The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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Zim Online

HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYERS PETITION AFRICA COMMISSION OVER DAILY NEWS CLOSURE
Sat 27 November 2004
  HARARE - The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has taken up the
closure of the country's biggest daily paper, the Daily News, and several
other cases of alleged miscarriages of justice before the Africa Commission
on Human Rights (ACHR).

      ZHLR director Arnold Tsunga and a human rights law professor at South
Africa's University of Pretoria, Michel Hansungule, are in the Senegalese
capital, Dakar, to make submissions to the commission which began its
two-week 36th ordinary session there this week.

      According to ZHLR board member Sheila Jarvis, the two are petitioning
the commission over what they say was a violation of the African Charter on
Human Rights by the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe when it refused to hear an
application by Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) against the
requirement that it register with the government's Media and Information
Commission before it could publish its paper. ANZ owned the Daily News.

      Police last year shut down the paper and its sister publication, the
Daily News on Sunday after the court said they were operating outside the
law and that they should register with the commission first before
challenging the constitutionality of the registration law.

      Jarvis said the ZHLR also wanted the commission to determine whether
the government's Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA)
which requires journalists and media companies to register before they can
operate was consistent with fundamental human rights.

      Other cases to be brought before the commission include the unresolved
petitions before the courts by Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party challenging victories by ruling ZANU PF
candidates in 37 constituencies in the 2000 general election.

      The opposition party challenged ZANU PF's victories saying they were
secured through terror and violence. Almost five years down and with another
general election only four months away, the petitions are still unresolved.

      The ZHLR will also petition the commission on the case of a foreign
journalist but resident in Zimbabwe, Andrew Meldrum, who was bundled out of
the country by state agents against a High Court order barring his
deportation.

      But Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who is expected in Dakar to
defend the government, has asked the commission to reject the petitions
saying some of them were couched in insulting language in breach of section
56 of the commission charter barring use of abusive language in petitions.

      Chinamasa also said the petitioners had not exhausted all local
remedies as required by the commission's charter. - ZimOnline
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Zim Online

ANALYSIS: Zimbabwe's 'election budget' not bold enough to rescue economy
Sat 27 November 2004
  HARARE - Acting Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa's budget for 2005 could
at best deliver some relief to the marginalised in society but not to
Zimbabwe's distressed economy, economists, business executives and the
opposition said yesterday.

      The Z$27.5 trillion national budget unveiled in Parliament on Thursday
lacked initiatives to spur growth in exports, foreign direct investments,
job creation and capacity utilisation, all critical for the revival of the
economy, they said.

      Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Luxon Zembe said
Murerwa's budget was too socially focused, attempting to fix the problems of
Zimbabwe's long suffering workers, the elderly and street children, but not
the major impediments to economic growth.

      Zembe said: "It's an attempt to resuscitate distressed individuals of
the community but is not bold enough on reviving the economy."

      On top of tax breaks for workers, Murerwa told Parliament the
government will next year set up a fund to support removal and
rehabilitation of children currently living on the streets.

      But Zembe, summing up the views of most business executives
interviewed by ZimOnline, said the business community was concerned that
Murerwa had not tackled corporate tax which he said was still far too high
affecting the competitiveness of local products in the region.

      Independent economic analyst Erich Bloch said the government's fiscal
paper was "riddled with serious omissions on programmes that could bring the
economy back to glory days when Zimbabwe was a bread basket."

      Bloch also noted that the impressive figures on the budget statement
showing reduction in government spending - one of the major factors fuelling
inflation - did not quite tally with the rate at which state expenditure was
actually declining.

      "Although in Zimbabwe dollar terms government expenditure is changing,
in real terms it has actually only marginally reduced," Bloch said.

      Murerwa told Parliament that the government had for the first time in
more than a decade almost balanced its budget. He said: "The government
committed itself to spend within budgeted resources and ultimately avoid a
Supplementary Budget.

