The Times
September 20, 2007
Philip
Webster
LONDON Gordon Brown has toughened the British Government's attitude
to the
Zimbabwe regime by threatening to boycott an international summit if
Robert
Mugabe attends.
With the southern African country in the grip
of an economic and
humanitarian catastrophe, the Prime Minister called on
fellow world leaders
to bring more pressure to bear on the Harare
regime.
Describing the situation in the former British colony as
"appalling and
tragic", Mr Brown accused the Zimbabwean president of abusing
his own
people.
He urged the deployment of a United Nations
humanitarian mission and
promised support for the economic reconstruction of
Zimbabwe once Mr Mugabe
was gone.
While moving to isolate Zimbabwe's
government, Mr Brown is to announce more
British aid money for the
country.
Already Zimbabwe's second biggest donor, the UK will provide an
additional
£8 million, to be delivered through the World Food Programme.
TUC, UK
date: 19 September 2007
embargo: 00.01hrs Thursday 20
September 2007
The TUC, civil service union PCS and campaign group ACTSA (Action for
Southern Africa) are today (Thursday) calling on workers in London to show
their support for the second day of a 'stay away' from work called by the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) in protest at a six-month wage
freeze imposed recently by the Mugabe Government.
Workers in central
London are being urged to give up a part of their lunch
break today to head
for the Zimbabwean Embassy on the Strand and join a
two-hour demonstration
against Mugabe's oppressive regime.
The two-day 'stay away' from work has
been called by the ZCTU over the
disastrous state of Zimbabwe's economy,
where hyper inflation has reached
7,600 per cent, there are shortages of
food and fuel, and the unemployment
rate is 80%. Some two million people
have fled the country, leaving those
left behind struggling to avoid
starvation.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Zimbabwe's people
are suffering
from Mugabe's appalling economic mismanagement, corruption and
brutal
repression. They are standing up for their rights, and we must stand
with
them."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- The ACTSA/PCS/TUC
demonstration takes place from noon until 2pm at the
Zimbabwean Embassy
which is at 429 The Strand.
- One of the speakers at the demonstration
will be Toko Siwela, who
addressed the delegates at the TUC in Brighton last
week, and who is the
Women's Secretary of the
ZCTU.
Contacts:
Media enquiries: Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248; M:
07778 158175; E:
media@tuc.org.uk
Press release (300
words) issued 20 Sep 2007
Zim Online
Thursday 20 September 2007
By Sebastian
Nyamhangambiri
HARARE - An alliance of Zimbabwe non-governmental
organizations (NGO) has
accused the main opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party of
treachery after it endorsed a governmental
constitutional reform bill that
paves the way for President Robert Mugabe to
anoint his successor.
In a sign of growing divisions between the MDC and
its key civic allies over
the constitutional Bill, the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) accused
the opposition party of cutting deals
in Parliament with the government in
total disregard of ordinary citizens
who it said were clamouring for an
"open and genuine process of
democratisation."
The NCA is a coalition of churches, women's groups,
opposition parties,
students and workers founded in 1997 and from which the
MDC was born two
years later.
The NCA, which together with the MDC
mobilised voters to reject a government
constitutional draft in a 2000
referendum campaigns for a new and people
driven constitution for
Zimbabwe.
"The MDC's decision to abandon the principle of a people-driven
constitution
and opting for a process driven by political parties in
Parliament is an act
of treachery," the NCA said in a statement to be
flighted in newspapers
beginning today.
"Both (MDC) formations seem
to be out of touch with the aspirations of
ordinary Zimbabweans who are
clamouring for an open and genuine process of
democratisation.
"Only
a genuine and people driven-driven process will bring the much-needed
transformation of our society," said the statement signed by coalition
chairman Lovemore Madhuku.
The MDC, which though split into two rival
camps has acted together in
dealings with Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party,
said in Parliament on Tuesday
that it was backing the government
constitutional to help create conditions
conducive to the peaceful
resolution of the country's crisis.
Welshman Ncube, secretary general of
one of the MDC factions, rejected the
NCA's criticism and insisted the
opposition party had endorsed the
constitutional reform Bill in the greater
interests of resolving Zimbabwe's
worsening political and economic
crisis.
He said: "Our first and sole responsibility is to seek a solution
to the
current political and economic crisis under which people are
suffering.
Hence, our supporting the changed Bill."
Constitution of
Zimbabwe Amendment Number 18 Bill will see constituency
boundaries changed,
parliamentary elections brought forward by two years
while Parliament -
which Mugabe controls - will be empowered to elect a new
president should
the incumbent fail to serve a full term.
Analysts see the clause
empowering Parliament to elect a new president as an
exit mechanism allowing
Mugabe, 83, to quit active politics, handpick a
successor and possibly rule
from the sidelines.
The MDC had pushed for an entirely new constitution
that would guarantee
basic freedoms and free elections but relented after
Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa agreed to changes that watered down the
amendment Bill.
The changes included abolishing the president's power to
appoint members to
the lower house of parliament, which will have 210
members compared to the
current 150, and a further expansion of the upper
house to 93 members from
84, with five appointees. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 20 September 2007
By
Patricia Mpofu
GWANDA - President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party
has launched a drive
to recruit young Zimbabweans aged below 30 years to
bolster and sharpen its
youth wing ahead of key elections next year, youth
secretary Absalom
Sikhosana told ZimOnline.
The recruitment drive
that follows a July recommendation by ZANU PF's inner
politburo cabinet to
limit membership to the party youth league to youths
aged between 15 and 30
years is targeting students at high schools and
tertiary colleges as well as
unemployed school leavers.
"I was in Gwanda (in southern Zimbabwe) on a
youth recruitment drive over
the weekend. This is in line with our
constitution that members of the youth
league should be between 15 and 30
years," said Sikhosana, adding that the
recruitment drive is set to have
been before a special ZANU PF congress in
December.
He added: "We are
going to set new structures in all provinces to ensure
that the policy is
implemented . . . and remember we have a crucial election
(next
year)."
Zimbabwe holds presidential and parliamentary elections next year
that some
analysts say Mugabe and ZANU PF could lose, citing worsening
hunger and an
eight-year economic recession they say could push the
electorate to vote for
the opposition en masse.
Youth militia and
veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s liberation struggle form the
centerpiece of the
government's campaign strategy, waging violence and
terror against the
opposition at every election to ensure victory.
ZANU PF insiders said
while the age limit imposed on youth league members
started off as an
attempt to stop senior politicians from using the league
to promote
preferred candidates to succeed Mugabe when and if he retires,
the
recruitment drive was mainly an attempt to lure youths of voting age
from
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.
Most youths
are known to support the MDC, while ZANU PF dominates support
among older
voters especially in its stronghold rural areas.
Zimbabwe's elections
next year are expected to be held under a new electoral
and legal framework
after Parliament on Tuesday began debating a
Constitutional Amendment Bill
that among other key reforms seeks to expand
the House of Assembly and to
ensure all seats in the lower chamber are
contested.
Ongoing talks
between ZANU PF and the MDC are also expected to usher in more
electoral
changes, with South African President Thabo Mbeki who is mediating
in the
talks insisting they will lead to free and fair elections in Zimbabwe
next
year.
Zimbabwe has since 1999 grappled with its worst ever economic
crisis marked
by the world's highest inflation rate of more than 5 000
percent, rising
poverty and shortages of basic commodities.
The MDC,
which says Mugabe and ZANU PF have stolen every major election held
since
2000, blames the crisis on repression and mismanagement by Mugabe. The
Zimbabwean leader, in power since his country's 1980 independence from
Britain, denies stealing elections or mismanaging the economy. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 20 September 2007
By Nqobizitha
Khumalo
BULAWAYO - The Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) national
executive
council has endorsed a national class boycott by the country's
tertiary
institutions to protest new fees and deteriorating conditions at
colleges
and universities.
Announcing the decision to boycott classes
in Harare yesterday, Zinasu
described the new fee structure introduced by
the government last month as
"satanic and genocidal".
"Increasing
tuition fees from $60 000 per semester to an unbelievable $10
million is
totally unacceptable," Zinasu said.
