The Sunday Times
May 4, 2008
Christina Lamb
Zimbabwe's opposition
leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, insists he will return to
his country and face
the terror campaign that is destroying his party,
despite fears for his
life.
“I will go back,” he vowed to The Sunday Times, after the
announcement of
official election results that put him ahead of President
Robert Mugabe but
without an outright victory, meaning a second round of
voting will take
place.
“Mugabe acts as if Zimbabwe is his private
fiefdom and doesn’t care if he
has to burn it down to keep power,” he said.
“We cannot allow that.”
The front page of yesterday’s state-owned Herald
newspaper declared “No
winner” after official results released on Friday
gave Tsvangirai 47.9% and
Mugabe 43.2%. A run-off is expected to be held
later this month.
The announcement leaves Tsvangirai’s Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) in
a dilemma. To participate would mean accepting a
result it insists is
fraudulent but, if it refuses, the party leaves the
field clear for Mugabe.
The party’s leadership was meeting this weekend to
decide whether to take
part.
Tsvangirai rejected the results. “You
want me to consider something based on
an outcome I don’t believe,” he said.
“I’m absolutely adamant that I got
more than 50% of the vote, that I won the
election decisively.”
He accused the election commission of cheating him
of 80,000 votes – a
crucial 3.4% that would have put him over the 50%
threshold – and appealed
to the international community not to let Mugabe
get away with it.
“Democracy is on trial in Africa but democracy as
exemplified by Mugabe
doesn’t mean a thing,” he said.
“You ask
Zimbabweans next time round what’s the point of voting? Why should
you
expect Zimbabweans to believe in the power of the vote when their will
is
blatantly ignored?”
He claimed the five-week delay in announcing the
presidential results was to
buy time for the ruling Zanu-PF to destroy the
MDC’s organisation and
intimidate the population so they would not dare to
vote for the opposition
again.
“Zanu-PF wanted the delay to roll out
its military plan and create an
environment where they could beat people up
and have a captive audience then
say let’s vote,” he claimed.
The MDC
leader has been outside the country for nearly four weeks since
Mugabe
accused him of treason, putting him in fear of his life.
He accused the
South African president, Thabo Mbeki, of hampering attempts
to resolve the
crisis. Last week Mbeki blocked a British initiative at the
United Nations
security council to send a UN envoy to Harare.
“I’m frustrated at the
duplicitous role Mbeki has played,” Tsvangirai said.
“If South Africa was
determined to find a solution we could have done so by
now.” He added that
he had been given personal assurances that the UN
secretary-general would
send an investigative mission to Zimbabwe.
Recalling that before the
elections he had joked that he was in danger of
ending up in Guinness World
Records for winning the most elections without
gaining power, he said: “It’s
becoming a reality. We won the last three
elections and we’ve proved we won
this one beyond any doubt but . . .”
He insisted he would not resort to
violence to force out Mugabe. “I’m not
responding to violence with
violence,” he said.
A source close to Zimbabwe’s ruling politburo said
Mugabe would go to any
lengths to ensure he won a run-off. “He’s going for
broke. They realise they
could actually lose, which is too ghastly for them
to contemplate.”
According to the source, the ruling party is split
between hardliners, who
want to proceed with the run-off, and moderates who
believe, despite all the
intimidation, that Mugabe will still lose the new
vote, and who want a
government of national unity.
“It’s the
hardliners who are running the show,” said the source. “These are
people who
don’t feel the economic effects.”
Mugabe’s cronies can exchange money at
the official rate of Z$60,000 to £1,
while the market rate is Z$230m. Last
week this helped one minister buy a
luxury German car for Z$28m– or 14p –
instead of £50,000.
Comment
It amazes me that the other heads of
state in and around South Africa are
doing absolutley nothing to prevent the
tirant Mugabe from killing his own
people, it is clearly because he is one
of them, a brother so to speak, now
International sanctions should be
brought against Zimbabwe.
Colin MEASURES, kempston, ENGLAND
BILL WATCH 18/2008
[3rd May 2008]
No new Bills or Acts or Statutory
Instruments were gazetted this week
Presidential Election Result
The
Presidential election results as declared by the Chief Elections Officer at the
Harare International Conference Centre yesterday afternoon [2nd May]
were:
Morgan Tsvangirai [MDC-T] 1 195 562
[47.9%]
Robert Mugabe [ZANU-PF] 1 079 730
[43.2%]
Simba Makoni [Independent] 207 470
[8.3%]
Langton Towungana [Independent] 14 503 [0.6%]
The
declaration also stated that as no candidate had secured a majority of the total
votes cast there will be a run-off election on a date still to be announced by
ZEC]. The two candidates eligible for the run-off election are Morgan
Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe. See further below.
Candidates in
run-off
The only candidates eligible for the run-off are the recipients of
the highest and next highest number of votes in the election of 29th March,
i.e., Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe. Replacement of either candidate by
another person is not permitted by the Electoral Act.
Withdrawal of
candidate?
Section 107 of the Electoral Act permits withdrawal of a
candidate up to 21 days before polling day. The consequence of withdrawal is
the declaration of the remaining candidate as unopposed winner of the election
[section 49 of the Electoral Act as read with section 112].
Run-off Election
Deadline - 21 Days After Election
Section 110(3) of the Electoral Act states
that a run-off election must be held within 21 days after "the election". If
that means within 21 days after the original polling day, the 21-day deadline
has long since passed. If it means within 21 days after yesterday's declaration
[presumably the official interpretation], the run-off should be held not later
than Friday 21st May. [Note: An election held after the 21-day deadline will be
in breach of the Electoral Act, but lateness in such a context is a defect that
cannot practically be corrected. A declaration that a late election is void or
invalid would imply that the Presidential election can never be completed - an
impossible conclusion.]
Run-Off Election Procedure
Section 110(3) of the
Electoral Act requires the run-off election to be held "in accordance with this
Act". It follows that, as in the election of the 29th March:
· voters
will cast their votes at polling stations in the wards in which they are
registered
· votes will be counted at polling stations immediately
after the closing of the poll
· the results of polling station counts
will be posted outside polling stations for public information [using form
V.11]
· polling station results on form V.11 will be will be collated
at constituency level on form V.23 for onward transmission to the Chief
Elections Officer at the ZEC National Collation Centre for the "verification and
collation" exercise and the eventual announcement of the result by the Chief
Elections Officer
Any change to that procedure would require an amendment of
the Electoral Act. At this stage any amendment would have to be under the
Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act, and the use of that Act would be
highly controversial unless the provisions were fully agreed by both candidates.
Note: Section 110(4) of the Electoral Act, in the highly unlikely event of
a draw [statistically this would be almost impossible], provides for the winner
to be decided by Parliament sitting as an electoral college. But this would
present a problem, because the existence of the new Parliament is deemed to
commence when the winner of the Presidential election is sworn in [see further
below].
Voters rolls for run-off election
The run-off election is an
extension/continuation of the election of the 29th March. That seems to rule
out any re-opening of voters rolls for further registration of voters for the
purposes of the run-off.
As for a fresh inspection of voters rolls, there is
nothing in the law to require ZEC to repeat its former special arrangements for
inspection of voters rolls. In any event it is unlikely that there will be time
for such an exercise before the run-off. Any voters roll may, however, be
inspected at the ZEC office and/or constituency registrar's office where it is
kept [section 21 of Electoral Act as amended by Electoral Laws Amendment Act].
Update on House of Assembly, Senate and Council Elections
Parliament
[House of Assembly and Senate
There have been no changes to the winners of
House of Assembly and Senate seats as a result of the recount in the 23
constituencies.
The first meeting of the new Parliament will have to await
the declaration of the winner of the Presidential run-off election. In law the
new Parliament's existence only commences when the winner of the Presidential
election is sworn in [section 63(4) of the Constitution as amended by
Constitution Amendment No. 18].
There has been speculation about possible
floor-crossing in the new Parliament. Floor-crossing by a House of Assembly MP
entails the loss of his or seat if the party he or she deserts so chooses
[section 41(1)(e) of the Constitution]. The loss of a seat would necessitate a
by-election. This provision does not apply to the 66 Senators who are directly
elected by voters [probably an oversight in Constitution Amendment No. 17, which
provided for the introduction of the Senate in 2005].
Council Election
Results
There have been no changes to the winners of Council elections as a
result of the recount in the 23 constituencies.
None of the council election
results have yet been published in the press [as required by the Electoral Act],
apparently because the final figures from the wards in the 23 recounted
constituencies were being awaited. ZEC PRO has now said that the results will
be published "any day".
Under the law newly elected councils must meet "as
soon as practicable" after the declaration of the election results. Legally,
those declarations were all made at ward level within a day or two of polling on
the 29th March. It is believed that council authorities have nevertheless
delayed action pending ZEC's "confirmation" of the declared results by
publication in the press.
Reminder: the Local Government Laws Amendment Act
abolished commissioners, executive mayors and executive committees. Section 32
of the Act, however, stated that executive mayors and commissioners in office on
24th January would continue in office for the time being, but only until 48
hours after the declaration of the election results [not the ZEC publication in
the press]. So any commissioners, executive mayors and executive committees
fell away some four weeks ago. The first order of business for new councils
will be the election of mayors for cities and municipalities, and chairpersons
for town councils and rural district councils.
Election Related Court
Cases
By-Elections
There are three by-elections still to take place for
the House of Assembly, for Pelandaba-Mpopoma, Gwanda South and Redcliff
constituencies. Voting was stopped in these constituencies because of deaths of
candidates [section 50 of the Electoral Act requires cessation of polling in the
event of a candidate dying, to afford contesting parties an opportunity to
choose replacement candidates]. By-election dates have not been set. One of
the candidates has made a High Court application for an order compelling the
setting of a date for the by-election in his constituency.
MDC challenge 60
House of Assembly seats
The MDC has filed election petitions with the
Electoral Court challenging the election results for 60 House of Assembly seats
won by Zanu PF. [See Bill Watch 17]. The hearing of these petitions has not
yet started.
Constitutional Application to the Supreme Court.
Two
unsuccessful aspirants to the Presidency, whose nomination papers were not
accepted and whose appeals were rejected by the Electoral Court, have now
appealed to the Supreme Court claiming that their constitutional rights have
been violated. There has been no judgment yet.
Election-Related
Concerns
It is still being asserted in the press that a serious criminal
offence under the Electoral Law was committed by parties or monitoring
organisations who gave their version of vote counts or projections for the
election results, including the Presidential election, ahead of the official
announcements by the ZEC Chief Elections Officer. There is no such offence in
the Constitution or the Electoral Act, including the Codes of Conduct for
parties and candidates and for observers. The only provision on this subject is
in the Electoral Regulations [Statutory Instrument 21/2005 as updated] section 9
as follows:
"No person to notify results before polling-station return has
been affixed outside the polling station.
9. No person in attendance at the
counting of the votes shall, before the result of the poll is recorded on the
polling-station return and such polling-station return has been affixed outside
the polling station by the presiding officer in accordance with section 64(2) of
the Act, communicate to any person outside the place where the votes are being
counted any information relating to the results of the count or to the number of
votes given to any particular candidate at that polling station."
Arrests of
Polling officials
These have been continuing. See further statements from
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights [ZLHR] [Electronic version of ZLHR series of
statements on polling officer arrests from tinashe@zlhr.org.zw]
Escalation
of Post-Election Violence
This has not abated and there are ongoing reports
that violence in being increased in intensity and geographical spread.
[Violence monitoring reports available in electronic version direct from
Zimbabwe Peace Project [zpp@africaonline.co.zw], Zimbabwe Association of Doctors
for Human Rights [zadhr@mweb.co.zw] and ZLHR
[tinashe@zlhr.org.zw]
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable
information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 18:09
Two white farmers in Nyamandlovu are being
held hostage at their farms
after surviving savage attacks by gun-toting war
veterans as politically
motivated violence blamed on Zanu PF
intensified.
The farms, in the volatile Umguza
constituency, lie a few kilometers
from where Martin Olds and his mother,
Gloria, were murdered by war veterans
at the height of the 2000 land
invasions.
Olds and his mother were killed in a military operation
which saw
police roadblocks being lifted to enable a heavily armed party of
approximately 300 militia with assault weapons to encircle their home on two
separate occasions.
Wayne Monroe said on Wednesday he survived
an attack by about 100 Zanu
PF supporters after he used pepper spray on one
of the armed war veterans
said to have been baying for his
blood.
