AU dismisses worry over Zimbabwe with Mbeki gone

Reuters

Tue 23 Sep 2008, 19:46 GMT

By Leslie Wroughton

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - African Union Chairman Jakaya Kikwete on
Tuesday dismissed concerns that the ousting of South African President Thabo
Mbeki could jeopardize a Zimbabwe power-sharing deal he helped negotiate.

"No cause for alarm, the South African government remains," and will
continue to focus on the issue, Kikwete, who is president of Tanzania, told
the U.N. General Assembly.

The African Union "stands ready to assist, if need would arise," he told the
192 U.N. member states.

Mbeki, who accepted a demand from his own party to resign on Monday, helped
mediate the agreement between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, but there is deadlock over Cabinet
posts.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change has said it does not oppose
Mugabe taking charge of the army, but he has also insisted on keeping
control of all key ministries, including those that oversee the police,
foreign affairs, finance, justice, information and local government.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer told
Reuters on the sidelines of the U.N. meeting that Washington was concerned
with the deadlock over the Cabinet posts in Zimbabwe and has a new batch of
sanctions ready if Mugabe reneges on his promises.

Despite the impasse, Kikwete said "getting to this point in a conflict
situation that looked impossible to resolve is a major achievement."

"This is testimony to the fact that democracy and good governance are taking
root, and the African peace and security architecture is working," Kikwete
said.

Still, he said more could be done to strengthen the African Union's capacity
for conflict prevention and resolution.

Addressing the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, Kikwete said that
situation could be improved with a planned full deployment of 26,000
U.N.-African peacekeepers, and if humanitarian work was allowed to be
carried out unimpeded.

He said the volatile security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of
Congo was of "great concern" and the African Union was committed to be more
proactive in helping to end the fighting between government and rebel
forces.

He called on the United Nations to take over peacekeeping from an
overstretched African force in Somalia, where rebels have waged an
Iraq-style insurgency of mortar attacks and roadside bombings against a
fragile Western-backed interim government. (Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Zimbabwe needs US$5b to re-build economy - UNDP

http://www.afriquenligne.fr

Harare, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe needs about US$5 billion in foreign aid over
five years to re-build its shattered economy, the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) has said in a report. The report, compiled after the
country's leaders signed a power-sharing deal involving the government and
opposition two weeks ago, said US$1.6 billion of the financial aid would be
needed immediately to plug financing gaps.

It said Zimbabwe, whose economy has fallen by halve in the last 10 years,
would also require debt write-offs as part of international donor aid.

"Without substantial foreign assistance, sustainable economic recovery will
be impossible," the UNDP report said.

"The manner in which Zimbabwe tackles structural problems at the outset
could determine whether it becomes aid-dependent or able, in the long term,
to sustain its development," it added.

Mismanagement, including failed agrarian policies pursued by the government
in the last 10 years, has led to an unprecedented economic downturn in
Zimbabwe.

Inflation is at a world record high of more than 11 million percent,
accompanied by widespread shortages of food and other basic commodities.

An estimated four million people are facing hunger, and require food
hand-outs from international donors.

Harare - 24/09/2008

Zimbabwe extends its dollarized economy

Irish Sun
Tuesday 23rd September, 2008

Zimbabwe business leaders have urged the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to extend
the deadline for retailers and wholesalers to seek permission to price their
goods in hard currency.

The Harare Chamber of Commerce has said an extension will give more
companies access to needed foreign exchange.

The deadline expired two days ago.

The Central Bank earlier this month solicited applications recently from
1,200 businesses for permission to price goods and transact in hard
currency.

In many shops in the country, shopkeepers are already demanding hard
currency payment for their goods.

On the Zimbabwe black market cooking oil is being sold for US$2.60 a litre,
while maize meal is selling for US$13.00 for 20 kilograms.

US ready to impose new sanctions if Mugabe reneges

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Own Correspondent Wednesday 24 September 2008

JOHANNESBURG - United States assistant secretary of state for African
affairs, Jendayi Frazer on Monday said Washington was concerned over a
deadlock in Zimbabwe in forming a Cabinet and was reday to impose fresh
sanctions ready if President Robert Mugabe reneges on his promises.

Frazer told reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New
York that the US was closely following the deadlock over the distribution of
government ministries between Mugabe, opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai
and Arthur Mutambara.

"Of course, we will be looking very carefully at the outcome of this
impasse," said Frazer, adding, "We understand that the Ministry of Home
Affairs and Finance are being contested and the outcome of that will
certainly make a difference in how we see this agreement and its viability."

Mugabe, Mutambara and main MDC leader Tsvangirai signed an agreement on
Monday last week under the mediation of outgoing South African President
Thabo Mbeki to form a power-sharing government to tackle Zimbabwe's long
running political and economic crisis.

But the three leaders failed to agree on how to share key posts in the new
government, stocking up skepticism over whether the power-sharing deal
clinched after seven weeks of tortuous negotiations could stand the strain
given deep-seated mistrust especially between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

The leaders referred the dispute to their negotiators who also failed to
resolve the matter and referred it back to the three principals who can only
look at the matter after October 5 when Mugabe returns from  New York where
he is attending the UN General Assembly meeting.

Frazer said it would be problematic if all of the ministries in charge of
security remained under Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party, particularly in view
of the violence meted out to the opposition during the controversial June
election.

"What assurances does that provide the population that in the next election
they won't be abused and harassed and killed as they were leading up to the
June 27 run-off," she said.

The US has since 2002 mainatined a sanctions regime targeting Mugabe and his
senior staff, and Frazer said how the current Cabinet impasse is resolved
was one of the benchmarks for whether those punitive measures were lifted.

Frazer said: "For sure, we will keep the sanctions on until we see some
performance of the government itself. We are not prepared to roll back
sanctions on a promise.

"We have another set ready. We have delayed moving forward with those
sanctions because the agreement was signed, but they are certainly ready at
any point in time."

She added that the State Department and other US government agencies were
making plans to step up assistance programmes at the appropriate time and
send in teams of experts to help rebuild the shattered economy. - ZimOnline

ZANU PF continues to harass our supporters: MDC

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Jameson Mombe Wednesday 24 September 2008

HARARE - Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party
said on Tuesday that its supporters continued to be subjected to violence
and harassment despite the signing of a power-sharing agreement with
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party.

The MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai said in statement that in addition to
continued attacks against its supporters ZANU PF militias continued to
operate torture bases in some parts of the country, a situation it said
violated the spirit of the power-sharing deal signed a week ago.

The opposition party said in a statement: "ZANU PF torture bases are still
operational in Mbare (suburb of Harare) and some parts of the country but
the police are not doing anything to dismantle them.

"The MDC views these cases of political violence that continue unabated as
directly conflicting with the spirit of togetherness and moving forward as
portrayed by signing of the power-sharing deal."

Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, who heads a breakaway faction of
the opposition, signed on September 11 a deal to form a government of
national unity that would work to end Zimbabwe's long running political and
economic crisis.

But the deal quickly hit a snag after the three leaders failed last week to
agree on the allocation of Cabinet ministries in the new government, with
MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti telling the media on Monday that the
dispute over government posts was threatening to undo the whole
power-sharing pact.

The power-sharing deal has also come under immense pressure from the
powerful Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions which has castigated it as an
elitist pact between politicians that was drafted with little regard to the
wishes of workers or the electorate.

In addition, the National Constitutional Assembly political pressure group
has promised to rally Zimbabweans to protest against some provisions of the
deal which it says wrongfully empower political leaders to impose a new
constitution on the country without consulting ordinary citizens.

The MDC, which has also complained that state-controlled media continued to
use hate speech against its leaders in contradiction of the "spirit of
national engagement" engendered under the power-sharing deal, said one of
its supporters from rural Masvingo province was left homeless after ZANU PF
militants burnt his homestead.

"Sam Veremu Jaricha, an MDC supporter at Nhema Village, in Zaka, Masvingo
province had his home burnt down by ZANU PF supporters last Saturday night,"
the MDC said.

