Mugabe defiant as pressure builds

http://www.mg.co.za

CHRIS MCGREAL - Dec 20 2008 07:01

Robert Mugabe told his Zanu-PF party on Friday that his country was facing a
war with Britain but he would never surrender, and "Zimbabwe is mine".

The Zimbabwe president's defiant comments came amid escalating pressure from
London on Zimbabwe's neighbours to press Mugabe from office. Gordon Brown
urged Southern African leaders on Friday to distance themselves from Mugabe
and described the situation in Zimbabwe as a tragedy.

"I will never, never, never, never surrender. Zimbabwe is mine," Mugabe told
the party's annual conference. "I won't be intimidated. Even if I am
threatened with beheading, I believe this and nothing will ever move me from
it: Zimbabwe belongs to us, not the British."

Brown called on African leaders to "make sure that it is absolutely clear to
the people of Zimbabwe that we support those who are the democratically
elected politicians".

Hours earlier the state-run Herald newspaper reported Mugabe taunting other
African leaders, saying they were under American pressure to force him from
power but they lacked the courage to do it. "How could African leaders ever
topple Robert Mugabe, organise an army to come? It is not easy," he told
Zanu-PF's central committee. "I do not know of any African country that is
brave enough to do that."

Mugabe also sought to portray himself as seeking a political settlement,
saying he had written to the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, inviting him to become prime minister in a
power-sharing government.

But Tsvangirai threatened to quit power-sharing negotiations on Friday
unless the authorities produce dozens of opposition activists who have been
abducted and disappeared in recent weeks in what appears to be a renewed
campaign of intimidation by Mugabe. Tsvangirai also called for fresh
elections if a coalition government was not put in place soon.

The missing include Jestina Mukoko, one of Zimbabwe's most prominent human
rights activists, who was snatched from her home at night two weeks ago, as
well as officials and activists from MDC. Tsvangirai accuses Zanu-PF and the
security forces of illegal abductions.

"In the past two months more than 42 members of the MDC and civil society
have been abducted and their whereabouts are still unknown," said
Tsvangirai. "The regime is conducting a ... targeted national terror
campaign to undermine the MDC's support within Zimbabwe and the work of
pro-democracy and human rights organisations.

He said that the situation could no longer continue.

"The MDC can no longer sit at the same negotiating table with a party that
is abducting our members, and other innocent civilians, and refusing to
produce any of them before a court of law. Therefore, if these abductions do
not cease immediately, and if all the abductees are not released or charged
in a court of law by January 1 2009, I will be asking the MDC's national
council to pass a resolution to suspend all negotiations and contact with
Zanu-PF."

'Appalling conditions'
Mukoko's disappearance has caused particular disquiet in Zimbabwe. The
51-year-old head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project was taken at 5am by men in
plain clothes who would not give her time to dress. Two children were left
in the house.

Mukoko built a reputation for being thorough in her reports detailing the
actions and impact of Mugabe's regime, from its use of violence to terrorise
voters to the impact of spreading starvation. The high court has ordered the
police to find Mukoko but no action has been taken.

Tsvangirai, who is in semi-exile in Botswana after the Zimbabwean government
refused him a travel document, remains gloomy about the prospects of
implementing a power-sharing agreement with Mugabe agreed three months ago.
It stalled after the president insisted that Zanu-PF control all the most
important Cabinet posts, including security and finance. "We are saddened by
the fact that he is still trying to stay in power at all costs and reduce
MDC to a junior partner in the new government ... the Mugabe regime has
wilfully and repeatedly broken the letter and the spirit of this agreement,"
said Tsvangirai.

"The people of Zimbabwe cannot be expected to continue living under such
appalling conditions indefinitely. Therefore, this negotiation process must
now be confined to a specific timeframe in which all the outstanding issues
are addressed ... if this cannot be achieved then an internationally
supervised presidential election must be conducted in an environment that is
conducive to a free and fair poll."

Tsvangirai accused Mugabe of killing Zimbabweans through neglect and
incompetence in order to hang on to power.

"The situation in Zimbabwe, particularly from the humanitarian perspective,
is now worse than at any time in our country's history," he said. "Cholera
is now rife throughout the country, starvation stalks almost every
Zimbabwean family and education and healthcare now exist only for the
elite."

The UN said on Friday that the death toll from the cholera outbreak had
risen to 1 123 out of nearly 21 000 reported cases. Some doctors say the
real toll is probably much higher. The UN says it expects to have to feed
about five million people, nearly half the population, because of the
collapse of agriculture in Zimbabwe.

The economic implosion continued as the central bank issued a Z$10-billion
note worth about £13.

The government has not released inflation figures since July when it was
officially put at 231-million percent. Economists say inflation at the end
of last month was running at about 40-sextillion percent. -- guardian.co.uk
© Guardian News and Media 2008

Mugabe says any invasion will be repelled

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=8923

December 19, 2008

By Raymond Maingire

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe on Friday said his security forces were
ready to repel any foreign invasion following calls by some foreign leaders
for military intervention in Zimbabwe.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga
have led recent international calls for the invasion of Zimbabwe to remove
Mugabe, who is being accused of violating human rights.

But Mugabe was adamant any foreign invasion would not succeed in dislodging
him from power. The Zimbabwean leader has fiercely defended his hold on
power since he became prime minister on the attainment of independence in
1980.

"What African countries would have the courage of ordering military invasion
of Zimbabwe ?" Mugabe said to delegates when he officially opened a Zanu-PF
national people's conference in Bindura Friday afternoon.

"In other words, what would they come and do militarily here? All that they
will come and really cause is a threat to our stability, and they will be
countered by our own forces.

"And there would be an unnecessary war started in a foolish manner because
of foolish persuasion coming from foolish sources."

Mugabe said the countries advocating for the invasion of Zimbabwe were
purporting they had the right to protect Zimbabweans from his rule.

"'If you have the right to protect, remove the sanctions," he said.

"Those with the right do not impose sanctions that negate the right to
protect; that destroy lives; that dehumanize the people; that deprive people
of their incomes. That's not what the right to protect does. That is the
right to damage society, the right to devastate society."

Mugabe, who has in the past declared only God will remove him from power,
said: "We will never surrender. Robert Mugabe is here until the people who
elected him decide to change him."

He said Britain and America were acting against the UN charter, which call
for non-interference in the political affairs of sovereign states.

Mugabe said his party was forced into a unity compromise with the MDC
because it had failed to garner the majority that would have allowed it to
govern without the support of the MDC.

"We failed ourselves in March," he said.

"We have had to make concessions to enable us to establish a period of
stability in the country during which then we will organize for another
election on the basis that would be worked out."

He said in the likely failure of a unity government with the MDC, fresh
elections would have to be called as another option to unravel the political
impasse.

Mugabe, who declared himself winner in the violently-contested June 27
presidential runoff, maintained he duly won the election.

The resultant dispute over his legitimacy gave rise to unity talks with the
MDC.

Mugabe said he prevailed over MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, during the unity
talks because the MDC leader had wanted to be the head of government.

He said the unity government was arrived at basing on the June 27 election
results as opposed to the inconclusive March elections in which Tsvangirai
got the majority vote but fell short of the required 50 percent plus
majority for him to become president.

Speaking in both English and the vernacular Shona he said: "Tsvangirai
wanted to be head of cabinet but I said to him, 'You're mad. Do you know
that there is a constitution? You keep harping on the March, election.

"'What did the March election do? Do you know what our law says about the
March election? The March election was a nullity. It did not succeed in
yielding a winner.'"

Mugabe accused Tsvangirai of throwing spanners into current efforts to form
an all inclusive government.

"All this dancing and running around which Tsvangirai is doing, actually you
have to pity him. He is no longer in control of himself. This is what comes
out of being a puppet of someone," he said.

The MDC leader, who has been outside the country for more than a month, is
reportedly on a diplomatic mission to force Mugabe to agree to an equitable
power distribution with his party.

Tsvangirai accuses Zanu-PF of trying to reduce his party to a junior partner
in the unity government.

Mugabe said: "I don't know whether this inclusive government will work or
not, I don't know.

"My view is that those who run the MDC have given the MDC the impression
that Zimbabwe is collapsing. Let it collapse and the government vanish on
its own and you will just take over.

"So if they want to wait, fine we will wait with them for that day.
Meanwhile, we shall continue ruling. And the day will never come. But at the
end of it all there will have to be elections. I hope we won't repeat the
disaster of March this year. No, no, no."

The 84-year-old leader said the his party would pass a resolution to
recognize the supportive role which former South African President Thabo
Mbeki played during the talks.

The MDC has called for the removal of Mbeki, who was appointed mediator by
SADC, for perceived bias towards Mugabe.

Mugabe's stolen cows' figure reaches 9

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=882

By Blessing Chapwati

Bindura(ZimEye)-The total number of stolen beasts at the ZANU PF, Bindura
conference has now reached 9.

Daring ZANU PF cadres turned thieves on Thursday and stole a total nine
beasts meant to be slaughtered at the party's annual conference currently
underway in Bindura, president Robert Mugabe revealed Friday.

Mugabe said that party supporters camped at the conference venue, Bindura
University slept on empty stomachs because the cows which later turned out
to be a total of nine in number, as well as some other foodstuffs had gone
missing.

"We heard that people slept on empty stomachs because seven beasts which
were supposed to be slaughtered were stolen by some carders here at the
conference," said Mugabe.

He castigated corrupt leaders in the party some of whom convert maize meant
for the public to personal use.

"We hear that some leaders take maize meant for people and sell. What kind
of leadership is that?, said Mugabe.

ZANU PF has in recent past been rocked by infighting and divisions where on
Sunday there were clashes at the party's headquarters.

Two factions one led by Amos Midzi and Harare South Member of Parliament
Hubert Nyanhongo fought over the chairmanship of Harare province.

Mugabe said: "In a contest you must concede defeat and support the winning
candidate."

He claimed that Zimbabwe hospitals were fully operational with substantial
levels of drugs.

Mugabe's claims are in contrast with the situation on the ground. The
country's largest referral hospital Parirenyatwa and provincial hospitals
closed shop more than a month ago because of lack of medical supplies and
human resources..

"Our hospitals are still up and at the moment most of them have quite
substantial levels of drugs but not enough," said Mugabe.

Mugabe scoffed at claims that he must be held responsible for the death of
people from the cholera outbreak.

"Once there has been a cholera epidemic but there has been outbreaks
everywhere therefore you cannot say the cholera outbreak was caused by the
government. You can therefore not accuse us of genocide because of these
deaths. The Europeans and the Americans say that we are guilty of genocide
because of the deaths from cholera," said Mugabe.

He said that he would remain president until the people removed him from
power.

Robert Mugabe is here until when the people decide to remove him," said
Mugabe.

Mugabe admitted that the economic crisis had deepened and had caused social
difficulties.

"Yes we have had economic difficulties that have created certain social
difficulties," he said.

On the global political agreement between the country's major political
parties, Mugabe said they had not come to a stage where the inclusive
government could e established.

He said the British were not supportive of an inclusive government where
Mugabe remained as head of government.

"They have been dissuading Tsvangirai that's why you see him globetrotting
from Germany to France. We have to pity him; he is no longer in control of
himself. This comes when one is a puppet of someone. We all know what
happens in the world of puppetry," said Mugabe.

At time of going to press, it was still not yet clear if any arrests by
Police had been made in conjuction with the stolen beasts. [ZimEye,
Zimbabwe]

Mugabe claims maize seed is on its way

http://www.hararetribune.com

Friday, 19 December 2008 19:47

Over the past five years, Zimbabwe has failed to feed itself. The ZANU-PF
government has been blamed for turning Zimbabweans into perennial beggars
because of its failure to procure maize seed ahead of the begining of the
agricultural season.

Now, the farming season is well under way, yet the ZANU-PF government is
still telling the nation that maize seed is being acquired and is on its
way.

"We are in the last part of the year and the people are busy with their
preparations for planting. We want to apologise for the inadequate inputs
seed," Mugabe told ZANU-PF's Central Committee on the sidelines of the
party's annual conference in Bindura.

"We have seed coming through into the country and more which we are trying
to get through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe from South Africa and one firm
that is selling maize to us."

