Zim Online
Mon
20 February 2006
HARARE - Exiled Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile
Mariam was the
brains behind last year's brutal clean-up campaign in
Zimbabwe that left
nearly a million people homeless, ZimOnline has
established.
Authoritative sources within Zimbabwe's feared state
security Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) told ZimOnline at the
weekend that Mengistu,
who fled to Harare in 1991 and now acts as President
Robert Mugabe's
security adviser, warned the Zimbabwean leader that the
swelling slum and
backyard population in Zimbabwe was creating a fertile
ground for a mass
uprising.
With the Zimbabwean economic
situation ever deteriorating and a
discontented population growing in
numbers, Mengistu advised Mugabe that the
only way to pre-empt a mass revolt
in Zimbabwe or any other form of mass
action was by depopulating the cities
via the brutal slum clearance
exercise.
Dubbed
"Operation Murambatsvina" ("Operation Clean-Out Trash"), the
controversial
home demolition exercise left at least 700 000 people homeless
and affected
another 2.4 million people, according to a report by United
Nations special
envoy, Anna Tibaijuka.
"His idea was that reducing the urban
population through such an
operation would greatly diminish the chances of
an uprising," said one
senior intelligence official.
According
to the intelligence official, who spoke on condition he was
not named, the
former Ethiopian dictator was of the view that spontaneous
riots, worse than
food riots that erupted in Harare and other cities in
1998, could happen
anytime because of the deteriorating economic situation
in Zimbabwe. Urgent
pre-emptive action was hence necessary, he told Mugabe.
Contacted
for comment, State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa
vehemently denied that
Mengistu was the author of the controversial urban
clean-up exercise,
telling ZimOnline that the Harare government does not
allow the former
Ethiopian dictator to interfere with the internal affairs
of Zimbabwe or of
his own country.
"That is totally untrue, believe you me, I am
Minister of our
government and I am also a member of the politburo (ruling
ZANU PF party
inner cabinet). All the decisions to do with the operation
emanated from the
politburo and were sent through me to the government,"
said Mutasa, regarded
as one of Mugabe's closest and most powerful
confidantes.
He added: "Mengistu had absolutely nothing to do with
the operation
and I think it is unfair to make that kind of allegation
against him.
Mengistu is a guest in our country. He is here in exile and is
simply
resting. He does not interfere at all with the affairs of our
country. We
also do not allow him to interfere with his country (Ethiopia)
from
Zimbabwe."
But our sources said Mengistu, who survived an
assassination attempt
in Harare in 1995, first suggested the slum clearance
idea to Mugabe in
February, at one of the regular meetings he holds with the
President and
other senior security chiefs from the army, the CIO and the
police.
After Mugabe accepted the idea, it was then followed by
several weeks
of meticulous planning.
Operation Murambatsvina
began in May, a few weeks after the ruling
ZANU PF party trounced the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
party in a controversial
parliamentary election.
The first meeting to plan the logistics of
the operation was chaired
by Mengistu himself at CIO headquarters in Harare,
and was attended by
Defence Forces Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga,
Zimbabwe National
Army Commander Philip Valerio Sibanda, Airforce of
Zimbabwe Commander Air
Marshal Perence Shiri, CIO Director General Happyton
Bonyongwe, his deputy
Menard Muzariri, Director of Prisons Brigadier
Zimondi, while the police
were represented by Deputy Commissioner Godwin
Matanga.
Other meetings chaired by Mengistu followed during which
video
clippings of Zimbabwe's 1998 food riots, as well as footage of mass
uprisings in the Ukraine, Yugoslavia and Ethiopia were shown to the group
which called itself Operation Murambatsvina's "high command".
After a series of meetings of the "high command", the group later met
with
government ministers, mayors and administrators sympathetic to the
government such as Harare Commission chairwoman Sekesai Makwavarara and
Bindura mayor Martin Dinha who endorsed the operation.
Mengistu
then prepared a final document on the Operation which he
submitted to Mugabe
and the President endorsed it.
Operation Murambatsvina, according
to the plan, was to be implemented
in phases, starting with flea markets
suspected of fuelling economic crimes,
mainly illegal foreign currency
trade.
After the flea markets, other vendors were next in line
particularly
those who operated push carts in cities and others who hawked
goods at road
intersections. The major exercise, the destruction of
so-called illegal
structures which included shacks, backyard homes and
industries was to be
done in the last phase.
