The Zimbabwean
Tanzania's
former president Benjamin William Mkapa is about to step onto the
international stage and play lead in an on-going play called 'Getting rid of
Robert Mugabe and restoring democracy to Zimbabwe.' TREVOR GRUNDY, who has
watched the rise and rise of this highly intelligent and erstwhile socialist
survivor since the days when they were both young journalists in Dar es
Salaam in the late 1960s, says that he must be mindful that everyone who has
trod the boards before him has not only had the misfortune of breaking a leg
but also of experiencing the loneliness of being booed off the stage.
Can
Ben Mkapa, who is now 68 and often only available in a Swiss clinic
because
of the severe gout caused by his devotion to rare red meat and rich
red
wine, succeed where so many other African lead actors have failed?
When South
Africa's Thabo Mbeki played the part of mediator between Robert
Mugabe and
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) he got the
slow
handclap.
When Mozambique's Joaquim Chissano who was Mugabe's best man when
he married
his second wife Grace strutted his stuff on the stage, a few ripe
oranges
and moldy apples landed his way.
When Nigeria's Olesegun
Obassanjo ranted and raved like Othello on speed the
audience walked
out.
"But Ben just might pull this one off, " said a veteran media
Commonwealth
watcher in London this week. "He's a very clever man and he
received his
political education sitting at the feet of Dr Julius Nyerere
who survived
for 24 years. Ben is very pro-British, very committed to the
Commonwealth
and he's said 'off the record' that there can be no forward
movement in
Zimbabwe until Mugabe goes but that he must be honoured during
his departure
even if he really deserves an appearance at The Hague.
"Ben
Mkapa is one of the best African leaders to ever come to power," says
Jim
Adams of the World Bank. "He was able to safeguard Nyerere's reputation
as
Father of the Nation while making Tanzania acceptable in the eyes of the
World Bank and the International Monetary Fund."
Anyone who thinks that
Mkapa is going to be a Mugabe stooge when he starts
trying to repair the
damage caused by 26 years of Zanu (PF) rule in Harare
does not know the man.
Almost everyone in the independent African media is
predicting a terrible
defeat for Mkapa.
"No hope for Mkapa's mediation," screamed a headline in
this paper recently.
"Mkapa mission doomed" shouted a long report by Njabulo
Ncube in the latest
edition on The Financial Gazette, one of the few quasi
independent papers
still functioning in Mugabe's impoverished land of 11.5
million people.
"Mkapa needs divine intervention from Zimbabwe" said a
headline over a
report by Dianna Games in the Johannesburg Business
Day.
But in the loyal to Mugabe press, Benjamin Mkapa's "appointment" as
mediator
(without approval of the SADC leadership which meets again in
Lesotho on
August 17 when the question of who is funding Mkapa and what's
his brief
will be put under the microscope) between Britain and Zimbabwe is
another
story.
Zanu (PF) officials reminded me in a series of telephone
calls I had with
them this week: "When President Mkapa came to see us last
October to say
goodbye and thanks before he stepped down as president, he
spoke about
President Mugabe in glowing terms."
There's no doubt in my
mind that out of touch leaders in the Zimbabwean
government - many now in
their dotage including Mugabe - know next to
nothing about the real Mkapa.
They have only seen him perform in a role he
does so well - a praise singer
for failed African leaders.
He got used to that while working so long for
Julius Nyerere, first as one
of his editors then as one of his ministers.
These are but a few things he
has said publicly about Robert Mugabe, perhaps
the most failed and dangerous
African leader of them all:
"A new
leadership is emerging in Africa that cannot accept tutelary
relationship
with our erstwhile colonizers. A new leadership which would
rather listen to
its elders such as Cde Mugabe, thus being faithful to the
counsel of the
African saying -The one who listens to the voice of the
elderly is strong
like a tree, the one who turns a deaf ear is like a twig
in the
wind."
"There is no gainsaying Cde Mugabe's outstanding record of struggle
against
colonialism and minority settler rule."
But if you think that
this highly respected journalist, former foreign
minister, English
Literature honours graduate from Makerere University and a
man who survived
being a speech writer for the anti-Nyerere'traitor' Oscar
Kambona hasn't a
good word to say about anyone in the West - think again.
When Tanzania's Dr
Nyerere died in 1999, Mkapa paid tribute to Tony Blair
and Her Majesty's
Government for looking after Mwalimu.
In 2001, he grew even closer to Tony
Blair after Tanzania spent £28 million
to supply Dar es Salaam with an air
traffic control system. British
ministers disputed Oxfam's claims that the
money could have been put to
better use - feeding children and educating
them, for instance. Mkapa is
also seriously on-side Tony Blair and George
Bush in the world hunt for
terrorists.
It should not be forgotten that
the East African coast is a breeding ground
for the fervent anti-Western
(anti-Christian) unemployed juvenile Islamic
militants.
Reports so far
recall that all the other African leaders who took on the job
of reconciling
Mugabe with democracy failed miserably. Predictably, they are
being
presented to Zimbabweans as members of a sort of "Rogue's Gallery"
Mbeki,
Obassanjo and Chissano are pictured together under the headline
"Prophets of
Doom." But Mkapa is not in that league and his picture will not
hang in that
gallery for, I believe, the following reason.
After the disastrous Nyerere
years when Tanzania was left bankrupt and when
it was the African state most
in debt to the West after decades
of'self-reliance' policies, Presidents
Mwinyi and Mkapa had to pick up the
pieces and start all over again without
de-constructing the myth of Mwalimu.
