UNITED Kingdom-based Zimbabweans
yesterday heeded a call by the opposition MDC to boycott Zanu PF businesses
and staged a massive demonstration calling on British authorities to expel
ruling party stalwart, Stalin Mau Mau, and his businesses from
Britain.
A march was organised to
Mau Mau's shop in Southend on Sea, Essex. Opposition and human rights
demonstrators from all over England carried placards denouncing President
Mugabe and his government, Mau Mau and other Zimbabwean business people with
links to Zanu PF. Mau Mau, the losing Zanu PF candidate for Harare East in
the 2000 parliamentary election, holds a senior post in the party's Harare
province. Escorted by the police, the demonstrators marched to the shop,
Zim-Link, which sells products from Zimbabwe such as food, music tapes and
hair products. The shop also does money transfers for Zimbabweans living in
the diaspora at a rate of £1 to Z$1
800.
The windows are emblazoned with the
Zimbabwean flag colours and copies of The Daily News proudly stand out in the
display as the paper is said to be in demand in the area. Mau Mau, real name
Keen Marshall Charumbira, was nowhere to be seen since he lives in Zimbabwe
and comes here occasionally for business. But Washington Ali, the organiser
of the demonstration, is convinced Mau Mau is now staying in England. "Mau
Mau is a Zanu PF heavyweight and a human rights violator, he is an illegal
farm invader and a Mugabe functionary," Ali, a Zimbabwean, said in a petition
to British authorities. "Expelling Charumbira from Britain and stopping his
business activities here is essential to sustaining pressure on all those who
hope to profit from Robert Mugabe's destruction of Zimbabwe, its economy and
its people.
"His continued presence in
this country is offensive to all UK-based Zimbabweans, an insult to British
people and an affront to the international community. The fact that he
continues to live and work in Britain with impunity flies in the face of
international efforts to isolate the Mugabe regime and bring it to justice."
The drum-beating demonstrators, wearing MDC T-shirts, queried why Mau Mau was
bringing in food from Zimbabwe while millions back home were on the verge of
starvation and could not get basics such as soap, mealie-meal and cooking
oil. Meanwhile, Sapa reports that over 500 Zimbabweans took to the streets in
Johannesburg on Friday to demonstrate against President Mugabe and human
rights violations perpetrated by his government. The group gathered in
central Johannesburg's Joubert Park before embarking on a 20-kilometre march
to Sandton.
As they marched, carrying
placards, they denounced South Africa's policy of quiet diplomacy towards
Zimbabwe. The placards read "Zimbabwe is dying", "Quiet diplomacy failed",
"Away with Mugabe" and "Bush give Mugabe 48 hours". Some of the marchers wore
black armbands and carried coffins to symbolise the death of democracy in
Zimbabwe. "More than 200 people have died at the hands of the police, army
and militia groups sponsored by the ruling party, Zanu PF, ever since Mugabe
stole the election early last year," said Jairos Tama of the Concerned
Zimbabweans Abroad - a body which organised the protest. "Millions of
Zimbabweans are starving and most of them have a friend or family member who
has been beaten up or tortured."
The United States Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Africa, Mark Bellamy says his government will
continue calling on the international community to censure Zimbabwe for its
bad human rights record until there is positive
change.
In an exclusive interview
with The Daily News on Friday, Bellamy said the US had tabled a resolution at
the recent 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in
Geneva calling on the international community to take note of the gross human
rights abuses by the government of President Mugabe. He said the resolution
was part of a document entitled, "Zimbabwe's man-made crisis" which
chronicles human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, including the massacre in
Matabeleland in the mid 1980s. Thousands of innocent civilians in
Matabeleland were tortured, maimed and killed by the Korean-trained Fifth
Brigade which was led by Perence Shiri, now the Commander of the Air Force of
Zimbabwe.
"We believe that it would be a
tragedy if the world failed to focus attention on what is happening in
Zimbabwe today. The resolution we tabled is meant to mobilise international
support for a positive stand against repression, violence and lawlessness,"
Bellamy said. "Even if the other members do not adopt it, this will not deter
us from speaking openly about human rights abuse in Zimbabwe. Already, we
have put in place targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe which we hope will have
some positive effect." Bellamy noted that Washington was not the only one
calling for change in Zimbabwe, citing the European Union, which has also
imposed sanctions against Mugabe, and the Commonwealth, which last week
extended Zimbabwe's suspension from its councils for another nine
months.
The International Bar Association
recently called on the International Criminal Court to prosecute Mugabe for
serious violations of international humanitarian
law. Bellamy said the US government supports
mass stayaways as they are an effective form of expressing discontent against
government repression and human rights abuse. Although he could not say what
effect the recent two-day mass stayaway in Zimbabwe would have, he commended
"the people of Zimbabwe for their tactful and peaceful protest against human
rights abuse by the government". He said peaceful stayaways had been used
effectively in the past during anti-apartheid campaigns in South Africa
before it attained independence. Asked if the US would indict President
Mugabe or his close lieutenants if there was no positve change, Bellamy said
that this would not be possible.
