http://www.mg.co.za
Jan 31 2009 09:03
South Africa on Friday welcomed the
Zimbabwean opposition's decision to join
a unity government, saying it paved
the way for challenges to be tackled and
for free and fair
elections.
"The formation of the inclusive government in Zimbabwe will
help lay the
foundation for the people of Zimbabwe to begin to address
current challenges
facing their country," the foreign ministry said in a
statement.
A unity government will also allow Zimbabwe to prepare "the
ground for the
creation of conditions for the holding of free and fair
elections in the
future".
The statement followed a decision earlier
on Friday by the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change to agree to join
a unity government next
month.
Former South African president Thabo
Mbeki brokered the power-sharing deal
signed by Zanu-PF leader Robert Mugabe
and opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai in September, which stalled almost
as soon as it was signed and
led to months of mediation.
Mbeki
meanwhile "described this development as a major step forward," his
spokesperson said in a statement.
"The facilitator looks forward to
the implementation of all SADC decisions
and has been assured of the
parties' commitment in this regard," the
statement added.
South
Africa currently chairs the 15-member Southern African Development
Community
(SADC) which on Tuesday gave the feuding parties until
mid-February to set
up a new government.
"We are unequivocal, we will go into this
government," said Tsvangirai
almost one year after disputed polls that
plunged the country into crisis.
"The SADC has decided and we are bound
by that decision," he said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hailed the
decision, while also pressing
for crucial development in
Zimbabwe.
Ban urged the new government "to take all necessary measures to
address the
humanitarian and economic crises in the country and respect
democratic
freedoms", his office said in a statement.
The Zimbabwean
government welcomed the decision, saying the opposition was
moving away from
outside influence.
"We welcome it, we expected them to do that," said
Information Minister Paul
Mangwana..
"We are happy that for the first
time they have now recognised themselves as
Zimbabweans and we are happy
that they are shifting from external influence
and have started to reason
like Zimbabweans," Mangwana said.
Mugabe has long accused the MDC of
being a tool of Britain and the United
States, whose governments are opposed
to his regime.
Both countries offered up restrained hope in response to
the announcement on
Friday.
"I've seen the reports about this
agreement, but as you can understand, we
are a bit skeptical. These types of
things have been announced before," US
State Department acting spokesperson
Robert Wood
said.
"The key is always implementation," he
added.
An equally tempered reaction emerged from London, where British
Foreign
Secretary David Miliband said he looked forward to seeing details of
a deal
that would hold Zimbabwean lawmakers accountable.
"The new
government will be judged on its actions, above all by the people
of
Zimbabwe," he said.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner welcomed the
MDC decision and
called for the release of imprisoned opposition militants
and human rights
supporters.
Zimbabwe has been in meltdown since
Tsvangirai pushed Mugabe into second
place in first-round elections, before
pulling out of the run-off citing
violence against his
supporters.
Mugabe in June declared a one-sided victory to govern a
country where more
than half the population is in need of food aid and
inflation was last
officially announced at 231-million percent.
The
country has been further crippled by a cholera outbreak that has claimed
more than 3 000 lives. - AFP
From The Star (SA), 31 January
Abductees must be released before the February 11
swearing-in
Addressing the largest spontaneous demonstration seen in
Harare in years,
Zimbabwe's prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai
yesterday told a
surging crowd that his Movement for Democratic Change was
at last entering
into a unity government with President Robert Mugabe and
his Zanu PF. The
crowd, growing each minute until several streets were
blocked, roared their
approval. A vehicle carrying helmeted and armed riot
police made its way
through the demonstration. But instead of taking out
their truncheons to
beat people up, a dozen of them grinned broadly at the
MDC crowd, who
shouted cheerful greetings to the men who had made their
lives a misery on
the streets for the past nine years. "We are unequivocal,
we will go into
this government," Tsvangirai told reporters at a packed
press conference at
the MDC's central Harare headquarters, where the party's
national executive
council had just endorsed the controversial decision to
go into the unity
government, which Tsvangirai made at the Southern African
Development
Community summit in Pretoria this week. "SADC has decided and we
are bound
by that decision," he told the jubilant crowd. "SADC is our
institution, it
is not a private club. This is a work in progress . a
process," said
Tsvangirai, looking relaxed, confident and businesslike.
"February 11 is the
swearing-in of the prime minister and the deputy prime
ministers," he said.
"What the national council has endorsed is what SADC
has endorsed," he
added.
The jubilation of the crowd at their
leader going into an uncertain
coalition government with the hated Mugabe
was an expression of just how
desperate the Zimbabwean people are for any
possible rescue from their
wretched lot. However, Tsvangirai said some
outstanding issues, which the
SADC summit agreed must be addressed, would
have to be resolved before he
was sworn in as prime minister in February.
