Zimbabwe Opposition Calls Government Maize Purchase A Gimmick

VOA

By Peter Clottey
Washington, D.C.
30 May 2008

Zimbabwe’s main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has
described a government purchase of 600,000 tons of maize ahead of the
presidential election run-off as a publicity stunt. The opposition says the
move to ease food shortages is aimed at buying votes, since the ruling party
has failed to resolve a severe economic and political crisis. The opposition
claims the maize would only be distributed to partisans of the ruling
ZANU-PF party to the detriment of most Zimbabweans who the opposition party
claims are suffering from the country’s economic meltdown. The government
rejects the opposition’s accusations. From the capital, Harare, MDC
international affairs secretary Eliphas Mukonoweshuro tells reporter Peter
Clottey that the government wants to use the purchase of the maize as a
political tool against opponents of the administration.

“It just demonstrates one thing, ZANU-PF has no clear policy to ameliorate
the problems that are abundant in this country. Those tonnages of maize that
have been bought are not intended to provide a long-term solution, but to
simply win votes. They are going to go to ZANU-PF supporters instead of
going to the nation and to the people in need. That surely, does not
constitute a way forward to resolving the crisis in this country,”
Mukonoweshuro said.

He said ordinary Zimbabweans would not be fooled by what he described as the
government’s political gimmick.

“I don’t believe that the people of Zimbabwe would be enticed by politics of
this nature. They do not want to eat once they want to eat for the rest of
their lives. They want solutions that would guarantee that they would be
able to fend for themselves as they have always done,” he noted.

Mukonoweshuro describes as unfortunate President Mugabe’s statement that he
would not lose in the upcoming presidential run-off to opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai.

“That is very worrying. Does he know the mind of the voter? You cannot go
into an election and make a prediction that you are going to win unless you
are going to do something sinister. We know that there attempts by the
ZANU-PF to rig the elections, and we are saying to the international
community that this is a promise that has not been delivered by Mr. Mugabe
to say that the voice of the people is not going to matter, he has not got a
determining hand that the voters would vote for him,” Mukonoweshuro pointed
out.

He said the ruling ZANU-PF party is prepared to use the government’s
available machinery to thwart an opposition victory in the presidential
run-off.

“One of the vice presidents, Mr. Museka, is on record as saying that they
are not going to lose the election on the basis that people have dipped
their finger into it. Which means that they are saying regardless of the
outcome of the people’s choice, they are not going to respect that verdict.
And we are saying to the intentional community, take note of that,” he said.

Mukonoweshuro called on the international community to make certain
President Mugabe abides by results of the run-off.

“The point is quite clear. We have already won the previous elections, and
we are gong to win the next one. The challenge that is facing Zimbabweans,
the region, the continent and the international community is to ensure that
Mr. Mugabe submits to a program that ensures a soft landing for the people
of Zimbabwe. There is absolutely no doubt at all that the MDC is going to
win the election. It is not a matter of if it wins. It is when the MDC wins
the election, what is Mr. Mugabe’s reaction going to be? What is his party’s
reaction going to be, and what is the international community going to do?”
Mukonoweshuro asked

Zimbabwe sends buses, trucks to fetch nationals in South Africa

Monsters and Critics

May 30, 2008, 7:36 GMT

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's government has sent 10 buses and trucks to South
Africa to take home Zimbabweans wanting to leave the country over a recent
spate of xenophobic violence, Zimbabwe's ambassador to South Africa Simon
Khaya Moyo said Friday.

Speaking to South Africa's SAfm radio, Moyo also reiterated his government's
earlier commitment to give land to the returning Zimbabweans.

Asked where the land would be found Moyo said there was still plenty of land
to be 'resettled.'

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government has evicted around 4,000
white farmers from their land since 2000, mostly without compensation. The
land has gone mainly to members and allies of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

The populist land seizures decimated commercial agriculture, plunging the
country's economy into a downward spiral and sending millions of Zimbabweans
fleeing abroad in search of work.

Most went to South Africa, where some residents of poor communities turned
on African migrants earlier this month, accusing them of taking jobs and
housing.

At least 56 people were killed and hundreds injured in the mob attacks.

At least 30,000 African migrants are estimated to have fled South Africa
over the attacks, mostly Mozambicans but also large numbers of Zimbabweans
and Malawians.

Church turns to UN over Zimbabwe

23:55 GMT, Thursday, 29 May 2008 00:55 UK

By Robert Pigott BBC religious affairs correspondent Several Anglican leaders have been outspoken on Zimbabwe The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has issued a powerful challenge to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to intervene in Zimbabwe. He is asking for effective action to protect Christians from what he says is the brutality being used against them. Dr Williams warned last month Zimbabwe was poised on the brink of disaster. Now he has called on Mr Ban to explain what is being done to prevent murderous, state-organised violence, directed especially against Anglicans. The archbishop has watched with dismay and frustration as the Zimbabwean police have attacked political activists and singled out Anglicans for harsh treatment, while the country's neighbours in southern Africa have appeared unwilling to act. Now he seems ready to shame the UN into taking effective action. Beaten and banished "We are concerned to know what the UN Security Council... is doing to defend Mothers' Union meetings at churches and prevent people being torn away from altar rails on the orders of ruling party or state official," said Dr Williams. Zimbabwe's turbulent priests "We plead once more for immediate high level SADC [Southern African Development Community] and UN mediation and monitoring to ensure a free and fair presidential run-off, and the protection of its citizens from state-organised violence." For several weeks the police have disrupted Anglican services in Zimbabwe and attacked worshippers with batons. In one case they beat women as they knelt in front of the altar in the act of taking the bread and wine of the communion service. Anglicans have been targeted since the Church replaced former Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, who was a strong supporter of President Robert Mugabe. Since then the deposed bishop has been able to prevent Anglicans getting into the cathedral. Dr Williams said: "There is a continuing failure to enforce court orders permitting Anglicans to worship in their cathedral church in Harare and other parishes." 'World issue' Other Anglican leaders have gone on record demanding that the international community take responsibility for dealing with the violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe. The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, himself once a refugee from Idi Amin's Uganda, last year cut up his clerical collar live on BBC television, promising to go without one until Robert Mugabe had gone. He issued a joint statement with Dr Williams last month calling on Zimbabwe's neighbours to act far more robustly to avert a "spiral of communal violence". Dr Sentamu said on that occasion: "I didn't believe the softy-softly approach of [South African President] Thabo Mbeki would work. "I think it's time we acknowledged that African countries are sometimes incapable of creating good governance on their own. "We must stop saying this is just an African problem... this is an international problem." Rowan Williams has now reinforced the call for international action, and pointedly directed it at Mr Ban. The head of the Anglican Communion is telling the UN Security Council that someone must take responsibility for Zimbabwe, that doing nothing is not enough and the ball is now in the UN's court.

Zimbabweans in Botswana to protest at SADC office

SABC

May 30, 2008, 06:45

Zimbabweans in Botswana - mostly opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) supporters - are to hold a protest march to the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) offices in Gaborone.

A petition is to be presented to a United Nations (UN) representative, the
South African High Commissioner, the SADC Executive Secretary and possibly a
representative from the Zimbabwean Embassy.

Some senior MDC parliamentarians are expected at the march. The petitions
call for urgent attention to be given to the dire situation in Zimbabwe.
About 50 people have been killed in that country and 25 000 are displaced
since the disputed March elections. Primarily, the petition is calling for
President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating in the Zimbabwe conflict, to recuse
himself. They're also calling on the Zimbabwean government to denounce
violence in the run-up to the run-off.

Meanwhile, President Thabo Mbeki is due to meet with SADC members to discuss
the run-off elections in Zimbabwe in four week's time. Mbeki said this after
attending the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in
Japan.

He cut short his visit in a bid to focus his attention on the xenophobic
attacks in the country. Earlier, Mbeki brushed off criticism that he failed
to show compassion by not visiting areas affected by violent attacks against
foreigners around the country. Mbeki has urged SADC observers to go back to
Zimbabwe.

Mugabe's noughty economics

http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com

30th May 2008 00:29 GMT

By Peta Thornycroft

HARARE - At the present rate of devaluation, the Zimbabwe dollar will hit a
billion to one US dollar this weekend.

Try looking at the numbers:US$1 = Z$1, 000 000 000. But remember that
Zimbabwe slashed three noughts off the currency in August 2006, so the real
numbers are US$1 = Z$1 000,000,000,000.

Or R7.50 = Z$1 000,000,000,000!

But perish the discarded noughts! Thank goodness they have gone.

Since the beginning of May the Zimbabwe dollar has devalued by 243 percent,
or saying it another way, it lost about 70 percent of its value. In three
weeks.

So on  Monday a billion Zimdollars = R15.

But R15 in Zimbabwe doesn’t buy what it does in South Africa. The
supermarkets with South African groceries - and there are hardly any locally
manufactured groceries  any more - charge about four times what those same
goods cost in South Africa.

So an anorexic chicken cost four billion Zimdollars, or R60 last Monday. God
knows what happened since then as the market and inflation are galloping
towards the finish line when the Zim dollar will be abandoned as worthless.

(In southern Zimbabwe, many, many people  already trade in rands, and people
in the cities regularly quote prices in US$.)

Until three weeks ago the Zim dollar devalued  on a weekly or monthly basis
and relatively slowly over the last eight years of the financial crisis.

This is what happened  in May, the winter of Zimbabwe’s greatest discontent.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe temporarily liberalised the foreign currency
market to try and attract some forex into its bare coffers. It had stripped
corporate foreign currency accounts in January and February to pay for the
elections and for Zanu PF’s campaign.

Now it needs to put some of that foreign currency back into those accounts
and pay for the presidential run off on June 27.

It could not persuade anyone to bring their forex into the system when
people were offered 20 times less for their rands than the rate currency
dealers were paying on the street, even if those deals have always been
technically illegal.

RBZ governor Gideon Gono is the largest buyer of forex from the street, but
he has protection. He prints extraordinary amounts of currency, then goes to
the streets, buys up forex, and settles his most urgent accounts, Eskom for
example.

Every time he does that the rate of the Zim dollar moves down a bit and
inflation pushes up a bit

So now the rate of exchange at commercial banks is nearly, but not quite the
same as on the streets.

The banks, by way of bureaucracy imposed by the central bank are not nearly
as efficient as  street traders. So while Gono is attracting some forex, the
largest amount is still being traded on the street.

The banks often haven’t enough local currency to pay out cash for the forex
they are offered and the official rate still lags a few points behind what
street traders are paying,

This temporary liberalisation has produced an astonishing rise in inflation,
powered by the staggering increase in import duties.

Before the liberalisation import duty was calculated at the official
exchange rate of Z$30 000 to US$1, ridiculously out of step with the rate on
the streets, but it did keep a curb on inflation.

Now duty is calculated at what is called the interbank rate, the new
liberalised rate set by commercial banks on a willing buyer willing seller
basis. So there has been nearly 250 percent increase in duty on imported
goods.

It sent hyper inflation into the stratosphere - one million, two million
percent, who knows?

Almost every item for sale is imported, as the manufacturing sector was
largely destroyed during  the price freeze of nearly a year ago.

The impact of this sudden rush of fantastic price increases forced Gono  to
allow a basket of groceries, mealie meal, cooking oil, sugar, flour, washing
powder etc., to be imported duty free.

Prices now change in supermarkets, for example, every two or three days. It
means that the new hundred million dollar note is now obsolete.

Gono had to rush to import more paper from his German suppliers,  Giesecke &
Devrient  in Munich, (where he reportedly spends about E600 000 a week) and
came up with a new suite of notes called Agro Cheques with values of 5, 25
and 50 billion Zim dollars.

The Agro Cheques have started appearing in supermarket tills and at ATM’s.

Agro Cheque  is another name for the bearer cheque which took over from
traditional Zimbabwe currency when it became useless  about five years ago
as inflation hit three digits.

A 50 billion Zim dollar bearer cheque was worth R750 last Monday, but will
probably have halved in value this coming Monday.

Accountants say by the time of the presidential run off - in four weeks - it
will cost five billion Zimbabwe dollars for one US dollar.

This week chickens in the deep freeze of a major supermarket in an upmarket
area where many shoppers earn in foreign currency were laying hens which had
been killed off because there is no stock feed.

There is no stock feed  because Zimbabwe doesn’t grow enough maize to feed a
quarter of its population, let alone make stock feed.

And the inflation and duty mayhem this May, means importing stock feed from
South Africa would make a dozen eggs stupidly expensive.

Presumably the anorexic chickens from the battery farms will be next.

Another absurd figure: the minimum wage for a Zimbabwe worker last Monday
was the equivalent of a litre of coca cola.

So where is it going? Who knows? This is  record breaking stuff. There are
no precedents anywhere in Africa for this.

