Sink or Swim Together.
An overview of the history of southern Africa
clearly shows how integrated
our economies are and how interdependent we have
always been. This is not
altogether supported by the statistics but that does
not take account of
informal sector activity as well as transport and
communications.
But increasingly we are now also connected by politics.
The new world order,
within which we all have to operate and live, demands
that individual States
must conform to certain standards that are
increasingly being accepted as
international norms. We are required to follow
democratic principles in how
we choose our leadership. We are expected to
limit our budget deficit to
somewhere around 3 per cent of GDP. We must
accept the new rules for trade
within the global village - free trade and
competitive markets are the sine
qua non of business. We are expected to
observe and respect all basic human
and political rights.
Fail in any
of these areas and countries immediately face sanctions of one
kind or the
other. Not mandatory UN sanctions such as were imposed on the
Rhodesian
government after 1965, but more subtle forms of sanctions.
Zimbabwe is a
prime example of the latter - when we started to really break
the rules in
the mid 90's we were faced with restricted access to the world'
s
multilateral banking system. The ADB, the WB and the IMF all
gradually
suspended any activity to support what they saw as a delinquent
system of
fiscal and political governance.
The international community
(the rich members that is) also gradually froze
us out of their system of
recognition and support. Foreign aid declined and
in many cases was simply
suspended until defined problems were corrected.
This has not happened and we
are now almost completely denied foreign aid
and assistance by richer
countries and regions like the EU.
As these early sanctions took effect
and did not work, the international
community ratchets up the pressure.
Delegations are made unwelcome at
international meetings. This can be quite
subtle - no invitations to
dinners, no formal recognition and even denial of
visa's and other forms of
political sanction. We are well into this phase -
our representatives have
disrupted relations between the EU and the ACP
States and are also proving
to be problematical in other
forums.
Eventually the only places on earth that such rogue States find
succor are
those connected to the UN system and with other rogue States who
share our
status as a global polecat. Someone sent me the latest rankings of
the
polecat States and said that he was surprised to see that we were at
number
15 from the bottom. I replied that it did not really matter as the
muck at
the bottom of this particular hole was pretty deep and we were all in
the
same grunge.
When South Africa was the "Apartheid State" and a
polecat in its own league,
we were always glad to have access to the Beira
and Maputo harbors and for
the barrier provided by the Limpopo River and its
crocodiles. These things
protected us from the side effects of having a
neighbor who was persona non
grata in the global community. That position is
now reversed and with a
vengeance. We do not have the economy or the regional
status that South
Africa had when it was grappling with the question of its
status and in some
ways we are almost more isolated today, than South Africa
was in those
days - sure we are still in the UN system, but only
just.
But we are small - just 3 per cent of the GDP of South Africa, a
real minnow
in the regional and global picture. Does this question of our
political and
economic status matter? Sure it does because like it or not we
sink or swim
together. That is exactly what President Mbeki said after the
recent SADC
summit in Gaborone. Every country in the SADC except Zimbabwe is
recording
rapid economic and social progress, even the strife torn ones like
the
Congo. We are really the rotten apple in this barrel and we are holding
back
the entire region and might even threaten the fragile security and
stability
we now enjoy. Why?
Perhaps the key is in South Africa
itself. There the coalition that brought
South Africa through the turbulent
days of the post apartheid transition to
democracy is falling apart. The
State President, Thabo Mbeki who looked so
good a few months ago, faces an
open revolt over his decision to prosecute
his previous deputy for corruption
and abuse of power. This struggle for
power inside the ANC is tearing it
apart and if it is not addressed and
resolved it could weaken Mr. Mbeki
precisely at the time when he has to deal
with the rogue State on his borders
in the north. Mugabe knows this and like
any mischief-maker, he will exploit
this conflict and thereby make things
that much worse.
Capital flight
from South Africa has been a problem for years; initially it
took the form of
South Africans investing abroad to spread their risks. Then
it took the form
of trying to move resources out of what was seen as a
volatile and uncertain
place and just as it is starting to turn, the very
institution that was
generating this newfound confidence in South Africa
starts to fall apart.
South Africa has always had a radical left and it is
this element that now
wishes to assert its independence and demand what it
sees as its rightful
place in the exercise of power in South Africa.
This is a delicate moment
and it is no time for brinkmanship. The global
community has a stake in
southern Africa and indeed in Africa itself as a
continent. South Africa is
just too important an element in that equation to
allow a minnow like
Zimbabwe to exacerbate the situation and threaten the
stability of South
Africa. It really is time that this pipsqueak country
called Zimbabwe was
sorted out - and fast, so that instead of being part of
the problem we can
help strengthen regional stability and growth.
It is not possible for the
local political opposition to effect change by
itself. If change is going to
happen it requires a catalyst - some factor
inserted from the outside. Such a
catalyst was agreed at the G8 summit and
both China and India committed
themselves to the deal. Mbeki was given the
responsibility of following it
through on the ground - the powers that be
must revise their thinking in that
respect and ask if he is any longer in a
position to exercise that role.
Perhaps he has his hands full and it is time
for someone like Nigeria to step
up to the plate. I learned back in the
immediate post independence era in
Zimbabwe that the super powers have huge
interventionist capacity. Perhaps it
is time to use a little on this corner
of the world for the sake of the
region as a whole.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 7th September 2005
iol
Harare hikes petrol price as supplies dwindle
September 07
2005 at 06:31PM
Harare - The Zimbabwe government more than doubled the
price of diesel and
petrol on Wednesday as critical fuel shortages persist,
state radio
reported.
"The pump price of both petrol and diesel has
been increased by more than
130 percent with immediate effect," the radio
report said.
Petrol will now sell for ZIM$23 300 per litre up from ZIM$10
000 a litre,
while diesel will cost ZIM$20 800 a litre, up from ZIM$9
600.
This latest hike may not however be enough to ease the country's
chronic
fuel shortages as the new price remains well below that being charged
on the
black market. Petrol sold on the unofficial market fetches up to
ZIM$45 000
per litre.
Zimbabwe is in the
throes of its worst ever fuel crisis. Many fuel stations
have not received
supplies for weeks, and dusty cars wait outside garages in
parts of the
capital Harare. - Sapa-dpa
Zimbabwe facing worst agricultural season since
independence, experts warn
By Michael Hartnack
6:11 a.m. September 7, 2005
HARARE, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe, once a regional breadbasket, is
facing its worst agricultural season since independence in 1980, with shortages
of seed, fertilizer and equipment threatening next year's harvest before it even
has been planted, farmers and other experts said.
Some of those warnings were issued Tuesday in testimony before Parliament's
agriculture committee, the state-run Herald newspaper and ruling party-allied
Daily Mirror reported.
Fertilizer companies told the committee their warehouses were empty. The
Zimbabwe Seed Traders Association said there was only 28,660 tons of maize seed
in the country, slightly more than half of what is needed.
The Agricultural Dealers and Manufacturers' Association has run out of plow
disks for the first time in its history. There also are key shortages of
irrigation piping, pumps, pesticides and other chemicals, suppliers said.
"The information you have given us simply shows that there is no season,"
committee chairman Walter Mzembi was quoted as saying.
The seizure of thousands of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution
to black Zimbabweans, combined with years of drought, have crippled Zimbabwe's
agriculture-based economy. About 4 million people will need food aid before the
next harvest in what was once a regional breadbasket, according to U.N.
estimates.
