Reuters
Wed 2 Jan
2008, 16:10 GMT
By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE, Jan 2 (Reuters) -
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader said on
Wednesday his party might boycott
March elections unless President Robert
Mugabe's government implements a new
constitution to guarantee a fair vote.
Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the
main faction of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), said talks with
Mugabe's ZANU-PF to hammer out a new
constitution had ground to a halt
because the ruling party wanted to delay
implementation until after the
elections.
"There is already a deadlock," Tsvangirai told Reuters in an
interview.
"What we know and what we believe is that a basis for a free
and fair
contest is ... that there should be negotiations and those
negotiations
should lead to all parties accepting that the conditions are
free and fair.
Without that, it will be a unilateral position by Mugabe and
not by us."
ZANU-PF and the MDC have been in talks on revamping the
constitution since
June in an effort to end political and economic turmoil,
and ensure future
election results are accepted by all parties.
The
talks have so far yielded changes to electoral, media and security laws.
Officials from both sides say the new constitution, which has not been made
public, includes unspecified 'frameworks' to guarantee free and fair
elections.
"It is actually a contestable issue to have an election
without a
transitional constitution because it is that constitution that
creates the
institutions that run elections in a free and fair manner,"
Tsvangirai said.
Ruling party officials have said a draft constitution
agreed with the MDC
could be made public this month and that Mugabe wants it
to be implemented
after the elections. The MDC wants it adopted before the
vote.
Mugabe has said presidential and parliamentary elections will be
held in
March, but the MDC wants it pushed back to allow time to implement
the new
constitution and the media, security and electoral changes agreed at
the
talks.
Tsvangirai, who has accused Mugabe of rigging past
elections, said that if
the deadlock can be overcome, the opposition was
ready to face the veteran
Zimbabwe leader at the polls and that the
fractured opposition would field a
single candidate for each contested
seat.
The MDC has been severely weakened by infighting which resulted in
a sharp
split in October 2005 and a crackdown by Mugabe's government that
has
paralysed its structures.
Mugabe denies rigging past elections
and says the MDC has lost support of
voters and fears a ZANU-PF landslide
victory despite an economic crisis that
has seen inflation spiral and
unemployment surge. (Editing by Phumza Macanda
and Caroline Drees)
Reuters
Wed 2 Jan 2008,
14:29 GMT
HARARE, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's banknote shortage spilled
into the New
Year with desperate shoppers flocking to banks as most
businesses re-opened
on Wednesday.
The southern African country is in
the grips of a severe economic crisis,
blamed on President Robert Mugabe's
policies and marked by the highest
inflation rate in the world, at nearly
8,000 percent.
Banknotes are just the latest addition to a long list of
basics in short
supply. The country has grappled with scarcity of food,
fuel, foreign
currency and electricity for years.
Central bank
Governor Gideon Gono blames the cash crisis on black market
trade,
especially in foreign currency.
On Monday, Gono said the economy had
Z$100 trillion ($3.33 billion at the
official exchange rate but about $20
million on the black market) in
circulation after the central bank injected
an additional Z$33 trillion in a
bid to ease the cash crisis.
The
central bank also reversed its decision to phase out the Z$200,000 note,
which Gono says was mostly siphoned out of the banking system by black
market foreign currency dealers.
But, the move seemed to failed to
ease the cash crisis as banks struggled to
cope with long
queues.
"There is no improvement, contrary to assurances that this
problem would go
away soon," said Patrick Shereni, adding he had been
waiting for close to
four hours to withdraw some cash.
Economic
analysts have said the banknote crisis could only be resolved
through sound
economic policies, not piecemeal measures such as printing
more
notes.
"Introducing and printing more higher-value notes will always fall
short of
resolving the issue," Best Doroh, a senior economist at ZB
Financial
Holdings, told Reuters.
"What's required are policies that
ensure growth of the formal economy, as
opposed to the grey one, and to
reduce inflation."
Gono admitted on Monday that the banknote shortage was
a sign of an economy
in trouble.
"The cash situation should not be
viewed as a money printing exercise," Gono
said
"When you see cash
shortages, it is merely the end result of serious
misalignments that need to
be addressed in the economy."
Critics blame the economic crisis on
Mugabe's controversial policies, such
as the seizure of white-held farms to
resettle landless blacks often lacking
in skills and financial
resources.
Zimbabwe's economic crisis has coincided with the
near-destruction of its
once vibrant commercial agriculture
sector.
Mugabe, 83 and in power since independence from Britain in 1980,
denies
ruining one of Africa's promising economies and says it has been
sabotaged
by western nations opposed to his land reforms. (Reporting by
Nelson Banya)
02 January 2008 |
Zimbabwe's central bank has suddenly reversed some new rules it ordered before Christmas that cut depositor's access to their own money. Peta Thornycroft reports for VOA that commercial banks have received a directive withdrawing some regulations for electronic transfers.
Many analysts believe Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono is the most powerful man in Zimbabwe. He changes rules about privately-owned money without having to go to parliament, without consultation with the financial sector or commercial bankers.
State press reports indicate he does inform President Robert Mugabe and the group of security service chiefs known as the Joint Operational Command, who effectively run Zimbabwe.
Gono reveals rules changes by issuing a statement to the state-controlled media, commercial banks say they sometimes receive an e-mail that the rules have changed overnight.
The new 500,000 Zimbabwean dollar notes in Harare, 21 Dec 2007 |
Gono decides how much money depositors can withdraw and how much can be transferred electronically from accounts.
He refuses to allow the three commercial banks that have installed internet banking to extend the service to individuals. Only registered companies can do limited internet banking.
Shortly before Christmas Gono said electronic transfers needed an invoice stating for what the money was to be used. Individuals and companies were outraged and said the enormous build up of delays on electronic transfers grew until it was taking up to 10 days for them to clear.
Gono blamed the financial chaos on heavy summer rain. The central bank failed to deliver new higher value cash notes to the majority of the population who live in rural areas. It takes two of the highest-value notes of 750,000 Zimbabwe dollars to buy one loaf of bread.
Zimbabweans wait for cash outside a bank in Harare, 20 Dec 2007 |
One man outside a building society in Harare, said he had queued all night and had only been allowed to withdraw 16 million Zimbabwe dollars, enough to buy a tube of toothpaste, or a small bag of rice.
Now bankers say the limit on electronic withdrawals has been increased by 300 percent, but the limit on checks remains. The central bank also says commercial banks can do electronic transfers without supporting documentation.
Many bank rules are unprecedented in Zimbabwe and apply nowhere else in the region.
Gono told the nation before Christmas that he was trying to stop the black market, accusing some people of fueling inflation and the devastating devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar. He said 63 trillion Zimbabwe dollars were unaccounted for and that he suspected some top political and business leaders of hoarding cash for black-market transactions.
But economists say the missing amount is probably in the pockets of the population, because it only amounts to about $1.5 per person.
Most of Zimbabwe's economy is in the informal market and it has become a cash economy. About 95 percent of the population does not have a bank account.
The central bank has long been one of the largest players on the black market and its officials regularly change enormous amounts of Zimbabwe dollars with international companies. This is known because the government provides receipts for the transactions.
A government commentator complained in the last issue of the state-controlled Sunday Mail that Gono had not done enough to control the wild and chaotic financial sector, which had caused misery throughout the nation. The commentator said the chaos was the result of a U.S. plot to destabilize Zimbabwe.
Human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa says banking controls imposed by the central bank as a violation of people's human and property rights.
Zim Online
by Simplisio Chirinda Thursday 03 January
2008
HARARE – The International Air Transport Association
(IATA) has given
Zimbabwe’s national airline up to the end of 2008 to raise
standards or face
possible de-registration by the world air travel
body.
De-registration would see Air Zimbabwe planes banned from Europe
and other
flying zones that require IATA operational safety audit (IOSA)
certification
for airlines plying their skies.
