Solidarity Peace Trust
30 July
2010
In May 2005, the Zimbabwean government embarked on a massive, highly systematic programme of demolitions of all informal housing in urban and peri-urban areas across Zimbabwe. Combined with a total clampdown on the informal trading sector, including the destruction of official vending areas and confiscation of all wares, Operation Murambatsvina (OM), or "Drive out the Filth" caused direct havoc in the lives of millions. The sheer scale and thoroughness of OM set it apart from previous demolitions, not just in Zimbabwe, but in Africa.
1. 2005: immediate losses of dwellings and livelihoods
Three million people countrywide directly and indirectly suffered, as a result of the demolitions; an estimated 100,000 vendors were arrested-many of them legally licensed and selling from legal vendors' markets; 560,000 people lost their shelter countrywide, with some small centres losing as much as 60% of their housing. A further 2,4 million lost markets for their goods, and/or remittances from the urban areas. Most of the demolished shelters were of good quality with access to electricity, water and sewerage, and many had been legitimated by virtue of standing for decades. The illegality of the government's actions, which were in violation of the nation's own laws with respect to evictions, as well as in violation of international statutes and protocols, has been noted in our previous reports on OM, as well as by other commentators.
2. 2010: impact of OM
Five years on, what observations can be made regarding the causes and impact of OM, bearing in mind its context in the multi-layered, cataclysmic decline of Zimbabwe, which began in the 1990s? The massive internal displacement of people that resulted from OM in 2005, has been followed by further economic, humanitarian and political crises that have created seemingly impossible conditions for Zimbabwe's citizens. In 2008, a combination of political violence on a scale unseen since the 1980s, the total economic implosion of the nation with inflation running into the millions of percent, the almost total closure of schools and hospitals and the resulting cholera epidemic, all led to another exponential movement of people, this time out of the country in search of work, basic services and safe haven. In a previous report, we documented that in 2008-9, the rate of diasporisation increased one-hundred-fold from that of the 1990s, in rural Matabeleland at least.
A nation on the move - still
In this report, we follow up on previous OM research conducted by SPT in 2005 and 2006, and build on our narratives of the lives of particular families and informal settlements from 2005 to 2010. The story is a grim one, with many of those we remembered now prematurely dead, and others living in unspeakable poverty.
The four detailed case studies in this report illustrate the lives of extreme hardship that have driven Zimbabweans from one place of abode to another in the last five years. In urban Bulawayo, we found that 80% of people on our target sites had moved on between 2005 and 2010. We found that people in the informal settlements in Bulawayo have moved an average of 4,2 times in the last five years - to end up exactly where they started out-only to be evicted again in July 2010! And we found that Zimbabweans who have travelled as far as the Western Cape have lived in up to seven places in the last five years, and are also once more on the move, chasing seasonal employment and fleeing xenophobia. Zimbabwe's population is in a state of flux and movement, and each move costs dearly in terms of lost possessions, interruption in access to services, and emotional stress. Families have been forced to live apart, with children in Zimbabwe living with grandparents while their parents earn abroad, or living in rural areas while their parents struggle to make money in the informal sector in the towns. The social fabric of Zimbabwe has been ripped apart.
'A Fractured Nation: Operation Murambatsvina-five years on' is available to download in PDF format from the Solidarity Peace Trust website. Click here to download the report (3.2MB).
Please also visit the video section of our website to view 'Poverty On Top Of Poverty', a film launched today which looks at whether the new inclusive government has made an impact on the lives of a group of people living at Hopley Farm. Hopley Farm is a large tract of land on the outskirts of Harare where the government dumped thousands of Murambatsvina victims in 2005. They were promised new homes, a developed infrastructure and a better life. What has transpired in Hopley in the five years since Operation Murambatsvina rendered hundreds of thousands homeless, mirrors the fate of IDP’s across the country.
For further information, please contact Selvan Chetty - Deputy Director, Solidarity Peace Trust
Email: selvan@solidaritypeacetrust.org
Tel: +27 (39) 682 5869
Fax: +27 (39) 682
5869
Address:
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By Alex Bell
30 July 2010
A number of international legal organizations have warned that the current dire state of the legal and justice system in 'impunity riddled Zimbabwe' has continued to decline, despite the formation of the coalition government.
In a report released last weekend, a coalition of legal group's, including the Bar Human Rights Committee and the General Council of the Bar in the UK, said that rule of law issues in Zimbabwe have not improved since the unity government was formed last year.
'A place in the sun: report on the state of the rule of law in Zimbabwe after the Global Political Agreement' was the result of a tour of the country in late October last year by international legal and human rights experts. The tour coincided with the deportation of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, who was barred from entering the country when he arrived at Harare International Airport. That incident sparked widespread anger and Nowak himself said that there were clearly parts of the government who did not want him to assess "the current conditions of torture"
The tour also coincided with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's temporary'disengagement' from the coalition government last year over Robert Mugabe's refusal to honour the GPA, which was signed in 2008 to pave the way for critical change in the country. Such change has not happened and rule of law issues remain a major concern for human rights defenders across the country.
The lawyers' report said that incidents of extra-judicial killings, kidnapping, torture and other serious human rights abuses continue to occur, abuses that "remain un-investigated by the authorities." The culture of impunity on the part of the police and the state security forces also remains unchanged, while "the majority of the senior judiciary remains fundamentally compromised by state patronage, grants of land and other gifts given to them by the former government."
The report also detailed how the physical infrastructure for the teaching of law is crumbling, stating that "the mission saw for itself the dilapidated state of the Law Faculty of the University of Zimbabwe." The mission was reportedly also "deeply disturbed by accounts it received that the Central Intelligence Organisation had infiltrated the student body in the Law Faculty, with the result that the content of lectures and open debate in seminars was circumscribed by fear of the consequences of candour."
The lawyers' groups highlighted a major concern, that access to justice remains "virtually non existent."
"The legal aid system is so starved of funds that the Legal Aid Directorate is itself on the verge of collapse. Although small numbers of cases are taken on by certain independent organizations, the picture as regards access to justice, is grim," the report reads.
The mission concluded that there has been no improvement, and quite possibly a further decline in the rule of law since the signing of the GPA, and that significant concern remains in relation to all aspects of the rule of law in Zimbabwe. The report calls for the immediate end to impunity and the investigation of the involvement of the state security forces in disregarding the law.
The mission also calls on the government to comply with its obligations under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Treaty, and honour the rulings of the SADC Tribunal. The government has refused to abide by rulings of the Tribunal, which recently ruled that Mugabe's land reform programme was unlawful. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has dismissed the SADC Tribunal rulings as 'null and void'. SADC meanwhile has taken no action to force Zimbabwe to comply.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
30
July 2010
The country's three political leaders are reported to have
agreed to drop
several outstanding issues, which have been crippling the
coalition
government, and to focus on only three related to senior
appointments.