"They came into my house at around midday and shouted at me,
saying I
must leave their farm, while pointing a gun at me," he
said.
"One of them hit me on the hand with an axe and I had to use
pepper
spray, which drove them out of the main house into the
yard."
Once in the yard, one of them fired two shots, which missed
the
terrified farmer. The militia then set up a base outside the farm,
daring
him to venture out and they have been camped there since
then.
Munroe said Nyamandlovu police had not helped
him.
"They said their colleagues from Bulawayo were on their way to
Nyamandlovu," he said. "The government has expressed no interest in this
farm and I have court orders to prove that."
A neighbouring
farmer, Gary Godfrey, has been held hostage at his farm
house for two weeks
by the militia and the daily intimidation of his workers
has brought
production at the farm to a halt.
Godfrey is fighting the
compulsory acquisition of his farm at the
Southern African Development
Community (SADC) tribunal.
"I have been a prisoner in my house for
the past 12 days and they have
stopped almost all my workers from working,"
he said. "The police have
refused to come to my rescue."
The
Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) says a number of its members have
been
forced off their land by Zanu PF supporters who blame them for its
defeat to
the MDC in the recent elections.
Umguza and Bubi constituencies,
won by the Minister of Industry and
International Trade, Obert Mpofu, and
Clifford Sibanda, respectively on Zanu
PF tickets, have been the most
affected by the political violence in
Matabeleland North.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena terminated calls on his mobile phone
each
time he was called.
By Leslie Nunu
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 18:40
THE government has raised
war veterans’ monthly allowances from $1.6
billion to $9 billion, The
Standard can report.
Independent analysts speculated on the
probability of this being
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF’s gesture of
gratitude to the war
veterans for their ongoing campaign against opposition
supporters.
"We were never told that we would get an increment this
month," said
one war veteran soon after withdrawing a billion dollars from a
bank in
Harare. "It was a big surprise to most of us and for that we are
going to do
our work religiously."
Two months ago, the war
veterans were earning $500 million, but had it
raised to $1.6 billion after
they protested.
But the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ)
secretary-general Raymond Majongwe condemned the selective awarding
of
government salary hikes.
A teacher now earns $6.4 billion a
month, nearly $3 billion less than
a war veteran’s allowance.
Majongwe said Mugabe was paying the war veterans better than many
professionals because he wanted to prop up his regime after his defeat in
the 29 March polls.
The PTUZ leader said teachers would go on
strike this month if their
demand for an $18 billion monthly salary was
turned down by the government.
"If they can pay war veterans, who
are beating up innocent citizens
countrywide, why can’t they pay teachers a
decent salary?" Majongwe said.
Economic and political analysts fear
the hefty payments could
aggravate the economic meltdown, which started in
November 1997, when the
government gave each war veteran $50 000 in
gratuities, on top of a monthly
pension of $2 000 – a huge sum at that
time.
The result was "Black Friday", 14 November 1997, when the
Zimbabwe
dollar plunged on a single day from $14 against the US greenback to
$26.
By Caiphas Chimhete
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 18:15
At least four bodies of
MDC supporters, reportedly murdered in the
on-going political violence, are
decomposing at Guruve Hospital in
Mashonaland Central after their relatives
fled their homes to seek refuge in
urban areas.
Normally
the relatives would have taken care of their burial
arrangements.
The four were reportedly killed in Muzarabani and
Dande areas by
suspected Zanu PF youth militia, war veterans and soldiers as
political
killings increase across the country.
Guruve hospital
authorities confirmed to The Standard on Wednesday
they had four bodies of
people killed in politically-motivated violence,
which started soon after
the 29 March elections.
The Standard had visited the hospital to
confirm if the body of MDC
activist Crispen Chiutsi, allegedly killed by
soldiers in Chief Kasekete’s
area in Muzarabani on 22 April, was still in
the hospital mortuary.
"We still have Chiutsi’s body here," said
one hospital official, who
could not be named for security reasons. "You
want to go and bury it? It
might be dangerous for you guys since you said
you are coming from Harare.
There are three other bodies of people killed in
Dande but the relatives
cannot bury them."
"People from that
area (Dande) need God’s intervention. They are
torturing and killing each
other like they don’t have any conscience," said
the official, as he perused
the mortuary register.
From the hospital, the crew set off for
Chiutsi’s home village in
Chief Kasekete’s area about 100 km away. When the
crew arrived in
Muzarabani, Chiutsi’s neighbours and other villagers would
not talk to
strangers because of fear.
They would give
monosyllabic answers and move away. The terrified
villagers only chatted
freely with people with whom they were familiar.
But even those who
opened up advised the crew to leave the area as
soon as possible before
soldiers and Zanu PF youth militia noticed their
presence.
"We
hear the body (Chiutsi’s) is still in Guruve because his relatives
fled to
Harare," whispered one woman, who was selling bananas at Muzarabani
centre.
"It’s better you leave this area before you are noticed by the
youths. They
will gang up against you."
The woman, who claimed to be Chiutsi’s
neighbour, said most MDC
supporters had fled the area after they were
tortured by war veterans and
soldiers camped at Muzarabani police
station.
Several houses belonging to suspected MDC supporters have
been razed
to the ground around Muzarabani business centre and Hoya, 40 km
to the east.
In Centenary and Mvurwi in the same province, war
veterans and Zanu PF
militia have reportedly gone on the rampage, torturing
opposition supporters
and setting their houses ablaze before chasing away
the villagers.
Victims said more than 500 huts were burnt since 29
March in
Muzarabani alone.
On Wednesday, war veterans and youth
militia evicted more than 20
families from Chipanza and Goviti farms,
accusing them of voting for the
MDC.
They were given 10 minutes
to pack their life time belongings and
leave. More than 60 people are
staying by the roadside along the
Mvurwi-Centenary road because they have
nowhere else to go.
On Wednesday night, the victims lit small fires
with which to cook
their supper and warm themselves for there was no shelter
over their heads.
The fortunate ones managed to take along with
them all they could grab
out of their houses.
They had little
radios, mats, wardrobes, beds and kitchen units strewn
all over the tall
grass.
Clever Chiusaru (38), an MDC activist at Goviti Farm, was
forced out
of the farm when his child, Taizivei (8), had gone to Chimurenga
School in
the neighbourhood.
"I don’t know if I will ever see
her again. I can’t go back there
because they will kill me," said Chiusaru,
as he covered the younger child,
Mercy, sleeping in the tall grass under a
thin sheet.
Mercy was not only at the mercy of the weather but
snakes, scorpions
and wild animals.
Chiusaru feared the Zanu PF
thugs would sell his household property
and feast on the chickens and five
goats which he left behind.
"They will slaughter my goats and feed
themselves at the base," he
said.
A 74-year-old grandmother was
among over 60 people staying by the
roadside.
"I don’t have
anywhere to go. I have lived here the whole of my life.
This cold will kill
me today," she said wrapping her thin body with a
thread-bare
towel.
"But what I know is that like Banda (Kamuzu Banda former
Malawi
president), Mugabe will one day leave office. Unfortunately, I might
not be
able to see that day."
Less than 10 metres away in the
tall grass was two-month-old Tendai
Meza crying, possibly because of
fatigue. She had spent the whole day on her
mother’s back and sleeping rough
might have caused her too much discomfort.
"I think she is hungry
because my breasts have no more milk," said
Tendai’s mother, Tracey, who
worked at Chipanza Farm. "I have not eaten
since this morning and this is
9PM."
The farm workers’ union, the General Agriculture and
Plantation
Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) said it was disheartened by
the attacks
on people in the farming communities.
"These
attacks are a fresh revival of the horrendous experience that
the vulnerable
communities went through during 2000 and are perpetrated by
people who have
no regard for human life," said GAPWUZ.
On Friday the MDC claimed
at least 20 of its supporters had been
killed in the on-going violence since
the elections.
Party spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said the number of
MDC supporters
killed by Mugabe’s youth militia, war veterans and soldiers
was increasing
on a daily basis.
He said over 5 000 families
had been displaced while 800 houses had
been burnt down since the
elections.
"This is a humanitarian crisis of gigantic proportions
which now needs
the intervention of the United Nations. It is a disaster
that the
international community is ignoring," Chamisa said.
But as the violence continues, Mugabe’s government has vehemently
denied
anything of that sort was happening in the country.
But the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has demanded that
Zanu PF stop the
violence or Zimbabweans would be forced to retaliate.
It urged the
brutalized "to remain strong and resolute and not be
apologetic" for voting
for the party of their choice.
By Bertha Shoko and
Caiphas Chimhete
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 18:12
Botswana has set up a
temporary refugee centre to receive Zimbabweans
fleeing
politically-motivated violence which began after the disputed 29
March
election results.
In a statement released on Friday, the
Minister of Defence, Justice
and Security, Dikgakgamatso Seretse, said there
had been an influx of
Zimbabweans seeking refuge and international
protection in the aftermath of
the polls.
"For some time we
have been receiving illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe
seeking economic
opportunities who have been crossing at un-gazetted entry
points into
Botswana," he said.
Few of these people sought asylum, Seretse
said.
"But, since the elections, we have received a number of
people
actively seeking political asylum and international protection and
alleging
they feared for their lives," he said, adding there was a
probability the
numbers would grow.
The government’s decision
to set up the temporary facility comes amid
growing fears in the
international community that the situation in Zimbabwe
was edging towards a
full-blown humanitarian crisis.
Last week, Western countries,
including Britain and the United States,
urged by the MDC, successfully put
Zimbabwe on the United Nations Security
Council agenda.
They
tried to steer the council to adopt a common strategy on the
situation in
the country where the delayed announcement of the results of
the
presidential election have sparked a political crisis.
But the
government’s allies such as China and Russia blocked the move,
saying the
election impasse in Zimbabwe was an internal issue not warranting
UN
intervention.
Both countries sponsored the liberation struggle
against white rule,
with arms, ammunition and training.
The MDC
says 10 of its supporters have been killed and thousands more
displaced by
marauding Zanu PF militia and war veterans protesting President
Robert
Mugabe’s defeat at the polls.
A spokesman for presidential
candidate Simba Makoni’s Mavambo/Kusile
project, Joshua Muhambi said a
number of their supporters from Plumtree were
last weekend forced to cross
the border into Botswana by war veterans
terrorising villagers.
Earlier in the week media reports in Botswana cited officials as
saying
hundreds of Zimbabweans were entering Botswana through undesignated
entry
points, forcing the authorities there to set up a temporary camp
inside the
Centre for Illegal Immigrants in Francistown.
Under normal
circumstances, Botswana accommodates hundreds of refugees
and asylum seekers
at the Dukwi Camp near its border with Namibia but
authorities said due to
the sudden influx, the temporary centre would now be
used to screen new
arrivals.
The independent Mmegi newspaper quoted Francistown
district
commissioner, Richard Oaitse, as saying refugees, including
children, were
being accommodated at the temporary shelter and more were
expected last
week.
"A tent has been erected within the Centre
for Illegal Immigrants so
that they don’t mix with other nationalities that
are currently at the
centre for various reasons," he said.
In
the mining town of Selebi Phikwe, which is close to the Zimbabwean
border,
the district officer, Khumo Keeng, told the paper the refugees were
being
relayed to Francistown for screening.
Since 2000 about 100 refugees
from Zimbabwe have been staying at Dukwi
and the centre’s administrator,
Ephraim Sekeinya said during the past two
years they had not received anyone
escaping political persecution.
The camp also housed Zimbabwean
refugees during the liberation war.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai
who beat Mugabe to the presidency has
sought temporary refuge in Botswana,
saying his personal security was at
risk.
This forced
Botswana’s new President Seretse Ian Khama to plead with
Zambian President
Levy Mwanawasa to call an urgent Sadc summit to discuss
the political
impasse.
Botswana MPs introduced a motion calling on Mugabe to
respect the
election outcome.
By Kholwani
Nyathi
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 18:07
THE Zimbabwe Schools
Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) has not started
registration for the May/June
Ordinary and Advanced Level public
examinations, raising fears the exams
might not take place at all.
This has been aggravated by
the ongoing post-election violence, which
has prevented many teachers from
returning to their schools.
ZIMSEC and Ministry of Education
officials were last week reluctant to
discuss the issue with The
Standard.
Normally, the May/June examinations are held from the end
of May to
the beginning of June.
Registration for the
examinations is normally in February and March,
and by the time schools open
for the second term, students would have
received statements of
entry.
