Yahoo News
by Susan Njanji Wed Jul
23, 12:33 PM ET
HARARE (AFP) - The start of full-scale talks to resolve
Zimbabwe's political
crisis were delayed for a second day on Wednesday as
the main parties' top
negotiators had yet to arrive in South Africa, sources
said.
The negotiations, initially due to start on Tuesday and already
facing a
race against time given a two-week deadline, were not now due to
begin in
earnest until Thursday when all sides are in place in the capital
Pretoria.
The delays mean South African President Thabo Mbeki, the chief
mediator
between Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF and opposition Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC), may not be around for the start of the talks as he
due to fly
out Thursday to attend a European Union summit in southwest
France.
Although a spokesman for Mbeki said the talks process had
started, sources
within the MDC and ZANU-PF both confirmed that senior
members of their
delegations had yet to fly out of Harare.
"Tendai
Biti (the MDC's secretary-general) left this morning, but chairman
Lovemore
Moyo is still in Bulawayo. He can either leave today or Thursday,
his flight
booking has been done already," an MDC source told AFP.
"The talks are
only starting on Thursday so he can leave anytime."
A Zimbabwean
government source also confirmed that ZANU-PF's chief
negotiator Patrick
Chinamasa was still in the country.
"Minister Chinamasa is still around.
He can either leave tonight or first
thing in the
morning."
Chinamasa, who is also justice minister in President Robert
Mugabe's
cabinet, told the Herald newspaper it had been agreed with the
opposition to
begin the talks only when all the delegates were in
place.
"All parties to the dialogue agreed that talks should begin on
Thursday,"
Chinamasa told the state-run daily.
Mbeki's spokesman
Mukoni Ratshitanga told AFP that the talks process had
begun on Tuesday
night but declined to comment on Chinamasa's comments.
"We have never
been obliged to say who is at the meeting," he said.
Mugabe, main MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, head of a
breakaway
opposition faction, penned a memorandum of understanding on Monday
to pave
the way for fully-fledged talks.
Both sides agreed in their memorandum of
understanding inked in Harare to
observe a media blackout during the course
of negotiations that are expected
to conclude within a
fortnight.
Although the venue of the talks has been kept under wraps, the
negotiations
are expected to take place in the capital
Pretoria.
Already going through an economic turmoil, Zimbabwe's crisis
deepened when
Mugabe was re-elected in a one-man run-off last month after
Tsvangirai
pulled out, citing a campaign of intimidation and violence
against his
supporters that had killed dozens and injured
thousands.
The vote was widely condemned in the West as a sham, with the
European Union
warning that it would not deal with a government unless
headed by
Tsvangirai.
Mail and Guardian
HARARE, ZIMBABWE Jul 23 2008 18:29
Captains of
industry are pinning their hopes on talks between Zimbabwe's
political
rivals as a chance to stop the rot after a survey on Wednesday
showed
investor confidence at a new low of 2%.
"Industry will give full support
to the agreement signed on Monday," Calisto
Jokonya, president of the
Confederation of Zimbabwean Industries (CZI), said
at the launch of the
body's annual report on the state of the nation's
industry.
"This
will give us a new direction we need as business ... we do not want to
go
back to what we have been doing" in the last 12 months.
An index of
business confidence in the new CZI survey showed a drop from 5%
to just 2%
in the course of the last year.
This year's report was released in Harare
against a backdrop of an annual
inflation rate that officially stands at
2,2-million percent, although
economists say the real figure is in fact even
higher.
The country's economic meltdown is seen as one of the major
factors in
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's agreement on Monday to open
talks with
the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change, despite his
re-election
last month in a one-man ballot that was widely denounced as a
sham.
"The business confidence level is still low, with 70% of the
respondents
being pessimistic and those that are optimistic dropping to 2%,"
said the
survey.
The country has been experiencing shortages of basic
foods for some time and
the report said the skyrocketing inflation rate --
the highest in the
world -- would only make matters worse and dissuade the
few people who still
have jobs from shelling out on bus fares to
work.
"Food shortages and food inflation are becoming worse, such that
more people
are absconding from work because of the high cost of living," it
said.
In a foreword to the survey, Hama Saburi, editor-in-chief of the
Financial
Gazette, said it was important that political players find a
common ground
that would form the basis of some cooperation in order to
revive the
economy.
"Zanu-PF will find it difficult to go it alone
without the Movement for
Democratic Change [MDC]," Saburi wrote.
"And
the MDC should not fool itself to think it can go it alone either.
Whatever
government shall emerge out of the discussions between the main
political
parties should make an effort to reach out to business and labour
...
Zimbabwe cannot afford failure in this regard."
Kenias Mafukidze, an
economist with independent think tank KM Financial
Solutions said Zimbabwe
needed a clear economic policy that respects market
forces backed by robust
industrial policy.
"The survey sends a clear signal that current policies
are slowly but surely
destroying what was once Africa's most robust and
diversified manufacturing
sector, replacing it with a nation of traders who
do not add value,"
Mafukidze said to AFP.
The CZI said that 80% of
the country's infrastructure was currently idle due
to shortages of skilled
workers, power cuts and a lack of foreign currency.
Once one of Africa's
best-performing economies, Zimbabwe has been in
meltdown since the turn of
the decade, when Mugabe embarked on a
controversial land-reform programme
that saw thousands of white-owned farms
seized by the
state.
Delay
Meanwhile, the start of full-scale talks to resolve
Zimbabwe's political
crisis were delayed for a second day on Wednesday as
the main parties' top
negotiators had yet to arrive in South Africa, sources
said.
The negotiations, initially due to start on Tuesday and already
facing a
race against time given a two-week deadline, are not now due to
begin in
earnest until Thursday when all sides are in place in
Pretoria.
The delays mean Mbeki, the chief mediator between Zimbabwe's
ruling Zanu-PF
and the MDC, may not be around for the start of the talks as
he due to fly
out Thursday to attend a European Union summit in south-west
France.
Although a spokesperson for Mbeki said the talks process had
started,
sources within the MDC and Zanu-PF both confirmed that senior
members of
their delegations had yet to fly out of Harare.
"Tendai
Biti [MDC secretary general] left this morning [Wednesday], but
chairperson
Lovemore Moyo is still in Bulawayo. He can either leave today or
Thursday,
his flight booking has been done already," an MDC source said.
"The talks
are only starting on Thursday so he can leave anytime."
A Zimbabwean
government source also confirmed that Zanu-PF's chief
negotiator, Patrick
Chinamasa, was still in the country.
"Minister Chinamasa is still around.
He can either leave tonight or first
thing in the morning." -- AFP
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com
July 23, 2008
BRUSSELS
(TimesOnline/Own Correspondent) - The European Union stepped up
sanctions
against Zimbabwe yesterday, in an effort to increase pressure on
Robert
Mugabe a day after he signed a pact to enter power-sharing talks with
the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change.The list now includes two
journalists from the State-owned media - Munyaradzi Huni of the Sunday Mail,
as well as Caesar Zvayi, who used to write for the Herald, but has
reportedly since taken up a teaching post in Botswana.
The list also
includes a senior sports administrator, Peter Chingoka, and an
official of
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Joyce Kazembe.
Chingoka has found
himself in the firing line for his alleged links to
Zanu-PF, which critics
blame for his continued stay at the helm of the ZC,
despite numerous cases
of maladministration and financial misappropriation,
hanging over
him.
The new embargo identified a further 37 supporters of the regime
whose
assets will be frozen and who will be subject to a visa ban,
preventing them
from entering EU territory. For the first time the sanctions
will also
affect four Zimbabwean companies and aim to close loopholes that
have
enabled Mugabe to come to Europe almost at will despite being the first
name
on the travel ban.
Announcing the measures, in protest against
June's widely condemned
presidential election run-off, Bernard Kouchner, the
French Foreign
Minister, said: "It is impossible to accept the result of the
second
elections when basic democratic rules are being violated. Sanctions
have an
effect. They are not just for fun."
The decision to add new
names to the 130 already on the sanctions list was
taken despite the signing
on Monday of a deal between Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, on
a framework for talks. The discussions, which
were due to begin in South
Africa yesterday, got off to a far from
auspicious start after the chief
representatives for both parties failed to
leave Harare. The talks are now
unlikely to begin before Thursday.
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary,
said: "The sanctions that we and
others are proposing are designed to
reinforce the drive for the
transitional government to reflect the
democratic will of the Zimbabwean
people."
The EU's decision, which
was implemented immediately, has extended the
sanctions to four Harare-based
companies. They include ZIDCO Holdings and
Jongwe Printing and Publishing
Company (PVT) Ltd, which carries out printing
and publishing for the ruling
Zanu (PF). Also on the list is Cold Comfort
Farm Trust Co-operative, which
is considered a front for investments outside
Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe Defence
Industries.
The individuals added to the visa ban hail largely from the
business sector
and the military. They include Gideon Gono, governor of the
central bank,
Joyce Kazembe, the vice-president of the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission, and
Peter Chingoka, the head of the country's cricket
federation, who is accused
of supporting the terror campaign during the
elections.
For the first time, two journalists have also been
included.
Foreign ministers made clear last night that the sanctions
could be extended
to other individuals and organisations. In the coming
weeks the EU will
"examine the measures which might be taken against others
responsible for
violence, and other bodies linked to them", it
said.
In future it will be possible to prevent the visit to Europe by
anyone on
the banned list unless "on humanitarian grounds". The EU cannot
stop
individuals attending UN meetings on its soil but now it will give
visas
only to the persons directly concerned. Mr Mugabe will be able to
attend
meetings but his wife will be refused a visa.