Even if what Mugabe said were true and the maize seed is delivered, it would
be difficult for farmers to plant since the farming season is well under
way, the Tribune was told by Mr. Choice Shumba, a peasant farmer in the
semi-arid region of Mwenezi District, and Masvingo Province.

"The government should have provided us with the seed well ahead of time,"
Shumba said. He added that although the rains have been more than adequate
in Mwenezi, the delay in the distribution of the maize seed by the
government somewhat showed a lack of planning by the Minister of
Agriculture.

The involvement of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) in the distribution of
maize to the rural areas of the country is another first.

Some observers have said that the RBZ, in taking over almost all the
operations of key ministeries in the government, was over-stretching itself,
hence the failure of most of the programs that it has undertook.

However, some have said the involvement of the RBZ in the distribution of
maize was another way to extend corruption since maize seed distribution is
a multi-trillion dollar business.

UN: Fresh cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe; death toll rising

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Health News
Dec 19, 2008, 20:09 GMT

New York - The United Nations on Friday said the number of deaths in
Zimbabwe had increased as new outbreaks of cholera were reported in the
capital Harare and other cities.

More than 20,800 people were infected and more than 1,100 deaths were
reported since September, the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian
affairs in New York said.

'The current situation in Zimbabwe is extremely worrying, but aid agencies,
donors and the government of Zimbabwe are continuing to respond in an
intensive and coordinated manner to bring the epidemic under control,' said
John Holmes, chief of the humanitarian department.

Holmes urged countries to assist Zimbabwe as the onset of the rainy season
provides ideal conditions for cholera to spread.

The UN feared that 60,000 people would be infected, in the worst case
scenario, in a few months. It already reported that Harare's highly
populated suburbs in the southwest are the worst affected.

The World Health Organization has flown medical supplies to treat 50,000
people, but it said drinking water in hospitals and residential areas was
severely lacking.

Hospitals in cholera-struck Zimbabwe lack material, staff - UN official

Source: United Nations News Service

Date: 19 Dec 2008

The overall health situation in Zimbabwe, which is suffering from its worst
ever recorded cholera epidemic, is "quite worrying," with medical staff
basically not going to work because their salaries were too small, according
to a senior United Nations health official who has just returned from the
southern African country.

"I have seen hospitals that were basically empty - ghost hospitals, with no
material, no staff," UN World Health Organization (WHO) Disease Control and
Emergency Operations Coordinator Dominique Legros told a news conference in
Geneva today.

But some government staff had resumed working in centres treating cholera,
which has infected more than 20,500 people, kI have seen hospitals that were
basically empty - ghost hospitals, with no material, no staffilling over
1,100, said Mr. Legros, who had set up the UN control and command centre for
the outbreak in Harare, the capital.I have seen hospitals that were
basically empty - ghost hospitals, with no material, no staff

"Something we have to fix quickly is the discrepancies in salaries," he
added. "There are Government staff being paid government wages - which was
very little in practice - and staff working for non-governmental
organizations with much higher wages. We have to fix that and get incentives
for staff to work in the health facilities."

That was the priority if they were to save lives and improve the quality of
care, Mr. Legros said.

The UN is planning for a worst-case scenario of 60,000 cholera cases before
the end of the rainy season, based on an estimate that half of the country's
population is potentially at risk.

Staffing situation in health facilities in Zimbabwe worrying: WHO

Source: United Nations Radio

Date: 19 Dec 2008

Not all health facilities in Zimbabwe are offering services. Some health
workers have refused to work because of low wages or not being paid at all.

Dr. Dominique Legros is the Coordinator of WHO's Disease Control and
Emergency Operations.

He's just returned from Zimbabwe where he was instrumental in setting up the
United Nations Command and Control Centre for the Control of the Cholera
outbreak.

"But the situation in the facilities is quite worrying because as you know,
the staff have not been going to work because of the lack of salary or too
small salary with regard to their expenses. I've seen hospital which were
basically empty - sort of ghost hospitals because of no material, no staff
etc, but some staff resumed working for the cholera outbreak."

Dr. Legros suggested that efforts be made to quickly fix the discrepancy in
salaries as an incentive to get health care providers back to work.

He says Government workers are being paid especially low wages when compared
to staff working for non-governmental organizations.

Donn Bobb, United Nations Radio

Keeping hospitals open in Zimbabwe

Source: The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

Date: 19 Dec 2008

United Methodist hospitals in Zimbabwe are keeping their doors open in spite
of great hardship. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is helping to
ease the burden by implementing a six month plan to shore up the hospitals
so that they can keep operating in the current cholera epidemic and economic
collapse in Zimbabwe.

Most public hospitals in Zimbabwe have closed, including the two main
hospitals in Harare. Hospital staffs are on strike because their salaries
have become worthless in the climate of hyperinflation. In addition,
hospitals lack even the most basic medicines and supplies to treat patients.

Helping in the Midst of Hardship

This deadly brew of crises means that there is virtually no medical care for
the country's poor-the ones most at risk for cholera. Nyadire and Mutambara
United Methodist Hospitals serve everyone, regardless of their ability to
pay.

"Our own staff are doing all they can to keep the hospital doors open, even
in the face of their own suffering," says Dr. Kalindi Thomas, General Board
of Global Ministries missionary. Her recent trip to visit United Methodist
hospitals in Zimbabwe revealed a grim situation.

"Nyadire and Mutambara Hospitals are open in spite of the non-availability
of drugs and very low salaries of the staff. And the hospitals are full,"
she reports. Dr. Thomas noted that she saw patients who had traveled for
days to reach any kind of medical treatment.

Additional Support

UMCOR is providing essential support for these hospitals to enable them to
better cope with the worsening health situation in Zimbabwe and the cholera
crisis in particular. Cholera kits to fully treat a total of 2,600 people
will be sent to Nyadire and Mutambara Hospitals to help them specifically
address the cholera issue in their areas.

Additional funds will be sent to the hospitals each month for the next six
months to provide additional salary support for staff, food, medical
supplies, and fuel for generators and vehicles, so that the hospitals can
continue serving their communities despite the difficult circumstances.

A shipment of 14,000 school kits and 35 Medicine Boxes are en route and are
expected to arrive in February to further support the work of the hospitals.
Each Medicine Box has sufficient supplies to treat 1,000 people with basic
health needs for a period of three months.

Medical Teams International sends cholera medicines to help save lives in Zimbabwe

Source: Medical Teams International

Date: 19 Dec 2008

Cholera epidemic, food shortages bring country closer to collapse

(PORTLAND, ORE.-Dec. 19, 2008) This Christmas, Medical Teams International
is delivering critically needed medicines to Zimbabwe, an African country
with one of the lowest life expectancies in the world.

More than $381,000 in cholera medicines, antibiotics and pain relievers will
be airlifted from The Netherlands in partnership with Dorcas Aid on Dec. 23.
Medical Teams International is collaborating with International Orthodox
Christian Charities (IOCC) in Zimbabwe to distribute the medicines to
hospitals, clinics and camps for displaced people.

Once called an African success story and hailed as the breadbasket of
southern Africa, Zimbabwe now has one of the lowest life expectancies in the
world and a majority of the population is dependent on food aid. The United
Nations estimates that 83 percent of Zimbabweans live on less than $2 a day.

"The devastating cholera epidemic continues to spread in Zimbabwe," says
David Beltz, director of commodity support at Medical Teams International.
"More than 1,000 people have died from the disease and thousands more are
contracting it each week. Without intervention, the potential for a pandemic
disaster is imminent."

Medical Teams International has shipped more than $8,333,677 in medicines to
Zimbabwe and more than $1.2 billion in donated humanitarian supplies around
the world since 1986. The agency has been working with IOCC for the past
four years, supporting its hospital with lifesaving medical supplies and
medicines.

"The people of Zimbabwe have endured incredible hardships-a severe drought,
an escalation in HIV/AIDS and ongoing food and fuel shortages. They now face
the anguish of cholera. They urgently need our help," adds Beltz.

To make a year-end gift to Medical Teams International, please visit our
secure Web site, www.medicalteams.org/catalog, call 1-800-959-4325; or mail
funds to Medical Teams International, PO Box 10, Portland, OR 97207-0010.

Cholera - Epidemic appears to be stabilizing says WHO

Source: Missionary International Service News Agency (MISNA)

Date: 19 Dec 2008

The cholera epidemic that has been continuing for the past few weeks in
Zimbabwe appears to be slowly stabilizing said the coordinator for the World
Health Organization (WHO) for the control of emergency diseases, Dominique
Legros, during a press conference in Geneva. Speaking to reporters, Legros,
whose words were only reported by the Spanish press agency 'EFE', said that
the peak of the cases may have taken place at the end of November and given
that since the start of December the number of new cases was just about
identical to the one registered in the previous month. "Based on what we
have seen so far and according to our data and taking into consideration all
due limitations, we can deduce that the incidence appear to be more or less
stable, with a peak having been reached at the end of December and since
then a certain stability" said Legros, who, nonetheless, warned of the risk
that the rain season, which has just started, may prompt a renewed impulse
to the spread of the virus. The latest bulletin suggests that 1123 people
have died from cholera so far and that 20,896 have contracted the epidemic.
[AB]

Red Cross In Relief Surge To Cholera-Hit Zimbabwe, Focus Clean Water

http://www.voanews.com

By Patience Rusere and Slyvia Manika
Washington
19 December 2008

Emergency response units dispatched by the International Red Cross reached
Zimbabwe on Friday in a significant scaling up of international assistance
to the country in ending a cholera epidemic which the World Health
Organization said has claimed 1,123 lives.

WHO officials said the number of reported cases rose to 20,896.

Red Cross officials said the first priority is to expand access to clean
water - contamination of water supplies has been a key factor in the rapid
spread of the disease in Zimbabwe over the past month in particular, hitting
Harare, Beitbridge on the country's southern border with South Africa,
Chegutu in Mashonaland West province and other towns.

But Harare Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Chiroto said efforts to wrest controlof
thecapital's watersupply from the Zimbabwe National Water Authorityor ZINWA,
which took over the country's water systems from municipalities in recent
years, have failed as the government seems more concerned with its
international image than quelling cholera.

Beitbridge resident Shadreck Sithole said the situation there has
significantly improved with the deployment of international relief. But
Norbert Feruka in Zvishavane said his area is still being hit hard, voicing
disappointment with the government's response to the crisis.

The United Nations Population Fund, meanwhile, has provided funding to
reopen maternity wings at hospitals around the country through the payment
of hard currency incentives to staff who walked out two months ago over low
pay and poor working conditions.

The U.N. agency donated medical supplies to maternity wards earlier this
week as it prepared to reopen the units, as correspondent Sylvia Manika
reported from Harare.

ICRC Disinfects Houses to Counter Cholera in Zimbabwe

http://www.voanews.com

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
19 December 2008

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it has begun disinfecting
homes in Zimbabwe's capital in an effort to battle the cholera epidemic. Red
Cross officials said the number of cases is soaring and more needs to be
done to halt the spread of the disease.

The United Nations reported there now are more than 20,000 cases of cholera
and more than 1,100 deaths from the disease in Zimbabwe. The largest number
of cases have been in the capital, Harare.

That is one of the principal reasons the International Committee of the Red
Cross is mounting its disinfecting campaign there.

Red Cross Spokeswoman, Anna Schaaf, said the Red Cross has been providing
assistance to cholera victims since the outbreak of the disease in August.
But, she said, it has decided to broaden its response to prevent more people
from becoming infected.

"We are basically joining forces now with health workers from Beatrice
hospital and Budiriro Polyclinic in Harare to go to the homes of those who
are patients in those clinics and disinfect the homes and talk to the
communities in the suburbs of Harare in order to explain to them how they
can avoid getting infected. So, we are spraying the homes and basically
trying to break the transmission cycle of the cholera bacteria," she said.

Schaaf said toilets, blankets and clothing are being sprayed with a
chlorine-based disinfectant.

Zimbabwe's crumbling health care system has faced difficulty dealing with
the crisis, which President Robert Mugabe's government has blamed on the
West. Earlier this month, the president denied there was a cholera outbreak,
but officials have since said that he was being sarcastic.

In addition to disinfecting the homes, she said Red Cross staff and city
health workers are advising the families of patients and neighborhood
residents on how to avoid catching the disease. She said aid workers also
take people who have contracted cholera to treatment centers.

