The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.

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7 AUGUST  2005   ALL ZIMBABWEAN CHRISTIANS WHEREVER THEY MAY BE WILL BE FASTING FOR ZIMBABWE UNTIL 4PM .

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERY ZIMBABWEAN CHRISTIAN YOU KNOW.

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JAG Legal Communique for Sections 5 and 8 Dated 8/7/2005 Sent date 11/7/2005

HEREWITH AS PROMISED FRIDAY 8TH JULY2005, HERALD'S LISTINGS OF SECTION 5
NOTICES UNDER LOTS 173 AND 175.

IT HAS ALSO COME TO LIGHT THAT A THIRD LIST OF SECTION 8 ORDERS UNDER 
LOT 22B (17 PROPERTIES) WAS CONTAINED IN FRIDAY (8TH JULY 2005) HERALD.

HEREWITH ALSO THAT LIST.

----

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, IN TERMS OF PARAGRAPH (111) OF SUBSECTION (1)
OF SECTION 8 OF THE LAND ACQUISITION (CHAPTER 20;10) THAT THE PRESIDENT
HAS ACQUIRED COMPULSORILY THE LAND DESCRIBED IN THE SCHEDULE FOR
RESETTLEMENT PURPOSES.

D.N.E.MUTASA,
Minister of State for National Security,Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement
in the President's Office.

SECTION 8

5 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 1 350/82 Barbara Ada Snook Darwin Bretten
735,0402 ha
6 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 2 6409/90 Dunsburg Farm Pvt Ltd Darwin Lot 1
dunsberry hill 413,2187 ha
7 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 3 5902/68 Donnington Farms pvt ltd Hartley
jenkinstown 3 953,6400 acres
8 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 4 8364/88 Kermanshah Pvt ltd lomagundi
kermanshah Estate 704,2200 ha
9 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 5 4597/82 Chesdale Farm Pvt ltd lomagundi
Silverside 2488,18 ha
10 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 6 4859/91 Nyarapinda Farm pvt lomagundi
Nyarapinda Extention 354,25 ha
11 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 7 2763/59 Amersham investments Pvt ltd Mazoe
Subdivision B portion of Brotherton 1 215,4384 morgen
12 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 8 855/87 H n Bennet pvt ltd Mazoe Ethel
Grange of meadows of Wengi River Estate 938,84 ha
13 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 9 4883/2001 Crowken properties ppvt ltd Mazoe
Lot 1 of Farm 32 a of Glendale 658,4669ha
14 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 10 4982/94 Newrose Properties pvt ltd Mazoe
Re,ainder of Erin 1287,3138 ha
15 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 11 6846/87 Lydall Farm pvt ltd Melsetter
Subdivision a Busi 202,34 ha
16 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 12 1632/95 Preston investments Pvt ltd Ndanga
Hippo Valley Settlement holding 48 146,1593ha
17 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 13 118/83 Saurel holding Pvt ltd Ndanga
Hippo Valley Settlement holding 44 125,8536ha
18 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 14 4446/67 Rio Enterprises Pvt ltd Ndanga
Hippo Valley Settlement Holding 3 585,8225 acres
19 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 15 6788/72 H d Foiard Brown Pvt ltd Ndanga
Hippo Valley Settlement 53 157,8570 ha
20 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 16 632/90 Funden hall Pvt ltd Salisbury
Remainder of Nyarungu Subdivision a of Stone ridge 113,8046 ha
21 8-7-2005 Section 8 Lot 22b 17 1852/98 Harvey james Pvt ltd Sipolilo
Nyalungwe 775,7682 ha
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notice is hereby given,in terms of section 5(1) of the Land Acquisition
Act(chapter 20;10),THAT THE President intends to acquire compulsorily the
land described in the Schedule for urban expansion.

A PLAN OF THE LAND IS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION AT THE FOLLOWING OFFICES OF
THE MINISTRY OF STATE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY,LANDS,LAND REFORM AND
RESETTLEMENT IN THE PRESIDENTS OFFICE BETWEEN 8A.M AND 4P.M FROM MONDAY TO
FRIDAY OTHER THAN ON A PUBLIC HOLIDAY ON OR BEFORE THE 08TH AUGUST 2005.

a) Block 2 Makombe Complex crn Harare street and Herbert Chitepo,Harare

b) Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement.Cf 119, Government
composite block, Robert Mugabe Way,Mutare

c) Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,4th Floor,Block H,Office
146,Mhlahandela Government Complex,Bulawayo;

d) Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,M & W Building,Corner
Park/Link Street,Chinhoyi;

e) Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,1st Floor,Founders
House,The Green,Marondera;

f)Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,19 Hellet Street,Masvingo.

g)Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and resettlement,Exchange Building,Main
Street,Gweru.

i)Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,Ndodahondo
Building,Bindura.

