http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Asia-Pacific News
Jan
10, 2009, 9:28 GMT
Johannesburg - Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe is vacationing in
Malaysia, to where he has also transferred funds,
according to South
Africa's Saturday Star newspaper.
It said Mugabe's
wife, Grace - who went with their four children to Malaysia
before Christmas
- had organised a transfer of 92,000 dollars from
Zimbabwe's central
bank.
Mugabe, who followed on last Monday, was using the vacation for
routine
health checks, while his personal doctor had also helped organise
transfer
of personal funds to Malaysia and also Singapore.
The
84-year-old's vacation, due to last a month, comes as the former model
African state endures the toughest economic and political crisis in its
history.
Hyper-inflation has prompted the central bank to issue a new
50
billion-Zimbabwe-dollar note. Acting Finance Minister Patrcik Chinamasa
Saturday announced the note - enough to buy two loaves.
In addition
to chronic food shortages and lack of drinking water, Zimbabwe
remains in
the grip of a cholera epidemic in which at least 1,700 people
have
reportedly died, with some 35,000 infected.
http://www.iol.co.za
Basildon Peta
January 10
2009 at 10:44AM
Robert Mugabe's wife Grace has allegedly drawn a
large sum of foreign
exchange from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to bankroll
her family holiday in
the Far East, despite her country's crippling economic
crisis.
At a time when more than 1 700 Zimbabweans have perished from
cholera,
despite the release of a R300-million relief package from South
Africa,
authoritative sources say Grace showed no restraint and withdrew
US$92 000
(about R890 000) from the central bank to fund her month-long
holiday in
Malaysia.
The withdrawal comes after Grace's $80 000
shopping spree in Rome in June
last year on the sidelines of a UN Food and
Agriculture Organisation summit,
to which Mugabe was
invited.
Grace left with her four children shortly
before Christmas for what has
become the Mugabe family's annual pilgrimage
to Malaysia, where there are
unsubstantiated reports that Zimbabwe's first
family have long had a family
home.
Grace has three biological
children with Mugabe and her own son, Russel,
from her first marriage to a
former Air Force of Zimbabwe officer, Stanley
Goreraza, who ditched her
after she began dating the soon to be 85-year-old
Zimbabwean leader, for
whom she worked as a secretary.
Grace was on Monday joined by Mugabe, who
took his month-long leave despite
the economic and political crisis plaguing
his country.
Sources say Mugabe could not have missed joining his wife as
he needed to go
for his regular medical check-ups facilitated by his doctor,
Mahmood Awang
Kechik.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign
Assets Control imposed
financial sanctions on Kechik in November over his
close relationship with
Mugabe.
Kechik, a urologist, not only acted
as Mugabe's personal physician but
subsequently began facilitating Mugabe's
business and financial dealings in
Malaysia.
The Saturday Star
understands that Kechik became a reliable personal contact
for the Mugabes
for their dealings in Malaysia and Singapore - where they
transferred most
of their assets from Europe ahead of the imposition of EU
targeted sanctions
on Mugabe and his officials several years ago.
He was also close to
central bank governor Gideon Gono and a few ministers
and senior army
officials who had also switched their wealth to the Far
East.
Mugabe
was this week roundly condemned by his countrymen who felt that it
was
heartless for him to go and splurge on a holiday while his country
burns.
But Zimbabwe's strongman has never shown much restraint in the
face of his
people's suffering.
He has since vacated his fairly
modest official residence in Harare and now
lives with his family in a plush
three-storey mansion in Harare's exclusive
Borrowdale suburb built at an
estimated cost of US$25-million.
There were conflicting suggestions about
Mugabe's holiday moves. Some
information suggested that he could be back
home early to attend a planned
SADC summit on Zimbabwe, in the event that it
is confirmed, while others
suggested that he will take his time on holiday
while he awaits the
Zimbabwean parliament to approve a bill paving the way
for an increasingly
doubtful unity government with Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba earlier this week said
Mugabe was not
so much on holiday but using his leave to reflect on the
Zimbabwean crisis.
This article was originally published on page 3 of
The Star on January 10,
2009
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare
(Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe's central bank has introduced new 20
billion and 50
billion Zimbabwe dollar banknotes, worth about US$1 and US$2
on the black
market, as the country battles runaway inflation estimated at
more than one
trillion percent, APA learns here Saturday.