In the coming days, she said aid workers will distribute water-purification
tablets, buckets and soap to promote sanitation in affected communities. The
ICRC also is providing protective clothing, as well as other supplies and
transportation for people working in this campaign.

Cholera can spread from contaminated water and bad sanitation.  This week,
the Red Cross donated pumps, water-testing equipment and spare parts to the
Zimbabwe National Water Authority.

The main water-treatment plant serves Harare and the surrounding area. The
Red Cross said the equipment will improve the plant's efficiency.

Cholera Deaths Could Have Been Avoided - Govt

Financial Gazette (Harare)

Shame Makoshori

20 December 2008

Harare - FOR the first time since the outbreak of cholera in August,
government has publicly admitted that the deaths of over 900 people who
succumbed to the epidemic could have been avoided had it acted
expeditiously.

Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Edwin Muguti said this while
receiving US$7,5 million worth of drugs and medical supplies from World
Vision this week.

"The response has been too late, the response has been slow," Muguti said,
adding that the US$516 million the government had asked for to revive the
country's collapsed health delivery system was only about 50 percent of the
US$1 billion required to get it back to normal.

"We are still in the eye of the storm, we have seen a decline in the number
of deaths, but that is not to say the crisis is over. When people die from
cholera what kills them is dehydration, the 800 or so deaths were avoidable.

"We have a serious health crisis right now, the crisis has reached such
levels that intervention is now required. The (World Vision) intervention
has been very timely, very appropriate.

"We have been told about the problem of water for some time, but for some
reason we did not act, that is not to point the blame on someone, but all of
us here, including you are to blame," said Muguti.

An estimated 978 people have since died of cholera, the highly contagious
disease which has spread to neighbouring countries.

Last week, government swallowed its pride and declared cholera a national
emergency and invited foreign agencies including the United Nations, World
Vision and many other non-governmental organisations to assist in curbing
the epidemic.

Muguti said even the United Kingdom (UK) and other member states of the
European Union (EU) who have been up in arms against President Robert
Mugabe's style of governance had joined efforts to eradicate the outbreak.

"The EU has been the major contributor to stop the cholera crisis," Muguti
told The Financial Gazette.

"They have never stopped helping us. There are wars that they might be
fighting at higher levels, but they have never stopped assisting us. Even
DFID (Department for International Development) of the UK has been
assisting.

"Off hand I cannot give you figures but it has been quite significant. It is
only the Americans (who have completely given their backs on us) because of
that law, (Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act) ZIDERA that
prohibits (US) companies from dealing with us," he added.

End Enforced Disappearances

Action needed to stop Zim becoming failed state: Frazer

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Own Correspondent Saturday 20 December 2008

JOHANNESBURG - The United States (US)'s top diplomat for Africa Jendayi
Frazer has called for urgent action to save crisis-torn Zimbabwe from
deteriorating into another failed state in the mould of Somalia.

"We're watching Zimbabwe become a failed state. We need to act now,
proactively, in Zimbabwe," said Frazer, who is US Assistant Secretary of
State for African Affairs.

Fraser, speaking in South Africa on a tour of the region to consult with key
leaders on the way forward in Zimbabwe, blamed President Robert Mugabe for
ruining what was once one of Africa's most promising economies and said that
Zimbabwean leader needed to step down.

"We think that the person who has ruined the country . . . that he needs to
step down," Frazer said.

If action is not taken soon, chaos could ensue and Zimbabwe's neighbours
will be calling for peacekeepers, as some are now calling for in Somalia,
Frazer told reporters.

A spreading cholera epidemic that the UN says has killed 1 123 people from
20 896 recorded cases since August, coupled with acute food shortages, has
highlighted Zimbabwe's worsening economic and humanitarian crisis that
analysts say can only be tackled successfully through joint effort by Mugabe
and the opposition in a government of national unity.

Western leaders and some African statesmen, alarmed by rising deaths due to
the cholera epidemic, have in recent days stepped up calls for Mugabe's
resignation, demands that have not been supported by the African Union and
the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe on Wednesday stressed that he
believed a proposed unity government under the September 15 power-sharing
agreement between Mugabe and opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara was the solution, and that it must be formed quickly.

Frazer said the US - an arch critic of Mugabe's rule whom it accuses of
trampling on democracy - was not saying the power-sharing agreement has
failed but wanted the veteran leader to give way to a transitional authority
that would stabilise the economy and organise new elections. - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe can't paper over its money woes

http://www.latimes.com

As inflation soars, the state keeps issuing bigger notes -- Z$10
quintillion, anyone? -- but even then, with bizarre exchange rules, it's
hard to figure out what, if anything, they're actually worth.
By Robyn Dixon
December 20, 2008
Reporting from Harare, Zimbabwe -- It's confusing.

The pale blue bank note that says 1,000,000 Zimbabwean dollars really means
10,000,000,000,000,000,000. Yes, that's 10 quintillion, taking into account
the 13 zeros Zimbabwe's central bank has lopped off in the last couple of
years to make the country's currency somewhat more manageable.

Every time they get out of hand, Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank scythes away
00000s. The largest note, Z$100,000,000,000, released in July and useless
within weeks, looked so bizarre with all the zeros squeezed in that it
became an instant collector's item.

Regardless, inflation is soaring so fast in Zimbabwe that it's hard to
figure out what a Z$1-million note is actually worth on a given day.

Somewhere between July's Z$100-billion note and the more recent zero-reduced
Z$1-million note, it's easy to get mixed up. Even more confusing are the
wildly different exchange rates that depend on how you pay for purchases.

Zimbabweans chuckle when they see a foreigner bumbling with their currency.
They launch into long, looping explanations that leave you lassoed by the
zeros, and more confused than when you started. It's difficult to resist
just holding up the Z$1,000,000 note and asking a reliable local, "What's
this worth?"

But they can get confused themselves. To my surprise, when I tried it last
month, my math-savvy friend no longer had the calculation in his head. So he
pulled up his cellphone calculator and tapped away.

"Ech! My cellphone can't cope with all these zeros," he grumbled, while I
stared at the bustling crowd on Robert Mugabe Street, wondering where they
could be going, in an economy where nothing works.

Finally he had an answer: "That's worth about 50 cents, a bit less than 50
cents."

So I used the blue notes for tips. Fifty cents might not sound like much,
but in early November, Z$1,000,000 was more than a week's pay for a police
inspector.

After tipping car guards, parking men and waiters for several days, I
checked the value again. It turned out my friend had been mistaken; the note
had been worth about $4, not 50 cents.

Zimbabwe's hyperinflation rate, the highest ever known, is officially more
than 230 million percent, but some economists place it in the quadrillions.
It seems just a matter of time before Zimbabweans will be grappling with
octillions, nonillions, decillions, duodecillions and more.

Just trying to explain the complications in the money system is, well,
complicated.

Imagine this: You go from the crowded, dusty streets of the capital, Harare,
into a dimly lighted black market money changer's shop that masquerades as a
video outlet. Ask the dealer the rate for a U.S. dollar and he says "27."
Twenty-seven what is not clear.

Ask him the rate for a South African rand, (worth about 10 cents U.S.), and
he still says "27." But this time the decimal point is in a different place.

You walk out with a handful of pale blue notes and little idea of what
they're worth.

If all that is complicated, try this scenario from a couple of months back:
You're in a supermarket, and for the first time in months there's food there
(though it's too expensive for most Zimbabweans). You calculate the cost of
about 2 pounds of meat: If you have a Zimbabwean bank account and pay with a
debit card, it will cost about $10 U.S.

If you exchange American cash for enough Zimbabwean notes to buy the same
unappetizing-looking slab of meat, you'll be out $1,000 U.S. because of a
huge difference in the official exchange rate, which applies to electronic
payments, and the rate on the black market.

It would seem easy enough to just pay by debit card, but nothing is easy
here. In most supermarkets, bank debit cards don't work, either because
there's no power or the electronic transfer systems in banks are overloaded.

For the masses squashed together like upright sardines in queues outside
banks, buying staples such as maize meal and cooking oil is a struggle. They
stand in line for hours to withdraw the maximum weekly limit of Z$100
million, about $10 U.S. on the black market these days, but not even enough
for a loaf of bread. (The withdrawal limit was just raised to Z$10 billion a
week to enable people to buy food for Christmas. The government also
released a new Z$10-billion note.)

Most people use their Z$100 million for bus fare to town. It's a bizarre
situation: People come to town to stand in line to get money that barely
covers the cost of coming to town.

Crowds of 500 or more jostle outside banks in the heat. Soldiers prowl,
beating people with batons when fights break out.

One woman in a bank queue in suburban Avondale last month groused as a group
of nurses shoved their way to the front.

"The hospitals are closed and they're not even working," she shouted.
"People are dying in the hospital and then those people want preference
here."

As others joined in, a soldier stalked up, grim faced.

"You!" he barked. "Just get in the queue and shut up! Stop causing trouble
here!"

So why stand in line if it's just for the bus fare? And then there's the
64-quintillion dollar question: How do Zimbabweans survive?

Mike, 20, an apprentice with the state electrical company who would only
give his first name, says his one motive for going to work is to steal.

"We can go and fix a fault and when we fix the fault we just put the money
in our pockets," said Mike, who has been in line at the bank for 2 1/2
hours. "That's how we are surviving."

Other Zimbabweans use their phones at work to track down hard-to-come-by
necessities and do quick deals.

That's not the only complicated trick. Ben, 28, a used-car salesman,
explains the art of "burning" money. He has the air of a magician making a
rabbit appear in a hat, only this time it's conjuring $1,000 out of $100 in
U.S. currency in a day.

"It's very easy and simple," said Ben, who also gave only his first name for
fear of prosecution for profiteering. In a nutshell, by shuffling money
between the exchange rates -- one for cash and the other for bank
transfers -- one can multiply a sum of U.S. dollars by tenfold or more.
Zimbabweans who are sent foreign funds by relatives abroad are generally in
the best position to employ the strategy.

At one point the government banned bank transfers to try to eliminate
"burning," but it re-introduced them this month with stricter limits.

Ben made several long, patient explanations before I got the gist of
"burning," carefully writing down each convoluted twist. But as soon as I
got the trick, it seemed to vanish, like looking at a mirage.

It's confusing.

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Shops defy NIPC

http://www.herald.co.zw/

Saturday, December 20, 2008

BUSINESS yesterday responded to the release of the new high denomination
notes with massive price hikes, ignoring calls by the National Incomes and
Pricing Commission to keep prices at acceptable levels.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe released $1 billion, $5 billion and $10 billion
notes in line with the increase in withdrawal limits from $500 million per
week to $10 billion per month for those in gainful employment.

The move by the central bank was meant to provide workers with enough money
to buy goodies for the festive season.

A snap survey by The Herald revealed that most retailers had effected
massive increases to match the new withdrawal limit.

Prices of bread and soft drinks in most shops jumped from between $250
million and $300 million to $800 million.

Commuters were not spared from the unjustified price increases after
operators hiked fares to between $400 million and $500 million per trip from
between $50 million and $100 million. - Herald Reporter.

In all Afro-foods outlets, a 12,5kg packet of maize meal that had been
selling for $4 billion since Monday had a new price tag of $15,750 billion,
while the cost of a 2kg packet of brown sugar, previously pegged at $950
million, had shot up to $2 billion yesterday.

A 2kg packet of rice was selling for $6,65 billion, up from at $600 million.

Prices of bread and soft drinks in most shops jumped from between $250
million and $300 million to $800 million.

Although some shops in the city were still displaying old prices, customers
were confronted with the new prices at the till.

Commuters were not spared from the unjustified price increases after
operators hiked fares to between $400 million and $500 million per trip from
between $50 and $100 million.

Scores of consumers were left stranded in town after they failed to withdraw
their monies from banks since most of them were giving cash only to those
whose salaries had been deposited into their accounts.

Some teachers were stranded because their payslips had been sent to their
schools.

