Zimbabwe union to defy police ban on protests

Zim Online

Tue 12 September 2006

      HARARE - The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has rejected a
police ban on public demonstrations and vowed to press ahead with street
protests planned for tomorrow and which yesterday received crucial backing
from the country's main political opposition.

      ZCTU spokesman Mlamuleli Sibanda told ZimOnline that the police, who
under tough government security laws must approve public demonstrations, had
denied the union permission to hold public marches in Masvingo city and the
small towns of Beitbridge and Plumtree.

      The union, the largest representative body for Zimbabwe's workers, was
yesterday still to get feedback from the police on applications for
permission to hold marches in at least 30 other urban centres including in
the capital Harare and the second largest city of Bulawayo.

      But Sibanda said the union would go ahead with protests regardless of
whether or not the police approve.

      Sibanda said: "We are pressing ahead with marches in 34 towns in the
country. The police have so far refused to grant us permission to march in
Masvingo, Plumtree and Beitbridge. However, we will press on with the
protests."

      The union's decision to defy the police comes as the government
stepped up security, with armed police at roadblocks on major roads and
patrolling streets in major towns. Senior army officers, who spoke on
condition they were not named, also said the army was on standby to come to
the aid of the police at short notice and should need arise.

      President Robert Mugabe has promised to ruthlessly crush any mass
action against his government and last month boasted that the security
forces would "pull the trigger" on protesters.

      The atmosphere has remained highly charged in Zimbabwe since the ZCTU
and the Zimbabwe National Students Union announced last week plans to stage
nationwide mass protests to force the government to halt a seven-year
crippling economic recession.

      The country's largest coalition of civic society organisations, the
National Constitutional Assembly, later last week also announced that it
would be taking part in the protests, while the main wing of the divided
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party led by Morgan
Tsvangirai shifted position yesterday announcing it will take part in the
protests.

      The MDC - which has promised Ukraine-style protests at a later date to
force Mugabe to accept sweeping political reforms - had said it sympathised
with workers but would not be part of tomorrow's protests.

      The MDC appeared to shift its position yesterday with secretary
general Tendai Biti announcing the opposition party will join the protests.

      "We fully support the ZCTU strike. After all, the working people of
Zimbabwe, being the ZCTU membership, are the core constituency of our party.
In this regard, the MDC and its members will take part in the workers'
action," Biti said yesterday.

      The ZCTU says workers in Harare will march to the offices of Finance
Minister Herbert Murerwa and Labour Minister Nicholas Goche to hand
petitions demanding that the government resolve Zimbabwe's worsening
economic hardships.

      Zimbabwe is grappling with its worst ever economic crisis blamed
mainly on state mismanagement. The southern African country, once one of
Africa's best prospects for economic success, has the world's highest
inflation rate at just under 1 000 percent, skyrocketing unemployment,
shortages of foreign currency, food, fuel and power and increasing poverty
levels.

      Mugabe, in power since Zimbabwe's 1980 independence from Britain,
denies mismanaging the economy and instead accuses the West of slapping
sanctions on Harare to punish his government for seizing land from whites
for redistribution to landless blacks. - ZimOnline

No easy victories for Zimbabwe's workers

Zim Online

 
Tue 12 September 2006

      HARARE - There could be hardly any better way to encourage Zimbabwe's
workers to heed union calls to protest tomorrow than the latest news coming
from state-funded consumer rights watchdog, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe
(CCZ).

      Last Thursday, just six days before tomorrow's Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU)-organised worker protests, the CCZ announced that the
poverty datum line (PDL) or breadline for an average family of six people
had shot to Z$96 000 up from about $81 000 for basic goods and services per
month.

      "What it (new PDL figure) means is that in order to survive, we will
have to fork out more from our already empty pockets," Gladmore Marufu told
ZimOnline at the premises of a Harare company where he works as a private
security guard.

      Private security guards have traditionally been among the worst paid
workers in Zimbabwe, with Marufu for example saying he earns $10 000 every
month, about nine times less than what the CCZ says he should be taking home
to ensure basic survival for his wife and three children.

      The security guard added: "You really do not need the CCZ to tell you
things are hard in Zimbabwe. But their latest PDL figures are more
confirmation that the ZCTU is right to call on workers to protest against
this continued suffering."

      The ZCTU, the largest umbrella union for Zimbabwe's workers, says
street demonstrations scheduled for tomorrow are meant to force the
government and business to accept linking wages and salaries to the PDL.

      The union, that has vowed to intensify job strikes until the
government and business acceded to its demands, says workers earning below
the breadline should be exempted from paying tax and also wants the
government to ensure ready availability of anti-retroviral drugs to combat a
burgeoning HIV/AIDS pandemic, killing at least 3 000 Zimbabweans every week.

      ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe said the union was calling
for protests because workers cannot just continue to suffer in silence
anymore.

      "We must express our displeasure (at worsening economic hardships),"
Chibebe said. He added: "The PDL figure announced by the CCZ confirms that
things continue to get worse for us and we have to peacefully express
ourselves."

      Workers have been hit hardest by Zimbabwe's seven-year old economic
crisis, marked by the world's highest inflation outside a war zone at just
under 1 000 percent, shortages of fuel, electricity, essential medicines,
hard cash and just about every basic survival commodity.

      President Robert Mugabe's government, although admitting begrudgingly
that conditions are not rosy in Zimbabwe, however accuses the ZCTU of
manipulating worker grievances to further a political objective to oust it
from power and has vowed to unleash the army and police to crush this week's
protests.

      The security forces have in the past used brutal force to thwart
street protests against Mugabe's rule and analysts predict the army and
police will use the same tactics against the ZCTU.

      But the labour union appears undeterred vowing to press ahead with
protests in Harare and other cities despite a government directive issued at
the weekend banning public marches.

      The ZCTU has received important backing from the Zimbabwe National
Students Union and the National Constitutional Assembly civic alliance who
have said they will take part in the protests.

      Absalom Hakutangwi, an insurance salesman with a Harare firm, is a
good example of the mood of defiance gripping union leaders and workers
alike.

      He said: "All commodities - bread, electricity, fuel, medicines, you
name it - are either in short supply or priced beyond the reach of the
ordinary person. They have left us little option and this week we will take
to the streets to make ourselves heard."

      Quite courageous words!

      But with Mugabe publicly boasting his army will "pull the trigger"
against protesters, one cannot escape the feeling that there will be no easy
victories tomorrow or at any other time in the foreseeable future for
Zimbabwe's long suffering workers. - ZimOnline

Archbishop accuses church leaders of being bribed by Mugabe

Zim Online

Tue 12 September 2006

      BULAWAYO - Outspoken Zimbabwe Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube has
accused fellow religious leaders of being bribed into silence by President
Robert Mugabe, who he also described as a murderer.

      Ncube, one of Mugabe's bitterest critics, said the Church was failing
to speak with one voice in condemning human rights abuses by Mugabe and his
ruling ZANU PF party because some of the religious leaders had been given
farms  looted from whites and cash to buy their silence.

      The Archbishop, who was addressing journalists in the city of Bulawayo
at the weekend, said:  "Mugabe has gone ahead and given them (church
leaders) various gifts like farms and money in order to silence them .. how
can they cry over human rights abuses when they are eating (from the
government's hand)?"

      Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba was not immediately available to
respond to claims by Ncube that the President dished out favours to church
leaders to make them turn a blind eye to human rights violations by his
government.

      Ncube did not mention names of his fellow clergymen he claimed have
been bribed by the government. But some of Zimbabwe's most senior church
leaders are known to be supporters of Mugabe's rule with for example
Anglican Bishop of Harare Nolbert Kunonga publicly defending the
government's chaotic and often violent farm seizures.

      Kunonga, like several other clergymen, was given a farm grabbed by the
government from its white owner.

      It was not clear why Ncube, who at one time said he was praying to God
to kill Mugabe, called the Zimbabwean leader a murderer.

      But most Zimbabweans hold Mugabe directly responsible for the murder
of at least 20 000 innocent civilians during a 1980s army crackdown in
southern Zimbabwe against a handful of armed dissidents who were opposed to
the 82-year old leader's government.

      The Zimbabwe government has been accused by the African Commission on
Human and People's Rights, Western governments and local human rights groups
of repression and trampling on the rights of citizens as it fights for
political survival amid a worsening economic and food crisis. - ZimOnline

Police arrest 100 protesters, release student leaders

Zim Online

Tue 12 September 2006

      HARARE - Zimbabwean police on Monday arrested about 100 women for
demonstrating at Town House over the deteriorating services offered by the
Harare city council.

