Leaders on mission to make Mugabe quit
Andrew
Meldrum in Harare and Rory Carroll in Johannesburg
Thursday May 1,
2003
The Guardian
Two of Africa's most powerful leaders, Thabo Mbeki
and Olusegun Obasanjo,
are to press President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to
retire in an attempt to
break the country's deepening economic and
humanitarian crisis.
The South African and Nigerian presidents will fly to
Harare on Monday,
along with President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi, to urge Mr
Mugabe to step down
after 23 years in power, according to sources close to Mr
Mbeki's office.
A successor would then be appointed from Mr Mugabe's
ruling Zanu-PF party to
head a transitional government sharing power with the
opposition party, the
Movement for Democratic Change until elections could be
held.
In addition to holding talks with Mr Mugabe, the three African
presidents
are planning to meet the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, to
discuss
reviving negotiations between the two parties.
Zimbabwe's
economic meltdown has become so acute that both sides may make
concessions
that were unthinkable only a few months ago, according to
Pretoria.
Two-thirds of the country's 12 million-strong population are now
subsisting
on international food relief in a country that was once called
"the
breadbasket of Africa".
There is unlikely to be a public rebuke for Mr
Mugabe. According to
high-level sources, Mr Mbeki will not broach the
so-called "exit strategy"
for his retirement nor will he use as a lever South
Africa's supply of
electricity to Zimbabwe.
Mr Mugabe wants assurances
that he will be granted immunity from prosecution
for alleged human rights
abuses. It is expected that the presidents will
hail Mr Mugabe as a leader of
Africa in public, while urging him to quit in
private.
Mr Mbeki is
understood to be willing to ease Mr Mugabe out of office because
the
prolonged Zimbabwean crisis has largely scuppered international support
for
the New Economic Partnership for African Development, particularly from
the
western powers. Under Nepad, African countries are expected to encourage
good
governance and economic management in return for increased
development
assistance.
Mr Mugabe fuelled speculation about his
possible retirement in a rare
interview on state television last Sunday, in
which he suggested that he
might be prepared to step down now that he has
achieved his goal of
redistributing Zimbabwe's land.
But on Tuesday,
his information minister, Jonathan Moyo, strenuously denied
that there was
any retirement plan.
Mr Tsvangirai added to feverish speculation over Mr
Mugabe's fate when he
stated yesterday his support for "serious and sincere
dialogue" between the
two parties to resolve Zimbabwe's problems.
He
went on to set conditions for negotiations, including a halt to
all
state-sponsored violence and the repeal of repressive laws against
public
meetings and the press.
Daily
News
Mudzuri ouster angers
residents
5/1/03 11:46:30 AM (GMT
+2)
By Sam
Munyavi
Harare residents yesterday reacted
with shock and anger to the
suspension of Engineer Elias Mudzuri, the
executive mayor, by Ignatius
Chombo, the Minister of Local Government, Public
Works and National Housing,
on Tuesday.
Chombo suspended him on a number of allegations, including misconduct
and
mismanagement.
He said a committee of inquiry
would be set up to investigate Mudzuri
next
week.
The MDC described the suspension as
"illegal", and "null and void".
Mudzuri
yesterday denied any wrongdoing.
Speaking from
the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo,
Mudzuri said: "The whole
thing is political. It is a fabrication. I was
fighting corruption. A lot of
their people were stealing."
Mudzuri said he
would welcome an investigation as long as it
was
impartial.
The Daily News was inundated
with calls on Tuesday evening and
yesterday from residents who said it was
President Mugabe and his ministers
like Chombo who should go as they had
messed up the country.
Others vowed not to pay
rates and said they were waiting for the MDC
to call them to
action.
But Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader,
said it was up to the residents
to embark
on
a campaign to get the
mayor
reinstated.
He said: "As president of the
party, I can't say what action they
should take. This is a matter of serious
concern. Zanu PF must accept that
the mayor was democratically
elected."
Mudzuri's suspension came as a
five-person delegation from Harare's
twin city of Munich, Germany, was in
Harare on the second day of a week's
visit.
In 2001 the Munich council stopped interacting with the Harare City
Council
and criticised the government for refusing to hold council and
mayoral
elections.
Hep Monatzeder, the vice-mayor of
Munich, said they were "astonished"
by Chombo's
decision.
He said: "This far-reaching decision
can hardly be justified in our
eyes. From our experience we know Mayor
Mudzuri as a highly qualified,
responsible and engaged partner who is working
hard to turn around the
situation in Harare, which deteriorated during years
of previous
mismanagement.
"The decision to
suspend the mayor on the grounds of general and
unproven allegations is
contrary to our understanding of basic democratic
principles. Mudzuri was
elected by an overwhelming majority of the citizens
of
Harare."
Monatzeder called for
the
immediate lifting of the
suspension.
He said: "We would like to stress
that only a democratically
legitimised city government in Harare can be a
partner of the city of
Munich."