These include the MDC's demand
for some of the 12 provincial governorships,
which Zanu PF has so far
monopolised, and for the release of more than 30
opposition supporters and
officials; a photojournalist; and Jestina Mukoko,
a prominent human rights
campaigner, who have been arrested over the past
month. "All abductees must
be released unconditionally before February 11,"
Tsvangirai said. MDC
supporters gave a rousing welcome to MDC treasurer Roy
Bennett, who had
returned that morning from exile in South Africa of nearly
three years. In
the new spirit of co-operation apparently emerging in
Zimbabwe, the MDC had
secured a guarantee from Zanu PF that he would not be
arrested on his
return, despite the state saying it has a case pending
against him for
leaving the country illegally when he feared he was about to
be arrested in
an arms-related case. "We are entering this government to
save the country
from its problems. Let's be committed and move together,
let's unite as the
people to save this country," Tsvangirai
said.
Many MDC hardliners opposed the decision to go into government with
Mugabe
but Tsvangirai justified it on the grounds that the MDC had "been
established to bring about change through the ballot box" and that by
winning the March 29 elections last year, it had demonstrated its majority
support to SADC and forced Zanu PF to the negotiating table, "which became
the new frontline in our quest for a democratic Zimbabwe". Tsvangirai said
it was for this reason that he signed the SADC-mediated political agreement
with Mugabe in September. The US government has also opposed the unity deal,
fearing that Tsvangirai will be unable to effect any change while Mugabe
remains president. On Thursday, Tsvangirai went to see James McGee, the US
ambassador to Zimbabwe, to tell him the MDC was moving into a unity
government and to ask him for US help in reconstruction. Later McGee said:
"The United States government will continue to work with the Zimbabwe
government, and any unity government will be treated just like any other
government in Zimbabwe. We will take a wait-and-see attitude. We want to see
action not words."
http://af.reuters.com
Sat Jan 31, 2009 3:08pm GMT
By
Nelson Banya
HARARE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Former U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan urged
world leaders on Saturday to help rebuild Zimbabwe's
economy after the
opposition agreed to join a government with Robert
Mugabe.
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC), announced the decision on Friday, ending deadlock
that deepened a
political and economic crisis.
"This is an important
step towards ending the political impasse in
Zimbabwe," Annan, a member of a
group of prominent figures known as the
Elders, said in a
statement.
"But it is not a guarantee that Zimbabwe's distress is over.
Rebuilding the
economy and ending the people's terrible suffering will take
much more work
on the part of all Zimbabweans, regional leaders and the
international
community."
The once-prosperous southern African
country's economy is in ruins, with
half the population needing food aid.
The continent's deadliest cholera
epidemic in 15 years has killed 3,100
people and infected another 60,000.
Official inflation -- last recorded
in mid-2008 -- had soared to 231 million
percent and food and fuel are in
short supply. The United Nations says
unemployment is 94
percent.
Fellow Elders member and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said
while the
agreement was not perfect it should be supported.
"The
international community should now do what it can to give this
agreement the
best chance of success," he said.
Under the agreement, Tsvangirai will
become prime minister, with Mugabe
remaining as president. But it is unclear
whether the old foes will be able
to work together effectively to persuade
Western states to provide
investment and aid.
The United States has
voiced scepticism over the deal, saying implementation
is key and that aid
would come only when a representative government was in
place.
African Union and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete hailed
Tsvangirai's
decision to join the government.
"The situation looks
promising ... That is a step forward," he told Reuters
as he arrived in
Ethiopia for an AU summit that begins on Sunday. "That is
progress in the
right direction."
Many Zimbabweans have been longing for a new
leadership. The few who have
jobs queue for hours outside banks to withdraw
enough cash to buy a loaf of
bread. Millions have fled to Zimbabwe's
neighbours, straining regional
economies.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai
signed a power-sharing deal in September to end a
crisis after elections
that were condemned around the world, but
implementation had been held up by
disagreements over who would get top
cabinet positions.
Under
pressure from regional leaders, Tsvangirai agreed at a summit this
week to
share control of the Home Affairs ministry, responsible for the
police, with
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party for six months. The new government is
set to be
formed by Feb. 11.
http://www.iht.com
The Associated PressPublished: January 31,
2009
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: Former President Jimmy
Carter, former U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other world leaders
have welcomed
Zimbabwe's unity government deal.
Zimbabwe's opposition
said Friday it will form a coalition with President
Robert Mugabe next
month. A political impasse has deepened Zimbabwe's
economic crisis while
cholera has killed over 3,000 people.
In a statement Saturday, the
members of The Elders founded by former
President Nelson Mandela said they
hoped the deal would ease the country's
humanitarian crisis.
Carter
urged the international community to "give this agreement the best
chances
of success."
Annan, Carter and Graca Machel, human rights activist and
Mandela's wife,
were denied entry into Zimbabwe last year.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=10740
January 31, 2009
Davos (AFP) - The
outspoken Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga suggested on
Thursday that
"dinosaur" Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe should be
offered a "golden
handshake" to leave office.
He also criticised fellow African leaders
without the courage to tell Mugabe
to leave and said the world should tell
him "the time to go is now, we are
ready to give you a golden handshake if
you will quit".
Mugabe, in power for nearly 30 years, has seen his
reputation plummet from
an African liberation hero to a despot who has
ruined his once prosperous
country.
Some commentators have suggested
his reluctance to relinquish power, even
after losing the first round of
abandoned elections last year, stems from
concern that he could face war
crimes charges.
Odinga did not specify what the golden handshake, a term
from the corporate
world meaning a generous severance package, should
entail.