      A lawyer representing the women, Tafadzwa Mugabe, told ZimOnline that
the protesters, who included four babies, were still detained at Harare
Central police station in Harare last night.

      "As we speak I am at the Harare Central police station where the
police said they will detain them overnight. I am still to establish the
total number of those arrested. But there are some breastfeeding babies
among those arrested," said Mugabe.

      The protesters, are members of the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
protest group and the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) which is
fighting for better services in Harare.

      Meanwhile, police yesterday released six leaders of the Zimbabwe
National Students Union (ZINASU) who were arrested last Saturday in the
eastern city of Mutare after paying Z$250 fines.

      The six, who include ZINASU president Promise Mkwananzi, were accused
of breaching the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for promoting
conduct deemed likely to breach peace while attending the student union's
general council meeting in the city.

      ZINASU co-ordinator Washington Katema said the arrest will not cow his
union and would press ahead with protests scheduled for tomorrow which have
been called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

      "Government is continuing to turn the wheels of injustice by
continuing to violate the fundamental rights of students. But we will not be
broken and stopped by these arrests," Katema said. - ZimOnline

Migration group says Harare pressing on with evictions

Zim Online

Tue 12 September 2006

      HARARE - The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has
accused the Zimbabwean government of pressing on with forced evictions in
urban areas a year after a controversial clean-up exercise left hundreds of
thousands homeless.

      In a letter to the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, donors and relief agencies, the IOM warned that
continued evictions could spark  a fresh humanitarian crisis in Harare.

      The letter by IOM representative in Harare, Dyane Epstein, reads in
part: "In Epworth, near a place called Balancing  Rocks, ten families were
evicted on Tuesday, 4th September 2006. The families are part of the large
group evicted from Komboni Yatsva (Epworth) at the height of Operation
Murambatsvina last year.

      "Many families returned to the location however, some who had returned
later, found themselves without space when they tried to settle back. The
ten families recently evicted are among those denied space to move back."

      At least 700 000 people were left homeless last year after President
Robert Mugabe's government demolished backyard shacks and houses in a
campaign it said was necessary to restore the beauty of cities and towns.

      Another 2.4 million people were also indirectly affected by the
clean-up, according to a United Nations report compiled after the
controversial campaign.

      The UN, Britain, the United States and major Western powers condemned
the exercise saying it was a violation of the rights of the poor. -
ZimOnline

South African Communist Party to send delegation to Zimbabwe during protests

Zim Online

Tue 12 September 2006

      JOHANNESBURG - The South African Communist Party (SACP) says it will
send a high-powered delegation to Zimbabwe this week to show "solidarity
with the country's democratic forces" ahead of protests against President
Robert Mugabe's government.

      Buti Manamela, the national secretary of the Young Communist League,
the young wing of the SACP, told journalists at a press conference in
Johannesburg on Monday that the visit would help the party understand better
the crisis in South  Africa's neighbour.

      "The main objective will be to familiarise ourselves with the various
interpretations of the current socio-economic and  political situation in
Zimbabwe.

      "We intend to meet with government, ruling party, civic society and
the opposition movement to gain a wide understanding of the present
situation in Zimbabwe, thus reinforcing our capacity to make informed
contributions (to  end the crisis)," said Manamela.

      The SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) which
are part of South Africa' ruling alliance together with the African National
Congress, have been very critical of Mugabe's government over human rights
and governance issues.

      Zimbabwe's main labour federation, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions says it will beginning this Wednesday  launch a series of mass
protests to force President Robert Mugabe to address a seven-year old
economic crisis.

      The National Constitutional Assembly civic group and students, last
week said they will join the streets protests which are being organised by
the ZCTU.

      The Zimbabwe government has in the past deported several delegations
from South Africa which had gone to Harare to probe allegations of human
rights abuses and cases of political repression. - ZimOnline

“Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer…” :Where is the promised mass action?

Sokwanele Report: 11 September 2006

The beginning of September in Zimbabwe truly marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring: the fruit trees are beginning to blossom, the birds are busy building nests, the cool mornings are turning into bright warm days.

In March this year, Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of one of the factions of the divided opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), spoke at his party’s congress. He promised a “sustained cold season of peaceful democratic resistance”, which has since been dubbed by his faction of the MDC a “Winter of Discontent”.

His speech outlined the right that the people of Zimbabwe have to mass action, where they are entitled to express themselves and to share their views on the way they are governed, and that “experience shows that only a sustained and concerted effort by all Zimbabweans shall deliver a desired result”.

Tsvangirai continued:

“The phase that we have entered calls upon every one of us to endure the pain and resolutely fight for freedom. In summary, our experience shows us that while we managed to shake the regime with action in March 2003 and in June 2003, we did not move sufficiently to cause meaningful democratic change in our society. The options open to us are very clear: we need a short, sharp programme of action to free ourselves.”

He pledged himself to take up the challenge and lead from the front. This personal pledge and the calls to the people have been repeated often in the last 6 months; they have been used as a rallying call to a subdued yet angry people who are longing for a leadership that will free them from the tyranny of the Zanu PF regime. In July, at a meeting of the MDC provincial chairpersons to evaluate the party's state of preparedness to embark on a national resistance programme, he encouraged the participants with the words:

“The MDC leadership is ready for a comprehensive roll out effort. We are a serious political party. We represent the last hope of the nation. We have a duty to offer alternatives when a nation is under stress. Our road map to a new Zimbabwe can only be a reality if we make a political statement through action and demonstrate to the world the exact location of Zimbabwe's political power balance.”

The promise that there would be a winter of discontent has often been repeated by National Executive members of the Tsvangirai faction and newspapers and web sites sympathetic to the Tsvangirai faction such as the Zimbabwean newspaper.

For example Eddie Cross’ website documents all his newsletters written this year which repeatedly make the promise that there would be a winter of discontent. In March he wrote “I expect real action this time and there is, for the first time, going to be a confrontation” (just after the March congress); “we are about to hit this egg hard” (mid April); and continuing with “Lets not despair – the finish line is in sight….. It has taken longer than any of us expected and it has been much tougher than we anticipated, but we are nearly there” (end of July); and talking about moving “towards democratic resistance strategies designed to secure a negotiated settlement of the political crisis and to chart the way forward” (beginning of August).

The Zimbabwean’s front page articles these days have featured positive coverage of Tsvangirai and his faction. By the end of August, in the absence of any concrete fulfilment of these pledges, the faction obviously felt the need to reassure its supporters that it was still committed to mass action, and The Zimbabwean obliged by reporting those speeches. For two consecutive weeks at the end of August, we are regaled with such front page headlines:

“Agreement on mass action”
“Prepare to be arrested – Tsvangirai”

And the current front cover of The Zimbabwean is titled "Government jitters as MDC demo looms" (a misleading headline given the fact that the protests anticipated to go ahead on Wednesday this week have been organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)).

The sloganeering of recent months also seems to have had a personal political motive – namely that of building up Morgan Tsvangirai, and to encourage people to “Morgan’s side” in the split of the MDC into two factions. He has put himself forward as the saviour of the country – the one prepared to lead his people in peaceful mass action against a despotic regime. In other words in the competition to portray the Tsvangirai faction as the “main MDC”, or even the only MDC, the promise of mass action has been deliberately used to create the notion that only Morgan Tsvangirai can deliver Zimbabweans from their plight. Accordingly the question must be asked – “were these promises just ill thought through expressions of genuine desires or were they a cynical and deceitful ploy to bolster support for Morgan Tsvangirai without any real intention of carrying out the promises?” Only time will tell what the truth is. But clearly having made the promise Morgan Tsvangirai must deliver or else many will undoubtedly believe that there was never any real intent to organise a “Winter of Discontent”.

The concerns that there was no real intention to organise a winter of discontent were greatly increased in late June when Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesman William Bango told the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper that the use of the term “Winter of Discontent” was “metaphorical” and that not much store should be placed in mass action being organised in the winter of 2006. That is simply not good enough for two reasons: firstly from the various statements made by Morgan Tsvangirai and his lieutenants it was made clear that the action would be soon and “short and sharp”; secondly if one does use phrases such as “winter of discontent” especially in autumn (as they were) in a metaphorical way then one has an obligation to tell people explicitly that the phrase is used metaphorically, otherwise hopes will be unnecessarily raised only to be dashed.

However, whatever the case now that spring is here, we can and must now legitimately ask: Where is this winter of discontent? Why hasn’t it happened?