The opposition party said that in another incident, more than 61 families
who where evicted from their homes during political violence last June were
on Tuesday afternoon assaulted at Matapi police station in Harare by ZANU PF
members.

"The families had gone to the police station to seek assistance in evicting
the ZANU PF members who had occupied their homes when they were told that
there was no manpower," the MDC said.

"There was total chaos at the police station when the police failed to
contain the situation as ZANU PF youths went on a rampage and attacked the
families. Some members of the families who included minors and pregnant
women had to seek medical attention," it added.

ZimOnline was not able to independently verify the incidents reported by the
MDC while police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was not immediately available
for comment on the matter.

Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal has been lauded as the first real opportunity
in nearly 10 years for the country to begin work to end an economic crisis
characterised by the world's highest inflation of more than 11 million
percent, shortages of food and basic commodities.

But political analysts say the pact brokered by outgoing South African
President Thabo Mbeki is so fragile it could easily collapse over even the
smallest of issues. - ZimOnline

MDC say negotiators still discussing cabinet deadlock

By Lance Guma
24 September 2008

The MDC led by founding president Morgan Tsvangirai has denied press reports
that a deadlock over the sharing of cabinet portfolios has been referred
back to party leaders by the negotiators. Last week ZANU PF chief negotiator
Patrick Chinamasa said a meeting between Mugabe, Mutambara and Tsvangirai
took place but, 'the principals found the task too laborious, and referred
it to their negotiators.' The negotiators then met Thursday last week to try
and break the deadlock. Weekend reports quoted Mutambara MDC Secretary
General Welshman Ncube saying they too had failed to reach agreement and
referred the matter back to their leaders.

But on Wednesday Tsvangirai MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said this was not
true and that the negotiators were still dealing with the issue. 'The
mandate to negotiate does not rest with the principals but the negotiating
teams,' Chamisa said. 'That deadlock can only be broken by the intervention
of the facilitator upon the request being made by one of the parties,' he
added. Asked when this would be done he said they still felt the negotiators
had not yet exhausted, 'all the domestic remedies.' He said the SADC group
and the African Union had acted as guarantors to the deal and should the
impasse fail to be resolved they would be called upon to intervene.

Chamisa bemoaned the deadlock saying, 'people are suffering, people are
anxious in terms of food, jobs, shelter and the challenge is supposed to be
responded to by an all inclusive government.' He said the MDC was willing to
engage in a give and take approach to the cabinet division but that ZANU PF
was adopting, 'a grab and take all mentality.'

Confusing matters on the deadlock are allegations that Mutambara MDC
negotiators Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairambwi Mushonga boycotted
last Thursday's meeting of negotiators. Sources told Newsreel the meeting
was attended by Emerson Mnangagwa and Chinamasa representing ZANU PF while
Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma represented the Tsvangirai MDC.

In an interview with Newsreel on Wednesday Misihairambwi-Mushonga said they
knew nothing about the meeting and could not have been expected to attend
it. She said if it was a bilateral meeting between Tsvangirai's party and
ZANU PF, there was nothing wrong because, 'sometimes it makes sense to have
a bilateral meeting.' She also explained that it was those two parties who
were failing to agree on the issue of the remaining 4 cabinet portfolios and
if the meeting helped move the process forward, all the better.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

The Circular Firing Squad - GNU "Power Sharing" Deal

http://www.hararetribune.com

Wednesday, 24 September 2008 08:40 Phil Matibe

Zimbabwe remains without a government, its people are starving and its
illegitimate President is AWOL, attending yet another session of the UN
General Assembly.

Unelected persons are running the country in his absence while the Prime
Minister designate sits at home awaiting to be sworn in. Parliament is yet
to convene for the ratification of the GNU Power Sharing Agreement, thus
making the provisions of this shaky bilateral accord into law.

For as long as the agreed terms of the GNU Agreement remain incomplete and
unfulfilled, the current government is illegal and unconstitutional.

Violence against civilians continues unabated, land invasions persist, the
looting of national assets is in full swing and the economy spirals into a
tailspin.

Robert Mugabe has demonstrated a level of despicable arrogance, a blatant
disregard for the covenants of the signed GNU Agreement and contempt for
Zimbabwe's voting public. When China turned Mugabe away from the Beijing
Olympics in August, his bombastic spin-doctors declared that he was merely
rushing back to Zimbabwe for important GNU negotiations. What is he rushing
to New York for now?

By taking this unannounced leave of absence and spending scarce foreign
currency on this latest western jaunt at the most critical time in the GNU
negotiations, it is abundantly clear that Mugabe is still an unrepentant
dictator and the "power sharing" aspect of the deal is a fallacy. Mugabe is
merely obsessed with massaging his bruised ego by appearing on an
international platform to taunt his post-colonial ghosts with the usual
bovine excrement as he performs his last hooray.

"Mukapembedza benzi parufu, rinotiza nechitunha".

Whilst Mugabe was taking a snooze on a plane, 35 000 feet above the Atlantic
in a first class seat at the taxpayers expense, he was unaware that the man
responsible for buttressing his illegal regime would be unable to join him
for a celebration in New York.

Further observation of ZANU(PF)'s chefs body language and scutiny of the
preceding actions of its Politburo and Central Committee, reveals an obvious
lack of sincerity on the part of the incumbent regime officials. Men whose
cupboards are bulging with skeletons of innocent civilians and hands
dripping with the blood of opposition supporters are carving safe havens for
themselves and creating selfish immunity fiefdoms within the signed GNU
deal.

The allocation of strategic government departments that are vital for the
revival of our economy and essential for national healing is non-negotiable.
These ministries cannot revert to the same voracious criminals and thugs who
have abused the system in the past. ZANU (PF)'s record of accomplishment
over the past twenty-eight years has created the worst performing economy in
the world. In that time Mugabe created a bloated top-heavy administration,
unilaterally sent the army to fight in a disastrous war in the DRC, awarded
extravagant compensation payments to his agitated war veterans, invaded
productive farms and misappropriated private property.

These self-inflicted blunders coupled with judicial tyranny, subversion of
the rule of law and the flagrant disregard for the constitution contributed
to the economic meltdown and social upheaval we now face. Mugabe formed a
"war cabinet" consisting of greedy inept ministers who believe in
clairvoyants, witchcraft and empty rhetoric which exacerbated this mess.
Zimbabwe is now technically insolvent and the buffoons responsible were
surreptitiously recalled to resume their ministerial duties in violation of
the GNU agreement.

With this GNU deal, Mugabe has created a circular firing squad and no wise
person should join him.

Major split looms in Zanu (PF)

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Tuesday, 23 September 2008 17:05

. Ministers worried about losing seats  . Too much power for MDC
BY STAFF REPORTER
HARARE
Aserious split in Zanu (PF) is looming in the wake of the power-sharing
agreement with the MDC. Many senior officials in the former ruling party
feel that Robert Mugabe has conceded too much power to the new Prime
Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai. Many of them stand to loose their cabinet posts
and their position at the Zanu feeding trough - which has enriched them
beyond their wildest dreams over the decades in which they have enjoyed
unbridled access to state coffers and the abundant wealth of natural
resources that have been plundered. It appears that a number of even quite
senior party loyalists were taken by surprise when Mugabe, who, despite his
advanced years, has maintained a very hands-on approach to the negotiations,
agreed to the deal.

We have it on good authority that a group of ministers and senior Zanu
officials held a secret meeting in Harare after Mugabe's departure for the
UN, at which it was decided that they need to confront him through a vote of
no confidence - possibly at the party's national conference in December.

Several ministers are keeping a low profile as they wait anxiously to learn
whether or not their names are on Mugabe's list of the 15 ministers he is
allowed to appoint under the terms of the deal with MDC. If they should find
themselves not on that list, there
is obviously a strong chance that they will openly join the disgruntled
group and begin to make a noise. Those who are already fulminating
opposition to Mugabe do not appear to have a cohesive strategy yet. Their
options  are to pull out of Zanu (PF) and form a new party, as Simba Makoni
tried to do before the March elections, or force Mugabe out as the ANC has
just done with Thabo Mbeki.