Rains wash away hope in a land ravaged by cholera

http://www.independent.co.uk

As disease sweeps Zimbabwe killing thousands, Daniel Howden witnesses the
devastation in the squalor of Harare's townships

Saturday, 20 December 2008

In Harare, the rains have come. They are falling on a city gripped by a
cholera crisis that refuses to be talked out of existence.
The water is soaking through piles of uncollected rubbish, flooding the
reeking open sewers of the townships and driving the foul water into the
dams and reservoirs. In the waterlogged soil lie scores of recently buried
bodies, few of them wrapped in the regulation plastic that would stop the
bacteria seeping into the underground streams that feed the city's
bore-holes. The rains are drowning government claims that the cholera crisis
is over.

The official UN death toll stands at more than 1,000 but the reality is on
an entirely different scale. International aid workers are reliant on
Zimbabwe's ruined health ministry for numbers and admit in private that the
figures quoted in Geneva are up to three weeks out of date and exclude those
who leave hospitals and go home to die.

Onias Chimbabara has been collating his own statistics. Walking from house
to house in Chitungwiza, the mouldering township 20 miles from Harare where
the outbreak began, he has been recording cholera deaths and infections and
doing the little he can to help. In a battered blue exercise book he has the
names of eight of his friends and neighbours who have died and four more who
are close to death. The numbers seem modest until Mr Chimbarara's explains
that there are only 100 people in his ward. In the next ward, six have died,
he says, in the next six again, and so on throughout the whole township.
"People here have diarrhoea and skin problems and the mosquitoes are
breeding in the sewerage," he says.

No one is paying him to do the count, he volunteered, and his hollow cheeks
and tired movements are testament to his own brush with cholera. Chitungwiza
is a playground for the intestinal disease, which in its severest form is
among the most rapidly fatal illnesses known. The sewerage system stopped
working six years ago. Rubbish collections stopped at the beginning of this
year, and filthy, stinking water is available fitfully through what is left
of the water pipes.

"We petitioned the council to collect the rubbish and fix the sewerage but
we have got no response," Mr Chimbarara says. Rain drums loudly on the
corrugated roof. "Now with the rains it's getting worse, everyone is
complaining of stomach pains."

The corrupt local council is bankrupt so residents tried to collect money
for diesel to get the rubbish trucks moving but everyone is broke; so far,
they have just 20 litres.

This is not a natural disaster or even a simple case of poverty. The
sewerage system worked well enough in Chitungwiza until 2002 when the area
voted overwhelmingly for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Thugs from Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party responded by vandalising the
sewerage pumps.

As we spoke, a black and white television showed Mr Mugabe loudly addressing
a conference of that same party in nearby Bindura. "Zimbabwe is mine," he
told them, wearing the same loud m'zambia patterned shirt he loathes but
trots out to play the populist. He would "Never, never surrender!" he
shouted, banging the table. The coming of the rains is supposed to be good
news. In Mr Mugabe's native Shona, they are called Mwaka ye kurima , the
coming of the summer rains for planting. But the country's once-thriving
agriculture has degenerated into a desperate effort to stay alive, which in
Chitungwiza means old women planting sweet potatoes amid the rubbish on the
mud-banks of cholera-infected sewage ditches.

"Everyone is hungry," says Mr Chimbarara. In his backyard is a locked
toilet, its rusting door was closed permanently soon after the pumps were
smashed, when pouring muddy water down the bowl stopped working. An educated
and thoughtful man, he seems embarrassed to say there have been "no flushing
toilets for six years".

Six feet away is the replacement latrine which feeds stinking, grey,
faecal-laden water into a shallow ditch that trickles past the vegetable
patch into a similar ditch next door.

Asked what he can do for all the people that he is trying to help, he
shrugs. "All I can do is tell them to go the clinic."

Catherine's clinic in Waterfalls suburb is typical. She is a nurse who until
last week worked at the Beatrice Hospital for Infectious Disease. She was
watching an average of 13 people a day dying at Beatrice alone. Most
patients had clear signs of malnutrition, "skin damages, flaking off like
old paint in adults". The children have swelling in their lower limbs, hands
and feet. "You don't survive [cholera] if you're malnourished," she says.
"It's hard to find a vein to put the drip in."

She is talking in an empty clinic. People know there are no drugs. "We have
no medicine, all we can do is refer chronic cases to the hospital." At the
hospital, patients are treated with rehydration drips that bring them back
from the brink. "Then they are on their own," she says. The hospitals have
had no antibiotics since the turn of the year, so patients are handed a
prescription and told to go and buy the drugs they need at the pharmacy. "If
you have US dollars you can get anything," Catherine adds. Those who do not
have hard currency just "go home and die", she says. The battle for survival
depends on cash. Getting cash and especially hard currency in a collapsed
economy ravaged by hyperinflation is nigh-on impossible.

The announcement by the central bank that it was setting a new monthly limit
on withdrawals of 10bn Zimbabwean dollars (£33.50) drew crowds to the banks.
Every outlet in Harare was surrounded from early morning by queues of
hundreds of people. Army trucks deposited entire platoons outside the banks,
not to protect them but to get some money. By dusk, the same queues had been
drenched and disappointed. There is not enough paper money to feed this
insatiable disaster. The road to Rose's house in Warren Park is signposted
with lost friends and neighbours. "The boy in that house died of cholera,"
says the driver. A few doors further, "A young girl in that house died of
cholera". On the left, "A grown woman died of cholera".

Rose is among the few who had South African rands from relatives south of
the border. She used that to save her two children. She took them out of the
cholera treatment camp at Budiriro after she saw conditions there and
realised there was no medicine. Her son cannot remember anything about the
clinic but her daughter remembers "people groaning and crying out". It cost
Rose the equivalent of £81 to pay the private doctor who stopped her
children from dying.

Hopes that the epidemic could be contained have been dashed. Although the
World Health Organisation has yet to confirm it, the disease has spread to
all 10 districts of the country, says a non-government organisation worker,
speaking on condition of anonymity. "The peak will come in the rainy
season," she says. "The technocrats at the health ministry are not in
denial. They know this is an emergency. It's the politicians."

Like many others, she observes that Zimbabwe's society has fallen apart in
the past six months. "Things the country was able to contain in the past it
can no longer contain." What prevents an even worse, more widespread
disaster are the NGOs.

Mr Chimbarara goes on with his sad, self-imposed task. He has already lost
his brother, who was shot eight years ago by Zanu militia during the farm
invasions. His mother was beaten near to death after the ruling party lost
elections in March. "Where are we going?" he asks plaintively. "We are being
buried in a shallow grave; we are being buried alive."

Zimbabwe: Banking System Temporarily Crashes

Financial Gazette (Harare)

Shame Makoshori

20 December 2008

 
Harare - THE banking sector was temporarily paralysed this week when the
network on which it operates collapsed resulting in industry players failing
to transact.

The Financial Gazette can reveal that on Tuesday the Society for Worldwide
Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network went offline in
Zimbabwe due to a technical fault that rendered the sector dysfunctional as
banks could not transact among themselves and with the outside world.

It is suspected that the system went offline after water percolated into
cables that transmit data throughout the network.

SWIFT is an international network through which the financial world conducts
its business operations with speed, certainty and confidence.

As of December last year, more than 8,000 financial institutions in over 200
countries, including Zimbabwe, were operating on SWIFT, which is
headquartered in Belgium.

Sources in the banking sector said there were no Real Time Gross Settlement
(RTGS) transactions on Monday and Tuesday because of the technical fault
while international payments had to be delayed.

The RTGS system enables banks to swiftly transfer funds from one bank to
another and between internal accounts as soon as they are authorised.

"In short, our national payments system was in disarray on Tuesday. Most
banks could not pay their statutory reserves as a result," said one bank
executive.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) staff worked flat out on Tuesday to restore
normalcy in the banking industry. The system was up yesterday although it
operated rather slow.

"We are hoping to clear our backlogs by close of business on Thursday
(today)," added another executive with a local commercial bank.

Officials from the RBZ could not be reached for comment at the time of going
to print.

Cholera protest at Zimbabwe embassy

  Ananova:

Exiles from Zimbabwe are due to stage a dramatic tableau depicting its
president as a twisted Father Christmas who deals out disease and death.

Dressed in a Santa Claus suit and wearing a Robert Mugabe mask, "Father
Cholera" will dispense gifts labelled starvation, violence, murder, rape and
torture.

Protesters outside Zimbabwe's embassy in London will demand action to oust
Mr Mugabe from power in the country, which is in the grip of a major cholera
outbreak and near economic collapse.

The figure representing Mr Mugabe, who has claimed the disease is under
control, will deliver the line: "There is no cholera in Zimbabwe!"

Passers-by will also be invited to light candles in front of a cross in the
doorway of the embassy, while protesters sing traditional Christmas carols
in English, Shona and Ndebele, languages spoken in Zimbabwe.

The afternoon demonstration is intended to show people the horrors faced by
those in the country this Christmas and is organised by the Zimbabwe Vigil
organisation.

It has stood watch outside the embassy in The Strand every Saturday for more
than six years, and says it will not stop its protests against the regime
until internationally monitored, free and fair elections are held in
Zimbabwe.

On Friday, Gordon Brown said conditions in Zimbabwe were "deteriorating
rapidly" and that the situation in the country was "a tragedy".

He urged southern African governments to distance themselves from Mr Mugabe,
after the president insisted that African leaders were not "brave enough" to
force him from office.

Power-sharing negotiations with the opposition MDC - widely thought to have
won elections earlier this year - have ground to a halt.

Zimbabwe may have received Chinese arms via Congo: UN

http://news.yahoo.com

Fri Dec 19, 7:44 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN experts have "credible information" that Zimbabwe
may have received Chinese arms last year via Sudan and the Democratic
Republic of Congo, according to a recently published report.

The UN Security Council cites four Boeing aircraft flights that took
place between Kinshasa, Harare and Lubumbashi and "transported a total of 53
tons of ammunition destined to the Zimbabwean army" between August 20 and 22
this year.

"While this is not a violation of the arms embargo, it is an indication that
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could become a transit point for
weapons destined for other countries."

In March, the Security Council extended an arms embargo until December 31
targeting the many armed militias operating in eastern DRC, but not the
government's armed forces, the FARDC.

According to the measure, Resolution 1807, the FARDC can receive military
equipment as long as the exporting country informs the council's sanctions
committee ahead of time.

But the group of experts on the DRC said they "obtained information
regarding military supplies flown to FARDC from Khartoum without
notification to the sanctions committee."

The group also "received credible information that the weapons transported
originated in China" and has written to the Chinese government.

"As the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not produce weapons or
ammunition, this stock would have been imported to the DRC without
notification and then possibly exported in violation of the original
end-user agreement with the original exporter," said the report, published
on December 12.

Beijing has been investing heavily in the DRC in recent years.

It lent the central African country an estimated nine billion dollars in May
to restore its infrastructure and revive the mining industry, following a
35-million-dollar investment into the Congolese postal service last January.

Fighting since August 28 between Congolese rebels and the Kinshasa
government has displaced more than 250,000 people in DR Congo's eastern
Nord-Kivu province.

Zimbabwe killing field exposed

http://www.witness.co.za

19 Dec 2008
Sandile-waka-Zamisa

NEWS of gross violations of human rights has emerged from Zimbabwe,
implicating the country's defence force in a massacre at a small village
outside Harare.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has accused the Zimbabwe Defence
Force (ZDF) of killing 83 people in Manicaland. It is alleged that 83 bodies
are rotting at a government mortuary in Mutare city after they were shot
execution style by ZDF for crimes related to illegal diamond mining.

The massacre is alleged to have happened in early November, but the ruling
Zanu-PF has kept it a secret.

MDC leader in Mutare, Pishai Muchauraya, said the ruling party is behind the
massacre. "Senior members of the Zanu-PF deployed armed forces in the area
to kill people; it's a gross violation of human rights. It's genocide, these
people were accused of illegal mining of diamonds, but they were never
charged for the alleged crime or tried in a court of law . they were
executed."

The ZDF has written to the city council requesting permission to hold a mass
burial for the dead. Mutale city council is led by the MDC and they have
opposed the pauper's burial.

"They are trying to give these people a pauper's burial so that no one knows
about this massacre. They are trying to hide this from the villagers, the
media and everybody else."

Muchauraya said the council has stood its ground on denying the mass burial.
"It is unAfrican to conduct such burial; you cannot bury someone you are not
related to." He said the bodies cannot be identified because their identity
cards were missing. "We believe they carried identity cards when they were
killed," he said.

