VOA
By Patience Rusere, Chris Gande & Taurai
Shava
Washington & Gweru
13 September
2008
Political party leaders in Zimbabwe were deep in
consultations and haggling
over cabinet posts Saturday in preparation for
Monday's signing of a
power-sharing deal reached late Thursday by the former
ruling ZANU-PF party
and the Movement for Democratic Change.
Sources
said President Robert Mugabe was briefing the politburo of his
ZANU-PF party
on the deal contracted with the former opposition party, while
leaders of
both formations of the MDC were focused on the ministerial
portfolios they
hope soon to control.
The unity government accord took shape on Thursday
ending eight weeks of
negotiations under mediation of South African
President Thabo Mbeki. The
quest for a power-sharing government was launched
as a way out of the
impasse created by contested elections followed by
months of political
violence mainly targeting the opposition.
The two
formations of the MDC in those elections claimed a majority in the
lower
house of parliament, and MDC founder Morgan Tsvangirai defeated Mr.
Mugabe
in the March 29 presidential ballot. But a contested official count
said he
fell short of a majority.
Reactions to deal continued to emerge from
regional and international
players. African Union Commission Chairman Jean
Ping said the political
compact marked "a turning point" on Zimbabwe's path
toward reconciliation
and socio-economic recovery.
From the European
Union Presidency currently held by France came a statement
saying the EU
welcomes the agreement. The EU said on Friday that it is
reconsidering its
earlier decision to extend targeted sanctions against top
officials in light
of the accord.
In Washington, U.S. State Department Spokesman Sean
McCormack told reporters
on Friday that the American government is waiting
for more details on the
power-sharing arrangement before taking a position
on it.
Handel Mlilo, representative of the Tsvangirai MDC formation in
the United
States, said he understood U.S. caution but expressed optimism on
expanded
assistance on the basis of the power-sharing
arrangement.
The big question for many observers in Zimbabwe was
which ministerial
portfolios the former opposition would claim and which
would remain in
ZANU-PF hands.
The Reuters news agency quoted MDC
sources as saying the former opposition
wants its people in the home
affairs, justice and finance ministries.
Deputy Spokesman Renson
Gasela of the MDC formation led by Arthur Mutambara
said Mutambara, Mr.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai met Saturday to allocate
ministries.
In the
Midlands town of Kwekwe, meanwhile, youth leaders said the crisis in
education is among those the new government must urgently address.
As
ZANU-PF's youth militia was deeply implicated in post-election violence,
there is need to focus on healing and reconciliation targeting young
Zimbabweans in particular, the youth leaders told correspondent Taurai Shava
of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe.
Reuters
Sat 13 Sep
2008, 13:32 GMT
By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE, Sept 13 (Reuters) -
Zimbabwe's opposition MDC wants to head the home
affairs, justice and
finance ministries under a landmark power-sharing deal
agreed with President
Robert Mugabe, an opposition official said on
Saturday.
The three
portfolios would give it control over the police and prisons, and
responsibility for rescuing an economy reeling from the world's highest rate
of hyper-inflation, more than 11 million percent.
In return, the MDC
is ready to agree to leave Mugabe's ZANU-PF in charge of
other key power
ministries.
"Mugabe can have the defence and state security ministries
but the MDC
should get the home affairs ministry, that is our position,
along with the
finance portfolio," the opposition official said.
"The
reasoning is that security ministries should be shared and ZANU-PF is
agreeable to that and for the MDC to have the finance
ministry."
Thursday's South African-brokered deal is aimed at ending
months of crisis
in Zimbabwe, where MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai defeated
Mugabe in the first
round of a presidential election in March, but pulled
out of a June run-off
citing a systematic campaign of violence against his
supporters.
The two were scheduled to meet at the weekend to craft a new
cabinet, and
Mugabe was briefing ZANU-PF's top decision-making body, the
politburo.
"The president will brief the emergency session of the
politburo on the
agreement reached during the inter-party negotiations, upon
which the
politburo will adopt that agreement," a politburo member told
Reuters.
"ENEMY WITHIN"
The politburo is dominated by Mugabe
loyalists, and is expected to endorse
the deal, under which the opposition
is to get more senior ministers than
ZANU-PF.
An opposition senator
said on Friday Tsvangirai, leader of the MDC (Movement
for Democratic
Change), would be prime minister and chair a council of
ministers that
supervised the cabinet under the power-sharing deal.
ZANU-PF would have
15 cabinet seats, Tsvangirai's MDC 13 and a splinter MDC
faction three
seats.
There is widespread caution among commentators over how quickly
the
power-sharing deal can end the crisis or persuade Western powers --
deeply
opposed to Mugabe -- to step in with much needed financial support to
aid
recovery.
Mugabe, 84, has repeatedly called the MDC a puppet of
the West and political
analysts said the deal was fragile.
Writing in
the state-run Herald newspaper, Nathaniel Manheru -- thought to
be a
pseudonym for a senior Mugabe aide -- said the MDC was now an
"embedded"
enemy and that ZANU-PF should be on guard.
"For a party that has always
relied on government and intellect for policy
incubation, it (ZANU-PF) now
has to learn to govern in a new environment
where the enemy is now within,
well embedded," Manheru said.
"The West will now have an eager listening
post, right up to cabinet. There
will be lots of policy pre-emption."
Zimbabweans are desperate for an end to
a crisis that has ravaged the
economy and pushed millions of refugees into
neighbouring
countries.
(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
SW Radio Africa
(London)
12 September 2008
Posted to the web 13 September
2008
Tichaona Sibanda
A senior advisor to Morgan Tsvangirai on
Friday said that they expect the
country's service chiefs to follow the laws
of the country and support the
government of the day and the new political
dispensation, or resign.
The heads of the country's army, police, air
force, CIO and prison services
have often repeated statements that they will
not salute the MDC leader.
Tsvangirai is expected to be confirmed next week
as the new Prime Minister
of the country. Meanwhile, Defence Forces
Commander General Constantine
Chiwenga was opposed to making Tsvangirai sit
on the Joint Operations
Command, which according to the deal agreed on
Thursday will be renamed the
National Security Council. Chiwenga remains
fiercely opposed to any
elevation of Tsvangirai.
But the MDC MP
for Lobengula-Magwegwe in Bulawayo, Sam Sipepa Nkomo said
there was a very
reasonable answer to that problem.
"As a party, we strongly believe that
those that really do not want to
salute anybody who is properly placed to a
position democratically to be
Prime Minister, President or Minister should
simply resign," he said.
Speaking to Newsreel a day after ZANU PF and the
MDC agreed to a deal that
would see the country's political parties share
power, Nkomo, who is also
the party secretary for Home Affairs, said they
cannot claim they got
everything they wanted from the talks.
"In any
negotiation, you win some and lose some. I believe we could have got
65% of
what we wanted, so the mood in the party is that our negotiators did
a
sterling job because they constantly consulted us," Nkomo said.
Turning
to Matebeleland, a region marginalised by the regime over the last
20 years
for voting for the opposition, the MDC legislator said they hope
the new
government would be fair in its distribution of wealth and job
creation.
"The region needs urgent support from the government. In
the short term, we
need seeds and fertiliser to prepare for the planting
season but in the long
term, we will look at reviving the city's industry,"
he said.
