• Bishop says Africa ignoring Mugabe-backed violence
• Jail for Zim black marketeers
• Elephants relocated to Mozambican park
• JAG Food Security Communique dated 04 September 2003
• 55 cattle die at Moyana’s farm
• Stir Mugabe with prayer, Ncube urges Zimbabweans
• Pump breakdown puts $15 million crop at risk
• Sugar deal not so sweet
• Mugabe not ill, says government
• New strategies needed
• Reconciliation is not easy at all
• RBZ acts on interest rates
• Cash shortage reduces output
• Life has become so hard for ordinary Zimbabweans.
• Stipulation denying us cash
• Zimbabwean faces rape charges in New Zealand
• Zimbabwe protests Botswana electric fence
• Zimbabwe youth exploited for Zanu-PF
• Zimbabwe Bank stripped of licence
• Nothing negative' about being realistic on Zimbabwe
• Herbs possible to reverse AIDS symptoms: Zimbabwean expert

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A top Zimbabwean bishop accused African leaders on
Friday of ignoring state-backed violence in his country, saying young people
were being turned into violent instruments of President Robert Mugabe's
rule.

Last month African leaders backed Mugabe at a meeting of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC), asking the West to lift sanctions
against the economically crippled country.

Pius Ncube, the Catholic archbishop of Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo,
said Mugabe's government had brainwashed young Zimbabweans in training camps
run by his ruling ZANU-PF party, teaching as many as 50,000 youths to
practise violence.

Ncube, long an outspoken critic of Mugabe's government, said African leaders
had refused to speak out in the misguided belief they must unite against
'neo-colonial' pressure from former ruler Britain and other Western nations.

"It is mob psychology by African leaders. They have become totally blinded
to the abuse of human rights," Ncube told a Johannesburg news conference.

"Pressure should be brought upon Mugabe to stop this abuse...which is
killing off the souls of young people."

Reports of increasing violence by youth militias come as Zimbabwe sinks
deeper into its worst political and economic crisis since independence in
1980.

With inflation riding at close to 400 percent and critical shortages of food
and fuel, Zimbabwe's downward spiral has been exacerbated by political
tensions which critics attribute to Mugabe's increasingly authoritarian
rule.

RAPED AND TORTURED

Ncube was flanked by ex-militia members who told how they raped, tortured
and even murdered alleged ZANU-PF opponents.

Government critics including the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
say Mugabe's government has used graduates of its national youth service
programme in violent campaigns against opposition supporters, especially
ahead of elections.

The government denies the allegations and says the programme is about
patriotic education.

One former militiaman, 19-year-old Wesley, told how he and 100 others, high
on marijuana and beer, attacked a white-owned farm near Beitbridge on the
South African border in April 2001.

"We surrounded the farm and after entering the house we tortured him (the
farmer). After that his wife was raped and we raped his daughters. They were
seven and 12 and the small one was around four years old," Wesley said.

The youths, some armed with AK-47s, then locked the family inside the house
and lobbed petrol bombs through windows.

"The family didn't survive, we burned them all. I feel terrible for the
things I have done," Wesley said.

South African Catholic Bishop Kevin Dowling said Africa's response to
Zimbabwe would test its commitment to human rights, adding: "Fundamentally,
it is in the hands of (South African President) Thabo Mbeki and SADC not to
pussy-foot around but go to Robert Mugabe and tell him 'The game is up. Get
out'."

Harare - Illegal foreign currency dealers in Zimbabwe's second city of
Bulawayo are to be sentenced to jail with hard labour as part of a clampdown
on thriving black market deals, state television said on Thursday.

Twelve dealers have already been sentenced to two months in prison with one
month suspended, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) reported.

Bulawayo is a key centre for unauthorised foreign currency deals, many of
them arranged by female members of an apostolic church sect. Previously
offenders were fined.

"We want at all costs to clean the city of Bulawayo of these (dealers),"
police spokesperson Smile Dube told ZBC.

Zimbabwe is suffering from a critical shortage of foreign currency on the
official market where rates are much lower than on the streets.

Last month the US dollar reached a reported height of Z$6 500 on the
parallel market. The official government rate is Z$824 to the greenback.

The government of President Robert Mugabe is trying to stamp out the black
market and last month withdrew the foreign currency trading licence of a
local merchant bank, accusing it of carrying out illegal deals.