Sources in the area told the Witness that the ZDF beat up Zimbabwe Republic
Police, who tried to intervene.

"They told them to leave or die," a local farmer said.
It is reported that the slaughter continued for three days. According to the
source, the community and the police are too scared to move.

"They are unknown persons; families are scared to come forward to claim
them, fearing the same fate . The stench is indescribable; power is off in
Mutare for between 12 and 18 hours per day."

'US sends millions in aid to Zim'

http://www.iol.co.za

December 19 2008 at 01:33PM

Maputo - The United States government has disbursed a further $10-million
(about R100-million) to combat the outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe where
1100 people have so far died.

This was revealed by US assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs,
Jendayi Frazer, at a media briefing after her meeting with Mozambican
President Armando Guebuza.

"Recently we announced a further 10 million dollars to help the people of
Zimbabwe deal with the cholera epidemic," she said.

Frazer added that a US disaster response mission was being sent to Zimbabwe
to help organise the humanitarian programmes fighting against the disease.

The disease has been spread due to the collapse of the Zimbabwean health
service and water supply systems.

Washington makes available annually about 200 million dollars in food aid
and health care assistance for Zimbabwe.

Frazer said she had been sent to Mozambique by Secretary of State Condoleeza
Rice to discuss with Guebuza recent developments in the southern African
region, particularly in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Asked about the power sharing agreement that Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF had
signed with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which won the March
presidential and parliamentary elections, Frazer said that agreement was now
virtually moribund because of the bad faith shown by Zanu-PF.

She said the Zanu-PF President, Robert Mugabe, had shown no respect for the
spirit or letter of the agreement, signed in September. It was this, Frazer
said, that had made it impossible to form a government of national unity.

Frazer told reporters that the US did not want to intervene militarily in
Zimbabwe but wanted to see diplomatic efforts stepped up, particularly
through the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to find a
political solution to the Zimbabwean crisis.

She added that the US government was tightening its targeted sanctions
against the Zanu-PF leadership, and had added another four people to the
list of Zanu-PF members or supporters who are barred from visiting the US.

She did not reveal the new names on the list. - Sapa

Zimbabwe journalists mourn the passing of Carol Gombakomba

 

 19th Dec 2008 21:34 GMT

Girl with the golden voice: The late Carol Gombakomba.

By a Correspondent

THE Association of Zimbabwe Journalists would like to convey its deepest sympathies to the Gombakomba family following her passing away late Thursday afternoon after a long and brave fight with cancer.

Carol was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, was treated and the cancer went into remission, only to come back last year and spreading through to her lungs and liver.

She had been fighting the disease since then, only to lose the battle last night.

Carol was a friend, a colleague, a mother, a daughter, a sister and many of us who learnt so much from her have lost a great deal in her passing.

Her death is a great loss to the journalism fraternity in Zimbabwe, the women’s fellowship and mostly to her family and fans, now scattered far and wide because of the crisis in our country.

A fine broadcaster, Carol was born in Harare, then Salisbury on April 7, 1968. An ardent Christian, Carol was known in the journalism fraternity for he golden voice on Radio 1 and 3 where she presented Newsbeat programme with Peter Banga and also with Robson Mhandu.

Carol went to Shingirai Primary School in Mbare for her primary education. She then went to Nagle House Girls High school in Marondera where she did her secondary education and A Levels.

She then went to the University of Zimbabwe, then the country’s only highest institution of learning, and graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Sociology.

Carol then joined the ZBC where she excelled on the newsbeat programme with Banga and Mhandu. After a decade with the ZBC, she left to go to Canada in 2001 and was recruited by the Voice of America to become one of the pioneers on Studio 7, a radio station that broadcasts from Washington D.C. to Zimbabwe on a daily basis. She was still with Studio 7 at the time of her death.

Christina Taruvinga, nee Masaraure worked with Carol at the ZBC. She says: “Carol was a journalist par excellence, a fighter for women’s cause, the marginalized and those who lived with HIV. Her golden voice will be sadly missed on the airwaves. She was not only a colleague but a fellow workmate and a true friend. My sincere condolences to her family.”

She continued: “I joined the ZBC in 1992 and she taught me radio production on newsbeat. She was my mentor together with Robson and Peter Banga – a true source of inspiration and encouragement. She was also very, very humble, composed and dignified. She will be sadly missed.”

Violet Gonda, who is with SW Radioafrica in London said: “I am very saddened to hear of the passing of a dear friend and colleague Carol Gombakomba who passed away on Thursday after a long battle with cancer. Carol was more than a friend, she was a sister. She touched so many lives and was such a generous person and always full of life. I will always admire her strength and remember her amazing voice. I pray for her, her daughter, family, friends and her colleagues at Studio 7. REST IN PEACE SISI CAROL.”

From Canada, Mazvita Mlambo says: "Whenever I think of the news I just remember her voice when she said her name: "here is the news read by Carol Gombakomba!" Her voice just resonated peace. I am sorry for your loss. She had a magic quality that is found in but a few people. May she rest in peace"

Innocent Madawo, also in Canada, said: I never met Carol but I can still hear her voice like those of all other wonderful ZBC personnel who made us all happy those good years of the past. It is sad to lose her. Atungamira tiri kutevera

From the UK, former ZBC colleague, Ezra Tshisa Sibanda - l'm so sorry about the death of one of the best female journalist of our time. What a loss! Carol was an amazing broadcast journalist, she will be sadly missed. She was a great colleague and a good friend of mine. May her soul rest in peace, God bless her.

Sharon Njobo frm Canada said: “Another fine broadcaster gone. Rest in peace Carol Gombagomba.”

Her boss at Studio 7, Brendan Murphy said: “I am saddened to inform you that our dear Caroline Gombakomba departed this life late yesterday afternoon at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

All those who knew and worked with Carole will remember her always calm and cheerful presence, and the dedication and professionalism she brought to her work on behalf of countless listeners in Zimbabwe whose travails and suffering she documented with such a wonderful human touch.

One of her finest hours was the reporting she did in 2005 at the time of Operation Murambatsvina when the authorities turned hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes which they then demolished. Carole reached through the cell network to powerfully document the enormous human tragedy.

And as many of you know she displayed inspirational courage, serenity and faith in facing her final illness.

Carole is and will be sorely missed, but we will keep her in our hearts.”

Sandra Nyaira said: “To Carol’s family, her sister Nelly, daughter Nakiso, mother, brother, niece and nephew, I would like to pass my sincere condolences and thank you for all you did to make Carol’s last days on earth as comfortable as possible.

“It is not easy for a mother to watch her child breathe her last. We are all thinking of you at this very sad time and are with you in our prayers. We thank you our mother for nurturing Carol to be the gentle soul that she was when she was with us, the caring sister, the professional journalist, the caring mother and friend that she was. Carol will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her all over the world – she fought a brave fight and like Brendan Murphy said, her cheerful presence, dedication and professionalism will be sadly missed.

“I hope we will continue to carry the torch that she has passed on to us and may her colleagues at Studio 7 learn from the virtues that she bequeathed onto them over the past five years. Rest in Peace Mukoma.”

Mourners are gathered at her Silver Spring home. She is expected to be buried either Monday or Tuesday in the US.

Push Mugabe Out, Region's Catholics Urge

Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)

19 December 2008

Pretoria - There can be no solution to the horrific crisis in Zimbabwe as
long as Robert Mugabe is in power, the Catholic Church in southern Africa
says.

Eight years of mediation have failed to persuade Mugabe to negotiate with
the opposition in the interests of the common good, the Catholic bishops of
South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland said in a statement on Thursday.

"It is now time to isolate Mugabe completely and to remove all forms of
moral, material or tacit support for him and his party. Regardless of
whether he is a former 'liberator' or an 'Elder African Statesman', he must
be forced to step down. No true liberator or statesman clings ruthlessly to
power as Mugabe has done, while his people live and die in misery and
destitution. No solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe is possible as long as he
is there."

The church statement, issued by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, spokesman for the
Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, noted that Mugabe lost the
March presidential election, but "he has continued to cling to power, waging
war against anyone suspected of not supporting him, and refusing to share
any real power with those who beat him in the election."

The bishops further said Mugabe "is willing to watch thousands of innocent
people die of starvation and cholera as long as he is able to retain power.
Like Pharaoh he is obstinate and refuses to listen to the people (Exodus
8:15). He will do so only if enough pressure is brought to bear on him."

Regional political leaders, including the new South African President
Kgalema Motlanthe, have failed to push Mugabe, the bishops said, adding that
it was false and unjust to equally blame the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), who "are the victims in this whole tragedy", for
the impasse.

The bishops also took issue with some African leaders who support Mugabe,
urging them instead to re-direct their solidarity towards the needs of the
suffering people of the once-thriving country.

"The South African Government has the capacity to force Mugabe to go. All
that is lacking is the political will. History will judge very harshly the
tacit support still given to Mugabe and the little (if any) support given to
his opposition as well as the total disregard for the people of Zimbabwe."

President Motlanthe should stop immediately all collusion with Mugabe and
cut off any support South Africa is offering him, especially electricity and
fuel. In addition, any assets held by Mugabe and his cronies in South Africa
should be frozen immediately, the bishops said.
"We express our deepest solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe at this
desperate time. We recommit ourselves and our people to praying that they
will be able to unite and to have the courage and the strength to persevere
in the struggle to remove the evil brought on them by Mugabe's dictatorship
and the armed forces he uses to enforce it."

A strange sympathy

Rhetoric about victims of Mugabe sits ill with the reality we Zimbabweans
seeking asylum find here

Yeukai Taruvinga
The Guardian,
Saturday 20 December 2008

When I tell ordinary British people that I came to this country from
Zimbabwe to seek asylum because of Robert Mugabe's government, they are
always sympathetic. They see the humanitarian crisis, the old people and
children dying of cholera - the UN reported yesterday that there were more
than a thousand dead and another 20,000 sufferers. They see on the news
night after night what Mugabe is doing to my country. And they see the
continuing human rights crisis and how he treats those who oppose him.

Hopes were raised when Mugabe agreed to a power-sharing government with the
leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai. But it is
evident that human rights are still not being respected. In the last two
weeks prominent human rights defenders have been abducted by groups
suspected of having government links. These include Jestina Mukoko, the
director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, who has not been seen since she was
taken from her home on 3 December.

British politicians have expressed great sympathy towards Zimbabweans. Just
last week Gordon Brown said that "we must stand together to defend human
rights and democracy, to say firmly to Mugabe that enough is enough", and
that it was "our duty" to support the aspirations of the Zimbabwean people.
David Cameron has described Zimbabwe as the most important issue in the
world today and has pressed for wider sanctions and a rescue package for the
Zimbabwean people. And David Miliband has said that, "Zimbabwe's crisis is
one that the world has a responsibility to respond to."

It is good to hear all this, but how does it translate into action? It is
easy to condemn a government from afar. But if politicians really believe
that Mugabe is illegitimate, that his repression of his own people is the
most important issue in the world today, why do they behave as they do to
his victims?

I got involved in supporting the opposition party when I was a student. Like
many MDC supporters, I was beaten up by Mugabe's Zanu-PF thugs when I went
to meetings and rallies. When they wrote threats on the walls of my family's
house, my mother decided that I should leave the country.

I believed that I would be safe when I came here seven years ago, at the age
of 18. When I stepped foot on English soil and claimed asylum, I did not
realise that I was in for a long battle. I have been detained - imprisoned -
for two and a half months, simply because I claimed asylum. I have been
moved between three different detention centres, and taken without notice
from Colnbrook at Heathrow, to Yarl's Wood in Bedford to Dungavel in
Scotland.

You feel extremely helpless in such places: it is almost impossible to stay
in touch with friends or your lawyer, and you believe that anything could
happen to you and nobody would know about it. Although suspected terrorists
cannot be held without trial for more than 28 days, I was locked up for more
than 60 days. In Dungavel at that time there were only half a dozen women
and hundreds of foreign criminals awaiting deportation. It was terrifying
just to walk around the centre.

It seems to me that political leaders are reluctant to do anything to help
those who make their way here. Last week Jacqui Smith said that the
government's priority was to ensure that Zimbabwean refugees did not use
false passports in order to get to this country. She did not say that
refugees should find a fair system when they arrive.