The main bone of contention is that Mugabe has consistently refused to
address in any meaningful way the succession issue in Zanu (PF). And yet, in
their view, Mugabe has now opened the door Tsvangirai, paving the way for
him to succeed Mugabe in the top job. The delay in implementing the
power-sharing deal - particularly the stalemate with regard to allocation of
ministries - has compounded the problem and is increasing pressure on
Mugabe.

7 steps Mugabe must take

http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/geoff240908.htm

24 September, 2008

Geoff Hill

Not one country has pledged aid to rebuild Zimbabwe. So, beyond humanitarian
assistance, what signs are needed to draw the big money?

Geoff Hill has been discussing the matter with diplomats and political
analysts in London, Washington and Pretoria.

Aid agencies have started their engines, and are ready to deliver food,
drugs and other assistance to Zimbabwe, now that Robert Mugabe has lifted a
ban on relief.

But, in wake of the agreement between ZANU-PF and the MDC, donor governments
are cautious, and investors will need a lot more assurance.

Norway last week approved emergency funds of 40 million kroner (US$7m),
channelled via the United Nations and humanitarian groups, but the billions
Zimbabwe needs to rebuild are nowhere in sight.

British Ambassador John Sawers told the UN that his government was ready to
support recovery only "once the power-sharing deal is fully implemented".

"We are ready to support Zimbabwe's recovery, but we clearly have to see a
commitment that the tragic policies of recent years have come to an end, and
that there is a genuine effort to share power with those who were elected in
the March election," he said.

So what are the signs that Britain, the European Union, Australia, Canada
and the USA will be looking for?

1) Key ministries under MDC control
The MDC, between its two factions, hold a majority of seats in Parliament
and therefore have a right to determine policy. Departments that need be led
by MDC ministers include Finance, Police and Home Affairs, Justice,
Information including Zimbabwe Newspapers and the ZBC, Agriculture and Youth
Affairs.

Immigration, now part of Home Affairs, should be hived off as a separate
ministry to handle return of exiles and restore citizenship to those who
have been denied passports while abroad or forced to return to countries of
their ancestors. This includes Malawi and Zambian farm workers who had lived
in Zimbabwe since Federation in the 60s and were sent packing when their
employers were forced off the land.

Mugabe should also step down as head of the National Security Council and
allow the chair to be rotated between himself, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara, each holding the position for one month at a time.

In Foreign Affairs and Defence, one suggestion has been the model used when
Ian Smith's Rhodesian government took its first steps towards majority rule
in 1977. Co-ministers were appointed, with two parties each having a
minister overseeing the more sensitive areas of government. However,
applying this to more than three or four departments would prove cumbersome.

2) An end to the militia
Although the power-sharing document calls for a new youth training system,
there is wide support for the militia to be shut down.

While they remain in place, ZANU-PF has a virtually free army, unbound by
military law, unaccountable and trained to torture, rape and kill. They are
a fall-back should the party find MDC rule unpalatable, and it unlikely that
money will enter Zimbabwe until the youth are demobbed.

3) Non-government media
There must be an end to the harassment of journalists at the last private
newspapers still in circulation. Legislation requiring journalists to be
registered will need to go, including the repeal of AIPPA and POSA and laws
on public meetings

The Daily News back on the streets and The Zimbabwean printed and
distributed in-country without hindrance would be perhaps the clearest sign
that things have changed. .

Jamming machines that scramble broadcasts from SWRA and VOA Studio-7 must be
turned off. The licensing of at least one independent radio station, or
local transmission of an international station such as BBC World Service on
spare frequencies controlled by ZBC, would bring accolades. Countries as
diverse as Uganda, Somaliland, Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa relay BBC
radio free-to-air on FM or medium wave.

New boards drawn from both political parties should be established for
state-owned media, and professional consultants brought in to reposition the
TV and radio brands.

4) Reserve Bank
An early ZANU-PF casualty is likely to be Gideon Gono, governor of the
Reserve Bank (RBZ). Gono has been willing to subvert the simplest economic
theories to the whim of government, issuing new one dollar notes a month
ago, while knowing full well that inflation would in days render them
worthless.

After the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the new government of Paul Kagame asked
the South African Reserve Bank for help. A team from Pretoria installed as
consultants in Harare - along with an independent audit - would help restore
confidence.

5) Land for food
Unproductive farms near major cities - from where food can be delivered
easily to market - must be cleared of squatters, ministers and other
recipients and returned to commercial use under qualified management. This
is urgent because first rains are due soon and a delay will not see new
crops in the soil for another year.

The most productive tobacco farms - most of which now lie fallow - must be
handed over to experts and seeded for crops. This will boost both employment
and, in time, foreign earnings.

6) Central Intelligence Organisation and the Police
The much-abused CIO must be removed from the president's office, and an
all-party committee given oversight of the agency. By controlling the
finance ministry, MDC will determine budget for CIO and the army. An early
confidence building measure, well within the President's gift, would be to
retire Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri. His departure would be a good
start to depoliticising a once proud force.

7) Enemies of the state
Political activists and Zimbabwe journalists and others based abroad who
have angered the Mugabe government and are liable to be harassed or arrested
on arrival must be allowed back without hindrance.

----ooo----

None of the above would be costly or difficult to manage. But it requires
real commitment from ZANU-PF.

In 1988, the Australian government established a set of markers to measure
change in apartheid South Africa, including the release of Nelson Mandela,
return of exiles, independence of the media, an end to racial discrimination
and other steps which then foreign minister Gareth Evans said would show
"irreversible progress" to democracy. And at each stage, some of Australian
sanctions against Pretoria were relaxed.

The same could be applied to Zimbabwe. As each area of policy is addressed,
so aid could be restored and some of the sanctions lifted.

But if ZANU-PF believes that merely signing up to power sharing will bring
the world back to Harare, they are mistaken. This time, it seems, the game
really is up and Mr Mugabe has to deliver change that will, step by step,
manoeuvre him and his party out of power.

Geoff Hill is bureau-chief Africa for The Washington Times and author of
What Happens After Mugabe?

Does Mugabe still fully understand issues?

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4708

September 23, 2008

By Jackson Mukuwisi

There is something happening to President Robert Mugabe that is more
frightening than the appearance of contempt for the recent political deal he
signed with the two fellow Zimbabwean political leaders Morgan Tsvangirayi
and Arthur Mutambara. The man simply no longer comprehends things as they
really are.

Zimbabweans should worry more about the state of Mugabe's mind than his
political beliefs.

Last week, Mr Mugabe left, not for the United Nations in New York, but for
Cairo for a two-day break on his way to New York. His huge delegation is
booked into several Cairo hotels for another two days of break on his way
back to Harare. Consider this, his Rome is on fire and it is costing
Zimbabweans US$17 000 minimum per person in allowances alone for his
delegation of some 40 people.

The President himself gets an allowance of US$10 000 per day with every
other expense being paid for by the state.

As if that was not enough, protocol requires that Ambassador Munyaradzi
Kajese, the presidential chief-of- protocol, carries with him in a nice
leather briefcase containing between US$50 000 and US$100 000 in cash,
depending on the "risk" of the capital they are travelling to.

This is so-called emergency money.

The First Lady and the children also receive their own allowances when they
travel with the President. But all this may not entirely be the problem. The
question is whether Mugabe is still in possession of his full faculties.
Does he really understand the dire and dangerous situation that he has
landed the country in? He obviously does not. Consider this: his speech at
the signing ceremony was the weirdest I have ever listened to.

He never stood straight, slouching over the podium throughout.

