Zim Online
Thu 6 July 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe police yesterday
arrested an opposition legislator,
Willas Madzimure, accusing him of
inciting Harare residents to revolt
against the government, while about 200
vendors were arrested in the second
city of Bulawayo after demonstrating
against alleged harassment by city
authorities.
Madzimure, a
member of the main faction of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC) that is led by Morgan Tsvangirai, was by late
yesterday afternoon
still detained at Harare central police station,
notorious for its filthy
and overcrowded holding cells.
"They are saying I addressed people
at a rally in Dzivarasekwa (a
suburb of Harare) on the 4th of May and that I
told people to turn out in
their thousands in mass protests to overthrow the
government," Madzimure
said by mobile from the police station. "They are
also saying I told vendors
and market women to beat up police when they
arrest them for vending. Most
of what they are saying is not true and I
believe it's all part of an
orchestrated campaign to intimidate us ahead of
the planned mass protests,"
he added.
Tsvangirai and his MDC party last March vowed to instigate this winter
a
Ukraine-style Orange revolution in Zimbabwe to force President Robert
Mugabe
to give up power to a transitional government to be tasked to lead
the
writing of a new constitution and to organise fresh elections under
international supervision.
The government has vowed to crush
the planned protests, with the
police prohibiting virtually all gatherings
and protests, especially by the
opposition and civic society groups fearing
the MDC might take advantage of
such occasions to turn them into anti-Mugabe
protests.
In Bulawayo the police, some armed with guns, pounced on
a group of
vendors were marching through the city centre demanding an end to
what they
said was constant harassment by municipal police. The 200 vendors
who were
arrested were still being held by the police by last
night.
The Bulawayo Traders Association said the protest marches
were meant
to press for a meeting with Bulawayo Executive Mayor Japhet
Ndabeni-Ncube
following what the association said was frequent arresting of
vendors by
municipal police.
Police Assistant Inspector Langa
Ndlovu told ZimOnline that the
vendors were arrested for holding a public
demonstration without police
permission.
Under Zimbabwe's tough
security laws, it is an offence punishable by a
two-year jail term to
demonstrate without first seeking permission from the
law enforcement
agency. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thu 6
July 2006
HARARE - Prospects for a sustainable solution to
Zimbabwe's six-year
economic crisis remain slim for as long as the
authorities ignore underlying
political problems and continue on a fishing
expedition in search of a
quick-fix formula, analysts have
warned.
The Zimbabwean authorities, at a loss as to how to restore
confidence
to what was once one of Africa's most vibrant economies, have
churned out
one turnaround strategy after another since the economic crisis
began in
earnest in 2000 - but all which are yet to yield and any tangible
benefits
At least four "home-grown" economic and monetary policy
blueprints
have been experimented with during the past six years. These
include
Millennium Economic Recovery Programme (MERP) launched in August
2001 as a
short-term 18-month turnaround strategy.
Its
objective, as with all other turnaround strategies, was to restore
economic
vibrancy and address the underlying macroeconomic fundamentals.
However, the MERP was rendered ineffective due to the withdrawal of
international donors and multilateral financial institutions.
It was replaced in February 2003 by another 12-month stabilisation
package,
the National Economic Revival Programme (NERP), with the government
saying
at the time that it was looking for a longer-term strategy to pull
the
country out of the economic mire.
Though the NERP was initially
received with optimism, it failed to
generate the required supply side
responses with regards to foreign currency
inflows and manufacturing
production.
Then came in the Macroeconomic Policy Framework
introduced in 2004 at
the time Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono
had just been
appointed and appeared to be making progress taming runaway
inflation and
addressing the country's wider economic
challenges.
The framework again failed and was replaced this year
by the National
Economic Development Priority Programme (NEDPP), which is
supposed to be a
six-month quick-fix package.
But barely four
months after the introduction of the NEDPP, Economic
Development Minister
Rugare Gumbo announced on Tuesday this week that the
government was already
working on yet another economic revival blueprint,
the Zimbabwe Economic
Development Strategy (ZEDS).
According to Gumbo, the shorter term
NEDPP would now serve as a
platform for the implementation of the ZEDS which
he said was a medium-term
programme to run from 2007 to 2011.
But economic analysts were adamant yesterday that both NEDPP and the
successor ZEDS were bound to flop like the government's previous economic
revival plans as long as the fiscal and monetary authorities continued to
tinker with the symptoms of the problem while evading the root causes of the
crisis.
"There will be no end to the current problems the
country is facing
because the answer does not lie in finding an economic
solution to a
political problem but in resolving the issues of political
governance," said
independent economic consultant John
Robertson.
President Robert Mugabe's government has frosty
relations with an
international community which accuses it of running down
the economy and
gross human rights abuses, charges the veteran leader
denies.
Mugabe has since 2000 waged a war against the political
opposition,
organised civic society and the small media he accuses of
working with his
Western enemies, notably the British and the Americans to
topple his 26-year
old government.
"The country is going
nowhere fast because those entrusted with the
responsibility of getting the
economy out of the quagmire believe that
everything will just fall into
place without an effort to win back our
former friends," said an economist
with a Harare commercial bank, who
requested anonymity for professional
reasons.
Zimbabwe has been blacklisted from accessing funds from
the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) even after clearing most of its debt
to
the international lender. Other multilateral financial institutions who
take
their cue from the IMF have also blocked assistance to
Harare.
The analysts also said there were major inconsistencies in
the
formulation of some of the government's myriad economic turnaround
blueprints.
For example, they said it was contradictory that
the government had by
its own admission modeled both the NEDPP and the ZEDS
on its Vision 2020
programme discarded in the 1990s when the two latest
blueprints were mere
stop-gap programmes meant to achieve a quick turnaround
while Vision 2020
was a long-term programme spanning over
decades.
"How the two could be linked will always remain a mystery
only known
to the authorities," observed the bank economist.
The country's main industrial body, the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries
(CZI) has also called for a consistent and holistic
implementation of
economic policies and programmes to boost production and
achieve the
required turnaround of the economy.
CZI's Economic Affairs and
Taxation Committee particularly noted that
the lack of policy consistency
and the "quick fix mentality" would not work.
The committee singled
out confidence as one of the major issues with a
strong bearing to
Zimbabwe's economic recovery.
"There is need for the restoration of
confidence through consistent
implementation of proper policies," said the
key committee. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thu 6 July
2006
BULAWAYO - Barely a week after an Air Zimbabwe aircraft bought
from
China burst tyres in a forced landing in the resort town of Victoria
Falls,
another Modern Ark (MA60) plane donated by Beijing failed to take off
from
the city of Bulawayo after burning an engine duct, sources told
ZimOnline.
The sources, who work at Air Zimbabwe, said management
yesterday
dispatched some engineers to Victoria Falls to remove the engine
duct on the
aircraft grounded there so it could be fixed on the one in
Bulawayo.
Air Zimbabwe spokesman David Mwenga could not be
immediately reached
for comment on the matter.
Last Wednesday,
an MA60 plane burst two tyres during landing after a
forced turn-back to
Victoria Falls because it had developed a technical
fault on the
engine.
The incident prompted the Beijing-based China Aero
Technology Import
and Export Corporation (CATIC) and the China Aviation
Industry Corporation
to dispatch a team of three experts to attend to the
broken down aircraft.
Zimbabwe acquired two MA60 aircraft from
China in 2005 and received
another one as a gift earlier this year as
President Robert Mugabe pursues
stronger ties with Asia after falling out
with the West who accuses his
government of gross human rights abuses and
repression, charges Harare
denies.
Besides running into
problems with its aircraft, the national airline
is beset by myriad
problems, chief among them gross under-capitalisation and
maladministration.
The airline has a small fleet of eight planes, including
the problematic
MA60s and some ageing Boeing 767s. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thu 6 July
2006
HARARE - A faction of Zimbabwe's main opposition party on
Wednesday
criticised civic society groups for remaining quiet following last
Sunday's
vicious attack on the party's legislator for Harare North Trudy
Stevenson.
Gabriel Chaibva, the spokesman for the smaller Movement
for Democratic
Change (MDC) faction, told a press conference in Harare
yesterday that his
party was appalled by the silence of Zimbabwean civic in
failing to condemn
the attack on Stevenson.
"We are worried by
the silence of the civic society and people in the
diplomatic community,"
said Chaibva. "It (the silence) weakens our struggle.
Violence remains
violence and must be condemned," he added.
The MDC split into rival
camps late last year with founding president
Morgan Tsvangirai retaining
control of the bigger faction of the party with
former university student
leader Arthur Mutambara now heading a smaller
rival faction.
Stevenson, together with two other officials of her party, were
viciously
attacked in Mabvuku suburb in Harare by thugs the police said are
aligned to
Tsvangirai's camp.
But the Tsvangirai group has already distanced
itself from the attack.
Tendai Biti, the secretary general in Tsvangirai's
camp as well as
Tsvangirai's deputy, Thoko Khupe, on Tuesday visited
Stevenson at the
Avenues Clinic in Harare.
The ruling ZANU PF
party, accused by human rights groups as the major
instigator of political
violence in Zimbabwe, has been having a field day in
the media over the
incident in a bid to exonerate itself from charges of
political
violence.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum says it is
appalled by
the "savage and barbaric attack" on Stevenson and members of her
party.
In a statement to the press, the Forum said: "The Forum
condemns
violence of any sort and castigates the alleged perpetrators of the
above-mentioned incident in the strongest possible terms.
"The
Forum urges all political parties to observe democratic processes
and the
constitutional entitlements of the people. The Forum further urges
the
responsible authorities to investigate and bring the alleged
perpetrators to
book." - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thu 6 July 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe's Chamber of
Mines has written to the county's
central bank to increase its purchase
price for gold to Z$6.83 billion per
kilogramme to shore up gold miners
facing viability problems due to a harsh
operating environment.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is the only one permitted by law to
trade
in gold, a key hard cash earner for the foreign currency starved
nation. The
bank has since March 22, paid miners $2.5 billion for a
kilogramme of gold
up from $1.4 billion it was paying at the beginning of
the
year.
In a letter to RBZ boss Gideon Gono, Chamber chief executive
officer
David Murangari cited escalating costs of labour, electricity,
spares and
other production requirements as the reason for the miners'
request for a
review of the price of gold.
"It is recommended
that the price of gold be adjusted to Z$6 830 000
000 per kg with immediate
effect. The price should also be reviewed once
every quarter, taking into
account increases in production costs," Murangari
said in a letter also
copied to the Ministries of Mines and of Finance.
According to
Murangari, labour costs that contribute 35 percent of
total production
costs, had gone up by 238.35 percent between January and
June while the
costs of electricity that makes up seven percent of total
costs had
increased by 280.25 percent.
Murangari, a former senior official in
the Ministry of Mines, bemoaned
the fact that the precious metal has
performed well on the international
market but miners in Zimbabwe did not
benefit because of the country's
skewed exchange rate policy and the RBZ's
fixed purchasing price.
He wrote: "Gold prices averaged US$674.6667
per ounce in May. Of note
is the fact that the price reached US$725 per
ounce on 15 May 2006.
