From The Sunday Mail, 2 September
Sunday Mail reporter
More than 36 000 tonnes of
wheat destined for Zimbabwe are stuck in Beira,
Mozambique, as the country
is battling to raise the full amount of foreign
currency required to pay off
an international grain supplier. The situation
has seriously depleted
Zimbabwe's wheat stocks, resulting in the country
relying on small and
intermittent grain imports. The value of the wheat
could not, however, be
immediately ascertained yesterday. State Security,
Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement Minister Cde Didymus Mutasa confirmed
yesterday that the
consignment was grounded in Beira. Cde Mutasa, who is
chairman of the
National Taskforce on Food Procurement and Distribution,
confirmed that
wheat was not readily available in the country. He, however,
said Government
was working on procuring the grain, albeit in small
quantities, in order to
ensure bread and flour availability. "We do not have
wheat stocks at the
moment," said Cde Mutasa. "We are feeding from hand to
mouth."
The minister said that the Government had some time ago
engaged the services
of the international grain supplier. He said the
Government was unable to
make the bulk purchase owing to insufficient
foreign currency. "We cannot
talk of stocks at the moment but only a week's
supply. We are under
sanctions so we do not have ready cash," he said. He
said efforts were being
made to ensure flour and bread were readily
available on the market. "As
soon as we pay, a little amount is brought into
the country. We are still
feeding from hand to mouth, as this is usually a
week's supply. We are,
however, trying to ensure that that little is enough
to give the market
sufficient bread for the moment."
For some
time now, Zimbabwe has been facing grain shortages. This has
resulted in the
country turning to imports in order to augment available
supplies. Low
production has largely been cited as the reason for the
shortages. Lately,
bread shortages have swept across the country as the
effects of the wheat
shortages continue to be felt. The milling industry
requires an annual
allocation of 450 000 metric tonnes of wheat in order to
meet demand.
However, the industry has in the past failed to access adequate
stocks.
Officials say the situation has worsened as they can no longer
obtain
adequate supplies from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). They say
pockets of
small-scale millers were holding on to old stocks with a view to
inflating
flour prices. The official price for a tonne of flour is pegged at
$6
million, but the millers triple and, in some instances, quadruple the
price.
"When one purchases flour at this price, one certainly makes a loss,"
said a
baker.
International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished:
September 2, 2007
HARARE, Zimbabwe: Two people died in
stampedes at the exit gates of
Zimbabwe's annual agriculture show, which was
packed with crowds lured by
scarce snack foods and soft drinks and stalls
selling cheap Chinese toys and
consumer goods.
A woman and a child -
one of scores of lost children separated from family
members - died in two
separate surges against the gates Saturday, police
spokesman James Sabau
told state radio Sunday.
Attendances at this year's show at the Harare
Exhibition Park were the
highest for several years, with many people hoping
to find produce which has
disappeared from normal stores in Zimababwe's
acute economic crisis. It was
also the biggest in years as exhibitors said
they were lured to the show in
hopes of being allowed to sell their
animals.
A cattle auction was banned Thursday at the showground by price
control
authorities after it became clear bidders from butcheries, hotels
and groups
of private buyers were willing to pay up to 10 times the
government's fixed
price for on-the-hoof beef in the meat-starved
nation.
A government order to slash prices of all goods and services by
about half
in a bid to tame the world's highest inflation in June has left
shelves bare
of meat, corn meal, bread, milk, eggs and other
staples.
Officials at the six-day event said about 100,000 people entered
the gates
on Friday. No tally was immediately available for
Saturday.
Crowds jostled at the exit gates at the closing Saturday, hurrying
to get
into lines for public transport outside, witnesses said. Acute
gasoline
shortages have crippled transportation services.
Commuters
routinely wait more than three hours to board buses for a
30-minute trip to
Harare's satellite townships.
Official inflation is given as 7,634
percent, though independent estimates
put real inflation closer to 25,000
percent. The International Monetary Fund
has forecast it could reach 100,000
percent by the end of the year.
Earlier this month, two people died in a
stampede in a sugar line in the
second city of Bulawayo. One woman also went
into labor in a food line,
assisted only by a passerby after other shoppers
intent on keeping their
place in the line ignored her cries for
help.
In southern Zimbabwe, another woman died of strangulation when her
neck
scarf caught in a gas-fueled generator during the nation's daily power
outages.
Attorneys this week reported clients facing acute food
shortages in prisons.
Relatives asked to bring food often could not find
enough in the shops or
get rides to prisons.
A panel of lawmakers has
reported acute shortages of basic foods in
government youth training centers
favored for the training of ruling-party
militants blamed for much of
country's political violence and intimidation.
The state Sunday Mail
newspaper, meanwhile, reported 36,000 tons of wheat
destined for Zimbabwe
was being held at the Mozambique port of Beira
awaiting payment.
With
shortages of bread and bakery products worsening, Didymus Mutasa, the
powerful security and lands minister, said the nation's wheat was down to a
week's supply.
"We do not have wheat stocks at the moment. We are
feeding from hand to
mouth. As soon as we pay, a little amount is brought in
... this is usually
a week's supply," he was quoted as saying by the
paper.
Fin24
Sep 02 2007 02:47
PM
Chris Muronzi
Harare- A state abattoir is negotiating with chiefs
and traditional leaders
in Zimbabwe to encourage rural folks to sell
livestock to the company in a
desperate attempt to end a worsening shortage
of meat in the troubled
country.
The state owned Sunday Mail reported
that the Cold Storage Commission (CSC)
is negotiating with chiefs to
encourage rural folks to sell livestock for
slaughter.
But analysts
say rural folks, who still believe that cattle is a measure of
wealth, are
unlikely going to sell for a song.
"CSC's initiative comes as Zimbabwe is
facing severe beef shortages.
Although the government recently sanctioned
the re-licensing of 42
abattoirs, the situation has remained critical with
consumers going for
weeks without beef.
"Under the arrangement, the
abattoirs would slaughter cattle and be
sub-contracted to supply beef to
butcheries. This raised hopes among many
consumers that meat would become
readily available.
"However, the situation has remained unchanged, and
renewed hope now lies in
reaching out to communities for livestock," the
paper said.
This comes after Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe ordered
prices of goods
and services be halved in June.
Mugabe, blamed
businesses for causing a runaway inflation currently above 7
600% according
to the government statistical department.
Experts say the inflation
figure is higher than the official figure because
the government doctors the
numbers.
Meat in short supply
After the aged leader, 83, ordered
price cuts, basic goods vanished from
shelves.