"Zimbabwe is a full member of the UNHRC and is free to participate in its
sessions. No country has the right to bar it from attending or to indict its
leaders but we will continue to express concern about what is happening in
that country," he said. Bellamy noted that the US, a major contributor
of food aid to Zimbabwe, some of it channelled through the World
Food Programme, was not happy about reports that some of this food was
being politicised by Zanu PF and distributed only to party members, leaving
out members of the opposition MDC. "It is very wrong to politicise food aid
and we will closely monitor how it is being distributed and register
our displeasure at every opportunity," he said.
AMNESTY International says
there are indications that mass arrests and human rights violations will
escalate as the MDC's deadline to President Mugabe to meet certain demands
approaches.
Following its
successful mass stayaway last week, the MDC issued an ultimatum to Mugabe to
meet several demands related to the issue of governance and human rights. The
MDC threatened more protests if the demands are not met by 31 March. In
response, President Mugabe last Friday warned the MDC about its demands. In a
chilling statement reminiscent of his utterances before he unleashed
Gukurahundi (Fifth Brigade) in Matabeleland and the Midlands in the
mid-1980s, Mugabe said those who play with fire would be burnt and consumed
by that fire. More than 20 000 people were killed when Mugabe let loose a
crack army unit. Amnesty appealed to Kembo
Mohadi, the Minister of Home Affairs and Police Commissioner, Augustine
Chihuri, to stop the mass arrests and persecution of opposition
supporters.
Mohadi yesterday said he was
in Beitbridge and had not seen the letter which he said could be in his
office in Harare. Asked to respond to allegations that police were arresting
MDC supporters without charge he said: "Let me see the allegations first then
I will respond." Chihuri could not be contacted for comment
yesterday. In a letter sent to Mohadi and
Chihuri on Friday and copied to diplomatic representatives in Zimbabwe,
Amnesty said up to 500 people including media workers and MDC Members of
Parliament, have been arrested and detained without charge since the mass
stayaway last week. The report said an unknown number of people have
reportedly been abducted by supporters of the ruling Zanu PF party and state
security agents.
There have also been
reports that some MDC activists had disappeared.Philemon Bulawayo, a Daily
News photographer and Gugulethu Moyo, Associted Newspapers of Zimbabwe's
Corporate Affairs Director, were among the people arbitrarily arrested and
detained during and after the stayaway. Also arrested were Giles Mutsekwa, MP
for Mutare North and Austin Mupandawana, MP for Kadoma Central together with
60 MDC activists, as the police swooped on people in their homes and in the
streets. Amnesty International said: "According to reports, four MDC
activists were abducted by Zanu PF supporters and state agents in Bindura on
18 March. Their whereabouts remain unknown and it is feared that they may
have disappeared." Four MDC activists were also allegedly abducted in
Mabvuku. Other MDC activists are reported to be
missing.
TENDAI Biti, the Member of
Parliament for Harare East, yesterday warned that if Zanu PF manipulates poll
results in the Highfield and Kuwadzana parliamentary by-elections set for
this weekend, the MDC would engage in mass
action.
"If they cheat in the
vote, the agenda will go onto the streets," he told about 5 000 MDC
supporters gathered at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield. "This time there
will be no court application that will have Pearson Mungofa as the applicant
and Joseph Chinotimba and Tobaiwa Mudede as the respondents. "There will be
no court application that will have Nelson Chamisa as the applicant and cite
David Mutasa and Mudede as the respondents." Mungofa and Chinotimba are the
MDC and Zanu PF candidates for Highfield constituency,
respectively.
The MDC's Chamisa is pitted
against Mutasa of Zanu PF for the Kuwadzana seat, while Mudede is the
Registrar-General. Said Biti: "We (the MDC) have taken the agenda from
Parliament and from the courts, and to the people. "We have already engaged
in the first instalment. We want to see who remains in the second
instalment." He said Tsvangirai held the real power in Zimbabwe since people
heeded his call to stay away from their jobs on Tuesday and Wednesday last
week. Chamisa said products of the so-called Border Gezi national youth
training centres burnt buses when they realised that people heeded
Tsvangirai's call.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the
MDC leader, and his secretary-general Welshman Ncube, did not address the
Highfield rally and another one scheduled later for Kuwadzana because they
were reviewing the mass stayaway. The MDC has given the government until
Monday next week to address people's grievances or face another action. There
was a huge turnout at Highfield despite a sustained campaign by the police
and soldiers since the stayaway to assault suspected MDC members in most
high-density suburbs in Harare. Chamisa said: "Mugabe might murder people and
unleash the police on you, but I want you to know that when you begin to
smell smoke from fired tear-gas canisters, then the aroma of maize-meal is
not far off.
"When you see soldiers and
the police on alert, then know that change is coming. I can smell
mealie-meal, but Mugabe is the obstacle." Mungofa said he had the easiest
task of all MDC candidates since he had been pitted against Chinotimba whom
he labelled a comedian. A second rally planned for Kuwadzana was washed out
by timely rains, preventing imminent clashes between the Zanu PF youths and
the police, on the one hand, and the MDC on the
other.
A VENDOR with Zimpapers was
yesterday assaulted, allegedly by soldiers at State House, as he was
returning from delivering The Sunday Mail newspaper at the home of the
Minister of Information and Publicity in the President's Office, Professor
Jonathan Moyo, in the upmarket suburb
of Gunhill.