I am still not safe. I have not been given refugee status. After my release
from detention I was not allowed benefits nor allowed to work. This is the
government's policy of destitution; if you have failed in your asylum claim,
then you are forced to live without support. I rely on handouts and gifts
from churches and friends, even for the bed I sleep in and the soap I wash
with. Most of the people who help me are asylum seekers or refugees
themselves, because they understand what it's like.

It is humiliating: not only can I not work, but I cannot study or learn. I
am worried about the impact this is going to have on my future. I want to
study and work, so that when Mugabe is toppled I and my fellow activists can
be the backbone of the new country that will arise from the ashes. But all
avenues are blocked to me to grow and give back to society. It is strange
that this country, which expresses such sympathy for Zimbabwe's people,
condemns its refugees to this kind of life - which is no life at all.

. Yeukai Taruvinga is not allowed to work; the fee for this article has been
donated to Women Asylum Seekers Together in London, which she chairs
refugeewomen.com

----------

Comments

    UncleVanya
  20 Dec 08, 12:19am (about 7 hours ago)

  It is unfortunate for those refugees from Zimbabwe, but if the rules are
changed for them, then they have to be changed for everyone who lands up on
the shores of the UK as refugees or asylum seekers. The same would have to
happen if any of Mugabe's Zanu-Pf thugs came here trying to evade
retribution in Zimabwean Courts as and when Mugabe finally falls.

  If Mugabe himself arrived at Heathrow on his presidential jet, what then?
Will he be refused entry, or will he have to be allowed in because the
'Rules Say He can?'

  It was curious how Mr Mugabe is changing before our eyes. His latest
appearance on Zimabwean TV making some statement that..."Zimababwe belongs
to ME!"

  He reallly does look like he has either smoked a king sized spliff, or he
certainly is on some sort of drugs. He looked shakey, disjointed in what he
saying, and very, very old now. Maybe, as has been alleged , he has terminal
syhilis......

  "Those who the Gods wish to destroy, they first make mad!" So maybe Robert
Mugabe truly is terminally meglomaniacal, and on his way out now!

 


    Sekai
  20 Dec 08, 12:19am (about 7 hours ago)

  Yeukai, I am sorry for what you have had to go through and can't begin to
imagine all the frustration you must feel at the moment. I, too am far away
from home and it is a nightmare reading about what is happening there just a
few months after I left, and thinking about friends and family who are still
there.

  I agree that there is too much talk and not enough action, but we now have
to assume that no one is going to help us and try to take things into our
own hands. Even the MDC has proven a failure, focusing on fixing the
power-sharing scam instead of on the most immediate danger - the danger to
our people! It no longer matters who is in power. That will come later. Now
we must focus on keeping our people alive.

  I hope that one day you will be able to return to Zimbabwe. Until then,
carry on raising awareness, talking to people, and helping in any way you
can from where you are.

    FinDEmpire
  20 Dec 08, 1:24am (about 5 hours ago)

  My poor fellow, you thought that all the Mugabe-bashing was because the
British government cared about Zimbabweans? If the humanitarian concern were
genuine the Brits would be yelling loudest about Meles Zinawi and the unholy
mess and humanitarian disaster he's created in Somalia at the US's behest.
They would be coming down on Rwanda for starting a proxy war, with it usual
side-order of rapes and other atrocities, in the DRC. They would be berating
Kenya for the massacre of the opposition - far worse than anything Mugabe
has done - after the rigged elections.

  The only thing Brits and Yanks are interested in is getting their SOB's in
power and keeping them there. When they start shouting, you can be sure that
it's about somebody preventing them from getting their hands on Africa's
underground riches. The African people who live - or try to - on top of the
oil, gold, diamonds, etc., are for the West little more than a nuisance.



    Ethelredsdirtybed
  20 Dec 08, 1:28am (about 5 hours ago)

  It's quite simple.

  You Guardian reading folk supported Black liberation at all costs.

  This is the end result.

  Try justify it to yourselves.

  And while you do, another ten die.

  Fools.

    Ethelredsdirtybed
  20 Dec 08, 1:33am (about 5 hours ago)

  As for FinDEmpire, You think the West is bad? Well, I hope you find your
new coloniser, Mr. Chinaman, more ammenable to your needs. I doubt it. But
hey that's life...

    FinDEmpire
  20 Dec 08, 1:56am (about 5 hours ago)

  Your white supremacism is absolutely appalling.



    jaal
  20 Dec 08, 4:05am (about 3 hours ago)

  ethelredsdirtybed,
  can't agree more, these people voted mr. smith out and mr. mugabe in; they
made their bed let them lie in it: but please, please do not try and put the
guilt on the west, we're tired of it.
  as for findempire, ethel is talking of oriental supremism not white.

    ozzydave
  20 Dec 08, 4:46am (about 2 hours ago)

  just because people are aware of their govts true motivations it does not
therefore follow they wish to be governed by another regime, merely that
they believe that theirs should either improve or that it should at least
start telling the truth. We are all big enough and ugly enough to accept
that we in the west prosper from the repression/blood of the 'developing'
world are we not?
  i suspect that this where the real motivation for those who say 'we ain't
as bad as x or y or z regime". its because they don't want the truth LALALA
no connection between my pension and MNC's world wide s LALALAcan't see
blood on my hands LALALA i'm alright jack LALALA bollox, wake up or shut up.
  all this 'China is worse' rhetoric is wasted. WE KNOW China's regime is
worse but that does not make ours satisfactory does it.

    ozzydave
  20 Dec 08, 5:17am (about 2 hours ago)

  Dear Ms Yeukai Taruvinga,
  i am deeply sorry that my govt has led you to believe that they are truly
concerned about the plight of your country. Many in the west are attempting
to de-wolf the sheep so that our people can either A) demand that certain
disgusting practices cease (most of them involving death) B) go the polls
armed with the facts as opposed to the empty rhetoric they currently stand
for.

  Until enough of us see the true cost of our 'profit over people' outlook
however these collosal injustices will continue and more peoples will suffer
as yours have. Your article assists in bringing that awareness into peoples
lives and may i humbly suggest that your group continue in this way as this
is the only real avenue by which you and your people will affect any lasting
change; by helping the people who elect our govt to understand the truth.
Only then (or by some lucky geo political circumstance or mineral find) will
your countries' plight be properly addressed.

  All the best in all you do

  PS: PM Browns current 'concern' will last not a month, that i'm afraid is
how disgusting politics has become here now, the use of appaling suffering
to distract voters for 10 mins.

Mamdani, Mugabe and the African scholarly community

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/52845

The Africanisation of exploitation
Horace Campbell (2008-12-18)
Concerned scholars should revitalise their opposition to Zimbabwe's Mugabe
regime, writes Horace Campbell. While being against any form of
opportunistic, external intervention in the country, Campbell argues that
scholars must come to offer an effective challenge to ZANU-PF's persistent
retreat into spurious anti-imperialist discourse. Heavily critical of
writers like Mahmood Mamdani for echoing ZANU-PF's claims around the effects
of economic sanctions levied against Zimbabwe, Campbell argues that blocking
international payments would prove a far more efficacious means of tackling
Mugabe's misappropriation of funds.

It was most apt that on the 60th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration
of Human Rights a group of 200 scholars at the 12th congress of CODESRIA
expressed their concern over the threats of military intervention in
Zimbabwe. The scholars pointed to the detrimental effects of military
intervention, noting that:

'Military interventions exacerbate political and socio-economic crises and
internal differences with profoundly detrimental and destructive regional
implications. We recognize that threats of military intervention come from
imperialist powers, and also through their African proxies.'

These scholars were signaling their opposition to the vocal calls for the
removal of Robert Mugabe by the Secretary of State of the United States and
by the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Archbishop Desmond Tutu of
South Africa and the Prime Minister of Kenya, Raila Odinga, had earlier
raised the call for the removal of Robert Mugabe by the force of arms.

This scholar joins with African people everywhere who welcome the alertness
of our colleagues against foreign military intervention. I also welcome
their concern for the appalling situation in Zimbabwe.

It is important that the Mugabe government and the spokespersons for ZANU-PF
do not consider the statement by scholars as an endorsement for the
appalling tragedy that has befallen the Zimbabwean poor and exploited. After
all, these CODESRIA scholars termed what is happening in Zimbabwe 'a
nightmare'.

This was in the same week that President Mugabe argued that the imperialists
were planning a military invasion and that the cholera outbreak had been
based on biological warfare against Zimbabwe. The Minister of Information
went further and in a statement in the Herald newspaper the minister
claimed:

'The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe is a serious biological chemical war
force, a genocidal onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British.
Cholera is a calculated racist terrorist attack on Zimbabwe by the
unrepentant former colonial power which has enlisted support from its
American and Western allies so that they invade the country.'

This claim by Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu was an insult to the intelligence of
humans everywhere in so far as cholera is an acute intestinal infection
caused by unsanitary conditions. The key to prevention of the disease is
simple: clean water.

It is because of the simple nature of the cure that the response of the
Zimbabwe government to the death of more than 1,000 persons is one more
callous response to the exploitation and brutal oppression of the Zimbabwean
working peoples. Biological warfare is a serious matter not to be used for
games of crying 'wolf'. One world figure is already leaving the stage with
the record of this kind of crying wolf in Iraq.

While this writer will oppose any form of external military intervention by
imperialists, it is important that concerned and progressive scholars oppose
the crude anti-imperialism of the Zimbabwean political leadership under
Mugabe. This writer awaits equal concern from my colleagues over the gender
violence, repression of trade union leaders, wanton destruction of lives by
the Mugabe government and the brutal repression of ordinary citizens.

At the same time that the statement of concern was being signed human rights
activists were calling on the Zimbabwean government to account for the
whereabouts of Jestina Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP).
Mukoko is only one of the more than 20 known human rights activists who have
disappeared in the past six weeks. Mukoko's 15 year-old child saw his mother
being abducted from their home.

We must raise our collective voices against such kidnapping and abduction
while opposing any imperialist plans for a military invasion of Zimbabwe.
One question that immediately came to mind after reading the CODESRIA
statement was whether our colleagues have become blind to the suffering of
ordinary people in their struggle against the latest and more complex phase
of imperialism in Africa.

MUGABE AND THE EXPLOITATION OF ANTI-RACIST AND ANTI-IMPERIALIST SENTIMENTS

The Zimbabwe government is very aware of the anti-imperialist and
anti-racist sentiments among oppressed peoples and thus has deployed a range
of propagandists inside and outside of the country in a bid to link every
problem in Zimbabwe to international sanctions by the EU and USA.
Anti-imperialists in the USA cite the Zimbabwe Reconstruction and
Development Act - passed by the US Congress in 2001 - as being a source of
economic woe for poor Zimbabweans. While the scholars at the congress of
CODESRIA hardly resorted to the same kind of praise for Mugabe as their
counterparts writing in the special issue of Black Scholar, there is not
enough evidence that there was sufficient attention paid to the gross
violation of basic rights. If this debate did occur at the CODESRIA congress
it was not reflected in the statement.

One of the key entrepreneurs of the Zimbabwe regime, John Bredenkamp,
commands considerable experience in manipulating the question of sanctions
for the enrichment of those in power, both in the time of Rhodesia and now
Zimbabwe. Bredenkamp started on his way to fortune by breaking sanctions for
Ian Smith. Bredenkamp has been involved in the politics and economics of
looting southern Africa and is one of the key props of the ZANU-PF regime.
His plundering activities also tie him to the political and financial
leaders in South Africa who are being probed by the Serious Fraud Office
(SFO) in relation to the £100 million in bribes to ensure the sale of
weapons to the South African government. This author is calling on members
of the CODESRIA network to reveal their research findings on John
Bredenkamp, Muller Conrad Rautenbach (a.k.a. Billy Rautenbach) and to
recommend the arrest and charge of those involved in looting Zimbabwe and
southern Africa. Both Bredenkamp and Billy Rautenbach (of the white settler
forces) featured in the orgy of looting in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) and established long term business relationships with ZANU-PF's
leaders. John Bredenkamp had matured in the art of manipulation while
aligned with Ian Smith. He exulted in this dual service to imperialism and
to African nationalists with the leadership of ZANU-PF, and his expertise
has been placed at the service of the crude accumulators within the South
Africa's ANC.

