centre, sewage gushed up from a broken
pipe and streamed down the dirt road opposite. Children played barefoot all
around the filthy, stinking quagmire. Five hundred yards in the other
direction people were buying what little food they could still afford from a
market surrounded by piles of rotting rubbish.

The health official said that he had almost no printed advice to distribute
on combating cholera and there were only two people charged with hygiene
promotion for a township of about 500,000 people.

Some clean water was being shipped in, but not nearly enough. Even the
source of the cholera in Chitungwiza had yet to be determined. Half the
residents in the town had no running water for a year and relied on shallow
wells, which they dug themselves.

The rest received intermittent tap water but it came though cracked pipes
running next to broken sewerage pipes. He had sent samples to the public
health laboratory in Harare but without success: the laboratory was closed
for lack of running water.

"The staff are making heroic efforts but it's clear they're overwhelmed,"
one of the aid workers said.

The latest UN statistics show that 589 Zimbabweans died of cholera in the
past few weeks and that 13,960 have been infected, but nobody believes these
figures.

Many more will have died unrecorded in their homes or in villages far from
clinics. "The figures are vastly unreported," Phil Evans, the head of the
British Department for International Development in Harare, said. "There are
probably twice as many people with cholera as turn up for treatment."

Western aid agencies have arrived in force after the Mugabe regime
reluctantly appealed for international help last week. They are flying in
medics, medicines and equipment.

Unicef is delivering 360,000 litres of clean water to Harare each day,
distributing 80,000 buckets and jerry cans and 200,000 bars of soap, and has
imported enough water purification tablets to last 3.5 million people four
months.

The non-governmental organisations admit, however, that the epidemic is far
from contained.

"It's like stepping on a balloon. Squeeze one part and it pops up somewhere
else," said Rachel Pounds, of Save the Children, in Harare. "This is the
biggest outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe's modern history," said Roeland
Monasch, the head of the Unicef mission, which is preparing for up to 60,000
cases.

The rainy season is also just beginning. Each deluge will send untreated
sewage from countless broken pipes coursing through the streets and into the
shallow, hand-dug wells on which millions of Zimbabweans now depend for
water.

"It's the utter avoidability of this which is so shocking," said Mr Evans,
who scarcely bothers to conceal his anger. We knew it was coming because the
Government would not change direction in ways that would have prevented it
... It's symptomatic of the national tragedy - the deep-rooted collapse of
basic services."

Cholera epidemics are normally not hard to control but in Zimbabwe
circumstances are far from normal. The healthcare system has all but ceased
to function - more than half of its nurses and doctors have left the
country, a few of those who remain will work for the equivalent of barely
10p a month and most hospitals have closed.

Municipal water and sewerage systems have collapsed since Mr Mugabe's Zanu
(PF) party - seeking additional revenues and powers of patronage - set up
the Zimbabwe National Water Authority to seize control of them from
opposition-run councils three years ago.

Forty per cent of Harare's water is now lost through leaks and last week the
city ran out of purification chemicals.

In a country where millions are already weakened by Aids or malnutrition the
fatality rate from cholera - although dropping - is far above the 1 per cent
achievable in perfect conditions. In Chitungwiza it is 24.8 per cent,
according to UN figures.

Running a mass public information campaign is hard because most Zimbabweans
can no longer afford to buy newspapers or batteries for their radios, let
alone televisions.

They cannot afford soap or the sugar and salt that cholera victims require
for rehydration, or transport to reach treatment centres. Harare City
Council is offering free burials in part to prevent destitute families
surreptiously burying cholera victims in shallow graves.

Beyond advising Zimbabweans not to shake hands (they now touch wrists
instead) the Government has almost entirely abrogated responsibility for
fighting the epidemic.

The Department for International Development is augmenting the salaries of
medics with US dollars to prevent the health system from collapsing and Save
the Children pays them in food.

Unicef is organising rubbish collections and is importing chemicals to
purify the water. Unicef and Oxfam are training more than 2,000 hygiene
promoters.

"All that can be said for the Government is that it's no longer obstructing
us," one Western official said.

Unicef has commandeered the redundant milk tankers of the dairy board to
transport water and co-opted the biggest Zimbabwean brewer to transport
medical supplies. Save the Children has rented a petrol station to guarantee
fuel supplies and barters old vehicles for building work.

"You have to work in ways we've never done before," Ms Pounds said.

For once the regime of Mr Mugabe is paying a price for its almost criminal
neglect of its people. The cholera epidemic is showing the world that
Zimbabwe is a failed state. It is also spreading to South Africa, Botswana,
Zambia and Mozambique, alerting them to the rising cost of leaving Mr Mugabe
in power.

