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Mugabe, Gono on collision course over economic policy

Business Day

03 October 2007

Dumisani Muleya

Harare Correspondent

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe and his right-hand man, central bank
governor Gideon Gono, are on a collision course over company seizures,
barely two months after clashing over price controls.

The renewed public clash between Mugabe and Gono reveals growing divisions
within Mugabe's beleaguered regime over contentious policy issues as the
economy falls apart.

Gono attacked the government on Monday for trying to seize companies via the
Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill, saying the "grab all and run strategy"
would be disastrous for the economy. He said it would lead to capital flight
and economic decline.

The bill seeks to force foreign-owned companies, including mines and banks,
to surrender their majority shareholdings to local blacks.

Gono urged caution and said the government should not touch foreign-owned
companies - especially mines and banks - as they were the pillars of the
economy.

He reiterated his aversion to price controls; in July Gono clashed with the
president over the government's price reduction blitz that left shops empty
and the economy reeling from severe shortages.

Mugabe was, at the same time, defending the policy and threatening to
intensify the takeover of companies.

On his return from the United Nations General Assembly on Monday - as Gono
was making a monetary policy address to the nation - Mugabe insisted his
regime would seize firms that did not comply with price controls. He said
his government would ruthlessly deal with businesses engaged in
"profiteering".

"We are warning companies to examine themselves and charge the prices we
have set. If they do not comply with our set prices we will take them over,"
Mugabe told supporters at the airport. "We will seize the companies and take
over their operations. "

Mugabe recently accused business of trying to oust his regime through a wave
of price increases, claiming the companies were part of a western plot aimed
at regime change in Harare.

Gono yesterday briefed western diplomats on his latest monetary policy
statement and on the economy.

Diplomats wanted to know whether they should heed Mugabe or Gono on economic
policy matters .

They also wanted to know whether Zimbabwe would have an economic policy
shift .

Gono said on Monday, and repeated it yesterday to diplomats, that there was
a link between political troubles and the economic crisis, a view which
infuriates Mugabe.

"Our economic challenges and policies cannot be read and viewed in isolation
of the political challenges," Gono said.

This was widely seen as an admission for the first time by Gono that it is
not possible to resolve Zimbabwe's economic problems while Mugabe remains in
office, or maintain the policies which led to the crisis.


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Lonrho aims high with plan for LonZim offering

The Times
October 3, 2007

David Robertson
In what must be one of the most optimistic flotations of the year, Lonrho,
the investment vehicle once owned by Tiny Rowland, is seeking a separate
listing for its Zimbabwean assets.

The company confirmed yesterday that it plans to list LonZim, a Zimbabwean
investment fund, on London's Alternative Investment Market by the end of
this month. The announcement comes a week after the Zimbabwean parliament
passed a law that would allow the Government to seize control of any
foreign-owned company.

The public offering (IPO) of LonZim was greeted with scepticism by City
dealers yesterday. "It's quite staggering that they would try this now," one
said. "They must have balls."

The London and Rhodesian Mining and Land company has operated in the region
for nearly a century. Roland "Tiny" Rowland became chief executive in the
1960s and began a rapid expansion. It was broken up in the 1990s to pay off
debt, with the African mining assets becoming Lonmin, a FTSE 100 company.
Lonrho has continued to acquire infrastructure, property and transport
assets in Africa.

It announced the acquisition yesterday of two more companies in Zimbabwe
from an offshore vehicle called Blueberry. Celys is a telecoms and IT
company that prints cheque-books and has a Nokia concession in the country;
Gardoserve makes chemicals for the textiles industry.

These assets will be transferred to LonZim, which has raised about £32
million from backers including James Packer, Australia's richest man. It
hopes that the IPO will take its war chest to £100 million.


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Deputy minister rules out dollarisation

Zim Online

Wednesday 03 October 2007

By Ruziwo Chibanda

HARARE- A Zimbabwean deputy minister has ruled out dollarisation as a
solution to the country's eight-year economic crisis at a forum by
business -executives to present possible solutions to problems currently
bring faced in Zimbabwe.

