Zim Online
Tue 20 June
2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe's cash-strapped government has ploughed
US$144 000
into the purchase of vehicles for middle-ranking army and police
officers,
in a move likely to be seen as an attempt to buy the loyalty of
security
commanders as public discontent swells in the southern African
country.
The money used to pay for the 16 Mazda 18000 series trucks
is enough
to buy 576 tonnes of maize at about US$250 per tonne. The maize is
enough to
feed close to 10 000 hungry families for a month. Food aid
agencies estimate
that an average family requires about 60 kg of maize per
month.
According to sources at the partly government-owned
Willowvale Mazda
Motor Industries, the army and police had provided their
own foreign
currency to pay for the importation of kits to be assembled into
the Mazda
trucks.
Zimbabwe army public reactions director Simon
Tsatsi defended the
purchase of the vehicles saying it was a normal exercise
to replenish the
army fleet of vehicles.
"It is
a normal procedure. These are utility vehicles," Tsatsi said,
refusing to be
drawn to discuss the matter in more detail.
Police spokesman Wayne
Bvudzijena was not immediately available for
comment on the
matter.
Although President Robert Mugabe's government is failing to
keep
Zimbabweans adequately supplied with fuel, electricity, medicines and
other
essential commodities it has done very well to ensure that the top
ranks of
the army and police are looked after and well fed.
The
latest purchase of vehicles for army and police officers comes a
few months
after the government again splashed several millions of dollars
buying the
latest sport utility vehicles for top army generals and police
commanders.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party has in
the past criticised the government's allocation of huge
chunks of national
resources to the army and police saying it is unjustified
when Zimbabwe is
not at war and especially when the country should be using
all its energies
to fight hunger threatening a quarter of its 12 million
people.
Political analysts say Mugabe is keen to keep the army and
police
happy to ensure they could be relied upon to crush mass protests
against his
government the opposition is planning to call this
winter.
The MDC says it will mobilise Zimbabweans onto the streets
to demand
that Mugabe steps aside to pave way for a transitional government
that shall
be tasked to lead the writing of a new constitution and organise
fresh
elections under international supervision.
Mugabe has
vowed not to allow a Ukraine-style uprising against his
government. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tue 20 June 2006
FILABUSI - Zimbabwean police on Monday
arrested about 100 women for
marching in a rural town of Filabusi demanding
the reinstatement of their
children who were expelled from schools after
failing to pay fees.
The demonstration, the first to be organised
by the Women of Zimbabwe
Arise (WOZA) protest group in rural areas, caught
the police by surprise
with the law enforcement agency only reacting long
after the women had
finished their march.
The more than
200-strong group marched to the Ministry of Education
district office in
Filabusi demanding the reinstatement of their children
whom they said had
been expelled from schools for failing to pay fees.
President
Robert Mugabe's government about two months ago hiked fees
in schools and
tertiary colleges by more than 1 000 percent. The fee
increases sparked
violent protests at state universities and colleges around
the
country.
The women protesters were also demanding the resignation
of Mugabe
whom they said had failed to honour election promises of free and
affordable
education for the poor.
In a statement after the
protests, WOZA said: "The protest caused a
great stir in the rural town with
many people leaving their offices to
witness the event.
"Government minister and (ruling) ZANU PF MP for Insiza, Andrew Langa
watched the protest with a very disturbed expression on his
face."
Under Zimbabwe's tough security laws, it is illegal to
demonstrate
without seeking approval from the police. But WOZA has often
defied the
police ban on demonstrations to protest against worsening
economic
conditions in Zimbabwe.
The latest protests by WOZA
come in the wake of growing public anger
over worsening economic conditions
in Zimbabwe many blame on Mugabe's
mismanagement of the country's economy. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tue 20 June 2006
HARARE - With portraits of
President Robert Mugabe and opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai emblazoned
on their respective T-shirts, Tazvizwa
Mugovo and George Makaro, are strange
bedfellows.
But the two have literally beaten their swords into
plowshares in what
can only be described as a later day "miracle" that is
slowly unfolding at
Tongogara Camp, a dusty settlement on the outskirts of
the capital Harare.
Amid a cacophony of noises from patrons, the
two appear happily at
peace taking turns to quench their thirst as they
share a mug of opaque beer
at a run-down beer garden at the dusty
camp.
"Political violence is now a thing of the past at this camp.
We are
now working for peace and co-existence," said Mugovo, a veteran of
Zimbabwe's 1970s liberation war and fierce Mugabe supporter.
The 58-year old Mugovo once boasted of masterminding violent attacks
on
Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters
about six years ago.
Tongogara Camp is home to hundreds of war
veterans who participated in
the country's anti-settler liberation war, a
section of society that also
acquired notoriety for spearheading a violent
campaign against MDC
supporters.
However things appear to have
changed here - thanks to an initiative
by a local non-governmental
organisation, the Zimbabwe Civic Education
Trust (ZIMCET), that set up
"peace committees" to foster tolerance among
political groups in the
country.
ZIMCET executive director David Chimhini says the peace
committees
were targeted at low ranking supporters of ZANU PF and the MDC as
well as
representatives of churches, war veterans and women's organisations
to
dissuade Zimbabweans from using violence to settle political
scores.
"We started the concept in 2000 after we realised that
youths were
being used by selfish politicians to beat up supporters of rival
parties.
After six years of hard work, we are happy to say we are beginning
to reap
the fruits of our hard labour," said Chimhini.
Zimbabwe
has been rocked by serious political violence over the past
six years that
left several hundreds dead with human rights groups accusing
Mugabe of using
violence against political opponents to hold on to power.
But
Mugabe, who once boasted in 2000 that he "holds degrees in
violence," has
rejected the charge accusing the MDC of being cry babies who
rush to
complain after provoking his party's supporters.
Political violence
particularly at election time, has left the country
polarised with rural
areas backing Mugabe while urban areas have thrown
their support behind the
opposition.
Several hundreds of MDC supporters have died in
politically motivated
violence since 2000 most of which was blamed on ZANU
PF supporters.
A 2001 report by the internationally respected human
rights
organisation, Amnesty International, said more than 30 people mostly
MDC
supporters died as a result of political violence during the 2000
parliamentary election campaign alone.