The vendor, who
refused to be named, said he was coming from Gunhill cycling past State House
when a soldier stopped him. He said the soldier demanded to know why he was
looking at President Mugabe's residence. The vendor said he replied politely
that he was just passing. He was then ordered to leave his bicycle at the
gate where there were four other bicycles. He said he was taken inside the
grounds of the presidential residence where he was taken down a drainage
trench where he saw four other people being beaten up. The four were then
ordered out and the vendor was struck on the head by a soldier and he fell
into the trench.
He said two soldiers
started assaulting him with boots while he was lying in dirty water. He
reported the case to police at the First Street police post and was given
investigating record number 032461. This is not the first time that people
have been assaulted at President Mugabe's residence. Last month some MDC
supporters who were on their way to a rally in Hatcliffe were severely
assaulted by soldiers manning the State House.
CHRISTOPHER Caridade, the
managing director of Portugal Restaurant in Harare, last Friday threatened to
close down his outlet after soldiers allegedly beat up
patrons.
He claimed he lost about
$300 000 cash during the attack. "Soldiers came in an army tank at around 2am
on Friday and beat up vendors before they came into the club," a visibly
shaken Caridade said. "The reasons for the assaults were unclear." Soldiers
countrywide have reportedly run amok beating up people they believe
participated in the recent two-day mass action called for by the opposition
MDC. Ruling Zanu PF youths in Glen View and Highfield allegedly set on fire
houses belonging to MDC members.
Among
those assaulted are Rabson Tengera, of Mbare, Never Mubayiwa, Johannes
Mwerenga, Steven Muunganirwa and Mary Manadangu of St
Mary's. Lieutenant-Colonel Chinoingira, the
army spokesman, said: "I prefer questions in writing. But are we in a war
where soldiers would do what you are saying? We have not received such
reports." Meanwhile, Caridade said: "I am now seriously considering closing
this restaurant because I do not understand how revellers can be assaulted at
a legal outlet." An unidentified woman, suspected to have broken her arm
during the pandemonium, was rushed to Parirenyatwa Hospital. Anderson Robson,
a patron, said: "There were about 15 uniformed soldiers who beat up people.
One of them beat me up with a metal
wire."
About 18 employees sustained
serious injuries, Caridade said. The soldiers allegedly looted beer after
assaulting patrons. In Mutare, mystery still surrounds the whereabouts of
Pishai Muchauraya, the MDC provincial spokesman, Patrick Chitaka, chairman of
Mutare North, and Maiphos Tenga, the co-ordinator for Mutare North, who were
arrested last Wednesday. Giles Mutsekwa, the MP for Mutare North and the
MDC's shadow minister of defence, was arrested on Tuesday in Mutare and is
still being detained at Marange police post. Edmund Maingire, the provincial
police spokesman, said: "Go and tell those who have given you that
information that if they want to locate their leaders they should go to
police stations and not to The Daily News offices. They won't find their
people if they use The Daily News."
Meanwhile, Stanley Karombo, a freelance journalist, arrested on Wednesday is
expected to appear in court soon.
Students call for protests
over university closures
3/24/2003 1:43:43 AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
The Zimbabwe National Students'
Union (Zinasu) has resolved to stage mass demonstrations to force the
government to reopen the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and the National
University of Science and Technology, Zinasu' s new president, Jabusile
Shumba, said last Thursday.
The
closure of the two State-run institutions last week followed a protracted
strike by lecturers last month. Shumba, who was speaking at a Press
conference in Harare, said a legal challenge against the closure was not an
option because it would drag on in the courts without an immediate solution.
He said: "We have no time to waste. The sooner the government realised that
closing Zimbabwe's premier institutions of higher learning compromised the
quality of education, the better for the nation." He said the closure of the
institutions was unrelated to students'
behaviour.
Speaking at the same occasion,
Nkululeko Nyoni, the incoming Zinasu secretary-general, said the government's
ultimatum for students to vacate the universities' premises within 48 hours
was heartless because the students were not consulted. The previous national
executive of Zinasu issued an ultimatum to the government to open the
universities by 1 April 2003. Nyoni said the government failed to solve the
lecturers' strike when a solution could easily be found. University lecturers
went on an indefinite strike last month, demanding a 50 percent retention
allowance on their basic salaries which government promised them last
year.
SOLDIERS went on the rampage
during the weekend, assaulting and abducting a number of opposition MDC
officials and supporters in Harare's high-density
suburbs.
In Mabvuku, the MDC
women's league provincial secretary, Margaret Kulinji, together with her
family, were severely assaulted by soldiers in a midnight raid. Kulinji said
two truckloads of soldiers descended on their home around 1am. She said they
jumped the gate and banged the door. When her father opened the door, the
soldiers grabbed him and locked him in one of the bedrooms. Kulinji said they
then started assaulting her mother. The soldiers dragged Sonile, Kulinji's
mother, into her bedroom and forced her to open her legs and stuck a gun into
her private parts. Kulinji and her brother, Crispen, who is still missing,
were also assaulted. "I don't know what they are doing to my son, I fear for
him," said Kulinji's mother.
