http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Cuthbert Nzou
Friday 09 January 2009
HARARE - Zimbabwe's cash-strapped
government has resorted to slaughtering
elephants to feed thousands of
hungry soldiers, sources told ZimOnline.
The state Parks and Wildlife
Management Authority has since last week
supplied elephant meat to army
barracks across the country that have run out
of food, our sources who are
senior officers in the army said.
Zimbabwe is battling acute food
shortages after successive poor harvests
since 2000 while nearly a decade of
severe economic recession has left
President Robert Mugabe's administration
without hard cash to import food
and other basics for the army and
country.
Apparently, the government sees supplying elephant meat to
soldiers as
killing two birds with one stone as it enables it to cull excess
animals
while also ensuring its army has food, according to
sources.
"Soldiers started eating elephant meat last week," said a senior
officer at
Cranborne barracks, a few kilometers outside Harare city
centre.
The senior officer, who did not want to be named because he did
not have
authorisation to speak to the press, said six elephant carcasses
were last
Friday delivered to the army barracks, adding that the meat
delivery was a
welcome relief.
Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi
yesterday declined to comment on the
matter or to discuss the availability
of food at army barracks in general.
Parks director-general Morris
Mutsambiwa yesterday would not take questions
on the matter. Responding to
questions from ZimOnline through his personal
assistant, Mutsambiwa said: "I
cannot comment on that issue at the moment."
The army is credited with
keeping Mugabe in power, always quick to use
brutal tactics to keep public
discontent in check in the face of an economic
and humanitarian crisis
marked by acute shortages of food and basic
commodities, amid a cholera
epidemic that has killed more than 1 700 people
since August.
But a
recession that began when the International Monetary Fund cut
financial
support to Harare in 1999 and which worsened following Mugabe's
controversial land reforms that destabilised the mainstay agricultural
sector has gradually crippled the veteran President's ability to keep the
army well fed and happy.
For example, the army has, in addition to
shortages of food, also struggled
for basics such as boots and uniforms for
troops while the bulk of military
equipment and hardware is said to be ages
old and in need of replacement.
Sources said for the better part of last
year barrack canteens were serving
only plain sadza (a thick porridge made
of ground maize) because army
authorities were unable to buy more food after
funds allocated to the army
were quickly exhausted mainly due to Zimbabwe's
runaway inflation.
Secretary for Defence Trust Maphosa last year told the
parliamentary
portfolio committee on defence and home affairs that the
government was
fortunate that it was not being sued by soldiers for failing
to provide
adequate and nutritious food to the army as is required by
law.
In an unprecedented show of discontent, some soldiers last year
rioted in
Harare, assaulting civilians, stealing cash from street currency
traders and
looting shops.
However, analysts rule out the possibility
of a military coup against
Mugabe - at least for now - because all top
commanders are still relatively
comfortable.
But some say that
worsening hunger could at some point force the underpaid
ordinary soldier to
either openly revolt or to simply refuse to defend the
government should
Zimbabweans rise up in a civil rebellion. - ZimOnline
http://www.voanews.com
By
Ntungamili Nkomo & Bennedict Nhlapho
Washington/Johannesburg
08 January
2009
Zimbabwean opposition leader and prime minister
designate Morgan Tsvangirai
on Thursday completed what party sources say was
a consultative meeting with
his party's top leaders in South Africa, setting
a Jan. 18 meeting of his
Movement for Democratic Change formation's national
executive to decide
whether to pursue or abandon power-sharing
talks.
Talks on entering into a national unity government with the
ZANU-PF party of
President Robert Mugabe have been stalled almost since a
Sept. 15 accord was
signed.
One MDC insider dismissed a report in the
state-controlled Herald newspaper
as to a rift in the party on how to
proceed, saying the session of the
standing committee, which includes
Tsvangirai and his inner political
circle, bolstered party cohesion. Sources
said the meeting examined
strategies in the event President Mugabe should
unilaterally form a
government without Tsvangirai's participation, or if a
new presidential
election should be called.
An MDC spokesman
officially denied the meeting took place, but party sources
said that the
standing committee endorsed Tsvangirai's long-held position
that MDC demands
for cabinet seats and other key posts must be equitably
distributed for the
party to join the proposed unity government, which Mr.
Mugabe aims to put in
place by the end of February.
The Jan. 18 national executive meeting will
set the official position, the
sources added.
While noncommittal
about the Johannesburg meeting, Tsvangirai MDC Spokesman
Nelson Chamisa told
reporter Ntungamili Nkomo of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that his party
remains united and resolute on its power-sharing demands.
Also in
Johannesburg today, Civicus, a world alliance of civil society
organizations, released a damning report and film on what it described as
state-engineered suffering in Zimbabwe.
Civicus undertook a week-long
fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe that ended on
Christmas Eve, correspondent
Benedict Nhlapho reported from Johannesburg.
Source: Government of Zimbabwe; World Health Organization (WHO) Date: 08 Jan 2009 ** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths
occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may
occasionally result 1- Highlights of the day: - 632 cases and 28 deaths added today (in comparison 709 cases and 26 deaths
yesterday) - 52.7 % of the districts affected have reported today (29 out of 55 affected
districts) - 88.7 % of districts reported to be affected (55 districts/62) - All 10 of the country's provinces are affected - Matate area in Gokwe South (4 households affected), Rumour in Munyati Area
of Kwekwe , Makuwerere and Rambire in Mberengwa.