The following is
the full new sanctions list:
1 Gono, Gideon - RBZ Governor
2 Kazembe,
Joyce - Deputy head of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
3. Patel Bharat P -
Businessman
4. Chiwenga Jocelyn - Businesswoman and ZDF chief Constantine
Chiwenga's
wife
5 Dube Tshingo - Zimbabwe Defence Industries Chief
6
Huni Munyaradzi - Sunday Mail Journalist
7 Kereke Munyaradzi - Diplomat
8
Chiremba Mirirai - Finance Ministry Official
9. Zvayi Caesar - Former Herald
Journalist
10 Chingoka Peter - Zimbabwe Cricket boss
11 General Karakadzai
- ZNA
12 Colonel C. Sibanda - ZNA
13. Brigadier Tarumbwa - ZNA
14. Col.
M. Mzilikazi (MID) - ZNA
15 Col. Mutsvunguma - ZNA
16 Brigadier General
Shungu - ZNA
17 Col. Chipwere - ZNA
18 Col. F. Mhonda - ZNA
19. Air
Vice Marshall Henry Muchena - AFZ
20 Air Vice Marshall Abu Basutu -
AFZ
21. Brigadier General Khumalo - ZNA
22. E. A. Rugeje - State
security
23 Col G. Mashava - ZNA
24 Lt. Col. Muchono - ZNA
25. Lt. Col.
Mpabanga ZNA
26 Commandant R. Kwenda -ZNA
27. Brigadier General Sigauke -
ZNA
28. Col Gwekwerere -ZNA
29 Col. C. T. Gurira -ZNA
30. Brigadier
General D. Nyikayaramba - ZNA
31 Brigadier General Rungani -ZNA
32
Chinotimba Joseph - War Veterans leader
33. Moyo, Gilbert - War
Veteran
34. Rangwani, Dani - Police
35. Jangara, Thomsen - Police
36.
Tonderai Matibiri, Innocent - Police Chief
37. Zidco Holdings - Zanu PF
company
38. Jongwe Printing and Publishing - Zanu PF company
39. Cold
Comfort Farm Trust Co-operative
40. Zimbabwe Defence Industries
The Zimbabwean government was today struggling to find enough cash to pay its
workers, and more importantly the military, after it was forced to severely cut
back on printing money because sanctions severed its supply of banknote paper
from Europe. Officials involved in the printing of money said the regime was fearful that
the presses could be shut down altogether if further political pressure causes
the withdrawal of software licences used to design and print the notes. Paper money was already in desperately short supply because the state-run
Fidelity Printers & Refiners in Harare was unable to keep up with the demand
created by hyperinflation and rapid devaluation that had caused notes to lose
almost their entire value within weeks of being issued. But the problems became acute after the Bavarian firm that supplied the
watermarked banknote paper - Giesecke & Devrient, which printed worthless
cash for the Weimar Republic in the 1920s and supplied Rhodesia's white minority
regime with currency - cut off deliveries last month, under pressure from the
German government. Zimbabwe was looking to Malaysia as an alternative source of paper but the
government feared that the licence for the specialist software supplied by
another European firm would be withdrawn as part of the boycott of Robert
Mugabe's regime. The software is supplied by Jura JSP, a Hungarian-Austrian company that
specialises in security printing. A knowledgeable source inside Fidelity
Printers said the software issue had created an air of panic. "It's a major problem. They are very concerned that the licence will be
withdrawn or not renewed. They are trying to find ways around it, looking at the
software, but it's very technical. They are in a panic because without the
software they can't print anything," he said. On Monday, the central bank issued a $100bn note, the highest denomination to
date but worth only about 7p, printed on what remains of stocks of the
German-supplied paper. The source said the firm had been told that new supplies of currency paper
were coming from Malaysia but it was unable to meet the current demand for cash
created by hyperinflation that economists estimated was running at about
40m%. Fidelity's presses, which had been running 24 hours a day for many months,
were rarely started up. The firm also had problems maintaining the presses
because it was unable to obtain spare parts. The cash shortage was contributing to the rapidly deepening economic crisis
and further threatening the stability of Mugabe's regime. The government needs a
fresh injection of cash in the coming days to pay its workers, from teachers and
nurses, to the police. But most importantly, it needs to ensure that money
reaches the army. Zimbabweans were limited to withdrawing just $100bn a day from their bank
accounts, enough to buy less than half a loaf of bread, although the government
had just increased the allowance to $1.5tn a day for members of the military.
The cash was delivered to the barracks by the banks to save soldiers standing in
line for hours like everyone else. Today, Zimbabwe's trades union confederation wrote to the central bank
governor, Gideon Gono, asking him to remove the daily limit on cash withdrawals,
describing it as a "joke". "As you may be aware, transport alone, costs around Z$150bn, on average. How
then do the monetary authorities expect an ordinary employee to report for duty
and go back home when he/she is allowed to only withdraw a maximum amount of
Z$100bn?" the unions said. "This employee is also expected to make available to his family, bus fare for
his/her school going children, funds for daily expenditure. It has also come to
our attention that most employees are now spending their productive time queuing
for cash at the banks." The demand for new higher denomination notes, as the value of existing ones
plummeted, was reflected in the rapid increase in the numbers of noughts on
money printed over the past two years. In August 2006, the central bank issued a $5 note. A $500,000 note followed a
year later. The speed of the devaluation can also been seen in the watermarks. Hold a
$750,000 note up to the light and the watermark shows the paper was intended to
be used for a $1,000 bill. The $25bn note has a $500 watermark. A spokeswoman for Jura, Renate Kroboth, said the company officials
responsible for dealing with the software contract were on holiday and not
immediately available for comment.
On 2 May 2008, a $500m banknote hit the streets but was swiftly
near worthless, and $5bn, $25bn and $50bn notes followed just a fortnight
later.
VOA
By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
23 July
2008
Although Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party has agreed to
talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
on a possible power
sharing arrangement, the country's political violence
and intimidation
continue. Peta Thornycroft reports ZANU-PF militia are
still patrolling vast
parts of the country.
Several legislators, who
have returned to Harare from hiding places in
Zimbabwe and in neighboring
countries, say the mood in the country is tense.
They say they dare not
go to their homes for fear of being arrested. About
20 winning MDC
legislators have been arrested since the elections in March.
One
legislator from the eastern Manicaland Province, who spent three weeks
in
detention recently and asked not to be identified, said members of the
ZANU-PF militia are asking for money from people who fled during
post-election violence and now want to return home. He said those who have
returned have found their assets, such as food and livestock, were taken
after the elections.
A parliament member from the Mashonaland East
Province, a ZANU-PF stronghold
where many voted for the first time for the
MDC - said militias still
control people's movements in and out of
villages.
An MDC legislator in Mutare, Pishai Muchauraya, said his
officials are
searching for many people listed as missing.
MDC branch
chairman Reuben Mutewe, 38, from Manicaland Province, who was
abducted from
his home June 30, was found in the mortuary at the Mutare
General Hospital
last Friday.
Muchauraya says they have still not found the body of
activist Emmanuel
Nyapfungwe, who he says was allegedly murdered June 20 in
Manicaland
Province.
Meanwhile, farm invasions continue, particularly
in the Manicaland province
where six white families and their workers were
forced to abandon their
homes last week.
The agreement signed by
ZANU-PF and MDC says the violence is to be discussed
during their talks in
South Africa.
Another point for negotiations is the resumption of
humanitarian aid, banned
June 4 by one of ZANU-PF's two negotiators, Welfare
Minister Nicholas Goche.
The government has started to sell food aid to
those in need at bargain
prices. But the Combined Harare Residents'
Association said only ZANU-PF
members are being given access. The
association said many Harare residents
are at the point of starvation.
http://zimbabwemetro.com
By Staff ⋅ © zimbabwemetro.com ⋅ July 23, 2008
The
body of Emmanuel Nyapfungwe(36) from Ward 20,Nhamo Village ,Chief
nyashanu
in Buhera who was murdered on 20 June by ZANU PF militia led by
Headman Amos
Betera was confisticated and hidden or possibly secretly buried
by suspected
CIO agents.
Nyapfungwe was the MDC branch secretary for Guhudza and MDC
activist since
its formation in 1999. He was killed alongside Chris
Makanyisa,Albert
masuka,Trymore Sabira, Pepukai Maangira and Phineas
Chirozva.
Nyapfungwe’s mother-Rudia Machemedze is currently seeking help
at the Mutare
MDC offices concerning her son’s body whereabouts, she said
his son was axed
in both hands and legs before the murderers took him took
him to Save River
where they further tortured him until he
died.
Rudia further stated that after she visited Headman Betera on 23
June to ask
him about the whereabouts of his son he tried to give her
Nyapfungwe’s
clothes that he was wearing when she last saw him of which she
refused.”I
told him I needed my son not his clothes,” she said.She reported
the matter
to Murambinda Police Station but the police were not cooperative
and told
her to leave the Police camp.
MDC staff have searched for
Nyapfunwe’s body in Birchnough Bridge,Mutare
general Hospital, Murambinda
and Rusape Hospital morturies and the only
place they have not searched and
assume there are more bodies there is the
crocodile infested Ruti dam and
Gotora dam in Buhera.Nyapfungwe is survived
by a wife and three
children.
BBC
Wednesday, 23 July 2008 17:46 UK
Zimbabwean opposition activists returning from
South Africa have
driven supporters of President Robert Mugabe from their
homes.
The incidents, close to Zimbabwe's border with South Africa,
followed
accusations of torture and arson attacks by war
veterans.
Youths loyal to the opposition have now have now launched
retaliatory
attacks against the veterans.
Police were allegedly
informed of the beatings but took no action.
The war veterans have
been the most loyal supporters of President
Robert Mugabe and played a key
part in his victory in the final round of the
presidential
elections.
Three weeks ago, the Zimbabweans in South Africa - known
as Injiva in
the local Ndebele language - issued warnings to war veterans
and the ruling
Zanu-PF to stop harassing and killing their relatives in
rural areas.
A BBC contributor says that in Matabeleland province
more than 60% of
young people work in South Africa and whenever they come
home, there is
chaos in the villages as the crime rate
increases.
This time, he says, their targets were the war
veterans.
