Xinhua
www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-25
01:38:41
HARARE, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Zimbabwe's annual rate
of inflation
is expected to reach a peak of between 700 and 800 percent in
the first
quarter of the year before it starts to rescind, the ReserveBank
of Zimbabwe
has said.
Presenting the 2005 fourth quarter
monetary policy statement
onTuesday, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor,
Gideon Gono, said
inflation was expected to reach levels of below 500
percent by June and
forecast to end the year between 220 and 230
percent.
The central bank now expects to reach two digit
inflation levels
next year and not this year as earlier predicted, he
added.Inflation stands
at 585.8 percent as at December last year. Gono
called for a comprehensive
and holistic framework to burst the inflation
bubble.
Among targeted areas to win the anti-inflation battle
were
reducing money supply growth, strict adherence to the budget by
government,
full utilization of productive land distributed under the land
reform
program and tightening of interest rates.
"In order
to burst the inflation bubble that is threatening to
reverse the gains made
over the past 24 months, there is need for a
comprehensive, holistic
framework that significantly reduces money supply,
align fiscal expenditures
to budgeted levels, as well enhancing productivity
across all sector so the
economy," he said.
With the food component contributing about
32 percent of the
inflation basket, it was critical for the nation to
produce adequate food
through utilization of land and water resources for
irrigation.
Last year's drought forced the nation to rely on
imports from
neighboring countries such as South Africa. Inflation reached
an all time
high of 622.8 percent in January 2004, declining to 124 percent
in March
last year before the trend started to reverse.
Among the major inflation drivers were high money supply
growth,drought,
decline in foreign currency earnings, the surge in
international oil prices,
introduction of new taxes late last year and
continued adjustment of
commodity prices. Enditem
SABC
January 24, 2006,
15:30
Gideon Gono, Zimbabwe's central bank governor, launched a bold
attack on
graft today, saying that corruption, especially among influential
officials,
threatened to derail economic recovery efforts.
"The
rot is just so widespread and deep-rooted one doesn't know where to
start
from and stop, but start we must, urgently," Gono said in prepared
remarks
for the central bank's quarterly monetary policy statement.
Robert
Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, launched an anti-graft campaign in
2004
which critics said was an attempt to divert attention from the
country's
deepening economic crisis as it left out officials from his ruling
Zanu(PF)
party.
Graft-busting drive
The graft-busting drive led to the arrest
of mostly senior bank executives
and the subsequent closure of some
financial institutions which the central
bank said were not in a sound
financial position. Most executives have since
fled the
country.
Chris Kuruneri, the former finance minister, was the highest
ranking
official to be arrested and is on trial for illegally taking money
outside
the country - a deal which Gono sanctioned during his tenure as head
of a
local commercial bank.
"Our observation as Monetary Authorities
is that we are, as Zimbabweans,
fast losing our integrity and sense of
economic justice and fairness as a
people, right across the board," Gono
said.
He hailed the setting up of an anti-corruption body last year,
adding that
the central bank would be collaborating with the commission. The
Reserve
Bank had declared an amnesty for people who had "erred and strayed
economically in the past", he said, urging the government to do likewise.
But Gono said cases before the courts would not be withdrawn. -
Reuters
SABC
Zimbabwe says it
will continue to repay its debt to the International
Monetary
Fund
January 24, 2006, 19:30
Zimbabwe must rebuild its ties with
the international community and tackle
graft to achieve a sustained economic
recovery, Gideon Gono, Zimbabwe's
central bank governor, said today. In a
prepared monetary policy statement,
Gono also said the country would
continue to repay its debt to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) despite
what he described as "mixed
reactions" in the country.
"This national
sacrifice, painful as it is, is an indispensable pill that we
have to take
so as to avert the far-reaching adverse effects of being
alienated from the
community of nations in the financial world," he said.
"As Zimbabwe, we
cannot go it alone, and it is imperative that we seek to
work with other
international business partners, particularly those that see
the virtues and
sincerity of our efforts and wish us well," he said.
Struggling
economy
Once the breadbasket of the region, Zimbabwe's economy has shrunk by
a third
during six years of recession, with unemployment now estimated at
70%,
inflation in triple digits and chronic shortages of fuel, food and
foreign
exchange. Gono said corruption, especially among influential
officials, had
to be tackled if the economy was to recover.
"The rot
is just so widespread and deep-rooted one doesn't know where to
start from -
but start we must, urgently. Our observation as monetary
authorities is that
we are, as Zimbabweans, fast losing our integrity and
sense of economic
justice and fairness as a people, right across the board,"
he
said.
Zimbabwe's economic crisis has been worsened by the withdrawal of
aid by key
donors who cited policy differences with Robert Mugabe, the
president,
especially his controversial seizures of white-owned commercial
farms for
blacks. - Reuters
Zim Online
Wed 25 January 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe's chances of
winning back International Monetary
Fund (IMF) support appear slim despite
frantic efforts by the government to
pay off its debts to the multilateral
body, analysts have warned.
As a team from the IMF arrived in
Harare yesterday for talks with
Zimbabwean officials, local economic experts
were ruling out resumption of
financial assistance any soon, saying the debt
repayments would fail to mask
worsening economic conditions on the
ground.
Harare economist James Jowa said notwithstanding the
payments, the IMF
was likely to be much more displeased by the government's
apparent lack of a
comprehensive and resolute programme to tackle the full
range of problems
underlying Zimbabwe's economic crisis.
"For
starters the Zimbabwe government has been groping in the dark
without any
defined development policy, a situation that has contributed to
the
worsening economic climate," explained Jowa.
At the time of their
last visit in September 2005 to assess Zimbabwe's
economic performance, the
IMF team had predicted that the country's
inflation would end close at about
400 percent at the end of the year.
