Zimbabwe army on alert for civil unrest

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

The Zimbabwean government has put the country's army on alert to deal with
potential civil unrest, it was revealed yesterday.

By Peta Thornycroft And Sebastien Berger
Last Updated: 5:28PM GMT 08 Dec 2008

Soldiers have been told to prepare to quell any outbreaks of disorder amid a
worsening cholera outbreak.

But troops are not being issued with firearms as senior officers are no
longer sure who they can trust.

Low-ranking soldiers have rioted in the streets of Harare on several recent
occasions after being unable to obtain cash.

Officially the Zimbabwe National Army is 40,000-strong, but informed
estimates put its real numbers at a maximum of 30,000, with its ranks
thinning dramatically due to desertion by soldiers and officers up to the
level of captain.

Desertions from the army began two years ago, but are now accelerating as
one of the main incentives for staying in uniform - a gratuity paid after 10
years service - has been rendered irrelevant by the country's
hyperinflation.

"That is now worth nothing, so they are just not going back," said a source.
"We don't know how many as the numbers are being replaced with new recruits
with hardly any training, youngsters who have never even fired a gun."

Morale among military personnel is low and after troops joined civilians in
a demonstration against cash shortages a week ago, some were humiliated and
punished when they returned to barracks.

Scores of soldiers are in detention awaiting court martial or are confined
to barracks, no longer allowed into the capital in uniform.

One soldier said Major-General Martin Chedondo, chief of staff operations at
army headquarters and the number two in the force, led the denunciations.

"He forced soldiers returning to King George VI barracks to lie down on
their stomachs and crawl around apologising," he said. "Then he ordered
orderlies to spray them with water, accusing them of walking like civilians,
and of being badly dressed. These guys were hungry and fed up and many of
them were will now desert."

The European Union today added 11 people to its list of Zimbabweans subject
to a visa ban and asset freeze, with the French President Nicolas Sarkozy
adding his voice to the calls for the 84-year-old leader to leave.
"President Mugabe must go," he said. "Zimbabwe has suffered enough."

David Cameron, the Conservative party leader, said that a fuel blockade on
the country should be considered.

"It is time to say bluntly that speaking up for our common humanity matters
far more than tiptoeing nervously around our colonial legacy," he said.

But Mr Mugabe's rhetoric has been driven by notions of independence and
anti-colonialism for years, and his information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu
rejected the demands.

"No foreign leader, regardless of how powerful they are, has the right to
call on him to step down on their whim," he said.

For the first time in a year there were no queues for cash in Harare
yesterday, as withdrawal limits have been raised enormously, and a new Z$
100 million note issued.

"We can get money now, but we can't do anything with it as no one has
change," explained one professional man. "The dealers now want a huge
premium for change as the banks have none, so although the queues have gone,
we still can't buy anything."

European leaders say Robert Mugabe must go

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

December 8, 2008

Jenny Booth
European leaders today added their voices to those of Britain and the US in
calling for Robert Mugabe to step down as president of Zimbabwe.

As European foreign ministers met in Brussels to debate increasing their
sanctions against the Zimbabwean regime, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French
president and current president of the European Union, accusing Mr Mugabe of
holding his people hostage.

Zimbabwe's economy has collapsed amid hyper-inflation, millions of its
people are starving and dependent on overseas food aid, and recently a
cholera epidemic has begun that is spreading to neighbouring countries.

"I say today that President Mugabe must go. Zimbabwe has suffered enough,"
said Mr Sarkozy.

Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, agreed: "I think the moment
has arrived to put all the pressure for Mugabe to step down."
The foreign ministers were debating whether to add 11 more names to the list
of 160 members of Mr Mugabe's regime who are banned from travelling to
Europe.

European officials have counselled against more general economic sanctions
because of Zimbabwe's vulnerability and the suffering of its people.

So far 575 people have died in Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak. Thousands more
have been infected both there and in neighbouring South Africa, Mozambique,
Botswana and Zambia, amid a breakdown in clean water supplies to much of the
country and a health system in crisis for lack of pay or medical supplies.

Prices of goods double every 24 hours, and 100 million Zimbabwean dollars -
the maximum permitted weekly bank withdrawal - buys only three loaves of
bread.

Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, called on other Western
states to intervene in Zimbabwe on medical grounds.

"Cholera is killing. We need international intervention for this matter, not
a military one, but a strong intervention to stop this cholera epidemic,
which could allow for other things," he said.

David Miliband, the UK foreign minister, said: "There is a crying need for
change in Zimbabwe."

Mr Mugabe lost control of parliament but retained the presidency in a re-run
general election this year, after his supporters forced the Zimbabwean
Opposition to pull out of campaigning through violent intimidation.

Efforts to set up a power-sharing government, backed by neighbouring African
states, have so far foundered on Mr Mugabe's refusal to hand over any
meaningful power.

Leading churchmen John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, and Desmond Tutu,
the Archbishop of Cape Town and primate of the Anglican Church of Southern
Africa, also today called on Mr Mugabe to stand down, as did Kofi Annan, the
former UN Secretary General, and David Cameron, the Conservative leader.

The Zimbabwean government has continued to brush away the voices of
criticism from abroad, often accusing Western governments of colonialism and
of plotting to bring down the Zimbabwean state.

Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, the Information Minister, dismissed Mr Sarkozy's remarks.

"Zimbabwe is a sovereign state with a president elected in accordance with
the constitution of Zimbabwe," said Mr Ndlovu.

"No foreign leader, regardless of how powerful they are, has the right to
call on him to step down on their whim."

Comment
Zimbabwe is a sovereign state with a gvt unable to protect its citizens.
Absolutely heart breaking - why is no one doing anything substantial - if
this was on the border of europe the world would be acting. At least a fuel
blockade at the very very least.

Dee, London,

New EU travel bans for Zimbabwe

Monday, 8 December 2008

The EU imposed a travel ban on Robert Mugabe in 2002 The European Union has added 11 names to its existing list of Zimbabwean officials banned from travelling within its territory. France, which chairs the 27-nation bloc until the end of this year, announced the punitive measure after a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. The EU already bans 160 Zimbabweans - including President Robert Mugabe - alleging human rights infringements. EU ministers also backed a global call for Mr Mugabe to resign. The names added to the list were not immediately available but they are believed to be mid-level officials. The murderous effects of the Mugabe regime are increasingly clear David Miliband UK Foreign Secretary South Africa fears cholera spread "For those 11, it's been done," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters. Zimbabwe's authorities are coming under renewed pressure both from Western and African figures, amid a continuing cholera crisis in the country which has now claimed nearly 600 lives. At least 12,545 cases have been recorded since August and the United Nations is making plans to deal with a possible 60,000 cases in coming weeks. In September Mr Mugabe and Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to share power to tackle the country's economic meltdown. But the rivals have been unable to agree on the allocation of cabinet posts. The deadlock followed disputed elections which both men claimed to have won. 'Murderous regime' "I think the moment has arrived to put all the pressure for Mugabe to step down," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said before the ministers assembled. Zimbabwe's once-respected sanitation system is collapsing UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband described those affected by the new bans as "middle-ranking members of the regime". Calling for additional sanctions on Zimbabwe, he said: "The murderous effects of the Mugabe regime are increasingly clear to all with eyes to see. "For a long time the British government has believed that Mugabe's regime is not simply murderous but also it is a rogue regime - wreaking havoc in the region as well as death and destruction for its own people." US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week said it was "well past time" for Mr Mugabe to leave office and several African figures, such as South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have also called on him to go. Reacting to news of the travel bans, Zimbabwean Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu insisted Mr Mugabe was his country's legitimate, elected leader. "No foreign leader, regardless of how powerful they are, has the right to call on him to step down on their whim," he told Reuters news agency.

FACTBOX-Sanctions on Zimbabwe

[The Zimbabwe government blames "sanctions" for all its ills from inflation
to cholera.  These are the facts of what sanctions are in place]

08 Dec 2008 17:10:08 GMT
Source: Reuters

Dec 8 (Reuters) - The European Union extended a travel ban to 11 more
Zimbabwean officials on Monday and joined calls for President Robert Mugabe
to step down after 28 years in power.

Below are details of sanctions and restrictions in place against Zimbabwe.

* VISA BANS AND ASSET FREEZES:

-- The United States first imposed sanctions in March 2003 and later widened
them to apply to about 250 people accused of undermining democracy. The U.S.
sanctions also bar Americans from engaging in any transactions or dealings
with them. -- In July, the Treasury Department said it would seek to freeze
assets of 17 Zimbabwean enterprises. The U.S. also threatened in September
to impose new sanctions against Mugabe if he reneged on a power-sharing deal
with the opposition.

-- The European Union imposed a visa ban on President Robert Mugabe and 19
top officials in 2002 because of Zimbabwe's treatment of observers sent to
monitor presidential elections.

-- The number was later expanded and on July 22 a further 37 people and four
companies were added to the list. On Monday, the EU added 11 more names to
the list of 160 Zimbabweans, including Mugabe, who are banned from visiting
the bloc, a move meant to increase the pressure on Zimbabwe's government.

-- The European Union has also frozen the overseas assets of the Zimbabweans
who are subject to its visa ban.

* ARMS EMBARGOES:

-- The United States has a ban on transfers of defence items and services,
and a suspension of non-humanitarian government-to-government assistance.

-- The European Union has an embargo on the sale and supply of arms and
technical advice and of equipment which could be used for internal
repression in Zimbabwe.

-- The embargo also prohibits technical and financial assistance related to
military activities.

-- In September, Canada banned arms exports, freezing the assets of top
Zimbabwean officials and banning its aircraft from flying over or landing in
Canada.

* DIPLOMATIC ISOLATION:

-- The Commonwealth group of mainly former British colonies suspended
Zimbabwe in early 2002 on the grounds that Mugabe had rigged his re-election
and persecuted his opponents. Zimbabwe formally withdrew from the 54-nation
group in 2003 after the suspension was extended indefinitely.

