http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008
22:00
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe yesterday
said he was prepared for fresh
elections to settle the current political
impasse which has stalled the
formation of a government since his disputed
re-election in June.
Mugabe's remarks yesterday - which
follow hard on the heels of similar
pronouncements last week - demonstrate a
tacit admission that his
re-election in the June 27 one-man presidential
election run-off was a sham.
They are also seen as a bid to force the
opposition MDC into a unity
government.
African election
observers, including Sadc, the Pan African Parliament
and AU, among others,
rejected his re-election as illegitimate. The outcome
was widely-rejected by
the international community on the grounds that he
won through a campaign of
violence. More than 100 people were killed prior
to the
run-off.
Mugabe fought back after he was defeated in the first
round of voting
by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai who however fell short of
the required
majority to win outright. Tsvangirai's MDC also defeated Zanu
PF and ended
its 28-year control of parliament.
The
combined opposition MPs in parliament mean that Zanu PF can no
longer pass
legislation on its own. As a result, Mugabe has been forced into
talks with
Tsvangirai and the other MDC smaller faction leader Arthur
Mutambara to
resolve the political impasse.
The talks however appear to be
faltering and Mugabe has been
indicating publicly since last week that he
was prepared for fresh elections
to break the impasse.
Botswana President Ian Khama has said if the power-sharing talks
between
Zanu PF and the MDC factions fail, there should be fresh elections
under
international supervision.
Speaking at the burial of the late
Zanu PF political commissar Elliot
Manyika at Heroes Acre in Harare
yesterday, Mugabe said elections might be
looming. Manyika died in a car
crash on Saturday.
A unity government deal Mugabe signed with
leaders of the MDC
formations - Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara - has
failed to take off
because of haggling over the allocation of ministerial
portfolios,
provincial governors, permanent secretaries and ambassadors,
among others.
Mugabe attacked Tsvangirai for frustrating the
implementation of the
pact, describing him as a "political prostitute" for
travelling abroad
instead of dealing with problems at home.
"We are Zimbabweans. We have our own laws. We have our own courts.
What can
stop us from sitting together to solve our problems? Why then
would one
globetrot to Germany, to the Netherlands, to
Botswana, to Senegal,
visiting all these countries?" Mugabe
questioned.
"We don't
want that prostitution. It is prostitution in politics. We
don't want
politics driven by that kind of prostitution, let's settle things
here. We
can go to an election if elections are desirable and the people are
the
deciders and we will never reject their verdict. We have always accepted
their verdict."
Last week, Mugabe told his supporters at
the Zanu PF headquarters that
the country could go for elections in the next
one-and-a-half to two years
if the inclusive government fails to
work.
"We agreed to give them 13 ministries while we share the
Ministry of
Home Affairs, but if the arrangement fails to work in the next
one-and-a-half years to two years then we would go for elections," Mugabe
said.
"The MDC should say no if they do not want to be part of
an inclusive
government."
Yesterday, Mugabe said the
MDC-Tsvangirai should not fool itself that
it won the March 29 presidential
election.
"The MDC did not win the elections. They led. That's
what the law
says. If you don't get more than 50%, you do not win," he
said.
Mugabe said he was waiting to hear what the "Westerners
will say"
since there is no outright winner in the elections held in Ghana
where a
run-off has been called.
He said there was no more
reason for Western countries to invade
Zimbabwe because cholera had been
"arrested" at a time the UN says the
disease had killed nearly 800 people
and was spreading.
BY WONGAI ZHANGAZHA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008
21:38
ZIMBABWE has sent a team of investigators to
Botswana to probe an
alleged plot of banditry involving Botswana authorities
and opposition MDC
activists for the second time in as many weeks as it
seeks to substantiate
claims which have angered its
neighbour.
Zimbabwe and Botswana - uneasy neighbours since 1980
due to political
and trade disputes - have been on a collision course since
the
widely-disputed June presidential election run-off.
Botswana President Ian Khama has refused to recognise President Robert
Mugabe as a legitimate head of state, saying he retained power through a
campaign of violence.
The Botswana leader has said if
power-sharing talks between Zanu PF
and the MDC factions fail, there should
be fresh elections under
international supervision.
Government initially reacted angrily, claiming this was an "extreme
act of
provocation" although Mugabe now says he is ready for
elections.
The investigation into claimed acts of
destabilisation came at a time
when Mugabe was under pressure to quit as a
result of the economic meltdown.
Diplomatic sources said
yesterday Zimbabwe's investigation team led by
Foreign Affairs permanent
secretary Joey Bimha returned to Botswana on
Wednesday to further its probe
into the issue.
The sources said the mission includes other Foreign
Affairs officials
and officers from the Central Intelligence Organisation
(CIO).
Botswana government spokesman Dr Jeff Ramsay referred
questions to
Sadc.
"We believe that it would for now be
better for you to direct your
questions to the Sadc Organ Troika who are
responsible for carrying out the
investigation," he said. Efforts to get
comment from Sadc yesterday were
unsuccessful.
Allegations
of destabilisation emerged prior to the recent Sadc summit
in
Johannesburg.
Zimbabwe first officially made the allegations at
the extraordinary
meeting of the Interstate Defence and Security Committee
held in Mozambique
on November 5, a few days before the
summit.
Just before the Sadc meeting a group of MDC activists
were arrested
and were apparently linked to the allegations, but no evidence
was available
to incriminate them, sources said.
It is said
the MDC activists were later released, but were reportedly
later abducted by
state security agents and have not been seen or heard of
for several weeks
now.
There have been a series of abductions in recent weeks of
mainly MDC
and civil society activists.
The latest to be
seized was Gandhi Mudzingwa, Tsvangirai's personal
aide who was forced off
the road while driving to his party's "logistics"
meeting late on Monday. He
was taken to a waiting vehicle by nine men.
Last week a civil
society activist, Jestina Mukoko, a former ZBC news
presenter, was abducted
from her home in Norton. Mukoko, the director of the
Zimbabwe Peace Project,
was seized by a group of 15 men in plain clothes and
driven away. She has
not been seen since. Two of her colleagues have since
been
abducted.
Two weeks ago Tsvangirai's MDC director of security,
Chris Dlamini,
was seized from his
BY DUMISANI MULEYA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008 21:24
SOUTH African facilitators in Zimbabwe's political dialogue this week
resumed their push for the formation of an inclusive government to tackle
the country's deteriorating humanitarian and political
crisis.
The facilitators, among them South Africa's director of
the presidency
Frank Chikane and former local government minister Sydney
Mufamadi, met on
Wednesday with the leader of the smaller faction of the
MDC, Arthur
Mutambara, and were today scheduled to hold talks with
negotiators from Zanu
PF and the MDC-Tsvangirai.
Diplomatic
sources said the facilitators were in the capital to
impress upon Zanu PF
and the two MDC formations the need to quickly form a
new unity government
outlined under a September 15 power-sharing deal
brokered by former South
African President Thabo Mbeki.
But hopes of a quick blueprint
for a unity government were dashed
yesterday after MDC-Tsvangirai accused
Zanu PF of "killing" the
power-sharing negotiations through the state's
alleged acts of abductions of
civil society and opposition
activists.
Sources said the facilitators wanted the immediate
gazetting of
Constitutional Amendment 19 Bill the political protagonists
agreed on in
South Africa a fortnight ago.
The Bill gives
legal effect to the power-sharing pact that would see
Morgan Tsvangirai
becoming prime minister and Mutambara one of his two
deputies. The other
deputy would come from the MDC-Tsvangirai.
The government is
yet to gazette the Bill after the MDC-Tsvangirai
threatened not to support
the amendment in parliament if what it calls
outstanding issues of the pact
were not resolved.
Among the sticking issues, according to the
MDC-T, were the
allocations of ministerial portfolios, the appointment of
provincial
governors and the constitution and composition of the National
Security
Council, among others.
Mutambara confirmed to the
Zimbabwe Independent that he had met the
facilitators and told them that the
inclusive government should be formed
immediately to deal with the
humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.
"I told them that Amendment No19
should be gazetted immediately so
that we can work on addressing the
worsening humanitarian crisis in the
country," Mutambara said. "We can only
deal with the cholera crisis, the
political crisis, the hunger crisis if we
have an inclusive framework."
The robotics professor said he
also told the facilitators that the
call by the international community and
other African leaders to oust Mugabe
was misplaced.
"The
call by the international community for Mugabe to leave is
stupid. How is he
going to leave and under what law? Who is going to replace
him? We need an
inclusive government. A government that will craft a
people-driven
democratic constitution that will create room for free and
fair elections.
Once that is done then Mugabe can go."
Zanu PF chief negotiator
Patrick Chinamasa yesterday said he could not
comment on the latest mission
of the facilitators because he had been out of
Harare. He referred questions
to Labour minister Nicholas Goche who was not
reachable on his mobile
phone.
Earlier this week, Information minister Sikhanyiso
Ndlovu told the
state media that the facilitators were due in Zimbabwe on
Wednesday.
The inclusive government is seen as the only avenue
for Zimbabwe to
extricate itself from a decade-long political crisis that
has now been
compounded by the outbreak of cholera that has claimed at least
600 lives.
The situation is made worse by food shortages affecting over five
million
Zimbabweans.
The government has since declared
cholera a national disaster and
appealed for global
assistance.
BY CONSTANTINE CHIMAKURE
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11
December 2008 21:00
DISGRUNTLED Zanu PF rebels yesterday said they will
this weekend forge
ahead with their convention in Bulawayo to revive PF Zapu
with the aim of
"settling the country's political future".
The convention comes against a backdrop of alleged moves by Zanu PF in
the
city to mislead people that it had been postponed.
Spokesperson
of the revived PF Zapu, Effort Nkomo, told the Zimbabwe
Independent that
delegates to the convention would be drawn from the country's
10 provinces
and that the modalities were in place for the gathering.
"We
are going ahead with our plans. There are some mischievous people
who have
been going around telling people that the convention has been
postponed to a
later date, but I can confirm that nothing has changed," said
Nkomo.
Although he could not provide the estimated number
of delegates to the
convention, Nkomo said they were expecting to be joined
by people from
different political parties, ethnic and tribal
groupings.
"This is not a regional party. It is a party that
has a national
outlook so we are expecting a lot of people to attend," Nkomo
said. "We are
not inviting people on political, ethnic or tribal lines but
we are inviting
everyone to attend the convention."
He said
PF Zapu was ready to merge with smaller opposition parties to
form a strong
force to challenge Zanu PF.
Nkomo said there were multitudes of
Zanu PF cadres who have shown
interest and are willing to join PF
Zapu.
He said: "There are people who are still tied up in the
Zanu PF
machinery who will attend and I am sure many of them will join us.
It is the
duty of all those who desire and aspire for peace and prosperity
to work
together towards the success of the country. That is why we are
inviting all
those parties who share the same vision with us to join us and
move the
country forward."
Nkomo said the convention would
allow free discussion and debate on
issues affecting the country.
"We are responding to the wishes and aspirations of the people who
called
for the revival of the party. The people have been waiting for this
moment
for a long time, and the time has come and we are not going back," he
added.
The convention is expected to come up with an
interim structure that
would lead the party up until next year when a
congress will be held to
elect a substantive executive.
Nkomo said they had no apologies or regrets for leaving Zanu PF adding
that
the current crop of the party's leaders had failed to bring meaningful
development to the Matabeleland region.
Analysts said,
should the convention take place without any hitches,
the beleaguered Zanu
PF would have been dealt a severe blow as it has been
battling to play a
balancing act in line with the 1987 Unity Accord.
PF Zapu said it was
ready to declare a divorce with Zanu PF under the
unity accord because it
was a marriage of convenience that has failed to
work since it was
solemnised in December 1987.
A fortnight ago, Vice-president
Joseph Msika was dispatched by Zanu PF
to Bulawayo to meet the rebels and
try to propitiate them, but the PF Zapu
revivalists snubbed
him.
The defiant group is accusing Zanu PF of failing to
equitably
distribute power under the Unity Accord, which was preceded by the
bloody
Gukurahundi era which claimed more than 20 000 people in Matabeleland
and
the Midlands.
BY HENRY MHARA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008
20:23
THE failure to "forthwith" form an inclusive government in
Zimbabwe to
deal with the country's decade-long crisis as directed by Sadc
has less to
do with what the MDC-Tsvangirai says are outstanding issues than
the
animosity between President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai,
political
analysts have said.
The animosity, the analysts
observed, has resulted in Mugabe and
Tsvangirai removing themselves from the
real circumstances of the people
they purport to represent, resulting in the
worsening humanitarian and
political crisis with no immediate solution in
sight.
An extraordinary Sadc Summit last month ruled that
Mugabe should
constitute a unity government in line with the September 15
agreement
between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations.
The
summit also adjudged that Mugabe and Tsvangirai should co-manage
the Home
Affairs ministry, but Tsvangirai rejected the ruling as "a nullity"
and
argued there were other outstanding issues -- appointment of governors,
ambassadors and senior government officials and the composition of the
National Security Council.
Tsvangirai also said there was
need to finalise the Constitutional
Amendment No 19 Bill to give legal
effect to the deal and resolve the
arbitrary alteration of the pact signed
on September 11.
Zanu PF and the two MDC formations'
negotiators have since agreed on
the constitutional amendment, which now
awaits gazetting.
Despite this the MDC-Tsvangirai has
threatened to oppose the Bill in
parliament and scuttle the formation of an
inclusive government if what it
said are "sticking points" are not
resolved.
The party said if the sticking points were not dealt
with to its
satisfaction, it would join civil society and embark on mass
demonstrations
to press for a two-year transitional authority to be set
up.
The authority's mandate would be to craft a people-driven
constitution, carry out institutional reforms and prepare for free and fair
elections to be internationally monitored.
But political
analysts this week dismissed the reasons being given for
the failure so far
to constitute the inclusive government and argued that
politicians talk in
tongues that only they can understand.
"The issues of
ministries, governors, etc are internal matters that
could have been dealt
with after creating the (unity government) framework,"
observed Alex
Magaisa, a Zimbabwean lawyer based in Canterbury, England.
"The main
handicap is the extreme animosity between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. I
doubt
that Mugabe will ever forgive Tsvangirai for daring to challenge him
and I
fear that Tsvangirai is uncomfortable with the amount of animosity
towards
him."
Magaisa argued that the current impasse was worsening the
plight of
ordinary people in the country and scoffed at suggestions that
Zimbabwe
should outsource a solution to the crisis.Tsvangirai has since the
November
9 Sadc Summit in South Africa been globetrotting asking for
international
intervention in the country. He has visited France, Germany,
Senegal and
Kenya, among other countries.
Speaking in
Senegal last week, Tsvangirai said he had officially asked
the African Union
to assume the mediation role in the Zimbabwe crisis from
Sadc because the
regional bloc had failed.
Britain, the United States and some
African leaders have since called
for the forceful removal of Mugabe from
office saying the cholera outbreak
that has claimed at least 600 lives was
an illustration of the 84-year-old
leader's poor governance style. The
African Union on Tuesday said there was
no need for military intervention in
Zimbabwe and insisted that dialogue was
needed to avert a civil
war.
Magaisa said the oppressed people of Zimbabwe have to
decide their own
destiny at the end of the day.
"You cannot
rely on outsiders to provide help. Most likely they will
help when you have
shown that you are willing to help yourself," he argued.
"Zimbabweans have
to be frank with all politicians, even those that they
religiously support.
Poverty does not discriminate between Zanu PF and MDC
supporters."
Magaisa said there was a view that Zimbabwe
would eventually collapse.
"But that is not guaranteed and
worse, there is no guarantee that when
it collapses the leadership will
vacate and the MDC-T will take over
seamlessly," he said. "It could collapse
completely and become another
Somalia, if not worse."