Embarrassingly, Mugabe got into a verbal exchange with the crowd, not once
but twice. He went after President Khama in an incoherent diatribe and he
was completely stuck in the liberation mantra and the evil Britain, America
and Europe took centre stage in his attacks. Earlier, the man said, and
correctly, that his last cabinet was the worst in Zimbabwean history.

Then he went on to appoint some of them as governors.

At both the Politburo and the Central Committee, Mugabe blamed his
colleagues for the "humiliation" Zanu-PF got at the March polls. Then he
turns around and insists his party won and now wants to be magnanimous by
accommodating the MDC parties.

The man has quite clearly lost his marbles.

Zanu-PF leaders know it but they just can't be man enough to bell the cat.
There are very sick men and women in the party; literary. Some of them are
suspected mental cases. See how they display their denial and sheer panic in
newspaper columns written under pseudonyms. The fact remains that the more
they keep the 84-year-old in power the more Zanu-PF slides towards the UNIP
syndrome.

It will be in good company. The erstwhile mega-parties in Malawi, Kenya,
Uganda and Zambia are shells of their old selves.

And these Zanu-PF politicians can't see it coming.

Shortages Of Seed, Fertilizer, Fuel Bode Ill For Zimbabwe Maize Crop

http://voanews.com

By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
23 September 2008

With the planting season for Zimbabwe's critical 2008-09 maize crop coming
up fast, farmers are reporting a repeat of last year's problems with key
inputs such as seed, fertilizer and diesel fuel hard to find or
prohibitively expensive.

Though the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe made US$13 million available to
Zimbabwean fertilizer manufacturers hoping for an output of 30,000 tonnes,
only 12,000 tonnes have materialized. Experts say the country needs at least
50,000 tonnes this crop season.

Currently a bag of fertilizer is selling for about US$20 on the parallel
market, beyond the reach of many farmers. Agricultural sources said tobacco
farmers have been less affected because firms that eventually purchase leaf
have provided necessary inputs.

Mashonaland East farmer Stanley Murefu told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that in addition to chronic shortages of seed
and fertilizer, farmers this year have not benefited from state-subsidized
diesel fuel.

Zimbabwe Business Community Encourages Dollarization Trend

http://www.voanews.com

By Patience Rusere
Washington
23 September 2008

Zimbabwe business leaders have urged the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to extend
a Sept. 22 deadline for retailers and wholesalers to seek permission to
price their goods in hard currency, saying this will give more companies
access to needed foreign exchange.
Deliberating at a breakfast meeting called Tuesday by the Harare Chamber of
Commerce, business people agreed to send the request to the RBZ and the
Finance Ministry so the licensing process would not be a one-off event but a
continuing process.

The Central Bank earlier this month solicited applications recently from
1,200 businesses for permission to price goods and transact in hard
currency - but in fact many shops in the country are already demanding hard
currency payment for their goods and the so-called process of dollarization
is well advanced.

Harare Chamber of Commerce Chairman Tendai Mavhima told reporter Patience
Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the dollarization trend has
helped businesses that must import goods that can only be paid for in hard
currencies.

Ordinary Zimbabweans, meanwhile, have little choice but to pay for key
commodities in hard currency on parallel markets.

In another development, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe said National Foods
has started selling flour for U.S. dollars at a price of US$1.10 for one
kilogram.

Meanwhile in the parallel or black market, cooking oil is being sold for
US$2.60 a liter, while maize meal was going for $US13.00 for 20 kilograms.

Some basics continue to be sold in local currency. Bread fetches Z$1,500 a
loaf, sugar costs Z$800 a kilo, and sour milk, a kind of yogurt, goes for
Z$10,000 a container.

Economist Naome Chakanya of the Labor and Economic Development Research
Institute of Zimbabwe said holders of commodities are pegging prices to
parallel market rates.

Madhuku threatens confrontation

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4697#more-4697

September 23, 2008

HARARE - A pressure group agitating for constitutional reform in Zimbabwe on
Tuesday threatened to confront Zimbabwe's new transitional government over
its plans to foist on the people a Constitution written by Zanu-PF and MDC
politicians in a houseboat on Lake Kariba last year.

The pressure group, which in 2000 successfully campaigned against a
government-driven constitution, has demanded a new and democratic
constitution in accordance with the people-driven process.

The National Constitutional Assembly, a broad coalition of churches,
students, political parties and civic groups said it was disappointed at the
power-sharing agreement signed in Harare between President Robert Mugabe and
the two MDC leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara on September 15.
The head of the pressure group slammed the agreement because it did not
provide for a new, democratic and people-driven Constitution.

Instead, in its Article 6, he said, it uses the phrase "people-driven" but
provides for nothing of that sort, NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku, who is
also a constitutional law expert, told a news conference in Harare Tuesday.

"It claims that the people have the right to author their own Constitution,
yet prescribes for them a process where politicians, through Parliament,
have the final say as to the content of the Constitution," Madhuku said.

Madhuku told reporters that in the agreement, the parties boast about having
already authored a Constitution which they adopted in Kariba on September
30, 2007.

The draft Constitution, written by six politicians on a houseboat on Lake
Kariba, is referred to in the draft constitution as the 'Kariba Draft'.

"It is this 'Kariba Draft' which Zanu-PF and the two formations of the MDC
seek to sneak through as a 'new' Constitution for Zimbabwe," Madhuku said.
"This is unacceptable. The NCA totally rejects it. The NCA therefore calls
upon the people of Zimbabwe to unite and continue to push for a genuine
democratic, people-driven Constitution led by an All Stakeholders
Constitutional Commission.

"As NCA, we do not believe or accept that Zanu-PF and MDC, as political
parties or as government have the right to unilaterally determine the
process by which or through which a new constitution for Zimbabwe is to be
written."

"We believe that a constitution can only be as good as the process through
which it is created and thus the process for creating the constitution is as
important as the constitution to which it gives birth. Furthermore, the
process itself must be legitimate, transparent and accepted by all the
stakeholders. This is not the case with the constitution making process that
has been proposed in the agreement between Zanu-PF and the two MDC
formations."

Madhuku said the process outlined in the Zanu-PF-MDC agreement was an
elitist constitution-making process in which these parties, by and large,
were keen on imposing a constitution on the people of Zimbabwe.

"This is unacceptable as the constitution must be written for the people and
by the people," Madhuku said. "By proposing that the constitution-making
process be spearheaded by Parliament, Zanu-PF and MDC are attempting to
usurp the power of the people. The Zanu-PF-MDC process essentially leaves
out of the constitution-making process important stakeholders that currently
do not have representation in Parliament."

Zimbabwe has not had a popular constitution since gaining independence from
Britain in 1980, following a protracted liberation struggle against the
rebel Rhodesian Government of Ian Smith.

The country has been operating on the "cease fire" document, signed at
Lancaster House in Britain in 1979.

Both Zanu-PF and the MDC agree that the 18-times amended Lancaster House
constitution is heavily flawed.

Constitutional Amendment 19 will shortly be moved in Parliament. It will
give legal effect to the all-inclusive government which in turn will
initiate an all inclusive process of Constitutional reform, which will
include civil society in a peripheral role. That process will last 18 months
by which time a new democratic Constitution must be implemented, which will
also include a time frame for new elections at some point to be conducted in
terms of the new Constitution.

Various timelines have been set for a referendum on a new constitution
within 18 months, but no date is set for when elections should then be held.

Madhuku said the proper way for a truly people-driven process was to have an
All Stakeholders constitution- making processes as outlined in the Zimbabwe
People's Charter.

"This process must proceed by way of an All-Stakeholders' Commission whose
composition must include representatives from a diverse collection of
interest groups such as churches, labour unions, political parties, women
groups, youth groups, veterans of the liberation struggle, war
collaborators, the academia, the media, people living with HIV/AIDS,
business, the disabled, the informal sector and others," he said.