The IATA last month
sanctioned an audit of operational management and
controls systems at the
financially struggling Air Zimbabwe.
A German firm, Aviation Quality
Services (AQS), that carried out the audit
on behalf of IATA agreed that the
airline be given up to the end of this
year to address “shortcomings” in its
systems, according to an internal Air
Zimbabwe document shown to ZimOnline
on Wednesday.
“AQS found Air Zimbabwe personnel to be well prepared and
committed, however
AQS found systematic shortcomings . . . the shortcomings
require urgent
addressing of business culture on some areas,” read the
document authored by
Air Zimbabwe chief executive Peter
Chikumba.
Despite the shortcomings noted by auditors, Air Zimbabwe
remains a member of
IATA for one year because last month’s audit was
completed within the period
prescribed by the international
body.
Chikumba, who expressed confidence his airline would meet the
December 2008
deadline to achieve IOSA requirements, did not say what
exactly were the
shortcomings identified by AQS but said the German firm
would be back at Air
Zimbabwe on an initial pre-audit visit between March
and April this year.
He said: “By June/July 2008 Air Zimbabwe will
receive the final audit thus
allowing a good six months period for
correcting any outstanding findings at
that time. This repeat audit process
has been agreed with AQS as a more
effective means of achieving IOSA
conformity before the end of 2008.”
ZimOnline was unable to get immediate
comment on the matter from Chikumba or
the Ministry of Transport that
oversees the wholly government owned airline.
The IOSA audit covers areas
such as an airline’s safety and reliability
record, operational issues,
engineering and cabin crew. It also covers fleet
management, qualifications
of staff and many other technical issues.
Zimbabwe’s national carrier has
since the country’s economic crisis started
in 2000 lost its position as one
of the best airlines in Africa due to
mismanagement and interference by the
government including by President
Robert Mugabe who often grabs planes to
fly him on his countless foreign
trips leaving passengers
stranded.
Starved of cash for re-equipment, Air Zimbabwe uses mostly
obsolete
technology and equipment while nearly all its planes are between 16
and 20
years old. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
by Lizwe Sebatha Thursday 03 January
2008
BULAWAYO – A Zimbabwean white farmer has been given a
48-hour notice to
vacate his farm or be dragged to court for resisting the
eviction as chaos
on former white farms continues.
Michael Berry
Jansen, who owns Xanphippe Farm in the Midlands town of
Kwekwe, has been
ordered to move out of his property by Obert Mabhena, a
serving soldier, who
argues that the farm was allocated to him last year.
The latest threat on
the commercial farmer, one of the few remaining white
farmers in Zimbabwe,
comes despite calls by Vice-President Joseph Msika late
last year to halt
disturbances on former white farms.
Jansen confirmed yesterday that he
had been ordered to vacate the property
or face being dragged to court for
resisting the take-over of his farm.
“The soldier (Mabhena) has since
moved his cattle and goats to my farm
saying he has been allocated the land.
But I am contesting the take-over,”
said Jansen.
Mabhena yesterday
insisted that he had been allocated the property by the
Ministry of Lands
and Resettlement.
“I was offered sub-division three of the farm. I am not
negotiating a
settlement with him. The courts will do their job should he
resist the
take-over,” said Mabhena.
The Zimbabwean government has
given conflicting signals on the state of the
remaining white farmers with
Msika, for example, denouncing fresh farm
disturbances around the
country.
But Lands Minister Didymus Mutasa has insisted that farm
seizures will
continue until all Zimbabweans who are in need of land are
fully satisfied.
Mutasa could not be reached for comment on the matter
yesterday.
Last December, the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Tribunal
ruled that a Zimbabwean white farmer, William Michael
Campbell, should be
allowed to stay at his farm in Chegutu pending the final
determination of an
appeal against the seizure of his farm by the
government.
Campbell was challenging the legality of Harare’s land
reforms which he said
violated the SADC Treaty.
About 600 white
farmers are still on their properties after a controversial
land reform
programme that saw President Robert Mugabe’s government parcel
out land to
landless black villagers eight years ago.
The controversial land reforms
plunged Zimbabwe into severe food shortages
with at least three million
people requiring food aid from international
food relief agencies. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
by Morgan Tsvangirai Thursday 03
January 2008
HARARE - Fellow Zimbabweans, the situation in
Zimbabwe today requires a
great deal of courage, endurance and our usual
resilience. We are stretched
to the limit.
Daily, we are fighting
despondency, hopelessness and state-sanctioned
despair. I hope and pray that
this is the last time our nation has to be
exposed to these trying
times.
Our families have gone through the worst Christmas season ever
imagined:
without food, without our own cash.
As we enter the New
Year, the year of our Lord 2008, from such a severely
untenable position, I
need to call on all my compatriots to make 2008 the
last post.
With
schools opening in the next two weeks, the worst is still with us –
making
the current cash shortages a serious humanitarian emergency and a
matter of
national concern.
Our democratic struggle has cost us so much blood,
directly and through
hidden human and material losses in what has become
known as the social
costs of the dictatorship.
Our salvation rests in
a free and fair election in 2008 under a new
Constitution. We shall vote in
2008 under a set of conditions acceptable to
all
Zimbabweans.
Thousands have succumbed to an AIDS pandemic the state is
unwilling to tone
down; thousands are dying of hunger and starvation; and
thousands now have a
humiliatingly shorter live span, forced to depart from
our soil for reasons
the Robert Mugabe regime cares less about.
The
national payment system and the banking and finance sectors shall
continue
to over-heat as long as our economy drifts further and further into
an
artificial, haphazard and informal status.
The little that workers
managed to scoop from the dwindling job market is
now locked up in banks and
building societies.
The workers have had to endure an array of state
regulations to claim what
is rightfully theirs: long queues, withdrawal
limits and incessant threats
from the regime.
The entire nation has
been criminalised. Chief executives of reputable
companies, community
leaders, senior academics and members of the clergy,
together with ordinary
people, have to wade through all kinds of
state-sponsored mischief and
regulations to subsist.
Prices of basic goods, whenever these goods
become available, are beyond
reach. Corruption has become a culture in all
facets of our lives – and
nobody in authority either seems to care or have
the power to do anything
about it.
Mugabe and ZANU PF are moving
Zimbabwe into a Zairean situation with the
backing of a brutal and a
parasitic bureaucracy as his main pillars of
support, until such time those
pillars begin to give in to pressure.
By then the nation would be so weak
and so confused that no one could be
held accountable for the loss of the
soul of the nation.
We must stop the rot. We must deal with this
situation as a matter of
urgency. We must save Zimbabwe. Into the New Year,
I call upon all
Zimbabweans to mobilise for a lasting solution to the
national crisis.
I urge Zimbabweans to focus on tomorrow. Mobutu kept the
Zairean people
guessing about the future through constant cosmetic political
changes.
What unfolded after that was chaos rather than order, peace and
tranquillity. That is why Zimbabweans must simply sit it out and refuse to
budge.
We want real change. Mugabe and ZANU PF want a false election
and if we
become part of it, we become a danger to ourselves, a false
hope.
We are ready to underwrite a smooth transition to end the national
crisis.
That is why we support the SADC-brokered negotiations on Zimbabwe’s
future.
But an unhelpful development has begun to creep in and we are
deadlocked on
key issues that should enable us to cross the bridge into a
new era.
In spite of the mess we are forced to live with today, ZANU PF
has begun to
backtrack on some of these agreed points and is going it alone.
The main
sticking points are a transitional Constitution and an election
date.
We settled on the transitional Constitution following assurances
that the
agreement would be implemented before the next election.
But
ZANU PF is now against the spirit and content of that agreement,
insisting
instead that the transitional Constitution can only be implemented
after the
election. This is unacceptable.
The pace at which the transitional
Constitution was to be implemented
determines the election date.