Army and police
vehicles would be at hand to ferry urban residents
left homeless by the
clean-up operation to rural areas even if they did not
have homes there in
line with Mengistu's proposals in the final document.
"The exercise
was well planned to ensure that not only would it
de-populate the urban
areas, but it would also demoralise the victims
rendering them unable to
organise or participate in any mass action," said
another senior
intelligence source.
After the destruction of their homes, many
would not be able to
recover immediately and would have to spend a good time
of their future
lives trying to re-build themselves even if they came back
to the urban
areas.
"The whole operation was premised on the
idea that most urban dwellers
are opposition supporters and ZANU PF would
have nothing to lose for their
suffering," said a senior intelligence
source.
A project to re-build homes after Operation Murambatsvina
was
envisaged in Mengistu's plan though the main objective would be to
window
dress the main purpose of the slum clearance exercise.
This project, later dubbed "Operation Garikai", would naturally not
accommodate all the displaced people and would mainly benefit ZANU PF
supporters caught up in the destruction process.
A report in
the London-based New African magazine, which is
sympathetic to Mugabe, which
was re-produced in the Zimbabwe
government-controlled Herald newspaper last
year, said the whole Operation
Murambatsvina exercise was a CIO plan to
avert a popular uprising.
What the report did not mention was that
Mengistu was the brains
behind the whole process.
Mugabe has
spurned repeated efforts to extradite Mengistu to face
trial in Addis Ababa
over his murder of thousands of opponents, forcing
Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi's government, which itself has become repressive
in recent times, to
try the former dictator in absentia.
In Harare, Mengistu lives in
the lap of luxury in the plush Gunhill
suburb with 24-hour security from the
Police VIP Protection Unit and the CIO
at the Zimbabwean taxpayer's
expense.
The Mugabe government has since allocated Mengistu two
large farms,
one in Mazowe and another in Norton. Mengistu owns a separate
home in
Bluffhill.
He drives at least six luxury cars,
including a Mercedes Benz, Toyota
Prado, Toyota Avensis, BMW and a twin cab
truck. Mengistu enjoys a special
fuel scheme from the state's National Oil
Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) for
both personal use and for his farms, and
his vehicles are serviced free of
charge at the Central Mechanical Equipment
Department (CMED).
In 1995, Mengistu survived an attempt on his
life when an Eritrean,
Solomon Ghebre Haile Michael and Abraham Goletom
Joseph tried to assassinate
him at his Gunhill residence. The two were
arrested and subsequently
sentenced to 10 and five years imprisonment
respectively.
However, their sentences were later reduced to two
years each on
appeal because of "mitigatory circumstances" in the case. The
two said they
and their families had suffered torture under Mengistu's rule
in Ethiopia,
and it was not disputed during the trial that they were victims
of his
brutal dictatorship.
Security sources said Mengistu has
become so comfortable in Zimbabwe
to the extent that he cannot imagine
living elsewhere again. They also said
he cannot imagine any other
government, other than the ZANU PF one, coming
into power as that would see
him face extradition to Ethiopia to face the
gallows.
Sources
said Mengistu was rattled when the MDC nearly won the 2000
parliamentary
elections and the 2002 presidential elections. Mengistu is
said to have then
made plans to re-locate to either China or North Korea.
But he knew
very well that he would not get the same comforts as in
Harare.
"For that reason he has put his services at Mugabe's disposal to
ensure ZANU
PF rules forever," said another highly placed security
official. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Mon 20 February
2006
KAROI - Fugitive Zimbabwean business tycoon and a top ally of
President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party Billy Rautnebach has been
given up to May to vacate his farm as the government appears determined to
seize all land still in the hands of whites.
Rautenbach, wanted
in neighbouring South Africa in connection with
fraud involving billions of
dollars, was among the few white landowners who
survived Mugabe's farm
seizures on account of their close connections with
ZANU PF.
But the controversial tycoon, who has in the past denied having links
with
ZANU PF politicians, is on a list of white farm owners from Mashonaland
West
province given up to May to surrender their land to the government for
redistribution to blacks.
''It has been resolved that you move
out of the farm on 14 May 2006 as
the land reform is being finalised,''
reads part of the eviction order to
Rautenbach and other white farmers that
was shown to ZimOnline at the
weekend.