"However, the local gold mining sector has
not benefited from these
high prices because the exchange rate policy has
resulted in a static
exchange rate while the gold support price has been
fixed at Z$2.5 million
per gram. Meanwhile, costs have been escalating at
alarming levels."
The Chamber predicts gold production to reach 11
175 kg this year, a
decline of 2 847.73 kg if compared to 2005 production
levels.
Gono was not immediately available for comment on the
matter last
night.
Besides having to worry over hyperinflation
and shortages of foreign
currency to import spares, Zimbabwe's otherwise
lucrative mining sector also
faces an uncertain future after President
Robert Mugabe threatened to seize
50 percent shareholding in all
foreign-owned mining firms while paying for
only 25 percent for the stake. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thu 6 July
2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe ostrich farmers have resumed meat exports to
the
European Union after the Harare authorities lifted a voluntary ban on
ostrich exports imposed last year after an outbreak of avian flu in the
country.
Stuart Hargreaves, the Veterinary Services principal
director, on
Wednesday told ZimOnline that ostrich producers had already
resumed exports
to the EU, the biggest market for Zimbabwean ostrich
meat.
"We are back into exporting ostrich meat to the EU. The EU is
satisfied that we can resume exports," said Hargreaves.
The
Zimbabwe government banned a voluntary ban on ostrich exports last
year
after an outbreak of avian flu on farms in the southern Matabeleland
province.
But Hargreaves said his department, working closely
with the country's
national taskforce on avian influenza, had successfully
brought the disease
under control.
The resumption of ostrich
exports should come as a huge relief to the
ostrich producing industry as it
was incurring huge financial losses because
farmers had to feed the animals
without any export sales.
At its peak before violent farm invasions
in 2000, the ostrich
production was a key foreign currency earner for
Zimbabwe raking in US$3
million every year.
But the sector has
struggled since 2000 when hordes of pro-government
militias invaded
white-owned commercial farms in what the government said
was a correction of
a historical injustice in land allocation. - ZimOnline
IPS
Moyiga Nduru
JOHANNESBURG, Jul
4 (IPS) - While U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's
stillborn effort to
mediate in the Zimbabwean crisis may have made headlines
this week, it came
as no surprise to political observer Brian Raftopoulos.
"Kofi Annan is a
lame duck. (Zimbabwean President Robert) Mugabe knows that
his term in
office ends at the end of this year," he told IPS, Tuesday, in
South
Africa's commercial centre of Johannesburg.
Formerly a professor of
political science at the University of Zimbabwe,
Raftopoulos is based at the
Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in the
South African coastal city
of Cape Town; this non-governmental organisation
seeks to use South Africa's
experiences in assisting countries which are
making the transition to
democracy.
He was in Johannesburg to participate in a discussion titled
'Zimbabwe: A
Political and Economic Stocktake' that was organised by the
South African
Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), a think-tank at
the University
of the Witwatersrand.
Annan held talks with Mugabe in
the course of the bi-annual African Union
summit, held Jun. 25 to Jul. 2 in
the West African nation of The Gambia; he
announced afterwards that he would
no longer be travelling to Zimbabwe to
help address the country's political
and economic problems.
The U.N. head said Mugabe had informed him that
former Tanzanian president
Benjamin Mkapa was already mediating, albeit
between Zimbabwe and former
colonial ruler Britain, rather than between
Zimbabwe's government and
beleaguered opposition.
The Zimbabwean
leader regularly blames his country's ills on Britain. London
stands accused
of meddling in Zimbabwe in response to the occupations of
white-owned farms
that began in 2000 -- billed as an effort to correct
racial imbalances in
land ownership that were instituted under colonialism.
While some have
questioned the focus of Mkapa's mediation, others query his
ability to
intervene with impartiality.
"Mkapa is an ally of Mugabe. He will not be
an effective mediator but an
effective messenger of Mugabe internationally,"
noted Raftopoulos.
The farm seizures in Zimbabwe are often blamed for the
country's precipitous
economic decline, although Mugabe claims the economy
has been sabotaged by
those who oppose his government, locally and
abroad.
"Zimbabwe's economy is the fastest shrinking in the world. Its
GDP (gross
domestic product) declined by 40 percent in the past decade.
Two-thirds of
the population lives on less than one dollar a day. Inflation
is over 1,000
percent," said Raftopoulos. Millions of Zimbabweans --
including those with
desperately needed skills -- have fled the country
because of financial
hardship or political persecution.
However,
Diana Games, director of Africa@Work, a
Johannesburg-based research
and publishing company, told the SAIIA gathering
that there were warning
signs about economic mismanagement in Zimbabwe
before the farm occupations.
She cited the unbudgeted payout to veterans
of the 1970s liberation war in
1997 -- and the decision to send 10,000
soldiers to the Democratic Republic
of Congo in 1998 to support then
President Laurent Kabila, in the face of a
rebellion backed by Rwanda and
Uganda.
"Zimbabwean companies have expanded into the region, particularly
to Zambia,
as a way to cope with the situation. Currently companies are
operating at 20
or 30 percent below capacity due to a range of problems such
as lack of
foreign currency and fuel," said Games, who has also published a
booklet on
the operations of South African companies in Zimbabwe.
'A
Nation in Turmoil: The Experience of South African Firms in Zimbabwe' was
launched at SAIIA on Tuesday.
South Africa's policy of quiet
diplomacy towards Zimbabwe has come under
fire, with critics saying it has
been ineffective. Games doesn't believe
matters will improve: "I don't think
South Africa's diplomacy is going to
work."
But in the event of moves
to engage Zimbabwe's opposition, Pretoria would
have difficulty in deciding
who to consult, an official from the Department
of Foreign Affairs told IPS.
"The MDC has split in two. Which faction should
South Africa talk to?" he
asked.
A group led by Arthur Mutambara left the MDC (the Movement for
Democratic
Change), Zimbabwe's main opposition party, in June last year. The
other camp
continues to be led by Morgan Tsvangirai, who has been at helm of
the MDC
since it was founded in 1999.
The party presented the ruling
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic
Front (ZANU-PF), in power since
1980, with its first serious electoral
challenge during parliamentary polls
held in 2000. While ZANU-PF won the
2000 election, its victory was marred by
allegations of vote-rigging and
widespread human rights abuses directed
against opposition supporters.
Similar claims were made about the
presidential election of 2002.
But, although democracy has been severely
undermined in Zimbabwe,
Raftopoulos does not believe that the country's
people are about to resort
to a popular uprising.
"It's unlikely to
happen in the near future. If it happens, it will lead to
a bloodbath and
repression by the state," he said.
"This will mean greater suffering for
the people of Zimbabwe. It will mean
greater problems for the region."
(END/2006)
The Times, UK July 05, 2006
By Richard Beeston and Jan Raath
in Harare
AS SHE lay in a Harare hospital recovering
from severe head
injuries and surgery on a broken arm yesterday, Trudy
Stevenson was still
amazed that she had lived to tell her
story.
"They were calling my name: 'Trudy! Trudy! Get out [of the
car]," she told The Times from her bed. "They wanted me. They wanted to
kill me."
The veteran opposition MP is no
stranger to the sharp end of
African politics. She has survived repeated
intimidation at the hands of
Robert Mugabe's regime and in the 1970s had to
flee Idi Amin's murderous
rule in Uganda.
But what makes
her closest brush with death so extraordinary is
that the assailants were
members of her own Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) - once the unified
opposition in Zimbabwe but today a badly divided
party in the process of
imploding.
Mrs Stevenson's troubles began last year when she
and several
colleagues split from the MDC, in part over the violent
behaviour of some
supporters of Morgan Tsvangirai, its founder and
leader.
On Sunday afternoon, after she had attended a small
political
meeting in the Harare suburb of Mabvuku, her colleagues saw a
dozen
Tsvangirai supporters.
"They approached us in a
threatening way. Most people just ran.
I had a car and tried to get in and
drive away. But I was not fast enough,"
said the 61-year-old American-born
politician, recalling her ordeal.
Boulders the size of
footballs rained down on her car, she was
hit by a panga on the back of the
head and her attackers tried to drag her
out of the vehicle with such force
that they broke two bones in an arm.
"I knew I would be in
greater danger if I got out of the car. I
knew they wanted to kill me. They
kept trying to drag me out. They kept
hitting my head with rocks. I could
feel the blood running down my neck."
But before the
assailants, some of whom were identified as MDC
activists, were able to
complete the attack they fled, leaving five former
colleagues bleeding and
beaten.
No arrests have been made.
Mrs
Stevenson insisted yesterday that she would not be
intimidated and vowed to
remain to serve her constituency in the capital.
Despite appeals from her
family to move to Britain, she refused to leave her
adopted home. To prevent
further violence her son confronted Mr Tsvangirai
and demanded an
explanation.
The former union leader apologised for the
"barbaric"attack,
which he condemned, adding that if any of his supporters
were responsible
they would be expelled from the party. But his assurances
did little to
reassure his former supporters that the movement, once
regarded as a symbol
for peaceful, democratic opposition in Africa, can be
resurrected.
The unravelling of the pro-democracy movement
and champion of
Harare's urban poor began in October when Mr Tsvangirai
refused to accept a
national executive vote to participate in elections for
a new senate. He
claimed to have won support to boycott the election. Mrs
Stevenson then
joined the breakaway faction opposed to Mr
Tsvangirai.
The controversy brought to a head long-simmering
divisions
within the party over the former trade union chief's leadership
style. Two
years ago MDC youths tried to murder one of its security chiefs,
but Mr
Tsvangirai failed to take action on that and a string of further
violent
incidents before and after the split. Critics also cited
increasingly
dictatorial tendencies.
"Did we form the
MDC to create another Mugabe?" Mrs Stevenson asked.
Mr Tsvangirai still
attracts widespread support, Zimbabweans
apparently content to look the
other way over his failings. The party was
founded in September 1999 on the
principles of democracy and nonviolence and
hope for an end to Mr Mugabe's
rule, and has been beaten only by fraud in
three national elections since.
Now the MDC is becalmed. Party insiders say
that its structures have faded
away, dedicated activists have left the
country in disillusion, and its
source of funds has dried up.
In February Mr Tsvangirai
promised "a bitter winter of protest"
against the Government and vowed that
he was prepared to die leading the
marches. Nothing happened.
John Makumbe, a human rights activist, said: "The attack on Trudy is
part
and parcel of the political culture of violence created by [Mugabe's
ruling]
Zanu (PF). We in the opposition think we are immune, but we are not.
The
real enemy is the raw, state-sponsored violence of Mugabe."
RISE
AND FALL
September 1999 MDC founded by Morgan Tsvangirai; unites
disparate
social and ethnic elements in opposition to Mugabe
June 2000 MDC wins 57 seats out of 127 contested, but at least 12
activists
killed in internationally condemned elections
March 2002 Tsvangirai
defeated in presidential elections, subsequently
accused of
treason
March 2003 MDC co-ordinates general strike, government
responds with
beatings and detentions
October 2005 Tsvangirai
declares MDC boycott of senatorial election
but 26 members still register as
candidates
November 2005 Tsvangirai expels candidates; senior MDC
officals
declare him a 'dictator in the making'
July 2006
Opposition MP Trudy Stevenson attacked by MDC thugs loyal to
Tsvangirai
By
Lance Guma
05 July 2006
A Canadian member of parliament,
Dr Keith Martin, has been able to get
the Foreign Affairs Committee in that
country to pass a motion calling on
the government to use its 'crimes
against humanity legislation' and try to
bring bring Robert Mugabe to
justice. The Committee passed three motions
from Dr Martin that seek to
address the ongoing crises in the Congo, Darfur
and Zimbabwe. The motions
received support from the two main opposition
parties and passed during a
marathon parliamentary session a few weeks ago
in Canada.