"This coming season's production prospects are the worst since 1980
independence due to inputs shortages and the lack of a strong message to allow
all farmers to produce with confidence," Doug Taylor-Freeme, president of the
mostly white Commercial Farmers Union, told The Associated Press on
Wednesday.
President Robert Mugabe's government claims to have settled 300,000 black
families on former white-owned farms, but U.N. agencies report many are
derelict, with irrigation and housing vandalized, and livestock stolen or
slaughtered.
Mugabe has promised $287 million in assistance to black farmers.
But Edward Raradza, vice president of the black Zimbabwe Farmers' Union, said
60 percent of the funds advanced by the government for cropping had not reached
their intended beneficiaries. His organization represents 800,000 families in
communal farming areas.
"There have been too many middlemen," testified Wilfanos Mashingaidze,
chairman of the Tobacco Growers' Trust. "The resources from government are going
down the drain. They are disappearing like mist."
SABC
September 07, 2005, 16:45
Limpopo police are investigating an attempted murder case after a white
hunter allegedly shot and injured a black farm worker saying he mistook him for
an animal at a game farm in Alldays.
The latest incident follows after a
Musina farmer shot and killed a Zimbabwean farm worker mistaking him for a
baboon. Trust Moyo from Zimbabwe was shot after being mistaken as an animal. As
an illegal immigrant he could not report to the police on fears of deportation.
Doctors are still to remove the bullet in his arm.
Moyo says he was
working at an open place but the farmer shot at him calling him an animal. The
provincial safety and Security Portfolio Committee discovered the incident
during site inspection on farms across the province. It described the shooting
as a racist attack. Justice Pitso, the chairperson of the portfolio committee
says the issue of racism in the province is rife because most of the farm owners
are abusing and exploiting and also passing racist remarks to farm
workers.
The whereabouts of Innocent Gumbu also a Zimbabwean who
witnessed the incident are not known. Jullie Crossberg, the Musina farmer, who
allegedly shot dead another Zimbabwean labourer mistaking him for a baboon
appears before the Polokwane Circuit court next month.
Meanwhile, the
The South African Hunters Association says it's easy to mistake a person for an
animal when hunting. Andre van Dyk, the Hunters' Association spokesperson, says:
"It depends in weather conditions, it depends in which position the person was
in that got shot, if the person was bending he can be mistaken for an animal.
Another thing we must look out, was the person that got shot, was he allowed to
be at the spot? When one is in hunting field, you don't always expect other
person to wonder around in the hunting field."
Globe and Mail
Massive shortages loom for Zimbabwe
By MICHAEL HARTNACK
Wednesday, September 7, 2005 Updated at 9:29 AM EDT
Associated Press
Harare — Zimbabwe, once a regional breadbasket, is facing its
worst agricultural season since independence in 1980, with shortages of seed,
fertilizer and equipment threatening next year's harvest before it even has been
planted, farmers and other experts said.
Some of those warnings were issued
in testimony before Parliament's agriculture committee, the state-run Herald
newspaper and ruling party-allied Daily Mirror reported Wednesday.
Fertilizer
companies told the committee that their warehouses were empty. The Zimbabwe Seed
Traders Association said there are only 28,660 tonnes of corn seed in the
country, slightly more than half of what is needed.
The Agricultural Dealers
and Manufacturers' Association has run out of plow disks for the first time in
its history. There also are key shortages of irrigation piping, pumps,
pesticides and other chemicals, suppliers said.
“The information you have
given us simply shows that there is no season,” committee chairman Walter Mzembi
was quoted as saying.
The seizure of thousands of white-owned commercial
farms for redistribution to black Zimbabweans, on top of years of drought, has
crippled Zimbabwe's agriculture-based economy. About four million people will
need food aid before the next harvest in what was once a regional breadbasket,
UN estimates indicate.
“This coming season's production prospects are the
worst since 1980 independence due to inputs shortages and the lack of a strong
message to allow all farmers to produce with confidence,” Doug Taylor-Freeme,
president of the mostly white Commercial Farmers Union, told the Associated
Press on Wednesday.
President Robert Mugabe's government says it has settled
300,000 black families on formerly white-owned farms, but UN agencies report
that many are derelict, with irrigation and housing vandalized, and livestock
stolen or slaughtered.
Mr. Mugabe has promised $287-million in assistance to
black farmers.
But Edward Raradza, vice-president of the black Zimbabwe
Farmers' Union, said 60 per cent of the funds advanced by the government for
cropping had not reached their intended beneficiaries. His organization
represents 800,000 families in communal farming areas.
“There have been too
many middlemen,” testified Wilfanos Mashingaidze, chairman of the Tobacco
Growers' Trust. “The resources from government are going down the drain. They
are disappearing like mist.”
VOA
Harare Spokesman Denies
Passport-Seizure List Drawn Up
Interview
with Bright Matonga 
Listen
to Interview with Bright Matonga Interview
with Morgan Tsvangirai Listen
to Interview with Morgan Tsvangirai
A Zimbabwean government spokesman has denied reports authorities have drawn
up a list of opposition figures to be barred from foreign travel under new
powers given to the government under constitutional amendments passed by
parliament.
Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga told reporter Chris Gande of
VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that no such list of targeted opposition figures
exists.
Mr. Matonga said authorities will not seize the passports of individuals
deemed to have harmed the national interest by comments made abroad – as
provided by one constitutional amendment – until such violations occur.
It was not clear whether President Robert Mugabe had signed the legislation
passed by the ruling party using the two-thirds majority it secured in March
elections which have been challenged by the opposition alleging voter
intimidation and ballot fraud.
It was unclear if enabling legislation is still needed to implement the
amendment.
Another amendment essentially nationalized all of the agricultural land in
the country, consolidating the land reform which Harare has pursued for the past
five years and which, the government’s critics say, has been economically
disastrous.
Studio 7 reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyele spoke with Morgan Tsvangirai,
president of the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, the country’s leading
opposition party, who is considered by many to be one of the primary targets of
the new legislation.
VOA
Zimbabwe Economic Team
Headed for Washington Face-Off With IMF Board
By Blessing Zulu
Washington
06 September
2005
|
|
Interview
with Anthony Hawkins Listen
to Interview with Anthony Hawkins
Zimbabwe’s top economic officials were to head for Washington on Wednesday to
plead the country’s case before the International Monetary Fund executive board,
which is to deliberate on Friday whether to expel the country as a Fund member
over debt service arrears which were recently reduced but not entirely
liquidated.
Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa and Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono were
to travel to Washington via Johannesburg, Harare administration sources said,
hoping to stave off expulsion with a last-ditch appeal to the IMF board.
Reports said the IMF was demanding payment of another $50 million in arrears
in addition to the $120 million which Zimbabwe paid last week against total
arrears of around $300 million.
Harare is also continuing to negotiate with South Africa for a sizeable loan
which might enable Zimbabwe to dispose of the $180 million in arrears
outstanding as of the latest information Tuesday. But those discussions appear
to have hung up on the issue of conditions Pretoria has attached to such a loan,
including democratic reforms.
Such conditions have been repeatedly dismissed by President Robert
Mugabe.
Mr. Gono told parliament on Tuesday that the IMF had demanded an additional
$50 million. Efforts to confirm this information with IMF officials were
unsuccessful.
Reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe asked economist Anthony
Hawkins, a professor at the University of Zimbabwe Business School, about the
role the IMF assessment team recently in Harare would play in the executive
board’s decision, and whether politics or financial issues would weigh more
heavily.
REUTERS
Zimbabwe doubles fuel prices as economy totters
Wed
Sep 7, 2005 12:56 PM ET
(Adds farmers, background)
By Stella Mapenzauswa
HARARE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government
doubled fuel prices for the second time in 10 weeks on Wednesday, a decision
likely to send living costs soaring further in the crisis-ridden southern
African state.
Zimbabwe has suffered erratic fuel supplies since 1999 due to chronic foreign
currency shortages that have occurred amid widespread economic woes in the
country. Mugabe's opponents blame the problems on him, a charge he denies.
Rodrick Kusano, corporate affairs manager at oil company Shell Zimbabwe, said
the government had agreed to raise petrol from 10,000 Zimbabwean dollars per
litre to 22,300 ($0.91), while diesel would go up from 9,600 Zimbabwean dollars
per litre to 20,800.
"It was now unviable for the business to operate at old prices and we think
this is a very welcome developmemt that prices have been adjusted," Kusano told
a news conference.
The fuel crisis has worsened in recent months. Many filling stations have had
no fuel for weeks on end and even public transport operators have been among
those forced to pull their vehicles off the road.
The last time the government doubled fuel prices was in June.
The latest increase is likely to trigger sharp rises in transport costs, a
major component in Zimbabwe's consumer price index basket, and industry is
widely expected to adjust commodity prices upwards.
FUEL WOES WORSEN CRISIS
A few years ago Mugabe's government ended a monopoly on fuel imports enjoyed
by state firm NOCZIM. But private oil industry operators have complained that
retail prices set by authorities were far below regional levels and undermined
their viability.
The fuel woes have exacerbated the economic crisis gripping the southern
African state, which has had food shortages, record unemployment and one of the
world's highest rates of inflation.
Energy Minister Mike Nyambuya said the government would also double the fuel
prices that farmers pay, but as a key sector that gets subsidies their fuel
would work out at around half the market price.
Farmers have struggled to feed the country for five years due to drought and
lack of seed and fertiliser.
Critics say disruption to agriculture linked to the government's seizure of
white-owned commercial farms for blacks has reversed the fortunes of what was
once southern Africa's breadbasket.
Poor peasants settled on the land have not been supported with adequate
agricultural supplies, they say.
On Wednesday, the official Herald newspaper said farmers were ill-prepared
for the 2005/6 growing season with only a month to go.
Shortages of seed and fertiliser have been stoking fears of more food
shortages next year.
Mugabe, 81 and in power since independence from Britain in 1980, denies he
has mismanaged the economy and instead charges it has been sabotaged by local
and international opponents of his land reforms, which he argues were necessary
to correct ownership imbalances created by colonialism.
Mail & Guardian
SA will not 'unilaterally' pay Zim loan
Donwald
Pressly | Cape Town, South Africa
07 September 2005
01:47
South Africa will not unilaterally pay back Zimbabwe's loan to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), as the country "is not South Africa's 10th
province", says South Africa's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma.
Addressing a briefing at Parliament on Wednesday,
Dlamini-Zuma said the matter of South Africa's loan offer to Zimbabwe "hasn't
moved", other than that Zimbabwe itself has paid part of its outstanding debt to
the IMF.
Initially reticent to comment on the loan -- which has seen the
official opposition in South Africa running a public campaign against the
country lending financial support to its neighbour, saying that this should be
referred to the economic cluster of South African ministers -- Dlamini-Zuma then
went on to say: "The loan has not been concluded."
In response to another
question, on whether South Africa is considering directly paying the IMF
Zimbabwe's outstanding money, she said Zimbabwe is a sovereign state and South
Africa cannot "unilaterally" pay the IMF on behalf of Zimbabwe without agreement
from that state.
It was reported this week that Zimbabwe's finance and
banking officials were heading for Washington to meet the IMF to haggle over the
details of the country's outstanding payments. Zimbabwe has already paid
$120-million.
It is understood that Zimbabwe will be expected to pay a
further $50-million of about $180-million still outstanding, or face expulsion
from the world body on Friday.
South African Treasury officials and the
South African Reserve Bank have been in discussion for some time about the
details of a financial arrangement with Zimbabwe -- but Zimbabwe has been
reticent to accept tough conditions to promote political and economic stability
in that country. -- I-Net Bridge
Guardian
Mugabe feels the pinch
Zimbabwe's collapsing economy is
increasing pressure on the president to introduce reform, says Andrew Meldrum
Wednesday September 7, 2005
International pressure on the
Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, to change his damaging policies has
significantly increased.
The UN, South Africa and other African powers are
pressing him to restore democracy and change economic management.
Perhaps
the greatest pressure has resulted from the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy,
which has left millions hungry. In five years, the economy has contracted by
50%, according to Harare economists. Inflation stands at 255% and unemployment
at 75%.
But a defiant Mr Mugabe has refused to change his ways, despite
the increasing misery of his people, choosing instead to blame the country's
problems on perceived enemies in the west. Eventually, however, the pressure is
expected to force him to accept reform of some sort.
The latest round of
criticism began as a reaction to his government's destruction of thousands of
poor people's homes in Harare, Bulawayo and other cities in May and June.
Although Mr Mugabe described Operation Murambatsvina (which means "drive out
trash" in the Shona language) as an urban renewal effort, a scathing UN report
issued in August blamed the campaign for making 700,000 people homeless or
jobless. It estimated that 2.4 million Zimbabweans had been affected by the
demolitions.
Those responsible for the destruction could be charged with
international crimes, the report's author, Anna Tibaijuka, said in what was the
UN's strongest criticism of Mr Mugabe's government to date.
The UN kept up
its pressure by publicly complaining that the government had effectively blocked
an emergency appeal for $30m to aid Zimbabwe's new homeless.
Jan Egeland,
the organisation's director of emergency aid, voiced frustration at how the
government prevented aid from reaching Zimbabwe's poorest.
Aid officials
have also complained that Mr Mugabe is tightly restricting international food
aid, although 4 million of Zimbabwe's 12 million people are estimated to be
going hungry. Mr Mugabe wants his government to control all access to food in
order deny assistance to opposition supporters, Paul Themba Nyathi, a spokesman
for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said.
The US food
aid official Tony Hall said the Harare government was delaying more than 25,000
tons of international food aid.
Further international pressure has come from
South Africa, which - until recently - supported Mr Mugabe. Zimbabwe asked the
country for a loan of $500m to help stop the collapse of its economy.
The
South African president, Thabo Mbeki, agreed to the loan - but only if Mr Mugabe
reformed his economic policies and, crucially, changed his politics.
He
demanded that Mr Mugabe adopt a market-driven exchange rate and reduce the large
budget deficit, according to several reports in South Africa that were not
denied by the government.
Politically, Mr Mbeki wants Mr Mugabe to open
negotiations with the MDC, leading to the drafting of a new constitution -
agreed upon by both sides - which would result in fresh elections.
However
much these concessions may stick in the 81-year-old ruler's throat, observers
say it is becoming more and more difficult for him to continue doing nothing.
"Every day, the pressure is mounting on him to address the rapidly
deteriorating situation in the country," Iden Wetherell, an editor at the
Zimbabwe Independent and Standard newspapers in Harare, said.