The soldiers
proceeded to Albert Gatsi's family home where they severely assaulted him and
his wife leaving them for dead. In a statement, the MDC secretary for
information and publicity, Paul Themba Nyathi, said in Mufakose, a relative
of Glen View MP Paul Madzore was severely assaulted by members of the army
who demanded to see the MP and his wife who were not at home. "The relative
received injuries all over his body and he is now in hospital," Nyathi said.
In the same high-density suburb, a group of army officers and suspected
Central Intelligence Organisation operatives raided Jack Chimuza's home on
Saturday night. They beat up his wife and two children before bundling
Chimuza and his brother Kennedy into a truck. They proceeded to abduct Epheas
Kondo, the councillor for ward 35. Nyathi said
Chimuza was severely assaulted and left for dead in a bush near Manyame Air
Base. He was only picked up yesterday morning and is now
in hospital. The other two members abducted
together with Chimuza are
still missing.
Cephas Matotote was
abducted from his Mbare home on Saturday night and severely assaulted. He is
now in hospital, Nyathi said. In St Mary's, Chitungwiza, Moses and Tabeth
Kuvarega were assaulted by soldiers who raided their home at 3 am. The
soldiers also raided Harare's Deputy Mayoress Sekesai Makwavarara's nightclub
in Mabvuku on Saturday night. The staff and patrons were assaulted and
property worth millions of dollars was destroyed.
MORE than 30 tonnes of Red
Cross Society food meant for starving Nkayi villagers is lying idle following
a row between the leaders and volunteers of the international humanitarian
organisation.
The food from
overseas donors was for people living with Aids, the aged and orphans. It is
being kept at Nkayi Hospital.Volunteers said last week that the Red Cross in
Matabeleland North had been heavily politicised, at the expense of starving
villagers. The development came amid revelations that several tonnes of food
donated to the Red Cross by international well-wishers had vanished. The
volunteers are accusing Red Cross management of imposing an executive
committee which they said did not have the interests of the people at
heart.
The organisation, which was
supposed to have helped in last month's Dete train disaster in which 50
people died, was nowhere to be seen. The volunteers accused the programmes
officer, Scott Busenga Mpofu, of not releasing the keys of an ambulance and
another vehicle, making it difficult for the volunteers to respond to
disasters. They said with the threat of a cyclone, which has already hit some
parts of the country, it was imperative that the society be prepared to help
people. Differences within the organisation began when the volunteers passed
a vote of no confidence in an interim committee headed by the former Nkayi
Member of Parliament, John Maluzo.
An
interim committee was then chosen, but the late Red Cross Society of Zimbabwe
president Swithun Mombeshora allegedly refused to recognise it. Some
volunteers said after a stormy meeting to resolve the issue they
were harassed by State security agents. The volunteers have said they
want elections to choose a new executive. If there were no such elections,
then they would present their grievances to the International Red
Cross headquarters in Geneva. The volunteers called for investigations into
the disappearance of food aid.
ZANU PF offices in Chinhoyi were
damaged in a petrol bomb attack last Friday. The ruling party's Mashonaland
West provincial officials immediately pointed fingers at the opposition MDC.
But Paul Themba Nyathi, MDC's spokesperson, has distanced his party from the
attack, saying it was an inside job by Zanu
PF.
The incident occurred a day
after Zanu PF youths and State security agents went on the rampage assaulting
civilians indiscriminately whom they suspected to have participated in last
week's two-day stayaway. Philip Chiyangwa, the Zanu PF chairman for
Mashonaland West, said it was not the first such attack in the
province.
Said Chiyangwa: "Other attacks
such as the bombing of a bridge in Kadoma have taken place. I believe the
situation has got out of hand. If the MDC has turned into a violent political
party, then I can't be held responsible if Zanu PF supporters react
violently. I have never propagated violence, but very soon I'll not be able
to contain the people of my constituency if they decide to
react."
Heavily armed soldiers were
immediately deployed in Chinhoyi and were allegedly beating up anyone they
suspected to have participated in the attack. Nyathi said: "For us
non-violence is an act of faith. We can't achieve meaningful change if we
were to mutate into another Zanu PF. As far as we are concerned that was an
inside job. The country has seen how the enemies of freedom and democracy
create incidents." "The success of the mass action has shocked and rocked
Zanu PF to the foundation. "They will stop at nothing to unleash further
violence on MDC members. We condemn violence as much as we condemn the wanton
murder of Steven Tonera, MP Roy Bennet's former farm worker, and acts of
violence on innocent civilians."
THE water treatment chemicals
crisis which was facing Bulawayo City Council has been averted. The council
has secured an agreement with Zimbabwe Phosphate Company (Zimphos) to supply
them with 14 tones of aluminium sulphate every
week.
Last month the city had only
one month's supply of chlorine, lime and HTH and about 10 days' allocation of
aluminium sulphate per station. This was due to the shortage of foreign
currency which is affecting most sectors of the economy. But the council said
the Zimphos supply was only half of what they would need under normal
circumstances. They need 28 tonnes a week. Zimphos could not guarantee the
length of the period they would be able to supply aluminium sulphate since
they are overstretched, being the sole supplier of the chemical to most urban
councils.