Rautenbach, who has
extensive interests in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC), could not
be reached for comment on the matter.
The governor of Mashonaland
West province, Nelson Samkange, who
sanctions land seizures in the area,
said there was nothing special about
the move to take Rautenbach's farm,
adding that the tycoon would just have
to vacate the property if it has been
listed for seizure by the government.
"He (Rautenbach) must go if
his farm has been listed for acquisition,"
said Samkange.
Rautenbach, who is now spending most of his time in Harare after
fleeing
South Africa's Scorpions anti-crime unit, is said to be heavily
connected to
former speaker of Zimbabwe's parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa, who
is locked up
in a vicious struggle with former army general Solomon Mujuru
for the
control of ZANU PF after Mugabe steps down in two years' time.
ZANU
PF insiders indicated that Rautenbach may have been targeted for
eviction as
part of the power struggle in the ruling party.
The tycoon, who has
ran cobalt-mining ventures in the DRC at the
height of that country's civil
war, is alleged to have committed various
crimes including fraud relating to
the conduct of his Hyundai motor vehicle
importation business when he was
still head of Hyundai South Africa.
South African authorities are
said to be pressing for Rautnebach's
extradition from Zimbabwe to face trial
for the alleged crimes. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Mon 20 February 2006
JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwe is
importing genetically modified (GMO) yellow
maize from Argentina despite a
ban on genetically altered foods by President
Robert Mugabe's
government.
A senior official at the Mozambican port city of Beira
was quoted by
Reuters at the weekend confirming that Zimbabwe was indeed
importing
genetically modified maize from Argentina.
"Zimbabwe
is importing yellow maize from Argentina which is known to
be GMO - one
vessel is coming into port now to offload 7 000 tonnes in
Maputo,
Mozambique, and 7 400 tonnes in Beira," said the trader.
But State
Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, who is also in charge of
food distribution
in Zimbabwe, immediately rejected the report. Mutasa said
the government had
not shifted its position on GMO foods.
Mutasa said: "To be honest I
have never heard of that. They would have
to consult with me but no one has
done so. Maybe they might be ordering it
for livestock but I don't think so
either.
"That policy (against GMO maize) is steadfast, we continue
to maintain
it. It has not been reviewed and my colleagues have not changed
their
position," he said.
The Zimbabwe government, like most
African countries, rejects
genetically modified foods over safety
fears.
Last year, tonnes of food aid sourced by the South African
Council of
Churches to assist victims of a controversial clean-up campaign
in Zimbabwe
was only allowed into the country after the South African
authorities issued
a permit certifying that the food was not genetically
modified.
At least four million Zimbabweans, a quarter of the
country's 12
million population, are in urgent need of food aid between now
and the next
harvest in April or they will starve.
Zimbabweans
have virtually survived on food handouts from
international relief agencies
after Mugabe disrupted the key agriculture
sector through his often violent
land reforms six years ago.
Mugabe denies his land reforms caused
the food shortages blaming the
crisis on persistent droughts. -
ZimOnline
Zim Daily
Sunday, February 19 2006 @ 04:22 AM
GMT
Contributed by: correspondent
A team of
agricultural experts from Nigeria's Kwara State
arrived in Zimbabwe on
Friday, hoping to lure evicted white commercial
farmers as the central
Nigerian State moves to revive its neglected
agricultural sector by
encouraging white farmers to relocate to the country.
Zimdaily heard that
the team is being led by Bukola Sakari and include
several envoys from
central Nigeria. The team was due to hold talks with
government officials
and white farmers. The government has promised to
cooperate with the
delegation amid continuing hostility to white farmers.
The
visit follows a visit by a delegation of the Commercial
Farmers Union last
year. The farmers who visited Nigeria mainly represented
those who have lost
their farms in President Mugabe's haphazard land
redistribution programme.
Nigeria's farms have been neglected since oil was
discovered 40 years ago.
One of the farmers who visited Nigeria told
Zimdaily during their week-long
visit to Nigeria they had been offered large
blocks of land on 99-year
leases to resettle in Nigeria.
He said the farms he had seen
were overgrown and neglected. "We
could resuscitate things in a matter of
months and get those places up and
running again," John Berzuidenhuit said.
