"The Zimbabwe Situation" news page
Zimbabwe widow wins asylum after
Home Office 'error'
KATHY OLDS, the widow of the murdered Zimbabwean farmer Martin
Olds, spoke of her relief yesterday at being granted political asylum in Britain
after first being told she had been rejected because she had applied too late.
Mrs Olds, 43, who fled Zimbabwe with her two teenage children after her husband
was shot by black so-called war veterans while defending the family's
21,000-acre farm, arrived in this country on May 26. She applied for asylum on
June 5 but last week received a letter from the Home Office telling her she had
been turned down because her application was filed too late.
Mrs Olds, who is disabled after suffering from polio, appealed
to the Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown. Since her arrival in this country
she has been staying with her close friends Tim and Sue Gibbs in Mr
Clifton-Brown's Cotswold constituency. The MP immediately contacted Barbara
Roache, the immigration minister, who told him that Mrs Olds's refusal had been
due to "an administration error". On Friday, Mrs Olds received a second letter
telling her she had been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK as a
refugee. She said: "I am so relieved. I have shed quite a few tears since
receiving the first letter. I was worried sick because the children and I had to
leave Zimbabwe with nothing. It has only been the generosity of the Gibbs and
their friends that has kept us going. Our prayers have been answered now that we
can stay in this country."
Mr Clifton-Brown said yesterday he was delighted that the Olds
would be able to stay. He said: "Although the initial refusal was said to be due
to an administrative error there has to be the suspicion that there was an
element of 'Why should this widow of a white Zimbabwe farmer be granted asylum?'
The truth is that Mrs Olds came here without a penny. She deserves the utmost
help this country can give
her."
COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION
FARM INVASIONS UPDATE
MONDAY 17 JULY 2000
CFU has
received a list from the Ministry of Agriculture of the uncontested and
non-responses of the Preliminary Notice to acquire 804 properties. The CFU are
currently studying this list in order to ratify the farms.
REGIONAL
REPORTS
MASHONALAND CENTRAL
Centenary -
The owner of
Chidikamwedzi Farm has been prevented from watering his seedbeds since 15
July. War vet Moston Mavoso has moved his cattle
onto Mavhuradonha Farm. The owner of Rianbuck was
given permission by the war vets to start work today.
Horseshoe -
War vets went to
Amajuba and told the Manager to produce an inventory of all farm equipment, as
the property belonged to them. The manager was then forced to escort the war
vets in his vehicle to see their leaders in Guruve.
The owner of Warner Farm has not
been allowed to leave his house and war vets have cut down trees and blocked off
the road to the home. War
vets at Rungudzi Farm demanded keys to the cottage and demanded that the people
staying in the cottage move out.
Victory Block -
The owner of
Kelston Park was told by three war vets that they were bringing their cattle
onto his farm. Twenty war vets moved onto Matenda
Mambo on Saturday but only ten remained in residence.
Mvurwi -
The owner of Vukwe
has received a death threat. He had received a number of telephone calls from
war vets demanding transport. The owner of Luwali
was contacted for transport, which he refused. The
owner of Pembi Falls has received a threatening call asking him why he has not
packed up and moved off his farm. The owner of Ruia
was called and told to be off his farm in a week.
Glendale -
A large number of
war vets have moved onto Heyshott and stopped wheat
irrigation.
Mutepatepa -
The owners of
Condwelani and Chiveri have had work stoppage. The senior war vet and the
police were to meet to resolve the issue but by 6 am this morning they had not
arrived. The owner of Tarlington has been allowed to
continue watering his seed beds on condition that if the Government did take the
farm he would take his seedlings with him. Farm
labourers at Azikara started work late because of having had an all night
pungwe. War vets seem to be targeting small work gangs, as labourers are
resisting work stoppages. War vets sent a notice to
the owner of Butleigh Farm asking why work had not stopped and demanding that he
leave the farm. The owner of Banwell received an
eviction order and was told he must pay off all his workers and leave the farm
by Wednesday. War vet Elijah Muzengwa went to peg at
Avoca Farm and was very aggressive, as he had been drinking. The owner of Avoca
has received a 24 hour death threat and has not been allowed to irrigate his
wheat. The owner of Muchena was issued an eviction
threat from his domestic worker through a third party. Duiker Flats was visited by war vets last night who questioned the farm
workers as to why they had not stopped working.
