• Commonwealth conditions
• Zimbabwean firms feel crunch
• Utete land report
• Year-on-year inflation rate scales new heights
• South Africa tightens visa requirements
• MIC to explain why it turned down ANZ bid to register
• Prospects for ZANU PF, MDC talks fade
• Axe up for war veterans who assaulted Mhlanga
• 'AIPPA amendments cosmetic'
• Stop the rot
• NOTEBOOK
• Perspectives on the future of Africa
• Economic woes claim 250 companies
• TIMB set to extend tobacco selling season
• Mahoso grilled
• Zim media controller laughed at
• Commonwealth stands firm on Zimbabwe
• ZTA's Innovative Ways of Marketing Zim Welcome
• Four ANZ Journalists Charged
• Zimbabwe court hears newspaper appeal for license
• CSO Inflation Figures Inaccurate
• Yesterday in parliament (UK)
• JAG Communiques dated 16 October 2003
• JAG Open Letters Forum No. 167

Commonwealth conditions

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe will have to fulfil five conditions for re-admission
to the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon said yesterday. Speaking at a press
conference in Johannesburg, the Commonwealth Secretary-General expressed his
hope that the issue of Zimbabwe would not dominate the heads of government
meeting in Abuja in December, but conceded that the meeting may well be
overshadowed by the continuing political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
McKinnon said that the Zimbabwe government would have to:

Engage in real and constructive dialogue with the opposition MDC

Repeal repressive laws against journalists and the media

End harassment of the opposition

Address the issues of electoral malpractice raised by Commonwealth observers
at the 2002 presidential and 2000 parliamentary elections

Engage with both the UN and the Commonwealth with regard to lawful and
transparent land reform.

The first four issues, McKinnon pointed out, were similar to those imposed
on Nigeria when it was suspended under the Abacha regime. On whether Mugabe
might be invited to attend CHOGM in an individual capacity, McKinnon said
that the position was official and Mugabe would definitely not be attending.
President Obasanjo, host of the December meeting in Nigeria, has already
said he was unwilling to extend an invitation. McKinnon denied that the
Zimbabwe issue had split the Commonwealth purely on racial lines. He said
that even though Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain were in favour
of Zimbabwe's continued suspension, a number of Africa countries, and other
Commonwealth members, were also against Zimbabwe's re-admission until there
had been real progress towards democracy.

Zimbabwean firms feel crunch

Jobs lost, output falls as 60% of companies say they made no investments
last year

Bulawayo Correspondent

More than 1300 workers were retrenched in Zimbabwe's manufacturing sector
last year and 249 companies closed nationwide as the economy continued to
contract under the punitive environment. According to an industrial survey
of 2002, released by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI)
yesterday, industrial output during the period under review increased just
0,7%, reflecting the dramatic drop in productivity. The CZI is the country's
largest industrial association grouping for small- and large-scale
manufacturers, most of which are based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's traditional
industrial hub. The survey shows that in the first quarter of this year, 62
workers were retrenched from the engineering, food and allied industries
sector. It contains a sample of data from 43 companies, workers' councils,
industrial associations and quasigovernmental organisations such as the
Central Statistical Office and the Zimbabwe Investment Centre. The survey
reveals that exports in the manufacturing sector fell 17% last year, as the
fixed exchange rate system reduced the export competitiveness of the
country's products and services. An analysis of the reasons behind the
company closures reveals that most of the firms were hit by shortages of
foreign currency, high operating costs, reduced demand, competition from
imports, and a lack of raw materials.

The industrial body said there had been a considerable decline in investment
at company level, with 60% of the sampled businesses saying that they had
not made any form of investment during the period under review. In a report
accompanying the survey, the CZI called for an urgent review of the
government's exchange rate policy, to enable industry to generate foreign
currency and channel it through official coffers. "For that to be possible,
the exchange rate has to be clear and dependable. The exchange rate should
be managed in accordance with macroeconomic fundamentals," the confederation
said. At the moment the country has different exchange rates for different
sectors of the economy. Other recommendations contained in the report
include the removal of price controls on nonbasic goods and the deregulation
of the energy sector, to improve the supply of fuel. Industry is awaiting
the announcement of the 2004 national budget next month, although critics
doubt President Robert Mugabe's government will find a solution to
invigorate the economy. In the past the government has ignored studies
originating in the private sector. Traditionally, industry and agriculture
have been the mainstay of Zimbabwe's economy. Current and past economic
difficulties are blamed partly on disruptions in the commercial farming
sector, caused by the government's land reform programme

      10/16/2003 9:07:32 AM (GMT +2)

      SOUTH Africa has for the second time in two months tightened its visa
requirements to curb the influx of Zimbabweans visiting that country and
ease congestion at the local office.

      Locals are now required to pay a surety cash guarantee deposit of R1
000 or the Zimbabwe dollar equivalent. Previously, Zimbabweans were required
to deposit only $300 000 before travelling to South Africa.

      Although the local unit is officially pegged at $118 against the South
African currency, it is trading at slightly over $700. Zimbabwe is currently
experiencing a foreign currency crunch in the face of a faltering export
sector.

      The South African High Commission said those willing to pay in foreign
currency should provide proof that the money was sourced from a local bank.
The new requirements apply to holiday as well as business travellers.

      The new visa requirements are meant to restrict entry into South
Africa, which is now home to an estimated 30 000 locals.

      Most Zimbabweans are going down south in search of a better life owing
to the current harsh economic environment in the country. A number of them
are now staying in South Africa as illegal immigrants, living in constant
fear of being deported.