-- The International Monetary Fund suspended technical assistance to
Zimbabwe in 2002 over its failure to clear arrears and address its dire
economic and social crisis.

-- It has averted expulsion by making small payments towards clearing
arrears.

-- Britain's Queen Elizabeth has stripped Mugabe of an honorary knighthood
awarded in 1994.

* SPORT:

-- A 2007 cricket tour of Zimbabwe by Australia was cancelled on the orders
of Australia's government.

-- Cricket South Africa, which had been one of Zimbabwe's strongest backers,
suspended domestic agreements with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union on June 23.

-- Two days later, the England and Wales Cricket Board cancelled Zimbabwe's
2009 tour of England under instructions from the British government. The ECB
said it had suspended all bilateral arrangements with Zimbabwe Cricket.

-- The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on July 4 that Zimbabwe had
agreed to skip the 2009 World Twenty20 in England to end a deadlock over
demands that the African nation be suspended. Zimbabwe is expected to remain
one of the ICC's 10 full members, a status given to test-playing nations.
Sources: Reuters/EU//www.state.gov

S.Africa's Zuma urges swift action on Zimbabwe

Reuters

Mon 8 Dec 2008, 16:24 GMT

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 8 (Reuters) - South Africa's African National Congress
(ANC) leader Jacob Zuma said on Monday urgent action was needed to end the
humanitarian crisis and political deadlock in Zimbabwe.

"Some swift action is clearly needed to deal with the situation in Zimbabwe.
We are concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian and political
situation," Zuma said in Namibia at the start of talks with President
Hifikepunye Pohamba. (Reporting by Muchena Zigomo)

Call for Zimbabwe fuel blockade

UK Press Association

5 hours ago

David Cameron has urged the international community to consider a fuel
blockade of Zimbabwe as he called on Robert Mugabe to "go now".

The Tory leader said the time had come for "really quite aggressive" tactics
against the Zimbabwean president.

His comments contributed to strengthening international pressure on Mr
Mugabe as the southern African country is ravaged by cholera.

Archbishop of York John Sentamu has urged the ruling Zimbabwean regime be
removed from power and tried by the International Criminal Court in The
Hague.

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Botswana's Foreign Minister Phandu
Skelemani - with whom Mr Cameron has spoken - are also calling for Mr
Mugabe's removal.

Mr Cameron, speaking at the launch of a Conservative report on human rights,
said Zimbabwe was "staring into the abyss".

"It is time to say bluntly that speaking up for our common humanity matters
far more than tip-toeing nervously around our colonial legacy," he said.

"As one African leader said to me recently, it is not speaking out that
plays into the tyrant's hands - it is failing to do so. That sort of
political correctness deprives those who are suffering most of a voice when
they need it most.

"So let us say bluntly today, echoing the calls from the prime minister of
Kenya, the Government of Botswana and Archbishops Tutu and Sentamu, that
Mugabe must go now.

"And if he does not go now, he should answer for his crimes at the
International Criminal Court."

More abductions as police deny holding Jestina Mukoko

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
8 December 2008

Zimbabwe's human rights abuses continued with the abductions of two more
officers with the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) on Monday, five days after
ZPP Director Jestina Mukoko was abducted from her home. Former broadcaster
Mukoko is still missing.

Pascal Gonzo, who was briefly arrested in Nyanga last Thursday, was abducted
from the ZPP offices in Harare on Monday, together with Provincial
Coordinator Brodrick Takawira.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe coalition reports that six suspected agents of the
state arrived in unmarked vehicles and took the field officers from their
Mount Pleasant offices.

The plot thickened Monday with the police denying they had anything to do
with Mukoko's abduction. In a letter responding to an appeal by the National
Association of Non Governmental Organisations (NANGO), Chief Superintendent
Nzombe wrote: "Be advised that investigations into circumstances of the
taking away of Jestina Mukoko from her home have been instituted under
Zimbabwe Republic Police Norton, report received book number 0438167. The
matter is being treated as kidnapping."

The Chief Superintendent added: "It must be noted that Jestina Mukoko is not
in any of our police cells. We will keep you informed of the progress and
outcome of the investigations."

The ZPP is a monitoring group that documents human rights abuses across the
country.

Meanwhile 15 MDC activists and a two year old baby are still missing, 6
weeks after they were abducted in the Zvimba area, this is despite the High
Court ordering the police to produce them. Another two activists who were
arrested in Harare and Norton two weeks ago are also still missing, and
lawyers have been unable to locate them.

MDC supporters homes petrol bombed in Bindura

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
08 December 2008

The Tsvangirai MDC said five houses belonging to MDC supporters, including
the home of a councillor Amiko Chikowanyika, were petrol bombed in Bindura
on Sunday night, while scores of people were beaten up by ZANU PF thugs for
refusing to attend the funeral of the notorious political commissar Elliot
Manyika. The Bindura North MP who was the mastermind behind the brutal
attacks on opposition supporters, died in a car accident on Saturday.

But it appears that even in death he still causes terror. The MDC said after
hearing of the death of Manyika, Zanu PF supporters moved around Chipadze
Township mobilising people to attend the funeral at Manyika's farm just
outside Bindura town.

MDC Information Officer Luke Tamborinyoka said some people refused,
resulting in the violence.

MDC members Reckson Kaseke and a councillor Norbert Dhokotera, have been
arrested on allegations that they petrol bombed the houses.  The party
denies these charges and accuses ZANU PF of going against the spirit of the
Global Political Agreement by continuing with acts of banditry against
opponents.

"Zanu PF remains intransigent and insincere and the MDC reiterates that the
Southern African Development Community and the African Union leaders should
speak against these acts of violence being perpetrated by Zanu PF and State
security agents against MDC members," a statement by the party's information
department said.

ZCTU detainees finally released

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
08 November 2008

38 activists who were arrested during a peaceful demonstration led by the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) last week were finally released on
Monday, after spending the weekend behind bars.

More than 70 people were arrested after the ZCTU's countrywide mass action
against the country's cash crisis. The remaining 38 activists included six
people from Bulawayo and 32 in Gweru. In Bulawayo the group appeared in
court on Monday morning and were charged with 'inciting the public to rise
against the government'. The six were released on Z$20 million bail each and
are set to appear in court next week. Meanwhile the Gweru group were
released after police officials said they would 'proceed by way of summons'.

At the same time, 15 members of pressure group the National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) were released from Harare's central police station on Sunday
after they were arrested during the NCA's peaceful demonstration in the city
on Thursday. Scores of people were beaten and injured when riot police
violently clashed with the demonstrators. The NCA has led three
demonstrations calling for, among other things, the humanitarian situation
to be immediately addressed. The group is expected back on the city streets
on Wednesday.

Dollar crashes as government buys support from armed forces

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
08 December 2008

Days after Zimbabwe's soldiers caused havoc in Harare last week over not
being able to access their money from the city's banks, the government on
Friday forked out millions of dollars to pacify its armed forces - partly
causing a spectacular crash of the local currency over the weekend.

A large group of disgruntled soldiers went on a rampage in the capital a
week ago, attacking foreign currency dealers, traders, breaking windows and
looting shops. The attack, which saw the uniformed group clash with military
police officers, led to the arrest of at least 16 soldiers.

But by the end of the week, the government moved in to pacify the growing
unrest among its once dependable and loyal group of uniformed thugs, and
paid out cash sums to both soldiers and police officials - with police
members each receiving Z$100 million and soldiers receiving half of that.

The government's reckless spending to keep its security forces in check and
keep itself in their favour came at the same time that cash withdrawal
limits were increased from Z$500 000 a day to Z$100 million per week, on
Thursday. At the same time, new bank notes were once again introduced into
the market on Friday as part of the Reserve Bank's absurd method of dealing
with runaway hyperinflation.

The combined weight on the local economy this weekend saw the dollar crash
to record lows, with the currency reportedly halving in value every five to
ten minutes on Friday. The spectacular crash sent the prices of basic
foodstuff rocketing upwards - to the point that the new weekly withdrawal
limit will only buy three loaves of bread at the new value of Z$35 million
per loaf.

Independent economic analyst, John Robertson explained on Monday that the
local dollar's rapid fall was the direct result of last week's 'improved
access to cash'. He described that by Friday, the day after the withdrawal
limits increased, the dollar was trading at Z$10 million to US$1. Robertson
added that while the prices of goods in foreign currency are unlikely to
shift much given the stability of the US dollar, he said the skyrocketing
prices of goods in local currency was expected - if you can find a shop that
will sell to you in local money.

Foreign Secretary statement on Zimbabwe

http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/22461

Source: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Published Monday, 8 December, 2008 - 11:06
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Foreign Secretary commented on the situation in Zimbabwe, he said:
"Around the world people are watching with horror the worsening situation in
Zimbabwe. World leaders are debating what can be done to alleviate suffering
in the face of a Government seemingly so determined to bring misery on its
own people. Monday's meeting of EU Foreign Ministers will decide whether to
extend targeted measures against key figures in the Zimbabwean regime.

"The deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe is a further illustration of the
mis-rule of Zimbabwe's rogue government. The economy is in free-fall.
Education and health systems have failed. Public infrastructure is in
terminal decline and the government is unwilling and unable to look after
its own people. Five million people - two-thirds of the population - will
require food aid by the end of this month. And now the country has been hit
by a cholera epidemic that has so far affected around 13,000, killed over
500 and has crossed the border into South Africa. The true picture is more
than likely to be worse. This is a direct result of the abuse, neglect and
corruption of a Mugabe regime which long ago lost respect and in March's
elections lost its legitimacy.

"The urgent imperative is to alleviate the immediate suffering of the
Zimbabwean people. Britain is providing humanitarian aid, including the £10
million we announced last week. But the humanitarian response does not
provide a sustainable solution to Zimbabwe's problems. The Zimbabwean people
deserve a government truly capable of instituting reform. The agreement of
15 Sept provided a glimmer of optimism, but the refusal of the regime to
honour its content has dashed hopes for change.