"There can be
no half measures. The economic crisis is inextricably linked to the political
crisis. Once you try to sort out the one, you will inevitably face the other."
Not surprisingly, Mr Mugabe has not accepted South Africa's loan offer, made
more than a month ago.
In a defiant gesture, he used his control of
parliament to pass a constitutional amendment blocking any legal challenge to
his land seizures and empowering the government to seize the passports of its
critics.
Hoping to get a better loan offer from China, Mr Mugabe went to
Beijing. The Chinese made deals to give them access to Zimbabwe's copper and
iron deposits, but did not publicly offer the $500m in hard cash that the
president urgently needs.
Even sport brought new pressure against Mr Mugabe
at the end of August, when the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, urged the
International Cricket Council to suspend Zimbabwe for its human rights abuses.
The International Crisis Group urged the UN to send a rapporteur to Zimbabwe
to investigate widespread allegations of state torture. The African Commission
for Human and People's Rights has also been pressing for a role following a
damning report on Zimbabwe's democratic deficit.
The pressure will come to a
climax on Friday, when the International Monetary Fund board is set to vote on
whether or not to expel Zimbabwe.
It owes $295m to the Washington-based
fund, and has been suspended for three years because of its arrears on that
debt. The IMF will now decide whether to expel it completely.
Mr Mugabe
wants to avoid that international humiliation and, at the end of August, his
government made a surprise payment of $120m to the IMF.
That left Zimbabwe
$50m short of the minimum needed to bring it up to date on its payments, but
should be enough to prevent expulsion.
It is not clear where Harare found
the money, and many analysts have questioned why Mr Mugabe did not use the $120m
to buy food and fuel to help ease suffering in the country.
Zimbabwe's dire
economic straits have left him vulnerable - and, eventually, they are expected
to force him to accept reform.
IMF gains attention of Mugabe with threat
By Daniel Altman International
Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
JOHANNESBURG Until last
week, it seemed as if nothing could shake Robert Mugabe's determination to
destroy any dissent against his Zimbabwe presidency. Somehow, the threat of
being kicked out of the International Monetary Fund has changed that, at least a
little bit.
As Mugabe flattened slums and allowed farmland to lie fallow
in the midst of racial violence, foreign governments' frustration with him was
almost equaled by their frustration with Thabo Mbeki, the South African
president, who has preferred to engage Mugabe rather than to isolate him and has
sometimes appeared to work at cross purposes with openly hostile politicians
from Britain and the United States.
Now, Mbeki seems to hold the key to
saving Zimbabwe's membership in the IMF. Apparently fed up with Mugabe's
actions, Mbeki may finally be using his influence to the advantage of the
Zimbabwean people.
The strain in Zimbabwe's ties with the IMF date to
1999, when arguments about the value of the country's currency and its troops in
Congo caused the fund to withhold aid. Within a year, the African Development
Bank and the World Bank had followed suit.
By 2001, Zimbabwe had stopped
paying back all foreign loans. In early 2002, Zimbabwe's arrears with the IMF
amounted to more than $100 million, and the government's own deficit was
ballooning. In 2003, the IMF suspended Zimbabwe's voting rights in the
organization. Finally, in December of that year, the fund started the process of
expulsion.
Of course, it is not as simple as saying, "You're out." Last
year, Zimbabwe began taking steps to placate the fund.
It started paying
back its debts and undertook a new monetary policy aimed at denting annual
inflation of 600 percent and shoring up the shrinking economy. Inflation came
down, to slightly less than 400 percent. The fund was mollified and decided in
July 2004 to delay Zimbabwe's potential expulsion by six months.
Meanwhile, the IMF closed its office in Harare. Though the move did not
affect the expulsion decision, according to the fund, it was an ominous portent.
Meetings with Mugabe ensued a couple of months later. Then, last
December, Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change,
stepped into the fray. Its leaders optimistically argued that the IMF should
allow Zimbabwe to remain a member, so that any post-Mugabe regime would have an
easier time obtaining aid. In February of this year, the IMF gave Zimbabwe
another extension.
Now, another six months later, Zimbabwe again is
trying to appease the fund. On Aug. 29, it paid $120 million to the IMF,
reducing its arrears to about $174 million. An IMF team was in Harare to review
economic developments and prospects, and it will report to the IMF executive
board, which plans to meet on Friday to decide Zimbabwe's fate.
Clearly,
Mugabe is paying attention.
Zimbabwe has been pleading with South Africa
for aid. So far, no deal has been reached, a South African government spokesman,
Thabo Masebe, said on Tuesday. A package from Pretoria would allow Zimbabwe to
pay some or all of what is overdue, perhaps salvaging its relationship with the
fund.
By itself, this is a remarkable development. Much like Kim Jong Il
in North Korea, Mugabe has seemed impervious to foreign pressure, even as his
own country has experienced extreme hardship and starvation. That he should care
about the IMF is intriguing.
Perhaps he values the prestige of
membership in one of the few international groups that wields real power in the
form of cash, or perhaps he is hoping for new loans from which to skim cash -
something that Britain and the United States have accused him of doing in the
past. Mugabe may even want the money just to keep the lights on in Harare. It
actually doesn't matter. The important thing is that the leverage is there.
The leverage, however, does not reside with the IMF. By allowing itself
to be placated mainly by repayment, the fund has limited its own ability to
affect policies in Zimbabwe. That may be for the best, since insisting on
specific changes would allow Mugabe to score political points by rejecting the
IMF altogether. But the upshot is that the leverage sits solidly in Mbeki's
hands. He seems willing to bail out his northern neighbor, provided Mugabe makes
some lasting changes.
"Whatever we do," said Masebe, the South African
government spokesman, "be it a short-term loan to help them to pay their arrears
on their IMF debt or any other intervention that we do, should be seen in the
context of an economic recovery for Zimbabwe so that we don't give them money
now and find ourselves in the same situation in a year's time."
He added
that while Mbeki has not made specific political demands, the conduct of
Mugabe's regime is under discussion.
"You can't remove economic issues
from the politics," Masebe said.
Besides the insight into Mugabe's
choices, there are two broader lessons to be drawn from this episode. The first
is that unconditional debt relief may be a bad idea. Antipoverty groups have
called for the IMF, the World Bank and major creditor nations to scrap all of
Africa's debts. If the presence of debt can create positive changes in Zimbabwe,
even indirectly, then it is surely a useful thing.
The second lesson has
worldwide implications. As any economist will tell you, people will usually do
what you want, as long as you give them the right incentives. For the past
couple of decades, most attempts at persuading so-called rogue states to shape
up have relied on restraint of trade or military threats. It could be time for a
little more creativity.
Daniel Altman can be reached at
daltman@iht.com
JOHANNESBURG Until last week, it seemed as if
nothing could shake Robert Mugabe's determination to destroy any dissent against
his Zimbabwe presidency. Somehow, the threat of being kicked out of the
International Monetary Fund has changed that, at least a little bit.
As
Mugabe flattened slums and allowed farmland to lie fallow in the midst of racial
violence, foreign governments' frustration with him was almost equaled by their
frustration with Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, who has preferred to
engage Mugabe rather than to isolate him and has sometimes appeared to work at
cross purposes with openly hostile politicians from Britain and the United
States.
Now, Mbeki seems to hold the key to saving Zimbabwe's membership
in the IMF. Apparently fed up with Mugabe's actions, Mbeki may finally be using
his influence to the advantage of the Zimbabwean people.
