Celebrate the MDC’s anniversary!| The ZIMBABWE Situation | Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe - may peace, truth and justice prevail. |
Celebrate the MDC’s anniversary!
Harare:
Sat 11th
Sept
10am - 2pm
Zimbabwe Grounds, Highfields
Bulawayo:
Sun 12th
Sept
10am - 2pm
White City Arena
Zvakwana was pleased to see the MDC’s exciting posters all over the place. A big pom pom! We the people need more of this outreach so that we can join together in the pursuit of democracy. Now instead of whispering your discontent behind closed doors, Get UP and Stand UP and make your way to Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare and White City Stadium in Bulawayo to seal your participation in the struggle for a better future for Zimbabwe.
"We are going to explain our
position to the electorate regarding the 2005 election. Our position is that
until such a time that Zanu PF implements the letter and spirit of the Sadc
protocol on the principles and guidelines on holding democratic elections we
will not participate. This is why we did not participate in Seke because the
by-election was going to be held under a flawed electoral system."
- Paul
Themba Nyathi
Remember
It’s not the size of the dog in
the fight
It’s
the size of the fight in the dog
Drinking slime – the
illegitimate government fails us once more
Every time you turn around these days
you are reminded how the zanu pf regime is failing to provide a decent way of
life for Zimbabweans. Yes, it is a human right to turn on your tap and get some
water to wash the baby, cook, drink and flush shit out the toilet systems. To be
speaking plainly what needs to be flushed out of our system is zanu pf due to
the fact that they are killing us – one time. Now we see that we are consuming
water (if we can get it) that is contaminated by sewage. Reports claim that our
taps will be running dry by suicide month – October. Already we are not getting
water for days on end! Zvakwana! Enough is very much enough. It is completely
disgusting that the small dictator can use billions of burials to build a smart
mansion and spend millions of dollars to buy some fancy satellite surveillance
systems for his rural home when thousands of hardworking Zimbabweans are denied
access to clean water. It is high time that you supported that energetic action
group Combined Harare Residents Association who are telling us the truth behind
council matters in the fading sunshine city: email chra@ecoweb.co.zw We are now requesting that
CHRA organise a massive civil disobedience campaign that will bring the smell of
outrage right under the noses of chombo and the small dictator.
Bye Bye
Bobby
Thank you
to Zvakwana activists who have been moving up and down the Borrowdale Road
painting Z everywhere. This is a resistance reminder to the mugabes as they
cruise down the road on their way to one of their new residences in the northern
suburbs. While the rest of Harare suffers water shortages, few street lights,
potholes and the like, the small dictator is having roads widened and tarred
nicely for his kompressor shock absorbers when he wails around the Brooke area.
And we read that baba chatunga was washing himself (lucky him that he has some
water to clean his armpits) when golden girl Kirsty backstroked to victory.
Apparently now he also thinks of himself as a dolphin because he was in the
water at that very time. But it is clear that he is struggling to hold his head
above water as the young sharks circle him for power. Bye Bye Bobby.
What is
your opinion of the MDC decision not to contest elections?
SW Radio Africa is
running some poll on their internet site asking you to say what you think of the
MDC pulling from elections. There are some choices that include playing a
tactical trump card, failing their responsibilities and throwing in the towel.
Go and have your say at www.swradioafrica.com
Reply requested from the MDC
We send a very big pom pom to the
civic leaders who went down to the notorious central police station to give
solidarity to the fearless NCA activist Madhuku. We need more of this as the
regime kicks out in frustration. But we are asking why the MDC did not show some
similar solidarity for Chamisa? What is their strategy like for supporting their
activists? Some answers pliz.
Thanks to the subscribers
who wrote in . . .
Thanks to the subscribers who were writing in to tell us what Morgan
popped his eyes over. You will be receiving your newspaper subscriptions
shortly. Please let us know when they land in your place. Our
favourite:
Mr. Tsvangirai is watching johnathan moyo singing his new CD
Back2black and expressing both repressed laughter and total disbelief at his complete lack of talent.
- AM, Harare
Meanwhile Zvakwana resistance music CD flies around the
countryside
We have been receiving some numerous requests that our very
popular Get UP! Stand UP! CD is made to be a cassette tape. If you would like a
copy of this cassette please write to us at news@zvakwana.org and give us your postal
address. But sorry for that - this is for Zimbabwe only. And if you write be
patient because we are so busy here and there.