Contributing to debate at the second American Business Association of
Zimbabwe conference in Harare yesterday, Deputy Agriculture Minister David
Chapfika said there was no way the country was going to adopt dollarisation
as a solution to the ongoing economic crisis.

Dollarisation involves the replacement of the Zimbabwe dollar by the more
stable United States greenback or other prominent currencies such as the
Euro so that any of these currencies becomes the medium of exchange and
standard of value in the country.

Official dollarisation would imply that Zimbabwe would relinquish its own
independent monetary policy and import the monetary policy of the issuing
nation.

There will effectively be no further role for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) since most of its functions - such as the monetary policy function,
the issuing of notes and the lender of last resort function - cease to
exist.

Dollarisation is usually adopted by countries suffering from economic
instability manifesting itself in the form hyperinflationary conditions and
lack of credible economic policies.

Zimbabwe currently has the world highest inflation of nearly 6 600 percent
and operates a dual exchange rate system where government transactions take
place at the official exchange while the bulk of deals are quoted at the
illegal but thriving parallel market rate.

"Dollarisation is a non-starter and I don't even have to consult my
principals on that. Let's not talk about it," said Chapfika.

He was reacting to proposals by Steve Hanke, a professor of applied
economics at John Hopkins University in the United States, on possible
solutions to the hyper-inflationary environment Zimbabwe is currently
facing.

Speaking via video conferencing, Hanke had proposed the adoption of the US
dollar as the official currency in Zimbabwe or the introduction of a
currency board to help the country out of its current problems.

A currency board is a monetary institution that issues notes and coins fully
backed by a foreign "reserve" currency and fully convertible into the
reserve currency at a fixed exchange rate.

The reserve currency will be a convertible foreign currency such as the US
greenback or a commodity such as gold chosen for its stability.

Business leaders at yesterday's meeting said the Zimbabwean economy was
already dollarised and called for political will to tackle the country's
crisis head-on.

According to Kingdom Holdings chief executive Nigel Chanakira, Zimbabwe was
already more than 60 percent dollarised as most transactions are now quoted
at prices pegged against the US dollar.

"Everyone who is using the fuel coupon system is already part of the partial
dollarisation," said Chanakira.

He however conceded that such a policy would not work in Zimbabwe, citing
resistance from the government.

"We all know that the political authority in this country is against the
idea of dollarisation and as a result it will not work," said Chanakira.

Economist Daniel Ndlela blamed the RBZ for exacerbating the
hyper-inflationary environment in the country by printing money in order
cover fiscal indiscipline since 2003.

"As a country we need to admit the truth and speak with one voice on the
causes of the hyper-inflation that the country is right now. We need to be
open with each if all these solutions are to bear any fruits," said Ndlela.

Hanke announced that he was going to publish a book on Zimbabwe' economic
crisis and possible solutions in the next few months. - ZimOnline


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Government turns to polluted dam to boost water supplies to Bulawayo

Zim Online

Wednesday 03 October 2007

By Lizwe Sebatha

BULAWAYO - The government is planning to pump water from the heavily
polluted Khami dam to the drought-ravaged city of Bulawayo amid strong
reservations from residents and city authorities who fear the move could
compromise the quality of water in the city.

Sources told ZimOnline that the government's Zimbabwe National Water
Authority (ZINWA) is pushing to reclaim water from Khami dam that was
decommissioned in 1998 because of high levels of sewage and industrial
waste.

Bulawayo Executive Mayor Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube on Tuesday said the quality of
water from Khami dam was seriously compromised adding that ZINWA would have
to "really clean" the water before it could be pumped to residents.

"The council stopped drawing water from Khami Dam because it is very impure
and we cannot compromise on water quality.

"Since it is ZINWA's responsibility to bring bulk water to cities, then they
have to really treat that water if they intend pursuing the plan. It
(treatment) has to be done very well," said Ndabeni-Ncube.