If
we are serious about Zimbabwe’s future and an election whose process and
result are endorsed by all political players and the people of Zimbabwe,
then we have to follow right protocols and procedures.
The
transitional Constitution already agreed to is essential in that it
helps us
to set up the requisite infrastructure for a sound electoral
management
system, codes for good governance and a human rights regimen
between now and
the election date – key factors necessary to spur
confidence, redirect the
people towards a national solution, regenerate hope
and to rally the nation
to unite in handling our sensitive national crisis.
As things stand
today, Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF are merely stringing along
with us, when on
the ground they are already moving ahead with their plan:
selectively
picking up points of agreement and shoving them onto Zimbabwe in
a
piece-meal manner to present a picture of reform, at home and in
SADC.
The intention is to mislead SADC into believing that a lasting
political
solution was on the cards. They want to force an election in March
with
cosmetic reforms and still rig the outcome through a flawed
process.
That will not happen.
A lot of work is still pending to
repair our voters’ roll and the
historically disputed electoral management
system before any legitimate
election, with a legitimate result can take
place.
We maintain that an election is impossible in the next 100 days,
in March
2008.
We agreed on the need for an independent electoral
commission whose task is
to register voters, delimit constituencies, bar the
military and the police
from direct involvement in elections and to run the
entire election.
But what is happening on the ground today defies
logic.
ZANU PF has deployed the military, Tobaiwa Mudede and the CIO to
mark
constituency boundaries and register voters, contrary to the letter and
spirit of the Pretoria negotiations.
We reject this form of deceit,
the insincerity whose consequences are far
reaching for our bleeding nation.
We refuse to engage in a ritual to
legitimise Mugabe through a flawed
election.
To register our displeasure and to place our revulsion on the
record, the
people are ready to express themselves for an immediate end to
the cash
crisis.
An exhibition of people-power shall see a speedy
implementation of the
Pretoria agreement, in particular the resolution of
sticky points
threatening to derail our progress.
Other options on
the table, should the deadlock remain entrenched, include a
national
shut-down and a series of lawful mass action activities to pull the
nation
out of the deep hole.
The year 2008 provides us with abundant
opportunities for a permanent
solution to the national crisis.
I
thank you.
Morgan Tsvangirai
President.
Afrol News, Norway
afrol News, 2 January
- Floods had forced 700 villagers in South-Eastern
regions of Zimbabwe to
abandon their homes. The weekend floods resulted
after the Save River bursts
its banks.
Helicopters have been used to deliver food supplies to the
displaced
villagers of Chipinge and Middle Sabi areas who sought shelter in
a
government farm.
At least 27 people reportedly drowned in what is
described as Zimbabwe's
wettest December in history.
Earlier, the
floods rendered 600 families homeless and killed one person and
several
livestock in the Northern Zambezi Valley.
The floods have been declared a
national disaster in some parts of Zimbabwe.
The government had warned
people to avoid crossing flooded rivers and that
residents close to dams and
lakes should monitor water levels at all times.
Floods caused by heavy
rains had caused the demolition of walls in the
Zimbabwean capital
Harare.
By staff writer
© afrol News
By Lance
Guma
02 January 2008
Waitrose supermarket in the United Kingdom could
face a series of protests
from activists who are unhappy at its imports of
fish from Zimbabwe. The
supermarket chain, which is part of the reputable
John Lewis partnership, is
buying tilapia fillets from a company operating
in Kariba. Campaigners say
the supermarket should not be flying fish for
5000 miles, from a country on
the brink of starvation. Dennis Benton from
the ZimVigil in London says they
are planning to visit the headquarters of
the company and hand in a petition
protesting the imports.
Other
activists are threatening demonstrations at Waitrose outlets, which
stock
the tilapia fillets from Zimbabwe. The company has been quick to
defend
their purchases claiming the fish help meet demand for mild white
fish and
spares endangered stocks of cod. They also claim to be supporting
‘native
fishermen’ who are part of a co-operative in Kariba. Dara Grogan a
spokesperson for Waitrose says they source the fish from a ‘fair trade’
supplier known as Lake Harvest which pays its workers more than the minimum
wage, and provides pension schemes and medical insurance amongst other
benefits.
Further investigations into Lake Harvest Aquaculture Pvt
Ltd show that the
company has an office in Kariba, as well as the small
European country of
Luxembourg. It remains unclear who owns the company. A
UK Foreign Office
spokesman told journalists; ‘'There are no restrictions on
a UK supermarket
stocking Zimbabwean produce.’
Newspaper editor Wilf
Mbanga spoke to the UK Daily Mail newspaper saying;
'People are starving in
Zimbabwe. There is no food in the shops, there is no
fish to be had there
for the ordinary people. 'It's incredibly cruel taking
food out of the
mouths of starving people. It is very ill advised of
Waitrose. It is morally
wrong.’
Meanwhile Dennis Benton from the ZimVigil says the group will
meet on
Saturday for the normal vigil at the Zimbabwe embassy and plan their
protests against Waitrose.
SW Radio Africa
Zimbabwe news
New Zimbabwe
By Dr Alex
T. Magaisa
Last updated: 01/03/2008 04:24:39
THE year 2007 has passed on
and with it, the hopes and dreams of a
continent. Like the relentless waves
of the sea, each year comes and goes,
eating away the coastline, each time
taking off a piece of the fragile land.
For Africa, the annual passage of
time seems subtract the dreams and
expectations of a people who have known
little peace.
For the best part of a decade now, there has been much
preoccupation with
Zimbabwe and its escalating failures, as the antithesis
of the democratic
movement seemingly sweeping across Africa. Yet, right
across the continent,
the script remains familiar, disappointment and
despair at the apparent
failures to measure up to the democratic standards
and descent into chaos
and violence following such failures. When all is
considered, it would
appear that the year 2007 was no more than the
harbinger of pain, misery and
despair for the continent.
2007
witnessed a number of elections but four earned the greatest attention.
First, March saw a chaotic national election in Nigeria. Though condemned
for the violence and alleged cheating, the new President Yar Adua appears
now to be firmly in place.
Second, as the year drew to a close, Kenya
held national elections – equally
chaotic, very violent and more allegations
of cheating. The third, was the
smaller but equally significant election for
the leadership of the ANC, the
major political party in South Africa. The
other, was the election that
never was – the (non) contest for the
leadership of Zimbabwe’s ruling
party – Zanu PF.
All four countries
matter greatly to Africa. Until now Kenya has been
regarded as a relatively
peaceful nation with the biggest economy in East
Africa. The 2002 election,
which displaced KANU, then the ruling party,
appeared to have ushered a new
wave of democratic spirit. If that was a
symbol of hope, the 2007 election
represents despair. Hundreds of people
have perished from the violence
unleashed in response in the wake of a
hotly-disputed election. The
erstwhile messengers of democracy, feted in
2002, have become the ultimate
villains merely five years later – an
indication, if any was needed, that
democracy is not signified by the mere
event of the election but is a
process whose success must be measured over
time. Too much celebration too
soon over the event of the election as the
signal of democracy is a grave
error that often leads to great despair.
Nigeria is a major economic
power, being the biggest oil producer in Africa
housing Africa’s largest
population . The previous eight years, commencing
with a major election that
ushered transition from military dictatorship to
civilian rule had seemingly
brought much hope for democracy. But the
disputed election in Africa’s most
populous country has blighted its
democratic credentials. Yet, perhaps,
because this is a great source of oil,
electoral irregularities have not
affected the ‘international community’s’
view on the legitimacy of Nigeria’s
new government. It is these
inconsistencies that blight the West’s
interventions in African politics
when it attempts to lecture on democracy
and human rights.
South Africa is the continent’s economic superpower.
Touted optimistically
as the “Rainbow Nation”, it has represented enormous
hope both politically
and economically. President Mbeki has presided over
what is regarded as a
successful economy. His presidential term does not run
out until 2009 but in
December 2007 he, humiliatingly, lost the presidency
of the ruling ANC
Party, to his political nemesis, Jacob Zuma.