It is part of the madness of Zimbabwe. Part of the madness which sent so
many Zimbabweans to seek what seemed, until two weeks ago, a  more sensible
life in Alex. - Independent Foreign Service

Terror in Zimbabwe

Chicago Tribune

  May 30, 2008

On the morning of May 14, Tonderai Ndira, a 32-year-old pro-democracy
activist, was abducted from his home outside of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.
More than a week passed before his family discovered that Ndira, kidnapped
by government-sanctioned thugs, had been maimed and killed. His lips and
tongue were cut off, his face shattered and the back of his head gored with
a hammer. "We only knew it was my brother by his distinctive ring, his
bangles, and his unmistakable height," Cosmos Ndira told the BBC.

This is not an isolated tale. This type of violence has become increasingly
common in Zimbabwe since the March 29 presidential election, which many
citizens believe was manipulated by the deeply unpopular incumbent Robert
Mugabe. As the country girds for a run-off on June 27, hopes that Mugabe
will allow the vote to be free and fair are fading fast. He has authorized
his thugs to use violence, including torture and murder, to intimidate
voters and opposition supporters. According to opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai, more than 50 people have been killed.

If Mugabe maintains power by force and ballot-box chicanery, discontent will
only rise. The rush of refugees fleeing the country will accelerate. Hunger
will become epidemic.

The only thing that can save the country from ruin: serious and sustained
intervention from fellow African heads of state. Zimbabwe's neighbors must
pressure Mugabe to end the violence and admit enough independent election
monitors to ensure the vote is free and fair. That doesn't just mean
monitors on Election Day; it means monitors there until every vote has been
counted and the results released.

Zimbabwe is a failed state. Its economy has collapsed since Mugabe
instituted a disastrous "land reform" effort in 2000. Inflation has reached
an annual rate of 1 million percent. It's expected to climb to 5 million
percent by October. Unemployment runs above 80 percent. Life expectancy has
fallen to 35 years.

Little wonder that many Zimbabweans are furiously unhappy with Mugabe. The
country's election commission delayed releasing official election results
for more than a month after the March 29 election. That fueled suspicions
that the vote was manipulated to keep Mugabe in power. When the tally was
released, it showed that Tsvangirai netted 47.9 percent of the vote, which
was more than Mugabe's 43.2 percent but below the 50 percent needed to avoid
a runoff.

Law in Zimbabwe calls for a runoff to be held within 21 days after results
are released. But the government delayed the runoff until the end of June.
So eight weeks will pass between the May 2 release of results and the June
27 vote. Eight weeks for Mugabe to terrorize his nation into submission.

The longer Zimbabwe's neighbors stand on the sidelines, the more opportunity
they give Mugabe to steal the election and complete the destruction of his
nation.

Loser Makoni tries to run-off with run-off

Nehanda Radio

30 May 2008

Former Finance Minister Simba Makoni who came third in Zimbabwe's
Presidential election with 7 percent of the votes has called for the
presidential run-off vote between Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe to be
scrapped.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday Makoni argued that because of the
violence rocking Zimbabwe countrywide, a unity government was the only way
forward. "The country does not need another election at this time," he said.
"Besides, the violence now gripping the country bodes ill for a free and
fair election."

Makoni however tied himself in a political knot by claiming he was not
endorsing either Tsvangirai or Mugabe when a few weeks after the election he
said it was automatic his Mavambo project would throw in their lot with
Tsvangirai in the event of a run-off.

Even the Mutambara faction of the MDC that put its weight behind Makoni in
the first round has made it clear it will support Tsvangirai in the June 27
run-off. Political analysts say Makoni is desperately trying to create room
for himself in a post-Mugabe era and wants to sell the idea of a government
of national unity in which he will be Prime Minister.

"It makes sense for him to call for a scrapping of the run-off because he
came third in the first round and sees himself being relegated to oblivion
if the second round takes off,' one journalist told Nehanda Radio.

"The problem for him however is that no one is taking him seriously anymore.
To call for a scrapping of an election because of violence that is being
perpetrated by people you are pictured sharing a laugh with simply reflects
on the guy's insanity and lust for power,' the journalist added.

Zim slams global fund for withholding cash

IOL

      Hans Pienaar
    May 30 2008 at 10:01AM

Zimbabwe launched a scathing attack - applauded by some African
onlookers - on the Global Fund on Aids, accusing it of slowing down the
fight against HIV/Aids by unequally disbursing funds to victims of the
pandemic.

The attack by foreign minister Simba Mumbengegwi was made at the Ticad
IV summit in the Japanese port city.

Japan has been punting the Global Fund as its brainchild, and pledged
to train 100 000 health workers in Africa over the next 10 years.

Mumbengegwi's speech showed the hand of president Robert Mugabe, who
was invited but decided at the last moment not to come.

 He claimed that Zimbabwe had reduced HIV/Aids prevalence.

"It could have declined much more had the Global Fund not been turned
into a political weapon," Mumbengegwi charged.

He said Zimbabwe had only received two of the eight disbursements made
by the Global Fund.

"These were paltry in comparison to other countries in the region," he
said. Zimbabwe had only received $4 (about R30) per capita, whereas others
were given more than $100.

"It is regrettable that this aid has been so much politicised."

He welcomed Japan's pledges to double development aid, double soft
loans and double assistance to Japanese companies investing in Africa.

Japan's declaration that no conditions would be attached, made aid
free of the "prescription-based approach" and the tendency to dictate
applied by Western countries.

Before the summit Japanese officials said should Zimbabwe apply for
aid, it would have to sit down with President Robert Mugabe first.

For all other African countries it would be disbursed on a first-come,
first-served basis with no pre-conditions.

The foreign minister said the skewed international political regime,
which concentrated power in the West, made the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals an "insurmountable task to achieve".

Zimbabwe was ensuring that its people had access to resources such as
land. What was missing was support for them to use these productively,
according to Mumbengegwi.

Sudan's Omar al-Bashir called for immediate relief for those African
governments which had not yet received such aid.

He said peace in Sudan was being held back by the "unjustified and
unacceptable violation of our sovereignty".

The world should no longer accept violations such as that by rebels
who recently attacked suburbs in Khartoum, and which he claimed were
supported by Chad.

President Sirleaf-Johnson of Liberia said perceived inequities in
impoverished societies could drive a rebellion against the status quo -
leading to repression of freedoms.

When thousands of young people are by-passed by development, the
challenges to democratisation can be intense.

Liberia experienced growth similar to that of Japan in the 1970s, but
because this did not create jobs, the resultant inequities led to rebellion
and eventually war. - Independent Foreign Service

This article was originally published on page 9 of The Star on May 30,
2008

Mbeki should blame himself for South Africa's troubles

International Herald Tribune

LETTER FROM AFRICA

By Alan Cowell
Published: May 30, 2008

PARIS: Once again, Zimbabwe is readying itself for what passes for an
election - a runoff after the presidential vote in March in which the
opposition claimed victory, only to see its hopes of triumph founder in a
quagmire of maneuvering and duplicity.

Once again, President Robert Mugabe is assailing his adversaries as the
tools of imperialism; once again, his opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai is
projecting himself as the exclusive agent of renewal and change.

But this time, the regional backdrop to the run-off, set for June 27, has
emerged in sharper focus, demonstrating not so much the influence of
Zimbabwe's neighbors as their impotence. In South Africa, in particular, a
failed policy on Zimbabwe may be about to cost President Thabo Mbeki his
last hope of a legacy, if not the remains of his political career.

Mbeki must now live with the consequences of what he has called the "quiet
diplomacy" that, his critics assert, has merely permitted Mugabe to pursue
his increasingly autocratic and economically ruinous regime without
restraint. The South African leader's plight offers a grim warning of the
perils of inactivity - his foes would say appeasement - toward his neighbor.

Perhaps, as some South Africans assert, there is some validity in the
question: well, what else could Mbeki have done? His defenders argue that
his role - at least in the past year - was that of a mediator appointed by
Zimbabwe's neighbors, limiting his ability to criticize either side or flex
his nation's considerable muscle.

But the equally pointed question could be: what might Mbeki have chosen not
to do? Did he have to insist, after the stymied first round presidential
ballot on March 29, that there was "no crisis" in Zimbabwe's electoral
processes? What purpose did it serve to appear hand-in-hand and smiling with
Mugabe, both men festooned with garlands of flowers? Whatever Mbeki's
intentions, Mugabe was merely emboldened in his quest for power in
perpetuity - an urge whose consequences have become ever more apparent.

A once-prosperous land has turned into an economic sinkhole, and at least
three million Zimbabweans have fled across their largely porous southern
frontier.

Their growing presence in South Africa has sharpened a zero-sum competition
for work with South Africa's own legions of jobless poor. That contest
finally exploded in a spasm of xenophobic rage this month in which more than
50 foreigners were killed and tens of thousands were left destitute in
makeshift shelters. Many more fled, the ripples of the crisis spreading
across parts of Africa.

The authorities in Mozambique declared a state of emergency to cope with the
unanticipated wave of returning citizens. Officials as far afield as Kenya
and Nigeria raised alarms about their nationals in South Africa.

South African officials denied that their inability to foresee the explosion
represented a failure on the part of their intelligence agencies. But, at
the very least, it seemed a failure of imagination to pretend that so many
penniless fugitives could be easily absorbed, even into Africa's wealthiest
nation.

South Africa had marketed itself as the "Rainbow Nation" to trumpet its
achievements as a multiracial, multi-ethnic melting pot. That reputation
seemed irredeemably tarnished as a lumpenproletariat of South Africans
hounded their equally poverty-stricken foreign neighbors out of crude
squatter camps.

Not only that, the attacks coaxed forth some of the most painful - and, for
Mbeki, most embarrassing - echoes of the apartheid era: people burned to
death in township protests; troops on standby to put down unrest.

But the intertwining of destinies between South Africa and Zimbabwe should
have surprised no one after centuries of shared history.

In the early decades of the 19th century, convulsions of internecine warfare
among Nguni peoples, known as the Mfecane, or crushing, sent thousands of
people fleeing northward from what would become South Africa, some of them
to create the ethnic fief of Matabeleland in western Zimbabwe.

It was from South Africa that Cecil John Rhodes, the British colonialist,
sent a group of armed settlers - the Pioneer Column - to name a country for
him as Rhodesia in 1890. Five years later, Rhodes's supporters launched a
disastrous foray from Rhodesia, the Jameson Raid, against the Afrikaner
rulers of the Transvaal.

Those bonds tightened throughout the 20th century. Rhodesia provided
apartheid South Africa with a firewall against the conflagration of majority
rule blown south by the winds of change. South Africa offered landlocked
Rhodesia vital trade and supply lines in the face of international economic
sanctions.

Just as South Africa's white leaders built complex bonds with their
counterparts in Salisbury, as Harare was known before independence in 1980,
so the guerrilla leaders seeking the end of minority rule across southern
Africa struck up relationships that long outlived their battlefield
victories.

Indeed, the fellowship of the freedom fighters is sometimes offered as one
explanation for Mbeki's refusal to act as the West's point man in
challenging his comrade in Zimbabwe.

But there is another lesson from this tangle of history. By virtually any
measure - military, economic, geopolitical - South Africa was always the
senior partner, controlling the power lines and ports and the economic
muscle of gold, coal, platinum and diamond mines. Mbeki had no shortage of
influence if he had chosen to exert it. But he chose not to.

Even as Zimbabweans fled to his own country and abandoned a land of hunger
and want, Mbeki insisted that Zimbabwe's electoral and political travails
were an internal matter for Zimbabweans to resolve.

Now, with supreme irony, his neighbor's woes have become Mbeki's own
internal issue, symbolized in the smoke and flames of the squatter camps and
reflected in a sense that his authority is ebbing in a way that Mugabe's is
not.

"Mr. President, it is clear that you have lost interest in governing the
Republic," The Sunday Times of Johannesburg said in a front-page editorial
addressed to Mbeki. "We appeal to you: Stand down in the interests of your
country." Such democratic temerity would be unthinkable in dictatorial
Zimbabwe. But Mbeki's statutory two terms in office expire next year and his
critics seem to wish him gone well before then, hounded from power in a
manner his counterpart in Zimbabwe would never easily permit.

Police Take Charge Of Poll

Zim Independent

Local
Thursday, 29 May 2008 22:18

THE police have been told to take charge of the "whole voting process"
during the June 27 presidential run-off between President Robert Mugabe and
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The move, analysts said, was likely to compromise not only the
independence of ZEC by usurping its role, but also the fairness of the
election.

According to a confidential police circular the directive was meant to
secure the voting process and prevent recurrence of irregularities that
allegedly marred the March 29 harmonised election.

The circular dated May 2 was sent by Police Chief Staff Officer
(Operations), Senior Assistant Commissioner Faustino Mazango, to police
officers commanding provinces, districts and officers in charge.

