No deal yet for Zimbabwe, but rivals hint it's coming

Yahoo News

by Godfrey Marawanyika Mon Sep 8, 4:16 PM ET

HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe's political rivals failed to secure agreement in
power-sharing talks on Monday, but President Robert Mugabe and the
opposition hinted that the deadlock could be broken soon.

Asked by reporters if he had reached a deal with his rival Morgan
Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), Mugabe said: "Not yet."

"(But) we are moving forward, we are not going back. It was a good meeting,"
he added.

Tsvangirai, who left the meeting venue shortly after Mugabe's departure, did
not speak to journalists.

His party's spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, told reporters that "negotiations are
still in progress" and expressed hope that the talks would be finalised on
Tuesday.

"We are trying to find areas of consensus," he added.

"There are still some serious differences, but we are trying to narrow those
(differences). We are hoping to finalise the process tomorrow (Tuesday)."

South African President Thabo Mbeki is mediating restarted talks at a Harare
hotel between Mugabe and his political rivals -- Tsvangirai, and the head of
a smaller MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara.

For his part, Mutambara told journalists that six negotiators, two from each
of the three parties, were working on issues outstanding while the three
leaders adjourned.

He did not give details of what these issues were.

"The struggle continues unabated," he said in response to a question if he
saw any hope in the talks.

Talks stalled last month when the main MDC, the biggest party in parliament
following elections in March, balked at a proposal that would allow Mugabe
to retain control of the country's security ministries.

Mbeki's trip came after Mugabe threatened last week to form his own cabinet
if Tsvangirai delayed signing a document to pave the way for a power-sharing
deal.

Tsvangirai called Sunday for fresh elections, supervised by international
observers, if problems in power-sharing talks persisted.

"If there are continued problems over the presidency, then we go for
national elections supervised by the international community," he told
supporters at a rally marking nine years of growth for his Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).

He also insisted that he would only sign a deal that gives him "sufficient"
power.

"We would rather have no deal than a bad deal," he said.

Speaking earlier at the same rally, Tsvangirai's deputy Tendai Biti said the
talks had stalled over powers invested in the president by the current
constitution.

"That's the sticking point," he said. "It's the issue of the powers of the
president as enshrined in this constitution that is (blocking) these
talks...."

Power-sharing discussions began after the rivals signed a memorandum of
understanding on July 21 in Harare.

Mugabe won a June 27 run-off poll after Tsvangirai withdrew from the vote
despite finishing ahead of the president in the March first round, citing
widespread election violence against his supporters.

While the political crisis has dragged on, Zimbabwe's economy has continued
its freefall with a bewilderingly exponential inflation rate and major food
shortages.

Zim political rivals fail to strike deal yet again

http://www.zimonline.co.za



      by Wayne Mafaro Tuesday 09 September 2008

HARARE - Zimbabwe's rival political leaders failed again to conclude a
power-sharing deal in talks on Monday with the opposition MDC party saying
they were still "areas of serious difference" with President Robert Mugabe's
ruling ZANU PF party.

The latest round of talks is seen as the last chance for mediator South
African President Thabo Mbeki - who arrived in Harare earlier on Monday - to
rescue the negotiations from collapse after hitting deadlock over how to
share power between MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Mugabe in a government
of national unity.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa was downbeat when asked by reporters whether
talks were making progress. "It is still work in progress. There are still
areas of serious difference," he said, without saying exactly what were the
points of difference.

But Mugabe appeared optimistic about dialogue describing yesterday's meeting
as good and that negotiations - which continue on Tuesday - were moving
forward and not backwards.

"It was a good meeting," Mugabe told reporters at Harare's Rainbow Towers
hotel where talks are taking place. "We are moving forward and not
backwards," added the veteran leader, who is accused by the opposition of
delaying conclusion of talks because of his refusal to relinquish his
wide-sweeping powers.

Mugabe, who told reporters that no deal had been concluded yet despite talks
making progress, insists that Tsvangirai should sign a draft power-sharing
deal that was endorsed by SADC and which the Zimbabwean leader and Arthur
Mutambara, who heads a breakaway faction of the MDC, have accepted.

Under the draft power-sharing deal Mugabe would remain executive president
in charge of both state and government while Tsvangirai would be prime
minister but without power to hire or fire government ministers. He would
also not chair Cabinet meetings. The MDC leader would also be required to
report regularly to Mugabe.