MDC-USA Press Release

Movement for Democratic Change
 United States of America
(MDC-USA)
 
From the Office of
Information & Publicity
 
PRESS RELEASE – Dec 08, 2008
 
Contact: Den Moyo
Position: MDC-USA Secretary for Information & Publicity
Telephone: (571)221-3858
Email: denmoyo@comcast.net
Website: www.mdc-usa.org
 
The USA based wing of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), an opposition party of Zimbabwe held its inaugural MDC-USA congress on November 30, in Washington DC. This historic event was officiated by the MDC National Chairperson and Speaker of Parliament in Zimbabwe Hon Lovemore Moyo who was assisted by the MDC Director of Policy, Research & Development Mr. Fortune Gwaze.
 
In his speech to the delegates and attendees, Mr. Moyo gave a somber outlook to the situation in Zimbabwe. Some of the highlights of his speech are as follows:
 
The illegitimate government of Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF was negotiating in bad faith at the ongoing power-sharing talks by refusing to equitably share key ministries. The MDC was not prepared to accept responsibility without authority.
The MDC rejected the proposal by SADC for a shared Home Affairs ministry and the cohesion of its negotiators to sign the power-sharing agreement.
The MDC would look to the African Union and United Nations to force Mugabe and his ZANU-PF to relinquish control of the key ministries that the MDC viewed as essential to the revitalization of Zimbabwe.
The MDC would request that the arbitrator of the current talks, former South African President Mr. Thabo Mbeki be removed from the negotiation process as he had exhibited serious bias in favor of the Mugabe regime.
The economy was on the brink of collapse, with major shortages of food, medicines, electricity, fuel and other basic necessities. Inflation was now pegged at 30% per hour. The collapse of the sewer system in the country has led to the outbreak of cholera which has already claimed in excess of 600 lives.
 
The major purpose of the congress was to elect a Provincial Executive that will be responsible for handling all MDC related activities within the USA. Some of those responsibilities include: setting up viable structures of the MDC party in the USA; creating awareness to the international community of the plight of Zimbabwe; mobilizing Zimbabweans living in the USA to actively participate in solving the country’s problems; engaging in fundraising activities to raise funds for the party; and any other activities as directed by the MDC National Chairperson and or the MDC National Council in Zimbabwe.
 
MDC-USA Executive
Chairperson                                                             Dr. Maxwell Zeb Shumba
Vice Chairperson                                                    Mr. Rixon Gutu
Secretary                                                                 Mr. James Charlie 
Vice Secretary                                                        Mr. Aaron Mhonda
Treasurer                                                                 Mr. Robson Nyereyemhuka
Organizing Secretary                                               Mr. Oswald Chibanda
Vice Organizing Secretary                                       Mr. Maxwell Makarutsa
Secretary for Information & Publicity          Mr. Den Moyo
Interim Women’ Affairs Chairperson                       Ms. Emelia Chamunogwa
Interim Youth Wing Chairperson                             Ms. Cara Dyne
 
Please note that henceforth all issues pertaining to the MDC-USA are the sole responsibility of this body, and any questions, interviews, and press releases shall be conducted through this executive.
 
Thank you!
 

Chiefs' Council President Loots Disabled's Farming Inputs

http://www.radiovop.com


MASVINGO, December 9 2008 - Zimbabwe Chiefs' Council president chief
Fortune Charumbira, reportedly looted more than 120 tonnes of maize seed and
fertilizer meant for the disabled in the province.

Provincial chairperson of the National Council for the Disabled
Persons of Zimbabwe (NCDPZ) Tungamirai Kurunzirwa, last Wednesday told
RadioVOP that Charumbira, last month intercepted the farming inputs at the
Ministry of Social Welfare and took them for 'distribution', but the maize
seed and fertilizer never made it to the vulnerable members of the society.

There are 1000 disabled persons in the province registered with the
NCDPZ, but Kurunzirwa indicated that the number could be more as some people
in the rural areas are not registered with his organisation.

Charumbira is said to have demanded the farming inputs from the
District Administrator, (DA) Felix Mazvidza, arguing that they should be
distributed by the chiefs.

The chiefs council president was reportedly given 60 tonnes of seed
and 80 tonnes of fertiliser, which have not made it to the intended
beneficiaries, a month after the Chiefs council president grabbed them from
the Social Welfare Office in the city.

"We were allocated 60 tonnes of seed and 80 tonnes of fertiliser by
Operation Maguta through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)'s
interventionist programme last month, and the inputs were delivered to the
Ministry of Social Welfare. Charumbira then stepped in, claiming that he was
in a better position to distribute them, and took away the inputs. Up to
now, a month later, we have not received them," Kurunzirwa said.

He added that Charumbira argued that the disabled in the city, despite
practising urban agriculture, or managing small plots outside the town, had
no fields to till.

"He said disabled persons in urban centres do not have fields to farm
therefore it was necessary to give the inputs to the rural disabled. He
never consulted any associations dealing with the disabled or handicapped
such as The National Association for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCHO).