      The cattle are said to have died due to neglect and malnutrition.

      ZNSPCA officials said the cattle, from a herd of about 300, had died
in the past week on Moyana’s Olympia Farm in Borrowdale because of the
shortage of grazing pasture and water.

      "This is serious neglect for which there is no excuse, and we are
going to see that Moyana is prosecuted under the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals Act," Meryl Harrison, the ZNSPCA national co-ordinator, said during
a tour of the farm this week. The maximum fine under the Act is $20 000 or
six months in prison or both.

      "We want the owner of the farm to face charges for the deaths of the
55 head of cattle separately. He must be charged with 55 counts of breaching
the Act," Harrison said.

      She said the ZNSPCA and the Department of Veterinary Services were
compiling a comprehensive report on the situation on the farm, which they
will forward to Borrowdale Police Station.

      Contacted for comment, Moyana said the matter had only been brought to
his attention yesterday morning.

      "I have only been made aware of what is happening at the farm this
morning and I have sent my manager to investigate the matter," he said.

      Harrison said the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Services
should have been alerted of the situation at Olympia Farm while there was
still time to save the cattle.

      "The cattle have been dying at the farm on a daily basis since last
week and the owner has not raised the alarm," Harrison told the Daily News.

      When this reporter visited the farm on Wednesday, about 15 cattle were
lying dead in a veld and at least five others were struggling to stand. "We
have discovered there is no water or hay to feed the animals and no action
was being taken to save them," Harrison said.

      Staff Reporter

      Ncube, who is the head of the Catholic Church in Bulawayo, was
addressing people who converged at St Anne’s Mission for the church’s golden
jubilee, commemorating 50 years of the Roman Catholic Church’s religious,
educational and health services in the Plumtree and Matobo districts.

      "As believers in the healing power of prayer, you should pray for the
leadership of the government of Zimbabwe to realise that this country is in
a crisis. People are dying of hunger, but they do not want to hear about it.

      "So pray for them so that they may realise that they were not elected
to sit up there and forget about the welfare of the people. They are busy
spreading fear instead of working to stop the hunger that has caused so much
death throughout the country," Ncube, an outspoken critic of the government,
told local and international guests.

      He also called on churches to pray for an end to the culture of fear
and hero-worshipping of ruling ZANU PF leaders.

      "This government threatens and rubbishes anyone who speaks against
repression and subjugation of people. But as Christians, we should not be
afraid. In fact, we should continue to speak out against injustice,
regardless of the threats and intimidation."

      The golden jubilee celebration was attended by members of the Roman
Catholic Church dioceses in the Gauteng province of South Africa,
representatives from the eighteen outstations affiliated to the Brunapeg St
Anne’s Parish and spread throughout the Plumtree and Matobo districts of
Matabeleland South.

      Established in 1952, the St Anne Parish now runs a mission school and
hospital in Brunapeg.

      Eighty-nine ordained officers have served in the parish and the
establishment of the out-stations is one of the church’s major achievements
in the service of the communities in the two districts.

      The station has also produced a large number of nurses, doctors and
teachers.

      In addition to mission services, the Brunapeg hospital station is also
feeding an estimated 25 000 young and aged people in five wards of the
Mangwe district.

      Own Correspondent

      The water pumps broke down five months ago and have not been repaired.

      Several farmers who had planted a variety of crops, including maize
and wheat, told the Daily News that they risked losing crops worth over $15
million because the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) had failed to
repair the pumps.

      The ZINWA is mandated with overseeing water provision to farmers
around the country.

      Lisenga Mushani, a farmer at the irrigation scheme, said some of the
crops had already wilted because of the high temperatures experienced in the
lowveld area in the past few weeks.

      "The crops we had planted for winter cropping have already wilted and
this has affected our farming. Now we don’t know what to do in future
because farming is our sole means of survival," Mushani said.

      "We appealed to the government to help us, but nothing has been done
so far."

      The farmers said their irrigation pumps had been taken to the premises
of the ZINWA for repairs, but had not been sent back to them.

      ZINWA area manager Albert Mare confirmed that the irrigation pumps had
not been repaired, saying the organisation had no foreign currency to import
the parts needed to repair the equipment.

      "We have been failing to repair the pumps due to lack of foreign
currency. The pumps are big, so we are actually sourcing foreign currency to
import some parts required to repair them," he said.