Nkomo explained that Bulawayo used to be the industrial hub of
the country
but 'bit by bit' companies started relocating to Harare because
of political
reasons.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare - The Media Institute of Southern
Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe
chapter has hailed a Zimbabwe unity deal and is
calling for an immediate
cessation of the arrest, harassment and torture of
all journalists and media
houses reporting on Zimbabwe.
It also demanded the granting of permission to all media houses, (both
foreign and local) to cover the political situation as it unfolds as well as
the suspension and subsequent repealing of all repressive legislation that
targets the media, and in particular, the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act, the Public Order and Security Act, the
Broadcasting Services Act and the Interception of Communications
Act.
It said media policy should be guided by the principles
outlined in
the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the Windhoek
Declaration
and the African Charter on Broadcasting.
MISA -
Zimbabwe also called for an immediate conversion of the
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation from a state broadcaster into a public
broadcaster
under the guidelines outlined in the African Charter on
Broadcasting.
"MISA-Zimbabwe welcomes the signing of the
agreement by Zanu PF and
the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
formations as a development
that should usher in a new era of tolerance and
diversity of views
underpinned by fundamental reforms that respect the right
to freedom of
expression and access to information by citizens," it said in
a statement.
"The media and most critically radio and television
because of their
wider reach, play a critical role in creating the required
platform for
national dialogue that will input into the envisaged era of
national
healing, stability, harmony, reconciliation and economic
development."
http://www.cathybuckle.com
Saturday 13th September 2008
Dear Family and
Friends,
A power sharing deal between the MDC and Zanu PF has been agreed.
This is
not what Zimbabweans voted for but it seems we must make the best of
it if
we are to save the country from complete ruin. The very people who
designed
and implemented the 9 year collapse of Zimbabwe will now sit
alongside the
victims of their ruinous policies. What will be top of the
agenda?
Should it be electricity? Supplies are down to 6 or less hours a
day in most
places. Businesses, manufacturing and industry are close to
collapse.
Schools, hospitals and institutions are barely
functional.
Should it be water? Supplies to urban, residential and
industrial areas are
down to 2 hours a day in most places and non existent
in others. Cholera and
other water born disease are
commonplace.
Should it be food? Shops are empty of all basic goods and
individuals have
resorted to imported their own supplies in order to
survive. Food growing on
seized farms is negligible and in most cases barely
enough to feed one or
two families. Almost half the population will need
international food aid by
Christmas.
Should it be money? Bank queues
run into thousands as the Reserve Bank
Governor restricts daily withdrawals
to the current equivalent of just 2
British pence per customer. Without
access to their own money people cannot
buy food or medicines or pay their
bills.
Should it be Health? Hospitals have no drugs, equipment, food,
linen or
staff. Pharmacies increase their prices at least once every day and
people
are dying for lack of basic, simple life sustaining
medication.
Should it be education? Teachers earn less than street
cleaners and so they
are always on strike. Pupils have no books. Parents
cannot afford school and
examination fees, uniforms or even food for their
children. What hope for
our next generation.
Should it be land and
the environment? Restoring property rights and Title
Deeds. Controlling gold
panning, diamond digging, tree cutting, poaching,
streambank and roadside
cultivation and fires.
Perhaps it should be repealing legislation which
has destroyed freedom of
speech, movement and association; freedom of the
press and media and
citizenship laws which have made born and bred
Zimbabweans into aliens.
I could go on and on but perhaps my own
favourites will be top of the
agenda: law and order and accountability.
Until Zimbabwe's Police stop
saying "It is political" and start arresting
people who break the law,
regardless of their political affiliations, we can
surely not move forward.
So too the people who raped, murdered, burned.
looted, tortured, stole and
incited others to do likewise - they must be
held accountable and punished
for their deeds. Zimbabwe stands at the
threshold and we pray that our trust
is not betrayed because we have
suffered so much and for so long.
Until next week, thanks for reading, love
cathy
http://www.mg.co.za
HARARE, ZIMBABWE Sep 13 2008
08:04
Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal was hailed as a success
of regional diplomacy
on Friday, but the animosity between President Robert
Mugabe and the
opposition led some analysts to fear the agreement is
fragile.
"The devil is always in the detail, but I doubt if [opposition
leader]
Morgan Tsvangirai was going to sign if he was not happy," Charles
Mangongera, a Harare political analyst, said.
"We have to look at the
deal as the best opportunity to get Zimbabwe out of
this crisis," he
added.
However, Mangongera said he was worried about the reaction of
Mugabe's
ruling Zanu-PF party, in power since 1980, to the
agreement.
"My major fear is that there are a lot of people, especially
in Zanu-PF, who
would want to throw spanners into this deal as they have a
lot to lose," he
explained.
The intensive negotiations on power
sharing, which started in late July
after pressure from Southern African
leaders who feared the crisis could
destabilise the region, ended on
Thursday with a deal on a unity government.
The details of the new
power-sharing government and who holds what power
will only be made public
on Monday after a formal signing ceremony in
Harare, with regional and
international leaders keenly awaiting specifics.
Sources close the talks
say the deal is a balanced agreement that reflects
Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) win in the March
parliamentary
elections.
Veteran president Mugabe, who has spent 28 of his 84 years at
the helm of
the country, will keep the title of head of state but will have
to share
executive power with Tsvangirai, who will take up a newly created
prime
minister's post, the sources said.
The two men will
share the power to appoint ministers and set policies. The
president will
still head the Cabinet, but Tsvangirai will chair a new
council of ministers
that controls the implementation of government
policies, according to the
sources.
'Positive development'
"It's clearly a positive political
development which has the potential of
breaking the protracted crisis that
had come to characterise Zimbabwe,"
Eldred Masunungure, a political
scientist from the University of Zimbabwe,
said.
"It signals a move
from the vicious cycle, but I am deliberately avoiding
premature celebration
because we are dealing with deeply entrenched
interests and hostilities," he
warned.
In South Africa, the deal was mainly seen as a victory of
regional
diplomacy.
"We have seen African mediators brokering peace
and stability solutions in
African conflicts like in Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire
and other places. This is
another example of that," Olmo Von Meijenfeldt, an
analyst from the
Institute of Democracy in South Africa, said.
The
deal, brokered by South African President Thabo Mbeki amid increasing
pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional
bloc, is a "fantastic achievement" for both, the analyst added.
"The
deal will change perception about African-led mediation," Meijenfeldt
said.
The same sentiments were expressed by professor Shadrack Gutto
at the
University of South Africa's Centre for African
Renaissance.
"Mbeki's mediation efforts must be praised," Gutto
said.
The deal allows the region to breathe a sigh of relief, the analyst
said.
Zimbabwe's dire economic crisis "saw the citizens of Zimbabwe
flocking to
neighbouring countries in great numbers, causing an economical
strain to the
entire SADC region", Gutto explained.
"The deal shows
that rival political parties realised that solving the
country's crisis
could not be done single-handedly," he added. -- AFP
Yahoo News
30 minutes
ago
NAIROBI (Reuters) - The African Union (AU) has hailed Zimbabwe's
power-sharing deal as a "turning point" for the nation and urged the world
to give it full support.