Zuma
is a man who faces criminal charges centring on corruption and more
recently, faced the ignominy of being tried on charges of rape, during which
he testified that, in order to prevent HIV-infection, he had taken the
unlikely precaution of having a shower after intercourse. On the one hand,
the election demonstrates some measure of internal democracy within the ANC.
On the other hand, for sceptics who are suspicious of Zuma’s credentials and
capabilities, notwithstanding the favour he enjoys among the ordinary
people, it confirms their fears that, sometimes, even the ‘right’ democratic
structures can produce the ‘wrong’ result.
Zimbabwe is Africa’s
formerly golden child, rich in promise but has more
recently fallen on
severely hard times. The year 2007 is memorable for
stubborn continuity, for
an election that never was. 2008 represents an
election that may only be
significant to the extent that it represents yet
another wave that eats away
the dream of democracy.
Unlike his South African counterpart, President
Mugabe has presided over the
demise of an economic power. His presidential
term runs out in 2008 and it
was hoped by most neutrals that he would pass
on the baton for another to
try to revive the fortunes of an ailing nation.
But in December 2007, he was
endorsed as the ruling Zanu PF party’s sole
presidential candidate in the
2008 national elections.
Such is the
nature of political structures and electoral politics – booting
out a
president who has carried a successful economy in SA’s ANC but
retaining
another who has presided over the downfall of an economy in
Zimbabwe’s Zanu
PF.
The trouble is that democracy in Africa has centred squarely on the
event of
the election. Elections matter, of course, because they represent
the
legitimate forum of succession in political governance. But it is this
very
event that has caused great despair because of the way it is managed,
which
invariably tends to favour the incumbent and disadvantage the
challenger, so
that in almost every election, the challenger cries foul over
allegations of
rigging and cheating. No election on the continent has passed
without
allegations of cheating.
The truth is that elections can and
do produce unlikely results, depending
on the persons responsible for their
management. A hundred years ago, very
few countries could boast of universal
suffrage. By contrast, there are many
more countries today, that subscribe
to the notion of universal suffrage.
But that is no guarantee that it
advances or has advanced the notion and
values of democracy. If anything,
there is evidence, especially in Africa,
of elections being used as means of
legitimating the power of certain
sections of society, mainly those that are
already in power. Notwithstanding
that they lack any democratic values, they
claim, on the basis of holding
regular elections, as in Zimbabwe, that they
are democratically elected and
therefore legitimate governments.
As a
measure of democracy, elections in Africa are flawed. An election alone
is
no signifier of democracy. More than that, it is important to develop and
uphold the liberal values that make up democracy. One here refers to the
values of fairness, equality, respect, freedom, justice, transparency, free
enterprise and liberal economic policy, etc.
These values are
dependent on the development of a particular culture that
is informed by the
history of the people, certain levels of education,
economic wherewithal and
aspirations. It follows that there are many other
factors, beyond the event
of an election that are necessary for the success
of democracy as it is
understood in most of the Western polities.
Indeed, in the West itself,
the type of democracy that exists there, emerged
from centuries of political
development characterised by conflict and
blood-letting. That history is
essential to the way people react and respond
to particular phenomena and
their approach to politics. The election is
simply a part of a much bigger
process, informed by values nurtured over
time. Yet, when transposed into
new territory, democracy is measured by
ticking boxes – free elections,
existence of certain institutions, etc.
Because of the fixation with
elections, the result sometimes, is what might
be referred to as “illiberal
democracy” - an apparently democratic system
but without the liberal values
and problems arise when the so-called “right”
structures produce the wrong
“result”.
There is a fundamental need to devise ways of dealing with such
aspects of
democracy as elections. One great problem in African politics is
the “winner
takes all” approach to electoral processes. Most African
countries have
particular histories that influence the demographic make-up
of voters. Tribe
is clearly still an important feature in most countries.
Regionalism is
often allied to the tribal factor. Even if the disaffection
with a
particular political party cuts across tribe and regions, when
problems
arise, tribe is always a sensitive fault-line that is easily
exploited.
It is necessary therefore, to create an electoral system,
whose outcomes can
more closely represent the wishes of the diverse peoples
who make up the
electorate. The winners take all approach favours the
majority whilst
unfairly marginalising the minority, even if, as is often
the case, the
minority is a large minority. Africans must seriously consider
such systems
as proportional representation and consensus-building in
politics.
The other key feature is the general poverty of the ordinary
members of the
public, so that in times of trouble, they have little or
nothing to protect
and instead find opportunities in the ensuing chaos to
grab property from
those that have it. It follows therefore, that people
must have property to
protect from violence and disorder, property here
encompassing aspirations.
Because where the majority lack an incentive to
protect property, they are
often driven to violent acts to express their
anger and dismay at the
electoral system – such approaches affect, not just
the opponents but the
country as a whole.
It is therefore important,
if the values that underpin democracy are to
flourish, to enhance individual
economic development. There is the need
here, for those with an interest in
advancing the African cause, to develop
such models of individual economic
emancipation. Perhaps, when the ordinary
African has some form of economic
capacity to safeguard and promote, will he
be an agent for the advancement
and protection of values that can sustain a
democracy. This might well take
time but it has to be done.
Dr Magaisa can be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk
Financial
Times
Monday December 31
NAIROBI - As western leaders
scramble to prevent Kenya’s descent into chaos
they should find time to
consider their own failure to respond to a crisis
that has been long in the
making.
Seldom has an African tragedy been signalled so far in
advance. And
seldom have western policymakers been so complicit in a crisis
that is
turning into Kenya’s catastrophe. For the past three years the
international
donor community, led by the World Bank and supported by the
International
Monetary Fund, have ignored the warning signs and knowingly
backed one of
Africa’s most corrupt regimes.
For the outside
world, Kenya has been the acceptable face of Africa: a
safe destination for a
million tourists a year from Europe, Asia and North
America to the country of
surf and safari; a reliable base, in a tough
neighbourhood, for a burgeoning
aid industry; regional headquarters for the
United Nations; and – less
well-known – a country whose military pacts with
the US and Britain have made
it a crucial ally in the “war against terror”.
Kenyan politics,
however, has never been healthy. It has been dominated
by ethnic allegiances,
stained by assassination, distorted by one-party rule
until 1991 and, above
all, oiled by endemic corruption.
When Mwai Kibaki swept into power
in December 2002, ending Daniel arap
Moi’s kleptocratic era, he was regarded
not primarily as a member of the
Kikuyu, Kenya’s largest tribe. Rather, he
was seen as a reformer who led a
coalition that promised clean
government.
The euphoria that united the country was short-lived. On
a mid-winter
day in London in early February 2005, John Githongo, the man
whom Mr Kibaki
had appointed Kenya’s anti-corruption chief, and himself a
Kikuyu, chose
exile in Britain rather than staying silent at home.
For the first time in Africa’s post-independence history, an insider
was
ready to reveal how corruption worked – with evidence that included
secretly
taped conversations with cabinet ministers.
Not only were
Britain and other aid donors given an opportunity to
tackle corruption, using
as leverage aid that exceeds $16bn since
independence in 1963. It was also a
chance to ask some tough questions about
how that money has been
spent.
If aid has worked in Kenya, how do development agencies
explain the
growing pauperisation of its people? In 1990 about 48 per cent of
the
population was living below the poverty line. Today, more than four
decades
after independence, nearly 55 per cent of Kenyans are subsisting on a
couple
of dollars a day.
And for all the 6 per cent annual gross
domestic product growth achieved
in the past two years under Mr Kibaki, the
gap between the haves and the
have-nots is widening. To see the crisis only
in terms of tribal allegiances
and ethnic clashes is to miss a vital element
in the Kenyan picture. The
population has doubled in 25 years to 31m.