* Please note that
daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff
constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the
numbers. Any change will then be explained.
http://www.voanews.com
By
Patience Rusere
Washington
07 January
2009
The district of Chipinge in Zimbabwe's Manicaland
province is one of the
latest localities to be hit hard by the cholera
epidemic which continues to
claim many lives.
Sources familiar with
local conditions said Wednesday that the disease has
spread fast and left
entire families dead despite relief efforts by
international
organizations.
As of Wednesday about 45 people had died of cholera in
Chipinge, according
to the latest epidemic statistics from the World Health
Organization.
Nationally, fatalities totaled 1,753 out of 35,330 cases
through Tuesday,
the U.N. agency said.
The Red Cross said only 43% of
those hit by cholera nationally have reached
a treatment center where they
could receive medical assistance.
Chipinge South Member of Parliament
Meki Makuyana of the Movement for
Democratic Change formation led by Morgan
Tsvangirai said the disease
reached Chipinge last month and is now killing
people in their homes as many
are unable to get to a medical facility.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=9652
January 8, 2009
By our
Correspondent
BULAWAYO - The United States government says Zimbabwean
authorities are
tinkering with details of cholera deaths and aid support
given to it by the
American government.
In a confidential report
obtained by The Zimbabwe Times, the US government
discloses that it has
parceled out to Zimbabwe US$6,2 million in aid through
its agencies based in
Zimbabwe.
The report further states that the US government had granted a
further
US$220 million in emergency assistance to Zimbabwe, including nearly
180,000
metric tons of food aid throughout the year 2008.
So far, the
Zimbabwean government has been silent on such donations,
preferring to
publicize donations made to it by its friends in the Southern
African
region, mainly the South African government.
Reads part of the report:
"Following recommendations from the United States
Agency for International
Development (USAID) and the Disaster Assistance
Response Team (DART), $6.2
million has been provided in emergency assistance
for Zimbabwe's cholera
outbreak.
"Through implementing partners, USAID/OFDA will provide
emergency relief
supplies to affected populations and will support
humanitarian coordination
and information management and Water, Sanitation,
and Hygiene (WASH)
interventions."
The report further states that
information dissemination was very minimal,
saying such minimal flow of
information had played a greater role in the
continued spread of the cholera
epidemic.
Adds the report: "USAID/OFDA will support information
coordination through
the U.N. health and WASH clusters to improve data
collection, analysis, and
dissemination, allowing humanitarian organizations
to direct expertise and
resources where most needed.
"USAID/OFDA's
WASH interventions will emphasize community health and hygiene
promotion and
education activities, provision of water purification tablets,
provision of
clean water through water tankering, and rehabilitation of
boreholes.
USAID/OFDA WASH activities will target areas with high reported
cholera
rates, particularly high-density, peri-urban districts. In addition,
USAID/OFDA will support hygiene promotion activities at a national level to
mitigate the spread of the disease."
According to figures released by
the United Nations, since August 2008, the
cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has
spread through nine out of Zimbabwe's 10
provinces, with the highest
caseloads in Harare , Beitbridge, and Mudzi
districts.
The UN
disclosed that as of December 17, cholera had caused more than 1100
deaths,
with nearly 20,600 cases reported.
The report revealed that efforts to
expedite further research into the
continued spread of the cholera epidemic
were being hampered by the
Zimbabwean government's lack of cooperation to UN
proposals.
For example, the ministry of health and child welfare had
proposed that it
would facilitate work permits for experts who were to
conduct investigations
into the spread of the cholera
epidemic.
However, the ministry failed to undertake its promises as the
said UN
experts failed to access the said permits.
States the report:
"At the December 16 U.N. health cluster meeting, the
Government of Zimbabwe
(GOZ) Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW)
representative promised
to expedite importation of urgent medical supplies
and issuance of temporary
work permits for humanitarian staff, according to
the
USAID/DART.
"However, Government of Zimbabwe staff issuing work permits
are not
scheduled to meet until February 2009, potentially impeding relief
agencies'
continued work in the event that temporary work permits expire or
remain
pending. "
http://www.businessday.co.za
09
January 2009
Wilson
Johwa
Political Correspondent
CIVIL society organisations in
SA are to press the government and the
Southern African Development
Community (SADC) to hasten resolution of the
crisis in
Zimbabwe.
Helping to co-ordinate the campaign, expected to start in
the next 10 days,
is Kumi Naidoo, honorary president of the global alliance
for citizen
participation, Civicus.
Naidoo said Archbishop Emeritus
Desmond Tutu had committed himself to a
weekly fast, together with Bishop
Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist
Church. Tutu is a member of the Elders,
whose delegation was denied entry
into Zimbabwe late last
year.
"We need to up the ante a bit in terms of the types of
activities that put
pressure on the government," said Naidoo, who is also
co-chair of the Global
Call to Action Against Poverty.
Together with
Pastor Raymond Motsi of the Bulawayo Baptist Church, Naidoo
has committed
himself to a hunger strike.
The planned campaign is expected to
impress upon the continent, as well as
South African society, including
members of the African National Congress ,
the wider implications of the
crisis in Zimbabwe.