Shamva -
War vets delivered
an eviction order to the owner of Sunray (Len Brunette) and stopped work. The
police claim that they cannot react until they speak to their superiors.
Woodlands B has been invaded by approximately 200
war vets. The owner of Douglyn has been issued an
eviction notice to move off in 2 to 3 days time. A
large number of war vets wanted the owner Chipadze to sign a form to hand over
his farm, but he refused and the war vets dispersed.
Mazowe -
At Summerdale war
vets were very aggressive and gave the owner a 24 hour ultimatum to vacate
today. War vets put a padlock on one of the entrance
gates at Somerset.
MASHONALAND EAST
Bromley/Ruwa -
On Masun numbers have increased to about 30. Whitlands was
visited by war vets from Masun advising that there was a need for them to have a
presence on his farm. On Bellapage war vets drained
diesel from the tractor in the farmer's absence.
Enterprise -
The war vet camps in the area were visited by war vet leadership
over the week end.
Marondera North
- The situation on Chapungu is ongoing with the invaders still
present, becoming aggressive and issuing verbal threats. There is also an
ongoing presence on Dormavale. Rapids: Cde Susan was back again
giving the people on the farm until Friday to get off the farm so that the war
vets could stake their claims.
Marondera South - Some
switchgear was stolen on Arcadia. Land prep has been halted on Wenimbe.
Harare
South/Beatrice - On Joyce Mine the situation continues as war
vets attempt to move into the abandoned staff houses. Police are attempting to
deal with it. There was a repeated threat to
kill if the owner of Plumstead does not vacate his house. The war vets returned to Nengwa on Saturday and the foreman
disappeared with them at about lunch time. At about 3:30 the farmer reported
this and it was a suspected kidnapping. The police later discovered him drinking
beer with the war vets. He later returned on his own and it was discovered that
he is working with the war vets which is why there has been so much trouble on
this farm lately.
War vet Felix
from the war vet camp started trying to get all of the farm labour in the area
to a meeting yesterday morning. Most of the farmer labour ran away or told him
to get out of the area.
On Presgrave a
war vet who goes by the nickname of Chickenhead demanded that the owner hand
over the farm keys. The taskforce responded and talked the war vet out of it.
The farm foreman
on Stirling was threatened by war vet Mapuno. The police reacted and the
situation was diffused.
Wedza -
Another couple of war vets arrived on Rupaka to finish building
their shacks. On Poltimore there was a work
stoppage but the police defused the situation. There was a report of tree cutting on Fair Adventure but the
police said that they would not react unless the poles were being taken off the
farm.
There was a
meeting at the intersection of the Watershed and Chivhu roads and it was here
that they decided that the workers on Poltimore were not to
work.
Macheke/Virginia
- About 60 war vets occupied the lawn on Lowlands on Saturday. The
numbers increased to 150. They demanded food and water. The police reacted but
nothing happened. The workers were told not to go to work on Saturday and
returned to work when the police reacted. There was Support Unit presence there
over the weekend. The invaders demanded a beast and meal. This was agreed
to at first but the farmer was advised not to give it to them. They were not
happy with the change of heart The police have told the security liaison that
they will only react if there is a report of violence from
now.
MASHONALAND WEST NORTH
There is
movement onto Chenene Farm in Doma and the farmer is being told to pack his bags
as the Maraswa war vets are taking over the farm.
On Kuti Farm
information was received by the farmer that he is to start packing up and that
war vets will reap his wheat for him. The owner of Braeside was told to prepare
to move. The Deputy Mayor of Chinhoyi dropped off two people on Slaughter Farm
to occupy the house. The owner of Msengi Farm has been told to vacate his
property within 7 days. THe owner of Twitsi Farm has been told that war vets
are to start building a village on the farm. The owner of Dalkeith Farm
received an unofficial written eviction notice to vacate within 7 days. The
owner of St Lucia Farm has been told to vacate in 7 days. The owner of
Mvurachena Farm was visited and asked for a list of land
numbers.