Speaking on the Behind the Headlines series Dr Martin says he is
disappointed with the attitude of the international community towards the
Zimbabwean crisis. He said there is little attention being given to problems
in the country and the same applied to the conflict in the Congo and Darfur
where you 'have the longest serving genocidal regime in the world.' The MP
once worked in Mozambique as a doctor during the civil war and says its very
difficult for people in the West to have a real appreciation of the
challenges faced by people in African hotspots because most of the images
are only seen via television. This he says allows them to 'shut it off' from
their minds. His experience in Mozambique showed him first hand what it's
like.
His motion on Zimbabwe reads: 'That the Committee
recommends that the
government work with victims in Canada to ascertain the
feasibility of using
existing, domestic crimes against humanity legislation
to indict Zimbabwe's
President Robert Mugabe for crimes against humanity as
well as press for a
resolution at the Security Council to invoke a Chapter 7
article 41
resolution against President Mugabe and that the Minister of
Justice report
back to the Committee by November 15th on his efforts.' Dr
Martin argues the
motions will give the Canadian government clear direction
on how to
implement effective actions, 'that will diminish the endemic cycle
of
violence and appalling human suffering occurring.These motions make our
responsibility to protect, an obligation to act.'
He is also
calling for the redirection of financial resources from the
Zimbabwean
government to local NGO's because he believes the authorities are
misusing
them and withholding food to opposition supporters. He says the
withholding
of food and anti retrovirals (ARV's) was effectively a death
sentence in a
country with a high HIV infection rate. Turning to the last
minute u-turn by
Koffi Annan on meeting Mugabe Dr Martin said 'its our
collective guilt when
something is not dealt with,' but he quickly added it
was a bit naïve to
expect Mugabe to negotiate in good faith when all he had
shown was a desire
'to acquire and retain power.' He added that the
Gukurahundi massacres where
thousands of Ndebele's were killed in
Matabeleland showed Mugabe's
determination to cling on to power.
For the full interview with Dr
Keith Martin (MP) tune in to Behind the
Headlines with Lance Guma next week
Thursday and Friday.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe
news
American Enterprise Institute
By Roger Bate
Posted:
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
SPEECHES
AEI
Online
Publication Date: June 28, 2006
Abstract
Last year was Africa's year, with the continent
enjoying the
attention of the EU, G8 and UN. Most of the focus was on aid
and debt
relief; each rich nation or bloc eager to give more in fiscal
support to
overcome the myriad tragedies on the continent. But Africa
provides many of
the most important reminders of why countries grow
rich--and as importantly,
why they don't, which is directly, not just
indirectly, related to the
likelihood of how they'll protect their
environments. For as the Commission
on Africa said last year, lack of "good
governance . . . is what we believe
lies at the core of Africa's
problems."[1] More specifically, it is
governance in the form of the
institutions of free societies that matter
most.[2]
By
looking at the tragedy unfolding in Zimbabwe, this paper
provides empirical
support for the notion that property right protection is
vital for
development and conservation in that country and probably in the
rest of the
continent.
Zimbabwe's Lesson: Property Rights Are the Key to
Growth
When I first visited Zimbabwe in 1996, $1 US would buy
about $8
Zimbabwe. When I was there in November 2004, $1 would get you
Z$7000 at the
official rate, but Z$12,000 when traded on the black market
(from those
desperate to get hard currency for their increasingly worthless
Zimbabwe
dollars). Today the $1 rates are respectively Z$100,000 and
Z$145,000. The
Government tries to place restrictions on prices, whilst
printing money
recklessly, but obviously cannot change the laws of supply
and demand. For
example, even the threat of imprisonment will not work; at
least 282 bakers
and shopkeepers were arrested in Zimbabwe's capital Harare
at the end of
June 2006 for charging more than Z$85 000 for a standard loaf
of bread, the
state-controlled Herald newspaper reported.
For the past two years, bank notes have been printed on only one
side and
with an expiration date; bank collapses occur regularly; the
economy has
halved in the past five years and not surprisingly, official
unemployment is
about 80 percent.[3]
Much has been written about
government-backed violence in
Zimbabwe and the fraud at the polls in 2000,
2002 and last March. Similarly,
a great deal has been written about attacks
on independent journalists, the
rising disease burden from malaria and HIV,
and the systematic rape of
opposition women by President Robert Mugabe's
youth league. Mugabe has
enacted a slew of policies designed to maintain his
power base but which
have caused the steady collapse of the economy. His
recent Operation
Murambatsvima (literally, "driving out the trash"), which
targeted
businesses and residences owned by supporters of the opposition
party, the
Movement for Democratic Change, has destroyed the informal
economy over
which Mugabe had no power but which sustained approximately a
third of the
population. Having rewritten laws to prevent an independent
media, to
disallow other forms of freedom of expression and to suppress
independent
election monitoring, Mugabe may well rewrite the constitution to
delay
handing over power and allow him to hand-pick his successor rather
than
engage in a true democratic process.
Certainly, it
is not helpful for an economy to be run by a
power-crazed tyrant. But the
fundamental reason for the recent collapse in
Zimbabwe is not the loss of
freedom of the press, or unsound monetary
policy, or high military
expenditure from fighting wars in other countries
that benefit cronies, or
low health expenditure--although all these factors
have a negative
impact.
No, the real reason that Zimbabwe has collapsed is
that there is
no protection of private property. The executive rides
roughshod over the
judiciary in all matters of property, especially land
rights. The result, to
use Hernando De Soto's phrase, is 'dead capital' and
total economic
annihilation. The economy is now worth a fraction (in US$
terms) of its
value in 2000, when the 'land reform' program really
started.
In short, Zimbabwe provides the reverse of the good
news offered
by De Soto. In The Mystery of Capital, De Soto builds on the
works of great
economists like Coase, Knight, Hayek, von Mises, North and
Adam Smith, to
exhaustively demonstrate that inter alia, where private
property rights are
delineated and enforced, economies grow rapidly. When
someone can borrow
against their one large asset (for nearly everyone this
is their home) they
can establish businesses, buy supplies, design marketing
programs, sell
products and make a profit and thrive for themselves and
their children. For
some countries the vast majority of capital is dead -
one cannot prove one
owns it outright, and hence no capital market will lend
against it. De Soto
found that 90% of Egypt's property rights were
effectively untitled. As he
jokes, by barking at strangers the dogs
demonstrate they know where the
property boundaries are even if the people
don't.[4]
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, had a system of
property rights and
the rule of law which, until recently, was more than
adequate. Rights were
based on a decent, largely unambiguous titling system
and a judiciary that
upheld rights of landowners in the face of an executive
branch that (like so
many African economies) was largely Marxist in
orientation. And this same
judiciary continued to try to do this in the face
of mass expropriation of
land rights in 2000. Even as late as 2003, as the
final major swathe of
white farmers were thrown off their property and their
land left idle, some
judges tried to uphold the constitutional rights of
these farmers. But
finally all the good judges were fired, resigned or run
out of the country.
I met one such judge in late 2004 in Johannesburg. He
had stood up for
individual rights and free speech in a case in mid-2003.
First, he was
quietly told to drop the case by a junior minister, then the
authorities
attempted to bribe him with a farm of his own, then they
threatened him with
the sack, then publicly humiliated him with a smear
campaign in the
government-run Herald newspaper, claiming he was the
recipient of bribes,
and finally he was told by a friend with police
contacts that he was going
to be arrested on bribery charges, so he fled the
country. This 42-year-old,
former Appeals Court judge, was gaunt and without
visible means of financial
support.
While his story is
upsetting, the thousands who have died and
the millions who have fled
Zimbabwe with even less than this judge are all
victims of the destruction
of rights in Zimbabwe, which led to the almost
instantaneous collapse of the
economy. I am not alone in this assessment.
Craig Richardson, an economist
at Salem College, North Carolina, claims that
the land seizures broke a
vital "trust" and everyone "wondered if their
assets were safe."[5] His
analysis leaves no room for doubt about the cause
of collapse. While the
international community (and certainly African
commentators) blamed the
drought for the collapse of food production in
Zimbabwe, Richardson shows
that the drought of 2001/2002 was only 22% below
average rainfall levels. It
at most counted for 13% in the drop in the value
of the agricultural
economy; 87% of the drop was due to the collapse of
property rights.
Furthermore, he estimates that the 12.5% average decline in
GDP growth was
caused by land reforms, with poor rainfall playing a minimal
role.[6]
In addition to Richardson's work, analysis by
the Center for
Global Development shows that there has never been a two year
period when
low rainfall in Zimbabwe was not associated with low rainfall in
neighboring
countries, Zambia and Malawi. According to the United States
Department of
Agriculture, maize production (the most important regional
staple crop) in
Zimbabwe fell by 74% between 1999 and 2004, whereas it fell
by only 31% in
Malawi and actually rose in Zambia.[7]
But
to smooth over African political debate, and more defensibly
to enable food
aid provision, the drought in Zimbabwe has been played up as
the cause of
the food shortage.[8] This does long run discussions of the
importance of
institutions no favors. Indeed, most worryingly, Malawi,
Namibia and South
Africa have been flirting with the notion of 'land reform'--Mugabe
style.
And Malawi is even beginning to destroy urban property (businesses
and
homes) of those opposing the ruling regime. It is imperative that
politicians and their advisers (especially in Africa) accept the reality of
the causes of Zimbabwe's collapse.
But the situation is
not as hopeless as it seems. The property
rights collapse has happened
elsewhere, and has been reversed. By way of
hope, Richardson draws a
parallel with Nicaragua, which also suffered
economic collapse based on the
destruction of property rights under the
Sandinista government in the early
1980s. But in recent years, with a more
capitalist-minded government, the
Nicaraguan economy has grown at over four
percent annually, with inflation
below 10 percent, which, he claims, is
mainly due to protection of property
rights and private sector
development.[9] Richardson found that the other
institutions of a free
society matter, but, as predicted by De Soto, none
matter so much as the
right to the rewards of one's own
labor.
Zimbabwe needs reinstatement of land rights and
compensation to
those robbed. Some landowners, both black and white, I spoke
to still hold
on to their original title deeds in the hope that they will be
able to
reclaim their land and rebuild their lives.
But
ignoring issues of justice and compensation, it is vital
that individuals
(in economic terms anyone will do) are given transferable
rights to land in
Zimbabwe. Turning dead capital into something with life
will do more than
anything else to reverse the disaster that is Zimbabwe.
This cannot happen
with the current government. But Mugabe will die, become
too infirm to
govern or be the victim of a coup at some stage, when there
will be a chance
for democratic reform. While political reform is a
necessary condition for
economic growth, it is not sufficient--only private
property right
enforcement adds sufficiency for growth.