Mkapa did that job brilliantly while
privately acknowledging that Dr
Nyerere, had been badly'misled' by a
collection of mildly idiotic
intellectuals from Western universities playing
out their political and
economic fantasies in an African Disneyland.
He
is going to be on a mission not to keep Mugabe where he is but to see he
makes a dignified exit so that the West, led by Britain and the EU, can pump
into Zimbabwe billions of dollars in a massive salvage exercise.
His plan
- say highly informed sources in Dar es Salaam - is to seek a way
of saying
goodbye to Mugabe without humiliating that clever, proud and (I
think) once
potentially great man.
Already Western diplomats in Harare are ending a long
silence and making
what they think are constructive suggestions.
On
Thursday (July 20) American and French statements out of Harare suggested
that what's needed is for Mugabe to come to terms with his own people, not
Britain, and above all to stop pretending that the world hates him and
boycotts him because of his land policies.
Mugabe has suspended
democracy. The people want it back. "Why not re-engage
in political
dialogue, as we propose, which would allow you to resume links
which have
been broken or slackened.and after all.if you accept to discuss
with
foreigners, why not talk among Zimbabweans as you are? " said an oddly
worded (or poorly translated) statement from the French Ambassador, Michel
Raimbaud.
None of them - so far - are analyzing what exactly Mkapa could
contribute
to this the latest attempt to bring Zimbabwe in from the cold or
why this
man has such special qualities to help dismantle the regime of a
tired
stubborn old man. And if anyone thinks he will tolerate yet another
ear-bashing ceremony on the merits of scientific socialism, the need for a
new form of communism (even non-alignment) to tame the USA, the EU, the
World Bank and the IMF they should all think again.
Rather than going to
Harare to prop up that grumpy old octogenarian despot,
Mkapa of Tanzania - I
believe - is going there to make straight the way for
investors once the
curtain finally falls on Robert Mugabe.
Rotten fruit or a standing ovation?
Ben Mkapa will be as keen as everyone
else who cares for Zimbabwe to read
the reviews.
Mkapa co-chairs ICF
On June 1 this year in Cape Town Ben
Mkapa was appointed co-Chairman of the
Investment Climate Facility for
Africa whose chairman is the ubiquitous
Niall FitzGerald KBE, former
Chairman of Reuters.
The ICF will be launched in Africa later this year,
around the time Ben
Mkapa steps into the limelight. It is a public private
partnership, funded
by companies, bilateral and multilateral donors and
working in close
partnership with African governments and regional
organizations such as
NEPAD.
British Prime Minister Blair and
International Development Secretary Hilary
Benn have confirmed that the UK
Government will provide US$30 million over
three years to the ICF facility
in Africa. Royal Dutch Shell plc and Shell
Foundation have also announced
that they will contribute a combined total of
$2.5 million over five years
and Anglo American has confirmed that they
would also contribute $2.5
million over the same period of time.
"This new and exciting facility will
act on key obstacles to doing business
in Africa," says Mkapa. "Together we
can remove the obstacles that stand in
the path to Africa's
prosperity."
And one of those hard to jump over obstacles is Robert
Mugabe.
The Zimbabwean
Police round up 12 children
and 56 adults from Killarney squatter camp
BY MARTINE STEMERICK
BULAWAYO -
Trouble has stalked the starving villagers of Killarney ever
since their
homes were destroyed during Murambatsvina. But life got even
tougher last
Tuesday when police raided the squatter camp, rounding up 56
adults and 12
children who were imprisoned overnight in a Bulawayo jail.
Thanks to the
intervention of Bulawayo's ministers, everyone was released
without charge
by Thursday morning.
The trauma of the arrest frightened the children and
vulnerable adults,
several of whom had to be taken for medical care.
Thursday found one of the
pastors on his way to hospital with several of the
people from Killarney who
had spent Tuesday night and most of Wednesday in
jail -- and not for
anything they had done.
The police rounded up 56
adults and 12 children, mostly youngsters under 5,
and put them in jail. The
police said they were worried about thieves and
malcontents hiding at
Killarney, but the pastors, who know their flock,
reassured them that these
people are simply the very old and the very young:
any one who can flee has
left long ago to find their way across the border
to look for
work.
Killarney's ministers did not have any food for the people in jail, but
colleagues had some maize porridge, so the churches were allowed to feed the
Killarney residents in prison. The shivering unfortunates were put in an
open enclosure, all huddled together. The children shook with cold and fear.
There were not enough blankets to go around.
The villagers were finally
freed late Wednesday. The police did not charge
them with any offence, so
the pastors were allowed to get them out of jail
without paying fines. When
the pastors finally got everyone released, those
who required medical care
were taken to the hospital. The sad truth is that
the poor of Killarney are
dying daily of cold and lack of food. Bulawayo
ministers had a service at
Killarney on Sunday to praise God and give thanks
to generous donors for
graciously providing blankets and a bit of food.
Because of charitable
donations, 150 families now have one blanket for the
whole family. There
are no beds: those were destroyed during Murambatsvina.
The whole family
sleeps on a bit of cardboard on the freezing cold earth,
with one blanket
and whatever clothes they possess piled on top of them.
Their makeshift
shelters are covered with bits of discarded plastic or
whatever else they
can scrounge.