With just three weeks before the exams normally begin,
ZIMSEC is still
to come up with examination fees.
"In the past,
around this time we would have received statements of
entry, but this year,
students have not even been registered," said the
headmaster of a Harare
school. "As it is, there are no indications
whatsoever that the examinations
will take off in a few weeks’ time."
ZIMSEC spokesperson, Ezekiel
Pasipamire, was last week said to be out
of his off0ice. But an official who
refused to give his name confirmed: "It’s
still not clear whether the
examinations will be held this year," said the
official. "We have not yet
come up with the examination fee schedule for
this year. This does not mean
that the exams have been cancelled. Once the
fees have been confirmed, we
will advise the different examination centres."
Another official at
the public relations department, after confirming
they were "also not sure
what is going to happen", requested that questions
be faxed. She had not
responded at the time of going to press.
Since taking over the
administration of examinations from the
University of Cambridge Local
Examinations Syndicate more than five years
ago, ZIMSEC has been accused of
compromising key examination standards.
On many occasions, there
have been complaints from students that they
received results for subjects
they never sat examinations for. There have
also been instances when
students have not been given their certificates on
time, jeopardising their
plans to advance their careers.
The Secretary General of the
militant Progressive Teachers’ Union of
Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Raymond Majongwe,
said even if ZIMSEC were to announce the
new examination fees, there were no
teachers at schools to administer the
exams.
"Right now I
am with scores of teachers who have been forced to flee
from Guruve by
marauding Zanu PF militias. There are no teachers at schools
because of the
current crisis. As a union, we are going to call for a
national strike in
solidarity with our colleagues who have been harassed,"
Majongwe
said.
Education permanent secretary, Stephen Mahere, was said to be
in
meetings when The Standard sought his comment. Officials at his office
referred questions to a Lysias Bowora in the Quality Control department.
Bowora said: "I have just arrived today (Friday), I don’t know anything
yet."
By Vusumuzi Sifile
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 17:51
A church was recently forced
to close down in Matabeleland North as
Zanu PF militias and war veterans
stepped up terror attacks against
opposition supporters following President
Robert Mugabe’s defeat in last
month’s elections.
Churches In Bulawayo (CIB), which brings together pastors from
different
denominations scattered across the city and surrounding districts,
said last
week it was inundated with victims of political violence fleeing
their
homes.
It said the Assembles of God church in Dola in Bubi District
was
closed down as its resident pastor fled after being tortured by Zanu PF
supporters on suspicion he was an MDC sympathiser.
A CIB
official, Josephat Amuli, said the pastor, now being treated at
a secret
location, was still "too traumatised" to be interviewed.
"It is a
cause of great concern that one church in the Inyathi area
that falls under
the Bubi constituency has been forced to close down," Amuli
said. "This is
an infringement of our constitutional right to freedom of
worship.
"A Christian leader in the area is currently
hospitalised as he was
traumatized by the threats and
accusations."
A Zanu PF candidate, Clifford Sibanda won the Bubi
parliamentary
constituency but the area has been rocked by violence blamed
on his party’s
supporters campaigning for President Robert Mugabe ahead of
the anticipated
run-off against the MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai had insisted he won the presidential election outright
while Zanu
PF maintained that his victory margin did not carry him over the
51%
threshold to avoid a run-off against Mugabe.
Last week, the
Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), the Zimbabwe
Catholic Bishops’
Conference (ZCBC) and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches
(ZCC) issued a
statement calling for international intervention to end the
political
violence.
They said people were being "abducted, tortured and
humiliated", and
forced to "attend mass meetings where they are told they
voted for the
‘wrong’ candidate" and in some cases murdered.
"Organised violence perpetrated against individuals, families and
communities, who are accused of campaigning or voting for the ‘wrong’
political party, has been unleashed throughout the country," the churches
said in a statement.
Amuli said they had resolved as churches
to give victims of political
violence refuge at their premises, while
lobbying for international pressure
to end the crisis.
"We are
also getting reports of mobilisation and preparations for
organised violence
by some militias against people in the rural areas.
"This is a form
of retribution against the people for electing
candidates of their own
choice and also an attempt to influence them to vote
in a particular way in
the event of a run-off."
Matabeleland North police could not
immediately comment on the attacks
on church leaders.
By
Kholwani Nyathi
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 18:02
Information and Publicity
Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu last week
disrupted a function for journalists
celebrating World Press Freedom Day
when he took issue with the organisers
after they asked him to respond to a
keynote address by Senator-elect, David
Coltart.
Ndlovu, who arrived shortly before the meeting at
the Bulawayo Press
Club ended, claimed he had been invited as guest speaker
and accused the
organisers of "disregarding protocol".
He
dashed to the high table, where the speakers were sitting, drawing
boos from
journalists who had been given the opportunity to ask questions
after
Coltart of the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC addressed them on the
prospects of
press freedom in the new political dispensation.
Coltart is the
Senator-elect for Khumalo in the city.
‘You cannot invite the
government and expect me to just come here and
respond to an address by
someone else," Ndlovu protested. "It now looks like
I am gate-crashing… the
government does not gate-crash. Others gatecrash
into
government."
After about 10 minutes, Ndlovu appeared to calm down
but only to
protest for another five minutes, when he was asked to address
the
journalists as the patron of the press club.
He walked out
after it was explained to him that he had confused the
dates as the
journalists had invited him to be the main speaker at a
function organised
by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, scheduled for
yesterday
evening.
Later in the evening, Ndlovu was involved in more drama
when a ZBC
news crew from Bulawayo was accused of stealing his cellphone
during a press
conference he held at a hotel.
The phone was
reportedly recovered stashed in the wheel of the news
crew’s car and the
journalists were still being questioned by the police
yesterday
morning.
ZBC was hosting a party for its employees at the same
hotel which was
attended by top management, including chief executive
officer, Henry
Muradzikwa.
The incident happened in full view
of journalists and about five
police officers were quickly dispatched to
deal with the case. But police
were not immediately available for
comment.
Meanwhile, Coltart told journalists the outcome of the
recent
elections gave Zimbabweans a rare "window of opportunity" to push
through
reforms to guarantee freedom of expression and ensure the public
media was
not used to advance partisan politics.
"The public
media has been used as instruments of the governing party
for the past four
decades and that must now come to an end," he said. "We
need to restructure
public institutions such as the ZBC to ensure that it
becomes a professional
entity."
He said there was real danger that if checks and balances
were not put
in place soon after the new government comes into power, the
new leaders
would fall into the same trap of wanting to control
everything.
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 17:59
ZIMBABWEAN journalists
yesterday gathered at various locations to
commemorate World Press Freedom
Day with the key issues being calls for the
repeal of repressive media laws,
radical media reforms and an end to the use
of "inflammatory messages and
hate language".
Although the Constitution provides for
freedom of expression in
Section 20, it was noted that the same constitution
has over the years been
amended to achieve specific ends that curtail this
freedom.
In Harare, representatives of media organisations and
civil society
activists were unanimous that media freedom in Zimbabwe had
been "crudely
curtailed", particularly during the last decade. There was
optimism that a
new political dispensation would come up with "acceptable
legal instruments"
that prioritise media freedom.
Among the
laws viewed as hostile to the media are the Access to
Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), Interception of
Communications Act,
Broadcasting Services Act, Criminal Law (Codification
and Reform) Act,
Public Order and Security Act, and the Censorship and
Control of
Entertainment Act, among others.
Over the last seven years, the
government has used AIPPA to clamp down
on privately-owned newspapers and
radio and TV stations, as well as
independent local and foreign
journalists.
Addressing the commemorations in Harare, newly-elected
Buhera West
legislator Advocate Eric Matinenga said although press freedom
was provided
for in the constitution, it was not being fully realised
because of the way
it is managed.
"It is not the constitution
which is wrong … It is not a question of
not having that provision (for
freedom of expression) in the constitution,"
Matinenga said.
He
said although the media laws had been amended in December last
year, the
amendments were not holistic, but "meant to achieve a specific
end – the
elections".
"We need acceptable legal instruments that do not
perpetuate the big
man syndrome. The constitution must be transparent,
participatory and should
give people the legal will. Our current
constitution is not very bad."
In Masvingo, the Swedish Ambassador
to Zimbabwe, Sten Rylander
deplored the recent arrests of foreign
journalists who were covering the
elections in Zimbabwe.
"We
strongly believe that the government should have allowed
international
journalists to come and witness the elections and give an
accurate picture
of the situation in the country," Rylander said.
Representatives of
the Zimbabwe National Editors' Forum, Voluntary
Media Council, National
Constitutional Assembly, Zimbabwe National Students'
Union, and the
organisations that make up the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe
issued solidarity
statements. They all expressed displeasure with the State
media’s
"dishonesty and delusional thinking".
The United Nations set 3 May
as World Press Freedom Day in 1993.
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 17:53
The MDC has formally
complained to the police and army chiefs over the
alleged involvement of the
police and soldiers in the ongoing violent
clampdown of its
supporters.
At least 10 MDC supporters have reportedly died while
more than 150
were severely injured in incidents of political violence
blamed on war
veterans and Zanu PF militia.
The campaign of
violence is reportedly in preparation for an
anticipated run-off between
President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.
MDC
spokesman Nelson Chamisa told The Standard letters had been sent
to police
commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri and defence forces
commander
Constantine Chiwenga.
Chamisa said the MDC was concerned at the
failure of the police to
arrest the offenders.
He said the
violence by the soldiers and police had a "danger of
exploding into
full-blown genocide", as witnessed in Rwanda.
"We want Chihuri to
explain why the police are not acting to quell the
violence, the arson and
the murders committed against opposition
supporters," he said.
"Chihuri should also explain why the police are allowing Zanu PF
militias to
set up torture bases.
"We also need clarification from Chiwenga why
soldiers are beating up
opposition activists and supporters."
The MDC, which won an overall majority in Parliament in the 29 March
elections, says its leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat Mugabe for the
presidency.
Official results of the election were officially
announced only on
Friday, more than a month after the elections held on 29
March.
At the time, independent projections indicated that
Tsvangirai’s
victory did not surpass the 51% threshold, a position confirmed
in the
official announcement that gave the MDC leader 47,8% of the vote
compared
with President Robert Mugabe’s 43%,....making a second round of
voting
necessary.
There have been reports that soldiers and
police officers are actively
involved in Mugabe’s re-election strategy
anchored on the systematic
coercion of potential voters.
Human
rights organisations and the opposition have raised concern over
the growing
military build-up across the country.
"There has to be
accountability by the heads of the state security
institutions," reads the
letter to the security chiefs. "There is and there
should be a difference
between state security institutions and Zanu PF."
There was no
comment from Chiwenga or Chihuri, despite repeated
efforts.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) last week,
reported
soldiers had imposed unofficial curfews in the urban areas,
strongholds of
the opposition.
The lawyers said residents were being subjected to
"inhuman and
degrading punishment, like being forced to crawl on all fours
in the
streets" for ignoring the curfew.
The ZLHR statement
said urgent action must be taken to stop such
violations by bringing the
perpetrators to book.
By Nqobani Ndlovu
Zim Standard
Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 18:43
KENYAN playwright Ngugi wa
Mirii, for years in self-exile in Zimbabwe,
died early Saturday morning when
his car was involved in an accident in
Harare.
He was
57.
According to Kenyan family friend Kariuki Gechuhi, Wa Mirii’s car
rammed into a lorry at the intersection of Enterprise Road and Glenara
Road.
Gechuhi said: "He died on the spot after his car rammed into
a
stationary lorry. I am heading to his home at 53 Harare Drive where the
funeral will be held."
Daves Guzha, a theatre producer, said he
had learned with great shock
of the death of "a great man and dedicated
playwright".
Guzha said: "It is with deep sorrow and a sense of
loss that I learnt
of the death of a good friend and partner in the arts. He
was a dedicated
man in everything he did."
Wa Mirii settled in
Zimbabwe in 1982 and was given refugee status by
President Robert Mugabe
after he was flushed out of Kenya by former
President, Daniel arap
Moi.
A self-styled Pan Africanist, Wa Mirii was a regular guest on
national
television where he featured in a government programme National
Agenda
together with Tafataona Mahoso, Sheunesu Mpepereki, Vimbai Chivaura
and
Claude Mararike.
He is known for his play, I Will Marry
When I Want, co-authored with
fellow prominent Gikuyu writer Ngugi wa
Thiong’o.