Cecilia Mangoro, a ZANU
PF district Committee inn Harare's Highfield
low income suburb said the
concept of peace committees had helped reduce
tension between supporters of
the ruling party and the MDC in the area.
"Things have changed now.
We are now able to sit together as
supporters of two different political
parties and discuss issues that relate
to the development of our community,"
Mangoro said.
"What is now needed is convince everyone in the
neighbourhood that
violence does not pay. We need to co-exist regardless of
political
affiliation," she added.
Chimhini said the
organisation had already established 72 peace
committees
countrywide.
"Each committee has recorded its own successes but on
the whole,
politically-motivated violence has declined as a direct result of
these
efforts. Who would have thought MDC and ZANU PF supporters would one
day sit
together and share some beer," said Chimhini.
"Real
physical violence has declined. What we are witnessing is subtle
violence -
the use of hate language and partly intimidation by politicians,"
Chimhini
said.
But ZIMCET says while their goal is to reduce political
violence, they
are also involved in matters such as human rights, leadership
and
accountability.
"After achieving peace, we need development
in these areas so we also
teach them to be responsible citizens," added
Chimhini.
While Machovo and Mugovo guzzle their beer at Tongogara,
it still
remains to be seen whether the concept of peace committees will be
embraced
by the top leaders from both sides of the political divide - a key
requirement if political violence is to a thing of the past in Zimbabwe. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tue 20 June 2006
HARARE - The cell phone rings. A
message has just come in. Tendai
Mukaro suspiciously glances around and
chuckles as he reads the humorous
message. Then in a minute he is punching
on his phone, posting the
just-received joke to family and
friends.
It is the order of the day in Harare and other cities
around the
country. In the face of a battery of repressive laws that make it
criminal
to publicly criticise President Robert Mugabe and his government,
Zimbabweans have resorted to cellular phone messages to mock and poke fun at
their political leadership in the wake of an unprecedented economic and
political crisis.
The message Mukaro has received and is in
turn sending around is a
simple one. It says: "The ruling party has just
changed its symbol from the
cock to a condom to reflect its new thrust. A
condom allows inflation and
kills the next generation."
This is
just one of hundreds of short cell phone messages doing the
rounds in
Zimbabwe and all meant to serve one purpose: deride and mock
Mugabe and his
government.
With an inflation rate of 1 193.5 percent and the
economy now in its
seventh straight year of recession, Zimbabweans are
understandably a
frustrated lot. For example, there is no food, fuel,
electricity, essential
medicines - in fact every basic survival commodity
is in critical short
supply in the once prosperous southern African
country.
Mugabe, the only ruler Zimbabweans have ever known since
independence
from Britain 26 years ago, refuses both to take blame for the
crisis or to
step down and pave way for a new leader with fresh ideas on how
to pull the
country out of the mire.
Instead the 82-year old
President has crafted a raft of media and
security laws such as the Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act and the Public Order and
Security Act that make it a criminal offence to
ridicule or blame
him.
But fun-loving Zimbabweans appear to have found a way of
circumventing
the tight laws by mocking Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party
through cell
phones and private e-mail messages to each other.
However, one still one has to be careful. The government's dreaded spy
agency, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), is notorious for being
vigilant and keeping its ears open for any utterances that may be
denigrating to Mugabe and his government.
Take for example, the
case last year of a man who was arguing with his
friend while on a public
bus to Harare's dormitory town of Chitungwiza. In
frustration that his
friend could not accept his point, he told him: "You
are just thick-headed
like Mugabe".
The next moment the man was arrested for insulting
Mugabe by a CIO
agent who was also travelling on the same bus. The man was
later acquitted
by a court on a technicality.
But Zimbabweans
just love their fun. If the bitter economic crisis
could not take away their
sense of humour then it appears Mugabe's spooks
will not succeed in
suppressing it either.
Take this cell phone message that started
doing the rounds recently.
It is couched in typical classified advertisement
language and it goes:
"Country for sale. Non-runner. One owner since 1980.
Offers?"
It is not clear where the jokes originate from but whoever
is
responsible for creating them must be a very busy guy. There appears a
joke
for every economic or political problem the country is
facing.
Within days after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced a
new
hundred thousand dollar note to ease the burden for people who have to
carry
millions of dollars every day for ordinary transactions such as paying
your
children's school fees, a new joke was already being sent to people's
cell
phones.
It said: "It is only the government of Zimbabwe
that loves its people
so much that it has made everyone a
millionaire!"
Columbus Mavhunga, who was a journalist on the Daily
News newspaper
banned by the government three years ago, believes the
messages are vital to
keep the people going.
According to
Mavhunga, after the government has closed five private
newspapers and banned
two radio stations under its draconian media laws, the
messages are the only
option that gives the people a hearty laugh and makes
them temporarily
forget their problems.
"If we don't laugh, we will cry. Moreover,
we are not allowed to say
these things in public so we better exchange these
cell phone messages and
laugh at our government and ourselves. It reduces
stress levels," he says.
And with inflation hitting 1 193.5 percent
last May and still on the
rise, Zimbabweans have found yet another
opportunity to laugh at themselves.
This is how the joke about the
increasingly worthless Zimbabwe dollar
goes: "American President George Bush
had US$20 000, he bought himself a
posh car. South African President Thabo
Mbeki had 20 000 rand, he bought a
posh car. President Robert Mugabe had
Z$20 000. He wanted Z$40 000 more to
buy half a loaf of bread."
It also appears no one cares much whether the jokes are morbid or not
as is
illustrated by this joke about Mugabe and his two former
vice-presidents who
are both late. The joke started doing the rounds after
Mugabe turned 82 on
February 21 this year.
The is how it goes: "Vice-President Joshua
Nkomo was 82 when he died.
Vice-President Simon Muzenda was also 82 when he
died. Mugabe has just
turned 82. You never know what good happenings are in
store for this nation.
It's just a thought."
The government
appears aware of the anti-government humour doing the
rounds on cell phones,
e-mails and on the Internet. It has just promulgated
an Interception of
Communications Bill, which makes it legal for its spooks
to snoop into
people's phones, letters and e-mails.