According to their pastor, blankets are not the first
priority: food is.
The poor are dying each week of cold, exposure, but most
of all, lack of
adequate food. Two of Killarney's young families lost their
small daughters
last week: one little girl was 15 months, the other was 18
months. Both
girls were buried on Monday. The police attacked on Tuesday,
adding further
stress on the precarious lives of vulnerable under-fives and
stick-figure
adults.
Water is hard to come by. There is no borehole at
Killarney. Women walk 5
kilometres to the nearest river to fetch water for
cooking, drinking,
washing. Three-hundred and fifty blankets are still
needed. In three
weeks, however, the land will begin to warm up again.
Winter is almost
over. Killarney's pastor says food comes first.
"Food
remains the most scarce and unaffordable commodity here. We have done
our
best for the winter at least for some of them and I would pray that if
resources allow me to go and buy maize meal, sugar beans or matemba
etc."
Most of the families at Killarney have seven or eight members. They
require
at least a 50-kg of maize meal per month, as well as sugar beans,
kapenta
fish, cooking oil, bath & washing soap, salt.
If funds were
available, the good people of Killarney would like to help
themselves by
implementing some small-scale development projects: poultry
keeping,
vegetable gardening, sewing, goat rearing, and so on.
"We hope that as the
Lord provides some of the above so that the people will
gradually become
self-supportive," said the minister. - The full interview
describing the
arrests and the situation at Killarney can be heard on "Zim
Alive" on www.swradioafrica.com for two weeks via
the Archive option.
Charitable contributions for the people of Killarney can
be made to:
Alvaston Methodist Church - The Zimbabwe Fund. c/o Revd Dr
Martine
Stemerick, 478 High Road, Benfleet, Essex SS7 5AL
The Zimbabwean
HARARE -The NCA is deeply
concerned at the barbaric treatment by the police
of its members who spent
more than four days in police cells in Mutare and
Harare last week.
"The
police behaved as if human rights do not exist and subjected our
members to
inhumane and brutally treatment. In Mutare where our remaining 10
members
were released on Z$500 000 bail, one of the members is battling for
his life
after he was assaulted by the police to reveal who was their
leader. We have
since instructed our lawyers to sue the police," said NCA
spokesman Madock
Chivasa.
In Harare, 128 NCA members were released on free bail on Saturday.
They had
been denied food while in custody. One of them, Evidence John,
collapsed
from hunger."We were denied access to her to take her to a private
doctor
after the police took her to Parirenyatwa Hospital and she could not
be
treated as doctors were on strike," fumed Chivasa.
"We will be in the
streets soon to demonstrate specifically against the
brutality of the
police. After that we resume our quest for a democratic
constitution," he
added.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE -Despite
new arrests, residents have vowed to continue marches and
demonstrations in
an attempt to force the authorities to negotiate over the
collapse of
services and the illegal commission running the capital.
Eighteen members of
the Combined Harare Residents' Association (CHRA), who
demonstrated July
19, were released July 20 from police holding cells.
They paid $250 000
admission of guilt fines and face charges, which their
lawyers will contest
under the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
"Our arrest by the police was a
blessing in disguise,"said Israel Mabhoo,
acting head of CHRA."This is the
beginning of more demonstrations to come
until we are able to sit down and
be consulted as residents. We will
continue as CHRA to demonstrate against
the illegal commission running the
City of Harare until the billing system
is rectified, until an elected mayor
and councillors are in place and until
the government recognise that
residents want a clean city." The residents
are also demanding that the
central authorities reverse immediately the
reappointment of the commission
led by the Sekesai Makwavarara who CHRA says
is semi-literate, and hold
elections..
Mabhoo said the association was
prepared to mobilise thousands of residents
and if it meant filling up all
the police stations in Harare, so be it.
Margaret Mavhura, 33, from Mufakose
was caught up in the demonstration and
frightened when arrested. But she
said the experience had hardened her
resolve and she signed up to
CHRA.
Shamiso Matari, 37, of Mabvuku, said the police beat up the arrested
demonstrators, adding,"If more people become brave and join the struggle,
Harare will be a better place for us all."
Thirty-year-old Getrude
Kuudzehwe, who joined the protest from Kuwadzana
Extension, said,"We were
baptised . Harare is ours and Sekesai Makwavarara
and her other opportunists
must be prepared to face thousands of us on a
weekly basis."-Own
Correspondent
The Zimbabwean
BY A
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BULAWAYO - The main impact of the collapse of the
Zimbabwe economy has of
course been on its own people. However, sight should
not be lost of the
wider impact. To give any impact study real meaning, we
should start by
estimating where the Zimbabwe economy might have been if
this implosion had
not taken place. That would then suggest levels of
regional trade and the
multiplier effects that could be used to assess the
possible impact of such
growth and stability on the other countries of the
region. Zimbabwe sits
astride regional power and transport systems and at
one time had the most
advanced and developed financial and industrial
sectors, after South Africa,
in the region. At one stage it was the largest
trade partner of South
Africa, Zambia, and Malawi on the continent and was
also a major trading and
services partner for Botswana and the Congo with a
lesser position in
Namibia, Mozambique and Angola. After South Africa we
also had the largest
tourism industry in the region. The year 1996/97 is
arguably the last year
when the Zimbabwe economy was still functioning on a
"normal" basis. If this
is taken as a base line and the social, economic and
trade situation to 2006
expostulated over a period of 10 years, the results
would be:
Factor 1996/97 2005/06
(Estimated)
2005/06 (Actual)
GDP (US$ billions)
8,4 12.9
4.4
Tourism (visitors) 1 200
000 2 500 000
280 000
Exports (US$ billion)
3,4 5.78
1,4
Foreign Aid (US$ million)
800 1200
350
Imports (US$ billion)
4.2 7.4
1.8
Agric Output (US$ billion)
1.554 2.564
500
Mining Output (US$ mill)
672 1176
780
Employment 1 400
000 2 030 000
850 000
Population 12 500
000 14 790 000
10 500 000
When you look as these figures, the
effect of the implosion over the past 10
years can clearly be seen. The
assumed rates of growth in these numbers is
modest - 4 per cent per annum in
GDP, more in exports driven by rising
export receipts in mining and
agriculture as well as tourism. It should be
noted that the tourism industry
in South Africa has doubled in size since
1995.