ANY OWNER OR OCCUPIER OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO HAS AN INTEREST AND RIGHT IN
THE SAID LAND,AND WHO WISHES TO OBJECT TO THE PROPOSED COMPULSORY
ACQUISITION,MAY LODGE THE SAME,IN WRITING,WITH THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR
NATIONAL SECURITY,LANDS,LAND REFORM AND RESETTLEMENT IN THE PRESIDENTS
OFFICE,PRIVATE BAG 7779,CAUSEWAY,HARARE,ON OR BEFORE THE 25TH OF JULY,2005.

D.N.E.MUTASA,
Minister of State for National Security,Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement
in the President's Office.

SECTION 5

5 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 1 6909/97 Rockwood Retirement Village Mazoe
Lot 2 Amandas Estate 230,4624ha
6 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 2 04567/94 Peter Lee Wells Mazoe Stand 2
Welbeck township of Foyle Esate 14,1955 ha
7 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 3 2458/03 Basil Daniel Panas & Margaret
Patricia Panas Masoe RemINDER OF Stand 3 Welbeck Township of Foyle Estate
5/8944ha
8 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 4 1183/75 George Alexander Walker Smith Mazoe
Stand 8 Welbeck Township of Foyle Estate 18,2105ha
9 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 5 14603/2004 Lovemore Chikuvanyanga nyakuddya
& Issaac Tiriwokunze Mazoe Stand 10 Welbeck Township of Foyle Estate
23,4223 ha
10 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 6 98/2005 Lovemore Chikuvanyanga nyakuddya &
Issaac Tiriwokunze Mazoe Stand 11 Welbeck Township of Foyle Estate
17,4078ha
11 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 7 9123/99 Trust kenneth Mapose & Ruth Tendai
Dube Mazoe The Remaining Extent of Stand 13 Welbeck Township of Foyle Esate
7,8372 ha
12 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 8 8283/2003 Digwell mining Pvt ltd Mazoe
Stand 14 Welbeck Township of stand 3 Welbeck Township of Foyle Estate
5,5210 ha
13 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 9 5585/91 Eric William Beachy-Head Salisbury
remainder of Christon Bank Estate 232,7994 ha
14 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 10 4801/89 Turner Properties Pvt Ltd
Salisbury Remainder of Mount Hampden 305,5417 ha
15 8-7-2005 Section 5 lot 173 11 4107/2000 Eddies Pfugari Properties
Salisbury Remainder of the White cliff 1 065,7090 ha
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN,IN TERMS OF SUBSECTION (1) OF SECTION 5 OF THE LAND
ACQUISITION ACT (CHAPTER 20.10) THAT THE PRESIDENT INTENTS TO ACQUIRE
COMPULSORILY THE LAND DESCRIBED IN THE SCHEDULE FOR RESETTLEMENT PURPOSES

A PLAN OF THE LAND IS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION AT THE FOLLOWING OFFICES OF
THE MINISTRY OF STATE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY,LANDS,LAND REFORM AND
RESETTLEMENT IN THE PRESIDENTS OFFICE BETWEEN 8A.M AND 4P.M FROM MONDAY TO
FRIDAY OTHER THAN ON A PUBLIC HOLIDAY ON OR BEFORE THE 08TH AUGUST 2005.

a) Block 2 Makombe Complex crn Harare street and Herbert Chitepo,Harare

b) Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement.Cf 119, Government
composite block, Robert Mugabe Way,Mutare

c) Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,4th Floor,Block H,Office
146,Mhlahandela Government Complex,Bulawayo;

d) Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,M & W Building,Corner
Park/Link Street,Chinhoyi;

e) Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,1st Floor,Founders
House,The Green,Marondera;

f)Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,19 Hellet Street,Masvingo.

g)Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and resettlement,Exchange Building,Main
Street,Gweru.

i)Ministry of Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement,Ndodahondo
Building,Bindura.

ANY OWNER OR OCCUPIER OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO HAS AN INTEREST AND RIGHT IN
THE SAID LAND,AND WHO WISHES TO OBJECT TO THE PROPOSED COMPULSORY
ACQUISITION,MAY LODGE THE SAME,IN WRITING,WITH THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR
NATIONAL SECURITY,LANDS,LAND REFORM AND RESETTLEMENT IN THE PRESIDENTS
OFFICE,PRIVATE BAG 7779,CAUSEWAY,HARARE,ON OR BEFORE THE 25TH OF JULY,2005.

D.N.E.MUTASA,
Minister of State for National Security,Lands,Land Reform and Resettlement
in the President's Office.