These fees exclude the several
millions that the students would be expected
to pay in private
accommodation, particularly for those at the University of
Zimbabwe (UZ)
that closed its halls of residence last July.
"This also happening
against a background of price and salary freezes, and
we are left wondering
where the government expects the students to get money
from," Zinasu said in
a statement.
The strike is expected to start before the end of September,
according to
the student movement.
Zinasu national executive member
Clever Bere warned that the boycott would
continue until government
addressed the students' concerns.
"The boycott has been called to protest
the tough economic environment
students are operating in and to force the
government to withdraw the new
fees structures," said Bere who is also
president of the student body at the
Bulawayo-based National University of
Science and Technology.
Pressed to reveal the actual dates of the class
boycott, Bere said the
timing would be communicated later to protect the
student organisers.
The decision by Zinasu to boycott classes comes at a
time when state
security agents have intensified repression against
students.
On Tuesday Lovemore Chinoputsa, president of the University of
Zimbabwe
Student Representative Council and his secretary general Fortune
Chamba were
arrested and severely assaulted during a demonstration on
campus.
The university students were demanding a resolution to problems
affecting
them.
The announcement of the planned class boycott came as
a national stayaway
organized by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU) flopped after
businesses opened as usual in Harare and Bulawayo as
thousands of workers
reported for duty.
The ZCTU had asked workers
not to report for work yesterday and today in
protest at the deteriorating
living standards in Zimbabwe. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 20 September 2007
By Thulani
Munda
HARARE - Zimbabwe's Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill is set for
a second
reading in Parliament next week after the House's Legal Committee
on
Wednesday cleared the proposed legislation.
Acting Speaker of the
House of Assembly Kumbirai Kangai told the lower
chamber that the
controversial Bill could be tabled for second reading.
"I have received a
non-adverse report on the Indigenisation and Empowerment
Bill and it can now
proceed for a second reading," he told legislators.
Indigenisation
Minister Paul Mangwana, leading the government drive to
deliver foreign
owned firms into the hands of indigenous black Zimbabweans,
immediately
leapt from his seat, clapping hands in jubilation at news that
the Legal
Committee had given the nod to the proposed empowerment law.
The Bill has
heightened tensions between President Robert Mugabe's
government and
foreign-owned companies because of a clause empowering Harare
to force the
foreign firms to cede at least 51 percent of shareholding to
locals, which
they feel is too high.
This week, bankers warned that the proposed law
would be a blow to Zimbabwe's
depleted foreign investment
inflows.
Foreign controlled Stanbic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank,
among the four
biggest in the country, said any takeover of their
shareholdings will lead
to a decline in foreign investment and "come at
punitive costs to locals
investors earmarked to take over foreign
companies."
Presenting papers on the Bill before a special parliamentary
committee in
Harare on Monday, the banks warned the government that the
threshold of 51
percent was unsustainable and should be reviewed down to
between 30 percent
and 49 percent.
"Given the difficulties being
experienced in the Zimbabwean economy and in
the banking sector in
particular, Zimbabwean banks require foreign support
in securing
international lines of credit," Stanbic Bank said.
"Once all banks are
made indigenous, the current support relationships
arising from foreign
control of certain Zimbabwean banks would be severed.
Currently, for
example, the only banks providing offshore funding for
tobacco are the
international banks. A case in point being Stanbic Bank, who
with the
support of Standard Bank of South Africa, provided US$75 million
for tobacco
financing in 2007," said the bank. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 20 September 2007
Own
Correspondent
JOHANNESBURG - Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade says
South Africa's
President Thabo Mbeki must not be left to toil alone in
search for a
solution to the eight-year political crisis in
Zimbabwe.
"It's a big mistake to always say that Zimbabwe should be left
to Mbeki,"
Wade told international media.
"Mbeki is a man who has a
huge amount of goodwill but this is a situation
which just one person cannot
resolve alone, that much is clear," he said.
Mbeki has since last March
been leading regional mediation efforts between
President Robert Mugabe's
ruling ZANU PF party and the main opposition
Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party.
The Mbeki initiative has achieved little so far with the MDC
on Tuesday
agreeing to back a controversial constitutional amendment that
will empower
Mugabe to anoint his successor.
Analysts have however
remained cautious over the Mbeki talks accusing the
South African leader,
who is distrustful of the MDC, of seeking to ease out
Mugabe from power but
still retaining ZANU PF in office.
Wade's comments came a day after the
influential International Crisis Group
(ICG) said in a report that the Mbeki
initiative remained the "only
realistic chance to escape a crisis that
increasingly threatens to
destabilise the region."
The Senegalese
leader said more African leaders must get involved in the
search for a
solution in Zimbabwe that is in the grip of a severe economic
recession that
has manifested itself in rampant inflation, widespread
poverty and
unemployment.
"I think Africa has not helped Zimbabwe. I'm convinced that
we haven't
helped President Mugabe," said Wade.
The Senegalese
President is among the few African leaders who have mastered
the courage to
speak out against worsening repression and human rights
violations in
Zimbabwe.
Human rights groups and major Western governments accuse the
majority of
African leaders of closing ranks with Mugabe and defending him
to the hilt
whenever he faces charges of oppressing his own people. -
ZimOnline
Irish Examiner
20 September 2007
ROBERT MUGABE'S dictatorship is in its 27th year and, in a
country where
inflation stood at 6,592.8% year-on year in August, tens of
thousands of
people are in life-threatening situations.
Zimbabwe
is a country that should be able to support a thriving economy and
offer its
people a decent standard of material comfort.
Instead, anyone who can has
fled the tragic country. Hunger is having a real
impact on the population.
Mugabe, who enjoys the public support of other
African leaders, is the
clichéd basket-case ruler of post-colonial Africa.
Surrounded by sycophants
and presiding over corruption that makes Idi Amin
look like a boy scout,
every day he remains in charge jeopardises the lives
of thousands of
Zimbabweans.
The Zimbabwean
The lives of rural people have
been devastated by the government's
ineptitude, with people dying from lack
of drugs and electricity, and school
children forced home because they do
not have money for school fees.
A day in the life of a priest in rural
Zimbabwe
BY FR. PETER CHIMOMBE
SILVEIRA MISSION
MY DAILY schedule
begins at 5am as I prepare for the morning Mass at six.
Today I had a rude
awakening, having no bathing soap at all or tooth paste,
since most basic
goods are no longer available in shops but only on the
black market
following the price control legislation.
During Mass, I pray for God's
intervention in the current abnormal
situation. I realize my own
unworthiness; though I am holding the host in my
hands, suddenly I become
aware that it is the host that is holding me, i.e.
Jesus himself in his Real
Presence.
After Mass, I get a quick breakfast of porridge and black tea since
milk and
bread have suddenly become luxury items that only affluent people
can
afford. I can hardly finish this light breakfast because of hordes of
villagers waiting for me outside with a plethora of problems that need my
attention. One thing I have noticed in my pastoral ministry is that the
faithful out here in rural areas view a priest as a beacon of hope in the
midst of a myriad of problems and daily challenges.
As a priest I have
suddenly become a counsellor, an advisor, a consultant,
an administrator,
teacher and social worker all rolled into one. It is
amazing how, by merely
talking to me, a minister of the Church, they go back
home with solace and
renewed strength.
The rural folk are a very hopeful lot. They believe that
the sun will rise
again tomorrow and the problems of today will be
over.
8am sees me doing the daily hospital chaplaincy work, praying for the
sick
and giving the Sacraments. I am told that five people passed away in
the
early morning hours and have been taken to the mortuary. Three of the
deceased were diabetic patients who could have been saved had there been
enough insulin and other required drugs which are now scarce, even in
pharmacies. The other deceased person, who was on a life saving machine and
oxygen, passed away after the usual power cuts. The current load shedding of
electricity has had its fair share of human and economic casualties. I look
helplessly at the patients, many of whom will die due to drug shortages, and
all I can say is, "I am very sorry, take heart and believe in the power of
the Almighty".
I leave the hospital around 10.00am and meet some of our
boarding school
students who have been sent home to collect school fees.