Instead of oversimplifying imperialist threats in Zimbabwe, those who want
to see the demilitarisation of Africa must aggressively support the exposure
of the arms deals that have linked Bredenkamp and Fana Hlongwane across the
politics of repression in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The British arms
manufacturer British Aerospace (Bae) has been involved with Bredenkamp and
Hlongwane in Africa, along with corrupt elements in the Middle East. There
have been calls for BAe to be prosecuted under the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act (FCPA) of the USA. Such an investigation would have potentially seismic
consequences for military contractors and arms manufacturers and would
provide another means of opposing Western militarism in Africa.

BLAMING ZIMBABWE'S PROBLEMS ON ZIDERA

The convergence of fraud, corruption and cover-ups in South Africa, Zimbabwe
and Britain render simplistic conceptions of imperialism less than useful
for those who want to see peaceful change in Zimbabwe. The Mugabe government
blames all of its problems on the economic war launched by the USA and
Britain. For the Mugabe regime, at the core of this economic war are the
targeted sanctions against Mugabe's top lieutenants under its Zimbabwe
Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA), passed by the Bush
administration in 2001.

What has been clear from the hundreds of millions of dollars of investments
by British, Chinese, Malaysian, South African and other capitalists in the
Zimbabwe economy since 2003 is that the problems in Zimbabwe have not been
caused by an economic war against the country. Even when facing pressure
from the British government, Anglo-American indicated its willingness in
2008 to invest an additional US$400 million to continue its control of
platinum mines in Zimbabwe. What has been most remarkable has been the ways
in which the dictatorship in Zimbabwe has destroyed the rights of workers in
the mining sector in order to facilitate and welcome foreign capitalists in
the diamond and mining sectors. Whole villages are being laid to waste in
order to support and welcome external diamond mining interests.

If human rights activists and committed scholars were to expose the linkages
between ZANU-PF arms dealers John Bredenkamp and Fana Hlongwane along with
the wider linkages to international capital, then it would be clear that it
is quite an oversimplification to argue that ZIDERA is at the centre of
Zimbabwe's problems. Bredenkamp had been schooled from the Smith era to
blame everything on sanctions while beating the sanctions with the help of
apartheid South Africa. In the present period Bredenkamp is an ally of the
ANC, ZANU-PF and British imperialist arms manufacturers like BAe all at the
same time. It is also important for African scholars to join the call to the
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe for an arms deal judicial
commission, in order to bring to the attention of the wider public the
dealings of individuals such as Fana Hlongwane.

Scholars, while alerting the world against foreign military invasion, must
examine the conduct of the Zimbabwe military and especially those ordering
Mugabe to remain in supreme control.

It is in the interest of concerned scholars everywhere to understand the
conditions of farm labourers and mine workers in Zimbabwe. What was not
expected was for Professor Mahmood Mamdani to use his scholarly knowledge to
repeat ZANU-PF's sham argument that economic sanctions have aggravated the
economic crisis in Zimbabwe. While the nationalists have been crude in their
fawning over the 'revolutionary' credentials of Robert Mugabe, Mahmood
Mamdani used his considerable international reputation to line up support
for the Mugabe regime in a lengthy review published in the London Review of
Books.

IS THERE A DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION GOING ON IN ZIMBABWE?

From the outset Mamdani located himself as a victim of forced expulsion,
identifying the forced expulsion of the Asians in Uganda with the
expropriation of the white setter farmers in Zimbabwe. In the process,
Mamdani compared Robert Mugabe to Idi Amin of Uganda. Mamdani went on to
explain the popularity of Amin's economic war against Asians and used the
word 'popularity' in his characterisation of the current ZANU-PF leadership.
Very few would doubt the 'popularity' of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and other
parts of Africa in the period of the anti-colonial struggles, but in the
past fifteen years Mugabe has turned the victories of the people into a
never ending nightmare of murders, killings, forced removal and brutal
oppression. Idi Amin remains popular in West Africa, just as Mugabe is
popular in West Africa and other parts of the world where there is not a
full understanding of the real tragedy of what is going on in Zimbabwe. Idi
Amin, like Robert Mugabe, is popular outside of his own country for the
wrong reasons.

Mahmood Mamdani as a Ugandan is very aware of the extent to which the
British government supported elements within the Amin dictatorship while
using the British media to revile Africans in general, and Idi Amin in
particular. Amin (who was promoted by the British and the Israelis in the
military coup of January 1971) was useful as a propaganda tool for
imperialism. As a scholar who has written extensively on Uganda and on the
politics of fascism, Mahmood Mamdani is very aware of the role that Bob
Astles played as an agent of US and British imperialism in eastern Africa.
Bob Astles (ally and confidant of Idi Amin from 1966 to 1979) had been
implicated in the scandals involving looted gold from the Congo in the 1960s
and survived with Amin as a key confidant, until he left for Britain when it
became clear that the Tanzanian military invasion of Uganda would succeed.
Mahmood Mamdani had returned to Uganda in 1979 in the military train of the
Tanzanian military and political forces. This was a case where Mamdani
recognised that it required regional African intervention to rid Africa of
the manipulation of the British and the brutal genocidal politics of Idi
Amin.

Contrary to his research on the Ugandan dictatorship, Mamdani's research
skills seem underused while elaborating on the 'Lessons of Zimbabwe'.
Professor Mamdani has maintained that, 'In social and economic - if not
political - terms, this was a democratic revolution. But there was a heavy
price to pay.'

This line of the 'democratic revolution' emanated from the Newtonian
concepts of hierarchy that had been internalised by some who have called
themselves Marxists. During the period of the Soviet Union, this discourse
was used to support so-called revolutionaries such as Mengistu, the butcher
of Ethiopia. Is it by chance that Mengistu has found his refuge in Zimbabwe?

Under this 'democratic revolutionary stage', African capitalists had to
accumulate so that there would be a maturation of capitalism in Africa.
Walter Rodney refuted this 'stages' theory in his book, How Europe
Underdeveloped Africa. In that study Rodney established the reality that
there was a link between the development of capitalism in Europe and the
forms of plunder, looting and genocide in Africa. Capitalism in Africa had
been implanted in a very different form, and all over the continent those
who supported capitalism have used the formulation of the 'democratic
revolution' to support black capitalists. This is nowhere more evident than
in South Africa, where the communist party, as one component of the
tripartite alliance, has used this formulation to silence itself in the face
of the crudest and fastest rate of accumulation by a fledgling capitalist
class in recent history.

In his elaboration of 'the heavy price to pay' for this democratic
revolution in Zimbabwe, Mamdani noted the impact on: (a) 'the rule of law';
(b) Farm labourers; (c) The urban poor; and d) Food production.

What was most contradictory about Mamdani's line of argument is that while
he recognises the impact of the policies of the Mugabe government on the
urban poor and farm workers, he expends a great deal of his analysis on a
critique of the absence of donor support for the people of Zimbabwe. Before
the era of neoliberalism and the pseudo-humanitarianism of the so-called
international non-governmental structure, these donors would have been
called imperialists and there would have been a call for the government of
Zimbabwe to use its resources to provide clean water, sanitation and
healthcare for its people. Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF have selectively
implemented a home grown neoliberal agenda to enrich one of the crudest of
the capitalist classes in Africa while depending on international
imperialist agencies to provide social services for the people. Mamdani
overlooks the fact that the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange has been posting the
most profitable gains under the Mugabe regime.

Mamdani is wrong.

While the discussion about whether Zimbabwe is going through a 'democratic'
revolution can be debated, Mamdani is wrong on numerous grounds. As a
scholar who has written on genocide, it is curious why he left out the close
relationship between the leaders of the Interahamwe and the Zimbabwean
military in the DRC. Mugabe's military trained those had committed genocide
in Rwanda to fight for Laurent Kabila. He is simply wrong to use tribal
formulations to describe the sharp class divide in Zimbabwe. It is here that
the consistency of the donor language corresponds to the language of ethnic
divisions in Zimbabwe. In describing the manipulation of Mugabe, Mamdani
noted:

'Very early on, the colonial bureaucracy had translated the ethnic mosaic of
the country into an administrative map in such a way as to allow minimum
co-operation and maximum competition between different ethnic groups and
areas, ensuring among other things that labour for mining, manufacture and
service was not recruited from areas where peasants were needed on large
farms or plantations. These areas, as it happened, were mainly Shona and so,
unsurprisingly, when the trade-union movement developed in Rhodesia, its
leaders were mostly Ndebele, and had few links with the Shona leadership of
the peasant-based liberation movement (Mugabe belongs to the Shona
majority).'

What is this language of Shona majority? Is this not the old tribal
discourse of the colonial anthropologists?

Mahmood Mamdani's benign criticisms cannot disguise the reality that his
submission has been represented as one component of the anti-imperialist
intellectual support for the Mugabe regime. Despite the atrocities, killings
and abductions of grassroots activists, Mamdani has managed to use the term
'popularity' in the same sentence while describing the current Zimbabwe
leadership. Nowhere did this writer take note of the fact that this 'popular'
government withheld the election results in March 2008 for over a month.
Mamdani says there is a democratic revolution at a high price. Indeed at the
price of democracy itself and in its most simple expression: the right to
vote.

Writing this backhanded support for Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF as a review of
a number of books on Zimbabwe, Mamdani was inordinately dependent on the
scholarship of those from the Agrarian Institute for African Studies in
Zimbabwe. The papers from this institute have been fulsome in their praise
of the 'land reform' process in Zimbabwe. The authors of these papers
supporting Mugabe were the very same ones claiming that the horrors of
'Operation Murambatsvina' (the operation to round up hundreds of thousands
of citizens) were exaggerated by the Western media.

Neither Mamdani nor the scholars from CODESRIA have expressed their outrage
in relation to the repression and forced removal of 750,000 people from
Zimbabwe's urban areas in 2005. If a white government had done this there
would have been outrage. Current scholarly work on the displacement of
Zimbabwean farm workers by Amanda Hammar will assist future scholarship
focused on the reintegration of individuals scattered across Southern
Africa. These citizens suffered from the xenophobic attacks against poor
migrants in South Africa.

While merely recycling the scholarship of this agrarian institute, Mahmood
Mamdani was careful to hedge his bets in noting that: 'What land reform has
meant or may come to mean for Zimbabwe's economy is still hotly disputed.'

What is not in dispute is that the policies of the Mugabe government have
destroyed the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe. In our examination of the
fast track land seizures in the book, Reclaiming Zimbabwe: The Exhaustion of
the Patriarchal Model of Liberation, we exposed the reality that an
examination of land reform cannot be separated from water, seeds,
fertilizers and most importantly, the labour that has worked on a piece of
land. It is on the question of workers and labour where one would have
expected Mamdani to have drawn on the scholarship of Brian Raftopoulos and
Lloyd Sachikonye. It is not too late to recommend to Mahmood Mamdani two
books that will shed light on the relationship between land and labour:
Striking Back: The Labour Movement and the Post-Colonial State in Zimbabwe,
1980-2000, edited by Brian Raftopoulos and Lloyd Sachikonye; and Lloyd
Sachikonye, The Situation of Commercial Farm Workers after Land Reform in
Zimbabwe.

IDI AMIN AND BOB ASTLES; ROBERT MUGABE AND JOHN BERDENKAMP

Qualifications on the disputed outcome of the 'land reform' by Mahmood
Mamdani should not derail committed scholarship on what a democratic land
reform process could yield in the new southern Africa when there is serious
decolonisation instead of the Africanisation of exploitation. Mamdani's
analysis could not hide the reality that there is a capitalist class that is
profiting from the misery and exploitation of the peoples of Zimbabwe. The
present divide in Zimbabwe that is manipulated under ethnic terms cannot
hide the opulence and disparity between those with power and the
exploitation of millions, with hundreds dying of cholera. The billions of
dollars being exported by those in the regime, along with the leadership of
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, will only come to light when scholars, in
general, and African scholars, in particular, support the UN Stolen Assets
Recovery Initiative. African dictators from the Sudan to Equatorial Guinea
and looters from Nigeria and Angola to Kenya want African scholars to be
silent on the repatriation of stolen wealth. This writer opposes all
sanctions against Zimbabwe (including ZIDERA) because sanctions do not work
when there are experienced entrepreneurs such as John Bredenkamp and Billy
Rautenbach in the service of ZANU-PF. What is far more important is a full
analysis of Gideon Gono's exportation of money at the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe. As a scholars in universities with the space and resources to do
research, it is our collective duty in the context of an Obama
administration to call on the US Justice Department to prosecute those of
the British firm BAe who have been involved in corruption and fraud in
southern Africa.