"We are working with our international partners including members of the UN
Security Council to address the situation. There is now domestic and
international clamour for change. Only yesterday, Kenyan Prime Minister
Odinga expressed his clear view that Mugabe's time was up. And today,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu reinforced that view and spoke of the 'gross
violations' committed by Mugabe. Zimbabwe's neighbours, regional powers,
African leaders and the parties in Zimbabwe should know that there is
massive international support for any collective effort to bring a real
change to Zimbabwe: change that gives the people of Zimbabwe the government
they need, deserve and voted for. The people of Zimbabwe have suffered too
long. The Government and people of Britain stand ready not just to provide
humanitarian aid to them but to be their partners in restoring a semblance
of decency to a country that has gone from relative prosperity to unmatched
decline."

Mugabe must not be allowed to  personally profit from international humanitarian  relief to oppressed Zimbabweans

http://www.zimaction.com/LFADEC0808.htm

Letter from America

December 8, 2008

The slow but steady rise in calls for Robert Mugabe's resignation signal  an
almost universal  dissatisfaction  in the so-called power sharing talks or
deal.  Such calls  strengthen the  well founded and proven view that Mugabe
is, for the most part, the sole cause of Zimbabwe's crisis of governance
and humanitarian crisis.

Worse still, the Mugabe regime's inability to deal with the Cholera
outbreak, a preventable disease which has killed  hundreds of people, is yet
more proof positive that  Mugabe is no longer capable of governing Zimbabwe.

What is happening on the ground in Zimbabwe today is glaring evidence  of
the fallacy of expectations that Mugabe can play a meaningful role in the
proposed government of national unity which retains Mugabe as president.

Mugabe cannot preside over the administration of change for the better. The
devil, by his very nature, can never be the head  of a Christian church. By
the same yardstick, Mugabe, by his terroristic nature, can never be reformed
into a peace loving and law abiding citizen.

There had been  a glimmer of hope that Mugabe was at last  recognizing the
importance of  a negotiated solution to the crisis of governance that has
generated a humanitarian crisis in the country.  But it is now increasingly
evident that Mugabe only agreed to talks and  a meaningless government of
national unity deal  in order to take advantage of international aid.

The  agreement between ZANUPF and MDC last Thursday on the text of the
Constitutional Amendment Number 19 may have given  people hope that, given
some superficial prodding from the new president in South Africa and the
deteriorating conditions in the country, things are slowly but surely
beginning to move in the right direction towards real change in Zimbabwe.

But Mugabe is projecting himself like a wolf in sheep's clothing. The
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai must not take
anything for granted and must guard against an ambush from Mugabe.

On September 15 Tsvangirai, Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara signed  the
so-called global political agreement. They did so in the glare of the
international media, and among smiles and hugs from Mugabe. What Tsvangirai
did not know was  what he signed on September 15 was a forged document.
Between September 11, the day  MDC and ZANUPF agreed on the global political
agreement, and September 15 Mugabe's  cronies  secretly altered some parts
of that agreement.

Fortunately, some sharp eyed  officials in the MDC noticed this change and
MDC secretary general Tendayi Biti was quick to rightly declare the
September 15 agreement null and void. In  response, the discredited former
president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki,  harshly criticized Biti for
declaring  null and void the  agreement, yet Mbeki in the same letter
agreed that there had been some  unilateral changes in the   agreement.

The biggest lesson for the MDC is to be  very careful when dealing the
master  of forgery and theft, Robert Gabriel Matibili Mugabe.

MDC right now is like one of the animals  in an old Zimbabwean  story, and
which were tricked by a wounded lion that was too weak to hunt. The lion
pretended he was dying and he wanted to say goodbye to  the animals one at a
time in his home. The animals were emotionally moved and they queued outside
the lion's home. But as soon as they entered one by one  the lion's home,
the animals were killed and eaten by the lion.

The rabbit was the next to go into the lion's home. This is where MDC stands
today. It is like the rabbit that has received an invitation from the  lion
that is pretending to  be dying and wants to say farewell. Yet it is waiting
to pounce and rip the MDC to shreds. In the case of the  rabbit and lion in
the  story, the rabbit hesitated outside the lion's home despite the pleas
by the lion to please come in.

Eventually the rabbit  said to the lion. "I see many animal footsteps coming
into your house, but I do not see any coming out of your house."

The MDC must ask itself why Mugabe is inviting  MDC into a government of
national unity, yet Mugabe has not only unilaterally grabbed for himself key
ministries but is refusing to  share equally all the portfolios of all the
security ministries. Even more significant is the fact that Mugabe is
refusing to give Tsvangirai his passport.

Mugabe's game plan is aimed at  his political survival and that of his
cronies. Mugabe has no other interest. He abandoned  the people of Zimbabwe
many years ago. Mugabe is desperately looking for ways of accessing
resources to sustain himself and his cronies, even it if means stealing from
the  taxpayers.

Having stolen recently well over  seven million dollars in international
grants  aimed at fighting  HIV/AIDS the Mugabe Regime must be salivating
uncontrollably at the  millions of dollars pouring in to fight  the Cholera
outbreak.

Mugabe has now at last crafted  a method of surviving  using international
aid.  He is going to use  some of the international aid  to pay  his
soldiers, police and the militia thugs and all the cronies who  have formed
a protective ring  around him.

The international aid to combat cholera and HIV/AIDS will come in foreign
currency to Mugabe's banker-controlled  Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Once
deposited, there is no telling what the money is going to be used for.
Mugabe's cronies are now already drawing up  shopping lists for their
personal  items such as  consumer goods, flashy cars,  trips abroad, and
stashing some of the money in foreign accounts.

There is no  evidence of  iron clad guarantees and measures that  the
international aid money will not be abused by Mugabe, but will go directly
to its intended uses. The international community still  continues to put
faith  in the misguided view that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will
faithfully  use  such aid  to help the victims of  Mugabe's brutality, even
after  the evidence that  Mugabe and his cronies  are  now surviving on
this generously donated foreign aid.

Even if some of the aid is used to buy directly from suppliers badly needed
items like food and medicines, a large portion of this money is deposited
into the  accounts controlled by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. NO  evidence
has been produced by the international donors to show that  they have  100
percent control of the intended uses of the money. Had an individual
whistleblower auditor not revealed that Mugabe had stolen  seven million
dollars  from HIV /AIDS  Fund this criminal theft would have gone
unmonitored and unreported.

If anyone has ever wondered why the Mugabe regime has survived for so long,
the answer is not hard to find. Mugabe has, just like the Somali gangs,
simply pirated  for his personal use, funds aimed at humanitarian  relief
for the embattled Zimbabweans.

Strange as it may sound, Cholera may have come as a mixed blessing to the
money hungry Mugabe and his cronies.

Through this massive injection into the Mugabe-controlled Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe of aid money to combat HIV /AIDS  and cholera, Mugabe  has now
found another way of  getting the money he needs to maintain himself and his
cronies. As a result, he is dragging his feet  on the  government of
national unity talks and agreements.

He has changed  some part of the agreement on September 11 and fooled
Tsvangirai into signing a fraudulent document on September 15.  It was the
September 15 document that SADC relied on  to make its moronic  judgment
that  both parties must share the home affairs ministry and completely
ignoring many outstanding issues.  Mugabe has also  imposed his own tough
conditions on the terms of the government of national unity to ensure he is
firmly in control. He is doing all this because he has found another way to
rake in millions of dollars to support his  machinery for oppressing
Zimbabweans.

As long as the international community is not directly in control of the
entire process of procuring the badly needed medicines and food and
transporting  and distributing them directly to their intended victims,
Mugabe will  divert some of this aid  to not only help his cronies but also
to sell it on the open market.

When the international community  gets reports and images of the suffering
Zimbabweans and a dilapidated infrastructure,  they  are led to believe that
Mugabe  will be forced to make significant political concessions very soon.
What the world does not  fully see is how, amidst that grinding poverty,
Mugabe's cronies are living very comfortable lives. Mugabe, his  cronies and
their families, relatives and friends  do not need the local hospitals or
schools or shops. They  have amassed enough wealth in foreign currency to
buy whatever they  need from abroad or to send their  families to schools
and hospitals abroad.

The call  for Mugabe to either resign voluntarily or to be  forced out
points to  a last-resort effort to dislodge this dictator. It is also a
tacit admission that nothing else will remove Mugabe. The use of force can
mean an armed intervention launched from neighboring states or  from within
the  disgruntled members of the Zimbabwe army and police.

But  alternatives to the use of force can involve  massive pressure on
Mugabe in form of  daily and sustained protests by the Zimbabweans masses.
Such protests have begun sporadically. They must be sustained until Mugabe
either steps down or accepts  power sharing that will give the MDC effective
capacity to bring about meaningful changes in Zimbabwe.

The international community should use its economic, political and
diplomatic strength to  ensure that Mugabe and his cronies do not profit
from the aid  destined for the poor Zimbabweans.  Otherwise the
international community risks being accused of  unwittingly propping up the
Mugabe regime by not fully monitoring and controlling its  humanitarian aid
to the oppressed Zimbabweans.

As the world fudges, Zimbabweans should act to end their nightmare

http://www.nation.co.ke

By WAFULA OKUMUPosted Monday, December 8 2008 at 16:46

While addressing an international press conference in Nairobi at the
weekend, Prime Minister Raila Odinga called on the African Union to oust
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and end the oppression the Zimbabwean
people are being subjected to.

Mr Odinga specifically called on the current AU chair Tanzanian President
Jakaya Kikwete to take the lead in formulating an urgent solution to save
Zimbabwe that is faced by an economic meltdown with a record inflation rate,
food shortages, an outbreak of cholera and a political stalemate due to the
failure to implement a power sharing deal reached in September.