Mazango said the March 29 polls were fraught with irregularities and
discrepancies that occurred in the presence of police officers who were
deployed at polling stations throughout the country.

"This poor record in the history of Zimbabwean elections has been
blamed on the police who were docile and unpalatably passive throughout the
whole voting process," Mazango said. "It is hereby directed that for the
forthcoming run-off elections, Zimbabwe Republic Police shall have a tacit
responsibility to monitor as well as taking charge of the whole voting
process at every stage…"

He said the police must provide thorough and systematic security of
polling stations and all electoral material, check prospective voters’ names
against the voters’ roll, and ensure that the indelible ink is used on every
voter.

Mazango added that police officers should ensure that "the prospective
voter’s name has been cancelled completely from the voters’ roll" when
issued with a ballot paper and check that each voter has one ballot paper.

The police should assist voters who cannot vote on their own and
ensure that records to be completed in the polling station by election
officials are properly completed. These include the protocol registers,
Forms V11 and V23.

"The discrepancies and irregularities that consist of serious
electoral fraud as well as silly errors could have been avoided had deployed
police officers taken a keen interest in their job and properly followed the
procedures at their respective polling stations," said Mazango, who was the
police commander of the March elections.

He cited a number of cases and irregularities he claimed were part of
electoral fraud during the March elections. Mazango said in some
constituencies there were inadequate ballot papers, and voting materials
went missing during transit to polling stations from constituency command
centres. There was also double voting, denying registered voters their right
to vote, voting by unregistered people and issuance of more than one ballot
paper per voter.

He added that other irregularities unearthed were the falsification of
results by electoral officers in favour of candidates of their choice and
deliberate withdrawal of voting equipment and accessories.
Mazango said the falsification of results occurred during the transfer
of figures from polling stations to collation centres.

“Police should, therefore, take a leading role in monitoring the whole
voting process including the counting process at all polling stations,
collation at polling stations and collation centres, verification at all
centres
and transferring of results until they reach the national command
centre,” Mazango ordered.

“The police officers should make use of their notebooks to record
results at polling stations, ward collation centres and at provincial
collations centres.”

Mazango directed that his circular should be disseminated to all
police officers in the country.

“All noted irregularities and discrepancies must not recur during the
forthcoming run-off elections or else the commanders in those particular
areas would be held responsible,” he threatened.

Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena yesterday confirmed that Mazango
issued the internal circular but was adamant that the directive was not
tantamount to the police usurping the powers of ZEC.

“We have a separate role to play in the electoral process to that of
ZEC officials,” Bvudzijena said. “Ours is a policing role and I don’t know
how we can be accused of usurping ZEC powers.”

He said police officers would carry out their duties as directed by
Mazango to avoid fraud.

“Why are people worried about the police doing their job?” Bvudzijena
asked.

“Is it wrong for police to check that a prospective voter is indeed on
the voters’ roll?”

By Constantine Chimakure

Annan Pushes For GNU

Zim Independent

Local
Thursday, 29 May 2008 22:08

PRESSURE is mounting for a negotiated political settlement in Zimbabwe
to avoid prolonging the current crisis worsened by recent disputed elections
and the looming presidential election run-off.

Diplomatic sources said the United Nations, the African Union and
Southern African Development Community (Sadc) leaders are piling pressure on
President Robert Mugabe and his rival, Movement for Democratic Change leader
Morgan Tsvangirai, to find ways of breaking the impasse. Sources said as a
result there were confidential negotiations going on between Zanu PF and the
MDC.

Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan yesterday told CNN
Zimbabwe’s political parties and their leaders must be prepared for a
negotiated settlement even after the run-off.

This would be aimed at the formation of a government of national
unity.

"There is concern that whatever the outcome of the election, there is
need for dialogue, there is need for mediation between the two groups
regardless of who wins," Annan said.

He said Tsvangirai must draw on the experience of Mugabe’s defeated
Zanu PF if he is to steer Zimbabwe safely out of crisis.

South African President Thabo Mbeki is also actively engaged on the
issue in a bid to find a negotiated settlement although the chances for such
a solution are fading because of the approaching June 27 run-off.

This week alone Mbeki sent two different envoys to Harare to deal with
run-off issues and a possible resolution of the crisis after the poll. South
African Local Government minister Sydney Mufamadi, Mbeki’s point man on the
Zimbabwe mediation, came in on Monday to meet Mugabe. Mbeki’s Foreign
Affairs Director-General Ayanda Ntsaluba was in the country yesterday for
further discussions.

Mbeki has complained about alleged interference in his mediation by
the US and UK who are also heavily engaged on the issue. Mbeki this week
wrote to US President George Bush to register his complaint. It was an
indignant letter full of exclamation marks, reports suggest.

Ntsaluba was involved in the arrangement of talks between Zanu PF and
the MDC last year. The talks collapsed in February after Mugabe refused to
adopt a new constitution before the March 29 elections and postpone the
polls.

There are fears that whoever wins there would be unrest in the country
because the result is almost certain to be disputed. Already the run-off is
beset by controversy, tarnishing the electoral process and possibly the
outcome.

Independent MP Jonathan Moyo two weeks ago filed papers in court,
arguing the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) acted “unlawfully” in
delaying and setting the date of the run-off. He said ZEC had no such powers
and had usurped the functions of parliament in its actions.

However, the matter is now most likely to be heard without challenge
because the respondents have failed to file their opposing papers in time.

The MDC has also written to ZEC, saying it has no confidence that it
could competently organise the run-off after a disastrous handling of the
March 29 elections. ZEC failed to release presidential poll results for more
than a month. This almost guarantees that the run-off result will be
disputed.

By Dumisani Muleya

MDC Says Police Failing To Probe Political Killings

Zim Independent

Local
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:56
THE Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC has accused the police of failing to
investigate the alleged murder of the opposition party’s members by state
security agents, Zanu PF militia and war veterans.

The party claimed this week that 50 of its members have been killed,
several injured and thousands displaced in the post-March 29 harmonised
elections.

In a letter dated May 23 to Police Commissioner-General Augustine
Chihuri, MDC lawyers, Mbidzo, Muchadehama & Makoni alleged that the force
seemed to have taken a lackadaisical attitude towards the political
violence.

"Our client is concerned, however, that there has been little
progress, if any, in the investigation of cases of violence against MDC
supporters and the (then) 38 cases of suspected murder of their supporters,"
the letter said.

The lawyers said Chihuri should urgently intensify investigations into
the suspected murders in line with the constitutional mandate of the police.

"In the premises, our clients implores your good office in the terms
of your constitutional mandate to intensify investigations in the 38 cases
of suspected murder…and other cases which may not have been captured herein,
and give feedback on the extent of your investigations," the lawyers said.

The opposition party told Chihuri that the uniformed forces should
police all the violence-prone areas and ensure that all citizens regardless
of their political affiliation are provided with adequate protection of the
law as articulated in the Zimbabwe Constitution and major international
human rights instruments.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena yesterday told the Zimbabwe
Independent that he was not aware of the letter.

"I am not aware of that letter," he said. "If there is such a letter
then it should not have been sent to the Commissioner-General’s office
because he does not deal with investigations but administrative issues."

He added: "There was no need for that letter as the police from
various stations where the crimes were reported are still carrying out their
investigations and why should the letter be leaked to the media?"

Meanwhile, human rights organisations have condemned the alleged
brutal killing of MDC members following the discovery last week of four
bodies in varying degrees of decomposition. Beta Chokururama, Godfrey
Kauzani, Cain Nyevhe and Tonderai Ndira were allegedly abducted and murdered
by suspected youth militia.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said the police must take
immediate concrete and visible measures to minimise the occurrence of
"enforced disappearances" and the associated impunity.

"The police must also serve the community by protecting all persons
against such illegal acts as articulated in Article 1 of the United Nations
Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials," ZLHR said. "The bereaved
families must be provided with adequate protection of the law without
discrimination on political or other grounds. Justice must prevail."

The Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) also
condemned the alleged murders and said Zimbabwe’s justice system had been
politicised and severely degraded over the years as it was now fostering
impunity rather than delivering justice.

"As the government of Zimbabwe escalates its attacks in various forms
on its people and further weakens the institutions that should ordinarily
protect the people, the need for organised movements to offer platforms for
public discourse, civil resistance, awareness creation and to lobby
influential governments around the world has never been greater".

By Lucia Makamure

State Media Defied ZEC

Zim Independent

Local
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:55
THE state-controlled media have been criticised for defying the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act by failing to give equal, unbiased and
fair coverage to the opposition MDC ahead of the June 27 presidential
election run-off.

Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC will contest against President Robert
Mugabe in the run-off.

Statistics compiled by the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
revealed that since the March 29 elections, the MDC was either denied access
or covered through "conspiracies" in both print and electronic media.

The Herald, according to the media watch group, covered 58
election-related stories up to last Sunday. Out of these stories, 37
allegedly campaigned for Zanu PF and Mugabe against 21 stories that
portrayed the opposition party negatively.

The MMPZ said Radio Zimbabwe, which is the most popular radio station
in Zimbabwe, only broadcast denigrating material about the opposition during
the same period.

"MMPZ is deeply concerned that following the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission’s declaration announcing June 27 as the date for the presidential
election run-off, the authorities have swiftly responded with extra-judicial
measures to ensure that the country’s national broadcaster, ZBC, campaigns
solely for President Mugabe ahead of his election contest with MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai," the media watchdog said.

The MMPZ said government interference in the running of publicly-owned
media was a "gross contempt" of the country’s electoral laws and could
undermine public opinion of the polls. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act
allows equal access to public broadcasters by candidates.

‘‘Public broadcasters shall afford all political parties and
independent candidates contesting an election such free access to their
broadcasting services as may be prescribed in regulations made by the
Commission, with the approval of the Minister, in terms of Section 19," the
law says.

The MMPZ also blamed the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for
remaining mum on the electoral matter.

"Equally deplorable is ZEC’s silence on the matter. According to
broadcasting regulations and recent amendments to the Electoral Act, ZEC is
mandated to monitor the media’s coverage of the election campaign to ensure
fair and equitable exposure of contesting parties."

Nelson Chamisa, the MDC spokesperson, yesterday criticised state-owned
media for what he termed a "total shutdown" of his party and president.

"State media is 99,99% biased in favour of Zanu PF," Chamisa said.
"The little coverage that we have heard is not balanced and is demonising
the party through hate-filled programming, articles and songs on radio. Our
recent interview on ZBC clearly showed how (Happison) Muchechetere is
determined to see a total shutdown of the party."

Chamisa claimed that the ZEC had only responded to the MDC concerns
through a "verbal undertaking".

ZEC deputy chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana yesterday could
not be drawn to comment on the matter at the time of going to print. "I am
in a meeting, would you call after the meeting or you can fax your
questions," Silaigwana said.

By Bernard Mpofu

MDC Activists Killed In Orgy Of Violence

Zim Independent

Local
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:51
"HIS face had been crushed. The other side had decomposed and there
were maggots. His left eye had been popped out. His nose was damaged. His
tongue was missing. He had two holes — one just below the ribcage and the
other just near the heart. His body was black with bruises."

This is what Reuben Ticharewa saw when he went to identify the body of
his childhood friend, Tonderai Ndira, at Parirenyatwa Hospital mortuary last
week.

"It was horrifying. The murderers had used his boxer shorts to cover
his face. It sends shivers down your spine if you had seen it," Ticharewa
said.

They had been friends since they were five years olds but when
Ticharewa saw Ndira’s body at the mortuary he could hardly identify him.

"A bangle he always had on his left wrist was the only thing that told
me that this was my friend, Tonderai. He was gone."

Ndira, a popular Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) youth leader and
activist, was murdered in cold blood last week. He was abducted in Mabvuku
by people driving a white Toyota single cab with a fake registration number
772-224T, tortured and his body dumped. The people of Mabvuku are still in
shock.

Ndira was buried on Sunday, but his relatives and friends are still
mourning. They are horrified by both the level of brutality and the impunity
with which the murderers carried out the abduction.

As has become the norm over the past two months, no one was arrested
in connection with the murder. MDC supporters say Ndira’s violent death is
part of a systematic operation by Zanu-PF operatives to decimate the
opposition membership and structures ahead of the presidential election
run-off set for June 27.

Three more opposition youth members were also murdered in the same
week as Ndira. They all endured painful deaths. Those that saw the bodies of
Beta Chokururama, Godfrey Kauzani and Cain Nyevhe said they all had similar
injuries. Crushed faces, deep holes in the upper body and broken limbs were
the consistent marks the murderers’ brutality left on the bodies.

The four victims had one thing in common: they were all MDC members
who were the backbone of the party’s vibrant youth organisation.