Tsvangirai insists he should get the lion's share in any power-sharing
government because he defeated Mugabe in the first round presidential voting
on March 29 although he failed to secure the margin required to takeover the
presidency.

The March vote is widely regarded as more credible than a second round
run-off poll on June 27 won by Mugabe who was the only candidate after
Tsvangirai pulled out because of state-sponsored violence against his
supporters. Western nations and several African countries have refused to
recognise the June poll.

Tsvangirai told a rally of his MDC party in the central city of Gweru on
Sunday that he would not sign any power-sharing deal that allows Mugabe to
retain his current powers, adding that he would rather pull out of talks
than accept a "bad deal".

The Zimbabwe talks had only a few weeks ago showed much promise that a
political settlement was within easy reach but have in recent weeks looked
irreversibly headed for collapse especially after Mugabe gave Tsvangirai up
to last Thursday to sign the draft power-sharing deal or he would form a
government without the opposition leader and his MDC party.

Sources in Mugabe's government said at the weekend he only held back on
announcing a new Cabinet to give chance to Mbeki's latest push on Monday for
a breakthrough in the talks.

On the other hand, the MDC rejected Mugabe's ultimatum to sign up the
power-sharing deal and said if he appointed a new Cabinet that would be the
end of negotiations.

In addition, senior officials of the MDC told ZimOnline privately that
Tsvangirai had in fact lost faith in the talks and was on a campaign to
bring key Africa states and major international powers to intensify
diplomatic pressure on Mugabe to relinquish power.

Analysts say only a government of national unity could be able to tackle
Zimbabwe's long-running crisis marked by political violence and a bitter
recession seen in the world's highest inflation of more than 11 million
percent, 80 percent unemployment, shortages of food and basic commodities.

Western donor nations whose financial support is vital to any effort to
revive Zimbabwe's crumbled economy have said they would back a unity
government only if its executive head is Tsvangirai. - ZimOnline

Little hope as Mbeki revives talks in Harare

Rising Number Of Zimbabwean Prisoners Succumbing To Malnutrition

VOA

By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
08 September 2008

Hunger and malnutrition are claiming lives in the Zimbabwean prison system.
Sources in the national prisons service said 15 prisoners have succumbed to
food deprivation at the Chikurubi Maximum and Harare Central prisons in the
capital.

These sources said food rations in lockups around the country now consist of
one meal a day composed of sadza - boiled maize meal - and vegetables. The
most severely affected prisoners are those with illnesses related to
HIV/AIDS.

The Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of
Offenders said that more than 25,000 prisoners are languishing in a prison
system built to hold 16,000.

ZACRO National Coordinator Edson Chihota told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that prisoner uniforms are also in short supply
and system administrators are having difficulty transporting prisoners to
court hearings amid severe fuel shortages.

Zimbabwe Opposition Cries Foul As Wife Of Parliamentarian Interrogated

VOA

By Patience Rusere and Blessing Zulu
Washington
08 September 2008

The Zimbabwean government is keeping up pressure on members of parliament of
the Movement for Democratic Change formation led by Morgan Tsvangirai, which
secured the position of house speaker when parliament reconvened last month,
MDC sources said.

MDC officials said the wife of Epworth member Eliah Jembere was detained by
police and interrogated for seven hours on Monday.

They said Judith Jembere was picked up early in the morning and released
only after attorney Alec Muchadehama, a lawyer for the party, intervened.

Eliah Jembere was arrested on charges of rape just before he was to be sworn
in on August 25.

Two other members - Pearson Mungofa of Harare's Highfield East constituency
and Bednoc Nyaunde of Bindura South, Mashonaland Central province, also
remained in police custody after the state opposed their being granted bail
last week. Mungofa is charged with causing public violence, Nyaunde with
causing disaffection among the military.

Parliamentarian Mathew Mlambo of Chipinge South, Manicaland province,
charged with public violence, was granted bail two weeks ago. The fifth MDC
lawmaker, Trevor Sarukuwa of Mutasa Central, Manicaland, was released on
bail Monday.

MDC lawyer Muchadehama told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that Monday's detention of Judith Jembere was intended to boost
pressure on Jembere and the other MDC members facing charges, and the MDC in
general.