This term, our
school has doubled the fees to over $ 3 000 000.00 (three
million Zim
dollars) as inflation continues to skyrocket. Most parents are
finding it
difficult to make ends meet in this hyper-inflationary
environment since, as
civil servants, their salaries are far below the
poverty datum line.
The midday bell rings and most people within and around
our mission stand up
to recite the "Angelus". This is followed by lunch. On
the menu today is
'sadza' and mopani caterpillars, 'amacimbi', which are a
delicacy here. Beef
now exists in the realm of dreamland only for many of us
following a massive
de-stocking of the national herd during the 2000 land
reform programme.
I wish to have a siesta after lunch but I cannot, as people
keep knocking at
my door to share more family and social problems with me.
Between 2pm and
5pm I am on my occasional pastoral visits around village
communities. The
mission catchment area covers a 50km radius and I have to
walk or cycle, as
there is no fuel at the filling stations.
As I go
around the villages I am greeted with the reality on the ground,
namely how
the people bear the brunt of suffering which has reached
monumental levels.
God help us! Many of them (Christians included) have also
been swept away by
the tide of corruption and black market dealings, to make
ends meet. I am
reminded of the Latin expression, "Corruptio optimi pessima
est" (Corruption
of the best is the worst). Among these villagers are former
urban dwellers
whose humble 'informal' dwellings were destroyed by
bulldozers in the 2005
Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order.
I notice how our once-lovely and
peaceful society has turned into a 'state
of nature' - or 'Leviathan', as
Thomas Hobbes would put it. Our society has
degenerated into a 'man-eat-man'
society if not a 'man-eat-nothing' society.
Identifying myself with the
poorest of the poor gives me fulfilment. Like
Blessed Mother Teresa, I
realize that my work as a priest is only a tiny
drop in the ocean. However,
the ocean will be less without that drop.
I carry my weary bones back to the
mission for evening and night prayers and
will repeat the same process again
tomorrow.
Let us unite in prayer for Zimbabwe. There is more suffering than
meets the
eye. I urge my fellow countrymen to accept this as part of our way
of the
cross (via dolorosa). If there are any lessons to be drawn from the
wisdom
of the saints, especially St John of the Cross - in his book entitled
'The
Dark Night of the Soul' - we may realize afterwards that it is in the
darkness that the soul finds God. - Jesuit Communications
This article
first appeared in In Touch (With Church and Faith) No 102, on
12 September.
The Zimbabwean
(19-09-07)
HARARE:
THE Central Statistical Office's recent inflation
figures are "very
suspicious", economists have said.
In separate
interviews with CAJ News, economists said the CSO's August
inflation figures
were an attempt to give credit to government's price blitz
which brought
untold suffering to companies countrywide.
After failing to announce
inflation figures for more than three months
citing capacity problems, the
CSO yesterday announced that the country's
annual inflation figure plummeted
by about 1000 percentage points from the
July figure of 7 634.8% to land at
6 592.8 percent in August.
"I donot believe that.They merely based the
figures on the background of the
price blitz but failed to measure the real
prices which were prevailing on
the black market.
"Their calculations
were based on assumptions since there were only a few
goods in the
shops,most of the goods in that list were not there although
the government
stipulated prices were readily available", John Robertson
said.
The
economists said the figures should not be taken seriously as exorbitant
black market figures were the real pointer of what they called "real
inflation".
They said the slow down,the first in more than 12
months,was "manufactured"
to give credit to President Robert Mugabe's
price-control programmes imposed
in July after business engaged
in
incessant price increases.
Prices of such basic items as bread,
sugar, milk and soap-all of them
components of the CSO bread basket-were
slashed by half before a blanket
freeze was imposed on them.
The
items immediately vanished from the shops only to re-emerge on the black
market where they were going at exorbitant prices,usually between 100 and
300 percent of the official price a situation which prevails to date even
after government's approval of a 20 percent price increase on all
products.
For a long time now,independent analysts have been accusing the
CSO of
allegedly suppressing real inflation figures to avoid anarchy among
the
country's ordinary citizens who are the prime victims of the country's
eight
year economic and political recession- CAJ News.
The Zimbabwean
* "Highly
inconsistent" *"Fails to honour promises"
HARARE
BY ITAI DZAMARA
It
has now emerged that SADC leaders are losing patience with the antics of
President Robert Mugabe and his rogue Zanu (PF) regime. Many of them would
like to see him leave the stage and are secretly backing the application of
pressure on the Harare regime, diplomatic sources confirmed this
week.
Last week The Zimbabwean revealed that the South African government had
secretly admitted as long ago as February that Mugabe was the problem. This
information was gleaned from minutes of a meeting between SA officials and
members of the MDC (Mutambara).
The minutes state: "The meeting was held
as a follow up to the meeting held
in Tshwane on the 3rd of October 2006
where the objective was to develop a
common position on what South Africa
and the SADC should be doing to bring
an end to the Zimbabwe crisis."
A
senior official in the SA government confirmed this week that the SADC
economic rescue package proposed at the Lusaka summit had been scuttled by
Mugabe's stubbornness.
Mbeki's officials came to a position some time
last year that they could not
continue shielding Mugabe and his regime
because "they had been found to be
highly un-credible and inconsistent and
had failed to honour the many
promises they made to the SA
government".
"One of those promises was that there would be the repealing or
at least
amending of bad pieces of legislation, mainly POSA (Public Order
and
Security Act) and AIPPA (Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act)," said a senior official.
"Mugabe had also promised to stop, not
reduce, state-sponsored acts of
terror and violence against the opposition
and civil society, as well as his
verbal insults against the west, which
have been one of the major causes of
the country's isolation and subsequent
problems."
He said the SA government was also concerned at the "unrestrained
economic
meltdown, which caused serious effects on the whole of SADC".
A
Zambian diplomatic source said that in deliberations on the Zimbabwean
crisis, the Zambian government and President Levy Mwanawasa had reached a
consensus "that Mugabe had to go in order to solve the crisis and that there
was need to support various efforts at democratising the country's politics,
including the application of pressure by the whole world".
The Zimbabwean
'Products that
were in the formal sector, and therefore subject to some form
of control,
are now (in) the black market sector, and prices are rocketing'
'The targeted
sanctions imposed on the ruling elite are not the cause of our
economic
woes'
'The tragedy is that much of the foreign currency that is acquired is
not
used for the benefit of all the people of Zimbabwe'
'The reality is
that our current economic situation has never been so
depressed and poor
people have never been as vulnerable as they are now'.
In these extracts from
his speech to Parliament on 4 September, Bulawayo
South MP David Coltart
(MDC) shares his vision for the future
MR COLTART: This is not MDC
propaganda; if you look at the article on
Zimbabwe, that the Zimbabwe
government sponsored to the tune of US$1
million, in the September edition
of New Africa magazine, you will see some
of the statements made in that
document support what I am saying.
"For instance it records that our GDP as a
nation is back to the level of
1953. We have lost over 50 years of economic
growth in the space of a
decade. It is estimated also in New Africa magazine
that 80% of Zimbabweans
are now living below the poverty datum line,
including members of our armed
forces. Our economy is collapsing. For
example, gold production last year
was the same as our gold production in
1907! The last time we had coal
production as low as it was last year, was
in 1946. These are facts that
none of us can avoid. We see the manifestation
of these things when we visit
the supermarkets. The reality is what we have
seen in our supermarkets is
the symptom of a far deeper cancer in our
society."
THE CAUSES:
"We need to go deep into our history to find when it
was that everything
started to go wrong. Why is it that in 1958 we had an
economy bigger than
Singapore? And yet since 1958 we all, black and white,
have managed to
reduce this country to the basket status it now suffers
from. In my view the
problems started well before 1980. The root of our
decay can be traced back
to many of the policies first implemented in the
early 1960s. For example, I
believe that price control regulations were
imposed in the 1960s. Foreign
exchange regulations were imposed in the 1960s
but, most importantly Mr
Speaker, what happened in the '60s is that we
removed one critical important
ingredient necessary for long-term
sustainable economic growth and that is
summed up in one word -
democracy.