Naidoo was part of a delegation that spent
Christmas in Zimbabwe where he
met scores of Zimbabweans and compiled some
of the testimonies into a film,
Time 2 Act . Copies of the film will be
given to President Kgalema
Motlanthe, to other SADC heads of state and to
the African Union .
In the film are descriptions of the humanitarian
crisis. For instance, a
woman speaks of overcrowding in the mortuaries,
which has pushed the cost to
$300 a body. Someone appeals for bolder
regional action, saying: "Please
SADC take our problems seriously, don't
neglect us."
Naidoo said many of those interviewed could not
understand SA's position on
Zimbabwe, especially its stance at the United
Nations Security Council,
where it voted against tougher action on the
authorities in Zimbabwe.
"Overall we were struck by how much worse it
(the Zimbabwe situation)
actually was in terms of the humanitarian crisis
and on the political
repression again significantly worse."
The
team found a breakdown in the school system. Garbage collection had also
come to a standstill in the major centres, further contributing to the
cholera outbreak.
Even respect for the dead had gone. "One of the
mortuaries was closed while
we were there and what it means is that families
have to put some sand
inside the house, put some water in that sand and put
the (deceased) family
member there," Naidoo said.
http://www.voanews.com
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
08
January 2009
A state media report that the Harare City Council is
lifting residential
rates by 10,000 percent has sparked concern among
citizens of the Zimbabwean
capital, but officials said the tax rise only
affects motor vehicles and
street markets and other increases are being
discussed.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper reported Thursday that
residents could
be paying as much as Z$560 billion a month compared with the
Z$20 million
they paid in December, which would be far more than the average
worker wage
of Z$30 billion a month (US$10).
The Combined Harare
Residents Association said such an increase in
residential rates would
merely add to the hardships facing residents.
But Harare Deputy Mayor
Emmanuel Chiroto told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of
VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that it is not true that the council has raised
rates for residents
and he took the state-controlled Herald newspaper to
task over its
report.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe
By Alexander Noyes
January 9, 2009
THE
TRAGIC cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe may prove to have a silver lining.
For
nearly a decade, Zimbabwe has been growing increasingly desperate, but
international response to the crisis has been dilatory and wholly
ineffective. In the last few weeks, however, UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon addressed the Security Council regarding Zimbabwe, and the United
States and Britain announced they would no longer support any power-sharing
agreement that left Robert Mugabe as president. The cholera epidemic
provides the international community with an opportunity to act and protect
the citizens of Zimbabwe.
Even by Zimbabwe's standards, the past
several months have been particularly
dire. The political situation has been
steadily declining since the
power-sharing agreement was signed in September
with Morgan Tsvangirai and
the opposition. Mugabe has refused to cede
control of key security sector
ministries and has continued a campaign of
violence against human rights
activists and the
opposition.
Hyperinflation has led to the collapse of not only the
economy but the
entire social sector. Water shortages and cutoffs have
fueled the cholera
epidemic, which has already claimed more than 1,700 lives
and infected over
34,000 people. Health experts warn the outbreak could put
half the country's
population at risk.
If there were any lingering
doubts about the utter failure of Mugabe's rule,
the spread of cholera has
again displayed him to be unable to fulfill the
most basic precept of
government: the responsibility to protect its
citizens. The UN General
Assembly and the Security Council have endorsed the
responsibility-to-protect doctrine, deciding that if a state lacks the
capacity or will to protect its people from mass atrocities then it is the
responsibility of the international community to do so. The international
community - led by the United Nations with strong South African and US
support - must step into the leadership vacuum in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe
is fast becoming a failing state, yet the international community's
response
remains tepid. The Southern African Development Community's
mediation
effort, led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, is
widely
considered a disappointment, with Mbeki refusing to condemn Mugabe's
most
egregious actions. Mbeki has insisted on engaging in backroom "quiet
diplomacy" and repeatedly discouraged international sanctions. The fruit of
his efforts, the flawed September agreement, appears to have no chance of
implementation. Yet Mbeki continues to lead the mediation. Clearly a new
negotiation framework is needed.
Under the auspices of the UN, a
prominent figure such as Kofi Annan should
lead a renewed diplomatic effort
to end the crisis. Annan played a critical
role in the Kenya negotiations in
early 2008, which are seen as a successful
example of how the
responsibility-to-protect norm can be implemented. With
the promise of
immunity and credible threats of serious measures from the UN
Security
Council, Mugabe and his associates could be convinced to step down
peacefully. If they still refuse to give up power, coercive force should be
carefully considered.
Once Mugabe is out of the picture, a new
negotiated transitional government
should be put in place until
internationally monitored elections can be
held. The transitional government
will require vigorous support from the
international community, with the
African Union, South Africa, and other
SADC countries all playing essential
roles.
Reports of the Security Council's recent closed-door session have
been
disheartening, as South Africa blocked the proposal of a nonbinding
statement condemning Mugabe for his mishandling of the cholera epidemic. As
more and more Zimbabwean refugees flow across their shared border, it is
clear that South Africa's own interests, including its territorial integrity
and capacity to protect its own citizens, are inextricably linked to ending
the crisis in Zimbabwe. South Africa must recognize this and recalculate its
stance.
A robust response to the crisis in Zimbabwe is long overdue.