A statement issued late on Friday by AU
Commission chairman Jean Ping
welcomed this week's accord between President
Robert Mugabe and the
Zimbabwean opposition.
"The chairperson
commends the Zimbabwean parties for arriving at this
agreement which marks a
turning point in the efforts aimed at promoting
reconciliation, stability
and fostering conditions conducive for the
recovery of their country," it
said.
The AU praised South African President Thabo Mbeki's "skilful
diplomacy and
tireless efforts" as a mediator.
"The chairperson urges
the international community as a whole to do its
utmost to support the
implementation of this agreement and provide the
requisite assistance to
that end," the statement added.
Giving first details of the deal reached
on Thursday, an opposition senator
said on Friday that Mugabe would keep his
job and head the cabinet. Morgan
Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition
MDC group, would be prime minister
and chair a council of ministers
supervising cabinet, the senator said.
Zimbabweans are desperate for an
end to a political crisis that has
destroyed the economy, hitting the
once-prosperous country with the world's
highest rate of hyper-inflation and
sending millions of refugees into
neighboring countries.
(Reporting
by Andrew Cawthorne)
SABC
September 13, 2008,
07:45
By Thami Dickson
The United Nations Security Council has
welcomed the historic agreement
between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
and his country's opposition
leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, to form a government
of national unity.
UN Chief Ban Ki Moon has also joined in supporting the
agreement, saying he
hopes that it will pave the way for durable peace in
Zimbabwe. The world
body has heaped praise on President Thabo Mbeki's
tireless efforts to
facilitate the political deal.
Zimbabwe's
political crisis has long been a controversial issue in the
Security
Council. Super powers such as Washington and the United Kingdom
have been at
the forefront of a campaign to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe,
intended to
punish Mugabe for the humanitarian crisis and violence that
erupted in that
country after the disputed March elections.
They also wanted to force him
into a government of national unity with the
Movement for Democratic Change.
But Africa's leaders stood their ground
arguing that the mediation process
should be given a chance.
With the support of a double veto from Russia
and China, the sanctions
resolution was aborted, giving a huge boost to the
otherwise difficult
mediation process.
The details of the agreement
reached in Zimbabwe will be released on a
much-awaited ceremony in Harare on
Monday.
America.gov
(Washington, DC)
12 September 2008
Posted to the web 13 September
2008
Stephen Kaufman
Washington, DC
U.S. officials are
withholding comment on a power-sharing deal between
Zimbabwe's President
Robert Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai pending their study of the agreement.
The agreement was
announced September 11 after weeks of negotiations
mediated by South African
President Thabo Mbeki.
"Clearly . Mr. Tsvangirai is comfortable with
the deal, so I would expect in
the coming hours and days we'll have an
assessment of it," State Department
spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters
September 12.
McCormack said Bush administration officials are beginning
to get details of
the agreement, but said he would "withhold any more
definitive comment"
until he thinks "we have a full understanding of
it."
The government's political violence and economic distress have
forced many
Zimbabweans to flee to neighboring South Africa.
He
repeated the U.S. position that any power-sharing arrangement between
Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)
and the opposition MDC "must reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people as
expressed through the ballot box during their last election," which took
place March 29.
In that election, MDC candidates won a majority of
the country's
parliamentary seats and Tsvangirai received more presidential
votes than
Mugabe. However, the opposition leader did not earn enough votes
to avoid a
runoff election.
In the weeks before the June 27
presidential runoff, Mugabe's government and
ZANU-PF activists engaged in a
sustained campaign of violence and
intimidation against MDC supporters, real
and suspected, and halted the
activities of foreign aid workers. The MDC
says 200 of its supporters were
killed.
Tsvangirai decided to pull
out of the election rather than continue to
endanger his voters, and Mugabe
declared himself the victor, but he has
faced international condemnation and
isolation as well as increased
sanctions against his regime by the United
States and the European Union.
A senior State Department official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said
that although the United States has
not yet decided on a definitive response
to the political deal, "certainly,
it is a turn in the right direction."
Amid its political turmoil and
international isolation, Zimbabwe has
continued to see its economy shrink
and has an inflation rate of 11 million
percent.
Asked if the
agreement could mean that sanctions against ZANU-PF and its
affiliates might
be lifted, the official said: "We'll see. We'll see if it
does mean
anything."
http://www.thecommonwealth.org
12 September 2008
Kamalesh
Sharma welcomes power-sharing agreement
The Commonwealth
Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, has welcomed the
announcement yesterday
of a power-sharing agreement reached by Zimbabwe's
political
parties
He expressed the hope that the agreement, due to be signed on
Monday, will
herald a new dawn for the people of Zimbabwe.
The
Secretary-General commended the SADC Facilitation Mission under the
leadership of President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, for its perseverance
and resolve in assisting Zimbabwe leaders to come to an agreement to work
together. Mr Sharma said "I hope this will now lay the foundation for
reconciliation and reconstruction for which the people of Zimbabwe have
waited so long."
He reiterated that the Commonwealth would maintain
its ongoing consultations
with the United Nations, the African Union and the
Southern African
Development Community on the way forward. "The Commonwealth
stands ready" he
added, "to support the process as appropriate, particularly
in areas of its
proven expertise and experience".
http://www.chicagotribune.com
Sources: Control of police, army to be
split
By Angus Shaw | Associated Press
September 13, 2008
HARARE,
Zimbabwe-President Robert Mugabe and his main rival agreed to divide
control
of the police and army and strike a delicate balance in Zimbabwe's
Cabinet,
sources familiar with the deal said Friday.
Some members of opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai's party were already
complaining Friday that the
compromise didn't do enough to sideline Mugabe.
But David Coltart, an
opposition member of parliament, said the agreement
gives Mugabe "greatly
reduced powers to those he enjoys today" and while
Tsvangirai will not get
"absolute power, he does have substantial power."
Five officials from
Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change
spoke to The
Associated Press on Friday, on condition of anonymity because
of a media
blackout, with two providing details of the deal.
Tsvangirai
would be in charge of the country's police, who have terrorized
the
opposition. The two opposition officials also said Tsvangirai broke a
deadlock in talks by proposing a new Council of State made up of Mugabe and
two deputies of his ZANU-PF party, and Tsvangirai and two of his
deputies.
Tsvangirai will be in charge of the Cabinet, and Mugabe will be
in charge of
the council, which will oversee the Cabinet's activities, the
officials
said.
But Coltart said Mugabe will preside over the
Cabinet, with Tsvangirai as
the vice chairman. He said Tsvangirai will be
chairman of the Council of
Ministers, which will supervise the Cabinet. He
acknowledged the arrangement
is "slightly cumbersome."
The two
officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said Tsvangirai's
party will
get the most seats in the Cabinet, 16, one more than Mugabe's
party. But
Coltart said the 16 included Tsvangirai's party and a smaller
opposition
faction.
One official said the deal includes disbanding the country's
feared Central
Intelligence Organization and replacing it with a smaller
National Security
Authority.
http://www.cathybuckle.com
12th Septemver 2008
Dear
Friends.