Moffat Ndlovu, the town clerk,
said although it was necessary to secure constant supplies of aluminium
sulphate, if it ran out the water would still be drinkable. "A shortage of
aluminium sulphate would only mean that we have to use more chlorine which is
more expensive. This will not affect the quality of the water except that one
would be able to taste the chlorine in the water," said Ndlovu. He said the
council had secured some stocks of chlorine which would be used as
alternatives in the absence of aluminium sulphate. Bulawayo has two major
treatment works which are Ncema and Criterion waterworks. Each should under
normal circumstances hold two months' stock of
chemicals.
Ndlovu said there was still an
urgent need for the council to seek more foreign currency allocations from
the Reserve Bank, to cover the council's needs. The council has set aside
$300 million for water treatment this year in anticipation of the high
inflation and difficulties in sourcing foreign currency. However, the price
of aluminium sulphate has increased four-fold and there was need to source
more funds.
It
has been said many times before. But it must be said again. President
Mugabe's habit of abusing funeral gatherings by turning them into occasions
to issue threats to his adversaries and make inflammatory political
statements is deplorable, to say the
least.
Not only do his speeches at
burials fly in the face of the solemnity immanent at such occasions but,
invariably, they also are totally indecorous and unbecoming of a man in his
exalted position. Many will say, for example, that it was highly unbefitting
of a head of state to use the burial of Swithun Mombeshora, last Friday, to
publicly insult MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai by referring, ghetto-women
fashion, to his height and the size of his belly. What had that to do with
Mombeshora's life - or death, for that matter - which, common sense would
suggest, was the territory to which the President ought to have confined his
speech on that sorrowful occasion?
As it
turned out, ill-conceived as they obviously were, insulting Tsvangirai and
attacking Western countries for their imagined financing of the people's mass
action last week were the less shocking of his remarks at the burial. After
referring, twice in as many years, to the MDC as a terrorist organisation -
first at Cain Nkala's funeral in 2001, and now at Mombeshora's - Mugabe used
that largely unproven pretext to let the cat out of the bag with regard to
who actually is behind the now widespread
State terrorism.
He openly confessed
that his government, which is widely regarded as illegitimate, had instructed
State security agents to ruthlessly thwart any attempts by the opposition MDC
to mobilise the people into mass protests against his government's misrule,
which has taken away all their rights and freedoms and is fast condemning
them to a life of grinding poverty and suffering. Mugabe declared: "Those who
promote and unleash violence and terrorism must be severely punished. Our law
enforcement agents must react promptly and with vigour as they provide
appropriate responses to dangerous mischief-makers. Let the MDC and its
leaders be warned that those who play with fire will not only be burnt, but
will be consumed by that fire. Read
us correctly."
The President can rest
assured that the people have indeed read his regime correctly. Not just in
recent weeks or months, but from as far back as early 2000 when his
government let loose paid thugs masquerading as war veterans, to spearhead
lawlessness on commercial farms, and later the entire countryside, to stem
certain defeat for Zanu PF in that year's parliamentary election, which
Mugabe had clearly seen coming in the absence of those underhand manoeuvres.
The only problem is that the people's reading of who the real merchants of
violence and terrorism are is completely different from Mugabe's own
deliberately misleading interpretation of the situation
in Zimbabwe.
From the year 2000,
following his spine-chilling declaration that he and his followers have
degrees in violence, it is State-sponsored terrorists, made up mostly of
vagabonds led by out-of-uniform soldiers, who have been the purveyors of
violence among the innocent and peace-loving citizens of this country. It is
they, not MDC supporters, who were responsible for the brutal murder of
farmers David Stevens and Gloria Olds, to name only two of at least 10
commercial farmers killed by so-called war veterans with the blessing of
Mugabe, who called that murderous campaign "peaceful demonstrations". Not
surprising, really, considering that he, personally, had called upon his
party supporters to "put fear into the hearts of whites; make them tremble".
However, while in those days State terrorism was indirect in that it was
carried out by civilian hirelings, now it has become more sinister in that it
is being carried out directly by State security agents, as Mugabe freely
confessed last Friday.
It is not the MDC,
but the police who are routinely arresting and torturing opposition party
MPs. It is not the MDC but the army and Zanu PF militias that are harassing
and torturing suspected MDC supporters throughout the country. It was members
of the army that brutally assaulted workers on Roy Bennet's Ruwa farm,
killing one of them, Steven Tonera. Saturday's shocking front page picture of
a brutalised Isobel Gardiner bore eloquent testimony to the regime's
terrorism.
UZ
Vice-Chancellor dragging politics into
grievances
3/24/2003 2:01:46 AM
(GMT +2)
By Bingo
waJakata
At last, the University of
Zimbabwe (UZ) executive has finally come to its senses and done what it
should have done more that two weeks ago - that is closing the oldest
institution of higher learning in
Zimbabwe.
My prediction is that
unless the Vice-Chancellor at the National University of Science and
Technology (NUST) has better negotiating prowess, that institution may be
closing its doors as well. Closure of the university is unfortunate, yet
necessary since the government has no capacity to run such institutions
anymore. Why fool the students and parents as well as the Zimbabwe population
at large by churning out graduates whose training is in all regards below
standard in most of the faculties?