      Figures released from South Africa in 2000 indicate that 26 742
Zimbabweans were deported in 2000, 19 932 in 2001 and 18 033 last year. —
Staff Reporter

      On September 12, the government controversially closed the two ANZ
titles after the Supreme Court ruled that they were operating outside the
law and needed to register with the MIC.

      ANZ has in the meantime decided to re-launch the newspaper from South
Africa on the Internet.

      The administrative court may make a ruling on the matter today or
postpone it to a later date.

      Analysts are hoping for a more generous budget that offers real
incentives to exporters and the productive sector, which are central to
economic turnaround.

      Exporters in particular, would welcome a reduction in the portion of
earnings remitted at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) at the ruling
exchange rate.

      A lower export threshold for companies participating in the Export
Processing Zones would boost the number of foreign exchange earners.

      In its budget proposals, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries
(CZI) said the use of duty free certificates should cover the importation of
diesel in view of the deregulation of the fuel industry.

      The RBZ should also lower the percentage of foreign currency remitted
into its coffers from the current 50 percent to 30 percent, to improve
earnings.

      "Conditions for access to the portion of foreign currency that
companies are allowed to retain should be relaxed. We propose that
verification of the use of the foreign currency by the RBZ be done ex-post
than ex-ante.

      "We recommend the review of the export facility to be undertaken on a
quarterly basis as promised when the facility was announced.

      "This is important if export competitiveness is to be maintained," CZI
said.

      Due to the erosion in free tax bands, CZI has proposed an increase in
non-taxable income and the widening of subsequent tax bands.

      Companies exporting at least 60 percent of their turnover in value
added products should also pay reduced income tax as part of the export
incentive scheme.

      The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) said Murerwa should
craft a realistic budget that is sensitive to the compelling need to contain
expenditure.

      ZNCC acting economist Sam Mapungwana said the budget would be
incomplete without "clear economic stabilisation policy measures on
inflation, exchange rate and interest rate policy".

      "Policy-making in Zimbabwe has had a reputation for sudden policy
reversals and unpredictable regulatory environment.

      "A mercurial high-risk environment invites short-term investors, who
would not contribute to the long term growth of Zimbabwe," said Mapungwana.

      The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said budgetary
allocations based on historical votes do not work adding that the government
should focus on core issues, such as the provision of health, education and
housing.

      "At the moment the State's role is too wide, giving the impression
that it wants to do everything. In other countries, the government focuses
on policy issues, leaving implementation to existing agencies such as
parastatals," said Wellington Chibebe ZCTU secretary-general.

      Chibhebhe said the labour union was also pressing for the restoration
of the bureau de change to improve foreign currency inflows.

      Labour also suggested that since at least 80 percent of Zimbabweans
were affected by the drought, more resources should be poured towards food
relief.

      To avoid perennial supplementary budgets, the Finance Ministry should
insist on strict monitoring of the national budget by the relevant
parliamentary committee and other stakeholders.

      CZI said there should be a greater consistency and uniformity in the
implementation of economic policies.

      "Economic management is currently characterised by mistrust and lack
of consistency and uniformity in the application of policies. An example is
the implementation of price controls, which saw parastatals such as ZESA
(Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority), Air Zimbabwe, and NRZ (National
Railways of Zimbabwe) increasing their charges without going through the TNF
(Tripartite Negotiating Forum) process," CZI said.

      "The Government has not fully embraced the culture of consultation
with stakeholders, resulting in the implementation of ad-hoc measures that
have a damaging effect on business viability. The Government has also been
slow at implementing agreed measures, resulting in the unfulfilled
expectations and frustrations amongst stakeholders."

      10/16/2003 9:19:26 AM (GMT +2)

      Analysts said the ruling ZANU PF is prepared to drag the issue about
the resumption of dialogue with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
until the party clears the tricky succession issue.

      The general feeling within ZANU PF, which has ruled Zimbabwe since
independence from Britain in 1980, is that the two parties are currently at
sea in terms of their ideologies, hence the talks, just as had happened in
the past, are doomed to collapse even before they start.

      Interest within ZANU PF has shifted to the succession debate which has
already created division within the party. It is argued that it would be
easier for whoever is handed the baton stick by President Robert Mugabe to
win the hearts of the international community.

      The international community, led by Britain, the United States of
America and Australia, has been tightening the screws on the embattled
79-year-old guerrilla leader’s regime ever since it embarked on the
controversial land reform.

      Constitutional law expert and political analyst Lovemore Madhuku said
it makes sense for ZANU PF to be clear on President Mugabe’s political
future before the talks because any dialogue with the MDC would focus on the
ruling party leader’s style of governance.

      "Dialogue will definitely hinge on his (President Mugabe) retirement.
The MDC must not be academic about the whole process. The reality on the
ground is that a way has to be paved for his retirement before talking and
ZANU PF wants to be clear about that," said Madhuku.

      "That’s politics. Any leader can leave politics with his ideas as long
as he believes in them, but if the MDC wants to change President Mugabe,
then they have got another thing coming because they will not be able to
manage him."

      Failure to resuscitate dialogue between the MDC and ZANU PF could
worsen the economic crisis that caused at least 250 company closures last ye
ar and scores of job losses. The resultant poverty is unlikely to improve
ZANU PF’s acceptance in the urban areas, where the party has lost support.

      In fact, ravaging poverty could make it difficult for ZANU PF to
maintain the rural vote, which it has kept closely guarded by blocking the
opposition from campaigning in outlying areas.