They were crucial in the party’s struggle against President Robert
Mugabe’s regime.

Ndira’s murder, although not entirely unique to the other three, was
probably the most publicised. His is a story of a young man who despite his
own flaws fought for change in Zimbabwe.

His battle against Mugabe’s rule started as early as 1998 when many
people in the towns still had good words to describe Mugabe’s government.
Ndira was first arrested in the 1998 food riots when people took to the
streets to demonstrate against escalating food prices.

"To us the battle had begun. We had seen that Mugabe was damaging the
country and he was not going to go without a fight," said Ticharewa who was
with Ndira when he was first arrested.

Ticharewa remembers vividly that while they were in prison, Ndira said
something quite prophetic. "As mosquitos sucked our blood in the cells at
the Central Police Station, Ndira said we should be stronger and brace
ourselves for worse things to come because Mugabe was going to make this
place hell. That arrest proved to be the beginning of worse things to come.
Indeed Zimbabwe turned into hell just as Ndira had said," Ticharewa
remembered.

The repression intensified. Ndira, who was one of the first members of
the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), was later to be arrested 35 more
times over the next 10 years.

In all those arrests he was detained and assaulted but they could not
break him. At all those times they would release him without a charge but
still they made sure that they left some bruises on his body.

His longest stay in prison was last year when he was detained for more
than four months. He was accused, together with other MDC members, of
planting petrol bombs at police stations.

His arrests had become some sort of a routine. That persistent
practice turned fatal when he was murdered in cold blood last week. The
events on May 13, the day Ndira was abducted, clearly tell a sad story about
the state of Zimbabwe.

Ndira’s wife, Plaxedess Mutariswa, said she was preparing her two
children for school when six men come out of a car and approached the house.
As they approached the house one of them produced a pistol, Mutariswa
recalls as tears ran down her checks. She is devastated.

"I asked them who they were and they said they were looking for
Tonderai." With a gun thrust against her head Mutariswa led the men into the
bedroom where her husband was sleeping.

They ordered that Ndira go with them but he refused and demanded to
see their identity documents.

"They started beating and dragging him. I tried to run to get help but
I found another man on the door. He said shut-up or I will blow your MDC
head off."

By that time nieghbours who had heard Ndira’s screams had gathered at
the gate to help. The men carried Ndira out of the house to the car. He was
wearing just his boxer shorts.

"People started asking why they were doing that. One of the men rushed
to the car and pulled out an AK47 gun. The people were scared," said Nelia
Nhekairo who witnessed the abduction.

"I knew these were not police officers. They were violent as they
dragged Tonderai to the car. They had menacing looks," Nhekairo said. The
men threw him into the car as he pleaded with the people around him to help
save his life.

"They put a cloth into his mouth, blind-folded him and sped off.
Something in me told me that there was something very wrong about this
incident," said Mutariswa.

A week’s search yielded nothing until they received a call that a body
had been found in Goromonzi but was now at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

At the funeral Ndira’s spirit of defiance continued to exude among the
mourners. "Let Tonderai be the last one that you have killed. You have
killed a hero. You have killed our comrade in the struggle," some of the
party activists sang as they marched in the small street.

Ndira’s murder might be relatively high profile but he was part of the
growing number of opposition members who have been killed since the March 29
elections.

The MDC says 50 of members have been murdered so far. Civic
organisations are worried that there could be more killings which might not
have been reported. Displacements run into thousands. In the murders that
have been covered by the Zimbabwe Independent the level of brutality is the
same. Three weeks ago, six MDC members from the same village in Chiweshe
were murdered by suspected Zanu-PF militia. Those that witnessed the murder
said the murderers would crush people’s genitals. They were beaten with
barbed wire whips.

During the burial MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said there was a well-
organised plan to decimate the opposition membership.

"If Mugabe thinks he has killed and beaten people into submission then
he will have a rude awakening on June 29," said Tsvangirai.

By Shakeman Mugari

Tsvangirai Gears For Run-off Poll

Zim Independent

Local
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:45
A PRESS statement released by the MDC last Friday was straight to the
point — Morgan Tsvangirai "arrives back home tomorrow to spearhead the
presidential run-off campaign".

Tsvangirai — who left Zimbabwe on April 8 and briefly stayed in
Botswana and later South Africa — will contest the run-off on June 27
against President Robert Mugabe whom he defeated in the first round on March
29, but failed to win the necessary votes to go to State House.

Police mounted two roadblocks along the road to the Harare
International Airport where Tsvangirai was expected to deplane from a South
African Airways aircraft at 12.15pm.

Motorists driving along the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Road were stopped by
armed police details who inquired as to their destination and in some cases
vehicles were searched.

At the airport, a battery of journalists and a number of both African
and Western diplomats were by midday already mingling and chatting awaiting
the arrival of the first opposition leader in Zimbabwe to defeat the
84-year-old Mugabe in an election.

Surprisingly, no senior MDC official was at the airport to welcome the
party president who had embarked on a diplomatic offensive in Sadc to drum
up support for his party.

Those at the airport were not sure whether the former
secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions would return home
after he cancelled his return at the eleventh hour the previous week.

Tsvangirai told the international media then that his security
advisors had told him not to return home because the military wanted to
assassinate him.

But the fears of the diplomats, journalists and some MDC officials
were allayed when Tsvangirai emerged from the arrivals terminal, prompting
the scribes into action as they jostled to get interviews and shoot pictures
of the opposition leader.

Four security aides shielded Tsvangirai from journalists and onlookers
before whisking him away to the Avenues Clinic in the city centre to meet
some of the victims of alleged state-sponsored post-election violence.

At the clinic, Tsvangirai was joined by his deputy Thokozani Khupe.

The victims, despite their various degrees of injuries and pain,
assured Tsvangirai of their support and vowed that Mugabe would lose the
run-off.

Runyararo Mugauyi from Chaona, Mashonaland Central, temporarily forgot
his discomfort when he saw Tsvangirai.

"Thank you president for coming back," Mugauyi said. "This time we are
going to finish off the old man (Mugabe)."

Mugauyi had a gaping wound on his bottoms.

A doctor who was taking Tsvangirai and his entourage around said
Mugauyi would have to undergo a grafting operation.

It was visible on Tsvangirai and Khupe’s faces that they were shocked
by Mugauiyi’s injuries.

Brothers August and Beson Jemidzi from Chiweshe, Mashonaland Central,
also vowed to continue campaigning for the MDC.

"For two weeks I could not walk and the nurses here had to help me do
everything, including going to the bathroom," Beson told Tsvangirai.

August said once released from the clinic he would campaign vigorously
for the MDC presidential hopeful.

After listening to the horrific tales of the victims, Tsvangirai said:
"I have come back to finish what we started on March 29."

He said Mugabe would never rule Zimbabwe again.

At a press conference later in the day, Tsvangirai called on Mugabe to
set the people of Zimbabwe free.

"Mugabe once led our people to freedom, he can even now set his people
free from poverty, hunger and fear by stepping down," Tsvangirai said.

He said he returned home with a sad heart.

"I have met and listened to the stories of the innocent people
targeted by a regime seemingly desperate to cling to power," the former
firebrand trade unionist added.

Tsvangirai reminded the journalists of the Gukurahundi atrocities and
how they have contributed to Mugabe’s unpopularity in the Matebeleland
region.

"If Mugabe thinks he has beaten people into submission, he will have a
rude shock on the 27th of June," he said.

Tsvangirai said he left Zimbabwe to present regional leaders with
information that Mugabe’s military had planned attacks on the opposition.

He said he had expected to be away only for a few weeks, but instead
he later embarked on an international tour designed to rally support for
democracy in Zimbabwe.

The MDC last week said Tsvangirai’s diplomatic efforts had seen him
meeting several Sadc and African Union heads of state and his return would
see him join the "victory celebrations" that started a fortnight ago with a
rally at the White City stadium.

The MDC alleges that at least 50 of its supporters have been murdered
while hundreds have sought medical attention after state security agents,
Zanu PF militia and war veterans assaulted them.

As journalists walked out of the press conference, they discovered
that businesses was as usual in the streets of Harare and it appeared that
very few people were aware of Tsvangirai’s return home to fight Mugabe in
the do-or-die presidential election run-off.

By Lucia Makamure

Inflation Shocker: 1 700 000%

Zim Independent

Business
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:16
ANNUAL inflation for May galloped to 1 700 000% as the Zimbabwean
dollar continued to crash causing prices of goods and services to skyrocket.

A top official in the Ministry of Finance told businessdigest that
government has now forecast the figure to reach between 1 800 000% and 2 000
000% for the month of May.

May inflation rose by 961 396 percentage points from the April figure
of 732 604% to 1 694 000%.
The 1 694 000% was for the CSO’s inflation computations for the period
from May 1 to May 23.

Non-alcoholic beverages and cereals continued to be the major drivers.

The official said the Central Statistical Office (CSO) had been
conducting weekly computations of inflation for the entire month of May.

“They have computed weekly moving averages on the figure,” the
official said.
“Last week the figure was 1 694 000% and this week we expect it to hit
2 000 000%. We will only know next week when they compile data for this
final week of May.”

The annual inflation figure for March stood at 355 000% while that for
February was 165 000% but the CSO insists that even these figures were not
official.

“As government, our reasonable approximation for June now stands at
not less than 4 000 000% and not more than 5  000 000%,” the official said.

The weekly moving inflation figure for the first week of May was 1 200
000% according to the source.
However, CSO acting director Moffat Nyoni disputed the figures this
week saying inflation figures for May had not yet been computed.

Nyoni insisted that the CSO was experiencing problems with the
availability of products which affected the consumer basket used to
calculate inflation.

He also said the CSO was yet to compute inflation figures for April
despite the removal of duty on food imports.

“The number of observations we use have been affected,” Nyoni said.

“It has gone down and this affects the strength of our figures which
will be very weak. Inflation is nowhere near that figure. We have a time lag
and the May data will be available late in June.”

Nyoni however conceded that the figure for March stood at 355 000%
saying it had been leaked. He said the figure was not officially released.

businessdigest broke the story on March inflation figures two weeks
ago with Nyoni strenuously denying the figures were true.

“The March figure was leaked out,” Nyoni said. “I would not like to
comment on your figures. In the past, people have come up with their own
baskets and inflation figures. I would not recommend the use of these as
they don’t pass the test.”

Economists and the business community said they believed inflation for
May would end the month closer to 2 000 000%.
“It is impossible for inflation to end the month at less than 2 000
000%,” said businessman David Govere.
“Our calculations show that inflation has already surpassed 1 600 000%
in recent weeks.”

Economist John Robertson said his estimates for May year-on-year
inflation had been 1 800 000%.
“My projections had placed inflation at 1 800 000% for May,” Robertson
said.
“It seems I was not far off the mark.”

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Marah Hativagone said
the chamber believed the latest inflation figures are accurate.

“We think they are very approximate,” Hativagone said. “Whoever is
computing those figures must be using what is on the ground. Unlike official
CSO figures which are released and far from reality, these figures reflect a
basket of commodities that are available.”

Inflation has continued to rise steeply on the back of increased money
supply, spiralling domestic debt, declining production and scarcities of
foreign currency and food.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has been accused of injecting huge and
unsustainable amounts of local currency into official circulation causing
inflation to skyrocket.

Several listed companies whose financial years ended between February
29 and March 31 now face suspension if they fail to release
inflation-adjusted results owing to the CSO’s failure to release inflation
figures.

There now appears to be no respite for the general public, as prices
of goods continue to rise. Companies have been pushing up their prices in
line with the deregulated inter-bank exchange rate.

The Zimbabwean dollar was this week trading at US$1:$620 million, up
from US$1:$480 million last week.

A loaf of bread which was selling for $180 000 earlier this year is
now going for around $280 million in most shops. It is going for between
$400 million and $450 million on the black market. A 2kg packet of sugar
which was pegged at $7 million is now selling for $700 million.

A kilogram of meat which was at $30 million is now selling for between
$1,5 billion and $2,5 billion.
A 750 grammes bar of soap which at the beginning of the year was $2
million now calls for one to fork out $1,8 billion. In January, a packet of
fresh milk was selling at $1,3 million. The same packet now sells for $190
million, while a kilogramme of salt which was selling for less than $2
million is now pegged at $440 million.

By Kuda Chikwanda

CSO Fails To Calculate Inflation

Zim Independent

Business
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:12
ZIMBABWE has not had official inflation figures for the past four
months. The Central Statistical Office (CSO) has remained silent on the
figures.

Their official excuse has been that there are no products to measure
inflation. The effects on decision making in companies has been huge.
Business Editor, Shakeman Mugari, spoke to CSO director, Moffat Nyoni about
these problems. Below are excerpts from the interview.

Mugari: Can you explain why the CSO has not managed to produce
inflation figures for the past four months?