Political scientist Michael Mhike said an inclusive government offered
the
only glimmer of hope, if only the respective parties would give priority
to
the interests of ordinary people and respect each other.
"They
have to look at the bigger picture and determine what's right
for their
long-suffering fellow citizens," Mhike said. "The inclusive
government is
still a long shot, yes, but other than the complete removal of
the current
regime, I see no other viable option to stop the slide."
Another political scientist who asked for anonymity said the problem
with
political leaders was that "because of their elevated stations, they
tend to
be removed from the real circumstances of the people" they purport
to
represent.
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday
blamed leadership
failure in Zimbabwe for putting the country on a slide to
become a
"full-blown failed state".
Annan blamed the
country's deepening humanitarian crisis on the
"abject failure of its
leadership".
"Due to the abject failure of its leadership, it
(Zimbabwe) is now
moving rapidly to becoming a full-blown failed state,"
Annan said in a
speech at The Hague in which the former UN chief urged the
international
community to do more to save fragile states from becoming
failed ones.
Brian Kagoro, a human rights activist, said
because of the
intransigence of the political actors and the deepening human
crisis, there
was need for the formation of a transitional
authority.
"The dramatic alteration of the situation, with the
humanitarian
crisis worsening, and the state for once conceding that it
neither has the
capacity nor resources to resolve this issue --- an
acceptance that
Zimbabwean health and other crises are becoming regionalised
in the sense
that Zimbabweans are now going to Malawi, to Mozambique, to
South Africa for
treatment whether legally or illegally and that the cholera
outbreak or
epidemic is now spreading to the region --- suggests that
perhaps what you
now need is a system, an authority with a capacity to
arrest the decay and
the humanitarian crisis," Kagoro told an international
radio this week.
He anticipated resistance from the government
to the proposal, but
said it would not be much given the changing
circumstances.
"There will be resistance, but that resistance I
think is much weaker
than it was eight weeks ago or even six months ago,"
Kagoro said. "Partly
because there is no military solution to cholera,
there's no military
solution to hunger, you need effective policy and you
need international a
reengagement."
He said the sort of
support Zimbabwe had received from the
international community was "band-aid
to a haemorrhaging economy that will
not resolve the problem".
BY CONSTANTINE CHIMAKURE
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December
2008 19:30
"OH God, not again," exclaimed Harare resident Tendai Zvipo
after
hearing from fellow Zanu PF supporters that President Robert Mugabe
said the
party should be ready for fresh elections if an inclusive
government that he
agreed to with the two MDC formations
fails.
Mugabe made the pronouncement last week when he
addressed Zanu PF
supporters gathered at the party's headquarters ahead of
an extra-ordinary
session of the politburo.
Zvipo had a
picture in her mind of violence, intimidation, abductions,
delays in
announcement of results, and above all a run-off.
Her friends
who were among the supporters addressed by Mugabe seemed
to be content with
the president's announcement and were waiting for a
signal from him to start
mobilising support for Zanu PF.
One of Zvipo's friends blamed
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai for the
political and economic crisis in the
country that has seen the Zimbabwe
dollar crash against major currencies,
cash shortages and poor service
delivery.
"If the need be
for an election we will be prepared," one of the
friends said. "This time,
unlike during the negotiations, VaMugabe vanenge
vari kwavo and Tsvangirai
kwake (Mugabe will be at his own side and
Tsvangirai at his own as
well)."
In his address, Mugabe challenged the MDC-T to come out
clearly
whether they wanted to be part of the unity government or, if not,
Zanu PF
could go it alone and form the next government.
He
said the country could go for elections in the next two years if
the
inclusive government fails to work.
"We agreed to give them 13
ministries while we share the Ministry of
Home Affairs, but if the
arrangement fails to work in the next one and a
half year to two years then
we would go for elections," Mugabe said. "The
MDC should say no if they do
not want to be part of an inclusive
government."
But the
questions that ring in Zvipo's mind are: will the proposed
elections solve
the current problems that Zimbabweans are facing.
Do we still
need the elections? Will the polls not be characterised by
violence like
what happened in the countdown to the June 27 presidential
election run-off,
which left a number of people dead, thousands of families
displaced and
thousands more seriously injured.
The level of political
violence sent jitters down the spine of many
Zimbabweans when they hear of
new elections.
Political analysts this week said it would not
be ideal to have fresh
elections if the establishment of an inclusive
government fails.
They said the polls would only be relevant
if conducted in a
democratic way and after the crafting and enactment of a
people-driven
constitution.
Lawyer and political
commentator Alex Magaisa said the most ideal way
forward might be an
internationally supervised election to solve the
political crisis once and
for all.
Magaisa said: "But having said that, such a scenario
is very unlikely
not least because Mugabe knows he would not win an election
in Zimbabwe
whatever the time of day.
"When he speaks of
elections, it is more likely the same charade that
the world saw on June 27
and worse, the violence and abductions that have
resumed are ominous signs
of what's likely to come. Mugabe might say he
wants an election, but such a
contest is likely to be the same as all the
sham elections we have seen so
far and it will solve absolutely nothing."
Political analyst
Eldred Masunungure was of the view that elections
were not going to solve
Zimbabwe's problems, especially if they were to be
held under the same
circumstances as the previous election in June.
"No, not under
the circumstances because the dispute over the
controversial elections that
led to the signing of the agreement has not
been addressed," Masunungure
said. "The circumstances are still where they
are. We have to remove the
thorn before elections can be held."
He said if the elections
were to be held they should be conducted
under a people- driven
constitution.
"Zimbabweans have to make their constitution and this
will drive the
elections. Otherwise a credible or fair outcome under the
present electoral
framework will not be possible to produce. Violence is
likely to resurface
and this will only deepen and prolong problems in the
country," Masunungure
added.
But Zimbabwe-born South
Africa-based businessman Mutumwa Mawere was of
the opinion that Zimbabweans
were more wary of the future with no political
consensus.
"The inclusive government agreement has failed to create a centre of
political gravity and every democrat accepts that an election can provide a
better instrument for allocating political power," Mawere said. "In the
circumstances, there appears to be no alternative than to go for another
election."
While Mugabe showed his willingness to take part
in fresh elections,
the United States and Western countries have since last
week been breathing
fire demanding the immediate removal of Mugabe from
power.
On Tuesday, US President George Bush urged African
leaders to step up
and "join the growing chorus of voices for an end to
Mugabe's tyranny".
He added: "It is time for Robert Mugabe to
go."
Bush said the US would continue to work with its partners
around the
world to halt the violence and stem the humanitarian disaster
that the
Mugabe regime was inflicting on its people.
"We stand
ready to help rebuild Zimbabwe once a legitimate government
has been formed
that reflects the results of the March elections."
The European
Union (EU) also called for Mugabe's ouster with French
president and current
president of the 27-member club Nicolas Sarkozy
accusing the 84-year-old
leader of holding Zimbabweans hostage.
"I say today President Mugabe
must go. Zimbabwe has suffered enough,"
said Sarkozy.
Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga last weekend challenged the
African
Union (AU) to deploy a peacekeeping force to Zimbabwe.
He said:
"If no troops are available, then the AU must allow the UN to
send its
forces into Zimbabwe with immediate effect, to take over control of
the
country and ensure urgent humanitarian assistance to the people dying of
cholera."
However, the AU rejected the tough calls on
Zimbabwe, while
Information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said Mugabe was going
nowhere.
"I don't have kind words for all heads of state who
have made
utterances against Zimbabwe one by one, and I hope this is the
last time
they open their dirty mouths on Zimbabwe," Ndlovu
said.
The spokesperson for AU chairman and Tanzanian President
Jakaya
Kikwete, Salva Rweyemamu, said: "Only dialogue between the Zimbabwean
parties, supported by the AU and other regional actors can restore peace and
stability to that country.
"We have a serious humanitarian
crisis in Zimbabwe. We have cholera.
Do they think that we can eradicate
cholera with guns?"
The United Nations said as of December 9,
the death toll from cholera
in the country has risen to 746, with 15 572
suspected cases reported across
the country.
Masunungure
said it was not easy to push for the removal of Mugabe.
"Agitating for the departure of Mugabe is problematic especially if AU
and
Sadc are against the stance of the Western countries. However, to a
certain
extent it would exert pressure on Mugabe and the regime and soften
them on
their move of taking all the juicy ministries," said
Masunungure.
"For the moment, the political limbo is bound to
continue for the next
few weeks. There is no sense of direction and it's
difficult to predict
where Zimbabwe is going. Things will perhaps be clearer
after the Zanu PF
conference."
BY WONGAI ZHANGAZHA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11
December 2008 18:56
A GOVERNMENT economic recovery plan proposed for
the yet-to-be formed
new inclusive government between President Robert
Mugabe and leaders of the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations -
Morgan Tsvangirai and
Arthur Mutambara - has revealed that at least 8,2
million people of the
estimated 12 million population are in dire need of
food aid.
According to a draft, short to medium term economic
blueprint, The
Proposed Economic Recovery Package for Zimbabwe, government
now requires
donor support to import at least 900 000 tonnes of maize and an
additional
150 000 tonnes of wheat in an emergency rescue package that seeks
to provide
food aid to more than half of the population facing
starvation.
With the agricultural sector producing below
national consumption on
the back of ill-advised policies and acute shortages
of inputs, government
now requires an estimated US$648 million from
international financiers to
procure inputs under the "Self Financing
Farming" programme.
"The decline in agricultural production
during the last farming
season, largely due to the adverse weather
conditions, has left an estimated
8,2 million people in both rural and urban
areas being food insecure," reads
the document.
The new
figure is however more than the United Nations (UN) estimates
of five
million people.
"The extent of this year's food deficit,
however, requires further
support towards augmenting government efforts to
mobilise external
resources, as well as the logistics to bring in an
additional 150 000 tonnes
of wheat imports in the country," the report
read.
The 106-page document comes barely three weeks after the
government
denied a team of world leaders - former UN secretary-general Kofi
Annan,
ex-United States President Jimmy Carter and Graca Machel, wife of
former
South African President Nelson Mandela, entry into the country to
assess the
topsy-turvy economic and humanitarian crises.
The recovery plan also seeks to tame runaway annual inflation now over
231
million percent through a "credible and comprehensive" dis-inflation
programme that ceases money supply growth despite warning that this would
result in government cutting expenditure on subsidies.
This
year, government relied heavily on the Reserve Bank to print
money in order
to finance quasi-fiscal activities for farmers and other
loss-making
parastatals.
The dis-inflation measures, according to the
proposal, targets double
digit levels by next December and single digit a
year later.
"In this regard, it is imperative that the
dis-inflation programme
puts in place a fiscal and monetary policy framework
with measures to
immediately arrest money supply growth and progressively
reduce it to levels
consistent with low and stable inflation," read the
draft.
The recovery programme, which the government said would
require
"sacrifice and endurance of pain", also proposes the withdrawal of
expenditure on subsidies, which critics have blamed for paralysing public
entities and parastatals.
Government, the report further
stated, would also require at least
US$900 million to resuscitate
low-performing manufacturing sector to at
least 80% capacity utilisation
from current levels estimated at 10%.
Analysts however doubt the current
government's capacity to generate the
funds against the backdrop of
declining export growth.
Turning to foreign exchange, the draft
planned proposed an "implicitly
managed" floating exchange rate that is
underpinned by fiscal and monetary
austerity. Currently the country's
foreign exchange control regulations are
governed by the interbank rate that
has been widely criticised by exporters
and tobacco
farmers.
Government according to the document also proposed to
widen revenue
collection by widening the tax base to cover the thriving
informal sector
understood to be evading tax.
The rescue
package, which came three months after the signing of the
September 15
power-sharing deal, also underscored the re-engagement of
external
financiers to bankroll the government.
BY BERNARD MPOFU
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008
18:51
THE immediate past president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries (CZI) Calisto Jokonya has defended his controversial decision to
request a donation of vehicles from the Reserve Bank amid reports of a
shake-up within the industrial lobby group after his term
ended.
Jokonya's response came after this week's launch of
Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono's book that blasted some unnamed members
of CZI for
attempting to "discredit" him through a proposed repayment plan
for eight
vehicles the central bank donated to the
organisation.
"I made the request to the governor because I
believed the Reserve
Bank had the capacity to do so," Jokonya said. "I am
not worried about
anything. The CZI resolution to allow parliament to
participate in
quasi-fiscal policies undertaken by the central bank was in
no way a
personal attack on the governor. The decision at the annual
conference was
meant to provide checks and balances to the
system."
The new CZI leadership, sources said, criticised
Jokonya's request to
the central bank made in July.
The sources
said the new CZI presidium headed by Ariston Holdings
chief executive
Kumbirai Katsande would undergo a "re-orientation"
programme.
"Jokonya made a unilateral decision to request
vehicles from the RBZ,"
said the source. "The CZI new presidium will soon
undergo a programme
educating them about the organisation's protocol and
method of operations.
These changes will see the two new vice presidents
(Joseph Kanyekanye and
Happymore Mapara) rotating their administrative roles
and liaising with the
external public and members."
Controversy dogged the donation when CZI took delivery of the vehicles
from
thae central bank on September 11.
Then acting CZI president
Phillip Chigumira wrote a letter to Gono
seeking clarification on the "terms
and conditions" of the use of the
vehicles.
"On behalf of
CZI, I would like to enquire about the terms and
conditions if any -
attached to this generous facilitation. We are anxious
to comply with these
in our use of the vehicles," read Chigumira's letter
dated September
12.
This letter sources said resulted in the CZI calling for
the repayment
of the vehicles at the annual general conference in October.
Following the
resolution to repay the cars, the Reserve Bank allegedly
declined to meet
the new CZI leadership over the proposed repayment
scheme.
In what sources said was an attempt to pacify relations
with the
central bank, Jokonya wrote a letter of gratitude to Gono on
September 15.
The letter, however, did not mention the
industrial lobby group's
plans to pay for the cars.
"I was out
of the country recently, and returned on 14 September 2008.
I was delighted
to be informed that the Reserve Bank, through your good
offices, had made
available seven twin cabs and a delivery truck to the
CZI," Jokonya
wrote.
Gono's book, Zimbabwe's Casino Economy - Extraordinary
Measures for
Extraordinary Challenges, launched on Monday criticised unnamed
members of
CZI for countering Jokonya's request supposedly to discredit his
office.
Referring to an article published by the Zimbabwe
Independent in
October, Gono accused the CZI of playing the "invisible hands
dirty
politics".
"A case in point is how some elements in
the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries used a newspaper to seek to
discredit me by claiming to distance
their organisation from a request for a
donation of vehicles which they made
to me and which I had honoured," Gono
wrote.
Gono's book also blasted some unnamed Zanu PF members
for allegedly
siding with "agents of regime change in the MDC" to undermine
the central
bank's "successful" interventions.
Efforts to
get comment from Katsande were in vain as he was reportedly
out of the
country.
BY BERNARD MPOFU
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008 18:38
THE
National Incomes and Pricing Commission (NIPC) has been accused of
being a
toothless bulldog or an extension of Zanu PF which only makes
statements
without producing results. businessdigest reporter Jesilyn
Dendere this week
spoke to NIPC chairperson Goodwills Masimirembwa (GM) on
the latest
developments. The NIPC recently ordered business to revert to
prices prior
to December 3.
JD: Tell us more on what for the NIPC has been
your highlight this
year? It seems like you have suddenly gone
quiet.
GM: We have been working very hard and that is why prior
to December 3
prices prevailing on the market were fairly reasonable but
what happened on
December 4 was complete madness. When the business
community got to know
that individuals and corporates were now going to
withdraw $100 million and
$50 million respectively, they unilaterally
increased prices without
consultations with the NIPC. It is shocking when
one looks at the excessive
prices but we have been around, still monitoring
prices and doing our
duties.