The IMF estimate, at the time
considered by some as too pessimistic,
was however exceeded by the situation
on the ground, with Zimbabwe's
annualised inflation ending 2005 at more than
585.8 percent.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono, part
of top officials
who shall hold meetings with the IMF team this week,
yesterday announced
inflation was set to reach an all time high of 800
percent in March but said
the rate would drop to about 230 percent by
year-end.
The exchange rate of the Zimbabwe dollar has also moved
in sympathy
with the general health of the economy, with the official rate
depreciating
from around 26 000 against the United States greenback at the
time of the
last visit in September 2005 to about 98 000 to the American
unit yesterday.
The slide in the official exchange rate has failed
to boost inflows of
foreign currency into the official market. The bulk of
the hard cash in
circulation is traded on a thriving parallel market where
the US dollar
fetches as much as Z$150 000.
The foreign
currency crunch has seen shortages of essential
commodities such as food,
fuel, electricity and essential medical drugs
worsening in Zimbabwe in the
last few months.
Meanwhile, the old issues of disagreement with the
international
community - including the IMF - such as human rights
violations by Mugabe's
government and the failure to uphold democracy and
the rule of law remain
unresolved.
An economic analyst with a
Harare stock broking firm said: "After
these payments we obviously no longer
expect Zimbabwe to be expelled from
the IMF but, all the same, the situation
on the ground does not augur well
for the country in terms of its ability to
come back into the IMF fold."
Group economist at the Zimbabwe
Allied Banking Group David Mupamhadzi
concurred saying under the IMF's
Conditions, Zimbabwe was obliged to repay
money loaned to it. But Mupamhadzi
said restoration of full relations with
the Fund would depend "on the
government's level of commitment to implement
(all) their
recommendations."
Zimbabwe has made surprise payments to the IMF
since August 2005 and
remitted a total of US$169 million last year alone.
This brings the total
repayment since January 2004 to US$196.6
million.
The latest payments were US$10 million paid in December
and US$5
million deposited into the IMF account last week just as a team of
officials
from the Fund were heading to Harare for routine Article IV
consultations.
The consultation comes in the run-up to a meeting of
the IMF's
executive board scheduled for March and at which the board had
indicated it
would review Zimbabwe's case again.
After the
payments Zimbabwe, which in September made a surprise US$120
million payment
to block the IMF board from recommending its expulsion, now
owes the Fund
about US$14 million in the General Resources Account (GRA). It
is arrears to
the GRA that lead to expulsion.
The southern African country also
owes an additional US$125 million
under the low-interest Poverty Reduction
and Growth Facility (PGRF), to
leave its total debt to the IMF at US$139
million. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Wed 25 January 2006
HARARE - A civic group that fights
for better governance in the city
of Harare says it will next week sue the
Harare city council over
uncollected garbage which is posing a serious
health hazard to residents.
Combined Harare Residents Association
(CHRA) spokesman, Precious
Shumba, said his association was already
collecting affidavits from
residents in preparation for the court
case.
The association wants the courts to force the commission
which is
running Harare to collect garbage and attend to burst sewer pipes
especially
in the poor suburbs of the city.
"CHRA will no
longer sit back and watch the illegal commission cause
more unnecessary
deaths and expose residents to an unhealthy living
environment," said
Shumba.
Harare is being run by a commission headed by Sekesai
Makwavarara
after the government fired opposition Movement for Democratic
Change mayor
Elias Mudzuri and his councillors three years ago.
Shumba said at least 98 percent of Harare was littered with
uncollected
refuse resulting in cases of cholera being recorded in the city.
At
least 14 people, including five in the capital Harare, died of
cholera last
month while more than 200 people were treated for the disease.
Cholera
spreads easily in unhygienic conditions.
Harare, like most cities
and towns in Zimbabwe, is in an advanced
state of decay after six years of a
severe economic recession many blame on
President Robert Mugabe's wrong
policies and mismanagement.
The city's transport fleet which used
to remove refuse is also
grounded because of a serious shortage of fuel
gripping the country. -
ZimOnline
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
24 January 2006
05:58
Five directors of an independent radio station in
Zimbabwe were
charged on Tuesday with breaching the country's controversial
broadcasting
laws, a media watchdog told Agence
France-Presse.
"Members of the board of directors for the
Voice of the People
(VOP) radio station appeared in court today on charges
of contravening the
Broadcasting Services Act," said Nyasha Nyakunu,
spokesperson for the Media
Institute of Southern Africa.
Arnold Tsunga, Millie Phiri, Isabella Matambanadzo, David
Masunda and
Nhlanhla Ngwenya arrested on Tuesday and briefly detained at
Harare's main
police station.
They were accused of possessing and operating
transmission
equipment without a licence.
A magistrate's
court in Harare released them on a bail of four
million Zimbabwe dollars
($44,4) bail and ordered them to report back to
court for remand on February
10.
Under the strict broadcasting laws passed in 2001, radio
stations are required to register with a government-appointed
board.
A breach of the laws attracts a five-million-dollar
penalty or a
jail term of up two years.
John Masuku, the
director of the VOP radio station, was arrested
on similar charges last year
and released after four days.
On December 15, plainclothes
police ransacked the radio
station's offices in central Harare, arrested
staffers Maria Nyanyiwa,
Takunda Chigwanda and Nyasha Bosha and held them in
cells for four days.
VOP broadcasts into Zimbabwe on
shortwave from its transmitter
in Madagascar. Its offices were firebombed in
August 2002.
The shortwave radio station is one of only two
independent
broadcasters which have managed to circumvent Zimbabwe's
repressive media
laws by using transmitters outside the country to carry
their programmes on
shortwave.
Most of VOP's programming
is in Zimbabwe's two main languages --
Shona and Ndebele -- placing it
among the few independent media able to
reach the large rural population who
have no access to newspapers.
Zimbabwe has four radio
stations and one television station all
controlled by the
government.