Cholera outbreak spreads in Zimbabwe, kills 13

http://www.afriquenligne.fr

Health officials in Zimbabwe said Tuesday a cholera outbreak near the
capital, Harare, had spread to other towns, claiming a total of 13 lives.
Earlier, health officials had said the cholera outbreak in Chitungwiza, a
dormitory town of the capital, had been contained.

However, on Tuesday, the officials said the outbreak was still raging there
and had, in fact, spread to Chinhoyi in the north of the country.

The Ministry of Health blamed the movement of people from infected areas for
the spread of the disease, which had left 88 people hospitalised so far.

Consumption of unclean water and poor sanitation in general have been blamed
by the ministry for the cholera outbreak.

"As cholera can spread quickly from one part of the country to the other due
to human movements, it is critical that individuals, families and
communities not only in Chitungwiza and Harare, but also throughout the
country, should be on high alert for cholera and adopt preventive measures,"
the Ministry said.

Harare - 23/09/2008

Fuel crisis affecting even the shadowy Mafia-like JOC

http://www.hararetribune.com

Wednesday, 24 September 2008 00:12

The fuel shortage in the country has affected operations of the Joint
Operations Command (JOC) that comprise service chiefs.

"JOC has no fuel. This has curtailed their operations heavily. This fuel
crisis is serious - if JOC fails to get the fuel, what of the ordinary
government vehicles. Where do you think they would get fuel," said a source.

JOC ran out of fuel during the visit by Vice President Joyce Mujuru to
Masvingo Province on Friday and Saturday. JOC officials could be seen hiking
their way to a Chiredzi rally that Mujuru was due to address.

Mujuru had come to commission some tractors as well as donate bulls for the
heifer projects in Bikita.

Meanwhile the Zimbabwe Post, the country's biggest letter delivery agency,
has turned to train services to deliver mail as it has been affected by a
crippling fuel shortage.

This has led to mail being delivered late.

"We are facing a serious fuel shortage that has led us to think of the train
service. This is almost the second month without efficient mode of transport
that has led us to turn to the train service," a source within the top
management revealed.

He added that the compromise of using rail instead of road has led to
inefficiency and unreliability within the organization.

"This was just our last option, it is not like our first class choice. The
letters are failing to be delivered in time because the train is not
reliable," he said.

Last week, there were complaints by people who were awaiting deliveries
after the Gweru-Masvingo passenger train delayed by about four hours.

"I had applied for a scholarship and was notified that they had sent me the
reply and the details by mail. But this is almost the second month now
without getting anything from Zimpost. I wonder what is happening. The last
time I checked, they told me the train had not come yet so I had to check
later," said Give more Matamba, a Masvingo resident.

No comment could be obtained from Zimpost officials in Harare.

Zimbabwe relaxes foreign exchange regulations for travellers

http://www.apanews.net



APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Nearly two weeks after signing a peace deal in
the country, Zimbabwe's central bank has relaxed foreign exchange
regulations further by lifting a cap on withdrawals from foreign currency
accounts (FCA's), APA learnt here Wednesday.

The relaxation means that holders of individual FCA's are no longer
limited to monthly withdrawals of US$1,000 and can now take out any amount
of foreign currency from their accounts.

"Please be advised that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has advised that
with immediate effect the withdrawal limit of US$1,000 on individual FCA's
has been removed," a leading commercial bank said in a memorandum to
customers on Wednesday.

Individual FCA holders are also no longer required to provide proof of
travel when withdrawing foreign currency cash.

Until the tough exchange control regime that existed before the
relaxation, holders of FCA's had to prove to the bank teller that they were
travelling to a foreign country by producing air or bus tickets accompanied
by stamped passports.

Other banks even demanded receipts for purchases made during the
depositor's stay in a foreign country.

The new regulations do not apply to institutional account holders.

Zimbabwe has faced acute shortages of foreign currency since 2000 when
most of the country's external donors withdrew economic aid in protest at
the Zimbabwe government's economic and political policies.

JN/nm/APA
2008-09-24

Buhera Police in Weekend Arrest of 25 MDC Supporters

SW Radio Africa (London)

23 September 2008
Posted to the web 24 September 2008

Lance Guma

It's business as usual for the police under Mugabe's regime after officers
in Buhera on Saturday arrested around 25 MDC supporters for celebrating the
signing of the power sharing deal last Monday.

MDC Manicaland Provincial Spokesman Pishai Muchauraya told Newsreel the
villagers saw the signing ceremony as the beginning of an end to their
suffering and the violence they have had to endure for so long. But police
picked them up and charged them with 'celebrating'. On Monday the charge was
altered to the more serious, but absurd charge of 'stock-theft'. Muchauraya
says this is a deliberate attempt to punish their supporters given that none
of them ever stole any livestock. Under harsh colonial laws stock theft can
attract sentences of more than 50 years in jail.

Those arrested were still being held at Murambinda Police Station by Tuesday
afternoon. Mutare lawyer David Tandire has been hired by the MDC to secure
their release. The power sharing accord has failed to stop the victimization
of MDC supporters. Militant elements from ZANU PF have declared the
agreement means nothing to them. The notorious ZANU PF gang known as
Chipangano attacked MDC supporters outside the venue of the signing ceremony
in Harare last week. Analysts believe a section of the party aligned to the
security services is eager to sabotage the deal and is actively encouraging
rogue youths to target opposition members.

In the Nhema Village of Zaka in Masvingo MDC supporter Sam Veremu Jaricha
had his home burnt down by ZANU PF supporters Saturday evening. The MDC
released a statement saying the suspects are based at the homestead of Chief
Nhema Rangarirai Guvanda. In Mbare over 61 MDC families, who where evicted
from their homes in the lead up to the June 27 presidential run-off, were on
Tuesday afternoon assaulted at Matapi police station by Zanu PF members.
Despite the courts granting them permission to move back into their homes
the youths attacked the families in the presence of the police. In Mabvuku
on Sunday over 10 ZANU PF supporters assaulted Edmore Ngadziore at the Red
Bull shopping centre, simply because he wore an MDC T-shirt.

Meanwhile Muchauraya told Newsreel there have been fresh farm invasions in
Manicaland, with at least 4 farms in the Vumba area being taken over.
Another 2 farms in Old Mutare have also been invaded. The invaders are said
to be brandishing 'fake' offer letters from State Security and Lands
Resettlement Minister Didymus Mutasa. They are also looting property
belonging to the farm owners, in what Muchauraya described as a 'last minute
rush to loot and cause confusion.' The invasions are disrupting operations
in the area with other farmers unsure whether to continue with their
planting preparations or not.

Food slowly being moved to Zim

East Coast Radio

Tonnes of food aid, being stored in warehouses in Durban, are slowly
starting to be moved to Zimbabwe.

If you recall, we'd reported last Thursday that a point Waterfront logistics
company was battling to find a freight company to take on the job of
transporting about 70 000 tonnes of aid to Zim.

The problem is that there isn't enough transport to meet the demand for
moving cargo.

At the time, the company's Sonja Els appealed to freight companies to
prioritise food aid, and it seems some have heard that cry for help.

"Well, we've had a great response. We have found a couple of gems on the
East Coast that has helped us. At the moment we are currently loading out
about sixteen trucks a day and we need to double that to reach our target.
So that's what we are aiming for at the moment and.I would really appreciate
it if there is anybody out there who's got some trucks available to please
let us have it so that we can send this cargo to Zimbabwe. We're paying an
excellent rate," Els said.

* To contact Sonja during office hours, call 031 337 3570

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 7:30 am

Zimbabwe cash crisis forces parents to pay school fees in livestock

By Violet Gonda
24 September 2008

The crippling cash crisis has turned many ordinary Zimbabweans into masters
of survival. Many businesses are now charging for goods in foreign currency
or fuel coupons. But the majority of Zimbabweans don't have access to forex
creating major problems for many because of the severe shortage of local
cash.

Our Bulawayo contact Themba Nkosi says some schools, mainly in rural
Matabeleland are now accepting livestock, such as cows and goats, as payment
for school fees. "But the schools are saying they are not demanding that
parents pay in livestock. It's the parents themselves who offer to pay in
kind because of the cash problems," Nkosi said.