Sekai
Makwavarara, the deputy mayor who was appointed acting mayor by
Chombo, said
the full council would decide on the way forward
tomorrow.
Only one out of
Harare's
43 councillors was elected on a Zanu
PF ticket. The rest were elected
on MDC
tickets.
Douglas Mwonzora, the spokesperson
for the National Constitutional
Assembly, said Mudzuri was "a victim
of
a well-orchestrated plan to paralyse
opposition politics in Zimbabwe".
He said: "It
is common knowledge that his pro-residents performance
has often been
hindered by parochial and selfish political
machinations."
Paddington Japajapa, the
president of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Economic
Empowerment Organisation,
called on residents to reject Mudzuri's suspension
"with all the force they
can muster".
He said: "The people who voted
Mudzuri into office must say no to such
a criminal act by a minister who
holds a personal vendetta against
the
mayor."
Japajapa called on residents to
boycott paying rates.
A woman who preferred
anonymity said: "They have been trying to remove
him ever since he was
elected in March last year.
"They should give
him time to correct the mess created by the previous
Zanu PF councils. We, as
ratepayers, say Mugabe and Chombo himself should
go. Mudzuri will stay until
residents reject him."
Another said: "Chombo
himself has refused the council permission to
borrow money for development.
How does he expect Mudzuri to perform?"
Richard Loane, 70, of Northwood, said: "I shall not pay rates until
the man
is returned to office."
Sylvester Muza, 24,
said: "Zanu PF is trying to impose its own people
on Harare residents, but it
will not work."
Allan Kamvumbi, 32, said:
"They are mad. They should hold a referendum
like the mayor suggested. We
don't have problems with the mayor and we are
not accepting the
suspension."
Elphas Kwenda, 46, said: "I was
shocked. The allegations don't hold
water. They will not win. Zanu PF is
already dead."
Daily
News
Munich council to help solve
Harare's water woes
5/1/03
11:50:59 AM (GMT +2)
By Sam
Munyavi
The Munich City Council in Germany
will look at ways of helping Harare
solve its water treatment and
reticulation problems, visiting Munich
Vice-Mayor Hep Monatzeder said on
Tuesday.
Munich has had a twinning arrangement
with Harare since 1996.
Monatzeder is leading
the five-person delegation which arrived in
Harare on Monday. They will spend
a week here.
He told journalists that the
delegation, comprising himself, three
councillors and an official, had
discussed with Elias Mudzuri, the Executive
Mayor of Harare who was suspended
on Tuesday, and their counterparts in the
Harare City Council, on how to
continue their co-operation.
He said: "We
would like to discuss not only chemicals, but
technical
material for
water."
Monatzeder said there were prospects
for greater co-operation in those
areas.
Harare has been having problems
in acquiring
water treatment chemicals mainly because of the shortage
of foreign
currency.
The delegation's visit is the first
since 2001 when relations between
Harare and Munich became strained during
the tenure of the
government-appointed Elijah Chanakira
Commission.
Munich criticised the government
for its unwillingness to hold mayoral
and council elections and
shifted
attention from assisting the council
to helping civil society.
Monatzeder said:
"The Commission was not democratically elected and we
had to shelve this
co-operation. We are happy to see that Harare once again
has an elected
mayor. That is the
reason we decided to
come."
He criticised Mudzuri's arrest by the
police earlier this year when he
was holding a consultative meeting with
residents in Mabvuku.
Speaking at the same
Press briefing with Monatzeder, Mudzuri said the
relationship with Munich
covered several areas but mainly concentrated on
technical co-operation.
Hours later, the shock suspension of Mudzuri was
announced by Local
Government Minister Ignatius Chombo.
Daily
News
Villagers accuse heads of
politicising food aid
5/1/03
11:53:40 AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
VILLAGERS from Hurungwe East on
Tuesday criticised village heads for
politicising the government's input
scheme prior to the start of the
agricultural
season.
Such actions, they said, seriously
affected crop production.
The villagers were
speaking during interviews at Dunga Primary School
in Hurungwe where the
World Food Programme (WFP) was distributing grain
donated to Zimbabwe by the
South African government as part of its response
to the country's food
crisis.
The WFP grain was distributed through
Goal, an Irish organisation. In
Hurungwe, 231 086 people from 53 298
households have benefited from
the
programme.
Eris Chuni from Matewesamwa
village in Chief Kazangara's area, said
the village heads became active Zanu
PF functionaries during their selection
of people to secure inputs through
the Grain Marketing Board.
"The village heads
removed people's names from their lists of
beneficiaries," he said. "They
only wrote a few names of people who were
known Zanu PF supporters and the
rest were accused of being late."
Sodias
Mutobvu, Ward 9 councillor for Hurungwe Rural District Council,
said the
impact of the delayed input distribution was being felt in the
area. He said
people got their inputs late but denied there were any
political
considerations.