      "I am glad this stance was achieved, resulting in a budget deficit of
$1,346 trillion by September 2004, against a target $2,179 trillion. This
positive development is attributable to expenditure control measures and
good revenue performance."

      The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party's
shadow economic minister Tendai Biti described Murerwa's budget as dishonest
saying it did not address the underlying political problems pushing the
economy down the precipice.

      Biti said: "This is an example of a dishonest budget statement, as it
fails to address the causes of the quagmire the county is in. It fails to
address the political end which has a heavy bearing on economic performance.

      "Murerwa did not tell the truth when he said the government achieved a
balanced budget because he has already used $800 billion from the 2005
budget availed for the 2004/2005 agricultural season in support of the
tobacco crop."

      Dismissing Murerwa's budget as an "election budget", Biti said most of
the revenue targets set by the government could not be achieved saying for
example that the 11.6 and 28 percent growth forecasted for the mining and
agriculture sector was unrealistic given the situation on farms and problems
in the mining sector.

      Agricultural production has shrunk by about 60 percent since
government land reforms destabilised the key sector while the mining sector
is unable to increase output because of shortages of foreign currency to
import fuel, machinery and spare parts.

      Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono said he feared the
increase in the tax-free portion of workers' annual bonuses could feed into
inflation which the central bank is battling to bring down from 209 percent
in October to between 150 and 160 percent by year-end.

      Murerwa increased the tax-free portion of bonus from $100 000 to $5
million effective this month. Gono said: "I hope companies would use the
excess funds for the productive sectors of the economy."

      Bloch said while he had not expected Murerwa to provide a quick-fix
solution to all of Zimbabwe's problems in his budget statement, he expected
the Finance Minister to address issues to do with governance and relations
with the donor community.

      He said: "We will not get access to international funds due to the
deteriorating rule of law. The government should ensure free and fair
elections, restore independence of the judiciary and start genuine efforts
to restore law and order if we are to
      achieve all our targets for 2005." - ZimOnline

Click here for the full budget statement
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The Telegraph
 

Zimbabwe... where a cheque for $20,000 is worth only £2
By Derek Pringle in Zimbabwe
(Filed: 27/11/2004)

Their first night in Zimbabwe and England's cricketers must be wondering what all the fuss is about.

Expecting to find Harare to be a cross between Hades and Fallujah, they will have instead seen a city cleaner and greener than most of its African counterparts.

The England cricket team at the Harare Sports Club
The England cricket team warm-up at the Harare Sports Club yesterday

Looks can prove deceptive in closed societies, although, with Michael Vaughan and his team enjoying VIP status, they are unlikely to see the other Zimbabwe.

What they regard as normal, such as the lush and well-tended gardens of the suburbs around Harare Sports Club, is abnormal for the majority here.

Queues, for food, petrol and visa applications at the airport, are a way of life, but the players are unlikely to pause for long. While journalists were held up for over an hour at Harare's airport, paying £35 for the privilege to queue later to pay $600 (£315) to the ministry of information for the all-important accreditation that almost saw the tour called off, the team were fast-tracked to their air-conditioned bus.

 
Graffiti on a wall in Harare
Zimbabweans pass a wall recently daubed with graffiti

To the casual eye, the ravages of Robert Mugabe's regime are not obvious. But little clues exist, such as the bearer cheques for 20,000 Zimbabwean dollars that are worth about £2 and really do have the look and feel of Monopoly money. They all have a "use by" date printed on them – in my case 31 Dec 2004. With inflation out of control, a higher denomination note will be required by then.

Evidence of the old colonial masters is equally elusive, though not to Vaughan and his men, who will find the die-hards carousing in the side bar at Harare Sports Club, the venue for the first two one-day internationals.

While they broadly welcome England here, not everyone appears happy at their coming.

On a wall 150 yards from the team's hotel, red-lettered graffiti bellows: ENGLAND GO BACK. SHAME ON ENGLAND. In these unpredictable times, it may yet prove prescient.