Bulawayo, which lies in the dry and arid southern Matabeleland region, is
facing serious water shortages with residents sometimes going for more than
a week without supplies.

ZINWA catchment manager for the southern region, Matson Chidakwa, said there
was nothing wrong in drawing water from Khami dam as it would be treated
before it is supplied to residents.

Chidakwa said water from Khami dam was in fact cleaner than that from lake
Chivero that supplies the bulk of Harare's water.

"Khami water is cleaner than that of lake Chivero. We have the funds for the
treatment of that water," Chidakwa said.

Chidakwa said ZINWA was only waiting for the go-ahead from the Bulawayo
council before starting pumping water from Khami dam.

The dam would supply Bulawayo with between 7 000 and 10 000 cubic meters of
water a day and help alleviate a water crisis that has worsened over the
past few months.

Bulawayo has faced perennial water problems for more than two decades during
which both residents and the city fathers have pinned their hopes on an
ambitious project to draw water from the Zambezi River.

The Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project, a long held plan to tap water from
the Zambezi River through the construction of a 450km pipeline to arid
Matabeleland, was mooted way back in 1912.

Costs have since ballooned to about US$600 million, way beyond what the
cash-strapped Zimbabwe government can afford. - ZimOnline


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Geldof accuses China of complicity in Zim crisis

Zim Online

Wednesday 03 October 2007

Own Correspondent

JOHANNESBURG - Irish rocker Bob Geldof yesterday accused China of complicity
in human rights abuses in Zimbabwe by helping President Robert Mugabe's
government to beat international sanctions.

The human rights and anti-poverty campaigner said China was abetting the
crises in Africa's troubled spots such as Zimbabwe and Darfur.

He accused Beijing of putting commercial interests ahead of the rights of
Zimbabweans through its economic support of Mugabe, criticised by analysts
for driving a once thriving economy into the ground and frightening off
foreign investment.

"There is a danger because that's naive and it's disingenuous. They're now a
major power and they must behave to international standards," Geldof said in
Finland.

Beijing is a key backer of the authoritarian Mugabe regime, ostracized by
the international community since 2000 when it embarked on a controversial
programme to grab land from white farmers.

Human rights abuses in the country have worsened over the years as the
83-year-old Zimbabwean leader reacted to Western sanctions.

Zimbabwe has since 2000 strengthened its relations with China as part of a
"Look East" policy premised on the need to find new trading partners and
markets following the souring of relations with Western governments that
protested President Robert Mugabe's violent land-grab programme.

China is now the largest foreign investor in Zimbabwe, replacing the Western
countries.

Mugabe denies ruining the southern African economy and blames the West of
leading an international vilification campaign against his government
following his decision to take land from white farmers. - ZimOnline


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Mugabe at odds with central bank chief over empowerment law

Zim Online

Wednesday 03 October 2007

By Justin Muponda

HARARE - Zimbabwe's economy will continue to hemorrhage as differences
emerged between President Robert Mugabe, who vowed to press ahead with a
plan to seize a stake in foreign firms to give to blacks and his central
bank chief who openly criticised the plan he says could cripple the little
foreign investment in the country.

The government is pursuing a radical plan to hand blacks 51 percent of all
foreign-owned businesses in the country and last week the lower house of
Parliament voted for that empowerment law which has been sharply criticised
by businesses and opposition lawmakers.

But Mugabe on Monday appeared ever defiant, saying foreign companies which
did not want to have blacks as major shareholders should stay away, the sort
of inflammatory statements which the veteran 83-year-old leader is known for
and are popular among supporters but which have scared away potential
investors.

Analysts said the discordance in policy pronouncements by Mugabe and Gono
showed the deep-rooted mistrust between the country's political and economic
leaders while the economy continued to burn.

"What this effectively means is that the governor can give all the advice he
wants, much of it in good will, but he has no political support on the key
issues affecting the economy," John Robertson, an economic consultant said.
"This is not good for investment and confirms that the government still has
no respect for property rights."