"The Rhodesian Front government, in the pursuance of white
minority rule,
discarded whatever democracy was developing in this country
in the 1950s
under the leadership of real patriots such as Garfield Todd.
Therein lies
the root of the economic collapse of this country. The
Rhodesian Front
bequeathed to Zanu (PF) an undemocratic legacy, including
the Law and Order
Maintenance Act, an undemocratic Constitution, complete
control of the flow
of information - the RBC simply became the ZBC and did
not change its
policies of supporting blindly the government of the day -
price controls
and exchange-control regulations. Zanu (PF) merely picked up
where the
Rhodesian Front left off."
SANCTIONS
"Mr Speaker, my Hon.
Friend blames everything on sanctions and I want to
look at that now. The
first point I want to make is that we must consider
the history of this
country in this regard. We know that in 1966 the United
Nations very
correctly imposed on the white minority government of Rhodesia
comprehensive
trade and economic sanctions. They were a censure imposed by
the UN of
racist policies. They were overwhelmingly enforced. The only
countries that
breached those sanctions were South Africa and Portugal (and
partially by
some countries like France). "However, the fact is that after
some 14 years
of these sanctions in 1980 the Zimbabwean dollar was stronger
than the
United States dollar. I am not seeking to be an apologist for the
Rhodesian
Front. The point I am simply making is that despite the imposition
of
comprehensive trade sanctions over a period of 14 years on the Rhodesian
Front regime, the Zimbabwean economy was nowhere near in a catastrophic
state as it is now - [Interjection, HON KASUKUWERE: It was a white man's
economy].
"Let me respond to Hon Kasukuwere: It may well have been a
white man's
economy but despite that most people of all races then had basic
access to
food, water and drugs, which they do not have now. Mr Speaker, we
are
dealing with old historic facts. Irrespective of who is responsible for
the
imposition of the sanctions and what their scope is, the fact remains
that
the present targeted sanctions are not as comprehensive as the
sanctions
imposed on 1966. This then begs the question: why then has our
economy
collapsed almost totally under a more benign regime of sanctions
now? The
reason is simple - the targeted sanctions imposed on the ruling
elite are
not the cause of our economic woes . the sanctions, such as they
are, were
first imposed in 2002."
ECONOMIC DECLINE
"However if you
look at the pattern of economic decline in this country, we
can see the
economic decline did not start in 2002 but started in 1997. The
first thing
that started the collapse . is that this government sent
Zimbabwean troops,
not in Zimbabwe's interests but to protect private mining
interests of the
ruling elite, to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997.
"Furthermore, Mr
Speaker, unbudgeted payments were made to war veterans in
1997 which greatly
increased the budget deficit and as a result the
Zimbabwean dollar plummeted
and lost something like three to four times its
value in November 1997 - on
the day commonly known as 'Black Friday'. If one
considers the economic
records you will see that there was a further steady
decline from 1997 to
2002, five years before sanctions were ever imposed.
"(Sanctions) do not
apply to Japan, China, Canada and many other wealthy
countries. .. In fact
it does not prevent the Zimbabwean government from
seeking loans from other
developed countries and it still has the right to
seek assistance from many
international financial institutions.
"The fact that we have battled to get
support is not because of American
sanctions but because our economic
fundamentals are all skewed. In this
regard Mr Speaker Sir, we need to turn
to what our neighbours have said and
in particular we need to consider what
none other than President Mbeki said
in his weekly letter to the ANC just 10
days ago. He said two things in
particular: first was that the Zimbabwe
government needs to address the
overvaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar. The
second thing was that the Zimbabwe
government needs to end the quasi-fiscal
expenditure which has been hallmark
of this government's economic policy
over the last few years."
EXCHANGE RATE
"The reason that we have our
exchange rate pegged at ridiculous levels - the
reason the Zimbabwe dollar
is still pegged at $250 to 1 against the US
dollar - is because this
benefits the ruling elite which is still able to
buy foreign currency at
these ridiculous rates.
"Mr Speaker, the regulations which require the
productive sector to sell a
certain portion of its foreign exchange earnings
to government at
ridiculously low exchange rates are part of this ruinous
policy. The tragedy
is that much of the foreign currency that is acquired is
not used for the
benefit of all the people of Zimbabwe. The tragedy - if the
truth is told -
is that it is political elite in the country which benefits
from this
policy. The preferential access to foreign exchange at
staggeringly low
rates of exchange, that bear no relation to the real value
of the Zimbabwe
dollar, is done at the expense of the Zimbabwean
people.
"Mr Speaker, until what President Mbeki said is listened to, until
the
exchange rate policy is looked at, until we bring to an end the
preferential
access that certain people have to foreign currency, until we
bring to an
end the unbudgeted quasi fiscal spending, until we end the
irresponsible
printing of money, our national economic woes will
continue."
PRICE CONTROLS
"Mr Speaker, let me turn briefly to the issue of
price control and the
Indigenisation Bill. Let me just say these price
control measures were
introduced as a knee-jerk reaction to the rapid
hyper-inflation experienced
in late June. The tragedy regarding the
imposition of the price controls is
that just the opposite of what was
intended will now happen. Far from this
quelling inflation, it has already
fuelled inflation. There has been some
short-term benefit to some people but
time will show that that is only a
small short-term benefit because all that
has happened is that products that
were in the formal sector, and therefore
subject to some form of control,
are now being sold by the informal sector,
the black market sector, and
prices are rocketing.
"Until, Mr Speaker, we
get back to a situation where the market determines
the price of products,
this price-control policy will not be in the
interests of impoverished
members of our society. We must stop kidding
ourselves. This new policy will
only increase inflation."
INDIGENISATION BILL
"There is no doubt that
because of the historical inequalities and
injustices there is a need for
balance and fairness in our society. The
problem is that this policy as it
is being devised will firstly, in my view,
not benefit the generality of the
people but will only benefit certain
people in the ruling elite, which
should not be the intention. Until the
whole process is opened up, until we
can see that assets are going to be
transferred to the vast majority of our
population, it will not be in the
interests of Zimbabwe. We have the
land-reform programme as a precedent in
this regard. We can all see the
evidence regarding what has happened in that
regard. Mr Speaker, it is now
clear to all objective observers that the main
beneficiaries of the
land-reform programme are those in the ruling elite.
The biggest benefit has
gone to those political and military leaders who
have cherry-picked the most
productive farms, most of which have now been
rendered derelict. That is not
in the best interests of Zimbabwe. I have no
doubt that the same will happen
to our businesses if the Indigenisation Bill
goes through in its current
format."
THE SOLUTION
"Mr Speaker, I have the right to speak about
Zimbabwe as much as anyone
here. I was born in Gweru in 1957 and my roots in
Africa go back to 1820 -
so I think I have the right to speak about my
country, and I will. We need
to ask ourselves the question - why is it that
Singapore which had a smaller
economy than ours in 1958 is now one of the
strongest economies in the world
and yet our nation during the last 40 years
has been reduced to the basket
status it is now?
"We need the following,
Mr Speaker: Firstly we need to rekindle democracy in
our nation. We need to
take concrete steps to root democracy. Integral to
that is a new
constitution; but it must be a new constitution that we all
agree to; a
constitution which is owned, which is embraced by all
Zimbabweans. It cannot
just be a document we agree to in this House; any new
constitution must be
embraced by all our people. We need to enter into a new
contract with each
other and the Zimbabwean people.
"Secondly, Mr Speaker, we need to remove
many of the controls over our
society and our economy. I would like in this
regard to return to Hon
Kasukuwere's speech and his example of China. Hon.
Kasukuwere spoke about
China as a great example. I think we have many
lessons to learn from China.
There are four or five provinces of China which
are responsible for the bulk
of economic growth enjoyed there at present.
These provinces have some of
the most liberal economic environments one can
find anywhere in the world.
There is minimal legislation which controls the
activities of the private
sector - indeed I stress there is less
bureaucracy, less red tape for
businesses in these provinces than there is
in any other country in the
world. That is a fact. In other words, the
Chinese Government has embraced
the private sector and this has promoted
growth in its economy with
spectacular results. What we are doing now in
Zimbabwe through price
controls and through certain provisions in the
Indigenisation Bill is just
the opposite.