The regional impact is
obvious - in 1996 we were the largest trading partner
for South Africa in
Africa - trade in both directions at about R1 billion a
month with imports
from South Africa growing rapidly. By my estimates South
Africa could have
been exporting goods to Zimbabwe to the value of at least
US$2,5 billion a
year by 2006 perhaps even higher. All these exports would
have been in the
form of manufactured products with high multiplier and
employment effects in
the South African economy. This element alone points
to a loss of potential
exports to Zimbabwe by South Africa of something
approaching US$10 billion
in 10 years.
If the region had not suffered from the effects of the Zimbabwe
crisis
internationally there can be little doubt that tourism would have
risen
faster than it has - by how much is difficult to estimate. Some of
this
potential has found its way to Botswana and Zambia but most of it has
been
lost - perhaps to the extent of 3 million potential visitors to the
region
in 2006. In the form of jobs this is equal to 375 000 jobs in the
tourism
sector alone.
In terms of capital flight, it is estimated that
Zimbabwe has been loosing
up to US$500 million a year in capital stock to
capital flight. In South
Africa the net loss of capital is in the order of a
billion Rand a month -
about three times the level of capital flight from
Zimbabwe. The difference
is that Zimbabwe is in a deep political and
economic crisis with damaging
and negative economic policies. South Africa
on the other hand has pursued
conservative economic policies and has made a
remarkable transition from
what it was before. Other SADC States all have
positive net capital
inflows - but resource based rather than based on
either the investment
climate or confidence in those countries as a
developing services or
industrial economy.
Without the negative impact of
the Zimbabwe crisis it is possible that South
Africa might have experienced
perhaps 2 per cent more real growth in GDP per
annum than it has actually
achieved since 1994. This is equal to US$2,6
billion a year in additional
GDP growth. Combined with capital flight of
about half this figure this
represents a loss of potential economic activity
of US$4,3 billion a year.
No developing country, especially a country like
South Africa, with 40 per
cent unemployment, millions homeless and extreme
rural and urban poverty,
can ignore such a loss of economic potential
without running the grave risk
of instability in the longer term. That is
exactly the price that South
Africans are paying for Mugabe's delinquency
and bad government.
If you
lift Zimbabwe out of the SADC economy and study what is left, the
picture is
pretty good. Angola, Mozambique and Botswana are all headed for
growth above
8 per cent; Zambia is not far behind while South Africa's
economy, boosted
by the massive surge in mineral and precious metal prices
is also likely to
grow strongly. That leaves the minnows of Malawi,
Swaziland and Lesotho -
all showing growth but at lower levels. If you then
had Zimbabwe also
recovering and perhaps growing strongly, its economy
fuelled by tourism,
mining and agriculture, you would see stronger regional
growth overall -
perhaps of the order of 1 to 2 per cent. That's the
difference between
making an impact on poverty and unemployment - and not.
The Zimbabwean
BY GIFT
PHIRI
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe's embattled administration has started
roping elderly retired nurses and doctors back into service as it battles to
contain an unprecedented loss of medical professionals migrating in droves
from the crisis-torn country.
Retired nurses and doctors, some as old as
75, have been called back by the
quasi-government body, the Health Services
Board, to fill thousands of posts
at dilapidated public healthcare centres
across the country reeling from
acute staff shortages. The retirement age
for medical personnel in Zimbabwe
is 65 but government last week announced
it was recalling all retired staff
to fill the void.
The total recall of
retired health professionals comes as unrest at
government hospitals reaches
fever pitch with nurses threatening to join a
strike by junior doctors that
entered it's third week this Monday. The
industrial action over salary hikes
and car loans has forced the health
delivery system to a grinding halt.
Thousands of patients were being turned
away at Parirenyatwa and Harare
Hospitals and similar scenes of chaos were
reported at state hospitals in
Bulawayo. "As long as they (retired doctors
and nurses) feel they are still
able to work, we would not mind having them
back in service,"an apparently
desperate Health Services Board acting
chairperson Joyce Kadandara told
shocked business executives at a
fundraising event of Chitungwiza Central
Hospital last Friday.
Dr Kudakwashe Nyamutukwa, president of the Hospital
Doctors Association,
told The Zimbabwean medical staff were going abroad"to
earn enough money to
live on." "The current gross salary of Z$57 million
(for a junior doctor) is
not in line with the stature and nobility of this
profession," Dr Nyamukutwa
said, adding medical professionals such as
doctors who envisioned lives
of"modest prosperity"for their families are
finding themselves struggling to
cover their bills. The Zimbabwean heard
that Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo has
only three staff obstetricians who
deliver more than 11,000 babies a year.