The strain in
Zimbabwe's ties with the IMF date to 1999, when arguments about the value of the
country's currency and its troops in Congo caused the fund to withhold aid.
Within a year, the African Development Bank and the World Bank had followed
suit.
By 2001, Zimbabwe had stopped paying back all foreign loans. In
early 2002, Zimbabwe's arrears with the IMF amounted to more than $100 million,
and the government's own deficit was ballooning. In 2003, the IMF suspended
Zimbabwe's voting rights in the organization. Finally, in December of that year,
the fund started the process of expulsion.
Of course, it is not as
simple as saying, "You're out." Last year, Zimbabwe began taking steps to
placate the fund.
It started paying back its debts and undertook a new
monetary policy aimed at denting annual inflation of 600 percent and shoring up
the shrinking economy. Inflation came down, to slightly less than 400 percent.
The fund was mollified and decided in July 2004 to delay Zimbabwe's potential
expulsion by six months.
Meanwhile, the IMF closed its office in Harare.
Though the move did not affect the expulsion decision, according to the fund, it
was an ominous portent.
Meetings with Mugabe ensued a couple of months
later. Then, last December, Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for
Democratic Change, stepped into the fray. Its leaders optimistically argued that
the IMF should allow Zimbabwe to remain a member, so that any post-Mugabe regime
would have an easier time obtaining aid. In February of this year, the IMF gave
Zimbabwe another extension.
Now, another six months later, Zimbabwe
again is trying to appease the fund. On Aug. 29, it paid $120 million to the
IMF, reducing its arrears to about $174 million. An IMF team was in Harare to
review economic developments and prospects, and it will report to the IMF
executive board, which plans to meet on Friday to decide Zimbabwe's fate.
Clearly, Mugabe is paying attention.
Zimbabwe has been pleading
with South Africa for aid. So far, no deal has been reached, a South African
government spokesman, Thabo Masebe, said on Tuesday. A package from Pretoria
would allow Zimbabwe to pay some or all of what is overdue, perhaps salvaging
its relationship with the fund.
By itself, this is a remarkable
development. Much like Kim Jong Il in North Korea, Mugabe has seemed impervious
to foreign pressure, even as his own country has experienced extreme hardship
and starvation. That he should care about the IMF is intriguing.
Perhaps
he values the prestige of membership in one of the few international groups that
wields real power in the form of cash, or perhaps he is hoping for new loans
from which to skim cash - something that Britain and the United States have
accused him of doing in the past. Mugabe may even want the money just to keep
the lights on in Harare. It actually doesn't matter. The important thing is that
the leverage is there.
The leverage, however, does not reside with the
IMF. By allowing itself to be placated mainly by repayment, the fund has limited
its own ability to affect policies in Zimbabwe. That may be for the best, since
insisting on specific changes would allow Mugabe to score political points by
rejecting the IMF altogether. But the upshot is that the leverage sits solidly
in Mbeki's hands. He seems willing to bail out his northern neighbor, provided
Mugabe makes some lasting changes.
"Whatever we do," said Masebe, the
South African government spokesman, "be it a short-term loan to help them to pay
their arrears on their IMF debt or any other intervention that we do, should be
seen in the context of an economic recovery for Zimbabwe so that we don't give
them money now and find ourselves in the same situation in a year's time."
He added that while Mbeki has not made specific political demands, the
conduct of Mugabe's regime is under discussion.
"You can't remove
economic issues from the politics," Masebe said.
Besides the insight
into Mugabe's choices, there are two broader lessons to be drawn from this
episode. The first is that unconditional debt relief may be a bad idea.
Antipoverty groups have called for the IMF, the World Bank and major creditor
nations to scrap all of Africa's debts. If the presence of debt can create
positive changes in Zimbabwe, even indirectly, then it is surely a useful thing.
The second lesson has worldwide implications. As any economist will tell
you, people will usually do what you want, as long as you give them the right
incentives. For the past couple of decades, most attempts at persuading
so-called rogue states to shape up have relied on restraint of trade or military
threats. It could be time for a little more creativity.
Daniel
Altman can be reached at daltman@iht.com
JOHANNESBURG Until last
week, it seemed as if nothing could shake Robert Mugabe's determination to
destroy any dissent against his Zimbabwe presidency. Somehow, the threat of
being kicked out of the International Monetary Fund has changed that, at least a
little bit.
As Mugabe flattened slums and allowed farmland to lie fallow
in the midst of racial violence, foreign governments' frustration with him was
almost equaled by their frustration with Thabo Mbeki, the South African
president, who has preferred to engage Mugabe rather than to isolate him and has
sometimes appeared to work at cross purposes with openly hostile politicians
from Britain and the United States.
Now, Mbeki seems to hold the key to
saving Zimbabwe's membership in the IMF. Apparently fed up with Mugabe's
actions, Mbeki may finally be using his influence to the advantage of the
Zimbabwean people.
The strain in Zimbabwe's ties with the IMF date to
1999, when arguments about the value of the country's currency and its troops in
Congo caused the fund to withhold aid. Within a year, the African Development
Bank and the World Bank had followed suit.
By 2001, Zimbabwe had stopped
paying back all foreign loans. In early 2002, Zimbabwe's arrears with the IMF
amounted to more than $100 million, and the government's own deficit was
ballooning. In 2003, the IMF suspended Zimbabwe's voting rights in the
organization. Finally, in December of that year, the fund started the process of
expulsion.
Of course, it is not as simple as saying, "You're out." Last
year, Zimbabwe began taking steps to placate the fund.
It started paying
back its debts and undertook a new monetary policy aimed at denting annual
inflation of 600 percent and shoring up the shrinking economy. Inflation came
down, to slightly less than 400 percent. The fund was mollified and decided in
July 2004 to delay Zimbabwe's potential expulsion by six months.
Meanwhile, the IMF closed its office in Harare. Though the move did not
affect the expulsion decision, according to the fund, it was an ominous portent.
Meetings with Mugabe ensued a couple of months later. Then, last
December, Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change,
stepped into the fray. Its leaders optimistically argued that the IMF should
allow Zimbabwe to remain a member, so that any post-Mugabe regime would have an
easier time obtaining aid. In February of this year, the IMF gave Zimbabwe
another extension.
Now, another six months later, Zimbabwe again is
trying to appease the fund. On Aug. 29, it paid $120 million to the IMF,
reducing its arrears to about $174 million. An IMF team was in Harare to review
economic developments and prospects, and it will report to the IMF executive
board, which plans to meet on Friday to decide Zimbabwe's fate.
Clearly,
Mugabe is paying attention.
Zimbabwe has been pleading with South Africa
for aid. So far, no deal has been reached, a South African government spokesman,
Thabo Masebe, said on Tuesday. A package from Pretoria would allow Zimbabwe to
pay some or all of what is overdue, perhaps salvaging its relationship with the
fund.
By itself, this is a remarkable development. Much like Kim Jong Il
in North Korea, Mugabe has seemed impervious to foreign pressure, even as his
own country has experienced extreme hardship and starvation. That he should care
about the IMF is intriguing.
Perhaps he values the prestige of
membership in one of the few international groups that wields real power in the
form of cash, or perhaps he is hoping for new loans from which to skim cash -
something that Britain and the United States have accused him of doing in the
past. Mugabe may even want the money just to keep the lights on in Harare. It
actually doesn't matter. The important thing is that the leverage is there.