"We've got a deal"! With those words Morgan Tsvangirai told waiting
journalists at the Rainbow Towers Hotel that the unbelievable had happened;
the long months of agonising on/off indecision were over. There had finally
been a breakthrough. Later at an official press conference Thabo Mbeki
announced, "An agreement has been reached on all items on the agenda. All of
them endorsed the document tonight. I am absolutely certain that the
leadership of Zimbabwe is committed to implementing this agreement." The
formal signing ceremony, attended by regional leaders will take place on
Monday, Mbeki added, but gave no further details.
For Zimbabweans at home
the news may well have come too late at night. By
that time they may well
have retired to their beds, hungry and without
lights or power to cook their
evening meal or listen to their radios and
televisions. Here in the UK
diaspora I heard it first on BBC News at Ten
after another day of watching
and waiting for hard news. Mugabe had attended
the Chiefs' Ndaba in Bulawayo
earlier in the day and had given no indication
that a settlement was
anywhere near. On the contrary, he had told the
chiefs, "We have not gone
anywhere. We're still stuck at the same point
where those from the MDC want
to govern. They want Mugabe to go. Where shall
I go? I can't go anywhere.It
is humiliating to be negotiating with a party
sponsored by countries pushing
for regime change," It seemed nothing had
changed, the Old Man was just not
prepared to budge. Yet there was something
different; after his speech, the
traditional leaders had most
uncharacteristically given Mugabe's government
a positive tongue-lashing
about the food shortages, the corruption of
government ministers and police
involved in food scams. Had the chiefs'
words perhaps reminded Mugabe that
he has no money to solve the problem of
hunger and food shortages? Could
that be the reason he finally put his name
to a document that virtually
entails sharing power with the hated enemy ,
the man he has done his level
best to destroy? Only a couple of days before
Kofi Annan had launched a
scathing attack on the AU, "they should have
endorsed the results (of the
March elections) and said to Mugabe; You are
not a legally elected
president". With those words ringing in his ears,
Mugabe perhaps realised
that the game was almost up. Whatever the reason, he
arrived back in Harare,
ninety minutes late apparently, to sign the deal
that was to change the
status quo.
No one knows the details of the
Agreement yet but we all understand 'the
devil is in the detail'. So many
questions spring to mind. How long is the
'Inclusive' government going to
last? Are we in for another five years of
Mugabe's presidency? One thing is
clear: Mugabe's henchman in the state
media have not come to terms with the
new reality. On the very day the deal
was announced the state controlled
Herald was still spreading its lies about
Morgan Tsvangirai, claiming that
the new Prime Minister was about to appoint
a retired Colonel, one Lionel
Dyck (a white man of course) to the post of
Commander of the Zimbabwe
National Army; MDC MP's are still incarcerated,
the violence goes on against
MDC supporters and Gideon Gono announces the
setting up of licences for one
thousand retail and wholesale outlets who
will for the next eighteen months
buy and sell in US dollars. No prizes for
guessing who will get these
licences; it will be Zanu PF fat cats but for
ordinary Zimbabweans with no
access to forex it is a pointless exercise
which will only increase the
shortages and extend their suffering. Right up
to the last minute before the
deal was announced, Mugabe was busy trying to
ensure that his appointees
were in place as Provincial Governors and, if
rumour is to be believed,
under the terms of the agreement, Mugabe will be
forced to revise these
appointments.
Zimbabweans have three days to ponder the deal and from what I
hear no one
is dancing in the streets. What they are all asking themselves
is will this
bring an end to our suffering, will this deal bring an
improvement in our
lives. And above all, can we trust Mugabe to stick to his
word? Will he
really allow Morgan Tsvangirai and his ministers to operate
without
interference? 'Sources' tell us Mugabe will continue to chair the
cabinet
while Tsvangirai controls a Council of Ministers but what happens
when those
two bodies clash? We have to wait until Monday and the formal
signing before
we have the answers to these questions - and maybe not even
then. Three days
in which the so-called war vets and youth militia may
resort to even more
violence against opposition supporters. Will they listen
if or when Mugabe
tells them to desist and what of the police and army who,
again if rumour is
to be believed, have been promised immunity for their
horrendous crimes.
Will they now enforce the law impartially?
It's going
to be a very long weekend but despite all our reservations and
whatever the
future holds the truth is that Zimbabwe will never be the same
again.
Something has changed forever.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle.
PH.
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) The political settlement between
Zimbabwe's
rival parties has created a heightened sense of hope for an
elusive economic
turnaround, with positive spin-offs expected on the wider
southern African
regional economy.
The stock markets closed
more than 10 percent higher on Friday when
news of a power-sharing deal
between President Robert Mugabe and main
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) was announced on
Thursday.
Stockbrokers said demand for dual-listed stocks such as
insurance
giant Old Mutual, cement manufacturing PPC and hotel-to-retail
conglomerate
Kingdom Meikles Africa weakened on Friday, pointing to tumbling
appetite for
foreign currency-hedged shares.
The fungible
nature of the dual-listed stocks had until now made them
a hot favourite
with investors who used them to hedge against the weakening
Zimbabwe
dollar.
Fungible shares can be traded on more than one stock
exchange on which
they are listed.
Old Mutual is listed in
about six countries, including at the London
Stock Exchange, while PPC has a
dual listing in Harare and Johannesburg.
Kingdom Meikles Africa is listed in
London and Harare.
"Prospects of a political settlement have seen
investors starting to
offload their holdings in dual-listed stocks in
anticipation of an
appreciation of the exchange rate," a Harare-based
stockbroker told APA.
The settlement also sent tremors through the
illegal foreign currency
market where traders were Saturday keeping a close
eye on political
developments.
"We are anxiously awaiting the
finer details of the agreement on
Monday and subsequent government action to
see which way the wind will be
blowing. As of now, we are trading
cautiously," said an illegal foreign
currency dealer at the main
international bus stop in Harare.
The Southern African Development
Community (SADC) is also expected to
benefit from a stronger Zimbabwean
economy, which until its crisis began in
2000 was the region's second
largest economy after South Africa.
At the height of its economic
heydays, Zimbabwe used to export food
and manufactured goods to the SADC
region.
All that changed in the past eight years after the country
plunged
into a debilitating economic crisis highlighted by the world's
highest
inflation rate of more than 11 million percent, a rapidly
contracting Gross
Domestic Product and shortages of foreign currency, food
and fuel.
Critics blame the crisis on repression and wrong policies
by Mugabe,
in power since Zimbabwe's 1980 independence from Britain. He
denies the
charge.
The knock-on effects of the Zimbabwe deal
were felt in neighbouring
South Africa where its currency, the rand,
recovered two percent Friday
against the US dollar.
A resurgent
Zimbabwe is therefore expected to contribute positively to
the attainment of
the SADC vision of a harmonized economy, with single-digit
inflation by the
end of this year and a common currency by 2018.
JN/daj/APA
2008-09-13
http://www.channel4.com/
Last Modified: 13 Sep 2008
By:
Guest blogger
We should have been celebrating a power sharing deal but
the passport office
queues were longer than ever, writes Zimbabwe blogger
Helen.
The morning after a power sharing deal between the MDC and Zanu PF
was
agreed in Harare, one British pound was fetching twenty six thousand
Zimbabwe dollars on the black market.