The other two are on loan from Cuba,
and go home for several weeks each
year. The hospital should have at least
six obstetricians. Mpilo handles
many of the most difficult cases in the
region but is currently operating
with just one general surgeon instead of
three to serve its 1,037 beds.
An interview with Zimbabwean
journalist Matthew Nyashanu
Ambrose
Musiyiwa
Published 2006-07-28 08:01 (KST)
Matthew Nyashanu is a Zimbabwean teacher, journalist, political
analyst and
media commentator currently living in the United Kingdom.
He is a
member of the Zimbabwean Association of Journalists in the
Diaspora.
He writes for a number of newspapers, particularly
zimbeat,
www.zimbeat.com and since 2002
he has been a contributor to SW Radio Africa
where he presents a political
commentary program.
Nyashanu is also the U.K. spokesperson of the
Zimbabwean opposition
political party, the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC).
In addition to this, Nyashanu is one of the founding members
of, and
spokesperson for, the Diaspora Vote Action Group, which took the
Zimbabwe
government to court in an effort to secure the right to vote for
Zimbaweans
living outside the country.
In a series of ongoing
emails and telephone conversations that started
in January 2006, Matthew
Nyashanu spoke to Ambrose Musiyiwa about the
Diaspora Vote Action Group and
the hardships journalists are facing in
Zimbabwe.
What
motivated the Diaspora Vote Action Group to take the Zimbabwe
government to
court?
We were motivated by the fact that despite getting
independence in
1980, many Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora were unable to
exercise their
basic fundamental right of choosing the leader they
preferred. Other
countries in the region, countries like Mozambique, for
example, have been
able to put such arrangements in place.
Who
else was involved in these efforts?
The court case was actioned by
seven people namely Matthew Nyashanu,
Makusha Mugabe, Emily Madamombe,
Lincoln Makotore, Jefta Madzingo, Brian
Makuzva and Farai
Maruzani.
How did you go about it?
We set up a website
and we received a lot of support in the form of
signatures from Zimbabweans
in the Diaspora. We also had a very wide press
coverage, which helped us to
reach far and wide in terms of building a
support base. The only problem we
had was that of paying legal costs but we
managed to fork the money out of
our own pockets.
Although the Zimbabwe government still would not
allow Zimbabweans
living abroad to vote, I believe that our campaign was
successful. Our
action exposed, to the world, one of the many ways the
Zimbabwean people are
being oppressed by President Robert Mugabe's
regime.
How did your participation in this affect you and your
family?
The participation further strained my relationship with the
Zanu PF
administration and I am viewed as a traitor especially for suing
them from
U.K., the former coloniser and number one enemy to Zanu PF.
Because of that
and because of my broadcasts and writings I am one of those
not allowed in
the country by the regime.
What would happen to
you if you returned?
Anyone trying to fight for justice and anyone
trying to inform the
international world about the dark side of President
Mugabe's rule is likely
to face the wrath of the ailing regime.
In Zimbabwe just before Christmas, last year, a number of journalists
were
arrested. More journalists have been arrested again this year. What, in
your
view, is the Zimbabwe government's motivation for these and other
arrests?
The journalists were arrested because the Harare
administration is
under immense pressure following their unplanned land
seizure and the
establishment of political thuggery in the country. Zanu PF
is looking very
insecure especially after demolishing the shelters of poor
urban dwellers
and moving them to remote and unsanitary places like Hopely
Farm.
These arrests are a well-calculated strategy to put on hold
the free
flow of information -- especially the information disseminated by
the
independent press. The government is hoping to create a vacuum of
information on Zimbabwe and, in this way, make sure that the inhumane way,
in which it is treating its citizens, remains a secret. This is also meant
to induce fear in all journalists and human rights activists wishing to
square up with the regime.
Although these arrests may induce
fear in the media fraternity, in
another way they will make journalists to
grow stronger in their quest to
expose the wrong activities of this despotic
regime.
What would you advise journalists currently living and
working in
Zimbabwe?
The way forward for journalists in
Zimbabwe is to keep the pressure on
by reporting all the abuses coming from
this regime. The journalists should
also, where possible, file stories with
international media organizations to
make sure that the regime is exposed
for what it is.
©2006 OhmyNews
27 Jul 2006 20:25:28
GMT
Source: Human Rights Watch
(London, July 28, 2006) ? The
Zimbabwean government's abusive practices,
coupled with inadequate health and
social welfare policies, are undermining
the country's progress in the fight
against AIDS, Human Rights Watch said in
a report released today. Despite a
drop in HIV prevalence rates from 25 to
20 percent between 2000 and 2005,
Zimbabwe is still battling a serious
HIV/AIDS crisis. Up to 1.6 million
people are living with HIV in Zimbabwe,
but only 25,000 of the 350,000 people
in immediate need of antiretroviral
drugs have access to treatment. More than
3,000 people are dying per week.
The 72-page report, "No Bright Future:
Government Failures, Human Rights
Abuses and Squandered Progress in the Fight
Against AIDS in Zimbabwe,"
documents how abusive policies and practices by
the government are fueling
the HIV/AIDS epidemic, increasing vulnerability to
infection, and
obstructing access to treatment.