Meat, a critical
relish for generally meat-loving Zimbabweans, has also been
in short supply
ever since.
Should Mugabe continue with his price control and monitoring
policy, the
supply of meat will remain elusive, analysts say and no amount
of persuasion
will ease meat shortages,.
Farmers say the price the
CSC and other abattoirs are offering is
ridiculously low and might need to
up the price ante to entice prospective
sellers.
Earlier in the week
Mugabes government stopped a planned cattle auction at
Harare Agricultural
Show fearing possible embarrassment of its price control
policy if the
market was remotely freed.
But analysts fear that traditional chiefs, who
have jumped in bed with
Mugabe's Zanu pf party and hold seats in parliament,
might feel compelled to
exert pressure on their subjects to part with their
cattle.
This is because rural folks still have respect and in some cases
actually
fear their respective rulers.
Mugabe has over the years
pampered chiefs with lavish SUVs and financial
perks to win support of
chiefs and scrounge for votes from unwilling
subjects to prop up the
dictatorial leader's party.
The CSC is paying farmers an average of Z$42m
for a super grade beast, Z$38m
for a choice, Z$22m for a commercial grade
beast and ZW$16m for the economy
grade.
Zimbabwe is in its seventh
year of economic crisis, which is largely
charecterised by high inflation.
diamonds.net
By Avi Krawitz
Posted: 09/02/07
07:08
RAPAPORT... An undisclosed number of police officers have been
arrested in
Zimbabwe for taking bribes from illegal miners seeking to pan
for diamonds
in the eastern part of the country, the local press
reported.
Quoting the state-controlled Manica Post, South Africa's
Independent Online
said the officers were arrested in the Chiadzwa diamond
fields and were
being held at Harare's top security Chikurubi
prison.
According to the report, police had been ordered to seal off the
Chiadzwa
diamond fields, which has been the scene of a diamond rush that
began last
year. The officers are suspected of collecting between ZWD 1
million and ZWD
2 million (around $4,000 to $8,000) from illegal panners, to
allow miners a
half hour in the fields.
Assistant Police Commissioner
Obert Benge, confirmed the arrests with the
Independent Online saying that
the culprits would be dealt with
"mercilessly."
Two London Vigils today. A
detachment led by Luka Phiri and Chipo Chaya was
sent down to Zimfest on the
southern outskirts of London to try to galvanise
people attending this annual
day out for Zimbabweans. They took with them
some of our banners "End Murder,
Rape and Torture in Zimbabwe", "No to
Mugabe, no to Starvation" and also
"Mbeki, Zimbabwe's blood on your hands",
along with one of our drums, and set
up a stall. We at the Embassy Vigil
got an urgent message early: "Please
send more 'Make Mugabe History'
wristbands, we have sold out". Thanks to
Soneni Baleni, Grace Mazura and
Sisa Sibanda for selling them. Up to 50
Vigil supporters attended Zimfest.
They reported some difficulty in getting
the hundreds of people there to
think about the situation in Zimbabwe rather
than beers and braais, sadza
and games. Unfortunately our supporters at
Zimfest were not able to
properly duplicate the Embassy Vigil as they were
given no space /
opportunity for the usual rousing singing and dancing. But
supporters were
glad to meet Jenni Williams of WOZA.
Back at the
Embassy we were happy to keep the flag flying. A lady came by
with two
packets of biscuits. She said she lived nearby and passed us
regularly on
her way to work and thought she would give us something to
encourage us. It
might not have been sadza or boerewors but we were pleased
at the gesture.
Being outside the Embassy on a Saturday is always an
interesting experience.
Today we had Darth Vadar dropping by in his
wonderful get-up. We witness a
kaleidoscope of weird people. Among those who
stopped for a chat was a
Zimbabawean whose cell phone ringtone was a
recording of Mugabe's speech to
the Johannesburg Earth Summit in 2002 at
which he said: "So Blair, keep your
England and let me keep my Zimbabwe".
What has he done with it? Well,
according to Equatorial Guinea President
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on a
visit to Harare his fellow dictator
Mugabe has produced "an agriculture
sector which is one of Africa's most
developed . . ."
We were pleased
to welcome Jenny Lee of Jericho Films which is running a
film festival in
London from a Christian perspective. She wants supporters
to come and speak
at the event which continues till Saturday, 8th September.
Check: http://www.jerichofilms.com/festival.html
for details.
We had sad news from Cinderella Themangombe who was on her
way to the Vigil
when she received a message that her ex-husband had died in
Zimbabwe after a
two-day illness. Yet another failure of the Zimbabwean
health service.
A message from our friends in Belfast about their Vigil
on 17th August.
Here's
what they say: "The vigil went well - Kate Hoey
and Sammy Wilson attended.
We had good press coverage including the BBC and
the Belfast Newsletter.
The following day the Newsletter did a full page on
the event/Zim situation
including some good photos - they even had a picture
of Kate Hoey on the
front cover with a 'Mugabe must Go' placard. We are
going to present our
petition to the Northern Ireland parliament on 10th Sept
and are hoping
Gabriel Shumba will take part in the session we are holding
with the
ministers."
For this week's Vigil pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/
FOR
THE RECORD: 89 signed the register outside the Zimbabwe Embassy.
Supporters
from Bedford, Birmingham, Bolton, Coventry, Leeds, Leicester,
Liverpool,
Manchester, Northampton, Orpington, Sheffield, Southampton,
Stoke-on-Trent,
Twickenham, Wigan, Wolverhampton and many from London and
South East
England. Those at Zimfest report that around 50 people attended
their
Vigil.
FOR YOUR DIARY:
- Monday, 3rd September 2007 -Central
London Zimbabwe Forum. Mike
Auret, former Director, Catholic Commission for
Justice and Peace and former
MDC MP, will speak on the democratic rights of
Zimbabweans. Upstairs at the
Theodore Bullfrog pub, 28 John Adam Street,
London WC2 (cross the Strand
from the Zimbabwe Embassy, go down a passageway
to John Adam Street, turn
right and you will see the pub).
-
Tuesday, 4th September, 12 - 1.30 pm. The International Liaison
Office of the
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum will be hosting 'Zimbabwe's
Gukurahundi:
Lessons from the 1980-1988 disturbances in Matabeleland and The
Midlands' at
Chatham House in London. Further information on the Chatham
House website
at: http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/572/.
-
Friday, 7th September 2007, 6.30 pm. Debate on human rights opened
by
barrister James Keeley. Discussion on Zimbabwe led by Albert
Weidemann.