Zim Standard
Business
Saturday, 03 May 2008 17:29
CENTRAL bank governor
Gideon Gono’s thrust to float the exchange rate
is a step in the right
direction but analysts warn of the need for the
authorities to respond
"timeously" to concerns raised by stakeholders.
Presenting
his first quarter monetary policy statement on Wednesday,
Gono said foreign
exchange pricing has to take into account the need to
"incentivise" all its
generators to remain viable while at the same time
minimizing the unintended
consequences on the vulnerable segments of
society.
"In the
case of all other generators of foreign currency, or exporters
liquidating
their FCA (Foreign Currency Account) balances, funds are sold on
a
willing-buyer, willing-seller basis through formal banking channels
(authorized dealers) at the ruling inter-bank foreign exchange pricing
level," Gono said.
In the case of exporters, on the date of
receipt of export proceeds,
the applicable surrender level is sold to the
RBZ at the inter-bank rate,
and the rest of the proceeds deposited in the
FCA for "own use" and sales
into the inter-bank market after holding the
deposit to a maximum of 21
days.
Under the new dispensation,
every day each bank shall display the
average buying and selling prices for
foreign exchange it would be offering
to willing buyers and willing
sellers
Homelink and Money Transfer Agencies will on-sell their
foreign
exchange at the ongoing inter-bank prices to the central bank but
will be
left with a US$100 000 float.
Gono said the foreign
currency from the inter- bank foreign exchange
market would be alloted to
priority sectors as follows: food, food
production, food-related machinery
and spare parts (35%); fuel and
electricity (20%); other non-alcoholic
industrial inputs (20%); public and
commercial transport (5%); school fees,
business travels (10 percent); and
medical drugs, medical equipment and
consumables (10%).
The new measures raise hopes that for the first
time, the government
has now accepted that it is the market that determines
the prices of goods
and services. Pricing distortions in foreign exchange,
where there were
multiple exchange rates, had created arbitrage
opportunities with those
accessing the precious commodity on the official
market offloading on the
parallel market, and raking in
trillions.
Analysts warned, in interviews with Standardbusiness,
the noble
initiative hinges on the authorities allowing the system to
work.
Mudzingwa Nhiwatiwa, an economic analyst at the Zimbabwe
Allied
Banking Group says the new measure was a starting point and "a
realization
that people have to get value for their money".
"It’s a starting point. If players raise concerns RBZ has to respond
to
those concerns timeously," he said
Nhiwatiwa said the success of
the measures depends on whether
corporates and individuals will be able to
walk into the bank and get the
foreign currency in times of
need.
Analysts are wary the ghost of the past will return to haunt
the noble
initiative. In his maiden monetary policy statement in 2003, Gono
announced
a forex auction system where rates were tracking the black market.
But
before the nation could enjoy the benefits, the system was
discarded.
"We are yet to see whether it (currency) will be allowed
to float,"
said John Robertson, an independent economist.
"We
are yet to see whether they mean it."
Robertson said the success of
the new measures hinged on production on
farms and industries.
"We need production. We are throwing money at people who are not
productive," he said, referring to cheap loans doled out to so-called new
farmers.
Singing from the same hymn sheet with his principals,
Gono blamed
sanctions as one of the main hindrances to collective efforts to
turn around
the economy.
He said society’s most vulnerable
members are "receiving the most
severe punishment, having to go without
medicines, without transport,
without food and all this in the face of
droughts and floods and without
many other basic commodities".
Robertson sees the blame game as an indication that Gono is in
denial —
anything other than sanctions was the cause of the problem.
"The
development of faulty policies is where the problem lies...we
have the
farmers who have the expertise but are not allowed to work," said
Robertson.
By Ndamu Sandu
Zim Standard
Business
Saturday, 03 May 2008 17:24
RENOWNED academic and
animal scientist, Professor Lindela Rowland
Ndlovu is the winner of the 2007
South African Society of Animal Sciences
(SASAS) Gold Medal for Research in
recognition of his landmark research in
animal
sciences.
"Professor Lindela Ndlovu has contributed to
animal science and animal
agriculture in Southern Africa in a highly
significant and unselfish
manner," the SASAS said in a citation of the award
to be presented in South
Africa later this year. "He engineered
opportunities, took opportunities and
gave much of himself in the somewhat
restrictive environment of Southern
Africa."
Ndlovu is the
Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Science
and Technology (NUST),
based in Bulawayo.
The Gold Medal for Research is one of the
highest and most prestigious
awards the Society bestows on an individual. It
is given to a member of the
Society who is at the end of his/her career and
who has served animal
science and the Society honourably and in such a
distinguished manner that
his/her quality of scientific contributions,
achievements, involvement and
extended service to South Africa’s animal
production industry has been
recognised as exceptionally meritorious by
many, both nationally and
internationally.
Ndlovu (54) is the
first Zimbabwean to be given the award, part of a
number of accolades some
of whose past recipients backdate to 1964. SASAS is
an association of animal
scientists whose objective is to practice and
report on animal agriculture
based on science. SASAS also praised Ndlovu’s
commitment to education and
animal science research in Zimbabwe.
"In the light of SASAS’s
commitment to the SADC region and the African
continent, SASAS is
acknowledging the contribution of one of its members in
this way. SASAS
believes that it will give a renewed message of our society’s
commitment to
recognizing those who serve the science at all levels," the
Society
said.
Ndlovu has previously won a number of awards for his
research,
including the DANIDA Science Award for Excellence in livestock
research. He
serves on research evaluation boards for several grant-awarding
bodies,
including the National Research Foundation of South
Africa.
Ndlovu has a doctorate in Animal Nutrition from the
University of
Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He has worked in the area of higher
education for
almost 20 years, rising from lecturer through to full
Professor and is
currently Vice Chancellor at NUST.
In these
various roles he has served on University Senates and
Councils and chaired
numerous committees. He has taught Nutritional
Biochemistry, Advanced Animal
Nutrition, Animal Nutrition Research
Techniques and Digestive Physiology at
graduate and postgraduate level.
He has supervised more than 100
honours students, 27 Masters students
and 10 doctoral students. Most of his
PhD students have gone on to become
established professional animal
scientists in research institutes,
universities and the private
sector.
His research has resulted in more than 70 publications in
refereed
scientific journals of international repute, two books and 30 book
chapters.
"Professor Ndlovu has been a custodian of the sciences
and a mentor of
many students especially from Limpopo Province. He also saw
to it that as
many as possible of his students at the then University of the
North
attended our annual and later bi-annual congresses. Their presence was
always notable. This legacy continues to this day," SASAS said.
Zim Standard
Opinion
Saturday, 03 May 2008 16:22
THE calculated leak of the
“official” results of last month’s delayed
presidential election was
designed to test the reaction of the MDC and
voters.
The way forward for Morgan Tsvangirai and his partners now is to
release
their own set of figures of the presidential poll, then consult on
the way
forward.
MDC spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa has described the final
poll result
announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission as
“scandalous”.
Few dispute such a charge, especially after such a
protracted delay.
But releasing its own parallel figures would
force ZEC to account for
the discrepancy between its figures and those
offered by the MDC.
For the MDC, if its description of the results
as “scandalous” is not
a matter of playing to the gallery, the next
important issue would be what
to do next: to accept the result or to reject
it and then what next?
While Zanu PF ordered a recount, what is
clear is that it failed to
influence the outcome of the
recount.
Precisely what this means is that many of the people it
had hoped and
counted on to perform its dirty tricks in the hope of
reversing the people’s
wishes rejected such undemocratic
tendencies.
Their refusal to do what Robert Mugabe’s party ordered
shows that
despite all that has been done, and is being done, to cow the
people of this
country, there are remarkable heroes and heroines fighting
for change.
But the result has shattered the carefully nurtured
myths of the
invincibility of Mugabe and his party that have enslaved the
sons and
daughters of this country into retaining the status
quo.
Zimbabweans now know and have proof that the owl indeed has no
“horns”.
People now know that voting can make a difference and
bring about the
change they desire.
This is a significant
development that should prepare voters for
Mugabe’s final humiliation in the
run-off.
In the meantime, the MDC needs to consult widely so that
it can be
guided on the next course of action.
But one thing is
very clear: the phalanx of foreign and regional
observers conveniently chose
not to see or even condemn the violence that
continues to this
day.
That is why a United Nations presence will be critical if
there is a
run-off.
But if Mugabe is eventually soundly
trounced, it will be because he
would have brought it upon
himself.
He could have stopped the violence that has seen a new
phase of the
odious “Operation Murambatsvina” targeting and displacing
villagers in the
countryside.
But in his fit of anger he vowed
to teach the people of this country a
lesson for not electing him for
another term.
A run-off will provide the voters an opportunity for
a resounding
rejection of his scorched earth policies.
Mugabe’s
weakness is failure to act decisively when he should.
His impotence
at calling a halt to the brutalities and murders of
Zimbabweans for merely
rejecting him, demonstrates that he does not treasure
human life and has
lost control over those who maim and kill in his name.
If there is
going to be a run-off many will recall how his lust for
power has emptied
the rural areas of school teachers who are targets of
terror squads
operating in his name because they are suspected of
influencing rural voters
to reject Zanu PF.
In 1991 Mugabe berated taxation on books saying
he did not want to
preside over a nation of illiterate people, yet the
quality of information
from his State media has ensured a dearth of
transparency and accountability
and suffocated popular participation in
public discourse.
That is his legacy to the nation.
Zim Standard
Opinion
Saturday, 03 May 2008 16:18
PEOPLE itching to get their own back at
Zanu PF ought to be warned:
contrary to the advice of quack psycho-analysts,
revenge is neither sweet
nor satisfying.
It can fill your
throat with the same bile of discontent as defeat or
loss.
There is no need to quote the Bible — although it’s a good place to
start:
Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.
Others might insist on getting
in their tuppence worth before or
after.
In soccer, beating the
team that humiliated your side the last time
around can make you feel 10
feet tall.
There are points or a trophy, the pot of gold at the end
of that
rainbow of revenge.
In boxing, anyone who beat Mike
Tyson after being humiliated by that
gap-toothed wonder monster in their
first fight must have felt like a
million bucks.
It’s very
different in the dirty affairs of the human condition, of
which politics is
a part.
If they killed your sister, you can’t possibly gain
spiritually or
materially by killing their sister.
Does that
heighten your sense of worth as a human being, or does it
diminish it,
plunging you to the same satanic level as your enemy’s?
Dedicated
opponents of the death penalty make this same point: what
possible
difference would it make?
If capital punishment works as a
deterrent, murder would be...dead.
If you belong to a gang, like
the Mafia, the Yakuza or even The Green
Bombers, it’s a different ball
game.
That’s your life… or death.
Zanu PF hurt many
people: in gratuitous carnage during election
campaigns; Gukurahundi;
isolated “bashings” in villages, towns, cities.
I know at least two
people with the intelligence to recognise why
revenge would not bring them
an iota of satiation.
One was the managing director of a huge
parastatal. In the 1980s, his
minister pressed him to employ a relative of
his.
The man, one of the best in his field, embraced the dictum
that if you
found an employee measuring up to your expectations, don’t let
prejudices
cloud your judgement.
You shouldn’t let xenophobia,
tribalism or nepotism muddy the waters.
He didn’t, but eventually
left the parastatal, to return to the
private sector, from where he had
come, after independence promised
“something beautiful”.
It’s
never clear, in such cases, what the real reason was. But it’s
fair to say
the minister was ambivalent at his departure.
Another was in
business on his own, but was not particularly enamoured
of the
party.
Foreign currency was scarce even then.
To
obtain it, you needed solid political connections, those with
“Pamberi!”
written all over them.
To this day, he perseveres like The Lone
Ranger, although not
recording the same success as that masked crime-busting
Western hero.
Most people would plumb for a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, as
the South Africans did. It’s the only
civilised way to handle the
uncivilised, dark past.
Most
important, in the aftermath of the bloody, explosive,
hate-filled period
such as we have witnessed in 28 years of Zanu PF terror,
is an honest
appreciation of how thoroughly needless and insanely puerile
all that
blood-letting was.
People didn’t have to die, kill each
other.
The cliché of “jaw, jaw” to “war, war” may sound hackneyed,
but it’s
as legitimate as it has always been.
After losing more
than 40 000 in the war of liberation, to lose 20 000
more after independence
displays a horrendous disregard for human life.