"Zimbabwe has been
hailed as a 'success story' in the fight against AIDS,"
said Joe Amon,
director of the HIV/AIDS program at Human Rights Watch. "But
abusive
government policies are blocking treatment for those who desperately
need it
and making even more people vulnerable to infection."
The Zimbabwean
government's program of evictions has disrupted access to
treatment and
healthcare for many people living with HIV. Today, over a year
after the
evictions, hundreds of people living with HIV continue to live in
appalling
conditions, without shelter or in overcrowded houses. As a result
many are
left more prone to opportunistic infections such as pneumonia
and
tuberculosis. The evictions also interfered with HIV-prevention efforts;
for
example, police destroyed nearly 2,000 outlets providing condoms in
the
urban townships during the evictions. The government's crackdown on
the
informal sector has also destroyed peoples' livelihoods, increasing the
risk
of HIV infection for thousands, and further endangering the lives of
those
already infected.
Women, who are already harder hit than men by
AIDS in Zimbabwe, have been
particularly affected by the crackdown on the
informal economy. Unable to
sell produce or clothing by the side of the road,
and unable to find a means
to support themselves or their families, many are
forced to engage in
high-risk behaviors including sex work in order to
survive, Human Rights
Watch said.
In addition, the government of
President Robert Mugabe has done little to
prevent or prosecute domestic
violence and violations of property and
inheritance rights. These violations
have perpetuated the greater
vulnerability of women and the inability of
those infected with HIV to seek
and receive effective care.
"The
Zimbabwean government must recognize the incendiary effect of human
rights
abuses on the HIV/AIDS epidemic," said Amon. "Unless Mugabe's
government puts
an end to these abuses, tens of thousands more people will
become infected,
and the gains it has achieved in the fight against AIDS
will amount to
nothing."
At the same time, user fees for health services in state
hospitals tripled
in March while private sector doctors' fees increased in
April by 100
percent. However, the government does not provide sufficient
information to
the public on the criteria for exemptions from paying the user
fees for
those who cannot afford to pay. Instead, many poor and vulnerable
people are
denied exemptions by social welfare officers who fail to properly
identify
those most in need of assistance.
The government has recently
pledged to scale up access to antiretroviral
treatment from 25,000 to 70,000
people by the end of the year. But thousands
of people are unable to access
treatment because of a lack of public
information about antiretroviral
therapy policies. The government has
neglected to inform individuals who test
HIV-positive about the eligibility
criteria for antiretroviral therapy and it
has failed ensure that medical
providers follow national antiretroviral
therapy guidelines. These failures
have resulted in people being turned away
from the treatment and care that
they need and are eligible
for.
Although nongovernmental organizations are central to the fight
against
HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, they are often subjected to harassment
and
intimidation by the government's central intelligence officers and
local
government officials. The restrictive political environment in the
country
has prevented these activists from properly advocating for the human
rights
of people living with HIV/AIDS.
The report also examines the
role of the international donor community which
has significantly pulled back
direct assistance to Zimbabwe since 2000 due
to the government's poor human
rights record and failed economic policies.
The report calls on the
international community to increase funding to
programs working with people
living with HIV/AIDS. At the same time, donors
should continue to call on the
Zimbabwean government to respect human rights
and provide an environment that
is conducive to effectively addressing the
crisis.
Human Rights Watch
called on the Zimbabwean government to respect the rights
of its citizens and
show its commitment to fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic by
providing equitable
and nondiscriminatory access to healthcare for all
people, reversing those
economic and social policies that have the effect of
further impoverishing
vulnerable sections of the population, ceasing
policies that prevent and
restrict advocacy on the part of people living
with HIV/AIDS, and supporting
the efforts of international and local
organizations providing treatment and
care to people living with HIV/AIDS.
The Herald (Harare)
July 27,
2006
Posted to the web July 27, 2006
Victoria
Ruzvidzo
Harare
THE bulk of the $43 trillion in cash circulating in
Zimbabwe cannot be
accounted for, with only 15 percent of the money in the
formal sector.
It is understood that at least 40 percent of the money is
stashed in
people's homes, offices and outside Zimbabwe.
This
effectively means that the economy is now largely being driven by
the
informal sector where most have turned to illicit deals such as
parallel
market trading, hoarding of basic commodities for sale at inflated
prices
locally and regionally.
This has compounded Zimbabwe's economic
challenges, at a time when efforts
are being directed towards reviving the
economy.
Billions of dollars are being channelled to the informal market
daily to
meet the demands for foreign currency by the informal
traders.
Some big traders are also believed to be keeping billions of
dollars in
their houses, largely for underhand dealings, thereby starving the
formal
market of cash, particularly during month ends when demand for money
is at
its peak.
This explains the long queues that form in banking
halls and at Automated
Teller Machines (ATMs) during such periods as the
financial institutions
struggle to meet demand.
Of late, long queues
have become a common sight even during mid-month.
The growing number of
informal traders, now going to as far as China,
Singapore and Dubai, has also
contributed to the diversion of large amounts
of money to the parallel
market, from where the majority source their
foreign currency
requirements.
Sources in the banking sector yesterday revealed that the
scenario had
worsened, particularly at a time when the informal sector
contributions to
the economy have not been accounted for.
This has
resulted in high money supply growth, a factor that induces high
inflationary
pressures.
Zimbabwe's annual rate of inflation is at 1 184 percent as of
June.
"The sad thing is that a great proportion of the money in the
informal
sector has been a source of indiscipline, parallel market dealing
and other
such activities.