Zimbabwe is going through what is termed as a "complex emergency." According
to the United Nations agency OCHA, a complex emergency is "a humanitarian
crisis in a country, region or society where there is total or considerable
breakdown of authority resulting from internal or external conflict and
which requires an international response."

The humanitarian and economic crises in Zimbabwe are linked to the
disastrous politics and erratic governance of its leader. Mugabe's politics
have led to extensive violence and loss of life, massive displacements of
people, widespread damages to social and economic systems, acute food
shortages, and overall calamitous threats to the livelihoods of the
Zimbabwean people.

Since Zimbabwe is not an isolated island, the consequences of Mr Mugabe's
reign of error and terror are reverberating in the Southern Africa region
and the African continent.

When the AU was launched in 2002 to replace the ineffectual Organisation of
African Unity (OAU), it was wildly acclaimed for adopting a radical
"principle of non-indifference," as opposed to the "principle of
non-interference" that had characterised its predecessor.

The OAU had been generally despised for turning a blind eye to egregious
human rights violation by despicable dictators such as Uganda's Idi Amin,
Zaire's Mobutu Sese Seko, Central Africa Republic's Jean-Bedel Bokassa, and
Equatorial Guinea's Marcias Nguema on pretext that it was barred by the
"principle of non-interference" in the internal affairs of member states.
Mordantly, it condemned President Julius Nyerere when he stood up against
Amin's aggressive and brutal regime.

The AU was the only organisation, until September 2005, with the mandate to
intervene in member-states where "grave circumstances" are taking place. The
AU Constitutive Act defines "grave circumstances" as "war crimes, genocide
and crimes against humanity."

The AU can intervene on two grounds: when a state has collapsed and its
citizens' livelihoods are gravely threatened or when invited by a state that
is too weak to protect the livelihoods of its people.

There are grey areas in invoking this audacious "principle of
non-indifference." Although one of the motivations that influenced the AU
founding fathers was what happened in Rwanda in 1994 and never to let it
happen again, the nascent organisation seems to have been caught off guard
when the crisis in Darfur happened. Its reaction could provide us with
pointers to how it will handle Zimbabwe.

When the AU was called upon to invoke Article 4(h) in September 2004 to stem
genocide in Darfur, it hesitated to act on the grounds that it had yet to
carry out research to determine that genocide was taking, or had taken,
place. This was a clever way avoiding taking action as the AU lacked the
capability and capacity to undertake such a highly technical process.

If the AU had undertaken research and concluded that indeed there were
"grave circumstances" in Darfur, the matter would have been brought before
its supreme decision-making body, the Assembly of the Heads of State and
Government, to invoke Article 4(h) of the Constitutive Act. Likewise, it
could have invoked Article 4(j) had Sudan invited it to intervene. This
would have been awkward, as the AU would have actually gone to Darfur to
boost the capacity of the Sudanese government to undermine the livelihoods
of its civilians!

Furthermore, the AU would also have faced a tough time to intervene in one
of the powerful member states that adamantly insisted that as far it was
concerned, it was capable of protecting its own citizens and the AU could
only come in to support it and on its terms. This is the argument that
Khartoum has consistently and persistently used for the past six years since
the Darfur atrocities came to the attention of the international community.

To complicate matters, the AU not only lacked the political will to make
far-reaching decisions that would protect the civilian population in Darfur
but also lacked the resources, both human and financial, to implement its
feeble decisions.

In view of the stark realities facing the AU - particularly its convoluted
decision-making process, lack of resources, and lack of political will - it
is not likely that it will intervene to protect the livelihoods of
Zimbabweans.

To further compound the problem of lack of resources, the capacity of the AU
is currently exhausted due to its involvements in Darfur and Somalia. It
will be unrealistic to expect it to add on its plate another complex
political emergency.

What are the other options for external intervention? An intervention could
come from the SADC region, similar to the 1998 intervene in Lesotho.
However, going by that experience, countries of the region would not be
keen, particularly if the Zimbabwean armed forces stand up to external
aggression and fight back to defend their privileges.

Another intervention could be made under the UN mandate by invoking Chapter
VII and the principle of responsibility to protect. All the criteria for
such an intervention exists vis-à-vis Zimbabwe - it has lost its sovereignty
by failing to protect its civilians from loss of lives and livelihoods; the
calamity is rising; and all peaceful efforts to end the suffering of the
Zimbabwean people seem to have been exhausted. Force will have to be used as
a last resort, as long as it is proportional, and would lead to a
restoration of human security in the country.

Nevertheless, SADC and the AU must legitimise such an intervention. However,
both these organisations would be reluctant to set such a precedent and
could insist on applying the cliché of "African solutions to African
problems." This would unnecessarily postpone the suffering of Zimbabwean
people and would by default prolong Mugabe's misrule.

Alternatively, either intervention could be pre-empted by Zimbabwean
security forces that could take matters in their own hands and end a
disastrous situation. But there is a complication in this solution - the AU
ban on coups d'état on the continent. At the moment the AU is in a standoff
with the Mauritanian military that in August took over from a democratically
elected government.

The question to ask is: if the AU allows a military take-over in Zimbabwe,
would that set a precedent and contradict its policy against such means of
changing governments?

All things considered, and as the international community fudges and gets
mired in indecision paralysis, it is upon the people of Zimbabwe to take to
the streets, and to use other means, to end the nightmare they are
experiencing. It is only the Zimbabwean people who can liberate themselves
from their "liberator."

Dr Okumu is a Senior Research Fellow, African Security Analysis Programme,
Institute of Security Studies, Tshwane (Pretoria) wokumu@issafrica.org

SADC team in Zim to assess cholera outbreak

  http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Nokuthula Sibanda Monday 08 December 2008

HARARE - The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has dispatched a
high profile team to Zimbabwe to assess the impact of a deadly cholera
outbreak in that country which has also spilt to neighbours Botswana and
South Africa, the regional bloc said.

"Dr. Tomaz Augusto Salomão has dispatched a multifaceted team to Zimbabwe to
assess the situation on the ground and determine how best SADC should assist
to effectively deal with the outbreak," the Gaborone-based SADC secretariat
said in a statement.

"The team will further consult with the World Health Organisation, relevant
authorities and stakeholders involved in the containment of the epidemic.

"The current spread of the cholera outbreak is also affecting Botswana,
South Africa and Zambia. The spread of this epidemic and its impact on
public health, social and economic wellbeing of the people of the region
requires concerted regional efforts."

Since the start of the cholera crisis in August, cholera has so far killed
575 people and infected more than 12 000 people, according to the United
Nations.

The regional team that is being headed by senior officials from the South
African government will report to an emergency meeting of a special SADC
Troika committee of Health Ministers and Water Affairs on December 11, 2008
in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The SADC Troika comprises of South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and
Zambia.

The SADC secretariat has established a SADC cholera information centre to
facilitate the regional efforts during this crisis on a daily basis.

"We are appealing to all stakeholders, civil society, private institutions,
NGOs, churches and individuals in the region and outside to assist the
people of Zimbabwe during these difficult times that they are going
through," SADC said.

"We also wish to appeal to the general public to observe and practice all
necessary safety measures to prevent and control the spread of this
epidemic, in particular, those involved in cross border movement." -
ZimOnline.

Zimbabwe warns against hand-shaking to curb cholera spread

http://news.yahoo.com

HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwean authorities have warned residents against shaking
hands at weddings and funerals to curb spreading a cholera outbreak which
has already claimed nearly 600 lives, state media said Monday.

"People should watch out for weddings, funerals and other social gatherings
which are agents of the spread of cholera," Health Minister David
Parirenyatwa said on Sunday, according to The Herald newspaper.

"We should avoid shaking hands and uphold high standards of hygiene," he
said.

He was speaking when he received a consignment of drugs worth 1.7 million
Namibian dollars (165,000 US dollars, 130,000 euros) donated by Namibia to
help tackle the cholera outbreak.

The consignment, delivered by Namibian Health Minister Richard Kamwi,
included malaria treatment drugs, antibiotics, needles and drips, the Herald
said.

Namibia has become the first Southern African Development Community (SADC)
country to respond to Zimbabwe's call for international assistance in
fighting the water-borne disease, it said.

A South African official delegation is scheduled to travel to Zimbabwe on
Monday to assess how it can aid the nation stricken by a food crisis and
cholera outbreak.

Zimbabwe on Wednesday appealed for international aid after declaring the
cholera epidemic a national emergency.

Parirenyatwa also spoke against politicising the cholera outbreak.

"Cholera affects everyone and it does not chose between ZANU-PF and MDC
supporters," he said, referring to President Robert Mugabe's party and the
Movement for Democratic Change led by his rival Morgan Tsvangirai.

"We should work together to bring the outbreak under control," he said.

The disease has spread to neighbouring countries of South Africa, Mozambique
and Botwana.

At least eight people, mostly Zimbabweans, have died of the disease in a
hospital in Musina, a South African border town, health officials said.

Health groups: Unknown thousands dying in Zimbabwe

By MICHELLE FAUL - 1 hour ago

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - Thousands of Zimbabweans are dying,
uncounted and out of sight in a silent emergency as hospitals shut, clinics
run out of drugs and most cannot afford private medical care, health groups
say.

Even as deaths from a cholera epidemic climbed into the hundreds,
international and local organizations say many more are dying needlessly in
a disaster critics blame on President Robert Mugabe's government.

The toll will never be known, according to Itai Rusike, executive director
of the Community Working Group on Health - a civil society network grouping
35 national organizations.

"Zimbabwe used to have one of the best surveillance systems in the region,"
Rusike said in a telephone interview. "But phones are not working, nurses
are not there, so their information system has collapsed. ... It is very
difficult to tell how many people have died."

"These are symptoms of a failed state," he said in a telephone interview.
"Nothing is working."

The British charity Oxfam agreed with estimates of thousands of unreported
deaths due to the collapse of the health system and says the situation will
get worse with the onset of the rainy season, which lasts until February.