But What of the
Impact of Property Right Destruction on the
Environment?
Zimbabwe had one of the more enviable wildlife management
programs in place
up till 2000.
The Zimbabwean Parks and Wildlife Act of 1975
was a very clever
and useful piece of legislation since it gave ownership of
wildlife to
landowners. This allowed private land owners the possibility of
gaining
revenue from use of the resource. By selling hunting and game
viewing
licenses landowners in certain more arid locations (rainfall below
750mm/year) could gain greater revenue than from farming, and hence had an
incentive to protect wildlife, and critically the habitat it requires.
Indeed, by 1995, the Wildlife Producer's Association had 351 members with
over 250,600 head of game.[10]
Not only did it have
private game reserves for general tourism
and hunting, but it had the
CAMPFIRE program (Communal Areas Management
Programme for Indigenous
Resources) established in 1988. CAMPFIRE helped
local communities to reap
the financial benefits associated with living in
the vicinity of dangerous
animals. They did this by selling a
biologically-limited number of high
value hunting licences to mainly
foreigners (UK, US, South African, German
predominantly), and then dividing
most of the proceeds within the community.
90% of revenue came from hunting
licenses but they have run a few
eco-tourism sites too, and these were
likely to become more important in
future.
CAMPFIRE was a radical change in policy because it
recognized
that local communities should benefit directly from wildlife and
crucially
created a sense of communal ownership and stewardship of the
resource.
For over a decade CAMPFIRE provided significant
revenues to
communities while populations of white rhinos, elephants, lions
and other
charismatic megafauna flourished. By 1992 70,000 households were
participating in CAMPFIRE, the elephant population had grown to 76,000 (then
over 10% of all Africa's elephants). Unfortunately due to earlier widespread
poaching, the black rhino population had dropped to 370 (down from 2000 in
1980) by 1993. But protection began to improve with funds increasing for
park management, and critically, communal and private landowner protection,
and by 1995, nearly 30% of Zimbabwe's land was used for conservation, over
half of it private and CAMPFIRE areas.
But with the
destruction of property rights in 2000, starting
with the seizures of
white-owned farms, uncertainty over land title
everywhere has increased,
culminating in the nationalization of most land,
policing of poaching has
drastically lowered (partly because there is also
an HIV crisis and no fuel
for Parks' vehicles and in many instances no one
to drive them), and
opportunists have entered to make money from short term
poaching.
As Brian Gratwicke, a Zimbabwean wildlife
expert puts it: If
CAMPFIRE's market for wildlife through hunting and
tourism is not maintained
and cultivated, then there is the risk that the
cost-benefit scales will tip
against the wildlife. A recent media report
serves to illustrate this point,
as locals in Guruve are cashing in on their
elephants to sell the ivory on
the black market.
Even
with the collapse of many controls, CAMPFIRE still managed
to raise about
10% of total hunting fees for Zimbabwe in 2005 Z$ 5 bn
(US$3m) and over half
of that money was disbursed back into the communities.
Today
poaching is rife and falls into three categories:
subsistence; sport and
commercial. Subsistence poaching reflects an
opportunistic response to the
combination of poverty, lack of food, and the
disintegrating economy.
Gratwicke reports that 'thousands of rural poor cut
through wire fences on
conservancies and commercial farms, then use this
wire to make snares to
catch wild animals for food'.
Illegal sports hunters, mostly
from South Africa, are hunting
without licenses and harvesting venison for
'biltong' (a dried meat
delicacy) or hides (mainly zebra). Commercial
poaching is for the provision
of meat and 'trophies'. Once again Gratwicke
citing local media reports says
that unscrupulous South African based
safari-hunting operations are bringing
clients, perhaps ignorant of the harm
they are causing, in to shoot trophies
in unregulated situations such as
game farms from which previous owners have
been evicted.[11] Furthermore, it
is alleged in local media that army
helicopters have been used to transport
antelope carcasses, and use
landmines to cull hippos. And it's possible that
poaching is occurring
across the porous national borders as well, which
should be of concern to
other countries of the region.
The chairman of the Wildlife Producer's Association remarked in
2002: 'it is
estimated conservatively that we have lost about 50% of our
wildlife, 65% of
our tourism in the country and up to 90% safari hunting on
commercial farms,
and a huge reduction in capture and translocations of
wildlife on
conservancies'.[12] Since 2002, Government officials have
incited and paid
its thugs to invade private land, accelerating this
practice, so figures
have not been measured properly since then.
Data are
generally speculative or based on small samples, so
extrapolation is unsafe
but one estimate said that 10% of black rhinos were
lost just in 2003, while
over an 18-month period 60% of the extremely rare
painted hunting wild dog
population was lost. Furthermore, Mugabe's 'look
east' policy and Zimbabwe's
increasingly important relationship with China
is worrying, since China is
already a major importer of wildlife products
for its traditional medicine
and one high-profile case may mask many others;
67 illegally-procured
elephant tusks were recently confiscated from arrested
Chinese
nationals.
Other problems abound due to the destruction of
property rights,
lack of rule of law in all aspects of social life, and the
inherent
short-termism it breeds: deforestation and overgrazing are an
increasing and
a widespread problem (maps show scarred countryside);
pollution of water
ways with untreated sewage, often being dumped into
waterways killing fish
and other aquatic wildlife and illegal gold panning
exacerbating squatter
communities on formerly private land; pollution of
land and land degradation
from deliberately-started fires to flush out game
for hunting; invasive
species such as water hyacinth are no longer cut back
and proliferate.
Surprisingly lack of management has meant
that elephants are
proliferating with over 100,000 (at least in 2004),
leading to even more
habitat destruction (although the fact that elephants
have survived this
long means that poaching cannot be as a great a problem
as worse-case
scenarios paint it to be--at least on national parks where
most of the
elephants are today); Part of the reason elephant populations
have grown is
that so far only Gonarezhou of all the National Parks has been
invaded by
those claiming rights to squat/settle there (around 11,000ha was
settled by
March 2006). Unfortunately, revenue from sales of elephant ivory
under CITES
(the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered
Species) from 1997
has apparently not been used to fund elephant
conservation.[13]
Since there has been little accountability
for foreign funds
donated to Zimbabwe; multilateral, bilateral and private
charitable donors
have all been wary of trying to help protect wildlife.
Into the void they
have understandably left, less scrupulous partners have
jumped. With help
from its Southern African neighbours and other Eastern
supporters (China and
North Korea in particular) are helping Zimbabwe to
maintain access to
markets for its wildlife products, bypassing CITES
regulations and
furthering international trade in wildlife. Corruption is so
significant
that it is impossible to know how bad the status of wildlife
protection is
today; a few examples will suffice: game wardens have sold
water pumps
donated to National Parks by conservation groups; some game
conservancies
have been confiscated by Government and distributed to favored
friends; the
operations director of the Parks and Wildlife Management
Authority was
suspended over theft and translocation of wild game and then
reinstated for
'lack of evidence', when the animals
reappeared.
Unfortunately, as stories of corruption,
mismanagement and
wildlife destruction have trickled out of Zimbabwe, the
main response from
international wildlife groups is to demand strengthening
of controls on
international trade in wildlife (to allegedly control
poaching etc.). While
this is understandable given it is something they can
influence (and
successfully influence since the US has apparently stopped
any wildlife
trophy imports from Zimbabwe as they correctly view all of it
as stolen
property), it misses the main point, which is that without
protection of
property rights in all economic matters economies collapse,
and with it
wildlife protection, amongst many other
things.
What is happening in Zimbabwe should be a lesson for
those who
demand national parks to house wildlife, oppose trade in wildlife
and
dislike private game reserves. While it is distasteful that hunting
operators were as recently as March 2006 bidding for rights to hunt in
Zimbabwe, they are reacting to incentives--today it's a cheap place to hunt
and authorities need to make it costly for foreign hunters to bring back
products from Zimbabwe. The US Government has followed good policy in
stopping exports of trophies from Zimbabwe to US. But those opposing
international trade in wildlife generally, should understand as explained by
Richardson, that destruction of property rights is critical for the collapse
of the economy and what they propose to control wildlife, is pretty close to
what Mugabe has done to his entire economy--nationalize it. It is
folly.
Those who care about wildlife should learn the
Zimbabwe lesson,
uphold property, communal and private, protect and enforce
the rule of law,
and allow diversity in economic systems, as one would want
it in ecosystems,
and the wildlife will flourish. Right now boycotting
wildlife from Zimbabwe
is the right policy. But when a new government comes
to power, and if it
upholds CAMPFIRE and private property, then
international trade in trophies
will help, not harm, Zimbabwe, since the
revenue can be reinvested in
wildlife management.
But
times are changing.
It is well established that 'wealthier is
healthier', and hence
priorities for African nations with poor health
systems must be on economic
growth.[14] Fortunately, there is a new breed of
African business leaders,
politicians and opinion formers. A year ago, just
prior to the Gleneagles G8
summit, businessmen met in London for the
Business Action for Africa summit.
Pascal Dozie, chief executive of
Nigeria's Diamond Bank said "[t]he key to
eradicate poverty is wealth
creation, and you can only create wealth through
the private sector through
investment and job creation . . . . But to
thrive, Africa's private sector
needs help to grow."[15]
There was enthusiastic support from
the floor for Mr. Dozie,
with acceptance that property rights must be
protected and the rule of law
must be respected. Other institutions being
pressed upon a somewhat
surprised media were that stable and democratic
governments should focus on
creating predictable environments for business
to operate in. And beyond
that, "the state should adopt a hands-off
regulatory approach."[16]
One can only pray that for all the
inhabitants of Zimbabwe such
changes in approach to combat corruption and
dictators and uphold property
rights and the rule of law come sooner rather
than later.
Roger Bate is a resident fellow at
AEI.
Notes
1. Commission for Africa
(2005), "Our Common Interest: Report of
the Commission for Africa," Penguin
Books Ltd, London, UK, p.25
2. Ibid
3.
Roger Bate (2005a), "Zimbabwe's Impending Elections: What
Other Countries
Can Do and Why" AEI Online, On the Issues, February 23,
2005.
4. Hernando De Soto (2000), "The Mystery of
Capital: Why Capital
Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else" US,
Basic Books.
5. Craig Richardson (2005), "The Loss of
Property Rights and the
Collapse in Zimbabwe" mimeo.
6.
Ibid
7. Source: USDA (2005), Foreign Agr. Service, PSD Online
db.
8. "Food Imports Head into Zimbabwe" BBC Online, July 14,
2005.
9. Richardson (2005), mimeo.
10. B
Gratwicke and B. Stapelkamp (2006) Wildlife Conservation
and Environmental
Management in an 'Outpost of Tyranny'
11.
ibid
12. ibid
13. ibid
14. L. Pritchett and L. Summers (1996), "Wealthier is
Healthier," Jnl of
Human Resources 31 (4): 841-868.
15. Jorn Madslien (2005),
"African leaders in push for trade"
BBC Online, July 5, 2005 (accessed
08/08/2005:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4653149.stm)
16. Ibid
Source Notes: This speech was given at the sixth annual
Property Rights
and Environment conference at Aix-en-Provence, France, on
June 28th,
2006.