Lest the response be that there was a march to Parliament by Morgan Tsvangirai and his “liberation team” on the 1st September we must say that whilst that is welcome that does not amount to a winter of discontent. The truth is that there has been no winter of discontent – there has been no mass action of any form organised this now past winter.

Numerous are the reasons why mass action hasn’t taken off; some of these rest with the people, some with the leadership.

From the people’s side, grinding poverty has taken its toll: people are weakened from malnutrition, many eating only one meal a day, and are using all their remaining energy in trying to scrape together the wherewithal to feed, clothe and educate their families. AIDS has also increased the burden on the poor, who are largely unable to afford anti-retroviral drugs or the good nutrition necessary to stay the onslaught of the disease; the age-group most decimated by AIDS is precisely that group most needed to maintain productivity for the country and to support their families by employment in the formal sector. These are also the ones most likely to take to the streets in protest.

There is also the issue of leadership who, time and again, have failed to harness and direct the anger of the people. Morgan Tsvangirai and his party have consistently raised expectations, only to let Zimbabweans down by failing to deliver.

Interestingly, in his book “Degrees in Violence”, David Blair chronicles a similar failure by Tsvangirai back in 2000, recalling that Tsvangirai had promised in public, 16 times, that mass action would be launched in order to have ousted Mugabe by Christmas 2000. Yet, says the author, “Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. To coin a phrase, Tsvangirai missed this historic opportunity and betrayed the people”. He continues:

“Yet by raising expectations only for them to be dashed, Tsvangirai damaged his credibility. Why did he make pledges which he had no intention of keeping? ….I will never know. I am forced to the conclusion that he didn’t mean a word of it and spoke only for effect. In other words, Tsvangirai was in the business of cheap posturing, while his country fell apart”.

The real danger of raising the expectations of people, by promising mass action and “winters of discontent”, is that if one does not fulfill one’s promises the resultant dashing of expectations actually disempowers people and strengthens the regime. Failed promises disillusion the people because they lose faith in their leaders. Conversely despotic regimes are greatly encouraged when publicly announced plans of mass action do not materialize. All in all it is better to say nothing at all than to announce plans to engage the regime that one has no real intention of fulfilling.

To be fair to Tsvangirai and his team, there are very real obstacles which stand in the way of successful implementation of mass action, such as extremely limited media coverage of the opposition; oppressive legislation such as POSA (Public Order and Security Act) and AIPPA (Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act) all designed to hamper dissemination of information to the masses; and an apathetic and complicit South Africa who, for reasons best known to themselves, have consistently failed to denounce the Mugabe regime or to support the alternatives.

Equally, there are risks involved in mass action and street protests. No one who has lived in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe for any length of time is unaware of them. The regime has the full force of the police, army, CIO and youth militia at its disposal (all funded by the taxpayer, we would point out). It has not hesitated in the past to bring them out to violently suppress any public dissent; it will not hesitate in the future.

However, the fact remains that Tsvangirai has promised, time and again, yet failed to deliver.

What is it, then, that is needed to rectify the situation? What is needed to successfully implement peaceful mass action and depose the ZANU PF regime?

Firstly, competent and brave leadership is required, a leadership that can channel the anger and frustration of the people into pressure on Mugabe to step down. The MDC lost their moment (once again) after the stolen March 2005 General Elections, when an angry populace was ready to go onto the streets, waiting only for a leadership brave enough to stand in front of the crowd and lead. Tsvangirai and those in leadership with him have described themselves as “the Liberation team” but they have still much to prove in this regard and quite frankly that term is presumptuous at this stage – they still have much to do before they deserve that appellation. Whilst the leadership shown last Friday is welcome, a 400 meter dash to Parliament, catching the Police by surprise, must be seen for what it is – a tentative start. It will take determined leadership that is consistently and repeatedly prepared to go out in the face of riot police and the army for the people of Zimbabwe to be truly inspired.

Secondly, the mass action needs to be planned and executed by a team which is secretive and confidential, not infiltrated by the CIO and Zanu PF cadres, and which can competently strategize so as to present a plan to the people with perfect timing, just before the event. The so-called “final push” of June 2003 failed in this respect: at this stage, the MDC was already infiltrated, and so much media hype was generated by the party that the Mugabe regime went into full swing to help ensure that the week-long mass stayaways were only half-hearted at most.

Next, the organisers of mass action need to be absolutely committed to the principle of using democratic and non-violent means, unlike Tsvangirai’s infamous (and possibly unmeant) declaration in September 2002 that “What we say to Mugabe is ‘Please go peacefully. If you don’t want to go peacefully, we will remove you violently’.” For so long as people fear that there are agent provocateurs helping organize mass action (who may well incite violence in the course of any mass action) peace loving Zimbabweans will remain hesitant about joining a programme of mass action en masse.

Financial resources are also needed, as is consensus with other organisations, such as the National Constitutional Assembly (the NCA), trade unions, churches, WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise) and the like. It also requires consensus between the two factions of the opposition MDC. It is simply farcical to think that either faction can organise a national programme of mass action without the involvement of the other. Zimbabwe is much bigger than either Harare or Bulawayo.

Very few leaders appear present in Zimbabwe today, who can meet these prerequisites.

In fact, the only groups who have successfully organised mass action and street protests, are the churches, WOZA and the NCA.

The churches in Bulawayo peacefully marched on Good Friday of 2005, and again in mid 2006 to commemorate the suffering caused by Operation Murambatsvina. WOZA women regularly organize events such as handing out roses on Valentine’s Day, marches from Bulawayo to Harare, or demonstrations outside the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe; their bravery frequently leads to arrests, police brutality, and being locked up in police cells – yet they do it again and again. And the NCA equally has shown itself relatively fearless in confronting the regime by street demonstrations and marches.

The International Crisis Group’s August 2006 report, “Zimbabwe: An Opposition Strategy”, draws a number of these themes together (it is well worth reading a full copy of this report on their website - http://www.crisisgroup.org/). It calls on the international community, long frustrated at its inability to influence the crisis, to assist, especially by tightening targeted sanctions. It also calls on South Africa, Zimbabwe’s nearest neighbour and regional powerhouse, to offer mediation services.

The way forward, as the International Crisis Group sees it, is:

“A decentralised campaign of non-violent resistance, at many places around the country and focused on bread and butter demands, could have more promise because it would be harder to infiltrate and disrupt and might force the government to decide between starting a process of piecemeal concessions or relying on less trusted men as the security forces were stretched. Ultimately, stalemate in Zimbabwe is most likely to be broken by domestic resistance of one kind or another. With conditions becoming so dire, no one can discount a spontaneous revolt like the 1998 food riots. But it is incumbent on the MDC and civil society to try to manage the birth of a new dynamic that would also energise the international community.”

Now is the time for our leaders to show themselves to be brave men and women of action. Promises made should be fulfilled. Those who are unable or unwilling to deliver on their promises should step down to make way for others who can. For the sake of the people of Zimbabwe, we need leaders who can work to dislodge this dictatorship using all the non-violent and democratic means at their disposal.

We can but hope that the failed promise of a winter of discontent may yet, as Shakespeare wrote, be made “a glorious summer”. We look forward to that day when we all meet on the streets to say “Enough is enough; Zvakwana; Sokwanele!”

Sokwanele Addendum: At the time of mailing this article, the ZCTU has plans to go ahead with mass action on Wednesday this week. And where is the MDC?

VOA News (8 Sept 2006) reports:

"While a number of civil society organizations have promised to join forces with the ZCTU, questions have arisen as to the intentions of the Movement for Democratic Change faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai, a former trade unionist himself. MDC sources said the party does not want to openly join the protests, as this might give the government an excuse to crack down on the broad opposition."

The Zimbabwe Independent published an article this week titled "MDC not joining ZCTU protests":

The Morgan Tsvangirai faction of the Movement for Democratic Change will not join the mass action planned by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) because the workers’ programme is different from the opposition party’s aspirations, it has been learnt. [...] The ZCTU says it will stage protests to demand better wages for workers while the MDC wants an end to the national crisis. MDC spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa, however said the programme the workers were embarking on was different to that of the MDC. Chamisa told the Zimbabwe Independent that the planned demonstrations by the workers were in response to problems afflicting workers in Zimbabwe while the MDC was responding to a national crisis. When questioned on why the two groups could not join hands and stage a combined demonstration, Chamisa said the workers had a right to express themselves without being influenced by politicians. "We respect the response taken by the workers but the planned stayaway by the workers is not the same programme that the MDC would embark on. The workers should express themselves without interference from politicians even though the reasons for the demonstrations are similar," Chamisa said.