      With prospects for the resumption of talks fading, analysts said the
MDC, which is challenging President Mugabe’s disputed election in court,
should not sit back but rather exploit emerging weaknesses within ZANU PF.

      "ZANU PF has thrived on causing division within the opposition and it
is sad that the MDC has not been as innovative," said an observer.

      Although the opposition’s use of mass stay-aways and successful
lobbying for biting sanctions that have resulted in travel restrictions
against ZANU PF’s top officials has worked, fresh strategies should
complement them.

      Jockeying for President Robert Mugabe’s post accelerated following the
death three weeks ago of his confidante and ZANU PF chief strategist, vice
President Simon Vengai Muzenda.

      Potential candidates tipped for the top post include speaker of
Parliament, Emmerson Mnangagwa, ZANU PF national chairman, John Nkomo,
former Finance Minister Simba Makoni and Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi.

      Heneri Dzinotyiwei, a political commentator, said both the MDC and
ZANU PF were not serious about the talks. While agreeing that the death of
Muzenda had put a damper on the resumption of talks, Dzinotyiwei said the
lack of urgency within both parties was the biggest impediment.

      "I don’t believe the debate on Mugabe’s succession is the main cause
for stalling dialogue. It’s just that there is no clear sense of urgency on
both parties," he said.

      At Muzenda’s burial at the national shrine, President Mugabe for the
first time made conciliatory remarks to the MDC, which gave him a run for
his money in last year’s hotly contested presidential election.

      Critics said overtures by President Mugabe were nothing other than
mere rhetoric.

      Contrary to his usual vitriol against the opposition, President
Mugabe, in an unusual about-turn, described the MDC leadership as "sons of
the soil".

      MDC’s national spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said despite several
public statements by ZANU PF leaders on the likelihood of revamping
political talks, nothing concrete was happening on the ground.

      "Despite all these statements, there has been nothing tangible yet
because as long as ZANU PF is pre-occupied with Mugabe’s succession, we will
not get anywhere," Nyathi said.

      "We are exactly where we were three years ago. Nothing has changed. We
have announced our negotiating team in readiness for the talks and what have
they done? Nothing. We hope the church leaders at the forefront of trying to
make ZANU PF see the urgency and need for talks will succeed, otherwise we
will not move an inch in the right direction. For now there is nothing going
on in that direction."

      Special Affairs Minister in the President’s Office John Nkomo is,
however, on record saying talks were going on at various levels in political
and social circles.

      Nkomo said: "We are discussing with everybody at various levels
including churches and other institutions. We have remained committed to the
resumption of talks . . . ZANU PF is talking to other people either
individually or in groups. I have no doubt in my mind that there will be a
breakthrough soon. What may be left now is the pronouncement of the
breakthrough."

      10/16/2003 9:25:00 AM (GMT +2)

      Transparency International (TI), the anti-corruption watchdog, last
week released a damning report on the shocking level of corruption in
Zimbabwe which it said was one of the countries showing worsening levels of
corruption.

      Although the TI report underlines how the cancer of corruption has
spread like wild fire through the fabric of the Zimbabwean society and
should therefore be a wake-up call, the most likely immediate reaction to
revelations of the worse-than-feared levels of corruption in Zimbabwe is
that of denial even though there is luminous evidence to buttress the TI
findings. The reason for this is that as the implications of the sentiments
expressed by the TI report sink in, pressure simultaneously rises for
Zimbabwe to nip the problem in the bud.

      However, it is imperative to note that much as we might not agree with
the sentiments of the TI's headline-grabbing report, we have to appreciate
that perception is everything in investment and business decisions. Instead
of shifting into the denial mode, we have to acknowledge the existence of
this problem for us to be able to solve it.

      In any case, the country's leadership has since, though mainly through
veiled references, acknowledged that corruption has now reached alarming
levels in Zimbabwe.

      The country is now feeling its knock-on effect on the economy. It has
tempered investor enthusiasm and in the process weighed down the economy by
choking-off business that could otherwise have come to Zimbabwe. We have to
face it head on to reassure circumspect investors and avert a further
deepening of the crisis of confidence that might be sparked by the TI
revelations.

      We do not believe that Zimbabwe is incapable of tackling the problem
which, if left unchecked, will certainly add strain to the country's
credibility as a reliable investment destination. That is why we feel that
the government should expedite the roll-out of anti-corruption measures. The
promulgation of the long proposed legislation against corruption should
therefore be prioritised.

      This should be an integral part of a concerted national effort to
repair the country's badly damaged image and return to a situation where
international fund managers and investment advisors have Zimbabwe as their
key pick among favourable investment destinations.

      We take cognisance of the fact that there is need for political will
to deal with this menace that threatens to reduce Zimbabwe to a banana
republic. This means that trying to stem out the deep-seated corruption will
by no means be easy both in perception and reality but the task is not
insurmountable. Where there is a will, there is a way.

      10/16/2003 9:27:03 AM (GMT +2)

      JOURNALISM in Zimbabwe has become very easy. Easy like a cook breaking
eggs! Why not, with this new "stock market' where many practitioners have
mastered and perfected the art of trading in diaries? Actually there is now
a bourse for diaries, you only need to know where it is found. Don't ask!

      What we are saying here is that a growing number of journalists are no
longer surviving by their own instincts, but by eavesdropping on other
newsrooms to hear which story this reporter is working on, which story this
other good reporter is working on and after that, try to pursue the stories
themselves. But a diary thief will never develop a story idea half as good
as the person who would have first conceived it.