In reality that British pound
should be worth 260 quadrillion Zimbabwe
dollars because 10 zeroes were
recently removed from the currency. But those
figures are just too absurd
for every day life.
Just a month ago even the least educated people were
talking and calculating
in trillions, but we've all very quickly reverted to
thinking in hundreds
and thousands again.
In fact it wouldn't be too
far from the truth to compare the Zimbabwe dollar
to those sweet sprinklings
(hundreds and thousands) used in cake decorating.
There was no sign of
jubilation or euphoria on the streets on the day after
the power sharing
deal was agreed. In fact the mood was more cautious,
skeptical and not very
optimistic that it could work.
There are a lot of questions. Impunity is
uppermost: "What about the people
who did all the violence? The burning,
rape, looting, torture," one man
said. "Will they just get away with it
all?"
Timing is another: "How soon will I be able to afford to buy food
again? How
soon before there is any food to buy in the shops again?" a woman
asked.
Disbelief in the ability of Zanu PF and MDC to work together
is widespread:
"They'll just argue about everything and nothing will
improve."
"Anything's better than what we've got now" is the most
commonly expressed
sentiment and it is food, money and medicines that
dominates every minute of
our lives and our conversations.
We are
only allowed to withdraw 500 Zimbabwe dollars a day from the banks
which, at
today's exchange rate, is equivalent to just two British pence.
Assuming
you can afford to get to the bank, assuming the bank have cash and
assuming
you can spare two hours to queue, with Z$500 I can buy four and
half fresh
eggs!
This is today's price only, it changes every day. One friend I met
told me
excitedly that a new market had opened up selling cracked eggs for
32
dollars each.
"Who cares about germs and salmonella when you're
hungry" she said.
A teacher I met told me her pay is presently Z$9000 a
month (less than 50
British pence a month) She is an epileptic and her
tablets cost Z$22 000 a
month - more than double her entire monthly
salary.
She needs three tablets a day but with each single pill costing
$244 she can
only get 2 with the maximum withdrawal limit of five hundred
dollars.
These are the daily issues that Zimbabweans need resolved right
now and on
the day when we should have been celebrating a power sharing
deal, the
queues outside the passport office were longer than ever.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43860
Interview with
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) National Coordinator Jenni
Williams
CAPE TOWN, Sep 13 (IPS) - Zimbabwean women have experienced
higher levels of
trauma, including violence and lack of food, after the
country's
independence from Britain in 1980 than before.
This is one
of the findings of a study conducted by the civic movement Women
of Zimbabwe
Arise (WOZA) on trauma in the collapsing southern African state.
The
study reveals the complexities of the emergency caused by the political
and
economic crisis. Trauma has not only been inflicted through direct
violence
(beatings, torture and rape) but by food deprivation and a lack of
access to
medical treatment and shelter.
State violence, economic decline and the
destruction of social capital have
had severe consequences for
women.
According to the report, most women interviewed experienced more
incidences
of trauma after the country's independence from Britain in 1980
than before
independence.
Of the 1,983 WOZA members interviewed, 14
percent experienced a lack of food
in 1979, compared to a staggering 66
percent between 1980 and 1999. While
nine percent did not have access to
medical treatment in 1979, this figure
shot up to 24 percent between 1980
and 1999. Similarly, while six percent
did not have access to shelter in
1979, 12 percent reported a lack of
shelter between 1980 and
1999.
From 2000 the incidences of ''experienced trauma'' were annually
higher than
incidences of ''witnessed trauma''. Children, who are often in
the presence
of their mothers during these incidents, are equally
victimised. Stephanie
Nieuwoudt spoke to Jenni Williams, national
coordinator and one of the
founders of WOZA. WOZA is the Ndebele word for
''come forward''.
IPS: How do women survive financially in a country
where the price of a loaf
of bread is millions of Zimbabwean
dollars?
Jenni Williams: That is the trillion dollar question. The answer
is that we
simply do not know how it is done. In Zimbabwe, it is a huge
achievement if
one manages to send your children to bed at night with one
meal in their
bellies.
I was at a conference in South Africa where I
ate three meals a day at the
hotel where I was staying. I felt sick. My
system could not handle three
meals a day. Zimbabweans do not eat that much
any more. The meals we have
are substandard.
Yet women survive. They
are scavenging all the time. The informal trade is
still very much alive. A
woman will, from somewhere, find a few vegetables
to sell at the side of the
road and when they are gone she will look
everywhere to find more to
sell.
Some people go shopping in neighbouring countries and bring back
goods to
sell in Zimbabwe or they look for piece work. They survive from day
to day.
The efforts by (Zimbabwean president) Robert Mugabe to
criminalise informal
trade have to stop because it is an important part of
the economy. For
thousands of people in Zimbabwe it is the only way they can
survive.
It is mostly women who are involved in informal trade. They are
the ones who
support their families financially. The irony is that many of
the top brass
in Zimbabwe who support the actions against illegal traders
probably come
from homes where their mothers were informal
traders.
Women are still the backbone of rural agriculture, but they are
mostly
forced to hand over their crops to the army.
Zimbabwe has
great agricultural potential. It was one of the most important
agricultural
countries in Africa. It is an agricultural giant which has been
forced into
unconsciousness. If women and other farmers can be supported
with inputs --
seeds, fertiliser and so forth -- there can be a quick
recovery.
The
people in Zimbabwe are ill. Their health is jeopardised by eating
irregularly and when they do eat, it is substandard produce. Many are HIV
positive and suffer from opportunistic HIV-related illnesses. But there are
too few people to care for the sick.
Many doctors and other
healthcare workers have left the country. There is no
medicine. It is even
difficult to find a headache tablet. The hospitals are
like ghost
towns.
Zimbabwe was one of the most educated nations in Africa. Robert
Mugabe
promised free primary education but the education system is in
shambles.
Stress, trauma and illness are killing people. The life
expectancy of a
woman is 34 and that of a man 37. I am 46 and there are not
many people of
my age around.
IPS: What has been the most surprising
finding of the research WOZA did on
the trauma suffered by Zimbabwean
women?
Jenni Williams: On average we found that violence increased more
than three
times since 2000. People suffered an average of more than 16
events of
trauma since 2000, compared to 2.9 in 1979 and 5.8 from 1980 to
1999.
The increase seems improbable when one remembers that the 1970s was
a time
of open struggle. Yet the figures prove that the increase since 2000
was
dramatic. This is under the rule of a man who was once regarded as a
liberation war hero. History will judge Robert Mugabe harshly for
this.
It is also surprising that when women do get counselling, they
prefer to
discuss issues of displacement rather than their experiences of
violence and
torture.
IPS: The report focused to a large extent on
trauma suffered by women in
Matabeleland, in the south of the country.
Why?
Jenni Williams: My generation suffered under ''Gukurahundi'' - the
1980s
conflict between government forces and opposition movements in
Matabeleland.
Over 10,000 Ndebeles in this region were executed by
government forces. In
one case 55 men and women were shot and killed in one
day.
People were burnt alive in their huts or executed publicly. They
were
suspected of being members of the opposition party Zimbabwe African
People's
Union (ZAPU). These people suffered a lot of trauma.
There
is huge support for the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic
Change, in Matabeleland. The people are ready to be mobilised.