"In conclusion, may I repeat
that our nation is in crisis - the resolution
of that crisis should
transcend partisanship. We need to put our hands
together in this House to
devise policies than can stabilise our country. We
need to devise policies
which will bring back our brains.
"Mr Speaker, if we move away from rhetoric
to constructive action I have no
doubt that this nation can still be the
jewel of Africa ." [Interjection,
DR. MUGUTI: It is the jewel of Africa].
Coltart: "No, at present it is not
but it has the potential to become that -
but that can only happen when all
of us move away from all this empty
rhetoric to consider the harsh
circumstances that the poor are facing in our
nation today. Our futile
posturing must stop immediately. We must, without
delay, devise practical
solutions to address this economic and humanitarian
catastrophe."
The Zimbabwean
Retail, transport
and agricultural sectors grind to halt
BY BAYETHE ZITHA
BULAWAYO - An
estimated 400 000 Zimbabweans will lose their jobs within the
next 12 weeks
if President Robert Mugabe's government maintains his
price-control blitz,
analysts have warned.
In a desperate bid to reduce the country's runaway rate
of inflation, which
is currently around 7,600 percent, the government two
months ago deployed
state agents, the police, army and youth militias to
move from shop to shop,
forcing owners to slash prices of mainly basic
foodstuffs.
This resulted in an unprecedented rush for goods, which has left
shops empty
and managers not willing to re-stock for fear of incurring huge
losses.
Most long-distance and urban transport operators, who were also
forced to
reduce fares, have grounded their fleets, while garages have
stopped
restocking their tanks.
Economic analysts this week warned that
the country's food crisis will
worsen within the next couple of weeks as
manufacturers of bread, maize meal
and cooking oil, among other goods, have
stopped production.
"The country will totally run out of food within the next
two weeks as a
result of the price standoff between government and shops.
All those
celebrations we had seen from those that were fortunate enough to
get the
cheap goods have faded away, and they have begun cursing the
government,"
said an analyst who requested not to be named.
Already, more
than four million Zimbabweans are reported to be either in
need of or to be
surviving on food aid due to a combination of factors,
ranging from
inadequate rainfall in farming areas, to the government's
controversial
seizures of productive white-owned land, now owned by mostly
political
bigwigs, war veterans and Zanu (PF) supporters who have failed to
maintain
food production levels.
Bulawayo-based economic analyst, Eric Bloch, warned
that the country's
seven-year-old economic spiral, which is largely blamed
on mismanagement of
the economy and bad governance by Mugabe, will
accelerate within the next
few weeks.
"For the past two months the
government has been forcing businesses to
operate at a loss and most shops
are no longer re-stocking. There is also
not even a single drop of fuel at
filling stations due to the unrealistic
prices that garages are forced to
sell at and that has worsened the economic
decline. The best way out of this
crisis is for the government to modify its
approach immediately," said
Bloch.
Some public transport operators manufacturers, wholesalers and
retailers are
said to have warned heir workers that they might be forced to
retrench them
within the next three weeks if the government does not change
its
heavy-handedness on businesses, as they can no longer sustain large
workforces.
"More than 300 000 people employed in the manufacturing,
wholesale and
retail shops are surely going to lose their jobs in the next
few weeks if
this trend continues because there is no business taking place
at the moment
and that should be blamed on the price crackdown by the
state," said Bloch.
In the transport sector, more than 100,000 jobs are being
threatened by the
government crackdown.
Leading clothing retailer,
Edgars, has announced that it will close 19 of
its branches nationwide,
while some multi-national companies with large
foreign ownership are
gradually pulling out of the country.
Government has announced plans to take
over companies that have stopped
production - raising fears of an even worse
economic collapse, bearing in
mind the state of rundown parastatals like the
National Railways of
Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company and the
Cold Storage
Company.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Zimbabwe's
High Court will today rule on an application by the
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) to win the right to launch
its 2008 presidential
election campaign and commemorate its 8th anniversary
in Masvingo at the
weekend.
The police barred the MDC meeting because Vice President Joice
Mujuru would
also be in the same town to address ruling party
supporters.
MDC lawyer Alec Muchadehama said the opposition party had asked
the High
Court to dismiss the excuse by police to bar the opposition rally,
saying
Mujuru's function was not scheduled for Mucheke Stadium, where the
opposition intends to hold its "landmark" 8th anniversary
celebrations.
Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri is cited as the first
respondent in
the court application while Officer Commanding Masvingo
district Lancelot
Matange is cited as the second respondent.
Under the
draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA), the police have to
be
notified of any political gathering in advance. The MDC notified police
on
September 6 about the planned rally. But in a letter dated September 12,
2007 Matange claimed the police would be tied up at a State function to be
addressed by Amai Mujuru on September 22 and 23 in Masvingo and would be
short on manpower.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa expressed disappointment
in the selective
application of POSA by the police, adding he hoped the
courts would
decisively deal with the matter. He said the MDC was going to
take legal
action against the police, as well as challenge the
constitutionality of
POSA from which the police were drawing their
discretionary powers.
The Zimbabwean
Forum urges ICC to
indict police officer in SA
BY TRUST MATSILELE
PRETORIA - The
International Criminals Court is being urged to indict, for
crimes against
humanity, a senior Zimbabwean police officer currently
seeking medical
treatment in South Africa.
Bothwell Mugariri, a senior assistant police
commissioner and officer
commanding Harare province, is recovering at
Milpark Hospital in
Johannesburg after being involved in a near-fatal car
accident in July, in
Harare.
Mugariri was a police spokesman at the
height of the 2000 and 2002
parliamentary and presidential elections, a
period during which scores of
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
members were killed or assaulted
by state security agents and Zanu (PF)
youth militias.
According to human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba, Mugariri is
cited in as
many as 25,000 violations. "Over 25,000 cases of human-rights
violations
were recorded in the past six years, with the police being
directly involved
in some of the worst violations against government
critics.
"We have to consider that most of these violations were committed in
Harare,
and Mugariri is among those who sanctioned and oversaw these
crimes," said
Shumba, who is also the director of Zimbabwe Exiles
Forum.
The organisation has been compiling data on human-rights violations
perpetrated by the Mugabe regime.
If the indictment proceeds, it would be
a test case on serious human-rights
violations committed by the Robert
Mugabe regime since 1980.
Calls have been made by various human-rights
organisations across the globe
to have Mugabe and other Zanu (PF) and
government officials arrested and
prosecuted by the international court, for
gross human rights violations in
Zimbabwe. A number of Zimbabwean civic
society organisations based in South
Africa are reported to have lobbied and
passed information to the ICC.
"Some of the information that is on the
dossier prepared by the civic
society organisations is that Mugariri, as
Officer Commanding Harare
Province, was the one who sanctioned the attack on
MDC supporters by the
police in Highfield, Harare in March this year," said
a source.
The ICC is currently investigating four situations related to
genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes in Northern Uganda, the
Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Darfur in Sudan and the Central African
Republic. The
ICC has intensified its efforts to have Ahmad Harum and Ali
Muhammad Ali
from Sudan, who have an outstanding arrest warrant, brought to
The Hague.
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is currently facing
trial at The
Hague for human-rights violations.
Shumba said, after
Mugariri's indictment, the ZEF in liaison with other
Zimbabwean
organisations, would provide a list of senior Zanu (PF)
implicated in
crimes.
The Zimbabwean
BY TRUST
MATSILELE
DURBAN - The University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) will next week see
disgruntled Zimbabweans demonstrate against Zimbabwe's resources being
squandered on educating children of the ruling elite.
The Zimbabwean
government is spending over R10 million a year for the
children of senior
Zanu (PF) and government officials to study at the
university under the
presidential scholarship programme, documents obtained
by this newspaper
reveal.
The presidential scholarship is meant to help disadvantaged but
academically
gifted Zimbabwean students with tertiary education.
However,
our investigations have shown that over 30 students related to
senior
government and Zanu (PF) officials are benefiting from this
programme.