"When you look at people who are already weakened by hunger, many already
weakened by HIV and AIDS, and with rainy season comes malaria, and we know
anthrax is spreading, it's really just a recipe for disaster," spokeswoman
Caroline Hooper-Box said in neighboring South Africa.

She said many people Oxfam interviewed in Zimbabwe say they have cut back to
one meal in three days. Some are trying to survive on insects and berries.

Once a major food exporter, Zimbabwe has been crippled by shortages of
necessities including food and medicine as Mugabe, the leader since
independence in 1980, clings to power.

As businesses collapse, unemployment has risen to 80 percent with the
majority of the population depending on handouts from a growing diaspora;
more than a third of a population has fled, many to South Africa and former
colonizer Britain, but some as far as New Zealand.

In a new health report published last week, the civic group Women of
Zimbabwe Arise recounted the case of an 8-year-old boy who fell in a school
yard and twisted his knee.

"A week later, he was dead," the report said. "The death certificate cited
cause of death as 'swollen knee' ... But the real cause of death is clear
criminal negligence of the worst kind on the part of the ZANU-PF
government."

The report was dedicated to two of the group's own leaders who it said died
needlessly. One was Thembelani Lunga, a 32-year-old in Zimbabwe's second
city of Bulawayo who was HIV-positive and had problems accessing
life-preserving antiretroviral medication.

Lunga died after being jailed for four days in Bulawayo Central Police
Station, where she was denied access to AIDS medication, the organization
said.

To the cholera deaths, the report said, it was necessary to add people with
diabetes who run out of insulin, appendicitis cases, asthma attacks,
bleeding ulcers and septicemia - "all treatable conditions from which
thousands of deaths are now occurring."

Save the Children, a British charity, said hundreds, if not thousands of
pregnant women and their children "stand a very high risk of death."

Zimbabwe director Rachel Pounds said the United Nations reported that 700
women were recently turned away from hospitals in Harare that are no longer
able to provide maternity services.

Last week, Health Minister David Parirenyatwa appealed for help from
international organizations.

"Our central hospitals are literally not functioning. Our staff is
demotivated and we need your support to ensure that they start coming to
work and our health system is revived," he was quoted as saying in The
Herald.

Both Rusike, of the community health group, and Women of Zimbabwe Arise said
the cholera epidemic could be linked directly to the government's failures.
The disease is caused by contaminated water and food, in Zimbabwe's case the
collapse of water and sewage services.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. would
continue to press the international community to take action on Zimbabwe but
also stressed the importance of pressure from the country's African
neighbors.

"We made extensive efforts in the (U.N.) Security Council to get the
international system to act. And we're going to continue those efforts,"
McCormack told a press briefing on Monday.

"But, quite frankly, some of the states of the region need to step up. They
need to use their leverage."

Rusike warned in June 2007 that Zimbabwe was in danger of suffering
epidemics of cholera and malaria when he called for Parirenyatwa to
intervene as water supplies became more erratic.

Mugabe's government took control of water supplies from city and town
councils when the councils were taken over by opposition politicians in
elections three years ago.

Rusike said the government officials fired water engineers and other staff
and replaced them with "friends and relatives with no qualifications in
water management."

Last week, water authorities cut all supplies in Harare, the sprawling
capital of about 2 million people and the epicenter of the cholera epidemic,
saying they had no purifying chemicals and feared piping contaminated water
would help spread the disease.

Cholera waiting to happen

Cholera continues to spread as more die across Zimbabwe's borders

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
08 December 2008

Zimbabwe's critical cholera outbreak has continued its devastating rampage
through the country, and neighbouring countries are now on red alert as the
disease has started making its mark across Zimbabwe's borders.

In South Africa the death toll as a result of cholera has now reached eight,
as hundreds of Zimbabweans continue to stream across the border in a
desperate attempt to receive urgent medical care. In Zambia, authorities
have imposed health controls at all three of its shared borders with
Zimbabwe, and anyone entering or leaving Zambia is screened for cholera
symptoms. One Zimbabwean has died at the Chirundu crossing and a team of
health officials has left for Zimbabwe to treat and evacuate a Zambian woman
and her child who have contracted cholera.

At the same time, medical specialists have been sent to Mozambique's border
areas with Zimbabwe and local health authorities are reportedly on 'maximum
alert' against a possible cholera spread. In the country's Changara district
169 cholera cases have been reported and most of the victims are said to be
Zimbabweans. Botswana too is said to be on high alert as one Zimbabwean is
being treated for the disease.

In Zimbabwe thousands of people are battling the disease that has spread
like wildfire through a country which has no sanitation or health services
to speak of. Officially, more than 500 people have died but the number is
certainly much higher, with thousands dying in their homes. Aid organisation
the International Medical Corps is now responding to the outbreak that Oxfam
has said is threatening up to 300 000 people and which the government has
finally declared a national emergency.

"We are extremely concerned at how widely cholera has spread unchecked
through the population and the lack of resources that exist to battle it,"
said International Medical Corps' Patrick Mweki, who arrived in the capital
of Harare two days ago to assess the need. "Nine of the country's ten
provinces have reported cases and people are in desperate need of basic
medical care and clean water, in particular."

Meanwhile South Africa will announce an aid package for Zimbabwe this week,
after a delegation jetted into the country over the weekend to investigate
the critical humanitarian crisis. The team of senior South African officials
arrived on Sunday to assess the situation and ascertain what aid was needed,
a South African Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said on Monday.

"If cholera doesn't, hunger will finish us"

Photo: Obinna Anyadike/IRIN

Food is increasingly scarce

HARARE, 8 December 2008 (IRIN) - "I am afraid that if we won't all die of cholera, then hunger will finish off those that remain," said a miserable Givemore Nyakudya, who lost his daughter to cholera three weeks ago, while the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it had failed to raise enough money to feed the nearly half a million Zimbabweans in need of food.

Zimbabwe is in the grip of a cholera outbreak that has claimed the lives of 589 people; 13,960 cases had been reported in nine of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) bulletin.

"If people are not on full rations, the numbers of malnourished are going to increase - more Zimbabweans are going to become vulnerable and susceptible to disease," said Richard Lee, the WFP spokesman in Southern Africa. "It will make it much harder for them to fight cholera."

The food agency has little choice; it had expected to raise enough money to feed 4.2 million beneficiaries in December, and up to 5.1 million Zimbabweans – more than half the country's population - by January 2009, but has managed to find money to feed only 3.7 million Zimbabweans.

If people are not on full rations, the numbers of malnourished are going to increase - more Zimbabweans are going to become vulnerable and susceptible to disease

"To ensure that families at least have some food rather than no food at all, we have decided to cap the rations to a maximum of six per household, rather than exclude entire households," Lee said.

In November the monthly ration per person was cut from 12kg of maize-meal to 10kg, and from 1.8kg of beans to 1kg. "We will continue with the cut rations – we still don't know what will happen next month [January 2009]," he said, adding that the agency was considering other options, including borrowing money or food.

Nyakudya, a municipal worker in the capital, Harare, whose two other children have also contracted cholera, said he is no longer "fussy" about what his family ate, as long as they did not starve.

The agency was still trying to determine why donors have failed to respond to the crisis. "It could be any number of reasons – the global recession - the focus is also now on the crisis in the Horn of Africa," said Lee.

The Toronga family in the village of Poshayi, 450km southwest of Harare, had hoped food would be coming when an NGO collected the names of villagers in preparation for food distribution, but their spirits fell when they were told that food stocks had run out.

On 4 June, a few weeks ahead of the second round of voting in the presidential ballot on 27 June, the ZANU-PF government of President Robert Mugabe imposed a blanket ban on all NGO operations for alleged political bias against the government, with the exception of those doing HIV/AIDS-related work. Mugabe, the only candidate, won the run-off ballot but the election was widely condemned as flawed. The ban on some NGOs was lifted on 29 August.

Food running out

"I heard that nearby villagers had actually been given maize-meal and cooking oil by an NGO, and I was relieved that my family would have food to eat," said Samuel Toronga, who works in Harare as a shop assistant and is now at a loss over how to feed his family.

Two weeks ago, when the family's food stocks were almost exhausted, his wife was forced to visit him in Harare. "I had gone for two months without communicating with my family because there is no means to do that - there are no buses, you cannot phone, and you hardly find people to send word with these days because travelling has become so expensive," he said.

"My wife had no option but to borrow money from neighbours in order to come and collect food, but the problem is that I am struggling to get the money to buy the food here. Now I can't even raise enough for her to go back to the children, who were left with hardly enough to live on for three days," he added.

"Sadly, I have to spend sleepless nights thinking how best I can get money to buy the food, which is mostly sold in foreign currency."

Innocent Makwiramiti, a Harare-based economist, said the numbers of food insecure were going to rise because NGOs did not have the capacity to roll out food. "It is common cause that the government cannot avail food to the needy people, who for many years have depended on humanitarian assistance from NGOs."

Cholera

According to WHO, the main causes of the current cholera outbreak are a lack of clean drinking water and sanitation, weak health services, and a health staff strike, mainly by nurses. Health staff, who are unable to draw salaries from banks due to the acute shortage of banknotes, cannot afford to travel to work.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions announced on 8 December that after consultations with the Reserve bank of Zimbabwe, as from 12 January 2009, workers will be able to withdraw all their salaries upon presentation of their pay-slips.