The leverage, however, does not reside with the IMF. By allowing itself
to be placated mainly by repayment, the fund has limited its own ability to
affect policies in Zimbabwe. That may be for the best, since insisting on
specific changes would allow Mugabe to score political points by rejecting the
IMF altogether. But the upshot is that the leverage sits solidly in Mbeki's
hands. He seems willing to bail out his northern neighbor, provided Mugabe makes
some lasting changes.
"Whatever we do," said Masebe, the South African
government spokesman, "be it a short-term loan to help them to pay their arrears
on their IMF debt or any other intervention that we do, should be seen in the
context of an economic recovery for Zimbabwe so that we don't give them money
now and find ourselves in the same situation in a year's time."
He added
that while Mbeki has not made specific political demands, the conduct of
Mugabe's regime is under discussion.
"You can't remove economic issues
from the politics," Masebe said.
Besides the insight into Mugabe's
choices, there are two broader lessons to be drawn from this episode. The first
is that unconditional debt relief may be a bad idea. Antipoverty groups have
called for the IMF, the World Bank and major creditor nations to scrap all of
Africa's debts. If the presence of debt can create positive changes in Zimbabwe,
even indirectly, then it is surely a useful thing.
The second lesson has
worldwide implications. As any economist will tell you, people will usually do
what you want, as long as you give them the right incentives. For the past
couple of decades, most attempts at persuading so-called rogue states to shape
up have relied on restraint of trade or military threats. It could be time for a
little more creativity.
Daniel Altman can be reached at
daltman@iht.com
JOHANNESBURG Until last week, it seemed as if
nothing could shake Robert Mugabe's determination to destroy any dissent against
his Zimbabwe presidency. Somehow, the threat of being kicked out of the
International Monetary Fund has changed that, at least a little bit.
As
Mugabe flattened slums and allowed farmland to lie fallow in the midst of racial
violence, foreign governments' frustration with him was almost equaled by their
frustration with Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, who has preferred to
engage Mugabe rather than to isolate him and has sometimes appeared to work at
cross purposes with openly hostile politicians from Britain and the United
States.
Now, Mbeki seems to hold the key to saving Zimbabwe's membership
in the IMF. Apparently fed up with Mugabe's actions, Mbeki may finally be using
his influence to the advantage of the Zimbabwean people.
The strain in
Zimbabwe's ties with the IMF date to 1999, when arguments about the value of the
country's currency and its troops in Congo caused the fund to withhold aid.
Within a year, the African Development Bank and the World Bank had followed
suit.
By 2001, Zimbabwe had stopped paying back all foreign loans. In
early 2002, Zimbabwe's arrears with the IMF amounted to more than $100 million,
and the government's own deficit was ballooning. In 2003, the IMF suspended
Zimbabwe's voting rights in the organization. Finally, in December of that year,
the fund started the process of expulsion.
Of course, it is not as
simple as saying, "You're out." Last year, Zimbabwe began taking steps to
placate the fund.
It started paying back its debts and undertook a new
monetary policy aimed at denting annual inflation of 600 percent and shoring up
the shrinking economy. Inflation came down, to slightly less than 400 percent.
The fund was mollified and decided in July 2004 to delay Zimbabwe's potential
expulsion by six months.
Meanwhile, the IMF closed its office in Harare.
Though the move did not affect the expulsion decision, according to the fund, it
was an ominous portent.
Meetings with Mugabe ensued a couple of months
later. Then, last December, Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for
Democratic Change, stepped into the fray. Its leaders optimistically argued that
the IMF should allow Zimbabwe to remain a member, so that any post-Mugabe regime
would have an easier time obtaining aid. In February of this year, the IMF gave
Zimbabwe another extension.
Now, another six months later, Zimbabwe
again is trying to appease the fund. On Aug. 29, it paid $120 million to the
IMF, reducing its arrears to about $174 million. An IMF team was in Harare to
review economic developments and prospects, and it will report to the IMF
executive board, which plans to meet on Friday to decide Zimbabwe's fate.
Clearly, Mugabe is paying attention.
Zimbabwe has been pleading
with South Africa for aid. So far, no deal has been reached, a South African
government spokesman, Thabo Masebe, said on Tuesday. A package from Pretoria
would allow Zimbabwe to pay some or all of what is overdue, perhaps salvaging
its relationship with the fund.
By itself, this is a remarkable
development. Much like Kim Jong Il in North Korea, Mugabe has seemed impervious
to foreign pressure, even as his own country has experienced extreme hardship
and starvation. That he should care about the IMF is intriguing.
Perhaps
he values the prestige of membership in one of the few international groups that
wields real power in the form of cash, or perhaps he is hoping for new loans
from which to skim cash - something that Britain and the United States have
accused him of doing in the past. Mugabe may even want the money just to keep
the lights on in Harare. It actually doesn't matter. The important thing is that
the leverage is there.
The leverage, however, does not reside with the
IMF. By allowing itself to be placated mainly by repayment, the fund has limited
its own ability to affect policies in Zimbabwe. That may be for the best, since
insisting on specific changes would allow Mugabe to score political points by
rejecting the IMF altogether. But the upshot is that the leverage sits solidly
in Mbeki's hands. He seems willing to bail out his northern neighbor, provided
Mugabe makes some lasting changes.
"Whatever we do," said Masebe, the
South African government spokesman, "be it a short-term loan to help them to pay
their arrears on their IMF debt or any other intervention that we do, should be
seen in the context of an economic recovery for Zimbabwe so that we don't give
them money now and find ourselves in the same situation in a year's time."
He added that while Mbeki has not made specific political demands, the
conduct of Mugabe's regime is under discussion.
"You can't remove
economic issues from the politics," Masebe said.
Besides the insight
into Mugabe's choices, there are two broader lessons to be drawn from this
episode. The first is that unconditional debt relief may be a bad idea.
Antipoverty groups have called for the IMF, the World Bank and major creditor
nations to scrap all of Africa's debts. If the presence of debt can create
positive changes in Zimbabwe, even indirectly, then it is surely a useful thing.
The second lesson has worldwide implications. As any economist will tell
you, people will usually do what you want, as long as you give them the right
incentives. For the past couple of decades, most attempts at persuading
so-called rogue states to shape up have relied on restraint of trade or military
threats. It could be time for a little more creativity.
Daniel
Altman can be reached at daltman@iht.com
Zim Company Beats the Odds
Business in Africa (Rivonia)
September 7,
2005
Posted to the web September 7, 2005
Charles Rukuni
Bulawayo
Where in the world would a company, which technically has no owner, make a
hefty 1 377% increase in net profit in six months and still hopes to do better
than that?
Only in Zimbabwe, a land full of contradictions where the economy
is reportedly on the brink of collapse but some companies are experiencing
booming business.
Turnall Holdings, which manufactures asbestos cement
products such as asbestos roofing sheets and pipes, made a net profit of Z$17.2
billion in the six months to June compared to only Z$3 billion during the same
period last year.
Even in inflation adjusted terms, its profit increased by
106% to Z$1.9 billion.
According to its results released on Wednesday,
Turnall's sales soared from Z$23.1 billion to Z$95.3 billion.
The company
currently has no direct owner as it was part of fugitive businessman Mutumwa
Mawere's empire, and is therefore a state-specified company falling under the
Reconstruction of State Indebted Insolvent Companies Act.