      Lots of people are willing to be used in this eavesdropping game . . .
half-starving student journalists who are willing to sell even their
grandmothers for a loaf of bread, bored secretaries terribly over-worked and
criminally under-paid, randy male journalists dying to endear themselves to
incompetent female journalists in the next newsroom . . . you name it!

      Then there is a crop of tired senior journalists no longer capable of
conceiving a single story idea and who therefore have to survive on swapping
stolen diaries. This is the most dangerous lot because in most cases, they
are trusted and are therefore privy to the entire newsroom diary.

      In the past, it was not amusing for student journalists from the same
class but attached to different news organisations to phone each other
looking for diaries. But it becomes more worrisome when very senior
journalists would want to build their careers around stolen story ideas.

      Information reaching CZ is that so serious is business on this market
that others - in order to defend that tricked contract - are willing to even
pay some of these juniors who are able to leak other journalists' diaries to
them! This is unethical and should stop. Please! It's abominable! For now no
names!

      LAST week former ZIPRA intelligence secretary Tarcisius Swazini Ndlovu
passed on. Curiously, it took the mandarins in the ZANU PF politburo about a
week to grudgingly make up their minds about the late freedom fighter's hero
status!

      By then, his family had lost all patience and had proceeded to bury
him at Lady Stanley cemetery in Bulawayo.

      How many times have we told these ex-PF ZAPU people that the so-called
unity they were tricked into entering with the wily ZANU PF is no unity at
all?

      Can they now see it for themselves? If it was a former ZANLA
intelligence chief who had died, would it have taken a week for those ZANU
PF politburo members to decide?

      Most of the people who sit in that useless ZANU PF organ think that
hero status is a privilege especially reserved for them and no one else. Was
it necessary for Ndlovu's former colleagues in the struggle to lose their
dignity licking ZANU PF fat cats so that they can please accord him national
hero status?

      We know that there are some people in this party who think space may
run out before their turn comes, so they have to be very stingy with
national hero status. But we have seen in the past -when there was good
political mileage to make - some people who did not even deserve district
hero status being fast-tracked to the national shrine!

      AND South Africa's high commissioner to Zimbabwe Jeremiah Ndou thought
what we have been telling them is happening on the farms were all lies, so
he had to go and see it for himself. Good. And we are pleased to know that
he now has first hand information to tell "quiet diplomacy" Pretoria.

      He really got a feel of how it is like to live in Zimbabwe. He was
very fortunate in that Cde Joseph Chinotimba was just not in the area and
also that he did not get close to Themba Mliswa's farm.

      We expect his counterparts from Mozambique, Namibia and Angola to try
it as well instead of being led to that same farm in Mashonaland Central
where they are told things are alright in Zimbabwe.

      FINALLY CZ would like to know from Local Government, Public Works and
National Housing Minister Ignatius Chombo whether he was quoted correctly in
the state media this week when he reportedly said he would release US$150
000 to ZUPCO for the tired public transporter to buy 50 new buses.

      If he was quoted correctly, we would like to know which exchange rate
he will be using because at the official rate, US$150 000 is only $123
million and this is not enough to buy one good bus, unless one is buying it
from Magaba.

      Where can one get a bus for US$3 000 at the official rate? If one were
to divide $123 million by 50, which is the number of buses Chombo wants to
buy for Bright Matonga, then that effectively mean he is budgeting about
$2.4 million for each bus. Are these signs of some sickness somewhere
because the amount is not even enough to buy non-runner 1962 Datsun Pulsar,
let alone a Marcopolo!

      This shows the lack of seriousness with which misrulers of this
country claim to be trying to solve our problems.

      cznotebook@yahoo.co.uk

This emerged at the beginning of the hearing of the appeal by the Associated
Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) over the refusal by MIC to grant it an
operating licence.

Advocate Eric Matinenga, who was representing ANZ pointed out to MIC
chairman Tafataona Mahoso that his commission was improperly constituted.

Matinenga asked Mahoso, a government appointee, to explain how the three
representatives from media

houses were nominated.

According to AIPPA, four of the seven members of the commission are
appointed by the Minister of

Information and Publicity and the other three are nominated by publishers,
advertisers and journalists.

The other members of the commission are Rino Zhuwarara, Pascal Mukondiwa,
Sephath Mlambo, Jonathan

Mupenduka, Mahoso, Alpinos Makoni and Mrs D. Ruzvidzo.

Asked about this anomaly, Mahoso said the appointments were done by the
minister and that he had no powers over it.

Matinenga's heads of arguments before the President of the Administrative
Court Majuru, aided by assessors Tendai Joseph Chari and Augustine Timbe
were based on the alleged bias by Mahoso.

He argued that Mahoso's attitude towards ANZ, publishers of The Daily News,
were well-documented in

his articles published in the government-owned media.

In response Mahoso said: "After noting the public declarations, we also
noted that the transitional

arrangements made by the Minister were generous. Two weeks after the expiry
of the 31 December 2002

deadline given by the minister, the ANZ went to the Supreme Court.

We felt the commission could not violate the Act by giving ANZ an operating
licence."

Asked how they arrived at their decision not to grant ANZ a licence, Mahoso
said he and three other

commissioners convened a meeting on 19 September.

The meeting followed a Supreme Court ruling on 11 September which ordered
ANZ to register with MIC

because its operations were illegal.

He said during their deliberations they were aware that they were dealing
with an applicant who had "recklessly defied the law for eight and half
months".

Matinenga also pointed out to the court that the Act did not give the
minister powers to extend the period of registration.