"We have a strong membership base in the rural areas, and they have
revealed they have not received anything up to now. He is believed to have
given the inputs to his relatives and supporters in his area, but we suspect
that he sold it on the black market," Kurunzirwa said.

The NCDPZ provincial chairperson lamented the continued
marginalisation of the vulnerable as the powerful exploit their desperate
situation.

DA Felix Mazvidza, refused to comment on the issue.

But the Social Welfare provincial head, Justin Mupinga, said there was
nothing he could have done as he was acting on 'orders from above.'

"I had no option as I was given orders from above to sanction the
move. Remember I also did not want to be labelled politically incorrect,"
Mupinga said.

No comment could be obtained from Charumbira, whose mobile phone went
unanswered.

Limpopo on high alert as cholera spreads further in SA

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
09 December 2008

Health authorities in South Africa's Limpopo province have asked that areas
that have experienced outbreaks of cholera be declared emergency areas - as
the disease continues to spread in Zimbabwe's neighboring country.

The outbreak in Zimbabwe has officially claimed more than 500 lives, but the
number is much higher, with untold thousands dying in their homes. The
crisis has seen the government finally declare the situation a national
emergency, although many have said the declaration has come weeks too late.
The collapse of the country's health and sanitation systems means the
disease has spread out of control across Zimbabwe, and is also wreaking
havoc in neighbouring countries.

More than 40 new cholera cases were reported at the weekend in South Africa,
with more than half the infections being reported more than 100km's away
from Musina - the epicenter of the disease in South Africa. According to
reports, an estimated 21 new cases were reported in remote areas along the
Limpopo River, where thousands of Zimbabweans illegally cross into South
Africa. Officials have expressed concern that the outbreak will become
unmanageable if there is no emergency intervention. At least eight deaths
have been reported as hundreds of sick Zimbabweans continue to stream into
South Africa seeking urgent medical care and it's understood more than 600
people are being treated for cholera in clinics in the Limpopo province.

Meanwhile, regional health and water affairs ministers will convene in
Johannesburg on Thursday for an emergency meeting to discuss strategies for
combating the spread of cholera. A team from the SADC secretariat was in
Zimbabwe Monday to assess the humanitarian conditions and a South African
government delegation arrived in Zimbabwe on Sunday, on a similar mission.

Military invasion will not solve crisis

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=8584

December 9, 2008
Jupiter Punungwe

Over the past week we have seen a furious staccato of comments by
international personalities over the fate of Zimbabwe and particularly
Robert Mugabe. Some of the comments have made great sense, but quite a
number of the comments have been made by people who are speaking just for
the sake of opening their mouths.

The most sensible and logical statement was that made by the Elders as
announced by Kofi Annan, that Robert Mugabe is not capable of leading
Zimbabwe out of the current crisis. In short, the current Zanu-PF leadership
is not capable of leading the country out of the crisis or even of reviving
their own party.

To spell it out in clearer terms, what Annan's statement meant is that,
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono is not capable of reversing
the ravaging inflation or restoring monetary order in Zimbabwe. Aneas
Chigwedere has already thrown in the towel and decided to become a
traditional headman instead of a minister, otherwise he too was not capable
of reversing the decline in education.

Kembo Mohadi is not capable of tackling the rampant corruption in the police
force, let alone protecting the rights of Zimbabweans. Rugare Gumbo is not
capable of reversing the decline in agriculture, and his continued presence
only ensures our continued starvation. Ignatius Chombo is not capable of
cleaning up the mess in municipalities and ensuring cities like Harare are
restored to their sunshine status. Chinamasa is not capable of delivering
justice to Zimbabweans. Not with defenseless women like Jestina Mukoko
disappearing without any meaningful concern from him and Mohadi.

After so many numerous commissions Chombo appointed, Harare has been reduced
from being the Sunshine City to the Cholera City. Above all, Robert Mugabe
is not capable of summoning enough courage to get rid off all these
incompetent people. In fact by Mugabe's standards, the more incompetent
ministers and officials are, the more secure they are in their jobs. Who in
their right mind would have given Gono another five year term? It seems
Mugabe's standard measure for competence is only loyalty to himself, and the
more incompetent someone is, the more profusely they express their loyalty
to keep their job.

To sum it up, if even a few of these people had been capable, Zimbabwe would
never have got into a crisis in the first place. I know their answer to
criticism is going to be, 'Don't you see the sanctions we are under?' I have
a ready answer for them, 'Don't you see the sanctions Fidel Castro's Cuba
has been under for five decades?' Of course I would also want them to tell
me at which point Cuba's inflation hit hundreds of millions in percentage
points.

Among those speaking just for the sake of airing their teeth I have to count
Raila Odinga, the Kenyan prime minister, and the Botswana's foreign
minister, Phandu Skelemani. 'Invade Zimbabwe now?' Raila Odinga huffed and
puffed. 'Just close the border for three weeks and it will all be over',
Skelemani, revealed his cleverness and wisdom.