"We are now in the face of transition (in Africa)," Odinga told
delegates
during a debate at the Davos forum.
"There are the remnants
of the past era, the dinosaurs, and Mugabe belongs
to that
group."
Odinga levelled some sharp criticism at fellow members of the
15-nation
Southern African Development Community (SADC) and castigated a
"kid gloves"
approach in dealing with Mugabe.
"The others (in SADC)
do not have the courage to come up and tell Mr Mugabe
that the time to leave
has come," he said.
Odinga became prime minister last February after
signing a power-sharing
deal with President Mwai Kibaki, whom he had accused
of stealing his way to
victory in December polls, triggering weeks of deadly
violence.
http://news.yahoo.com
by Fanuel Jongwe Fanuel Jongwe
- 1 hr 12 mins ago
HARARE (AFP) - South Africa called Saturday for the
United States and Europe
to lift sanctions against the government of
Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe as he prepares to share power with his
rival.
Pretoria said Western nations should take these steps to help its
stricken
neighbour rebuild almost a year after disputed elections which left
Zimbabwe
in tatters.
Months of deadlock over the details of a
power-sharing deal ended Friday
when opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
agreed to be sworn in as prime
minister, and parties took the first steps to
forming an inclusive
government.
"Now that (Morgan Tsvangirai) has
decided to be part of the inclusive
government... it requires them to call
for the end of sanctions," said Frank
Chikane, director general in the South
African president's office.
"So we expect Europe and the US and other
countries to stop the sanctions,"
he told South African public radio station
SAfm.
He said regional countries should also "mobilise resources to
assist" in the
reconstruction of the crisis-wracked nation.
The
United States and Britain have been staunchly opposed to the Mugabe
regime
and were loathe to appear too optimistic over Friday's advance. They
joined
local critics who feel the implementation of the power-sharing deal
would
show its success or failure.
However, high-profile statesmen including
former UN chief Kofi Annan and US
ex-president Jimmy Carter called for
international donors to support
Zimbabwe and give the power-sharing pact a
chance to work.
"This political agreement is far from perfect -- but
political life involves
taking risks. Talking it down will not improve the
situation for
Zimbabweans -- it will only prolong their agony," said
Carter.
"This is an important step towards ending the political impasse
in
Zimbabwe," said Annan, "but it is not a guarantee that Zimbabwe's
distress
is over."
He added that "rebuilding the economy and ending
the people's terrible
suffering will take much more work on the part of all
Zimbabweans, regional
leaders and the international community."
South
African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the people of Zimbabwe could "no
longer
be held hostage by politics. Their urgent needs must be met."
Tsvangirai
acceded to a decision by the Southern African Development
Community (SADC)
regional bloc that Zimbabwe's unity government be formed
according to a
strict timeline which would see him sworn in as prime
minister on February
11.
"We are unequivocal, we will go into this government," said
Tsvangirai.
His reticence over the formation of a unity government saw
the deal --
signed in September -- stalled as rivals battled over the
allocation of key
ministries and other details of the pact.
Since
disputed elections in March 2008, the country has slid into a crisis
characterised by the world's highest inflation rate of 231 million percent
and a cholera epidemic that has claimed some 3,000 lives. The education
system has also collapsed.
"It brings hope on the surface that there
may be better things to come and
at the same time we remain skeptical," said
Takavafira Zhou, a political
scientist from the Masvingo State
University.
"We have ideologically divergent groups forming a coalition,"
rather than a
unity government, he said.
"The parties may remain
rigid and pursue partisan rather than national
interests. While there is
hope we remain skeptical until the new government
starts to
deliver."
Reaction from both Britain and the United States was restrained
about the
future government.
"I've seen the reports about this
agreement, but as you can understand, we
are a bit skeptical. These types of
things have been announced before," US
State Department acting spokesman
Robert Wood said.
"The key is always implementation," he added.
In
London, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he looked forward
to
seeing details of a deal that would hold Zimbabwean lawmakers
accountable.
"The new government will be judged on its actions, above
all by the people
of Zimbabwe," he said.
http://thestar.com.my
Saturday
January 31, 2009
By Emma
Thomasson
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The world must unite behind a new
unity
government in Zimbabwe and help rebuild the shattered country, Arthur
Mutambara, leader of a breakaway faction of the opposition MDC, said on
Saturday.
"We are asking for the international community to support
this agreement,
support this government without equivocation and help us try
to salvage our
country," Mutambara told Reuters on the sidelines of the
World Economic
Forum's annual meeting.
"It's not for Britain or
America to judge our agreement, your job as America
or Britain is to support
what we try to do," he said. "All the sceptics must
now shut up and support
what Zimbabweans want. Listen to us as Zimbabweans."
Morgan Tsvangirai,
leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), announced the
decision on Friday to join a government with President
Robert Mugabe, ending
deadlock that deepened a political and economic
crisis.
Under the
agreement, Tsvangirai will become prime minister, with Mugabe
remaining as
president. Mutambara, who was arrested last year for
criticizing Mugabe's
handling of the March 2008 elections, said he will
become deputy prime
minister.
The United States has voiced scepticism over the deal, saying
implementation
is key and that aid would come only when a representative
government was in
place.