JD: Earlier this month, NIPC
instructed business to go back to
November 26 prices but we never saw that
happening. What makes you think
business will listen to you this time
around?
GM: They did, they complied but we are not saying when
one reverts
back, they remain static forever, they can then apply for new
prices. At the
moment we are saying go back to December 3 then make
applications to justify
any price increases.
JD: Has there
been any communication with the central bank to solve
the problem because
every time withdrawal limits are increased, businesses
respond by adjusting
their prices
GM: They respond negatively by increasing prices
but we are saying
enough is enough. Our hope was that business would behave
responsibly and
charge fairly even after a (cash withdrawal)
review.
Those 25 fold price increases are beyond being reasonable, a
point
that has been concurred by some business leaders. The recent directive
is
for the entire economic spectrum including newspapers and mobile phone
service providers because we woke up one morning to find out that the money
in our cell-phones could not even send a text message.
JD:
What action is the NIPC taking besides simply advising
businesspeople to
reduce prices?
GM: We are not only advising, our teams are on
the ground as I speak,
monitoring the situation and causing the arrest of
those who are caught
breaking the law.
We have now received
assistance from the government in terms of
resources, and our inspectors
will be covering all provinces effectively
come this Thursday (yesterday).
Remember withdrawal limits are going up on
Friday (today) and already we are
seeing the desire to effect new prices. We
are seeing ridiculous
applications, for example an application to sell a 2
litre bottle of cooking
oil for $200 million, they want to make sure the
$500 million becomes
meaningless.
JD: Does it only apply to
retailers?
GM: The whole supply chain will be affected from the
manufacturer or
the importer if there are imported goods.
JD: Is the NIPC also involved in monitoring Foliwars?
GM: Our
approach to Foliwars has been that it is a new phenomenon. We
are saying to
them, clear the goods with the central bank so that you apply
the
appropriate margins which in this case is 30%. We have been monitoring
and
ensuring that it is not about profiteering. We do not want a situation
of
markups which are over 100%. All we are saying is that if you are having
operational difficulties go to the central bank and clear those difficulties
whatever they may be before we come in. We will then liaise with the Reserve
Bank, we cannot just move into Foliwars without liaising with the central
bank.
JD: Have you received complaints with regards to
Foliwars?
GM: We have heard complaints from members of the
public that their
prices are very high as compared to those in the region
and that some
locally produced products are very expensive here than across
the borders
and we are investigating the causes why businesspeople want to
profiteer
here in Zimbabwe and not across the borders.
JD:
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has always clashed with NIPC over the
latter's
grip on controlling prices, how has been the relationship between
the two
with regards to Foliwars.
GM: We have an excellent working
relationship; we are exchanging notes
with the hope of moving forward and
eventually getting Foliwars to apply
reasonable margins at the same time
making reasonable profits. Besides the
Foliwars concept, what we are
observing are people still going out to buy
outside the country because the
goods there are still cheaper.
Our appeal to Foliwars is that why allow
the foreign currency to go to
other countries. Reduce profit margins, move
larger volumes. When our people
are happy we also make huge profits from
improved sales.
JD: By allowing shops to trade in foreign
currency and local
manufacturers to put their goods into Foliwars, the
government and the
central bank wanted manufacturers to earn foreign
currency so that they can
acquire raw materials: The business community has
always quarreled with your
organisation; do they ever listen to anything
that you say?
GM: Prior to the increase in the withdrawal
limit, we were now having
an amicable, reasonable relationship coupled with
compliance. I do not know
what went wrong on December 4, they just woke up
on the wrong side of the
bed. We met them and the general belief was that
the increased withdrawal
limit pushed the parallel market rates up and our
answer is that the NIPC
does not know what happens on the parallel market,
we cannot use it as a
barometer to peg prices because it is illegal in the
first place.
JD: As an Incomes and Pricing Commission, what has
the NIPC done to
lobby for workers to be paid in foreign currency to so that
they can also
buy from the Foliwars.
GM: We need to clear
the confusion, Zimbabwe does not print foreign
currency, our legal tender is
the Zimbabwean dollar, that is why we call
other currencies foreign. There
is not enough foreign currency with which to
pay workers. It is impossible.
The reason why government and the central
bank decided to open Foliwars was
to capture the foreign currency so as to
increase capacity utilisation, it
was not generally about dollarisation of
the economy because the government
cannot afford to pay everyone in foreign
currency.
JD: What
has the NIPC done to the ever rising commuter fares?
GM: We
have pegged fares for urban transportation, although we have
not been able
to enforce these largely because of resource constraints but
now that we are
resourced you will see more of the NIPC coming not only in
transport but
into commercial rentals as well. With greater resource
capacity that we now
have we will see more of the NIPC on the ground
effectively monitoring
prices of goods and services at the same time
ensuring compliance.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December
2008 18:24
GUILTY as charged or a miscarriage of justice could have
been how some
lawyers interpreted the Reserve Bank's decision to effect the
arrest of
several bank employees and officials on allegations of violating
the Reserve
Bank Act.
Nine employees from NMB Bank, CFX
Bank and POSB this week appeared
before the courts on allegations of
offloading trillions of dollars of the
new money on the parallel market a
day before the issuance of the higher
currency
denominations.
Management at the Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group
(ZABG) were also
accused of the same "crime".
However,
legal practitioners and economic analysts alike have
questioned the central
bank's actions that were subsequently followed by the
lifting of an earlier
jointly imposed five year ban it had imposed on the
CFX Bank executive and
non-executive directors.
Gono had earlier publicly criticised
the team for being unfit to run
the bank only to retract the statement
saying "they were not responsible for
the day-to-day running of the
bank".
This, analysts said raised questions about the relevant
regulations,
which ostensibly sought to ensure good corporate governance at
financial
institutions. The bank's executive directors and top management
however
remain banned for five years.
POSB withdrew $4
trillion from the Reserve Bank and is alleged to have
diverted $50 billion
onto the parallel market before the money became legal
tender. NMB was given
$2 trillion and is said to have channelled $20 billion
onto the parallel
market. ZABG was given $5 trillion and is alleged to have
released $400
billion onto the parallel market.
CFX is said to have received
a total of $900 billion and diverted $260
billion on the parallel
market.
While what the banks did was not justified analysts
said it was not a
question of whether Gono could fire the board of a
financial institution,
rather it is whether the process has been followed in
reaching that
decision.
"It is normal for a financial
services regulator, which RBZ is, to
have powers to bar or remove
undesirable persons from involvement in the
financial sector if it considers
that they are not fit and proper.
Nevertheless, the exercise of the
regulator's powers must at all times meet
the requirements of due process,"
analyst Alex Magaisa said.
Magaisa said his understanding was
that in such cases, the Reserve
Bank gathers evidence and can invoke its
"many" powers to get information
from the accused persons and other
sources.
Thereafter, it should give due notice of the
allegations to the
accused, affording him the right to be heard and to be
defended by a lawyer
of his choice. That, in a nutshell conforms to the
requirements of due
process.
"But as so often happens in
Zimbabwe, someone can make a decision in
the middle of the night whilst
recovering from a nightmare. The accused is
given no fair hearing at all. As
it is, the governor's decision is prone to
challenge on the ground that it
failed to adhere to the normal standards of
natural
justice.
"Whatever good intention he might have had is
therefore defeated in
the end because of a failure to do the most basic and
simple things in
enforcing the Reserve Bank's powers," said
Magaisa.
Bank executives who spoke to the Independent on
condition of anonymity
said while what happened at the four financial
institutions was
unacceptable, the Reserve Bank was also guilty of the same
crime.
"The most important tasks of any new government is to
revamp the
Reserve Bank and transform a culture of impunity that seems to be
the
hallmark of its regulatory enforcement activities," said a commercial
bank
board member.
Bankers said Zimbabwe needs a strong
regulator to curtail the
admittedly unethical and immoral activities in the
financial sector but a
strong regulator was not necessarily an oppressive
one that does not respect
due process.
"It must be able to
enforce the law in a fair and just manner,
respecting the rights of
individuals and corporate persons. The Reserve Bank
does not lack powers. It
has a lot of them. They seem to be just used
irresponsibly most of the
times," the board member said.
Bankers said they looked forward
to a day when there was leadership at
the Reserve Bank whose modus operandi
was not characterised by
grandstanding.
"The efficient ones
do their work and command the respect, not fear,
of those whom they
regulate. I am certain that day will come as there are
many good men and
women at the Reserve Bank of who with the right captain,
can help steer the
ship properly and more efficiently," a banker said.
Market
watchers said the Reserve Bank should have reported the case to
the police
for further investigations and hearing all the accused's side of
the story
before making a public announcement that it had fired an entire
board and
management only to reinstate them the following day.
Said
Magaisa: "My experience and understanding of enforcing financial
regulations
is that whenever a matter involves both a criminal and a
regulatory offence
the normal course is to liaise with the police
authorities to determine the
gravity of the offence and whether it is
necessary to give priority to
police investigations or to allow the
regulator to pursue the regulatory
offence."
He said the rationale was that where the matter is
sufficiently grave
to require police investigation, and then the regulatory
authority would
work to ensure that its own regulatory process did not
undermine the
criminal matter.
"There is nothing however to
stop the regulator from pursuing the
regulatory offence, to the extent that
in liaison with the police, pursuance
of that matter does not undermine
police investigations," he said.
But was Gono justified? A corporate
lawyer told the Independent that
the justification of the governor's actions
could only be determined on the
basis of information that was not at present
fully available.
"He may well have sufficient evidence to
justify his conduct in this
matter but then again he may not and without the
benefit of what is
available, it would be preposterous to pass judgment on
the merits of his
actions," the lawyer said. "Nevertheless, I find the
manner in which the
powers were exercised rather hasty and ill-considered,
given that the
requirements of due process do not appear to have been
satisfied," he added.
He questioned if the executives had been
given a fair hearing. "I
would not be surprised if the executives launch
legal action challenging the
manner in which the governor's decision was
made.
There is a mechanism called judicial review, whereby the
decision-making process of an administrative organ or public authority, such
as the Reserve Bank, can be challenged in a court of law," the lawyer
said.
BY PAUL NYAKAZEYA
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008
21:17
ZIMBABWEANS in the diaspora, particularly in neighbouring South
Africa, are toying with a plethora of opportunities that could bring an end
to the struggles of many nationals battling to survive in
Zimbabwe.
It has been difficult to appeal to the emotions of
Zimbabweans in the
diaspora. Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono tried to
appease Zimbabweans
through the Homelink project but came out with lukewarm
results.
This is because Zimbabweans in the diaspora simply do not
trust each
other, are suspicious of each other, are jealous of each other,
are envious
of each other and thus have no culture of
collaboration.
A curable malady has ravaged many diasporans who
focus selfishly on
immediate individual benefits.
Whatever
happened to teamwork? Whatever happened to unity of purpose
or to
progressive development? Never before has the adage "divided we fall"
been
so manifest as it presently is among cynical Zimbabweans.
Even in
the midst of xenophobic attacks earlier this year the
diasporans failed to
come together to assist the affected, instead looking
to the South African
public and NGOs to come to their aid. Golf games and
pretentiousness
continued in the midst of this tragedy.
Typical diasporans are
divided into groups of "pure migrants", those
people who in the eighties
came from the West of the country and went on to
work after a couple of
years in Botswana and later migrated to South Africa
or
Bantustans.
This group has no emotional attachment whatsoever to
Zimbabwe. Then
you have those who migrated prior to 1994, many of who have
become citizens.
This group has some modicum of interest in what happens in
Zimbabwe.
The third group is those transferred as professionals
to South Africa,
but lately opportunities for this group have fizzled away
due to black
economic empowerment programmes for which they do not qualify.
This group
tends to be residents and citizens.
Their attachment
to Zimbabwe is ambivalent at best, quick to
dissociate themselves from
Zimbabwe and criticise it.
The last group consists of those on
various work permits, recent
immigrants who tend to be professionals and
small business owners (traders).
They have a significant attachment to
Zimbabwe but are suspicious of any
organisation which they quickly label as
a Zanu PF agent.
These are a very politically charged
lot.
In this bleak and bleary system of things for the
Zimbabweans, a small
group of Zimbabweans in the diaspora has unveiled what
could be the best
answer to overcoming the misery that has engulfed a nation
whose citizens
are now dogged by their own disunity, mistrust and
disrespect. "God helps
those who help themselves".
This
group is arranging an investment mission in Zimbabwe once the GNU
is in
place, to empower Zimbabweans in South Africa via various activities
that
include creation of jobs for diasporans through Zimbabwean-run
SMEs.
In a whisper, this is the bone and marrow of Batanai
Bambanani
Zimbabwe Association (BBZA), a non-profit, non-political
registered
organisation which promotes the interests of Zimbabweans in South
Africa
through business, professional, social and legal
activities.
BBZA wants to create a value system based on
selflessness, tolerance,
respect, honesty, hard work and unity of purpose
that endure over time by
assisting to create a business friendly climate for
Zimbabweans in the
diaspora and at home.
There might not be
any success stories to tell or an enormous database
to boast of at the
moment but there are a number of initiatives BBZA can do
for any Zimbabwean
who becomes a member.
Imagine duty free exports of vehicles to
Zimbabwe for members or local
currency rates in hotels in Zimbabwe or
changing driver regulations when one
brings his or her vehicle to Zimbabwe
and as a member of BBZA is allowed to
let his or her friends and relatives
assist in driving his South African
registered vehicle in
Zimbabwe!
If we are inspired by such wonderful prospects, we
should be motivated
and moved to join and be involved in the activities that
BBZA can offer. The
association's business activities promote the interests
of business members
through lobbying and propositions to governments and
other institutions.
This means creating strong business linkages with
Zimbabwean businesses and
creating a diasporan economy by assisting with
business opportunities and
investments.
On the professional
front, BBZA's well-oiled pledges aim to improve
professionalism through
educational programmes that span insights on
immigration and immigration
laws.
This will in turn promote self-reliance through mentorship
programmes
that will provide Zimbabweans in the diaspora with a distinct and
sustainable advantage in South Africa and the world. An association such as
BBZA could easily encourage and propagate the participation of diasporan
professionals in playing their part in revamping the Zimbabwean
economy.
One way in which the professionals could play their
crucial role is on
the provision of legal advice, advice on immigration
services and laws and
advice on immigration requirements specific to
Zimbabweans in order for them
to carry out their business ventures with
almost no legal impediments.
This legal branch could well ensure
that the activities of BBZA are in
accordance with the constitution of the
host countries and hence ensure the
smooth flow of businesses run by
Zimbabweans in the diaspora.
Vukani Madoda writes from South
Africa.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008
21:14
DISSIDENTS who left South Africa's governing ANC have taken a
third of
the seats in the Western Cape by-elections. The Congress of the
People won
10 of 27 wards. As it is not formally registered as a political
party, its
candidates ran as independents. The ANC won
three.
The electoral commission barred the ANC from contesting
12 of the
seats because it did not register candidates in time. The Congress
of the
People was created this year when ANC members split over the ousting
of
ex-President Mbeki.
It was the first electoral test for
the breakaway party, which plans
to challenge the African National Congress
(ANC) that has dominated politics
since the fall of apartheid in 1994 at
next year's general elections. The
Congress of the People (Cope) will be
officially launched along with its
official policy platform on Tuesday.
Altogether 41 seats in five provinces
were contested in Wednesday's
municipal by-elections and other results are
expected
later.
But the main poll battle took place in Western Cape
province, where
the ANC has never won an outright majority. The Democratic
Alliance (DA),
currently the main opposition, said it was shaking off its
reputation as a
white party after winning nine seats from the ANC in the
province.