IPS:
The members of WOZA are often beaten and thrown into jail. You were
arrested
in March this year and a court case is still ongoing. In August you
were
arrested again but released after being severely beaten.
Jenni Williams:
WOZA has more than 60,000 members. It is a mass-based
organisation. But
members know when they sign up that they run a risk of
being arrested and
beaten.
We have workshops training people on how to cope with reprisals.
The members
are totally committed even though they know of the high
risk.
Nine of our members were arrested in August on the charge of
malicious
damage to property after they wrote our WOZA slogan, ''Woza Moya''
(come
healing spirit) on a road in Bulawayo.
I was arrested along
with 13 others in May when we protested against the
election violence in
Zimbabwe. I was kept in prison for six weeks on the
charge that I would
mobilise a Kenya-style uprising against the government
during the run-off
election.
I was freed after (Movement for Democratic Change leader)
Morgan Tsvangirai
withdrew from the run-offs. This case is still
pending.
Ironically we view police stations as the final place to get a
particular
message across. When we are imprisoned and it becomes news, we
know the
message has hit home - people from around the world take notice of
what is
happening in Zimbabwe.
We often do not get arrested because
the police officers are the sons of
members. They know that we are a
community-based movement who address issues
which are Zimbabwe's issues and
not just women's issues.
However, even though some police officers
understand what we do, the police
remain the main perpetrators of violence
against us. When they arrest us, we
focus on telling them that we are
fighting for a better Zimbabwe with social
justice for us and them. WOZA has
a history of six years of non-violent
protest.
The people of Zimbabwe
live in fear all the time, regardless of who they
are. There is a deep
awareness that one can be arrested at any moment and
tortured and killed.
Our study revealed that repeated exposure to trauma has
a cumulative effect.
Some 53 percent of the women who were surveyed had
scores indicative of a
psychological disorder.
WOZA is investigating models of peace and
reconciliation in Rwanda and South
Africa. Can one really start thinking
about healing while Robert Mugabe is
still in power?
It is of the
utmost importance that the people of Zimbabwe are healed. If
healing does
not take place, we will continue to have a violent society. In
South Africa
we are looking at what the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions
achieved and
in Rwanda we are looking at the Gacaca courts.
WOZA was founded because
of the oppressive regime of Mugabe and, in spite of
him, it grew into a
massive organisation. We need a structure to promote the
agenda of healing.
In the meantime we have ways and means of accessing
people and helping them
on a one-to-one basis.
In the long term we hope to engage the security
forces as well. We need some
form of reconciliation with the same people who
are responsible for the
trauma and atrocities.
By openly writing
peace slogans like ''Woza Moya'' on the streets and
marching against
oppression, we show the next generation that one can fight
in a non-violent
way against a terrible situation.
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe's largest trade union federation said
Saturday that its members would from now on demand salaries in foreign
currency following this week's central bank decision to legalise use of hard
currencies in shops, APA learns here.
The Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) announced Wednesday that it would
license shops to sell goods
in foreign currency to help ease shortages of
goods and local
banknotes.
RBZ governor Gideon Gono said some 1,000 retailers and
200 wholesalers
would be allowed to sell goods in US dollars, South African
rands and the
British pound sterling while motorists could also buy fuel in
foreign
currency.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
president Lovemore Matombo
criticised the move Saturday, saying it reflected
a failure of government
policies.
He said the ZCTU had advised
all trade unionists affiliated to it to
negotiate in foreign exchange
(forex) to protect their members against the
latest central bank
move.
"This is the only way workers would be able to buy from the
shops that
sell goods in forex," Matombo said in a statement.
Gono's new measure would adversely affect most Zimbabwean workers who
earn
their wages in local currency.
The average wage of a Zimbabwean
worker is about 5,000 Zimbabwe
dollars, equivalent to about $100 at the
official exchange rate or just $10
at the more realistic parallel market
rate.
Observers say Gono is caught between a rock and a hard place
after
German suppliers of paper to print banknotes cancelled a contract to
supply
the Zimbabwean central bank in July.
The pullout by the
German supplier meant that the central bank chief
was left with no option
but to allow the use of foreign currency in local
shops while a more
permanent solution was being sought.
Local banknotes are in short
supply, with depositors only allowed to
withdraw 500 Zimdollars daily which
is enough for a one-way fare on public
transport.
Transport
operators charge between 300 and 400 Zimdollars a trip,
which means
commuters need at least 600 Zimdollars to travel to and from
home per
day.
JN/daj/APA
2008-09-13
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare - THE University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has
suspended yet another
student leader for challenging authorities at the
country's premier
institution of higher learning over deteriorating
standards.
Shadreck Vengesai, who was studying for a
degree in War Studies, was
on Friday served with a letter of suspension
barring him from the
institution for the next two years. The letter, dated
September 3 but handed
to Vengesai a week later, said the student leader had
attempted to incite
other students to engage in violence, in breach of
University ordinances.
Vengesai is among student leaders who have
been very vocal against the
delayed opening for the first semester of the
2008/2009 academic year, to
later this month.
"The student
activist was being charged on allegations of breaching
Section 3.1.4 of
Ordinance 30 which provides that no student shall engage in
any conduct
whether on or off campus which is or reasonably likely to be
harmful to the
interests of the University, members of the University staff
or students,"
reads a statement from the Students Solidarity Trusts, which
is assisting
Vengesai and other expelled or suspended students.
The letter,
signed by the UZ registrar Mr. S.M Chevo said "on or about
5 September
2007,during the orientation week, you unlawfully and wrongfully
addressed
students at the Great Hall Foyer, wore a ZINASU T-Shirt which bore
a message
which was intended to incite other students to engage in violence
and
resisted lawful arrest."
Vengesai becomes the third student to be
suspended from the UZ of
late, joining Shawn Matsheza and Caesar
Sitiya.
The Herald (Harare)
Published by the government of Zimbabwe
13 September 2008
Posted to
the web 13 September 2008
Harare
THE days for illegal foreign
currency dealers are numbered following the
signing of a power-sharing
agreement between Zimbabwe's main political
parties and the impending
introduction of foreign currency shops,
developments that have already begun
to weigh down on activities on the
parallel markets.
As of yesterday,
rates, which looked set to breach the $1 000 per US dollar
mark by this
weekend, began to tumble to around $400 from $500. The Reserve
Bank of
Zimbabwe predicts that the parallel market will almost be
non-existent
within the next three to six months.
An atmosphere of panic has
already engulfed that market ahead of the
official signing of the power deal
scheduled for Monday, while the
announcements of the introduction of legal
foreign currency shops and fuel
purchases had already begun to flash the red
light for dealers.
On Wednesday, RBZ Governor Dr Gideon Gono announced
measures that would
result in the licensing of at least 1 000 retail shops
and 250 wholesalers
to sell goods in foreign currency while service stations
and oil companies
would also be granted special licences to sell fuel in
foreign currency, a
move that would disarm any clandestine and underground
activities in this
regard.
On the political front, President Mugabe
and the two MDC formation leaders
Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara
finally agreed on a power-sharing
arrangement that will be formally sealed
on Monday.
Analysts said these developments spelt doom for parallel
market activities
and other clandestine deals in fuel and other such that
had turned many into
millionaires overnight, building mansions, driving
fancy cars and wearing
designer clothes at a time when most ordinary
Zimbabweans could hardly
afford a decent meal.