MASHONALAND WEST SOUTH
Norton
- We apologise for the
sit-rep on Friday which erroniously said that Kilvington Farm had a problem with
a NSSA dispute. This was NOT Kilvington but Mont Marie Farm next door. The
dispute has resulted in a work stoppage with irrigation etc. having to have been
stopped. On Cressidale farm the owners were given 48 hours
to leave by Don Carlos. The 48 hours have gone by. On Merton Park there was a
demand for diesel. On one farm Don Carlos arrived demanding diesel, saying that
he would pay for it but he did not. He came back later on Saturday night
demanding more diesel. He has been under warrant of arrest for several weeks
but Police had not arrested him. We understand that they now have. There are
quite a few charges involved with the original one being an assault in Norton
township.
Chakari - There are quite a few extra occupations around
the Chakari district with only one farm that we know of being unoccupied at this
stage. There was one death threat on Montana Farm but Police did react and the
situation appears to be under control.
Selous -
Huts were being built on Carsky Farm and tree cutting continues
throughout the Selous district. Police reaction is not very helpful where tree
cutting is concerned. There is a big meeting on Arbor Farm by war vets today.
The owner has been told not to move his cattle back to the farm after dipping on
a neighbouring property today. DISPOL has advised that he can move his cattle
back.
Chegutu - On Kutawa donkeys have been moved on and tree
cutting continues. On Burnbank there is a threat to move in to the old
homestead where some of the workers are living. A tractor was also commandered
to move water to this location without consulting the owner. On Kalembo War
Vets have told the owner to get out within two days "or else". They demanded
$1500.00 from the owner as an administration fee for cutting up his land and are
selling plots at $100.00 for 30 hectares. They are currently outside the
owners gate and two of them pushed their way into the house. They have told the
owner that he can buy his house back from them for $5000.00 if he wishes to stay
there. On Eureka Farm War Vets are demanding that the owner moves his cattle
off.
Kadoma - On Collindale Farm the owner was given one week to
leave. On Alabama there are demands for food etc. which have not been met. On
Normandi North there are houses being built in the maize land. On Lidford Farm
police told War Vets to move off and they did!
MASVINGO
Masvingo East
and Central - All is quiet here today.
Chiredzi -Farmer did a follow up with
case reported to the Police. It was reported by Sergeant Dube at the Chiredzi
Police Station that Chiredzi Police Station received a letter from Dr. Hundzvi
that they would go ahead with the resettlement scheme and this is to take place
on the following properties: Fairange Estates, Impala Ranch, Mkwasine Ranch,
Portion of Malilangwe Wildlife Trust. War vets intend to move off Ruware
Ranch tomorrow. Large numbers moved onto Buffalo
Range from Chiredzi township over the weekend. Many people also moved onto
Samba Ranch.
It would appear in this area that local MP’s
have once again indicated that the following properties will be posted through
to be designated so that resettlement can take place.
These properties are Impala Ranch, Savuli
Ranch, Beni Farm, Sachanina Farm, Eaglemeont Farm and BJB Ranching. This would
appear to be politically motivated.
Gutu / Chatsworth - The owner of
Eastdale has been given a week to
move off the property. There is an increase in numbers on Bath Farm.
Mwenezi - War veterans are back on the following properties: Quagga Pan B
Ranch, Kyalami Ranch, Umbono Ranch. On the following properties there is still
extensive tree cutting taking place: Rienette Ranch, Mkumi Ranch, Mariotti
Ranch, Moria Ranch. Tree cutting on Wentzelhof Ranch stopped last week but this
morning it was reported that people with axes were seen headed back towards this
property. War vets are demanding that cattle on Valley Ranch, Mateke Hills be
moved off as they have informed the owner they will be arriving on Thursday to
erect structures and houses. 15 War veterans are on Big Ben Farm, Mateke Hills.
The owner on Edenvale reports that MP Baloyi has visited them, and has said they
are going to take over the farm and start ploughing and planting. There was a
mass invasion onto the property yesterday. 3 head of cattle are missing, and one
has been found slaughtered. Police are following this up, as meat has gone into
Matibi 2 communal area. Police are assisting to the best of their ability, but
Baloyi seems to be doing his own thing. No war vets involved.
Nuanetsi Ranch has had mass invasions on their northern area in
the Chiredzi area. They were addressed by the party Chairman, Masvingo, on
Thursday, but were unresponsive and aggressive. Cattle Management is being disrupted and invaders are herding
cattle out of their liberated area. Cattle are being
slaughtered, but exact figures are unknown. Extensive
poaching is also in progress.