Cricinfo
staff
July 5, 2006
The government's grip over cricket in Zimbabwe
will increase further if the
proposed new board constitution is
passed.
It empowers the Robert Mugabe-controlled Zanu-PF regime to
appoint seven of
the 12 board members for a four-year term, rendering them
unaccountable to
any of the country's stakeholders. Only five members will
be appointed by
provincial associations, and they will be outnumbered by the
political
appointees. They will also be subject to re-election.
The
constitution also limits the power of its affiliate provinces, making it
illegal for them to pass a vote of no confidence in the national board or
any of its members.
On the surface, there is a safeguard in that the
constitution stipulates
that board members must have cricketing background -
Test or ODI
appearances, three years previous ZC board experience, umpiring
qualifications or a record of cricketing administration. However, a degree
will also suffice.
"Some of the conditions are tailor-made to suit
certain people who
government is likely to appoint," a highly placed
official told the
Independent newspaper in Harare.
The revelation
came at a bitter meeting of stakeholders in Mutare. Thosew
present spoke of
shocking "power-seeking" after some provincial delegates
even wanted their
newly-created associations, filled with individuals
appointed by the Peter
Chingoka-dominated board, to automatically take up 10
of the posts on the ZC
board.
However, a senior ZC official said that the new constitution had
been forced
by the instability which preceded the government intervention in
January.
© Cricinfo
International Press Institute (Vienna)
PRESS
RELEASE
July 5, 2006
Posted to the web July 5, 2006
According
to information provided to the International Press Institute
(IPI), the
medium wave signal of the London-based SW Radio Africa is
apparently being
jammed in and around the capital of Zimbabwe, Harare.
The apparent
jamming follows reports over the last two weeks of the break-up
of the
medium wave signal inside Zimbabwe.
At first, these problems appeared to
be related to signal difficulties;
however, on 26 June, the station
concluded that the previous problems were
merely tests in the lead-up to a
persistent jamming of the morning medium
wave signal.
Based on
information from inside Zimbabwe, the jamming is believed to come
from the
broadcasting centre at Pockets Hill, rather than ZBC Gweru, which
has
previously jammed SW Radio Africa on its shortwave band.
It is widely
believed that the Chinese government has provided the
Zimbabwean government
with the technology that allows the signal of private
radio stations to be
jammed inside the country.
In early June, the Zimbabwean vice-president,
Joyce Mujuru, returned from a
visit to China and announced a number of trade
deals including a significant
deal with Star Communications to provide the
necessary equipment to allow
Zimbabwean state radio and television to
broadcast all over the country.
Commenting on the apparent jamming of SW
Radio Africa's signal, IPI Director
Johann P. Fritz said, "Having brought
the independent press to its knees, it
now seems that the Zimbabwean
government is determined to do the same with
independent radio stations,
both inside and outside the country."
"Since the beginning of the year,
the government has done everything within
its powers to silence the
Zimbabwe-based Voice of the People radio station
and it is now blocking
outside signals."
Fritz added, "Because of the growing relationship
between the Zimbabwean
government and China it is hard not to see these
actions as part of a
concerted effort to silence all alternative radio
voices in the country. If
successful, this will allow the state radio and
television to use Chinese
funding to broadcast its own deeply prejudiced
views to the Zimbabwean
people unchallenged."
Note: Zimbabwe was
placed on the IPI Watch List on 20 October 2001. For
information on the IPI
Watch List or for IPI's most recent report on
Zimbabwe, please visit IPI's
Website: http://www.freemedia.at
From PBS Frontline/World (US), 27 June
Trevor Ncube is a prominent Zimbabwean newspaper publisher
living in
Johannesburg. He bought the Mail & Guardian, a South African
newspaper, in
2002. He also publishes Zimbabwe's last two independent
newspapers. All
three publications have heavily criticized President Robert
Mugabe's
government. In December 2005, Mugabe drew up a list of government
critics
and announced that those who "go around demonizing the country"
would have
their passports seized. Ncube was the first victim of the
crackdown. In this
interview, he talks about "the passport incident" and
describes what he
calls "the tyranny" of Mugabe's regime -- from the
conditions endured by
reporters to the state control of the legislature.
Ncube also offers an
explanation for South Africa's muted response to
Zimbabwe's crisis and for
why he and others are saying that the situation in
Zimbabwe today is worse
than it was under Prime Minister Ian Smith's
white-minority regime.
Alexis Bloom: How would you characterize the
Mugabe government at the
moment?
Trevor Ncube: What's very
distinct about the Mugabe regime at the moment is
that you have what appears
to all intents and purposes to be a regime whose
back is against the wall. A
regime that has become politically bankrupt.
They've painted themselves into
a corner and they don't know how to get out
of that corner. They're
desperate. And in their desperation, they are trying
to find scapegoats;
they're hitting out at anybody, mostly their citizens,
and blaming the
Americans and the British for the problems that Zimbabwe
currently
experiences. It's a terrible place, Zimbabwe, at the moment. Pity
the poor
Zimbabweans who find themselves basically imprisoned in their own
country,
where standards of living have deteriorated quite significantly,
particularly over the past six years, as poverty and social destitution have
taken root.
Tyranny is an everyday thing; people fear for their
lives. Their rights have
been taken over by the state. It's more than a
police state. To some extent,
one would say it's got the trimmings of a
military dictatorship. There's a
preponderance of military or ex-military
personnel in senior government
positions. Intelligence operators are taking
charge of policing and
implementation and running of the country. If you
recall that only seven
years ago, Zimbabwe was one of the best places in
southern Africa to be in
and that all that I've just outlined has taken
place inside six and a half
to seven years - it's quite alarming. It's a sad
story of what happens when
a regime gets so punch drunk with political power
and there's nothing to
restrain them.
It seems to me that the No.
1 priority of the government is to control its
own people. Would you say
this is a fair statement?
There are quite a number of priorities at
the present moment. But clearly,
holding on to power for power's sake is one
of them. Extending the political
tenure of the state is one of them. And
controlling the thought process of
the people, the movement of the people is
one of them because of this fear
that the citizens are going to cause
something - an uprising and so forth.
One of the goals is to try to prevent
that. One of the paramount concerns of
every person in power is that they
are making hay while the sun shines.
There's tremendous looting that is
taking place - looting of state assets,
private property, the land - which
has been widely reported. Only last week
Robert Mugabe started issuing
letters to citizens who are his neighbors at
his mansion in Harare; he's
given them notice that he intends to acquire
their homes because they are
too close to him and he's concerned about his
security. There is no end to
that kind of desperation.
Why do you think Mugabe is so driven to stay in
power?
It has gotten to an extent where he's dug himself into this
big hole;
there's no getting out of this hole. But I think he's also made up
his mind
that he's not getting out of power; he's made up his mind that he's
going to
drop dead in office. And I think one of the things that drive him
to reach
that decision is that he's concerned about what happens if he
leaves office,
"What's going to happen the morning after?" as I always call
it. Is he going
to be taken to Geneva, like what has happened to Slobodan
Milosevic? Is he
going to be called to account for the things he's done? For
the matter of
more than 20,000 people [who died] in Matabeleland in the
1980s? The abuses
that have taken place over the past six years? The media
can't go into
certain places in Zimbabwe, so we have no idea the extent of
the human
rights abuses. That element, to me, is quite significant in making
him
decide that getting out of power is not an option.
to be
continued...
Engineering News
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zimbabwe's struggling economy is set for a "dramatic" recovery in the
next
two to three years on the back of expected growth in mining and
commercial
farming, central bank governor Gideon Gono said on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe's economy has shrunk by more than a third during a recession
which
has lasted for eight years, with inflation running at a world record
of
nearly 1 200% and unemployment estimated at about 70%.
Gono aims to
tackle the meltdown, which has been worsened by the
withdrawal of
international support over policy differences with Harare,
particularly
President Robert Mugabe's forcible redistribution of
white-owned commercial
farms among blacks.
Zimbabwe's biggest challenge was to rebuild
confidence and mobilize
investment around its natural resources, the
governor said in an interview.
"We are working quietly and fighting
very hard on several fronts to
rebuild (business) confidence, to boost both
domestic and external
investment in mining and commercial agriculture," he
said.
Gono declined to discuss what new investments were in the
pipeline,
but analysts say Zimbabwe appears to be banking on inflows from
Asia under a
'Look East' policy which Mugabe has adopted after his isolation
by Western
donors.
"We are not going to give out any details at
this stage, but I can
safely say that in two to three years' time, this
economy will be back on
its feet, strong and robust and a model of a
turnaround programme," Gono
said.
"We are setting the stage for
a dramatic turnaround, although this
might sound incredible because the
economic statistics currently on the
ground do not support such an outlook,"
he added. He gave no further details
The World Bank says Zimbabwe, once the
breadbasket of the region, has the
fastest shrinking economy outside a war
zone.
Critics say Gono has failed in his efforts to tame rampaging
inflation
since his appointment in December 2003 but the governor said on
Wednesday he
regarded missed targets as temporary setbacks, not
failures.
Under a national economic development priority programme
launched in
April, the government hopes to stabilize the fragile Zimbabwe
dollar, which
is trading at four times its official value on an illegal
parallel market.
The plan also aims to improve food security and
revive crumbling
industries, now operating at 30% capacity.
Gono declined to discuss details of the programme or say how he aimed
to
boost forex inflows, reduce inflation or meet growth targets, saying it
was
too close to the unveiling of his second monetary policy statement for
the
year, expected in July.
But he hinted that the central bank could
be planning another
crackdown on the black market in foreign exchange,
similar to one that
forced several top business executives to flee the
country two years ago for
fear of arrest.
"We are working on a
number issues...and those who are involved in the
parallel market should not
cry foul when the law catches up with them," he
said.
Dear All,
About 500 WOZA members marched to Bulawayo City Hall
on
Monday morning (July 3rd) to lobby the Mayor about
the right to trade. In
response to regular state
raids on small traders trying to eke out a living
in
city markets, WOZA had met 10 days earlier with Mayor
to request that
the Bulawayo City Council stop
participating in the Government's ongoing
vendetta
against honest people. The Mayor was given a deadline
of one week
to stop these activities or he would face
a dose of 'Tough Love' from WOZA.
The week being up,
WOZA delivered on its promise.
Most WOZA members
are themselves informal traders and
are no longer prepared to remain silent
about the
on-going harassment they are facing. As one of the
placards they
were carrying read: 'A child who remains
silent on its mother's back will
die.'
Having marched peacefully from the Revenue Hall and
Tower Block,
the women sat singing outside the
entrance to City Hall while representatives
were
received by the Mayor. He asked them their business
and then agreed
to speak with the group waiting
outside. A Police Officer arrived during the
meeting
but the mayor told him that these women were his
'children' coming
to their father to make their
grievances and refused to allow them to be
arrested.
Mayor Japhet Ndabeni Ncube then proceeded to read the
placards
held by the women and answer them - with the
officer in tow.
Like a
mother who knows where the pain is and what
remedy is needed, WOZA has once
again homed in on the
heart of the issue in Zimbabwe and taken action.
I
hope you will join us in congratulating them.
Aluta
Continua!