Zimbabweans cannot access the little salaries they earn in the banks because
of a maximum withdrawal limit of ZW$1 000 imposed by banks. If school fees
are $200 000 this would mean you would have to go to the bank for more than
nine months to come up with the full amount.

Parents are forced to devise alternative methods of survival but there are
concerns that this barter exercise can lead to exploitation and corruption.
Our Bulawayo contact asked: "The problem is also who determines the market
value of a cow or goat if the school fee is $200 000 and a cow is maybe $600
000? So who benefits?"

Inflation has hit an all time high, and keeps rising, as a result of the
economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe. This has created a domino effect
that has seen persistent power and water cuts and severe food shortages.

It appeared a window of hope had been opened last week when political rivals
signed a power sharing agreement, but the deal is still to be implemented as
the Mugabe regime is said to be stalling on the issue of relinquishing key
ministries.

In the meantime Zimbabwe continues its steady decline and doctors, teachers
and lecturers continue with work boycotts over better working conditions.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Does MDC think we need all these ministries?

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4718

September 24, 2008
Jupiter Punungwe

The recently agreed government of national unity between the MDC and Zanu-PF
has been hailed by many people as a breakthrough. Some pomp and ceremony
accompanied its unveiling, with important leaders coming from far and wide
to witness what some said was a breathtaking achievement by Thabo Mbeki. As
far I am concerned the deal was a confirmation of what has been obvious
since the first week of April.

The political influence that the MDC enjoy now is based on the results of
the March 29 elections - 100 seats MDC-T, 99 seat Zanu-PF, 10 seats MDC, 1
seat Jonathan Moyo. From that day it has been exposed like the buttocks of a
baboon that the MDC and Zanu-PF have to work together in running Zimbabwe.

As confirmed by the MDC, Zanu-PF did see the writing on the wall and put
feelers out to the MDC for a government of national unity. The MDC made a
misjudgment, thinking Zanu-PF was out cold and did not latch on to the idea
of a GNU at that time. As it turned out, had it not been for the
suspiciously inordinate interest that Western governments have in Zimbabwe's
political affairs, this opportunity would definitely have slipped by the
MDC.

The six months between then and the signing of the power-sharing deal have
been wasted as each side tried to maximize the chances of eliminating the
other. Zanu-PF launched a brutal fight-back which virtually wiped out the
MDC's grassroots structures and hamstrung their campaign efforts. As far as
I am concerned the 'deal' comes back to the same point that has been obvious
since the first week of April, both sides have to work together.

To make matters worse it is very clear that the deal has not been crafted
with the people in mind. A number of facts do not bode well FOR THE PEOPLE.
One is that the so called national presidium has been doubled from 3 people
to 6 people. Mugabe has two deputies and Tsvangirai also has two deputies.

Seriously speaking those 'deputy' positions have absolutely no role in the
development of the nation except to assuage some people's egos by telling
them they are holding senior posts in government. They also entail an extra
burden on the taxpayer because those roles probably go with perks associated
with their perceived seniority.

It seems quite a lot of people on both sides are unhappy. Apparently a lot
of people were personally expecting to gain positions of influence. Now that
the deal means approximately half the people on either side have to forgo
their expectations, those who think they are the ones to be thrown out with
the dish water are not happy about the unfolding situation.

If there were any doubts that the deal was about politicians scratching each
other on the back, the size of the cabinet puts paid to them. What do we
need a cabinet of 31 ministers for? It is obvious to me that the culture of
maintaining a political perking order, as opposed to serving the interests
of the voters, has taken a dangerously strong root, not just in Zanu-PF but
across the Zimbabwean political spectrum.

Why would a country with virtually no GDP worth mentioning need an executive
leadership of 37 people. It seems to me that Zimbabwean politicians have
totally refused to contemplate limiting their own extravagance. Apparently
they are hoping that foreign taxpayers will cough up money to put the
Zimbabwe economy on the right track while they continue to live like Saudi
oil princes. I don't see that working. I would like to see how European
governments are going to sell that to their voters.

If foreigners do cough up the money under such terms, then it won't be for
charitable reasons. I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that our resources
will be mortgaged big time behind our backs. Already there have been reports
in some South African newspapers that big mining houses have been running
around looking for platinum mining concessions from certain quarters.

As far as I am concerned the following twelve ministries are all Zimbabwe
needs.

  1.. Ministry of Defence
  2.. Ministry of Home affairs
  3.. Ministry of Finance and Economic Development
  4.. Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture
  5.. Ministry of Health and Child Welfare
  6.. Ministry of Local Government and Urban Planning
  7.. Ministry of Lands and Agriculture
  8.. Ministry of Industry, Trade and Commerce
  9.. Ministry of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure
  10.. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  11.. Ministry of Social Welfare
  12.. Ministry of Youth and Women's Affairs
In addition I would create a Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU) reporting
directly to Parliament rather than to the executive. I would also give it
special prosecuting powers independent of the attorney general's office, as
is the case with the Scorpions of South Africa.

Already there is evidence that the extremely huge cabinet that was agreed is
going to be unwieldy. The sides cannot even agree on the sharing of so many
posts. Even if the protagonists manage to make the deal work, I don't think
it will result in long-lasting benefits for the people. Once the sides
overcome their mutual dislike for each other and start working together,
they will probably start cooperating in other not so progressive areas such
as wheeling and dealing state funds.

Once the predators have stopped growling at each other, they will feed with
a common purpose from the same trough. If and when that happens, there are
not enough checks and balances to make sure that the people's interests are
not thrown by the wayside.

FEWS Zimbabwe Food Security Alert 24 Sep 2008 - Slow cereal imports leave Zimbabwe facing major shortages

Power share deal trigger investor rush in Zimbabwe

http://www.moneybiz.co.za/

Wednesday, 24 Sep
2008

with Kumbirai Mafunda

FOREIGN investors have begun flocking back to Zimbabwe scouting for
investment opportunities following last week's signing of a historic power
sharing agreement, it has emerged.

Leaders of Zimbabwe's business lobby groups disclosed on Wednesday that they
were swamped with enquiries from foreign investors seeking potential areas
of investment in the troubled southern African country following the
conclusion of a political settlement in the country.

"There is so much excitement and enthusiasm brought about by the signing of
the political agreement. We are meeting an interested party who has over
US$200 million to invest in Zimbabwe projects. We will be meeting today,"
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) President Callisto Jokonya told
journalists in the capital Wednesday.

ZANU PF leader Robert Mugabe and main Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a rebel faction
of the MDC signed a historic power sharing deal, which ended Mugabe's 28
year hegemony on power, which critics blame for plunging the once prosperous
southern African country. Under the power sharing arrangement Mugabe remains
as President while Tsvangirai who thumped Mugabe in the March presidential
elections will become Prime Minister and will chair a council of ministers.

Chamber of Mines President David Murangari also reported that his
organization had been inundated with enquiries regarding investment
opportunities in the country's delicate mining sector.

"There is an increase in the number of enquiries in mining. They (foreign
investors) wish to see finality in the law (indigenization and empowerment
bill) so that people can make decisions," said Murangari.

Zimbabwe Council of Tourism (ZCT) representative Emmanuel Fundira, whose
organization groups together private tourism and hospitality operators in
the country disclosed that international investors were positioning
themselves to exploit opportunities ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup to be
hosted by neighbouring South Africa.

"We have people looking for facilities in Victoria Falls. We currently have
15 000 rooms in the country and yet the demand for 2010 World Cup requires
that we have 30 000 rooms in the country," said Fundira.

Economic analysts say foreign investors who have braved Zimbabwe's nine year
political and economic volatility could win big if a new coalition
government brings policy changes in the crisis-hit but resource-rich
country.