Well, maybe the proposed law
and with some technological help from its
Chinese friends will finally
enable the government to monitor what people
tell each other by cell phone
or via the internet.
But until then, Zimbabweans will continue to
poke fun at their rulers
and who knows, with their ingenuity these
crisis-hardened Zimbos - as they
love to call themselves - may still devise
other means of sharing a joke and
a laugh at the expense of Mugabe and
company. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tue 20 June
2006
HARARE - South African magistrate David Tomisi on Monday
postponed to
June 26 the case of 21-year old Zimbabwean, Tinashe Rioga, who
is accused of
attempting to hijack a South African Airways plane at the
weekend.
Rioga, a slightly built business science student at the
University of
Cape Town, seized a cabin crew member and threatened to kill
her unless he
was allowed into the cockpit.
He allegedly wanted
the flight diverted to the Mozambican capital,
Maputo. But he was quickly
overpowered by fellow passengers on board and the
domestic flight from Cape
Town to Johannesburg immediately made a U-turn
back to Cape
Town.
In court, Rioga told the magistrate that he would like the
court to
assist him in initially applying for legal aid, adding his family
would
"finalise arrangements" at a later stage.
Rioga, who
allegedly wielded a hypodermic syringe during the incident,
faces a charge
of contravening aviation regulations in that he attempted "to
seize [an]
aircraft in flight".
The Zimbabwean student, who was remanded in
police custody, also faces
a charge of assault with intent to do grievous
bodily harm.
Not much is known as yet about Rioga although the UCT
told the Press
he was in "good academic standing" and that he had been
expected to graduate
at the end of 2006.
Initial reports had
however suggested that Rioga suffered from a
mental illness although there
has been no subsequent confirmation of this
claim. Zimbabwe's ambassador in
Pretoria Simon Khaya Moyo had also urged the
Press not to rush to claim that
the would-be plane hijacker was Zimbabwean,
fearing this could fuel
xenophobic attacks against his compatriots.
Zimbabweans have been
the target of abuse and attack in the past by
both South African law
enforcement agents and ordinary citizens. - ZimOnline
Business Day
Dianna
Games
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
carefully constructed wall of propaganda that separates the Zimbabwean
government from the rest of the world was dealt a major blow last week with
the United Nations' (UN's) proposal that the country be reclassified as a
least developed country (LDC).
Government officials are apparently a
little shaken by the suggestion of a
downgrade from a developing country,
especially in the face of officials'
continuing insistence that all is well
in the country and that predictions
of its imminent collapse are premature
and, after all, merely a British and,
more recently, a UN
plot.
Talk of drought, sanctions and misplaced international censure
over the land
policy in Zimbabwe come easily out of politicians' mouths when
it comes to
defending the country's parlous state. Their excuses revolve
around one
central theme - that all this is someone else's fault.
The
UN Committee for Development Policy made the suggestion on the basis of
the
country's rapidly worsening social and economic indicators, including
health, nutrition, poverty levels, education factors and economic
vulnerability.
Zimbabwe, it said, along with Papua New Guinea,
was now eligible for special
treatment because of the long period of
economic stagnation and low income
over a number of years.
But
the sticking point in such a reclassification is that the government of
the
country must be party to the move. And the government of this particular
country has been in a state of denial about the real state of affairs there
for a number of years now.
This is reflected in the thundering
propaganda: that Zimbabwe is completely
self-sufficient in food supplies,
despite food-agency predictions of a maize
shortfall of 700 000 tons this
year; that inflation will be down to 50% next
year, despite being officially
at 1200% and rising; that unemployment is
around 9%, when analysts suggest
it is more like at 80% - and so on.
Most companies are currently
operating at 20%-30% of capacity and the Common
Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa said recently that Zimbabwe's trade
within the bloc was down
by 29% in the past year.
The currency is still in freefall. The
current black market rate is about
Z$330000 to the US dollar against an
official rate of Z$101000, while a rand
is worth Z$50000 against Z$16000
officially. The foreign currency crunch is
more serious than ever,
particularly after the government raided what
corporate funds there were to
pay off the International Monetary Fund last
year.
But even in
the face of all this, the government has set up an equally
thriving parallel
information market with distinctly different sets of
figures from everyone
else. The UN, presumably, is in the latter camp.
Zimbabwe's
ambassador to the UN, Boniface Chidyausiku, predictably rebuffed
the UN
proposal. "We have achieved so much in terms of our human resources
and
infrastructure base. We are a developing country, not an LDC," he said,
adding that Zimbabwe's problems, in any case, were all caused by drought and
economic sanctions against the country.
LDCs in southern Africa
include Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Lesotho
and Madagascar, and
number among 50 LDCs globally.
One of the few advantages of being an
LDC is the potential for duty- and
quota-free access into developed country
markets, as was agreed in Hong Kong
last year - although it does not remove
the thorny issue of nontariff
barriers. And there are some benefits relating
to greater access to official
direct assistance.
On the downside,
whatever chance Zimbabwe has of getting new investment,
even in the event of
a significant economic and political reform process, is
likely to be
affected by having this status and it removes any impetus for a
credit
rating and decent economic benchmarks that go beyond the Millennium
Development Goals, something President Robert Mugabe cherishes. It is
unlikely that the matter will go forward because the government, by
accepting a downgrade in status, will be admitting just how far off track
its "economic turnaround" programmes have taken Zimbabwe.
That it
has been raised at all in such a forum is, nevertheless, a concern.
All the
LDCs in Africa are doing their best to get out of their predicament.
Zimbabwe, currently classified as a developing country alongside countries
such as China, Brazil and SA, would be the first to go the other
way.
For the Zimbabwean government, such a reclassification would be
more a
matter of an ego blow than anything else. But for Zimbabwe as a
whole,
particularly the long-suffering business sector, it would be a
serious blow
that it may take years to recover from.
?Games is
director of Africa @ Work, a research and publishing company.
iafrica.com
Mon, 19 Jun
2006
The China Development Bank (CDB) has expressed willingness to help
Zimbabwe
with its economic recovery programme, Harare's Herald newspaper
reported on
Monday.