To have the leader
of a country declare publicly that all who disagree
with his party policies
would be “bashed” is an enormous repudiation of
everything the struggle was
all about.
The fight for freedom from colonialism is thus rendered
meaningless:
for most people, that freedom is circumscribed, if they are
killed or bashed
for not singing from the same hymn book as the ruling
party.
What has to be done is to determine that, in future, no more
will any
government assign to itself the role of judge, jury and
executioner, in the
absence of habeas corpus.
No government
should create an official apparatus whose prime function
is to eliminate
so-called enemies of the state, as Edward Chikomba was.
The
operative word is “reconciliation”, pronounced with the sincerity
of a
parish priest in 1980, but implemented with the mendacity of a crooked,
two-bit politician later.
Yes, the past is no period to long
for in the present, but its lessons
cannot be ignored.
The
purpose must be fair play for all.
If the damned still feel hard
done by, then they ought to be thankful
for small mercies.
After World War II, the Nuremberg trials sent many such people to The
Happy
Hunting Grounds.
By Bill Saidi
saidib@standard.co.zw
Zim Standard
Opinion
Saturday, 03 May 2008 16:06
THE best
way forward for our battered nation is the establishment of a
Transitional
National Commission, National Authority or, as others have
called it, a
government of national untiy.
This route, the only one left open to
Zimbabweans who actually have
the interest of the nation at heart, has been
grossly misrepresented and, at
times, deliberately
misunderstood.
No effort has been made to interrogate this
route.
First, we need to see clearly why this route is the only one
left for
the country to pursue.
We have two major parties in
parliament, divided almost exactly in
half. A sliver-thin majority for the
MDC, with a majority of two seats, is
not a basis for the establishment of a
government.
Parliament will frustrate the efforts of the Executive
in the hope of
forcing a situation of an ungovernable state.
The purpose would be to force a new election, where the incumbent will
be
hoping to win a fresh and bigger mandate.
The calling of new
elections would most likely not happen, though.
Instead, we will
still be operating under the current fatally flawed
constitution, with its
authoritarian entrenchment of presidential powers.
The temptation
will then for the incumbent president to invoke these
powers and effectively
rule by decree.
This will be understandable in the first instance,
if the provisions
are being used to take the country forward.
But it will be the beginning of a slippery slope to dictatorship.
Zimbabwe’s politicians, so blinded by the obsession with power, have
simply
closed their ears and consciences to this eventuality, demanding that
any
accommodation should involve giving them power.
So, what exactly is
this animal being proposed?
How would it work and would it
reasonable?
The questions demand clear answers if the interrogation
of this
concept is to result in a clear appreciation of the abyss into which
this
country is staring and how we can drawback from the edge.
This is because the idea of asking the Heads of State to get Mugabe to
step
down for another person sticks in their throat.
Stepping down for a
comprehensive transitional mechanism is another
matter
entirely.
It rules out the possibility of them being seen to
speaking up for a
specific party or individual.
As already
mentioned, the idea finds favour with them and would most
probably see an
end to the current impasse within weeks.
The National Commission,
National Authority or whatever you might call
it, would be a purely
transitional authority, with a tenure of office not
exceeding two
years.
This authority will be the government for those two
years.
It should be composed not only of the major political
formations in
the country, but should also include members and leaders of
civil society:
NCA, ZCTU, Youth Movements, ZESN, ZNCC, CZI, Ecumenical,
faith-based
(including Muslims) organisations and groupings as well as all
those
organisations that have been at the forefront of trying to shape the
Zimbabwe we deserve.
This is important because the task of the
national authority will be
to emerge from those two years with a framework
for a working Zimbabwe in
which all stakeholders will have made a meaningful
contribution.
The future and fate of this nation should not be left
to an elite
class of politicians only.
There is no evidence
that only the ideas of the politicians are
capable of guaranteeing Zimbabwe
a future as bright as the African sun.
The co-option of civil
society into the National Assembly of the
National Authority, therefore,
would be non-negotiable.
Once the whole nation (so to speak) is
sitting in a room together,
with representatives from all major
constituencies in the country talking to
each other, the business of sorting
this country out will then begin in
earnest.
The tasks to be
set for the National Authority should include the
immediate setting up of a
Constitutional Conference (which should also be a
National Assembly ( to
stand in the stead of parliament) to draft and agree
on a new
constitution.
Input into this constitution will be sourced from all
the
constituencies represented in the National Assembly, who will also be
tasked
with consulting their grassroots on the document throughout the
process.
At the end of those two years, Zimbabwe should have a new,
respected,
respectful and tamper-proof constitution.
The
details will obviously be worked out by the National Assembly, but
should
ideally include the provision that the constitution cannot be amended
unless
the issue is put to a referendum first.
By the time the two years
end, we should also have a strong economic
base, should have stabilised the
currency, and restored productivity.
By Simba Makoni
Zim Standard
Opinion
Saturday, 03 May 2008 15:54
TO run or not to run? For
Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC, that is,
indeed, the question.
After more than a month of waiting the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(ZEC)
has now finally announced that Morgan Tsvangirai won 47.9% of the vote
and
Mugabe got 43,2%.
This follows a strategic leak by the government
two days earlier
designed to deliver bad news to the people of
Zimbabwe.
Since no candidate secured the necessary 50% plus one
majority, this
means that a second election must be held in accordance with
Section 110(3)
of the Electoral Act.
Section 110(4) entails
that Tsvangirai and Mugabe, as the highest and
second highest recipients of
the votes cast on the March 29 election are the
only candidates who are
eligible in the second round.
This rules out any suggestion that
should one of the candidates
withdraw from the second round, then the third
highest may contest.
Essentially, it rules out Simba Makoni or
Langton Towungana.
Another point that must be made is that there is
absolutely no
provision for the replacement of a candidate by another
person.
Some readers have asked whether, for example, Emmerson
Mnangagwa or
Joice Mujuru could replace Mugabe as the Zanu PF
candidate.
That is not allowed under the law.
Only
Mugabe can contest in the second round.
In fact while it is true
that, politically, Mugabe represents Zanu PF
and Tsvangirai represents the
MDC, in a presidential election they are
actually standing in their
individual capacities.
In other words, it is not their parties that
are contesting for the
presidency but the two men as
individuals.
There is no room for substitution at the second round.
Mugabe, like
Tsvangirai, is on his own.
Section 110(5) provides
for an unlikely scenario, but given the
strange world of Zanu PF-managed
elections, one can never be too sure to
rule out any
possibilities!
The provision states that if at the second round the
two candidates
receive an equal number of votes, Parliament shall meet as an
Electoral
College to elect one of the two candidates as
President.
In other words, if there is a draw after the second
round, Parliament
will assume the role of electing the
President.
This is the equivalent of extra-time or penalties in a
game of
football.
This is a provision that appears to have been
designed without giving
much thought to the overall Zimbabwean electoral
architecture.
Legally, Zimbabwe does not have a Parliament at
present because under
Section 63(4) of the Constitution the period of tenure
of Parliament is
deemed to commence on the day the person elected as
President enters office.
In other words, the newly-elected MPs and
Senators cannot commence
their official duties until such time that the
result of the Presidential
election is known and that person enters
office.
Who then will constitute the Electoral College to elect the
President
in the event of an unlikely stalemate is not immediately
clear.
The enormity of the conundrum is probably mitigated by the
fact that a
draw between Mugabe and Tsvangirai is an unlikely scenario and,
therefore,
Parliament may never be required to sit as an Electoral College
in these
circumstances.
But this is a provision that the new
government will need to
reconsider because it makes little practical
sense.
Were it not for the provision requiring the winner of the
first
election to amass more than a 50% majority of the votes cast, it is
clear
that Mugabe would be history and Tsvangirai would be the duly elected
President of Zimbabwe.
This provision gives Mugabe another of
the proverbial cat’s nine
lives.
A question has arisen as to
whether Tsvangirai should contest the
second round given the clear
indications of violence and intimidation
designed to weigh in favour of
Mugabe.
There is no guarantee that the inordinate delays and the
shenanigans
that have affected the March 29 election will not be repeated
with
devastating effect in the run-off election.
Tsvangirai and
the MDC have good reason to fear that the run-off will
be a brutal
affair.
Zimbabweans do not have to look far back for memories of
Zanu PF’s
vengeance in the wake of defeat.
For example, the
rejection of the Constitutional Commission’s Draft
Constitution in the 2000
Referendum provided a wake up call to Zanu PF.
This enabled Zanu PF
to re-strategise for a major assault in the 2000
Parliamentary elections
during which it unleashed an orgy of violence that
included the seizure of
commercial farms.
The scenes of violence being witnessed now
therefore have clear
precedents.
One can therefore understand
Tsvangirai’s protestations and reluctance
to take part in the run-off under
the current conditions.
But is boycotting really a viable
option?
The legal implication is that Mugabe will remain as the
only eligible
candidate.
Whilst there is no specific legal
provision for what happens when the
other candidate withdraws from the
second round of elections, the likely
scenario is that the process will move
on and that Mugabe would be unopposed
and therefore would be declared the
duly elected president.
It is important to note that Section 110(4)
does not state that the
two candidates MUST contest; it only states that
they are the ELIGIBLE
candidates.
A provision that governs the
first election, Section 110(1), states
that if there is one candidate at the
close of nominations, that candidate
shall be declared as the duly elected
President.
It is likely that a similar interpretation will be given
at the
run-off should there be only one candidate after the other has
withdrawn.
A Tsvangirai boycott might make a strong political
statement which
would continue to test the legitimacy of Mugabe’s presidency
but would it
really achieve any more than is the case right
now?
With or without a Tsvangirai boycott Mugabe’s legitimacy is
already
facing and would continue to face hard questions.
It is
also important to bear in mind that for Mugabe and his circle of
friends
what matters most is the cloak of legality.
As far as they are
concerned, they are acting in accordance with the
law and the law requires a
run-off.
However unsavoury their tactics may be, they are only
concerned with
achieving their goal using the technicalities of the
law.
If Tsvangirai boycotts, they will simply go on, as they have
done in
the last four weeks and declare Mugabe the President.
Mugabe may want to bow out at some point because he knows there is not
much
that he can give but he wants to do it on his terms and he can only do
that
if he occupies the office of the president.
It does not matter how
he gets there — whether it be by a contested
run-off or by standing
unopposed in that run-off.
A Tsvangirai boycott, no matter how
principled and well-meant, would
simply open this legal gateway for
Mugabe.
That chance should not be awarded.
After all,
some people have lost lives and broken limbs and it is
likely they will have
sacrificed life and limb in vain should there be a
boycott.
It
might be argued that participating in the run-off would lend the
shoddy
process some measure of legitimacy.
The same arguments were used
prior to the March 29 election but in the
end participation was the only way
to make a point and the people of
Zimbabwe did get an opportunity which they
used to restate their will.
The fact remains that Zanu PF is now
officially the opposition party
in parliament and that Mugabe effectively
lost the popular vote to
Tsvangirai, something that could not have been
imagined a 20 years ago.
Combined with the 10% who voted for
Mugabe’s other opponents, it is
clear that the majority of Zimbabweans have
rejected the incumbent
President.
It should also be noted that
Zanu PF had a two thirds majority in the
last Parliament.
That
it is now the minority party speaks volumes about its diminished
fortunes
and influence.
To run or not run? I think to run is the
answer.
By Alex Magaisa: Based at The University of Kent Law School
and can be
contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk or
a.t.magaisa@kent.ac.uk
Zim Standard
Entertainment
Saturday, 03 May 2008 17:14
MUTARE sculptor,
Shame Kwatare is believed to have skipped the country
to South Africa after
he was severely assaulted by Zanu PF militia, while
members of a Harare
dance group are nursing injuries after they were beaten
by masked soldiers
last week.
According to the Artists for Democracy in Zimbabwe Trust
(ADZT), the
political violence sweeping across the country after the 29
March elections
has spread to the arts.
Musicians have been
attacked while entertaining people in the suburbs.
But Kwatare was
said to have been beaten because some of his pieces
tackled political issues
such as violence and hunger.
Okay Machisa, the director of ADZT
confirmed that Kwatare had fled his
home: "We can confirm that he sustained
some serious injuries, but seeing
that the militia, who beat him in front of
his family, might come back, he
decided to cross illegally into South
Africa."
He said it was important for the government to remember
that a quarter
of its foreign currency revenue was made through the art
industry.