SECTION 5

17 8-7-2005 Section 5 Lot 175 1 1422/67 Leslie Reginal De Jager Lomagundi
Friedawil of Renfield 991,7851 acres
18 8-7-2005 Section 5 Lot 175 2 4482/86 Hanging Rock Pvt Ltd Makoni
Hangclip 1 239,6859 ha
19 8-7-2005 Section 5 Lot 175 3 307/82 Alister Coltherd Davies Ndanga
Being lot 3 of Mkwasine Central 181,5714 ha
20 8-7-2005 Section 5 Lot 175 4 1688/86 Valley Coffee Plantation P/l Umtali
R/e of Mazonwe 3 746,2964 ha
21 8-7-2005 Section 5 Lot 175 5 2564/75 Meidon Farm PVT Ltd Umtali lot 2 of
Burma of Clydesdale 1236,6570ha

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VOA

Nigerian Official Confirms Zimbabwe Talks in Offing By Studio 7
      Washington
      11 July 2005

A spokesperson for Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo confirmed on Monday
that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has agreed to hold political
discussions with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on the country's crisis
under the auspices of the African Union whose chairmanship President
Obasanjo currently holds.

Nigerian presidential spokesperson Remi Oyo told reporter Ndimyake
Mwakalyele of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that no time frame has been set
for the discussions.

But Ms. Oyo confirmed that Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai, president of the
Movement for Democratic Change, have agreed in principle to hold talks aimed
at resolving the Zimbabwe political crisis, which has deepened since Harare
launched a radical slum-clearance program in May.

In Harare, though, senior officials of both the ruling Zimbabwe African
National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change, were unwilling to confirm or deny talks were in the
offing. State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa said he was not aware that
President Mugabe had agreed to such talks. MDC sources said they knew of a
talks initiative, but considered it too early to comment.

For perspective on these delicate negotiations for a face-to-face meeting
between the Zimbabwean president and his leading political opponent,
reporter Blessing Zulu turned to International Crisis Group Director for
Southern Africa Peter Kangwanja to ask if it seems likely Mr. Obasanjo can
revive discussions stalled since 2002.

Earlier, reporter Zulu reached MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi, who
addressed the question of what expectations the opposition had of any such
talks.

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Zim Online

Mugabe, SA church leaders meeting in doubt
Tue 12 July 2005

      HARARE - South African church leaders who yesterday said they were
"shocked" with conditions at a holding camp for families displaced by the
Zimbabwe government's urban clean-up drive might fail to meet President
Robert Mugabe today, sources told ZimOnline last night.

      The church delegation jointly led by Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu
Ndungane and South African Council of Churches chairman, Russell Botham,
planned to meet Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai before flying
out of Harare later today.

      But sources said the delegation might fail to meet the Zimbabwean
leader because, "the South African church group had come on its own without
an invitation from Munhumutapa Building (Mugabe's offices)."

      An official of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) that is hosting
the South Africans would not say last night whether a meeting between Mugabe
and the delegation had been secured only saying the church mission hoped to
meet officials from the government and political parties.

      Harare last week snubbed African Union (AU) envoy Tom Nyanduga
refusing to meet or allow him to visit families evicted under the clean-up
operation saying his visit was unprocedural because the AU Commission had
only informed the government of its envoy's visit when he was already on his
way to Zimbabwe.

      Nyanduga left Zimbabwe in frustration last week and Harare has
insisted it wants a new envoy appointed and that proper procedures be
followed when doing so.

      But a United Nations envoy, who visited Harare after Secretary General
Koffi Annan first personally informed Mugabe, was able to tour the country
unimpeded. She left last Friday and is expected to submit a report about the
controversial clean-up in two weeks time.

      By late yesterday, the South Africa church delegation was still
engaged in consultations with trade union, church and other civic leaders at
a Harare hotel as they solicited various views on the urban clean-up drive
that has drawn condemnation from across the globe.

      Earlier in the day, the delegation toured Harare's Mbare low-income
suburb where thousands of families were cast onto the streets without food
or water after their homes were razed down by police bulldozers.

      The delegation also visited Caledonia holding camp just outside Harare
where about 4 000 displaced people are staying without adequate food, water
or sanitary facilities. Nearly 200 homeless children rounded up from the
streets of Harare have also been dumped at Caledonia.

      Many of the families at the camp spend the cold winter nights out in
the open with only a handful sleeping in tents provided by non-governmental
organisations.

      Ndungane's spokesman Mathew Esau told the press that the delegation
was shocked at the "very rudimentary" facilities at the camp. "Pretty much
all members of the delegation have been shocked to see the situation of so
many children, women and young people," said Esau.

      Close to a million people have been made homeless after the government
demolished shantytowns and city backyard cottages in a campaign it says is
necessary to smash crime and restore the beauty of Zimbabwe's urban centres.

      The United States, European Union, Zimbabwean and international human
rights groups have condemned the clean-up drive as a gross violation of poor
people's rights.