The higher denominated
notes were announced in a government gazette
published on Friday, in what
has become a regular ritual in the
inflation-ravaged southern African
country.
New 1 billion, 5 billion and 10 billion Zimdollar notes
were also put
into circulation on December 19 when the central bank also
raised monthly
cash withdrawal limits fivefold to 10 billion
Zimdollars.
Prices are doubling every day in Zimbabwe where
hyper-inflation has
rendered the Zimdollar almost worthless.
Most traders no longer accept the Zimdollar, preferring the more
stable US
dollar, South African rand, Botswana pula and British pound
sterling.
Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate,
officially pegged at
231 million in July 2008 but believed to be much higher
today.
Critics blame the economic meltdown on mismanagement by the
Robert
Mugabe government, including the seizure and redistribution of
thousands of
white-owned farms. The once thriving agricultural sector has
fallen into
ruin.
The veteran Zimbabwean leader, however,
blames Western sanctions for
the economic crisis.
JN/daj/APA
2009-01-10
http://www.africanews.com/
Posted on Saturday 10 January 2009 -
10:12
Sam Banda Jnr, AfricaNews reporter in Blantyre, Malawi
Hundreds of refugees are said to be entering Zimbabwe illegally. Most
of
the refugees are also reported to be Somalis and Ethiopians. Despite
facing
economic problems and the cholera outbreak among others, the Southern
African country is rich in other products like fruits which people go and
buy.
The country has the best soils which have seen the country
triumph in
producing such fruits like oranges.
Media reports in the
southern African country say that at least 100
refugees who enter illegally
are surrendering themselves in borders every
week.
State newspaper
The Herald quoted Mashonaland East Province Assistant
Commissioner Bobby
Murwira as saying that they were concerned with the
influx of the illegal
refugees.
"About 100 refugees are surrendering to the police every
week, while
hordes of others enter the country through illegal crossing
points and are
later seen in groups along the Harare-Nyamapanda highway
hiking towards the
capital city," said Murwira.
He said they have
since strengthened their patrols to stop all illegal
entries.
Apart
from catching most of the refugees in border points with most of
them in
transit to South Africa, others are said to have been arrested in
other far
away locations like Mutoko and Murehwa.
Reports say that over the
years, refugees - especially from Somalia,
Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda and
Burundi, have been going to South Africa
illegally through
Zimbabwe.
In another development Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai is reported to have requested for a meeting with
President Robert
Mugabe.
The two have been in disagreements ever
since the power sharing deal was
brokered in September by South Africa's
former president Thabo Mbeki and
mostly it's to do with the sharing of
cabinet positions.
Tsvangirai has called for the meeting in an effort
to mend the deal and
form a government of national unity.
The media
reported recently that Mugabe is currently on annual leave and
that he was
set to form a government next month.
According to Tsvangirai's
spokesman Nelson Chamisa the MDC leader wants to
have a meeting to map the
way forward.
"We have written to Mugabe, indicating that we want a
meeting between him
and (MDC) president Tsvangirai to bring finality and
closure to the
dialogue," he said.
The spokesman however said the
ZANU PF leader has not yet responded to his
party's request.
In the
power sharing deal if successful, Mugabe would remain the president
whereas
Tsvangirai takes the position of prime minister.
http://www.mediaforfreedom.com/
1/10/2009
A Zimbabwean playwright who has repeatedly
challenged Robert Mugabe's
regime has won the Freedom to Create Prize,
awarded by ARTICLE 19 and the
artistic philanthropy group
ArtVenture.
Cont Mhlanga won the inaugural $50,000 award for
his play "the Good
President". The politically charged satire depicts an
African dictator who
has ruled Zimbabwe for 27 years since the country
gained independence in
1980.
Mhlanga has been an outspoken
critic of Mugabe, and his work has been
banned by the regime. According to
news reports, Mhlanga has pledged half of
his winnings to the Women of
Zimbabwe Arise Group, an equal rights
organisation.
Speaking
from Zimbabwe, Mhlanga said, "I am extremely humbled by the
recognition of
my work. This award is not just for me, it is for those
artists who are
victimised for working with me, and it is an award for
theatre in this
country."
The prize was created to honour artists who defend their
freedom of
expression at great personal sacrifice.