Venue: Ripon, North Yorkshire, Address: YMCA, Water Skellgate, HG4
1BQ. For
more information, contact: Albert Weidemann on 01765-607900 or
mobile 0779
340 1407
- Saturday, 8th September, 2-6 pm. Special
literature event at the
Vigil as part of a worldwide reading for Zimbabwe.
Readings have been
chosen by the International Literature Festival of Berlin
to be read and
broadcast around the world on 9th September. We have chosen
the nearest
Vigil to do this. For details, check http://www.literaturfestival.com/.
-
- Monday,
10th September 2007 -Central London Zimbabwe Forum. A
special planning
meeting for the Fifth Anniversary of the Zimbabwe Vigil.
Please attend - we
need all the help we can get with what promises to be a
very busy Vigil and
the social event afterwards. Upstairs at the Theodore
Bullfrog pub, 28 John
Adam Street, London WC2 (cross the Strand from the
Zimbabwe Embassy, go down
a passageway to John Adam Street, turn right and
you will see the
pub).
- Saturday, 13th October, 2 - 6 pm. Zimbabwe Vigil's 5th
Anniversary
followed by a social event.
Vigil co-ordinator
The
Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place
every
Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of
human
rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in
October
2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair
elections
are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk
Zim Online
Monday 03 September 2007
By Thabani
Mlilo
HARARE - The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum says it has recorded
over 25
000 cases of rights violations over the past six years with state
security
agents being directly involved in some of the worst rights
violations
against government critics.
In a 29-page report released
last week, the Forum, which is a coalition of
17 rights groups operating in
Zimbabwe, said the violations were recorded
between July 2001 and February
this year.
The Forum blamed most of the violations on the police and
agents of the
dreaded spy Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agency, as
well as
militant supporters of President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF
party.
"The protection of the law has in many cases been denied to those
considered
hostile to ZANU PF.
"For these persons, the law
enforcement agencies have become an instrument
of violence against them
rather than an institution that offers them
protection. They live in fear of
the very agencies that are supposed to
protect them," said the
report.
The report said state agents were implicated in cases involving,
murder and
attempted murder, rape, political discrimination and torture of
government
opponents in an effort to crush rising dissension against
Mugabe's
government.
The rights group said 2006 was the worst year as
it saw a total of 5 752
cases of rights violations being recorded, a
significant increase from the
previous year's total of 4 170
cases.
Cases involving murder were highest between 2001 and 2003 when
Mugabe
sanctioned the violent seizure of white-owned farms for
redistribution to
landless blacks, with at least 105 killings being recorded
during the
period, according to the Forum.
The rights group warned
that cases of political violence and rights abuses
were likely to increase
as Zimbabwe prepared for next key year's
presidential and parliamentary
elections.
"The general trend shows increasing violations since 2005,
and, if the
current trend for 2007 continues, 2007 will be the worst year
yet by a
considerable margin," says the Forum.
Political violence has
been a major facet of every key election since the
emergence of the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party
in
1999.
Mugabe, who is blamed by critics for plunging Zimbabwe into its
worst
economic crisis since independence 27 years ago, faces his biggest
electoral
test next year when he takes on the MDC in an election critics say
he could
lose because of rising anger over the state of the
economy.
Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, who is in charge of the
police,
yesterday denied that the police were violating the rights of
government
critics accusing journalists of spearheading a smear campaign
against the
government.
"There is nothing like that (rights
violations)," Mohadi said. "These are
lies being peddled by the likes of
Amnesty International to advance a
negative agenda against Zimbabwe. I hate
responding to lies.
"Even you journalists are part of that agenda.
Otherwise why do you want to
be used to convey these lies? Are you genuine
Zimbabweans?"
The Zimbabwean government has in the past vociferously
denied that its
violates human rights blaming the charges on human groups
that it says are
bent on tarnishing its image.- ZimOnline
Zim Online
Monday 03 September 2007
By Edith
Kaseke
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe's sweeping law banning wage and
price hikes
without government approval has sent fresh jitters in an economy
battered by
a June price freeze and analysts said the Zimbabwean leader's
latest bid to
tame inflation will further ruin a country scarred by eight
years of
recession.
An executive with a leading Zimbabwean
supermarket chain aptly summed up the
mood in the business sector saying:
"It's back to ground zero, this is a
political game where the government
wants to win at any cost."
Mugabe last week invoked the Presidential
Powers Act, a law empowering the
83-year old President to set legislation
without going to parliament. By the
stroke of a pen, he outlawed the little
pretence to a free market economy,
announcing he would handpick a commission
to rule on salary and price
increases.
The commission is only
answerable to Mugabe, a former Marxist leader who is
also pushing for the
nationalisation of state-owned companies, and analysts
said this confirmed
Zimbabwe was now officially a command economy, run along
the lines of
military and communist-style dictatorships.
Mugabe's latest move seemed
to spite a report presented at the just ended
Southern African Development
Community summit, which recommended that
Zimbabwe, among other things,
should liberalise the economy and remove price
controls to end the deep
recession.
"What we are seeing is a government that has reached its wits
end and is
resorting to command tactics to put a measure of control on the
economy,"
Harare-based economic consultant John Robertson said.
"But
we very well know the fundamental issues that need to be addressed,
such as
the sanctity of property rights, increased agriculture production
and
improved relations with multilateral financial institutions," Robertson
told
ZimOnline.
Zimbabwe home to the world's highest inflation rate -
officially above 7 600
percent but thought to be double the figure by
independent economists - has
an unemployment rate of more than 80 percent
and is experiencing crunch
shortages of foreign currency, food and
fuel.
The economic crisis has increased hardships in the former
breadbasket of
southern Africa and raised political tensions.
Only a
daily basis Zimbabweans grapple with electricity and water cuts,
burst
sewers as infrastructure collapses due to lack of repairs, long queues
for
transport and have to contend with empty shelves after a buying spree
that
wiped out basic commodities following the June price freeze.
Businesses
were still counting the cost of the price edict and the new
prices and wage
increase law - peppered with the threat of a jail term for
defiant
businesses, local authorities and even the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe - could
see more companies just going under.
More than 1 000 companies have
closed shop in Zimbabwe since 2000 when
agriculture production fell sharply
after war veterans and ruling ZANU-PF
supporters invaded and displaced white
commercial farmers, preceding the
government's land reform
programme.
Zimbabweans are despondent, the opposition is weak and divided
as Mugabe
continues to tighten his hold on power, leaving observers
wondering whether
Zimbabweans are too afraid to square up to a government
they accuse of
presiding over the economic crisis.