Mutobvu said the WFP should
continue feeding people in the area
because very few people managed to
harvest enough crops.
Tineri Chiputire of
Chiwanhike village said she was struggling to make
a living owing to poor
yields caused by the drought and the interference of
the village heads in the
compilation of lists of beneficiaries under
the
scheme.
She said her eight children
were being forced to do piece jobs on
nearby farms when four of them were
supposed to be in school. Only those who
were considered close to Zanu PF and
the village heads got seed and fertiliser.
Meanwhile, Luis Clemens, the WFP public affairs officer said the
organisation
would reduce its food distribution throughout the country due
to the ongoing
harvests and assessments to establish government's capacity
to feed its own
people. The organisation has been feeding Zimbabweans in 40
districts since
February last year.
Clemens said the Food
Agriculture Organisation was carrying out two
exercises in food assessment
vulnerability.
Daily
News
Mudzuri's ouster stern test
for MDC urban supporters
5/1/03
11:55:21 AM (GMT +2)
By Pedzisai Ruhanya
Deputy News Editor
IT took a Supreme Court
ruling to force President Mugabe's government
to have an elected body in
Harare last year, five years after the fall of
Solomon Tawengwa the capital
city's first executive mayor in 1998 on
allegations of rampant mismanagement
and massive corruption.
But it has taken only
a year for the government to remove his
successor, Eng Elias Mudzuri - on
flimsy political grounds.
Mudzuri's
suspension, coming against the backdrop of two successful
stayaways by the
MDC and the ZCTU and current media reports that President
Mugabe wants to
retire has proved beyond any reasonable doubt that Zanu PF
is prepared fight
to the bitter end.
The determination by Zanu
PF also shows that its recent losses in the
Kuwadzana and Highfield
by-elections did not jolt the mandarins in that
party to the realisation that
urban Zimbabweans have forsaken them.
Perhaps
Zanu PF basks in the knowledge that the position of executive
mayors is not a
constitutional provision but a product of an Act of
parliament which they can
repeal any time without causing a
constitutional
crisis.
The move also
implies that the road to democratic governance in
Zimbabwe is still long and
thorny.
Legal experts and political analysts
have said that the suspension is
not lawfully sustainable and that the
decision was a test for the MDC's
popularity and political muscle in the
capital.
Others have suggested that Ignatius
Chombo, the Minister of Local
Government, Public Works and National Housing's
move was a mere
implementation of a broader Zanu PF strategy to deflect
attention from the
crisis of governance gripping the
country.
The government has failed to resolve
the fuel, cash, food and
transport problems facing the
country.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader,
yesterday told a Press conference
that the decision was illegal and his party
did not recognise Mudzuri's
suspension.
Tsvangirai said: "As far as the MDC is concerned, its null and
void."
Dr Lovemore Madhuku, a law lecturer at
the University of Zimbabwe
yesterday said Chombo's reasons for suspending
Mudzuri were not legally
sustainable.
Madhuku said: "From a legal point of view, Chombo has gone beyond his
powers
as provided by the Urban Councils Act.
"Although he has the powers to suspend heads of local authorities, it
is
clear under the Act that such powers should be exercised reasonably and
only
in extreme circumstances because an executive mayor is an
elected
officer.
"Only under very serious
cases like murder can he do that,"
Madhuku
said.
Madhuku said that in a
democratic society, in cases where a mayor is
alleged to be incompetent
either councillors or residents should remove him
from
office.
"In this case there is no evidence of
incompetence on the part of
Mudzuri.
He
remains very popular with the electorate.
"In any case you can't suspend the mayor without giving him the right
to be
heard. The correct legal procedure is to investigate him, then call
him for a
hearing before suspending him," he said.
Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro a senior lecturer in the Faculty of
Social
Studies at the UZ said that the decision to suspend Mudzuri was a
clear
demonstration that "the Mugabe regime will not accept the free
expression of
the people of Zimbabwe in democratic processes and the
leadership that comes
out of that process."
"The broader implication
is that the Mugabe regime is in actual fact
deflecting attention from the
crisis of governance that has reached alarming
levels since the March 2002,"
he said.
Mukonoweshuro said the decision was a
clear abuse of power.
"Throughout the world,
abuses of power should be resisted and continue
to be resisted. The decision
must be defied." A senior Harare lawyer who
refused to be named said that
Chombo was abusing the Act in order to settle
political scores with
Mudzuri.
"A mayor is not like a Cabinet
minister who can be fired at the
pleasure of the President. The suspension
has no legal merits. It only shows
the political arrogance of Zanu PF and the
people of Zimbabwe must be
prepared for a big fight with this dictatorship,"
said the lawyer.
Jacob Mafume another Harare
lawyer said that Chombo's decision
was
unconstitutional.
Mafume said:
"Chombo's powers are unconstitutional in that you cannot
have an elected
official being removed from office by an appointee. His
decision negates the
purpose of going to an election."