According to the weekly Zimbabwe Independent newspaper
Morgan Tsvangirai,
Robert Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara agreed at a meeting in
June to drop
everything else and concentrate on resolving the dispute around
the
appointments of Roy Bennett, Johannes Tomana and Gideon
Gono.
Despite the power sharing deal making it clear senior appointments
have to
be done by consensus among the partners, Mugabe went ahead and
unilaterally
appointed the Reserve Bank governor Gono and Attorney General
Tomana. He has
additionally refused to swear in Roy Bennett, the MDC-T
choice for Deputy
Agriculture Minister, citing a dubious treason trial in
which Bennett was
acquitted.
The paper says the three principals
wrote a letter to South African
President Jacob Zuma, the chief facilitator,
and advised him on the areas of
agreement and disagreement. Mutambara was
asked to comment on the letter but
told the paper, 'I cannot discuss the
contents and details of that
communication with the media. Those
communications are confidential and we
cannot talk about them in public or
in the media.'
The response from the Deputy Prime Minister typifies the
general attitude of
politicians in the country who believe ordinary people
have no right to
information that will directly affect their lives. The
result of this has
been the fact that most news stories are based on hearsay
and speculation.
Then the politicians can criticize the media for its
inaccuracies.
Analysts say for a country battling to recover from
economic collapse,
information on the endless talks around the non
functioning unity government
is also vital for decision makers.
But
MDC-T spokesman Nelson Chamisa refuted the Zimbabwe Independent story
and
told Newsreel none of the outstanding issues were dropped. He said what
had
happened was that the principals had agreed on those issues, what was
left
was to see if they would be implemented. There is however a complete
deadlock on Gono, Tomana and Bennett which is why they want SADC to
intervene. In addition to this there had been fresh breaches of the GPA by
Mugabe after the ZANU PF leader unilaterally appointed judges and
ambassadors this year.
This week Zuma dispatched one of his top
envoys to Zimbabwe, in yet another
attempt to try to kick-start the talks.
Former Transport Minister Mac
Maharaj arrived Tuesday and met separately
with the three party principals
the following day. Once again officials were
very coy about releasing any
information to the media. But it was reported
elsewhere that South Africa
wanted to bridge the divide between ZANU PF and
its partners before a
Southern African Development Community summit in
Namibia in August.
Meanwhile it's reported Zimbabwe might not even be on
the agenda of the SADC
summit, if Mugabe and those lobbying for him have
their way. While
Tsvangirai and the MDC are pushing for Zimbabwe's inclusion
as an agenda
item Mugabe is said to be leaning on his longtime ally, DRC
President Joseph
Kabila, who is the current SADC chair. Namibian President
Hifikepunye
Pohamba, the incoming chair, also has close links to Mugabe and
is not
expected to adopt a robust approach to the Zimbabwe crisis.
It
remains to be seen if SADC will follow the lead of the recent African
Union
Summit, which conveniently - for Mugabe - left Zimbabwe off the
agenda. If
they do, it will be yet another indication that African leaders
have little
concern for human rights abuses on the continent.
http://news.radiovop.com
12 hours 26 minutes
ago
HARARE, July 30, 2010 - First Lady Grace Mugabe has been fingered
as one of
the biggest beneficiaries from the diamonds from the controversial
Chiadzwa
fields after it emerged she is a shareholder in Mbada
Diamonds.
Mbada Diamonds is one of the companies that were clandestinely
awarded
mining rights at Chiadzwa by President Robert Mugabe's
government.
Government sources revealed the First Lady had a substantial
interest in
Mbada Diamonds together with little known South African company,
Grandwell
Holdings and the Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation.
"The First Lady is one of the shareholders in Mbada
Diamonds," said an
official from the ministry of mines.
The official
said eyebrows were raised after the First Lady was constantly
meeting Robert
Mhlanga, Mbada Diamonds' chairperson.
Mhlanga, a retired top solider, is
a close confidante to the First Family
dating to the days of the Congo war
when he was still in active service.
Mbada Diamonds caused a furor last
year after it clandestinely flew over 300
000 carats of diamonds to Harare
International Airport from Chiadzwa without
police supervision.
The
company wanted to auction the gems but the sale was stopped at the
eleventh
hour.
It was feared that the non-transparent manner in which the diamonds
were
transported, could have created room for corruption with some loads
being
diverted to other destinations before they reached Harare.
They
were also worries that the government had no presence at the fields
mined by
Mbada Diamonds. With no representative on the ground, government
had no idea
how much Mbada was mining.
Human rights groups have in the past accused
President Mugabe's government
of plundering the precious resource in
Chiazdwa.
A human rights activist based in Mutare, Farai Maguwu burnt his
fingers
after he attempted to expose human rights violations and the looting
of the
gems by senior officials in government.
Maguwu was arrested
and detained for five weeks on charges of spreading
falsehoods prejudicial
to the state.
He is out on stringent bail conditions. Police arrested
Maguwu again on
Monday and charged him with possession of a stolen
vehicle.ends
http://news.radiovop.com
12 hours 19 minutes ago
HARARE, July 30, 2010
- Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara has accused
his partners in
Zimbabwe's shaky coalition government of poor leadership and
political
grandstanding.
Mutambara's unprecedented attack on President Robert
Mugabe and Prime
Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai comes after the two openly
called for elections
next year.
"Elections next year are unpractical,
we first have to come up with a number
of reforms to the electoral
commission, the media and other institutions.
"They are not confident
enough to speak about the national interest, they
are just grandstanding,"
he charged.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has already said it
needs between a
year and 18 months to sort out the voters roll, the more
reason Mutambara
argues elections were impossible next
year.
Mutambara said reforms to these institutions were important to
avoid a
negotiated settlement that saw losers being retained in government.
He
warned that if this was not heeded, the 2008 situation would be
repeated.
"Let us not forget where we are from, the 2008 election was
problematic and
we risk repeating a vicious circle of fraudulent elections,"
he warned.
He said misplaced statements about elections would jeopardise
the writing of
a new constitution and would raise political tension in the
country.
"Elections are about competition and that is not what we want,
what we need
now is co-operation more than anything," he
advised.
Squabbles among the three main political parties, MDC, Zanu PF
and MDC-T,
have dominated the national agenda since the formation of the
inclusive
government early last year.