Its website quoted CDB governor Chen Yuan as
telling Zimbabwean Vice
President Joyce Mujuru in Beijing: "We believe your
country is a good
candidate for our bank. We look at our best friends
first."
Yuan was speaking at the weekend as Mujuru wound up a week-long
official
visit to the Asian country at the invitation of the Communist Party
of China
(CPC).
The Chinese banker added: "We want to finance your
social and economic
reconstruction programme. We can start with a small
amount and grow with big
projects."
Currency swap
Chen said
his bank was prepared to consider a currency swap using the
Zimbabwe dollar
and the Chinese yuan to ease financial cooperation between
the two parties.
Zimbabwe is facing serious foreign currency shortages at
present.
Chen suggested an exchange of visits between his bank and
the Zimbabwe
Government and institutions like the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe.
"We basically combine the socialist stance of our government
with the
advanced financial market principles we learnt in Washington and
London," he
said.
Mujuru said Chen was clear that Zimbabwe and China
should take their
cooperation a step further.
"The ball is in our
court. We just have to be focused on what we want to do.
We should now be
proactive and stop using the usual excuses."
Sapa
By Jean-Marc Mojon
AGENCE FRANCE
PRESSE
June 19, 2006
CAIRO -- Chinese Prime Minister Wen
Jiabao yesterday denied that his country
was seeking to become a
counterbalance to the United States by boosting ties
with Africa as he
kicked off a tour of the continent.
He said his booming economy was in
need of Africa's natural resources,
but rejected accusations that Beijing
was conducting a policy of economic
neocolonialism at the expense of human
rights considerations.
"Our efforts to develop relations with countries
in Africa and Latin
America ... are not targeted at any third country," Mr.
Wen said at a press
conference in Cairo before flying to Ghana.
"Those attempts and efforts to develop relations are not directed at
entering into any alliance and will not compromise the interests of any
other countries. I'm confident that the U.S. government also recognizes
this," he said.
The Chinese leader, who arrived in Egypt on Saturday,
was responding to
suggestions that Beijing was seeking to emancipate its
foreign policy from
Washington by strengthening ties with developing
countries.
China has been accused of fueling conflict and shoring up
regimes in
Africa, including in Sudan and Zimbabwe, two countries that Mr.
Wen has not
included in his tour.
When asked about the importance
that China intended to give the issue of
human rights in its Africa policy,
Mr. Wen explained the principle of
noninterference.
"Our policy is
consistent. We follow the principle of mutual respect,
equality, mutual
benefit and noninterference in other's internal affairs,"
he said.
"We believe that the peoples of different regions and countries,
including
those on the African continent, have the right and also the
capability to
properly handle their own issues," Mr. Wen said.
He went on to defend
China's record in Africa over the past 50 years and
stressed that Chinese
investments are an opportunity for the continent to
achieve a higher level
of development.
"China places high value on developing economic and
trading ties with
Africa, and we also believe ... there are vast potentials
worth to tap in
furthering the business ties between China and Africa," Mr.
Wen said.
China's trade with Africa increased fortyfold from 1990 to
2004, with
Beijing now getting 15 percent of its oil from Angola and Sudan.
Total trade
between the two sides neared $40 billion in 2005.
"We
will continue to encourage Chinese companies to come to Africa to
cooperate
with their African counterparts. The purpose of such China-Africa
cooperation is to help our African friends to enhance their capacity to
self-development," he said.
Mr. Wen also said that in the past 50
years, China had given $5.5
billion in assistance to Africa, sent 16,000
health workers to 43 different
countries on the continent and reduced or
canceled the debt of 31 nations.
Mr. Wen met Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak yesterday and signed 11
trade and business cooperation deals with
Egypt on Saturday after meeting
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.
San Francisco Chronicle
Farms,
economy in worsening crisis
Daniel Pepper, Chronicle Foreign
Service
Monday, June 19, 2006
(06-19) 04:00 PDT
Zhampali, Zimbabwe -- As soldiers rolled past Lot Dube's
land and set up
camp, they passed along a blunt message.
"They told us, 'We are taking
away your fields from you,' " said the
63-year-old farmer, who has farmed
his 10 acres in the south of the country
for a generation.
The
soldiers forbade him to grow tomatoes, onions and sweet potatoes --
market
vegetables he sold to pay his children's school fees -- and ordered
him to
plant maize. He was told, he said, that the government's Grain
Marketing
Board planned to buy the entire maize harvest and sell it abroad
to obtain
foreign currency.
Replacing food with a cash crop aimed at the foreign
market is just one of
the increasingly desperate measures the government of
President Robert
Mugabe is taking to ease an economic crisis so severe that
inflation for
many consumer goods is running at more than 1,000 percent a
year.
Mugabe, who has held power since Zimbabwe gained independence in
1980, has
ordered his military to fan out across rural areas to ensure that
the
government's grain silos are full. That, in turn, affects the
livelihoods of
small landholders like Dube, whose farm sits 80 miles south
of Bulawayo,
Zimbabwe's second-largest city.
"They don't know
anything about farming," he said. "They say they want to
end hunger in
Zimbabwe. But I think they want to take the fields for their
own
use."
To bolster his hold on power, Mugabe relies increasingly on the
military.
Not only do soldiers carry out his farm policies, he has appointed
military
commanders to top slots at the reserve bank, the electoral
commission,
Zimbabwe railroads, the Ministry of Energy, the Public Service
Commission,
the national parks and other key institutions.
"It is
robber baron stuff of the highest order," says John Robertson, an
independent economist in the capital, Harare. "It's a pirate ship with
Robert Mugabe as the captain. It's an exciting, profitable ride while it
lasts, but inflation is the consequence."
Zimbabwe's economy has been
shrinking for the past six years, and the nation
has been dependent on food
aid since 2002. Eighty percent of Zimbabweans are
unemployed, and food and
fuel are scarcer than ever.
Last month, the United Nations distributed
emergency food aid to an
estimated one-quarter of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million
people. International aid
officials say many are surviving on one meal a day
-- or less. Despite the
best rains in 20 years, the government predicts this
year's grain harvest --
in a country once known as the breadbasket of
southern Africa -- will be
half the size of the 2001 harvest, when the
eviction of white commercial
farmers began.