Other issues raised by Advocate Matinenga were the basis on which Mahoso and
the other three commissioners denied ANZ an operating licence without giving
legitimate reasons.

The Daily News was ordered to close by the police on Friday 12 September and
most of its computers and office equipment were seized. Nearly 20
journalists were subsequently charged for working without being accredited
by MIC as required under AIPPA. Meanwhile, the hearing continues in the
Administrative Court on Friday. Staff Reporter

Harare - The head of Zimbabwe's state-controlled media watchdog organisation
was subjected to damaging questioning in the high court on Thursday as he
tried to justify his decision to ban the Daily News, the country's largest
selling and only independent daily newspaper.

Tafataona Mahoso, chairperson of the media and information commission, was
laughed at in the administrative court packed with journalists from the
now-closed newspaper, drank constantly from a glass of water, let his voice
sink to a whisper when asked difficult questions and repeatedly had to be
told by the judge to answer questions put to him by the newspaper's lawyers.

The administrative court, a branch of the high court, sat on Thursday to
hear the Daily News' appeal against its banning by the commission.

"Illegal" organisation

However, lawyers pointed out that in terms of notorious new press laws which
also established the media commission last year, the court's only power is
to refer the case back to the commission and ask it to review its decision.

Mahoso said the commission had decided to refuse the paper a licence as it
was an "illegal" organisation. He pointed to statements by its owners,
Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), that it would refuse to register
with the commission because the law, the "Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy" Act, was unconstitutional.

He became evasive when he was asked by advocate Eric Matinenga if the Daily
News had ever been convicted of a crime.

Another reason he gave for the commission's refusal to licence the newspaper
was that it had employed a journalist with a criminal conviction for
"criminal libel" against the government in 200.

Not a court of law

Mahoso was silent when asked if he was aware that the journalist had
appealed against the conviction, but had not yet had his appeal heard.

"Do you accept you are not a court of law?" Matinenga asked him. The supreme
court, dominated by pro-Mugabe judges, earlier this year heard the Daily
News' appeal against the law, but on September 11 said it refused to hear
the charges that it violated rights to freedom of expression and instead
told ANZ it had to apply for registration with the commission. The ruling
was followed a day later by the police raid.

Mahoso gave evidence that no formal minutes were taken in the meeting where
the Daily News fate was decided. Four of the seven members of the commission
were present, although he said the decision was "unanimous".

He said it was "irrelevant" that the closing of the newspaper was depriving
access to information to almost a million of its readers daily, twice as
many as the state-run Herald, the government chief print propaganda organ.

"You obviously are not being clear or you are deliberately not telling the
truth," Matinenga accused him. The hearing continues on Friday.

The Herald (Harare)

October 16, 2003
Posted to the web October 16, 2003

Chinondidyachii Mararike
Harare

It is true that the recovery of our country's tourism industry has been
hindered by the barrage of negative publicity in the wake of our just and
legitimate land reforms.

Thus, in the context of our revolution in Zimbabwe, the distinction between
politics and economics has never been blurred as now. The West's antipathy
towards our land reform programme has spawned hostile propaganda designed to
entrench political uncertainties in so far as our long-term economic and
political goals are concerned.

The UK and US governments have gone a step further, availing their
respective intelligence agencies - the M15 and the CIA - with millions of
pounds and dollars to fund the activities of reactionary forces and other
bandit groups that are hostile to our Government and its pan-African
leadership. Clearly, therefore, the US-led EU countries are fighting an
economic war against us on an issue that is purely ideological, and are
using their influence in international monetary institutions to withhold
loans from us so they can throw our economy into chaos.

Thus, we find the MDC mouthpieces in Zimbabwe telling us to reverse the land
reform programme, and by that implying we should give back Zimbabwean land
to the "whites". And so now the hostile Western media is writing a lot about
Zimbabwe's flagging tourism industry!

Yet, the reality is that Zimbabwe is showing that there are many ways in
which a good job to circumvent the imperialists can be done - as many ways,
in fact, as there are persons to whom the task of doing a good job of it can
be given.

Taking the lead is the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, which continues to
demonstrate that in these problems can be found the greatest opportunities
for charting our own paths to development.

ZTA and other stakeholders in the tourism industry are confronting these
challenges in the most innovative and revolutionary ways ever thought
possible in the circumstances, exploring and pursuing all the possible
alternatives to unlock the regeneration of this most lucrative sector of the
country's economy and, in the process, sidestepping the imperialist
impediments to the revival of the country's tourism industry.

The ZTA master plan, which the authority's chief executive, Dr Jokonya,
revealed to me, recognises that Zimbabwe's chances of making headway lie in
us pruning to the pith of necessity our business dealings with the
traditional tourism markets of the West, and to turn decisively to Far and
South East Asian countries such as Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, and Singapore, and to Persian and African markets.

Typically, the oppositional forces of doom and despair are already telling
us that Zimbabwe will not succeed in the Asian markets because we have
nothing in common with the Asians. Of course, this reluctance to deviate
from a given status quo - the "big brother West" mentality - is typical
reactionary thinking, and reflects a colonial mindset that derives from a
tradition of looking up towards the West for help.

The truth of the matter is that if we let tradition freeze our minds, new
ideas cannot sprout, progress is blocked and creative power is stultified.
Indeed, nothing grows on ice and this, perhaps, in part explains why the
political leaders who think neo-imperialism cannot be defeated (Museveni,
Mogae) will fail because their minds are closed to creative ways to bring
about the downfall of imperialists.

ZTA is proceeding regardless, and has embraced innovative approaches to
tourism marketing.