Zimbabwe imports
milk
What a
stupid government we have. There needed to be better sharing of land resources
but now we have to import milk from those western countries that mugabe dislikes
so much. Dairy farmers say that raw milk supplies to the market have declined by
over six million litres over the past year. Milk production has fallen by over
52% since the inception of the land reform programme. Production fell from 18,7
million to the current under 9 million litres over the past four years. Maybe
mugabe will also be importing water as well from gay gangsta blair.
Join Zvakwana for news, views and ACTION!
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Mirror, UK
FANS SHUN ENGLAND'S JOKE START No-hopers first up for
Vaughan
Mike Walters
MICHAEL VAUGHAN leads England
into the Champions Trophy today in front
of a near empty Edgbaston against a
joke team who lost to the United States.
As a showcase for hosting
the mini-World Cup, England could not have
been dealt a more duff hand than
an opening fixture against Zimbabwe.
And despite presiding over an
unprecedented clean sweep of seven
consecutive Test victories, Vaughan will
be greeted by a sparse 5,000 crowd
this morning when he deserves a
tickertape parade in an open-top bus.
Seldom, if ever, in recent
times has the public delivered such a
damning verdict at the box office on
the poverty of England's opposition -
and perhaps the political regime who
sponsor them.
Since England boycotted their World Cup tie in Harare
19 months ago,
Zimbabwe's team has been cleansed along largely racial
lines.
And they have become so useless that they even lost by four
wickets to
the USA in a warm-up match this week.
Former players
argue that when the likes of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh
become such easy
pickings, international cricket becomes a devalued
currency. And instead of
filling Edgbaston to capacity for what should be a
walkover, streetwise
Brummies have not even been tempted by the hope of a
Freddie Flintoff
blitz.
They are saving their disposable income for a potential
semi-final
between favourites Australia and 13-2 second favourites England
on Tuesday
week .
Vaughan admitted: "I think our performances
and the entertaining
cricket we have played this summer deserves a decent
audience.
"You certainly don't want to see any mismatches but for
the good of
the game, the more countries who play cricket, the
better.
"We are preparing for Zimbabwe in the same way that we
would prepare
to face any other side.
"We have watched video
footage of their recent one-day series against
Australia and we won't take
them lightly. "These games can be a banana skin,
but if we replicate our
performances against India in the NatWest Challenge
we will be
fine.
"It's important to get off to a good start because this is a
huge
tournament and we believe we can do well - three good performances and
you're in the final.
"But I'm not sure we deserve to be ranked
among the favourites."
A game nobody wants to see, against a team
nobody thinks England
should even be playing, is hardly a spectacle to set
before a worldwide TV
audience.
And it could be a grizzly
reminder of the last time England staged a
major one-day tournament. At the
1999 World Cup, the opening ceremony at
Lord's consisted of a few smoke
bombs, Tony Blair's welcome speech was
sabotaged by a crackling loudspeaker
and England were knocked out before
they had even released the official
theme song.
And as if the event needed any more dark shadows cast
across it, the
England and Wales Cricket Board last night announced they had
agreed to a
five-match one-day series in Zimbabwe this winter.
To nationwide groans, the lionhearts of Lord's were too weak to defy
the
International Cricket Council and caved in to the remote threat of
suspension from Test cricket.
But the players' union remain to
be convinced and Vaughan's troops
have yet to commit themselves to the
trip.
Don't believe the anti-hype
The Wisden Verdict by Emma
John
September 10, 2004
From end of the very first
over, it looked like this game was going to live
up to the hype. Or rather,
the anti-hype. The crowd was as sparse as the
gloom was thick. Tinashe
Panyangara, an 18-year-old playing in his seventh
one-day international, ran
in to bowl the first ball of the Zimbabwe
innings, and sprayed it so wide
that it barely touched the cut strip.
Thirteen balls later, England were
licking their lips. Panyangara's first
nine deliveries had included seven
wides; he'd even had to change to round
the wicket in an attempt to bowl a
legal ball. He bore it well, and his
team-mates gathered round to lend
support, but the crowd were already
crowing. Oh yes, this was the Zimbabwe
we'd heard all about.