Last week the Injiva returned from South Africa and were
told of the
destruction caused by the war veterans and the youth militia,
our
contributor adds.
Some of the Injiva were armed with
pistols which were brought into the
country illegally.
According to villagers in Plumtree, about 100km south of Bulawayo,
dozens of
war veterans were injured during the raids on their bases by
Injiva.
The starving residents of
As CHRA we maintain that it is evil to
politicize food aid and lie that the residents of
Most residents can no longer afford such
basic commodities like mealie-meal and cooking oil because prices for such goods
are rising on a daily basis, thereby putting such goods firmly beyond the reach
of the majority. According to a survey recently carried out by CHRA, 4 out of 5
families interviewed are living on one meal of very little sadza and boiled
vegetables. Basic goods procured by the state under the Basic Commodities Supply
Support Intervention (BACOSSI) program, which are only accessible to people or
business persons with connection to ZANU PF, are never found in the shops. Most
of these goods are finding their way to the parallel market where they are sold
at exorbitant prices; which the majority cannot afford.
Simbarashe Moyo
Chairperson
Combined
Exploration House, Third Floor
Landline: 00263- 4-
705114
Contacts:
http://www.zimbabwetoday.co.uk
How one young nurse keeps body and soul
together
Westerners and Europeans all pose the same question: how is it
humanly
possible to survive in Zimbabwe in 2008, when there is nothing in
the shops,
inflation is rocketing beyond belief, and wages are pitifully
low? Here is
one personal story that might provide some, but not all, of the
answer.
Docus Chririnda has been a nurse for 16 years. Her salary is
Z$140 billion a
month. Her bus fare to work is Z$100 billion a day. So she
walks. But why
bother to go to work at all, you may ask, when the new
Zimbabwe $100 billion
note, just issued, this week buys little more than two
loaves of bread?
The answer is, Docus is a dealer. Her real income comes
from poultry. She
breeds chicken, and sells them, and eggs, to her hospital
colleagues.
She told me: "Yes, I'm a poultry dealer. If you are not a
dealer you will
never surive in Zimbabwe. There is not a single person in
this country
existing on their salary alone. We use our workplaces, and our
colleagues,
to conduct our deals. And we hold on to our jobs, in the belief
that one day
things will improve, and we will regain our
dignity."
But Docus has another string to her bow. As a senior nurse, and
with her
superiors turning a blind eye, she can take up to three months of
unofficial
leave. This means she can slip across the border, quite legally,
to take
temporary nursing work in South Africa.
This work will often
be demeaning, with Docus being given the more
unpleasant jobs. But it is
well paid. And when the time is up, she will
return to Zimbabwe with a big
parcel of cheap South African groceries and
other necessities of life. Some
she will sell, using the money to pay her
rent and other bills. The rest she
will use herself, to survive.
Nearly everyone in Zimbabwe, especially
those who have no food sent in from
relatives abroad, has some scheme or
fiddle going. For example, civil
servants regularly charge individuals for
items, such as birth certificates
and identity papers, which should be
issued free.
Even our policemen earn less than necessary to live. They
have now taken to
stopping individuals in public places, searching them,
stripping them of any
edible goods they carry on a charge of illegal
trading, and confiscating any
foreign currency they may have for the same
reason. The currency goes
straight into their own pockets, the goods
straight into their own stomachs.
These are a few of the ways the
Zimbabwe people manage to live. And those of
you in the West should know
that as Africans we have coped with extreme
poverty in the past, and we will
do the same today. We can live on almost
nothing, if we must. We can find a
way to survive.
You couldn't. But Docus can. And we can.
Posted on
Wednesday, 23 July 2008 at 19:13
Women of
Zimbabwe Arise (Bulawayo)
PRESS RELEASE
23 July 2008
Posted to the
web 23 July 2008
Jenni Williams
This view represents a
consulted way forward recommended by Women and Men of
Zimbabwe Arise
(WOZA/MOZA). We are an organisation owned by its 60,000
members who hold
qualifications in daily survival and degrees in nonviolence
despite the
deeply polarised political environment in Zimbabwe since 2000.
WOZA was born
in the community and seeks to draw the attention of
preoccupied politicians
to people's needs, namely bread and butter issues;
or as WOZA likes to put
it, bread and roses issues - bread representing food
and roses representing
the need for lasting dignity.
At the moment, the highway that is Zimbabwe
has two 'vehicles' going in
opposite directions, Zanu PF, the so-called
'liberation war' party and the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). These
parties speed along preoccupied
with their own importance, hardly ever
taking the off-ramp to consult with
the suffering masses.
What do
we want policy makers to focus on?
The reality on the ground for
Zimbabweans right now is tantamount to
torture. For representatives of
political parties to sit at the negotiating
table cutting an elite
power-sharing deal whilst ignoring the crashing
economy and the undeclared
civil war by Mugabe against ordinary people is a
crime against our humanity.
We suspect that they do not understand the
day-to-day struggle of ordinary
Zimbabweans. As a result WOZA is determined
to hold our placards up high to
get their attention and demand that they
address our needs.
Our
placards will be drawing attention to the following points:
1. Daily life
is form of torture
· We cannot get food without being forced to take
sides with the ruling Zanu
PF who currently controls access to all food in
the country. As we have seen
before during election periods, they have also
banned distribution of food
by international NGOs so that they can further
control our fundamental need
to eat. Many of our members try to get
humanitarian assistance but because
they speak out, are punished by Zanu PF
and denied food or blackmailed into
support in exchange for food. Hunger is
the price for their courage.
· As Zimbabweans go about their daily
activities, youth militia, police,
army and war veterans subject them to
harassment and intimidation. Even a
neighbour can no longer be trusted, as
with the widespread hunger, one can
be sold out in exchange for food. Lists
of names of all those that oppose
the regime exist at ward, district,
province and national level. This highly
sophisticated 'reign of terror' was
re-established between March 29 and June
27. It is an open secret that Zanu
PF did not campaign in their normal
violent manner in the run up to March 29
and therefore lost the presidential
race. They reverted to type and put in
place their structures of evil after
March 29, resulting in the farcical
run-off and Mugabe inaugurating himself.
2. Undeclared civil war during
Thabo Mbeki's watch
It was during the SADC mediation process, led by
Thabo Mbeki, that Mugabe
has continued and intensified his campaign of
murder, mutilation, abduction
and rape. As a result our placards will also
state that we no longer have
confidence in Thabo Mbeki. During his watch,
babies have been mutilated for
their parents' democratic beliefs - their
blood is on his hands. The South
African mediation team stressed that the
aim of the mediation was to have
'an election whose result cannot be
contested'. Yet two elections have been
held and the results of both are
contested. A second SADC team was mandated
to deal with the economic chaos
but they seem to have disappeared or have
become too baffled by too many
zeros to do anything.
We therefore demand that:
· The Africa Union
and SADC have provided a reference group to the mediation
team and it is our
view that the political parties also need an
on-the-ground reference group
made up of civic society representatives who
can provide input and receive
feedback.
· The status of the second SADC team dealing with the economy
is clarified
and their recommendations be made public so Zimbabweans can
know what is to
be done about the crashing economy.
· The United
Nations is allowed to come in to assess humanitarian needs and
set up
structures to address these urgently.
3. Zimbabweans have lost faith in
politicians' ability to return life to the
living. We do not think power
sharing or a government of national unity
(GNU) can work in Zimbabwe. We
need an independent and impartial
transitional authority under African
leadership.
African leaders should not dictate that a GNU be the only
solution to our
crisis. Zimbabwe is not Kenya and their solutions cannot be
imposed on us,
especially with our historical experiences of 1987. We need a
solution to
address the specific of the Zimbabwe crisis. In Zimbabwe, the
military elite
runs the show not only on military might but also on
political partisanship.
For the ordinary soldier, police officer or prison
officer to keep their job
they have to follow political orders. This is the
situation at any police
station in the country. A transitional authority
would be better placed to
address this problem. A neutral person from Africa
must be found who,
supported by Zimbabwean technocrats, can form an interim
authority that will
neutralise the pillars of state, including the police.
The violence can only
be stopped when the victims can once again report
abuses to an impartial
body and trust that the perpetrators will be arrested
and put on trial no
matter who they are. For this to happen, magistrates and
judges will also
need to know that they will also be watched to ensure that
there is justice
through the courts for all equally.
We would want an
engendered transitional authority to have the following
mandate during their
eighteen-month term of office:
a. Stop the political violence.
Depoliticise the police, army and other
defence forces. Any political
violence must be reported, investigated and
prosecuted through the courts
without any form of favour or political
influence.
b. Dialogue with
the business and professional community to develop policy
designed to bring
about economic recovery.
c. Supervise the addressing of the humanitarian
crisis together with the
United Nations.
d. Even constitution making
has become the sole preserve of politicians. It
was the constitutional
referendum in 2000 that intensified political
violence with catastrophic
results and therefore we need an independent
person to oversee the
consultative process. A transitional authority must
neutralise this position
and return constitution making back to the people
of Zimbabwe.
e.
Depoliticise the issue of land reform, conduct a land audit and consult
on a
fair and equitable land reform programme. If the economy is to be
stabilised, we need our land to be made productive fast.
f. Form a
body to consult and develop a transitional justice plan of action
designed
to bring healing and reconciliation and then deal with justice and
restitution for victims in the new Zimbabwe.
g. Bring about a truly
independent electoral commission to oversee first a
referendum on the new
constitution and then a truly free and fair election
process and a peaceful
transition to the winner.
Thousands of WOZA members have been arrested
for exercising their freedoms
of expression and assembly. Some were even
denied bail and imprisoned for
marching to the Zambian Embassy to deliver a
petition to the SADC chair,
Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa. They remain
undaunted by this repression
and fully intend to continue to peacefully
march for bread and roses,
placards held high until their messages are taken
seriously at the
negotiation table and in the corridors of power. Of course
if they had civic
representatives at the table, their voice would be better
heard than from
the streets.