I always wonder why people look at facts without seeing them. Going by the
March 29 election, which both Odinga and Skelemani are apparently happy
with, the popular vote was divided almost equally between the MDC and
Zanu-PF; forty-six percent to forty-six percent. What that means is that
starting a war in Zimbabwe will simply amount to setting one half of the
Zimbabwe population upon the other half. Such a war will definitely last
much longer than a few weeks, and while the Zimbabweans are fighting, most
of the region cannot trade, because the Rome of Southern Africa is Harare.
All roads lead there.

A war also guarantees that a lot of Zimbabwe's infrastructure will be
pulverized, making it difficult for anyone who eventually wins to put the
country back on its feet. My suggestion is that next time Odinga feels like
letting the flies take a good look at the bits of food stuck between his
teeth, he carefully skirt around the subject of Zimbabwe.

May I remind everyone that we the people of Zimbabwe are not cowards, nor
are we foolish. Yes, Mugabe has become a pain in the rear, but a war will be
a bigger pain in the rear. We are not new to war; we have fought ferociously
before, and everyone knows that, and if necessary we will fight again. The
likes of Odinga should not goad Tsvangirai into not agreeing with Mugabe
with the expectation that people will lay their lives on line for the MDC
leader. Most Zimbabweans won't put their lives on line for any politician in
this era.

Skelemani's statements are also ill-thought out. If the region shuts the
border then what happens to efforts to contain cholera? Chances of cholera
spreading into neighbouring countries will be multiplied if there is no fuel
and drugs to try and contain the disease within Zimbabwe. Of course, we
should also not forget that shutting Zimbabwe's borders is as good as
stopping all regional trade. What makes Skelemani think that Zimbabwe will
allow goods meant for Zambia or the DRC, from Durban or Beira, to pass
through while goods destined for Zimbabwe are barred?

In the end, statements like Odinga's and Skelemani's only serve to give the
Zimbabwean leader a feeling of justification that he is being persecuted.
The truth is that Mugabe is persecuting himself, through unwise appointments
mostly, and the people of Zimbabwe.

Despite all his railings against the West, the truth is that at the moment
Mugabe is aiding and abetting those with imperialist designs. His hodgepodge
and careless land reform program makes land reform look like a bad thing.
His senseless control of agricultural activity took the 'commerce' out of
commercial agriculture. Why give people land and then stop them profiting
from agriculture.

His crackdown on human freedoms is making people less proud of themselves,
dividing the nation and leaving it wide open to manipulation from outside.
Apparently he has not taken a good lesson from what happened to Saddam
Hussein's Iraqi. The people of any nation can defend themselves, but not
under coercion. Mugabe should also keep in mind that politicians are like
underwear. You cannot wear the same underwear for too long.

Most of the international pressure Mugabe is facing could be dissipated by
simply handing over to someone from within his Zanu-PF. If he is not
prepared to trust people with whom he has been working for decades, who is
he prepared to trust? Are we going to wait for Chatunga Bellamine to grow
up?

The best way forward at the moment is a national, all inclusive and
apolitical convention. Zimbabweans need to talk to each other, keeping in
mind that they are the ones who stand to lose this most.

We should end the habit of being goaded into adopting impossible stances by
foreigners. If Zivagwe River bridge is bombed, it is Tsvangirai, Gideon Gono
and Grace Mugabe who cannot reach their villages, not Odinga.

End the suffering, Mugabe

http://www.washingtontimes.com

EDITORIAL:

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Speaking out against human suffering has been one of the greatest strengths
of President Bush throughout his eight years in office, a fact made clear by
his appropriate condemnation yesterday of the government of Zimbabwe led by
Robert Mugabe. It is a rare occurrence for heads of state to call on other
leaders to step down from office, but Mr. Bush did just that.

"It is time for Robert Mugabe to go. Across the continent, African voices
are bravely speaking out to say now is the time for him to step down," Mr.
Bush said. He urged "others from the region to step up and join the growing
chorus of voices calling for an end to Mugabe's tyranny." He went a step
further calling Mr. Mugabe's government illegitimate. "We stand ready to
help rebuild Zimbabwe once a legitimate government has been formed that
reflects the results of the March elections," Mr. Bush said, making clear
his position that Morgan Tsvangirai, the victor in those elections, is the
legitimate president. By that statement, Mr. Bush has reduced Mr. Mugabe to
nothing more than a tyrannical despot.