Media and rights groups have condemned laws
invoked to shut down
independent broadcast stations as an instrument to
enforce a state monopoly
on the airwaves. - Sapa-AFP
HARARE, Zimbabwe
By ANGUS SHAW
Associated Press
Writer
JAN. 24 12:35 P.M. ET Zimbabwe is introducing a new
range of bills that will
more than double the value of the largest bank note
to help reduce the piles
of money needed in routine cash transactions in the
stricken economy, the
central bank announced Tuesday.
Gideon Gono,
governor of the Reserve Bank, said a 50,000 Zimbabwe dollar
bill, worth 52
US cents (43 euro cents), will be released Feb. 1, with a
whole new range of
bills to follow later in the year.
The biggest note currently in
circulation is for 20,000 Zimbabwe dollars,
worth 20 US cents (16 euro
cents). With inflation running at 586 percent,
that note buys only half a
loaf of bread and is no longer sufficient for a
local daily
newspaper.
Gono did not provide additional details about the new
bills in a review of
fiscal policy broadcast on state
television.
Zimbabwe's economy has collapsed since the government began
seizing
thousands of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to
blacks in
2000. Years of drought have compounded the country's difficulties.
Inflation
is soaring and the value of the currency
plummeting.
Stores, restaurants and other businesses have frequently
appealed for notes
of up to 500,000 Zimbabwe dollars (US$5; euro4) or one
million Zimbabwe
dollars (US$10; euro8) to reduce the bagfuls of notes
needed for routine
transactions.
Shoppers carrying bundles of
currency bound with elastic bands, known as
"bricks," that do not fit in
purses or pocket books, are a common sight.
There are no coins in
circulation.
Gono said the central bank was taking steps to curb the
depreciation of the
Zimbabwe dollar by linking it to the volume of currency
traded daily with a
2 percent cap.
In October, the central bank
abandoned a fixed exchange rate of 26,000
Zimbabwe dollars to the U.S.
dollar, allowing the rate to fall to 96,000
last week, a rapid fourfold
devaluation that spurred inflation.
Gono warned inflation was expected to
peak at between 700 percent and 800
percent in March and urged the nation
"not to panic."
He said the only cure for hyperinflation was greater
productivity and the
eradication of rampant corruption. He also blamed
ill-disciplined government
spending, profiteering and inefficiency in public
utilities, which pushed up
taxes and municipal charges.
Gono urged
authorities to crack down on lawlessness on farms, which has
disrupted
production, and said Israeli experts had been hired to investigate
smuggling
of minerals, including gold, one of the nation's main foreign
currency
earners.
The central bank also plans to appoint a body to investigate
"corporate
governance" that will include retired executives, retired Judge
George Smith
and David Phiri, a former governor of the central bank of
neighboring
Zambia.
"There is rampant dishonesty in the economy ...
This cancer needs to be
stopped now," Gono said.
By Violet Gonda
26 January 2006
Reserve Governor Gideon
Gono made some changes to the exchange rate
policy when he announced his
quarterly monetary review statement Tuesday,
but economists say it's not
sustainable by itself.
Gono admitted that Zimbabwe had no
attractive investment plan. He
spoke about the very serious levels of
corruption, the lack of production on
farms, the high levels of inflation
and the issues destabilising the
economy, such as the high interest rates
and the shortages of foreign
currency. He announced that exporters will
convert 17% of their money on the
open market rate in what is said to give
them a slightly better exchange
rate.
But economist John
Robertson said although this may give some relief
to exporters, there is a
need to dramatically increase the volumes of
production of goods for export.
He says this is essential as for years we
have generated an economic
environment which is unattractive to new
investment. The Zim dollar itself
has been plunging and this week crashed to
an all time low. Analysts say
this is the biggest single drop since the
financial crisis began in Zimbabwe
6 years ago. Z$1000 is now worth just one
American cent. It's trading at
Z$150 000 to the US$ on the black market
compared to the official rate of
Z$90 000.
Robertson predicts that the Zim dollar can go down much
further to as
low as Z$500 000 to the greenback.
He said
inflation is causing the problems but added that inflation
itself is caused
by political changes that have been inflicted on the
country since the land
reform programme.
Although the government has refused to admit that
the chaotic land
reform programme contributed to economic crisis, Robertson
says, "the main
reason we are not producing is that skilled farmers were
taken off the farms
and replaced by mainly inexperienced people. And the
government is not yet
accepting that this was a bad mistake, blaming it on
things like drought."
The economist says unfortunately we are not
deserving of support from
international lenders because Zimbabwe has not
taken the right steps to
address the causes.
Meanwhile an IMF
team is on a fact finding mission in the country,
meeting with government
and industrialists to discuss the financial crisis
and look for evidence
that the claims made by Gono and the Minister of
Finance are true. Robertson
said, " The IMF will find some difficulties
believing some of the claims
that were made by these officials because we
have not addressed the basic
causes of the problems."
In his view the economic problems will
only be solved when we change
political decisions.
SW
Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
The
Post (Lusaka)
January 24, 2006
Posted to the web January 24,
2006
Tabitha Mvula in Bamako
Lusaka
SOUTHERN Africa Peoples'
Solidarity Network coordinator Patricia Kasiamhuni
of Zimbabwe has expressed
concern that the region has become a dumping
ground for the Chinese
market.
At a meeting on debt repudiation at Maison des Jeunes yesterday,
Kasiamhuni
said Chinese products were killing southern Africa's
manufacturing industry.
"Southern Africa has become a dumping ground for
the Chinese market and our
local manufacturing industry has been replaced
because we do not have the
finances to come up with or sustain our
manufacturing industries,"
Kasiamhuni said.
She said there was need
to go to mobilise people and explain to them what
was going on in their
countries.
She said there was a need for civil society to come up with
strategies that
would help leaders at the African Union and groupings such
as SADC and
ECOWAS deliberate issues affecting Africa effectively. She said
South
African capitalists were being used to oppress Africa. And Jubilee
South
member Njoki Njehu of Kenya said debt has continued to be a tool of
control
and domination used by the international financial institutions to
take over
other countries' economies.