Woza Moya!
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
July 23, 2008
A regional court in Namibia has ruled that
the Zimbabwean government
violated an interim order issued last December,
which stipulated that they
would not evict any commercial farmers involved
in the ongoing case, or
interfere with their operations, until the case is
decided. Government
sponsored thugs have since evicted some of the farmers
and tortured 3 others
who are key players in the case.
The ruling by
the Tribunal was released on Tuesday as the 3 rival political
parties in
Zimbabwe prepared for talks that are supposed to lead to a
resolution of the
broader crisis. The judges said the finding will be
reported to the SADC
summit due in South Africa in August, so that
appropriate action can be
taken. A lawyer for the farmers told Newsreel last
week that SADC has the
options of imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe, expulsion
or some other action.
Whatever the SADC leaders decide, it will be a test of
their commitment to
the SADC principles, which are laid out in the SADC
Charter that Zimbabwe is
signatory to.
The court said there was abundant evidence that the
Zimbabwe government had
breached the order. Mike Campbell, the farmer who
brought the original case
challenging Zimbabwe's land reform policies, was
recently abducted along
with his wife Angela and son-in-law Ben Freeth, and
severely assaulted by
known government thugs. At least 6 farmers out of the
77 who were part of
the case have been evicted. Others are being
harassed.
Lawyers representing the government walked out of a hearing
earlier this
month when the farmers handed in the application for contempt.
The main case
challenges the government's land policies, for being racially
discriminatory. The farmers are also challenging the Constitutional
Amendment # 17, which took away their right to challenge evictions in
court.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Business Day
23 July 2008
THE
memorandum of understanding signed by the protagonists in the
Shakespearean
tragedy that is today's Zimbabwe is clearly a significant
advance. For the
first time in years of violent politically motivated
conflict, there is
cause for hope that meaningful negotiations can at last
take place, and that
democracy could ultimately triumph.
However, only those with short
memories will be celebrating the end of
Robert Mugabe's tyrannical rule and
Zanu (PF)'s prolonged grip on power just
yet. What has been happening in
Harare over the past few days has laid the
groundwork for substantive talks
between parties that have a long history of
distrust and confrontation. To
use the parlance of SA's negotiated
settlement almost two decades ago, these
were "talks about talks". Agreeing
on the basic rules to be followed when
the real talks take place is
unquestionably an important step in the right
direction, but should not be
elevated to something they are not.
As
SA's own painful transition demonstrated, there's many a slip twixt cup
and
lip and relationships of trust are not built overnight, especially when
there is a history of false starts, leadership failure, bad faith, betrayal
and outright duplicity emanating from both sides in the conflict. Overcoming
these obstacles will demand a degree of goodwill and statesmanship that has
not been evident, from Zanu (PF) in particular, for a long time.
It
would be naive to believe that Mugabe has somehow mellowed overnight,
that
the hawks that dominate Zanu (PF) have been converted to doves, or that
the
two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) do
not
harbour at least some bitter souls who will be unable to resist the urge
to
either take revenge or take advantage. Although optimistically set down
for
two weeks starting in SA this week, the negotiation period will
inevitably
be difficult. Setbacks should be expected: you do not make peace
with your
friends, and some of the compromises that will be required to make
the
hoped-for settlement a lasting one are likely to prove a step too far
for
some.
The past decade of gross misgovernance in Zimbabwe has allowed
corruption to
become a way of life, and there are individuals in influential
positions who
will not easily give up their privileges and ill-gotten gains.
Let there be
no doubt that Mugabe was a reluctant signatory to the
memorandum, and that
he did so only because he was under immense pressure.
Notwithstanding his
"victory" in the farcical presidential runoff poll, what
little credibility
he may have retained as a national leader evaporated,
especially in Africa,
due to the blatant manner in which Zanu (PF) mobilised
every remaining state
resource to rig the process.
With the country's
economy and infrastructure in an advanced state of
collapse, the threat of
intensified international sanctions hanging over his
head, African leaders
distancing themselves from him and nobody but
President Thabo Mbeki prepared
to give him the benefit of the doubt any
longer, Mugabe had little choice
but to agree to a formal negotiation
process.
Critically, Mbeki was
no longer the sole mediator by the time the agreement
was signed, otherwise
it is unlikely the MDC would have agreed to
participate in Monday's event.
It is surely no coincidence that the
breakthrough came shortly after
representatives of the United Nations and
African Union joined the mediation
team, giving it a credibility that was
evidently lacking
before.
IT COMES as some relief that the prolonged debate over the
merits or
otherwise of Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" approach has been rendered
irrelevant. What matters now is that the mediators stick to their task
during the critical few weeks ahead. There will be setbacks, and posturing
from both sides will test everyone's patience, but Mbeki in particular will
have to be meticulously even-handed if he is to come out of this with his
reputation enhanced.
It is common cause that he has Mugabe's respect,
but the MDC has had good
reason to doubt Mbeki's impartiality over the years
and will need to see a
conscious effort on his part to show that he is
willing to take a firm line
with any signatory who does not respect the
rules of the game, no matter the
role they may have played in the liberation
struggle.
Perhaps most importantly, Mbeki will have to brush up on his
communication
skills, an area that has frequently let him down .
The
memorandum of understanding includes a secrecy clause, which is par for
the
course during the horse-trading stage of such negotiations when it comes
to
the substance of specific sessions but should not be taken to mean that a
backroom deal can be concluded and foisted upon the world.
After all
they have gone though in recent years, ordinary Zimbabweans
deserve to be
kept in the loop every step of the way, including in the event
of talks
collapsing.
This week's agreement speaks of constitutional change, the
restoration of
the rule of law and measures to halt the decline of the
Zimbabwean economy,
but there is no specific reference to new, free and
fair, elections. That is
a potential flaw that needs to be corrected during
the negotiations to avoid
this process mirroring that of Kenya and
establishing a precedent of unity
governments being formed in Africa as an
alternative to the will of the
people expressed through the
polls.
Ending the violence and repression is obviously a priority, but
this cannot
be at the expense of basic democracy.
Sokwanele
The Governor
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe
Samora Machel Avenue
Harare
Attention: Dr. Gideon
Gono
Dear Sir,
Re: Call for the Removal of the Maximum Cash
Withdrawal Limit
We hereby write to you advising your office to remove
the pegging of the
maximum figure one is allowed to withdraw from his or her
bank account.
This call has been necessitated by the fact that as a
Workers Representative
Board we are receiving numerous calls from our
members who face serious
problems, simply because they cannot access
available cash from their
accounts.
Whereas the Monetary Authorities
pegged the maximum cash withdrawal
allowable at Z$100 billion and whereas
this appeared "sufficient" in the
eyes of those who have "unfettered"
authority over those accounts, the
amount is a joke, given the reality on
the ground.
As you may be aware, transport alone, costs around Z$150
billion, on
average. How then do the Monetary Authorities expert an ordinary
employee to
report for duty and go back home when he/she is allowed to only
withdraw a
maximum amount of Z$100 billion?. This employee is also expected
to make
available to his family, bus fare for his/her school going children,
funds
for daily expenditure. It has also come to our attention that most
employees
are now spending their productive time queuing for cash at the
banks.
We are further reliably informed that members of the Armed Forces
are
treated differently from the rest of the Society as far as cash
withdrawal
rules are concerned. It is rumored that they are allowed to
withdraw Z$1.5
trillion and above per day.
If the immediate above is
true, what do you think workers would feel, when
they walk to and from work
and also when their families go for days on empty
stomachs, when they know
that they have fat Bank Accounts.
It is in this light that we are
advising your office to either remove the
limit as you did with cheque
transactions or at least allow account holders
to withdraw a minimum amount
equivalent to two days transport fare, plus
necessary daily
expenses.
Our cursory calculation reflects a figure of Z$2.5 trillion per
day as at 21
July 2008 will be reasonable. The amount has to be reviewed
after every 3
days, but still using the public transport cost as the entry
point.
We trust you take our advice seriously and thus address the
Workers and
Society's concerns, before they take the law into their own
hands.
We remain available for any further engagements.
Yours
sincerely,
Wellington Taylor Chibebe
Secretary General, Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions
This entry was written by Sokwanele
on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 11:15
am
IOL
July 23 2008 at 09:34AM
By Fiona Forde
Zimbabwe's
chief negotiators have begun to arrive in South Africa for
a round of secret
talks that are due to begin on Thursday, but which are
already heavily
skewed in President Robert Mugabe's favour.
Commentators close to
his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, believe the leader
of the Movement for
Democratic Change sold himself short on Monday after he
signed a memorandum
of understanding that failed to deliver the demands he
had earlier
outlined.
Tsvangirai failed to secure the release of political
prisoners, the
appointment of an African Union envoy, access to the recently
appointed
three-man Reference Group throughout the negotiations, or the
recognition of
the right of the people of Zimbabwe to elect a government of
their choice.
"They can forget about getting Mugabe to accept
a ceremonial presidential
role after that," a Harare-based commentator close
to Tsvangirai said on
Tuesday.
"The first prize at this stage would
be Morgan as executive prime minister,
in charge of some ministries, but he
might even have to accept a role as
senior minister, which is what Mugabe is
pushing for."
Negotiating on Tsvangirai's behalf will be MDC
secretary-general Tendai Biti
and Elton Mongoma, the party's deputy
treasurer-general, while Mugabe will
be represented by Patrick Chinamasa,
the acting justice minister, and
Nicholas Goche.
Arthur Mutambara,
the leader of the smaller MDC faction, will be represented
by Welshman Ncube
and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga.
About the next 14 days, at a secret
location, they face the daunting task of
finding a middle ground that will
satisfy their respective leaders and the
electorate of
Zimbabwe.
Mugabe says he refuses to accept a ceremonial role of any sort,
arguing that
in the eyes of the law, and based on the disputed June 27
run-off from which
Tsvangirai withdrew, he is the president of
Zimbabwe.