Tsvangirai has called for
elections to solve the dispute between him and
veteran leader Mugabe, while
on the other hand Mugabe, also wants elections
in the hope that he will
defeat Tsvangirai, his long time rival.
http://af.reuters.com
Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:50pm
GMT
* Bank seeks market-based interest rates
* New
deadline for minimum bank capital requirements
By Cris
Chinaka
HARARE, July 30 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's central bank said on
Friday it would
intervene to force banks to slash "punitive" lending rates
of as high as 50
percent that are partly blamed for slowing economic
recovery.
A unity government formed by President Robert Mugabe and rival
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai 18 months ago adopted the use of foreign
currencies including the South African rand and U.S. dollar, which has
helped to stabilise the economy and stemmed hyper-inflation.
But
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said lending rates had
remained too high, with banks charging between 30 and 50 percent,
discouraging companies from borrowing.
"Some of the players in the
banking sector have completely diverted their
interest rate regimes from the
co-fundamentals of inflation and fair
evaluation of risk profiles in the
market, more towards unexplained
outrageous punitive lending rates," Gono
said in a mid-year monetary
statement.
"The Reserve Bank has been
left with no other option but to intervene with
the immediate introduction
of a more robust market-based interest rates
framework," he said without
offering further details.
Zimbabwe's inflation peaked at 500 billion
percent in Dec. 2008 according to
IMF data, while interest rates rose above
1,000 percent. But the
introduction of the multi-currency regime has seen
inflation return to
single digits.
The index eased to 5.3 percent
year-on-year in June from 6.1 percent in May.
Gono also said the central
bank was scrapping a requirement for banks to
keep five percent of their
cash holdings with the central bank in a bid to
free more funds for
lending.
Zimbabwe registered its first growth in a decade last year, but
analysts say
the southern African country is struggling to attract foreign
aid over
controversial policies being pursued by Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party.
Although the IMF has warned that Zimbabwe's banking sector faces
systemic
risks, Gono said 17 of the country's 24 financial institutions had
met a
June 30 deadline to raise the minimum capital threshold to $12
million.
The remaining seven had been given a new deadline of December 31
to comply,
he said.
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe)
Zimbabwe's media regulator said Friday it had granted
licences to four new
media houses, bringing to eight the number of new
players registered since
the government opened up the media space two months
ago.
Zimbabwe
Media Commission (ZMC) chairperson Godfrey Majonga said the
regulator had
licensed two news agencies - Cable News Agency and the African
Open Media
Initiative - as well as a sports magazine and a lifestyle
publication.
The entry of the new players follows a similar licensing
of four private
daily newspapers by the ZMC in May as part of reforms to
open up the media.
The licensed dailies included the Daily News, closed
by the government in
2003 at a time when it was the country's largest
circulating daily paper.
Also licensed was NewsDay published by
publishing mogul Trevor Ncube who
currently publishes The Zimbabwe
Independent and owns South Africa's Mail &
Guardian
newspaper.
The decision to grant licences to new private newspapers
followed heavy
criticism of the ZMC by local media groups which accused the
commission of
delaying the process to open up Zimbabwe's media space which
has been
stifled by selective application of repressive laws.
The
defunct Media and Information Commission (MIC), predecessor of the ZMC,
was
accused of using the draconian Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act (AIPPA) to hound private newspapers and journalists out of the
sector.
The MIC oversaw the closure of four private papers between
2003 and 2006 on
the grounds that they were not registered with the
commission as required
under AIPPA.
It also hounded scores of local
and foreign journalists out of the country
for not being accredited to
operate.
JN/daj/APA
2010-07-30
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
30 July
2010
Police in Hwange are reportedly attempting to stop an MDC "Real
Change"
rally scheduled for Saturday in the town, according to the
party.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to address thousands
of MDC
supporters at No. 1 Old Hwange Colliery Grounds. A high-powered
delegation
known as the "The MDC Real Change Team" is also set to join the
party
president in briefing the people "on the performance of the inclusive
government and the progress made since the start of the Constitution-making
process, which kicked off in June."
But, according to a letter signed
by Chief Superintendent S. Utete of Hwange
Police Station, the police are
claiming that they do not have enough
manpower for the rally as police
details are attending constitutional
outreach meetings, while others are
attending a Comesa ministers meeting in
Victoria Falls.
The MDC also
expressed concern on Friday that self-styled war vets leader,
Jabulani
Sibanda, is harassing and intimidating villagers in Bikita West
ahead of the
constitution-making outreach meetings in the area. Sibanda,
accompanied by
ZANU PF youths, is moving around the constituency
intimidating villagers
into support ZANU PF's position on the discredited
Kariba
draft.
Meanwhile, the MDC deputy organising secretary, Senator Morgen
Komichi who
was arrested in Lupane, Matebeleland North on Wednesday, has
been granted
$50 bail by a Hwange magistrate. Komichi is facing trumped-up
charges of
'communicating falsehoods'.
In February he addressed an
MDC rally in Lupane and told supporters that the
provincial police, led by
Edmore Veterai, were unwilling to release three
MDCimpounded vehicles. In
the run-up to the sham June 27th 2008 presidential
elections, Lupane Police
impounded President Morgan Tsvangirai's campaign
vehicle and two others
belonging to the Matabeleland North province and the
Youth Assembly. The
three vehicles are still at Lupane police station.
Senator Komichi will
appear in court again on 29th September.
Meanwhile, according to the
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, police in
Banket on Wednesday detained
Fanny Tembo, a councillor for Banket Town
Council, after he attempted to
report a case of harassment by ZANU PF
supporters.
The ZANU PF
activists who confronted Tembo accused him of exposing them to
the media for
victimising a local MDC councillor on an earlier occasion.
Tembo was
reportedly manhandled and had stones thrown at him. But when he
went to
report the unprovoked attack at the police station, "he was
surprised to be
informed by the police that they were now detaining him on
what seems to
have been a public violence charge."
Tembo was only released during the
early hours of Thursday morning, after
spending six hours in police
detention.
http://news.radiovop.com/
11 hours 46 minutes ago
HARARE,
July 30, 2010 - Outspoken MDC 99 leader, Job Sikhala says President
Robert
Mugabe's Zanu PF party is a terrorist organization which should be
treated
the same way with Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda.
In a statement Thursday
while responding to the alleged bombing of his bus
in Chitungwiza last week,
Sikhala said Zimbabweans have been living under a
terrorist organization
since 1980 when the country attained independence.
"The recent bombing of
my family by suspected terrorists from Zanu PF has
hardened our resolve to
fight against internal terrorism introduced into our
lives by the Zanu PF
regime until it is defeated.