An
invoice sent to Chris Mushowe, the Minister of Transport and
Communications
and presidential director - a copy of which is in the hands
of The
Zimbabwean - shows that the government paid an initial deposit of
almost a
R1 million (Z$30 trillion) for 20 students.
"The Zimbabwean government is
heartless, as it is failing to improve the
education system in the country
but using the resources meant for that to
send their children to elite
colleges outside the country," said John
Chikwari, the secretary-general of
Revolutionary Youth Movement.
As a result, we have decided to hold a
demonstration at the university to
show the world what is happening in
Zimbabwe. We also hope that the
university is going to know that it is
making super profits from the sweat
of suffering Zimbabwean
taxpayers."
Amongst the so-called 'disadvantaged students' at UKZN are Chipo
and Hillary
Matibiri - President Robert Mugabe's niece and nephew. Hillary
was a
magistrate in Zimbabwe until he resigned to take up the
scholarship.
Other students are Laura Sibanda the daughter of Zimbabwe
National Army
general, Major-general Phillip Sibanda; Simbarashe Masoka, the
son of
agriculture permanent secretary, Ngoni Masoka; and Brigadier Phillip
Kundishora's twin daughters, Jacqueline and Elinor.
Australia recently
deported the children of high-ranking government
officials who were studying
there. Now there are fears those children will
be sent to UKZN.
In
Zimbabwe, a crisis is brewing at the country's oldest university, the
University of Zimbabwe, after only a quarter of the students turned up for a
new semester that began last week while acute accommodation and financial
problems kept thousands others away.
The Zimbabwean
Standfirst: BBC
correspondent Sue Lloyd-Roberts has been to Zimbabwe,
undercover. Robert
Mugabe's regime does not want foreign journalists to see
the reality in the
country today - how his policies are starving the most
vulnerable to death
and causing thousands to flee every week. This is her
exclusive
report.
HARARE
I am eating a frugal dinner (chicken and chips is all there
is on the menu)
in one of the few restaurants left in Harare today on my
first night in
Zimbabwe. I am with a group of middle class Zimbabweans, a
G.P., a landscape
gardener, an economist and an engineer. The lights flicker
on and off
(electricity cuts are the norm here) creating an appropriate
backdrop to our
talk about the crisis in Zimbabwe. Suddenly there's an
uncomfortable
silence.
Everyone is looking, accusingly, at my plate where
my chicken remnants still
have a trace of meat and fat on them. I look at
theirs. All that is left is
a pile of dry bones from which every morsel of
meat and gristle has been
wrenched. In Zimbabwe today, everybody is
hungry.
As dawn breaks over the capital, people start forming long, silent
queues
that wind around entire blocks of the city. One in five adults has no
job
and so there is all the time in the world to wait. There has been no
cooking
oil or the African staple, mealie meal, in the city for days but
there is a
rumour that bread could be arriving in the city today. Five hours
later,
they are still waiting.
Policemen and soldiers arrive, apparently
helpfully supervising the queue
and giving a surreal air of normality to the
city scene. "They just
pretend," explains James who waits in the queue with
five children back at
home to feed. "They get the first news if a lorry is
on its way with
supplies and they jump to the top of the queue and loot the
food."
Zimbabwe was one of the richest countries in Africa before Robert
Mugabe's
attack on the commercial farms seven years ago. It now boasts the
world's
fastest shrinking economy. With inflation at 8000%, it has become a
country
of barrows, buckets and bags. You see people walking for miles,
wheeling
barrows, buckets on their heads and plastic bags in hand. On one
street
corner, I saw a man climb into a skip and stuff vegetable peelings in
his
mouth.
People are starving. The evidence is in the hospitals where
tiny, wizened
babies lie dying in their cots while their mothers look on
helplessly. A
mother cradles a child who is losing her hair and her skin - a
sign of the
most advanced form of Kwashioka, or, vitamin deficiency. It is
the first
time I have seen this type in 20 years of reporting on the
developing world.
Many of the children have contracted Aids from their
mothers and, with their
bodies further weakened by malnutrition; they are
unlikely to leave the
hospital alive. "Zimbabwe once offered a model for
public health in Africa",
a doctor complains, "it's now becoming a textbook
case of medical horror."
Government hospitals are understaffed and
underequiped. The hospital which I
visit in the west of the country is run
by a Roman Catholic mission and,
with funds from abroad, can manage better
than most but even they are
overwhelmed. "We only have one ward for children
with malnutrition",
explains Sister Liliana, "and it's not enough because
the numbers are
increasing every day. There are so many children in the
rural areas who
cannot come to the hospital due to the transport shortages
and due to the
financial problems and definitely they will die."
Drive
out to the townships and you see why doctors now say they are bracing
themselves for even worse. Two years ago, Robert Mugabe ordered the
destruction of thousands of homes. Now the survivors live crowded into the
remaining buildings or in makeshift, corrugated huts. There is no
electricity or fresh running water and sewage spews out of the dilapidated
buildings. Desperate for drinking water, residents have dug makeshift wells
in the surrounding area.
"There is little doubt that the breakdown in the
urban destruction in the
cities was a deliberate, political move," says one
prominent paediatrician
in Harare. "And now people are forced to dig shallow
wells for water. I
think an outbreak of cholera in this situation, with the
lack of resources
and medical staffing and so forth, could be potentially
dangerous, in fact
disastrous and lead to a very high mortality particularly
in vulnerable
groups, such as those suffering from HIV Aids, children and
the elderly."
"Robert Mugabe has declared war on us, the people who live in
the towns. He
wants to drive us out", says a man with a wheelbarrow piled
high with
plastic water containers. In the frenzy of urban destruction which
the
authorities called "Clean Out the Filth", soldiers and their bulldozers
targeted homes belonging to supporters of the opposition, the MDC, the
Movement for Democratic Change, whose traditional strongholds are in the
cities and towns. "He is paving the way for next year's elections", he
explains.
James, whom I met earlier in the bread queue tells me of
another way the
ruling party of Robert Mugabe, Zanu (PF), has started
rigging the elections
scheduled for March 2008. "Last week, we were
registering as voters at a
local school here. The Zanu (PF) candidate
brought people in buses from the
rural area, 150 miles away, to register
here. They were filling the whole
room just to make it hard for us, the
citizens of this constituency, to
register. They were just disturbing the
whole process so we could not
register." - Continued next week.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE
- A senior Roman Catholic priest of the Harare diocese has slammed
the
Zimbabwean government for its persecution of retired Archbishop Pius
Ncube.
The Bishop was speaking from Johannesburg where he was giving
another view
on allegations of a sex scandal involving Archbishop Ncube to
South African
human rights organisations.
"Archbishop Ncube's case is
reminiscent of that of the MDC president Morgan
Tsvangirai who, in 2002, was
arrested after similarly inaudible video
footage was said [to reveal a plot]
to assassinate President Robert Mugabe,"
said the priest.
The Bishop's
visit to South Africa came a few days after Mugabe's
spokesperson and
Minister of Information and Publicity, George Charamba,
lashed out at the
Roman Catholic Church in Zimbabwe for defending the former
Archbishop.
Ncube is a leading critic of the Mugabe regime for crimes it
has committed
against humanity. He helped compile details of the
Matabeleland atrocities
which left more than 20.000 civilians homeless. The
report, Breaking the
silence, building true peace, was intended for use when
the time came to
indict Mugabe. - Trust Matsilele
The Zimbabwean
Grain waits at Mozambique port
HARARE - Government failure to find
US$300m in foreign currency to pay for
grain held in a Mozambique port is to
blame for the country's starvation,
according to Agriculture Minister Rugare
Gumbo.
Gumbo's revelations come at a time when the Zimbabwean government has
rejected food aid from international organisations and European countries,
saying it does not want food aid with conditions. The government also
accuses donor agencies of using food aid as a political tool in support of
the opposition parties.
Responding to a question in parliament on when
the Zanu (PF) government
would collect the maize and wheat imported from
Brazil and held in Beira,
Gumbo said the maize would only be available to
starving Zimbabweans once
foreign currency was available.
Zimbabweans
have been facing serious shortages of basics such as
electricity, fuel and
maize meal since the country embarked on its land
reform programme in
2000.