Unemployment is growing, and the
number without land is growing. For these
people there is nothing to lose by
taking to the streets, driven by
frustration and fury that transcend their
tribe.
Alas for Kenya,
the bank, the fund and leading bilateral donors such as
Britain chose not to
act on Mr Githongo’s evidence. Instead, it has been
business as usual. In the
case of DFID, the UK development agency, aid flows
have in fact risen – from
£30m in 2003-04 to £50m in 2005-06.
So why did the donors duck away
from this unique opportunity to tackle
graft?
The truth is, they
never had the stomach for a fight. They did not
believe it was ultimately in
their interests to have a showdown with the
barons of corruption. They did
not want to upset what they saw as a regional
“island of stability” from
which the UN and other international relief
agencies, including hundreds of
foreign non-governmental organisations,
operate – a thriving business that
accounts for a fifth of Kenya’s annual
foreign exchange earnings.
Weighing in the balance are the longstanding military agreements Kenya
has
signed with the US and the UK, which have assumed particular importance
since
President George W. Bush launched his war on terrorism.
Not for the
first time, an African country is paying a terrible price
for the tolerance
of its corrupt government by its western partners.
The writer,
former Financial Times Africa editor, is author of Last
Orders at Harrods
(Abacus), set in Kenya
BBC
By Paul
Reynolds
World affairs correspondent BBC News
website
The crisis in Kenya has prompted a wave of
international pressure from
governments concerned at the risk of ethnic
cleansing and a descent into
chaos of what was regarded as one of Africa's
more stable political systems.
The twin examples of Rwanda and Zimbabwe
provide diplomats with ample
incentive to do what they can to stop the
spread of violence and resolve
doubts over the presidential
election.
Strategic interests
The desire is not just humanitarian.
The African Union, the US and the EU
all have an interest in the stability
and development of Kenya. So does
China these days.
The AU is sending
its chairman, Ghana's President John Kufuor, knowing that
Kenya as a model
must survive.
The model is now in doubt.
Diplomats say that Mr
Kufuor will take the lead role in trying to restore
peace and
order.
He will, I understand, urge both the declared president Mwai
Kibaki and the
opposition leader Raila Odinga to make calls for an end to
violence by their
supporters and to enter a dialogue that could lead to a
government of
national unity.
Such a government is favoured by
Britain.
A joint statement by the UK and the US on 2 January calling for
political
leaders to stop the violence and "engage in a spirit of
compromise" was left
deliberately vague in order not to appear to be
dictating terms (even though
on Tuesday, the British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown called openly for the
sides to discuss "whether they can come together
in government"). But its
aim is to get a dialogue going.
The UK is
the former colonial power with close ties and some influence
there. Kenya is
a major destination for British tourists.
For the US, Kenya is one of the
battlegrounds against al-Qaeda. The US
embassy there was bombed in 1998.
Tourist hotels have been attacked and in
one incident, an Israeli airliner
had missiles fired at it.
Query over election
result
The question mark over the election led to a startling comment to
the BBC
from the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Wednesday: "We
don't
know who won."
The implications of that are huge. It means
that Britain at least, and
therefore possibly the European Union, will not
recognise the right of Mwai
Kibaki to the Kenyan presidency.
The
United States went into a quick about-turn when the irregularities in
the
election counting were revealed by the EU's monitoring team. It
initially
congratulated Mr Kibaki on his victory, with the state department
spokesman
saying: "We would call on the people of Kenya to accept the
results of the
election..."
Then a White House spokesman said he "was not
congratulating anybody". And
finally the US and UK issued their joint
statement that pointedly avoids any
support for the declared
result.
There have been calls for a recount, for example by the
new leader of the
Liberal Democrats in Britain, Nick Clegg. Others want an
investigation into
the election count, urged by the head of the EU team,
German MEP Alexander
Graf Lambsdorff.
The EU has been slow in
adopting a joint position, perhaps overtaken by
events and caught in the end
of year change in the six monthly presidency
between Portugal and
Slovenia.
The fact that the British government chose to issue a
statement with US says
a lot about British priorities and the inability of
the EU to respond
rapidly to an unexpected international crisis. The more
powerful foreign
policy representative proposed under the EU treaty might
help but even then
he or she will have to consult widely among member
governments before
acting.
Targeted sanctions possible
If the
crisis continues, it is probable that there will be calls within the
EU for
targeted sanctions against Mr Kibaki and his ministers, such as
restrictions
on travel to EU states.
It is far less likely that aid to Kenya will be
slowed or stopped as aid is
designed to help the poorest.
The IMF did
cut off loans to the Kenyan government in the 1990s because of
corruption in
the Kenyan government but these were later reinstated.
Nor is military
intervention likely unless law and order breaks down
completely.
The
Commonwealth always has an option to suspend Kenya from its ministerial
meetings, as happened with Pakistan.
Paul.Reynolds-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
The Herald
(Harare) Published by the government of Zimbabwe
1 January
2008
Posted to the web 2 January 2008
Mutare
Harare
FLOODS
have marooned villagers and drowned livestock and wildlife in Middle
Sabi,
Chipinge, as heavy rains continue to pound most parts of the
country.
Acting Officer Commanding Police in Manicaland Assistant
Commissioner Obert
Benge yesterday said rescue teams comprising security
forces and members of
the Civil Protection Unit had since been deployed to
the affected areas.
Thej worst affected areas include Masimbe Village
in Chibuwe, Tongogara
Refugee Camp and some parts of Mahenye.
"Heavy
raining upstream resulted in Save River bursting its banks in
low-lying
areas of Chipinge. The flooding occurred over the weekend with
Dakate River
that runs into Save River also bursting its banks resulting in
nearby
homesteads in Masimbe Village being affected by the floods. People
fled
homes and sought refuge on higher ground. The same situation is at the
Tongogara Refuge Camp where the floods have marooned inmates," he
said.
Asst Comm Benge said most of the affected families were failing to
access
food and the rescue teams were busy taking supplies to the affected
areas.
"No casualties have been reported so far but the biggest problem
is that
most of the marooned villagers are failing to access food. Our teams
on the
ground are making frantic efforts to take food to the affected
people. There
is one helicopter from the Air Force of Zimbabwe which is
being very helpful
in reaching people who are trapped in areas that cannot
be accessed by any
other means of communication," he said.
Meanwhile,
Civil Protection Department director Mr Madzudzo Pawadyira
yesterday said
floods were also experienced along Ruya River in the Dotito
area of
Mashonaland Central on Saturday.
"Three adults were marooned on an island
and were later rescued by a
helicopter," he said.
He, however, said
the river has since subsided.
In Muzarabani, Mr Pawadyira said a visit to
the area had shown that it is
now fairly manageable since there was a lull
in the rainfall activity in the
area.
He said there were problems
with tributaries that cross Muzarabani and Hoya
and also between Hoya and
Chadereka.
Mr Pawadyira said a feeder river, which flows into Musengezi
River, was also
posing some problems.
He said there was now at least
a single reliable route to the affected
areas, which is from Muzarabani to
Hoya then to Chadereka.
"This is the road which we are working on,
although it is bridged at
Manzoumbunda River," he said.
Mr Pawadyira
said they would be sending some cement for minor bridge repairs
to improve
access to the affected areas. He said stocks of food and other
relief
material would be moved to Hoya Clinic and Hoya Primary School and
Chadereka
Primary School using District Development Fund tractors and
trailers.
"All the affected people from Kairezi, Chimoio and
Chadereka will have to
access their supplies from the said places using
scotchcarts," he said.
Mr Pawadyira appealed to people not to attempt
crossing flooded rivers and
those on lower ground to move to higher ground
to avoid being trapped.
He said those driving should respect flooded
rivers.
In urban areas, he said people should inform police and the fire
brigade so
that they can come and pump out water from their homes after
floods.
He said they should also use sandbags to safeguard their houses
and also to
listen consistently to weather bulletins.