Mawere, who is now
living in South Africa, skipped the country last year following allegations that
he had externalised Z$300 billion. He denied the charges claiming that the
government was after him because he had refused to become Zanu-PF provincial
chairperson for Masvingo. He said he was not even a member of the ruling
party.
Mawere owned a vast empire which included the Shabani and Mashaba
Mines (SMM), the country's largest asbestos mining company, as well as
insurance, agricultural and financial holding companies.
The empire, whose
assets run into billions, was placed under a government-appointed administrator
Afaras Gwarazimba last year.
Turnall says it expects to do better during the
second half because traditionally it contributes 60% of the company's
business.
The company is expected to do exceptionally well because of the
government sponsored housing construction programme, Operation Garikai/Hlalani
Kuhle, as it will be the major supplier of roofing material.
It also says it
will benefit from the Parastatals and Local Authorities Reorientation Programme
as well as the national housing scheme which has been allocated nearly Z$2
trillion by the central bank.
Eastern Europe Style Reforms Ahead?
SouthScan (London)
August 31,
2005
Posted to the web September 7, 2005
The "comprehensive economic
reform programme" Zimbabwe officials say South Africa is seeking there in return
for paying off the International Monetary Fund debt may need to look like the
reforms in Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This is the
view of the World Bank's country representative in Zimbabwe, Hartwig Schafer,
who said that major economic restructuring would be needed to end the economic
crisis, similar to policies that helped rebuild former Soviet states also
endowed with infrastructure and human resources.
The policies used in the
FSU countries were focused on privatization of state companies and the end of
ruling party control, opening the economies to foreign and domestic investors.
Subsequently the successor states have tried to claw back some of the companies
and resources that landed in foreign hands, analysts noted.
In Zimbabwe's
case a massive 'de-Zanufication' of the economy, opening it up to foreign
capital would quickly see South Africa companies taking control, and in
particular buying into the Zanu-PF businesses that could come on the market, say
analysts. Already SA business is reading the writing on the wall and buying up
cheap Zimbabwean assets.
Agricultural breakdown
Zimbabwe's rapid economic
decline over the past six years was unprecedented for a country not at war,
Schafer said in an interview with agencies last month.
"The major reasons for
(Zimbabwe's) decline are the breakdown of agricultural productivity and
distortion of economic policies," he said. A recent World Bank study on
Zimbabwe's agricultural sector said the government's land reforms had
redistributed 80 percent of farmland and improved racial distribution of
agricultural property but had increased poverty.
The report said GDP shrank
by more than 20 percent since 2000, while agriculture registered a cumulative
decline of 26 percent. The programme's impact on agriculture had the effect of
displacing 30 percent of farm workers who are now destitute and living as
squatters. The report said 70 percent of Zimbabwe's 11.6 million people were
living below the poverty line as per capita gross domestic product had plummeted
30 percent since 1999.
The government's fiscal crisis had led to a
"devastating reduction" in access to social services, at a time when it was most
needed, while the impact of HIV/AIDS was worsening.
Restoring agricultural
productivity would be a first step to helping Zimbabwe stop its economic free
fall, said Schafer. "It wouldn't change things overnight but it would stop the
economic hemorrhage and help the country get back on an upward path," he
added.
Before the land reform agriculture contributed 40 percent to
Zimbabwe's national exports, made up 18 percent of the gross domestic product,
employed 30 percent of the formal labor force and 70 percent of the
population.
The international community should be prepared for "policy
implementation that will turn the economy around", Schafer said. He said
Zimbabweans had reverted to black markets to cope with rising prices and
shortages of staple foods and fuel in the formal markets.
"The population is
using the parallel markets, and that is why we have the crackdowns," he said,
adding that the economy was functioning surprisingly well in parallel tracks.
Some of the government's current economic policies were an attempt to bring the
informal sector under the formal umbrella, he said.
Hard currency fuel
Meanwhile the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) is continuing with
plans to sell fuel for hard currency in cities across the country, despite the
poor response to an experiment at a pilot filling station.
Fuel was being
sold at ZD17,500 (US$1.00) per litre but motorists preferred to queue where the
price was cheaper at ZD10,000.
The sale of fuel for foreign currency is aimed
at stabilising the price and cushioning the national economy as the
international oil price rises.
The sales are open to "individuals with
free funds, Zimbabweans in the diaspora who may wish to buy fuel for relatives
and friends, nongovernmental and international organisations," NOCZIM
said.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) says over 100,000 workers
in the transport sector have lost their jobs because of the fuel shortage.
Mining Weekly
Zim cotton firm goes digital to boost sales
|
Cotton buying, processing and marketing firm the Cotton
Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) is looking toward technology to give them an
edge.
It is in the process of setting up a completely private satellite
telecommunications network - a first for Zimbabwe.
Cottco works with
farmers across Zimbabwe and provides comprehensive agronomic and financial
support at every stage of the cotton production process - from planting,
nurturing and harvesting the crop to processing and marketing cotton lint and
cottonseed.
The expected return from cotton exports for 2005 is sitting
on $80-million and cotton has overtaken every other commodity to become the
biggest source of foreign exchange for Zimbabwe.
One of the biggest
issues facing organisations of this nature is the lack of communications in the
more remote areas of their respective countries.
In the cotton industry,
it is of utmost importance to know at all times what the prevailing cotton price
is on the world market.
In addition to price information, which is
critical when it comes to physical purchases, Cottco also requires real-time
information on the amount of cotton purchased at any given time to ensure that
they stop purchasing when their quotas are met.
The company reached a
point where, in order to remain competitive, it needed to speed up
operations.
In the past, communications was very basic and very
slow.
Data, such as world market cotton prices and the amount of cotton
purchased to date, was transferred by saving files to floppy discs and backup
tapes and then transported by vehicle to the next destination.
This in
itself posed various threats, including delays, damage during transit, corrupted
files and virus transmission.
A further issue faced by the company was
that they did not have real-time management of inputs.
Inputs are
financial advances given to farmers to purchase seed and other items required to
produce their cotton crops.
When Cottco then purchases the cotton from
these farmers, those amounts are deducted from the final purchase price. “We
found GS Telecom on the web,” says IT technical support manager Pedrag
Zec.
“We really needed a company with extensive experience of working in
telecommunications, particularly in Africa, and they were the most qualified for
the job.”
GS Telecom has provided Cottco with an iDirect mini-hub, which
is simply a scaled down carrier grade satellite hub.
The solution
provided is seen as ground breaking, as Cottco is now on a completely private
network.
This has resulted in lower licence costs, dramatically lower
operating costs, local control over the network as it only operates in Zimbabwe,
controlled traffic flow and the security that goes hand-in-hand with a
completely private network.
“We have worked very closely with the Postal
and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) on this
project,” says Zec.
“The reason for this is that we believe that it is
essential for the country's economy to allow this type of telecommunications
service and feel that by setting the example we can introduce this
ground-breaking technology on a larger scale.”
Zec says they have invited
POTRAZ to be part of the entire implementation process as it is critical for
future projects of this nature.
He believes that this type of technology
will provide the Zimbabwean government with the means to better monitor and
control VSAT usage.
“I have been closely involved in the implementation
and testing of the system.”
“While there were some minor setbacks, we
have found GS Telecom to be extremely quick in finding solutions and resolving
issues.”