Nyoni: It is because we don’t have the required number of observations
that we need to get the inflation figures. In most cases we can’t have a
decisive figure because there are no products to observe.

Mugari: So when is the market going to have the inflation numbers? You
would understand that these figures are important for decision making in
business.

Nyoni: I can’t say I have an answer to that. I can’t for sure say when
we will have the complete inflation figures.

Mugari: What do you mean when you say you don’t have enough
observations?

Nyoni: For us to come up with inflation figures for a particular time
we have to observe a product both in urban and rural outlets. You will
notice that you might observe a product in an urban outlet but not in a
rural outlet. The same happens in urban areas from shop to shop.

Mugari: What then is the solution to this problem because surely
businesses still need to make crucial decisions using that figure?

Nyoni: I have no solution that I can think of at the moment. Maybe
things might improve because of the removal of import duty on basic
products. At least that might allow us to make some observations for us to
come up with the figures. There is no solution to this problem for as long
as there are no products in the shops.

Mugari: So that means you will be measuring the imported goods.

Nyoni: Yes we do consider and measure them for as long as they are on
local shelves.

Mugari: There are a lot of listed companies that have not released
their results because of the lack of inflation figures. What are these
companies supposed to do?

Nyoni: Well I cannot say anything about that at the moment but let me
hasten to say that we might have to come up with some sort of estimations.
These are obviously things that we have to discuss and agree on.

Mugari: Does the CSO have the capacity to come up with accurate
inflation figures? I ask because for some time now people have talked about
official inflation figures and unofficial numbers. Obviously many people don’t
believe some of your figures.

Nyoni: I have no reason why I should answer to the contrary. We do
have the capacity. The problem might arise on the original Incomes and
Consumptions Savings Index that is in use. This is where we get the
percentages for the weighting in the basket. When those weightings are
outdated, then the inflation figure might not be accurate. I do admit that
given the rapid change in the economy we might not have been able to capture
these changes in the basket. The last index was done in 2001. We are
currently working on another that will be concluded on May 31.

Mugari: Your last figure was 165 000%. Was that official?

Nyoni: Well that too was not entirely official. We did not quite
release that figure because we did not believe that our findings were
conclusive enough to come up with an inflation figure. It was not based on
firm measurements and data.

Mugari: You say it was not official. How did it get to the public if
it was not a true reflection of the situation on the ground? Is that not
misleading?

Nyoni: What happened is that the figure got to some few people who
then took it around.

Mugari: I would assume that it was in February. Where are the figures
for the months that followed?

Nyoni: But I told you we don’t have such figures.

Mugari: Are you making an effort to get them at all?

Nyoni: Yes we are trying to compile the data. We are trying to see
whether we can patch up in some areas?

Mugari: Do you mean patching up important economic data?

Nyoni: But there are no products. Obviously some estimates have to be
reached.

Mugari: Why can’t you patch up the figures for April?

Nyoni: There is nothing conclusive yet for the month of April.

Mugari: A news agency reported last week that inflation for April was
1 000 000%. Now we have our own information indicating that inflation is
actually 1 600 000%. Have you heard about those figures?

Nyoni: Yes somebody pointed that out to me. I can’t comment on them as
we do not have anything of our own to make a judgment on what others have.

Mugari: Have some listed companies raised the issue of inflation
figures with you?

Nyoni: Yes some have come to us and some have written. I have heard of
such problems.

Mugari: So what did you tell them to do?

Nyoni: Well we have not made official responses yet but obviously we
have to agree on some sort of estimates. We tell them we do not have the
official figures. There are just no figures at the moment.

Mugari: The CSO can’t produce inflation figures. At least it has shown
over the past six months that it cannot get the inflation figures. Tell me
what the workers at the office spend most of their time doing?

Nyoni: Inflation is only one of our products. We have a number of
products. We compile data on exports and imports. We also measure migration,
unemployment and industrial production. There are many other products.

Mugari: Obviously you have the same problem of availability on those
issues. What exports are there to measure? What production is there to
measure?

Nyoni: Yes the problems are the same.

Mugari: Perhaps you might also tell us whether the unemployment rate
is still 80% as economists and newspapers continue to say.

Nyoni: That figure is an exaggeration. From a statistician point of
view that figure means that 80% of the people are being fed by someone else.
We must also know that even those people who sell tomatoes are in a way
making a living and therefore working.

Mugari: So what is the figure?

Nyoni: The last measurement was in 2004 and 2005. The figure we got
then was 11%.

Worries Over Delayed Inflation Figures

Zim Independent

Business
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:08
THE frequent delays by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) in
releasing inflation figures could have a serious impact on business planning
and promotion of foreign direct investment, analysts have warned.

The CSO, which last released inflation figures for January, this week
dismissed the leaked year-on-year May inflation figures of around 1 700 000%
saying it was "mere speculation".

Still the CSO does not seem to be in a hurry to release the figures.
As inflation gallops the release of the figures has becomes more
intermittent. Even those figures that are regarded as official like the 165
000% for February did not come from the CSO.

CSO director general, Moffat Nyoni, this week told businessdigest that
he was not aware when the inflation figures for March and April would be
released.

He said: "We do not have enough observations and products to come up
with accurate inflation figures.

I can’t say when we will have the figures." Even as Nyoni was trying
to give an explanation for the delays speculation abounds in the market that
it had something to do with a directive from his bosses at the Ministry of
Finance to hold on to the figures for political reasons.

The biggest impact of the lack of inflation figures is being felt by
companies which say they are now unable to plan.

Companies that want to release their inflation-adjusted results might
have to wait until the figures are available. Some companies face suspension
from the stock exchange if they fail to release their results.

The other problem is that even if the CSO manages to scratch around
for the April figures, the companies will still struggle to get a clear
indicator because the March figure is missing.

Independent economist Eric Bloch said the delays in releasing the
figures would make business forecasting difficult. "This lack of concrete
and authoritative data makes planning difficult," Bloch said.

"It lowers business confidence. Independent statistics are not
comprehensive — they can be sheer estimates," Bloch said.

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) president, Marah
Hativagone, said the delays were now forcing companies to depend on
independent statitistics which she said were not far from the official
figures.

Banks and other financial institutions often use independent figures
compiled by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe whilst other companies often use
statistics from accounting and auditing firms. The figures cannot be
regarded as official.

"The delays are certainly a problem but companies are never short of a
reference point, said Hativagone. "They often use independent figure which
often are close to the official figures," she said.

Hativagone said official figures by the CSO are often inaccurate owing
to acute shortages of food commodities in the food basket. The Consumer
Price Index is measured using price changes of basic commodities in the food
basket.

Acute food shortages caused by price controls implemented by the
National Incomes and Pricing Commission are discrediting the authenticity of
official figures.

"The CSO has in the past released figures which are far from reality
because they use a basket of commodities which are not available in shops,"
she said.

Businessman Luxon Zembe said the delays were now forcing companies to
compromise on accounting standards.

Companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange are pushing for the
release of financial results in United States dollar terms because of delays
by the CSO. "This has an impact on companies compiling end of year financial
results," said Zembe. "Companies now have to declare historical figures
rather than inflation-adjusted figures as required by international
accounting standards."

He said this was "prejudicial" to companies adding that relying on
independent figures was a "cumbersome administrative process".

The delays have caused mayhem in the economy which is already
battered. The man on the streets has paid the price as companies review
prices using their own assessment of the inflation trends. Each company
tends to have their own figures to justify their own prices.

This results in massive distortions in the market. The tension between
employers and employees is also mounting because there is no agreement on
the inflation figures to use during salary negotiations.

Zimbabwe Allied Bank Group chief economist David Mupamhadzi attributes
the recent upward spiraling of prices to a "cocktail of factors" that
include a weakening local currency, excessive money supply growth,
ballooning government expenditure and price distortions.

"The movement of prices is consistent with other countries that faced
hyperinflation, and what is cleared is that if there is no concerted effort
from all the stakeholders," Mupamhadzi said.

"Unless government, labour, private sector, civic societies and
politicians work together, the economy will never find a solution," said
Mupamhadzi.

Mupamhadzi added that foreign direct investment complemented with a
free-market economy could turn around the economy.

"The free economy is a step in the right direction however there is
still need to have huge inflows to support the on going reforms. Without
these inflows the exchange rate will continue to fall and inflation will
continue to hit all time record levels."

There are genuine fears in the market that government is blocking the
inflation figures to manage its battered reputation ahead of the runoff.

Progress Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe secretary general, Raymond
Majongwe, said government was afraid of releasing the figures because it
would cause discontent and increase pressure on government to review civil
service salaries.

"We know what the inflation figure is, that is why we are demanding
$76 billion a month from $6 billion. These are the demands that government
is afraid of," said Majongwe.

The government has often blamed Western sanctions for the worsening
economic situation.

By Bernard Mpofu

South Africa Reflects Failed African Politics

Zim Independent

Opinion
Thursday, 29 May 2008 20:33
AS we commemorated Africa Day recently it is important that we reflect
on the economic circumstances obtaining on our continent. Much discourse has
taken place on the challenges of poor political governance and leadership
failure in Africa.

Of particular interest here are lessons that can be drawn from Africa’s
economic experience, as a basis for formulating new developmental
trajectories. We are very alive to the fact that an economic model will
depend on foundational matters of political governance and legitimacy. The
economy cannot be de-linked from politics.

While it is imperative to address the fundamental issues of how
political power is distributed and exercised, and to develop and live a new
democratic culture characterised by people-crafted constitutions, political
pluralism, leadership renewal, and freedoms of association, assembly and
expression, it is equally important that we also work towards achieving
freedom from poverty and breaking the cycle of destitution among all our
people.

Africans’ economic rights to employment, decent housing, adequate
healthcare, and affordable education should receive the same guarantees and
safeguards as their political freedoms. It is therefore imperative that, as
we celebrate the unity of our continent, some time be spent reflecting
specifically on the nature of the African economy.

The recent xenophobic attacks against black immigrants in South Africa
signify a shameful and despicable development on our continent. This has
been made worse by the fact that May is the month in which we are supposed
to be coming together as Africans to celebrate our unity. These attacks
constitute a terrible indictment of our collective and historical commitment
to Pan-Africanism, the African Renaissance, Ubuntu, African dignity and lack
humanity.

However, rather than address the symptoms of the crisis we should deal
with the fundamental issues that have caused this sad development. Both the
push and pull factors of the tragedy must be attended to. The xenophobic
attacks should be understood from the premises of two empirical factors.

Firstly, the poor people of South Africa have not yet economically
benefited from their nation’s transition from the evil apartheid system to
democratic rule. Secondly, the economies of other African countries in the
Sadc region and beyond have not grown sufficiently enough to provide a
decent standard of living to their peoples. Most of these economies are very
weak in comparison to South Africa.

At the root of the attacks are the South African poor people’s
grievances of increasing poverty, growing inequality and unemployment,
coupled with a deplorable social infrastructure where health, housing and
education are woefully inadequate.

This is a crisis driven by incompetent delivery of social services and
lack of economic opportunities for the poor. South Africa’s development
programmes, including black economic empowerment, have failed to address
historical economic imbalances inherited from apartheid. True broad-based
social transformation has been elusive.

By and large, the traditionally rich whites, and their new black
counterparts, are getting richer while the poor blacks are receding into
abject poverty. Unfortunately, to the down-trodden South African have-nots,
poor black immigrants are then conveniently perceived as job stealers,
criminals and competitors placing unreasonable demands on scarce resources
and a shaky infrastructure.

The foreigners, in particular the undocumented ones, are loathed for
receiving slave wages for unskilled jobs, and in the process undercutting
the South African lumpen proletariat.

Indeed, South African businesses have also mercilessly exploited this
glut in cheap labour in pursuit of supersonic profits. They are guilty as
charged. There is need to reflect on the role of capital in South Africa,
and Africa in general.

We should debunk once and for all the outdated and flawed concept of
the trickle down effect. Not all economic growth automatically benefits all
the people in a country, nor is the greater the growth, the more widespread
the benefits.

Throughout the world, recent economic growth has benefited only a
small portion of the population. Almost without exception, growth has led to
the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. In many countries,
including some of the richest countries in the world, there is increasingly
no middle class to talk about. There are essentially the super rich and the
desperately poor. South Africa is a classic case of this.

By any standard, the South African economy has had a good performance
since the transition to democracy. The captains of South African industry
have become super rich through obscene compensation.

Meanwhile, the majority of the population continues to wallow in
poverty. This has perpetuated the unjust circumstances that used to prevail
during apartheid. Squalid conditions have persisted in informal settlements
such as Thembisa and Alexandra. So, while economic growth is crucial, there
is need for active social justice to ensure that the prosperity is shared.