Of the eight wards in the city of Cape Town, six were
won by
independent candidates of Cope and two were won by the
DA.
ANC spokesman Jessie Duarte told the BBC's Focus on Africa
programme:
"The ANC's support base in the Western Cape has always been weak,
but it's
not weak in eight out of nine provinces in the country."
Political analyst Dr Fredrick Van Zyl Slabbert told the programme:
"[The ANC
has] under-estimated the extent to which there's been
dissatisfaction within
the ANC at grassroots level."
But he added that it was not
clear how Cope would raise the vast sums
of money it needs to contest next
year's national elections.
Led by former Defence Minister
Mosiuoa Lekota, the breakaway is made
up of senior ANC members who left the
party after Thabo Mbeki stepped down
as president in September, following a
power struggle with ANC leader Jacob
Zuma. -- BBC.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11
December 2008 19:00
ZIMBABWE Independent columnist Eric Bloch recently
wrote an article on
what he considers to be the changes necessary to get
Zimbabwe's land reform
back on track to revive agriculture.
Bloch was responding to the ruling of the Sadc Tribunal based in
Namibia in
favour of a number of evicted white Zimbabwean farmers who
petitioned it for
relief. The farmers went to the recently established
regional court for
redress after unfavourable rulings in Zimbabwe's own
court
system.
The Sadc court ruled that the farm seizures were
racially
discriminatory and violated international law.
It
ordered the Zimbabwean government to stop further farm takeovers,
as well as
to pay compensation for those already taken. Predictably, the
Mugabe
government scoffed at the court's ruling and has made it clear it has
no
intention to abide by it.
Bloch's overall conclusion is hard to
fault. He ends his article with,
"It (the government) should work vigorously
towards the creation of
harmonious inter-racial relationships and support to
bring about the revival
of the agricultural sector. If it would
constructively reform its land
reform, Zimbabwe would again become the
region's breadbasket, and its
economy would be positively set upon the path
to real recovery and growth."
It is how Bloch leads up to his
conclusion that is preposterous. He
goes out of his way to admit that
Zimbabwe has had a long pre-independence
history of aggressive laws to make
the African majority population occupiers
of only the most marginal lands.
And he is careful to say that he accepts
that the legacy of racially-based
wealth and land-holding patterns had to be
corrected.
But
something rankles Bloch about how the origins of Zimbabwe's land
issue is
framed:
"At the time of government initiating its programme of land
reform,
resettlement and redistribution, it justified doing so upon the fact
that
for a prolonged period of time the black population had been
legislatively
barred from ownership of agricultural lands, and upon a
specious contention
that such lands had been "stolen" from the black
population by the British
colonialists of more than a century
ago."
Bloch then embarks on an ingenious but utterly dishonest
argument, one
he has made many times before in his Independent column, about
how the
widely-held view that the land was indeed stolen from the natives by
British
settlers is actually wrong.
No, you see, says
Bloch, the natives' population density was extremely
low at the time of the
arrival of the British visitors who then invited
themselves to stay and
dominate the natives.
Citing population statistics of that late
19th century period, Bloch
says, "Based upon the 1880s/1890s population of
250 000, if the entirety of
the lands were stolen from that population, each
member of the population,
be they adult or child, male or female, elderly or
young would, on average,
have been possessed of 156 28 acres! That could
not possibly have been the
case."
There you have it, the
masterful exoneration of the early British
settlers' reputation as usurpers
of African land by Eric Bloch! They could
not have stolen the land because
at the time (1890s) there were just a
handful of natives roaming around
mostly vastly empty space that belonged to
nobody.
Oh sure,
admits Bloch, the settlers may have then gone on to mistreat
the Africans in
all sorts of ways, but at the beginning they just helped
themselves to all
the vast open spaces that had just been sitting there
waiting for somebody
clever to come along and stake Western-legal claim to
it. It was not the
settlers' fault that the natives couldn't produce title
deeds, effectively
says the intrepid Bloch.
If I sound sarcastic and contemptuous
of Bloch's argument, it's
because I am. It is not only a historically and
intellectually dishonest
argument, it borders on meeting the standards of
that oft-abused, over-used
concept -- racist.
As Bloch damn
well knows, the concepts of ownership of the two
clashing cultures were
completely different. In the African setting land was
communally held. There
was no personal "title" to land, but there was a
consensual understanding of
territories belonging to different levels of
groups.
This
is why when what was understood to be an "outgroup" invaded an
area, the
result was war.
It was not, "Fine, help yourself to that vast open
space over there,
we don't have title deeds to it so we can't prove it is
ours."
Bloch is valiantly fighting an ideas war with an
argument that is not
just culturally, historically and intellectually
dishonest.
On a purely practical level, he is continuing to
fight a battle that
in Zimbabwe has clearly been lost. The almost universal
feeling amongst
black Zimbabweans about the "stealing" of their land is one
major reason why
they pretty much unanimously agreed with the idea of waging
a long and
brutal war against the colonial system.
It is also
why the idea of radical land reform was quite popular even
as some warned
about the consequences of doing it the way it was done.
It is also
why even as many Zimbabweans today would like to see the
back of Robert
Mugabe for being a repressive despot and for the overall mess
he has
presided over, the idea of land reform remains widely popular, even
if many
would agree with Bloch's broad idea that the reform itself now needs
to be
reformed.
Each time Bloch has argued the way he has done again
in this article,
after getting over my initial astonishment, I have often
wondered if he
could be really naive enough to believe it could have any
currency beyond
perhaps a handful of people in his circles.
Bloch has every right to repeat this argument, but he stands
approximately
zero chance of convincing either any Zimbabwean government or
a significant
proportion of the Zimbabwean public of his fantastically
revisionist view of
the country's colonial history.
In different contexts, I have
heard people fighting the fight that
Bloch does so poorly here argue the
following: The Africans (Indians,
Aborigines, Native Americans, whatever)
were indeed dispossessed of what was
rightfully theirs by subterfuge and
force of arms, but hey, every people has
gone through such unhappy
experiences. Get over it and move on.
Many would find even this
argument a provocative and controversial
white-washing of history and of
peoples' legitimate grievances and rights to
the same kind of redress
today's white farmers are seeking.
Yet I believe this argument has
more validity than Bloch's crude
attempt to re-write history to absolve the
early white settlers of their
many pretexts for dispossessing Africans.
Bloch's one century-later public
relations effort on their behalf is a lost
cause in modern day Zimbabwe.
To frankly admit the messy and
painful events that have helped bring
the society to its present pass is to
respect the full historical record and
its effects on people in the past and
the present, rather than a
reductionist resort to misuse of
statistics.
Zimbabwe has continued under its present
post-independence
dispensation to be in denial about the ugliest parts of
its violent present,
the same way people like Bloch are in denial about the
reality of its ugly,
violent past.
Part of our moving
forward as a society is to learn to look at
ourselves, past and present,
with brutal honesty so that the many aggrieved
can feel the validity of
their grievances have at least been recognised in a
way that allows
forgiveness and moving on. Bloch's crude article reminds us
how far we still
have to go in this regard by its virtual mocking of a
central cause of
African pain and anger about the colonial past.
It is not just a
waste of time of an argument, it also illustrates the
huge gap in how blacks
and whites in southern Africa in general explain how
they arrived at the
tense multi-layered adjustments their societies are
undergoing to get over a
past that was certainly painful for the natives, if
not for the likes of
Eric Bloch.
Bloch's "clever" attempts at historical revision
also work against his
expressed noble desire for the society to "vigorously
work towards the
creation of harmonious inter-racial relationships". His
regular recycling of
this crooked attempt at colonial absolution does not
help to achieve his
expressed aim.
By Chido Makunike a
Zimbabwean social commentator based in Senegal.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008
19:08
WHEN the history of this period is written there may be one
unsung
hero who deserves acknowledgement. That is the US
dollar.
Yes, it has led to a harmful dichotomy between the
haves and the have
nots. But that was already manifesting itself in Zanu
PF's corrupt rule.
What the US dollar has done is to introduce a measure of
stability just when
things were getting out of control with the local unit.
And above all it has
demonstrated that there will be no going back -
economically or politically.
President Mugabe and his
collaborators can't print US dollars. They
can only print local dollars to
keep up. And the more they print, the faster
the Zimdollar loses its
value.
Yes, that leaves the army, police, and civil servants on
the margins
and potentially disaffected. But that's a headache Mugabe and Co
have
created for themselves. They can't manipulate the US dollar like they
have
everything else. It's a currency, not an election.
Mugabe
was last week telling the politburo that Zanu PF will go it
alone if the
MDC-T doesn't want to join an inclusive government. They can
take it or
leave it, he suggested.
"We agreed to work with the MDC so we
push government programmes
together as a country," he told the party
faithful. "But when elections are
announced we go against each
other."
So there it is. The MDC's role will be to "push
government programmes",
not formulate policy. They will be coopted to dig
Mugabe out of the hole he
has excavated for the country. Government
programmes, let us recall,
suffered unambiguous rejection in the March
poll.
Meanwhile, opposition members and civic activists are
being abducted
with no admission as to their whereabouts despite court
orders for the
police to disclose where they are being
held.
The MDC needs to say yes to elections - elections under
international
supervision and with a free press. But it cannot join a
government where
abductions and repression remain the order of the day and
the public media
is instructed to lie. The MDC will in that situation be
complicit in Zanu PF's
misrule.
Didymus Mutasa has
helpfully admitted that this is a regime that holds
the law in open
contempt. While insisting that the MDC-T adheres to Sadc's
call to join an
inclusive government, Zanu PF declines to adhere to the rule
of law in
regard to the Sadc Tribunal.
Why should the MDC be associated
with a government that refuses to
obey court orders; that not only refuses
to obey the orders of a regional
court but insults the judges that sit on
that bench?
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki of
course has not uttered a
word of reproach. Instead he writes an ill-advised
letter to Morgan
Tsvangirai denouncing Tendai Biti for "insulting" regional
heads. Zimbabwe's
future lay with Sadc, not the EU and North America, he
fulminated.
But the most disingenuous piece of his bad-tempered
missive was that
which suggested South Africa had opened its doors to
thousands of Zimbabwean
refugees who had imposed a heavy burden on their
hosts.
This is not a burden borne by Western nations, he claimed,
which have
benefited from Zimbabwean skills.
What he forgot to add
is that when those refugees came under murderous
attack in the townships of
Johannesburg, he declined to visit the victims
and only late in the day
denounced the perpetrators of violence.
And while it is true
Western countries have benefited from Zimbabwean
skills, so has South
Africa.
Those same Western countries have been quick to respond
to calls for
their help in combating cholera and starvation in Zimbabwe when
the region,
with the notable exception of Namibia, has dragged its heels. As
Raila
Odinga pointed out, Sadc has been unforgivably slow in dealing with
the
crisis in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe would never share the same
neighbourhood as Western Europe
and North America, Mbeki lectured
Tsvangirai.
But what Mbeki misses in all this is the
increasingly inter-connected
global village. Sadc countries may choose to
find friendships around the
world and not just in the region. Zimbabwe is
currently reaching out to
China and previously had a close relationship with
Malaysia.
Botswana's view of the Zimbabwe crisis is currently
closer to that of
the UK and US than South Africa.
Mbeki was
isolated, let us remember, when he tried to lift Zimbabwe's
Commonwealth
suspension in the teeth of opposition from other African
states, most
notably Nigeria.
If it is true that Biti holds Southern African
leaders in contempt,
that may have something to do with the contempt they
hold for Zimbabwean
voters! Now Mugabe is using another flawed election as a
threat.
Botswana has supplied an appropriate response there:
Elections under
international supervision. With a democratic constitution,
we should add.
Let Mugabe go ahead and form a dead-wood
government. What confidence
does the country have in Mutasa, Made and Msika?
And can you imagine what a
spur to inflation electoral money-printing will
prove?
And what makes Mugabe think the international community, which
declined to recognise his legitimacy last time around, will endorse another
poll outcome marred by chicanery and violence?
Zanu PF
should get real. It is them against whom the tide is clearly
turning, not
Morgan Tsvangirai as the Sunday Mail pathetically hopes. There
can be no
renewal for that clueless bunch of losers as Bindura will soon
reveal.
And which businessmen have been foolish enough to
contribute to the
Bindura shindig? How can you fund your own
demise?
This is a meeting of people who have no idea of how a
modern economy
is run. Yet they hold out the begging bowl to those whose
prospects they
have ruined by their ignorant policies. And some business
people are stupid
enough to give.
Now they have another
"economic recovery plan" in the pipeline which,
we can be sure, will meet
the same fate as all the rest. In response to the
obvious question: Why
don't they just give up and spare the country any more
suffering, the
obvious answer is that such a sacrifice would remove a large
number of
snouts from the feeding trough. Zimbabwe's Animal Farm is not
going to exit
easily.
By the way, somebody writing in the Voice recently
thought 1984 was a
defence of socialism. As we said a couple of weeks ago,
it's good for a
laugh.
Please could Econet communicate with its
customers. Why is it
impossible to reach a South African cell number or
indeed any other number
outside the country? Has it got something to do with
termination fees? Why
aren't we told?
Do you recall all
those ambitious statements from Econet that it was
adding thousands of new
subscribers to its network? We said at the time,
please could it just
concentrate on providing a service to its existing
customers.
Those seem like halcyon days now. Econet and the
two smaller networks
are just not coping with inflation. Their prepaid cards
run out after a
couple of calls.
Customer complaints go
unheeded. Nothing seems to get Zimbabweans more
worked up than talking about
their cellphone hassles. We just wish the
companies, having made a fortune
at our expense, could think of ways to make
life a bit easier for their
customers. Like going back to contracts.
DRC ambassador Mawampanga
Mwana Nanga thinks Zimbabweans should have
pride in their local brands like
Air Zimbabwe. He said the DRC would
continue to support the Zimbabwean
"cause" and assist with the restoration
of the economy.
He
didn't say what he thought the Zimbabwean "cause" was or what
assistance a
country like the Congo could give to the restoration of the
economy.
At the same awards ceremony, AirZim CEO Peter
Chikumba said although
the national airline was faced with certain
challenges, "its reliability had
been proven and there was room to improve
next year".
Is this a statement AirZim passengers can identify
with? Do they
generally regard the airline as reliable? Or is Chikumba
living in the same
delusional world that ZTA chief Karikoga Kaseke inhabits
where everything is
about "perception management"?
It would
be interesting to know how profitable AirZim's Congo service
is as their
flights commute between Kinshasa, Mbuji-Mayi, and Lubumbashi.
This is a strange itinerary for a Zimbabwean airline!
In 1960
the Congo was traversed by a sophisticated road and rail
network carrying
the riches of its mines to the River Congo at Leopoldville
(Kinshasa).
Now it is impossible to travel by road and
there is little left of the
rail network. The Congolese have reverted to
their river system when they
need to travel. Meanwhile their rich forest
resources in the east are under
siege as are their once abundant wildlife.
The mountain gorillas are a
notable casualty of the current civil
war.
The DRC ambassador called on Zimbabweans to have pride in
their
national brands like Air Zimbabwe. But he didn't say what brands could
be
found in the Congo or what aspects of transportation in that country its
citizens could currently be proud of. What perhaps he meant is that the DRC,
once under the iron fist of Mobutu Sese Seko, provides a lesson for Zimbabwe
in the consequences of misrule.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11
December 2008 20:02
LIFE is full of ironies, dilemmas and
paradoxes.
US president George Bush wants President Robert
Mugabe's head for his
valedictory party and as a Christmas turkey for his
Republican and European
supporters to cap his bloody legacy; ahistorical
lawyers and reporters are
deployed to make fateful decisions on the causes
and solutions to Zimbabwe's
problems while Sadc and African Union leaders
are cajoled to back the first
American-engineered military coup in the
region!