In other political developments, the MDC formation led by Arthur Mutambara
has joined forces with independent parliamentarian Jonathan Moyo to petition
the high court to set aside the election of Tsvangirai MDC Chairman Lovemore
Moyo as house speaker, saying the August 25 ballot was not carried out in
secret as required by the law.

Sources said the petition to the high court was made in Moyo's name, but
that the Mutambara formation had collaborated closely in its preparation.

Sources said top Mutambara-formation officials met with Moyo for two days in
Kadoma recently and resolved to back President Mugabe if he introduces a
supplementary budget.
But eight of the Mutambara formation's 10 members of parliament are said to
be disenchanted with the party leadership's close relations with the
long-ruling ZANU-PF party. Mutambara in an interview dismissed reports of
friction in his formation.

Jonathan Moyo said in an interview that he happened to be booked into the
hotel where the formation's meeting took place. But formation sources said
he was invited.

Mutambara formation spokesman Edwin Mushoriwa denied in an intervie with
reporter Blessing Zulu that the formation brought the high court action, but
confirmed it would back a supplementary budget if it is submitted for the
right reasons

Chief Whip Innocent Gonese of the Tsvangirai formation dismissed the
petition by the Mutambara formation as "sour grapes" following the election
of the speaker - the rival formation's candidate, Paul Themba Nyathi, backed
by ZANU-PF, was defeated.

This border bribe left me poorer but wiser

The Times
September 9, 2008

In Zimbabwe hard currency can mean anything from frozen chickens to The
Times
Jan Raath
A young man with a face like Jesus leant on the petrol pump and offered me
salvation. There were many people at both sides of the border, he said, and
I could be stuck for hours. For a modest fee, he would sort out my Customs
duty while I waited in the car.

The border at Beitbridge straddling the Limpopo river between South Africa
and Zimbabwe is the busiest crossing point in Africa. It is like purgatory.
When I passed through to South Africa a fortnight before, on a midweek
night, it was seething with hundreds of poor Zimbabwean street-traders who
sell food from South African supermarkets. They are coated with dust,
sleeping on the ground, begging, scribbling out declarations, breastfeeding
babies, litter everywhere, the toilets mephitic, the road choked with
40-tonne rigs that I have never seen move. Everyone bored, hot, dirty and
wretched.

I usually take righteous pleasure in doing my turn in the queues, pay my
duty and get cleared, queue jumpers notwithstanding. "You white people are
funny," a young Zimbabwean hitchhiker said once. "You always do things
straight. We just bribe."

This night it was hotter than ever, I was exhausted after a 600km drive from
Johannesburg, so I agreed to Bellington's offer to shepherd me back into
Zimbabwe.

I crossed the bridge and found the Zimbabwean side nowhere near as busy as I
had been told. I could have cleared it in 15 minutes. But Bellington had my
Customs declaration form and the gate pass. He appeared at my car in five
minutes, tantalisingly waving the pass before me with all but one of the
necessary stamps. "The Customs and road levy officers need more money," he
said.
Trapped. Like a lamb, I paid up and he went off to get the last stamp. It
cost me the equivalent of £70.

"You cheated me," I told him.

"Good night, sir, have a good journey," he said, smiling.

Best of Times

I returned to Harare to find my telephone still dead after two months. I
went to the local Tel One office where Trigger at the faults office told me
that someone had gone down the manhole in my area and cut through the
fibreoptic cable. "They just vandalised it," he said. "It is worthless. All
it is good for is to tie up the wire in the chicken run."

Zimbabwe's bankrupt state-run utilities are peopled by competent but
appallingly paid technicians whose capacity to do anything is crippled by a
management of politically appointed goons. Simple maintenance requires
superhuman effort. So it helps to provide incentives. Some pay outright
bribes, others provide a jerrycan of petrol or a frozen chicken.

I gave Trigger a pile of recent copies of The Times. His face burst into
rapture. "I will do my best," he said. Two days later I picked up the
handset. The dialling tone purred. And just for giving someone the pleasure
of a good read.

Pole position

At the Lion and Elephant Hotel, near Beitbridge, they just do it themselves.
When I stopped there after being fleeced at the border, the manager said
that they had had no electricity for 23 days. Thieves bring down the
powerlines and steal the copper cables. The hotel sends workers to dig holes
and put up new poles while the technician attaches new cable, if there is
any.