"ADZT would like to categorically and vehemently state
that artistes
throughout the country will collectively revolt against anyone
threatening
or assaulting its members," Machisa said.
According
to a report by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association
(ZimRights) last week,
members of all-female dancing outfit, Malaika, were
beaten up together with
revellers at Club M5 in Westlea by people suspected
to be
soldiers.
The report noted an incident in Warren Park where a disc
jockey was
ordered to stop playing music, told to lie down before being
assaulted for
four hours.
The report alleged the soldiers "wore
hoods to cover their faces".
Some musicians who requested anonymity
said the violence and curfews
had affected their performances and most had
decided to shelve plans for any
shows until "the situation
normalizes".
"Bars and clubs have become no-go areas, especially in
high density
areas. It is sad that we, as artistes, have to go through
this," said one
male musician.
The government has in the past
isolated musicians and other artists
whose messages it deems to be
"politically incorrect" from public radio and
television
stations.
The musicians include the exiled Thomas Mapfumo and
Leonard Zhakata,
who is still operating in the country, but receives scant
play on the state
media.
The government’s favourite musicians
include the likes of Tambaoga and
Chinx Chingaira, whose repertoire is
emphatically pro-Zanu PF.
By John Mokwetsi
Zim Standard
Entertainment
Saturday, 03 May 2008 17:07
Another playwright
has taken a dig at President Robert Mugabe’s
controversial 28-year rule,
with a play set to take the forthcoming
Umthwakazi Arts Festival by
storm.
The Crocodile of Zambezi, set in a fictional country along
the Zambezi
River, is a result of a two-year collaboration between the
playwright,
Raisedon Baya, and Christopher Mlalazi.
It explores
a day in the life of the troubled country’s aging leader,
on the throes of a
personal and professional crisis.
On that particular day, the
leader celebrates his 94th birthday by
ordering a general amnesty for all
political prisoners.
This sees his alter ego, a man he has been
keeping prisoner for years,
also being released.
A train is
commandeered for the birthday celebrations and the leader
comes into contact
with his nemesis in the train.
A confrontation between the two
brings to light issues of succession,
retirement and leadership
crisis.
Preparations for the premiere of the play are said to be at
an
advanced stage with a cast drawn from youths and experienced actors
having
already been recruited.
It features the likes of
National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) award
nominee Aleck Zulu, veteran actor
Patrick Mabhena, Zenzo Nyathi and
singer-cum-actress, Pamela
Gonye.
Baya said he was thrilled the play would be finally staged
after two
years of hard work
"The time is now ripe for this
kind of play because we should keep
reminding ourselves and those that lead
us that we should never be prisoners
in our own homes," he said. "This
project has taken a lot of time and
courage to put together.
"We started working on the script two years ago but we had to abandon
the
idea halfway through when we felt the atmosphere was not safe enough for
us
to put up such a critical work."
Baya is known for such plays as
Super Patriots and Morons, Madmen and
Fools and Tomorrow’s
People.
The last two titles won National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA)
for best
production, while Super Patriots and Morons was nominated for The
International Freedom of Speech award.
The festival will be
launched on 19 May in Bulawayo and will run under
the theme "Bringing People
Together".
The festival’s main objective is to bring the people of
Bulawayo
together and celebrate life and the arts.
Among
disciplines that will be featured are film, poetry, music, dance
and the
literary arts.
Thestandard Sms
Letters
Saturday, 03 May 2008 16:31
THE cash printing press is working overtime, but it needs raw
materials such
as imported ink and paper, which Zimbabwe cannot produce and
gets from
outside the country.
As Zimbabwe is running very short on foreign
currency, very soon these
raw materials will run out and production will
stop, just as has happened to
most firms in this country.
Zimbabwe will experience a cash shortage worse than last year.
Zanu
PF will then be forced to face reality because the security
forces and the
storm troopers who are being used to do the party’s dirty
work will need to
be paid cash.
Zanu PF needs to learn what happened to Mobutu Sese
Seko when he
failed to pay his soldiers.
The endgame is near. —
The Oracle.
**********
ZANU PF has unleashed a campaign of
terror in the rural areas but the
chickens are coming home to roost. Just
you wait and see.
Mutoko, for example, supplies Harare with 80% of
its fresh produce
requirements but it is one of the areas worst hit by the
ongoing violence.
So there is no production of fresh produce and
very soon we are going
to witness a serious shortage of fresh produce, with
the little available
costing a fortune.
Imagine eating sadza
with nothing, as meat is already unaffordable for
many. But Zanu PF
supporters will be the worst affected as they cannot grow
anything — just
look at their farms. Let’s face reality: the endgame is
near. —
Prophetic.
**********
THE China arms deal is a sign of
things to come.
A German bank, which provided Ziscosteel with
funds, has been granted
a court order in South Africa to attach the
consignment of the arms
shipment, should it ever set foot on South African
soil.
Gideon Gono, the Reserve Bank governor once warned that this
would
happen if our foreign debts were not paid.
Soon other
creditors will be lining up to attach Zimbabwe’s exports
and imports, which
will mean no foreign currency coming into the country
from exports, which
will mean no wheat and fuel imports.
In other words there will be
no economy to speak of. — A Prophecy.
ROBERT Mugabe has lost his
support base because he ruined our good
nation.
We have given
him the red card and so he should retire from politics
and go farming. —
Musoni.
**********
WE are no longer free in our own
country.
I was waiting for someone at Chinhoyi shopping mall when
two policemen
approached me and started to bombard me with questions about
why I was
standing there.
Although I explained everything, they
started searching my wallet.
My question: Is this the freedom that
Robert Mugabe talks about? —
Moyo, Willowvale, Harare.
**********
WHEN Zanu PF came into power in 1980 wasn’t that regime
change?
So what is now wrong with the MDC wanting to effect regime
change as
well? Let’s stop blaming President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa for
our
self-created problems.
We have just repeated
it.
Morgan Tsvangirai should just consider a government of national
unity,
but not with Zanu PF, as they have nothing to offer and can only
derail the
process as they have things to hide.
The MDC needs
to remember that 25% of Zimbabweans couldn’t vote
because they are living
outside Zimbabwe. — T M K, Harare.
**********
“YOUR vote
is your secret,” they told us.
So where does Operation
Mavhoterapapi come in? It is one of the major
causes of anarchy in the
countryside.
What we want now is Operation ngaaende
Mugabe.
Enough is enough. — Myros & Gracia,
Harare.
**********
I WOULD like to remind Robert Mugabe
that the “one man, one vote” that
he fought for does not necessarily
translate to a Zanu PF vote.
It is not a betrayal to vote for MDC.
— S G, Kadoma.
ZIMBABWEANS in the Diaspora should just shut
up because they failed us
by not taking part in the elections.
There would have been no need for a run-off as is now being suggested.
It’s
just sad. — C K C, Mutare.
THE high-ranking officials who are
urging Robert Mugabe not to step
down and hand over power and who have
themselves vowed not to accept change
all have one thing in common: they
have young and expensive wives.
That is the sole reason for
clinging onto power.
They are afraid that they will not be able to
maintain the expensive
lifestyles that their wives are used to and are
afraid these wives will
abandon them. — Petticoat govt.
**********
THIS country is not a personal property of these so-called
security
chiefs.
We are not second-class citizens to
them.
Never! They should simply let go.
They have
looted and are already filthy rich.
We want to build our Zimbabwe
and these army generals, police and
prison commissioners should just go
farming. — Dhara, Beitbridge.
I would like the world to
know that Ngoma Huru Hospital suffers under
a dictatorship that enjoys the
suffering of subordinates while protecting
corrupt activities. —
Oppressed.
**********
Carruthers Avenue in Orange Grove
suburb of Chinhoyi has been without
water for 15 months. —A Resident,
Chinhoyi.
***************
Endgame Near
Letters
Saturday, 03 May 2008 16:28
IT’S time Zimbabweans woke
up and faced the reality of Zanu PF’s
tricks.
The trick is to
create an illusion that it is still in control because
the one who controls
the economy has power.
But Zanu PF has lost control of what remains
of the economy and its
storm troopers will wake up soon and realise that the
party has nothing to
offer and that they are just being used.
The illusion is that they will go back to the bush. Firstly, they are
too
old and who will feed them even if they were to do so? They will need
bases
and bullets, which they do not have.
They should face reality and
recognise that their time is over.
But Zanu PF does not want to
leave power because it does not want to
be held accountable for its
actions.
Zimbabweans have a problem of not asking the right
questions.
Why is the Registrar-General’s office building in
Herbert Chitepo
incomplete?
Why is the Interpol complex
incomplete?
Why is it that the Kuwadzana library remains
incomplete?
Why are the cities and towns without water when the
dams are full?
What happened to the funds for these
projects?
What happened to the Harare-Bulawayo Highway and how does
someone
amass such wealth on a government salary?
Someone
surely must be held accountable? — Soothsayer.
*********
Rumour Has It
Letters
Saturday, 03 May 2008 15:47
I
was walking across a sandy beach in mid afternoon with the hot sun
beating
down.
I looked back at the soft sand where I had just
walked.
The sand was completely undisturbed and there were no
footprints.
I also saw that I was casting no shadow Had someone
perhaps stolen my
footprints and my shadow?
That seemed
unlikely.
More probably, I had simply stopped making any impression
on the world
and my shadow had become bored with me and had decided to move
on to better
things.
By illogical progression, I then started
to speculate upon why it was
that the election had made almost no impression
upon reality and was casting
no shadow.
Had it been stolen or
was it that we had lost the ability to recognise
change?
There
seemed to be a rumour floating around that the people voted the
incumbents
out of office. But the Fiddler strongly believes that we should
never listen
to rumours and if we cannot avoid hearing them, we should
refrain from
passing them on to others.
Rumours can cause a frightful condition
known as alarm and
despondency.
This was a condition that was
prevalent during the Smith regime and
this regime used to incarcerate people
who created it.
To start off with it, it punished people who made
false statements
likely to make whites feel perturbed and
downcast.
However, in the dying days of that regime, it decided to
expand the
scope of this offence by making it a crime to make any statement,
whether
true or otherwise, that might cause whites to think that the
liberation war
was being won and that Smith would have to piss
off.
People who go around claim-ing to know the outcome of the
recent
election not only cause unnecessary alarm and despondency but also
commit
one of the gravest crimes imaginable, namely High
Treason.
Election pundits who sample the electorate and make
projections about
the outcome should be made to answer for this most
irresponsible behaviour.
So too, we should deal harshly with
members of political parties who
have the effrontery to add up the results
posted outside polling stations
and then jump to the irrational conclusion
that they have won.
The Fiddler maintains that we should always
stick to the verified
facts. (It’s best to use superglue for this
purpose.)
The problem is that the body vested with the power to
provide us with
the facts about the election is rather unforthcoming and
this, regrettably,
has led to some impatience on the part of busybodies who
feel that they have
a right to know what is happening.
The
Fiddler, whilst not condoning these prurient obsessions, has
decided to find
out the true position.
He has been fortunate enough to obtain on
loan an Information Ministry
Time Machine (Model Bright III).
The instruction manual on how to use this device is somewhat vague.
It has lots of useful information on how to protect our sovereignty
and
avoid being a colony ever again.
It also has detailed instructions
on how to recognise puppets of
little England. Eventually, however, the
Fiddler managed to locate the “fast
forward quite a bit” button and he was
whooshed into the future.
In this new time zone he discovered these
things:
* the Fiddler is even older than he was
before;
* the election results are still not out;
*
the evil of having in office wrong candidates who are not selected
by the
people will never be allowed at all cost;
* all those involved in
cancer-ous treachery and trickery in relation
to the elections will be
severely dealt with;
* potholes have been abolished by presidential
decree;
* there are no longer any power cuts as power has been
eliminated;
* the shops are well stocked with affordable
goods;
* climate change is speeding up.
By
Fiddler
************
Kudos For These ZESA Officials
Letters
Saturday, 03 May 2008 15:43
WE would like to applaud
Zesa for trying to turnaround the fortunes of
the power utility even though
under harsh and hostile working environment
due to the deteriorating
economy.
Residents of Ridgeview, Belvedere and Lincoln Green would
like to
appreciate the service we are getting from your members of staff at
Warren
Park section customer care notably Mudavanhu, Musunda and
Kaseke.
They are very professional when conducting their duties,
very
attentive, very good customer care skills and public relations, they
are
just exceptional, they have got customers at heart and always willing to
help, they still have that zeal to work.