The crisis of unbridled capitalism is not unique to SA. Globally we
witness the tragedy of unfettered market forces running amok as executives
are paid exorbitant salaries while they hire people at near-slave wages to
toil under inhuman conditions in Asian and African sweatshops.

Oil companies wantonly pump toxins down rivers consciously killing
people, animals, and plants. The pharmaceutical industry denies life-saving
medicines to millions of HIV-infected Africans. We are experiencing a global
crisis that calls for business and political leaders to start thinking not
unique to South Africa.

Globally we witness the tragedy of unfettered market forces running
amok as executives are paid exorbitant salaries while they hire people at
near-slave wages to toil under inhuman conditions in Asian and African
sweatshops. Oil companies wantonly pump toxins down rivers consciously
killing people, animals, and plants.

The pharmaceutical industry denies life-saving medicines to millions
of HIV-infected Africans. We are experiencing a global crisis that calls for
business and political leaders to start thinking differently.

In particular, governments must effectively play their role in setting
the business terms of reference, levelling the economic playing field, and
providing a safety net for the poor. This is clearly more imperative in
Africa, and South Africa in particular, where there has been a history of
economic exploitation, social degradation, and political subjugation, of one
group by another.

It is on this score that the South African state is found miserably
wanting. There has been a major policy failure on the part of the SA
government with respect to the underemployed, the unemployed and the
unemployable.

Any attempt by the Mbeki regime to link the uprisings to third force
actors should be rejected with the contempt that it deserves. Even if such
actors existed they would simply be taking advantage of systemic and
structural policy failures rooted in inadequacy and incompetence of economic
governance. The buck stops with Mbeki.

External to South Africa, the economic and political instability
within the Sadc region and other parts of Africa has led to an influx of
both skilled and unskilled Africans into a fairly stable South African
economy. Of particular significance is the meltdown in Zimbabwe which has
led to disproportionate displacements into South Africa.

Here again South African foreign policy failure has led to a harvest
of thorns. It is a case of the chickens coming home to roost. If Mbeki
cannot be convinced that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe, may be he can be
convinced that events in that country have led to a crisis in South Africa.
What a comedy of errors! We need to paraphrase Kwame Nkrumah into the
language of a 21st century characterised by globalisation.

Economic prosperity in South Africa is meaningless without prosperity
in the rest of Africa. More importantly, that economic growth and success
must be shared with those at the bottom of the pyramid, the poor.

For the despicable xenophobia we have witnessed to be effectively
contained, the needs of the poor in South Africa must be met. There must be
efficient social service delivery and increased opportunities for the poor,
through a radically overhauled and broad based economic empowerment model.
We are not in any way advocating for equality of outcomes but rather equal
access to opportunity. The importance of personal agency and responsibility
cannot be overemphasised.

Beyond South Africa, there is need for an inclusive Pan-Africanist
approach that puts regional sovereignty, stability and prosperity ahead of
narrow and perverted definitions of sovereignty. This means, for example,
the crisis in Zimbabwe must be viewed as an African catastrophe that
undermines both strategic and economic interests of the Sadc region. It
demands immediate and unequivocal African intervention.

We must totally disregard any claims to sovereignty by the
illegitimate and kleptocratic regime of Robert Mugabe. It is the people’s
will that is sovereign. Under globalisation, nations will only prosper as
successful regional economic blocks. The collapse of one national economy is
detrimental to the entire region.

Furthermore, there is need to ensure that economic paradigms and
programmes are transportable across African borders. For example, will it
not be sensible to have an Africa-wide, broad based economic empowerment
model that ensures that South African corporates which operate in other
African countries are legally bound to empower black people and poor
communities in those countries?

What is currently happening is that white South African corporates are
essentially exporting apartheid and unbridled exploitation to the rest of
Africa, while carrying out minimum and ineffectual empowerment in South
Africa (characterised by the enrichment and corruption of a few black
elites). This is unsustainable for both South Africa and the rest of Africa.
There is need to rethink. It is important that the economic growth and
prosperity in South Africa is shared among all citizens and effectively
extended to the rest of Africa.

This is the only sustainable way to reduce xenophobia African
countries need to move from aid–dependent economic models to investment
(domestic and foreign) driven economic development. Within this framework
they need to migrate from resources based economics to manufacturing and
value addition.

This should be driven by export-led investment leading to the
production of finished products for both the domestic and export markets.

Entrepreneurship, innovation and leveraging of the ICT revolution
should be the central organising mantras of our industrial revolution. All
this must be backed by extensive investment in physical infrastructure and
human capital development.

Beyond this, Africans must strive to be net exporters of capital. This
means we should become competitive players in global financial and
investment markets. Our higher educational systems, research and
development, and intellectual property rights legislation need to be
robustly developed and advanced as we seek to become net exporters of
knowledge, ICT expertise and human capital.

This is how we should move up both the value and skills chains. This
is the way to drive productivity and competitiveness of African economies.
As we do all this we have a unique opportunity to leap-frog and bypass
destructive industrialisation stages, by adopting green and clean
technologies. Thus, we will be advancing the global climate change agenda
through leveraging its business case.

In pursuing all these economic endeavours there must national
inclusiveness leading to shared economic growth and prosperity.

More importantly, there is need for a new type of Pan Africanism
rooted in collective economics that invokes the dictum: poverty anywhere on
the continent is an indictment of every African. The destiny and prosperity
of all people of African descent are irrevocably intertwined.

By Arthur Mutambara: Leader of a faction of the Movement for
Democratic Change.

ZEC Image Dented

Zim Independent

Opinion
Thursday, 29 May 2008 19:48
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) should prove its independence
and its ability to run the presidential election run-off without undue
interference and pressure from political players, analysts have said.

The electoral management body last week came under attack from the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) for its conduct during the March 29
harmonised elections.

The MDC said it had lost confidence in ZEC and questioned its ability
to handle the watershed run-off set for June 27 between President Robert
Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Political analysts said it was incumbent upon ZEC to prove to the
stakeholders and the international community that it was independent in its
operations and decision-making processes from the government and Zanu PF.

The observers said the host of ZEC shortcomings cited by the MDC and
civic society prior to the March 29 election had dented the commission’s
reputation.

They said it would take the electoral body a lot of work to cleanse
its image.

The analysts were also unanimous in their view that Mugabe would not
disband the current ZEC as it "represented the interests of Mugabe and Zanu
PF".

Lovemore Madhuku, chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA), said it would be expecting too much from Mugabe to disband the
current ZEC board.

"No amount of pressure can push Mugabe and Zanu PF to disband the
current ZEC and reconstitute it so that it sticks to the rules of the game,"
Madhuku said.

"What we are likely to experience now is a hardened Zanu PF because
they realise that the amount of laxity they had before March 29 was
dangerous as evidenced by their loss of the parliamentary stronghold."

He said even Sadc could not compel Mugabe to disband ZEC.

"Even Sadc will not attempt to push for the reconstitution of ZEC
because they know they cannot succeed in that regard.

"The best thing is for the MDC to campaign vigorously for
international monitors and observers who are likely to lessen the tension of
the environment," Madhuku said.

Noel Kututwa, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network
(Zesn), echoed Madhuku’s sentiments saying ZEC had a "credibility debt" it
would need to repay to Zimbabweans following the blunders experienced after
March 29.

"ZEC has an unacceptable credibility debt that it has to pay to the
entire Zimbabwean society due to its failures to effectively manage the
general election on 29 March," Kututwa said.

"It is currently a discredited body whose management of any election
would produce a discredited outcome."

He said the commission should be transparent and accountable to the
electorate.

"What ZEC needs to do now is to ensure that it puts in place measures
that will ensure accountability and transparency in the electoral process.
It needs to explain issues affecting the smooth flow and conduct of the
election," said Kututwa.

He added that ZEC’s biggest responsibility is to ensure it exercises
strict independence in opinion as well as in administration of the election.

"The situation should be different from last time when some players
knew the results before others did.

"There should be transparency in the whole thing and that is what will
make ZEC a truly independent entity that everybody can trust to run the
elections as freely and fairly as possible," Kututwa added.

In its letter to ZEC last week, the MDC raised doubts that the
electoral body had the ability to effectively run the presidential runoff.

Said the MDC: "On the basis of the concerns expressed in this letter,
the Movement for Democratic Change hereby formally notifies the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission that it has resolved that the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission is presently incapable of conducting elections in Zimbabwe that
are free, fair, transparent, proper, efficient, and credible, and which
ensure a result that represents the true will of the people of Zimbabwe in
accordance with the constitution of Zimbabwe and Electoral Laws."

A host of issues were raised in the letter to ZEC, who responded by
calling for a meeting last Friday of political parties contesting the
run-off — the MDC and Zanu PF.

Of major concern to the MDC was ZEC’s pliancy to the demands of Zanu
PF, which the party said was the biggest challenge facing the electoral
body.

The MDC argued that ZEC’s lack of independence from demands by Zanu PF
cannot guarantee an outcome that would be in line with the wishes of the
people of Zimbabwe.

The MDC said it believed ZEC was "wining and dining" with Zanu PF in
order to come up with a result that denies the people the opportunity to
have the president they deserve.

University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer Eldred Masunungure
said the MDC’s demands for ZEC to be reconstituted would not be accepted by
the government.

"This is a symbolic expression of unhappiness at the conduct of ZEC by
the MDC. We should take the expression as simply an expression and not
something the MDC was seriously considering its practicality," Masunungure
said.

"There is little the MDC can do between now and the date for the
run-off. The MDC simply has to keep an eye on what ZEC does and what it does
not do and point out those things so that their concerns are addressed.

"They also have to ensure an increase in the presence of their members
in the command centre so that they monitor whether what ZEC does is in line
with the rules of the election."

By Nkululeko Sibanda

Comment: ZEC Needs To Rescue Its Reputation

Zim Independent

Comment
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:39
AS the country prepares for the run-off election next month, it is
already clear that things are not as they should be.

Zimbabwe is manifestly in breach of the Mauritius protocol on
electoral conduct which regional states pledged to uphold at Grand Baie in
2004.

That document sought to establish uniform principles that would ensure
a level electoral playing field. These include full public participation in
the political process, access to the public media, and supervision of the
electoral process by an independent regulatory body.

In Zimbabwe’s case the supervisory body, the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission, has proved to be less than independent. It has failed to ensure
that election dates are approved by all parties, allowed government to
arrogate to itself the process of inviting foreign observers, and remained
silent when President Mugabe unilaterally amended the electoral law to
restore the role of the police at polling stations.

That law had earlier been amended, among other things, to exclude the
police from polling stations by agreement between the ruling party and the
opposition. The government had held up that amendment as emblematic of its
willingness to work within a framework of consultation and consensus.

There is no sign of that now. We have had service chiefs giving their
opinions on the suitability of candidates, MPs arrested for holding routine
consultative meetings with their constituents, and editors incarcerated for
allowing opposition leaders to express their views in their newspapers.

All this has occurred against a background of political violence that
has included the abduction, torture and in some cases murder of opposition
political activists. Zanu PF has made it clear that it believes the
electorate made a mistake on March 29 which needs to be corrected. There
have been remarkably few prosecutions in the wake of this mayhem, except of
course for members of the MDC.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai this week was quoted by Reuters as saying
over 50 people have been killed in the past six weeks. More than 25 000
people have been displaced. "I’ve been saddened that Zimbabweans are willing
to shed the blood of other Zimbabweans over political differences,"
Tsvangirai said in Harare. "We are proceeding to compile the names of those
who’ve committed the crimes. We will approach the attorney-general to do
something about it. I don’t believe that anyone who has murdered someone
should be forgiven. It is a criminal act to murder someone."

The MDC says police have taken a partisan stance in dealing with
political violence, taking sides with Zanu PF supporters. Police chief
Augustine Chihuri was quoted on Wednesday as saying the force had a duty to
defend the country from what he called a threat from foreign powers and
their local puppets. "The nation is facing a myriad of challenges and
machinations by external forces and their internal sympathisers, who I
normally call puppets," Chihuri said at a ceremony in Harare. "Its very
existence and survival is threatened by these puppets and their handlers."

Chihuri said Zimbabweans had to be clear in their understanding of
what 100% empowerment and total independence means. "It means revamping and
overhauling the system in the manufacturing and mining sectors, as done in
the agricultural sector." He also accused businesses of raising prices of
goods and services to force regime change.

These views closely reflect those of President Mugabe. Zanu PF has
made "100% empowerment and total independence" its campaign slogan. Given
the worrying levels of political violence, it is important that those
entrusted with law enforcement avoid any impression of partisan bias. The
opposition MDC won a majority of votes on March 29, it will be argued,
precisely because voters rejected the crass mantras of the regime and its
supporters. They unambiguously rejected the claims of Mugabe to be
protecting the nation from foreign powers and their puppets. And they regard
the damage to the economy as entirely self-inflicted.