We have
students graduating without doing some courses because there is lack of
trained manpower to teach certain subjects. The truth of the matter is that
the government does not care whether the country has such institutions
anymore. In fact, I strongly believe that they are of the conviction that
they are better off without them. This may sound unbalanced, but I have my
reasons for saying this. For one, why would the university executive (an arm
of the government) declare that NUST and UZ are
opposition universities?
Is the mere
fact that the teaching staff is not happy with their remuneration and goes on
industrial action adequate reason to label the institutions opposition turf?
I am not sure exactly were that came from, but it was eventually delivered by
the Vice-Chancellor to the executive of the Association of University
Teachers (AUT). This is not the first time our Vice-Chancellor has used
unsavoury tactics in an attempt to cower teaching staff. In one meeting he
reportedly noted that he could fire and replace all teaching staff with
Cubans and Egyptians. Since I was not party to this meeting I am not sure
whether this was said in jest or otherwise. Apart from annoying me, I found
the prospect of such a move to be quite interesting in many ways and I, for
one, would love to see it in operation.
Imagine a Cuban teaching Shona literature. I am not sure what language of
instruction the institution will then use, Spanish? Assuming the
Cubans' command of English was acceptable, as Vice-Chancellor, would you be
proud to lead an institution staffed with 80 percent or more foreigners? What
about national pride? I thought we are all supposed to uphold it! I have
nothing against the Cubans. If the truth be told, I admire their success
in home-grown institutional capacity-building that has made Havana a
successful biomedical research centre respected by the whole world. It is
unfortunate that instead of trying to assist his staff, the Vice-Chancellor
chooses to label the very institution he is supposed to head as well as NUST
opposition universities. It is much more worrisome to note that although the
AUT has always pointed out that it is not affiliated to any organisation,
including political parties, the UZ executive thinks
otherwise.
I could tell you the names of
AUT members who are active members of either the ruling Zanu PF or the
opposition MDC. That is as it should be at the UZ, a divergence of opinions
without polarisation of academic relationships or membership to the
association representing the interests of teaching staff. In future, I wish
the Vice-Chancellor would desist from dragging politics into what are
otherwise very clear non-partisan bread-and-butter issues. It only makes
matters worse. I was hoping that he would never get himself into that web,
but now that he has, he must realise that he is dealing with people who may
be poor in bank notes and other assets, but not in brains and
resolve.
I wish to apologise to the
students for the inconvenience caused, I know how that feels. I have
relatives and sons and daughters of friends, and neighbours who should have
been graduating after the March/April examinations, but do not know what is
next. We may be labelled opposition - truly I do not see what is so gross
about that. If this was true I would beg to ask why all the brains at NUST
and UZ are opposition. The truth is we love our jobs and are dedicated to our
students. The problem is a simple one - we
have families who look upon us to supply food, clothes, school fees, medical
insurance and pay the bills. If the powers-that-be were to put something on
the table, something meaningful and tangible, ie, an acceptable figure with a
legally binding undertaking to deliver within an acceptable time frame, they
will have a hard time keeping us from our
work.
It would be foolhardy and an
underestimation of the university teaching staff's resolve to expect them to
return to work while they fail to provide their families with basic
necessities simply because they are scared of being labelled the
opposition.
THE inflation scourge gripping
Zimbabwe has fuelled poverty and costs of production, derailing both the
economic recovery plan and the current National Budget that was premised on a
lower rate of inflation.
Inflation, which reached a record 220,9 percent last month, has
placed Zimbabwe among the world's fastest declining economies.
Conservative estimates indicate that inflation could reach between 450
percent and 500 percent by the end of the year. Analysts said companies,
bleeding from a combination of price controls and higher parallel market
rates for foreign currency, could no longer swallow the ballooning input
costs. The situation is more acute for entrepreneurs caught up in price
controls because they cannot pass on additional costs to the consumer. The
market share is also getting smaller and smaller as a result of falling
disposable incomes and retrenchments.
At least 70 percent of the country's population is now living below the
poverty datum line. David Mupamhadzi, Century Holdings Limited's
chief economist, was convinced that the 2003 National Budget was now way
off target. It would, therefore, be a mammoth task to achieve Finance
and Economic Development Minister Herbert Murerwa's target of bringing
down inflation to 96 percent before the end of the year. "By the second half
of this year, ministries would be asking Treasury for additional
resources," said Mupamhadzi. Murerwa was obviously over-optimistic by
choosing to ignore negative factors that militated against his projections.
At the time of the Budget presentation, Zimbabwe was already experiencing a
severe drought and needed to import maize and wheat to feed the starving
population.
Foreign currency inflows had
taken a severe knock, declining to just two weeks' import cover at the time.
Leonard Tsumba, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, unveiled his
new monetary policy a few weeks later. Murerwa was also aware of the donor
fatigue that cut off all lines of credit which Zimbabwe previously enjoyed.
The drying foreign exchange resources and the food shortages meant that every
commodity available would be sold at exorbitant prices. Mupamhadzi said
Murerwa would have to go back to the drawing board. "If you look at the
recovery plan, you will notice that the thrust was to create an environment
conducive for the exporter, hence the devaluation of the exchange rate
applicable to exports from Z$55 against the United States dollar to
Z$800.