"The people of Zimbabwe remember that in the
1980s, the Zanu PF terrorism
regime slaughtered more than 20 000 innocent
supporters of the late Dr
Joshua Nkomo.
"We all remained silent in
fear of a terror backlash. The same happened
since formation of the MDC in
1999 when thousands of the party supporters
were killed, maimed and
tortured.
"It has proved to the MDC 99 beyond any reasonable doubt that
there is no
way you can distinguish Al-Shabaab of Somalia, Al-Qaeda and all
other
terrorist groupings from Zanu PF.
"MDC99 urges the
international community to slap restrictive measures
against anyone
associated with the terrorist organisation called Zanu PF,"
said Sikhala in
his statement.
Sikhala was in the main MDC before it split and joined the
smaller faction
led by Arthur Mutambara. He again fell out with Mutambara to
form his own
MDC99, claiming his party was the most legitimate one of the
three factions
which includes Tsvangirai's larger faction.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
July 29, 2010
It has been reported that last week the
government told ambassadors from
donor countries that they must keep the
government informed of their
activities, including the total funding brought
into the country and the
names of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that
they are partnered with.
According to The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper,
the instructions came from
the Minister for Regional Integration and
International Cooperation,
Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga. She also chairs
the Government Development
Forum, which was recently set up by government as
a platform for donors and
officials to discuss problematic issues. She also
said that government
‘should be the dominant player in aid co-ordination and
aid-distribution’.
The move has been strongly criticized by a number of
observers who see it as
an attempt to divert donor funds from projects that
the government doesn’t
like.
Reports said the United States has
already issued a warning against
government control of funds, saying donors
were already working under
strained and difficult conditions, laid out by
the Zimbabwean authorities.
Other observers have commented that they were
more surprised at the fact
that it was an MDC minister who dished out the
news. Before the formation of
the coalition government,
Misihairabwi-Mushonga was an official in the
opposition MDC and had opposed
government interference into the affairs of
NGOs.
But now she is quoted
as saying: "It is the government that defines where
aid should go. We now
require everyone in the country to inform us about
their aid work, how much
they are spending and which areas they are working
on. Right now we don't
know and are not sure who is doing what or working
with whom and through
which NGOs,"
Machinda Marongwe, deputy director of the National
Association of
Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO), explained that
Misihairabwi-Mushonga
does not have the institutional framework that will
enable her to conduct
such an ambitious project.
He said: “Our
economy is very fragile. We need international support and do
not need to be
sending out mixed signals, just like the Indigenous Bill is
doing. We are
sending signals, which are not consistent with development, to
the
international community.”
Marongwe added that NANGO has never objected to
issues of regulation but he
believes Misihairabwi-Mushonga is approaching
the issue from an entirely
wrong angle.
At a time when foreign aid is
critical for Zimbabwe’s survival, observers
are saying that foreign support
could be severely threatened if government
pursues this policy.
http://www.busrep.co.za
July 30, 2010
South African
agricultural associations have expressed ignorance to recent
reports that
Zimbabwe is planning to curb agricultural imports to protect
its local
producers.
Dawie Maree, an agricultural economist with AgriSA, said
farmers in South
Africa enjoy a "good" relationship with the Zimbabwe
Commercial Farmers
Union.
He added that as part of the Agricultural
Trade Forum (ATF), AgriSA was not
aware of the proposed curbs on South
Africa's agricultural exports to
Zimbabwe.
ATF is a body within the
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
"If those curbs were
to be imposed on SA products by way of tariffs for
instance, it will be more
expensive in the long-term for the farmers to
produce for
export."
South Africa exports mainly grain products to Zimbabwe, with
maize
accounting for the bulk of the shipment.
SA exported 20 700
tons of white maize to Zimbabwe between May 1 2010 and
July 23, 2010,
according to the figures from the South African Grain
Information
Service.
Kevin Lovell, CEO of the Southern African Poultry Association,
said its
members had not encountered any disruptions so far.
South
Africa experienced growth in the value of its agricultural exports
between
1998 and 2009, according to the May issue of the National
Agricultural
Marketing Council's TradeProbe report.
The report shows that between 2008
and 2009, exports grew by 2 percent while
the value of imports dropped
during the two years.
It further shows that agricultural exports amounted
to approximately R49
billion in 2009, while imports stood at R37 billion,
implying a R12 billion
agricultural trade surplus.
The top three
agricultural products exported by SA in 2009 were wine, maize
and fresh
oranges while the top ten agricultural products accounted for
around 46
percent or about R23 billion of the total value of local
agricultural
exports.
Of the top 10 export destinations, five were African countries,
jointly
accounting for 32 percent of the total value of South Africa's
agricultural
exports last year.
The countries were Zimbabwe (10
percent), Kenya (8 percent), Mozambique (6
percent), Angola (5 percent) and
Zambia (4 percent).
The EU and the USA jointly accounted for 56 percent
of the total value of
agricultural products exported by South Africa in
2009.
Agricultural Business Chamber (ABC) said it is yet to receive an
official
statement about the proposed limit on SA products into
Zimbabwe.
Herbital Maluleke, manager: International Trade Intelligence at
ABC, said if
Zimbabwe wants to curb agricultural imports, it has to follow
correct proper
channels as a member of South African Development Community
(SADC).
Phillip van Zyl, CEO of Tomato Producers Organisation, told I-Net
Bridge
that there was no official trade in tomatoes between the two
countries.
"We stopped trading tomatoes as far back as February 2004
because business
was just not viable there due to that country's exchange
rate." - I-Net
Bridge
http://www.ipsnews.net
By Ignatius Banda
BULAWAYO, Jul
30, 2010 (IPS) - Dispersing feasting flies and angry residents
from a
manhole cover spewing sewage from people’s homes and into the road:
another
day in the working life of Njabulo Siziba. It's a dirty,
frustrating,
thankless job as a civil engineer for Bulawayo city council,
but help is at
hand for Siziba and the city he serves.
In his 15 years on the job,
Siziba has witnessed the deterioration of water
and sewerage lines strained
to the breaking point as the city's rapid growth
has not been matched by
infrastructure upgrades.′′When Zimbabwe gained its
independence in 1980,
Bulawayo had a population of a little over 800,000,
but recent council
estimates put the city's present numbers population at
two
million.
Many of these more recent arrivals live in areas that are not
served by the
municipal system at all. In Cowdray Park (ironically built by
the government
to house people whose unplanned homes it controversially
destroyed in 2005),
families are forced to search for water in adjoining
neighbourhoods and turn
to the bush to relieve themselves.
Plots
beyond the reach of the water and sewerage system continue to be
allocated,
and thousands rely on water from burst mains for domestic use.