Gono had warned of "unintended consequences" if the government rushed
through with the empowerment law without due care and in remarks seemingly
directed at Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Paul Mangwana, warned
that reckless statements could hurt a stable financial sector.

Mangwana has steered the empowerment law through Parliament, telling foreign
investors they could leave Zimbabwe if they were not happy with the law that
is expected to be approved by the House of Senate before Mugabe signs it
into effective legislation.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe chief's monetary policy on Monday was meant to
revive a sickly economy but analysts said only a return to the rule of law,
upholding human and property rights, balance of payment support and
political reforms could pluck the economy from the precipice.

Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world, officially put at 6
600 percent but thought to be higher by independent analysts, unemployment
is above 80 percent and has the fastest shrinking gross domestic product
outside a country at war, according to the World Bank.

Its people are getting poorer, ravaged by shortages of food, fuel and
foreign currency and amid burst sewers, electricity and water cuts and
collapsing public services. Millions have fled to neighbouring countries and
as far away as Britain and Australia where they are paid better for their
skills.

On Monday, Gono had the task to reverse the trend but from the onset
promised no miracles.

He moved on to offer cheap credit to businesses and farmers, increased the
foreign currency retained by exporters, promised to introduce a new currency
to eradicate black market trade and to pay farmers of critical crops such as
maize and wheat half their earnings in foreign currency.

The agriculture sector, which the government says is the country's economic
anchor, has been in turmoil since 2000 when war veterans and Mugabe's
supporters embarked on a violent land grab of white-owned commercial farms,
dramatically plunging production.

Now Zimbabwe relies on food imports, a sharp contrast to past years when it
used to feed its neighbours and analysts said productivity had to return to
farms as a precondition to recovery.

"There is no co-ordination in policy and that's bad news for the economy," a
Harare banker said. "While we were cheering the governor on his bold advice
on Indigenisation, the President is busy undoing that. It is sad because at
this rate we are moving backwards when the rest of the world is marching
ahead," he said.

Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe uninterruptedly for 27 years and is seeking
another five-year mandate next year despite growing calls at home and abroad
for him to step down. - ZimOnline


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Harare Cool On Senegalese President's Proposal To Widen Crisis Talks

VOA

      By Blessing Zulu
      Washington
      02 October 2007

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade's suggestion that the Zimbabwean
mediation process be widened beyond South African President Thabo Mbeki and
his proposal to visit Harare soon for discussions with President Robert
Mugabe have not been met with particular enthusiasm by the Zimbabwean
government or its opposition.

Mr. Wade said Monday that more African leaders should be involved in the
resolution of the crisis in Zimbabwe and said he hoped to visit Harare in
two weeks.

"We should have an official position about Zimbabwe, but there is no
official position and this country is getting worse and worse," Agence
France Presse quoted Wade as telling reporters in Dakar. "We should do
something, and not say brother Mbeki please solve the problem of Zimbabwe.
He cannot solve the problem alone."

Wade said a broadened engagement by African leaders in cooperation with Mr.
Mbeki could facilitate a rapprochement between Zimbabwe and Britain. British
Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared recently that he will boycott the
European Union-African Union summit set for December in Lisbon is Mr. Mugabe
is invited.

Sources said that while Mr. Mugabe will send Mr. Mbeki a communication
expressing confidence in his mediation, he would not welcome the involvement
of a broader cross-section of African leaders, as this would suggest Harare
is in disarray.

Zimbabwean government sources said Harare was satisfied with the process as
it has been led by Mr. Mbeki, and indicated that if Mr. Wade traveled to
Harare to press for his involvement in the crisis resolution process he
would not be welcome.

The Zimbabwean opposition also expressed some perplexity with Mr. Wade's
offer to jump into the crisis resolution process alongside Mr. Mbeki, who
received his brief to mediate in March from his peers in the Southern
African Development Community.