"This agreement is a flawed arrangement. It
is imperfect. But it is the best
short-term answer to provide a platform to
extricate our country from its
worst crisis," Mutambara
said.
Mutambara, a former student leader who is recognised as one of
Africa's most
prominent scientists, said the world had a tendency to
simplify the Zimbabwe
crisis and see Mugabe as a "devil", to Tsvangirai's
"angel".
"There is no devil and there is no angel. There are two
political parties.
There are two political leaders," he said.
"Let's
forget our political differences and think about Zimbabwe's national
interests, let's try to work together to salvage our economy, to salvage our
business," he said.
The once-prosperous southern African country's
economy is in ruins, with
half the population needing food aid and inflation
at 231 million percent
last July, the latest official figure.
The
continent's deadliest cholera epidemic in 15 years has killed 3,100
people
and infected another 60,000.
Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
also attending the Davos meeting
in Switzerland, urged world leaders on
Saturday to help rebuild Zimbabwe. As
he passed Mutambara in the corridor,
he told him: "Congratulations on the
decision."
Mutambara called for
aid to rebuild the country, but said investment was
even more important,
saying he had been approached by businessmen meeting in
the Swiss Alpine
resort.
"There is a lot of appetite to be involved in Zimbabwe in Davos,"
he said.
"People want to be involved in Zimbabwe, not for charity, but for
economics."
"Our foundation is very strong. Our fundamentals are very
robust," he said,
noting that Zimbabwe was rich in natural resources, like
platinum, gold and
uranium, while its people were also very well educated by
African standards.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
As Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) agrees to join a unity
government with President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF, Brian Hungwe in Harare
describes a sense of relief tinged with trepidation. Curious human faces were peeping out of busy Harare skyscrapers, as crowds
swelled around the MDC headquarters in central Harare. Anxious to know the outcome of a crucial meeting taking place six floors up,
those gathered outside moved forward, then blocked traffic along Nelson Mandela
Avenue, and camped there. A rally, unsanctioned by police, was unavoidable but the police did not
intrude. Perhaps they were as curious as everyone else to know the decision of
the MDC national council. The big question was whether or not to participate in an all-inclusive
government, led by President Mugabe. In this tense, murky political situation, there are plenty of questions and
few answers. The hard reality is MDC and Zanu-PF are miles apart. 'Sore hearts' After Mr Mugabe lost to Mr Tsvangirai in the first round of the presidential
election last March, a campaign of terror began. Over 200 people died. Some were abducted, tortured and killed in cold blood,
and villages were torched. The run-up to the June run-off election was bloody and remains etched on
people's minds. State machinery was mobilised to assist local Zanu-PF party organs in
attacking MDC structures. "We won't forget this. I have problems forgiving. Justice one day has to be
meted to whoever organised this and executed this horrendous project," says
Emmanuel Chiroto, an MDC official in Harare. Early one morning in mid-June, hit squads came in two unmarked pick-ups,
abducted Mr Chiroto's 21-year old wife Abigail, and torched their house with
petrol bombs. "Nothing will ever bring my wife back, but the perpetrators of this are still
there roaming around," he said. However, perceived state-sanctioned violence is always difficult to probe.
"Inside an all-inclusive government, there has to be way to securing justice.
Our hearts are sore," he said. Against this hideous background, Mr Tsvangirai had a hard time convincing his
party that it was time to climb down and allow for the formation of an
all-inclusive government in which he will play an inferior role to Mr Mugabe.
Mr Tsvangirai's supporters believe Mr Mugabe lost the first round of
elections and resorted to inappropriate means to retain power. Tense debate During the animated two-hour meeting at the party headquarters, insiders say
the MDC leader's body language said it all. Insiders say there was a long, often tense, debate with the party leadership
"expressing its worries that some of the main issues had not been addressed",
and that "Mugabe was sinking and would take advantage of the MDC's goodwill to
revive his party". There was also a feeling that in spite of the biting economic crisis, and
deepening humanitarian situation, Mr Mugabe was prepared to bring Zimbabwe down
with him. That he was going nowhere was the stark reality the MDC had to face, insiders
said. Besides, Mr Mugabe had begun a campaign of terror, which involved abductions
of party activists, who are now facing accusations of banditry. This was not going to stop, and more, perhaps, was coming, if the MDC failed
to play ball. The political agreement, signed 10 months ago between the political parties,
guarantees new elections in 18 months, and a constitutional reform programme
through parliament that will involve civic groups and citizens. 'Limited options' Fighting from within to achieve its political objectives became the only MDC
option. It is debatable whether the MDC leader capitulated because of growing
internal terror, SADC pressure, or the need to address the domestic political
and economic crisis. "He had very limited options," says Simon Badza, political analyst with the
University of Zimbabwe. "He was increasingly perceived as having no respect for African solutions to
African problems. "He couldn't continue defying SADC, a regional institution. Joining in was
simply a strategic move to plan for elections ahead from within, rather than
operating outside the political framework." Outside the party headquarters, supporters were growing anxious. Mr Tsvangirai, took the lift down around 1500 (1300 GMT), and walked into a
waiting pick-up stuck in the middle of Nelson Mandela Avenue, then began
addressing the swelling crowds that had blocked the traffic. The street was virtually brought to a standstill. Standing at the back of a white pick-up with a loudhailer, Mr Tsvangirai said
it was time to end violence and work together in a new government. There was excitement, as drivers blew their horns. This was a nation pleased to be able to breathe again, after choking on
shortages of basic food, power and water, a weak currency, sky-high inflation, a
deepening humanitarian crisis and a 90% unemployment rate. Under Mr Mugabe's new power-sharing arrangement, Mr Tsvangirai's MDC will
control the Health, Education and Finance ministry portfolios among others. Wait-and-see Once inside the new government, Mr Tsvangirai will have to deal with the
cholera that has infected over 60,000 people, killing more than 3,000. He will find a dysfunctional education system, where teachers have stopped
work, demanding hard currency salaries averaging $2,000 per month instead of the
current $2. Mr Mugabe wants Mr Tsvangirai to bring down inflation, stabilise the currency
and win international support to finance key government programmes. Mr Tsvangirai may be banking on international support, but the West will
adopt a wait-and-see attitude and may not even bless the new arrangement. If he fails to deliver, he risks becoming irrelevant and alienating himself
from his support base. He has taken a risk, and stuck his head on the block.