Visit our website at www.sokwanele.com
Visit our blog: This is Zimbabwe (Sokwanele blog)

We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression!

Sokwanele does not endorse the editorial policy of any source or website except its own. It retains full copyright on its own articles, which may be reproduced or distributed but may not be materially altered in any way. Reproduced articles must clearly show the source and owner of copyright, together with any other notices originally contained therein, as well as the original date of publication. Sokwanele does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising in any way from receipt of this email or use thereof. This document, or any part thereof, may not be distributed for profit.

Launch of Mass Action in Zimbabwe

FROM THE ZIMBABWE VIGIL

News Advisory - 10th September 2006

The National Chairman of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change, Isaac
Matongo, is in London and will be available with senior colleagues for
interview on Monday, 11th September.

This week sees the prospect of a momentous step-change in Zimbabwe, with
countrywide protests planned for Wednesday against Mugabe's misrule, which
may well be met with violence.

The protests have been initiated by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.
It has called it Operation Tatambura (We have suffered) and says it is the
beginning of a campaign of protests calling on the government and employers
to improve living standards of workers. Demonstrations are planned in
Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Chinhoyi and Masvingo.

The Zimbabwe National Students' Union is joining in, pressing for reduced
fees and improved conditions.  The National Constitutional Assembly (the
civic alliance) is also to support the demonstrations, as well as the MDC.
Earlier this month the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, led a march from Party
Headquarters in Harare to Parliament to present a set of proposals to unlock
Zimbabwe's six-year old political and economic crisis.   The authorities
were taken by surprise and the demonstration was unhindered but Wednesday
may see a different outcome.

Mr Matongo has been in the UK to oversee elections here last Saturday, which
saw Ephraim Tapa elected as chair of MDC -UK.  Mr Tapa, a former Zimbabwean
trade union leader was given asylum in the UK after being abducted and
tortured by government agents.  Mr Matongo is accompanied by Grace Kwinje,
Deputy Secretary for International Affairs and Tamsanga Mahlangu, Chair of
the MDC Youth Assembly. They will also be available for interview as will Mr
Tapa.

They will be attending the regular Monday Forum hosted by the MDC Central
London Branch which will be held at the Rose and Springbok, 14 Upper St
Martins Lane, WC2H 9DL on Monday, 11th September at 7.30 pm. Map link:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?N2D231EA6. Nearest tubes: Leicester Square,
Covent Garden.

The MDC leaders will be returning to Zimbabwe on Tuesday ahead of the
demonstrations on Wednesday, when the Zimbabwe Vigil is joining forces with
the MDC UK to stage a solidarity demonstration outside Zimbabwe House in
London from 1200 - 1500 hours.

Venue: outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London.
Nearest stations: Charing Cross and Embankment.

Contacts:
Vigil spokesperson, Julius Mutyambizi-Dewa: 07984 254 830
MDC UK Information and Publicity Secretary, Matthew Nyashanu: 07877 489 443

Facilitator:
Vigil Co-ordinator, Rose Benton: 07970 996 003

Vigil Co-ordinators

The vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place
every Saturdays from 14.00 - 18.00 to protest against gross violations of
human rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe.  The Vigil which started in
October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair
elections are held in Zimbabwe.  http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.

Crackdown fears haunt union protests in Zim

Mail and Guardian

      Cris Chinaka | Harare, Zimbabwe

      11 September 2006 03:37

            Zimbabwe trade unions are scaling down their threats for major
anti-government protests this week, a move analysts say acknowledges that
fears of a brutal state response may keep many people at home.

            President Robert Mugabe has warned his forces will not hesitate
to shoot opponents who take to the streets, and on Sunday the government
said security agents were ready to crush the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) protests.

            The ZCTU announced early this month it planned countrywide
demonstrations on Wednesday to protest against poor wages, high taxes and
workers' lack of access to antiretroviral drugs to fight HIV/Aids, which
kills an estimated 3 000 people each week.

            But analysts say the opposition-allied unions have since quietly
scaled back the protest plan, scrapping a proposed one-day national strike
in favour of just two hours of street marches in various places around the
country.

            Lovemore Madhuku, chairperson of political pressure group
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), said even small union protests could
keep the focus on Zimbabwe's deepening political and economic crisis, which
critics blame squarely on Mugabe.

            "Even if the turnout is not that massive because of fears of
police brutality, what is important is the will to engage and confront this
regime," he said.

            Zimbabwe is battling shortages of foreign exchange, fuel and
food along with skyrocketing unemployment and an inflation rate close to 1
000%, the highest in the world.

            The government has kept its security forces on high alert for
months over feared protests, and critics say it has used intimidation and
arrests to ensure nothing materialises.

            John Makumbe, a political commentator and fierce Mugabe critic,
said the ZCTU was bound to score an important political point against the
government even if its marches attract only small numbers around the
country.

            "By drawing out the government, they are dramatising the
Zimbabwe crisis to the world and fuelling the political debate about this
government at home," he said.

            "These kind of peaceful demonstrations are allowed almost
everywhere in the world else except in dictatorships, and if the government
is going to be vicious, then it will keep losing support both at home and
abroad," Makumbe said.

            Mugabe (82), in power since Zimbabwe's independence from
Britain, has kept opponents of his 26-year-old rule in check through tough
security laws barring protests without approval.

            On Monday, the unions ran newspaper ads insisting that their
leaders would press on with the protests code-named "We have Suffered" or
Tatambura in the local Shona language.

            "Eighty percent of Zimbabweans are living in poverty because
workers' 'take home' salaries cannot even take them home," they said. "Now
is the time to say no." -- Reuters

Cash crunch delays Zimbabwe inflation data

Mail and Guardian

      Harare, Zimbabwe

      11 September 2006 11:46

            Zimbabwe's August inflation data has been delayed after
statisticians failed to get funds to conduct price surveys in the Southern
African nation, which is battling economic crisis, official media said on
Monday.

            The country's annual inflation, which remains the world's
highest, eased slightly to 993,6% in July from June's 1 184,6%, the second
consecutive monthly slowdown. It is not known yet whether that trend
continued in August.

            Moffat Nyoni, acting Central Statistical Office director, said
the agency lacked the money to collect the data last month because of the
disruption caused by the central bank's phasing out of old bank notes for a
new redenominated currency.

            "There was a point when funds could not be accessed as old
[notes] were being phased out in the system while new bearer [notes] could
not fill the void," Nyoni told the Herald newspaper.

            "But we are hopeful that we will have the data soon, probably by
the end of [this week]," he added. Nyoni would not comment further on
Monday.

            Inflation data is usually released on the 10th of every month,
or later if that day falls on a weekend.

            Zimbabwe is grappling with an eight-year-old recession widely
blamed on the policies of President Robert Mugabe's government and marked by
chronic shortages of foreign currency, fuel and food, rising unemployment
and grinding poverty.

            The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions is planning national
demonstrations on Wednesday to protest against poor wages and workers' lack
of access to antiretroviral drugs to fight HIV/Aids, which kills an
estimated 3 000 Zimbabweans each week.

            Mugabe, who has ruled the country since independence from
Britain in 1980, denies mismanaging the economy, accusing the West of
engaging in economic sabotage to punish him for his seizures of white-owned
commercial farms for blacks. - Reuters

Hopes of good harvest fade

Mail and Guardian

      Harare, Zimbabwe

      11 September 2006 11:26

            Hopes of a bumper wheat harvest in crisis-ridden Zimbabwe have
been dashed by repeated power cuts and fuel shortages, a newspaper reported
on Monday as a Cabinet minister promised to step up white farm evictions.

            Irrigation systems have been running on reduced capacity because
of the frequent cuts. Farmers are unable to manage the outages because the
state-run power utility, Zesa, does not stick to its blackout schedule, said
the state-controlled Herald.

            Commercial farmers here have traditionally cultivated a wheat
crop over the winter months of May to August to complement maize crops that
are grown during the rest of the year.

            But President Robert Mugabe's controversial programme of white
land seizures launched in 2000 has seen agricultural production slashed by
at least 40% and left the cash-strapped government forced to import staple
foods.

            The Herald said an invasion of quelea birds, a local pest that
destroys wheat when it is nearly ready for harvesting, had also compromised
wheat yields.

            One new farmer complained that she was incurring more costs
because she had to pay wages to people to scare away the birds.

            Meanwhile, State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa has said
evictions of the remaining white farmers will be stepped up so that the land
reform programme is completed before the rains begin, official radio
reported on Monday.

            The authorities have preparing the last eviction notices over
the past month, he said.