But observers said it would not be a light matter for President Mugabe to
overtly snub President Wade, who exerts a strong influence within the
African Union.

South African Foreign Affairs Spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa refused to comment on
Wade's criticisms of Mr. Mbeki other than to say that Pretoria has a SADC
mandate.

But Wade's initiative found support from Zimbabwean civil society leaders
including National Constitutional Assembly Chairman Lovemore Madhuku, who
said Mr. Mbeki has shown he cannot solve the crisis and charged that human
rights violations have increased since mediation began, and that it has not
included key stakeholders.

Spokesman Nelson Chamisa of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio
7 for Zimbabwe that for now the formation wants to give Mr. Mbeki a chance.

South African-based political analyst Glen Mpani said Mr. Wade's
intervention was ill-timed as Harare has made clear it wants the matter to
remain in SADC's hands.

President Mugabe firmly rebuffed United Nations Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon last week at the U.N. General Assembly when he proposed a U.N.
humanitarian role. The country's economy is in full collapse and more than 4
million Zimbabweans are expected to need food assistance to fend off hunger
by early 2008.


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Brown loses fight to bar Mugabe from summit



Ian Traynor in Brussels
Wednesday October 3, 2007
The Guardian

Gordon Brown has lost his campaign to prevent President Robert Mugabe from
attending a Europe-Africa summit in Portugal in December despite the EU
travel ban on the Zimbabwean strongman.
The prime minister is also facing stiff resistance to his demand that the EU
appoint a special envoy to deal with the Zimbabwe crisis, according to
sources in Brussels. "It's the working assumption that Mugabe will be coming
if invited by the Portuguese as expected," said a European Commission
official familiar with the preparations for the first Europe-Africa summit
in seven years.

While a Portuguese official said no invitation had yet been issued to Mr
Mugabe for the summit on December 8, he also cautioned against concluding
that the Zimbabwean leader would not be coming to Europe.
The shadow foreign secretary, William Hague, yesterday joined Mr Brown's
effort to bar Mr Mugabe despite all the signs of failure. "We have asked our
government to ensure Mugabe is not invited to the African summit with the EU
and support the stand they have taken," he told the Tory party conference in
Blackpool.

But EU and Portuguese officials showed exasperation with the British
position, shrugging off the British boycott threat.

Mr Brown said last month he would boycott the summit if Mr Mugabe came to
Lisbon. It is not clear whether Britain will stay away altogether or be
represented at a lower level at a summit bringing together 53 African and 26
European heads of state or government. British officials said no decision
had yet been taken.

Mr Mugabe and 130 of his regime acolytes are barred from travelling to
Europe, but African leaders are insisting that Zimbabwe be treated the same
as everyone else for the summit. Portugal and other EU countries are
unwilling to jeopardise the summit by blocking Mr Mugabe, not least because
they are alarmed that they are losing out to China in the contest for
African trade and resources.

While Mr Brown is certain to be absent, Britain is pushing to make sure that
Mr Mugabe is confronted in Lisbon with vigorous criticism of the appalling
human rights situation in Zimbabwe. "If Zimbabwe sends anyone on the visa
ban list, the quid pro quo is that there has to be a discussion on human
rights and that could focus on Zimbabwe," a British official added. "The
condition for lifting the ban is that human rights is on the agenda."

While a consensus is emerging on a broad discussion of "human rights and
good governance" in Africa, there is also resistance to singling out
Zimbabwe lest that trigger a Mugabe walkout in Lisbon and a possible summit
collapse.

Following Mr Brown's boycott declaration last month, Britain last week asked
EU member states to appoint a senior envoy to deal with Zimbabwe. The
proposal is to be discussed by EU foreign ministers in a fortnight, but has
received a lukewarm response so far.

EU diplomats hope that Mr Mugabe will come under "peer pressure" from fellow
African leaders. They say that hectoring from ex-colonial powers is more
likely to trigger a backlash and generate African support for Mr Mugabe.