He said the
reasons given by Chombo did not warrant a
suspension.
"There was no attempt to hold a
hearing before Mudzuri was suspended.
In any case Chombo is biased against
Mudzuri and has been fighting against
him since his election last year," he
said.
Mafume said he did not expect Mudzuri to
be given a fair hearing since
the proposed committee to investigate him would
simply follow Zanu PF
directives.
Mike
Davies, the chairman of the Combined Harare Residents and Rate
Payers'
Association said that Chombo's decision should be
resisted.
Davies: "We call upon citizens of
Harare to reject this latest move by
the regime. We call upon our residents
to do whatever they can to defend our
democratic rights. For Chombo to
criticise Mudzuri when he is part of an
illegitimate regime that has stolen
power from the people of Zimbabwe
through electoral fraud is completely
hypocritical.
"This is a sign of desperation
by the Mugabe regime which goes to show
that the problems in Zimbabwe have to
do with governance, not land."
He said Chombo
had been undermining Mudzuri's authority since his
election and the residents
should not accept this interference.
Section
54 of the Urban Councils Act which deals with the suspension
and dismissal of
a mayor says that the minister may suspend a mayor whom he
suspects on
reasonable grounds of having been guilty of any conduct that
renders him
unsuitable as mayor.
Or against whom criminal
proceedings have been instituted for an
offence in respect to which a
sentence of imprisonment without the option of
a fine may be
imposed.
Mudzuri has not been found guilty of
any criminal offence by the
courts in
Zimbabwe.
Chombo said that Mudzuri failed to
deliver a turnaround plan for the
city and that he suspended and dismissed
key council employees among them
Nomutsa Chideya, the Town Clerk, all
suspected to be Zanu PF sympathisers.
It has
been argued that if Chombo was genuine then he should have long
fired James
Bwerazuva and Luke Mukungatu, the executive mayors of Gweru and
Marondera,
respectively, when residents complained of finding human waste in
their
drinking water.
In the case of Gweru some
residents had to be treated after drinking
the contaminated
water.
Kadoma under executive mayor, Fani
Phiri, has been grappling outbreaks
of diarrhoea following severe water
shortages for the past year.
Three weeks ago
some residents of Mutare were up in arms with the city
council over its
decision to levy shacks but Chombo did not raise the issue
with Lawrence
Mudehwe, the executive mayor.
The four mayors
were not suspended or fired because they are Zanu
PF
members.
Daily
News
Leader Page
Mudzuri's
suspension a case of sour grapes
5/1/03 11:33:28 AM (GMT +2)
The suspension
of the Executive Mayor of Harare, Elias Mudzuri, on
Tuesday by the Minister
of Local Government, Public Works and National
Housing, Ignatius Chombo, was
not only arbitrary and uncalled for, but was
also politically
motivated.
It epitomises the political
animosity between Zanu PF and the
opposition
MDC.
Zanu PF bigwigs who had run the affairs
of Harare since 1980 had
wallowed in the easy money that came with the
corrupt allocation of tenders
for lucrative jobs such as refuse collection,
provision of chemicals and
other goods and
services.
When a new council, led by a new
team with a different agenda came
into office, it became sour grapes for
those who had been on the gravy train
but had done very little to improve the
lives of Harare's residents.
Mudzuri was
elected into office in March last year on an MDC ticket
with an overwhelming
majority, taking over the administration of the capital
city from the mess
that it had sunk to under the previous
administration.
From day one, his job was not
an easy task as Zanu PF
began to bay for his
blood as they were stung by the MDC's landslide
victory. Much as he tried to,
Chombo could not hide the fact that he did not
want Mudzuri to succeed as
mayor.
Mudzuri's councillors were threatened
with prosecution under the
repressive Public Order and Security Act whenever
they dared address
residents in their various
wards.
Zanu PF supporters staged at least two
demonstrations at Town House in
an attempt to unseat Mudzuri and his
team.
The last one, in March this year, was
instigated by
the dreaded Chipangano, a
Mbare-based Zanu PF vigilante unit, that
force-marched residents to Town
House to
demand the ouster of
Mudzuri.
But the resilient mayor, an engineer
by training, was
defiant and firmly stood his
ground, much to the chagrin of his
political
detractors.
When Mudzuri's council decided to
dismiss workers who were deemed
excess baggage, the entire Zanu PF Harare
province cried foul.
As recently as early
April, Joseph Chinotimba, the self-styled
commander of Zanu PF's land
invasions, threatened Mudzuri because his job as
security officer was on the
line.
"I will deal with him," barked the war
veteran, whose presence at Town
House makes a real mockery of justice and
democratic rule.
As if that was not enough,
Chombo denied the council in March last
year, the right to borrow money to
carry out some of the projects in its
ambitious and
progressive
10-year strategic development
plan.
This denial, apart from frustrating the
council's development
strategy, seriously undermined the council's ability to
provide adequate and
efficient service to Harare
residents.