Former President Carter, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and South
African human-rights advocate Graca Machel attempted recently to meet with
Mr. Mugabe but were denied visas.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week said the Mugabe regime
maintained power through a "sham election" and engaged in a "sham process of
power-sharing talks." She highlighted the political "devastation" epitomized
by the brutal beatings and crack down on all critics. We wrote just last
week of the economic devastation noting the annual inflation rate as of July
was estimated at 231 million percent - that means that no one is working,
tending farms or doing much of anything except fleeing Zimbabwe by the
millions. To make matters worse, a cholera epidemic is marching through the
country that now has no health care system and no clean water.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu called for international action in the summer to
remove Mr. Mugabe and last week said Mr. Mugabe must step down or "face
indictment in The Hague." Human suffering of this magnitude committed by
acts of indifference by a government could be viewed as genocide.
Regardless, the regime must not be allowed to stand.

Thank you, Mr. President, for raising America's voice. We urge others in the
international community to follow Mr. Bush's lead and "call for an end to
Mugabe's tyranny."

The Sound of Silence

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

December 10, 2008

It is time Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton railed against Mugabe's tyranny
Zimbabwe has become an issue on which, as Edmund Burke put it, it is
difficult to speak and impossible to be silent. But not, it seems, for
Barack Obama, America's President-elect, who last shared his view on
Zimbabwe in June - despite having since spoken eloquently of how, under his
leadership, America would pursue its interests through "the power of our
moral example."

Nor has silence on Robert Mugabe's tyranny proved impossible for Hillary
Clinton, Mr Obama's chosen Secretary of State. When asked by The Times for
her views on Zimbabwe's deepening chaos, Mrs Clinton's office referred our
reporter to a statement she had made in June, while still on the campaign
trail seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

Nor for Susan Rice, an expert on Zimbabwean politics and Mr Obama's new
Ambassador to the United Nations. Dr Rice's experiences in Rwanda after the
genocide turned her into a liberal interventionist. But not, so far, in
Zimbabwe.

George Bush, the US President, yesterday echoed calls by his Secretary of
State, Conoleezza Rice, for Mr Mugabe to go: "Across the continent," he
said, "African voices are bravely speaking out to say now is the time for
him to step down." But these voices - Kenya's, Botswana's - carry fury but
no punch. South Africa and the African Union still favour dialogue.

Washington's president-in-elect has long been a stern critic of Mr Mugabe's
repression. This is the moment to rebroadcast his revulsion. He has a chance
to trumpet America's new moral ambition, especially in Africa. A despot as
shameless as Mr Mugabe might be tempted to flaunt Mr Obama's silence as a
measure of his indifference.

Mugabe won't give in

http://news.iafrica.com

Article By:
Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:10
President Robert Mugabe has again accused Britain and the United States of
plotting an invasion of Zimbabwe, following mounting international pressure
on him to resign, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba accused Western countries of
seeking to bring Zimbabwe before the UN Security Council by claiming that a
cholera epidemic and food shortages had incapacitated his government.

"The British and the Americans are dead set on bringing Zimbabwe back to the
UN Security Council," he said in the government mouthpiece Herald newspaper.

"They are also dead set on ensuring that there is an invasion of Zimbabwe
but without themselves carrying it out. In those circumstances, they will
stop at nothing," he said.

"We would not be surprised if they spring a 'mission' involving the UN," he
added.

EU nations on Monday upped the diplomatic pressure on the Zimbabwe
government, broadening sanctions on Mugabe and his inner circle while French
President Nicolas Sarkozy added his voice to the growing calls for the end
of Mugabe's rule.

Former colonial power Britain has led the international chorus calling for
Mugabe to step down after a 28-year rule that has left the country's economy
in shambles amid a political deadlock after controversial elections earlier
this year.

The United States as well as African countries like Botswana and Kenya have
also said Mugabe should go, but most of Zimbabwe's neighbours have remained
silent or backed floundering negotiations aimed at forming a unity
government.

A cholera epidemic that has claimed nearly 600 lives has overwhelmed
Zimbabwe's dilapidated hospitals, which have few drugs or equipment to treat
patients.

Doctors say the death toll could be much higher, while the UN children's
agency Unicef has warned that 60 000 cholera cases could emerge in the
coming weeks.

Zimbabwe has declared a national emergency and appealed for international
aid to fight the disease.

Health minister David Parirenyatwa praised donors and non-government
organisations for giving drugs and supplies, but said more help was still
needed.

"Donors and NGOs have also responded positively although the assistance is
not enough and we still need more," he said in the Herald.

The country also faces crippling shortages of food, with nearly half the
population expected to need emergency aid next month, according to the
United Nations.

The once-vibrant economy has been shrinking for nearly a decade, and is now
hammered by the world's highest inflation, last estimated at 231 million
percent in July.

AFP

African leaders need support over Zimbabwe

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

December 10, 2008

Letters

How the economic downturn has affected Zimbabwe
Sir, There can be no clearer case than Zimbabwe for testing the
international community's commitment to their "responsibility to protect"
people whose governments have failed them.

Zimbabwe is not a country that is "lucky" enough to have been hit by the
global financial crisis, climate change or rising food prices - their
problems of hyperinflation of 231,000,000 per cent, starvation and cholera
are entirely home-grown. A country that used to feed itself and neighbouring
countries besides, now has almost nine million people living on handouts or
worse, on bark and leaves. A treatable disease such as cholera should not be
endangering thousands of lives.