"The increase in inflation has
eroded that benefit at a time when inflation in regional countries is also
coming off," he said. Policy makers were faced with a situation where they
could either ignore the need to further devalue the dollar and leave business
to suffer, or slash the value of the currency to redress the situation.
Mupamhadzi said seeking recourse through supplementary budgets worsened the
inflation outlook and exacerbated the Budget deficit. As usual, the
government would have to compete with the private sector to borrow from the
domestic market to finance its spiralling Budget deficit. Mismanagement,
inefficiency and allegations of gross corruption were responsible for most
losses parastatals made.
In an effort to
reduce government expenditure, proposals had been made for the government to
shed its stake in parastatals. But the privatisation drive had not gone into
full throttle. "This puts pressure on interest rates and inflation," said
Mupamhadzi, adding that the government may consider issuing more treasury
bills (commercial papers issued by the central bank on behalf of the
government when borrowing) to finance the Budget deficit. Samuel Undenge, a
trade and economic consultant who supports the current economic reforms,
believed that the parcelling out of land from white commercial farmers to
blacks would improve the supply side of agricultural commodities and
stabilise inflation in the long run. His view was also shared by Jonathan
Kadzura, another local economic commentator. Gibson Mashingaidze, another
analyst, said a number of companies choked by the inflation scourge were now
facing closure.
Wage and salary increases
awarded by most employers had fallen way below the rate of inflation,
straining relations in both the industrial and commercial sectors.
Mashingaidze urged the government to bring on board the international
community, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank, which turned their backs on Zimbabwe before the turn of the century.
"We need international support and cannot afford to ignore institutions such
as IMF and the World Bank. Investors look at the IMF and World Bank for
direction if they put a thumbs-up for Zimbabwe," he said. The inflationary
spiral has also hit pensioners hard as they live on fixed incomes, and the
ordinary consumers who are finding it hard to keep pace with the rising cost
of living. It is now virtually impossible for an average Zimbabwean to buy a
vehicle or a house as prices have shot up by over 300 percent in the past 12
months.
This is the first part of an article
by Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe Corporate Affairs Director, Gugulethu
Moyo, on her harrowing experience at the hands of the police last
week.
I arrived at Glen View
Police Station at about 11:30am on Tuesday morning, accompanied by a fellow
legal practitioner, Alec Muchadehama. Our mission was to secure the release
of Philemon Bulawayo, whom we found in a back office, sprawled on some chairs
writhing in pain. The officer-in-charge advised us to wait outside for the
investigating officer who would tell us why Bulawayo had been arrested.
Twenty minutes later, two pick-up trucks, one written Chivaraidze Farm, swept
into the police station and riot policemen swarmed
out.
An army Range Rover, registration
number 750-123A, drove in after them. Out jumped three soldiers in combat
gear, a man in khaki longs and shirt came out of the driver's seat. An
expensively-dressed woman alighted from the passenger's seat and walked
purposefully across the lawn, gesturing wildly as she spoke on a her mobile
phone. "Deploy more police, these people in Glen View are a problem. When you
get them, beat them," she ordered over the phone. I looked on, drawn in by
the action, having assumed by now that this woman was a plain-clothed
policewoman. She dashed across the yard to where police in riot gear were
forcing accused persons to roll in mud.
As
they rolled in the dirt, the police officers bore down on them with their
batons. Their screams fell on deaf ears. Nearby, a group of 10 others were
being forced by baton-wielding police officers to toyi-toyi and
shout political slogans. The woman stood over the rolling bodies and
shouted: "This is not Tsvangirai's
country!" My phone rang. It was my boss and as
we spoke, I looked up and saw the woman fly straight towards me. "Who is this
woman talking on the phone?" she shouted. "Who are you?" "Madam, I did not
realise it was an offence for me to talk on the phone. I'll be with you just
now," I said, turning away to continue with my
conversation.
I felt a tug on my jacket.
"Answer me! Who are you and what do you want at this police station?" she
bellowed. "Gugulethu Moyo, I work for Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe," I
explained. There was something terribly wrong with my answer. Her eyes blazed
with anger. "What? You are from The Daily News? You are here for that
journalist?" "You, the people who write that there is no rule of law in
Zimbabwe, you are here to bail out that criminal so you can go and write that
there is no rule of law? Never! "Do you know who I am? My name is Jocelyn
Chiwenga, wife of the army commander. I am going to show you that there is no
rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Today you shall
know," she roared. Chiwenga held me like a vice. I struggled to escape, but
she held on, hurling curses at me all the while. The man in the khakis ran
towards me from the other end of the yard. He rolled his fist, aimed straight
for my right eye and landed a blow as he lunged at me. He pulled at my
collar. "Come here, you traitor, I'll show you!" At this point Chiwenga
grabbed my handbag. She searched it. She pulled out my British Council
Library card. "You work for the British," she snarled. "This card says
British Council member. British prostitute, sell out!" she roared. She held
up the card for all to see. "You see, we told you, these people work for the
British, they work with foreigners to destroy this country, they have sent
her here so she can go and write about the rule of law in
Zimbabwe.