South Africa fears cholera spread

Monday, 8 December 2008

As Zimbabweans flee a cholera crisis that has killed at least 600 people, the BBC's Jonah Fisher visits a South African border town where officials fear an outbreak of the disease is imminent. There are not many refugee camps where money litters the floor, but you do not have to look far at the showground in the border town of Musina. Fragments of worthless 50,000 and 100,000 Zimbabwe dollar notes are everywhere, constant reminders of the hyper-inflation which has accompanied the country's collapse. Strictly speaking, this is not a refugee camp. The South African government has stopped tents being put up, and is determined to keep the barbed wire fence across its land as merely a processing point. But most of the Zimbabweans in the camp say they have been here at least two weeks, sleeping in the open while they wait for their asylum claims to be processed. Sakilo Laliso is the South African in charge of the showground. With parts of the site stinking of urine, he is extremely concerned about the spread of cholera. We had three months without tap water, my stepfather was sick, and only survived after being put on nine drips Zimbabwean refugee "They sleep here, they bathe here, they do everything here," he tells me. "The risk of spreading cholera is very high." So far there have been eight deaths from cholera in Musina, much less than the official figure of about 600 in the whole of Zimbabwe. "I think it's going to get worse," Kgetsa Nare, from the South African Red Cross, said. "We've got between 500 and 1,000 people crossing every day, and most of them are sick, many with cholera." 'No water' All of the Zimbabweans, whether crushed together queuing for their documents or trying to find a small patch of shade in the midday sun, had stories of a country brought to its knees. Unsanitary conditions have led to fears of further cholera outbreaks "I stayed in Harare for the last three weeks," one man told me. "They were handing out safe water every day, you couldn't get it from the tap. "We had three months without tap water, my stepfather was sick, and only survived after being put on nine drips." "There's no food and there is no water," Mary, from Kwekwe, said from behind the barbed wire fence. "There is cholera and there is no tablets, and some of the hospitals are closed." Perhaps surprisingly, the man the West sees as the root of Zimbabwe's many problems was not the subject of much conversation. Most people just shrugged their shoulders and said they did not want to talk politics when Robert Mugabe's name was brought up. "If he leaves I will become happy," Macdonald Tinashe, a 19-year-old, told me, "because it is not a government that can rule the people. "I want him to leave and make the people free." Everyone, no matter how desperate, wants to look their best Aid volunteer A pick-up truck pulled up with a South African pastor in the front and four Zimbabweans behind. The back of the vehicle was filled, half with sliced loaves of bread, and the rest with bags of clothes. They had been collected by the local churches. "We'll be handing out five slices each," one of the Zimbabweans said. "We volunteered to help the pastor give it out." I had a rummage in one of the clothes bags and pulled out a garishly coloured tie. What will these people do with a tie, I asked them. "Everyone, no matter how desperate, wants to look their best," was the reply.

Mugabe's architect of violence dead in car crash

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
8 December 2008

Elliot Manyika, the ZANU PF political commissar whose name is synonymous
with violence, died on Saturday following a road accident  along the
Zvishavane-Mbalabala road. He was 53 years old.
Police spokesman Superintendent Andrew Phiri said Manyika was travelling
from Mutare to Gwanda in Matabeleland South where he intended to preside
over the election of ZANU PF leaders in that province.

The official Mercedes-Benz in which he was travelling burst a tyre,
resulting in the driver losing control. The vehicle veered off the road and
overturned several times, leaving Manyika dead and seriously injuring his
driver.
While his death has left ZANU PF in mourning, not many from the MDC will
shed tears for the man responsible for the killing and torture of MDC
activists. Elliot Pfebve, the man who contested and lost against Manyika
following a bloody campaign period in Bindura called him 'one of the most
horrible monsters ever created.'
After causing havoc since the formation of the MDC, by exporting the Border
Gezi green bombers to all the country's provinces, Pfebve said it is
unlikely that there will be much mourning for Manyika.
'He has left no legacy of a political statesman but a culture of fear and
terror. He has also left behind a traumatised country. This man was the
architect of violence in ZANU PF. He was instrumental in designing and
developing the militia to terrorise the whole country,' Pfebve said.

Pfebve's elder brother, Matthew, was killed in cold blood on orders from
both the late Border Gezi and Elliot Manyika. His campaign manager, Trymore
Midzi was killed on Manyika's orders.

Pfebve said during the pair's reign of terror, Mashonaland Central province
saw the highest number of unexplained disappearances, murders and maiming of
innocent civilians. In July 2001 Pfebve narrowly escaped an assassination
attempt that was personally plotted by Manyika.

'While my response to the death of Manyika might dismay others who were
benefiting from his brutality and hold to power, let me remind them that
Zimbabweans in particular will not mourn a brutal leader who has been the
composer and singer of our deep routed poverty,' he said.

Pfebve added; 'He (Manyika) failed to respect human life when he was alive,
he tried to kill me, he murdered my brother and now he is dead. It's a
positive loss rather than a negative loss. I am not going to mourn him.'

But his wife and five children and the multitude of ZANU PF supporters will
certainly mourn the death of a man described as charismatic by his peers but
loathed by his enemies as a man who had no regard for human life.

EU should probe Zimbabwe diamond trading, says Dutch foreign minister

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Africa News
Dec 8, 2008, 10:29 GMT

Amsterdam - Zimbabwe should not profit from illegal diamond trade and the
European Union should investigate options to stop it, Dutch foreign minister
Maxime Verhagen said Monday.

Verhagen said he would raise the issue at Monday's meeting of EU foreign
ministers in Brussels. The ministers are expected to issue a ban on all
EU-visas for associates of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe's government is allegedly making enormous profits from illegal
diamond trade. Verhagen said it was necessary for the EU to send a 'clear
message' to the Zimbabwean president.

'People are being tortured, a human rights activist has disappeared without
any trace, and the government blocks aid for people suffering from hunger
and cholera,' he said.

Unpaid soldiers will be Mugabe's final undoing

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk

Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African Society
08.12.08

Anyone who cares about Zimbabwe and Africa may applaud Archbishop John
Sentamu's call for the removal of Robert Mugabe from power, but his voice is
more like one crying in the wilderness rather than a call to practical
action.

Assassination, I am sure, has been considered and probably rejected for the
moment. Likewise military intervention - but there are strong arguments
against it in southern Africa. A more likely trigger for the collapse of the
Mugabe regime is the moment when its money becomes meaningless and the
government is no longer able to pay the forces of repression; the army, the
police and the dreaded British-trained Central Intelligence Organisation.

That moment may have arrived. Last Thursday the Zimbabwe dollar fell from
two million per US dollar in the morning to 25 million in the afternoon. A
week ago soldiers rioted on the streets, attacking shops and looting the
money changers who turn Zimbabwe's vanishing currency into real money and
keep business faintly alive.

Unpaid soldiers could be the first crack in Mugabe's outer defences. When
the lower ranks, who are understood to have voted overwhelmingly against
Mugabe in the election this year, change sides or refuse to shoot
protesters, he will be in real trouble. He sees himself as the ruler of
Zimbabwe by right of conquest and as long as the security forces are loyal,
and paid, no one can threaten that fact.

Elections were supposed to re-assert that victory, not remove him from
power. Ever since March when Mugabe lost the first round of the presidential
election it has been clear that he will kill, and let Zimbabwe itself die,
rather than give up power. To avoid taking serious action against him, his
fellow presidents in the region tried to persuade him to share power with
the opposition.

A deal was signed in September but Mugabe had not the slightest intention of
keeping to the letter, let alone the spirit, of the agreement. His officials
even altered it after it was signed. The constitutional changes to
legitimise the agreement were supposed to be published weeks ago. There is
still no sign of them. More than 14,000 cases of cholera have now been
reported but it would be surprising if that figure represented more than
half the victims.

Most Zimbabweans have no money for medical attention. While cholera deaths
may not trouble Mugabe, the fear that the disease might spread from Zimbabwe
to other parts of southern Africa with the thousands of Zimbabweans who
leave on foot every day is concentrating minds in the region.

The regional governments have a very long way to travel politically if they
are to make a positive contribution to the Zimbabwe crisis, military or
otherwise. Until now, with the honourable exceptions of Botswana and Zambia,
they have protected Mugabe from what they see as Western bullying.

But there is a new tone coming from South Africa, the big boy on the block.
Thabo Mbeki, official negotiator between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the
opposition leader, is no longer president of South Africa. The new regime is
taking a more urgent line.

But even if the new South African government decided that the Archbishop of
York is right and Mugabe must go, his physical removal would be fraught with
danger. Does South Africa have overwhelming military superiority if the
Zimbabwe army decided to fight back? Would other countries in the region,
like oil-rich and militarily powerful Angola, fight to defend the Mugabe
regime? South Africa is in no mood to take those risks just now.

Odinga calls for AU Chairman Kikwete calls for emergency meeting on Zimbabwe

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Monday, 08 December 2008

KENYA'S Prime Ministeron Sunday asked President Kikwete of Tanzania as
the Chairman of African Union (AU), to call an urgent summit of heads of AU
states to formulate a resolution to send African Union troops into Zimbabwe.

At the same time, Raila took issue with the African Union and the
Southern Africa Development Corporation (SADC)accusing  the two
organizations for acting without conviction or resolve over Zimbabwe crisis.

''Despite this long term violation of the rights of the People of
Zimbabwe, the African Union and the Southern Africa Development
Corporation(SADC) have, to our  continental shame,  continued to treat
Mugabe with kid gloves''  said Raila

''President Kikwete must now call an urgent summit of the  heads  of
AU states, who in tern  must formulate a resolution to  Send African Union
troops into Zimbabwe'' he added..

Addressing international press conference in Nairobi today, Raila
said; "The power sharing attempt in Zimbabwe has failed disastrously, due to
the indecisive conduct    the chief mediator, former President of South
Africa Thmbo Mbeki, and the intransigence of Mugabe.

Raila said the AU has shrunk from shouldering its responsibility to
offer leadership and direction in ending the tragedy.

The prime minister said Mugabe must be sent home immediately, and the
duly elected government of Zimbabwe must take office. He said election has
already taken place on March 29, this year, and MDC Morgan Tsvangirai won
the election.

''The AU must send troops into Zimbabwe immediately and remove Mugabe
from power. If no troops are available, then AU must allow the UN to send
its forces into Zimbabwe with immediate effect, to take over control of the
country and ensure urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of dying of
cholera and starvation,'' he added.