Mudzuri and his team had brought
about relief and hope when they took
over by filling in the many potholes in
the city and timeously removing
refuse and doing many other basic chores
which the previous administration
had failed to do. Chombo, oddly but perhaps
not unexpectedly, did not take
kindly to this progressive
development.
Clearly, the Honourable Minister
was spoiling for a fight. He wanted
to create a situation in which the
residents would be angered by the poor
service delivery of the council,
leading to its ultimate dismissal.
However, in
the case of the last Zanu PF mayor, Solomon Tawengwa, the
ruling party had
bent over backwards to
defend him yet he had
failed to deliver.
In the end, justice
prevailed, and Tawengwa and his entire team was
forced to step down and was
replaced by the Chanakira Commission which, in
turn, created more controversy
than good governance.
It remains to be seen
how Harare residents will react to this circus.
Daily
News
Leader Page
Our
subservience more to blame than
Mugabe
5/1/03 11:35:16 AM (GMT
+2)
by munyaradzi walter
masosa
Zimbabweans are said to have
"celebrated" 23 years of "independence"
recently. Because of my patriotic
values, I saw nothing worth celebrating as
I am yet to enjoy the fruits of
the so-called independence.
For many
level-headed Zimbabweans, it has been 23 years of pain,
suffering, increasing
poverty and repression. So those "Zimbabweans" who are
said to have
celebrated must
be living in a blissful Utopia
far removed from reality.
We are all agreed
that we need to free ourselves from Robert Mugabe's
oppressive rule. But each
one must ask themselves: "What am I doing to help
myself and fellow
countrymen in this fight against oppression?"
People must stop laying all the blame solely on Mugabe and Zanu PF. We
have
ourselves to blame ultimately also for, over the years, we have allowed
a lot
of crimes to be committed by the people in power, but we have done
nothing to
bring them to book.
The current economic,
political and social crisis in Zimbabwe is a
matter of collective
responsibility.
The simple act of going to
church, praying and hoping that God will
one day deliver us from evil is not
enough. The gospel of turning the other
cheek is so illusionist and
irrelevant to the Zimbabwe of today, where all
the people's rights are being
violated daily.
Most felt that the recent fuel
price hike was the last straw that
would push the people over the edge. The
responsible (or should I say
irresponsible) minister had the audacity to
justify the move by defending
the corrupt National Oil Company of
Zimbabwe.
One now has to pay $1 000 to and
from Chitungwiza. Instead of publicly
directing their wrath towards the
government, the people just mumble and
grumble but still pay the
impoverishing commuter fares.
When an
Honourable Member of Parliament is arrested on concocted
charges, tortured,
imprisoned and denied basic human rights because they
belong to the ruling
opposition party, is that something to "celebrate" in
an independent
Zimbabwe?
Incredibly the people represented by
these MPs do nothing about it,
yet they expect their MPs to deliver. Instead
of fighting for people's
rights in Parliament, these MPs now spend most of
their valuable time behind
bars or in hiding, "while we stand aside and
look".
The brutal killings of white commercial
farmers since February 2000
has no historical justification, no matter how
much those murderers try to
defend their gruesome
acts.
Was it not Robert Mugabe himself who
preached the gospel of
reconciliation, forgiveness and peaceful co-existence
with the minority
whites in 1980? Was it not him who urged blacks to embrace
whites in a
spirit of brotherhood?
What
then happened to the Stevens, Olds and Kays?
Zimbabweans, black and white alike, demonstrated their unbelievable
docility
by simply doing nothing about it. In a way they condoned these acts
of
barbarism.
Women seem to enjoy childbirth
nowadays, it seems. Gone are the days
when childbirth and rearing was a
painful and stressful process.
If they felt
the pain, surely they should have taken to the streets in
protest against the
unrealistic prices of baby products like milk, porridge,
nappies and
medicines.
It does not help them or their
children to offer silent protests,
claiming to be powerless "sevanhukadzi"
(because we are just women). Rather,
women should be at the forefront
whenever a protest march is called, because
they are the worst affected in
such a scenario.
The Executive Mayor of
Harare, Elias Mudzuri, who has since been
suspended by the government, was
arrested and allegedly harassed by the
police for meeting the Mabvuku
ratepayers. He was merely doing his job which
was viewed by the police as a
breach of the Public Order and Security Act.
It is no secret that Mudzuri is
a victim of political intolerance. Why did
the residents of Mabvuku fail to
rescue their mayor? Why did they not demand
their own arrest in solidarity
with Mudzuri?
Intolerance of divergent
political and economic views is typical of
Zanu PF. This is especially
evident during election periods. Over the years,
the ruling party has been
making sustained efforts to stifle political
opposition. The Unity Accord
was, thus, a stratagem to swallow Zapu. This is
the reason why the Mabikas,
Hadzidzis, Chiminyas and Pfebves were murdered,
why Tsvangirai, Sibanda,
Madhuku and Sikhala continue to be persecuted. But,
of course, subservient
Zimbabweans do nothing about it.