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Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mnangagwa take Zimbabweans for granted

Mmegi, Botswana

TANONOKA JOSEPH WHANDE

Circus maestros, Barnum and Bailey, couldn't have dished out better
entertainment. The greatest show on earth runs in Zimbabwe's politics and
parliament.

Go ahead; count the skeletons. It is all part of the grotesque act because,
you see, Zimbabwe's parliamentary circus plays with skulls, not balloons.

And these our parliamentarians, supposed custodians of our democracy, are
the authors of the current tragicomedy. They appease a dictatorship instead
of clipping his despotic wings.

Parliamentarians from both sides of the political divide are on the
Zimbabwean stage and are the ones cheering the audience. They are mistaking
activity for accomplishments.

Our parliamentarians were elected to represent the people's views yet, as
has become clear, they just attend parliament to assure their salaries.
Morgan Tsvangirai's mission, as leader of the opposition, was to topple
Robert Mugabe, albeit constitutionally, to restore democracy. And the people
gave him the necessary support.

Several times, Tsvangirai was physically battered for his efforts. The
so-called 'war veterans' were the first to have a go at him.

With the intensity of swarming bees, they beat him to a pulp, as he sat
helplessly behind his desk. But Zimbabweans were soon to discover that
Tsvangirai had more guts than one can find on an abattoir floor.

People almost thanked God. A lot then happened and some of his supporters
and assistants died horrific deaths, like being burnt alive inside locked
vehicles.

We remember all too well the farmers who were killed for their farms and for
showing an interest in the possibility of a change of government.

We remember much too well the hundreds of citizens who were beaten up,
abused and killed because of supporting Tsvangirai. Thousands, both black
and white, lost their homes, their property and lives. Dogs were set on our
children at colleges, with some disappearing and others dying mysteriously.

Just about everyone wished for a change of government. Tsvangirai soldiered
on, making some questionable decisions along the way. Although it is now
obvious that there were some traitors waiting for a chance to rock the
party, he must take the blame because he could have handled the issue
better.

Earlier this year, Mugabe's people had another go at him again. Tsvangirai's
puffed-up face was plastered on television screens across the world. The
leader of the opposition was paraded in front of the world in a torn shirt
and with bleeding scars on his head.

We were shown the blooded face of Nelson Chamisa, one of our legally elected
Members of Parliament. He could hardly talk and almost died. A Mack truck
could not have caused such damage; these were Mugabe's self-confessed
'degrees in violence' on display. Then a veteran cameraman was abducted and
murdered for allegedly filming these victims.

Very shameful, indeed. People continue to be abused. Expensive mediation
talks continue to be hosted outside Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, the country is
gearing up for parliamentary and presidential elections.

Whichever way one looks at it, it is all an effort to give people a chance
to change or renew their government's mandate.

Yet people are still being abused and starved or killed for supporting not
only an opposition party but a rival faction within ZANU-PF itself.

The mediation talks are being held ostensibly to level the political playing
field.
But, truly, it is Tsvangirai, who, more than anyone else, stands to benefit
from all these efforts. He is even the peripheral beneficiary of all this
mayhem.

Last week I learned that Tsvangirai had instructed his party's Members of
Parliament to vote for a constitutional amendment that allows Mugabe to
anoint his own successor.
To me, it was like reading a book with the last chapter removed.

Tsvangirai now instructs members of parliament, whom people voted into
parliament, to acquiesce to a bill that denies the people of Zimbabwe the
right to choose their own candidate. Many people were beaten up, starved and
killed for supporting the MDC parliamentarians from both factions but
managed to support them well enough to get them into parliament.

Because I have a curious oppression of spirit, I have questions that arise
from feelings.
To me now, the MDC behaves like a dog chasing a car and, as soon as it
catches it, does not know what to do with it.

I am honestly burdened with frank curiosity. Given the current scenario, can
Tsvangirai please tell me what the split within your party was all about?
May you enlighten me on why you let many Zimbabweans who supported both
factions get killed?