      He however said that the ZINWA board was expecting to receive some
foreign currency that could be used to import parts for the irrigation
pumps, which would then be returned to their owners.

      Felix Chiramba, another farmer at Chilonga, said: "We fear that our
families are going to starve to death as we rely solely on this irrigation
scheme, especially in this time of drought.

      If our pumps are not repaired in time, then it means disaster for us."

      He added: "We hardly receive food aid from local and international
organisations, so we only rely on the crops we farm. So, if our pumps are
repaired, we can’t survive."

      About 300 families occupy about 141 hectares of land under irrigation
at the Chilonga irrigation scheme. The farmers grow maize, cotton,
groundnuts, vegetables, tomatoes and several other cash crops.

      From Godfrey Mutimba

      Own Correspondent

      Investigations by the Daily News revealed that the four officers, who
are based in Chipinge, ferried 300 kilogrammes of sugar to Chimoio in
Mozambique, even though they had not obtained an export permit as they are
required to by the law.

      The government banned the export of commodities such as sugar,
mealie-meal and cooking oil in 2001 because of shortages of the basic
commodities.

      A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority official yesterday said the ban was still
effective and that sugar could only be taken out of the country after an
export licence was granted by the Ministry of Agriculture.

      The 300 kgs of sugar taken into Mozambique were supposed to be
bartered for rice.

      The sugar was allegedly taken through Rutanda border post in Cashel
Valley using a police Defender truck, and was exchanged for rice on 1
August.

      The police officers were allegedly led by a Superintendent Chagwedera,
who was based in Rusape and was the acting officer commanding Chipinge
district at the time. They included an Inspector Mutitsakwa, Assistant
Inspector Chimuriwo and an unidentified officer, all from Chipinge.

      The four were apprehended by police officers in the Guarde Fronteiro
unit, which is responsible for patrolling the Mozambian border, and which
confiscated 200 kgs of the sugar after the local law enforcement agents
failed to produce an export licence.

      Chagwedera is said to have appealed to senior Mozambican police
officials to facilitate the release of the sugar, saying some of it belonged
to Killian Mandisodza, a high-ranking official in Mutare.

      Mandisodza is an assistant commissioner and the officer commanding the
crime section in Manicaland province.

      The Mozambican police yesterday confirmed that they handled a case
involving Chagwedera and three other officers who exchanged sugar for rice
in Mozambique.

      Tendai Watson, a Mozambican police officer who handled the matter and
is based at Sussundenga police station in Chimoio, said the sugar was
released after the intervention of the police commander at Sussundenga
police station, Nato Mashava.

      He told the Daily News: "The commander personally intervened to make
sure that the sugar was released because your officers had said that some of
the sugar belonged to Commander Mandisodza.

      "Since we were all policemen, we felt we could not make things
difficult for them. Commander Nato then personally helped the policemen to
get their sugar back."

      Chagwedera yesterday refused to comment on the matter, demanding to
know the source of the Daily News’ information.

      "Who told you about that? I will not say anything about the matter
until you tell me who told you about it. Anyway, talk to Mandisodza. He was
my boss," said Chagwedera before switching off his mobile phone.

      Mutitsakwa said he was not allowed to talk to the Press and it was not
possible to secure comment from Chimuriwo.

      Mandisodza denied any knowledge of the case, saying: "Police officers
cross into Mozambique on business on numerous occasions, and I cannot count
on my fingers how many times I have authorised such business trips. But I am
not aware of the case you are referring to. I don’t think I was involved in
any such trip."

      Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena could not be reached for comment
yesterday.

      Mashava was not available for comment as he was said to be out of the
office yesterday.

      However, Watson said Mashava undertook to recover the confiscated
sugar on behalf of the Zimbabwean officers and convinced a market trader,
identified only as Modesta, to give Chagwedera’s group 300 kgs of rice in
exchange for the 100 kgs of sugar. The remaining 200 kgs were to be
delivered to him from the border post at a later date. Watson said two
unnamed police officers from Chipinge had visited Sussundenga two weeks ago
to ensure that the confiscated 200 kgs of sugar were handed over to the
trader, Modesta. "They have cleared their debt. We don’t have any problems
with them anymore. In fact, two officers from Chipinge came here last week
and Modesta was here to collect his sugar from them," said Watson.
By Farai Mutsaka Chief Reporter

      According to South Africa’s News24, Mugabe, who has been attending a
United Nations conference on desertification in Cuba, was scheduled to fly
direct from Havana to Tehran for treatment before returning home.