He said they will return to Nigeria
for further discussions, but had not
made any firm decisions. The farmers
are concerned about the lack of
infrastructure and Nigeria's reputation for
corruption. But Kwara state is
optimistic that the men will agree to the
project.
"I think
the few farmers that have visited will spread the good
news that there is
arable land," said Nigel Crompton, who is part of the
delegation.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is also
on record giving
his support for the project, saying Nigeria was "anxious to
benefit from
their expertise and experience". The farmers would find their
stay in
Nigeria "rewarding and exciting," he added when the group visited
the
capital Abuja. But Nigeria is not the only offer the farmers have had.
White
farmers have also received overtures from Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya,
Uganda
and Tanzania.
New Zimbabwe
By Staff
Reporter
Last updated: 02/20/2006 04:46:51
THE government has handed over
a cheque of Zim$8 billion to the opposition
Movemenr for Democratic Change
(MDC), its entitlement under the Political
Parties (Finance) Act.
The
MDC has split in recent months following a dispute over senate elections
last November.
Party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai favoured a boycott of
the elections but his
senior colleagues, boosted by a vote of the party's
national council,
insisted on fielding candidates leading to an acrimonious
split.
MDC secretary general, Welshman Ncube, who is a member of the
faction
opposed to Tsvangirai, received the cheque last week from Justice
Minister
Patrick Chinamasa.
In an interview with New Zimbabwe.com
Sunday, Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, recently chosen as parliamentary
spokesman for
Ncube's group, said the money would be used to finance the
party's congress
this coming weekend.
"We need close to $20 billion
to host the party congress and this money will
go towards that budget," she
said.
She said sharing the money with Tsvangirai's group was out of
question.
"They (Tsvangirai's group) are using Harvest House and we have
not tried to
muscle in and disturb their peace. They also have access to
most of the
party vehicles which they have not offered for sharing. It is in
that vein
that we have also not seen the need of sharing the $8 billion from
government," said Misihairabwi, MP for Glen Norah.
The congress set
for the weekend is expected to instal former University of
Zimbabwe student
leader, Arthur Mutambara, as leader.
Mutambara is set to pick former
Zimbabwe Union of Democrats leader, Margaret
Dongo and university lecturer
Heneri Dzinotyiwei as his running mates. New
Zimbabwe.com also understands
that there are feverish attempts to lure
Tendai Biti to the fold, said to be
the "only reasonable guy from
Tsvangirai's side" by one
official.
Tsvangirai's group plans to hold its own congress later in
March, but that
may be of little consequence if Mutambara manages to rally
MDC supporters
behind him.
Dr Alex Magaisa, a political commentator
said: "Mutambara's entry into
Zimbabwean politics represents a new phase in
the struggle. The MDC has so
far been too closed -- not allowing
participation at the highest level by
Zimbabweans
abroad.
"Mutambara's arrival suggests this may change and we are likely
to see more
and more people in the Diaspora seeking to play a role in the
political
transformation of Zimbabwe. It's not only Tsvangirai who would be
scared of
Mutambara at the moment, but President Mugabe
too.
"Mutambara has a great track record and is respected at home and
abroad."
Pedzisai Ruhanya, a political journalist said: "Mutambara's
entry into the
political arena will without doubt cause a lot of headaches
in the MDC,
especially for those who do not want to reform...whose claim to
political
legitimacy is the ability to say pasi nanhingi (down with so and
so) or
chinja maitiro (change your ways).
"Without doubt, Mutambara
is a political force who can only be underrated by
delusionary politicians.
It is without doubt that any faction in the MDC
that takes him will most
likely emerge the strongest. I am told he is part
of the pro-senate group
and this will bring nightmares to the other faction.
"If that is the
case, the pro-senate faction, by widening its choices and
making leadership
renewal, is likely to emerge as the legitimate group
because besides
Mutambara, I am also informed that the group has also
invited quite a number
of credible people and the usual tactics of labelling
it pro-Zanu PF wont
work."
New Zimbabwe.com readers also hailed Mutambara's entry into the
Zimbabwean
political fold.
"If Mutambara becomes President of the
troubled MDC," said Golden Gadzirayi
Nyambuya by e-mail, "I know for sure
democracy is very close. I have never
believed not even for a second that
Tsvangirai is the man for the job. The
man has a chronic paucity of
leadership skills at the national level.