Raila said going by the result, there is no need of another election.

He supported Archbishop Desmond Tutu call for the removal of Mugabe
saying Mugabe's case deserves no less than investigations by International
Criminal Court in The Hague.

"We must not fail the dying people of Zimbabwe in this hour of their
greatest need. We must urge them to marshal whatever little strength they
have, to stand from. We must tell them that help is at hand'' added Raila.

Raila said the entire international community must act in the only way
possible. He said they must prepare to respond to the call of the African
people.

''We also appeal to the international community to assist immediately
by setting in motion mechanisms to deliver medicines and food to the sick
and starving people of Zimbabwe,'' he added-CAJ News.

It's past time to develop backbone on Mugabe

http://www.busrep.co.za

December 8, 2008

By Donwald Pressly

Our political leaders should have an attack of integrity and stand up to
Zimbabwe's so-called President Robert Mugabe, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and
Phillip Dexter, the senior member of the Congress of the People party, have
done.

It's time for both President Kgalema Motlanthe and ANC leader Jacob Zuma to
tell Mugabe: "Enough is enough. Even though you rigged the last election,
you still lost. Get out."

Tutu said that if Mugabe refused to relinquish power voluntarily, "then [he
should go] by a military intervention from his African neighbours". Just so
we all got the message, he told Nova TV of the Netherlands: "If they say to
him [Mugabe] 'step down' and he refuses, they must go in . militarily."
Dexter spoke similarly.

For eight years now, since the democratic forces in our neighbour state won
a constitutional referendum, our government and foreign minister Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma have hidden their bumbling behind the notion that Zimbabwe is a
sovereign state.

It has masked a multitude of sins that have now reached crisis point, with
soldiers running amok in Harare and people dying in the streets from cholera
as clean water runs out.

South Africa is finally doing something, however feeble, because the
detritus of Mugabe's misrule is spilling over - with such astonishing
force - into our territory. Finally, a government overcome with pitiful
excuses for inaction is doing something.

On Friday, government spokesperson Themba Maseko announced that South Africa
was sending a delegation to Zimbabwe to assess the deteriorating food and
humanitarian crisis. He had a difficult time fielding the questions of wary
journalists, exhausted at having to ask the obvious questions over again.

He still tried to argue that Harare needed to reach a political settlement.
When pressed on whether anything good could come from a political marriage
between the ruling Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change in which
Mugabe held all the shots - including the control of the central bank -
Maseko returned to that stale mantra: Zimbabwe was an independent country;
its leaders needed to find a solution. He suggested that South Africa could
not foist a political solution on its neighbour.

That is what Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi would surely call "poppycock" -
in place of another expletive that one should rather use.

Another of the chief's favourite expressions is that one should not "upset
the apple cart". Of course, that is now meaningless, given that there simply
are no apples, or food of any kind, in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe has ruined his country and casting the blame on other parties for the
destruction is just nonsense.

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said on Friday that it was "well past
time" for Mugabe to leave office. She rightly said the country had
experienced "a sham election" followed by a sham sharing of power.

Sapa reported that the country's outbreak of cholera should be a sign to the
international community that it was time to stand up to Mugabe.

Rice said: "If this is not evidence to the international community to stand
up for what is right, I don't know what that would be. Frankly the nations
of the region have to do it."

Perhaps we should all be collecting funds to provide our political leaders
with collective synthetic backbone.

It may be too late.

A Memo to SADC Heads of States: Act Now or Forever be Silent!

Time for SA to invade and occupy Zimbabwe

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za

Rod MacKenzie

I am one of the most decisive people that I know. "Come on Chook, let's go
live in China," I brightly announced one day to my wife in England after
being "let go" from my second job (I was a terrible salesman by England's
cut-throat standards). "Okay," she said, "hmmm . sounds interesting".
So, amid the moans and pleas of the extended family we made that wonderful
decision four years ago.

I am also one of the most reckless, impulsive people that I know. I open my
mouth when I shouldn't, and while I know the TL editors like my writing and
are prepared to publish some inflammatory material, I have been politely
asked on several occasions to tone it down. Fair enough, their suggestions
were wisdom in hindsight.

But the more I think about the Zimbabwe issue the only way forward is for
the SA army to occupy Zimbabwe, to remove mad Bob from office permanently
and create an interim government that will restore peace and order and
re-boot the economy.

I cannot think of a better and more responsible action for the SA government
to take right now. And I mean right now. Living in China, I am sick to death
of listening to the journalists and non-ANC politicians - from SA and
internationally - bleat and moo about Zimbabwe and nothing, absolutely
nothing, ever gets done. Pity there was not a reservoir or two of oil or
plutonium in Zimbabwe. The US flag would have been waving above Harare a
long time ago.

The move would boost international confidence in the Southern African
region. The West would praise President Kgalema Motlanthe, and Zuma Messiah,
of course, would try and hop on the bandwagon to ensure he gets his share of
the glory. There would be a surge of investor confidence in SA.

The first item on a long list to sort out would be the cholera outbreak.
That disease can easily go over Zimbabwe's borders into neighbouring
countries. That is one reason why other countries in the region should have
no real reason to gripe about SA's military move.

And then (and I'm a John Lennon fan) just imagine all the people receiving
proper medical treatment, the stimulus to the region's economy, the return
of employment as the international investors in a year or so's time (perhaps
earlier) have the confidence to invest in Zim-SA enterprises once they see
law and order being restored.

Just imagine Zimbabweans in exile in SA happily going back across the
borders, thus solving the violent xenophobic problems SA townships are
facing.

Epidemics like cholera alone, never mind the violence wrought by xenophobic
factions, are reasons alone to call off SA hosting the world football cup in
2010, or will ensure a crummy turnout. They are therefore reasons alone -
never mind the others - for the SA army to invade and occupy because
Zimbabwe is now a threat to the entire region at a time when the globe is in
an economic tumult. By occupying Zimbabwe, SA would actually be making a
contribution to the restoration of the world's economy.

We just don't have leaders with the balls to do so. We need a Winston
Churchill or a Bill Clinton . oh dream on Rod .

I just don't think Motlanthe has the courage or the real power to make such
a significant, decisive move. He is clearly the soft filling in the
sandwich, a flavour of the month between the rock-hard, reified dogmas of
Mbeki and Zuma (hopefully not the latter, by some Cope-DA coalition
miracle).

Our current leaders simply don't know how to make crucial, incisive
decisions. All we get is the rant and rave of Zuma, and his inability to say
anything intelligent and relevant. He just hides behind the group-talk or
corporate jargon of the ANC. He refuses to debate with Helen Zille in public
because, as we all know, he has not got the acumen or education to handle
that level of debate. Zille's surgical intellect and her way with words
would have him chopped up and served to the dogs of ignorance and empty
"bring me my machine gun" rhetoric in no time at all. Zuma knows that.

It would be a peaceful invasion, one which most Zimbabweans would welcome.
The Zim army would only put up a token resistance. Just imagine Mugabe being
led handcuffed from his mansion in Harare to prison while the video is
broadcast to the world which watches SA's move breathlessly and admiringly.
Mad Bob can then stand trial for crimes against humanity.

Think about it. If South Africa does not take this radical, responsible
step, what is to become of South Africa and the rest of the region? Is there
really any other responsible choice left? The impoverished Zimbabwean people
alone are owed this.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 7th, 2008 at 2:24 am

Statement by the Most Revd Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop of Cape Town

http://www.anglicancommunion.org

Posted On : December 8, 2008 4:55 PM | Posted By : Admin ACO
Related Categories: South Africa

I am deeply pained by the terrible deterioration, disease and despair we are
seeing in Zimbabwe.

I welcome signs that the South African government is alive to the
implications of the total collapse of governance in Zimbabwe, of which we
see new evidence daily.

But the silence of SADC leaders in general is disgraceful. Why throughout
this crisis have we seen no evidence of public leadership from King Mswati
III, chairperson of SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security
Co-operation?

He should not only be taking high-profile action on Zimbabwe, but needs to
show that peace and democracy are possible in his own country.

Are SADC's leaders not moved by the terrible human suffering in Zimbabwe?
Where is their ubuntu? Must people be massacred in Zimbabwe's streets before
SADC will take firm, decisive and public action? Will they even then?

No, SADC has failed and is morally bankrupt. President Mugabe has
demonstrated again and again that he will not share power. He is no longer
fit to rule. I appeal to the chair of the African Union, President Jakaya
Kikwete of Tanzania to step in and declare publicly that Mugabe's rule is
now illegitimate and that he must step aside, and for the AU to work
speedily with the United Nations to set up a transitional government to take
control.

The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba

Terror at the Zimbabwe-South Africa border

Posted: Monday, December 08, 2008 10:04 AM

By Martin Fletcher, NBC News Correspondent 

MUSINA, South Africa – I saw terror in the eyes of the four men from Zimbabwe, although we were separated by three coiled rows of vicious razor-wire.

When they saw me they ran away, away from freedom in South Africa and back to oppressive, diseased, starving Zimbabwe. They thought Paul Goldman, my producer, and I were South African policemen who would jail them.

We had been driving along the border road between these two countries, hoping to spot refugees fleeing Zimbabwe. Sure enough, after only a few minutes we saw four men crouching in the bushes, just inside South Africa.

They had already snuck under the razor-wire, after a trek though the bush that normally takes several days, with no food or water. But when we stopped our vehicle and stepped out, cameras in hand, they panicked and desperately raced back to the country they had just fled, squeezing back under the wire. In his haste, one man abandoned his small, brown backpack.

I picked it up and waved after them and called out, "It’s OK, we’re just journalists, here’s your bag, you can come back, we don’t want to harm you."      

We knew that was true, but they didn’t. What else would a policeman say other than, "It’s OK, come back?" So they stood around uncertainly on the Zimbabwe side of the fence.