"The economy will only
turn around when you get competent and experienced
people running it, not
the military," said David Coltart, a white member of
Parliament with the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change. "The
appointment of military
people to run things like the railroads will only
speed up the demise of the
regime."
Critics of Mugabe say the presence of the military in the
southern part of
the country, but not in the north where Mugabe draws most
of his support, is
no coincidence.
"The army has targeted areas that
are potential opposition strongholds,
those farmers that have voted for the
opposition," said Gordon Moyo, leader
of an opposition pressure group,
Bulawayo Agenda. "It's an act of
intimidation."
Critics also say such
moves will do little to help the economy, or Mugabe's
increasingly
beleaguered regime.
Militarization "is an admission that things have
fallen apart and national
governance can no longer continue in a civilian
mode," said Jonathan Moyo, a
former secretary for information who is
currently Zimbabwe's only
independent member of Parliament.
The signs
of economic decay are everywhere. Tourist destinations such as
Victoria
Falls are empty. A cup of tea that last year cost 12,000 Zimbabwean
dollars
now costs 250,000 dollars. Supermarket shelves are stocked with
goods too
expensive to purchase.
On a recent afternoon in Harare, ABC Auctions was
selling off every last
wine glass, fixture, table and chair of the Acropolis
Taverna, a restaurant
that had been in business for more than 30 years.
Altogether the store went
for 4.2 billion dollars, or about U.S.
$14,000.
"When most people go out of business, they simply sell their
goods
immediately," said Jo Zwoushe, an auction supervisor.
As the
crisis deepens, the government prints more and more paper money, even
though
it has run out of foreign currency with which to purchase the paper
and ink
on which Zimbabwe's bank notes are printed.
Some of that new money has
gone to the military. After graffiti calling for
Mugabe to be ousted
appeared in the bathrooms of an army barracks, the
government announced a
300 percent pay increase for soldiers and teachers.
"It is a way of
buying off the soldiers," said Moyo. "Mugabe is a terrified
man."
Yet
the president appears to have little to fear from the political
opposition.
He maintains an extensive internal security network to keep tabs
on unrest.
The Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition force, is
split. The
organization's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, periodically threatens
to take
protests to the streets, but most observers predict such
demonstrations
would be crushed by the country's powerful security forces.
Back in the
southern fields, soldiers can be seen guarding roads and driving
tractors,
which is as close as they come to farming.
"We need agriculture experts,
not soldiers," said Gabrial Nkala, 55, who has
been farming on the same plot
since 1980. "But it seems they are here for a
very long
time."
journalism.co.za
Zimbabwe's independent radio station, the Voice of the
People (VOP)
has won the One World Media Special Award sponsored by the BBC
World Service
Trust, writes Gugu Ziyaphapha.
The award,
presented at a ceremony in London, recognises excellence in
coverage which
reflects the social, political and cultural life of people in
the developing
world. It also rewards overseas media projects that make a
unique
contribution to human rights.
VOP was honoured for broadcasting daily
programmes that provide news
to more than half a million listeners under
tough circumstances.
Under the repressive media laws in Zimbabwe,
the Dutch-funded VOP has
survived bombings, police raids, arrests, frequency
jams, and an ongoing
court battle. Its directors are currently on trial for
broadcasting without
a licence.
John Masuku, the VOP director,
said: "In its lifetime, the station has
been criticised, threatened and
jammed but what drives us on is the belief
in giving a voice to the
voiceless - giving the people of Zimbabwe an
opportunity to speak freely
about issues that affect their lives and
country. This award provides huge
encouragement to us all."
VOP, which is produced in the
Netherlands and beams via Madagascar,
broadcasts in English, Shona and
Ndebele. Some of its programmes focus on
human rights abuse, health
education and HIV/AIDS.
Meanwhile, the International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) has
appealed to the Harare Magistrates Court to drop the
arbitrary charges
against the ten trustees and staffers VOP.
"They appear before the Court to answer charges relating to their
alleged
breech of broadcasting laws in Zimbabwe" said a source to IFJ.
The
VOP seven trustees and three staffers are indeed accused of
possession and
operation of transmission equipment without a licence. The
VOP is however, a
legally registered communications trust and broadcasts in
Zimbabwe on
shortwave from transmitters stationed outside the country. This
situation is
due to the repressive media laws in Zimbabwe, which have seen
foreign
correspondents deported, and all non-pro-government media banned
since
2001.
The trial was postponed to 25 September because a key witness
for the
prosecution, a government broadcasting officer, was said to be out
of the
country.
The VOP trustees who are being tried are Arnold
Tsunga (chairperson of
the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association), John Masuku
(VOP's executive
director), Lawrence Chibwe (senior legal practitioner),
Nhlanhla Ngwenya
(journalist),Isabella Matambanadzo (journalist and women's
rights
activists), David Masunda (a journalist) and Millie Phiri (Former
Editor of
the national news
agency).
The staff members
who stand accused are three women namely, Maria
Nyanyiwa, Nyasha Bosha and
Kundai Mugwanda. On 15 December 2005 when the
officers of the Zimbabwe
Republic Police (ZRP) raided the offices of VOP and
seized computers and
documents, the women were detained without charge for
four
days.
In August 2002 the VOP offices were demolished after a bomb
attack and
the perpetrators of this attack are still at large. "We appeal to
the
Magistrates of the Harare High Court to be very
independent
over this matter and to recognise the fundamental rights
of those who are
brought before the court. The Harare High Court should not
be used as a tool
to suppress the freedom of speech and of the press in
Zimbabwe. We therefore
urge the Court to drop the arbitrary charges against
the trustees and
staffers of the VOP" declared Gabriel Baglo, Director of
IFJ Africa
Office.
"We also urge the government of Zimbabwe to repeal, as has
been
recommended by the African Commission on Human and People's Rights,
ACHPR,
her draconian legislations such as the Broadcasting Services Act, the
Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Public Order and
Security Act".