The unfortunate
cholera outbreak provides the international community with
the imperative to
act. It must do so.
Alexander Noyes is a research
associate for the Center for Preventive Action
at the Council on Foreign
Relations.
Posted
Former anti-apartheid activists in South Africa have launched a stinging attack on their leaders over their handling of Zimbabwe.
They say they are ashamed that the South African Government has not intervened to resolve the humanitarian crisis which has seen thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing across the border into South Africa.
Bishop Paul Verryn heads the Methodist Church in Johannesburg where he has welcomed thousands of Zimbabwean refugees.
He has been appalled by their stories.
"We are witnessing a slow genocide in Zimbabwe. And what will it take for the international community, West, East and African, to come to the place where we say, 'That's it'?" he said.
"This is a bunch of thugs and a gang that is ruling a country. And the only reason I say that is because of the stories I hear in my armchair in my office that leave me at the end of the day confused and traumatised."
Bishop Verryn was joined in his church by several human rights advocates who have recently returned from Zimbabwe. They were shocked by what they saw.
Kumi Naidoo, a former anti-apartheid activist, says a lack of action by South African leaders has "betrayed an entire generation".
He is one of a growing number of civic leaders who have been highly critical of the South African Government and its regional organisation the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for failing to intervene in the Zimbabwe crisis.
"The culpability and the responsibility cannot be left at (Zimbabwe President Robert) Mugabe alone," he said.
"It has to be shared right now by the leadership of SADC that has basically allowed Mugabe to get away with murder."
Mr Naidoo is the honorary president the World Alliance for Citizen Participation. He says the situation has made him ashamed to be a South African.
"When people repeatedly say 'How can you let us down, how can you abandon us, how can you tolerate abduction, torture, complete collapse of services?' I felt ashamed as a South African not to be able to give an answer," he said.
"And if we can tolerate it on our borders, then sadly it means we will tolerate it at home, and that would just be a betrayal of the history and legacy of the liberation struggle in this country."
Bishop Verryn agrees with that assessment.
"The deep anxieties I have about my own nation is that it seems as if we have forgotten so quickly what it really feels like to be vulnerable," he said.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
Posted By Alex Magaisa on 8 Jan, 2009 at 8:33
pm
THE commencement of the year traditionally carries an abundance of
dreams,
promises and resolutions. The apparent newness of the calendar year
coming
so soon after the merriment of the Festive Season always conjures
beautiful
visions. That is as it should be.
But clearly, it
is not so in Zimbabwe and for its people. For those through
whom the
Zimbabwean thread runs, the New Year is no more than a change in
numbers.
For my part, I took a decision a week before
Christmas, to disengage
completely from most things Zimbabwean, at least for
a fortnight. I was
tired. I was tired of the bad news from home. I was tired
of the stories of
dissipating hope. I looked back at the year and noted how
fast it had passed
us by. How the hope that was so beautifully sown in March
became a nightmare
hours after what ought to have been a momentous election.
I saw how the
seeds of violence were sown, nourished and nurtured in the run
up to the
June 27 run-off election that became the greatest non-event of all
time. I
thought of the embarrassment we all felt at the
time.
I remembered the hopes that were again sown in July and
September when our
politicians signed deals after weeks of secret and
protracted negotiations.
I looked back and saw the flicker of hope laced
with caution; a cautious
optimism that battered Zimbabweans have learned to
carry in their psyche
through harsh experience. Then I recalled the
dithering; the hassling over
cabinet portfolios; the growing divide between
the politicians whilst the
ordinary people sunk deeper in the murky
waters.
And how just a few weeks before Christmas, events took a
nasty turn when
political and human rights activists were violently abducted
and caused to
disappear, conjuring memories of a bitter past, especially for
those of my
colleagues from Matabeleland who in the 1980s had suffered and
endured
violations of a similar and grave character. I was exhausted and for
the
first time in years, the optimist in me had begun to give way. I
realised
that thinking about everything that had happened and was continuing
without
fail was becoming a very cruel game against my
faculties.
And so I disengaged. It's difficult to imagine living
without the internet,
let alone for someone whose work entails continual
presence in cyberspace. I
have often wondered how it was before the internet
- how those far away from
home would have to wait for days or weeks before
getting the newspaper from
home.
Then again, I sometimes
wonder if the internet can be nuisance; if we all
too often permit it to
take over our lives. And that sometimes there is far
too much information
it's hard to separate fact from fiction, especially
when it comes to my
beloved Zimbabwe.
A combination of factors conspired to cause me
to experiment a life without
the internet. I have to confess, there were
times when the urge to log in
and check email; there were occasions when the
temptation to Google news on
Zimbabwe was far too much to
resist.
For someone who has religiously followed the story of
Zimbabwe and devoutly
written about it, the urge to explore cyberspace had a
magnetic effect that
I found hard to resist, not least when I saw pictures
of Jestina Mukoko and
her fellow abductees being shepherded into the Rotten
Row Courts in Harare
during what was supposed to be a season of
merriment.
My heart suffered and more than once those pictures
welled my eyes with sad
tears. How could people be so cruel? Do they really
sleep at night? Where do
they come from - those who apply such pain on
others? Do they not have
parents, children or siblings? Do they really have
families to whom they go
after 'work' knowing what they know and knowing the
pain their actions cause
to others?