So you can only imagine the brooding in the England
dressing-room when play
was finally called off for the day, with five of
their top order out to
ordinary shots and, meaning no disrespect, ordinary
bowlers. Sure, England
are still in a decent enough position to win the game
tidily, if Steve
Harmison is anything like on form. But in those quiet
moments of
introspection, you wonder who's going to feel the most annoyed
with
themselves.
Will it be Marcus Trescothick, who hit 10 off 15
balls, only to bring his
fun to an abrupt end with an unwise cut? Michael
Vaughan, caught at second
slip, having just pulled two consecutive balls for
six? Perhaps it's Andrew
Flintoff, whose cameo was like a haunting by that
other Freddie, the one he
has so happily left behind. He hit one of his
trademark drives over cover,
the field dropped back, and a few balls later
he spooned his next attempt to
Douglas Hondo - now even better placed to
take the catch as he ran back from
mid-off.
England seemed well
enough equipped to deal with the damp in the air and on
the pitch, and to
put away the worst of the Zimbabwean deliveries with
complete comfort. What
they couldn't seem to do was control their own
ambition. Andrew Strauss was
a case in point, trying to be a shade too
clever as he attempted an edge to
third man, only for Tatenda Taibu to give
a nice demonstration of his
springiness as he took it far to his left.
By the halfway stage England
were 142 for 4; they had scored with deceptive
ease, but only one batsman,
Vikram Solanki, had made the most of the
situation and he too was out before
the early close. Zimbabwe - especially
Edward Rainsford and Vusi Sibanda who
both claimed their first international
wickets - can be pleased with today's
efforts. They have given this
particular script a re-write.
Emma John
is features editor of The Wisden Cricketer.
© Wisden Cricinfo Ltd
From Africa Confidential (UK), 10 September
Don't criticise it,
nationalise it
The Zimbabwe government has taken powers to
nationalise the assets of people
it regards as enemies of the state. It
works like this. A statutory
instrument (part of the trumpeted
anti-corruption campaign) allows the
government to arrest, detain and
investigate indefinitely anyone suspected
of a crime. On 3 September
President Robert Mugabe issued the Presidential
Powers (Reconstruction of
State-Indebted Insolvent Companies) Regulations,
2004. This allows the
government to appoint administrators to control
companies that owe money to
state bodies, including banks. In the last eight
months the Central Bank of
Zimbabwe has loaned out Zimbabwe $1.8 trillion
(US$327 million) to both
private and public companies.
Ghana Review
Minority leader mediate in Zimbabwe crisis
Accra (Gh) -
10 September 2004 - The minority leader of Parliament, Alban S.
Bagbin,
honoured an invitation by Parliamentarians for Global Action, to
moderate in
the parliamentary dialogue among legislators from the United
Kingdom and
Zimbabwe which took place in London yesterday.
The dialogue is meant to
improve relationship between Britain and Zimbabwe
and at the same time
improve good governance in Zimbabwe. PGA is a unique
network of more than
1,350 legislators from 110 parliaments engaged in a
range of action-oriented
initiatives in the world as well as their various
countries. In his
acceptance letter to the organization, Bagbin said he
deemed it an honour to
be given an opportunity to serve the course of
humanity by participating in
the dialogue as a moderator. Other Ghanaian
executive members are Ken
Dzirasah, who is the president of the executive
committee and Ms. Theresa
Ameley Tagoe, who is also a member of the
councillors of the PGA.
Water shortages force schools to close
[ This report does not necessarily
reflect the views of the United Nations]
HARARE, 10 Sep 2004 (IRIN) -
Water supplies to huge swathes of Zimbabwe's
capital city, Harare, will be
cut to just six hours a day because of severe
shortages.
Oriel Boys
High school in Harare has been without steady water supplies for
several
weeks. The school authorities have now decided to start the new
school term
but hold classes only until 11 am each day.
Pupils milling around the
school entrance, who have put up with daily water
cuts by the city council,
said they were worried about the impact the latest
developments would have
on the school schedule.
"I hope we will be having normal water supplies
by then [next week] because
we cannot afford any disruptions in the third
term," a pupil told IRIN.
This is the most important term in the
Zimbabwean education year, when final
examinations are written Some schools,
however, failed to reopen this week
as a result of water shortages that have
left thousands of residents without
constant supplies since last
year.