      The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which enjoys more
support in urban areas, says the campaign is a ploy to punish city residents
for rejecting Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party in last March's disputed
general election. - ZimOnline

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Zim Online

Mugabe swoops on the rich in eviction campaign
Tue 12 July 2005

      HARARE - The Zimbabwe government yesterday widened its destruction of
homes and backyard cottages to Harare's affluent suburbs, barely three days
after bidding farewell to a United Nations envoy who was in the country
probing the controversial home demolition campaign.

      Armed police descended on the suburbs of Waterfalls, Hatfield,
Hillside and Braeside ordering residents to pull down backyard cottages,
tuckshops and other structures and save whatever building material could be
salvaged.

      Residents told ZimOnline that the police had warned them they would
beat up those who disobeyed orders to pull down "illegal structures".

      "I have demolished my tuck-shop in anticipation of the police coming,"
said Gladys Mucheche, a Waterfalls resident yesterday morning. "Police have
been rough in other areas so we want to avoid trouble," said Mucheche, a
nursery teacher who for the past five years has used the tuck-shop to
supplement her wages.

      Residents from the other affluent suburbs of Borrowdale, Mandara,
Chisipite, Mount Pleasant, Queensdale, Rhodesville and Highlands were also
demolishing cottages and other structures following instructions from the
police.

      The Member of Parliament for Hatfield, Tapiwa Mashakada, said: "They
(police) are moving . . . in fact, residents are already destroying their
own property out of fear of the police who are known to beat-up those that
do not comply with their orders."

      Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena could not be reached for comment on
the matter last night.

      But a Harare police inspector Loveless Rupere at the weekend warned
residents of high-income suburbs that the clean-up operation was being
extended to their areas and that they should not resist orders to destroy
cottages and other structures deemed illegal.

      Most of the backyard cottages that the police have ordered demolished
were being rented out by owners to families who do not have homes of their
own. The Zimbabwe government estimates that about 130 000 families might
have been left homeless by its clean-up campaign.

      But the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and
non-governmental organisations say between 300 000 to a million people were
cast onto the streets without food or water after their homes were
demolished.

      UN-Habitat head Anna Tibaijuka, sent to Zimbabwe to probe the mass
demolition of homes by the world body's chief, Koffi Annan, told journalists
before departing Harare that she was leaving with sad memories of poor
families struggling for accommodation after the police razed down their
houses.

      Tibaijuka, who spent two weeks touring Zimbabwe, is expected to submit
a report on her findings to Annan in about two weeks time. Annan has
deferred UN action until Tibaijuka's report. Continental powerhouse South
Africa has also hinted it could act after the UN envoy reports back.

      The European Union, Commonwealth, United States, Zimbabwean and
international human rights groups have roundly condemned the demolitions as
a gross violation of poor people's rights.

      Harare says the clean-up drive is meant to smash crime and to restore
the beauty of Zimbabwe's cities but the MDC, which has more support in
cities, says it is a ploy to punish urban residents for rejecting President
Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party in last March's disputed
election. - ZimOnline

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Zim Online

FEATURE: Mugabe's "tsunami" haunts victims of 80s army atrocities.
Tue 12 July 2005

      BULAWAYO - Fifty-six year old Mthulisi Dube slowly sips his tea during
breakfast in a desperate bid to fend off the biting cold.

      The breakfast consists of black tea, and two thin slices of bread.

      Dube, who looks much older than his age, appears battered by the
ravages of old age and poverty. Life has simply not been kind to him.

      But here in this church hall, where he sought refuge after his home
was razed to the ground in the government "clean-up" exercise, he appears
completely at peace with himself, away from the prying eyes of society.

      Dube is part of a large group of people in Bulawayo who sought shelter
at churches after their houses were demolished in the government's "clean
 up" exercise, referred to in street lingo as Mugabe's "tsunami".

      Victims of the clean up here say not only did the authorities destroy
their houses - they destroyed their will to live and re-opened old wounds
from the Gukurahundi massacres of the early 80s which had almost healed.

      President Robert Mugabe in the early eighties dispatched the army's
North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade to Matabeleland and Midlands provinces to
quell an armed rebellion by bands of former liberation war guerillas loyal
to late vice-president and then opposition leader, Joshua Nkomo.

      More than 20 000 innocent civilians from the minority Ndebele tribe
that backed Nkomo perished during the crackdown referred to as "Gukurahundi"
(the early rains that sweep away the chaff), which Mugabe later admitted was
"an act of madness".

      "Gukurahundi left people dead, people suffered, some were tortured and
families were broken up. Now this "Murambatsvina" (government's code name
for the clean-up exercise), has left people suffering," said Dube, who says
he was tortured during the early 80s disturbances.