There is a desperate urgency in Bush's call. He has
been rejected by
the Americans and leaves the US mired in unwinnable deadly
conflicts in
Afghanistan and Iraq. Getting rid of President Mugabe would be
a victory, no
matter how pyrrhic; it should be the silver lining on his dark
reign which
everyone wants to forget very quickly.
It's no
less devilish that this despicable agenda is cloaked as a
democracy campaign
(remember Iraq!), with the cholera outbreak as the casus
belli. We have
become vermin to be culled through a military operation
before the disease
can be contained. And blood-sucking idiots like Raila
Odinga want Africa to
bless this diabolical act!
The dilemma Zimbabwe faces is not
helped by a phoney and fawning
eurocentric media most of whose callow
practitioners can't grasp concepts
such as "social justice" and "universal
human rights" as enshrined in the UN
Human Rights Charter of
1948.
While they are happy to cite convenient sections from it,
nobody dares
interrupt the bandwagon by pointing out that as late as 1970,
10 years
before Zimbabwe's Independence, the Rhodesian Front government was
kicking
Chief Rekayi Tangwena and his people off Gairesi Ranch.
Their single crime was that no indigenous African had title to land,
so they
could not have human rights without legal rights.
That's the
context of the Sadc Tribunal's ruling on Zimbabwe's vexed
land issue. It
dovetails with the usual rhetoric: the need to correct past
wrongs is not
disputed -- so long as there is prompt "market-related"
compensation "in
foreign currency". None of those saying so wants to part
with "his" land
much of it measured in thousands of hectares and lying
fallow.
They know no African government can raise the foreign currency they
demand.
Listen to the ruckus in South Africa.
We all know there was
corruption in land redistribution and rampant
abuse of resources allocated
by government. But what I cannot understand is
the claim by the Tribunal
that implementation of "the land reform programme
might be legitimate if and
when all lands under the programme were .
distributed to poor, landless and
other disadvantaged and marginalised
individuals or groups".
This is strange logic demanding of Zimbabwe something without
precedent in
the world. So correcting a colonial property ownership
injustice must be
limited only to the poor and vagrants and not include any
who fought for the
land if they have so improved themselves that they now
own a house? Who said
this was the aim of the liberation war?
Fortunately most Sadc
and AU leaders have pierced this veil of unjust
legality.
The
dispute in Zimbabwe is not purely about human rights, democracy
and the rule
of law. These ideals can't be enjoyed in a vacuum.
Americans know
this from their independence war, and the civil war a
century later.
Europeans know this from the French Revolution.
Those struggles
were about property ownership rights, and there were a
lot of expropriations
from those who lost the war. Zimbabweans want no less,
no more than
ownership and control of their natural resources, starting with
land.
If this had been let to run its course like in America
and France, I
am sure it would have been wrapped up in five years and
deserving farmers
compensated and spared us the current racist
acrimony.
This leads me to the biggest paradox in this saga. It
is a paradox
which has confounded the denialists of the centrality of land
in our crisis
and why most Europeans cannot understand why African leaders
respond with
icy resentment to external goading to "deal" with
Mugabe.
Put crudely: the political party purportedly seeking to
establish the
rule of law in Zimbabwe is viewed in African eyes as trying to
achieve this
by restoring and entrenching the status quo ante 1998 in land
ownership
patterns while a weary incumbent regime is pioneering a
revolutionary
post-colonial property ownership pattern on the
continent.
A cursory reading of John Stuart Mill's theory of the
greatest
happiness to the greatest number makes this
self-evident.
If one cannot understand this paradox, it is
impossible one can
understand why Thabo Mbeki was forced to leave power
before President
Mugabe, the main target of the onslaught in the
region.
Having failed to execute his task as Bush's pointman to
dislodge
Mugabe, Mbeki was portrayed in the South African media and abroad
as the
archetypal evil who could not call Mugabe devil. The campaign of
vilification and calumny worked insidiously, creating chinks in the
governing ANC and quickly found concrete expression in Jacob Zuma's vaulting
ambition.
Too late, Zuma is realising how he has been used to
undermine the
party which should have carried him to power and fortified his
empowerment
policies among SA's marginalised urban and rural
poor.
In the context, Bush's requested Christmas present is the
ultimate
insult to Africans who loathe the West's condescending attitude.
Under
military attack, given its geographical location, Zimbabwe would
create a
flaming vortex worse than the DRC war in 1999 and kill the raison
d'etre of
Sadc as a political and economic bloc and the benefits
therefrom.
These are the ingredients of regional instability in
which no nation
can guarantee the security of its own interests. White
capital flight will
hit staggering proportions overnight, hitting hardest
Sadc countries calling
for a military solution to what is clearly a
political problem.
BY JORAM NYATHI
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008
19:59
CHRISTMAS, which all over the world is described as the festive
season, is upon us. Unfortunately for Zimbabweans there are no festivities
to speak of. As memories of the September 15 signing of the power-sharing
agreement between Zimbabwe's three main parties fade, and for some turn into
a nightmare, ordinary people now wonder aloud: What went
wrong?
As the promises of economic recovery and national
renewal politicians
made ahead of the March 29 elections fade into the
mists, ordinary people
wonder what happened.
As hunger and
a devastating cholera epidemic stalk the land without
any indications of
urgent action on the part of government, people
understandably ask: Does
anyone care?
Needless to say, in Zimbabwe's badly polarised and
poisoned political
environment the answer one gets to these many questions
depends on their
vantage point on the political divide. We have become
past-masters at the
blame game without anyone accepting responsibility for
the debilitating
political stalemate in the country which is taking a huge
toll in human
lives.
There is also no doubt that more
Zimbabweans have been trying to leave
the country since it became evident
that there was no meeting of minds
between the major political players,
President Robert Mugabe and
MDC-Tsvangirai leader Morgan Tsvangirai. To us
that is a vote of no
confidence in those who had promised to serve and save
the nation from the
current state of economic and social
collapse.
What has also become evident beyond question is that
what is at stake
in the stalled negotiations to form an inclusive government
has nothing to
do with meeting people's needs but the desire by the
political leadership
for dominance. There have been more efforts expended in
trying to accentuate
the differences between Zanu PF and the MDC-Tsvangirai
than what the two
parties share as representatives of the people of
Zimbabwe.
In this regard it is futile to keep referring to the
March 29
elections as the magic wand to unlock the political deadlock as if
there
were a decisive winner in the presidential race. In fact, the outcome
of the
vote in both the presidential and House of Assembly tallies points to
the
need for an inclusive government. It is therefore dishonest for either
party
to demand in the negotiations a dominance it failed to achieve through
the
ballot.
Another convenient argument has been that
Tsvangirai and the MDC
deserve to rule because Zanu PF and Mugabe have been
at the helm for the
past 28 years and have in fact precipitated and presided
over the collapse
of Zimbabwe's economy and social
services.
This argument misses the point that politics is about
gaining power
and retaining it. It is not about entitlement merely because
the incumbent
regime has failed. Power has to be won in an open contest,
which is what
both parties failed to do in March according to Zimbabwe's
electoral laws.
Most damaging however has been Zanu PF's use of
force to coerce voters
to see things its way.
Democracy
dictates that a political party seeking power must win the
hearts and minds
of the electorate by the force of its message. It was in
this respect that
the ruling party lost the contest in March and it must
accept the need for
compromise and sharing of the power it has held alone
for nearly three
decades.
To us the solution to the country's woes does not lie
in the blame
game. This is a betrayal of the people.
The answer
lies in the leaders of the two main political parties
examining and
accepting their limitations and agreeing to work together.
What is needed
urgently is to alleviate people's suffering, not who wields
what power in an
inclusive government. This is an entirely selfish agenda
which can only
deepen, or lead to another, dictatorship.
While there is clear
merit in the MDC's demand for a fresh election as
another way to resolve the
stalemate on who should lead the country, this
exposes a disturbing
detachment from the ordinary people and urgency of the
issues affecting them
such as hunger, the cholera pandemic and shortages of
basic commodities all
round.
It also shows an inability to evaluate the actual state of
the economy
and whether it can sustain further elections whose outcomes are
not
guaranteed to yield an enduring solution.
If anything,
this option is dependent on foreigners funding the
elections and then
deciding on their own terms who the victors are. It bears
the same political
barrenness which dictates that economic recovery in
Zimbabwe can be achieved
solely with foreign aid while Zimbabweans
themselves quibble over
ministerial portfolios.
We believe an election can wait while
politicians attend to the urgent
needs of the people and also work on new
electoral institutions to remove
the anomalies which have led to electoral
disputes in the past. Anyone who
cannot appreciate the daily suffering of
ordinary Zimbabweans while he
pursues personal glory doesn't deserve to rule
this country.
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Thursday, 11 December 2008 19:19
A
LOT of debate has been generated both within and outside Zimbabwe's
borders
on whether or not the country's major protagonists - President
Robert Mugabe
and Morgan Tsvangirai - understand the state the nation is in
and the urgent
need for a political solution.
The most striking question on
that matter has been that if Mugabe and
Tsvangirai understand the enormity
of the country's problems, why are they
not ready to compromise for the
common good of the toiling Zimbabweans?
The signing of the
September 15 power-sharing agreement gave
Zimbabweans hope of a better
future, but that hope has been turned into a
nightmare as Mugabe and
Tsvangirai continue to haggle on issues that have
nothing to do with
delivering on their parties' electoral promises.
The crisis has
taken a new twist with the outbreak of cholera that has
claimed about 600
lives and serious shortages of basic food faced by about
five million
people.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai are worried about who between
them should have
"real power" in the unity government instead of putting the
country's
national interest above self.
Unfortunately
regional pressure has been piled on Tsvangirai to set
aside what his party
terms outstanding issues of the September 15 deal and
be part of the
inclusive government.
Tsvangirai's concerns have been reduced
to nothing except the
allocation of posts, but more significantly they are a
battle of ideas and
philosophy.
I have no doubt that
Mugabe's idea is to cling to power at all costs
and I suggest that must be
resisted. Instead, his role should be to inspire
people and he must above
all unite them.
Mugabe has failed to provide leadership even
during the last mile of
his journey in power.
An inclusive
government must offer a glimmer of hope and not
contribute to darkness and
confusion.
With Mugabe at the helm and his thinking intact no
progress can
realistically be expected. Zimbabwe needs change and
urgently.
The challenge is for Zimbabweans to start speaking
about the kind of
Zimbabwe they want to see. The likes of Desmond Tutu and
Ian Khama have been
providing their views and it is time that opinions start
emanating from
Zimbabweans voicing the shared concern that leadership change
is necessary.
People have been afraid for too long and the
people in the diaspora
have chosen to be spectators while their national
brand is being murdered.
Mugabe has contributed much in
contaminating the Zimbabwean brand and
this injury cannot be rectified
through a manufactured outcome of an
inclusive government.
The credibility of any government has to be based on its record and
Mugabe
has refused to run on his record or even be judged by his own
actions,
choosing instead to be judged by the actions of other people.
I
strongly believe that it is Mugabe, not Tsvangirai, who is holding
the
country to ransom.
He has been in power for 28 years and he
simply has run out of ideas.
Mugabe promises nothing new and he must accept
that time for change has
arrived.
He continues to look in
the rear-view mirror instead of looking into
the future and what is needed
now.
Those asking for compromise from Tsvangirai's side should know
that
you could only compromise when the times and conditions require
compromise.
Zimbabwe is in an uncompromising mood and the
injury is so great that
action is required. Mugabe has demonstrated in the
post-election period that
he does not know what time it is.
The ageing Mugabe is still playing the power game in its classical
sense and
is not moved by the pain and suffering people are going through.
People of
Zimbabwe have to register their own distaste at what is taking
place.
Mugabe has 24 hours in a day so has Tsvangirai and
people who say
nothing and do nothing about the situation have themselves to
blame.
It cannot be right to say that only two people are
responsible for the
Zimbabwean condition. We are all responsible. We have to
ask ourselves what
have we done to resolve the crisis?
Mugabe continues to believe that he is the last defender of the
revolution
and it is time to tell him that he is not.
Editor's Memo with
Constantine Chimakure
http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/
Govt Has Lost Charge
Thursday, 11 December 2008 20:36
PRESIDENT George W Bush recently denounced the illegitimate Mugabe
regime
and once again called for a government that would end repression and
express
the will of the Zimbabwean people.
On March 29, the citizens of
Zimbabwe voted decisively to change their
leaders.
They
demanded better government. Yet their demands have been largely
ignored by
the losers of the election, which is why the president called
this regime
illegitimate. However, the Mugabe regime continues to forfeit
its legitimacy
on a daily basis by failing to meet the most basic obligation
of a
government -- to care for its people.
Governments are created
to protect and care for their citizens. The
current regime has largely
abdicated this responsibility. Today the work of
caring for the many
suffering Zimbabweans has fallen to the international
community.
I am proud of the leading role the United States is
playing in this
regard, but we should not lose sight of the fact that we are
doing what the
government of Zimbabwe should do, but chooses not to
do.
In the past year the US has provided over US$218 million in
humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe.
We are the leading food
donor, providing US$211 million in food
commodities to address this food
emergency.
The United States provides nearly 70% of all
international food aid
distributed in Zimbabwe through NGOs and the UN World
Food Programme.
We spent nearly US$30 million last year on HIV/Aids
programmes, in
addition to paying for 33% of the Global Fund's programmes.
We are currently
putting in place an additional US$600 000 in emergency aid
to combat the
cholera epidemic currently devastating
Zimbabwe.
What is the Mugabe regime doing? It is buying
hundreds cars so that
every minister and governor can have multiple
vehicles. It is buying plasma
televisions for judges. It is stifling the
private sector so that mines and
factories are forced to close, laying off
workers, while harassing the
nongovernmental organisations that try to
provide support to suffering
Zimbabweans.
The widespread
hunger in Zimbabwe, the cholera epidemic and the
collapse of education and
health care systems are not the result of any
targeted sanctions. These
disastrous failures result from decisions by a
few Zimbabwean leaders to put
personal interests ahead of the public
interest.
Instead of
spending scarce resources on water purification chemicals
that might stop
the cholera epidemic, they are manipulating currency to make
a personal
profit. Instead of ensuring that hospitals and clinics remain
open, staffed
and supplied, they enjoy lives of luxury in gated compounds.
Instead of
paying teachers a living wage so that the next generation can
learn, they
fly around the world on shopping sprees. In the meantime, their
people
suffer and die.
I challenge the leaders of this country to set
aside their personal
greed and commit to spending even a quarter of what the
US and other donors
will spend this year to meet the humanitarian needs of
Zimbabwe's citizens.
The amount of aid the US gives Zimbabwe is
openly available. The
Mugabe regime should open its books and tell the world
how much it is
spending on the people of Zimbabwe, and how much they are
spending on luxury
vehicles, the campaign of brutal violence against their
own people, and the
desperate struggle to stay in power at all
costs.
The bottom line is that the so-called leaders of this
country need to
stop feeding their insatiable greed and take care of the
poor and deserving
Zimbabweans languishing because of this corruption. Up to
five million
people will need food aid in the coming months. Over 15 500
have suffered
from cholera, with 746 deaths, and the epidemic is just
starting.
Untold thousands have suffered or died because they
cannot access
medical care. We remain ready to help. However, right now the
international
community isn't just helping; we're being forced to lead by
the Mugabe
regime's criminal negligence. It's time for the Mugabe regime to
take
responsibility for these problems it has created, and fix
them.
Zimbabweans deserve better. They have asked for better
through their
votes. How long must they suffer before their government
responds?
James D McGee is US Ambassador to
Zimbabwe.