Zec says that to date they have solved all the issues originally
encountered during testing and they are now ready for full
deployment.
“GS Telecom made it their goal to find a solution that met
our requirements specifically,” says Zec.
“When you're speaking engineer
to engineer, this is extremely important as it forms the basis of your
relationship - a relationship that will not work unless it is formed on
trust.”
|
Cultural news roundup
Thursday September 8, 2005
The Guardian
Comic publisher Marvel has revealed plans to produce its own films
based on the company's extensive library of superhero characters. Until now,
Marvel has always partnered with established Hollywood studios to create
blockbusters such as Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. The company has chosen 10
comics to develop as in-house feature films. They include Captain America,
Ant-Man and Black Panther.
· Political thriller The Interpreter is part of a
CIA propaganda campaign against Robert Mugabe, according to a Zimbabwean
government official. The film, which stars Nicole Kidman as UN interpreter,
shows "that we should know our enemy is very powerful", according to acting
information minister Chen Chimutengwende. A CIA spokeswoman dismissed the claim
as "ridiculous".
· Model and actor Jerry Hall, who famously played Mrs
Robinson in the West End version of The Graduate, will make her musical debut in
a London staging of High Society next month. Hall is playing Margaret Lord in
the production, which started life at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in
summer 2003.
· A silver treasure stolen from a Spanish church in 1890 has
been lent back to its former home by London's Victoria and Albert Museum. The
item, known as a custodia or a monstrance and carried in processions on feast
days, first turned up in Switzerland 38 years after the theft and was bequeathed
to the V&A by an American collector in 1956.
· Michael Jackson has
written a song for the New Orleans victims of Hurricane Katrina, called From the
Bottom of My Heart. "In response to the widespread devastation wrought by
Hurricane Katrina, recording superstar Michael Jackson has been moved to pen a
song," a spokeswoman told AP. "Within 24 hours, Mr Jackson will be reaching out
to other recording superstars asking that they join him in this project."
·
Norman Foster's Great Court at the British Museum is distracting visitors from
the building's exhibitions, according to a spatial design expert. Tim Stonor,
who is working with architect Ian Ritchie on plans for the future of the museum,
says the glass canopy is luring visitors away from the rest of the building. He
told Building Design: "It is so attractive and people are spending so much time
there that the collection is losing out."
The Herald
Fuel supplies to Zimbabwe resume in Beira
Herald Reporter FUEL
supplies to Zimbabwe resumed at the port of Beira in Mozambique, with that
country’s fuel procurement body — Petromoc — distributing at least 600 000
litres of petrol to 20 tankers dispatched to the port by Zimbabwean importers
three weeks ago.
The supplies were resumed amid rising concerns among
Zimbabwean importers and truck drivers, who had spent more than three weeks at
the port after Petromoc had diverted 4 million litres of petrol meant for
Zimbabwe to other customers.
Most importers could not pay for more fuel
after Petromoc’s failure to deliver orders from last month.
It is
understood that suppliers were holding on to stocks in anticipation of an
increase in fuel prices.
Although the Petromoc manager could not explain
why Zimbabwean private importers were being denied their allocation when
interviewed on Monday, drivers at the port told The Herald that the firm had
started clearing the three-week backlog and normal deliveries had resumed.
"They have loaded 20 Zimbabwean trucks so far, and they have returned to
their normal pattern of allocation," said one of the truckers.
Ten
Zimbabwean tankers were loaded on Tuesday, compared to one on Monday and none in
the preceding two weeks.
Another 10 were loaded yesterday.
Private importers in Zimbabwe had paid for more than 4 million litres as
of August 18, but they had not received any supplies and some of them had
started driving all the way to the port to follow up on their orders.
Zimbabwe had not been getting any diesel from British multinational oil
distributor BP’s depot at the port amid allegations that BP South Africa had
sent a memo barring all diesel exports to Zimbabwe.
Trucks delivering
fuel to BP Zimbabwe have not been receiving diesel for the past week.
"They have been telling us that there is no diesel for Zimbabwe, and
drivers from other countries have been asked to tell us that they are carrying
kero- sene and paraffin," said a driver with Kukura Kurerwa Transport, which
carries diesel and Jet A1 fuel for BP Zimbabwe.
The liberalisation of
the fuel importation system has made it easier for fuel importers to source the
commodity, but most of them have been facing problems with transportation as it
often requires personal follow-ups to get their consignment delivered.
All trucks that spend more than four days in Mozambique incur a fine of
600 000 meticais (Z$600 000) payable at Mozambique’s customs office, and most of
the companies whose vehicles were in that country for three weeks are paying the
fines.
Petrol currently costs US$0,96 per litre and diesel US$0,91 at
the port and it is understood that the pump prices are set to go up in line with
an upward increase in prices on the international market.
Telegraph
Before the first ball
(Filed: 08/09/2005)
Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, has warm words for Duncan
Fletcher, the England cricket coach, in an interview today on another page. But
Mr Fletcher, who is Zimbabwean, has been refused British citizenship. The
reason, paradoxically, is that he has worked so much on England's behalf abroad
that he fails the residence qualifications.
Mr Clarke could not possibly comment on a particular case, but
admits he has discretion to disregard the residence terms. If England win the
Ashes, Labour will be dancing in the glory, scattering citizenship, knighthood,
who knows, even a seat in the Cabinet. If England should lose, Mr Fletcher's
citizenship might melt away with the nation's tears. So let Mr Clarke do the
decent thing by Mr Fletcher now, today, before a ball has been bowled at the
Oval.
Britain gathers evidence against Zim asylum
seekers
Political Editor Caesar Zvayi
The Herald
A HIGH-LEVEL British
delegation from the Home Office and Foreign Office is in Zimbabwe to gather
evidence to use against locals calling themselves asylum seekers who are
contesting their deportation in the British High Court.
A highly-placed
diplomatic source told The Herald that the British government asked for a
postponement of the case lodged by three Zimbabweans in order to gather evidence
to successfully defend its decision to deport the purported asylum seekers.
British embassy spokesperson Gillian Dare confirmed the presence of the
delegation in the country, saying it was here to assess a range of immigration
and nationality issues.
"This is a routine visit by officials from the
Home Office and Foreign Office. Similar visits take place to other countries.
The visit is concerned with a range of immigration and nationality issues. "They
will be here until the end of the week," she said.
She, however, refused
to disclose the names of members of the delegation or its size.
British
Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair is under increasing pressure to deport illegal
immigrants and bogus asylum seekers.
The pressure intensified after the
London bombings which coincided with the opening of the Group of Eight richest
countries (G8) summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, in the first week of July.
Mr Blair, whose popularity is at an all-time low, has adopted a
hard-line stance against illegal immigrants.
Prior to the bombings, some
Zimbabweans at detention centres across the United Kingdom went on hunger
strikes to influence public opinion against their pending deportation, but
received little sympathy.
The Herald understands that this forced the
purported asylum seekers to pursue the legal option.
The source said the
British delegation is keen to come up with a report that would expose the lies
told by these illegal immigrants — who allege that their lives will be in danger
if they return to Zimbabwe — in order to gain asylum status.
Mr Blair
has already said they do not face any danger in Zimbabwe despite the fact that
London and the opposition MDC encouraged thousands of Zimbabweans to seek asylum
in the UK on the basis of false claims of persecution back home by the
Government and Zanu-PF.