Lois (for WOZA Solidarity UK)
He left ZimRights under a cloud of controversy and is now based in the United Kingdom. Nicholas Ndebele , the leader of the Zimbabwe Action Group (UK) , is the guest on Behind the Headlines. How does he respond to allegations he was a member of the CIO tasked to destabilize ZimRights at the time. There were further allegations of financial impropriety against him at the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. Ndebele denies the allegations and explains how a personal relationship he developed with a divorcee made him choose love over the CCJP and its strict moral codes on marriage.
Chicago Tribune
Published July 5, 2006
Warm clothing is essential
these days in Zimbabwe's Bvumba Mountains, where
it's winter now and the
temperature can dip into the 30s.
But Chicagoan Jessica Bowers, a United
Nations humanitarian worker stationed
in Harare, cannot buy clothing there
because inflation has made it almost
impossible to purchase even simple
goods.
Bowers, 32, recently transferred there from Sudan, where
temperatures
sometimes top 100 degrees. Facing several months of chilly
nights, she
called home to Chicago and asked her father to send warm
clothes.
On June 7, Larry Bowers shipped $1,300 worth of clothes and
other items
using the United States Postal Service's Global Express
Mail.
He paid $165.15 to have the package stamped and insured. A
representative at
the Norwood Park Postal Store told Bowers the box would
arrive at his
daughter's door in three to five business days.
When
the package had not arrived by June 14, the father began to worry. He
tried
tracking the shipment on the Postal Service's Web site, but the last
entry
showed it at O'Hare International Airport on June 8.
Bowers said he
called the Postal Service repeatedly, but was told it could
not locate the
box.
On June 16 Bowers filed a formal complaint about a missing package,
asking
the agency to investigate. When the Postal Service still could not
find the
package, Bowers e-mailed What's Your Problem.
"Every time I
talk to them, it's just `There's nothing further we can tell
you,'" he said.
"You walk into the post office here and talk to the people,
and they just
don't care one way or another."
The Problem Solver called the Postal
Service on Thursday. Musette Henley,
acting customer relations coordinator
for the Postal Service in Chicago,
said the agency called Bowers later that
day and told him it had found the
package--in the offices of Zimbabwe's
customs service.
Bowers said he received no call.
Henley also said
that although Bowers had paid for the package to be
insured, he was not
eligible to file a claim.
"The mail piece is not lost or stolen; it is in
customs," Henley said. "Once
it leaves the United States, we don't have
jurisdiction over the piece."
Henley said the U.S. Postal Service has
contacted the postal service in
Zimbabwe but said the U.S.' role is
limited.
"You cannot tell another country what to do," Henley said. "We
can't just
tell customs how fast to move a product."
So the package
apparently sits in Zimbabwe customs, filled with clothing,
DVDs, a DVD
player, candy, cosmetics and tea bags. Henley said she has no
idea how long
it could take to clear customs. The three to five business
days Bowers was
promised applies only to the United States portion of the
shipping.
Bowers worried that because Zimbabwe is in financial
crisis, someone would
steal the package once it arrived in that country. He
said he shipped the
items only after getting assurances from his local post
office that the box
would make it through, and that if it didn't, he would
be reimbursed.
Instead, his daughter has not received her clothes, and
Bowers cannot get a
refund for the $1,300 in insured goods or the $165.15 in
shipping costs.
He called the Postal Service's response--that there is
nothing it can do--a
"cop out."
"It's ridiculous," Bowers
said.
Henley said the U.S. Postal Service provides excellent service
within the
United States.
"We say we can deliver it," she said. "But
once it goes into a foreign
country, we don't have the authority to tell
them what to do."
By
Tichaona Sibanda
5 July, 2006
The Asylum and Immigration
Tribunal in the AA test case in London was
on Tuesday given a chilling
account of how state security agents 'deal with
undesirable elements'of the
opposition MDC party in Zimbabwe.
At one point the tribunal had to
be held in camera following a request
from solicitors representing AA
because a key witness in the hearing
identified two central intelligence
organisation agents in the gallery.
A source told us Wednesday the
judge had to ask everyone to leave
except solicitors from the Home Office
and those representing 'AA'. The
source added that the nature of evidence
that was heard thereafter was 'very
sensitive' and the judge had no option
but to protect the witness.
The key witness, the first of three
former intelligence operatives to
give evidence in court, gave a chilling
account of how failed asylum seekers
are likely to be treated as soon as
they set foot at Harare International
airport.
'The evidence
was from a person who was in the system for many years
and the account given
in court left the judges shocked. The witness was
speaking from past
experience in the job and no-one doubted his credibility
which was a massive
blow for the Home Office,' the source said.
The AA asylum case is
meant to determine whether it is safe to return
failed Zimbabwean asylum
seekers back home. The home office has already
submitted its evidence and
declared that it is safe to return the failed
asylum seekers.
They also told the hearing Monday that a full time member of staff is
now
based at the British Embassy in Harare to monitor the welfare of
returnees
and that this will also ensure their safety. But a host of other
witnesses
testifying on behalf of AA have tacitly agreed that the country is
still
unsafe and failed asylum seekers would be at risk if returned
home.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
As a JAG member or JAG Associate member, please send any classified
adverts
for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG Classifieds: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
For Sale Items
2. Wanted Items
3. Accommodation
4. Recreation
5.
Specialist Services
6. Pets
Corner
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
OFFERED FOR
SALE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1
Pet Mince for Sale (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
Pet Mince for sale 500g for $80
000. Pet mince made from pork offal
including liver and veg only, it is
minced and well cooked.
Cat Heart Mince with cooked liver for sale 250g
for
$80 000
Delivered on Friday's, collected at Benbar Msasa at 10:30, JAG
(17 Philips
Ave, Belgravia) at 11:30, Peace Haven (75 Oxford St off Aberdeen)
at 12:30
and Olivine Head Office in car park at 2:30.
Please order by
email.
Phone 011211088 or email claassen@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2
For Sale (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
Philips Telefax for sale price 80 million
contact me on 091941171 or email
babsmandva@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3
Property For Sale (Ad inserted
06/06/06)
ZW$15,000,000,000.00
Situated on 15 acres just outside
Harare, but classified as Urban.
Consists of 1 x 3 bed roomed house, 1 x 2
bed roomed cottage, 2 x ensuite
guest rooms, pool and entertainment area,
workshop and offices. Boreholes x
2, water storage tanks, domestic quarters
and storage rooms, walled,
electric fenced and electric gated.
Only
serious buyers with ready cash need respond.
Contact Ashleigh- Tel: 091
890722 or ambient@africaonline.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4
Items for Sale (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
Kelvinator Four plate stove/eye
level grill - old.
Imperial fridge/freezer.
Sharp microwave
oven.
Telefunken video recorder
DSTV decoder and card
Bosh cake
mixer/liquidiser/mincer.
Waffle maker.
Snackwich maker.
4 piece
upholstered lounge suite
2 large hot trays.
2 half moon tables.
1 Defy
Auto Maid washing machine
1 Defy tumble dryer.
1 garden table & 4
chairs (with cushions)
Carpets (2) 9 x 12 with under lays
1 Muhkwa
Kist
1 Bookcase
2 chests of drawers
3 table lamps
Please phone
Cherry: 251150 - 2 (Business) or 304095
(home).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
1.5
Items for Sale (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
Jungle gym with slide ladder,
aeroplane, boat-swing. $50000000.00.
Pool slide (large fibreglass)
$50000000.00.
Mazda 626 South African assembled 1992 model
Sport boat with
40 hp mariner engine phone Cheryl 308227.
011208619,
011201990
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.6
For Sale (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
Falcon with a 115 Yamaha motor for sale.
Z$ 1.7 Billion neg contact details
are 04-572136 8am - 6pm Mon -
Fri.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.7
For Sale (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
1 x complete water pump with pulley and
base for any 10 Series Ford tractor.
As good as brand new.
1 x water
pump with pulley no base plus new gasket for any 10 Series Ford
tractor. As
good as new.
For further details contact 04 - 745463 or
011211924.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.8
For Sale (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
50 kg bags coarse salt @ Z$ 3 million
each collected Ruwa, or Z$ 3.25
million delivered Harare. Limited quantity,
available after June 23rd.
Apply mnmilbank@zol.co
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.9
Items For Sale (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
1) Branding irons - Numbers 0
through 9; 3 of each, still good condition.
2) Motorolla, Kenwood and Tait
radios; 5 base and 1 hand held.
3) Robust steel trailer suitable for off road
work.
Please phone Wally Herbst, 011 212 264 or 09 244388
E mail Mziki
@mweb.co.zw.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.10
For Sale (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
8-chair oak dining room suite with
extendable table, tea trolley and
dresser. Very good condition
Brand new
modern fold up camp cot Pine cot (used but very good
condition)
Pushchair/pram - 2 position - changeable handles - (used twice
only and in
very good condition)
Offers on all above items - please phone
091 310012 or 339509 (afternoons
and evenings
only)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.11
For Sale (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
VOLVO S60 DIESEL 26000KM 2005
MODEL.
SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY TO PHONE 011 407747 OR 055
20213
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.12
For Sale (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
One new "Star" car radio deck (no
speakers). $15 million onco.
Call Karen 011-407-184 or leave message on
495445 and I will call you back
if I am not
there.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.13
For Sale (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
Quarter-sized Billiard/Pool table with
all accessories. Excellent
condition. Reasonable offer accepted.
Phone:
Neville
091-278-461.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.14
For Sale (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
Finesse 12 fin oil heater.
7 heat
settings and
2 different wattage settings
Removable wheels for ease of
transport.
I find it gives out a gentle heat and does not dry out
the air.
Comes with original 15 amp plug.
Cream in colour with black
trim.
Asking : $25 000 000
+263 (04)
884634
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
1.15
For Sale (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
Full household goods for sale, numerous
and various items.
Double Bed = $40m
Stove = $80m
Fridge = $60m
And
so much more! Electricals, furniture, kitchen equipment, accessories
and
other bits and bobs.
Please email monique.fachet@gmail.com for complete
catalogue and pricing.
For more details and viewing arrangements
please contact Monique.
Tel: 309274 (w), 091 315 411, Email: as per above
address
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.16
For Sale (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
"HORSE BOX"
===========
Back &
front loading: Groom's door: Partition: Rubber mat: Tows very well
with no
rattles. Has extra height.
Contact: PIERCY, James Farm Rd., Ruwa. Tel:
073
2566."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.17
For Sale (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
Horticulture 4 ft fluorescent lights,
approx enough for 3 Ha
Please contact Martin on 011 603 762 or Lars 011 604
398.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.18
For Sale (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
SIRATRO SEED:
Substantial quantity of
very good Siratro legume seed.
Contact 04 745463 or 011211924 for further
details.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
1.19
For Sale (Ad inserted 37/06/06)
HONDA RIDE ON MOWER FOR SALE
COLOUR
RED, USED
NEEDS NEW BATTERY
BOUGHT 2001
ASKING PRICE US$1
500
TWO TRAILERS FOR SALE:
FLAT BED SOME BOARDS MISSING. ASKING PRICE
US$800
TOYOTA HILUX 2.4 BUCKIE BACK CONVERTED INTO TRAILER. WITH SPARE
TYRE.