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The Times
 
Dispute over money casts new shadow over tour
From Richard Hobson, One-Day Cricket Correspondent in Harare
AS A weary England squad finally arrived in Zimbabwe almost 48 hours behind schedule, two cricket boards were becoming embroiled in yet another dispute. It is no surprise that money again lies at the heart of the matter, with Zimbabwe Cricket seeking compensation from the ECB after the one-day series was reduced from five to four matches.

In a rearranged itinerary, England will play in Harare tomorrow and on Wednesday before flying to Bulawayo for back-to-back fixtures next weekend. The match scheduled to take place yesterday has been dropped because Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, and David Morgan, the chairman of the ECB, refused to countenance squeezing it in early next week.

Zimbabwe Cricket believes that England are thereby responsible for a loss of income from areas including television rights, advertising and ticket sales. Even though the claim is thought to amount to less than £100,000, Morgan insists that no payment will be made as the fault lies with Zimbabwe.

He dismissed a request from Peter Chingoka, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, to play today. “That would have meant five one-day internationals in eight days,” Morgan said. “Four games in eight days is in itself a fairly heavy schedule and Duncan not surprisingly did not want to play more than that.

“Zimbabwe Cricket have indicated that they will suffer a significant financial penalty as a result, but we have made it clear that we do not believe that the ECB is liable. It is a consequence of the delay in accrediting part of the British media.”

Chingoka said that he was “disappointed” with the response, while Lovemore Banda, the Zimbabwe Cricket media and communications manager, said: “Zimbabwe Cricket would like to keep (the matter) between ourselves and our counterparts from England.”

The change in itinerary means the squad will spend seven nights in Harare and only three in Bulawayo, where the likelihood of demonstrations against Robert Mugabe’s Government is considered to be greater. Practice facilities are also better in the capital and the Harare Sports Club ground looked a picture when England trained yesterday before the game there tomorrow.

So far, the only conspicuous evidence of opposition to the tour has been some graffiti scrawled in red capital letters on a wall in Robert Mugabe Road, opposite the team hotel. It read: “England go home” and “Shame on England”. There were no protesters when the party arrived at the airport or when the team bus was escorted to the hotel.

Morgan is taking no chances, however. The number of backroom people with the squad now exceeds the number of players 15 to 14. As well as the eight coaches, management and medical staff who were in Namibia for the warm-ups, there are three ECB officials, Richard Bevan from the Professional Cricketers’ Association, two security officers from a company based in South Africa and a local liaison man.

“(The fact that) we are here assisting the management of the tour is evidence that we regard this as a different and special trip,” Morgan said at a press conference in which he offered perhaps his most defiant and forceful defence yet of the decision to play in Zimbabwe.

He hopes that fulfilling the matches — even four instead of five — will “bring closure” to an issue that has become big enough to be known as the Zimbabwe Affair. “Within the international cricket community, if we were not to make this tour it would have been nothing short of a painful running sore,” Morgan said.

Attitudes towards the chairman have touched both extremes. Jonathan Agnew, the BBC Cricket Correspondent, suggested that after keeping the tour alive his diplomatic skills might be well employed in solving the Iraq situation. Others, who think that England should not be here, have called for his resignation.

Morgan denied that he could have curtailed the trip on Wednesday after Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, said that member countries would be sympathetic towards a withdrawal. “The support of world cricket was completely conditional on making our very best efforts to obtain accreditation for the media concerned,” he said.

This is the background against which England are about to undertake one of the least appealing matches in more than a century of international cricket. Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen could make one-day debuts at this level and Simon Jones will join them if he is preferred to Alex Wharf. But whatever the extent of an anticipated victory it will be no cause for celebration.

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The Telegraph

Mbeki lashes out as Tutu attacks ANC 'favouritism'
By David Blair, Africa Correspondent
(Filed: 27/11/2004)

President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa delivered a stinging rebuke to Desmond
Tutu yesterday, accusing the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of "gratuitously
insulting" the ruling party by questioning its black empowerment policies.