Despite an economic meltdown, world beating inflation and political
uncertainty, some investors cautiously held on and positioned themselves for
changes after the March presidential and parliamentary elections.

London-listed South African firm Lonrho Plc, through its investment arm
LonZim was amongst the first foreign investors to launch a bid to return to
Zimbabwe where the investment firm used to have significant mining and
property investments.
Russian investment group Renaissance Capital, LonZim's placement agency for
the Zimbabwe investment, bought into CBZ Holdings -- Zimbabwe's
second-largest bank by assets -- by snapping up a shareholding sold by South
Africa's ABSA last year while Citigroup recently approved a US$25 million
deal for a 20 percent shareholding in another Zimbabwean bank, African
Banking Corporation (ABC).
The Bretton Woods institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the World Bank and the African Development Bank have all expressed their
willingness to resume and offer financial aid to Zimbabwe once the political
deal begins to yield positive results.

Meanwhile, the CZI will assume chairmanship of the BCZ for a period of six
months before handing over the button to another chair who will be drawn
from the BCZ members including the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ),
Chamber of Mines, Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), Zimbabwe Commercial
Farmers Union (ZCFU), Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC),
Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ), Zimbabwe Council of Tourism
(ZCT) and the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU).

"This occasion marks a new chapter in our relations as business
organization..We mean to engage government and other stakeholders as one
voice in common issues..This will coordinate business approach in addressing
issues affecting the conduct of business and in their interaction with
government and other stakeholders," said Jokonya.

The CZI President said some of the BCZ's objectives include providing a
forum for discussion among business sector organizations and promoting the
development of sound business ethics.

A Society "Not Ready for Female Leadership"?

http://ipsnews.net

Tonderai Kwidini

HARARE, Mar 28 (IPS) - Women make up about half the population in Zimbabwe.
But, they're far from accounting for 50 percent of those on the ballot for
this month's general elections in the Southern African country -- sparking
concern amongst gender activists.

None of the four presidential candidates in the Mar. 29 ballot is a woman;
during the last poll for head of state, held in 2002, Elizabeth Madangure
competed alongside five other, male candidates.

Of the 730 hopefuls for the lower house of parliament, only 99 are women
(13.6 percent), while 63 of the 195 candidates running for the Senate are
female (just over 32 percent) -- this according to figures from the Women in
Politics Support Unit (WiPSU), a non-governmental organisation based in the
capital of Harare. Zimbabwe will also hold local government polls at the end
of the month; however, IPS could not obtain statistics for the gender of
local government candidates at the time of publishing this report.

During the last legislative elections in March 2005, 57 women ran for the
lower house of parliament out of a total of 273 aspirants (about 20.9
percent of candidates). Female candidates accounted for 34 percent of those
who contested Senate polls in November 2005: 45 women were involved in this
race, and 87 men (these figures again provided by WiPSU).

Statistics for the number of women who contested the last local government
elections, in 2005, could not be obtained.

This year will mark the first instance in which Zimbabwe holds presidential,
National Assembly, Senate and local government polls on the same day, the
result of a constitutional amendment passed last year. General elections
will now be held every five years.

"From the figures, it shows that there is a huge disparity (between female
and male candidates) which needs a lot of attention," said Luta Shaba,
executive director of the Women's Trust, a non-governmental organisation in
Harare. The trust is heading up 'Women can do it!', a campaign for
increasing women's participation in the political life of Zimbabwe.

"The question to ask is what is it that should be done to increase the
number of female candidates? Voting women into parliament means that women's
issues will become national issues."

For Rutendo Hadebe of the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe, an umbrella group
for various rights organisations, having more women candidates involves
fighting chauvinism among political parties, and encouraging women to
believe that they can compete for office successfully.

"The society that we are living in seems not ready for female leadership,"
she told IPS. "But we are saying as a movement that we will continue
pushing."

The electoral race is largely focused on the ruling Zimbabwe African
National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), the larger faction of the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), and the Mavambo/Kusile of Simba Makoni -- a
grouping also referred to as 'New Dawn'. Makoni, an erstwhile ZANU-PF member
and former finance minister, broke ranks with the party to challenge
President Robert Mugabe. ("Mavambo" is a Shona word meaning "beginning",
while "kusile" -- from the Ndebele language -- means "dawn".)

The MDC, Zimbabwe's main opposition group for several years, split in 2005.

In the case of ZANU-PF, 44 of its 214 aspirants for the lower house of
parliament are women (20.6 percent) and 27 of 59 Senate candidates (almost
46 percent).

These figures (the latest available from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission,
or ZEC, at the time of publication) show the party has some way to go in
fulfilling its 2005 pledge to raise the proportion of its female candidates
to 30 percent across the board.

"In instances that we have women volunteering to take up political posts
they are faced with...having to choose whether to commit family resources to
the political cause or feeding the family," said a member of the ZANU-PF
Women's League who asked for anonymity. "Political parties do very little to
support women candidates financially, and there lies the problem."

A list of National Assembly and Senate candidates from the larger faction of
the MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, shows this party has 25 women among its
209 National Assembly candidates (just under 12 percent) -- along with 18 of
the 60 Senate aspirants (30 percent).

"We are not happy with the female figures in this election," said Sekai
Holland, the faction's secretary for international relations, herself a
senatorial candidate. "Getting the female agenda going...remains a big
fight."

The other MDC faction -- headed by Arthur Mutambara -- is fielding 19 women
in the National Assembly poll out of a total of 144 candidates (13.2
percent). Women also account for six of the faction's 34 Senate candidates
(17.6 percent) -- this according to figures from the ZEC.

Statistics published in the local press by Mavambo/Kusile indicate the
grouping will field eight women among its 51 candidates for the lower house
of parliament (15.7 percent) -- and three women among its nine senatorial
hopefuls (about 33 percent).

The polls will see 210 National Assembly seats being contested, compared to
120 in 2005. Previously, an additional 30 seats in the lower house were
filled in part by presidential nominees, bringing the total number of
parliamentarians to 150.

In the case of the Senate, 59 seats are to be filled (a further 33 will go
to traditional chiefs and presidential nominees). Initially, there were 60
Senate seats in play for the election; however, one of these has already
been won by a ZANU-PF candidate who was elected unopposed at the nomination
court.

Local government candidates will compete for 1,968 posts.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union notes that Zimbabwe presently has 24 women in
the lower house of parliament (16 percent of legislators), and 24 in the
Senate – which currently has 66 members (giving women control of
approximately 36 percent of the upper house).

According to the ZEC, 17 parties are participating in the elections; the
Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network puts the number of voters at some 5.6
million.

Even if all female candidates running in this month's National Assembly and
Senate polls win, the country will still find itself falling short of
regional goals concerning women's representation in government. A 1997
declaration by the Southern African Development Community set Zimbabwe and
other member states the target of having women in 30 percent of
decision-making posts by 2005 -- a goal since adjusted to 50 percent.

This month's vote comes amidst political and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe,
where hyper-inflation and unemployment have impoverished most citizens, and
where food and fuel shortages are the order of the day.

Human rights abuses that undermined the credibility of previous polls
continue, as Amnesty International noted in a Jan. 24 press statement that
detailed an assault on persons trying to attend an MDC rally addressed by
Tsvangirai.

"Police repeatedly arrest and beat human rights defenders and MDC activists
engaging in peaceful protest," said the rights watchdog.

"Amnesty International has corroborated evidence of torture and
ill-treatment of activists while in police custody..." the statement added.

Mugabe, running for a sixth term in office (and in power since independence
in 1980), accuses Western nations of conspiring with his opponents to
undermine Zimbabwe, following a controversial land redistribution campaign
that saw farms owned by minority whites confiscated for the resettlement of
landless blacks. A number of influential Zimbabweans stand accused of
seizing farms in the course of this campaign.

The European Union did introduce sanctions against Zimbabwe in response to
the problematic 2002 presidential elections; and, the deteriorating
situation in the country prompted the United States to follow suit the next
year. However, these measures involve travel restrictions and asset freezes
directed at high-ranking officials, rather than steps against ordinary
Zimbabweans.