Monday, 19 June, 2006
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
19 June 2006
As we reported last week
controversy has surrounded the Zimbabwean
church group that met with Robert
Mugabe last month. It all started when the
Zimbabwe Council of Churches
(ZCC), which organizes the traditional National
Day of Prayer, met Mugabe
then appeared on state television immediately
after. Many observers,
particularly the Bulawayo based Christian Alliance,
said they showed support
for the ruling party and its policies. Then the Day
of Prayer was cancelled,
and this was viewed as further evidence the ZCC was
playing into Mugabe's
hand. In an interview with SW Radio Africa on Monday
Bishop Trevor Manhanga
of the ZCC said the Day of Prayer was not cancelled
but postponed in order
to involve many other groups. As for supporting
Mugabe, the Bishop said they
have opened up a dialogue with Mugabe and will
present a document with
recommendations for the way forward. He said the ZCC
does not support any
political party, including the opposition.
But the Mbare based
Jesuit priest Father Wermter disagrees with the
approach the ZCC has taken.
He said deeds speak louder than words and that
we need to see a change of
course first and justice for the people. Wermter
believes until there is
some redeeming action by Mugabe there can be no
meaningful dialogue. He also
believes Mugabe is a very clever man playing
games with the church leaders.
We asked Bishop Manhanga whether Mugabe had
seemed repentant and concerned
about the suffering of the people during
their meeting. Manhanga said his
personal observation was that Mugabe
understood the suffering of the people.
But asked why they should trust
Mugabe when more evictions and arrests had
taken place since their meeting
with him, the Bishop said this was a cause
for concern but these are the
issues that will be brought to Mugabe's
attention in the document they are
preparing to submit to him. He said no
other reasonable solution had been
put forth and the ZCC was not about to
ask Zimbabweans to pick up arms.
As for the Zimbabwe Christian
Alliance which opposed inviting Mugabe
to the National Day of Prayer now
scheduled for June 25th, Bishop Manhanga
dismissed them as individual
pastors who do not represent any constituency.
He said Zimbabweans should
ask themselves who the Alliance are and who they
speak for before
considering their criticisms.
The Bishop said there will be no politics
on that Sunday and people
will be praying for the nation. He believes Mugabe
needs to be there to hear
the prayers along with other key reputable
Zimbabweans. Father Wermter said
the Bishops attitude towards the Christian
Alliance shows the tactics of the
regime are "bearing fruit." He said it is
sad to see Christians attacking
Christians. Father Wermter also said a ZCC
statement attacking the media was
unfair. He compared it to a boxer who is
kicked after he has already been
knocked out.
Bishop Manhanga
said the ZCC is aware people are suffering and they
are drafting their
document with urgency. But he stressed that these things
take time. He said
the ZCC will be meeting with Morgan Tsvangirai and other
officials from the
MDC on Wednesday. They will also engage other
stakeholders before completing
their document. Father Wermter believes
Mugabe should first show through his
actions that he is serious and means
well this time. Until then, he said
there is no basis for
dialogue.
SW Radio
Africa Zimbabwe news
By
Lance Guma
19 June 2006
At least 5000 youth converged at
Stanley Square in Bulawayo Saturday
to commemorate the 1976 Soweto
Uprisings. They then marched to the Large
City Hall in the city centre.
According to the National Youth Chairman of
the Tsvangirai MDC, Tamsanqa
Mahlangu, the police were caught off-guard by
the demonstration since it did
not stick to the planned activities. He says
the police denied them
permission to march and instead allowed them to
converge at Stanley Square.
'So when we decided to march to the large city
hall they were caught off
guard,' he said. The march ended without incident.
In an interview
with Newsreel Mahlangu urged school children in the
country to join the
fight for justice in Zimbabwe. He says the 1976 protests
in South Africa
succeeded because they involved students from primary,
secondary and
tertiary institutions whereas in Zimbabwe the burden is left
to students in
colleges and universities. Youth groups in the country
organised two
separate marches for the weekend to mark the 30th anniversary
of the Soweto
uprisings. Representatives from the Zimbabwe National Students
Union, the
National University of Science and Technology and other youth
groups were in
attendance. The economic hardships facing the youth in
Zimbabwe's collapsed
economy took centre stage. Most speakers felt the youth
were acting like
'passengers' instead of 'driving' events in the country.
The Soweto
uprisings in 1976 were credited with kick-starting the
liberation struggle
against apartheid. The students in South Africa refused
to learn in
Afrikaans and took to the streets resulting in the fatal
shooting of many.
Hector Pieterson, a 13-year-old, was gunned down by police
who shot at the
unarmed demonstrators. His death has come to symbolize the
sacrifices of
young people in South Africa's the fight for democracy and
freedom. Over 500
are estimated to have been killed in the Soweto Uprising
and its bloody
aftermath. Thousands are said to have disappeared in
detention while others
fled the country to join the guerilla movement. The
brutality with which the
police dealt with the students alerted the whole
world to the brutality in
apartheid South Africa.
Every year the youth in Zimbabwe hold
commemorations in remembrance of
the day but no information was available on
the Harare commemorations at the
time of broadcast.
SW Radio
Africa Zimbabwe news
June 19,
2006,
By ANDnetwork .com
ZIMBABWE's children will
receive a double dose to protect against
measles mortality and Vitamin A
deficiency under a massive nationwide
campaign launched last
week.
The landmark campaign seeks to reach two million children
with the
measles vaccine and Vitamin A supplements and is set to run until
towards
the end of this week.
Led by Ministry of Health and
Child Welfare and supported by UNICEF,
the World Health Organisation (WHO),
Plan International, Helen Keller and
Rotary International, the campaign
continues Zimbabwe's excellent work in
reducing the prevalence of measles,
and in broadening coverage of vital
Vitamin A supplements.
Dr.
Festo Kavishe, UNICEF Representative, said: "This is enormous shot
in the
arm for all sectors of society. Not only does it immunise children,
but it
boosts critical infrastructure across Zimbabwe. This campaign gives
children
a front-line defence and makes more important progress towards
reducing
child mortality in Zimbabwe."
Nearly US$3 million has been spent on
the campaign, part of a wider
Measles Partnership established to reduce
measles deaths in Africa by 90% by
the year 2010.
"Measles is a
highly contagious disease that continues to threaten
young Zimbabweans,"
said Dr Kavishe. "A campaign such as this protects
children, revitalises
routine immunisation services at community level, and
trains health workers,
thus acting as a lifesaver and a developer."