Second place
went to Belarus Free Theatre, an underground project
founded in 2005 as an
artistic means of resisting censorship.
Pakistani-Norwegian singer and human
rights activist Deeyah, nicknamed "The
Muslim Madonna", was
third.
Burmese satirist Zarganar, who was recently imprisoned for
45 years
for helping victims of Cyclone Nargis, was awarded the $25,000
Imprisoned
Artist Prize.
The $25,000 Youth Prize went to City
of Rhyme, a 14-strong hip-hop
group from northern Brazil, whose lyrics
condemn violence.
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 9 January
Johannesburg - Sixty-eight new cholera cases
have been reported in Limpopo,
the Department of Health said on Friday.
Eleven new cases were recorded in
Musina and Madimbo, 46 in Dilokong and 11
in Botlokwa since Thursday,
department spokesperson Phuti Seloba said. "Our
hot spots at the moment are
Botlokwa and Dilokong. At present there were 1
634 cases of cholera in
Limpopo that have been recorded since the outbreak,"
said Seloba. He said
the department expected to treat more cholera patients
as Zimbabweans were
moving back into South Africa in large numbers. "Our
anticipation is that
our neighbours from Zimbabwe are coming back into the
country in large
numbers, so we will treat more people," Seloba said. He
said campaigning had
intensified in terms of focusing more on awareness and
embarking on
door-to-door campaigns. "We are reaching out to the general
masses and
rearranging our resources. In Musina and Madimbo there were 1 016
cases,"
said Seloba. Before Christmas, Dilokong had 222 new cholera cases
and
Botlokwa stood at 248.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/
Associated
Press
Dhaka, January 10, 2009
First Published: 16:53
IST(10/1/2009)
Zimbabwe recorded its first win over a Test nation since
2007 when it beat
Bangladesh by 38 runs on Saturday in the opening match of
a triangular
one-day series. Chasing a moderate Zimbabwe total of 205-9,
Bangladesh lost
two early wickets for just 10 runs and never recovered,
finally being bowled
out for 167.
"We didn't bat well, we played a
poor game," Bangladesh captain Mohammad
Ashraful said.
Zimbabwe
captain Prosper Utseya was the best of the bowlers with 2-22 from
his full
10 overs, and made the initial breakthrough, claiming opener Junaid
Siddique
lbw before Ed Rainsford bowled Mushfiqur Rahim, both for
ducks.
Bangladesh slumped to 33-4 after opener Tamim Iqbal was run out on
13 and
Ashraful (18) was caught when lofting an Utseya delivery. Middleorder
batsmen Shakib Al Hasan and Raqibul Hasan steadied the innings, with a
59-run stand for the fifth wicket. But just when the hosts looked to have
recovered, Keith Dabengwa bowled Raqibul Hasan (23) and Ray Price had Mehrab
Hossain (2) stumped in the next over, with Bangladesh stumbling to
95-6.
Al Hasan cobbled together a 31-run stand for the seventh wicket
with Naeem
Islam, but fell on 52 when Elton Chigumbura had him caught behind
by Tatenda
Taibu.
It was the ninth one-day international half-century
for Al Hasan, who also
took 3-23, and Bangladesh crumbled after his
departure with two runouts
accounting for Mashrafe bin Mortaza (3) and Islam
(21). Tailenders Mahbubul
Alam and Nazmul Hossain made 21 runs in a last
ditch effort, but
Bangladesh's innings ended with 22 balls left when Stuart
Matsikenyeri
caught Alam (22) on the boundary rope off
Price.
"Starting 2009 with a win, is good for us," Utseya said. Earlier,
man of the
match Chigumbura hit a half century to steady Zimbabwe innings
after they
had slipped to 94-5, allowing the visitors to post a defendable
total.
Al Hasan, a left-arm spinner, trapped opener Vusi Sibanda (15) and
middle-order batsman Sean Williams (3) lbw, then dismissed Utseya
(9).
Part-time offspinner Islam dismissed top-order pair Taibu (17) and
Matsikenyeri (39), and then caught and bowled Dabengwa (10) to return career
best figures of 3-32.
Chigumbura's hit his eighth test fifty, off 90
balls with four boundaries,
in a calm innings when a steadying hand was
needed before being run out for
64.
The result left Bangladesh
needing to beat Sri Lanka to have a chance of
reaching the final.