I was reminded of the
boys who many years ago in my days of youth made a
sport of killing
defenceless little birds, little eaglets. Back then I had
watched
helplessly, alongside my friends as the vicious boys celebrated
their sordid
acts even whilst the mother eagle soared above them, crying
cries only a
mother can cry - cries for her little babies at the end of a
tortuous
examination.
I was tired but I have to admit that I became a
Robinson Crusoe of
cyberspace with hopes of a possible miracle - that
somehow something would
happen to Zimbabwe whilst I was a castaway -
something that would bring a
smile upon my return from what was essentially
an 'internet coma'.
I have returned from my hibernation and there
is no miracle. Things are just
as they were when I left before Christmas,
only worse. I can understand why
those who departed this world five years
ago, if they were to return today,
they would find things have not changed
much as far as Zimbabwe is
concerned. They might even regret it because
things have only got worse.
At this rate, I quite understand why
if time favours us we will be here
again this time next year, saying exactly
the same things that we are saying
today. After all, we have said the same
things over and over again. How many
times have we heard or said, 'Ha-a gore
rino hariperi' (this year will,
surely, end with a positive outcome). It has
happened year after year.
I wish to thank you, dear reader, for
your company in 2008. When I set out
to write this column it was because I
believed in the power of the word; it
was because I felt that no matter
where you are, the word can always be
said, read and heard and that on
fortunate occasions it can have a desirable
effect.
Those of
you accustomed to the style and approach in this column will know
that there
are no sacred cows - that I regard politicians as a tribe - and
whatever
tongues they use, whatever colours they exhibit, we must always
maintain our
guard and keep them on their toes. They should never take us
for
granted.
When I critique the actions of Robert Mugabe and Zanu
PF, it is not because
I hate them; not even that I prefer Morgan Tsvangirai
and Arthur Mutambara
and their respective MDCs. And when I critique
Tsvangirai and Mutambara, it
is not because I hate them. It is because they
are all politicians who seek
to gain our trust and confidence but in doing
so, that they must never take
us for granted.
I believe that
our politicians can only grow and learn from their mistakes
and when they
stumble citizens must tell them so that in future they can
avoid the
pitfalls. I just consider mine to be small voice among many more
intelligent
and eloquent ones. I am just privileged that my voice has space
in a popular
news portal. It does not mean I get it right all the time. Not
even that
people should believe it, no. Most probably, I get it wrong most
of the
time. That is why you comments and correspondence are always welcome
because
I learn as much from you and the views that you express.
I don't
do praise-singing and I don't expect any, though it's always warmly
received. I would like to thank all those that have read the column and
those who have gone on to write to me. I have had some of the most wonderful
correspondence with many readers of the column and it is those conversations
that fuel the desire to go on and best of all, give me hope, even during
those times when things seem so desperate, as they do presently. There are
those who will be unhappy that I have on occasions not responded to their
emails. I apologise for the lethargy on my part but I hope you also
understand that sometimes work and other commitments do get in the way. Do
not tire. As they say, 'Hope springs Eternal'.
Alex Magaisa
is based at, Kent Law School, the University of Kent and can be
contacted at
wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Zimbabwe's Jailed Activists Symbolize
Breakdown of Power-Sharing Deal
By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Foreign
Service
Friday, January 9, 2009; Page A12
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- At 72,
Fidelis Chiramba had spent a decade as a rural
opposition party organizer,
and late 2008 seemed to bring the truest promise
yet for the democracy he
wanted. In September, Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's
autocratic president for
nearly three decades, shook hands with his rivals
and agreed to share
power.
But one dark October morning, Chiramba was seized by several men
in four
cars, his wife said. Soon, dozens of civil rights and opposition
activists
had vanished, according to human rights organizations and lawyers.
They
remained missing until late December, when authorities marched Chiramba
and
17 others into court on accusations of plotting to overthrow
Mugabe.
The allegation is widely viewed as an invention. But the
activists remain
behind bars, and Chiramba's wife has come to think his hope
was an illusion.
"Only God's will can change this country, because this
government is
adamant, " Sophia Chiramba, 69, said in an interview in
Harare, the capital.
"It is not willing to change. We human beings have
tried. But I believe
there's a limit."
As defense lawyers have
futilely petitioned courts for their release, the
jailed activists have
become the latest symbols of the demise of what seemed
to be a breakthrough
power-sharing deal and, critics say, of Mugabe's
resolve to keep control of
the crumbling nation using the repressive tactics
that characterize his
government.
"It feels like we are under siege," said Fambai Ngirande,
advocacy and
public policy director for a Harare-based umbrella group of
nongovernmental
organizations. "That's how repression works. You cow people
into submission.
You crack down heavily on any form of dissent. And
meanwhile, you're pumping
out propaganda."
Opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai has threatened to quit power-sharing
talks because of the
disappearances and detentions, which his party has
called a "sinister plot"
to decimate critics. Tsvangirai, who outpolled
Mugabe in presidential
elections last year, withdrew from a widely condemned
runoff months later,
citing political violence. The talks have been stalled
for months over the
allocation of key ministries, which Tsvangirai's party
says Mugabe insists
on keeping for himself.
The relationship between the parties is "totally
artificial," said Nelson
Chamisa, a spokesman for the Movement for
Democratic Change, Tsvangirai's
party. Chamisa called the accusations
"hogwash."