It was a moment of
truth.
MDC official
He intended to force
through the SADC mandate of taking part in a new government, getting sworn in,
and addressing all outstanding issues from within, regardless of the distrust
everyone had of Zanu-PF.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/
8 hours 12 mins ago
by Fanuel
Jongwe AFP
The viability of Zimbabwe's unity government was questioned
Saturday after
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to share power
with rival Robert
Mugabe almost a year after disputed polls. Skip related
content
After months of deadlock over the details of a
power-sharing deal,
Tsvangirai agreed Friday to be sworn in as prime
minister, and parties took
the first steps to forming an inclusive
government.
Both the United States and Britain were loathe to appear too
optimistic over
the advance, joining local critics who feel the
implementation of the deal
would show its success or failure.
"It
brings hope on the surface that there may be better things to come and
at
the same time we remain skeptical," said Takavafira Zhou, a political
scientist from the Masvingo State University.
"We have ideologically
divergent groups forming a coalition," rather than a
unity government, he
said.
"The parties may remain rigid and pursue partisan rather than
national
interests. While there is hope we remain skeptical until the new
government
starts to deliver."
After almost a year since disputed
polls which plunged Zimbabwe into a
crisis, Southern African leaders gave
leaders a strict timeline to form a
new government which will see Tsvangirai
sworn in on February 11.
"We are unequivocal, we will go into this
government," said Tsvangirai. "The
SADC (Southern African Development
Community) has decided and we are bound
by that decision," he said after his
party's national council agreed it
would go ahead with the unity
government.
The crisis summit of a 15-nation bloc came as Zimbabwe
battles an economic
crisis which has seen inflation soar to over 231 million
percent and a
cholera epidemic that has left over 3,000 dead.
Both
Britain and the United States, vehemently opposed to the regime of
84-year-old Mugabe, were restrained aver the future government.
"I've
seen the reports about this agreement, but as you can understand, we
are a
bit skeptical. These types of things have been announced before," US
State
Department acting spokesman Robert Wood said.
"The key is always
implementation," he added.
Mugabe's party has already said it accepts the
SADC timeframe, and had
previously threatened to set up a unity government
with or without
Tsvangirai.
An equally tempered reaction emerged from
London, where British Foreign
Secretary David Miliband said he looked
forward to seeing details of a deal
that would hold Zimbabwean lawmakers
accountable.
"The new government will be judged on its actions, above all
by the people
of Zimbabwe," he said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
urged the new government "to take all
necessary measures to address the
humanitarian and economic crises in the
country and respect democratic
freedoms," his press office said in a
statement.
The Southern African
Development Community maintains that the power-sharing
accord signed last
September remains the best chance of pulling Zimbabwe out
of its woeful
state, but it has been held up by disputes over key posts.
"ZANU-PF has
failed to deliver. The economic crisis is deeper, health and
social support
systems have collapsed and there is hope that the coming in
of the MDC means
better things may come. Donors may inject capital to revive
the economy,"
said analyst Zhou.
Friday's commitment to end the political stalemate was
welcomed by South
Africa, which came under intense global pressure to act on
the crisis as
chair of SADC and broker of the unity deal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Sunday, February 1, 2009; Page B02
How much
lower can Zimbabwe sink? Chronic food shortages, hyperinflation, a
cholera
epidemic, people abducted for speaking out against President Robert
Mugabe's
regime -- all this is the stuff of daily life for ordinary
Zimbabweans, as
related here by a journalist in Harare, the capital. She
reports for PBS's
Frontline/World, with support from the Pulitzer Center on
Crisis Reporting.
Her name is withheld for her safety.
How much lower can Zimbabwe sink?
Chronic food shortages, hyperinflation, a
cholera epidemic, people abducted
for speaking out against President Robert
Mugabe's regime -- all this is the
stuff of daily life for ordinary
Zimbabweans, as related here by a journalist
in Harare, the capital. She
reports for PBS's Frontline/World, with support
from the Pulitzer Center on
Crisis Reporting. Her name is withheld for her
safety.