"I think it's good
to control prices but not salaries," James Rukuni, a
security guard at a
Harare bank said on Sunday. "But what is the use of
controlling prices of
something that is not there? Things will only get
worse I think," he added,
capturing well the attitude of many Zimbabweans
that their fate can only get
worse.
Analysts predicted that the commission would not allow businesses
to
increase prices to viable levels, a big challenge for companies that have
also been hit by a huge brain drain as Zimbabweans seek better paying jobs
abroad.
Some private schools, which have given Mugabe's government a
headache by
increasing fees in line with inflation and are some of those
mostly targeted
by the new law, have wound down boarding facilities, only
offering day
school.
"It would seem the government's thinking is that
direct intervention is the
only way it can influence the economy but that is
only a short term solution
with long term consequences," Eldred Masunungure,
a leading political
commentator said.
With key presidential and
parliamentary elections looming in 2008, the
government appeared motivated
more by a desire to be seen to be doing
something to fix the economic crisis
even if its actions could lead to more
suffering, said the respected
Masunungure.
"The government cannot just sit and say we have run out of
ideas, they have
to be seen to be doing something especially with a critical
election looming
in 2008," he said.
Mugabe denies that he is
responsible for the economic meltdown and accuses
Western countries,
especially former coloniser Britain of punishing him for
seizing farms from
whites in a move he says was necessary to address
imbalances brought about
by colonialism. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Monday 03 September 2007
By Lizwe
Sebatha
BULAWAYO - ZANU PF women's league head Oppah Muchinguri at the
weekend
threatened to push for the ouster of Vice-President Joice Mujuru in
a fresh
twist in the vicious power struggle in Zimbabwe's ruling party over
the
succession of President Robert Mugabe.
Two hostile camps, one
backing Mujuru and another supporting former
parliamentary speaker Emmerson
Mnangagwa have battled to control ZANU PF and
position their preferred
candidate to succeed the 83-year old Mugabe when
and if he
retires.
Without mentioning Mujuru by name, Muchinguri told a women's
meeting at
Plumtree, about 132 kilometres south-west of Bulawayo, that some
top women
leaders were preoccupied with struggle to succeed Mugabe and no
longer
representing women's issues, adding that the league would push for
their
ouster.
She said: "There are some women that we put on top to
represent the women's
interests and needs but they have failed and continue
to be linked to coup
plots and the succession issue every day. We will ask
them to step down at
the coming party congress in December."
Both
Muchinguri and Mugabe have in the past publicly endorsed Mujuru for the
top
job but appear to have ditched her, with Mugabe making disparaging
remarks
about Zimbabwe's first female vice-president in a television
interview last
February.
Mugabe, in power since 1980, will next year stand for
re-election for
another five-year term and has not said when or whether he
will leave
office.
But ZANU PF insiders say constitutional changes
proposed by the government
to empower Parliament to elect a new president if
the incumbent leaves
office before his/her term expires are a part of an
exit strategy to allow
Mugabe to handpick his successor and quit in or
before 2010.
An internal report by ZANU PF's security department leaked
to the media two
months ago says jockeying for Mugabe's position had
paralysed party
operations with senior leaders devoting most of their time
and energies to
furthering the interests of their chosen candidates or
factions at the
expense of party work.
Mugabe, who has in the past
accused some of his top lieutenants of seeking
the help of magicians to
enhance their chances to succeed him, last week
admonished senior ZANU PF
leaders for stampeding for his job, saying they
should wait to be chosen by
the people and should not impose themselves as
leader of the
party.
Analysts say whoever wins the battle to succeed Mugabe as leader
of ZANU PF
is most likely to become president of Zimbabwe, citing a divided
and
weakened opposition they say is presently not well positioned to oust
the
ruling party.
Under Mugabe's charge, Zimbabwe has declined from
being one of Africa's most
vibrant economies to being a classical African
basket case, characterised by
the world's highest inflation of more than 7
000 percent, deepening poverty
and shortages of every basic survival
commodity. - ZimOnline
hfxnews, Canada
A pleasant visit
transformed by the kindness of hosts contrasts sharply with
backdrop of
chaos
BY DJ CHURCH
There is a joke I heard while in Zimbabwe. "If
you see a queue, you join it.
Once you are in it, you ask what you are
queuing for. If you need it, you
stay. If you don't, you leave."
This
is a country that has learned how to line up and wait. While in Harare,
I
saw lines over 200 metres long where people stood for hours so they could
buy their allotted two loaves of bread. Many petrol stations simply locked
their doors and closed up. The few stations with gas faced lineups where
cars waited for hours to purchase fuel using a voucher system. Beef, once a
famed Zimbabwean export, was simply not available. Entire sections of
supermarket shelves stood empty, the manufacturers no longer willing or able
to produce the goods. The Zimbabwe of today is a much different one than
yesterday, but while most commodities are becoming scarce, one that is not
is hope.
I approached the immigration office on the Zimbabwean side
of the border
with a certain amount of trepidation. A delayed departure from
Malawi had
meant missing the border opening hours, and a restless night of
sleep on the
bus left me disheveled and a bit discombobulated. I had been
told by many
travelers that potential nightmares awaited me at the border.
One source, a
Zimbabwean, said I might be arrested for suspicion of being a
spy. For whom,
I'm not sure. Robert Mugabe, the President for Life, had been
fanning the
flames of xenophobia by laying the problems of Zimbabwe on the
doorstep of
colonial and imperialistic powers. While Danayi, my travelling
companion,
was part Zimbabwean, spoke Shona, and was visiting family in
Harare, I was
just a nervous white guy with a backpack.
Ironically,
it was possibly the smoothest, most pleasant border crossing I
experienced
in Africa. No hassle, no trouble; just an expensive visa, and a
perfunctory
bag search and that was it. And just like that, we were in what
many
consider to be one of the worst, most desperate countries in the
world.
We approached Harare by driving by some of the most elaborate
houses I had
ever seen. The roads were immaculate compared to nearly
anywhere else in
Africa I had seen. We were dropped off at the Holiday Inn,
where the doorman
quickly put our bags on a trolley and wheeled them inside.
Another
approached us offering us a complimentary newspaper. Clearly the
newspapers
had left out a few things.
One thing was immediately
clear; the Zimbabwean economy was out of control.
Inflation was
astronomical. It was officially pegged at around 4,500 per
cent, but
estimated much higher by some sources.
While I was there, the IMF
produced a report stating that the rate continued
unabated, it could reach
100,000 per cent by the new year. This has lead to
the printing of bills of
huge denominations, and unbelievably, expiration
dates. Just before I
arrived, the government announced a new bill, the
$200,000 bill.