      After he lost his job in the small Midlands town of Kwekwe some 20
years ago, Dube moved to Killarney squatter camp just outside Bulawayo. This
was the place he called home for the past 20 years.

      But early last month, the police reinforced by menacing soldiers razed
the squatter camp to the ground rendering Dube and many others homeless. The
government said the evicted people must go back "where they came from."

      "To see your home going up in flames, even if you are not beaten,
kuuraya munhu chaiko! (it's as good as killing the man). It's painful to see
all your work and sweat go up in smoke just like that. But I am lucky
because the church took me in. I could have died from the cold," said Dube.

      The stories are the same from his colleagues here and from the others
throughout the churches housing these internal refugees in Bulawayo. They
are stories of misery and raw pain.

      "I saw people being killed in Nkayi in the early 80s so I took my
bicycle and cycled all the way to Bulawayo. Now it's war again, the soldiers
are after us again with their guns," complained a man who refused to be
identified for fear of victimisation.

      At least one million people have been rendered homeless after their
homes were destroyed in the "clean up" exercise the government says is
necessary to restore the beauty of cities and towns.

      The government also says the clean up will smash the illegal foreign
currency parallel market blamed for Zimbabwe's economic ills.

      The campaign has been roundly criticised by Western governments,
church and human rights groups as an assault on the rights of the poor. The
United Nations which dispatched a special envoy Anna Tibaijuka two weeks ago
to probe the evictions has also expressed concern over the exercise.

      Tibaijuka who left Harare last weekend after assessing the clean up,
is expected to present her report to UN secretary general Koffi Annan soon.

      A member of the Bulawayo Agenda pressure group, Gorden Moyo, also
criticised the destruction of homes as "political lunacy" by Mugabe and his
government.

      "The wanton destruction of property and the looting of people's wares
by overzealous security agents is the height of political lunacy only
preceded by the genocide of the 1980s," said Moyo.

      But for Sam Elijah Moyo, who is housed at one of the churches in
Bulawayo, Operation Murambatsvina is a "silent war" (hondo ine runyararo).

      "Gukurahundi was violent. People we beheaded, women raped, pregnant
women disemboweled and homes burnt. This time with Murambatsvina, the police
allowed us to take out our belonging before burning the houses.

      "They did not openly kill anyone, but people will die quietly from
hunger, the cold and diseases," said Moyo shaking his head in despair. -
ZimOnline

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Business Day

                  Posted to the web on: 12 July 2005
                  Africa best left to help itself
                  Max King

--------------------------------------------------------------

                  THE Group of Eight (G-8) summit at Gleneagles has placed
Africa in the foreground, but the result has only strengthened prejudices
and misconceptions.

                  The mass protest by the Make Poverty History campaign is
almost as futile as the summit itself. The campaigners have the absurd idea
that a combination of extra government aid, debt forgiveness and trade
protection can significantly reduce poverty. The politicians are determined
to avoid the one measure - abolition of agricultural subsidies and quotas -
that could both make a difference to developing countries and benefit the
G-8 economies.

                  The origins of Make Poverty History lie in the guilt
widely felt in the developed world. This attributes the economic problems of
much of Africa and elsewhere to the imperialism that is supposed to have
exploited these countries and left them unprepared for the modern world.
Hence, the theory goes, Europe has a responsibility to sort out the mess
that it created.

                  Academic historians debunked this myth decades ago, but it
lives on. In Victorian times, Sir John Seeley opined that the British Empire
had been acquired "in a fit of absence of mind" rather than as part of a
coherent strategy.

                  In the 1960s, Jan Morris wrote that "the assumption that
the empire made Britain rich was a misconception. While it was obviously
true that individual firms and families had been enriched by imperial
enterprise, Britain's staggering wealth had been accumulated above all by
free trade." The empire's total foreign trade was more than four times its
internal trade and far more capital was sunk in the US than in India.

                  As for the African scramble, Morris wrote, "the activists
were the Germans and the French: the British, who really had quite enough
empire already, grabbed by reaction". In 1897, tropical Africa took just
1,2% of British exports, and "Africa, the land of the new imperialism, was
like a quagmire, leading the British ever more deeply into trouble".

                  If Britain's wealth was based on free trade, and if its
empire, acquired haphazardly, was an increasing economic burden, it might
still be possible that the rest of Europe left its colonies in a mess. In
some places, such as the Congo, this was true, but few doubt that Burma's
descent from the richest to almost the poorest country in Asia is entirely
the consequence of its own governments. In Africa, Zimbabwe has followed the
same path.

                  It is curious that the Make Poverty History campaign is
focused entirely on Africa, and ignores countries such as Bolivia and
Bangladesh, with equal or greater problems. The omitted countries should be
grateful. They will make much greater progress in fighting poverty if they
follow the examples set by their neighbours, Chile and India, than by
placing their faith in the aid industry.