All our faults are now
being attended at the very possible short
period of time and are sorted out
professionally.
All their phone lines are always active with no
hassles to get through
to them.
Our electricity bills are now
provided on line, only a phone call away
from your monthly bill-this is
marvellous and great.
No more headaches with overnight blackouts
and unattended faults.
Regular feedbacks are provided spot
on.
Secondly we give total support to your operation to curb
vandalism and
we are advising you that we are trying by all means to boost
our security so
as to protect our transformers and copper cables from
vandalism and should
you need any assistance feel free to talk to us and
protect our
infrastructure.
To the three above-mentioned
officials, please keep up the good hard
work and remain self
motivated.
We appreciate your work rate.
To the Zesa
holdings chief executive officer, these guys are an asset
to the
organisation and they must be treated in a motivational way so as to
minimise brain drain and they must occupy a special place in your
organisation.
O M
Belvedere
Harare.
*************
Church Authorities Must Probe This Bus
Company
Letters
Saturday, 03 May 2008 15:40
THE
Seventh Day Adventist Church in general and Nyahuni Adventist
Secondary
School in particular need to investigate issues around transport
being
organised for students at the end and beginning of each school
term.
I will use, as an example, what happened on Monday 28 April
2008 when
school children from the institution were travelling
back.
Towards the beginning of the new term, parents were advised
to pay
$500 million bus fare for each child from Fourth Street bus terminus
in
Harare to Nyahuni.
Yet on the morning of Monday 28 April
2008, parents were advised that
the government had made cheaper fuel
available to ferry children to their
respective schools.
On
arriving at Fourth Street bus terminus, parents and their children
found
there was another enterprising bus company that was charging $300
million to
take school children to Nyahuni.
Not only that, this bus company
was able to fill up and leave for
Nyahuni before 11AM.
The
pre-paid transport arranged by the school only arrived at 12 noon
and only
after irate parents called to find out what was happening.
There
was no school official whom parents could leave their children
under his/her
care. Most parents arrived as early as 7AM.
When the bus hired by
the school eventually arrived, school children
were asked to top up the $500
million bus fare with another $50 million upon
boarding.
There
was no conductor as the school official who came aboard the Muka
bus
appeared to be writing and issuing the tickets.
Parents struggled
to load their children’s’ trunks and luggage on top
of the bus and general
confusion reigned.
The other enterprising bus company had its bus
crew and assisted
children to load their luggage on the bus.
The question that most parents at the Fourth Street bus terminus asked
was:
Why was the school bus more expensive than the other bus company,
especially
when the government said it had provided cheaper fuel for bus
companies to
transport the children to their schools?
Irate Harare
parents
Harare.
*********
To Mugabe: Be Humble And
Respect Our Wishes
Letters
Saturday, 03 May 2008
15:18
ON behalf of the Zimbabwean population, I want to thank Robert
Mugabe
for what he has done for the country, both good and bad, the later
dominating:
You might be wondering and in surprise as to what
happened? To you,
this loss was a tsunami. Just to remind you of the not so
few mistakes that
led us to vote for change.
We expected from
you, sustainable and equitable socio-economic
development, and the
improvement of physical, intellectual, social and
economic health through
services as health, education, trade, commerce,
employment, rural and urban
development, and housing.
We looked forward to good governance,
which is vital for the happiness
of people, referred to in modern language
as Gross National Happiness.
GNH is the responsibility of the state
to create the right environment
where the citizen can seek and find
happiness, the goal of life, according
to the ancient Greeks.
Governance is the foundation upon which a country’s political
stability,
economic success, conflict resolution, efficient service delivery
and basic
human rights rest.
We would have wanted to retain you, but the
results on the ground show
otherwise.
You campaigned vigorously
basing your hopes on the land issue, but
this time, we showed you that you
are a great orator, who never delivers.
You pride yourself in
saying you gave back land to the blacks, yet
there is no proof of
that.
We are a starving nation, a nation with the highest
inflation, with
empty shop shelves, with a deteriorating health system, with
alarming rates
of corruption at the highest level, with an education system
that has failed
and poor or non-existent social services.
Mugabe, success is never a secret for those who are committed and
willing to
execute. Results and performance cannot be hidden.
Mediocrity can
also not be hidden for long.
To expect to reap where one did not
sow is fraud.
You have failed to deliver and for us to vote for you
would be
tantamount to suicide.
The Gospels say: “When salt has
lost its saltiness, it is thrown out
to be trodden under feet by men”. You
have equally lost your taste and we
are sending you to the trash
bin.
We praised you so highly soon after independence without
scrutinizing
your potential of love for humanity, over love of
self.
We anointed you saint and saviour and that was a mistake on
our part.
Absolute power has corrupted you absolutely.
In your
case, with respect, after misruling us for 28 years, this last
election
proved that we are politely awarding you the “much deserved
retirement”.
In this context thus, we voted against you for we
want change.
We all know that you are in shock and surprise,
something that you
never thought would happen.
Please respect
our wishes.
Pluck a leaf from the former premier of the island of
Barbados, Owen
Aurther.
When he lost the election held on 15
January this year, he made a
public statement accepting defeat and admitting
responsibility for whatever
happened during his years as Prime
Minister.
He said in Chamber: “I want without equivocation or
without any
reservation to accept full and utter responsibility for
everything that was
done by any officer, by any member of cabinet, by any
official during the
three terms that I was leader of this country, I accept
utter
responsibility” (The Daily Nation 27 March 08 –
Barbados).
In the political circles, this was regarded as a pearl
of wisdom.
Mugabe should learn from the former Barbadian Prime
Minister who
accepted political responsibility and accountability to the
people even if
the Prime Minister, pro tempore, did not actually know of
some wrongdoing.
Finally, we all expect from the new government, an
honest management
of public goods, commitment to the rule of law and the
promotion of human
rights and duty of all citizens to participate in the new
society.
I borrow from better minds than mine. Rabindranauth Tagore
says: “I
slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw a life was
service. I
acted and behold, service was joy”.
Such an attitude
should fill us.
Only through service would we obtain Gross National
Happiness and
economic empowerment and human dignity, not for a select few,
but for all
Zimbabweans.
Clyde B Chakupeta
Georgetown
Guyana.
Robert Mugabe's regime is determined to punish Zimbabwe's opposition - an arms embargo is needed to help prevent further violence
Although the Chinese ship which was carrying arms to Zimbabwe, the An Yue Jiang, has reportedly turned back, we don't know from where else President Robert Mugabe's military and paramilitary forces may be acquiring weapons. In light of escalating violent repression of the opposition MDC - and of those whose support apparently helped the MDC to prevail in the presidential election (the results of which have still not been announced after four weeks) - an international arms embargo on Zimbabwe is urgently needed.
In addition, we call on the African Union, with the support of the United Nations, to send an investigative mission to Zimbabwe to determine what additional measures may be required to carry out the internationally accepted "responsibility to protect".
The concept of the "responsibility to protect" was adopted unanimously by the UN World Summit in 2005. Yet, it remains controversial because it is often assumed that it implies the use of military force for purposes of humanitarian intervention. We believe, as was recognised at the UN World Summit, that military force should only be a last resort when needed to prevent or halt large-scale loss of life. The first step is to gather reliable information so that it is possible to know what international measures are required to prevent a disaster.
In the case of Zimbabwe, it is extremely difficult to obtain such information. Mugabe's regime has systematically shut down independent media, attacked independent civil society organisations, denied visas to foreign journalists, and has arrested and beaten reporters who have persisted in entering the country.
Foreign observers were present when voting took place in Zimbabwe on March 29; their presence helped to ensure that the election itself was peaceful. However, the observers have long since left the country and the reports which have filtered out suggest that in some parts of the country, Mugabe's opponents are now experiencing a reign of terror.
The constitutive act of the African Union provides in article 4:
"[The] right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity [as well as a serious threat to legitimate order]."
Here too, however, actual military intervention should only be a last resort. In the case of Zimbabwe, for example, it is possible that sending in unarmed observers from other African countries would be sufficient. Their presence and their ability to provide objective information might prevent a continuation or further escalation of the violence of the last few weeks - preventing it from reaching the point where it would require military intervention. Unarmed observers could also help to ensure that emergency international food assistance, on which much of Zimbabwe's population now depends for survival, is distributed equitably, without regard to the political leanings of those requiring it.
Earlier this year, the African Union, through the good work of the former UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, averted a calamity in Kenya after a disputed election led to widespread violence. The danger in Zimbabwe appears to be comparable. Once again, the African Union, with the support of the UN, should provide the leadership which would demonstrate that Africa has the capacity and the will to resolve a great crisis in a manner which mitigates the suffering of African people.
In association with Project Syndicate, 2008.
Comments
Comment No. 1317642
May 2 9:59
GBRDesmond,
Your thanks for coming on CiF is likely to come in the form of some halfwit (there's one in particular we have come to know and love) telling you that you're a stooge of the racists and the imperialists, and all you need to do is to wait the election results to be announced in that trustworthy publication, the Herald.
However, be reassured. These trolls are in a tiny minority.
Comment No. 1317674
May 2 10:08
GBRI'm not sure if that would help. He already owns lot of weapons and can easily smuggle them in through south africa.
Comment No. 1317690
May 2 10:12
GBRDesmond, you're right and also a good man.
The problem is dealt with in the book: 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone...' That's why the AU will do nothing.
I wish I could be less cynical and that I'm wrong.
Comment No. 1317834
May 2 10:47
More and more South Africans are coming to realise that the Archbishop is a giant alongside Nelson Mandela.
I wrote an article on racism as a tribute to - the godfather of all South Africans.
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/traps/2008/04/28/yes-mr-president-but-what-about-humanitarian-racism/
Comment No. 1318040
May 2 11:41
GBRMbeki needs to pull his finger out. Interesting article about Zimbabwe by R.W. Johnson (someone who often appears on CiF) in this fortnight's London Review of Books.
www.lrb.co.uk
Comment No. 1318050
May 2 11:46
AUSGood to see you taking some leadership Rev Tutu, well done.
With respect to arms embargoes of Zimbabwe, yes indeed. The presence of a Chinese ship full of weapons and ammunition is just the tip of a very large and poorly acknowledged iceberg. What must be understood is that China sells a lot arms such as this to a range of nefarious regimes.
In addition to Zimbabwe, the Chinese have been major arms suppliers to Burma's Military Junta, the Pakistani Military, the Sudanese and Iran. It was a Chinese-made, Iranian supplied "Silkworm" missile fired by Hezbollah that took out a merchant ship and nearly sank an Israeli corvette during the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Another supplier of arms is North Korea as it is a good source of hard currency for that sorry regime. The North Koreans gave a lot of training to the Zimbabwe military during the 1980s. A look at the military equipment inventory of the Zimbabwe Armed Forces is revealing.
Army Equipment supplied from China: Norinco Type 59 & 69 Main Battle Tanks; Type 63 light tanks; YW APCs; EQ2050 High Mobility ("Hummer" knock off) vehicle; Type 60 & PRC Type 54 122mm field guns; PRC Type 63 multi barrelled rocket launchers, HQ2 SAM, plus a wide range of small arms and mortars.
Army Equipment supplied from North Korea: T-55 MBT; T-54/55 ARV; VTT-323, BDRM-1 & BTR-50 APC.
There are also a number of tanks, APCs, artillery guns, rocket launchers and small arms supplied in the 1980s by the former Soviet Union.
China has also supplied the Zimbabwe Air Force with Nanchang K-8 basic training aircraft; Chengdu F-7 fighters; Guizhou FT-7BZ conversion trainers; Harbin Y-12 light transports. It is reported that Zimbabwe will soon acquire the Chengdu JF-17 "Thunder", a high-agility multi-role fighter produced jointly by China and Pakistan. These planes are to be supplied via Pakistan and have been ordered as a counter to South Africa's recent acquisition of the SAAB JAS-39 Grippen advanced fighter-bomber. The Chinese also supply bombs and missiles for their aircraft.
The Chinese are also reported to have supplied Zimbabwe with a complete air defence system during the 1990s including radars, control centres and SAM. The radar network was reportedly upgraded in 2006.
So it seems clear that the military cooperation between China and Zimbabwe is both extensive and recent. China, soon to be host to the World Summer Olympics should be asked to explain its behaviour in providing military equipment to such an odious regime as that of Robert Mugabe.
For the record, while they are asking this of China they might also turn the spot light on Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, all of who are culpable in supplying weapons to various unpleasant regimes.