State news media reported this week that Mugabe planned to
form a new
government next month, but it was unclear whether he would do so
alone. A
constitutional amendment that would permit the creation of a unity
government is set to go to the opposition-led parliament this month, which
could facilitate an agreement. If negotiations die, it is likely new
elections would be called -- an unattractive prospect to the opposition,
dozens of whose supporters were beaten and killed by security forces after
last year's polls.
This round of abductions, as critics refer to
them, began when more than a
dozen MDC activists in Chiramba's farming
community -- which had turned
against the ruling party in last year's
elections -- disappeared. The
seizures drew international attention in early
December, when prominent
former newscaster and peace activist Jestina Mukoko
was dragged out of her
home by armed men. Two more workers from Mukoko's
organization, which tracks
political violence, similarly vanished, as did a
top adviser to Tsvangirai
and the MDC's security director.
Many
remain missing, according to the MDC. Defense lawyers say police and
prison
authorities have defied court orders to release those in custody or
allow
them medical treatment for injuries the lawyers say have resulted from
torture.
On Wednesday, seven of the detainees were charged in
connection with minor
bombings at a police station and a railway line,
incidents other opposition
activists had already been acquitted
of.
Chiramba, Mukoko and six activists have been accused, but not
charged, of
recruiting fighters to topple Mugabe. Zimbabwean authorities say
militia
training has taken place in neighboring Botswana. That country, a
strong
critic of Mugabe, has denied the allegations, and the 15-nation
Southern
African Development Community has dismissed the
claim.
"There is an army in Zimbabwe which cannot be confronted with
people who are
trained over weekends," South African President Kgalema
Motlanthe told
reporters last month.
Prosecutors have presented no
detailed evidence of the militia plot in court
hearings, though defense
lawyers and MDC officials said the jailed activists
were forced to read
scripted confessions on videotape. A state prosecutor,
speaking on the
condition of anonymity, said a government spy had gathered
evidence by
infiltrating Mukoko's organization.
The timing of the allegations, as
power-sharing talks sputter, is the
subject of much speculation among the
many who think they are false. Some
suspect Mugabe is laying the groundwork
to declare a state of emergency,
allowing him to suspend rights, or
launching a new phase of intimidation
ahead of fresh elections. Others say
it might be an attempt to force
Tsvangirai to agree to participate in a
unity government on Mugabe's terms.
"It is very clear to Mugabe and other
rational beings that without
Tsvangirai, the power-sharing deal is dead and
the international community
will not touch Zimbabwe," said Eldred
Masunungure, a political scientist at
the University of Zimbabwe.
But
paranoia has been simmering within the top levels of government,
according
to an October report prepared by Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence
Organization, part of which was viewed by The Washington Post. Hinting at
just how little the ruling party trusts its new partners in government, the
report cited a "very high possibility" of unrest fuelled by opposition and
civic organizations, and suspicions about the training of "some people in
unfriendly neighboring countries." The report advised boosted surveillance
of the MDC and arrests of suspects "as soon as possible."
"We know
that there is an active process for the regime change agenda. There
are
material facts to prove that," Didymus Mutasa, Zimbabwe's state security
minister, said in an interview. Asked what the facts are, Mutasa said:
"These people who have been arrested."
That sounds unimaginable to
Nomatter Masuku, 30, whose sister and
brother-in-law, MDC leaders in the
same rural town where Chiramba lived,
disappeared in late October and
appeared in court last month.
Concillia and Emmanuel Chinhanzvana were
fed up with Zimbabwe's rampant
hunger and unemployment, Masuku said, and
they thought it was time to give
others a chance to run the nation.
Relatives tried to steer the couple away
from politics, telling them it was
too dangerous, Masuku said.
They were determined, she said, but hardly
the types to plan an
insurrection. "I don't believe they are capable of
handling a gun," Masuku
said.
Sophia Chiramba also scoffs at the idea
that her husband of 50 years
would -- even could -- partake in a
coup.
She visited him in prison in late December, and the guards would
not let her
hold his hand, she said. She has given up believing that her
husband will
ever again tend to his vegetable garden, which she says has now
turned to
bush.
"I just said to myself, 'At least I get the chance to
see him,' " Sophia
Chiramba said wearily. "Even if they kill him
later."
A Washington Post special correspondent contributed to this
report.
http://www.mg.co.za/
JASON MOYO - Jan 09 2009 05:00
Jason Moyo speaks to ordinary
Zimbabweans about their hopes and fears for
the new year -- and finds
surprising levels of optimism
One would expect a man who is lying sick on
a narrow bed with a hole in the
middle and a bucket underneath not to feel
particularly optimistic about the
future.
But hope springs eternal in
the human breast. Tariro is a 40-year-old
geography teacher whose missionary
zeal is unshaken by the cholera infection
that has confined him to an
improvised ward at Beatrice Hospital outside
Harare. His name is Shona for
"hope".
He has a surprisingly sunny-side-up view of Zimbabwe's prospects
in 2009,
really more defiance than hope.
He is fiercely opinionated;
he hates the fact that journalists have taken
images of those stricken by
cholera, "as if we are animals", and used them
to "push their agendas". I
don't tell him I'm a journalist; after all, I'm
here as part of a group of
volunteers.