The clash between the former anti-apartheid allies was another example of Mr
Mbeki's bitter resentment of criticism from independent voices outside the
ruling African National Congress.

He wrote a 3,069-word response after the retired Archbishop of Cape Town
criticised government promotion of black businessmen.

This policy, paraded as "Black Economic Empowerment", is designed to break
white control of South Africa's economy by creating a new class of black
entrepreneurs.

But Mr Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, said many beneficiaries
came from a small circle of wealthy figures linked to the ANC.

"What is black empowerment when it seems to benefit not the vast majority
but an elite that tends to be recycled?" he asked.

Mr Tutu said the government was neglecting the poor and "building up much
resentment which we may rue later," adding: "We are sitting on a powder
keg".

He accused the ANC of stifling debate among its members and said:
"Unthinking, uncritical, kowtowing, party line-toeing is fatal to a vibrant
democracy."

This drew a pointed response from Mr Mbeki. Writing in the latest issue of
ANC Today, the party's internal newsletter, the President said: "Evidently
the Archbishop thinks there is something wrong with ANC members agreeing
with ANC policies they have decided.

"He [Mr Tutu] contemptuously dismisses the members of our movement. The
Archbishop has never been a member of the ANC, and would have very little
knowledge of what happens even in an ANC branch. How he comes to the
conclusion that there is `lack of debate' in the ANC is most puzzling.

"Rational discussion about how the ANC decides its policies requires some
familiarity with the internal procedures, rather than gratuitous insults
about our members."

The government favours black-owned companies with public sector contracts,
even if these cost more than competing offers from white-owned firms. Such
deals were worth £4 billion last year.

Critics say that a handful of black businessmen, often former ANC leaders,
benefit again and again.

But the President accused Mr Tutu of spreading the "entirely false message"
that black empowerment "benefits almost exclusively a small elite composed
of members of the ANC".

He added: "We will continue to pursue the goal of increasing the wealth and
income in the hands of the black people of our country, as an inherent part
of the continuing struggle to eradicate the legacy of colonialism and
apartheid."

The "struggle" for black empowerment would continue regardless of the
"self-serving agendas" of his critics. Foremost among these is Mr Tutu, who
has attacked the government's approach towards the HIV-Aids epidemic and its
failure to curb President Robert Mugabe's excesses in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

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Independent (UK)

Du Toit gets 34 years' jail for Guinea coup plot
By Raymond Whitaker in Cape Town
27 November 2004

A court in Equatorial Guinea found Nick du Toit, a South African former
special forces soldier, guilty of a plot to overthrow the President of the
oil-rich country and sentenced him to 34 years in prison yesterday. Sir Mark
Thatcher and several other prominent Britons have been implicated in the
failed coup attempt.

Prosecutors in Equatorial Guinea had sought the death penalty for du Toit,
who confessed to leading an advance guard for the abortive coup before
retracting his statement, saying he had been tortured. Four other South
Africans and six Armenian aircrew were jailed for long terms.

The collapse in March of the plan to oust Equatorial Guinea's President,
Teodoro Obiang, and replace him with an opposition politician in return for
lucrative oil contracts has led to criminal trials in three countries.

Simon Mann, an Old Etonian former SAS officer has been jailed for seven
years in Zimbabwe for illegal arms buying, along with more than 60 South
Africans who were intercepted at Harare airport while allegedly on their way
to Equatorial Guinea.

South Africa's elite Scorpions detective unit arrested Sir Mark in August
and charged him with helping to finance the plot, but this week the case was
postponed until April to give investigators more time.

Lawyers acting for President Obiang were due to question Sir Mark yesterday
on his alleged part in the affair, but a Cape Town magistrate agreed to
defer the issue while he seeks leave to appeal.
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