By Mutumwa
Mawere
Wednesday 02 January 2008
The role of the West in
undermining post colonial democratic institutions is
a subject that requires
its own debate but is not a new subject. Many post
colonial states have
found in imperialism a convenient and potent defence
against their own bad
governance and human and property rights abuses.
The spin doctors of bad
leaders in many of these post colonial states now
make it a habit to use
terms like “economic saboteurs” to describe any
behaviour that they deem to
be contrary to the entrenchment and sustainance
of misguided policies and
programs.
The reasons why Africa continues to blame colonialism and
imperialism for
the poverty trap that it finds itself in are multiple but
the underlying
agenda in the strategy is obvious and deliberate i.e. to
divert attention
from the core problems that are humanly
created.
With 53 countries, the African continent remains universally
challenged to
live up to the expectations of the majority of its citizens
for a better
life and its leaders appear to deliberately invest in confusion
politics
with citizens bearing the brunt of the abuses as if to confirm the
worst
fears of the colonialists whose protracted defence of an exclusive
society
was premised on the fear of majority rule that could easily be
manipulated
by the dangerously wise.
We have unfortunately allowed
ourselves to be abused by the few who have
monopolised state power for
personal aggrandisement. The post colonial
experience has now been converted
into an environment where having state
power is synonymous with wisdom and
integrity. The rights that the post
colonial constitution purports to vest
in citizens have now been alienated
from citizens by a cabal of individuals
who have made a significant
investment in making citizens afraid of what
tomorrow may bring.
In 2007, the African continent stood as one in making
it possible that
President Mugabe was invited to Lisbon and in doing so the
continent was
sending a message that an injury to one is an injury to
all.
The consensus among African leaders is that Africa continues to be
poor
because of the machinations of the West and as long as the colonial
injury
exists, no African state has found itself as a friend of post
colonial
justice even in cases where it is evident that the victims are not
only
white. It cannot be said that the victims of post colonial Zimbabwe are
race
specific given the arguments that have been advanced in the recent past
suggesting that a list exists of enemies of the state even in the ranks of
the ruling party.
At the just ended congress of the ruling party,
Gono in front of his
principal make the disclosure that national interest
was being compromised
by the greed of a few senior members of the party.
However, even President
Mugabe could not challenge Gono to name them or even
risk arresting him
until he exposes the culprits. Instead, Gono chose to
threaten to expose the
alleged criminals not to the law enforcement officers
but to Parliament for
reasons that are well known.
The argument
advanced and widely accepted by many Africans is that the West
is up to no
good and any opposition to bad governance by African citizens is
necessarily
driven by non-African interests and can never be owned by
Africans
themselves.
Although President Mugabe may feel vindicated, enough for him
to go on
annual leave outside the country at a time when citizens have no
access to
their own cash resources, that Zimbabwe’s economic and political
problems
are externally engineered with angry citizens being pawns of third
parties,
it is evident that no matter how much external enemies are
manufactured on a
crisis to crisis basis, the problems will not run away and
in the final
analysis Zimbabweans will seize the moment and take the right
steps to
restore their sovereignty where it belongs.
How long can
rational people blame third parties for what is patently
obvious? Even Gono
has accepted that the demonetisation project was ill
conceived and yet no
one can dare challenge him for fear of being exposed.
It has been confirmed
that Gono has a list (a long one for that matter) of
all the people he has
compromised and who would not dare refuse to be used
like Butau attempted to
do. Any person who operates on the basis of
blackmail will one day be the
ultimate victim of his own actions.
Having successfully convinced the
African constitutency including SADC
leaders that Zimbabwe is not a victim
of post colonial bad governance, it is
now apparent that the spin doctors
have been at work trying to convince the
Zimbabwean public that the West has
planted evil seeds in selected African
minds who mascquerade as businessmen
when in truth and fact (according to
official propaganda) they are agents of
imperialism bent on destroying the
motherland.
In the post-Lisbon
summit period, Zimbabwe has been plunged into another
inevitable and
predictable crisis in the form of cash. No one could have
imagined that
something that never happened in the colonial state could
visit a proudly
sovereign nation like Zimbabwe i.e. citizens being denied
access to their
own cash assets and banks running out of cash.
To help explain this
disaster just like has happened before, the Governor of
the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe who is the most visible propagandist against
the targeted sanctions
regime imposed by the West came up with the expected
explanation that the
cash crisis was a creation of nameless and faceless
“cash barons” without
knowing that the first casualty would be no other than
his conduit, Mr.
Kadzura, for a donation of Z$500,000 he made secretly to
Mr. Edgar
Tekere.
The relationship between Gono and Kadzura is well established as
are the
financial dealings between them to confirm that in the case of Ms.
Mutekede
that was before Magistrate Mr Mishrod Guvamombe in which the RBZ
and the
Police were exposed as the real forces behind undermining the
interests of
the state. It was evident that Kadzura knows more than he cared
to say in
court and Chiremba, the blue eyed boy of Gono, exposed how
unprofessional
the conduct of the RBZ and confirmed the worst fears that
criminality may
have its source right where allegations emanate
from.
Gono has challenged citizens to expose his criminal conduct fully
knowing
that he is in charge of all the law enforcement authorities who in
any event
would not dare act on him. Evidence is plenty and even Butau must
have what
Gono does not want Zimbabweans to know. What is evident is that
Gono is
running out of steam and enemies outside the state machinery are now
difficult to come up with.
What is significant about the cash crisis
that is confronting the Zimbabwean
economy among many other governance
issues is that the finger is pointed at
other people than the state itself.
While Gono chose to blame the cash
barons and used the already financially
comprised Butau as the vehicle for
diverting attention, Chiramba, the
official spin doctor for the President
who seems to regard himself as holier
than thou and the only genuine
revolutionary, conveniently stepped in using
the now familiar argument that
the West was responsible for the cash
crisis.
In any normal society, Charamba would have been referred to a
psychiatrist
but it has now been accepted that his boss really expects to
hear that
behind every crisis in Zimbabwe, the West must be involved. In a
desperate
attempt to implicate the West in the cash crisis saga, it was
expected that
given that Gono had run out of propaganda currency he needed
the assistance
of Charamba who may afterall be also a beneficiary like Butau
of the mafia
style dispensed goodies from the RBZ.
When Gono invited
himself to a Parliamentary Committee chaired by Butau
those who know him
very well would have known of the trap in which Butau was
going to be the
sacrificial lamb. The facts of the case are that Butau like
many Zimbabweans
did not know that by being a beneficiary of Gono’s
assistance he had become
a convenient instrument to be used when conditions
called for
it.
Even Charamba whose views and opinions represent the President has
not dared
challenge Gono even in the face of monumental policy bankruptcy
suggesting
that Butau may not have been alone in the Gono compromised
individuals. To
what extent Gono has corrupted the state machinery using the
various
so-called sanctions busting quasi-fiscal activities will remain a
secret.
Given the manner in which Gono has been using the state media to
whitewash
and bamboozle the public, it may not be inaccurate to say that the
President
may not be fully aware of the true nature of Gono’s operations.
Butau joins
the list of targeted individuals who may know who Gono is but
are easily
silenced in the name of national security.
Anyone who
stands in the way is easily labelled an economic saboteur. Does
Gono have a
plan for Zimbabwe? This is a question that many enlightened
Zimbabweans have
already answered but it is evident that the majority of the
citizens are in
the dark when their future is being mortgaged and wasted by
the corrupt
few.
In an unprecedented manner, Charamba was reported to have caused a
stories
to be published by the Herald on Saturday entitled: “Govt raps West
for
sheltering fugitives” and another one published on Tuesday, 1 January
2008,
entitled: “Zimbabweans outraged at UK’s harbouring of fugitives” in
which he
attempts to blame the Western countries for the cash crisis. He
makes the
outrageous allegation that the economic problems of Zimbabwe are
being
manufactured in the West because the victims of Gono’s misguided
policies
have been given sanctuary in Western countries.