Dec. 5, 2008 -- Disappeared
The shrill ring of my phone
awakens me. Sleep does not come easily these
days. I'd like to turn off my
mobile at night, but what if my son should
call? I miss him but cannot risk
living near him. My profession makes me a
target.
I pick up the phone.
It's a colleague, and she has bad news. Jestina Mukoko,
a human rights
activist, is missing. She was abducted from her home not far
from Harare two
days ago, my colleague tells me. Her teenage son watched as
the armed
intruders shoved her, barefoot and still in her pajamas, into
a
car.
Mukoko, one of the few women to have made it in the Zimbabwean
media, was a
role model for me during my college days. She worked for the
country's only
television station, run by the state-controlled Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corp.
When Mugabe tightened his grip, she quit her job as a
newscaster, ultimately
joining a human rights organization called the
Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP).
Mukoko and the ZPP, with their countrywide
network of secret volunteers who
provide information about politically
motivated violence, are invaluable to
what is left of our independent
press.
Abductions such as Mukoko's were common leading up to the run-off
election
last June. Facing certain defeat in a fair fight, Mugabe turned to
violence.
At least 86 supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC)
opposition party were killed and 10,000 were injured, according to
party
leader Morgan Tsvangirai. I suspect that those numbers are actually
much
higher. The attacks abated in September, when Mugabe and the MDC reached
a
tentative settlement. But he quickly went back on his word. Now the
terror
has returned.
Dec. 20 -- The Billion-Dollar Bread
Line
The government recently introduced a 10-billion-dollar bill, but
with
inflation at 89.7 sextillion percent, it soon will barely buy a loaf
of
bread. So at 4 a.m. I set off for the bank, where my $100 billion
monthly
salary has just been deposited. I even feel a little bit happy. I
will be
the first person to arrive, I think to myself. After withdrawing my
money, I
will rush to the supermarket to buy whatever I can find before the
cash
loses its value.
When I reach the bank, people are already
waiting. The security guard gives
me a number: I'm 105th in line. It's not
long before the sun comes up, and
the temperature rises. There are whispers
that the bank doesn't have enough
cash to go around. Everything is in short
supply these days -- milk, bread,
meat, salt, sugar, gas, even toilet
paper.
At 5:45 p.m., after 13 hours in line, it's my turn. But the bank
is giving
only $10 billion to each customer. I dash to the supermarket. The
$10
billion buys one loaf of bread. I could have bought two that
morning.
Afraid that one of the thousands of starving people will beg for
my loaf or
that a neighbor will see it, I wrap it in old newspaper. I can't
believe my
own tightfistedness. But my husband and I have gone without bread
for a
week.
Dec. 24 -- Mukoko Surfaces
A source phones me. The
government has produced Mukoko. I rush to the
courtroom, but the hearing is
already in progress, so I wait outside. When
the doors open, Mukoko is
escorted out. She walks with a limp but holds up
her head. Beneath a wig, her
face is swollen. Her usual blazing expression
is gone, replaced by blankness
and fear. I suspect that she has been
tortured. I pull my cap over my eyes
and cry.
The judge orders that Mukoko be seen by a doctor before any
further court
proceedings. But she is whisked away -- not to a hospital but
to the
notorious Chikurubi maximum security prison. The same government that
for
three weeks had denied any knowledge of her abduction now hauls her
into
court and charges her with plotting to overthrow Mugabe.
Dec. 31 --
Disease and Denial
On a bleak New Year's Eve, I think about my father's
brother, who succumbed
last month to cholera. Not long after his death, I
attended a government
news conference on the disease that the World Health
Organization estimates
has killed more than 1,500 and sickened nearly 30,000
since August. Mugabe's
Information Minister, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu called the
epidemic "a calculated,
racist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant former
[British] colonial
power, which has enlisted support from its American and
Western allies so
that they can invade the country." Part of me wanted to
burst out laughing.
But I, too, worry about contracting the disease. I've had
no water at my
house for more than three months. Like many of my neighbors, I
have dug a
shallow well in my backyard. None of us can afford to purify the
water.
Jan. 20, 2009 -- A Day for Hope
Only 20 days into the new
year, and what a hard one it has been so far. Last
week the Reserve Bank
issued yet another bill, worth $100 trillion, to cope
with inflation. The
number of cholera victims is approaching 3,000. Mukoko
is still in prison.
Nonetheless, today is a day for hope. For many
Zimbabweans, the inauguration
of Barack Obama, whom they consider a fellow
African, promises a brighter
future.
As I prepare to watch the ceremony on my little television, I
cringe at the
sound of an unexpected knock. But it's just my neighbor Mai
Kudzi. "My
sister, I have come so that we may witness this together," she
says.
Ten minutes before the inauguration is to begin, we're in darkness.
We
wonder whether Mugabe has cut off the electricity because he fears
that
Obama will call on him to relinquish power.
Mai Kudzi and I sit
with our heads tilted toward my crackling
battery-operated radio, the dial
set to an independent station that operates
illegally, and strain to hear
Obama take the oath of office. As soon as he
finishes his speech, we rejoice
and dance in the dark. We have not had
anything to be happy about in a long
time. Help is coming, Mai Kudzi says.
Later, alone, I eat my supper of
dry bread. My husband is on a trip to
neighboring Mozambique. We have run out
of rice. At least we can still
afford to buy more.