During the
last comprehensive inspection ten years ago, consultants
inspecting the
pipes estimated the city was losing up to 8,000 cubic metres
of water a day
to leaks; the situation is almost certainly worse today.
"No one had a
clue this city would grow to what it is today, but still those
who came
after and witnessed this growth have not responded with equal
vigilance,"
says Justin Moyo of the Bulawayo Progressive Residents
Association.
In 2009, Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo said the city needs
100 million U.S.
dollars to rehabilitate water treatment plants, pump
stations and aging
pipelines. Town planners complain that they are
constrained by long years of
bankruptcy. The formation of a government of
national unity in February 2009
has not yet produced an economic recovery
that would underwrite such
extensive repairs.
There have been
complaints from city council that international donors seem
willing to
assist only when there is a humanitarian emergency like the
2008-2009
cholera outbreak which according to the World Health Organisation
claimed
more than 4,000 lives across Zimbabwe; and such urgent funding is
withdrawn
soon after the crisis is deemed to be over.
The ambitious Bulawayo Water
and Sanitation Emergency Response (BOWSER)
announced by the Australian
government in July may be the first step in
putting this
right.
"During 2009, we provided funds to assist with the emergency
rehabilitation
of water supply systems in Beitbridge, which was the
epicentre of the
cholera epidemic at the time," says Michael Hunt, programme
manager for the
Australian government’s aid programme in Africa. "Australia
is now
supporting a 4.6 million Australian dollar ($4 million U.S.)
programme for
Bulawayo."
Over the next 13 months, the BOWSER project
will unblock more than 200
kilometres of choked sewerage pipes, rehabilitate
water treatment plants at
Criterion, Fernhill and Ncema Dam, as well as make
repairs to leaks along
the Insiza water line which also supplies
Bulawayo.
BOWSER will also support public awareness campaigns for
participatory health
and hygiene education and train City Council staff like
Siziba for on-going
maintenance.
"I think it’s a start," Siziba says.
"We sure can use all the assistance we
can get as many agencies have not
been forthcoming in helping fix this
city."
City resident Moyo
welcomes the BOWSER project, but cautions that the system
as a whole must be
repaired if health and safety fears are to be addressed.
"We cannot
separate the provision of clean water from functioning pipelines
otherwise
we will continue with the situation where we are drinking water
contaminated
by raw sewerage," he said.
For Siziba and the other beleaguered members
of the city's engineering
department, the injection of support is hugely
encouraging: "It will be a
welcome relief to wake up and look forward to
challenges other than burst
sewers," he said.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Africa
Action Telephone: (202) 546-7961 |
WASHINGTON - July 30 - Africa Action, the oldest human rights organization
focused exclusively on Africa, celebrates the introduction of the Zimbabwe
Renewal Act of 2010 (H.R. 5971) in the House of Representatives.
Sponsored by Congressmen Payne, and cosponsored by over 35 members of
Congress, the new legislation aims to bring about a major shift in U.S. policy
that is significant to the democratic transition in Zimbabwe and aligns with the
latest political and economic developments on the ground.
Gerald LeMelle,
executive director of Africa Action said, "This
is a promising day for everyone who supports democracy and development in
Zimbabwe. The new legislation is a major step forward for the people of
Zimbabwe."
Africa Action, in conjunction with the Zimbabwe
Alliance - a collaboration of like-minded partners working within a human rights
framework to promote a successful democratic transition in Zimbabwe, has been
working to bring about such a policy shift in the U.S. government.
Michael Stulman, associate director for policy and communications
added, "The House of Representatives and Senate
must work together now in light of the opportunity that exists to build robust
democratic institutions and strengthen democratic actors in
Zimbabwe."
Key provisions of the Zimbabwe Renewal Act of 2010
include:
For more information and analysis on Zimbabwe, visit http://www.africaaction.org/
http://www.zimbabwealliance.
HARARE, 30 July 2010 (PlusNews) -
Health and nutrition experts in Zimbabwe are worried that one of the lowest
exclusive breastfeeding rates in the region could have a negative impact on the
country's prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT)
programme.
Photo: David Morton/IRIN
Mother's
milk still best
Just six percent of mothers exclusively breastfeed their child
for the first six months, according to the recent Zimbabwe National
Nutrition Survey carried out by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF),
with the Zimbabwe Food and Nutrition Council, and other partners.
The
World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infants born to HIV-positive
women be exclusively breastfed for the
first six months, which not only helps safeguard their nutritional status but
also significantly reduces their chances of contracting HIV.
Studies in
South Africa have shown that babies born to HIV-positive women who are fed
solids as well as their mother's milk are almost 11 times more likely to contact
HIV than those who are exclusively breastfed.
In keeping with the WHO
guidelines, HIV-positive mothers in Zimbabwe are encouraged to breastfeed
exclusively for the first six months.
Although Zimbabwean national health
surveys in 2005 and 2009 put the figure for exclusively breastfeeding at closer
to 25 percent, UNICEF spokesperson Tsitsi Singizi said the nutrition survey used
a different and more accurate methodology.
It also found that at least
one-third of Zimbabwean children under the age of five were malnourished, with
around 12,000 at risk of dying from poor nutrition. The survey associated these
widespread nutritional problems in children with the low rate of exclusive
breastfeeding.
"The findings of the survey are very disturbing because we
know that when HIV-positive mothers practice mixed feeding this greatly
increases the risk of them passing on HIV to their babies," Singizi told IRIN/PlusNews.
The latest WHO
recommendations also recommend that all HIV-positive pregnant women begin
antiretroviral (ARV) treatment at 14 weeks of pregnancy and continue until they
stop breastfeeding, but finding resources for implementing this are unlikely in
Zimbabwe's cash-strapped public health sector.
The PMTCT programme is
also struggling with low uptake of antenatal services - over 93 percent of
pregnant women attend clinics, but less than half of those requiring PMTCT
services access them - an enormous missed opportunity, UNICEF noted. The low
numbers of women practicing exclusive breastfeeding could further jeopardize the
programme.
Dr Mduduzi Mbuya, a research scientist with Zvitambo, a
research organization working to improve HIV services for women and children,
said although women were informed of the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding
during antenatal clinic visits, they often received conflicting advice on mixed
feeding from decision-makers at home, such as mothers-in-law, aunts and
fathers.
"We know that nursing mothers in Zimbabwe
are introducing other foods too early - as early as one month, against the
recommended six months," he said. "We also know that 10 percent of all
under-five mortality is attributable to not exclusively breastfeeding in the
first six months of life, and it is the reason why we see high levels of
malnutrition, stunting and underweight in children."