      A report on News24 said: "Sources in Harare say his urologist will
accompany him when he goes to Iran for treatment. He was previously treated
for the same problem in Malaysia after receiving throat cancer therapy in
Spain."

      But Regis Chikoore, a Press secretary in the Department of Information
and Publicity, yesterday dismissed the reports, saying they were "mischief."

      "It is mischief on the part of the writer. We are kept abreast of what
is happening in Cuba and some of it is even coming out in the media," said
Chikoore. "There is no truth in that report. It is mere creation of an
event. It’s total fiction. Even what they are saying about Comrade Muzenda
is all false."

      News24 reported that Vice-President Simon Muzenda had been on life
support since the weekend and would remain on the machines until Mugabe’s
return to Zimbabwe.

      Muzenda was admitted to Harare’s Parirenyatwa Hospital for an
undisclosed ailment last month.

      By Columbus Mavhunga

      Staff Reporter

      The ruling ZANU PF party, with its "couldn’t-care-less" attitude, has
scorned every attempt by labour and other stakeholders to engage it in
honest and transparent dialogue to find a solution. Not only to the cash
shortage, but the other myriad crises that have reduced Zimbabwe to a nation
of paupers and beggars.

      The Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF), which was supposed to be a
platform of mutual co-operation for labour, business and the government,
failed because of ZANU PF and the government’s strange belief that they, and
they alone, have a monopoly on patriotism and wisdom.

      On several occasions, the TNF would agree on one thing only for the
government to act differently because it would be politically expedient to
do so.

      The National Economic Consultative Forum, set up earlier than the TNF
and also tasked to cobble up a plan to pull Zimbabwe out of crisis, also
failed because of the government’s "know-it-all" attitude.

      The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries and the Zimbabwe National
Chamber of Commerce have in the past complained that they are consulted by
the government but their suggestions and ideas are largely ignored.

      And in the past few weeks, President Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF have
worked hard to derail an initiative by Zimbabwe’s church leaders to revive
dialogue between the ruling party and the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) to arrive at a solution and to find a negotiated settlement to
the country’s political and economic crisis.

      Be that as it may, the ZCTU, MDC or anybody else cannot resort to mass
job stayaways simply because ZANU PF and its government are refusing to
talk.

      Job stayaways as a strategy to push the government to move one way or
the other have clearly outlived their effectiveness.

      The ZCTU shut down industry and commerce across Zimbabwe in March, but
the government did not give an inch, maintaining the fuel price hikes the
labour body wanted reversed.

      ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibhebhe and his colleagues in the
umbrella union body must know that come the end of the mass action the cash
shortage and all the other painful shortages will still be with us.

      It cannot be reasonably disputed, even by ZANU PF and the government,
that Zimbabwe is ripe for change.

      That Zimbabweans have so far not risen en masse to free themselves
from dictatorship may be a testament of how brutal the system that is
oppressing them is.

      But it is also an indictment against the methods and strategies such
as mass action used by their leaders in the ZCTU and elsewhere!

      Clearly what is needed, Mr Chibhebhe, are new, innovative and brave
strategies to confront a selfish ruling elite that is prepared to protect,
by any means necessary, the loot it has acquired over23 years of plunder.

      Sometimes the writer will ask friends. Of course, most of your friends
will praise your work when you are within earshot. The friend who will give
you constructive criticism is a real friend and a rare one.

      Since such friends are so rare, I keep my ears open and maybe even ask
a question if I see someone in a commuter omnibus reading my latest.

      Last week, I got an earful of comment: "It is all very well for this
Mandebvu to suggest we let the Old Man stay in State House, brick up the
gates and just continue life without him.

      "That might be a good idea if that one old man was the whole problem,
but what about all his relatives on Little England and those other farms?"

      Thank you for the reminder, my friend.

      You are quite right, but didn’t I say in that article that the cronies
and hangers-on would need a different treatment?

      We need reconciliation, but that isn’t easy and doesn’t mean letting
all the villains go free.

      After all, one reason for the poisoned atmosphere we have been
breathing for the last three years is that the Lancaster House agreement
brought us neither justice nor reconciliation.