A teacher at one school in the capital said on condition of
anonymity that
the situation was desperate. "Toilets here are closed - we
cannot use them
because there is no water."
Lake Chivero supplies
water to Harare and satellite towns such as Norton,
Chitungwiza and Ruwa.
Harare has also reportedly reduced supplies of water
to these areas in an
attempt to reduce consumption. The city's water
problems have been blamed on
the ageing water reticulation equipment at the
water works.
Former
Harare mayor Elias Mudzuri told IRIN that residents of the capital
city and
satellite towns were consuming contaminated water and claimed that
information he had obtained revealed that Harare could run dry next month.
There was a grave risk to residents' health, he alleged.
"The [water]
treatment plants are terribly bad and Lake Chivero is badly
polluted. The
water currently being consumed has a bad smell because of the
untreated raw
sewage flowing into the lake and I have since stopped drinking
it," he
said.
Some residents have called for the intervention of the ministry of
health
and child welfare as the situation was deteriorating. Another
resident said
it was high time the health ministry intervened if a disease
outbreak was to
be avoided.
"Just imagine children being unable to
use toilets. We have resorted to
digging pits in our gardens, which we use
for relieving ourselves. Can you
imagine the risk we are putting our
children under?"
He said residents in his neighbourhood were
contemplating holding a peaceful
demonstration to show their frustrations
with the way the city council was
conducting its business.
Professor
Chris Magadza of the University of Zimbabwe this week warned of
the danger
of microcystin levels rising well above World Health Organisation
recommended limits in Lake Chivero. Microcystins cause cancers, intestinal
disorders and damage human male testicular chromosomes, he
explained.
Hunger returns for vulnerable households
[ This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
BULAWAYO, 10 Sep
2004 (IRIN) - Some households in drought-prone southern
Zimbabwe are in
urgent need of humanitarian assistance, despite the
government's insistence
that there will be a bumper harvest, aid workers
told IRIN this
week.
A tour through the traditionally dry districts of Bulilima in
Matabeleland
North province, and Mangwe and Beitbridge in Matabeleland
South, found that
although some families were still subsisting on last
year's harvest, others
had exhausted their supplies.
"Since
non-governmental organisations such as the World Food Programme and
World
Vision stopped distributing food aid, the situation has become
increasingly
bad for most people here," said the village headman, Tobokani
Tshuma, at
Matjinge area in Bulilima.
Some households in Bulilima had resorted to
barter, trading earthenware pots
across the border in Botswana for food.
Others with few employment
prospects, IRIN was told, were relying on the
generosity of their slightly
better off neighbours.
The government's
cancellation of an assessment mission by the UN's Food and
Agriculture
Organisation (FAO)/World Food Programme in April means there has
been no
independent survey of crop production this year. But the authorities
insist
that Zimbabwe will deliver a record harvest and in response,
international
food agencies have suspended general feeding.
Despite the government's
upbeat production forecast, the provincial
governors of Masvingo,
Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South made a
joint appeal for aid in
July, warning that people were already facing
shortages.
The Zimbabwe
Vulnerability Assessment Committee, made up of humanitarian
organisations
and government representatives, reported earlier in the year
that about 2.2
million rural people would not be able to meet all their food
needs on their
own between July and November, and would require at least
52,000 mt of food
assistance.
The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET) said in its
food security
update for July: "The majority of the food-insecure households
have already
started relying on food borrowed from neighbours, friends and
relatives, or
by exchanging their labour for food and cutting down on
meals."
Beitbridge is a semi-arid district on the border with South
Africa. "It is
common knowledge that this area is traditionally dry and,
over the years,
people's yields have been complemented by aid food. But, now
that
distribution has stopped, hundreds of us are literally starving," said
55-year-old Menart Mazhale, carrying a pumpkin given to him by a neighbour
for his family's evening meal.
According to the Food Security Network
(Fosenet), an umbrella body
representing local humanitarian organisations,
the food situation in
southern areas like Masvingo, Manicaland, Beitbridge,
Bulilima, Buhera,
Mutare and Mangwe was troubling.