Vitamin A is a
critical as it protects children against infections
(particularly diarrhoeal
diseases) and viral diseases; while severe Vitamin
A deficiency will lead to
blindness.
Since 1980, Zimbabwe has made substantial efforts in
measles mortality
reduction. A catch-up campaign was carried out in 1998 and
in 2002 the first
follow up campaign was held. Much of this success is owed
to countrywide
immunization days mobilizing neighbourhood health committees
and religious
and traditional leaders to encourage mothers to bring their
children for
vaccination.
Source: The Standard
June 19,
2006,
By ANDnetwork .com
Although major players in the
tourism sector recorded profits, the
tourism industry remains under pressure
from a six-year economic crisis and
the negative perception clouding the
country.
By Eric Chiriga
Analysts and
stakeholders said while domestic tourism had been
crippled by an erosion of
disposable incomes, most players in the sector,
particularly hoteliers, were
no longer making significant revenues from
tourist visits, but from
conferences.
Zimbabwe, once a major tourist destination, has
experienced a more
than 50% decline in tourist arrivals over the past six
years.
Contrary to claims and efforts by government, the country's
tourism
industry still survives on traditional source markets, with arrivals
from
Asian countries making no meaningful contribution.
The
government introduced the "Look East Policy", under which focus
was shifted
from traditional source markets to the Asian countries.
However,
players in the hospitality industry said this dealt a big
blow to the
tourism industry, which reports that tourist arrivals from the
East had not
made a big impact on their revenues.
While the decline in the
tourism industry has continued unabated over
the last five years,
neighbouring countries like Zambia and South Africa had
extensively
benefited from Zimbabwe's loss.
While South Africa is taking
advantage by marketing Victoria Falls and
luring potential tourists to
Zimbabwe, Zambia is experiencing a boom in its
tourism
industry.
The number of tourist arrivals in Zambia has increased
five-fold,
boosting revenue generated by the sector to above US$150 million
annually.
Before Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis, Zambia
had tourist
arrivals of around 160 000 compared to the 610 109 visits
received in 2004,
and the figure is expected to increase in response to an
aggressive
marketing campaign by the country.
Farai Mutseyekwa,
president of the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe
(HAZ) admitted that the
negative publicity was affecting the tourism
industry.
"We need
to counter the negative publicity," he said.
Mutseyekwa confirmed
that most of the tourist arrivals were still
coming from traditional source
markets.
"There is actually a decline in the number of visits from
the Asian
market," he said.
He said there was potential in the
Asian market but there was need to
adopt a proper marketing strategy to
capture the Asian market.
Mutseyekwa added that domestic tourism
had been negatively affected by
the economic crisis.
He
admitted that most operators were now pursuing conferencing as an
avenue to
maintain revenue levels as tourist arrivals continued to dwindle.
"In this environment, the tourism cake is too small; conferencing is
contributing significantly to some organisations," he said.
Shingi Munyeza, CEO of the Zimsun Leisure Group, a Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange
(ZSE) listed hospitality concern, reported an operating profit of
$203,8
billion in the year ended March but expressed concern over the
decline in
tourist arrivals.
He said although visits to the group's local
hotels from international
markets increased by 5%, foreign arrivals into the
country as a whole
continued on a downward trend with a 39% decline in
overseas arrivals and
11% from the African region.
Munyeza said
volumes from the domestic market declined by 8% in the
period under review
compared to the prior year.
Chipo Mtasa, CEO of the ZSE-listed
hospitality concern Rainbow Tourism
Group (RTG), admitted as much, saying
that perceptions were negatively
affecting the sector and required immediate
attention.
"Perceptions do worry us," Mtasa said in a recent
interview with
businessdigest.
In her financial report for the
year ended December 2005, Mtasa said
the group's hotel occupancies remained
depressed at 38% compared to 43% in
the previous year, but recorded an
operating profit of $24 billion from a
$455 million loss incurred during the
same period the previous year.
Besides the negative perception, she
also attributed this to low
domestic demand.
Mtasa added that
they were in the process of introducing an office in
Livingstone, Zambia, a
move that would see the group tapping into Zambia's
tourism
boom.
Economic analyst John Robertson said the tourism sector's
contribution
to the economy was now dismal.
"Although the
authorities don't give clear figures, the contribution
by the tourism sector
is US$30 million which is only 15% of the $200 million
it used to
contribute," Robertson said. He said operators in the tourism
sector still
relied on visitors from traditional markets as the Chinese had
made no
significant contributions.
"Most of the Chinese do not spend long
in the country and are not big
spenders. Besides, they now have a lot of
relatives living here, whom they
can visit," Robertson said.
Apart from the tainted image, Robertson said the fixed exchange rate
coupled
with the acute fuel shortages and high prices had become
disincentives to
the international tourist, who is faced with over 5 000
destinations.
He added that domestic tourism was dying due to
the economic crisis,
particularly high inflation. According to the Zimbabwe
Tourism Authority, a
quasi-state body, tourist arrivals declined by 27% in
the last quarter of
2005.
A total of 336 971 tourists visited
Zimbabwe during the period,
compared to 463 471 in the comparative period in
2004.
The Zimbabwe Independent
zimbabwejournalists.com
By a Correspondent
TWO Home
Affairs Immigrations Officers from South Africa and a
Zimbabwean, who were
arrested at Beitbridge Post for allegedly attempting to
smuggle 100 pieces
of ivory ornaments and 412 boxes of Zimbabwean
cigarettes, valued at R30
000, have been sentenced to an effective eight
months imprisonment in
Zimbabwe.
The three are Jacob Martin Venter (34), Ndwamato Lukoto
(49), both
employed at the Home Affairs Department at Makhado and a
Zimbabwean,
Takawira Mahachi (29).
The court found that, on May
18 this year at around 18:00, Venter and
Lukoto went to Beitbridge town in
Zimbabwe, driving a Home Affairs truck
carrying illegal Zimbabwean
immigrants from Makhado.
After off-loading the deportees at the
Beitbridge police station in
Zimbabwe, the two then met Mahachi. They
planned to smuggle the cigarettes
and ivory ornaments, using the Home
Affairs truck. In the process, it was
testified, Venter and Lukoto were to
get R1 800 as a kickback.