"Well, today your British shall
pay you, we will beat you up. You shall tell them that the wife of the army
commander beat you up." "Tell them it is Heritage that beat you!" the man in
khaki added. "We fought for our country to be taken over by the British and
traitors like you? Never!" shouted Chiwenga. "The British give you money to
come and bail out criminals like your photographer. Well, today the British
will do nothing to save you. You will see why Tafadzwa Musekiwa ran to the
British," the man added. To be continued
tomorrow
THE Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC)'s coverage of the recent two-day mass stayaway
was disastrous as they distorted the truth about the real situation on the
ground not only in towns, but in rural areas as
well.
The corporation's news
bulletins lied to the nation that it was "business as usual" when, in fact,
most banks and shops were closed on the first day of the
stayaway. ZBC chose to mislead the nation by
reporting that the mass action was a flop. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the
central business districts of all major cities resembled ghost towns. The
days resembled lazy Sunday mornings, but the ZBC insisted the mass action was
a failure. On the second day of the mass action in Harare, not a single bank,
including those owned by ruling Zanu PF apologists, was operational and most
major shops were closed. A classic example was that of Jongwe Printers, a
Zanu PF-owned company which The Daily News took pictures of, but as if they
were blind, ZBC chose to mislead the nation and say business was normal. Get
real, guys!
How business could be
"business as usual" when banks, the post office, building societies, light
and heavy industries were closed is baffling to say the least. Even the
Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) in Kadoma last Tuesday closed business
because of the protest. ZBC, as a public service provider, should learn to
report the truth and not distort information. ZBC and other
government-controlled media institutions totally failed in churning out their
propaganda because this time it was evident to the naked eye that all was not
well in the country. The inconsistencies were so appalling. If the stayaway
was a flop or a non-event, why did the government unleash soldiers and the
police to beat up innocent civilians?
Why
then did President Mugabe attack the opposition MDC if the effect was not
significant? It may have been a non-event in the newsrooms of the government
controlled ZBC and The Herald, but clearly not in Sizinda, Sakubva, Mabvuku,
Mucheke, Rimuka, St Mary's and Mutapa suburbs, to mention only a few places
where people are being brutalised by State security agents and denied food by
Zanu PF cohorts daily. The fact that commuter buses were on the road but
workers still did not report for duty nullifies the misrepresentation that
workers did not do so due to the unavailability of transport, but out of a
real cause. And that commuter buses were on the road by 6am does not mean
business was normal. Does it?
The problem
is that ZBC would be lying to people who are on the ground, witnessing true
events as they happen. The institution has a serious ethical dilemma of
reporting what Zanu PF officials want to hear at the expense of reality.
Maybe for ZBC every day is always April Fools' Day! On Tuesday afternoon I
was part of a group of journalists having lunch at a Harare restaurant when
ZBC-TV's lunch-time news bulletin reported the ongoing stayaway. The
corporation's different reporters who filed in copy were all saying "it was
business as usual", but what struck us all was the footage used in the report
- overcrowded streets which showed for sure that business was "normal and
usual".
Viewers in the restaurant could
not agree with the reports and corresponding footage. An extreme case was a
report from Gwanda. Someone in the restaurant shouted: "That is not in Gwanda
- it is in Mbare!" Another woman sitting nearby remarked that the footage
being shown had actually used earlier in an edition of This Morning
television programme's Traffic and Travel. Our suspicion was proved true when
towards the end of the report we saw the footage being accredited to "file".
The "file" footage with streets filled with people doing their normal
business was taken on a busy day. But why mislead the people? Anyone who can
read between the lines could tell that these were deliberate
lies.
Such kind of fabrications and lies
by the sole corporation has badly tainted our once respectable journalistic
trade. Why is ZBC lying to the Zimbabwean public who directly fund it through
the paying of licences? For a station that has no competition, it is unfair
for the viewer/listener to have confusion setting up shop right at the cradle
of the sole broadcasting station in the country. And Munyaradzi Hwengwere,
the ZBC executive officer, should be ashamed of himself. He is teaching
innocent journalists how to distort information contrary to guided
professional journalistic principles. This will not help ZBC at all.
Otherwise what Hwengwere should realise is that those advertising with the
corporation will run away. How can one advertise with a corporation that lies
and misleads the whole nation? And Hwengwere still expects listeners and
viewers to pay licences. Pay licences for these lies and distortions? People
have lost faith in ZBC's news reports and none trusts them any
more.
In the process this reflects badly
on Hwengwere's management style. There are no ethics under him. I feel sorry
for these journalists who would one day decide to cross the path and join the
non-partisan Press. They would find it difficult to survive by telling the
truth. Some of these habits die hard. And to Hwengwere, we know what happens
at ZBC because the journalists who work under you are our friends. And they
tell us like it is. And I cannot agree any more with an artiste who disputed
ZBC's motto of ZBC Your First and Permanent Choice. He instead preferred the
motto: ZBC, Your First, Forced, and Only Permanent Electronic Media Choice.
All this because the government is deliberately maintaining a monopolistic
hold on the ZBC to suppress dissenting voices. For your comments
e-mail: dailynews11@dailynews.co.zw