            More than 4 000 white farmers used to own and farm land here six
years ago, but now less than 300 are left. -- Sapa-dpa

Protests a 'grave mistake': Zim

Sunday Times SA

Monday September 11, 2006 11:40 - (SA)

HARARE - Zimbabwe's government has warned union leaders against embarking on
a series of mass protests planned for this week, saying such a move would be
a grave mistake, a state weekly has reported.

The Sunday Mail quoted State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa as saying the
"move would be a grave mistake as the country's security forces are fully
geared to decisively quell any form of demonstration".

"The various arms of the state responsible for security are ready for them,"
Mutasa told the weekly. "The action we are going to take will depend on the
kind of demonstration they embark on."

The warning came after the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) set
Wednesday as the first day of street protests across the country against
ever-mounting economic hardships under the government of President Robert
Mugabe.

Zimbabwe's public order and security act prohibits political rallies,
processions and other forms of protests without prior police clearance.

The ZCTU has vowed to defy the government's warning. "We are definitely
going ahead with the protests on Wednesday," ZCTU spokesman Mlaleli Sibanda
said. "We intend to hold protests in thirty-four centres across the country,
but so far we have been told by police in three towns not to embark on the
protests. However, that will not in any way stop us."

The southern African country is in the throes of an economic crisis
characterised by high unemployment, record inflation which recently peaked
at nearly 1,200 percent, and shortages of fuel and basic goods such as corn
meal and cooking oil.

Sapa-AFP

Zimbabwe enlists army help to collect maize

Mail and Guardian

      Harare, Zimbabwe

      11 September 2006 09:29

            Zimbabwe's state grain utility said on Monday it was enlisting
the help of the country's defence forces to collect grain from farmers in a
bid to boost lagging deliveries.

            Maize is a controlled commodity in Zimbabwe and is sold only to
the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), which distributes it to private firms for
milling.

            "The GMB wishes to inform the farmers that there will be a
massive grain collection exercise, which will be carried out in conjuction
with members of the defence forces," the board said in a statement.

            "This is being done in order for GMB to fulfill its strategic
commitment of ensuring food security," it added.

            President Robert Mugabe's government has forecast a 1,8-million
tonne maize harvest this year, which is expected to meet the country's food
needs for the first time since 2001. Other forecasts see a much smaller
crop.

            The government would continue to import maize, mainly from South
Africa, to build up its strategic grain reserves while the GMB says farmers
would this year deliver 900 000 tonnes to it.

            But state media reported in mid August that farmers had only
delivered 90 000 tonnes of maize to GMB depots countrywide and that some
grain was already rotting after the entity failed to collect the commodity
from communal farmers.

            Most shops in the capital Harare have gone without the staple
maize-meal for more than a week while the southern parts of the country have
experienced shortages since last month.

            The GMB has said the shortages in the second city of Bulawayo
and the surrounding areas were a result of transport problems moving grain
imported from South Africa.

            The GMB purchases grain from farmers at Z$31-million ($124) a
tonne and sells it to millers at a 10th of the price but has barred some
millers for reselling the commodity back to the GMB through third parties.

            Aid agencies have warned of another food deficit in the country
this year, saying a lack of inputs such as seed and fertiliser has
undermined production in the recently ended summer cropping season.

            Zimbabwe has experienced food shortages since 2001 after being
hit by drought and disruptions to agriculture blamed partly on the
government's seizure of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to
landless blacks. - Reuters

ZINASU student activists released

      By Violet Gonda
      11 September 2006

      More than 50 student activists arrested on Friday and Saturday in
Harare and Mutare respectively have now been released, most of them without
charge. Beloved Chiweshe, the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe National
Student Union (ZINASU), said he was arrested together with 7 other leaders
on Friday and released late Saturday evening.

      He said the others were arrested during a general council meeting held
in Mutare on Saturday.

      Chiweshe also told us that some of the students were assaulted while
in police custody. He said; "There were obviously a few overzealous
officials who really did put some physical counselling on a few of our
Comrades."

      Lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said 46
students arrested in Mutare were released during the weekend but of this
group 6 student leaders were detained for the whole weekend and only
released Monday, after being forced to pay admission of guilt fines of Z$250
each.

      ZLHR lawyers are challenging these fines in court.

      Although the student leaders say they were conducting a ZINASU meeting
they were charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The
police alleged that their conduct was a breach of peace or was likely to
cause a breach of peace.

      The ZLHR said this was a wrongful arrest and detention saying; "The
fact that the police made them pay fines was an attempt to cover up the
illegal arrests and detention."

      Observers say although more and more people are being arrested this
has had the benefit of exposing the appalling conditions in Zimbabwe's
prison cells and the brutal treatment meted out by state agents. The ZINASU
Secretary General said there were only 2 blankets in the cold cell
containing 32 people and no running water at Harare Central Police Station.
"Sewage is flowing all over and unfortunately in cells you are forced to
remove your shoes. It's very bad, inhuman and degrading."

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Mugabe has planted the seeds of mass protest in Zimbabwe

Letter from America :

      With Dr Stanford Mukasa

      11 September 2006

      Last week's report by Amnesty International condemning the unfulfilled
promises by Robert Mugabe and ZANUPF to build houses destroyed under the so-
called Operation Murambatsvina underscored just how bad the situation in
Zimbabwe has become.

      The Amnesty International report came after the European Union's
stinging criticism of the Mugabe regime systematic destruction of the
country and the impoverishment of the majority of the Zimbabweans.

       Even the IMF was reported to have an unfavorable view of how Mugabe
and ZANUPF have mismanaged the country's economy.

       A few weeks ago the Solidarity Peace Trust also issued a sobering
report on the rape and plunder and the savaging of the people of Zimbabwe by
what, to all intents and purposes, has become a rogue regime of Mugabe.

       Not to be outdone by these negative reports even Mugabe's own
officials now admit that the country will not have enough food to feed its
population - a direct consequence of the plunder of commercial agriculture
that started in 2000. The same officials now also admit deaths due to
malnutrition.

       A major beneficiary of Mugabe's policies, former army general Vitalis
Zvinavashe has now joined bandwagon in condemning Mugabe's food polices.

       A few years ago the mayor of Bulawayo was visited and threatened by
those shadowy men in dark suits and dark glasses from the dreaded
Nazi-styled CIO just for suggesting that there had been malnutrition-
induced deaths in the city.

       So paranoid did the Mugabe regime become at the time that then
information minister Jonathan Moyo, whose double conversion on the route to
Damascus is one of the unsolved mysteries in Zimbabwean history, declared
that weather reports will now have to be censored by government!

       It's now over a year since Mugabe willfully, recklessly and
deliberately destroyed houses in his mad attempt to punish opposition
supporters who bore the brunt of most of the houses and property that were
targeted by Mugabe's bulldozers.

       Only after the international outrage did Mugabe make some belated and
half-hearted promises to rebuild the homes.  Now he has not only built a few
and mostly shells of houses but has allocated a good portion of them to his
cronies. This has left the vast majority of homeless victims of
Murambatsvina operation struggling in all kinds of makeshift shacks.

       Mugabe's unfulfilled promises to rebuild houses for the victims of
Murambatsvina were the latest in a series of lies and deception by the
82-year-old geriatric and his band of cronies. The only promise Mugabe has
kept is the increased repression and impoverishment of Zimbabweans while
enriching his cronies.

       Over 5,000 homes were destroyed, leaving about one million people
homeless.

       The bottom line now is that Mugabe has no vision and no solution to
the problems facing Zimbabweans. How can he be part of the solution when he
is the problem? The vast majority of problems confronting Zimbabwe are
traceable directly to Mugabe's crisis of bad governance. He has no capacity
to follow the rule of law and has certainly scuttled the democratic
traditions of an independent state.

       There is in political science, political philosophy and international
law  a universal agreement or consensus that when a government or regime
like Mugabe's scuttles the rule of law, the Constitution as well as the
democratic traditions, that government is no longer fit to rule. At this
point the regime loses legitimacy.

       Mugabe's regime has lost legitimacy because it has violated the
people's trust and confidence. Both internal and international reports point
to one fact: Mugabe and his officials have lost the legitimacy to govern
Zimbabwe . Loss of legitimacy renders the regime illegal and an imposition
on the people, which is what Mugabe and ZANUPF have become. A review of all
the international  and national reports provides ample evidence that
Zimbabwe is now being ruled by a band of oppressors, criminals, thieves,
murderers, extortionists and rapists.

      It is within this context of a rogue regime that preparations for mass
action must be viewed. International consensus allows for an oppressed
people to rise and confront their oppressors. If Mugabe were to appear in
court today his criminal indictment would take weeks to outline.