The power had come back on the day before, but the quaint old hotel blacked
out again after a couple of hours. Another 13km of cable had been stolen.
The hotel sent out its posse who, in three days, caught 11 people stealing
more kilometres of powerline and handed them over to surprised police.

BBC Radio 4 - Crossing Continents

 BBC Radio 4 audio link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00d75tz/

Crossing Continents: Zimbabwe

Julian Pettifer scours the airwaves and the world of blogs to find out what
everyday life is like in Zimbabwe today. How are people coping with
hyperinflation and food shortages in a land formerly known as the bread
basket of Africa? What lengths will they go to feed their families and what
kinds of self-help networks have been created?

Duration: 30 minutes
Available until: 9:02pm Monday 15th September
 

Zim doctors vow to stay on strike

http://www.zimonline.co.za



      by Simplicious Chirinda and Nqobizitha Khumalo Tuesday 09
September 2008

HARARE - Striking Zimbabwe state doctors have vowed that they will not
return to work unless the government gives in to demands to pay their
salaries in foreign currency.

The doctors who went on strike two weeks ago demanding better working
conditions and to have their salaries pegged in either United States dollars
or South African rands in order to hedge against rampant inflation held a
meeting on Friday after their representatives reported a stalemate in talks
with the government.

The Hospitals Doctors Association (HDA) president, Amos Severegi, on Monday
told Zimoline that they were pushing for payment in foreign currency
rejecting the local dollar, which ravaged by the world's highest inflation
rate of more than 11 million percent loses value faster than any other
currency on earth.

"We are negotiating for payment in forex because that's the only way that
doctors can be cushioned from the economic hardships. Now doctors are
increasingly having to go and buy essential from other countries like
everyone yet they are paid in local currency," said Severengi.

"The other problem is that almost everything is pegged in foreign currency
and doctors can no longer afford even the basic essentials."

Severengi did not state how much they were looking at but said "we are
looking for a living amount and will again have a meeting today (Monday) to
try and settle this matter".

The doctors' representatives met with the Health Services Board (HSB) last
week but failed to get a breakthrough resulting in the stalemate.

Deputy Health Minister, Edwin Muguti, however said government had reached a
compromise with the striking doctors and said all that was left was to
finalise the details of the deal.

"The government has worked a package that will see doctors being given
handsome salaries. We are through with the new salary structures and we have
also hiked the cost of living adjustment allowances and that is all I can
say. All this has been tabled to the doctors and off course I can not give
more details through the press," Muguti said of the new developments.

He could not be drawn to reveal whether the new package includes paying the
doctors in foreign currency.

However sources within the medical fraternity said the doctors have vowed
that they will not return to work unless their salaries had been pegged in
foreign currency.

The medical sources said there was a stalemate with the HSB which has argued
that the government does not have the resources to pay the doctors in
foreign currency.

Patients at most public hospitals across the country were not being treated
and those with "minor" illnesses were being referred to city council clinics
because the hospitals were short-staffed.

Government doctors are paid a paltry salary of Z$4 000 (revalued), enough to
buy 10 loaves of bread.
State hospitals are the source of health services for the majority of
Zimbabweans but are barely functioning at the best of times due to an
overload of HIV/AIDS cases made worse by severe shortages of doctors,
nurses, drugs and equipment.

For those who rely on public hospitals, the latest doctors' strike probably
only serves to highlight the rot in Zimbabwe's public health delivery system
that was once lauded as one of the best in Africa but has virtually crumbled
due to years of under-funding and mismanagement.  - ZimOnline

Politics And Prejudice - Plight of Zim Women

Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)

OPINION
6 September 2008
Posted to the web 8 September 2008

Alex T. Magaisa

I recently had a most revealing and educative exchange with a fellow
colleague.

She is a bright and articulate woman who shall remain nameless. We talked
about women's participation in public life; about politics, ideation and
public writing, for she herself is a writer of unique pedigree.

I asked her why she does not write more often; why, indeed, she does not
participate more in politics and public life. She had tried, she said,
because she is as passionate as every other Zimbabwean about her country.
But she has often felt humiliated and terribly let down by her fellow
countrymen and only because she is a woman who has dared to speak her mind.