When such figures as Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan and Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
not to mention the Kenyan Prime Minister Mr Odinga, have all rallied to
demand a solution without Mugabe it should be clear that this is not some
throwback to colonialism. Every time a mouthpiece of the Mugabe regime says
that it is, it simply discredits him further.

Ultimately, African leaders need to take action. Others need to follow the
lead of Mr Odinga, and know that they will have the support of the UN if the
African Union, already overstretched, can't follow words with actions.

Our duty is to make certain that African leaders know that they can count on
international condemnation for as long as they allow this man to carry on as
head of state. They need to know that while Africa should be finding its own
solutions to its own problems the rest of the world will not stand idly by
and let the problems stay unsolved.

Nirj Deva, MEP

Conservative International Development Spokesman

Sir, My medical contacts with Zimbabwe stretch back over more than 20 years
and still remain, although carefully. We never discuss politics but the
picture you paint (report, Dec 4) does not surprise me.

Medical supplies are difficult to obtain, fuel for ambulances was in very
short supply already some years ago and water was becoming an issue. Cholera
and worse was to be expected.

Regarding the morale of health workers, there are those who try to get to
work even if they have not been paid for months and that inflation-eroded
pittance does not stretch to a single decent meal. In an urban area such as
Harare, if you are not within walking distance, cannot afford a bicycle and
public transport (where it remains) is unaffordable because you have not
been paid or paid enough, getting to work is impossible.

Other African countries, in particular South Africa, and Mr Mbeke's lack of
appetite for facing the situation, must bear a heavy part of the blame. Our
colonial history forbids our intervention and even humanitarian aid is
suspect because it is viewed by some as paternalistic at best and
neo-colonial at worst.

The corruption at the base of the problems in much of Africa holding it from
development has a history going back to a time when the British Empire still
existed. I worked in Nigeria in the 1950s before independence and saw the
roots of it then, sometimes in the altruistic actions of those in power
"looking after" their friends and employees.

Dr Robert J. Leeming

Coventry

Sir, Horrible as Mugabe's regime is, the power he wields finds its strong
roots in colonial days, when white settlers took most of the good land, well
watered, and often of religious importance to the inhabitants, leaving them
the high, dry, unfertile remainder. We need to understand, as well as
deplore.

Tom Jago

London SW6

Death of Zanu PF heavy-weight causes joyous celebration

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/

It is considered taboo, not only in our Zimbabwean culture but in many
others as well, for people to celebrate the passing away of another human
being.

But that was not the case after the news of the passing of Elliot Manyika,
Zanu PF's Political Commissar and MP, who passed away in a car accident over
the weekend.

Elliot Manyika was one of the master-minds behind Zanu PF's terror campaign
against supporters of the MDC in Mashonald Central where his Bindura
constituency falls in, and he was responsible for the training and
coordination of the activities of the infamous paramilitary youth from the
Border Gezi training academies, who have been responsible for causing
various human rights abuses since their conception in 2000.

Due to his unpopularity amongst the population, made worse by the
unpopularity of his party and what it stands for, his death has
unfortunately been met by jubilation.

It has to be noted that many people have lost their lives at the hands of
Zanu PF since the year 2000, with the recent casualties being the deaths
preceding the June runoff and those related to the cholera outbreak.

At times it is just but fair to call a spade a spade.

Its very unfortunate that the Manyika family has lost a bread-winner and
loved one, but the same pain they are feeling is the pain that many families
have felt as a result of activities spear headed by Elliot Manyika.

It is very unfortunate that he has passed away without facing justice for
the crimes he perpetrated, but he will answer for them to his maker, after
facing the people who fell due to his sword and were waiting for him to join
them in eternity.

This entry was written by Freedom Writer on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Minority control of resources is formula for calamity

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Juma Donke Wednesday 10 December 2008

OPINION: The potentially divisive Expropriation Bill - which seeks to
hasten land reforms in South Africa, can forestall the likely replication of
the Zimbabwean tragedy, if parties to the argument can agree on pragmatic
legislation that ensures continued productivity while delivering social
justice to landless black people.

After 14 years of constitutional democracy, the majority of South
Africans are beginning to wonder what the fuss over the change of guard at
the Union Buildings was all about as unwieldy informal settlements still
litter the cities while rural reserves remain largely undeveloped.

This follows a principally ineffectual campaign to speed up rural
development and improve the lives of black people crammed in overflowing
townships: in accordance with the pre-liberation game-plan was of quickly
reversing the ruinous effects of apartheid-induced marginalisation.

As a corollary, the slow pace at which land is being transferred to
blacks is increasingly becoming a cause for concern among rural folk, thus
raising the stakes over how to parcel out the spoils of apartheid.