                  A survey published by India's finance ministry shows that
55% of India's population lived in poverty in 1973. By 1999, the proportion
had fallen to 26%, and there has been a significant further reduction since
then. The data show that the fall in poverty accelerated after 1990, when
India opened up its economy, previously closely regulated, protected and
state-controlled or owned, to international and domestic market forces.

                  Make Poverty History gives the impression that Africa's
economic future is dependent on foreign aid, and Africa is incapable of
helping itself. This is wildly inaccurate. In the past five years, growth
has been consistent but modest, averaging about 3% a year. This is only half
the level of India, and not enough to have a major effect on living
standards or poverty, but it is a step in the right direction.

                  Little, if any, of this growth is the result of aid,
according to a recent report co-authored by Raghuram Rajan, the chief
economist of the International Monetary Fund. Aid leads to an overvaluation
of the real exchange rate and adversely affects a country's competitiveness,
particularly growth, wages and employment in labour-intensive and export
sectors. Interestingly, private sector remittances do not have this effect,
which suggests that aid is spent best where it bypasses governments
altogether. Government-to-government debt relief, favoured by the G-8, may
be the worst form of aid.

                  With or without aid, the economics team at Goldman Sachs
is optimistic. "Sub-Saharan Africa is currently experiencing its best
economic performance in many years", it writes. "We find that GDP (gross
domestic product) growth could average 5% per annum over the next decade
compared to less than 3% over the past 30 years. Its share of world GDP
would increase from 1,3% to 2%."

                  Despite this, few professional investors, let alone
private ones, give the idea of investing in Africa, outside SA, a moment's
thought. They are unaware that Africa contains no fewer than 18 stock
markets. In 2003, three of them more than doubled in value, placing them
among the world's top 10 performers. Last year, four were among the top 10,
each appreciating more than 75%. The average return in dollars was 41% in
both years. More than 400 companies have listed on various markets in the
past 10 years, yet there are few funds specialising in such a large,
important and strongly performing region.

                  Companies and entrepreneurs are also defying the sceptics.
Barclays is paying $5bn for control of Absa, a banking network spreading
across Africa. South African Breweries, retailer Shoprite and others are
investing across the continent. Celtel, the first African-led pan-African
cellphone operator, has just been bought by a Kuwaiti company for $3,6bn,
multiplying the money of investors including Actis and Blakeney fivefold.

                  Most of the investment interest is in the resources
sector, but this only shows the potential wealth of much of Africa. With
plentiful low-cost labour, an abundance of fertile land and underexploited
potential for tourism, there is no reason why Africa's economic potential
should be limited to resources, or why agricultural protection in the west
is an insurmountable barrier to development.

                  Western news coverage tends to focus on the disasters,
such as Zimbabwe, which involve corrupt, incompetent and malevolent
governments. The quiet, steady success of countries such as Uganda, Tunisia
and Botswana attracts little attention. Their neighbours, however, are
noticing. An increasing number of former problem countries, such as Zambia,
Ghana, Mozambique and maybe even Ethiopia, have improved sufficiently to
have become too boring for the world's press.

                  The best way for people in the west to help is by
investment in companies and projects offering a commercial rate of return.
As the Victorians found out, free trade, investment and a market economy,
not regulation, protection and paternalism, are the driving force of wealth
creation. That, in turn, reduces poverty. When there are as many funds
tempting investors into Africa as there are to India, Africa will be well on
the way to really making poverty history by its own efforts.

                  King is an investment strategist with Investec Asset
Management, London.
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http://www.lewrockwell.com/

What Should America Do For Africa?

by Rep. Ron Paul, MD
by Rep. Ron Paul, MD

At the G8 summit in Scotland last week, we heard once again how the wealthy
nations of the world have not done enough to raise Africa out of poverty. At
the Live 8 music festival that preceded it, we heard angry demands for
"Justice, Not Charity" in Africa. Implicit in such demands is the
collectivist fallacy that wealth is a zero sum game, and therefore western
prosperity is possible only at the expense of African misery. As usual,
Americans and other western nations are portrayed as villains who somehow
conspire to keep Africa poor.

The White House attempted to quell criticism that America is not doing
enough to save Africa by announcing that the U.S. would double its economic
aid to the continent, from $4.3 billion to $8.6 billion, over the next few
years. Neither Congress nor the American people were consulted prior to this
pronouncement, I might add. I think the public might not share the
administration's generous mood, especially as we spend billions in Iraq and
face single year deficits of $500 billion. Frankly, a federal government
with nearly $8 trillion in debt has no business giving money to anybody.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair went a step further, promising that the G8
nations will provide $50 billion in economic aid to Africa by 2010, along
with canceling hundreds of millions in debt owed to taxpayers of several
western governments. But why should foreign leaders have any say over how
American tax dollars are spent? Is our annual federal budget now subject to
foreign scrutiny and approval? America is an incredibly charitable nation,
as evidenced by the hundreds of millions of dollars donated by private
citizens for tsunami relief last year. We don't need lectures or guidance
from the world when it comes to foreign aid.