For that reason, he wants to negotiate an inclusive government
bringing the
MDC in from the cold.
Until Monday, Tsvangirai had
pushed for a transitional authority of some
sort, with Mugabe in a
ceremonial role.
However, in accordance with the wording of the
memorandum, Tsvangirai then
agreed to establish "a framework of working
together in an inclusive
government", in keeping with Mugabe's
wishes.
The two rivals are equally divided on how long an inclusive or
transitional
arrangement should last, with Tsvangirai pushing for a two-year
limit, and
Mugabe insisting he should see out his five-year
term.
This article was originally published on page 11 of The Star on
July 23,
2008
HARARE, 23 July 2008
(IRIN) - Where in the world could you be a multi-billionaire and still go
hungry? The answer is, of course, Zimbabwe.
Photo:
IRIN
Where
there is a bank there is a queue
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) has fixed the daily withdrawal limit at Z$100 billion (roughly US$1.25) a
day for individuals, but that comes nowhere near to covering the day-to-day
costs of people living in the most inflationary environment in the world.
A loaf of bread costs Z$100 billion at the official rate, a kilogramme
of meat Z$450 billion, (around US$5.60) and a half-litre sachet of milk sells
for Z$200 billion (about US$2.50). On the parallel market, where most people
shop, prices are far higher.
Ernest Nyandoro, 43, works as a casual
labourer at a brick factory in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo. He was in a
bank queue for four hours before he finally got to the teller's window and was
handed his two Z$50 billion notes.
Neatly folding them into his wallet,
he headed outside to find his bike and begin his journey to work, angry at the
sheer frustration of daily survival in Zimbabwe.
"The money the banks
are giving out is not enough. I borrowed Z$500 billion so that my two children
can get transport fare to and from school, and food for the coming three days,
but with what the banks are giving out I will have to queue here for five days
before I pay back the amount," Nyandoro told IRIN.
"What is further
irritating me is that I will have to find another excuse to give to my boss for
me to come and queue at the bank again." But with Zimbabwe's inflation rate now
officially at 2.2 million percent, and rising every day, "If I do not collect
the money instantly I am afraid it will lose value, and the more time I will
take in withdrawing [it]."
It would take him six days, in theory, to
withdraw his Z$600 billion (about US$7.50) salary - that's not counting the bank
queues and cash shortages that can scupper the best laid plans. And at the end
of the day, his salary would not buy him much more than a 20kg bag of maize-meal
at current prices on the parallel market.
"I re-sell bricks that I buy
cheaply as a staff member at my workplace, and with the extra that I make I get
ready cash that augments my salary," said Nyandoro, explaining how he gets by.
His wife also sells vegetables at a stall near his home to help support the
family.
Cash for sale
Charlotte Sibanda, 28, a
nurse at a private clinic, turns to the parallel market when her superiors do
not give her time off to get to the bank. Shops that have cash make it available
to customers for a fee.
"The supermarkets charge a commission and a fee
if one wants to write a cheque for them - just yesterday I signed a cheque for
Z$400 billion and I received Z$300 billion in cash," she told IRIN. She said
fees differ, but most shops in Bulawayo charge about 15 percent commission for
cash.
A local businessman who runs a hardware store in the city,
Collin Mandizvidza, said it was pointless banking his takings, given the
difficulty of getting his hands on his money again. "The withdrawal limits are
ridiculous, so the cash I make I sell to people who pay me in cheques," he said.
Reserve bank governor Gideon Gono said the bank was seriously
considering increasing withdrawal limits. "The central bank is in the process of
reviewing daily cash withdrawal limits following numerous representations from
the public," he recently announced.
However, he blamed the business
community for profiteering, forcing up prices. "The central bank notes with
concern the unjustifiable and general increases in prices of goods and services,
and we appeal to the business community to follow ethical business practices."
[ENDS]
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]
Quadrillion, quintillion, sextillion - crazy numbers with lots of zeros,
that independent Zimbabwean economist John Robertson found himself chewing over
with colleagues in the capital Harare this week. On Monday, the Zimbabwe government introduced the 100 billion Zimbabwe dollar
note (for the uninitiated, a billion is nine zeros). The counting of zeros had already become a nightmare for bankers and shoppers
before the introduction of the new note - which at the time of writing would buy
about two loaves of bread. So far this year, the country ravaged by hyperinflation has been forced to
print 100-million, 250-million and 500-million notes in rapid succession. All of
them are now almost worthless. It has become common now for Zimbabweans to talk of their daily expenses in
trillions (one trillion is 12 zeros). When John Robertson pinned a chart to the wall of office naming numbers up to
twice as long, he says he "raised a bit of a laugh" from his colleagues. But for many officials and accountants, a quadrillion - a million billion -
is the number of the day. Only last week, the Harare Herald advertised the Lotto bonanza prize being
offered was 1.2 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars. At the time, that was equivalent
to around 4,000 US dollars. So how do Zimbabweans deal with such astronomical numbers? "I actually Googled what comes after trillion about a month ago, and sent
that out to all my friends so they'd be prepared," says 28-year-old Esther, a
Harare resident who writes a regular diary for the BBC. Day-to-day transactions for ordinary people have not reached the quadrillion
stage, she says, but even trillions present difficulties. "What is confusing is counting of the figures on your cheques as you try to
make sure you are not under or over paying someone, or the struggling to read
price tags in shops that have not yet knocked off zeros and so on," she says.
Hard currency This practice - knocking off zeros - is the most common way of preserving
sanity. Most calculators simply cannot show enough digits. As a result, the banks recently agreed to lop six zeros off transactions and
documentation. Economist John Robertson predicts that within a month they will be forced to
drop another three. The other main technique for keeping zeros under control, is to think in
terms of a hard currency - in this case, US dollars. It would be against the law to advertise your house in US dollars, Mr
Robertson says, but in practice this is the currency used for big purchases.
"Nothing would be written down and on the day of exchange, that figure would
either be paid in US dollars, or converted into Zimbabwe dollars. Then you would
be talking big numbers - which will take a bit of getting used to." While Zimbabwe is the only country suffering from currently suffering from
hyperinflation its economic woes are not unprecedented. Bundles of cash History has shown that in countries experiencing hyperinflation -
characterised by a monthly inflation of more than 50% - the central bank often
prints money in larger and larger denominations as the smaller denomination
notes become worthless. In Yugoslavia, for example, the rate of inflation was five quadrillion per
cent between October 1993 and January 1994. The government was forced to issue a
500 billion dinar note in 1993. In Germany after World War I, prices were doubling about every two days and
workers were paid daily or more often with bundles of cash. The highest value
banknote issued by the Reichsbank had a face value of 100 trillion marks. Marcus du Sautoy, professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, says
in general people are very bad at assessing numbers of this size. "Beyond a million it all becomes a blur," he says. "People are really looking for the ratio of one product to another, and then
it's irrelevant how many zeros there are at the end of the number," he says.
If shops and banks don't drop the zeros, it's done instead by the human
brain.
The financial throes of
the country are now so severe, that some people are seeking a new language to
understand it.
Tills
throughout the country have been struggling to cope, as have banking computers,
and accounting systems.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Wednesday, 23 July
2008 14:09
afrol News / Gender Links, 23 July - As hyperinflation has
hit
Zimbabwe - with price increases in incalculable millions of percent -
both
consumers and traders struggle to understand pricing, resulting in many
small entrepreneurs miscalculating and losing money instead of earning it
after a hard day's work.
Although leaders may have shaken
hands, the pressing reality for
Zimbabweans today, four months down the line
from the 29 March harmonised
polls, is coping with the economic crisis. The
optimism for better lives -
characterised by more food, medicines, clean
water, banks notes, transport
and all other basic necessities - has all but
dissipated.
Instead, the aftermath of the two elections has seen
most Zimbabweans
wallowing in deepening poverty. Inflation, now expressed in
millions of
percentages, continues its upward spiral, essential services
delivery
remains at a standstill, constant changes in prices and notes of
legal
tender and shortages of everything from food to bank notes
persist.
If anything, the post-election period is bringing the
vulnerability of
women and children into stark focus. The economic going is
getting tough in
Zimbabwe and only the tough - read men with above average
educational
qualifications, strong business support networks and resources -
are still
posting profits.
Nevertheless, even these tough
businessmen and women with degrees in
economics and business management are
the first to admit that it is a
struggle to remain viable let alone record
profits. Pricing goods and
services has become a nightmare - just one
miscalculation can render a
business insolvent. So confusing is the
situation that some businesspeople
privately admit to resorting to thumb
sucking figures and then hoping they
do not go bust.
So spare a
thought for the average Zimbabwean woman with primary
education surviving on
buying and selling basic goods. The prevailing
economic instability has
rendered most of these hardworking women "busy
entrepreneurs" with nothing
to show for their efforts. Without up-to-the
minute information on inflation
figures and exchange rates, many street
vendors and cross-border traders are
lagging behind in their pricing,
resulting in them toiling for
nothing.
I woke up to the desperation of informal traders when an
aunt who
sells agricultural produce came knocking on my door requesting for
"istart"
[the colloquial term for start-up capital]. A month earlier, I had
given her
millions of Zimbabwe dollars to capitalise her business, so I
could not
understand why I had to do so again.
The penny
dropped when she explained that despite having made billions
from the
millions I had given her, she learnt she could not afford to travel
to Gokwe
with the 100 billion dollars she had made when she got to the bus
terminus
and learnt that a single trip would set her off by 200 billion
dollars.
Although she had made a huge profit, the amount was not enough for
rent,
food and bus fare to travel to Gokwe to buy more produce for resale in
Bulawayo.
Shortly after my aunt's visit, I shed a tear while in
a supermarket
queue. In front of me was an elderly woman, "Gogo", as old as
my maternal
grandmother. Gogo was struggling to count a multi-coloured wad
of Bearer's
Cheques that Zimbabweans are using in place of bank notes. When
she
eventually finished counting the money, it came to just over one and
half
billion dollars. But it was not enough for the box of matches she
needed.