Survivors bear physical testimony as to how far people can go to fetch
democracy. Now the MDC tells the people it is fine to give Mugabe
parliamentary approval to short circuit democracy and to let him choose his
own successor.

But the circus is not being staged in only one part of the city. Across
town, Emerson Mnangagwa's supporters must be wondering what is going on.

Mnangagwa, a seemingly stronger choice among the drivel on offer, confuses
his own effort and chances. He clearly has a better inter-provincial network
than Joice Mujuru, Simba Makoni and all other hopefuls.

Most of Mnangagwa's supporters have always believed and were geared up to
campaign and win a presidential election for him. He has strong, passionate
and deceptively quiet supporters.

But alas, Mnangagwa is, once again, prepared to retreat into a corner until
Mugabe finishes gnawing at the weather-beaten bone that is Zimbabwe.

As Mnangagwa was stepping aside to let Mugabe continue with his murderous
rule, Tsvangirai was telling supporters that he had just given Mugabe a
parliamentary OK to choose a successor of his own choice, thus effectively
robbing Zimbabweans of the right to choose.

Take a little time and think, Mr Tsvangirai; you are about to become
guiltier than sin.
But meanwhile, as these ringmasters monkey around the circus-ring, the
'owner' of the circus is doing his funny bit too.

Mugabe is reported to have demanded, from, of all idiotic quarters, SADC,
immunity from prosecution, should he choose to retire. Not only that, he
wants a guarantee that the monetary wealth and personal assets that he
accumulated not be taken away.

ZANU-PF took over and ruined the country by stealing from the people but now
Mugabe says, in order for him to leave, he wants more perks from the very
same people he has been stealing from. From economic and political
survivors, Mugabe wants immunity from prosecution for crimes committed but
whose responsibility he does not acknowledge.

It is very easy to give Mugabe what he is asking for. All we need to do is
calculate how much he earned during his entire term as head of state.

Then we look at how much cash he has on hand, and how many farms and houses
he has. Should the value of the farms, houses and cash-on-hand exceed the
earlier calculation, of course, we will obviously want to know where the
money came from. That spells big trouble in any language!

In other words, no chance of such guarantees. Anyone who says 'yes' they can
guarantee him this, even if it is his own hand-picked successor, will be
lying, unless, of course, Mugabe chooses Thabo Mbeki to succeed him.

And immunity from prosecution is not possible either. Who is in a position
to offer Mugabe a guarantee of immunity from prosecution? Only the people
who were wronged. Not Gordon Brown. Not the EU. Not Mbeki. Not even the MDC.
It is only the Zimbabwean people.

Mugabe, Tsvangirai and company. The future is in clay since it can be molded
to our intentions. The past, our history, is cast in iron and that is why
Mugabe is having trouble with the phoney 'history' he has been trying to
feed to our school children.

As for  Tsvangirai, misunderstanding breeds distrust; you owe people an
explanation and pronto. As a leader, you are accountable to the people.

*Tanonoka Joseph Whande is a Botswana-based Zimbabwean writer.


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After Command Performances, Zimbabwe Police Free 'Final Push' Actors

VOA

      By Jonga Kandemiiri
      Washington
      02 October 2007

Zimbabwean authorities Monday released three men arrested over the weekend
for staging a play called "The Final Push" about the country's political
crisis, though not before Harare police obliged them to perform the play
over and over again.

Actors Anthony Tongani and Sylvanos Mudzvova and journalist James Jemwa now
face charges under the country's Censorship and Entertainment Act. Sources
said Jemwa challenged the arrest of the actors, leading police to arrest him
too.

Plainclothes police arrested the three men after their performance at the
Theater in the Pari in Harare Gardens late Saturday after taking in the play
from the audience.

In the play, ruling party and opposition politicians are caught in an
elevator together, obliging them to talk. The title "Final Push" refers to
an unsuccessful attempt by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in
2003 to spark a massive popular upsurgence which would force President
Robert Mugabe out of office.