African poverty is rooted in government corruption, corruption that actually
is fostered by western aid. We should ask ourselves a simple question: Why
is private capital so scarce in Africa? The obvious answer is that many
African nations are ruled by terrible men who pursue disastrous economic
policies. As a result, American aid simply enriches dictators, distorts
economies, and props up bad governments. We could send Africa $1 trillion,
and the continent still would remain mired in poverty simply because so many
of its nations reject property rights, free markets, and the rule of law.

As commentator Joseph Potts explains, western money enables dictators like
Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to gain and hold power without the support of his
nation's people. African rulers learn to manipulate foreign governments and
obtain an independent source of income, which makes them far richer and more
powerful than any of their political rivals. Once comfortably in power, and
much to the horror of the western governments that funded them, African
dictators find their subjects quite helpless and dependent. Potts describes
this process as giving African politicians the "power to impoverish." The
bottom line is that despite decades of western aid, more Africans than ever
are living in extreme poverty. Foreign aid simply doesn't work.

Despite this reality, western political leaders who offer to increase aid
are always praised for their compassionate and progressive policies. But
what about the people who are suffering here at home, whether from hunger,
illness, or poverty? Are their lives and well being less important? Where is
the constitutional provision allowing American tax dollars to be sent
overseas?

The president is promising money we don't have to solve a problem we didn't
cause. Americans have the freedom to do everything in their power to
alleviate African suffering, whether by donating money or working directly
in impoverished nations. But government-to-government foreign aid doesn't
work, and it never has. We should stop kidding ourselves and ignore the
emotionalist pleas of rock stars. Suffering in Africa cannot be helped by
delusional, feel-good government policies.

July 12, 2005

Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas.
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Stuff, New Zealand

Rockers' humbug on Africa
12 July 2005

      By ALEXIS STUART
The rocking knights, Sir Bob, Sir Elton, Sir Bono and Sir Paul, are in the
business of making money.

They are capitalists right down to their tip- tapping toes.

The long and winding road and yellow brick road are really one and the same
_ they both lead to the bank.

Why, then, do they preach a socialist message with such zeal? They want
everyone to think like socialists and demand G8 money- lenders support
Africa indefinitely.

It's like a global welfare state on steroids. And it's ironic. The lifestyle
modelled by the rockers is one of self- absorption, sex and unbridled
consumption. It's humbug. (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.)

Africa really needs a combination of property rights, freedom of contract,
the rule of law, decentralised decision-making and sound science. In short,
good government.

Without these, wealth may well go to a corrupt elite, which is exactly what
is happening in Zimbabwe.

They have a name for corrupt leaders in Africa - the Swahili term is
WaBenzi.

The New Zealand Cricket team, and even better the ICC, should know that
Mugabe has a custom-built Mercedes S600L armoured to withstand AK47 fire,
grenades and landmines.

Aidan Hartley in the Spectator points out: "It is fitted with CD player,
movies, internet and anti-bugging devices. At five tons it does about 2km
per litre of fuel. It has to be followed by a tanker of petrol in a country
running on empty.

"Mugabe has purchased a car pool of dozens of lesser Mercedes S320s and
E240s for his wife, vice- presidents and ministers."

OK, Africa is living out the legacy of colonialism with its arbitrary
borders around 50 different countries. But this is not the heart of the
problem.

Few African countries have good government. Hartley says that last year
Britain alone sent $150 million to Kenya. The British High Commissioner
Edward Clay claims that Mwai Kibaki's Government has stolen $1500 million in
the last two years. The Kenyan's average annual income is $600. Some
Africans earn less than $1 a day.

Columnists don't do praise very well and I suppose it is a particularly bad
look to praise your own newspaper. Nevertheless, the coverage on Africa over
the weekend in this paper was the best I have read anywhere. This in itself
is promising and fills New Zealanders, who have been supporting Africa one
way or another most of our lives (which, let's face it, is most of us), with
hope.

Sustainable improvement for Africa will be achieved by understanding rather
than never- ending financial support.

The G8 leaders will double aid from $25 billion to $50 billion by 2010.
Their pledge falls short of what the pop stars wanted but fortunately most
understand that African tragedies are much more complicated than outright
poverty. Geldof claims that pop music has replaced English as the power
language of the world. Thankfully our world leaders turn their headsets off
periodically.