"Grey forces do not operate through the
banking systems," said one source.
Furthermore, although travellers are
only allowed to leave the country with
a maximum of $5 million in local
currency, many have externalised large
amounts to countries within the region
and beyond, where they engage in
illegal foreign currency deals.
This
has largely been the result of the growing number of Zimbabweans that
have
migrated to countries in the region.
Increased activity in the informal
sector has been attributed to the
dwindling formal sector where thousands of
people have been retrenched while
companies continue to restructure as they
seek to survive the current
difficult operating environment.
The
formal sector has also not been able to absorb all the school and
college
leavers and some of them have turned to the informal sector for
their
livelihood.
However, the informal sector's contributions to the economy
cannot be
accounted for. It is, thus, not clear how much some of the
legitimate
activities in that sector contribute to the economy.
A
substantial quantity of money in circulation should produce a stable
economy
to ensure a balanced payment for goods and services. This scenario
demands
that authorities balance the ratio of the quantity of money in
circulation
and the value of informal and formal trade.
A quantity of money in
circulation smaller than needed creates a crisis by
suffocating the economy.
An unhealthy situation arises when consumers fail
to get money on the formal
market to purchase their needs.
Furthermore, when there is too much money
in circulation than the economic
activity, prices may shoot up and
consequently fuel inflation.
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
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Ad
inserted 29 June 2006
VACANCY:
C.E.O required to Head the Kapenta
Industry in Kariba. Good package
depending on applicants qualifications. To
start, 1st August 2006. Applicant
required to be good & meticulous
administrator & very active (35 years &
above). Please apply to email
address: conquest@mweb.co.zw
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Ad
inserted 6 July 2006
Workshop Manager Required
Workshop located in
Ashbrittle
Work involves water supply systems
Applicant should be
approximately 60 to 68 years old, needing to supplement
his pension.
Knowledge of pumps and vehicle maintenance an advantage.
Job covers stock
control and workshop activities as well as
telephone/reception
Salary
negotiable
Please telephone 091 212 163 for further discussion (evenings
882718)
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Ad
inserted 6 July 2006
Operations Manager
"Operations Manager"
required for retail shops in Manicaland. Would suit ex
farmer and wife. Age
and experience not important. Email aylen@mweb.co.zw"
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Ad
inserted 13 July 2006
"Situation Vacant"
Hospital Matron.
Borradaile (Private) Hospital, Marondera, requires a Matron
in Charge to
start 1st August or later by arrangement. Applicants must be
registered RGN
with at least five years experience in a senior position and
preferably with
midwifery and OT certificates. Apply with CV and references
to
The
Chairman, P.O. Box 453,
Marondera.
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Ad
inserted 20 July 2006
Position Offered:
A permanent position is
offered as a live in Nurse/Carer to take care of an
Alzheimer's patient as
well as a Stroke patient. Nurse Aids will be
available to help with night
duties.
This position needs to be filled very urgently. Salary will be
discussed
personally with applicants.
Applicant must be willing to
live on a farm in the Beitbridge district, and
have a valid
passport.
Please phone: Patty on 086-22332/22391 during work hours or
086-22465 at
home or email Patty on
pbristow@iwayafrica.com
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Ad
inserted 27 July 2006-07-27
FARM MANAGER REQUIRED
A farm manager
is wanted for a large commercial tobacco estate,Karoi north
area.The position
requires the management of 80 ha's irrigated & 80 ha's dry
land
tobacco,250 ha's of commercial maize,10 - 30 ha's seed maize and 40 ha'
s
winter crops.
The successful candidate needs to have previous experience
in tobacco and
maize production. Farming diploma as well as mechanical and
/or electrical
knowledge would be an added advantage.
The successful
candidate is also expected to have strong HR skills to manage
a large work
force of at least 300 workers.
The farm Manager will report to the
General Manager of the Estate.
A competitive package with a generous
performance driven bonus is on offer.
Minimum contract period shall be 2
years but standard offer will be for 3
years. Good accommodation and other
related perks are also on offer.
Please send C.V. and references to wajetsi@hms.co.zw
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Ad
inserted 27 July 2006
TOBACCO MANAGER REQUIRED URGENTLY
We
urgently require a highly motivated and capable Tobacco Manager to run
a
commercial unit near Harare. The successful applicant will be an
honest,
hard working person who is prepared to put everything into the
project to
ensure success.
Please contact Joe Pistorius on e mail agrijoe@hms.co.zw or phone 091 251408
or
335465
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Ad
inserted 27 July 2006
WANTED Regional Sales Manager
We are looking
for a person in their 30's to aggressively sell Inverters for
our client.
The right candidate must have the following qualities:
* Hard core sales
*
Someone who is used to a "small office" set-up
* Ability to manage a team of
sales representatives at a later stage
* CV must show a strong sales
experience with a preference to 3 years at a
management level
* Ideal
candidates would have a background in
electrics/solar/electronics/FMGG/power
(battery)/IT sector
* The candidate should be aggressive, focused and result
oriented who can
build the market independently
* Main challenges are to
identify the right partners as distributors/dealers
and agents
* The role
will involve lots of travelling in Zimbabwe and Regionally. There
will be a
lot of international exposure.
* Very attractive salary and benefits on
offer
If you feel you have all the above experience and qualities, please
contact
Sarah to secure a place in the short listing. Sarah Vale Oxford IT.