Studies by Zvitambo
on infant feeding and child nutrition helped inform the Zimbabwe National
Nutrition Survey, which also found that some women were unable to exclusively
breastfeed due to their own low nutritional status.
Mbuya said if
children had already fallen through the cracks of the PMTCT programme,
not being exclusively breastfed would further lower their chances of survival.
HIV-positive infants are more susceptible to malnutrition, placing them at
higher risk from life-threatening opportunistic infections.
"Our studies
at Zvitambo showed that mixed feeding before three months ... results in 50
percent more sick clinic visits in the first six months of life," he told
IRIN/PlusNews. "This is the reason why we have high child mortality
rates in Zimbabwe."
Dr Gerald Gwinji, Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, said government was disturbed by the poor
breastfeeding rates and called on partners to help government expand education
about the benefits of breastfeeding.
"I call upon all stakeholders to
work hard to ensure that rates of exclusive breastfeeding are increased," he
said.
See also: ZIMBABWE: A third of
children chronically malnourished
© UNICEF/NYHQ2008-1350/Christine Nesbitt |
Crebby Zuisasu prepares a meal for her son and her sister's two children at their home in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. The family can only afford to eat one meal a day. |
HARARE, Zimbabwe, 30 July 2010 - The Inclusive Government of Zimbabwe, the United Nations and the Zimbabwe Food and Nutrition Council (FNC) have launched new data on the nutritional status of Zimbabwe's children, revealing that more than one third of Zimbabwe's children under the age of five are chronically malnourished and consequently stunted.
Speaking as he officially launched the Zimbabwe National Nutrition Survey results, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said that Zimbabwe's current food production remains too low to meet national requirements. Years of persistent droughts and the recent downturn of the Zimbabwean economy have adversely affected food availability in many homes in Zimbabwe.
Trends revealed
Mr. Tsvangirai added his voice to a growing call for accelerated action to reverse chronic undernutrition in Zimbabwe. He also spoke about the need to maintain the low levels of severe acute malnutrition highlighted by the report.
© UNICEF/2010/Mutseyekwa |
Delegates attend the launch of Zimbabwe's National Nutrition Survey results. |
"As government, we have agreed to make nutrition a priority at the national and sub-national level because it is central for human, social and economic development," said the Prime Minister. "Persistent and deteriorating chronic malnutrition means Zimbabwe is unlikely to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goal number one - to halve poverty and hunger."
The National Nutrition Survey, which was conducted in January 2010, revealed a worsening problem of chronic malnutrition, posing long-term survival and development challenges for Zimbabwe. The survey also shows plummeting exclusive breastfeeding rates.
However, the low and stable rates of severe acute malnutrition revealed by the survey are a credit to both the food security programmes supported by the international community as well as the coping mechanisms of the Zimbabwean people.
Thousands at risk
In his response to the survey results, UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe Dr. Peter Salama said the report further demonstrated that the age of greatest vulnerability to malnutrition and infection is from the pre-natal period to 24 months. He identified this period as a "critical window of opportunity."
© UNICEF/2010/Mutseyekwa |
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai speaks at the National Nutrition Survey results launch in Zimbabwe. |
"The data emerging from the survey provides irrefutable evidence of the magnitude of the problem of malnutrition in Zimbabwe," said Dr. Salama. "These levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high. They represent not only a challenge to reaching our development goals, but will also constrain economic growth."
According to the survey, while the overall prevalence of severe acute malnutrition remains relatively low across the country for children under five years at 2.1 per cent, the rate doubles among babies between 6 and 18 months of age. This suggests inherent problems in infant feeding practices, including a lack of access to the right foods.
The rates of severe acute malnutrition found in the National Nutrition Survey translate to thousands of severely malnourished children at high risk of death in Zimbabwe.
In addition, the survey showed that only about 8 per cent of children below the age of two receive the minimum acceptable complementary foods in terms of quality and diversity. A large percentage of children in Zimbabwe reside in households without access to safe water and improved sanitation facilities, and access to health and nutrition services were also found to be poor.
Prioritizing nutrition
The Zimbabwe National Nutrition Survey, which had a sample size of nearly 40,000, was designed to provide the government and its development partners with nutrition information to drive national and sub-national level prioritization and decision making. Supported by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development with collaboration from partners including the Swedish International Development Agency, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, Helen Keller International and civil society, the survey will help gauge Zimbabwe's progress on the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
"It is high time that FNC, the coordinating body for food and nutrition analysis and response in Zimbabwe, is supported to re-invigorate its multi-stakeholder policy and action," said Acting Director of FNC George Kembo. "We must continue placing nutrition at the center of our development agenda and be guided by evidence."
At the launch, the Inclusive Government, the United Nations and their partners made a call to action, highlighting interventions necessary to combat malnutrition. Key among these is to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and continued breastfeeding combined with a focus on safe, appropriate, complementary feeding.
Harare, July 30, 2010: The United States and Canadian embassies on Thursday officially handed over a grinding mill and various water and sanitation facilities to Tose Respite Care Home, a center for mentally and physically handicapped people based in Harare.
Through the U.S. Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program and the African Development Foundation, the U.S. provided support for the purchase of a grinding mill to provide milling services for the handicapped children’s center as well as commercial milling services for the surrounding Granitesite community.
“The Self-Help Program is a clear expression of the willingness of the people of the United States to support the initiatives of the people of Zimbabwe. Tose Respite Care Home, through its hard work and dedication to Graniteside community, is a bright example of the type of self-help projects we like to support,” said Ambassador Charles Ray.
The Canadian Embassy, through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, provided funding to improve water and sanitation situation at the Centre. These include repair and supply of boreholes and pumps to supply clean water; water storage tanks and the installation of a heating system for the hydrotherapy pool that has been out of operation for five years.
“Canada – through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives – currently provides support to the local community by financing small-scale development projects addressing community basic needs and involving technical, economic, educational, cultural, and social development assistance,” said Denis Langlois, Chargé d'affaires.
The official handover of the donations coincided with Tose Respite Center annual general meeting and was witnessed by members and staff at the Center. The home has about 40 children with severe handicaps and a staff complement of 24.
# # #
Issued by the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section, Harare
July 30, 2010
Friday, July 30th 2010.
The sight of
Robert Mugabe wearing full Mapostori gear and carrying the
wooden staff of
office must have puzzled quite a few people this week. Had
the Dear Leader
deserted Rome and converted to the Mapostori creed? It
seemed unlikely but
then anything is possible when there's an election in
the offing in
Zimbabwe.