Regime change is arguably what elections are about. The public have
the right to change their rulers from time to time if they believe they have
performed poorly. The climate of threats and coercion against those seeking
democratic change makes a mockery of the Mauritius terms.

There is another dimension to this. Zanu PF may talk about 100%
empowerment but that empowerment will not come without investment and loans.
Zimbabwe’s economy is currently on the rocks because those managing it
thought they could get by with crude assertions of nationalist identity and
threats against business. We see the cost of those policies in the
unemployment figures and plummeting GDP. This will in turn impact upon the
region as an investment destination. Regional leaders need to understand the
dangers of nodding through a defective election.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has just a few weeks to restore its
reputation. That means standing up to political pressure and fulfilling the
role expected of it at Grand Baie.

Candid Comment: Mugabe Can't Stop Winds Of Change

Zim Independent

Comment
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:36
IT has now emerged President Robert Mugabe has ordered a warlike
campaign driven by military-style tactics in an increasingly desperate bid
to win the do-or-die presidential election run-off on June 27.

This was agreed upon at a critical Zanu PF politburo meeting on April
4, a few days after the controversial March 29 elections which Zimbabwe’s
struggling imperial president and his party lost.

The shock defeat sparked off a chain of events that have left Mugabe
even more vulnerable at the run-off. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has a
historic advantage in the forthcoming poll. It is his to win or lose.

After being nearly swept away by a tidal wave of popular discontent,
Mugabe held a series of crisis meetings with close political and security
advisors on the way forward. Emergency meetings were held between March 31
and April 8 to discuss a rescue operation for Mugabe who spent gloomy days
holed up in his suburban mansion after the surprise defeat.

It took him weeks to comment on the political earthquake. In the end
it was decided that a military strategy should be employed to save Mugabe’s
political life. Soon after the April politburo meeting, the state machinery
was cranked up to start the ongoing scorched earth campaign.

The decision to resort to a scorched earth policy campaign is said to
have been a product of behind-the-scenes crisis meetings between the
president and the Joint Operations Command (JOC), including his close
political advisors. This is seen as the trigger of the current upsurge of
political violence.

The picture of the political landscape since the beginning of Mugabe’s
fight back campaign has been grim. Scores of ordinary people, mainly
opposition activists, have been killed, injured or displaced in the ongoing
brutal campaign as the bitter Mugabe and his diehards battle for survival.

The victims of violence have been killed using vicious techniques,
including the cutting or crushing of genitals, hands, legs and various other
body parts. Bludgeoning of victims to death using steel bars, axes, sticks,
gun butts and other blunt objects has been common. Every week the MDC is
reporting the murder of its activists and providing evidence of the
killings. Doctors have confirmed in medical reports that most of the
victims — at least 50 so far — died after "severe assaults".

The MDC, human rights organisations and civil society groups blame
Zanu PF and state security forces for the killings. They say the army was
deployed nationwide after the March polls to campaign for Mugabe under cover
and has been wreaking havoc across the country. The army has however
officially distanced itself from the violence, but human rights activists
insist that the military is waging a covert but brutal war on civilians.

Denials aside, what is currently going on is war by other means
against the people by the state. There is a low intensity conflict (LIC)
unfolding. A LIC involves the use of security forces deployed selectively
and with restraint to enforce compliance with policies or objectives of a
political party controlling the military force. The term can be used to
describe conflicts in which at least one or both of the opposing parties
operate along such lines.

US philosopher Noam Chomsky said the term "low intensity operations" —
originated by British General Sir Frank Kitson — is a form of terrorism in
its own respect. State terrorism involves repression against the people by
those controlling levers of state power.

In the US, LIC is defined as a political-military confrontation
between contending parties or groups below a conventional war but above the
routine, peaceful competition.

Usually, this involves protracted struggles of competing principles
and ideologies. It is waged by a combination of means, employing political,
economic, informational, and military instruments.

Low intensity conflicts are often localised, generally in the Third
World, but contain regional and global security implications.

In comparison with conventional operations the armed forces involved
operate at a greatly reduced tempo, with fewer soldiers, a reduced range of
tactical equipment and limited scope to operate in a military manner. It
involves intelligence gathering, psychological operations, propaganda and
counter-operations in the battle for hearts and minds.

In many respects, what is going on in Zimbabwe today ahead of the
run-off is definitely a low intensity conflict. Mugabe and Zanu PF are
mainly using state security instruments and propaganda in their battle to
win the crucial poll.

Service chiefs have made unequivocal anti-opposition remarks in clear
violation of their constitutional duties.

The question now is: Will the military-style strategy work for Mugabe?
It would take a miracle for Mugabe to win given the economic meltdown and
the sea change in popular attitudes.

There will be seismic changes on issues, party leaders, demographic
power bases and a reshaping of the political landscape, resulting in a new
political power structure and status quo.

Mugabe might try but certainly can’t stop the howling winds of change.

Muckraker: Mugabe Is Our King!

Zim Independent

Comment
Thursday, 29 May 2008 20:28
WE were under the impression Zimbabwe had a republican form of
government. Now we learn we have a king ruling over us!

"I get my fruit from Zimbabwe. I get my riches from Zimbabwe," King
Robert declared at the launch of his election campaign on Sunday. "So let me
be king of my own forests, my own animals, my own rivers, my own mountains.
Please leave me to be king of my own country. This is what everyone should
be saying."

So we should all be saying Mugabe is our king? That he owns all the
forests, animals, rivers and mountains? And what "riches" are these that he
extracts from the country? Perhaps he could be more specific.

We recall Didymus Mutasa telling us the same thing in 1990: "You have
your queen, we have our king," he told the BBC. We all laughed.

Perhaps Nelson Chamisa could seek clarification on this point when he
next debates issues of governance with Patrick Chinamasa. Our understanding
is that voters rejected these royalist pretensions when they went to the
polls on March 29. Now they are being asked once more to say they don’t want
a self-imposed king. Is this a case of "L’état c’est moi"? We hope not.

TV’s panel discussion shows just why the public have such little
confidence in the public broadcaster. The Mauritius terms require that the
opposition have equal access to the airwaves during an election campaign.
How then do we explain a chair (Happison Muchechetere) who supports the
ruling party, an academic (Joseph Kurebwa) who supports the ruling party, a
government minister from the ruling party (Patrick Chinamasa) and a sole
voice from the opposition (Nelson Chamisa)? What sort of access is that,
especially when you consider that the opposition are now the majority party?

Chamisa, by the way, should not waste his time telling Chinamasa that
the MDC is not called the MDC-Tsvangirai. Until it formally reunites with
the Mutambara wing, that is what it will be known as. And there are more
important issues to discuss such as why Chinamasa accused Tsvangirai of
treason on the basis of a fake document?

Let’s get real here. Chamisa should ask Chinamasa how he explains the
landslide Zanu PF found itself under in March. Was it really all a plot
against the "people’s party"?

Why when the people speak are they ignored? Has he read Pallo Jordan’s
views, published in last Sunday’s Standard, on this redundent approach to
politics we wonder?

It would also be useful to have the names of the "crowds" of white
former farmers who Zanu PF claims, again on the basis of a fake document,
"threatened" newly resettled farmers in the wake of March 29. Strange isn’t
it that two months later we still haven’t had a single piece of evidence to
support this claim?

"You saw them demanding that those we had resettled quit the land and
make way for them," Mugabe claimed in his address to supporters at Zanu PF
headquarters on Sunday.
Actually nobody saw them! But we do recall his claims about the MDC
being a terrorist party after Cain Nkala’s murder. And "racist" Henry
Elsworth being responsible for stripping women collecting firewood on his
farm. Those episodes turned out to be fictional as well. Just like the
dossier he took to Dar es Salaam last year.

The challenges facing our media industry," Emmerson Mnangagwa
suggests, "have resulted in the foreign media penetrating Zimbabwe with all
the inherent negative consequences. We therefore have an obligation to build
our media industry so that it is the primary choice and source of news,
entertainment and other services to Zimbabwe."

Does that include lying about the opposition, now the main
preoccupation of the state media? Does it include government officials
slipping material into reporters’ copy?

We had the silly story about Tsvangirai getting his orders from the US
ambassador last week.

But nothing about ZBC, Chronicle or Herald editors getting their daily
instructions from Chinamasa’s Orwellian sub-committee!

Does "building our media industry" mean adopting a blatantly partisan
approach even when Zanu PF lost the election and therefore no longer speaks
for the country? Does it mean ignoring every single professional tenet in
journalism such as declaring people guilty when their cases are yet to be
resolved in the courts, or knowingly publishing false documents such as
those trying to link the MDC to Eugene Terreblanche?

People will not want a media industry that misleads them about the
reasons for the country’s failure when there is a yawning chasm between what
ministers claim and what people see before their very eyes. Nor will they
want newspapers and broadcasters whose products are bad and irredeemably
boring, parroting the former ruling party’s failed mantras. The last thing
people want are the same instruments of deceit they voted against in March.

Who in all seriousness for instance would believe Sydney Mufamadi had
come here this week to discuss violence in Alexandra with Mugabe? Yet that
is what our official media wanted us to believe.

These issues of official deceit should be top of the agenda for the
National Association of Press Clubs.
And please could someone tell Herald reporters that Patrice Lumumba
was never president of the Congo. Have they not heard of Joseph Kasavubu?

This is what happens when you are under instructions to help elderly
vice-presidents by reporting their entirely predictable remarks about
"sellouts". The writer, who was reporting Joseph Msika’s remarks on
Tsvangirai, also said Mavambo/Kusile "failed to make a meaningful impact" in
the March 29 elections. But he didn’t say what impact he thought Msika had
made. Like somewhere between zero and zero!

This week’s joke. Elliot Manyika speaking at a meeting of provincial
leaders said: "Government is trying its best to solve all the challenges the
country is currently facing." Does that include printing money and thus
fuelling inflation? Does it mean disabling production on farms including
those covered by investment protection agreements? Does it mean selling fuel
on the black market? Does it mean crippling business by clumsy interventions
and scaring off investors?

Does it mean isolating the country from international lenders? Does it
mean waging a brutal war against those whose party offers real solutions to
our problems?

If these are examples of government doing its best to "solve the
challenges the country is facing", we would hate to see it doing its worst!

A couple of weeks ago we asked which fool would be next to quote from
a fake memo purportedly authored by Tendai Biti outlining what the MDC would
do when it took power. It included the return of thousands of white farmers,
the recruitment of Rhodesians in Australia as service chiefs, links with
Afrikaner nationalist extremists, and bringing in a German to run the
Reserve Bank. The state press proved gullible in publishing these obvious
falsehoods until Biti’s lawyers intervened.

Now Sibanda, who is living proof that evolution can go in reverse, has
joined in. "If you had a chance to see the MDC-T working document which puts
it clearly that they want to eliminate, ideologically and physically, their
opponents," he charged, "surely you will then see who is responsible for the
violence."

So there you have it. All those victims in hospital wards around the
country were mistaken. The people they thought were war veterans assaulting
them turned out to be members of their own party. We’re not quite sure why
MDC members would want to attack each other but Sibanda no doubt has an
explanation. Probably something to do with sanctions.

Question for Sibanda: Do you have to be incorrigibly daft to be a
ruling party activist or does it just help?

We were interested to note South African Chief Justice Pius Langa’s
remarks on the violence that has consumed the country’s townships. He
denounced the xenophobia in unambiguous terms and called for law-enforcement
agencies to uphold the law and restore peace.

How refreshing having a chief justice who is concerned with people’s
rights and keen that the police should do their professional duty!

The trade unions have also been speaking out. The National Union of
Mineworkers accused the government of weak leadership. It blamed Mugabe and
Thabo Mbeki’s approach to the Zimbabwean crisis as among the reasons for the
unrest.
NUM president Senzeni Zokwana said: "We are in this mess because of
Mugabe, and our leaders are not strong enough to call him to order and (as a
result) people are dying."

There is a consensus in South Africa that Mbeki’s indulgence of Mugabe
has enabled misgovernance to persist in Zimbabwe leading to a human wave of
refugees rolling south. It is also true that poor service delivery and lack
of planning have played their part. But what sort of country is it that used
to export a range of goods to the region but now only exports people?

Mangosuthu Buthelezi had some wise words for those spreading hate and
violence in South Africa. He first apologised and said how ashamed he was of
what was taking place. "We are embarrassed, we are ashamed," he said. "I can
hardly believe that a few criminals would turn on our African brothers and
sisters like this. Such prejudice and ignorance simply defies reason.

"We are in Egoli the place of gold. Gold is the mainstay of our
economy and it has been dug from the womb of the Earth by migrants from
Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi. We owe the wealth of our country to
our brothers and sisters from other countries."