The entry of
Gono as Governor has seen the criminalisation of many honest
Zimbabweans for
political expediency. New crimes have been invented and
victims have been
selectively targeted so as to protect the President from
taking
responsibility for the collapse of the state. Under Gono’s
stewardship, the
informal sector has grown tremendously and is now more
efficient than the
formal sector that the post colonial state proudly
inherited from the
colonial state.
Charamba would want the world to accept that the collapse
of the state is
being engineered by external forces and he has now turned
his attention on
the very victims of Gono who like many black Zimbabweans
had to flee
Rhodesia to the West. Charamba may not be aware that in as much
as he would
like the gullible public to believe that the West is the
problem, many
Zimbabweans were given sanctuary by the West during the UDI
days including
President Mugabe’s late wife, Sally Mugabe.
The list
of Zimbabweans who were educated in the West during the colonial
days is
long and yet Charamba would want the victims of bad policies to seek
sanctuary in African states fully knowing that Mugabe’s policies have been
endorsed unanimously by the same states campaigned for the EU to invite him
to Lisbon summit.
The victims of the government of Zimbabwe are not only
white in colour but
are also black like me. After the experiences of
Kuruneri and Makamba who
were remanded in prison only to be acquitted after
serving time (with no
judicial involvement), Butau was right to take the
position that no justice
would be served if he remained in the country fully
knowing that the
barbarians were at the gate with Gono leading the
charge.
It was only James Mushore who naively thought that sanity had
been restored
sufficiently for him to go back to the lions’ den. He not only
became a
victim but also has affected the career of the Attorney General who
has
since been suspended. If Butau chose a country in Africa, then the long
arm
of the Zimbabwean injustice would have caught up with him. As he rightly
said, he would risk: “rotting in remand prison for a crime he did not
commit”.
Who is this Charamba? Judging from what Charamba is reported to
have said,
it is evident that he thinks he is the judge, jury and
executioner. He is
quoted to have said: "The criminals follow the sponsor.
Increasingly, it’s
becoming apparent that we are no longer talking about
mere economic crime;
we are talking about economic subversion that has the
blessings of foreign
interests. When you follow the footsteps of criminals
and indicted persons
this suggests a new geography of crime which connects
Zimbabwe to Britain,
Australia, the US and New Zealand. And it so happens
that these are exactly
the same countries which take a negative stance
against Zimbabwe’s politics
of land reform."
Charamba makes the
allegation that persons like, Zimuto, Makoni, Makamba,
Chekeche, Muponda,
Paradza, and others including myself are pawns of the
West and are, indeed,
sponsored. He and his gang are the authentic
custodians of the state---what
arrogance? We have seen this kind of
irresponsible nationalism and
patriotism take a dangerous twist over the
last few years and it has now
become necessary to respond to this abuse.
Surely, Charamba must be smart
to know that Zimbabweans are smarter than
what he wants to reduce them to.
The attempt to privatise the state must be
fought with the urgency it
deserves lest Zimbabwe may soon become a den of
gangsters mascquerading as
state agents. When Charamba speaks one must know
that the end is near but
what we know is that like Prof Moyo who is alleged
to also be on Gono’s
payroll, it is important that we critically examine
what is being said and
for whose benefit.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
The Zimbabwean
Wednesday, 02 January 2008 15:17
JOHANNESBURG, (South Africa)- THE Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum, a United
States-based pro-human rights group, is making a final push to have millions
of Zimbabweans based outside the country to participate in the crucial
general election scheduled for
March.
Plans to pressure the
Zimbabwean government to accord Zimbabweans in the
diaspora this right have
gathered momentum with the organization planning to
petition to all SADC
embassies in the United States as well as mobilising
people to protest in
Washington in February if the Robert Mugabe government
does not accord them
the right to vote. Zimbabweans participate in elections
in early 2008 in the
back of worsening economic and political crises with
millions in the
diaspora
highly unlikely to vote."No election can ever be free or fair if the
Zimbabweans in the diaspora are denied their right to vote," said
spokesperson, Professor Stanford Mukasa."The Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum has
begun a mass mobilization of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to CLAIM their
right to vote in the next elections," he added.The Zimbabwean government,
contrary to international electoral regulations, does not accord its
citizens based outside the country to
vote.There are about five million
Zimbabweans believed to be living outside
the crisis-plagued country, most
of whom have fled the political and
economic malaise rocking the
country.This is about a third the Zimbabwean
population-CAJ News.
The Herald, Port Elizabeth
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
CAPE TOWN – With more than three
million Zimbabweans already living in South
Africa, the average 1 000 to 5
000 illegal entries from Zimbabwe each day is
of “national
concern”.
And the department of home affairs said the backlog of 144 000
asylum
applications has been caused by economic refugees who fled Zimbabwe
to get
work in South Africa.
George Kruys, a research associate for
the Institute for Strategic Studies
at the University of Pretoria, said
“further (illegal) migration from
Zimbabwe will cause even greater hardship
for many South Africans”.
South Africa‘s extensive borders and lack of
control at access points mean
there is a massive infux of illegal immigrants
to the country.
Kruys said official statistics showed of the 245 294
people deported in
2006, 127 097 were from Zimbabwe. More than 117 000
Zimbabweans were
deported between January and July this year alone. The
monthly average of
deportation is 16 000.
Some of these sought asylum
to gain temporary legal residence in South
Africa. According to home
affairs, of the 3 074 Zimbabweans who applied for
asylum in the first three
months of this year, only 79 were granted, because
economic migrants were
not deemed eligible for asylum. Conditions at offices
for asylum seekers are
reportedly “extremely bad”.
The Zimbabwean
Tuesday, 01 January 2008 09:04
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has been following
with
interest
the recent reported case of a "cash baroness" Dorothy
Mutekede who was
caught with Z$10 Billion in new notes even before they
were in wide
circulation.
The case raised the inescapable
presumption that there was
some
corrupt practice at the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in releasing the cash
to
a non-banking
entity. This needed to be investigated and a full and
public
explanation given in order to restore the credibility of the RBZ and
the
banking sector in the eyes of the public. This is especially so
given
that
the RBZ Governor Gideon Gono has seemingly been playing
a blame game
on
the reasons for the cash shortages and the general
but quite
understandable
loss of confidence in the banking system
by the public.
As it has now turned out in the court proceedings of the
trial of
Dorothy
Mutekede, the people who wield the greatest
influence in driving the
criminal prosecution system and the RBZ have
seemingly chosen to cover
up
for the actual corrupt people in high
offices and sacrificed the
runners.
The remarks by provincial
magistrate Mr Guvamombe are significant as
follows "Both the RBZ and
the police are defeating the course of
justice... Why
are [the
police] not keen to investigate the big fish.If [the police
and
RBZ]
are after the cash barons why bring "runners" like this 24 year
old
lady.
It is clear that there is no way this woman could have
possessed the
cash
without getting it from the RBZ. It is clear
that the money came from
the
RBZ. The money is talking to everyone
that it is coming from the RBZ".
The remarks by the magistrate are a
serious indictment showing the
lack of
commitment of the RBZ and
the police to restore confidence in the
banking
sector. They show
that there is absolutely no commitment on the part
of
the police
and the RBZ to stem out corruption in our country. If
anything they
tend in the minds of ordinary people to implicate both the police and
the
RBZ in endemic corruption. Such levels of corruption have seen
the
banking
sector take a spectacular collapse.
ZLHR finds
itself sympathetic with the views of onlookers who have
taken
note
of the strong insinuation by the Magistrate that the possible
real
suspects in this serious corruption case have conveniently been
brought
forward as state witnesses in order to protect them from
prosecution.
This is aggravated by the apparent unbelievable
destruction of
evidence by both
the police and the RBZ. Between
them they disposed of the bank notes
that stood as necessary exhibits
in order to obliterate any prospects
of a
successful prosecution.