--------------------
What Has Happened To
Investigative Journalism?
Thursday, 11 December 2008 19:53
I
RESPECT your paper for its principle of telling it as it is, for
this is the
only way our nation can start to climb out of our current
malaise.
I hope you are going to expose the truth on the
issue of the clampdown
on some stockbrokers, banks, companies and
individuals by the central bank
governor Gideon Gono.
This
action convinced most of us that there were elements in our midst
who were
making this country suffer.
Most of us -- I believe -- would really
want to know what has since
happened to the saboteurs especially if you
consider the way this was aired
on our ever "reliable" ZTV with the
Attorney-General officials present.
What is strange is about
the whole affair is that we learn through the
rumour mill that the deemed
saboteurs have since been cleared and removed
from the
"blacklist".
Can someone explain why this has been done
secretly? Is it because the
governor misinformed the public or that he had
not done his homework?
Or maybe he is just trying to show us
that since he has been given
five more years he is doing something to arrest
the deteriorating situation?
My question to you is what has
happened to investigative journalism?
We definitely need some answers
especially from Gono who made this an issue
of national interest by beaming
it on ZTV.
On another note, the only good bank in the country,
Stanbic Bank, has
been unable to generate a statements of my account for the
past four weeks.
They keep telling me that their system is
offline or that it is being
upgraded. They need to take us customers more
seriously.
Pindukai Rakabopa,
Harare.
---------
Government Must Account For Anti-cholera
Resources
Thursday, 11 December 2008 19:27
THE Combined Harare
Residents Association (CHRA) is dismayed by the
failure of the Zimbabwean de
facto government and its parastatals to account
for the funds which were
designated for the control of cholera and provision
of clean water to the
residents of Harare.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe allocated
large sums of money and
vehicles to Zinwa towards the production and supply
of water and sewer
reticulation in the city some three weeks ago, but up to
date nothing
substantial has been seen on the ground. The cholera-infested
areas are
still without water. Raw sewage is still abundantly flowing
through the
residential areas and homes while burst sewers are still largely
unattended
and the cholera scourge is on the rise.
Meanwhile,
the cholera scourge is unrelenting as it continues to claim
more lives in
Harare, across the country and rapidly sprawling beyond the
Zimbabwean
borders.
While there are reports that the UN aid agencies have
stepped up
efforts to fight cholera in Zimbabwe; CHRA still fears that the
aid directed
towards fighting cholera might be usurped by the authorities
and find its
way to bankrolling some of the dishonest and insensitive
government populist
projects.
Zimbabwe desperately needs
transparent and accountable leadership.
CHRA demands transparent,
accountable and responsible leadership. Harare
residents and Zimbabweans
deserve better.
CHRA,Harare.
--------------
Zimbabwe Independent SMSES
Thursday, 11 December 2008 19:22
YOUR crossword puzzles are too Euro-centric. Can you make an effort to
make
the content more global?
Puzzled.
SO Robert Mugabe is
now giving the MDC an ultimatum to comply with a
half-baked agreement? I
believe that the MDC should not be pestered in their
decisions especially by
a man whose own decisions have made Zimbabwe
disintegrate since 1980.
Tsvangirai should agree to a deal that is
practically workable.
Sphinx J, Bindura.
IS Robert Mugabe still in total control? I think
not! Rampaging
soldiers, a cholera epidemic exposing his disastrous policies
-- and now he
has to ask for help from abroad -- an economy on a free fall
and lastly (but
not least) despite parading himself as a winner he still has
not instituted
a government!
Tonderai, Dzivarasekwa.
HOW many more Zimbabweans must die of curable diseases such as cholera
and
suffer from malnutrition? How many Zimbabweans must vote with their feet
in
emigrating from Zimbabwe before Zanu PF realises that it is way past its
expiry date?
Matswane.
BOTH Morgan Tsvangirai and
Robert Mugabe are useless because they have
allowed us to suffer with
hunger. Come elections in five years people will
definitely vote for a third
force, probably Simba Makoni or whoever will be
the next
opposition.
Walter.
WHY are people like Thabo Mbeki and
The Post of Zambia (Zimbabwe
Independent December 5, Tsvangirai pushing his
luck too far) busy lambasting
Tsvangirai? Instead they should knock sense
into Mugabe and Zanu PF. If they
want to know who carries the real mandate
of the people they should poll
even a small cross-section of Zimbabweans and
it will be evident.
Rudo.
IT is a travesty of
Himalayan proportions in my view that Thabo Mbeki
and The Post of Zambia are
saying that Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC-T must
subject themselves to what
they call "African solutions". This is a fallacy
when most African leaders,
namely
Omar Bongo, Muammar Qaddafi, Hosni Mubarak to name a
few,
consider the word democracy to
be a dirty word. We want
true democracy in Zimbabwe and the majority
in Zimbabwe are behind
Tsvangirai.
Do.
WHEN Didymus Mutasa insults the Sadc
Tribunal on the land judgement
does that portray your "African" culture and
values Thabo Mbeki? Mugabe lost
in March and needs to accept this reality
and you should assist him to get
to grips with that fact.
Future
elder.
THABO Mbeki is an accomplice to the chaos that reigns in
Zimbabwe.
Mbeki has deliberately misled the world as to the plight of
Zimbabweans.
Morgan Tsvangirai is the people's leader.
Stanley
Tapfumaneyi Tapera, Harare.
CAN you believe that buses from our
rural area of Zhombe are now
accepting goats and chickens as bus fare? God
help us all, somebody is
dragging us back to the stone age barter
system.
Bhero.
JORAM Nyathi seems to have lost the plot in
the sanctions issue. They
were brought about by the brutalisation of the
opposition by the Zanu PF
regime. So the international community could not
stand and watch as if
nothing was going on. Sanctions are the just
dessert.
Analyst.
GOD is not all blind that he cannot see
the wickedness amongst us. He
will bring to book all those who choose the
path of brutality. Politicians
should turn their hearts to God; you are not
too far removed from God to
repent your sins. He can still forgive
you.
Knowledge Munenge.
I AM trying to trace my roots and
place of origin and require
assistance in that regard. Our family surname is
Ngungumbana, my first name
is Mkhonji. Fasi, Motase, Makhaya, Dumase,
Mphaanle and Sokoambata are the
names of my fellow family members. Most of
our elders died when I was young
and I have had no chance to get the details
of my ancestry from them. Anyone
with knowledge about the aforementioned
names and their roots should kindly
shed light to me on this number 023 392
887 or through my favourite weekly
newspaper, the Zimbabwe
Independent.
Mkhonji Ngungumbana.
WHO is to blame for the
increase in the prices of goods charged in
foreign currency? What is causing
this?
Perplexed.
CONGRATULATIONS to Gideon Gono for a new
five-year term. He must be
given the time and opportunity to watch as the
zeros keep growing and
growing.
Observer.
http://www.voanews.com/
By Loirdham
Moyo
Mutare, Zimbabwe
11 December
2008
In Zimbabwe's city, Mutare, residents are
shunning regular commuter
operators and using other forms of transport - like
open lorries - saying
buses are simply too expensive. Trucks usually travel
to the city center
daily to hire laborers. Now, however, drivers say their
business has picked
up dramatically since they began ferrying residents to
and from work. Voice
of America English to Africa Service reporter Loirdham
Moyo says commuter
operators charge anything from $ 500,000 Zimbabwe dollars
(about $12.00 US)
for a one-way trip. That's the maximum amount individuals
are allowed to
withdraw from banks daily. Consumers say if they pay that much
for
transport, they've nothing left to feed their families.
But a few
innovative locals have found a way around the transport nightmare;
they're
hitching rides with lorry- and truck drivers who charge half of
what
operators want.
Brighton Chichakara says he's more than
comfortable using other forms of
transport. However he says when it rains he
won't be able to jump onto the
back of an open lorry; then he'll have to
hitch a ride in a combi:
"The trucks are a dependable and cheap way of
going and back from town. At
the banks we get $500, 000 and operators charge
that same amount meaning
that one will have no other means of getting back to
work if they rely on
withdrawals from the bank. It is only sad now that the
rains are imminent
that we are forced to go for them."
Another
commuter Silvia Sithole says the trucks give consumers much-needed
relief.
She explains when one makes a trip to the city, returning is a
problem
because it costs too much.
"We are finding it hard to travel daily into
town and back on the $500,000
we withdraw which ends up paying for one trip.
Life is now hard and the
trucks are a welcome development to most of
us."
Chikanga resident Farai Mudzinge says truckers' presence has eased
many
commuters' financial burdens.
"Many of us are using trucks to get
to work and back. We pray they continue
serving us as commuter operators are
now bent on hiking fares as they please
forgetting we only get money enough
to cater for one way trip by their
current charges."
A truck driver,
who identified himself only as Peter, explains he waits in
the hope of being
hired for a quick day job. But on his way to the city
center he's begun
transporting commuters. and doing a roaring trade. He says
it's extra cash
for him as he has to travel to town regardless of whether
he's transporting
people or not. Peter explains his truck is usually hired
to ferry cement,
poles and other building materials.
But commuter omnibus operator Edward
Pasipamire, of Dangamvura, complains of
losing business to truckers. He says
he currently earns fewer trips than
previously. Edward says he makes as
little as 10-million daily, which is
less than half of what he usually
nets.
Commuter fares have been going up twice a week, on Mondays and
Thursdays.
Reuters Foundation
Date: 09 Dec 2008
By Matthew Tostevin
LONDON, Dec 9
(Reuters) - The African Union has rejected tougher steps
against Zimbabwe's
President Robert Mugabe despite demands from Western
leaders and some
African statesmen that he quit over the growing
humanitarian
crisis.
Below are answers to some questions on diplomacy over
Zimbabwe:
Why don't African countries do more?
Zimbabwe's
neighbours are divided over the approach to take, but Mugabe is
still seen
by many as a hero for the role he played in liberating his
country from
white minority rule.
Some also favour dialogue as a more traditionally
African approach to
solving problems and resist the idea of foreign
interference, particularly
by former colonial powers.
African leaders
have stressed the importance of dialogue between Mugabe and
opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who are deadlocked over a power-sharing
agreement
brokered by former South African President Thabo Mbeki in
September.
The agreement has been hailed by supporters as a triumph
for African
diplomacy in the face of calls for tougher action from Western
countries
that also strongly opposed Mugabe's seizure of white-owned farms
to give to
black Zimbabweans.
Non-interference in the affairs of
neighbouring countries, no matter how
dire their internal problems, was long
a principle of the Organisation of
African Unity, which preceded the African
Union.
Some African leaders cannot boast of having much better democratic
credentials than Mugabe. Forcing Mugabe from power over elections like
Zimbabwe's widely condemned ballots earlier this year could set an unwelcome
precedent.
What are the divisions in Africa?
Botswana has
taken a much tougher stand than most of Zimbabwe's neighbours
and its
foreign minister has said Mugabe should be forced out. Zambia has
also been
critical of Mugabe. But their influence is relatively limited.
Kenyan
Prime Minister Raila Odinga, a former opposition leader who says he
was
cheated of victory in a presidential election a year ago, has become one
of
the most outspoken leaders in his criticism of Mugabe.
Countries in west
and east Africa, further from Zimbabwe, tend to take a
tougher stand. Some
fear that Zimbabwe's problems ruin the image of the
continent and will
discourage investors.
Some African statesmen, including Nobel peace
laureate and Archbishop
Desmond Tutu have been harsh in their condemnation.
Former U.N. Secretary
General Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian, is another member of a
global group known as
The Elders that has described its "bitter
disappointment at the failure of
the regime."
What about South
Africa?
As the continent's biggest power and a neighbour, South Africa is
in a
position to do more than any other country.
There is also
pressure to act because of the millions of Zimbabweans who
have fled over
the border in search of jobs, now joined by hundreds seeking
treatment for
cholera and bringing the highly infectious disease with them.
South
African unions, with a strong voice in the ruling African National
Congress,
are also opposed to Mugabe and have close links to Tsvangirai's
opposition.
After Mbeki was forced from power by the ANC in
September, the South African
government has taken a slightly tougher stand
-- withholding some aid
symbolically.
But ANC leader Jacob Zuma,
widely tipped to be elected president next year,
has made clear his support
for Mbeki's continued mediation efforts and
dialogue between Zimbabwe's
rivals.
What about the rest of the world?
Western countries such
as the United States and former colonial power
Britain have been raising the
volume and demanding that Mugabe step down
since the cholera epidemic took
Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis to a new
level.
But their voices count
for little in Zimbabwe.
They make clear they want to see African states
take the lead and are
unlikely to consider intervention by force
themselves.
Attempts by Western countries to get U.N. sanctions imposed
on Zimbabwe were
also blocked by China and Russia, its friends on the
Security Council.
The measures so far imposed by Western countries
themselves -- visa bans and
asset freezes -- have had little impact on the
political situation but are
cited by Mugabe's government as the reasons for
Zimbabwe's economic
collapse.
Western critics blame Mugabe's
policies.
Despite China's diplomatic opposition to sanctions, it has done
little
concrete to support Mugabe. In a sign of a possible toughening in the
stand
of Mugabe's strongest ally outside Africa, it has stressed the need
for a
unity government.
(Editing by Tim Pearce)
http://www.businessday.co.za
11
December 2008
Francis Kornegay and Aubrey Matshiqi
ZIMBABWE has now
collapsed. Could intervention be close behind? Not
necessarily, though the
situation clearly demands it, if for no other reason
than to establish a
"responsibility-to-protect" humanitarian rescue of the
country's hapless
citizens and to contain the already unfolding spillover
effects in the
region.
Now, however, Zimbabwe's emergency appeal for international help
in coping
with its out-of-control cholera epidemic could provide a window of
opportunity for leveraging nonmilitary external intervention. Nonmilitary
intervention should include an internationally co-ordinated humanitarian aid
programme aimed at offering immediate relief to suffering Zimbabwean
citizens.
This package must also be part of a comprehensive
diplomatic and political
response to the deepening social, political and
economic crisis facing that
nation. While it might be tempting to see the
current phase of the crisis as
an opportunity to impose conditions on the
Zanu (PF) government, there needs
to be a realisation on the part of all
external actors that a pragmatic
approach offers the best chance for an
effective resolution.
Interventions must, therefore, be driven by a
sense of pragmatism regarding
the conditions to be attached to the
humanitarian aid programme . This
should be done with the aim of preventing
Robert Mugabe and the Joint
Operations Command (JOC) from using the
attachment of conditions as an
excuse for obstructionist behaviour of the
kind that might cost more lives.
On the other hand, a conditions-free
approach will send the wrong message to
Mugabe and his cronies and might, at
the same time, undermine international
unity as one of the key ingredients
for an effective response. There might,
therefore, be a need to split the
aid package between measures that require
preconditions and those that
prioritise the preservation of human life
without
them.
Fortunately, the days of emotion-driven media analysis are
nearly a thing of
the past, if two recent examples are anything to go by.
There have emerged
two commendable proposals which, combined in a carefully
crafted diplomatic
strategy, could open the way for much-needed, long
overdue humanitarian
intervention in Zimbabwe. Sunday Times editor Mondli
Makhanya has called for
the establishment of an "international authority
comprising the Southern
African Development Community (SADC), the United
Nations (UN), and the
African Union (AU)" to stabilise the country, "feed
the people and restore
some sense of order to the society".
The
tripartite SADC-UN-AU consortium would also "put in place a mechanism -
as
soon as the nation is back on its feet - for an internationally
supervised
and policed election".
Meanwhile, Moshoeshoe Monare, writing in The
Sunday Independent, proposes
that instead of military intervention, calls
for which are gaining currency
even with Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond
Tutu, "there should be a form of
a verification or monitoring force to leash
the security forces, while
politically imposing a SADC-sponsored
transitional government for a
constitutional arrangement within a year".