       In an attempt to remove Mugabe and ZANUPF from power Zimbabweans have
tried two constitutional methods: elections and the courts. Mugabe has
manipulated both. He has rigged elections and has elected to the judiciary
bench his supporters who, for the most part, have ruled in his favor. In
very few and exceptional cases where judges have ruled against him Mugabe
has simply refused in most cases to comply.

       There are two more methods at the Zimbabweans' disposal, now that the
electoral and legal channels have been closed to them.

       One of the two remaining methods is civil disobedience. This is where
Zimbabweans decide they cannot no longer be pushed around by Mugabe and must
take the law into their hands.

      This week promises to be a barometer of how determined Zimbabweans are
to engage in mass action. The world is witnessing isolated acts of mass
action. First, the demonstrations led by WOZA women and by the National
Constitution Assembly paved the way for what was to follow.

       Next, an impromptu march to Parliament by Morgan Tsvangirai's
national council soon swelled to about 1,000 people. There was also a
demonstration by residents of Budiriro when they stormed the council offices
and left a stinker with all the raw sewage they poured all over the council
offices.

       The workers' movement ZCTU as well as the student organization have
now pledged to join in the mass action.

       There is an increase in the frequency and intensity of the
demonstrations by Zimbabweans.

       Organizers must now plan a sustained wave of protests throughout the
country. This must be a fight to the finish. Protesters must avoid the so
called one nighters or one time hit -and- run protests.

       What is needed now is to engage Mugabe over a protracted period. This
will weaken Mugabe because his military and police upon whom he relies so
heavily for his survival cannot maintain an effective force against ongoing
demonstrations.

       The army and police do not have enough equipment in form of vehicles,
fuel, manpower and other resources to suppress spontaneous and sustained
demonstrations.

      And not all police, CIO and soldiers are willing to be unleashed on
protesters knowing fully well that  they share the cause for improved
standards of living and return to the rule of law and democracy.

       Already the opposition movement has received from disgruntled members
of the  security forces a lot of  information about Mugabe's plans to deal
with the protesters.

       And Mugabe will become the fabled Dutch boy who put his finger in a
hole in a dyke to try stop water from escaping...the problems was there were
too many holes. Mugabe may run out of fingers to patch all those holes of
spontaneous protests.

       The next option for Zimbabweans would of course a guerrilla war
against Mugabe. This would  bring bloodshed and untold suffering on innocent
civilians as a desperate Mugabe regime, in a struggle to survive will most
likely go on a killing spree. This is an option that  is both unnecessary
and unlikely  to happen if Zimbabweans put all their energy in mass action.
Experiences in many countries have shown that evil and repressive regimes
can, in fact, be brought down by a sustained mass action alone.

      Mugabe has now successfully planted the seeds of mass protest. It is
now up to the people of Zimbabwe to respond and bring the fight to its
logical conclusion.

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Torture victim elected new MDC-UK chairman

      By Tichaona Sibanda
      11 September 2006

      Ephraim Tapa, a former general council member of the Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions was on Saturday elected as the new chairman of the MDC-UK
province.

      The 44 year-old former trade unionist nearly lost his life during the
2002 presidential elections. He was severely tortured and left for dead in
Mutoko for distributing campaign fliers for party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
He will be at the helm of the UK province for the next five years.

      The soft spoken Tapa beat pre-election favourite Sakile Mtombeni, by
119 votes to 70 in an election supervised by national party chairman Isaac
Matongo in Oxford. Matongo was assisted in overseeing the elections by youth
assembly chairperson Tamsanqa Mahlangu and Grace Kwinjeh, deputy secretary
for International Affairs.

      Speaking to Newsreel on Monday, Tapa said immediate challenges facing
his new executive will be to complete the restructuring of all branches in
the UK before embarking on a massive membership drive.

      'Our next stage after that will be looking at operational procedures
as we have none at all in the UK. We need to have an office that functions
all year round to look at our affairs here, an office that links our
activities with those of the party headquarters in Harare,' Tapa said.

      National chairman Isaac Matongo emphasised just before the elections
that unity among party activists was the most important weapon in fighting
the Zanu (PF) regime, which he described as an entity fighting a losing
battle.

      Matthew Nyashanu was the sole survivor from the old executive to
retain his post of secretary for Information and Publicity after he beat
rival Liberty Mpakati in a closely contested fight. Nyashanu garnered 120
votes while Mpakati had 104.

      Other executive members elected were Rodwell Mpungu (vice-chairman),
Julius Mutyambizi (secretary), Virginia Ncube (vice-secretary), Mary
Kasirowore (treasurer) Jaison Matewu (organising secretary) and Adella
Chiminya (chair-women's assembly)

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Zimbabwe plans to return to Test cricket

Sunday Times SA

Monday September 11, 2006 15:51 - (SA)

By Jane Bramley

Zimbabwe is planning its return to Test cricket in November 2007. This was
revealed on Monday by Zimbabwe coach Kevin Curren, when the team arrived in
South Africa for a short one-day international series against South Africa.

"We will be playing the West Indies at home in November next year," said
Curren. "We think that will give us time to develop our very young team, and
we also believe that the West Indies would be at the right level of play for
our return to Test cricket."

He said it was important for the Zimbabwe team to get as much international
exposure as possible.

"It's a very young team - the average age is about 21 - so we need to play
lots of competitive cricket.

"We are also planning a number of four-day matches against teams like South
Africa A and other A sides. As these players gain international experience,
they will improve and become more competitive.

"If they can get 30 or 40 international caps under their belts, they will be
much better prepared for the return to Test cricket.

"So we will grab any opportunity with both hands.

"Losing about 20 senior players made a huge dent in Zimbabwe cricket,"
Curren continued. "When you look at the kind of experience there is in the
South African team, with players like Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini and
Shaun Pollock, it's going to be a huge challenge for our guys to play
against a team we consider one of the best in the world."

Welcoming the Zimbabwe team, Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South
Africa (CSA), said South Africa was committed to assisting Zimbabwe in its
attempt to return to full competitive cricket.

"That is one of the reasons we are having this short tour," said Majola.
"Zimbabwe will be playing in the qualifying rounds of the ICC Champions
Trophy in India, and we want to help them as much as we can. The three
matches will also give us an opportunity to hone our skills ahead of the
Champions Trophy."

Majola confirmed that a South African A side would tour Zimbabwe next year,
and said there were thoughts of a mini triangular tournament involving South
Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya ahead of the Afro-Asian Cup next year.

The Zimbabwe tour of South Africa gets under way on Wednesday with a Pro20
match against the Eagles in Kimberley.

The first match against South Africa is a day/night game in Bloemfontein on
Friday night, followed by a day match in East London on Sunday. The final
match is in Potchefstroom next Wednesday.

Sapa

Housing policy built on foundation of failures and lies

Zimbabwejournalists.com

      By a Correspondent

      Amnesty International Monday condemned the Zimbabwean government's
much publicised housing programme set up ostensibly to help the victims of
Operation Murambatsvina, a programme of mass forced evictions which left
hundreds of thousands homeless.

      Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle (Better Life) was launched in June
2005, with the government claiming that it would provide better housing to
those who lost homes during Operation Murambatsvina.

      One year after the mass forced evictions, Amnesty International
returned to Zimbabwe to investigate what, if any, action had been taken by
the Zimbabwean government to restore the human rights of the hundreds of
thousands of victims of Operation Murambatsvina.

      The findings, contained in two reports released Monday, reveal that
contrary to government statements almost none of the victims of Operation
Murambatsvina have benefited from the rebuilding, with only some 3,325
houses constructed -- compared to the 92,460 homes destroyed during
Operation Murambatsvina -- and construction has ground to a halt in many
areas.

      Moreover, although the government has presented Operation
Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle as a programme under which houses are built by
government for victims of Operation Murambatsvina, in reality many people
are being allocated small bare plots of land, often without access to water
and sanitation, on which they have to build their own homes with no
assistance.

      Satellite images of just four sites in Zimbabwe show more than 5,000
houses destroyed -- demonstrating that the government's much-publicised
rebuilding programme has produced fewer houses nationwide than were
destroyed in just a fraction of the country.

      "Operation Garikai is a wholly inadequate response to the mass
violations of 2005, and in reality has achieved very little," said Kolawole
Olaniyan, Amnesty International's Africa Programme Director. "Hundreds of
thousands of people evicted during Operation Murambatsvina have been left to
find their own solutions to their homelessness. Very few houses have been
constructed. The majority of those designated as 'built' are incomplete -- 
lacking doors, windows, floors and even roofs. They also do not have access
to adequate water or sanitation facilities."