To
make the situation even more bizarre, the government had decreed that any
bank or foreign exchange could only exchange foreign currency at the rates
they decreed. For example, USD $1 bought you $250 Zimbabwean dollars. On the
black market, however, USD $1 bought you $200,000 Zimbabwean dollars. It was
illegal to change money on the black market, but only a fool would do
anything else. So desperate for foreign currency that the government had
made it a law that stated foreigners had to pay for any accommodations in
American dollars. You could not even use the country's own
currency.
To give some perspective, let me give some examples. When
Danayi and I
arrived at the Holiday Inn, we asked to use the house phone to
call her
family to pick us up. The front desk agreed but told us it would be
$50,000
for a one minute call. At the black market rates, the call cost us
about USD
$0.25 cents. At the official rates, the phone call cost us USD
$200. One day
at a supermarket I bought a big bar of chocolate for $356,000.
At black
market rates, my treat was a reasonable USD $1.78. At official
rates, my
little bit of sugary goodness set me back USD $1424. While in
Zimbabwe, I
wanted to buy a new tent to replace the one that had self
destructed in
Malawi. I paid $8,330,000. At black market prices the tent was
a deal at USD
$41.65. At the official rates, my little nylon shelter would
have cost me
USD $33,320, or more than half of my annual salary when I used
to teach in
Toronto.
My time in Harare was wonderful, mostly due to
the hospitality and
friendship given to me by Danayi's family. They are
upper-middle class, and
well connected, and seemed a little less affected by
the current situation.
Danayi's father owns a business with his office
headquarters in South
Africa, giving him a steady supply of foreign
exchange, essential in the
volatile Zimbawean economy. In fact, compared to
the style and quality of
living I have grown used to on this trip, my time
in Harare felt like I was
living in the lap of luxury.
This is not to
say Danayi's family was living like the French aristocracy
just before the
French Revolution. These are the kind of people that
Zimbabwe needs to keep
it afloat, and put it back on track after the dust
settles.
Daniyi's
father and a business associate started an organization that helps
out
disadvantaged youth in Harare. It is a football (soccer) academy that
has
produced both male and female players on the Zimbabwean national teams.
Danayi's father and stepmother are people who have a deep love for their
country, and are determined to see that country return to greatness.
Danayi's family is one of some influence and respect, and I had the
opportunity to meet and have conversations with some very interesting and
intelligent people while I was there. One thing that seemed to be agreed
upon was that Robert Mugabe, or Uncle Bob, would not leave until he deemed
it the right time. Mugabe is an incredible politician, a revolutionary hero,
and a wily, incredibly stubborn, and healthy old man. While his party mans
the helm of an economic sinking ship, the opposition in Zimbabwe has fallen
into two opposing, squabbling camps. They are too busy fighting each other
to mount any type of viable opposition to Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party.
While the intelligentsia flees abroad to seek their fortunes
elsewhere,
Mugabe plays to his traditional base of support, the poor and
veterans of
Zimbabwe's war of independence.
Mugabe is from another
era of politics and another era of cultural
prominence for both men and age.
He represents Zimbabwe's throwing off of
white rule, and while his actions
have been suspect or misguided in the last
10 years or so, that fact and the
sentiment attached to it, still carries a
lot of weight.
One man I
spoke to told me that Mugabe represents a stubbornness and demand
for
respect that is very Southern African in nature: no amount of finger
pointing, talking down to or about, or outside criticism, especially by
younger, non-African leaders is going to convince Mugabe to do anything
Mugabe doesn't want. And if the western powers don't understand this
important cultural, African bit of fact, they will never be effective in
bringing about any change in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is a country of
remarkable mineral wealth, and vast agricultural
potential. That is part of
the sadness about the current troubles.
It has an infrastructure that is
better than any I have seen in Africa to
this point. While it is beginning
to deteriorate, one feels it could bounce
back quickly given the right
leadership and investment. Zimbabwe used to be
an exporter of food, but
since Mugabe's farm reclamation project,
agricultural output has fallen to
the point where they must import food to
sell. When Mugabe seized farms from
white farmers, most of whom were
professional farmers and educated in the
field, it was often given to
veterans of the army or cronies of Mugabe's
government.
Most of these have either let the fields lie fallow, or lack
the experience
and expertise to reap from the land the potential it has.
Many people are
depending on backyard gardens to supplement their food
supplies.
While there can be debates for ages over Mugabe's decision to
take back land
held by whites that many claimed were gained under a racist
regime, it is
more the manner it which it was done, and the use of that land
since that
had been one of the major causes of the current food
crisis.
Another has been the disastrous economic policies of the current
government.
In the middle of this past July, Mugabe declared that all
businesses must
cut their prices back to the prices of mid-June. With the
obscene inflation
rate, this meant that for a few short days (while there
was still stock),
Zimbabwe was one of the best deals on earth. People rushed
out to buy
anything and everything they could. Stores sold out stock in
days. Since
then, Mugabe has maintained these price freezes must stay. This
flies in the
face of the economic realities that hyper-inflation brings.
Literally,
within days, companies, stores, and buses were taking a loss with
every item
sold or ticket sold. Many began to simply close shop, to go out
of business
until the storm abates. Others began to charge prices that were
more in line
with the inflation trends in order to survive. Mugabe's
reaction? He had
store owners, bus drivers, and shop managers arrested and
charged with
treasonous activity. He set up hotlines for people to call to
report stores
who were selling at above the accepted price limits. Farmers
refuse to sell
cattle at a price that looses them money. As a result, beef
has become an
incredibly rare and highly sought after luxury
item.
Despite this, people still walk the streets of Harare. It is a
remarkably
friendly country, where hospitality is still shown to strangers,
even a
white stranger in a country where black-white relations have been
strained
significantly at times. Families still gather when they can, and
people take
solace in the company of loved ones, making jokes about the
situation even
while they secretly wonder just how bad things can
get.
The truth about the Zimbabwe of today is, like most things,
somewhere in
between the alarmist claims of western media and the false
assurances and
accusations of the Zimbabwean government. In demonizing
Mugabe, there has
been an unfortunate tendency by the western press to
publish any story about
Zimbabwe so long as it shows people suffering and
Mugabe as the cause. In
the same vein, nearly any public statement made by
Mugabe's government seems
entirely bent on playing down the monumental
problems facing the country and
laying all of it's woes on the doorstep of
western, imperialistic powers.
Freedom of press in the country seems to be
fighting for its life. It is a
government that seems determined to avoid
responsibility for a sinking ship
they are captaining.