The exclusion of election observer teams from countries critical of the
ZANU-PF government has deepened fears that the upcoming polls will not be
free and fair -- as have claims about manipulation of the voters' roll and
inadequate voter education.

(* Please note that the original version of this story incorrectly stated
that the Women's Trust is at the forefront of the ཮-50' campaign, an
initiative to have more women in political office in Zimbabwe. In fact, the
trust is heading 'Women can do it!', a separate campaign for increasing
women's participation in the political life of Zimbabwe.) (END/2008)

A Zimbabwean Afro-pessimist

http://kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=806

Perhaps I belong to that species some prefer to call rather unflatteringly
"Afro-pessimists." But for me, I figure that I elect to embrace that gloomy
outlook with good reason. For many years we have listened to what I call the
"Pan-types" who, despite all evidence, have internalised and radicalised
their belief in that all criticism of an African politician - and as common
sense will have it, any Blackman - is a manifestation of toadying to the
racist Whiteman who has failed to see anything positive emerging from the
Blackman's universe. These types are those who will invoke juvenile history
lessons to state their case, and become conveniently amnesiac where it
involves atrocities and other evils committed in the here and now by men and
women of colour.

I raise this here after a colleague said to me the other day after the
signing of the Government of National Unity agreement by Zimbabwe's main
political players that I was an inveterate pessimist after I confessed that
I could not see anything fruitful emerging from the "historic" signing, be
it in the short or long term. We had been told that the nation would know
about cabinet appointments and allotments before the week of the signing was
over. I did not hold my breath. As if by some ESP-based intuition, something
told me this party formed in the 1960s - which would make it a dinosaur -
would stick it out and trash all attempts to make something out of that crap
signing. And here we are many days later not having a clue about where we
are at as a nation.

My pessimism about all things Zimbabwean is informed by the fact that this
country has had many false starts; each time the people imagine they are
about to pass this man-made hell, the "veterans of the struggle" cock a
snook and show us their butts. And then with glee they shout "Gotcha!!" Just
analyse all elections held since 1980. They have always been about "See, we
hold regular elections, so why accuse us of being enemies of multi party
democracy?" But the setting up and subsequent flourishing of democracy based
checks and balances and other democratic institutions do not form part of
the multi party agenda, so you know where that leaves us. But I digress. The
hubris that emerged after the signing where you had whole neighbourhoods
blowing trumpets, beating chests, and as Patrick Chinamasa alleged, beating
up people as they celebrated the coming into government of their point man,
Morgan Tsvangirai was another pointer of the naivety - or desperation - of a
crisis-weary people yearning for better days. Call it the plebeian
excitement of the working class, but you had to see it to believe it. It was
the stuff popular street uprisings a la the Orange Revolution are made of.

I could hear and see people celebrating that those folks whose lives
depended on remittances from abroad were in the coming week - not weeks - to
be reduced to "ordinary" Zimbabweans as the street exchange rates were
doomed to plunge to all time lows, thereby depriving them of that elitist
existence they were enjoying thanks to the voodoo economics of the
"out-going" cabal of kleptocrats. Noone cared to explain how this would
happen, but I imagined it had something to do with the whole thing that the
people are fed up with Zanu PF's false promises and self-aggrandisement
streak. It eerily appears as if this streak is indelibly etched in their
DNA, someone whispered the other day. I listened, bemused by all this
tabloid-like stoking of emotions. Toothless grannies yearning for tea with
milk, bread with butter, stopped you in the street asking what was
happening. They too were already celebrating that at last the one with a
funny if not silly moustache was on the verge of what would have been an
equivalent of what would in the next days befall his trusted foreign
minister and fire fighter Thabo Mbeki.

First, what has become the pulse of the economy, the street-based foreign
currency trade became the pointer of better things to come. The "illegal"
black market saw a huge and dramatic dip in the exchange rate of the local
useless dollar against major currencies as speculators spread falsehoods and
in the process raising alarm and despondency. We know the fate of others who
treaded that path! This was a sure miracle for many, a Godsend of some
sorts. A guy who is always eager to fleece old women of their forex said to
me the other day after the signing, 'I am not touching any of that foreign
money. I would be stupid to accept that. What will I do with the (South
African) Rands next week?" He asked. I asked him back, "What is it that you
have heard?" "People are saying." was his response. I dismissed him with the
contempt he deserved. "Ignorant fool," I might have added, but then you do
not rub it in when in the company of people who have no clue about anything
but appear to know more than everybody else in that realm of what has become
the favourite of many here: arcane contemporary politics. and economics. And
in present day Zimbabwe, such types come in their millions. But before the
shyster could yawn, the rates had shot two fold! I said to myself, what kind
of people have we become that we have no clue about anything in a time and
era where news dissemination now transcends all sorts of censorship? Shouldn't
people have the right to know when it is their livelihoods that are being
discussed by men in suits.and dark glasses? As a wise crack quipped ages
ago, if you want to control people, deny them information. And Zimbabweans
now provide ample thesis material in that miserable regard.

Keeping a permanent gloomy outlook about all things Zimbabwean has helped me
not raise my expectations about the future only to expose myself to a
possible cardiac attack after having cursed friends and foes alike basking
on my ignorance that if cameras flash then hey "Turn up the boombox, put on
your hightops, Come on outside, today's gon' be the day we Start livin in
the new worrrld." (apologies to Black Thought, Tha Roots). I am yet to be
provided with any reason to raise my head up high and say I will buy my two
boys baby cereals and all that stuff paediatricians tell us will make
prodigies out of these tiny tots. But in my guarded pessimism, I try to be
careful that this - like hate - does not consume me to that extent that I
move from being compos mentis to what the Hispanic chaps would call loco.

This entry was posted on September 24th, 2008 at 4:19 pm by Marko Phiri

Campaigners: African human rights court dead in water

  http://www.earthtimes.org

Posted : Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:47:58 GMT
Author : DPA

Nairobi - A lack of political will has prevented the African Court on
Human and Peoples' Rights from hearing a single case in the ten years since
it was established, campaigners said Wednesday. A spokesman for Minority
Rights Group said that the failure to act came despite major human rights
crises in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe.

"Africa's peoples deserve better," said George Mukundi, the report's
author, in a statement. "If human rights on the continent are to come of
age, the court must start its work without any further delays."

Eleven judges were appointed to the court in 2006 and it has been
given a home in Arusha, Tanzania.

The court has held ten ordinary sessions, but Minority Rights Group
said that states seemed wary about seeing it operating properly.

Only 24 out of a possible 53 states of the African Union have ratified
the protocol to create the court, the group said.

"The human rights landscape in Africa continues to be of grave
concern," said Mukundi. "It is in the interests of states to make good their
promises of a decade ago."

State Journalists Hike To Assignments

http://www.radiovop.com

BULAWAYO, September 24 2008 - Reporters at the state owned, Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Co-operation (ZBC) in Bulawayo have now resorted to public
transport to cover stories as most of the co-operation's fleet is now
grounded due to fuel shortage.

ZBC get its fuel allocations from the Central Mechanical Equipment
Department (CMED) along side other government departments.

ZBC reporters who spoke to Radio VOP this week said CMED ran out of
fuel about two weeks ago, forcing reporters to hitch hike for transport for
assignments.

" All our vehicles are grounded because there is no fuel. These days
we are now relying mostly on public transport from story sources, government
ministries as well as well wishers. At times we also use trains," said one
reporter.

The reporter said the critical shortage of fuel at the Bulawayo Bureau
has seriously affected news coverage.

" This tendency of securing free transport from members of the public
is really compromising our profession. How can one write a negative story
about a person who has provided him or her with transport?," asked another
reporter.

New Ziana which also gets its fuel allocations from CMED is also said
to be facing similar problems.

Indictment of Thabo Mbeki , the man Zimbabwe and Africa will not miss