Njehu said across Africa the
burden of debt was incapacitating African
governments.
"Debt
accumulates even if we service it. It is a tool of oppression because
creditors continue to lend us and debt also increases," she
said.
Njehu also said privatisation had been used to declare countries
inefficient.
"They said privatisation would fight corruption but
privatisation itself
increases corruption because we are forced to sell at
cheap prices and very
few people benefit from privatisation. Poor people no
longer have access to
privatised services," she said.
Njehu added
that whereas it was argued that trade liberalisation gave Least
Developed
Countries access to goods, markets gave access to a small number
of people
mainly those at the top.
"Liberalisation like privatisation has not
delivered as it gives access to
foreign markets and that is why we are
calling for trade justice where there
will be equal treatment. We can see
that conditionalities have not allowed
us to provide subsidies to our
farmers like the US does," she said.
Campaigner on Africa and EPAs Peter
Custers from the Netherlands said
globalisation continued to lead to high
levels of poverty and wondered why
the North insisted on
liberalisation.
He said in future some countries would loose 70 per cent
of their income
earned through taxation due to importation of foreign
goods.
African News Dimension
Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 8 hours, 44 minutes and 37 seconds ago.
By Rodrick Mukumbira
No fuel has been sold anywhere legally in the
country for over four
months, as the Zimbabwean government has no foreign
currency needed to
import it with analysts saying it has run out of ideas of
reviving the
crumbling economy. A drive through the country now requires one
to carry in
a boot a couple of jerry cans of fuel obtained from the black
market. While
the metallic snakes at gas stations have disappeared,
Zimbabweans still have
to queue for maize meal and sugar showing how deep a
country, which was once
regarded southern Africa's breadbasket, has
sunk.
BULAWAYO - The latest phrase being coined in Zimbabwe is
about
vehicles breaking down due to "shock" after being refilled with cheap
fuel
from registered gas stations.
While the joke
reveals the cynical nature of how Zimbabweans are
coping with an over five
years crisis, the symbol of the country's economic
decay - the long snaking
queues from gas stations have long since
disappeared.
No fuel has been sold anywhere legally
in the country for over four
months, as the government has no foreign
currency needed to import it and
analysts say it has run out of ideas of
reviving the crumbling economy.
A drive through the
country now requires one to carry in a boot a
couple of jerry cans of fuel
obtained from the black market.
While the metallic
snakes at gas stations have disappeared,
Zimbabweans still have to queue for
maize meal and sugar showing how deep a
country, which was once regarded
southern Africa's breadbasket, has sunk.
The few items
that can still be obtained in supermarkets now require
piles of the already
useless Zimbabwe dollars.
The United States dollar,
which fetched Z$6,000 in January last year,
is now worth Z$79,000 with
inflation having reached 585 percent at the end
of the
year.
Consumer watchdog, the Consumer Council of
Zimbabwe (CCZ), says the
cost of buying groceries in Zimbabwe increased
almost 10-fold in 2005, a
year it described as "agonising" year for
Zimbabwean consumers, with the
price of a loaf of bread rising by 1,157
percent throughout the year.
The runaway prices have
caused living standards to plummet, especially
since unemployment has risen
to 80 percent with salaries not matching the
inflation rate which the
government put at 502 percent at the end of 2005.
"Things have never been this bad, but we are getting accustomed to the
crisis," said Naison Mabhena, a 36-year-old police
officer.
In its 2005 end-of-year report CCZ urged
Zimbabwean engage in "lawful
informal trade, small-scale business and other
income-generating activities"
in the face of the difficulties, which are
also affecting people with jobs.
According to CCZ, a
family of six currently requires an equivalent of
US$147 a month to get by.
But civil servants like Mabhena and his
counterparts in the teaching and
nursing fraternity typically earn monthly
salaries equivalent to
$40.
While the informal employment sector is now a
thing of the past
following the controversial May 2005 clean-up campaign,
Operation
Murambatsvina (local Shona language for remove dirty), Mabhena
supplements
his salary by operating an illegal stall that sells soap, sugar
and
toothpaste.
During his spare time, Mabhena
crosses into Zimbabwe's southern
neighbour, Botswana to buy these items for
resell, but has to bribe customs
officials at the border to be allowed to
import the items into the country
without any import
duty.
"I know I should be an example of a custodian of
the law, but I also
have to survive," said Mabhena.
Some are however not lucky to have other sources of income. Take
Takesure
Matarire, a 40-year-old security guard. He is making US$15 a month
in a
country where people have to cough up for health care and
education.
"I will have to withdraw my two children
from school," said Matarire.
"What I am earning is not even enough to feed
them and I have no other
option.
"It's a miracle
that I took my family through 2005. I wonder if I will
do the same this
year."
Zimbabwe's economy has now been in sharp decline
for six years, with
severe fuel and food shortages contributing to the
sky-high inflation.
Since 2000, more than 4,000
white-owned commercial farms have been
seized and distributed to landless
peasants. To date, only a few hundred
remain in the hands of commercial
farmers and this has resulted in the gross
domestic product being reduced by
half to almost US$4.3 billion.
With the collapse of the
agricultural sector, there is little to
export and thus little prospect of
solving
the foreign-currency crisis.
While
the United Nations says the crisis in Zimbabwe is because of
mismanagement
by the government, the 82-year-old President Robert Mugabe,
instead puts the
blame on sanctions imposed by Western nations following his
controversial
seizure of white-owned
farms.
More
recently, the UN and Western nations have attacked the demolition
of
thousands of homes and market stalls during Operation Murambatsvina, a
move
strongly defended by the government as an urban renewal
drive.
Nevertheless, there has been no political
fallout for President
Mugabe, who continued to be defiant as
ever.
A boycott by the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC)
party, currently embroiled in a major split, of the
November 2005 senatorial
elections further consolidated Mugabe's Zimbabwe
African National Union -
Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) 's hold to
power.