Indeed. Many South African newspapers have commented upon South
African shack-dwellers watching their hard-working foreign neighbours buying
TV sets and DVD players and then stealing them as soon as the mob violence
broke out. One abiding image is of the police escorting machete-wielding
mobs around the townships. How many of the killers and looters have been
prosecuted to date?

How many people have had stolen property returned to them?
All Mbeki could offer were fine words. What about justice and
restitution?

Meanwhile, returning to our own anarchy, Morgan Tsvangirai made a
telling point about violence at his press conference following his arrival
home last weekend. He said the people of western Zimbabwe, where 20 000
people died in the Gukurahundi "madness", had proved that violence doesn’t
work.
"If violence pays," Tsvangirai said, "then Matabeleland should be the
bedrock of support for Zanu PF."

"They have beaten themselves into serious rejection by the people of
Zimbabwe," he noted.
Meanwhile, has anybody noticed Zanu PF’s mood-change? The president
they have been depicting in their full-page ads is a younger, less angry
figure. He actually breaks a smile. But then he raves and rants about the
MDC being manipulated by "Rhodesians" and we are back with the unsmiling
menacing character we are more familiar with. Nothing, it seems, can rescue
Zanu PF from its image problem — the ever-present fist.

And the abiding impression is of bitterness and resentment that the
nation rejected their "authentic" master. We even had a commentator this
week claiming that the electorate "did not know whether they were coming or
going". When the results were announced "it looked as if people suddenly
realised what a huge mistake they had made when they voted".

Zanu PF evidently remains oblivious to the first rule of politics: Don’t
insult the voters. And you know a party is in trouble when it hires David
Nyakorach-Matsanga as a publicist! Zanu PF meets the Lord’s Resistance Army.
Prepare for missing limbs!

ho was the idiot who managed to feed the Herald all that phoney
information about Patrick Diskin on Wednesday? He was the US ambassador to
South Africa, we were told, sneaking through the Plumtree border post on a
visit to James McGee, his counterpart in Harare.

All sorts of details were provided to support this threadbare story.
In fact Diskin, it turns out, is the Regional Food for Peace Programme
Coordinator at the US Agency for International Development (USAid) based in
Pretoria. He was on a routine visit to assist USAid/Zimbabwe in monitoring
the implementation of US government humanitarian food assistance programmes.

The US Ambassador to South Africa is Eric M Bost. Would it have been
so difficult for the Herald to have checked this? Or is the new media
supervisory regime headed by Chinamasa not in any way concerned about the
facts?

Finally, Muckraker learns from the NewZimbabwe.com website that
President Mugabe is having difficulty reading the Herald.

This is of course something we all share with him, but he wasn’t
referring to the indigestible content. Apparently, the presidential vision
is not what it was and Information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu was instructed
to tell state editors to up-point the text.

This information came to light at a recent briefing held for state
editors.
Mugabe had complained that he wanted to read the papers about what was
happening in the country but could not because the print was "the size of
ants". He asked the minister to tell editors of the state newspapers to
increase the font size. Ndlovu took the president’s message to the editors,
according to the website.

"We could not believe it when the minister said the president had told
him to ask us to increase the size of the font," said an editor who attended
the briefing. "We all looked at each other amazed." Herald editor Pikirayi
Deketeke thought the president may have been referring to adverts by the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission which were in even smaller print. But no, it
was the stories Mugabe wanted to see, Ndlovu said.

"He called me and said ‘Sikhanyiso what is this? Yibunyonyo (It’s
ants)’." Deketeke told Ndlovu there was nothing the editors could do about
the font size as it was a worldwide standard and could not be changed.

Mugabe arrived back from a visit to the Far East last Sunday. He was
spotted on Saturday inside a Carrefour hypermarket in Singapore, shopping
with his family, presumably before heading home.

"They spent much time in the toiletries section. I have to say that
the scene was quite surreal," a website reader said.

Editor's Memo: Mugabe's Rhetoric Won't Sell

Zim Independent

Comment
Thursday, 29 May 2008 20:24
LAST Sunday — Africa Day — President Robert Mugabe launched his
campaign for the June 27 presidential campaign in Harare. His theme is "100%
empowerment; total independence".

He touted his "Zimbabwe will never be a colony again" line several
times during his launch speech.

Mugabe has tagged himself as the champion of anti-colonialism. But
that is all. He appears to have nothing else to offer. He is caught in a
timewarp. His speech said it all.

Mugabe, the nationalist, could not even hint at how if reelected, he
will get Zimbabwe out of the abyss it has sunk into.

His theme leaves much to be desired. It is bereft of convincing policy
as to why he must be voted for. The only people who can believe his "100%
empowerment" offer are his cronies who have benefited from running down a
once prosperous economy.

Instead, he chose to be haunted by a historical shadow of imperialism
and found a target to blame for the mess he has created. From the podium, he
launched an attack on the United States Ambassador James McGee.

"Tall as he is, if he continues doing that, I will kick him out,"
Mugabe said of McGee’s foray into Chiweshe.

"I am just waiting to see if he makes one more step wrong. He will get
out. This is Zimbabwe, it is not an extension of the United States."

McGee was the escape route for Mugabe and fell victim to the president’s
anti-colonialism rant. This threat will not appeal to the electorate. The
electorate is looking to the future. A leader wishing to be elected for
tomorrow must offer concrete policies to bring back what the public has been
robbed of — democracy, freedom of assembly, a vibrant media, a functioning
economy, food on their tables, education for their children, available water
and electricity. The list is endless but Mugabe decided otherwise.

This tired song of sanctions is not convincing anyone. Like a broken
record, it will not result in people voting for Zanu PF. If Mugabe needs
evidence that his sanctions song is irritating the electorate, he need not
look further than the results of the first round of elections in March. The
electorate rejected his MPs overwhelmingly and he failed to produce a
majority for the presidential poll.

The problems Zimbabwe faces today are not a creation of the United
States or other nations or their ambassadors. We have said it before.
Zimbabwe’s problems are home-made. Even if McGee is deported today, our
inflation of over 1 500 000% will not vanish. Industries operating at 10% to
20% capacity will not suddenly roar into life. Farms will not suddenly
become awash with mealie cobs.

True, as Mugabe said, Zimbabwe is not an extension of America. Or any
other country for that matter. It is almost comical considering the state of
Zimbabwe that anyone would want to have it as a province. Even South
Africans, whose leader sees "no crisis", are not interested in befriending
millions of Zimbabweans seeking economic refuge in their shanty towns.

Ambassador McGee did not commit a crime. In fact, as pointed out in
last week’s Independent (May 23-29), McGee and representatives of other
diplomatic missions did submit a diplomatic note informing the Foreign
Affairs ministry of their intended visit to victims of political violence in
Mashonaland Central. So no rules were broken there whatever the
vituperations of the gullible state media.

McGee acted in the bounds of his rights. One of the many duties of an
ambassador is to file to their home countries first-hand information that is
factual and accurate concerning the countries they are posted to. That is
exactly what McGee did.

Government must be alive to the fact that ambassadors are protected
from harassment by local authorities and should not be targets of insults
and abuse under the Vienna Conventions.

Later in the week, the Herald carried a story on its front page
claiming that the US ambassador to South Africa, who it named as Patrick
Kelly Diskin, sneaked into Zimbabwe. It turned out later that story was a
fabrication. Diskin is in fact the regional food for peace programme
coordinator at the United States Agency for International Development.
Diskin is in the country on a routine visit. The US Ambassador to South
Africa is Eric M Bost.

It is obvious government officials are making sloppy interventions by
feeding state media inaccurate and dishonest information as long as it suits
their propaganda line hence rendering the state media unreliable.

The imaginary ghost ambassador story reflects the hysteria and panic
gripping Zanu PF as we approach the poll run-off. They don’t care whether
they get their facts right or not.

Mugabe belongs to the past and has nothing to offer the electorate for
the future. That much was clear by the end of this week.

Erich Bloch: Mugabe's Illusions Of A Conspiracy

Zim Independent

Comment
Thursday, 29 May 2008 19:42
EMULATING the duplicity and deception of its masters, the
state-controlled media repeatedly claims that the price escalations which
afflict Zimbabwe are naught but a diabolical conspiracy between the country’s
perceived enemies and Zimbabwe’s business community.

That conspiracy is alleged to be driven by intent to alienate the
support of the populace from the ruling party, in order that that populace
will cause a regime change to occur. In stridently voicing these claims of a
Machiavellian conspiracy to use hyperinflation as a vehicle for regime
change, the media recurrently quotes President Robert Mugabe.

This occurred yet again last week, after the president addressed a
passout parade of police recruits.

The president told the recruits that spiralling inflation, shortages
of basic commodities, constant power cuts, high transport costs and
intermittent disruptions of water supplies were all part of a
well-calculated and orchestrated regime change agenda by Britain and its
allies.

In particular, he said that the wave of price increases that has hit
Zimbabwe followed the announcement of the presidential election run-off date
as June 27, evidencing that some sectors of the business community were
conspiring against the ruling Zanu PF party and the government.

Immediately following upon these presidential comments, the newspapers
controlled by the Minister of Information and Publicity trumpeted loudly
that the regime-change conspiracy was the cause of the surging upwards of
prices. In diverse editorials and articles the business community was
vigorously berated for engaging in the conspiracy and thereby oppressing the
poverty-stricken Zimbabwean.

It is, therefore, very significant to note that:

lIn March 2008 the cover price of the national dailies of the
state-controlled newspapers was $20 million, and that was increased to $80
million in April, 2008, and to $200 million in May, 2008, representing a
ten-fold price increase in less than two months. Clearly, therefore,
although those newspapers are state-controlled, their publisher must be
actively engaged in the regime change conspiracy!

lThe City of Harare, which is still not managed by a democratically
elected council but by government appointees, in the last three weeks
increased Parkade fees from $1,5 million per hour to $60 million per hour.
Founded thereon, it must be that those government appointees are actively
engaged in the regime-change conspiracy!

lAir Zimbabwe, which is a government parastatal, has increased its
fares more than three-fold in the last three months, and more than trebled
them in the last month. That parastatal must, therefore, be an active regime
change conspirator!

lTelOne and NetOne have increased charges more than five-fold in the
last three months. Thus, even though they are, as parastatals, governmental
controlled, they must be involved supporters of regime-change conspiracy!

lThe Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is the governmental revenue
collecting authority. Following upon the establishment of the interbank
foreign exchange market, Zimra now applies interbank exchange rates in
determining dutiable values, currently yielding about 14 000% higher import
duties and value added tax. Hence, Zimra must be an active conspirator for
regime change!

lVirtually without exception, all other parastatals, and all service
ministries have similarly increased charges very markedly over the last two
to three months and inevitably, therefore, must be conspirators for regime
change, if there is any substance whatsoever to the conspiracy claims of the
state-controlled media.

It is long overdue for government, its vituperative propaganda
machine, and its media, to overcome their extreme paranoia, and to cease
resorting endlessly to fictional and mystical claims of conspiracy. So
spurious are those claims that not even the most naïve are any longer
succumbing to them.

The Zimbabwean people are no longer so gullible as to believe that
Britain wishes to recolonise the emaciated Zimbabwe, or that it is
convincing the business community to achieve an overthrow of the Zimbabwean
government, be it through the ballot box or otherwise.

And it is as ridiculous to believe that in order to achieve that
objective, the business community is willing to pursue a suicidal path of
self-destruction, by pricing itself out of existence.

Instead, it is time for government, and its media, to recognise the
realities which have caused the cataclonic inflation that is a major
contributant to the destruction of Zimbabwe, and to take the constructive
actions necessary to restore Zimbabwean wellbeing.

Although government and its sycophantic propagandists would
undoubtedly deny it, real inflation must by now be in excess of 700 000% per
annum, and is increasingly rising. That is due, primarily, to the
devastating insufficiency of foreign exchange, with a consequential virile
black market, thriving upon immense premiums, which transform into massive
commodity price increases.

The lack of foreign exchange is almost wholly due to government’s
destruction of agriculture, its untenable polices which deter foreign
investment and international balance of payments support, lack of economic
productivity and government’s own rapacious hunger for foreign exchange.

Hyperinflation is also a consequence of government’s endless
profligacy, funded by appallingly excessive printing of money, unsupported
by requisite securities and resources, and to pronounced, wide-ranging
corruption in both public and private sectors, uncontained by government.
Moreover, hyperinflation spurs further inflation, and will continue to do so
until the underlying causes of the hyperinflation are effectively addressed.

Until government initiates substantive corrective measures, instead of
blaming others, hyperinflation will endure and intensify, and in the same
manner as parastatals will have no alternative but to raise their prices or
charges, if they are to survive, so too will the private sector need to do
so. That is not conspiracy for regime change, but necessity for attempted
survival.