However, I profoundly
appreciate
the contributions he has made to Zimbabwe."
Msekiwa Makwanya, an opinion
writer who first urged Mutambara to enter
politics said: "Mutambara is not
only a public leader, he is also close to
the captains of industry in the
region and has the gravitas to pull people
in one
direction.
"Margaret Dongo and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga will
re-unite again to
give women a meaningful representation in
politics."
New Zimbabwe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below
is the full text of a statement by Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono
following Zimbabwe's settlement of debt arrears to the
IMF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By
Gideon Gono
Last updated: 02/20/2006 02:44:22
IT IS a point of ancient
wisdom that "a journey of a thousand miles begins
with one step", that bears
testimony to the arduous accomplishment the
country has achieved in clearing
its overdue obligations in the IMF's GRA
facility.
This has paved the way
for the country's retention of its membership in the
community of global
financial partners.
To this extent, Zimbabweans from all walks of life
have every reason to feel
both humbled and relieved by the fact that one of
the thousand mile journey
in our turnaround efforts has been accomplished
through our collective
dedication to transform what at first was an
insurmountable task, when we
were initially making symbolic payments of
US$1,5 million per quarter on a
US$210 million debt, into the resounding
success that we have now
collectively registered.
The road along the
thousand mile journey has, however, not been without its
challenges, trials,
tribulations and moments of anxiety.
This notwithstanding, what should
give Zimbabweans from all walks of life a
deep sense of pride and
accomplishment is the fact that we have arrived at
the destination that we
set out to achieve as a unified people.
In feeling relieved and
justifiably elated by the signals coming out of the
IMF, it has to be
realised by all Zimbabweans, however, that settling the
GRA arrears, while
important, is not an end in itself.
The real improvement in our
livelihoods, as a people, lies in our collective
ability to meaningfully
uplift production on the ground. Our farmers must
till the land with greater
vigour; our hoteliers must aggressively market
their products; our miners
must extract the minerals from the riches of our
soils; our manufacturers
must expand their horizons on value-addition; while
all Zimbabweans should
think and sing production, production, production.
In doing this, we
should guard against excessive exuberance, as there are
still many thousand
mile journeys we have to transverse collectively, and,
with unity of
purpose.
As we refocus our strategic lenses on the future, we should not
underestimate nor relegate to the dustbin the critical lessons we have
learnt from the thousand mile journey we have just accomplished.
A
key lesson is that, as a Nation, when we agree to do something in the
interest of the economy and its people, we must remain focused and united
all the way;
To this end, Monetary Authorities wish to pay special
tribute to the
leadership in the Ministry of Finance, and to the Hon.
Minister himself, Dr
H.M. Murerwa, and to the Presidium for being steadfast
in their support of
the sacrificial program to repay the
IMF.
Equally, as Monetary Authorities, we amply recognise that this
achievement
is, by no means, a product of a singular institution, sector or
individual.
Rather, this achievement is credited to all Zimbabweans here at
home and
those abroad; to all players in Business, Labour, Government, civic
society,
as well as numerous other cooperating social and financial partners
who all
rallied behind the initiative through sacrifice and/or direct
contributions.
The Central Bank on its own could not have been able to
make any difference,
were it not for the resounding support we got from all
sectors and
stakeholders across the board.
The challenges that lie
ahead are many and formidable. The Country still
owes various international
creditors significant amounts of money, which as
the Central Bank we pledge
to make good without fail, in the fullness of
time.
We ask our
creditors, however, not to take precipitous actions that may
undermine or
compromise our ability to craft win-win outcomes.
In these efforts, it
would, however, be useful and progressive if the
positive signals coming out
of the IMF on Zimbabwe's membership in the Fund
are used by the
international community as stepping stones to build fruitful
bridges of
cooperation, with and assistance to Zimbabwe, particularly in
respect of
such programs as those granted to other economies, including debt
re-scheduling and debt forgiveness.
As a country, Zimbabwe has
demonstrated to the international community that
through sacrifice, we are
committed to making good the dues we owe to our
creditors. Zvikwereti zvedu
tinobhadhara.
With the US$210,6 million we have paid to the IMF over the
recent months,
essentially to meet past commitments, as apposed to current
requirements,
Zimbabweans have had to go without medical drugs; without
adequate food
imports; without enough fuel, electricity and many other
essentials, and for
that, we ask the international community to take note as
they re-evaluate
their risk perceptions on Zimbabwe.