      "Many of the few houses that have been built are not only uninhabited,
but uninhabitable."

      Furthermore, in most sites visited by Amnesty International
researchers, houses and land plots were allocated to people who had not been
forcibly evicted during Operation Murambatsvina. Researchers found that in
most parts of the country, no assessment has ever been carried out to
identify the victims of Operation Murambatsvina or to establish where they
are now. In addition, government officials have made it clear that at least
20 percent of the housing will go to civil servants, police officers and
soldiers -- rather than those whose homes were demolished in Operation
Murambatsvina.

      Tens of thousands of people -- mainly poor women -- lost their
livelihoods as informal traders and vendors during Operation Murambatsvina,
as well as their homes. Despite having destroyed their only source of
income, the government expects the few victims of the mass evictions to whom
houses or unserviced land plots are "available" to pay for them.

      "The Zimbabwean government has attempted to cover up mass human rights
violations with a public relations exercise," said Kolawole Olaniyan. "The
victims of Operation Murambatsvina were amongst the poorest people in
Zimbabwe. The evictions and demolition of their homes drove them into even
deeper poverty -- losing what little they had, such as clothes, furniture
and even food. Now the Zimbabwean government is unabashedly asking them to
pay for incomplete and sub-standard structures -- or for the stands on which
to build a home -- at prices that would have been well beyond their reach
even before their homes and livelihoods were destroyed last year."

      A widow whose rental accommodation was destroyed described to Amnesty
International how she and her son now live in a bathroom in a house shared
by three families. In Victoria Falls, researchers found a man living in a
room intended to be a toilet; his rental cottage was destroyed last year.
Several thousand people remain living in the open, under makeshift shelters.

      Currently, 83 percent of the population of Zimbabwe survives on less
than the UN income poverty line of US $2 dollars a day. The unemployment
rate stands at about 80 percent.

      Amnesty International called for Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle to be
subjected to an urgent and comprehensive review to bring it in line with the
Zimbabwean government's human rights obligations. It also called on the
government of Zimbabwe to seek international assistance to address the
immediate housing and humanitarian needs of its population if it cannot do
so itself.

      "Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle is a total failure as a remedy," said
Kolawole Olaniyan. "Moreover, in its execution it has resulted not in
remedies but in further violations of human rights."

'Journos in bid to oust Mugabe'

Zimbabwejournalists.com

      By a Correspondent

      Harare - Journalists in Zimbabwe are working undercover to advance
Western interests and denigrate President Robert Mugabe's government, the
acting minister of information has been quoted as saying.

      It was reported that Paul Mangwana said some reporters had dedicated
their careers to working with Zimbabwe's enemies to bring about regime
change. Mangwana described those journalists as "willing soldiers in a war
that is not theirs".

      Mugabe's government and reporters for the private and international
media have long had strained relations, which sunk to new lows under the
iron rule of former information minister Jonathan Moyo. In 2002, Moyo
managed to bring in tough media laws known as the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), that made it a crime to operate as an
unlicensed reporter or to report anything deemed a falsehood.

      Under AIPPA, dozens of reporters had been arrested, several foreign
correspondents deported, and four private newspapers closed. Mangwana had
been acting information minister since the death of Moyo's successor,
Tichaona Jokonya earlier this year. It was reported that the minister said
reporters should report as patriotic Zimbabweans.

Power cuts short circuit Zimbabwe

Sunday Times SA

Monday September 11, 2006 06:37 - (SA)

By Godfrey Marawanyika

HARARE - Zimbabwe faces the prospect of growing power outages in the coming
months as neighboring suppliers pull the plug, according to power chiefs and
business leaders.

Zimbabweans have increasingly had to grow used to living with blackouts that
have affected production and business, quite apart from causing further
hardship to an already weary population.

The southern African country currently imports 40 percent of its power
needs - 100 megawatts a month from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 200
megawatts from Mozambique and up to 450 and 300 megawatts from South Africa
and Zambia respectively.

But the chief of the country's stretched electricity provider says imports
are likely to stop next year as all these countries are expected to run out
of surplus power due to increased demand.

In addition, money has so far not been forthcoming to enable Zimbabwe to
repair old equipment and become self-sufficient.

"We are approaching the 2007-2008 period which will result in the region
having a power deficit," Ben Rafemoyo, acting chief executive officer of the
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Holdings said.

"We need 3.8 billion dollars to be able to generate our own power and to
produce an extra 2,000 megawatts.

"The sooner we get the funds the better for us as a nation."

The creaking nature of the power network has been amply highlighted in
recent months in businesses and homes. In December, the teeming township of
Chitungwiza, southeast of Harare, was plunged into darkness for two weeks
due to technical problems at a local power station.

Calisto Jokonya, president of Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, said
that the power cuts were biting hard on industry.

"As a nation we have lost a lot money because of the electricity problem,"
said Jokonya, whose organisation groups some 300 companies.

"The country has invested in purchasing generators, something which we did
not need and that is wrong. We need to sit down as a nation and discuss the
way forward for the electricity sector," he said.

Power cuts have also affected hospitals, which are making do with skeletal
services and outdated equipment as the effects of a seven-year economic
downturn take their toll.

"Most hospitals have generators," Kudakwashe Nyamutukwa, president of the
Hospital Doctors Association said.

"Even if power is switched off for about ten to 20 minutes, the generators
automatically switch on because important departments like the Intensive
Care Units need electricity 24 hours a day."

Rafemoyo said the electricity provider's efforts to repair, change or
service equipment were hamstrung by an acute shortage of foreign exchange.

"Until we do machine overhauls at Hwange power station we are unlikely to
get out of this situation.

"The overhaul will not be cheap though, we need almost 30 million (US)
dollars and another 3.2 million dollars to fully rehabilitate Hwange which
is now only producing almost 280 megawatts instead of 750 megawatts,"
Rafemoyo said.

The coal-fired Hwange plant, the country's largest, supplied half of
Zimbabwe's power needs a decade ago before a majority stake was sold to a
Malaysian company instead of US and European bidders.

"The other problem we have is that other three power stations that are
supposed to be producing 170 megawatts are not generating anything because
of lack of coal," he added.

The only companies laughing their way to the banks are those selling
generators or solar panels.

"The generators are selling very well," said Mike Dzvokora, a sales manager.

"The cheapest generators we had in stock were sold for 110,000 Zimbabwe
dollars (440 US dollars), but they are out of stock right now."

Sapa-AFP

South Africa's bitter harvest

The Times, UK September 11, 2006

            William Rees-Mogg

            A forced takeover of white farms threatens to bring economic
ruin and hunger to a land of plenty

            THERE ARE two ways of looking at the historic problems of land
ownership. One is the traditional way of seeking justice for the original
owners, often through land reform. This often has its own problems, since it
is sometimes impossible to establish who were the original owners; there may
be several competing claims. The alternative is to give preference to those
who will use the land to produce the most food, most efficiently.
            In Africa, the historic approach is favoured by the black
majority who often believe that their tribal lands were stolen by white
farmers. The white farmers naturally advance the productivity argument; they
regard farming as a large-scale scientific business requiring capital and
highly trained skills. It is a conflict between traditional rights and the
modern economy.

            These two attitudes are to be found wherever there is an
historic dispute over land ownership. In Africa it may be black versus
white, but land disputes arise all over the world, including Europe. I am
sure there are Roman Catholic farmers in Ireland who still resent the
expropriation of their ancestral lands by English Protestants in the 16th or
17th centuries. Such injustices can rankle over many generations. Human
beings have a territorial instinct and will fight to defend their territory
as fiercely as robins.

            Southern Africa is at present the global focus of this contest.
In Zimbabwe, President Mugabe has seized the white farms, driving out many
of the farmers by brute force. Despite some pretence of legality, these have
been illegal takeovers. The consequence has been that Zimbabwe has ceased to
be a net exporter of food and has become dependent on international food
aid. This collapse of food production has wrecked the whole economy. Mugabe
has been a disastrous leader, and is seen by the non-African world as an
incompetent dictator. To many Africans he is still a hero, asserting the
black people's rights to reclaim their ancestral land.

            Last month Lulu Xingwana, the South African Minister for
Agriculture and Land Affairs, made an important declaration of policy. Of
course, the new policy must have been approved, perhaps initiated, by
President Mbeki. Ms Xingwana was speaking at a rally in Limpopo province, in
the main farming region of South Africa. The African National Congress had
always been committed to returning white-owned farms to black claimants
under the Black Economic Empowerment programme; so far only 4 per cent of
the land has been transferred. Now Ms Xingwana has put an official time
limit on the process. She says vehemently that it must be redistributed
completely by December 2008; black farmers will have the right to buy out
the existing white farmers.