Because of frequent power blackouts, matches are essential for meal
preparation even in towns.
I offered to buy her a carton of 10
boxes. While thanking me for the
gesture, she let slip her dilemma. Gogo had
spent weeks walking up and down
her neighbourhood selling scouring powder
and vegetables hoping to raise
enough money to feed several orphaned
grandchildren under her care. Yet
after all the walking and calling out for
customers she could not even
afford to buy a box of matches.
Added to the pricing challenge is the issue of keeping track of new
cheques
and their growing number of noughts. The noughts keep on increasing
in
batches of three. For the functionally literate traders who have managed
to
do business simply from the colour of bank notes, completing a sale is
not
easy.
The different denominations of Bearer's cheques have similar
colours.
It is easy for example, to mistake a 10,000,000 bill for a
500,000,000
cheque. To be sure, you have to be able to read the value of the
cheque.
Then, counting the noughts is another task altogether.
Even for women lucky enough to have partners and relatives working
abroad,
making ends meet from the remittances is no longer easy. Prior to
the
elections, those with access to foreign currency were able to stay just
a
step ahead of inflation. The situation has changed.
Exchange rates
on the lucrative parallel market are trailing behind
inflation. As a result,
local families need more greenbacks, rands and pulas
to buy food and pay
rent and rates. Additionally, black market dealers are
demanding foreign
currency for locally produced foodstuffs such as sugar,
mealie-meal, beef
and eggs effectively eroding the advantages of holding
foreign
currency.
So, for the majority of Zimbabweans, especially women and
children,
the ballot box has failed to deliver on their basic expectations
of improved
welfare. Zimbabwean parents are hoping the country's leaders
will quickly
get down to fixing the economy.
afrol News
International Herald Tribune
The Associated
PressPublished: July 23, 2008
HARARE, Zimbabwe: Amid
Zimbabwe's mind-boggling hyper inflation, a new 100
billion dollar bank note
has more value as a novelty item on eBay than on
the streets of the
capital.
The note, launched this week, is worth enough to buy a loaf of
bread - if
you can find one on Zimbabwe's depleted store shelves. Meanwhile
on eBay,
the bill was on offer for nearly US$80.
Notes in the
millions of dollars are useful only as toilet paper and it's
cheaper to
light a fire with low denomination bills than with newspaper.
In the
political and economic turmoil since disputed March 29 elections,
prices
have risen almost daily. Factories and businesses have shut down amid
empty
order books and chronic shortages of gasoline, power, water and spare
parts
for equipment repairs.
President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai signed an
agreement Monday to hold talks about
power-sharing to end the crisis and
restore economic stability. But the news
failed to move the exchange rate,
since little cash is
available.
House prices and lottery prizes are quoted in quadrillions
- that's with 15
zeros. Zimbabweans says it's only a matter of time before
big ticket items
will be priced in the quintillions, which have 18
zeros.
Official inflation is quoted at 2.2 million percent but independent
finance
houses say it's closer to 12.5 million percent.
One major
commercial bank said its automated teller machines are not
configured to
dispense multi-zero withdrawals and freeze in what it called a
"data
overflow error." Software writers are busy writing programs to try to
overcome the problem.
Urgent electronic transfers in trillions also
take several days as
electronic accounting systems grapple with transactions
in 12 zeros.
Bank transfers command a special rate. A hundred billion
dollars is worth
US$5 at the official rate, US$1 at the black market rate -
but just 30 U.S.
cents in a transfer because by the time the funds are
processed the Zimbabwe
currency can be expected to be worth a lot
less.
Shops have dropped six zeros from price tags, adding them again
after totals
are tallied at tills.
Zimbabwe has 27 denominations of
bills and no coins. Lower value bills - 10
million Zimbabwe dollars - are
all but obsolete, even in brick-sized
bundles. Beggars and street urchins
rarely bother to pick up such bills
dropped on the street.
But one
recent day in Marondera town outside Harare, traffic stopped and
business
came to a halt when someone - apparently upset by the dizzying rate
of
inflation - started throwing 50-billion-dollar notes from a moving car.
Residents scrambled to collect the money.
The biggest bakery in
Harare shut down this month and sent 1,200 workers
home on forced leave
because flour stocks recently ran out. For years, the
bakery donated free
loaves every week to a home for the handicapped and
charity-run
hostels.
One Internet provider has invited customers to pay their fees in
gasoline
coupons that hold their value.
A 58-year-old Harare
financial director who asked not to be identified said
his monthly salary is
paid in local money which converts to US$50 at the
bank rate. When available
at his local sports club, a hamburger costs the
equivalent of US$12. He
hasn't eaten out in a year.
A cup of coffee at a government-owned
five-star hotel was 130 billion
Zimbabwe dollars, or US$5.30 this week. A
waitress at the hotel said she
earns 100 billion Zimbabwe dollars, US$4 a
month.
A German company stopped shipments of bank note paper to the
central bank's
printers this month as the European Union looked to
strengthen sanctions.
The release of new money slowed as the central bank
said it was looking to
Indonesia and Malaysia to supply the specialized
paper.
The daily grind for Zimbabweans to survive in the economic
meltdown has won
them a rating as the world's unhappiest people in the World
Values Survey of
the Michigan Institute for Social
Research.
Zimbabweans were slightly unhappier than Armenians and
Moldovans, also
victims poverty and "the legacies of authoritarian rule,"
the researchers
said.
Dereck Nhamo, who manages a warehouse, says he
wants to join the teeming
ranks of unemployed because he can't afford to
work any longer.
Nhamo earns less than his bus fare to the warehouse in
Harare but adds to
his monthly income by selling firewood collected on
weekends in outlying
woodlands.
"It doesn't make sense to go to work
any more," Nhamo said.
From The EU, 22 July
132. Gono,
Gideon Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (central bank);
133.
Kazembe, Joyce Deputy Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission;
134.
Patel, Bharat Acting Attorney General; 135. Chiwenga, Jocelyn
Businesswoman,
married to General Chiwenga, Commander of the Defence Forces;
136. Dube,
Tshingo Head of Zimbabwe Defence Industries and Zanu PF candidate
in the
parliamentary elections; 137. Huni, Munyaradzi Journalist on the
official
pro-government newspaper 'The Herald', whipped up the terror
campaign before
and during the elections; 138. Kereke, Munyaradzi Chief
Adviser to the
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe; 139. Chiremba,
Mirirai Director of
Financial Intelligence at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe;
140. Zvayi, Caesar
Journalist on the official pro-government newspaper 'The
Herald', whipped up
the terror campaign before and during the elections;
141. Chingoka, Peter
Chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, publicly supported the
campaign of terror
waged before and during the elections;
142. Chimedza, Paul Dr.
President of the Zimbabwe branch of the World
Medical Association, has
refused assistance to injured members of the MDC
(opposition party); 143.
Air Vice-Marshal Karakadzai Harare Metropolitan
Province, directly involved
in the terror campaign waged before and during
the elections; 144. Col. C.
Sibanda Bulawayo Province, directly involved in
the campaign of terror waged
before and during the elections; 145. Brigadier
General Tarumbwa Manicaland
and Mutare South, directly involved in the
campaign of terror waged before
and during the elections; 146. Col. M
Mzilikazi (MID) Buhera Central,
directly involved in the campaign of terror
waged before and during the
elections; 147. Col. Mutsvunguma Headlands,
directly involved in the
campaign of terror waged before and during the
elections; 148. Brigadier
General Shungu Mashonaland Central, directly
involved in the campaign of
terror waged before and during the elections;
149. Col. Chipwere Bindura
South, directly involved in the campaign of
terror waged before and during
the elections; 150. Col. F. Mhonda Rushinga,
directly involved in the
campaign of terror waged before and during the
elections;
151.
Air Vice-Marshal Muchena Midlands, directly involved in the campaign of
terror waged before and during the elections; 152. Air Vice-Marshal Abu
Basutu Matebeleland South, directly involved in the campaign of terror waged
before and during the elections 153. Brigadier General Khumalo Matebeleland
North, directly involved in the campaign of terror waged before and during
the elections; 154. Major-General E A Rugeje Masvingo Province, directly
involved in the campaign of terror waged before and during the elections;
155. Col G. Mashava Chiredzi Central, directly involved in the campaign of
terror waged before and during the elections; 156. Lt.-Col. Muchono Mwenezi
West, directly involved in the campaign of terror waged before and during
the elections; 157. Lt.-Col. Mpabanga Mwenezi East, directly involved in the
campaign of terror waged before and during the elections; 158. Major R
Kwenda Zaka East, directly involved in the campaign of terror waged before
and during the elections; 159. Brigadier General Sigauke Mash West Province,
directly involved in the campaign of terror waged before and during the
elections; 160. Col. Gwekwerere Chinhoyi, directly involved in the campaign
of terror waged before and during the elections;
161. Col. C T
Gurira Mhondoro Mubaira, directly involved in the campaign of
terror waged
before and during the elections; 162. Brigadier General D
Nyikayaramba
Mashonaland East, directly involved in the campaign of terror
waged before
and during the elections; 163. Brigadier General Rungani
Retired Brigadier
General, directly involved in the campaign of terror waged
before and during
the elections; 164. Chinotimba, Joseph Vice Chairman of
the Zimbabwe
National Liberation War Veterans Association, leader of Zanu PF
militia;
165. Moyo, Gilbert 'War veteran' implicated in numerous crimes in
Mashonaland West (Chegutu), leader of Zanu PF militia; 166. Rangwani, Dani
Detective inspector involved in the torture and detention of MDC supporters,
directly involved in the March 2007 violence; 167. Jangara, Thomsen
Assistant Police Commissioner based in Southerton, responsible for Harare
South district, directly involved in the March 2007
violence;
168. Tonderai Matibiri, Innocent Deputy Police
Commissioner; nephew or
African 'close cousin' of Mugabe; promoted to a
senior position and tipped
to become the next Police Commissioner, directly
involved in the March 2007
violence; 169. Zidco Holdings Zanu PF's financial
holding company (a.k.a.