But the split in MDC, sparked by the decision by
its leader Morgan
Tsvangirai to boycott the November 26 poll, has only
helped to uplift
Mugabe's confidence.
MDC
legislator, Murisi Zwizwai, confirms that the wrangling in the
opposition
has dampened Zimbabweans' expectations.
"The opposition
is in deep trouble and people feel lost due to the
infighting within MDC,"
said Zwizwai.
Aid agencies estimate that 70 percent of
Zimbabwe's 12 million
population now survive on one meal or less a day,
while the UN World Food
Programme expects to feed some three million
Zimbabweans next month.
"We are sliding towards
becoming a non-country," said economic analyst
Phylis
Makwarimba.
There are however no visible signs that
Zimbabweans might revolt
against Mugabe's
government.
"The government has failed to anger us,"
said Tambudzai Makosi, a
52-year-old primary school
teacher.
"Look at the poor salaries we are earning, and more still
someone destroying
the house you have build and you do nothing about it."
The government is however well placed to crash any signs of dissent.
In 2005
it passed a law that allows authorities to confiscate the travel
documents
of anyone deemed to be anti-government with the first victims
having been an
independent newspaper publisher, a senior MDC official and
the leader of the
country's trade union movement.
Chiefs of the army,
police and Central Intelligence Organisation have
been organised into a
Joint
Operation Command to stamp out any signs of dissent, in a
move
analysts say is meant at ensuring that President Mugabe retains power
until
2008 when he is expected to step down.
New Zimbabwe
DANIEL FORTUNE MOLOKELE: THE VIRTUAL NATION
Is
Last updated: 01/24/2006
22:15:27
THE historic ascendancy of Africa's longest head of state into
yet
another term of office was one of the major global political happening
of
the week. In Libreville, Gambia, Omar Bongo was sworn in for 7 more years
in
power after claiming a landslide victory in the November 2005
elections.
For the record, Gabon has been subjected to Bongo's
uninterrupted stay
in power since 1967! He is now the world's longest
serving leader only after
Cuba's Fidel Castro.
The fact that
this past week he was constitutionally granted another
seven years to extend
his long distance record should most certainly have
attracted a lot of
international attention. But alas, his swearing ceremony
was largely ignored
by both the African and global media! Worse still it is
understood that at
least 20 African leaders witnessed the event, including
South Africa's Thabo
Mbeki. There were also reports that the leaders would
also conduct a
mini-summit in Libreville in preparation for the big summit
that is due to
be held in Sudan soon.
The big political development in Gabon was
in fact completely
overshadowed by another spectacular event in West
Africa.
To many political observers and analysts of the political
dynamics and
the democratic trends of Africa, the story of Ms. Elena
Johnson's elevation
to the presidency of Liberia was the most dramatic story
of the week. Indeed
the whole continent was almost brought to a standstill
as Africa witnessed
the inauguration ceremony of its first ever female
Presidency. From an
engendered perspective, it was natural to see that many
advocates of women
empowerment in African politics regarded her crowning
moment not merely as a
personal achievement for Johnson but a decisive moral
victory for women and
politics in Africa.
The hype about the
rise of women to the highest echelons of political
power and influence was
further punctuated by the good news that Chile had
also elected its own
first female President on Tuesday 17th January. This
development also served
to further inspire hopes and more expectations that
at last the world is
beginning to accept the reality of the need for
powerful female
politicians.
In Harare, it was left for Joice Mujuru to rebut
suggestions that she
was also now even more determined to take over after
Mugabe. Mujuru
responded by saying if both the ruling party and the people
of Zimbabwe
threw the national leadership gauntlet at her, she was more than
ready to
take the riskful challenge. She further reminded the nation, that
as a
willing servant of her people, she has always been available for any
kind of
national duty. In other words such duties did not preclude her from
taking
the challenge of the national leadership mantle. The week's events
further
underlined the possibility that Zimbabwe might soon join the growing
ranks
of countries led by powerful matriarchs.
Here in
South Africa, the events in both Liberia and Chile were sadly
overshadowed
by the fallout from the female Vice President's holiday trip to
Saudi
Arabia. As the world witnessed the colourful event in Monrovia,
Phumzile
Mlambo-Ncuka was too busy involved in a vicious public relations
dogfight
with both the opportunistic opposition parties and the rabid South
Africa
media. Ideally, it could have been nicer for her to fly to Liberia
but
understandably, she was still suffering from the jet lag caused by the
public outcry of her 'gravy plane' to Arabia last month. In the end, it was
left for the patriarchal President Thabo Mbeki to fly over to the ceremony
on behalf of South Africa.
As for President Robert Mugabe it is
likely that he was more
interested in the unfolding events in Gabon than in
Liberia. His interest in
the rise of Johnson could have been in so far as to
remind him of the
possibility of his successor being yet another female
President in the form
of Mujuru. However as far as the events in Libreville
were concerned, Mugabe
would have been more comfortable with the fact that
it was not a leadership
change that had occurred there. He was likely to be
at ease with the fact
that it was an incumbent going through a public
renewal of his lease.
Even more critical for Mugabe, the continued
stay in power for Bongo
is likely to inspire him to ignore calls from
detractors for him to retire
on the simple reason that he has overstayed in
power. Further to that,
Mugabe is also likely to find solace in the fact
that most of the global
community including the Western powers did not raise
any public complaints
about Bongo's extension of his 38 year stranglehold of
Gabonese power. In
other words, it is likely that Mugabe might find Bongo as
a big source of
inspiration for him to also continue his unbeaten run in
Zimbabwe.
This then could be bad news for many of the long
suffering Zimbabwean
masses who are more than desperate to see him step down
from office. It is
going to be even more frustrating for the four million
plus Zimbabweans now
living abroad, most of whom have always hoped for a
quick return home. But
their preferred condition that they will only return
after Mugabe goes
appears to be still very far from being
fulfilled.