It is promoting Zimbabwe as a safe and exciting tourist destination, and to
diversifying and broadening the country's market reach and the servicing of
domestic, regional, continental, and global customers.

Thus, we're heading to the Far East, and this decision is deliberate and
selective: it represents a shift in emphasis from Western markets to a
greater focus on those in Asia.

There is absolutely no doubt that in recommending that Zimbabwe prunes to
the pith of necessity its dealings with the traditional Western trade and
tourism routes and placing emphasis on the domestic tourism market and
regional partnerships, ZTA recognises that Zimbabwe will not thrive at home
unless we take full advantage and control of the tremendous opportunities
abroad.

ZTA's pan-African policy commitments are most welcome, especially because
the deprivations we suffer today, in Zimbabwe in particular and Africa in
general, are largely a result of Britain and its Western partners pursuing
exploitatively racist policies in their bid to bring about commercial ruin
to our country.

In imposing sanctions on us and, at the same time, mount a concerted
propaganda war against Zimbabwe, the West is trying to stymie our
participation in all forms of world trade, to isolate us and, generally, to
restrict our economic investments - both domestic and foreign.

l To be continued

l Chinondidyachii Mararike is a lawyer, writer, political analyst, and
secretary-general of Davira Mhere.

For status, Africa's trading with the Western world is regulated by one of
the most unjust instruments of imperialist global governance: the World
Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
Even they, the imperialists, accept that this is so. And the same
Europeans - who 'developed' and expanded their international trade through
warfare and the marching of their legions in prolonged imperialist wars and
battles in Africa and every part of the non-Western world - have for far too
long dictated to us.

In Zimbabwe, our government has taken a bold stand against imperialists who
bring death and destruction into the African continent. Our ZANU-PF
government is sticking to its revolutionary pan-African agenda. We are going
to follow the policies we are following. Period. We recognise that neither
Chaminuka nor Mashayamombe, not Chiweshe or Nyashanu even, put in place the
trade relations that subsist between African countries on one hand, and
Britain and her US-led EU Western partners on the other.

By understanding Africa's perennial political and economic problems,
patriotic and conscious Zimbabweans realise that the West's attempts to
sabotage our economy are based on Western leaders' belief that the Caucasian
world constitutes the whole world, and too that on this one, the
imperialists are as mistaken as they have always been on everything else.
Fortunately, Africans are no longer looking at the world through the
equivalent of Western-supplied red sunglasses without even being aware they
are wearing them.

Revolutionaries in ZTA explain the causes of Africa's social and economic
problems in terms of historical and contemporary economic and political
realities, and as solutions they re-think strategies on how best to change
the main structures, systems and processes of contemporary world politics
and international relations. And so in saying 'no' to exploitative trade
relations with the West, no to traitors, no to imperialists, our Government
and the ZTA sure recognise that every time a man says 'no' to anyone
attempting to subjugate his fellows, it is for the sake of the present and
the future that such sacrifices are made.

It may just seem common sense to us and not at all complicated but what is
happening in Africa is that our theoretical assumptions are implicit rather
than explicit. The only way for Africa to decide which of the millions of
possible facts to look at, and possible alternatives to pursue, is by
adhering to some simplifying device which reflect the facts and alternatives
that matter the most to us. I call this a theory.

In this context, a theory is not simply some grand formal model suffused
with hypotheses and assumptions; rather it is some kind of simplifying
device that allows for decisions to be made as to which facts matter and
which do not, and the alternatives to explore. Thus the fact Zimbabwe is not
asking for any help or assistance from the West arises from our recognition
that for us to run to the West would be the equivalent of us crouching under
the wings of a windmill in search of sound sleep!

On the contrary, Zimbabwe rejects the premises upon which African countries
trade with the West, and by rejecting colonial-based trade ties with London,
Brussels, Copenhagen, Washington DC, Berlin, and Paris, ZTA contributes to
the dignity of the liberationist spirit. That is why it is important for
Zimbabwe to create and penetrate new trade and tourism markets, the Asian
markets in the Far East, and ply them. We have the power to expand without
limits. We are the masters. We speak in terms of the present and the future.

The Far East has over 400 million consumers with disposable incomes at least
equal to the rich-world average - markets large enough to warrant our
attention. The greater need for us to turn to the Asian markets arises from
our recognition that the West is currently pursuing a strategy to deny us
international trade opportunities and thus deprive us of export revenue
needed to import necessary products that will keep our industries going.

The obvious strategic outlook that this policy entails involve closer
business collaboration in opening up alternative markets for the country's
tourism industry and, in tandem with a programme of accelerated
indigenisation in the tourism industry, cultivate reciprocal responsiveness
and a more listening to each other between and among all stakeholders,
taking into account the national needs, and of the small and big businesses
alike.

The emphasis, according to Dr Jokonya, is to use different promotional
tools - such as advertising, sales promotion, personnel selling, publicity
through various channels such as the radio, televisions, websites,
newspapers, meetings, summits, conferences, summits - to promote Zimbabwe at
various forums, especially through Zimbabwe Embassies, Tourism Managers and
trade representatives, to establish direct relationships with clients in
order to initiate immediate and measurable responses, and to supply what
clients demand.

This, therefore, calls for policy-makers to consider market issues in
relation to national policies and that, therefore, decisions that may appear
to be in the domestic purview can have dramatic effects abroad and vice
versa, and any policy decisions or measures either at home or abroad or vice
versa should be seen in light in terms of reciprocal repercussions.