In obvious exasperation at this morally
reprehensible practice, the
magistrate lamented "they have taken away
our
exhibits and we are
left with no work to do."
This case places in serious doubt the
theatric public posturing by Dr.
Gideon Gono that he is worried about
inflation, the collapse of the
Zimbabwean dollar against major
currencies and the general loss of
confidence by the public in the
banking sector. If anything, it
reinforces the generally held
perception that the RBZ as an
institution or
influential people in
it are the main drivers of hyper-inflation and
the parallel
market
activities that have paralysed our national economy and put
paid
any
prospects of Zimbabweans living in dignity again any time soon.
Otherwise
how can the RBZ's and police's conduct of not only
destroying evidence
but
also of using the law to subvert justice by
bringing to court suspects
as
witnesses to prevent their future
prosecution be explained.
ZLHR cannot help but take note that
corruption stands out as a
significant
threat to the national
economic wellbeing of Zimbabwe. It is sad to
note
that the people
who speak populist rhetoric of nationalism,
pan-Africanism, black
economic empowerment are the ones who are
driving our country to
its
knees through a system of corruption, patronage, national asset
stripping
and conversion of national resources into personal
assets. They in
turn
are at the forefront of attacking human rights
defenders, legitimate
political
opponents and other countries and
blame them as authors of the tragedy
that continues to unfold with
catastrophic consequences on humanity in
our
country. Corruption
can only be effectively fought in a credible and
transparent and not in
a corrupt manner. ZLHR therefore reiterates its
view that it is only
through effectively fighting all forms of
impunity, the
restoration
of the rule of law, respect for human rights and good
governance that
this country can get back to a path of sustainable
economic
recovery.
Short cuts will not work!
The comments are the views
of the poster and not The
Zimbabwean.
Comment
Corruption
Tuesday, 01 January 2008
12:08
schoultz
This case should be the final nail in the coffin as many of
us have for
sometime known/suspected the RBZ to be involved in corruption.
This is an
example how Africa will struggle to shake off its corrupt image
as our so
called leaders continue to steal from the people and act in such
selfish
greedy ways. Do they forget thatthe day will come when you have to
answer to
God for your actions.Your stolen money/assests will be of no use!
begs to
beleif the ignorance we have to endure...roll on March we look
forward to
voting.
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
02 January
2008
Though at odds of late with the political
opposition, Zimbabwe's National
Constitutional Assembly says it has launched
a voter education program for
rural residents to inform them why it is
critical for them to register and
vote in the elections slated for
March.
NCA officials say they are organizing beer-and-barbecue gatherings
where
organizers can inform rural dwellers about what they say is the
manipulation
of election rules by the ruling ZANU-PF party, and how voters
can overcome
this by going to the polls.
NCA spokesman Maddock
Chivasa told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio
7 for Zimbabwe that
his organization has taken the campaign to Manicaland
and to the provinces
of Mashonaland East and Central, traditionally ruling
party
strongholds.
Chivasa added that the NCA also wants to counter
"falsehoods" to the effect
that the organization opposes the elections
because it vehemently opposed a
constitutional amendment allowing
presidential and general elections both to
be held in 2008.
The Herald
(Harare) Published by the government of Zimbabwe
1 January
2008
Posted to the web 2 January 2008
Harare
POLICE in Harare
have launched an operation against foreign currency dealers
who were manning
almost all the streets in the city centre.
They have since deployed more
details at Roadport International bus terminus
to target the illegal foreign
currency dealers.
Other police details were also targeting those who
have resorted to
conducting their deals in some hotels and any other places
believed to be
"black spots" in the city.
Both plain clothes and
uniformed police details will be conducting 24-hour
patrols in the city, as
police intensify their campaign to thwart any
illegal activities in the
city. In addition to normal patrols, police
details will be manning Roadport
bus terminus 24 hours a day.
For the past two weeks, motorists were not
allowed to park their vehicles
along Fifth Street, especially opposite the
bus stop. Plain clothes and
uniformed police officers have since been
deployed to patrol the entire city
centre. These are the areas where most of
the illegal foreign currency
dealers operate.
According to the
police, the deployments are meant to eradicate the black
market activities
and bring sanity in the city centre.
Stop and search operations are also
being carried out on some of the
suspected cash barons and illegal foreign
currency dealers.
Some of the officers in plain clothes are working in
conjunction with
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe officials.
Other "black
spots" also being
targeted are the Eastgate Shopping Mall and White House
at the intersection
of Speke Avenue and Cameron Street. These are notorious
for illegal
activities.
When The Herald visited Roadport, no vehicle
was allowed to park opposite
the bus terminus. MOtorists who had bona fide
business at the bus terminus
were asked to use the car park within the
premises.
As a result of the blitz, some of the illegal dealers have
relocated to
Ximex Mall and other places within and around the city.
By Tichaona
Sibanda
2 January 2008
Negotiators from Zanu-PF and the MDC involved
in the mediated talks, are
expected to meet in Pretoria soon to try to
settle their differences over
the election date.
Robert Mugabe has
said elections will go ahead as scheduled in March, while
the opposition
insists the date for the polls should be considered only
after all
resolutions agreed to at the talks have been fully implemented.
The talks
have failed to make progress on resolving this stalemate and a
meeting
between President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and the negotiators is
being
planned for next week.
All the officials involved in the search for a
solution to the Zimbabwe
crisis, whether representing the negotiating teams
or the mediators, have
remained tight-lipped over the precise issues under
discussion.
But Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro, the MDC secretary for
International
Affairs, said on Wednesday the opposition would never give in
to Zanu-PF’s
demand that elections be held in March. The regime is adamant
elections will
go ahead in March‘even if the opposition is not
prepared.’
‘It is inconceivable that elections should go ahead in March.
This is the
major sticking point yet to be resolved at the talks. We also
need to
monitor the other reforms to see if they are being implemented
fully. There
is little time between now and March to do all this, unless if
Mugabe wants
another disputed election,’ Mukonoweshuro said.
He
reiterated that the MDC still wants the regional bloc SADC to oversee the
remaining process of thrashing out a deal, as the negotiating parties have
failed to resolve differences particularly over the election date and the
implementation of some of the agreements.
While the negotiating teams
have reached agreement on many of the issues,
several remain undecided.
Chief among them, according to the MDC, is the
introduction of a new
constitution before the elections. Zanu-PF insists the
constitution will
only be implemented after the elections.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe
news
SW Radio
Africa (London)
2 January 2008
Posted to the web 2 January
2008
Tichaona Sibanda
The Bulilima MP in Matebeleland South
province, Moses Mzila-Ndlovu, on
Wednesday issued a rallying call to both
factions of the MDC to forge a
united front against Zanu-PF in the
forthcoming elections.
The legislator from the Mutambara faction urged
fellow MPs from the two
factions to swallow their pride and accept that only
a united opposition
party stands a good chance of defeating Zanu-PF at the
polls.
'Speaking in my personal capacity, I want to say to everyone
associated with
the MDC that let's put our differences aside because there
is a greater
advantage in unity that the present scenario,' Mzila-Ndlovu
said.
In the last month both sides have been issuing statements
confirming that
they were having secret talks in an attempt to get the
factions back
together.
But the Bulilima MP urged them to speed up
the dialogue as they were fast
running out of time, reiterating that it
would be a tall order to contest
the elections as separate
parties.
'Unity is achievable especially if you see how Zimbabweans are
suffering
under this dictatorship. So I am saying if we achieve it (unity)
we will
give Zimbabweans a present for 2008. This will also come as a major
motivation for the people to turn out and vote in their millions,' he
said.
Analysts believe that by forging a united front the MDC will ensure
that the
factions will not split votes by fielding two candidates in each
constituency.
Both factions are speaking as one at the SADC led
talks, being facilitated
by South African President Thabo Mbeki.