The reality that all Zimbabweans need to face is that
Mugabe is going
nowhere, anytime soon. But if the events in the nation's
opposition ranks
are anything to go by, then Mugabe is most likely to attend
the opening
ceremony of the 2010 Soccer World Cup here in Johannesburg as
the official
head of state in Zimbabwe! The nightmare of Mugabe's continued
stay in power
is a horror that might only end when Zimbabwe lifts the 2010
World Cup
Soccer trophy!!! Unless if there is a sudden unexpected turn of
events in
Zimbabwe, Mugabe is likely to continue following the trail of the
continent's
pacesetter, Omar Bongo in the long distance political power
marathon race.
Daniel Molokele is a Zimbabwean Human Rights Lawyer
who is based in
Johannesburg. He can be contacted at zimvirtualnation@yahoo.com
Published in
Telecomworldwire on Tuesday, 24 January 2006 at 18:12 GMT
Copyright (C) 2006,
M2 Communications Ltd.
Tariff rates in Zimbabwe have been increased
significantly by two GSM
network operators in the country.
Some call
charges have reportedly increased by up to 200%, which compares to
an
unofficial local annual inflation rate of around 600%.
International
calls will be charged at around USD2 per minute when converted
from local
currency, while the average income for Zimbabweans is under
USD2000 per
year. Econet subscribers are now expected to be charged around
USD0.03 per
SMS message, when converted from local currency.
According to NetOne, the
tariff rates have been forced by price increases
established by the landline
monopoly, TelOne, which has to route most calls
via Canada following the
loss of its connection to South Africa in 2005.
Agencia de Informacao de
Mocambique (Maputo)
January 24, 2006
Posted to the web January 24,
2006
Maputo
Traffic is once again suspended on the Limpopo line,
the railway between
Maputo and Zimbabwe, following a derailment on Friday
night, according to a
report in Tuesday's issue of the Maputo daily
"Noticias".
The line suffered badly earlier in the month due to the
torrential rains
that fell across southern Mozambique. On 7 January traffic
was suspended
because at six different spots, between Mabalane and
Combomune, in Gaza
province, mudslides had either buried the track, or had
swept away
embankments and ballast, leaving the line hanging in
mid-air.
Emergency repairs were carried out, and the line was reopened on
Friday.
However, the very first train to use the line derailed in
Chicualacuala
district, 470 kilometres north of Maputo, at about 23.00 on
Friday night.
According to the rail and port company, CFM, this
derailment had nothing to
do with damage caused by the rains or with the
repairs. It happened 100
kilometres north of the nearest stretch of the line
that had been repaired.
A CFM team has travelled to Chicualacuala to
investigate the causes of the
derailment. Putting the locomotives and wagons
back on the tracks, and
repairing any damage to the line was estimated to
take three to four days.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The Daily
Mirror Reporter
issue date :2006-Jan-24
AS the date for the MDC
pro-senate camp congress set for next month nears, a
showdown is looming
between the opposition party vice president Gibson
Sibanda and deputy
secretary general Gift Chimanikire after the latter
declared his interest in
contesting the presidential post.
Chimanikire interest in the top post
comes on the heels of claims by Sibanda
that he was now the MDC president
following the "dismissal" of Morgan
Tsvangirai from the post by members of
the pro-Senate camp.
In an interview with The Daily Mirror yesterday,
Chimanikire declared his
interest in contesting the post at the congress set
for the last week of
February.
Tsvangirai's camp will hold its own on
March 17. Declaring his interest in
the post, Chimanikire said: "I am going
to contest the post of the president
at congress. Ko kutyei? (Why should one
be afraid?). I have since made my
intentions known within the party.
"
The Mbare legislator said there were processes to be followed such as the
nomination of presidential aspirants by the party's provinces.
"The
nominations will come from various provinces and the names would be
submitted to the secretary general three weeks before congress," he said.
While Sibanda was unreachable for a comment, reliable sources said the
deputy president was looking forward to be elevated at congress.
"He will
definitely contest the post of the president of the MDC especially
considering that he is the current legitimate leader of the party," a source
said.
Meanwhile, Chimanikire has dismissed as wishful thinking word that
the
pro-senate faction had in vain tried to lure top Zimbabweans living in
the
Diaspora for leadership posts.
There were rumours that the camp tried
to court business mogul and Econet
boss Strive Masiyiwa, former Harare mayor
Elias Mudzuri and Arthur
Mutambara.
"We have also heard those rumours but
that is wishful thinking. Those living
in the Diaspora do not have the
credentials - they do not have the spine to
stand the hit of Zimbabwean
politics because they ran away from the
political environment that we are
experiencing today," Chimanikire said.
This is the first time that the Mbare
legislator has openly declared his
interest in the top post since the
October 12 breakout from the Tsvangirai
camp.
Chimanikire was the most
verbose in his attack on Tsvangirai following the
fall out caused by
differences on the Senate polls, which the pro-senate
camp contested and
lost to Zanu PF.
Tsvangirai was against participation and held rallies across
the country
urging opposition party supporters to shun the polls.
Some of
the campaigns degenerated into violence and when the pro-senate
faction
visited South Africa recently, they said if they were to reunite
with
Tsvangirai, he should first condemn the violence he allegedly
perpetrated
against their supporters.
If Sibanda and Chimanikire go ahead to contest the
presidency of their
faction, observers say, it could lead to tension within
the camp and weaken
it.
It remains to be seen which faction between the
two commands more grassroots
support, when the two separate congresses are
held.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The
Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2006-Jan-24
THE country's premier
postal service company, Zimpost (PVT) Ltd, has
increased its domestic
charges by 38 percent from January 13 this year.
Zimpost public relations
manager, Loveness Chikozho, told The Daily Mirror
that the domestic rates
were hiked from $18 000 to $25 000 for letters,
printed matter and post
cards weighing up to 25 grammes.
The charges increase with the weight of the
letter or parcel to be
delivered.