ASKING PRICE US$1500
CONTACT 011 407 149 OR dansar@zol.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
1.20
For Sale (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
PIRANAH EXECUTIVE BOAT, 140 EVINRUDE GOOD
CONDITION.
85 YAMAHA WITHOUT TRIM
30LB MOTORGUIDE HAND CONTROL
BASS MOTOR
1 HARROW BMX BIKE MIDDLE SIZE, 1 REDLINE MINI BMX BIKE BOTH
GOOD CONDITION.
70CC MONKEY MOTORBIKE RUNNER NEEDS COSMETIC
ATTENTION.
CONTACT NUMBERS: 011205247 - 091909244 - 251377 EMAIL: danlyn@hms.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
1.21
For Sale (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
New Discs for sale, suit IMCO or Duly
Disc Harrows 28 inch with 45mm. Hole
Uses Discs suit IMCO or Duly Disc
Harrows, 20 inch to 24 inch with 45mm
Hole, 8mm thick.
Phone 011 803
707
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
1.22
For Sale (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
1 X AMMONIA 12 CUBIC FOOT DEEP FREEZE FOR
SALE
1 X ROTISSERIE FOR SALE (ROTAGRIL)
Please contact Carol on 332798 or
011 231 541 if you are
interested.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
1.23
For Sale (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
TOYOTA LANDCRUISER PRADO
1998
Model
Colour: Silver
Engine Type: Diesel
Mileage: 60111
4WD,
Intercooler Diesel Turbo, ABS, Automatic with overdrive,
excellent
condition.
Please contact: 011 213 471 or bkpaint@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.24
For Sale (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
"THE WEAVERY."
Phone your orders
to--Anne--011212424 or 332851.
Email joannew@zol.co.zw
Fax--332851.
SUPER
GIFT IDEAS FOR LOCAL OR OVERSEAS FRIENDS AND FAMILY. LIGHT,EASY TO
WASH AND
SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
Prices.
Small woven bags--$750,000
each.
Large crocheted bags.--$1,800,000 each.
Large woven
bags.--$1,500,000 each.
Table Runners.--$1,150,000.
Set of 4
Fringed Table mats + serviettes--$3,400,000.
Set of 6 Fringed mats+
serviettes--$5,200,000.
Set of 4 Bordered table mats+
serviettes---$4,000,000.
Set of 4 Bordered table mats
only---$3,000,000
Set of 6 Bordered mats + serviettes--$6,000,000.
Set of
8 Bordered mats + serviettes---$8,000,000.
Tea cosy(L)--$800,000.
Tea
cosy(m)--$600,000
Tea cosy(s)--$400,000.
Cotton(lined)oven
gloves(pair)--$900,000.
Aprons--$1,700,000.
Decorated cushion
covers--$1,300,000.
Plain cushion covers---$1,100,000.
Large plain
cotton rug--$3,500,000.
Med. plain cotton rug---$2,200,000.
Small plain
cotton rug.---$1,400,000.
Cotton Rag Rug--$1,400,000.
Lots of other rugs
to order.
Duvet Cushions(opens into
a
duvet)--$11,000,000(Single).$13,00,000(Double).$15,000,000(Queen).NEW.
Toilet
sets--$2,500,000. NEW.
Bath mats---$1,100,000 NEW.
Wholesale prices
available for orders(over 6 of an article) or
large
purchases.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.25
Items for Sale (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
HIWAY TRAILER 6 TONNE FRONT AXLE
WITH SPRING (NO SHACKLE)
FALCON SLASHER
VICON
MOWER
INDUSTRIAL ELECTRIC 30CM HACKSAW
PANASONIC AIR CONDITIONER
CS/CU 903KE (NEVER USED)
TABLETOP ELECTRIC SANDER
150 LITRE
MONARCH ROOF GEYSER
100 LITRE MONARCH ROOF GEYSER
MOTORS - 1 X
7,5KW RPM 1445
1 X 3,1KW RPM 1415 AMPS
6,5
1 X 3KW RPM 1435 AMPS 5,25
1 X
5,5HP 4 KW
1 X 1HP LAWNMOWER MOTOR
ELNA STELLA
SEWING MACHINE
SINGER HAND SEWING MACHINE
DOUBLE BED KNITTING
MACHINE
6sq.m. CARPET TILES
PLEASE TELEPHONE - 091 305
313
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.26
For Sale (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
CAT 922 FRONT END LOADER:
Good
strong front loader machine in working condition
Powered by CAT 4 cylinder
engine and transmission
Rear turning wheels (i.e.not articulated)
Fitted
with 1 cubic metre bucket
Useful for loading all loose materials (e.g.sand,
gravel, mining materials,
etc., etc.)
PRICE - Z$ 5 billion
o.n.c.o.
MASSEY FERGUSON MF390 TRACTOR
Good working
condition
PRICE - Z$ 2.6 billion o.n.c.o.
TOWED 4 WHEEL BOWSER - 4000
litre CAPACITY
In working condition
PRICE - Z$ 600 million
o.n.c.o.
TOWED VIBRATORY ROLLER (ENGINE DRIVEN VIBRATION
SYSTEM)
In working condition.
Excellent for compaction on gravel
roads
Tractor Towed machine
PRICE - Z$ 2 billion o.n.c.o.
SELECTION
OF BRICK & BLOCK MAKING MACHINES/EQUIPMENT
Ideal for on-site brick
& block making
PRICES on request
SELECTION OF VARIOUS BULK
PLUMBING FITTINGS AND PIPES :- details, list and
prices
available on
request.
Please contact Paul Brown on Hre 755 401/2, 091-754 302, instamac@mweb.co.zw
for further
details.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
1.27
Fuel for Sale (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
PETROL & DIESEL AVAILABLE FROM
HAMCOR FUEL
We have had to revise our payment system over the last week,
and have little
choice but to introduce the following:
1. CASH
PAYMENTS IN HARARE
Cash can be paid at our offices in Harare for fuel in
excess of 300 litres.
Any amount paid into our accout will be held as a
deposit only and deducted
from your final fuel bill. Fuel will be drawn
against your deposit at the
prevailing pump price on the day the fuel is
issued REGARDLESS OF THE DATE
ON WHICH YOU PAID IN HARARE. Please do not pay
for fuel more than 3 days in
advance of your charter/arrival in
Kariba.
Directions to our offices are as follows:
Execulink (this is a
branch of Premier Bank)
5 Beit Avenue
Harare
Telephone: 04
720963
Fax: 04 792717
(Off Josiah Tongogara Avenue, into Blakiston
Avenue. Beit Avenue is the
first road right after Dr. Fremantle's Rooms,
which are opposite Alex Sports
Club tennis courts.)
See Kim or Natalia.
Advise that payment is for HamCor and retain your
receipt to be presented to
us in Kariba on collection of your fuel.
2. RTGS / ZETSS
As with
any cash payment, transfer of funds by RTGS will be held as a
deposit only,
and will now attract a 10% surcharge. This means that if you
transferred
$100 million into our account, we will automatically deduct 10%
from your
deposit. Your fuel will be drawn against your deposit on the
prevailing pump
price on the day your fuel is issued. Please phone us for
our bank details
and instructions. Again, please do not pay for fuel more
than 3 days in
advance of your charter/arrival in Kariba.
3. PAYMENT BY CHEQUE
We
no longer accept payment by cheque into our account, nor do we accept
payment
by cheque at our offices in Kariba.
4. CASH PAYMENTS IN KARIBA
Cash
can be paid directly to us at our office in Marineland Harbour.
Petrol is
currently critically short and we are only issuing fuel to
Marineland
Houseboat Owners and Marineland Speedboats. We hope to have more
petrol in
by the end of next week.
Current fuel price: $470,000/lt (cash
price)
FUEL PRICE IS VALID FOR 24 HOURS.
HamCor Fuel
Fuel
Procurement & Sales
Kiara Cordy & Guy Hammond
Southern Belle
Office
Marineland Harbour
Kariba
Telephone: 091 275 714 or 091 269
330
Fax: 061 3134
email: kiara@zol.co.zw or guyhammond@zol.co.zw
---------------------------------------------------------------
2
WANTED
ITEMS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1
Wanted (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
Looking for wooden filing cabinets,
preferably lockable and hanging file
inserts
Also a magnet for a
Trojan treadmill I have misplaced mine 'safely' whilst
moving and just cannot
find it at all now - or else a heavy found magnet I
could try - the machine
will not operate without this.
Briarley@zol.co.zw
Or sms 091 201
894
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
2.2
Wanted (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
Blue glass bottles ie wine bottles,
desperately needed for medicinal
purposes.
Please contact Geoff Long
011 601 316 or Irene Hammond
781452
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.3
Wanted (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
Space in container (1 -3 M³) to Australia
for personal effects. Destination
Sydney, Newcastle or Brisbane. Around
August 2006!
Phone: Clemens
cell: 011 621 572, LL: 04
494366
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.4
Wanted (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
Looking for a good second-hand monosem
planter, either 4 or 6 row please
phone 883323 Harare or cell
091202924
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.5
Wanted (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
Desperately looking for a fridge/freezer (2
door) or a small bar fridge.
Wanted immediately.
Caroline 091 250932
or caroline@tulimara.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.6
Wanted PHOTOCOPIER (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
A photocopier needed in good
working order.
Please call Trace Scott
Tel: (263-4) 731 926, 091 310
492
Email: tracelle@zol.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
2.7
Wanted (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
BOOKCASES, ETC ...
Bookcases,
carpets and various household items.
Please call Trace Scott
Tel:
(263-4) 731 926, 091 310 492
Email: tracelle@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.8
Wanted Maid (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
We need a maid who can cook with
recipes and baby mind to help my present
maid. Preferably over 30
yrs.
Please call Trace Scott
Tel: (263-4) 731 926, 091 310
492
Email: tracelle@zol.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.9
Wanted (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
Please if anyone has a Childs first Pony
that they are willing to sell or
lease I am desperately looking for my little
boy. Please contact Thea
on
091282165
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.10
Wanted (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
Needed RAM (Hydram Pumps) - please specify
capacity and price.
Any Dexter cattle left in Zimbabwe and at what
price?
Please contact Keith Holland 011 401 691 or 020-64303 (Office);
020-61369
(Home)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.11
Wanted (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
Second hand wooden garden shed -- between
two and a half and three metres
square. We will collect (and repair if
necessary) please contact
Clare
011208568
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.12
Wanted (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
I am looking for 50 kgs + of Methyl
bromide. Please contact Geraldine
McLaughlan 754666 or geraldine@tsl.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.13
Wanted (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
WANTED urgently is a Working / Non- Working
TV, VCR, DVD, Satellite Dish,
Decorder and/or Hifi. Please contact Joel on
091 450 928 or email
joelsonwozhi@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.14
Wanted (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
HEIFERS or Weaners wanted to buy. I need 12
to 15 animals from in and around
the following areas Chinhoyi, Banket, Karoi,
Tengwe, Hurungwe, Kadoma and
Kwekwe. Prefer Brahman, Africander, Tuli or any
other hard mombies. Please
contact Joel on 091 450 928 or email joelsonwozhi@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.15
Wanted (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
ALL REJECT PLASTIC
PRODUCTS-
EMPTY(PREFERABLY CLEAN)MILK BOTTLES, PLASTIC COKE/FANTA BOTTLES
ETC
PLASTIC SHEETING
PLASTIC OFFCUTS
SWEEPINGS
GRAIN
BAGS
SHOPPING BAGS
IF IT'S PLASTIC WE WILL PROBABLY BUY
IT.