Mugabe was attending the annual gathering of Mapostori faithful
held in the
Eastern Districts. It was intriguing to note that the audience
of shaven
headed faithful were all smiling broadly at the sight of Mugabe
and his
security guards in their unusual garb. Was it intended as some kind
of joke
on Mugabe's part?
These white-robed Mapostori were a very
familiar sight in the rural areas of
Mashonaland East where I lived and I
had had quite a bit to do with them.
Which of their rather peculiar beliefs
had attracted Robert Mugabe, I
wondered. They are polygamists with men
having as many as five wives and
numerous children by each of their wives.
That's where the biggest problem
arises because the Mapostori faith will
have nothing to do with western
medicine and vaccinations are absolutely
prohibited. So when there's a
measles outbreak, the children are taken away
and hidden in remote rural
villages, as far away as possible from the
vaccination teams. Their other
practice is that girl children are denied
education. Mapostori women are
therefore uneducated, suited only to be
brides - and often very young
brides - to the polygamous men. Travel out to
Lake Chivero on a Sunday
morning and you will see hordes of docile Mapostori
women being preached at
by shaven headed 'prophets'.
What could the
highly educated Robert Mugabe possibly find attractive in
such backward
thinking? His address to the gathering was clearly designed to
appeal to his
audience; he defended polygamy saying that nowhere in the
bible was it
condemned, though I can't imagine the Roman Catholic church
approves of
that! Finally, Mugabe launched into his favourite 'hate topic' a
vehement
attack on gays and lesbians and that chimed in very well with
Mapostori
thinking. Then it all became clear; this was no damascene
conversion, it was
nothing more than a vote garnering exercise - and it
worked! Three days
later the largest of the Mapostori sects was told by the
elders that they
must now all buy Zanu PF cards or risk being thrown out of
their 'church'.
One wonders how many 'conversions' we shall see in the weeks
and months
ahead as Zanu PF moves further into election mode. In a country
where
churches of one kind or another are more prolific than mosquitoes in
the
rainy season, Mugabe will have his work cut out getting round to all of
them!
There was not much else to smile about in the news from
Zimbabwe this week.
By week's end the already compromised judiciary had
proved yet again that
they are totally compliant to the wishes of Robert
Mugabe and Zanu PF. No
less a person than the Chief Justice, Godfrey
Chidyausiku postponed
judgement in the Roy Bennett case on the grounds that
the documents in the
case were so bulky that it would take him 'a very long
time' to study them
all! Judgement was therefore postponed indefinitely and
Roy Bennett remains
exactly where Mugabe wants him: out of government
because, thanks to
Chidyasiku's ruling, the MDC nominated Deputy Minister of
Agriculture is
still facing criminal charges and Mugabe says he will not
swear in a man
with a criminal charge hanging over him. So now it all
becomes clear; once
again we see how personal animosity to Roy Bennett
explains Mugabe's
attitude - and the Chief Justice's indefinite postponement
of judgement.
Meanwhile on Bennett's former and once prosperous farm it is
reported that
war vets are virtually in command of the farm school demanding
that they be
allowed to address the pupils and 'educate' them in the history
of the
struggle. Teachers too are at the mercy of the war vets with anyone
deemed
to be sympathetic to the MDC subject to harassment and
intimidation.
And in another highly contentious case, Farai Maguwu, the
Global Watch
activist, having been released from prison has now been
presented with a
fresh charge of 'being in possession of a stolen vehicle'.
If that charge
doesn't stick, say the police, then they will charge him with
not having the
relevant documentation for such a vehicle. Such is the state
of the rule of
law in Zimbabwe that justice is sacrificed for petty revenge
and spite.
While it's just possible to excuse the behaviour of war vets
and thugs as
typical of brain-washed, ignorant people, the same excuse
cannot be used for
these judges who are highly qualified and educated men.
Yet these same
judges have brought the rule of law in the country into utter
disrepute. A
report titled A Place In The Sun, issued this week by an
international team
of lawyers who visited the country in 2009 describes the
rule of law in
Zimbabwe since the GPA was signed and concludes that the
judges have been so
corrupted by farms and favours that their impartiality
has been totally
compromised. As I read somewhere this week, "a clean slate
is what the
country needs."
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.
aka Pauline Henson.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
30/07/2010 00:00:00
by Scott
Ramsay
AFTER his travel diary following a visit to Zimbabwe in
November 2009 [DAY
1; DAY 2; DAY 3; DAY 4; DAY 5], Scott Ramsay returned
recently and travelled
for four weeks in the western parts of the country,
discovering deserted
tourist attractions, plenty of welcoming locals and
more than a few
roadblocks.
Want to find out what it's like to travel
in Zimbabwe at the moment? Can you
have a good time in the country? Are
visitors welcome? Is it safe? Is there
fuel? Is there food? How bad is the
poaching?
In his new diaries, Ramsay hopes to answer those questions. This is
Part 4
[Read PART 1; PART 2; PART 3] :
FROM the Matopos, I drove
north 450 kilometres, past the enormous Hwange
National Park, to which I'd
return later in my trip. My destination was the
iconic Victoria Falls,
traditionally one of the most visited spots on the
continent.
On the
way, I was stopped six times at road blocks, twice at toll roads ($1
charge
for a car), and went through one speed trap. Road blocks are easy
enough if
you have your car papers in order. The speed trap was different. I
was doing
100 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. The fine was $20, but when I asked
for a
receipt, I was told I could pay $10 if I was happy to "forget about
the
receipt".
Driving into the town of Victoria Falls, a massive afternoon
thunderstorm
came crashing down. The thick teak forests on either side of
the road were
drenched with rain. Even in the wet weather, the spray from
the falls was
clearly visible from a few kilometres away. And the rumble of
crashing water
can be heard on a quiet day in town. And in recent years,
there have been
many a quiet day.
Initially Vic Falls's tourism
industry weathered the effects of the
political turmoil far better than in
the rest of the country. However,
continued political pressure took its
toll, and last year's worldwide
economic slump made things tougher. Some
hotel occupancies plunged to zero.
Shops closed and thousands of locals lost
their jobs (like elsewhere in
Zimbabwe).
But things are looking up.
The recent co-operation between President Robert
Mugabe and rivals Morgan
Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, as well as the
abandonment of the Zimbabwe
dollar in favour of the US dollar, has now
boosted tourism again - albeit
off a low base.
"Vic Falls" as everyone calls it, seems to be on its way
back to its
position as one of the most popular destinations in Africa.And
it's obvious
why. The town offers a steady supply of severely distracting
activities
designed to help you forget about Zimbabwe's major
issues.