Daily
News
Local firms shun lucrative
Asian market
5/1/03 11:19:35 AM
(GMT +2)
By Chris
Goko
ZIMBABWEAN companies are not looking
for opportunities beyond the
continent despite the much touted "look east"
policy by the government.
Not much has been
done to venture into Asian countries, viewed by
central government as
alternative markets following strained relations
between Zimbabwe and the
West.
Apart from forays into Malaysia,
Thailand and Singapore by
Indian-educated banker, Enoch Kamushinda, most
companies remained rooted in
Africa.
Recently, companies, and banks in
particular,
have set up shop in the region and beyond.
Some of the companies which have expanded into the Sadc region and
beyond are
ABC Holdings, Century Holdings, Econet Wireless, First Banking
Corporation,
Innscor Africa, TA Holdings and Trust
Holdings.
Analysts say earnings reaped by
Econet and its South African
competitor, MTN, in west Africa encouraged a
number of companies to tap that
market.
Most investments were doted in countries such as Botswana, the
Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa,
and
Zambia.
For instance, ReNaissance
Merchant Bank was planning to invest in the
volatile Sierra Leone to leverage
its local operations.
Investment experts said
companies were diversifying into regional
markets to hedge against volatile
economic conditions prevailing locally.
Locally, companies are winding down operations on the back of
shortages of
foreign currency, fuel and load-shedding.
The
domestic market has declined
owing to
unemployment and hyper-inflation amid intense competition
brought by the
globalisation of world economies.
Regional
markets with bigger populations than Zimbabwe's 13 million
people tended to
absorb more products.
The parallel market
offered another
attraction as companies
earning foreign currency returns raked in
millions by off-loading proceeds on
the blackmarket.
Samuel Undenge, a trade
consultant, said Zimbabwean companies were too
slow in grabbing opportunities
abroad.
Undenge said: "Cushioning
against
economic hardships is very misleading
because companies should have
been
taking
an outward-approach even when the economy was doing
well.
"But you also find some of the
movements, just like in Asia, are
influenced by the presence of other
Zimbabwean corporates in those regions."
The
peer factor phenomenon, where
investors
trailed friendly institutions without assessing the market,
had
backfired on some companies.
Japan excelled
after pioneering the neighbourhood-effect that spurred
recovery in the Far
East.
During that time, Tokyo rallied behind
the policy: "export or perish."
Chris
Goromonzi, an executive director with Trust Holdings, said
caution was needed
when investing abroad.
Trust was currently
pursuing opportunities in Ghana and Nigeria.
Goromonzi said: "Econet and MTN's successes in West Africa,
particularly in
Nigeria, is an attraction for local companies. It's quite a
profitable region
as long as you implement your project wisely.
"The critical mass and earnings are good, if you look at Econet's
turnover
for example. And some companies are going there because of the two
success
stories from southern Africa."
There were
risks associated with
investing outside the
country, however.
There are barriers
associated with
language and
culture.
The DRC for example, had no sound
banking sector hence most
transactions were on cash
basis.
Nigeria has a rough tradition of doing
business and has high levels of
corruption.
Daily
News
Feature
Can't we see
the need for dialogue on our own?
5/1/03 11:57:27 AM (GMT +2)
WHILE the
people of Zimbabwe are focussing most of their attention and
concern on their
socio-economically torn country, more or less similar
events are unfolding in
various parts of the continent.
A week ago,
Nigeria had a presidential election at the end of which
the incumbent,
Olusegun Obasanjo, was declared the winner. However, there
were cries that
the poll had been marred with fraud.
Obasanjo,
naturally, rejected the charge and accused especially
foreign election
observers of ignorance of African culture.
In
Zimbabwe, the Movement for Democratic Change contends that Robert
Mugabe of
Zanu PF fraudulently won last year's presidential elections. The
matter is
before the courts of law.
In Algeria, a bloody
civil war is raging following the nullification
of general elections several
years ago when it had become clear that a
radical Moslem party was heading
for victory. Somalia as a nation is
fractured and is virtually no more
because leaders of its various clans and
communities refuse to recognise and
support any one particular person as
their head of state. The Ivory Coast is
torn asunder and bleeding also
because some leaders would not accept election
results.
Similar developments have occurred in
Lesotho, Liberia, Sierra Leone,
Chad, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Burundi, Angola, the Congo
Republic (Brazzaville), Madagascar, Rwanda,
Uganda and the Central African
Republic. It would appear that there are three
main causes of this tragic
phenomenon on the African continent. One is that
some African political
leaders would like to turn politics into a profession
on which they can
depend for their
livelihood.
The second cause is the
continent's grinding poverty. The vast
majority of African leaders
experienced excruciating poverty either as
peasants, commercial or industrial
workers, small sole traders, struggling
commercial gardeners, poultry farmers
or some other type of farmers. Some
before getting into politics were poorly
paid carpenters or builders or
welders or tailors, schoolteachers or motor
vehicle drivers. A few lucky
ones were medical practitioners or nurses.