She revealed the harsh and vitriolic criticism, bordering on hate mail that
she has faced whenever she has publicly expressed herself. "No", I said to
my friend, "Your problem is that you are too sensitive." I said to her that
she has to develop a skin of elephantine proportions when she steps into the
public arena because there are people who sometimes express themselves is
uncultured terms.

"No, Alex", she protested, "You do not understand". Why? I asked, taken
aback by her bold assertion at my limitation on a subject that I should know
well, being a fellow public writer. "What is it that I do not understand?" I
asked her. Surely, criticism comes with the territory, I put it to her,
matter-of-factly.

"You miss the point, Alex", she continued. She was patient; the kind
patience of a doctor who knows she is dealing with a patient who feels good
but does not yet fully appreciate the nature and extent of his illness.

So she continued: "You do not understand, Alex, but I appreciate your
position because you are a man." The last bit got me a little disappointed.
I thought my friend was venturing into that familiar territory of "man
versus woman"; that she was now invoking the familiar feminist card and
taking cover behind the veil of womanhood. I readied myself for a
counter-attack.

But then, as she continued, her words shook the stem, yes, down to the roots
of my own mentality and I realised that what my friend was talking about was
not just criticism but a special type of challenge that women have to
contend with. It is something that is more easily appreciable to a woman and
takes time to sink into a man's system.

These are hazards that few of us men can easily grasp, because, often, we
are the perpetrators. It reminded me of that Shona proverb that the axe will
never know, let alone remember, what it did to the tree. Only the tree
itself knows best and remembers the pain and suffering that it endures.

Even standing on the high pedestal of the "modern man" that I thought of
myself, I realised that there are some things that can so easily be taken
for granted; that there is so much hurt endured by women that I might never
understand and that all these aspects do, indeed, colour in very ugly ways,
the nature of our society, the calibre of our leaders and, indeed, the
dynamics of our politics.

Because, you see, more often than not, criticism in respect of a woman is
not so much about the products of her cerebral matter but more about her
gender and much that is attached to womanhood.

The ammunition of choice is targeted not simply at her ideas -- it often
rounds on her person, on how many children she has outside marriage, on her
single-motherhood status, on the alleged numbers of her sleeping partners,
real or imagined. Or, perhaps, how easy she is to provide services of a
personal nature. It is, most regrettably and shamefully, targeted at the
nether and sacred regions of a woman's anatomy, notwithstanding their
irrelevance in the generation of ideas. "That is why you do not have a
husband!" is a familiar refrain although the same characters would not dare
say, "that is why you do not have a wife" to a male politician.

There are many women in Zimbabwe who have taken roles in public life. They
are writers, activists, politicians, business executives, wives of
politicians, etc. They are brave women and when you think of the hate
language they have to face each day, sometimes for offences of their male
counterparts, you can see why theirs is a hard and rugged road and why,
eventually, some choose self-censorship or at worst, to steer clear of
public life.

Slowly, but surely, I appreciated my friend's predicament and that of other
women in her position. They face ridicule not for their ideas but about
their private lives; they have to live with criticism of their looks as
opposed to their views; they have to watch and listen to anonymous
characters describing in precise detail their wild imaginations or fantasies
about the woman's reproductive organs and how she uses them, etc.

I can understand why, for example, Grace Kwinjeh might be downcast -- she
was beaten up very severely by shameless thugs last year and when she showed
her pictures, some people were angry that the photographs had shown too much
of her sensitive, albeit damaged, parts. Yes, some even chose to overlook
her horrific injuries only to comment about what they could "do" with a
woman endowed with her features, if given the chance.

When Beatrice Mtetwa was beaten up by shameless hoodlums supposedly keeping
the law, and pictures showing her nasty wounds were published, some people
protested that it was bordering on pornography. Her injuries, the subject of
the photography, were overlooked. Instead her feminine features became the
subject of discussion.

When Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga is involved in the current talks, some
choose to focus on her marital life and alleged personal escapades, instead
of celebrating and encouraging her as the only woman who at least has a
voice in those secret talks. When Everjoice Win comments on politics, it is
not her ideas but elaborate suggestions of her as a husband-grabber that
take centre stage. I can understand the plight of Gugulethu Moyo, who having
been harassed and beaten up by the Army General's wife, has to endure
personal taunts about her private life.