Save Conservancy - The
Support Unit has not returned after the weekend. On Angus Ranch Some of the
local women were given work to do on this ranch and in payment they were given
mopane poles. A game scout was beaten up over this issue and a message has come
through this morning from the war vets that there must be transport made
available for the mopane poles to the communal areas, otherwise they are coming
back to beat up the game scouts. This has been reported to the
Police.
A buffalo has been poached on Mukasi Ranch and this has been reported to
the Police.
MANICALAND
The owner of
Devonshire has had threats to burn his house. Police are attempting to defuse
the situation. Generally, there has been an increase in movement onto
farms.
MATABELELAND
Nothing to report
MIDLANDS
There has been
an intensification of move-ons in the area.
'Confrontation' as Mugabe dumps war
veterans
Harare - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe performed a remarkable about-turn
at the weekend, dumping the corrupt and inept ruling party old guard in his
government and appointing a cabinet dominated by younger, moderate technocrats.
He also indicated that he was abandoning the guerrilla war veterans he
allegedly used during the bloody run-up to last month's parliamentary election,
to intimidate much of rural Zimbabwe into voting for his Zanu-PF party.
Chenjerai "Hitler" Hunzvi, the war veterans' leader widely tipped for a
senior cabinet post, was excluded. Mugabe also failed to turn up at a meeting of
veterans in Harare on Saturday.
Joseph Msika, head of the government's
land acquisition programme, announced that the state was starting immediately to
redistribute land.
'We want to make it clear we are going to take and
distribute land now' |
He said veterans would have to move off most of the 1 000
white-owned farms they had occupied since February to another 200 properties he
said the government was in the process of acquiring.
He looked directly
at Hunzvi as he stated that "distribution (of white-owned farms) was being done
by government", and not by veterans.
Hunzvi went on to address about 1
000 supporters and headed straight for confrontation with Mugabe, who had
licensed the movement's murderous campaign of farm invasions. Hunzvi said he
would give the government two weeks to give them the farms they now occupy. "We
are not moving anywhere," he said. "We want to make it clear that we are going
to take and distribute land now."
If farmers resisted, he said, "some of
them will find themselves six feet underground".
Zimbabweans were
stunned on Saturday night to see Mugabe announce on state television a cabinet
that included Simba Makoni, a leading businessman regarded as the enlightened,
critical face of Zanu-PF, as finance minister, and Nkosana Moyo, an
international banker, as trade minister. - The Times, London
'Hitler' digs in as Zimbabwe rumbles
again
By Ryan Truscott
Harare - The controversial Zimbabwean war veterans
leader, Chenjerai 'Hitler' Hunzvi, told cheering crowds on Saturday that his
followers would not budge from occupied farms, as fighter jets roared overhead
and a spirit medium sang praises.
"We're going to get our land
distributed while we are there," he told his supporters, after Vice President
Joseph Msika, launching Zimbabwe's land reform programme, said war veterans
would be "shifted" from farms they were occupying that had not been designated
for seizure.
Speaking before an audience of more than 1 000 at the
Harare party headquarters of President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party,
Hunzvi pointed to one fighter plane.
"They know we are here today. The
commander is one of us. They're saluting us," he told the war veterans, who have
fronted the often violent occupations of about 1 600 white-owned farms since
February.
"Today is one of the biggest victories of our history," said
Hunzvi, who was elected to a parliamentary seat in last month's elections.
There has been local media speculation he could get a post in the
cabinet - which has yet to be announced.
He thanked the ancestral
spirits of his people for "giving the power to the people to get back the land".
A spirit medium dressed in black with a feathered headdress chanted a
praise song before the crowd.
Mugabe had been expected to address the
meeting, but was reported to be attending a funeral instead.
Journalists
got a hostile reception at the event - a general meeting of the country's
National Liberation War Veterans Association which Hunzvi chairs - but were
allowed, under escort, to cover the veteran leader's speech.
One
reporter from one of the country's independent newspapers - critical of Mugabe's
government - was forcibly removed.
"It is very important, they (the
media) must carry the message," Hunzvi said in a bid to placate the crowd.
Foreign reporters, however, had to leave after his speech.
Earlier, Msika officially kicked off Zimbabwe's controversial land
reform programme which will see landless blacks resettled on 200 white farms,
but said war veterans would be expected to behave with "discipline".