Equally, our
prioritisation of the IMF does not in any way reflect any
deliberate attempt
to relegate other creditors. Simply, our humble strategy
was one guided by
survival instincts, in the interests of protecting the
long-term standing of
the Zimbabwean economy.
We urge that on our part, as Zimbabweans, let us
not lose the momentum of
goodwill that is beginning to emerge.
We
plead with all stakeholders to take mutually reinforcing and
collaborating
actions on all fronts of our capabilities, so as to ensure
that we do not
squander the chances and opportunities beckoning to us.
Yes, inflation is
high and is expected to temporarily escalate further
before rescinding to
targeted lower levels.
From The Sunday Independent (SA), 19 February
By Charlene Smith
Every week tens of thousands
of refugees flow into South Africa, and each
week South Africa ships out a
few thousand, more than 1 000 every week to
Zimbabwe alone. But United
Nations and police officials say trying to stem
the tide is like trying to
stop a tsunami with a bucket. Jonathan Martins,
the programme manager of the
United Nations-funded International
Organisation on Migrancy (IOM), told The
Sunday Independent that South
Africa's borders were "incredibly porous.
People from as far as Ethiopia
tend to go south to South Africa because
there is a perception there are
jobs and opportunities in South Africa".
People-smuggling rings are cashing
in on the situation, particularly from
Zimbabwe as people flee economic
meltdown and political repression.
Zimbabwe's The Herald newspaper says
syndicates operating at Beit Bridge,
the border post, use South
African-registered vehicles to transport people
from as far as Bulawayo to
Johannesburg for a fee of R800 to R1 000. They
are transported to Beit
Bridge where they are guided across the Limpopo
river and then picked by
taxis on the South African side.
According
to Limpopo province police statistics, 753 illegal immigrants were
arrested
between January 5 and January 12, an average of 100 a day. However,
this is
the rainy season in Limpopo, which sees fewer immigrants entering
the
country as the Limpopo River floods, making the crocodile-infested
waters
more hazardous than usual. UN officials and police say human
trafficking -
the "new slave trade" is on the increase. Martins said "the
distinction
between 21st century and 18th century slavery is that now
recruitment is
most often by perception rather than force." Human smuggling
is often a
choice by people who want to be smuggled into a country and for
which they
will pay. "Trafficking involves recruitment and transportation
for purposes
of exploitation. We have assisted people trafficked here from
around the
world especially China, eastern Europe and a number from this
continent."
Martins said someone trafficked to South Africa "from a
neighbouring state
will be sold for very little, around R500. Children are
more expensive.
Price depends on what is considered as exotic."
According to police
sources and the IOM, women from places such as the
Democratic Republic of
Congo are offered jobs as housekeepers in South
Africa, only to have their
passports seized and to be forced into
prostitution. South Africa is
sufficiently concerned about trafficking to
have established a task force
two years ago and a helpline 0800-555-999.
Police say they have not had a
successful prosecution yet against
traffickers, hindered by a lack of
legislation against the practice in South
Africa. The Institute for Security
Studies began a research project on Human
Trafficking in January. Chandre
Gould, a senior researcher for the project,
said a meeting would be held
this week among some of the organisations with
experience in trafficking to
figure out how to accumulate data on
trafficking. She said that no data was
being systematically collected to
obtain a national overview of the problem.
"We know nothing at all, as an
example, about trafficking in men and boys or
the trade in body parts."
Loren Landau of Forced Migration Studies at the
University of the
Witwatersrand said "a lot of people are voluntarily
smuggled by syndicates.
Many come here with the idea of going to Europe or
Canada; they use South
Africa as a transit point. Many come across in taxis.
We have spoken to home
affairs officials about finding a more humane way of
dealing with refugees
than very costly forced repatriation. But they are
reluctant to recognise
asylum seekers from Zimbabwe, especially."
Nonetheless, the situation has
improved. Last year, Landau said, South
Africa recognised 8 000 asylum
seekers and 35 refugees from Zimbabwe. He
said that South Africa needed "to
recognise that the regional economic
situation is not good, and they must
recognise that economic refugees will
come. South Africa needs to ensure
their rights are protected and they are
not pushed into criminal activity."