THIS WILL ALL BE RECYCLED, AND YOU CAN DO YOUR BIT TO SAVE THE
ENVIRONMENT
AND MAKE SOME MONEY AT THE SAME TIME AS WE WILL PAY A FAIR
PRICE.
For further information please contact ANTHONY BUTLER on 884311/
091327743/
302558 or e-mail ingate@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.16
Wanted PEARS CYCLOPAEDIA (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
I am looking for a Pears
Cyclopaedia newer than the 81st edition.
Many thanks
Tracelle
Scott
Tel: (263-4) 731 926, 091 310 492
Email: tracelle@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3
Accommodation Wanted and
Offered
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1
Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
RELIABLE EX-FARMER SEEKING
ACCOMMODATION on caretaking basis or reasonable
rent. Single man, non-smoker
and reliable. Wanted from September 2006,
short or long-term.
Contact Rob
Walmisley Tel: 011 731 922 (cell) or 748939 (work) or e-mail
soaz@mweb.co.zw.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2
Accommodation Offered (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
Looking for a tenant from
1st July to end of January
Town House, No. 44 Bridgeways, Lincoln Road,
Avondale. Three Bedrooms,
fully furnished.
Please contact Valda Rous on
307051 or 091 337
682
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.3
Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
"House proud lady desperately
seeks 3 bed-roomed house or flat for end of
June 2006. Please
help!
Telephone Mrs. Ashley 743121/5 ext 228 bus hrs, 743282 (after 5
pm), e-mail
dashley@skf.co.zw"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.4
Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
Please will you help by
sending this to as many of your family and friends
or by putting the word
out? We have sadly been given notice to vacate the
cottage we rent in
Kambanji. We are looking for either a house or cottage or
town house, which
has affordable rent, preferably on the Borrowdale/Mt
Pleasant side of town.
We are also possibly looking to look after a house
for the owners who are out
of the country, or similar. For Kay and her 17
year old son. Kay works for
MARS and has vast medical experience, which may
be beneficial to the owners
especially if they are elderly or have young
children. Dion is currently
doing his O levels at St Georges. Please we
urgently need help and would be
most grateful for any contacts.
Contact Kay Kondonis
091219476
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.5
Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
"Two bed roomed garden flat,
Greendale, lock up carport, close to shops,
available July, call Mr Wallis
023894597 or email zermatt@mweb.co.zw
"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.6
Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
Looking for
cottage/flat/small house with at least 2 bedrooms for young
couple just
starting out. Reliable tenants looking for modest rent in
decent area.
Please phone Raymond or Bronwyn on 771097-9 or 771101 (work
hours
only).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.7
House for Rent (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
Milton Park, next to Bridge Club.
Lounge,dining room,3 beds,1 bathroom-sep
toilet, B.I.C's ,lock-up
garage,Sat.Dish,swimming pool,elec.gate,S.Q's. Long
lease. No increases in
rental anticipated.Rental rate on application.
Phone Lisa 091
900024.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
3.8
Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
Young couple with 2 young
children looking for house to rent. Needs at
least 2 bedrooms and domestics
quarters for single, elderly maid with no
family. Please e-mail carol@powerspeed.co.zw or sms 091 264
160.
---------------------------------------------------------------
4
RECREATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1
Mana Pools (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
4-person lodge (Mubvee/Hipp0) available
between now 6th - 16th June. To
avoid a total waste of booking, take any
time you can between these dates.
Please contact asap
Trudy
Tel:
304492
Cell: 091 247 141
email: trudy@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2
(Ad inserted 13/06/06)
NATUREWAYS SAFARIS
US$80pp pn
(equivalent)
Including : All meals, All Locally-bottled Drinks, All
Activities (walking,
canoeing, walking),
Fully Serviced Camp, Professional
Walking & Canoeing Guides
Excluding: National Parks Fees and Transfers
into Mana Pools
Contact Julie : julie@natureways.com or
333414/339001
See more details on our Camp at www.natureways.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.3
(Ad inserted 13/06/06)
Wild Heritage, Kariba - Muuyu Lodge
Lodge
in Wild Heritage Complex, 3 double bedrooms, overlooking the
Chirara
Floodplains with wonderful view of passing game from the front deck,
2
bathrooms, fully furnished, plenty of freezer space, serviced by a
maid
capable of basic cooking. Own splash pool on the front deck. Good
birding,
even from the deck. Access to boat launching facilities. Good get
away.
$15,000,000 per night
Contact Wendy: WendyMcD@mcdiarmid.co.zw or phone 091
261
253
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.4
(Ad inserted 20/06/06)
GACHE GACHE LODGE - Kariba
Open now for
bookings for JULY South African school holidays.
ALSO for our local Zim
August school hols AND for the
HEROES DAY (nice) long weekend of 12-15th
August.
Contact: Andrea tourleaders@zol.co.zw or 091 208
836
--------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5
Savuli Safari (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
Self-catering chalets in the heart
of the Save Valley Conservancy. Game
watching, fishing, horse riding,
canoeing, walking trails and 4x4 hire. Camp
fully kitted including cook and
fridges, just bring your food, drinks and
relax. $4 000,000 pppn, 1/2
U/12. Contact John: savuli@mweb.co.zw
or
Phone 091 631
556
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.6
(Ad inserted 04/07/06)
Imire Safari Ranch and Black Rhino Breeding
Station.
Imire would like to Welcome you to Mike and Sheila Thompson who
are the new
Managers of Sable Lodge.
We are only 1 1/2 hours from
Harare.A unique GamePark...which is centred on
giving you an unforgettable
African Experience amongst Black Rhino and their
calves, Elephant safaris,
Excellent Game Drives and soul satisfying
walks...with aTouch of Home Food
and our undivided attention.
Contact Details. imiregp@zol.co.zw
Tel; [022] 2449
/22257
Mobile:011
911419
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.7
(Ad inserted 04/07/06)
The Southern Belle luxury Cruise
Ship
Operating on Lake Kariba we carry up to 44 passengers over night in
spacious
air-conditioned cabins. Her many features include comfortable
cabins, large
public areas, conference room, cocktail bar, games deck,
swimming pool etc.
We offer off ship activities such as game viewing and
bird watching from our
fleet of Tender boats, or on foot or by Landover in
the Matusadona National
Park, then there is fishing for that famous fighting
tiger fish.
You can laze by the pool and watch the spectacular Kariba
scenery drift by,
sip a cocktail in the well appointed Schooner Bar, listen
to our 3 piece
resident band in the main saloon, or just relax in you own
spacious air
conditioned cabin. The Southern Belle is the ideal "unique"
product for all
types of group travel, corporate incentives, conferences and
special
celebration events, cruising up and down the lake from Kariba to
Milibizi
and back.
The Southern Belle 'experience' is something that
you will never forget!!
If you would like any more information about this
unique and upmarket
product, please contact our Marketing department in
Kariba on any of the
following numbers.
Po Box 339,Kariba
email kbelle@zol.co.zw
Tele/fax +263 - 061 -
3176
Cell +263 - 011 - 208665
www.southernbellekariba.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
SPECIALIST
SERVICES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.1
(Ad inserted 06/06/06)
Radium Africa
Montana Boom Sprayers 10m
600l 85litre pump in stock
Harrow discs 24", 26" 28" plain and cutaway in
stock
Silage Machines - manual feed and tractor drawn units in
stock
Generators 15KVA and 60KVA on the water.
Phone : 870264 or
011600389
Email : radiumzw@aficaonline.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2
FOOTBALL WORLD CUP (Ad inserted 13/06/06)
QUALITY COLOUR TV'S FOR HIRE
PHONE HIRE ELECTRIC ON
741913
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.3
G - TECH (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
Diesel vehicle and plant
maintenance
Site contracting
Generator and stationary engine installation
and maintenance
Tractors
Hydraulics.
Contact Graham at gtech@zol.co.zw or call 011 406023, 091
286657, 04 741001,
075
2264
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.4
(Ad inserted 20/06/06)
SERVICES: COMPUTER SALES & REPAIR
For
all computer requirements and repairs for both hardware and
software
Please call Lance Scott
Tel: (263-4) 731 926, 738 666, 739
675, 091 310 492
Email: tracelle@zol.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
5.5
(Ad inserted 20/06/06)
It's winter. Now's the time to service your boat,
we do Yamaha, Mercury and
Mariner. Also modifications, transoms, floors and
live wells. Redo
upholstery and conversions.
Contact Russell Hook
305381 331970 331976 091201744
011201744
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.6
(Ad inserted 27/06/06)
Study in the UK
Get expert advice from
Stephanie Berry.
Catering for a broad range of interests and
abilities
Consulting in Harare July/August
For further details contact:
04 862 197 or 091 402961
Email: slb@bucs.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.7
(Ad inserted 27/06/06)
For all your computer requirements and servicing
contact us
Norton Antivirus 2006 OEM 10m
Windows XP Pro 10m
USD
to Printer Adapter 15m
We repair all computer equipment
Call Sean
+26391954888
computers@workmail.co.za
Harare
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
6
PETS
CORNER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.1
Wanted (Ad inserted 06/06/06)
FOX TERRIER PREFERABLY OR JACK RUSSELL PUP
WANTED (Not necessarily pedigree,
even cross)
or would consider young dog
as companion to our Labrador bitch. Must
tolerate cats.
Phone 882142 or
email maduma@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2
For Sale (Ad inserted 20/06/06)
"Dog meal, 20 kg,$1,2 mill,pse order on
023894597,email zermatt@mweb.co.zw
"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.3
Wanted (Ad inserted 27/06/06)
Looking for Great Dane's, (pure or cross)
either puppies or a young dog to
go to a loving home on a farm.
Please
contact Bridget on 011
408044
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.4
Home Wanted (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
Staffy Lovers. Rusty a superb
black/brindle male staffy dog, 4 years, has
been sitting in kennels for 3
months now. His mum and sister have both gone
to a new home and he is very
lonely. very affectionate, good temperament,
just wants someone to love him.
tel Michelle on 884294 or 011602903 or
e-mail gandami@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.5
Wanted Blue Heeler (Ad inserted 04/07/06)
Seeking BLUE HEELER
BREEDERS
Please can anyone give me the contact details of any Australian
Cattle Dog
breeders in Zimbabwe.
We are desperately looking for a Blue
Heeler Bitch Pup for our young
children!!
Please Please if anyone can
point us in the direction of a breeder, please
could you send me their
contact details.
CORRALEE GREEFF
greeffy@onetel.com
091
208726
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAG
Hotlines:
+263 (011) 610 073 If you are in trouble or need advice,
please
don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
+263 (04) 799 410 Office
Lines
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
To
advertise (JAG Members): Please email classifieds to: jag@mango.zw with
subject
"Classifieds".