Veterans occupying non-designated farms - the government earmarked 804
farms for seizure last month - would not be sent home, Msika said, but would be
shifted to other farms.
Hunzvi claimed it would be a slight to move them
off the land.
"Some of our comrades have been injured by the
imperialists ... they must get their land now," he said.
Britain, the
former colonial power, has been blamed for land problems in Zimbabwe, where, 20
years after independence, about 4 000 white farmers own 70 percent of the
country's prime farmland.
Hunzvi shot down Britain's calls for the
removal of war veterans from farms before funds are released for land reform.
"Move to where? Why can't you (Britain) move your settlers out of
Zimbabwe?" he asked.
Hunzvi said the 200 farms the government announced
Saturday it was allocating - amounting to a total of one million hectares - were
not enough.
"We want as much land as possible," he said.
Hunzvi
also blamed the country's white-run Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) for what he
said were attempts to obstruct Zanu-PF's land reform programme. He said the CFU
had been trying to stall the reform process because they believed the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would win parliamentary
elections.
The MDC lost narrowly to Zanu-PF in the June 24-25 polls,
taking 57 seats to the ruling party's 62.
"There is no way we can
negotiate with the CFU. They (the farms) must just be taken," said Hunzvi. "Now
that we are the government ... that will simply be done."
He warned the
CFU against trying to swap farms on the list for others.
Any alternative
offers to the 804 listed for compulsory acquisition would be met with dire
consequences, he said.
"They will be offering themselves down six feet,"
threatened Hunzvi.
The land invasions have so far claimed the lives of
at least four white farmers. - Sapa-AFP
President - Bob
Vice Pres - Simon Muzenda and Joseph Msika
Defence - Moven
Mahachi
Home Affairs - John Nkomo
Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
- Patrick Chinamasa
Foreign Affairs - Stan Mudenge
Finance and Economic
Development - Simba Makoni
Industry and International Trade - Nkosana
Moyo
Mines and Energy - Sydney Sekeremai
Transport and Communications -
Swithun Mombeshora
Lands Agriculture and Resettlement - Joseph
Made
Environment and Tourism - Francis Nhema
Local Government, Public
Works and National Housing - Ignatius Chombo
Rural Resources and Water
Development - Joyce Mujuru
Health and Child Welfare - Timothy
Stamps
Higher Education and Technology - Herbert Murerwa
Education, Sports
and Culture - Samuel Mumbengegwi
Public Service Labour and Social Welfare -
July Moyo
Youth Development, Gender and Employment Creation - Border
Gezi
State Security - Nicholas Goche
State Information and Publicity -
Jonathan Moyo.
Mugabe's cabinet 'too little, too late' -
MDC
Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, on Sunday voiced
scepticism over the new cabinet announced by President Robert Mugabe in the wake
of last month's general elections, saying it was "too little, too late".
Mugabe summoned journalists to State House late on Saturday - the same
day he launched his controversial land reform programme - and read out a list of
17 full ministers and two heads of department, including 10 new ministers.
Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) who
nevertheless failed to win a seat in the elections, said: "This government is
like putting new oil into an old engine," adding:
"The real problem is
Mugabe."
'I do not see this cabinet delivering as long as Mugabe
is there, and these people will just be sacrificial
lambs' |
The MDC trailed only five seats behind Mugabe's Zimbabwe
African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), giving Zimbabwe its first
viable opposition in 20 years.
Tsvangirai said: "It doesn't matter what
kind of people he puts into his cabinet. Those people he puts into the cabinet
have no political base. It doesn't augur well for the country."
Tsvangirai had made it clear after the elections that the MDC would not
be part of the government.
In an interview with the iindependent
Standard published on Sunday, Tsvangirai said: "I do not see this cabinet
delivering as long as Mugabe is there, and these people will just be sacrificial
lambs."
For his part, fiery war veterans leader Chenjerai "Hitler"
Hunzvi appeared to widen his rift with the government on Sunday as ZBC radio
reported that he was disturbed that the new cabinet did not include a minister
for war veterans.
Hunzvi, whose followers spearheaded the invasions of
hundreds of white-owned farms since February, did not get a cabinet post despite
intense local speculation he would be awarded the war veterans portfolio.
While welcoming the new cabinet, Hunzvi said on ZBC that war veterans
"are not comfortable because they have no representation in the new cabinet".