"The situation is
not good at all. It is quite clear that many households
have already
finished the grain from their last harvest. We have done a
broad assessment
and the outcome has pointed to a huge deficit that calls
for immediate food
aid," Fosenet programme manager, Jonathan Kafesu, told
IRIN.
The
government has promised a maize harvest of 2.4 million mt, but Kafesu
said
the depots of the state-owned Grain Marketing Board (GMB) were not
brimming
with the maize that would be expected from that level of
production.
"Our assessment has revealed that most GMB depots are
empty, and since no
one is allowed to buy maize besides GMB, we wonder where
all the maize has
gone to? It's a fact that people are starving, and
something certainly needs
to be done about it," Kafesu stressed.
An
agreed figure for Zimbabwe's cereal output remains unresolved. FAO has
predicted 950,000 mt against a national requirement of 1.8 mt, while FEWSNET
has estimated 1.1 million mt, including urban production.
Parts of
southern Zimbabwe are already facing food security problems, but
general
countrywide shortages are expected to hit particularly hard during
next
year's lean season - the traditional gap between harvests from January
to
March. Some analysts suggest that although the crisis would not be as
severe
as 2002, it could match the level of hardship experienced in 2003,
when 4.6
million people were in need of food aid.
Agriculture minister Joseph Made
said he had no comment when contacted by
IRIN.
School drop-outs on the increase
IRINnews Africa,
Fri 10 Sep 2004
[ This report does not necessarily reflect
the views of the United Nations]
© irin
An increasing number
of children are leaving school
BULAWAYO, - Zimbabwe's economic crisis has
resulted in a record number of
school dropouts as parents struggle to pay
the fees, and the rate of
illiteracy among children could rise even further,
the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) has warned.
The economic crisis,
coupled with HIV/AIDS, is threatening to erode the
gains made in education
since independence in 1980.
"Children have difficulties getting fees,
uniforms, adequate learning
materials ... this has led to dropouts and, in
cases where children
continued to go to school, the environment was not
good. Many children share
[the] little resources available, which
compromises the quality of
education," said UNICEF spokeswoman Shantha
Bloemen.
She told IRIN thousands of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS,
particularly those
in rural communities, had been the most affected as they
lack the resources
needed to meet educational costs.
"The combination
of AIDS and economic hardship has meant children have to
fend for themselves
and end up on the streets. UNICEF is spearheading the
Harare Taskforce on
Street Children and has provided grants to various
community-based groups
that are helping these children in both Bulawayo and
Harare," she
added.
According to Bloemen, Zimbabwe experienced a net primary school
enrolment
ratio of 82 percent in 1984, four years after independence. This
figure had
risen to 90 percent by 2000, but because of the economic crisis
that has
gripped the country since then, it dropped to 65 percent last year.
She also
noted that about 25 percent of those who graduate from primary
schools could
not afford to proceed to secondary level because of the
current harsh
economic conditions.
In the prevailing political and
economic conditions, children begging have
become a common sight in cities
and towns. This situation, Bloemen warned,
needed immediate attention, as
education was the only conduit through which
they could escape
poverty.
Earlier this year UNICEF and the Harare Taskforce on Children
Living on the
Streets undertook a survey in the capital, which revealed that
a high
percentage of children found on the city's streets were virtually
illiterate, although they had a strong desire for education.
While
UNICEF plans to assist dropouts in a programme to be run from 2005 to
2006,
Bloemen noted that "it has been difficult to mobilise additional
[donor]
resources to assist [children in need of education], since there is
uncertainty over the land issue".
IPSNews
The War That Might Not Have Been
Wilson
Johwa*
BULAWAYO, Sep 10 (IPS) - Two years after Zimbabwean troops
returned from the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe's public
remains largely
unaware of the activities of the mission.
Government
has kept a tight lid on information about the controversial
deployment,
which was allegedly carried out to prevent Congolese President
Laurent
Kabila from being ousted by rebels. Kabila's son, Joseph, has since
succeeded his father as head of state.
Getting combatants to share
their battle stories is also no easy feat. But
in unguarded moments, some of
them reveal how it feels to be in the
Congolese rainforest, encircled by
Ugandan- and Rwandan-backed rebels.
The conversation lightens when it
turns to the subject of Congolese women,
whose neatly-chiseled features are
often cited as one of the reasons why so
many Zimbabwean soldiers quickly
achieved fluency in Lingala, a language
spoken in the DRC.