            "We will no longer waste time negotiating with people who refuse
to see the transformation of our country . . . from now on we will only
negotiate for six months and, if all fails, expropriation will take place."

            In Limpopo province, black claimants have already launched their
claims for the return of 99.8 per cent of the farmland. Many white farming
families have enjoyed ownership for several generations. Even the black
claims that are based on the undoubted injustices of the apartheid system
may now be 50 years old; other claims for the colonial period would be even
older. Claims may be based on tribal rather than individual ownership.

            The South African Government is anxious to avoid the comparison
with Zimbabwe. Ms Xingwana has also said that expropriation will be the last
resort. Ministries have established a programme for joint ventures, under
which land coming into black ownership could be run in partnership with
existing white farming enterprises, if they chose to do it.

            The stakes are very high. South Africa is much better governed
than Zimbabwe, it is true, but South Africa is also far more important than
Zimbabwe; it is the dominant economy of Southern Africa. Some 95 per cent of
South African food production comes from the 45,000 white farms that employ
half the agricultural workers. Only the remaining 5 per cent of food is said
to be produced by the 740,000 black workers on black farms. The white sector
operates at the level of modern efficiency of the global economy. Most of
the black sector is devoted to traditional subsistent farming. One can go
into any British supermarket and find South African food on sale. It is
mainly food from white farms that competes in the global food market.

            Modern farming requires large capital for equipment, for bulk
seed supplies, for marketing. The black farm sector does not have this
capital. Modern farming also requires management skills and trained workers,
in which the black sector is deficient. There is a very wide gap between the
productivity of the two sectors.

            In Zimbabwe, forced and often violent takeovers of white farms
led to a disastrous collapse of farm production. In South Africa a legal
process of takeover under a democracy might lead to less disastrous results,
but would still replace high-productivity white farming with the lower
productivity of black farming. At best, the Government of South Africa would
have a hard struggle to limit the damage done by its own land policy.

            The timetable seems to be much too short for such a large-scale
farming revolution and the objectives seem much too ambitious. This is not a
question of racial capacities, but of farming productivity. If expropriation
is completed by 2008 one expert considers that by 2009: "South Africa will
no longer to be able to feed itself nor assist Southern Africa." That would
be a humanitarian tragedy. South Africa needs the white farmers who are an
essential and efficient part of the national economy - indeed, they
contribute to feeding the whole of Southern Africa. The main victims of this
policy would be those poor blacks whom it is supposed to benefit.

Witches, witch doctors and 'men of reason'

Mail and Guardian

      Chandra Kumar: COMMENT

      11 September 2006 01:15

            In July, Zimbabwe's Witchcraft Suppression Act was amended.
Accusations of witchcraft are now legal. Given the right sort of "evidence",
the state may convict a person and punish her when it deems the witchcraft
harmful.

            The amendment was welcomed by Gordon Chavunduka, president of
the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association. They are the "good"
witches, the exorcists, those best qualified to sniff out the "bad" witches
(mostly women).

            These ghost-busters know what tests to perform. Chavunduka sees
the amendment as a "step in the right direction towards asserting our
culture that has been trampled upon by successive colonial governments".

            Isn't the promotion of African culture a good thing? But which
part of African culture? The part that resembles the worst features of the
European culture that led to the execution of nearly 60 000 people (about
75% of them women) during the witch hunts of 1450 to 1750? Do the witch
doctors speak for African women?

            When the Catholic Church in Europe reversed a longstanding
position of non-belief in witches, the foundation was laid for three
centuries of vicious repression (carried out by Catholics and Protestants,
state and church). This was a time of deep crisis and turmoil, and the
response of the governing classes was to focus attention on witches and away
from themselves.

            The authorities' attitudes were expressed by the authors of The
Hammer of Witches. "All wickedness," they wrote, "is but little to the
wickedness of a woman ... Women are by nature instruments of Satan . by
nature carnal, a structural defect rooted in the original creation."
Sociologist Nachman Ben-Yehuda says this document became "the most
influential and widely used handbook on witchcraft" providing the official
rationale "for a horrible, endless march of suffering, torture and human
disgrace" throughout Europe.

            Church and state became a protection racket. Witches, like the
elusive Islamic terrorists of today's crusades, became omnipresent enemies,
but difficult to detect. Yet the evil was detected, the invisible became
manifest and the threat of popular upheaval dissipated - only to explode
again later.

            How convenient.

            Has Robert Mugabe discovered that there really are demonic
witches, after all, contrary to the world view of the imperialists? Or have
he and his friends discovered, instead, certain benefits if the suffering
masses blamed their troubles on diabolical forces rather than on the
government and business interests that profit from their misery?

            Unlike Zimbabwe's Afrocentric ghost-busters, Eurocentric
rationalists don't believe in ghosts. At least, not the same ghosts. They
believe in a different ghost, which they call "Reason". Reason too is a
potent, invisible power, but unlike evil demons, Reason is redemptive. It
can lift the ignorant, starving millions into a state of Westernised grace.

            One of its spokesmen, Richard Petraitis, has a website devoted
to detailing the horrors of Unreason in Africa. One can learn a lot from
him. In an essay titled The Witch Killers of Africa, Petraitis estimates
that "between 1991 and 2001, a total of 22 000 to 23 000 Africans were
lynched to death, by fearful neighbours, as witches". This continues
throughout the continent, including South Africa. As in Europe, most of the
witches are women, but poor men and children are not spared.

            And what is the cure? We must rid Africa of the superstitious
"world view challenged by Enlightenment men", the Men of Reason. We must
follow these "champions of Reason" in a "crusade against irrational
beliefs". The key is "education of the masses" which will give them "basic
scientific literacy".

            Reason now prefers to speak with economic tongue. Africa, under
the tutelage of Economic Reason, can be free. But the Messiah will come only
when the foreign investors are absolutely free; then the benefits of Reason
will trickle down to all.

            Good things are happening already: the poverty and destitution
of millions is a mere stepping-stone to future prosperity, as Repetitive
Reason has been saying for 500 years. It's only the stubborn irrationality
of African culture that stands in the way. Will the educative powers of
"basic scientific literacy" break the psychological chains that prevent
Africans from being free? Reason has much work to do.

            Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-reason or anti-Western -- as if
"the West" were one big homogeneous blob of evil. But I am suspicious of the
Men of Reason, especially Economic Reason, who (even more than the witch
doctors and exorcists) seem to thrive on the suffering of women and the
poor.

            At least Chavunduka acknowledges some of the bitter realities
that lead to witch hysteria. For him, "the cause is economic" and "the worse
the economy gets, the more political tension there is in society, the more
frustrated and frightened people get".

            Unfortunately, nowhere in Petraitis's rationalist diatribe is
there much hint of such understanding. The problem, for him, is essentially
lack of education into Enlightenment Reason, and the solution is for
Africans to be freed of superstition, like the secular, tolerant West. No
mention of what the "enlightened" West does to foster the conditions leading
to witch-hysteria in Africa or to the plight of women on this continent. Not
a word about the Men of Reason who sit comfortably far away while the witch
doctors and lynch mobs thwart the solidarity required to resist the
"rational" economic medicine they prescribe. Reason and Unreason cooperate
more than we think.

            Chandra Kumar is a postdoctoral fellow in political and
international studies and philosophy at Rhodes University

Train hits buffaloes, driver dies

From News24 (SA), 11 September

Harare - A Zimbabwean train driver died after a passenger train hit seven
buffaloes at the weekend, said reports on Monday. One passenger was injured
after the Bulawayo-bound train derailed between Mubiya and Dibamombe, near
Victoria Falls Siding on Saturday night. Victoria Falls police commander
Julius Nsingo confirmed the death of the co-driver. The derailment took
place about 20:00. He said: "The train hit a herd of buffaloes that had
strayed into the railway line. One passenger was injured after she jumped
from a coach while the train was still in motion. She sustained minor
injuries and was taken to Victoria Falls Hospital." The co-driver apparently
died after jumping off the locomotive, which hit him before running over the
buffaloes. The train was carrying about 300 passengers. After the accident,
some passengers made small fires and were roasting the meat from the dead
buffaloes, while others were stashing meat into their bags. About two weeks
ago, a passenger train and a goods train collided head-on near the same
area, killing seven people and injuring several others.