"When one looks at
these winds of progressive change all blowing at the same
time, they present
a phenomenal platform of opportunities for the Zimbabwean
economy to
stabilise and take off within three to six months," said a
prominent
economic commentator.
"The inevitable outcome, therefore, is that those
who hitherto were
profiteering from artificial briefcase enterprises will
soon find their
empires crumbling as surely there will be no need and no
room for arbitrage
and rent-seeking behaviour. The parallel market rates,
particularly those
via the
RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement System)
transfers are seen crumbling by no
less than 80 percent and in the process
burning fingers of those who had
wrongly positioned themselves thinking that
Zimbabwe was going to collapse
into extinction," he stressed.
A
comment on the impact of the measures announced on Wednesday would have on
the illegal foreign currency activities could not be obtained from Dr Gono,
who was said to be out of office on business.
However, his advisor,
Dr Munyaradzi Kereke, said the recent developments
were bound to witness an
economic rebound.
"We are very excited that as was naturally expected,
Zimbabweans are once
again working together to resolve the challenges the
common men and women in
the streets are facing.
"Our own estimates
are that within the next three to six months the parallel
market and the
hyperinflationary impulses in the markets will surely be a
thing of the
past, given that our industrialists now have direct access to
foreign
currency under the measures announced by the governor," said Dr
Kereke.
The parallel market had largely been driven by almost a
decade of lack of
balance of payment support which, to market watchers, was
a clear signal
that the local currency would completely collapse, feeding
into the
pessimism that had been engendered into the
economy.
Furthermore, the anticipated degeneration of the political
environment into
bloodshed by the international community, the general
public, business and
other stakeholders was driving the parallel market as
many sought to "make
hay while the sun shines".
The official signing
ceremony on Monday is largely expected to be
accompanied by an economic
rescue package that could see significant amounts
of foreign currency
flowing into the economy.
This would further subdue the parallel market
as the factors of supply and
demand come into play.
The African
Development Bank and the general donor community are said to be
bringing on
board rescue packages to support ongoing initiatives.
Futhermore, with
South African President Thabo Mbeki having steadfastly
co-ordinated the
political settlement against all odds in what was termed "a
mission
impossible, the latest developments give him higher moral ground on
the back
of which SA, as Zimbabwe's largest trading partner, may consider a
win-win
helping hand.
An analysis of Zimbabwe's trade basket shows that at least
50 percent of
this country's strategic imports come from South Africa, which
would amount
to at least US$1 bullion annually.
"South Africa's
extension of a helping hand to Zimbabwe is, therefore, far
from being a
political gesture but a prudent decision on a win-win basis."
Between
2006 and 2007 negotiations between Zimbabwe and South Africa for the
latter
to extend financial assistance were adjourned at an advanced stage.
In
the meantime, the 15 percent of earnings expected to be remitted to the
central bank under the foreign exchange shops system is expected to bridge
the funding gap that had been worsening on a daily basis.
If these
funds were allocated to quick-win sectors such as electricity
importation,
strategic fuel purchases and medical drugs, the economy would
benefit
immensely.
The foreign currency bond which has also been opened to the
Diaspora will
also present a direct source of revenue while also rekindling
the country as
a good destination for capital market
investments.
Other commentators were also upbeat about Zimbabwe's
future.
"Hopes are now that the economy will be formalised," said an
economist with
a local bank.
Another economist, Emmanuel Chinyaukira,
said all efforts should be
accompanied by policies targeted at stemming
corrupt tendencies within the
economy.
"The black market is being
driven by corrupt people who are in the system
and as such they are always
ahead of time, for instance while most people
are crying foul over
withdrawal limits dealers are actually having access to
huge sums of money,"
he said.
Takawira Magombedze, another economist, also echoed the same
sentiments
saying a political settlement will usher in the conducive
environment for
economic turnaround which would, in turn, promote economic
growth that would
kill black market activities.
The Herald (Harare)
Published by the government of Zimbabwe
13 September 2008
Posted to
the web 13 September 2008
Lawrence Moyo
Harare
THE indexing of
prices of goods and services to the transfer US dollar rate
has resulted in
the costs of inflation being heavily borne by the
ordinary/poor people who
have no access to foreign currency.
The withdrawal limit is still pegged
at $500 and time lost at the bank
queues amounts to nothing, as that amount
will not even buy even those
goods, which supermarkets are giving out as
cash only products.
For instance a leading retail chain was selling a
2kg packet of sugar for
$800 in the city centre on Thursday and it was
strictly cash.
With transport costs rising frequently, $500 is no longer
meeting one's
transport costs per day while there are many other challenges
in which one
would need cash.
The current status quo has in turn
reduced the monetary authorities' control
over domestic liquidity by
increasing the component over which little direct
influence can be exerted
even though arrests of the Internet forex dealers
were made last
week.
Over the past month, people -- mainly foreign currency dealers --
have moved
goods through electronic payments and have sold them at half or a
third of
the price in order to raise cash.
Goods (nicknamed Bacossi)
such as airtime (recharge cards), drinks, ice
cream and mahewu are being
sold at giveaway cash prices with the cash being
used to buy more
forex.
A $50 Buddie card -- bought using RTGS or bank cheques -- is sold
at a
"Bacossi" price of between $25 and $40 so that the vendor or agent gets
as
much cash as possible at the shortest possible period.
Econet
Wireless' corporate communications manager, Ranga Mberi, said this
week that
they are still accepting RTGS and cheque payments for bulk
recharge cards
from dealers.
There had been a rumour that Econet were among a number of
companies ordered
to stop accepting RTGS and cheque payments in a move aimed
at stopping the
fuelling of the black market.
"Econet continues to
accept RTGS and or Cheques from our dealers as a mode
of payment for bulk
airtime purchases.
"Cash or POS air time purchases are for single unit
recharge cards to the
end user who can make a purchase from any of our
Econet Service Centres,"
explained Mberi.
'Bacossi' products are by
far the fastest moving cash commodities at the
moment and the cash is in
turn used to buy foreign currency on the black
market.
Over the last
two weeks, cars loaded with "Bacossi" ice cream would be
parked outside
Sports Diner in the city -between 5pm and 7pm- with a 2-litre
container
selling for as little as $500.
Within minutes the "load" would be
finished and the dealers would be loaded
with cash.
How it
works:
One sells (kupisa) US$200 at a transfer rate of $20 000 and
purchases
recharge cards with a face value of $4 million using either cheque
or RTGS.
The recharge cards are then sold at between 60-80 percent of the
face value
as "Bacossi" and this will fetch between $2,4 -- $3,2million in
instant
cash.
This cash goes to the black market where (at a cash
rate of US$1 =Z$500) it
will fetch between US$4 800 and US$6
400.
This amounts to an incredible profit of between US$4 600 and US$6
200 on an
investment of just US$200.
While life is rosy for those
with foreign currency, the use of transfer
rates have left goods in shops
very expensive (or even unaffordable) at most
supermarkets.
For
instance, a kilogram of commercial beef is selling at between $60
000-$150
000 in most supermarkets for cheques or swipe while the cash rate
is
$1500-$2400.