Whatever they were before joining
politics, most black African political
leaders lived a very miserable life
indeed. After becoming political leaders,
a world of privileges and
opportunities opened up to them and they most
rapidly and, in some cases,
even rabidly amassed wealth by hook, crook or by
the book. Some African
countries are ruled by plutocrats who talk in terms of
millions of whatever
their national currencies are, and some African
presidents live on the lap
of luxury, an
incredibly different world from that of their earlier experiences. To
try to
push or pull such people from that lap of luxury is to ask for
serious
trouble, including civil war. Such leaders have a deep-rooted fear
and
hatred, of their past poverty-ridden experiences and will do anything
to
perpetuate their present privileged lives. The third cause of this
terrible
phenomenon is the sheer ignorance that prevails among the vast
majority of
the people about their basic rights as nationals of their
respective
countries. Some people are not aware that they have an
unquestionable right
to vote, let alone to vote for a candidate of their own
choice without any
fear whatsoever.
They
are also not aware that by voting for that candidate, they are,
in effect,
giving him a job and are, therefore, that elected
individual's
employer.
What this means in
the Zimbabwean context is simply that we, the
voters, are the bosses and
Mugabe, his Cabinet ministers and the MPs are our
employees. That fact is not
acknowledged by many, if any at all, African
leaders. They regard themselves
as the bosses and the people as no more than
means by which to reach high
positions and acquire wealth. Some of these
leaders figuratively step on
bodies of people killed either in civil wars
(their leaders), start to get
into power or to retain their positions.
In
Zimbabwe, the ruling party, Zanu PF, repeatedly boasts that Zanu PF
ndeyeropa
(Zanu PF is a bloody party). Simply stated, that slogan means that
Zanu PF
kills to either get into or retain power. I find that slogan to be
not only
irresponsible, but utterly criminal in that murdering is a
universally
condemned crime.
Looking at it from a
Christian perspective, and Zimbabwe is
predominantly Christian, the slogan
should not have any room in the nation's
political vocabulary. Gone are the
days when killing of our opponents could
be justified. In a free Zimbabwe, we
should live and let live. In a free
nation, differences of opinion should be
encouraged to enable each citizen
to air their sentiments and views on issues
of interests and value.
Expression of
differing views and sentiments builds up criticism, and
criticism leads to
improvement of policies, products, services and their
distribution and
delivery. Sound education promotes criticism.
Had Zanu PF encouraged criticism and acted on it since 1980 when the
country
attained nationhood, no 5 Brigade would have been unleashed on the
people of
Midlands and Matabeleland provinces and this deplorable economic
decline
characterised by fuel queues and the massive fall of the national
currency
would not have been part of our woes. The present crisis could have
been
avoided by a frank exchange of views, the best opinion winning the day.
It is
to achieve precisely such a socio-political environment that people
are
calling for a change.
Do we have to be
persuaded by people from outside Zimbabwe to
appreciate the benefit of
dialogue? One would have thought that every normal
adult can clearly see the
benefits of putting our heads together under truly
free and unfettered
conditions to seek solutions to the nation's crippling
socio-economic
problems. Any organisation that does not see that necessity
is not fit to
exist in any state in this day and age.
The
Star
South African envoy hands out
food parcels, from a limousine
May 1,
2003
By Brian
Latham
Hurungwe, Zimbabwe - Ten South
African parliamentarians visiting
Zimbabwe ahead of South Africa's communal
land reform bill say they will
learn from Zimbabwe's
mistakes.
The Portfolio Committee on Land
and Agriculture, led by ANC MP Neo
Masitela, said they could learn from "the
good and the bad" in Zimbabwe. But
the team, which contains one MP from each
main opposition party, yesterday
deviated from its study of Zimbabwe's land
crisis for a propaganda visit to
a World Food Programme feeding
project.
As about 5 000 hungry villagers
sat in the dust, the MPs waited
patiently with them for South African High
Commissioner to Zimbabwe Jeremiah
Ndou to arrive. His Mercedes limousine made
heavy going on deeply rutted and
corrugated roads, forcing a local NGO
employee to fetch Ndou, who left his
car to follow at a more sedate
pace.
The eventual arrival of the Mercedes
led to hushed accusations of
insensitivity as it slid silently into the shade
in clear view of thousands
of impoverished and starving villagers waiting for
food handouts in bags
marked "Gift of South
Africa".
There were clear divisions about
what the parliamentary committee
hoped to achieve in
Zimbabwe.
"I'm boiling. We're supposed to
be studying the land issue, not
wasting our time looking at food aid," said
one committee member.
Pan African Congress
leader Stanley Mogoba said South Africa could not
afford "to carry
Zimbabwe".