Zidco Holdings (PVT) Ltd), PO Box 1275, Harare,
Zimbabwe; 170. Jongwe
Printing and Publishing Company (PVT) Ltd. Zanu PF's
publishing arm (a.k.a.
Jongwe Printing and Publishing Co., a.k.a. Jongwe
Printing and Publishing
Company), 14 Austin Road, Coventry Road, Workington,
PO Box 5988, Harare,
Zimbabwe; 171. Cold Comfort Farm Trust Co-operative
Owned by Didymus Mutasa,
Grace Mugabe also involved. 7 Cowie Road, Tynwald,
Harare, Zimbabwe; 172.
Zimbabwe Defence Industries Wholly owned by the
government of Zimbabwe.
Directors include Leo Mugabe and Solomon Mujuru.
10th floor, Trustee House,
55 Samora Machel Avenue, PO Box 6597, Harare,
Zimbabwe.
By Alex
Bell
23 July 2008
As negotiations aimed at resolving Zimbabwe's
political crisis are set to
get underway in South Africa on Thursday, South
Africans remain hopeful that
the crisis in their neighbouring country will
soon be resolved, despite
Mbeki's unsuccessful role as mediator.
The
country's media hailed Monday's signing of the Memorandum of
Understanding
with headlines portraying positive messages of hope and even
praise for
President Thabo Mbeki. "Hope in a handshake" read the front-page
headline of
the Star on Tuesday, over a picture of Robert Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai
together at Monday's signing ceremony in Harare, while Business
Day
trumpeted a "New Dawn in Zimbabwe as Mugabe accepts deal."
The agreement
was overseen by President Mbeki, who has previously been
widely criticised
for his refusal to publicly condemn the 84-year-old
Mugabe. Mbeki also faced
calls from Tsvangirai to be axed as the SADC
appointed mediator; a role that
has so far yielded no resolution to the
ongoing crisis.
The Times
said the signing has "finally bought Mbeki a moment in the sun,"
adding he
now "needs our support as he pushes on with these critical talks."
In an
editorial it said, "There is for the first time in more than a decade
real
hope that Zimbabwe will move forward." The Star agreed that "credit
must go
to President Mbeki, who has had to endure scathing criticism over
his
quiet-diplomacy approach." However, the same paper said it was too early
to
celebrate, citing the tense atmosphere between the political party
leaders
at Monday's crucial signing of the MOU.
Micel Schnehage, a journalist for
Talk Radio 702 in Johannesburg told
Newsreel on Wednesday that there has
been mixed reaction to Mbeki's role in
facilitating the agreement between
the Zimbabwean political parties, and
that "some media have been less
forgiving of his failure to do more to end
the crisis." She said Mbeki will
find it hard "to redeem himself in the face
of his recent failures," and
that international pressure will not back off
now that an agreement for
talks has been reached.
Schnehage said the South African public meanwhile
has generally welcomed the
signing of the MOU because "they are as desperate
to see a change in
Zimbabwe as Zimbabweans are." She added that whatever
happens in Zimbabwe
"impacts negatively on South Africa and the lives of its
citizens." She also
said that many Zimbabweans now living in the country are
desperate to return
home and "they cannot wait for things to
stabilise."
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By Tichaona Sibanda
23 July
2008
Two days after the warring parties in the country signed the ground
breaking
Memorandum of Understanding agreement, the deal has at least
temporarily
staunched the tide of violence loosed on the country by
Zanu-PF.
The bloody and barbaric violence of the past four months has
left 115 MDC
activists dead and 10 000 injured. The daily abductions of
influential MDC
activists that had become routine between April and June
have stopped,
political assassinations have decreased, and the
indiscriminate attacks on
rural folk, who bore the brunt of the violence
have subsided.
Children and teenagers now play soccer along what were
once some of the most
notoriously dangerous areas in villages, while adults
can now venture out at
night without the fear of capture.
A few of
the two hundred thousand people who were displaced from their homes
are
returning to their dwellings amid reports things were starting to
improve.
The MDC Tsvangirai demanded an end to political violence as a
condition for
entering talks with Robert Mugabe on a unity government.
MDC MP for
Makoni South in Manicaland, Pishai Muchauraya remains cautious
and warns
people to remain vigilant despite the relative peace prevailing in
Zimbabwe
over the past few days.
'We can never trust Zanu-PF. They've changed
their tactics from killing and
beating our supporters to denying them food.
Only those with Zanu-PF cards
are being given food but for all we know this
is a temporary measure,'
Muchauraya said.
Though Tsvangirai signed
the MOU, he still insists that Mugabe should stop
all the repression and
political violence, release the 1 500 MDC officials
and supporters in
detention, and let humanitarian aid resume. Most of those
injured in the
rural areas, notably Gokwe in the Midlands are still being
denied medical
care. Although there are reports militia bases are being
dismantled, most of
them are still intact and operating.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Takura
Zhangazha The memorandum
of understanding signed by Zanu PF, MDC Tsvangirai and MDC Mutambara in
Harare this week has been hailed in some quarters as historic, and its
‘historicity’ is tellingly in two parts. The first being that it is a reflection
of historical traits since our national independence in 1980, where we have
witnessed two processes that led to power sharing between belligerent political
entities. These two would be the Lancaster House Conference of 1979 in tandem
with a Unity government of the first year of independence and the Zanu PF/PF
ZAPU Unity Accord of 1987. They were not identical in terms of content, or all
of the issues raised, but as indicators of Zimbabwean political culture, they
are the forebears of what we witnessed this week on 21 July 2008. They indicate a general
trait in which Zimbabwean political leaders have followed a pattern of
undertaking national political missions that have caused tremendous suffering to
the people and then either with claims of having shown magnanimity or put a
rival in a corner he/she couldn’t get out of , call for drawn out inter party
negotiations. And in these two initial examples, there has been one common
denominator, Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF, who has always, sad to say, emerged with
an upper hand after protracted talks. So the historic nature of
the MOU, can at first be understood from the point of view of the fact that it
has sort of been ‘done’ before and in its being done has not yielded results
that address the problems of good governance, democracy and a people-centred
national economy. It has, in the memories of many Zimbabweans, been about Robert
Mugabe and Zanu PF brokering power for their sole benefit at the expense of the
re-legitimization of the Zimbabwean State. The second perspective on
the historical nature of the MOU resides in the truth that the MDC Tsvangirai
won the March 29 election with a sizeable majority in the local government and
Presidential election ballot count, whereas in previous Zimbabwean negotiated
settlements, Zanu PF had always been in the lead, especially in a context where
an election had been held. This means that, historically, the context of this
sort of negotiating between political parties is unique largely through the fact
that Zanu PF is on the back foot, and is negotiating from a position of
weakness. It has fewer seats in Parliament, and the Presidential election
run-off of June 27 has been discredited by influential countries in both the
world as well as in Africa. The presence of a SADC mediator has also made this
MOU significant from the manner in which other eventually negotiated settlements
have come to being. Never in the history of independent Zimbabwe, has the direct
involvement of the regional, continental and international community been so
apparent, and with full engagement of the United Nations as well as the African
Union. But be that as it may, why
then would there be a mixture of both hope and skepticism on the part of
Zimbabwean citizens around July 21 2008? The answers reside mainly in the fact
that, the MOU, and its declarations of secrecy draw parallels with closeted
power sharing agreements that suit more political expediency than democratic
change. There is no doubt and perhaps even understandably so that the political
leaders that are involved in these negotiations will be feeling a sense of
entitlement about this secrecy, as was the case with Constitutional
Amendment Number 18. And in addition, they might feel an urge to play out
the politics of negotiations in clear and unmitigated pursuit of power for its
own sake either to spite one side over the other or leverage themselves for
eventual total victory. In this vein, it is
imperative that the political leaders be made conscious of the fact that
Zimbabwe is not only in need of their sometimes brilliant political acumen when
it comes to political cakes or sharing the spoils of a low scale mainly one
sided war. In other words, this is not and cannot be allowed to be another round
of talks that are akin to previous ones that merely sought to share power.
These post March 29 2008
election round of talks must be able to identify what exactly have been the
problems with the ones that have occurred before and also be able to identify
these as threefold. In the first instance, the
July 2008 MOU cannot merely be a prelude to a power sharing agreement fashioned
along Kenya because this has been tried before without producing a democratic
dispensation. In fact, the products of the Lancaster House Conference and the
Unity Accord missed out on the critical point that in both instances, Zimbabwe
was a society that had to grapple with a post conflict situation that needed to
be addressed at its roots, as opposed to a political party ‘sharing of spoils’
agreement. And this partially explains why Zanu PF has always resorted to
violence as a campaign strategy, even after negotiated agreements, in order to
keep itself in power. A second lesson that can be
learnt from the past negotiated settlements is that those that Zanu PF has
negotiated with were essentially being cornered into the negotiations in order
to either end violence against their supporters or ordinary citizens. In this
instance, whilst there has been an unacceptable loss of life, the critical
difference is that Zanu PF is on the losing side in terms of the March 29
electoral results. Because of this, the opportunity must not be lost and the
people’s verdict must be vigilantly defended by all of the parties involved in
the negotiations. A third and final lesson
that can be drawn from history and historicity is that in the past the input of
civil society was minimal to such processes. In 2008, Zimbabwean civil society
is ready and willing to input into these processes with the Zimbabwe People’s
Charter as its foundation stone. This means, civil society must as of
necessity be included in these talks if mistakes of the past are to be avoided,
and its input treated with the respect due to an equal stakeholder. If this is
done, there will be no doubt that there will be a shift from the narrative of
past negotiated settlements, where the apolitical but nationally important and
comprehensive people’s will was not taken into cognizance. There is now a
critical need to ensure that if any negotiations do take place, they must depart
from the political culture of the past while at the same time drawing lessons
from it. To do this, they must include the seemingly apolitical will and
intentions of a people that are living in a society that has seen four national
violent conflicts unaccounted for, a national economy that is incapacitated to
heal itself, and a political culture that has the nasty tendency of always
seeking to repeat history. www.kubatana.net
July 22, 2008
Chicago Tribune
By Abdoulaye Wade
July
23, 2008
The next U.S. president needs to urgently rethink America's
relationship to
Africa. In the past, America has often treated Africa as a
backward "Dark
Continent," a place bedeviled with poverty, tribalism, AIDS
and
post-colonial conflicts. Africa is and should be a concern for all
Americans-and for the next U.S. president.