      Yes, we heard that speech about reconciliation, but did he know what
the word means? Did the people he offered it to understand?

      Did either side realise that real reconciliation is hard work?

      As one example, the ZANU PF branch in our village collapsed in 1981.
One reason was that the chairman, with other district leaders, recruited the
local white farmers into the party.

      The farmers got ZANU PF help to keep their workers in line. ZANU PF,
at least in our district, wasn’t asking the farmers to change.

      They only needed to pay generously to support the party. The farmers
didn’t try to change. They just exploited ZANU PF patronage and didn’t mind
paying for it.

      Real reconciliation would have involved both sides changing their
ways.

      When we get the change we are all waiting for (some of us are even
working for it), we will need real change and real reconciliation. A Truth
and Reconciliation Commission on the South African model would be a good
start.

      There are so many guilty people that we can’t afford to punish them
all. The bitterness of court cases would be with us for years.

      On the other hand, forgiveness doesn’t come cheap. A wise man once
said: "Always forgive your enemies: nothing annoys them so much."

      If you offer forgiveness to someone who doesn’t admit he’s done wrong,
he’s likely to feel insulted. Then if you have suffered as so many people
have suffered in Zimbabwe in the past three years (not to mention the
Gukurahundi massacres and the violence of earlier elections), you do want
the guilty to admit their guilt and make some sign they are sorry. Then you
may be able to face the difficult task of really forgiving them.

      It isn’t good enough to just say "sorry". If any of the damage can be
undone, you want to see it undone.

      If you lost a leg or a relative, they can’t be given back to you, but
you will want to see a sign that they want to make up for your loss somehow.
If you lost a house, you have every right to expect some help to build a new
one. There have been a lot of houses lost, cattle, ploughs and other
necessities. There have been far too many relatives lost, and legs and eyes,
so we can’t expect anything like full compensation. But we can expect, when
we get a chance to sort this mess out, that the guilty people will admit
their guilt and do what they can to undo the damage they have done. They
certainly must not be left to profit from their evil deeds. If they will
admit their guilt, do what they can to put it right and ask for forgiveness,
then we should be generous and forgive them. That way we can start life
again together. Forgiveness is never easy. It usually means that we accept
rather less than we might demand in strict justice, and, of course, there is
no way we can measure compensation for the suffering we have felt. But if we
were to insist on a strict interpretation of justice, then people can always
argue about what is due in strict justice. That is how lawyers make their
money, and have you ever seen a poor lawyer? So we must not push justice or
retribution too far, or we will be producing more bitterness and resentment
that can only break out in more trouble, if not for us, for the next
generation. Yes, we, the victims, will need to be generous. Of course, if
any of the guilty will not admit their guilt and show some sign of sorrow,
then they must be taken to court and tried with the full rigour of the law
for their crimes. But ¡if we really want to rebuild Zimbabwe, we should try
hard to avoid that. I will never forget how hard and with what pain
Archbishop Tutu tried to get Winnie Mandela to admit and show some regret
for the crimes of her "football club". He failed, and his failure left him
in tears. If we meet with anyone as hard-hearted as Winnie Mandela was
there, we too should weep for our failure. There is no joy in punishing
people.

      By Magari Mandebvu

      The cut, which became effective on Wednesday, came after a five-week
silence from the RBZ on the direction of interest rates.

      The repo rate is the rate at which commercial banks borrow overnight
from the central bank. The premium on unsecured money was cut to five
percent from 20 percent and that on unsecured money dropped from a high of
40 percent to 10 percent.

      An RBZ statement seen by the Business Daily said: "With effect from
today (4 September 2003) secured lending from the RBZ will be 70 percent,
that is REPO rate plus five percent, and unsecured lending will be 75
percent, that is REPO rate plus 10 percent."

      Officials from Harare discount houses said the RBZ’s rate cut was a
desperate interventionist move to put a tight cap on surging interest rates,
which had shot up to a high of 140 percent in the past few days.

      A dealer at Bard Discount House said the company’s call rate had
dropped to 95 percent from 110 percent yesterday, while Interfin was quoting
75 percent from 120 percent.

      Intermarket was offering 75 percent on the call rate, down from 130
percent the previous day. Money market rates had been climbing steadily over
the past month, in spite of President Robert Mugabe’s declaration at the
opening of Parliament in late July that interest rates would come down
considerably.