Take the gorge swing, for instance. Plunging 70 metres vertically
towards
basalt rocks will - it's assured - take your mind off anything. As
will
white water rafting through massive rapids the size of Mugabe's ego -
of
which there are plenty in the half-day trip down the Zambezi River. And
of
course, the 100-metre bungi-jump off the spectacular Victoria Falls
Bridge
will eliminate the last remaining political concerns in your
head.
On our way back through town, a group of persistent locals tried to
sell us
their curios - and old Zimbabwean dollar notes (for a few dollars
you can
buy a complete set, including the 100 trillion dollar note). Others
offered
to work for us, for as little as $1 a day, some showing us their CVs
as we
walked.
The recent pick-up in the tourism industry has not
managed to absorb the
large number of lay-offs of the past decade. Despite
this, Zimbabweans are
amongst the most welcoming and friendliest in the
region.
Nevertheless, the contrast between wallet-touting tourists and
jobless
residents can make for thought-provoking travels. While some locals
will
work for next to nothing, wealthy tourists can spend US$30 on tea at
the
ultra-luxurious Victoria Falls hotel. Served by innumerable waiters,
immaculate in white uniforms, you can nibble your scones while gazing over
the expansive lawns and watching the spray rise up from the falls
below.
It's a beguiling experience, tempered somewhat by the knowledge
that 90% of
Zimbabweans are still unemployed. Nevertheless, the hotel sets a
spectacular
standard. The five-star hotel is famous, and rightly so. Service
is
world-class, the rooms could be found in any luxury European hotel and
the
immaculate grounds deserve a standing ovation.
For an equally
impressive, yet completely different experience, Victoria
Falls Safari Lodge
offers a superb wildlife setting, just a few kilometres
from the main street
of town. Guests eat their dinner on a raised deck,
looking out over a
waterhole commonly frequented by wildlife, and an endless
horizon of
woodland.
While you're munching on your salad, a variety of antelope and
elephants
graze on the trees below, and by the time you're half way into
your warthog
steak, hyena can be seen prowling around looking for a warthog
of their own.
It's an idyllic setting. You'd never think things in Zimbabwe
could ever be
tough.
But things were indeed tough. Heath Dhana from
Safari Lodge told me how
their staff used to run - literally - to the shops
on pay day: inflation of
the now-defunct Zimbabwean dollar was so rapid that
by the time staff had
got to the shops, their salaries were almost
worthless. So Heath started
paying his team with special coupons, which
could be redeemed for a variety
of benefits.
"2008 was really
difficult," said Shane. "But things improved a lot in 2009
with the
introduction of the US dollar - and 2010 should be better still."
On the
last morning before departing town, I visited the Falls themselves.
Although
I arrived early to miss the crowds, I needn't have worried. For the
first
few hours of the day, I was the only visitor around. I stood
dumbstruck,
staring at the immense power of the crashing water: during peak
flow in
April and May, the falls are the largest falling body of water in
the world,
dumping about 9,000 tons of water - every second! - over the 100
metre high
cliffs. I marvelled too at how I could be the only person in the
whole world
who was visiting one of the earth's most astounding natural
sights.
The Solidarity Peace Trust have released a new report and a film titled 'Poverty on Top of Poverty' today. The report, titled 'A Fractured Nation: Operation Murambatsvina - five years on' follows up previous Operation Murambatsvina research conducted by SPT in 2005 and 2006, and builds on their narratives of the lives of particular families and informal settlements from 2005 to 2010. SPT write: "The story is a grim one, with many of those we remembered now prematurely dead, and others living in unspeakable poverty". The full report can be downloaded from the SPT website here.
The case studies drive home the terrible plight of those caught up in Murambatsvina - still struggling to survive five years on in terrible circumstances. The stories are heartbreaking, as the interviewers retrace steps with the forgotten Murambatsvina victims:
Rural district, Matabeleland North
One extended family of 4 adults (brothers and their wives) and 6 children
Originally from Ngozi Mine informal settlement
Interviews: May 2010This family was pictured in Crime of Poverty (2005) living on an open veranda in a rural district. They had a three-month-old baby and had lived in seven different places in three months as a result of the demolitions. They were originally from Ngozi Mine. They had been forcibly relocated to the rural area by the police, being among those abducted from the churches in July 2005.
Out of the first family unit of five, the mother and baby girl were dead by August 2006. The baby had lived in ten places in her eleven months of life. Her father was still alive in August 2006, and her eight-year-old brother was living with a grandmother.
Update 2010
In November 2006, the father from this family unit had also died, leaving the 8 year-old boy an orphan. He was sent back to live with his uncle and family, who were back living in Killarney by then.Out of the second family unit of five, in 2006, they were shuttling between Killarney and their rural homestead allocated to them post OM in Tobotobo, and one of the children had severely burnt her feet walking in a fire. The family is mired in poverty, and cannot afford to have the child seen to be doctors. She appears to need her toes amputated as she cannot put on shoes and has to walk over ten kilometers to school bare footed.
And this case of a woman who was forced to leave the country as a result of Murambatsvina:
FM - aged 35
De Doorns
30 May 20101. Budiriro: 2005 I was living in Budiriro (suburb of Harare) in 2005 on my stand that I had bought. My dwelling was completely destroyed by OM. At that time, I was manager of Nandos. I did a three-year training in Hotel Catering in the 1990s.
2. Harare apartment: 2005-6 After OM, the company paid to accommodate me in Harare, but there was nowhere for my family to live, so I had to take my wife and children to my rural home in Bindura.
3. Botswana: end 2007 Life became very tough. By the end of 2007, I was working for nothing - my money had no value. I had to leave my job because there was no point working for nothing, and I thought I could earn more in Botswana. But in Botswana it was very tough - the police are very hard on Zimbabweans. I found that work was not really possible in Botswana as well, so I had to head on.
4. Cape Town: early 2008 So I came to the Cape. At first I was living in Cape Town, outside the Home Affairs office. I was just sleeping on the pavement there outside Home Affairs, it was desperate. Then a friend and I decided to come out to the farms to look for work. I have been working here on and off, ever since. It is not ideal. We get between R300- R350 per week, depending, in the high season, but at this time of year I am lucky to get one or two days of work a week.
5. De Doorns suburb: 2008 I was living in De Doorns when they threw out the Zimbabweans. I lost a lot of property - that's why they chased us, they knew they could get something for nothing.
6. De Doorns Camp: Nov 2009 I have been living in the tented camp since November when we lost everything. It is now getting very cold, it is not a good place to be.
7. Where next? I have no idea what I will do next, if the camp closes. That is another problem. I have nowhere else to go and no idea what I might do.
This entry was posted by Sokwanele on Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 2:15 pm.