Zimbabwe is a
country filled with rich and poor, educated and uneducated,
vast potential
and wasted talent, and hope and despair. It deserves to have
its story heard
and a world audience who is media literate and willing to
sort through the
conflicting stories from all sides to try and get a real
understanding of
what is happening. Quite simply it, and its people, deserve
better.
Nova Scotian DJ Church is in the second year of a three-year
trip around the
world. The Daily News has been checking in with him
regularly on his
travels. To follow along with him more frequently, visit
his blog at
www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/djchurch/rtw-2006andon/tpod.html
African Path
Izzy Mutanhaurwa
September 02, 2007 05:10
AM
1994 a few months before the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as
the
first democratically elected President of South Africa, the South
African
Broadcasting corporation ran some educational programmes about
democracy,
independence what it meant being free. I remember a an advert
fronted by
S'dumo a popular South African comedian that was teaching South
Africans
that although the government has changed little has changed in
their day to
day lives. Like for instance after Mandela's inauguration they
would still
wake up in their homes, continue to do what they were doing,
going to work,
kids going to school. It is on the same premise that MDC
President Morgan
Tsvangirai said that removing Mugabe would not necessarily
mean that
democracy would prevail in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe will go
but it will take decades for the Zimbabwean society to
rid themselves of
Mugabe fostered environment of corruption, greed and
selfishness. Its common
knowledge that the delivery of basic services in
Zimbabwe is dependent on
your political allegiance and who you know. Even if
Mugabe has gone the
corruption culture is deeply interred in the edifices of
the structures that
MDC will inherit when they get to power. A mechanic at
CMD (Government
controlled motor vehicle repair service) drains petrol from
a government
vehicle and sells it on the black market leaving the tax payer
to pick up
the bill. A state security agent stationed at Harare Airport
waves in goods
imported by his friends without paying import duty preventing
the government
to earn money to use to improve people's lives. A policeman
stops a driver
on suspicion of drink-driving which is an offence in
Zimbabwe, his
suspicions are correct the guy is over the legal limit to
drive instead of
arresting him, he accepts a bribe to turn a blind eye again
denying the
government a chance to earn money through fines that in turn
could be used
to improve the police deliver better service for its citizens.
A utility
company ignores the official waiting list for anyone with a better
colour of
money, so a provision of land-line telephone depends if you are
prepared to
bribe. For many Zimbabweans stealing from the government is ok
they view it
a victim-less crime not knowing that delivery of service
depends on it and
that they the tax-payers are stealing from themselves.
A lot of
people are concerned how MDC will turn out as a ruling party.
History has
shown us that a change of government in Africa does not
necessarily usher
democracy. Take Malawi after Banda, look at Zambia after
Kaunda how MMD of
Zambia succumbed to corruption and greed that they had
fought to eliminate
are things better under Mwanasa. Even the change of
government has not
improved the lives of people in Uganda ask Kizza Besigye
like Morgan
Tsvangirai had elections stolen from him by Museveni who has
ruled Uganda
for 22 years. Its been the same for Kenyans whose life has not
improved by
change of government. MDC is in a unique position, they can only
learn from
the mistakes in the region. As a party we should be able to take
criticism
without feeling threatened by the critics. MDC should also foster
an
environment that fosters democracy, freeing airwaves repealing repressive
laws that endangers human rights and personal freedoms.
A
massive re-education of people will be needed, it will need to
imprinted on
the minds of the police, army and civil servants that MDC led
government
will inherit that corruption and greed have no place in a new
Zimbabwe and
that anyone caught will feel the full wrath of law. As
individuals
Zimbabweans will need to rise above tribalism and chauvinistic
attitudes to
realise a first for Africa a truly democratic government.
Comment from The Sunday Times (SA), 2 September
Mondli
Makhanya
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel highlighted an important
concept recently:
the concept of collective memory. Talking about the need
for Zimbabweans to
seek their own solutions to their problems, Manuel wrote
in our twin paper,
The Times, that Zimbabweans needed to craft their own
future and not rely on
outsiders to help them out of their mess. It was only
in this way, Manuel
said, that they would get an enduring solution which
they would own and
protect. "The principle of collective memory has been
tested in a number of
situations - Germany's experience with inflation
between the two world wars,
India's experience with successive generations
of Gandhis, the experiences
of developing countries with reforms directed by
the International Monetary
Fund presented as conditions of structural
adjustment, or even Zimbabwe's
experience with the role of the UK in the
Lancaster House agreement. "In
each instance, the collective memory of the
event or circumstance tended to
shape the national response." He said it was
"when nations own the analysis
and the solution [that] a durable commitment
is possible, but where
'solutions' are driven from outside, nations remain
lukewarm and blame
remains with the interveners".
Fair point. But
disappointing, because Manuel failed to acknowledge that our
collective
memory records that international solidarity with oppressed South
Africans
played a key part in the removal of the apartheid government. If we
let our
collective memory take us back to August 1983, we would find so many
parallels with the collective memory of Zimbabweans. On a wintry August day,
thousands of activists from all corners of South Africa gathered at the
Mitchells Plain Community Centre for the launch of the United Democratic
Front. Present in that hall were trade unionists, civic activists, church
leaders and youth activists. They were united by one objective: to rid the
country of apartheid and bring about democracy in South Africa. A potent
force was born that day, a force that would ultimately bring the apartheid
government to its knees. Manuel was in that hall and would emerge as one of
the main drivers of the UDF.
In Zimbabweans' collective memory is
the month of September 1999, when
thousands of activists gathered in Harare
to talk about a new future.
Present were trade unionists, civic activists,
church leaders and youth
activists. They were united by one objective: to
halt Zimbabwe's slide into
an oppressive dictatorship and to restore
democracy to their country. The
gathering resulted in the birth of the
Movement for Democratic Change, a
force that would rattle the government of
Robert Mugabe. Drawing on their
collective memory, South Africans will
remember that the UDF mobilised a
mass campaign to wreck the 1984 tricameral
parliamentary elections. Those
elections - to set up puppet parliaments and
administrations to run Indian
and coloured affairs - were boycotted by
communities. The UDF also mobilised
against puppet local councils in African
townships. It was the start of the
1980s mass uprisings and the final push
against racist rule.