Or when Maggie Makanza comments on politics, it is her womanhood that is
questioned. And when Petina Gappah writes on life and politics, it is often
her gender and private life; not her ideas that are attacked. When Jenni
Williams stands up with her brave WOZA colleagues, questions are raised on
her private life, not the work she is doing. Notwithstanding her
trailblazing movement in the search for democracy, Margaret Dongo also has
to face questions about her private life.

There are many more women playing roles in public life -- the likes of Bev
Clark, Amanda Atwood, Janah Ncube, Nokuthula Moyo, Catherine Makoni, Tsitsi
Matekaire, Thoko Matshe, etc -- but many, if not all, have to face similar
challenges that have very little to do with their ideas. It could take a
whole book to list all of them.

Of course, men are also subjected to acerbic attacks. Yet as if to bolster
the above argument on the humiliating approach towards women, when a man is
chastised, it is often couched in language that derides, not the man
himself, but his female relations. It is about the man's mother; the man's
wife, the man's sister, his grandmother, yes, even his daughters. They
attack the man by casting aspersions on his mother's reproductive organs, by
attacking his wife or grandmother's looks. It's never much about the man
himself. So there you see again, even when attacking men, the women are the
silent victims.

But then you might say all this is irrelevant; just casual talk with no real
harm. Yet, in reality, that language is part of the fabric of our society.
In many ways, it mirrors our attitudes towards each other. It is a
reflection of the physical encounters between men and women in politics,
especially manifesting in violence.

When a male victim is attacked, the weapon of choice is the stick but when a
female victim suffers, the weapon of choice is the reproductive organ. The
man is beaten hard; the woman, often, is raped and sexually violated. This
most horrifying of physical violence, in many ways, is a manifestation of
the kind of language and approach that women face in everyday public life.
The tragedy, however, is that those fighting for democracy and those
thwarting it, tend to adopt similar attitudes and practices towards
womenfolk.

I write this not because I like to take the high moral ground. Some of my
best friends will tell you that I have erred and perhaps resorted to similar
type when dealing with women. No; I am no saint. I have made mistakes and I
will make many more in the future.

It is most vital that society develops an attitude of healthy and decent
criticism. But, surely, it should not be coloured by gender-prejudices or be
of such personal character that most well-meaning citizens become
marginalised. I will probably be accused of pandering to women or worse, of
soliciting their personal favours. But I can understand why some of our
female counterparts, will often think twice, perhaps three times, before
they decide to participate in public life.

This march towards democracy is not simply a movement in high-level
politics. It is also about attitudes and values that provide a conducive
environment to nurture a more decent, equal and tolerant society. Old habits
die hard - but with sufficient will-power they can see the last of their
days.

You see, I have even managed to go through the whole article without
mentioning Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai or Arthur Mutambara. Then,
again, I have!

Survival of the fittest

http://kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=775

Life in general has always been a struggle requiring one to work hard for
everything - from food to clothing. Now the situation has worsened. One
works so hard but come the end of the month, the money is not easily
accessible. With the withdrawal limit currently at $500 a day (only enough
for a loaf of bread), one has to be geared up to go to the bank every day of
the week to be able to buy something meaningful.

Everything has become so expensive and salaries fall short. Most of the
basic commodities are being sold in foreign currency on the black market yet
the majority of employees are paid in Zimbabwe dollars. What concerns me
most is the way we all seem to be going about our business as if everything
is normal. Nobody seems to question or challenge the way life has become in
our country.

A few days ago I had one experience that got me thinking it is time
something is done to improve the Zimbabwe situation . . . I took a trip to
the doctor with my Medical Aid card for a Medical Certificate only to be
told that they no longer accept Medical Aid cards. Instead the majority of
surgeries I visited asked for a US$20 fee. I had to no choice but to return
home and forget about the application. Surely if scholarships are for the
less privileged, minor processes such as attaining a Medical Certificate
should not be prohibitive.

A few months back I was so convinced some good economic recovery plan was on
the way when I heard of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and
Power Sharing Talks. Now weeks have gone by and still there is no official
position or detail on proceedings during the 'Talks'. If these 'Talks' are
being done for the people Zimbabwean citizens certainly deserve to know what
is really going on from the officials themselves.