Jan. 27 -- More Bad
News
For the first time in six months, I enjoy a hot shower with running
water --
something my son may never experience. I am in South Africa for
another
summit on Zimbabwe. This time, the Southern African Development
Community is
trying to hammer out a power-sharing agreement between Mugabe
and the
opposition. Last night my phone kept ringing until I finally turned
it off.
Everyone at home wants to know the outcome of the talks.
The
news is not good. In the wee hours of the morning, negotiators emerge
with
conflicting statements: Some say that an agreement has been reached,
others
claim the opposite. The confusion means that Mugabe is still in
charge. I
wonder how much longer we can hold on.
Jan. 30 -- Still Waiting for
Help
It's late afternoon. I just got the news: The opposition has agreed
to join
Mugabe's government, with Tsvangirai to become prime minister within
weeks.
From South Africa I watch on television as people gather outside the
MDC's
headquarters in Harare, cheering at the announcement. The police are
too
stunned to make any arrests. For the crowd, today is another day for
hope.
But like many Zimbabweans, I find it hard to celebrate. Mugabe
remains
powerful under the new government, still controlling the state
coffers, the
military, the police and the media. I sigh as I think of the
problems ahead.
The United Nations estimates that 7 million Zimbabweans -- as
much as 80
percent of the population -- need food aid. The cholera death
count creeps
ever higher. Yesterday the government announced that citizens
may do
business in the U.S. dollar, the British pound, the South African rand
and
even the Botswanan pula, effectively abandoning the worthless
Zimbabwean
currency and making life even more confusing. As I wait at the
airport for
my flight home, the light at the end of the tunnel seems so far
away.
Watch the associated video at
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/blog/2009/01/iwitness_zimbab.html
http://www.sabcnews.com
January 31 2009,
11:35:00
Crystal Orderson, Addis Ababa
All
eyes will be on President Kgalema Motlanthe when he arrives in the
Ethiopian
capital, Addis Ababa this morning where he's expected to present a
report on
Zimbabwe's power-sharing agreement at the African Union summit.
This follows
a decision yesterday by the MDC executive to back party leader
Morgan
Tsvangirai's decision to join President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF in
the
long-stalled power-sharing deal.
Motlanthe will present the report
on the implementation of the SADC
resolution to the AU. Meanwhile civil
society activists under the Save
Zimbabwean Coalition delivered a letter to
the 53 African foreign ministers
where they are calling for the
establishment of a permanent AU presence in
Zimbabwe to monitor the power
sharing agreement and a return to democracy
and the rule of
law.
The coalition further calls on the AU special representative
on Human
Rights to visit the country urgently to investigate some of the
human rights
abuses taking place in the country.
http://www.sabcnews.com
January 31 2009,
6:30:00
Religious leaders are optimistic that the unity
government, to be
formed in Zimbabwe next month, will help resolve the
economic and
humanitarian crisis in that country. The MDC yesterday agreed
to join the
unity government.
Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal
Christian Churches, Bishop Rubin
Phillip, says South Africa and the
international community must step up the
provision of humanitarian
assistance to suffering Zimbabweans.
Last week, the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) undertook
a resolution that the two
parties form a government of unity. Under the
SADC-brokered agreement,
Mugabe will remain president, Tsvangirai will
become Prime Minister while
Arthur Mutambara, leader of smaller MDC faction,
will be deputy prime
minister.
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Addis Ababa
(Ethiopia) Zimbabwean and South African civil society
organizations have
requested the African Union (AU) Commission to carry out
urgent field visit
to Zimbabwe to assess the human rights situation in that
country.
The
CSOs-Save Zimbabwe and South African CSOs said in a joint statement on
Friday, that the human rights situation of that country didn't get the
required attention by the ongoing mediation efforts, which resulted in
Friday's agreement for a power sharing deal.
"We therefore request
that this summit calls for depoliticizing humanitarian
assistance, the
removal of a bureaucratic hurdle in relief distribution, an
immediate
cessation of hostilities and restoration of the rule of law and
guarantee of
security to all Zimbabwean citizens," the joint communiqué
said.
At
least 4 million Zimbabweans need food aid as of February 2009, the
statement
went on to say.
"Over 3,000 confirmed deaths and over 50,000 people
affected by cholera, a
collapsing public service system characterized by
closure of medical
facilities and institutions of learning from primary to
tertiary," they
added.
The Zimbabwe political issue is among the
agenda of the AU summit in its
political deliberation, which will begin on 1
February at the heads of
states level in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa where
president Mugabe is expected to
attend.
DT/tjm/APA
2009-01-31
http://www.iht.com/
The Associated PressPublished: January
31, 2009
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: Zimbabwean activists have
gathered in the Ethiopian
capital to lobby African heads of state to help
end what the activists say
is a "passive genocide" - Zimbabwe's
deteriorating humanitarian situation.
An African Union summit is
scheduled to begin Sunday in Addis Ababa.
Zimbabwean preacher Rev.
Nicholas Mkaronda fled for South Africa in 2002
after another car tried
several times to crash into his. His aims, he said,
are to resuscitate
Zimbabwe's agricultural industry and restore freedoms to
ordinary
people.