Back across the Limpopo River, the Zimbabweans
will remember that in their
February 2000 referendum, the newly formed MDC
spearheaded a campaign for
the rejection of a new, Mugabe-designed
constitution. The country's
electorate delivered an emphatic NO to Mugabe's
constitutional proposals,
jolting the Zanu PF elite. This victory for the
opposition was to be the
birth of mass mobilisation in Zimbabwe. If we
proceed along the path of our
collective memory, we will discover that the
National Party's response to
the UDF's mass mobilisation campaign was
brutal. A state of emergency was
declared, tens of thousands of activists
were detained without trial and
thousands were killed. Brave media voices
were silenced and the judiciary
was subjected to severe pressure. The state
was militarised and
extra-judicial killings became the order of the
day.
So what happened in Zimbabwe after Mugabe lost the referendum
and felt the
wave of militancy sweeping across his country? He launched a
vicious
campaign against the MDC. War veterans were unleashed on MDC
strongholds,
newspapers were harassed and shut down and the judiciary was
strong-armed.
Leaders were beaten and tortured. The state was further
militarised and
murders of anti-Mugabe activists became a fact of life.
Collective memory
will show us that the world was appalled by the actions of
the National
Party - and acted. Newspaper reports and television footage of
the crackdown
invigorated the international anti-apartheid movement.
Neighbouring states
took great risks to support the South African struggle.
The National Party
was isolated by the human family and told in no uncertain
terms that it
stank. Fast forward to the 2000s, and collective memory will
show that we
South Africans stood aside and kept silent as horrors were
visited on the
ordinary people of Zimbabwe. If, as Manuel correctly points
out, collective
memory guides nations' responses to situations, we should
let our collective
memory guide us on Zimbabwe.
VOA
By Fazila Mohamed and Ndimyake Mwakalyelye
Washington
02 September 2007
Amid ongoing fuel
shortages and fare hikes in Zimbabwe, some commuters
complain train travel
has become an increasingly trying and unpleasant
experience.
Several
say the experience is characterized by exceptionally lengthy queues
and
overcrowded, dirty platforms.
But, as correspondent Fazila Mohamed of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
reported, many say this is unavoidable as travel
by train is one of the only
affordable means of transport to many
destinations.
Meanwhile, the increased power cuts and fuel shortages have
disrupted the
functions of many Zimbabwean households.
As a result,
many have resorted to finding other sources of energy to cook,
and in cold
weather, to heat up homes.
One practice of particular concern to
conservationists is the cutting of
trees for firewood, which conservationist
say has reached alarming levels.
As a result, Zimbabwe's state-run Herald
newspaper reported recently that
the Forestry Commission has made plans to
meet with stakeholders, to find a
way around the power cuts, while saving
the trees.
Regional Director James Murombedzi of the International Union
for the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources - the world
conservation union,
said deforestion has negative consequences that will
impact not only
Zimbabwe, but the region and the global community, as a
whole.
Murombedzi told reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyelye that based on a
recent report
by the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe, an immediate solution
is needed to
stop deforestation.
BILL WATCH SPECIAL
[31st August 2007]
Public Hearings for the
Constitutional Amendment No 18 Bill
[If you would like an electronic version
of the Bill - please request it.
Also available on request: full text of
Constitution including the proposed
amendments]
The Portfolio
Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs will
conduct Public
Hearings next week in Harare, Bulawayo and Gweru on the
Constitution of
Zimbabwe Amendment No 18 Bill:-
HARARE
Date:
Thursday 6th September
Time: 0900 hours
Venue
Zambezi
Room - Jameson Hotel
BULAWAYO
Date:
Friday 7th September
Time:
1400
hours
Venue
Top of the Rainbow Room - Rainbow
Hotel
GWERU
Date:
Saturday 8th
September
Time:
1100 hours
Venue
Courtney A Room - Fairmile Hotel
The hearings are
open to all members of the public and interested
organisations to attend
and/or to present written or oral submissions.
If you have queries please
telephone the Clerk of the Portfolio Committee,
Ms Macheza, telephone (04)
700181, 252936-50, extension 2253.
Those wanting to make written submissions
should deliver them to Parliament
as soon as possible and before 4 pm
Wednesday afternoon. Written
submissions and correspondence should
delivered via the Kwame Nkrumah Ave
entrance and be addressed to:-
The
Clerk of Parliament
Attention: Portfolio Committee on Justice Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs
Alternatively, written submissions can be handed in to
the Committee Clerk
after you have made your presentation at the
hearing.
Procedure at public hearings:
· Introduction by the
Chairperson of the Committee who will announce the
procedure he would like
followed, but normally the procedure is:-
· Submissions from the floor - if
you have notified the clerk you have a
submission you will be called on to
speak. Alternatively you can raise your
hand until the Chairperson
acknowledges you.
· Time for members of the committee and participants to
ask questions and
make comments
· Closing comments by the
Chairperson.
Note: At these hearings all submissions and discussion are
protected by
Parliamentary privilege.
Members of the Portfolio
Committee
Hon T. S. Chipanga (Chairperson), Hon Sen. F. Bayayi, Hon Chief J.
Bidi, Hon
F. E. Chidarikire, Hon I. T. Gonese, Hon J. M. Gumbo, Hon W.
Madzimure, Hon
Sen. S. Mahere, Hon A. Malinga, Hon Chief C. Malisa, Hon Sen.
T. J. Mapfumo,
Hon Sen. Chief C. H. H. Marange, Hon T. Matutu, Hon M.
Mawere, Hon P.
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, Hon Sen. Chief L. K. Mtshane, Hon
Chief P. M.
Mudzimurema, .Hon Sen Chief C. E. Negomo
Other individual MPs
and Senators can be approached and lobbied at any time.
Members of the
Portfolio Committee, MPs and Senators can be contacted
through Parliament
[Tel. No. and address as above.]
Mmegi, Botswana
Friday, 31 August 2007
*TANONOKA JOSEPH WHANDE
Robert 'Pol Pot'
Mugabe got another standing ovation for capably pulling in
the opposite
direction of where the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) is
trying to go. The ovation came, not from those rent-a-crowd mobs
we see at
airports whenever an African president leaves or arrives home, but
from the
African Heads of State themselves.
In the last 15 years and more,
Mugabe has done nothing but ruin a country,
murdering a nation and its
economy. It's sad that we are losing count of
those citizens whose deaths he
is responsible for.
Mugabe has literally chased judges and
magistrates out of the country, with
most of them now in Britain, Botswana,
South Africa and surrounding
countries. So are Zimbabwean engineers, doctors
and other professionals.
Many Zimbabwean journalists, in and outside the
country, have been attacked;
many have gone missing, with others turning up
dead.
Mugabe withholds food from the hungry citizens because he
suspects them of
being loyal to opposition political parties. The economies
of South Africa
and Botswana, countries both whose presidents were in the
crowd applauding
Mugabe, are the saddest victims of Mugabe's
behaviour.