      Rates hovered between 70 percent and 75 percent early yesterday, but
firmed to between 80 percent and 85 percent later in the day. Dealers were
offering between 80 percent and 85 percent for overnight accommodation.

      "We have not really seen a stable rate at the moment, but we expect
the rates to stabilise and move up significantly as there has been a lot of
resistance from traders," said a dealer from a local asset management
company.

      The dealer said the market was yet to adjust at sustainable levels.

      The high premium imposed on borrowing had initially been introduced
with a view to discourage borrowing from the central bank.

      But due to increased inflationary demand for banks to square up their
overnight positions, banks were willing to pay the high rates because they
had little choice.

      The latest move by the RBZ, according to dealers, will encourage banks
to now borrow from the central bank cheaply and discourage intra-bank
lending, which had resulted in rates going up.

      However, dealers said excessive borrowing from the RBZ by commercial
banks would feed into increasing money supply growth, which was
inflationary.

      But the dealers said with the RBZ having little room to manoeuvre, it
had to address the issue of interest rates first and the issue of money
supply growth at a later stage.

      The government has in the past three years increasingly resorted to
the local banking sector for borrowing because of the suspension of funds
from multilateral institutions and international donors.

      Meanwhile, Syfrets Corporate and Merchant Bank will next week
re-tender for petrofin bills after it failed to raise $38.9 billion on
Wednesday due to high interest rates quoted by bidders.

      The lowest bid attracted a premium of 70.75 percent and the highest
bid attracted a premium of 134 percent, while Syfrets was expecting around
60 percent.

      An official with Syfrets Corporate said the rates "were too high and
we have had to reject all the bids we had received".

      By Conrad Dube Senior Business Reporter

      An official with the Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ) said
the problem was now so critical that employers on Tuesday met with
representatives of the central bank to discuss the cash shortages and their
widespread impact.

      "We had a meeting with the RBZ (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe) to try and
explain to them the problems most employers are facing," an EMCOZ official
who declined to be named told the Business Daily.

      The EMCOZ official said it was no longer feasible for most employers
to pay weekly and monthly wages using cheques, which was adversely affecting
workers.

      "Banks no long accept third-part cheques from companies and paying
wages using traveller’s cheques is very tedious," the official added.

      The cash crisis, partly blamed on inflation and foreign currency
shortages, has forced banks to ration money, with some limiting their
clients to as little as $2 000 a day. This is forcing most workers to queue
for cash at their banks every day in an attempt to collect as much money as
possible to facilitate daily transactions.

      Business executives said this had resulted in many workers reporting
late for duty, while others were not coming to work at all.

      A worker who spoke to the Business Daily from a cash queue in the
Harare city centre said: "I cannot work for months without being able to
access my cash from the banks. The whole of this week I will not go to work
until I raise enough cash to pay my rentals and for other crucial
necessities."

      In a bid to prevent increased tardiness and absenteeism from affecting
production, some employers have resorted to not banking their daily takings,
in violation of new regulations that prohibit individuals and traders from
holding on to more than $5 million in cash a day.

      Company officials said they were withholding their takings so that
they could pay their workers in cash.

      "If we don’t give our employees enough cash, our production will
definitely go down," said a Harare supermarket owner.

      But analysts said those businesses that were holding on to cash were
fuelling the cash shortages, which have made it difficult for industry and
commerce to undertake daily transactions.

      Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) chief executive,
Luckymore Zinyama, said most of the ZNCC’s members were failing to perform
many of their daily activities because of the cash shortages.

      "Cash is part of the working capital of most companies and its
unavailability is suppressing the country’s national output," he told the
Business Daily.

      He added that many suppliers and other businesses were no longer
accepting cheques and "plastic money", making it difficult for companies to
procure essential goods. Economists said the informal sector was the worst
affected by the crisis because all of its transactions were on a cash basis.

      "Nearly all the transactions in the informal sector are conducted on
cash basis and the growing shortages of hard cash are a mortal blow to most
of the activities in the sector," said Ranga Mandaza, an analyst at Century
Holdings.

      He added that the informal sector had no facilities for the use of
plastic money or cheques, making it difficult for operators to conduct
business.