The Zimbabweans gathered in Addis Ababa have support from Kumi
Naidoo, a
South African who is 11 days into a 21-day hunger strike he hopes
will force
the South African government to take a stronger line against
Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe.
Opposing parties in Zimbabwe have
agreed to form a unity government, but
activists say Mugabe maintains his
grip on the country.
Naidoo plans to present a petition urging the
heads of state to pressure
Zimbabwe to free political prisoners and restore
basic freedoms. More than
1,200 people have signed the petition online, he
said.
"What is so striking about the reality in Zimbabwe now is that wherever
you
go hunger is the pervasive reality," Naidoo told The Associated Press in
the
Ethiopian capital Saturday.
Naidoo, a former anti-apartheid
activist, said his water-only hunger strike
aims to embarrass the South
African government into being harder on Zimbabwe
and also to show solidarity
with an estimated five million Zimbabweans who
are
starving.
Mkaronda, the Anglican preacher might have big goals for
Zimbabwe. But his
personal goal is more modest.
"I'm asking for the
space to do my job as a priest," he said. "I want to be
able to preach. I
can't preach. As soon as I preach, they descend on me. As
soon as I pray,
they come down on me. That's all I ask for - nothing more,
nothing
less."
http://af.reuters.com
Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:14am GMT
By
Muchena Zigomo
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The U.N's World Food Programme
will halve cereal
rations for Zimbabweans next month because of an increase
in the number of
people in need of food aid, a spokesman
said.
Zimbabwe is facing chronic food shortages and seven million people,
or half
the population, will need handouts in February and March, according
to the
WFP. The agency opted to cut the monthly cereal ration to 5 kg (11
lb) per
person to feed more people.
"The main reason is that we are
increasing the number of beneficiaries to
5.1 million in February, and this
is substantially more than we had
originally planned for," Richard Lee,
WFP's spokesman for southern Africa,
told Reuters.
"We simply don't
have the resources to provide a full ration to all 5.1
million
people."
He added that the amount of beans and vegetable oil in the food
packages
would remain the same.
Zimbabwe's opposition decided on
Friday to join a government with President
Robert Mugabe next month, ending
a paralysing political deadlock that has
worsened the desperate economic and
humanitarian crisis.
For too long Zimbabwe's politicians have been talking while the
people suffer hunger, disease and violence. Now we have a socalled
Unity Government it is time to see action on the bread and
butter issues that count for ordinary Zimbabweans.Stand in Solidarity with WOZA on their 8th
Valentine’s Day demonstration for
Social Justice
http://www.cricketworld.com
31 January 2009
Zimbabwe
236-6 (Utseya 68no, Ongondo 2-42) beat
Kenya 234 (Obuya 55, Cremer 4-39,
Mpofu 2-31) by four wickets
3rd One Day International, Nairobi
The
series moved on to Nairobi but it was more of the same as Zimbabwe moved
into
an unassailable 3-0 series lead with a four-wicket win in the third One
Day
International against Kenya.
An unbeaten half-century from captain
Prosper Utseya ensured that Zimbabwe
survived an early wobble with innings of
substance coming from Elton
Chigumbura (43) and Forster Mutizwa (38 not
out).
Graeme Cremer picked up four wickets to bowl Kenya out for 234 in
the final
over after the home side won the toss and decided to bat
first.
Collins Obuya hit 55 in 63 balls and Alex Obanda 49 in 70 after
opener Seren
Waters was dismissed with the first ball of the innings to at
least set
Zimbabwe a challenging total.
And when Peter Ongondo removed
Zimbabwean openers Hamilton Masakadza and
Vusi Sibanda cheaply, with Stuart
Matsikenyeri and Max Waller both failing
to reach double figures, Kenya
sensed an upset, but it wasn't to be as the
experience of Utseya, the form of
Chigumbura and the big hitting of Mutizwa,
who faced just 27 balls, saw
Zimbabwe home with ten balls to spare.
http://www.iht.com
The Associated PressPublished: January 31,
2009
PERTH, Australia: Zimbabwe's return to test cricket
could be at least six
months to two years away, the International Cricket
Council said Saturday.
A team headed by Julian Hunte, president of the
West Indies Cricket Board,
presented an interim report to the ICC's board
following a visit to Zimbabwe
by Hunte and ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat
in November.
"Pending submission of that final report, the board was told
that none of
the stakeholders spoken to during the visit were of the view
that Zimbabwe
was ready to return to test cricket, with time frames proposed
ranging from
six months to two years or more," the ICC said in a
statement.
Zimbabwe has not played test cricket since 2006. In August,
Zimbabwe
withdrew from this year's World Twenty20 tournament in
England.
Zimbabwe was replaced by Scotland for the tournament in
June.
The African country pulled out because the British government
would not
grant visas in protest of Robert Mugabe claiming victory in a
widely
discredited presidential election last year. The England and Wales
Cricket
Board has also cut ties with Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Cricket Union
chairman Peter Chingoka was replaced at the Perth
meetings by Wilfred
Mukondiwa, who was listed in an ICC release on the
meetings as an alternate
for Chingoka.
Chingoka, a supporter of Mugabe, was banned from visiting
Australia by the
federal government as part of sanctions against the Mugabe
regime.