Mugabe has even had the temerity to refuse food help for
the starving people
and, for years now, has even been denying women access
to donated sanitary
pads, which are no longer available in the country. As
they gathered in
Lusaka, Mugabe achieved an inflation rate of
7634.8%.
And for that, he got a standing ovation! SADC leaders applauded
Mugabe for
killing a nation.
So it came to pass that I was
betrayed in a little town called Lusaka in
Zambia. The whole nation of
Zimbabwe was betrayed by these leaders.
Villagers in Angola, Lesotho, the DR
Congo, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana,
and women and tribesmen in the whole
of southern Africa were betrayed as
well. And they are the ones who are
paying for the now conspicuous and
indefensible buffoonery of regional
leaders.
How many of its men, women and children does Africa bury
everyday? Dead at
the short-sightedness of Africa's leaders.
We are at
war with ourselves. And we kill while our presidents applaud.
As per their
annual custom, our leaders congregated to deliberate on our
difficulties.
Africans, always full of faith, bred in compassion and
optimistic, waited
expectantly. The wart on Africa's face remains.
Our leaders came back
home to be met, at the airports, by cabinet ministers
and cheering members
of society congratulating them for having put, like
Pink Floyd said, another
brick in the wall, closing out any possibility for
change in Zimbabwe. Like
numerous times before, all SADC leaders applauded a
murderer in their
midst.
It was betrayal and treachery of continental
proportions.
Thabo Mbeki, who miraculously succeeded to get all SADC
leaders into a full
nelson, poisoned the gathered leaders and shielded
Mugabe. And none of the
SADC leaders dissented or yelled for
help.
Instead, they applauded the murderer among them, calling him a
liberator to
whom, apparently, they gave the assignment to kill his own
citizens and top
it all with destroying not only their countries but the
progress of the
African continent.
Treachery is ugly and that is what we
all got from our leaders.
Who is Mugabe fighting in
Zimbabwe?
Mugabe is fighting his own defenceless citizens. Zimbabwe
is not at war but
lives worse than one at war. Zimbabwe is not under
sanctions but,
rightfully, Mugabe and his cohorts are. SADC leaders
lackadaisically ignore
that. For years now, SADC leaders have been betraying
the African people.
SADC leaders must be charged with negligence,
sedition and treason. They
always claim collective responsibility, don't
they?
Oh, George Bizos, where are you?
The shameful betrayal in
Lusaka sent totally wrong messages beyond our
region. SADC continues to
betray Africa. And someone must pay.
I am more pained because we were
betrayed by presidents from our own region
who had gathered to debate the
problems in our own region and yet decided to
ignore the source of our
region's regression.
The fiend, Mugabe, himself, calls African
leaders 'cowards' and SADC leaders
congregated in Zambia to prove Mugabe
right. Instead of censuring Mugabe,
they promised him money which, of
course, they don't have.
A collection of what I would like to believe
was 'a bevy of popularly
elected southern African leaders' gathered in
Zambia and decided that what
is happening in Zimbabwe is inconsequential;
they decided that it did not
warrant urgent action or intervention.
Mwanawasa made a u-turn and declared
that the problems in Zimbabwe are
exaggerated, really? African leaders said
they would rather give Zimbabwe
money than stop Mugabe from killing his
citizens and messing up the
region.
And we heard the regular nonsensical 'tough talk.' This time it
was from
SADC executive secretary, Tomaz Augusto Salomao.
In a report,
Salomao repeated the International Monetary Fund's war cry,
saying Zimbabwe
must undertake "comprehensive economic reforms that should
include currency
reforms, expenditure cuts and a stable policy environment."
Utter
rubbish!
Why skate the issue?
No amount of money will make a
difference in Zimbabwe unless there is
political, not economic, reform. The
prevailing political atmosphere in
Zimbabwe can neither support nor
accommodate an economic renewal. Who would
invest in Zimbabwe today when
property ownership depends on pillow talk
between the president and his
spouse? Where there are no property rights,
there are no human
rights.
Zimbabwe needs political reform first before an economic
renaissance.
And no meaningful political reforms will ever materialise as
long as Mugabe
is around or in power.
The IMF is interested in
money matters, which is why they have always
bankrolled dictators around the
world.
Why, I wonder, do Africans so easily forget the rancid experience of
oppression? Unless Salomao is only there to mime his masters' voices, he
should just quietly enjoy his perks.
SADC leaders left for Zambia knowing
fully well how Mugabe, the individual,
not Zimbabwe the nation, is hurting
their nations.
They ignored that but agreed on decisions that do not
benefit their own
countries or the people of Zimbabwe. And, for what even
God would love to
understand, they decided to please Mugabe, the one
individual who has
destroyed not only Zimbabwe but is disturbing the entire
region. They
applauded Mugabe, the very man who is causing them sleepless
nights.
How could they?
Yes, just how could they? I do not believe
for one moment that President
Festus Mogae, let alone Botswana, agrees with
what transpired in Lusaka.
Are Tanzania's Kikwete and Zambia's Mwanawasa sure
about what they are
letting happen in Zimbabwe?
I agree that we
should all forgive Thabo Mbeki because the man is out of his
depth .His
ineptitude, both in and outside his country, is a matter of
public record.
Even under my own circumstances as a Zimbabwean, I still have
room to feel
sorry for South Africans. They honestly deserve better
leadership.
Mugabe's defenders tell the world that the Zimbabwean
issue can only be
solved by Zimbabweans themselves. And yet they know what
kind of grip the
country is under. Zimbabwe ceased to be an 'internal
problem' decades ago.
Have we not seen what Mugabe does to elected
parliamentarians, the very
custodians of democracy in any normal country?
Zimbabwe needs outside help.
SADC leaders will be surprised to find that,
since the last time they
blinked, Mugabe had turned them into unwitting
dictators; for one does not
have to oppress his own people to be a dictator
or tyrant.
SADC leaders huddle behind the irresponsible and reckless
notion of
collective responsibility. They should not continue to play games.
There now
exists a serious possibility of an armed insurrection in Zimbabwe,
an armed
struggle - if you prefer. And, when it happens, the dissenters will
not ask
for permission from neighbouring countries. It is called spontaneity
and
spontaneity is untamed.
SADC leaders, you better listen; this
catastrophe is coming to a country
near you. That is collective
responsibility!
*Tanonoka Joseph Whande is a Botswana-based
Zimbabwean writer.
Posted September 1, 2007 | 08:35 PM (EST)