One man nervously waved his arms at his side in a gesture of trepidation and helplessness. The others hid in the trees and bush, but we could make them out. It was easy to spot the man in a bright red shirt among the green and brown trees.      

I called out again, "Don’t be afraid. This is your chance, come through now before it is too late. We’re just journalists."

They called out "Thank you," but stayed put.

Back to starvation or risk it all
They whispered among each other, uncertain. Behind them was the Zimbabwe army, patrolling their side of the border, looking for refugees just like them. If they were found, they would get arrested, jailed, maybe beaten, maybe even killed in Zimbabwe. The best they could hope for was hunger and starvation. U.N. officials warn that by March, half of Zimbabwe’s population may not have enough to eat.

Back in Zimbabwe, they would be exposed to cholera again, which is breaking out in epidemic proportions because sewage pipes are broken and bacteria has reached the drinking water, which often comes out green and smelly. The government has no money or means to fix it. Children play on dirt tracks slick with sewage. They admit to 600 dead from cholera, but the real number, aid agencies say, is more likely in the thousands. And as the rainy season begins this month, the flowing water will spread the disease more. UNICEF is making preparations for 60,000 sick. And neighboring South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia fear the disease will hit them too.

So we waited – a standoff. The four men faced a grim choice. Hide in the bushes from us, and risk capture or worse; or trust us, and maybe get captured by the South African police, jailed, and deported back to Zimbabwe.

I called encouragement, and they answered with "Thank You," but they didn’t move. As they wrestled with their dilemma, the solution for us was obvious. We had to abandon our hopes of seeing refugees flee Zimbabwe, and leave, allowing the men their stab at freedom. I said to Paul, "What’s more important, their freedom or our story?"

‘Here, catch’
Before we left, we returned to the car to collect some supplies. At the fence, I laid the man’s back-pack on a stone where they could see it, and I began to toss bottles of water across the fence. "Here, catch," I shouted, and lobbed the first bottle in a high arc, giving them time to spot it as it fell from the sky. "Good catch," I shouted, "OK! Here’s another one." I threw one bottle for each man, and then called out, "And here are some apples and some fruit juice," and I laid them on the back-pack. "Good luck, guys," I shouted, "Good luck!"      

They clapped their hands and smiled and called back, "Thank you, thank you sir. God bless you."

Paul and I turned our backs to them, to the razor-wire fence, to the story, and walked back to our vehicle, and drove away. We didn’t stop to film them from afar, or to even see if they crossed. We didn’t want them to think it was a trick, we did not want them to be caught, on their side of the border or on ours. We just left them to their fate, hoping it would be a better one.  

An hour later we returned, driving back from our bed and breakfast. We stopped and walked to the boulder where we had left the back-pack, apples and juice and sure enough, it was all gone. We smiled at each other and walked away.

Mugabe Calling For An Early Election? Jesus Come Down!!

It terrifies even Lucifer the merchant of death to hear someone like
Zimbabwean geriatric dictator Robert Mugabe 'threatening' to call for an
early election if the inclusive government fails. I think even the angels of
death ran scared!

 I nearly collapsed from my chair when I came across the statement in the
State run Herald. Calling for what, an election? I couldn't believe my eyes.
Surely, I couldn't have imagined it. Imagine that he is one President on
planet earth who religiously follows the concept of elections but in his own
diabolical way. In his elections, citizens are allowed to vote but never to
elect!

I nearly lost consciousness when I later fathomed the statement or threat.
Yes, we need an early election. We however don't need Mugabe's elections.
Those 'elections' when we are allowed to vote but never to elect or express
our will, those elections when life is not sacred, when raping becomes no
crime, when murder is nowhere near a crime, when torture, harassment,
abductions and beatings become everyday life, when expression of will and
wish becomes a death sentence, frighteningly when we say goodbye to rule of
law. Surely, those elections where the winners are none other than Mugabe
and his friends. Please we don't need these elections!

In his elections when unfathomable violence and hellish tortures are
central. In his diabolical and democratically shameful elections, when
intimidation is of the highest order and is unparalleled the world over. In
his elections, him and his crooks are the election monitors, they are the
foreign observers, they are the local observers, they are the counters, and
they are everything necessary to the process. In his elections, when mass
murders and mass abductions become as common as flies.

With the recent nerve-jangling and scary upsurge in abductions, it dawned on
me that Mugabe is serious about the grave threat. The threat is both
portentous and a precursor to the treacherous road ahead. Events awaiting
ahead of Zimbabwean road to freedoms will be life usurping and more than
hell. Never mind those suggesting that Mugabe might be hinting on his
retirement in two years time. Forget and smile. We still have a whole summer
and a winter with the tyrant.

With the humanitarian crisis deepening; the Cholera epidemic showing no
signs of abetting and the MDC demanding real power and still as adamant as
ever, Mugabe and his cronies thought it wise to annihilate the opposition.
They want to do it with some semblance of morality, legitimacy, credibility
and legality and that is by way of the type of elections as alluded above.
The disquieting thing however is the cost in terms of human life. What is
mind numbing to imagine and ghastly to contemplate is that Mugabe and his
lizards' insatiable appetite for power and a genocidal ego that even against
a background of desolation, devastation and a surging humanitarian crisis,
power is more important to them than the welfare of Zimbabweans.

What therefore quickly come to the fore are the questions on what needs to
be done as a matter of urgency. The urgency of now must be given the respect
it so much deserves and avoid taking the comfort of daydreaming.

The MDC

The erstwhile opposition needs to urgently come back from their honeymoon in
cloud cuckoo land and abandon living precariously by chance and luck. They
have over used and relied on lucky and chance instead of strategy. That's
very dangerous especially when dealing with an animal of Zanu pf's calibre.
They must start relying on pure and shrewd political strategies. Living
without a strategy is like entering uncharted waters, infested by pirates
without a compass or even a knife. You are sure not to reach your
destination. This is unfortunately what the MDC face.

The MDC must stop acting like an uneducated and out of sorts' girl under
courtship. They must solidly and fearlessly show their masses the direction
they are taking or want to take. Right now nobody knows what the opposition
is up to. Its further participation in the Mugabe trap named unity
government remains a mystery to its masses. Then with Mugabe calling for
another massacre time for his few but ruthless supporters, the MDC
supporters without a proper and sound direction from their leaders who are
globe trotting will be at mercy to the marauding Zanu pf dogs.

Right now the MDC needs to respond accordingly to the dictates of the
political wind. Now is the time when the MDC needs to take charge of the
rudderless Zimbabwean ship and steer it out of dangerous waters. But it
seems, the leadership in the opposition suffer from legendary and out of
this world indecision and blundering. Right now, instead of being with the
people, listening to the people. Healing the people, their leader Mr
Tsvangirai is gallivanting while the despot is in a rush with himself
presiding over graduation of half-baked graduates across the country.

It is either the MDC controls the tide or the tide will carry them to the
land of nowhere. The opposition needs to organise the masses for action
against Mugabe and his junta. The time is just ripe, the masses are
desperate, hungry and angry, moreover, the soldiers are ready! What more do
they need? A Robert Mugabe type of an election? Surely this is beckoning and
I fear for my life, I fear for my family, I fear for the masses, I fear for
the land of Zimbabwe.

It is a crucial that the MDC choose what they want between the dead
inclusive something or calling for an internationally supervised election as
soon as possible. Both will not come on a silver platter. Both require great
skill and strategy. Painfully skill and strategy are not among the fibres
that embody the erstwhile opposition. However, there is still room for
salvation and on top of it, the ravaging crisis and encroaching is sucking
thin the energies of the junta and now, right now they are at their weakest,
though never to be underestimated.

However it must be noted with grave concern that Mugabe has started
preparing for the early election. He has started all that make his day in
his elections. His terror machine is raving for another full throttle speed
interspaced by jerks of abductions, tortures and murders. Now if the MDC
does not move to save its masses, surely I tell you, Mugabe will get away
with it. People will afterwards bark day and night, he wont care a dime.
Zimbabwe will be no more there after.

The SADC

The most dangerous person surviving on this planet is one who still hopes
and believes in this SADC group to solve our problems. After all, I already
have a new name for their acronym, that is, Southern African Death
Commissioners! Surely, they are Commissioners of death in our land. They
hear no evil, see no evil, know no evil, say no evil on the Harare junta.
Elections in Zimbabwe are always free, very free. When masses are
annihilated its just but one of those things to drink over and sleep! Forget
about any help from this SADC thing until and unless something happens. I
don't see anything happening soon.

The AU

Zimbabweans should place hope on Raila Odinga who has fearlessly and
tirelessly advocated for change in Zimbabwe. He has gone even further by
suggesting that Mugabe be removed by force. Sorry to say, not much is
expected from AU as much and most of the leaders are themselves despots and
tyrants. Odinga is but one a lonely voice in the middle of a wilderness.

The masses

It therefore remains our destiny in our hands as far as the political future
is concerned. We need to wrestle our tomorrow from the old, tired but
wretched hands of the tyrant back home in Zimbabwe. The future is in our
hands, what we choose; we shall live with till Jesus comes.

Gibson Nyambayo can be contacted on gibnyambayo@gmail.com

Gono to Launch Book on Zim Economy

http://www.radiovop.com

HARARE, December 8, 2008 - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor
Gideon Gono, will on Monday launch a book chronicling his experiences as
governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbawe as the nation battles a debilitating
the economic crisis.

RBZ Governor Gideon GonoGono, who was last week given a new five year
term at the helm of the RBZ, is scheduled to launch the book at the Rainbow
Towers on December 8.

The book is entitled "Zimbabwe's Casino Economy" and is being promoted
by the Zimbabwe Publishing House (ZPH).

Invitations have been sent to media houses and journalists.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has protested
against the re-appointment of

Gono as the RBZ governor, blaming him for the current economic
meltdown, especially the excessive printing of money.

Gono presides over the world highest inflation ravaged economy,
officially estimated at 231 million percent.