He reels off Bible verses, chiding me for "lacking
faith".
"My friend, God has a plan for us, a plan to prosper us," he
says. "My Bible
says gold is purified by fire. We will
rise."
Optimism is a scarce commodity in Zimbabwe. And the last place you
expect to
find it is at a cholera treatment centre. But even amid the misery
there is
a quiet determination to face up to whatever 2009 may
bring.
Charity (26) was close to leaving her job as a nurse at
Parirenyatwa,
Zimbabwe's biggest public hospital, when the cholera outbreak
began.
Instead, she volunteered to join a medical relief agency fighting the
epidemic. She bridles when a cynical colleague calls her an
idealist.
"Everyone is always hoping to do things differently at the
start of each
year. If politicians come to this clinic and see what ordinary
people are
going through, how hard people are working to help each other,
they will
turn over a new leaf. I want to make a difference."
Robert
Mugabe, addressing a military parade in November, described 2008 as
"the
worst year since our independence".
It was a year in which the education
and health sectors, once the pride of
Mugabe's huge social investments in
the early years of his rule, finally
caved in.
The Reserve Bank
itself rejected the Zimbabwe dollar, allowing businesses to
transact in
foreign currency. This measure had been unthinkable at the start
of the
year; any such suggestion was dismissed as a lack of patriotism and
an act
of sabotage.
Many now wonder what surprises await the economy in 2009.
But stockbroker
Ben Dabengwa isn't sticking around to find out.
"My
plan for 2009 is to raise enough money to get a work permit in South
Africa.
I don't see our leaders changing the way they view business," he
said.
It had been a good year for the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, which
spun US
dollar profits for investors until the Reserve Bank cut in with
tough
measures that have halted the charge in stock prices and sent brokers
reeling.
Many young professionals are spending endless hours scouring
the internet
for foreign jobs. They pay fortunes to shady agents promising
to arrange
work permits.
Kurai Muhwati (36), a surveyor, was one of
many professionals who had vowed
never to leave Zimbabwe, and when he
watched Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai
shaking hands in September, he felt
vindicated. But the euphoria didn't last
and Muhwati is chasing a job offer
in Qatar.
"Leaving isn't easy. But once you look at yourself and say,
'Will I be able
to feed myself this time next year?', it gets
easier."
He believes that even if a political settlement is reached this
year, it
will be years before the economy recovers. "And now with all this
military
invasion talk, Mugabe won't be going anywhere, even if he had
planned to,"
he says. "He enjoys this sort of thing." He fears that the army
riots in
December point to unrest in the new year.
But others are
staying put, in fact praying for a continuation of the
carnage. At the Keg
and Sable, an English-style pub, the city's dealer class
exchanges tales of
their latest scams over endless rounds of expensive
brandy.
Conversation here is serious and passionate; how much longer
can he remain
in charge -- Arsene Wenger, that is? There is little talk of
politics or
cholera here.
For this lot, Mugabe was talking out the
side of his mouth when he said 2008
was the worst year ever. Take, for
instance, my college-mate Pride, who left
his marketing job three years ago
to develop a small gold claim in Kadoma,
central Zimbabwe.
By law, he
should be selling the gold to government, but he sells "just some
of it to
keep the books straight". He bought an Audi SUV and moved into a R7
000-a-month apartment. It was the best year of his life.
And 2009?
"As long as it's like 2008, I'm happy. Who wants this to end? A
lot of
people are making money from this; Zanu, MDC, the rest of us. It's
never
going to end.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=9646
January 8, 2009
By Sibangani
Sibanda
IF there were any lingering doubts in anybody's mind that all
systems in
Zimbabwe have collapsed, then the start of the 2009 business
year, and the
anticipated start of the school year should dispel
them.
If there were any lingering doubts in anybody's mind that President
Robert
Mugabe has no interest whatsoever in the welfare of the people of
Zimbabwe
and only thinks about his own creature comforts, then the fact that
he can
even consider going on leave at such a time should convince even the
most
loyal supporters that the man needs to take permanent leave of the high
office he now occupies.
Unfortunately, it does not.
A month
ago, our banks were besieged daily by depositors wishing to withdraw
their
money - what little of it they were allowed to withdraw. Walk into any
bank
today and chances are that you will find more bank officials than
depositors. This in spite of the fact that Reserve Bank Governor Gono has
increased the amounts that individuals can withdraw from Z$500 million per
week to Z$10 billion per month!
What happened?
Last month,
there were commodities that one could buy with Zimbabwe dollars.
This month,
I cannot think of anything that can be bought in our national
currency. As a
result, its value is such that it is not worth going to the
bank even for
ten billion, which, today, will not buy one American dollar!
Those who have
been following this story will remember that ten billion
Zimbabwe dollars
(Z$ 10 000 000 000.00) should, in fact be Z$ 100 000 000
000 000 000 000
000.00 (if you restore the thirteen zeroes that we have
removed over the
years to try to hide the effects of our economic
mismanagement!). No prizes
for telling me what that number is called. And to
think that only
twenty-nine years ago, our dollar could buy an American
dollar and leave
some change!
So, why do we need banks? Depositors are not taking their
Zimbabwe dollars
to the bank, in case they do find something they can buy.