"We are looking into all aspects of bringing sufficient wheat and maize
into
the country and within the next few weeks we will be able to collect
the
imported grain," he said.
The Minister said the government was aware
of the current shortages of
mealie-meal and bread and was doing everything
possible to ensure that food
was available in the country.
One MDC MP,
however, said Gumbo's statement showed that Zanu (PF) was
delaying bringing
in grain until the time of the parliamentary and
presidential elections next
year.
Minister Gumbo attributed the current food shortages to drought.
Zimbabwe
needs 1.8m tonnes of maize a year, but managed to produce only
953,000
tonnes during the season, down from 1.5m tonnes harvested last
year.
Mr Gumbo said grain production needed to be intensified during the
coming
season to avert food shortages.
The state-controlled Herald
reported that, by June this year, the government
had imported 500,000 tonnes
of maize from Zambia and Malawi at a cost of
US$280m and recently gave an
extra $Z2 trillion to the Grain Marketing Board
to buy grain.
The
Minister refuted claims that some fertiliser manufacturing companies had
closed down, saying they had only scaled down operations due to foreign
currency, fuel and electricity shortages.
He also assured the nation of
adequate maize seed supplies in the
forthcoming farming season.
"We are
satisfied with the supply of seed to farmers," he said, adding that
the GMB
had already started distributing fertiliser to farmers.
The government would
continue to limit movement of maize to 150kg to curb
black market trading.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE
Despite reports of an imminent breakthrough in the South
African-brokered
peace talks between the MDC and Zanu (PF), there is growing
scepticism about
the Mugabe regime's sincerity. State-sponsored violence
against opposition
and civic groups continues unabated, as do Mugabe
fulminations against the
west and the independent media.
"There is hope
in all of us but even Tsvangirai himself is not sure about
what is in
Mugabe's mind and whether this will work or not. The same
scepticism is
shared by Mbeki and his colleagues because Mugabe is capable
of repeating
his habit of indicating right but turning left," said a senior
MDC
source.
Amid continued official silence, which has fuelled widespread
speculation
about the progress of the talks, President Thabo Mbeki met MDC
leaders
Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara in Pretoria last week.
The
talks are believed to have focused on the Mugabe regime's controversial
18th
Amendment to the Constitution, expected to be tabled in Parliament this
week. Mbeki apparently has persuaded Zanu (PF) to redraft the amendment,
removing the more offensive sections pertaining to his continued grip on
power.
But a senior ruling party official denied this. "As Zanu (PF) we
are not
aware of any changes. The reports of changing our laws to please the
MDC we
only read from you journalists but what we know is the bill will soon
be
coming for debate in parliament in the form we agreed at our politburo
meetings," said the official on condition of anonymity.
Legal affairs
minister, Patrick Chinamasa, told The Zimbabwean: "The
contents of the bill
will be revealed at the appropriate time and sorry I
cannot speak on behalf
of the opposition." - Itai Dzamara
The Zimbabwean
BY ITAI DZAMARA
One of
the most stupid habits is that of biting off more than one can chew.
Recent
visits to Highfield, Glen View and Mufakose revealed horrendous
scenes of
raw sewage flowing into houses and bare-footed young kids playing
in pools
of human waste. Residents have become accustomed to scrounging for
water and
travelling distances of up to 20km carrying buckets in search of
water.
Needless to say, toilets have become serious health hazards.
A
similar situation prevails in towns and cities across the country. In fact
it is getting worse - and there seems no hope of a reprieve. The state media
continues to report that the Zanu (PF) regime insists that water and sewage
reticulation services are being adequately handled by the Zimbabwe National
Water Authority (ZINWA). These reports rub shoulders with others claiming
that the aging and increasingly senile Robert Mugabe and his failing
government will ensure that everyone is well fed.
In short, the regime
continues to bite off what it can't chew - for the
simple reason of wanting
to cling to power at the expense of many lives.
This animal called ZINWA has
been described by even parliament as
incompetent and, in true character, the
crazy Mugabe regime contemptuously
ignores advice from everyone.
We all
know that ZINWA is yet another avenue for looting by the sycophants
who are
part of the Mugabe system and who want us to believe they are
leaders, when
in actual fact they care nothing about the people of this
country and only
want to continue making huge profits.
A stranger to this country or a reader
of news from afar would be forgiven
for thinking there is in Harare a very
caring regime with the people at
heart, due to the propensity of Mugabe and
his system to continue chewing
and chewing - even through they no longer
have teeth to chew with. The
regime is actually chewing more as we approach
the elections in order to
hoodwink the electorate into believing that it has
their interests and
welfare at heart.
But as indicated above through the
microcosm of Harare's high density
suburbs, every button that the regime is
pressing turns into a nightmare for
the people, who, while choking in their
homes with the stench of raw sewage,
grapple with increased power cuts and
endure constant hunger.
Let the source of our misery be clear to every
Zimbabwean.
The Zimbabwean
Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation (ZBC), mouthpiece of the Zimbabwean
government and Zanu (PF), is
battling to pay salaries and to get staff into
work.
Most ZBC staffers
including the Corporation's Acting General Manager, Robson
Mhandu, do not
own vehicles and have to depend on the ZBC's depleted fleet,
which is beset
by breakdowns, fuel shortages and financial problems.
The ZBC, which is
publicly funded through licence revenue, has been
privatised to propagate
Zanu (PF) party business. Since 2000, the state
broadcaster has been
unwilling to give air time to the opposition and other
civic society
organisations such as the National Constitutional Assembly, a
leading civic
society organisation that is calling for a new constitution in
Zimbabwe.
An investigation by The Zimbabwean revealed that ZBC employees
have been
paid late for the last three months. Those working for business
units not
generating profit, such as National FM and Spot FM, are reported
to be owed
salaries from August.
Research by a coalition of media
lobbying bodies, which was leaked to The
Zimbabwean, revealed that Zanu (PF)
advertisements, costing billions of Zim
dollars, had not been paid for since
last year.
Sources within ZBC have revealed that salaries were now being paid
according
to an employee's loyalty to the party and to Robert
Mugabe.
Journalists have shunned the ZBC for its bias towards Zanu (PF) and
its
failure to practise journalistic principles such as fairness and
accuracy.
Committee member Nelson Chamisa, who is also spokesperson of the
opposition
MDC, said, as an example of bias, ZBC had failed to cover the 160
recent
meetings and political rallies held by the party.
Robson Mhandu
attributed the lack of alternative voices on ZBC to poor
communication which
resulted in them failing to receive information on time.
He also said the
state broadcaster reserved editorial independence to decide
which voices and
issues could be aired in the "public interest".
"That is our prerogative as
professional broadcasters," he said.
Asked to explain the criteria ZBC used
in determining public interest,
Mhandu said the broadcaster was within the
guidelines of broadcasting
principles.
Critics have called for
legislation to guarantee the broadcaster's
independence and to make the ZBC
answerable to Parliament, as opposed to the
current situation of operating
in secrecy.
Mhandu said the broadcaster faced critical problems with the
shortage of
foreign currency to import necessary equipment and had not
received any
funding from government since 1995.
"The resource base does
not allow us to go to every corner of Zimbabwe. We
are not able to give
television coverage all the time we are requested to do
so. This is not by
design but this situation is compelled by the resource
base situation," he
said. - Trust Matsilele
The Zimbabwean
LONDON
This year's
Zimfest was an authentic Zimbabwean experience in every way.
Hungry festival
goers lined up good-naturedly in long queues, waiting
patiently to sample a
boerewors roll or get some sadza.
"We have seen record numbers this year,"
said organiser Philip
Chikwiramakomo. "We are sorry to all those who were
inconvenienced by the
queues. The support was so overwhelming that our
capacity was stretched to
the limit. Zimfest has become the premier showcase
for Zimbabwean talent and
industry and next year's event can only be
better."
The funds raised from the festival go to support many needy people
and
charitable projects back in Zimbabwe. However, Zimfest is not just about
raising money, the festival has also become a place where a wide range of
Zimbabwean artistic talent is showcased.