Ideally, this should sharpen the lens of sensibilities of the
government, opposition groups and other stakeholders to the size of the task
at hand.

As a consequence, these parties are expected to set aside parochial
interests in deference to national ideals - which in essence mean balancing
the competing interests of fairness and economic prosperity.

It is a truism that skewed land ownership patterns that favoured
settler white farmers across colonial southern Africa, were a compelling
reason for the widespread agitation for self-determination which engulfed
the region prior to South Africa's 1994 watershed elections.

While the end of apartheid crowned feisty liberation campaigns to
prise power from the colonialists - who had used state violence to underpin
their authority - it also raised high expectations among poor black people
of a huge jump in their fortunes.

Whereas, myriad grievances such as human rights abuses, segregation,
repression and economic alienation caused black people to take up arms
against their oppressors, denial of access to land was doubtless central to
the costly wars waged in the region.

The viciousness of these conflicts was indicative of the indigenous
peoples' determination to achieve justice and re-assert their authority over
natural resources.

To the African, land does not only conjure up dollar signs, but it
also defines them and forms an unbreakable nexus with their past, hence the
rallying cry for liberation fighters in Zimbabwe was "mwana wevhu" (child of
the soil). Also, the African National Congress of South Africa's Freedom
Charter gives pride of place to land redistribution: liberation parties in
Namibia, Mozambique and Angola also subscribe to similar ideals.

Thus it becomes germane to stress the importance of the land to native
southern Africans as they bid for total liberation - which entails assuming
complete control of the economy and the power to deploy available resources.

In other words, land to the African inspires a sense of self-wealth
and dignity, particularly when viewed against the backdrop of a century of
white domination and forcible land dispossession.

Conversely, white farmers whose culture is deeply steeped in
capitalism are still perceived as tribunes of the now banished colonial
powers.

Often the farmers block land reform without pausing to examine the
cathartic and stabilising effect resource sharing has on shaky and
previously segregated societies.

It is hardly surprising therefore that Zimbabwe's arbitrary land
seizures and loud mutterings of unhappiness in both Namibia and South Africa
over the continued ownership of the most fertile land by minority groups
have provoked sharp rebukes from the landed gentry.

In the main, property owners argue that nationalising farmlands for
use by blacks currently scratching a meagre living in patchy reserves would
raise the spectre of hunger, stunt development, whip up inflation and launch
national economies on the road to ruin.

After all, the "ruins" that Zimbabwe has become, is a glaring example
of how wrong things can go if unbridled expropriation is condoned.

On the face of it, however, international law does not strictly bar
expropriation if such action, as the United Nations General Assembly
asserts, is "based on grounds or reasons of public utility, security, or the
national interest which are recognised as overriding purely individual or
private interests, both domestic and foreign.

"In such cases the owner shall be paid appropriate compensation in
accordance with the rules in force in the state taking such measures in the
exercise of its sovereignty and in accordance with international law."

Additionally, expropriation is bound up with rights inherent in
sovereignty and is thus closely linked to the concept of self-determination.

This means, international law ipso facto permits states to expropriate
natural resources under their "permanent sovereignty" for purposes the
acquiring state deems to be in its best interests, provided "appropriate"
compensation is paid.

Unlike the Zimbabwean government which is prevaricating over the
quantum of compensation due to the estimated 4 000 dispossessed farmers,
because of its inability to pay, the South African government has agreed to
pay "just and equitable" compensation to disposed farmers.

This pledge goes some way towards satisfying the "international
minimum standard" favoured by Western capital exporting states.

This standard is premised on non-discrimination, public purpose and
adequate compensation.

In contrast, developing states prefer that the whole gamut of
nationalisation, but particularly the issue of compensation be left to the
expropriating state to decide in accordance with its municipal laws.

Indeed, the Namibian government has since independence in 1990 been
haggling with white farmers over the prices of farmlands.

Here, land owners are holding out for $25 per hectare for their
properties, a stance that resulted in only 118 farms - about 7 percent of
commercial farmland - being redistributed to 37 100 families by 2005.

At this pace, it will take until 2070 to deliver half of Namibia's
agricultural land to the 240 000 black farmers eager for resettlement.

Yet, white owned farms are annually offered for sale on the open
market on a "willing-seller willing-buyer" basis.

In 1999, at least 142 farms were put on the market and in 2000, more
than 125 farmers wanted to decamp.

Over this period, however, the Namibian government only managed to buy
19 properties, due to the steep prices the farmers wanted for their
properties.

While it is tempting to hold the Zimbabwean government solely
responsible for the mayhem that has been playing out on farms there since
2000, and its deleterious impact on the economy, white farmers' contribution
to the chaotic blitzkrieg should not be ignored.

As recent as 1998, President Robert Mugabe was reluctant to preside
over wholesale land seizures, opting instead to keep commercial farmers in
check by periodically threatening to arbitrarily take away their land if
they stepped out of line.