Those with any
money in the bank will not withdraw it because it is too much
trouble, and,
of course, no one is borrowing from the banks because, even if
the loan was
approved the money cannot be withdrawn. Companies, by the way,
are only
allowed to withdraw Z$50 million per week, which translates to US$
0.0041667
per week (at the exchange rate of two days ago).
Why would
any company, anywhere in the world open for the New Year under
such
conditions?
Any companies still operating are doing so in foreign
currency and although
those with licenses to do so may have to show the
authorities that there
have foreign currency accounts (FCA's), most
businesses are selling in
foreign currency without licenses and thus do not
need to bank their
proceeds. Governor Gono, whose sole reason for being
seems to be to plug all
loop holes created by his crazy fiscal policies has
been so successful that
the banking sector can now no longer operate. In
December, the said governor
effectively shut the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange.
A few years ago, the Zimbabwe Financial Services sector was
hailed by the
International Monetary Fund as the only sector that seemed to
be operating
at anything like normal. Today, thanks to Governor Gono, it is
on its knees.
Well done, once again, Governor Gono. You have regulated the
banks out of
existence! And what is left of the once vibrant manufacturing
sector,
already tottering on the brink of collapse, looks like following
suit.
But Zanu-PF has been hailed over the years for their achievements
in
education and health and other social provisions, I hear you say. The
current cholera crisis has shown the world the state of our hospitals and
our sanitation services so I will not go into that.
Our schools just
about survived last year. Teachers stayed at their posts
because they felt
some responsibility to get their pupils through the year.
Unfortunately,
their need to survive now means that they may not be
persuaded by such
considerations.
Government, on its part, seems unsure what to do, so we
have had the
ridiculous situation where they announced that schools will
reopen on
January 13, then changed their minds. Schools will now reopen on
January 27.
At least that gives parents a bit more time to find the money to
buy
uniforms and other school requirements, since their Zimbabwe dollar
savings
are now worthless and schools are asking for fees in American
dollars. The
traditional suppliers of uniforms, it seems, have no stocks
either.
So parents are having to source for uniforms from across our
borders!
The president, having spent the last twenty-nine years on
holiday, (how else
could things have gone so wrong if he had kept his eye on
the ball) now
needs four weeks away for rest and recuperation. "His" country
is grinding
to a halt. I am not sure that he has even noticed.
http://www.businessday.co.za
09
January 2009
I WILL be president for all
Ghanaians, whether they voted for me or not -
the words of Ghana's new
president John Atta Mills as he took office this
week after a tense, yet
peaceful election which he eventually won with only
a tiny majority of the
votes.
Atta Mills's words seemed to draw on the lessons in democracy of
US
president-elect Barack Obama's recent victory speech. And the Ghanaian
elections themselves serve as a timely lesson in democracy for the African
continent. In little more than a year, Africa has seen the travesty of
Zimbabwe's elections as well as the violent chaos that followed Kenya's
disputed presidential elections and the fraud that marred the Nigerian
elections.
Ghana might have been expected to erupt too, after the
first round at the
ballot box failed to produce a clear winner as stipulated
by the
constitution, and the second-round runoff put Atta Mills ahead of
rival Nana
Akufo-Addo by a mere 40 500 votes, less than 0,5% of the total.
Inevitably,
both sides alleged vote-rigging and it looked like the result
might be
contested in court. In the event, however, the process played out
to a
peaceful conclusion, with Akufo-Addo conceding defeat and attending the
inauguration.
The victory of Atta Mills and his National Democratic
Congress (NDC) ends
eight years of rule by the New Patriotic Party (NPP),
whose John Kufuor
stepped down from Ghana's presidency after two terms in
line with the
country's constitution. And this is the second time Ghana has
seen a
peaceful transition of power since 2000, when then president Jerry
Rawlings
lost the election to Kufuor.
The transition demonstrates the
maturity of Ghana's electoral democracy, a
maturity that is surprising in
some ways, given Ghana's history of coups,
counter-coups and military
rule.
Kufuor deserves much of the credit for helping the difficult
election
process reach a peaceful conclusion: he behaved like a statesman,
not a
politician, intervening to persuade his own governing party to accept
defeat. Ghana's autonomous and competent electoral commission also had a lot
to do with the success of the democratic process. So too did the fact that
it has a strong and independent media, which its leaders have allowed to
flourish.
Atta Mills is a legal academic and tax expert who was vice-
president to
Rawlings and had run unsuccessfully against Kufuor twice
before. His NDC
party doesn't differ much in policy terms from the NPP, but
it is a little
more populist and he has promised changes that will improve
the lives of
Ghanaians.
That may be a tall order. Ghana's economy is
still growing quite strongly
and the discovery of oil is likely to boost the
government's coffers in
years to come. However, Ghana is running a fiscal
deficit of 10% of gross
domestic product (GDP) and a current account deficit
of 20%, imbalances that
"place Ghana among the most vulnerable of rated
emerging markets", says
international rating agency Fitch. Public debt has
risen sharply in the past
couple of years, to 55% of GDP. The global credit
crunch could make it
increasingly difficult to finance that, and Ghana's
dependence on
commodities such as cocoa and gold won't help
matters.
So being in office will be challenging for Atta Mills. But the
fact that he's
there signals clearly that democracy can work in Africa.