"This problem in Zimbabwe is
nothing like the problem we have in South
Africa. It's already an
overwhelming burden for us to be carrying Zimbabwe
when our problem is even
larger," Mogoba said.
Still, SA could
learn from Zimbabwe's mistakes.
"We don't
want to drive any single group from the land in our country,
but we have to
sit down and talk about it with all stakeholders, including
the farmers," he
said.
"We know that land isn't productive
by itself. You have to train
farmers, to give them inputs and implements.
They need knowledge. The whole
idea is not to reduce the food basket, but to
increase it. This is a
tragedy," he said, looking at the villagers waiting
quietly in the baking
sun.
Mogoba said
he believed the South African government was criticising
President Robert
Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF.
"I think it's there,
it's just not loud enough."
Democratic
Alliance MP Andries Botha lashed out at the Mugabe regime,
saying his visit
to Zimbabwe had left him even more critical. - Independent
Foreign
Service
The National, New Guinea
Zimbabwe:
Paradise lost - or simply postponed?
CREATED towards the end of
the great colonial thrust unleashed upon Africa
in the century before last,
Rhodesia seemed at one point an idyllic
territory, with lush agricultural
estates and the ability to progress into
an independent and envied
nation.
But as with
practically every colony in the African continent, the foreign
dream of a
model nation evaporated as rapidly as its imposed name.
The reasons are many
and varied.
The facts are that Zimbabwe, as Rhodesia
became, has increasingly become a
disaster zone, its economy in tatters, its
people divided by tribes,
religions and the lingering legacy of the largely
departed colonists.
Concurrently, the world has witnessed a
parallel decline in the reputation
and respect once held for President
Mugabe, who appears to have become an
immovable fixture heading the
nation.
A freedom fighter against the worst aspects of
white supremacy, Mugabe began
his formal leadership of Zimbabwe against a
backdrop of deep civil unrest.
The unilateral and illegal declaration of
independence from Britain,
engineered and led by high profile white settler
Ian Smith, had the effect
of catapulting the new nation into a nightmare of
conflict.
Today, President Mugabe's grim determination to
hold onto power has worsened
that conflict to the point where many observers
doubt Zimbabwe's capacity to
survive as a nation.
An ever-increasing percentage of the population
is without employment.
HIV/AIDS has helped decimate the work
force.
A vicious campaign to rid the country of its
remaining white settlers and
give the sequestered land to alleged former
freedom soldiers has led to
horrific clashes, the destruction of farms
painstakingly established during
the past century, and world-wide accusations
of racist attacks.
As a result of this wave of violence, the
economic infrastructure of the
nation has been largely
annihilated.
The stable agricultural community, much of it
controlled by white
Zimbabweans, has been decimated, with obvious effects
upon employment, the
rule of law, public security and the morale of the
people.
These rampant attacks on the remaining foreign
landholders were at first met
with official apathy, and more recently
positive government encouragement.
But the Mugabe government clearly has
nothing to replace that economic
infrastructure..
This tragedy holds salutory lessons for Papua
New Guinea.
While there has never been such an organised
and horrendous mass attack upon
foreigners in our community, there is a
hidden undercurrent of racial
resentment that periodically shows itself
publicly.
Foreign aid projects, all conducted at the
behest and invitation of the
independent PNG State, are often met with
accusations of conspiracy on the
part of the donors.
Individual foreigners have become a favoured
target of opportunistic killers
and rapists.
Foreign-owned property and facilities are the
subject of regular burglary or
irrational vandalism.
PNG has fast acquired the reputation of being
cowboy country, a place unsafe
for any but the most fearless, a country that
despite its magnificent and
diverse scenery should be avoided by tourists,
and a potential investment
ruined by lawlessness and violence.
That much of this reputation is undeserved, and
that there are hundreds,
even thousands of foreigners living contentedly in
our midst, are facts lost
in the welter of fear, exaggerated gossip and false
rumour.
Against that backgound, we can count ourselves
fortunate that PNG is a
member of the United Nations and the Commonwealth,
two world groupings in
which we continue to be regarded as valuable
players.
Foreign Minister Sir Rabbie Namliu, whose
current brief sojourn in the post
has seen many a musty departmental cupboard
opened to the light of day, has
announced PNG's support for Commonwealth
initiatives to maintain the current
suspension of Zimbabwe from the
organisation, pending the Commonwealth heads
of Government meeting in Nigeria
at the end of this year.
The Foreign Minister has rightly linked this
support for continued
suspension with the wider issues outlined in this
column - human rights, the
rule of law, and above all the issue of land
reform in Zimbabwe.
And on that score as well, PNG should take
note.
For land reform is also the sleeping giant of
the PNG economy.
Until and unless some mutually satisfactory laws can be
devised to free-up
PNG land for investment while guaranteeing continued PNG
land ownership, the
potential, no matter how unlikely, exists for the
terrible social
catastrophes presently visited upon Zimbabwe to erupt
here.