As a matter of fact, Mugabe was quite happy to allow white farmers to
continue feeding the nation and producing the foreign currency-spinning
tobacco if they stayed away from politics.

This way, Mugabe could prance around the international stage
collecting leadership medals for keeping hunger at bay and soaking in the
plaudits for championing reconciliation between the races and building a
robust economy.

However, this unrealistic arrangement was doomed to unravel at some
point.

Since independence in 1980, white Zimbabweans: farmers and
industrialists had barricaded themselves behind high walls in leafy suburbs
to the consternation of poor black people.

To this group, the whites' behaviour smacked of arrogance, egotism and
a seemingly tenacious bid to hang on to privileges they had enjoyed in
colonial Rhodesia to the exclusion of other races.

White Zimbabweans congregated at exclusive - virtually whites only -
clubs, sent their children to expensive and well resourced schools and
retained their position at the apex of the economic pyramid.

Additionally, the commercial farmers' intransigence when approached to
release some of their vast farmlands to aspiring black farmers further
strengthened festering anti-white sentiments.

Like in Namibia, farmers either overpriced or were unwilling to sell
their land when government offered to purchase it.

As a result, only 71 000 black families out of a target of 162 000 got
land between 1980 and 1990. In 1998, the government proposed to buy 50 000
km² from the 112 000 km² owned by white farmers over five years for
resettlement, but once again landowners spurned this overture.

Instead they made a counter-offer to sell only 15 000 km² to
government, scuttling attempts to achieve a more equitable land ownership
system.

Crucially, Mugabe walked away from an international pledge of nearly
US$100 million to pay for orderly land reforms made at the 1998 Land Donor
Conference in Harare.

This was after he realised that opposition groups backed by white
farmers were massing to mount a challenge to his rule. He decided to hold on
to the land, his trump card when canvassing black support.

Also, the economy served as the defining factor in the renewed
hostilities and accelerated the slide towards the total collapse of the
detente so painstakingly hammered out at the 1979 Lancaster House talks.

Mugabe's failed economic policies; the release of an unbudgeted for $5
billion to marauding war veterans in 1997, his five-year military escapade
in the Democratic Republic of Congo and failed International Monetary Fund
prescribed economic restructuring programmes contributed to the economic
meltdown.

This forced Mugabe to cut spending on welfare, remove subsidies,
privatise industry and dismantle tariff barriers to attract direct foreign
investment. But the anticipated stampede of foreign investors did not
happen.

Job cuts followed as companies downsized to survive. Free health care
was stopped. School fees were introduced even in poor neighbourhoods.
Poverty spread quickly. And the population became restive.

In early 1998, the townships were rocked by massive riots over
spiraling food prices, adding impetus to growing opposition to ZANU PF
hegemony.

However, the defining explosion followed government's first electoral
loss since independence, when its draft constitution was unanimously
rejected.

Mugabe blamed his loss on whites, especially farmers: accusing them of
bankrolling his growing band of opponents.

To tame his new adversaries and pacify the insatiable 1970s liberation
war fighters, Mugabe gave the war veterans licence to plunder, maim, murder
white farmers and moderate blacks; and occupy their farms.

Thus Mugabe pushed the country into a vortex of depravity, hunger and
unprecedented poverty.

Similarly, at the end of apartheid in South Africa, an estimated 82
million hectares of arable land, or about 86 percent of all farmland was in
the hands of only 60 000 white farmers, while some 13 million black people,
were squeezed in the former reserves with limited land rights.

This worsened the unequal distribution of income in a country where
people's earning power is still determined by race and gender.

Current attempts to achieve equity, by giving blacks access to land is
split into three broad areas: land restitution, which gives relief to
victims of forced dispossession; redistribution, under which some black
people are assisted in buying land on the open market. Lastly, tenure
reforms which secure tenure rights for victims of apartheid discriminatory
practices.

However, progress has been slow due in part to the reliance on the
"willing-seller willing-buyer" policy by the ANC, despite its previously
stated ambition to nationalise the land.

Predictably, the South African redistribution drive is bogged down in
the same cul-de-sac that frustrated similar efforts in Zimbabwe and Namibia,
as again land owners drag their feet when asked to sell.

It is a sincere hope therefore that instead of making incendiary
public comments aimed at maligning government attempts to redress past
injustices, white South Africa should be pondering over how to help weld the
country into a more cohesive society, to beat back a looming economic
conflict between the races.

Clearly, control of limited national resources by a few along
apartheid strictures, while the majority scrape a miserable existence on the
edge of the economy, at best seems indefensible and at worst, is a formula
for a calamity that would make the Zimbabwean crisis look like a picnic.

Elements similar to those that existed in pre-2000 Zimbabwe are
already in place in South Africa, what is absent is a demagogue to mix the
broth. - ZimOnline