Increased awareness of and involvement with international marketing require
managers to be aware of the role of Government and also to be able to work
in ways that will likely promote, advance and attain national marketing
goals. This allows the ZTA to give full play to the increased and continuous
interaction between government and other stakeholders in the development of
a viable international marketing strategy as this enables representatives
abroad to communicate with a global market within the framework of this
vital link.

Zimbabwe is a rich country, and Africa is a rich continent. We need to
convert these riches into wealth in the same way that the poor Western
countries have turned Africa's riches into the wealth from which the
Europeans continue to benefit, and have done so for far too long to the
extent today they have the cheek to tell us we deserve aid from them.

NEPAD, AID, IMF-inspired assistance, and World Bank schemes are mere
'colours' with which the West seeks to paint the African-European-African
economic landscape. This makes it possible for the West to pretend they do
not really need Africa, need Zimbabwe - yet the reverse is true.

Thus, the strategy that ZTA is pursuing amounts to a total rejection of the
imperialist view of a unipolar world, of a world that starts and ends in the
West. Africa's world encompasses the whole world, and it starts and ends in
Africa.

Ngatirambeyi takashinga!

© Chinondidyachii Mararike is a lawyer, writer, political analyst, and

Secretary-General of Davira Mhere (15.10.2003)

Media Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek)

PRESS RELEASE
October 16, 2003
Posted to the web October 16, 2003

Four more journalists from the Daily News have been charged by the police
for practising without accreditation as required by the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIIPA).

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has confirmed that four
Bulawayo based journalists, Chris Gande, Oscar Nkala, Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu
and Grey Chitika are the latest to be charged under AIPPA.

The four bring the total number of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe
journalists arrested under AIPPA to twenty after sixteen have already been
charged for operating without accreditation.

The journalists were charged for violating section 80(1)(3) which compels
every practising journalist to accredit with the Media and Information
Commission (MIC).

The police recorded warned and cautioned statements from the four
journalists and would proceed by way of summons.

BACKGROUND

The Zimbabwean government closed the privately owned Daily News on Friday,
September 12, 2003, for failing to register with the country's Media and
Information Commission (MIC) under the Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Act (AIPPA). Section 66 of AIPPA says that all media houses must
register with the MIC.

The ban follows a Supreme Court ruling on September 11, 2003, that the paper
was operating illegally.

On September 25 2003, MISA appealed to the MIC to approve all applications
for registration from journalists working for the Daily News as their
applications should not be linked to that of their employer. MISA pointed
out that failure to register these journalists is in violation of their
rights to freedom of association. Journalists should be able to obtain their
licences separately from that of their employer as they should be able to
work for any employer or even freelance, MISA said.

Article 14 of the Charter of Fundamental Social Rights in SADC, states that
every individual shall be free to choose and engage in an occupation of that
person's choice. For that reason all media practitioners have a right to
work, to pursue productive endeavour, to engage in voluntary contracts, and
to the proceeds of their labour. No individual, and by extension - no
government - has the right to restrict an individual's freedom to choose his
or her employer, given that they are not impinging on the rights of others,
MISA pointed out.

MISA maintains that AIPPA is undemocratic and places severe restrictions on
the type of information journalists can report. The AIPPA gives the
government wide powers to decide who can practice journalism in the country,
while foreign media companies are prohibited from owning local outlets. In
addition, the act creates the MIC to monitor press complaints. The
influential chair of the commission is handpicked by the Minister of
Information.

Web: http://www.misa.org

HARARE, Oct. 16 — Lawyers for Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper --
closed last month for violating strict press laws -- told a court on
Thursday the state media commission overstepped its authority by denying it
a license.
       Police shut the offices of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ),
publisher of the Daily News, on September 16 after the Supreme Court ruled
the paper was illegal because it was published without the license required
by Zimbabwe's new media regulations.
       While the high court said it would permit the newspaper to resume
publication pending the outcome of its license application, this was swiftly
rejected by the government-appointed media commission.
       On Thursday, ANZ lawyer Eric Matinenga said media commission chairman
Tafataona Mahoso had no reason to deny permission to the Daily News -- one
of the most widely read newspapers in the country and a frequent critic of
President Robert Mugabe.
       ''I suggest to you that by denying the applicant registration you
seriously misdirected yourself,'' Matinenga told an appeal hearing at
Harare's Administrative Court.
       Mahoso, in turn, said the commission had rejected the application
because it was both too late and insincere.
       ''We were dealing with an applicant who was not only eight and a half
months late in applying but had actually demonstrated publicly that it did
not wish to apply,'' he said.
       The Daily News began publishing in 1999 and has been critical of
Mugabe's government as the country grapples with an economic and political
crisis widely blamed on official mismanagement since independence from
Britain in 1980.
       The paper had initially refused to register for a license to protest
against the laws, introduced soon after the veteran leader's controversial
election as president last year and seen aimed at silencing government
critics.
       The government argues the law is meant to restore professionalism in
the media.
       The Daily News is Zimbabwe's only private daily paper but there are a
number of local private weekly newspapers and monthly magazines also
critical of the government.
       Mugabe, 79, denies mismanaging the country and in turn accuses local
and foreign opponents of sabotaging Zimbabwe's economy to punish his
government for seizure of white-owned commercial farms for landless blacks.

Financial Gazette (Harare)

October 16, 2003
Posted to the web October 16, 2003

Harare

THE credibility of inflation figures churned by the Central Statistical
Office (CSO) has suffered a hammer blow because of damaging black market for
almost every commodity including cash, which has deformed pricing
mechanisms.