What this means is that they are using the transfer rate for
customers using
credit cards or cheques.
It was even worse at a local
sports bar along Samora Machel in the city,
which was demanding 40 times the
cash price for those customers using
cheques last weekend.
For
instance, a pint was costing $2 000 cash but one had to pay $80 000 when
using a cheque.
Innscor's fast food outlets are also using a dual
pricing system where the
cash rate is a quarter of the value of the swipe
price.
Yet even $5 000 for a two piece meal -- which used to be a basic
meal
afforded by everyone on a daily basis -- is still expensive given that
last
month the minimum wage for most workers was still below $10
000.
This is wiping out the middle class while the poorer have gone from
bad to
worse as inflation has disproportionately affected those with modest
incomes.
Even on a more practical level the ordinary people lacking
any real assets
have only their labour to offer, of which the level of wage
increases has
lagged behind the rate or price increases.
On
Wednesday, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe chief -- Dr Gideon Gono -- announced
that he would license at least 1 000 retailers and 250 wholesalers to sell
their wares in foreign currency if INDEED such goods were
imported.
Excluded from the list of such wares are basics like
mealie-meal, cooking
oil, milk, sugar and medicine.
While this is a
good move when everything is done lawfully, there are
genuine fears that
this will trigger further increases in pricing.
Those without licences to
sell goods in foreign currency are likely to index
their goods to the
prevailing "transfer" rate. For instance if a product
sells for US$5 at a
retailer licensed to sell in forex, a rival unlicensed
retailer is not going
to use the inter-bank rate for such a product, instead
they will use the
going transfer rate.
The excuse will be that they are cushioning
themselves against inflation and
keeping themselves in touch with those
licensed to sell in forex.
There are also fears that Zimbabwean traders
are so fond of hiking prices
that they will be doing the same to the US$
commodities even when the
greenback is a stable currency.
http://www.nehandaradio.com
13 September
2008
The Home Office has denied reports that it is considering exclusive
applications for work permits from Zimbabwean asylum-seekers.
The
statement follows the publication of a article by an online publication
suggesting that the Home Office had made a special case of Zimbabwean
asylum-seekers seeking work permits.
Ever since, the Home Office says
it has received hundreds of work permit
applications from Zimbabwean
asylum-seekers.Most asylum-seekers in the
United Kingdom are not allowed to
work unless granted special permission for
a limited period.
The
Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA), a professional
association of lawyers, also told HAT News that the Home Office had informed
them that reports about preferential permission for Zimbabweans to work were
'incorrect.'
Two weeks ago, an article appeared on a popular
Zimbabwean website
suggesting that asylum-seekers from Zimbabwe would enjoy
exclusive
consideration for work permits.
The article was written by a
private solicitor and columnist for the online
publication. It gave an
address and fax number to which applications for
such permits should be
sent.
Information appeared to have initially circulated through emails
before
finding itself into the public domain. One such email from a
solicitor with
the Refugee Legal Centre said: "A Zimbabwe client called me
this morning to
tell me that her friend had given her a phone number to call
and apply to HO
for permission to work.
"I called the number on her
behalf and spoke to a woman from the CEBU team,
BIA, who told me that the
Home Office are considering applications for
permission to work from any
Zimbabwe national with an outstanding asylum
claim.
"The person has
to fax CEBU , BIA - 0151 237 6391 with: name, address, HO
Ref number,
person's signature and the following sentence 'I would like to
know if I can
have permission to work'.
"If the case is straightforward, the CEBU team
will deal with it, and if it's
more complicated, then it will be passed onto
a Legacy Team."
Soon after, the online article appeared, triggering an
instant flood of
applications from desperate Zimbabweans to the Home
Office.
However, an official with the Home Office said while they
considered work
permit requests from asylum-seekers, no special dispensation
had been
granted to Zimbabweans.
He also said that fax number quoted
in the article was for the wrong
department at the Home Office. As a result,
the hundreds of fax applications
had to re-directed to the appropriate
section.
He said the Home Office position on work applications from
asylum-seekers,
including Zimbabweans, had not changed.
"The correct
procedure is as follows: If the applicant has an allocated
caseworker, they
should contact them directly if not they should write to
UKBA, Asylum
Casework Directorate, Lunar House, Croydon , CR9 2BY or fax
0208 196
3248."
ILPA also said it had confirmed that Zimbabweans were not being
granted any
exclusive treatment. Alison Harvey the General Secretary of ILPA
said: "We
have raised this issue with the people in charge of implementing
the policy
at a stakeholders' meeting on the 9th of September 2008 and sent
them an
e-mail on the 10th and the Home Office maintains that there is no
change in
policy pertaining Zimbabwean asylum seekers' application for
permission to
work"
Thousands of Zimbabwean asylum-seekers across the
UK - fleeing persecution
and grinding poverty under President Robert
Mugabe's regime - either receive
minimal state support or have fallen into
destitution.
Advocacy groups have been pressing the UK government for
asylum-seekers to
be granted permission to work.
However the
political climate in Zimbabwe has taken another turn after
Opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai, the head of the opposition party the
Movement for
Democratic Change, and President Robert Mugabe agreed on a
power-sharing
deal brokered by South African President Thabo Mbeki last
Thursday. It
remains to be known what position the UK Border Agency will
take regarding
the issue of Zimbabwean asylum seekers.
The British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown in July 2008 made an announcement
freezing the removal of failed
Zimbabwean asylum seekers from UK. He told
MPs that while officials
continued to deal with the issue on a case-by-case
basis, no returns were
currently taking place.
"No one is being forced to return to Zimbabwe
from the United Kingdom at
this time," he said then. -Hat News.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4058#more-4058
September 13,
2008
JOHANNESBURG (BBC) - South Africa's President Thabo
Mbeki has come under
renewed pressure to resign after a High Court
judgement.
It has been suggested he used his political influence to
prosecute his rival
Jacob Zuma.
Mr Zuma was fighting corruption
charges in the High Court, but on Friday
Judge Chris Nicholson dismissed the
charges on technical grounds.
The court ruled that there was evidence
that the investigation had been
politically compromised.
Even within
his own party, Thabo Mbeki is recognised as a lame duck
president.
With less than a year to go before his term expires, he is
now facing calls
louder than ever to quit the national
leadership.
The latest demands come from the more militant wing of the
ruling African
National Congress, which supports the party's leader, Jacob
Zuma.
On Friday a High Court judge dismissed corruption charges against
Mr Zuma,
saying there was evidence of political interference in the
investigation.
The judgement appears to vindicate Mr Zuma's supporters
who have always
claimed he was the victim of a political conspiracy led by
Thabo Mbeki, who
should now resign.
The judgement also appears to
clear the way for Mr Zuma to become the ANC's
candidate to succeed Mr
Mbeki.
Now Jacob Zuma's supporters say it is time for the president to go
or be
forced from office.
But that would trigger early elections and
senior ANC officials admit they
are not as popular as they once
were.
There is no suggestion that the ANC could lose the elections, but
for a
party used to near total dominance of government, any back-sliding in
support would be politically damaging.
The calls for Mr Mbeki's
departure will not go away, but political analysts
believe the ANC is simply
not ready for early elections.