From The Chicago Tribune, 19 February
By Laurie Goering, Tribune foreign
correspondent
Kabwe - Times have been hard since the state-owned
mines and textile mill
closed in this industrial town in the early 1990s.
Workers, with no other
job options, were forced to revert to subsistence
agriculture. Kids dropped
out of school. Small businesses collapsed. So when
Chinese investors began
arriving to reopen the textile plant, open a
manganese mine and build an ore
smelter, the welcome could hardly have been
warmer. "We are very impressed
with the Chinese investment. We need it. We
have no option if this town is
to survive," said Thomas Muwowo, secretary of
the Kabwe Chamber of Commerce
and Industry. With Chinese help, "this ghost
has some flesh now," he said of
his dusty town in Zambia's central interior.
But at the reopened textile
mill, salaries are low, ranging from $24 to $88
a month. Safety gear is
scarce, workers say. And Chinese managers hold all
the top jobs. "We are
held at ransom," said Dickson Chirwa, chairman of the
local textile workers
union. "They treat us like their workers at home, as
cheap labor. But the
matter is, we need them."
China is fast
becoming one of Africa's biggest investors, donors and
political allies. The
developing giant is helping build the continent's
biggest dam, in Ethiopia.
It has launched Nigeria's first satellite into
orbit. It has lent Angola $2
billion in exchange for oil. It is farming
shrimp in Mozambique, installing
phone systems in Kenya, building roads in
Zambia and securing rights to
Africa's timber, oil and mineral resources.
All told, Chinese investment on
the long-neglected continent has mushroomed
from $10 billion in 2000 to $18
billion in 2003, and China has become
Africa's third-largest trading
partner, behind the U.S. and Britain. China
"is filling the void left by the
West," said Bruce Imboela, a development
studies professor at the University
of Zambia. In particular, he said, China
has provided investment and
development aid in regions and countries where
the West has been reluctant
to make deals. But China's growing sway in
Africa also is a worry for
Western governments and for many Africans.
Chinese loans and investments are
a major reason President Robert Mugabe's
disastrous regime in Zimbabwe
remains afloat, analysts say. China has sent
tanks, helicopters and fighter
aircraft to Sudan's government, which has
supported attacks in its Darfur
region in which tens of thousands of people
have been
killed.
China's willingness to deal with rogue regimes, to overlook
corruption and
to push ahead with projects regardless of safety and
environmental concerns
risks lives and undermines African institutions and
Western efforts to
promote good governance, analysts say. "China offers an
alternative source
of support, even for some of the United States' closest
allies, when they
chafe under Western pressure for economic or political
reform," the
U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations said in a report
released in
December. In some cases, "China's aid and investments are
attractive to
Africans precisely because they come with no conditionality
related to
governance, fiscal probity, or the other concerns of Western
donors."
Western governments also fear that China's economic clout on the
continent
could lead to growing political clout, with small African nations
throwing
their votes in with China at the United Nations on issues such as
Taiwan, or
China refusing--as it has in recent years--to condemn
human-rights
violations in such nations as Sudan that it counts among its
major oil
suppliers. "They're a big player in international politics, and
they need
the support of small countries like Zambia," Imboela
said.
In landlocked Zambia, one of Africa's poorest countries, China
has been
eagerly welcomed as a much-needed new aid, trade and investment
partner. The
countries, each with a socialist history, have ties dating to
Zambia's
anti-colonial struggle in the early 1960s, when China backed
liberation
movements across the continent. Today, however, China's focus is
business.
In recent years it has become the third-biggest investor in Zambia
behind
South Africa and Britain, pouring more than $300 million into mines,
manufacturing projects, construction companies and agriculture, according to
the Chinese Embassy in Lusaka. It has invested $150 million in reopening the
Chambishi copper mine in Zambia's north, creating almost 2,000 jobs, and
plans a $100 million smelter at the plant as well. It is mining coal in
Choma, processing copper and cobalt ore in Kitwe and smelting copper in
Ndola. The investment push has been matched by new development assistance.
Chinese banks are helping pay for a hydroelectric dam on Zambia's Kafue
River, and China's government has rebuilt most of the main roads linking the
country's major cities.
"For us, they're an important contributor
to economic growth in this
country," said Sharon Sichilongo, who now speaks
a little Mandarin to
facilitate her work as spokeswoman for the
government-funded Zambia
Investment Center. The Chinese like Zambia as well.