      The analysts said it was crucial for all stakeholders to come up with
sustainable solutions to the crisis. Albert Makoche, an economist at the
University of Zimbabwe, noted: "There is need for permanent solutions to
eliminate this cash crisis, instead of playing around with temporary
measures that cascade into other problems in the near future."

      The government has introduced traveller’s cheques to alleviate the
cash shortages, but many retailers are refusing to accept them. According to
the Finance Ministry, billions of dollars’ worth of new $1 000 and $500
notes will also be injected into the system in the next few weeks to ease
the shortages.

      But analysts say once these new notes are in circulation, they will
also soon be in short supply because of rising inflation and hoarding.

      Inflation, which rose 399.5 percent in the year to July, is making it
necessary for Zimbabweans to use large amounts of money to buy even the most
basic commodities.
By Stanley Taderera Business Reporter

      In the meantime, the elite upper class are even better able to afford
luxurious lifestyles. The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting
richer.

      The current cash shortages are having a negative impact on the poor
who rely on cash for all their daily transactions.

      To solve the problems at hand, the government of Zimbabwe, in
collaboration with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, should put in place
measures to curb the deteriorating situation in the land. Below are a few
useful suggestions:

      - We could regulate our prices and salaries in United States dollars,
for instance.

      After that, we would devalue our local currency to match the rates on
the parallel market.

      The official exchange rate should now be monitored such that it always
matches the parallel rate. Employee salaries and prices would be fixed in US
dollars and would only be adjusted when the exchange rate changed.

      We would stop reviewing prices and salaries since they would be
determined by the exchange rate. This way, the people’s buying power would
not be eroded whenever the local currency devalues. This measure would force
industry to stop putting pressure on the government to devalue the dollar
because each time the dollar is devalued, salaries would rise.

      Note: Salaries are a variable that employers do not want changed
upwards, therefore this would oblige industry to keep the local currency
stable.

      The government would be required to alter their tax tables so that
they would not over-tax people and organisations. If we look at today’s
situation, anyone earning below $300 000 per month should not be taxed. It
follows that the minimum wage should be around $300 000.

      - After these changes, we could experience a severe shortage of cash,
which would be easy to sort out. The rule of thumb is: The highest currency
denomination must be able to purchase a small basket of provisions in a
grocery shop and printing money must be profitable business.

      For example, it costs around $50 000 these days to buy a small basket
of groceries. It follows that we should already be printing $50 000 notes.
We should now phase out any money below $100. To be precise, we should have
money denominations of less than $5 000 being in coins and made out of cheap
material, such as aluminium.

      - When we have implemented the above measures, we would go on to
create a solid infrastructure that promotes steady economic growth. Examples
of steps we could take are: refurbishing our road and rail networks,
upgrading telephone networks and opening research stations that are easily
accessible to the ordinary citizen of the land at no cost.

      The government could then make available funds to assist inventors to
open small manufacturing industries.

      Concerned

      Harare

      The powers that be in their misguided wisdom chose to ignore factors
such as proximity to a particular branch.

      A case in point is my experience of 23, 25 and 26 August 2003, when I
could not access cash at Selous Avenue Branch, when the Robert Mugabe and
Fourth Street branches were operating.

      The fact that Selous Avenue Branch (head office) had no cash or
cheques by 10 am on 26 August 2003 is a clear indication that getting
service at own branch only is unworkable.

      Beverley should revisit their unreasonable stipulation. Perhaps they
would care to comment.

      Algy Kuimba

      Dzivaresekwa

      The charges were laid against the accused when he appeared in the
Auckland District Court on Wednesday.

      The 24-year-old has lived in Auckland since 2001.

      He faced two charges of rape and one each of kidnapping and infecting
with the disease human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which can lead to AIDS.
The infection charge carries a maximum term of 14 years in jail.

      He is also charged with wounding with reckless disregard to cause
grievous bodily harm, criminal nuisance, assaulting a female, threatening to
kill and stealing a motor vehicle.

      He was remanded in custody to appear again next week.

      He was arrested on Friday, after police investigated complaints from
two people.

      Auckland City police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty would not comment
further, except to say that investigations were still continuing.

      The accused was unemployed, although it is understood he was working
at the Sky City Casino as a dealer until recently.

      The New Zealand Herald spoke to one of his Zimbabwean friends who
would not be named, but said the accused came to New Zealand as a refugee.