This year, acts included a range
of Zimbabwean musicians from the soulful
and spiritual music of Chiwoniso,
to jazz legend Paul Lunga; from singer,
dancer and drummer Anna Mudeka, to
the roots-soul groove of Thabani.
Events included a football tournament and a
dance and cultural space where
theatre and story-telling took place, and
people tried their hand at playing
the Mbira.
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
19
September 2007
Nominated U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, career
diplomat James D. McGee said
in a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday
that he would continue to
press Harare for democratic reforms but would seek
to reopen dialogue with
the government.
McGee told the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations he would pursue the
same pro-democracy agenda
in Zimbabwe as his outspoken predecessor,
Christopher Bell, but would try to
re-engage the government of President
Robert Mugabe.
Nonetheless,
McGee, a former ambassador to Lesotho, Madagascar and the Union
of Comoros,
bluntly told the panel that Zimbabwe today is "suffering under
authoritarian
misrule" while Harare "continues to commit unspeakable human
rights
abuses."
McGee commended former ambassador Dell, whose hardline stance
and outspoken
criticisms once led an enraged Mr. Mugabe to declare, "Dell,
go to hell."
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin), presiding over the
hearing, asked McGee
who he intended to engage in his diplomacy, making the
comment that the U.S
administration has failed to communicate effectively
with the Zimbabwean
government.
McGee said he would engage the
Southern African Development Community, which
in March asked South African
President Thabo Mbeki to mediate the crisis.
But McGee and Feingold agreed
SADC's response to the crisis had been
disappointing.
McGee said he
would also work with the international community to bring
about the
political and economic reforms needed to end the crisis and
rebuild
Zimbabwe.
As Zimbabwe readies for presidential and general elections,
McGee told the
panel, "it is imperative that there be a substantial period
of time for all
candidates to campaign on a level playing field." He said
that unless Harare
makes the necessary changes, "the elections will not
reflect the will of the
Zimbabwean people".
McGee added that in order
to help the Zimbabwean people, the United States
must continue to support
Zimbabwean civil society, which he said would be of
great help in Zimbabwe's
"eventual recovery," especially in the area of food
security.
The Zimbabwean
(19-09-07)
When the struggle against Zapu was at its height in the mid
80's,the
Zanu PF
regime here used the distribution of food as a political
weapon for the
first time. I recall it well because we were in a severe
drought and
there
was widespread shortage of food supplies from
traditional sources. The
5th
Brigade was doing its "thing" in Matabeleland
and although we knew all
was
not well, we had scant idea of the full
extent of that genocidal
campaign.
In that year, the government cut
off supplies from State controlled
sources
and effectively said to the
Ndebele people - if you continue to support
Zapu, one way or another you will
die. This was no idle threat - they
killed
at least 20 000 people in the
campaign, more than had died in the
liberation
of the country over many
years and they controlled the basic staple
foods
almost
completely.
They did this by erecting roadblocks on all roads leading
into the
rural
areas in Matabeleland; these had instructions to stop the
entry of
media
practitioners and also all forms of basic foods. Relatives
in the urban
areas and in South Africa could not reach their families with
aid when
requested and no publicity of the operation was allowed.
In
1987, after 5 years of murder, mayhem and hardship, Zapu
capitulated
and
was absorbed into Zanu PF. There was little else they
could do if their
people were to survive. The record of this savage political
campaign is
published in the report "Breaking the Silence" now in book
form.
At that time there was no threat to the hegemony of Zanu PF
in
Zimbabwe.
They dominated the political scene and held an overwhelming
majority in
Parliament. Mugabe wanted more - he wanted a one Party State. He
could
not
tolerate any opposition.
Since then many new opposition
voices have come and gone. One by one
they
were eliminated by effective
but less bloody techniques - infiltration,
subversion, bribery, threats and a
media black out with propaganda.
When
necessary they used violence -
targeted and ruthless, or their economic
muscle to force leadership to leave
the field or retire hurt.
Then came the MDC, a new labour based political
movement with strong
grass
roots support. Initially confident that the
same lethal mix that had
poisoned the ground for opposition parties in the
past would do the job
again, Zanu PF simply ignored the threat leaving it to
the security
agency
that held responsibility, to "fix" the
problem.
When they finally woke up the morning after the referendum in
February
2000,
they suddenly knew they were in a real fight - this time
for power
itself.
MDC had won the referendum even after those responsible
for the vote
had
ensured that it would be rigged by 15 per cent and had
assured them
that
they would win the vote quite easily.
The
response by the regime to this electoral shock was predictable. Mr.
Mugabe
gave a vintage performance on National television saying that he
accepted the
decision of the people, but behind that cold façade was a
ruthless and cruel
determination to use every tool in the Zanu PF tool
kit
against these new
usurpers.
In the intervening 7 years, Zanu PF has been forced to
gradually
intensify
its campaign to retain power, in the process losing
its democratic
credentials and its standing in the world community. Now Zanu
faces its
most
serious threat since 1980 South Africa has forced the next
election
back to
March 2008 and the SADC is demanding that Zimbabwe
fulfill its
obligations
as a member and adhere to the SADC norms for free
and fair elections.
The strategy evolved by those doing this sort of
thing in Zanu PF and
government itself, called for acceptance of changes to
the actual
voting
procedures on the day, but was intended to deliver a
broken, bloodied
MDC
and a radically changed electoral pattern to the
poll. So we have seen
renewed attacks on MDC structures - across the country,
renewed use of
imprisonment, false accusations, torture and savage beatings,
all
designed
to drive activists out of the country and to ntimidate those
who
remain.
Then the operation, like Murambatsvina in 2005, designed
to close down
business in urban areas, take over major export industries and
drive
out of
the country another 2 to 3 million urban inhabitants. This is
well
under way
and I estimate that half a million urban residents have
already left
the
country for other countries - most going to South Africa.
Millions more
are
preparing to go and will move as soon as their plans are
made.
As part of this integrated strategy the regime here has
increased
control
over basic food supplies. They are systematically
denying the urban
areas
food - there is now no maize meal, no rice, no
bread, no meat or beans,
in
urban areas. People are scavenging for food
and the struggle to feed
families and the elderly is becoming well nigh
impossible. Couple this
to
water rationing or no water at all, water borne
disease and fuel at
Z$400
000 a litre and the local mini busses charging
Z$100 000 per trip to
town
and you have a situation that is simply
intolerable.
This situation is being creating deliberately - fuel is
supposed to be
selling at Z$350 per litre - the actual street price is Z$2
million for
5
litres. Maize meal is supposed to be sold at Z$5 000 a kilo
- the
actual
price is Z$25 000 a kilo. Meat is supposed to be sold at
Z$240 000 a
kilo
but the market price is not less than Z$1 million a kilo.
The real rate
of
inflation for the ordinary worker is probably about 20
000 percent and
his
wages and income are rising slowly - controlled by
government.
The plan was that by the time of the election in March 2008,
the Cities
would be a shadow of their previous state, population down by half
and
those
that remained, hungry and dependent either on Zanu PF employers
or the
State
for survival. The MDC would also be reduced to a shell and a
broken one
at
that! In the rural areas it was Zanu's calculation that
their hold over
traditional leaders plus food control would deliver the
vote.
This use of a mix of manipulation of the vote using the voters
roll,
the
delimitation process in determining voting districts and
then
exercising
physical control over voters on the day, has enlisted the
support of
the
donor community who pour hundreds of millions of dollars
into
humanitarian
assistance each year. The agencies involved allow
themselves to be
co-opted
by the State for this purpose by only doing what
they are allowed to do
in
this field and supplying food through official
channels. NGO's are seen
as
extensions of government liable to be denied
access to communities at
the
whim of local political authorities. Often
Zanu PF is allowed to even
direct
food aid operations. The UN Agencies are
all guilty of such actions.
Breaking the hold of Zanu PF over the
electoral system is only one half
of
the equation we require to secure our
rights as a people. Their hands
must
also be taken off the price controls
and the availability of food and
jobs.
If we are going to get anything
like a free and fair vote in 2008, this
latter aspect, which is very much
under the control of foreign donors
and
investors, needs urgent
attention.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 19th September 2007