Li Kekun, the manager of
a $6 million manganese smelter set to open next
month in Kabwe, said Zambian
authorities have been forthcoming with tax
breaks and other incentives for
the plant. They are very helpful to us and
regard the plant as their own. We
have felt very welcome," he said through
an interpreter. The plant's Zambian
construction workers are somewhat less
enthusiastic, particularly about the
salaries, which Li said range from $44
to $132 a month. But "I want to see
this thing go," said Eddy Ndhlovu, the
Zambian foreman at the project, who
had been unemployed since losing his
mine foreman job in 1994. "Kabwe has
been devastated. There are no jobs
here." At the former government textile
mill, Chinese businessmen have
invested $24 million since 1997 to upgrade
the plant. "Where other
nationalities have shown reluctance to invest, the
Chinese have come," said
Albert Chifta, the Zambian deputy general manager
of the Mulungushi Textiles
plant.
But after nearly a decade in town, the plant's salaries are
low, he
acknowledged, and Chinese bosses still hold all the top management
jobs.
Last November, union workers at the plant struck for a week to try to
boost
salaries, which they say are barely enough to pay a family's rent, and
to
demand better safety clothing against the harsh chemicals used in the
factory. In the end, threatened with being fired, they returned to work
without winning any concessions. "We have no other options of work,"
acknowledged Chirwa, the chairman of the union. Safety concerns have been an
issue at other Chinese plants in Zambia as well. And in April, 49 miners
were killed in an accident at the Chinese-run Chambishi copper mine. "The
Chinese don't put safety and environmental concerns as that important," said
Imboela of the University of Zambia. "They do things faster and cheaper than
the West." But overall, "the growth of China is a big blessing for us," said
Francis Chigumta, a development expert at the University of Zambia. "As long
as Taiwan is separate and China is growing, we expect to enjoy these
benefits."
African News Dimension
Sunday, 19 February 2006, 6 hours, 37 minutes and 22
seconds ago.
By Elias Wilson
THE Food and Agriculture
Orgnaisation has allocated US$150 000 (Z$15
billion) to the Zimbabwean
Government to put in place measures to control
and prevent the outbreak of
the deadly H5NI bird flu.
Veterinary Services Department Principal
Director, Dr Stuart
Hargreaves said the country has so far received US$33
000 (Z$3.3 billion)
and the remainder would made availabe later.. "We were
allocated US$150 000
by FAO but we have only only received US$33 000. The
money was immediately
used to launch awareness campaigns about the disease
across the country," he
said. He however said he was not aware when FAO
would make available the
remaining funds. The deadly bird flu has hit most
parts of the Northern
Africa with Nigeria and Egypt having lost many birds.
Last year Zimbabwe
suspended ostrich and poultry exports due to an outbreak
of bird flu at two
ostrich farms in the Matabeleland province. Dr Hargreaves
also said health
experts from all the Southern Africa Development Community
countries would
meet in Pretoria South Africa next month to discuss regional
strategies to
contain the disease. He said the meeting should come up with
resolutions on
how individual countries could contribute to the prevention
of the disease.
"In March we will meet in Pretoria and the aim is to control
come up with a
regional approach on how we can control the disease. Since
the disease is
spread by migratory birds, an outbreak in one of the country
would mean that
all the neigbouring countries would be at risk," he
said.
A.N.D Zimbabwe
Sunday Tribune
February 19, 2006
By Basildon Peta
Zimbabwe has found a new way to pay its bills: print money - a
staggering
Z$21 trillion (about R70 million) needed to buy foreign currency
to pay off
International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrears.
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono predicted the
money-printing spree would fuel
hyper-inflation to 800% in two months time.
The current rate is
600%.
President Robert Mugabe's government won't be expelled
from the
IMF for now, after it paid its $9 million (R55 million) debt
arrears.
Speculative reports said much of the money had
come from
Zimbabwe's murky mining concessions in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo,
which are controlled by army generals and senior
politicians.
However, Gono has since disclosed that the
central bank printed
the money to buy the foreign currency to pay the IMF
locally.
He said Zimbabwe had no choice but to print money to
pay its IMF
arrears. "We printed $21 trillion to buy foreign currency to pay
the IMF,"
Gono said.