Actor Mudzvova told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that officers at Harare Central Police Station made them to perform the play
12 times.


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JAG reminder communique dated 2 October 2007

Email: jag@mango.zw : justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw

JAG Hotlines: +263 (011) 610 073, +263 (04) 799 410.  If you are in trouble
or need advice, please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
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SUE LLOYD-ROBERTS IN ZIMBABWE

BBC World will show Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death on Wednesday 3rd
October at 1930 GMT and on Thursday 4th October at 0930 GMT & 1230 GMT in
Asia Pacific only and on Friday 5th October at 1530 GMT and on Saturday 6th
October at 0130 GMT, 1730 GMT  & 2330 GMT and on Monday 8th October at 0730
GMT.

Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death
Zimbabwe is on the point of collapse. Thousands of people are dying every
week from disease and malnutrition. BBC News is not allowed to report from
Zimbabwe, but Sue Lloyd-Roberts has been into the country, undercover, to
witness a country in despair.

The schedule will run as follows:

Wednesday 3rd October
1900 GMT          BBC News (as billed)
1930 GMT         Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death (replaces Our World: A
Country Practice)
2000 GMT      BBC News (as billed)

Thursday 4th October
0900 GMT          BBC News (as billed)
0930 GMT         Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death (replaces Our World: A
Country Practice)
1000 GMT      BBC News (as billed)

1200 GMT          BBC News (as billed)
1230 GMT         Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death (replaces Our World: A
Country Practice)
1300 GMT      BBC News (as billed)

Friday 5th October
1500 GMT          BBC News (as billed)
1530 GMT         Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death (replaces Our World: A
Country Practice)
1600 GMT      BBC News (as billed)

Saturday 6th October
0100 GMT          BBC News (as billed)
0130 GMT         Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death (replaces Our World: A
Country Practice)
0200 GMT      BBC News (as billed)

1700 GMT          BBC News (as billed)
1730 GMT         Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death (replaces Our World: A
Country Practice)
1800 GMT      BBC News (as billed)

2300 GMT          BBC News (as billed)
2330 GMT         Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death (replaces Our World: A
Country Practice)
0000 GMT      BBC News (as billed)

Monday 8th October
0700 GMT          BBC News (as billed)
0730 GMT         Our World: Zimbabwe’s Slow Death (replaces Our World: A
Country Practice)
0800 GMT      BBC News (as billed)


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Roll of Shame

The Zimbabwean

 The MDC's Information and Publicity Department this week resumes this
column which regularly names and shames individuals who are abetting the
Zanu PF regime in undermining the people's rights and derailing the train of
freedom and democracy. The MDC believes that such individuals must face
trial in the new Zimbabwe for crimes against humanity and for prolonging the
shelf-life of a regime that is now unpopular with the people. The following
people, in their individual capacities, are part of a large list that we
will be publishing, of personalities who stand guilty of various crimes such
as murder, brutality, assaults and other heinous and criminal acts that the
cornered regime is using to suppress and oppress the people of Zimbabwe.
This week, we name and shame the Zanu PF supporters who brutally assaulted
the wife of an MDC official, who later suffered a miscarriage in Musana
Communal Lands in Bindura in Mashonaland Central province. In the new
Zimbabwe, the wheels of justice will be fitted back on the train of
democracy and the following individuals should have honest answers on what
they were doing to fellow countrymen when this nation needed men and women
of conscience; men and women who value the sanctity of human life, human
rights and basic freedoms.

 The brutal assault took place on 22 September 2007, when a group of Zanu PF
supporters pounced on Shylet Nhemachena, (22),   the wife of MDC Youth
Chairman Makundeyi Muzavazi for ward 13.

 The following are the Zanu PF members who brutally assaulted Shylet. As
usual, they have not been arrested.

 Siriro Member
Mrs Sangayi
Novel Mutapati
Siriro Mukau
Andrew Mukau
Elizabeth Shangayi
Betty Shangayi

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