In the previous cabinet, Witness Mangwende was the minister of state in
the president's office responsible for war veterans.
Hunzvi issued a
direct challenge to the government on Saturday by saying his war veterans would
not move off farms not designated for government acquisition in the land reform
programme.
Vice President Robert Msika had said earlier that war
veterans would be "shifted" off the land.
"Where we are on the farms
there is no one who is going to move us out of those farms," Hunzvi told war
veterans, who, farmers reported recently, are irritated that the government is
taking too long to resettle blacks.
Mugabe had, during the election
campaign, openly encouraged the war veterans' farm occupation campaign, refusing
to order the war veterans off the land.
The Standard crowed over
Hunzvi's "conspicuous absence" from the new cabinet.
The Standard was
also pleased that several former government heavyweights were "booted out",
saying: "Chen, Zvobgo, Kangai on the street," referring to information minister
Chen Chimutengwende, minister without portfolio Eddison Zvobgo and lands and
agriculture minister Kumbirai Kangai, currently facing fraud charges.
Zvobgo had been in the government since independence in 1980.
Also absent from the cabinet is Mugabe's right-hand man Emmerson
Mnangagwa, whom many had seen as a successor to the 76-year-old president.
The state-owned Sunday Mail called the line-up a "new-look cabinet",
stressing that Mugabe had brought in "respected personalities in the field of
finance and business who are expected to tackle the country's economic woes",
including former SADC secretary-general Simba Makoni, who is the new finance
minister.
Mugabe has presided over a steadily declining economy, now at
its lowest ebb since the start of his 20 years at the helm. - Sapa-AFP
No real changes to Mugabe cabinet -
analysts
By Cris Chinaka
Harare - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has
pumped fresh blood into his cabinet but power remains firmly with him and his
party politburo, analysts said on Sunday.
Mugabe said the new line-up
reflected "new thinking" on tackling grave political and economic problems which
many Zimbabweans blame squarely on his rule, but analysts said major policy
changes were unlikely.
They said Mugabe's line-up also lacked the ethnic
balance he tried to maintain in the past for the unity of his Zanu-PF party, and
could lead to serious divisions.
His failure to give a post to the war
veterans' leader, Chenjerai Hunzvi - who expected one - at a time when mobs of
Zanu-PF militants led by the veterans are occupying hundreds of white-owned
farms might also prove risky, they said.
Three weeks after his party
scraped through its toughest electoral challenge in 20 years of power, Mugabe on
Saturday appointed several young technocrats to his government and dropped over
a dozen of his old guard.
But analysts were unimpressed. "I just don't
see how the new thinking will reflect itself in policy or management terms when
those who effectively control the government, that is Mugabe and his politburo,
don't seem amenable to any new ideas," said Professor Masipula Sithole, a
leading political commentators.
"He has obviously taken in some very
respectable figures but I think they will have very little impact unless Mugabe
lets them run the show, which is not his style," he said.
Sithole, a
political science professor at the University of Zimbabwe, said Mugabe and the
25-member Zanu-PF politburo had already undercut the work of Simba Makon, the
new finance and economic development minister, by ruling out a currency
devaluation.
Makoni, a minister in the 1980s and for 10 years executive
secretary of the Southern African Development Community, is respected
internationally and in Zimbabwe's private sector.
"But he is a political
lightweight, he does not sit in the politburo and will not be there when the
real decisions are being made," Sithole said.
Political commentator
Emmanuel Magade, a lecturer in procedural law, said the technocrats would only
make an impact if Mugabe changed his outlook and dumped his associates.
"What we have here is an acceptable public relations face, a respectable
dress-up but the real test will be on what they are allowed to do," he said.
The previous finance ministers - Bernard Chidzero, Ariston Chambati and
Herbert Murerwa - although well espected, lacked the political clout to carry
out their programmes.
Western diplomats have said for months the
Zimbabwe dollar's valuation is key to a resumption of talks on suspended aid.
The politburo says the unit - pegged artificially at 38 to the US dollar
for over a year - will not be devalued soon as this would hurt ordinary people
and undermine growth.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World
Bank and other Western donors have withheld aid since 1999 over policy
differences, including Mugabe's drive to seize white-owned farms for blacks and
his costly intervention in the war in the Congo.