CFU
Agricultural House, Corner Adylinn Road and Marlborough Drive,
Marlborough,
Harare
Tel:309855 - 60 (ext 23), Direct:309274,
Fax:309351
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Ad
inserted 27 July 2006
Vacancy Offered - General Manager
Our
company is looking for someone to fill the vacancy below:
Company:
Associated Meat Packers, Harare
Industry: Beef Retail and
Wholesale
Position: General Manager.
MAIN PURPOSE OF THE JOB: The
position is required by the senior executive to
manage, plan and organize the
daily operations and activities of Associated
Meat Packers, Harare. The
objective of the General Manager is to be a direct
representative capable of
making sound business decisions on behalf of the
Managing Director whilst
operating AMP Harare as an individual strategic
business unit at a profit and
growing.
EXPERIENCE: The incumbent should have at least 5 years
experience in the
beef industry or related market(s) and have held a position
of
responsibility for a minimum of 3 years. Knowledge in export markets is
an
added advantage.
CONTACT: L. JONES on 04 797868 (Work) or 091 408
881 (Mobile) for more
information and to arrange an interview. Please deliver
CV in a sealed
envelope to Associated Meat Packers, 1 Coventry Rd,
Workington, Harare -
Attention: Mr. L
Jones.
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Employment
Sought
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 6 July 2006
Girl Friday
Mature lady seeks position as a
Person Friday. Typing skills, Clerical
work, some computer experience i.e.
Email.
Reliable, Honest, Available immediately has own
transport.
Prefers not to have to deal with any figure work or
money.
Areas - Workington, Light Industrial Sites, Msasa, Newlands,
Southerton.
Contact Address: Phone Heather Don on 571737 or Email: digger@mango.zw
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Ad
inserted 13 July 2006
Commercial agricultural representative
I am
a former commercial agricultural representative with farming experience
in
Zimbabwe and Mozambique (virginia tobacco, burley
tobacco,
commercial/seed-maize, wheat, soyabeans, cotton, citrus and pigs); I
have
extensive knowledge on the subjects of agronomy, crop chemicals
and
veterinary products. Is there anybody out there with something for
me?
Contact Stu Taylor on 0204 -2288 or
091-650997.
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Ad
inserted 13 July 2006
URGENT POSITION REQUIRED -
MANAGERIAL
Divorced, tomboy type female aged 48 seeks urgent position any
where in
Zimbabwe. Due to unforeseen circumstances the position I was to
take up
shortly is no longer available and as a result I am available
immediately.
I have vast experience in all aspects of Management and
Management Training;
Stock Control; Buying; Sales and Sales Training and
administration. My
people skills are excellent and I have no problem working
or managing in
Male environments, so would fit in well in most companies. I
consider
myself to have integrity, loyalty and am not afraid of putting an
honest
days work or overtime. I do not have my own transport, but have a
valid
Drivers License.
Should anyone wish to discuss the matter,
please contact Theresa asap on
(016) 537 any time within the next
week.
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Ad
inserted 13 July 2006
Typing Service
Don't have time to do your
own typing and need someone to take the stress
from you. Well here I am call
on me and I will assist you in any way I
possibly can. I worked for Rio
Tinto, Eiffels Flats in 1991 till 1994 when I
left to get married. I then
started working for Carters Transport in Kadoma
and worked for them for 3
years. I did the creditors and wages side and
used the programs SAGE and
Payrite. I taught myself a lot on the computer.
Then obtained my ICDL in
February 2004. I have done various others projects
on the computer e.g.
(Party Invitations, Menus, Order of Services, Cheque
book labels, Typed up an
assignment for a student at Black Forbe).
I enjoy baking and cooking, its
one of my main interests. I have catered
for weddings, Company Christmas
Parties, Round Table Induction Dinners, 8
years of teas, lunches, dinners for
the Kadoma Golf Club and cheese and wine
parties.
Further more details
contact myself on the following:-
Contact name : Mrs J J
Niehaus
Email address : stealthtec@zol.co.zw
Mobile
number : 011-403718
Home number :
04-300430/433
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Ad
inserted 20 July 2006
Farming Experience
48-year-old farmer with
23 years diverse farming experience, 23 years
tobacco, maize, beef, sheep,
and 10 years floriculture. No dependents. Phone
091233165 / 04499817.
Email bobz@zol.co.zw
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Ad
inserted 27 July 2006
Ex Farmer
Ex Farmer/Consultant and
Agronomist for Alliance One Tobacco aged 50 years
living in Zimbabwe with 23
years experience in growing tobacco, maize, seed
maize, horticulture, beef
cattle, pigs, chickens. Excellent management,
administration and
communication skills, computer literate, full clean
drivers licence. Was
runner up' Tobacco Grower of the Year' in 1985. Spent
last 2 years
consulting for Imperial Tobacco Group in Madagascar on the
production of
flue-cured tobacco.
AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY. CONTACT Jack Readings: 011 600
636; 011 602 538 or
04 701170/3 or email: heather@karina.co.zw
Can send CV
if
necessary.
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Ad
inserted 27 July 2006
Hospitality Industry
Single male with vast
experience in the Hospitality Industry seeks
position.5 years experience in
Lodge/camp administration /management .Please
contact William on 091 774 523
or 091 398 730 ,working hours 09-60727 or
0838 261 or E-mail at william@byo.masiye.com
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For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 27 July 2006)