Chikozho said the increases were in
line with the inflationary environment
being experienced in the
country.
"You will appreciate that in an inflationary environment like ours,
there is
need for businesses to constantly review their tariffs in order to
keep
abreast with the cost of production so as to continue providing quality
service," she said.
Chikozho added that Zimpost would review its tariffs
from time to time in
order to meet increasing costs.
She said due to
rapid changes in customer needs, Zimpost introduced a
variety of innovative
products and services for the convenience of its
clients.
"In order to
move with time regarding electronic mail (e-mail), the
organisation took
advantage of this new dimension in communication services
to introduce One
Stop Communication Centres in major cities of the country,"
she said.
The
communication centres cover Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru and Masvingo
while there are plans to roll out these countrywide including rural
areas.
"The centres at Harare Main Post Office and Bulawayo Main Post Office
provide internet services, e-mail services, phone shops, fax and
photocopying service, under one roof.
The other centres provide all the
other services save for Internet and
e-mail services, which will be
introduced soon," she said.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
From Anna Chibamu in Bindura
issue date
:2006-Jan-24
THE government will soon introduce junior councils in rural
areas, the
Deputy Minister of Youth Development and Employment Creation,
Saviour
Kasukuwere said at the weekend.
Speaking during an inaugural
ceremony for the Bindura Junior Council,
Kasukuwere said the rural councils
would be expected to raise awareness on
government policy on youth
developmental programmes.
"We want to have junior councillors in all
districts of Zimbabwe to develop
their leadership skills. Leaving the rural
youths in some national
activities results in poor development of their
areas," he said.
Currently, junior councils are found in cities and
towns.
"We want patriotic citizens and we expect you children to be role
models
among yourselves," he urged the Bindura Junior Council.
Kasukuwere
said he was not happy with Bindura senior councillors, he accused
of failing
to put in place recreational facilities for children.
Speaking at the same
occasion, Senator for Bindura and Shamva, Betty Chikava
urged the youths to
protect themselves in the wake of HIV and Aids.
"Let us lift up the spirit of
our nation in trying to support our colleagues
in need of help especially
those who are orphaned," she said.
She urged the newly crowned Junior Mayor,
Simbarashe Masango to tackle the
issue of the underprivileged
society.
"Children are the future. If we forget them in whatever we do, then
we
remain stagnant. We want youths to have a platform to represent their
problems," she added.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date
:2006-Jan-24
THE POLICE have announced that people living in the Diaspora
wishing to
apply for police certificates would this year be required to do
so in
foreign currency.
In a statement police spokesperson, Chief
Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka
said diasporans would have to pay US$25 or
its equivalent for such a
service. "The fee is US$25 or equivalent and the
money is to be deposited
into the Officer Commanding CID Standard Chartered
Bank, Highlands Branch
Account Number 0100216046400 in the country they are
domicile," read part of
the statement. The police spokesperson said
telegraphic deposit slips should
be attached to the fingerprints and the
police application form (ZRP 137).
He said applications received without
proof of telegraphic deposit slip
would not processed.Mandipaka said while
police passed death messages,
counselling, lifting of fingerprints for
vetting processes and issued out
police certificates as a community
service, members of the public were
required to pay a nominal fee. Such
services, said Mandipaka, used to be
provided free of charge in the
past.
MDC INFORMATION & PUBLICITY
Harvest
House
Harare
Tel 091 940 489 email
:mdcnewsbrief@gmail.com
The MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai today met the Zimbabwe
National Students
Union (ZINASU) and the Student Executive Council (SEC) of
the University of
Zimbabwe at the party's headquarters in
Harare.
The meeting was held at the request of the student leaders.
Among the issues
discussed at the meeting was the continued threat to the
democratic movement
in the country by this regime, the government's
continued harassment of
student leadership and the welfare of students at
tertiary colleges.
The President called on all democratic forces
in Zimbabwe to work together
in the context of the broad alliance of civic
groups seeking an end to the
current political and economic crisis, spawned
by the inept and corrupt
government of Zanu PF. The President reiterated the
need for a new national
Constitution that will usher in a new democratic
dispensation characterized
by freedom, justice and prosperity for all
Zimbabweans regardless of race,
creed, tribe or religion.
In
turn, the student leadership expressed their solidarity with the MDC
under
the leadership of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai because of the historical bond
between the student movement and the party struggles. The students also
requested Mr Tsvangirai to continue to use his influence and power to
improve the conditions in institutions of higher learning. The students also
requested the President to continue to champion the cause of the oppressed
majority in Zimbabwe.
Those who attended the meeting were the
SEC president Hentchel Mavuma,
vice president Collen Chibango, information
and publicity secretary Mfundo
Mlilo, secretary-general Garikai Kajau, legal
secretary Wellington Mahohoma,
the president of the Zimbabwe National
Students Union , Washington Katema,
the leadership from Harare polytechnic,
Belvedere teachers college, Harare
Institute of Technology and Bulawayo and
Mutare Polytechnics.
The President reiterated his commitment to
the struggle for a new Zimbabwe
characterized by autonomy of tertiary
institutions, academic freedom and
better learning environment for all
students regardless of their family
background.
Mr Tsvangirai
informed the students that the MDC was now geared for its
annual Congress
which would usher in a rebirth of the party and country.
Hon
Nelson Chamisa, MP
Secretary for Information and
Publicity
----- Original Message -----
From: "bhekimpilo ngwenya" <bhekimpilon@yahoo.com>
Sent:
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 1:56 AM
Subject: M.D.C.-UK. DISTRICT MEETING[22 .
JAN .06]
The meeting last Sunday{22nd}went on well in
Leceister.It
with utter disgust and disappointment to
note that falsehoods have been
flighted in the
media.We as the youth have been closely monitoring
the
intricacies within the Movement for Democratic
Change,particularly in
the United Kingdom.