Comment No. 1318052
May 2 11:46
GBRthe african union did good work in kenya (not so good in somalia if memory serves), but is it appropriate to send them into Zimbabwe with the possibility of large armed resistence to their prescence? the last thing Zim needs is a civil war or for the Zanu to use this as a platform, or even for the Zanu supporters to go to ground and fight a guerrilla war against the AU troops.
whereas i cannot come up with a better solution, nor would i put my knowledge of the situation anywhere near desmond tutu's (big up King's College), i cannot help but feel that the deployment of AU troops may lead to violence rather than the peacekeeping and observing mission.
however, tanzania proved that it was possible when they ended amin's rule in uganda...
Comment No. 1318122
May 2 12:05
GBRCertainly worthwhile sentiments from Dr TuTu but the kind of arms that Zimbabwe needs for internal repression - assault rifles and other small arms - are widely available on the international market and Zimbabwe probably has all it needs already. More complex arms such as aircraft are not really part of the equation.
Comment No. 1318143
May 2 12:09
GBRIt is bad that Mugabe, ZanuPF and the police chief have to be told by the AU and the world not to shoot, kill and torture their own people, that they are not responsible enough and an arms embargo must be put in force. That they need to be told that emergency international food assistance must be distributed equitably and not according to political leanings and used for bribery of a starving population. In the last week, a person who feeds orphans, the children of parents who have died of Aids, went to the Grain Marketing Board Depot to buy staple grain. She waited for 5 hours while bags of grain were loaded onto Mugabe's army trucks. They took every single bag and she had to leave empty handed, unable also to find any beans or soya to take to the hungry, vulnerable and alone shildren.
Zimbabweans have the capacity, will and bravery to resolve this great crisis themselves without too much outside interference, if only the AU and the world would stop giving Mugabe, his police chief and his government the benefit of the doubt and every encouragement. With all this support they have seen themselves as invincible - blow the rest of the country.
Comment No. 1318191
May 2 12:21
GBRGood article Desmond - but are you conveying all of this to Mbeki?
Comment No. 1319162
May 2 16:26
GBR@Finite187 - Last I heard the legendary archbishop and Thabo were not the best of friends so I think it unlikely. More to the point is Desmond speaking to Zuma.
Comment No. 1319255
May 2 16:56
GBRThe Bishop is an honourable man who has taken a consistent stand against oppressors whoever they may be.
I hold him in much higher regard than I do Mandela who I think is a decent person but, having been so admired in the West, failed to take apppropriate measures to effect meaninigfull change for the benefit of the peasant and working classes in SA.
That failure will come to haunt South Africans soon.
The most foolish thing Mandela did was to abandon SA's nuclear capabilities without first insisting that the existing nuclear club members honour their responsibilities to disarm as provided for in international agreements.
For the record, I am against nuclear weapons but belief that unless all nations disarm then every other nation should also acquire the capability.
The Bishop must now guard against the same "halo" effect that so blinded Mandela lest he too degenarate into becoming a distarous stooge for imperial western interests.
As regards the statement
" we don't know from where else President Robert Mugabe's military and paramilitary forces may be acquiring weapons."
Do not discount the UK which is the one of the biggest exporter of small arms in the world and which also armed and trained Mugabe's military and security services before, during and after "Gukurahundi" ( in which up to 30,000 innocent people are reported to have lost their lives - Tutu was one of the few international figures who critised Mugabe at the time while others, including the UK establishment, applauded and honored him)
This support only ended when Mugabe failed to protect the so-called "property rights" of a handfull of white land barons ( most of them actually know very little about farming)
Now that the Chinese have a foothold in Zimbabwe and other African countries do not be surprised if, to counter the Chinese influence, western countries conveniently overlook their principles ( actually, "so- called principles" which we know are very very flexible) and engage in arms trading with ZIM, just as they do with other murderous regimes around the world.
Comment No. 1319321
May 2 17:19
VCTNowhere in his rambling piece does Tutu mention that the fundamental cause for the economic problems in Zimbabwe is the massive credit squeeze and economic quaranting imposed by the combined West on a typically post-colonial feeder economy that is Zimbabwe's.
Just compare the post-colonial history of Zimbabwe's neighbour, Zambia to get the point.
In this regard, Tutu's one sided analysis should be seen for what it actually is: a silly comment by an effete African expressive of a psyche unretrievably mutilated by a variant of Western shamanism.
There's nothing more comically ridiculous than to see grown African man running around with a silly dog collar pronouncing inanities relating to the hand-me-down myths about some obscure man who supposedly lived a couple thousand years ago. I believe that there's another demented character originally from Uganda whose antics re Zimbabwe demonstrate how tender-minded souls were so easily infected by Western shamanism during colonial times. And these pooor souls just don't seem to realise yet that the joke is on them: "they handed us the Bible with one hand while snatching our lands with the other[backed, of course, with repeater rifles and Maxim guns].
Comment No. 1319324
May 2 17:20
VCTNowhere in his rambling piece does Tutu mention that the fundamental cause for the economic problems in Zimbabwe is the massive credit squeeze and economic quaranting imposed by the combined West on a typically post-colonial feeder economy that is Zimbabwe's.
Just compare the post-colonial history of Zimbabwe's neighbour, Zambia to get the point.
In this regard, Tutu's one sided analysis should be seen for what it actually is: a silly comment by an effete African expressive of a psyche unretrievably mutilated by a variant of Western shamanism.
There's nothing more comically ridiculous than to see grown African man running around with a silly dog collar pronouncing inanities relating to the hand-me-down myths about some obscure man who supposedly lived a couple thousand years ago. I believe that there's another demented character originally from Uganda whose antics re Zimbabwe demonstrate how tender-minded souls were so easily infected by Western shamanism during colonial times. And these pooor souls just don't seem to realise yet that the joke is on them: "they handed us the Bible with one hand while snatching our lands with the other[backed, of course, with repeater rifles and Maxim guns].
Comment No. 1319375
May 2 17:39
GBRFLYSWATTER:
What do you think about African witchdoctors? They're shamans too, aren't they?
Comment No. 1319744
May 2 20:14
GBRFlyswatter you moron.
Zimbabwe's economy has been destroyed by Mugabe. He confiscated land from farmers who, however they may have acquired it, at least knew how to farm it - providing Zimbabwe with its food and its export cash crops.
He didn't even give it to the farm workers - most of the confiscated land has gone to a few Zanu PF cronies who are NOT EVEN FARMING IT. Land is being unused while people starve!
By the summer inflation in Zimbabwe is going to be at about 500,000%. Please tell me why the West has any interest in an economy like that. How many companies operated in Zimbabwe in the 1990s? And how many now? You can guarantee the West is making less money out of Zimbabwe now than 10 years ago. The losers are those people who can't get out of Zimbabwe.
Comment No. 1319779
May 2 20:32
GBRSchweik
Comment Nlic on sideo. 1319375
May 2 17:39
You wrote :
"
GBR FLYSWATTER:
What do you think about African witchdoctors? They're shamans too, aren't they?
"
Whilst I am uncertain as to what point you are trying to make I must point out that the term "witchdoctor" is just one of those terms that colonists used to justify their actions in Africa and eleswhere. You know the usual tactic - demonise the ones that you are about to enslave, disposses, kill, rape, invade - to give a moral slant to the wicked enterprise.
So the African religious leaders, who were also the custodians of African customs, social practices and cllective historical memory of their nations, and who were, therefore, very inflential personna, were demonised as "withcdoctors" simploy to give the Christians ( Jihadists for Jesus) unlimited rein to do the bidding of their political masters.
In reality "witchdoctors" do not exist and never have.
Comment No. 1319875
May 2 21:05
GBRTutu my man. All very well what you say, but what is really necessary is a shipfull of hearing aids for that old man, turned up to max and then get Mbeki to turn his silent diplomacy up to FULL VOLUME !
Comment No. 1319937
May 2 21:33
GBR@ AfricanSnowman.
Sorry ,only saw your comment after I posted. You are mistaken in saying : 'In reality "witchdoctors" do not exist and never have.'
Since Africa is held to be the birthplace of modern man you'd probably have been more accurate had you said : Witchdoctors have probably existed since the dawn of man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_doctor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inyanga
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangoma
This latter article refers also to Credo Mutwa, who is a witchdoctor of international repute and as proud to call himself such as any top Harley Street surgeon is to call himself Mister.
Comment No. 1320039
May 2 22:27
GBRAfricanSnowman and Flyswatter have got themselves tied up in knots, so much so they can't see fact from fiction nor the present from the past. The redistribution of land was agreed to by the British during the independence talks. Mugabe has reneged on every agreement made during those talks.
Unlike Bishop Tutu, but like Mugabe, they (A and F) cannot understand sincerity.
And, actually, the White Farmers in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe were known to be the best farmers in the world.
Comment No. 1320085
May 2 22:49
GBR@Workshop.
Which ones ? It is usual to find in Southern Africa that, in commercial farming terms at least, 10 per cent of the farmers produce 90 per cent of the output from farming activities. Were these 10 percent better than the top ten percent in America, Germany, Holland, UK, China, India, etc.,and if so how do you average out the variables in your comparison ? Look, we all know they are good, maybe among the best in Africa, but best in the world....? At a good old bbq with the beers and brandy flowing freely perhaps ; )
Comment No. 1320189
May 2 23:53
GBRDesmond, I am not a religious man, but you are one of my hero's.
May your God bless you for all that you do in this world.
:O)
Please speak to Mbeki and make him see that he is squandering the goodwill for South Africa, so hard fought for by Nelson Mandela, by failing to utterly condemn Mugabe for what he has now become.
Peace to you.....you have ubuntu in plenty. :O)
Comment No. 1320542
May 3 3:50
CAN"And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Michah 4:3). Zimbabwe is definitely under the oppressive thumb of immense strongholds that fly in the face of grace, prosperity,love and peace; however, to date, the efforts of the nations have failed Zimbabwe. This is a poignant example of internalized oppression. Heavy financial sanctions cannot be blamed solely on a ruling party's obstinance, but a greater superpower's efforts to control the world and all of its people. Mugabe, though crazily clutching his dead horse, is not so far from the truth when he says that Zimbabwe is being manipulated by the powers at be. Only he's wrong about which way the wind blows against his house. Zimbabwe hides under the wings of China and Iran is also doing its part to pursuade Zimbabwe that she needs Iran (though we really know that Iran needs Zimbabwe). Zimbabwe is politically landlocked on all sides and reeling from the pressure. Though China and Iran are not particularly smart allies to chose from, at least according to the greater of the G7 nations, there is no bad blood between them as is the case with Britain et al. To the world, it seems that peace comes from a system that seems peaceful, but no such system really exists. In the end, we will all discover that Zimbabwe didn't need the EU, AU or any other U, but He who will come to save us all.
Comment No. 1321297
May 3 12:06
GBRRoomwithaview, I like that, the facts worked out in a good and reasonable way. Will you accept 10 per cent of the white farmers were definitely up there at the top with the best 10 per cent in the world. Even in Rhodesia, Canadian wheat was considered superior and bakers always wanted that when the Milling Company could get it, if only to mix in with the home grown wheat. Those who coud afford it sent their sons to Agricultural College in the UK, some to South Africa. Most of the farmers who tried their luck at farming in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe never made any money, many failed and especially at the height of the boom in tobacco growing. It's a fallacy they took the best farming land. Years had to be spent improving it before they saw a profit of any kind.
However, you were unforgivably wrong with one thing. This is Zimbabwe we're talking about, not Aussie land. No Zimbabwean goes to a bbq, the correct name is 'braai' (short for braaivleis), but that's okay - usual mistake. I've known beer to be available, not brandy.
Comment No. 1322283
May 3 22:35
GBRRoomwithaview,
just remembered a story about braai's - not all had that much beer and drink flowing, especially not at sports' braai's. The Rowing Club (Hunyani River) held Regattas at which there were, of course, braai's. Sir Roy Welensky was invited to one to present prizes - the Chairman of the Club challenged him, said he would eat his height (6 foot) in boerewors if Sir Roy ate his girth in boerewors. I'm sure you got beer and brandy mixed up with boerwors and steak.
(PS Both men were disqualified - no one ate more than about six inches or so).
The main point of this story is: Sport, cricket, football etc are being denied to Zimbabweans by Mugabe, the police chief Chihuri and ZanuPF. The people are too hungry, frightened, their lives mere survival.