By all means, Western nations need to get rid of subsidies and tariffs to
Third World countries. All nations, including New Zealand, would benefit.
Dare I whisper that George W. is on the right track? The President wants
free trade and African countries would certainly benefit.

Of course, France and Germany and some of his own countrymen won't like the
idea. The very socialism that the pop stars want to export to Africa is the
fertiliser for the subsidies France and Germany don't want to give up. And
by the way, "fair trade" _ that darling phrase of the Left _ is a specious
concept defined only in relation to their notion of wealth redistribution.

Magnus Linklater, a British writer, is right: "The slogans of international
socialism have changed little in 40 years and achieved even less." The
alternative newspapers sold in Edinburgh last week still mumbled about
Marxism, imperialism and the fascist state as if nothing had changed since
the 1960s (the significance of the fall of the Berlin wall was obviously
lost on them).

The imposition of confused compassion gets in the way of solving the
problem.

Protest can change people's ideas. It did in the 1960s. But the protest has
to have a strong strain of realism running through it. If world leaders are
going to be influenced by the ageing rockers, the rockers' message has to be
real.

By all means reduce debt and give well-focused aid. The West is rich, not
because it rides off the back of the Third World but because it still has
something of the rule of law rooted in a proper moral and constitutional
framework. The rockers seem to want to throw both away and expect the wealth
to spread. It's a vain hope.
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Islamic Republic News Agency

Iran's Ambassador to Harare meets Zimbabwe's industries minister
Pretoria, July 12, IRNA
Iran-Zimbabwe-Meet
IRI Ambassador to Zimbabwe Hamid Mo'ayyer met and conferred Monday with that
country's Minister of Industries and Foreign Trade Minister Obert Empopho in
Harare.

The Iranian envoy during the meeting while congratulating Minister Empopho
on the occasion of his recent appointment at his ministerial post described
the two countries economic ties as "developing." He said, "The annual volume
of two countries annual trade raised from $13 million in 2003 to $25 million
in 2004."
Mo'ayyer added, "Keeping in mind the reached bilateral agreements during
President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami's state visit of Zimbabwe it is predicted
that the volume of the two countries' business and trade transactions would
reach $250 million a year."
He added, "Iran is ready to cooperate with Zimbabwe in industrial and trade
fields that require transfer of modern technology and scientific know-how to
this southeast African country.

Zimbabwe's minister of Industries and Foreign Trade, too, while
congratulating the Iranian envoy and nation on the election of IRI's new
president, referring to the Islamic Republic of Iran as "Zimbabwe's special
trade partner" in Middle East.

He added, "Zimbabwe would never forget, not ignore Iran's assistance to this
country."
The Zimbabwean official while emphasizing on the need to implement all
articles of the economic agreement reached between the two countries,
announced his readiness to visit Iran before the convening of the two
countries' joint trade commission in September.

Moa'yyer had also conferred on Thursday, June 23 with Zimbabwean Minister of
Science and Technology Olivia Muchena on expansion of mutual cooperation.

At the meeting, the Zimbabwean minister called for exchange of information
and experiences in scientific and research fields, particularly in
electronic industry.

Zimbabwe is now making extensive efforts to increase the value added of its
products, she pointed out.

Referring to the significant role of the Iranian ministry of agriculture
jihad in Zimbabwe, she said such cooperation is considered as a suitable
pattern of scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries.

The Iranian ambassador, for his part, highlighted the increase in the level
of trade exchange between the two countries and said the Islamic Republic of
Iran has supported Zimbabwe under various circumstances.

Highlighting Iran's scientific breakthrough in recent years, he highlighted
the close cooperation in the fields of research and academic centers as well
as role of Iranian women in scientific sector.

The two sides agreed to follow up expansion of scientific and research
cooperation by signing relative MoUs during the fifth meeting of
Iran-Zimbabwe Joint Economic Commission in Tehran.

Mo'ayyer had earlier on July 2, too, met and conferred with Zimbabwean
Minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi in the city of Harare on
matters of mutual concerns.

During the meeting, Mumbengegwi expressed his gratitude to Iran for
dispatching a high-ranking delegation to supervise Zimbabwe's parliamentary
election held on March 31.

The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won the
election.

The minister said the election shed light on Zimbabwe's stances toward
democracy, implementation of laws, and human rights against the US and
Britain.

He referred to his country's pressing needs for agricultural machinery and
land reform policies, calling for expansion of bilateral ties.

The Iranian envoy, for his part, felicitated Mumbengegwi on the 25th
anniversary of Zimbabwean revolution.

He also praised successful organization of Zimbabwe's
parliamentary election.

Mo'ayyer said the Iran-Zimbabwe Joint Commission would meet in August,
calling for cooperation in new fields.

He urged Zimbabwe to make further efforts to accelerate the implementation
of Zimbabwean projects Iranian companies are carrying out.
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