      Black and white Zimbabweans have been fleeing President Robert Mugabe’
s regime and many have come to New Zealand.

      The man said the accused rarely spoke of his past, except to say that
he had been an artist.

      The man said he met the accused through the small circle of Zimbabwean
blacks who regularly socialised in Auckland, among whom he was popular.

      They would often take a car for a day trip, or party at the flat they
shared with other Zimbabweans.

      "He liked to party," the man said. "He is a good guy . . . a good
friend."

      He said the accused had moved out to live somewhere else with a "Kiwi"
girlfriend.

      Dr Rick Franklin, the clinical director of the Auckland Sexual Health
Service, said it was rare for people to spread HIV deliberately.

      "Most commonly it’s unknown and when they find out they’re HIV
positive, most people are reasonably responsible."

      He said the clinic dealt with only about one case every few years
where it had to contact people who had sex with an HIV-infected person.

      Franklin said he did not know how many people had had sex with the
accused.

      "In terms of the people who may have had unprotected sex with him, it’
s an important and serious health risk, but for Auckland, we are much more
at risk from the uncontrolled state of sexually transmitted infections." –
New Zealand Herald

      "The construction works for the fence started in October last year and
the intention is to complete it by June next year," acting Director of
Veterinary Services, Dr. Musa Fanakiso said.

      The planned fence will cover a distance of 500 kilometres and will be
2.4 metres high. It is meant to control the spread of Food and Mouth Disease
(FMD) from Zimbabwe to Botswana. In the last two years,

      Botswana has had two FMD outbreaks originating from Zimbabwe, which
has been undergoing an economic and political crisis.

      The outbreaks have seen the Botswana beef industry losing millions in
terms of lost exports and destroyed cattle.

      "The fence would be cutting across the livestock areas and it starts
from Tuli Circle up to Zibanana. The intention of the fence is to control
animal health diseases," Fanakiso added.

      However, Zimbabwe has claimed that "Botswana is trying to create
another Gaza Strip" by constructing an electric fence which will kill
illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe. Botswana is faced with a major immigration
problem because of the Zimbabwean crisis.

      "We have recently stepped up border patrols in a bid to contain the
problem," Immigration Officer responsible for the north, Oliver Toteng told
Mmegi.

      "We are repatriating at least 2,500 illegal Zimbabweans a month,"
Toteng said but added: "The people that we are send back home come back
immediately after repatriation."

      Government has expressed concern that the repatriation exercise is
likely to cost more than a million pula this year.

      HARARE, Sept. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- HIV/AIDS sufferers might soon be
getting relief through natural remedies as research increasingly centers on
the benefits of herbs in the search for a cure for the pandemic, a
Zimbabwean herbal medicines expert here said on Friday.

      Richard Ngwenya who runs a natural-medicine surgery seems to have
found natural medicines that reverse the symptoms of HIV/AIDS.

      Ngwenya has a herb farm where he grows various plants which he
uses to cure chronic diseases which include HIV/AIDS, asthma, diabetes,
ulcers, arthritis, meningitis and cancer.

      Ngwenya then said HIV/AIDS could be treated but wrong
treatmentcaused the continued suffering of the people.

      "These so called untreated chronic illnesses can be cured but bad
information, bad treatment, fake hygiene, fake nutrition are some of the
causes of continued illnesses," he said.

      "When one comes here the first thing we do is to give him a diet
sheet so as to advise on good nutrition, the lack of which isone of the
causes of illnesses. Medication makes 10 percent of thesolution, nutrition
85 percent and education takes the other five percent," he said.

      He said medicine had been hiding the source and cure of
cancer,leprosy, sexually transmitted diseases and many other diseases.

      He accused the medical fraternity of being stuck in tradition.

      Anti-retroviral drugs, according to Ngwenya, caused blood
coagulation and therefore they did not help much.

      The answer, according to Ngwenya, is to de-acidify the body as
fungi caused high acidity levels in the body.

      "One has to avoid milk, yeast and high acidic foods so that
the body can have a pH range of 7.6-7.8," he said.

      Ngwenya, a former freedom fighter, learned about herbal medicines
in the former Soviet Union, United States of America andMexico.

      HIV/AIDS has caused untold suffering to the world and the lack of
a substantive cure has worsened its impact.

      According to the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare about 2
million people are living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe and about 3,000 succumb
to the pandemic each week. Enditem