Sometimes I wish these leaders engaged in Talks would consider that whilst
they are 'dragging' their feet in sealing a deal, people are dying every
day. The health delivery system has deteriorated and drugs are not easily
accessible. Some people are resorting to purchasing drugs from neighboring
countries like South Africa while the majority of the disadvantaged
Zimbabweans have no choice but to keep on hoping that life in Zimbabwe will
improve before their souls give in.

Despite the numerous challenges that we are facing there seems to be a
little hope in me that somehow Zimbabwe will rise again. This is my only
sense of comfort. It may take time but our resilient spirit will see us
through.

This entry was posted on September 8th, 2008 at 11:27 am by Moreblessing
Mbire

Council refuses to 'dine' with Grace Mugabe

From The Standard, 7 September

Council dismissed a directive by the government to host a reception for the
First Lady, Grace Mugabe because it could not "afford the luxury" and that
the order came at short notice, a new report by the local authority has
revealed. Mugabe had been scheduled to officially open the first national
paralympic games held in Bulawayo between August 26 and 29. But she did not
turn up for unknown reasons and Bulawayo metropolitan governor, Cain
Mathema, eventually officiated at the games. It had since emerged that
Mathema had wanted the MDC-T-controlled council to host Mugabe in a
development that could have seen the cash-strapped local authority spending
$585 000 (revalued) buying snacks and another $20 000 (revalued) on soft
drinks. About 150 people would have attended the reception. Council sources
said although the official explanation was that the local authority was
broke, the decision to defy the directive was political. The MDC-T has
refused to recognise President Robert Mugabe's June 27 re-election.

"Wining and dining with Grace Mugabe would have put the new councillors on
the spot and it was agreed that Mathema's directive should be dismissed
outright," said a councillor who requested anonymity. Officially, the City
Fathers said the least they could do for the governor was to offer the Small
City Hall for use free of charge. "Currently council is going through
financial problems and the best that could be considered perhaps would be to
donate the venue," read the council report. Some councillors also felt that
Mathema should have taken the responsibility to host the First Lady because
it was Bulawayo province that was hosting the games not the city council.
"It follows, therefore, that the resident minister and not the mayor would
be the host to the First Lady," the council report said. "Asking council to
host the event was fraught with potential problems in the terms of guests to
be invited and protocol, among other things." Ironically, government
departments owe council a staggering $647 000 in unpaid grants and bills.
Mathema was not immediately available for comment.

13 ways to make money in Zim

Mbeki's negotiations a tragic farce

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/alexmatthews/2008/09/07/mbekis-negotiations-a-tragic-farce/

Alex Matthews

President Thabo Mbeki's latest attempt to get Zimbabwe negotiations back on
track smacks of self-serving desperation - an attempt to salvage a
bloodstained legacy and ensure an easy exit for the murderous tyrant he
seems quite happy to consider a friend.
Mbeki as a mediator has no credibility anyway. His antipathy towards the MDC
and its leader is well known - as is his implicit support of Mugabe and the
brutal suppression of democratic will and political dissent that has
accompanied the dictator's systematic destruction of a once-prosperous
nation.

As the suffering of the Zimbabwean people continues, with starvation
salaries for those lucky enough to be employed and chronic shortages of food
and medicines, it is only too clear that Mbeki has never had the best
interests of the ordinary people at heart. He has nailed his unwavering
support for a "liberation" elite to the mast, with devastating consequences.

It was inevitable that these farcical negotiations between Zanu-PF and the
MDC would flop - because the former has been (and continues to be) extremely
reluctant to relinquish its iron-fisted grip on the Zimbabwean people and,
of course, all the perks that comes from the wanton pillaging of the state.

Had the South African government even a shred of integrity - or held the
belief that human rights and a sustainable democracy are sacrosanct - it
would have condemned the behaviour of our neighbour's government a long time
ago.

But its willingness to support an illegitimate regime financially and
politically and give the thumbs-up to the sham elections of the past eight
years has meant that South Africa and its president are complicit in the
Zimbabwean catastrophe.

It is not too late for Mbeki to redeem himself (a little). He could do this
if he were to stand up and denounce Mugabe, and do everything in his power -
such as imposing smart sanctions - to ensure that the results of the March
29 elections are respected and acted upon. The Zimbabwean people deserve
nothing less. But of course that will never happen, and their unnecessary
suffering will continue until the inevitable collapse of Mugabe's crumbling
regime.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 7th, 2008 at 9:27 pm