Little
wonder, the troops note, that scores of Ugandan soldiers are said to
have
married Congolese women by the time they were withdrawn in terms of
various
peace agreements signed in 2002. DRC government and rebel
representatives
are now included in a transitional government.
According to press
reports, complaints have been brought to Zimbabwean
Defence Forces Chief
Constantine Chiwenga by indignant wives of certain
senior army officers, who
have allegedly brought home second and even third
wives from the
Congo.
For five years, about 12,000 soldiers from Zimbabwe helped prop up
the
fragile Congolese government - along with forces from Angola, Namibia
and at
one time even Chad and Sudan. The Zimbabweans arrived in the DRC
after
Kabila had fallen out with neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda, his former
backers.
Despite the scale of the Zimbabwean deployment, it now
receives little
attention in a country besieged by other political and
economic woes -
although the government-controlled media sometimes refer to
the troops'
alleged triumphs in the DRC. Even the cost of the deployment
remains
unknown.
Initially, the government claimed that Kinshasa was
footing all Zimbabwe's
expenses in the Congo. Later, it was said that
concessions in the mineral-
and timber-rich DRC would be used to offset the
cost of the deployment. At
the time, it was estimated that a million U.S.
dollars a day were being
spent on the mission.
Economist John
Robertson says it is possible that some money was made
through the
exploitation of timber, diamonds and the like: "But the question
is whether
the money came back to the country or is lying in Swiss bank
accounts."
The United Nations has implicated top generals, ruling
party politicians and
other members of Zimbabwe's elite in illegal resource
exploitation in the
Congo - along with individuals in Uganda and
Rwanda.
Robertson puts the cost of the DRC operation at about one billion
U.S.
dollars, but adds that this estimate could prove conservative if the
loss of
several fighter aircraft was taken into consideration.
An
economist with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Tendai Makwavava,
claims that the country's economy has been critically affected by the
unbudgeted spending used to deploy troops.
"We are failing to import
electricity, fuel and pay our debts because of a
shortage of foreign
currency, because the government siphoned off the forex
in financing the
war," she notes.
Authorities have also been reluctant to reveal the
number of fatalities the
troops suffered in the DRC, and many remain
unaccounted for. Three months
ago, however, 47 were confirmed dead after
relatives pushed for an enquiry
in order to finalise the estates of the
soldiers.
"People don't have information, they don't know what happened
in the Congo,"
says Gorden Moyo of the local pressure group Bulawayo Agenda.
And, it's
unlikely that government will give up any more details without a
fight.
"It is not to the advantage of the ruling party to make those
revelations
considering the elections coming next year," notes political
commentator
Eldred Musunungure.
Even if death didn't come in the DRC
- it may well be shadowing many of the
troops now back in Zimbabwe: soldiers
who had sexual encounters with
Congolese women could have returned home with
the HI-virus. "There were
sexual as well as military casualties," says
Moyo.
Earlier this year, the Zimbabwe Human Development Report for 2003,
produced
with the support of the UN Development Programme, revealed that 75
percent
of soldiers die of AIDS within a year of being discharged from the
military.
Despite the unpopularity of their deployment amongst ordinary
citizens,
certain soldiers are loath to speak ill of the DRC
mission.
A man who identifies himself as Sabelo claims that his unit,
which guarded
Kinshasa's airport for four year, showed a local population
used to
strong-arm military tactics what "honorable soldiering" was all
about.
He also found the hard-currency allowance of 12 U.S. dollars a day
attractive. Converted on a black market that was thriving as the Zimbabwean
dollar declined, this allowance was worth its weight in gold.
"You'd
think to yourself, I'll buy a house, and then a car," he told IPS. A
man who
goes by the name of Munya was able to buy two houses - one in the
working
class suburb of Cowdray Park. Due to the concentration of homes
bought with
soldiers' allowances from the Congo, a section of this area is
now
informally known as the "DRC".
Sabelo notes that morale took a dive when
a decision was made to pay the
soldiers the Zimbabwe dollar equivalent of
the allowances - converted at the
official, reduced exchange
rate.
Even at this point, however, there were lessons to be learnt from
what he
terms the "culture of trading" in the DRC: "In the Congo, even if
you see a
doctor, he'll be selling something. Even at a (government)
minister's house
there's likely be something on sale."