Additionally, African scholars and progressives must pressure the Obama
administration to use the resources of the Treasury Department of the Office
of Foreign Assets Control to democratise the information on the billions of
dollars being stolen from Africa, and in this case, southern Africa.

As in the case of Idi Amin, imperialism can be very selective in releasing
the information of the theft and export of capital by the Mugabe leadership.
In the past month the Treasury Department of the United States Office of
Foreign Assets Control slapped further sanctions on John Bredenkamp.

There is need for concerted research and exposure of the continued role of
elements such as Bredenkamp and the alliance with those in the South African
government who are profiting from the misery and exploitation of the
Zimbabwean people. Is it by accident that the same forces aligned with
Bredenkamp also supported the 'quiet diplomacy' of Thabo Mbeki? The
countries of the European Union are also complicit in the looting of
Zimbabwe. Decent individuals in Europe and concerned African scholars must
pressure the democratic forces in Belgium to call on the Belgian Central
Bank to expose the amounts of money being exported by Gideon Gono on behalf
of Robert Mugabe and the dictatorship. The international banking system now
relies on a network administered by Society for Worldwide Interbank
Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) based at La Hulpe outside Brussels.
SWIFT links 7,800 financial institutions in 205 countries, including
Zimbabwe's banks, and processes about US$6 trillions' worth of transactions
each day. Although owned by banks, SWIFT specifically falls under the
control of central banks and, in particular, the control of the Belgian
Central Bank. Instead of speculating on whether the Mugabe regime is
exporting US$9 or US$15 billion every year, the exposure of the head of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is far more important than talks of removing Mugabe
by force. Blocking international payments is far quicker and more effective
than trade or other sanctions. This strategy can also be reversed as soon as
its objectives are reached, without permanent damage to the economy or its
infrastructure.

COMMITTED SCHOLARS SHOULD BE OUTRAGED AT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ZIMBABWE

People are being killed and brutalised. Homophobia and virginity tests
reflect the most extreme forms of patriarchy and deformed masculinity in
Zimbabwe. The women who bear the brunt of this oppression have called for
international solidarity. Under the leadership of the group, Women of
Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), these brave fighters have exposed those who mobilise
sophisticated post-modernists and anti-imperialist discourse to support
Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwean workers are being assaulted every day and it is
the task of concerned African scholars to defend the rights of organised and
unorganised Zimbabwean workers alike.

Unfortunately for Mamdani this article defending Mugabe came out at a time
when there was news of the health emergency and the more than 1,000 who have
died from cholera. Already, spokespersons for the Mugabe dictatorship have
begun to use the writing of Mahmood Mamdani to give legitimacy to their
anti-imperialist rhetoric. Mahmood Mamdani opposed the expulsion of the
Asians from Uganda. This author opposed the expulsion of the Asians from
Uganda on the grounds that it was racist. Mahmood Mamdani has recognised
that after the removal of Idi Amin the top Asian capitalists returned to
Uganda. In order to ensure that imperialism and the white settlers are not
the beneficiaries of the quagmire and nightmare in Zimbabwe, there is a need
to explore new agricultural techniques rooted in the experiences of farm
workers to develop cooperatives as a means of breaking the domination of the
new black capitalists. It was the democratic right of the Zimbabwean people
to reclaim the lands seized by British colonialists, but progressive
scholars must oppose all forms of exploitation, whether black or white.

At this time, this author supports the Zimbabwean farm labourers and opposes
both the settler capitalist classes in Zimbabwe and their African allies
seeking to continue the exploitation of the country's workers, poor peasants
and traders.

Western imperialism understands the delicacy of the balance of forces in
Zimbabwe. It is for this reason that the West is pressuring neoliberal
elements in the MDC to join a government of national unity with the same
group that has killed over 20,000 Zimbabweans and expelled over 750,000
urban dwellers from their places of shelter. The recent scholarship on
Zimbabwe offers one avenue for those who want to interrogate the links
between ZANU-PF and the immense suffering of the country's (as reflected in
the Special Bulletin of the Association of Concerned African Scholars)[1].
Mamdani is correct to draw attention to the influence of neoliberal forces
such as Eddie Cross within the MDC, but neoliberalism is dead and the
governments of western Europe and the USA are busy nationalising banks
without democratic control and accountability. Zimbabweans who want
transformation must oppose the neoliberal forces within the MDC to ensure
that the suffering of working people does not continue after the ultimate
departure of Robert Mugabe.

There is nothing democratic or revolutionary about what is going on in
Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF. African scholars and progressive
forces must use all of their resources to support producers as they seek new
forms of emancipatory politics in the face of the global capitalist crisis.
Africans, like decent humans in all parts of the planet, want to live in
dignity and with basic rights.

* Horace Campbell is a member of the African Studies Association and the
National Conference of Black Political Scientists.

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org/

[1] Timothy Scarnecchia and Wendy Urban-Mead, 'Special Issue on Zimbabwe',
ACAS Bulletin 80, 2.

Comments from correspondents

This whole mess is absolutely ridiculous. All it is, is a bunch of people
talking, talking, talking AND Mugabe sits back and smiles. As long as its
nothing but a lot of talk or as we call it, "HOT AIR", NOTHING WILL CHANGE.
It shows that only real action by everyone will get rid of Mugabe, and it
should be done very soon before there is no more Zimbabwe. R. Stevens USA
--------------
What is the point of the UN?

In 1899, the International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to
elaborate instruments for settling crises peacefully, preventing wars and
codifying rules of warfare. It adopted the Convention for the Pacific
Settlement of International Disputes and established the Permanent Court of
Arbitration, which began work in 1902.
The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an
organization conceived in similar circumstances during the first World War,
and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote
international cooperation and to achieve peace and security." The
International Labour Organization was also created under the Treaty of
Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League. The League of Nations
ceased its activities after failing to prevent the Second World War.
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United
Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United
Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals
worked out by the representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United
Kingdom and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States in
August-October 1944. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the
representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at
the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 Member
States.
The purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world
together to work for peace and development, based on the principles of
justice, human dignity and the well-being of all people. It affords the
opportunity for countries to balance global interdependence and national
interests when addressing international problems.
There are currently 192 Members of the United Nations. They meet in the
General Assembly, which is the closest thing to a world parliament. Each
country, large or small, rich or poor, has a single vote; however, none of
the decisions taken by the Assembly are binding. Nevertheless, the
Assembly's decisions become resolutions that carry the weight of world
governmental opinion.
The League's Council was transformed into the Security Council consisting of
the five victors of the war as permanent members and ten other countries
serving two year terms. The five permanent members - China, France, the UK,
the USSR, and the US were also given veto power, which means that decisions
taken by the Security Council can be blocked by any of the five permanent
members. This is significant firstly because the Security Council is the
principle UN organ responsible for ensuring peace, and, secondly, because it
is the only body whose decisions are binding on all Member States. Since the
creation of the UN the balance of Big Powers has changed and over one
hundred new Member States, mainly non-Western, have joined. With these
changes have come increasing demands to reform the Security Council.

In my opinion the UN and the Security council are clearly not working and
are not effective.

In the last year six main issues spring to mind where the UN has failed to
intervene often because countries like China or Russia uses their veto to
block any resolution, this is not only endangering human life across the
world but also putting the planet at risk.

Burma: A horrific military regime who suppresses the will of its people.
Burma has voted in the past for a free and democratically elected
governments its current real leader is under house arrest, Last years the
Monks and the people tried to organize nation wide protest and they were
brutally repress. The world stood by and watched, some countries tried to
bring this to the world attention but again countries used their veto a
nothing happened.

Zimbabwe: A brutal Dictator called Robert Mugabe has destroyed this fine
country, again counties like south Africa protect him, countries like Russia
and China uses their veto to stop the UN from intervening, in the mean time
people die. South Africa say it is an internal problem but do not take into
account what the population on the ground wants only what this illegal
regime wants.

Darfur: Thousand and thousand of people have been killed, when the
International criminal court tries to take action against its perpetrator,
other non democratic countries block any resolution to help these pore
suffering people, and the leader of Sudan get away with murder.

Global warning: At this rate there will be no Earth left for our children to
inherit. To many countries trying to protect their personal interest, no one
looks at the bigger picture.

Kosovo: A big mistake granting Kosovo independence, Kosovo in an integral
part of Serbia it is a bit like if Cornwall was granted independence from
the UK, or Brittany from France.Yes the Serbs were responsible for terrible
atrocities but I don't think this was the solutions. What about Tibet or
Palestine why have we not been as forceful in backing their independence.

Palestine: This is the biggest concentration camp in the world and the
longest running, the real shame in this story is that this camp in run by
people who really suffered in the past and the hands of an evil regime and
they don't seem to realize that they are repeating crime under which they
suffered. Why does the UN not take a firmer tome with Israel?

Some politicians are touting a new idea a League of Democracies, what is the
point of a body like the UN if it comprises Democracies and dictatorship all
combined under one roof. These two vastly opposite way of running countries
are so far apart that they just can not run side by side. If countries that
adhere to a strict code of democratically elected government got together,
their consensus would be far easy to reach and agree without Moscow's and
Beijing's approval for they seem to be always the ones blocking progress or
a firm tone against repressive regimes. A group of like minded nations
working together in the cause of peace.
It could act where the U.N fails; this is what John McCain said on the
subject: Such a new body, he says, could help relieve suffering in Darfur,
fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa, develop better environmental policies,
and provide "unimpeded market access" to countries sharing "the values of
economic and political freedom." And, McCain adds, an organization of
democracies could pressure tyrants "with or without Moscow's and Beijing's
approval" and could "impose sanctions" while helping struggling democracies
succeed.
What is a democratic elected government

A form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and
exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation
usually involving periodic free elections. In a direct democracy, the public
participates in government directly. Most democracies today are
representative. The concept of representative democracy arose largely from
ideas and institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages and
the Enlightenment and in the American and French Revolutions. Democracy has
come to imply universal suffrage, competition for office, freedom of speech
and the press, and the rule of law

Government by the people exercised either directly or through elected
representatives.
A political or social unit that has such a government.
The common people, considered as the primary source of political power.
Majority rule.
The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a
community.
Countries such as: Russia, Burma, China, Zimbabwe, Congo, Israel, Sudan..
which are either run by dictator, military regimes, One state parties, or
major disrespect for human life can not join or trade with this new group
and will be left out in the cold.
Is it time to dismantle the UN and reorganize with like minded countries
that we can work with and try and encourage more countries to respect
democratic values and what its people want? If so this must go both ways, it
a country votes for a party we do not like we must respect the outcome and
engage with them, for example the people of Gaza voted for Hamas and
remember the old saying:
ONE MAN'S TERRORIST IS ANOTHER'S FREEDOM FIGHTER.

My personal views are that the UN is falling the people of the world, there
is to much poverty and repression out there, if we are going to keep the UN
the right of Veto of certain countries all countries must be dropped,
countries who do not follow basic democratic values in their election can
not have the same voting rights as counties who regularly switch from one
parties to another. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Rollo Miles
--------------
I am a concern citizen here in The United States of America,And I have been
watching,and reading whats' going on in Zimbabwe,and what I have been
seeing,is  only nightmare for the People there in Zimbabwe.And how President
Mugabe declaring how Zimbabwe was His.And I notice how the South African
Government is really not stopping this Rough Leader/dictator that do not see
reality,That do not care about the People that is dying in the street.I
think this is the time for the Leaders of Africa to stop seeing this
President with honor.And see the people that is crying out for help tobe
loosed from this Evil Spirit.....And The South African Government needs to
tell President Mugabe NO MORE!!!!! Get out,or NO WORLD CUP!And  the South
African Government needs to cut any,and all ties That it may have with
President Mugabe.Tell President Mugabe ENOUGH IS ENOUGH..GET OUT!