What Monare is calling for could
easily form part of the terms of reference
for the SADC-UN-AU authority
proposed by Makhanya.
These are
perfectly reasonable proposals given the fact that the only thing
that can
be achieved by proposals for military intervention are further
divisions
and, as a result, inertia within SADC and the AU. We must avoid
the
extravagance of proposals that will simply add more flies to the
ointment of
the dismal lack of political will in the SADC and the South
African
government's fear of departing from the "quiet diplomacy" script
that has
not only clearly failed, but is also placing the entire region in
peril.
To its credit, the Kgalema Motlanthe administration is
already showing
interventionist initiative by going to Zimbabweans' aid with
its offer to
distribute food and other relief through nongovernmental
organisations,
churches and international donors already operating in the
country. What is
more important is the fact that the South African
government has stipulated
that this help cannot be used as a political
weapon. This implies the need
for verifiable oversight. Given Motlanthe's
chairmanship of the SADC, this
initiative could logically serve as the
leveraging point for opening the way
for the international aid Zimbabwe is
calling for, making such aid
conditional on Zimbabwe accepting the oversight
of the type of mechanism
Makhanya and Monare are suggesting.
As
we argued earlier, the attachment of conditions must be done judiciously
and
strategically. The proposals of Makhanya and Monare, after all, place SA
and
the SADC at the centre of whatever international strategy would unfold.
This
would not constitute "western intervention", the rejection of which has
up
to now served as the disingenuous pretext for preserving Mugabe and his
military junta. Nor would this constitute "regime change", since there is no
legitimately constituted government in place in Harare.
What is
in place would qualify as an "unconstitutional change" of government
under
the strictures of the AU Constitutive Act. If Motlanthe, as chairman
of the
SADC, can go beyond SA's opening wedge of conditional humanitarian
assistance by enlisting the involvement of the AU and the UN, this could
serve as the formula for forcing Zanu (PF) and the two factions of the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) into a transitional government of
national unity under the tripartite oversight suggested by Monare and
Makhanya. Otherwise, as commendable as the current South African
humanitarian initiative is, it can serve only as a "holding action"
palliative in containing Zimbabwe's crisis and its regional
spillover.
The best response to this emergency is the speedy
resolution of Zimbabwe's
governance crisis. That conditions in Zimbabwe have
been allowed to
deteriorate to this point constitutes a moral and political
indictment of
African leadership. Only decisive action towards a South
African and
SADC-led international humanitarian intervention in Zimbabwe
will redress
this situation. SA and SADC have everything to gain in rescuing
the people
of Zimbabwe from the hostage predicament they find themselves in
under the
JOC. It is hard to imagine a down-side to such a
scenario.
This notwithstanding, an effective solution can come only
from a clearer
understanding of the current phase of the Zimbabwean crisis.
So far, the
most popular explanations have been those revolving around the
view that
Mugabe is the main obstacle. Yet, after the March elections, there
were
reports that Mugabe had communicated his willingness to step down to
the JOC
and some senior leaders in Zanu (PF). Apparently, the JOC was
concerned that
it would be easy for the world and the MDC to accept the idea
of an amnesty
for Mugabe, since according to conventional wisdom, the
problems of Zimbabwe
would be solved by his departure. Furthermore, reports
suggested then that
the members of the JOC were afraid that amnesty would
not be extended to
them. It seems to us that this is the higher-order issue
that must be
addressed by any intervention. Without amnesty for those in the
upper
echelons of the security establishment, it will be difficult to weaken
the
veto the JOC continues to exercise over the negotiation process. While
the
idea of an amnesty for Mugabe and the generals may be difficult to
swallow,
it may be the only way to prevent a situation where the JOC tries
to avoid
the inevitable through a campaign of state terror against ordinary
Zimbabweans.
*Kornegay is senior researcher and Matshiqi
is senior associate political
analyst at the Centre for Policy Studies.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com
Published Date: 11 December 2008
In the
last year the people of Zimbabwe have struggled to maintain their
dignity
despite the chaos around them. When their government beat and
tortured them,
they went quietly and determinedly to the polls and voted for
change. When
their government mismanaged the economy, leaving the money in
their pockets
worthless, they struggled to do their best to feed their
families and to
survive. They did this despite the government in Harare and
their henchmen
in the towns and villages.
They did this even when people were disappearing
and homes were being
destroyed.
We have heard the stories of
intimidation, political violence and brutality.
And still the people of
Zimbabwe have carried on, doing the best they can.
Even now, with so many
people affected by the cholera outbreak, they are
struggling to survive.
Their government has apparently been watching while
the situation grew
worse. The people of Zimbabwe need our help and the
intervention of the
international community. If the first duty of government
is to protect its
people, then Robert Mugabe and his regime have surely
failed, and lost any
claim to legitimacy they ever had.
We support the call made by the prime
minister of Kenya for an emergency
summit of the African Union (AU). As
cholera spreads, chaos and mayhem in
Zimbabwe are starting to threaten the
stability of the entire region. The
time for words is fast coming to an end.
The AU and the Southern African
Development Community must find a solution.
For the sake of the people of
Zimbabwe and the whole region, they must act
decisively.
(RT REV) DAVID LUNAN
Moderator of the General Assembly
of the Church of Scotland
George Street, Edinburgh
http://www.theage.com.au
Daniel Flitton
December 12, 2008
Mugabe
has destroyed his country and we have allowed him to do it.
THE death
toll from Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic is already put at more than
700, while
the United Nations fears an outbreak of 60,000 cases in the weeks
ahead. On
top of this, nearly 6 million people desperately need emergency
food
aid.
This is bad enough, yet to properly capture the scale of this human
tragedy,
you must look beyond these staggering numbers. This is merely the
latest
catastrophe to afflict what should be Africa's bread basket, but is
widely
seen as the continent's basket case.
What makes Zimbabwe's
troubles all the more depressing is how it reflects an
absolute failure of
the international system, which is based on the division
of the world among
sovereign governments, each formally independent, each
supposedly in control
of a demarcated territory.
For the most part, this system works for the
betterment of humanity. A
government's ultimate purpose is to ensure the
physical safety of its
citizens. The state allows for secure possession of
property and a legal
framework to enforce contracts, essential ingredients of
a capitalist
economy.
Yet on each of these elementary measures,
Zimbabwe fails. And the rest of
the world is apparently powerless to stop
Robert Mugabe dragging his country
deeper into the abyss.
Zimbabwe's
current predicament is the cost of dividing the planet with thick
lines on a
map, fortifying those borders and demanding (and in return,
recognising) a
right of non-interference.
Mugabe has ruthlessly exploited this sense of
national self-determination to
hold on to power. Britain is blamed for its
past sins and accused of a
hidden agenda to re-colonise the country. The
strongman preaches this same
hysteria to deflect any and all criticism. His
chief political opponent,
Morgan Tsvangirai, is derided as a white man's
"condom" and a stooge for the
West.
Mugabe justified a campaign of
forcible farm seizures that have crippled the
Zimbabwe economy by blaming
Britain, after Tony Blair's government refused a
decade ago to pay
compensation for land redistribution.
With the local inflation rate now
measured in the millions, Mugabe responds
by printing ever more 100 billion
dollar notes. He has stacked the courts
and the army in his favour, and rants
about international conspiracies to
end his rule.
It may be crude
politics, but it has worked to keep him in power.
Through a mix of
incredible stubbornness and violence, he has
comprehensively out-maneuvered
his opponents. And all the global
condemnation of his despotic rule has come
to nothing. Zimbabwe has fallen
through the cracks.
The Commonwealth
has tried to mediate the crisis, and failed. The regional
group, the Southern
African Development Community, has failed. Both the
African Union and the
United Nations have failed. No one has hauled Mugabe
off to the International
Criminal Court.
The world can loudly express its outrage, but as the
situation in Zimbabwe
has shown, this amounts to mere noise if the target
chooses to be deaf.
Other than hoping the 84-year-old tyrant drops dead,
there seems no
solution.
The notion of a "responsibility to protect"
offers a thin hope. This is the
idea that rather than a right of
non-interference, governments actually have
an obligation to protect people
from systematic violence.
Where a local regime fails in that duty, the
responsibility to act and
protect human rights, by military force if
necessary, passes to the
international community. After the idea was refined
among academics and
international jurists over many years, in 2005 world
leaders offered
support. Zimbabwe seems an obvious candidate to test this
resolve.
But generating sufficient political will remains the biggest
obstacle.
Acting on this supposed responsibility means finding outsiders
willing to
bear the cost - in blood, by sending a military force into harm's
way, and
in treasure, by paying the enormous and long-term cost of having to
prop up
the entire country.
No outside government has so far
volunteered to fulfil this apparent
international responsibility, and none
seems likely to.
Zimbabwe illustrates the weakness of the
responsibility-to-protect idea -
the difficulty of getting governments to
recognise wider interests to
humanity outside their own sphere of control.
Where would such
responsibility end? In Somalia? Congo? Sudan?
The
governments most likely to act are those with direct interests at stake.
In
Zimbabwe's case, its neighbours, for instance, which bear the brunt
of
refugee flows and now the risk of a rapid spread of
disease.
Special expectations fall on South Africa. So far Pretoria has
absorbed the
pain emanating from next door and hoped to encourage a political
solution.
Nor has South Africa always taken a constructive approach to
efforts to
remove Mugabe.
The next step - a military intervention -
would be almost impossible to
manage given South Africa's growing list of
domestic problems. Can the rest
of the world really demand more, without
showing more willingness to carry
the burden itself?
Of course Mugabe
should go. He is the Zimbabwe's biggest problem. But the
larger failing is a
world system of governance that permits such a disaster
to
occur.
Daniel Flitton is diplomatic editor.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/20/664138
Thursday, 11th December, 2008
JERRY OKUNGU
An East
african perspective
Outgoing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has
spoken. Kenya's Prime
Minister Raila Odinga, along with Botswana Foreign
Minister concur that
Mugabe has reached his sell by date. Archbishop Desmond
Tutu has minced no
words about Robert Mugabe while the South African Acting
President is ready
to send a team to assess the death toll already
rising.
We are being told that thousands will starve or die of cholera
unless the
outside world ends Mugabe's madness. Yes, we are being told that
Zimbabwe's
tragic implosion is gaining momentum. Media sources are quoting
government
sources that announced a national health emergency late last week
that a
cholera epidemic was spreading rapidly, having so far killed at least
500
people and infected more than 12,000.
The same source talked of
the complete breakdown of water and sewage systems
in Harare; that hospitals
have virtually ceased to function.
Because of this, now the United
Nations and aid groups say that hundreds of
thousands of people are at
immediate risk let alone the five million who
will need international food
aid by next month to avoid starvation. They say
Zimbabwe's economy has
ground to a halt with only 10% of the workforce on
duty and that most
schools are closed while commodity prices are doubling
every 24
hours.
Suddenly, alarm bells are ringing which should set us on a panic
mode!
When I read Condoleezza Rice's statement, I thought she was doing a
commercial for the international humanitarian groups; the Lords of Poverty
that have ravaged the continent in equal measure.
Suddenly, they now
know that Zimbabwe has reached crisis levels and it is
now politically
correct to compare him with Idi Amin and Mobutu Sese Seko
and that, now it
is politically correct to remove the 84- year old author of
this calamity!
Now they are blaming Thabo Mbeki for this mess while invoking
the military
intervention of Julius Nyerere when Amin had become a rabid dog
in the
region. They are unanimous that Mugabe is a good candidate for the
same
remedy.
Why are they talking now when more Zimbabweans have lost their
lives and are
now in deeper misery? Where were they when Mugabe refused to
vacate office
after losing elections in March? Where were these voices when
Mugabe
clobbered opposition supporters into exile to pave way for his win
during
rerun of the elections in June?
On another note; is this not
the callousness that the international
community showed to Rwanda when
Tutsis were being massacred when Bill
Clinton and Boutros Boutros Ghali
decided to pull out UN troops from Rwanda
at the height of the
massacre!
Since the Rwanda Massacre, Africa has continued to witness
death and mayhem
in Somalia and Darfur. Despite several humanitarian reports
that genocide
was in progress in Darfur, the world-the so- called free and
civilised
society has been reluctant to intervene militarily.
A
recent attempt to extradite El Bashir of Sudan to The Hague for crimes
against humanity has been met with stiff opposition from the African Union.
Can someone tell me the lives of Zimbabweans are more precious than those of
Darfurians?
Since 1994, that geographical piece of the earth called
Somalia has never
known peace. Now its warlords have graduated into
international pirates
ruling the international waters of the Indian
Ocean!
Several half-hearted AU attempts to install an illegitimate
government of
Abdulahi Yusuf have come to nothing with only Ethiopian and
Ugandan troops
left there to die. Yes, Botswana may be politically vocal
about getting rid
of Mugabe but unfortunately it has no military might to
effect the required
regime change. South Africa, with the necessary
resources to do so, is a
reluctant partner.
Kenya may feel strongly
about Mugabe's humanitarian catastrophe but it too,
like Botswana, lacks the
wherewithal to take a military action. After all,
it has failed to
decisively deal with Somali insurgents that have turned
northern Kenya into
a play ground. Yes, let Kenya deal with a group of
bandits called Somali
pirates on its waters before it thinks of finding a
solution to the people
of Zimbabwe.
For the emerging radical African leaders yearning to bring
change to the
continent; they have to first get rid of the likes of Jakaya
Kikwete at the
helm of the African Union before they can effect meaningful
changes. With
Mugabe comrades in power; it will be a pipe dream making
Africa a safer
place to be in.
Dec 11th 2008
From The Economist print
edition
Africans, Europeans and Americans must together rescue a dying
country
THE Zimbabwe crisis has reached a new level that is both
hideous and,
paradoxically, hopeful. The hideous part is that people are
dying-indeed,
Zimbabwe as a country is dying-at an even faster rate than
before, as
cholera sweeps across the country. Mass hunger looms: the UN's
World Food
Programme reckons that, in the new year, it must provide food for
5.5m in a
population that has shrunk, through disease and emigration, from
about 12m
probably to less than 9m.
Despite a power-sharing deal that
Robert Mugabe signed in mid-September with
the leader of the opposition,
Morgan Tsvangirai, who defied the stacked odds
to win both a general election
and the first round of a presidential one in
March, government violence
continues apace. Mr Mugabe shows no sign of
wanting to compromise. Even in
the past fortnight, leading human-rights
campaigners and people prominent in
Mr Tsvangirai's party have been
abducted. The local currency is worthless, so
swathes of public services
have ceased to function. Zimbabweans have been
reduced to subsistence (some
survive on roots and berries), barter, and
remittances and handouts from
abroad. A true humanitarian disaster
beckons.
The hopeful angle in this horror is that cracks are widening
both in Mr
Mugabe's regime and among his backers elsewhere in Africa. Riots
by unpaid
junior soldiers have yet to spread to the middle ranks but may do
so. South
Africa and the Southern African Development Community, the
15-country
regional club, continue to wobble and waffle, with South Africa's
ousted
president, Thabo Mbeki, as feeble as ever in his mandated role as
mediator.
But the spread of cholera across the Limpopo river into South
Africa has
intensified the debate there. Talk in high places about removing
Mr Mugabe,
perhaps even by force, is no longer deemed outlandish. Archbishop
Desmond
Tutu, an icon of the anti-apartheid movement, has called for just
that.
Voices elsewhere in Africa, such as those of Botswana's president,
Ian
Khama, and Kenya's prime minister, Raila Odinga, have become louder
in
calling for Mr Mugabe's demise. Botswana's foreign minister wants
sanctions
against Zimbabwe to include stopping oil supplies.