We would like to confirm as the M.D.C-UK,Youth
that
there was a massive represantation of branches and the
supporters.It
is no exaggeration that the venue was
filled to capacity.The meeting was
done with maturity
and reflected re-commitment among Zimbabweans to
tackle
Mugabe and his regime head-on.Resolutions were
made based on the
agenda.Vacant positions created by
the defection of some members were
filled.The outcome
was a dynamic executive structure, composed of:
Mr
Silence Chihuri -CHAIRMAN
Mr Jeffrey Masango -VICE-CHAIRMAN
Ms Sipho Nkala
-SECRETARY
Mr Njabulo Ngwenya -VICE.SECRETARY
Mr Chris Nkala
-TREASURER
Mr Givemore Chindawi -ORGANISING SECRETARY
Mr Artwell Ndlovu
-VICE.OGRANISING.SECRETARY
Mr Frank Mamvura -INFORMATION AND
PUBLICITY
Mrs Sehlile Khumalo -WOMENS CHAIRLADY
Mr Hlekani Dube -YOUTH
CHAIRMAN
Mr Bhekimpilo Ngwenya -YOUTH SECRETARY
The M.D.C remains a
people's movement with values
based on democracy and solidarity.Society, the
media
and the public in general need to respect
institutions, the
constitution and protocols of
procedure.It is up to to us as zimbabweans to
decide
what we want.We are for a leadership that caters for
all
zimbabweans,which is neither tribalistic nor
regional and upholds principles
of a political
struggle.
We shun corruption,indoctrination and we are
against
incompetent leaders.It is unfortunate that the media
in the
diaspora has taken the unethical route of the
state-media back home. It has
become biased and has
become a platform for lampooning each other
and
causing confusion.To clarify, Mr Washington Ali was
suspended from the
party prior to his group's
defection,for his failure to account for thousands
of
pounds worth of party cards.Matthew Nyashanu was not
constitutionally
elected and yet he has the audacity
of making malicious falsehoods in the
media.No wonder
why they choose to follow individuals and not the
party.We
cannot entertain such people bent on
confusing the masses.
As much as it
has been rumoured that Mr Isaac Matongo,
is due to visit the UK within the
next few weeks,it is
within their mediocre political framework
and
signifies unsound leadership.As the M.D.C.-UK,
District we will not
deal with such.As the youth we
remain committed to the sruggle in Zimbabwe
and are in
agreement with the resolutions made in Leceister.The
meeting
gave everyone hope and inspiration in
fighting Mugabe's regime.We will not
resort to
desperate,cheap politics like Mr Ali and his
bunch.They chose
what they wanted and we will no
castigate them for that but we urge them to
desist
from their irresponsible commentary and frequent
frivolity.We wish
them well as the enemy is Robert
Mugabe and his tyranny.
We would
like to urge Zimbabweeans to be vigilant as
the struggle is far from being
over.Our next M.D.C-UK,
District meeting will be held in Manchester on
the
26th of February and will commence at 13:00hrs at a
venue to be
announced in due course.It is up to each
and everyone of us to change the
current situation in
Zimbabwe.
Mr Bhekimpilo Ngwenya
M.D.C-UK,YOUTH
SECRETARY.
Phone-07940790448.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 10:07
PM
Subject: Deepest felt Appeal
I had so much high hope on
almost everything I was
doing in life. To see MDC takeover the reigns
in
Zimbabwe real meant everything and a complete change
to me.
Unfortunately, unfortunately and very very
unfortunately. I still don't
believe things have gone
the way they have. I so much want to be told that
I'm
having nightmares. I'm so bitter right now I don't
know what to do,
say or who to talk to.
How can people we trusted so much be so
selfish,
arrogant and naive? This is first degree betrayal.
Where you
people in Politics for personal gains or for
the real reasons that every
Zimbabwean and world
thought?
Plse Chamisa stop embracing nonsense,
confusion and
above all hatred amongst people of Zimbabwe. What's so
wrong
in calling a spade a spade? I think the whole
MDC Executive and senior
members have dismally failed
to execute the task they were entrusted to do by
the
people of Zimbabwe. Its a very wise thing to accept to
fail and allow
others to give it a go. I think Zim
still has very intelligent, smart,
uncorrupt and
talented people who will put the interest of the
people and
their country before theirs. I think the
modest thing for Tsvangirai and his
Executive is to
resign not destroy the hopes of so many people. If
Tsvangirai real cared about people at all, this is
right time to show it,
instead of mudslinging, showing
us your pride and personal egos please put
the nation
first and stop playing wrestling at the expense of the
whole
nation PEACEFULLY RESIGN U HAVE FAILED. Some
paid a life time price for this
party to be where it
is today and it will be a serious crime to see
that
burns in to smoke and disappear into the thin air
because of the
likes of Tswangirai and his Executives.
The Idiot called Mugabe has already
done more that
enough share of damage to the country and its
people,
please have mercy we don't want any more. Please MDC
Executive
Refrain, Reconsider and Resign. Do Not Split
MDC because together as a United
MDC we can still find
our strength, voice, will, courage and trust
amongst
us to oust the Evil and heartless regime of Mugabe.
Chamisa
do not buy favours by lying in support of
certain individuals, if you
sacrifice your moral
values, principles and personal dignity for the
sake
of elevation, which will only benefit you as an
individual and put
vulnerable innocent kids,
defenceless and burnt out old people that u claim
to
represent please rethink and restart. You are a young
man with plenty
of feature, plenty of potential there
are millions young Zim young man who
are looking up to
you. Please be an Honest, Trustworthy and
Reliable.
Being a real leader comes with a lot of
responsibilities and
don't always look at the
incentives. Real leaders don't play Quick fix
tactics
especially when it involves their people. Don't
involve yourself
in dirty and corrupt games of
desperate and ignorant individuals, This might
ruin
your future.
United we Stand Strong and Divided we fall
apart.
Many more where that came from!
sifuyajoe@yahoo.com
Joe B.
Sifuya