To be sure, not all of
Africa's post-colonial problems have vanished.
Poverty is still a serious
burden, as are AIDS and malaria in many African
nations. But in the U.S.,
Africa is still often viewed through the lens of
the exceptions: Yes, Darfur
is a gruesome tragedy, but the conflict there is
no longer typical of
Africa. In much the same manner, Zimbabwe's faulty
election hardly proves
that Africa is unprepared for democracy. In fact,
Africa is far more
democratic today than ever before.
From Mauritius to Botswana, Ghana to
Uganda, African economies are growing
at a rate of 5 to 6 percent a year.
The new prosperity and emerging middle
class in African societies are
visible in the banking, building, and
automobile sectors as well as in
communications, mining, and mobile
telephone penetration.
The
three main challenges awaiting the next U.S. president in a new
partnership
with Africa are building the global economy, balancing the
planet's energy
and environmental needs, and promoting cultural and
religious understanding.
But this partnership will not move into the 21st
Century without a sea
change in media coverage and political attitudes
toward Africa.
The
future of our continent will not be rooted in Western aid packages,
despite
the generous and welcome boost in U.S. funding to combat AIDS.
Instead,
African nations must also be recognized as creators of wealth, as
entrepreneurial engines.
Investment initiatives should thus be
focused on reinforcing and developing
the infrastructure of the continent
and bolstering support for the private
sector. China and India have
understood the need for this shift.
Yet the U.S. is largely absent from
the most dynamic sectors of Africa's
economic boom. The African Growth and
Opportunity Act trade agreement has
helped to promote trade between Africa
and the U.S., but the agreement is
limited and little used.
Much the
same geopolitical co-dependency exists in confronting global energy
challenges. U.S. government studies show that 25 percent of America's oil
supply will come from Africa's Gulf of Guinea by 2015.
Africa's role
as a source of oil and minerals makes it all the more
important that U.S.
foreign policy help secure African stability. The impact
of Nigeria's
volatile Niger Delta on the U.S. stock market is just the most
recent
reminder of potential dangers that the U.S. and American
multinationals can
no longer afford to ignore.
Africa, in fact, has the potential to lead
the world in alternative energy
production-most notably solar, wind, and
biomass. American and European
firms are at the forefront of developing
alternative energy technologies.
But it is Africa that has the sun, vast
swathes of uncultivated arable land
and a huge, rural work force waiting to
utilize the new technologies. An
American-African compact on energy could
reduce U.S. reliance on oil,
emissions of greenhouse gases, aid rural
development in Africa and assist
Africa's adaptation to global
warming.
Despite its difficulties, Africa has much to celebrate and can
be of great
value to American foreign policy and private sector investors
and
entrepreneurs. The next president of the United States should leave the
old
Western mind-set about Africa in the dustbins of
Hollywood.
Abdoulaye Wade is the president of the Republic of Senegal.
News24
23/07/2008 08:09 -
(SA)
Pitso Tsibolane, News24 User
Much has been said about the
joint pledge by Mugabe and Zimbabwe opposition
that took place under the
determined eye of President Mbeki. Many have
hailed this as victory for
quite diplomacy and a positive step for Zimbabwe.
Some have even called this
an indication that Africa can solve its problems.
As an African myself I
feel flattered by the thought that Africans (SADC and
AU) have managed to
achieve what the international world could never
achieve. Indeed, this is
where Africa needs to be, strong and able to lead
itself.
However I
am troubled by the sight of Robert Mugabe smiling, signalling that
he has
managed to salvage a victory from the jaws of public defeat. I am
disturbed
by the fact that losers in a democratic battle have turned into
victors,
sharing the spoils of victory that is not rightfully theirs. Why is
it that
when grumpy old men of Africa always seem to get a lifeline when
logic and
fairness dictate otherwise?
Why is it that dictators always manage to
secure a comfortable end after
violating the innocent? Today Kibaki of Kenya
sits comfortably in a Kenyan
Government of National Unity, after having
stolen an election from Raila
Odinga.
History repeats once again,
this time Mugabe looks set to share the
presidency with Morgan Tsvangarai,
the real winner of the Zimbabwe election.
Why conduct elections if the
results will not mean anything ultimately? If
we cannot guarantee that
election results mean something, then why bother
with the process
anyway?
Warlords continue to rule
A Government of National Unity
is a compromise that has to be agreed by two
parties willingly, not in the
way that it has been forced down the throat of
Tsvangarai! I feel sorry for
the MDC and the majority of the people of
Zimbabwe, like a defeated
customer, they have to live with a "wrong order".
Many have stated that
if there was no negotiated settlement then the
situation may have turned
more violent at the instigation of Mugabe and his
warlords. We saw it happen
in Kenya, many died and only when the warlords
were offered a settlement did
the situation normalize. I call this "hostage
democracy", the whole nation
held at gun point until they shake hands with a
criminal and accept him as
leader.
With all due respect to Kofi Annan and President Mbeki, we have
weakened our
determination to instil the values of freedom and democracy in
Africa. Our
desperate need to seek peace at the expense of freedom has sent
a message to
the rest of would-be dictators that the gun always guarantees
victory in
Africa. Refusal to step down and handover power to the masses
that
peacefully choose a preferred leader can land one a safe
future.
Undermining the will of the people still guarantees a future! We
have failed
future generations in this way, we have weakened the foundations
of
democracy, and we have further violated and defiled the sanctity of the
ballot! The warlords continue to rule!
The Sowetan
23 July 2008
Sowetan says:
So
sanity has prevailed and Robert Mugabe has signed an agreement with
Morgan
Tsvangirai to discuss "an inclusive government".
Mugabe and
his Zanu-PF lost the Zimbabwean elections. But, as in the past,
the brutal
dictator and his cronies immediately launched a campaign of
violence to cow
the nation into submission.
He claims he won the later run-off election,
which no one accepts as free
and fair, and which Tsvangirai didn't even
contest because of the brutality
visited on his supporters.
President
Thabo Mbeki helped to broker this deal, though for years he has
been
aggravating the problem by refusing to condemn Mugabe's growing
bellicosity
as his nation increasingly rejected him.
That's water under the bridge
and Mbeki might still emerge smelling of roses
if he digs in and plays the
honest broker between the loser and the victor
of Zimbabwe's troubled
elections.
The ultimate losers have been the people of Zimbabwe, battered
by a failed
economy driven into the ground by a wounded tyrant
South
Africa will have to pick up the pieces if Zimbabwe descends into civil
war
and millions more of its citizens stream across our borders.
So let's
finally knuckle down and help Zimbabweans realise the hope they
expressed
for a new day in a revitalised democratic land. Aren't those our
values
too?
Politicsweb
23 July
2008
British Prime Minister's remarks on visit by Raila Odinga July
23 3008
Only six months ago, Kenya stood on the brink of civil war.
Kenya's friends
watched with fear as ethnic violence, displacement and
insecurity gripped
the country.
But Kenya stepped away from the
brink. Partly due to the leadership of
President Kibaki and Prime Minister
Odinga. Partly due to the mediation
efforts of Kofi Annan. Partly due to
strong international support for
reconciliation. But most of all because the
Kenyan people turned their backs
on violence and chose to work
together.
I want to say today, as I did six months ago, that Britain will
stand by
Kenya as it opens a new chapter in its history. We welcome the
government's
commitment to power-sharing. We welcome the strenuous efforts
made by all
sides to live up to the expectations of the Kenyan people. And
we will
fulfill our promise to help rebuild Kenya. I am therefore pleased to
announce today £2m of new UK support for peacebuilding. And I am delighted
that Britain is today hosting a business roundtable, which will send the
clearest signal that Kenya is once again back in business.
Neither we
nor the Kenyan government under-estimate the challenges - further
action
against corruption is vital to attract investment and improve
economic
growth. But I am even more convinced by my talks today that Kenya's
leaders
have the will and determination to take the steps necessary. I
applaud their
commitment. Britain will continue to stand by them.
Our partnership is
stronger than ever:
a.. we are working together to counter drugs
trafficking and terrorism
b.. we are both working to ensure the WTO trade
ministerial just underway
in Geneva will yield a breakthrough that will
bring hope to millions in the
developing world. The coming days will be
critical - the time for talk is
over. We must now do this deal.
c.. we
are supporting the creation of an Eastern Africa standby brigade to
promote
peace in the region
d.. and we share a determination to uphold democratic
rights in Africa,
starting with Zimbabwe.
The signing of an agreement
this week between Zimbabwe's leaders is a
welcome step forward, and I
applaud those who worked to deliver it. But it
must be matched by an end to
violence against the MDC, and full humanitarian
access for NGO's. Any
transitional government must represent the will of the
people, as
demonstrated so clearly at the end of march. In the meantime, we
will
continue to take action against those responsible for the violence, as
the
eu did yesterday in expanding sanctions against the regime.
Prime
Minister Odinga recognises more clearly than most both the importance
of
democracy's march through Africa, and the dangers should democracy fail.
I
am delighted to welcome him to london as part of a new generation of
african
leaders who are ready to build hope for Africa's future.
Text of speech
by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued by British Foreign
&
Commonwealth Office, July 22 2008