In July a
UN Security Council resolution to impose targeted sanctions
(travel bans and
asset freezes) against Mr Mugabe and his acolytes was
blocked by China and
Russia, with South Africa also dissenting, on the
ground that Zimbabwe posed
no threat to international stability. The
blocking duo can hardly still argue
that case with a straight face.
Moreover, Zimbabwe is close to meeting the
criteria for invoking the
declaration endorsed at the UN in 2005 that there
is an international
"responsibility to protect" people facing, among other
things, crimes
against humanity. A group of peacemakers known as "the
Elders", including
Jimmy Carter, a former American president, and Kofi Annan,
the UN's former
head, having been refused entry into Zimbabwe, may help to
push the issue up
the UN's agenda. Though Mr Mugabe would try to resist such
a move, Mr Annan
is quietly standing by to assume the mediator's job in place
of Mr Mbeki, an
appointment devoutly to be wished.
Calling for
military intervention before wider sanctions have been applied
is premature,
even though it may come to force in the end. And economic
sanctions are
themselves a blunt instrument that sometimes harm the people
more than the
rulers. Stopping oil supplies may have just that effect. But
UN sanctions
focused tightly on Mr Mugabe and his coterie, and supported by
South Africa,
could have a big impact. The leader of South Africa's ruling
party, Jacob
Zuma, likely to be the country's president next year, must
surely respond to
the crescendo of outrage. The power-sharing deal is being
overtaken by
events. Mr Tsvangirai is right to reject the one-sided
conditions under which
Mr Mugabe says he will implement it. As cholera and
refugees threaten to
destabilise South Africa itself, its rulers must start
to consider drastic
measures to rescue the benighted country that Zimbabwe
has now become.
JOHANNESBURG, 11 December 2008 (IRIN) - A power-sharing deal - brokered
by South African President Thabo Mbeki, appointed as negotiator by the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) - and signed on 15 September, was heralded
as a new dawn for Zimbabwe. Instead, it has become a marker for Zimbabwe's rapid
descent into collapse. Below is a timeline tracing the events in recent months.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won a majority of
parliamentary seats in the general election on 29 March 2008, but failed to
garner the 50 percent plus one vote required to take the presidency.
15 September - Robert Mugabe, leader of
the ZANU-PF party, and the two MDC formations, led by Morgan Tsvangirai and
Arthur Mutambara, sign a power-sharing agreement witnessed by heads of state and
government of the SADC, the African Union (AU) and other international
dignitaries. Tsvangirai (as prime minister) to share executive powers with
Mugabe (as president with reduced authority).
Tsvangirai calls
on the international community to assist with aid as inflation shoots over 11
million percent, unemployment above 80 percent, and shortages of fuel,
electricity, food and foreign currency. Oxfam echoes his call. The European
Union (EU), United States (US) and Australia maintain targeted sanctions against
Mugabe and upper echelon members of ZANU-PF with a 'wait and see' approach.
ZANU-PF and MDC supporters clash outside the venue.
16
September - Aid workers estimate up to 6,000 Zimbabweans are crossing
the border into South Africa every day.
17
September - Rebellion within ZANU-PF over appointment of cabinet
ministers under the power-sharing deal.
18 September
- The UN children's fund, UNICEF, to continue providing humanitarian
assistance. The African Development Bank and World Bank indicate they will
provide help. Coalition talks hit deadlock over allocation of ministries. Water
shortages in Harare, with a lack of water treatment chemicals because of fuel
shortages.
19 September - Leaders fail to break
deadlock; 15 cabinet posts to go to ZANU-PF, 13 to MDC, 3 to MDC faction.
Disagreement over powerful ministries of home affairs, information, finance,
foreign affairs and local government.
22
September - Drought exacerbates acute food shortages. Aid agencies step
in to assist - Mugabe imposed a ban on NGO operations ahead of the presidential
run-off in June until 28 August. UN estimates more than 5 million will require
food aid in beginning of 2009. ZANU-PF youth militia continue violence against
MDC supporters.
25 September - Children
discouraged from going to school because of teacher shortage. National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Zimbabwe's leading civil society group of trade
unions, human rights organisations and churches, rejects deal amid continued
violence. ZANU-PF torture bases not being dismantled. EU boosts aid to Zimbabwe
by 10 million euros.
26 September - Save the
Children, an international NGO, warns that many children are being forced to eat
poisonous roots and rats to stave off hunger. Mugabe lashes out at the West at
the UN General Assembly, praising Mbeki and appealing for sanctions to be
lifted. Power-sharing deal appears to be disintegrating. Cholera claims 20
lives.
27 September - Zimbabweans start using
foreign currency as legal tender, an acknowledgement of the collapse of its own
currency, the Zimbabwean dollar (Z$).
28
September - South African department of home affairs withdraws asylum
from Zimbabweans – extensions not granted and some deportations occur.
29 September - Zimbabwe's central bank issues
large denomination bank notes – Z$10,000 and Z$20,000 - a further sign of
hyperinflation worsening.
30 September -
Zimbabweans exchanging livestock for food. Banking authorities raise the daily
withdrawal limit to Z$20,000, prompting tens of thousands of desperate
Zimbabweans to line up in the hopes of buying food before the currency
depreciates further. Deadlock over allocation of ministries continues.
5 October - The political rivals resume talks
but immediately disagree, as Mbeki agrees to resume his role as mediator.
7 October - Renewed power-sharing talks again
fail to end the deadlock.
8 October - Urgent
call from the UN for aid to avert an impending humanitarian disaster as a result
of the ailing agricultural industry and conditions in the country. Power-sharing
deal on the brink of collapse.
9 October - UN
World Food Programme (WFP) says emergency food aid could run out at the peak of
the crisis if US$140 million is not provided, and that 83 percent of Zimbabweans
live on less than US$2 a day, with 45 percent malnutrition plaguing the
population. Reports confirm that annual inflation has soared to 231 million
percent.
10 October - Political rivals agree to
fresh mediation by Thabo Mbeki to break the 4-week
deadlock.
12 October - Mugabe unilaterally
allocates key ministries to himself, including defence, home affairs, foreign
affairs, local government, justice and legal affairs, prompting Tsvangirai to
threaten pulling out of the power-sharing deal.
13
October - Mugabe swears in two vice-presidents. EU threatens more
sanctions, which already target about 160 of the ruling elite, including a
travel ban and freezing of assets.
16 October -
MDC is given finance ministry. Police beat up more protestors.
19 October - Government makes it impossible for
aid agencies to provide humanitarian assistance as their Zimbabwean bank
accounts have been frozen.
20 October -
Tsvangirai not able to attend regional crisis summit to save power-sharing deal
because he does not have the necessary travel documents to go through South
Africa to Swaziland. ZANU-PF is blamed, sparking a boycott of the summit by the
MDC. SADC postpones the summit until 27 October. UN reports 120 deaths from
cholera. State-owned Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) pumping untreated
sewage into Lake Chivero, the main water source of Harare, the capital. 10 cases
of anthrax reported north of Harare.
21 October
- Teaching and schooling has virtually ground to a halt, school
graduation pass rate of 3 percent expected; 45,000 teachers estimated to have
left the system since 2004. Catastrophic breakdown in water supply and
sanitation services set to cause thousands of cholera infections.
23 October - Government centralises
distribution of agricultural inputs, giving a military official the
responsibility of determining the beneficiaries of agricultural inputs.
Parliament announces food shortages as a national disaster.
28 October - Regional summit fails to break
political deadlock; SADC calls for full-scale summit on the crisis. Many
Zimbabweans surviving on wild fruits and roots.
29
October - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for rivals to resolve
the political impasse.
30 October – Cholera
hits Harare.
31 October – Amnesty
International, an NGO working to protect human rights, reports that rights
abuses are worsening and going unpunished, and the food crisis is worsening.
3 November – Zimbabwe will soon introduce bank
notes of up to Z$1 million to ease cash shortages.
4
November – Zimbabwe AIDS organisations condemn the government for
holding back US$7 million provided by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria. Gold mining industry on the brink of collapse as the
central bank owes private mining companies US$30-million.
5 November – The Civil Protection Unit,
Zimbabwe's national disaster response agency, deployed to contain the cholera
outbreak.
8 November – Regional leaders gather
to try to resolve the political impasse but fail, while Human Rights Watch, a
global organisation, reports that 163 people have been killed in political
violence.
11 November – Mugabe announces he
will form a new government. The WFP announces it will have to cut rations to
Zimbabwe due to lack of funding.
12 November –
MDC refuses to join the new government with Mugabe.
13
November – A new wave of attacks is launched on the MDC as ZANU-PF
torture camps are set up around the country.
14
November – MDC officially withdraws from the power-sharing deal.
Warning of cholera catastrophe.
19 November –
The rival parties draft a constitutional amendment creating the post of prime
minister, but they differ. Cholera sufferers forced across the border into South
Africa because medical facilities in Zimbabwe are struggling to cope.
20 November – Zimbabwe announces a new round of
power-sharing talks. Cholera death toll rises. South Africa withholds aid to
Zimbabwe until a representative government is set up.
22
November – The Elders - former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former
US President Jimmy Carter, advocate of women's and children's rights Graca
Machel - part of a group of distinguished people working for peace and human
rights, are banned from entering Zimbabwe on a humanitarian mission.
24 November – Anthrax claims the lives of
villagers and about 200 livestock north of Bulawayo.
25
November – Feuding political parties meet once again in South Africa to
revive negotiations.
26 November – Gideon Gono
appointed for another 5-year term as governor of Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank. Talks
near collapse.
28 November – MDC officially
withdraws from talks with ZANU-PF until Mbeki returns as mediator. UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns of an alarming spread of
cholera throughout the region; over 9,000 infected in Zimbabwe and numbers
rising in neighbouring countries South Africa and Botswana. Disgruntled
uniformed Zimbabwean soldiers raid some informal foreign currency traders in
Harare after being unable to withdraw money at a bank.
29 November – Political parties agree on a
draft constitutional amendment that will lead to the formation of a
power-sharing government. Warnings that the rainy season, which has begun, will
worsen the cholera epidemic.
1 December – water
supplies to Harare cut off due to ZINWA's lack of chemicals to treat the water
supply. Police and soldiers from Mugabe's presidential guard battle in Harare as
soldiers resort to robbery out of desperation.
3
December – Limpopo River, on border between South Africa and Zimbabwe,
tests positive for cholera. UN reports 565 cholera deaths and over 12,000
infected in Zimbabwe.
4 December – Zimbabwean
government announces cholera a national emergency and appeals for international
aid to tackle the epidemic. Human rights activist and journalist Jestina Mukoko
abducted from her house at gunpoint.
5 December
– Botswana says it will close its embassy in Harare. EU plans more
sanctions unless progress is made on the political impasse.
9 December – EU extends travel ban to 11 more
officials and puts pressure on Mugabe to step down. UNICEF announces it needs
US$17.5 million to tackle the cholera epidemic.
10
December – Gandhi Mudzingwa, former personal assistant to Tsvangirai,
is abducted, bringing to 19 the number of missing abducted MDC supporters and
civil society activists in recent weeks. Reports indicate 746 cholera deaths in
Zimbabwe, with 15,572 infected.
11 December -
South Africa declares a cholera disaster area on its border with Zimbabwe.
Posted to the web: 11/12/2008 16:17:51
ZIMBABWE
Cricket (ZC) axed national team coach Walter Chawaguta on Thursday, and
advertised his job on its website.
But Lovemore Banda, the ZC senior manager for
communications and media said Chawaguta has not been
fired.
"He is free to re-apply if he wishes," Banda said.
Chawaguta replaced Robin Brown whose contract was not renewed in August, but the recent drubbing by Sri Lanka in five One Day Internationals has left ZC soul searching.
ZC has made it clear that they will not engage a foreign coach.
“It is unwarranted and unfortunate for people to disown their own, and all this speculation that ZC are looking at employing a foreign coach is totally unfounded and baseless,” said ZC managing director Ozias Bvute on the ZC website.
According the ZC advert, the new coach is expected to lead the team in Test matches-where Zimbabwe is still unable to play, the one day matches and also have five years experience.
This means the likes of former seamers Douglas Hondo, Ray Price and Heath Streak can even be considered, as they are locals. ZC flighted two advertisements, one for the senior national team coach and the other for the Zimbabwe A team.
Zimbabwe’s next international fixture on the calendar is the opening match of a tri-nation tournament, against Bangladesh, in Dhaka on January 10.
THE ZC ADVERT:
POST 1: NATIONAL TEAM COACH:
1. The Job
• To coach the National Team and coordinate the various activities of the National Team in liaison with the National Team Manager and the other members of the technical staff.
• To plan strategically and prepare the National
Cricket Team to play competitively and win
matches in all formats of the
game.
• As 1 of the 10 Full Members of the ICC, Zimbabwe
will participate in various formats of the
game such as Twenty20, ODIs and
Test matches. As such the Coach should be versatile enough to adopt coaching
methods to suit the above forms of cricket.
2. The Person:
Candidates must have the following:
• Previously played cricket at least at first class
level.
• Be holders of a recognized level 3 coaching certificate and must
have coached at senior level for at least 5 years.
• Have good analytical
skills.
• Motivate players and be firm and fair
• Good leadership skills
and be able to lead both the National Team and the technical staff.
http://www.iht.com
The Associated PressPublished: December 11,
2008
HARARE, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Cricket has been ordered to
open its books
following claims by former national captain Tatenda Taibu that
assault
charges he is facing are a part of a strategy to silence him for
questioning
the management of funds.
Taibu appeared in a Harare court
Thursday on charges of assaulting ZC
finance manager Esther Lupepe in
September over outstanding payments owed to
him. Taibu said the charges are
meant to embarrass and punish him for his
criticism of the board.
The
court ordered ZC to submit documents showing its payroll, sponsorship
deals
and grants from the International Cricket Council.
The 25-year-old Taibu
said he had raised concern over the handling of board
funds, dubious
employment of staff members and poor remuneration of players
just a few days
before he was arrested on Sept. 30.
The case was adjourned to Feb. 6.
December 11, 2008
| ||
In February, reacting to a Cricinfo report that little had been done since the fire, a Zimbabwe Cricket spokesman said: "The tender for the building was awarded at the end of last year and construction work is underway now. The contractors are doing the brick work. Subject to weather and the availability of materials, we expect the construction to be through by the end of April."
Lovemore Banda, ZC's media manager, told Cricinfo that work had been halted as a consequence of the country's dire economy. "We started the building operations with the hope that the economic situation would improve," he said. "We had expected, all things being equal, to have the reconstruction of the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy completed by April. However, that has not been possible, because of the hyper inflationary state of our economy.
"Faced with critical shortages of crucial building resources and the ever-spiralling costs of those available, ZC was left with no option but to ask the contractor to leave the site until such a time as the material supply situation is stable. We decided to put the project on hold and watch the economic trend in the country and then resume once the financial climate is conducive."
Banda scotched suggestions that work had been halted because of ZC's own financial situation. "Of course, it cannot be denied that ZC is struggling financially. We are not immune to the harsh economic situation in the country. The most important point though is that we will not sink."
The Academy is little more than a shell, with the second story hardly started. However, the nets and pitch itself remain in use and appeared this week to be in a good condition.
Local sources also paint a gloomy picture about the state of grounds around Zimbabwe, with many reported to be overgrown, as reported by Cricinfo earlier this year, and even some of those which were in use then have fallen into disrepair in recent months. The rampant inflation and shortage of basics such as fuel, machine parts and fertilisers means that ZC is increasingly powerless to intervene.
Chronic and well-publicised water shortages are only likely to exacerbate the situation. A few venues, such as Harare Sports Club and Queens Sports Club, have their own boreholes and so can continue functioning for the time being, but the general situation continues to deteriorate.
© Cricinfo