A senior foreign
diplomat said Mugabe's hiring of technocrats would not be enough to win an
automatic relaxation of conditions for aid.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the
leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said the
newcomers risked being made scapegoats if the government failed to turn the
economy around.
"There may be some people with good technical skills and
expertise, but the problem is political, not the lack of technical skills,"
Tsvangirai told the privately owned weekly Standard newspaper.
"I do not
see this cabinet delivering as long as Mugabe is there, and these people will
just be sacrificial lambs."
Analysts said Mugabe's failure to reward
Hunzvi, who helped his government's re-election strategy by sending veterans
into the countryside to invade farms and attack the opposition, could leave some
of Hunzvi's men restless.
Hunzvi was unavailable for comment on Sunday,
but one analyst said: "Hunzvi and his people expected him to be in government
and they may become more difficult to control if they feel used and discarded."
Before the cabinet was announced on Saturday, Hunzvi told a war
veterans' rally they would take over all of 804 white farms earmarked for black
resettlement unless the government did so.
Zanu-PF won 62 of 120
parliamentary seats contested in the June 24-25 elections while the MDC took 57,
the one other going to a smaller opposition party. But the ruling party has
boosted its majority with 30 seats allocated to presidential appointees,
traditional chiefs and provincial governors. - Reuters
Mugabe drops key men from new cabinet
Harare - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe announced a new cabinet on
Saturday, naming a former minister to head the key finance ministry and dropping
some of his key lieutenants.
Three weeks ago, after his ruling Zanu-PF
party narrowly survived its greatest electoral challenge in 20 years of power,
Mugabe said he had assembled a cabinet which he believed could tackle the
country's serious political and economic problems.
He appointed former
cabinet minister and executive director of the regional Southern African
Development Community, Simba Makoni, as finance minister.
Head of the
state Agricultural Rural Development Authority, Joseph Made, will lead the
ministry of agriculture and will be responsible for managing Mugabe's
controversial land seizure programme.
Businessman Nkosana Moyo was named
to the ministry of industry and international trade.
Mugabe dropped
several long-serving members of his government including former justice minister
Emmerson Mnangangwa and minister without portfolio Eddison Zvobgo. - Reuters
Zim crisis 'robbed SA of interest rate
cut'
By Quentin Wray
The Zimbabwean crisis significantly worsened South
Africa's country risk ratings and could have robbed South Africans of a 100
basis point decline in prime overdraft rates, according to research done by
South Africa's Standard Bank.
This, they argue, effectively reverses the
benefits that should have accrued from the February 25 credit rating upgrade
from international ratings agency Standard and Poor's.
Standard Equities
economist Phillip Clayton said the S&P upgrade should have pushed South
Africa's country risk premium down, and this should have led to a decline in
short and long-term interest rates.
Clayton said the research had shown
that the although country risk had increased sharply in April, coinciding with
the stepping up of violence in Zimbabwe, it had started coming down again in May
and June, showing that the impact of the crisis was weakening over time.
However, as long as other risks - such as the negative focus on South
Africa's perceived Aids stance - did not "spoil the party", South Africa's
country risk should decline further in months to come.
Because the
impact of Zimbabwe was weakening and the economy was not growing as fast as had
been hoped, the fact that inflation was peaking and the currency seemed to have
stabilised meant, Clayton said, that South Africa could see a cut in prime by
year end.
Other economists, however, are not as sanguine about a rate
cut as Clayton.
While they agree that inflation either has - or is about
to - peak, some private sector economists feel that demand is picking up and
growth is not as slow as is supposed.
This will, once excess capacity in
the economy is utilised, put upward pressure on inflation and therefore on
interest rates in the short to medium term.
When S&P gave South
Africa a full investment grade rating, economists - many of whom had been
skeptical about the country's chances of getting it - were ecstatic, saying that
it confirmed the government's sound macro-economic policies, and that it would
provide a real boost for South Africa's economic prospects and the financial
markets.
The upgrade was expected to help South Africa structurally
improve the chances of attracting foreign capital at a lower cost and thereby
reduce the risk of a balance of payments crisis.
At the time, S&P
emphasized that low growth and high unemployment were the major reasons it had
not been given in the past.
Sound fiscal and monetary policies,
including a good budget and the introduction of inflation targeting, however,
outweighed these negatives. - Sapa-INet-Bridge