Analysts this week said the non-availability of some of the commodities that
constitute the Consumer Price Index (CP1) on the formal market has rendered
futile attempts by the CSO to compute accurate year-on-year inflation
figures.

CSO captures most of the information from the formal market, which has
suffered the backlash of price controls introduced in September 2001
resulting in manufacturers and traders diverting most of the products into
the illegal parallel market where they fetch higher prices.

The latest PriceWater-houseCoopers (PWC) inflation series estimates that
Zimbabwe's inflation could be running at nearly twice what the government's
official statistics show.

Although the rate of inflation for August scaled an all-time-high 426.6
percent in August, economist have for some time, doubted the accuracy of the
CSO figures.

According to the online Zimbabwe Financial News (Zfn), economists have
queried CSO figures because several price-controlled goods included in the
"basket" are only available at black market prices.

The official CPI survey, said Zfn, also does not directly measure the price
of fuel, which has risen more than 3 000 percent since severe shortages
started in November last year.

The CSO's series measures "vehicle running costs" and "public transport",
which values petrol at the special "strategic" price of $450. The
contribution to the overall index is also fairly lightly weighted at 6.6
percentage points.

"The official price of petrol was increased by 60 percent at the beginning
of the month to $1 980 a litre, but few people get it for that.

"Companies have for the better part of the past year been importing their
own fuel at around US$0.40 a litre, but the majority have to source fuel
from black market at $2 500 to $3 500 a litre.

"The situation has, however, eased in recent weeks with several garages
openly selling petrol at $2 600 a litre. This time last year, petrol was $74
a litre," said Zfn.

Kingdom Financial Holdings Limited chief economist, Witness Chinyama told
The Financial Gazette that it has become difficult to plan ahead in view of
doubts surrounding the accuracy of inflation figures.

"Policy makers would have problems because we now have a situation where you
say things are not as bad and so the response by government will be slow
until things get out of control," he said.

Analysts said CSO would also have problems in getting reliable information
on the black market because of the price distortion. Besides, it is an
illegal market.

The government, which has been blasted for running down the economy, is also
comfortable with a lower inflation rate to enhance its chances of staying in
power.

Trust Holdings Limited (THL) chief economist David Mupamhadzi said the
calculation of inflation has always been a problem in an economy driven by
the parallel market.

Mupamhadzi said the dual pricing system for fuel has also caused distortions
and one wonders which of the two prices the CSO is using in calculating
inflation.

The THL economist, who estimates inflation to reach 650 percent by year-end,
said: "It will take time before we reach a realistic inflation figure
because people are now used to the black market and some have developed
empires from that market."

"We should also point out that we need to revise the weighting of our basket
because there are some items that were suitable during normal time which
have since lost their relevance," said Mupamhadzi.

The International Monetary Fund, which has been backing economic reforms in
Zimbabwe until 1999, last year forecast official inflation to hit 522
percent by the end of this year as the government printed money to fund its
budget deficit.

Money supply statistics lag the inflation by around 6 months currently. The
most recent figures released were for March and showed broad money supply
growth (M3) accelerating by 20.8 percent from February to stand 206.7
percent on the year previous.

PWC's survey showed that the rise over the past year has been driven mainly
by plus-1000 percent increases in food and consumables. Two retail groups
canvassed by This Day also put their "basket of goods" inflation at 800
percent to 850 percent at the end of the third quarter.

According to PWC, meat prices were up 1029 percent on the year, fruit and
vegetables increased 1208 percent, and consumables rose 1443 percent.
Airfares, which drove much of the increase last year, were up 284 percent.

PWC calculates the index on a quarterly basis and shows just what happens
when the market or "parallel" rate (in government-speak) moves.

According to Zfn, high-income inflation was recorded at 705 percent
year-on-year at the end of the September quarter, with a family of four
requiring $89.42 million (R751.400 at official rates; R137.569 at black
market rates) to survive.

A year ago the figure was $11.1 million and in September 2001, the sum
required was $4.369 million, said Zfn.

"However, on a US dollar basis, there has been almost no change over the
year, with the cost of living pegged at US$14.903 compared with US$14.802
last year. A high-income family is defined as one with two children
attending private school, a wife with a car, a flight for the family to
Johannesburg every year with US$2.000 of spending money," Zfn said.

"The Zimbabwe dollar lost half of its value in the third quarter of 2003 and
in the following 3 month period, prices jumped 117 percent in the quarter.
The rate was fairly static, in fact it appreciated slightly, but then
started to slide again when the tobacco-selling season started in April.
"Having fallen back from the fourth quarter of last year, it accelerated
once more from 25 percent in the first quarter, to 51 percent in the three
months to June, and then leaped to 104 percent in September. Quite the most
obvious losers in the whole equation were domestic workers, whose salaries
were up a paltry 278 percent from a year earlier.

"Many wealthy Zimbabweans pay their domestics more than the minimum wage,
which was recently set at just over $12,000 for the most lowly paid - about
the equivalent of a 10kg bag of mealie meal.

"The shortcomings of an annual salary of $144.000 are also shown up in two
new inflation categories calculated by PWC. For middle and low-income
earners, PWC suggests the two groups would require $27.3 million and $3.859
million to live.

"Inflation was running at 111 percent in the 3 months to September for
middle income earners and at 89 percent for those at the bottom of the
spectrum," argued Zfn.

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's inflation rate has hit 450% and the country is running out of
local as well as foreign currency, the leader of the Lords, Lady Amos, said.

Replying to calls for further pressure on Robert Mugabe's government, she
said: "The British government's relationship with the Zimbabwe government is
such that very often what we say is not taken seriously."