Ironically,
these skills have now been brought back to a country where there
is little
to sell - and even fewer people to buy it.
* With additional reporting by
Stanley Karombo in Harare. (END/2004)
Reuters
ICC sets dates for Zimbabwe racism hearing
Fri 10 September,
2004 17:30
LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - An International Cricket Council
(ICC) hearing
into allegations of racism in Zimbabwe cricket will take place
in Harare
between September 29 and October 1.
Fifteen white Zimbabwe
players were sacked this year after refusing to play
for their country
following the removal of Heath Streak as captain. The
rebels have accused
the selectors of racially biased selection policies.
An ICC statement
released on Friday said India's Solicitor General Goolam
Vahanvati, and
South African High Court Judge Steven Majiedt would conduct
the
hearing.
"Serious allegations have been made and it is important that
these matters
New Zimbabwe
Mbeki: 'Mugabe using violence to cling to power'
By
Staff Reporter
Last updated: 09/10/2004 23:13:57
ZIMBABWEAN President
Robert Mugabe has no intention of holding free and fair
elections, according
to Moeletsi Mbeki, the deputy chairman of the South
African Institute of
International Affairs and brother to President Thabo
Mbeki.
Mbeki who
worked in Zimbabwe for 10 years as a journalist said Mugabe's Zanu
PF had
mobilised a "massive" structure of political violence against
opponents in
order to win a two thirds majority in parliamentary elections
next
March.
"The Zanu PF government, has mobilised a structure of violence
against the
opposition and against the population in general, which is
massive," Mbeki
told the latest issue of Mineweb, an international mining
publication
focusing on mining finance and corporate news.
"I talked
to one of my old friends - I was an old supporter of Zanu PF
myself in the
old days, and I still talk to them - and I was talking to one
of the bigwigs
in Zanu PF a few weeks ago, and he was telling me 'look, what
we are going
to do is make sure we win two-thirds of the majority, and then
we will see
what happens'. Now, how do you make sure you win two-thirds of
the vote
unless you are not planning to have a free and fair election?"
In the
past week, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said
violence
against its suppoorters was on the increase, also accusing the
police of
intimidation.
Nelson Chamisa, an MDC MP and leader of the party's youth
wing was arrested
for addressing a meeting in his own house under harsh new
security laws.
Police also arrested Lovemore Madhuku, leader of the National
Constitutional
Assembly for a breach of the same laws after leading a public
demonstration
against a new Bill which seeks to outlaw non-governmental
organisations.
Mbeki said: "Zanu PF have also so destroyed the core of
their own economy,
which was commercial agriculture and peasant agriculture.
They have
destroyed that part of the economy. I was reading that the tobacco
crop is
only a quarter of what it was in 2000, so in a way Zimbabwe is
finished, it
is almost dead and the people who are in power are determined
to stay in
power."
He said President Mbeki was faced with a policy
crisis on Zimbabwe because
any criticism of Mugabe's regime could be
interpreted as interference in the
running of a sovereign country.
"I
think the issue of Zimbabwe for our government, for the ANC government in
particular, is a very complex one. Firstly the ANC never supported Mugabe,
it supported Joshua Nkomo. So Mugabe, what can I say, he twists the arm of
the ANC and says, 'Well, now it's your turn to support me'. So this is one
of the problems we are faced with in Zimbabwe. Secondly, Zimbabwe is a very
tribally-conscious society. Now the Shona, who were the dominant tribe in
Zimbabwe, are very conscious, the ones in Zanu PF are very conscious, of the
Ndebele having conquered their country in the past, and of the whites from
South Africa having conquered their country in the past. So again they are
constantly saying, 'You people, you have designs on our country'. So if we
turn around and say, 'Support democracy in your country", they will say,
;Ah, you're trying to have another conquest of our country and are trying to
dictate to us'.
"So the South African government is in a very, very
tricky position from the
historical perspective, but also we always forget
we have a new government.
The ANC government is a new government, it is not
experienced in foreign
policies. It is still finding its way. If old
governments like the British
government and the American government can make
big mistakes like in the
Middle East, imagine what a baby government like
the ANC government, which
it is, a baby government, might do in issues of
international relations," he
said.