They then went to Mahachi's house, where
they loaded the loot and
covered it with blankets, after which they drove to
Beitbridge border post
on their way back to South Africa.
Acting on a tip-off, Zimbabwean police descended on them and the truck
was
intercepted at the exit gate. A search was conducted, leading to the
discovery of the contraband hidden at the back of the Home Affairs truck and
the trio was subsequently arrested.
Their legal
representative, Adv Samson Mulaudzi, has since applied for
bail, pending an
appeal against the sentence, as he felt the three do not
deserve a custodial
sentence.
Speaking on behalf of the Provincial Department of Home
Affairs, Mr
Sam Moremi, said that when the two officials are released from
the
Zimbabwean prison, they will go through departmental disciplinary
hearings.
He said that as the criminal procedure is not the same as the
administrative
procedure; there would also be administrative investigations
against the
two.
"I wish this would serve as a lesson to other
Home Affairs employees
that crime has never paid and it will never pay. If
you do crime, not only
your name and that of the department will be
tarnished, but also the names
of your relatives, family and friends in the
village you are living in," he
said.
Zoutnet
The Star, Malaysia
By
Jeremy Lovell
LONDON (Reuters) - From Africa to Bosnia, back to Africa and on
to the
Middle East -- the often secretive flow of guns and bullets follows
the
world's cycle of wars.
In the middle are the faceless brokers who
have facilitated the
multi-billion-dollar trade since the 1950s and 1960s
when the United States
and the Soviet Union used go-betweens to arm their
allies to fight the Cold
War by proxy.
"Small arms in Europe are not
as cheap as they used to be at the end of the
1990s ... partly because the
initial flood of weapons from former East Bloc
armouries has slowed down,"
said one European arms broker, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, fearing
reprisals from his small, tight-knit
community.
"But there are still
ample supplies left around. For AK-47s particularly all
the old East Bloc
countries still have some surplus new weapons and, of
course, there are lots
of used ones," he told Reuters.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991,
unleashed not only a flood of
cheap arms but also the giant aircraft needed
to carry them to wars in
Africa, Latin America and the Middle
East.
From the steamy jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the
dangerous
streets of Baghdad and the drug-ruled favelas of Rio de Janeiro,
guns
acquired illegally spread terror, contribute to poverty and halt
development.
Ahead of a United Nations meeting in New York from June
26 - July 7 to
discuss this global trade, calls are growing for tighter
regulations --
especially on the activities of brokers.
"Arms supply
networks are increasingly sub-contracted and increasingly
opaque and out of
control," small arms trade expert Brian Wood told Reuters.
"Some of the
drivers of the international arms trade today are individuals
with laptops,
mobile phones, air tickets and shell companies. They travel
around," he
said.
CROSSING THE LEGAL LINE
The International Action Network on
Small Arms (IANSA), a group of agencies
including Amnesty International and
Oxfam, estimates the global gun trade is
worth around $4 billion a year, of
which up to $1 billion may be illicit.
Prices for guns vary enormously
from the $350-$400 per new Kalashnikov with
three magazines, quoted as an
example by the broker, to anecdotal stories of
the same rifles changing
hands for a tenth of that price in African war
zones.
And if guns are
available, they will be used.
"In places like northern Kenya, we are
seeing pastoralists using AK-47s to
dispute access to the diminishing number
of watering holes whereas in the
past they might have talked it out or at
least used less lethal means," said
Anthea Lawson, a spokeswoman for
IANSA.
"It used to be said that the main victims of gun violence were
women and
children. That is not true. It is young men who are both the
victims and the
perpetrators," she said.
IANSA wants countries to
draw up global standards to regulate the
international transfer of weapons
and gun possession among civilians. It
also wants to incorporate armed
violence prevention into development
projects and funding.
"All guns
start as legal weapons ... what happens after that (is) where the
trouble
begins," said Lawson, adding that 60 percent of guns were in
civilian
hands.
"Less than 40 countries have any laws regulating arms brokers --
and most
laws exclude extraterritoriality. That allows the brokers to
operate with
impunity because they rarely touch or take ownership of the
arms," she said.
ETHICAL TRANSFERS?
In a May report, Wood said
weapons were increasingly either destined for or
diverted to countries under
arms embargoes or to insurgent and criminal
groups. Complicating the
picture, governments are cutting their armed forces
and relying on private
suppliers to transport their weapons with few
controls.
This movement
tracks mayhem.
"At the outset of the Bosnian civil war, the first flow of
weapons was from
Lebanon -- where the fighting had slowed -- to the Bosnian
Muslims facing a
well-armed Serbian army," the European arms broker
said.
In his May report, Wood said that after the war some 200,000 of
those guns
were shipped on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense to Iraq
for the new
army, with at least one shipment going astray, probably ending
up with
insurgents.
"Iraq and Afghanistan are sucking in arms. The
Middle East is a big
problem," the arms broker said. "Sudan is very active
too -- but they have
also built up their own production."
The United
States is the biggest exporter of guns followed by Italy, Brazil,
Germany,
Belgium, Russia, China, Britain, Austria and Japan, according to
IANSA.
But then there is a vast grey area, not only with nations or
their proxies
trading third-party weapons but with others subcontracting
production
elsewhere in the world.
"A country like China can argue it
doesn't need to control arms because all
its production is for domestic use.
But it licenses manufacture in countries
like Zimbabwe and those guns are
then sold across the continent," said
Lawson.
Wood said the United
States also had "a loose interpretation of what they
think are ethical
transfers of arms".
"They are basically out to get former Eastern bloc --
Warsaw Pact --
equipment as cheap as possible to the people they regard as
their allies,"
he said.
"Sometimes they are armed opposition groups
like the Northern Alliance (in
Afghanistan) and so on, and they have been
using over the last decade or
more the cheap surpluses in the Balkans --
Albania, Bosnia, Serbia -- and
they have used other people in the region to
move it," he said.
The United States says it is committed to stemming the
flow of illicit arms.
Earlier this month, the State Department said the
United States had
demonstrated this commitment through national practices
and diplomatic
engagement around the world.
Copyright ©
2005 Reuters